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THE MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE, E s t a b lis h e d J u l y , 18 3 9 , BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. V O L U M E X IV . JUNE, 1846. C O N T E N T S tOF NO. N U M B E R V I. VI., V O L . X I V . ARTICLES. ART. PAG* I. The M oral Influence o f Steam. The Agency o f Steam, considered in its di versified application, as resulting from the present advanced state of social im provement— Comparative view o f Ancient an<# Modern Commerce, and the gradual progress o f those discoveries and improvements which have pre pared the way for steam agency— Steam, in its history and its influence. By C harles F raser , Esq., o f South Carolina,............................................................. 499 II. The City o f Troy1 N ew Y o rk : Its Commerce, Manufactures, and Resources. By O ne of its M erchants, ....................................................................................... 515 III. Protection o f Ships from Lightning. By E. M eriam , Esq., o f N ew Y ork ,. 523 IV. The Warehousing System. By J unius S mith , Esq., o f N ew Y ork,................. 529 V. The Northwest Fur Trade. By Hon. W illia m S turgis , o f Massachusetts... 532 VI. Coal Region o f the Schuylkill and W yom ing Valley............... .......................... 539 V II. Trade and Tonnage o f the New York Canals. By H en ry T racy , Esq., Civil Engineer, o f N ew Y o rk ,........................................................................................... 543 V III. The Sub-Treasury. By H en ry G. R ice, Esq., o f Massachusetts,.................. 545 IX. M aritime Law, No. X I.— Respondentia Loans. By A . N ash , Esq., o f N ew Y ork,............................................................................................................................. 547 MERCANTILE LAW CASES. Marine Insurance on Specie and Merchandise,................................................................. 551 Liability o f Common Carriers,.............................................................................................. 553 C O M M E R C I A L C H R O N I C L E AND R E V I E W , EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL REVIEW OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLUSTRATE# W IT H TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS : The Sub-Treasury, and the W ar with M exico— Amount and Location o f the United States Deposits— Monthly Imports and Duties at N ew York— Means and Liabili ties o f N ew Y ork Banks— City and Country Banks distinguished— Broken Banks — Army o f the United States— Revenue and Expenditures o f the Government— Exports from N ew Orleans to Northern Cities— Receipts o f Produce at N ew Or leans— Exports o f Domestic Produce to Great Britain— Importance o f the English Market— Advanced Freights and Insurance, etc., etc......................................... 555-560 v o l . xiv.—no. vi. 32 498 C O N T E N T S O F N O . V I . , V O L . X IV , 7A.Q Z COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. Treaty o f Commerce and Navigation between the United States and the Kingdom of the T w o Sicilies,................................................................................................................ Commercial Treaty between the United States and Belgium,....................................... Duties on Goods sold at Auction in N ew Y ork— Law o f April 11, 1846,.................. Commercial Decree o f Government o f Peru in regard to Whaling and Sealing Ships, 561 564 566 567 NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE. Sea-marks in the Sound, Grounds, and Outer Harbors o f Copenhagen,...................... 568 Light-houses o f Sweden, etc.— W reck off Yarmouth,.................................................... 569 STATISTICS OF P O P U L A T I O N . Progress o f Population in the United States....................................... .............................. Progressive Population of Five Eastern States, from 1810 to 1840,............................. Population of the Maritime Counties o f N ew Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, etc., from 1810 to 1840,.............................................................................................................. Progressive Population o f the States, from 1810 to 1840,.............................................. 570 57\ 571 572 RAILROAD STATISTICS. T ariff o f Rates for Merchandise, etc., on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,............. 573 COMMERCIAL STATISTICS. Quantity and Value o f Merchandise imported into the United States, for the year ending 30th June, 1845,..................................................................................................... Trade and Commerce o f the United Kingdom, in 1845-46,.................... ...................... Imports o f Principal Articles o f Foreign and Colonial Merchandise, for the years 1845 and 1846, ending January 5,.................................................................................. Exports o f Foreign and Colonial Merchandise from the United Kingdom, for the years 1844, 1845, and 1846, ending 5th January,......................................................... Exports o f British Produce and Manufactures from the United Kingdom, for the years 1844, 1845, and 1846, endiUg 5th January,......................................................... Vessels employed in the Foreign Trade o f the United Kingdom, from 1844 to 1846, British Exports o f W oollen Goods to China, from 1824 to 1845,................................... MERCANTILE 574 579 580 583 583 584 584 MISCELLANIES. A Commercial V iew o f W ar.................................................................................................. 585 Resources o f Thomaston, Maine : Its Lime and Limestone........................................... 586 A d Valorem Duty on W in e s,................................................................................................ 586 THE BOOK TRADE. Arnold’s Roman Commonwealth— Twiss’s Oregon Territory,....................................... King’s Argentine Republic— Michelet’s People,............................................................... Spence’s Entomology— British Essayists— Forester’s Shooting-Box,........................... Cooper’s American Naval Officers— Jesse’s Pretenders— Adventures in Spain,......... Lester’s Americus Vespucius— Headley’s Napoleon, etc.— Bacon’s Essays on Slavery, Flint’s Collections o f Amer. Statistical Society— Combe’s Management of Infants,... Princeton Theological Essays— Puritan Divines,.............................................................. Riddell’s Monograph o f the Dollar,..................................................................................... Thompson’s Recollections o f M exico— Hood’s Poem s,.................................................. Mountford’s Martyria— Blunt’s Shipmaster’s Assistant,.. ............................................... D\Aubigne’s Miscellanies— Cole’s Year with the Franklins,.......................................... Orme’s (Mary) Uncle John— Mansfield’s Life o f General Scott,, etc.,.......................... Mitchell’s Ancient Geography— Foster’s Essays— Inspiration o f the Bible,................ Carter’s Cabinet Library— Sheffield’s (Lord) Autobiography o f Gibbon,..................... Stickney’s Friendless— Stowe’s Missionary Enterprise,.................................................. Simmonds’ Colonial Magazine and Foreign Miscellany for M ay,................................. 587 587 588 588 589 589 590 590 590 591 591 591 592 592 592 592 H U N T ’S MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE. J U N E , 1846. Art. I.— THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF STEAM.* THE AGENCY OF STEAM CONSIDERED IN ITS DIVERSIFIED APPLICATION, AS RESULTING FROM THE TRESENT ADVANCED STATE OF SOCIAL IMPROVEMENT---- COMPARATIVE VIEW OF ANCIENT AND MODERN COMMERCE, AND THE GRADUAL PROGRESS OF THOSE DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS WHICH HAVE PREPARED THE W A Y FOR STEAM AGENCY— CONSIDERATION OF STEAM IN ITS HISTORY AND ITS INFLUENCE. T h e history o f nations is little more than a record o f their wars and their com m erce ; the former carrying with them ruin and desolation; the latter spreading wide the blessings o f wealth and civilization. The former drying up every source o f moral and social improvement; the latter uniting communities in the bonds o f peaceful intercourse, and stimulating to honorable and profitable enterprise. W e read o f a great leader o f an tiquity, who moistened with tears the boundary line o f his conquests, and grieved to think that the known world had no more kingdoms to reward his ambition. H ow much more glorious the fortune o f him who, triumph ing over the prejudices o f his age, discovered a n ew hemisphere, and gave to the mind o f man a boundless field o f action. W hat success in arms was ever comparable to the first successful navi gation o f the Atlantic ? Its reward was the discovery o f a new continent, and that continent the domain and future heritage o f civilized man. Thanks to the benign and humanizing spirit o f the age in which we live, i f there be a maxim universally assented to as the result o f the expe rience o f all recorded time, it is that peace is the best and truest policy o f nations, as it is o f the individuals w ho compose them. The prosperity it promotes, has an all-pervading influence, which not only exalts the rational part o f creation, by giving it the leisure and the opportunity o f cultivating its higher powers, but multiplies the comforts o f the brute, and mitigates the severity o f his labors. Even the inanimate world rejoices beneath its smiles, developing the elements o f usefulness in every varied form and * The manuscript copy o f this paper, read before the “ Mercantile Library Associa tion” o f Charleston, South Carolina, April 3d, 1846, has been politely furnished by the author, C h a r l e s F r a s e r , Esq., for publication in this Magazine. 500 The Moral Influence o f Steam. modification; and yielding to industry and w ell directed enterprise, the treasures which Providence has hidden in its bosom, as their noblest re ward. And what is commerce, uniting the families o f the earth in the bonds o f friendly intercourse, and impressing them with the conviction o f mutual dependence, but an extension o f this great principle ? T o what human means was it most likely for the Prince o f P ea ce to re fer, for conveying the “ words o f truth to all nations,” than to that com munication between them, which commerce afforded. And his was a wis dom which, extending over all time, looked forward to the undreamed-of discoveries and improvements o f human boldness and ingenuity, and em braced a far wider range o f action than w as revealed, even to those to whom the command was given. H ow beautiful, then, is the thought, that nature, in rewarding the indus try o f man by superfluities o f products, invites their interchange amongst the remotest nations, and the most opposite climates ; and, by that means, unites them in the kindliest feelings, and makes her very gifts the bonds o f mutual 'and peaceful intercourse. H ow grateful, too, the reflection that, at this very moment, the vessels that are wafting from our shores the pro ductions o f our varied climate, and scarcely less varied industry, are also spreading the tidings o f the gospel, and carrying with them the oil and the lamp that shall give light to the benighted regions o f the earth. H ow un like the doomed ships o f ancient Tyrus, which emptied their riches and their merchandise upon the shores but to swell the pomp o f an unholy luxury, and to make her downfall more awful and desolate ! Such reflec tions show the distinctive character o f the commerce o f modern times, and elevate it, incomparably, beyond all o f w hich history informs us. T h ey associate it with an object w hich cannot fail to ennoble, w e might almost say, to consecrate it. T h ey raise the standing o f the modern mer chant far above those w ho, in their day, w ere called “ kings and princes.” T h ey recognize, even in the tempest-worn mariner, a laborer in the great cause o f human improvement. Extensive as was the com m erce o f antiquity, it was destitute o f that bold and venturous spirit w hich belongs to that o f modern times. Though wonderfully successful in its objects, it never aimed at discovery. Science had done too little for it to claim any devotion on its part, to her advance ment. T h e maritime trade which enriched Phoenicia, the earliest com mercial nation known to history, was a coasting one. T h e ports o f E u rope and Africa, along the shores o f the Mediterranean, its numerous islands, the rivers emptying into it, and connecting it with a widely ex tended interior, as also the borders o f the Archipelago and Euxine sea, furnished all the ch ie f articles o f luxury which centered in that great empo rium. W e may say articles o f luxury, for such constituted the ch ief objects o f ancient commerce, as gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, aromatics, and myrrh ; and w ell might w e believe it, when w e are informed by his torians that, on one occasion, a single festival consumed twenty-five tons o f frankincense. Carthage, Alexandria, and every other city that turned its attention to trade, pursued the same timid course o f navigation; and it is worthy o f remark that, in their extensive nautical traffic, oars w ere their ch ief propelling power. W h en naval ascendancy became an object with rival nations, the number o f these was multiplied, to give additional speed to their vessels, for the largest o f them carried but one mast. Thus, whilst some o f the arts practised by the ancients, attained an The Moral Influence o f Steam. 501 excellence which, i f ever equalled, can never be surpassed by all the skill and improvement o f modern genius, as is attested by what remains of their sculpture and their architecture, subsequent ages have exceeded them in every branch o f navigation, and have always advanced in propor tion to the expanding interests o f com m erce ; and w e may boldly assert that in nothing has modern ingenuity been more conspicuous than in build ing, equipping, and navigating ships. The stars, w hich served the ancient navigator only as beacons to direct his course, and which, when obscured, left him in hopeless uncertainty, have since furnished, by the calculations o f science, the most unerring guide. T h e clouds that now dim their light, cast no corresponding darkness over his vessel’ s course. The compass and the quadrant, the chronometer, the reckoning, and his nautical tables, enable the m odem sailor to ascertain, with almost infallible precision, his bearing and situation. W hatever be the extent o f his voyage, however unknown the seas he explores, however severe the latitude, or repulsive the coast, he carries with him, in the discoveries o f science, a light to cheer him in his gloomiest hour, and to give augury o f escape from the most complicated perils. T h e recent enlargement o f the telescope, has enabled that gigantic wanderer o f the night to explore new regions o f space, and to introduce to the astronomers, bodies that have moved in their orbits, undiscovered, from the beginning o f time. N or are the materials o f modern commerce less remarkable for their superiority to that o f the ancients, than the navigation by which it is conducted. Although a vessel may not now waft the odors o f Arabia, or be freighted with the silver o f Tarshish, or the gold o f Ophir, to pamper the luxury and corrupt the mor als o f a people, by marking more distinctly the line o f division between the wealthy and the indigent, she conveys the rich reward o f agricultural labor, o f mineral exploration, and o f manufacturing enterprise. She dis seminates the treasures o f science and learning, and, what gives her more value than all the argosies o f old, she is the harbinger o f human pro gress and Christian civilization. I f w e consider but a few o f the exports o f our ow n country, w e shaft find them fully sustaining the character here described. T h e sugar, cot ton, rice, and naval stores o f the South— the grain, hemp, flour, bacon, o f the Middle and W estern States— the fish, oil, manufactured cottons, and other productions o f N ew England enterprise and industry, are, all, arti cles contributing to the immediate support and comfort o f other nations, and enhancing the importance o f our peaceful commercial relations. There is not an ocean w hich our vessels do not traverse, a port they do not visit, or a people w hich does not extend to them the hand o f amity. N ew com modities are daily springing up from the hot-bed o f Am erican skill and in dustry, to make our com m erce more diffusive, and its value more certain. Extending our view to other portions o f the civilized world, w e find them applying all their energies to such useful pursuits, as shall enhance the value o f their productions as articles o f trade. W e behold nations dispensing the redundancy o f their products, whether o f food or raiment, to supply the de ficiencies o f others ; thus equalizing the gifts o f nature, however partially distributed. A n end so consonant to the noblest dictates o f philanthropy belongs exclusively to modern commerce, for some o f the least o f whose fa cilities, all the wealth o f antiquity would have been no equivalent. The com m erce o f the present age, is not confined to those perishable articles which the perpetually recurring physical wants o f society require, or its 502 The M oral Influence o f Steam. luxury covets ; but it enriches nations with that wealth which nothing can destroy. It disseminates the literature o f the world, and brings minds in contact, however widely separated. Such are some o f the privileges with w hich it has pleased Providence to distinguish the age in which w e live. It has placed us on an eminence from which w e can survey the past, and look upon its boasted improve ments as so many steps in the progress o f human advancement. E le ments o f happiness and prosperity are developed to us, which it never en tered into the philosophy o f our predecessors to conceive. W e are made familiar with things “ hidden from the wise and prudent o f other times,” and are enabled to connect, as by an almost necessary concatenation, the great process o f social improvement. And, in this process, how beautiful has been the adaptation o f each successive discovery to the period and condition o f society in which it was made. A n imperfect knowledge o f astronomy, (as w e have seen) w as suffi cient for the circumscribed navigation o f the ancients. But when the in terests o f nations required the expansion o f commerce, and they found a barrier to it in the untried dangers o f that ocean upon which its vitality depended, a simple discovery, suggested by the accidental observation o f magnetic attraction, at once removed that barrier, and gave to the mariner a passport as unlimited as the globe. So, too, with regard to letters amongst the ancients. T h e laborious and expensive process by which their thoughts were preserved and transmitted, necessarily restricted the circulation o f knowledge. Learning was, comparatively, the privilege o f fe w ; and it is only a matter o f wonder that so much o f their poetry, their history and philosophy, has escaped the ravages o f time, and the still more desolating effects o f the barbarism and ignorance o f the ages through w hich they subsequently passed. But no sooner did civilization begin to dawn, and the mind to peer through the gloom which had so long overshadowed its energies, than the discovery o f printing came to its aid ; and this was an ally against which all the powers o f darkness could not prevail. It burst at once the prisondoors o f knowledge, and unfettered those treasures o f genius which had lain so long hidden, like the diamond imbedded in its native earth. W ould the interests o f mankind have been promoted by the discovery o f printing b e fore Christianity had made such progress, and encountered such obstacles, as to make it an indispensable agent in human civilization ? Might it not, under other influences than those which prevailed at the period o f its in vention, have received an impulse favorable to the propagation o f error and superstition, and thus have blighted the fairest hopes o f man ? “ And who dare think that Providence is slow, Because it takes the privilege to choose Its own appointed time, when it will send Its blessings down ?” --------------------- Ancient systems o f government, also, bore exclusive relation to the con dition o f the people over whom they prevailed, and would be found to yield their boasted pre-eminence to the discovery o f the checks and balances w hich form the pride o f modern political systems. And might not man, thus surrounded with the trophies o f the skill and enterprise o f the past, with every blessing in his reach which the industry and success o f his predecessors have won for him, and with such accumu lated proof before his eyes, that there is not an element in nature, or a The Moral Influence o f Steam. 503 known property o f matter, that has not been rendered subservient to his comfort— might he not have justly concluded that the sum o f social happi ness was complete, and that he had only to prove himself worthy o f its enjoyment? Yes, but Providence would have rebuked the thought, not by chastising his inactivity, but by other and higher evidences o f its favor, by placing under his control an agent o f illimitable force, requiring all the moral, intellectual, and physical energies o f his nature, to direct it to the ends o f which it is capable— ends commensurate with all that w e can ima gine o f human attainment. That agent has.been discovered to him ; and i f the discovery o f steam, or rather, the development o f its powers, in their application to com m erce and manufactures, has been reserved for the nineteenth century, it is only because that era exhibits a higher degree o f civilization, and therefore, a fitter field for its operations, than w as ever before known in the history o f society. W e remember to have seen a series o f maps illustrating the successive advances o f one o f the great cities o f the world, from its earli est beginning to its present condition o f unexampled prosperity. Each page, as .it was turned over, becam e more interesting, until the last dis played an extent and magnificence w hich seemed to defy the further im provements o f time ; and can w e but be struck with the figurative allusion o f that last page to the corresponding one o f the great moral chart w e have been surveying. Steam has developed, to an extent never before conceived, the value o f the improvements and discoveries o f the past. It has stimulated the re searches o f science, it has perfected every branch o f the mechanic arts. T h e attainments o f philosophy, the diversified inventions o f human ingenu ity, and, above all, the general progress o f literature, seem to have been but the preludes to a discovery destined, in its ultimate development, to promote, beyond every known agent, the great aim o f social econom y and prosperity. And it is the pride o f our country to have had a most promi nent and honorable share in its direction to so glorious a result. A distinguished Roman, whose statue has escaped the ravages o f time, is represented with a globe in his hand, as an emblem o f universal con quest. Vain boast! D oes that globe represent on its surface the fairest portion o f Earth ? D oes it em brace within his dominion the shores w e inhabit, or foreshadow, however faintly, that hemisphere which was des tined to be, in after times, the great starting point o f those improvements whose triumphs w ere indeed to be universal ? I f such w ere the ornament o f Pompey’ s statue, how much more emblematic would it be o f the fame o f Fulton, to whom peace, com m erce, religion, science, and learning, are indebted for that adaptation o f steam— “ By which remotest regions are allied, Which makes one city o f the universe.” I f the remarks thus imperfectly expressed, have, in any manner, served the purpose for which they w ere designed, o f showing how exactly suited to the condition o f the world have been those discoveries which have most prominently accommodated themselves to its necessities, and how acciden tal have been the suggestions leading to those discoveries, w e w ill see in them a plan o f wider extent and deeper wisdom than could have ever been devised by man. T here is an analogy between the moral and the material developments o f nature, proving that they are equally gradual and progressive ; and it 504 The Moral Influence o f Steam. is equally true that the hidden properties o f matter, which have been, from time to time, fortuitously revealed to man, could never have been made available by his ingenuity, or have led to any useful discovery, without a concurrence o f extrinsic circumstances to favor its adoption. H ence it is that steam, which has been long known in Europe as an agent o f great power, w as applied there with so little effect. S o difficult was it to divert industry from its old and beaten tracks, that every effort to extend its usefiilness by experiment, was deemed visionary, and therefore discounte nanced. It was in the United States that the infant Hercules found a congenial atmosphere, and imbibed that vigor which has since character ised his labors and his triumphs. And it is a fact, not unworthy o f our notice, that, although the project o f applying steam to navigation in this country depended, unfortunately for its success, upon expensive experiments, which its authors w ere unable to continue or improve, yet that that project originated with the earliest impulses o f republican freedom, as though there had been some mysterious connection between those two great agents, which was to give them a united influence on the future destinies o f man. T here is a singular coincidence in regard to the time when the two rival claimants o f the invention first turned their attention to it. It was in 1785, that John Fitch, a watchmaker o f Philadelphia, first conceived the design o f a steamboat. It was also in the same year that James Rumsey, o f V ir ginia, was contemplating a similar experiment, as appears by a letter o f General W ashington to him, o f the 5th March, 1785, wishing success to his plan. Rum sey’ s experiment was made in 1787, on the Potomac. Fitch made his on the D elaware, in 1788, and succeeded in propelling his boat for a short distance, at the rate o f eight miles an hour. T h e only end gained by these experiments, was the proof they furnished o f the practi cability o f the project. T h ey were a little too far in advance o f the con dition o f the country, exhausted as it then was, to be followed up by any systematic or permanent improvement. But they remained as hints for the future direction o f some more fortunate adventui'er. T here is a touching interest in the subsequent history o f John Fitch. His enterprise had involved him in d e b t; but with poverty, his ardor felt no abatement. Congress had rejected his application for assistance; he was without the support o f friends, and yielding, at length, to despondency, he withdrew to the W est. Even there, his genius found consolation in the prediction, that in less than a century, all the great western rivers would be covered with steamboats ; and so possessed was he with that thought, that his last request was “ to be buried on the banks o f the Ohio, that the music o f the steam-engine might soothe his spirit.” Poor F itc h ! let all the sympathies due to unrequited genius hover over that grave. I f it he solitary, let it be cheered by the pilgrim feet o f him that honors obscure merit, and can breathe a sigh over its last resting-place. I f it he silent, let nature mingle her sweetest harmonies with those sounds which respond to the last earthly hope o f his departing spirit. One o f those who witnessed the experiment on the Delaware, was the celebrated Brissot, then travelling through the United States, who men tions that it was met by the sarcasm and raillery o f the Americans ; and expresses his indignation that they should have so discouraged the gene rous efforts o f one o f their fellow-citizens. H e considered it an all-impor tant project in a country abounding in rivers, and where labor, o f all kinds, was so dear. Afterwards, and before the publication o f his volume o f The Moral Influence o f Steam. 505 travels, he met M r. Rumsey in London, who, nowise daunted by the diffi culties he had experienced, or had yet to encounter, proposed building a steam vessel which should cross the Atlantic in fifteen days. Fifty years elapsed before the magnificent project was realized. But a conception so bold and so novel for the period in which it was made, shows the prophet ic energies o f genius. W hen Fulton, at a subsequent period, availing himself o f intermediate improvements, proposed the navigation o f the Hud son by steam, it was doubted whether the success o f the project would justify the expense which it necessarily involved. M any thought that the travelling was not sufficient to maintain it. Its practicability was at least doubtful to many, and by all it was deemed visionary and chim erical. But every obstacle vanished before the unconquerable vigor and enterprise o f the proprietor ; and now, within a period o f thirty-nine years, steam naviga tion has furnished so many facilities for travelling, that, so far from realiz ing the objections anticipated, it can scarcely accommodate the living mass that is constantly moving up and down that great thoroughfare o f the state. In that brief period, also, not only the waters o f the Hudson, but o f every great river in the United States, are navigated by steam. T h e ocean is traversed by it, without regard to winds or currents, and every part o f the civilized world is made to acknowledge its advantages. So great, indeed, is the power o f the steam-engine, and so far has it trans cended the limits and objects contemplated by its early advocates and promoters, that we, with all its results so fully displayed to our senses, and so fully brought home to our observation and experience, we cannot con ceive the uncontrollable influence it is destined to exercise, or realize the yet unmeasured diversification o f its usefulness. It had long been a de sideratum with philosophers and mechanics, so to regulate and control the elastic force o f steam, as to make it practically useful. This object being attained, improvement succeeded improvement, and its powers becam e so obvious, and so manifestly obedient to the ingenuity o f man, that it is now universally employed as the great motive agent in machinery, triumphing over time and space, outstripping the winds in speed, annihilating every obstacle by sea or land, and almost defying the organic influences which regulate the surface o f our globe. N or is it only over matter that it exer cises this con trol; for so wonderfully does it relieve the necessity o f phys ical exertion, that it seems destined, in its future action and developments, to disturb the moral econom y o f the world, by opposing that great law o f the universe, which makes labor the portion o f man, and condemns him to earn his bread by the sweat o f his brow . Listen to the following statement: “ It has been calculated that two hundred men, with machinery moved by steam, now manufacture as much cotton as would require twenty mil lions o f persons without machines ; that is. one man, by the application o f inorganic motive agents, can now produce the same amount o f work that formerly required one hundred thousand men. T h e annual product o f ma chinery in Great Britain, a mere spot on the earth, would inquire the physical energies o f one-half the inhabitants o f the globe, or four hundred millions o f men. And the various applications o f steam, in different parts o f the world, now produce an amount o f useful labor which, i f performed by manual strength, would require the incessant exertions o f every human being.” W hen, in addition to such astounding facts as these, it is remembered I \ 506 The Moral Influence o f Steam. that the system o f improvement is still going on, and that experiments are now in progress for applying steam to agriculture, can any speculation on its results be thought extravagant or absurd 1 The annals o f science fur nish no instance o f such rapid improvements, and such wide-spreading in fluence, in any one human discovery. W hat the lens was to astronomy, the invention o f printing to the circulation o f knowledge, or the compass to navigation, were comparatively tardy in relation to steam, which cannot b e better represented in its developments, thaff by the accelerated action it gives to everything to which it is applied*. Other discoveries o f science may have displayed greater depth o f search, more comparative investiga tion, or profounder analytic knowledge, but the application o f steam, as a motive agent, is one o f the greatest triumphs o f human ingenuity. And yet, it is wonderful that an element so simple in itself, and so familiar, even to common household observation, as the expansive power o f water, should not have been earlier applied to practical use. For, after all, it seems to b'e rather the effect o f the discovery than the discovery itself, that so widely distinguishes it from all others. It is w ell known that the ancients w ere acquainted with the elastic pow er o f steam. It required no scientific research to discover that boiling water evolved a dilateable, eruptive vapor, any effort to control or over com e which, would prove that it was irresistible, and must have vent in explosion. This fearful result, so long as they w ere ignorant o f the man ner o f regulating that vapor and graduating its force, may have deterred them from making any practical use o f the hint thus furnished by nature. It is said that the sound produced by the vocal statue o f Memnon, at T h ebes, was either from steam generated at its base, or from the expan sion o f air heated within by the rays o f the morning sun. It has been said that, among the artful practices o f the Delphian oracle, steam was resorted to, and that the vapors which surrounded the Pythian upon her tripod, w ere evolved from vessels beneath, and also that steam was often enlisted to aid the juggling arts o f the heathen priesthood. T h e Romans used it in their baths. W e have the authority o f travellers for saying that, in the splendid Therm ® o f Caracalla, there w ere halls, not only for tepid and warm, but also for steam baths. A n instrument w as in use amongst the Romans, w hich has been called the germ o f the steam-engine. It was a round vessel o f metal that would bear heat. It w as hollow, with a small aperture in it, and, when filled with water, and placed on the fire, the steam was ejected with great violence. It was used as a bellows for blowing fires, and also for other purposes. It is said that Vitruvius gives a particular account o f them. These appear to comprehend the whole amount o f knowledge and prac tice for a long course o f tim e ; scarcely, in themselves, o f sufficient im portance to be mentioned, except as being the basis o f the improvements o f after ages. A s far as w e know, steam was never employed for any more useful purpose than raising water. T h e cylinder, the piston, expan sion and condensation, w ere the great triumphs o f modern philosophy ; and these appear to have been the results o f successive experiments, made at different times, by different individuals. But by whom discovered or by whom adapted, so numerous is the list o f rival names, and so w ell sus tained are the several claims for the distinction, that it would be foreign to the particular objects o f this paper to inquire ; not but that it would be interesting to trace to its source this stream, whose channels extend over The Moral In fluence o f Steam. 507 the habitable globe. In the thirteenth century, R oger Bacon, it is said, ■was acquainted with steam as a moving power. In the fifteenth century, a naval officer o f Spain, in the harbor o f Barcelona, propelled a vessel o f two hundred tons, by steam. A n Italian o f the same period, named C ar dan, showed that he w as acquainted with the vacuum occasioned by con densation o f steam. T h e seventeenth century was distinguished by many successful experiments, particularly in the acknowledged improvements o f the Marquis o f W orcester, who, in 1663, published an account o f them in his famous book called “ the Century o f Inventions.” W e read also o f Sir Samuel Moreland, who, in 1683, gave very accurate calculations on the force o f steam. In 1698, Thom as Savary obtained a patent for a new invention for raising water, and occasioning motion to all sorts o f millwork, the great object to which so much experimental ingenuity had been so long unsuccessfully devoted. One o f the London quarterlies, speaking o f him, says that he brought it to such a degree o f perfection, as to stamp it the most precious gift which man ever bequeathed to his race. The impulse o f improvement was continued throughout the following century, in the successive labors and discoveries o f Papin, New com er, Smeaton, Boulton, and, lastly, o f James Watt, whose discoveries and improvements form quite an era in the history o f the steam-engine. H is knowledge o f the physical principles on which its operations depended, and his mechani cal arrangements, in all their details, developed its powers, and fully ac complished the great object for which he was striving. D ow n to the be ginning o f the nineteenth century, steam-engines w ere chiefly, i f not alto gether, used for hydraulic purposes— for raising water and draining mines — and w ere not employed as a moving power in machinery and naviga tion. And here we might express astonishment that a discovery whose improvements involved such elaborate research, and had been gradually advancing through a recorded series o f five centuries, with experiment upon experiment, and toil upon toil, and capable o f the wonderful agency it now develops, should, at the end o f that time, have gained no greater ascendancy, nor have exercised a more beneficial influence on the inte rests upon which it was calculated to operate. Mr. Emmett, in his great argument for Mr. Fulton, in the case o f Gibbons against Ogden, speaking o f steam, says that “ Genius had contended with its inherent difficulties for generations before, and i f some had nearly reached, or even touched the goal, they sank exhausted, and the result o f their efforts perished in reality, and almost in name.” Dr. Miller, in his retrospect, in the chap ter on m echanical philosophy, and particularly under the head o f motion and moving forces, does not advert to the steam-engine ; but speaks o f it, incidentally, under the head o f pneumatics, and informs us o f the application o f steam to “ cookery, and the propelling o f vessels in the water, with promising success.” Even at the beginning o f the nineteenth century, the highest hopes and anticipations o f its friends w ere shadowed with doubt and difficulty. It is true that Fitch, as w e have already stated, did prophecy that steamboats, in less than a century, would cover our western waters. It is true that D r. Darwin, fifty years ago, uttered the celebrated prediction— “ Soon shall thy arm, unconquered steam, afar Drive the slow barge, or drag the rapid car,” and Fulton foretold that the time would come when the Mississippi would be' wholly navigated with steamboats. W e are here reminded o f a singu # 508 The Moral Influence o f Steam. lar fact mentioned by Alison, in his history o f Europe, which, as he says, “ demonstrates how little the clearest intellect can anticipate the ultimate result o f the discoveries which are destined to effect the greatest changes in human affairs.” W h en the French were making arrangements for the invasion o f England, in 1801, an obscure individual, (w ho was no other than Robert Fulton,) presented him self to the First Consul, and offered to transport his armies across the channel, in spite o f the enemy’ s fleets, and without the fear o f tempests or the need o f winds. T h e plans and details w ere received by Napoleon, and referrsd to a commission o f the most learned men in France, who reported that it was visionary and impracti cable. “ And such,” says Alison, “ was the reception w hich steam navi gation met at the hands o f philosophy; such the first success o f the great est discovery o f modern times.” A s late as the summer o f 1806, steam had never been used in the United States for navigation, excepting by w ay o f experiment. Mr. Ful ton’ s boat was not launched till the spring o f 1807. The difficulties he had to encounter, and the prejudices he overcame, together with the sacri fice o f his life to the object he had so enthusiastically undertaken, are now all matters o f history, and will be remembered with the respect due to so great a benefactor o f his country. W e w ill only, therefore, briefly con sider them in their results. But here w e may observe that it is not to be supposed that i f the application o f steam to navigation, so successfully ac complished by Fulton, had not been made in Am erica, at the precise time it was, that it would not have been done in Great Britain. T h e time, la bor, and money expended in bringing the machine to perfection in that country, demanded so triumphant a result. W e are informed that a Mr. Miller, o f Scotland, in 1787, made the most satisfactory experiment on the Forth and Clyde canal, satisfying him self and others o f the entire practi cability o f the steamboat. But it was laid by, and nothing more resulted from it than the assertion o f his claim to priority, made by his son, in 1824, long after the benefits o f steam navigation had becom e manifest to the world. I f the Americans are entitled to the distinction o f first bringing steam to bear upon navigation for any useful and practical purpose, it may be accounted for in the fact that our continent is one o f lakes and rivers, and also presents a greater extent o f coast than belongs to any one nation in the world ; and that these are the great highways and channels through w hich our com m ercial prosperity is to be promoted and established. The United States had few or no resources for manufactories, and i f steam w as to be made useful on a great scale, it could only be so for purposes o f internal trade and intercourse. H ad the geographical position o f Great Britain been similar to ours, steamboats would, no doubt, have abounded in her rivers long before they were brought into use in the United States. But the ingenuity o f her ar tificers and mechanics was directed to other objects. She was essentially a manufacturing country, and, therefore, to save labor, and facilitate its ope rations, was their primary aim in the application o f steam. All that the United States wanted, was confidence in the practicability o f steam navi gation. Nature had already established and smoothed the roads. The vehicle only was w anting; and,R obert Fulton constructed that vehicle. A t the success o f his efforts, every doubt and mistrust vanished, as the mists o f morning before the rising sun. N or is this similitude inapt in other respects ; for a new and glorious light then dawned upon the pros The Moral Influence o f Steam. 509 pects o f our country, cheering the hopes o f industry, kindling the ardor o f enterprise, and destined, in its highest e le c tio n , not only to multiply bless ings on our land, but to shed a kindly influence over the whole human family, uniting them in interest and brotherly feeling, and, above all, in the knowledge o f truth. Fulton has been charged with want o f originality. Indeed, the pro gressive history o f steam proves that he could not have been an inventor. But his practical application o f it to the circumstances o f our country, showed a profound and comprehensive knowledge o f her best interests, and an energy and enthusiasm fully corresponding with the great object o f his exertions. Without the steamboat, ages might have passed without such a development o f her resources as is now exhibited. T h e enterprise and industry o f the W est would have been unrewarded ; the progress o f civilization would have been slow ; the trees o f the forest would have still overshadowed the sites o f flourishing villages ; silence and solitude would have prevailed, where now the busy hum o f men resounds, and the inheri tance o f the hardy pioneer would have been ignorance and barbarism. Before the introduction o f steam on the Hudson, the tediousness o f a voyage to Albany was proverbial. Alexander Hamilton had written one or two o f his most elaborate papers for the Federalist on board o f a North river slo o p ; whereas, the passage is now so rapid that it would hurry the recitation o f an improvisatore. T h e writer o f this remembers, with great interest, the contrast exhibited to his own personal observation in the interval between 1806 and 1816. At the former period, steam navigation was known only to be derided as chimerical and unfeasible. At the latter, we not only traversed the river and sound by steam, but beheld, at the navy-yard in N ew York, a stately frigate, which gave at least to our g ov ernment the credit o f first employing steam for defence. W e w ill now leave the Hudson to the flow o f its waters and its pros perity, and accompany Mr. Fulton to the Ohio, where he launched the first western steamboat at Pittsburgh, in 1811. In that keel, he laid the foun dation o f a prosperity whose rapid increase, and diffusive extent, are unex ampled in the history o f man. A voyage from Pittsburgh to N ew Orleans, which then occupied, with great toil and difficulty, a period o f four months, was about to be accomplished in ten or fifteen days, with the certainty o f a return against a current o f two thousand miles. A tide o f population flowed westward without effort, and agriculture threw a mantle o f gladness over the wilderness, changing its w hole aspect, and converting it into the happy abodes o f men. So rapid was the increase o f steam, that, from the year 1814 to 1835, w e are told, upon the best authority, that five hundred and eighty-eight steamboats were built; and that, in January, 1841, there were four hundred and thirty-seven navigating the western and southwes tern waters. At this time there are upwards o f fifteen hundred ; and, from a recent statement, it appears that the steam tonnage on the western w a ters is 145,311 registered, whilst our lake steam tonnage is 24,486. But the growth o f steam navigation defies all statistical accuracy. W e now behold’ it spreading, not only through the United States, but over the whole world, “ nobilitate viget.” It has been even introduced on the T iber, stemming the current o f that venerable stream, and proceeding to the very walls o f Rom e, as if to offer the homage o f modern genius and enterprise at the shrine o f her ancient greatness. And this brings us to that view o f the subject which converts the steamboat into the steamship, and transfers 510 The Moral Influence o f Steam. the scene o f her operations from the river and the lake to the boundless ocean. I f steam navigation had its origin in the United States, and even i f one o f its citizens was the first to venture successfully on the ocean, still the honor o f Atlantic steam navigation is due to Great Britain. H er wealth, her skill in mechanics, her indomitable enterprise, and, above all, her naval experience, entitle her to the proud distinction, and she has maintained her claim with a continued perseverance, in the benefits o f which our country has largely participated; and, whilst the interests o f commerce are conducted in their ordinary course, all that relates to the communica tion o f intelligence, to the spread o f literature, and to the certainty and convenience o f travelling, are greatly facilitated by steam. I f it is the glorious and gigantic tendency o f steam navigation, to bring nations together, to dispel the difficulties and prejudices arising from differ ence o f laws, language, and climate, what shall w e say o f that system o f internal intercourse which is now spreading itself universally, uniting the remotest parts o f the same country, promoting commercial and personal interchange, and speeding the communication o f sentiments, with a velocity that seems to retain the very warmth o f the breath that uttered them. Ifj as has been beautifully said in relation to the steamship, the sceptre w hich it wields over the deep is but a bucket-full o f its own waters, whose elastic breath defies tide and tempest, by what image can w e portray the locomotive, swift “ as the sightless coursers o f the air,” yet depending for its triumphs on the little fount by the way-side, over which the w eary and languid traveller may have often lingered for rest and refreshment. As Great Britain first adapted steam to the railroad, she was entitled to the first great exhibition o f its powers. And this w as realized in the L iv er pool and Manchester railroad, w hich w as com m enced in June, 1826, and completed in September, 1830, at the estimated cost o f £ 8 2 0 ,0 0 0 . D r. Lardner, speaking o f its first experiments, mentions that they burst on the public, and even on the scientific world, with all the effect o f a new and unlooked-for phenomenon. A passage, whose average length by former conveyances had been thirty-six hours, was reduced by the railroad to two and a h a lf; and the same writer mentions that he had seen a load o f two hundred and thirty tons, gross, transported at the rate o f twelve miles an hour. So great an example w as not lost upon our country, nor upon the citi zens o f our own state, a company o f whom obtained a charter in January, 1828, for a railroad between Hamburg and Charleston, for which the first piles w ere driven in January, 1830. On this road, the first locomotive* in the United States was tried ; and w e may say, with pride, that it was the first road upon which one hundred miles in continuance was ever trav elled by steam, and the first on which the mail was transported, in the Union. T o say more o f railroads, which are now extending themselves like a net-work, all over the United States, would be only repeating what is known to every one. Fifty years ago, w e might as w ell have predicted that the compass would change its cardinal points, as that the city o f N ew York, instead o f looking to the Narrows for the latest intelligence from England, would find it brought to her through the Hudson, as did actually once occur, upon the arrival o f the steamship Britannia, at Boston ; al though it is now invariably expedited by steam. * She was called the “ Best F r i e n d t r i e d first in December, 1830 ; burst her boiler in Jane, 1831. The Moral Influence o f Steam. 511 The transportation o f the mail having been incidentally mentioned, it is impossible, in this view o f the subject, to over-estimate the importance o f steam. T o the United States, with an almost illimitable extent o f territory, and comprehending in their mail arrangements upwards o f fourteen thou sand post-offices, its advantages are perfectly incalculable. Without it* aid in expediting intelligence, in the present commercial state o f the world, the intercourse o f business would always be in arrear o f its exigencies. A century ago, Philadelphia was the great centre o f radiation. T h e w es tern mail, which set out every Friday morning, arrived at N ew Y ork on Sunday night. On Monday morning, it proceeded eastward, and arrived at Saybrook, Connecticut, on Thursday noon, where it was met by the Boston mail, w hich returned with the eastern letters, making the distance in time, between Boston and Philadelphia, nearly a fortnight. In addition, we might state the fact o f having read a letter written in Philadelphia, on the 22d June, 1775, mentioning the intelligence “ ju st r e c e i v e d o f “ a battle begun at Boston. ” N ow the battle o f Bunker’ s H ill was fought on the 16th ; so that important intelligence, no doubt accelerated by despatch, did not reach Congress for six days. On this subject, facts are arguments ; and the best commentary can be supplied by our daily experience. Am ong the speculations w e have met with on the subject o f steam, was one ex pressing wonder that so important a discovery should have so long re mained dormant and unavailable, and that so great a blessing should have been so long withheld. T o which it may be replied, that the rational endowments o f man have been always the same. T h e same elements o f improvement that now exist, have always been within the reach o f enter prise and research. H e has always been impelled by the same wants, and capable o f the same enjoyments, that he now is ; and it is his fault or his misfortune, not to have applied his energies with more success to those pursuits and inquiries which might have wrought out o f these elements all that they w ere capable o f producing for the supply o f those wants, or the gratification o f those pleasures. Again, Providence, in its wisdom, may have reserved this potent moral engine until every material was ready for its efficient operation— until men w ere prepared for it by the ameliorating and benign influence o f Christianity— until, by means o f the press, the seeds o f truth and knowledge w ere sown in every land, and the discove ries o f science, and the improvements o f art and industry, should make it available for his All-w ise and beneficent purposes. N ow , what was the condition o f the world when it first became sensible o f the efficacy o f steam as the great agent o f navigation and locomotion 1 All the visions and hopes o f science w ere about to be realized. Chemistry, electricity, galvanism, pneumatics, indeed, every branch o f philosophy, were made to bear upon practical objects. Utility was the great desideratum o f know ledge ; nothing visionary or speculative, could become popular. N aviga tion was robbed o f every danger and difficulty but that o f the storm and the tempest. But yet something was wanting, w hich neither the compass nor calculation could supply. W inds w ere fickle, and currents inexorable. I f th er» be an invention o f man that can exhibit, more than any other, the control o f mind over mere elemental nature, it is a skilfully managed ship. But a ship could not always calculate on that unfailing regularity, so ne cessary to the success o f com m erce. The moral and political condition o f society was also favorable for the prevailing use o f steam. Europe was just recovering from a long protracted and desolating war. N ew hopes I 512 The Moral Influence o f Steam. w ere dawning upon h e r ; the auspices o f peace w ere ch eerin g; industry and enterprise sought new channels o f em ploym ent; manufactures were to he established, and agriculture and com m erce revived. T h e situation o f Great Britain, in whose manufacturing and commercial prosperity the whole world has an interest, was also peculiarly favorable to the operations o f steam, as w ill be shown by a brief statement o f facts. In 1790, the first steam-engine was used in Manchester. In 1824, more than two hundred w ere at work, and nearly thirty thousand power-looms. In 1784, eight bags o f cotton w ere seized by the custom-house officers out o f an Am erican vessel arriving at Liverpool, under the conviction that they could not be the growth o f Am erica. In 1824, there were imported into Liverpool four hundred and nine thousand six hundred and seventy bags o f cotton ; and in 1845, fourteen hundred and thirty-seven thousand, from the United States alone. T h e United States, also, recovering from the effects o f a recent war, found herself in the possession o f incalculable resources, w hich w ere, comparatively, unavailable to her. H er lands were fertile, her population growing and industrious. But the length o f her great rivers and the strength o f their currents, denied to the agriculturist and the merchant the benefit o f a reciprocal trade. The boats that went down the Mississippi could not return, but w ere broke up, and sold for what their materials would bring in N ew Orleans. T hen, again, our confederacy em braced every variety o f soil, climate, ■and habit. .Indeed, its basis was a concession o f conflicting interests and prejudices. M any o f its members w ere so widely separated from each other, as to be strangers to friendly or social intercourse. T o harmonize such discordant elements, and to produce a union o f sentiment at all analogous to the political union they possessed, w as scarcely within the reach o f legislation. Something was wanting to give a practical effect to the prominent theory o f our government. T h e philanthropist regarded it as the last experiment o f rational freedom, and trembled for the result. But an agent was at hand to bring everything into harmonious co-opera tion, to vanquish every obstacle, to crow n all enterprise, to subdue preju dice, and to unite every part o f our land in rapid and friendly communica tion ; and that was steam. Itself the parent o f other, and, perhaps, more important discoveries, it has promoted a spirit o f practical investigation, as wide as the field that invites it. T here are features in the magnetic tele graph that cannot belie its kindred. It is the eldest born o f a great family w hich shall spring up to bless future generations. I f the discovery o f the electric fluid was immortalized by the line “ Eripuit fu lm en ccelo,” what tribute can genius pay to that application o f it by w hich thought can be conveyed to any given point, and replied to, with greater speed, (as has been actually ascertained,) than that o f the earth in moving round its axis ? W e have already seen a calculation o f the effect o f steam in abridging human labor. W h en w e reflect how recently it has been brought into general use, and hear o f its rapid progress and new modes o f application, facts w hich mingle in the news o f every day, the inquiry naturally occurs, what is to be its ultimate influence on the moral condition o f man 1 • Is he to be altogether relieved from the necessity o f corporeal exertion, and to be permitted to enjoy the blessings o f life without the price o f labor ? Is he to lose those pleasures o f w hich industry is the source, and to be a stranger to rest because he has never borne a burthen ? W ill he be in sured against the cravings o f idleness, the languor o f repose and apathy, The Moral Influence o f Steam. 518 in short, w ill he be happier for “ the golden secret, the sought ‘ kalon' found I” But the reply is, that he w ill then have time for the cultivation and advancement o f the higher qualities o f his nature ; that industry will have an exalted aim, that the mind and the heart w ill be the field o f its operations ; that he w ho now tills the earth or delves the mine, w ill labor only for the improvement o f those faculties w hich he has in common with the most intelligent o f his race ; and that, as he w as created in the full maturity o f his moral powers, he w ill be again restored to the perfection o f his nature. But such speculations (for speculations they are, and visionary, too,) would lead us into a maze o f difficulty. Let us then pass to such views o f the subject as are o f more immediate and tangible interest. 1st. T h e abridgment o f human labor to the extent w e have seen, has certainly had the most disastrous effects in manufacturing countries. It has overthrown one o f the great barriers against licentiousness, w hich is employment. It has strengthened the line o f separation between the higher and low er classes o f society ; it has increased political discontent; it has weakened attachment to country, and forced the unhappy sufferers to ex patriation, as their only refuge. Again, the accelerated action w hich steam gives to com m erce, appears to have imparted a feverish and unhealthy ra pidity to all its operations, and to have produced a restlessness unfavorable to the ordinary habits o f business, and the staid maxims o f prudence and reflection. Speculation, hazardous adventure, fictitious and borrowed capi ta], all take place o f that old-fashioned plain dealing w hich once looked to a fortune as the reward o f a life o f thrift and regularity. M ay w e not at tribute much o f that moral delinquency, which, o f late years, has been so rife in our country, to that eagerness after gain which, looking only at its object, becom es indifferent to the means o f attaining it ? Another objection, too much underrated, is the destruction o f life and property occasioned by steam ; an objection to w hich the navigation o f the Am erican waters has been peculiarly exposed. T here is scarce a river or sound, or, indeed, any part o f our extensive coast, that has not been the scene o f fatal disaster. T h e frequency o f its occurrence, has not only at tracted the notice o f foreign journals, but has been made the subject o f particular investigation by our governm ent; whose conclusion w as, that no legislation is competent to remove the evil. And i f its occurrence has been less frequent o f late, it has been ow ing to the strong expression o f indignation at the unskilfulness and recklessness from w hich it too often proceeded. These are, certainly, deplorable evils. But what great revolution was ever unaccompanied by evil ? E very sudden change in the policy and con dition o f society, must be convulsive ; and when w e reflect that it is not upon one or two nations, only, but upon the whole civilized world, that this change is now in progress ; when w e see industry diverted from its ancient channels by a n ew and unexpected a g en t; when w e see the productive ness o f time multiplied fifty fold, and the impediments o f distance vanish ing, and its limits contracted to a span before this formidable and triumph ant e n g in e ; when w e see it spreading civilization to the remotest cor ners o f the earth, transplanting and naturalizing the literature o f one coun try into another, and replenishing the garners o f one people with the har vest o f another’ s intellectual labors ; indeed, w hen w e regard the whole framework o f society through a medium that magnifies its proportions to so gigantic a scale, can w e be so far intoxicated with the prospect, as to von . x iv .— n o . v i. 33 514 The M oral Influence o f Steam. forget the frailty o f human nature, and to expect neither moral nor physi cal evil from the operation o f causes capable o f producing such incalcula ble results ? T h e only fear is, that such a flood o f prosperity w ill over spread the face o f the earth, as to endanger the landmarks o f wisdom and fortitude, and to bear down the feeble resistance o f prudence and economy. Indeed, when w e connect the w hole subject with the future prospects and destiny o f men and o f nations, w hen w e think o f the mighty revolutions to be accomplished in the moral and physical relations o f society, o f the change to be wrought throughout the world by this all-subduing agent, the mind is overwhelmed and lost, as i f in the contemplation o f endless time, or immeasurable space. W e have now viewed it as the consummation o f all that could be as pired to by human skill and energy, practical in its operations, but creating an element for intellectual and moral enterprise. We have seen it boldly assailing the great engine o f tyranny, by imparting knowledge wherever its influence extends, changing the econom y o f nations by new modes o f industry, and substituting a different standard o f elevation and prosperity from that o f mere toil and drudgery. W e have seen it, regardless o f op position, making for itself a pathway through the ocean, with lightning speed. It has been presented to us as the great pacificator o f nations, brightening the auspices o f harmony and friendship, and strengthening their mutual prosperity by a common basis. And can the imagination conceive its future influence upon this continent, with its mighty population, governed by the same laws, and speaking the same language. W herever steam, vanquishing the currents o f its longest rivers, and bringing its re motest limits into contiguity, compassing every part o f it, and opening up every spring o f prosperity, calling mind everywhere into competition, hur rying on the progress o f intellect, assimilating the people in sentiment and habit, ought w e not to glory in the privilege o f being in the very midst o f an influence so potent and pervading, and, withal, so benign ; o f being our selves its subjects, seeing, hearing, and feeling it at every turn ? And shali w e be wanting in gratitude to the G iver o f all good for bestow ing on our generation what has been withheld from all that have preceded it, and make no effort to becom e worthy o f so signal a distinction ? Let it be re membered that steam, expansive as it is, and capable o f such wonderful effects, is but the vapor o f a simple element discovered and applied by the ingenuity o f man, and, therefore, obedient to the control o f his will. H is is the responsibility for its abuse as an agent, a responsibility which would be aggravated in proportion to his knowledge o f the happy results it is ca pable o f producing. I f the steam-ship, as w e have been endeavoring to show, is emphati cally the offspring o f peace, and, above all other human contrivances, ca l culated to spread the tidings o f good-w ill amongst men, and to make them— “ Live brother-like, in amity combined, A nd unsuspicious faith,” how ought the philanthropist to grieve at finding it converted into an engine o f offensive war, calculated to aggravate its horrors, and to make it more sanguinary and desolating ! But far be the day when steam shall be used as an engine o f destruction— when that which has hitherto been the har binger o f peace, shall be converted into a weapon to enforce the law o f violence. Have all the hopes o f the patriot been but an airy vision, seen only to be dissipated ? A re the calculations o f philosophy to end in disap The City o f Troy, New York, etc. 515 pointment ? Is society to witness the sudden termination o f those impulses which have been advancing its best interests ? I f that beautiful moral fabric w hich is rising in grandeur before an admiring world, should be assailed by its ow n architect, its ornaments mutilated, and its proportions destroyed, w here,'ever, can be found the master-hand to restore it 1 Art. II.— THE CITY OF TROY, NEW YORK: IT S CO M M E R C E , M A N U F A C T U R E S, A N D RESO URCES. T h e city o f T roy is situated upon the easterly bank o f the Hudson river, one hundred and fifty miles above the city o f N ew York, and at the head o f the natural navigation o f the river. Sixty years ago, the plat upon w hich the city now stands, comprised three estates, owned by three broth ers, and occupied as farms. W h ere now the varied monuments o f wealth and art display their imposing forms, for the distance o f a mile and a half along the river, nothing then w as seen but the grazing o f the herds, the quiet labors o f the husbandman, or the barren plain, deemed o f too little value to deserve enclosure. In 1786, the village o f T roy was first sur veyed into building lots. T h e original proprietors, with a foresight highly creditable, laid it out with a view o f its becom ing a place o f considerable magnitude. T h e city o f Philadelphia, with its regular squares and streets, was adopted, so far as the curvatures o f the river and the surface o f the ground would permit, as the model. A shley’ s ferry, as it had previously been called, had, for some time, been looked to, by sagacious men, as the true location for a place o f business. V ery soon the erection o f houses and stores, and the building o f wharves and vessels, gave an impulse to the new village. Lansingburgh, situated three miles farther up the river, w as then in its vigor. Most unfortunately for that place, after years o f prosperity, it began to be apparent that it was located above the natural navigation o f the river, and that a continuance o f navigation so high, could only be insured by expensive artificial aids. A considerable number o f the most enterprising citizens o f that village, appreciating the superior local advantages o f T roy, soon after removed hither, and thus added to the resources o f the eastern immigrants already here, a valuable and important part o f the capital and influence o f the former place. From this time, the new village progressed steadily in all the elements o f a firm and healthy growth. It was not incorporated as a village until 1801. In 1816, the legisla ture granted it a city charter, with the usual powers and privileges o f such incorporations. In June, 1820, a dreadful conflagration laid in ashes from seventy to eighty stores and dwellings, in one o f the most important sections o f the city, and consumed large amounts o f merchandise and other property, de stroying the value o f hundreds o f thousands o f dollars. Notwithstanding this heavy and sudden calamity, no diminution o f the advancement and prosperity o f the city was discoverable. T h e chasm caused by the fire was, in an inconceivably short time, filled up with buildings more valuable and substantial than before, thus giving a severe but certain evidence o f the solidity o f its growth. Indeed, it is quite certain that this dispensation was, ultimately, no disadvantage to the city. It tried and developed its re 516 The City o f Troy, New York : sources, and proved them adequate to the fearful exigency. It taught the frailty o f the tenure o f human possessions. It excited to caution, prudence, industry and frugality. T h e confidence inspired at home and abroad, the savings accumulated, and the greater security in the mode o f building in duced, have, long ago, more than indemnified for all the losses. T h e year 1825 was rendered memorable by the completion o f the Erie and Champlain Canals, uniting the immense western inland seas, and the waters o f the Champlain, with the tide waters o f the Hudson. T h e north ern trade— a trade w hich the Champlain Canal was designed to foster— had always been enjoyed by T roy. B y this beneficial improvement, that trade was not only greatly increased by quickened facilities, and new devel opments, but the markets o f the place were thrown open to the trade o f the immense regions o f the great W est, from w hich it had hitherto been al most excluded. T h e original design o f the legislature o f the state was fully executed when these canals w ere completed to this point. That brought them to the tide, w hich was all that had been undertaken or pro mised. H ad these improvements stopped here, it is impossible to say what advantages it might have given to T roy over other places in its vicinity. T h e wisdom and justice o f the legislature w ere never more clearly evinced than by continuing the Junction Canal to Albany. W h ile equal advantages w ere thus conferred on both cities, both w ere thrown on their ow n resources, in a course o f competition calculated to develop their ut most energies, and an effectual guard was set up against com m ercial m o nopoly. B y it, the benefits o f the two markets, under the constant influ en ce o f such a competition, was secured to the w hole people, north and west, having, or to have, com m ercial relations along the great channels o f intercommunication. That T roy has not failed to profit by the vast benefits o f these improve ments, is abundantly manifest b y the rapid increase o f its population, upon their completion, having more than doubled in the first ten years. It may safely be asserted that the growth o f its com m erce, during the same pe riod, w as in a ratio still greater, and that there w as an unprecedented ex tension and multiplication o f other pursuits. About the year 1835, the first railroad terminating in this city w as con structed, connecting it with Ballston Spa. Soon after, the common use o f the track o f the Schenectady and Saratoga railroad, from the latter place to Saratoga Springs, was fully and permanently secured b y the corporation ow ning the former road, virtually extending its railway to that village. Subsequently, the Schenectady and T roy, and the T roy and Greenbush railroads have been completed, with a heavy iron rail, in the most sub stantial manner, connecting T roy with the great line o f railways from the Hudson river to lake Erie, on the one hand, and on the other to Boston, N e w Haven, and Bridgeport, and furnishing the only continuous track b e tw een the E ast and the W est. A n extension o f the line from Saratoga Springs to Lake Champlain is now in progress, under a charter obtained som e years ago, with every promise o f completion, in 1847. W ithin a short time, a direct line o f railway from the city o f N ew Y ork, it may be predicted with confidence, w ill be completed, to connect with the track o f the T roy and Greenbush. H ere, again, between the South and the North, w ill be the only continuous track. It is worthy o f remark, that the T roy and Greenbush railway, o f only six miles in length, will, when the remaining portions o f the line from Its Commerce, Manufactures, and Resources. 517 N ew Y ork to Lake Champlain shall have been completed, be the central connecting link between the two great systems o f railroads through the Northern States, from the Atlantic to the great lakes, and from the South ern States to Canada. T h e several railroads terminating at this point, have been, agreeably to the policy o f our state, constructed, and are still owned, b y joint-stock companies, the stock o f which, with the exception o f a portion o f the Troy and Greenbush, has been taken and is held by the citizens and the corpo ration o f the city o f Troy. T h e amount invested in these improvements is about $1,500,000. In 18 35 -6, years so remarkable for speculations in “ paper cities” and “ corner lots,” fortunately but little influence was experienced from the prevailing mania here. A few, only, o f our citizens engaged in the wild enterprises o f the day, and but inconsiderable portions o f its territory b e came the subject o f speculation. T h e blight o f this desolating hurricane passed over the city very lightly. From 1837 to 1842, the severe revulsions in com m erce and currency with w hich our country was, from time to time, visited, pressed heavily upon T roy. N o period, since the elose o f the revolutionary war, has been distinguished by a monetary pressure so severe, and so destructive to the fortunes and the credit o f individuals, as this. A t different times, during this period, bankruptcy almost literally overwhelmed the w hole country. Although, in common with others, great losses w ere sustained by the de preciation o f property and the general depression o f business, yet but very few bankruptcies occurred, and the regular and constant growth o f the city is attested b y its continued increase o f population; an increase which, from 1835 to 1845, equalled 28 per cent. T h e gradual but constant increase o f population, from the earliest his tory o f the city, exhibiting one o f the essential elements o f its advance ment, w ill be seen, at a glance, by the following table :— In 1801, the number o f inhabitants w ere estimated a t............ In 1810, by the census o f that year, there w e re ................... .. 1820, “ “ “ ' 1825, “ “ “ 1830, “ “ “ 1835, “ “ “ 1840, “ “ “ 1845, “ “ “ 2,000 3,895 5,268 7,879 11,556 16,959 19,334 21,709 W h ile this increase has been going on in T roy, the village o f W est T roy, on the opposite bank o f the Hudson, has grow n up, chiefly since the completion o f the canals, and is now in the first class o f villages in the state. In 1835, that place contained over 3,000 inhabitants. 1840, “ “ “ 5,000 “ 1845, “ “ “ 7,000 “ F or all business purposes and objects, both the places are one. T h e staple com m ercial interest o f that village is the trade in lumber, carried on in connexion with the com m erce o f this city, and, to a considerable ex tent, by its citizens. Thus, for all these purposes and objects, w e have a population o f about thirty thousand souls. In 1801, the first bank— the Farmers’ — was chartered, with a capital o f 518 The City o f Troy, New York : $350,000, but a small part o f which was paid in, and located between T r o y and Lansingburg, for the accommodation o f both places. Within a few years, this bank was removed to T roy, and the number since has been increased to five, with a capital o f one and a h a lf millions o f dollars ; and even these are often found insufficient to furnish all the facilities o f this nature required by the business o f the place. Trade and navigation have ever been the leading objects o f pursuit by the citizens o f T roy. Formerly, but little regard, comparatively, was paid to the development o f other interests, for w hich such vast resources w ere known to exist, except the manufacture o f flour. A s years rolled on, the vessels owned here, and employed in the transit o f passengers and freight to and from N ew Y ork, becam e a numerous fleet. In 1833, the whole number was ascertained to be eighty-nine, and that the property freighted up anu down on the Hudson for T roy a c count, w as two hundred and thirty-two thousand tons. In 1834, the num ber o f vessels had risen to one hundred, o f w hich seven w ere steamers. Since that time, the number and capacity o f the river craft has steadily increased. In 1841, the w hole number owned above Albany, and em ployed on the river, was one hundred and nineteen ; viz : 86 masted vessels,.................................................................... 22 tow-boats,............................................................................ 7 steam towing boats,............................................................ 4 “ passenger “ ............................................................ 7,994 tons. 4,936 “ 2,460 “ 1,455 “ A dd foreign tonnage trading to T roy................................... 16,845 11,600 “ “ Making a total o f..................................................................... 28,535 “ In 1843, the number o f steamboats owned in T roy had increased to 14, having a tonnage o f 6,066 tons. T h e whole number o f steamboats, tow boats, and sailing vessels, trading to T roy by the river, foreign and do mestic, was 267 ; the tonnage 31,627 tons, and the freight transported, 292,500 tons. This w as exclusive o f canal-boats, w hich entered the Hudson, and w ere towed to and from N ew York, by T roy steamers. These w ere estimated this year at 350, with a tonnage o f 21,000 tons, m aking the total tonnage o f the year 52,627 tons. T here have been several additions, subsequently, to the river craft, but the precise amount the writer is unable to state. T h e comparative increase in the number o f vessels owned and em ployed here, or even in the tonnage, which, by the enlarged size o f vessels built in later years, shows a greater advance, gives no true index o f the increase o f navigation. T h e adoption o f boats towed by steam, for the transport o f freight, nearly double the capacity o f the same vessel by the saving o f time. T h e annual average number o f trips to and from N ew Y ork, is found to b e sixteen for sailing vessels, while that o f tow-boats is thirty. It is, therefore, quite certain the relative capacity has fully doubled within the last thirty years. T h e tonnage o f T roy now exceeds, and has, for many years, that o f any other town on the Hudson, except the city o f N ew Y ork, exclusive o f the vessels com ing from other towns and states, whose arrival and departure so often enliven our wharves. But the river navigation is only a part o f that with w hich w e are con nected. Added to it is the constant arrival and departure o f a vast num Its Commerce, Manufactures, and Resources. 519 ber o f boats employed in navigating the canals. By the returns from the canal collector’ s office in W est Troy, it appears that the number o f boats entered and cleared at that office, and passing into the river, or from it, at this place, in 1834, was 9,148. In 1843, the number entered and cleared through the old and the new side-cuts, was 15,347. In estimating the in crease o f the canal trade during this period, regard should also be had to the enlarged capacity o f boats o f more recent construction, an enlarge ment equalling 25 to 50 per cent. Public documents from the canal office, present the canal trade in seve ral other aspects, both interesting and instructive. In 1834, the property from the interior, entered at the collector’ s office at W est T roy, was 237,354 tons, and that cleared from the same office, for the interior, w as 50,472 tons. In 1843, the property arriving at tide waters, say Albany and T roy, was 836,861 tons, as given by the annual report o f the Canal Fund Commissioners. B y the same document, the tolls collected at A l bany was $274,495, and at W est Troy, $291,647. Adopting the propor tion between these two sums as the true proportion o f the number o f tons entered at each office, it gives 409,286 tons for Albany, and 427,575 for W est T roy. The property cleared this year from this place, was 101,728 tons. W e have then 427,575 tons entered this year, against 232,354 in 1834, and 101,728 tons, against 56,472 cleared. This comparison might be continued, but let it suffice to say that, in 1845, the property arriving at tide waters, was 1,204,943 tons. T h e tolls collected at Albany, $340,669, and at W est Troy, $386,914. B y the data above adopted, this gives 564,179 tons for Albany, and 640,764 for W est T roy. T h e value o f the property thus arriving in 1845, was $45,452,301. T h e tolls c o l lected this year, $340 ,6 69 at Albany, and $386,914 at W est T roy. By the same proportion, the property arriving at Albany was $21,281,683, and at W est Troy, $24,170,168. T h e value o f property sent up the ca nals this year, was $17,754,796, from Albany, and $24,503,692 from W est T roy. T his gives the total value o f the canal trade o f T roy for 1845, as follows : Property arrived at W est T r o y ,.................................... “ forwarded from “ $24,170,618 24,503,692 T ota l,...................................................... $48,674,310 It may be said a part o f this large value passes to and from the canal, direct to N e w Y ork, by canal-boats. This is true to a limited exten t; but it w ill be found that the great bulk o f it is either trans-shipped at T roy, or bought and sold in its market. T h e amount o f canal tolls collected in W est T roy, was, in 1834, 1836, 1838, 1840, 1842, 1844, 1845, $133 ,1 25 $160,248 $182,516 $186,947 $204,215 $321,532 $3 8 6 ,9 1 4 H ere, again, it should be remembered that the increase o f trade is not fully shown. T h e rate o f tolls has been, from time to time, reduced ; and since the first period, the reduction has equalled 30 per cent, or more. But though the canal trade is o f the first importance, it is, by no means, the w hole trade o f this market. That com ing b y railroad and land car riage, is large, and highly valuable. It was estimated by a committee o f judicious citizens, w ho made investigation some ten years ago, to have 520 The City o f Troy, New Y ork : doubled in four or five years. Though the growth o f this trade may have been obstructed in some points, by the diversion caused by n ew lines o f railway at the East and South, there has, doubtless, been a very consid erable increase in it. A t that time, it w as ascertained that within the ter ritory thus trading here, w ere 70 cotton factories, consuming 3,500,000 pounds o f cotton annually; 40 woollen factories, consuming 1,000,000 pounds o f wool, annually, besides various other manufactures, producing, in the aggregate, a large am ount; and, besides, the immense value o f the products o f grazing agriculture, furnished by the same district. It was, at the same time, ascertained that the product o f the different manufactures com ing to this market from three or four towns alone, in the vicinity, was more than h alf a million. T h e amount o f the direct com m erce o f this city, exclusive o f the trans shipments here, cannot be stated with certainty, but the estimate o f ano ther committee o f citizens in 1840, may be relied on as giving it with suf ficient accuracy at that time. T h ey reported the sales o f Merchandize, including coal, to b e..................................................................... W oo l, hides, and leather,....................................................................................... Lum ber,...................................................................................... $7,400,000 800,000 700,000 $8,900,000 T o which should be added the beef and pork packed at, and in the vicinity of T roy, 63,500 barrels, say,................................................ ......................... Wheat, manufactured and forwarded in bulk, 1,000,000 bushels,................ Other grains, the product o f the dairy, and other agricultural productions, not estimated, but may, with great safety, be stated at............................... 500,000 1,000,000 600,000 Showing a total o f................................................... $11,000,000 T h e increase since 1840, has carried it up, probably, at this time, to more than $12,000,000 annually. T h e various manufactures and mechanic arts carried on within the limits o f the city, have created an interest w hich already begins to vie with that o f com m erce in importance, and every advancing year, they must becom e, relatively, more and more important. That these interests are destined to becom e the essential elements o f our prosperity and stability, if, indeed, they are not already so, there can be no doubt. B y the development o f new and improved facilities o f intercourse, trade is always liable to change. It has a constant tendency to concentrate in the great marts o f the coun try. But the natural resources o f a place, required for manufacturing, cannot be removed. I f brought into use at all, it must be where nature has formed them. N o branch o f manufactures has had a more invigorating influence on the prosperity o f the city than that o f flour. T h e flouring mills owned and employed by our citizens in the year 1836, and located within the city and its immediate vicinity, w ere found to require 1,000,000 bushels o f wheat, annually, to keep them in constant operation. Since that period an active competition has arisen, by the erection and operation o f mills in the great wheat districts o f the west. Possessing, as they do, the advantage o f the cheaper freight o f the manufactured over the unmanufactured staple, they have served to check the increase o f this man ufacture, and, in some cases, to change the machinery o f some o f our flouring establishments to that o f factories for other purposes. But not withstanding this slight reaction, other kinds o f manufacturing have grown 521 Its Commerce, Manufactures, and Resources. up faster than flouring has declined, and at this moment the capital and labor employed, and amount produced, in this department o f business, is larger and more on the advance than it ever has been before. T h e necessary supplies o f the flouring mills invite to this market the staple production o f the largest and most valuable portion o f the great west, and thus secures a valuable trade with that region. Besides this, the fabrications o f iron, cotton and wool, the manufacture o f carriages, leather, cordage, steam-engines, machinery, paper, tallow-chandlery, burr, hats, shoes, furriery, & c ., including a long list o f minor productions, fur nishes employment and support to a large number o f citizens, and the profitable investment o f large amounts o f capital. T h e annual value o f these products o f our factories and workshops w as found, in 1836, to amount to §2,000,000. Referring to and correcting the census o f 1845, it appears there w ere then in operation in the city, and its vicinity, and owned by its citizens, nine flouring mills, three cotton factories, one woollen factory, five iron foundries, and one very large one in the course o f erection; two iron works for wrought iron, producing from 6,000 to 7,000 tons annually, and another in progress o f larger capacity than either o f those in operation ; two rope factories, one paper-mill, five tanneries, two breweries, three carriage factories, producing rail-cars, post-coaches, and family carriages, to a large amount, & c. & c. T o this might be added a long list o f other w ork-shops; but the detail would extend to too great length. W hat has been the increase in these productions within the last ten years, the writer cannot state with certainty, but does not hesitate to estimate the present amount at §3,000,000. In the abundance o f its water-power, Troy, and its vicinity stand unri valled. It is believed no other place in the Union can command so great an available supply. T h e large requisition already made upon it is but a mere trifle, compared to what remains unoccupied. It doubtless far ex ceeds the conceptions o f any o f our citizens w ho have not given especial attention to the subject. T h e estimates presented on this point are from the calculations o f Professors Eaton and Hall, o f the Rensselaer Institute, made public in 1834. T h e data for these calculations w ere obtained byactual admeasurements, taken in the month o f August in that year, during one o f the most severe droughts with which this section o f the country had been visited for many years. T h e result, therefore, may be considered the minimum amount in the most unpropitious seasons. T h e maximum, or even the ordinary average, must be much greater. T h e estimate is o f the power within the corporate bounds o f the city, and its immediate vicin ity— all so near and o f such location that T roy must always be the centre, and can, with proper diligence, always furnish the supplies and sell the pro ducts. T h e mill to which the <estimate is applicable, is the flouring mill o f four run o f stones, capable o f grinding four hundred bushels per day. T h e factory is the com m on cotton factory o f average capacity, and sup posed to require but half the power o f the mill. Mills. The waters o f the Hudson and the Mohawk, in the pond formed by the State dam, w ere found to furnish pow er sufficient for............................................................................. The south branch o f the M ohaw k,..................... . 50 4 Factories. 100 8 522 The City o f Troy, New York, etc. Mills. Factories. T h e M ohawk above the Hudson, to and including C o hoe’ s F alls,............................................................................... 196 T h e Porstimkill C reek ,.............................. 12 T h e W ynantskill C reek ,........................................................... 20 392 24 40 G iving the astonishing amount o f power, equal to opera tin g.............................................................................................. 282 564 And this estimate is not loosely made, but with due reference to head and full, upon exact mathematical principles. Its accuracy challenges unqualified belief. H ere, then, are physical resources that cannot be ex hausted, w hen the city shall count her population by hundreds o f thou sands. A slight examination o f the resources and advantages o f T roy .must convince every reflective mind that it is most highly privileged— that na ture has been lavish in her favor*— that it has a mission and destiny that may w ell incite a high ambition. Its location upon the bank o f the Hud son, the noblest o f rivers, unrivalled b y any other on this continent, or probably in the world, for the cheap and extended facilities o f natural navigation it furnishes, is most happy. Connected by tide navigation with the Atlantic ocean, a foreign trade, bounded only by the limits o f the w aves, and ambition o f its citizens, is always open to it. But m ore espe cially that great improvement o f modern times— steam navigation, unites it b y a ten hour’ s sail with the great emporium o f the Union, and the completion o f the railway already spoken of, w ill reduce still farther the time betw een the two places. A s a necessary consequence, intimate com m ercial relations must always exist with N e w Y ork. It w ill always profit by the central position and immense trade o f that city, and by the impulses o f her advancement. Its position at the head o f tide waters— in this case the natural head o f sloop and steamboat navigation, gives another advantage w hich no other point can equal. H ere navigation by river craft must end, and here, by the unrivalled cheapness o f natural navigation, it must always tend. This cause cannot fail constantly to invite and influence to this point, for trans shipment, the greater part o f the freights passing up and down on the canals. Such a tendency and such a result is practically and most con clusively shown, b y the constant comparative increase o f property entered and cleared at the collector’ s office at W est T roy, over that o f the office at Albany— a fact already presented. That natural resources, however abundant, can never becom e available to the wealth and comfort o f a people, without those more important moral ones, w hich enable them to understand, to appreciate and to control them, is properly admitted. But that T roy, though too deficient in this behalf, has not been entirely unmindful o f its duty, w ill be seen b y referring a moment to what she has done for religious, moral, and educational objects. In 1792, the first church w as erected, for the joint use o f several sects. It becam e the first Presbyterian church. By the census o f 1845, w e learn the number o f churches has increased to twenty-seven, costing $350,000 ; the number o f incorporated institutions o f learning w as four ; the public schools twelve, and the private and select schools thirty-nine. In recurring to, and further considering the com m ercial resources, which Protection o f Ships from Lightning. 523 by the wise and diligent use o f the means placed in our hands, can be made available for the future advancement and prosperity o f Troy, w e are naturally led to regard as essentially tributary to that end, the fertility, ex tent, and multiplied adaptation o f the great and grow ing west, and the in exhaustible mountains o f iron ore at the north. These mines— more val uable to our country than those o f gold, over the w hole continent, are scarcely beginning to be wrought, and yet within the district trading to this market, it is believed there are already more than one hundred forges and furnaces in operation. W e can no more fix future limits to the product and profit o f these mining interests than w e can to the future expansion and capacities o f the almost boundless west— where, notwithstanding its unprecedented growth, there yet is room for empires to rise and flourish. One more consideration in conclusion. A vast unoccupied w ater-pow er has been shown. In connection with it, our navigable and railway communi cations, the econom y with which materials for fabrication can be brought, and the fabric dispersed to distant markets, abroad as w ell as at home, the reduced cost o f subsistence, and means o f comfort at command— all, all deserve our grave regard. W ith these advantages, unsurpassed by those o f any other place, it w ill be apparent that the greater part o f the various manufacturing pursuits, w hich are, or may be carried on here, need not be limited in their products to the demands o f this, or any other single market, but may enter into successful competition with the most distant markets, both o f this and foreign lands. Art. III.— PROTECTION OF SHIPS FROM LIGHTNING. TO THE EDITOR OP THE MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE AND COMMERCIAL REVIEW. T h e Merchants’ M agazine has a wide circulation among commercial men, and is therefore a proper medium through which to communicate to that class o f our citizens, the important facts w hich I have here to state. The loss o f human life on board o f vessels, by lightning, has been great. The destruction o f vessels by lightning is not uncommon, and damage to ships by lightning is o f very frequent occurrence. I f protection can be had, it is certainly a matter o f vast importance to seek that protection. A neglect o f this, would, under the circumstances, seem to be wholly inex cusable. T h e ship-owner, reflecting on his pillow that his own neglect to provide lightning rods to his vessel, had been the cause o f the death o f a single individual on board his vessel, would give him disquietude for the remain der o f his days. I have heard o f but two objections made to providing vessels with light ning conductors ; one o f these is, that the rods attract the lightning, and the other, that they afford no protection. I feel a confidence o f being able to answer both o f these objections most fully. First, as to protection. In 1839, the English Parliament organized a Commission to examine into the cases o f damage by lightning to the public vessels belonging to the British navy ; that Commission w as composed o f the following persons, viz :— R ear Admiral T . A . Griffiths, Chairman ; R ear Admiral Sir J. Gordon, K . C . B . ; Captain James Clarke, R . F. R . N . ; Professor D on nell, F. R . S . ; M r. John Finchman, Master Sh ipw right; W alter Clif ton, E sq., Secretary. 524 Protection o f Ships from Lightning. This Commission devoted much time to the labors o f their investiga tion, and made an elaborate report, in the conclusion o f which they say : “ A nd no instance, so f a r as we are aware of, has ever occurred o f a ship sustaining injury when struck by lightning, i f the conductor was up to the mast-head, and the continuity uninterrupted to the w ater." O n the 25th o f July, 1843, I addressed a letter to the H on. David Henshaw, Secretary o f the Navy, making inquiry as to the extent o f the dam age by lightning to vessels o f the Am erican Navy, and received from him a reply, o f which the following is a copy : “ Navy D epartment, August 2, 1843. “ Sir :— Upon the receipt of your letter of the 25th ult., making inquiry as to the sufficiency of the lightning conductors used on board our public vessels, I referred it to the chief of one of the Bureaux, for information as to their practical operation. “ I am informed that the lightning conductors, now, and heretofore in use, have been found to answer well. None o f our ships have ever been injured by lightning i f the conductors were up. Whether the rods may be reduced or enlarged, it would be difficult to say, until experiments have been made to test the point. “ I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant, “ D aved H enshaw.” “ E. M eriam, Esq., Brooklyn.” Subsequently, I addressed a note to Captain Stringham, commandant of the U . S. Navy Yard, Brooklyn, making inquiry as to the size o f the lightning conductors used on board o f public ships in the Am erican Navy, and received from him a reply, o f w hich the following is a c o p y : “ C ommandant’ s Office, Navy Y ard , ) “ Brooklyn, August 10, 1843. £ “ S ir :— In reply to your note, I have to state that the iron used for conductors of vessels of war, in the Navy, is o f the following dimensions, viz : “ For sloops of war, one-quarter of inch in diameter. “ For frigates, and ships of the line, five-sixteenths of an inch. “ Respectfully, your obedient servant,' “ S. H. S tringham.” “ E. M eriam , Esq., Brooklyn.” I have kept a record o f lightning storms for a number o f years, and o f the damage done by lightning, and o f the destruction o f life and property. T h e catalogue now numbers more than four hundred cases o f loss o f life, or injury, and loss o f property, but I have never yet fo u n d a case o f injury to a human being in a vessel, or building, protected by any kind o f metallic conductor, reared f o r the purpose o f protection. Second,— as to metallic rods attracting the lightning. In the investiga tion o f cases o f damage by lightning on board o f British armed ships, by the Com mission created by Parliament, it was ascertained b y an exam ination o f the log-book, that there w ere 174 cases ; o f these 47 w ere line o f battle ships, 49 frigates, 17 brigs, and a cutter. O f these 68 w ere struck on the m ain-m ast; mizzen-mast, 5 ; fore-mast, 28 ; bowsprit, 1 ; fore and main, 6 ; main and mizzen, 50 ; 61, particulars not mentioned. O f about 100 cases, it was found that the number o f persons killed, was 62 ; and wounded, 114 ; exclusive o f one case, in w hich the number killed Protection o f Ships from Lightning, 525 is stated as “ s e v e r a l a n d exclusive o f the case o f the frigate Resistance, o f 44 guns, in w hich but four persons w ere saved. O f the spars damaged and destroyed, 92 w ere low er masts, 82 w ere top-masts, 60 top-gallant-masts, 1 royal, and 1 bowsprit. Numerous letters w ere addressed to the Commission by British naval officers, highly commending lightning conductors. I have not room to give any o f those, but I w ill give an extract from one written b y Capt. W . H . Smith, R . N ., as follows : “ My own opinion of the conducting power of m e t a l l i c w i r e s , and therefore, the vast utility of lightning conductors, indifferent as their construction and adaptation seemed to be, was very strong in their favor; and 1 have labored hard to propagate this feeling, in opposition to their being dangerous from attracting the lightning, an opinion which cannot but be deemed absurd, since it infers that the masts, and not the ships, form a point in the electric surface. Indeed, it would be a comfort to the service, as well as an enormous saving in spars, canvass and gear, were the laws and indications of meteorology more strictly attended to. “ During many years passed at sea, I have known of several disasters occa sioned by lightning, and also of several ships being struck, and escaping destruc tion as if by a miracle. This led me to consider the subject; and in my written orders, the officer of the watch was directed, whenever the weather appeared threatening, whether at sea or in port, to hoist the conductor, which was kept (not in a store-room,) in a box fixed to the stool of the after main-top-mast back-stay, and both officers and men were carefully instructed to place it so that the spindle should be well above the truck, and the chain carried into the water, clear of the cross-trees, top and channels, by out-riggers. “ Under these precautions, I feel a confidence tantamount to conviction, that at least the spars of His Majesty’s ship under my command, were saved in several thunder-storms which she encountered in the Gulf of Lyons, the Adriatic and Ionian spas, and in the Lesser Syrtis, the electric fluid having been seen to de scend the chain and pass overboard into the sea, without damage to the ship. “ I happened to be on board the Queen, of 74 guns, when an electric discharge shivered her main-top-mast to chips, and fatally damaged her main-mast, in the harbor of Messina, in 1815. On this occasion I remarked to Sir Charles Pen rose, who had his flag flying on board of her, that the amount of the injury now inflicted, would supply all the ships in commission with lightning conductors. It I remember rightly, this ship carried the useless and dangerous appendage of a spindle, upon her truck.” It w ill be borne in mind that none o f the vessels w hich w ere in port, and on board o f w hich persons w ere killed or wounded, w ere furnished with conductors. T h e public ships are furnished with abundance o f metallic guns, o f great weight, but I have heard o f no instance o f the lightning leaving the m e tallic w ire for a larger metallic body, nor o f any case where the lightning has done damage to an iron ship or to an iron hawser. I f the iron attracted the lightning to a very great extent, then w e should find numerous cases o f damage in warehouses where iron is stored in large quantities. I have never heard o f but one building used for storing iron being struck by lightning, and this was a storehouse in Rochester. I have on m y lightning register the account o f five steamboats, struck by lightning. T h e damage to each w as very trifling. This is very few, considering the great number o f this class o f vessels. I hear, however, o f but four railroads that have been struck by lightning, which is equally extraordinary, when it is considered that these kind o f roads extend for hundreds— I might say thousands o f miles. These facts, I think, dispose o f the difficulty arising from the attractive properties o f the iron as being 526 Protection o f Ships from, Lightning. dangerous. I n ow proceed to g iv e ' you some extracts from m y register, as follows : The passengers and crew of the brig Sultana, which was burned by lightning, in January, 1841, near the coast o f Borneo, have arrived at Singapore, after suf ferings of the severest kind, from the petty rajahs and pirates.— Journal of Com merce, Feb. 25th, 1842. The ship Rowland, (of Portland,) from Savannah, bound to Havre, was struck by lightning on February 14th, 1842, lat. 46, Ion. 26, and took fire between decks ; but, by throwing part of the cargo overboard, and cutting holes through the decks, the fire was extinguished after raging sixteen hours. The ship Olive and Eliza, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, laden with cotton, bound from St. Joseph’s to Liverpool, was struck by lightning on the 11th March. The ship took fire, and bore away for the Western Islands. Arrived at Fayal the 19th. After great effort to extinguish the fire, she was scuttled, and the fire sub dued. All that appeared to be burnt of the hull, were the lower deck beams, and about ten feet of the deck on the starboard side. The loss of cotton will be heavy from the fire and water. It is believed the vessel will be worthy of repairing. The brig Romulus, of Providence, Rhode Island, bound to Boston, from Sa vannah, while on the rocks, about a mile and a quarter from Savannah, was struck by lightning, May 31st, 1842, which shivered the royal-mast, and rent the heel o f the main-top-mast, took the coating off the main-mast, slightly split the deck in several places, and then went off from the forward part of the vessel. No one on board injured. Bark Champion, of Boston, while lying at the wharf at Charleston, July 25th, was struck by lightning. The fluid entered the main-royal-mast, and passed down to the main-mast, and, tearing off the pump coats, passed off No person injured. In a thunder squall at New Orleans, on July 27th, ship Gosseyplum, lying op posite the vegetable market, was struck by lightning, and had one of her masts badly splintered; no one injured. Bremen ship, Albert, was struck, and her fore royal-mast shattered. Schooner Joseph Gorham was also struck, and had one of her masts entirely shattered, but no person on board injured. 1842. On the 20th of July, the schooner Maria was struck by lightning at New Or leans. It carried away her main-top-mast, shivering her main-mast, and passed through the centre-case, setting it on fire. It was only through the exertions of the crew that the vessel was saved from being consumed. Captain Eldrickson was, at the time, leaning against the main-mast, and was saved by the chain of the centre-board attracting the fluid. On the 22d of July, the schooner Saul, from Boston, for Savannah, when off Plymouth, was struck by lightning, and the captain, who was at the helm, was struck senseless. Shortly after, smoke was seen to issue from the hatchways, and, on removing them, the flames burst forth with such fury that the crew had barely time to escape to their boats. On the 26th of July, the lightning struck the fore-top-gallant-mast of the brig Woodstock, lying at Savannah. The top-gallant-mast was split in pieces. The blocks on the top-sail-yard were also split, and both clews of the top-sail were set on fire. The rain, however, which was falling in torrents at the time, soon ex tinguished the fire without much damage. The lightning descended down the top-sail tie to the top-sail sheets, which were of iron, and thence to the deck of the vessel, following the chain cable, which was lying across the deck, and pass ing off at the side. The links of the chain of the top-sail sheet, were scattered in all directions over the deck. The captain, mate, and another person, were in the cabin at the time, but fortunately received no harm. In July, the ship Saxon, of Salem, while lying in the port of Havana, had two main-top-masts in the course of ten.days. On the 1st of August, the ship Sigenia, in latitude 48° 42', longitude 71° 10', at half-past three, A. M., experienced a severe tempest, during which the light ning struck the main-mast, and shivered it to pieces, together with the main-royal- Protection o f Ships from Lightning. 527 yards ; also damaged the main and top-gallant-masts, and yards attached, burnt the main-top-gallant-sails and cut two large holes in the main-top-sails. It then went between decks, started up three of her between-deck planks, and split one of her deck planks. During the shock, the mate and one man were knocked down, and the mate slightly injured. On the 8th of August, the brig Comet, at New Haven, was struck with light ning, which passed down the fore-mast, and then took to the chain cable, following it through the hawser hole into the water. But little damage was done. 1843. On the 22d of April, as the Joan of Arc was descending the river between Louisville and Cincinnati, the captain, who was giving orders to land the boat, was struck senseless by a flash of lightning, and fell on to the lower guards. He remained insensible until the next morning, but finally recovered. No one else was hurt, and no damage done to the boat. In June, the mast of a British vessel in Cleveland, was struck by lightning, but no great damage was done. In August, the schooner Joy, from Boston, was struck by lightning, near the head of the Rappahannock, and had her main-top-mast shivered. On the 22d of August, the brig Hudson was struck by lightning at St. Do mingo, which passed down the fore-top-gallant-mast, fore-top-mast, shivered all the spars on fore-mast, tore up two of the deck planks, and then passed oif without injuring any of the crew. On the 2d of September, brig Rupert, from Martinique, for Bangor, was struck by lightning. The fluid struck the fore-royal-mast head, injuring every spar be tween that and the deck, except the fore-top-mast yard. On the 14th of September, a boat in the Wappsahut, containing two negroes, was struck by lightning. One of the negroes was killed, the other was stunned for some time, but shortly after recovered. 1844. On the 23d of April, schooner Edward Burley, of Beverly, was struck by lightning, while lying at Dix Cove, Africa, which badly injured the head of fore mast, and shattered the main-mast, so that it was of no further use; was supplied with a spare top-mast from United States’ ship Saratoga, for a jury-mast. Same day, bark Palestine, of Boston, was struck while lying at Adamboo; damage not ascertained. On the 2d of May, a boat belonging to one of the lines, was struck by light ning, in the Chesapeake bay, and partially damaged. Many of the passengers were greatly alarmed, but none of them sustained injury. On the 4th of May, the sloop Orion from New York, for Providence, was struck by lightning off Point Judith, in seven fathoms water; the crew were knocked down by the shock, and when they recovered, the sloop was in three fathoms only. The lightning shivered the top-mast very badly, splitting it all to pieces, carried away the peak halliards, jib halliards, split jib, and passed away through the forecastle. Fortunately the crew were all aft at the time, so that no lives were lost. On the 9th of June, the schooner Providence, lying at Fox Point, Rhode Island, was struck by lightning. On the same day, a boat belonging to Mr. Harrisholf, lying at Poppasquash, Rhode Island, was struck by lightning, and her mast shivered to pieces. On the 17th of June, the ship Hero, of Acre, lying about twelve miles below Savannah, was struck by lightning. Her top-gallant-mast was split, and the main-mast slightly injured. Tw o or three of the crew were stunned. On the 14th of July, the schooner Napoleon, of Pittston, Bangor, with lumber, was struck by lightning, which shivered fore-mast and fore-top-gallant-mast. On the 22d of July, the schooner Grape Island, from Boston, for Norfolk, was struck by lightning, by which the fore-mast, main-mast, and main-top-mast, were shivered, the fore-mast completely so, from the hounds to the deck, the decks rip ped up, and sustained other damage. From the smoke which issued out of the / 528 Protection o f Ships from Lightning. hold, the captain entertained no doubt but that she was on fire below, but which was put out by the rain falling at the time. The electric fluid passed out through the hawser hole. The mate was the only person on board who felt the shock. On the 2d of August, a sloop belonging to Troy, was struck by lightning, near Catskill landing; she had her masts shivered, a splinter from which struck one of the hands, who is not expected to survive. On the 27th of July, the schooner Pettijohn, was struck by lightning, while going from Plymouth Nag’s Head. Both masts were shivered, and the decks were ripped up ; and, melancholy to relate, Mr. Lucas, a merchant of Plymouth, was killed ; a man and a boy were also much injured, the former so much so that his life was despaired of. There was a large party of ladies on board at the time, none of whom were injured. On the 2d of August, the brig Cameo was struck by lightning off Cape Cod, had main-top-mast shivered, tore several sails badly, passed through the deck into the hold, and returned back through the deck, tearing up about eight feet of the planking, and bringing with it some wool tom from the bales. The second offi cer, who was upon the fore-top-gallant-yard at the time, was stunned and fell, his back across a gasket, and his legs upon the cross-tree, in which perilous situation he remained until the people relieved him, when it was found that he was not dangerously hurt. Bark Herschel, of Bangor, from Baha, was struck by lightning, no date, off Cape Palmas; had main-top-gallant and royal yards splintered, and a bale of tin ware in the hold set on fire and injured ; the first and second officers, three sea men, the cook and two passengers, were knocked down. A hand on board a sloop which was struck by lightning in August, near Hudson, was coiling a chain cable near the bow at the time. After the flash, he walked to the stern, and dropped senseless. By immediate application of cold water and camphor, he was resuscitated, and will probably recover. On the 10th of August, the ship Newark, from New York for Savannah, was struck by lightning, off Frying Pan Shoals, during a heavy squall from the north west, had main-royal-mast and yard carried away, badly injuring main-top-mast, carrying away main-top-sail yard, and top-sail, passing down to the cabin deck, where it exploded, setting the deck on fire in every direction, and doing consider able damage to the forward part of the cabin; it then passed along the side of the cabin, and entering the water closet, did some damage there, broke twenty-six panes of window-glass from the cabin, and nearly all the crockery in the pantry. Tw o of the men were seriously injured. On the 19th of August, the ship Champlain, and schooner H. Westcott, at Philadelphia, were struck by lightning, shattering the main-mast of the former, and both masts of the latter. On the 2d of September, the schooner American Eagle, from Philadelphia for Savannah, was struck by lightning, and both masts shivered. 1845. On the 11th of February, bark Ann Louisa, from Vera Cruz, for New York, in latitude 38° 30', longitude 72° W ., at ten o’clock, A. M., was struck by light ning, knocking down nearly all hands, raised the deck around the main-mast, tipped the partirers, and took the top-sail-sheet bits up. One man burnt in the leg, and nearly all hands knocked down six times. On the 18th of March, the brig Corsair, from New Castle, England, for New York, was struck by lightning, killing two of her crew, and seriously injuring two others. On the 28th of April, the canal schooner, Mary Piner, lying at Myers’ wharf, Norfolk, was struck by lightning. Her main-mast was shivered from the top mast head, to within about three feet of the deck. No person injured. On the 29th of May, ship Soldan, at New Orleans, was struck by lightning. It shivered the fore-royal-mast and top-gallant-mast, and, passing down to the deck, ripped up the latter, for a distance of six feet, then passed out into the wa ter, knocking down two men. The Warehousing System. 529 On the 3d of July, the lightning struck a boat belonging to Harpswell, Maine, in which were three or four persons returning from fishing. The fluid passed down the mast, killing one of the boys. On the 9th of July, ship Corsic was twice struck by lightning, off Hatteras, carrying away royal-yard-mast, shattered main-top-gallant-mast, split main-mast, tore in fragments main-royal, affected compass, &c., and started up the coverings of the main-mast. On the 24th of July, brig Caraccas was struck by lightning, in latitude 34° 35', longitude 74° 20', which stunned several men who were aloft, descended in a straight line to the quarter-deck, and passed out of the hawser hole into the sea. On the same day, bark Rio Grande was struck by lightning in latitude 34° 35', longitude 71° 38', and main-top-mast was split. On the 30th of July, bark Sharon, at Charlestown, Massachusetts, was struck by lightning, had main-mast, main-top-mast, and main-top-gallant-mast, shivered. On the 3d of August, the bark Casild, from Boston, bound to Pensacola, was struck by lightning, lost her main and mizzen top-masts, and was left in a leaky state. On the same day, the brig Manhattan was struck by lightning, off St. Marks, Florida; damage trifling. On the 9th of August, a ship was struck at the dock in Brooklyn, and had one of her top-masts shivered. On the 10th of August, schooner Atalanta was struck by lightning in the river, coming down from New Orleans. On the 11th of August, the schooners Virginia and Clinton, lying at the breakwater at Bass river, Massachusetts, were struck by lightning, and dam aged. Thus I have placed before the reader the testimony in favor o f lightning rods, and a catalogue o f disasters b y lightning, showing how necessary it is to seek that protection which has been provided. T hree thousand three hundred years ago, the inspired penman declared that “ a way had been made f o r the lightning o f the thunders.” E . M e r ia m . Art. IV.— TIIE WAREHOUSING SYSTEM. T h e object o f m y last communication was to bring before the public mind the leading features o f the warehousing system, and to open out the general principles upon w hich it is based. Since these remarks w ere writ ten, I perceive a bill has been brought before Congress b y the Committee o f the House, on Com m erce, intended to embrace, under thirteen sections, a general plan for warehousing imported merchandise. Upon a close, investigation, I apprehend that bill w ill be found both crude and im perfect; and I therefore feel a deeper interest, and a more urgent necessity for pursuing the inquiry, with the hope o f reaching results more com prehen sive, and better adapted to the general interests o f the country, than those suggested in the bill. I f I mistake not, the system w ill be found the most simple, beautiful, and efficient o f any that the genius o f man has ever de vised for the encouragement, extension, and prosperity o f com m erce— especially suited to a young, fresh, and vigorous republic, just peering above the struggles o f infancy, and taking a prominent stand among the com m er cial nations o f the earth. W h ere com m erce ends, barbarism commences. T h e line o f demarca tion is so clearly marked off, that any one may almost determine the de gree o f civilization attained by any nation, by the scale o f its commerce. VOL. x iv .— no . v i. 34 530 The Warehousing System. Civilized nations cannot exist without com m erce. It is commerce that makes them civilized. Rem ove the cause, and the effect ceases. Under the most rigorous restrictive policy which Bonaparte could establish, for tified by blockades, Berlin and Milan decrees, and an army o f mounted custom-house officers, it is a singular fact that France could not resist the pressure o f civilization, and she was compelled, in direct contradiction to her vindictive laws, and barbarous rule, to relax her anti-commercial pol icy, and to admit, direct from England, under license, whole cargoes o f articles indispensable to her manufactures ; thus affording undeniable evidence to herself and to all the world that civilization and com m erce are reciprocal, and that the former follows the latter with the same certainty as the morning sun the shades o f night. France made war upon com m erce with a view o f injuring the mistress o f i t ; but she forgot that her arms w ere pointed at the same time against the industry and manufacturing arts o f her ow n country. Paris was failing in beauty and splendor. T h e seedy coat and soiled dress spoke a language which could not be misunderstood. T h e ramparts o f exclusion gave way before the pressure o f gayety and the jeers o f wit. Bonaparte, in all his accumulations o f unrestrained authority, could not chain down a nation accustomed to all the elegancies o f refined society and polite inter course. T h e gentlemen would have a new coat, and the ladies a new dress, and all the armies o f Europe could not prevent it. H e concluded, there fore, to accept a bonus for permission to contravene the laws o f the em pire. A mighty commercial triumph, and one that shows how difficult a thing it is to uncivilize a nation. T h e act o f 3d and 4th W illiam IV ., C . 57, referred to in m y last letter, and known as the act o f consolidation, comprises the details, and confers the authority, which controls the bonding system, as it now exists in England. T h e power o f appointing warehousing ports in the United Kingdom is given to the commissioners o f the treasury; and the power o f designating what warehouses shall be appropriated as bonded warehouses, is given to the commissioners o f the customs; subject, however, to the direction o f the commissioners o f the treasury. After regulating the mode o f appointing free ports and bonded w are houses, the law proceeds to ordain the manner o f giving bonds to the cus toms as security to the government for the payment o f the duties on mer chandise warehoused, when taken out o f bond for home consumption, and the rent and charges on goods exported. On these points it may be re marked that there does not appear to be any occasion to follow the exam ple o f England in discriminating ports o f entiy as suitable for the estab lishment o f bonded warehouses, but that every port o f entry in the United States should be what is technically called a free port, and that every custom-house should be a bonded warehouse, so that the privileges o f the bonding system should be extended equally to every citizen in the Union, and the com m erce o f the country placed upon a footing independent o f local influences, and untrammelled by party dictation. W ith regai-d to the point o f giving o f bonds to the customs, two modes are legal, and both practised by England. One is the giving o f a general bond by the proprietors o f the warehouse, with two sufficient sureties, for the payment o f the duties when the goods are entered for home consump tion, and the charges when entered for exportation. This mode, which is The Warehousing System. 531 most generally practised, supersedes the necessity o f the importer giving any bonds at all, saves a good deal o f trouble, and often prevents delay. The other mode is the execution o f a bond by the importer himself, with two securities, for the same object. But I can see no valid reason for the giving o f any bonds. Th ey only serve to embarrass and encumber the regular course o f business. T h e goods, in reference to which bonds are required to be given, are deposited in a government warehouse, under a government lock and key, in care o f a government officer, and cannot be withdrawn, until a regular entry is made at the custom-house, for home consumption or exportation; the duties paid in the former case, and the rent and charges in both cases. I do not understand how any better security can bo had, and it seems most prepos terous that any other should be required. T h e only object o f bonds is to insure the payment o f the duties ; and there the goods are in the warehouse, in actual possession o f the government, pledged for that purpose. But the principle for which I contend seems to be recognized most fully in effect. T h e proprietor o f a bonded warehouse may execute bonds for five hundred importer ; in short, for all the goods in their store ; and it is accepted, and none required on his part— he assumes all the responsibility, and why ? Because he holds, in conjunction with the government, the goods them selves as security, which, by a round-about way, and the occult aid o f a little hocus-pocus, comes to precisely the same thing as if the government held the goods as security, without the intervention o f the aforesaid warehouse men. Therefore it seems practically demonstrated that no such bonds are necessary. T h e giving o f bonds is necessary only when dutiable goods are entered for exportation ; and the reason for that is sufficiently plain. Personal security, now the goods are withdrawn from the warehouse, is the only one that can be had to guard against the relanding the goods, and thus defrauding the revenue o f the duties payable on them when designed for home consumption. Bonds by the owner and shipper, with one secu rity, in double the amount o f the value o f the goods, are required, that the goods shall be landed at the port o f destination. Bonds thus executed are conditional, and subject to be cancelled when a certificate from a consul, official agent, or, in their absence, from a magistrate or merchant, is re turned to the custom-house, showing that the goods w ere landed agreeably to the export entry, lost at sea, by fire, or in any other w ay satisfactorily accounted for. Merchandise warehoused, as a general rule, may remain three years in bond, subject to the rent established by law, and must be cleared within that time from the period o f entry, either for home consumption or export ation. I f not cleared within that time, the goods may be sold at auction by the customs— rent, charges, and duty paid— i f sold for home con sumption, and the balance o f the proceeds paid over to the ow ner o f the goods. T h is seems a proper and reasonable measure, and free from any strong objection, so long as the door is open for relief by application to the treas ury, in case any remarkable circumstances should occur to prevent the importing merchant from com plying with the strict terms o f the law, and which would entitle him, in ju stice and equity, to the favorable considera tion o f government. T h e ninth section o f the bill before the government relates, i f I correctly remember, not having the bill at the present moment before me, to the r e ' 532 The Northwest Fur Trade. sponsibility for losses. Com m ercial law is founded upon that combined system o f reason, justice and equity, the civil law o f the Rom an empire, and will forever stand a monument o f the greatness o f a people that could devise and construct a code o f laws so rigidly just, so beautifully harmo nious, and so perfectly adapted to the wants o f all succeeding generations, that no attempt has ever been made to supersede that code by the intro duction o f anything better. B y that law, responsibility falls upon the de linquent, whether that loss arises from neglect or guilt. I f I warehouse the goods o f my neighbor at a specific rent, the law pre sumes that I w ill take proper care o f them. I f consumed by a conflagra tion which I did not occasion, and could not prevent, the loss falls upon the ow ner o f the goods. But i f I leave the doors o f m y warehouse open at night, and the goods are stolen, I must pay for them, because the loss re sulted from my neglect. I f government officers plunder the warehouse, government should be responsible for the loss, because it is their duty, and theirs only, to see that honest and faithful servants are appointed to fill responsible posts. Indeed, the principles o f the civil code o f commercial law are so manifestly just, and applicable to reciprocal duties, and obliga tions betw een man and man, that in ninety-nine cases out o f a hundred it requires only two qualifications to insure a correct judgm ent; and these are common sense and common honesty. Seeing the subject, in relation to the warehousing system, is now before the legislature o f the country, I do not know that there is any occasion for going into the minute details o f the system. I shall therefore waive their consideration, and content m yself with having drawn out from the English system some o f those parts w hich are suited to the frame-work o f an Am erican warehousing system, and w hich do not contravene the com m er cial policy o f the United States. T here are peculiar advantages in this country in legislating on this subject, over those o f Great Britain. There, the combination o f such a variety o f local interests necessarily renders a law complex. T h e excep tions in favor o f one colonial possession or another, cover so wide a space, and multiply so rapidly, that it requires more science than falls to the lot o f collectors and custom-house officers to unravel the w eb, and trace out the applicability o f its parts. H ence com es consolidation in the work o f gathering up the scattered limbs, and constructing one compact act that may em brace the w hole system. In this country, w e may begin with consolidations. T h e w hole affair is simple as a log-book. T h e work o f expansion has no room, and we may gather the particulars o f a mighty system for the w hole nation under one enactment. j . s. Art. V.— THE NORTHWEST FUR TRADE. W e are indebted to E llio t C . C ow din , E sq., the president o f the Mercantile Library Association o f Boston,, for the somewhat extended sketch o f the H on. W il l ia m S tu rg is ’ s valuable lecture upon the “ North west Fur T rade,” delivered before that association, on W ednesday even ing, January 21st, 1846. T h e report was prepared by Mr. Cowdin, with much care, from the original manuscript, and can, therefore, be re lied upon for its entire accuracy. M r. Sturgis, the author o f the lecture, The Northwest Fur Trade. 533 is w ell known as one o f the most eminent merchants o f B oston ; and his reputation in that city, for practical intelligence and sterling good sense, stands very high. In commencing, the lecturer observed that, at this present moment, when the public attention is anxiously directed to the partition, or other disposition, of a large portion of the northwestern part of our continent, as a question seriously affecting both our domestic and foreign relations, anything respecting that coun try, or its native population, assumes a more than ordinary interest. Mr. Sturgis said that, in early life, he made several successful voyages, to what was then deemed a remote and unexplored region, and passed a number of years among a people, at that time, just becoming known to the civilized world. His first visit to Nootka Sound was made in the last century, about twenty years after it was discovered by Captain Cook. Though not one of the first, he was amongst those who early engaged in the Northwest trade, so called, and continued to carry it on, either personally or other wise, until it ceased to be valuable. He thus witnessed its growth, maximum, decrease, and, finally, its abandonment by Americans. These early visits afford ed him an opportunity, too, of observing changes in the habits and manners of the Indians, effected by intercourse with a more civilized race; and, he regretted to add, brought to his knowledge the injustice, violence, and bloodshed, which has marked the progress of this intercourse. Mr. Sturgis did not expect others would feel the same interest in the reminis cences that he felt, but he thought they might engage the attention of his hear ers, and perhaps awaken a sympathy for the remnant of a race fast disappearing from the earth— victims of injustice, cruelty, and oppression— and of a policy that seems to recognize power as the sole standard of right. The hour, this evening, the lecturer proposed to devote principally to the fu r trade, and some matters connected with i t ; and, in the next lecture, he should speak of the habits, peculiarities, language, and some features in the general character of the Indians. But that branch of the subject most deeply interesting to them, occurrences upon the coast within his own knowledge, of treatment which the Indians had received from the white men, must be postponed to some future occasion. The Northwest trade, as far as we are concerned, has ceased to be of impor tance in a commercial view ; but a branch of commerce, (said Mr. Sturgis,) in which a number of American vessels, and many seamen and others were con stantly and profitably employed, for more than forty years— which brought wealth to those engaged in it, and was probably as beneficial to the country as any com mercial use of an equal amount of capital has ever been— cannot be without in terest as matter of unwritten history, and may, perhaps, illustrate some principles of commerce deserving our notice and consideration. This trade, in which our citizens largely participated, and at one period nearly monopolized, was principally limited to the sea-coast between the mouth of the Columbia river, in latitude 46°, and Cook’s Inlet, in latitude 60°, to the numerous islands bordering this whole extent of coast, and the sounds, bays, and inlets, within these limits. Trade was always carried on along-side, or on board the ship, usually anchored near the shore, the Indians coming off in their canoes. It was seldom safe to admit many of the natives into the ship at the same time, and a departure from this prudent course, has, in numerous instances, been followed by the most disastrous and tragical results. The vessels usually employed were from one hundred to two hundred and fifty tons burthen, each. The time occupied for a voyage by vessels that remained upon the coast only a single season, was from twenty-two months to two years, but they generally remained out two seasons, and were absent from home nearly three years. The principal object of the voyages was to procure the skins of the sea-otter, which were obtained from the natives by barter, carried to Canton, and there exchanged for the productions of the Celestial Empire, to be brought home or taken to Europe, thus completing what may be called a trading voyage. 534 The Northwest Fur Trade. Beaver and common otter skins, and other small furs, were occasionally pro cured in considerable quantities, but in the early period of the trade, they were deemed unimportant, and little attention was given to collecting them. The seaotter skins have ever been held in high estimation by the Chinese and Russians, as an ornamental fur; but its great scarcity and consequent cost, limits the wear to the wealthy and higher classes only. A full grown prime skin, which has been stretched before drying, is about five feet long, and twenty-four to thirty inches wide, covered with very fine fur, about three-fourths of an inch in length, having a rich jet black, glossy surface, and exhibiting a silver color when blown open. Those are esteemed the finest skins which have some white hairs interspersed and scattered over the whole surface, and a perfectly white head. Mr. Sturgis said that it would now give him more pleasure to look at a splendid sea-otter skin, than to examine half the pictures that are stuck up for exhibition, and puffed up by pretended connoisseurs. In fact, excepting a beautiful woman and a lovely infant, he regarded them as among the most attractive natural objects that can be placed before him. The sea-otter has been found only in the North Pacific. The earliest efforts on record to collect furs in that region, were made by Russians from Kamschatka, who, in the early part of the last century, visited, for this purpose, the Kurile and other islands that lie near the northern coasts of Asia. After the expedition of Behring & Co., in 1741, these excursions were slowly extended to other groups between the two continents, and when Cook, in 1778, explored these northern regions, he met with Russian adventurers upon several of the islands in prox imity with the American shore. It was, however, the publication of Cook’s nor thern voyages in 1785, that gave the great impulse to the Northwest fur trade, and drew adventurers from several nations to that quarter. The published journal of Captain King, who succeeded to the command of one of the ships after the death of Captains Cook and Clark, and his remarks, setting forth the favorable prospects for this trade, doubtless roused the spirit of adven ture. Between the time of the publication referred to, in 1785, and the close of 1787, expeditions were fitted out from Canton, Macao, Calcutta and Bombay, in the East, London and Ostend in Europe, and from Boston in the United States. In 1787, the first American expedition was fitted out, and sailed from Boston. It consisted of the ship Columbia, of two hundred and twenty, and the sloop Wash ington, of ninety tons burthen— the former commanded by John Kenrick, the lat ter by Robert Gray. Mr. Sturgis deemed it scarcely possible, in the present age, when the departure or return of ships engaged in distant voyages is an every-day occurrence, to ap preciate the magnitude of this undertaking, or the obstacles and difficulties that had to be surmounted in carrying it out. He said, were he required to select any particular event in the commercial his tory of ourcountry, to establish our reputation for bold enterprise and persevering energy, in commercial pursuits, he should point to this expedition of the Colum bia and Washington. Many of the obstacles and dangers were clearly pointed out, showing that it was then viewed as an extraordinary undertaking. A medal was struck upon the occasion, and some impressions taken out in the vessels for distribution. The lecturer briefly described it, and exhibited to the audience a fac simile of one preserved in the Department of State at Washington. On one side of this medal was engraved “ Columbia and Washington : commanded by J. Kenrick,” with a representation of the two vessels: on the reverse was the following inscription: “ Fitted at Boston, N. America, for the Pacific Ocean, by L Burrell, C. Brown, C. Bulfinch, J. Darby, C. Hatch, J. M. Pintard, 1787.” Captain Kenrick, who was entrusted with the command of the expedition, was a bold, energetic, experienced seaman. His management justified the confidence reposed in him, but he was fated never to return. The project of engaging in the fur trade of the North Pacific, from this country, was first brought forward by the celebrated American traveller, Ledyard. In his erratic wanderings, he entered on board the ship Resolution, as corporal of ma rines, with Captain Cook, upon his last voyage. After his return, he made re peated attempts to get an outfit for a voyage to the Northwest Coast. In 1784, The Northwest Fur Trade. 535 three years previous to Kenrick’s expedition, he induced Robert Morris to engage in the undertaking. But for some cause, now unknown, the enterprise was aban doned, as were similar ones in France and England. The unfortunate Ledyard seemed doomed to disappointment in whatever he undertook. The life of this remarkable man shows that respectable talents, united with great energy and per severance of character, may be comparatively valueless to the possessor, and use less to the world, from the want of a well-balanced mind, which, unfortunately, was the fatal deficiency in Ledyard. Nearly all the early and distinguished navigators, who discovered and explored the northern regions of the Pacific, met the fate that too often awaits the pioneers in bold and hazardous undertakings, and found a premature death, by violence or disaster, or disease brought on by incessant toil and exposure. Behring, a Danish navigator in the service of Russia, who commanded the ex pedition just mentioned, was wrecked in 1741, upon an island that bears his name, and perished miserably in the course of the winter. He was the first navigator known to have passed through the strait that separates Asia from Am erica; and Cook, who was the next to sail through it, in a commendable spirit of justice, gave to this strait the name of the unfortunate Behring. The fate of Cook is well known. He was killed by the natives of the Sandwich Islands, of which group he was the discoverer. Mr. Sturgis said he had stood upon the spot where Cook fell, in Karakakooa Bay, and conversed with the natives who were present at the time of the massa cre. They uniformly expressed regret and sorrow for his death, but insisted that it was caused by his own imprudence. The lecturer next gave an interesting account of the loss of two French ves sels fitted out in 1785, on a voyage of discovery and exploration, which, after vis iting the northwest coast of America, departed from Sydney, in New South Wales, early in 1788, and nothing more was heard from them until 1826, when a wreck and some articles were found at the island of Malicolo, in the South Pa cific, that left no doubt but the unfortunate Frenchmen perished there. Vancouver, an able British navigator, was sent out by his government in 1790, to receive Nootka Sound from the Spaniards, and explore the whole western coast of North America. The chart prepared by him is the most accurate of any at the present day. With a constitution shattered by devotion to his arduous duties, he returned to England in 1794, and sunk into an early grave. Mr. Sturgis said he had already remarked that Kenrick was fated never to return. After remaining with both vessels two seasons on the northwest coast, he sent the Columbia home, in charge of Captain Gray, and remained himself in the sloop Washington. He continued in her several years, trading on the coast and at the Sandwich Islands. In 1792, while lying in the harbor of Honolulu, atone of these islands, and re ceiving, upon his birthday, a complimentary salute from the captain o f an English trading vessel anchored near, he was instantly killed by a shot carelessly left in one of the guns fired on the occasion. Captain Gray reached home in the Columbia, in the summer of 1790, and thus completed the first circumnavigation of the globe under the American flag. He was immediately fitted out for a second voyage in the same ship, and it was during this voyage that he discovered, entered, and gave the name to the Columbia river, a circumstance now relied upon as one of the strongest grounds to maintain our claim to the Oregon Territory. He died abroad some years ago. Mr. Sturgis here observed that it would bring some o f the events of which he had spoken quite near our own time, to mention that in the street in which we are, (Federal-street,) the name of “ Gray” may be seen upon the door of a house nearly opposite Milton Place, which house is now occupied by the widow and daughters of Captain Gray, the discoverer of the Columbia river, and the first cir cumnavigator who bore the flag of our country in triumph round the world. The voyage of the Columbia was not profitable to her owners, in a pecuniary view, but it opened the way for other adventures, which were commenced on her return. In 1791, there were seven vessels from the United States in the North Pacific, in pursuit of furs. For various reasons, the American traders so far gain 536 The Northwest Fur Trade. ed the ascendancy, that at the close of the last century, with the exception of the Russian establishments on the northern part of the coast, the whole trade was in our hands, and so remained until the close of the war ith Great Britain, in 1815, This trade was confined almost exclusively to Boston. It was attempted, unsuc cessfully, from Philadelphia and New York, and from Providence and Bristol, in Rhode Island. Even the intelligent and enterprising merchants of Salem, failed of success ; some of them, however, were interested in several of the most suc cessful northwestern voyages carried on from Boston. So many of the vessels engaged in this trade belonged here, the Indians had the impression that Boston was our whole country. Had any one spoken to them of American ships, or Amer ican people, he would not have been understood. W e were only known as Bos ton ships, and Boston people. In 1801, the trade was most extensively, though not most profitably prosecuted ; that year, there were 15 vessels on the coast, and in 1802 more than 15,000 seaotter skins were collected, and carried to Canton. But the competition was so great, that few of the voyages were then profitable, and some were ruinous. Sub sequently, the war with Great Britain interrupted the trade for a time; but after the peace in 1815, it was resumed, and flourished for some years. The difficulties and uncertainty in procuring furs became so serious, that in 1829 the business north of California was abandoned. Besides the 15,000 skins collected by American traders in 1802, probably the Russians obtained 10,000 the same year within their hunting limits, making an aggregate of 25,000 in one season. Mr. Sturgis said he had personally collected 6000 in a single voyage, and he once purchased 560 of prime quality in half a day. At the present time, the whole amount collected annually within the same limits does not exceed 200, and those of very ordinary quality. The commercial value of the sea-otter skin, like other commodities, has varied with the changes in the relation of supply and demand. The narrative of Cook’s voyage shows the value of a prime skin to have been, at the time of that voyage, $120. In 1802, when the largest collection was made, the average price of large and small skins, at Canton, was only about $20 each. At the present time, those of first quality would sell readily at $150. Some seventy or eighty ordinary California skins, brought home a few months ago, were sold here at nearly $60 each, to send to the north of Europe. Mr. Sturgis said the trade on the coast was altogether a barter trade. It con sisted in part of blankets, coarse cloths, great-coats, fire-arms and ammunition, rice, molasses, and biscuit, coarse cottons, cutlery, and hard-ware, a great variety of trinkets, &c.; in fact, everything that one can imagine. Copper has long been known, and highly prized by the Indians. The lecturer observed that he had seen pieces of virgin copper among different tribes, that weighed 50 or 60 pounds each. It was put to no use, but still was considered very valuable, and a person having a few pieces was deemed a wealthy man. The natives had no currency. But the skin of the ermine, found in limited numbers upon the northern part of the continent, was held in such universal esti mation, and of such uniform value, among many tribes, that it in a measure sup plied the place of currency. The skin of this little slender animal is from eight to twelve inches in length, perfectly white, except the tip of the tail, which is jet black. Urged by some Indian friends, in 1802, Mr. Sturgis obtained and sent home a fine specimen, with a request that a quantity should be ordered at the annual Leipsic fair, where he supposed they might be obtained. About 5,0u0 were pro cured, which he took out with him on the next voyage, and a™''ed at Kigarnee, one of the principal trading places on the coast, early in 1804. leaving previously encouraged the Indians to expect them, the first question was, if he had “ clicks,” (the Indian name for the ermine skin) for sale, and being answered in the affirm ative, great earnestness was manifested to obtain them, and it was on that occa sion that he purchased 560 prime sea-otter skins, at that time worth $50 apiece at Canton, in a single forenoon, giving for each five ermine skins, that cost less than thirty cents each in Boston. He succeeded in disposing of all his ermines J: The Northwest Fur Trade. 537 at the same rate, before others carried them out—but in less than two years from that time, one hundred of them would not bring a sea-otter skin. Among a portion of the , ndians, the management of trade is entrusted to the women. The reason gi en by the men was, that women could talk with the white men betle. than they could, and were willing to talk more. When the natives had a number of skins for sale, it was usual to fix a price for those of the first quality as a standard, which required a great deal of haggling. In addition to the staple articles of blankets, or cloth, or muskets, & c., that con stituted this price, several smaller articles were given as presents, nominally, but in reality formed part of the price. Of these small articles, different individuals would require a different assortment: a system of equivalents was accordingly established. For instance, an iron pot and an axe were held to be of equal value —so of a knife and a file, a pocket looking-glass and a pair of scissors. Mr. Sturgis next alluded to the various efforts made by the Indians to obtain a more valuable article than the established equivalent. To avoid trouble, which would certainly follow if he yielded in a single instance, he said he had found it necessary to waste hours in a contest with a woman about articles of no greater value than a skein of thread or a sewing-needle. From various causes, the northwest trade was liable to great fluctuations. The laws of supply and de mand were frequently disregarded, and prices consequently often unsettled. He had seen prime sea-otter skins obtained for articles that did not cost fifty cents at home, and had seen given for them articles that cost here nearly twice as much as the skins would sell for in China. To secure success with any branch of business, it must be undertaken with in-, telligence, and steadily prosecuted. Men of sanguine temperaments are often led by reports of great profits made by others, to engage in a business of which they are ignorant, or have not adequate means to carry it on, and thus involve them selves in loss or ruin. These truths Mr. Sturgis deemed strikingly illustrated by the northwest trade. While most of those who have rushed into this trade without knowledge, ex perience, or sufficient capital to carry it on, have been subjected to such serious losses, they were compelled to abandon it ; to all who pursued it systematically and perseveringly, for a series of years, it proved highly lucrative. Among those who were the most successful in this trade, were the late firm of J. & T. H. Perkins, J. & Thos. Lamb, Edward Dorr & Sons, Boardman & Pope, Geo. W . Lyman, Wm. H. Boardman, the late Theodore Lyman, and several others, each of whom acquired a very ample fortune. These fortunes were not acquired, as individual wealth not unfrequently is, at the expense of our own community, by a tax upon the whole body of consumers, in the form of enhanced prices, often from adventitious causes. They were ob tained abroad by giving to the Indians articles which they valued more than their furs, and then selling those furs to the Chinese for such prices as they are willing to pay; thus adding to the wealth of the country, at the expense of foreigners, all that was acquired by individuals beyond the usual return for the use of capital, and suitable compensation for the services of those employed. This excess was sometimes very large. Mr. Sturgis said that more than once he had known a capital of $40,000, employed in a northwest voyage, yield a return exceeding $150,000. In one instance, an outfit not exceeding $50,000, gave a gross return of $284,000. The individual who conducted the voyage is now a prominent mer chant of Boston. In conclusion, the lecturer gave a brief account of the two great fur companies. In 1785 an assor>-fion of merchants was formed in Siberia for the purpose of col lecting furs in W North Pacific. In 1799 they were chartered under the name of the “ Russian American Company,” with the exclusive privilege of procuring furs within the Russian limits, (54° 40') for a period of twenty years, which has since been extended. The furs collected are sent across Siberia to Kiatska, the great mart for pel tries in the northern part of China, or to St. Petersburg. For a number of years the company obtained a large portion of their supplies from American vessels, giving in return seal-skins and other furs, and latterly, bills on St. Petersburg. 538 The Northwest Fur Trade. T h e treatment o f the agents and servants of the company, to the Indians, has been of the most atrocious and revolting character. The British Hudson Bay Company was chartered by Charles II., in 1669, with the grant of the exclusive use and control of a very extensive though not well-de fined country, north and west of Canada. This uncertainty as to limits, led to the formation of an association of merchants in Canada in 1787, called the “ Northwest Company,” for carrying on the fur trade without the supposed boun daries of the Hudson Bay Company. Those in-the service of these concerns soon came in collision. Disputes and personal violence followed. At length, in June, 1816, a pitched battle was fought near a settlement that had been made by Lord Selkirk, upon the Red river, under a grant from the Hudson Bay Company, between the settlers and a party in the service of the Northwest Company, in which Governor Semple and seventeen of his men were killed. This roused the attention of the British government, and in 1821, the two companies were united, or rather, the Northwest Company was merged into the Hudson Bay Company. Previous to this, however, the North west Company had, in 1806, established trading posts beyond the Rocky Moun tains. During the last war with Great Britain, they got possession o f Mr. Astor’s settlement at the mouth of the Columbia, and extended their posts on several branches of that river. These establishments being united, it infused new life, and their operations have since been conducted with increased vigor. They have now, practically, a monopoly of the fur trade, from 42° to 54° 40', on the western sea-board, and from 49° to the Northern Ocean, upon the rest of the American continent. With the exception of the British East India Company, the Hudson Bay Com pany is the most extensive and powerful association of individuals for private emolument, now in existence, and their influence has hitherto prevented an ad justment of the Oregon question. Mr. Sturgis said he did not speak from mere conjecture, when he affirmed that it would have been settled months ago, upon the line suggested by him in a previous lecture before this association, and to the sat isfaction of the people of both countries, but for the selfish interference of this company. Should disastrous consequences follow the delay in settling this ques tion, it will add another to the numerous evils that have already resulted from great commercial monopolies. The whole business of collecting furs upon our western continent, without the acknowledged limits of the United States, is now monopolized by two great cor porations, the Russian and British Fur Companies. After the peace in 1815, the British Northwest Company—partly in consequence of the monopoly of the East India Company— were compelled to seek the aid of American merchants and American vessels, in carrying on an important branch of their business. For a number of years, all the supplies for British establish ments, west of the Rocky Mountains, were brought from London to Boston, and carried hence to the mouth of the Columbia in American ships, and all their col lections of furs sent to Canton, consigned to an American house, and the pro ceeds shipped to England or the United States, in the same vessels ; a fact which speaks loudly in favor of the freedom of our institutions and the enterprise of our merchants. Our respected fellow citizens, Messrs. Perkins & Co., furnished the ships, and transacted the business. W e may state, on the authority o f Mr. Cowdin, that the lecture was listened to with unbroken attention and merited approbation, by a numer ous and highly intelligent audience. V ery many o f the most prominent merchants and distinguished citizens o f Boston w ere in attendance, among whom was the venerable Thomas H . Perkins. As a matter o f “ unwrit ten history,” the lecture is indeed very valuable— inasmuch as it imparts a knowledge o f the commercial enterprises o f by-gone days, interesting in a high degree, and not accessible in any other form. In fact, it was just what a lecture should be— the result o f large experience and practical wisdom, set forth in a clear, methodical, and comprehensive manner. Coal Region o f the Schuylkill and Wyoming Valley. It is to be regretted that more o f brought forward in this capacity, for branches o f the mercantile community ties and responsibilities o f com m ercial 539 our prominent merchants are not it is from them that the younger derive their best lessons o f the du life. Art. ¥1.— COAL REGION OF THE SCHUYLKILL AND WYOMING VALLEY. T h e tract o f country extending from the city o f Philadelphia along the banks o f the Schuylkill to the W yom ing valley, embraces, probably, the most interesting part o f the coal region o f the Union. Constituting a sec tion o f the country distinguished for the coal and iron which lie imbedded in its hills, as w ell as for the enterprise that is peculiarly active in ex ca vating them from the earth, the beauty o f its scenery is no less remark able than its mineral resources. It comprises, in fact, a principal gate, through w hich is transported the vast body o f anthracite coal that supplies the population o f the sea b o a rd ; and, running through a country suffi ciently fertile to afford the persons employed in the coal trade the means o f subsistence, it is marked by many peculiar circumstances. A s w e proceed from Philadelphia by the shore o f the Schuylkill, through the Reading railway, w e are conscious o f entering upon an important sec tion o f the country. T h e spacious and elegant bridges which are thrown across the streams, the number o f men who are employed in the public works, and the long trains o f cars— sometimes numbering a hundred— which are drawn by a single engine, and that are continually running to and from the mines, evince the species o f labor which is acting upon this part o f the state. Proceeding about eight miles, w e reach the thriving vil lage o f Manayunk, containing cotton and paper mills and other manufac turing establishments ; Phenixville, w hich is distinguished for its iron works ; Norristown and Reading, two places containing a considerable population and trade, and arrive at the settlement o f Mauch-Chunk, a prominent depot o f the coal trade. T h e scenery along this track is varied and interesting, presenting, as it does, a succession o f Farms w ell cultivated by an industrious population. Although it w as but the tenth o f April, w e noticed along the track o f the railway, clusters o f purple flowers spring ing from the cinnamon-colored rocks which are peculiar to this part o f Pennsylvania. ' Reaching Mauch-Chunk, in the county o f Carbon, w e arrive at one o f the principal anthracite coal districts in this section o f the country. Situated up on the west bank o f the Lehigh, and surrounded by steep mountains, this lit tle settlement exhibits in its mines o f coal, its inclined planes, and in the extensive machinery w hich is employed in the running and transportation of that product, the leading features that mark this branch o f enterprise. The southern anthracite coal-field, extending eastward from Schuylkill county, terminates in this region, while the mountains forming the edges o f the coal basins upon each side are about five hundred feet above the adjacent valleys. Numerous beds o f coal have been discovered in the vicinity o f this place, and are worked with great success— while from one o f the mines, the trains o f laden cars are conveyed upon a descending rail road five miles in length, to the landing at Mauch-Chunk, Where the boats are waiting to receive it. In one o f the mines the coal-bed is from fifty to sixty feet thick, and lies upon the summit— being worked from the sur 540 Coal Region o f the Schuylkill and Wyoming Valley. face, and by daylight. Already between one and two millions o f tons of coal have been mined at this bed. From the mine to the river a railroad extends for the distance o f nine miles, upon which laden trains descend, and when their burden is deposited, are themselves drawn back by mules w hich pass down with the trains in large cars constructed for the purpose. It is by the enterprise o f the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, that a river not naturally favorable to navigation, has been converted into a valuable channel o f canal and slack-water transportaton, and the mineral resources o f the hills around this region have been thus developed, and their products brought into market. W e now reach Pottsville, an active village, w hich constitutes the centre o f the coal trade o f this quarter. It is the grand depot o f the coal that is mined in the immediate vicinity o f the town, as w ell as the place o f ship ment for that which is transported to this point by the numerous branch ing railroads leading to this place from the mines o f the surrounding hills. Numerous small villages are scattered through the region, w hich are in habited in a greater part by miners, and w hich are sustained by the coal trade. T h e population o f this section o f the mining district has in fact been much increased since the opening o f the mines— not only b y immi grants from the neighboring counties, but by settlers from England and Ireland, as w ell as Scotland and W ales. Pine Grove, on the Swatara, at the head o f the navigation o f the Union Canal Company, is m oreover a place o f considerable importance, inasmuch as a large quantity o f coal is shipped at that place from the Swatara region. W e are informed that more than six hundred thousand tons o f anthra cite coal are transported from this part o f our country each year, and that twenty thousand tons more are consumed within the county, notwithstand ing that it is only since the year 1825 that mining was here commenced for shipment. It is also estimated that a population o f sixteen thousand is scattered through the coal region, and that fifteen hundred persons are employed in the transportation o f coal upon the railroads and canals, who do not reside within the county, so that the entire population here depend ing upon the coal trade, amounts to about seventeen thousand five hundred. There are also here about seventeen hundred miners ; two thousand mules employed in and about the mines, and in propelling the boats w hich are required in the transportation o f coal, besides fifteen hundred drift cars, two thousand railroad cars, and eight hundred and fifty boats are also en gaged in transporting the coal to the landings and to the market. There is, moreover, a difference in the mode o f working the several mines, some being situated above water-level, and requiring no engines ; while others being below , require steam-engines for the purpose o f pumping out the water, and in raising the coal. More than four millions o f dollars are here invested in -works connected with the coal trade ; there are more than a hundred miles o f railroad constructed by companies, and b y individuals, besides a total amount o f forty miles extending under ground from the mines to the open light o f day. Beds o f iron ore have likew ise been dis covered in this vicinity, w hich are worked with a good degree o f success. In order to show the character o f the coal trade from this region, w e sub join a table exhibiting the amount o f the coal received in Philadelphia from the mines during a single w eek in the month o f April o f the present year, upon the Reading railway : Coal Region o f the Schuylkill and W yoming Valley. 541 The amount o f anthracite coal transported on the Reading railway, during the w eek ending the 16th inst., inclusive, w as as follows, viz : From Tons. Pottsville,............................................................... 4,432 Schuylkill H aven ,............................................. 9,463 Port C arbon,......................................................... 6,102 Port C lin to n ,.................... ............................... 1,475 Cwt. 12 19 16 10 T ota l,............................................ 21,474 Previously this year,...................................... 186,948 17 11 G ra n d to ta l, ............................... 208,423 08 T h e shipm ents from the L e h ig h m in e s, for the w e e k en din g on Saturday last, w e re as follow s : From Tons. 918 Rhume R u n ,............................................................................ 1,364 768 Beaver M eadow ,................................ H azleton,............................................................................... 349 Buck M ountain,.................................................................... 117 T h e L e h ig h co m p an y ’ s m in e s .......................................... T ota l,................................................................3,516 In advancing from Hazleton to the valley o f W yom ing, the face o f the country becom es more mountainous ; and in its dense forests, and deep pools, amid the shadows o f the hills, filled with standing trees, it exhibits the aspect o f frontier life. Log-houses, those distinguishing marks o f a new country, are scattered along the track o f the road ; and with the as pect o f a Germ an population who are moral and industrious, you can scarcely evade the impression that you are passing through a section o f the west. A s w e advance nearer to the valley o f the W yom ing, the face o f the scenery becom es more rugged ; extensive tracts o f pine, w hich furnish lumber to a considerable amount, skirt the roads— and blue mountains, like distant clouds, begin to sw ell upon the horizon. Sometimes in descending the summit o f a mountain, a broad valley spreads out before the eye its enclosed farms, w hich seemed, from the mingled contrast o f the emerald and brow n o f early spring, like a piece o f mosaic, in the midst o f which, the white farm-house appeared like specks o f snow. Crossing occasional railroad tracks leading from the mines, and ascending and descending hills, w e now reach a rocky hill, w hich seems like a mighty fortress, from which clouds o f blue landscape appear to bound the s ig h t; and descend ing this mountain over rough fragments o f the rock, composing the road, we enter W ilkesbarre, in the valley o f W yom ing. T h e beauty o f this valley has been reflected across the Atlantic, and poetry has painted it in glow ing colors, which w e deem hardly exagger ated. It here presents the aspect o f an insulated plain, bordered on each side by mountains, and watered by the Susquehanna, which flows through the centre, exhibiting less o f the sublime than the beautiful. T h e light blue sky which always characterizes mountain scenery, depending upon the purity o f the atmosphere, the mountains themselves, with the shadows 542 Coal Region o f the Schuylkill and Wyoming Talley. ever moving over their summits, the winding current o f the river, and the settlements o f the valley, which, from the lofty and distant hills, seem like the block cities o f the nursery— exhibit an effect which cannot easily be described. As the sun descended it did not gild the mountains, but sank below the horizon like an orb o f fire, leaving in its track masses o f rosy clouds, which gradually melted into hues o f amber— and those in turn faded away into a lighter colored atmosphere. T h e sun had scarcely re signed his dominion and left the world in darkness, when lines o f light be gan to appear in the east, and through a pyramid o f pearly clouds up rose the moon into a serene sky, like a globe o f living silver. W hether it was the purity o f the air, the serenity o f the scene, or other causes w hich pro duced the effect, w e know not, but it was a scene (w e say it with rever en ce,) almost o f celestial beauty. T h e landscape in the neighboring re gion is decorated with several lakes and cascades, and the mountain streams abound in trout, and the forests in deer, and other gam e, for those who have leisure for such amusements. In the vicinity o f W ilkesbarre, are several coal mines ; one belonging to a Baltimore company, w hich has been worked with success. A n op portunity was soon presented by w hich w e w ere enabled to visit one o f those mines. Entering the mouth o f a mine, like a tomb, or rather a tun nel, with a guide w ho holds a lantern, you advance along a railroad track through an arched passage w hich at some points was lined with timber. Proceeding a short distance, w e noticed through the crevices o f the boards which at this place bordered the sides, a lig h t; and looking through them, w e perceived a number o f miners with lights fastened upon their caps, working in what is denominated a chamber. Advancing to the distance o f an eighth o f a mile, w e cam e to the end o f the passage, where w e found other miners with lights also in their caps, who w ere employed in blasting rocks o f coal which w ere imbedded in the mines. Scarcely had w e reached this point, when a mule peered through the darkness along the track o f the railroad, drawing a car, his way being en lightened by a lamp that was fastened between his ears. Thus it is that the millions o f tons o f coal transported from this quarter are excavated from the mines. Railroads extend from the principal mines to the c a n a l; the products o f the coal districts o f the W yom ing and Lackawanna val leys being exported to Rondout, situated upon the Hudson river. W e have presented a b rief sketch o f this coal region o f Pennsylvania, because it constitutes a most interesting portion o f the coal district, and because the coal trade has already grown to vast importance. This pro duct, it is w ell known, has attained to extensive use throughout the Union, It is employed more or less for domestic purposes, from the banks o f the Penobscot to the city o f Charleston, and from the shores o f the Lakes to the mouth o f the Mississippi, embracing not only the large cities upon the seaboard, but the innumerable intermediate villages o f greater or less size. It is moreover beginning to be extensively employed in steam navigation and in foundries, and for the smelting and working o f iron. T h e tw o prominent staples, coal and iron, in w hich this section o f Penn sylvania abounds, are the most valuable mineral products, in their bearing upon national wealth ; and the circumstances connected with the coal trade must be interesting to those w ho desire to becom e acquainted with the practical operations o f this branch o f enterprise. 543 Trade and Tonnage o f the New York Canals. Art. VII— TRADE AND TONNAGE OF THE NEW YORK CANAIS. T h e following tables are compiled from the annual report o f the com missioners o f the canal fund, on the trade and tonnage o f the N ew York canals.— (Senate Document, N o. 59, for 1846.) These tables plainly show that there is an increase in the annual num ber o f lockages on the Erie C a n a l; a rapid increase in the tonnage o f products o f the forest, and in the total tonnage o f the canals. T able I. SHOWING LOCKAGES, & C ., ON THE ERIE CANAL. Year. Num ber o f lockages at Alexander’s lock, 3 miles w est o f Schenectady. 1824.. 1825.. 1826.. 1827., 1828., 1829.. 1830.. 1831.. 1832.. 1833.. 1834.. 1835.. 1836.. 1837.. 1838.. 1839.. 1840.. 1841.. 1842.. 1843.. 1844.. 1845.. Average for each period o f 5 years. 6,166 10,985 15,1561 13,004 14,579 12,619 14,674 16,284' 18,601 20,649 22,911 25,798 25,516 21,055 25,962 24,234 26,987 Number o f boats ar rived at, and cleared from, Albany and Troy. Average for each period o f 5 years. 8,760 13,110 14,006 20,849 24,751 30,320 22,869 23,184 28,219 30,452 27,009 23,662 21,490 23,874 26,8821 25.826 31,460 32,438 36,690 J 34,1901 31,082 | 32,120 y 31,882 I 30,456 J 33,782 32,840 32.826 38,786 40,094 22,000* 30,659 31,946 35,665 From an inspection o f the above table, it is evident that the number o f lockages is increasing, although the capacity o f the boats now is double what it was in 1838. T SHOWING, IN TONS, able THE TOTAL MOVEMENT II. OF ARTICLES ON ALL THE CANALS, FROM 1836 to 1845. Products o f the forest. Agricul ture. A ll other articles. Total. 1836,..................................................... 1837,..................................................... 1838,...................................................... 1839....................................................... 1840,..................................................... 755,252 618,741 665,089 667,581 587,647 225,747 208,043 255,227 266,052 393,780 329,808 344,512 412,695 502,080 434,619 1,310,807 1,171,296 1,333,011 1,435,713 1,416,046 1841,..................................................... 1842,..................................................... 1843,...................................................... 1844,...................................................... 1845....................................................... 645,548 504,597 687,184 864,373 881,774 391,905 401,276 455,797 509,387 555,160 484,208 331,058 370,458 442,826 540,631 1,521,661 1,2.36,932 1,513,439 1,816,586 1,977,565 3,394,310 1,348,848 2,023,714 6,666.873 3,583,476 2,313,525 2,169,181 8,066,182 Year. Total 1st five years, from 1836 to 1840, inclusive,.......................... Total 2d five years, from 1841 to 1845, inclusive,........................... * Estimated, as there are two years uncertain, v iz : 1826 and 1827. 544 Trade and Tonnage o f the New York Canals. T a b l e II.— Continued. Prod, o f forest. Agriculture. A v. p. ann. from 1836 to 1840, inc.. A v. p. ann. from 1841 to 1845, inc.. Increase in five years,......................... Increase per annum,........................... 658,862 716,695 57,833 11,566 269,770 462,705 192,935 38,587 All oth. artic. 404,743 433,836 29,093 5,819 Total. 1,333,374 1,613,236 279,862 55,972 From the above, it is evident that the tonnage o f the canals is rapidly increasing at an average rate o f about 56,000 tons per annum. It is also evident that the tonnage o f products o f the forest is increasing at an average rate o f over 11,000 tons per annum. T a b l e III. SHOWING THE TONNAGE AKK1VING AT TIBE WATEK. Products o f the forest. Agricul A ll other articles. Total. 49,679 75,295 57,462 60,623 44,947 696,347 611,781 640,481 602,128 669,012 1836,....................................................... 1837......................................................... 1838,....................................................... 1839,....................................................... 1840,....................................................... 473,668 385,017 400 877 377,720 321,709 ture. 173,000 151,469 182,142 163,785 302,356 1841,....................................................... 1842........................................................ 1843,....................................................... 1844,....................................................... 1845,....................................................... 449,095 321,480 416,173 545,202 607,930 270,240 293,177 346,140 383,363 447,627 54,999 51,969 74,548 102,830 149,386 774,334 626,727 836,861 1,031,395 1,204,943 1,958,991 972,752 288,066 3,219,749 2,339,880 740,547 433,732 4,514,159 391,798 194,550 57,601 643,949 467,976 76,178 15,235 348,109 153,559 30,712 86,746 29,145 5,829 902,831 258,882 51,776 Year. Total, 1st five years, from 1836 to 1840, inclusive,............................ Total 2d five years, from 1841 to 1845, inclusive,............................ Average per annum, 1st five years, from 1836 to 1840, inclusive.......... Average per annum, 2d five years, from 1840 to 1846,.......................... Increase in five years,......................... Annual increase,................................... From the above, it is evident that the total tonnage arriving at tide w a ter, is rapidly increasing, at an average rate o f about 52,000 tons per an num. It is also evident that the tonnage from products o f the forest, ar riving at tide water, are increasing at the rate o f about 15,000 tons per annum. O wing to the deposit o f sediment from the small streams running into the canal, and various other causes, the capacity o f the canal was so much reduced, that, in 1838, the average load o f boats with down freight, was but thirty tons.— (See p. 438, vol. xii., Merchants’ M agazine.) In consequence o f bringing into use some o f the completed work o f the Erie Canal enlargement, and improving the remaining part o f the canal, its capacity has been so increased, that the average load o f boats with down freight, in 1845, w as over sixty tons. This increase o f load is, in some degree, ow ing to improvements in the construction o f the boats, but mainly to the great improvements in the canal itself. T h e effect o f this increased capacity o f the boats has been to reduce the cost o f transportation about 30 per cent below what it was in 1838. H . J. N ew Y ork, M ay 15th, 1846. The Sub-Treasury. 545 Art. VIII.— THE SUB-TREASURY. T h e act o f Congress for establishing a sub-treasury, has passed the House o f Representatives by a great m ajority; indeed, two-thirds o f the members voted for it. It was carried by this great majority, upon the ground o f being a substitute for the United States’ Bank, and as the evi dence o f hostility to such an institution. Its passage has been delayed in the Senate, from an apprehension o f some o f the more intelligent mem bers o f the ruling party, that it would produce such a convulsion in the currency as would impair and jeopardize their influence. It is, indeed, too true. I f it passes, it w ill not only operate most unfavorably upon the in fluence o f the party, but produce a degree o f embarrassment and distress equal to that w hich was experienced in 1839. It would operate with the greatest pressure upon the city o f N ew York. Nearly three-quarters o f the revenue o f the United States is collected in that city. H ere the specie must be collected for accumulation in the vaults o f the sub-treasury. Sup pose the law to be now in operation, what would be the situation o f the banks o f the city and state ? T h e government has now on hand a surplus o f twelve millions o f dollars, which, by the operation o f the law, must be locked up, in specie, in their vaults. T h e immediate consequence would be the suspension o f specie payments by the banks, or the Bankruptcy o f the whole body o f the merchants. A re the merchants generally aware o f this ? I f there are but eight millions o f specie in the city o f N ew York, as the bank returns show, how is it possible for the government to hoard this immense sum o f twelve millions in their vaults, without producing such a revulsion as w e have never known? Suppose that, in consequence o f the great emigration from Europe to this country, the fever o f specula tion should arise for the public lands, as in 1837. This sum would be more than doubled, and even thirty millions o f specie might be collected in the vaults o f the sub-treasury. That this is not an improbable state ment, it is only necessary to recur to the fact that, only a few years since, about thirty millions did accumulate in the banks, to the credit o f the United States, which was divided and distributed among the states accord ing to federal representation. Can any one foresee the general calamity and ruin which would arise from such arbitrary interference with the cur rency o f the country ? W hat is the occasion for it ? Not that the public funds are insecure ; no loss, under the present system, has been sustained. Every bank, and every individual, gives to the Secretary o f the Treasury such public stocks as are satisfactory. It is the watch-word o f party, alone, which, in the excitement arising from it, has carried the bill so far. T h e inquiry w ill be made, why this sub-treasury law will be so embar rassing to the country, when it had been in operation nearly a year, with no apparent influence, and repealed by the W h ig administration in 1841. The reason is clear. T h e government had no funds on hand. It did not pay its debtors with punctuality. It possessed no specie to hoard in a sub treasury. W hat is the course pursued by France and England, the two most en lightened nations in the world ? T h ese nations more nearly approximate to the United States in com m erce, intelligence, population, and free insti tutions, than any other nations. Both these great nations, after passing through many revolutions in government as w ell as currency, have settled V O L . x i v . — n o . v i. 35 546 The Sub-Treasury. down upon banks o f deposit and circulation. One great advantage is, that it enables the government, i f the public exigencies require it, to accumu late surplus revenue, without any undue interference with the currency o f the country. Sub-treasuries are used in Turkey, and most o f the despotic governments o f Asia. Gold and silver are exclusively used by those na tions that possess no credit. It is the peculiar feature o f modern civiliza tion, that bills o f exchange and bank bills are used as a substitute and representative o f specie. The effect has been to give those nations which have most judiciously exercised this attribute o f sovereignty, a great as cendancy in the com m erce o f the world. Indeed, England, partly from this cause, possesses a com m erce far exceeding, in richness and extent, any known, either in ancient or modern times. W hat are the advantages o f the sub-treasury over the existing system ? It has no advantage. In respect to security, it is fully equal. The Secre tary o f the Treasury does not deposit a dollar with the richest bank in the country, without security. H e requires either United States’ stock, or stocks o f the most solvent states, as collateral security. If, from political causes, at any future period, these stocks should decline in value, the same causes would affect the security o f specie deposited with a sub-treasurer. W hat are its disadvantages 1 T h ey are great, and without anything to counterbalance them. In the event o f an accumulation o f specie in the sub treasury, such as w e have now on hand, and it may be twice or thrice the sum, w e shall have a general embarrassment and insolvency throughout the country. I f the whole o f the specie o f the city o f N ew Y ork is re quired to be placed in the vaults o f the sub-treasury, how can the banks continue specie payments ? T h e only alternative is a general stoppage o f payments by the merchants, or a stoppage by the banks. I f the latter, w e shall have a depreciated paper currency, such as actually occurred in the last w ar with England, and, more recently, in 1837, from an excess o f im portation o f foreign goods. Such an event would be a calamity ; a depre ciated currency demoralizes a people ; it paralyzes their industry. In the transition o f the banks in 1816 and 1838 to a resumption o f specie pay ments, thousands upon thousands have lost the fruits o f the labor o f years. A paralysis o f the currency, such as the sub-treasury may produce, would affect every individual in the country. Credit is more general in this coun try than any other. It arises from our prosperity. In Europe the low er classes have little interest in the government, and are not much affected by its provisional measures, as they do not look b e yond the situation in which they are placed. In this country the humblest individual looks forward to an improvement o f his condition. Such has been the situation o f the country, arising from the many millions o f the richest lands unoccupied, and an exemption from all taxes, except the ne cessary expenses o f government, that any one possessed o f health and in dustry can attain a moderate share o f independence. Credit is therefore universal in the cities, as w ell as the interior. The pioneer who pur chases his six hundred acres o f land in the wilderness, is in credit in pro portion as much as the most opulent merchant in the city. The sub treasury would affect him most sensibly, as the currency would be af fected. T h e judicious exercise o f this distinguishing mark o f modern civiliza tion, the use o f bills o f exchange, and banks o f deposit and circulation, has produced the same effect here that it has in Europe. N o nation in Europe Maritime Late. 547 has advanced so much in population, com m erce, manufactures, and agri culture, as the United States since the declaration o f independence. One o f the principal causes is the universal system o f credit which prevails throughout the country. This places the poor man in a great degree on a par with the rich man. It stimulates the industry o f our people, and has contributed greatly to our prosperity. Indeed, the advantages which w e possess over the inhabitants o f Europe, by our hundreds o f millions o f unoccupied lands, and exemption from onerous taxes, would be neutralized without credit to avail ourselves o f these. This is afforded by banks o f circulation and deposit. There is a popular illusion prevalent with regard to a Bank o f the U ni ted States— that it is aristocratic, and promotes the interests o f the rich, instead o f the poor. So far from it, banks are essentially the poor man’ s friend. B y the assistance o f a bank, a person o f limited means and a good character may have as fair a position for the transaction o f business as the richest man in the community. T h e credit which is obtained from them is diffused through all the classes o f society. T h e farmer and m e chanic, if they do not receive it from the bank, receive it indirectly from those who do. This enables’ the one to add to his agricultural improve ments, and the other to his stock o f manufactured goods, w hich increase the aggregate amount o f the productive industry o f the country. Like the “ choicest ofh eaven ’ s gifts,” they are liable to abuse, and have been abu sed in this country. But the abuse o f what is useful is no argument against its use. h . s. k . Art. IX.— MARITIME LAW— SO, XI. RESPONDENTIA LOANS. A respondentia contract is a marine hypothecation, whereby a certain sum of money or goods are loaned on the pledge o f the cargo o f a ship or some part of it, on a voyage at sea, with the condition that if the cargo or merchandise perish, or be lost by the perils o f the sea, during the voyage, or the continuance of the time stipulated, the party advancing the loan shall have no recourse for his principal or premium against the person of the borrower, or his goods, estate, or any right to recover further than the proceeds of such part o f the cargo or merchandise as may bo saved, deduct ing salvage expenses, or the damages the goods may receive on the voyage, by the perils o f the sea. In case o f the safe arrival o f the cargo at the place designated, or its safety during the time stipulated on the loss or damage o f it by the acts o f the borrower, his agents or servants, the lender shall be entitled to the repayment o f the loan, with a maritime interest, for the risk he has run o f losing the whole o f his loan by the perils o f the sea. T h e difference between a bottomry and respondentia loan consists in the fact that one is a loan upon a ship, the other upon the goods or mer chandise laden, or to be laden, on board. The money is to be repaid to the lender with maritime interest, upon the safe arrival o f the ship in one case, and o f the goods or merchandise in the other. In other respects these contracts are nearly the same, and are governed by the same prin ciples. T h e ship and her tackle are liable, and the person o f the bor rower, in the first case ; and in the latter case the lender will hold a lien 548 Maritime Law. on the goods, and an action against the borrower for the repayment o f the loan, and maritime interest in case the goods are not lost by the perils o f the sea. But a loan upon goods for an outward voyage alone, does not always give the lender a lien upon the goods purchased for the homeward voyage. Indeed, it never does, unless the goods have been purchased with the proceeds o f the outward cargo, and on the account o f the owner o f the outer cargo. A respondentia loan, like that o f bottomry, differs materially from a sim ple loan with a mortgage given as security for the repayment o f the debt. In a loan, the money is at the risk o f the borrower, and must be paid at all events; but in a respondentia loan, the money is at the risk o f the lender, during the voyage, or the time stipulated. Upon a simple loan and mort gage, the legal interest can only be recovered, while upon a respondentia loan, any interest may be legally recovered which the parties may agree upon ; yet to obtain a maritime interest, the contract must be in writing, and it is essential to this contract that the marine interest be in writing, and the rate mentioned in it. It is the essence o f this contract that the money loaned, or something equivalent to it, be exposed to the perils o f the sea, at the risk o f the lender a lon e; and by the marine law, as it is found in all com m ercial countries at the present day, the borrow er w ill be held to prove and justify him self that he really had goods and merchandise on board the ship, designated in the contract for the voyage, or at the time stipulated, to the full value o f the loan, and exposed to the perils o f the sea, otherwise the contract w ill be paid as a respondentia agreement, and the borrower w ill be held liable to return the money loaned with mari time interest, though the goods are lost by the perils o f the sea. A s a general rule money m aybe lent in respondentia on any object which may be subject matter o f insurance, and the loan is usually followed by a hy pothecation o f goods, chattels, and freights, as security for the loan. But money may be borrowed on respondentia without hypothecating anything ; the borrower may, and often does, take the money on board with him in specie or bills o f exchange, in order that he may employ it in trade in the course o f the voyage. This form o f the loan w as called in the Rom an law fecunia trajectiti .4, and seems to have been the manner in which the original contract o f respondentia g rew into existence among the ancient Romans. Another form o f respondentia loan is, when a person who is about to undertake a voyage, borrowed money to purchase a cargo, and gives a hypothecation on it for the repayment o f the loan, which was made to depend on the safe arrival o f the goods at the port o f destination. This loan was called, in the ancient civil law, money loaned marilima usura. T h e loan was on the outward cargo o f the vessel, and was often made to cover the homeward cargo where it w as the property o f the bor rower. W h en it was upon the merchandise for the outward voyage, this alone was hypothecated. T h e lender in most cases had only the personal security o f the borrow er for the repayment o f the loan, as the merchandise was sold or disposed o f in a foreign country. T his form o f contract exists with us at the present day, and the lender w ill have only the per sonal security o f the borrower for the repayment o f the loan, and mari time interest, unless he take a bill o f lading or an assignment o f the cargo hypothecated, with the right to receive the proceeds o f the goods as secu rity when they arrive at the place o f destination on the outward voyage. T h e ancient G reek merchants at Athens, in the days o f Demosthenes, Respondentia Loans. 549 the orator, often loaned money on goods for a fixed time, or for a voyage to a particular place or country. I f it w as lent only for a voyage out wards, the principal and interest becam e due at the place o f destination, either to the creditor himself, or his agent or servant, who oftentimes went along in the ship laden with the goods hypothecated to receive the money at the place o f destination, as w ell as to watch the conduct o f the master and crew on the voyage. W h en the contract was for the voyage both inwards and outwards, the payment was made after the return. In these agreements, there w as generally a double secu rity; the debtor being bound in goods to tw ice the amount o f the loan, without being able to raise other money upon them. In an agreement for voyages both inwards and outwards, i f the goods given in security w ere sold, fresh commodities o f equal value w ere to be reladen on board for the homeward voyage— these goods becam e hypothecated in law to the lender. Until the time o f the repayment, the creditor was bound to leave the security untouched if it w as safe, and at the expiration o f the loan, the debtor w as obliged to surrender the w hole security, or make payment o f his loan and interest, or suffer a heavy punishment for the violation o f his contract. T h e agree ment o f bottomry w as made binding by means o f an instrument in writing, styled a nautical contract, called nautike sungraphe. W e w ill now refer to another form o f respondentia contract, recognized in the tribunals o f com m erce and admiralty in all countries at the present day. This is properly a forced loan which grows out o f the necessities o f trade on a voyage o f a ship in a foreign country, or in a place where the owners do not reside. Ships and vessels, while on a voyage, may be driven into ports in for eign countries by stress o f weather, pursuits o f pirates, or enemies, and it often becom es necessary under such circumstances, to hypothecate the cargo, or sell it, or some portion o f it, to pay the expenses o f the ship while detained on the voyage, or in foreign countries. T h e application o f the cargo or property o f the shipper to the necessities o f the voyage, is called a forced loan , and the owner, whose property has been thus ta ken or sold to raise money for the repairs o f the ship, or to supply her with necessaries on the voyage, by w ay o f a forced loan, has the right, by the maritime law, to look to the security o f the ship, as w ell as the individual responsibility o f the ship-owner, for remuneration. This species o f contract involves the question o f the pow er and duties o f masters o f vessels in cases o f necessity, while abroad. T h e master is often necessitated to execute several bottomry contracts, as he may be be compelled, by the perils o f the sea, to put into more than one port on the voyage. First— he should endeavor to raise money on the personal responsibility o f the owners o f the ship. Second— i f he cannot procure the necessary funds for the voyage in this manner, he may hypothecate the ship and freights to raise the money, and i f the ship and freights are con ceived insufficient for the bottomry loan, the master is authorized, in ad dition, to pledge the cargo. Third— not being able to raise money in this last form o f the contract, he may, in cases o f necessity, sell the cargo, or a portion o f it, to effect the object. Necessity in this case creates the law ; it supersedes the rules w hich govern men in ordinary cases o f com mercial transactions. W hatever, under all the circumstances, is reasona ble and just, in such cases, is likewise legal.* * Jacobson’s Sea Laws, p. 369. 550 Maritime Law. B y the ancient laws o f W isby, it was provided that whenever the master o f a vessel on a voyage was forced to sell any portion o f the cargo o f the ship, for want o f money or victuals, the ship becam e hypothecated for the goods sold until satisfaction was made, though another master had been in the meantime appointed in the ship, and the ship had been sold, and put into the hands o f a new owner.* T h e same principle is found practised in the maritime codes o f all nations in case o f jettisons, and sacrifice o f portions, or the whole o f the cargo, o f a vessel on a voyage, to preserve the remainder, or the ship, from loss by the perils o f the sea. T h e doctrine o f contributions has been acknow ledged from the earliest periods o f maritime trade and com m erce. T h e ancient Rhodians made laws on this subject. These w ere follow ed by the G reeks and Rom ans. Indeed, all persons whose goods have been sacrificed, or damaged, or suffered charges for the common good, or safety o f the ship or cargo, ought to be indemnified. Justice requires that equality should take place by contributions among all those interested, and w ho have been in danger o f losing all, where some have saved what was in risk only because others sacrificed theirs for the common benefit.f T h ese should make recompense by contribution. H ence arises the doctrine o f marine averages. It is also upon the principles above stated that the master o f a ship, who has paid o ff material men and artificers with his own money, for the necessary repairs o f the ship on the voyage, is sub stituted, in point o f claim, to the rights o f such artificers and material men. T h e law protects him by a hypothecation upon the ship, her tackle, ap parel, and furniture, because it becam e his duty to extricate the vessel entrusted to his ca re.t In such cases the law gives the master an implied hypothecation upon the vessel and her freights, for the repayment o f the money advanced for the necessities o f the voyage. And if a cargo has been sacrificed for the necessities o f the ship, reason and justice can do no less than give the ow ner a lien upon the vessel for security o f the money due ; nevertheless, this form o f respondentia or bottomry contract does not carry maritime, but only legal interest. T h e owners o f the vessel w ill be personally lia ble to refund the money due ; and, indeed, in all cases where the master or the crew sell, embezzle, or destroy the cargo, the owners will be held responsible, because all persons employed in the navigation o f a vessel are the direct servants o f the owners o f the ship, in different grades o f authority. § A marine hypothecation is a right in a thing constituted for security o f the creditor, and partakes o f the nature o f the sale or vendition o f the thing hypothecated to the creditor to answer a loan upon the security o f it. T h e creditor becomes part owner to the extent ©f his loan, and for the repayment o f it, while the debtor may be said to retain the dominion o f the property. T h e ancient authorities in the civil law advance the proposition that nothing can be hypothecated w hich cannot be the subject o f a sale.[| * Laws o f W isby, article 45. t Domat Civil Law, Libre 2, title 9. f Wendell, p. 315 ; Van Broekelin, vs. Ingersoll. 4 4 Louisiana Reports, p. 3 4 0 ; W . L. Jordon, vs. White. • HPothier on Hypothecations, tome 20, p. 194. Mercantile Law Cases. 551 W h en property is hypothecated to secure a loan o f money, or goods, the lender acquires an interest in it to the extent o f his loan, and he is now regarded in law as a part owner or proprietor. The borrower is consid ered as his agent, to the extent o f the loan, to see that the thing hypothe cated is preserved ; (the perils o f the sea alone excepted.) The borrower, however, uniting in himself the character o f an agent, still is a principal party to the ageement, and he assumes to act in good faith, and to do all things possible to effect the objects o f the voyage, and to preserve the property hypothecated from damage and loss. The ancient ordinances o f Bilboa* declared, in setting forth the forms o f bottomry and respondentia obligations, that the lender and borrower were equally sharers and interested in the assignation o f the goods, to run the risks in the sh ip; and in case o f total loss, the borrower was to remain free o f his goods, estate, and person, for the repayment o f the loan. But in case o f shipwreck, and a part o f the goods hypothecated w ere saved, then the lender was to inherit what should be saved for the sum o f the loan, and the borrower for what they w ere worth beyond the loan, and no more ; both parties remaining sharers and partners to the intent, that, abating sal vage expenses, the remainder, nett, shall be parted and apportioned in loss and gain, according to the company’ s account.f a . n . MERCANTILE LAW CASES. MARINE INSURANCE ON SPECIE AND MERCHANDISE. I n the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Judge Hubbard presiding. Daniel Deshon, vs. The Merchants’ Ins. Co. Same, vs. The Tremont Ins. Co. At the March term of this court, 1845, certain points were decided in these cases, and new trials ordered. At the last November term they came up for trial, before Shaw, C. J. The first is an action upon a policy of insurance, made by the Merchants’ Insurance Co., dated 28th June, 1843, by which they insured $3,000 on merchandise, and $3,000 on specie, on board the schooner Drusilla, at and from Boston to port or ports in Hayti, also, on the same property, or invest ments thereof, on board said schooner at and thence to Boston. The policy pur ported to insure the said Deshon “ for whom it may concern, payable to the said Deshon.” The policy in the other case is so similar that it is not necessary to specify it more particularly. The actions by consent were submitted to the jury together. The plaintiff had amended his declaration, so as to set out the policy, as made for whom it might concern, and by filing counts, setting out a joint interest with Hutchings, a separate interest in himself, and a separate interest in Hutch ings. The policy, notice of loss, and abandonment, were not contested. Proof of loss was offered, to show a destruction of the property by fire a few days after the vessel sailed. 1. To prove the plaintiff's interest, he called as a witness David D. Stackpole, a clerk in the plaintiff’s employment, in June, 1843. He verified the invoice of the cargo shipped on board, and the bill of lading ; and proved the purchase of the merchandise by Deshon, which composed the cargo, and the shipment of the same, together with $3,000 in specie, bn board the vessel, on the 30th June, 1843. He also testified to a letter, signed by Hutchings, and addressed to Deshon, dated 28th June, 1843, requesting him to procure and ship a cargo, on his account, to have a commission of 2 1-2 per cent, and the same for guaranty, to consign the cargo to his own friends, to return the proceeds in coffee, and insure the vessel. * S ee Ordinances Bilboa. t 2 Story’s Equity, p. 505. 552 Mercantile Law Cases. This letter was written by the witness, after the vessel sailed, and signed by Hutchings, to be left with Deshon. The object, as the witness stated, was to have something to show the character of the transaction. Stackpole, being inquired of, what was the contract between Deshon and Hutch ings, the owner of the vessel, as to the purchase and shipment of this cargo, it was objected that parol evidence ought not to be admitted, to prove the contract, because it was proved in writing, as contained in the invoice, bill of lading, and letter of Hutchings to Deshon, and also a letter of instruction given by Deshon to the master of the vessel; but the objection was overruled, and the witness further testified as follows:—“ I heard the bargain; Mr. Hutchings wished Mr. Deshon to purchase a cargo and ship it in his own name, and assign it to his friends in Port-au-Prince, the proceeds to be invested in coffee, and come back to his (Deshon’s) address. The return cargo was to include the proceeds of the outward car go, and of the specie. Mr. Deshon was to have the possession and control of the cargo, and Hutchings to be interested in the profit or loss of the voyage ; he was to receive all profit over and above the cost and charges, and his (Deshon’s) com missions ; and he was to sustain the loss, if any occurred. The captain was to be under Mr. Deshon’s directions, as to the sale of the property in Hayti, and he (Deshon) purchased and selected the cargo here. He purchased the whole cargo, and paid for it. Hutchings agreed to place a certain amount of money to go with the cargo, to be invested in a return cargo as above stated, as collateral security, and to indemnify Deshon against any loss which might arise. Mr. Deshon did in fact furnish part of the specie placed on board, and it was afterwards made up by Hutchings, after the vessel sailed, and placed to his credit in account.” In reference to this objection, the documents and letters referred to, were to make part of the case, and if, in the opinion of the whole court, the parol evidence ought not to have been admitted, the verdict was to be set aside, and a new trial granted. 2. It appeared by the testimony of a witness called by the plaintiff, and master of the vessel, that all the water on board was stowed on deck. It was contended that the vessel was on that account unseaworthy. It was ruled that it was the duty of the owners to have on board a sufficient quantity of fresh water, well se cured, otherwise the vessel was not seaworthy; that the fact of all the water being stowed on deck did not necessarily render the vessel unseaworthy ; but that it was a question of fact for the jury upon the evidence, taking into consideration the number of the crew and officers, the destination of the vessel, the length of the voyage, the quantity of water on board, and the manner of the stowage, whether the vessel was seaworthy for the voyage; and as to the burden of proof, it was ruled, that it was matter of defence, that the vessel was unseaworthy on this ac count, and must be proved by the defendants. 3. The main ground of defence was, that the loss was not a fair loss ; that the vessel was designedly destroyed by the procurement and connivance of Hutchings, the owner, for whose account, in whole or in part, these policies were made. Evi dence, particularly the testimony of one Edward Thomas, was offered upon that subject, taken by deposition. He was offered as a witness who would appear not to be entitled to full credit; but who would be, to some extent, corrobo rated and supported, so as to have weight with the jury. When the eighth inter rogatory and the answer thereto were about to be read, they were objected to by the plaintiff, on the ground that, if it was proposed to prove by him, that he had made certain statements in regard to the probable loss of this vessel, before the event happened, with a view to sustain his credit by his own testimony before it was impeached, this was not admissible. Whereupon it was decided that this question and answer could not be read at that stage of the trial. If it should be come a material fact, that the witness declared his knowledge to other persons, and such persons should be called to testify to it, this decision would not preclude such evidence, when offered. It might stand on a different footing. The evi dence was now offered to support the witness’s own credit, for which purpose it was inadmissible. T o this the defendant excepted. A verdict was thereupon taken by consent for the plaintiff, in the case against Mercantile Law Cases. 553 the 'Fremont Insurance Company, for the sum of $ ------ , and against the Mer chants’ Insurance Company, for the sum of $ ------ , subject in both cases to the opinion of the whole court, upon the correctness of the points thus decided; and in case the decision should be in favor of the plaintiff, these verdicts were further subject to be amended by the report of an assessor, if the amount should not be agreed upon by the parties ; or the amounts for which the plaintiff should be en titled to judgment, were to be ascertained by the court, without an assessor, if they should see fit, the verdicts amended accordingly, and judgment rendered thereon for the plain tiffotherw ise the verdicts to be set aside, and new trials granted. Rufus Choate and Henry H. Fuller for the plaintiff. C. P. and B. R. Curtis for the defendants. Hubbard, J., delivered the opinion of the court. (1) With regard to the first point, the letter of Hutchings was not a contract in itself, but was merely evi dence, tending to show a contract, and for that purpose to be taken in connection with other evidence, documentary or verbal. The testimony of Stackpole was not, therefore, evidence to explain a written contract, and was rightfully admitted. (2) The question of seaworthiness in this case was properly left to the jury. Seaworthiness was implied, when there was no evidence to the contrary. When unseaworthiness was relied upon, in defence to an action on a policy of insurance, it must be proved. It might be proved by a variety of facts, and by inference as well as by direct facts. The mere fact that all the water on board was stowed on deck, was only a fact tending to show unseaworthiness, but did not, of itself, render the vessel unseaworthy. The statute of the United States imposed a penalty for not having a sufficient quantity of water stowed below ; but that did not render the vessel unseaworthy in case the statute was not complied with. The question of unseaworthiness was simply a question of fact for the jury to pass upon. (3) With regard to the interrogatory which was put to Thomas, it was very clear that he could not be permitted to strengthen his own testimony, by adding that he had told others the same story. If this species of testimony were admitted, it would lead to great mischief. But if other witnesses had been called, and they had been asked whether he had told them the same story, that would rest on different ground. It would present a question which did not arise in the present case, and which did not therefore become necessary now to decide. Judgment for the plaintiffs on the verdict; it being intimated by the counsel on both sides that there would be no disagreement as to the amount. LIA B ILITY OF COMMON CARRIERS. In the Commercial Court, New Orleans, Louisiana, Samuel A . Aby, vs. Steam boat Paul Jones, Captain Walworth, el al. Walworth and others are owners of the steamer Paul Jones, which plies be tween New Orleans and Vicksburg, and the intermediate places, as a weekly packet. On the 16th of January, 1846, the clerk of Muir & Patterson took to the boat two packages, containing sovereigns, one to the value of $1,600, ad dressed to Pierson & Hume, of Grand Gulf; and the other, to the value of $404 21-100, addressed to the plaintiff Aby, at the same place, and requested Giles, the clerk, to put them in his iron chest and deliver them according to these directions. The clerk of the boat took charge of them accordingly. They were received by the clerk of the boat in his office, where he was signing bills of la ding, and transacting other business of the boat. The boat arrived at Grand Gulf late in the night. There is usually an agent of the boat at that place, but he was absent on that occasion. Neither of the parties to whom the packages of money were addressed, having presented themselves, the clerk of the boat delivered the packages of money to Fulkerson, to be by him delivered according to their ad dress. Fulkerson is a person of sufficient respectability and standing to be en trusted with such a charge, but he is of slender pecuniary responsibility. On his way from the boat, Fulkerson met the clerk of Pierson & Hume, to whom he delivered the larger package of money. The packages for Aby he took to his office, and deposited in an iron chest, in which he left the key, and from thence it 554 Mercantile Law Cases. was stolen during the night. The present action is brought to make the owners of the boat liable for the loss. The boat is one of those engaged in what is called the cotton trade, and these boats carry up packages of money of greater or less amount; sometimes, when shippers wish to insure, they take a bill of lading for the money, in which case freight is paid ; but on most occasions the packages of money are carried without any charge being made for the trouble and responsibility, and it was not intended or expected that any charge for freight would have been made in the present instance— the carrying of money in this manner is generally prac tised, and this practice is fully known to the captain and owners. In the present case, when a claim for the loss was made on the captain, who is part owner, he did not pretend to deny the authority of the clerk to receive and carry money in this manner, but only insisted that he had performed his duty in the manner in which he had delivered it. The practice is too general a one not to be known to the captain and owners. It is contended by the plaintiff’s counsel, that when, in the course of their bu siness, common carriers take charge of property, their liability is the same, whe ther they receive hire for so doing or n ot; that they have a legal right to make a charge, and if they waive such right, such waiver does not lessen their legal lia bility ; that the liability of common carriers does not rest on the receipt of hire, but on the ground of public policy, which holds all persons who assume the char acter of common carriers, to a strict accountability. On these points he has cited various authorities, viz : Story on Bailments, s. 495, p. 321 ; Jones on Bail ments, 103, note and authorities there cited. The defendants’ counsel resists the claim on the grounds that the petition alleges that the defendants were carriers for hire, when the evidence shows that there was no intention on the part of the boat to charge him, and no expectation on the part of the plaintiff to pay i t ; and that if the clerk made an agreement to carry without hire, he went beyond the line of his duty, and the owners are not liable for his acts. This is entirely too narrow a ground upon which to place the matter. The allegation that defendants were carriers for hire, is only another mode of designating the defendants as common carriers, and if they disclaim the act of the clerk in agreeing to carry without hire, they could always recover on a quantum meruit; but they cannot shake off the liability arising from the receipt of the property; moreover, the practice of carrying money, without charge, was known to the owners, and was sanctioned by them. Defendants’ counsel also relied upon the case of W ilcox & Fearn vs. the steamer Philadelphia, 9 L. R. 80. That case does not appear to me to be at all applicable; the money was deposited by a passenger temporarily with the clerk to relieve himself from the care of it, and it was decided on the law rela tive to deposits, not upon the law relative to common carriers. I concur with the authorities cited by the plaintiff’s counsel, and the rules there laid down, v iz : that a common carrier is responsible for the delivery of the prop erty or money which he takes charge of in the usual course of his business, whe ther he makes any charge for carrying it or not; and that, on the ground of pub lic policy, it is necessary to hold them to this responsibility. The defendants arcresponsible for the delivery of the money placed in their charge, to the person to whom the package was addressed; and if he saw fit to deliver it to Fulkerson, they adopted him as their sub-agent, and are liable for his neglects and omissions, and, in their turn, have their recourse against him. The clerk, Giles, has been made a defendant in the suit, but as the plaintiff gets a recovery against the own ers of the boat, as common carriers, they are not entitled to any judgment against Giles, who is merely agent of the owners. It is, therefore, considered that with regard to Charles Giles, there be judg ment against the plaintiff, as in case of non-suit, and that the plaintiff pay the costs of making Giles a party to this suit; and it is further considered that the plaintiff, Samuel H. Aby, recovers from the defendants, James Walworth, Thomas F. Eikert, Simeon Doyle, and Nathaniel Montgomery, jointly and severally, the sum of $404 21, with interest thereon at the rate of 5 per cent per annum, from the 27th of February, 1846, until paid, with costs of suit, and a privilege on the steamboat Paul Jones. This case, which we find in the New Orleans Commercial Tunes, rendered in 555 Commercial Chronicle and Review. the Commercial Court of that city, with respect to the liability of common car riers, is important and interesting to the public, more especially in our large com mercial cities, where so much business of the kind is transacted. COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW. THE SUB-TREASURY AND THE W AR WITH MEXICO---- AMOUNT AND LOCATION OF THE UNITED STATES DEPOSITS---- MONTHLY IMPORTS AND DUTIES AT NEW YORE— MEANS AND LIABILITIES OF NEW YORK BANKS---- CITY AND COUNTRY BANKS DISTINGUISHED---- BROKEN BANKS---- ARM Y OF THE UNITED STATES— REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES OF THE GOVERNMENT— EXPORTS FROM NEW ORLEANS TO NORTHERN CITIES— RECEIPTS OF PRODUCE AT NEW ORLEANS---- EXPORTS OF DO MESTIC PRODUCE TO GREAT BRITAIN— IMPORTANCE OF THE ENGLISH MARKET— ADVANCED FREIGHTS AND INSURANCE, ETC., ETC. T he events o f the past month have been as important as unexpected. T he month o f M ay came in with a severe pressure in the money market, arising from apprehensions in relation to the sub-treasury plan o f finance o f the federal government. This soon gave place to important accounts from the southern frontier, to the effect that the Mexicans had crossed the R io Grande, and attacked the United States army under General Taylor. This was immediately followed by the passage o f a bill through both Houses o f C on gress, with a preamble as follow s: te Whereas, by the act o f the Republic of M exico, a state o f war exists between that government and the United States.” The bill then pro vides for the enrollment o f a force not to exceed fifty thousand volunteers, and appropri ates $10,000,000 out o f any moneys that may be in the treasury, for the expenses o f the war. It also authorizes the President to complete all public armed vessels, and to pur chase, equip, arm, and charter such merchant vessels and steamboats as, upon examina tion, may be found fit. This bill passed the House by a vote o f 173 to 14, and the Sen ate by a vote o f 40 to 2, Thomas Clayton and John Davis voting in the negative, and Messrs. Berrien, Calhoun, and Evans, being in their seats, did not vote. T he leading objections to the bill, on the part o f those who voted against it, seem to be that the pre amble set forth the existence o f a war, which, in fact, could not constitutionally exist without the declaration o f Congress. Under such a construction, the country might go through years o f hostilities, and suffer defeats and gain victories, without ever being at “ wrar” at all. T he first commercial effect o f this state o f affairs, was an increased pres sure upon the money market, and a withdrawal o f the annual credits on southern produce paper. There was a great indisposition to believe that war would actually result, even from the hostilities that had already taken place. Nevertheless, the expenditures o f the government, already appropriated to wrar matters, are o f a nature to change the currents for the employment o f money, and, in so far, to produce a severe pressure in those chan nels in which it has hitherto been occupied. In our last number, we alluded to the m an ner in which the public deposits are usually employed. T he amount o f these deposits, according to the reports o f the Treasurer o f the United States, have been as follow s:— AMOUNT AND LOCATION OF UNITED STATES’ DEPOSITS. January' 1st. Boston,......................... $1,118,938 N ew Y ork,.................. 3,584,514 Philadelphia,............... 417,557 Washington,................ 539,917 N ew Orleans,............. 590,864 M ints,........................... 1,000,000 Other places,............... 2,569,806 T ota l,.................. $9,824,596 February. $678,683 3,360,255 266,682 514,287 616,863 950,000 2,059,895 March. $723,561 3,873,133 302,941 513,220 284,578 850,000 3,203,124 April. May. $1,167,727 $1,570,887 4,925,811 6,432,107 559,027 769,582 530,078 571,781 625,534 566,388 910,000 879,000 3,066,216 3,220,153 $8,446,665 $9,750,557 $11,784,393 $14,009,898 556 Commercial Chronicle and Review. More than one-half o f this money is employed where it is collected, v iz : with the New Y ork and Boston banks. T he total amount has increased near three and a quarter mil lions during the four months indicated in the table, and the monthly progress o f business in N ew Y ork city has been comparatively as follow s:— MONTHLY IMPORTS AND DUTIES, PORT OF NEW YORK. 1844. Imports. January,. February, M arch,..., A pril,...... 1845. Duties. $6,683,354 $1,852,577 6,627,511 2,131,926 5,237,225 1,641,140 7,463,683 1,805,706 Imports. * 1846. Duties. $6,210,159 $1,687,025 4,730,298 1,347,534 6,174,077 1,602,303 5,908,360 1,534,885 Imports. Duties. $5,219,809 $1,476,324 4,652,292 1,266,663 9,750,269 2,617,847 6,334,271 1,385,189 T o ta l,.... $26,011,773 $7,431,349 $23,022,894 $6,171,747 $25,956,641 $6,746,023 T he imports in March were very large, and a great demand upon commercial capital to pay the cash duties, necessarily resulted. A t the same time, the banks that received those moneys, laboring under apprehensions in relation to the probable action o f the sub treasury, were very cautious in reloaning them, while, at the same time, they sought, by all means, to obtain as much specie from the other institutions as possible. A demand upon the commerce o f this city for $2,500,000 in one month, or nearly $7,000,000 in four months, to be either locked up in banks, or loaned out in channels different from those out o f which it was drawn, o f necessity created a pressure. It is a well recognized fact, that to change the channels o f employment for money, produces as much distress, as to withdraw it from employment altogether. There is now an accumulation o f near $13,000,000 in the vaults o f the banks, and o f the amount, $10,000,000 has been appro priated for expenditure in the M exican war. T he sum appropriated will not bear the expense o f equipping and supporting half the proposed army three months, and a large portion o f it must be spent on the borders o f M exico, within that period ; consequently, the large sums now on deposit here and at Boston, will be drawn, and its withdrawal will produce a severe contraction, even although it should not be required in specie. The banks are, by no means, in a condition to sustain a large and extraordinary demand for money, o f a character so peremptory as that o f the government for war expenses. The following is a comparative statement o f the returns o f the banks o f the State o f N ew York, to the 1st o f May, 1846. IMMEDIATE MEANS AND LIABILITIES OF THE NEW YORK BANKS. Immediate liab's. N o r. 1843. Aug. 1844. N ov. 1844. Feb. 1845. N ov. 1845. Feb. 1846. M ay. 1846. Deposits.................... $27,380,160 $28,757,122 $30,391,622 $25,976,246 $31,773,991 $29,654,401 $30,868,337 Nett Circulation. 12,952,045 15,349,205 17,647,182 16,126,394 19,360 377 18,407,733 18 409,977 Due banks, . . . 4,941,414 7,744,118 5,664,110 3 816,252 3,296,249 4,662,073 2,973,658 Canal Fund, . . 1,157,203 1,210,794 1,534,553 1,607,572 1,581,330 896,843 *646,328 United States, . . 1,645,320 3,674,171 3,786,261 700,064 3,002,649 2.580,711 3,493,622 T otal......................$48,076,142 $56,735,410 $59,023,728 $48,226,528 $59,020,596 $56,201,761 $56,391,962 immediate means. Specie, . . . . $11,502,789 $10,161,974 $8,968,092 $6,893,236 $8,884,545 $8,361,383 $8,361,383 Cash items, . . 3,102,856 4,916,862 6,047,528 4,839,886 5,947,585 6,370,302 5 839,700 T otal.................... $14,605,645 $15,108,836 $15,015,620 $11,733,122 $14,832,120 $14,731,685 $14,011,324 Loans, . . . . 61,514,149 71.643,929 73,091.738 66,883,098 74,780.435 71,897,580 72,591,431 Excess oi* liability, 33,479,607 41,620,574 43,008,108 36,493,406 44,188,476 41,470,071 42,380,678 T he excess o f liabilities now is nearly 30 per cent more than in November, 1843, and has increased during the quarter ending May 1st, notwithstanding the alarms produced by the expected passage o f the sub-treasury act. the United States is not correctly given. It may be remarked that the amount due Many o f the largest depositors do not distin guish between the government deposits and their private deposits; the Bank o f Comtnerce, for instance, held, on the 1st o f May, $822,346 o f public money, which is in cluded under the general head, deposits. $6,026,835, instead o f $3,490,622. The actual amount due the United States, was The “ cash items” include a considerable amount of loans on stocks. T he city banks may be distinguished from the country, as follow s:— Commercial Chronicle and Review . February. Dollars. Loans,......... Specie,......... Circulation,. Deposits,__ 42,866,558 7,589,306 5.995,868 24,362,319 M ay. Dollars. February. Dollars. M ay. Dollars. 557 February. Dollars. May. Dollars. 41,412,515 29,0:11,012 31,578,916 71,897,586 72,991,431 7,291,447 972,076 880,177 8,361,383 8,171,624 6,313,506 15,164,119 14,952,986 21,159,987 21,266,492 23,650,719 5,292,082 7,217,658 29,654,405 30,868,377 T he loans and circulation in this return, embrace the figures o f two or three banks whose returns were not placed in the general statement. Three banks have fallen into discredit, v iz : the W hite Plains, the Lewis County, and the Farmers’ and Drovers’ of Buffalo, in this state. T he extended condition o f these institutions we have noticed in former numbers, and it is evident that an unusual direction given to currents o f money, such as that produced by a war expenditure, must have an important influence upon all those branches of busi ness which depend upon bank facilities. It is, undoubtedly, the case, that through the medium o f the paper system, the finances o f the country are greatly exposed to the hos tile action o f foreign governments; and the difficulty o f procuring loans to carry on the war, after the present surplus shall have been expended, may be greatly enhanced by the financial movements o f other governments. There seems to be a great unanimity on all sides, in the opinion that the war should be pushed vigorously to a close. Indeed, from the nature o f our connection with the nations o f Europe, every month o f war with M ex ico creates great hazards o f quarrel with the nations o f Europe, and the hazards are to be avoided only by a prompt termination o f the war at the South. and prompt expenditure o f money. This involves a great The total army o f the United States, according to the war report, is as follow s: Officers, general staff, & c .,.......................................................................... Dragoons, two regiments,............................................................................. Artillery, four “ .............................................................................. Infantry, eight “ .............................................................................. Unattached,...................................................................................................... 558 1,205 2,303 3,371 427 Total sabres and bayonets,................................................................. 8,349 O f this small force, more than one-half is on the R io Grande, and the peace expendi ture o f the last year is indicated in the following quarterly table o f the revenue and e x penditures o f the federal government: REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE OF THE UNITED STATES. 1845. 1846. Quarter ending Quarter ending Quarter ending Quarter ending Q uar’ r ending March 31at. June 30th. Sept. 30th. D ec. 31st. M arch 31st Revenue. Customs,.............. Lands,.................. M ines,.................. $6,375,575 485,533 20,000 $6,201,390 517,858 43,934 $8,861,932 484,269 17,718 $4,137,200 830,000 31,500 $7,360,000 437,225 11,645 T ota l,................... $6,881,108 $6,762,182 $9,363,919 $4,998,700 $7,808,870 Expenditure. Civil,..................... A rm y,................... Indian,.................. Fortifications,...... Pensions,.............. N avy,.................... Interest,................ Debt,...................... $1,708,408 $1,237,604 $1,792,173 1,131,826 1,383,735 1,352,859 52,930 242,795 1,239,479 86,412 160,574 663,669 1,406,199 13,936 956,223 1,578,631 1,073,902 2,331,360 38,063 470,093 6,575 6,153,735 390,457 121,055 $1,984,000 1,324,086 111,582 193,489 25,237 1,541,051 435,054 89,312 $1,401,632 899,512 66,888 433,094 556,363 1,056,744 660 69,072 T otal,.................... $12,126,204 $4,973,065 $5,703,860 $4,483,897 $8,463,092 / 558 Commercial Chronicle and Review. T he expenditure o f this army o f eight thousand men, on a peace establishment, has been at the rate o f one million and a quarter for three months. Should, therefore, the executive call out half the number o f men authorized by the act o f Congress, the whole appropriation for their service must be required in the next three months, more particu larly that the clothes, bounty, transportation, &c., is to be paid for in money at the scene o f action. In ordinary cases, when the army is supplied by contract, the payments take place all over the Union, where the goods may have been supplied. In the present case, the volunteers furnish their own clothes, and get the money for them, which they will naturally want in specie. Paper is not o f much value in a camp. In addition to this large outlay, the marine preparations should involve, at least, an equal expenditure, which will involve more than the deposits now on hand, and make requisite a new loan. This loan, in common prudence, ought immediately to be authorized, and negotiated before the progress o f events makes it a matter o f extreme difficulty. T he issue of treasurynotes will, in all probability, be resorted to. From all these causes, it may be reason able to anticipate an extraordinary pressure, when, apart from political events, the elements o f an abundance o f money are in action. T he circulation o f credits has, how ever, already sustained a severe check, and the difficulty o f realizing outstanding obliga tions, is daily becoming greater. It is, probably, in reference to this state o f affairs, that Anglo-Am erican houses have become more chary o f their credits. T he insurance com panies o f the Atlantic cities inserted in their policies a clause excepting the risk o f cap ture by an enemy’s force, on southern voyages. This clause is omitted on the payment of 3 per cent addition to the ordinary premium. Many o f the outwa'd bound vessels have armed themselves, instead o f paying this war premium. A s the force against which they will have to contend in a purely Mexican war, must be small vessels, a moderate armament may, in most cases, suffice. T he privateering under the M exican flag can, however, scarcely amount to any very serious matter, inasmuch as that, from the location o f M exico, and its small marine, it can have no ports for fitting out letters o f marque, or carrying in prizes; and existing treaties, with Great Britain, Spain, Colombia, Central America, and Brazil, not only shut her belligerent vessels out o f all the W est India Islands and the South American coast, but make it piracy for the subjects o f those coun tries to engage under the Mexican flag to depredate upon the United States’ commerce. In the abstract, the citizens o f those countries have the right to enter into the service o f other nations if they please; but when, by international law, as expressed in treaties, such service is declared to be piracy, the infamy and risk is greatly enhanced. The small vessels authorized by the law to be chartered, armed and equipped, will suffice to keep all bona fide Mexicans within their own harbors. T he supposed risks o f the southern voy age have, however, already enhanced the cost o f transport in that direction, and this has caused a small advance in the price o f provisions, the supply o f which, via N ew Orleans, is large. T he comparative quantities o f leading articles o f produce sent from N ew Or leans to the northern cities, from September 1st to M ay 9th, are as follow s: EXPORTS FROM NEW ORLEANS, SEPTEMBER TO M A Y. 1845. Flour,..........................bbls. Pork............................ bbls. B acon,.......................hhds. L ard,.........................kegs, Beef,........................... bbls. L e a d ,........................ pigs, C o m ,............... sacks, 1846. N. Y ork. Boston. Philadelphia. N . Y ork. Boston. Philad’ a. 69,550 54,252 111,538 113,302 5,505 218,951 6,718 72,804 73,124 727 122,654 5,746 91,434 18,293 3,238 17,242 820 38,470 874 59,683 1,050 71,962 75,850 2,393 166,569 4,340 196,984 80,603 97,151 73,127 450 1 63,013 2,583 72,933 143,449 250 29,272 1,058 67,508 . 26,118 2,471 T he exports o f these articles have been larger this year than last, particularly in shelled com , o f which N ew Y ork and Boston have taken 224,052 bushels this year, against 25,011 bushels last year. This increase has been the consequence o f the English de 559 Commercial Chronicle and Review. mand for that wholesome article o f food, to supply the deficit in the potato crop o f Ire land. The true channel o f the transport o f this produce is down the lakes and northern canals; and the difficulties in the gulf may have the tendency o f driving it that way to a greater extent, during the summer months. T he receipts o f produce at N ew Orleans, down the river, are unusually large; and, at such a juncture, the withdrawal of northern credits, the advance o f freights consequent upon gulf risks, and the difficulty o f nego tiating exchange, have caused a great accumulation o f stocks at N ew Orleans. This in terruption to the course o f business is very serious in its nature. T he western produce sent down to N ew Orleans, is, for the most part, destined to make good the purchasers o f goods at N ew York and the East, on western account. T he sudden stagnation o f the business by which that produce changes hands, paralyzes the whole movement o f the circle o f credit M oney, at that point, has also become very scarce, and an extensive failure has taken place in a banking-house, while exchange has fallen to a point that in dicates a demand for specie on the North ; N ew Y ork and Boston 60 day bills being 3 per cent discount, while checks are J premium. A s an indication o f the extent to which produce flows down the Mississippi, we compile the following table o f the leading re ceipts at that place, from September 1st to M ay 10th: RECEIPTS OF PRODUCE AT HEW ORLEANS. 1845. 277,500 17,135 28,194 912,369 308,135 426,826 273,572 436,045 199,041 9,041,600 88,081 39,043 33,825 Bacon,................... Butter,................... Beef,..................... Cotton,................. C orn ,.................... F lour,.................. Lard,.................... .................... Pork, W ................. heat, 1846. Increase. 383,000 31,751 31,961 971,725 734,807 673,739 376,260 416,139 303,134 9,007,553 84,026 38,203 180,009 105,500 14,616 3,767 59,356 426,672 246,913 102,688 104,093 4,992,953 146,184 T he advancing freights, decreasing credits, and growing scarcity o f money at that point, are strangling the business which this swelling volume o f produce would naturally create. But for this untoward war fever, the elements o f a large and prosperous business were everywhere in action. T he English markets were spreading to receive the en hanced supply, and the future held out the promise o f large sales at increased prices, swelling the profits o f the western farmers, and reacting upon the sea-board in improved sales o f produce. The stimulus that was last year imparted to the production o f farm produce, through the reduced English tariff, may result in an unusual supply for the pres ent y e a r; and we trust that our relations with England may continue such as to realize the anticipations indulged in. T he following is a comparative table o f the quantities of produce exported from the United States, and the proportion sent to England direct: EXPORTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM THE UNITED STATES, DISTINGUISHING SENT TO GREAT BRITAIN. 1844. Fish dried,........... Oil sperm,............ Oil whale,............ W halebone,......... Candles sperm,... (( “ tallow,... Staves,.................. ............. M. Exports. 271,610 451,317 4,104,504 1,149,607 606,454 3,086,566 23,246 THE QUANTITY 1845. To G. Britain. 295,861 345,656 96,711 3,256 13,100 85 Exports. 288,380 1,054,301 4,505,662 2,084,019 812,879 3,490,736 21,264 To G. Britain. 902,597 184,898 335,043 94,859 32,130 331 560 Commercial Chronicle and Review , EXPORTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE, ETC.— CONTINUED. Tar and pitch,......... Turpentine and r o sin ,.. “ A shes,...................... Beef salted,............ T a llo w ,.................... Pork salted,............. . Hams........................ << L ard,......................... Butter,..................... u Cheese,..................... ........No. W h eat,..................... .bushels, F lour,....................... ....... bbls. Corn,........................ .bushels, Corn-meal,............... Bread, ship,............. Potatoes,.................. .bushels, A pples,..................... R ic e ,......................... Cotton,...................... T obacco,................... Spirits,...................... S o a p ,....................... . T obacco manufac’d, L ead ,....................... (« a it a u u Leather,....... ..................... lbs. Cotton goods,........... .......... $ Exports. 62,477 362,668 18,271 106,474 9,915,366 161,629 3,886,976 25,746,355 3,251,952 7,343,145 12,980 558,917 1,438,574 825,282 247,882 117,781 183,232 22,324 134,715 663,633,455 163,042 664,663 963,031 215,719 881,325 4,732,751 6,066,878 18,420,407 2,945,634 1,671,107 l ’227j654 157,529 59L951 2,898,780 1844. 1845. To G. Britain. Exports. 58,002 28,371 241,946 347,683 1,305 24,219 43,117 101,538 4,657,200 10,022,504 10,280 161,609 340,189 2,719,360 8,976,815 20,060,993 521,829 3,587,489 5,278,965 7,941,187 6,464 22,238 389,716 167,296 1,195,230 89,073 840,184 29 269,030 630 117,529 52 274,216 6,803 54,022 118,621 16,125 486,729,222 872,905,996 39,132 147,168 902,072 814',499 30 277^514 1,473 438,203 3,253,181 3,000 21,574 4,974 4,138,313 5,312,971 10,188,024 1,353,967 1,997,992 L125j209 131,500 1,122^902 4,321,927 To G. Brit. 23,809 256,454 1,549 41,188 5,239,440 14,140 96,907 5,678,675 530,529 5,934,202 2.010 35,355 134,898 1,451 10,230 18,127 505,144,786 26,169 68,894 129>42 6,200 930,461 811,445 174,113 This table exhibits the importance o f the English market, even under her present re strictions, to the United States. The English demand for no one o f these articles could be dispensed with without materially affecting the price o f the whole production in the Union. Cotton, particularly, would affect all others. I f the English demand for it, by reason o f hostile movements, was materially diminished, the price o f the whole crop would be so lessened as to destroy the ability o f that section o f the country to make its usual purchases o f goods, and the industry o f the whole country would be very unfavora bly affected. T he last advices from England indicate a great change for the better in money mat ters. T he government measures in relation to the railroad deposits are such, as to relieve the anxiety o f the banking-houses and brokers, and their increasing liberality had sen sibly affected the price o f money, and an increased disposition to buy produce was the result. Thus far, on this side o f the water, provisions have fallen considerably in price ; the current o f credits is stopped, and a disposition exists to send money to England. Pru dential considerations are taking the place o f enterprise. Commercial Regulations. COMMERCIAL 561 REGULATIONS. T R E A T Y OF C O M M E R C E A N D N A V IG A T IO N B E T W E E N T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S A N D T H E K IN G D O M O F T H E T W O SICILIES. T he following is a correct copy o f the “ Treaty o f Commerce and Navigation between the United States o f America and the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies,” concluded at N a ples, the 1st o f December, 1845, and lately ratified by the President o f the United States by and with the advice and consent o f the Senate. The ratifications were to be exchanged on or before the 1st o f June, 1846, and by its 12th article, the treaty is to be in force from the day o f its conclusion: The United States o f America, and his Majesty the King o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, equally animated with the desire o f maintaining the relations o f good understand ing which have hitherto so happily subsisted between their respective states, and the con solidating the commercial intercourse between them, have agreed to enter into nego tiations for the conclusion o f a Treaty o f Commerce and Navigation, for which purpose they have appointed plenipotentiaries; that is to say : The President o f the United States o f America, W illiam H. Polk, Charge d’ Affaires o f the same United States o f America to the Court o f his Majesty the King of the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies ; and his Majesty the King o f the Kingdom of the T w o Sicilies, D. Guistino Fortunato, Knight Grand Cross o f the Royal Military Constantinian Order o f St. George, and o f Francis the 1st, Minister Secretary of State of his said M ajesty; D. Michael Gravina and Requesenz, Prince o f Comitini, Knight Grand Cross o f the Royal Order o f Francis the 1st, Gentleman o f the Chamber in waiting, and Minister Secretary o f State o f his said Majesty ; and D. Antonio Spinelli, o f Scalea, Commander o f the Royal Order o f Francis the 1st, Gentleman o f the Chamber o f his said Majesty, Member o f the General Consulate, and Superintendent General of the A r chives o f the Kingdom ; who, after having exchanged their full powers, found in good and due form, have concluded and signed the following articles: A rticle I. There shall be reciprocal liberty o f commerce and navigation between the United States o f America and the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies. N o duty o f customs, or other impost, shall be charged upon any goods the produce or manufacture o f one country, upon importation by sea or by land from such country into the other, other or higher than the duty or impost charged upon goods o f the same kind, the produce or manufacture of, or imported from, any other country; and the United States o f America and his Majesty the King o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies do hereby en gage that the subjects or citizens o f any other state shall not enjoy any favor, privilege, or immunity, whatever, in matters o f commerce and navigation, which shall not also, and at the same time, be extended to the subjects or citizens o f the other high contractingparty, gratuitously if the concession in favor o f that other state shall have been gratui tous, and in return for a compensation as nearly as possible o f proportionate value and effect, to be adjusted by mutual agreement, if the concessions shall have been conditional. A rticle II. A ll articles o f the produce or manufacture o f either country, and o f their respective states, which can legally be imported into either country from the other, in ships o f that other country, and thence coming, shall, when so imported, be subject to the same duties, and enjoy the same privileges, whether imported in ships o f the one country, or in ships o f the other: and in like manner, all goods which can legally be exported or re-exported from either country to the other, in ships o f that other country, shall, when so exported or re-exported, be subject to the same duties, and be entitled to the same pri vileges, drawbacks, bounties and allowances, whether exported in ships o f the one coun try, or in ships o f the other. A rticle III. N o duties o f tonnage, harbor, light-houses, pilotage, quarantine, or other similar duties, o f whatever nature, or under whatever denomination, shall be imposed in either country, upon the vessels o f the other, in respect o f voyages between the United States o f America and the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, i f laden, or in respect o f any voyage, i f in ballast, which shall not be equally imposed, in like cases, upon national vessels. A rticle IV. It is hereby declared that the stipulations o f the present treaty are not to be understood as applying to the navigation and carrying trade between one port and another situated in the states o f either contracting party, such navigation and trade being reserved exclusively to national vessels. Vessels o f either country shall, however, be perV O L. X IV .---- NO. V I. 36 562 Commercial Regulations. mitted to load or unload the whole or part o f their cargoes at one or more ports in the states o f either o f the high contracting parties, and then to proceed to complete the said loading or unloading to any other port or ports in the same states. A rticle V. Neither o f the two governments, nor any corporation or agent acting in behalf or under the authority o f either government, shall, in the purchase o f any article which, being the growth, produce, or manufacture o f the one country, shall be imported into the other, give, directly or indirectly, any priority or preference on account of, or in reference to, the national character o f the vessel in which such article shall have been im ported ; it being the true intent and meaning o f the high contracting parties that no dis tinction or difference whatever shall be made in this respect. A rticle VI. T he high contracting parties engage, in regard to the personal privileges that the citizens o f the United States o f America shall enjoy in the dominions of his M a jesty the King o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, and the subjects of his said Majesty in the United States o f America, that they shall have free and undoubted right to travel and to reside in the states o f the two high contracting parties, subject to the same precautions o f police which are practised towards the subjects or citizens o f the most favored nations. They shall be entitled to occupy dwellings and warehouses, and to dispose of their per sonal property o f every kind and description, by sale, gift, exchange, will, or in any other way whatever, without the smallest hindrance or obstacle ; and their heirs or representa tives, being subjects or citizens o f the other high contracting party, shall succeed to their personal goods, whether by testament or ab intestato, and may take possession thereof, either by themselves or by others acting for them, and dispose of the same at will, paying to the profit o f the respective governments such dues only as the inhabitants o f the coun try wherein the said goods are, shall be subject to pay in like cases. A nd in case o f the absence o f the heir and representative, such care shall be taken o f the said goods as would be taken o f the goods o f a native o f the same country in like case, until the lawful owner may take measures for receiving them. And if a question should arise among several claimants, as to which o f them said goods belong, the same shall be decided finally by the laws and judges o f the land where such goods are. T hey shall not be obliged to pay, under any pretence whatever, any taxes or impositions, other or greater than those which are paid or may hereafter be paid, by the subjects or ci tizens o f the most favored nations, in the respective states o f the high contracting parties. They shall be exempt from all military seivice, whether by land or by sea ; from forced loans, and from every extraordinary contribution not general, and by law established. Their dwellings, warehouses, and all premises appertaining thereto, destined for purposes o f commerce or residence, shall be respected. N o arbitrary search of, or visit to, their houses, and no arbitrary examination or inspection whatever o f the books, papers, or ac counts o f their trade, shall be made ; but such measures shall be executed only in con formity with the legal sentence o f a competent tribunal; and each o f the two high con tracting parties engages that the citizens or subjects o f the other, residing in their respect ive states, shall enjoy their property and personal security in as full and ample manner as their own citizens or subjects, or the subjects or citizens o f the most favored nations. A rticle V II. T he citizens and the subjects o f the two high contracting parties shall be free in the states o f the other, to manage their own affairs themselves, or to commit those affairs to the management o f any persons whom they may appoint as their broker, factor, or agent; nor shall the citizens and subjects o f the two high contracting parties be re strained in their choice o f persons to act in such capacities, nor shall they be called upon to pay any salary or remuneration to any person whom they shall not choose to employ. Absolute freedom shall be given in all cases to the buyer and seller to bargain together, and to fix the price o f any goods or merchandise imported into, or to be exported from, the states and dominions o f the two high contracting parties; save and except generally such cases wherein the laws and usages o f the country may require the intervention o f any special agents in the states and dominions o f the high contracting parties. A rticle V III. Each o f the two high contracting parties may have, in the ports o f the other, consuls, vice-consuls, and commercial agents, o f their own appointment, who shall enjoy the same privileges and powers o f those o f the most favored nations; but if any such consuls shall exercise commerce, they shall be submitted to the same laws and usages to which private individuals o f their nation are submitted in the same place. T he said consuls, vice-consuls, and commercial agents, are authorized to require the as sistance o f the local authorities for the search, arrest, detention, and imprisonment o f the deserters from the ships o f war and merchant vessels o f their country. For this purpose, they shall apply to the competent tribunals, judges and officers, and shall in writing de mand the said deserters, proving, by the exhibition o f the registers o f the vessels, the rolls o f the crews, or by other official documents, that such individuals formed part of Commercial Regulations. 563 the crews ; and this reclamation being thus substantiated, the surrender shall not be re fused. Such deserters, when arrested, shall be placed at the disposal o f the said consuls, viceconsuls, or commercial agents, and may be confined in the public prisons at the request and cost o f those who shall claim them, in order to be detained until the time when they shall be restored to the vessels to which they belonged, or sent back to their own country by a vessel o f the same nation, or any other vessel whatsoever. But if not sent back within four months from the day o f their arrest, or i f all the expenses of such imprison ment are not defrayed by the party causing such arrest or imprisonment, they shall be set at liberty, and shall not be again arrested for the same cause. However, i f the deserter should be found to have committed any crime or offence, his surrender may be delayed until the tribunal before which his case shall be depending shall have pronounced its sentence, and such sentence shall have been carried into effect. A rticle IX . I f any ships o f war or merchant vessels be wrecked on the coasts o f the states o f either o f the high contracting parties, such ships or vessels, or any parts thereof, and all furniture and appurtenances belonging thereunto, and all goods and merchandise which shall be saved therefrom, or the produce thereof, if sold, shall be faith fully restored, with the least possible delay to the proprietors, upon being claimed by them, or by their duly authorized factors ; and if there are no such proprietors or factors on the spot, then the said goods and merchandise, or the proceeds thereof, as well as all the papers found on board such wrecked ships or vessels, shall be delivered to the American or Sicilian consul or vice-consul in whose district the wreck may have taken place ; and such consul, vice-consul, proprietors or factors, shall pay only the expenses incurred in the preservation o f the property, together with the rate o f salvage and expenses o f quarantine which would have been payable in the like case o f a wreck o f a national vessel; and the goods and merchandise saved from the wreck shall not be subject to duties, unless cleared for consumption ; it being understood that in case o f any legal claim upon such wreck, goods or merchandise, the same shall be referred for decision to the competent tribunals o f the country. A rticle X . T he merchant vessels o f each o f the two high contracting parties which may be forced by stress o f weather or other cause into one o f the ports o f the other, shall be exempt from all duty o f port or navigation paid for the benefit o f the state, if the motives which led to take refuge be real and evident, and if no operation o f commerce be done by loading or unloading merchandises; well understood, however, that the loading or unloading, which may regard the subsistence o f the crew, or necessary for the repara tion o f the vessel, shall not be considered operations o f commerce which lead to the pay ment o f duties, and that the said vessels do not stay in port beyond the time necessary, keeping in view the cause which led to taking refuge. A rticle X I. T o carry always more fully into effect the intentions o f the two high con tracting parties, they agree that every difference o f duty, whether o f 10 per cent or other, established in the respective states, to the prejudice o f the navigation and commerce of those nations which have not treaties o f commerce and navigation with them, shall cease and remain abolished in conformity with the principle established in the first article o f the present treaty, as well on the productions o f the soil and industry o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, which therefrom shall be imported in the United States o f America, whe ther in vessels o f the one or o f the other country, as on those which in like manner shall be imported in the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies in vessels o f both countries. They declare, besides, that as the productions o f the soil and industry o f the two coun tries, on their introduction in the ports o f the other, shall not be subject to greater duties than those which shall be imposed on the like productions o f the most favored nations, so that the red and white wines o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, o f every kind, including those o f Mar sala, which may be imported directly into the United States o f America, whether in ves sels o f the one or o f the other country, shall not pay higher or greater duties than those of the red or white wines o f the most favored nations. A nd in like manner, the cottons of the United States o f America, which may be imported directly in the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, whether in vessels o f the one orother nation, shall not pay higher or greater duties than the cottons o f Egypt, Bengal, or those o f the most favored nations. A rticle X II. T he present treaty shall be in force from this day, and for the term of ten years, and further, until the end o f twelve months after either o f the high contracting parties shall have given notice to the other o f its intention to terminate the same, each o f the said high contracting parties reserving to itself the right o f giving such notice at the end o f said term o f ten years, or at any subsequent term. A rticle X III. T he present treaty shall be approved and ratified by'.he President of the United States o f America, by and with the advice and consent o f the Senate o f the Commercial Regulations. 564 said States, and by his Majesty the King o f the Kingdom o f the T w o Sicilies, and the ra tifications shall be exchanged at Naples at the expiration o f six months from the date of its signatures, or sooner, i f possible. In witness whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same, and have affixed thereto the seals o f their arms. Done at Naples, the first o f December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-five. W illia m H. P olk , [ l . s.] G iustino P rincipe A ntonio C O M M E R C IA L TREATY BETW EEN THE B E L G IU M . F ortunato , di C omitini , S pinelli , U N IT E D [ l . s .] [l . s .] [ l .s .] STATES AND The Senate o f the United States advised and consented, on the 26th o f March, 1846, to the ratification o f the following T U nited S tates of A merica and r e a t y of H is M ajesty C ommerce the K ing and N avigation of the between the B elgians . The United States o f Aifterica, on the one part, and his Majesty the King o f the B el gians, on the other part, wishing to regulate in a formal manner their reciprocal relations o f commerce and navigation, and further to strengthen, through the development of their interests respectively,*the bonds o f friendship and good understanding so happily estab lished between the governments and people o f the two countries, and desiring, with this view, to conclude, by common agreement, a treaty establishing conditions equally advan tageous to the commerce and navigation o f both States, have, to that effect, appointed as their Plenipotentiaries— namely: the President o f the United States, Thomas G. Clemson, Charge d’Affaires o f the United States o f America to his Majesty the King of the B el gians ; and his Majesty the King o f the Belgians, M. Adolphe Dechamps, officer of the order o f Leopold, Knight o f the Order o f the Red Eagle o f the first class, Grand Cross of the Order o f Saint Michael o f Bavaria, his Minister for Foreign Affairs, a member o f the Chamber o f Representants— who, after having communicated to each other their full powers, ascertained to be in good and proper form, have agreed to and concluded the fol lowing articles: A r t . I. There shall be full and entire freedom o f commerce and navigation between the inhabitants o f the two countries; and the same security and protection which is en joyed by the citizens or subjects o f each country shall be guarantied on both sides. The said inhabitants, whether established or temporarily residing within any ports, cities, or places whatever, o f the two countries, shall not, on account o f their commerce or indus try, pay any other or higher duties, taxes, or imposts, than those which shall be levied on citizens or subjects o f the country in which they may be ; and the privileges, immunities, and other favors, with regard to commerce or industry, enjoyed by the citizens or subjects o f one o f the two States, shall be common to those o f the other. A r t . II. Belgian vessels, whether coming from a Belgian or a foreign port, shall not pay, either on entering or leaving the ports o f the United States, whatever may be their destination, any other or higher duties o f tonnage, pilotage, anchorage, buoys, light houses, clearance, brokerage, or generally other charges whatsoever, than are required from vessels o f the United States in similar cases. This provision extends not only to duties levied for the benefit o f the State, but also to those levied for the benefit o f pro. vinces, cities, countries, districts, townships, corporations, or any other divisions or juris dictions, whatever be its designation. A r t . I II. Reciprocally, vessels o f the United States, whether coming from a port of said United States or from a foreign port, shall not pay, either on entering or leaving the ports o f Belgium, whatever may be their destination, any other or higher duties of ton nage, pilotage, anchorage, buoys, light-houses, clearance, brokerage, or generally other charges whatever, than are required from Belgian vessels in similar cases. This provis ion extends not only to duties levied for the benefit o f the State, but also to those levied for the benefit o f provinces, cities, countries, districts, townships, corporations, or any other division or jurisdiction, whatever be its designation. A r t . IV. T he restitution by Belgium o f the duty levied by the government o f the Netherlands on the navigation o f the Scheldt, in virtue o f the third paragraph o f the ninth article o f the treaty o f April nineteenth, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, is guarantied to the vessels o f the United States. A r t . V. Steam vessels o f the United States and o f Belgium, engaged in regular navi Commercial Regulations. 565 gation between the United States and Belgium, shall be exempt in both countries from the payment o f duties o f tonnage, anchorage, buoys and light-houses. A r t . VI. A s regards the coasting trade between the ports o f either country, the vessels o f the two nations shall be treated, on both sides, on the same footing with vessels o f the most favored nation. A r t . V II. Articles o f every description, whether proceeding from the soil industry, or warehouses o f Belgium, directly imported therefrom into the ports of the United States in Belgian vessels, shall pay no other or higher duties o f import than if they were import ed under the flag o f said States. And reciprocally, articles o f every description directly imported into Belgium from the United States, under the flag o f the said States, shall pay no other or higher duties than if they were imported under the Belgian flag. It is well understood: 1. That the goods shall have been really put on board in the ports from which they are declared respectively to come. 2. That a putting in at an intermediate port, produced by uncontrollable circumstances duly proved, does not occasion the forfeiture o f the advantage allowed to direct impor tation. A r t . V III. Articles o f every description imported into the United States from other countries than Belgium, under the Belgian flag, shall pay no other or higher duties what soever than if they had been imported under the flag o f the most favored foreign nation, other than the flag o f the country from which the importation is made. And reciprocally, articles o f every description imported under the flag o f the United States into Belgium from other countries than the United States, shall pay no other or higher duties whatsoever than if they had been imported under the flag o f the foreign nation most favored, other than that o f the country from which the importation is made. A r t . IX . Articles o f every description exported by Belgian vessels, or by those o f the United States o f America, from the ports o f either country to any country whatsoever, shall be subjected to no other duties or formalities than such as are required for exporta tion under the flag o f the country where the shipment is made. A r t . X . All premiums, drawbacks, or other favors o f like nature which may be allowed in the States o f either o f the contracting parties upon goods imported or exported in na tional vessels, shall be likewise and in the same manner allowed upon goods imported directly from one o f the two countries by its vessels into the other, or exported from one of the two countries by the vessels o f the other, to any destination whatsoever. A r t . X I. T he preceding article is, however, not to apply to the importation o f salt, and o f the produce o f the national fisheries; each o f the two parties reserving to itself the faculty o f granting special privileges for the importation o f those articles under its own flag. A r t . X II. T he high contracting parties agree to consider and to treat as Belgian ves sels and as vessels o f the United States all those which, being provided by the competent authority with a passport, sea letter, or any other sufficient document, shall be recognized conformably with existing laws as national vessels in the country to which they respec tively belong. A r t . X III. Belgian vessels and those o f the United States may, conformably with the laws o f the two countries, retain on board, in the ports o f both, such parts of their car goes as may be destined for a foreign country; and such parts shall not be subjected, either while they remain on board, or upon re-exportation, to any charges whatsoever, other than those for the prevention o f smuggling. A r t . X IV . During the period allowed by the laws o f the two countries respectively for the warehousing o f goods, no duties other than those o f watch and storage, shall be levied upon articles brought from either country into the other while awaiting transmit, re-exportation, or entry for consumption. Such goods shall in no case be subject to higher warehouse charges, or the other for malities, than if they had been imported under the flag o f the country. A r t . X V . In all that relates to duties o f customs and navigation, the two high con tracting parties promise reciprocally not to grant any favor, privilege, or immunity to any other State which shall not instantly become common to the citizens and subjects o f both parties respectively; gratuitously, if the concession or favor to such other State is gratui tous, and on allowing the same compensation or its equivalent, if the concession is con ditional. Neither of'th e contracting parties shall lay upon goods proceeding from the soil or the industry o f the other party, which may be imported into its ports, any other or higher duties o f importation or re-exportation than are laid upon the importation or re-exporta tion o f similar goods coming from any other foreign country. A r t . X V I. In cases o f shipwreck, damages at sea, or forced putting in, each party shall 566 Commercial Regulations. afford to the vessels o f the other, whether belonging to the State or to individuals, the same assistance and protection, and the same immunities which would have been granted to its own vessels in similar cases. A r t . X V II. It is moreover agreed between the two contracting parties, that the Con suls and Vice-Consuls o f the United States in the ports o f Belgium, and, reciprocally, the Consuls and Vice-Consuls o f Belgium in the ports o f the United States, shall continue to enjoy all the privileges, protection, and assistance usually granted to them, and which may be necessary for the proper discharge o f their functions. T he said Consuls and V iceConsuls may cause to be arrested and sent back, either to their vessels or to their country, such seamen as may have deserted from the vessels o f their nation. T o this end they shall apply in writing to the competent local authorities, and they shall prove, by exhibi tion o f the vessel’s crew list or other document, or, i f she have departed, by copy o f said documents, duly certified by them, that the seamen whom they claim formed part o f the said crew. Upon such demand, thus supported, the delivery o f the deserters shall not be refused. T hey shall, moreover, receive all aid and assistance in searching for, seizing, and arresting such deserters; who shall, upon the requisition and at the expense o f the Consul or Vice-Consul, be confined and kept in the prisons o f the country until he shall have found an opportunity for sending them home. If, however, such an opportunity should not occur within three months after the arrest, the deserters shall be set at liberty, and shall not again be arrested for the same cause. It is, however, understood that sea men o f the country in which the desertion shall occur, are excepted from these provisions, unless they be naturalized citizens or subjects o f the other country. A rt . X V III. Articles o f all kinds, the transit o f which is allowed in Belgium, coming from or going to the United States, shall be exempt from all transit duty in Belgium, when the transportation through the Belgian territory is effected on the railroads o f the State. A rt . X IX . T he present treaty shall be in force during ten years from the date o f the exchange o f the ratifications, and until the expiration o f twelve months after either o f the high contracting parties shall have announced to the other its intention to terminate the operation thereof; each party reserving to itself the right o f making such declaration to the other at the end o f the ten years above mentioned; and it is agreed that, after the ex piration o f the twelve months o f prolongation accorded on both sides, this treaty and all its stipulations shall cease to be in force. A r t . X X . This treaty shall be ratified, and the ratification shall be exchanged at W ash ington within the term o f six months after its date, or sooner i f possible ; and the treaty shall be put in execution within the term o f twelve months. In faith whereof, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present treaty in du plicate, and have affixed thereto their seals. Brussels, the tenth o f November, one thou sand eight hundred and forty-five. T hom. G. C i-emson, [l . s .] A . D echamts, [l . s.] D U T IE S ON GOODS SO LD A T A U C T IO N IN N E W Y O R K . T he following is a correct copy o f “ A n A ct in relation to Duties on Goods sold at public auction, and to the Bonds o f Auctioneers,” passed April 11th, 1846, by “ the peo ple o f the state o f N ew Y ork, represented in the Senate and Assembly,” and signed by the governor o f the state. Sec. 1. A ll goods, wares, and merchandise, and every other species o f personal pro perty, which shall at any time be exposed to sale by public auction within this state, with the exceptions mentioned in the second section o f this act, and in the fifth section o f title one, chapter seventeen, part one o f the Revised Statutes, shall be subject, each and every time they shall be struck off, to duties at the following rates, namely: 1. A ll wines and ardent spirits, foreign or domestic, at the rate o f one dollar on every one hundred dollars. 2. All goods, wares, merchandise, and effects imported from any place beyond the Cape o f G ood H ope, at the rate o f fifty cents on every one hundred dollars. 3. A ll other goods, wares, merchandise, and effects, which are the production o f any foreign country, at the rate o f seventy-five cents on every one hundred dollars. T he duties shall be calculated on the sums for whieh the goods so exposed to sale shall be respectively struck off, and shall in all cases be paid by the person making the sale. Sec. 2. N o auction duties shall be payable upon the following goods and articles: 1. Ships and vessels. 2. Utensils o f husbandry, horses, neat cattle, hogs, and sheep. Commercial Regulations. 567 3. Articles o f the growth, produce, and manufacture o f the United States, except dis tilled spirits. Sec. 3. T he account required by law from every auctioneer, shall hereafter be ren dered semi-annually, on the first Mondays o f July and January in each year. Sec. 4. T he bond required by law from every auctioneer shall be renewed on or before the first Monday in January in each and every year. Sec. 5. Every auctioneer in the city o f N ew Y ork shall, within ten days after the bond required by law shall have been executed, and the certificate required by law endorsed thereon, file a copy thereof, and also a copy o f said certificate, certified by the officer taking the bond, with the clerk o f the city and county o f N ew York. Sec. 6. T he clerk o f the city and county o f N ew Y ork shall keep a book or books, with an index alphabetically arranged, in which he shall cause to be recorded every bond so filed, for which he shall be entitled to a fee o f fifty cents for every bond so filed, to be paid by the party executing such bond. Sec. 7. Every auctioneer neglecting to file such certified copy within the time required by law, shall forfeit for every such neglect the sum o f one hundred dollars, such penalty to be sued for and recovered by the district attorney, and when recovered, to be paid into the treasury o f the state. Sec. 8. A ny person who shall act as auctioneer in selling any goods liable to auction duties, without filing the bonds required by law, or who shall neglect to make or render the accounts, or to pay over the duties required by law, shall be deemed guilty o f a mis demeanor, and punished by imprisonment, not exceeding one year, or by fine, not ex ceeding one thousand dollars, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Sec. 9. T o entitle any goods, wares, or merchandise, or other property sold at auction in the city and county o f N ew Y ork, afer the passage o f this act, to an exemption from the payment o f auction duties to the state, as goods damaged at sea upon the voyage of importation, the auctioneer shall be furnished before sale with a proper certificate from the board o f port wardens o f the port o f N ew Y ork, that such goods were examined by a member o f that board, at the proper time and in the proper manner, and that they were damaged at sea upon the voyage o f importation, so as in the opinion o f said board o f war dens to be entitled to be sold at auction as damaged goods, and be exempt from the pay ment o f auction duties ; and also with a statement, upon oath o f the president or secre tary o f the Marine Insurance Company in the city and county o f N ew Y ork, in which said goods shall have been insured, in case any insurance shall have been effected on said goods, stating the fact o f insurance o f the goods in such company, and the amount insured thereon, which said certificate shall be by the said auctioneer exhibited publicly at the said sale, upon the demand o f any port-warden, or any other person interested in the said goods, or in the sale thereof; and without such certificates duly furnished to the auctioneer employed to sell the same, all such goods shall, from and after the passage of this act, be charged with the same auction duties as like goods are subject to which are not damaged or claimed to be so. Sec. 10. Sections first and fourth of title first, chapter seventeenth, part first o f the Revised Statutes, and all acts or parts o f acts inconsistent with the provisions o f this act, are hereby repealed. Sec. I I .— This act shall take effect immediately. C O M M E R C IA L D E C R E E O F T H E G O V E R N M E N T O F P E R U , IN RESARD TO W HALINS AND SEALING SHIPS. T he Department o f State, (Washington, April 23d, 1846,) has received from the Uni ted States Consul at Payta, the following decree o f the Government o f Peru, which is o f great importance to our whaling vessels in the Pacific. “ I , Ramon Castilla, president o f the republic, considering— “ 1. That the residents at Tumbes are deprived o f the advantages which they derived from the presence o f the whaling and sealing vessels at that place ; and “ 2 . That the government is bound to promote by every means in its power the wel fare and advancement o f all the places in the republic; having obtained the assent o f the Council o f State, do decree :— “ A r t i c l e 1.— Foreign, or national whaling or sealing vessels, may enter the harbor o f Tumbes, on phyment o f the simple duty o f ten dollars as anchorage, free from all duties o f port, captaincy, roll, and health. “ 2.— T he captain o f any whaling or sealing vessel may introduce, free o f duty, into Tumbes, the quantity o f oil which he may wish to sell in order to obtain the provisions and supplies required. 568 Nautical Intelligence. “ Art. 3.— The captain, agent, or consignee, o f any whaling or sealing vessel shall present the manifest on clear paper, as well as the order for her clearance. 44Art. 4.— T he captain o f the port o f Tumbes shall, o f his own authority alone, issue the license to depart, to whaling or sealing vessels, whether national or foreign. 44 Art. 5.— Whaling or sealing vessels remain subject, in cases o f clandestine introduc tion o f merchandise, even o f oil, to the penalties declared in the commercial regulation which they infringe. “ T he minister o f state o f the treasury is charged with the execution o f this decree. “ Given at the palace o f the supreme government, at Lima, on the 3d o f January, 1846. “ R amon C a s t il l a , Manuel del Rio.” NAUTICAL 8 E A -M A R K S IN T H E INTELLIGENCE. SO U N D , G R O U N D S , A N D T H E O U T E R H A R B O R OF COPENHAGEN. T he following translation o f notices to mariners, have been received from the L ega tion o f the United States at Copenhagen, at the Department o f State, and officially pub lished under date, Department o f State, Washington, April 22d, 1846. 44 N otice to M ariners .— In conformity with the king’s commands, the following sea marks will, in addition to those specified in the ordinance o f the 3d o f November, 1840, be laid down in the spring, in the Sound, the Grounds, and the outer harbor of Copen hagen, at the nine places specified below : 44 A . On the eastern side. Floating buoys, with brooms turned downwards upon white p oles: 44 1 on the western side o f the ‘ M iddle ground,' in 20 feet water. 44 1 in front o f the 4 Saltholensgrund,' outside the Lusen, in 4 fathoms. “ 1 in front o f the * Kraasebank,' in 4 fathoms. “ B. On the western side. Floating buoys with brooms turned upwards upon black poles: 44 1 in front o f the * Svalerump,' in 4 fathoms. “ 1 in front o f the * Sundby H a ge,' in 4 fathoms. 44 1 in front o f the 4 Stubberump,’ in 4 fathoms. “ C. A t different detached points. Floating buoys with balls or round wicker bask ets : 44 1 at the shallowest point o f the 4 Knollen,' in 14 feet water. 44 1 northwest o f the shallowest point o f the 4 K y g g en ,' in 4 fathoms ; and 441 at the shallowest point o f the 4 M iddelpulten,' in 20 feet water. 44 The following alterations will be made in the old sea-marks: 44 a. T he northern tun o f the 4 M iddelgrund' will be replaced by a tun painted red, which will be more easily distinguished, and a flag will be placed upon it, instead o f the former black tun, without a flag. A t the 4 Stubben,' a black tun will be fixed instead o f the present red tun ; and a t 4 Taarbeb's R eef,' near the wreck o f the ship-of-the-line N ep tune, a small black tun, with a broom and pole, will be substituted for the floating buoy hitherto in that place. 44 T he various tuns will be marked with the following numbers, v iz : 44 The 4 Dr ago e' tun will be marked 7, the 4 Castrup' tun II, the Siider tun I II, the 4 M iddle' tun I V , the 4 Norder' tun V , the tun at the wreck o f the ship 4 Neptune' V I, the 4 Stubbe9 tun V II, and the tun at the 4Kronen' V III. 44b. A t the wreck o f the 4Provesteen,' two buoys will be placed larger than those now there. 44 c. A t the 4Bredgrunden' a floating buoy will be placed with a ball or a wicker bas ket, instead o f two brooms, the one turned upwards and the other downwards. 44A ll these sea-marks will be, generally, laid out and taken in simultaneously with the light-ship in the grounds ; but they will not be laid out until it can be done with safety, or until there shall be no reason to fear that the sea-marks may be lost or displaced by the floating ice. 44 The buoys at the 4 Sandrevotungen,’ 4 Suder R ysse,' and the 4 Holmetungen' shall remain out throughout the year. A t the point at which the Dragoe Sandreos tun lies, a buoy o f the same description as the others on the western side will be placed whenever the former is removed in the autumn. 44 A ll which is published for general information.” Nautical Intelligence. 569 L IG H T -H O U S E S O F SW E D E N . "T h e following translation o f a notice to mariners relative to the erection o f two light houses on the coast o f Sweden, has been furnished to the Department of State, (W ash ington, April 22d, 1846,) by the acting Consul General o f Sweden and Norwav, at N ew York. “ N otice to M ariners . — The royal commissioners for the management o f the maritime affairs in Sweden, do hereby notify all shipmasters and seafaring persons, for their gui dance, that in the course o f the present year, the following works are to be performed and carried into effect on the light-houses here below specified— v iz : “ 1*— The two coal-lights on ‘ Nidingen,’ situated in the Cattegat 5 7 ° 19" north lati tude, and 30° 6' east longitude from Fewoe, or 11° 56' east longitude from Greenwich, are to be altered and reconstructed into perpendicular lentille-lights o f the third class, a feii Jisce, and the towers to be made considerably higher. This alteration will be commenced in April o f this year, and the light is to be continued, pending the performance o f the work, and until the new lentille-lights shall be exhibited, by means o f the application of a sideral lamp o f the larger size, suspended on each o f the towers, and opening on the Cattegat. It is presumed that the alteration and reconstruction in question will be com pleted by the first o f October next, when the lentille-lights will be immediately exhibited ; but should this (through unforeseen obstacles) not be the case, the provisional lights will be steadily maintained during the ensuing winter, and so until the lentille-lights are fair ly under way. “ 2.— The erection o f a light-house is to be commenced early in the spring ensuing, on the southern point o f Gottland, about three thousand Swedish yards from Hoberg’s Point, on the mountain known by the name o f 4Klefren.’ In this light-house will be in troduced a revolving reverberating light, or mirror-light. “ Further particulars respecting the time when the above-mentioned lights will be ready and exhibited for service, & c., will hereafter be communicated. “ S tockholm , 2d February, 1846.” T he following translation o f a notice to mariners has been received at the Department of State, Washington, from the Legation o f the United States at Stockholm, Sw eden: “ M arine D epartment .— N otice is hereby given that the following light-houses will be altered, or erected, during the present year. “ 1.— The two light-houses on the rocky cluster in the Cattegat; N idingen, situated in north latitude 57° 19', and longitude 30° 6', east o f F ew oe, or 11° 56' east o f Green wich, are to be altered by giving greater elevation to the towers, and adapting them for a lentille-light, ‘ fe u Jisce1 o f the third order. “ 2.— These alterations will be commenced in A p ril; and during their continuance the light will be maintained by the suspension o f a large sideral lamp, shining towards the Cattegat. It is anticipated that the towers will be completed by the 1st o f O ctober; but should the progress o f the work be retarded by any cause later than that period, the same mode o f lighting will be continued during the winter. “ 3.— A new light-house (to be mounted with four spires) will be commenced early in the spring, on the southernmost extremity o f the island o f Gothland,) about 3,000 ells from the point called Hoberg, on the rock Klefren. This new structure will be lighted by a rotary lamp with powerful reflectors. “ More detailed information will be given hereafter, as to the number of revolutions and bearings o f the light just mentioned.” W RECK O FF YARM OUTH. Notice is hereby given that a green buoy, with the word “ wreck,” has been placed just to the eastward o f a schooner sunk in the track o f shipping abreast o f the Victoria Terrace, at Great Yarmouth. T he buoy lies in five and a half fathoms at low water spring tides, with the following marks and compass bearings, v iz.: T he northernmost mill, in line with the centre o f Yarmouth workhouse, bearing north; Gorelston Church is at length open to the southward o f the second mill at Gorleston, S. W . by W . 570 Statistics o f Population. STATISTICS OF POPULATION. P R O G R E S S O F P O P U L A T IO N I N T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S . [ W e copy from the “ Farmer’ s Library and Monthly Journal o f Agriculture,” for January, 1846, the follow ing article relative to the “ Progress o f Population in certain regions o f the United States,” pre pared for that Journal, by W illiam Darby, Esq., the w ell known author o f a Universal Gazetteer. W e cannot let this opportunity pass, w ithout commending the valuable Journal from w h ich this arti c le is taken, to the attention, not only o f those engaged in agricultural pursuits, but to mercantile m en, w hose interests are so intimately connected w ith the resources o f our noble mother Earth. Joh n S. Skinner, Esq., the editor o f the Library and Journal, may be considered as the pioneer in the agricultural literature o f the country. He projected, and edited w ith signal ability for many years the “ Am erican Farmer,” and is the author o f a great number o f works on almost every subject co n nected w ith his favorite pursuit. W e have said that Mr. Skinner was the pioneer in this kind o f lite rature ; he does not, how ever, rest in the practice o f the past, but vigilantly collects the facts o f all time, and keenly bent on his mission, embraces every discovery in scientific agriculture that is ca l culated to advance its interests and its growth. T o be brief, the periodical o f Mr. Skinner stands at the head o f our agricultural w orks, and w e are glad to learn that it is appreciated and supported by intelligent farmers and planters in every state o f the U nion.] F ew persons are aware o f the peculiar advantages o f the Atlantic Slope o f North America. I f we extend our views into a not very distant futurity, when the central part o f the continent will teem with inhabitants, the Atlantic border will stand as the gateway between the great civilized nations o f the Eastern and Western Continents. In some very essential respects, such is the case at present. A s population is the first, the last, and principal consideration on all statistical subjects, I have constructed the enclosed tabular, to serve as comparative data, as regards those parts o f the Atlantic border where the facilities o f commercial and agricultural, as well as manufacturing prosperity abound, and yet have remained stationary, or retrograde, whilst other parts, in no essential respect differing in natural advantages, have advanced in wealth and power. It must be obvious that in these views I can have no sectional or other partial bias. M y desire is to show, from actual experience, that there must exist either some inherent cause o f discontent, or most alluring prospects o f gain, to induce the people o f the Atlan tia border to abandon their place o f birth, and cut asunder so many ties, so many domestic associations— and that to an extent not only to prevent increase, but to produce a diminu tion o f physical, intellectual, and moral power. W ere we made acquainted with such a fact, founded on official data, in the political history o f any monarchical state of Europe, we would at once set it down as a proof o f the deteriorating effects o f that form o f g ov ernment. In the case for our consideration, now before us, and applied to a region most favored by every facility to derive benefit from human labor, where nature itself has scooped ma ny o f the finest havens o f the globe— havens on which cities have already risen, in a comparatively short period, vying with the great marts o f Europe and A s ia ; such a coun try, also abounding in means o f religious, moral and intellectual culture; what are the inducements offered by western or central settlements, to compensate for the sacrifice o f so many advantages, already at command, on the Atlantic border ? L an d ! more land ! Does any one suppose that the expense o f removal and obtaining new residences will not be as great, and the success more precarious as to resulting profit, than the same time, means, and labor, applied to the improvement o f soil already possessed ? On such a subject, yourself and readers will pardon the introduction o f a moment’s al lusion to my own experience, and also the confident tone o f my remarks. I was removed into the interior when very young, but old enough to remember much consequent hardship felt and witnessed. It is true that many o f the difficulties to which emigrants o f more than half a century past were exposed, are now removed or greatly mitigated ; yet I have no hesitation to say that, as a rule admitting very few exceptions, the first generation of emigrants are worn away with labor and care, and with no small share o f regret, before the second can be placed in as happy homes as were left for shadowy hopes. W ere the Atlantic border o f the United States, like the Pacific border of China, teeming with an overcharged population, relief would be naturally and rationally sought, by removal to a wilderness, or thinly peopled region, with a productive soil and temperate climate, did such offer ; but, from spaces where the maximum o f distributive population falls far short 571 Statistics o f Population. o f fifty to the square mile, and where two hundred on equal surface could find support, with the enjoyment o f every comfort o f life, there must exist some great defect in modes o f thinking, to superinduce extensive emigration. In the selection o f element for the following comparative tables, I have not included either Maine or N ew Y ork, as causes peculiar to both these states have influenced their political history. T he sections adopted have been comparatively less influenced by exter nal causes than most other parts o f the United States, and, as to soil, have in themselves much in common. T hey have all, in a peculiar degree, the advantages of commercial facilities, but those southward o f N ew Y ork in a much greater extent than those to the northward. T he period chosen o f thirty years, from 1810 to 1840, was, perhaps, o f any portion o f time since theTlnglish colonies were originally formed in North America, the one best calculated to illustrate the philosophy o f our statistical history. T able I. Table o f the Progressive Population o f the F ive States named, from 1810 to 1840, as deduced from the respective Census Returns o f those years. Population, Population, 1810. 1840. States. Vermont.................... N ew Hampshire,.... Massachusetts.......... Connecticut.............. Rhode Island,......... Am ount,.......... 217,713 214,360 472,040 262,042 77,031 291,948 284,574 737,699 309,978 108,830 1,243,216 1,733,029 Area in Population to the Ratio o f increase sqr. miles, sqr. mile, 1840. in 30 years. 10,212 9,280 7,800 4,674 1,360 33,326 28 30 94 66 80 1.34 1.33 1.56 1.18 1.4 52 1.31 T able II. Table o f the Progressive Population o f the Lower or Maritime Counties o f New Jer sey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the whole three Counties o f Delaware, from 1810 to 1840. Counties. N e w J e r s e y .. Cape M ay ,.. Cumberland, Salem ,........... Chester,...... Delaware,... Newcastle,.. Kent,........... D e l a w a r e ___ i Sussex,......... CCaroline,__ Cecil,........... Dorchester,. K en t,........... M a r y l a n d ___ Queen A nne, Somerset,... Talbot,......... .W orcester,.. P ennsylvania Amount Popu lation, 1810. Popu lation, 1840 Area in square miles. 3,632 12,640 12,761 39,596 14,734 24,429 20,495 28,540 9,453 13,066 18,108 11,450 16,648 17,579 14,157 16,971 5,344 14,374 16,024 57,513 19,791 33,120 19,872 25,093 7,806 17,232 18,843 10,842 12,633 19,508 13,090 18,377 310 450 300 732 220 456 640 875 240 264 640 240 400 540 200 700 17 32 53 54 nearly 90 72 30 28 32 65 29 77 31 36 60 26 274,299 308,442 8,207 37 Population to the sqr. mile, 1840. Ratio o f in crease in 30 years. 1.47 1.13 1.25 1.45 1.34 1.35 3 per cent. 11 do. 171 do. 1.31 1.04 10 per cent. 24 do. 1.11 15 per cent. 1.08 1.124 W ith similar views which induced me to construct the foregoing tables, I drew up a rough table o f that part o f Virginia east o f the Blue Ridge, and intended to copy it for your u se; but, finding it divided into sixty-five counties, some o f which had been, from 1810 to 1840, divided, I considered it more satisfactory to present the whole in one point o f view. That part o f Virginia has a rather remarkable approach to a triangle, having two hundred and sixty miles along the Blue Ridge, a very near equal distance on North Carolina— and, in direct distance, about two hundred and twenty from the southeastern angle on the Atlantic Ocean to the northern at the mouth o f the Shenandoah: area, about 27,000 square miles. On this space, in 1810, by the census returns o f that year, there existed a population of 705,196 ; which mass had, in the ensuing thirty years, augmented to 800,036, or increased by slow ratio o f 1.134. Many o f the counties remained nearly stationary, while some, similar to several in Table II., had diminished in population. 572 Statistics o f Population. T a b le III.-—Summary o f Tables I. and II. Population, Area in Population to Population, 1810. 1840. sq. miles. the square mile, 1840. Tables. Ratio o f increase in 30 years. Table I ................. ... Table I I ............... 1,243,216 274,299 1,733,029 308,442 33,326 8,207 52 37 1.39 1.124 Amount,... ... 1,517,515 2,041,471 41,523 49 1.345 T able IV.— Elements o f Table 11. combined with those o f Eastern Virginia. Population, 1810. Population, 1840. Area in sq. miles. Population to the square mile, 1840. 274,299 705,196 308,342 800,036 8,207 27,000 37 33 7-10 Table II............... Eastern Virginia, Ratio o f increase in 30 years. 1.124 1.134 Amount,.... 979,495 31 4-10 1.131 1,108,478 35,207 The two right-hand columns o f these tables afford lessons which ought to excite serious reflections on our domestic policy. T o stay the current o f western emigration is a hopeless prospect, but many may be restrained from casting themselves on the current by timely warning. Let any person open a map o f the United States, and scan the surface embraced by all the tabular views here presented, and then, with an Atlas o f the W orld before him, find, i f he can, a single other space on earth, all things considered, superior. I have not, for obvious reasons, included lower N ew Y ork, and the more populous mari time counties o f N ew Jersey; but may observe that no other principle in statistics is more sure in application than that great cities" contribute to make great counties around them. That districts in their vicinity should not only remain, as to population, stationary, but some o f them have a diminishing ratio, while were rising such cities as N ew Y ork, Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore, must arise from some sinister cause. Let us pause a moment, and examine the general progress o f the entire population o f the United States, during the thirty years’ period, from 1810 to 1840. T able V.— Tabular View o f the Progressive Population o f the whole States and Terri tories o f the United States, which were embraced by both enumerations. States. Maine,........................ .. N ew Hampshire,...... .. Vermont,................... .. Massachusetts,.......... Rhode Island,.......... Connecticut,.............. .. N ew Y o r k ,............... .. N ew Jersey,.............. .. Pennsylvania,.......... .. Delaware,................... Maryland,.................. .. Virginia,..................... .. North Carolina,......... .. South Carolina,........ .. Georgia,...................... .. Alabama,................... Mississippi,................ Louisiana,................. Tennessee,................ .. Kentucky,................. .. Ohio,........................... .. M ichigan,................. Indiana,...................... Illinois,....................... Missouri,................... Columbia,................... Population, 1810. Population, 1840. Area in square miles. Population to the square mile, 1840. 228,705 214,360 217,713 472,040 77,031 262,042 959,949 249,555 810,091 72,674 380,546 974,642 555,500 415,115 252,433 20,845 40,352 76,566 261,727 406,511 230,760 4.762 24,520 12,282 20,845 24,023 501,793 284,574 291,948 737,699 108,830 309,878 2,428,921 373,303 1,724,033 78,085 470,019 1,239,797 753,419 594,398 691,392 590,756 375,651 352,411 829,210 779,828 1,519,467 212,267 685,866 476,183 383,702 43,712 33,000 9,280 10,213 7,800 1,360 4,674 46,000 6,900 43,950 2,068 10,800 64,000 43,800 30,000 58,200 50,000 45,350 48,220 40,000 39,000 39,000 54,000 36,250 59,000 60,300 100 15.2 30 28 94 80 66 52.7 54 41.4 37.7 43 19.3 17.2 19.8 12 11.8 8.2 7.5 20 20 40 40 19 Amount,............. .. 7,239,814 16,837,285 827,264 20J 8 19 Ratio o f increase in 30 years. 2.19 1.33 1.34 1.56 1.40 1.18 2.53 1.49 2.12 1.07 4-10 1.23 1.33 1.35 1.37 2.34 2.74 9.30 4.60 3.13 1.90 6.58 44.6 27.9 38.9 18.4 1.81 2.32 T he figures in table V. speak in strong language, the peculiar diffusion o f population Railroad Statistics. 573 — the immense void to fill up in the already organized states, and the highly important fact that while, in 1840, several o f the central states nearly doubled the mean population o f the Union, as many o f the old Atlantic states fell short o f the mean o f the whole. In such estimates, we may premise that positive accuracy cannot be attained, and ought not to be expected. It is, however, o f very minor consequence that minute details do not present mathematical precision, while the general results cannot be disputed. I f no change takes place in the current o f emigration, the centre o f political pow’er must correspond with the centre o f force, and leave at long distance the Atlantic coast. RAILROAD STATISTICS. T A R I F F O F R A T E S O N T H E B A L T IM O R E A N D O H IO R A IL R O A D . T he following is the tariff o f rates o f transportation on the main stem o f the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, between Baltimore and Cumberland. The rates are subject to some little modification when a whole car is engaged for a specific article. Ale in bottles, cents. 50 A le, brls. or hhds. 40 Apples, in brls. 40 Ashes, Pot or Pearl, 25 Bacon, in hhds. 25 25 Bark, unground Bark, ground 25 a 30 Beef, fresh 50 25 Beef, in brls. 50 Beer or Porter, bottles 40 Beer in brls. 50 Beeswax, 50 Bonnets in cases, 50 Boots and Shoes, 50 Bread, 30 Bricks, 40 Buhr blocks, 50 Butter, fresh 25 Butter, firkins or casks 25 Cabbages, Candles, 40 Castings, 25 50 Cedar ware, 50 Charcoal, Cheese, 25 50 China ware, 25 Chrome ore, 50 Cider, bottles, 40 Cider, in brls. Cigars, 50 40 Clover Seed, Coal, see specific. 25 Coffee, 40 Copper in pigs, Copper, manufactured 50 Copper ore, 25 50 Cordage, 50 Corn brooms, 25 Corn meal, 40 Cotton, in bales, 35 Drugs and Dyes, 35 Dry Goods, RATE PER 100 POUNDS. Earthen and Stone ware, 40 Feathers, 50 Fish, fresh 50 Fish, in barrels, 25 Flax, 50 Flax Seed, 40 Flour, see specific. Fruit, dried 40 Furs and Peltry, 50 Ginseng, 50 Glass, window 25 Glue, 50 Grain,* every kind, 50 Granite, 25 Grapes, 50 Grindstones, 30 Groceries generally, 25 Hats, 50 Hay in bales, 40 Heading and Staves, 25 Hemp & Flax, in bales, 30 Hides, dry 40 Hides, green 30 Hardware, 25 H ollow W are, 25 H oop poles, 25 Hops, 50 Horne, 50 Iron, blooms, 25 30 Iron, manufactured Iron, pigs, 25 Iron ore, 25 Iron, scrap 25 Lard, kegs or casks, 25 Lead, bars or pigs, 25 Leather, 40 Lemons, 50 Liquors, foreign 50 Live stock, 30 Lumber, generally, 25 40 Mahogany, Manure, 25 Marble, undressed 25 Mill Stones, 50 Molasses, 40 Nails and Spikes, 30 Oil, in bottles or cases, 50 Oil, in casks, 40 Oranges, 50 Oysters, 50 Paints, 25 Paper, 50 Pipe clay, 25 Pitch, 25 Plaster— see specific. Pork, fresh 50 Pork, salted 25 Potatoes, Turnips, &c. 25 Queensware, 25 Rags, 40 Rails and Posts, fencing 25 Raisins, 50 Rice, 40 Rosin, 25 Salt, 25 Shingles, 25 Ship stuffs, 25 a 30 Shot, 50 Skins, deer, See. 40 Slate, 40 Snake root, 50 Steel, 40 Tallow, 25 Tar, 25 Tea, 50 T in, in pigs, 50 T in plate, boxes, 25 T in ware, 50 Tobacco, Amer., in hhds. or boxes, 25 T obacco, foreign, bales, 50 W hiskey, brls. or hhds. 25 W ines, 50 W ool, bales, 40 * Wheat is 23.15 cents per 100 lbs., and in the same proportion for intermediate dis tances as Flour. 574 Commercial Statistics. SPECIFIC RATES. Cumberland Coal— per ton, per m ile,............................................................. 44 44 from Cumberland to Baltimore, per ton,......................... 44 44 44 44 Washington city,............................. . 41 44 44 44 Dam N o 6,........................................ Plaster Paris, per ton, per m ile,........................................................................ 2 cents. $3 3 56 0 75 2 cents. FLOUR. From Per barrel. Cumberland to Baltimore,.... Patterson’s Creek “ Green Spring Run “ Little Cacapon “ Great Cacapon “ Hancock “ Licking Creek “ North Mountain “ Hedgesville “ Martinsburg “ Flagg’s M ill “ Kerneysville “ Duffield’s “ Harper’s Ferry “ W everton “ Knoxville “ Berlin “ Catoctin “ 50 c. 50 50 50 50 40 37 33 44 *< 44 44 44 25 25 24$ 23$ 22 COMMERCIAL IM P O R T S O F Per barrel. From Point o f Rocks Frederick Doup’s Switch Davis’ Switch Buckeystown Monocacy R eel’s Mill Ijamsville Monrovia Mount A iry W oodbine Hood’s Mill Sykesville Marriottsville W oodstock Elysville Ellicott’s Mills Ilchester to Baltimore, ... (4 21$ c. 20 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 44 17 15 13 9 8 44 44 44 44 STATISTICS. F O R E IG N M E R C H A N D IS E IN T O T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S . W i gave in the May number o f the Merchants’ Magazine a very full view o f the commerce o f the United States, derived from the Annual Report o f the Secretary o f the Treasury, embracing summary statements o f our domestic and foreign exports ; imports from each foreign country ; commerce and navigation o f each state; the tonnage o f our commercial marine, etc., etc. W e now proceed to lay before our readers a summary statement o f the quantity and value, as far as they can be ascertained from the official documents o f the Treasury Department o f the Government. A SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE QUANTITY AND VALUE OF GOODS, W ARES, AND MERCHANDISE, IMPORTED INTO THE UNITED STATES DURING THE YEAR. ENDING Species o f M erchandise. 30tH OF JUNE, Quantity. 1645. V alue. FREE OF DUTY. Bullion— g o ld ,.......................................................................................................... Silver,....................................................................................................... Specie— gold,............................................................................................................ Silver,....................................................................................................... T eas,.................................................................................. pounds. 19,630,045 Coffee...................................................................................... d o.... 107,860,911 Copper, in plates and sheets,... in pigs, bars, and old,. Brass, in pigs, bars, and old,... Dye woods, in sticks,................ Barilla,......................................... Burr stones, unwrought,.......... Crude brimstone,....................... A ll other articles,....................... $66,103 41,275 752,747 3,210,117 5,730,514 6,221,271 738,936 1,225,301 13,702 603,408 22,917 32,624 108,619 3,380,306 575 Commercial Statistics, Species of merchandise. Quantity. Value. PAYING DUTIES AD VALOREM. Manufactures o f w ool, cloths, and cassimeres,................................................... merino shawls o f w ool,.................................................. ................ blankets, not above 75 cents each,... above 75 cents each,..................................... worsted stuffs,.................................................................. hosiery, gloves, mits, and bindings,............................ woollen and worsted yarn,.................. ................ other articles,.................................................................. Manufactures o f cotton, dyed, printed, or colored,.......................................... white or uncolored,........................................................ velvets, cords, moleskins, fustians, & c.......................... twist, yarn, or thread,.................................................... hosiery, gloves, mits, caps & binding, ................ other manufactures,......................................... ............. Silk and worsted goods,....................................................................................... . Camlets, and other manufactures o f goat’s hair and mohair, ................ Silks, floss, and other manufactures not specified,.......................................... Lace, thread and cotton,........................................................................................ gold and silver, & e...................................................................................... Flax, linens, bleached and other,......................................................................... other articles,............................................................................................... Hempen goods, sheetings, brown and white,................................................... ticklenburgs, osnaburgs, and burlaps,................................... other articles,............................................................................ Clothing, ready made,.......................................................................................... other articles o f wear,.......................................................................... Grass cloth and carpeting, not specified,........................................................... matting and mats,............................................................... ............... W ire, brass, copper, and plated,......................................................................... Arms, fire and side,.............................................................................................. Manufactures o f iron and steel,........................................................................... copper,......................................... ............................................. brass,.......................................................................................... tin,.......................................................................................... other metals,............................................................................. Saddlery,................................................................................................................. Manufactures o f leather, not specified,............................................................. o f w ood,................................................................. ............... Glass, above 22 by 14 inches,............................................................................. silvered, framed, and other.............................................. ............... Hats, bonnets, Leghorn, straw, chip, & c.,....................................................... palm leaf,...................................................................................................... Wares, China and porcelain,........................ ...................................................... earthen and stone,.................................................................................... plated and gilt,......................................................................................... japanned,................................................................................................... Furs, undressed, on the skin,.............................................................................. hats, caps, and muffs,................................................................................, hatters’ and other,....................................................................................... Hair cloth and seating,......................................................................................... Brushes o f all kinds,.............................................................................................. Paper hanging,....................................................................................................... Slates o f all kinds,................................................................................................. Black lead pencils,................................................................................................ Copper bottoms, cut round, & c............................................................................ Zinc, in plates......................................................................................................... Chronometers and clocks,.................................................................................... W atches, and parts o f watches,........................................................................... Gold and silver, manufactures of,....................................................................... Jewelry,.................................................................................................................. Quicksilver,.................................................................................... ............... Buttons, metal and other,..................................................................................... $5,411,850 226,317 304,677 694,237 1,938,109 741,242 187,975 553,468 8,572,546 1,823,451 671,291 565,769 1,326,631 903,594 1,510,310 228,838 1,027,541 1,122,997 28,434 4,298,224 624,885 106,730 195,471 205,782 67,232 1,105,796 50,059 126,190 18,256 146,155 4,023,590 107,756 120,083 13,131 26,517 268,247 109,668 176,092 80,263 371,375 712,923 52,103 252,256 2,187,259 159,227 59,895 256,586 16,646 465,739 90,643 67,426 46,285 121,768 11,798 3,455 73,909 30,806 1,106,543 39,380 139,539 54,993 109,230 576 Commercial Statistics, Species o f merchandise. Quantity. Value PATINO DUTIES AD VALOREM. Teas, imported from places other than their growth and pro duction,................................................................................. lbs. Coffee,.................. do....................do..................do..................do. Corks,.............................................................................................. Quills,.............................................................................................. W ood, unmanufactured, mahogany and rose,.......................... W ool, unmanufactured, not exceeding 7 cts. per pound,...pd. exceeding 7 cents per pound,___do. Articles not enumerated— at 1 per cent,................................... 2 h do.. do.. 5 7 do... 7* do.. 10 do.. 12^ do.. 15 do.. do.. 20 do.. 25 30 do,. 35 do.. 182,455 272,458 23,382,097 450,943 $31,27 4 22,261 90,862 9,387 299,082 1,553,789 136,005 212,975 1,690,460 4,975,003 32,576 29,685 170,641 253 292,873 2,290,897 1,103,334 1,064,616 46,701 $60,191,862 T otal,............................................................................................... PAYING SPECIFIC DUTIES. Silks— sewing silk, silk twist, or twist o f silk & mohair, .lbs. pongees, plain white, and other manufactures o f,. do. raw silk, and all silk in the gum, & c ...................... do. silk, shoes and slippers, laced boots, & c.............. pairs. silk hats and bonnets,................................................ No. Woollens, flannels,...................................................square yds. baizes,............................................................ do......... Carpeting, W ilton and Saxony,................................... do......... Brussels,........................................................do.......... Venetian and other ingrained,..................do.......... Sail duck,..........................................................................do.......... Cotton bagging, o f hem p,.............................................do.......... o f other materials,.............................do.......... Floor-cloth, patent, painted, & c.................................. do.......... Oil-cloth, furniture and other,....................................... do.......... W ines, in casks, bottles, and other vessels— Madeira,.............................................................. gallons. sherry,.......................................................................do.... Champagne,............................................................d o.... Burgundy,................................................................ do.... Port,.........................................................................Ido.... claret, and other red wines o f France,.............. do.... white, o f France,................................................do.... white, o f Portugal,.................................................do.... red, o f Portugal,..................................................... do.... Teneriffe,.................................................................do.... o f Spain,............................... do.... o f Sicily,.................................................................. do.... other Mediterranean,.............................................d o . . . o f Germany,........................................................... d o ... all other,......... .........................................................do.... Foreign distilled spirits— brandy,..................................................................gallons. from grain,...............................................................do.... from other materials,............................................. do.... cordials,....................................................................do.... Beer, ale, and porter,..........................................................d o.... Vinegar,...................................................... d o ... Molasses............................................................................. pounds. 82,196 894,321 62,697 4,047 5,884 205,130 278,456 32,498 227,170 46,778 744,211 1,551,044 228,448 7,804 108,317 $431,632 8,260,784 208,454 3,071 17,839 76,055 100,332 86,789 310,174 34,951 272,031 117,331 11,194 5,714 27,150 101,176 23,616 101,464 543 262,977 1,481,496 487,513 136,796 113,607 5,846 300,662 119,590 51,988 27,677 2,881 145,237 38,289 303,399 1,157 165,491 364,055 143,616 83,999 69,532 6,426 73,585 46,033 13,323 15,235 809 1,081,314 606,311 270,484 20,727 108,066 38.287 201,311,364 819,540 262,543 78,-957 30,080 96,598 6,252 3,154,782 577 Commercial Statistics. Species o f merchandise. Quantity. Value. PAYING SPECIFIC DUTIES. figs,,... dates,.. Glue,.. Hemp,.. ig e,.d o.... Manufactures o f glass— watch crystals, and spectacle glasses,., cut glass,.............. ................................... ! o z ..d o .. . :r,....do.. . •square ft. polished plate,.......... VOL. X I V .----- JfO . V I. 37 82,655 227,114 3,533 1,655,094 5,027 111,957,404 1,662,574 2,044,862 1,757,349 1,237,882 468,693 1,409,663 89,271 10,739,220 2,179,435 14,997 250,253 3,440 155,252 1,012,986 17,861 2,832,750 942,231 684,380 705,642 65,109 48,334 27,866 30,968 343,218 1,922,694 1,131,256 108,166 12,861 14,432 8,264 8,081 1,882,473 13,239,935 63,254 815,172 2,121,529 231,171 1,114,839 415,963 588,763 10,579 28,155 70,708 24,339 8,433 8,879 10,903,101 $48,579 105,574 3,779 92,389 1,627 4,556,392 91,172 132,991 152,869 59,838 43,695 110,916 1,114 706,594 68,733 12,719 176,221 2,932 24,429 37,875 1,699 164,690 86,056 26,434 143,542 8,841 1,729 1,088 3,540 172,076 80,885 862,700 3,194 1,243 37,638 1,275 3,284 73,174 646,966 18,443 1,160,644 22,168 14,744 67,209 22,391 115,768 5,298 145,209 238,179 106,717 46,602 90,509 421,080 2,958 49,503 14,917 5,215 6,234 165,861 105,715 69,361 12,677 26,127 2,743 2,385 790 14,679 13,211 21,292 578 Commercial Statistics. Quantity. Species of merchandise. Manufactures o f glass— bottles,. Pins, solid-headed, in packs o f 5,100 each,.. Value. 402 10,015 18,071 33,561 45,594 48,645 7,034 22,445 89,797 $1,562 44,835 5,408 5,874 25,828 19,250 16,185 10,969 14,692 15,789 86,668 921,412 16,430 1,992,849 264,270 1,678 17,133 63,456 526 57,193 10,718 123,201 3,779 5,613 327 2,672 2,385 58,361 1,035,319 117,262 630,518 148,336 458,019 17,983 1,324,942 20,437 596,549 36,788 11,972,198 216,255 550,209 116,950 1,023,772 363,530 64,283 3,136 173,841 31,836 14,713 4,090 49,322 114,579 27,402 10,589 15,926 110,902 81,995 12,077 6,071 85,776 8,543,527 211,327 1,297 30,506 6,996 408 2,371 57,397 5,637 18,236 4,792 33,917 512 80,507 1,992 25,814 929 489,528 7,671 506,291 119,740 1,671,748 872,157 775,675 1,154 699,382 42,259 114,497 12,626 7,926 43,798 19,967 9,386 13,452 113,949 59,192 8,447 4,969 223,919 898,663 58,949 9,646 280,519 Manufactures o f iron— spikes,.. earn......... Manufactures o f iron and steel— ...... N o.... blacksmiths’ hammers and sledges,., ........ do.... casement rods, band, scroll, & c.,.. in pigs,.............................................. old and serap,.................................. Steel,. gloves,.. all other,..................................................... Books printed forty years before importation,., in Latin and Greek,...... .......................... Coal,. ,. volumes. Value o f articles not enumerated.. Total,.. 34,914,862 Commercial Statistics. 579 SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE QUANTITY ANJ> VALUE OF MERCHANDISE PAYING SPECIFIC DUTIES, DESIGNATED AS ARTICLES NOT ENUMERATED IN THE GENERAL STATEMENT OF FOREIGN’ MERCHANDISE IMPORTED DURING THE YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1845. Species o f Merchandise. .gallons. .pounds. W a x and spermaceti candles,.. .barrels. .pounds. Butter,.. Alum ,.. Putty,.. 'ol,..N o. .pounds. Brass battery, or hammered kettles,.. Brass screws,......................................... Wheat,.. .bushels. Rye,.............. Oats,............... Indian corn,.. W heat flour,.. Quantity. 33 1,704 112 529 6 8,189 6 168,681 24,179 3,278 61 135 8,770 23,079 1,327,375 477 7,236 26,584 1,703 232 16,158 780 216 536 1,252 1,341 15,378 4,231 12,422 405 969 845 18,267 281 249 43 1,739 13 14 Total,............. Value. $27 162 3 260 2 785 46 9.505 1,295 281 8 12 801 50,048 10.020 167 1,131 305 98 34 1,009 8 249 117 3,361 59 302 156 3,179 205 796 719 564 257 158 44 593 5 30 86,801 T R A D E A N D C O M M E R C E O F T H E U N IT E D K IN G D O M , IN 1845-46. W e have received the official accounts o f the British Board o f Trade, relating to the Trade and Navigation o f the United Kingdom, for the twelve months ending the 5th o f January, 1846,* as compared with the twelve months ending on the 5th o f January, 1845, (the previous year.) The first table gives the quantities o f the principal articles o f mer chandise imported into, and also the quantities entered for the home consumption of, the United Kingdom. T he articles marked thus, (*) in the column o f quantities cleared for consumption in 1846, are those on which the duty has been repealed; the only return, therefore, being the quantities imported in the column under that head. Table II. em braces an account o f the exports o f foreign and colonial merchandise from the United Kingdom, in the twelve months ending on the 5th o f January, 1846, as compared with two preceding years. In Table III., we have an account o f the declared value o f exports * T he English commercial or financial year closes on the 5th o f January. 580 Commercial Statistics. ©f the principal articles o f British and Irish Produce and Manufactures, in the twelve months ending January 5th, in each o f the years 1844, 1845, and 1846. Table IV . gives the number and tonnage o f vessels employed in the foreign trade of the United King dom, for three years. These tables are prepared either by, or under the direction o f G. R . Porter, Esq., and dated at the u Statistical Department, Board o f Trade, February, 1846” — so that, in less than a month after the close o f the commercial year, the British merchant and statesman is in possession o f a summary view o f the commerce o f the kingdom for the past year, and we are thus enabled to lay the accounts o f British trade and navigation before the readers o f the Merchants’ Magazine, in this country, some eight ©r nine months earlier than the statements embraced in the reports o f the Secretary o f the Treasury, (o f the United States,) on Commerce and Navigation, for the same year. W e earnestly hope Mr. Secretary W alker, or the Congress o f the United States, will adopt a similar expeditious course, in the promulgation o f these important documents. Their chief practical value depends upon their prompt publication. T he only remedy for the evil is that which we suggested in the Merchants’ Magazine for May, 1846.* I.— IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM. A n Account o f the Imports o f the Principal A rticles o f Foreign and Colonial Merchan dise, and o f the consumption o f such articles in the twelve months ended 5th January, 1846, compared with the preceding year. Quantities imported. 1845. 3,682 1,154 53 2,801 16 265 36 2,663 632,907 Q uan. ent’d for hom e con. 1846. 9,782 6,502 586 15,846 112 1,598 54 3,145 567,935 1846. 1846. Animals, living— Oxen and bulls,.N o . 3,710 9,782 C ow s,.......................................... 1,156 6,502 C a lv e s,....................................... 55 586 Sheep,........................................ 2,801 15,846 Lambs,........................................ 16 112 Swine and hogs,....................... 269 1,598 Bacon,...............................................cwts. 36 64 Barilla and alkali,......................... 2,621 Free.* * Bark for tanners’ or dyers’ use,... cwts. 651,489 Beef, salted, not corned— O f British possessions,............... 20,250 3,288 4,014 2,361 Foreign,...................................... 86,516 80,932 1,143 1,179 Beef, fresh, or slightly salted,...... 3 3,273 24 651 Butter,.............................................. 185,511 254,395 180,965 240,118 Cheese,............................................ 213,850 268,245 242,206 258,246 C ocoa,.............................................. 3,731,256 4,917,907 2,590,528 2,589,984 Coffee— o f British possessions,.., 24,113,230 23,151,602 19,557,922 20,803,912 Foreign,........................... 22,409,958 27,233,767 11,833,375 13,514,183 Total o f coffee,...................... 46,523,188 50,385,369 31,391,297 34,318,095 Corn— W heat,................ ............... 1,099,077 871,443 822,182 135,670 Barley,........................................ 1,019,345 371,130 1,029,001 299,314 O ats,............................................ 299,601 592,620 262,357 585,793 26,532 435 28,779 R ye.............................................. 23 Peas.............................................. 108,001 84,830 122,984 82,556 Beans,.......................................... 154,424 185,034 225,680 197,919 Maize, or Indian corn,............. 37,064 42,295 55,378 38,711 Buckwheat,................................ 3,907 1,773 3,937 1,105 M alt,............................................ 1 Wheat-meal, or flour,............... .cwts. 980,645 950,195 712,968 630,255 Oat-meal,..................................... 3,951 3,922 3,063 2,224 Indian meal,.............................. 105 Dyes and dyeing stuffs— Cochineal,..... 10,385 9,376 6,776 Free.* * Indigo, ...................................... 97,960 90,388 32,495 * L ac-dye,....... .............................. 7,636 12,806 8,470 * T he reader is referred to some remarks on this subject, introductory to the state ments o f the Commerce o f the United States for 1845, in the Merchants’ M agazine for M ay , 1846, Volume X IV ., page 465. 581 Commercial Statistics. L og w o o d ,.................................. Madder-root, ........................... Eggs,.............................................. Fish o f foreign taking— Eels, ............................... ships’ lading “ in small quantities,.......... Turbots,..................................... Oysters,................................... bushels Salm on,..................................... Soles,.......................................... Turtle,....................................... Fresh, not otherwise described,........ Cured, do.,................................. Flax & tow, or codilla o f h’mp & flax, Fruits, v iz :— Currants,............... Figs................................................ Lemons ) ................ chests or boxes and > ..............number, (loose,) Oranges, ) ............................. at value Raisins,...................................... ■Gloves, leather,............................. .pairs. Hams,............................................. H em p, undressed,........................ Hides, untanned,.......................... Mahogany,..................................... Meat, salt or fresh, not oth. des....cw t. Molasses,............................... ........ M etals: viz.— Copper o re ,......... Un wrought,............................... Iron, in bars, unwrought,....... ,.. tons Steel, unwrought,..................... Lead, pig and sheet,................ Spelter,....................................... T in blocks, ingots, bars or slabs,.cwt. O ils:— Train, blubber, & Sper.,. ..tuns Palm,......................................... Cocoa-nut,................................. Olive,.......................................... ..tuns Opium,........................................... ......ib. Pork, salted: o f British Poss.... . . cwt. Foreign,.................................... . Fresh,......................................... Quicksilver,.................................. ......lb. R ice,............................................... Rice in the husk,......................... Saltpetre and cubic nitre,............ S eed s: viz.— Clover,................... Flaxseed and Linseed,......... . Rape,........................- ................ Silk : viz.— R a w ,......................... ......lb. Waste, knubs, and husks,....... Thrown o f all sorts,................ ......lb. Silk manu. o f E urope: Silk or Satin pi. Figured or brocaded,.............. Gauze, plain,............................ Striped, figured, or brocaded, Tissue Foulards,.................... Crape, plain,............................. Figured,..................................... Velvet, plain,............................ Figured,.................................... 1845. 1846. 1845. 184G. «• 23,013 22,410 20,704 * 67,493 95,961 96,084 * 95,970 1471659 97,268 * 9.652 11.429 9,814 67,565,167 75,669,843 67,597,248 75,669,843 86 84 1 1,095 397 1,534 216 1,583,494 284,378 31,559 360,007 35,493 603 217,238 1,871,027 6,732 913,233 637,886 25,622 246 591,249 58,406 28,031 24,483 54,356 3,058 10,393 12,085 20,844 414,648 87,866 14,962 248,340 2,153 28,627 63 2,148,351 456,302 36,630 349,870 124,759 616,947 68,884 4,149,932 15,618 400,986 161,466 109,093 4,886 13,323 39 3,817 99 15,482 2,692 86 4 160 3 1,106 2 387 1,338 20,587 1,418,423 348,704 46,965 411,684 39,891 1,556 299,101 2,196,155 5,462 929,516 719,482 38,609 437 528,238 56,662 2,524 33,295 41,619 5,078 12,927 25,588 24,515 509,982 42,974 12,348 259,626 1,517 38,128 133 1,869,711 546,037 45,187 465,924 152,517 633,293 46,936 4,351,626 13,122 506,884 167,146 98,022 21,673 15,954 25 4,343 42 23,173 3,498 86 84 1 1,117 405 1,534 170 1,593,533 285,116 33,314 347,173 35,493 5,470 202,654 1,835,000 3,568 901,794 628,898 24,320 56 615,628 58,591 93 21,658 128 50 5,718 2,078 21,400 373,578 43,502 10,785 32,736 248 1,073 63 246,959 326,798 38,119 355,014 92,114 609,541 69,039 4,021,808 15,856 410,358 150,571 103.635 4,734 12,862 39 3,281 76 13,226 2,494 86 4 169 3 1,169 2 38T 1,338 20,273 Free.* 309,79* 36,065 373,370 39,891 6,463 205,311 2,153,091 2,603 Free.* * * 403 625,868 56,141 10G Free.* * 139 Free.* 8,801 Free.* * * * 39,889 172 1,289 133 Free.* 297,436 44.574 Free.* 134,105 F re e * * * * * 154,638 93,742 20,293 15,666 25 3,708 9T 18.96T 3,017 582 Commercial Statistics. Silk manufactures o f India : viz. Bandanoes & other silk hand... .pcs. Other sorts,.......................................... S kins: viz.— Goat, undressed,........N o. K id, undressed,......................... Dressed,..................................... Lamb, undressed,...................... Tanned, tawed, or dressed,.... Spices: viz.-— Cassia L ign ea,..........lbs.. Cinnamon,........................................... Cloves,........... ...................................... M ace,.................... ............................... Nutmegs,............................................. Pepper,................................................. Pimento,........................................cwt. Spirits: viz. Rum ,,..gals. (in. ov erp ’f. Brandy,................................................. Geneva,........... .............. «... Sugar, unrefined: viz. O f the Brit. Ps. in A ., duty 14s...cwts. Do. equal to wh. clayed, duty I6s 4d O f Mauritius,, duty 14s...................... East India o f Brit. Pos., duty 14s. Do. equal to wh. clayed, duty 16s 4d D o. importing foreign sugar, duty 18s 8d and 21s 9d,..................... Foreign— free labor and under trea ty, duty 23s 4d,........................... Do. white clayed^ duty 28 s,.............. Other sorts, duty 63s and per ct. 1845. 1846. 1845. 1846. 562,801 752,070 129,814 177,962 256,715 176,563 416,709 1,489,138 3,639 1,278,413 951,220 263,178 33,898 152,110 8,087,099 2,661 3,120,010 1,509,098 380,883 383,536 131,739 484,891 1,937,302 13,556 1,422,444 636,806 414,485 35,545 444,658 9,853,021 26,806 4,807,512 1.988,079 410,725 271,916 124,403 419,088 1,561,126 3,585 115,030 18,619 128,384 22,691 109,720 3,096,382 3,046 2,198,870 1,023,650 14,936 Free.* * * * * 150,976 23,506 112,705 17,381 121,397 3,210,415 4,382 2,469,549 1,058,775 15,676 2,452,778 2,847,566 132 716,338 1,310,503 24,772 2,531,695 2,877,041 31 692,638 1,206,997 22,329 2,721 2,187 98 4,227 7,516 167,257 923 741,603 12 76,182 1,095 66 540,620 1,098,540 777,900 562,621 1,045,468 89 Total o f Sugar*................................... 5,811,281 4,139,983 4,880,075 4,880,606 T allow ,.............................. cwt. 1,079,486 1,192,969 1,085,342 1,193,826 Free.* T ar,................................................... lasts. 9,686 10,939 9,869 T e a ,.......................................... lb. 53,147,078 51,057,930 41,369,351 44,183,135 Timber and wood, viz. Battens and batten ends, foreign, entered by tale,..............hundreds. 89 30 95 36 Boards, deals, deal ends, and plank, foreign, entered by tale,................ 157 99 184 165 Deals, battens, boards, or other tim ber or wood sawn or split:— 395,066 493,826 O f British Possessions,............. loads 398,194 498,891 Foreign,................................................ 332,390 390,527 321,439 342,955 Staves,................. ................................. 73,255 88,347 69,224 Free.* Timber or wood, not being articles sawn or split,.or otherwise dress ed, except hewn, and not other wise charged with duty .v— Of British Possessions,.............. loads 546,155 796,515 797,490 551,994 Foreign,................................................ 211,746 285,313 202,209 282,028 Tobacco, viz.— Unmanufactured,...lbs. 37,610,576 33,930,205 24,514,728 26,077,855 Manufactured, and'snuff,.................. 1,015,583 2,111,516 239,470 246,089 452,211 Turpentine, common,.....................cwts. Free.* 485,381 466,566 W in e : viz. Cape,............ ..............gals. 423,336 446,736 349,587 357,517 French,...................................4............ 725,308 492,307 562,818 469,001 Other sorts,.......................................... 7,435,942 7,444,969 6,235,557 6,160,327 Total o f wine,..................................... W ool, Cotton: viz. O f Brit. Pos. .cwts. Foreign,................................................ Total o f Cotton w ool,.... W ool, Sheep and Lamb’s,.. ..lbs. 8,584,586 8,454,523 7,077,451 6,986,845 5,768,851 6,442,176 65,713,761 76,828,152 4,982,280 Free.* Free.* ........* Commercial Statistics. 583 n.— EXPORTS OF FOREIGN AND COLONIAL MERCHANDISE FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM. A n Account o f the Exports o f the Principal Articles o f Foreign and Colonial Merchan dise, in the twelve months ended 5th January, 1846, compared with the E xports in the two preceding years. Articles. C ocoa,............................................. Coffee, viz.: Produce o f the British Possessions,. Foreign,........................... .......... Corn, viz.— W heat........................ Barley,....................................... Oats,........................................... W heat meal and Flour,............ Dyes and dyeing stuffs, viz.— Cochineal,.................................. Indigo,........................................ Lac-dye,..................................... L ogw ood,................................... .tone. Metals, viz.— Copper, unwrought,................. Iron, bars or unwrought,......... . tons. Steel, unwrought,.................... Lead, pig,................................... Spelter,....................................... T in ,............................................ Oil, Olive,...................................... .tuns. Opium,........................................... ...l b . Quicksilver,................................... Rice, not in the husk,................. Spices, viz.— Cassia Lignea,...... Cinnamon,................................. ....lb. Cloves,........................................ M ace,......................................... N utm egs,................................... Pepper,....................................... Pimento,..................................... Spirits, viz.— Rum, gals, (including overproof...... Brandy,....................................... Geneva,...................................... Sugar, unrefined, viz.— O f the B. P. in Am erica,........ .. cwt. O f Mauritius,........................... East India, o f B. P ................... Foreign o f all sorts,.................. Tobacco, unmanufactured,........ . . . , 1 b . Foreign manufac. and Snuff,, W in e, viz.— Cape,....................... French,...................................... Other sorts,.......................... ..... W o o l, Cotton, viz.— O f the B. P. in A m erica,....... O f other parts,.......................... W o o l, Sheep and Lambs’ ,.......... ......lb. 1844. Quantities Exported. 1845. 1846. 568,470 1,267,194 158,716 125,824 12,557,619 48,039 4,445 41,998 45,286 155,703 6,150,279 46,109 1,042 25,014 105,621 625,060 18,604,561 47,167 23,320 28,743 44,360 5,626 36,959 3,278 2,648 7,236 51,589 4,806 3,281 4,982 50,379 8,649 2,638 1,759 3,985 29,136 2,439 6,445 13,006 397 320,947 1,286,922 207,328 1,986,413 422,505 26,504 9,701 36,365 2,651,650 21,199 24,789 5,877 41,367 3,199 5,625 19,154 378 196,871 1,713,735 184,302 1,403,313 661,634 70,003 19,795 27,514 4,040,851 5,430 5,959 2,562 36,174 3,241 2,683 18,348 303 238,243 1,418,684 352,515 1,156,265 588,309 344,533 28,004 162,923 7,274,350 22,241 1,079,250 767,460 317,706 741,211 686,413 335,125 778,954 1,061,639 348,692 4,936 196 4,922 563,585 8,702,769 764,270 1,624 143,554 1,207,979 21 143 358 393,299 7,840,377 879,413 3,696 140,503 1,518,589 278 375 4,405 610,953 8,694,475 1,296,846 2,892 148,691 1,460,936 353,748 421,630 383,181 2,961,282 1,972,674 2,662,353 III.— EXPORTS OF BRITISH PRODUCE AND MANUFACTURES FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM. A n Account o f the E xports o f the Principal A rticles o f British and Irish Produce and M anufactures, in the twelve months ended 5th January, 1846, compared with the E x ports in the two preceding years. Articles. Coals and Culm,..................................... Cotton Manufactures.............................. Cotton Y a m ,........................................... Declared V alue o f the Exportations. 1844. £690,424 16,254,000 7,193 971 1845. 1846. £672,056 18,816,764 6,988,584 £970,462 19,172,564 6,962,626 584 Commercial Statistics. 1845. 1844. Earthenware,........................................ Glass,...................................................... Hardwares and Cutlery,....................... Linen Manufactures,........................... Linen Yarn,........................................... Metals, viz.— Iron and Steel,.............. Copper and Brass,............................ Lead,................................................... T in, in bars, & c . , . ........................... T in Plates,......................................... Salt,......................................................... Silk Manufactures,.........................'...... Sugar, refined,....................................... W ool, Sheep or Lambs’, ...................... W oollen Y arn,...................................... W oollen Manufactures........................ T otal,.................................................. .. 1846. £629,148 339,918 1,745,519 2,803,223 898,829 2,590,833 1,644,248 251,949 110,481 410,067 213,746 667,952 413,652 420,940 742,888 6,790,232 £766,910 389,321 2,179,087 3,024,799 1,050,676 3,193,368 1,736,545 270,344 77,893 485,611 224,656 736,455 331,050 535,134 958,217 8,204,836 £828,104 356,372 2,194,523 3,062,006 1,051,303 3,555,486 1,702,345 201,449 49,248 614,530 218,941 764,424 469,507 555,432 1,067,056 7,674,670 £44,812,020 £50,642,306 £51,471,050 IV .— VESSELS EMPLOYED IN THE FOREIGN TRADE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. An Account o f the Number and Tonnage o f Vessels which Entered Inwards and Clear ed Outwards, in the twelve months ended 5th January, 1846, compared with the E n tries and Clearances in the two preceding years; stated exclusively o f Vessels in Bal last, and o f those employed in the Coasting Trade between Great Britain and Ireland. E n ter e d In w ards. Ships. United Kingdom and its dependencies,............ Other countries,............ T otal,..................... 1846. 1845. 1844. Tonnage. Ships. Tonnage. Ships. Tonnage. 3,669,853 1,353,735 5,023,588 13,964 5,600 2,919,528 1,005,894 14,681 7,247 3,087,437 1,143,897 15,964 7,895 19,564 3,925,422 21,928 4,231,334 23,859 C le a r ed O u t w a r d s. 1845. 1844. United Kingdom and its dependencies,............ Other countries,............ Total,..................... 1846. Tonnage. Ships. Tonnage. Ships. Tonnage. 15,206 6,774 2,727.306 1,026,063 13,842 7,200 2,604,243 1,075,823 14,515 9,256 2,947,257 1,361,940 21,980 3,753,369 21,042 3,680,066 23,771 4,309,197 Ships. B R IT IS H E X P O R T S O F W O O L L E N GOODS T O C H IN A . T he following tabular statement o f the exports o f W oollen and Worsted manufactures to China and Hong Kong, is derived from a Parliamentary paper, recently made public. It embraces exports previously to the cessationi o f the East India Company’s charter, and subsequently to the cessation o f that charter, as will be seen b elow :— EXPORTED PREVIOUSLY TO THE CESSATION OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY’ S CHARTER. Years. , Cloths o f all sorts. Pieces. £ 1824....................... ....19,860 1825....................... ....19,468 1826....................... ....28,346 1827....................... 1828....................... 1829....................... 1830........................ ...19,435 1831........................ 1832........................ 1833........................ 258,180 254,343 328,840 186,749 211,930 203,161 163,270 142,324 206,910 250,670 Stuffs, w oollen or worsted. Pieces. £ 128,489 165,738 191,455 119,783 178,426 135,126 169,470 153,060 162.126 167,986 274,041 397,704 520,141 274,444 405,674 285,747 311,223 257,280 259,027 283,960 585 M ercantile M iscellanies. EXPORTED SUBSEQUENTLY TO THE CESSATION OE THE EAST INDIA COMPANY’ S CHARTER. Years. Cloths of all sorts. Pieces. £ 1834............. 415,121 1835............. ............73,620 316,974 1836............. 405,413 1837............. 110,614 1838............. 223,543 1839............. ............32,837 158,304 1840............. ............ 9,520 58,841 1841............. ........... 16,715 95,103 1842............. 35,116 1843............. ........... 29,989 154,246 1844............. 213,117 1845............. ............50,242 280,361 MERCANTILE Stuffs, woollen or worsted. Pieces. £ 167,050 69,560 208,572 109,567 121,379 251,920 59,619 134,584 127,436 184,025 175,863 99,517 103,825 64,248 54,829 116,209 62,491 107,318 124,714 258,025 170,034 345,103 245,886 132,819 MISCELLANIES. A C O M M E R C IA L V IE W OF W A R . E lihu B u r r it t , the Learned Blacksmith, furnishes some important statements in rela tion to the expenses o f war, that, to say nothing o f its morality or humanity, should be sufficient to deter governments and men o f common sense from ever engaging in it. In 1835, a year o f great commercial prosperity, the value o f all the British and Irish produce and manufactures exported from the United Kingdom was $208,237,980. The appropriations for the payment o f the interest o f the British war debt, and for the aupport o f the Army, Ordnance, and Navy, during the current year, amount to $225,403,500 ! ! Think o f that! The war-expenses, in the time o f peace, exceeding by nearly $20,000,000 per annum, all that the human and iron machinery o f that great kingdom can produce beyond its home consumption ! ! A nd now there is to be a famine there, and the guilty policy that taxes the very air breathed by the poor, to pay these war expenses, has locked up British ports against the Egyptian granaries o f the world, leaving those hungry millions to covet swine’s food in the sight o f interdicted abundance. T he mercantile -shipping o f the civilized world amounts to about 8,000,000 tons, which is worth, new and old, $ 3 0 per ton, and netts, clear o f interest, insurance, etc., 10 per cent, or $24,000,000 per annum. year is $33,620,200 ! ! The appropriation to the British N avy fo r the current Is not this a sober fact? that the annual expense o f the nation’s navy exceeds the nett profit o f all the mercantile shipping owned by the civilized world? T he war-debts o f the European nations amount to $10,000,000,000. It would require the labor o f fo u r millions o f men, at $150 per annum for each man, to pay the interest o f this sum at six per cent. at least ten dollars T o pay the principal, it would be necessary to levy a tax o f on every inhabitant o f the globe ! Another fact, rendering this more impressive, may be found in the “ scrap o f curious information,” that no heathen nations are in arrears for the butcheries they have perpetrated on the human race. pay cash down for all that is done for the devil under their hands. alone “ go on tick ” for that kind o f service. They Christian nations From March 4th, 1789, to June 30th, 1814, our government expended on the W ar Department $663,438,851. T he interest on this sum, at 6 per cent, would build W hit ney’s great railroad from the lakes to the Pacific, 2,500 miles in length, at $ 15,000 per mile ; and thus erect a highway for the commerce and communion o f the family o f nations, which should be reckoned in all coming time one o f the greatest enterprises that ever blessed the race. 586 Mercantile M iscellanies. R E S O U R C E S O F T H O M A S T O N , M A IN E . ITS LIME AND LIMESTONE. W e have always heard a great deal about the quantities o f lime manufactured at T h omaston, (M e.,) but had no definite knowledge o f the actual extent to which this business is carried on in that quarter, until we met with the “ Lime R ock Gazette.” Thomaston, in the county o f Lincoln, state o f Maine, is bounded east by Penobscot co., and west by S t George’s river. It contains excellent limestone, from which, in 1840, about 350,000 casks were manufactured. It is estimated by Haskell, that there are .$14,000,000 worth o f limestone within twenty feet o f the surface ; and more than half a million o f dollars are annually received from the sale o f lime. The state prison is situated on the banks o f the St. George river, and the convicts are employed chiefly in cutting and preparing for exportation a fine blue granite, found on the banks o f the river. In 1840 the town contained 90 stores, 2 fulling mills, 3 grist mills, 1 saw mill, 1 pottery, 2 print ing offices, 2 weekly newspapers, 1 college, 3 academies, 166 students ; 27 schools, 2,423 students. There are now in that town 132 lime-kilns, which, during the summer season, are i n continual operation. Each kiln will yield, on an average, at every separate burning, 400 casks o f lime, and is burned, during the season, 12 times— thus making the whole amount o f lime manufactured at that place 600,000 barrels! About 27 cords o f w ood are consumed in burning a kiln, the price o f which, during the past season, has been $ 3 per cord ; and in the process o f manufacturing the rock into merchantable lime, a large num ber o f laborers are continually employed. T he following table will show the estimated expense o f manufacturing the lime o f the last season, (1845,) together with its average sale at the kilns, and expenses o f exportation: 633.600 casks rock at kiln, at 16 cents,........................................................... 633.600 do. paid for burning, 8 do. ............................................................ 633.600 lime casks, 16 cents,........................................................................... 42,708 cords o f w ood, at $ 3 00....................................... ............................._ $101,376 50,688 101,376 128,304 00 00 00 00 $3 81,744 00 633.600 sold at the kilns at 65 cents,................ - ................... .................. ....... 633.600 freight for transportation, 20 cents,.................................................... $411,845 00 126,720 00 Cost at market,............................................................................. $538,560 00 This is a good mode o f transmuting rock into silver and gold. A D V A L O R E M D U T IE S ON W IN E S . Several o f the principal wine importers and merchants o f N ew York-, have addressed a memorial to Congress adverse to the substitution o f ad valorem for specific duties on foreign wine. The memorial sets forth, “ that an ad valorem duty upon wine, whether assessed upon the invoice value or upon the actual market price, presents great difficul ties, and highly detrimental consequences to the fair dealer and to the revenue; as, if levied upon the cost of invoice, .the dishonest merchant would undervalue the article without fear o f detection, it being quite impossible to ascertain the price o f such an arti cle as wine, the value o f which depends not only upon the often disputed taste or flavor, but frequently upon the reputation o f particular brands, and when imported upon Am eri can account, is seldom or never purchased for cash, but obtained in barter for staves, flour, or other American produce ; or is exported to this country for sale on account of the pro prietors o f the vineyards. That if the duty be assessed upon actual market price, the same difficulties present themselves to ascertain the value, which is constantly changing, o f numberless qualities o f any given denomination o f w in e ; besides, the mode o f levy ing the duty and its amount should o f necessity be uniform in all the ports o f entry in the Union, and this uniformity could not be obtained, if, as often happens, the value of wine were thirty per cent higher in N ew Orleans than in Boston.” The Book Trade. THE 587 BOOK T R A D E . 1. —H istory o f the L a ter Roman Commonwealth, fro m the end o f the Second Punic War, to the death o f Julius Cwsar, and the reign o f A u g u stu s; with the L ife o f Trajan. By T h o m a s A r n o l d , D.D., late Regius o f Modern History, in the University o f Oxford, and Head Master o f Rugby School. T w o volum es o f the English Edition, complete in one. N ew Y o r k : D. Appleton & Co. Philadel phia : Geo. S. Appleton. T h is volume, w hich em braces a republication o f the portion o f Rom an History contributed by Dr. Arnold to the “ Encyclopedia Metropolitana,” between the years 1823 and 1827, forms a most val uable part o f our historical literature, and is not unworthy o f accom panying the tw o previous volumes —the fruit o f the matured years o f a mind deeply imbued w ith all the elements o f progress. Dr. Arnold, in the present work, carries the reader through a long and im portant era, from the close o f the Punic W ar, to the final establishment o f the empire under Augustus, and at the same time fu r nishes him with a clear and consecutive narrative o f the events o f this period. A s a continuation o f the tw o former volum es o f the early history, recently republished here by the same house, w h ich carries it down to the period o f Gibbon, it w ill be prized by every one w h o can appreciate the.erudite, clearminded and benevolent-hearted author. Dr. Arnold combined in an eminent degree, theological or thodoxy w ith the most enlarged catholic liberality—w h ich placed him at an equal distance from a nar row bigotry on the one hand, and a cold and sneering infidelity on the other. T h e narrative is clear and distinct, and the philosophical deductions are generally natural and just. Every page bears the impress o f the finished scholar, and the sound-headed, pure-minded man. Dr. A rnold’s history o f R om e is now generally admitted to excel all others. 2. — The Oregon Territory : its H istory and D is c o v e r y ; including an Account o f the Convention o f the E scu ria l; also, the Treaties and Negotiations between the United States and G reat Britain, held at various times, fo r the Settlement o f the Boundary Line, and an Examination o f the whole Question in respect to Facts, and the Law o f N ations. By T r a v e r s T w i s s , D. C., F. R . S., Professor o f P o litical Econom y in the University o f Oxford, etc. N ew Y o r k : D . Appleton & Co. Philadelphia : George S. Appleton. T h e professed object o f the author o f this volum e, in instituting the present inquiry into the histo rical facts and negotiations connected w ith the Oregon Territory, w as to contribute to the peaceful solution o f the question at issue betw een the United States o f A m erica and Great Britain. Th at it m ay have this effect, is the earnest desire o f all intelligent, Christian men, w hether living under the government o f the “ m odel republic,” or that o f the “ limited, constitutional monarchy” o f England. Mr. T . thinks, and not altogether without truth, that the case o f the United States has been over stated by our writers and negotiators. T h e same, perhaps, m ay be said o f the same class o f men on the British side o f the question. T h e searcher after truth and justice w ill read both, and w eigh w ell the facts and the arguments o f each, before deciding on the merits o f the respective claims. 3. — Twenty-Four Years in the Argentine R epublic; embracing its Civil and M ilitary H istory, and an Account o f its Political Condition before and during the Administration o f Governor Rosas ; his Course o f Policy ; the Causes and Character o f his Interference with the Government o f Montevideo, and the Circumstances which led to the Interposition o f England and France. By Col. J. A n t h o n y an Officer in the Army of the Republic, and Twenty-Four Years a Resident o f the Country. New York : D. Appleton & Co. Philadelphia: George S. Appleton. Colonel King, whose narrative is recorded in the present volume, was associated with the leading men of the Argentine Republic, during its most troublous times; served for a long time in its army; travelled over almost every part o f it, and was a resident in it for nearly a quarter o f a century. These, and other cir cumstances, have enabled him to impart a more thorough information of the condition o f the people, their politics, habits, customs, religion, &c., &c., than has ever, to our knowledge, before been given to the world. Aside from the valuable information the work contains, on subjects o f use to the statesman, both in this country and Europe, the apparently faithful statement o f occurrences which took place during Col. K.’s residence there, the incidents connected with his personal history and experience, possess an interest almost, if not quite as romantic, as a work o f pure fiction. K in g , — The People. By M . M i c h e l e t , member o f the Institute, author o f “ Priests, W om en and Fami lies.” “ History o f France,” & c. & c. Translated by G. H. S m it h , F. G. S. N ew Y o r k : D. A ppleton & Co. Philadelphia : G. S. Appleton. M. M ichelet is w ell known to the French people as a voluminous and pow erful writer, and this volum e contains his ow n peculiar view s o f the state o f society, especially relating to the condition o f France. “ I have made it,” he says, “ out o f myself, out o f m y life, and out o f m y heart ” — the true method o f book-making. It is replete with profound thought, flowing from the observation and expe rience o f the author, w h o deeply sympathizes w ith the people, because he knows their life, their la bors, and their sufferings, by interrogating his ow n memory. T h e life o f the people, their social con dition, etc., are described in a masterly manner, and the brilliant clearness, and vivid freshness o f h i 3 style, must fascinate every reader- It is one o f the few books that should be read by all. 4. 588 5. The Book Trade. — A n Introd u ction to E n tom olog y ; o r , E lem en ts o f the N a tu r a l H is to r y o f I n sects : com p risin g an A cco u n t o f N o x io u s and U sefu l In s e cts , o f th eir M eta m orph oses, Food , S tra ta g em s, H a b ita tion s, So cieties. M o tio n s , N o is e s , H ybern ation , In stin ct, etc., etc. W ith Plates. By W il l ia m K e r b y , M. A ., F. R. 3., and L. S., Rector o f Barham, and W i l l i a m Spence , Esq., F. R. S. and L. S. Philadel phia: L ea & Blanchard. T h e first Am erican, from the sixth London edition, o f this work, w as corrected, and considerably enlarged, by the authors. W e have been greatly interested in running over the pages o f this treatise. Th ere is scarcely, in the w ide range o f natural science, a more interesting or instructive study than that o f insects, or one that is calculated to excite more curiosity or w onder. Entomologists calculate the number o f the species o f insects at four hundred thousand, or even more, perfectly distinct from each o th e r ; w hile, for all the other classes o f animals together, thirty thousand species w ould be considered a high estimate. T h e minute and curious habits and peculiarities o f the different species o f insects brought to our v ie w in this w ork, go to demonstrate that the works o f the Creator are great, and w orthy o f our attention and investigation— the least in the scale, as w ell as the h igh est; the most minute and feeble, as w ell as those that exceed in magnitude and might. T h e popular form o f letters is adopted by the authors, in imparting a knowledge o f the subject, w h ich renders the w ork peculiarly fitted for our district school libraries, w h ich are open to all ages and classes. 6. — T h e M o d e m B r itis h E s s a y is ts . V o l.II .— Talfourd and Stephen. Philadelphia : Carey & Hart. T h is volum e em braces the contributions o f tw o o f the best British essayists o f the present day. O f the critical and m iscellaneous writings o f Talfourd, this is the second Am erican edition ; w ith, h o w ever, several additional articles, never before published in this country, embracing his contributions to the N ew M onthly Magazine, London M agazine, Retrospective R eview , Edinburgh R eview , & c . , Speeches in Parliament on the copy-right question, and the eloquent and classic speech delivered in the Court o f the Q ueen’ s Bench, in defence o f M oxon, for the publication o f Shelley’ s works. T h e critical and m iscellaneous writings o f James Stephen, consisting o f eight papers contributed to the Edinburgh Rev iew , are exceedingly able—m odels o f their k in d ; and possess a standard value that entitles them to a prominent place among such a collection o f British essays. —My S h o o tin g -B o x . By F r a n k F o r e s t e r , (H e n r y W il l ia m H e r b e r t , Esq.,) author o f the “ W a rw ick W oodlands,” “ Marraaduke W y v il,” “ Crom w ell,” “ T h e Brothers,” etc., etc. Phila delphia : Carey & Hart. T h is forms the third volum e o f “ Carey & Hart’ s Library o f Humorous Am erican W orks ;” and it affords us pleasure to say that, thus far, w e h ave w it and humor, without the indelicate inuendoes, and obscene jests, that too often creep into such w orks. Herbert maintains that field-sports are not only not incompatible w ith refined tastes, elegant habitudes, and gentle manners, but most congenial to t h e m ; and, at the same time, admirably calculated to produce good feelings between the gentry o f the cities and the yeom anry o f the country. T h e sketches are generally graphic and racy, and the w ood-cut illustrations o f D arley admirable. 7. 8. — L i v e s o f D is tin g u is h e d A m erica n N a v a l O fficers. By J. F x n im o r e C o o p e r , author o f “ T he S p y ,” “ T h e Pilot,” etc. V ol. IX. This, the second volum e o f a series o f naval biographies, the first o f w h ich was noticed in a former number o f this Magazine, embraces com prehensive memoirs o f John Paul Jones, Melanchton T aylor W oolsey , Oliver Hazard Perry, and Richard D ale—men distinguished in the naval service o f our country, w h o have accom plished their mission, and gone to their rest. T h e world, how ever, is be ginning to tire o f blood-stained glory ; and the enthusiasm and heroism o f great m en w ill, in the fu ture, find vent in promoting the moral and social progress o f the race. — M em oirs o f the P reten d ers and th eir A d h eren ts. By J oh n H e n e a g e J e s s e , author o f “ Memoirs o f the Court o f England,” “ George Selw yn and his Contemporaries,” etc. In tw o volumes. P h i ladelphia : J. W . Moore. T h ese tw o volum es form the first and second numbers o f “ Moore’ s Select Library,” to be published m onthly, and consist not only o f the best English books and translations, but o f original works o f merit, by Am erican authors. T h e design, as w e infer from the editor’s statement, and som e tw elve volumes w h ich are announced as in press, w ill em brace a wider range o f subjects. Besides, the works selected, thus far, are calculated to elevate the mind o f the reader, w hile they afford instruction and amusement. T h e present volum e possesses a good deal o f historic interest, and is almost, i f not quite, as replete w ith romantic incidents, as a w ork o f pure fiction. 9. 10. — Scenes and A d v en tu res in Spain, f r o m 1835 to 1846. By P o co M a s . Philadelphia: J. W . M oore’s Select Library, No. 3. T h is volum e describes som e o f the more interesting scenes and incidents w h ich cam e under the author’s observation during a sojourn o f five years in Spa in ; at a period, too, w hen that interesting but distracted country was passing through one o f the many ordeals to w hich it has unhappily been subjected. T h e writer has confined himself, as far as possible, to the scenes and adventures w hich he witnessed, or was personally concerned in— there being afforded him an opportunity o f tracing an outline o f the habits, customs, and characteristics, as they w ere spread out before him in the different parts o f the country w h ich he visited. His descriptions are graphic, and his style agreeable ; and, on the w hole, w e consider it an interesting, and at the same time instructive book. The Book Trade. 589 — The L ife and Voyages o f Am ericas Vespueius, with Illustrations concerning the N avigator, and the D iscovery o f the N ew World. B y C. E d w a r d s L e s t e r , a n d A n d r e w F o s t e r . N ew Y o r k : Baker & S c r i b n e r . T h e account o f the life and voyages o f the navigator from w hom the American Continent has de rived its name, w ill hardly fail to interest the student o f history. In the present volum e, the authors have exhibited in a satisfactory form, the circum stances w hich attended the career o f this eminent explorer; and in the introductory remarks there is presented to us a condensed general view o f the state o f the commerce o f the world previous to the discovery o f Am erica. T h e most authentic sources o f historic evidence, throwing light upon the topic, appear to have been carefully consulted ; and w e have also a narrative o f the travels o f M arco Polo, as well as that o f the fellow voyagers of Am ericus, besides documents illustrating the subject o f the biography presented in the collection o f Navarette. W h atever m ay be the opinion o f the learned respecting the justice o f the claim o f V espucius to give the name to this portion o f the w orld, it must be admitted that the compilers have ex ecuted their w ork in a very appropriate m anner; and have portrayed the character and services of the navigator in a seemingly accurate form. T h e y acknowledge in their preface that they have con sulted the volumes o f Mr. Irving upon the “ Life o f Columbus,” and “ T h e Companions o f Columbus,” so that we m ay weigh the comparative merits o f the tw o individuals in relation to our ow n continent. 11. —Napoleon and his M arshals■ By J. T . H e a d l e y . In 2 vols. N ew Y o r k : Baker & Scribner. T h ere are those w h o worship Napoleon for his amazing genius—his unparalleled power o f embra cing vast combinations— his tireless energy— his ceaseless activity— his ability to direct the m ovem ent o f h a lf a m illion o f soldiers in different parts o f the world, and at the same time reform the laws, re store the currency, and administer the government o f his country. T o this class, Mr. Headley belongs —and he accordingly appears as his apologist. Another class look w ith horror at the rivers o f blood that flow ed during his eventful career, and view him only as the selfish and ambitious despot. T h e truth, probably, is to be found betw een these tw o extrem es; and the philanthropic mind is led to look upon him as an instrument in the hands o f Providence, raised up for the accom plishm ent o f w ise designs—to fulfil a mysterious mission. Mr. H eadley has availed him self o f almost every source of information, and written in a vigorous style a book that w ill be read and admired by the dem ocracy of numbers in w hat “ Blackw ood” sneeringly calls the “ m odel” Republic. 12. — Slavery D iscussed, in,Occasional Essays, fro m 1833 to 1846. B y L e o n a r d B a c o n , Pastor o f the First Church in N ew Haven. N ew York : Baker & Scribner. T h e author o f this volum e, w h o is a very able, and w e doubt not conscientious writer, has pre sented his view s w ith a characteristic boldness o f style that distinguishes the most o f his productions, discussing the question largely in a moral point o f vie w , and portraying the many deplorable evils connected w ith the system ; he points out w hat he conceives to be the duty o f the people, and espe cially the church to w hich he belongs, upon this vexed question. 13. 14 . — Collections o f the American Statistical Association. Containing Statistics o f Population in M as sachusetts. Prepared by J o s e p h B. F l i n t . V o l I. Part II. Boston : Charles C. Little and James Brown. T h e comparatively modern science o f statistics is beginning to attract to itself a general interest: and som e o f the principal powers o f Europe are adopting it as a favorite source o f knowledge. S w e den early directed its attention to the subject, and there is h o w a statistical department, or bureau, connected w ith the governments o f Prussia, Austria, Bavaria, W urtemburg, Naples, and Sardinia. A statistical society is also established in S a x o n y; and France has organized a society o f universal statis tics, w h ich is under the protection o f the king. Great Britain has likewise published, under the aus pices o f the board o f trade, annual volum es embracing most valuable infonnation o f this kind. T h e recent w ork o f Mr. Macgregor, w h o is understood to be at the present time the secretary o f that board, em bodying the statistics o f the United States, em braces a m uch greater variety o f statistical matter connected w ith our ow n country than any other volum e upon the same subject. T h e present w ork contains the second part o f the first volum e issued by the Am erican Statistical Association, and it embraces statistical tables o f the early population o f Massachusetts, illustrated w ith appropriate his torical information, gleaned from authoritative w orks. It can hardly be doubted that the enterprise o f this society w ill be attended w ith beneficial results—for the most valuable species o f know ledge is that o f facts. 1 5 — Treatise on the Physiological and M oral Management o f Infancy. B y A n d r e w C o m b e , M. D., Fellow o f the Royal College o f Physicians o f Edinburgh, etc. W ith Notes, and a Supplementary Chapter. By J ohn Be l l , M. D., Fellow o f the College o f Physicians o f Philadelphia, etc. B oston: Saxton & Kelt. A new edition o f a w ork that has passed through a great number in England, and the United States. It is addressed chiefly to parents, and to the younger and more inexperienced members of the m edical profession; but it is not to them alone th it the subject ought to have attractions. T h e study o f infancy, it is w ell said by the author, considered even as an element in the history and philosophy o f the race, is fertile in truths o f the highest practical nature and importance. 590 The Booh Trade. 16. — Theological E ssays. Reprinted fro m the Princeton Review. N ew Y ork and L o n d o n : W ile y Sc. Putnam. T h is is an octavo volum e o f more than seven hundred pages, handsomely printed, and neatly bound in muslin. T h e topics here discussed, by some o f the ablest pens in the Presbyterian denomination in the United States, are considered by a large class o f divines o f great importance in theology. T h e y involve the questions agitated between w hat is technically termed the “ Evangelical scheme,” on one hand, and “ Infidels,Papists, Socinians, Pelagians, Arminians, and Enthusiasts,” on the other. “ In reproducing, for the use o f clergymen, theological students, and accom plished laymen, dissertations w h ich have a polem ical aspect, it is by no means intended to revive old controversies; yet it is the persuasion o f those w h o make this publication, that the value o f the truths contended fo r cannot w ell be overrated.” “ Transcendentalism ,” w h ich seems to be diffusing some o f its ideas, at le a st,. among the most discordant systems, forms the subject o f one o f the twenty-three essays contained in the volum e. It, on the w hole, forms a very fair specimen o f the religious literature at Princeton School, o f the theologians and scholars. 17.— W orks o f the English Puritan D ivines. Vol. II.— Bunyan. The Greatness o f the Soul, and the Unspeakableness o f the L oss th ereof; N o Way to Heaven but by Jesus C h ris t: the Strait Gate. By J oh n B u n y a n . T o w h ich is prefixed, an Introductory Essay on his Genius and W ritings. B y Rev. R o b e r t P h il ip , author o f “ T h e Life and Tim es o f Bunyan.” N ew Y o r k : W iley & Putnam. Bunyan is undoubtedly one o f the best specimens o f the old Puritan divines, and the present v o l um e is a fair specimen o f his peculiar genius, and antique style. Mr. Philip, in his able and inge nious critique, w h ich occupies about fifty pages o f the volum e, says there was more pow er about Bunyan’ s intellect, than his spiritual admirers generally suppose ; for it commands or wins the a d miration o f m en w h o have no spiritual discernment, and no taste for devotion. He “ picked and packed words,” as he calls his Saxonisms ; but not for their beauty or point as composition, nor as specimens o f his ow n vein, but because they were wanted to arrest attention, and w ere likely to rivet instruction. It is w ell remarked, that both new and beautiful lights m ay be thrown around the old facts, by devotees. Dr. Cheever has attempted this in his lectures on the “ Pilgrim’s Progress,” and Carlyle has done it for Oliver Crom well. 18 _Monograph o f the D o lla r ; Good and Bad. B y J. L . R id d e l l , M. D., Melter and Refiner, in the United States Branch Mint at N ew Orleans, and Professor o f Chemistry in the M edical College, Louisana. N ew Orleans : B. H . Norman. N ew Y o r k : W ile y & Putnam.« T h is is a large octavo volume, illustrated w ith fac-sim ile figures o f four hundred and twenty-five varieties o f the dollar, and eighty seven varieties o f half-dollars, including the genuine, the law standard, and the cou n terfeit; giving their weight, quality and exact value—w hich w ill enable the inexperienced to detect those w h ich are spurious. T h e “ impressions” o f the coin are illustrated w ith notes and remarks on the description, weight, value and impression o f coins, and counterfeits. T o the banker and broker w e should consider the w ork indispensable, w hile to the curious c o l lector o f coins it w ill prove useful and interesting. By a note appended to the present volume, w e n o tice that the author is engaged in the preparation o f a “ General Atlas o f Modern Coins,” upon the plan o f the present. Such a work, illustrated w ith fac-simile figures, w ill be found useful, not only in giving the authentic and exact quality, and value o f the multiform varieties o f hard m oney, but also in affording valuable and ready means in distinguishing the genuine from the spurious. 19 — Recollections o f Mexico. By W a d d y T h o m p s o n , Esq., late Envoy Extraordinary, and Minister Plenipotentiary o f the United States at M exico. N ew York and London : W ile y &. Putnam. T h e peculiarly belligerent position o f our ow n government toward that o f Mexico renders this w ork o f especial interest at the present time. T h e official residence o f Mr. Thom pson, as minister in the country w h ich seems destined to continual revolution, afforded him ample opportunity to a c quire a correct know ledge o f the character o f the people, and the prominent local circumstances o f the Mexican nation. T h e author advances no claim to minute exactitude o f detail, and assumes for them the credit only o f “ Recollections and Desultory Dissertations,” remarking in his preface that he can say, in the words o f an affidavit to an answer in chancery, “ that the facts stated as m y ow n know ledge are true, and those stated on the information o f others, I believe to be true.” He has, how ever, performed more than he has promised, and has exhibited a view o f the geography, popula tion, products, and political relations o f that nation, w hich is peculiarly required during the present juncture o f affairs, springing from our existing entanglement w ith that unhappy priest and chieftainridden country. 20.— Poems. B y T h o m a s H o o d . N ew Y ork : W ile y & Putnam’s Library o f Choice Reading. Hood, b y his humor and his humanity, has endeared him self to the lovers o f the former, and the friends o f the latter. His kindly soul has left its earthy tenement, but his genial spirit remains, to aw aken the misanthropic, and gladden all beneficent and kindred hearts. T h is collection o f his serious poems was made in fulfilment o f his desire—among, w e are informed, his last instructions to those w h o were dearest to him. His words and works are w orth treasuring; and w e earnestly com mend this beautiful collection to all w h o can appreciate the good and true in literature and humanity. The Booh Trade. 591 21. — M artyria; A Legend, wherein are contained H omilies, Conversations, and Incidents o f the Reign o f Edward V I. W ritten by W i l l i a m M o u n t f o r d , Clerk. Boston : Crosby & N ichols. T h is is the first Am erican edition o f a very clever English book, to w hich the Rev. F. D. Hunt ington has added a som ew hat extended introductory essay, in w h ich he takes occasion to com mend its high conceptions o f duty, its beautiful lessons o f morality, faith, forgiveness,-prayer, self-denial, and the depth o f spiritual meaning, the intellectual insight, the classic gracefulness o f the execution, as w ell as the pure elegance, and often condensed energy o f its style, w h ich must claim the admira tion o f every scholar, and in the highest degree, the studious attention o f all w h o aim to growth in th e Christian life. It w ill, w e cannot doubt, be a most acceptable addition to the library o f the Uni tarian Christian, and m ay be read w ith advantage by those w h o regard sectarianism, in all its forms, as anything but favorable to the progress o f practical, living Christianity. 22. — The Shipmaster's Assistan t, and Commercial D ig e s t : Containing Information necessary f o r M er chants, Owners, and M asters o f Ships. B y J o s e p h B l u n t , Counsellor at Law . N ew Y o rk : Pub lished by the Author. A most valuable compilation, and indispensable to m en engaged in commercial pursuits. Mr. Blunt has contrived to collect and present in a condensed form, the multitude o f law s and regulations o f com merce and navigation, and reduce them to system, in an octavo volum e o f about five hundred pages. It embraces the requisite information on the following subjects, v i z :—Masters, Mates, Sea men, Owners, Ships, Navigation Law s, Fisheries, Revenue-cutters, Custom-house Law s, Importa tions, Clearing and Entering Vessels, Drawbacks, Freight, Insurance, Average, Salvage, Bottomry and Respondentia, Factors, Bills o f Exchange, Renewals, W eights, Measures, W reck Fees, Quarantine Fees, Passenger Law s, Pilot Law s, Harbor Regulations, Marine Offences, Slave Trade, N avy, Pen sions, Consuls, T a riff o f the United States, and Commercial Regulations o f foreign nations. T h is work, although preceded by two editions o f a similar character, is in reality almost altogether new . W e hope, in a future number, to give this valuable w ork a more extended notice. 23. — The D iscourses and E ssays o f the R ev. J. H . M erle D 'A ubigne, author o f the “ H istory o f the G reat Reformation,” etc. With an Introduction. By R o b e r t B a i r d , D. D. Translated from the French. By C h a r l e s W . B a i r d . N ew Y o r k : Harper & Brothers. T h is volu m e contains a collection o f discourses and essays, seventeen in all, a fe w o f w h ich have, at one time or another, been translated into English, and published separately, in England or this country, and some in both, either in small volum es or pam phlets; but the majority, w e infer, are now for the first time offered tew ie English reader. T h e y bear, says Dr. Baird, the impress o f the same masterly mind w h ich beams forth on every page o f the author’ s inimitable History o f the Great R e formation o f the Sixteenth Century, and possess one grand characteristic—that o f “ a glorious baptism into the spirit o f that Reformation.” 24. —A Tear with the F ra n klin s; o r, To Suffer and be Strong. B y E. J a n e C o l e . N ew Y o rk : Harper & Brothers. W e are not quite certain that fiction is the most effectual method o f imparting the lessons o f w is dom and virtue. Perhaps m uch, how ever, m ay be done in this w ay, by w eavin g into a “ w ell-told tale” the verities that are daily presenting them selves to the acute observer o f human life and cha racter. T h is little volum e, w h ich forms one o f a series o f very good books o f this class, w ill find m any readers am ong all a g e s ; and w ill, w e can scarcely doubt, afford a degree o f innocent am use ment, as w ell as instruction. 25. — Uncle John; or, “ It is Too Much Trouble.” By M a r y O r m e . N ew Y o r k : Harper & Brothers . T h e writer o f this has a pleasant w a y o f telling a story, so as to interest “ little folks,” and indeed all w h o retain any portion o f the freshness o f “ early days.” T h e moral m ay be inferred from the quoted m axim in the title o f the story. It is a good one—and the illustrations are w ell done. 26. — The L ife o f General Winfield Scott. By E. D. M a n s f i e l d , Esq. N ew Y o r k : A . S. Barnes & Co. T h e life o f this brave and patriotic officer is identified w ith a considerable portion o f the recent military history o f the country. A lthough his services h ave not been performed on that large scale w h ich has distinguished many o f the bloody and disastrous battle-fields o f Europe, and w h ich are opposed to the spirit o f the times, they have, notwithstanding, been marked by those features w h ich establish his character as a military commander o f sound judgment, promptitude and courage. T h ey extend through the period from the adoption o f the Am erican Constitution to the present time. T h e volum e exhibits all the prominent circumstances o f his life, from his early youth to his succeeding campaigns upon the frontier—-in w hich he w on distinguished honor—-together w ith his more recent labors touching the late border difficulties upon the Canada line, and those growing out o f the Maine Boundary Question. A s a biographical sketch o f the com m ander-in-chief o f the army under the na tional government, it is a valuable record. 27— The L ittle Robbers, and Other T a les: Translated fro m the French o f Madame Guizot. B oston: W aite, Pierce & Co. T h ese little tales are from the pen o f Madame Guizot, w h o has been peculiarly happy in illustrating moral duty by other volum es o f the same kind. T h e work is very neatly printed, and w ill repay a perusal. 592 The Book Trade. 28.— M itchell's Ancient Geography. P h iladelphia: Thom as, Cow perthw ait & Co. F ew names are more extensively know n in our country than that o f M itchell. His Primary G eog raphy and School Geography are familiar to most pupils, in every state o f the Union. W e are glad to see that he has prepared a w ork on Ancient Geography, a department in w hich there has hitherto been a lamentable deficiency in our schools, more especially since w e find that he has most admira bly performed the task w hich he undertook. T h e treatise is clear and full, and illustrated w ith many very handsome cuts, and the maps are in the very best style. A part o f the w ork is devoted to Sa cred Geography. T h is w ill make it valuable to the teachers, as w ell as pupils o f Sunday-schools, and to all w h o study sacred history, and other subjects connected w ith the Bible. T h e atlas contains an extensive index, in w h ich the comparison o f ancient and modern names is an important feature. 29. — E ssays, in a Series o f Letters. By J o h n F o s t e r , Author o f “ An Essay on Popular Ignorance.” First American, from the eighteenth London Edition. N ew Y ork : Robert Carter. T h is volum e from the pen o f a sterling writer, contains several e s s a y s ; one upon the subject o f “ A Man’s writing Memoirs o f Himself,” and another, w hich has been long know n to the most dis criminating portion o f the reading community, upon “ Decision o f Character.” T h is last essay is em inently analytical and profound. He discusses the subject w ith a seem ing comprehension o f all its’ , ~ x parts, and traces those causes w h ich bear upon the human character w ith the hand o f a master. I t ' ^ w ill w ell repay a careful study. 30. — The Genuineness, Authenticity and Inspiration o f the Word o f God. By the Editor o f “ Com prehensive Bible.” N ew Y ork: Robert Carter. TThis w ork is an able exposition o f the ground upon w h ich Christianity rests, a system whl only a source o f human hope in respect to the future, but the adamantine foundation o f tin policy o f the most civilized nations o f modern times. It embraces in separate parts the evil the divine origin o f the Bible, drawn from various sources—referring as w ell to their prescript^ tity as to their entire scope and spirit, exhibiting a great mass o f historic proof upon the subjecl 31. — The Old White M eeting-H ou se; or, Reminiscences o f a Country Congregation. N ew Robert Carter’s Cabinet Library. 32. —A B r ie f Sketch o f the L ife o f the late M iss Sarah M artin, o f G reat Yarmouth ; .with E xtracts from Parliamentary Reports on Prisons. or her own Prison Journals, fyc. N ew Y ork : Robert Carter. 33. — The Mount o f Olives, and other Lectures on Prayer. B y the Rev. J a m e s H a m i l t o n . N ew Y o r k : Robert Carter. T h e volum es embraced in “ Carter’s Cabinet Library,” o f w h ich the three volum es named above form a part, are deeply imbued w ith the religious sentiment, and are generally popular with that large class o f professed Christians denominated “ orthodox” or “ evangelical.” T h e series is selected from the most approved theological writers, and the volum es are handsom ely printed, and afforded at very moderate prices. 34.— The Autobiography o f Edward Gibbon, Esq., illustrated fro m his L etters, with Occasional M otet and N arratives. By J o h n , L o r d S h e f f i e l d . Complete in 1 vol. N ew Y o r k : Turner & Hayden. T h e autobiography o f an impartial and truthful man, w h o has distinguished him self in the world, w ill ever be read w ith interest. T h e historian descends from his stilts, and leaves behind a fe w sim ple and apparently faithful annals o f his life and times ; and a friend (Lord Sheffield) supplies the last twenty years o f his life, w ith his correspondence during that period, w hich, in a good measure, supplies the deficiency. T h e curiosity so universally experienced by readers, to know something o f their favorite authors, in every department o f literature, is thus gratified. 35. — Friendless. By a Friend o f Y ou th . N e w Y o rk : C. L . Stickney. “ God helps those w h o help them selves,” the hom ely aphorism adopted by the author as the motto o f the volum e, is happily illustrated in the agreeable narrative w h ich follow s. T h e design o f our countryman is to enforce upon the young the importance o f depending upon their ow n resources, teaching them to appreciate the faculties w ith w h ich nature has gifted them for their benefit and use. It is a good book—one w h ich w e can cordially recom m end to the “ people and their children.” 36. — The M issionary E n terprise: a Collection o f D iscourses on Christian M issions, by Am erican A u thors. Edited by B a r o n S t o w , Pastor o f Baldw in Place Church, Boston. B oston : Gould, K en dall & Lincoln. T h is volum e embraces a collection o f fifteen discourses, by some o f the most em inent Am erican divines o f the various denominations o f Christians, w h ich w ere scattered in ephemeral forms, but are now gathered up, and added to the increasing stock o f m issionary literature. T h e missionary m ovem ent is discussed by the different authors in all its bearings. Dr. W ayland, o f Brown Univer sity, for instance, discourses o f “ T h e Moral Dignity o f the Missionary Enterprise.” Dr. Anderson, o f the “ T h eory o f Missions to the H eathen.” Dr. Griffin presents the “ Arguments for Missions,” and Dr. Stone describes the “ Bearings o f Modern Commerce on the progress o f Modern Missions.” Simmonds' Colonial Magazine and Foreign M iscellany, for May, w as duly received by the Brittania. It contains, as usual, a mass o f information in relation to the colonies, alike important to the merc h a n ta o d tba general render. I t is conducted b y P . L . Simmonds, Esq., w ith singular ability, and is the m ost intrinsically valuable publication that com es to/Us across the Atlantic.
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