Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : May 1856, Vol. XXXIV, No. V

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M I N T ’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
M A Y ,

1856.

Art. f.— THE COL!) OF CALIFORNIA, AND ITS EFFECTS ON PRICES.*
G old , California gold, not only interests us all, but puzzles some o f the
wisest among us It would probably be waste of time to say much o f the
general uses of the precious metal which has been at all times so closely
connected with the history o f man. But when it was found that fifty mil­
lions of dollars, or more, in gold, were coming annually from California,
people began to wonder what was to be the effect among us, and to an­
ticipate great and sudden changes, which do not appear to have taken
place, though six or seven years have elapsed without diminution in the
quantity. There seems to have been a mistaken view of the subject, and
it may be worth while to consider what may be the cause o f error in re­
gard to it. It was supposed that the influx of so much gold would make
money very abundant and cause a great increase in the price of property
of all kinds, producing a state of tilings entirely new. That it has that
tendency, there is no doubt; but there are some reasons why the effect
should not be as rapid in its progress as was expected.
A merchant of great sagacity and eminently successful told me, that
having been for a long time in the habit of keeping about $100,000 by
him, lending it on short loans, so that he could command it readily if
needed, and always feel perfectly at ease, he had been induced to invest
it in purchases of property, chiefly railroad stocks, from an apprehension
that the influx of gold would make money so abundant as to render it
difficult to get even a low rate o f interest for it, and that he must make
* The substance o f a Lecture, furnished by the author, the Hon. T homas G. Cary , for publica­
tion in the Merchants' Magazine.—E d .




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The Gold o f California and its Effects on Prices.

the purchases without delay, or property o f all kinds would he found
rising rapidly in price. But he had found, he said, that the stocks bad
fallen in value, and instead o f receiving dividends from the roads, he was
called upon to pay assessments for new shares, so that he was then really
in want of money ; while people who supposed that he had it still to lend,
were offering him 8, 10,12, and even 15 per cent for the use of it. Others
who had made similar calculations, think now that they were mistaken ;
while there are also some who still maintain that the present high prices
of certain articles, owing to the abundance of gold, are to be permanent;
and many are apt to deplore the shipment of it to Europe, as if that ought
in some way to be stopped.
There is obviously a great difference of opinion as to the effect of the
change that is going on ; and I propose to offer some suggestions, drawn
from my own experience and observation, that may aid in considering
how far the old landmarks that we have usually referred to are likely to
be removed by this sudden influx. Without presuming to offer them as
conclusive, I may, perhaps, throw a little light where it seems difficult to
account for some facts on the theory commonly received.
A piece of meat costs more than it did a few years ago. A piece of
cotton cloth costs no more than it has usually done for many years. A
day’s labor costs more than it did five or six years ago. Houses and lands
seem not to have risen since then, though they have risen in twenty years
considerably. Vacant lots or unproductive tracts of land, unless it be in
peculiar spots or at the West, that were bought five or six years ago, can
hardly be sold now for one-third more than the cost, which would be
necessary to cover interest.
Now, if the whole quantity of gold and silver that there is in all the
world were to be doubled at once, we should probably see just the state
o f things that was anticipated. The prices of all property would be
vastly increased. If we now get a bushel of corn or a day’s labor for a
dollar, or the same value in gold, we should probably have to pay nearly
two dollars, or double the quantity of gold, for the same corn or labor ;
and so of most commodities and of houses and lands, which would be
worth about twice as much as they are, measured by money. Tiie man
who should have either kind o f property to part with would find himself
not much better off than he is now, unless he had debts to pay, because
all that he would desire to purchase, with the gold that he would receive
for what he sells, would be found equally advanced in value. The man
who lives upon a fixed annual salary would find himself in a deplorable
condition, because his salary' being the same as it was, would purchase
only one-half of the articles wanted for the subsistence of his family that
he obtains now. The man who is in debt, having money to pay, would
find himself relieved at once o f about one-half of his debt, as he would
have to raise only the same number o f dollars or the same quantity' of
gold that he had agreed for, and he might do that with one-half the prop­
erty or one-half the labor that was necessary when the debt was contract­
ed. The man who has the debt to receive would find that he has, in
effect, lost one-half of i t ; for the money that he would get by his contract
would purchase only one-half of the commodities or the land that it would
have done previously, when the contract was made.
Precision in such matters is not easily attained, but this rough outline
will answer our present purpose. Bearing it in mind, then, let us recol­




The Gold o f California, and its Effects on Prices.

533

lect for a moment what has recently taken place among us. A few years
ago it was suddenly made known that gold was to be had in California in
great quantities and with little labor. Up to that time, gold had in gen­
eral been worth what it cost to obtain it, and no more. Taking one
source with another, the mines that yield well with those that fail and
cause utter ruin, gold was worth just about its average cost, with a fair
remuneration for the capital and labor employed in getting it. But here
seemed to he an opportunity of getting gold at much less than the cost
of what was then in circulation. Those who should be first on the ground
had the best chance not only o f collecting it, hut of using it before its
relative value should decline through mere abundance of supply. Large
numbers of people who were then engaged in profitable industry left their
occupations and w'ent to California for gold. Many vagabonds went with
them, who were no loss here and did nothing but mischief there. But
probably 50,000 men, whose labor was of great value, left the Eastern,
Middle, and Western States of the Union with this object. The with­
drawal of so much energetic industry had a serious effect on the prices of
agricultural products and wrork o f mechanics, causing temporarily a great
advance o f wages generally, and therefore an advance in most of the prod­
ucts o f labor. The supplies for their subsistence at the mines were to he
sent to them chiefly from the Atlantic States at great cost, and, as it after­
wards appeared, with great waste. Nobody could calculate how much of
any article would be required, and while there was a great want o f some
things, others were sent in such abundance that part of them wrere thrown
away— barrels of pork being sunk in the mud just to make crossings for
the streets in San Francisco.
But all that was used there had to he paid for, and part o f it at enor­
mous prices, so that the gold came here in large quantities— and what
were we to do with it ? Suppose for a moment that by embargo, war, or
any imaginable cause, we had been at that time cut off from all commerce
with the rest of the world, and were living, like the people of Japan, in
hostile seclusion from foreign intercourse— what would have been the
effect of retaining all that gold among ourselves ? The increase of gold is
not in general to be regarded as a useful addition to the wealth of a com­
munity under such circumstances, except the portion that is taken for
utensils or ornament. The greater part of it is used as a mere instrument
of exchange; and if we have enough for that purpose, we are not the richer
for having more to circulate only among ourselves for the same use. The
man who supports his family by his labor takes pay for his labor in gold
and silver, or bills which are promises to pay in those metals, that he may
select the meat and clothing that he requires with more convenience than
he could by taking his pay in the material on which he works, and carry­
ing about a sack of corn or a roll of leather on his back to make exchanges
with the butcher and others. The gold, as a standard, represents the value
of his labor and likewise the value of the articles that he wants to buy.
Whatever represents the one will procure the others for him, whether it be
one gold eagle that he receives or two. He is no better off for having
two gold pieces instead o f one, if the two will procure him no more o f
what he wants than one had procured before; and so on through all the
transactions of life.
Now, we had gold enough for all such purposes before. As we have
seen already, to lutvo doubled the quantity of gold that we had here, if




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The Gold o f California and its Effects on Prices.

we had nothing to do with it but to use it here, would have only raised
the prices of everything that we buy among ourselves, without making us
richer. If one hundred millions o f currency, of all kinds, answered our
purposes for exchange, we should not have been better off for having two
hundred millions.
But suppose, that instead of sending us gold that we did not need, the
men who went to California had employed themselves in collecting and
sending the same value in copper or other metals, to be used in the me­
chanic arts; hides, to be used for shoes; or cargoes of o il; and that they
had collected the finer peltries, sea-otters’ skins, &e., on the Pacific coast,
to be exchanged in China, and had sent us teas and silks, sugar and coffee
from there and from the great islands o f the southern seas, we should then
have received positive additions in valuable merchandise, making the coun­
try the richer for them— that is, if they were worth to us more than the
labor of those who went for them.
As we had in fact, however, open commerce with all the world, we
could send the gold at once to Europe to pay what wms due there. In one
respect it was more convenient to have it in bullion than to have had the
copper, hides, and other merchandise that I have mentioned. W e could
send it abroad more readily, while it would take time to dispose o f the
other articles. But whatever were the uses that we had for the gold, it
came to us, in fact, as merchandise, being, in the main, return shipments
for outfits, and for the food, clothing, <fec., that had been sent from here,
and remittances to families of the miners.
It will then be asked, perhaps, why did not the gold that was sent to
Europe raise prices there just as it would have raised prices here, if we
had kept all this gold in the United States for want of intercourse with
other nations ? It was because in Europe it became mingled with the
metallic currency o f the world, which is so vast that all the product of
California is as yet small in proportion. It is estimated that in France
alone, where specie is chiefly used as currency, what are called the
hoards— that is, the sums, great and small, kepit in reserve for use in case
of necessity— amount to something like f 20,000,000 of pounds sterling.
That would be nearly 600,000,000 o f dollars; so that all the product of a
year from California would be but ten per cent in addition to that amount,
even if it all went to France alone. Even in Ireland, depressed as the
people have been, it is said that the hoards among the small farmers, w7ho
live but poorly, are very large in the aggregate.
If we think, in this
view, of all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean and Levant,
where specie only is used, wre can easily conceive that some time yet must
elapse before all that we shall send can amount to such a proportion as
will materially disturb the values that prevail there at present.
It is said that a river in Australia runs inwards from the highlands, and
loses itself in a vast desert of the interior.
Suppose that an engineer
should discover some gorge in the mountains through which the river
might be turned in a new direction, at no great expense, and that the gov­
ernment should authorize this to be done, so that it might run towards
the ocean ; if it should occasionally overflow its banks, it might fertilize
the country through which it would pass— but would it raise the level of
the Pacific? Probably in no perceptible degree. For the present, it is
somewhat so with the gold that we send to mingle in the great ocean of
currency for the world at large, whatever may be the effect hereafter; and




The Gold o f California, and its Effects on Prices.

535

with the wonderful facilities that exist in our day for communication
everywhere, the world is becoming in such matters as this like one great
family, and if gold were worth five per cent more in the most distant part
o f Europe than it is worth here, some of ours would probably find its way
there within a month.
If these views are correct, we can be but little better off with the gold
from California than we should be with the same amount in merchandise
of any kind at its fair value. The world perhaps may be not so well off,
but in fact poorer, unless more gold was really needed as an instrument
for exchange, which is not clear; while merchandise adapted to the va­
rious uses of mankind is always wanted. And again, we shall probably
see no greater rise in prices here from the influx of gold, than will follow
from the effect of the same gold in other countries, whether it comes first
to us or goes first to them. Currency, like water, seeks a level; and if
prices rise here because our gold is falling below its value in Europe, some
of it will be taken away to Europe till prices will cease to rise with us.
If prices rise there and here very much, and the fact can be clearly
traced solely to the increase in this supply, it will seem that we are
getting too much o f it, and that miners had better be at work on some­
thing else.
In regard to the shipments of gold to Europe which cause uneasiness
with some persons, it is to be borne in mind that a great deal which really
belongs there is sent first to New York, merely as the most convenient
channel for it, and not because it is due to us. There are in California
many English, French, and Germans, transacting important business with
their native countries, who have remittances to make. If they could find
steamers at the Isthmus o f Darien bound directly to Europe, their gold
would be sent by those steamers without coming to New York at all.
Gold is sent here in moderate sums by men who have left families be­
hind them, and we see that their families are made more comfortable,
perhaps placed in better houses and on better farms by these returns for
labor. But the effect is only the same that it would be if the remittances
were made in pig-copper, hides, or whale oil, to be sold here; although
the improved condition of such families certainly tends to increase the
value of such property as they desire to buy, and adds to the general
prosperity of the country.
As to the high prices which are said to be caused by gold, they began
with the emigration to California, which diminished the number o f val­
uable laborers here. If it were gold that caused the advance of prices
generally, money should be more abundant than it is, and the rise should
be nearly uniform. But the rate o f interest is usually as high with us as
ever; and while provisions and labor have risen, many things have not.
There are, in truth, other causes for high prices. Owing to wants in Eu­
rope, flour, and therefore grain, is high. When grain is high, so are the
meats of animals fattened on grain. W e have had two years o f unusual
drouth injurious to hay, and meats are higher on that account. These cir­
cumstances are not unprecedented. That invisible individual, “ the oldest
inhabitant,” who tells us o f each hard winter that he never knew the like,
is disposed to say the same of the present prices. But those of us who
were housekeepers thirty years ago, can remember something very like it
then; and in 1836, not only the prices of provisions, but of houses and
lands, were quite as remarkable— all then tending to a great explosion of




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The Gold o f California, and its Effects on Prices.

credit throughout the country. There is no reason to apprehend the re­
currence of such a disaster; but there seem to be causes, o f a temporary
nature merely, sufficient to account for the present rise.
Changes in the supply o f the precious metals and in prices are always
going on, and have been so through past ages, though so gradually that
in general they are not brought forcibly to the notice o f the passing gen­
eration. If we look back for some centuries previously to the discovery
o f America, we may find that a bushel o f grain, or any other article
wanted for food, was valued in gold at a price that would now seem ludi­
crously small. Yet it must have been as difficult to obtain the article
desired, or to earn the gold which was the standard o f its value, then, as
it would be to earn several times as much gold now. This gradual change
has been so obvious, that in order to guard against depreciation in the
value of the precious metals from increase o f supply, or of money in any
form, when leases of lands, &c., were made for very long terms of years,
as is not uncommon in Europe, the rent has been reserved in so many
bushels or quarters of wheat, instead of pounds, shillings, and pence.
So if we look back to the Christian era, or to the ages of antiquity pre­
ceding that epoch, we shall find a corresponding state of things to exist at
any period, and for an obvious reason. Gold, like most other things wanted
for use, being worth what it costs, and worth in general no more than it
costs to procure it— whether it be gathered in dust from the sands o f riv­
ers when low, picked up in lumps on the surface o f the earth, or taken
from mines— is, in the course of human affairs, or, as we say, in the long
run, affected by the same considerations that apply to the want or the
abundance o f all merchandise. I f w’e have an abundant crop o f grain in
anyone year, flour becomes cheap, and we get a barrel for a small quantity
of gold or silver. If a small crop succeed, the reverse follows, and flour rises.
Thus, there being a great change in flour within a couple o f years, while
there is no perceptible change from one year to another in the supply of
the precious metals, we refer to them to show the rise or fall o f breadstuffs. But if, instead o f comparing the prices of one year with another,
we compare the prices of one century with those of the next, we shall
probably find that the scale o f our standard has undergone a change, so
that we must just reverse the mode of estimate, and consider the price of
corn as the standard to show the increase of gold and silver in the lapse
o f ages.
On this subject of the cost of gold, I am reminded o f some experience
of my own. It may suggest something o f caution to those who are dis­
posed to engage in mining, whether it be in the new State o f California or
in one of “ the old thirteen.”
About thirty years ago there was considerable excitement on the sub­
ject of gold discovered in North Carolina, and that State was said to be
found, after all, to be as rich in gold as the first colonists there imagined
that it was. I had myself seen, among other specimens, one lump, found
near the surface of the ground, which was worth about 13,000 ; and after
some time I became convinced that gold mining was likely to become an
important business in the country. Mining companies were formed, and
after a few years, some of my friends having become interested in one, I
took a few shares in order to see practically what w'ould be the result. In
an epidemic which prevailed in 1832, the president and treasurer of the




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The Gold o f California and its Effects on Prices.

537

company both suddenly died; and looking into the office one day to learn
how our affairs were to be managed, I was told that I had just been chosen
treasurer. Although my first impulse was to decline an office connected
with an enterprise of rather fanciful character, as it seemed, I' concluded,
on the whole, to accept it, for the purpose of seeing exactly what would
become of all the money that was raised for the purchase of the mines
and the outfit of machinery. When all preparations had been completed,
and the machinery was actually in operation, I resolved to go to North
Carolina and inspect the process myself.
On the way there, I stopped at
Washington to gain information from members of Congress from that
quarter, and having previously gathered some particulars, I remarked to
one of them that as nearly as I could learn the people who had made mo­
ney wore those who had collected what they could find on the surface or a
little below, and with some rough contrivances, hardly deserving the name
of machinery, having gained something considerable for a small businessi
when they found that the investment of capital became necessary, had
stopped and sold their rights, leaving the further prosecution to others,
who in general had been unsuccessful. He told me that it was very much
so, and that in going the circuit as a lawyer with the courts, he had usu­
ally found on arriving at any place where he had previously heard that
there had been great success in mining, that the success there had been
greatly overrated, and that it was at some place further on that he was
to inquire for the great results.
As I traveled onward towards our mine, I found that1our company had
a great reputation in the country as having capital from Boston, but that
our agent was supposed to have made great mistakes, indicating that al­
though he had been engaged at mining in Peru, he was not skillful. Be­
fore arriving at the mine that I went to visit, I had an opportunity o f
examining one wdiich had been worked for some years by another com­
pany, and saw something of the process.
Having descended the shaft about 150 feet in a tub, I was conducted
through the narrow passages opened below, towards the various veins that
had been discovered; these passages, except for width and height, resem­
bling lanes in a city, and being lighted by bits of tallow candles stuck iu
the sides by the miners who were at work here and there, chiefly negroes.
The rough footing, the stooping posture necessary for getting on, and the
confined air were so disagreeable time I could not but remark to my con­
ductor, that I had never known, before getting down there, how to sym­
pathize fully with those who in some countries are comdemned to the
mines for punishment. His answer was—“ If you mean to express con­
cern for those whom you see here, you may depend upon it that your
sympathy is all thrown away. These men enjoy their w ork; they are in­
terested and excited by the uncertainty and the occasional success to such
a degree that they become, in a great measure, unfitted for work in the
open air on the plantations.”
On arriving at our mine, I found all our machinery in operation, and
our agent appeared confident of success, though he wanted more money.
The process was, after crushing the ore by stamps in a mill to a pulverized
state, to pass it into iron pans, where it was kept revolving in contact with
quicksilver with which the particles of gold became amalgamated, all
other portions from the ore passing off in running water. This process
had been going on for about ten days, but it required a week or two more




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The Gold o f California and its Effects on Prices.

for completion. I desired him, however, to take down one o f the pans
that I might see how much gold had been obtained at that time. He did
so, and pouring the contents into a buckskin, the corners of which he
gathered in his hands, twisted it, and most of the quicksilver, passing di­
rectly through the skin, fe'l in drops like rain, and left a sort o f snowball
o f amalgam nearly as large as one’s fist. By a further process the gold
was extracted from this in my presence, and was handed to me, being in
bulk, something less than one of our three-cent pieces. My hopes were
not raised by this result.
Our agent had incurred considerable debts, for which he wanted a sup­
ply o f money. But having furnished him about 1,000 pounds o f quick­
silver, I referred him to his own pans for the gold which they were so
soon to yield, only making arrangements with a rich trader near there to
pay him at once the net value o f any bars of gold that were expected,
and which were to be sent on to the mint at Philadelphia for coinage.
On my return our stockholders were anxious for a report, and I told
them that gold mining was this :— To raise a bushel of rocks from a depth
of 50 to 150 feet below the surface of the earth, contending all the way
down with water, which was to be raised at considerable expense; to cart
the rocks one to five miles to water-power; there to pulverize them as
fine and as free from grit as the flour from which we make bread ; then
to keep the ore running for one to three weeks in contact with quicksilver;
and if we had done what was called a good business, to find that we had
obtained about 85 cents in gold from the bushel of rocks, while a bushel
o f corn was worth at the mouth o f the mine about 75 cents, and they
might judge whether it was best to raise the rocks or to cultivate the corn :
that gold was so common there that a traveler might be told with truth
that the very t oad over which be passed was a gold mine, and suppose,
therefore, that he might get out of his vehicle and secure a fortune, but he
would find on examination that a bushel of what he could gather up would
yield only about 20 cents in gold, and that it would cost him three times
that to extract it.
W e received two or three little bars only from all the preparation that
I had seen. After such a personal inspection there was no room for selfdeception on either side, and we understood our position too clearly to
send good money after bad, which we should have been very likely to do
if none of us had gone to look. Our works were stopped ; the agent re­
signed; the mines and land, mills, machinery, and quicksilver were all
sold for the most they would bring; the debts were paid ; and each stock­
holder w'ho had paid &100 received 70 cents as his first and last dividend.
In estimating the cost o f gold, unfortunate results like this are to be
taken into view. They arise sometimes from want of skill, sometimes
from mismanagement, and often from what may be considered as ill-luck,
since the utmost sagacity that can be exercised as to what is to be found
below the surface of the earth may be disappointed in mining, as it often
is in digging wells for water. They offset the good fortune with which
rich mines are sometimes hit upon by accident, mines so rich that, like
prizes in lotteries, if it were not for the blanks they would draw people off
from the industry necessary for producing food and clothing in the legular way.
There is another class of cases in which the disappointment arises from
sheer fraud. A memorable instance occurred, which may serve as a cau­




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530

tion to those who have any disposition to try their fortune in mining, not
only to make previous examination, but to make it thoroughly, and with
sufficient intelligence on the subject to discern the truth.
About the time that I speak of a company was formed in New York for
the purchase of a mine in Virginia that was said to be very productive.
The accounts from the agent were highly encouraging, but as he was not
generally known, confirmation was wanted from some person entitled to
the fullest confidence, in order to make the stock saleable at an advance.
A t length one of the directors, a man of unquestionable integrity, deacon
of an orthodox church, consented to go to Virginia to make personal ex­
amination, and those who were in treaty for shar s waited for his return,
perfectly ready to abide by his report, and take shares if that report should
be favorable.
On his arrival at the mine he told the agent that, although he wanted
no confirmation to satisfy himself, yet, as he had come for the satisfaction
of others, he did not propose to tell them on his return what had been
said to him, but to tell them what he had actually seen; and that he had
no wish, threfore, to make inquiries, but to go into the mine and take
specimens for himself. The agent said that he had been for some time
desirous to see just such a person, and in order that they might proceed
at once he provided his visitor with a suitable dress for the work, and, de­
scending the shaft, conducted him to several veins which had been discov­
ered, and on which miners were at work. The veins usually vary in width
from six inches to two feet or more, just as we sometimes see, in ledges of
rock on the surface o f the earth, what is a different kind of stone from
the mass, injected, as it were, into what may have been a fissure. Giving
him a hammer and an assistant, he desired him to strike just where he
chose, and make his own selections. This being done with considerable
labor, the stockholder ascended with his collection o f specimens, telling
the agent that he should have them carefully tested; that if they were
found, in conformity with previous reports, to contain gold at the rate of
$2 per bushel, all parties would be entirely satisfied; but that if they
should be found to contain materially less, the result would be taken still
as so decisive o f the character o f the mine altogether that no future rep­
resentations could alter the decision against it. The agent expressed his
readiness to submit to that condition, and gave his assurances that, what­
ever should be the result, the specimens thus taken might be considered
as a fair sample o f all the veins opened, and of large heaps of ore which
he pointed to at the month of the mine. On returning to New York the
deacon submitted his specimens to a goldsmith with such precautions that
there should be no deception there, and awaited the result. It was, that
the value of the ore was not $2, but about $4 per bushel. The excitement
that followed equaled what we have sometimes seen in regard to Califor­
nia. The stock rose from the par value o f $100 to $1,000 for each share,
and people could not get what they wanted even at that price. Exagger­
ated reports were spread, and the excitement increased, till one morning a
gentleman, going into Wall-street, inquired what wras the news o f the day
of a broker whom he met, and who, being somewhat o f a cynical temper,
gave vent to it occasionally in a Munchausen story. The answer was that
there was nothing new except the astonishing account from the Virginia
mine, surpassing all that had come from there before. “ And what was
that?” inquired the man. “ It is,” said the broker, “ that a miner, having




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The Gold o f California and its Effects on Prices.

stuck a crowbar in the ground to leave it there while he attended to some­
thing in a field near the shaft, found, on withdrawing it, that it w as fol­
lowed by a stream of liquid gold, which continued to Bow until two acres
o f ground were covered with a golden sheet an inch or two thick.” The
ridicule that ensued caused everybody concerned to pause, and seek fur­
ther information. The story soon reached Virginia. It was found that
most of the shares that bad been sold belonged to the agent, who was
himself so large a stockholder that he must have received a profit o f about
$150,000. It was then found that he had left the mine, and sent his re­
signation ; and that the worthy man who went to examine had been de­
ceived after all, having been artfully conducted to just such spots as occa­
sionally appear even in poor mines, where he might exercise his sagacity
at his own cost, for all which the agent had been well prepared, having
supposed it probable that an investigation of some kind must be near at
hand. I never knew the exact details o f the final issue, but have reason
to believe that, like the case in North Carolina, ?0 cents for $100 invested
was quite as much as was ever found to be divided.
The collections of gold in California hitherto, which are a marvelous
exception in the history of gold-mining, appear to have been made chiefly
in the simplest manner, by gathering what was found in the beds of rivers,
and on or near the surface of the ground, and washing it from the earth,
which is easily done, as the gold, from its greater weight, as soon as dis­
engaged, is found at the bottom of the pan or other vessel used. But of
late we hear of crushing the quartz rock in which the gold is found em­
bedded, and o f proceeding with it in the manner that I have mentioned
as in use in North Carolina; and there is said to be an abundant supply
o f quicksilver in the country for that purpose. W e do not hear yet, how­
ever, of great success in that way. Indeed, it must be obvious that unless
the ore be remarkably rich, the gold cannot be extracted from the rock
with profit by any such process, where labor is so high as it is even in the
Atlantic States, although in some countries, where labor of the natives
can be had for little more than the cost of the simplest food and clothing
for their subsistence, the veins of gold mines may be followed to a great
depth with advantage, even for a very small return, like that which can
generally be had in our Southern States.
Other objects, too, are gaining attention in California. Among the re­
ports that came from there five or six years ago, a very intelligent person,
who went there at that time and has remained there since, gave it as his
impression that the agricultural resources o f the country were almost as
remarkable as the abundance of gold. When an application was made,
not long ago, for aid from the State of Massachusetts to open the Hoosac
Tunnel, in order that there might be a better avenue for the vast quanti­
ties of flour that were to come from the W est for trade with California
and Australia, it was remarked in answer that before the tunnel could be
completed California would supply herself with flour, and Oregon would
supply Australia if necessary. And already, in the last year, before the
tunnel could be said to be fairly begun, cargoes of flour and wheat of the
native growth of California were sent from there to London and New
York with profit. Hereafter we shall probably send but little flour there,
if any. There will be so much less to be paid for by remittances to this
quarter; and, therefore, whatever may be the collection of gold there in




The Gold o f California, and its Effects on Prices.

541

future, less of it will probably come to us than heretofore, which is to re­
main with us as returns for shipments o f merchandise.
What may be the final effect, after a long lapse o f years o f such an
over-abundant supply as now comes from California and Australia, in ad­
dition to what is still received from sources previously known, it is not
easy to say with certainty. If gold were to be found in as great quantity
and become as cheap as paving stones, it would be almost as inconvenient,
and therefore almost as useless as they could be for all purposes of ex­
change, and silver might stand first as circulating medium, since there is
no additional supply o f that, and silver is already rising in comparison
with gold. But as the value o f stones consists chiefly in the labor of
transporting them, and nobody will undertake to carry them anywhere,
still less to dig them from the earth, unless for some advantageous pur­
pose, so probably labor will cease to be applied to the collection o f gold
as soon as the work o f gathering it from where it lies becomes less profit­
able than the same labor required for it would be if applied to other ob­
jects. Common regard to self-interest, therefore, which governs men in
selecting their pursuits will regulate that. W ith all the astonishing suc­
cess that has attended the searches for gold in California, it has still been
a hard business, such as few people would choose to select unless it were
very profitable; and it would very soon be abandoned if the fear were to
prevail that an ounce o f gold, which is now worth about $17, might fall
to the same price with an ounce of silver, which is worth only about $1.
With the use, however, of steam for manufactures and navigation, of rail­
roads, of the electric telegraph, and other modern inventions, nations are
roused to an activity in the arts of civilization that may require vast ad­
ditions of the precious metals for circulation.
I have said that in general gold is not an important addition to wealth,
excepting as it is used for utensils or ornament, or necessarily used as a
mere instrument of exchange to save the labor of transporting articles for
barter, and to save the time o f those who have to buy or sell. Perhaps
this remark may require a word o f explanation to those who have not
thought of such matters. The blacksmith and the carpenter contribute
largely to the wealth o f the community, but the head and the hand o f the
artizan are not wealth, however they may be productive o f it, although
the hammer and anvil, with the saw and plane, are also wealth to the ex­
tent of the necessary cost o f such tools. But if the smith should spend
his substance in procuring fifty or a hundred anvils, when his business re­
quired the use of only one, and there was no market for the rest, he would
hardly be thought to have increased his own wealth or that of the com­
munity by the addition. Much the same is true of gold in its most com­
mon use, and if most o f us should abandon the occupations that supply
the real wants of man in order to collect gold that only makes two dol­
lars or two eagles necessary where one had answered before, we should
assist to move the world a step in the direction towards the fabled wretch­
edness of Midas, after his prayer was granted that every thing that he
should touch might be converted into gold, when he found that as he
could neither eat it, drink it, nor move in it as apparel, starvation only
either in nakedness or encased in that precious metal awaited him, and
he implored the god who had heard him with favor to relieve him o f the
golden gift.




542

The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

Art. III.— Till? MERCHANT OF THE PAST AND*THE PRE SEN T *
T h ere is nothing which so strikingly marks the progress o f the world
in refinement and civilization, as the changes in the condition of the mer­
cantile community since the early days of English history. To note the
several steps in the progress of that change would be replete with interest
and instruction, but I can do no more in the few words I have to utter
than glance hastily at the subject, and seize on results rather than dwell
on causes. To go no further back than to that period when the steel
corslet and gauntletted hand denoted a warlike age, it may be said with
historic truth that but one class, and that comparatively a small one, bore
entire sway in the affairs of the world. The steel-clad warrior looked upon
all other men as of an inferior race, and all others were proud to be classed
among his retainers and followers. He regarded every other pursuit but
that of arms as unworthy of note, and derogatory to the character o f a
true knight and gentleman.
When not engaged in foreign or domestic strife, his soul was in the
joust or tournament, where the approving shouts o f the attendant crowd,
and a smile from the Queen of Beauty and of Love, compensated for all
dangers run or wounds received. His castle-hall resounded either with
the noise o f his bacchanalian revels or the songs o f the troubador, whose
selected themes were those of battle or of love. The monarch himself
sat insecurely on his throne who did not rival the proudest baron in feats
o f arms. The battle-ax of Iliehard the Lion-hearted, and the songs of his
famous minstrel, were more potential in governing the realm o f England
than all the “ wise saws” o f foreign and domestic policy. His stalwart
bearing on the plains of Palestine so securely riveted the confidence and
affection of his subjects, that the deep immurement o f Austrian dungeons,
accompanied with the reports of his death, could neither obliterate him
from their hearts or minds. Centuries have passed away since the knight
and his banner have gone down to the dust, and the minstrel’s harp has
long since ceased to breathe forth its strains as of yore, and yet poetry or
romance finds no more ready admission to the drawing-room or the libra­
ry than when they tell us of the deeds of some gallant knight, or bring
with them the sighs of some,fair Geraldine as she looked from the case­
ment of her lonely tower for the waving plume of her returning lord.
An age such as that afforded but little room for the culture o f the arts
of peace, and Commerce, like a young bird, adventured not in its flight
beyond the nearest branch, from whence when alarmed it could most
easily return to its nest. True it is, that as early as the time of Athelstan
a statute had provided that any merchant who should make three voyages
on his own account beyond the British Channel, should be entitled to the
privileges o f a Thane or gentleman, but we can readily imagine how rarely
* W e are indebted to ex-President T y l e r , o f Virginia, for a revised copy o f bis lecture, which
was prepared at the request o f the Library Association of Petersburg, Virginia, some time since.
In this lecture, as will be seen, Mr. Tyler speaks o f the merchant as he was in former times, and of
the merchant as he is at the present day, accompanying his sketches with such reflections as the
subject naturally suggests. W e have taken the liberty o f omitting one or two passages, possessing
only a local interest. The attentive reader of the Merchants’ Magazine will recognize some
o f the facts to which, in a note to us, Mr. Tyler, with his characteristic candor and frankness, ac­
knowledges his indebtedness.




The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

543

the merchant would^fcave adventured upon such voyages with his mer­
chandise, when every sea swarmed with buccaneers and every battlement
frowned in hostile array against all who should venture to approach. He
was a bold merchant who would thus have periled his life and fortune.
Nothing can. in fact, more clearly illustrate the condition of the merchant
of that day than this statute of Athelstan. Denied the privileges of one
of gentle blood, he was treated as an inferior, and his hard earnings were
often extorted from him under torture by king and noble. If he chanced
to be an Israelite, to whose inspired authors the world is indebted for that
holy volume, which all Christians regard as an emanation from Deity, and
the rapt songs of whose Psalmists foretold the advent o f the Saviour and
Redeemer, he was subjected to persecutions of the most inhuman charac­
ter. Tooth after tooth was extracted, and every other conceivable wrong
was resorted to, in order to obtain a disclosure o f his hidden treasure.
The employment of the merchant was chiefly that of a pedlar, who car­
ried his merchandise in a pack, and trafficked from door to door, and he
esteemed himself oftimes most fortunate if, after a day, sometimes of pro­
fitless fatigue, he was permitted to take up his night’s lodging among the
humblest retainers of the castle.
Even as late as the beginning o f the seventeenth century, although
Columbus had long before solved the theory of the rotundity of the earth
by his discovery of a new continent, and had been succeeded by other
navigators who had added largely to the bounds of human knowledge,
and although new and immense channels of trade had been opened with
colonies successfully planted in various parts o f the world by several of
the European powers, and notwithstanding the hardy navigator had long
before doubled the stormy cape, and had opened a new route to India,
even then, if the merchant was found stationary in London or elsewhere,
his shop, we are told, was but little better than a booth or a cellar, gener­
ally without a door or a window. No sign emblazoned his name or em­
ployment, and no editor’s columns made known his list o f merchandise.
His station was at the entrance into his shop, where, with all the zeal that
the desire to sell could inspire, he recounted to each passer-by the articles
he had for sale. When thoroughly exhausted he was succeeded by his
clerk, who pursued the same course until exhausted in his turn. So that,
as we are told, and can readily believe, “ London was a Babel of strange
sounds, by which the wayfarer was dinned at every step.” This custom
was, in the end, superseded by signs of the most grotesque character.
Upon these signs were displayed black swans, red lions, hogs in armor,
swans with two necks, and every other conceivable device to attract at­
tention. To these succeeded a multitude of compound signs, such as the
fox and seven stars, ball and neat’s tongue, sheep and dolphin, dog and
gridiron, cat and fiddle, pig and whistle— which, when they were swung
by the wind on their huge posts in their equally huge frames, made music
essentially different from that o f the Eolian harp. In not a few instances
these emblems became most ridiculously perverted. Thus we are told
that the Bologne Mouth, the entrance into the harbor o f Bologne, in
France, became the Bull and Mouth. A noted inn in St. Martin’s Lane,
called the Satyr and Bacchanals, became the “ devil and bag of nails,” and
the expression often used in those days of “ God encompasseth us,” was
most strangely and irreverently metamorphosed into “ the goat and com­
passes.” Upon these sign-boards was often set forth a list of the articles




544

The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

which the shop contained. I content myself with giving a single one of
these, which may serve as a specimen of others. It is a sign-board of a
Mr, George Wilson of the Phenix, and reads thus:—
“ Here soap, and inkstands, and sticking-plaster mix,
With song books, Ainsley’s sauce, tea-trays, aud candlesticks.”

During much of this period, although the merchant was denied the
privileges of a gentleman, he had often succeeded in amassing great wealth ;
but he was not, in the general, considered worthy to have a Master or
Mister prefixed to his name, while it is said that the addition o f gentleman
or esquire would have set the whole court into a flame. In France, as
late as the end of the sixteenth and the beginning o f the seventeenth cen­
tury, it required two Arrets to enable the nobility to trade without a loss
of rant, while in Bretagne the noble engaging in Commerce had to put
his nobility to sleep while thus employed, and' only resumed his privileges
after abandoning the pursuit.
Before the close of the seventeenth century a new order of things had
gradually arisen. Numerous laws had been passed for the encouragement
of trade, and the merchant had not only thrice crossed the British Chan­
nel, but he had visited the remotest lands— bringing back boundless wealth,
and enlarging the fame and power o f his country. He was no longer
looked upon absolutely as an inferior, but was addressed as an Esquire,
and often rose to the rank of knighthood. Ilis noble ships bore as their
freight, not only the treasures of land and sea, but a treasure still more
important as the means o f civilization and refinement. That treasure was
the Bible, which the Missionary had hastened to open in benighted lands,
and temples to the living God were reared on the ruins of Pagan idolatry.
Thus, while Commerce was drawing distant nations more closely together,
Christianity was proclaiming the reign of brute force at an end, and rea­
son, founded on morality, obtained greater control in the affairs of the
world— as a consequence o f this change the great middle class, which had
been so long despised, came to the investiture of its true privileges— and
public liberty was so trenched in and fortified, that not only was the noble
restrained from the exercise of arbitrary power, but the monarch himself
was held responsible for the violation of public or private right.
With the elevation of the middle class Commerce had more and more
expanded her wings. I have no time to follow her in her noble flight.
At this day she knows no rest. The flapping of her sails, the plashing o f
her oars, and the whistle o f her steam-engines, are heard all over the sea.
You find her foot-prints on the loftiest mountains and in the deepest val­
leys ; she dives into the depths of ocean for its pearls; amid polar ice and
snow she pursues the whale for its oil, and sable for its fur, while the silk­
worm of India spins for her its valuable thread. The land o f Confucius,
so long closed against her admission, has unbarred to her the gates o f a
mighty empire. Japart begins to regard her with approving smile. The
Rio de la Plata woes her onward to its primeval sources, and the mighty
Amazon is in the act of inviting her to enter upon its broad expanse. The
arts and sciences are her ready assistants in this great panorama of moving
life, and what the philosopher elaborates in his closet, the mechanic car­
ries into his workshop. The merchant has long since won for himself
both riches and station. Instead of the doorless shop in which he was
wont, in former times, to display his merchandise, he has built spacious




The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

545

edifices and marble palaces for their exhibition. Instead of rendering
himself hoarse by proclaiming the contents of his store to every passer-by,
he addresses the world through the columns o f the newspaper press. In­
stead of being denied the privileges of a Thane or gentleman, he is now
respected by all, and his society courted by all. Governments look to him
in time of financial need for aid and support, and the proud owner o f ba­
ronial acres in other lands esteems it an honor to be seated at his hospit­
able board.
Such are the (Ranges which time has wrought in the condition of the
merchant in countries where stars and garters and other gew-gaws denote
the wearer to be of (so called) noble birth, and where the tinsel of the
royal diadem still serves to sanctify the person o f the monarch. In this,
our favored land, where equality before the law has ever been the birth­
right of one and all— here where we boast not of emblazoned shields, but
rather that we are descended from those who planted themselves on the
soil of this country when it was a wild, and in after years succeeded in es­
tablishing many independent republics, which, converging their rays to a
common center, gave rise to a government which has already won for
itself the title of t h e g r e a t r e p u b l i c — a government which is destined
to achieve, as I fondly trust, by its principles working silently on the great
mind of the world, victories more resplendant than were ever told o f in
fable, or dreamed of by philosophy— here with the sky above him, the
earth beneath him, and the free sea before him, and the aegis of such a
government over him go xvhither he may, a field has been given to man
for his enterprise greater than the world has before seen— a field to occupy
which all classes press forward with unconquerable zeal and untiring energy. The landsman, with his ax on his shoulder, his rifle in his hand,
and faithful dog by his side, rushes into the wilderness, and you trace his
path by the villages, towns, and States which have sprung up behind him.
Obstacles, however formidable, do not impede him. It is his mission to
reclaim a continent, and he takes no breathing time after leaving his birth­
place on the Atlantic, until he has looked out on the waters o f the Pacific,
which already invite him to enter on new adventures beyond their peace­
ful flow. He has scarcely felled the first tree, or turned up the first spade­
ful of earth on those distant shores, before the mechanic stands by his
side to build new cities, and the stately ship anchors in sight, prepared to
supply his wants and take in exchange whatever his wilderness-home may
produce.
In our school-boy days we have pored over the stories of Phoenician
enterprise, and visited in fancy the colonies they planted. But centuries
elapsed before those bold navigators had passed the Pillars o f Hercules, and
the British channel set limits to the flight of the Roman eagle until the
latter days of that renowned republic. But here is a people, who, from a
handful of adventurers, have, in a little more than two centuries, overrun
a continent and reduced it to culture and civilization. Savage life and
barbarism have been crushed out by their heavy footfalls. The seven
labors of the heroic age, the accomplishment o f which placed the names
of heroes among the constellations of the heavens, have been more than
performed. The dragon o f superstition and idolatry— with its swarming
brood— has been destroyed, and altars, on which blaze the fires of consti­
tutional liberty, have been erected in places where, since the great flood,
no voice of humanity had ever been heard. As a type of this control in
V O L . xxxiv.— n o . v.
35




546

The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

the affairs of the world, they hold in one hand the cotton-plant— the sym­
bol of peace and commanding power— -while with the other they grasp at,
and are in the act o f clutching, the trident of the seas, in evidence of the
supremacy of their commercial marine. And yet, great as have been the
results of the past, what are they when compared to that mighty future,
which, already impatient o f restraint, is so near at hand as to be classed
with the present ?
The money lender, compounding his interest quarterly, never added to
his treasure half so fast as will this country to its populq^ion and resources
within the next quarter of a century. W h o can undertake at this day to
estimate the probable amount of our exports and imports at the end of
that period of twenty-five years ? Already trade, breaking through new
channels, begins to empty into our lap the treasures of India; and when
the great tide which bears that Commerce upon it shall have actually set
in, as it assuredly will, you may measure the waters of the ocean, and
count the stars in the firmament, but arithmetic will fail in the effort to
calculate the extent o f wealth which will flow into our cities. Ancient
Tyre, but a mere peninsula, enjoyed a rivulet of that trade, and she grew
into the most mighty of cities. Venice and Genoa in the course o f time
possessed it, and their Doges proclaimed them the brides of the sea. But,
say ye, who foretell the future, ye venerable seers, if any such there be
now on this earth, what dowry shall equal that of America when the A t­
lantic shall have fully wedded the Pacific 1
In all this great work of progress the American merchant has borne
nobly his part. He will continue to do so in what is to follow. It was
said by an English orator, in reproach, that “ the ledger of the merchant
was his Bible.” May we not say that the ledger of the American mer­
chant is often filled with entries which tell o f noble enterprises and gifts
of charity which, in some measure, assimilate it to that holy volume ?
Even now there may be blocked up in Polar seas vessels provided by a
merchant o f New York, and dispatched on a mission o f mercy in search
of a long-lost navigator o f another people, while donations of a princely
character have by others been strewn broadcast over the land in aid of
every conceivable charity. Nor have his charities been confined to the
American continent. When foreign countries— blighted in their harvests,
or their people rendered houseless and homeless by pestilence or fire—
have cried for bread, the American merchant, like the good Samaritan,
uniting with other classes, has contributed with open hand to their succor
and relief.
Such is the merchant o f America— such his enterprise, and such his
charities. He has caused the name of his country, by his fidelity to his
engagements, to be honored, and has won for himself the respect and con­
fidence of the world.
His present elevated condition gives rise to reflections intimately asso­
ciated with the destiny o f the country whose power and glory he has
done so much to increase. Above all other men, he should most highly
appreciate the value and importance of the union of the States. When
his ship floats on distant seas too far away for the physical force of his
country on the instant to reach him, his eye rests on the symbol of its
power and glory which floats at his mast-head, and he speeds on his way
rejoicing in his security from danger. Whether melting amid the tropics
or freezing under the pole, that symbol encourages, sustains, and protects.




The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

547

His ship keeps its way peacefully and uninterruptedly, amid hostile arma­
ments, and the stars and stripes— typical of the Union— open to him every
port, and secure him the hospitalities of the people o f every kindred
and every tongue.
How idle to him and more than absurd are all distinctions between
sections of his own country ! His dealing is with the world, and he should
recognize but one section o f that world— and that is his country, and his
whole country. If he could be so lost not only to his own interests, but
to his solemn duty, as to degenerate into a mere sectionalist at home, he
would justly forfeit all claim to either wisdom or patriotism. W hat would
he be in comparison to what he is, if he should no longer repose under
that proud banner which now floats over him, but sail under some other
(repose he could not) which, wherever seen, would only tell of a ruined
republic and a disrupted confederacy ? W hat audience should he give to
the ravings of a wild fanaticism— or what countenance to the wickedly
ambitious aspirations of those who trample upon the graves o f their fa­
thers, and seek to make their very names by-words of reproach, because of
their advocacy of a constitution which they affect to despise ? To preserve
this confederacy, fortunately, nothing more is necessary than the practice
by its members of perfect justice to each other, and a prudent non-inter­
vention in their domestic affairs. This is what the merchant practices
towards his own partners, and what wisdom doubly ratifies as between
States and governments.
The future of the civilized world is in our hands if we be but true to our­
selves. W ith a knowledge of this fact before us, and with the lights of
history blazing all over and around us, we shall deserve all the long cata­
logue of ills which will certainly befall us, if we neglect to exert ourselves
to smother the fire of sectional fanaticism, which can only blaze for our de­
struction, by making one great funeral pyre of the constitution and the
Union. I repeat, justice will render the confederacy eternal— injustice
may destroy it in a day.
If he is unmindful of the past, let not the merchant be blind to the
magnificent future which lies before him— a future full o f wealth to the
man of enterprise, of power and glory to the confederacy— a future, which,
making the United States the entrepot of that trade which through all
ages has been regarded as more valuable than mines of gold or mountains
of precious gems, shall see all the nations of the earth crowding our ports
with their shipping, and will make the American merchant oracular in all
he does on the great exchange of the world.
Nor should the present condition of the world be overlooked in esti­
mating the growth of our commercial importance. After a peace of
nearly forty years, four of the great powers of Europe have drawn the
sword, and no man living can say when or how it is to be restored to its
scabbard. On the one hand, we have the empire of Russia in complete
armor, already dealing its heavy blows upon the Turk, and armed to the
teeth against all assailants— an empire which, but a little more than a
century ago, was so inconsiderable in its population and resources as to
have been nearly ruined by the now comparatively small kingdom of
Sweden, under Charles XII., at the battle of Narvee, and only saved from
destruction by the ill-advised battle of Pultawa. Since that time its pos­
sessions have spread over Europe and Asia, and its population now
amounts to 60,000,000 souls— a monarch o f indomitable energy and com­




548

The Merchant o f the Past and the Present.

manding talents fills the throne of Peter the Great. He has succeeded in
inspiring his subjects with the religious zeal which marked the era of the
crusades, and they think only of expelling the descendant of Mahomet II.
from the imperial city, which that sultan won after incredible sacrifices,
and not until he had trampled on the scarred and dead body of the last
but bravest of the Greek emperors, an illustrious descendant of the great
Constantine. Should success crown their efforts, and the Czar become
•master of Constantinople, the war most probably will but then have begun
in earnest.
On the other hand, there stands in formidable array the Turkish empire,
which, in days of yore, threatened Europe and the civilized world with its
power— thundered at the gates of almost every fortified place, and planted
the crescent and unfolded the Koran even on the ruins of the Knights
Templars and the brave Knights of St. John—-a power which even now sits
on the united thrones of the Ptolemys and the Constantines, and which,
when the sun of its power was at its highest, swept over States and king­
doms, until a noble Hungarian checked it in its desolating career, and
drove back its legions. In alliance with the Turk are two nations whose
united means, if used for defense, would he sufficient to hold the world at
bay. Great Britain, with the largest navy that ever floated on the ocean, and
with possessions so extensive that, in the language of a gifted and lamented
statesman of our country, “ her drum-roll follows the sun in his daily circuit
around the earth.” And France, which, under Charlemagne in the eighth,
and Napoleon in the nineteenth century, nearly succeeded in establishing a
universal European empire, and whose pulse, beating responsive to that of her
elected emperor, throbs with the desire o f recovering from Nicholas the
standards she lost under the canonized emperor, amid the frosts o f Russia.
Such are the mighty combatants who are hastening to new battle-fields
full of ardor for the contest.
Austria and Prussia, Denmark and Sweden, assume for the present an
attitude of armed neutrality ; but sooner or later they will be drawn into
the wrar; while the fires so lately raging in Hungary and the Italian States
only await a favorable opportunity to blaze out with renewed brightness.
Under this condition o f things, the American merchant becomes the great
carrier of the w orld; and before the probable close o f the war the United
States will possess the largest commercial marine that the world has yet
seen.
In view of the great importance of commercial life, new duties devolve
upon parents who design their sons to enter upon it. Is not something
more necessary than a mere capacity to cast up figures, to read an invoice,
and to retail goods ? Is not sometliing more to be expected of the mer­
chant, who by his success has become a man o f consequence ? Have the
arts and sciences no claim upon him, or is he to be regarded upon ’change
as no more than the representative of the yard-stick and pound weight ?
This is not what the world has a right to expect from one who is so busy
in its affairs. His education should, on the contrary, be laid in the deep
foundations of science, which intercourse with the world would crown with
practical results. He has won for himself the universally-acknowledged
title of Thane and gentleman. Let him aspire to a position still more ex­
alted— that of the philosopher and man of letters.




The Dangers o f the Seas and the Possible Remedies.

549

Art. III.— THE DANGERS OF THE SEAS AND THE POSSIBLE REMEDIES.
T he recent calamities on the ocean and in our harbors seem to demand
something more than a passing notice, in order to guard against a recur­
rence of them. In 1852, the loss o f the British steamer Amazon by fire
gave a fearful warning as to the necessity for more complete organization
on board of sea-going steamers, and I doubt not the experience of that
lamentable event has induced more caution ; but notwithstanding this
warning, and the not less lamentable case o f the Arctic, and others scarcely
less startling, there remains much to be done in order to promote the safety
of those who traverse the Atlantic. It was suggested at the time o f the
destruction of the Amazon, that if the ship could have been stopped in
her mad career while on fire, that the boats could have been safely lowered,
and that many would have been saved; but as the fire was sudden and
overwhelming, the engineers were driven on deck, and the ship pursued
her devious course, partially guided by the rudder, until the steapi was
exhausted, long before which many had perished by fire and water, leaving
only a small portion of the passengers and crew at the mercy of the raging
sea, ill supplied for the terrible emergency. But I will not dwell on this
terrible catastrophe, nor recall to mind the more recent case of the Arctic,
nor dwell on the case of the ship John Rutledge, just wrecked in the ice, but
will at once offer such suggestions as my experience o f the sea may sug­
gest, hoping that in the process o f time some precious lives may be saved.
Every steamer should have the means o f shutting off steam from the
deck, and this I believe to be perfectly practicable. She should also have
the means of blowing off the water from the boilers, and consequently of
closing her blow-off cocks, from the deck, so as to avail herself o f the
buoyancy of her boilers in case of staving a hole in her. This was sug­
gested on the occasion of the loss o f the Arctic, and I entertain not the
least doubt but that this course, could it have been pursued, would have
caused that ship to float some time longer— an hour or two, more or less.
It is quite probable, also, that if the fore-hatch had been secured strongly,
instead of breaking out cargo to get at the breach, (whereby full vent was
given to the water,) she would have sunk more slowly.
The urgency of the public voice for water-tight bulkheads has, I trust,
settled the question as to their general adoption, and I presume that we
shall never see another ocean steamer built without them. They are
equally important in our large sound and lake steamers. But so preju­
diced are the minds o f some of our most experienced seamen on this sub­
ject, that it is difficult to convince them that a bulkhead in a wooden
steamer is of any use— because, forsooth, it is more subject to leak, and
more liable to be rendered useless by a severe collision, than an iron bulk­
head in an iron ship. It would be just as reasonable to argue that a
wooden ship is not reliable because she is more likely to leak than an iron
ship ! Iron is certainly a vastly more perfect material for a vessel than
wood, but while the cost of iron continues to be so much greater in the
outset than wood with us, we shall be slow to build iron ships, though, in
the long run, the iron ship will be found cheapest.
Supposing the steamer to have practically water-tight bulkheads, the
means of shutting off steam, and of blowing off her boilers, from the deck,
plenty of life-boats, life-preserver pontoons, a detachable roof to her din­




550

The Dangers o f the Seas and the Possible Remedies.

ing saloon, ■which might answer in a great emergency for a raft, she isslill
unsafe unless a thorough organization controls all her movements. This
organization must not be confined merely to appointing- certain men to
each boat, certain men to the fire-hose, certain men to the pumps; these
are matters of course, and I believe are generally in practice to some ex­
tent— not fully— not fully in any case that has come under my observa­
tion.
There are many minor points of fitting boats for service, which I believe
to be almost universally neglected.
Every boat should have a mast and sail, a compass, lantern, oil-can,
water-breaker, hatchet, port-fires, rockets, match-case, and canvas “ doug ” *
attached to her or kept close at hand to serve in case of sudden disaster,
as fire, collision ship with ship, or with ice, and each boat should have a
supply of preserved meats, bread, and spirits kept at hand for the time of
need.
A chest, lashed near each boat, containing the necessary tools, and an­
other containing the necessary stores, should be furnished to each boat,
marked and numbered. Each man appointed to his boat should know
exactly what oar he belongs to, and the most trusty must be stationed to
the lowering apparatus. This latter is very important, and while on this
subject let me say (at the risk of being called “ an old fogy ” ) that the
tackle which our great-grandfathers used, and which is generally used now
for lowering boats at sea, is a most dangerous contrivance 1 Every boat
should have a good tackle to hoist her up certainly, but not for the pur­
pose of lowering her. I can see many old salts prick up their ears and
ask— “ How then do you propose to lower the boats?” I answer— By
having a stout “ pennant,” a rope, say six or eight fathoms long, at each
end— stout in proportion to the weight it is intended to bear; as strong,
if you please, as the four parts of the fall would be as ordinarily fitted ;
when the boat is once hoisted up by the tackles, then reeve the “ pennant”
through a bull’s-eye o f lignum vitae, or through a roller and strap, haul
well taught and belay to two stout iron pins, in such manner that by a
double turn the heaviest boat can be lowered as easily as an anchor by
the “ ring stopper ” or the “ shank painter.”
When you come to lower a boat by a single rope in this way, any in­
telligent landsman can understand that there is no danger of fouling the
tackle by unkooking one before the other. Many cases have occurred,
where, in lowering boats in a hurry, the bow tackle has got unbooked too
soon, the boat has swung round and been swamped by the fouling o f the
after tackle. Lowering a boat at sea, the ship having some head or stern
way generally, is not always an easy or a safe operation. In lowering by
the pennants the ends can be let go at pleasure, or used as “ painters” as
may be expedient. This may be considered a trifling matter by some, who
* A simple “ doug,” or drag, for boats may be made and kept ready for the purpose o f keeping
them head to the sea, by taking a stout hoop, two-and-a-half to three feet in diameter; sew to this
a bag like a pudding-bag, say two or three teet long, ot canvas, and to the hoop attach a lanyard at
three equidistant parts, coming together in an eye or loop, to w hich the painter o f the boat may be
bent. Now, add a pound or two of lead to one side o f the hoop, just enough to sink it a little below
the surface. This makes a most complete, sale, and cheap “ doug ” In order to haul it in readily,
a “ tripping line” must be be bent to the small end of the bag, so as to reverse it, and haul it in
when necessary. The usual resource is to raft the oars or mast, and “ lay t o ” by them, but they
may thus be lost.
The “ Pudding-Bag Doug” is my own invention, and will be found very effective for small fisher­
men and others, who often resort to a “ doug ” made of spars with a small anchor aitacheu, in order
to “ lay to ” safely in heavy gales.




The Dangers o f the Seas and the Possible Remedies.

551

in tlieir confidence are supposed to be quite ready for all emergencies, and
some will say— “ This is nothing new.” I know it is not new, but the plan
is not common in American vessels, whether men-of-war or merchantmen.
It nevertheless ought to be generally adopted in all ships.
Some will smile at the idea of fitting every ship to sink gracefully and
with comparative safety to her passengers and crew, but we have had too
many cases of disaster within the last five years not to warn us that these
extra means are quite as necessary as ordinary pumps or any other regular
fixtures.
Metallic boats are no doubt very good for steamers, and indeed for all
ships, but they must be “ life-boats.”
No boat ought to be called a “ life-boat” unless her air-cases at the ends
are separate from the shell of the boat. Most of the metallic boats now
built are so constructed that a small puncture in the most vulnerable part
— the end—-very much impairs her safety as a life-boat, and reduces her
below the level of an ordinary wooden boat.
There is one great objection to metallic boats, (not copper,) and that is,
the fact that the compass is much deranged by the local attraction. No
one can tell the amount of suffering that may have been experienced, or
may at this moment be experienced, from this cause. There is a remedy
for this evil, by simply correcting the effect of the local attraction, just as
Captain Morris does in iron ships. To say nothing of correcting the com­
passes of the ship, generally conceded to be necessary, but not always
done, all boats should be fitted so as to be free from local attraction.
United States ships have sometimes copper boats— built of copper espe­
cially to get rid of local attraction, at great cost— galvanized iron is
stronger, and better, and cheaper for boats, and can be rendered quite free
from local attraction for a few dollars.
Ships’ boats, and especially those o f surveying vessels, are generally
quite unsafe during fogs, and may be lost at sea from the want o f a true
compass.
Very few of our sailing ships have their boats fitted for emergencies.
They should have mast and sail, and some little preparation for sudden
disasters.
It is true, that a seaman who lias ordinary ingenuity and a supply of
sail, needles, twine, rope, and time enough, can make a shift with a top­
gallant or a royal studding sail; but it would be much better to fit the
long-boat— and indeed all the boats— at the same time the ship is fitted,
with a simple lug sale, the tack coming to the mast so as not to require
“ dipping.”
The cost for a ship o f a thousand tons need not exceed a
hundred dollars, and might save a vast amount o f suffering. A word, in
passing, to boat builders. By common consent, since the days of Colum­
bus, boats’ rudders have been quite unmanageable in shipping, from the
simple fact that most of them have the pintles and gudgeons so arranged
that the coolest and most ingenious seaman can hardly put the rudder in
place, except at the “ d a v i d s t h e process is much like shipping a blind
on a house window, both hinges must be entered simultaneously ; and I see
no reason why a different arrangement should not apply to blinds as well
as boats’ rudders.
To go back to the more important matters, safety to the ship, I cannot
but consider, after all, that the graceful head and cutwater is useful as a
fender. I have known one case, the Europa, where the head and cutwa­




552

The Dangers o f the Seas and the Possible Remedies.

ter were eminently useful in taking the brunt of a serious collision. If
you will build ships, like the Collins steamers, without heads and cutwa­
ters, let them have false bows built specially in reference to receiving
shocks from fields of ice and other things.
The answer will no doubt be made by the builders and owners, “ that
they are as strong as wood and iron can make them forward.” No doubt
they are very strong among wooden ships, but the best wooden ship is
nothing but a “ basket of chips,” compared to our iron ship, well put to­
gether.
Take the Persia as an example. She is built of iron; she ran into a
field of ice, or a large piece o f field ice, on her first passage. She stood
the shock at the bow, and survived to come in with her paddle-wheel
rims twisted and broken, as if made of lead. I do not hesitate to say that
no wooden steamer, without water-tight bulkheads, could have stood that
shock; and with bulkheads, her chance of escape would have been very
small. If builders and owners o f steamers will insist on building of wood,
let us insist on the practicability of constructing the space occupied by
boilers and engines, so that if the ship should fill to the water-line before
and abaft this space, the water shall be excluded from boilers and engines.
And here again, I can hear engineers and seaman declare that it is impos­
sible. I cannot see it in that light. They will tell me that a communica­
tion must be kept up with the fore and main hold, so as to get coal to the
fires. Granted; but let the apertures be closed by solid iron doors shut­
ting upon india-rubber. It is quite practicable, and it ought to be done
in sea-going steamers, so as to promote safety in ease of a large leak. It
is true, we cannot expect to insure safety, but we ought to do all we can
to deserve it.
I cannot close these remarks without reiterating what I have several
times put into print in the newspapers— I mean the necessity for furnish­
ing every sailing ship, and more especially those which sail on long voy­
ages, with a chest of warm clothes, for the purpose of providing seamen
who have not had the means or the forethought to provide for themselves,
with something to keep off the chilling blasts of a winter’s coast. Many
of the serious losses which occur to our ships are caused directly or indi­
rectly by want of warm clothing. Sailors are proverbially improvident;
they ship in China or some other warm climate, sometimes regardless of
the fact that they are to meet the rigors of winter, and more frequently
perhaps without means to lay in warm clothes. The interest of the owner
calls upon him most imperatively to lay in a supply for such cases, at a cost
of say $200, to be served out, at cost, to those who are in want. Com­
mon humanity, not less than self-interest, demands this small outlay just
as much as a medicine chest or a supply of vinegar; yet there is not one
ship in a hundred, perhaps not one in five hundred, that has a slop chest.
If a shipmaster should go without pump leather or pump tacks, he would
be considered careless of his owner’s interest; but he may go without a
spare flannel shirt for his freezing men with perfect impunity.
Few more trying situations can be imagined than those of ships coming
into Boston Bay from China, India, and other warm countries during our
inclement season; they come from warm latitudes into our waters, and
become pinched and frozen for want of a little o f the money which has
been lavishly expended on ornamental w ork; the ship meets with a gale,
leaks; the men are worn out, partly from the want of warm clothes, and




Lectures on Mercantile Law :

553

the ship is blown off and abandoned. In some cases a good slop chest
would have saved her.
One word more on the subject of a frequent examination of the horizon
from aloft, and I have done.
The constant occurrence of abandonment of ships at sea, leaving the
crew on the ocean, ill supplied for the emergency, which we read of in
the newspapers, seems to call for a general rule to send a man aloft sev­
eral times a day to look for wrecks, or boats. This rule is adopted by
some shipmasters, and ought to be by all, particularly on the stormy
Atlantic.
We seldom read of boats buffeting the waves at sea, the hopeless crew
driven almost or quite to the last resource open to poor human nature to
sustain life, without seeing it recorded that on such a day “ a sail appeared
and passed within a few miles, without taking any notice of us.”
A boat, a mere speck upon the raging ocean, cannot be seen from a
ship’s deck, when the ship herself appears to the sufferers to be quite near
— but by sending a man aloft frequently, many cases of extreme hardship
would be relieved. Let every shipowner, then, give positive orders to take
this precaution. No seaman can be so heartless as to pass a wreck or a
boat at sea, without doing his utmost to save his fellow-men; yet the im­
putation is often cast upon the passing ship by those who perchance never
find relief.
R. b . f .

A r t . IV. — L E C T U R E S ON M E R C A N T I L E L A W *
NUMBER I.

PARTNERSHIP.

A p a r t n e r s h i p is defined to be a contract of two or more competent
persons to place their money, effects, labor, and skill, some or all of them,
in some lawful business, and to divide the profits and bear the loss in cer­
tain proportions. Persons in trade may be viewed as partners among
themselves, or as partners in relation to third persons. An ostensible part­
ner is one who holds his name out to the world as a partner. A nominal
partner is an ostensible partner who has no real interest in the firm. A
dormant partner is one who is not known to the world as a partner. Per­
sons may become liable to third parties as partners, either by legally con­
tracting the relation of partners among themselves, or by holding themselves
out to the world as such.
The contract between the parties themselves must be voluntary. No
new member can be admitted to a firm without the consent of all the
partners. It is not necessary that all the partners should contribute
money to the common stock. One may put in money, another his personal
services, his labor or skill in the business, and if they share the profits and
loss proportionably, and have a joint interest in the same, they will be
partners. It is essential to every partnership that there should be a com­
• Delivered at Corner’d Commercial College, Boston, by S u m ner A lb e e , Esq., o f the Suffolk bar
and now first published in the Merchants' Magazine.




554

Partnership.

munion of profit, and this also implies a communion of loss. One may,
however, be released from bearing any part o f the loss by an express stip­
ulation to that effect. By a communion of profits is meant a joint and
mutual interest in them. Two persons may each have an interest in the
same business, and yet not be partners. For example, if two persons per­
form a piece of work together, and the money received for it is not em­
ployed on their joint account, but is divided equally between them, each
having only an individual interest in it, they are not partners. If two per­
sons jointly share the profits o f any trade or adventure, each having a joint
interest in the same, they are partners; but if one acts merely as the ser­
vant of the other and agrees to take a share of the profits as wages, having
no other interest in the business, they are not partners.
A person may stipulate not to be a partner, and by the same instrument
he may enter such a contract as by law constitutes a partnership. He
will then become liable to third persons as a partner, notwithstanding his
attempts to avoid such liability. If a person suffers his name to be used
in a business, or otherwise holds himself out as a partner, he is so to be
considered, whatever may be the agreement between himself and the other
partners.
The common law admits of no partnerships with a restricted responsi­
bility; but in some of the United States provision has been made by
statute for what is termed a limited partnership. In the formation of such
partnerships, however, care must be taken that all the requirements o f the
statute are substantially complied with, for otherwise the members will
all be liable as general partners.
The law fixes no time at which a partnership must be dissolved, leaving
that to be regulated by the parties themselves. A partnership at will
endures so long as the parties live and are capable o f continuing it, unless
they choose sooner to dissolve it. A partnership for a term endures for
the term, provided the parties live and no legal obstacle is interposed to
prevent. No partnership will legally continue beyond the life of the par­
ties, unless some express provision is made for it in the contract. A part­
nership at will may be dissolved by the express desire, or by the bank­
ruptcy, felony, or death of any o f the partners. In case of insolvency, the
partnership is dissolved by operation of law. When the members of a
firm are subjects of two different governments, the partnership is dissolved
by the occurrence of war between the two governments. A partnership
for a term may be dissolved before the expiration of the term by mutual
consent of the parties, by a decree of a court of equity, or by the felony or
death of one or more o f the partners. A partnership once entered into is
presumed to continue, as to third persons, until notice o f the dissolution is
given. Upon the death of a partner, however, it is not necessary to give
express notice of the dissolution.
The real interest of a partner in the partnership property is his share of
the surplus, after the partnership accounts are settled and all just debts
paid. There is in law a cessation of the partnership trade on the death of
a partner, and the survivor deals with the property finally, from necessity,
and somewhat in the character o f a trustee.
When partners purchase real estate for the purposes of the partnership,
it is usually conveyed to them as tenants in common, and they own it in
their partnership capacity. On the death o f one partner, his interest in
the real estate descends to his heirs, but so much o f it as is necessary must




Lectures on Mercantile L a w :

555

first be applied to the settlement of partnership accounts. On the dissolu­
tion of a partnership, in order to ascertain the respective shares o f each
partner in the capital, it is necessary to know in what manner the interests
of the partners are distributed, either by virtue of their own agreement or
by operation of law. Where one contributes money and the other labor,,
and there are no partnership articles, it is often difficult to decide what
are the respective shares o f each. The labor and money are sometimes so
interwoven as to give him who contributes nothing but labor a share in
the principal. For example, if A buys a thousand dollars’ worth of wool,
and B makes it into cloth, both will have an interest in the cloth; and if
B’s labor be valued at a thousand dollars, an equal interest.
Each partner must necessarily place unlimited confidence in the others.
This confidence is so necessary, that each partner is bound to have the
same diligence, carefulness, and anxiety even, for the results of the various
ventures, as he would if the profits and losses were entirely his own. Con­
sequently, not only gross frauds, but all intrigues for private benefit, are
clearly offenses against the partnership at large. There is an implied ob­
ligation among partners to use the property of the partnership for the
benefit of those whose property it is. A partner, as well as a trustee,
ought to pursue the tenor of his way, honestly and fairly managing the
effects he holds in trust, without laboring either directly or indirectly for
his own personal advantage. If he takes the funds o f the firm, and, as an
individual, applies them to any profitable speculation, he must not only
charge himself with the money in the books of the firm, and pay the firm
interest on it, but he is in duty bound also to account for the profits of the
maney so applied.
As it is the duty of each partner to devote himself to the interests of
the concern, it follows that he must do so without any compensation,
unless it be especially agreed that he shall be paid. And no partner has
a right to engage in any business or speculation which would deprive the
partnership of a portion of his skill, industry, or capital. In all ordinary
matters the powers of the partners are co-extensive. As one partner can­
not exclude another from the exercise of his partnership rights, so he
ought not in any way to transgress the ordinary privileges of a partner in
the management of the affairs of the firm, such as ordering expensive re­
pairs, and the like.
One partner has an implied authority to bind the firm by contracts re­
lating to the partnership business, whether such contracts be ordinary
agreements or the giving of bills or other negotiable securities. Partners
are universally bound by what is done by each other in the ordinary course
of business. This is as much for the advantage o f the partners themselves
as for the protection of third persons. Generally, one partner may pledge
the credit of the firm to any amount, and the rule is applicable both to
dormant and nominal partners. Any arrangement the partner's may make
between themselves cannot, of course, limit their responsibility to third
persons, unless the latter assent to the arrangement. But where the cred­
itor has express notice o f a private arrangement between the partners, by
which the power of one of them is restricted, he must abide by such ar­
rangement.
The most common instances o f partnership liability are those where
loans, purchases, sales, assignments, or pledges, are effected by one on the
partnership account. Such transactions, if done in good faith and in the




556

Partnership.

regular course of business, are binding on the firm. If money were ac­
tually borrowed by one partner on the credit of the firm, in the regular
course of the business of the firm, it will make no difference in regal'd to
the liability of the other members, that the borrowing partner has misap­
plied it. A sale of goods to one partner in the regular course o f business
is a sale to the firm; and the seller will not be affected by any fraudulent
intent on the part o f the purchaser, unless he (the seller) has been guilty
of collusion. It is within the general scope of authority for one partner
to sell and dispose o f all the partnership goods in the regular course of
business; but he cannot sell the real estate of the firm without special au­
thority from the other partners. One partner may also mortgage the per­
sonal property of the firm without the knowledge of the other members. If
a partner draw, indorse, or accept a bill of exchange, or make a promissory
note, in the name of the firm, it will be binding on the firm in the hands
of a bona fide holder. A partner may be liable on a bill of exchange ne­
gotiated in the name of the firm, although his own name individually is
not used in the firm, and of course does not appear on the instrument; and
it has been held that the indorsement of a bill by a partner, although not
in the name of the firm, will nevertheless be binding on the firm, if it be
proved that there has been a habit of so indorsing their bills. It seems
now to be pretty well settled that one partner is not authorized to bind the
firm by the guaranty of a debt of a third person, without special authority
for that purpose, or an authority to be implied from the common course of
business, or the previous course of dealing between the parties, unless the
guaranty be afterwards adopted and acted upon by the firm.
Generally speaking, the acknowledgment, promise, or undertaking of
one partner, in reference to the transactions of the partnership, is the ac­
knowledgment, promise, or undertaking of all. So an admission of one
of two partners, relative to partnership transactions which occurred during
the existence of the firm, is competent evidence to charge the other part­
ner, though it would not be conclusive against him. One partner will be
liable in respect o f the particular undertakings of his co-partner, made
with reference to business transacted by the firm. But one partner can­
not bind another in a matter wholly unconnected with the business of the
partnership. For instance, in a firm whose business is strictly confined to
the buying and selling of dry goods, one partner would have no implied
authority to bind the firm by purchase o f bank or railroad stock, without
their knowledge or assent.
A partner has an implied authority to effect insurance for the firm, but
he cannot bind the firm by a submission to arbitration. One partner will
be bound by the fraud of his co-partner in transactions relating to the
partnership made with third persons, if the latter act in good faith. It
must be borne in mind, however, that the fraud must have been committed
in relation to the regular business o f the partnership ; for one partner can­
not make his co-partner liable in relation to any fraudulent transactions
outside of the regular partnership business. This doctrine can in no case
more properly be insisted on than where fraud has been effected by means
of negotiable securities; and a promissory note, negotiated through the
fraud of one of the partners, is, nevertheless, binding on the firm in the
hands of one who has purchased it for a valuable consideration, without
notice of the fraud. But it must be remembered that in all cases where
the firm is bound by the fraud of one partner, the acts of the fraudulent




Commerce and Industry o f Austria.

55 1

partner must have been committed in liis capacity of partner. If the fraud
be committed by one in his own individual right, and the other partners
have no knowledge of the transaction, the firm will not be liable. In the
case of torts committed by one co-partner, the others would not be neces­
sarily bound by his acts, unless they in some way become parties to it,
from their own misconduct in joining in the wrong.

Art. V.— COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF AUSTRIA*
T he Commerce of Austria consists almost exclusively in the trade of
the interior. The system o f prohibition, adhered to till 1853, formed a
monopoly for agriculture, and operated as a check upon the extension of
foreign Commerce. W hile it shielded the owners o f large estates, en­
dowed with feudal privileges, against the competition of the free labor of
neighboring countries, it also discouraged foreign vessels from visiting the
ports of Austria. They did not always find it sufficiently profitable to
enter her harbors with ballast for the purpose o f loading Austrian grain,
to be obtained only for cash. Thus the produce of her soil had to remain
in the country, which accounts for the cheapness of provisions and wages,
and for the low price of the few manufactures in which Austria was able to
acquire proficiency; but it also accounts for the fact that they found no
market abroad. The upshot o f all this was an extreme scarcity of capital,
which retarded the construction o f internal improvements, the substitution
of machinery for manual labor, and the development of the national re­
sources generally. Prohibition did for Austria what free trade once ac­
complished for unfortunate Poland— it brought her to the fearful preci­
pice of national insolvency. Both agricultural states, the one attempted
to elevate industry, while monopolies stifled Commerce; the other neg­
lected industry completely, giving the most licentious encouragement to for­
eign manufactures. Under the Austrian system the resources of the land be­
came stagnant, while the free trade of the Polish nobles impoverished
their country by drainage. Of the two evils the former is, after all, the
least to he dreaded. Upon the fundamental evil— the great monopoly
extended to landed estates— grew, like mushrooms upon corruption, a
multitude of minor monopolies, privileges, abuses, and restrictions, so ab­
surd and senseless, that it is sometimes hardly possible to conceive what
their original purpose was.
W e find, for instance, that the Austrian mercantile fleet is divided into
several classes. The first class, being vessels of the largest tonnage, enjoys
the privilege of navigating all seas and visiting every country of the globe.
The second class, being of less capacity, is only permitted to sail for the
ports of the Mediterranean ; while a third class is restricted to Austrian
ports, and other still smaller vessels cannot go beyond the limits of a cer­
tain province. These absurd restrictions can only be accounted for when
* This article was originally published in the North American and United States Gazette. We
have published more recent statistics o f the Commerce, &c., o f Austria. The views, however, o f the
writer, will command the attention o f the merchant, the statesman, and the political economist.—
Ed. Merck. Mag.




558

Commerce and Industry o f Austria.

considered in tlieir relation to the detrimental consequences o f the abovementioned policy of the government, the necessity of a larger class of
vessels being at one time as deeply felt as the scarcity of capital which
prevented their construction. The expedient presented itself of conferring
a privilege on the greater capacity for tonnage, by relieving it from the
competition of smaller craft, with a view of inducing capitalists to invest
their means in the building o f the former. Such is the origin of that
senseless classification o f the Austrian marine, which as yet has not been
abolished. That under such influences progress was out of the question is
very obvious. Nor are these the only obstacles in the way of the devel­
opment of foreign Commerce. All the harbors and ports o f Austria are
situated on the Adriatic, which sea forms her only outlet into the Medi­
terranean, and hence into the ocean. Hut the Adriatic is by no means
free. It so happens that Great Britain has got possession of all the im­
portant and fortified islands which command its entrance. Fano, Corfu,
and Taxo, besides the Ionian Islands— which latter guard also, the bays of
Patras and Lepanto, thus dictating the law of Commerce to Greece—
completely blockade the narrows of the Adriatic. It is in the power of
England to annihilate with a single blow the Commerce of Austria, and
this constitutes another and most potent check upon the progress of the
latter. It renders it extremely unsafe to invest capital in maritime enter­
prise, as with the unforeseen occurrence of a political collision, every ves­
sel out at sea would surely be captured in the attempt to reach the Adri­
atic ports.
If, therefore, Austria intends to fortify her position on the Mediterra­
nean, she cannot possibly devise and pursue a more effectual plan than to
create a mutuality o f interests between herself and the United States, such
as may eventually impose, through the prestige o f the latter as the greatest
commercial, and an efficient naval power, a moral check upon the arbi­
trary practices resulting from the overgrown naval preponderance of the
British. It is the mission of the United States, and a peaceful one it is,
to supply the world with the most important and indispensable rawr materials
which enter into the use of civilized nations. Among them are rice, cotton,
&c., the consumption of which is on a constant and rapid increase. Austria
cannot produce these, and America rules their market value. The indus­
try of the former is just beginning to develop itself, and no measure could
therefore be adopted by the Austrian government more judicious and pro­
pitious in a commercial as well as political point of view, than that of
stimulating with all the means in its power the Commerce with the United
States. And so far as we are ourselves interested in the subject, the ad­
vantage to be derived from treaties o f Commerce, securing to our vessels
privileges in the ports in the Adriatic, in return for tho-e granted to Aus­
trian vessels in American harbors, is a matter of no inconsiderable impor­
tance. A rumor has been circulated in Europe to the effect that the
United States were about acquiring one of the islands of the Grecian
Archipelago as a coal depot and foothold in the Mediterranean. Whether
this be so or not, we shall not stop to examine. Certain it is, however,
that our present, and still more our future commercial interests, require a
strong support in that important sea, but it is equally certain that this
support need not partake in any way of a military character. To accom­
plish the object in view, to establish liberal principles of maritime law, in
order to prevent unwarranted interruption of commercial relations, noth­




Commerce and Industry o f Austria.

559

ing else is required for such of the Mediterranean States as are too feeble
at sea to resist the pressure o f other more powerful maritime nations, than
thus to invite and attract foreign Commerce. The process will be an
equitable, fair, and peaceful one, and not the less powerful for that reason
in its effects and consequences. No mode of pacification is more impres­
sive than that which appeals to the material interests of nations.
The marine of Austria numbered, in 1849, 6,083 vessels, representing a
total capacity of 260,000 tons; the number o f sailors was at that time
estimated at 27,000. In 1851 the number of vessels amounted to 9,750,
inclusive o f thirty steamers. Their tonnage was 270,000; the mariners
had increased to 34,000. The navy is hut insignificant. Six frigates form
the largest class of vessels, besides which there are, in all, about one hun­
dred brigs, schooners, and gunboats, carrying together, no more than 7 50
guns.
The Commerce of Austria, as we remarked before, is chiefly interior.
Its most important central markets are Vienna, Linz, Saltzburg, Trauge,
Brunn, Olmutz, Milan, Brescia, Verona, &c. The foreign Commerce was—
In 1 8 3 1 ..................... guilders
In 1847....................................
In 1850....................................

Imports.

Exports.

69,000,000
133,700,000
163,417,000

79,500,000
116,685,000
111,038,000

Total.

148,500,000
250,385,000
274,465,000

In 1850 the duty paid upon the imports amounted to 19,797,000 guil­
ders. The trade in 1850 was, with the
German Zollverein.. .guilders
Italy.........................................
Turkey.....................................
Switzerland.............................
Russia.......................................

Imports.

Exports.

51,898,000
19,250,000
18,845,000
3,126,000
6,783,700

32,209,000
12,000,000
11,699,000
19,787,000
6,774,700

Total.

84,107,000
31,250,000
80,742,000
22,913,000
13,558,000

The transit Commerce amounts to about 80,000,000 annually.
W e have given the reason why the manufactures of Austria, notwith­
standing their extreme cheapness, have found abroad but a limited market.
W e shall now state in what particular branches she has succeeded in com­
peting with more efficient manufacturing nations. Cloth, merino shawls,
printed cotton goods, and a great variety of articles of luxury, are pro­
duced in great excellence in and near Vienna. Milan and Venice, besides
other towns of Lombardy, furnish silk manufactures. Moravia, Silesia,
and Bohemia have acquired a high reputation for the manufacture of glass
and crystal wares, linen and woolen goods. Steirmark and Karnten are
the seat of the iron and steel industry, as well as that o f other metals.
The principal exports of Austria consist in wool and silk goods to the
amount of 25,000,000 guilders annually; in linen, linen yarn, printed
cotton goods, and glass and crystal manufactures. The total value of the
production of the manufacturing industry amounts, however, to no more
than twelve hundred millions of guilders yearly. The estimated value of
iron and steel manufactures is 54,000 guilders. An immense quantity of
jewelry, watches, &c., is produced in Vienna, Milan, Venice, and Prague.
Of chemical preparations Austria furnishes 55,000,000, of glass and crys­
tal manufactures 18,000,000, o f china ware, Fayence, Ac., 11,500,000.
Austria is also skilled in the construction of musical instruments. The
manufacture of linen and hemp goods has considerably decreased, in spite
of the advantages of a superabundant production o f raw material. This




560

Commerce with Egypt and Arabia.

is owing to the lack of capital for the introduction of machinery. The
value o f the raw material used annually for linen goods, is 52,000,000,
that of the manufactures to 131,000,000, of which 60,000,000 are export­
ed to foreign markets. The woolen manufactures represent a total value
of 106,500,000, o f which 45,000,000 are in the article of cloth. The
cotton industry is on the increase. From 1831 to 1836 the consumption
of raw material doubled; in 1845 it was four times larger, and in 1850
five times. In 1850 Austria had two hundred cotton factories, employing
29,000 m en ; which figures do not include tnose engaged in the various
dyeing and printing establishments. The value of cotton manufactures is
estimated at 80,000,000, and that of imported raw material at 20,500,000
guilders. Silk and silk goods represent the sum of 60,000,000.
Austria will never escape from her insolvent condition until she succeeds
in freeing her industry and Commerce from the detrimental influences of
those remnants of the feudal system which suggested and supported the
monopoly of agriculture.

Art. VI.— COMMERCE WITH EGYPT AND ARABIA.
T he shortening of the passage to the shores of the Indo-Australian
Ocean, has occupied for the last sixty years the politicians and the mer­
chants of both France and England. The present peace and the declining
dread of England’s jealousy no doubt will give rise to many a scheme of
this nature, not only in France, but also in Austria and Italy. The same
path, on which, fifty-eight years ago, destruction threatened to overreach
the British power in India, serves now, since 1834, to strengthen and to
quicken it. This, the so-called overland route, will attain the height of
its efficiency when the railroad between the Mediterranean and the Red
Sea— of which but fifty miles are wanting— is finished, and the passage
reduced to twelve hours, which a few years back took three days’ time.
The Anglo-French Company, which bought lately the five steamers from
the General Screw Steamship Company, for the purpose of opening a di­
rect steam communication with India and Australia, in competition with
the Peninsular and Oriental Company, is one of the new enterprises. The
French, in want of the political and commercial support in those distant
parts, took to the co-partnership with the British, and the latter are green
enough to lead their rivals the way to their commercial fastnesses.
Actuated by the same impulse, the Austrian Lloyd Society is devising
an extension of their postal lines to the Indian Ocean by way o f the Red
Sea, and Genoese merchants (S. M. & G.) already in 1849 were brooding
over a plan to get their supply of pepper (some 30,000 bags) direct from
Sumatra, and also the Mocha coffee (some 10,000 sacks) direct from
Arabia.
The trade in Sumatra pepper, Mocha coffee, and Indo-Malazan produces
in the Mediterranean, is now wholly in our possession. The gigantic round­
about of over 20,000 miles these goods have to perform, round the Cape
to our shores, and hence to the Mediterranean, and the excess of expense
incurred by such mismanagement on the one side, and on the other the
fact that Singapore is distant from Suez (the port o f Cairo and the ter­




Commerce with Egypt and Arabia.

561

minus of the above mentioned railroad) hardly 5,600 miles, and Mocha,
or llodieda, but 1,000 ; these considerations, I say, ought to awaken our
traders’ minds to the precarious tenure on which they hold this important
branch of commerce. Fortunately, the merchants in the Mediterranean
are not very b old ; their device, contrary to our “ go ahead,” is chi va
piano va sano. So, first, they got scared by Louis Napoleon’s boldness,
then by the Montenegrin rebellion, and lately by the Russian w ar; but
they might take courage now, and then our imports into the Mediterranean
would soon be reduced to very small dimensions.
The only way to prevent the inconvenience of a competition from this
quarter, would be to take the lead in the dreaded innovation, in the way
I shall indicate to the party who might be inclined to act on my views in
this matter.
To bring in always closer connection the producer and the consumer,
is the axiom which every enterprising merchant has to adopt n ow a­
days ; for admitting even the daily increase o f our wants, yet competition
penetrates the faster everywhere with her enlightening flame, destroying
here a loose established concern, in order there to sustain and to enlarge
the enterprise founded on truth and intelligence. Although most o f the
merchants stick to “ routine ” and old trodden paths, this axiom is not the
less true, nor the contrary demonstrated by facts such as above mentioned.
Such anomalies cannot last in our progressive, steaming century. More­
over, it becomes the commercial supremacy we justly boast of, to extend
our feelers in all directions over the globe, because the prosperous state of
trade and navigation we attained by continued exercise and progress, must
be maintained also by the same agency. The world’s trade is an endless
chain, of which every link is of importance to the power which knows
the use of it.
Egypt is important not only as a grain and cotton growing country, but
also because the Nile, its fertilizer, is the most accessible highroad to the
interior of Africa. It is surprising to see that American trade and enter­
prise have not yet reached a country which forms the connecting link be­
tween Europe and Asia, and which as such has so much attracted the in­
tellectual minds of the old continent.
Egypt is accessible to our trade, both by the Mediterranean and the Red
Sea. The navigation o f the Egyptians on the latter is in its childhood
yet, and in the former seven-eighths of it are in the hands of foreigners.
There is no reason why our merchants and shippers should not enter into
successful competition with the host o f English and foreign traders who
are now gathering wealth from the Levant trade. It is only necessary to
make a beginning, to open commercial relations with Alexandria, in order
to be convinced that there is in that part o f the world a most inviting
field for American enterprise.
W e receive, at present, the produce o f Egypt, both in a natural and
artificial state, by way of Trieste, Leghorn, Marseilles and Liverpool; and
Egypt, on the other hand, receives the American produces by way of
Malta and Smyrna ; so tobacco, flour, and salt provisions by the former,
and rum by the latter place.
The Salem vessels have visited Mocha since 1810 ; they extended this
trade lately some degrees farther north up to llodieda and Massawah, and
no doubt they would go the whole distance if they were aware of the fact
that Sumatra pepper and coffee, Straits tin and Java rum sell as well

VOL. xxxiv.— no. v.




36

562

Commerce with Egypt and Arabia.

and as readily in Egypt as in Asia Minor or in Italy, and also that Egyptian
grains and dates, camels and horses, Arabian soda and salt, dried fishes,
dried fruits, and Mocha coffee, would not be the less saleable in Australia.
But then this Mocha trade is a speciality with which the Salem folks are
highly satisfied as it is, and they do not care to make it more lucrative
by extending it to Egypt and Australia, so long as there is no reliable
American establishment in Egypt to make such an enterprise feasible.
Agriculture is in a backward state, and the mechanical inventions by
which the resources of a rich soil are developed in largest measure, are al­
most unknown in Egypt. If American enterprise should be directed to the
introduction of better modes o f cultivation and of our various labor-saving
machines, it would speedily find its reward in a large demand for the pro­
duct of American genius and industry. The improvements most wanted
are cotton-gins, flax-dressers, rice-hullers, oil-presses, water-pumps, mills,
distilling apparatus, &c.
Alexandria receives her ice now from Trieste; the shipping and the stor­
age are managed badly ; and hardly one-eighth of the quantity originally
shipped is sold, and it fetches the enormous price o f 7^c. the pound, (four
piasters the oka.)
Large quantities of New England cotton cloths go annually to Smyrna
and to Mocha and Aden. In Egypt English shirtings are called “ Mereekaan," and in Arabia “ Moorehknee,” in acknowledgment o f the superiori­
ty of the American article; and yet not one single bale of American man­
ufacture has been sent there directly, although the Nile Valley, with its
unbounded back country, promises to become as good a customer as Asia
Minor or Arabia. England furnished Egypt, up to this day, exclusively
with machinery, arms, and steam vessels; and several English houses in
Alexandria built colossal fortunes on such contracts.
Alexandria may be considered again the capital of Egypt, as it was at
the time of the father of the present governor-general. It is the most an­
cient commercial emporium, and promises to regain its former rank by
the concessions accorded by the Sultan to the English and French for
uniting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea by canal or railroad ; which
latter will be open to trade, it is said, next year. On the final opening to
navigation of the ship canal, proposed by Messrs. Lesseps & Linant, I have
some well-founded doubts. Linant, the author of the ill-reputed Nile
“ barrages,” is rather weak in hydraulics. He was but an engineer’s
draughtsman when he commenced his professional career in Egypt. So is
Lesseps in politics and navigation. This latter, in his aversion to the Brit­
ish, proposes to open the East Indies to the Mediterranean merchant fleet
and to European immigration; but he minds not that all the English
would lose, the crafty Greeks— the sympathizers with and the peons o f
Russia—-would gain. Already three-quarters o f the trade of Egypt, nay,
of all Turkey, is in the hands of the Greeks, and it would be rather foolish
to use artificial means to make them grow and prosper the faster. Then
the construction o f artificial seaports on both termini of the proposed ca­
nal, very likely would become a sink o f money far worse than Spain, Mex­
ico, and the “ barrages” into the bargain.
Alexandria, in 1798, had but 6,000 inhabitants. Mohamet Aaly, the
founder of the present dynasty, got hold o f the reins of government in
Egypt by assassinating his predecessor, Mohamet Pacha, and secured them
afterwards by butchering the Mamelukes in Cairo. The crafty Arnaout-




Commerce with E gypt and Arabia.

563

chieftain dreaded the sojourn in the giant city o f the Moslem world, where
treason is so easily carried out. So he took himself to Alexandria, where
the— then not unfrequent— bearers of bowstring and velvet purse could be
more closey watched. The Nile-branch and the canal, which in the time
of the Ptolemies served to carry the produce o f the interior and of distant
India to this city, were then filled with the desert sand, and the goods had
now to be carried down the river to Rosetta, and from there either by sea
or by land, according to wind and weather, to the shipping port of Alex­
andria. Mohamet Aaly, in order to render to his chosen residence its an­
cient splendor and trade, re-opened the canal to the N ile; but since the
opening of the railroad from Alexandria to Cafl'er-Lyss on the Nile, this
canal has lost much of its value for transportation, and serves now mainly
for irrigation.
In 1834, Alexandria had already 60,000 inhabitants. Though it then
lost one-third of its population by the great plague (which has not re­
appeared since,) it continued to progress, and counts now over 200,000
souls. There is no doubt this number will increase still, and may reach
half a million in ten years after the Suez Railroad shall be opened to
trade, which will pour into that city— already the most important com­
mercial place in the Levant— along with the produces of the valley and
the interior, also those of Arabia, India, and the East coast of Africa.
The central position of Alexandria in the Old W orld gives to its trade an
universal character, to which both Trieste and Marseilles vainly aspire;
and this is the cause o f the continued increase of the modern town, in
spite of the inertness and sluggishness of its inhabitants, or rather in spite
o f their fatalism, and the want of energy and enterprise arising therefrom.
This fatalism, the dismal growth of the Koran, is the spell which hangs over
fated Turkey, and which keeps all its faculties dormant. The true believer
scorns improvement; he makes it his glory to walk in the footsteps o f his
ancestors, and quite incomprehensible to him is the commercial bustle of
the unbelievers. The produce of his luxuriant soil is just as coarsely pre­
pared for market, and with as much want of labor and material, too, as it
was done in the time o f the Patriarchs; and the shipping is entirely in
the hands of foreigners. What is it to the Moslem whereto his grains g o—
wherefrom the pepper for his “ pillaw” comes— by what vessel— with how
much profit ? Money interest is sinful to him, and a hole in the garden the
safe o f his fortune— the acquisition or diminution o f which is written and
unchangeable.
Cobden stole the idea of free trade from the Turks; and well do the
merchant powers of Europe, to keep Turkey— the holy land of commer­
cial liberty— out of the reach o f mischief, as long as it can be done. Egypt
is the most advanced in civilization of the provinces of modern Turkey ;
the rights of strangers are better respected there than in countries pro­
fessing a far higher enlightenment, and commerce is not fettered by any
oppressive rules. In this particular, the liberal spirit of the so-called bar­
barous powers appears to great advantage, compared with the civilized
governments of Europe. In Cuba, for instance, under the dominion of a
Christian monarch, commerce is fettered by the most absurd and oppres­
sive rules; while in Egypt, a Turkish province, commerce is left free and
unrestrained. The “ Frenghee,” (an appellative which includes also the
Anglo Saxons of both hemispheres,) wants no license to settle anywhere
in E gypt; besides the toll on export or import, neither local nor States




564

Commerce with E gypt and Arabia.

dues are exacted from him ; then, although on foreign ground, he stands
under the protection of the laws o f his own country administered by the
representative of his government, excepting, in cases of murder, coinage,
or high treason, which are left to the decision o f the local authority.
Respect to strangers, liberty o f trade and action, the high productive­
ness of the soil, a far extending water conveyance, a healthy climate, and
in these last twenty years, to a greater extent also, the opening o f the
overland route, have filled Alexandria and Cairo with foreign commercial
and industrial establishments from all parts o f Europe ; and yet, strange
to say, the greatest commercial nation of the world has not even a paltry
agency there.
The late Mr. Gliddon, an English merchant, the first U. S. Consul (with
$2000 salary,) made an attempt, shortly before his death, to open a business
relation with the city. If the succession to the charge had been intrusted
to a plain merchant, no doubt the experiment would have been renewed,
and successfully, t o o ; but, unfortunate’y, a squandering administration of
late made Alexandria the seat of a consul general (political agent) with
prohibition to trade, for no other earthly purpose apparently but just to
create a sinecure, as part o f the spoils, to be bestowed for electioneering
services, without reference to merit or capacity for the charge.
Alexandria may be assimilated with the Crescent City, both in its com­
mercial and geographical position; the difference being only in the
source of their respective water conveyances— the Nile rising under the
equator, and the Mississippi in the frozen north. The valleys of both these
rivers, the largest o f the world, produce cotton, cereals, and sugar; and for
the drugs, the dyes, the coffee, and the ivory peculiar to the one, the other
produces lumber, naval stores, and salt provisions, all o f which are conve­
nient articles of exchange. There are some striking contrasts in the phy­
sical features of the two valleys. Mechanical and industrial skill is in its
infancy in the regions of the Nile ; the improvements in agriculture as de­
veloped by the new labor-saving machines which modern genius has pro­
duced, and the superior mode o f cultivating the soil which modern science,
and particularly agricultural chemistry, has introduced, are all unknown
to the Egyptians. By way of offset, however, the Nile is a perennial fer­
tilizer, better than all the artificial composts and manure of the world, and
labor is what may be called “ dog-cheap.” Yet, notwithstanding these
incomparable advantages of soil and climate, the production of the great
staple common to both countries, costs 20 per cent more in Egypt than
in the Valley of the Mississippi. This alone shows what an immense ad­
vantage the setting to work of a suitable cotton gin in Egypt would g iv e;
then this difference in the cost of production is solely to be ascribed to the
waste of time and labor in the separation o f the cotton from the seeds.
The largest and richest portion of Egypt is in possession of the descend­
ants of Mohamet Aaly, some half a score in number, averaging each an
income o f about $200,000 a year. These Turkish landholders are generally
well-disposed to foreigners, and encourage and patronize all kinds o f im­
provements ; and the various inventions o f machinery which have been put
to practical use here, will be gladly welcomed in Egypt. The introduction
of these articles alone into that fertile and prolific country, would be a
source o f incalculable wealth to the enterprising speculator.
In exchange for our various productions, we would receive from Egypt
barley, linseed, cotton seed for sowing; cotton, wool, natron, salt, and salt­




Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States.

565

petre ; gums, rosins, and senna leaves; rags, junk ropes, refuse flax ; hides,
skins, horns ; dried dates, &c.
Merchants genei ally are much inclined to follow rather the lead of others,
than to launch out for themselves in untried enterprises, however strong
maybe the inducements and rational the expectation of reward. Still, I
trust, here more than elsewhere, enterprising traders may be found who will
venture on a ground where the prospect of gain is inviting enough, and
where there is a positive assurance of the safety of person and property.
e . w.

Art. ¥11.— COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OP THE U. STATES.
NUM BER

X L II.

B A N G O R , M A IN E .
T he city and port of Bangor, in the State o f Maine, (the most eastern
in the Union,) is situated on the right bank of the Penobscot River, about
sixty miles from its mouth ; and, according to the Gazetteers, in latitude
44° 47' 50" north, longitude 68° 47' west.
It is 66 miles east-northeast
from Augusta, 116 west from Eastport, 126 northeast from Portland, 231
northeast from Boston, and 601 northeast from Washington. The city is
on both sides of the Kenduskeag River, which here enters the Penobscot.
The former river is about 5 SO feet wide, and is crossed by several bridges,
connecting the two parts of the city. A fall in the Kenduskeag River,
about a mile from its mouth, affords extensive water-power. A short dis­
tance above the city a bridge, 1,320 feet long, extends across the Penob­
scot, connecting Bangor with the town o f Orringford. The harbor of the
port, below the mouth of the Kenduskeag, is some 500 yards wide, and at
high tide (which rises 17 feet) is of sufficient depth for vessels o f the
largest size.
The distinguishing industrial feature of Bangor is its lumber trade. It
is one of the largest lumber depots in the world. The large extent of
country drained by the Penobscot and its tributaries is heavily timbered
with pine, the cutting and hauling of which to the numerous saw-mills,
that everywhere line the banks of the rivers, afford the principal occupa­
tion of the hardy inhabitants in that region. The vast amount o f the
various kinds of lumber which these mills annually produce is all brought
to Bangor for exportation, this port being at the head of navigation on
the Penobscot. Nearly 2,000 vessels are annually employed in the trade
during the season of navigation, which is open eight or nine months in
the year. The quantity of lumber surveyed during the year 1853 was
182,942,284 feet.
In 1S55, a committee of the Mercantile Association of Bangor was ap­
pointed to collect statistics of the trade of that city. That committee
made a report through their chairman, I s a ia h S tetson , Esq., at the annual
meeting held on the 10th of April, 1856. From an official copy of the
report, furnished to our hands by G. K. J ew ett , Esq., the President of the
Association, we gather the subjoined statistics. The committee report
that they ascertained the quantity and value o f the leading articles of




566

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

exportation from that city, with the exception o f long lumber, from the
lumber dealers and others, who responded to the request o f the committee
for the requisite information. They estimated the shipments of long lum­
ber from the quantity surveyed the past season, as returned to the Sur­
veyor-General’s office, deducting the amount now on hand, agreeably to
the estimates o f several of the principal dealers.
The number of feet of lumber surveyed in the season 1855 was as fol­
lows :—
Pine.

123,026,157

Spruce.

78,337,283

Hemlock.

10,305,753

Total.

211,679,193

O f this quantity it is estimated there is now on hand (March, 1856,) say
30,000,000 feet of pine, 2,000,000 feet of spruce, 1,000,000 hemlock.
The following table shows the amount of shipments from the p ort:—Feet of pine..............................................................
Feet o f spruce..........................................................
Feet of hemlock......................................................
Total.....................
Shingles.........................
Clapboards...................
L a th s ...........................
P ick ets.........................
Tons o f juniper timber.
Ship knees....................
Tons o f pine timber....
Masts and spars...........
Railroad sleepers.........
Cedar p o s ts .................
Cords of hemlock bark
Fish barrels.................
Bricks.............................
Sides of sole leather..
Tons of roofing slate..
Tons o f pig ir o n .........

93,026,157
76,337,283
9,305,753
178.669,193
116,449,000
6,789.675
75,151,700
2,693,000
5,192
37,258
1,713
46,500
30.359
6.734
62,000
11,470,000
96,204
1,740
1,278

Showing a total value o f...............................................................

$1,116,313 88
610,698 26
65,140 27
$1,792,152
402,235
149,265
101,353
23,911
38,522
70.658
10,992
20,300
11,625
3,617
40,424
39,088
58,250
261,709
34,800
38,340

41
89
39
25
45
00
78
00
00
00
82
00
24
00
0Q.
00
00

$3,095,245 00

Although the articles placed in this list are the leading articles of ex­
port, they by no means constitute the total amount.
To the list may be added sugar-box shooks, hardwood ship timber and
planks, sash, door, and blind stuff, oars, fish drums, dry casks, hoops,
steam-engines, boilers, and machinery, packed beef, hides, sheep pelts,
wool, dressed sheep skins, furs, shovel handles, looking-glass and picture
frames, bedsteads, <fcc., <fcc., the sales of which would very materially in­
crease the aggregate of the exportations.
The exports o f all kinds from Bangor for the last year may be set down
at three-and-a-half millions at least. From the returns o f the harbor­
master made to the Bangor City Council, and information derived from
other sources, it appears that the importations o f 1855 of flour amounted
to 60,000 barrels; pork, 5,000 barrels; corn, 200,000 bushels; salt,
26,401 bushels; molasses, 3,475 hogsheads; coal, 8,799 tons.
The greatly reduced demand, consequent upon the comparative limited
lumbering operations of 1855, for several of the articles in the above list,
the high price of most of them, together with an increase o f the agricul­
tural products of that region o f the State the past year, has induced a




Bangor, Maine.

567

smaller importation of the articles enumerated than the average of many
previous years.
The arrivals, foreign and coastwise, o f vessels of fifty tons and upwards
from the opening of the Penobscot River, April 15th, to its close, Decem­
ber 12th, 1855, as reported by the harbor-master, was as follows:—
Schooners.

Brigs.

Barks.

Ship.

Sloops.

Total.

2,078

125

10

1

3

2,217

The clearances correspond very nearly with the arrivals. Of the arriv­
als from foreign ports there were 16, and clearance to same, 65.
To these may be added the arrivals and clearances of quite a fleet o f
vessels under fifty tons, employed in the navigation o f the river and bay.
Also the arrival and clearance o f two or three steamers, each making two
or three trips per week.
Great credit is due to the Mercantile Association o f Bangor for their
first attempt to collect some statistics of the trade and commerce o f that
city. The gratifying results exhibited hv their labors will, we trust, en­
courage the Association to extend their inquiries. W e have, from year
to year, published in the Merchants' Magazine the statistics o f the lumber
trade, and it affords us pleasure to avail ourselves o f the information thus
collected, and embody it in a more permanent form for present and future
reference. It is, and ever has been, the design of the editor and proprie­
tor of this Magazine to exhibit the commercial and industrial resources of
every section of the Union. The Chambers of Commerce or Boards of
Trade in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Boston, and some other cities,
have, for a few years past, taken pains to collect and publish in a lucid
form a vast amount of information connected with the growth of their
several localities, and every considerable place that hereafter neglects to
do so must not blame us for not discharging our duty as a journalist.
Without further digression, we close the present paper with a few state­
ments gleaned from other sources. The population of Bangor has kept
pace with its commerce, and is the best evidence of its industrial progress.
The population, according to the several decennial censuses, has been as
follow s:—

1790.

1800.

1810.

1820.

1830.

1840.

1850.

169

277

850

1,221

2,868

8,827

14,432

W e estimate the present population at 21,500. Ship-building is carried
on in Bangor to some extent. There are eleven banks in the city. Steam­
boats make regular trips between Bangor, Portland, and Boston, and places
along the river, about two-thirds of the year. It is connected by railroad
with Old Town, 12 miles distant. It is also on the line of the Eastern
Railroad. The city is pleasantly located, and commands a fine view of the
river and surrounding country. The buildings are generally neat and
well-constructed, while some exhibit a style of superior elegance. It con­
tains a theological seminary, and a number o f other educational establish­
ments. The Bangor Theological Seminary was originally established at
Hampden, six miles south o f the city. Four or five newspapers are pub­
lished in the town.
F ro m the last rep ort o f the B a n g or M ercantile A ssocia tion w e learn
that the interest m anifested in the library and rea d in g-room b y its m em ­
bers has con tin u ed unabated, as appears in their increased num bers, and




568

Lives o f American Merchants.

by the returns of the librarian of the number of volumes delivered in
1855, amounting to over 14,000, against 13,000 delivered the year previ­
ously ; 379 volumes have been added to the libraries during the current
year, o f which number 77 volumes were added to the Social Library. The
selections of new volumes have been made by the directors with much
care and method. The libraries now contain about 4,200 volumes.
The moral, social, and intellectual reputation of the Bangorians stands
as high as that of any other city in the Union.

Art. VIII.— “ L I V E S

OF A M E R I C A N

[FROM TH E

C R IT E R I O N , N E W

MERCHANTS.”

YO RK .]

A m a x i m o f one o f the subjects o f this interesting volu m e* deserves to be
placed as a m otto on every book, in w hich mercantile transactions are re­
corded : “ The w hole value o f wealth consists in the personal independence
it secures.”
A n d when wealth has been secured, no apophthegm is so
w orthy o f rem em brance as that which the same enterprising m erchant and
generous gentlem an, P eter Chardon B rooks, a few days before his death, im ­
parted to his sons, “ O f all the ways o f disposing o f m oney, giving it away
is the m ost satisfactory.”
These precepts are the crucible in which all the
dross o f lucre m ay be refined into pure gold . K eep in g them in view,
adopting them as the rule o f life, and the strife for wealth is as high, as
noble, and as true a contest as any in which man can engage.
A n d the
ch ief aim o f a book like this, its m ost gratifying result, is the inculcation o f
these principles. W e find the mem oirs o f men who, to keen sagacity and
broad com prehensiveness, have united scrupulous honor and munificient lib ­
erality. Th ey gained during life not only the means but the end. They em ­
p loyed the riches which their intellect, prudence, and industry' had accum u­
lated, in satisfying those inclinations which belong to the best instincts o f
nature.
W h e n we consider the im portance w hich is attached to w orldly prosperi­
ty, the deference which is eagerly paid to the possessor o f property ; when
we reflect how apt men are to forget the means em ployed, so lon g as the
end has been achieved, w e must be prepared to find that, in the pursuit o f
fortune, the com petitors will often throw aside the pure raiment o f virtue and
h onor which they fancy m ay im pede th air progress. A n d as we are prone
to indulge the selfishness within us, so do we cast the responsibility o f our
acts upon our neighbors’ shoulders, and justify ou r ow n departures from the
righ t by an appeal to exam ple. W h a t can, then, be o f m ore service to those
w hose characters are yet to be fe m e d , than the presentation before them o f
those instances, w hich the lives o f m any Am erican merchants afford, o f wealth
acquired without stain, and dispensed w ithout stint, o f men w hose sweetest
sym pathies and noblest charity have been enlarged and indulged in exact pro­
portion to their ability forso doin g ? The same occupations m ay be enlisted in
behalf o f the m ost diverse m otives. T h e miser who counts, with trem bling fin­
gers, his golden gains, is influenced by the meanest in centives; he shuts him self
* JAves of American Merchants. Ily F r e e m a n H u n t , A. M., Editor o f the “ Merchants Maga­
zine.” New York : Office of “ Hunt’ s Merchant’s Magazine.” 1856.




Lives o f American Merchants.

569

from the world, and denies his hum anity ; while he who husbands the stores
which he has gathered to feed the hungry, and to sow as seed again upon
the soil, is the benefactor o f his race. Com m ercial pursuits are but now
h aving their true dignity recognized. They are. the pioneers o f civilization,
and through their potent influence the old lines which separated country
from country, and man from man, are being obliterated ; they are opening
all the gates o f the world, levelling the ramparts that ignorance and super­
stition have raised, and dissipating the mists which prejudice and passion
have interposed between us and the light. In its m ore hum ble manifesta­
tions com m erce conduces to the convenience and the com fort, the health
and the happiness o f mankind. In the short period o f a day, we are indebt­
ed to the four quarters o f the glob e for those things which we have begun to
look upon as the necessities o f life. W e rise from a pillow , whose contents
m ay have been plucked from the white breast o f an arctic bird, and we
drink a beverage made from the berry o f South A m erica or Asia, or, per­
haps, from the leaf, which is the produce o f China. W e wear garm ents that
may have been sheared from the sheep o f Spain, or stripped from the cattle
that have browsed on the steppes o f Russia. The silk-worm o f Italy, the
dye trees o f the Indies, metals from the mines, contribute to our wants.
Each separate material and elem ent o f food and dress, o f ornam ent and use,
is obtained from different sources, and often from rem ote regions.
A ll this
is through the agency o f com m erce. Sutely, the character o f such a profes­
sion is as grand and elevating as any other, and those w ho practice it are
responsible for the preservation o f its intrinsic purity.
W e have perused this collection o f m em oirs with much pleasure, and, we
hope, profit. The crudest sketches o f men who h ave just departed from our
midst, and whose names are familiar to all, would possess an in terest; but
when, as in this case, w e have a num ber o f short biographies, written with
m uch ability, and contributed b y different pens, w e shall do the merest ju s­
tice by expressing our sense o f the obligations we are under to the able ed i­
tor, whose talent and enterprise have produced so valuable an addition, not
only to g e n e ia l literature, but to the educational books o f A m erica. There
are twenty-one mem oirs, som e o f w hich have been prepared by gentlem en
o f very high literary reputation. N o t the least interesting are those written
by the e d it o r ; but such names as Everett, Thom as G. C ary, Charles K in g,
S. Ait-tin A llibon e, and others, will lend increased attraction. M ost o f these
m em oirs contain collateral glances at history.
From the biography o f
Thom as H andasyd Perkins, by the H on . Thom as G . Cary, we make an ex­
tract, which occurs after an anecdote o f G ilbert Stuart, that is more generally
known :—
The following is an incident o f a different character, which occurred in the Nation­
al Convention, during the French Revolution, and o f which he was an eye-witness.
H e related it with great effect. Soon after the death o f Robespierre, one of his
former associates proposed a sanguinary law, which was objected to by a member,
who had been a butcher, as unnecessarily cruel. The deputy who proposed it
said, with a sneer, that he had not looked for such fine sentiments from one whose
trade had been blood. The butcher, a burly, powerful man, starting to his feet,
as if he would destroy his opponent, exclaimed : “ Scelerat! scelerat! Je n’ai ja ­
mais trempe mes mains que dans le sang des auimaux. Senitez les votres.”—
(“ W re tch ! wretch that you are! I have never imbrued my hands but in the
blood of beasts. Smell o f your own !” )
W e quote a passage from the life o f Peter C hardon B rooks, by the H on.




570

Lives o f American Merchants.

Ed ward Everett, which gives an animated description of the condition of our
commerce, immediately after the war of Independence :—
The commerce of the country again started into being from the wreck o f the Revolution, and from the prostration, not less disastrous, which continued after the
return o f peace. Trade not only returned to the channels in which, to some ex­
tent, it had flowed before the war, but it began to extend itself to seas never be­
fore visited by American vessels. N o t only were the ports o f Western Europe
resorted to by a daily increasing number o f Am erican ships, but those o f the Bal­
tic and the Mediterranean, were now', for the first time, visited by our country­
men. N o t content with this, our merchants turned their thoughts to China, to
the Indian Archipelago, to the northwestern coast o f our own continent, and the
islands o f the Pacific, several o f which were discovered by our navigators. The
courage and self-reliance with which these enterprises were undertaken, almost
surpass belief. Merchants o f Boston and Salem, of moderate fortunes, engaged in
branches o f business, which it was thought in Europe could only be safely carried
on by great chartered companies, under the protection of government monopolies.
Vessels o f two or three hundred tons burden were sent out to circumnavigate the
globe, under young shipmasters, who had never crossed the Atlantic. The writer
o f this memoir knows an instance which occurred at the beginning o f this century
— and the individual concerned, a wealthy and respectable banker o f Boston, is
still living among us— in which a youth o f nineteen commanded a ship on her
voyage from Calcutta to Boston, with nothing in the shape o f a chart on board,
but the small map of the world iu Guthrie’s Geography.

And from the same article, a pic ure of the times, in the character of a
contemporary of his subject:—
Am ong the most eminent merchants o f this day was Thomas Russell, who was
one o f the first who engaged in the trade with Russia, at the close o f the revolu­
tionary war. H e was o f an old Charlestown family, (if anything relating to fami­
lies can be called old iu this country, especially in reference to the middle of
the last century,) and resided there a part o f the year till his death. This
estimable gentleman was regarded, in this day, as standing at the head of
the merchants o f Boston.
H e lived at the corner o f Summer and A rch
streets. According to the fashion of the day, he generally appeared on ’ Change
in full dress; which implied at that time, for elderly persons, usually a coat of
some light-colored cloth, small clothes, diamond or paste buckles at the knee and
in the shoes, silk stockings, powdered hair, and a cocked h a t ; in cold weather, a
scarlet cloak. A scarlet cloak and a white head were, in the last century, to be
seen at the end o f every pew in some o f the Boston churches. In the latter part
o f his life, Mr. Russell built the stately mansion in Charlestown, which, till within
a few years, was standing, near the old bridge, used as an hotel. Though living
on the bank o f Charles River, on great occasions, before the bridge was built, his
family drove to town in a coach drawn by four black horses, through Cambridge,
Brighton, and Roxbury. Mr. Russell at his decease, in 1796, is supposed to have
left the largest property which had at that time been accummulated in N ew Eng­
land. H e was a gentleman of great worth and respectability, and enjoyed the
entire confidence of the community.

No chapter will be more eagerly read than that which treats of Stephen
Girard, whose character was sufficiently paradoxical to give him the interest
which attaches to an eccentric. The time of the annexed anecdote was
about a year after this wealthy “ merchant and mariner” had established the
Girard Bank, and will convey some idea of his decision, resources, and good
luck :—
Meanwhile, an interesting circumstance occurred, which enabled him, by his
bank, in 1813, to accomplish an enterprise which was o f great importance to the
city o f Philadelphia, by the increase of its trade, as well as to his own funds iu its
profits, besides the advantages which were furnished to the government by the du­




The Law Merchant.

571

ties which accrued to the national treasury. It happened that his ship, the Montes­
quieu, was captured at the mouth o f the river Delaware, as was alleged, by a British
frigate, and as this vessel had an invoice cargo o f two hundred thousand dollars
— consisting of teas, nankeens, and silks— from Canton, it was determined b y the
captors, in preference to the hazard o f being re-captured by an American ship in
their attempt to carry their prize to a British port, to send a flag o f truce to Mr.
Girard, in order to give him the offer o f a ransom. A pplying to his well-stored
vaults, the banker drew from it the sum o f ninety-three thousand dollars in doub­
loons, which was transmitted to the British commander, and his vessel was soon
seen coming into port with her rich cargo ; which, notwithstanding the price o f
ransom, is supposed, by the advance o f the value o f the freight, to have added
a half a million of dollars to his fortune.

An introductory essay, by George K. Russell, LL. D., exhibits research, and
is a creditable literary performance.

Art.

I X . — TIIE

LAW

MERCHANT.

N U M BK R V .

R E C E IP T S .-----U SES

T here

are three ways

in

which

a

O F TH E

R E C E IP T .

receipt is useful.

1st— As a receipt directly; as evidence of a payment against the person
who signs it. This is its principal use. The chief purpose with which a
debtor takes a receipt is that he may be able to produce it, if his creditor
should ever again present the claim, and to say, “ I have paid you already;
here is your own admission in writing.”
2d—-As a voucher. Agents often take receipts for payments made by
them for their employers, with a view to using them in settling their own
accounts with those who employ them.
If we suppose the proprietor o f a block of houses in the city to have
gone away upon a journey, leaving his houses in charge of an agent to
collect the rents, with instructions also to keep the buildings in good re­
pair, we shall have a good illustration of both these uses. Whenever the
agent collects rents, he will give each tenant a receipt. This the tenant,
if he is a careful business man, will preserve, in order that if he is ever
called upon to pay the same rent again, he may be able to show with
ease that he has already paid it. Upon the other hand, when the agent
has employed a carpenter to repair one of the houses, he will be careful to
take a receipt for his payment to the carpenter— not only to prevent a
renewal of the claim, but as a means of satisfying his principal, on the
settlement of accounts, that he has really made an outlay to that amount,
for which he is entitled to be allowed. Sometimes in cases o f this nature,
involving important amounts, it is best to take two receipts, duplicates, one
of which the agent may keep permanently, while he delivers the other up
to his principal.
It ought, however, to be clearly understood, that this use of a receipt as
a voucher is, for the most part, confined to the amicable settlement o f
accounts. When the owner of the houses just spoken o f returns from his




572

The Law Merchant:

travels, and calls upon his agent for a settlement, it is altogether probable
that he will be satisfied to take the carpenter’s receipt as evidence of the
amount which the agent has paid away for repairs, and will settle the
account' accordingly. But he is not bound to do this, if he does not
choose to.
In a lawsuit each party is required to produce the best
evidence which the nature of the case admits. Therefore, if the principal
suspects that his agent is deceiving him in regard to the expense of the
repairs, and refuses to reimburse his agent, and a lawsuit thus ensues, it
will not be sufficient for the agent to produce the carpenter’s receipt as his
evidence that the payment was made, He must, if it be possible, produce
the carpenter himself to be examined as a witness. The receipt given by
the carpenter would be the best evidence of payment in a suit brought by
the carpenter to recover for his w ork; but when the suit is between the
agent and the owner of the houses, the receipt amounts to nothing more
than the written statement of a third person, and there is better evidence,
namely, to examine the third person under oath.
Although, therefore, it is a universal custom for agents to take vouch­
ers for all their payments, to be used in settling with their employers, yet
this usage has reference only to the probability of an amicable settlement
of accounts. Generally, the principal is satisfied with the voucher. If he
rejects it, however, the testimony of the person who received the payment
will be preferred in law to his receipt.
3d— Sometimes a receipt is useful in proving facts quite distinct from
the payment stated in it.
For example, if a landlord should bring a suit against his tenant for
rent for the year 1852, and the tenant should produce a receipt for the
whole rent for 1853, or any year later than that for which he was sued,
this would be prima facia evidence— that is, it would be sufficient evi­
dence, if the landlord proved nothing to rebut it, that the rent for 1852
had been paid. It would be entirely satisfactory evidence o f payment of
the rent for the year mentioned in it— it would be tolerable evidence of
the payment of all previous rents. For the presumption of law is, as has
been explained in our article on the Application of Payments— Merchants'
Magazine, January, 1856— that money p^id is applied to debts in the
order of time. And the law considers it unlikely that a payment would
be made by a tenant and received by a landlord for the year 1853, while
the rent for 1852 remained in arrear.
In a certain case, (Davies vs. Lowndes, 7 Scott’s Reports, 21,) in which
it was important to ascertain who acted as owner of certain lands a great
many years before, the receipts given by the supposed owner for the rents
of the lands, were allowed to be used to prove that he exercised owner­
ship. For a man would not give receipts for rents unless they had been
paid to h im ; and they would not be paid to him as owner unless he was
believed to be the owner of the lands rented.
There have been many similar cases in which receipts have been of
great service in proving facts quite independent of the payments to which
they related. And this principle should be borne in mind in deciding
when to destroy receipts. It is not always wise to destroy them, simply
because one feels sure that that particular debt will not be claimed again.
But the most important use of the receipt is to prove the payment al­
leged in it against the person by whom it was given.




Receipts— Uses o f the Receipt.
TH E G E N E R A L T H E O R Y

573

O F TH E R E C E IP T .

Every receipt contains an admission that a payment, or delivery, has
been made.
In addition to this, it states— with greater or less particularity— various
facts relating to the payment; e. g., who made it, what the amount o f it
was, what debt it was intended to be applied to, in what currency it was
made, &c.
Therefore it is important to consider the nature, force, and effect of the
simple admission of payment, which is, after all, the real substance of the
instrument. Afterwards, under the head of the Contents of the Receipt,
we shall examine, each by itself, the various special clauses which are in­
serted as occasion may require.
The law does not treat the simple acknowledgment o f payment as very
conclusive evidence. It ought not to be very conclusive. It may seem at
first thought, that a man ought never to be allowed to deny what he has
once admitted in writing. This would perhaps be a very good rule, if all
business men were invariably accurate, correct, and methodical in their
dealings— little as well as large. But they are not s o ; and it is better
that they should not. If no business were transacted except with a strict
adherence to legal rules, neither party trusting anything to the honor of
the other, nor yielding anything o f technical rule to courtesy and conve­
nience, the processes of trade would be nearly as long and expensive as
lawsuits.
Suppose that a lady has purchased goods at a store, and directed them
to be sent home with the bill.
Now, to be accurate, the storekeeper ought to make out a bill unre­
ceipted and send it by a collector of sufficient age, experience, and integ­
rity to be trusted to sign the name o f the film to their receipts. And the
collector should give the lady a receipt in case the money were paid,
otherwise not. But usually this cannot bo done. The bill must be sent
by the boy who carries home the goods. Accordingly, the storekeeper
makes out a bill, receipts it at the foot, and tells the boy not to leave it
unless he gets the money. Before the boy arrives at the house, he has
probably stopped to play marbles fifteen minutes at a corner, and has fol­
lowed a procession of soldiers a quarter of a mile out of his way, and has
held a long conversation on the sidewalk with some fellow-messenger of
his acquaintance, accidentally met, and by reason of these or similar diver­
sions he finds, when he comes up the steps of the customer’s residence,
that he has about two-thirds forgotten whether he was to leave the bill or
not. He rings at the door, a servant opens it and takes the bundles.
“ I’m to wait for the money,” says the boy.
The servant carries the things up stairs while the messenger waits in
the hall. In a few' moments she returns.
“ The mistress wants to see the bill,” she says.
The boy is more accustomed to do as he is bid than to think closely
about the legal effects o f what he does, so he hands the bill to the servant,
who carries it up stairs to her mistress. The latter peihaps takes out her
purse to pay it, but finds she has not money enough, and puts the bill in
her pocket, not thinking particularly that it is receipted, and sends word
to the messenger—
“ Tell him to call again to-morrow night, and I’ll have the money ready
for him.”




574

The Law Merchant:

This message is communicated to the boy, -who goes away without
either bill or money, notwithstanding his instructions. This is an example
of one class of cases in which receipts are passed without the payments
being actually made.
An analogous case is that of an agent who desires to settle accounts
with his principal, and get from him the necessary funds for paying per­
sons whom he has employed for his principal, and who obtains from the
employees their receipts, exhibits them to the principal as vouchers, re­
ceives the amount of them— being, of course, under obligation to pay it
over to the workmen. This is not unfrequently done. And there are an
abundance of cases in which receipts are given before the payments are
actually made.
Of course, it must often happen in such cases that the payment is after­
wards refused. The agent, in the case last supposed, may forget or dis­
honestly denyq that although the workmen had for his convenience given
him their receipts, they were still entitled to receive their money l'rom
him.
The lady may be forgetful; and, finding a receipted bill in her pocket
a week afterwards, may fully believe that she has paid for the goods, and
refuse to pay again. She may die suddenly, or go away— in which case,
those who should have charge of her affairs would, o f course, suppose—
from the receipt— that she had paid the money. Such cases happen so
continually, that the law allows the storekeeper or the workman, or any
one who has given a receipt when he did not receive anything, to bring a
suit for the money. Then, if the debtor puts in the receipt as evidence
that he has paid the debt, the creditor may offer any evidence in his pow­
er to prove that no payment was made when the receipt was given. In
the case of the storekeeper, it would be easy to do this by the testimony
of the errand boy and the servant. In the case of the workmen employed
by the agent, it might be more difficult.
The true effect of the simple admission of payment is to transfer the
burden of proof. In suits to recover money, the burden of proof is upon
the plaintiff or creditor, as it is said, to prove the debt; that is, it is in the
first instance the plaintiff’s duty to prove the debt, not the duty of the de­
fendant to disprove it. But after the plaintiff has proved that the defend­
ant did once owe him the money claimed, he may stop. For now the
burden of proof is shifted upon the defendant, and he must show some
reason why he is not bound to pay the debt. If now he produces the
plaintiff’s receipt for the amount, the effect is to transfer the burden of
proof back to the plaintiff, who must now explain or disprove his receipt.
In this respect, receipts form an exception to the general rule respecting
writings, which is, that they cannot be explained away or contradicted by
parole evidence.
As has been already shown, one way in which persons disprove their
receipts is by showing that no payment at all was made. A very singular
case of this sort once arose out of the affairs o f a bank, called the Union
B ank*
In August, 1837, the cashier of the Union Bank, whose name was W il­
kie, left the bank and never returned. In September following, the bank
elected another cashier, named Sollee. It was understood that Sollee, on
• The Union Dank vs. Sollee. 2 Strobhart’s Law Reports, 300.




Receipts

—Uses o f

the Receipt.

575

becoming easbier, would give bis receipt for the funds of the bank which
were placed in his charge. The specie and the bills were accordingly reck­
oned up by a committee of the bank, and found to amount, as they sup­
posed, to $271,000. Sollee gave his receipt for this amount.
But the way in which the money was counted was this :— the bills were
done up in packages, which were sealed up, and on the back o f each pack­
age was an indorsement stating the amount of money contained in it. The
committee did not open these packages, but took the amounts from the
indorsements. The funds of the bank were annually counted in this way,
without ever opening the packages. In the year 1843, the committee
suggested that it would be a good plan to open the packages; but Mr.
Goddard, the president of the hank, said it would not be of any use, there
were his signature and seal upon each bundle ; so the committee simply
counted by packages as before.
In 1845, Sollee having been all this time cashier, President Goddard
died, and a Mr. Tobias was appointed president pro tempore. He suggested
that the money should be actually counted. The committee went down
into the money vault to count the bills, and now observed what had not
been noticed before, that five o f the packages were done up more clumsily
than the others. They opened them. The contents of three proved to
correspond with their indorsements. The other two, each of which was
countersigned by the former cashier, Wilkie, and by Goddard, the late
president, and bore an indorsement dated previous to the time when W il­
kie left the bank, stating its contents to be $10,000, were deficient.
One
contained no money at all, being filled up entirely with white paper; the
other contained $3,000 in bills, and white paper enough to make it as
large as the other packages. Upon this discovery, the committee pro­
ceeded to open all the other packages. The contents of all except one
were correct. The deficient package contained $5,600, instead of $10,000,
with a balance of brown paper.
The bank, thereupon, brought a suit against chashier Sollee, to recover
this deficiency, claiming that he, as cashier, was responsible for the safe
custody of the funds. The trial of the case was very long, a great deal
of evidence being introduced on both sides; on the part o f the bank to
show facts tending to raise a suspicion that Sollee had taken the money,
and on his part to show that he could not have done so, but that it must
have been taken by Wilkie, or at least while Wilkie was cashier. The
evidence was such that the jury came to the conclusion that the money
was probably taken before Sollee took charge of the packages, and they
rendered a verdict in his favor.
The bank appealed from the decision in favor o f Sollee, and contended
in support of the appeal that Sollee was bound by his receipt. He had
given in 1837, when he was first appointed cashier, a written admission
that he received $271,000 from the bank, and he ought not to he allowed,
as they maintained, to come forward eight years afterwards, and deny the
truth of his admission.
But the Court of Appeal held that the receipt was subject to explana­
tion. They stated the law to be that receipts which have been acted
upon by third parties are conclusive upon the party making them, in all
controversies between him and the party whose action has been influenced
by them. If W ilkie had handed the funds over to Sollee, and Sollee had
given Wilkie a receipt, and he had exhibited it to the officers of the bank,




576

The Law Merchant:

and they acting on the faith of it, had settled accounts with him releasing
him from further demands, then Sollee would have been absolutely hound
by his admission. This, however, was not the case. It did not appear
that Wilkie had been released. Moreover, the receipt was given, not for
money received from Wilkie, but for mouey received from the committee
of the bank. It wras therefore examinable; and if erroneous, Sollee was
not bound by it. Therefore, as the jury had found that he did not in fact
receive so much money as he had receipted for, judgment was finally ren­
dered in his favor.
There are other ways in which receipts may be explained. Suppose
one who owes ten dollars pays the debt with a gold eagle, and takes a re­
ceipt, and afterwards the eagle turns out to be counterfeit. Or suppose
the payment is made in bank notes, and they are found to he forged ; or
in a check, and it proves that the drawer of it had no money in the bank ;
or in a note made by some third person, who becomes insolvent before its
maturity, and never pays it. In all these cases the receipt might probably
state that the ten dollars had been paid, but the creditor would have had
no real payment. The law, in all these cases, allows the receipt to be ex­
plained. The party who gave it, and afterwards finds out that the cur­
rency in which he was paid is not so good as he supposed, is at liberty to
prove, in explanation o f his admission, the exact facts of the case, what­
ever they were. Then if, in judgment o f law, the facts do not constitute
a payment, the man is not paid; and he is still just as much entitled to
be paid as if he had never given a receipt. If, in judgment of law, they
do constitute a payment, he is bound by it, not because he gave a receipt,
but because he had been paid.
A receipt is, however, not destitute of a certain effect in these cases. It
will not be opened or set aside for light and trivial circumstances. Some
sound, substantial evidence must be adduced to show that a person who
has acknowledged in writing that he has been paid, was not paid in fact.
This is particularly true in the case of payments in a currency which proves
to be worth less than it was supposed to be, as is well illustrated in a case
(Roberts vs. Garnie, 3 Caines’ Reports, 14,) which occurred a number of
years ago in the State o f New York.
Robert Garnie, in 1773, gave his bond to one De Noyelles, agreeing to
pay £70 on the 1st day of May in that year, and £42 10s. on the 1st of
May in 1774. Garnie paid a part of this money, but not all o f it, while
De Noyelles lived. In 1779, De Noyelles being then dead, Garnie had
some sort o f a settlement as to the balance with Kiers, the executor of
De Noyelles.
Nearly twenty years afterwards, Roberts, another executor o f De No­
yelles, brought a suit against Garnie to recover the balance which appeared
to be due upon the bond. Garnie, to prove that he had paid it, put in
evidence the following receipt, given to him by executor Kiers, at the set­
tlement in 1779:—
Received, Haverstraw, 5th of May, 1779, of Isaac Garnie, the sum of one hun­
dred and four pounds, on account of a bond given to the estate of John De No­
yelles, deceased.
E. W. KIERS, Executor.

And on casting up the interest which accrued upon the balance which
remained due on the bond after Garnie’s payment to De Noyelles, from




577

Receipts— Uses o f the Receipt.

that time to May 5, 1779, and adding it to that balance, it was found that
the amount was precisely one hundred and four pounds.
O f course, executor Roberts could not gain his case, unless he could,
in some way, explain this receipt. He proposed to do it by proving that
in 1779 there was no circulating medium except “ continental paper,"
which was very much depreciated ; that Kiers had, about the date of the
settlement, received large sums of continental money ; and he thought the
court ought to infer from these facts that Garnie had paid the £104 in
continental paper, and ought now to make good the discount upon it with
interest.
Hut the court refused to hear this evidence, and judgment was rendered
for the defendant. The plaintiff appealed ; but the judgment was affirmed.
“ Although receipts for money are examinable.” said the court, “ they
ought not to be affected by circumstances so extremely slight as those which
the plaintiff proposed to prove in this case. The money mentioned in Kiers’
receipt, if paid in continental money, was probably received by him at its
real value, according to the then depreciated state of that currency. The
receipt was given nearly twenty-five years before the trial, and after such
a lapse of time it would be extremely mischievous to permit the party,
whose co-executor had given it, to destroy its operation by light circum­
stances.”
Sometimes a person is induced by fraud to give a receipt, or gives it
under serious mistake as to his rights. In these cases, particularly in the
former, the receipt will not conclude him. This is shown in the following
case, (Thomas vs. McDaniel, 14 Johnson’s Reports, 185.) A seaman
named McDaniel brought an action against his captain before a justice of
the peace, to recover damages for an assault and battery committed by the
captain during the previous voyage. The captain, as a defense, offered in
evidence a receipt in these words :—
New York, March 30,1816. Received from Captain J. B. Thomas, sixty dol­
lars and fifty cents, in full of all demands against the ship Independence, her offi­
cers and owners, for wages ; also one dollar as a fall compensation for everything
ja m e s

Mc D a n i e l .

Witness, J oseph M orrison .

Joseph Morrison, who was called as a witness, testified that he explained
the receipt to McDaniel, by stating that the one dollar was intended as a
full compensation for all other claims except wages, and that the plaintiff
at first refused to sign the paper, and waited three or four days. The cap­
tain then placed the money and the receipt on the table, and told the sea­
man he might sign or not as he pleased. The seaman read over the paper,
and signed it, and received the m oney; but nothing was said about the
assault and battery. A receipt in similar form was taken by the defend­
ant from each of the crew.
The justice rendered judgment for McDaniel for fifty dollars, and the
captain appealed; but the judgment was affirmed.
“ There is strong ground to infer,” said the court, “ that the receipt was
unfairly obtained. It was coupled with a receipt for the wages of the
seaman, and the evidence shows that his wages, after being liquidated at
$60 50, were withheld by the captain during three or four days because
the plaintiff refused to sign the double receipt. To a person in the situa­
tion of a seaman just arrived in port, after a long voyage, and probably

VOL. xxxiv.— no. v.




37

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

578

without a cent o f money, this was a fraudulent constraint on the part of
the captain, from which the law will protect the seaman. It cannot he
doubted that if the wages had been unconditionally paid, the plaintiff
would peremptorily have refused to sign the receipt for one dollar for
everything else.”
Upon the whole, therefore, we must bear in mind that the operation of
the simple, unsealed receipt, so far as the mere admission of payment is
concerned, is simply to transfer the burden o f proof. It does not consti­
tute any very absolute or effective means to prevent future inquiry into
the fact of the payment, or into its justice or adequacy. It is an instru­
ment nearly powerless to silence inquiry, but it serves the purpose to throw
the risk and trouble of the investigation upon the adverse party.

JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
ACTION ON CHARGE OF OBTAINING WRONGFUL POSSESSION OF GOODS.

In Nisi Prius Court, before Mr. Justice Erie.
Special Jury.

Jennings and others vs. Becket.

This was an action of trover, in which the defendant was charged with obtain­
ing wrongful possession of goods belonging to the plaintiff. The defendant pleaded
not guilty, and also that the goods did not belong to the plaintiff.
The plaintiffs, Mr. John Jennings and two other persons, were the assignees of
John Johnson, a bankrupt; and the defendant, Mr. John Becket, is an auctioneer
at Wakefield. Mr. Johnson, the bankrupt, is a cabinetmaker, and at one period
he was in the service of the defendant, but in 1840 he commenced business for
himself. Up to 1850, the defendant carried on business also as a cabinetmaker,
lie was then wishful to dispose of his business, and he*entered into an agreement
for the sale of his cabinetmaking business to Johnson, the bankrupt, retaining for
himself the business of auctioneer.
The agreement bore date the 14th of November, 1850. Mr. Becket agreed to
let, and Mr. Johnson to take, the house and premises in which the business had
been carried on by the former, at the rent of £60 a year, the defendant retaining
two rooms for an office and sleeping-room, for which he was to pay £10 a year.
The stock in trade was to be taken at a valuation, and payment was to be secured
by a warrant of attorney. The valuation amounted to £550, and on the 31st
December, 1850, Mr. Johnson executed a warrant of attorney to secure that sum,
with interest at 5 per cent. The intention of the parties was, that this money
was to remain on security, Mr. Becket holding warrant of attorney, and not that
it should be paid at any particular time.
On the 31st January, 1851, Mr. Johnson removed to the premises which had
been occupied by the defendant, and carried on business from that time with con­
siderable success. There was a man named Parkinson, a clerk and bookkeeper to
the defendant, Mr. Becket, upon the premises. Mr. Johnson did not keep his ac­
counts himself, but employed his wife to keep them. Parkinson was engaged to
assist in keeping the books. On the 3d of March, 1853, the painful intelligence
came to the bankrupt that his wife had absconded with Parkinson, taking all the
ready money with them. lie was not aware of the extent to which he had been
robbed by them. The first thing he did was to get the assistance of the headconstable of Wakefield, and on Friday, the 4th of March, they proceeded to Liv­
erpool, to search for Parkinson and Mrs. Johnson, and to endeavor to recover the
property, but they were unsuccessful.
The circumstance of the elopement of the bankrupt’s wife became known to
Mr. Becket on Saturday. Mr. Johnson did uot return until Sunday, the 6th. On




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

519

the Saturday, in the absence of Mr. Johnson, his sister and her husband, Charles
Naylor, attended the shop; and on the Sunday afternoon Mr. Naylor accompanied
the bankrupt to the house of the defendant, at Heath, near Wakefield, where he
saw the defendant, and entered fully into his (the bankrupt’s) affairs. Mr. Becket
asked Mr. Johnson who his principal creditors were. Mr. Johnson mentioned
several of his creditors, among the rest a London tradesman, to whom he owed
about £100, and the Wakefield and Barnsley Bank, to whom he was indebted
£50 or £60. Mr. Becket suggested that there was a danger of the bank man­
ager issuing a writ, and he advised that the bankrupt should go away from Wake­
field for a few days, to keep out of the way of his creditors. The defendant said
he was going away from Wakefield himself on Monday, but would return on Tues­
day, and when he returned he would take an inventory of the bankrupt’s stock,
and see whether he was able to carry on his business or not, Ultimately it was
arranged that the bankrupt should go to Crofton, a place about three-and-a-kalf
miles from Wakefield ; and three days afterwards he learned that the defendant
had obtained judgment under the power of attorney, and had caused a levy to be
made upon his (the bankrupt’s) goods to the amount of £614 13s. Id., which was
the amount the plaintiffs sought to recover.
Mr. Johnson, by absenting himself from home under the circumstances stated,
had committed an act of bankruptcy, and on the 14th of March he was adjudi­
cated a bankrupt. The question for the jury to try was, whether the defendant,
or Mr. Barret, his attorney, had notice of an act of bankruptcy before the execu­
tion was completed. The case on the part of the plaintiffs was that the defendant
not only knew of the bankrupt absenting himself to keep out of the way of his
creditors, but counseled him to do so, in order that he might have time to issue an
execution and get possession of the goods against the general body of creditors.
The bankrupt, it was alleged, had no interest in committing an act of bankruptcy.
His object was fairly and honestly to divide his property among his creditors.
The bankrupt had now no interest in the matter. He had got his certificate, a
first-class one, and he only wished to do his duty, as an honest man, towards all
his creditors. Witnesses were then examined on the part of the plaintiffs, includ­
ing Mr. Johnson, the bankrupt, and his brother-in-law, Charles Naylor.
The case for the plaintiffs having closed, Mr. Knowles said it was right he
should state that his client, the defendant, who came into court certainly with the
intention of telling his own story, felt, after the evidence which had been given, a
reluctance to go into the box. It would involve a direct contradiction between
him and two other parties, but he did not wish to put himself and them in that
position. He certainly was under the impression that nothing of the kind oc­
curred on the Sunday evening which the witnesses had sworn to, but they had
sworn it, and under these circumstances he (Mr. Knowles) would consent to a ver­
dict for a smaller sum than that which had been mentioned. A verdict was then
taken for the plaintiff by consent for £450 upon certain terms.
COMMON CARRIER---- MERCHANDISE NOT LUGGAGE.

In the lately issued volume of the English Exchequer Reports is contained the
case of the Great Northern Railway Company, appellants, vs. Shepherd, appellee,
which in part, indeed, is only a reiteration of the settled doctrine of our own
courts, but which yet presents some novel points, appertaining to the law of com­
mon carriers:—
The plaintiff below brought an action to recover damages amounting to about
£40, for the loss of ivory knife-handles, books, carpet-bag, &c. He was a cutler,
living in Sheffield, and with his wife, bought third-class tickets of the Great
Northern Railway Company from that place to London. When there he pur­
chased a quantity of knife-handles, to be used in his business, and returned on the
same day. His goods were contained in a deal box, in two brown-paper parcels,
all marked with his address. Each third-class passenger was allowed 56 pounds
of luggage. The plaintiff on entering the return train placed his box in the lug­
gage car, and the other articles under his seat in the passenger car, and in so dis­




580

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

posing of his property received no help from the porters of the train. A t Bed­
ford it was necessary to change cars, and to wait an hour for another train. On
this occasion, too, the plaintiff below took the sole charge of his goods without
receiving any aid whatever from the employees of the company. There was no
guard to give warning in case of interfering trains, and consequently a collision
took place, by which the plaintiff below was injured, and it became necessary to
transfer him to another car. While changing his car he spoke to the railway
porter about his box, &c., and was informed that they should all be duly cared
for. The box was found, but the other articles were not.
Several questions were, upon the appeal, submitted to the Court.
1st. It being conceded that most of the articles lost were to be used by their
owner in the manufacture of cutlery, and were not personal luggage, was the com­
pany liable for their value ?
2d. Was not the company exonerated from liability by the fact that the lug­
gage or goods of the plaintiff below exceeded 112 pounds, the weight limited in
England by law ?
3d. Were not the goods to be regarded as retained by their owner in his own
custody and possession ?
4th. Was not a new contract made with the owner of the goods at the moment
of changing cars after a collision ?
The appellate decided—1st. That if a passenger so packs his merchandise that it passes for mere lug­
gage, and the carrier has no notice that it is merchandise, he is not responsible for
its loss. The contrary is true if the carrier knows what the true character of the
goods is, and consents to receive and transport them. And luggage is only what
is ordinarily carried for traveling purposes, with perhaps a book or two for amusoment or presents.
The American courts have substantially decided in like manner. (See vol. xxvi.
American Railroad Journal, page 515 ; ibid., 765 ; ibid., 299 ; ibid., 68. Also,
9 Wendell’s Reports, 85 ; Orange County Bank vs. Brown.
2d. That where the limited amount of luggage for each railway passenger is 56
pounds, and a husband and wife are traveling in company under circumstances to
which that limitation is applicable, the baggage of either party may exceed that
amount, provided the luggage of the two together does not, in the aggregate,
weigh over 112 pounds. It would, indeed, be often inconvenient to sort out and
carry separately the traveling couvenicncies of such, usually confidential, com­
panions.
3d. Although the luggage of a passenger is not delivered to any servant of the
company, the law regards it as being in the custody of the company, and holds
them accountable for the same. The passenger pays for the safe transportation
of himself and luggage.
4th. In the case above stated no new special contract was made between the
parties at the time of changing cars, but the railway porter simply recognized the
general liability of the company.
REGULATIONS FOR SURVEYS OF SHIPS AND GOODS DAMAGED UPON THE HIGH SEAS.

The United States District Court in Admiralty—Judge Kane—Regula. Gen­
erali's.— For the better ordering of surveys of ships and merchandise that have
sustained damage upon the high seas.
1. There shall be annually appointed by the Court a competent number of per­
sons, of experience and skill, to be the surveyors, who shall continue to be such
until superseded ; and all writs of survey issuing under the sanction of the Court
shall be directed to them by the title of the Board of Survey of the Admiralty.
2. Writs of survey may be issued by the clerk at the instance of any person
or persons interested in vessels, cargo, or freight, whether as owners, masters, con­
signees, insurers, or otherwise.
3. All applications for the writ of survey shall be in writing, designating the
subject of survey, whether general as to vessel and cargo, or special as to some




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

581

part or parcel thereof, and declaring also the character of the right or interest
which the parties applying have in the subject matter.
4. Every writ of survey shall be executed by at least three of the surveyors,
and unless otherwise directed by the Court, the surveyors shall act in succession
in the order in which they are named in the record of their appointment, and the
clerk shall indorse on the writ the names of the surveyors who are to act. ISTo
member of the board shall act as a surveyor or appraiser of damages except in
pursuance of a writ duly issued.
5. Before proceeding to execute the writ of survey, the acting surveyors shall
give notice of time and place to such parties in interest, or their representatives,
as may be known to be within the limits of the port or city.
6. The acting surveyors may call to their aid for the time any competent and
disinterested experts; but such experts shall not be chosen upon the nomination
of any party having an interest in the subject of survey.
7. The return to the writ of survey shall be made with all convenient speed,
and at farthest, within one week after the discharge of the vessel. Its purport
shall not be made known until it has been filed with the clerk.
8. The return shall set forth the time, place, and manner, of the execution of
the writ—the names of the parties in interest who had notice thereof, and the
names of those who were present thereat; together with the names, places of resi­
dence, and occupations of the experts and of the witnesses, if sucji there were.
9. The return shall declare, with such precision as the circumstances may allow,
the character and extent of the damages, if any—and the moneyed equivalent of
the same ; and it shall further declare the cause or causes of such damage, so far
as it has been found practicable to ascertain the same.
10. The return shall be signed by all the surveyors who have acted, and shall
be sworn or affirmed to by them. If the surveyors who have acted shall differ in
opinion, (but not otherwise,) they may make separate reports. Supplementary
reports may be made upon leave specially granted by the Court.
11. The form of the writ of survey will be prescribed by the Court. Forms of
return will be furnished in blank by the clerk.
12. There shall be appointed from time to time by the Court, one person to be
the Register of the Board of Survey, whose duty it shall be to receive the writs of
survey, noting the time of receiving them, to give notice to the acting surveyors
whose names may be indorsed thereon, to aid them, if required, in engrossing and
transmitting their returns, to collect and make distribution of the surveyors’ fees
and emoluments : first defraying therefrom the necessary expenses of the board,
and keeping accounts of all such collections and disbursements for the inspection
of the several surveyors ; and for the better performance of his duties, he shall at­
tend at the office of the board during the ordinary hours of business. The com­
pensation of the register shall be the same as that of a surveyor.
VENDOR AND PURCHASER— MISDESCRIPTION.

In the particulars of sale of the lease of a sugar refinery, the premises were de­
scribed as a bonded sugar refinery, and it was promised that the lease should be
produced at the sale, and that it might be examined at the office of the solicitors
of the vendors ; no special conditions of sale were attached. In the abstract of
the title an agreement was set out, dated prior to the lease, but being an agree­
ment between the lessor and the original lessee, for a lease of the premises, (in
pursuance of which the lease was granted,) in which a stipulation was contained,
that the refinery should be used only for refining sugar in bond. The lease made
in pursuance of that agreement (and then sold) contained no restriction upon the
use of the premises for the refining of any sugar. Before the purchase was com­
pleted, the lessor filed his bill against the original lessee, to have the lease altered
by the insertion of a restrictive covenant in conformity with the agreement; and
upon this the purchaser refused to complete, pending the suit. It was held, in
favor of the purchaser, that as it might turn out he could not obtain the thing
which he agreed to purchase—a free sugar refinery—the completion of the pur­
chase must stand over until the question was decided.—Bentley v. Craven, 21
L. T. Ilep. 215.)




582

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
DUTY OP BROKERS OK MAKING A CONTRACT FOR SALE.

In a case tried before Lord Campbell, Ciiief Justice Queen’s Bench, his lordship, on the occasion of a trial against a London broker for negligence with respect
to a contract entered into, through his agency, between a buyer and seller of
goods, observed to the jury that there had been many lamentable instances of
neglect by brokers, whose duty it was to act for both parties. On the jury re­
turning a verdict, with £391 damages against the broker, Lord Campljell observed
that the verdict would prove most useful, and he wished that an account of the
trial were given to every broker in the kingdom. It appeared that the broker
did not enter the contract between the seller and the purchaser in his book, but
he delivered, sold, and bought notes to each of them. On the buyer refusing to
complete his contract, the seller brought an action against him; and on the trial,
both the bought and sold notes were produced, and were found to vary—the sold
notes describing the goods as “ 500 tons, Dunlap & Go’s, pig-iron,” whilst the
bought notes described them as “ 500 tons of Scotch pig-iron.” On account of
this variance the seller could not succeed in his action, and had to pay the buyer’s
costs, as well as to bear his own. The seller's action against the broker was to
make him liable for these costs, in consequence of his neglect in making out proper
bought and sold notes. Lord Campbell thus stated the duty of a broker in ne­
gotiating a contract between the buyer and seller of merchandise :—A broker is
bound either to enter the contract in his book forthwith, or to deliver a correct
note of it to both buyer and seller; otherwise he is liable to his principal for any
damage which may accrue through such neglect. And where a broker makes out
a contract, and does not enter it in his book, but delivers bought and sold notes
to the parties, and they so vary that by reason thereof an action cannot be main­
tained on the contract, such broker is liable for the damages occasioned by the
invalidity of the contract, and the costs incurred by his principal in unsuccess­
fully endeavoring to enforce it. (Siveright vs. Richardson, 19 Law Times Rep.,
p. 10.)

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEAV.
THK

RETURN

OF T H E
AND
EIGN

OF

P E A C E , AND

ITS

E F F E C T UPON OUR

LU XURIES— TRADE

— COM PARATIVE

DUTIES

INTERESTS— DECREASED

IMPORTS

OF T H E
AT NEW

ICAN PR O D U C E

AT

NEW

YORK

BANK

FOR

FISCAL Y E A R — C O M P A R A T IV E

COST

C O N S U M P T I O N OF C O M F O R T S

IN D O M E S T I C A N D F O R E I G N G O O D S — M O N E Y M A R K E T A N D R A T E S

EXC H A N G E — R A I L R O A D REC E I P T S — T H E

MONTHS

COMMERCIAL

N E C E S S A R IE S OF LIF E , AS C O NNE C TE D W I T H T H K I N C R E A S E D

OF F O R ­

M O V E M K N T — R E C E I P T S A ND D E P O S I T S OF G O L D

MARCH,
EXPORTS

FROM

JA N U A R Y

FO R SA M E

1S T,

AND FOR T H E

P E R IO D — R E C E I P T S

Y O R K , P H I L A D E L P H I A , AND BOST ON — E X P O R T S OF P R OD UC E — DEM AN D

NINE

F O R C ASH
FO R A M E R ­

IN E U R O P E , E T C .

T h e European struggle is over, and the treaty of peace has been signed.
As
we were not among the most sanguine in our estimation of the benefits this coun­
try would derive from its neutral position during the war, so we are equally mod­
erate in our anticipation of the prosperity to follow the return of peace. It will
take a long time for the portion of the trade which has been interrupted, to flow
smoothly again in its own channels. The war has created animation in certain
departments, and the reaction there will partially counterbalance that portion
which is now likely to be revived. The expenses of the war are to be met, and
the waste of material must be supplied by fresh earnings at the hand of industry.
ITiere is no actual wealth except that which is created by patient toil, and it will
be some time before the disturbed elements of prosperity will become settled.
When the troops have been re-transported to their homes, and those engaged in




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

583

supplying their wants and furnishing the munitions of war, turn their attention
to other occupations, then will be the most trying time. If food shall become
cheap, and no fresh disaster disturbs the industry of the nations, a golden period
may ensue.
It will be seen that much in the future depends upon the next harvest. It is
now promising, both in the United Kingdom and in continental Europe. If this
promise is kept, one source of prosperity will be secured. If the harvests should
again suffer, as they did last year, the commercial and political effect cannot be
foretold. With no war to divert the attention of a people clamorous for food, and
accustomed to revolution, there can be no security and no financial prosperity, if
the prices of breadstuff's are not greatly reduced.
Much of the capital now waiting upon the movements of armies not yet re­
turned from the field, cannot be immediately released, and it will take many
months for exchanges to become so regulated that the old routine can be renewed.
From this cause, we should not be surprised to see money in high request at full
rates throughout the remainder of the year.
The ultimate effect will be to reduce somewhat the prices of food in the United
States; but it would not be surprising if the range should remain above the
average of the past few years, even including the years of plenty. The large in­
flux of gold from Calfornia during the last lew years must be felt permanently in
the increased nominal value of nearly all descriptions of property. There must
be, however, a great change in the price of leading breadstuff's and provisions,
from the average cost of the last two years, and this will prove a great boon to
that portion of our countrymen engaged in mechanical operations. Notwith­
standing the advance in wages, the comparative expenses of living have been still
higher, and those who were accustomed to indulge in luxuries of attire, have found
the supply of their absolute wants a sufficient tax upon their energies. Who does
not see that a reduction in these necessary expenses must allow a large aggregate
accumulation of surplus earnings, no inconsiderable portion of which will be ap­
plied to the purchase of articles the trade in which has been hitherto most de­
pressed ? This must relieve our markets of their burden, and throw into the
channels of distribution a large amount of merchandise which has for some time
sought a customer in vain.
Domestic goods are plenty, but owing to the advancing price of both cotton
and wool, holders of fabrics have suffered no panic, and there has been no material
sacrifice in sales. In foreign goods holders have been more pressing; the surplus
portion of the stock consisted, to a great extent, of fancy goods, which could not
be safely kept in first hands, and which have been crowded off through the auction
room at any sacrifice. The selections of these have realized cost, but a large
amount has been placed at a loss, iu some cases at 20 to 30 per cent below a pay­
ing rate.
Money has been in good demand at all the principal markets during the month,
at 7 to 10 per cent, and the rates show no signs of immediate relaxation. The
large amount of stocks and bonds carried by the use of floating capital, prevent
any surplus from seeking investment, and everywhere the Street rates have been
above the legal rates of interest.
Foreign exchange has been ruling above the specie point, but the shipments of




584

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

coin have not been as large as at the corresponding dates of last year, and the
balance of our indebtedness to Europe has been paid up closer than at any time
previously, for many years. The high rates of interest in England and France
have called home much of the floating capital heretofore used in this country, and
induced merchants to pay up more closely than usual; while the liberal prices
offered by our government for national stocks, have drawn from Germany a con­
siderable amount of these securities, part of which have been remitted for, instead
of being reinvested.
Since our last, the stock issued by the city of New York for the expenses of
opening the Central Park, including $1,600,000 six per cents, maturing in three
years, and 82,800,000 five per cents, redeemable in 1898, has been awarded to
the highest bidders at par for the five per cents, and at par and a fraction over
for the six per cents—the latter commanding less premium on account of their
short date. The five per cents were mostly taken by those persons who are to re­
ceive compensation for the property thus converted to the public use.
The severe winter has been seriously felt in the diminished receipts and in­
creased expenses of nearly all of our Western railroads, most of them having been
blocked up by the furious storms of snow. Some of the Eastern trunk railroads
balanced their enlarged expenditures by increased receipts in consequence of the
interruptions of water navigation. The rivers are now open, and most of the
canals, even at the North, will be in navigable order before this is placed in the
hands of our readers.
The banks of the country have been doing, for the most part, a safe and profit­
able business, but the New York banks have continued to expand beyond all
precedent, as will be seen by the following summary of their weekly averages :—
WEEKLY AVERAGES NEW YORK CITY BANKS.
L oans and

Date.

Capital.

Jan. 5,1856.
Jan. 12.........
Jan. 19.........
Jan. 26.........
Feb. 2 .........
Feb. 9 .........
Feb. 16.........
Feb. 2 3 .........
March 1 . . .
March 8 . . .
March 1 5 ...
March 2 2 . . .
March 2 9 . . .
April 5 . . .
April 1 2 ...

49,453,660
49,453,660
49,453,660
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,692,900
49,883,420
49,784,288
49,784,288
49,784,288
49,784,288
51,113,025
51,113,025
51,113,025

Discounts.

95,863,390
96,145,408
96,382,968
96,887,221
97,970,611
98,344,077
99,401,315
100,745,447
102,632,235
103,909,688
104,528,298
104,533,576
104,745,307
106,962,018
107,840,435

Specie.

11,687,209
11,777,711
13,385,260
12,733,069
13,640,437
14,233,329
15,678,736
15,835,874
15,640,687
15,170,946
14,045,024
14,369,556
14,216,841
13,381,454
12,626,094

Circulation.

Deposits.

7,903.656
7,612,507
7,462,706
7,506,986
7,622,827
7,819,122
7,693.441
7,664.688
7,764,392
7,888,176
7,863.148
7,912,581
7,943,253
8,347,498
8.281,525

83,534,893
77.931,498
82,662,828
78,918,315
82,269.061
82,848,152
88,085.9.44
87.680,478
88,604,377
88,749,625
88.621.176
89.390,261
88,186,648
91,008,408
91,081,975

We also annex a continuation of the weekly statement of the Boston banks :—
WEEKLY AVERAGES AT BOSTON.

March 25.

April 1.

April 8.

April 15.

Capital................................................$31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000
Loans and discounts....................... 62,025.000 51,897.000 52,464.500 52,594.600
Specie................................................
4.115,700 14,275,700
4,418,000 4,626,000
Due from other banks.....................
8,064,000
7,440,000
7,131,000 7,888,600
Due to other banks.........................
6,334,000
6,270,000
5,672,800 6,080.900
D eposits..........................................
15,199,000 14,908 000 15,841,000 16,206,000
Circulation......................................
7,056,800
6,801,000
7,134,500
7,482,600




585

Com m ercial C hronicle and R eview .

The following is a statement of the condition of the banks of Massachusetts
April 7, 1856, compiled from the return of the Secretary of State :—•
CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF MASSACHUSETTS, APRIL

7tH, 1856.

LIABILITIES.

36 city.

133 country.
$26,417,927
12,232,487
6,313,277
2,978,049

$58,377,927
17,908,421
22,157,955
6,999,300

$47,941,740

$105,443,603

Notes, bills o f exchange, <5tc.. . .
Specie............................................
Real estate.................................

$46,231,924
1,078,681
631,135

$98,696,330
5,496,931
1,250,342

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

$47,941,740

$105,443,603

C apital..........................................
Net circulation...............................
D eposits........................................
Profit on b a n d .............................
Total...................................

Total.

RESOURCES.

The above statement exhibits, upon comparison with the 1st day of January
last, an increase in the items of capital $190,927, of deposits $1,427,738, and
of specie $999,150 ; and a decrease in the item of net circulation of $149,341.
The receipts of gold from California have remained about the same, but the
total deposited for assay or refining in the Atlantic States represents but a small
portion of it, as much is now shipped in the state in which it is received from San
Francisco. The following will shoiv the business at the Assay Office, in New
York, for the month of March :—
DEPOSITS AT THE ASSAT OFFICE, NEW YORK, FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.

Foreign coins.....................................
Foreign b ullion ...............................
Domestic bullion..............................
Total deposits......................

Gold.

Sliver.

$5,200 00
22,500 00
830,300 00

$25,000 00
1,300 00
0,700 00

$858,000 00

Total.

$30,200 00
23,800 00
837,000 00

$33,000 00

$891,000 00

Gold bars stamped.....................................................................................
Transmitted to U. States Mint, Philadelphia, for coinage..................

1,994,594 20
870,146 44

Of the gold deposits, $2,800 were in California Branch Mint bars.
The operations of the Philadelphia Mint for the last month show that the
whole deposits w'ere $1,003,010, of which $901,810 v'as in gold and $101,200 in
silver. The coinage was in 3,170,615 pieces, of the value of $3,443,098. Of
this sum, $3,203,700 was in gold, $236,000 in silver, and $3,338 in copper. The
gold coinage was very largely in double eagles The silver was wholly in the
smaller coins.
OPERATIONS OF THE SAN FRANCISCO MINT FOR THE MONTHS OF JANUARY AND
FEBRUARY,

1856,

W ITH CORRESPONDING MONTHS OF

1855 :---

GOLD DEPOSITS.

18ft

1856.

January..................................................oz.
February......................................................

64,110 95
31,854 03

97,566 45
136,990 47

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

145,964 98

234,556 92

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

88,591 94




586

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
GOLD COINAGE.

1855.

1856.

$796,000 00

Un parted bars . . .

$984,000 00
29,420 53

Total................................
February— Coin.....................
Un parted bars . .

$1,013,420 53
2,380,000 00
25,654 62

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

$2,405,654 62

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

839,025 30

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

SILVER DEPOSITS.

January ...................................
February.................................

51,763 70
1,661 90

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

53,425 60

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

46,308 90
SILVER COINAGE.

January— Coin.......................
Refined bars........

$28,000 00
23,609 45

Total............................... .
February.................................

$51,609 45
None
RECAPITULATION.

Increase receipts of gold . . .
“
silver . . ,
Increase gold coinage.............
“
silver “ ..............

88,591
46,308
$839,025
51,609

94
90
30
45

Total............................... .
Small coin in January, 1856

$890,634 75
329,000 00

The imports of foreign goods at New York during the month of March are
nearly twice as large as for the corresponding month of last year, the increase be­
ing very marked both in dry goods and general merchandise. The total is
§10,083,901 larger than for March, 1855, §3,699,884 larger than for March,
1854, and §843,130 larger than for the same month in 1853. We annex a com­
parison for four years :—FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK IN MARCH.

1853.

1854.

Entered for consumption___
Entered for warehousing.. . .
Free goods................................
Specie and bullion.................

$15,099,249
2,016,011
2,051,846
247,722

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

$19,413,828 $16,557,074
697,113
1,701,203

$12,911,144
1,806,688
1,344,627
444,015

1855.

1856.

$6,765,687 $15,781,297
1,865,633
2,222,655
1,458,578
2,141,661
83,159
111,345
$10,173,057
2,718,093

$20,256,958
1,852,396

The corresponding date last year was a period of unusual depression in trade;
the total for March, 1853, amounted to §19,413,828, nearly as much as for the
month just closed. This brings the total imports at this port for the first quarter
of the year to §51,871,305, which is §16,670,939 greater than for the correspond­
ing three months of last year, §4,610,832 greater than for the same time in 1854,
but only §1,534,587 greater than for the same time in 1853.




587

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR THREE MONTHS FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1851.

1854.

1855.

1856.

Entered for consumption ........... $41,240,672 $37,989,365 $23,461,214 $40,860,557
3,669,854
5,052,144
7,357,681
5,334,168
Entered for warehousing..............
Free goods .....................................
5,021,992
3,206,196
4,150,673
5,439,624
Specie and b u llio n ........................
404,200
1,012,768
240,798
237,956
Total entered at the p o r t . . . $50,336,718 $47,260,473 $35,200,366 $51,871,305
Withdrawn from warehouse.
3,064,000
6,544,729
7,339,298
6,245,071

The total is but a trifle above that for the corresponding quarter of 1853, but
shows a considerable gain upon the same period of 1854, and a very large gain
as compared with last year. The imports for the nine months of the fiscal year
are very large, and almost equal to the total for the same time in 1853-4, as will
appear from the following comparison :—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR NINE MONTHS OF THE FISCAL YEAR, COMMENCING
JULY 1ST.

1853—4.
Six months................................................
January....................................................
February....................................................
March.........................................................

$96,261,129
19,607,819
11,095,580
16,557,074

Total nine months.............................

$143,521,602

1854—5.
$86,658,097
12,945,827
12,081,482
10,173,057
$121,758,463

1855-6.
$89,912,809
15.578,064
16,036,283
20,256,958
$141,784,114

The total for the last nine months, it will be seen, is $20,025,051 greater than
for the same period of the previous year, and only §1,737,488 below the amount
for the same time in 1853-4.
Of the increase during the month of March, more than half was in dry goods,
as will be seen- by the following comparative summary :—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT THE TORT OF NEW YORK FOR FIVE WEEKS ENDING
MARCH 2 8 t H.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

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

1853.

1854.

$2,065,217
1,696,977
3,536,156
1,052,245
699,879

$1,743,565
2,093,792
2,667,715
826,485
653,556

$788,338 $2,654,973
585,058
1,529,208
1,737,371
3,997,377
962,509
390,839
569,462
1,039,287

1855.

1856.

$9,050,474

$7,985,113

$4,061,068 $10,183,354

WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.

1855.

1856.

1853.

1854.

Manufactures o f w o o l...................
Manufactures o f c o tto n ...............
Manufactures o f s ilk .....................
Manufactures of f la x ...................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s .............

$93,278
115,078
58,471
24,261
39,025

$280,999
344,386
222,472
101,847
65,765

$316,914
633,451
431.141
258,724
168,034

$191,788
431,076
269,847
195,485
66,559

T o ta l........................................
Add entered for consumption.. . .

$330,113
9,050,474

$1,005,469
7,985,113

$1,698,264
4,061,068

$1,144,755
10,183,354

$9,380,587

$8,990,582

$6,759,332 $11,328,109

Total thrown on the m arket.




588

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
\

Manufactures o f w ool..................
Manufactures of co tto n ...............
Manufactures of s ilk ....................
Manufactures of flax.....................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s .............

1851

1854.

oo
fen

ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.

1856,

191,024
254,792
38,190

$304,050
217,413
194,179
65,792
82,634

$115,803
65,704
357,728
89,327
138,930

$94,238
44,073
221,219
59,277
62,323

$814,048
7,985,113

$767,492
4,061,068

$481,130
10,183,354

Total......................................
A dd entered for consumption. . .
Total entered at the p o r t . . . . . . $9,785,311

$8,799,161 $4,828,560 $10,664,484

From the above it appears that the total receipts of dry goods at New York
for March were ^5,835,924 greater than for the same time last year, $1,865,323
greater than for the same time in 1854, and $879,173 greater than for the same
time in 1853. We annex a comparison of the receipts since January 1st:—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR THREE MONTHS FROM
JANUARY 1ST.

OO
6-r,

ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

Manufactures o f w o o l...................
Manufactures of co tto n .................
Manufactures of s ilk .....................
Manufactures of flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry goods................

$6,046,760
5,417,172
9,790,338
2,832.162
1,775,660

1854.
$4,906,014
6,110,686
8,918,981
2,410,232
1,942,213

1855.
$3,037,222
2,606,035
4,398,403
1,384,582
1,482,401

1S56.
$6,253,084
6,754,030
9,534,346
2,626,436
2,340,758

Total............................................ $25,862,092 $24,288,126 $12,908,643 $26,508,654

WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.
1854.
1851

1855.

1856.

Manufactures o f w o o l ...................
Manufactures of co tton .................
Manufactures o f s i l k .....................
Manufactures of f l a x .....................
Miscellaneous d ry g o o d s...............

$318,740
425,520
491,808
91,612
143,137

$843,657
1,249,399
1,060,073
413,983
145,222

$811,718
1,306,369
1,159,408
560,848
373,441

$558,382
1,266,177
823,140
562,882
166,468

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

$1,470,817
25,862,092

$3,712,334
24,288,126

$4,211,784
12,908,643

$3,376,549
26,608,654

Total thrown upon the market. $27,332,909 $28,000,460 $17,120,427 $29,885,203

ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.
1851.

1854.

Manufactures o f w ool . . . ...........
Manufactures o f c o tto n .................
Manufactures o f s ilk ......................
Manufactures of flax.......................
Miscellaneous dry g o o d s ...............

$374,342
421,121
574,771
55,234
117,271

$665,882
949.065
842,279
270.259
71,009

$624,484
820,'750
1,141,482
477,532
383,824

1855.

$438,324
725,635
649,251
297.656
146,339

1856.

Total........................................
A dd entered for consumption.. . .

$1,542,739
25,862,092

$2,798,494
24.288,126

$3,448,072
12,908,643

$2,257,205
26,508,654

Total entered at the p o r t __ $27,404,831 $27,086,620 $16,356,715 $28,765,859

The exports from New York to foreign ports for the month of March are very
large, and show (exclusive of specie) a gain of $2,361,309 as compared with the




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

589

corresponding month of last year, and $2,665,975 as compared with the same pe­
riod of 1854. The exports of specie have also increased.
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH.

18§al.

1854.

1855.

1856.

Domestic produce...........................
Foreign merchandise (free)...........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)....
S p e cie ..............................................

$4,705,007
29,732
299,656
592,479

$5,562,810
98,191
376,268
1,466,127

$4,807,833
941,212
592,890
2,298,697

$8,044,122
190,842
468,280
2,584,396

Total e x p o rts ........................... ..
Total, exclusive o f specie..........

$5,626,874
5,034,394

$7,508,396
6,037,269

$8,640,632 $11,287,640
6,341,935
8,703,244

The large exports of free foreign goods in the same month last year was made
up of guano re-shipped for a merchant in Europe.
The exports for the last three months (exclusive of specie) are $3,018,140
larger than for the corresponding quarter of 1854, and $1,980,522 larger than
for the same period of 1853, as will appear from the annexed comparative sum­
mary :—
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR THREE MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1S5G.

Domestic produce........................... $11,020,636 $16,267,931 $12,958,884 $18,710,798
Foreign merchandise (fre e ).___
135,603
326,149
2,211,629
285,422
Foreign merchandise(dutiable)...
736,511
1,246,076
1,632,130
824,463
2,461,178
3,891,533
4,578,803 3,893,573
Specie...............................................
Total exports..............................$14,353,828 $21,731,694 $21,381,346 $23,714,256
Total, exclusive o f sp ecie......... 11,892,650 17,840,161 16,802,543 19,820,683

It will be seen that the increased shipments are made up of domestic produce.
The exports of merchandise and produce, for the nine months of the fiscal year,
are $14,041,122 greater than for the same time last year, and $3,920,356 greater
than for the same time in 1853-4. W e annex a comparative statement:—
EXPORTS (EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE) FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR NINE MONTHS,
COMMENCING JULY 1.

1851-4.

1854-5.

1855-6.

Six months..................................................
January......................................................
February....................................................
M arch.........................................................

$37,975,895
5,844,795
5,958,097
6,037,269

$28,892,747
5,895,517
4,565,091
6,341,935

$39,915,729
5,511,230
5,606,209
8,703,244

Total for eight months....................

$55,816,056

$45,695,290

$59,736,412

The above, it will be seen, is exclusive of specie, and the increase is altogether
in domestic produce.
The cash revenue has increased, and is now more than sufficient for all the
legitimate events of an economical administration.
CASH DUTIES RECEIVED AT NEW YORK.

1854.
Six months ending January 1st.
January........................................
February........................................
M arch............................................
Total 8 months........................




$21,920,896
4,379,285
2,867,294
3,627,119

1855.

1856.

35 $18,358,927 32 $20,087,362 28
32
2,560,038 32
3,683 654 85
60
2,665,164 94
3,576,919 14
49
2,363,084 95
4.382,107 47

$32,794,595 64

$26,947,216 53

$31,730*043 74

590

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The cash duties received at the Philadelphia Custom-house during the month of
March amounted to $673,002 20, against 8340,918 00 in the corresponding
month last year. The receipts for the first quarter of the current year compare
with the corresponding period in the two previous years as follows

1856.
January..................................................
February................................................
March......................................................

$214,840 60
64,914 60
673,002 20
$952,767 40

1855.

1854.

$337,437 40
220,356 80
340,916 80

$539,292 76
525,008 25
316,383 70

$898,711 00 $1,380,684 71

The following statement will show the revenue collected at the Custom-house,
Boston, during the month of March, for the first quarter of the current year, and
nine months of the fiscal year, compared with the corresponding quarter of last
year :—
For the month ending March 31,1856 ....................................................
For the month ending March 31, 1855 ...................................................

$855,262 76
683,100 46

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

$272,162 30

For the quarter ending March 31, 1856 ...............................................
For the quarter ending March 31, 1855 ...............................................

2,083,371 17
1,998,638 47

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

$84,732 70

For the first nine months of the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1 8 5 6 ...
For the first nine months of the fiscal year endingJune 30, 1 8 5 5 ...

6,110,307 10
5,908,358 40

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

$201,943 70

The shipments of domestic produce have continued large until within the last
two or three weeks. Corn is still going forward in large quantities, but the ex­
ports of flour have been checked by the high rates of freight and comparatively
poor quality of most of the stock at the seaboard. The shipments of wheat have
been almost suspended, there being but little prime offering. The following will
show the comparative exports from New York to foreign ports of certain leading
articles of domestic produce, from January 1 to April 15 :—
EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN
PORTS FROM JANUARY 1 s t TO APRIL 1 5 t h : —

1855.
Ashes— p o ts___ bbls
pearls...........
Beeswax................ lbs.

2,716
766
41,155

1856.
2,507
500
32,914

B rea d slu ffs —

141,714 389,815
7,611
9,517
17,332
15,958
29,803 499,175
5J39 634^262
B y e .........................
5,600
12,111
Oats ........................
C orn ....................... 1,254,658 1,031,902
16,775
15,080
Candles— mold..boxes
4,232
1,051
sperm.........
2,514
967
C oal...................... tons
63,634
69,544
Cotton.................bales
1,003
2,337
H a y ..............................
8,620
1,373
H o p s ............................
Wheat flour . .bbls.
Rye flo u r...............
Corn meal...............




Naval s tores.. ..b b ls.
Oils— w h a le .. .galls.
sperm ...........
lard . . . ...........
linseed

1855.

1856.

204,444
62,112
188,719
7,376

88,569
10,347
75,682
25,921
2,982

P r o v is io n s —

Pork............. .b b ls.
74,366
74,206
35.981
Beef.............
Cut meats,lbs. ..10,747,627 13,011,725
B u tte r........
154,889
635,644
Cheese.........
L a rd............. ......... 4,123,548 6,106,697
10,677
R i c e .................
Tallow............. ..lb s. 1,028,058 1,012,633
14,888
15,129
Tobacco, crude .phgs
Do., manufactured.lbs. 1,126,188 1,389,4 52
W h alebone. . . ......... 194,270 174,582

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

591

The conclusion of the war has diminished the demand for meat provisions for
export, but there must yet be a liberal supply of breadstuffs needed before the next
harvest. To the continental States but little is shipped besides rye, and we are
not sure that the Germans are not wise in their selection. It is certain that ryeflour makes far more wholesome food than much of the wheat-flour exported
during the last year. We do not allude now to the few invoices known to have
been mixed for the purpose of deception, but to the lowest grades of Superfine
State and Western flour. The standard of inspection dropped very low in New
York, and as the wheat was much of it very poor, being “ grown ” on account of
the wet weather, the lowest grades have been totally unfit for human food. A new
system of inspection has been adopted, to go into operation the coming season,
and if the harvest shall be favorable, and the wheat turn out a good quality, we
may hope for a better supply of family flour than we have had during the last
eight months. We do not wonder that foreigners prefer to buy our wheat and
grind it for themselves, after testing several specimens of “ superfine ” American
flour.
N EW YORK COTTON M ARKET FOR THE MONTH ENDING A PRIL 18.
P R E P A R E D FO R T H E M ER C HA NT S* M AG A Z IN E , B Y C H A R L E S W . F R E D E R IC K S O N , B R O K E R , N E W Y O R K .

A t the close of our last monthly report an upward tendency was observable,
which has continued throughout the entire month, prices on all descriptions having
advanced fully one cent per pound, with large sales, to which our own manufac­
turers largely contributed. The quantity taken from this port by shippers has
been small, the great bulk of the export trade being now transacted by the pur­
chase in this city of parcels on shipboard and in transitu between Southern ports
and the whole of Europe. By this means the execution of orders is rapid and
certain, and many of the perplexities attending the purchase and shipping is done
away, and the delivery of a cargo at any given point or time can almost be calcu­
lated to the hour ; besides, it gives to the purchaser in our market the range, as
it were, of the entire Southern markets, and he is able to pick what he likes, from
the bright cottons of the Atlantic States to the long and stronger qualities of the
gulf, thus saving him trouble and expense, and making New York the cotton
market of the Union, as it is evidently designed to become the cotton emporium
of the world. This branch of the trade, as yet but in its infancy, each year must
add to its progress, until it becomes the giant trade, and New York, instead of
being satisfied with sales of a few hundred thousand bales, will reckon its trans­
actions by millions—the South will ship and classify, the North will buy and sell
the entire crop.
The advance of the past month is owing to the general and favorable influence
which peace is likely to exert Upon trade—the negotiations being brought to a
successful termination at Paris on the 30th March, there is now to be expected a
healthy’ reaction in all branches of industry and commercial enterprises; and as
cotton forms the upper and lower strata in the affairs of the world, it is the soon­
est to be effected by the result. The total transactions in this during the past
month foot up 96,000 bales.
Our market for the week ending March 28th was active, at an advance of J c.
per pound, on sales of 19,000 bales, inclusive of 9,000 sold in transitu. The sup­




592

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

ply on sale -was meager, and holders, as a body, indifferent about offering.
quotations at the close were as follows :—

The

PRICES ADOPTED MARCH 2 8 t H FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:—

Ordinary............................................
Middling.............................................
Middling fa ir ....................................
Fair....................................................

Upland.

Florida,

9
10*
11*
11*

9
10f
Ilf
I lf

Mobile. N. O. & Texat.

9*
10*
11*
12

9*
10f
Ilf
12*

For the week closing April 4th increased activity and a further improvement
of * c. per pound took place, on sales of 22,000 bales, inclusive of 12,000 in
transitu. The foreign advices being of a peaceful character, and aided by an up­
ward tendency in prices at the South, our market sympathized to the above ex­
tent, and the following quotations were obtained for rather an indifferent classifi­
cation :—
PRICES ADOPTED APRIL 4 t H FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:----

Florida.

M obile.

Ordinary............................................

Upland.

9*

9*

9*

N .O .& Texas.

9f

Middling......................................

10*

10*

lOf

lo f

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

I lf
Ilf

11*
Ilf

Ilf
12

12
12*

The transactions for the week ending April 11th were estimated at 25,000
bales, inclusive of 13,000 sold in transitu. An active demand existed throughout
the week for our own spinners, who purchased freely of the better grades. The
reports of a slight falling off in receipts strengthened the position of holders, and
full rates were obtained for average lists. The market closed with an upward
tendency at the following :—
PRICES ADOPTED APRIL l lT H

FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:----

Upland.

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

9f
10*
11*
Ilf

Florida.

9f
lO f
I lf
12

Mobile. N. O. & Texas.

9f
10*
Ilf
12*

9f
11
12
12f

For the week closing at date transactions to the extent of 30,000 bales took
place, inclusive of 18,000 sold in transitu. The foreign advices being conclusive
as to peace, and advancing prices at all the Southern ports, gave an impetus to
our market, resulting in sales as above at an advance of f c. a * c. per pound.
Our own spinuors continued free purchasers, and the market closed firmly at the
following :—
PRICES ADOPTED APRIL 1 8 t H FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES:—

Upland. t

Ordinary.............................................
Middling.............................................
Middling fa ir....................................
Fair.....................................................

9f
11*
Ilf
12

Florida,

9f
11*
I lf
12*

Mobile.

10
Ilf
12
12*

N. O. & Texas.

10*
11*
12*
13

The total receipts now amounts to 3,064,000 bales; excess over last year
922.000 bales; excess in export to Great Britain, 300,000 bales; to France,
100.000 bales ; other foreign ports, 200,000 bales; total foreign exports in excess
of last year, 600,000 bales.




Journal o f Banking

, Currency, and

Finance.

593

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
FINANCIAL STATISTICS OF THE NATIONS.
THE BALANCE SHEET OP THE NATIONS, ACCORDING TO THEIR STATUS AND POPULATION.

Nations.
Great Britain*..
Francef..............
Austria..............
United States:): .
Russia.................
Prussia ...............
Turkey...............
Spain..................
Brazil.................
Sardinia.............
Bavaria...............
Belgium .............
Sweden & N o r..
H olland..............
Portugal.............
Papal States . . .
Switzerland___
Denmark.............
New Granada....
Argentine R e p ..
Saxony ...............
Hanover..............
Tuscany.............
Wurtemburg . . .
B olivia...............
P eru ...................
Baden .................
Chili...................
Venezuela...........
G reece...............
Hesse Darmstadt
Hesse Cassel . . .
Modena...............
Meek. Schwerin..
Parma.................
Nassau...............
Brunswick...........
Saxe Hibrghs.....
H am burg...........
Saxe-Cob. Gotha.
Saxe-Altenburg..
R eu ss.................
Bremen...............
Lubeck...............

Year.
1855
1855
1854
1854
1853
1854
1844
1854
1854
1854
1854
1854
1853
1854
1854
1854
1854
1854
1854
1850
1854
1854
1854
1854
1850
1850
1854
1852
1853
1863
1853
1852
1851
1854
1854
1854
1S54
1854

....

1853
1854

Revenue.

$.
285,581,539
300,674,342
113,825,755
65,003,930
170,474,073
77,752,848
32,230,454
73,557,393
18,360,000
27,611,049
16,797,126
24,000,412
8,060,016
28,733,500
13,998,888
11,924,318
2,643,552
7,387,660
1,362,073
4,541,870
5,962,843
6,429,868
5,693,990
4,870,036
2,010,998
10,507,200
8,070,624
6,000,000

Expenditure.

Excess of
income.

Excess o f Population at
expenditure. last census.

s.
29,744,678 27,309,340
35,782,498
764,525
27,265,342 36,514,456
23,191,876
8,638,537
66,250,702
77,752,848
16,935,420
33,111,192
880,737 35,350,000
73,710,124
152,731 14,216,219
7,560,000
16,994,371 1,365,628
1,821,254 4,916,084
26,432,304
1,219,118 4,559,452
17,916,244
24,875,582
875,169 4,359,092
4,762,274
8.060,016
3,362,025
28,281,484
452,016
14,012,544
13,656 3,487,025
1,764,734 2,914,115
13,689,052
2,392,740
2,513,564
129,988
9,315.292
1,927,632 2,296,597
760,502 2,200,000
2,622,576
2,000,000
21,960
4,519910
1,987,832
5,962,843 .......... .......
1,819,253
6,380,059
49,809
5,973,408
279,417 1,778,021
1,733,265
4,859,452
10,584
1,700,000
241,651
1,779,347
1,400,000
8,913,600 1,593,600
13,886 1,356,943
8,084,510
1,188,808
4,999,996 1,000,012
1,356,000
1,002,102
3 614,539
396,648
4,011,187
854,314
3,280,748
754,590
356,721
2.994,105
3,350,827
686,458
69,428
1,675.SCO
1,616,371
542,763
98,812
2,370,806
2,469,619
502,841
58,060
1,264,435
1,322,496
429,060
374,972
1,220,193
1,594,641
270,825
972,600
972,600
166,364
576,576
200,690
2,418,576
1,885,281
533,294
150,412
147,657
147,657
132,849
490,646
7,540
498,187
114,983
293,745
79,047
187,104
3,885,301
4,072,425
54,166
33,705
305,452
271,747
$.
315,326,217
299,909,817
141,101,097
56,365,393

s.

We are indebted to E l ih u B u r r it t , Esq., for a copy of his “ Year-Book of ihe
Nations for 1856.” The above table, Mr. Burritt writes us, “ cost me six weeks’
* Year ending April 5th.
+ Estimated income and expenditure, ordinary and extraordinary.
A Year ending June 30; expenditure exclusive o f payments on public debt.
V OL. X X X IV .---- NO. V .
38




594

,

Journal o f Banking Currency, and Finance.

labor.” The book from which it is taken is small, only fifty pages, but contains
more statistics of the nations of the world, we venture to say, than were ever ex­
hibited in a form so condensed, and at the same time comprehensive. “ It brings,”
to quote a British journalist, “ within a nut-shell the information scattered through
many volumes of English, European, American, and Colonial statistics.” The
merchant, statesman, and political economist will find it a- perfect vade mecum. It
is emphatically multurn in parvo.
VALUE OF SILVER COIN AT UNITED STATES MINT.

The Director of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, in pursuance of an
authorization from the Secretary of the Treasury, has given notice that purchases
of silver for coinage will be made on the following terms, payable in silver coins
of new issues:—•
The silver offered for purchase will be weighed, melted, and assayed, as usual,
and the standard weight determined therefrom in ounces troy, to the hundredth
part of the ounce, and will be paid for (as at present) at the rate of §1
per
standard ounce. The receipt given at the first weighing must bo presented by the
seller or his order, and usually payment may be expected on the day following the
date of receipt, or the second day following.
For the information of the public it may be stated, that according to the above
rate of purchase, the yield of various classes of coin or bullion will be about as
follows:—
Cents.

Five-franc p ie ce s ............................................................................. ................each
Mexican aDd South American dollars...................................................................
Old Spanish dollars..................................................................................................
Revolutionary or “ hammered ” dollars, often mistaken for the true Spanish
dollars......................................................................................... : ........................
Half dollars of the United States, coined before 1837........................................
The same since 1837 to the last change of standard in 1853 .........................

99
106J
105
101
52J
521-

Quarter dollars are proportionally less productive of premium, while dimes and
half dimes coined before 1837 have lost rather more by wear, on an average, than
the premium would make u p ; those coined since 1837 to 1853, will average a
premium of 3£ per cent on their nominal value.
Cents.

German, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian crowns......................................each
114
Old French crow n9..................................................................................................
114
German florins.. . ..................................................................................................
41J
Prussian and Hanoverian thalers...........................................................................
72
American plate, best manufacture...................................................... per oz. 120 a 122
125
Genuine British p la te .............................................................................................

Purchases will be made at the branch of the mint at New Orleans at i per
cent lower than the above prices, payable at the option of the Department in
drafts on*Boston or New York.
A t San Francisco the purchases may be paid for in gold or silver, at the option
of the superintendant thereat, until a sufficient supply of silver bullion is received
to meet the public demand for silver coin at that institution.
BANKING IN VIRGINIA.

Several bills extending the charter of certain banks in Virginia have recently
been passed by the legislature of that State. Wo give a copy of the “ bill to ex-




Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
tend the charter of the bank of Virginia.”
visions :—

595

The other bills contain similar pro­

Be it enacted by the General Assemby nf Virginia, That the charter of the bank
of Virginia be and is hereby extended from the first day of April, eighteen hun­
dred and fifty-seven, for six years; and the bank is hereby invested with all the
rights, powers, and privileges conferred, and made subject to all the rules, regular
tions, and restrictions imposed by the 56th and 58th chapters of the Code of Vir­
ginia, and the act entitled an act to amend the 10th section of chapter 57 of the
Code of Virginia, passed April 9, 1853, so far as the same may be applicable to
banks of circulation.
2. The notes of the several banks of this State received in payment of the pub­
lic revenue except the notes of this bank, the Farmers' Bank of Virginia and the
Exchange Bank of Virginia, and the branches of said banks, shall not be re­
deemed by the deposit banks in specie before the expiration of fifteen days after
such deposit. Should either of the deposit banks refuse to receive on deposit the
notes of any specie-paying bank, the Governor of the Commonwealth, upon writ­
ten notice thereof from the Treasurer of the State, shall direct the removal of the
deposits of such bank, and have them deposited in some other bank.
3. The loans and discounts of each branch shall be so regulated that they shall
not at any branch exceed twice the capital of the branch.
4. The total amount of the paper circulation of a branch of this bank shall
never exceed five times the amount of the coin in possession of such branch, and
actually the property of the bank.
5. The bank shall give no certificate of deposit, or other evidence of debt,
which is not payable in specie.
6. Every quarterly statement of the bank, shall, in addition to the information
which the code of Virginia requires to be made, also exhibit the aggregate debt
due by such bank ; the outstanding debt due such bank ; its discount of inland
and foreign bills of exchange; its loans to directors; its specie circulation and
deposits on the first day of each month of the quarter it embraces.
7. The bank shall not issue or pay out any note for Circulation except the de­
nomination of five dollars, ten dollars, or of some multiple of ten.
8. It shall be law7ful for the said bank to increase its capital stock by the
amount of $650,0(10 by the sale of stock ; provided it shall not be sold at less
than par. The said increased capital, as also the present capital of said bank and
branches may be distributed between the mother bank and its several branches as
the stockholders in the general meeting may determine.
9. This act shall commence aud be in force from and after the time when its
provisions shall have been approved by the stockholders in the said bank con­
vened in general meeting at any time before the first day of February next, and
such approval shall have been made and certified by the President and Cashier
of said bank under its corporate seal to the Governor of this Commonwealth.
NOTES OF CIRCULATION ISSUED BY OHIO BANKS.

We find, among the many interesting tables appended to the Annual Report of
the Auditor of State on the condition of the finances of Ohio in 1855, a state­
ment showing the amount of bank-notes of each denomination issued by each of
the various banks of that State, which were in circulation on the first Monday of
November, 1855, as reported to the Auditor in pursuance of law. From that
table we compile the following aggregate of the bank-notes of all the banks in cir­
culation
Ones.

$792,649

Tw os.

$29,134

Threes.

$743,492

Fives.

$2,718,395

T h is .

Tw enties.

Fifiies.

$4,039,880

$455,320

$293,600

This table shows a total circulation of “ promises to pay ” of $9,072,170. The
names of ten banks are given in the Report of the Auditor, not included in tho
above statement. The cause of the omission is not stated.




596

Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
RATES OF TAXATION IN PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS OF OHIO.

The subjoined table shows the rate of taxation in the principal cities and towns
of Ohio in the years 1852,1853,1854, and 1855, together with the total amount
of taxable property of each city or town named :—■
Rate on each one hundred dollars taxable valuation,
Names o f cities and towns.

Akron...................................
Ashland..............................
A thens................................
Batavia................................
Bellefontaine.......................
Bellevue...............................
Beverly...............................
Bridgeport..........................
Bryan...................................
Bucyrus..............................
Cadiz...................................
Cambridge...........
1 45
Canfield..............................
Canton................
1 26
Canal Dover........................
1 26
Carrollton............
Celina....................
1 42
Chardon..............................
Chillicothe..........
1 60
Cincinnati............................
Circlevilie...........................
Cleveland............................
Columbus............................
Conneaut............................
Coshocton............................
Cuyahoga Falls..................
Dayton..................
1 42
Defiance...............................
Delaware..............
1 50
Delphos, Allen C ounty....
Delphos, Van Wert C o .. .
D resden..............................
E aton ..................................
Elyria...................................
Findlay................................
Franklin M ills...................
Fremont...............................
Gallipolis.............................
Georgetown.........................
Gilboa..................................
Granville............................
G reenville..........................
H am ilton............................
Harrnar...............................
Hillsborough.....................
Ironton.................................
Jackson, C. H .....................
Jefferson..............................
K alida.................................
Kenton.................................
Lancaster.............................
Lebanon...............................
Lima.....................................
Logan...................................
London.................................
M a lta ..................................




I 45 0
1 45 0
1725
63 0
1125
2126
100 0
89 0
2 25 0
2275
1 21 0
7
67 0
0
1218
0
5
700
0
165 0
1 55 0
1 81 0
1 57 0
1 19 0
1250
82 5
0
1514
0
1 57 0
2 59 0
1710
1 47 5
3 06 0
1 50 1
1 00 0
2 34 6
1 33 0
84 0
1 42 0
107 5
1 90 0
97 5
1 90 0
97 5
1161
1 37 0
750
1 50 0
1590
1 27 5
760
150 0
109 0
1425
116 0

1858..

1854.

1855.

1 47 5
1 81 6
1 60 0
96 9
2 17 0
1 00 0
1 32 5
1 16 0
1 72 0
1 95 0
1 19 5
1 32 0
1 13 0
1 20 0
1 35 0
1 21 0
1 82 5
1 55 0
1 80 0
1 85 0
1 50 0
2 20 0
1 65 0
1 14 0
2 07 5
1 15 0
1 64 0
2 36 0
1 41 0
1 72 0
2 54 0
2 21 0
1 56 0
2 20 0
1 52 2
1 07 0
1 90 0
1 35 0
1 07 5
1 81 0
1 31 0
1 89 0
1 67 5
1 90 0
1 09 5
2 09 5
1 61 0
1 56 0
1 44 0
1 43 0
1 28 2
1 20 0
1 50 0
1 02 0
1 24 7

1 22 5
1 49 5
1 61 5
69 5
1 32 5
1 03 7
1 39 5
88 0
1 04 0
1 31 0
1 08 0
82 0
86 3
1 26 5
87 5
1 11 5
1 22 5
97 5
1 42 0
1 67 5
1 32 0
1 69 0
1 07 5
1 29 5
1 04 0
90 0
1 22 5
1 53 6
1 17 5
1 95 5
1 73 0
1 56 0
97 5
1 12 5
1 42 7
97 5
1 46 0
99 0
1 65 0
2 14 0
1 42 5
1 84 0
1 19 5
1 71 5
87 0
1 50 5
1 25 5
1 23 5
1 17 5
1 27 5
1 16 5
1 27 6
1 20 5
1 38 5
95 5

1 20 0
1 52 0
1 60 0
93 0
1 67 0
96 5
1 27 5
76 7
1 80 0
1 39 0
1 37 0
1 17 2
79 3
1 29 5
84 5
1 09 0
1 03 0
1 00 0
1 43 0
1 48 0
1 34 0
1 25 5
1 35 5
1 04 0
1 96 5
1 17 5
1 22 0
2 09 0
1 53 0
1 43 5
1 46 5
1 73 0
1 07 5
1 12 5
1 41 4
74 0
1 67 0
90 0
1 51 2
1 68 0
1 16 5
1 75 0
1 32 5
1 74 0
85 0
1 31 5
1 25 0
1 32 5
1 50 0
1 26 5
1 15 0
1 18 0
1 26 0
1 38 0
1 07 0

1 10 0

86 5

66 0

Taxable
valuation.

1855.
$1,375,221
330,089
437,018
201,598
737,287
186,002
207,557
812,103
127,576
565,428
974,468
337,973
184,596
961,376
386,641
154,399
82,095
182,888
2,856,464
85,330,880
2,279,163
22,223,564
10,533,293
160,112
383,571
822,745
9,322,719
263,723
1,829,660
122,744
62,237
819,185
1,110,959
893,664
755,615
809,679
715,829
747,483
266,214
73,472
279,438
386,453
1.662,788
399,337
869,039
1,923,846
430,960
137,198
58,416
344,088
2,309,229
750,827
340,517
861,327
481,033
169,271

Journal o f Banking, Currency, arw£ Finance.

Names of cities and towns.
Mansfield...........................
Marietta...............................
M arion................................
M arysville.........................
Massillon............................
McArthur............................
McConnellsville..................
Medina, C. H.......................
Middletown.........................
M illersburg.......................
Mt. G ile a d .........................
Mt. Pleasant.......................
Mt. Vernon.........................
Napoleon.........................
Newark................................
New Lexington..................
New Lisbon.........................
New London.....................
New Philadelphia..............
Norwalk..............................
Oberlin.................................
Oxford.................................
Painesville...........................
Perry sburg.........................
Piketon................................
P iq u a ..................................
Pomeroy.............................
Port Clinton.......................
Portsmouth.......................
Putnam................................
Ravenna..............................
Republic..............................
R ip ley.................................
Rossville............................
Salem...................................
Sandusky City. . . . c . . . .
Sarahsville..........................
Shelby .............................
S id n ey................................
Somerset.............................
Springfield..........................
Steubenville.......................
St. Clairsville ...................
St. Mary’s ...........................
Tiffin....................................
T o le d o ................................
T r o y ....................................
TJrbana................................
Upper Sandusky...............
Van Wert...........................
Wapakonetta.....................
Warren................................
Washington.........................
W ashington, C. PI..............
WellsviUe...........................
West Unity.........................
Wilmington.........................
Woodsfield..........................
W ooster.............................
Xenia...................................
Youngstown ...................
Zanesville............................




Rate on each one hundred
1852.
18a J.
85 0
1 42 5
1 70 0
1 87 5
1 42 0
1 77 5
2 25 0
1 88 0
1 12 0
1 43 0
1 05 0
1 05 0
1 18 0
1 73 0
1 05 0
1 23 0
76 0
1 60 0
1 32 0
1 52 5
1 29 0
1 97 5
89 5
1 34 5
1 40 0
1 37 8
....
....
2 00 0
1 71 0
90 0
97 6
1 02 0
1 35 0
85 0
1 00 0
1 28 5
1 23 0
1 40 0
1 22 5
1 55 0
1 25 0
94 0
1 22 5
2 13 0
1 70 0
6 50 0
6 13 0
1 08 0
78 0
1 30 0
1 08 0
1 42 0
1 36 0
2 57 5
1 56 0
1 85 0
1 75 0
1 38 0
92 0
94 0
1 21 0
1 76 0
1 39 0
1 87 5
172 5
1 14 0
1 44 0
1 46 5
1 02 0
3 50 0
3 36 0
1 19 0
1 25 0
90 0
82 0
1 72 0
1 80 0
97 5
1 07 5
1 47 0
1 64 0
1 65 0
1 47 5
88 0
96 0
1 92 5
1 65 0
1 76 0
1 20 0
2 72 5
2 21 0
2 06 0
1 82 0
1 52 5
1 91 0
1 05 0
1 45 0
2 19 0
1 78 5
2 20 0
2 22 2
1 01 5
1 12 5
83 0
89 5
1 67 0
1 17 5
1 85 0
1 22 0
2 42 0
2 20 0
1 52 5
1 07 0
1 74 0
1 11 5
1 16 0
2 80 0
1 33 0
96 0
1 28 0
1 07 0
1 52 0
1 60 0

dollars taxable valuation.
1854.
1855.
1 35 0
1 55 5
1 66 5
1 86 5
1 11 5
1 11 0
1 61 0
1 28 5
91 0
1 26 0
1 27 5
1 13 0
1 18 5
91 0
81 0
83 0
88 0
97 5
1 05 5
1 06 0
86 5
1 04 0
64 2
86 5
1 13 9
1 35 0
....
1 50 0
1 57 0
1 16 0
84 5
1 18 0
1 20 0
1 31 0
119 5
87 0
87 0
1 20 0
1 35 0
1 26 5
1 10 5
1 16 5
96 5
97 0
86 0
4 10 0
3 87 0
89 0
1 05 0
1 60 0
1 53 0
1 18 5
1 18 5
1 49 0
2 03 0
1 75 0
1 45 0
1 41 0
1 20 0
1 18 0
1 18 0
1 36 5
1 24 5
1 52 5
1 75 0
1 05 0
1 28 0
73 0
1 34 0
1 66 0
1 76 5
91 5
1 19 5
1 07 5
1 13 5
2 00 0
2 43 0
1 23 5
1 09 0
1 46 0
1 34 0
1 30 0
1 86 2
88 0
75 5
1 80 0
1 48 0
1 98 0
1 62 5
2 85 0
3 20 0
1 96 0
1 85 0
98 0
95 0
1 25 0
1 28 5
2 43 0
1 77 0
2 04 0
2 09 0
1 02 5
1 27 5
1 82 5
79 5
1 54 5
1 79 5
2 02 0
2 17 5
2 50 0
2 03 0
1 02 0
1 02 5
1 26 5
1 14 0
1 95 0
2 50 0
1 04 0
1 10 0
1 17 6
88 0
1 50 0
1 90 0

591

Taxable
valuation.
1,442.472
1,518,204
1,051.446
249,225
2,087,705
1*3,061
493,940
393,676
536,687
324,790
263,317
688,781
1,788,312
...............
1,703,685
102.176
305,584
106,730
606 145
1,318,608
301,324
398,839
1,220,580
203.213
184,062
1,790,477
788,843
134,506
2,926.205
917.931
1,115,220
198.447
1,160,411
521,488
915.217
2,890,080
22,070
206.615
539.648
278,698
2.979,086
2,687,833
337,713
29H.U82
1,487,163
3,585.550
1,248,095
1,639.668
320,727
168.938
116,595
1,897.576
7C2.846
405,871
260,888
59.958
876,152
158,237
1,260.820
2,206,337
654,591
3,474,001

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

598

We have compiled the preceding- table from the annual report of the Auditor
of the State of Ohio, for an official copy of which we are indebted to the consid­
erate attention of W illiam D. M organ, Esq., the able head of that department.
The document abounds in statistical statements connected with the finances, re­
sources, &c., of the State. From it we have compiled for this and other depart­
ments a variety of useful information of the present number.
BOSTON BANK CAPITAL AND DIVIDENDS.

We are indebted to Mr. J oseph G. M artin , stock broker, Boston, for the sub­
joined statement, showing the capital and last four semi-annual dividends, with
the market value of the different stocks, quoted dividend of October, 1854, April
and October, 1855, and April, 1856 :—
Present
Capital.

Ranks.

Freeman’s .............
Market (par $70) .
Suffolk...................
Boy Isto n ...............
E xchange.............
Shoe and Leather.
A tla s.....................
Blackstone...........
Boston (par $50) .
Eagle.....................
Faneuil H all.........
Globe.....................
Hamilton .............
Mechanics’ .............
Merchants’.............
New England.. . .
Shawm ut.............
Traders’ .................
Tremont.................
Union.....................
Broadway.............
Com m erce...........
Howard.................
North.....................
National.................
Eliot.......................
Atlantic.................
North American...
Washington...........
City........................
Granite..................
Columbian.............
State (par $60) . .
Webster.................
Mass (par $250)..
Maverick...............
Amount
Amount
Amount
Amount
Amount

$400,000
560,000
1,000,000
400,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
500,000
150,000
900,000
700,000
500,000
1,000,000
500,000
250,000
4,000,000
1,000,000
750,000
600,000
1,250,000
1,000,000
150,000
2,000,000
500,000
750,000
750,000
600,000
500,000
750,000
750,000
1,000,000
900,000
750,000
1,800,000
1,500,000
800,000
400,000

April, 1854 ___
October, 1854 . .
April, 1855........
October, 1855 . .
April, 1856 . . . .

-DIVID ENDSOct. April Oct. A pril
l8o4. 1855. 1855. 1856.

5
5
5
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3*

Si
Si
Si
3^
$8
. .

5
5
5
4i
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
$8
3

5
5
5
4i
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3i
Si
3
4
3£
3^
3i
3i
Si
$8
Si

5
5
5
4i
5
4i
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
3i
3*
3i
3£
Si
Si
3
Si
3i
Si
Si
3i
3i
Si
$8
Si

Oct.
1854.

112
83 i
127
115
108
106
102 J
103
56

102i
104
110
no
100
105i
106
104
102
107
108
101
98
99
101
100
99
106
102
102
101
99i
101
63
102
250
. . . .

-VALUE (3F STOCK. ---------- 'N
April
April
Oct.
J856.
1855.
1855.

113
85
128
115
109
108*
103
101
57
104
104
111
111
104
106i
108i
104
103
109
109
100
100
98
100
100
100
106
101
99 i
103
100
103
64
103
250
97

113
85*
122
108
no
109
104
103
58
105
108
114
114
104
105*
109
104
103

no
no
101
100i
99i
102
101
100*
100
102
102*
103*
101
103*
64
103*
253
95*

114
83
124
109
111
112*
106
102
58*
106
106
115
115
106
105*
109
101*
102
no
no
99
100
96
99
99*
99
93
101
101*
104
97
103*
64*
l Ol f
255
91*

Capital.

Dividend,

$30,160,000
30,460,000
32,355,000
32,710,000
31,960,000

$1,238,600
1,237,600
1,268,150
1,275,600
1,240,600

The Mechanics’ Bank made an extra dividend of 12* per cent in October, 1854.
The 5 per cent dividend of the Broadway Bank (S. Boston) was for the first nine




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

599

months of its operation. The dividend of the Massachusetts Bank is 3 1-5 per
cent, which is given in the table as $8 per share, (par §250.)
As compared with October last the Exchange increased one per cent, and the
Shoe and Leather Dealers’ one-half. The Broadway, Commerce, Howard, North,
and North American, each one-half per cent less. The Grocers’ Bank was in­
cluded in the October table, which about makes the difference between the total
then and now.
DEBT OF T tlE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA,

The following statement, from a reliable source, will show the amount of the
public debt of the city of Philadelphia, and the dates at which the same is pay­
able. These loans were contracted previous to the consolidation of the city:—
Year.

1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1S62
1803
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869

i8~;o
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875

5 per cents.
$49,968
97,400
115,500
111,894
876,643
183,873
118,400
216,300
134,700
412,700
67,500
153,600
132,954
100,293
122,800
133,400
97,600
100,900
53,900
15,000

C per cents.

Total.

Year.

$150,550
92,091
55,528
3,320
378,263
88,500
38,196
61,458
47,760
103,640
30,870
85,820
103,527
7,733
176,892
236,545
133,550
666,848
113,161
114,600

$200,518
189.491
171,028
115,215
1,254,907
272,373
156,596
277,758
182,460
516.340
98,370
239,427
236,4SI
108,026
299,782
369,945
230,150
767,748
167,061
129,500

1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
1881
1882
1883
1884
1885
1886
1887
1888
1889
1890
1891
1892
1893
1894
1904

5 per cents. 6 per cents.
$617,763
$9,400
2,000
290,877
311,831
2,000
2,000
277,800
579,545
76,198
1,619,520
32,600
395,000
9,400
405,254
3,000
1,350,800
10.600
3,850
238,000
250,000
256,409
225,000
1,014,200
750,000
250,000
925,000
182,213
30,000
44,552

Total.

$627,153
292.877
313,831
279,800
655,744
1,652,120
404,400
408,264
1,361,400
241,850
250,000
256.409
225,000
1,014,200
750,000
250,000
925,000
182,213
30,000
44,552

The five per cent loans amount to §3,416,375 ; the six per cents, to §12,702,614
—showing a total public debt of §16,148,989.
A PARAGRAPH OF TIIE LANGUAGE OF FINANCE.

The editor of the Detroit Daily Advertiser calls things by their right names.
His remarks do not, of course, apply to the readers of the Merchants' Magazine ,
who are all “ honorable men.”
“ Finance has a language of its own. Its thieves are not thieves but defaulters.
Having more notes afloat than means to pay them is being short of currency;
the world calls it poverty and insolvency. Pawning is hypothecation; shinning
and borrowing is financiering. Swindling is over-operating; taking men’s and
women’s money to keep safely, and squandering it, or losing it in speculation, is
suspending. Loaning out other people’s money is accommodation. Paying out
doubtful issues in redeeming their own, is retiring circulation. Embezzlement is
extending liabilities. Stealing State or government bonds is an over-issue ; and
managing a bank well is contriving to make somebody not interested furnish
means to bank upon. Finance has a smooth business name for almost every act
relating to money—its safe keeping, disbursement and prompt payment; the re­
verse of which, in a private individual, is called by harsh Saxon names, such as
are found in bills of indictment and penal statutes. The votaries of finance never
steal; they overdraw'. They are never poor, though often ‘ very close.’ They
never refuse to pay honest debts; they suspend. The commercial history of this
country for the past twenty-five years is a history of financiering—not only or
chiefly by bankers, nor even by brokers, but by a class of adventurers who have
seized upon these capacities to shroud designs of plunder under technical names.”




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

600

CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF OHIO.

We have received from the Auditor of the State of Ohio the quarterly state­
ment exhibiting the condition of the several incorporated banking institutions of
that State on the first Monday of February, 1856, as shown by their returns made
under oath to the Auditor of State, from which we have compiled the following
table. There are eleven independent banks, the circulation of which is secured by
Ohio and United States stocks deposited with the State Treasurer; thirteen free
banks, whose circulation is secured by Ohio and United States stocks deposited
with the State Auditor; forty-one branches of the State Bank, four of which
have become insolvent, viz. : the Akron Branch, the Commercial Branch, Toledo,
the Licking County Branck, Newark, and the Mechanics’ and Traders’ Branch,
Cincinnati, and one withdrawn, the Franklin Branch, Cincinnati; and one old
bank, the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company, with a paid-up capital of
$

2 , 000,000

:— -

RESOURCES.
Independent
banks.

Free banks.

Branches of
t^tate Hank.

Old banks.

Notes At bills discounted. $1,667,177 04 $1,343,008 61 $10,100,80534 $1,721,007 61
S p e cie ..............................
207,246 79
136,672 80
1,740,562 72
12,327 58
Notes of other banks.. .
227,969 00
146,549 25
746,746 51
512,695 00
Due from other banks . .
95,017 68
125,398 45
765,335 07
66,201 25
Eastern deposits.............
294,678 69
271,131 69
1,499,415 79
...................
Checks & oth. cash items
20,849 67
8,298 50
62,260 98
15,655 00
Bonds of U. S. and Ohio.
883,534 81
..........................................................................
State st’ksdep.with Aud..........................
787,248 37
................................................
Safety fund..........................................................................
805,969 80
...................
Real and personal estate
14,468 00
86,188 14
277,049 69
23,002 21
Other resources.............
55,904 89
108,240 92
492,435 52
538,466 03
Total......................... $3,466,346 57 $2,962,731 73 $16,579,581 42 $2,889,354 68
LIABILITIES.

Capital stock...................
$475,000 00
$853,250 00 $4,094,500 00
$75,000 00
Circulation.......................
829,576 00
767,652 00
7,480,006 00
3,355 00
Safety fund stock...........
700,406 67
233,000 00
................................................
Safety fund at credit of
Board o f C ontrol...........................................................
60,264 45
...................
Due to banks At bankers
81,653 62
59,831 62
271,945 78 1,298,609 62
Due to depositors..........
1,119,342 28
985,715 82
3,496,077 20 1,493,983 03
Contingent fund and un­
divided profits...........
108,225 07
7,009 91
781.136 50
....................
Bills pay’ ble A: time dr’fts
...................
5,000 00
63.921 13
720 00
Discount, interest, Ate.. .
46,587 68
49,400 00
204,434 59
...................
Dividends unpaid...........
173 00
1,870 85
4,163 00
...................
Other liabilities.............
105,381 25
1 53
173,132 77
17,687 03
Total.........................$3,466,346 57 $2,962,781 73 $16,579,581 42 $2,889,354 68
EXPEN SES OF LEGISLATION IN PENNSYLVANIA.

The Auditor-Cencral of Pennsylvania furnishes a statement of the expenses of
the Legislature from 1843 to 1855, of which the following is a summary :—
1843____
1844____
1845____
1846____
1847____
1848____
1849____

Senate.
$34,285
26,742
22,179
22,744
15.954
21,468
23,636




House.
$87,478
65.664
60,54 5
53,261
42,084
57,192
58,882

Total.
$121,764
92,406
82.725
76,005
58.039
78.660
82,619

1850. . . .
1851. . . .
1852.
1853.
1854.
1855.

Senate.
$31,334
27.969
32.340
42,276
37,533

House.
$71,386
62,207
70,998
69,114
86,330
101,389

Total.
$102,721
90,177
103,334
99,253
128,607
138,923

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

60 1

FRENCH FINANCES AND FINANCIERS.

As to the financial position of France, the National Review says : “ Including
the two great loans the belief is. that since the coup d'etat, Louis Napoleon has
borrowed 1,700,000,000 francs. The expenses incurred by the municipality of Paris
on account of the arrangement as to the price of bread, reach between fifty and
one hundred million francs. For the embellishment of the city the Parisian au­
thorities have contracted three loans, to an extent of 135,000,000 francs. The
sums borrowed for similar purposes by the departments and communes are stated
to us at 300,000,000 francs. These facts and figures are alarming enough : what
is yet more so, is the establishment of the Credit Mobilier, a society for borrow­
ing and lending on various securities and on an enormous scale. Scarcely one of
the ministers, or men connected with the emperor, is free from the reproach of
stock-jobbing ; their fortunes have been made either by gross favoritism or by
speculations in the funds, which, in men placed as they are, and with sinister and
secret means of information, is little short of swindling; and the riches thus ques­
tionably won are spent in a style of lavish and somewhat vulgar luxury peculiarly
offensive both to the taste and the poverty of the cultivated and the noble.”
PAYM ENT OF IN TER E ST ON STATE BONDS OF MISSOURI,

We publish below the several sections of an A ct passed at the last session of
the “ General Assembly of the State of Missouri,” and approved by the governor
December 7th, 1855. This act is entitled—•
AN ACT TO SECURE THE PROMPT PAYMENT OF THE INTEREST ON STATE BONDS.

1. There is hereby set apart on the first day of July, 1856, from any
moneys in the State Treasury, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of two hun­
dred thousand dollars, as the basis of a State interest fund ; and the further sum
of one hundred thousand dollars annually thereafter, out of the gross revenue of
the State for the period of thirteen years, which said fund shall be denominated
“ The State Interest Fund.”
S ec. 2. In case any railroad company to which the credit of the State has been
loaned, shall fail to deposit with the treasurer of the State a sum sufficient to
meet any interest to fall due, upon any State bond, or upon any bond guarantied
by the State, thirty days prior to the time when the said interest shall become
due, it shall be the duty of the auditor and treasurer, hereinafter mentioned, to
pay to the treasurer of State, out of the State interest fund hereby created, the
amount of money sufficient to enable said treasurer to pay said interest promptly at
maturity; and when such delinquent railroad company shall repay to the treas­
urer of State the amount so paid for such company, with interest thereon, the
same shall be repaid by said treasurer into the said “ State Interest Fund.”
S ec . 3. The treasurer of State and the auditor of public accounts, and their
successors in office, are hereby created commissioners of said “ State Interest
Fund,” and they shall have the exclusive control, custody, and care of the same ;
and it shall be their duty to keep separate accounts of said fund, and make annual
reports to the governor of the condition of said fund.
S ec . 4. The said commissioners shall invest the said sum of two hundred thou­
sand dollars, and the said annual apportionment of one hundred thousand dollars,
in the seven per cent bonds of the State of Missouri, or in the bonds of the United
States, or such other States as the General Assembly of this State may from
time to time designate, and the interest accruing from time to time on said bonds
shall be invested in such bonds, and shall be added to and form part of the said
“ State Interest Fund.”
S ec. 5. The said commissioners shall have power to sell or hypothecate the
whole or any part of the bonds belonging to said fund to procure ready money,
to meet any demands which may be made upon such fund under the provisions of
the second section of this act. The bonds, moneys, and papers belonging to said
fund shall be deposited in the State treasury under the immediate care and custo­
dy of the treasurer of State for the time being.
S ec. 6. The fund created by this act is hereby declared to be sacred and invio­
S e c t io n




602

Commercial Statistics.

lable for the purposes contemplated by this act, and tlie General Assembly here­
by pledge the public faith of the State of Missouri, that the fund hereby created
shall not be diverted or applied to any other purpose whatever, until the principal
and interest of all the State bonds issued and to be issued or guarantied under ex­
isting acts shall be fully paid and redeemed in good faith.
S ec. 7. The commissioners of said “ State Interest Fund ” hereby created shall
receive such compensation for their services as the General Assembly of this State
shall from time to time prescribe by law.
S ec. 8. This act shall not be construed to alter, modify, or repeal any former
acts of the General Assembly loaning the credit of the State to the railroad com­
panies respectively; nor shall the Governor be authorized to issue any bonds of
the State to such railroad companies, while such company or companies shall fail
or refuse to repay to the treasurer of State any advance of interest due by said
company or companies to said “ State Interest Fund.” This act to take effect
and be in force from and after its passage.

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.
COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF THE UNITED STATES W ITH THE WORLD.

The following tables, showing the Commerce and Navigation of the United
States with various foreign countries, were communicated to Congress on the 10th
of March, 1856. These tables, as will be seen, exhibit the value of exports to,
and imports from each country, and the tonnage of American and foreign vessels
arriving from, and departing to each country during the years designated. These
tables are siifiilar to one or two which we copied from the manuscript tables
furnished to our hands by Mr. Nourse, and published in a former number of the
Merchants' Magazine:—
GREAT BRITAIN.
COMMERCE.
,------------------- VALUE OF EXPORTS.------------------- ,
Years.
1 8 4 5 .....................................
1 3 4 6 ........................
1 8 4 7 ......................
1 8 4 8 ......................
1 8 4 9 ....................................
1 8 5 0 ...................... ..............
1 8 5 1 ....................................
1 8 5 2 ...................
____
1 8 5 3 ......................
1 8 5 4 ...................... ..............
1 8 5 5 ...................... ..............

D om estic
produce.
$ 4 4 ,2 3 4 ,2 7 9

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

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

Total.
$ 4 9 ,0 5 6 ,4 59
4 6 ,2 1 5 ,4 7 1
8 7 ,2 9 5 ,3 5 7
7 6 .7 2 6 ,6 5 4
7 8 ,5 9 0 ,1 7 0
7 3 ,1 7 0 ,3 7 8
1 1 7 ,9 5 5 ,9 1 5
1 1 5 ,4 6 9 ,9 7 5
1 2 1 ,2 0 2 ,2 7 1
1 4 5 ,0 5 5 ,8 3 9
1 3 9 ,5 9 2 ,8 6 9

Y alue o f
imports.
$45,5IM ),633
4 3 ,9 5 7 ,7 4 0
6 7 ,5 9 7 ,6 2 8
6 1 ,8 4 5 ,1 1 9
6 1 ,1 5 4 ,5 3 8
7 5 ,1 5 9 ,4 2 4
9 3 ,8 4 7 ,8 8 6
9 0 ,8 2 8 ,8 8 9
1 3 0 ,2 6 7 ,3 4 0
1 4 6 ,4 3 8 ,5 3 7
1 0 6 ,6 4 3 ,1 8 0

NAVIGATION.

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

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




AMERICAN VESSELS.
Entered
Cleared
U. States.
U. States.
3 9 0 ,9 9 0
3 9 1 .1 2 0
4 8 7 ,2 7 8
6 0 7 ,5 1 3
6 0 8 ,1 5 3
6 5 0 ,9 5 1
6 0 0 .7 6 9
4 6 5 ,3 5 5
6 1 8 ,7 6 6
6 4 2 ,2 1 6
7 7 6 ,9 7 1
6 5 1 ,4 6 0
8 5 5 ,0 8 1
6 9 5 ,1 0 8
8 6 0 ,9 9 6
8 9 0 ,1 0 8
9 0 5 ,7 0 8
8 6 3 ,0 8 5

FOREIGN VESSELS.
Cleared
Entered
U. Slates.
U. States.
2 4 2 ,7 6 1
22(1,718
1 9 1 ,2 6 1
2 2 6 ,6 5 2
4 4 4 ,8 9 0
4 1 7 ,2 5 1
3 1 0 .0 8 5
3 7 5 ,2 8 5
4 2 1 ,0 0 5
5 5 5 ,6 3 9
3 0 9 ,3 2 6
5 5 4 ,0 6 3
3 0 8 ,8 8 8
5 3 1 ,8 4 7
4 2 7 ,7 6 5
5 5 4 ,1 6 4
4 7 6 ,7 4 3
6 5 3 .9 6 7
7 7 5 ,6 8 1
5 9 5 ,0 5 4
2 8 2 ,6 1 0
3 7 6 ,0 0 5

603

Commercial Statistics.
FRANCE.
COMMERCE.

NAVIGATION.

■VALUE OF EXPORTS.-------------------N ,-----AMERICAN.-----s

Foreign

Years.
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

Domestic
produce.

produce.

12,380,171
13.601,650
18.592.531
15.374,885
12.523,769
17,950,277
25,302,085
22,190,070
25,120,806
30,968,252
31,623,893

3,170,*233
1,528,925
505,087
4,444,425
2.986.824
1,883,070
2.951,061
1,800,575
1,450,978
1,179,729
1,254,230

Total.
15,500,404
15.130,575
19,097,618
19,819.310
15.510,583
19,833,347
28,252,146
23,990,645
26,571,784
32.147,9S1
32,878,128

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

452,091
541,903
2,006,716
2,386,141
1,944,202
3,899,362
5,555,128
3,445,080
4,642,740
4,650,141,
4,702,252

64,673
61,843
95,938
21,647
60,629
131,928
151,186
152,417
61,848
78,494
441,612

516,764
603,746
2,102,654
2,467,788
2.004,831
4,031,290
5,706,314
3,597,497
4,694,588
4,728,675
5,143,864

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
I860
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

237,092
192,681
242,474
828,485
364,45S
871,316
339,647
394,187
369,757
214,925
389,680

10,088
12,395
21,097
17,240
12,686
16,082
15,654
22,646
48,170
26,363
33,841

247,180
204.976
263,571
345,725
377,136
387,398
355,301
416,833
417,927
241,278
423,527

587,569
942,263
1,056,022
1,101,113
811,450
1,567,166
1,736,884
1,573,832
2,173,745
1,586,327
279,740

230,352
424,652
93,333
159,488
293,419
239,904
127,406
205,342
159,833
165,439
67

817,921
1,366,915
1,149,355
1,260,601
1,104,869
1,807,070
1.864,240
1,779,194
2,333,578
1,751,766
279,807

Value of
im ports.

21,595,425
23,911,332
24,900,841
28,096,031
24,363,783
27,538,025
31,715,553
25,890,266
33,455.942
35,781,393
31,609,131

,-----FOREIGN.-

Cleared
Entered
Entered Cleared
[J. States. U. States. U. States. U. States.
126,417
113,554
139,672
156,326
102,017
114,867
142,842
193,242
189.916
233,148
199,695

141,032
134,679
160,657
132,546
127,888
128,747
163,707
214,763
201.181
230,052
266,823

14.104
13,714
29,535
24,837
33,917
42,852
41,154
46,768
37,966
31,833
28,765

10.690
12,116
23,107
27,387
30,388
26,392
33,160
17,602
14 888
18,091
16,063

31,498
27,981
37,133
43,677
38,790
42,797
35,288
37,908
27,369
4 5,904
61,690

14,134
16,242
20,896
25,276
27,584
?9,3S6
40,151
28,974
40,012
38,924
55,709

10,774
6,422
14,079
10,849
11,997
30,064
28,432
22,402
24,272
16/150
36,687

2,115
3,198
17,500
29,637
30,542
43 848
61,400
53,532
47,597
41,231
42,303

13,409
7,907
7,139
6,083
9,991
5,304
4,004
6,343
7,848
5,948
13,046

12,324
9,506
8,791
14,765
12,579
9,902
8,886
13,548
13,141
8,638
14,359

1,804
2,635
2,781
2,038
8,953
7,071
5,990
6,187
7,495
5,072
9,428

1,651
3,650
3,169
8,900
11,469
9,682
7,943
8,767
9,044
5,343
11,437

5.1S6
335

5,984
1,196

3,164

914

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

SPAIN.

1,759,877
1,939,74 0
1,847,179
2,428,539
2,485,210
3,604,484
3,444,979
3,360,332
4,643.629
5,122,458
5,366,108

PORTUGAL.

501,734
547,474
416,150
235,877
414,884
470,820
804,698
404,342
540,698
304,168
435,411
ITALY.

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1862
1853
1854
1855*

• The figures for this year are those given by

1,301,577
1,189,786
1,279,936
1,616,100
1,550,896
2,105,077
2,051,897
1,234,905
953,714
971,728
63,984

. * . . ■

. . . . .
. . . . .

. . . . .

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

...........

...........

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

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

Commerce and Navigation ” for the Papal States.

In former reports, the entry is Italy, or Italy generally ; or Pontifical States—sometimes both.




Commercial Statistics.

604

t---

Years.
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1840
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

Domestic
produce.
$162,827
283,283
630,232
175.583
460,950
170,764
310,888
769,209
195,380
188.305
1,838,186

NAVIGATION.
COMMERCE.
— VALUE OF EXPORTS.---- ------------- \ ,-----AMERICAN.-----\ ,-----FORE IGN.-----\

Foreign
produce.
$32,970
976
16,370
13,389
21,414
86,136
19,401
42,286
27,926
2,020
143,844

Total.
$195,797
284,259
647,102
193,972
482,364
256,900
330,289
311,495
433,306
190.325
1,982,030

Value of
imports.
$19,859
287
42,533
205
2,802
74,901
171,583
85,676
217,232

Entered
U. States.
1,134
454
1,903
399
2,152
1,844
168
821
400
590
1,870

Cleared Entered Cleared
U. States. U. States. U.S.
1,411
1,104
4,332
1,191
1,463
9,865
3,313
1,472
10,235
1,988
2,235
9,162
4,843
4,196
12,397
6,300
7,399
7,791
8,479
6,204
6,741
6,669
6,136
13,443
7.018
4,656
11,821
2,246
2,198
10,688
4,597
5,873
16,754

THE TWO SICILIES.

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1860
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

70,625
319,441
56,899
17,754
24,359
60,677
41,741
65,649
130,337
246.151
207,790

334,667
298,391
7,218
9,075
4,854
13,024
8,193
10,890
24,818
13,900
443,686

405,292
617,832
64,117
26,829
29,213
63,601
49,936
66,539
165,155
260,051
651,476

529,493
513,235
550,988
618,029
630,244
822,629
825,924
606,641
863,351
959,300
1,718,949

22,711
21,798
28,911
26,317
28,554
31,417
27,178
22,990
25,645
24,190
44,335

445
767
1,423
924
1,853
3,326
2,848
6,609
5,897
3,862
4,509

6,022
3,742
1,466
3,217
4,496
9,511
16,473
12,780
19,036
15,367
20,971

3,628
4,318
649
399
232
1,633
1,916
3,427
2,777
3,713
3,444

849
693

6,246
7,765
6,263
10,548
14,718
9,822
9,098
6,547
6,168
4,896
4,850

4,542
6,527
18,752
6,267
6,196
4,068
3,829
5,940
4,192
11,171
4,963

NORWAY AND SWEDEN.

2,125
3,502
1,068
1,769
2,800
3,391
2,669
3,511
3,563
4,747
9,392

2,138
1,631
649
1,545
3,640
3,217
4,731
4,601

13,439
9,938
13,121
13,261
15,464
23,554
25,225
16,854
18,552
5,623
4,599

1845 $1,495,754 $355,819
1846 1,632,607 749,207
1847 2,874.367 348,190
1848 1,989,764 200,171
1849 2,443.064 288,243
1850 2.168,357 375,403
1851 2,709,393 142,619
1852 3,202,767 1,001.003
1863 2,301,038 907,495
1854 3,848,890 1,158,004
1855 2,376,354 1,550,886

r-

2,331,814
3,222,557
2,189.935
2,731,307
2,543,760
2,852,012
4,203,770
3,208,533
6,006,894
3,927,240

$709,562
886,372
948,325
1,325,061
1,844,292
2,404,954
2,377,630
2,054,043
2,732,168
3,462,241
3,S98,690

11,740
12,714
28,807
20,256
21,158
23,033
16,578
15,982
28,845
36,480
36,998

20,289
23,375
26,617
19,870
27,862
21,428
17,664
34,705
25,124
42,532
37,790

2,656
6,823
20,173
11,431
9,947
5,756
7,524
15,638
10,931
13,217
7,048




CO

627,938
724,865
613,698
750,817
731,846
1,032,117
967,237
775,448
447,332
515,178
848,900

<3

273,338
402,337
420,187
658,816
763,787
720,190
782,366
758,168
852,268
1,124,926
977,810

250,567
362,792
391,847
626,972
725.281
668.580
760.800
732,846
833,533
1,085,602
949,017

40
GO

22,761
39,545
23,340
32,844
38.506
51,610
21,566
25,322
18,735
39,324
28,793

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

Commercial Statistics.

605

AUSTRIA AND AUSTRIAN POSSESSIONS.
COMMERCE.

NAVIGATION.

VALUE OF EXPORTS.---Foreign
produce.
Total.

Years.

Domestic
produce.

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855*

1,433,103
1,104,468
1,176,375
1,701,495
942,489
1,179,893
2,265,573
2,403,530
2,062,484
1,697,319
1,277,427

368,775
366,143
73,348
107,727
464,376
312,111
230,394
329,889
171,804
206,290
112,274

1,801,878
1,470,611
1,248,723
1,809,223
1,406,865
1,492,004
2,496,467
2,733,419
2,234,288
1,903,609
1,399,801

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855f

536,845
535,888
626,332
1,047,582
937,557
666,435
1,465,704
1,061,748
2,313,175
835,521
83,065

190,492
97,079
124,118
108,428
197,947
198,506
145,937
138,732
143,478
145,095
40,380

727,337
632,467
750,450
1,156,010
1,135,504
864,941
1,611,691
1,200,480
2,456,653
480,616
123,445

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

2,079,341
1,178,188
1,708,655
2,063.625
1,460,945
1,485,961
2,155,945
2,480,066
3,212,574
1,293,925
1,533,057

196,654
158,553
124,229
126,388
122,270
119,256
329,342
183,111
524,418
104,163
186,372

2,275,995
1,331,741
1,332,884
2,190,013
1,683,224
1,606,217
2,485,287
2,663,177
3,736,992
1,898,088
1,719,429

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

41,548
75,136
73,322
34,940
112,480
57,225
223,302
386,136
225,856
250,539
1,210,584

26,101
45,117
23,246
15,438
23,739
12,967
39,089
87,382
120,474
68,345
51,586

67,649
120,253
96,568
50,378
136,218
70,192
262,391
473,518
846,330
308,884
1,262,170

,— AMERICAN.— s

Value of
imports.

Entered.

321,550
379,719
187,341
885,813
409,178
,467,601
730,783
308,749
528,567
741,919
496,283

Cleared.

4,422
6,019
3,930
4,136
3,266
4,398
814
1,502
2,660
1,791
2,488

15,470
13,852
7,861
16,220
11,176
5,968
10.179
14,024
11,735
13,015
9,518

12,603
11,145
6,801
10,357
9,130
12,877
9,817
12,009
10,455
11,487
5,541

9,109
5,451
4,135
9,588
10,349
5,048
9,241
10,006
11,958
3,891
4,737

,----- FOREIGN.----- <*

Entered. Cleared.

2,101
592
1,204
2,182
2,205
6,281
1,658
2,702
1,941
3,069

9,198
3,341
5,279
4,693
5,753
6,889
13,371
13,400
9,244
5,401
7,029

RUSSIA. '
1,492,262
1,570,054
924,673
1,319,084
840,238
1,511,572
1,392,782
1,581,620
1,278,501
1,544,235
293,113

1,763
319
••■•

....
....

2,121
3,266
1,477
1,013
945
1,007

1,906
1,543
1,362
393
1,393
3,990
3,239
3,045
5,297
1,486

CHINA.
7,285,014
6,593,381
5,583,343
8,083,496
5,513,785
6,593,462
7,065,144
10,593,950
10,573,710
10,506,329
11,048,726

21,204 17,477
18,937 13,697
16,601 12,334
23,719 17,150
19,418 11,740
21,969 17,830
27,587 46,317
52,070 67,264
65,899 66,041
57,196 68,658
55,048 101,660

478
306
1,174
664

....

• • ■•
••••
. . . .

....

7,445
11,327
26,009
26,965
19,230
15,767

3,106
10,198
21,507
24,808
18,547
15,768

528
107

187
213

CENTRAL AMERICA.

65,269
116,733
80,581
18,272
56,017
261,459
149,856
368,355
590,937
2,360,422
286,409

1,690
2,423
1,822
3,831
1,226
3,549
8,550
51,139
68,302
84,197
90,958

1,049
957
1,345
308
5,203
290
27,565
54,586
80,737
85,314
90,943

...

....

156
393
653
209
1,357
2,542
1,467
289

700
78
1,722
4,406
5,888
3,172
3,499
1,111

* The figures of this year are the aggregate o f those given in “ Commerce and Navigation ” for
Austria and Austrian Possessions in Italy, which are substituted for Trieste and other Austrian
Ports, in prior reports.
t The figures for this year are the aggregate o f those given in “ Commerce and Navigation ” for
Russia on the Baltic and North Seas, on the Black Sea, and in America, and Asiatic Russia, all o f
which in former reports were embraced in the single entry—Russia.




Commercial Sta tistics.

606

TURKEY.
COMMERCE.

NAVIGATION.

,------------------- -VALUE OF EXPORTS. —
Years.

1845
1848
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855*

Domestic
produce.

115.553
128,193
61,570
114,830
193,866
204,397
162,204
265,825
207,358
219,496
794,259

Foreign
produce.

Total.

49,546
73,910
65,672
110,321
86,120
53,344
65,529
30,371
79,931
105.702
163,780

165,099
200,103
127,242
225,151
278,996
257,741
227,733
316,196
287,339
325,193
958,039

-•'-I

Value of
im ports.

,— AMERICAN. — N ,----- FOREIGN.----- %

Entered Cleared
Entered Cleared
U. States. U. States. U. States. U. S.

1,897
3,208
1,118
1,966
1,912
2,689
4,268
8.909
4,365
3,948
8,455

2,724
1,477
342
441
670
429
1,109
654
558
____
2,012

27,919
23,425
27,959
23,340
16,556
981
33,153
32,365
31,369
38,345
37,193

575
803
1,068
781
1,931
6,289
’ 1,820
6,821
10,402
6.031
8,380

336,112
735
. . . .
291
252,595
496
396,223
1,208
919
317,769
998
2,732
446,953
5,611
5,701
170,753
5,100 10,332
96,733 20,102 18,920
694,892 20,014
5,179
173,441
14,965 63,256
1,005.406 158,400 121,825
597,618 157,232 85,151

330

781,517
760,998
577,710
406,028
374,064
801,023
901,236
556,100
727,516
803,114
790,839

5,915
7,171
4,672
3,950
3,994
6,076
6,704
6,857
7,592
10,018
9,789

____
....
230
300
____
322
____
569
902

H AYTI AND SAN DOMINGO.

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

1,327,891
1.114,013
1,187,017
937.586
532.577
1,211,007
1,675,372
1.470,326
1,738.413
1,880.187
1,929,334

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1860
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

33,424

77,849
43,129
111,756
156,229
70,015
139,181
167,918
239,577
260,520
329.538
315,718

1,405,740
1,157,142
1,298,773
1,093,815
602,592
1,350,188
1,847,290
1,718.903
1,998.933
2,209,725
2,245,052

1,386,367
1,542,962
1,391,530
1,367,174
901,724
1.544,771
1,889,968
1,870,672
1 985,624
2,357,352
2,615,525

34,377
30,264
27,717
27,692
24,761
44,690
39,940
36,871
23.262
48,322
50,405

534
1,642
2,500
2,694
4,552
7,127
8,586
7,320
6,124
4,797
9,051

PERU.

33,424

192,978
124,618
93,195
258,939
249,760
333.794
657,316
651,707
756,323

34,559
16,731
18,041
16,739
22,338
22,048
40,261
33,448
114,223

227,537
141,319
1 11,236
275,728
272,098
355,842
697,577
685.155
870,546

525,563
1815
553,380
1846
700,431
1847
771.389
1848
676,769
1849
730,932
1850
1S51 1,245.361
1852 • 1,211,360
1853 1,555,990
1854 1,716,924
18 55f 1,309,435

79,543
78,971
44,499
61.403
31,642
28,334
95,283
34,781
54.843
88.048
66,470

605,106
632.352
744.930
832,792
708,411
759,266
1.340,644
1,246,141
1,610,833
1,803.972
1,375,905

. . . .
. . . .

1,085
1,293
1,808
5,751
18,075
17,558
21,322
11,977

562
1,419
2,291
7,340
13,519
11,331
37,410
36,685
25,377

10,552
2,431
1,202
406
453
384
1,035
1,318
708
1,361
2,306

2,352
884
2,719
2,079
623
631
595
647
1,468
1,709
1,516

AFRICA GENERALLY.

572,126
475,040
659,842
655,585
496,742
524,722
1,163,176
1.057,657
1,202,986
1,386,560
1,381,119

15,065
9,418
11,044
10,424
10,307
8,531
12.675
11,381
12,410
12,932
12,586

11,731
9,269
3,851
11,208
9,476
8,492
12,978
13,121
15,162
18,572
16,593

* The figures for this year are the aggregate o f those given in “ Commerce and Navigation ” for
Turkey in Europe and Turkey in Asia, substituted for Turkey, or Turkey and Levant, & c , in prior
reports.
+ The figures for this year are the aggregate o f those given in “ Commerce and Navigation ” for
Egypt and other ports in Alrica, substituted for Africa generally in prior reports.




Commercial Statistics.

607

CHILI.
COMMERCE.

NAVIGATION.

VALUE OF EXFORTS. — ----------------\

Years.
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

Domestic
produce.
1,247,360
1,539,136
1,461,347
1,703,625
1,722,457
1,297,133
1,608,877
2,043,836
2,157,320
1,942,330
2,994,231

Foreign
produce.
300,831
229,434
210,263
220,886
294,643
125,588
286,428
295,297
169 117
25(1,929
432,026

Total.
1,548,191
1,768,570
1,671,610
1,924,511
2,017,100
1,422,721
1,895,305
2,339,133
2,326,437
2,193,259
3,426,257

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1863
1854
1855

835,545
584,069
571,474
400,230
431,421
678,462
854,779
726,024
749,859
1,131,604
1,152,604

189,885
197,478
43,739
62,798
106,213
340,008
189,746
67,389
94,668
69,279
70,849

725,130
781,547
615,213
463,028
537,634
1,018,470
1,044,525
793,413
844,527
1,200,883
1,223,449

V alue of

imports.
1,123,690
1,275,960
1,716,903
1,310,451
1,817,723
1,796,877
2,734,746
2,062,160
2,214,252
3,332,167
3,518,896

Entered
U. Slates.
4,872
6,560
7,208
5,422
7,284
14,510
30,068
23,165
13,641
19,400
15,565

Cleared
U. States.
8,273
8,649
7,185
10,4 65
25,936
41,279
48,140
21,386
23,488
22,371
21,667

,----- FORE
Entered
U. Stales.
....
2,281
1,300
591
517
18,869
23,396
25,386
38,511
22,316
4,592

12,394
13,370
13,185
12,347
11,749
11,536
17,103
16,361
17,142
16,616
19,963

10,733
11,125
10,800
7,361
8,420
8,509
11,761
11,244
12,001
12,263
15,057

1,768
1,219
728
1,018
1,350
2,708
2,738
8,811
4,795
3,893
4,596

1,377
1,973
470
3,066
31,623
36,990
18,624
20,260
19,835
19,311

231

,— AMER [CAN. — v

GN---- \
Cleared
U. S.
1,452
1,077
366
1,351
25,383
41,657
23,402
38,655
22,403
10,107

VENEZUELA.
1,268,270
1,509,000
1,322,496
1,225,611
1,413,096
1,920,247
2,380,295
2,121,864
2,613,780
3,072,649
3,616,369

1,117
1,244
650
1,505
1,157
2,697
2,891
8,109
1,789
4,074
4,369

THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.

1845
1846
1847
1848
1849
1860
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855

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

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

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

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

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

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

381

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

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

929,671

29.406
55,891
195,951

381
. . . . . . . .

29,406
55,891
1,125,622

1,566
243,034
21,039
6,508
43,875
64,474
16,852
5,988
16,175
119,130
442,899

.........
606
760
1,428
3,221
9,267
18,992
12,814
18,111
22,287
24,807

4,195
3,215
5,047
3.914
1,451
202

11,970
12,003
6,673
4,118
1,417
2,200

NAVIGATION AND TONNAGE OF BELFAST, IRELAND.
The Belfast Mercantile Journal and Statistical Register, one of the best and
most reliable commercial journals in the United Kingdom, furnishes the subjoined
statement of the tonnage and navigation of that port for a scries of years, as fol­
lows :—■
TONNAGEE REGISTERED AT BELFAST, FROM THE TEAR 1837 TO 1855 INCLUSIVE.

Vessels Tons.
1837____ 295 31,475
18 38____ 298 32,228
1839____ 335 41,336
1840____ 355 45,632
1841____ 375 40,626
1 8 4 2 ... .
375 51,278
1843____ 359 49,402
18 44____ 365 60,301
1845
___________
394 54,771
18 46
___________
426 62,094




Inc.
Tons.
....
573
9,108
4,296
3,994
1,652
989
4,380
7,323

Dec.
Tons.
....
....
....
....
....
1,876
....
....

1847____
1848____
1849____
1850____
1851____
1852____
1853____
1 8 5 4 ....
1 8 5 5 ....

Vessels
464
475
467
463
461
464
493
501
468

Tons.
68,659
71.556
75,411
74,770
76,940
78,373
83,128
76,832
81,400

Inc.
Tons.
6,565
2,897
3,885

Dec.
Tons.

671
2,170
1,433
4,765
6,296
5,432

—

Commercial Statistics.

608

TONNAGE WHICH ENTERED THE PORT OF BELFAST IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS I-

1801.........
18 11____
18 21____ *
1S31.........
18 41......... . . .
1 8 4 5 ......... . . .
1846......... . . .
1847......... . . .

Vessels.

Tons.

3,378
3,888
4,168
4,213

64,338
95,753
136,495
233,122
357,902
492.560
443,862
538,523

1848.........
1849.........
18 50.........
1851.........
1852.........
1853.........
18 54.........
1855.........

...
...

Vessels.
3,905
4,080

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

5,016
5,221
5,711
5,435
5,246

Tons.

506,953
555,021
624,113
650,938
684,156
768,505
790,096
741,364

crease since 1801,1,350 per cent.
EXPORTS OF COFFEE FROM RIO RE JANEIRO.

%
The subjoined statement of the export of coffee from Eio de Janeiro, during
each month of the years 1854 and 1855, is compiled from the circulars of Max­
well, Wright, & C o.:—

1854.

~\

1855.

rr
United
States.

Europe.

Elsewhere.

r
United
States.

Europe.

Elsewhere.

N

January ............
February.........
M arch...............
A p ril.................
M ay...................
June...................
July...................
A u g u st.............
September . . . .
Octobsr.............
November.........
December.........

77,834
78.906
43.689
90,945
50,912
44,992
36,780
74,134
103,244
91,263
87,5S4
111,922

63,040
43,864
67,144
110,023
65,790
56,871
113,834
75,923
122,235
114.5«7
87,163
164,208

1,595
1,023
7,455
1,365
4,933
1,248
8,251
2,800
2,019
4,311
2,575
4,774

51,190
66,069
112,421
64,976
72,316
69,897
88,499
138,093
184,633
139,319
77,656
124,085

149,289
98,433
104,819
109,639
84,718
140.S49
80,896
88,708
101,197
74,174
79,298
130,909

5,227
280
4,950
2,958
1,087
2,828
329
2,374
2,384
1 136
55
1,340

Total.........

891,705

1.064,682

37,349

1,139,135 1,242,820

24,848

The exports to the United States in 1855 were as follows
Boston..................
New Y ork ...........
Philadelphia.......
Baltimore .........
Richmond...........
Hampton Roads.
T o ta l...........

13,544
295,743
131,981
236,103
9,250
3,091

Charleston.............
Savannah...............
Mobile .
New Orleans.........
San Francisco . . .

16,624
2,550
10,159
391,106
28,584
1,139,135

EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK.

The following table shows the exports from New York, exclusive of specie, for
the week ending April 4,1850, which may be taken as the average export:—•
Liverpool.................
London....................
Cork..........................
H avre.......................
B rem en...................
Antwerp..................
L isbon .....................
Hamburg.................
British West Indies.
Gibraltar..................
Gottenberg.............

British N. American Colonies
C u ba........................................
H ajti........................................
B ra zil......................................
Dutch West In dies...............
Australia.................................
6,8o0 Porto R i c o ..............................
9 8 ,2 5 9 Venezuela...............................
1 0 .7 3 8 New Granada.........................
1 6 .1 2 5 British Guiana.......................
3 4 ,0 2 9 Mexico......................................

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

Total




$ 3 6 ,0 9 6
4 6 ,3 7 8
1 8 ,6 2 5
60 056
9,1.38
9 3 ,2 0 2
1 4 ,8 5 0
1 2 ,9 8 9
5 9 ,7 7 9
2 3 ,6 6 1
5 6 ,5 0 1
$ 1 ,6 0 0 ,3 7 4

I

Nautical Intelligence.

609

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
BUOYAGE OF CHARLESTON BAR, SOUTH CAROLINA.

The following changes have been made in the buoyage of Charleston Bar :—
At the main ship bar, the outer, middle, and inner buoys have been moved from
mid to the northern edge of the channel. The outer bar buoy is a large first-class
iron nun buoy, painted red, with No. 2, in white, and is placed in twenty feet
water at low tide; Charleston light bearing N. W. | N., Battle Snake Shoal
light vessel N. E., Sullivan’s Island outer beacon N. f W. This buoy must be
left on the starboard hand on entering. The bar or middle buoy is a second-class
iron nun buoy, painted red, with N o. 4, in white, and is placed in eleven feet wa­
ter at low tide; Charleston light bearing N. W. ^ N., Sullivan’s Island outer
beacon N. J W., north point Folly Island VV. J N. This buoy must be left on
the starboard hand in entering. The inner buoy is a first-class nun buoy, painted
red, with No. 6, in white, and is placed in thirteen feet water at low tide; Charles­
ton light bearing N. W. £ N., Sullivan’s Island outer beacon N. This buoy must
be left on the starboard hand in entering. A t the north channel, outer buoy is a
first-class iron nun, painted with black and white perpendicular stripes; it is
placed in twelve feet water at low' tide. Charleston light bears S. W. by W.,
Sullivan’s Island outer beacon N. VV. f- W., Battle Snake light vessel E. i S.
This buoy must be passed close-to on either hand. Middle buoy is a second-class
iron nun, painted red, with No. 2, in white, and is placed in nine feet water at low
tide ; Charleston light S. VV. | VV., Fort Sumpter VV. N. VV., Sullivan’s Island
outer beacon N. VV. by VV. This buoy must be left on the starboard hand in en­
tering. Inner buoy is a first-class iron nun buoy, painted black, with No. 1, in
white, and is placed in fifteen feet water at low tide; Charleston light bearing S.
VV. i- S., Fort Moultrie flagstaff N. VV., Fort Sumpter VV. by N. £ N. This buoy
must be left on the port hand in entering.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
C. MAN1GAULT MORRIS, Lighthouse Inspector, Gth District.
C h a rle sto n , S. C., March 25, 1856.

LIGHTS AT THE HARBOR OF PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS.

The follow'ing corrected sailing directions for making the anchorage off the har­
bor of Port Louis, Mauritius, with reference to the lighthouses recently erected
upon “ Flat Island ” and “ Cannonier Point,” and also the two mast lights near
the entrance of the harbor, have been received at this office, and are published for
the information of mariners:—
DESCRIPTION OP THE LIGHTS.

This is a revolving catoptric light of the first order, situated at
the southwest or highest extremity of the island, in latitude S. 19° 53' 26", and
longitude E. 57° 38' 8", determined by triangulation from the observatory of Port
Louis. Variation of the compass 11° 47' 13" west.
Its elevation above the mean level of the sea (the rise of the tide being only
about 3 feet) is 366 feet, and it will be visible in clear weather, from the deck of
a vessel 13 feet above the water, a distance of about 25 nautical miles.
C annonier P oint. This is a fixed catoptric light, also of the first order. It
is situated in latitude S. 20° 0' 35", and longitude E. 57° 32' 39". Its elevation
above the mean level of the sea is 39 feet 6 inches, and it will be seen from the
deck af a vessel 13 feet above the water, a distance of about 10 nautical miles.
The objects of this light are to indicate the position of a dangerous shoal nearly
l i miles from the shore, and to keep vessels clear of the coral reefs to the north­
east and southwest of the point.
F lat I sland .

VOL. XXXIV.----NO. V.




39

Nautical Intelligence.

610

H arbok M ast L ights . One of these is placed as a leading light (red) at the
Martello Tower, at the mouth and on the left bank of the Grand River ; and the
other (green) at Port George, on Tonnelier Island.
GENERAL DIRECTIONS.

Vessels making the land from the eastward (windward) side of the island should
give a berth of 2| miles to the reefs of Amber Island, and be careful not to ap­
proach the light on Flat Island on a course to the westward of N. X . IV i W.,
until Gunner’s Quoin bears west, when they may shape a mid-channel course be­
tween Gunner's Quoin and Flat Island.
When to the westward of the Quoin, the light at Cannonier Point will become
visible, and must be approached with the Flat Island light bearing astern E. N.
E. $ N., until abreast of Cannonier Point, when that light will bear S. E. by S.,
a berth of rather more than two nautical miles being thus given to the dangerous
reef and shoal off the point. They may then haul up to S. W . by S. for the an­
chorage, distant about ten nautical miles, taking care to keep the Cannonier Point
light white 1'or a distance of 6£ miles, when the Flat Island and Cannonier Point
lights will appear in one; the change of this color to red, within that distance,*
will indicate a too near approach to the land.
The red light at the mouth of the Grand River will now be opened, bearing S.
S. W., for which vessels may safely steer until the mast light (green) upon Fort
George, on Tonnelier Island, bears S. E. \ S., when they may immediately let go
the anchor, being on the best ground. A nearer approach to the light at Grand
River would bring them too close to the reefs.
If the night is clear, the “ Corps de Garde ” mountain will be clearly seen in
line with the Grand River light.
It is, however, generally advisable for vessels passing Cannonier Point at night
to lay-to, keeping sail occasionally upon the ship for the purpose of maintaining
a good position for making the anchorage at day-break, in preference to attempt­
ing it at night, by which, in a very few instances, any time will be gained. Con­
siderable risk, as well as the necessity for anchoring outside at all, will also be
thus avoided.
E. C. FROME, Surveyor General.
EDW ARD KELLY, Harbor-master.

By order of the Lighthouse Board,
THORNTON A. JENKINS. Secretary.
T r e a su r y D e pa r t m e n t , O ffice L ig h th o u se Board , >
W ashington Cit y , April 4, 1856.
\

LIGHTHOUSE AT CAPE FLORIDA.

Notice is hereby given that the lighthouse tower at Cape Florida has been ele­
vated twenty-six feet, and surmounted by an iron watch-room and lantern, and
furnished with a catadioptric apparatus of the second order, fixed, illuminating
315° of the horizon. The focal plane of the apparatus is 100 feet above the mean
sea level. The tower and lantern are painted white (as before.) The new light
was exhibited for the first time on the night of the 18th inst., and will continue
to be shown from sunset to sunrise till further notice.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
GEO. G. MEADE, Lieutenant Topographical Engineers.
K ey W e s t , F l o r id a , March 23,1856.

SWEDEN, W E ST COAST— BUSKAR LIGHT, WINGA SOUND.

Official information has been received at the office of the Light-house Board,
that the Swedish Royal Marine Department has given notice that the Buskar
Light, in Winga Sound, in the Kattegat, at the entrance to Gothenborg, which,
since the 1st September, 1854, has shown a red light to seaward and a bright
light towards the Sound, has been partially altered, in order that it may be seen
farther off. It now shows a bright light to seaward to a vessel at a distance, but




N a u tica l In telligence.

611

on a nearer approach, the red color gradually overpowers the white light, suffi­
ciently so to render it easily distinguishable from the two bright lights on Winga
beacons and from the leading Botto Light.
The two Winga beacon lights remain as before—one a fixed bright light, the
other, (that is, the northeastern,) a bright light varied by flashes at short inter­
vals ; and they are seen in one on the bearing of N. E. k N. and S. W . i S. All
bearings are magnetic. Variation 18° W .
By order of the Light-house Board,
T r ea su ry D e pa rt m e n t , O ffice L ig h t - house )
B oard , W a sh in g to n , March 21, 1856.
$

THORNTON A . JENKINS, Secretary.

U PPE R JE TTE E RANGE LIGHTS, CAPE FEAR R IV E R , NORTH CAROLINA.

A fixed light of the natural color will be exhibited for the first time on the
evening of March 1st, 1856, on a house recently erected on the east bank of Cape
Fear river, three miles below Wilmington, N. C.
,
The illuminating apparatus will be a sixth order lens, placed in a lantern on
top of the keeper’s house, and having an elevation of forty-two feet above the
mean level of the river. The house is a wooden structure painted white. On the
same evening will be exhibited for the first time a Beacon Light of the same order,
distant eight hundred feet from the front light, and bearing N. 9° 50' E.
The beacon is an open frame painted white, twenty feet square at the bottom, and
eight feet square at top, surmounted by a closed lantern, at an elevation of about
sixty-five feet above the level of the river. The two above-described lights make
a range passing about one hundred and fifty feet west of the head of the Upper
Jettee on the east side of the river, and also along the channel, beginning about
one mile below and ending about a mile and a half above the Jettee.
By order of the Light-house Board,
D. P. WOODBURY, Capt. Engineers.
W ilm ngton , N. C., February 11, 1856.

LIGHT FOR SALAMIS ROADS AND PORT PEIRiEUS, ATHENS, GREECE.

Official information has been received at this office, through the Department of
State, that the Minister of the Interior Department of the kingdom of Greece
has given notice that a sixth order light will be exhibited on and after the 13th
instant, (March, 1856,) from the tower recently erected on the Islet of Psitalie,
at the distance of two miles to the westward of the entrance to the Peirmus.
This light will serve for the Roads of Salamis and for entering Port Peirmus.
The small temporary light exhibited near the tomb of Themistocles will be dis­
continued at the same time.
By order of the Light-house Board,
TRORNTON A. JENKINS, Secretary.
T r ea su ry D e pa rt m e n t , O ffice L ig h t -H ouse )
Bo a r d , W ashington , March 26, 1855.
$

;

0CKL0CK01VEE SHOAL, FLORIDA— BELL BOAT.

A bell boat has been placed at the Ocklockonee Shoal, Florida, in 3| fathoms
water, the shoal bearing from it W . N. W . 11 mile distant. The light-house at
the mouth of St. Mark’s River bears from the boat N. i W . (magnetic) 17 miles
distant; the S. W . cape W . 1 N. 10 miles, and the seaward point of South Shoal
S. W. } S. 10 miles distant. On the bearing of the St. Mark’s Light-house the
depth of water is 3 fathoms or more. To carry that depth clear of the South
Shoal westerly, it will be well to run from the boat S. W. by south southerly.
The boat is black, and can be seen in clear weather at the distance of 8 miles.
The bell is sounded by the action of the waves.
By order of the Light-house Board,
D. LEADBETTER, Inspector 8th District.
M obile , A la ., F e b r u a r y 26,1856.




612

J ou rn a l o f Insu rance.
BELL BOAT OFF SOUTHWEST PASS, MISSISSIPPI R IVER.

A bell boat has been anchored off the entrance of the Southwest Pass, Missis­
sippi River, one mile outside the bar, in ten fathoms water. The boat has “ S.
W . Pass,” in red letters, on the slopes of her deck, and is painted in black and
white verticle stripes. Her bell is sounded by the action of the waves.
The lighthouse at the Southwest Pass bears from the boat N. i W . (magnetic;)
the channel at the bar, N. N. W .; the Pilot’s Lookout at the village, N. by E .;
and the most seaward mud lumps visible, N. E. by E.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
D. LEADBETTER, Inspector.
M o b il e , A l a b a m a ,

March 28, 1856.

JOURNAL

OF

INSURANCE.

CONDITION OF THE BOSTON INSURANCE COMPANIES,
WITH SPECIFIC CAPITALS, MADE FEOM THEIE RETURNS OF DECEMBER 1, 1855.

Thu following tables were compiled for the Merchants' Magazine by Jonx L.
Esq., the President of the Warren Insurance Company, Boston. It
exhibits, as will be seen, the condition of all the companies (marine, fire, and
mixed) with specific capital in that city:—
D im m o c k ,

LIABILITIES.

Name.
Am erican..............
B oylston...............
Fireman’s...............
Franklin................
Manufacturers’ . . .
Mercantile Marine.
Merchants’ .............
National................
Neptune. . . . . . . . .
North American...
Shoe A; Leath. Deal.
United States........
Warren...................
Total..............

Suffolk....................
Washington...........
T o ta l.............
A ggregate.. .




Borrowed
money and
Capital
doubtful
stock.
notes.
$300,000 $3,000 00
300.000
300,000
150,000
200,000
800,(00
300,000
400,000
300,000
500,000
691 50
500,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
200,000
125 00
150,000

Losses
unpaid.
$35,070 00
25,333 67
54)700 00
1,294
18,751
85,500
32,401
19,300
48,000
89,150

57
38
00
41
00
00
10

110 00
15,000 00
18,500 00

Premiums
received
on risks not
terminated.
$21,051 46
30.167
27,703
47.961
86,164
21,181
109,353

70
89
64
00
47
36

80,191
43,729
35,387
38,246
922
2,587
4,268

16
57
54
49
41
87
35

Total
liabilities.
$359,121 46
325,833 67
384,867 70
177,703 89
247)961 64
387,458 57
339,932 85
594,853 36
332,401 41
599,491 16
692,421 07
424,637 64
238,246 49
101,032 41
217,712 87
172,758 35

$4,500,000 $3,816 50 $443,111 18 $548,906 91 $5,495,834 54
$200,000 16,000 00
225,000 3,228 00
200,000
627 54

$44,000 00
36,690 00
30,900 00

$2,022 72
6,265 04

$260,000 00
'266,940 72
237,792 58

$625,000 19,855 54 $111,590 00
6,125,000 23,672 04 554,701 13

$8,287 76
557,194 67

$764,733 30
6,260,567 84

■

CONDITION OF THE BOSTON INSURANCE COMPANIES— CONTINUED.
RESOURCES.

Name.

T o ta l...........................

$4,022,208 00

Loans on
mortgages., &c.
$41,200 00
12,000 00
52,182 13
49,000 00
138,798 40
247,200 00
61,504 70
286,954 22
44.700
566,280
71,081
138,622
87,500
40,629
14,250

00
20
26
13
00
42
00

Cash
on hand.
$7,564 41
27,070 27
3,266 88
2,283 97
6,942 99
9,413 02
6,709 40
60,036 89
7.103 10
8,978 04
4,838 71
19.721 91
3,464 19
547 01
10,502 68
9,685 35

Premium
notes
on risks
terminated.
$31,902 25
31,151 83
79,716 29

17,659
19,627
35,026
26,477
1,218
65,388

52
63
48
91
00
94

2,561 50
16,108 64
33,799 47

$260,000 001$1,851,902 46 $188,128 82

$360,638 46

Relief
steamboat
stock
$3,000 00
2,000 00
3,000 00

2,000 00
1,500 00
6,000 00
3,500 00

1,500 00
1,500 00

Total
resources.
$482,321 66
336,322 10
449-365 so
188,383 97
278,786 39
573,713 02
374,573 62
777,758 74
398.554 58
731,655 95
914,096 91
434,702 11
252,804 32
103.308 51
236,595 74
173,934 82

$23,000 00 $6,705,877 74

Hope............
Suffolk........
Washington

103,000 00
111,125 00
45,475 00

90,000 00

22,558 12
87,654 25

4,762 85
7,173 81
9,563 84

58,984 39
22,271 48
43,993 78

2,500 00
2,000 00
2,500 00

169,247 24
255,128 41
189,186 87

T ota l. .

$259,600 00

$90,000 00

$110,212 37

$21,500 60

$125,249 65

$7,000 00

$613,562 62

$350,000 00 $1,962,114 83 $209,629 32

$485,888 11

Aggregate




$4,281,808 00

Journal o f Insurance.

American ............................
Bostou..................................
Boylston...............................
Cocliituate.........................
E lio t ....................................
Fireman’s ...........................
Franklin..............................
Manufacturers’ ...................
Mercantile Marine..............
Merchants’ .........................
National............................... .
N eptune.............................
North American................
Shoe and Leather Dealers’
United States....................
Warren.................................

Bank,
railroad,
& other Btocks,
at market •value.
Real estate.
$358,655 00
$40,000 00
264,100 00
811.200 00
137,100 00
133,045 00
282,100 00
35,000 00
286,700 00
386,140 00
25,000 00
354,925 00
100,000
546,51'0 00
00
281,760 00
60,000 00
275,010 00
110,718 00
12,700 00
166,855 00
114,700 00

$30,000 00 $7,319,440 26

a
»—*
.w

614

CONDITION OF THE BOSTON INSURANCE COMPANIES— CONTINUED.
REMARKS.

Balance in
favor.

...........

...........

14.557 83
1,176 47

Equal to an
advance of
41.1 per cent.
«
3.7
«
21.8
u
7.1
a
15.4
a
62.1
«
11.5
a
45.7
a
22.0
u
26.4
a
64.3
u
3 .4
a
7.3
a
2.3
a
9 .0
a
.8

T ota l.....................................

Total.....................................
Aggregate




940,400
6,637,811
3,304,486
11,819,132
14,559,567
10,819,354
68,532
1,410,886
1,693,451
$68,500,012

Balance against.
H o p e.............................................
Suffolk..........................................
Washington...................................

$5,680,158
3,798,425
7,767,810

Equal to a
discount of
45.4 per cent.
5.2
(f
24.3

$3,312,832
5,487,536
3,142,004
5,645,063
12,284,158
2^896,705
12,250,283
12,862,386
6.443,803
6,837,458
4,454,780
139,150
518,500
736,267

Amount o f losses paid for
the year ending Dec. 1, 1855, on
Marine.
Fire.

Amount o f
premium notes
on risks not
terminated.

$97,769 02
130,899 25
281,344 81

$140,521 67
168,780 82
274,744 31

27,959
144.074
86,887
95.233
69,711
278,035

66
97
31
02
81
05

$14,716 72
10,233
19,487
9,441
27^287
12^836
82,219

82
59
66
37
29
72

28,052
25,991
32,812
10,157

03
31
08
30

32,752
112,787
129,143
152,046
149,153
338,258

61
67
17
67
62
75

95 25
29,834 23
80,232 42

73 46
10,546 19

1,482 42
63 525 18
94,114 95

$76,010,925 $1,322,076 80

$283,355 54

$1,657,311 84

3,212,164
1,558,609
3,666,202

617,869
920,950

198,673 32
38,407 46
124,290 52

1,150 99
64 09

155,560 59
47,517 21
213,729 81

$8,436,975

$1,538,819

$361,371 30

$1,215 08

$416,807 61

$77,549,744 $1,683,448 10

$284,570 62

$2,074,119 45

$76,936,987

Journal o f Insurance.

Name.
American.................................. .........
Boston...........................................
Boy lston........................................
Cochituate.....................................
Eliot...............................................
Fireman’s......................................
Franklin.........................................
Manufacturers’ .............................
Mercantile Marine.......................
Merchants’.....................................
National....................................................
Neptune....................................................
North Am erican.........................
Shoe & Leather Dealers’ ..............
United States . ................................
W arren ....................................................

Amount
at risk, December 1, 1855, on
Marine.
Fire.

P o s ta l D epa rtm ent.

615

FOREIGN INSURANCE COMPANIES IN KENTUCKY.

A bill to regulate the agencies of Foreign Insurance Companies has passed
both branches of the Legislature of Kentucky. The law goes into effect on the
1st of July, and provides :—
1. That no agent of any company, not incorporated by the Kentucky Legisla­
ture, shall do business in the State, after that day, without first obtaining a license
from the State Auditor.
2. Before such license can be obtained, the company seeking it must file a state­
ment, verified by oath, showing that it has a capital of at least $150,000, in cash
or safe investments, exclusive of slock notes.
3. Companies or associations of foreign nations must show the same amount
deposited in the United States.
4. The license is granted annually in July or January, and must be published
two successive weeks in the county paper.
5. The statement must show the condition of the company up to a period within
six months preceding the filing of the same.
G. Any person delivering a policy, or transacting any business of insurance
without a license, after the 1st of July next, shall be fined for each offense not
less than $100 nor more than $500, at the discretion of a jury.

POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
A POSTAL PROHIBITION IN THE UNITED STATES.

The following explanation touching the prohibition of letters to different per­
sons in one envelope, is published in the Washington Union, and may be regarded
as emanating from the department:—•
We had occasion to state, not long since, that it is a violation of law to inclose
to different addresses two or more letters in a single envelope, the penalty in each
case being $10. This announcement, it appears, has given rise to indignant re­
marks on the part of some persons who do not understand the reason of this re­
striction. We have been shown a letter from one gentleman, who says, “ If this
is a regulation of the department, it is a gross insult to the whole nation, except
to those that wish to pry into the millions of letters of correspondence.”
To correct erroneous impressions on this subject, it may be well to state that
the 13th section of the act of 3d March, 1847, makes it a penal offense to deposit
in any post-office, to be conveyed in the mail within the United States, any en­
velope or packet containing letters addressed to different persons ; but under no
circumstances whatever is a postmaster allowed to open any letter not addressed to
himself. By the act of 1820, when the single rates of postage were 6, 10, 12 J-,
18|, and 25 cents, and which act was continued in force until 1845, it will be re­
collected that, for every letter composed of a single sheet of paper, one rate was
charged, double rate for two sheets, and so on. By the act of 1845, this restric­
tion as to the number of sheets was removed, and “ every letter or parcel not ex­
ceeding half an ounce in weight.” declared to be a single letter. Under this law
great abuses were practiced by merchants and others, who, by uniting together in
sending their letters, written on tissue paper, particularly between cities and large
towns, got their letters carried for a mere fraction of the regular rate. Hence
the amendment above alluded to in the act of 1847. It should be observed that
the law does not prohibit the sending of two or more letters to the same address
in one envelope, nor does it apply to letters addressed to foreign countries.
In this connection, may we not venture the additional remark that, considering
our present low rates, by far the lowest in the world, taking into account the ex­
tent of our territory, is it not strange that there are so many persons ready to




616

Com m ercial R egu la tion s.

seek out ways of evading the payment of postage ? There is not a doubt but
that the Post-Office Department would not only support itself, but would be able
to extend its accommodations, if all the matter conveyed in the mail were paid
for, even at the present reduced rates.
OF POSTAGE ON LE TTER S B ETW EEN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES.
CANADA POSTAGE.

James Campbell, the Postmaster-General, has issued, under date Post-Office
Department, Washington, February 19, 1856, the following circular :—
My attention has been called to the circumstance that letters inclosed in the
United .States stamped envelopes, or prepaid with United States postage stamps,
are received in this country from Canada charged by our frontier exchange officers
as unpaid.
This practice on the part of the United States exchange officers is, strictly
speaking, correct, as each country recognizes its own postage stamps only in the
prepayment of letters, and hence it is irregular to use United States stamps in
the prepayment of letters from Canada.
But, inasmuch as the parties addressed feel aggrieved if postage is demanded on
fie delivery of such letters, and urge that the practice of charging them as un­
paid operates as a hardship upon them, the postage having been once received by
this department, I am disposed to treat for the future such letters as prepaid, and
deliver them as such.
You will therefore discontinue the present practice of charging letters of this
character as unpaid, in United States stamps, and forward them to destination
without additional charge.
jam es Ca m pbell .

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
REGULATIONS OF THE COAL TRADE IN NEW YORK.

The following rules and regulations for the government of the coal trade of New
York, in reference to the receipt of cargoes, were reported by a committee of the
New York Coal Exchange, appointed to draft the same, and after discussion
unanimously adopted by that body :—
A r t i c l e 1 . Captains of vessels on their arrival, shall, after having procured a
berth and being ready to discharge, immediately report themselves to their con­
signees— four working days, from which time shall be allowed, for the delivery of
the coal, after which time demurrage shall be allowed at the rate of eight dollars
per day.
A rt . 2. All cargoes of coal received by a consignee shall be taken at the face
of the bill of lading, and payment be full made accordingly, unless the same shall
be weighed either by a sworn weigh-master or a sworn clerk of the consignee in
his office or alongside the vessel, choice of which shall be left to the captain’s op­
tion, provided, however, that in case the coal shall be weighed otherwise than by
a sworn weigh-master, no recourse shall be had to the shipper for allowance, when
the cargo shall fall short of the amount specified in the bill of lading.
A rt . 3. An allowance of one-quarter per cent shall be made for wastage, when
the cargo is weighed on the dock, and one-half per cent when the same shall be
weighed at any other place than on the dock where the vessel is being discharged.
A r t . 4. When the return of the weight of the cargo shall have been made, if
there shall be any deficiency beyond the allowance above stated, the same shall be
charged to the captain at the invoice price, and be deducted from the whole amount
of freight, which shall be upon what he delivers only, and for the amount so de­




C om m ercial R egu la tion s.

617

ducted the consignee shall furnish the captain with a bill and receipt properly at­
tested, for which purpose every bill of lading shall be accompanied by a blank
certificate of weight to be so filled up.
In case the cargo shall be found, after having been weighed, to overrun the
amount specified in the bill of lading, the consignee shall pay the captain the
amount of freight on the surplus, and credit the shipper with the value of the same
at the invoice price.
A rt . 5. When the coal is weighed b y a sworn weig'h-master, the expense shall
be divided equally between the shipper, captain, and consignee.
A rt . 6. That the captain may have redress for the amount of coal deducted from

his freight, he must present the certificate and receipt to the shipper and prove
on oath before a magistrate, that neither he or any other person has sold, thrown
overboard, lost, or in any way destroyed any part of said cargo, from the time he
received it on board to the time he delivered it to the consignee—then the ship­
per shall pay him back the amount so deducted from his freight.
LAIV OF LOUISIANA RELATIVE TO CONTRACTS MADE BY WOMEN.

The following act, passed at the last session of the Legislature of Louisiana,
repeals all laws of that State contrary' to its provisions, and all laws on the
same subject matter, except what are contained in the Civil Code and Code of
Practice :—
AN ACT RELATIVE TO CONTRACTS MADE BY WOMEN.

S ection 1. That it shall be lawful for the widows and unmarried women of age

to bind themselves as securities or indorsers for other persons, in the same manner
and with the same validity as men who are of full age.
S ec. 2. That married women above the ago of twenty-one years shall have the
right, with the consent of their husbands, by act passed before a Notary Public,
to renounce in favor of third persons their matrimonial, dotal, paraphernal, and
other rights ; Provided, that the Notary Public, before receiving the signature of
any married woman, shall detail in the act, and explain verbally to said married
woman, out of the presence of her husband, the nature of her rights, and the con­
tract she agrees to.
S ec. 3. That it shall be lawful for any married woman, having a mortgage or
privilege on the property of her husband, to appoint one or more agents, with
power in her behalf, during her temporary or permanent absence from the State,
to intervene in any contract of mortgage or sale made by the husband, and sign
in her behalf such renunciation of said mortgage or privilege as the wife herself
might do if personally present, and the said power may be either general or special,
and may be executed in the United States before any Judge or Justice of the Peace,
or Notary or Commissioners of this State, and in foreign countries, before any
Consul, Vice-Consul, or Consular or Commercial Agent of the United States.
LOUISVILLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

The following gentlemen compose the government of the Louisville (Kentucky)
Chamber of Commerce for 1856, viz. :— President, H. 1). Newcomb ; Vice-Presi­
dents, Benjamin J. Adams, J. A. McDowell, and William B. Reynolds; Secretory,
Levi Woodbury Fiske ; Treasurer, Ben Casseday ; Committee o f Arbitration, J.
A. McDowell, Thomas Quigley, J. S. Lithgow, Warren Mitchell, and R. H.
Jones; Committee of Appeals, Benj. J. Adams, Wm. B. Reynolds, T. J. Martin,
T. Y. Brent, A. D. Hunt, A. Rawson, and P. B. Atwood.
CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE.

A t a meeting of the Board of Trade held at the Tremont House, Chicago, on
the 7th of March, 1856, the following officers were elected for the ensuing year :—
C. H. Walker, President; G. C. Morton, Vice-President; AY. W . Mitchell, Sec­




618

,

R a ilr o a d , Canal and Steam boat S tatistics.

retary; J. S. Ramsey, D. R. Holt, James B. Dalliba, James Peck, Wm. Blair,
E. Hempsted, John P. Chapin, George Armur, S. B. Pomeroy, and L. P. Hil­
liard, Directors; W . T. Mather, R. C. Bristol, G. H. Buell, T. Jones, and M. 0.
Stearns, Committee of Reference; C. Wheeler, G. W . Rounds, Isaac Sherwood,
B. S. Shepard, B. W . Thomas, J. M. Summers, and R. S. King, Standing Com­
mittee.
CLEVELAND BOARD OF TRADE.
OFFICERS

OF

THE

BOARD

FOB

1856.

J. L. Weatherly, President; Arthur Hughes, Vice-President; II. B. Tuttle,
Secretary; R. T. Lyon, Treasurer; Philo Chamberlin, II. B. Tuttle, S. P. Les­
ter, C. Hickox, N. C. Winslow, P. Anderson, and Levi Rawson, Directors; M.
B. Scott, John Carlisle, and A. J. Holt, Committee of Arbitration.
DUTY ON W INE IN BOTTLES.
IMPORTANT DECISION OF THE UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

Where wine has been purchased separate from the bottles in the foreign markets,
a distinction has been made in the levy of duty, 30 per cent having been charged
upon the bottles, and 40 upon the wine. The department has now instructed the
collectors that the duty of 40 per cent is to be assessed upon both wine and bottles.
Heretofore, when goods bought in foreign markets have depreciated before
shipment, it has been the privilege of the importers to make oath of the decline
in value between time of purchase and time of shipment; and duty has been as­
sessed upon the value at time of shipment. Now duty is to be taken upon the in­
voice values. Heretofore freight to a port of shipment has been subjected to
duty; hereafter it is not to be charged, provided it shall appear satisfactorily to
the collector, that the goods were intended for shipment to this country.

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
THE RAILROADS OF WISCONSIN,

The annexed table exhibits the length of each railway in Wisconsin when com­
pleted, the distance already completed, and the number of miles in process of conRailways;
Milwaukie and Mississippi................
La Cross aud Milwaukie................... ____
Fond du Lac ......................................
Milwaukie and Watertown...............
Racine and Beloit... ....................... ____
Wisconsin and Lake Shore............... ____
Kenosha................................................ ___
Wisconsin Central.............................. ___
Mineral Point..................................... ___
South Wisconsin............................... ____
Beloit and Madison........................... _____
Total............................................ .........

Length when
completed.
95
50
80
40
SO
30
30
50
46
695

Finished
portion.

In process of
construction.

103
55
30
44
40
40
30
10

97
40
20
40

,,
.,
20
30

50
30

16

432

263

Other roads are to be built in Wisconsin, especially one from Hudson, on or
near the Mississippi River, to Lake Superior; one to extend from the termination
of the Fond du Lac Road to Lake Superior— one branch at Marquette and one




R a ilr o a d

,

,

Canal an d Steam boat S tatistics.

619

at, Ontonago; the former the center of the iron district, and the latter of the
copper region. While this kind of enterprise has been stagnant in the older
States, it is just waking into activity in Wisconsin, where it is stimulated by the
rapid growth of the State in population, and almost equally by the growth of
Minnesota, lying to the west of her.
MASSACHUSETTS RAILROADS IN 1855.

We have received from Mr. Lovett, the Assistant Secretary of the Common­
wealth of Massachusetts, an official copy of the Annual Reports of the Railroad
Corporations in that State for the year 1855, together with an abstract of said
returns ; also, an elaborate statement of the same compiled by David M. Balfour,
Esq. Heretofore, we have published the compilations of that gentleman entire,
but in this instance, in consequence of the crowded state of our pages, we have
condensed from the returns the aggregate operations of the several roads. Ac­
cording to Mr. Balfour’s statement it appears that there are in Massachusetts 43
roads and branches; the length of the main lines is 1,237 miles; branches, 106 ;
length of double and side tracks, 431 miles; showing a total of 1,774 miles, in­
cluding main lines, branches, and side tracks. We give the several items as fol­
lows :—
Capital o f 43 roads paid i n .........................................................................
Cost of sam e..................................................................................................
Debt of the corporations...............................................................................
Receipts from passengers...............................................................................
Receipts from merchandise...........................................................................
Receipts from mails, rents, &c.......................................................................
Total receipts..................................................................................................
Expenses of road bed.....................................................................................
Expenses o f motive pow er...........................................................................
Expenses, miscellaneous................................................................................
Total expenses................................................................................................
Gross earnings..................................................................................................
Ret earnings....................................................................................................
Dividends paid................

$50,416,182
69,094,390
22,598,406
4,615,946
3,905,988
451,609
9,098,492
1,370,512
886,400
3,402,513
5,662,320
10,100,914
8,256,487
1,539,098

Number of miles run by passenger trains..................................................
Number of miles run by freight trains........................................................
Number of miles run by other trains........................
Total of all trains during the y e a r .............................................................
Number of passengers carried in the ca rs ................................................
Number of passengers carried one mile......................................................
Number of tons of merchandise carried in theca rs .................................
Number o f tons of merchandise carried one mile.....................................
Weight in tons of passenger trains (not including passengers) hauled
one m ile .......................................................................................................
Weight in tons o f freight trains (not including merchandise) hauled one
mile................................................................................................................
Total number of tons (not including passengers) hauled one m ile.........

3,115,401
2,041,834
228,181
5,385,416
11,339,850
185,160,127
3,062,251
103,676,163
116,689,219
165,260,745
385,626,127

According to Mr. Balfour’s estimate the total receipts per mile run was $1 69,
and the total expenses per mile run $1 05, showing an average net income of 64
cents per mile run. The casualties reported were 121, 73 of which were fatal.
The average speed of passenger trains, adopted per hour, is nearly 25 miles, and
freight trains a little over 13 miles. The table appended to the official reports by
the Secretary of the Commonwealth, shows the aggregate length of all the roads
to be 1,854 miles, including, of course, the branches and side tracks ; while Mr.
Balfour, in his table, gives 1,774 miles as the length of the same.




620

R a ilroa d , Canal, an d S tea m boat S ta tistics.
STEAMSHIPS BETW EEN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE.

We give below a table of the several ocean steam lines between the United
States and Europe :—
LIVERPOOL AND NEW YORK.
Names.

Collins line...........
Baltic.........................
Adriatic.....................
Ericsson.....................
Cunard line...........
Africa,.........................
Asia . . . ...................
Europa......................

Class.

.Paddle-wheel.............
.Paddle-wheel.............
.Paddle-wheel.............
.Paddle-wheel.............
.Paddle-wheel ...........
. Paddle-wheel.............
.Paddle-wheel.............
. Paddle-wheel.............

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

Tonnage*
3,000
3,000
4.200
1,800
3,600
2,250
2,260
2,250

LIVERPOOL AND BOSTON.

Cunard line...........

.Paddle-wheel............. .........
A rabia....................... •Paddle-wheel.............
Canada ..................... .Paddle-wheel............. .........
Niagara..................... .Paddle-wheel............. .........

1,800
1,800
2,250

GLASGOW AND NEW YORK.

Scotch line.............

. .S cre w ......................... .......
New Y o rk ................., .S c r e w ........................ .........
Glasgow..................... . .Screw ......................... .........

2,500
2,150
1,962

LONDON, CORK, AND NEW YORK.

Cork line...............

. S crew ......................... .........
Brenda..................... ... Screw .........................

1,300

NEW YORK AND HAVRE.

Cunard line...........

French l i n e .........
Old Havre line . . .

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

3,000
3,000
2,000
2,000

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

1,500
1,500
1,500
2,700
2,500

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

2,590
2,500
2,500
2,500
2,500

•Paddle-wheel.............
Hermann................... •Paddle-wheel............. .........

2,000

.. Screw .........................
Ju ra........................... . .S crew .........................
E m eu......................... , .S crew .........................
Lebanon ................... . .S crew .........................
Cambria..................... .Paddle-wheel.............
. .S crew .........................
Barcelona................. ... Screw .........................
Sebastopol................ ...Screw .........................
. Paddle-wheel.............
Fulton....................... . Paddle-wheel.............
U nion......................... •Paddle-wheel.............
ANTWERP, SOUTHAMPTON, AND NEW YORK.

Belgian lin e .........

.. Screw .........................
Constitution.............. , .S crew .........................
Leopold I................... .S crew .........................
Due de Brabant. . . . ..S crew .........................
Congress.................. .. .Screw .........................
NEW YORK, SOUTHAMPTON, AND BREMEN.

Bremen lin e .........

LIVERPOOL AND PHILADELPHIA.

Philadelphia line .

, .S crew ......................... .........
City of Washington.... Screw .........................
City of Manchester .., .S crew .........................

2,367

In addition to the above, a line has been established between Portland and
Liverpool, in which the Sarah Sands and Canadian run.




,

R a ilroa d , Canal an d Steam boat S tatistics.

62 1

The disasters to ocean steamships may likewise be summed up as follows :—

.

President................. .
Columbia.................
Humboldt.................
City of G lasgow .. . .
City o f Philadelphia
Franklin...................
A rctic.......................
Pacific.......................

.Never heard of.
.All hands saved.
.All hands saved.
.Never heard of.
.All hands saved.
.All hands saved.
A few only saved.
. Not heard of.

COST OF RAILROAD MANAGEMENT,

The following facts regarding eight of the principal railroads in Massachusetts
were, according to the Boston Post, developed by the reports made to the Legis­
lature of that State:—
1. The cost of passenger transportation is 1.062 cents per passenger per mile.
2. The cost of merchandise transportation is 3.095 cents per ton per mile.
3. In passenger transportation $41.98 per cent of the receipts therefrom are
absorbed in expenses.
4. In merchandise transportation $89.52 per cent of the receipts therefrom are
absorbed in expenses.
5. The expense of railroads are almost invariably determined by the weight
carried over the rails. For instance : the Eastern Iload, upon which passenger
traffic predominates, is operated at an expense of $3,670 per mile of the length of
the road; whilst the Lowell, upon which merchandise predominates, is operated
at an expense of $12,478.
6. The cost of renewals of iron upon railroads is an infallible index of the
magnitude of expenses. For the preceding reasons, the cost of that item on the
Eastern Boad is but $390 per mile of the length of the road, while upon the
Western it is $1,399.
7. Of the expenses of railroads, 30 per cent are absorbed in maintenance of
way, or road bed ; 20 per cent in fuel and o il; 20 per cent in repairs of engines,
tenders, and cars; 10 per cent in special freight expenses; and the remainder in
passenger, incidental, and miscellaneous expenses.
8. The weight of the engines, tenders, and cars upon passenger trains is nine­
fold greater than the weight of the passengers.
9. The weight of the engines, tenders, and cars upon freight trains is scarcely
one-fold greater than the weight of the merchandise.
10. For cheapness, railroads cannot compete with canals in transportation of
heavy descriptions of merchandise. The cost of carrying merchandise upon the
Erie Canal ranges from two to sixteen mills per ton per mile, while upon sixteen
of the principal railways of New' York and Massachusetts the cost of carrying
merchandise ranges from thirteen to sixty-five mills per mile.
ENGLISH AND FRENCH RAILROADS IN 1851 AND 1 855.

The comparative receipts of the French and English railways, for the last two
years, have been as follows:—
,-----------------BRITISH.-----------------,

,---------------- FEENCH.---------------- ,

Francs.

Dollars.

Francs.

Dollars.

1854 .........................
1855 .........................

464,000,000
500,000,000

87,000,000
94,875,000

191,000,000
252,000,000

35,812,500
46,875,000

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

42,000,000

7,875,000

61,000,000

11,062,600

The result manifests great activity in the internal trade of both countries. That
of France is now nearly one-half that of Great Britain. War has not at least
checked the traffic, although it may, if government service is charged in the ac­
counts, have enhanced the figures.




622

R a ilr o a d

,

Canal, and Steam boat S tatistics.

THE BRITISH SYSTEM OF RAIROADS,
COMPARED WITH THE FRENCH, GERMAN, AND AMERICAN.

The following paper, originally translated for the Evening Post from the Augs­
burg Allgemeine Zietung, of March 29, 1856, will, at a time when the subject of
railroad management is attracting more than ordinary attention, interest many
readers of the Merchants' Magazine. We have received an able article from a
valued correspondent on “ Railroad Management in the United States,” whilfch
will appear in our number for June :—
It is shown that English railroad stocks yield about 2 per cent on the invested
capital. Only two very short lines bring over 7 per cent. In Prance, the North­
ern and Eastern Railroad yielded in the year 1855, 15 per cent; the Lyons, and
the Lyons and Mediterranean railroads 16 percent; the Orleans Line 15J per
cent; the Western Railroad 15 per cent. The entire length of the French rail­
roads is 2,880 English miles. They cost £58,000,000, and their gross income last
year amounted to about £9,848,000, about 14 per cent of which was clear gain.
If we compare the six principal railroad lines of France with the six prin­
cipal railroad lines of England— namely, the London, the Northwest, the Great
Western, the Great Northern, the Midland, the Lancashire and Yorkshire, and
the Northeastern—we see that their length is 2,660 miles, built at a cost of
£122,000,000, consequently more than the double cost of the French lines, though
they are only two hundred miles longer. The gross receipts are nearly the same,
namely, £9,785,000. Hence it is clear that the capital invested in English rail­
road stocks brings only 3$ per cent. The capital invested in English railways
is estimated to be £300,000,000, in France £100,000,000, in the United States
£150,000,000.
Even in the United States, where, at the close of the year 1855, there were
about 23,384 miles of railroad, the receipts have diminished. The gross receipts
during the past year of the 3,216 miles in the State of New York, which cost
§125,250,000, were only §20,843,385. Though they yield nearly 7 per cent,
they are considered a bad investment in a State where capitalists can get far
higher interest for their money.
In Germany and Austria are numerous railroads which yield over 10 per cent.
Among them are the Cologne and Minden, the Leipzig, Magdeburg, the Ferdi­
nand, Northern Line, and several others. Still more numerous are the railroads
which yield 6, 7, 8, or 10 per cent.
These results show that the English railroads yield the smallest, and the French
the largest per centage on the capital invested. We may, as a general rule,
say that English lines of railroad are too expensively constructed ; still, it is
not always so. The Belfast Line cost £13,839 a mile, and the London and Blackwall £283,818. The principal railroad lines in England cost between £30,000
and £31,000 a mile. In France they constructed 54 miles of road for the same
money that in England was expended - on 40 miles, and in England 54 miles yield
only as much as 42 miles in France.
This hopeless condition of the British railroads induced a reaction in the past
month. In England railroad profits have been diminished by too great a rival­
ry. The parallel lines have tried to ruin each other, and for the most part they
have succeeded. A company, consequently, has been formed for promoting the
interests of the British railways. The different companies have united their in­
terests and will wage no more war with each other. As it is they will find
ways enough to rob the public. Even in England traveling by railroad is by
no means cheap. The first class of the English and French lines can scarcely
be compared, as to comfort and luxury, to our second class. The luxury of our
first-class carriages, as on tiie Aix-la-Chapelle Line in Bavaria, and on some of the
Prussian railroads, is not to be found in England or France, and still less in
Belgium, where the second class is scarcely to be compared with our third.
Railroad traveling in England is nearly three times as dear as on the continent.




R a ilro a d

,

,

C anal and Steam boat S tatistics.

623

Season tickets in England are issued at a cheap rate. The company issues season
tickets to persons for a certain distance, on which they may make two trips a day.
These tickets are mostly taken up by persons who have business in the large cities,
London, Liverpool, and Manchester. They leave their homes early in the morning,
and return after business hours. It would take nearly twice as much time if they
lived in some remote part of London to go to their business-place, and they would
even spend more money in omnibusses, etc. They prefer to live a few miles out
of the city near a railroad. We are therefore not surprised to see that, in the
year 1854, no less than 11,000,000 persons arrived at the several railroad depots
in London ; 36,000 season tickets would be enough to make up this number.
The small profits of the English railroads is not to be accounted for by low fares
for passengers or freight. There are other more important causes. The best fruits
are eaten up by the so-called railway locusts. In this class of insects are to be
reckoned, first, the directors, then the members of Parliament, the engineers, the
gamblers in stocks, and, in general, the whole body of honorable sharpers. The
directors gamble in stocks on the Merchants’ Exchange, and in their hands are all
the interest of the line. Is it astonishing that they make money and sometimes
lose it, or is it to be wondered at that railroad securities are at such a discount in
England ? Says the Economist in one of its late numbers :—“ To gain money
man may risk life and honor; but he who has railways to manage can make a for­
tune at the expense of shareholders without risking either. It has happened that
directors have fraudulently appropriated sums like £80,000 to buy their own
shares, or have appropriated large sums of money, and accounted for it under the
head of “ sundries.”
In the year 1845 the railroads yielded from 8 to 10 per cent. These profits
gradually fell from 10 to 5, from 8 to 4, from 9 to 3f per cent on the capital in­
vested, in spite of the increase of freight and passengers. This is owing to the
secondary railway lines. These lines were generally so constructed as to be of
use to the two principal lines. They were advertised for sale, and as each of the
principal lines wished to acquire them, enormous sums were offered and paid for
them. Of course, the profits of the principal line were thereby proportionately
diminished. But great swindles were effected in the matter of dividends. Ex­
penses which should have been paid from the profits, were paid out of the capital.
The amount so abstracted was not replaced, and purchases were made at long pe­
riods to avoid payment. This, naturally enough, gave higher, although imaginary
dividends; the shares were coming up ; the directors sold their shares and pocket­
ed the gains. The only persons taken in were the simple shareholders, who be­
lieved in high dividends. Large sums were paid to landowners as indemnity for
expropriation.
In this way the companies had to pay from £4,000 to £8,000 a mile for land.
In one case £120,000 was paid for a tract of land which was only valued at
£5,000. A landowner once demanded £80,000 for his land, but finding rivals in
the business, he ceded it for £80. The engineers were in many cases in the pay
of these interested landowners. Even among members of Parliament these rail­
way locusts were to be found. To have influence in the House of Commons, the
companies elected members of Parliament as directors, and there are now no less
than 81 directors members of Parliament. A goodly share of the profits is made
way with by lawyers and attorneys. We know a case where six of those loousts
divided among themselves £57,000 ; and lately it was shown that a company had
paid the sum of £480,000 for court and Parliament fees in the space of nine
years. It should be borne in mind that the fees of witnesses before Parliament
are six guineas a day.
But the real root of all these evils lies in the fact that the interests of the
shareholders are wholly under the control of the directors. These latter are gen­
erally good speech makers, and are seldom opposed by the shareholders, for ob­
vious reasons. Such are some of the ways of fortune in England. In America
the same evils, to some extent, are to be found ; but the Americans are less timid,
and they are very energetic in remedying abuses. England is now checkered with
railways, but the English have paid dearly for the experiments, by which the two
continents have profited.




,

S tatistics o f A g r icu ltu r e etc.

624

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
ECONOMY OR W ASTE IN THE CULTURE OF COTTON.

In the Cincinnati Railroad Record we find the following interesting article
upon the cultivation of cotton. The object of the article is to show that the
revenue from the cotton trade might be vastly increased. To prove this, he con­
siders—
1. The amount of the refuse of the cotton crop. As near as can be ascertained,
about 5,000,000 acres of land are planted with cotton ; the average product of
this land is a little over 300 pounds to the acre baled cotton, making, according
to the author of “ Cotton is King,” in 1853, a total production of 1,600,000,000
pounds of baled cotton. Now, one pound only of baled is obtained from 3-1 lbs.
of the rough product. We have, then, the following statement of the cotton
product of the country in 1853
Total product of the field................................................
Total baled cotton
Refuse, thrown to waste

5,333,000,000
1,600,000,000
3,733,000,000

This, then, develops the remarkable fact, that the refuse of the cotton crop is, in
weight, 2J times as great as the present available product of the cotton culture.
If cotton is king now, when only 30 per cent of the fruit of the cotton-plant is
made available, what will be the importance of this great staple when the planta­
tion shall yield 100 per cent of valuable and available product?
2. The uses to which the refuse of the cotton crop may be applied. The refuse
of the cotton crop consists of the seed and a residue of fiber still adhering to it,
in the ratio of about 40 per cent of fiber and 60 per cent of seed.
T he F ibek . The fiber immediately covering the seed is worthless to the spin­
ner, but may, nevertheless, he made available in the arts for just such purposes as
the worn out fabrics of the manufacturer are now employed, and will supply a
commercial want that has long been felt, and for which ingenuity, misdirected,
has long sought. This worthless fiber, subjected to proper preparation, will fur­
nish a valuable supply of material for paper making. Assuming the value of this
to be the same as the cheapest rags in the market, and we have—
Total refuse................................................................lbs.
Fiber 40 per cent.............................................................
Value at 1 per cent..........................................................

3,733,000,000
1,493,200,000
£14,932,000

Now, allowing 20 per cent for wastage in manufacture, the usual allowance of
paper makers, and the quantity of paper made annually from this refuse, would be
as follows:—
F ib e r...........................................................................lbs.
Waste, 20 per cent...........................................................

1,493,200,000
298,640,000

Paper................................................................. lbs.

1,194,560,000

Estimating this as common wrapping paper, at the average price of wrapping
paper per pound, and we have—
1,194,560,000 lbs. paper, at 5 cents.........................

...

£59,728,000

And when it is considered that at least two-thirds of this material is suitable




S ta tistics o f A g r ic u ltu r e , etc.

625

for the manufacture of fine printing paper, worth from 11 to 14 cents per lb., this
will be found to be a low estimate.
A large portion of the profit of this manufacture would accrue to the cottongrowing States, as the labor necessary to be bestowed on paper making is com­
paratively little.
To paper makers and those connected with the press, who know the commercial
want of such a material, we need say nothing of the value of such a supply at the
present moment. The most careless observer cannot fail to perceive the import­
ant bearing which such a saving annually would have on this portion of our agri­
cultural, manufacturing, and publishing interests.
T he S eed . The seed of the cotton-plant is in itself by no means a worthless
material. Like flax and other seeds, it contains a large percentage of oily matter,
which can be extracted and applied to useful purposes. Recent experiments have
shown that cotton-seed oil is one of the most valuable for both illuminating and
lubricating purposes. In these respects it ranks equal to the best sperm oil, but
in our calculations of its value wc shall put it as equal only to the cheapest grease
in the New York market.
Cotton-seed, when compressed, yields 30 per cent of oil and 10 per cent of
oil-cake. Assuming the same data as before, the yield of oil would then be as
follows :—
Total refuse o f crop.................................................. lbs.
Clean seed, 60 per c e n t...................................................
Oil, 30 per cent o f last amount....................................
Oil-cake, 70 per cent........................................................

8,733,000,000
2,239,800,000
671,940,000
1,567,860,000

The writer then introduces some calculations, showing the use of the oil, cotton­
seed as material for candles, or oil-cake, and the article concludes as follows :—
C o n c l u s io n s . It would seem, then, from the considerations already mentioned,
that we annually wmste 3,733,000,000 lbs. of valuable vegetable products, the
value of which may be briefly summed up as follows:—-

P a p e r.......................................................................................
O il............................................................................................
Oil cake.......................................................................

$59,728,000
67,194,000
7,839,300
$134,761,300

Allowing one-half for manufacturing, and there would still remain a clear gain
to the country, as profits and for cost of material, §67,380,650, over 50 per cent
of the present value of the cotton crop.

PORK PACKING I1Y CIMCIXXATI,

The following table, derived from the generally reliable statements of the Cin­
cinnati Price Current, exhibits the progress of pork packing at that point for
the twenty-four years last past:—
NUMBER OF HOGS PACKED AT CINCINNATI SINCE 1832.
Years.
1833 T.
1884____
1835____
1836___
1837........
1888.
1889..
1810........

____
____
____
____

____

No.
85,000
123,000
162,000
123,000
103,000

95,000

VOL. X X X IV .---- NO. V.




Years.
1841.............
1842.............
1843.............
1844.............
1845.............
1846.............
1847.............
1848.............

No.
160,000
220'000
250,000
240,000
805,000
250,000

40

Years.
1849..............
I8 6 0 ..............
1851..............
1852 ............
1853..............
1854.............
1855..............
1856..............

No.
410.000
893.000
334.000
352.000
361.000
421.000
855,786
405,396

626

S tatistics o f A g r icu ltu r e

,

etc.

AMERICAN TOBACCO IN EUROPE,

Tobacco stands next to cotton, in quantity and value, of our agricultural ex­
ports to foreign countries, and with the exception of the leading staple, the
heaviest article in the whole list of domestic exports of the United States, and
were it not for the enormous duties and restrictions imposed by the leading gov­
ernments of Europe, the amount would be largely increased. The official value of
tobacco exported for the year ending June 30, 1855, amounted to $14,727,468.
Efforts have been made from time to time since 1829, to effect a change in these
restrictions more favorable to the tobacco interests of this country, but without
success, on the part of our government.
In compliance with a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 17th of
April, 1856, the Secretary of State communicated to that body the subjoined
statement respecting the tariff of duties, restrictions, prohibitions, and custom­
house regulations, applicable to American tobacco, in the principal commercial
countries of Europe, prepared by E dmund F lagg , Esq., Superintendent of the
Statistical Office of the State Department at Washington. The tobacco inter­
ests of the United States having been treated of in detail in connection with
those of other staples in the report on the commercial relations of the United
States with all foreign nations, (now in course of printing,) Mr. Flagg submits
at this time a brief and condensed statement, which shows at a glance the con­
dition of the tobacco monopoly in several European States. The following is the
official report as presented to Congress :—
STATEMENT RESPECTING THE TARIFF DUTIES, RESTRICTIONS, PROHIBITIONS, AND
CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS APPLICABLE TO AMERICAN TOBACCO IN THE-PRIN­
CIPAL COMMERCIAL COUNTRIES OF EUROPE.

B remen . (Tariff duties two-thirds of 1 per cent.) Import duty is levied at
the rate given in the invoice value, with the addition of freight and insurance
charges. All foreign vessels, American excepted, must be entered at this port
by a licensed ship-broker—the exception in favor of American vessels having been
conceded by the Bremen Senate in 1852.
G reat B ritain . (72 cents per lb. and 5 per cent additional.) Tobacco, snuff,
and cigars are prohibited to be imported into Great Britain, unless in vessels of
not less than 120 tons burden, and into ports approved by the Commissioners of
Customs. These ports are London, Liverpool, Bristol, Hull, Lancaster, Cowes,
Falmouth, Whitehaven, Plymouth, Newcastle, Southampton, Preston, and Swan­
sea, in England ; Aberdeen, Leith, and Greenock, in Scotland ; and Dublin, Bel­
fast, Galway, Limerick, Londonderry, Newry, Sligo, Waterford, Wexford, and
Drogheda, in Ireland. Duties alike from all countries and in all bottoms.
B elgium . ($1 86 per 221 lbs.) In the direct trade between the United States
and Belgium, the vessels of both nations are equalized by treaty. In the indirect
or triangular trade, there are discriminations, though frequently suspended by
Belgium.
&
S ard in ia . (Government monopoly.) The annual revenue cannot be calcu­
lated, as the Italian States are grouped in official returns of commerce.
A ustria .
(Government monopoly.) When imported by permission o f the
government, the duty is $4 85 per 110 lbs., besides 97 cents per lb. for a license
to import.
S weden . (5 5-6 cents per lb.) The duty is over 100 per cent, and importa­
tions from the United States are diminishing annually.
N orway . (4£ cents per lb.) Owing to a difference in the weights and meas­
ures in use in Norway, the duty is about 33.3 per cent less than in Sweden.
P ortugal.
(Government monopoly.) The raw article for the factories of the




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

62 7

government is derived chiefly from Brazil, about 500,000 lbs. per annum being
received from the United States.
F rance.
(Government monopoly.) By the terms of the treaty of June 24,
1822, American produce, if imported direct to France in United States bottoms, is admitted on the payment of the same duties as apply to similar im­
portations from countries out of Europe, in French vessels. The origin of the
merchandise must, however, be duly authenticated and certified by the collector
of the port of exportation and by the French consul. American tobacco is pur­
chased by the Commissioners of the Regie for the government factories, and is
admitted either in French or American vessels free of duty. In foreign vessels,
the duty is $1 86 per 100 kilogrammes (221 lbs.) The monopoly was established
in 1810 by imperial decree.
H o l l a n d . (28 cents per 221 lbs.) If imported direct from the United States,
admitted on the same terms, whether in American or national vessels.
S p a in .
(Government monopoly.) Admitted at the port of Malaga in Amer­
ican vessels at a duty of 20 cents, and in Spauish at a duty of 15 cents per lb.
The privilege of the tobacco monopoly in Spain is rented to individuals, and yields
a revenne of about 14,000,000 per annum.
STATEMENT EXH IBITING THE QUANTITIES OF AMERICAN TOBACCO EXPORTED FROM
THE UNITED STATES INTO THE COUNTRIES DESIGNATED ;

TOGETHER WITH THE

AMOUNT OF DUTIES PA ID THEREON DURING THE COMMERCIAL YEAR

Countries.

Brem en.................................................lbs.
Great Britain..............................................
France*.......................................
H olland........................................................
S p a iu f..................
Belgium........................................................
Sardinia % .....................................................
A u stria§......................................................
Sweden andNorway....................................
P o rtu g a l]....................................................

Quantities.

38,058,000
24,203,000
40,866,000
17,124.000
7,524,000
4,010,000
3,311,000
2,945,000
1,713,000
336,000

1855 :---

Duties paid.

$16,652
18,297,468
.................
21,695,000
.................
33,749
.................
129,805
88,505
.................

The total receipts from customs duties in Prance for one year (1848,) according
to official returns, was 146,000,000 francs, of which 86,000,000 were derived from
tobacco, nearly all grown in the United States.
The Austrian empire contains 36,514,397 inhabitants. The annual yield (aver­
age) of tobacco in Austria is estimated at 79,000,000 lbs. The only places where
the plant is permitted to be grown are Hungary, Galicia, the 'Tyrol, and Venice.
In Hungary it is the leading staple, the annual crop reaching as high as
68.000. 000 lbs. Of this, one-third is sold to the Austrian Regie (or government
monopoly,) one-third to foreign countries, and the remaining one-third is consumed
at home. The average annual importation from the United States is from twoand-a-half to three million pounds. The Regie clears a profit of ten cents on
each pound of raw tobacco, and the annual revenue to the government is
$7,500,000.
In the States composing the Zollverein, the annual crop of tobacco is estimated
at 55,000,000 lbs.. The revenue derived from American tobacco is about
$1,800,000 per annum.
B e l g iu m produces annually about 1,300,000 lbs. of tobacco, and imports from
9.000. 000 to 11,000,000 lbs."*§
* Average annual revenue from [g jvernment] monopoly, $16,000.
t Average annual revenue from monopoly, $4,000,000.
t No data from which to ascertain ammiDt of revenue derived from monopoly.
§ Besides an annual profit to the Regie of about $7,500,000.
1 No data from which to ascertain the share of monopoly revenue which this quantity bears; the
whole amount is about $2,250,000 annually.




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

628

H olland produces from 4,000,0000 to 5,000,000 lbs., and imports annually
from 30,000,000 to 35,000,000 lbs. The tobacco factories in this country are
stated to give employment to 1,000,000 operatives.
B remen imports annually from 35,000,000 to 50,000,000 lbs. of tobacco, most
of which is manufactured in that city, and re-exported to foreign markets.
H amburg imports only from 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 lbs. annually, most of
which, after being manufactured, is re-exported.

The annual tobacco crop of Russia is about 25,000,000 lbs.
The annual consumption of tobacco in Spain is about 9,000,000 lbs., one-third
of which is imported for the government factories from the United States.
In Portugal, the culture of tobacco is prohibited by law.
The quantity of American unmanufactured tobacco annually imported into the
principal commercial countries of Europe may be thus stated :—
For each inhabitant of—

For each inhabitant of—

Great Britain.............
France .........................

Mecklenbur^-Schwerin
Mecklenburg-Strelitz...........................lbs.
...............lbs.
....................
...................
....................

2J
2f
6

2
1

Russia...........................
1
9

Si

Portugal........................

H

The aggregate quantity of tobacco annually raised in these countries (exclusive
of their colonies] is about 210,000,000 lbs. The aggregate quantity of tobacco
raised in the United States in 1850 was 199,752,515 lbs.
The average annual quantity of American tobacco imported into Great Britain
during a period of three years, (1851-3,) was 24,543,334 lbs., on which there was
levied an average annual duty of $18,554,760.
'[’he average annual quantity imported into France during the same period was
14,690,000 lbs.; into Holland, 18,660,000 lbs., on which the average annual
amount of duty wras $24,915 ; into Belgium, 4,824,000 lbs., on which the average
annual amount of duty was $40,600 ; and into the Hanse Towns, 38,637,667 lbs.,
on which was paid an average annual duty of $12,643 91.
ROOT CROPS Ijy GREAT BRITAIN AND UNITED STATES.

It appears by official statements that turnips and other root crops are culti­
vated to a much greater extent in Great Britain than in the United States. Of
the extent to which the various root crops are cultivated, and of the proportion
between these and the various grain crops, any one may inform himself accurately
by a comparison of the following statistics, which we select from the returns
made to Parliament for the year 1854. Of 37,324,915 acres in the several coun­
ties of England and Wales, 12,441,776 acres were under tillage, and 15,212,203
under grass. Of the 12,441,776 acres under tillage, there were in—•
Acres.

Wheat....................................
Barley....................................
O a ts.......................................
R y e ........................................
Beans and p e a s ...................

3,807r,846
9,667,776
1,302.782
72.721
773,188

Turnips..................................
M angolds..............................
Carrots..................................
Potatoes................................
V etches.................................

2,267,200
177,153
12,638
192,287
218,551

According to the United States census of 1850, there were of improved lands,
113,032,614 acres; of which there were
Acrus.

Wheat.................. ..........
Oats......................
Cotton.......................

Rye........................
Barley.................. .




11,000,000

Irish potatoes......................
Sweet potatoes...................
Peas and beans...................
Buckwheat..........................
Indian c o r n ..........................

1,000,000
750,000
1,000,000
600,000
31,000,000

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

629

As no other root crops are reported in the United States census, except pota­
toes, it seems a fair inference from this fact, not that there are none else cultivated,
but that the number of acres under turnips and other roots was so small as not
to be worth reporting, or that no place was provided in the schedules used by the
enumerators, on account of the small extent of land generally supposed to be
devoted to these crops.

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
STOCK MANUFACTURING COMPANIES IN MASSACHUSETTS.

We give below an abstract of returns of Joint-Stock Companies formed in
Massachusetts, under the acts of that State of 1851 and 1855, as prepared from
official returns by F kancis D e W itt , Secretary of the Commonwealth
Name of Company and where located.
A. Field tfc Co., Taunton...................................
American Book
Paper Folding Co., Boston.
“
Grist Mill C o....................................
“
Leather Splitting C o.*...................
“
Machine Stamp Co.........................
“
Rattan Co., Fitchburg......................
“
Soda Fountain Co., H averhill.. . .
“
Stereotype Co., Boston..................
“
Tube Works.....................................
“
Verd Antique Marble C o.............
“
Whip Co, W estfield......................
Bay State Glass Co., Cambridge....................
Bay State Tool Manuf. Co., Northampton . .
Bemis & Call H’d ware & Tool Co., Springfield
Berlin Iron Co., Boston....................................
Blair County Iron and Coal Co.......................
Boston Acid Manufacturing C o......................
“
Carpet Co., R o x b u ry .........................
“ Earthenware Manuf. Co., Boston.. . .
“
Flax Mills, Braintree.........................
“
Oil Co., B oston ....................................
“
Oil Refining C o....................................
u
Paper-mache Co J ..............................
“
and Salem Ice Co., Lynn field...........
“
Sugar Refining Co., Boston................
Bolton Shoe Co., B olton..................................
Bowman Oil Co., Roxbury........ .................
Bristol Coal Co., R. Island and elsewhere . .
Brown tfc Allen’s Piano forte Co., Boston.. . .
Cheshire Glass Co., Cheshire.........................
Chicopee Boot and Shoe Co., Chicopee.........
Edgeworth Rubber Co., Malden.....................
Fitchburg Foundry & Machine Co., F’hburg.
Follett Straw Manuf. Co., Wrentham...........
Foundry and Machine Co., Taunton..............
Foxborough Steam Mill Co , Foxborough.. .
Great Barrington Gas Light Co, G. B’rngton
Greenfield Tool Co., Greenfield.....................
Greenleaf Taylor Manuf. Co., Huntington.

Capital No. shares Par value Amt. of capstuck.
taken. of shares. iial paid in.
$100,000
200
$500
$100,000
60,000
6,346
5
36,000
25,000
250
100
25,000
50,000
45
100
4,500
25,000
100
7,500
t
31,200
26
1,200
31,200
20,000
200
100
20,000
50,000
309
100
30,900
100,000
100
1,000
100,000
60,000
500
100
50,000
1,050
140,000
100
105,000
75,000
150
600
75,000
100,000
4,000
25
25,000
12,000
120
100
12,000
10.000
100
100
10,000
150,000
1,025
100
125,000
30,000
300
100
30,000
350
35,000
100
35,000
15,000
30
500
15,000
50,000
500
100
50,000
200,000
2,000
100
200,000
250
100
30,000
25,000
515
60,000
100
51,500
50,000
231
34,946
100
50,000
255
100
25,500
70
7,000
100
6,500
50,000
820
50
41,000
50,000 10,000
5
25,000
40,000
400
100
40,000
200,000
2,000
100
60,000
8,000
80
100
50
5,000
100
5,000
350
35,000
100
35,000
100
12,000
120
12,000
90
500
45,000
45,000
80
8,000
100
7,500
5,000
45
100
5,000
100
203
47,600
47,600
250
100
40,000
40,000

* Location of company not stated in return.

+ Question not answered.
X Name altered from Bowler, Tileston & Co’s. Paper-raache Manufacturing Company.




630

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures,

Name of Company and where located.
Hadley Manufacturing Co., H adley..............
Hey wood Chair Manuf. Co., G ardner...........
Holliston Comb Co., Holliston.........................
Hubbardston Chair Works, Hubbardston.. .
J. Russell Manufacturing Co * .......................
Lawrence Machine Shop, Lawrence.............
Livermore Manufacturing C o .* .....................
Lowell Wire Fence Co., Lowell.....................
Lyman Lumber Manuf. Co., South Hadley...
Lynn Gas Light Co., Lynn..............................
Mansfield Machine Co., Mansfield ...............
Massachusetts Shovel Co., Worcester...........
Mattapan Iron Woiks, Boston........................
Medfield Boot & Shoe Manuf. Co., Medfield.
Merrimack Lumber Co., L ow ell.....................
Middleborough Steam Mill Co., Middleboro’.
Mirror Marble Co., B oston..............................
Monatiquot Mills, Braintree............................
New England Jewelry Co., G rafton.............
“
Machinists’ Co., South Boston.
“
Oil Manufacturing Co., Boston.
“
Paper-mache Co., Chelsea . . .
“
Steam Drill Co., Boston.........
“
Tanning Co................................
N. American Patent Boot <fc Shoe Co.*.........
N. Amer. Yerd Antique Marble Co., Boston.
N. Attleboro’ Gas Light Co., N. Attleboro’ . .
Norton Straw Co., Norton...............................
Persian Sherbet Co., Boston............................
Phoenix Cotton Manuf. Co., Shirley...............
Phoenix Manuf. Corporation, Taunton...........
Pittsfield Woolen Co., Pittsfield......................
Pratt’s Patent Leather Splitting Machine
Manufacturing Co., Salem............................
Prussian Chemical Co., Roxbury...................
Royalston Steam Mill Co., Royalston...........
S. P. Ruggles Power Press Manufacturing
Co., Boston........................................... ..
S. Sutton Boot & Shoe Manuf. Co., Sutton..
Salem and South Danvers Oil Co., Salem . .
Singletary Boot & Shoe Manuf. Co., Sutton.
Somerville Iron Co., Somerville.....................
Somerset Iron Works, Somerset.....................
South Deerfield Machine Co., S. Deerfield..
South River Cutlery Co., Conway.................
Taunton Britannia <fe Plate Co., Taunton .. . .
Taunton Tack Co...............................................
Tremont Oil Co., Boston..................................
Union Glass Co., Som erville..........................
Union Iron Works, North Adams.................
Union Jewelry Co., Attleborough..................
Union Tool Co., Goshen..................................
Walter Hey wood Chair Co., Fitchburgh. . . .
Wameset Steam Mill Co., Low ell.................
Wareham Manuf. Co., Wareham...................
Warren Boot and Shoe Co., Warren..............
Westfield Machine Works, Westfield...........
Westford Forge Co., West ford.......................
Whipple Glass Engraving Co., Boston.........
Worcester Co. Brick Manuf. Co., E. Brookfi’ld
Aggregate




Capital No. shares Par value Amt. of captaken. of shares. ital paid in.
stock.
29,000
290
30,000
100
50,000
1,000
100
100,000
50,000
60,000
500
100
2,500
100
100
10,000
115,000
100
320,000
50
150,000 15,000
20,000
200
100
20,000
20,000
20,000
200
100
15,000
250
100
25,000
424
45,000
100
35,000
350
100
50,000
10,000
150
15,000
100
50,000
500
100
60,000
6,000
6,000
60
100
200,000
2,000
100
200,000
3,000
118
100
15,000
25,000
50
600
25,000
25,000
260
100
25,000
6,000
60
100
' 6,000
475
5,000
500
10
35,000
35
1,000
85,000
8,000
80
100
25,000
50,000
500
100
50,000
10,000
1,000
100,000
100
. . .
100
300,000
192,875
200,000
100
2,000
94
100
50,000
t
14,000
140
100
14,000
12,000
480
25
32,000
25,000
250
100
25,000
30,000
80
375
30,000
40,000
400
100
40,000
50,000
25,000
16,000

500
212
150

100
100
100

50,000
21,200

200.000
5,000
8,000
5,000
12,000
35,000
5,000
19,200
20,000
20,000
200,000
60.000
200,000
10.000
10,000
24,000
13,200
30,000
12.000
6,500
20,000
15,000
25,000

200
134
80
200
10
350
50
192
200
40
2,000
240
200

1,000
25
100
25
100
100
100
100
100
500
100
250
1,000
100
50
100
100
100
100
100
100
10
100

200,000
3,885
8,000
1,027
7,000
8,500

$5,698,100

t
103
240

132
300
120
65
200
6,000

t
. • •

• . .

19,200
20,000
20,000
60,000
81,000
6,000
4,100
24,000
4,400
30,000
12,000
6,500
20,000
60,000
1,000
$3,340,307

Journal o f Mining and. Manufactures.

631

EARLY GOLD DISCOVERIES IN CALIFORNIA,

Considerable interest has been manifested as to who was the first discoverer of
gold in California. Like almost every other discovery the honor is a mooted
point. Lately it has been claimed by Peter Weimer, of Coloma. By the follow­
ing interesting letter, it appears that gold has been discovered in California long
before the days of either Weimer or Marshall, and that some portions of the min­
ing region had been pretty extensively wrought prior to Marshall’s discovery at
Sutter’s Mill. The following letter was published in an Oregon paper some years
since, and as some of the parties mentioned in it are still living, and the initials of
the author are signed to the letter, it is probable that he is known, and that his
statements are reliable :—
M r . E ditor — S ir :— Although the publicity given the supposed discovery of
gold at Sutter's Mill, now called Coloma, in California, in 184-8—and for some
length of time supposed to be an original discovery—not as it was, a re-discoiery
—has given rise to false opinions in the case in the minds of the public, I there­
fore, believing that honor should be rendered to whom honor is due, proceed to
give a short sketch of the various discoveries and re-discoveries of gold in Upper
and Lower California, as that country was formerly called.
1st. In a volume of a work published in Spain in 1690, by one Lyola Cavello,
or Cabello, (a Padre of the Church of Borne, officiating at the time at the Mis­
sion of San Jose. Bay of San Francisco, which was built in 1672.) and called
” Kecordado en Historical el California Alta,” he stated that on some streams to
the north g'old was seen, but it was only in small quantities on the “ Placeros.”
2d. In the year 1842, James I). Dana, A. M., in his System of Mineralogy,
page 552, (first edition,) says :—“ The gold rocks and veins of quartz were ob­
served by the author in 1842, near the Umpqua Biver in Southern Oregon, and
pebbles from similar rocks were met with along the shores of the Sacramento in
California, and the resemblance to other gold districts was remarked, but there
was no opportunity of exploring the country at the time.” Again, on page 251-2,
describing the localities in which gold has been found, he says :— “ In the Bocky
Mountains, near Salt Lake, California, between the Sierra Nevada, and Sacra­
mento, and San Joaquin rivers.” He also say3:—“ The California mines are
mostly alluvial; the gold is found in the gravel and sands of the valleys and beds
of streams leading from the Sierra Nevada into the adjoining valley of the Sa­
cramento and San Joaquin.”
3d. During the month of October or November, in a house or grogery on Pa­
cific-street, San Francisco, (as it is now called,) a Mexican, who was called “ Sal­
vador,” was shot because he had a bag of gold dust, described as about 1,000 or
1,200 dollars, and would not tell where he got it. At last, when dying, he pointed
in the direction of San Jose Mountains, and said, “ Lcjos, lejos,” (beyond, be­
yond.)
4th. On the 16th of September, 184G, a party, mostly Mormons, went up the
San Joaquin, partly to join Lieut. Gillespie’s party of U. S. Marines and Volun­
teers, in search of warlike Indians, and principally to form a settlement at the
junction of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers. On returning, this party
stopped to cook dinner on the sand point (S. E. by E. point) of the small island
opposite to what is called the entrance to Stockton, then called Lindsey’s Lake.
After dinner, one George M. Evans and John Sirrene, now in New York city,
commenced to pick yellow specks out of the bank, did them up in paper, and took
them to San Francisco, (then Ycrba Buena,) tested them with acids, and found it
rvas gold ; but not having any idea that gold was in such quantity as was after­
wards proved, put the specimens by, and afterwards part, with other minerals, was
sent to Peale's Museum as a present. The reason of my looking for minerals was
in consequence of Salvador’s death.
5th. The following August, (1847,) Major Beading, and T. W. Perkins, and
myself went south from San Francisco, and being in search of Asbestos, we ex­




632

Journal o f Mining and, Manufactures.

plored the mountains near San Diego and near the Biver Gila, where we found
gold more abundantly than has since been found on the north fork of the Ameri­
can. This is the same place from whence the present excitement of “ newr discov­
eries of gold in California ” has arisen. We could do nothing, in consequence of
the Indians being hostile in the neighborhood. The Major lost the use of his left
arm, while I have yet the marks on my right arm of arrow wounds received at
the time. To prove the truth of this assertion, persons in this town can prove
that fourteen months since, April, 1853, I told of that same place.
6th. When the Mormon Battalion was disbanded in 1817, a number of the
Mormons came to San Francisco, and among them was one Henderson Cox and
one Beardsley, who boarded in the same house with me. They having worked in
the Georgia mines, told me, in conversation on the subject, that as they were about
prospecting for a road (since called the Mormon Pass) for the Mormons to return
to Salt Lake, and in so doing would prospect the streams in their route. This
was in the end of September or first of August, 1817. I then described the death
of Salvador, and where I found the gold, and gave them a chart of the country
from memory. In the following January I returned to San Francisco from the
journey above referred to, when I received an invitation to go to Mormon Island,
so named afterwards by Henderson Cox. On the 19th January, 1848, I went
there, and with the bounty they gave me, aud what I worked out myself, I had
$19,000 on the 8th of February, 1848.
7th. On the 9th of February, I, with Henderson Cox, Beardsley, Beers, two
Spaniards, and a number more, were in the lower end of the mill-race when Mar­
shall, the overseer, and his little girl, came in, and the child picked up a pretty
stone, as she called it, and showed it to her father, who pronounced it gold. lie
was so excited about it that he saddled his horse, and that day rode to Sutter’s
Fort to ted Captain Sutter; but he did not believe it worth notice, and for a
while the idea died away. The Mormons, wishing to keep their discovery secret
from people not Mormons, worked out the gold and said nothing more.
8th. On the 1st of April, 1848, the first mail from San Francisco to Salt Lake
was started, and a number of the California Star was printed purposely for that
mail, containing a special article, written by I)r. Fourgeaud and myself, concern­
ing the minerals and metals of California, and among other mentioned metals was
gold ; but as the printers aud publishers were Mormons the full facts were not
stated.
It was not until the 12th of May, 1848, that the existence of gold in quantity
in California was publicly made known in San Francisco by Samuel Brannan.
G. M. E.
SHORT WEIGHT STAR CANDIES.

The Commercial Bulletin, one of the leading mercantile journals in New Or­
leans, has been publishing several communications from a “ Grocer,” who appears
to be well informed upon the subject of short weight in Star Candles. The topic
is creating a wholesome excitement among both sellers and buyers, the inevitable
effects of which, in the judgment of the Bulletin, will be to bring about a reform.
That great corrective, public sentiment, will force the manufacturers of the bogus
article to be honest in spite of themselves. The Bulletin sensibly remarks :—■
“ It seems strange that any agency of the press, Chambers of Commerce, or
other active influences should be required to correct this shameful abuse. It
would seem that simple exposure would be sufficient to remedy the evil ; and that
both manufacturers and sellers, after being detected in the illicit business, would,
from self-respect or decent regard for public opinion, and even common policy,
abandon the nefarious traffic. What particular virtue or property there is in
star candles, more than in any other article of consumption, that will justify the
manufacturer of them to make them of less weight than they are represented,
and sold for, we cannot comprehend. The miller who would habitually pack less
than 196 pounds of flour in his barrels would soon lose both reputation aud cus­




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

033

tom ; and why the manufacturer of star candles should be permitted to pack
thirty-five pounds of star candles in a box and brand it and sell it for forty
pounds, we cannot understand. We know of no tariff rates or commercial usages
that will justify such a palpable fraud.”
The correspondent of the Bulletin, referred to above, makes a statement, to say
the least, that is not calculated to inspire any great degree of confidence in the
honor or honesty of certain parties, as follows :—
“ I am induced to draw your attention again to the custom of manufacturing
short weight star candles, from having noticed an advertisement in the Cincinnati
Gazelle of the 3d inst., over the signature of several manufacturing firms of that
city, whose brands are well known here, in which they state that, “ impelled by a
desire to supply all their customers,” they have determined to sell to the city trade
(of Cincinnati) only full weight candles, but that they will continue to make I'or
other markets short weights, or shorter weights than short, as may be desired. The
magnanimity of this public announcement of a readiness to prostitute themselves
to foreign buyers, while they pretend to be virtuous at home, is certainly a feather
in the cap of the Cincinnati star candle manufacturers !
Finding that public sentiment at home is against their systematic deception,
they kindly propose to allay the virtuous indignation of their neighbors by a pub­
lic proposition not to cheat them any longer, but to purloin for the future from
the “ outside barbarians,” who are yet too ignorant or too indolent to detect them 1
They admit that they cannot forego the profitable habit of cheating in weights,
but have consented not to cheat those who can daily detect them 1 These are
capital morals, and if they are not worthy of imitation, they are certainly worthy
of admiration, not only for their ingenuity, but the impudence of their pub­
licity— O tempora, O mores
THE EITUJIIS0DS COAL TRADE.

Some interesting information in relation to the Bituminous Coal Trade of
Western Pennsylvania, is given in a recent number of the Pittsburgh Gazette.
We learn that during the year 1855, the Monongahela Navigation Company
brought down 22,234,009 bushels of coal. Of this amount, 16,300,159 bushels
were loaded in boats for exportation below, and 5,933,850 bushels were loaded in
flats for city use, manufactories, and steamboats. During the same time, 5,115,196
bushels were loaded in barges below the dams on the Monongahela. and shipped
below, making the total shipment by river for the year, 21,475,355 bushels. Es­
timating a ton at 25 bushels, the exportation by river would be 858,214 tons.
The supply for manufactories and for city use, from other sources than the Mo­
nongahela, is estimated to equal the amount delivered at Pittsburgh in flats. The
aggregate shipped by canal to Philadelphia and the East was 13,485 tons ; by
Pennsylvania Road, 50,904 tons ; by Erie Extension, 140,211 tons ; and by Ohio
and Pennsylvania Railroad to Cleveland, from Darlington mines, 46,800 tous.
The tonnage from all sources will therefore be as follows :—
By liver to
" canal to
“ railroad
“ railroad
“ canal to

ports b e lo w ....................................tons
the East..................................................
to the East..............................................
to Cleveland........................................
E r ie .........................................................

858,214
13,485
50,904
36,800
140,211

Total sh ip m en t.................................................

1,109,614

Add for manufacturing purposes, <fec.....................

414,014

Total sent to m arket....................................

1,623,628




634

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

Reduced to bushels this would give a total of 38,190,700 ; and it is probable
that there are other sources of supply, from which it is impossible to get details,
which would swell this to 40,000,000 bushels.
Estimated according to its value at the point of exportation, the coal sent to
market as above enumerated was worth §1,904,535 ; but when estimated by the
probable amount obtained for it, its value may be set down at $3,270,852.
The coal trade of Western Pennsylvania is steadily increasing. The increased
shipments by river amount to 3,000,000 bushels, and there is a proportionate in­
crease by canal and railroad. The exports in 1854 were considerably less than a
million bushels, the estimate for that year being 940,556 tons.
PRODUCT OF GOLD IN VICTORIA,

There are no means of arriving at an exact account of the amount of gold ob­
tained by diggers. Some is brought to the town by private hands; some remains
in the country; formerly a portion left it privately—probably now there is smug­
gling ; and gold is conveyed to neighboring colonies. But an approximate com­
parison of the productiveness of different periods can be obtained by means of
the shipments.
FIRST NINE MONTHS.

Ounces..................................................

1851

1851.

1855.

1,831,468

1,653,999

1,815,284

The shipments, which fell off in 1854, in the nine months of 1855 nearly equaled
those of 1853. The last reports of the yield at the diggings, and of the discovery
of new diggings, point to a larger produce of gold than ever. As far as can be
ascertained, the following was the production of gold in Victoria during three
years. We add that of New South Wales :—
Victoria.

1852 ............................................................
1853 ............................................................
1854 ............................................................

£14,153.688
12,772,236
12,151,661
£39,080,585

N. S. Wales.

£3,851,392
2,192,212
1,068,384
£7,111,988

Total.

£18,005,080
14,964,448
13,223,045
£46,192,573

The amounts in 1852 include the gold obtained for a few months in the pre­
ceding year, when the discovery was made in both colonies. The falling off in
New South Wales is remarkable.
THE LARGEST MILL IN THE WORLD,

The city of Lawrence, founded by S a m u e l L a w r e n c e , has the largest and most
comprehensive mill in the world. The floor surface of the Pacific Mill is an im­
mense structure, covering sixteen acres—the largest mill in England covers 11 i
acres. There are now in operation 40,000 cotton spindles and 10,000 worsted
spindles ; and these are to be increased to 80,000 and 20,000 respectively. There
are 1,200 looms in operation, to be increased to 2,400. These, with 2,000 per­
sons, produce 300,000 pieces of cloth per annum—one half delaines. The weekly
consumption of cotton is 20,000 lbs., or 1,500,000 lbs. per annum, and 500,000 of
wool. Once a month two thousand persons assemble at the cashier’s office, where
he pays out $50,000 to them for wages, apportioning to each one the exact amount
he has earned.




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

635

I'LOVR MILLS OF PHILADELPHIA.

Prom the annexed statistics of the flouring mills in Philadelphia, it will be
seen that there are in active operation 16 mills, with an aggregate of 68 run of
stones, and a capacity for manufacturing 11,610 barrels of flour per week. More,
by 2,000 barrels, than was manufactured in that city in 1853. The increased
production is accounted for in the larger number of mills, and the vast improve­
ments in the internal arrangements of the old ones. The quantity of wheat re­
quired to feed the mills now in operation, providing they are constantly employed,
is 52,245 bushels per week, or 2,715,690 bushels per annum, and after those of
Mr. Twaddell and Messrs. Rowland & Erveiu commence running, the aggregate
consumption of wheat will amount to 3,406,630 bushels per annum.
We condense for the Merchants’ Magazine, from a statement in the Commercial
List, the subjoined summary of the horse-power and number of stone employed at
the several mills, together with the number of,, barrels of flour manufactured per
week, and the bushels of wheat consumed in its manufacture :—
William B. Thomas ( 2 ) .................... .............
Detwiler <fc Hartranft....................... .............
J. C. Kerns.......................................... .............
Rowland & E rvein........................... .............
D. O. G unckle.................................... .............
George Minster................................. .............
W. tfe E. H aw kins............................. ............
J. F. Overington & Co ................... .............
P. W arner..........................................
A. T h o rp e..........................................
Boehm & C ra ll.................................. .............
Israel Y. Jam es................................. ...........
H. W. Marshall & G o ....................... ...........
Minor H arvey...................................
M. B. & N. Rittenhouse...................

Horsepower.

Number
stone.

Barrels
flour.

Bushels
wheat.

125
90
40
40
40
40
50
40

12
6
4
5
5
6
4
4
4
3
4
3
2
3
3

2,000
1,800
900
900
900
750
700
600
500
500
500
450
400
360
350

9,000
8.100
4,050
4,050
4,050
3,375
3.150
2,700
2,250
2,250
2,250
2,025
1,800
1,620
1,575

68

11,610

52,245

25
30
20

640

IS THERE NATIVE IRON IN AFRICA ?

A paper by R. E. Brown, BI. 1)., in the December number of the Journal of
the Franklin Institute, gives the reasons which lead him to suppose the discovery
of native iron improbable. Iron has a strong affinity for oxygen, to such an ex­
tent that it will decompose water whether free or in union with soil or rocks.
Most minerals contain water as a chemical constituent, and iron under the slow
but sure operation of attraction, will, where, there is the least permeability of rocks,
decompose it, drawing from it its oxygen. Whether we find Iron in plutonic or se­
condary rocks, it is invariably in the state of an oxide if not combined with other
elements.
Iron under careful or moderate protection by artificial means may be preserved
possibly for ages ; but as a general rule it is steadily in process of union with oxy­
gen, and returns to earth. It is therefore not reasonable to expect to find virgin
or native iron, unless it has been formed by some recent cause.
He infers from the circumstances, that the specimens furnished by the Africa,
were “ brought to nature” in a smithery fire.
But even were it found in masses, it would be of no value—since the cost of
cutting it would far exceed all receipts.




Statistics o f Population, etc.

636

Native copper, when found in masses, costs for mining, several times the value
of its weight of iron. Copper is worth about $500 a ton. Crude, irregular
masses of iron would be worth not more than 20 to 25 dollars a ton. Ho says
if there are any who desire the business, they may find in our country pretty ex­
tensive masses of iron taken from chilled furnaces, which the furnace masters
would gladly have removed from their premises.
NEW GOLD VARNISH.

A very beautiful and permanent gold varnish may be prepared in the following
manner :— 2 ozs. of the best garancine are digested in a glass vessel with 6 ozs. of
alcohol, of spec. grav. 0’833, for twelve hours, pressed and filtered. A solution
of clear orange-colored shellac, in similar alcohol, is also prepared, filtered, and
evaporated until the lac has the consistence of a clear sirup ; it is then colored
with the tincture of garancine. Objects coated with this have a color which only
differs from that of gold by a slight brown tinge. The color may be more closely
assimilated to that of gold by the addition of a little tincture of saffron.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.
POPULATION OF PENNSYLVANIA,

The following table, although prepared with reference to the colored population
of Pennsylvania, show’s the progress of population generally in that State since
the taking of the first census in 1790 :—
FREE COLORED IN PENNSYLVANIA AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
Decennial increase.

1790........................................................
1800.........................................................
1810.........................................................
1820.........................................................
1830 .......................................................
1840.........................................................
1850........................................................

6,537
14,561
22,492
30,202
37,930
47,854
53,626

..............................................
8,024 or 122.74
percent
7,931 or 64.46
7,710 or 34.27
“
7,728 or 25.58
“
9,924 or 26.16
“
5,772 or 12.06
“

WHITES IN PENNSYLVANIA AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.

1790.........................................................
1800.........................................................
1810.........................................................
1820.........................................................
1 8 3 0 ...'..................................................
1840.........................................................
1850.........................................................

424,099
586,094
786,804
1,017,094
1,309,900
1,676,115
2,258,160

..................................................
131,994 or 38.19
percent
200,710 or 34.24
“
231,290 or 29.26
“
292,806 or 28.78
“
366,215 or 27.95
“
5S2.045 or 34.72
“

COUNTIES OF PENNSYLVANIA IN WHICH Tn E COLORED
BETWEEN

1840

Decrease.

A d a m s...............
Beaver* .............
B edford*...........
Bucks...............
Center................

135
21
55

68
..

Cumberland . . .
Fraukiin.............




16
39
185

AND

POPULATION

DECREASED,

1850.

Decrease.
172
• 17
17
...........
28
...........
13
............
19
70
Philadelphia............... ............

Huntingdon*.............
Lebanon .....................
Mifflin .......................
Northampton.............
Northumberland . . . .

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

Statistics o f Population , etc.
COUNTIES OP PENNSYLVANIA IN W HICH THE COLORED
BETWEEN

1840

AND

POPULATION INCREASED,

1850.
Increase.

Increase.

Alleghany . . .
Armstrong* .
B erk s*........
Blair (new) . .
Bradford
Butler...........
Cambria . . . .
Carbon (new)
Chester.........
Clarion (new)
Clearfield . .
Clinton........
Columbia*.. .
Dauphin.. . .
Delaware.. . .
Elk (new’) . . .
E r i e .................

Fayette........
Fulton (new)
G reene.........
Indiana.........
Jefferson . . . .
Juniata........
Lancaster . . ,

1,315
17
26
260
36
23
30
30
1,080
117
57
76

28
321
224
2
49
205
93
63
99
37
23
611

637

Lawrence (new)
L eh igh *.............
Luzerne*...........
Lycoming*........
M cK ean .............
M ercer*.............
Monroe...............
Montgomery.. . .
Montour (u e w )..
P ik e.................
P otter................
Schuylkill..........
Somerset............
Sullivan (new ;..
Susquehanna . . .
T iog a .................
Union...............
Venango...........
Warren...............
Washington
W a yn e..............
Westmoreland .
Wyoming (new)
Y o r k .................

132
15
179
8
31
37
50
177
84
40
5
73
17

11
63
29
17
13
38
446
10
156
5
152

Those marked with an asterisk (*) had new counties or portions of new coun­
ties made from them between 1840 and 1850.
THE CENSUS OF IRELAND FOB 1 851.

A document founded upon returns obtained in taking the census of 1851 has
now, after a lapse of five years, been issued by the commissioners. The total popu­
lation of Ireland in June, 1841, was 8,175,124 ; in March, 1851, it bad fallen to
6,552,386, showing a diminution of 1,622,738, or as much as 19.8 per cent, nearly
equally affecting males and females. It appears that the population between 10
and 20 years of ago had increased nearly three per cent during the ten years,
while the number of persons between 40 and 90 years old had increased exactly 2
per cent. On the other hand, there were fewer individuals under 10 years of age,
and between 20 and 40, in Ireland, in 1851, than in 1841, the former class in a
population of more than 3) per cent, and the latter in 14 per cent. The diminu­
tion in the number of infants under five was caused, in the opinion of the commis­
sioners, (Mr. Donnolly and Dr. Wilde,) by the famine having prevented marriages
and births to a certain extent. Still, as compared with Great Britain, the pro­
portion of population under twenty years of age, is greater in Ireland, by no less
than nearly 3,000 in every 10,000. In Great Britain, with 20,959,477 inhabitants
in 1851, there were only 319 people returned as 100 years of age and upward,
while in Ireland as many as 711, in a population of 6,552,386, were stated to be at
and above that age. Of these 219 were males, and 492 females. The oldest per­
son, a male, was 121 years of age.
Since the foregoing summary was prepared for this Magazine, we have received
some further extracts from the report, the whole of which, according to our co­
temporary of the Belfast Commercial and Statistical Register, is not yet printed.
The number of persons of all ages in Ireland on the 6th of June, 1841, was
8,175,124 ; on the 30th of March, 1851, it was, 6,552,386, as under




Mercantile Miscellanies.

638

Persons in Ireland on June 6, 1841
Do. March 80, 1851 .........................
D ecrease................................................ ..
Decrease per cent....................................

Males.

Females.

Total.

4,019.576
8,190,630

4,155,548
3,361,756

8,175,124
6,552,386

793,792
19.1

1,622,738
19.8

827,946
20.6

The number and ages of the population in 1841 and 1851 are given by five and
ten year periods for each province, county, city, and large town ; and, in order to
show the relative changes at each age-period, these numbers have been reduced to
a basis of 100,000, from which it will be seen that at the following ages the popu­
lation was proportionally greater in 1851 than in 1841:—
1841
10
15
40
50
60
70
80

and
and
and
and
and
and
and

under 15....................................................
under 20....................................................
under 5 0 ....................................................
under 60 ..................................................
under 80....................................................
under 80....................................................
under 9 0 ....................................................

12,467
10,843
9,203
6,484
4,227
1,600
542

1851 .
13,703
12,475
9,656
7,417
4,777
1,731
562

12,603
13,175
17,108
11,660
78

9,840
12,310
16.222
11,224
73

While it was proportionally less at the following ages
5
20
80
90

Under 5 y e a r s ..................................................
and under 10....................................................
and under SO.....................................................
and under 40 .....................................................
and under 100..................................................

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
COMMERCIAL CROAKERS.

The twenty-fifth number of the Commercial Review and Louisville Prices Current
has a capital well-timed editorial touching a class of persons in commercial life to be
found in almost every community. It is too good to be lost, and we therefore
transfer it entire to the pages of the Merchants’ Magazine, for the especial benefit
o f any of our readers who may perchance belong to the family of C roakers :—
Modern society is invested with a species of bipeds who, notwithstanding they
are worthy of pity, are not without power. No place is safe from the intrusion
of th e C roaker . He predicts the early death of the new born infant; sees con­
sumption in the rosy flush of the boy's or maiden’s cheek ; augurs distress and
misery for early man and womanhood, and is disappointed at every new meeting
with old age because it fails to verily his past predictions. In the palace he prates
of royalty ruined by rebels, and in the pot-house he gives you learned essays on
the poisonous drugs of which your liquors are compounded. A great conflagra­
tion is his element, and he will beg to know if he had not predicted such a casu­
alty long ago. The books of his boudoir are Shipwrecks and Disasters by Sea,
and Elegant Extracts from newspaper reports of Accidents, Murders, and Deaths.
In society the Croaker is an intolerable bore, but in the commercial world he
is worse—he is a dangerous man because he is a deadly foe to every onward
movement. If you make one step in the line of progress, he thinks it his duty to
warn you that you are foolishly periling your fortune. He volunteers the infor­
mation that your father or your elder brother would never have sanctioned such
a step, and triumphantly concludes that it is both presumption and folly in you to
attempt it. He is a bar to all progress. He can see no means of making money
or reputation but those which have come within the narrow circuit of his obser­
vation.




M erca n tile M iscellan ies.

639

Does a friend embark in a commercial speculation of any sort, he is the first to
inform him that he has undertaken impossibilities, and that the chances of his
failure are ten to one. Is a new movement proposed in the city, the Croaker
spreads his palms and rolls up his eyes with horror at your audacity ; or turns up
his nose with a sneer at your plans. If you speak of the growth of his native city,
or its increased facility for business, he informs you confidently that “ all is not
gold that glitters.” He knows of at least a hundred houses which are for sale or
rent, but which cannot find tenants upon any terms. He informs you of some
nameless friend who has sold real estate and stocks at an alarmingly low rate, in
order to raise money to provide himself with a new location ; and he lachrymoscly expresses the belief that in less than five years the grass will he growing in the
main streets of the city. If A fails for a couple of thousand dollars, the Croaker
goes sniveling round the streets, predicting that nine-tenths of the merchants in
the city will be in the same condition within the year. Does the severity or the
winter suspend navigation, the Croaker is sure that the spring business is ruined
for that year, and that by mid-summer half the names in town will be gazetted for
bankruptcy. When political excitement runs high the Croaker is at the height
of his enjoyment. Of course he predicts the dissolution of the Union, the reduc­
tion of property, the want of money, and the prospect of a dreadful commercial
crisis.
The character we have attempted to draw, after the manner of Theophrastus,
is that of the accomplished Commercial Croaker. Luckily for the world, all men
have not the capacity, or rather the lack of capacity, to become consummate in
this art. If it were so, men could learn to shun them as a pestilence ; but there
are those even among persons of station and influence, in this and in other cities,
who have enough of the characteristics mentioned above to make them dangerous
members of a commercial community. There are men, on whom some measure of
success has conferred reputation, who are veritable Croakers—who may believe in
the past, but who hope nothing for the future. These take pleasure in gloating
over fancied evils to come, and in depressing the buoyancy of fresher and more en­
terprising minds.
The story of Lord Timothy Dexter and the warming-pans is illustrative of the
difference between the Croaker and the man of enterprise. If the former had sent
warming-pans to the West Indies, he would have bewailed his folly in listening
to the suggestions of his friends, in place of pursuing the plan of the enterprising
man who realized a fortune by tearing off the covers and selling the pans for mo­
lasses dippers.
A city cannot be cursed with a worse evil than a population of Croakers. En­
ergy and hope are the life and vigor of commerce. Time was when men might sit
in their counting rooms and wait for wealth to be poured into their coffers, but
that time has gone by. In the case of our own city, the man who waits as his
fathers waited, for occasion to tell him what to do, will wait in vain. Fresh young
competitors, full of restless vitality, will manage to take his sustenance from his very
door, and send him supperless to bed. This remark applies wit h equal force to corpo­
rations and to individuals. If it is not considered applicable to individual cases in
Louisville, it yet holds good in regard to rival cities around her. It will not do to
stand with folded arms, invoking Fortune's blessings on our heads ; it will not do
to pray to Hercules—we must cease to whine, and reserving our breath, apply
our own shoulders to the wheel if we would have our car to reach the top of the
mountain of Prosperity. If others snivel and whine, let us laugh at their croakings, and set vigorously to work to defy their auguries. Let us remember and act
upon the sage advice of Herr Teufelsdrockh, “ produce! produce! where it but
the pitil'ullest infinitesimal fraction of a product, produce it, in God's name 1 :Tis
the utmost thou hast in thee ; out with it then. Up, up! Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do, do it with thy whole might. Work, while it is called to-day, for the
night cometh wherein no man can work.”
We are unwilling to let this opportunity pass without congratulating the mer­
chants and business men of Louisville on the establishment of a commercial journal
in that prosperous southwestern city, so full of promise. The Commercial Renew is




640

M erca n tile M iscellanies.

one of the neatest sheets in the Union. It is. moreover, judiciously and ably con­
ducted, and admirably adapted to its locality. The accomplished editors and pro­
prietors, Messrs. L evi W oodbury P iske , and B en C asseday , fully understand
and appreciate the wants of a commercial and industrial community. Both gentleineu are connected with the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Fiske as
Secretary and Mr. Casseday as Treasurer. If its circulation bears any comparison
to its merits, we should judge it must be large and increasing.
INSANITY AND DEATH FROM INTENSE DEVOTION TO BUSINESS.
“ Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold!
Bright and yellow, hard and cold—
Molten, graven, hammered, and rolled—
Heavy to get and light to hold—
Iloardcd, bartered, bought, and sold—Stolen, borrowed, squandered, doled—
Spurned by the young, but hugged by the old
To the very verge of the churchyard mold—•
Price of many a crime untold :
Gold 1 Gold 1 Gold 1 Gold 1
Good or bad a thousand-fold.”
“ The love of money,” and not money, is the root of many, if not all, the seem­
ing evils that harass and afflict mankind. It is a sin which editors are not often
guilty of committing. But every age of the world’s progress, as a cotemporary
truly says, has its foible and its predominate characteristic. One was measured
by barbarian conquests ; another witnessed the spread of Christianity; a third
was memorable for the crusades; a fourth for its feudal sway; another for its
spread of superstition ; another was an era of conquest; another of discovery;
another of settlement,, &c. We have had the iron, brazen, silver, and golden ages;
but, beyond all question, the mark of this nineteenth century is expressed by its
pursuit of wealth more than by any other of its great characteristics. The pur­
suit in England and in the United States has been, to a great degree, an insanity.
Previous to 1825 men labored for competencies— from then to 1835 for fortunes
—ever since for the love of moneyed power and pecuniary despotism; and despite
all the dreadful lessons we have from day to day, and year to year, regarding this
insanity, the pursuit continues, and increases its tenacity of purpose and scope of
sway. Suicides, bankruptcies, disgraces, sudden deaths—one and all preach awful
sermons to the votaries of wealth, yet how pointless of effect 1 Men make steamengines of themselves, and from morning until night—even half through the night
— work and dream of gold.
But there are men who work (and we believe with Carlyle that “ work is wor­
ship,”) for fame or their fcllow-mcn, who regard gold as of little value, or only
as the accredited means of promoting some noble and philanthropic end. This
train of thought has been suggested by several newspaper paragraphs in some of
our exchanges. A Columbus paper, for instance, relates the following circum­
stances, which should be a warning to our merchants and business men :—
On the evening of the 13th of March, 1856, Mr. Abiathar Crane, a highly respect­
able citizen of Bainbridge, Putnam County, Indiana, arrived in Columbus in the
care of a few friends, in a state of great physical prostration and utter mental alien­
ation. He had been to New York on matters of business which had so ingrossed




M ercan tile M iscellanies.

641

his thoughts as to deprive him of necessary sleep and repose. In this condition he
commenced his homeward journey, and little is known of him until his arrival at
Crestline, when his malady was fully developed. He was cared for by a few
friendly strangers, and a message dispatched to his relatives in Indiana, one of
whom immediately repaired to his relief, and he again set forward for home; but
on reaching Columbus it was found that travel aggravated his malady, and his ne­
cessities constituting an emergency appealing to human sympathies, he was hos­
pitably received in the Ohio Lunatic Asylum, where he received every attention
that sympathy can prompt or professional skill afford. After languishing for
several days, without the return of a lucid moment, nature sank under the violence
of the malady, and he died. His insanity was of the typho-mania form, and death
from exhaustion was apprehended from his first reception into the asylum. He
died the morning of the 24th, aged thirty-five years.
“ Life Illustrated'’ quotes from a Wall-street cotemporary another paragraph
in point, which it finds right under its “ stock column” :—
“ T he S udden D eath of N elson R obinson, E sq., who is well known to New
York city as one of the leading minds of Wall-street, forcibly arrests the public
attention. Twelve o’clock Sunday, we understand, he was at church, in his usual
health. On his return home he was seized with apoplexy—the second attack—
and he expired after an illness of six hours.
“ These (many) sudden deaths from apoplexy among business men forcibly ad­
monish us all that we must take more time for leisure, recreation, and enjoyment
of some kind or other. Mind cannot stand the constant stretch of the street, and
breaks down under it, and crushes the whole system with it. The brain is over­
worked, and the physique under-worked. There is not enough physical to coun­
terbalance the intense intellectual activity of the city. Play more and work less.”
1lere was a gentleman in the prime of life, says our cotemporary of “ Life Illus­
trated,” (and a good illustration it is of spending our life in the too eager pursuit
of gaining gold,) only forty-eight years old—with an income of .$50,000 a year for
the last ten years probably, living in grand style, with a loving wife and family,
who committed suicide just as much as Sadlicr did on Hampstead Heath, through
the insanity for wealth— only the insanity of one ended in misfortune and that of
the other in lucky turns. He retired in 1854, and was then told by his medical
friend—“ Stop business, or you will die 1” He obeyed for a short time, and was
renewing his youth and life ; but yielding to the insanity of Wall-street, he re­
entered the race for wealth, and died.
Our esteemed friend, W alter R estored J ones, (a memoir of whose life was
published in this Magazine,) died of apoplexy, in the “ harness” from over-working
his brain. He. like Mr. Robinson, was told that he must moderate his applica­
tion to business, or die. He heeded not the admonition, and New York lost a
useful and valued citizen.
It was the insanity for wealth which drove R obert S chuyler and J ames C.
F orsyth to the miserable deaths of skulking exiles; and it is the same which

brought R hine a s I ’ . B arnum to the mortification of a public bankruptcy, and an
examination in open court about his daily bread.
These are lessons which men grasping for wealth may profit b y ; but the proba­
bility is that they will be disregarded. It is the property of insanity to believe
its possessor sane, cool, and steady, and in no need of reformation in mind or body ;
but the humble artisan, the merchant of snug means, the happy literateur, the
merry milliner, the little laborer, the hearty farmer— one and all, who ever sigh

VOL. xxxiv.— no. v.




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642

for wealth, ami often fain would essay to try for the gigantic fortunes that they
hear about, will take heed by these teachings and ask only for competency—re­
main contented with competency when it is acquired. For them, the warn­
ings of suicide, bankruptcy, disgrace, and sudden death, will not be thrown away I
THE MORALS OF COMMERCE, A LESSON FOR MERCHANTS,
We have been preaching to our parish— the church commercial, scattered over
the business world—for the last seventeen years, with what effect we leave it to
the conscience of our readers to determine ; and whatever may be the result of
our labors, wc suppose we shall continue our mission of dispensing the gospel of
mercantile morality without let or hindrance. Since we commenced that mission,
other and abler pens have discussed the principles and practice of mercantile
honor, virtue, integrity. Scarcely a daily commercial journal reaches us that has
not something to say or that does not furnish some practical comment upon the
subject. The leading article in a late number of the Cincinnati Gazelle, now be­
fore us, reads the following well-considered homily, elicited undoubtedly by the
daily occurring circumstances of fraud and failure, at home and abroad :—
Commerce exercises a powerful influence in the world, and every day’s experi­
ence illustrates the force of the familiar motto : “ Commerce is king.” Commerce
rules the seas, and influences to such an extent as almost to control the movements
of every civilized nation on the earth. This Commerce which as a whole exer­
cises such a wrorld-wide and powerful influence, is made up of small parts, and in
order, therefore, to secure for it a sound moral influence, the component parts
must be of this material. Defects in the latter cannot fail to render the whole
structure defective. As well might we expect to find pure water in a river, the
tributaries of which are impure, as to look for a healthy, vigorous, and honest
Bystem from the hands of men who partake of every grade of character from the
highest degree of integrity to the lowest grade of dishonesty. That these various
grades of character have always existed in commercial life cannot be doubted, un­
less we deny the truth of history; but it is a fact, lamentable in view of the great,
influence exercised by the class of men engaged in trade, that while the world has
progressed in knowledge and wealth, the standard of commercial morals has been
lowered until confidence, which is so essential in business, has been broken down
to a position at the present day but a few degrees above complete prostration.
This may be attributed to the avaricious desires of the majority of men who
crowd the avenues of trade.
People were in times past satisfied to ascend gradually the mountain, upon the
top of which stands the castle of wealth, but now this object, which is so general­
ly made the object of life, is sought to be obtained by a single bound. Men with
character and without money, and men with both character and money, risk all
in their efforts to gain the prize. How many lose their character and property
in proportion to those who enter the race, wc need not stop to number. Neither
is it necessary to estimate the number of those who gain wealth at the expense of
character. It is enough to know that the number of those whose lives would adorn
the pages of history, compared with the two former classes, is comparatively
small. This being the case, it cannot be expected that an influence will be exerts
ed by Commerce for good, commensurate with its power or magnitude.
As already remarked, this Commerce is made up of small parts, and to secure
to the former as a whole, the moral tone it should possess, the latter must be im­
proved. To effect this improvement, we must come down and grapple with the
evils that surround us, and meet the latter while they stand so prominently before
the public mind as to be discernible from every point of observation. There are
times when the results of a laxity of morals in business transactions are experi­
enced, and there are occasions when a similar course of conduct does not produce




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643

the same result. The practice, however, is in both cases the same; the tendency is
to the same end, and whether the game succeeds, or whether it fails, it is censur­
able because it is wrong, and dangerous in the highest degree to the best interests
of society.
One of the leading evils in trade results from an over-anxious desire on the part
of those engaged in business to launch out at. once with full sail and heavily-laden
vessels, on the sea of Commerce ; or in plain terms, to transact a large business
upon a small capital. This practice is wrong, for we hold it to be a mischievous
system, wrong in morals and injurious to trade, by which men are permitted to
hazard in speculative operations other people’s property. Yet this is constantly
and to a very general extent practiced, and it has in fact become a custom. This
is wrong, chiefly because it leads men to recklessness. With the operator it is,
“ Heads I win, tails you lose.”
The recklessness resulting from this practice injures not only the party immedi­
ately engaged, but also to a greater or less extent the whole mercantile commu­
nity. Markets are thereby inflated, and legitimate business as well as illegiti­
mate becomes hazardous, and results in loss, the latter falling, of course, upon
those who possess actual capital, either as merchants or producers. The reckless
operators pass, one after another, off the stage, and their places are filled by others
more reckless still, and thus the evil is continued and increased.
We refer to this matter now, because there are numerous cases to which it ap­
plies. The heavy decline in produce has made heavy losses for those engaged in
business. Those who are buna fide, capitalists foot their losses, but the shoulders
of those who had no capital bear no portion of the burden, the latter falling until
it reaches those who possess the substance and not merely the shadow. We need
not stop to explain to merchants how this kind of business is carried on, but
there are others not acquainted with the modus operandi; and for the benefit of
the latter we will refer briefly to the matter.
We have known parties with a capital of five thousand dollars to carry on
transactions amounting in the aggregate to twenty or thirty thousand dollars.
This is done as follows : A having $5,000, purchases 2,000 barrels of flour, at $7
a bariel. The bill for the total amounts to $14,000. This he ships, aud obtains
an acceptance from the consignee of, say, $12,000, $2,000 in this fast age
being considered a good “ margin.” A sells this acceptance, the proceeds of
which he uses in paying for the flour, and with this and $2,000 of his original
capital he foots the bill, still retaining near $3,000 for another operation. The
transaction is repeated until the whole $5,000 is used up in “ margins.” Then
for the result. If flour, or pork, or whatever he invests in, advances, all very
well. A profit is made, and A is stimulated to make further risks. He continues
to succeed, and adds largely to his originally small capital. He is then set down
as a smart man. He made a fortune in a year. Here we leave him for the pres­
ent. But supposing prices instead of advancing decline, as they have done recent­
ly, flour falling one to two dollars per barrel in a few weeks, and pork and other
articles in proportion. In this case the margin furnished by A is speedily ab­
sorbed, and reclamations come back. A of course fails, loses his money, and loses
a fearfully big slice of his character. A the loser is quite a different person from
A the gainer.
But temporary success does not save the individual who commences and pro­
gresses by means of a reckless course, from ultimate ruin. His desires increase
with his profits, and he dashes into speculations until he finally becomes insolvent
for hundreds of thousands. The failure of such an individual is only a question of
time. Not one man in one hundred of those who commence by risking other peo­
ple’s property, and succeed for a while, fails to attach his name to the long list of
insolvent debtors.
This is a great evil in business, and for this evil more than one party is respon­
sible. The system of advancing as now practiced needs to be reformed. The
commission merchant should retain a sufficient margin to protect himself against
loss in any contingency. This would check the recklessness of speculators, be­
cause it would require the latter to confine their risks to their own property.




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GENEROSITY IN BUSINESS.
It is refreshing to hear of a case like that which followed the burning of the
Gerrish Market, where the creditors of one of the sufferers forgave him his debts
and offered to set him up again. A little generosity in business transactions is
far better than harshness. Not a cent of interest nor a throb of friendship need
be lost by it—supposing friends ever do business together, which is too often fatal
to friendship. When a debtor gets under the lee through no fault of his, how no­
ble it is for creditors to protect him, to give him a kind word and an extension of
credit if there is a chance that he can recover himself, rather than the down hill
momentum which many would give whose own prudence and wisdom never allow
them to excuse mistakes in others ! There are many beautiful instances of this
sort in the annals of our own commerce, where life has been given to the unfortu­
nate, and new hope and a bright after life has made ample recompense for previous
adverses—where gratitude becomes a new incentive to exertion, that continues
its influence lifelong and is then transmitted in good acts to other generations.
There are many instances likewise of a different character, where the griping hand
has closed around the unfortunate debtor, honest and well disposed, and he is
made to feel the force of what is meant by the word unrelenting. There is no
bending to such a hand. It is iron and absolute, and the unfortunate held thereby
writhes like the one mentioned in Pollock, impaled by the spear of the fiend. The
simile of the torment will hold. There is a large class of smoothly placid people
who in everything else are generous, give freely to missions and are lavish at home,
but who are sticklers for what is legally right, and pin a debtor at the last tick of
the day of grace. They are hard men in business, and turn their backs on the
supplicants for further time, feeling that they are right— legally right— and per­
haps conscience slumbers on it, or expresses a disposition to be judged by the same
rule, and justifies all hardness by their own willingness to acquiesce in similar
luck. We say that the legal requirement should be answered to the utmost, but
there is room often for the action of the higher law of generosity, which should
come in, where the other is not practicable, to help a melancholy hobbler along the
pathway who needs but a friendly lift to go on swimmingly.
The Boston Evening Gazette, from wdiich this brief essay is copied, is one of
the oldest weekly journals in Massachusetts, and has, from the start, been con­
ducted with good taste and sound judgment, numbering among its contributors for
the last half century almost every man of letters in the “ Literary Emporium."
Within the last six months it has changed its form from the simple “ folio of four,”
to eight mammoth pages. W illiam W . C l a pp , Jr., the editor and proprietor, is
assisted in its conduct by A. W allace T haxtbr and Mr. B. P. S hillaber , the
“ Mrs. Partington” and the “ Wide-Swarth” of the Post. Mr. S. having with­
drawn from that journal, now devotes his fine humor and versatile gifts to the
Gazelle, a more congenial field of labor, and better adapted to his genius. The
Gazette is, in our judgment, one of the best literary and family journals in the
Union.
BARNSTABLE MERCHANTS IN NEW YORK.
Cape Cod has produced some distinguished men, and many enterprising and
successful merchants, to be found in nearly every considerable commercial city in
the United States, especially in Boston and New York. A three-deck ship, the
Planter, of 1,904 tons register, built at Pembroke, in the State of Maine, in 1844,
was sold in New York, on the 8th of April, 1855, to Messrs. Crocker & Warren
for $ 1 5 , 0 0 0 . These gentlemen are among the wealthiest merchants of New York.
Mr. Crocker is a native of Barnstable, and the firm with which he is connected is
engaged in the India trade, and has, we are credibly informed, become one of the
most extensive commercial houses in that branch of trade.




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THE MERCY OF THE MERCHANTS.
Commend ns to a merchant for money. If but few of them among us are
princes in fortune, many more are princes in liberality. And a noble illustration
of the fact is at hand in the instantaneous response made by the fraternity to the
appeal of sick, suffering, and dying New Orleans. That New York, whose com­
merce with the former is so large and intimate should come down with twenty
thousand dollars is perhaps not a matter of surprise or great laudation. But the
claim on Philadelphia, far more limited by every consideration, has been answered
with proportionately far greater promptitude and generosity. In twenty-four
hours after the subscription was first opened, it had reached nine thousand dollars,
and now it amounts to about the sum of fourteen thousand dollars, at a season,
too, when a large number of those who arc most able to give are out of town.
We have often had occasion to condemn the tardy spirit of this community in
enterprises manifestly for its own great benefit. But here is a case of sheer disin­
terested kindness towards a city more than a thousand miles off, and it is evinced
in the spontaneous outpouring of money, to an amount which might perpetuate
itself in some noble monument at home. The old saying that God made the
country and man made the town, may be very true in the distinction between
green fields and brick walls. But, on the other hand, the city alone affords exam­
ples of such open-handed charity as we here note ; that charity which, in the lan­
guage of one of the collecting committee, prompted every individual whom he
called upon to thank the solicitor for the opportunity afforded them of contribut­
ing to so good a cause. And of all people of a city, none so readily as merchants
thus dispense their bounty. Called upon daily for aid for some person or cause,
benevolence becomes a matter of course. The great proprietor, hedged in his
great mansion, counting up his rents and dividends, is not the man to seek in the
day of sorrow or need. Go to the counting-house and the salesroom if you would
be heard in your distress. Commend us to a merchant for money.
MERCANTILE FAILURES.
The Boston Chronicle published a leading editorial on the failure of Barnum,
or rather, taking the unfortunate showman as the text of some sensible criticisms.
The article was undoubtedly written by C. C. H azewell , Esq., the accomplished
editor of that able and independent print. We should be glad to republish it
entire, but we have space for only a single (the closing) paragraph, as fol­
lows :—
“ What most surprises us in these great failures is, the stupendous folly that
they indicate on the part of men who have passed for incarnations of that worldly
wisdom which is supposed to find especial favor in the temples of Mammon. The
men who show the most skill in getting money are the most remarkable for their
want of skill in keeping it. Fortunes that have been years in course of accumu­
lation, and for which their getters have sacrificed health, conscience, peace of
mind, self-respect—everything, it may be said, that is better than gold—disappear
in a day. They vanish like Aladdin's palace, which the genii of the lamp took
up in China or Persia, and popped down in the center of Africa, at the bidding
of a grim magician. The rubbing of a lamp did it all in Aladdin’s case; and
something quite as simple and absurd produces analogous effects in the instances
of our Yankee Aladdins who rise from nothing to opulence, and return from opu­
lence to nothing. Here is a man who has made a million in his time, by modes
that ought also to have made him acquainted with all the tricks of humanity, and
yet he is ruined, stock and fluke, and has not a cross left in his pocket to keep the
blue devils from waltzing there, by the miserable old mode of indorsing 1 The
man ought to retire from the sight of his fellows at once. His appearance is an
insult to them. It is especially so to those who have been fleeced by his ingenuity,
and who had a sort of moral claim on him to the effect that he would not be
ruined, except in a novel, an original, and a striking manner. Then those of us




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who have looked up to him as a man of genius are entitled to feel disgusted with
his miserable ending of the character of Dives. The fall of king Pyrrhus by a
woman's hand, and by a stone, is the only thing to which Barnum’s end can be
compared. AVe arc as much astounded at the cause of his failure as we should be
at the discovery that Shakspeare was hissed out of London for having written
Mother Goose’s Melodies. It is, however, some comfort to us poor fellows, who
know how hard a thing it is to chase down a dollar, or even a dime, to see that
those who scoop up dollars by the thousand are no wiser than ourselves. Not
that we rejoice over any man’s misfortune, but are consoled by the reflection that
our own poverty cannot be attributed to our folly only by a process of reasoning
that would make men who have money as great fools as ourselves. AAre see, too, how
true is Fielding's observation, that a man is made rich, not by what he gets, but
by what he keeps; and that is full of consolation, for we get nothing, and conse­
quently can have nothing to keep. AVe should like, for once, to get something,
just to see if we could keep it, and so rise to the ‘ highly respectable ’ position of
a rich man.”
GROWTH OF THE PORT OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.
The borough of Liverpool is of very ancient standing; it was first incorporated
by charter from King Henry II., A. D. 1173. King John also granted a charter,
with extensive privileges, in the year 1207. From this date until the reign of
Queen Elizabeth the history7 of the port is involved in much obscurity. In 1561,
there were only seven streets in the town, containing 138 cottages and 690 inhab­
itants. The most important event in the improvement of the port was the build­
ing of the first dock in the year 1710, and even at this period its Commerce was
comparatively insignificant; indeed, it was not until about the year 1780 that any
decided impetus was given to the Commerce of the port, as will appear evident
from an inspection of the fluxional curve of tonnage. The American war in 1776,
seriously affected the trade of Liverpool, but in the year 1779, the enterprising
merchants of the town fitted out 120 privateers, amounting to 31,385 tons, which
carried 1,986 guns and 8,754 men. This formidable armament succeeded in giving
great annoyance to the enemy, and captured several French ships, from the East
and AVest Indies, of immense value. Finally, the captors realized prize-money to
the amount of upwards of a million sterling, whereby the merchants were enabled
not only to retrieve their lost credit and extend the Commerce of the port, but to
trade upon real capital. From this period may be dated the commencement of
the commercial greatness of Liverpool; but the most rapid and extraordinary in­
crease of its prosperity has taken place subsequent to the year 1812. It may
safely be stated that within the last half century there is no port in the United
Kingdom that has increased in wealth, extent, and commercial importance, in the
same ratio that Liverpool has done. The town has of late years been greatly ex­
tended by the immense increase of its public and private buildings, in many of
which is displayed a high degree of architectural taste. Its magnificent range of
docks is unequaled in the annals of ancient and modern history, while its compar­
ative commercial tonnage has long since eclipsed that of “ the great emporium of
the world.” It has increased within the last forty years from 500,000 tons to
3,900,000 ! Nor is the Commerce of the port of less importance in a national
point of view. It appears from a return made by order of the House of Com­
mons that in the year 1850 the value of its exports amounted to £34,891,847 ;
while those of London in the same year are stated to have been £14,137,527 ;
thus showing an excess in favor of Liverpool equal to above £20,000,000 sterling.




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647

SMUGGLED BOOTS, WATCHES, AND LACE.

In the days when high-heeled French boots were the pride of fashion, there waa
a shoemaker in London, who made a fortune by the sale of the best Paris boots
at a price which all his fellow-tradesmen declared ruinous. He understood the
trade, and obtained troops of customers. “ These boots must be stolen,” said
his rivals, but there was no evidence that they were : certainly they were not
smuggled boots—for any one could satisfy himself that the full duty was paid upon
them at the custom-house. The shoemaker retired from business with a fortune.
Afterwards his secret was accidentally discovered—although he had paid for
the boots, he had not paid for everything that was in them. There was a heavy
duty payable on foreign watches ; and every boot consigned to him from Paris
had contained in its high heel a cavity exactly large enough to hold a watch. The
great profit obtained by the trade in smuggled watches made it posable for this
tradesman, when he had filled up their heels, to sell his boots under prime cost.
This was worth while, again, because, of course, by the extension of his boot trade,
he increased his power of importing watches duty free.
We noticed, some time since, in the Merchants' Magazine, the circumstance of
an elderly lady and a lap-dog who traveled a good deal between Dover and Ostend,
some years later. It came to be generally considered at the custom-house that
her travels were for the sole purpose of smuggling Brussels lace, then subject to
exceedingly heavy duty ; but neither the examiners of ljcr luggage, nor the female
searchers at the custom-house, who had charge of her person, could, by the
narrowest scrutiny, find matter for a single accusation. A t last, when she was
about to decline the smuggling business, this lady accepted a bribe from a custom­
house officer to make himself master of her secret. Calling to her side the lapdog, who was to all strangers a very snappish little cur, she asked the officer
to fetch a knife and rip the little creature open. Like a few of the dogs (which
have sometimes even proved to be rats) sold in the streets of London, it gloried
outwardly in a false skin ; and between the false skin and the true skin was space
enough to provide a thin cur with the comfortable fatness proper to a lady’s pet,
by means of a warm padding of the finest lace. In the reign of Louis X V III.—
it may be noted by the way—very fierce dogs were trained to carry valuable
watches and small articles under false skins across the frontier. They were taught
to know and avoid the uniform of a custom-house officer. Swift, cunning, and
fierce, they were never to be taken alive, although they were sometimes pursued
and shot.
TEMPERATURE OF COMMERCIAL CITIES IN TEMPERATE LATITUDES.
The average temperature of Boston, according to the Journal of that city,
during a period of twenty-six years has been estimated at 49 degrees Fahrenheit.
That of Quebec during a series of years has been computed at 40 degrees; that
of Montreal, 44; New York, 52; Philadelphia, 52; and Baltimore, 54. That
of Norfolk is as high as 59 ; Charleston, Gfi ; Savannah, 07 ; and New Orleans,
67. Key West, Florida, is probably the warmest place in the United States, the
average temperature there throughout the year being 771 ; and San Diego comes
next, with a temperatui’e of 72. The climate in San Francisco is a little warmer
than that of Baltimore, the mean height of the thermometer in that city the year
round being 5G degrees.
•
Catina, in Sicily, is one of the warmest places in Europe, and although five



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degrees north of Savannah, is equal to it in warmth and pleasantness of climate.
The temperature of the atmosphere at Paris throughout the year approximates to
that of New York, although it is situated five degrees further northward. Naples
and Rome are strikingly like Philadelphia and Cincinnati, and the people of Lon­
don, which is nine degrees further north than Boston, experience the same degrees
of cold and heat as their brethren in the City of Notions. The sojourner in St
Petersburg must possess a sufficient quantity of bodily heat to enable him to resist
an average temperature the same as at Montreal the year round ; and the average
height of the thermometer at Constantinople throughout the year is 58, being the
same as that of Norfolk, Virginia. The temperature, of Crimea probably does
not vary much from that of Constantinople, s i that the rigor of the climate will
present no insurmountable obstacle to the wintering of troops there, although the
cold rain storms will be far from pleasant. During the coldest month of ordinary
years the thermometer at Constantinople averages 40 degrees, which is thirteen
more than in Boston.
If the climate in the vicinity of Jerusalem was in days of old as delightful as
at the present time, the Jews certainly had reason to think it a favored country.
For now, so far as the temperature is concerned, it occupies an intermediate rank
between Norfolk and Charleston. The temperature of the climate of Nangaski.
in Japan, is very similar to that of the holy city.
HOW TO RUIN A NEIGHBOR’S BUSINESS.
Some time since (so runs the current narrative) the owner of a thriving mut­
ton-pie concern, which after much difficulty he had succeeded in establishing with
borrowed capital, died before he had well extricated himself from the responsibil­
ities of debt. The widow carried on the business after his decease, and throve so
well that a speculating baker, on the opposite side of the way, made her the offer
of his hand. The lady refused, and the enraged suitor, determined on revenge,
immediately converted his baking into an opposition pic-sliop ; and, acting on the
principle, universal among London bakers, of doing business for the first month
or two at a loss, made his pies twice as big as he could honestly afford to make
them. The consequence was that the widow lost her custom, and was hastening
fast to ruin, when a friend of her late husband, who was also a small creditor, paid
her a visit. She detailed her grievance to him, and lamented her lost trade and
fearful prospects. “ Oh, oh 1” said her friend, “ that ore’s the move, is it ? Never
you mind, my dear. If I don’t git your trade agin, there ain’t no snakes, mark
me—that’s all 1” So saying he took his leave. About eight o’clock the same
evening, when the baker’s new pie-shop was crammed to overflowing, and the
principal was below, superintending the production of a new batch, in walks the
widow’s friend in the costume of a kennel-raker, and elbowing his way to the
counter, dabs down upon it a brace of hung dead cats, vociferating at the same
time to the astonished damsel in attendance, “ Tell your master, my dear, as how
them two make six-and-thirty this week, and say I ’ll bring the t’other four tomorrer afternoon 1” With that he swaggered out and went his way. So power­
ful was the prejudice against cat-mutton among the population of that neighbor­
hood, that the shop was clear in an instant, and the floor was covered with hastily
abandoned specimens of every variety of segment of a circle. The spirit-shop at
the corner of the street experienced an unusually large demand for “ goes ” of
brandy; and interjeetional ejaculation, not purely grammatical, were not. merely
audible but visible, too, in the district. It is averred that the ingenious expedi­
ent of the widow’s friend, founded, as it was, upon a profound knowledge of human
prejudices, had the desired effect of restoring the “ balance of trade.” The widow
recovered her commerce; the resentful baker was done as brown as if he had been
shut up in his own oven ; and the friend who brought about this measure of just­
ice received the hand of the lady as a reward for his interference.



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THE COOLIE TRADE.
The inhuman traffic in Coolies that for some time past has been carried on be­
tween China and Cuba, has, we perceive, attracted the attention of Congress, and
a resolution has been offered in both Houses with a view to its suppression. This
is right, for if the descriptions of the manner in which these poor Celestials are
kidnapped and carried to far distant countries to be enslaved, are correct, this
traffic in Coolies is as cruel and inhuman as the African slave-trade was. The
New York Journal of Commerce publishes a letter from Swotow, China, in which
the writer says that his ship, which was about to sail, had on board 700 Coolies,
and expected to take 200 more. lie does not conceal the fact that they are kid­
napped—torn violently from their parents and friends—and says they cost from
$15 to $20 per man, and sell for §250. These poor fellows are crowded into the
ship, and during the long voyage to America— of seventy-five or eighty days—are
supplied with the smallest quantity of food required to sustain life. The crew
are well armed, in case the slaves should rise and attempt to take the ship. It is
said that these attempts are often made, and many Coolies have been killed, in
order to reduce the remainder to submission. Most of the ships engaged in this
trade are from the ports of New York and Boston. W e shall endeavor in a
future number of the Merchants' Magazine to give a full account of this trade.
The information which will probably be obtained by the resolution of Congress
will very likely shed some light on this apparently inhuman commercial en­
terprise.
THE COURTESIES OF BUSINESS LIFE.
Business men who lay in a fair stock'of civility, will find it as good an invest­
ment to draw, please, and retain custom, as they can make. The small civilities
and courtesies of life are too often neglected by them. We have been taunted as
a nation of shopkeepers, who, in our haste to be rich, forget not only proprieties,
but moralities ; we have been charged with idolatry, worshiping the almighty
dollar, and the conduct of some among us has given color to the charge. Let not
the reproach longer remain. A nation immersed in trade need not, necessarily,
be forgetful of the requirements of honor, uprightness, and truth. A man in trade
need not be a boor, nor is he, in anywise, exonerated from extending towards his
customers the same suavities he would extend to a guest in his house, to a stranger
he is introduced to in company. lie need not indulge in formal etiquette and
pompous civilities, for there is no heart in such a manner ; but in the easy genial
habits which speak a kindly feeling and claim a reciprocating respect.
LITERATURE AND THE BOOK TRADE IN THE UNITED STATES.
The number of American publications, original and reprinted, issued in 1852,
was 966 original, and 322 reprints—total, 1,228 ; new editions 93. These pub­
lications proceeded from 191 different publishers, of whom New York furnished
71. Philadelphia 29, and Boston 27. In 1853 there were 424 newspapers issued
in the New England States, 876 in the Middle States, 716 in the Southern States,
and 784 in the Western States. The average circulation of papers in this country
is about 1,785, and there is one publication for every 7,161 free inhabitants in the
States and Territories. There are in the United States 694 libraries, exclusive of
those in the public schools, containing an aggregate of 2,201,632 volumes ; of
public school libraries there are 9,505, comprising 1,552,332 volumes.



650

M ercan tile M iscellanies.

GLOUCESTER AND MARBLEHEAD FISHERIES.
The fisheries of Marblehead wore at one time the wonder of the whole country,
such was their extent and importance. In 1812, the fishermen from Marblehead
almost manned our northern sliips-of-war. The fisheries of Gloucester at the pres­
ent time are at least three times as extensive as those of Marblehead were in her
palmiest days. Gloucester employed, in 1855, 300 schooners, 20,000 tons burthen,
and manned by 2,980 men. Besides its catch of mackerel, the largest in the United
States,,(70,000 barrels) halibut, and other kinds of fish, it sent to market 98,000
quintals of cod fish. In addition to its great fisheries, Gloucester has 10,000 tons
of shipping in the foreign and coasting trade, and in 1855 had 207 arrivals from
foreign ports, bringing, among other articles, 5,000 hogsheads of molasses, 3,000
hogsheads of sugar, 5,000 cords of wood, and great quantities of salt, lumber,
coal, &c. Rockport, and the adjacent ports, art; not included in these statistics,
although they are in the district of Gloucester.
DO FRAUDULENT SCHEMERS SUCCEED 1
The editor of the Boston Atlas says, that in the course of conversation with an
eminent broker, who has been over 40 years acquainted with the leading moneyed
men of the country, we asked if he ever knew a schemer, who acquired money or
position by fraud, continue successful through life, and leave a fortune at death.
We walked together about three minutes in silence, when he replied—“ Not one!
I have seen men,” he said. “ become rich as if by magic, and afterwards reach a
high position in public estimation, not only for honor and enterprise but even for
piety, when some small circumstance, of no apparent importance, has led to inves­
tigation which resulted in disgrace and ruin.”
A few days after, the editor of the Atlas again conversed with him upon the
same subject, and he stated that since the last interview he had extended his
inquiries among a large circle of acquaintances, and with one solitary excep­
tion, and that doubtful, their experience was to the same effect as his own. lie
then gave a brief outline of several small and big schemers and their tools, their
rise and fall. Suicide, murder, arson, and perjury, he said, were common crimes
with many of those who made “ haste to be rich,” regardless of the means ; and he
added, there are not a few men, w’ho may be seen on ’Change every day, ignorantly
striving for their own destruction. It is not, he said, so much the love of gold
that leads many business men astray, as the desire to be thought sharp or suc­
cessful. The broker concluded that fortunes acquired without honesty generally
overwhelmed their possessors with infamy.
USEFUL VS, LUXURIOUS COMMERCE.
K ouan-tse, a celebrated Economist of the Celestial Empire, who lived more
than two thousand years ago, made the following just remarks :—

“ There is no commerce permanently advantageous but the exchange of things
useful and necessary. The trade in articles of pomp, elegance, or curiosity, whether
carried on by exchange or by money payments, suppose the existence of luxury ;
now luxury, which is the abundance of what is superfluous among certain citizens,
supposes the want of necessaries among others. The more horses the rich put to
their chariots, the more people will have to walk on foot; the more their houses
arc vast and magnificent, the more those of the poor are small and miserable ; the
more their tables are covered with dainties, the more people are reduced to eat
rice and barley.
“ 'fhe best that can be done for men in a social state by means of industry and
labor, is that all should have the necessaries and some the conveniences of life.”




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651

THE BOOK TRADE.
1. —Notes of Travel in Egypt, the Holy Land. Turkey, and Greece. By B enja­
min D ork, D. D.
pp. 396. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co.
One more addition to the already lengthened list of works on the Holy Land.
Dr. Dorr, who is the Rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia, was it seems enabled,
by the liberality of his parishioners, to visit Egypt and Palestine, and here we
have his “ Notes of Travel,” which, although lie tells us claim no merit as a
literary production, are yet very readable, and indeed attractive. The reader may
in vain look over the pages of this book for those rhapsodies which too often char­
acterize the compositions of modern Eastern travelers. Dr. Dorr simply describes
what he sees, and he does so very graphically, wisely leaving his readers to make
their own reflections. As in the course of his travels he visited Syria, Bethlehem,
Bethany, and Nazareth, Samaria, Sychar, and Galilee. Mount Zion, Moriah, and
Olivet, Tabor, and Hermon, and Carmel, Tyre, and Sidon, the Nile, and the
Pyramids—there is, of course, abundant interest in the book, which is appro­
priately dedicated to Dr. Dorr’s parishioners. At the end of the work is an ap­
pendix, containing copies of contracts for a voyage on the Nile and for a tour
through the Desert of Syria, which may be found useful to future travelers. The
style of the book is clear, simple, and natural, and truth is evidently stamped on
every statement.
2. — The Island of Cuba.

By A lexander H umboldt. Translated from tho
Spanish, with Notes and a Preliminary Essay, by J. S. Thrasher, pp. 397.
New York : Derby & Jackson.
Many years have elapsed since Alexander Humboldt wrote and published this
work, which at this time especially must be considered as an important contribu­
tion to literature. Mr. Thrasher has, however, in his essay and notes, done all
that was necessary to combine the history of Cuba to the present period. He
asserts that the opposition of the Spanish government to the United States is ex­
plained by the fact that the exponents of Spanish public policy trace the loss of
all her rich American possessions to the evil example of this country. They charge
on the United States all those troubles which they have in fact blindly brought
on themselves. Mr. Thrasher ably expatiates on the importance of Cuba to
America in a commercial point of view, and severely censures the British govern­
ment, which, he says, has “ turned over the tropics to African barbarism.” The
work will be read with very great interest, and doubtless will throw much light
on the groat Cuban question which agitates so many American minds. Of Hum­
boldt's splendid descriptions we need not say one word in commendation.
3. — A Lyric of the Golden Age. By T iiomas L. H arris , pp. 381. New Y ork :
Partridge & Brittan.
There can be no doubt whatever that Mr. Harris is gifted with “ the vision and
the faculty divine.” lie has been by some compared to Shelley, but to our minds
he rather resembles the author of Pestus— Mr. P. J. Bailey, in this Lyric of the
Golden Age are passages of great power. It is stated that the poem was written
while its author was quite oblivious of external circumstances, an amanuensis
taking down the words as they fell from his lips. Prefixed to the poem is an ex­
ceedingly well written and interesting introduction by Mr. S. B. Brittan, in which
are some startling facts respecting spiritual manifestations. We cordially recom­
mend the work to the lovers of genuine poetry.
A — History of Hernando Cortez.

By J ohn S. C. A bbott. With Engravings,
pp. 348. New York : Harper & Brothers.
The wild and adventurous career of Hernando Cortez is here related in Mr.
Abbott’s usual fluent style. The book forms one of the scries of “ Abbott’s His­
tories,” and fully sustains the reputation of the author.




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5. — The Catholic: A Series of Letters addressed to a Kinsman about to join
the Church of Rome. By E. H. D erby , Esq. 12mo., pp. 292. Boston : J.
P. Jewett & Co.
The reader will recognize in this work a writer who has contributed many val­
uable articles to the pages of the Merchants' Magazine, and will find in it proof
of his usual research and discrimination. In his new field of authorship he pre­
sents a host of arguments against the claims of the Romish 1Iierarchy, drawn
both from ancient and modern authors. He reviews, also, with his usual ability,
the recent works of Bunsen, Howson, Conybeare, Seymour, Haskins, and others,
together with the new dogma of the Immaculate Conception, and the connection
of St. Paul with the planting of the Church in Britain. The reader who would
have in a small compass the essence of all ancient and modern arguments on this
subject, illustrated by the events of the passing century, will find this volume of
deep interest. One of its great recommendations to Protestants is its success. It
has reclaimed a student about to abandon his faith, and we venture to predict
that it will influence many others.
6. — The Trial of Theodore Parker, for the “ Misdemeanor ” of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States at
Boston, April 3,1855, with the Defense. By T heodore P arker, pp. 221.
Boston : Published for the Author.
This “ defense” wTould have been delivered in open court on the occasion of IMr.
Parker’s trial had not the indictment against him been quashed. Deprived of the
opportunity of avowing his sentiments on the Fugitive Slave Law before a jury,
the reverend gentleman has printed it, as he says, “ for the country.” It is a
lengthy document, advocative of Mr. Barker’s peculiar views, and abounding with
specimens of his forcible style. As he himself says in his preface, “ It is a minis­
ter’s performance, not a lawyer’s. Of course, I knewr that the court would not
have allowed me to proceed with such a defense, and that I should be obliged to
deliver it through the press.” The “ defense ” exhibits great research both in the
annals of English and American jurisprudence, and altogether conclusively proves
that the writer of it, whatever opinions may by some be entertained of his wellknown principles, was in earnest when he penned it.
7. —Life of Schamyl, and Narrative of the Circassian War of Independence
against Russia. By J. M ilton M ackie . pp. 300. Boston : John P. Jewett
& Co.
In this most interesting volume w-e are presented with the picture of a career
of heroism nowise inferior to that of the most famous champions of classical an­
tiquity, of a war of independence such as may not improperly be compared with
the most glorious struggles recorded in the annals of liberty, and of a state of so­
ciety perhaps the most romantic, and the most nearly resembling that described
in the songs of Homer, which the progress of civilivation has now left for the ad­
miration of mankind. Mr. Mackie’s style is very graphic, and therefore remark­
ably suited to such subjects as Schamyl and Circassian warfare. All who wish
to possess reliable information respecting one of the most remarkable chieftains
of his age, should not fail to peruse these brilliant pages.
8. —A Journey in the Seaboard Slave Stales, with Remarks on their Economy.
By F rederick L a w O lmsted, pp. 723. New York : Dix & Edwards.
In this wrork the author gives the result of his observations during a tour in
the Slave States, He is evidently a practical man, and an unprejudiced one, also.
Calling himself “ an honest growler,” he yet sees with a cheerful and kindly eye
all the aspects of the “ vexed question ” of slavery. As a democrat he went to
study the South, its institutions' and its people, and as a democrat he returned.
His book is very valuable in a statistical point of view, and regarded in a literary
light it deserves great commendation. Mr. Olmsted has the happy faculty of
word-painting—some of his descriptions of scenery are most felicitous. The do­
mestic manners of the slaves are excellently told. The work is a very valuable
contribution to American literature.




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9. — At Home and Abroad, or Things and Thoughts in America and Europe. By
M argaret P oller O ssoli. Edited by her brother, A rttidr B. P uller .
pp. 466. Boston : Crosby, Nichols & Co.
This volume will bo perused with very great interest by the admirers (and they
are many) of Margaret Puller Ossoli, both here and in Europe. It is divided into
four parts. The first consists of a series of sketches taken during a summer tomon the lakes, and through some of the Western States. These are delightfully
written, and are a record of thoughts as well as things. There is, too, iu them
much interesting information respecting the Indian character, which justice to them
makes it desirable should be remembered. The second part gives Madame Ossoli’s
impressions and observations during her European journey and residence in Italy,
and as she was in the latter country during the most eventful period of its modern
history, her remarks will be read with profound interest. The letters were written
during the struggle, and show the fluctuations of hope and despondency which
animated those most deeply interested. The personal sketches of eminent Euro­
peans with whom she associated are very graphic and interesting. The third por­
tion contains some letters to friends, and the fourth presents the details of that
shipwreck which caused mourning not only in the hearts of her kindred, but of
the many who knew and loved her, as well as some poetical tributes to her mem­
ory. This volume being of a more popular character than any of those which
have hitherto appeared in connection with Madame Ossoli, will doubtless have a
wide circulation. It well deserves such.
10. — The History of England, from the Accession of James II. By T homas
B abixgton M a c a u l a y . Yols. III. and IV . pp. 676 and 645. Boston:
Phillips, Sampson & Co.
Several editions of this great work have been published in America, but for
cheapness and convenient size these volumes are, we believe, unequaled, the price
being only forty cents each. So far as the literary portion is concerned it may
be enough to say that it fully sustains the brilliant reputation acquired by the
first aud second volumes. There is the same splendor of rhetoric, the same won­
derful word-painting—an art of which Macaulay is so great a master—the same
picturesque delineation of events, and the like power of fixing the attention of the
reader. Its faults, too, are similar to those for which the author was blamed when
his work first appeared, for we have partialities and prejudices apparent enough.
As we write, the news arrives that a few of Mr. Macaulay's own countrymen have
hung him in effigy for severe comments on a certain Scottish chieftain, and that
Mr. Ilepford Dixon is again “ down upon him ” for his statements respecting
William Penn.
11. — Biography of the Hon. Fernando Wood, Mayor of the City of New York.
By D onald M c L eod , pp. 335. New York : 0. F. Parsons.
Mr. McLeod has in this volume presented the public with a very succinct ac­
count of the Hon. Fernando Wood’s life, from his birth in 1812 until the present
time, not omitting some notices of his ancestors. The lives of all men who have
attained to eminent positions in life cannot, if faithfully told, fail to be interesting,
and Mr. McLeod has treated Mr. Wood’s life in a thorough spirit of truthfulness.
Here we have notices of the mayor’s early independence and energy, with welltold anecdotes of boyish career and early adventures, which were highly indicative
of the energy and fearlessness w-liich now characterize the man. How he turned
cigar-maker, how he went to Congress, and how ho made a fiscal speech which
elicited the admiration of John Quincy Adams, are all related in Mr. McLeod’s
lucid pages, to which we refer the reader. The succeeding events of Mr. Wood’s
life, up to the time of the publication of the book, are of great interest.
12. — The Angel in the House. Boston : Ticknor & Fields.
“ The Skeleton in the Closet ” would have been the best title for this book. A
more insane production we never saw. Prose runs wild through every page and
poetry laughs. The “ Angel in the House ” is the weakest of the weak school of
poets ; and if no better angels warble, why, we shall be consoled for the absence
of them. The very opening of the poem is suggestive.




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13. — National System of Political Economy. By F rederick L ist . With a pre­
liminary essay and notes, by Stephen Colwell, pp. 497. Philadelphia : J. B.
Lippincott & Co.
Frederick List is well known in this country, he having resided here for some
years, and published “ Outlines of a System of Political Economy,” which was
favorably received by James Madison, Clay, and Edward Livingston. The work
before us w’as published after his return to Europe, in 1841, and its success was
immense. The translation from the German by G. A. Matile, including the notes
of the French translation by Henri Riclielot, is faithful, but reproduces rather the
spirit than the letter of List. Nationality is the grand characteristic of List’s
system. Contrary to the usual course of economists who study how mankind can
attain to a condition of well-being, List shows how a nation in given circum­
stances can by means of agriculture, manufacturing industry, and Commerce,
reach a state of prosperity, civilization, and power. In fact nationality is the
leading idea of the book ; but with his vigorous mind and clear intelligence he en­
larges it till it comprehends every topic of human w'elfarc. Upon that idea is
based his national system of political economy. The work is an exceedingly valu­
able one, for List’s idea has not its source in a theory, but in observation, in his­
tory ; and this point of view is the right one. The following extract from his
preface will be read with special interest in this country : “ The best book on po­
litical economy in that country [America] is the volume of life—there only have
I obtained a clear idea of the gradual development of the economy of a people—a
progress which in Europe required the lapse of centuries, is accomplished there
under the eyes of a single observer.”
14. — Leaves of Grass, pp. 95. Brooklyn, New York.
There is the name neither of author nor publisher to this singular book—one of
the most singular that has ever come under our notice. Appearing at the first
glance to be mere unconnected common-place remarks, aphorisms, and opinions,
there is yet developed, on a further examination, a vast amount of undisciplined
power. 'Many of the lines are such perfect pictures in themselves, that an artist
might draw from them without reference to any other material, and produce beau­
tiful pictorial compositions. Other portions of the book arc perfectly kaleido­
scopic—grotesque changes rapidly succeed each other ; and no one save the author
himself—and he, perhaps, not an exception— can explain them. Had the elder
D’lsraeli met with “ Leaves of Grass,” he would have assuredly included it in his
“ Curiosities of Literature.” The work is embellished with a portrait (we presume)
of the author—a rather melancholy-looking gentleman, with a wide-awake hat on,
and neither coat nor vest. Among the “ Leaves of Grass,” certainly the author
himself is not the least remarkable “ blade.”
15. — Home Service. A Manual intended for those who are occasionally hindered
from attending the House of God, with Sermons and Hymns. .B y Rev. W.
B. S tevens, 1). 11. pp. 347. Philadelphia: E. H. Butler & Co.
This beautifully got-up work will doubtless be found of special service to the
class for whom it has been specially compiled. It contains short sermons of great
simplicity, and hymns selected from the best writers, adapted to the requirements
of those who may be prevented attending public worship, in consequence of per­
sonal or relative afflictions. The work is exceedingly attractive in external ap­
pearance, and we have seldom seen a finer specimen of typography. As a family
devotional manual it will be prized in many a domestic circle.
16. — Mrs. Follen's Twilight Stories. Six Yolvmes. Boston : Whittemore,
Niles & Hall.
Here we have, in a sort of portable library, six books for the young. Mrs.
Follen is too well known as a writer of juvenile brochures, to need commendation
from us. All the children will rejoice in “ True Stories about Cats and Dogs
“ Made-up S t o r i e s “ The Pedlar of Daststicks and “ The Old Garret.” The
volumes are profusely illustrated by Hammett Billings, and we can scarcely imag­
ine a more suitable present to the young folks.




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17. — Experimental Investigation of Spirit Manifestations: demonstrating the
existence of Spirits and their communion with Mortals : Doctrine of the SpiritWorld respecting Heaven, Hell, Mortality, and God. By R obert H are , M. D.
Fourth Edition, pp. 460. New York : Partridge & Brittan.
A work on any subject from the pen of Professor Hare must always command
respectful attention. In this large volume we are furnished with an elaborate ac­
count of the author’s researches into modern spiritualism, and many of the details
are extraordinary in the extreme. Of course, it would be impossible within our
prescribed limits to give anything like an analysis of the varied contents of this
remarkable book, which to be properly understood should be read in its entirety.
From the very high literary and scientific reputation of the author, it will doubt­
less be taken as a sort of text-book of spiritualism. The volume is illustrated with
diagrams of Dr. Hare's apparatuses for detecting the presence of spirits, and the
mysteries of table tipping, rapping, and the like.
18. —Life of Napoleon I I I , Emperor of the French.

By E dward R oth. pp.
546. Boston : Patrick Donahoe.
The remarkable vicissitudes in the life of the present emperor of the French
are in this volume fully and faithfully detailed. In its pages are given extensive
extracts from the works of Louis Napoleon, and all his letters of any importance,
his proclamations, decrees, messages, &c., to which access could be obtained, are
presented with but little curtailment. From these statements and extracts a
very fair idea of Louis Napoleon may be drawn. This personage at present oc­
cupies, perhaps, the most prominent position in Europe, and certainly every scrap
of information respecting his character and career cannot fail to be read with
more than common interest.
19. — Charlemont; or the Pride of the Village. A Tale of Kentucky. By W .
G ilmore S imms , pp. 447. New York : Redfield.
Mr. Simms is, unquestionably, the most popular of living American novelists.
His works have all a broad basis on historical fact, and therein consists, to a great
extent, their value. But independent of this, there is a charm in the style, and a
felicity of handling, that compels the reader to read on. Charlemont is, to our
mind, one of Mr. Simms’ best fictions. The various characters are evidently
drawn “ from the life.” In serious description, in humorous delineations, or in
pathetic passages, Mr. Simms is equally at home. His style, too, is as exclusively
his own as that of Fennimore Cooper or Washington Irving.
20. — Parisian Sights and French Principles, seen through American Spectacles.
By J ames J ackson J arves . Second Series, pp. 277. New York : Harper
& Brothers.
Books about Paris are “ thick as leaves in Vallambrosa,” but there are very
few good ones. This volume of Mr. Jarves may be classed among the best of its
kind. It is sparklingly written, and well illustrated. One can get almost as good
an idea of Parisian people and manners from its pages as from actual life in tlie
gay capital itself. In fact it may be termed a mirror of men and manners in the
metropolis of France.
21. — The Onyx Ring. By J ohn S terling . With a Biographical Preface by
Charles Ilall. pp. 263. Boston : Whittlemore, Niles & Hall.
This story was published in Blackwood some twenty years ago. It is a con­
tused conglomeration of Carlyle and Coleridge. Sterling himself would, had he
walked into the publisher’s office, have put a veto on its republication. Mr. Hall’s
preface is a very creditable performance.
22. — Sargent's Standard Second Reader, pp. 216. Boston : Phillips, Sampson
& Co. New York : J. C. Derby.
Mr. Sargent has the happy and very rare quality of talking to children on pa­
per. Every child in America ought to bless the day when Epes Sargent left the
editorial chair of the Boston Transcript, and devoted his energies to children.
Can there be higher praise for any author l




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23. — The Cymri n f,r16: or Welshmen and their Descendants of the American
Revolution. An Address, with an Appendix, containing Notes, Sketches, and
Nomenclature of the Cymbri. By A lexander J ones, M. D. T o which is
added, A Letter on Eminent Welshmen, by S amuel J enkins, Esq., and A
Brief Sketch of St. David's Benevolent Society. Second edition, pp. 132.
New York : Sheldon, Lamport & Co.
The part taken by Welshmen and their descendants in the American Revolu­
tion, cannot fail to interest the people of this country, especially those of Cambri­
an origin. In Dr. Jones’s Address special references have been made to those
Welshmen who either directly or indirectly took part in the War of Independence.
Although the work will be read chiefly by Cambrians or their descendants, much
will be found in it novel or interesting to the general reader ; and especially so
far as the facts and views it contains go to elucidate the ethnology of the Cymbrian tribes in Europe. It appears that among the noble band who signed the
Declaration of Independence, seventeen were men of Cambrian birth or origin.
On this fact Dr. Jones dwells with much and reasonable exultation.
24. — The Wonders of Science; or Young Humphrey Davy, the Cornish Apothe­
cary’s Boy, who taught himself Natural History, and eventually became Presi­
dent of the Royal Society. The life of a Wonderful Boy, written for Boys.
By H enry Mayhew . pp. 450. New York: Harper & Brothers.
We are always glad to hail the appearance of such a book as this. It tells in
an easy, familiar manner, the history of one of the greatest of modern natural phi­
losophers, and holds out a fine example for youth to follow. Here are no records
of narrow escapes or thrilling incidents, but the narrative of a life commenced
under singular disadvantages, yet surmounting every obstacle in the pursuit of
chemical science, and eventually reaching an elevation which commanded the
wonder and admiration of the learned world. For young people—apart from the
interest attaching to Davy’s history—the book will form an excellent text-book
of the first principles of natural science. The work is profusely and beautimlly
illustrated.
25. — Geoffrey Moncton ; or the Faithless Guardian. By S usanna M oodie. pp.
362. New York : De Witt & Davenport.
Any work from the talented authoress of “ Roughing it in the Bush,” will al­
ways be welcomed by the reading world. In this story of Geoffrey Moncton Mrs.
Moodie has shown what terrible results arise from placing an orphan child under
the guardianship of one who can, under any circumstance, be induced to betray
the sacred trust. The tale also forciby exemplifies that for every such betrayal of
confidence, there is certain to be in the long run a swift and terrible retribution.
Mrs. Moodie’s style is very lively and graphic, and her knowledge of human na­
ture profound. In dialogue she greatly excels, and this faculty of making differ­
ent characters speak naturally in conversation, is perhaps the most difficult part
of novel writing. It is comparatively easy to describe scenery or persons, but to
make people talk as they do in every-day fife, requires no slight perception of in­
dividual character. Mrs. Moodie, in our judgment, stands second to no living
female novelist.
26. — The War in Kansas. A Rough Trip to the Border, among New Homes
and a Strange People. By G. D ouglas B reweiiton. pp. 400. New York :
Derby & Jackson.
Tragedy and comedy form the staple of this volume. Most people have read
‘ A Ride with Kit Carson,” “ Gamp Fire Yarns,” and other works by the same
author, therefore they may with reason look for a mingled yarn in the book before
us. Taking the Kansas War as his thread of narration, Mr. Brewerton strings
on it some capital stories of border life, while his narratives of the real incidents
of the present Western “ trouble ” are evidently carefully prepared. There is, too,
valuable statistical information in the book, which, we may add, is well illustrated
—a portrait of the author, “ a la Kansas,” being the frontispiece. Those who re­
quire reliable information respecting this Territory trouble could not do better
than read Mr. Brewerton’s volume.