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

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H U N T ’ S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
N O V E M B E R ,

Art. I.— T H E
AN ASSOCIATION FOB THE

NATIONAL
PROMOTION
INGTON

in

OF

1 8 5 6.

INSTITUTE:
SCIENCE, FOUNDED

AT W ASH ­

1840.

I n what follows, we intend to give a history o f the National Institute,
an association for the advancement o f science, organized at W ashington,
under the implied auspices and patronage o f the government, in 1842.
W e have said that it was organized under the im plied auspices o f the
government, as a fact to be inferred from the manner o f its institution,
and from the position, character, and employments o f its first members.
It was incorporated by an act o f Congress in the year above mentioned.
Its first patron was the President o f the United States; its first president
a Secretary of W a r ; and the original corporators and first officers o f the
society consisted o f Senators, Representatives, Governors, Judges, chiefs o f
Departments and Bureaus; the elite and distinguished o f the A rm y and
Navy, and other professional employees in the service o f the government.
In the first year o f its existence, nearly all the science o f the country was
found enrolled in its service.
The diplomats o f foreign nations resident
here, and o f our own resident abroad, vied with each other in offerings to
its library and cabinet: it had established an extensive correspondence
with the scientific institutions o f the Old W o r ld ; and contributions in
every branch o f science and art came to it, unbidden, from every quarter
— not only from this continent, but the other— from England to the Indies,
and from Lapland to the Cape o f G ood Hope.
Such a commencement would certainly have indicated that the society
was acting under the certain or promised protection o f the government,




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The National Institute:

and was destined to fill a high place am ong the scientific institutions o f
the world. A t least, we run no risk in asserting, without further evidence,
that at this time the nationality o f the institution was fully acknowledged,
and the governm ent understood to be pledged to 'it s support. W e are
therefore not a little'surprised, within two years after a commencement o f
such promise, to find the Institute memorializing Congress, not for an en­
dow m ent or for any official patronage, but for the appropriation o f a suffi­
cient sum o f money to enable it to pay charges for transportation o f books,
minerals, specimens o f natural history, and works o f art, many o f them o f
great value, which had been sent by distinguished scientists o f other coun­
tries— which charges, up to that time, and to a very considerable amount,
had been paid by the private contributions o f members residing in W ash­
ington. This memorial, and others which succeeded it, though presented
in the Senate by Mr. W ood b u ry and Mr. Cass, and in the House by Mr.
Adam s and Mr. Marsh— neither o f whom would be apt to advocate any
» application liable to a constitutional objection— produced no effect. Pack­
ages o f great value were allowed to lie in the public stores and custom­
houses o f the large cities, liable to be sold for duties and dues o f trans­
portation ; or, i f rescued from this fate by the munificence o f some liberal
individual, and sent to W ashington, the case was not much bettered. N ot
a few o f the packages thus ransomed from the tender mercies o f weighers,
measurers, inspectors, and auctioneers, are still to be found— the boxes
rotted, moldy, and broken-—in the crypts, corridors, and blank places of
the Patent-office. A n intelligent and public-spirited traveler, who brought
with considerable pains and no little expense, eight or ten years since, a
fine specimen o f Cervus Oanadiensis, or great Am erican elk, whose head
and hoofs alone would be accounted g ood prize to any academy o f natural
science, after leaving it in such charge until the hide and hair began to
show unmistakable tokens o f decay, at length reclaimed the antlers on
his own account— the only portion then susceptible o f preservation. This
untoward turn in the affairs o f the Institute might, at first, seem to have
been only a peculiar phase o f one o f those patriotic projects, which begin
b y asking leave to use private means in accomplishing some purpose of
public interest or benefit, and conclude by demanding from Congress ninetenths o f some sum or other o f w hich they have paid or hypothecated the
remaining one-tenth, the whole profit o f the investment accruing to them­
selves.
The case o f the Institute was, however, in no respect like this. By the
act o f incorporation it m ight be made the curator o f all contributions to
science, com ing as well from government expeditions and officials, as from
other mere private sources; while at the end o f its corporate term, which
was limited to twenty years, all the public property thus acquired reverts
unconditionally to the government, to be disposed o f at its pleasure. There
appears, therefore, to have been no personal, interested, or mercenary con­
sideration in the way o f the application to Congress, and its want o f suc­
cess must be attributed to other causes.
Previous to any application to Congress for pecuniary assistance, (in
July, 1841,) the Institute, finding its private means altogether inadequate
to the preservation o f its collections, had made application to the Commis­
sioner o f Patents to allow a portion o f them to be placed in the hall of
the Patent-office. The application was prom ptly acceded to by the Com ­
missioner and Mr. W ebster, the then Secretary o f State.
The portion




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533

thus transferred was the beginning o f what is now known as the gallery
o f the Patent-office, though originally belonging to the National Institute.
H ad there been any question o f the constitutionality o f providing funds
for preserving and exhibiting collections thus made for the use o f the gov­
ernment, it would seem to apply equally against affording place and ac­
commodation as against funds, and as conclusively against the act o f a
Department as against an act o f the Legislature. Besides, a few months
before, (in March, 1841,) an appropriation had been made by law for re­
ceiving and arranging the collections brought by the exploring expedi­
tion, and the National Institute had been designated as the curator.
There is something strange and unaccountable in the fact, that an
organization o f such promise should suffer so immediate a reverse, and the
strangeness will not be essentially "diminished until we shall have become
acquainted with the cotemporaneous occurrences o f that time, and the
persons concerned therein. This is an advantage which the writer o f this
paper can boast o f in but a small degree. W h a t o f history is to follow
will be drawn principally from documents which can be referred to. As
an hypothetical cause not com ing properly within the scope o f an historic
paper, we may venture to suppose that political influences and associations
had no inconsiderable effect in this matter.
The project o f a National Academ y o f Science had been first set in
motion under the Presidency o f Mr. Van Buren, and this eminent person
and those o f his Cabinet sh ow themselves as the principal and most
energetic patrons o f the National Institute— the first embodiment o f this
idea. It was not likely to find a kind nurse in the administration which
fo llo w e d ; for, as a general rule, politicians regard scientific interests
merely as popular or unpopular, or as they affect partisan measures: they
uphold every project o f their own, and decry every one that is not. In
this case, when, after a few years, times seemed more propitious for build­
ing on the former foundation, the ground was found pre-occupied by a
growth o f fresher and stronger associations and interests, and the National
Institute was left to its own resources. Thus deprived o f patronage and
endowment, it has continued to struggle onward to the present day—
holding by sufferance its regular meetings in a spare room o f the Patentoffice ; receiving constantly valuable additions to its cabinet and library,
which have been so far permitted to remain, mostly in the same state in
which they were received, in the cellarage o f the building, and publishing
at long intervals short bulletins o f its proceedings, with original scientific
papers, some o f them o f much value.
It is for the purpose o f attracting public attention to this institution
that the present paper has been written. To give a synopsis o f its h istory ;
to indicate, as near as may be, the causes which have produced its present
decrepitude, and to make one effort to save its valuable collections from
total loss, is the sole object w hich the writer has proposed to himself.
Even if it shall be found o f no service in a remedial point o f view, it may
at least perform one important function o f all true histories, and con­
tribute to the general fund o f recorded experience. The history o f literary
and scientific institutions will not be found in the journals o f their pro­
ceedings or their official acts and papers, any more than the history o f the
politics and government o f the country is to be found in the journals and
laws o f Congress.
Motives o f a mere personal and interested character—
family and political influences, private friendships, enmities and jealousies,




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The National Institute:

and the whole host o f petty alliances and animosities, which in all public
bodies ferment and engender into intrigue, and plot, and cabal— will very
often be found at the bottom o f what is put forth to the public as a case
o f pure science or perfect patriotism.
The autopsy which discovers
poison in the viscera, after the body has been embalmed and laid in con­
secrated ground, is never a grateful operation, but may be useful to the
living, fulfill the ends o f public justice, and in these respects becom e both
necessary and laudable.
In giving this communication to the public, through a journal whose
character is m ore directly identified with the interests o f commerce than
with those o f science, the writer has been governed by two considerations,
which it will be as well to state here. In the first place, the National In­
stitute being in the condition which we have described, cannot be supposed
at all in the good graces o f those journals which are professedly scientific,
and any communication in regard to its concerns would not be apt to
find countenance or favor with journalists whose interests or predilections
are almost necessarily pre-engaged; and, in the second place, a principal
reason why the Merchants' Magazine has been chosen as the medium for
publishing this communication, arises from the belief that if the National
Institute is ever to be redeemed from its present state o f inability and de­
pression, it must be effected by the liberality o f individuals.
It would
certainly be but a small contribution to a very useful and patriotic pur­
pose, to furnish, by subscription throughout the country, sufficient endow­
ment to enable it to arrange and exhibit its present very extensive collec­
tion, and to provide for its constant increase, by a well-regulated system
o f exchanges; nor would it require a long time, with such encouragement,
before the cabinet and museum here would rival the older national mu­
seums o f the other continent. In this respect, and for this endowment, it
is to the commercial interest, as the most wealthy and most munificent,
that the friends o f the National Institute must look with the greatest con­
fidence ; and, therefore, a journal devoted to that interest is most appro­
priate for an exposition like the present.
A scientific association had existed at an early day in the city o f W a sh ­
ington, and was first incorporated in the year 1818, under the title o f the
“ Columbian Institute, for the promotion o f Arts and Sciences.” Its mem­
bers consisted chiefly o f officers o f the Corps du Genii o f the A rm y, o f
scientific officers o f the Navy, o f gentlemen resident in W ashington, pro­
fessionally employed in the Departments, principally in the Patent-office,
and o f Ministers and Consuls representing the government, and resident
in foreign countries. The charter o f this institution expired in 1838. In
May, 1840, a voluntary association was formed, under the designation of
the “ National Institution for the promotion o f Science,” which, with an
amended constitution, -went into operation in the ensuing year.
In the
same year, by mutual agreement, the members o f the new organization,
and the archives, libraries, and other properties, were incorporated into
one.
It is not improbable that some o f the founders o f these institutions
may have regarded them as the germ, out o f which was to spring at some
future time a great national academy. But the main object looked to at
first seems to have been the preservation and increase o f collections in
natural science, and to provide a hall or place o f meeting for intercourse
and mutual improvement.
The Columbian Institute had been o f some




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535

service in discussing scientific projects o f the governm ent; several o f its
papers had attracted attention and been quoted in higher places, and there
were works o f a public character concerning which the heads o f admin­
istration had designed to consult with the infant academy.
A bout this time also (1840) it began to be evident that in so active a pop­
ulation as ours, where so many fields are open at once to the energy o f the
people, some national authority in matters o f science, whose opinion could
always be consulted with safety, was absolutely necessary. In 1839 an
application had been made, and was very nearly successful, for the appro­
priation o f a very considerable sum— several thousands o f dollars— to con­
struct an instrument for determining latitude and longitude by the dip o f
the magnetic needle.
A piece o f gross charlatanry which could never
have been thought of, had there been any competent authority, o f easy
reference, at the seat o f government. In the equipment and organization
o f this exploring expedition, much uncertainty and delay had been en­
countered, from the necessity o f reconciling and compounding the different
plans presented and recommended.
Such experience could not fail to
demonstrate the importance o f an institution for scientific purposes at the
seat o f governm ent; and it would be apparent that, as a nucleus for such
an institution, the collection o f all the professional employees at W ash­
ington into a quasi college, would be a natural step o f great advantage to
the public service and to themselves.
It was a pity that the founders o f the society did not look at once and
at first for some adequate endowment.
They probably had either no
idea o f the quantity o f material or number o f connections which their
position would com m an d; o f the high function devolving upon them as
the medium o f exchange between the New W orld and the Old, and the
expense necessary to be incurred in preserving their collections; or they
were too confident in their position and proximity to Congress. It can­
not be overlooked, that if they had at first looked to private munificence,
instead o f public patronage, the present unfortunate state o f affairs m ight
have been prevented.
The acceptance by the government, a year or two before this time, o f
the bequest o f Mr. Smithson, and the opinion then entertained by distin­
guished men, that the best disposition w hich could be made o f this fund
was to confide it to the National Institution, may have contributed to their
carelessness in regard to so important a matter.
Mr. Rush and Mr.
Duponceau, as well as many other citizens o f high reputation and great
experience, were o f opinion that the easiest expedient to get rid o f the
scruples entertained at that time about the propriety, not to say constitu­
tionality, o f the government accepting the benefaction and becom ing the
executors o f a private individual, would be to endow with it an incorpora­
tion o f which the high functionaries o f the State m ight be constituted
visitors. Though the founders o f the National Institute may have looked
at this resource as one within their reach, yet they were early reminded
that it was by no means a certain one. Mr. Poinsett, on taking the chair
as president, on the 8th day o f March, 1841, concludes his address as
follow s:—
“ Although I hope and believe that the government will become convinced that
the best disposition it can make of the Smithson fund, and that most suited to
carry into effect the benevolent intentions of the testator, will be to confide its
application to this Institution, I would not have you depend altogether upon that




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The National Institute:

expectation. Let ns rather place our reliance upon the oo-operation of other
scientific institutions in the United States, which have so manifest an interest in
promoting our views ; upon the support of the people, for whose benefit the Insti­
tution has been founded; and, above all, upon our own energies and resources,
which, if zealously exerted and judiciously directed, will, I have no doubt, secure
our success.”
This was the correct view o f the case, and the more entitled to consid­
eration from the political character and position o f the person who gave
it. Mr. Poinsett had, but a few months before, been at the head of the
W a r Department, and as a politician, was well able to foresee and foretell
what kind o f management m ight possibly interfere with the final disposi­
tion o f the Smithsonian bequest. H e recommended action, and this ad­
vice is always good.
The history o f all scientific establishments, in the Old W orld as well as
in the New, shows that their usefulness and reputation has always been in
proportion to their activity, and not to their endowment.
Indeed, the
want o f the latter advantage has often, in the public body as well as the
private, been a prime cause o f ultimate success. The two national acad­
emies which have filled the largest space and exercised the greatest influ­
ence upon science and art— the lioy a l Society o f England and the A cad­
emy o f Sciences (now the National Institute) o f France— rose slowly and
from very humble beginnings: the earliest meetings o f the one having
been held privately at Oxford during the Protectorate, at the house o f a
recusant d ivin e; while the first patron o f the other was the physician of
the Cardinal Richelieu, whose principal prescription, so far as his Emi­
nence was concerned, is said to have been the charm o f his conversation.
The patents incorporating both these academies, since so famous, were
conferred for the same reason, and that was to prevent them from
being prosecuted under the laws against conventicles and unlawful as­
semblies.
The years 1840, 1841, and 1842 were the hopeful years o f the new In­
stitution for the promotion o f science. In March, 1841, the Secretary of
the Navy, Mr. Badger, placed the collections o f the exploring expedition,
then just received, in its charge, accompanied with an appropriation of
$5,000 made by Congress, for the purpose o f efieeting its arrangement and
preservation. This is, we believe, the only money ever received by the
Institution from the governm ent; and the published transactions leave it
somewhat doubtful whether it received even this. In August o f the same
year Mr. W ebster, on a request o f a committee o f the Institution, and the
concurrence o f the Commissioner o f Patents, permitted them to use the
upper room s o f the Patent-office for the arrangement o f their cabinet gen­
erally, “ so long as this custody shall not interfere with any uses for which
the Patent-office is destined by law.”
A bout the same time Mr. Bell, the
Secretary o f W ar, presented them with the whole o f the collection of
portraits o f distinguished Indians, thus m aking the commencement of
what is now known as the cabinet and gallery o f the Patent-office.
W ithin this year was also received the entomological cabinet o f F. L.
Castelnau, and a valuable cabinet o f arranged minerals, presented by
Messrs. Maclure and Owen.
A portrait o f Guizot, a bust o f Cuvier, and
a painting by Spagnolletti, are am ong the works o f art presented at the
same time.
The printing-press at which Dr. Franklin worked was also
sent here as an antique relic worthy o f preservation; and, as important




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537

in the early history o f the country, there were deposited in the archives
autograph letters and papers o f General W ashington, and proceedings o f
the Constituent Assembly o f Maryland in 1774, 1775, and 1776.
In reference to this last material— we mean documents relating to the
early history o f the United States— we may say that until very recently
there has been no species o f information o f such great value which has
been so much neglected, o f which there must have been so much acces­
sible within the recollection o f those now living, and o f which, it is to be
feared, so much is now irrecoverably lost. Until within a few years since,
the original journal o f the last day’s session o f the Lon g Parliament— the
Rump— with the half-written word, where Cromwell may be supposed to
have interrupted the sitting with his soldiers, was in the possession o f a
distinguished family in New Jersey ; and though such a paper would
justly be regarded rather as a curiosity than as o f any historic use, there
are doubtless many other documents o f the same period o f more intrinsic
value. I f a national academy were to perform no other function than to
gather up papers o f this class, arrange, and preserve them for future use,
it would be worthy o f encouragement and patronage.
It is within our
memories, when the records o f the general courts o f Connecticut and Mas­
sachusetts, and o f the Dutch governm ent o f New Y ork, which last were
kept at Albany, and untranslated until 1817, were referred to only for the
purpose o f ridiculing whatever m ight seem simple and odd in the manners
o f comparatively a primitive age. This rich ore was less unwrought even
by the writers in fiction, until Scott had produced, in Major Bridgeworth,
the re-embodiment o f a mortal, such as he whose grave we recollect, not
twenty years since, to have been shown in the Common at New Haven.
This unfilial feeling for the founders and patriarchs o f a government which
has been thus far successful and happy and glorious, has now passed
away, and even the lighter mementos o f those days will be garnered for
the uses o f the future historian.
But a few years since, an antiquarian,
whose researches should be limited to the early history o f the continent,
would have run some risk o f becom ing merely ridiculous. A t present the
subject is one o f whose use and value there is no question.
The French
government have had for some years a regulation by which all the acts
and correspondence o f its generals, governors, and men o f affairs, are, after
their death, transferred to the archives o f the respective departments in
which they had been engaged.
This is a rule which could only be en­
forced in a very arbitrary government, but it is at once reasonable and
patriotic. So far as our own great men are concerned— we mean those o f
the revolution—.we believe them to have been so identified with the im ­
portant acts o f the time that a letter o f W ashington to his overseer, or o f
Adams to his grocer, might be important as giving to “ the.body o f the
time its form and pressure.”
A t this period o f the National Institution— 1 8 4 0 -4 2 — in less than a
year, and independent o f the larger collections referred to, there had been
sent to the cabinet 1,274 specimens in natural history, and 266 volumes,
some o f them o f great value, had been given to the library. A t one o f
the ordinary meetings, there were present 103 members. The association
had received patriarchal letters o f advice and instruction from the vener­
able Duponceau, from Mr. Rush, and Mr. Pickering, and had am ong its
members A rago, Quetelet, Capt. W . H. Smyth, Aassler, Gallatin, N icollet,
W heaton, and others.




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The National Institute:

It was intimated by Mr. J. R. Ingersoll, that the Count de Survilliers
(Joseph Bonaparte) m ight be induced to transfer to this Institution the
magnificent picture gallery o f his uncle, the Cardinal Fesch, which had
just then been bequeathed to him.
A t the end o f 1841 the Institution
had received 46 scientific communications, and had 500 contributing
members. A m on g the communications, was one from T. A . Conra.d, “ On
a portion o f the Atlantic tertiary region, with a description o f a new
species o f organic remains.”
During this year also, Lieut. Maury, (whose investigations were about
that time turning toward the branch o f science in which he has since ac­
quired so much distinction,) suggested the importance o f sounding the
ocean at great depths, for the purpose o f ascertaining the character and
configuration o f its bottom.
Fi-orn such a hopeful picture it is painful to turn to the embarrassment
and reverse which were soon to follow. D uring the summer o f 1842, the
collections and correspondence o f the Institute continued to increase as
heretofore, but the great defect, the want o f a sufficient permanent fund,
beg an now to be sensibly felt. The cabinet o f Castelnau, which had been
transferred from the Jardin de Plantes, was left in New Y ork in the ware­
house o f the merchants to whom it had been consigned, charged with the
expenses o f its transportation from Paris.
The portrait o f Guizot, presented by R. W alsh, Esq., some years ago,
Bad to be spirited to W ashington through the unofficial agency o f the
Department o f S tate; and there were other annoyances o f the same kind.
This was undoubtedly a crisis in the affairs o f the academy.
If it had
been able to surmount this difficulty, its future career would have been
certain. It had shown itself possessed o f sufficient talent and energy to
com m and the aid and respect o f the scientific world, and com pletely to
answer the ends o f its institution: all it wanted was funds, and if this
desideratum had been overlooked or deemed unimportant at first, the error
o f this opinion w'as sufficiently palpable now. If Congress refused to con­
tribute— and it must be confessed that at that time the finances o f the
country were in a most uncertain and dilapidated condition— an appeal
should have been made to the public in general, not by speeches and
circulars, but by direct applications to individuals o f wealth and in­
fluence.
A t this time, (in June, 1842,) for the purpose o f bringing their embar­
rassments before the public, the Hon. W . C. Preston delivered an eloquent
address, urging the claims o f the Institute upon Congress and the country.
This address was published and circulated, and, in accordance with reso­
lutions passed to that effect, the Secretaries o f the W a r and Navy Depart­
ments issued circulars to their respective branches o f the public service,
soliciting their co-operation and aid.
It must be borne in mind here—
and it will to some extent excuse the apparent illiberality o f Congress—
that the time was most unpropitious for presenting a claim for any new
appropriation o f money. The suspension and resumption o f specie pay­
ments, which had just passed, and the deficiency o f the revenue, had
brought money and credit into such a condition that there was no deter­
mined relation between them.
The Administration and the Legislature
were in direct opposition to each other.
A t such a time, it was evident
that Congress would reject any appropriation which it could find reason
against, particularly if asked for any object which happened to be in favor
with the President and his Cabinet.




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539

Throughout the years 1842 and 1843 contributions to the cabinet and
library continued to arrive as before.
A good many o f the acquisitions,
however, are noticed only as boxes and packages, indicating that there
was either no room or no means for their exhibition. There is occasional
mention, too, o f unpaid bills for freight and transportation. The articles
sent are numerous and nearly all valuable.
A single specimen o f pure
copper, sent from the Ontonagon River, on the south shore o f Lake Supe­
rior, weighing two to n s ; fossils, minerals, casts, coins, maps, pictures, and
books, came from every direction. W ith these are ranged certain articles
valued only by Englishmen, Americans, and devotees.
A piece o f the
Royal George, raised at Spithead, and a pincushion, made from the dresses
o f General W ashington’s staff.
These might as well have been left out.
The taste for such relics is, we believe, only Romish and Anglo-Saxon.
The patriotism o f Frenchmen is not fed on such pabuln ; and while the
English keep in the Great A bbey the breeches in which Nelson fought
at Trafalgar, the last plain uniform o f the great Napoleon lies buried with
him.
In the year 1842 the act o f incorporation was passed— a measure look­
ing directly to the Smithsonian bequest as a fund for the future support
of the Institute.
This seems to have been thought the most proper dis­
position o f that fund by Mr. Adams, Mr. Rush, Mr. W oodbury, Air. Preston,
Mr. Poinsett, and Mr. J. R. Ingersoll, comprehending as large an array o f
talent and influence as ever had been brought to bear on any project for
the advancement o f science entertained in the country. Mr. W oodbury,
in an address before a committee o f the directors, in 1843, refers to the
constitutional objection which might be raised on the subject o f a scientific
institute supported by government, snowing briefly and conclusively that
it is groundless. Mr. Duponceau, in a letter to the secretary o f the Insti­
tute, dated April, 1842, speaking o f his suggestion made in a previous
communication that the Smithsonian fund had better be disposed o f in this
way, says ::—
“ I find from Mr. Rush’s letter, which you have communicated to me, that I
was not the only one to whom that suggestion occurred. Since that time, it ap­
pears to have struck the minds of many of the most respectable friends of science,
and it appears to have agreed with the opinion expressed by your distinguished
president, Mr. Poinsett, in his inaugural address. I see with pleasure that Mr.
Rush entertains the same opinion. N o one has had a better opportunity to know
the real intentions of the testator, and his opinion, on that and many other ac­
counts, is entitled to the greatest respect.”
W h ile Mr. Rush, in a letter written about the same time, reasons as
follow s:—
“ Your machinery, put together by individuals, has been tried and works well.
It wants but little legislation to raise it up to the level of the Smithsonian will.
A law that would adopt it under the name stipulated, with the requisite provision
for the application of the annual interest of the fund, and the due retention of a
visitatorial power by the United States, seem the principal enactments that would
be called for.”
In another part o f the same communication he expresses a belief that
such an arrangement would have been agreeable to Mr. Smithson him­
self :—
“ A belief,” he says, “ derived from intercourse at the Royal Society and else­
where, while in London on that errand, with those who were friends and associates




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The National Institute:

of Mr. Smithson in his lifetime— and among them I name the estimable and en­
lightened Mr. Guillemard, once known as a Commissioner in our country under
the British treaty— that an institution like yours would be the kind of one he
would himself have designated.”
The act o f incorporation was brought in by Mr. Preston, and contained
provisions under which the Smithsonian bequest might, with little other
legislative aid, have been intrusted to the Institute. That the bill was
finally passed without such provision shows either, that at that time there
were grounds o f opposition on the score o f expediency or constitutionality,
or that some particular clique or interest familiar with the lobbies and
ante-rooms o f the capital, had already otherwise determined. Mr. Smithson’s oracular designation o f the uses o f his bequest, “ the increase and dif­
fusion o f knowledge among men,” was almost sufficient to frustrate his
intention. If he and Mr. Girard, and other public benefactors, instead of
general and indefinite expressions o f their intentions, had left with their
last wills and testaments a brief description o f the size and character of
the buildings to be used as the seats o f their charities, o f the administra­
tion and professorships intended to be established, o f the character o f the
instruction to be communicated, and who were to be its recipients, though
their designs m ight have been imperfect or faulty, it would certainly have
been more econom ical and more useful, than when left to be inferred and
interpreted from general declarations. In such case the immense palatial
edifice in the suburb o f Philadelphia, or that incomprehensible and recti­
lineal compilation o f tower and spire, and buttress and bartizan, which
defies criticism, on the mall at W ashington, would never have been called
into existence.*
In 1843 the Directors, beginning to be uneasy about their position, pro­
jected a general meeting o f all the scientific men o f the country, to be held
at W ashington. This concourse was to be in imitation o f the British
Association, a numerous scientific assemblage, which had now been in
existence for eleven years, meeting annually in different cities o f the king­
dom. Attempts had been previously made to effect such reunions in the
cities here, but without success. The Association o f Am erican Geologists
and Naturalists had, however, for the four preceding years, been able to
hold annual meetings in New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Albany. It
was proposed, therefore, to invite this association, for a special and popular
branch o f science, to hold their next annual meeting at W ashington, and
at the same time to extend a general invitation to all the men o f science
throughout the country. The association o f Geologists and Naturalists
accepted the invitation, but did not merge themselves or lose their individ­
uality in the meeting o f the Institute.
This plan was elaborated. Circulars and invitations were issued, and
the meeting convened on the 1st o f April, 1844. It was opened with
prayer by the Rev. Dr. Butler, followed by a short address by the President
o f the United States, who presided. Then came the principal speech,
which was made by Mr. Robert J. Walker, the Senator from Mississippi,
and afterwards Secretary o f the Treasury. This oration was such as is
* It would certainly have been in good taste, and also a graceful acknowledgement, if the Smith­
sonian Institution, having its endowment from an Englishman, had been built, so far as its uses
permitted, in a pure English style of architecture, of any period. The latest would have probably
been the most appropriate. But that was no reason for a construction like the present, which looks
like Alnwick Cnstle insett among two or three churches. It is said to be the wish or intention of
the Kegents to sell this building to the government.




A n Association fo r the Promotion o f Science.

541

usually made by politicians on similar occasions. It enumerated all the
triumphs o f American science, industry and skill, arranging them in the
order in which A ngelo places our “ compelled sins,” so as to stand more
“ for number than account,” and expatiating upon the capacity o f Am eri­
can philosophers and American artists, as if Carver’s travels and the whoreads-an-American-book number o f the Edinburgh Review had just been
published. But not a word o f any plan for the relief o f the Institute he
was addressing, which was without funds; without a hall to meet in, and
whose members had relied principally upon this convention as a means o f
placing their situation before their fellow-citizens. N o mention is made o f
the Smithsonian fund as existing, or at all applicable to their necessities.
The meeting was continued through the week, and concluded on the 8th
o f April. A t its sessions, ten in number, thirty-two papers were read on
scientific subjects. N one o f these have been published in the proceedings,
which contain only the addresses by President Tyler, Mr. Adams, Mr.
W alker and Mr. Spencer, made at the opening and closing o f the different
sittings; a letter from Mr. W oodbury, and a paper from Mr. Rush, con­
cerning the proper disposition o f the Smithsonian fund.
D uring the
continuance o f the meeting there were daily re-unions in the Library o f
the Treasury Department, and receptions at the houses o f the heads o f
Departments and influential citizens. Nothing, however, seems to have
been done in behalf o f the Institute, except the preparation o f a memorial,
addressed to Congress, and signed by 38 members o f the meeting, in which
they recom mend the Institute to the consideration o f the Legislature,
hoping that “ Congress will distinguish the present session by the necessary
appropriation o f funds to an object so truly national and so truly republi­
can.” To this memorial there are only twelve signatures o f those persons
who had read papers, and who, o f course, must have been present; and
the names o f several distinguished and influential persons, known to have
been there, do not appear to this document. This paper was intended as
a support to the memorial o f the Institute, signed by its officers, and pre­
sented about the same time.
It is singular that neither o f these papers refer to the existence or appli­
cability o f the Smithsonian fund, or present any claim to it. The memorial
o f the Institute concludes as follows :—
“ All the Institute asks of Congress, then, is an appropriation of a sum sufficient
to discharge the arrears of expenses heretofore incurred, and due by the Institute
— an annual appropriation for the necessary purposes of the Association, and the
continuance of the indulgence heretofore granted, of the use of convenient rooms
for preserving the property and holding the ordinary meetings.”
W e have not been able to find, in the Journals o f the Senate or House
o f Representatives, what were the arguments used in committee or in de­
bate, against this application. There is, however, in the third bulletin o f
the proceedings o f the Institute, notice o f a letter received by the Secretary
from the Hon. G. P. Marsh, a member o f the Library Committee o f Con­
gress, “ asking information on certain points, to enable him to meet
objections made by persons unfriendly to the Institute,”
There was,
therefore, some decided opposition to the claim o f the Institute, and, from
the way in which it is here stated, we may infer that the objections were
supported by external interest, and did not relate merely to constitution­
ality or expediency. How ever this may have been, Congress adjourned
without making any appropriation.




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The National Institute:

The published proceedings o f the next two years (1845 and 1846) are
quite meager, and we learn from the preface to the bulletin o f the last
mentioned year, that the regular meetings had been for a time suspended.
The correspondence and contributions from all quarters seem to have gone
on as before. The document above referred to states that there have
arrived from all quarters more than a thousand boxes, barrels, trunks, and
other packages, for the exhibition or proper care o f which, there was no
adequate provision. In D ecem ber o f 1845, another brief memorial was
presented to Congress, without effect; and in the succeeding year (1846)
the Smithsonian Institution was established with a constitution, which
seems, in some respects, to have been copied from that o f the Regents of
the University o f the State o f New York.
The management o f this body is intrusted to three classes o f officials;
the members, the regents, and the officers o f the Institution. The first
named class, which consists o f the President and V ice President o f the
United States, the heads o f departments, the M ayor o f the city o f W ash­
ington, with such honorary members as may have been appointed, consti­
tute the senate o f the establishment, and are to direct its operations. The
Regents are, in the nature o f an executive council, to supervise the details
o f administration ; while the officers, o f which the Secretary is the active
and responsible person, constitute the executive proper. The members or
principal body o f these scientific “ three estates” are, with the exception
only o f the honorary members, entirely a political body, changing with
the changes o f party. The Regents, who consist o f the Vice-President
and Chief Justice o f the United States, three members o f the Senate and
three members o f the House o f Representatives, and six citizens, two of
whom are to be members o f the National Institute, make also a body
depending only upon political preponderance— there being no Regent of
any permanence except the C hief Justice. If, therefore, the constitution
was intended to resemble that o f the Regents o f the N ew Y ork University,
the best feature seems to have been lost sight of. In that organization the
prime characteristic is the permanence o f the Regency, the political com­
ponent being small; whereas, in the latter constitution it makes almost the
whole body. The object in designating two members o f the National
Institute to seats in this scientific council does in no way appear. The
gentlemen thus appointed do not seem to have taken any part in the pro­
ceedings of the Institute since they became Regents o f the Smithsonian,
and we perceive in the last official register that they are designated as
citizens o f W ashington and not as members o f the National Institute,
which according to law, is the qualification making them eligible. The
Smithsonian Institution, under its present organization, seems neither a
corporation or a bureau, but a scientific commission, partaking more of
the latter than the former character, and like the Departments, responsible
only to Congress, to whom it reports annually. In a report on the affairs
o f the Smithsonian Institution, made to the H ouse o f Representatives in
March, 1855, the constitution o f the British Museum is referred to as being
o f a similar character, but on examination it will appear that, though liable
to similar defects, the organizations are essentially different. The British
Museum is indeed managed by trustees appointed by different constituencies
— the Crown, the ministry, the donors, and the parliament— but these
trustees, when once appointed, are all equal in their powers and duties, and
equally permanent; whereas, in the Smithsonian Institution there are three




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543

distinct and different classes o f officials. It is true the Regents, judging
from their reports, seem to have taken some liberties with the organic law.
The members, “ the establishment” as it is called, seem to have met only
six times since 1846 ; while the honorary members, who, by the law, are
part o f the establishment, seem occasionally to have met with the Board
o f Regents, where they have no recognized p la ce * It is probable that the
present arrangement as a commission or a bureau, accountable only to the
Legislature, and subject to all the agitations o f such bodies, will neither be
found as practical or as efficient as would have been a corporation with
a regular visitation, and amenable to the courts. The law has itself, per­
haps, no exact prototype, unless we refer it to that class o f legislation
which a celebrated historian designates as perfect English.f
From an analysis o f the history, o f which we have given the principal
facts, it would appear that Congress, after a deliberation o f about ten years,
have established the principal that it is unconstitutional or inexpedient for
them to make any grant o f money for the support o f a National Academ y
whose collections, cabinet and library should be the product o f the industry
and correspondence o f their own citizens; but that it is perfectly constitu­
tional to becom e the administrators o f a foreign bequest for a similar pur­
pose, and to superintend its application by a commission, consisting o f
some o f the most distinguished functionaries o f the government.
From 1840 till 11848 the National Institute seems to have been left to
itself, and to have given up the ungrateful and useless task o f soliciting
appropriations from Congress. The traditions o f the city say that, during
this interval, the only meetings o f the Institute were held at the residences o f
the members, where, at a petit souper, after the manner o f the ccena o f the
Romans or the W istar parties o f a neighboring city, the scientific projects
o f the day and their own affairs were discussed together. Such convivial
conjunctions are grateful and cheering, when they are made to diversify
and alleviate our severer labors; but o f themselves, and when they constitute
the whole business o f an association, it becomes a mere club, with a scien­
tific name. There are, we know, very grave and learned bodies, and those
o f high reputation too, whose most important act has for many years been
the settlement o f the Treasurer’s accounts, accompanied by the symposium
of grand annual dinners; but these associations have not figured very
largely in the annals o f science.
The act organizing the Smithsonian Institution provides in its sixth
section that—
“ In proportion as suitable arrangements can be made for their reception, all
objects of art and of foreign and curious research, and all objects of Natural His­
tory, plants, geological and mineral specimens belonging, or hereafter to belong to
the United States, which may be in the city of Washington, in whosesoever cus­
tody the same may be, be delivered to such persons as may be authorized by the
Board of Regents to receive them, and shall be arranged in such order, and so
classed as best to facilitate the examination and study of them, in the building
as aforesaid to be erected by the Institution."
* 8eventh Annual Report of the Regents, page 92, et. pass.
t “ The Toleration Act approaches very near to the idea of a great English law. * * * * This
law, abounding with contradictions which every sinatterer in political philosophy can detect, did
what a law framed by the utmost skill of the greatest masters of political philosophy might have
foiled to do.” — Macaulay'1s History-, Chap. XL




I
544

The National Institute :

It is impossible to understand this section otherwise than as establishing
at the city o f W ashington a National Gallery o f A rt and Science, to he
maintained and supported at the expense o f the Smithsonian fund, the
bequest o f a private individual who lived and died the citizen o f a foreign
country, and left his substance for the support o f a general and laudable
charity ; which charity a commission o f citizens o f the highest talent and
reputation o f the Republic had already decided could neither mean a Col­
lege, a Library, an Observatory, or a Museum. A National Gallery they
seem never to have thought of. Such an enactment, simply considered,
seems inconsistent either with the pious execution o f Mr. Smithson’s be­
quest, or with the national honor and dignity, and, taken in connection
with other contemporaneous transactions, assumes a still m ore objection­
able aspect. Only four years before, the National Institute, an association
o f private citizens, had been incorporated for this very purpose o f becom ing
the curators o f the public property in art and science at the seat o f goverment, had been inaugurated and set out before the w orld with such
palpable encouragement as to attract and command the attention o f the
whole scientific public. 'T h e only difficulty about this native association,
as elicited by the documents and debates, was as to the constitutionality
o f making appropriations for its maintenance. The effect o f the new Insti­
tution, with its foreign endowment, is to dim and enfeeble its predecessor,
already beginning to take ground as a national institution, to deprive it of
one o f its principal functions, make it inoperative, useless and contemptible,
and after a few years to disfigure and blot it out entirely, leaving the
inference plain to any one who chooses so to make it, that though the
Congress o f the United States be incompetent to establish a national gal­
lery, to be endowed from their own funds, they are by no means prevented
from establishing and endowing a similar institution with funds derived
from other and foreign resources.
This view o f the effect o f the enactment w hich we have quoted, and it
seems susceptible o f no other, indicates a small measure o f Legislative wis­
dom and patriotism ; but there is another provision in the law, from which
it may be inferred that the legislator w ho elaborated its provisions, had
before him some kind o f vision, involving contradictions which he was
unwilling or unable to reconcile. This law, establishing in perpetuity the
Smithsonian Institution as a bureau or department o f the government,
provides for the appointment o f two o f its Regents from members o f the
National Institute, and it is scarce consistent with g ood log ic or right rea­
son to suppose that it was intended to destroy or render inoperative the
body from which these two public functionaries were eligible. The two
provisions o f the law — one which makes tw o o f the members o f the
National Institute Regents o f the Smithsonian Institution, and the other
w hich takes away the principal function o f the National Institute as cura­
tor or custodier o f the public property in works o f art and science— seem
perfectly irreconcilable with each other. And though there he a theory
set forth by which this discrepancy is accounted for, it is one which the
writer o f this paper is as little disposed to believe as he is to publish.
The Regents o f the Smithsonian Institution have at no time that we are
aware of, made application for any portion o f the scientific property, of
which, b y the law, they are made the custodiers. Indeed, until very
recently, the property liable to such disposition has been o f very little
amount. The collection o f the exploring expedition having been transfer­




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545

red some time before (in 1843) to the charge o f the commander o f the
expedition, all that was left in the hands o f the National Institute consisted
of its own property, the collections and donations o f its members and cor­
respondents, which would not become the property o f the United States
until after the expiration o f the charter o f the Institute. The transfer o f
the collections o f the exploring expedition from the charge o f the National
Institute to that o f the commander o f the expedition became necessary
from the want o f funds for its arrangement. These funds have been sup­
plied and expended under the authority o f the Library Committee o f C on­
gress, till 1854, when, by resolution, the collection was committed to the
charge o f the Commissioner o f Patents.
In treating o f the affairs o f the National Institute, it has been necessary
to say som ething o f the Smithsonian Institution. In doing so we have
confined ourselves to the particulars in which the concerns o f the two
establishments had been connected by law. Their proper functions (if the
interests and honor o f the country be consulted on the one hand, and the
intentions o f Mr. Smithson on the other) need, we conceive, have no neces­
sary relation or dependence.
In 1848 the National Institute resumed rfs usual meetings in a room in
the basement o f the Patent-office, assigned to them by Mr. Commissioner
Burke. Mr. Vattemare spent a portion o f that year in this country. H e
took much interest in the affairs o f the Institute, and by his advice the
number o f its corresponding and foreign members was much increased.
He seems to have acted on the principle o f the great Napoleon in his first
Italian campaigns, that if the personnel were large and efficient, and the
country in w hich they were operating rich, the caisse-militaire m ight be
conquered, and the enemy made to pay the expenses o f the war. Am end­
ments to the constitution were also suggested, about this time, by which
it was thought the favor o f Congress m ight be secured, and the heads o f
Departments seem yet to have retained some consideration for an estab­
lishment o f which they were either directors or patrons. The meetings
were m ore frequent and m ore numerously attended, and it was proposed
to amend the charter so that the property o f all articles o f the library and
cabinet should at once be vested in the government, provided the Institute
be recognized as its curator, and endowed with sufficient funds for its
arrangement and exhibition. This act o f the Institute shows, what did not
appear from any previous document, that former applications for aid had
been resisted and refused on the pretense that the funds asked were for the
preservation o f scientific property not belonging to the United States. It
was proposed also to solicit a grant o f public land for the support o f the
Institute instead o f money. Such grants had already been made for edu­
cational and other purposes, by heads o f the government, about whose
wisdom and patriotism there could be no question. There seemed good
grounds to hope that it might be again sanctioned here. Another m em o­
rial was prepared and presented to Congress, in which the services, rights
and claims o f the Institute are truly and plainly presented, and a spirited
appeal made to preserve the nationality o f the public collections. The
following are extracts:—
“ The collection of the National Institute is more extensive, if not quite as rare
in some respects, as that of the exploring expedition, and the government of the
United States is the residuary legatee of the National Institute. It is therefore
respectfully submitted, whether sound policy, independent of any other consideravol . x x x v .— n o . v.
35




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The National Institute:

tion, does not require the government to consider its own interest in the case, and
provide a place for the proper exhibition and safe keeping of this large collection.
“ The collection of the exploring expedition and other collections belonging
to various departments of the government, which have been deposited for safe
keeping and exhibition, under the care of the National Institute, abound in valu­
able duplicates, which, for the sake of science, ought to be distributed or
exchanged.
“ When the government undertook to make these collections, it undertook to
make them in the name of science, and the faith of the country was in a manner
pledged so to receive and so to dispose of them as would most advance the cause
of science.
“ Many institutions, learned bodies, societies and individuals, both at home and
abroad, are anxious to procure these duplicates. In their cabinets and collections
are many specimens which are not to be found here, and many here which are
duplicates of each other, and which are not to be found there. An exchange
would mutually enlarge and enrich both, and the National Institute is not only
willing, but would be most happy to conduct, without charge, such exchanges of
duplicates with the different cabinets of the world as would most tend to enhance
the value of the collections which at present belong to the government.

*

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
“ Seeing, therefore, that your memorialists have no other interest in the matter

than that which is shared alike by all good citizens who are desirous of advancing
the cause of science and the useful arts, or of adding, in their humble way, to the
renown of the country, your memorialists venture to call the attention of your
honorable body to the disposition about to be made of the collection of the United
States exploring expedition.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

“ It is contemplated to transfer this truly national collection, the fruit of so
much labor and toil, for which life and treasure without stint have been expended,
to the Smithsonian Institution, a private establishment, founded by a benevolent
man, it is true, but a foreigner, and intended to increase the fame and perpetuate
the name of a private individual.
“ In the programme of organization of the Smithsonian Institution, officially
published, it is declared in the third article that the Smithsonian Institution ‘ is
not a national establishment, as is frequently supposed, but the establishment of
an individual, and is to bear and perpetuate his name.’
“ Shall this national collection, which has cost so much to the country, be given
away to a private establishment, intended to perpetuate the name of a private
individual.
“ W e also respectfully suggest, whether it be fair or becoming to burden the
Smithsonian bequest with the care and safe keeping of the public property.”
The arguments as to nationality and patriotism would, perhaps, tell
better now than they did at the time the memorial was presented, though it
seems, at either stage, neither decorous or decent to use them. But the
argument that it would be unfair and unbecom ing to divert Mr. Smithson’s
bequest to an interested and peculiar purpose, national it may be, but still
different and contrary to his intention, addresses itself to our piety as well
as our patriotism, and deserves to be well considered. The memorial was
presented by Mr. Cass in the Senate, and Mr. Marsh in the House, and had
the same fate as its predecessors.
In 1850 a spark o f vitality was excited in the derelict society by a letter
from Mr. Clayton, Secretary o f State, requesting the Institute, as a body
recognized by the government, to designate a central authority to commu­
nicate with the British Commissioners for the great Industrial Exhibition
to be held in London in 1851. The Commissioners had decided, in order
the better to allot space for the articles o f different nations, to receive




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547

nothing for exhibition which had not been recognized as proper by some
national and central authority in the country from which the articles were
sent. The Secretary’s letter is dated on the 27th o f May, 1850, at which
time Congress was in session, and continued to be so for m ore than three
months thereafter. This would have been a proper juncture for the autho­
rities o f the Institute, with the application o f the Secretary for their assist­
ance, and the acknowledgement o f their nationality in their hands, to have
asked a quid pro quo for this and former services together. This was not
done. In the current official phrase o f these present times, the Institute
resolved first “ to take action on the subject submitted to it by the Depart­
ment o f State,” * and immediately thereafter did take action by appointing
a committee o f twenty-one o f its members, five o f whom were also Regents
o f the Smithsonian Institution, who were to act as the central authority in
the matter o f the Great Industrial Exhibition. Out o f this body an execu­
tive committee o f five were appointed to conduct the business and the cor­
respondence, and finally the Secretary o f the Institute was deputed to g o
to London as the accredited agent o f the Am erican exhibitors. The
Department o f State sent also an agent, whose authority somewhat inter­
fered with the functionary o f the Institute. The expenses o f both missions
were at first defrayed by the munificence o f wealthy Am erican citizens
resident in London, who have been, we believe, at length, and recently,
reimbursed by private scientific associations in this country.
From that time (1850) till the present, nothing has occurred to alter the
condition or prospects o f the Association. Its meetings are still held in
the same room in the basement o f the Patent-office alloted to it by Mr.
Commissioner Burke. A half column o f its proceedings appear occasion­
ally in the National Intelligencer, and it has published two short bulletins
containing papers and proceedings.
The Library, consisting o f 4,000
volumes, many o f them the gift o f foreign governments and academies o f
art and science, and o f great value, is unarranged and uncared for. Its
cabinet and collections have been for all this time as useless, and m ore
subject to decay than if the minerals had been left in situ, and the statues,
busts, casts and coins had never left the mint or studio. A nd this has
been the case for years, under the eyes o f public functionaries, knowing that
the reversionary interest in all this property is vested in the government.
It is not possible to give a catalogue o f the collections o f the Institute.
They are not kept together, and many o f them are yet in the original
cases and packages in which they were sent. The following brief summary
will give some idea o f their value :—
In G eology and Mineralogy there are two entire cabinets o f arranged
specimens. One presented by Owen and Maclure, and the other by Gen­
eral T otten; several boxes o f specimens from the School o f M ines; 100
geological specimens from Heidelberg ; 4 boxes from M exico, presented by
Brantz M ayer; a collection o f fossils by Dr. Locke, besides one hundred
and twenty unopened boxes from different parts o f the world. The collec­
tion o f metallic ores, marbles, coals and basalts is also very extensive.
In Natural H istory: o f birds there are 1420 specimens, representing the
Ornithology o f the United States, Holland, Guiana, Brazil, Mexico, Africa,
* “ To take action,” “ to take the initiative” are phrases which the literature o f our age owes to
its politics. They put one in mind of Mercutio's objurgation against the fashion-mongers. Talleyrand
made the “ commencement du. fin'" classic in France; “ to take action” is its opposite, meaning the
commencement o f the beginning.




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The National Institute,

Bengal and Iceland. The collection o f shells, plants in herbariums, is r ic h ;
while in Entom ology, there is Castlenau’s cabinet, containing upwards o f
6,000 specimens, besides many other collections by naval officers, consuls,
and others.
O f coins, casts and medals there are over two thousand. British medals
from Pharamond to Louis P h illip p e; 85 antique Homan and Egyptian
coins, and 176 o f the middle ages.
In Sculpture there are 37 statues, statuettes, casts and busts. In paint­
ing, a “ J o b ” by Spagnoletti, a “ M adonna” by Bernharat, and portraits
by Healy, Peale and Copley.
If the 120 unopened boxes o f minerals were opened, it is probable that
they would afford equivalents for quadrupling this part o f the cabinet by
exchanges. One o f the boxes from the School o f Mines in Paris is under­
stood to have been sent in exchange for a single mineral— an oxide o f iron.
In acknowledging the receipt o f this mineral, which was presented by
Senator Linn, M. Dufresnoy, the chief engineer and director, says:—“ The specimen of oxide of iron, taken from the mountains of Missouri, which
the Senator Linn, at your request, has sent to the School of Mines, arrived a few
days since at Havre, and has already become the ornament of our collections. In
the name of the council of the school I thank you for this magnificent specimen.
Notwithstanding its almost gigantic dimensions (sixty-six millimetres in diameter
-—2.6 inches,) it is complete in all its parts. Prom a careful examination of it,
we are led to believe that the mountains of Missouri contain masses of iron which
will compete with the most beautiful mines of Danimoura, in Sweden, which fur­
nish the iron most esteemed in Europe.”
From this brief history it w ill be seen that the National Institute, origin­
ated nearly forty years since, as an association for the advancement o f art
and scien ce; that up till 1842 as the Columbian Institute, and as the
institution for the promotion o f science it had continued to progress— had
accumulated valuable collections at the capitol, and acquired reputation at
hom e and abroad ; that it had upon several occasions been consulted by
the government with advantage in matters o f science, and all this without
asking or receiving any remuneration or appropriation o f money. That
in 1842 it was incorporated as the National Institute, and immediately
thereafter large transfers were made to its cabinet from the State, W a r and
Navy Departments, and it became the custodier o f the collections o f the
exploring expedition, the fruits o f the first voyage for purely scientific pur­
poses which had been undertaken by the governm ent; that its position at
the capital o f the nation, and the implied patronage o f the government,
attracted to it immediately the confidence and sympathy o f all the national
academies and scientific establishments o f the world, and it became at once
the medium o f scientific correspondence and exchange between us and
foreign countries; that in consequence o f this expanded function the private
means o f the Institute, contributed principally by members resident in
W ashington, became entirely inadequate, and it was compelled to apply
to Congress fur an appropriation to enable it properly to fulfil the duty
w hich the scientific public expected it to perform ; that any appropriation
has been constantly refused; while, in the meantime, another establish­
ment, endowed by the munificence o f a foreigner, and for a purpose which,
though generally and oracularly stated in his last will and testament, could
not, by the largest latitude o f interpretation, be made to signify the support of
a N ational A cadem y, has been established at the seat o f government, to which




The Cotton Trade: P ast, Present, and Future.

549

is transferred by law the reversion o f all the scientific collections which have
been accumulating for nearly forty years in the cabinet o f the first incor­
porated society; and, finally, that.this latter establishment, not only by
neglecting to demand the public collections confided to it by law, but in
its official reports* has admitted that it is not the proper agent to take
charge o f this property, because such is not the proper construction o f the
w ill making its endowm ent; and because, if even such were the case, its
means are not adequate for so doing.
In this state o f the case it has recently been determined by the National
Institute to appeal to the liberality o f individuals. It seems evident that
a National Academ y, accredited by the government as authority in its
scientific undertakings at home, and in its correspondence abroad, is an
establishment as necessary to the proprieties and courtesies o f foreign and
domestic administration, as any other o f its consular and diplomatic
arrangements. That such a function can never be decently discharged by
the Smithsonian Institution will, we think, be conceded by any one who
considers well the purpose for which this establishment was designed and
founded among us. A nd if Congress be really without authority to provide
for such an academy in the District o f Columbia, over which it has sove­
reign authority, there is no other resort but to solicit assistance from
munificent individuals. A n effort in this direction has been made during
the present year, with g ood hope o f ultimate success; in aid whereof the
present paper has been written.

Art. If.— 'THE COTTON TRADE : PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
A t the opening o f the present century, the imports o f cotton w ool
into Great Britain were about 75,000 bales per annum ; now the con­
sumption o f that country is 2,100,000 bales annually, while the rest o f
Europe, and the United States, that then had no manufactories, use about
1,900,000 more, to say nothing o f the consumption of Asia. O f this
4,000,000 bales, five-sixths are the product o f this country. The result
o f the past three years proves, that neither the existence o f a war involv­
in g the chief nations o f Europe, nor the fluctuations in trade consequent
on its cessation, have had any effect on the demand for our great southern
staple; thus establishing the fact that, next to the leading articles o f hu­
man food, it has becom e a great and fixed necessity.
A document com piled from the very best data, by one peculiarly fitted
for the task, was lately read before the Manchester Chamber o f Com ­
merce, exhibiting very important facts. The value o f the cotton manu­
facturing industry o f the world was estimated at £120,000,000 sterling,
or $600,000,000. O f this amount the entire population o f Great Britain
consumed, in value, about $3 85 per head per annum. England exports
to the United States manufactured goods at the rate o f 77 cents for each
* “ The income is too small properly to support more than owe system o f operations, and therefore
the attempt to establish and sustain three departments (publishing* library and museum.) with sepa­
rate ends and separate interests, must lead to inharmonious action and diminished usefulness.”
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
“ There can be but little doubt that, in due time, ample provision will be made for a library and
museum at the capital of the Union, worthy o f a government whose perpetuity depends upon the
virtue and intelligence of the people. It is, therefore, unwise to hamper the more important objects
o f the Institution by attempting to anticipate results which will eventually be produced without the
expenditure of its means.”— Report o f the Secretary o f the S. /., 1852.




550

The Cotton Trade: P ast, Present, and Future.

individual in this country, but being ourselves large manufacturers, and in
view o f the generally better condition o f the bulk o f our population, it is
probable that our consumption o f cotton goods will exceed that o f Great
Britain 50 per cent per head. England exports to her North American
colonies cotton goods at the rate o f $1 58 per head, per annum, for the
w hole population. To Russia, only at the rate o f 3-5 o f a cent per head;
to France, 2 cents per head ; to her East Indian possessions, at the rate o f
18 cents; but these three last countries manufacture at home, especially
France, who mainly provides for her own wants, while Russia receives
goods from several sources. Estimating the population o f the globe at
850,000,000, the apportionment o f the whole value o f manufactured goods
would be about 70 cents for every inhabitant, man, woman and child.
The tendency o f the age is gradually towards an equalization o f the
moral and physical condition o f the human family. The wealthier and
middle classes expend much m ore than heretofore in articles o f taste and
luxury, in household and personal adornment, whereby the artisan, m e­
chanic, and laborer are benefited, and their condition improved.
The
barbarous and debased nations and tribes o f the world, are fast tending
towards the habits, and acquiring the tastes o f civilization ; the first symp­
tom o f which is the exchange o f their former rude and scanty clothing for
dresses o f our manufactured goods.
Hence it requires neither reflection nor argument to show, that a very
small general increase in the consumption o f cotton goods, would demand
a supply o f the raw material beyond the present ability o f the world to
afford. A reference to table “ General Im port o f Cotton into Gt. Britain”
w ill show that the small product o f the W est Indies is almost stationary.
That the same is the case with Brazil, on an average o f y ears; the export
thence, last year, was only 135,000 bales, weighing less than 200 pounds
each. In Egypt, the product o f the past four years has averaged about
twice as much as the preceding p e r io d ; and last year only 115,000 bales
came from that source, w eighing 250 pounds e a c h : while the average
shipments from the East Indies for the past six years, is but 340,000 bales
per annum, weighing about 380 pounds each.
The main dependence o f the world is on this country, which last year
furnished 3,500,000 bales out o f a total product o f 4,200,000. A s the
new lands o f the W est com e into cultivation, and the progress o f our rail­
roads brings the crop within reach o f the seaboard, there will be a gradual
increase o f our production ; but to this, even, there must be a limit, con­
sidering the nature o f the climate and soil necessary ; and the time may not
be very far distant when we shall fail to meet the demand. Under this
state o f things, it is not to be wondered at that the governments o f En­
gland and France are putting forth every effort to foster the cultivation o f
cotton in their colonies. W e have, certainly, no cause for fear or jealousy
in view o f these efforts. N ot only are we, as producers, interested, but
the foreign manufacturer, the political economist, and the philanthropist,
alike have taken the matter into serious consideration. W e can scarcely
contemplate, without emotion, the disastrous results commercially, politi­
cally, and socially, that m ight follow a general failure o f only one crop in
this country. There would be no reserve to fall back upon. The stock
in Great Britain on 1st January last was but little larger, with a consump­
tion o f 2,100,000 bales, than it was in 1841, with a consumption o f a little
over 1,100,000 bales; and not half so large as the stock on January 1st,
1846. (See table “ General Im port o f Cotton into Great Britain.”)




The following tables represent the production and consumption of cotton for thirteen years, with the average quotation of middling in New
Orleans for thirty-two weeks of that part of each year during which the bulk of the crop is sold. The current year is estimated, as regards the
consumption of Europe and production of foreign countries.
CROP.

1855—6.

1854-5. 1853-1. 1852-3. 1851-2.

1850-1. 1819-50. 1848-9. 18 47 -8. 1846-7. 1845-6. 1844-5. 1 8 43 -4.

T o t a l..................... 4,200,000 3,501,300 3,436,000 3,995,600 3,572,100 2,862,300 2,661,870 3,157,000 2,711,200 2,137,200 2,302,600 2,750,600 2,466,100
CONSUMPTION.

Great Britain*............. 2,100,000 2,097,000 1.967,000 1,855,000 1,896,000 1,661,400 1,513,000 1,586,300 1,504,500 1,120,300 1,661,200 1,577,600 1,427,500
United S ta te s f........... 652,700
593,600 610,600 671,000 603,000 404,000 487,800 518,000 531,S00 428,000 422,600 389,000 346,700
Continent of Europe:): . . 1,247,300 1,192,000 1,149,700 1,186,900 1,181,600 956,800 756,000 900,000 729,000 618,100 758,700 765,000 561,900
T o t a l..................... 4,000,000 3,882,600 3,727,300 3,712,900 3,680,600 3,022,200 2,756,800 3,004,300 2,765,300 2,166,400 2,742,500 2,731,600 2,336,100
Price.......................
9i
8 i
8|H
7*
11±
11
6
6£
10
6f
5 5-16
7f

The table below gives the distribution of the United States crop for a series of years. It will be seen that the great exodus of the negro force
from east to west has not diminished the receipts at Atlantic ports so much as might have been expected ; the difference being fully made up
through the instrumentality of railroads, carrying not only much cotton which would reach the gulf ports, if there had been no interruption in
the interior navigation, but by stimulating its production by small farmers in the interior, who have not before given any attention to it for want
of facilities in reaching a market.
New Orleans................. 1,661,430 1,232,6501,378,700 1,603,000 1,387,000
Mobile............................
659,740 454,600 504,300 515,400 527,000
Eastern States ........... 1,090,600 1,079,310 936,700 1,018,600 1,039,000
Texas............................. 116,080
80,740 110,300
83,000
62,000

950,200
433,600
925,300
45,900

797,400 1,100,600 1,188,700
332,800 508,000 438,300
935,200 1,081,200 688,900
31,400
38,800
30,700

706,000 1,041,400 954,300 850,300
323,500 422,000 517,200 468,000
740,800 637,100 923,000 712,100
8,300
..................................

The Cotton Trade: Past , Present, and Future.

United States................ 3,527,800 2,847,800 2,930,000 3,262,900 3,015,000 2,355,000 2,096,706 2,728,600 2,346,600 1,778,600 2,100,500 2,394,500 2,030,400
Other countries............. 672,200 654,000 606,000 732,700 557,100 507,300 565,164 428,400 364,600 358,600 202,100 356,100 434,700

T o t a l..................... 3,527,850 2,847,300 2,930,000 3,220,050 3,015,000 2,355,000 2,096,800 2,728,600 2,346,600 1,778,600 2,100,500 2,394,500 2,030,400
* The commercial year of Great Britain ends on the 31st December—that o f the United States on the 31st A ugust; the result for a series o f years will be the same,
t To the consumption of the United States must be added about 120,000 bales used by manufacturers in the interior, which never reaches a seaport, and if added to the table
of consumption must also be included in the production.
% The average weight o f bales shipped from this country is about 410 pounds, and from other countries about one-fourth lighter.




cn

552

The Cotton T rade: Past, Present, and Future.

The next table below gives, opposite to each year, the crop o f the Uni­
ted States, the number o f bales o f new crop received in New Orleans up
to the 1st o f September, with the date o f killing frost. The remarks ap­
pended are a brief synopsis o f the character o f the season. Reasoning
from cause to effect, the reader will be enabled to form some idea o f the
causes operating for or against a large c r o p ; always bearing in mind the
gradual increase in the breadth o f fresh land planted in the W est and
Southwest.
Tear.

Crop.

1839
1840
1841___
1842___
1843___
1844___
1845___
1846___
1847___

. .__________
2,182,000
. .__________
1,634,900
..

2,378,900

..
..
..

2,894.500
2,100,500
1,778,600

Bales in
August.

Killing
frost.

—

....
1,734
292
5,720
6,846
140
1,089

Nov.
Nov.
Nov.
Oct.

19.
29.
18.
27.

Nov. 10.
Nov. 20.
Nov. 20.

Year.

Crop.

1848
1849
1850___
1851___
1852___
1858
1854___
1 8 5 5 ....

__________
. .__________
2,096,700
..
..
..
..
..

3,015,000
3,262,900
2 980 000
2,847,300
3,527,800

Bales in
August.

2,864
477
67
3,155
5,077
74
1,391
23,282

Killing
frost.

Nov. 26.
Nov. 17.
Nov. 6.
Nov. 27.
Nov. 14.
Oct. 24.

REM ARKS.

1839— First large crop. Season remarkably fine throughout.
1840— Unfavorable season. Overflow of Mississippi River.
1841— Western crop good. Severe drouth in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Miss.
1842— Generally good season, and early picking.
1843— Late spring, rainy summer, and early frost.
1844— Very good season, and early picking. Partial overflow of Mississippi River.
1845—
Mississippi River and Western crop good, and early. Drouth reduced the
Eastern crop 300,000 bales.
1846—
Late spriDg, early and general visitation of army worm s; the latter destroy­
ing 400,000 to 500,000 bales.
1847—
Late season, but favorable fall. The occurrence of the French Revolution
put down prices, and 200,000 bales were held back in the country.
1848— Summer rainy, but fine fall; 200,000 bales brought forward of previous crop.
1849—
Frost in spring, heavy rains in July, partial overflow of Mississippi River,
and Red River bottoms overflowed in summer.
1850—
Backward spring, picking began unusually late. Partial overflow of Missis­
sippi River. .
1851— Favorable summer, and early picking.
1852— Remarkably fine season, early picking and late frost.
1853— Late and rainy season.
1854—
Backward season. About 250,000 bales kept back, by lowness of the prices,
in Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas.
1855—
Fine season. Early picking, sufficiently good to counterbalance an early
frost. About 250,OoO bales of last crop received. Say 50,000 bales yet behind.

The follow ing table, to which reference has been made in a preceding
page, will also be found useful:—
STATEMENT OF THE GENERAL IMPORT OF COTTON INTO GREAT BRITAIN FROM 1844
TO 1855, INCLUSIVE— OF THE QUANTITY TAKEN FOR EXPORT AND FOR HOME CON­
SUMPTION— AND OF THE STOCK REMAINING AT T1IE CLOSE OF EACH YEAR.
Whence.

1844.

1845.

A m erica............................ 1,248,087 1,498,728
B razil...............................
112,031
110.851
East Indies........................ 238,683
156,633
Egypt................................
66,208
81,380
West Indies.......................
18,432
9,222
Total No of bags imp’ted. 1,683,441
Exp’ted to contin’t di Irel’d 130,060
Taken for home consumpt. 1,435,061
Stock at close of each year 903,060




184G .

1S4T.

1848.

1849.

991,110 873,336 1,374,287 1,477,688
83,950 110,472 100,244 163.237
94.683 222,802 227,572 182,086
60,668
20,667
29,023
72,727
13,267
6,717
7,815
9,688

1,856.8141,243,678 1,233,994 1,738,941 1,905,426
122.590 194,200 221,850 189,500 256.300
1,576,7241,664,248 1,105,994 1,505,331 1,586782
1,060,560 545,790 451,940 496,050 558,390

The Cotton Trade: P ast, Present, and Future.
Whence.

1850.

1851.

1852.

1853.

1854.

553
1855.

A m erica........................... 1,182.970 1,397,112 1,788,6841,531,870 1,666,484 1,623,565
B ra zil...............................
171.364
108,593 144,214 132,443 107,393 134,762
East Indies....................... 308,793 326,474 222,361 485.680 308,293 396,014
Egypt.................................
79,372
64,023 189,885 105,207
81,085 114,818
West Indies.......................
5,643
8,363
12,133
9,507
9,847
8,946
Total No. o f bags imp’ted 1,748,142
Exp’ted to contin't &. Irel’d 272,400
Taken for home consumpt 1.513,013
Stock at close of each year 521,120

1,904,5652,357,277 2,264,707 2,172,602 2,278,105
268,500 282,780 349,600 316,330 316,900
1,662,5851,861,577 1,935,047 1,967,402 2,101,188
494,600 657,520 717,580 626,450 486,470

The above figures show that the past year’s consumption was double
that o f 1840. The aggregate production o f the past 12 years sums up
37,287,500 bales, while the consumption has been 38 ,212 ,5 00 ; the latter
being in excess o f the former 925,000 bales, thus reducing the stock of
new material by that much since 1845— a startling fact in view o f the
great interests involved.
From a reliable source o f intelligence across the water, we learn that
new machinery added to mills now working, together with manufactories
now in process of erection, will require in 1857 about 4,000 bales o f cot­
ton per week more than the consumption o f the present year, making an
aggregate o f nearly 45,000 bales per week. On the Continent, the exten­
sion o f manufacturing power is supposed to be going on at about the same
rate. Consequently prices will advance till they reach a point tending to
a diminution o f consumption, what that point will be we have yet to learn.
Though the stock o f cotton, at present, is larger in Liverpool than last
year, it will be reduced very rapidly, as the imports up to the close o f the
year can scarcely be m ore than half so large as during the latter months
o f 1845, and perhaps not even that, in consequence o f the lateness o f the
season and diminished receipts at our ports.
The largest crop ever made, has.passed into the channels o f consum p­
tion at a price per pound higher than for five years past, leaving us almost
no stock in this country, say about 52,000 bales in all the ports, Septem­
ber 1st, the stock abroad not being more than enough to supply the de­
mand, at present rates, beyond the first o f January. The incom ing crop is
fully three weeks later than last season. The storms in August swept the
whole o f Florida, Lower and Middle Alabama, Georgia, the southern tier
o f counties in Mississippi, and the southern parts o f South Carolina and
Louisiana. The drouth has been very severe in Alabam a and the A t­
lantic States, also in portions o f Tennessee, N orth Mississippi, and Texas.
Boll worms and the army worm have been very destructive in the country
contiguous to the Mississippi and R ed Rivers. Altogether the season has
been most unpropitious, though up to the 1st o f August it appeared un­
usually promising. The slight frost o f September 25th would indicate
the probability o f a short fall. The crop must be very short; and for the
sake o f an approximate estimate, even 3,000,000 bales is considered too
liberal. Prices opened 2 cents higher than last year, and will rule high
through the season, notwithstanding that European freights are likely to
be low. A strong element also in favor o f cotton, is the fact that the
grain crops are not only good here, but all over the continent o f Europe,
with the exception o f Spain and Portugal.




554

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States :

Art. III.— COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
NUMBER X L V .

DETROIT, MICHIGAN.
D e t r o i t is situated on the west hank o f Detroit River or strait, 1 8 miles
above the head o f Lake Erie, 302 miles west from Buffalo, and 80 miles
E. S. E. o f Lansing, the State capital. The city is possessed o f a very
superior harbor, on a fine navigable stream that never overflows its banks,
and the average difference between high and low water is only 2 or 3 feet.
The present site o f the city was occupied by Indian villages at the period
o f the discovery o f the country. It was visited by the French in 1610,
and until 1762 was under their dominion. Detroit was founded in 1701,
at which time a fort, called Pontchartrain, was erected. Although in this
account o f that city we intend to confine ourselves chiefly to its present
condition, trade and prospects, and m ore especially to a review o f its com ­
merce and business for the year 1855, touching briefly on historical data,
we cannot refrain from quoting the follow ing beautiful description, from
Bancroft, o f Detroit and vicinity, as it was in 1763 :—

“ O f all the inland settlements, Detroit was the largest and most esteemed. The
deep majestic river, more than half a mile broad, carrying its vast flood calmly
and noiselessly between the straight and well-defined banks of its channel, impart­
ed a grandeur to a country whose rising grounds and meadows, plains festooned
with prolific wild vines, woodlands, brooks, and fountains were so mingled together
that nothing was left to desire. The climate was mild and the air salubrious,
good land abounded, yielding maize, wheat and every vegetable. The forests
were natural parks stocked with buffaloes, deer, quails, partridges and wild tur­
keys. Water-fowl of delicious flavor hovered along its streams, which yielded to
the angler an astonishing quantity of fish, especially the white fish, the richest and
most luscious of them all. There every luxury of the table might be enjoyed by
the sole expense of labor.
“ This lovely and cheerful region attracted settlers, alike white men and savages;
and the French had so occupied the two banks o f the river, that their numbers
were rated even as high as twenty-five hundred souls, of whom were five hundred
men able to bear arms; three or four hundred French families. Y et an ennumeration in 17G4 proved them not so numerous, with only men enough to form three
companies of militia ; and in 1768 the official census reported but five hundred
and seventy-two souls ; an account -which is in harmony with the best traditions.
The French dwelt on farms which were about three or four acres wide on the
river, and eighty acres deep ; indolent in the midst of plenty, graziers as well as
tillers of the soil, and enriched by Indian traffic.
“ The English fort, of which Gladuyn was commander, was a large stockade,
about twenty-five feet high, and twelve hundred yards in circumference, including,
perhaps, eighty houses. It stood within the limits of the present city, on the
river bank, commanding a wide prospect for nine miles above and below the
city.”
In 1762 Detroit fell into the hands o f the British, and in 1763 was ceded
to the British Crown. Pontiac, a daring Indian warrior, attempted, in the
latter year, a bold plan o f driving every white man over the Alleghanies,
and destroying all the English posts in the Northwest simultaneously.
These consisted o f thirteen forts, well garrisoned, streching from Niagara
and Pittsburgh, along the lakes, to the Mississippi, and on the W abash
River. The plan was so secret, and the execution so prompt, that ten fell




Detroit, Michigan.

555

in a single day. H e, however, met with a signal defeat at Detroit. In
1778 Fort Shelby was erected by the British commandant, Major Le Noult,
and bore his name until after the war o f 1812, when it was named in
honor o f Governor Shelby, o f Kentucky. B y the treaty o f 1783 the ter­
ritory o f Michigan was claimed by the Americans, but disputed by the
British for a number o f years. In 1796 Capt. Porter, with a detachment
o f the Am erican army under Gen. W ayne, entered the city and took pos­
session o f the fort and hoisted the stars and stripes, the first Am erican flag
that was ever flung to the breeze in Michigan.
In 1802 Detroit was incorporated as a c it y ; in 1805 it was almost entirely
destroyed by fire. In 1812 it was captured by the British, and re-captured
in 1813 by the Americans.
Detroit, in 1827, was the only municipal corporation in the territory o f
Michigan, and contained a population o f about 2,000. The city was chiefly
a military and fur-trading post. The inhabitants were principally native
French, though there were a number o f families from the Eastern States,
but not more than a dozen from any foreign country. The banks o f the
river within view o f the city were studded with wind grist mills, and flour
was brought to the city and sold only in sacks. Since then time has
worked great changes. The city was visited by fire again, in 1837, and
an immense amount o f property destroyed.
The elevation o f Detroit above the river is 30 feet. The dense part o f
the city extends for two miles along the shore, with a width o f about one
mile. Bordering the river, and for 1200 feet back, the plan is rectangular ;
the space beyond this is divided into triangular sections by a number o f
avenues, which converge to an open area called the Grand Circus. There
are several other public parks that adorn the city, one o f w hich is called
the Campus Martius. There are eight avenues; some o f 200 feet and the
others 120 feet in width. Jefferson and W oodw ard Avenues are the prin­
cipal business streets, the former running parallel with the river, and the
latter crossing at right angles. These avenues contain many fine buildings.
The other streets are 60 feet wide.
A m on g the public buildings, we may mention as w orthy o f notice, the
Free School, formerly occupied as a State House. It is built o f brick, 60
by 90 feet. It has a portico in front, with six Ionic columns and pilasters
on the sides. The dome and steeple rise to 140 feet, from which a beau­
tiful and very extensive view o f Detroit and its surroundings is obtained.
The City Hall is a brick building, 100 feet by 50. The Bank o f M ichigan
occupies a substantial stone structure which cost some $40,000. The M ichi­
gan Central Railroad Company have one o f the largest freight depots in
the United States, 600 feet long by 100 feet wide.
The free schools o f Detroit are numerous and well conducted. A n
effort is being made for the establishment o f a high school, in which the
pupil may be fitted for the University.
The city is lighted with gas, and supplied with pure water from the
Detroit River. It is forced by steam power into a reservoir having an
elevation o f about fifty feet, and thence is conducted through distributing
pipes to the various parts o f the city.
A m ong the literary institutions are the Historical Society, founded in
18 2 9 ; the Michigan State Library Institute, founded in 18 38 ; the Y oun g
Mens’ Society for Moral and Intellectual Improvement, founded in 1832.
This Institution has a library o f over 1200 volumes.




556

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States :

There are about fifty hotels o f various grades, several o f which, usually
denominated first class hotels, are large and extensive, constructed in
modern style, with modern improvements. The hotels o f Detroit enjoy a
high reputation for comfort, neatness, and the excellence o f their fare.
The first newspaper in Detroit was called the “ Michigan Essay, or Im ­
perial Observer,” and was established in 1809, by Rev. Gabriel Richard.
The “ Detroit G azette” was started in 1817, by John P. Sheldon. There
are now about a dozen papers issued.
The first steamboat that navigated the great lakes -was the “ W a lk in
the W ater,” Capt. Jedediah Rogers. She arrived at Detroit, for the first
time, May 20th, 1819. The following notice o f a trip to Mackinaw ap­
peared at that date in a N ew Y ork city paper :—
“ The swift steamboat “ Walk in the Water,” is intended to make a voyage
early in the summer, from Buffalo, on Lake Erie, to Michilimackinack, on Lake
Huron, for the conveyance of company. The trip has so near a resemblance to
the famous Argonautic expedition in the heroic ages of Greece that expectation
is quite alive on the subject. Many of our most distinguished citizens are said to
have already engaged their passage for this splendid adventure.”
Thus com m enced steam navigation on the lakes. N ow D etroit alone
owns from fifty to sixty steamers, besides steam propellers, varying in size
from the tiny fifteen ton craft to the magnificent boat o f two thousand
tons.
The population o f Detroit at various periods, from 1820, was as fol­
lows :—
1820----- 1,442

1830____ 2,222

1840____9,102

1850____21,019

1854___ 40,373

The population o f the contiguous city suburbs is not taken into account.
It is said that the foreign population, or a portion ot them, regard the
operation o f the census as a preparatory process to tax them according to
their numeration, and it is now known that the census taken was quite
below the true number.
The follow ing is a recapitulation o f the statistics o f the city, prepared
and reported to the Board o f W ater Commissioners by their Secretary,
June 30th, 1855, at which time the city contained
*Families......................................... 6,328
Offices.............................................. 175
Boiler Manufactories.....................
4
Saw Manufactory.........................
1
Tanneries and Morroco Factories.
9
Potteries..........................................
2
Soda and Small Beer Factories..
2
J a il...................................................
1
Fire Engine Houses.......................
9
Private Meat Markets...................
24
Stone and Marble Works..............
10
Stationary Steam Engines...........
46
Rectifying Distilleries...................
2
Stores..............................................
335
Mechanics’ Shops............................ 343
Railroad Car Factories.................
2
Saw Mills........................................
6
Plaster M ill....................................
1
Bakeries..........................................
21*

Dye Houses....................................
Churches........................................
H ospital..........................................
Private Schools..............................
Railroad D ep ots...........................
Breweries........................................
Malt Houses....................................
Boarding Houses............................
Taverns............................................
Iron Machine Shop3.......................
Locomotive Manufactories.........
Flour Mills......................................
Steam Tobacco Factories.............
Gas Works......................................
Printing Offices..............................
Banks..............................................
Orphans Homes..............................
Public M arkets..............................
Soap aud Candle Factories...........

5
28
1
24
2
17
2
131
49
10
2
3
6
1
11
4
2
2
9

* This number more properly represents the number of housekeepers than the number o f families.
Families boarding (a considerable number,) are not set down.




557

Detroit, Michigan.
Public Street Sprinklers...............
G roceries................................ . . .
Iron Foundries...............................
Steam Planing, Door, Sash, Blind
and Furniture Factories...........
Burr Mill Stone Factory...............
Water Works..................................

2
260
7

Public Halls.....................................
9
2
Theatres..........................................
Public Schools..............
25
Warehouses....................................
24
Lard Oil Factory............................
1
Wheat Elevators ..............................
2
Public Bathing Establishments . .
4

12
1
1

There are, say 100 families, a number o f saw mills, tanneries, breweries,
a copper smelting works, dry clock in the suburbs o f Detroit, which should
be taken into account in estimating the business o f the city.
The annual review o f the commerce o f Detroit, as prepared by M. D.
H a m il t o n , the commercial editor o f the Advertiser, which we here subjoin
in a condensed form, gives a full and reliable account o f the com m erce
and industry o f that city for the last two or three years :—
F lo u r . The receipts of flour in Detroit, via the Michigan Central Railroad,
in 1855, show an increase o f 27,705 bbls. over 1854— the receipts for 1855 being
361,356 bbls., and for 1854, 333,651 bbls. The receipts b y the D etroit and M ilwaukie Railway and teams from the surrounding country, we have not the means
o f ascertaining, but a very close estimate may be formed. The shipments during
the year were 640,393 bbls., to which add 70,000 bbls. for the consumption o f the
city, (which is probably an under-estimate,) and we have 710,393 bbls. for the
actual receipts ; from this amount subtract the receipts by the Michigan Central
Railroad, and the remainder, 349,037 bbls., will not vary far from the receipts b y
teams and by the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway. The shipments o f flour, in
barrels, from D etroit in 1855, show a large increase over the shipments o f 1854,
as may be seen by the following :—

1855...............

640,393 | 1854...............

337,143 | Increase...........

303,250

This increase is easily accounted for by the fact that in 1854 the crop in the
Western States was a short one, while in 1855 it was most abundant, and a larger
proportion o f the crop was manufactured into flour before being shipped than in
former years. Owing to the injury which the wheat crop received by wet weather
during the time o f harvest, the transactions in flour at this point during the year,
were considerably less than in 1854, and a larger proportion was seut forward on
the owner’s account.
Notwithstanding this, the market was, as a whole, steady
and active, and prices ranged higher than during the previous year. The highest
prices paid were in June, when good Michigan flour sold at §9 50 a $9 75 per
bbl. In September there was a decline to a pretty low figure, but it remained so
only a few days, when a reaction took place, and the tendency then continued up­
ward until towards the close of the season, when it again declined, and at the last
o f December the lowest prices o f the year were reached.
The following table will show the prices o f flour in the Detroit market on the
1st and 15th o f each month for the past three years :—

1851.
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August

1 ...................
15...................
1 ...................
15...................
1 ....................
15...................
1...................
15...................
1 .................
15...................
1 ...................
15...................
1...................
15...................
1 ...................
15...................




25 a 4
25 a 4
12 a 4
00 a 4
00 a 4
95 a 4
75 a 4
90 a 4
87 a 4
87 a 4
15 a 4
12 a 4
00 a 4
12 a 4
25 a 4
65 a 4

1854.
30
30
25
06
06
00
00
00
00
00
20
20
06
20
37
75

$6
6
7
7
6
6
6
6
7
8
8
8
7
6
7
7

09 a
12 a
12 a
00 a
12 a
25 a
25 a
50 a
25 a
12 a
37 a
75 a
75 a
SO a
75 a
75 a

6
6
7
7
6
6
6
6
7
8
8
9
8
7
8
8

1855.
12
25
25
12
25
60
50
75
50
25
62
00
00
00
00
00

|7
7
7
7
7
7
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
8
8
8

75
75
75
75
75
75
00
62
25
37
37
50
25
75
50
50

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

8
7
7
7
7
8
8
8
9
9
9
9
9
9
8
8

00
87
87
87
87
00
12
75
50
50
50
75
50
00
75
75

558

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:
<
543,
era
QO

September

1................. ..............
84
15...................
1...................
October
15................... .............
5
November 1 ...................
15...................
1 ...................
December
15...................
6
31................... .............
W h e a t . The shipments of wheat,

1855.

1854.

$8 50 a 9 00
87 00 a 7 50
70 a 4 75
6 25 a 6 75
25 a 5 33
7 87 a 8 00
6 50 a 6 75
6 50 a 6 75
40 a 5 50
7 00 a 7 25
70 a 5 75
7 00 a 7 50
7 50 a 7 62
7 87 a 8 00
62 a 5 70
7 37 a 7 50
7 50 a 7 75
75 a 6 00
7 50 a 7 62
7 75 a 8 00
75 a 6 00
6 25 a 6 75
7 50 a 7 75
62 a 5 75
6 25 a 6 50
7 75 a 8 00
00 a 6 12
in bushels, from Detroit for the last two

years, are as follows :—■
1854...............

897,159 | 1855...............

737,880 | Decrease..........

159,279

This decrease is partially owing to the fact, as above stated, that a larger pro­
portion of the crop was manufactured before being shipped, than in years pre­
vious. The unmerchantable condition of the wheat during the fall months, when
the greater proportion of the crop is generally marketed, also caused a large fall­
ing off in shipments. The receipts of wheat per Michigan Central Eailroad, in
1854, were 644,949 bushels, against 346,534 bushels in 1855— showing a falling
off of 298,415 bushels, or nearly one-half. The receipts by the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway were larger than ever before, as the road was opened in October
to Fentonville, 25 miles beyond its former terminus, and the crop in the northern
counties being in a much more marketable condition than in any other part of the
State, a larger proportion found its way to market before the close of navigation.
The market has been considerably depressed during the entire year, considering
the large crop, although prices have ruled high. Wheat, as well as flour, ruled
higher during the year 1855 than during any previous year since 1838. In the
fall of 1838 the highest market price for wheat was $2 25 per bushel, and during
June last the same high price was reached. These are the highest prices ever
paid for wheat in Michigan. In 1842, and a number of years thereafter, wheat
was a perfect drug upon the market. The lowest market price ever reached in
Michigan was in the fall of 1842, when wheat was sold by the farmers at 44
cents per bushel, and, in many instances, taking “ store pay ” at that.
The following table exhibits the price of wheat in the Detroit market upon
the 1st and 15th of each month for the past three years :—

1853,
1 ...................
15...................
1................... .............
February
15...................
March
1 ................... .............
15................... .............
1...................
April
15................... .............
1...................
May
15...................
i ...................
June
15................. .............
1 ................... .............
July
15................... .............
1 ................... .............
August
15................... .............
September 1 ...................
15................... .............
October
1 ................... .............
15....................
November 1 .................................
15................... .............
December
1 ....................
15................... .
31 .....................
January




0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
1

90
90
90
85
85
85
80
87
90
96
96
96
96
98
98
00
05
10
13
20
18
30
20
25
30

a i
a i
a i
a0
a0
a0
0 0
a0
a0
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1
a l
a 1
a 1
a 1
a 1

1854.
00
00
00
95
95
90
85
90
98
00
00
00
00
03
05
05
10
15
18
23
24
35
25
30
35

$1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

30
37
56
56
40
35
25
30
50
75
75
87
50
30
35
45
75
55
38
40
75
63
75
62
63

a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i
a i

1855.
35
40
62
62
45
40
30
35
56
87
80
90
55
35
40
50
80
60
45
45
80
75
80
65
70

$1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1

65 a
75 a
75 a
70 a
65 a
65 a
70 a
90 a
00 a
12 a
12 a
12 a
12 a
00 a
80 a
60 a
25 a
18 a
20 a
35 a
45 a
35 a
45 a
45 a
25 a

i
i
i
i
i
i
i
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2

75
80
80
75
70
70
75
00
12
25
25
25
25
12
90
75
35
30
40
62
62
50
62
62
50

Detroit, Michigan.

559

C orn. The receipts of corn by the Michigan Central Baiiroad, during 1855,
were 365,741 bushels less than during the previous year, while the shipments from
this point Eastward were considerably greater. There was, however, at the open­
ing of navigation last year, a large amount of corn in store in Detroit, which had
accumulated through the winter, while at the present time the stock is very small.
The following figures will show the number of bushels shipped Eastward for two
years:—
1855.................

629,895 | 1854.................

587,489 | Increase.........

42,405

1853.
January

1 ..
1 5 ..
February 1 ..
1 5 ..
1. .
March
1 5 ..
1 ..
April
1 5 ..
1 ..
May
1 5 ..
1 ..
June
1 5 ..
1 ..
July

48 a 50
48 a 50
50 a 52
48 a 50
48 a 50
48 a 50
48 a 50
48 a 50
52 a 54
56 a 60
56 a 60
56 a 58
53 a 56

CJO

Michigan is not so great a corn-growing State as some of her sister States in
the W est; therefore the amount of corn which changes hands in this market is
small, in comparison with some of the other lake cities. A large proportion,
however, of the shipments Eastward change hands at this port. There has been
a good home demand during the year, and prices reached a higher figure than for
many years previously.
The table which follows shows the prices upon the 1st and 15th of each month
during the past three years. The inside figures exhibit the prices for shipping
parcels :—

1855.

46 a 52
46 a 52
65 a 60
55 a 60
64 a 60
54 a 60
54 a 60
55 a 58
56 a 60
55 a 58
57 a 60
67 a 60
57 a 60

55 a 60
60 a 65
60 a 65
60 a 65
00 a 60
00 a 60
60 a 62
65 a 70
78 a 80
83 a 85
83 a 85
80 a 83
77 a 80

July
1 5 ..
August 1 ..
1 5 ..
Sept.
1 ..
1 5 ..
October 1 ..
1 5 ..
Nov’mb’r 1 ..
1 5 ..
Dec’mber 1 ..
1 5 ..
3 1 ..

1851

1854.

1855.

53 a 56
60 a 64
63 a 67
63 a 66
65 a 68
65 a 68
68 a 72
55 a 60
55 a 60
55 a 60
50 a 58
46 a 52

50 a 55
50 a 54
50 a 54
56 a 60
60 a 62
60 a 62
60 a 62
60 a 62
60 a 62
58 a 60
58 a 60
55 a 60

75 a 77
73 a 75
70 a 74
70 a 73
67 a 70
67 a 70
75 a 80
75 a 80
75 a 80
70 a 75
65 a 70
58 a 62

O a ts . In consequence of a light crop of oats in 1855, the shipments from this
port were very light, being 147,659 bushels less than in 1854. The receipts by
the Michigan Central Baiiroad were 180,152 bushels less. The home demand is
growing larger with each succeeding year, and whenever there is a light crop, it
precludes the possibility of shipping to any considerable extent. Owing to a light
stock remaining over from 1854, prices opened high at the commencement of the
season, and continued to advance until August 1st, when the high price of 60
cents per bushel was reached. From that time prices began to decline, and the
downward tendency continued until September, when 30 cents was the ruling
figure. Again the tendency was upward, and at the close of the year prices were
the same as at its commencement.
The following table exhibits the prices on the 1st and 15th of each month for
the past three years:—

January

1 ...
1 5 ...
February 1 . . .
1 5 ...
March
1 ...
1 5 ...
April
1 ...
1 6 ...
May
1 ...
1 5 ...
June
1 ...
1 5 ...
July
1 ...

1851

1854.

45
37
40
37
37
37
37
38
42
44
44
43
41

34
34
40
37
36
36
35
35
37
40
43
40
40




1855.
35
38
87
38
38
38
40
45
66
56
56
56
56

1851
July
August

1 5 ...
1 ...
1 5 ..,
Septemb’r 1 . . .
1 5 ...
October
1 ...
1 5 ...
November 1 . . .
1 5 ...
December 1 . . .
1 5 ...
3 1 ...

38
44
47
87
37
37
37
37
34
36
36
34

1 8 54.
38
37
37
36
36
40
40
40
37
37
35
35

1855
54
60
56
30
30
30
32
32
35
40
37
35

560

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

1 ..
1 5 ..
February 1 ..
1 5 ..
March
1 ..
1 5 ..
April
1 ..
15..
May
1 ..
1 5 ..
June
1 ..
1 5 ..
July
1 ..

15 a 18
13 a 17
12 a 16
12 a 16
12 a 16
12 a 16
12 a 15
12 a 14
12 a 15
13 a 17
13 a 17
12 a 15
10 a 14

1854.

1855.

18 a 24
16 a 22
15 a 20
14a 18
14 a 19
14 a 19
14 a 18
14 a 18
14a 18
13 a 17
12 a 16
11 a 15
12 a 18

16 a 22
16 a 22
16 a 20
15 a 20
13 a 20
13 a 20
13 a 20
13 a 20
15 a 20
14 a 19
14 a 18
13 a 17
13 a 17

July
1 5 ..
August 1 ..
1 5 ..
Sept.
1 ..
1 5 ..
October 1 ..
1 5 ..
Nov’mb’r 1 ..
1 5 ..
Decemb’r 1 ..
1 5 ..
3 1 ..

©3.

m
January

QO

B utte r . Although the soil and climate o f Michigan are eminently adapted to
grazing and dairy purposes, yet but little attention is paid to butter making.
The raising and marketing of wheat, coarse grains, vegetables, and wool, seem to
absorb almost the entire attention of the farming community. The receipts by
the Central Railroad for 1855 are shown to be 715,623 lbs., against 418,613 lbs.,
showing an increase of 297,010 lbs. The shipments in 1855 exceed those of 1854
by 2,825 kegs and firkins and 3 barrels.
The following table exhibits the wholesale prices of firkin and roll butter for
three years:—

10 a 14
10a 15
10 a 15
11 a 16
15 a 20
15 a 20
18 a 22
18 a 22
18 a 24
IS a 24
18 a 24
18 a 24

1851.

1855.

12 a 18
12 a 18
12 a 18
15 a 20
15 a 20
15 a 20
15 a 20
15 a 20
15 a 20
15 a20
15 a 20
16 a 20

12 a 16
12 a 16
12 a 16
13 a 18
14 a 20
15 a 20
16 a 22
16 a 20
16 a20
16 a 20
17 a 23
17 a 23

During the pork packing season of 1854-55, a greater
P o rk AND H ogs .
quantity of pork was packed in this city than usual, and the shipments Eastward
during the ensuing season exceed those of the previous season by 21,983 bbls.,
while the receipts by the Central Railroad show a falling off of 9,371 bbls. Prices
o f dressed hogs were low, and as mess pork rapidly advanced after the close of
the packing season, dealers were enabled to realize large profits. During the
packing season pork could be had at 813 a 814 per bbl. In October the price
had reached 824, being an advance of 89 per bbl. During the season just closed,
owing to the very high prices of dressed hogs, but little pork has been packed in
this market, and as a consequence the supply will mostly have to be drawn from
other places.
The following table exhibits the prices of mess pork for three years

1851.
1.............
15.............
1 ........ ....
February
1 5 .............
1............. .........
March
15.............
1 ............. .........
April
1 5 . . . . . . . ___
1.............
May
15.............
1 ............. ........
June
15............. ........
1..............
July
15............. ........
1 ............. ........
August
15 ....................
September 1............. ........
15.......................
October
i ..............
15..............., . . .
November i ...............____
15...............____
December i ......................
15...............____
31...............
January




16
16
16
16
15
15
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
16
13

50 a ..
7 5 a ..
75 a ..
60 a ..
50 a ..
50 a ..
50 a ..
50 a ..
50 a ..
50 a . .
00 a . . ,
50 a 16
50 a 16
50 a 16
00 a . .
00 a ..
00 a ..
00 a . . ,
00 a 16
50 a 17
50 a 17
50 a 17
50 a 17

18.55.

1854.

00
00
00

50
00
00
00
00
00
50 a 14 00

$13
13
14
14
14
13
13
14
14
14
14
14
14
13
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
13
14

50 a 14
50 a 14
00 a 14
50 a 15
00 a 14
50 a 14
50 a 14
60 a 15
60 a 15
50 a 15
50 a 15
00 a 14
00 a 14
50 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 15
00 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 14
00 a 14
50 a 14
00 a 14

00
00
50
00
50
00
00
00
00
00
00
50
50
00
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
00
50

$14
14
14
14
13
13
13
14
16
16
17
17
19

00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
00 a
50 a
50 a
50 a

14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
16
16
18
18
20

. . . a 20
. . . a 20
, . . a 21
, . . a 24
. . a 21
. . a 21

50
50
50
50
00
00
00
60
50
50
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

Detroit, Michigan.

561

In 1855 the receipts of dressed hogs by the Central Railroad were 10,487,942
lbs., against 5,028,396 lbs. in 1854, showing an increase in receipts in 1855 of
5,459,546 lbs., considerably over one-half. The shipments are shown in numbers
and not in lbs. The shipments for two years were as follows:—1855.................

31,119 I 1854.................

8,483 | Increase...............

22,636

The increase, it will be seen, is nearly three times as great as the total ship­
ments of 1854. The number of live hog’s received at this port has also been im­
mense. The number passed through this place during the year was 122,030. The
following table shows the prices of dressed hogs during the packing season for the
past three years :—
January

i ................... .............
15................... .............
February
1 ................... .............
15................... .............
March
1 ................. .............
.November 1 ...................
15...................
December
1...................
15................... _______
31...................

1851
25 a 6 37
25 a 6 50
25 a 6 75
37 a 6 75
50 a 6 75
a ...
a .. .
87 a 5 00
4 25 a 4 50
25 a 4 50

86
6
6
6
6

$4
4
6
4
4
5
4
4
3
4

1854.
25 a 4
12 a 4
00 a 5
50 a 5
50 a 5
00 a 5
50 a 5
00 a 4
75 a 4
25 a 4

50
50
25
00
00
50
00
25
00
50

$4
4
4
4
4
6
6
6
6
5

1855
25 a 4
37 a 4
44 a 4
25 a 4
50 a 5
50 a 7
60 a 7
50 a 7
15 a 6
87 a 6

50
50
75
75
00
00
00
00
50
25

W h ite F is ii . One of the largest and most important items in the commerce
of Detroit is the trade in white fish. From the head of Lake Erie to the head of
Lake Superior, including Lake Michigan, during the fall and spring mouths, the
fisheries form an important branch of our Western commerce. But probably
there is no place of the same area along our lakes and rivers which is so valuable
in this particuler as the river contiguous to this city. From Fighting Island to
the northern point of Belle Isle, a distance of 17 miles, there is one complete
fishery, from which large numbers of fish are yearly taken. The cost of taking
them, when the run is fine, is very light, and fishermen realize large profits. They
are known through all the States, and are esteemed among the choicest delicacies
to be had in any market. The large demand creates a corresponding valuation,
and in every city they become the first brand of fish sought. The river fish are
generally larger, fatter, and better flavored than those of the lakes, and are there­
fore always in better demand, and always command better prices. In New York,
Boston, New Orleans, and even San Francisco, the Detroit River white fish are
eagerly sought for.
The catch of the past season was remarkably good. A t the fisheries (about
50 in number) between Fighting Island and Belle Isle, over 7,000 barrels, or
some 7o0,000 fish have been taken. About half of these have been sold fresh, at
an average of 11 cents each, bringing in a revenue of §3,850. The remaining
portion are mostly held by the fishermen until navigation shall open to them the
eastern and southern trade. These 3,500 barrels, when sold, will net the holders
about §30,000, or in the neighborhood of eight or nine dollars per barrel. The
cost Of catching, cleaning, packing and shipping, have been far less this season
than on many previous years, and therefore the profits will be much greater, be­
cause the demand will not be at all diminished. From the fisheries upon Belle
Isle about 7,000 fish were taken, a majority of which were sold fresh. The re­
mainder of them were caught below the city, mostly upon the American side of
the river.
The method of catching fish here in the river differs somewhat from the means
adopted for lake fishing. There gill nets are the principal agency employed, while
seins are the instruments here used.
A correspondent of the New York Herald, writing from Wyandotte, a few
miles below this city, says :— “ The number of barrels caught annually, in the
lake fisheries, is nearly as follows :—
VOL. XXXV.---- NO. V.




36

562

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States :
Bbla.

Lake Superior..............................
Lake Michigan............................

3,000
15,000

Bbls.

Lake H uron................................
Lake Erie....................................

14 000
3,000

Detroit River white fish..............................................................................

35,000
7,000

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

42,000

“ These are sold at an average price of $11 per barrel— the aggregate amount
of sales being $462,000, or nearly half a million dollars. Probably one-sixth of
all the fish caught in Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior, are trout,— the re­
mainder being white fish. They are commonly caught by ‘ gill nets,’ set some 10
miles distant from the shore. Large quantities of fish are taken from the Detroit
River, which they ascend, from Lake Erie, to spawn. On their return to the lake
they are captured. The number of fisheries on the river is fifty.
“ In some of the rivers that flow into the lakes enormous quantities of pickerel
are caught. N ot less than 1,000 barrels are taken annually from Fox River,
Wisconsin; from Saginaw River, Michigan, 1,500 barrels; St. Clair River,
Michigan, 1,500 barrels; Maumee River, Ohio, 3,000 barrels, and an equal quan­
tity of bass, mullet, &c , making a total of 10,000 barrels, which are sold for $8 50
per barrel, or $85,000 in the aggregate. The annual product of the lakes and
tributary rivers is thus shown :—
Bbls.

Value.

The Lakes................................................
Detroit R iv er..........................................
Other rivers............................................

35,000
7,000
10,000

$385,000
77,000
85,000

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

52,000

$547,000

The writer of the above, although a practical fisherman, undoubtedly shoots
wide of the mark in some of his estimates. He puts down the average price per
barrel at $11, which is all of $2 per barrel too high. The average price of white
fish, from first hands, at this point, cannot be safely estimated at over $9 per bbl.,
while the other varieties offish, such as pickerel, trout, siscoweit, herring, &c., (of
which there are large numbers caught.) are uniformly from one to two dollars per
barrel less.
He also estimates the total annual catch of fish in all the lake and river fishe­
ries at 52,00(1 barrels. This estimate is considerably too low. One firm in this
city handled during last year 7,000 barrels, which, according to his estimate,
would be over one-eighth of the entire catch. The shipments eastward from this
port during last year, were 16,797 barrels. The consumption of fresh fish in this
city and vicinity is not less than 4,000 barrels annually, to which add 1,000 bar­
rels for home consumption, of salted fish, and we have nearly one half the above
estimate handled in Detroit. W e are of the opinion that the entire catch of the
lakes and tributary rivers will reach nearly 75,000 barrels, which at an average of
$8 50 per barrel, would net the producers $637,500, or about $90,000 more than
the above estimate.
C o a l . The following figures will show the receipts, in tons, of coal in this city
for two years :—
1855 ...................

49,136 I 1854........................

25,153 | Increase...............

23,983

The shipments by lakes, in tons, for two years are as follows :—
1855.......................

1,568 I 1854 .........................

160 | Increase.................

1,408

Deducting the shipments from the receipts we have for consumption here, in
1854, 24,993 tons, against 47,568 tons in 1855. showing an increase in the latter
year of 22,575 tons. This amount, however, is larger than the actual increase in
consumption, as at the present time the stock left over from last year's receipts is




Detroit, Michigan.

563

much larger than the stock left over a year since from the receipts of 1854. The
annual demand for, and consumption of coal, it will be readily seen, is increasing
very fast. The range in prices in this market is from $7 to $12 per ton for an­
thracite, and from $3 50 to $6 50 for the various varieties of bituminous coal.
Within a distance of less than 100 miles of this city are extensive fields of a
superior quality of coal, and which will probably soon be opened and made avail­
able. The Detroit and Milwaukie Railway, when completed, will pass directly
through the coal districts and the coal fields belonging to the “ Michigan Coal
Company,” which is now fully organized, will soon supply coal, not only for the
consumption of the city, but also for export, at much cheaper rates than it has
heretofore been obtained. The late Dr. Houghton, State Geologist, made thor­
ough explorations of the coal districts, and from his reports to the Legislature, it
appears that the coal bearing rocks extend through nine counties of the State, a
distance of nearly 100 miles, and that the same stratum of coal belonging to the
lower coal basin is exhibited to view at three different points, viz., at Barry, in
Jackson county, at Red Cedar River, in Ingham county, 35 miles from Barry,
and at Shiawassee River, 25 miles from Red Cedar River, occupying a line at
least 60 miles in extent. In 1852, Col. R. R. Lansing, President of the Michigan
Coal Company, laid bare the coal bed at Red Cedar River to the extent of up­
wards of a thousand square feet, and removed to the surface about 60 tons of coal,
14 tons of which was transported to Detroit, subjected to thorough tests, and
was found to be well adapted to all the various purposes for which bituminous
coal is generally used. Dr. Adrian II. Terry, who tested it for domestic use, cer­
tifies that he “ never, in the western country, burned a coal -which gave so clear
and brilliant a flame, and of which the coke (after the bitumen was burned out)
made so permanent and hot a fire. It leaves but an insignificant amount of ashes
or earthy residue in comparison with any coal I have ever burned in this region.”
Mr. A . G. Bradford, of Pennsylvania, a scientific gentleman of high attainments,
has recently explored the three coal fields which belong to the Michigan Coal
Company, and in his report to the Board of Directors, says : “ The coal found at
each place is of extraordinary purity, approaching in quality Cannel coal; and
blending in its component parts all the necessary elements for every variety of
use. From my coal explorations in several States of the Union, to which I have
devoted the most of my attention for the last fifteen years of my life, I can safely
say that I never saw coal at the out crop of such extraordinary quality and puri­
ty, anti so free generally from sulphur and other impurities.”
The fields belonging to the company are located, one upon the Central Rail­
road, one upon the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway, and one upon the Detroit
and Lansing Plank Road. As the company are about to commence active mi­
ning operations, a new source of wealth will be opened, which cannot but result
in the most substantial benefits both to the city and State at large, as well as to
the company.
W ool . The wool clip of Michigan for 1855 has been estimated at 2,948,821
pounds. Of this amount 1,100.006 pounds were purchased by Detroit dealers,
for which the sum of $366,000 was paid, or about an average of 30 cents per
pound. The receipts of wool (in lbs.) by the Michigan Central Railroad for the
last two years, are shown as follows :—
1855...............

2,061,101 | 1854

...........

1,347,397 | Excess in 1855___

713,704

Of the 2,061,101 pounds received in 1855, all except 346,127 pounds was re­
ceived from way stations. The shipments from this port (in bales) for two years
are as follows:—
1855...................

16,818 | 1854....................

11,838 | Excess in 1855 ...........

4,980

The shipments are given in bales, the weight in most instances not being enter­
ed on the shipper’s books. These bales will vary in weight from 100 to 200 lbs.,
the most of them, however, weighing from 150 to 200 pounds each. Estimating
them at 150 pounds each, which is probably a low average, the shipments from




564

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

1 ..
1 5 ..
1 ..
1 5 ..

38 a 54
38 a 54
38 a 50
38 a 48

mi

20 a
20 a
22 a
22 a

31 August 1 . .
34
1 5 ..
36 Sept’mb’r 1 . .
1 5 ..
37

1854.

38 a 48
37 a 48
37 a 48
37 a 48

20 a 37
20 a 37
20 a 37
20 a 37

GO

1854.
20 a 37
20 a 37
20 a 37
20 a 37

GO
fcTv

GO
ti/v
e s

this place in 1855 would reach 2,422,700 pounds, nearly as much as the entire
clip of the State. Owing to the low prices which prevailed in 1854, a considera­
ble proportion of the clip of that season was held over by the farmers; but in
1855 the prices, although but little higher, seemed more satisfactory, and almost
the entire clip, together with what was left in first hands of the clip of 1854, was
brought out. The prices of 1855, though not high, were without fluctuation,
and it is believed that very little, if any, of last season’s clip is now remaining
either in first or second hands. The following table will exhibit the prices of
wool in this market during the seasons of 1853,1854, and 1855 :—
22
22
22
22

a 37
a 37
a 37
a 37

L umber.
The following figures will show the amount of lumber and lath
manufactured in this city during the last two years :—
Lumber, ft.

1854 .....................................................
1855 .....................................................
Increase

35,875,846
86,754,549
876,703

Lath, ps.

14,691,900
15,617,000
926,100

The receipts of lumber and lath by vessel from S t Clair and Saginaw lumber
country, is shown as follows
1854 ...........................................................
1855 ...........................................................
Decrease

Lumber, ft.

Lath, ps.

10,058,488
6,889,456

2,428,950
2,142,700

3,164,032

286,250

The shipments from this port to other lake ports during the two years, are as
follows:—
Lumber, ft.

Latb, ps.

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

19,789,021
21,235,432

8,707,237
9,549,900

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

1,446,411

842,663

The combined manufactures and receipts of lumber and lath for the year reach
43,642,000 feet lumber, and 17,759,700 pieces lath.
The shipments by lake and by the Michigan Central Railroad combined were
24,825,984 feet lumber, and 11,054,626 pieces lath. The total sales of the year
by the various dealers in the city were 41,688,334 feet lumber, and 18,055,900
pieces lath. From this deduct the shipments, and we have left 16,862,350 feet
lumber, and 7,001,274 pieces lath, which have been consumed in the city, besides
quite a large amount which was received by the various plank-roads and by
the Detroit and Milwaukie Railway, of which we have no means of making an
estimate.
I m ports a x d E x p o r t s . The following table shows the amount of some of the
principal articles of import at Detroit during the years 1854 and 1855 :—

1854.
Salt..............
Salt.............
Water lim e.. ..bbls.
Stucco lime
Cement........
Plaster.........
Crude plaster, .tons




96,651
86,293
14,932
60
300
15,500
336

1855.

1854.

1855.

79,138 Pig-iron......... .tons
1,046
1,961
69,400 Railroad iron ___
744
46,643
13,484 Coal............... ___
25,153
49,136
75 Lumber.......... . . . f t , 10,053,488 6,889,456
L a th ............. •pcs. 2,428,950 2,142,700
10,500 Shingles.......... ...M .
5,100
2,743
3,000

565

Detroit, Michigan.

The above shows quite a falling off in the receipt o f salt, which is accounted
for by the fact that the stock now on hand here, and throughout the country, is
very light— a number of cargoes which were on their way at the close of naviga­
tion not having arrived.
The following table shows the shipments from this port, by steam and sail ves­
sels and by the Great Western Bail way, during the years 1854 and 1855 :—

1854.
Ashes, casks...........
Ale <fc beer, bbls__
A p p le s ...................
Apples, bags...........
barley, bush.........
Beans, bags.............
Beans, bbls..............
Beef.......................
Beef, tierces...........
Butter, bbls.............
Butter, kegs & fir...
Beeswax, lbs...........
Beeswax, casks. . . .
B’k wheat flour, bags
Buckwheat, b b ls .. .
Broom-corn, bales .
Bones, tons.............
Brick, B o ...............
Corn, bush..............
Corn-meal, bbls. . .
Corn-meal, b a g s ...
Clover, (fee...............
Clover, <fec., b b ls.. .
Cheese, boxes.........
Cheese, casks.........
Candles, boxes . . . .
Cement, bbls...........
Crackers..................
Cranberries............
Cider .......................
Cedar posts, N o . . .
Carriages, A c..........
Coal, to n s...............
C op p er...................
Copper, bbls...........
Cattle, head .........
Dried fruit, bbls. . .
“
bags. . .
Deer skins, bundles.
Eggs, hbls...............
Empty barrels, (fee.
Elm bark, lbs.........
Flour, bbls..............
Flour, bags.............
Fish, b b ls ...............
Fish, bbls.............
Furs, pkgs...............
Feathers, bales. . . .
Fruit-trees, <tc. bndls
Glass, boxes...........
Grindstones, N o ....
Game, pkgs.............
Game, ton s.............
Grease, b b ls...........
Ginseng, bales.........




1,905
3,800
2,394
73
2,529
228
383
4,679
70
2,279
1,000
8
40
382
587,489
1,880
956
3,079
482
782
38
50
62
341
• ...

73
160
846
7,372
2,239
153
557
982
337,143
18,595
524
569
254
30

1855.
1,983
2,747
2,275
887
2,671
682
80
11,070
2,284
73
5,124
11
69
17
4,679
44
46,000
629,895
1,942
2,620
13,821
205
795
43
2,103
125
79
364
55
125
87
1,568
198
16,268
816
83
1,305
492
3,394
27,619
639,535
1,715
10,956
11,682
710
13

235
1,001
1,832
130
96

89

1854.

1855.

7,255
7,980
Liquors, casks........
19,442
17,103
Hides, No...............
282
1,636
Hides <feskins, bndls.
83
154
Horns, pkgs.............
154
212
Hair, bales...............
201
462
H e m p .....................
54
Hops........................
977
240
Hay, to n s ...............
1,451
9,223
Hams, (fee., No........
....
1,471
“
bbls. . .
661
2,330
“
casks...
31,119
8,483
Hogs, dressed, N o ..
122,030
15,411
Hogs, liv e ...............
35
22
Horses....................
100
Horse ra k es...........
581
478
Iron, ton s................
3,804
6,209
Lard, bbls...............
223
“
tierces...........
803
626
“ kegs .............
1,616
Lead, kegs .............
1,137
Lead, pigs...............
2,192
2,363
Leather, rolls.........
Lumber, ft............... 19,786,021 21,235,432
Lath, pcs................. 8,707,237 9,549,900
654
459
Molasses, bbls.........
268
Molasses, hhds . . . .
558
818
Malt, bags...............
19,077
14,365
Miscel. mer., ton s..
41,800
Miscel. mer., pkgs...
3,549
873
Nails, k e g s .............
80,791
228,450
Oats, bush...............
1,209
1,254
Onions....................
745
503
Oil, bbls...................
45,880
24,668
P o rk .......................
580
Pork, tierces...........
1,003
Provisions, b b ls .. . . *
111
27
Pickles....................
322
318
Plaster ....................
64,858
194,537
Potatoes, bush . . . .
380
40
Peas, bags...............
64
Powder, kegs.........
1,552
5,395
Rye, bush...............
15,895
559,116
Rags, lbs.................
2,428
Rags, bales ..........
5,711
15,292
Shorts, b a g s ...........
2,467
Soap, boxes...........
799
136
Sugar, h h d s ...........
1,822
1,193
Sugar, bbls.............
10,353
9,523
S a lt.........................
1,895
6,251
Salt, bags................
65
79
Saleratus, bbls . . . .
S a lts.......................
117
Sheep, live, No........
3,364
4,935
Sheep, dressed . . . .
83
79
Sheep pelts,bndls..
1,200

566

Com m ercial and In d u stria l Cities o f the United States

Sour krout, b b ls....
Stoneware, p c s .. . .
Steam engines, No.
Stoves .....................
Shingles, M.............
Staves.....................
Tallow, bbls...........
T a r ..........................
Tobacco, (fee., pkgs..

1854.

1855.

233

266
488
34
606
1.715
2,418
1.881
75
7,507

27
305
4,685
359
456
1,358

:

1854.
T e a .........................
Turnips, bush..........
Vinegar, bbls..........
Varnish..................
Wheat, bush...........
Wool, b a les...........
Water lime, <fec. bbls
Wheelbarrows, No.

1,675
311
897,159
11,838
4,135
295

1855.
1,328
367
479
165
737,830
16,818
2,199

The following table exhibits the shipments Eastwardly by the Michigan Cen­
tral Railroad Company for two years. The items are all included in the above
table, but the appended table will be of interest as exhibiting the shipments
Eastward by this company. The articles enumerated were all received over the
Central Railroad:—
1854.
1855.
Ashes, casks.............
106
310
Apples, bbls.............
106
....
Beef ........................
8,365
1,866
....
Beef, tierces............. T
1,785
Butter, kegs..............
3,705
1,341
Butter, bbls............... •
68
....
Broom-coin, bales.. .
5,467
382
Buffalo robes............
....
391
Bacon, b oxes............
687
Beans, bags...............
153
B arley.......................
1,124
155
Corn, bush.................
148,734
Corn, bags.................
2,190
117
Candles, boxes..........
200
13
9,717
Cranberries, bbls . . .
13
Deer skins, bndls.. .
320
477
Eggs, bbls.................
354
206
Elm bark, bndls.......
....
28
Flour, b b ls ...............
122,698 210,162
Flour, b a g s ...............
....
1,460
Furs, pkgs.................
238
101
Grass-seed, bags. . . .
3,051
7,694
177
Game, p k g s..............
154
130
89
Ginseng, b a le s.........
....
Grease, b b ls .............
....
96
High-wines,casks.. .
2,812
2,528
Hemp, bales.............
462
201
Hams, <fec., casks. . . .
2,330
624
“
b b ls ....
1,471
....

1S54.
Hams, Ac., No.............
Hides, dry...................
Hides, green................
Hides and skins, bndls
Hops, bales.................
Hogs, live, No.............
Hogs, dressed.............
Hams, casks...............
Leather, rolls.............
Lard, tierces...............
Lead, p ig s ..................
Miscellaneous, p k g s..
Oats, bush...................
Oil, bblsH.....................
P o r k ...........................
Pork, tierces................
Provisions, bbls...........
Potatoes, b a g s...........
Potatoes, bbls.............
Rye, b a gs...................
Rags, bales ................
Sheep pelts, bndls... .
Tallow, bbls................
Tobacco, pkgs.............
Wheat, bags...............
“
bush...............
“
bbls................
Wool, b a les................

10,744
4,273
....
19,133
7,708
....
306
6,009

3,714
804
20,134
....
2,274
....
1,799
12,855
452
456
32,025
8,148
198
7,050

1855.
1,159
9,697
2,922
263
62
29,397
8
65
3,752
199
1,066
7,510
....
380
71
14,962
580
100
1,184
106
441
140
4,495
1,012
1,205
24
87,600
1,172
....
8,030

M ic h ig a n C e n tr a l R a il r o a d . The whole number of engines now in actual
use on the road is 80. There were also placed on the track, in 1855, 11 new
double passenger cars, 4 conductors’ cars, and 159 double freight cars, besides 13
single freight cars, which were rebuilt. Since the 1st of January, 1856, there
were placed on the track, 5 passenger cars, 38 freight, and 32 platform cars—
making the total number of new cars added to the stock since the 1st of January,
1855, 262.
The Michigan Central has always been one of the very best managed and most
successful railroads in the Western country, and has always done an immense
business, of which the figures representing its earnings are abundant proof. The
following table shows the amount of freight of all kinds received in Detroit by
this line during the years 1854 and 1855 :—




567

Detroit, Michigan.

1854.
Apples, bbls...............
Ale and b e e r .............
Ashes, lbs...................
Barley, bush...............
Buckwheat flour, lbs..
Bran and shorts........
Beans .......................
Beef, bbls....................
Butter, l b s .................
Brick & sandstone... .
Corn-meal...................
Cheese........................
Cranberries................
Coal ...........................
Dried fru it.................
Flour, b b ls .................
Furniture and luggage
Grass-seed, tfcc., lb s...
Garden ro o ts .............
Hams and bacon . . . .
High-wines, casks.. . .

1855.

1,172
1,978
' 86
' 63
276,829 212,852
18,200
35,738
33,391
....
3,184,353 2,830,661
81,981
2,860
1,041,298 2,606,854
418,613 715,623
6,050,000 9,030,210
313,011 798,133
3,169
6,072
6,126
21,697
....
2,000
134,353
29,088
333,651 361,356
292,201 338,131
543,498 1,097,783
2,414,519 738,162
2,004,212 899,276
7,238
5,096

1851.
Iron and n a ils ...........
Leather.......................
Lumber, ft..................
Miscel. mdse., lb s .. . .
Millstones....................
Oats, bush...................
Agricul. products, lbs.
Pelts and 6kius...........
Pork, bbls...................
Plaster, lbs..................
Stoves.........................
Shingles, M .................
Wool, lbs.....................
Wheat, bush...............
Whisky, bbls...............
Cattle, h ead ...............
Horses, No..................
Sheep .........................
H ogs...........................

1855.

967,822 608,238
7 l’06S 226^807
95,233
25,395
1,079,452 849,643
6,336,959 7,643,084
4 50
338,311 158,159
422,073 308,098
378,599 497,292
19,522
28,883
93,088
2,760
5,354
34
1,347,397 2,061,101
644,949 346,534
1,011
1,616
9,917
16,268
177
107
1,663
4.520
19,133 121,946

Table showing the amount of freight of all kinds shipped Westwardly from
Detroit over the Michigan Central Railroad daring the years 1854 and 1855 :—

1851.

1855.

Apples, bbls...........
8,059
21,201
Ale and b e e r ........
2,286
1,860
Barley, bush...........
86
47
B’kwheat flour, bbls.
300
5,545
Bran, <fcc., lbs..........
630
400
Beans......................
64
30,450
B utter.....................
711
12,824
Beef.........................
1,400
150
Brick & sandstone .
110,168
272,655
Corn, bush...............
313
Corn-meal, lbs.........
365
Cheese....................
410,793
853,762
Coal......................... 4,301,913 4,557,189
Dried fru it.............
288,444
947,070
Flour, bbls...............
487
Furniture, <fcc., lb s .. 3,186,761 5,154,751
Grass-seed, <fec........
5,240
12,885
Garden roots...........
3,263
206,985
Hams and bacon . .
620
4,603
Hides ...................
4,525
12,795
High-wines, casks .
133
58
Iron and nails, lbs . 10,820,953 9,841,353
Lim e........................ 1,234,491 1,376,411

1854.

1855.

Leather, l b s ...........
668,005
769,686
Lumber, ft............... 2,818,305 3,590,552
Lath, lbs................. 1,576,227 1,694,726
Millstones...............
34,450
55,600
Miscel. mdse........... 59,607,239 77,275,847
Oats, bush...............
726
Agricl. prod’cts, lbs.
55,898
109,283
Pork, bbls...............
310
92
Pelts, <tc., lb s.........
15,350
85,229
Plaster .................. 4,452,312 5,210,739
865,083
267,515
Pork, in hog...........
3,822
546
Salt, bbls.................
27,283
22,394
Stoves, lbs............... 1,328,678 2,183,530
Shingles, M .............
1,061
2,798
W heat, bush...........
29
518
Wool, l b s ...............
9,010
1,181
VVrhisky, bbls..........
4,282
2,453
Cattle, h ea d ...........
256
186
1,031
1,043
Sheep .....................
8,804
3,993
H o g s .......................
24
6

The subjoined shows the earnings of the Michigan Central Railroad for the
past three years :—
Passengers.

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

Freight

$110,744 18
1,154.038 11
1,461,414 30

$584,702 07
789.786 02
1,188,821 07

Total.

$1,295,445 25
1,943,824 13
2,650,235 37

The increase in the total earnings in 1854 was $648,378 88 ; in 1855 it was
$706,411 24.
The following shows the number of passengers carried over the Michigan Cen­
tral Bailroad for the past three years
1853....................

304,867 | 1854




451,689 | 1855

545,335

568

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States :

This shows an increase of 145,8211 passengers in 1854 over 1853, and an in­
crease in 1855 over 1854, of 93,646.
G r e a t W estern R a il r o a d . In 1854 the total earnings of the road amounted
to §1,231,546 27 ; in 1855 the road earned $2,260,493 27^— showing an increase
in 1855 of $1,028,949 001, or a fraction over 83 per cent. The following shows
the earnings of this road for the years 1854 and 1855 :—
*

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

Passengers.

Freight.

Total.

$961,499 50
1,505,676 07

$270,046 76
754,917 19

$1,231,546 27
2,260,493 27

The following shows the number of passengers carried on this road during the
past two years :—
1864....................

432,009 | 1855 .................

649,964 | Increase.............

217,955

The subjoined shows the number of tons of freight carried during the years
1854 and 1855 :—
1854....................

69,672 | 1855...................

174,563 | Increase...............

104,891

D etr oit a n d M il w a u k ie R a il w a y .
The Detroit and Milwaukie Railway,
since the formation of the company by the consolidation of the Detroit and
Pontiac and the Oakland and Ottawa companies, in April last, has been fast
progressing towards completion ; 32 miles of new track have been laid, and trains
are now running to Linden, a distance of 57 miles from Detroit. A large por­
tion of the remainder of the road is already graded and in readiness for the iron
rail. The destination of the road is Grand Haven, Lake Michigan, a distance of
185 miles from Detroit, connecting at Grand Haven with a line of steamers to
Milwaukie, directly across Lake Michigan. The road will pass through a section
of country abounding in lumber, plaster, water-lime, coal, salt springs, and other
valuable elements of wealth, as well as some of the very best farm lands in the
State. The road has added materially to its rolling stock during the year, having
placed upon the track 4 new and splendid passenger cars, 2 baggage cars, 35
freight cars, and 13 platform cars, all of which were built in this city by the
Detroit Car Company, and for neatness, strength, durability, and convenience,
are fully equal to any built in the West. The company have a large number of
cars, both passenger and freight, now under way and partially completed, for this
road.
The subjoined table shows the earnings of this road, from all sources, in each
month of the last three years. In October, 1855, trains commenced running to
Fentonville, a distance of 25 miles beyond its former termination. The increase
in earnings in 1854 was equal to 14 per cent, and in 1855 it was equal to 37i per
cen t:—
m

January.................................
February ...............................
M arch ...................................
A p r il..................................... .................
M a y ....................................... .................
J u n e ......................................
J u ly ..................................... .
August ..............................
Septem ber............................
October.................................
N ovem ber............................
December...............................................
Total...........................

1855

1851

.

59
41
73
4,558 57
4,409 06
97
41
98
58
16
10
4,029 58
14

$3,054
3,116
4,259
5,633
7,117
6,818
5,860
7,243
9.418
11,314
9.347
5,158

87
86
64
08
84
16
90
85
36
71
77
23

$78,342 27

$3,900
3,340
4,573
5,733
8,896
7,826
7,185
7,287
8,898
17,857
19.061
13,095

40
69
35
87
78
81
83
97
87
74
82
04

$107,622 17

C ustom- house S ta t istic s . The increase of free goods imported in 1855 over
1854 was $287,489 ; increase in dutiable goods, $330,164 66— total increase in




509

Detroit, Michigan.
imports, @517,653 66. The increase of duties in 1855 was $104,831 40.
increase in the value of exports is $700,618 50.

The

1855.

1854.
Value of free goods im ported...........................
Value of dutiable goods im ported...................

$88,103 00
58,477 52

8375,592 00
388,642 18

Total value of im ports...........*..................

52

$764,284 18

60
00
66,135 00

116,609 00
871,451 50
93,116 00

00

8954,567 50

Amount of duties collected.............................
Value of exports of domestic produce.............
Value of foreign goods exported..................... .___
Total value of exports.................................

In 1854 the number of vessels employed in the coasting trade was 2,290, with
a total tonnage of 1,006,880. In 1855 the number of arrivals of vessels in the
same trade was 2,114, with a total tonnage of 998,078. The number of foreign
vessels arrived in 1854 was 123, with a tonnage of 36,810 ; in 1855 the number
of arrivals of foreign vessels was 112, with a tonnage of 28,665. The number of
American vessels arrived from foreign ports in 1854 was 21, with a tonnage of
4,804 ; in 1855 the number of American vessels arrived from foreign ports was
62, with a tonnage of 6,058. The total number of vessels arrived in 1854 was
2,434, against 2,288 in 1855 ; the total tonnage of vessels arrived in 1854 was
1,048,494, against 1,032,803 in 1855. The number of departures of American
vessels employed in the coasting trade in 1854 was 2,384, with a tonnage of
1,200,892 ; in 1855 the number of departures was 2,169, with a tonnage of
991,658. The number of departures of foreign vessels in 1854 was 146, with a
tonnage of 37,786 ; in 1855 the number of departures of foreign vessels was 145,
with a tonnage of 24,848. The number of departures of American vessels for
foreign ports in 1854 was 24, with a tonnage of 5,459 ; in 1855 the number of
departures of American vessels for foreign ports was 68, with a total tonnage of
8,636. The total number of departures from Detroit in 1854 was 1,554, against
2,382 in 1855 ; the total tonnage of vessels cleared in 1854 was 1,244,137, against
1,025,142 in 1855.
TONNAGE OF THE PORT OF DETROIT.

Number.
Steamboats.......................
Propellers.........................
Barks.................................
B rig s.................................
Schooners...........................
Scow-schooners................. ............................
Scows................................. ............................
Sloops ...............................

17
17

T o t a l.........................
Total in 1854 ...................
Increase ..................... ...........................

Tons. 95ths.

27,123
4,879
1,007
1,831
13,427
767
882
946

62
81
94
94
25
15
58
59

50,867 13
44,022 76
36

6,844 32

The natural commercial facilities o f Detroit are o f the very best hind.
Being situated on one o f the most beautiful rivers in the United States,
wide, deep, and clear, a most excellent harbor is afforded. W harves ex­
tend along the river nearly three miles, in one unbroken chain, and are
constantly being extended farther.
One new warehouse was erected
during the year, that o f G. O. W illiam s & Co., w hich is o f brick, large
and commodious and fire proof. A large number o f tug-boats are owned
here, which are used in towing vessels through the river during a calm,
towing and otherwise assisting disabled vessels, lighting vessels over the
St. Clair flats, &c. &c.




570

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

Detroit offers great inducements to country merchants, being well sup­
plied with mercantile houses o f all descriptions, both wholesale and retail,
and some o f them conducted upon a very large scale. One o f these es­
tablishments, the largest in the city, has a free-stone front, is four stories
high, with a basement, occupies a front o f 50 feet, and extending in depth
100 feet, comprising 10 rooms, each 25 feet in width, and 100 feet in
depth, giving an area o f 25,000 square feet, all o f which are tilled to
their utmost capacity with foreign and domestic dry goods, carpets, cloths,
clothing, millinery, &c., in addition to which the firm occupy a building
in the rear for storing purposes. The retail rooms are four in number,
and are finished in the most gorgeous style. From 60 to 75 salesmen,
and from 100 to 150 persons are employed altogether in the several de­
partments. The whole establishment is conducted upon a scale o f mag­
nificence entirely unknown elsewhere in the W est. The sales o f this firm
for the year reach upwards o f $700,000. There are a number o f houses
devoted exclusively to the wholesale dry good s business, whose sales
reach $400,000 per year and upwards. There are a number o f large
wholesale grocery establishments, some o f them occupying the same
amount o f room as the dry goods store above described. The sales o f one
o f the largest firms during the year 1855 were, in round numbers,
$500,000. The total wholesale grocery business o f the city in 1855 may
be safely estimated at $2,500,000. As another evidence o f the fast in­
creasing business o f the city, and its permanent and healthy grow th in a
commercial point o f view, we m ight here state that in 1850, five years
since, the entire wholesale grocery trade did not exceed $500,000. In
that year the sales o f the largest firm then in the city amounted to only
$80,000. The mercantile business o f the city, in every department, has
fully kept pace with the grocery trade, and all branches are carried on
upon so safe and permanent a basis that failures are almost an unknown
thing.
D etroit is also a manufacturing as well as a commercial city. There
are within the city limits 46 stationary steam-engines, employed in manu­
facturing establishments o f various kinds, am ong which are ten iron ma­
chine shops, two locom otive manufactories, several brass founderies, sash,
door and blind factories, tobacco and m orocco factories, tanneries, saw­
mills, plaster-mills, flouring-mills, <fcc. There are in this city 343 me­
chanic shops o f various kinds. A m on g the most important manufactures
in the city is that o f iron and machinery, which is now carried on most
extensively. The Detroit Locom otive W orks occupy an entire square o f
ground, and have invested a capital o f $250,000. The number o f men
employed during the past year was 300. The quantity o f the chief arti­
cles used w ere: 1,000 tons pig iron, 1,800 tons coal, 1,000 cords wood,
400 tons bar iron, 35 tons copper tubes, 30 tons brass castings. D uring
the year they built 14 new first class locomotives, and rebuilt 2 old ones,
built 3 propeller engines, and 17 stationary engines and boilers for the
same. They are now building locomotives for the Michigan Central and
the N ew Y ork Central Railroads, and have under way several propeller
engines. There are 8 or 10 machinery and boiler shops, em ploying from
50 to 150 men each, and some o f them using annually 2,000 tons east
iron, 300 tons wrought iron, 30 tons copper, from 500 to 600 tons coal,
50 to 100 cords wood, and having a capital invested o f from $50,000 to
$80,000. The manufactures o f some o f the largest o f these establishments




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

571

for the year 1855, reach upwards o f $200,000. A bout six months since
a com pany com m enced operations under the name o f the Detroit Car
Company, for the manufacture o f railway cars. Since that time they
have completed four large passenger cars, two baggage cars, and fortyeight freight cars, all o f which will compare favorably in workmanship
with that o f any other company, East or W est. These cars were all built
for the D etroit and Milwaukie Railway, and the company have a heavy
contract for furnishing rolling stock for this road. From “ 0 to 80 men
are regularly employed in the various shops.
A company o f capitalists o f D etroit have also established at W yandotte,
11 miles below, on the Detroit River, a heavy iron manufactory and roll­
in g mill, which is supplied with iron by the Eureka Iron Mining Com­
pany. The company have invested at W yandotte $150,000 in the pur­
chase o f real estate and the erection o f a rolling mill and blast furnace—
$44,000 in the former— $50,000 in the rolling mill, the machinery for
which was purchased at two-thirds its real value, and between $50,000
and $60,000 in the furnace and ore beds. The rolling mill company have
already com m enced the erection o f another rolling mill for re-rolling rail­
road iron. In this mill, which will be completed the present season, they
will invest, at the outset, $50,000 more, with a capacity for rolling 6,000
tons, and which can be easily enlarged. The mill w ill manufacture, or
will possess a capacity for manufacturing, 3,000 tons o f iron yearly, worth
at least $240,000, em ploying about 75 men, to whom about $35,000 will
be annually paid out. The mill, already completed, has been in operation
since November, and has manufactured about 250 tons o f square, fiat,
oval, and round bar iron, o f a very superior quality, and which readily
commands $90 per ton. Thus far it has used only scrap iron and iron
from the Collins’ Company, but hereafter it will be supplied principally
from the new blast furnace with Lake Superior iron. The Lake Superior
iron is found to be o f such a superior quality that orders are flowing in
upon the W yandotte works from all directions, and they have now more
orders for iron than they can possibly fill.

Art. IV.— MARINE MEMORANDA OF LIGHTNING.
F r e e m a n H unt,

Esq., E

d ito r o f th e M e r c h a n ts ' M a g a z in e , etc

:—

I have made up a schedule o f sail and steam vessels and steamboats
struck by lightning during a period o f three years and seven months,
within the field o f our research, with a view to call the attention o f the
commercial men o f our country to the importance o f protecting the offi­
cers, passengers and crews, and o f the vessels and cargoes, against lightning
by means o f metallic conductors. That well known philanthropist, R . B.
F o r b e s , o f Boston, whose experience both as a shipmaster and a merchant
has made him at home on the subject, has devoted much time and expend­
ed much m oney in endeavoring to induce ship owners and masters o f
vessels to secure their vessels against lightning, and still continues his noble
efforts, and we trust will be successful in the accomplishment o f the phil­
anthropic undertaking. W e now proceed with the statement o f 244




5T2

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

several cases o f lightning, and follow with some remarks suggested by the
facts here narrated, and close with some particular statements in reference
to the phenomena o f lightning and its testimony in reference to the pro­
tection which metals afford against lightning :—
February 22d, 1853.
Clipper ship Golden Light, in latitude 22° 23' N .’
longitude 47° 45' W ., and set on fire. A ll hands were driven to the boats, num­
bering, with the passengers, 35 persons. The ship was burned to the water’s
edge. The boats, five in number, were abundantly supplied with provisions and
water. One of the boats was missing on the morning of the 24th, and another
parted company on the fourth night after leaving the ship. After five days ex­
posure the remaining three boats were picked up by the British ship Shand, Capt.
Christie, from Calcutta, and arrived at Boston on the 20th of March. One of the
missing boats arrived at the Island of Antigua in safety ; the other boat, with 8
persons on board, has not been heard from. Vessel and cargo valued at
§300,000.
March 3d. Ship Reindeer, in latitude 36° 20' N., longitude 71° W . ; knocked
the whole watch down, and covered the deck with fire.
4th. Bark Orline, St. Johns, off Cape Ilatteras; which split head o f mainmast
and stunned the mate. Ship Massachusetts, in lat...36° 10' V ., Ion. 73° 30' I V .;
was struck twice in one hour, splitting the cap of mainmast, passing down the
mast and the topsail sheets, ripping up the pump coats, and entering below deck.
Brig Fornax (of Warren, R. I.) ; at sea, and damaged.
April 9th. British ship Alciope, in latitude 11° N ., longitude 88° W . ; set on
fire, and, with cargo, totally consumed. The Alciope was bound from India to
England, and her cargo supposed to have been valuable.
23d. Schooner Eugenia, in Hampton Roads, and damaged. Ship Holyoke,
at sea ; all her spars, except lower masts, destroyed. Brig O’Brien, at sea ; one
man injured so that he died. Ship Syren, of Salem, off Cape Horn ; two mates
knocked down insensible.
May 5th. A meteor, apparently the size of a man’s head, burst at the mast­
head of ship Houqua, at sea, throwing out most brilliant sparks, came down the
mast, and passed to leeward; two men standing near the mast were visibly
affected.
10th. A fishing sloop, lying in the Delaware; and sunk. Two men asleep on
board of her had a narrow escape for their lives; they were badly burned, one, it
is feared, will lose his eye-sight.
19th. Schooner Adeline Howes, while at anchor in Dennis Harbor ; and lost
foremast. Schooner Champion, while at anchor in Provincetown Harbor ; and
lost foremast.
27th. Propeller Northern Michigan, coming out of the St. Lawrence; which
blackened and shivered her mast, taking out large strips like fence rails, riddling
her sail, and passing into the pilot-house, smashed all the glass, and partially
stunning two men there, passed off by the bell-wire.
June 10th. Ship Josiah Bradlee, of Boston, at New Orleans; the fluid entered
the fore-hatch, setting on fire a bale of cotton. Ship Raritan, of Kingston, Me.,
at New Orleans ; had her sky-sail and main-top-gallant-mast shattered, splinters
of which were driven nearly two inches into her decks. Ship Desdemonia, at
New Orleans ; considerably splintering royal mast and main-top-gallant mast.
13th. Ship Prince of the Seas; which split main-royal mast, royal yard, and
destroyed her signals.
16th. British bark Eliza Barss, in latitude 24° 10' N., longitude 82° 30' W .;
the fluid came down the main-mast and split six puncheons of molasses on deck.
30th. Ship Audubon, at anchor off the Battery, New York ; and received some
slight damage to her upper spars. Two of the seamen were affected by the shock.
Steamship State of Georgia, off the Capes of Delaware; shivering lier top and
main mast, whence the fluid passed through the deck into the cabin, and then
through the engine-room. N o one was hurt.
July 3rd. British schooner Freedom, 10 miles N . W . of Block Island; which




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

573

shivered fore-top-gallant-mast and halliard block, and doing other damage; the
fluid then passed off by the chain on deck, and went out over the stern, giving the
man at the wheel a severe shock. Schooner Blooming Youth, of Baltimore ;
while loading at Matagorda; shivering her fore-top-mast, badly splintering fore­
mast, injuring Capt. Lewis and one man ; the fluid passed out of the hawspipe, by
the chain.
4th. Schooner Naiad, in Chesapeake B a y ; and lost main-mast, &c.
8th. Ship Gem of the Sea, at sea, during a hailstorm; which shivered the rod
to atoms, and melted it in several places; several of the passengers were benumbed
with the shock, and one was transfixed in his chair for some moments.
18th. Brig Isaac Carver, at sea; shivering main-mast and killing Isaac Eldred,
a seaman, aged 20 years.
19th. Bark Zilpah P. Brown, 90 miles from Montauk ; and damaged. Steamer
Northern Light, 113 miles S. of Cape Antonia ; and had main-mast split.
21st. Schooner Cicero, in the eastern edge of the G ulf; and damaged.
22nd. Schooner H. P. Russell, in latitude 32° 42', off Cape Look O ut; injur­
ing main-top-mast, mainmast, and cutting mainsail.
23rd. Ship Galena, loaded with cotton ; off Abaco, and set on fire. The
Charleston Standard of July 27th gives the following account of the burning o f
the ship Galena :— “ The ship Galena, of New York, 11 days from New Orleans,
for Havre, with about 2,100 bales of cotton on board, was struck by lightning
near the mizzen-mast, on the 23rd inst., near Abaco, one of the Bahama Islands.
The ship was soon after found to be on fire, and the Danish brig Margarethe, just
then in sight, was spoken, and the passengers, some 40 in number, and some specie,
placed on board of her. Both vessels immediately bore away for this port, and
arrived here yesterday morning, and it is feared that she is badly on fire. Every
exertion made to extinguish it. The above has been handed us by our ship-news
reporter, since which we have been enabled to gather a few additional particulars.
The ship has been taken to Smith’s wharf, where the several fire companies of our
city immediately commenced throwing w'ater into her hold, and at five o’clock had
filled her up to the depth of seven feet and a half. The extent of damage cannot
at present be ascertained. The heat was still great. The fluid passed down the
mizzen-mast to the upper deck, which is slightly torn ; the only other abrasion
perceptible is in the moulding of the cabin, at the stern of the vessel. The heat
is greatest about the mizzen-mast, and it is probable, therefore, that it was there
the fire commenced. Two of the lady passengers were stunned, but no one sus­
tained permanent injuries. There were no lightning conductors attached to the
ship, and it is to this absence, doubtless, that the casualty is attributable. The
ship is of 800 tons burden, and insured in the city of New Y ork.” Schooner
Forest, off St. Mark’s ; the fluid came down by the fore-top-mast, killing Jos.
Barritt, a seaman, instantly. Ship Austria, from Charleston, S. O., for Liverpool.
The following extract from a letter from Capt. Tessier, of the ship Austria, to her
owners at Charleston, S. C., describes an effect of electricity :—
L iv e r p o o l , September 2, 1853.
“ My chronometer stopped, as I informed you in my last, on the fourth day out
o f Charleston. The cause of it has been ascertained beyond the possibility of
doubt. On its being taken to pieces the balance spring was found heavily charged
with electricity, and actually bent, and all the other works composed of steel more
or less injured. A t the time it stopped a heavy storm of thunder and lightning
was passing over the ship; the surrounding atmosphere was in such a state of
commotion that the Austria fairly trembled in her every timber, and we distinctly
heard the lightning hiss as it struck the water in rather uncomfortable proximity
to our sides. A ll our compasses were also slightly injured, and had to be sent on
shore for correction on the arrival of the ship in Liverpool.”
August 7th. Ship Hahnemann, of Norfolk, at City P oin t; shattering her
main-mast from the top down to the main deck.
8th. Ship Nathaniel Thompson ; at sea, and received much damage.
14th. Fishing schooner R. R. Freeman, of Wellfleet, off Portland; which
stunned a seaman, shivered fore-mast, and did other damage. Fishing schooner




574

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

Reindeer, of Newburyport; when near Kennebunk, and had main-mast ruined.
Schooner Mary Ann, from Philadelphia, for Danvers ; which shivered main-mast
and main-top-mast.
17th. Schooner E. S. P ow ell; off Squam, and had her cargo set on fire, fore­
mast shivered, decks torn up, & c .; the fluid killed Wm. Kelley, a seaman, and
broke the wrist of Wm. Brown.
26th. Ship Winnegance, in latitude 30° 17., longitude 5° W . ; which shivered
the fore-top-mast and lore-top-gallant-mast.
September 14th. Brig Chatsworth, in latitude 29°, longitude 26° ; which car­
ried away the main-topmast and gaff topsail, split blocks about the mainmast
head, and took the end of fore-spencer gaff off, and done some damage to fore­
mast.
15th. Steamer Fashion, on Lake Michigan, between Racine and Milwaukie ;
one passenger was struck by the fluid, and had his clothes set on fire. Schooner
Sarah ; at Aransas, Texas, and had mainmast entirely destroyed.
22d. Spanish brigantine Nervion ; near Neuvitas, Cuba, and very much shat­
tered ; one man was killed, and several were knocked down and stunned.
October 13th. Bark Fanny, in latitude 28° 20' N., longitude 79° 50' W . ;
which shattered the main-royal-mast and head of mainmast.
14th. Bark Minnesota, in lat, 8° 20' N . Ion. 48° 4 0 '; which shivered sky-sail
and royal masts, passed through royal yard and sails, tore heel of top-gallant mast
to pieces, without harming topmast or other yards, shivered foremast, taking out
one piece four inches deep from the cap to the rigging, without disturbing the cap
or any part of the top ; took the larboard fore-topsail sheet, and fell to the deck
with an explosion equal to that of a heavy bomb-shell, and sending up a shower of
sparks into the air like a fiery furnace, tearing the topsail sheet block to atoms,
and reduced (he sail to shreds. On opening the fore-scuttle, found the fore-hold
filled with smoke, which proceeded from the chain-locker, and which was stopped
by a few buckets of water. Two men who were sitting within two feet of the
place of explosion, were slightly hurt, one having his side scorched from shoulder
to hip, without harming his clothes, and had his face cut by fragments of the top­
sail sheet, but both were well and on duty in 24 hours ; neither could give any
account of his sensations at the time of being struck.
23d. Ship Ohio, in latitude 49° N., longitude 41° W . ; was twice struck,
which injured several of the passengers and crew ; splitting the main-topmast and
injuring the mainmast head. Whale bark Gypsey, at sea; which injured the main
mast badly.
November 25th. Ship Elizabeth, in lat. 41° 43', Ion. 53° 10 '; which broke
off end of jibboom, and split the martingale to pieces. Ship Sea Witch, off the
Cape ; shivering fore-royal and topgallant mast, and breaking much iron work.
December 23d. British bark Worthy, at sea ; -which set the foremast on fire;
the foreyard was filled with men at the time, but none of them were injured.
January 15th, 1854. Schooner J. B. Brown, at sea, from San Francisco, for
Oregon ; which carried away main and fore-topmast yards, sails, and all attached ;
the man at the wheel was struck by the main-boom, and injured.
20th. Ship Scargo, in latitude 20° N., longitude------ ; w7hich split fore-royal
mast, and in descending did other damage. It entered the hold through the fore­
mast combings, and came out abaft the fore rigging, bursting up four deck planks
and started the oakum out of the seams in several other places.
23d. Ship Parliament, at sea, from Liverpool, for Boston ; which killed two
seamen, Henry Cline, of Massachusetts, and James Burgess, of Ireland, and injur­
ing another seriously.
26th. Ship W ild Rover, in latitude 45° N., longitude 40° W . ; was twice
struck, and set on fire forward. By several hours exertion in pumping in water
the fire was suppressed ; 35 bales of cotton were thrown overboard. The fore­
mast was first struck, and afterwards the main.
February 19th. Ship Yespasian, at sea, on the passage from River Gaboon
to North Coast, Africa, which carried away main-topgallant mast, and did other
damage.




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

575

March 18th. Ship Charles Chaloner, in latitude 39° N., longitude 56° W . ;
which damaged foremast, fore-topgallant mast, and royal mast.
23d. Ship William Tapscott, in latitude 37° 50' N., longitude 65° W . ; was
struck three times, but received no damage.
24th. Ship Universe, in latitude 46° 28' N., longitude 37° W . ; which
melted the copper at the masthead, and the lightning conductor (which was not
rigged out, but rolled up at the lower part of the shrouds,) along its whole length,
it then passed along the rail, ripping up the copper on its track ; took a piece out
of the deck, which was carried through the ventilator; all the watch on deck at
the time were thrown down with violence; both topgallant sheets were burned
off, and five large holes made in the mainsail, and filling the ship with a dense
smoke, which rendered everything for a few moments invisible.
April 8th. Ship Morning Star ; on the edge of Gulf stream ; which set mainmasthead on fire.
14th. Schooner Nebraska, when 54 miles W . S. W . of Ship Island ; the fluid
struck the mainmast, and descended to the deck, when the current divided, and
traversed the whole length of the deck, to either end of the vessel. The schooner
was completely enveloped in flames in a few moments, and the crew had barely
time to escape with a few biscuits, a jug of water, and the ships chronometer.
They were picked up by schooner Martha Jane. The Nebraska was loaded with
cotton and molasses, and was totally destroyed. Ship or bark Gem of the S ea;
near the mouth of the Mississippi, which started the canvas around the mainmast
and hurt three men, but not seriously. The shock was severely felt by all on
board. Brig Nenuphur, in latitude 25° 30' N., longitude 91° 24' W . ; which
shivered the main-royal mast and yard, and main-topgallant mast, scorching the
topgallant sails, parted chain-runner and topsail sheets, trussel-tree on lower main
masthead, ripped up the partners of the mainmast, splitting corners of main hatch,
and made its escape out of the vessel’s hold at the water’s edge, starting out
a bolt on each side, and some trunnels, breaking copper, &c. Schooner A . W .
Denslow, a lighter in the Galveston Bay trade, at the mouth of Trinity River ;
and set on fire. She had on board 301 bales cotton, of which about 200 were
thrown overboard and got on shore. The vessel was then scuttled and sunk in
shallow water, coming even with her deck.
26th. Steamer Ben Franklin, at St. Louis; not particularly damaged.
27th. Sloop Oregon, on North River, opposite Fishkill; and damaged to the
amount of $500. New ship Canvass Back, on the stocks at Baltimore ; shatter­
ing the mast and other portions of the vessel. Several caulkers who went under
her for shelter were stunned, and one man was killed. Ship Lebanon, at Balti­
more ; and slightly damaged.
28th. Brig Detroit, in latitude 38° 25' N., longitude 70° 20' W . ; which shiv­
ered the fore-royalmast to pieces, split fore-topsail, and fore-topgallant-yard, and
head of foremast, and severely stunned one man. Schooner B. F. Sparks, at sea ;
lost foremast.
May 5th. Ship Fortitude, off Sable Island ; two passengers seriously injured.
25th. Schooner Charles and Edward, while loading, 16 miles below New Or­
leans, which shivered the foremast to pieces ; the fluid p is si ig through the heart
of the mast into the hold, and out near the fore-chains, taking off a butt and bend
streak, and doing other considerable damage. Four of the crew were injured,
but not seriously.
June 1st. Brig America, at Darien ; had mainmast badly injured.
6 th. Schooner Express, at Bangor; which split the foremast from the top to
within three or four feet of the deck, at which point the charge dispersed. The
mate was thrown several feet by the concussion against the galley, and rendered
senseless for a short time.
7th. Schooner Wave, in latitude 27° N., longitude 76° W . ; which carried
away the main-topmast, split mainmast and mainsail, and did other damage.
13th. Ship Southport, while loading with cotton, at Savannah ; which passed
down the mainmast, made three small indentures in the deck, and went down the
margin of the pump into the hold, setting a few bales of cotton on fire, which




576

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

were s'oon extinguished. The mate was standing near the mainmast; the shock
taking his legs from under him, he fell to the deck insensible, his head striking
first. lie recovered soon after. The damage to the vessel was trifling.
27th. Schooner Kedron, off the Highlands; the fluid passed down the main­
mast, injuring it so much as to require a new one, and passing off by the centre­
board rod. Captain H. and the mate were knocked down.
28th. A fishing smack, near Petty’s Island, Philadelphia, in which two men
were fishing. The fluid passed through the bow, killing the two men.
July 8th. Brig America, off Frying Pan Shoals, (being the second time in
six weeks;) which split head of foremast, fore-topgallant-mast, and fore-topgal­
lant-yard.
18th. Ship Vandalia, on the edge of the Gulf Stream; which shattered the
fore-topmast, split several blocks, and parted topgallant-sheets.
20th. Schooner Cataract, in latitude 32° 35' N., longitude 77° 57' W ., and
set the vessel on fire in the lower hold ; took off the fore-hatch and broke out the
cargo, when they found two barrels of tar on fire, and a number of barrels of
spirits of turpentine within six inches of the flames.
27th. Bark Clement, at Charleston, S. C. ; which shivered mainmast.
28th. B r ig ---------- , at the Railroad Company’s dock, Aspinwall; the fluid
struck the anchor chain, and passed off on it into the water.
31st. Ship Radiant, (of Boston,) at sea, from New York to San Francisco ;
which damaged the fore-royal-mast and top-gallant-mast, burned the top-gallantsail and descended to the deck, taking out pieces of wood about the masts. The
hatches were opened, but no fire was found in the hold. Ship India, at Laguna;
which shivered the main-royal-mast, and damaged the other spars and the deck.
Ship Reporter, in the Gulf stream ; which split the fore-sky-sail and royal-mast,
raised the combings of the fore-hatch and bed of foremast, split several planks in
the deck, knocked down three men forward, and paralyzed for a short time several
men aft. Schooner Foam, at Toronto, laden with railroad iron ; which shivered
main-topmast to atoms, passed down through her pump, which it demolished, and
taking a sudden turn shot out through her bows, doing no serious damage. A
man at work at the time stood quite close to the mast, and did not even feel the
effects of the shock. Brig B. Strout, at Cardenas ; which injured her light spars
and rigging.
August 1st. Brig Standard, in Buffalo B a y ; which considerably damaged
her, and caused her to lose her anchors.
2d. Schooner Abd-el-Kadcr, at sea, from New Y ork for Alexandria; which
shivered mainmast.
3d. Schooner Heyward, off Georgetown, S. C . ; which damaged mainmast and
main-topmast.
4th. Schooner Moses G. Leonard, in James R iver; which carried away maintopmast, and injured the mainmast so that it will require a new one. Brig W .
H. Parks, at Nassau Mills, F la .; which damaged her mainmast and rigging. One
( seaman was severely stunned.
12th. Bark City of Ogdensburg, at Chicago ; which shivered her three masts
badly, and tore up a portion of the deck.
13th. Pilot boat New York, off Sandy Hook ; which split the mainmast from
the head down to the kelson, ripping up the deck, &c. Schooner Emma Hotch­
kiss, off Barnegat; which shivered the fore-topmast to pieces, and passed down
the foremast, knocking down the captain and three of the crew, who escaped
without injury.
14th. Schooner Alcyone, at Wilmington, N. C .; had both masts shivered.
A portion of the crew, under an awning amidships, were more or less shocked,
but were otherwise not injured.
25th. British brig Minerva, off Sandy H ook; which carried off fore and
main-topsails close to the cap. Her spars, sails, and rigging were considerably
twisted and much damaged.
27th. Brig Tybee, 20 miles north of Hatteras; which carried away maintopmast, head of mainmast, &c.




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

57*1

29th. Brig Caroline E. Kelley, off Hatteras; which split sails, fore-topgallant-mast, &c.
September 1st. II. S. ship Portsmouth, in latitude 16° 37' N., longitude 122°
52' W ., at 7 p . si. The lightning struck the main conductor, and followed it
down without doing any injury to the ship. Three men in the foretop were pros­
trated by the shock, but not injured. It wms frightful for a few seconds to see
the freaks of the lightning as it passed down the conductor. When it struck
the ship the report of the explosion was awful, shaking the ship and scattering
the sparks in every direction.
7tb. Schooner Juliet, about 30 miles southeast of Fire Island ; which carried
away fore-topmast, destroyed gaff-topsail, and so badly shattered the foremast
that it will require a new one. The fluid passed out forward, doing considerable
damage to the bands.
11th. Schooner North Carolina, off the capes of Delaware; which carried
away fore-topgallant-mast, topmast-rigging, head-stays, and burnt the topsail.
13th. Fishing schooner Hannah Fitts, at anchor off Black Bocks ; which
shivered the foremast, and in its descent tore off a portion of the companion-way,
&c.
19th. Schooner Forward, at Punta Arenas; which shivered the main-top­
mast. The lightning escaped on the chains. Two men on deck at the time were
knocked down, and but slightly injured.
30th. Clipper ship Flying Scud, in Gulf stream, was twice struck. The first
flash struck the ship forward, knocking down several of the men. One man was
brought into the cabin incapable of standing from the shock, from which, how­
ever, lie recovered in a short time. All felt their legs go from under them, and
their nerves were greatly influenced by the electricity. The second flash struck
the ship between the main and mizzen masts; this also knocked down most of the
hands on deck, and, curious to observe, it had a great effect upon the compasses.
When first observed, the needle revolted with great velocity, and this continued
for some time; when it ceased the compasses were found to be considerably
changed, and it was afterwards discovered that they varied five points to east­
ward of their true bearing,, which, after a lapse of five or six days diminished to
three points. These facts were clearly proved by the position of the sun and the
bearing of the North star. In consequence of this derangement of the compasses
(five in number,) it was necessary to lay the ship to under close-reefed topsails for
eighteen hours, although the wind was perfectly fair, and the ship might have run
130 miles at least. It would appear that the lightning struck the mizzenmast
and descended by the lightning-rod to the channels. The wind appeared to blow
the copper wire of the rod against the chains, and hence it was conducted through
the bolt into the interio* of the ship, where it magnetized a large quantity of iron
and steel instruments which were in the after-hold. To prove that these were the
seat of attraction, Captain Bearse placed a compass in ail parts of the ship. The
influence varied in different places. On the topgallant-forecastle the compass
seemed to return to its proper bearing; abaft the mainmast the influence was
much stronger, and in the afterpart of the ship it was most potent. Placed upon
the cabin floor, the compass still revolved with considerable velocity. On a
board placed ten feet out upon the larboard side of the ship, the compass was
found to become nearly correct. By this means the true course of the ship was
found. The influence above mentioned prevailed during most of the passage, un­
til the 7th of December, in latitude 43° 45' S., longitude 110° 15' E., where the
compass seemed to become more correct, being found to vary but three-fourths of
a point to the eastward.
Br. bark, Olympus, at Belize, Honduras. It seems to have struck her main­
mast, shivering the royal topmast and yards down to the mainmast; then down
to the pump; down that and through her bottom, causing her to leak so badly
that her cargo (she was fully loaded) had to be discharged, and she repaired, be­
fore she could proceed on her voyage.
October 16th. Schooner Spring Hill, in latitude 35° N., longitude 72° W . ;
which split foresail, and injured two men.
VOL. XXXV .---- NO. V.
37




578

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

27th. Brig Francis Faber, in the Gulf stream ; which shivered the main-top­
gallant and royal-masts, and a ball of fire passed through the cabin with a tre­
mendous report, filling it with smoke, but did no damage. Captain Jackson, who
was sitting in the cabin at the time, was considerably stunned.
December 3d. Brig Brothers, at sea, Cape Henry bearing W . X . W . 20 miles;
which passed down the mainmast, carrying away topsail-sheets, splitting topsail,
knocking down the captain, first and second mate, and one man,— entered the lar­
board pump, and bursted it three feet below the deck, and shattering the pumps’
wells, choked them up, went round the hold and came up through the cabin,
breaking doors, windows, and crockery. Whaleship Lancer, at sea, had been
struck twice during the six weeks previous to December 20, losing main-topgallant-mast the last time; had main-hatch combings splintered, and several men
knocked down.
January 23d, 1855. Schooner Arno, at sea, from Kappahannock for Bath ;
struck on foremast.
26th. Schooner Stephen Hotchkiss, in Gulf stream ; which instantly killed a
seaman named Charles Smith, injured the mate, and stunned all on board.
Schooner E. H. Bowley, in latitude 35° 30' X ., longitude 74° W . ; which shiv­
ered mainmast.
February 5th. Brig Forest State, in latitude 33° 10' X ., longitude 76° W . ;
which knocked down four men, and killed Antonio Barnard, of Boston, (seaman ;)
the others were not seriously injured. Schooner Clara Borges, at sea; which
split the mainmast, injuring the man at the wheel, and some others of the crew.
6th. Ship Seaman, in latitude 36° X ., longitude 63° W ., and immediately
took fire. W ith the greatest exertions they were enabled to keep the fire under
until the next morning, when they fell in with the brig Marion, bound from Bos­
ton to Cienfuegos, which took them off. Soon after the ship was enveloped in
flames— cargo and vessel a total loss— crew saved. She was 546 tons, four years
old, and bound from Xew Orleans to Marseilles, with corn.
March 9th. Schooner Yankee Doodle, at sea, Chincoteaque light bearing
X . X . W . 18 miles; on head of mainmast, setting fire to the mats on the gaff;
and down through the top of the house into the larboard state-room, and out of
the side of the house, setting fire to things in the state-room. Schooner King­
fisher, at sea; had foremast carried away. Schooner Jos. E. Smith, at sea; lost
foremast.
April 19th. Bark Dickey Sam, at Buenaventura; which splintered the fore­
mast several feet. She had on board, as cargo, 500 packages of powder. Ship
Ceylon, at Buenaventura ; shattering the mizzen-topgallant-mast, taking its course
down the mast, and passing through the cabin, at which time the vessel appeared
to be all on fire. During the time the rain fell in incessant torrents.
20th. Sloop David Lamphere, at anchor in Greenport harbor, L. I . ; which
shivered her mast from top to bottom. The crew, asleep below, escaped uninjured.
May 12th. Brig Charlotte, in latitude 37° 12' X . longitude 62° W . ; which
stripped her of everything but lower masts. Schooner Arcturus, off Grand
Kiver, C. W . ; damage $1,000.
30th. Bark Kilby, in latitude 32° X ., longitude 70° W .; which split the
main-royalmast to pieces, splintered the main-topgallant-mast, passed down the
topsails, and scorched the mizzen-topmost-staysail, descended the main-topsail
sheets, and ripped up the pumps, &c.
June 20th. Schooner Pennsylvania, off Cape May ; which shattered mainmast.
22d. Bark Gov. Hubbard, off Barnegat; which shivered fore-topgallant-masthead, and started the wood ends above water.
24th. Brig Sarah Bernice, in latitude 28° 45' X ., longitude 70° 3 6 'W .;
which splintered fore-topmast, fore-topgallant-mast, main-topmast, sails, &c.
Schooner Magnolia, off Bar Point, Lake E rie; lost one man— damage $200.
July. Brig Ellen Parker, off Point Pellee, Lake E rie; damaging spars and
hull to the amount of $1,000.
12th. Canal-boat Wyoming, at U tica ; which killed one man, and stunned
two others.




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

579

16th. Clipper schooner Clinton, at the dock at Montreal; shivering the top­
mast in pieces, and followed down the mainmast into the vessel’s hold, and es­
caped out of the side just above light water-mark. Captain R. Taylor was in
his state-room at the time, and rendered senseless by the shock, but recovered in
a few hours. The mate was also much affected by the shock, and the crew, in
another part of the vessel, all were more or less prostrated, but were not seriously
injured. The vessel was covered with fragments of spars, and the rigging con­
siderably damaged.
17th. The scow on Horicon Lake, W is .; two men were instantly killed, and
twelve more or less burnt and injured.
20th. Sloop Eliza Jane, on the ways at Greenpoint; one of her masts badly
shivered. Schooner C. A . Heckscher, in Delaware B ay; her fore-topmast and
foremast were badly shattered, together with fore-throat halyard-block and bul­
warks. The mate, cook, and crew were all forward at the time, hauling down the
main-jib, and were all so shocked that they appeared insane for a while. Bark
Almeida, off Tortugas, and much injured. Her foremast was struck, and the
topmast was broken off; the lower mast was uninjured.
26th. Schooner Belle, of Huntington, when opposite Coeymans, North E iver;
on both masts. The lightning entered the mainmast, below the cross-trees, and
passed down to within ten feet of the deck, then down the center rod and board
to the trunk. From the cross-trees the mast is furrowed to a depth of four inches
by two inches in width, tapering down to a small sliver to within twelve feet of
the deck. The foremast is considerably injured and shivered. This mast was
fired near the cross-trees, but it was soon extinguished by the rain. The captain
and all hands were on deck at the time, but received no injury.
29th. Scoooner E. S. James, in the Gulf of M exico; which shivered the
foremast and topmast.
31st. Ship Osceola, while anchored off Old Point Comfort; her royal-mast
shivered. The electric fluid passed down the mast, and off through the hawser
hole. The captain and crew were on shore at the time. Pilot-boat York, in
Hampton Koads ; had one of her masts shivered, and everything in the cabin
broken up. There were five persons on board at the time, all of whom were
prostrated. One of them, a colored boy, was killed, and his body completely
charred. Captain Clark was the first who recovered consciousness, and as soon
as able threw water on the others, which had the effect to resuscitate them. The
cabin was set on fire, but was soon extinguished. A schooner, in Hampton
Eoads ; had foremast shivered. A boat, near Hampton Eoads; a man killed
while fishing. Schooner Elizabeth, at sea, near Port Leon; the mate instantly
killed, and all hands stunned. The vessel was set on fire and consumed, with
cargo. Attempts were made to scuttle the vessel, but without success, the in­
flammable nature of the cargo (cotton and naval stores) preventing many from
approaching her at first, and very soon after it became impossible to get near
her on account of the heat and smoke. Insured in Wall-street for $25,000.
Schooner Colonel John McRae, North of Hatteras; was struck on the mizzen­
mast, which ripped up the deck and passed into the hold, causing her to leak 500
strokes an hour. Schooner Isaac Carver, at Cardenas; which shivered her mainroyal-mast-head, and topgallant and topsail yards. British ship Igenoria, at Be­
lize, Honduras, while passing from one river to another in loading ; which splin­
tered royal-mast, and set the royal on fire; damage trifling, but the pilot was
struck dead.
August 4th. Packet schooner Melrose, of and for Provincetown, while off
Long island Head ; completely shivering mainmast and main-topmast. Captain
Crocker, who was at the wheel, was knocked down and laid senseless for four
hours. A coal-laden vessel, at Braintree, Mass.; which shivered masts and spars ;
a man in the hold was prostrated.
5th. The American ship Skylark and a Spanish bark, at Havana, Cuba ;
slightly damaged.
6th. Schooner J. IT. Dicks, of New Haven, at Tampico, M exico; carrying
away mainmast, and injuring her so badly as to cause her to be condemned. She




580

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

has since arrived at Mobile. Schooner General Grant, at Bermuda, W . I . ; had
main topmast damaged.
13th. Brig Delmont Locke, off Brandywine L ight; which split royal-mast,
topgallanLmast, royal-yard, and shattered head of foremast, together with injur­
ing the sails attached. The damage would have been more serious were it not
for the heavy rain which fell at the time.
23d. Schooner S. S. Lewis, at anchor off the Battery, New Y ork ; which
took the main-topmast clean off, bringing it down by the run. It then went
down mainmast, shivering it completely, and rendering it entirely useless, it only
being supported by the rigging. The fluid then passed into the lower hold and
out of the fore hatch, near which one of the hands was sitting, but who, with
the rest of the hands on board, escaped injury.
30th. A row boat, in passing from Poet’s Island to Warwick shore, Bermu­
da ; and a man killed.
September 1st. Schooner Augustus Handy, on Lake Huron, about forty
miles from St. Clair B iver; which shivered both the fore and main mast to pieces.
When the masts fell they carried with them the jibboom ; damage, $1,000. She
was towed into Port Huron. Brig N. M. Standart, in the St. Glair R iver;
which shivered topgallant-mast.
4th. Bark Russell, in latitude 15° N., longitude 18° W . ; which carried away
main-top-trussel-trees, threw the main-topmast on deck, carried away main and
main-topsail yards in the slings, and took the mizzen-mast by the deck, carried
away main-rail, bulwarks, &c. The Rocket, in latitude 18° N., longitude 162°
E . ; was twice struck, which shivered the fore-royal and topgallant masts, &e.
6th. British brig Faithful, in the Bay of Tampico, Mexico ; set on fire, and
burnt to the water’s edge. The officers and crew were saved by launching the
small boat and pulling for shore— a distance of three miles— but everything on
board was lost.
10th. Ship Cowper, (whaler,) in latitude 38° N., longitude 55° W . ; had
mainmast and main-topgallant-mast struck. The head of the mainmast was so
much injured as to require a new one.
17th. Brig Executive, (of Bangor,) in latitude 34° 48' N., longitude 72° 06'
W . ; which shivered the main-topgallaut-mast, main-topmast, and mainmast.
20th. Schooner Libby Shepherd, at Key W est; and damaged.
24th. Ship Sea Lion, from Neuvitas for London, arrived at Charleston, S. C.,
in distress, having been struck by lightning, and sustained considerable damage
in sails, spars, rigging, &c., and caused the vessel to leak.
25th. Bremen bark Caroline, in latitude 43° N., longitude 50° W . ; which
split the fore-royal-mast and topgallant-mast, and injured the topmast.
October 4th. The Mary Hall, in the Victoria Dock, Liverpool; which shat­
tered her topgallant-mast. Ship Constellation, in the Waterloo Dock, Liverpool;
which slightly injured her fore-topmast and cap.
20th. Ship Adelaide, at sea, near Gibraltar; which shivered maintop-mast
and topgallant-mast.
28th. Sloop James Gorham, (of Fall River,) at the wharf at Somerset. The
fluid entered the head of the mast, shivering it to pieces, and passed out through
the hold and cabin, destroying nearly all the wood-work in the latter. She soon
filled with water, but was afterwards towed ashore. There was no person on
board.
29th. A vessel near Silver Creek, on Lake Erie, and set on fire. Ship Har­
riet, at sea, from Baltimore for Liverpool; had her mainmast crippled, pump
split and choked, and sails and rigging damaged. Threw overboard about 100
bbls. flour, 250 bags wheat, and 300 and odd bags Indian corn. She put into
Queenstown, Ireland, November 5, with over two feet of water in her hold.
November 22d. Ship General Dunlap, at sea, San Antonia W . N . W . thirty
miles ; which carried away her fore-royal, fore-topgallant-mast, and head of fore­
mast.
December 19th. Ship William Hitchcock, (cotton loaded,) in latitude 45° 42'
N ., longitude 47° W . The captain, in his account, says:— “ The lightning




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

581

struck the mizzen-royal-mast, and, passing below, the shock was so great I was
satisfied we were injured. On examination, I found the smoke to be rising from
fore and aft of the ship, and in a few minutes we were unable to enter the cabins.
Our only chance was to keep the fire under, until we could see some chance to
abandon the vessel. After making every preparation, such as getting boats and
provisions ready, we discovered a sail, and run for her. She proved to be the
General Parkhill, of Charleston, Captain Pierce, who, as soon as he could under­
stand our condition, kindly lay by us all night. Our ship became so hot that
the cotton on deck, which had been taken from the house, would take fire. A t
noon on the 20th, we succeeded in getting safely on board the General Parkhill,
and the last we saw of our ship she was a burning mass above on the ocean.
W e arrived at Liverpool on the 3,1st December. My men, as well as myself, lost
all except what we stood in.”
22d. Brig Geranium, in latitude 36° N., longitude 72° W . ; lost fore-topgallant-mast anil fore-yard.
25th. Ship Parliament, in latitude 46° 30' 1ST., longitude 20° 10' W , ; injur­
ing two passengers, splitting main-topsail, and damaged fore part of the poop.
January 23d, 1856. Schooner J. It. Whiting, at anchor in the Bay of Mon­
terey, C al.; shivering topmast to pieces.
26th. Ship Kosmos, in latitude 44° N., longitude 57° W . ; but received no
damage.
February 9th. Ship Anna Tift, at sea, and sprung a leak. She was knocked
down on her beam ends. Put into Havana on the 13th to repair. Damage,
§

10, 000.

15th. Bark Yenus, in latitude 37° 50' N., longitude 76° W . ; which set fire
to the fore-topgallant-sail. It then passed down the foremast, tore up two deck
planks, and struck one man, hurting him seriously, completely burning all his
clothes, and burning him in a most awful manner. In half an hour after she was
struck in the same place again, knocking down the second mate and two men,
but without any injury. The vessel sprung aleak; supposed the lightning to
have started the oakum out of the topsides. The seaman who was hurt was not
expected to live.
March 2d. Ship Wisconsin, in latitude 37° 30' N., longitude 74° 40' W .,
during a hurricane, at 2:30 A . M., while shortening sail, an immense ball of fire
struck the main-royal-masthead, and then fell on the main hatch, where it ex­
ploded with tremendous force, filling the deck with fire and sparks, with continued
explosions of the particles, like detonating powder or torpedoes. Owing to the
ice, sleet, and snow, with which the decks, bulwarks, rigging, and sails were cov­
ered, the fire was soon extinguished. About ten minutes afterwards a second ball
struck near the same place, but was driven by the force of the wind just clear of
the ship’s side to leeward, where it exploded with a loud report and great com­
motion. There were several men furling the jib at the time, and the concussion
was so great that it lifted them nearly clear of the boom. Temperature of the
air 28°, and water 69°, causing an immense exhalation from the gulf, which con­
gealed as soon as it rose, and was driven furiously over the ship, excluding the
very light of day. One of the crew was knocked down and stunned for a time,
but was not seriously injured. The mate was blinded by it, and probably will
not recover the sight of both eyes. Had it not been for the ice, sleet, and rain,
which covered the ship, there can be no doubt but that she would have been
on fire from the truck to the water. The fore-topsail was blown out of the boltrope, and the royal-masthead seared as it were with a red hot iron, being all the
damage the ship received.
7th. Hamburg bark Eliza Rubcke, in latitude 41° 14’ N., longitude 57° 55’
W . ; was struck twice, slightly injuring five men. Ship A bby Brown, at sea,
from Boston for New Orleans, and slightly damaged. One of the crew, William
H. Pratts, of Boston, was instantly killed, and several others were injured.
10th. Ship Lucy Thompson, in latitude 43° 30' N., longitude 44° W . ; the
ball broke in the slings of the main-topsail yard, and knocked down most of the
watch on deck.




582

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

23d. Clipper ship Neptune’s Car, at sea, from London for New York, which
slightly damaged the foremast. Several of the crew were slightly injured.
25th. British brig Appoline, in latitude 38° N., longitude 64° W . ; during a
hurricane, which split mainsail and gaff-topsail, killed a seaman named Charles
Martell, and injured the captain. British ship Lincludon Castle, at sea, and lost
mizzenmast, &c.
April 16th. United States transport (steamer) Fashion, while at anchor off
Salusia, Texas, and seriously injured.
23d. Brig George T. Ward, at sea, from New York for St. Marks, Florida,
which damaged mainmast.
May 1st. A man on board ship Silas Holmes, at the mouth of the Mississippi,
and remained prostrated four days. N o marks of the lightning could be found
on the vessel.
23d. Schooner Fawn, while at anchor at Monrovia, losing fore-topmast, and
badly injuring foremast.
24th. Schooner Maria, while loading in Musquash (N. B.) Harbor, which
carried away foremast, and did other damage.
25th. Schooner Arab, at Washington, N . C., which tore her mainmast to
pieces.
26th. Schooner C. North, off Sheboygan, Lake Erie, considerably damaging
her masts and rigging.
June 6. Schooner Adela, off Captain J. Godfrey’s plantation, South Carolina,
which split fore-topmast, foremast, and fore-gaff, and killed almost instantly the
mate, Albert Bieken, a native of the kingdom of Hanover. Schooner Jenny
Lind, in the New Basin, New Orleans, which shattered her main and main-top
masts. In its progress it cut some o f the rigging and knocked a block off.
7th. Bark Fame, on Lake Erie, off the mouth of Grand River, Canada West,
and six of her crew were badly burned and injured. N o mark of the fluid could
be seen on the vessel.
8th. Sloop Alexander, at the wharf at New Haven, and had mast and top­
mast shivered into splinters. Schooner Sandusky, at the mouth of Carp River,
Lake Erie, which shivered mainmast. Schooner Edward Wootten, at Pantago,
North Carolina ; the fluid left the mast and went down the center-board rod.
18th. Schooner Juana, off Cape Henlopen, and was so badly injured in sails,
masts, and rigging, and also sprung a leak, that Captain Floyd with great diffi­
culty reached the Delaware breakwater next morning.
23d. Brig Ganges, lying at Willink’s ship-yard, Savannah; which shivered
main-topmast, and slightly injured mainmast. Four men, who were in the fore­
castle, were so stunned by the shock as to be unable to speak for some minutes.
Ship Plymouth, in Mobile B a y ; damage not stated.
27th. Schooner John T. Grice, at Wilmington, N. C .; which splintered the
mast a little. The mate was knocked down, but, jumping up again, accused one
of his “ brother chips ” of having struck him.
28th. Brig Susan, at anchor off Port-au-Prince ; which shivered the foremast
down to the deck, and did considerable damage on deck ; parted the ring-stopper
of the larboard anchor, which parted the chain and lost the anchor; also set the
foremast on fire. The crew escaped injury.
30th. Ship Conqueror, in Mobile Lower Bay, nearly loaded with cotton, with
the steamer Pratt alongside. The fluid descended into the hold, leaving many
marks of its progress, but up to the departure of the steamer no symptons of fire
was discovered in the hold.
July 2d. Schooner Mary Louisa, near Raccoon Keys, south of Rumley Marsh;
which split the mainmast from the top to the deck. A ll hands on board were
severely injured; they lost the power of speech, and were several hours recov­
ering.
6th. Ship Mary Bradford, at Battery Wharf, Boston ; which shivered fore­
topgallant-mast. A bark off Point Shirley, near Boston; damage not stated.
10th. British ship Eliza Pickering, at anchor off the Tete-de-Flandres, near
Brussels, Belgium. A pilot, a customs officer, and one seaman were the only




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

S83

persons on deck. The fluid struck down the seaman, tore all his garments to
shreds, and cast him senseless against the bulwarks. The man was not killed,
but remained senseless when the last accounts left that place, twelve hours after
the accident. The left side, from the neck to the feet, is seared as with a hot
iron. Schooner Young America, (three masted,) while lying in Havana, Cuba ;
lost mizzen-topmast and damaged mizzenmast.
12th. S h ip ------ Cooper, at Belize, Honduras; which shivered fore-royal and
topgallant masts. Ship Lockwood, and a bungay, at Belize, Honduras ; both
had their masts damaged. A t the same time a large Dutch bark, at the Bogue,
was also struck ; her foremast, from the truck down, entirely shattered to pieces,
her sheet chains all cut to pieces, her rigging also. A ll the fore-yards ripped up,
(or down, more properly speaking,) and a hole, near four feet square, cut through
the main deck, where it either followed the chain or went through the bowport
into the water. N o one was seriously injured ; two were stunned for a short
time.
15th. Schooner Ellen, at Mackay’s Landing, on Pocotaligo Creek, S. C .;
which split maintop-mast and mainmast. There was no one on board at the
time.
24th. A schooner, passing Lake St. Peter, a few miles above Three Rivers,
Canada; had her mast shattered. Three or four men on deck, near the mast,
were prostrated, and one, named Paquet, was instantly killed.
28th. Pilot-boat Relief, of Galveston, when off the P o in t; which shivered
mainmast.
30th. Schooner Senator, at Locust Point, near Baltimore; and had mainmast
shivered.
31st. British brig Roderick Dhu, at anchor in the lower bay, New Y o r k ;
which shivered the fore-topgallant-mast, &c. Schooner Leo, at ------ , and lost
foremast.
August 3d.
Bark General Jones, off Sewell’s P oin t; and had royalmast
damaged.
4th. Schooner Cornelius, off Sewell’s P o in t; which shivered mainmast from
top to the deck. United Statos frigate St. Lawrence, at Gosport Navy-Yard;
damage inconsiderable.
5th. Bark Lizzie Boggs, at Sagua; which set fire to the fore-royal-yard,
burned the sail, and did other damage.
8th. Schooner Maria, in Vineyard Sound; the fluid struck the main-topmast,
passing down the mainmast, splintering it badly, thence out through the house
without further injury. A new ship on the stocks at Quincy Point, Boston, set­
ting it on fire. Two men in the ship were rendered senseless by the shock, and
it was a long time before they recovered. Schooner Belle, of Cohasset, while
lying between the Glades and Minot’s Ledge, Boston Harbor, with a party of
ladies and gentlemen engaged in fishing; which shivered her mainmast into splin­
ters. A lady and gentleman in the cabin were considerably injured. A Mr.
Cozzens, of Boston, sitting at the foot of the mast, was prostrated, and did not
recover his senses for nearly two hours. Yacht Sybil, with a party of ladies and
gentlemen, between Portsmouth and the Isle of Shoals, and had mast shivered,
glass broken, &c. A ll on board were more or less affected by the fluid. One
man was completely paralyzed in his legs for an hour or more; another was de­
lirious for nearly the same length of time ; a lady had a gold chain around her ,
neck melted, and her watch at the end of it was shattered to atoms; the lady’s
neck was badly scorched. The most dangerous case was that of a lady whose
breast and body was badly scorched, and was apparently dead for a long time,
but was resuscitated by the efforts of the others, assisted by the deluging ram
which fell at the time upon her exposed face and chest. Five of the affected per­
sons were left at the Shoals, still suffering from the effects of the bolt. The lady
remains in a critical situation. Schooner Pearl, of Rockport, off Boar’s Head ;
killing one man, Mr. L. Gr ffin, of Rockport, taking the mainmast out of the
vessel, and splintering the foremast all to pieces. Bark Nashua, from Boston for
Philadelphia, off Bombay Hook ; lost fore-topsail-yard, and had her decks ripped




584

Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

up. The mate was knocked down senseless. Schooner Sachem, at anchor in the
Shoals Roads; had mainmast stripped and shattered. A schooner lying off
Portsmouth, N. H. ; a man on board was struck on the inside of his elbow, so
that his arm doubled up and remains so.
9th. Schooner Brontes, off the west end of St. Domingo, splintering topmast
and topgallant-mast, and stunning one man slightly.
13th or 20th. Schooner Julia Ann, at Georgetown, S. 0 . ; shivering her fore­
topmast, and tearing her sails. A negro man on board was instantly killed while
overhauling the chain— he was badly mutilated. Two or three other men on
board were stunned from the shock.
27th. Schooner Carrie Sandford, at sea; had mainmast considerably injured,
and lost head of foremast. Ship Marathon, in latitude 28° 19' N., longitude
76° W . ; which shivered the fore-topgallant chain-works, and did other damage.
Schooner Stephen Hotchkiss, at sea ; lost foremast, and was otherwise damaged.
September 20th. Smack Viola, of New London, lying in Black Point Bay ;
which destroyed her mast. A sail-boat, in Providence Harbor, and damaged ;
Mr. Goddard, who was standing by the mast, was struck on the shoulder, the
fluid passing down his side to the deck of the boat, tearing to shreds his clothes
on that side, and one of his boots, and leaving a line of laceration upon the sur­
face of his body. Though suffering much pain, he is considered out of danger.
Schooner Drummond, while at anchor off the Fire Island Lighthouse ; the fluid
came in contact with her topmast, which was severed near the masthead, then
down the mainmast, shivering out large splinters as it passed spirally to the hold;
started her trunk, and came out ripping up her decks, at the same time stunning
the crew, one of them severely. Two other boats have been struck within half a
mile of the same place this summer.
The number o f persons killed b y the lightning, and those whose deaths
have resulted from lightning by having to leave the vessel,is thirty-seven,
(37.) The number o f persons stated to have been injured by the lightning,
eighty-five, (85,) and three accounts which says several, and one account
which says all hands were seriously injured.
O f the 244 vessels struck
by lightning, eight o f the number, including cargoes, were b u rn t; two
were sunk, and twenty were set on fire. Six vessels were each struck
twice, and one was struck three times by the lightning.
One vessel
struck was a propeller, three were steamboats, and three were steamships.
Five o f the two hundred and forty-four vessels were furnished with con­
ductors, equal to about two in one hundred. The damage in these five
cases amounted to about nothing. In the case o f the clipper ship Flying
Scud, the hands were twice very severely sh ock ed ; in the Gem o f the
Sea some o f the passengers were benumbed by the sh o ck ; and in the
United States ship Portsmouth three o f the men who were in the foretop
were shocked, but not injured. In the case o f the Gem o f the Sea the
conductors were destroyed.
In the case o f the steamers Northern Light and State o f Georgia, their
mainmasts were shivered; in the Fashion, on Lake Michigan, it is said
that a passenger’s clothes were set on fire by the ligh tn in g; and in the
United States steamer Fashion, it is said she was damaged. The steam­
boats were not damaged. Steamships furnished with masts require con­
ductors to protect the spars, but steamboats do not require such append­
ages.
I have never heard o f a claim for loss from damage by lightning being
made upon marine insurance companies in any case where the vessel was
furnished with con du ctors; but they have paid millions o f dollars for
damage and losses by lightning on vessels and cargoes where the vessels




Marine Memoranda o f Lightning.

585

were without these necessary appendages.
The marine insurance com ­
panies in the city o f New York, by a resolution adopted b y the Board of
Underwriters, deduct 2 i per cent from the amount o f premium o f insu­
rance on the vessels in all cases where they are furnished with lightning
conductors. I have never known o f a case o f damage to an iron ship by
lightning.
It has been urged by some, as an excuse for not providing lightning
conductors, that such fixtures attract the lightning, and therefore are dan­
gerous. Such fears are needless. I f lightning conductors are dangerous,
from a supposed attraction for lightning, it would follow that iron ships,
steamers, and steamboats would be unsafe during lightning storms, from
the abundance o f metals used in their construction attracting the light­
ning. Experience shows that the m ore metal the greater safety. N o
case o f loss or damage by lightning has been sustained by a public armed
ship in the American or English navy, in any case where the vessels were
furnished with conductors, the continuity o f w hich was uninterrupted to
the water.
Since steamboats and railroad cars have been in use scores o f millions
o f persons have been conveyed by them, and not one instance has been
known o f loss o f life by lightning in either, and there is but one instance
o f death b y lightning in a building furnished with lightning rods, and no
case o f loss o f life by lightning in a vessel furnished with conductors.
N eed I say anything more in favor o f conductors?
E. MEKIAM
B r o o k l y n H e ig h t s ,

N. Y., October 3 ,1 8 5 6 .

P . S. Since the above statement was drawn up, and after it was put in
type, I received accounts o f eight other vessels which have been struck by
lightning within the term, increasing the aggregate to three hundred and
fifty-two, (352.) The names o f these vessels are as follow s:—
June 30th. The masts of three ships (names not given) were struck at Wham­
poa, China, and badly shattered.
July 25th. Ship Sarah Martin, wdiich arrived at Liverpool, from Pensacola,
reports :— July 25th, whilst beating down the Gulf of Mexico encountered a se­
vere gale, attended with heavy chain lightning, the wind shifting frequently to
opposite points of the compass, and blowing with great violence. A t 10 a m .
the main-royal-yard was shattered to atoms by the lightning, and sail set on fire,
the electric fluid striking the deck in the midst of the crew, (who were at work
on the lee side,) and escaping through one of the ports. Parts of the burning royal
had fallen on to the main-topgallant-sail, but before it had time to spread the
rain came in torrents and extinguished it, otherwise the chances were in favor of
the ship's name finding its way into the column of disasters headed, “ Left port,
and not since heard of,” the sea being too heavy to escape in boats. This is the
second time the same mast has been struck by lightning within the last six months.
Sept. 6th. Schooner Samuel Welch, at sea, about 40 miles from Aspinwall;
which injured mainmast, main-topmast., main-gaff-topsail, and mainsail.
20th. Sloop Helen Smith, at the wharf at Sag Harbor, L. I., but was not
seriously injured. The fluid passed down into the hold. Steamer Barroso, on
her passage from Greenport to Sag Harbor. The fluid passed down the smoke­
stack and there passed off. The pilot at the wheel was rendered senseless for a
moment.
Oct. 2d. Steamship Black Warrior, opposite the Moro Castle, (Cuba,) about
four miles off shore, between 8 and 9 o’clock, p. sr., encountered a heavy storm.
The mainmast (supplied with lightning rods) was struck, the force of the elec­
tricity being so great as to knock down the captain, who was on deck, but with­




586

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

out doing him any injury. Happily the lightning enabled the steamer’s crew to
see a large ship, with all sail set, coming from the opposite direction, and bearing
down full upon the steamer. Notwithstanding the Black Warrior had four lan­
terns lighted, the darkness and the rain were so great that though at so short a
distance not even the light of the Moro could be seen. Upon being made aware
of their danger the two vessels had barely time to tack ship, so that they passed
each other almost touching— a horrible catastrophe being thus avoided.
e. m.

JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
ACTION TO RECOVER BALANCE OP FREIGHT.

United States Circuit Court. Before Judge Nelson. Decision on appeal
from the Judge at Admiralty, Sept. 15, 1856. Wm. B. Grant and others vs.
Cornelius Poillon.
The libelants were owners of the ship Constellation, of which Wm. L. Flitner
was master and part owner, and carried from this port to the port of San Fran­
cisco, in the years 1849-50, 250,000 feet of lumber and 29,100 cypress shingles—
freight to be paid at the rate of $55 per thousand feet for the lumber, and $20
per thousand for the shingles, amounting in the whole to the sum of $13,944 02.
The net proceeds of the sale at San Francisco amounted only to the sum of
$11,494 93, which was received by the master, leavirg a balance of $2,449 09
due, to recover which amount the present suit is brought. The defence set up
is as follows : Wm. L. Flitner, the master, and part owner of the Constellation,
which was lying at the port of New York in September, 1849— the other owners
residing in the States of Maine and Massachusetts, entered into a joint stock as­
sociation with the respondents, and several other persons not made parties to the
suit, called the Constellation Lumber Company, for the purpose of purchasing
and furnishing cargo for the vessel. The cargo to be composed of lumber and
such articles as the company might deem proper, and after the departure of the
vessel from New York the cargo was taken under the control and disposition of
the master, who was to act under instructions from the company, and to be con­
sidered its agent. The cargo was also consigned to him, and a commission of five
per cent to be allowed him for making the sales at the port of destination. The
price of the freight was agreed on, as already stated. The stock of the company
consisted of twelve shares, Flitner, the master, having subscribed two of them,
and thus being the owner of one-sixth of the cargo, besides his interest to the
amount of five per cent of the sales. The usual bill of lading was entered into
by the master, in which he was made the assignee. The cargo was under the
directions of Flitner, and amounted to the net sum stated. It is insisted, on the
part of the respondents, that the libelants were jointly concerned in the adventure,
and bound to contribute their proportionate share of the loss, and hence that the
purchase and shipment of the cargo were a partnership transaction, requiring an
account to be taken, and the partnership affairs adjusted, in order to ascertain
the balance, if any, due them. And that, as a Court of Admiralty, is incompe­
tent to adjust the open accounts of a partnership transaction, the Court has no
jurisdiction in the case. The position assumes that Flitner, the master, acted on
behalf of the owners in entering into the Joint Stock Association for the pur­
chase of the cargo, with a view to freight the ship, for otherwise, there is no
pretext for this ground of defense. But it is not pretended that the owners par­
ticipated in getting up the adventure, or had any knowledge of it except the mas­
ter ; and it is quite clear that he had no authority to bind them in a transaction
o f this nature, either as master or part owner. It was said of the argument, that
the bringing of this suit confirmed the acts o f the masters. It may be said the
briuging of the suit affirms the contract in the bill of lading, but no part of the
joint association contract appears in that instrument. It is in the usual form,




Journal o f Mercantile Law.

587

the Constellation Lumber Company appearing as the shippers of the cargo. The
confirmation of the Joint Stock Company is not at all involved in the suit, so far
as the absent owners are concerned. It is further urged, that conceding that the
absent owners were in no wise connected with the purchase and shipping of the
cargo, and hence no partnership transaction involved as to them, still a recovery
of the balance of the freight cannot be justly admitted until the settlement of the
joint concern between Flitner, one of the libelants, and the other members of the
company, and that this ground is equally fatal to the jurisdiction. I am inclined
to concur in this view. Flitner is one of the part owners of the vessel, and as
such is entitled to a portion of the freight. For this reason he is made one of
the libelants. Being, also, jointly interested in the cargo, and one of the shippers,
he is bound to contribute his share of the balance of freight claimed. And what­
ever may be that contributive share, the respondents are entitled to have it de­
ducted from his portion of the freight, or if the contributive share exceeds this,
the balance should be paid to his co-owners, or accounted to them as his portion
of the freight to be paid. I do not see, therefore, that justice can be administer­
ed in the case without an account taken between one of the libelants and the re­
spondents, involving the whole of the joint stock operations in the purchase of
the cargo, and which this Court is incompetent to take. It would be manifest
injustice to allow him to recover in the case his share of the freight, leaving the
respondents to bring a cross suit for contribution : and I do not see how this can
be avoided short of an adjustment of the partnership concern in the cargo. A
Court of Equity can adjust the interests of all parties concerned in one suit, and
we think the libelants should have resorted to that tribunal. I concur, therefore,
with the disposition of the case below, and confirm the decree dismissing the libel
with costs.
ACTION FOE LOSS OF SMUGGLED GOODS.

Nisi Prius Court, Liverpool, England, September, 1856.
Bramwell. Brennan vs. Howard.

Before Mr. Baron

Mr. Ovens opened the pleadings. The action was one of trover for breach of
guaranty, and the defendant pleaded that he had not given any. There were also
technical defenses. The suit had been tried at the last assizes for Liverpool, and
the plaintiff then, after the whole case was gone through, objected to be nonsuited
on technical grounds taken to the form of the pleadings. The action was now
renewed.
Mr. John Brennan, a silk merchant, in Manchester, was in the habit of making
consignments of silk to New York, where he had an agent and a warehouse. In
November, 1853, Mr. Brennan came down to Liverpool, and saw a person named
Devine, at that time an emigrant runner in the employ of Grimshaw & Co., who
introduced him to the defendant, Mr. Henry Howard, a berthing clerk in Mr.
Grimshaw's office. W ith him he entered into an arrangement by which it was
intended to evade the customs duties of the United States, and to introduce a
quantity of silk goods without the payment of duty, which was at that time 25
per cent ad valorem. The plaintiff stated that the nature of this arrangement
was, that he should send from Manchester to Devine, in Liverpool, certain goods,
packed in such hampers as would contain three dozens of porter. Devine was to
hand these over to Howard whenever the latter should state he was ready to
transmit them to New York by some of Messrs. Grimshaw’s ships. The defend­
ant guarantied the plaintiff that for £7 each he would have the hampers delivered
at the plaintiff’s warehouse in New York, safe from all risks other than that of
the loss of the vessel. The plaintiff sent to Liverpool, in pursuance of that ar­
rangement, three hampers at different times. The first he valued at £181 7s. 3d.,
the second at £127 14s. 6d., and the third at £152 6s. 7d. The first two never
reached the plaintiff’s agent at all, and the third, which did reach, was in part de­
prived of its contents, goods being abstracted to the amount of £69 10s. The
action was for the value of the goods thus lost to the plaintiff. The plaintiff was
fully corroborated by Devine, who was present at the agreement between plaintiff




588

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

and defendant, and to some extent by a witness named Grierson. The defendant
said the nature of the agreement was, that he, having from his position influence
with the mates of several ships, would place certain goods for the plaintiff in their
care, to be delivered in New York to his agent, but that he never gave any
guaranty of delivery. The terms, as he swore positively, were, that he was to
have 25s. each hamper for himself, that Devine was to have 25s., and that each
mate having charge of a parcel should, on delivery, have £5 from plaintiff’s
agent at New York. Mr. M'Kenna, one of the mates, was examined in cor­
roboration.
These were the facts given in evidence, and on which Mr. Atherton for the
plaintiff, and Mr. James, Q. C., with whom was Mr. Brett, for the defendant, ad­
dressed the court and jury, after which Baron Bramwell summed up ; and the jury,
having consulted, returned a verdict for the defendant.

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEAV.
STRINGENCY IN THE MONEY M ARKET— DIFFICULTY IN M AKING COLLECTIONS— CHARACTER NECESSARY
TO CREDIT— INGENIOUS FRAUDS

AND

FORGERIES— THE

USURY

LAW S— POLITICAL EXCITEMENTS—

M AR IN E INSURANCE, A ND W H Y IT IS NOT PROFITABLE— PRODUCT OF GOLD, A N D BUSINESS AT THE
A 8S A Y OFFICE A N D MINTS— THE B A N K
SEPTEMBER— REVENUE FROM

MOVEMENT— IMPORTS A N D

CASn DUTIES— COM PARATIVE

EXPORTS

SHIPMENTS

AT NEW

YORK

FOR

OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE—

SUPPLYING EUROPE W I T n BREADSTUFFS— DRAIN OF TIIE PRECIOUS METALS— F IN A N C IA L CRISIS IN
EUROPE, ETC., ETC.

T h e r e has been an increased pressure for money in all the Northern and West­
ern States, particularly in the latter, where capital has been quite scarce. From
this cause collections have been backward, and in some districts it has been almost
impossible to secure the payment of obligations as they become due. A t the
South the money market has been easier, and at the principal money centers
there, capital is easily obtained at simple interest. W e notice an unusual num­
ber of small failures at the North and West, among both dry goods merchants
and produce dealers, the stringency in the money market having compelled many
to suspend who might otherwise have gone on for several years.
In former articles we have insisted upon personal character as an item of the
greatest importance in the basis of credit and confidence, and every day’s experi­
ence confirms the truth of this position. Some very singular frauds have recently
been discovered, the operations in one case extending throughout the United
States and Canada. In the particular case referred to, an ingenious swindler
managed, by forged bills of lading, forged bills of exchange, and forged indorse­
ments, to obtain large sums of money throughout the entire Atlantic seaboard,
as far as New Orleans. His modes of operation were various, but all showed
great skill and unparalleled boldness and success. By the aid of confederates, he
procured forged letters of credit mailed to the address of his intended victims, and
awaiting his own arrival; and forged bills of exchange, to cover purchases of
cotton, were transmitted in advance of his movements. In New York, and at
St. Louis and other points, he managed to procure fourths of exchange in London
for collection by himself, and then to sell the first, second, and third, erasing all
allusion to the fourth; or he obtained sets of three, and multiplied these by in­
genious maneuvers, in all cases obtaining the money for both the original and
duplicate. He was at last arrested, and part of the money has been recovered.
His victims are among the leading bankers of the country.




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

589

Another instance of fraud, for a long time successful, has just been detected at
New York. The plan was to buy business paper of a note-broker and borrow
money upon it as collateral, until capitalists were accustomed to the business, and
then to multiply the notes or create spurious ones, of course with forged signa­
tures, using them only as collateral security, and paying off the loan before the
paper matured, or substituting a fresh batch, withdrawing the first, ostensibly for
collection. This trick was detected through the carelessness of Charles B. Hun­
tington, one of the operators, who obtained a loan upon a note four days over­
due. The lender, in making a memorandum of the securities deposited, discovered
the maturity of this note, and immediately, without consultation with the bor­
rower, sent it to the supposed drawer for collection. The forgery was then dis­
covered, and the borrower at once arrested. About four hundred thousand dol­
lars of forged paper then came to light, most of which had been hypothecated for
loans either with private capitalists or at the banks, chiefly with the former.
These, and other cases of fraud which might be mentioned, show that there is
too little discrimination in regard to the character of those whom our merchants
and bankers receive to their confidence. N o banker should pay a large sum of
money to an entire stranger, no matter what the nature of the demand, unless it
is in redemption of his own signature requiring no indorsement; and no person
of doubtful character, living in luxurious style without known means to corre­
spond, should receive trust and confidence. But the last mentioned fraud sug­
gests another consideration— the necessity for the repeal of the usury laws. Men
in business will borrow money, no matter what the market rate; but under the
present law they are obliged to do it indirectly when the rate is over legal in­
terest, and this opens a wide door for fraud and forgery. The whole system of
money lending outside of the banks, during three-fourths of the year, is a viola­
tion of the law— a law so repugnant to common sense that it never was, and
never will be respected or obeyed. I f the law were repealed, borrowers could
then obtain the money directly of the lenders, and much of the risk and annoy­
ance of the present system would be abolished.
The business of the country has been disturbed to some extent by the excite­
ment attendant upon the political campaign, but the question will be settled soon
after this reaches our nearest readers, and we may look for four years of quiet.
This country has all the elements of great commercial and political prosperity,
and we have great faith in the promise its youth has given of a higher destiny
than has heretofore been awarded to any of the nations of the earth. W e do not
expect that its rulers will be immaculate, or its social condition perfect, nor do
we believe in a political millennium under the domination of any political party;
but we do hope that ultraism of all kinds will speedily run itself into the ground,
or so exhibit its naked deformity as to excite against it universal loathing and
contempt.
The subject of marine insurance is attracting much attention. Several com­
panies have become insolvent, and it is really difficult to find a reliable under­
writer who is so disencumbered as to be willing to take a single special risk. A
few writers have attacked the mutual system, as if it were responsible for the
ev il; but it is evident that any rate of insurance which would pay an incorpo­
rated company with a stock capital, would also be profitable to an association
organized upon the mutual principle. One remedy— and perhaps the only one




590

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

whose effect would be immediate— is, the raising of the premium, and this must
be the inevitable result under any system, unless the gross percentage of losses
can be greatly lessened.
W e call this an age of improvement, and yet it would appear that life and prop­
erty are not as safe upon the sea as they were a few years ago, and that we are
retrograding in this respect. The evil must be probed before we can provide a
remedy. In searching for the cause of these accumulating disasters, we must in­
quire whether it is in the material or personal of the ship. Are the ships now
launched less seaworthy than formerly, and if so, is the fault in the materials,
model, or workmanship ? Has safety been sacrificed to speed ? Are ships built
with greater reference to rapid voyages and quick returns than to the special ob­
ject of delivering cargo in good condition ? I f the ship is quite as strong and
seaworthy as of yore, is the difficulty further on, and if so, is it in the loading or
sailing ? Are shipowners too eager of gain, and do they load their vessels too
deeply ? Is it true, that the greater number of disasters the last year happened
to vessels loaded beyond the limit of prudence ? Are our captains becoming less
trustworthy ? While wages have advanced in every other department of industry,
has the pay of shipmasters been too limited to secure the best service or to at­
tract to the profession the necessary supply of able, trustworthy men ? Has any­
th in g been done to make the life of a sailor less attractive to the imagination of
the young and enterprising ? Is the source of the difficulty here a disinclination
on the part of many of the intelligent young men of this country to engage in
any pursuit which requires active manual labor? These questions are more
easily asked than answered, but we doubt not that they will suggest to the re­
flecting the true causes of the increased destruction of property upon the sea.
There has been, we think, too much legislative interference already with this sub­
ject, and we do not believe that Congress can control the adverse elements. The
evil will work its own cure. As long as property could be fully insured, the mer­
chant could be careless in regard to the danger of disaster. But the absolute
certainty of protection from loss, is now giving place to well-defined doubts, and
the merchant, no longer relying wholly upon the underwriter, must look a little
closer to the safety of his own vessel.
The product of gold from California for the current year will be larger than
for any previous year. The drouth has enabled the miners to search the wet bot­
toms ; while the fall rains will work out a large yield from the dry ravines, now
in course of preparation. The mint at San Francisco has not been in operation
since our last, owing to the want of some essential chemicals, but the quantity
sent forward to the Atlantic has not been thereby much increased. The following
will show the business at the Assay Office :—DEPOSITS AT THE ASSAT OFFICE, NEW YORK, FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.

Gold.

Foreign coins......................................
Foreign b u llion ................................
Domestic bullion . . . . .....................
Total deposits.......................

$5,000 00
65,000 00
1,515,000 00
$1,675,000 00

Silver.

$18,300 00
66,600 00
1,526,600 00

$26,600 00

$1,601,500 00

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




Total.

$13,800 00
1,600 00
11,600 00

1,585,600
16,000
1,265,615
174,448

00
00
00
00

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

591

The deposits include $250,000 California Mint bars.
W e also annex a statement of the business at the Philadelphia Mint for the
month of September :—
GOLD DEPOSITS.

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

$253,485 00
18,515 00
---------------- $272,000 00
Silver deposits, including silver purchases..............................................
329,950 00
COINAGE.

No. of pieces.

Value.

Gold— D ollars..............................................
Silver— Quarter dollars............................. .
'l hree-cent pieces...........................

$162,198
140,000
10,200

Total...........................................................
Copper— Cents..............................................

$150,200
1,834

Total gold, silver, and copper.................

$314,232

The deposits at the United States Branch Mint at New Orleans, for Septem­
ber, were as follows :—
DEPOSITS OF GOLD.

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

$8,046 90
719 65
------------- $8,766 55

SILVER DEPOSITS.

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

$50 92
149,172 36
-----------------

149,223 28

Total gold and silver deposits.............................................................

$167,989 83

The contraction of the banks has continued, and the specie in the vaults at
New York has been lower than at any previous time during the current year.
The decreased discounts has been greater than shown by the total of loans and
discounts, because a portion of the falling off in the latter has been made up by
loans on call, which can be made available at a moment’s warning. W e doubt
if this system of loaning out large sums on call does not injure the stability of
the market. It doubtless enables the banks to pay larger dividends, as they can
keep their funds out to the last moment; but it also creates sudden fluctuations
in the money market, as the demand comes at the same moment from each lender,
and is not expected, like the maturity o f a business note. W e annex a statement
of the weekly averages of the New Y ork city banks :—
WEEKLY AVERAGES NEW YORK CITY BANKS.

Date.

Capital.

5,1856.
12.........
19.........
26.........
Feb. 2 .........

49.453.660
49.453.660
49.453.660
49.692.900
49.692.900

Jan.
Jan.
Jan.
Jan.




Loans and
Discounts.

95,863,390
96,145,408
96,382,968
96,887,221
97,970,611

Specie.

Circulation.

Deposits.

11,687,209
11,777,711
13,385,260
12,733,059
13,640,437

7,903,656
7,612,507
7,462,706
7,506,986
7,622,827

83,534,893
77.931,498
82,652,828
78,918,315
82,269,061

592
Date.
Feb. f>.........
Feb. 16.........
Feb. 23.........
March 1 . . .
March 8 . . .
March 1 5 ...
March 2 2 . . .
March 2 9 . . .
April 5 . . .
April 1 2 ...
April 1 9 ...
April 2 6 . . .
May
3 ...
May 1 0 ...
May 1 7 ...
May 2 4 . . .
May 3 1 . . .
Juue
7 ...
June 1 4 ...
June 2 1 . . .
June 2 8 . . .
July
5. . .
July 12. . .
July 1 9 ...
July 2 6 . . .
Aug.
2 ...
Aug.
9. . .
Aug. 1 6 ...
Aug. 2 3 . . .
Aug. 3 0 ...
Sept
6...
Sept. 1 3 . . .
Sept. 2 0 . . .
Sept. 27. ..
Oct.
4. . .
Oct.
11...
Oct.
18...

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
Capital.

Loans and
Discounts.

Specie.

Circulation.

49.692.900
49.692.900
49,883,420
49.184.288
49.184.288
49.184.288
49.184.288
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51.113.025
51,458,608
51.458.508
51.468.508
52.105.011
52.105.011
53.110.311
53.110.311
53.110.311
53.110.311
53.658.039
53.658.039
53.658.039
53.985.068
53.985.068
53.985.068
63.985.068
54.243.043
54.243.043
54.243.043
54.243.043
54.443.043

98,344,011
99,401,315
100,145,441
102,632,235
103.909.688
104,528,298
104,533,516
104,145,301
106,962,018
101.840.435
106,165,085
105,538,864
105,325,962
103,803,193
103,002,320
102,201,161
102,451,215
103,414,921
104,168,881
105,626,995
101,081,525
109,261,582
109,148,042
110,813,494
111.346.689
112,221,563
112,192,322
111,406,156
110,188,005
109,313,911
109,560,943
109,519,116
109.115.435
108,992,205
101,931,101
101,141,392
105,918,836

14,233,329
15,618,136
15,835,814
15,640,681
15,110,946
14,045,024
14,369,556
14,216,841
13,381,454
12,626,094
12,958,132
13,102,851
12,850,221
13,311,365
12,196,451
13,S50,833
14,021,289
16,166,180
11.414.680
11,811,955
11.069.681
16.829.236
14,193,409
15.326.131
13,910,858
14,328,253
13,210,603
12,806,612
12.914.132
12.965.236
13,098,816
12,281,881
12,210,685
10,813,220
11,015,184
10,382,151
10,841,010

1,819,122
1,693,441
1,664,688
1,154,392
1,888,116
1,863,148
1,912,581
1,943,253
8.341.498
8,281,525
8,221,518
8,246.120
8,115,163
8,662,485
8,488,152
8,335,091
8,269,151
8,430,252
8,360,135
8,218,002
8,250,289
8.631.411
8,406,156
8,346,243
8,386,285
8,646,043
8,616,159
8.584.499
8,588,413
8,589,145
8,881,860
8,141,064
8,160,383
8,665,193
8,830,628
8,148,930
8.691.411

Deposits.

82,848,152
88,085,944
81,680,418
88.604.311
88,149,625
88,621,116
89.390.261
88,186,648
91,008,408
91,081,916
90,815,131
89,621,280
92,816,063
89.416.262
88,120,415
81,094,300
86,115,313
90,609,243
91,602,245
93,115,831
93,239,248
100,140,420
95,663,460
95,932,105
92,365.040
93.841.311
92,220,310
92,013,229
90,121,223
81,116,242
89,350,154
88,044,014
90,563,865
88,453,195
88,130,804
86,018,142
86,902,852

It will be seen that the loans and discounts of the Boston banks have also de­
clined, but the change in the specie basis is not important:—
WEEKLY AVERAGES AT BOSTON.

September 22. September 29.

October 6.

October 18.

Capital............................................. $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000 $31,960,000
53,259,000 53,092,204 52,886,830 52,528,650
Loans and discounts.......................
Specie................................................
3,419,500
3,392,151
3,436,696 3,490,358
Due from other banka.....................
6,928,900
6,586,900
1,440,322 1,401,513
Due to other banks..........................
5,001,600
4,506,149
4,280,562 4,538,195
D eposits........................................... 15,651,600 15,863,528 16 381,424 16,439,534
Circulation.......................................
4,450,000
1,093,518
1,166,018 1,612,638

The imports of foreign goods have received a check, and the gain upon the
previous year since our last, has not been important. The total imports at New
Y ork for the month of September has been §1,287,637 greater than for Sep­
tember, 1855, §1,042,474 greater than for September, 1854, but §1,983,342
less than for September, 1853.
W e annex a comparative summary, as fol­
lows :—




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

593

FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW TORE IN SEPTEMBER.

1853.
Entered for consumption.. . .
Entered for warehousing.. . .
Free goods...............................
Specie and b ullion .................
Total entered at the p o r t . . .
Withdrawn from warehouse.

1854.

$14,791,030
1,577,358
628,290
296,026
$17,292,704
1,709,052

1855.

$10,582,731
2,765,603
769,195
159,359

1856.

$11,859,017 $10,934,435
1,566,377
3,264,622
489,126
1,026,208
107,205
84,097

$14,266,888
3,181,316

$14,021,725
2,311,341

$15,309,362
3,457,564

The increase in September is much less than the average for the year. The
total imports at New York since January 1st, are §58,462,768 greater than for
the corresponding period of 1855, §20,854,522 greater than for the same period
of 1854, and §17,845,760 greater than for the same period of 1853, as will ap­
pear from the annexed comparative table:—
FOREIGN IMPORTS AT NEW YORK FOR NINE MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

Entered for consumption. . . . $125,138,189 $112,763,834
Entered for warehousing. . . .
17,391,246
24,569,713
Free goods............................
10,964,816
18,118,058
Specie and bullion................
1,907,257
1,941,141

$84,665,065 $128,900,191
19,187,452
28,494,662
10,252,994
14,701,645
678,999
1,150,770

Total entered at the p ort....
Withdrawn from warehouse.

114,784,500
19,471,459

155,401,508
11,682,018

152,392,746
17,537,217

173,247,268
19,094,642

The last three months have been the heaviest of the year in the aggregate; but
the comparative increase in imports was greatest during the second quarter. The
total for July was the largest ever received at the port in a single month. W e
annex a quarterly comparison :—
QUARTERLY STATEMENT OF FOREIGN IMPORTS FROM JANUARY 1ST.

1853.

1854.

First quarter...................
Second quarter...............
Third quarter.................

$50,336,718
47,499,805
57,564,985

$47,260,473
47,552,902
57,579,371

1855.

Jan. 1st to Sept. 30th . .

$155,401,608

$152,392,746

$35,200,366
32,747,063
46,837,071
$114,784,500

1856.
$51,871,305
56,430,604
64,945,359
$173,247,268

The increase in the imports in September is wholly in general merchandise, the
receipts of dry goods having diminished, especially toward the close of the month.
Thus the total imports of dry goods at New Y ork for September were §424,334
less than for September, 1855, only §966,176 more than for September, 1854, and
§2,913,124 less than for September, 1853, a3 will appear from the annexed com­
parison :—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR SEPTEMBER.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

3,864,625

Total.......................................
VOL. X X X V . ---- N O . V.




38

OO

1853.
Manufactures o f w o o l.............
Manufactures of cotton............
Manufactures of silk................ . . .
Manufactures o f flax................
Miscellaneous dry good s.........

1855.

1856.

$1,372,654
553,577
2,095,460
520,167
601,476

$2,607,170
1,042,843
2,380,508
753,019
648,472

$2,154,266
1,050,922
1,880,926
815,542
600,514

$5,143,334

$7,432,012

$6,602,170

594

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

QO
e®

WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.

Manufactures o f w o o l................... .
Manufactures o f co tto n .................
Manufactures o f silk.......................
Manufactures o f flax.......................
Miscellaneous d ry g o o d s ...............

T otal............................................
A dd entered for consumption........ ,

1854.

1855.

- 1856.

$848,882
285,060
420,830
86,012
36,526

$267,575
82,928
190,682
91,782
96,438

$524,532
166,728
163,578
80,139
21,175

$503,707 $1,677,310
9,618,024 5,143,334

$729,405
7,432,012

$956,147
6,502,170

$287,924
94,480
53,968
48,844
23,491

.

Total thrown on the m a rket.. $10,121,731 $6,820,644 $8,161,417 $7,458,317
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

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

$277,410
166,575
120,857
60,063
39,185

$409,040
174,036
429,579
144,549
102,266

$91,479
109,258
76,010
46,671
37,884

$332,632
154,866
181,766
143,687
53,859

T otal.......................................... .
A dd entered for consumption........ .

$664,080 $1,259,470
9,618,024 5,143,334

$361,302
7,432,012

$866,810
6,502,170

Total entered at the p o r t....... . $10,282,104 $6,402,804 $7,793,314 $7,368,980

The total for nine months from January 1st is $28,539,064 greater than for
the same period of 1855, $6,058,134 greater than for the same time in 1854, and
#1 ,728,910 greater than for the same time in 1853 :—
IMPORTS OF FOREIGN DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK FOR NINE MONTHS FROM
JANUARY 1ST.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.

1851

1851.

1855.

1856.

Manufactures o f w o o l .................,. $21,719,622 $16,630,785 $13,024,243 $21,315,298
6,514,180 12,763,076
Manufactures of cotton................ . 12,217,060 12.302,238
Manufactures of silk.................... . 27,525,127 22,766,800 17,212,322 25,254,582
4,175,570
6,649,359
Manufactures of f la x ...................
6,399,134
6,579,171
4,686,272
Miscellaneous
s
5,873,957
.............dry
. good
4,458,053
4,077,029
T o ta l.......................................... . $72,318,996 $61,965,266 $45,003,344 $71,856,272

1854.

1855.

GO
<Sri

1851

07)

WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.

Manufactures o f w o ol............... ,.
Manufactures o f cotton ...............
Manufactures o f silk.....................
Manufactures of flax.....................
Miscellaneous dry good s.............

$1,798,131
882,089
1.163,611
208,167

$3,542,617
2.389.186
2,613,984
725,993
331,562

$2,212,832
1,984,560
2,348,560
1,063,168
708,199

$2,317,929
1,819,911
1,764,310
864,868
335,975

Total w ithdraw n..................... .
A dd entered for consum ption.. .

$4,333,721
72,318,996

$9,603,342
61,965,266

$8,317,319
45,003,344

$7,102,983
71,856,272

Total thrown upon the market. $76,662,717 $71,568,608 $53,320,663 $78,959,255




Commercial Chronicle and Review,

593

ENTERED FOR -WAREHOUSING.

©9
OO

1854.

1855.

1856.

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

$2,202,029
1,160,194
1,335,678
298,679
314,633

$4,406,036
2,353,548
3,246,952
896,884
432,199

$1,449,109
1,251,810
1,746,238
771,897
597,557

$2,771,289
1,588,051
1,870,394
780,466
492,547

T ota l...................................... .
A dd entered for consumption.. . .

$5,311,113 $11,335,619
72,318,996 61,965,266

$5,816,611
45,003,344

$7,502,747
71,856,272

Total entered at the p o r t . . . $77,680,109 $73,300,885 $50,819,955 $79,859,019

W e also annex a comparative statement showing the imports of a few leading
articles of general merchandise for the last three months. The total of sugar is
remarkably large, partly owing to the increased price :—
COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF THE IMPORTS OF A F E W LEADING ARTICLES OF GENERAL MER­
CHANDISE AT THE PORT OF NEW YO RK FOR THE QUARTER ENDING SEPTEMBER 3 0 T H .

Books...................................
Buttons................................
Cheese..................................
Chinaware...........................
Cigars.................................
Coal.................................... .
Coffee..................................
Earthenware................... ,
Furs......................................
Glass, plate.........................
India-rubber...................... .
In d ig o............................... .
Leather and dressed skins,
Undressed skins................ .
Liquors— brandy.............
gin.....................
Metals— copper and ore ..
copper sheathing
iron, bar..............
iron, p i g .............
iron, railroad . . .
iron, sheet..........
lea d ....................
spelter...............
steel....................
tin slabs.............
tin plates ...........
zinc......................
Molasses.............................
Oil—linseed......................
o liv e .........................
palm..........................
R ags...................................
S a lt ...................................
Sugar..................................
T e a .....................................
Tobacco..............................
W a tch es...........................
W in e s ...............................
Wool and waste................




1854.

1855.

1856.

Yalue.

Value.

Yalue.

$155,431
237,956
12,427
233,683
449,521
184,056
1,186,673
481,843
829,798
97,683
468 473
11^634
513.021
1,897,508
114,970
119.065
25,079
296,386
1,481,355
343,137
1,568,413
163,002
631.795
138,136
408,486

$111,219
171,8S7
11,992
89,081
471,232
92,788
1,396,693
279,813
361,507
57,728
174,902
61,741
460,253
1,048,977
104,486
26,880
5,781
22,306
438,207
211,150
737,332
170,210
473,741
97,971
344,273

1,013,065

1,130,895

180,760
119,893
180.065
102.795
36,440
260,991
136,956
1,49S,428
1,714,482
117,862
765,914
572,355
869,194

89,601
242,764
367,299
76,523
210,263
109,375
2,970,317
566,407
222,463
704,512
281,189
152,221

$168,825
233,453
17,557
210,909
489,642
211,788
1,693,341
350,705
493,204
66,725
156,296
68,418
708,575
1,122,838
520,665
123,882
41,347
77,926
981,515
119,828
957,097
355,720
674,532
45,761
495,186
191,684
880,461
182,938
470,248
.218,110
136,256
44,457
230,994
161,013
6,277,339
854,689
227.156
891.157
710,103
224,695

596

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The receipts for cash duties have been very large, the total at this port since
January 1st being nearly thirty-seven million dollars:—
CASH DUTIES RECEIVED AT NEW T O R E .

In September............
Previous 8 months. .

1851

1854.

1855.

1856.

$4,226,340 18
30,554,094 46

$3,439,492 49
28,998,336 32

$3,523,319 50
22,378,083 81

$3,702,134 70
33,269,089 13

Total since Jan. 1st. $34,780,434 64 $32,437,828 81 $25,901,463 31 $36,971,223 83

The E x p o r ts from New Y ork to foreign ports for the last month have been
large; the total, exclusive of specie, shows a gain of $2,017,377 upon the corre­
sponding total of last year, and of §3,304,652 upon the total for the same period
o f 1854. This gain is very gratifying, especially as the shipments to the same
date of the previous two years were considered quite large :—
E X PO R T S F RO M N E W T O R E TO F O R E IG N P O R TS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.

1853.
Domestic produce...........................
Foreign merchandise (free).........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)..
S p e cie ..............................................
Total exp orts..............................
Total, exclusive o f specie.........

1854.

$6,579,088
63,470
526,658
1,244,191

1855.

$3,772,124
97,889
447,664
6,547,104

$5,228,637
17,369
358,896
1,831,684

1856.
$7,045,202
67,325
509,752
3,738,547

$7,413,407 $10,864,731 $7,436,586 $11,360,826
6.169,216
4,317,627 5,604,902
7,622,279

The total at the same port, exclusive o f specie, since January 1st is $13,591,115
larger than for the corresponding nine months of last year, $12,496,837 larger
than for the same time in 1854, and $15,667,350 larger than for the same time
in 1853 :—
E X P O R T S FROM N E W Y O R K TO F O R EIG N PORTS F O R NINE MONTHS, FROM JANUARY 1 ST.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

Domestic produce............................ $40,424,718 $43,225,844$39,808,299 $57,336,195
Foreign merchandise (free).........
1,153,996
1,316,299 3,457,965
748,075
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)..
3,892,569
8,599,643 3,781,244
2,654,353
S p e c ie .............................................
16,007,758
80,203,743 24,439,196 27,487,086
Total e x p o r ts ............................ $59,979,031 $78,345,529 $71,486,704 $88,125,709
Total, exclusive o f specie......... 44,971,273 48,141,786 47,047,508 60,638,623

The exports of specie now include an item of $1,044,559, accidentally omitted
in our report for April. To show the comparative gain we have annexed a quar­
terly statement of the exports of domestic produce only, from New Y ork to for­
eign ports for the first nine months of the year:—
QUARTERLY STATEMENT OF EXPORTS OF DOMESTIC PRODUCE.

1853.

1854.

1855.

1856.

First quarter.................
Second quarter...............
Third quarter.................

$11,020,636
14,401,654
15,002,428

$16,267,937
14,929,503
12,028,404

$12,958,884
13,378,540
13,470,875

$18,710,798
19,066,095
19,659,302

Jan. 1 to Sept. 30..........

$40,424,718

$43,226,844

$39,808,299

$57,336,195

W e have also prepared our usual summary of the shipments of certain articles
of domestic produce from New York to foreign ports since January 1st:—




5 97

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
EXPORTS OF CERTAIN ARTICLES OF

DOMESTIC PRODUCE FROM N E W

YORK

TO FOREIGN

PORTS FROM JANUARY 1ST TO OCTOBER 1 5 T H :—

1855.

1856.

1855.

1856.

11,258
7,083 N a v a ls to re s.. . .bbls. 545,532 409,908
32,956
1,953
1,092 Oils— w h a le .. . , .galls. 242,271
612,129 461,712
144,137 181,137
sperm . ,
44,296
91,406
lard . . .
B rea d slu ffs—
4,006
9,790
linseed .
Wheat flour . .bbls. 453,995 1,413,646
Rye flo u r ...............
17,222
11,205 P r o v i s i o n s —
Corn meal...............
42,825
64,093
Pork............. .b b ls. 133,118 128,184
61,395
55,833
W h e a t.............bush. 741,955 6,522,897
Beef..............
Cut m e a ts ,lb s .. . 15,224,276 25,984,946
R y e .........................
66,144 1,205,263
Oats ........................
12,211
13,640
B u tt e r .................... 731,687 976,427
Cheese.......................5,091,394 2,036,759
C orn ....................... 3,323,798 3,287,919
L a rd ..........................6,876,416 9,892,919
Candles— mold..boxes
43,687
38,602
9,491
3,360 R i c e .....................trcs
16,446
31,542
sperm .........
C oa l....................... tons
10,563
5,714 Tallow ..................lbs. 1,163,240 1,073,180
Cotton..................bales 223,126 156,592 Tobacco,crude, .pkgs
25,281
29,869
H a y ..............................
4,644
3,660 Do.,manufactured.lbs 4,159,807 4,280,245
H o p s ............................
8,526
3,612 W h alebone................. 1,670,073 1,460,260
Ashes— p o ts ___ bbls
p e a rls...........
Beeswax.................lbs.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the shipments of breadstuifs continue
large. The total increase in exports of flour and grain is nearly equal to ten
millions of bushels at New York, and there is also a large gain at Philadelphia
and Baltimore. The demand still continues, amply fulfilling the statements here­
tofore made under this head in regard to the probable deficiency in European
harvests. It is now evident that Spain, Prance, and England must lean upon
this country for nearly the whole of their required imports. The supply from the
Black Sea has proved to be even less than estimated, and many other ports which
usually furnish a surplus are now deficient at home. Happily, the harvests
throughout the United States have been such that we can spare enough to fill
the hungry mouths that might otherwise plead in vain. The trade in breadstuffe
for export from the United States is steadily growing in importance, and will not
henceforth be confined to years of European famine. Our rich fields at the West
and South will produce their abundance with uo expense but the tillage, the rich­
ness of the soil being in many places inexhaustible, and requiring no artificial
manuring. W e ought to bo the most grateful people under the sun, for our pros­
perity is unexampled in the history of the world.
The movement of the precious metals has been attracting much attention. The
exports of silver from England to China have been enormous, and the vast sums
poured into that country do not reappear, the exchanges against every other
country continuing enormously high, and the demand for dollars, like the cry of
the horse-leech’s daughters, being insatiable. Probably the civil war has had
something to do with this state of things, as it has deranged trade, and induced a
hoarding of specie. Prance has also purchased largely in London of both gold
and silver, and there has been a steady drain from England for many months. A t
the last advices the^demand for France was likely to be checked by the suspension
of the National Bank and the temporary legalization of a paper currency. This
is a desperate remedy for the existing difficulties, but the bank is not independent
of governmental dictation as it was in former days, and grave political questions
are now involved with its affairs. The hoarding process appears to be going on




698

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

again in nearly all parts o f the continent o f Europe, and there must be a
feeling o f insecurity among the middle class, much greater than appears upon the
Burface.

NEW YORK COTTON MARKET FOR THE MONTH ENDING OCTOBER 24,
PR E PA R E D FOR THE MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE B Y CHARLES W . FREDERICK80N, BROKER, N E W YORK.

F o r three weeks succeeding the date o f my last monthly report (September
26th) our market was active at an advance o f *c. a l c . per pound.
Small re­
ceipts at the South, and o f rather low grades, gave a coloring- to the previous re­
ports o f damage by fr o s t; and in consequence prices, both here and at all the
receiving ports, rapidly advanced, and were maintained until the last week o f the
month under review, when increased receipts occurred, and the crop prospects
were more favorably spoken of.

Speculation, on these accounts, grow languid,

and the foreign advices, which were expected to be favorable, were altogether
nugatory in their effect on our market. A n advance o f the rate o f discounts by
the Bank o f England at once checked the upward tendency in price, and the
stringency o f monetary affairs on the continent gave less tone to those y?ho
usually buy the first pickings o f the new crop for the mills o f the Empire.
The sales for the week ending October 3d were 14,000 bales, a large portion
being to arrive. The advance was *c. a -fe. per pound on all grades. Holders,
in view o f their small stocks, were not anxious to sell, and the market closed
buoyantly at the following :—T RICES A D O PT E D OCTOBER 3 d F O R T H E FOLLO W IN G Q U A L IT IE S :—

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

Upland.

Florida,

10*
12f
13*
13*

10*
12*
13*
13*

Mobile.

N. O. &. Texas.

10*
12*
13§
14

11
13
14
14*

The demand continued active during the ensuing week, the sales being 12,000
bales, at a further advance o f *c. a *c. per pound. A large portion o f this week’s
transactions was for export, and included various parcels in transitu.

The mar­

ket closed firm ly:—
P R IC E S ADOPTED OCTOBER 1 0 T H FOR T H E FO LLO W IN G Q U A L IT IE S:----

Upland.
O rdin a ry..................................
M id dlin g.................................. .
Middling fair............................. .
F a ir.............................................

12*

Florida.
ii
13
13*
14

Mobile. N. 0. & Texas.
ii
HI
13*
13*
14
13*
14*
14*

The market was well supported during the week ending October 17th, the sales
reaching 10,000 bales at firm prices, notwithstanding dull foreign advices and a
decline in the Southern markets. A t the close o f the yreek there was :increased
offerings at the following :—
P RICES ADOPTED OCTOBER 1 7 t h

Ordinary................................... ___
M iddlin g.................................. .. . . .
Middling fair.............................
F a ir............................................ ___




for

THE FOLLOW IN G QUALITIES I—

Upland. Florida.
ii
ii
13
12*
13*
14
13*

Mobile. N.O.& Texas.
ii
HI
1.3*
13*
14
13*
14*
14*

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

599

For the week closing at date there has been le33 desire to operate. The in­
creased receipts at the South caused a rapid fall in price, and the foreign advices
being duller than anticipated, our market gave way to the extent of |c. a -jo. per
pound. The transactions for the week did not exceed 5,000 bales, the market
closing quietly at the following :—
PRICES ADOPTED OCTOBER

24TH F O R THE FO LLO W IN G Q U A L IT IE S:----

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

Upland.

Florida.

10*
12f
12f
13

10*
12*
12f
13*

Mobile. N. O. &. Texas.

10*
12|
13
13*

10*
12*
13*
14

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
F IN A N C E S OF M A R Y L A N D .
The State of Maryland affords a remarkable example of rapid and highly hon­
orable recovery from the embarrassments which overtook so many of the States
soon after the general revulsion of 1837. Her financial position in 1842 appeared
to be almost hopeless, but good faith and prompt submission to direct taxation
in her people soon replaced the public debt upon a most creditable basis
Loan to Chesapeake Canal.............................................................................
To Baltimore and Ohio Railroad....................................................................
To Susquehanna Canal.....................................................................................
To Snsquehanna Railroad...............................................................................
Various internal improvement loans.............................................................

$7,194,222
4,116,043
1,000,000
2,232.045
590,599

Total debt of State............................. .................... ..........................
O f which held by Sinking F u n d ................... ...............................................

$15,132,909
3,426,750

Total outstanding...............................................................................

$11,706,159

In 6 per cents...............................................................
Sterling 5 per cents.................................................................
4* per cents..........................
3 per cents................................................................................

$3,015,220
8,272,258
77,681
341,000
-------------

11,706,159

The State holds:—
Stock in Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.....................................
In Baltimore banks..................................................................
Bonds o f Susquehanna Canal................................................
Mortgage on Susquehanna Railroad..................
Treasurer’s claims on receiving officers................................
Miscellaneous stocks................................................................

$4,182,691
468,406
1,192,500
1,500,000
672,143
99,538

Total productive stock.........................................................................
Balance o f debt on State taxables......................................

8,115,278
$3,590,881

The State has claim—
On Chesapeake Canal.............................................................
Stock in same..........................................................................
Various stocks..........................................................................

$7,886,573
6,000,000
756,073

Total unproductive................................................................................




18,642,646

600

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

Taxables— Baltimore, city and county............................... $115,157,215
Interior counties................................................ 128,716,111
Total taxables of State......................................................................... $243,983,446
Income of Treasury in 1855 . . . .
Interest, Sinking Fund, charities,

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

1,200,'162
985,064

& c

Carried to balance in treasury...........................................................

$214,198

Income of Sinking Fund from interest..........................................................
Contributed from treasury...............................................................................

164,408
98,617

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

$263,026

DIVIDENDS AND PROFITS OF BANKS IN SOUTH CAROLINA,
W e compile from returns made to the Controller-General of the State of South
Carolina the following table showing the capital stock, rate per cent and amount
o f annual dividends, together with reserved profits of banks in the State. The
statement from the Controller-General’s office is dated September 13, 1856 :—
Rate of
last div., Ain’t of
Capital stock. per cent. dividend.

Planters’ and Mechanics’ B a n k .................
Union Bank of Charleston..........................
State Bank o f South Carolina...................
Bank o f South Carolina..............................
Bank of Charleston......................................
Farmers’ and Exchange Bank, Charleston.
Bank o f Hamburg, S. O ..............................
Commercial Bank of Columbia, S. C.........
Bank of Newberry, S. C.............................
Planters’ Bank o f Fairfield........................
Exchange Bank of Columbia.....................
Merchants’ Bank of Cheraw, S. C .............
Bank of Chester . .*......................................
Bank of Camden...........................................
People’s Bank of Charleston, S. C.............
Bank of Georgetown, S. C .........................

$1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
3,160,800
1,000,000
500.000
800,000
300,000
300,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
400,000
1,000,000
200,000

8
6

$40,000
30,000

50c.
61

8
8
12
8
10
8
8
12
10
8
8
14

33,333
126,432
40,000
30,000
32,000
15,000
12,000
20,000
24,000
15,000
16,000
40,000
14,000

Reserved
profits.

$114,389
11,025
108,619
11,312
295,609
28,825
122,073
14,461
50,531
26,732
3,495
63,904
22,437
56,752
31,467
42,245

- The Bank of the State of South Carolina, with a capital stock of §1,113,789 38,
with its branches at Columbia and Camden, is not included in the list above.
WILKINS’S DIRECTORY FOR BANKERS AND UNDERWRITERS.
Mr. A l v a n W il k in s has compiled and published a volume of between 300 and
400 pages, containing a list of the insurance companies, banks, savings banks,
and private bankers of the United States, with the names of the presidents,
cashiers, &c. In order to obtain the information embraced in this volume, he
forwarded more than 10,000 letters and circulars to all parts of the country.
Every State and Territory in the Union by this means was carefully canvassed,
and the result of these efforts is presented in the volume before us. A full and
complete directory of this description must be valuable to business men generally;
and we presume, in future editions, which are contemplated by the enterprising
publisher and compiler, such a work will be produced. W e commend the enter­
prise to the encouragement of “ all whom it may concern.”




CONDITION OF THE BANK OF CHARLESTON IN 1855-56,
MONTHLY CONDITION OF THE BANK OF CHARLESTON, S. 0 ., FROM THE 1ST OF JCLY,

1855,

TO THE 3 0 t H OF JUNE, 1 8 5 6 , INCLUSIVE, BEING ABSTRACT OF W EE K L Y

LIABILITIES.

July, 1S55.

August. September. October. November. Decemb'r. Jan., 1S56. February.

March.

April.

May.

June.

Capital stock.................................. 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,8003,160,800 3,160,800 3,160,800
Bills in circulation........................ 584,493 603,172 603.562 628,113 713,103
805,787 880,704 938,945 926,592 985,863 919,984 914,126
Net profits on h a n d ..................... 296,285
336,129 369,592 387,499 399,723
416,955 320,179 347,009 367,128 377,742 395,820 409,500
Balances due other banks, <Src.... 412.616
572,208 737,842 1,051,593 886,727 1,181,163 1,090,247 762.426 685,731 854,763 797,135 644,831
Private and public depositors.... 523,678
448,586 429,835 443,700 414.908 455,567 515,063 747,073 687,501 554,605 545,738 478,695
4,977,874 5,120,896 5,301,632 5,671,706 5,575,262 6,020,272 5,966,994 5,951,253 5,827,754 5,933,774 5,819,478 5,607,952
RESOURCES*

Specie on h a n d .............................. 215,444 254,014 191,615 238,312 227,270 278,907 281,768 298,710 298,558 307,204 334,105 287,449
Real estate......................................
54,529
54,529
54,529
54,529
54,529
56,029
56,029
60,037
60,469
62,975
64,013 65,740
Bills o f other banks.......................
44,647
43,205
36,648
33,766
33,249
30,345
92,469
90,253
88,053 103,167
82,036 78,666
Balances due from banks, & c ___
138,944
194.435 180,059 223,192 246,262 379,374 241,699 197,512 279,846 266,790 280,454 166,417
Notes discounted........................... 2,115,089 2,337,510 2,329,056 2,302,215 2,252,080 2,217,107 2,227,335 2,168,078 2,145,079 2,155,2762,107,308 2,043,800
Domestic exchange........................ 762,475
988,850 1,257,806 1,502,279 1,460,734 1,769,613 1,775,374 1,840,741 1,752,885 1,751,0301,424,531 1,408,110
Foreign exchange........................... 458,071
152,114
3S,811
63,333
91,487
87,998 113,543 117,717 155,747 334,963 678,172 613,626
B onds..............................................
187,994
184,368 184,459 184,459 184,459 184,459 170,216 170,216 117,922
67,100
67,100 67,100
Money invested in stocks.............. 663,248
663,248 663,248 663,248 664,748 664,748 664,748 664,748 664,748 666,248 666,998 668,698
Suspended debt.............................
337,528
353,617 365,497 361,370 360,440 351,688 343,808 343,236 264,443 219,016 214,757 209,009
4,977,874 5,120,896 5,301,632 5,671,706 5,575,262 6,020,272 5,966,994 5,951,253 5,827,754 5,933,774 5,819,478 5,607,952

601




Journal o f Banicing, Currency, and Finance.

AVERAGES MADE TO THE CONTROLLER.

602

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
CONDITION OF THE BANKS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.

The annexed statement exhibits the movement in the leading departments of
the banks of New Hampshire on the 1st of September, 1856, according to official
returns:—
BANKS

OP N E W

H A M P S H IR E .

Banks.
Am oskeag.............................
Ashm ulot...............................
New Hampshire...................
Lebanon.................................
Belknap C ou nty...................
Cheshire........................
C it y ........................................
Claremont..............................
Citizens’ ..................................
Connecticut River.................
Cochecho.................................
Carroll C ou nty.....................
Cheshire County....................
Dover......................................
Derry......................................
E x e te r....................................
Farmington...........................
Francestown.........................
Granite State.........................
Great F a lls ...........................
Indian H e a d .........................
Lake........................................
Langdon................................
Mechanics’ ..............................
Merrimac County.................
Manchester...........................
Mechanics’ and Traders’ . . . .
Monadnock............................
Merrimac River.....................
Nashua....................................
New Ipsw ich.........................
New M arket.........................
Piscataqua Exchange............
Pawtuckaway........................
Pittsfield................................
Peterborough........................
Pennichuck............................
Rochester................................
Rockingham..........................
Salmon Falls.........................
State Capital........................
Strafford................................
Sugar R iv e r..........................
Souhegan...............................
Somersworth..........................
W arner...................................
W eare.....................................
Winchester............................
White Mountain...................

Capital.
$2UU.OOO
100,000
160,000
100,000
80,000
100,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
100,000
100,000
50,000
100,000
100,000
60,000
75,000
75,000
60,000
125,000
150,000
150,000
75,000
100,000
100,000
80,000
125,000
141,000
50,000
150,000
125,000
100,000
60,000
200,000
50,000
50,000
50,000
100,000
80,000
200,000
50,000
150,000
120,000
50,000
100,000
100,000
50,000
60,000
100,000
50,000

Loans.
$329,093
190,360
220,869
192,099
148,266
195,323
261,60S
176,503
91,487
198,446
212,574
82,821
189,889
196,498
95,117
137,921
123,837
129,294
225,060
234,100
231,712
138.215
184,144
215,502
164,493
236,745
355,037
86,048
249,468
198,560
164,339
113,823
343,549
83,110
91,048
97.878
158,980
136,119
345,691
100,878
256,586
222,793
95,505
173,841
173,248
94,233
86,962
175,273
94,781

Specie.
$7,582
5,473
5,138
9,668
4,859
5,150
2,341
3,880
2,942
4,612
2,746
2,895
5.414
3,806
2,416
8,625
3,001
2,384
7,319
4,785
8,537
4,105
4,677
10,501
13,279
3,302
7,940
4,047
4,054
11,700
4,405
2,786
9,622
4,179
2,372
2,747
3,571
7,871
9,248
1,543
5,640
2,555
2,180
3,215
2,378
3,935
1,682
3,195
3,840

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

4,831,000

8,699,049

242,066

Deposits. Circulation.
$55,353 $128,595
23,476
77,277
70,186
28,547
98.208
24,859
78,387
7,255
73,750
25,768
114,000
26,189
83.000
9,468
49,486
5,185
72,065
22,976
78,448
69,381
45,445
1,500
99,296
11,819
73,858
38,791
51,463
4,124
65,897
5,000
60,489
11,220
52,774
26,762
78,823
38,855
99,680
8,036
82,146
15,420
12,233
71,567
28,203
75,587
98,353
43,160
73,894
34,178
103,891
35,773
110,766
126,117
49,976
12,035
108,600
27,361
66,891
14,441
80,321
11,675
52,474
25,194
101,865
79,673
45,749
4,188
46,678
3,565
48,940
10,179
85,534
5,719
76,234
7,046
98,969
44;804>>
40,380
13,496
28,583
104,506
86,731
37,896
49,284
13,284
6,100
87,956
74,632
9,569
5,718
46,598
44,311
1,122
98,385
4,600
46,052
10,573
1,106,485

3,708,397

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.
A return to the House of Commons has been made of the income and expendi­
ture of the United Kingdom for the year ending the 31st June last. The income




603

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

was £70,233,778 ; the expenditure for the same period was twenty million more,
that is to say, £91,803,181. The income includes £15,187,953 from property
tax. The expenditure is divided into three heads. The first relates to the inter­
est and management of the public debt, amounting to £28,319,173. The second
relates to charges on the Consolidated Fund, viz : civil list, £400,542 ; annuities
and pensions, £339,214; salaries and allowances, £162,519 ; diplomatic salaries
and pensions, £146,591; courts of justice, £491,339; and miscellaneous charges,
£187,507— total, £1,727,712. The third comprises the supply services, including
the army, £21,551,242; navy, £17,813,995; ordnance, £8,378,582; vote of
credit, £3,000,000 ; miscellaneous civil services, £6,879,604; and salaries of reve­
nue departments, £4,132,868— total, £61,756,292. It appears, therefore, that
the naval and military establishments during the war cost more than £50,000,000
sterling.
BOSTON BANK DIVIDENDS, AND VALUE OF STOCK IN 1855 AND 1856.
The following table, showing the capital and last four semi-annual dividends,
with the market value of the different stocks, quoted, dividend off, April and Oc­
tober, 1855, April and October, 1856, was prepared by our attentive correspond­
ent, Mr. Joseph G. Martin, stock broker, No. 10 State-street, Boston :—
y
Banks.

/-------Dividends.-------v
/—1836.—,
^-1855.->
Present capital. Apr. Oct. Apr. Oct.

Freeman’s .........
Market, par $70
Suffolk..............
Boylston...........
Exchange.........
Shoe & Leather
A tla s................
Blackstone........
Boston, par 850
Eagle................
Fanueil Hall . .
Globe ...............
H am ilton.........
Mechanics’........
Merchants’ . . . .
.New England .
Shawmut.........
Traders’ ...........
Tremont,............
Union................
Broadway........
Commerce . . . .
H ow ard...........
N orth ...............
National............
Eliot..................
A tlantic...........
North America .
Washington.. . .
City...................
Granite.............
Columbian........
State, par $60..
W ebster-.........
Mass., par $250
Maverick..........




$400,000
560,000
1,000,000
400,000
1,000,000
1,000,000
500,000
750,000
900,000
700,000
500,000
1,000,000
600,000
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

6
5
5
41
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

H
H
Si
Si
Si
Si

31
$8
3

5
5
5

*i

4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4

Si
Si
8
4

Si
Si
Si
Si
Si
Si

$8

Si

5
5
5
5
5
5
44
44
5
5
44
44
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
34
4
4
4
4
4
34
34
34
34
34
34
84
34
34
34
3
3
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
34
4
34
34
34
$8
$8
3
34

/-------------Value o f stock.------------- *
,-------1856.-------s
,----- 1855.------ x
April. October. April. October.
113
115
115
113

85
128
115
109
1084
103
101
67
104
104
111
111
104
1064
1084
104
103
109
109
100
ICO
98

854
122
108
no
109
104
103
58
105
108
114
114
104
1054
109
104
103
110
110
101
1004
994

100
100
100

102
101

106

101

100
102

994
103

1024
1034

100

101

103
64
103
250
97

1034
64
1034
253
954

1004

83
125
109
113
1124
105
102
584
106
106
115
115
106
1054
109
1014

102
110
110
99
99
96
99
99
99
93
1014
1014
104
97
1034
644
1014
255
91J

834
125
111
114
111
105
104
58
108
108
116
116
106
1044
111
i° ? 4
1024
112
111
100

100
97

100
100
100
97

102
102
104
97
1044
65
103
250
934

604

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
Capital.

Amount,
Amount,
Amount,
Amount,
Amount,
Amount,

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

$30,160,000
30.460.000
32.355.000
32.710.000
31.960.000
31.960.000

Dividends.

$1,238,600
1.237.600
1,268,150
1.275.600
1.240.600
1,245,350

The dividend of the Massachusetts Bank is 3 1-5 per cent, which we have been
obliged to give as §8 per share, (par $250,) for want of space in the table.
A s compared with April last, the State and Broadway banks each increase -J
per cent; the Traders’ decreases •} per cent; and the Maverick pays J per cent
less in consequence of the extra expenses of moving to the city proper from East
Boston.
The State Bank pays 4 per cent for the first time, excepting in October, 1817,
and it also paid 5, April, 1815. In October, 1836, 74 per cent was divided, five
of which was considered extra from the proceeds of real estate sold. The State
Bank was the fourth established in Boston, having commenced operations N o­
vember 4,1811, and its first dividend (3 per cent) was paid April, 1812. It has
never missed but one since, (October, 1829,) and, with the exception of 1 per
cent, October, 1841, no dividend of less than 2 per ceDt was ever declared. From
its commencement to 1847 the average o f regular dividends was 5.54, and since
then (10 years) 6.85 per cent. The bank was abundantly able to divide 4 per
cent semi-annually long before this, having accumulated some $230,000 surplus,
equal to nearly 13 per cent on its capital of $1,800,000, the third largest of Bos­
ton banks. The original capital was $3,000,000, but in April, 1817, $1,200,000
was paid back to the shareholders, reducing the par value to $60. The shares
sold at $66, or 110 per cent, before the dividend of 4 per cent was announced,
and now they cannot be obtaiued at 65, ex-dividend. W e have gathered together
these facts, believing they will be of interest to our readers, as relating to one of
the oldest “ institutions ” of State-street.
The following is a list of all the banks in Massachusetts previous to 1813 :—
Tears.

Banks.

Location.

1784. .Massachusetts.......... Boston.
1 7 9 2 ..
U n ion ................ Boston.
1795. .Bank of Nantucket* .Nantucket.
1796. .Gloucester................Gloucester.
1799.. E s s e x * .........„•..........Salem.
1803.. S alem .......................Salem.
1803.. Boston........................Boston.

Tears.

Banks.

Location.

1803. .Newburyport*......... Newburyport.
1803. .Plym outh................ Plymouth.
1804. .W orcester................Worcester.
1804. .Pacific....................... Nantucket.
1804.. Marblehead..............Marblehead.
1811.. S ta te ........................ Boston.
1811.. Merchants’ ............... Salem.

THE PRECIOUS METALS—GOLD AND SILVER,
The Independent, a semi-religious, political and commercial print, introduces
one of its late money articles, which we understand are prepared by an intelligent
merchant, with some well considered observations touching the production, con­
sumption, and influence of the precious metals in stimulating industry and multi­
plying the wealth of the country. It says:—
The precious metals are the wheels on which all trade and commerce turn;
and the movements of silver and gold for money purposes are watched with the
closest attention, especially by those who base their transactions on the conclu­
sions they come to respecting the future movement of these articles, the changes




* These banks are not now in existence.

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

605

in which affect the interests quite as much as they do the imagination of man­
kind. Gold and silver form the general measure of value throughout the world ;
precisely because they have an intrinsic value for other purposes, and are easily
divisible, with but small loss from wear and tear. It was surmised on the first
discovery of California that gold would fall in price from its great abundance in
comparison with other things, and many governments thought of demonetizing
gold and making silver the only legal standard of currency. This was actually
done by Holland, to her own present loss and monetary disturbance. Never was
a greater mistake committed. The discovery of the gold fields of California and
Australia has been a great blessing to mankind. The bearing of this discovery
on production was entirely overlooked. For, at once, it increased the consump­
tion of other articles; but extended consumption only extends production; and
the gold increasing from year to year keeps up a perpetual impetus to extended
production all over the earth, for gold is a great equalizer ; it is of universal cur­
rency, it seeks the dearest market, and flies the place of its own produce as the
cheapest.
The increased production of gold has increased our available capital, built
railroads, cultivated lands, and stimulated emigration and population. New
markets have been created, as by Aladdin’s lamp. Melbourne and San Francisco,
California and the colonies of Australia— future independent States— have risen
to eminence in a very few years, at a rate which has distanced all previous pro­
gress.
The discovery of the mines of South America by the Spaniards form no prece­
dent for the present generation. The Spaniards o f that day knew not how to use
the instrument placed in their power. The present generation does. The great
diffusion of the gold produced in Australia and California is what keeps up its
value. Could one nation keep it, it would fall in value quickly enough. Every
nation that produces it gains by parting with it. Had it not been thus abun­
dantly produced, our paper currency with all its evils— its ruinous fluctuations of
value— would have been trebled or quintupled. Any advance that has taken
place in real estate, in produce, or other articles, is not the result of the gold dis­
coveries.
Consumption and production mutually act on each other. The increased pro­
ducts of gold, first influenced consumption, which in turn stimulated production
of all articles to meet the increased demands, and the constant diffusion of gold
stimulated labor in every direction, where labor was free, and where labor was
rewarded, or hopes of reward were held out to it. The constant fresh production
of gold keeps up this action. Gold is seeking its level, and will in a state of
freedom find it among all classes, for it will raise the wages of labor, by enlarging
the demand for labor. Gold has also raised the profits of capital, but not the
prices of commodities generally; for of these it has multiplied the production.
Capital is a great instrument of production, and gold is capital, and the more it
is diffused, which there is an ever powerful tendency to, the more it acts upon
production, by multiplying a demand for every other article of human necessity
or enjoyment,
There are some changes at hand in the movement of the precious metals, which
will attract daily more attention. Silver, instead of gold, is likely to become de­
monetized in Europe; and its use as money will soon be limited to China and
India. The increasing imports of Chinese produce can only be obtained by sil­
ver ; and the supplies for this purpose can only be obtained by abstracting it
from those countries who use it as a currency, as Mexico and other silver-produciDg countries do not produce enough to meet the demand.
The influence in multiplying the wealth of New York itself by the discovery of
California cannot be estimated, and certainly is not appreciated. Gold is not
meat, or drink, or clothing, but it has been and is a grand impetus to labor to
produce more meat, more drink, more o f the rewards of labor, more of the ordi­
nary blessings of life. Gold multiplies production by its distribution and its
effect on labor and capital, and therefore does not depreciate in value. Being
thus a powerful stimulus to labor, it multiplies population; the ratio in the in­




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

606

crease of which, since the discovery of the gold mines o f California and Australia,
will be found to have increased even in the old countries of Europe, whence the
emigrant comes.
VALUE OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY IN BROOKLYN IN 1855-56.
W e give below, from the Assessor’s returns, the assessed valuation of taxable
property in the several wards of the city of Brooklyn, as finally determined by
the Board of Supervisors of Kings County, at their annual meeting on the 12th
of September, 1856, as compared with the valuation of the same for the year
1855 :—
r

W’ds. Real.
i 84,937,900
2 2,956,850
8 7,311,750
4 4,685,750
5 2.856,225
6 9,373.550
7 6,806,965
8 3,239,863
9 5,274,250
10 8,138,016
11 8,007,245
12 3,350,415
13 6,911,750
14 3,405,085
IB 1,627,852
16 1,653,245
17 2,488.100
18 1,568,087

1856. ---------- N
1855.
A /■
Inc. & Dec.
Total.
Eeal.
Total.
Personal.
Personal.
$881,100 $5,819,000 $5,193,825 $1,663,794 $6,857,619 i$l,038,619
1151,188
1,681,688 4,638,538 2,996,700 1,792,996 4,7S9,696
169,400
2,891.650 10,203,400 7,545,350 2,727,450 10,272,800
131,225
822,200 5,595,175
878,200 5,563,950 4,772,975
(194,775
16,000 2,749,050
37,600 2,843,825 2,733,050
<773,500
1,564,900 10,938,450 9,780,650 1,084,300 10,864,950
1261,040
101,300 7,160,305
92,300 6,899,265 7,059,005
1172,052
220,000 3,647,215
235,300 3,476,163 3,427,215
154,880
144,700 5,388.130
59,000 5,333,250 5.243,430
1313,849
205,900 8,694,965
243,100 8,381,116 8,489,065
1358,775
335,000 8,342,245 8,398,520
302,500 8,701,020
192,520
3,000 3,353,415 3,443,935
2,000 3,445,935
(7720,175
819,000 7,730,760 6,304,425
706,150 7,010,575
(7225,730
165,704 3,570,789 3,184,355
160,704 3,345,059
3,000 1,602,215
14,000 1.641,852 1,599,215
<739,637
25,000 1,711,250
148,505
9,500 1,662,745 1,686,250
(7175,636
20,000 2,352,364
39,900 2,628,000 2,332,364
(739,270
82,400 1,651,387 1,546,117
66,000 1,612,117

84,543,798 10,033,342 94,577,140 85,736,446 10,063,994 95,800,440

11,223,300

STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.
IMPORTS OF STAPLE ARTICLES AT MOBILE,
OOMrAEATIVE IMPORTS OF THE FOLLOWING STAPLE ARTICLES INTO THE POR T OF MOBILE
FOR SIX TEARS.

Articles.
Bagging... . pieces
Bale rope. . . .coils
Bacon.......
Coffee. . . .
C orn .........
Flour........
Hay..........
L a r d ........
Lim e........
Molasses..,
Oats..........
Potatoes...
Pork..........
Rice.......... . tierces
S a l t .........
Sugar........
W hisky...




1855-6.

1851-5.

1853—4.

23,176
88,399
12 626
33,556
43,436
59,073
13,556
16,692
6,790
17,695
88,912
19,308
19,944
1,961
234,321
7,570
25,808

23,938
31,597
16,929
23,936
101,225
41,920
17,858
22,083
14,632
29,330
33,939
12,099
12,446
11,421
139,901
7,431
19,702

21,063
21,562
17,744
20,678
189,029
62,057
25,101
15,738
11,953
80,799
60,426
23,261
14,700
2,349
169,631
8,398
24,695

22,327
24,107
13,227
34,503
92,104
64,444
22,830
22,389
21,252
19,681
48,395
21,344
16,841
1,399
123,266
8,352
21,754

1851-2.

1850-1.

17,762
16,585
11,500
28,538
83,380
74,329
26,852
22,481
31,027
18,195
20,995
22,014
15,589
1,491
154,351
6,083
15,597

30,402
30,926
16,637
25,236
98,086
95,054
27,143

20,021

23,745
23,673
29,121
16,248
23,949
1,832
128,700
6,634
23,868

607

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
PRICES OF PRODUCE AMD MERCHANDISE AT NEW ORLEANS.

The following tabular statements of prices of the leading staple articles of
produce and merchandise at New Orleans for several years past is derived from
the New Orleans Price Current:—
C O M P A R A T IV E

P R IC E S O F M ID D L IN G

F IR S T D A Y

TO

F A IR

COTTON

OF E A C H M ON TH D U R IN G A

1855-6.

1854-5.

Cents.

Cents.

NEW ORLEANS

1853-4.

ON T H E

OF Y E A R S .

1852—3.

Cents.

1851-1

Cents.

Cents.

Septem ber................
October.....................
N ovem ber................
December..................
January.....................
February ..................
M arch.......................
A p r il.........................
M a y ...........................
J u n e..........................
J u ly ..........................
A ugust......................

8-| a
n
a
82 a
9 a
82 a
8f a
92 a
92 a
lO f a
102a

Bales.

Bales.

Bales.

Bales.

Bales.

Rec’pts at N. Orleans
Crop...........................

1,759,993
3,520,000

1,284,768
2,847,339

1,440,779
2,930,027

1,664,864
3,220,000

1,429,183
3,015,029

C O M P A R A T IV E P R IC E S

...
lO f
102
112
102
104
11
11
...
...
lO^a . . .
lO Ja . . .

AT

P E R IO D

OF SU G A R

8f a
82 a
Sf a
8 fa
8 a
8 a
8 a
8i a
92 a
lO fa
9 £a
9 £a

...
...
lO f
102
102
10
10
...
...
...
...
...

ON T H E

LEVEE

F O R F IV E

Septem ber.......................
O ctober.............................
November..........................
D ecem ber.........................
January....................... .....
February ...........................
M arch................................
A p r il.................................
M ay....................................
June...................................
J u ly ............................... ..
A u gust..............................
C O M P A R A T IV E P R IC E S

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

ON T IIE

92 a
92 a
9f a
8f a
82 a
8f a
8f a
92 a
9f a
10 a
9| a
10 a

F IR S T

11
11
lO f
10J
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..

OF

9 a
8 a
7 a
72 a
72 a
72 a
7# a
7|a
7f a
92 a
92 a
9J a

EACH

10
92
82
8f
82
8§
9
9
92
..
..
..

M O N TH ,

YEARS.

1855-6.

1851-5.

1851-4.

1852-1.

Cents.

Cents.

Cents.

Cents.

5 a 7f
4 a8
52 a 72
42 a 72
5 a 8
5 a8
42 a 8J
4 a 82
4 a 82
42 a 9
5 a 92
52 a 92

22 a 4 f
3 a 52
3 a 52
2f a 5
22 a 4 f
2| a 42
3 a5
2 f a 52
4 a6
4 a 62
4 a 62
3 fa 6 2

32 a 5|
2f a 6
22 a 5
1| a 4 f
2 a4f
2 a 42
22 a 42
1 a 42
1 a 4f
1 a 5
I f a 52

3^ a
3f a 7
22 a 62
2 f a 5|
2 f a 52
3 a 52
3 a 62
22 a 5
22 a 6 f
22 a 5
2f a 5
32 a 6

3-J a- 3-$-

1851-2.
Cents.

3f a
34 a
3 a
22 a
2 a
2 a
2Ja
22 a
22 a
32a
32 a
32 a

62
62
6f
6
52
52
52
54
5f
6
6
62

OF M O LASSES ON T H E L E V E E ON T H E F IR S T OF E A C H M O N TH ,
F O R F IV E Y E A R S .

September......................
O ctober...........................
N ovem ber.......................
December........................
January ...........................
February..........................
March...............................
A p r il................................
M a y .................................
J u n e.................................
J u ly..................................
A u gu st............................




1 0 ia
1 0 ia
8} a
9± a
92-a
9 Ja
8f a
8§ a
S|a
7f a
82-a
82 a

1855-6.

1854-5.

1851-4.

1852-1.

Cents.

Cents.

Cents.

Cents.

28
22
24
27
37
30
33
30
30
35
35
30

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

32
30
31
30
40
35
34
35
37
43
48
45

8
9
10
12
14
13
15
12
22
20
20
20

a 13
a 13
a 24
a 18
a 16
a 17
a 19
a 20
a 29
a 28
a 28
a 28

13
13
20
12
13
12
12
9
9
8
7
8

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

20
20
22
18
18
18
17
15
13
11
11
13

16
18
25
23
17
21
. 18
17
15
14
11
13

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

28
28
26
24
22
24
24
24
20
22
20
19

1851-2.
Cents.

25
23
18
23
17
15
20
15
20
23
20
18

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

30
30
27
24
20
20
25
26
28
28
28
28

608

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

C O M P A R A T IV E P R IC E S OP F L O U R ON T H E F IR S T O F E A C H M O N TH , F O R F IV E Y E A R S .

Septem ber. . ............................
October.......... ...................
November . , .
December.. . . ..................
January ........
February.. . , ...................
M arch........... ...................
A p r il............. ...................
May................
June............... ...................
J u ly ............... ..................
A u g u st........
C O M P A R A T IV E

1855-6.

1854-5.

1853-4.

1852-3.

1851-2.

Dollars.
H a 7*
71 a 7 f

Dollars.
7 f a 81
6-J a 7
8 a 81
8f a 9
8f a 9
91 a 91
9 1a 91
91a 91
101 a 11
91a 9 }
8 a 81
V ia 81

Dollars.
51 a 61
5f a 6}
6f a 7
61 a 61
6 a 61
71 a 71
7 a 71
6 a 6f
6 } a 71
7 a 71
61 a 7
6|a81

Dollars.
31 a 4 f
4 a 4f
41 a 4 f
4|a 5
41 a 51
41 a 5
4 a 4f
31 a 41
3$ a
31 a 41
4f a 5
51 a 61

Dollars
31 a 5
3 f a 4J
31 a 41
31 a 4 i
31 a 51
4 a 51
41 a 41
31 a 41
31 a 3J
3 f R 3$
3 fa 4 1
31 a 31

8| a 9
81 a 81
6 f a 71
7 a 71
61 a 6#
6 a 61

P R IC E S OF M E SS A N D

F E IM E

PORK

ON T H E

F IR S T OF E A C H MONTH-

FOP. T W O Y E A R S .

f----------1855--6.---------- ,

MESS.
Dollars.
S ep te m b e r..................
O c to b e r ......................
N ovem ber....................
D e c e m b e r ..................
January.........................
February......................
M a rch ...........................
A p r i l ..........................
M a y .............................
J u n e ............................
J u l y .............................
A u g u s t.........................

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

21 a
19 a
151 a
161 a
151 a

22
20
16
17
16

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

16 a 161
1 7 1 a ..
19 a 191

PRIME.
Dollars.
171a . .
171a . .
171 a ••
181 a ••
15 a . .
.. a ..
14J a . .
1 2 1 a 13
13 a 131
1 4 f a 151
16 a . .
16 a . .

,------------ 185 ! 5.------------ x
PRIME.
MESS.
Dollars.
Dollars.
15 a 151
13 a 131
15 a 151
13 a 131
14 a 1 4 f
1 2 1 a 13
21 a 23
.. a ..
12 a 131
.. a ..
131 a 1 3 f
1 2 1 a 13
131 a 141
12 a 121
1 4 f a 15
1 2 f a 131
16 | a 161
1 3 1 a 14
141 a . .
161 a 161
18 a . .
1 5 1 a 16
18 a . .
16 a 161

PRICES OF PRODUCE AND MERCHANDISE AT CINCINNATI.
The following table shows the price o f butter at the close o f each week during
the y e a r:—

September 5.
12.,
19.,
26.,
October
3..
10 ..

17..
2 4 ..

81..
November 7..
14..

16 January 9.
16.
17
23.
17
30.
18
18 February 6.
13.
18
18
20 .
18
27.
5.
22 March

21
20
20
20
21
20
20
21

21

12 .

2 1 ..

22
20

19.
28.

28..
December 5 ..

18
17
18

20

1 2 ..

21

19..
26..
2 ..

20
21

9.
16.
23.
30.

20
20
20

January

28

2.

April

May

211
21*

18

7.
14.

21 .

June

July

28.
4.
11 .
18.
25.
2.

9.
16.
23.
30.
August 6.
13.

2 0 .,

27.,

18
18
18
14
15
13
13
121
12

14
14
15
15
141
14
14
14

22

The following table shows the price o f prime R io coffee in this market at the
close o f each week during the y e a r:—




609

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
September 5 ........
12.........
19 ........
26 ____
October
3 .........
10.........
17 ........
24 ........
31 ........
November 7 ........
14 ........
21 ........
28 ........
December 5 ........
12.........
January

1 9 .........
2 6 .........
2 .........

12* January
12*
12*
12*
12* February
12*
12*
12
12* March
12*
12*
12
April
12
12*
12*

9 ___
16___
23 ___
30___
6 ___
13___
20 ___
27 ----5 ___
12 ___
19 ___
2 6 ___
2 ...
9 ___
16___

12*

2 3 ____

12*

30___

12*
12*
12*
12*
12f
12*
12*
12*
12*
13
13
13
13
12*
12*
12*
12*

May

June

July

August

12*
12*
12*
12*
12
12
12
12
12
12
12*
12*
12*
124

7 ....
14___
21 ___
2 8 ___
4 ___
11 ___
18 ___
25 . . . .
2 ___
9 ___
16 ___
2 3 .....
30 ___
6 ____

13___
20___

12*

12
12

2 7 ____

12*

The following table shows the price of Western Reserve cheese in this market at
the close of each week during the year :—
September 5 . . . .
12___
19___ .
26___
October
3 ...
10___
17___
24___
31___
November 7 . . . .
14___
21___
28___
December 6 ___
1 2 ....
19.. .
26___
January
2___ .

8*
8*
s|

January

9* May

9 .........

16........
23........
30........
9*
9* February 6 ........
13........
9*
20........
9*
9*
27........
9* March
5 ........
12........
9*
9*
19........
26........
9*
9* April
2 ........
9*
9 ........
9*
16........
9*
23........
9*
30........
10

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

7 ___
14.. .
9*
21___
10
10
28___
10 June
4 ___
* 11___
10
18___
10*
10*
25___
10* July
2 ___
9 ___
10*
1 6 ....
10*
11
23___
80___
11*
6___
11* August
13___
11*
20___
11*
2 7 . .. .
11*

.

9*

.
.
.

8*
8*
8*
8*
8*
8*
8*

.
.

9

9
9
9*

9*

COMMERCIAL PROGRRSS OF OSWEGO IN TEN YEARS.

In 1845 the population of Oswego was 5,818, and in 1855 it was 16,000. The
value of our foreign imports from Canada in 1845 was $41,313, and in 1855 over
$6,000,000. The whole value of our import and export trade with Canada in
1845 was $2,350,309, and in 1855 over $12,000,000. Under the operation of
the reciprocity treaty, our trade both ways with Canada has more than doubled
in 1855 over the preceding year of 1854. In 1845 the whole foreign and domes­
tic trade of Oswego, imports and exports, did not exceed $8,000,000. In 1846
the total value of our trade was $10,502,964, and in 1847, the year of the Euro­
pean famine, it rose to $18,067,819 ; in 1855 it amounted to over $40,000,000.
The tonnage of vessels enrolled and licensed at this port shows a corresponding
increase. Our progress is now more rapid than at any previous period, our trade
having received a prodigious impulse from free trade with Canada, the rapid de­
velopment of her vast resources, and of the commercial advantages o f our position,
by the completion and vigorous prosecution of important improvements on the
other side.
V OL. X X X V .-----NO. V .
39




610

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

EXPORTS OF BOSTON FOR YEARS ENDING SEPTEMBER 1, 1855 AND 1856.

The Boston Shipping List (good authority) furnishes the subjoined statement
o f the export trade of Boston for the years ending on the 1st o f September, 1855
and 1856 :—




GO

1856.
Apples, bbls..............
40,142
Ashes, p o t ................
324
Ashes, pearl..............
146
Beeswax, pkgs..........
....
Butter, tubs <t kegs ..
19,325
Beef to—
Foreign ports, bbls.
8,602
Coastwise ports__
2,666
Bread.........................
14,848
Boots & shoes, cases.. 220,886
Candles, boxes..........
80,136
Cassia, mats..............
15,586
Cassia, cases.............
63
Cheese to—
Foreign ports, bxs..
7,243
Coastwise ports___
1,337
Foreign ports, casks
10
Coastwise ports___
2
Cocoa, ba gs..............
24
Coffee to—
Foreign ports, bags.
17,659
Coastwise ports.. . .
42,237
Corn to—
Foreign ports, bush.
36,670
Coastwise ports___
6,265
Corn-meal to—
Foreign ports, bbls.
37,461
Coastwise ports.. . .
959
Cotton to—
Foreign ports, bales
13,077
Coastwise ports.. . .
3,992
Dyewoods—
Logwood, tons.......
9,851
Sapan wood..........
354
Fustic.....................
165
Domestics to—
Foreign ports, pkgs.
40,127
Fish—
Dry cod, drums....
11,430
“
b ox es....
4,373
“
q tls........
62,696
Mackerel, bbls.......
103,786
Herring, boxes.. . .
31,115
Flour, wheat, to—
Foreign ports, bbls. 186,332
Coastwise ports... .
10,021
Flour, rye, to—
Foreign ports, bbls.
1,797
140
Coastwise ports....
15,408
Glassware, pkgs.......
Gunpowder, k e g s__
28,251
Granite, tons............
7,679
“
pieces..........
24,402
Gunny cloth, etc., bales
54,671
Hams, hhds...............
392

64,196 Hams, tierces............
18
“
bbls................
20
“
No..................
63 Hay, tons..................
15,376
“ bundles.............
Hemp, bales..............
“
tons...............
7,993
2,122 Hides to —
Foreign ports, bales
16,291
192,610
Coastwise ports.. . .
Foreign ports,No..
54,843
13,721
Coastwise ports... .
450 Hops to —
Foreign ports, bales
Coastwise ports.. . .
8,224
1,542 Ice to—
Foreign ports, tons.
5
Coastwise ports.. . .
....
1,069 Iron, tons..................
“ bars &bundles..
22,844 Indigo, cases..............
“ ceroons..........
72,625
Lard to —
Foreign ports, kegs.
43,594
Coastwise ports.. . .
17,533
Foreign ports, bbls .
Coastwise ports.. . .
29,355
1,767 Lac dye, cases...........
Linseed, bags............
2,873 Lead, white, kegs . . .
1,812 Lead to—
Foreign ports, pigs.
Coastwise ports.. . .
10,393
206 Lime, casks..............
89 L u m b er —
Sh’ks, box, &hhd., M.
Boards & plank. . . .
32,844
Staves....................
Hoops....................
7,610
Shingles.................
6,333
48,552 Molasses to—
Foreign ports, hhds.
105,867
Coastwise ports.. . .
28,076
Foreign ports, Ires..
Coastwise ports___
101,495
Foreign ports, bbls.
7,278
Coastwise ports___
3,070 Nails, casks..............
20 Naval Stores—
Rosin, bbls.............
11,899
Spirits turpentine .
35,339
T a r ........................
9,290
Pitch......................
5,234
Turpentine.............
44,998
506 Pepper, bags............

1856.
3 ,7 5 9

1855.
5 ,1 3 3

573

753

6 ,2 6 6

6 ,4 8 5

250

295

3 ,6 8 1

2 ,7 5 7

2 2 ,6 8 1

4 6 ,0 9 7
129

63
99

785

2 ,0 3 7
27

1 ,9 3 4

4 5 ,9 4 3

8 2 ,8 5 4

700

1 ,6 0 2

2 ,9 3 3

2 ,0 2 6

607

4 4 ,1 4 0

4 2 ,3 1 9

7 3 ,6 3 6

6 1 ,3 8 6

9 ,5 4 7
1 3 6 ,7 9 1

1 2 8 ,5 4 6

991

421

26

28

1 0 ,7 4 8

1 2 ,7 4 3

1 0 ,6 5 0

1 ,8 1 9

1 ,7 8 5

4 ,4 6 2

3 ,0 2 8

2 ,3 2 5

2 ,8 2 0

402

380

2 0 1 ,7 9 0

2 2 5 ,3 4 8

1 7 ,0 0 2

2 9 ,6 4 6

10,866

1 1 ,6 0 0

87

260

5,555

4 ,1 7 3

316

286

1 1 ,4 7 9

1 3 ,0 9 9

286

307

2 ,5 7 1

2 ,1 3 3

2 ,7 0 0

4 ,6 9 3

986

1 ,6 4 0

3 ,7 6 2

3 ,8 1 9

191

279

87

98

177

879

146

684

1 0 1 ,5 3 4

8 8 ,5 0 8

3 4 ,7 0 2

3 4 ,9 1 9

1 2 ,6 2 5

6 ,1 4 1

7 ,9 0 1

5 ,9 7 1

9 ,6 7 0

6 ,7 3 3

57

10

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

1856,
Plaster, tons..............
Pork to—
Foreign ports, bbls.
Coastwise ports___
Oil.............................
Rice to—
Foreign ports, trcs.
Coastwise ports.. . .
Foreign ports, hbls.
Coastwise ports... .
Rum to—
Foreign ports, hhds.
Coastwise ports.. . .
Foreign ports, bbls.
Coastwise ports....
Raisins, boxes..........
“
casks...........
Salt, sacks.................
“ hhds ..............
Shellac, cases............
Sumac, bags..............
Saltpeter to—
Foreign ports, bags.
Coastwise ports.. . .

7,551
19,887
11,069
8,276
1,437
17
10,872
1,903
2,426
95
26,775
5,027
30,650
1,234
41,067
30,410
2,575
3,711
8,524
38,407

611

1855.

1856.

1855.

6,899 Sarsaparilla, bales...
240
269
Sugar to—
20,235
Foreign ports, bxs..
8,372
4,713
10,504
Coastwise ports....
3,250
2,625
Foreign ports, bags.
9,313
252
447
38,308
Coastwise ports...
53,093
630
23,616
Foreign ports, bbls.
15,253
61
27,890
Coastwise ports___
20,651
7,191
Foreign ports, hhds.
218
615
1,515
6,390
Coastwise ports.. ..
2,964
Soap, boxes.............. 186,171 159,897
621
2,657 Tin, slabs...................
3,521
2,669
247 Tin plate, boxes. . . .
3,677
36,882 Tobacco, leaf, hhds ..
1,019
1,243
5,869
“
bales cases
5,161
4,779
35,581
18,374
“
kegs &,boxes
15,308
1,219 Tallow, bbls..............
2,619
1,830
75,242 Tea, chests.................
18,558
18,695
38,032 Wheat, bush..............
21,463
5,284
3,219
820
423
489 Wool to—
Foreign ports, bales
741
. . ••
662
6,971
Coastwise ports.. . .
478
67,857

COTTON TRADE OF MOBILE, ALABAMA,

The table below, derived from the Mobile Journal of Commerce Letter Sheet
Price Current, gives a comparative view of the exports of cotton from the port
of Mobile for the last four years, commencing 1st of September in each year :—
Ports.
Great Britain....................................
France...............................................
Other foreign ports..........................

1855-6.

1854-5.

18 51 -4.

1851-3.

351,690
96,262
37,083

215,248
111,090
13,973

231,230
76,827
29,094

236,620
88,263
20,258

Total foreign...........................
Total United States................

485,035
196,286

340,311
112,792

837,151
178,505

345,141
196,237

Grand total.......................

681,321

453,103

515,656

540,378

EXPORTS OF COTTON TO FOREIGN PORTS, W IT H THE W EIG H T AND VALUE ATTACHED FOR THE
T E A R ENDING AUGUST

31ST, 1856.

Bales.

Pounds.

Great Britain, in American vessels. . .
Great Britain, in British vessels........

163,639
188,051

83,180,336
96,292,252

Total to Great Britain.................
France, in American vessels..............
Belgium................................................
Sardinia................................................
Sw eden...............................................
Hamburg............................................
Bremen.................................................
Holland......... ......................................
Spain....................................................
A ustria...............................................

351,690
96,262
9,901
540
7,381
2,671
8,108
955
5,017
2,510

179,472,588
50,025,332
6,142,812
279,028
3,789,952
1,372,026
4,219,050
498,622
2,599,674
1,331,016

Total to other foreign ports . . . .
Total foreign...............................

37,083
485,035

19,232,180
248,730,100




Value.
17,222,334 00
8,403,352 67
$16,625,686
4,293,540
431,776
22,875
322,087
117,385
367,240
52,326
268,134
113,612

67
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

$1,695,435 00
21,614,661 67

\

612

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
EXPORT AND CONSUMPTION OF COTTON.

"We abstract from the annual statement of the Commercial and Shipping List,
a table, showing the export of cotton to foreign ports, and another, showing the
quantity of cotton consumed by and in the hands of manufacturers, north of V ir­
ginia, for the last thirty years:—■
EXPO RT

TO F O R E IG N

PO R TS, FROM

SEPTEM BER

To Great
Britain.
986,622
351,690
19,661
80,899
162,748
180,532
96
70
424
178
181,045
7,421

From—

New O rleans.__
Mobile...................
T exas......................

Florida................
Savannah..............
Charleston..........
North Carolina ..
Virginia................
Baltimore............
Philadelphia........
New York............
Boston..................

1, 1855,

To
France.
244,814
96,262
5,166
2,939
16,857
87,396

48
27,155

to

Au g u st

31, 1856.

To North
Other
of Europe. for’gn ports.
Total.
162,675
178,812
1.572,923
29,016
8,067
485,035
9,175
34,002
2,020
36,858
2,907
2 808
185,320
49,727
63,456
371,111
96
70
472
178
42,893
5,371
256,464
5,592
64
13,077

Grand total . . .
Total last year....

1,921,386
1,549,716

480,637
409,931

304,005
135,200

248,578
149,362

2,954,606
2,244,209

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

371,670

70,706

168,805

99,216

710,397

Q U A N T IT Y

CONSUMED

BY

AND

IN

THE

H A N D S OF M A N U F A C T U R E R S , N O R T H

OF

V IR G IN IA .

Bales.
652,789
693,584
610,571
671,009
603’029
404,108
487,769
518,039
531,772
427,967
422,597
389,006
346,744
825,129
267,850

1855 5 6 ..................
1 8 5 4 -5 5 ..................
1 8 5 3 -5 4 ..................
1 8 5 2 -5 3 ..................
1 8 5 1 -5 2 ..................
1 8 5 0 -5 1 ..................
1 8 4 9 -5 0 ..................
1 8 4 8 -4 9 ..................
1 8 4 7 -4 8 ..................
1 8 4 6 -4 7 ..................
1 8 4 5 -4 6 ..................
1 8 4 4 -4 5 ..................
1 8 4 3 -4 4 ..................
1 8 4 2 -4 3 ..................
1 8 4 1 -4 2 ..................

Bales.
297,288
295,193
276,018
246,063
222^540
236,733
216,888
196,413
194,412
173,800
182,142
126,512
104,853
120,593
103,483

1840-41
1839-40
1838-39
1837-38
1836-37
1835-36
1834-35
1833-34
1832-33
1831-32
1830-31
1829-30
1828-29
1827-28
1826-27

ENTRIES AND CLEARANCES OF VESSELS AT MOBILE,
TABLE OF ENTRIES AND CLEARANCES OF VESSELS AT THE PORT OF MOBILE, (EXCLUSIVE OF
STEAMERS AND OTHER CRAFT NAVIGATING THE RIVER S AND B A T ,) FOR THE YE AR ENDING
JUNE 3 0 t h , 1 8 5 6 .
,------------------------ A R R I V A L S . ------------------------ ,

Character.

American.................
Foreign...................
Coastwise...............
Total................




,--------------------C L E A R A N C E S .--------------------.

Vessels.
130
101

Tons.
79,879
92,301
301,498

Crew.
2,153
2,650
11,544

Vessels.
182
101
341

Tons.
122,408
92,301
98,264

Crew.
3,164
2,628
3,193

934

473,678

16,347

624

312,973

8,985

Commercial Regulations.

613

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
THE BALTIMORE BOARD OF TRADE.

The seventh annual meeting of the Baltimore Board of Trade was held on the
6th October, 1856. The report of the president, John 0 . Brune, Esq., which we
give below, contains some valuable suggestions, and one in particular, of general
interest. W e refer to the recommendation in regard to the establishment of a
bureau at the seat of government, especially dedicated to the interests of com­
merce. W e entirely concur in the importance of the measure proposed, and trust
the several Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Trade, and our merchants gener­
ally, will press the subject upon the attention of Congress.
In conformity with usage, the members of the Association are waited upon
with a record of proceedings during the past year.
It is, in the first place, our grateful duty to acknowledge with sincere thankful­
ness the exemption of this city from pestilence, so much apprehended, and, under
Providence, attribute this escape to the energetic precautions taken by the Com­
missioners of Ilcalth; far from the appearance of any epidemic, Baltimore has
been, even more than usual, remarkable for its exemption from disease.
Various plans and theories have been considered and proposed, in our maritime
ports, for the supply of a more reliable and higher order of seamen for the mer­
cantile marine. The subject has engaged the attention of many liberal-minded
as well as philanthropic individuals and associations; but heretofore little, practi­
cally has been done. It has been the generally accepted idea, that when a lad
was unfit for anything else he should “ be sent to sea,” and yet there is not a class
of men engaged in any pursuit to whom more valuable interest in property, more
wholesale trust of life is committed, than to those thus cast upon the waters,
without education, generally, either moral or professional.
It is not, therefore, a matter of surprise that in this country, where there are
so many associations, more remunerative as well as less hazardous, but few native
sailors, comparatively, are to be found, except on whale ships. Incalculable has
been the loss of merchandise, and innumerable the sacrifice of human lives, in con­
sequence of the absence of early preparation and education for the hardy calling
of a sailor.
A small beginning has been made in Baltimore, in what it is hoped will prove
to be a useful and much more extended scheme of nautical education. Your
Board and some firms have subscribed to a fund sufficient for the purchase of the
United States sloop-of-war Ontario; and the School Commissioners of the city,
in a liberal spirit, recognized the justice of the claim for the usual instruction
offered by the public school laws. It will be necessary for the peculiar objects
of the “ Floating School” that a nautical instructor should be employed, and it
is hoped that our commercial community will foster in a generous manner an un­
dertaking from which so much good may arise. It is thought 300 to 350 boys
may be educated on board the Ontario, and from this nucleus be adopted a gen­
eral system of education for sailors which will reflect credit on those who have
encouraged it, and hereafter elevate the character and reputation of American
seamen.
The Board of Directors have at length the opportunity of congratulating the
members of the Association on the repeal of the Stamp Tax. It is to be re­
gretted that laws controlling the usance of money cannot, under the present State
constitution, be likewise abolished.
Last winter our harbor was, .for a length of time, partially closed by ice, owing
to the unusual severity of the weather, such obstructions not having occurred for
many previous years.
Efforts were made to have ice-boats constructed, competent to keep open the
navigation even during another such season, but the diversity of opinion as to the




614

Commercial Regulations.

manner and means to be adopted, have frustrated any action on this important
subject, which involves the poor man’s fireside comforts even more directly than
the shipowner’s interests.
It has been suggested, that in a country possessed of a commerce so large as
that of the United States, a bureau especially dedicated to its supervision and in­
terests should be established, separate and distinct from the financial or Treasury
Department. This Board would respectfully call the attention of the various
Chambers of Commerce to the consideration of this subject, and, if approved, the
measures to be taken for its establishment. Agriculture has been cared for espe­
cially, in the Department of the Interior. Within a few years, in Great Britain
there is a governmental Board of Trade, and in France an especial Ministry of
Commerce. I f we are to judge by our commercial tonnage, which is now larger
than that of any other nation, (having increased from about 1,200,000 tons in
1830, to 5,200,000 tons in 1855,) it may fairly be allowed, that we also require at
Washington a Department prepared to devote an exclusive attention to mercan­

tile considerations and interests.
It is a subject of congratulation that Congress recently appropriated the fur­
ther sum of one hundred thousand dollars to continue the improvement of the
channel of the Patapsco ; the government has now one dredge in operation, under
the direction of Major Brewerton, U. S. A ., and the commissioners appointed by
the city, two dredges, while a third is being constructed and will shortly be put
in the service. W ith such augmentation of force as may now be relied upon, it
is to be expected that ere long there will be obtained a sufficient depth of water
for all practical mercantile purposes.
The thanks of the Board are due, and hereby tendered, to our Senators and
Bepresentatives in Congress for their exertions in securing the appropriation
above referred to.
Our steam communications with Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, have
been rapily increased, and will no doubt augement in proportion to the demands
of trade ; to the port of Charleston, also, there is a line of steamers, reliable and
economical; while to that of Savannah, a company is being organized to run two
steamers, the City of Savannah and the City of Norfolk. Already have these
vessels commenced their trips. It is to be expected that before long we will have
an extension of southern steam navigation to Mobile and New Orleans.
The Board offers respectfully this Report to the members, asking reference to
the Treasurer’s statement, appended. By order,
J ohn C. B kune, President.

The following gentlemen were elected officers for the ensuing year:—President— John C. Brune. Vice Presidents— Enoch Pratt, Thos. C. Jenkins,
Wm. McKim, A . Schumacher. Treasurer-—E. B. Dallam. Secretary— George
U. Porter.
Directors— Wm. P. Lemmon, J. Hall Pleasants, Alexander Rieman, William
Bose, Thos. W . Levering, Hugh A . Cooper, E. S. Courtney, Robert Leslie, Rob­
ert R. Kirkland, Lawrence Thompson, John Williams, George N. Eaton, W . T.
Young, H. L. Whitridge, Samuel Fenby, Aaron Fenton, H. G. Rice, Wm. E.
Hooper, George H. Kyle, Wm. H. Keighler, C. D. Slingluff, William Devries,
Henry R. Wilson, C. 1). Hinks.
OF EXPORT DUTIES UPON IRON IN SWEDEN.
The Department of State has received from the United States consul at Stock­
holm some interesting information in relation to a royal decree which took effect
on the 1st of January, 1856, and which affects import and export duties upon
iron. The decree is in conformity with the express wishes of the late D ie t:—
The most important point in it (says our correspondent) appears to be the abo­
lition of export duty upon bar-iron. The former duty was four Swedish shillings
(about
cents) per ship-pound of staple-stads weight, of which seven-and-a-half
are equal to one ton. In addition to this duty, four more shillings were charged




Commercial Regulations.

615

per ship-pound for town dues. These are also discontinued; town dues being
only payable upon articles which pay duty. Thus, the annual export of Swedish
bar-iron being about 600,000 ship-pounds, (80,000 tons,) the revenue to the State
and towns is diminished by about 100,000 rix dollars banco, ($40,000,) and the
annual export to the United States being about 100,000 ship-pounds, (13,333
tons,) the Swedish tax hitherto levied upon this quantity (namely, $6,666,) will
of course be no longer payable. It is stated that seven-eighths of the iron busi­
ness between the United States and Sweden is transacted by Messrs. Naylor &
Co., of New Y ork and Boston.
All trade with foreign countries in pig and ballast iron (the latter being pigiron used as ballast for shipping) had been, previous to this decree, forbidden, but
now this kind of iron may be exported and imported against a duty of one rix
dollar banco (40 cents) per ship-pound. With regard to its exportation, it may
be said said that the average value of Swedish pig-iron in the interior of Sweden
is about $4 per ship-pound, ($30 per ton.) The cost of transportation to the
coast would be at least 80 cents per ship-pound; and when it is considered duly
that this expense, together with that of town dues, export duty, sea freight, and
the like, must be paid upon a material which yields only 10 per cent of bar-iron,
the Swedish manufacturer of bar-iron will be found to have advantages equal to
about $9 per ton over any foreign forge-owner who may manufacture bar-iron
from Swedish material. Among these advantages, moreover, should be reckoned
the superiority of the charcoal used at the Swedish forges, by which not only a
better iron is produced, but a less waste of material is occasioned in reducing pig
to bar iron than is the case when the process is performed with mineral coal. It
is, therefore, probable that no great quantity of pig-iron will be exported from
Sweden, and, as the demand for iron of this quality throughout the world is lim­
ited to about the quantity now produced, an increase of quantity would reduce
its market value almost to that of English iron. There seems, also, for reasons
analogous to those just cited, to be no probability that any importation of foreign
pig-iron into Sweden will be the result of the new law.
COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS AT CLEVELAND,

W e are indebted to the editor of the Commercial Gazette of Cleveland, Ohio,
for the regulations of trade and commerce of the Cleveland market, as established
by law and custom :—
W E IG H T S A N D

A l e ....................
Apples, dry........
Barley................
Beans ................
Beef...................
Beef....................
Coal.................
Corn....................
Corn, unshelled..
Clover-seed........
F ish ..................
Flour..................
Piax seed..........
Grindstones . . . .
Oats..................
Onions..............
Peaches, dry . . .
Pig-iron............
Pork..................
Potatoes............
B y e ..................
Salt, fin e ..........
Salt, coarse . . . .




M E A SU R E S.

..per barrel......................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per bushel......................
. .per bushel.....................
..per barrel......................
..per tierce......................
.per to n ..........................
. .per bushel.......................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per barrel ....................
. .per barrel......................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per to n .........................
. .per bushel.......... .
. .per bushel.....................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per t o n .........................
. .per barrel......................
. per bushel.....................
. .per bushel.....................
. .per barrel......................
. .per barrel...... « .............

Law.

200
56
200
196
66

56

Custom.
22
48
60
200
303
2,000
56
70
60
200
196
56
2,000
32
43
32
2,240
200
56
56
280
320

616

Nautical Intelligence.

Salt, sacks............
Timothy-seed . . . . ,
W heat..................
Water-lime..........

. .per sack....................
. .per bushel...................
. .per bushel................... ........
.. per barrel...................

60

14
42
60
300

TARES.

B utter . In all cases tlie actual tare.
C h e e se . In all cases the actual tare.
L a r d . In all cases the actual tare.
R ic e . In tierces, 10 per cent.
S ugars . New Orleans, 10 per cent.
S ugars . Island, 12 per cent.
T obacco . Six twist, 20 pounds per keg.
C L A S S IF IC A T IO N .

In describing the different grades of staple articles and commodities sold in
this market, we have adopted the following classification. W e also give the local­
ity where a given article is manufactured, raised, prepared, or packed, where the
locality is any indication of the quality of such article. Articles universally
classed alike, are not included in the list:—A l e . Present use, stock, and porter.
A pp l e s (dry.) O rdinary, com m on, fair, g o o d , prim e, and extra.
B e e f . Prime and mess.
B e e s w a x . Yellow and w hite.
B rooms . Common, fancy, and extra.
B u tte r . Same as apples.
C h eese . Same as apples.
C orn - m eal . Undried and dried.
F lou r . Fine, N o. 2 superfine, superfine, extra, and favorite.
L a r d . Same as apples.
P each es (dry.) Same as apples.
P o rk . Prime, No. 2 mess, and mess.
R y e -flou r . Superfine and extra.
W h e a t . Mediterranean, red, mixed, and white.
W ool . Common, i blood, -J blood, | blood, full blood, and fancy.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
DRIFT WOOD— THE CURRENTS.

A correspondent of the Merchants' Magazine furnishes us with the following
translation from the last number of the Comptes Rendus, (xliii., 547.) The small
number (fifty) of floats sent adrift from the Ilortense by Prince Napoleon, will
have but small chance of being picked up anywhere :—

Letter from Prince Napoleon to the Perpetual Secretary of the Institute of France,
dated, on hoard the Reine-Hortense, the 20th of August, 1856, in the Roads of
Lerwick, (Shetland Isles.)
M r . S ec r e t a r y :— In the bays of the north there arc constantly found pieces
of drift wood, which, after having been floated about by the impulsion of currents,
are finally stranded on these coasts. These woods are principally deal or fir, but
exhibit no certain evidence of the place of their origin.
I have been desirous that my voyage in the northern seas should contribute to
a better knowledge of these currents, which, though they have already been studied
in their main directions, are but little known in their ramifications, and I have
had thrown from the Reine-Hortense, in her different passages, a great number of
floats, (fifty,) bearing the indication of the point of departure. These floats con­




617

Nautical Intelligence.

sist of a cylinder of fir, (sapin,) ten inches in diameter by ten inches in length,
(Om. 25.) The cylinder is pierced in the direction of its axis, and in the orifice
is inserted a small sealed vial, containing a billet of the following purport:—
Voyage of his 1. H. the Prince Napoleon, on board the corvette Reine-Hortenscom m anded by M. de la Ronciere, capitaine de vaisseau.
Billet thrown into the sea * * * 1856.
Latitude * *
Longitude, from the meridian of Paris, * *
The person who may find this billet is requested to send it to the nearest French
consul.
The inscription is translated into English, Latin, and Russian.
The vials are fixed into the woods by means of waxed cloths, which envelop
them entirely, and on the top is nailed a piece of lead, bearing the name o f ReineHortense and the date of the immersion. Lastly, the better to attract attention
to these floats, and to prevent their being confounded with other floating timber,
the circumference of the cylinder has been pierced with two holes at right-angles
to each other, into -which are driven strong treenails, (chevilles,) projecting about
eight inches, (two decimeters,) and forming a cross.
I shall be indebted to you if you will have the goodness to write to the different
scientific bodies in Europe and America, to bring this fact to their notice, request
that publicity be given to it, and to pray them to inform the Academy of Sciences
of France of the localities where any of these floats may have been taken up.
Accept, M. Perpetual Secretary, the expression of my high consideration.
__________________ ___

NAPOLEON.

LIGHTHOUSE AT EDGEMOGGUV REACH, MAIJIE.

A lighthouse will be erected during the present season on Fly’s or Green
Island, near the eastern end of Edgemoggin Reach. It is intended as a guide to
vessels running to and from Ellsworth, Blue Hill, and Mt. Desert, and on the
Lighthouse List of 1856 will come next after No. 11, (Bear Island Lighthouse.)
The tower will be of brick, painted white, and will be attached to the keeper’s
house, which will be of wood, and painted brown. The lantern will be painted
black. The illuminating apparatus will be a fifth order Fresnel lens, showing a
fixed white light. The height of the centre of the light above the level of the
sea will be 25 feet, and the light will be visible in good weather, from the deck of
an ordinay vessel, about seven nautical miles. The light will be lighted for the
first time on the night of February 2,1857, and will be kept burning during
every night thereafter. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
P oetland,

Me., Sept. 12,1S56.

W. B. FRANKLIN, Lighthouse Inspector, 1st Dist.

PRINCES CHANNEL, ENTRANCE TO THE THAMES.

Notice is hereby given, that, pursuant to the intention expressed in the adver­
tisement from this house, dated 5th June last, a light vessel, having the words
“ Princes Channel” painted on her sides, has been moored on the north side of
this Channel, in 3J fathoms low water, spring tides, with the following marks and
compass bearings, viz :—
Monkton Beacon, nearly midway between St. Nicholas Preventive Stations,
but rather nearer to the western one, S. J W . westerly; Minster West Mill, its
apparent length to the eastward of Powell’s Belfry, S. 1 E .; Shingles Beacon, E.
by S. i S . ; Tongue Light Vessel, S. E. by E. \ E .; N. E. Tongue Buoy, S. E.
i E . ; North Pan Sand Buoy, W . ; Girdler Light Vessel, W . by N. f N.
A red revolving light, showing a flash at intervals of 20 seconds, will be exhib­
ited from this vessel every night, from sunset to sunrise, on and after the 1st of
October.
C au tion .— Mariners are to observe that no vessel is to be navigated to the
northward of this light-vessel. By order,
T r in it y -H ou se, L o n d o n ,




Sept. 27,1856.

P. H. BEETHON, Secretary.

G18

Nautical Intelligence.
BUOYS IN BOSTON BAY AND HARBOR.

A black nun buoy of the third class, numbered 9, has been placed on the north
end of N ix’s Mate, Boston Harbor, in 15 feet water at low tide. The following
magnetic bearings are given :— Narrows Light, S. B. i E . ; Long Island Head
Light, W . i S . ; Deer Island Beacon, N . W . 1 N.
A red nun buoy of the third class, numbered 10, has been placed on Seventyfour Bar, Narrows. Boston Harbor, in 15 feet at low tide, about 20 fathoms west
of the old wreck, which has but 9 feet of water on it at low tide. The following
magnetic bearings are given :— N ix ’s Mate Beacon, W . f N . ; N ix ’s Mate Buoy,
N . W . by W . t W . ; Deer Island Point Beacon, N. W .
A black spar buoy, numbered 1, has been placed off High Pine Ledge, Boston
Bay, in 15 feet of water. The rock is dry at low spring tides. The following
magnetic bearings are given :— Gurnet Lights, S. 1 W . ; Captain’s Hill, W . £ S . ;
Brant Point, N. by W .
Bartlett’s Rock Buoy has been changed from No. 1 to N o. 3.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
C. II. B. CALDW ELL, Lighthouse Inspector, 2d district.
B o ston ,

September 10,1856.

BELL BUOY ON DEEP HOLE ROCK, OFF COTUIT VINEYARD SOUND, MASS.

The Spar Buoy, (red and black horizontal stripes,) has been removed from this
station, and in its stead a can buoy of the second class, (red and black horizontal
stripes,) with a bell weighing 150 pounds, secured on top in an iron frame, sur­
mounted by a hoop-iron day-mark, has been placed near this rock. The bell is
elevated four and-a-half feet above the water; it is tolled by the action of the
waves, wind, and tide, and can be heard in ordinary weather about half a mile.
The day-mark is 1 foot 4 inches in diameter, and is elevated 7 feet above the
water.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
C. II. B. CALDW ELL, Lighthouse Inspector, 2d Dist.
B o ston ,

September 9, 1856.

LIGHTHOUSE AT ABSECUAI, NEW JERSEY.

Notice is hereby given that a new tower and keeper’s dwelling, at Absecum,
N . J., are now nearly completed, and that on or about the 15th day of January,
1857, a fixed white light of the first order will be exhibited therefrom. The tower
is of brick, unpainted, and will be surmounted by an iron lantern, painted black.
The focal plane will have an elevation of 167 feet above mean tide, and the light
should be seen, under favorable circumstances, from the deck of an ordinary sail­
ing vessel, at a distance of about 20 nautical miles. The approximate position
of this light, as deduced from the Coast Survey Charts, is— latitude 39° 42' N.,
longitude 74° 25' W . from Greenwich. Due public notice will be given of the
precise date when the light will be first exhibited.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
P h il a d e l p h ia ,

W. F. Ii AYNOLDS, First Lieutenant Corps Topographical Engineers.
September 30,1856.

CAPE RACE LIGHT, NEWFOUNDLAND.

The Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade give notice, that the
Lighthouse recently erected upon Cape Race, Newfoundland, will be lighted, and
will continue to exhibit a fixed white light, from sunset to sunrise, on and after
the 15th of December, 1856. The light will be visible to seaward from N . E. by
E. round by the S. E. and South to West. The light is elevated 180 feet above
mean water level of the sea, and may be seen in clear weather 17 miles from a
ship’s deck. The tower is striped red and white, vertically. It stands close to
the old beacon, (white,) which has been cut down. The lighthouse is in lat. 46°
39' 12" N., Ion. 53° 2' 38" W . All bearings are magnetic. Variation 24° W .
N . B. A toll will be levied upon all vessels benefiting by this light.
B o ard of T r a d e ,

September, 1856.




Nautical Intelligence.

619

LIGHTHOUSE ON CAPE HANCOCK,
M OU TH OF C O L U M B IA R I V E R , W A S H IN G T O N T E R R IT O R Y .

A fixed white light, 1st order of Fresnel, illuminating the entire horizon. The
tower is whitewashed, and placed on the pitch of the cape, about 190 feet above
the sea. The light is elevated about 230 feet above the sea level, and will be seen,
in a favorable state of the atmosphere, from a height of 15 feet above the water,
22 nautical or 25 statute miles.
The latitude and longitude and magnetic variation of the light, as given by the
Coast Survey, are : lat. 46° 16' 35" N . ; Ion. 124° 2' W . ; magnetic variation,
July, 1851, 20° 45' B.
The light w'ill be exhibited for the first time on the night of the loth of Octo­
ber, 1856, and thereafter every night from sunset to sunrise, until further notice.
A Fog Bell of l,6t)0 pounds, has also been placed on the Bluff in advance of
the Light Tower, which will be sounded during foggy or other thick weather,
night and day, from the same date. The distinctive mode of striking the bell
will be published hereafter. The machinery is in a frame building, on a level with
the ground, with the front open to receive the bell, and is also whitewashed.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
HARTM AN BACHE, Maj. Top. Engs. Br. Moj.
Office 12tli Lighthouse District, San Francisco, Sept. 15,1S56.

LIGHTS OF THE DARDANELLES AT CAPE HELLAS AND GALLIPOLI.
M E D IT E R R A N E A N .

The following official information has been received at this office, and is pub­
lished for the benefit of mariners :— A telegraphic dispatch, dated yesterday, has
been received from Capt. Spratt, R. N., C. B., commanding H. M. surveying
vessel Medina, at Constantinople, stating that by order of Rear-Admiral Lord
Lyons, G. C. B., &c.,the following lights are permanently established in operation
in the Dardanelles, v iz .:—
1. A revolving light of the natural color, eclipsed once every minute, on Cape
Hellas, forming the northern point of entrance from the Archipelago.
2. A revolving light of the natural color, eclipsed twice every minute, or once
every half minute, on the west point of Gallipoli, in lieu of that on the east point
of that cape.
Such further particulars, as soon as they are received, will be given hereafter
concerning these lights, as may appear necessary for the information of mariners.
By command of their lordships,
JOHN W ASHINGTON, Hydrographer.
H y d r o g r a p iiic O f f ic e , A d m ir a l t y , )

London, September 4, 1856.

j

BEAVER-TAIL LIGHTHOUSE, ENTRANCE TO NEWPORT HARBOR, R. I.

A new lighthouse tower and keeper's dwelling have been constructed, to take
the place of the old tower and house at Beaver-Tail, on the south end of Conauicut Island. The tower is of granite, (natural color,) and the house of brick,
whitewashed, of two full stories in height, and joined to the tower by a one-story
connecting room. The new tower is 10 feet square, 49 feet from base to center
of light, and is located 100 feet to the north of the old tower. Its base is 33 feet
above mean low water, making the light 82 feet above low tide level. In ordi­
nary weather the light should be seen from the deck of a vessel, 10 feet above the
water, at a distance of 14 nautical miles. The new illuminating apparatus will
be of the third order of Fresnel, showing a fixed white light around the entire
horizon. It will be exhibited on and after October 20, 1856, when the old light
will be discontinued, and the old tower will be demolished.
By order of the Lighthouse Board,
E. B. HUNT, LieuteDant Corps o f Engineers.
N ew port, R .

I., September




2 0 ,1 8 5 6 .

620

Journal o f Insurance.
FOG BELL AT POINT BONITA, NORTH HEAD, SAN FRANCISCO BAY.

Notice is hereby given that a fog bell of 1,500 pounds has been placed on the
bluff just in front of the lighthouse tower, at Point Bonita, California. The bell,
with the machinery, is in a frame building, open in front on a level with the
ground, and will be struck during foggy and thick weather, six blows at intervals
of 16 seconds each, followed by a pause of 44 seconds. The bell is elevated 270
feet above the sea. The firing of the fog gun will be continued as usual until
further notice. By order of the Lighthouse Board,
HARTM AN ' BACHE, Maj. Topogl. Engs. lir. Maj.
O f f i c e 1 2 t h L i g h t h o u s e D i s t r i c t , S a n F r a n c i s c o , C a l ., A u g u s t 6 ,1 8 5 6 .

JOURNAL

OF

INSURANCE.

OF FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES IN NEW YORK.

The remarks on the character and conduct of fire insurance companies of New
York, from the commercial editor of the Independent, a reliable and ably con­
ducted religious journal, are well worth considering :—
The subject of insurance against risks of fire, and of the proper character of
those institutions which profess to offer us the means and the security to assure
ourselves against loss in this respect, is of the first importance to a trading com­
munity. It is a duty not only to ourselves and families, but to our creditors, to
secure ourselves from losses by fire, by resorting to the best institutions that ex­
ist for such insurance. N o prudent, no honest trader can do less. Property
should be fully insured ; and no excuses of non-payment for debt, on the ground
o f losses by fire, can be allowed to pass current as honest ones. Negligence of
such a serious kind is disgraceful to any trader.
Were all persons to insure, the expenses of insurance might be made to come
very small, as the average percentage of losses from fire would be secured by a
proportionately smaller premium.
It is now many years since a very extensive fire occurred in New Y ork ; but
the last one is still so fresh in our memories that the community have passively
acquiesced in paying the very heavy premiums that are charged by the numerous
fire insurance companies that have arisen since the last conflagration. These com­
panies seem to have acted on the belief that a fire which should consume one-half
or one-quarter of the city will occur every ten years or less; and consequently
have charged premiums in proportion to cover such risks— yet, strange to say,
companies so doing, instead of saving their annual heavy accumulations, in case
of such a disaster, have dissipated them— wasted them by dividing them among
their stockholders ; and should such a fire occur, all or nearly all the present fire
insurance companies would tail when most wanted. I f such heavy premiums are
to be charged against such a possible occurrence, accumulations should continue
to form a fund sufficient for such a contingency, to which the capitals of few
companies are sufficient guaranty, in comparison to the extent of the risks they
take.
The fire insurance companies of this city are mostly got up on false principles.
Most of them are mere jobbing concerns. Many of them are instituted merely to
provide for friends who have failed in business, and who therefore are thought to
be peculiarly fit to manage an insurance company ; and friends are called upon to
subscribe to the stock, and who do so, caring at the time very little whether they
get back their subscriptions or not, as they only wish to get rid of a pressing call
on their friendship, which they cannot refuse. Many institutions are got up— we
could mention several— merely to let out buildings which have been built on
speculation and which did not let easily at rates desired. Others have been got
up by parties who wanted the several offices of president, vice-president, and
secretary, at good salaries— and others have been got up on even less satisfactory
principles.




Journal o f Insurance.

621

This is all wrong. Fire insurance would be best conducted on the plan of a
mutual insurance company; but waiving just now the consideration of this, the
plan of allowing the insured to share in the profits of the company along with the
stockholders, is the only just one where heavy premiums are charged. A com­
pany should be formed on the principle of only covering the risks incurred, and a
certain percentage of profits on stock, according to the average rate generally ob­
tainable.
The existing companies are also commonly objectionable, from the heavy ex­
penses they incur— generally about 30 per cent of their earnings, as we observe
from the statements they put forth. One-third of the earnings swallowed up by
extravagant expenditure, and the remaining two-thirds yielding annual dividends
of 20, 30, or 40 per cent. This is astonishing, and must give, we should think,
great encouragement to the formation of a company established on better princi­
ples and more moderate pretensions of profit. It would not be so objectionable
if they retained their gains as a guaranty fund; but wasted and dissipated an­
nually, as these gains are, affording no security to the insured, it seems highly de­
sirable that companies formed on better principles should be instituted. If the
returns are so large, the insured should share in them, and the companies that do
this, will attract, as they deserve to do, the largest and best business.
Many houses— private houses, well built and favorably situated— firet-class
stores that are nearly or altogether fire-proof, contribute largely to the insurance
fund, and far beyond the risks they run. They are made to pay beyond their own
need, for the benefit of others; but if the insured share in the profits, no objection
could be taken.
W e are glad to observe that one fire insurance company has taken the initiation
in this reform. The Continental Fire Insurance Company has recently (July 1,)
resolved that it will thenceforward give the holders of its policies the right to
participate in the profits of the business of the company. The stockholders,
after receiving the annual sum of 7 per cent for interest on their stock, concede
three-fourths of the then net profits to policy holders, for which scrip, bearing in­
terest at 6 per cent per annum, and payable from time to time, as shall be found
expedient by the directors, the principle being adopted of lotting the fund repre­
sented by such scrip to accumulate to $500,000— thus doubling the capital of the
company, which is $500,000, and only dividing the surplus in payment of the
principal of the scrip. Here is a double security to the insured for the payment
of losses, the capital being doubled— a security to the stockholders, where stock
cannot be touched while a scrip fund exists, and a source of advantage to the in­
sured, who will receive back a portion of their premiums if they incur no losses,
and a powerful inducement to persons of all classes to insure. This is a sound
principle to act on, and the institution adopting it is worthy of the most extensive
patronage.
SUCCESSFUL INSURANCE COMPANIES IN MASSACHUSETTS,

The Lynn Mechanics’ Insurance Company (fire and marine) declared in Octo­
ber, 1856, a dividend of 10 per cent, being the eleventh semi-annual one in suc­
cession of the same amount, on which the Lynn Reporter remarks :— “ W e know
of no insurance company that has been favored with such large dividends.”
A l­
though this shows very handsome and long-continued profits, we find by reference
to “ Martin's Twenty-one Years in the Stock Market,” that Boston can beat it in
several instances. The Firemen’s Insurance Company of that city paid 8 per
cent in January, 1849, and since has paid 10 per cent regularly every six months
up to thi3 year, when two dividends of 12 per cent were declared, making, for
eight years, (or sixteen successive dividends,) a total of 162 per cent, averaging
over 20 per cent annually.
The Merchants’ Insurance Company paid in fourteen successive dividends, from
April, 1847, to October, 1853, inclusive, a total of 166 per cent, averaging 23 5-7




622

Journal o f Insurance.

per cent annually, and has averaged 20 3-5 for the past ten years, or more than 10
per cent semi-annually for twenty successive dividends. W e should think this
company the most successful one for a long series of years, having paid 789 per
cent in dividends during the forty years of its existence, or an average of over
19 7-10 per cent per annum through all that long period.
The Manufacturers’ Insurance Company from April, 1850, to October, 1854,
inclusive, paid ten semi-annual dividends of from 10 to 15 per cent, averaging 12£
per cent, and has divided 152J per cent in the past seven years, or an average of
21 4-5 per annum. Some others have done exceedingly well, though not quite up
to the above-mentioned. The American paid seven successive 10 per cent semi­
annual dividends from April, 1850, and has averaged 174 per cent for the past
seven years. The National Insurance Company has averaged 17 per cent for the
past eight years. The Neptune Insurance Company divided 142 per cent mjive
years, 1848 to 1852, inclusive, 50 per cent of which was in stock, but worth a
premium of 40 per cent at the time, (1850.) making the cash value of the divi­
dend $70, so that stockholders actually received 162 per cent in five years. The
stock and other dividends made in 1850 alone amounted to full one hundred per
cent cash value.
BRITISH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES OF THE LAST TWELVE YEARS.
[From Chambers Edinburgh Journal.]

Some idea may now be formed regarding the success of the many life-offices
started in consequence of the act 7th and 8th Victoria, cap. 110, (anno 1844) re­
turns having been made to the House of Commons o f the accounts of a large pro­
portion of these concerns. From an instructive analysis of these accounts, pub­
lished by Mr. Robert Christie, of Edinburgh, the public may obtain a ready and
serviceable light on the subject; and we know few on which it imports them
more to be well informed.
It must be generally known that, previous to 1844, there were comparatively
few life-assurance offices in the United Kingdom, and that these were mostly of
old standing, extensive business, and large means. To add, in a few years, as
many as 131 new offices to the comparatively small number previously existing,
was a proceeding about the prudence of which doubts might reasonably be enter­
tained, seeing that each new concern must necessarily have large expenses in pro­
portion to the business done ; while if the same business could have been as well
done by the old offices, all new expense whatever was just so much money thrown
away. The positive results show that the doubts on this subject were well found­
ed. W e find that generally the business effected by the new offices has been small
in amount, while the expenses are in proportion great. Thus, for example, we
have one office receiving in all of premiums £86,592, and disbursing £35,1 G5 in
expenses. Another has £11,394 of premiums, and £10,262 of expenses. A
third has £20,054 of premiums, and £25,539 of expenses! The two relative sums
are in other cases £22,630 and £14,396 ; £25,867 and £22,637 ; £4,026 and
£6,304 ; £24,891 and £24,080. One office, which has been particularly demon­
strative about its success, shews of business £13,711, and of expenses £32,349,
or about 2 to 5. Another, of the same character, exhibits £12,981 of business,
and £11,539 of expenses. In eighteen offices, chiefly of recent origin, the aggre­
gate premiums received have been £69,748, or about as much as one good old
office will receive in a quarter of a year; while the expenses have been £86,548
or £17,000 more than the premiums. Some allowance ought here to be made for
the newness of things ; but take thirty-four of the oldest of this set, and what do
we find ? Against £1,466,393 of premiums, £801,377 of expenses!
W e are here dealing with fifty-two offices which have registered their accounts.
There are other sixteen of those registered, whose accounts being either defective




Journal o f Insurance.

623

or indistinct, do not appear in the analysis referred to, and there are sixty-five
which have failed to register, without any reason being given. Generally, we
may well believe, these last are not likely to be more flourshing than the others.
Now, let it be considered what an extent of obligation is implied in the words
“ premiums received.” W e estimate that in the fifty-two offices which have regis­
tered their accounts, there are policies standing to the amount of not less than
sixteen millions. What a gulf is here to be filled up before any prosperity can
be attained! Is one in six of these concerns likely to struggle through its early
difficulties? What, in a great number of instances, are the prospects of payment
for the parties who have invested their savings in these offices ?
The whole affair points to a great defect in the political economy received and
acted upon by the public. Because good effects are seen to arise from compe­
tition in some matters, it is hastily assumed that competition is a healthy and ser­
viceable thing in all. The truth is, there are many things in which competition
only speaks of unnecessary expense— injudicious application of labor and capital.
The supply of water and gas, the railway service, life assurance, and assurance
in general, are of this nature. If the million and a half of premiums received
by the fifty-two new offices had been distributed over the old ones, the public
would have been as well served in all conceivable respects, there would have been
perfect certainty of all obligations being fulfilled, and the expense of the business
would have probably been, as we believe it generally is, under ten per cent.
Experience and proved results now entitle us, we think, to say more emphatic­
ally than ever, let no life-policy be taken out in any office of date subsequent to
1841. While those old, solid, well-known concerns, the Globe, Sun, Equitable,
Bock, Eagle, Albion, and many others in England, and the W idow’s Fund, Scot­
tish Equitable, Scottish Provident, Standard, and others in Scotland— in which
country there has never yet been one unsound establishment for life assurance—■
offer such benefits along with perfect security, it is little less than madness to em­
bark money with any of the fry of the last few years. The public should be only
too happy to think that there are offices which have, through age, attained per­
fect solidity, and by large business come to the minimum of relative expenses.
To pass over these, and take up with new establishments, is voluntarily and wan­
tonly to forego a great advantage. He who goes into a newly plastered house
when he can get a seasoned one, who munches hard gooseberries when he can get
ripe apricots, who reverses the whole philosophy of the oaths of Highgate, affords
but a faint type of such folly.
MARINE LOSSES.
The last eighteen months have been exceedingly prolific in marine losses, and
it has occasioned but little surprise that several of the New York marine insur­
ance companies have been forced to go into liquidation. The offices in Philadel­
phia have suffered very largely, and we hear that one of the Boston offices has,
during the year, paid losses to the amount of double its capital, yet is still enabled
to declare a dividend. These losses, however, are by no means confined to this
side of the Atlantic. A s an evidence of the extraordinary losses occurring, it is
stated by the London Insurance Monileur that “ a return has been printed of the
wrecks and casualties on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom in 1855.”
The result is deplorable. The total number of wrecks and casualties were 1,141,
of 116,544 tons. Of the vessels, 963 were British, 11 colonial, and 116 foreign; of
which number were totally wrecked, 272 ; stranded and recovered, 246 ; stranded,
but whether total or partial loss not reported, 167 ; totally lost in collision, 55 ; se­
riously damaged in collision, 178; slightly damaged in collision, 14; leaky and
foundered, 49 ; leaky and put back to discharge and repair, 47 ; destroyed by fire,
1 4 ; found “ derelict,” 19 ; dismasted and otherwise damaged, 49 ; abandoned, 20 ;




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

624

capsized and sunk, 9 ; seriously damaged by spontaneous combustion of cargo, 2. Of
these, 576 occurred on the east coast; 251 on the west coast; and 117 on the south
coast of Great Britain ; 127 on the Irish coast; 10 off the Scilly Islands ; 6 off the
Channel Islands ; 34 off the northern islands, v iz.:— Orkneys, Shetland, and Hebri­
des ; 13 off the Isle of Man ; and 7 off Lundy Island. In 1855, the total number of
lives lost was 469 ; in 1854, 1,549 ; in 1853, 689 ; in 1852, 920. The number
of collisions reported is greatly on the increase, being 247 against 94 registered
in 1854 ; 73 in 1853 ; and 57 in 1852. This increase is, perhaps, attributable, in
part, at any rate, to the same cause as that of the number of wrecks above-men­
tioned. Total amount paid to life-boats during the year, £582 3s. 8 d .; total
amount as rewards for saving life, $ 6 5 5 3S.

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
FACTS ABOUT GRAIIV M EA SU R ES.

The following interesting statement, explanatory of foreign grain measures,
was communicated to the Richmond Whig by a merchant of that city, who has
been engaged for a long series of years in commercial intercourse with Transat­
lantic countries:—
'There is no uniform measure by which grain is sold in Great Britain. In Lon­
don, wheat and corn are sold by the quarter of 480 pounds, equal 8 bushels of
60 lbs. In Liverpool, wheat is sold by the bushel ot 70 lbs., and corn by the
quarter of 480 lbs. English flour is sold by the sack of 280 lb s.; American, by
the barrel of 196 lbs., every barrel weighed, and 20 lbs. deducted for tare. Glou­
cester, Glasgow, Cork, and other markets, each has its own peculiar measure—
bushels oi 02 or 64 lbs., bolls of 240 lbs., barrels, sacks, stones— a perfect confu­
sion of weights and measures. The duty on wheat and other grain in Great
Britain is 1 sLilling (24 cents;) on flour, 4| pence on 112 lbs.
In France, the hectolitre of wheat is (decimally) 2.85 bushels.
In Amsterdam, the last is 83 37 bushels ; in Dantzic, 87.15 bushels; in Rostock,
105.71 bushels.
In Odessa, the chetwort is 6.06 bushels; in Petersburg, 5.49 bushels. The
Swedish tonne is 3.97 bushels ; the Danish, 4.74 bushels.
The Spanish fanega is 1.62 bushels; the Lisbon alquire, 41 bushels.
The tomalo of Naples is 1.57 bushels; the emine of Genoa, 3.34 bushels ; the
Leghorn sack, 2 bushels.
What a blessing it would be to have one universal standard of weights, meas­
ures, and coins, or money of account; but the English bankers are opposed to
making even decimal divisions of the pound sterling.
In connection with the above, wo publish the annexed elucidation of the me­
thod of translating or reducing the English quotations of wheat into Federal
money. I f inaccurate in any particular, we ask that it may be corrected :—
“ A quarter of wheat is an English measure of 8 standard bushels; so if you
see that quoted at 56s., it is 7s. per bushel. A shilling is 24 cents; multiply by
7, and you have $1 68.”
The above old rule for ascertaining the value of a bushel of wheat conformably
to English quotations, is tolerably correct, so far as regards the quotations which
are confined to the English standard, or rather imperial bushel; but is incorrect,




625

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

if applied to Liverpool quotations. It often occurs that when wheat is quoted
at London at 40s. per quarter of 8 imperial bushels, it will rate at 6s. per bushel
of 70 lbs. in Liverpool. The London price current usually quotes wheat at so
much per quarter, (8 imperial bushels of 60 lbs. each,) and the Liverpool price
current, (per Brown, Shipley & Co.,) almost invariably at so much per bushel o f
70 lbs. The Liverpool local bushels being one-sixth larger than the American
or imperial bushel, it follows that when a bushel of wheat is quoted at 6s. per
bushel of 70 lbs., it is equal only to 5s. 2d. per American or imperial bushel of
60 lbs.
Therefore, if you see wheat quoted at 6s. per bushel in Liverpool, it will not do
to multiply by 24, in order to ascertain the difference between the American and
English prices. A s applicable to Liverpool quotations, the rule should be thus :
Deduct one-seventh from the Liverpool price per bushel, reduce the remainder to
pence, and double the product for cents.
E x a m p le :— A circular by the Cambria, in August, quotes wheat at 6s. per
bushel of 70 pounds; 6— 1-7'—5s. 2d., or 62 d.; double for cents— $1 24 p er
bushel.
CHINESE SUGAR-CANE AND GEORGIA SIRUP.

The following communication from Mr. Bichard Peters, of Atlanta, Georgia,
touching the result of his sirup-making from the Chinese sugar, (millet,) will be
read with interest by a portion of our Southern subscribers :—
I obtained my start o f seed during the spring of 1855 from D. Eedmond, Esq.,
of the Southern Cultivator. I considered it a “ humbug,” from its close resem­
blance in seed and growth to the “ Guinea corn,” until my children towards fall
made the discovery of its being to their taste equal to the true sugar cane.
This year I planted one patch, April 15th, another May 18th, near Calhoun,
Gordon County, on land that would produce during a “ seasonable ” year, forty
bushels of corn per acre, and this year not over twenty bushels.
Seed sown carelessly in drills, three feet apart, covered with a one-horse plow ;
intending to “ chop-out ” to a stand o f one stalk six inches apart in the r o w ; but
failed to get a good stand as the seed came up badly from the deep and irregular
covering. Worked out same as for corn, plowing twice and hoeing once.
By suggestion of Governor Hammond, of South Carolina, I determined to give
the sirup-making a fair trial; consequently ordered from the Messrs. Winship, of
Atlanta, a very complete horse-power mill, with vertical iron rollers, that has
worked admirably, crushing out juice for eight gallons of sirup per hour, worked
by two mules, with one hand to put in the cane, and a boy to drive.
On the 13th of this month, finding the seed fully ripe, I had the fodder pulled,
and the seed heads cut.
Yield of fodder per acre, 1,100 to 1,300 pounds.
Yield of seed per acre, 25 bushels o f 36 pounds to the bushel.
First trial of mill, 70 average canes gave 20 quarts of juice.
Six hundred and six average canes passed once through the rollers gave 38 gal­
lons 1 quart juice, passed a second time through, gave 2 gallons of juice. The
40 gallons 1 quart gave eight gallons thick sirup.
I carefully measured an eighth o f an acre, having the best canes and the best
stand; another eighth having the poorest canes and the poorest stand. The re­
sult I give below, the cane3 passed once through the roller :—■
B E S T E IG H T H O F A N A C R E .

Yield of juice from 3,815 canes........
Yield of Birup from 253 gallons juice
Rate per acre o f sirup.......................
V O L . X X X V .-----N O . V .




.gallons
...........
______

40

253
58J
468

626

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.
P O O R E ST E IG H T H OP A N A C R E .

Yield o f juice from 2,550 canes.................................................................gallons
Yield of sirup from 179 gallons ju i c e .................................................................
Rate per acre of sirup.............................................................................................
Weight o f 30 selected canes............................................................................. lbs.
Weight o f juice pressed o u t .................................................................................
Weight of crushed cane...........................................................................................
lo s s in crushing........................................................................................................
Weight of crushed cane dried in the sun..............................................................

119
43J
346
49125§
23
$
94

Obtaining such unlooked-for success with the Chinese sugar cane, I concluded
to try our common corn.
Prom a “ new ground ” planted 3 by 3, one stalk to a hill, a week beyond the
roasting-ear stage, I selected 30 stalks.
Weight of thirty stalks......................................................................................lbs.
Weight of juice...........................................................................................................
Weight of crushed stalks..........................................................................................
Loss in crushing..........................................................................................................
Yield of sirup..................................................................................................... pints

35f
15J
194
4
lj

The sirup of a peculiar disagreeable taste, entirely unlit for table use.
The following tests were made at the mill by Dr. Robert Battey, o f Rome,
Georgia, a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy :—
Specific gravity of the juice................................................................ .............
10,085
Specific gravity of sirup......................................................................................
1,335
Specific gravity of New Orleans siru p.............................................................
1,321
Thermometer applied to s iru p .................................................................................
77°
Thermometer applied to ju ic e .................................................................................
70°
254°
Saccharometer applied to juice...........................................................................

The juice should be placed in the boilers immediately on being pressed out, then
boiled slowly, until the green scum ceases to rise; then stir in a tea-spoonfull of
air-slacked lime to five gallons of juice ; continue skimming and boiling until the
sirup thickens, and hangs down in flakes on the rim of the dipper.
I have made the clearest sirup by simply boiling and skimming, without lime
or other clarifiers.
The lime is requisite to neutralize a portion of the acid in the ju ice; the true
proportion must be determined by well-conducted experiments.
The cost of making the sirup in upper Georgia, in my opinion, will not exceed
ten to fifteen cents per gallon. This I shall be able to test another season, by
planting and working up fifty acres of the cane.
I am satisfied that this plant will enable every farmer and planter in the South­
ern States to make at home all the sirup required for family use, and I believe,
that our chemists will soon teach us how to convert the sirup into sugar for ex­
port, as one of the staples of our favored clime.
COTTON CROP OF SOUTH ALABAMA FOR TW EN TY-EIG H T YEARS.

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

Bales.
80,329
102,684
113,075
125,605
129,366
149,513
197,847
237,590
232,685
309,807
251,742
445,725
317,642
818,315




Increase. Decrease.
9,174
22,355
10,391
12,530
3,761
20,147
48,334
....
39,743
4,905
77,122
58,066
193,983
126,083
678

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

....
....

....

Years.
1 8 4 3 ...
1 8 4 4 ...
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 5 3 ...
1 8 5 4 ...
1 8 5 5 ...
1 8 5 6 ...

Bales.
482,631
468,126
517.550
421,669
322,516
438,324
517,846
350,297
451,697
549,772
546,514
538,110
454,595
659,738

Increase. Decrease
164,316
14,505
49,424
95,881
69,153
115,808
79,522
167,549
101,400
98,075
3.258
8,404
.....
83,515
205,143

....

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

....

,

Statistics o f Agriculture etc.

627

COTTON CROP OF THE UNITED STATES.

According to the annual statements of the New York Shipping and Commer­
cial List, the total crop for 1856 was 3,527,845 bales, and in 1855 it was
2,847,339 bales, and in 1854 it was 2,930,027— showing an increase in 1850
over 1855 of 680,506 bales, and an increase over the crop of 1854 of 597,818
bales, and over the crop of 1853 an increase of 264,963 bales. The crop of 1850
is, we believe, the largest ever produced. W e also give a comparative statement
of the crops of each year, from 1823 to 1856, as follows :—
Crop of—
1 8 5 6 -6 6 ....................
1 8 5 4 -5 6 ....................
1 8 53-5 4....................
1 8 5 2 -5 3 ....................
1 8 5 1 -5 2 ....................
1 8 5 0 -5 1 ....................
1 8 4 9 -5 0 ....................
1 8 4 8 -4 9 ....................
1 8 4 7 -4 8 ....................
1 8 4 6 -4 7 ....................
1 8 4 5 -4 6 ....................
1 8 4 4 -4 5 ....................
1 8 4 3 -4 4 ....................
1 8 4 2 -4 3 ....................
1 8 4 1 -4 2 ....................
1 8 4 0 -4 1 ....................
1 8 3 9 -4 0 ....................

Bales.

Bales.

C rop o f —
1 8 3 8 - 3 9 ...........................

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

2,847,339
2,930,027

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

3.015,029

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

2,096,706
2,728,596
2,347,634
1,778,651
2,394,503
2,030,409
2,378,875
1,683,574
1,634,945
2,177,835

1 8 3 7 - 3 8 ........................... ................

1 ,8 0 1 , 4 9 7

1 8 3 6 - 3 7 ........................... ...............
1 8 3 5 - 3 6 ........................... ...............

1 ,4 2 2 ,9 3 0

1 8 3 4 - 3 5 ........................... ...............

1 ,2 5 4 , 3 2 8

1 ,3 6 0 , 7 2 0

1 8 3 3 - 3 4 ........................... ...............

1 ,2 0 6 , 3 9 4

1 8 3 2 - 3 3 ........................... ...............

1 ,0 7 0 , 4 3 8

1 8 3 1 -3 2

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

1830

3 1 ...........................

1829

3 0 ...........................

1828

2 9 ...........................

1 8 2 7 - 2 8 ........................... ................
1826

9 8 7 ,4 7 7

7 2 7 ,5 9 3

2 7 ...........................

1 8 2 5 - 2 6 ...........................
1824

2 5 ...........................

1 8 2 3 - 2 4 ........................... ...............

5 0 9 ,1 5 8

C r o p op S ea I slan d C otton .
The crop o f this staple the past year was
as follows :— Florida, 10,900 bales ; Georgia, 13,245 ; and South Carolina,
20,367— total, 44,512 bales, against 40,841 bales last year, and 39,686 the year
before.
A CURIOUS QUESTION IN AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

A Scotch paper notes as a singular illustration of the inexactness of agricul­
tural knowledge, that the question, “ How many seeds there are in the pound of
our commonly cultivated field plants ?” should still remain to be answered. Tho
question is certainly more curious than practical, but it is, nevertheless, like all
curious things, quite an interesting one. The writer in the Scotch journal dis­
courses after this manner— his figures nearly approximate to accuracy, and we
suppose that seeds may be weighed with as much exactness as g o ld :—
If, in ordinary practice, 1,200,000 seeds of wheat are sown on every 40,000
superficial feet, or, what is more extraordinary, 15,000,000 to 18,000,000 seeds of
flax are scattered on the same extent, about 3 to every inch, it is surely well to
let the farmer know it. He knows very well he does not raise so many plants a3
this; and struck, as he must be, by the enormous disproportion between the means
he uses and the result he gets, he will inquire into its causes.
The turnip-seed employed per acre number from 600,000 to 1,000,000, accord­
ing to the kind and quantity adopted ; this, if the rows are 2 feet apart, is 2 or 3
dozen seeds per foot of row, where a single plant alone is to be grown. N o doubt,
nothing like so many generally come up ; but then there is a destruction by tha
hoe which will explain much of the discrepancy in this case. What, however,
becomes of the 18,000,000 seeds of flax which are commonly, of the 6,000,000
seeds of oats which are commonly sown per acre ? There is no destruction by
the hoe in either instance here. A single ear of oats may contain 100 grains ; a
single plant will generally include half-a-dozen ears, but if 6,000,000 should yield
as much as this implies, they would produce 100 loads of grain.




,

Statistics o f Agriculture etc.

628

Instead of 600 seeds a piece, they yield bat half-a-dozen each to produce an
ordinary crop of oats. It is plain that five-sixths of the seeds or of the plants
they produce, are killed in the cultivation of the cro p ; and the proportion is
vastly greater than this in the case of other plants. What is the ordinary seed­
ling of the clover crop ? 8 pounds of white clover, 4 of red clover, 4 of trefoil,
may be sown— that is at least 6,000,000 seeds per acre, a seed on every inch of
land— but instead of 144, there are generally half-a-dozen plants on every square
foot of the clover field.
There are about 25,000 seeds sanfoin in a pound of “ rough seed,” as it is called,
and it -weighs some 20 pounds per bushel; 4 bushels is an ordinary seeding, and
they contain 2,000,000 seeds, or 50 per square foot of land. This is the number,
too, in an ordinary seeding of vetches. It is manifest that in both these cases
there is au enormous destruction of young plants or seeds, and these are the two
great divisions under which the causes of this anomaly must be classed— faults of
seed and sowing and faults of cultivation.
W e are enabled, by the assistance of Messrs. Eendle, of Plymouth, to lay
before them the following answers to the question, “ How many seeds to the
pound ?” v iz.:—
Name.
W heat......................................................
Barley......................................................
Oats..........................................................
R y e .......................................................... .............
Canary g ra ss.......................................... ............
Buckwheat.............................................. ............
Turnip, Rendle’s S w e d e ....................... ............
“
Cornish H oldfast..................... .........
“
Orange Jelly..............................
Cabbage, Scotch Drumhead................. .........
Cabbage, Drumhead S a v o y ................. .........
Clover, r e d ..............................................
Clover, white.......................................... ...............
Rye grass, perennial............................. .........
Rye-grass, Italian ..................................
Sweet Vernal G rass............................. ............

No. of seeds
per lb.

2 3 ,0 0 0
5 4 ,0 0 0
2 5 ,0 0 0

No. of pounds
per bushel.
5 8 to 5 4
4 8 to 4 6
3 3 to 4 2
6 6 to 6 0
. . to . .
4 8 to 55

1 5 5 ,0 0 0

50

to

66

2 3 0 ,0 0 0

60

to
to

56

60

66

1 2 8 ,0 0 0
1 1 0 ,0 0 0

56

50

to

56

60
6 8 6 ,4 0 0

69

3 1 4 ,0 0 0

26
13

9 2 3 ,2 0 0

to
to
to

62
28
18

8

GROWTH OF AFRICAN COTTON.

The Paris correspondent of the London Times, referring to an interesting re­
port from Marshal Vaillant to the Emperor, says :—
In this document the Minister of W ar recognizes the good effects of the de­
crees of the 16th October, 1853, by which an annual prize of 20,000f. was allot­
ted, for five years, to the best cotton-grower in the Franco-African colony; and
for three years, commencing with 1854, the whole cotton produce of Algeria was
ordered to be purchased by the State, at a price fixed beforehand, and advantage­
ous to the producer. In consequence of this encouragement, the growth of cot­
ton has increased, and it has been proved not only that the plant flourishes in
many districts of the colony, but that its quality is comparable to that of the
finest produce of the United States. A prolongation of the advantages assured
to the producer is suggested, and it has accordingly been decreed that the gov­
ernment will continue to purchase the whole of the Algerine cotton until the crop
of 1858 inclusively. It may not be uninteresting to our manufacturers to watch
the progress of this fresh field, which, judiciously nurtured by the French Govern­
ment, may, perhaps, ere very many years have passed, compete for their custom
with the vast cotton-grounds of the States. It is yet too soon to risk a predic­
tion as to what Algeria may do in this way, but present appearances are favora­
ble, and doubtless France will neglect no means of converting into a profitable
colony a territory which has hitherto served but as an expensive training-ground
for her soldiers.




629

Statistics o f Population, etc.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.
THE POPULATION OF CITY AND COUNTRY :
W IT H

REFERENCE

TO

H EALTH

AND

THE

CHANCES

OF

L IF E .

W e have before us a table, as recently prepared by the authorities of M a s sa ­
chusetts, in which the following figures are given. They show the average ages
at death of the chief occupations in that State
Agriculturists............................
Bakers........................................
Bank-officers..............................
Blacksmiths.................................
Butchers......................................
Calico-printers............................
Carpenters...................................
Clerks......... ..............................
Clergymen...................................
Coopers......................................
Editors.........................................
Gentlemen..................................
Hatters........................................
J ewellers.....................................

Judges and justices..................
Lawyers......................................
Machinists..................................

63.93 Manufacturers...........................
43.45 Masons.........................................
63.76 Mechanics....................................
51.44 Merchants....................................
50.00 Musicians.....................................
51.33 Operatives...................................
49.39 Painters.......................................
34.36 Physicians..................................
55.72 Printers....................................
58.31 Public-officers............................
40.00 Rope-makers.. . ........................
68.19 Shipwrights................................
54.27 Shoemakers................................
44.05 T ailors........................................
65.00 Teachers.....................................
54.43 Traders........................................
36.41

43.28
47.78
43.45
51 71
39.86
32.93
42.68
54.94
38.01
56.87
54.50
65.27
43.12
44.36
34.46
46.35

The difference, it will be seen, is quite remarkable. Two results are apparent.
In the first place, the life of a farmer is much longer, in a general sense, than the
life of an individual who resides in the city ; and in the second, the kinds of oc­
cupation in cities exercise a wonderful influence. Thus, the average o f machinists
is little more than thirty-six years, while that of bank-officers is more than sixtythree ; that of coopers more than fifty-eight; that of public-officers more than
fifty-six ; and that of clergymen is more than fifty-five. It is stated that the av­
erage of teachers is little more than thirty-four years. W o think, however, that
there must be some mistake in this. The average for editors is forty, and for
gentlemen sixty-eight. The contrast is somewhat striking. Physicians, it will
be observed, average nearly fifty-five years, while printers go a trifle beyond thirtyeight. It is said that like results have attended similar examinations in England.
The New York Eoening Post, in some intelligent observations upon the sub­
ject, says that upon examination it will be found “ that the length or brevity of
life, as developed in these tables, is not accidental, but is dependent upon causes
which it is unfortunately much easier to ascertain than it is to relieve. Those
whose pursuits lead them most in the open air appear to enjoy the most uninter­
rupted health and the greatest length of life. A t the head of this class stands
the agriculturist, who, although exposed in many parts of his employment to the
vicissitudes of the weather, seldom suffers from this cause, and attains an advanced
age. The shipwright and caulker, exposed to the heat of summer and the cold
of winter, are longer lived than the cabinet-maker and the joiner, whose labor,
although not unhealthy, confines them within. In the list of out-door occupa­
tions is that of the butcher, which, on account of the noisome atmosphere of the
slaughter-house, might be supposed unwholesome, but it is, on the contrary, one




,

Statistics o f Population etc.

630

Of the most healthy of the mechanic arts. The habit of the butcher, as is well
known, is to be much in the open air, on hosreback, scouring the surrounding
country, and frequently extending his rides to a considerable distance, in search
o f material for his shambles. The life of the butcher is rendered shorter than it
Otherwise would be, by his indulgence in high living, which gives him an appear­
ance of jocund health, very different from that of many tradesmen, but at the
«ame time predisposes to congestion of the blood-vessels, especially of the head
and abdomen, and often shortens his days at the very moment when he seems to
be in the enjoyment of the best health. A full habit and florid countenance are
just as natural to him as a spare form and pallid face are to the baker. Bakers
are not only confined much within doors, but are likewise subject to exposures
incident to their trade. In common with the miller, they are liable to an irrita­
tion of the skin by constant contact with flour, which occasionally produces a
variety of scaly eruptions termed psoriasis, but the greatest injury to health is
induced by the high temperature of their work-shop, which seldom falls below
90°, and frequently exceeds 100°. Confectioners are subject to the same influ­
ences, and suffer accordingly; besides, the inhalation and constant tasting of
Sugar is so destructive to the teeth, that it is rare to see a confectioner with a
good set of teeth, and nothing is more common than to meet those who have lost,
at an early age, nearly every tooth by decay. Among household domestics, cooks,
who are exposed to the heat of the fire, are more liable to disease than the ordi­
nary house-maids.”
DESTINATION OF IMMIGRANTS ARRIVING AT NEW YORK.

The following interesting table was prepared by J. A . Kennedy, Esq., Superin­
tendent of Castle Garden. It shows the destination and amount of money pos­
sessed by all the emigrants who arrived at the port of New Y ork during the
eleven months previous to July 30, 1856 :—
immigrants.

Am’t o f tlieir
cash capital.

Six New EnglandStates....................................................
Fifteen Slave Statesand District of Colum bia............
New Y o rk ..........................................................................
New Jersey.........................................................................
Pennsylvania.......................................................................
Ohio......................................................................................
Indiana.................................................................................
Illinois..................................................................................
Michigan.............................................................................
Wisconsin............................................................................
I o w a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................
Calitornia............................................................................
Minnesota............................................................................
Kansas..................................................................................
U t a h ....................................................................................
Oregon..........................................................

8,134
3,256
39,943
2,272
8,421
6,117
1,309
7,713
2,8S7
10,000
1,855
806
805
3
.1,829
1

$121,628 01
194,888 73
1,291,628 09
214,955 79
546,033 78
479,638 90
101,861 63
698,458 31
199,300 86
1,045,661 39
248,335 40
165,125 13
35,156 00
128 00
55,679 93
10 00

T o ta l.......................................................................
Total o f the Free States and Territories............

105,707
102,461

$5,398,369 54
5,203,480 81

N o. o f

Destination.

W e have a vast territory o f unoccupied land, and aside from the capital brought
by immigrants, nothing adds so materially to the development of our resources,
and consequently wealth, as able-bodied men from abroad. If a slave is worth a




631

Statistics o f Population, etc.

thousand dollars to his master, is not a free white laborer worth as much or more
to the country ? That is a narrow and contracted political economy that would
check foreign immigration.
POPULATION AND VOTERS IN IOWA.

The following is the aggregate vote of members of Congress for a series of
years, since the organization of the State government:—

1846.
16,005

1848.

1850.

1851

1854.

24,261

25,457

26,691

51,629

1856.
73,732

The biennial census returns of the population for the same period are as fol­
lows ; for 1856, the official returns not having yet been made :—

1846.

1848.

78,988

130,948

1850.
192,204

1851

1854.

230,000

326,014

It will be perceived by the above figures that the average increase of voters in
the State, and also of inhabitants, has been about 50 per cent in two years. A t
the same rate of increase the population of Iowa in 1860 will exceed 1,250,000.
THE MARRIAGE POPULATION OF ENGLAND.
THE

S T A T IST IC S

AND

LAW S

W H IC H

GOVERN

IT .

The influence of periods of scarcity on marriage is fully established by official
statistics in England. The report of the register general of births, deaths, and
marriages, shows that from the cessation of the famine in 1848 up to 1854, the
number of marriages was continually on the increase; and that in the latter year,
for the first time in seven years, they began to decline. A superficial observer
might suppose that the Eastern war, which broke out in 1854, was the cause of
this falling off. But the decrease in the number of marriages commenced in the
first quarter of the year, before war was proclaimed, and months before the waste
of life, caused by hostilities, could affect the result. The real cause must, there­
fore, be sought elsewhere. It is to be found in the fact that in November, 1853,
the price of wheat rose to seventy-two shillings and fivepence per quarter— nearly
double what it had been in 1852, and considerably more than it had been since
1847. This enormous rise was attended by a great check to the foreign trade of
England, especially with this country and Australia, produced by the scarcity of
wheat here aud in that colony; and to these causes, all resolving themselves really
into one, the decline in marriages is really to be attributed.
Nor is this the only law deducible from the English marriage statistics. The
number of marriages between old men and young women, which might be sup­
posed to vary year by year, is annually about the same. So are the marriages
between widowers and spinsters, between widowers and bachelors, between minors,
and generally between persons in cases that would be thought exceptionable. So
also the females married under age appear, year after year, to be to the males,
likewise married under age, in the proportion of three to one. In like manner
the number of bridegrooms who could not write their names to the marriage
register, hardly varied four per cent in six years; while the number of brides
who had to make their mark exhibited a similar ratio; so that if allowance be
made for the increasing efforts to extend education, the real proportion was the
same, year after year. Another law established by the statistics is, that up to




632

,

Railroad Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

the age of twenty-five, the number of females marrying exceeds that of the males ;
but after that period the number of males marrying exceeds that of the females.
Thus, though women live longer than men they marry earlier.
There is no doubt that similar results would appear in the United States if
statistics of marriages were kept here as they are in England. Our bills of mor­
tality prove that the number of deaths annually bear a certain proportion to our
population; and that this holds good universally, except in years of severe pesti­
lence, and even then, if the statistics of the entire globe could be obtained, it is
probable that the law would still be found to prevail. The number of lives lost
by accidents exhibits a similar uniformity. In a word, in everything which su­
perficially seems controlled entirely by chance, the working of a great and steady
law may be traced, which, week by week, month by month, and year by year,
averages its results. Thus nature, if we may so phrase it, creates uniformity out
of diversity. Annually, in a given population, about the same number of births
occur, and always the males slightly exceed the females, so as to provide for the
greater degree to which the former are liable to casualties and exposure. A n­
nually, in a given population, the same number of persons marry; and annually,
in a given population, death claims the same proportion of victims.

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
EXPENSES OF RAILROAD MANAGEMENT.

From the report (just published) of the Superintendent, D. 0. McCollum, Esq.
of the New Y ork and Erie Railroad, for the month of July, 1856, we gather
some interesting facts regarding the working expenses of that road. The cost
per mile for engineers and firemen is 5.22 cents; for waste, oil, and tallow per
mile, 1.50 cents; for repairs of engines per mile, 8.66 cents; for fuel, per mile,
13.38 cents— total cost per mile, 28.76 cents. The greatest item of expense is
fuel, one cord being required for every 27.67 miles, the cost of which is $3 60.
Our railroads will soon be compelled to employ coal as a fuel. N o less than
10,032 cords were consumed on this railroad in July, in running 287,587 miles.
The number of cords of wood consumed per annum, at this rate, amounts to
120,384 cords, or a pile 182 miles long, 4 feet high, and 4 feet broad. Our for­
ests must soon go down before such fiery dragons as our railroads, which, with
but few exceptions, use wood for fuel exclusively.
The cost per mile for fuel for each ton drawn amounts only to 88.100 cents,
but we find that more dead weight is carried than useful load ; 14,277,440 tons
of useful load were carried per mile, and 15,007,339 tons of dead load. The
weight of the engines, cars, &c., being classed as dead weight, paying nothing.
A great saving would be effected if some of this dead load eould be dispensed
with.
The expense for repairing engines is also very great, averaging $8 66 per 100
miles; and, allowing an engine to run 100 miles per day for 300 days during the
year, the cost amounts to §2.598. The price of an engine being about $10,000,
it destroys itself, at this rate, in about four years. The Scientific American
(good authority) expresses the opinion that a perfectly constructed railroad—




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

633

one avoiding rapid curves and steep inclines, and having a solid, well-laid
track— could be worked for at least one-half the expense incurred on our best
railroads.
A t present, the stocks of a majority of our railroads are very lo w ; few of them
are in a paying condition, and unless they can reduce their working expenses, we
do not see how they can retrieve themselves, and become profitable and paying
concerns.
BROOKLYN CITY RAILROADS.

The several roads of the Brooklyn City Railroad Company, four in number,
were opened in part on the 3d of July, 1854 ; that is, the cars of the Myrtle and
Flushing roads commenced running on that day, and the Fulton on the 6th of
July. The Greenwood and Court-street was not opened until the 8tli of August,
1854. The length of the several roads is 30 miles. The capita! stock, as per
original charter, was $2,500,000, (divided into shares of $25,) the whole amount
of which was subscribed. The capital has since been reduced to $1,000,000, and
the shares reduced to $10 each. Three-fourths of the number of shares of the
company were issued as full stock at $10 each, and one-fourth the shares as scrip
stock at $10 each— 50 per cent paid, and 50 per cent due when called for, with
the privilege to all stockholders to make this stock full within a specified time;
$27,660 were paid in voluntarily under this privilege, that is, before it was called
for. The company has no funded debt. The value of property belonging to the
company on the 30th of September, 1855, including the superstructure, ears,
horses, fixtures, and 129 stages, sleighs, feed and other wagons, as estimated,
amounted to $910,332. The total cost of managing the road for the year ending
30th of September, 1855, amounted to $253,175 ; and the earnings during the
same time, from passengers, interest, and other sources, to $322,116.
The following table, compiled from the report of the Railroad Commissioners
for the year ending September 30th, 1855, and from the books of the company
for year ending same time in 1856, exhibits the receipts for the twelve months of
the last two years, both ending 30th of September:—■
,------------ 1855.-------------,
Passengers.
Receipts.

October.........................................
November.....................................
D ecem ber....................................
January........................................
February.......................................
March............................................
A p r il............................................
May...............................................
June..............................................
July...............................................
August.........................................
September....................................

499,774
460,383
399,767
477,575
377,116
466,936
506,317
606,793
626,322
624,745
644,235
633,596

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

6,324,559

*26,588
23,719
20,171
24,045
18,878
22,883
24,757
29,785
30,982
31,084
31,917
31,319

,------------ 1S56.------------->
Passengers.
Receipts.

51
28
71
16
43
27
97
54
51
45
28
82

641,547
658,030
504,992
445,134
276,163
425,277
538,358
620,643
615,293
698,498
612,420
616,227

132,077 38
27,901 50
25,249 60
22,256 71
13,808 17
21,263 84
26,917 93
31,032 16
30,764 64
34 924 91
30,621 00
30,811 37

1316,133 93

6,552,582

*327,629 21

The above table shows an increase in the number of passengers, 1856 over
1855, of 228,023 ; and in receipts, of $11,495 28. The comparatively small in­
crease of passengers and receipts in 1856, over the previous year, is to be ac­
counted i'or in the fact that the business of the road was interrupted on the 6th




, ,

Railroad Canal and Steamboat Statistics.
o f January, 1856, by the heavy snow storm, and the subsequently severe cold
weather. The cars were not run after that date on all the routes until the 6th of
March. During the interval the business was done by sleighs and stages, with
greatly reduced receipts and increased expenses. Besides, from about the middle
of August to 1st of October, the Greenwood route suffered a decrease o f receipts
o f from §75 to §100 per day on account of the existence of what was supposed
to be the yellow or ship fever.
MILES RUN TO OJVE CORD OF FUEL,

The following is a table showing the number of miles run by each engine, and
the amount of wood used, for the whole year ending July 31st, 1856, exclusive of
gravel or dirt trains, on the Southwestern (Ga.) Railway:—
Engine.
Choctaw....................
Chickasaw . . . .
Eufaula...............
Tobesofkee........
Sem inole...........
Echeconnee . . .
Muscogee..........
Tallahassee.............
Cherokee.................
Chatham...........
Altam aha...............
L O. K eyoold s...........
George H all.................

Miles run
as
freight
6,712
13,978
17,375
961

Miles run
as
passenger.
12,700
5,392

Total

miles
run.
19,412
19,370
17,375
17,058
27,636
19,753
18,529
14.054
16,144
1,614

Cords
wood

.........

248

used.
217
260 7-8
291 3-8
158 6-8
251 6-8
204 5-8
235 5-8
237 5-8
174 2-8
38 5-8
2 5-8
1 7-8
7

324

582

906

6 2-8

70,534

101,776

172,299

2,088 -28

16,094
27,636
17,803
6,911

1,950
12,618
054
486
1,614

15,658

100
100

100
100

248

Average

miles per
cord.
89.45
74.24
59.60
113.74
109.76
96.48
78.60
59.05
92.64
41.76
38.08
53.30
35.43

148.80

Prov. <fe pay
Post B o y .................

General average for the whole year-----

82.48

RAILROAD FARES BETW EEN NEW YORK AND THE W E ST ,

The Railroad Convention, held at Cincinnati in September, 1856, have adopted
the following report of the committee, in regard to railroad fares between New
York and points in the Western States :—•

Resolved, That the common fares between New Y ork and common points in
the West shall in no case exceed two-aud-a-half cents per mile through ; and of
this sum the road between Crestline and New York receive fourteen dollars and
sixty cents.
Under this resolution the fare shall be as follows :—
New York to Columbus............... $16 26
Cincinnati............... 18 50
Chicago................... 22 00

New York to St. L ou is................. $27 26
Terre Haute . . . .
22 00
Indianapolis.......... 20 00

Resolved, That these rates continue from the first day of November to the first
day of April, after which the fare shall be left for future adjustment.
Resolved, That second-class tickets be received on only the train.
The Committee on Freights recommended the adoption of the following rates,
to commence on the first day of October, and continue until the taking effect of
winter rates, on all Westward-bound freight from New Y ork via the New York




Railroad

, ,

Canal and Steamboat Statistics.

635

Central, New Y ork and Erie, Pennsylvania Central, and Baltimore and Ohio
railroads, to the several points named
i1.
2.
11.
Class— 1. >
¥0 70
New York to Cincinnati—all ra il........................
$1 40
$1 10
10 93
0 65
1 30
Cincinnati—part rail part water
1 05
0 90
1 37
0 90
0 60
1 05
Columbus—all ra il........................
1 25
1 00
0 «s
Columbus— part rail <Se part water
0 85
0 76
1 50
1 00
Indianapolis— all r a il....................
1 20
1 40
0 70
1 10
0 95
Indianapolis— part rail, part water
1 25 per barrel.
Cincinnati to New York—flo u r...........................
4th class, 50 cents per 100 lbs.
Columbus to New York— flo u r...........................
4th class, 68 cents per 100 lbs.
Indianapolis to New York— flou r.......................
4th class, 68 cents per 100 lbs.

1 10 per barrel.
1 30 per barrel.

THE PROJECTED SUEZ SHIP CAKAL.

The European Commission of Engineers, assembled in Paris to discuss the de­
tails o f the plan for cutting a canal across the Isthmus of Suez, have brought
their labors to a close. The following is a summary statement of the resolutions
agreed upon at the various sittings :—
1. The commission have rejected the system of indirect tracts across Egypt,
and have adopted the principle of a direct cutting from Suez to the Mediterra­
nean.
2. They have rejected the system of supplying the maritime canal from the
fresh wrater of the Nile, and have adopted that which supplies it with sea-water.
3. They have discussed the advantages and inconveniences of a canal, with con­
tinuous embankments, from one sea to the other; and at the close of this discus­
sion it was decided that the canal should not be embanked in its passage across
the Bitter Lakes.
4. The effect of the interposition of the Bitter Lakes, thus left open to the
waters of the canal, being to neutralize the tidal currents, the commission have
considered that the locks proposed at each end of the canal, at Suez and Pelusium, would not be indispensable. They have left it open, however, to establish
these locks at a future period, should they be judged necessary.
5. It has confirmed the breadth of 100 meters (328 feet) at the water line, and
66 meters (207 feet) at the bottom, throughout the main course of the canal; for
the portion 20 kilometers (12^ miles) in length, between Suez and the Bitter
Lakes which is to be lined with stone, the breadth is reduced to 80 meters at the
water lines, (262 feet,) and 48 meters (156 feet) at the bottom.
6. The section of the precursory scheme drawn up by the Viceroy’s engineers
is in other respects maintained.
7. As regards the entrance into the Mediterranean, to be called Port Said, the
commission adopt the plan of jetties proposed by those of its members who pro­
ceeded to Egypt, with the exception that the breadth of the channel will be 400
meters, or 1,312 feet, instead of 500 meters, (1,640 feet,) and an inner basin will
be added.
8. A s regards the port of Suez, on the Bed Sea, the commission adopt the
situation and direction given to the channel. The breadth will be 300 meters,
(984 feet,) instead of 400, and an inner basin will be added. The jetties will ter­
minate at a depth of six meters, (19 ft. 8 in.,) low water, and a broad channel in
the direction of the jetties will be dredged to a depth of nine meters, (29-J ft, 9 in.)
9. The commission declare that beacon lights of the first order will have to be
established ko point out shoals on the Egyptian coast and on the shores of the
Bed Sea, us a necessary consequence of opening the canal.
10. A port for taking in stores and refitting will be created in Lake Menzaleb.
11. A s regards the auxiliary canals supplied with fresh water from the Nile,
while the commission prefer, in a technical point of view, the plan of a canal from




636

Jo u rn al o f M ining and Manufactures.

Zagazig, near Bilbies, they leave the choice of the best mode of executing it to
the judgment of the engineers to whom the works will be intrusted.
12.
Lastly, from the detailed information given by the naval officers, members
of the commission, it is established that the navigation of the Red Sea is as
favorable as that of the Mediterranean and the Adriatic. This was the sub­
stance of the opinion given to the commission by Captain Harris, who has per­
formed seventy voyages from Suez to India.
FUEL FOR LOCOMOTIVES—COAL AND WOOD,

The report of Nathan Hale, on the cost of fuel on the Boston and Worcester
Railroad in the year 1855, and experiments for testing the success of coal-burn­
ing engines in reducing the cost, as published in the Boston Daily Advertiser of
the 11th September, 1856, has excited much attention. W e publish the tables
showing, as they do, a most reliable saving of more than 50 per cent in the use
of locomotive fuel. Anything that will lead to low fares and good dividends for
railroads at the present time, should be received with gratitude. The result, pub­
lished at the request of the Worcester Road, over the signature of Mr. Hale—
for seventeen years president of that road— places the matter beyond a doubt:—
For the purpose of ready comparison, I here recapitulate the prominent results,
beginning with the computation based on the year’s operations, and followed by
those based on the experiments for burning coal:—
I.

W O O D -B U R N IN G E N G IN E S — A V E R A G E OF

1855.

Weight of train, average both w a y s .................................................. tons
Tons 1 mile per trip.......................................................................................
Cost of fuel per trip of 44| miles....................... .......................................
Cost of fuel per mile o f each train.............................................................
Cost of fuel per ton per mile of each train..............................................
Cost o f fuel per ton of goods per mile of each train...............................
II.

163.46
6,828
$18 69
41.9
0.273
0.576

C O A L -B U R N IN G E N G IN E IIE C L A , W IT H B A K E R ’ S C U R V E S .

Weight of train, average both w a y s .........-........................................tons
Tons 1 mile per trip.......................................................................................
Cost of fuel, per trip o f 44^ miles, with wood for kindling...................
Cost of fuel per mile o f each train.............................................................
Cost of fuel per ton per mile of each train..............................................
Pounds of coal and wood per trip...............................................................
Pounds of coal and wood per mile of train..............................................

149.16
6,637
$7 01
15.75
0.1056
2,288
54.4

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
A MANUFACTURER A PEER.

By late files of English papers we see that Mr. Edward Strutt, a noted manu­
facturer, has been raised to the peerage. This unusual proceeding shows the in­
terest which the Queen takes in the manufacturing pursuits of her dominions, and
also the inroads which time is making upon the ancient prejudices and customs.
It is the surrender of feudalism to industry. The Manchester Examiner says, in
remarking on this case, that it is something for those who claim to be regarded as
the descendants of the mailed barons of England to admit into their order a man
who not only has made, but is making, his fortune by spindles and looms; and if
they would have felt some reluctance to take such a step themselves, it is well for
them their mistress knows better. The editor of the Merchants' Magazine honors
like industry. “ My father worketh hitherto, and I work.”




Journ al o f M ining and Manufactures.

637

B A R -IR O N : IM PROVEM EN T IN ITS MANUFACTURE.

Mr. W . Clay, of Liverpool, has patented some improvements in manufacturing
bar-iron. That invention relates to the employment of rolling pressure for the
conversion of bar-iron of various sectional figures, as, for example, plain, straight,
square bars, or bars of angle iron, or T, or channel-grooved, or trough iron, into
taper bars, or bars which, in their cross section, gradually diminish or increase
from one point of their length to another, the object being to impart to bars of
iron so made different strengths or powers of resistance at different points, and
thereby to adapt rolled metal to various uses, where greater strength or rigidity
is required at one point than at another. This invention also relates to the
adaptation of rolling pressure to the formation of bars, with sudden as well as
gradual irregularities of depth or thickness, by which means it is proposed to
form projections, protuberances, or indentions on or in the bars at different points,
according to the particular purposes for which the iron may be required. In­
stead of allowing the top roll to rise gradually in its bearings, and thus afford in­
creasing space between the rolling surfaces, (as in his patent of December 1G,
1848,) Mr. Clay adjusts the rolls to the work they have to perform, and keeps
them to that position until the operation is completed, his object being to produce
a class of work the irregularity in the section of which is too great to permit of
its being manufactured with facility by the rising-roll process. For forming a
i taper on the extremity of bars, suitable for railway “ points,” he sets the rolls to
a distance apart that will correspond with the greatest depth which the formed
bar is required to measure, say, for example, three inches ; and assuming also, for
example, that the extremity of the bar is to be tapered down to, say, one inch in
depth, ho provides a plate of iron or steel of a taper form, and of a thickness
corresponding exactly with the diminution of thickness required in the end of the
bar under operation. This plate he takes, in its cold state, and places over the
end of the bar of red-hot metal, and then passes the two between the rolls. The
taper plate acting as a filling piece, or as an eccentric projection on one of the
rolls would act, enables the rolls to put a severer pressure on the bar at the part
overlaid by the plate, and thus by simple rolling in an ordinary rolling-mill, a ta­
pered bar may be produced.
The application of this principle of rolling may be further extended by giving
to the contact face of the overlaying plate, such projections or indentations (whether
gradual or sudden) as circumstances may require, such projections or indentations
corresponding to, or rather forming a counterpart of, the figure to which the con­
tact surface of the bar is required to be reduced. A plate thus formed, being
placed over a heated bar of metal, and submitted with it to the pressure of a pair
of rolls, will leave the counterpart impression of its face upon the heated bar of
metal. In like manner, when projections or indentations are required on opposite
sides of the bar, as will be the case when rolling the spokes for railway wheels,
Mr. Clay proposes to inclose the metal to be rolled (the same having been previ­
ously heated) between two suitably-shaped pressure-plates, and then to submit the
pile to the rolling pressure.
In this way it will be obvious that he can reduce to unequal thickness not
merely flat bars or plates of iron, but also angle iron and metal bars having a
concave or convex surface. The patentee claims the imparting a rolling pressure
to the bar-iron, in the manner and for the purpose above set forth.




638

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
PRINCE NAPOLEON ON BRITISH MANUFACTURES.

Prince Napoleon passes a verdict upon the industry of Great Britain in his
forthcoming work, entitled “ Visits to the Universal Exhibition —
On visiting the products of the English department, we were struck at once by
the order and harmony with which they were arranged. Everything, from the
samples of coal to the most complicated machines, from the costly goldsmith's
work of London to the steels of Sheffield and the fabrics of Manchester and Glas­
gow, was classed with that almost mathematical precision which characterizes
the nation. It is easy to understand, by studying the various departments of
this exhibition, the strength and vigor that prevail in this intelligent country.
W e were struck, above all, by the superior application of mechanical force, by
the perfection of tools, by the sagacious use of raw materials— by the care, in
short, shown in every branch of industry, from the humblest to the most impor­
tant. The industrial genius of the two countries (France and England) has re­
vealed itself in a marked manner. From the Paris Exhibition, as from that of
London, this incontestible economic fact has been proved, namely,— that if En­
gland shines by the quality and cheapness of her goods, France excels by the
taste and delicacy of her workmanship. If we pass from these general consid­
erations to details, we shall acknowledge that by the side of the products for the
elaboration of which England holds the first rank, she has exhibited articles that
prove the progress she has made. Her cloths rival those of France and Prussia;
her silks hold their place by their cheapness ; her goldsmiths are more artistic;
her clockwork is without fault; her glass manufactures are remarkable for their
clearness and cutting; her chemical products, for which she was, till lately, in­
debted to foreign countries, are from her own soil; her ceramic manufactures
are spread all over the world, commanding by their cheapness and solidity; and
her upholstery, printed papers, and even certain fancy articles, exhibit a marked
feeling for art. But the decisions of the international jury speak more strikingly
than all commentaries. Two thousand five hundred and seventy-four British ex­
hibitors commanded 1,347 rewards. The samples of English metallurgy were re­
markable for the care with which they had been collected. Two hundred samples
of coal were carefully inscribed with the use to which each sample might be ap­
plied. The collection of iron included every variety, from case and worked iron
down to the iron ore. Lord Granville sent a sheet of cast iron and two rails,
which gave a fair idea of the productive power of English foundries. The orna­
mental iron work from the Coalbrookdale Company attracted the Prince’s atten­
tion by the purity of their design and the perfect work. Nor were the agricultu­
ral products less worthy of attention. The collections, as arranged by Mr. W il­
son, received the approval of the Prince. It included all cultivated plants. The
collection of English machinery was as complete as it was various. Such names
as the Penns, the Whitworths, the Stephensons, and the Fairbairns, give an idea
of the importance the English attached to this department of their exhibition.
The Prince turns to the English colonies, and describes them as the finest jewel
in the crown of the United Kingdom. They explain the prodigious development
which the political and industrial fortune of England has achieved within the last
forty years.
GOLD FIELDS BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS.

The Placerville American says, that in Carson Valley quite an excitement has
grown out of the late discovery of extensive gold placers upon the eastern slope
of the Sierra Nevada, in the vicinity of the Truckee Meadows, and extendiug as
far as the Honey Lake Valley country. There is no longer a doubt as to the ex­
tent and richness of these newly-discovered placers, and hundreds are making
their way to them. There is an advantage possessed by these placers not often
found in connection therewith. Occupying the base and foothills of the moun­
tains, they extend in great richness to the verge of the meadows, and to some ex­




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

639

tent into them, rendering the country one of the most desirable in the world for
settlement, as agricultural and stock-raising pursuits, in connection with mining
or not, can be carried on at any or all seasons of the year. Groves of magnifi­
cent timber skirt these vast meadows, sometimes extending quite into their midst.
Bold and dashing streams of water leap down the canons of the mountains, that
serve for either mining or irrigation ; while the whole face of nature— mountain,
hill, plain, and meadow— are, winter and summer, a perpetual green— quite unlike
many portions of California, that are for months together dry and parched with
thirst.
VIRGINIA GOLD MINES.

The New York Tribune contains a letter from J. W in c h e st e r , on the mining
capabilities of Virginia. The following are a few extracts from it :—There are mines on which $100,000 and $300,000 have been expended, and it
would puzzle any one to tell what had been done with the money to any better
purpose than throwing it into the sea.
California is scarcely a more inviting field for the miner than this very State,
not a day’s journey from the commercial capital of the Union. Tacts in proof
are not wanting.
I am well satisfied that, considering the recent improvements in metallurgical
science, especially in the treatment of pyritiferous ores, which form so large a por­
tion of the gold and copper lodes of the Southern States, a new era is about to be
opened, in which capital will find the reward not hitherto realized.
The mine at which I am stopping— the Woodville— after years of perseverance
under the direction of Dr. S. F. Ambler, has become a success. Dr. Ambler has
recently invented and erected a new and admirable contrivance for working sulphurets. I have seen its operation, and have no doubt w’hatever that he has hit
upon a desideratum in the reduction of sulphur ores, and the release of the gold.
It needed but such a discovery to render all the auriferous sulphurets profitable,
which have ever before stubbornly refused to yield up their treasures.
The whole letter, according to the Scientific American, leaves an impression on
the mind that gold itself exists in the state of an ore— as sulphurets and pyrites—
whereas gold is only associated with the pyrites of copper and iron in some V ir­
ginian mines, and is never found as an ore, strictly speaking, but commonly as an
alloy, w’ith metallic silver, copper, and some other metals. It is plainly stated
that the working of auriferous pyrites— gold associated with iron and copper
pyrites— in Virginia has hitherto been unprofitable, but by a new invention of
Dr. Ambler the gold can be released profitably, and “ a new era is about to be
opened, in wdiich capital will find a reward not hitherto realized.”
Virginia is rich in gold quartz, but her auriferous sulphurets have always been
considered poor ores, because they require smelting, which is a far more expensive
process than that of amalgamation by mercury, where the gold is found unasso­
ciated with the sulphurets of other metals. The statement that auriferous sul­
phurets have ever before stubbornly refused to yield their treasures, is not correct.
Dana, our greatest mineralogist, states that it has been found profitable where
metallic sulphurets and other ores are abundant in gold rocks, to work them by
smelting, and he describes the profits obtained by smelting such ores in Russia, in
comparison with the simple treatment of them by amalgamation. If, by the process of smelting, the gold can be profitably reduced from the auriferous pyrites,
this can be easily demonstrated without very expensive apparatus in any of the
Virginia mines. The ores of each mine should be fairly tested before expensive




\

640

Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.

reducing apparatus is fitted up, because their character and quality— even when
separated but a short distance— differ so much from one another. It would be
haiardous, in our opinion, to invest capital largely in any mine for the reduction
of gold from auriferous pyrites, until it was fairly demonstrated that such invest­
ment was beyond a doubt safe and profitable.
IMPROVED CAIVDLE MANUFACTURE.

An improvement has been effected in the manufacture of candles and nightlamps. It consists in employing a solvent with the harder or loss easily fusible
material used, in order to reduce the melting point, and thus to facilitate its ap­
plication to candles and night-lamps, the solvent quickly evaporating after the
casing, or externa! coating, has been produced. It is preferred to employ a mix­
ture of stearic acid and white wax, and to dissolve the materials in a proper sol­
vent ; and it is preferred to use about half their weight of ordinary spirits of
wine. By rapidly dipping candles made of low melting materials into this solu­
tion, and withdrawing them, they will be found to be covered with a thin film of
hard material, which may be immediately handled. A similar coating may also
be obtained by pouring the solution of stearic acid and wax, or other solutions of
candle material, into the ordinary molds, and then pouring out the solution, so
as to leave a thin casing of the material in the molds, in like manner to what has
been done when using hard materials in a melted state without solvent, and con­
cluding the formation of the candles by pouring in an inferior material, or one
melting at a lower temperature. Other improvements recently made in candle
manufacture are, to employ a wick composed of a great many threads, woven or
plaited, or otherwise held together, or of a number of small wicks united ; also,
employing a jacket or case around the molds capable of being heated from 112°
to 132° by gas, steam, or other heating medium ; and in manufacturing a candle
composed wholly of vegetable wax, or having vegetable wax for its base.
TH E GOLD FIE LD S OF AUSTRALIA.

The Mining Journal notices some interesting facts in the late Sydney newspa­
pers relating to the number of miners engaged in working the mines of New
South Wales, including all the prominent gold fields. There are no means of ar­
riving at an exact amount of the gold obtained, but an approximate comparison
o f the productiveness of the different periods can be obtained from the ship­
ments.
There is quite a mistaken idea prevalent touching the product, if not also of
the present richness of these mines. From the papers above referred to, it ap­
pears that the number of miners engaged in the placers of New South Wales is
about 8,000. This, we infer, does not include those at work in the Victoria
mines. Now, the Victoria mines yield about five-and-a-half times as much as
does New South Wales. Supposing that the yield per man is about equal in the
two localities, we have the total number employed in Australia at 45,000. The
total amount of shipments from Australia during the first three years after the
discovery o f gold there was, in round numbers, as follows :—
1862............

$81,000,000 | 1853............

$61,000,000 | 1854..........

$60,000,000

These amounts, it should be recollected, are only the shipments. Large amounts




Journal o f Mining and Manufactures. '

641

were retained in the country, some went to the neighboring colonies, and conse­
quently does not appear on the manifests of the home steamers, and, no doubt,
much was taken away without manifest.
W e have not at hand a full report of the shipments for 1855, but it is well
known that extensive discoveries were made that year in new localities, and the
returns for the first nine months of that year give an advance on the same period
of the previous year of about seven-and-a-quarter millions of dollars. This fact
is certainly very encouraging. Still, from all accounts, we feel very confident in
the opinion that the mines of Australia come far short of those of California in
their prospects for permanence. This assertion is true of her placers, and most
emphatically so of her quartz mines. The quartz mining interest of California,
which is yet in its earliest infancy, is destined to exceed, in both extent and rich­
ness, those of any other country of the globe.
IMMENSE SULPHUR PRODUCT IN MEXICO.

According to the Mexican papers, that country is possessed of a now unim­
proved source of wealth which may be made to yield great pecuniary results.
The volcano of Popocatapelt, or Smoky Mountain, as it is called in the Indian
tongue, yields an inexhaustible amount of pure sulphur, which is springing up
every day in infinite abundance from its bowels. The United States, it is said,
consumes annually, in its manufactures, sulphuric acid to the amount of eighteen
or twenty millions of dollars. Great Britain and Prance probably each consume
an equal amount. The present source of supply for this immense consumption is
Mount Vesuvius, and the cost of the article in American or English markets is
about $50 per ton. It is averred that the gatherers of sulphur from Vesuvius
would be unable to compete with the Mexican product from Popocatapelt, for
the reason that their sulphur is amalgamated with an infinity of substances, which
involve great expense to separate; and the supply in Vesuvius is limited, while
that of Popocatapelt would find little diminution in the labor of a century. The
ore, too, it is said, can be obtained with great facility, and only a little energy
and enterprise are needed to secure a golden harvest. In this view of the case,
the trade in sulphur, which might be made to yield a sum amounting to thirty or
fifty millions yearly, is a prize which the Mexican people would be unwise to let
slip.
MANUFACTURE OF PAPER.

It is.stated that a French chemist has invented a new method of bleaching
paper pulp, by immersing the pulp in a solution of bleaching liquor made by
saturating chloride of lime in water and using the clear liquor, and then passing
carbonic acid through it. It is said to be an improved method of bleaching both
pulp and textile fabrics. The process for sizing paper, invented by Dr. Macadam
of Glasgow, is also thought to be very valuable. It consists in the partial or
total substitution of aqueous solutions of single sulphates, or of other binary com­
pounds, for the double sulphate of potash and alumina known by the name of
alum, usually employed according to the system of manufacture hitherto. The
acid best suited for this purpose is sulphuric acid, and is employed in quantity
sufficient for the neutralization of the whole, or a part of the alkali of the resin
size which is used.

VOL. xxxv.— no. r.




41

642

Mercantile Miscellanies.
CANADIAN MINING REGULATIONS.

Unlike most other countries on the globe, Canada strives to prohibit, instead
o f promote the extraction of her mineral wealth. The “ Order in Council ” of
September, 1853, although an improvement on the former code, requires a pro­
spector to pay into the Crown Land Department 25 Canadian pounds, or $100.
for a privilege to explore six months, and requires him to locate a spot 40 chains
in front by 100 in depth; and, until he completes the purchase, he shall not fell
or remove any timber, nor carry off any minerals, except as specimens. The
Toronto Globe affirms that where the United States possess one mile of mining
country along Lake Superior, Canada possesses ten, the north shores of Lake
Huron and Superior included, and complains with justice at the restrictions im­
posed on the enterprise of her citizens by these regulations.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
PERSONAL EXPEN DITU RE.
[b t

b e s

. c a s s e d a y , e s q ., e d it o r

o f

I .O U I S V I J . L E c o m m e r c i a l r e v i e w . ]

The progress of luxury in modern times is a subject which affords food for
much thought. W e do not value as we ought the luxuries which surround us on
every side. Time was when anything above or beyond the simple necessities of
life was attainable only by the very rich or by the very powerful. Those things
which but a few years ago were luxuries, beyond the desire of men in ordinary
circumstances, are now so easy of attainment that they have become necessities.
Taste, in place of being, as heretofore, confined to the gratification of the few,
has become a necessity of the many. Straw and rushes sufficed to cover the pal­
ace floors of England’s greatest queen, while now the proudest gems of art are re­
produced and adapted to the feet of the humblest sovereign of the modern repub­
lic. W ith three hundred and sixty-five dresses in her wardrobe, this very queen
was not only content with, but even proud of a single pair of silk stockings,
while a lady of modern times would consider herself badly used if she could not
exhibit (to her female friends, of course) a dozen pairs of the very articles so
prized by the virgin queen. The chairs that were used to adorn the palaces of
nobles are now too poor for the cottages of the humble.
The world has so progressed that the luxuries of a hundred years ago are the
necessities of to-day. Democracy has revolutionized the world. It has, as W il­
lis says, “ lifted the veil, and opened an earthly paradise to the long-toiling and
ever-forgotten million. The home of every active, upright, intelligent Ameri­
can, may be brightened by those luxuries which, by the magic workings of mod­
ern machinery, have been brought within the common reach. The progress of art
and taste is electric in our age, and inventions for multiplying whatever exalts or
embellishes civilized life, outstrip the wildest imagination. This is an age of lux­
ury and of peace to us on this untroubled side of the earth. It may well be; for
the olive is growing in our New World, while the flames of war are lighted in
the Old. And here is a nation of workingmen walking on a continent of gold.”
The facilities afforded to all classes for the enjoyment of luxuries, may speak
well for the progress of the country; but its effect upon those who are supposed
to derive benefit from these facilities, is far from productive of good.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

643

The ease with which luxury is attained, and the great temptations to its indul­
gence, form one of the most prominent reasons for those pecuniary difficulties
which from time to time beset this country. Every man feels that it is his privi­
lege to enjoy, to the fullest extent, all those amenities of life which money can
purchase. N or is this the ultimate difficulty. Men conceive, that in proportion
as they surround themselves with articles of taste and xertu, they are acquiring
social considerations for themselves and for their families. Hence there is a strong
desire to sacrifice real comfort and enjoyment to a taste for display and exhibi­
tion. The prevalence of this feeling is well known to dealers in articles of lux­
ury, and every exertion is employed by them to foster and increase this ridiculous
desire. Mistaken notions of taste induce the wish to attain striking effects in
the furniture of our houses, and in dress and equipage. The man in moderate
circumstances, who is possessed of really correct and refined taste, can accomplish
a higher degree of comfort, and make a “ better show” to his friends, on a little
money judiciously expended, than the unrefined man of fortune can with all his
lavish expenditure in gewgaws and brilliancy. But there seems to exist among
men of moderate means less desire to obey the dictates of taste, than blindly to
follow the decrees of fashion. In furnishing a house, for example, the man of
moderate means seems to forget that his small windows and low ceilings will
not bear the abundant drapery and elegant paraphernalia which is entirely in
keeping with the huge casements and lofty rooms of his neighbor. The volup­
tuous sofa or inviting easy chair, which fashion has pronounced perfect, is but an
addition to the parlor of one man— it is an obstruction to the comfort of another.
The divan, which is utterly useless and ridiculous in the house of the man whose
life is not sacrificed to ostentatious display, to fetes and routs, is a tasteful and
appropriate ornament to the salon of the woman of fashion.
But mediocracy in wealth emulates the example of those who claim to be mil­
lionaires, and, by reckless expenditure and eagerness for display, seeks to get be­
yond the position in which real comfort and real honor exists, and to attain that
in which a feverish thirst for the open-mouthed admiration of the gaping crowd
takes the place of a desire, either for happiness or for the approbation of good
men. In this lies one grievous fault of our American society. Wealth has such
a prestige, and obtains such influence, that to be or to seem possessed of it is the
ambition of all. A comfortable competence is despised, and men who have al­
ready obtained it are ready to peril what they have gained, merely for the eclat
of being called wealthy. Those who are content to live within their means, to
apply themselves to procuring real comforts and providing homes for themselves,
irrespective of their neighbors, are very few in this country. In Europe there
are a large number of persons who have learned the sublime philosophy of the
Chinaman, who, on meeting a mandarin loaded with jewels, bowed low, thanking
him for his kindness. “ W hy do you thank me, my good man,” said the proud
mandarin, “ I have rendered you no service ?” “ I thank your excellency for
your jewels.” “ But my jewels are not for you.” “ They are for me, since I en­
joy them more than you, for I see their brilliancy, while you but carry them that
I may delight my eyes in looking at them.” John Chinaman's answer carries
with it a wholesome lesson, and one worthy of remembrance. The slaves to dis­
play and fashion do but carry their gewgaws that other men may enjoy their
lustre. True happiness is found, and sensible philosophy displayed, in making




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Mercantile Miscellanies.

one’s home comfortable, and in providing what will gratify our own tastes and
satisfy our own wishes, irrespective of any desire to impress those around us with
false ideas of our munificence in expenditure or of our capacity for display. To
do or to desire more than this is not merely foolish, but it is criminal; and the
history of our country will show that our prosperity as a nation depends upon
our observance of propriety in our personal expenditures.
THE FANCY FUR TRADE,

The fancy fur trade of this country, which centers in New York, is, according
to the Journal of Commerce, one of increasing importance. By reference to the
custom-house books, it appears that the total importations of “ furs ” in 1856, up
to the present time, is not less than §1,928,000, while for the whole of last year
the amount was not quite §1,500,000. This represents the foreign cost of the
goods, to which must be added freight and other charges, besides a duty of 20
per cent for dressed and 10 for undressed, except furs from the British North
American Provinces, free by the reciprocity treaty, which would increase the
valuation about 33 per cent. By far the larger portion of these are “ fancy,” or
such as are worn by ladies. W e find, on particular inquiry, that the trade of the
city of New York, wholesale and retail, in this class of furs, will this year reach
something like §1,375,000, which much exceeds the business of any former year.
The principal dealers throughout the country, excepting the Eastern States,
have laid in their stock for the winter in September, and are busily engaged in
making them up, preparatory to the opening of the retail trade. The local busi­
ness is divided as follows, as nearly as can be calculated :— Amount of sales in
Maiden Lane, exclusive of O. G. Gunther & Sons, (whose sales this year are
about §500,000, but being principally to other local traders, should not at all be
included,) §300,000; in Water-street, over §450,000; in Broadway, §225,000.
There are at least ten firms that will do a business of §50,000 or upward; and
five others that range from §20,000 to §50,000, their stock being uncommonly
large. The trade in hatters’ furs and buffalo robes is entirely distinct.
The styles observed do not vary much from those of 1855, but it is noticed
that American furs, such as the mink and opossum, are much more generally
worn— the increase in the sale of fancy furs being of this description. The effect
has been to enhance the value of American furs beyond precedent. Mink, which
formerly commanded from 30 to 50 cents, is readily bought up by our furriers at
§3 50 to § 4 ; ordinary Western, which are worth 25 or 30 cents, now bring
§2 50 ; other furs, too, are much dearer. Furs are now the fashion, and fashion
is quite independent even of common sense. A n example was afforded last win­
ter. W ith the mercury down to zero, and heavy fur capes and cuffs in vogue, it
was still fashionable to wear open sleeves measuring from two feet to twenty-eight
inches in circumference, through which the wind whistled nd libitum. Furriers
formerly desired cold weather, but this is a subject respecting which they are now
indifferent.
There are low-priced furs as well as high-priced— a set of coney, or colored
rabbit, selling for §1 50, while crown,” or Russian sable, sometimes reach §1,500.
The latter are called crown sable, because they, as well as the ermine, are chiefly
monopolized by the Russian government for the use of the royal family and no­
bility. Notwithstanding, a considerable number are annually brought to the




Mercantile Miscellanies.

645

Leipsic Fair by Jewish traders, who obtain them from exiles in the mountains of
Siberia. Last spring and summer a very large quantity of choice furs was re­
ceived here from the Russian American Company at Sitka, who chose to make
this a market, rather than encounter the hazards of war by sending them to Eu­
rope.
Mr. Stone, the commercial editor of the Journal of Commerce, recently saw a
box of Russian sable, not more than three feet long, and o f ordinary proportions,
of camphor-wood, which contained 400 small skins, bearing the seal of the Rus­
sian government, valued at fourteen thousand dollars. Some of the skins cost
$51 or $52 each. The latter are almost black, and on that account bring fabu­
lous prices. A lower grade of inferior color, are worth $28, and some not more
than $16. These are commonly sold at a profit of 30 or 33 per cent. Sixteen
or eighteen skins are required to- make a full-size cape, so that the cost of a choicequality garment of this description would be about nine hundred dollars. Add­
ing the cost of making and the profit, such an article could not be procured for
much less than fourteen hundred dollars. Hudson’s Bay sable cost this year about
$25 per skin. It may be mentioned that our large furriers employ no other
means to preserve their goods from insects except beating them every three or
four weeks.
RISING IN THE WORLD.

Experience continually contradicts the notion that a poor young man cannot
rise. If we look over the list of rich men in Philadelphia, says the Ledger, we
find that nearly all of them began life worth little or nothing. G ir a r d was a
poor boy. The late Mr. R id g w a y went to Philadelphia a country lad, almost
penniless. What is true of Philadelphia is true, also, of New York and Boston.
A stor began with nothing. A bbott L aw ren ce had only a pair of stout hands,
a willing heart, and a good character, for his original capital. To any person
familiar with the millionaires of the United States, a score of similar examples
will occur. On the other hand, the sons of rich men, who began life with the
capital which so many poor young men covet, frequently die beggars. It would
probably not be going too far to say that a large majority of such moneyed indi­
viduals either fail outright or gradually eat up the capital with which they com­
menced their career. And the reason is plain. Brought up in expensive habits,
they spend entirely too much. Educated with high notions of personal import­
ance, they will not, as they phrase it, “ stoop ” to hard work. Is it astonishing,
therefore, that they are passed in the race of life by others with les3 capital orig­
inally, but more energy, thrift, and industry ? for these virtues, after all, are worth
more than money. They make money, in fact. Nay, after it is made, they en­
able the possessor to keep it, which most rich men pronounce to be more difficult
than the making. The young man who begins life with a resolution always to
lay by part of his income is sure, even without extraordinary ability, gradually
to acquire a sufficiency, especially as habits of economy, which the resolution ren­
ders necessary, will make that a competence for him which would be quite in­
sufficient for an extravagant person. It is really what we save, even more than
what we make, which leads us to fortune. He who enlarges his expenses as fast
as his earnings increase must always be poor, no matter what his abilities. And
content may be had on comparatively little. It is not in luxurious living that
men find real happiness.




646

Mercantile Miscellanies.
THE USES OF ASTRONOMY TO COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION.

W e extract from the eloquent and beautiful oration, delivered at Albany on
the 29th of August, 1856, by the Hon. E d w a r d E v e r e t t , a passage in which
he alludes to the services rendered to navigation by astronomical science :—
It is mainly owing to the results of astronomical observation that modern com­
merce has attained such a vast expansion, compared with that of the ancient
world. I have already reminded you that accurate ideas in this respect contrib­
uted materially to the conception in the mind of Columbus of his immortal enter­
prise, and to the practical success with which it was conducted. It was mainly
his skill in the use of astronomical instruments, imperfect as they were, which
enabled him, in spite of the bewildering variation of the compass, to find his way
across the ocean.
W ith the progress, or the true system of the universe towrard general adoption,
the problem of finding the longitude at sea presented itself. This was the avowed
object of the foundation of the Observatory at Greenwich, (Grant’s Physical
Astronomy, p. 460;) and no one object has received more of the attention of
astronomers than those investigations of the lunar theory, on which the requisite
tables of the navigator are founded. The pathways of the ocean are marked out
in the sky above. The eternal lights of the heavens are the only Pharos whose
beams never fail— which no tempest can shake from its foundation. Within my
recollection, it w'as deemed a necessary qualification for the master and mate of a
merchant-ship, and even for a prime hand, to be able to “ work a lunar,” as it was
called. The improvements in the chronometer have in practice, to a great extent,
superseded this laborious operation; but observation remains, and unquestion­
ably will forever remain, the only dependence for ascertaining the ship’s time
and deducing the longitude from the comparison of that time with the chronom­
eter.
It may, perhaps, be thought that astronomical science is brought already to
such a state of perfection, that nothing more is to be desired, or at least, that
nothing more is attainable, in reference to such practical applications as I have
described. This, however, is an idea which generous minds will reject, in this as
in every other department of human knowledge. In astronomy, as in everything
else, the discoveries already made, theoretical or practical, instead of exhausting
the science, or putting a limit to its advancement, do but furnish the means and
instruments of further progress. I have no doubt we live on the verge of discov­
eries and inventions in every department as brilliant as any that have ever been
made; that there are new truths, new facts, ready to start into recognition on
every side; and it seems to me there never was an age since the dawn of time,
when men ought to be less disposed to rest satisfied with the progress already made
than the age in which we live; for there never was an age more distinguished for
ingenious research, for novel result, and bold generalization.
That no further improvement is desirable in the means and methods of ascer­
taining the ship’s place at sea, no one, I think, will from experience be disposed
to assert. The last time I crossed the Atlantic, I walked the quarter-deck with
the officer in charge of the noble vessel, on one occasion, when we wrnre driving
along before a leading breeze and under a head of steam, beneath a starless sky
at midnight, at the rate certainly of ten or eleven miles an hour. There is some­
thing sublime, but approaching the terrible, in such a scene— the rayles3 gloom,
the midnight chill, the awful swell of the deep, the dismal moan of the wind
through the rigging, the all but volcanic fires within the hold of the ship— I
scarce know an occasion in ordinary life in which a reflecting mind feels more
keenly its hopeless dependence on irrational forces beyond its own control. I
asked my companion how nearly he could determine his ship’s place at sea under
favorable circumstances. Theoretically, he answered, I think within a mile; prac­
tically and usually, within three or four.
My next question was, IIow near do you think we may be to Cape Eace— that
dangerous headland which pushes its iron-bound, unlighted bastions from the
shore of Newfoundland far into the Atlantic— first land-fall to the homeward-




Mercantile Miscellanies.

647

bound American vessel? W e must, said he, by our last observations and reckon­
ing, be within three or four miles of Cape Race. A comparison of these two
remarks, under the circumstances in which we were placed at the moment, brought
my mind to the conclusion that it is greatly to be wished that the means should
be discovered of finding the ship’s place more accurately, or that navigators would
give Cape Race a little wider berth. But I do not remember that one of the
steam-packets between England and America was ever lost on that formidable
point.
It appears to me by no means unlikely that, with the improvement of instru­
mental power, and of the means of ascertaining the ship’s time with exactness, as
great an advance beyond the present state of art and science in finding a ship’s
place at sea may take place, as was effected by the invention of the reflecting
quadrant, the calculation of lunar tables, and the improved construction of chron­
ometers.
In the wonderful versatility of the human mind, the improvement, when made,
will very probably be made by paths where it is least expected. The great in­
ducement of Mr. Babbage to attempt the construction of an engine, by which
astronomical tables could be calculated and even printed by mechanical means,
and with entire accuracy, was the errors in the requisite tables. Nineteen such
errors, in point of fact, were discovered in an edition of Taylor’s logarithms
printed in 1796 ; some of which might have led to the most dangerous results in
calculating a ship’s place. These nineteen errors (of which oue only was an error
of the press) were pointed out in the Nautical Almanac for 1832. In one of
these errata the seat of the error was stated to be in cosine of 14° 18' 3". Sub­
sequent examination showed that there was an error of one second in this correc­
tion, and accordingly in the Nautical Almanac of the next year a new correction
was necessary. But in making the new correction of one second, a new error
was committed of ton degrees. Instead of cosine 14° 18' 2", the correction was
printed cosine 4° 18' 2", making it still necessary, in some future edition of the
Nautical Almanac, to insert an erratum in an erratum of the errata in Taylor’s
logarithms. (Edinburgh Review, vol. lix., 282.)
In the hope of obviating the possibility of such errors, Mr. Babbage projected
his calculating— or, as he prefers to call it, his difference machine. Although
this extraordinary undertaking has been arrested in consequence of the enormous
expense attending its execution, enough has been achieved to show the mechanical
possibility of constructing an engiue of this kind, and even one of far higher
powers, of which Mr. Babbage has matured the conception, devised the notation,
and executed the drawings— themselves an imperishable monument of the genius
of the author.
WHEN HAVE W E GOT ENOUGH ? TH E BRIG SOLD.

When has a man got enough ? Never, till he gets a little more. A very good
story of old embargo times and the war of 1812, was told us the other day. Un­
der the impulse of the removal of embargo, there was a sudden rise in the value
of property, aud such a demand for it that merchandise was sometimes carried off
from vessels before the owners arrived at their place of business; and the par­
ties taking it came in afterwards to say that they were at the owners’ mercy, and
must pay what they chose to ask. A brig was lying at Boston harbor, which
had come up from Plymouth just before the embargo was laid, fit for sea. The
Plymouth owner thought it was a good time to sell the brig, and sent up his son
for the purpose, telling him to demand eight thousand dollars for her, and not
take less than six. John went to Boston, found how things stood, sold the brig
in a moment, and hurried home, elated with his bargain. As he neared the
house, he saw the old man marching up and down the piazza, and presently he
rushed out to meet his son and hear the result of the sale.
“ Have you sold the brig, John ?
“ Yes, father.”
“ For how much, John ?”
“ For ten thousand dollars!”




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Mercantile

“ Ten thousand dollars 1” cried the old man, with staring eyes, at hearing a
price more than double what the vessel cost. “ Ten thousand dollars! I ’ll bet
you’ve sold her to some swindler, who don’t care what the price is, and never
means to pay his notes.”
“ Notes, did you say, father ? W hy, there are no notes in the case. I got the
money and put it in the bank. Draw, and you will get it.”
The old gentleman’s excitement was suddenly cooled, and as the ruling passion
rose in its place, he said
“ I say, John, could’nt you have got a leelle more ?
DESPICABLE TRICKS IIV TRADE.

W e cut from the Boston Herald a “ leader,” with the above title. The writer is
understood to be a merchant of that city, and is, of course, cognizant of the
“ tricks in trade ” to which he alludes. Knavery in trade is not confined by sec­
tional or geographical boundaries :—
It has been remarked that, if people would exercise as much ingenuity and per­
sistency in well doing as they do in a career of crime, many who now drag out a
wretched existence in the prisons would be ornaments to society, benefactors of
their race, and the honorable of the earth. It is a lamentable fact that some of
the most active and original minds are among the most hardened and desperate
criminals ; that the intellect misdirected, which is shut up between stone walls,
might have been a blessing and a treasure to the world, had it been rightly direct­
ed. This tendency to evil which is manifested by so many, is one of the inexplic­
abilities which remains for modern philosophy to elucidate. The doctrine of total
depravity has been strengthened by it, but we are loth to receive that solution.
Certain it is, however, that too many among us act upon the proverb— “ Stolen
waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
A celebrated literary character of the last century, who was extravagantly fond
of pork, was heard to express a wish that he was a Jew. “ How so ?" asked a
friend, “ you would then be obliged to forego your favorite meat.” “ Ah !” re­
turned the gourmand, “ I should have the pleasure of eating pork and sinning at
the same time.” This appears to be the principle— the pleasure of sinning, which
governs not a few traders in our city.
A class of traders amongst us have conducted their business upon a systematic
course of knavery. They have employed the meanest artifices, the basest tricks,
lying and robbery, to entrap and defraud their customers. The persons usually
selected by these dishonorable traffickers are W’omen, young girls who are alone.
The trade which has become dishonorably conspicuous in this respect is the retail
dry goods business. The course pursued is, when a customer enters who appears
to be one that can be imposed upon with impunity, to force upon her attention
various articles. They know that a natural curiosity will induce the young lady
to examine the goods, and even to price them ; but having no disposition to pur­
chase, and having ordered the articles she was in search of, she finds, when she
turns to leave, that she is restrained. A demand is made upon her for the price
of a cloak, a dress, or what not. The lady assures the clerk she did not purchase;
she is rudely contradicted, and subjected to insults and outrages. Astonished and
alarmed at the rudeness and scandalous treatment she is subjected to, she hardly
knows what she says or does, and, in a majority of cases, submits to be robbed, to
escape from the ruffianly clutches into which she has fallen.
Another very common and successful trick is to show a sample of superior
quality at a fair price, and then to cut off and bundle up a very inferior article.
I f the customer complains on her return home, and a friend undertakes her cause,
the trader denies the fact m-ged against him, and calls his clerks to corroborate
him. There is no evidence, except the customer’s, which is not sufficient to prove
the fraud, and the rascals usually escape the punishment due to their crimes.
Within three years past we have been informed of more than one hundred
cases of outrage by dry goods dealers in various parts of the city, some of which




Mercantile Miscellanies.

649

were of a peculiarly aggravated nature. W e have published accounts of the
transactions, so far as we could do so with safety. I f there is not evidence enough
to convict a swindler in a court, the newspaper proprietor is not justified in law,
in calling a man a swindler, and we have not therefore exposed the names which
have been placed in our possession.
A s one means of security against insult and thieving, it is well for ladies to go
in couples when they go shopping. The rascals know that two witnesses to an
act are too many for them, and they rarely attempt personal detention under such
circumstances. But they will still, notwithstanding two are together, come the
other dodge of showing superior goods and doing up an inferior article. To guard
against this trick, it is well always to take a bill, describing the goods purchased,
and the bill will be evidence against the shopkeeper, if he is dishonest.
Once in a while these sharp dealers make a great mistake, and get hold of the
wrong customer. This was the case with a VVashington-stregt merchant. The
lady who was outraged had friends who knew their rights and dared maintain
them. The merchant was brought before the court, the charge against him
fully proved, and he has not only had to pay $325 and costs, but he has had the
privilege— if he esteems it as such— of free advertising in all the newspapers.
There is not a lady within a circuit of fifty miles of Boston but knows his shop.
He will from henceforth, we trust, learn that honesty and fair dealing is the best
policy.
This subject suggests to us some other detestable and annoying practices that
obtain in the trading community, which we will endeavor to illustrate in another
article.
SCRIPTURE PRICES.

Abraham bought a piece of land for a burying-place. He paid 400 shekels of
silver. The lowest sum at which a shekel is estimated is two shillings and three
pence. This would make about $200 for the burying-place. In Solomon’s time
it is mentioned that the price of a chariot from Egypt was 600 shekels of silver
(1 Kings, x., 29.) This would be about $250. The price of a horse was 150"
shekels, or some $72. The best horses of that age were found in Egypt. The
Egyptians trained them well, and they were capable of important services. King
Solomon, in a valuable chariot, drawn by two or four of the horses, made as
showy and as dignified an appearance perhaps as any princes have since.

COFFEE— HOW TO T E ST IT SCIENTIFICALLV,

A t a recent meeting of the British Association of Science, Mr. Horseley called
attention to the use of bi-chromate of potash, in analyzing adulterated samples of
coffee. With diluted solutions of pure coffee, this salt produces an intense deep
porter-brown coloration, whilst upon decoctions of chicory no effect is produced.
He advised the following procedure: Take equal parts of chicory and coffee, and
decoct them in different quantities of water; filter, bottle, and label the liquids.
Take a teaspoonful of the chicory, and dilute it till it is of a brown sherry color ;
boil it in a porcelain dish, with a fragment of crystalized bi-chrome. The color
will be scarcely deepened. If a similarly diluted solution of coffee is thus treated,
a deep-brown tinge is obtained. By operating with mixed liquids a scale of
colors may be obtained indicating the properties of the two substances. I f a few
grains of the sulphate of copper be added, both decoctions yield a precipitate—
that from chicory being a clay-yellow, and that from coffee a sepia-brown. Mixed
decoctions yield intermediate tints.




650

Mercantile Misecellanies.
HOW BOSTON MERCHANTS ENJOY THEM SELVES.

The editor of the Barnstable Patriot had an opportunity of visiting the coun­
try mansion of S amuel H ooper , at Cotuit Point. The Patriot says:—
“ This is truly one of the most quiet, cool, and refreshing places for a summer
home, which we have seen for a long time. The residence is upon a bold shore,
surrounded with foliage, and looks out upon one of the most beautiful bays in the
country. Here the man of business, tired of the pressing cares and never-ceasing
anxieties of mercantile life, retires for repose to enjoy rural life independently,
and to make himself happy with his accomplished lady and his guests. He com­
mands his own time, is free from interruption, and asks himself how he can best
take comfort. Mercantile industry and ability have commanded a fortune, and
wise is he who enjoys the years as they pass. Too many among the merchant
princes of Boston,live to waste their energies, health, and strength, in hoarding
up dollar upon dollar, until, with wasted health and hired friends, they finally
discover their mistake of having made a fortune for others only to enjoy. Not
so with Mr. Hooper. Like a sensible man, he visits Gape God and buys a sum­
mer home, improves and beautifies it to his taste, enjoys the blessings of quiet
domestic life, contributes to the enjoyment and prosperity of the village chosen
as his retreat, and gathers his friends around him at his pleasure.”
PO E TR Y OF COMMERCE,

The Hon. E d w a r d E v e r e t t , whose brilliant scholarship gives a golden tinge
of poetry to everything it touches, thus speaks of commerce in his speech at the
Peabody testimonial:—
Track its history for a moment from the earliest period. In the infancy of the
world its caravans, like gigantic silkworms, went creeping though the arid wastes
of Asia and Africa with their infinitesimal legs, and bound the human family to­
gether in those vast regions as they bind it together now. Its colonial establish­
ments scattered the Grecian culture all round the shores of the Mediterranean, and
carrried the adventurers of Tyre and Garthage to the north of Europe and the
south of Africa. The walled cities of the middle ages prevented the arts and re­
finements of life from being trampled out of existence under the iron heel of the
feudal powers. The Hanse Towns were the bulwark of liberty and property in
the north and west of Europe for ages. The germ of the representative system
sprang from the municipal franchises of the boroughs. A t the revival of letters,
the merchant princes of Florence received the fugitive art of Greece into their
palaces. The spirit of commercial adventure produced that movement in the fif­
teenth century which carried Columbus to America, and Yasco di Gama around
the Cape of Good Hope.
The deep foundation of the modem system of international laws were laid in inter­
ests and rights of commerce, and the necessity of protecting them. Commerce
sprinkled the treasures of the newly-found Indies throughout the western nations ;
it nerved the arm of civil and religious liberty in the Protestant world— it grad­
ually carried the colonial system of Europe to the ends of the earth, and with it
the elements of future independent, civilized, republican governments. But why
should we dwell on the past ? What is it that gives vigor to the civilization of
the present day but the world-wdde extension of commercial intercourse, by which
all the products of the earth and of the ocean, of the soil, the mine, of the loom,
of the forge, of bounteous nature, creative art, and untiring industry, are brought
by the agencies of commerce into the universal market of demand and supply ?
N o matter in what region a desirable product is bestowed on man by a liberal
Providence, or fabricated by human skill; it may clothe the hills of China with
its fragrant foliage; it may glitter in the golden sands of California; it may
wallow in the depths of the A rctic seas ; it may ripen and whiten in the fertile
plains of the sunny South ; it may spring forth from the flying shuttles of Man­
chester in England or Manchester in America— the great world magnate of com­
merce attracts it alike, and gathers it all up for the service of man.




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Trade.

651

THE BOOK TRADE.
1. — The Elements of Mercantile Law. By T h e o p h i i x s P arsons , LL. D., Dana
Professor of Law in Harvard University. 8vo., pp. 616. Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
W e cannot speak too strongly of the value to mercantile men of works which,
like this, explain and illustrate the principles upon which business should be con­
ducted. Your self-called practical man, who says, “ Oh, fudge! do your business
according to common sense— that is better than any books,” is right in his maxim,
but wrong in practical conclusion. He does not know that the Law Merchant is
little more than the condensed and assorted common sense of business men from
the time when modern commerce began to this day; that the maxims of mercan­
tile law contain all the wisdom of the individual notions of whole generations of
business men, sifted by experience, tried by long use, approved by the judicial
voices of England and America, and gathered up by learning for the instruction
and equipment of business men to come. Oh ! most true it is that common sense
is better than books. But -where shall we find the most and the best of common
sense ? In the individual head o f him who thinks little of any other man’s think­
ing ? or in that reservoir to which thinking men, active men, experienced men
have for so many years been contributing ? This volume— a good book for the
lawyer— is a capital book for the merchant. W e do not think any young man
on the threshold of business can read this volume carefully and remember what
he reads— he cannot help understanding it— without adding 25 per cent to the
value of his services in any commercial employment.
2. — The Hills of the Shatemuc. By the author of the “ Wide, Wide W orld.”
12mo., pp. 516. New Y ork : D. Appleton & Co.
A charming book, written in the same earnest tone which characterized the
other works by the same author. This is a domestic tale, with all the lights and
shades of social life; there are no very strong scenes or stirring incidents, but
variety enough to keep an unflagging interest throughout its pages. The story
shows how much can be gained by energy and perseverance, with the love of
knowledge, by those whose lot in life is a perpetual struggle in the attainment.
W e admire the self-sacrifice exhibited in the “ farmer’s family,” to enable the two
sons to reach the objects so earnestly sought. Winthrop’s success is what all
will anticipate. The story is very life-like, and may represent the experience of
many a poor boy, who has risen to eminence in after life through a determined
and earnest purpose. All the scenes and characters are well sustained.
3. — Widdijield’s New Cook-Book; or, Practical Receipts for the Housewife.
Comprising all the Popular and Approved Methods for Cooking, etc. 12mo.,
pp. 410. Philadelphia : T. B. Peterson.
This appears to be a valuable cook-book, inasmuch as it is the experience of
one who understands the art of cookery, and has tested the receipts which she
recommends. Most of the treatises on this subject are made by incompetent per­
sons, who never have tried the methods presented. The receipts hero seem to be
entirely practical and economical, and not too elaborate for daily use.
4. — A History of the Struggle for Slavery Extension or Restriction in the Uni­
ted Stales, from the Declaration of Independence to the Present Day. By
H orace G r e e l e y . 8vo., pp. 164. New York : Dix, Edwards & Co.
This volume, though designed for the Presidential campaign of 1856, will be
interesting as a book of reference on the slavery question. It has been compiled
and condensed from the journals of Congress and other official records, and shows
the vote by yeas and nays in the most important pro-slavery and anti-slavery di­
visions in either house ot Congress. It is divided into fourteen parts, commenc­
ing with Slavery in the Colonies, and ending with the Kansas-Nebraska Struggle.




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The Book Trade.

5. — Live and Learn; a Guide for all who wish to Speak and Write correctly;
particularly intended as a Book of Reference for the Solution of all Difficulties
connected with Grammar, Composition, Punctuation, etc., etc. With Explan­
ations of Latin and French Words and Phrases of frequent Occurrence in
Newspapers, Reviews, Periodicals, and Books in general; containing Examples
of one thousand Mistakes of daily Occurrence in Speaking, Writing, and Pro­
nunciation ; together with detailed Instructions for AVriting for the Press, and
Forms of Articles in the various Departments of Newspaper Literature.
12mo., pp. 213. New York : Garrett & Co.
A very useful little volume, containing a fund of information for those who
wish to speak and write correctly.
6. — Minnesota and its Resources. To which are appended Camp-Fire Sketches,
or Notes of a Trip from St. Paul to Pembina and Selkirk Settlement on the
Red River of the North. By J. AVe s l e y B o n d . 12mo., pp. 412. Chicago :
Keen & Lee. New York : Fowlers & Wells.
A valuable book for the emigrant and all who desire information concerning
the climate, soil, agricultural advantages, resources, and trades of Minnesota. A
very few years since and Minnesota was a wilderness, uninhabited save by Indians
and a few white traders. It is now a flourishing territory with growing towns,
some of which are destined to become o f great importance. The volume contains
five or six illustrations.
7. — Iowa as it is in 1856 ; a Gazetteer for Citizens and a Hand-Book for Im­
migrants, embracing a full Description of the State of Iowa. Her Agricultu­
ral. Mineral ogi cal, and Geological Character, her Water Courses, Timber Lands,
Soil, and Climate ; the various Railroad Lines being Built, and those Project­
ed, with the Distance of each; the Number and Condition of Churches and
Schools in each County; Population and Business Statistics of the most Im­
portant Cities and Towns; information for the Immigrant respecting the Se­
lection, Entry, and Cultivation of Prairie S o il; a List of unentered Lands in
the State, &c. With Numerous Illustrations. By N. H owe P a r k e r . 12m o.,
pp. 264. Chicago: Keen & Lee. New York : Fowlers & Wells.
The copious title-page quoted above tells us of most of the contents of this
work. It contains, too, a fine large map of the prosperous State of Iowa.
8. — Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity before the Lowell Institute, January,
1844. By M a r k H o p k in s , D. I)., President of Williams College. 8vo., pp.
385. Boston : J. R. Marvin.
• The founder of these lectures was a merchant of Boston, and the result of his
bequest has been the delivery, from year to year, by some of the most eminent
scholars, divines, and poets of America, of a series of lectures fostering literature,
art, and science, of a very high order of merit. The volume before us contains
twelve lectures, in which the lecturer discusses with his usual ability the evidence
resulting from a comparison of Christianity in its relations to nature and to man.
The learned lecturer judged wisely in giving prominence to the internal evidences,
and his reasoning and arguments will doubtless carry conviction to many minds,
especially to such as, from education or habits of thought, are predisposed to such
a result.
9. — Hand-Book of American Literature: Historical, Biographical, and Critical.
12mo., pp. 316. Philadelphia: Lippincott & Co.
This appears to be a reprint of an English book. The compiler, for it is little
more than a compilation, attempts to describe the various features of American
literature. The work is divided into two periods— that is, from 1620 to 1800 as
the first, and from 1800 to 1855 as the second. The author has evidently drawn
largely from the labors of Mr. Griswold, and borrowed critical opinions from the
North American Review and other works. It is said that a little knowledge is
a dangerous thing. W e don’t believe it, for we consider this Hand-Book as be­
ing, on the whole, a very clever book for literary reference.




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10. —Life in Brazil; or a Journal of a Visit to the Land of the Cocoa and the
Palm. With an Appendix, containing illustrations of Ancient South Ameri­
can Arts, in recently discovered Implements and Products of Domestic Indus­
try, and works in Stone, Pottery, Gold, Silver, Bronze, &c. By T homas E w ­
banks.
8vo., pp. 458. New Y o r k : Harper & Brothers.
Mr. Ewbanks considers Romanism, as it exists in Brazil and South America
generally, as a barrier to progress, compared to which, he thinks other obstacles
are small. On this as every other question, there are doubtless those who think
differently. But aside from Church affairs, Mr. Ewbanks has noticed almost
everything of general as well as special interest, including the arts, manners, cus­
toms, buildings, trades, tools, pottery, food, stores, ornaments, agricultural pro­
ducts, climate, population, &c. The volume is copiously illustrated, with more
than one hundred engravings.
11. — The Sportsman’s Vade Mecum. By D in k s . Containing full Instructions
in all that relates to the Breeding, Rearing, Breaking, Kennelling, and Condi­
tioning of Dogs ; together with numerous valuable Recipes for the Treatment
of the various Diseases to which the Canine Race is subject; as also a few Re­
marks on Guns, their Loading and Carriage; and Dogs— their Management;
being a new Plan of treating the Animal, based upon consideration of his
Natural Temperament, illustrated by numerous Engravings, depicting the Char­
acter and Position of the Dog, when suffering Disease. Designed expressly
for the use of Sportsmen. New Revised Edition. By E d w a r d M a t h e w ,
M. R. C. V . S. Edited by F r an k F o r rester , author of “ Field Sports,”
“ Fish and Fishing,” &c. 12mo., pp. 458. New Y o r k : Stringer & Town­
send.
The copious title-page so fully describes the contents and character of this
work, that we are saved the necessity, as well as deprived of the pleasure, of say­
ing more than that it is a book that will interest the select admirers of the canine
race.
12. — Knowledge is Power; a View of the Productive Forces of Modern Society,
and the Results of Labor, Capital and Skill. By C h arles K n ig h t . Revised
and Edited by D a v id A . W ells , A . M., Editor of the “ Annual Scientific
Discovery,” “ Year Book of Agriculture,’ “ Familiar Science,” &c. 12mo.,
pp. 502. Boston : Gould and Lincoln.
Mr. Charles Knight, an eminent London publisher, and the author of this
work, is well known as the editor of the “ Penny Encyclopedia Magazine,” “ The
Results of Machinery,” and other useful and popular works. Mr. Knight pre­
sents, in a clear and condensed form, the nature and variety of the various pro­
ductive forces of modern society, together with the results which have been at­
tained by the union of labor, capital, and skill. The work is illustrated by ex­
amples and statistics, derived in great part from the history of the civilization
and progress of the Anglo-Saxon races, and their present condition. The Ameri­
can editor has enhanced the value of the book by many interesting additions.
13. — Putnam's Library of Choice Stories. “ The Baked Head” and other tales.
Now first collected, and forming the second volume of “ Putnam’s. Story Li­
brary.” 12mo., pp. 309. New York : George P . Putnam & Co.
W e noticed some months since the publication of the first volume of this series
of “ choice stories.’’ Mr. Putnam, the editor of this collection, stands at the head
of the trade as a man of refined literary taste and correct judgment. His declared
design in these publications, and the initial volumes furnish abundant evidence of
his ability to carry out that design, to present to the public in a form suitable
for amusing and attractive reading, and for permanent library use, the best selec­
tions from the standard story literature of the English language. In the 309
pages of the present volume we have some fifteen stories, combining about every
variety of style, which may be read when “ closeness of attention is impossible,
and the very idea of lengthened narrative oppressive.” Each volume of the se­
ries is complete in itself.




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The Book Trade.

— The. Life of George Washington. By J . T. H e a d l e y , author of “ Wash­
ington and his Generals,” “ Napoleon and his Marshals,” “ The Sacred Moun­
tains, etc. 8vo., pp. 477. New Y o r k : Charles Scribner.
Washington Irving’s Life of Washington, in three volumes, has been published
during the last three months, that is, the third and last volume ; and now we have
another life in one volume by a well-known and popular writer, who informs us
that the present work was written, and all but two or three chapters printed in
Graham’s Magazine, before Mr. Irving’s work was even announced as about to be
published. Mr. Headley popularizes the life of Washington to events and inci­
dents connected with him and his movements, and this makes the work less volu­
minous than it would be if it embraced a more detailed history of current events.
It seeems that all General Putnam’s papers were put .into Mr. Headley’s hands,
which he says shed an entire new light on some o f the most interesting events
o f the Revolution and movements of Washington. The work is written in the
author’s usual glowing and readable style, and we predict for it a wide popularity
among the “ million.”
14.

— A Popular Ancient History. B v M a tt h e w B r id g e s , Esq. 12m o., p p. 310.
New York : D. & J. Sadlier & Co.
16. — A Popular Modern History. By M a tt h e w B r id g e s , Esq. 12mo., pp. 565.
New York : D. & J. Sadlier & Co.
The first of these volumes, “ Ancient History,” was drawn up as a companion
to the last named. Each one, however, is a complete work in itself. The grand
object of all sound history should be to set the simple truth before candid read­
ers, that they may reason always from honest premises, and derive the largest
amount of instruction in the most natural and agreeable manner. It is with such
a view of the subject that Mr. Bridges undertook the compilation of these his­
tories, which are designed not only for educational manuals but for general and
popular reading. The author lays no claims to originality, but justly, we think,
claims for his histories succinctness and comprehensiveness, and his books, we
have no doubt, possess a fair share of accuracy, as much, at least, as the “ uncer­
tainties of history ” will permit.
15.

— Typical Forms and Special Ends of Creation. By Rev. J am es M c G osh ,
LL. D., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in Queen’s University in Ireland,
author of “ the Method of the Divine Government, Physical and Moral,” etc.,
and G eorge D ic k ie , A . M., M. D., Professor of Natural History, same Uni­
versity, etc. 8vo., pp. 540. New Y o r k : Robert Carter & Brothers.
This work is based upon an article on Typical Forms from the pen of Dr.
McGosh in the British Review for August, 1851, an article which Hugh Miller,
an eminent naturalist, pronounced the most suggestive and ingenious which he
ever perused. The whole subject is treated logically and systematically. In
“ book first,” the principles of general order and special adaptation are explained ;
in the second, we have a co-ordinate series of facts, giving indications of com­
bined order and adaptation throughout the various kingdoms of nature ; and in
the third, the interpretation of the facts disclosed is attempted. An appendix is
added, containing a selected list of plants, illustrating associations of colors, and
relations of form and color.
17.

— Empirical Psychology; or the Human Mind as given in Consciousness. For
the Use of Colleges and Academies. By L au ren s P. H ic k o k , D. D., Union
College, author of “ Rational Psychology,” “ Moral Science,” &c. New Y o r k :
Ivison & Phinney.
The design of the author of this manual is to represent the human mind as it
stands in the clear light of consciousness. The attempt is here made to find the
human mind as it is, and all its leading facts as they combine to make a complete
whole. The arrangement of the topics is systematic and clear, and the work
seems to be well adapted to the wants o f the class of persons for whom it was
mainly intended.
18.




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19. — The Age of Progress; o r a Panorama of Time. In Pour Visions. By
D a v id A . M o o re .
12mo., pp. 320.
New York : Sheldon, Blakeman
& Co.
Mr. Moore informs the reader at the outset that his book was “ written with a
pungent sense of existing social evils, and a sincere desire to contribute to their
melioration.” He claims it to be a genuine romance, a history, a poem, and,
finally, not merely an essay, but more correctly a series of essays, upon different
subjects. It is divided into four parts or “ visions,” as they are termed, v iz .:
the New Eden, the Overthrow of Slavery, the Trial of Belzebub, and the Triumph
of Man. The dedication will give some idea of the genius of the author. It runs
thus : “ It is to all who sincerely acknowledge the General Brotherhood of Man,
and who desire in their heart of hearts the elevation of the entire human race, and
especially to all true American patriots, who at the present hour have a single
eye to the future success and integrity of the American Union, and who can see
in the prosperity of this nation the most efficient means of securing the welfare of
universal humanity.”
20. — Tales of Sweden and the Norsemen. 18ino., pp. 364. New York : Carter
& Brothers.
There is in this volume six tales of Sweden, v iz .: the Copper Mines, the Swan
King, the Iron King, the Pall of the Hats and Caps, Perseverance, and the
Three Pictures; and five tales of the Norsemen. The latter present a series of
life pictures, taken from that eventful portion of time in which the Norwegian
people were so closely connected, both by invasion and colonization, with Great
Britain and Ireland. These tales are historical, and give some idea of the habits,
manners, and customs of a barbarous people.
21. — Africa’s Mountain Valley; or the Church in Regent’s Town, West Africa.
By the author of “ Ministering Children.” 18mo., pp. 259. New Y ork :
Carter & Brothers.
This little volume is based upon the Memoirs of the Rev. W . A . B. Johnson,
published some three years since. The present work furnishes a consecutive his­
tory of the missionary labors at Regent’s Town, in West Africa. It will interest
the friends of Christian missions, and particularly those connected with the African
race.
22. — The Rise of the Dutch Republic; a History. By J ohn L atiir o p M o tl e y .
In three large octavo volumes. New York : Harper & Brothers.
Mr. Motley regards the rise and progress of the Dutch Republic as one of the
leading events of modern times. He says in the clear and lucid preface to these
volumes, that without the birth of this great commonwealth, the various historical
phenomena of the 16th and following centuries must have either not existed, or
presented themselves under essential modifications. It is evidently the work of
many years of labor and research, and the author it appears studied all the im­
portant chroniclers and later historians, including Dutch, Flemish, French, Italian,
Spanish, or German Catholic and Protestant, Monarchist and Republican, have
we are assured, been consulted with equal sincerity ; and we doubt not, from the
high character of the author, with an earnest desire to arrive at the truth. This
work must ever be regarded as a valuable contribution to the historical literature
of the Anglo-Saxon race.
23. — The Banished Son; and other Stories of the Heart. By Mrs. C a ro lin e
L ee H entz , author of “ Love after Marriage,” “ Linda,” “ Rena,” “ Robert

Graham,” etc., etc. Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson.
Mrs. Hentz has written much and well, and her tales and romances are well
calculated, (according to that model of common sense, Mrs. Sarah J. Hale,) to
increase our regard for the moral healthfulness of her mind, which in its flow has
come to us in such purity of sentiment and expression. The present volume con­
tains a collection of her minor tales, well calculated to inspire a true appreciation
of the character and genius of the author.




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— The Golden Dagon ; or Up and Down the Irrawaddi. Being Passages o f
Adventure in the Burman Empire. By an A m erican . 18m o., pp. 312. New
Y ork : Dix, Edwards & Co.
A book of travels, abounding in descriptions of places and scenes, men and
things, at once unique and graphic. It is one of the most readable books of its
class we have met with in a long time.
24 .

25. — The Life of Mary Jemison, (Deh-he-wa-miss.)
By J ames E. S e a r e r .
Fourth Edition. W ith Geographical and Explanatory Notes. 12mo., pp.
312. New York : Miller, Orton & Mulligan.
The life of a woman who was taken captive at the early age of thirteen years,
and trained to the duties of the Indian female. She became imbued with their
sentiments and habits. It is an exceedingly interesting piece of biography, con­
nected, as it is, with the early history of the country.
26. — The Martyr of Sumatra: a Memoir of Henry Lyman. 12mo., pp. 437.
New York : Carter & Brothers.
More than twenty years have elapsed since the subject of this memoir suffered
a violent death from the Butahs in Sumatra. The life of the young missionary
is traced from the boy, through all the circumstances and changes in his short but
devoted missionary life, down to his martyrdom.
27. — Lectures delivered before the Young Men's Christian Association, in Exeter
Hall, from November, 1855, to February, 1856. 12mo. New York : Carter
& Brothers.
The present volume contains thirteen lectures delivered before the Christian
Association during the past winter. The object of these lectures is to provide
instruction, and help in earnest efforts at self-education and improvement for the
thousands of young men who have been brought under their influence during the
present and past years. The opening lecture of the present course, on “ the ob­
stacles which have retarded moral and political progress,” was delivered by Lord
John Russell, M. P. The other lectures are mostly by distinguished clergymen,
of literary and scientific attainments, and belonging to different denominations.
The eighth lecture, on “ mercantile morality,” by the Rev. William Brock, may
be commended for its correct morality, containing many of the views, on that
head, so frequently inculcated in the pages of the Merchants' Magazine.
28. — Sight and Hearing: how Preserved and h ow L ost, By J. H e n r y C l a r k ,
M. D. 12mo., pp. 352. New Y o r k : C. Scribner.
This work is designed rather as a hand-book for popular use than the medical
profession. In the words of the author, it is “ to instruct the mother, the guar­
dian, and the teacher, with regard to the dangers to which children and youth are
exposed ; to furnish hints to guide in the selection of trades; to advise the scholar
when rest or change is required ; to point out methods which will tend to preserve
the eye in its best condition to the latest period of life, and to induce the avoid­
ance of those habits and practices which are calculated, in a great degree, to in­
jure the important organs of sight and hearing.’’ The language of the work,
without puerility, is framed to the popular apprehension, and divested, as far as
possible, of professional technicalities.
29. — Bothwell: a Poem in Six Parts. By W . E dm ondstodne A ytoun , D. C. L.,
author of “ Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers,” &c. 12mo., pp. 267. Boston :
Ticknor & Fields.
The scene of this poem is laid in the fortress of Malmoe, where Bothwell was
confined. The author has succeeded in rendering available the most striking
events in the history of Mary Queen of Scots, down to the period when she parted
from Bothwell at Conterberry Hill. The poem is based upon historical data—
indeed, the author would have it distinctly understood that except in minor and
immaterial matters, he has not deviated from what he considered to be historical
verities. The versification appears to be easy, natural, and graceful; and the
volume, like everything from the publishing house of Ticknor & Fields, artistically
attractive.