Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : October 1849, Vol. XXI, No. IV

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TH E

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE,
E stablished. J u ly ,

1839,

BY FREEMAN IIBNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.

VOLUME X X I.

O C T O B E R , 1849.

CONTENTS

NUMBER IV .

O F N O . IV ., V O L . X X L

ARTICLES.
ART.

I.

PAGE

TH E CA U SES OF COM M ERCIAL CRISES. Com m ercial Crises in France, England, etc.
Translated from the French o f M. C h a r l e s C o q u e l in for the Merchants' M agazine by F.
G. S k in n e r , E s q ., o f W ashington, D. C................................................................................................ 371

II. DEBTS A N D FIN AN CES OF TH E STATES OF TH E U N IO N : W IT H REFE RE N C E
TO TH EIR G E N E R A L CONDITION AN D PR OSPER ITY.— C h a p t e r Y II.—TH E W EST­
ERN STATE S—OHIO.— Annual Sales o f Pubilc Lands in O hio from 1786 to 1847—Public
W orks o f Ohio Com pleted and in Progress—Stocks held by the State and b y Individuals in
Turnpike C om panies; and the Stocks held b y the State in Railroads and Canal Companies
—D ividends paid during the year ending N ovem ber 15, 1848— Operations o f O hio Ganal
Fund Commissioners for 1842—O hio State Stock, Dates and Am ounts o f Issue— Ohio State
D ebt at different periods—Tolls on each o f the O hio Canals from 1833 to 1848— Taxable
Property o f Ohio from 1826 to 1848—Taxation for State purposes from 1844 to 1848— Fi­
nances o f O hio from 1846 to 1849. By T h o m a s P r e n t i c e K e t t e l l , Esq., o f N ew Y o r k ... 389
III. TH E FIN AN CE OF CH E AP POSTAGE. By J o s h u a L e a v i t t , Corresponding Secretary
o f the Boston Cheap Postage A ssociation............................................................................................ 410
IV . TH E CH A M B ER OF COMMERCE A N D W H IT N E Y ’ S R A IL R O A D PR O JECT................ 415
V . TH E C O N SU LAR , O R C O M M ER CIAL CITIES OF C H IN A —N o. II.— A M O Y , FOOCHOO, NINGPO, AN D SH A N G H A I......................................
422

M E R C A N T I L E L A W CASES.
Tax upon Brokers, Merchants, Traders, e t c .: a Case in the Supreme Court o f Louisiana................
A ction on a Contract to Deliver Railroad Iron : a Case in the British Court o f E xch equer..............
A Mortgagee not liable for the Mortgagor’s D e b ts: a Case in the Court o f Com m on Pleas, Boston,
Massachusetts.......................................................................................................................................................
Owners o f Cattle bou n d to K eep them off R ailroads: a Case in the Supreme Court o f N ew Jersey.

429
430
432
432

C O M M E R C I A L CHRONICLE AND R E V I E W :
EMBRACING A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL REV IE W OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC., ILLUSTRA­
TED W IT H TABLES, ETC., AS FOLLOWS *.

Current Business—Trade o f the Valley o f the Mississippi—Receipts o f Produce—Value o f Pro­
d u c e -R a te s o f Bills—California G old—Cotton Crop and Trade—Produce and Consum ption o f
Cotton—Progress o f Manufactures—British Exports—Immigration—Influence of, on Trade, etc.,
etc .......................... ...................................................................................................................................... 433-438
V O L . X X I .-----N O . I V .
24




825

CONTENTS OF NO. IV ., VOL. XXI.
PAGE

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.
Cotton Crop o f the United States in 1848 and 1849......................................................................................
Exports o f Cotton to Foreign Ports from Septem ber 1, 1848, to August 31, 1849................................
Annual Growth o f Cotton in United States from 1820 to 1849 ..................................................................
Cotton Consumed by, and in the hands o f Manufacturers from 1826 to 1849 ........................................
Exports o f Cotton from M obile from 1844 to 1848........................................................................................
H ogs Slaughtered and Packed in Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois, etc., in 1848......................................
Im ports at Cincinnati, each year, from 1844 to 1848......................................................................................
Exports from Cincinnati, each year, from 1844 to 1848................................................................................
M ovem ent o f Cotton at Havre from January 1 to July 31, fo r last ten years..........................................
Total Imports and the Imports consum ed in the United States, exclusive o f Specie, during each
year, from 1821 to 1848.............................................. .......................................................................................
Prices o f Cotton W oo l in England in each year, from 1806 to 1848..........................................................

439
440
441
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
447

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
O f Public M oneys received from Custom s: a Treasury Circular..............................................................
Venezuela Regulations respecting the Licensing o f Ports.................................................... .....................
O f Manifests o f Vessels for the Coasting T ra d e : a Treasury Circular....................................................
A llowance in the Estimate o f Duties for Deficiencies.— Law o f D ebtor and Creditor in Venezuela.

449
450
451
451

J O U R N A L OF B A N K I N G , C U R R E N C Y , A N D F I N A N C E .
Financial Condition o f Pennsylvania in 1849..................................................................................................
Joint Stock Banks o f England and Scotland...................................................................................................
Debts and Finances o f G eorgia in 1849............................................................................................................
Condition o f the London and Westminster Bank on the 30th o f June, 1849 ........................................
French Imposts and Revenues............................................................................................................................
The Bill o f E x ch an ge: an A n e cd o te ................................................................................................................
Receivers o f Public M oneys o f the United States: a Treasury Circular................................................
United States Treasury Notes outstanding, Septem ber 1,1849.— How to Refuse a Bank Customer.
Banking Capital o f Cities in the United States, possessing a m illion o f dollars or m ore....................
D ebt o f Ireland from 1801 to 1848.— Coinage o f the United States Mint in 1849..................................
Description o f the new British Florin.— Fees o n Patents in England......................................................

452
453
454
455
455
456
457
457
458
458
458

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
Lights on the Coast o f France.— Sailing Direction from Carquinez Straits to San Joaquin R iv e r .. 459
R o c k off Santa Maria Island................................................................................................................................. 459
Bergen Point and Passaic R iver Lights.— Light on the Griefswalder Oie................................................ 460

J O U R N A L OF M I N I N G A ND M A N U F A C T U R E S .
Iron R egion o f Maryland......................................................................................................................................
Southern Manufactures.........................................................................................................................................
A p plication o f Gun Cotton to Silvering L ook in g Glasses.— Milliners and Mantuamakcrs................
Large Mining Company on the Potom ac.—D iscovery in the Manufacture o f Raw Sugar..................
Strength o f Different Kinds o f Marble.— Progress o f Engine Factories in S w eden............................

460
461
463
464
465

R AI L R O A D , CANAL, AND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I CS .
Railroads in the Island o f C u ba: w ith reference to an Article in July No. o f this Magazine............
Concord and Claremont R ailroad.......................................................................................................................
British Railway Statistics from 1844 to 1847....................................................................................................
Steamboat arrivals and departures at Cincinnati from 1847 to 1849 ........................................................
The British Railway Mania in 1845....................................................................................................................
Steamboats Built at Cincinnati in 1848-9.— Nashua and Epping Railroad..............................................
Receipts o f the Canals o f O hio in 1848.— Y o rk and Cumberland R ailroad..........................................
Savings b y Railways in England.........................................................................................................................
Railways through E u rop e.....................................................................................................................................
Receipts on the Fitchburg R ailroad...................................................................................................................

466
d66
467
468
468
469
470
470
470
470

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
The Late Samuel Flew w e llin g ........................................................................................................................... 471
H ow to Trade.— Courtesey in Store Keeping.— M ackerel Fishing in M assachusetts.......................... 473
The Co-partnership o f Nations. By E l ih u B u r r i t t .......................... ..................................................... 474

THE BOOK TR A D E.
Com prehensive Notices o f 20 N ew W orks o r N ew E d itions.............................................................. 475-480
Mercantile Library Association o f Boston and the Merchants’ Magazine...... .......................................




480

HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

COMMERCIAL REVIEW.
O C T O B E R , 1 849.

Art. I.— T H E C A U S E S OF C O M M E R C I A L C R I S E S *
CO M M ER CIAL

CRISES IN

F R A N C E , E N G LA N D , ETC.

N e v e r , perhaps, has the attention o f the country been directed to those
questions that belong to the development o f public wealth and credit more
anxiously than now. Vainly is it said that a return o f public confidence
alone will bring about a better state o f things. It cannot be. After 1830,
three years and more were necessary to replace France in what some liav»
been pleased to call her normal state— that is, in a condition similar to that
o f the last years o f the Restoration. Under a democratic republic, when
they are naturally, and, with reason, more exacting, and where opportunities
for agitation are more frequent, it will require, perhaps, ten years (if salutary
reforms do not come to our aid) to reinstate us in the position we held be­
fore the last revolution. Is this a result so much to be desired ? Are we
to look for nothing beyond the prosperity o f the last eighteen years ? It has
been estimated that the gross annual production o f England, equally distribu­
ted among her people, would give for each person, and for each day’s labor, 1
franc 45 centimes. A similar estimate for the whole of the United States
would give daily to each individual 1 franc 70 centimes, and, in the most
prosperous part of that country, (New England,) 1 franc 87 centimes per
day. If, in such a situation, it was altogether unreasonable (I will not say
utterly ridciulous) to promise to each laborer 5 francs a day, while the dura­
tion o f labor was to be abridged, or, in other words, the production to be
diminished, it is scarcely less so to pretend that France should rest satisfied
with such a result, and that there is nothing to be done to improve it.
To ameliorate this condition is the great task devolved upon our legisla­
tors. A failure will not be unattended with danger. The question is not

* The following article was written for the “ Revue des deux Monde,” b y M. Charles Coquelin, pub­
lished in that journal in October, 1848, and has been translated for the Merchants’ M agazine by P.
G. Skinner, Esq., o f Washington.




372

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

to vote subsidies that only cover the sores, and aggravate, instead o f healing
the disease ; still less is it, to proclaim the right to labor, or the right to as­
sistance : deplorable errors— fatal contradictions, that tend to nothing less
than to make France a vast lazar-liouse o f mendicity. The question is to
reform the abuses by which our social system is being devoured, to enfran­
chise labor, that (say what you will) is still enslaved, and to rescue, by per­
mitting it to work out its own salvation.
Am ong the measures best fitted to revive labor by remunerating indus­
trial pursuits and commerce, none are more efficacious than those which tend
to the establishment o f credit. It has often been said, and it cannot be too
frequently repeated, that “ credit is the soul o f commerce.” W ithout credit,
no commerce— without commerce, no labor. Let us seek, then, to build up
that credit, which, unfortunately, has never been much extended in France.
To effect this, neither great efforts, nor eccentric measures (that would cer­
tainly fail in effect) are necessary. There is but one thing requisite— liberty.
N ot the deceptive liberty that it is pretended we enjoy, but a true liberty
that has no accounts to settle with monopoly.
As the establishment o f banks has so far almost everywhere been followed
by commercial perturbations more or less serious, that have become in cer­
tain countries in some degree periodical, it has generally been thought that
these fatal accidents are the inevitable results o f these institutions. As a
natural deduction, it has been supposed that an increase o f them would only
tend to render these crises more serious. I f a single bank, for instance, es­
tablished in Paris or London, with special privileges, and acting under govern­
ment control, is now, even in spite o f itself, by issue of notes and by its
discounts, the cause o f such cruel disasters, what would be the case if several
banks were seated side by side in the same place, and operating together ?
Certainly they would strive one with the other, to give to commerce that
feverish excitement, the danger o f which experience has so often revealed to
us. Then the delirium of speculation, and the folly o f speculation, which
every now and then turn all heads, will become the normal state o f the
country. W e shall proceed from crisis to crisis, from fall to fell, to the final
ruin o f public credit, and the destruction o f all private undertakings. Thus
it is that we tremble even at the thought o f the division o f the banking
privilege for the endowment o f new institutions o f a similar character. As
to the idea o f proclaiming the entire freedom of such institutions, of permit­
ting any individual at his option to set up a bank, it would appear to many
a monstrous folly. W h at will be said, then, if it were proved in principle
and in fact, that it is precisely in the exclusive privilege o f the bank that
the evil is to be found ?— that commercial crises have, in general, no other
source, and that the only applicable remedy is that “ free banking” so fiercely
repelled ?
True this is not what M. Thiers, then president of the Council, said in
1840, in the debate relative to the re-charter of the Bank o f France. A c­
cording to that statesman, experience has proved that two or more banks
could not, without immense danger, operate together in the same c ity ; that
their rivalry would be, for the country and themselves, the source of serious,
often fatal embarrassments ; but I look through history in vain, to find
the facts upon which this assertion is based. Indeed, I know o f no country
in which quite the contrary has not been proved by experience. Already,
as early even as the last century, Adam Smith (who was surely no favorer
o f banks) asserted that those institutions founded in Scotland had become




The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

373

firmer, more reliable, and steadier in tbeir operations, in proportion as their
numbers had increased. “ Public security,” said he, “ so far from diminish­
ing, has only increased by the recent multiplication of banking companies,
in the united kingdoms o f England and Scotland.” And yet the banks
founded were then constituted on a very bad principle, since by the law of
1703, (still in force at that time,) they could not consist o f more than six
partners, which o f course prevented them from acquiring all the expansion
necessary to such institutions. W h at has since occurred in England, but
more particularly in Scotland, has only confirmed these views. In no part
o f the world do the banks operate with as much regularity, and with such
security to themselves and the public, as in that part o f the United States
designated New England, and which is composed o f the six following States :
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, and New Hamp­
shire ; yet nowhere is there a greater latitude allowed to banking, and no­
where is the number o f these institutions greater in proportion to the num­
ber o f inhabitants. In 1830, according to Mr. Gallatin, there were in this
portion o f the American Union, one hundred and seventy-two banks, for a
population o f 1,862,000 sou ls; or one bank for every ten thousand eight
hundred and twenty-five inhabitants.
Am ong the six States, there are two distinguished by a still greater toler­
ance ; a tolerance so great that there is, in fact, no restriction whatever.
True, there is in Massachusetts a tax o f one per cent on the capital o f banks,
but in Rhode Island, even this tax does not exist. The consequence is, that
in these two States, the proportion o f banks to population is even greater than
elsewhere, for there is one for every six thousand two hundred inhabitants,
and it is remarkable that these two States are precisely those that have suf­
fered least from the fatal convulsions that have several times shaken the
whole commercial world.
In Rhode Island particularly, banks may be said to swarm. In 1830
they numbered no less than 47, for a population of 97,000 souls, which
gives the almost fabulous proportion of one bank for every 2,064 inhabit­
ants. B y this calculation, and following these proportions, France would re­
quire no less than 16,000 banks. Now, with this unlimited development of
institutions founded on credit, is it, perchance, thought, that this little district
is affected more than any other with those moral diseases provocative of
crisis ? So far from this, it is, on the contrary, peculiarly exempt from them.
Credit is certainly very much extended; capital and labor are abundant,
and production active. Further, it may be said, that the population derives
from it a greater degree of material comfort than has ever yet been enjoyed
by any other people, but speculation is rarely carried to a dangerous excess.
Commerce there, though enterprising in the highest degree, rarely overleaps
the bounds of prudence ; and even the boldest speculations never wander
beyond the limits o f possibility. The issues o f the banks there are more
measured, more prudent, and (if the expression may be used) more correct
than anywhere else in the world.
A nd if commerce there has some­
times been interrupted in its course, it is only because it felt without the
power o f entire escape from the reaction of crisis, the seat o f which was
elsewhere.
It is, then, not true, that the source of disorder is to be found in the
multiplicity o f banks. On the contrary, they act as a check to it. And, in
fact, where have commercial crises always commenced ? In London and in
Paris, the localities of banks armed with exclusive privileges. These are their




3 l4

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

usual seats. There they incubated, and thence extend their ravages far and
wide. True, the American Union has sometimes contributed its full share
to these troubles ; particularly when it also had a central privileged bank,
and when in the majority o f the States composing the Union, restrictions on
banks were numerous; but it is beyond all doubt that their main sources
are to be found first in London, then in Paris.
I will now endeavor to explain the revelations that experience has made
in regard to this matter. It will be seen how the exercise o f privilege leads,
in a manner almost inevitable, to the production o f periodical crises. The
character, also, (generally misunderstood,) o f these crises, will be better un­
derstood by what I have to advance on this subject. To place m y idea in
the clearest light, I must first be allowed to make use o f an hypothesis. It
will afterwards be easy to show by tables o f the principle crises that have
occurred in England and France, how nearly this hypothesis accords with
reality.
O P E R A T IO N S

OF A

P R IV IL E G E D

BANK.

Let us suppose that in the capital city o f a great empire, a privileged
bank is founded with a capital of 60,000,000 francs. Its mission is to
make advances to commerce in different ways— particularly by discounting
such substantial securities as are presented for the purpose. If the bank
operated with its own capital only, it might lend it all out. In this case,
supposing that it loaned at four per cent, upon such security as to avoid all
chance o f loss, it would obtain, as the gross product o f its capital, 2,400,000
francs; expenses deducted, 300,000 francs.
The net profits would be
2,100,000 francs; thus leaving a dividend o f 31 per cent to stockholders.
This manner o f operating would yield as little fruit to the bank as to the
p u b lic; and as the bank has the faculty of issuing notes payable to the
bearer at sight, or in other words, circulating notes, it makes use o f it.
Instead of discounting negotiable paper with specie, it gives its own notes.
O f these notes let us admit that there remains in circulation a value equal to
the capital o f the bank, that is, 60,000,000 francs. The advances o f the
bank increase by not as much, however, as the entire amount. To meet the
payment o f notes that may be presented, it is customary to retain in bank
a portion o f the capital, say 20,000,000 francs. In this situation, here is
how the account stands :—
Advances in specie
“
notes ,

.francs

40.000.
000
60.000. 000

Total amount advances

100, 000,000

Interest, at 4 per cent..........
Deduct expenses..................

4,000,000
500,000

Remainder

3,500,000

Or 5X8„ per cent on capital. Nevertheless, while the issue o f the notes o f
the bank increases the amount advanced to commerce, it does not fail also
to exercise a certain influence upon capital. It compels a portion o f money
heretofore used in making discounts to commerce to seek investment else­
where. The bank, by entering into a rivalry with the capitalists that loaned
their money to commerce— either directly or through the medium o f a
private banker— displaces their capital, or in other words, drives it to seek
other investments. Doubtless the total amount o f advances made to com­




375

The Causes o f Com mercial Crises.

merce, has increased, but not in proportion with this increased issue— besides
private discounters cannot make loans on the same terms as the bank ; and
even with equal advantages the latter will always obtain the preference.
Here, then, is a certain amount o f capital thrown out of employment, that
must seek investment elsewhere. W h at becomes o f it ? A portion of it is
carried on ’change, to seek investment in the funds which naturally go up ;
and another portion is applied to the purchase o f all kinds o f public stock,
that promise a certain security. Nevertheless, as the amount o f these in­
vestments is not elastic, as it does not increase in proportion with the de­
mand, there remains always a certain amount of capital yet to be invested,
that vainly seeks to do so. A m ong these capitalists, some not being able to
find an immediate investment, or deeming those offering not good enough,
deposit their money in bank, awaiting an opportunity. Thus the amount o f
o f specie in the bank is increased by the deposit o f a portion of the capital
that it has displaced, it rises then from twenty to say fifty millions, thirtymillions o f which belong to the depositors. Now let us follow this dis­
placement step by step, and it will be seen that after a certain period, it
must, by a rigorous chain o f consequences, end in an inevitable crisis. For­
tified in appearance, at least, by this influx o f foreign capital, (the amount
o f which, in ordinary times, remains about the same,) and unwilling to see
languishing in useless inaction, all this idle specie, the bank increases its dis­
counts. It does more ; it invests forty millions o f its own capital either in
the public funds, or in similar securities, which yield like the discounts, an
interest of 4 per cent. Its specie is reduced then to forty millions, ten only
o f which belong to it. Nevertheless, its credit and influence grow in pro­
portion to the flow o f capital through its hands. It finds itself in a position
to make still larger issues, and carries the amount up to say one hundred
millions— a circulation supposed to be moderate, as in this case it is, in pro­
portion to the metallic basis only as 2 J to 1. In this situation, the account
stands thus :— The bank has invested, either in notes discounted, or in pub­
lic funds—
Specie.......................................................................... francs
Bank notes............................................................................

60,000,000
100,000,000

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

150,000,000

Interest, at 4 per ce n t........................................................
Deduct expenses...................................................................

6,000,000
600,000

Remainder

5,400,000

Or 9 per cent on the capital.
But the new issue of notes made by the bank, and the discounts still in­
creasing, increase the amount o f idle specie, and the difficulty o f invest­
ment. The rivalry among capitalists, both great and small, becomes each
day more active; and they seek to find new opportunities for placing
their money. Their embarrassment already betrays itself by some irregular
investments. On ’change the flood of capital increases, the funds rise, and
interest falls— agitation begins, and gaming absorbs a portion o f the idle cap­
ital. The remainder seeks refuge in the bank, to await a better opportunity,
and the amount of deposits grows from fifty to eighty millions. To com ­
plete this picture, we must add that in proportion as the mass o f disposable
funds increases with individuals, so does it generally in the hands o f govern­
ment, so that the public treasury that keeps a running account with the bank




376

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

pours at the same time into its coffers a very sensible amount o f surplus.
This circumstance, however, may be omitted, as it is not absolutely necessary
to our calculation.
W h en once the amount o f deposits confided to the bank reaches this
point, it conceives that it may now dispense with keeping any o f its own
capital, and it invests the whole o f it either in the funds or in treasury bonds ;
thus rivaling the capitalists with his own funds in the only field that is open
to him. W e have it now operating in its loans and discounts only with the
fu n d s o f others. Its specie rises, nevertheless, to eighty millions, without
counting the deposit made by the public treasury. In this condition, why
should it not go on to increase its issues ? It runs them up, then, from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred millions— still a moderate amount, as it
bears to the specie in hand a proportion o f only 2±- to 1. In this case, the
investments and profits are stated thus :—
Specie.......................................................................... francs
N otes................................................................ ....................

60,000,000
200,000,000

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

260,000,000

Interest, at 4 per cen t.........................................................
Deduct expenses...................................................................

10,400,000
800,000

Remainder.............................................................

9,600,000

Or 16 per cent o f capital. One thing in this system will strike the attention
— it is the revolting inequality that it engenders. W h ile the stockholders o f
the bank, without incurring any serious risk, receive 16 per cent dividends,
the unfortunate capitalist, whose funds are used by the bank, gets none at
all— or if he does with difficulty find a perilous investment, he only receives,
at great risk, a very slender interest.
Is it necessary, also, to state, that this system encourages agitation and
stock gambling, by depriving capital o f all other employment. But what,
above all things, must attract attention, is the imminent peril that such a
state o f things must give rise to. W h en the issues o f the bank have grown to
a certain extent, the mass o f capital to be disposed of, and seeking investment,
becomes enormous, not indeed through the whole extent o f the country, (for
there exist no regular means of apportioning it,) but over the whole extent
acted on by the bank, and particularly in the city where it is seated. The en­
gorgement manifested becomes such that it actually becomes difficult to find
any use for money. A s a consequence, the flood o f bank deposits continues to
swell. This hypothesis might be extended still farther. Suppose, for in­
stance, issues amounting, like those o f the Bank o f France, to 250,000,000
francs; or like those o f the Bank o f England, to 400,000,000 francs;
but where the necessity ? W h at precedes is sufficient to show the irresist­
ible tendency o f facts. The consequences may already be seen. W h en
this point is reached, we may be certain that the crisis is near at hand. W h y
is it, it will be asked, that all this superabundant specie does not find its way
out o f the country ? A large amount, certainly, does flow off, but how ? It
is not through the capitalist, who alone has the right to dispose o f it, for he
seeks investments near him, and has no foreign relations. It is through the
medium o f commerce, to which it is loaned by the banks. Here, however,
is the manner in which this outward flow is effected, without even the mer­
chants themselves suspecting it. In consequence of the abundance o f money
on the spot, the demand for merchandise increases, and prices go up. Home




The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

3 11

prices, for a time, becoming higher than those abroad, exportation diminish­
es, and importation increases. The difference is paid in specie, until the
plethora ceases. Considered in itself, this exportation o f money would not
be an e v il; so far from it, it would be a real benefit. Instead o f hoarding
up a mass o f sterile metal, commerce would take it abroad, to be converted
into raw material, productive machinery, or merchandise o f various kinds,
that would return to be added to the jsroductive capital o f the country.
W h at more favorable to the growth o f general comfort ? Unfortunately, in
the hypothesis in which we are placed, this exported specie remains due to
the capitalists who have deposited it in a running account with the bank, or
with their private bankers. It is liable to be drawn out by them at any moment,
and it certainly will be, when a good opportunity for investment offers. Then
it must be recalled from a distance, and it may be conceived with what
trouble. Thus this exportation, which, under other circumstances, would be­
come the source o f material benefit, becomes, in these, the occasion o f great
peril.
Be it as it may, it is evident that this outward flow o f specie lessens in no
degree the difficulties o f the situation as far as the number o f investments to
be made are concerned, for they are as great as ever. I f the capitalist has not
this specie actually in hand, it is always understood that he has it either in
the vaults of the bank, whence he can draw it at will, or in the safe o f his
private banker, whence he can draw it on very short notice. H e is not,
then, on this account, either less embarrassed, or less eager. Thus, so far
from the export o f specie having corrected the plethora that had been
felt, it has only added another danger. There is a moment, in fact, when
the engorgement o f capital in the market becomes such, that it must find
employment at any price. The holders cannot resign themselves to be for­
ever without interest, or to receive, from precarious and uncertain invest­
ments, a derisive interest o f 2-1 per cent. A great cry is then made for out­
lets, that they do not find. Then it is that projectors, schemers spring up,
and the genius o f speculation awakes.
Ajs is usual in such cases, a great outcry is raised, the projectors and their
(so called) dupes are denounced, and, as is natural, the bank directors are
always the first to open the cry. In good faith, however, the picture which
I have just drawn is true. Can such a state o f things, becoming more and
more aggravated, prolong itself indefinitely ?
The bank whose profits are constantly increasing, and who, to use the ex­
pressions, “ turns everything to money,” doubtless would ask for nothing
better; but that cannot be the case with those she thus deprives o f interest;
and as it is she whose fortunes the capitalists follow, are they then so culpable
in acceding to the pressing invitations addressed to them ? Gigantic plans,
then, are invented, to open an outlet for this idle capital. Anybody sets the ball
in motion, and everybody else follows. On all sides immense enterprises are
projected. Now it is mining, again it is an immense system o f railroads.
Sometimes wild or marsh lands are to be reclaimed; or, if the scene passes
in England, the gold and silver mines of South America are to be worked
on a large scale. A ll these projects are received with transport. Then there
is no undertaking so great as to cause alarm-; on the contrary, the most gi­
gantic and the boldest have the best chances o f success, because they respond
better to the true wants o f the case. Subscription lists are opened, and
filled in an instant. The capitalist, because he is too happy to find at last
the outlet that he has so long looked for, the manufacturer and the merchant,




378

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

by an instinct o f imitation, and because the facility with which, thus far, they
have obtained discounts, permits them to turn aside some money from their
regular business.
The different companies are soon under way, and a call for money com­
mences. Then the reverse o f the medal appears, and embarrassment springs
up on all sides. Each one hastens to call in his means. This one runs to
the bank, where he kept them in reserve— that one to his bankers, where
they yielded him a very slender interest. The private banker, whose safe is
becoming empty, seeks to fill it at the common reservoir, the privileged
hank, either by withdrawing a portion of his funds kept there on running
account, or by getting larger discounts. Thus the metallic basis of the
bank is broken in upon, on all sides. The first month, ten millions are
withdrawn, ten millions the second ; a like amount the third, and so contin­
uing, until the large reserve melts visibly away. A s a climax to misfortune,
it is always just at this time, that the wants o f the government increase, be­
cause it feels the reaction o f scarcity manifested elsewhere. The treasury
then withdraws its deposits, simultaneously with private individuals. From
two hundred millions, including the Government funds, the specie in bank
falls to sixty, forty, thirty millions, and perhaps lower, in a few months.
Yesterday the specie far exceeded the third of the bank’s liabilities ; a strong
position showing even an exuberance o f strength ; to-day it no longer equals
the ninth part o f them, for the bank yet owes thirty millions of deposits,
and has to redeem two hundred and fifty millions o f notes and deposits— a
situation altogether unnatural, impossible to be maintained, and which cries
aloud for prompt remedies. W h at will the bank do, however, to escape ? A t
first it endeavors to brave the storm. It multiplies its discounts as much because(as has just been seen) more demands are presented, as because it hopes
thus to satisfy the new wants that now reveal themselves. It issues, also, a
greater number of notes, but as the circulation is already full, they are re­
jected. Scarcely emitted, these notes are presented for payment, and contrib­
ute, with everything else, to diminish the still sinking specie reserve. The
alarm spreads among the public, and the bank begins to tremble for itself.
It might sell stock, but it must necessarily be at loss. A ll securities have
given way, because the demand is less. Yesterday, each portion o f capital
created two buyers— the owner o f the capital, and the bank which used it
until called for. To-day they have both disappeared. There are now two
buyers less, and one seller more. Thus there is a rapid decline in all stocks.
Already even the exchange has witnessed some disasters. The sale of fifty
or sixty millions o f State stocks, at such a moment, is not to be thought of.
Recourse must be had to expedients. Happy the bank, if, in so critical a situa­
tion, it can find, at a given point, a foreign sovereign willing to relieve it of
its stock, or a bank in a neighboring country to come to its assistance with
a loan.* W h en the round o f expedients is exhausted without success, re­
sort is then had to the great, the supreme remedy. The bank suddenly con­
tracts its discounts, either by raising the rate o f interest, or by throwing out
a large portion of the paper presented for discount. To commerce this is
the death stroke— the “ coup de grace." Then the mine explodes, and the
surrounding country is covered with ruins. The breaking up is general.
The new enterprises, commenced under such brilliant auspices, miscarry, be­
cause the supplies are stopped. The money advanced, and the work done,
This was done for the Bank o f France, both b y the Em peror o f Russia, and the Bank o f England.




The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

379 ■

are lost. A t the same time, a great number o f old and reputable commer­
cial houses crumble to the dust, and all the others are shaken. The disorder
is universal. The remedy applied, however, proves, for the bank, entirely ef­
ficacious. It would seem, at first, that it ought to be carried away in the
common wreck. But no, the only victims are the unfortunate individuals
who had extended their operations upon the faith of the credits it had grant­
ed, and who had thought that they might rely upon a continued support.
From that moment everything is overthrown— new enterprises and old
houses. The capitalists, awaking from their deluding dreams, seeing every­
thing tottering around them, no longer daring to confide in anybody or in
anything, gather up the wrecks o f their property, and hasten with it to
the bank, the high position o f which alone can reassure them. Is it not
the only establishment ? The privileged establishment protected by the
State ? W here can confidence be placed, if not here ? Thus the accumu­
lation of deposits recommences, to end again, some years later, in the same
results. It may be conceived, however, that if, at such a moment, any un­
foreseen event were to occur, such as a great political commotion, the bank
itself might be swept away, unless authorized by law to suspend cash pay­
ments, by giving a forced circulation to its notes. These, then, are the nat­
ural consequences o f the one privileged hank system. Its first fruit is a re­
volting inequality in the division o f profits ; its last result, a catastrophe.
It gives all to some, nothing to others. It robs these, to enrich those ; and
so far from compensating for this great fault, by offering to the public greater
security, it surrounds it, on the contrary, with snares and dangers. Com­
merce is stimulated to-day and abandoned to-morrow. It is urged to under­
takings that it is not afterwards allowed to carry out, and is thereby exposed
to incalculable losses. It is an odious system, that, once properly understood,
would not be for a moment tolerated by any civilized community.
If, now, it were asked, how the liberty of instituting new banks could reme­
dy these evils, it seems to me the reply is very simple. From the day when,
by the effect o f the issues o f the first bank, there would be in the market a cer­
tain amount o f capital to be invested, the owners o f this capital would unite
to establish a second bank, that, by doing the same business, they might par­
take of the profits o f the first. From that moment, the inequality complained
o f just now, in the division o f profits, the dangers of engorgement in the
market, and the sudden withdrawal o f deposits, would cease. The facilities
afforded to commerce would be as great, if not greater. There would only
be this capital difference, that the funds, being henceforward loaned by those
to whom they belong, would no longer be liable to those sudden withdrawals,
so ruinous to all honest enterprise.
CO M M E R C IA L

CR ISES IN

FRANCE.

Minutely considered, in their particular circumstances and details, the com­
mercial crises that have at different times occurred in France and England,
will be found each to have its peculiar character— but generally considered
as regards their predominating traits, and the causes that produced them,
they are all alike. The most recent of these crises, that o f 1846 and 1847,
we will take as our term of comparison.
In 1844, the situation o f the Bank of France was th is:— Its discounts,
including advances upon stocks, bullion, &c., had risen to the sum o f
807,257,949 francs. This amount was a little below that o f preceding
years, and the bank complained o f it bitterly. Private individuals loaned




380

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

their funds at less than 4 per cent, the rate fixed by the bank— thus de­
priving the latter o f a portion o f business, and restricting the field of its
operations. As a consequence, its profits had fallen off, as in fact it had only
realized that year the moderate interest of 9 per cent, without, however, in­
cluding State stocks bought with its own capital, and which made a return
o f 4,952,585 francs, which after all swelled to 18 per cent the dividends of
its stockholders. This amount, however, was too little to satisfy the directors.
In the meantime, private capitalists were obliged to content themselves with
a hardly earned 3 per cent upon funds deposited, and that not without risk,
with private bankers, to enable these to discount at a rate equal, or inferior,
to that o f the bank ; or, on the other hand, if for greater security they de­
posited with the bank itself, they were obliged to resign themselves to do
without any interest at all. The bank, nevertheless, accustomed to better
dividends, found this condition a hard one, and aspired to greater profits.
The ascending grade o f the operations o f the central establishment, exclu­
ding that o f the branches, is as follow s:—
Years.

1844 ........................
1845 ...........................
1846 ...........................

Discounts and
advances.

809,257,949
1,101,408,383
1,294,264,462

Gross receipts.

Dividends.

6,124,510
8,441,478
9,809,206

9 percent.
12.4
“
14.4
“

Thus the advances o f the bank increased successively, from 809,000,000
francs in 1844, to 1,294,000,000 francs in 1846. From 9 per cent its pro­
fits advanced to 14.4, excluding always the 4,952,585 francs o f annual rev­
enue from its own capital, while its whole business operations were carried on
with the funds o f others.
W hile the amount of discounts swelled thus from year to year, the bank cof­
fers maintained themselves in a flourishing condition, notwithstanding circum­
stances otherwise unfavorable. Though the scarcity o f breadstuffs had neces­
sitated from the very commencement o f 1846, a large exportation o f specie,
the amount in hand at the end o f the first quarter o f that last year was
202,530,000 francs— a condition apparently brilliant, and secure from all cas­
ualties. Unfortunately, this amount consisted almost entirely o f private cap­
ital waiting for investment, and at any moment liable to be drawn out. Can
we not here recognize the characteristic trait o f this extraordinary condition
o f things brought about by privilege ? Should we be astonished, then, if
embarrassments arise, in such a state o f things ? N o one, however, has
more clearly pointed out the evils and perils o f this unhealthy state than
the Censors o f the bank themselves, in their report o f 1847. “ For some
time,” say they, “ the bank has been reproached with leaving unproductive
a considerable amount of capital, and with making too moderate a use of the
immense credit acquired by the wisdom, method, and regularity o f its opera­
tions. N o account was taken o f the extraordinary resources required by the
increased development which characterizes its progress, and that of its branch­
es, for several years past.
“ The fa c t seemed to be unknown, that the large sums contained in the
vaults and safes o f the bank belonged, in a great measure, to the running ac­
count o f the public, and particularly to that o f the treasury; or that the
bank was only the guardian o f this wealth, and that its duty was imperative
to watch over and preserve this deposit thus confided to it, and that it might
unexpectedly be deprived o f it by accidental circumstances, entirely beyond its
own control. These provisions that had struck the attention o f your admin­
istrators, have, unfortunately, been realized.”




381

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

It is impossible to place the finger upon tbe sore with greater precision, to
point out more clearly the evil and its consequences. The censors in this
case were only too moderate. It was not a large portion, but the whole of
the specie in the b^nk that belonged to strangers, and was liable to imme­
diate withdrawal. W ith attention we may perceive here a double evil. On
the one hand, a large amount o f capital remains barren, and on the other,
notwithstanding the exaggerated strength of its foundation, the imminent
danger of its being swept away. Certainly they had cause, who com­
plained o f such sums being kept in an unproductive state, when trade might
derive so much benefit from their use ; but the bank was not wrong, either,
when it asserted that it could not employ them without danger. Perhaps,
even, it ought to have given greater weight to this wise and legitimate pre­
vision. The fact is, that the exclusive privileges granted to a single estab­
lishment, had created a false position, in which the only choice was between
two evils, without being able entirely to avoid one or the other— either to
leave an enormous amount o f capital unemployed, or to run blindfold upon
danger. Suppose, on the contrary, that it had been permitted to establish a
second bank, operating in the same way with the first— the new establish­
ment, founded upon a part o f the before unemployed capital, would have
loaned it to commerce, thus increasing its resources by the like amount, and
as this time the capital would not be liable to recall, (it being then bank
stock, and not a deposit,) all danger o f a crisis would immediately have dis­
appeared.
In the position in which the bank had placed itself, what ought to have
occurred did really happen. Already railroad enterprises, that had been for
some time matured, opened a new and wide outlet for sleeping capital.
The moment had been expected when in them a sure investment would
be found. W ith a little more foresight, the bank directors might have
descried this critical moment in the distance, and with a little attention and
vigilance, they might have parried its effects ; but attention and vigilance
are rarely the qualities o f privileged establishments.
Too happy in the continued increase o f its discounts, promising a fruit­
ful year and superb dividends, the bank looked no farther, and pursued the
tenor o f its way, without heeding the gathering storm. Soon payments on
railroad stock began to be made ; and towards the end o f the year, the with­
drawal o f funds deposited in the bank began to make itself felt. The
amount o f specie that, up to the end o f the second year, had maintained it­
self at 202,894,000 francs, and continued to rise during the second quarter
o f the third year, fell, at the end o f the third, to 174,469,000 francs; at
the expiration o f the year, it did not exceed 71,040,200 francs—-a falling
off o f more than 131,000,000 francs in six months. Here, however, is the
statement of the successive reductions, from the report of the governor o f
the bank him self:—
In the month of July the amount was reduced___ francs
“
August
«
“
“
September “
“
“
October
“
“
November “
“
“
December “
“
And finally from the 1st to the 14th January, 1847.........

17,538,000
2,904,000
27,210,000
53,164,000
43,235,000
18,191,000
10,604,000

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

172,847,000

Such, then, was the situation o f the bank, at the end of the operations of




382

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

1846, and at the beginning o f the year 184V ; a position so false and so
critical, that, for any other than a privileged establishment, it would infalli­
bly have ended in complete prostration. W h at did the bank do to extract it­
self ? According to the expression o f the censors, measures o f the highest
precaution were judged necessary, which, in fact, means that expedients were re­
sorted to. In the first place, the bank bought from the treasury, at a pre­
mium, fifteen millions o f uncurrent coin, (pieces o f fifteen and thirty sols,)
that had remained on deposit in the bank cellars. These were re-cast into
current coin. Besides this, it procured in the market, and in the provinces,
four or five millions o f gold and silver, in different shapes, and, finally, it
borrowed, from English capitalists, twenty-five millions, in the shape o f in­
gots and dollars, that were immediately coined at the mint in Paris. Mis­
erable expedients, these, clearly enough stamped with improvidence and dis­
order ! Y et all these measures did not appear to be sufficient; recourse was
at last had to something more decisive. The hank resigned itself to ask o f
commerce a few temporary sacrifices, (these are the words of the report,) and
the rate o f interest was suddenly raised from 4 to 5 per cent. It was only
trade, after all, that could repair, and that at its own expense, the errors of
the bank, and it would have been lucky if it could have escaped with a mo­
mentary increase in the rate o f discount, and if the general discredit (the
natural consequences of these flagrant embarrassments) had not dealt it
much severer blows. Notwithstanding all these expedients, and all these
sacrifices, the crisis had not reached its last period. As the directors o f the
bank had forseen, the withdrawal o f specie did not cease with the end of 1846 ;
indeed, the evil did not appear in all its gravity, until the first month o f
184V. To turn it aside, redoubled precautions and new expedients were to
be devised ; and there was great cause for congratulation, when, in the be­
ginning o f March, the Emperor of Russia bought of the bank 50,000,000
o f government stock, that certainly, under the circumstances, could not have
been sold on the Paris exchange, without producing another shock. W as
this enough o f expedients ? To save the bank, nothing less was necessary
than the support o f two governments and that o f the English capitalists,
without all of which the bank o f France, notwithstanding the brilliant posi­
tion that before it had flattered itself to be in, would not, perhaps, have es­
caped a complete suspension o f payments.
Finally, the extraordinary depreciation o f all sorts o f negotiable securi­
ties, and o f most kinds o f merchandise, having turned back the outward flow
o f specie, the crisis lost somewhat o f its intensity; not, however, without
the experience o f incalculable injury on the part o f commerce, from the loss
o f credit, the increase of interest, and, above all, the depreciation o f all sorts
o f securities in its possession.
In this same year, 1846, in which the bank had realized such handsome
profits, failures in the commercial world were numerous, and there is nothing
that ought to surprise in this, after what has been seen above. In Paris
alone, from the 1st o f August, 1846, to the 31st o f July, 184V, there were
1,139 failures, with a total debit o f 68,4V4,803 francs ; yet it may be well
believed that this amount o f debt, large as it is, is but a feeble representation
o f the actual damage incurred.
Such are the real consequences o f privilege in all their truth. Let it not
be said that the crisis is due to other causes, as, for instance, the active spec­
ulation in railroads. Doubtless this is the immediate cause, but was not this
excess in speculation produced by the privilege of the bank, in cutting off




383

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

from capitalists the ordinary and regular means o f employing their funds ?
According to the governor, we must look for the cause particularly to the
scarcity o f breadstuffs ; but an importation of two millions and a half hec­
tolitres of grain in the first quarter of 1846, from the governor’s own avow­
al, had made no visible impression upon the reserved fund o f the bank ; on
the contrary, it went up from two hundred and eight to two hundred and
fifty-two millions ; and in the second half, when the importation did not ex­
ceed 2,204,000 hectolitres, the reserve fund diminished by 172,000,000. It
is evident that, whatever may have been the disastrous consequences o f the
scarcity, we cannot attribute to it the principle o f the financial crisis ; and,
moreover, had the speculations in railroads been still more active, and the
famine still greater, both combined would not thus have shaken the bank
and the whole commercial world, if this establishment had been in a better
condition ; but in the position in which it had placed itself, it was evident
that, sooner or later, it must have found itself seriously embarrassed.
I have dwelt at some length on this crisis of 1846-7, because it is nearer
to us, and it was not without a certain influence on the events which followed.
W e must not, however, suppose, that it offers anything exceptional in its de­
velopment, and in its course. A ll those crises that France has undergone
since the definitive establishment o f the bank— for instance, in 1811, in
1819, in 1825-26, and in 1837, with a few accidental peculiarities, have had
a similar character. They were preceded and followed by the same circum­
stances ; so true is it that the first cause does not change.
Each time
the discounts of the bank are perceived to swell from year to year, as also
its profits— this symptom infallibly announces an approaching crisis. See the
results for the five years from 1807 to 1811 :—
Years.

Notes discounted.

1807......... .................................. francs
1 8 0 8 .. .
1 8 0 9 .. . . ' . ........................................
1810 ...................................................
1811 ...................................................

333,267,000
557,495,000
545,446,000
715,038,000
391,162,000

Profits.

2,456,200
4,152,400
4,243,800
6,057,700
4,791,100

Thus the total of securities discounted, that had only amounted, in 1807,
to 333,267,000 francs, increased, in 1810, to the comparatively enormous
sum o f 715,038,000 francs; and the amount o f profits had nearly trebled in
the same time. It was the foreshadowing of serious embarrassments, that, in
fact, manifested themselves towards the last o f the year 1810, and in the fol­
lowing year. The crisis o f 1819, was preceded and followed by precisely
similar circumstances. See the results o f the five years following 1815 :—
Years.

1815
1816
1817
1818
1819

Discounts.

..........................................francs
..........................................................
..........................................................
...........................................
..........................................................

Profits.

203,565,000
1,278,400
419,996,000
3,203,600
547,451,000
4,608,300
615,999,0004,848,200
387,429,000
2,692,100

Here, again, we see the total amount of discounts swelling from year to
year, and finally attaining an enormous amount in the very year which
precedes and determines the crisis. The maximum and the minimum o f notes
in hand rises in the same way, as also the profits, which, from 1,278,400
francs in 1815, advance progressively to the sum o f 4,848,200 francs in
1818. The same results as regards the crisis o f 18 25 -6, occurring after
ten years of peace. The total o f discounts, 384,645,000 francs, in 1821,
went up, in 1824, to 489,346,000 francs; and in 1825, the very year in




384

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

which the embarrassments commenced, they amounted to 638,249,000.
Thus, each time that the discounts by the bank increased in an unusual
manner, the profits increased in the same proportion, and this double result,
apparently so favorable, was the certain forerunner o f an approaching catas­
trophe.
Seeing the invariable coincidence o f the same facts, it can hardly be per­
mitted to mistake the true cause o f these perturbations. It is evidently to the
unusual increase o f bank discounts that the evil is to be attributed. W e shall,
however, see these inductions confirmed, by examples other than those o f our
own country. Are we to infer, from this, that the extension of credit to com­
merce is in itself an evil ? The belief is not permitted us, after having at­
tentively observed what occurs where free banking is allow ed; and, more­
over, it is contrary to reason. No, this extension in itself has salutary ef­
fects. Here, monopoly alone engenders the evil, by the creation of a posi­
tion doubly false ; false for the capitalist placed by it in a position in which
it becomes impossible to give his capital regular employment— false again
for the bank induced by it to operate only, or chiefly, with the funds o f others.
Cut off this principle o f disorder, by proclaiming the entire liberty o f bank­
ing, and benefits alone will remain from the use o f credit.
CO M M E R C IA L C R ISE S IN E N G LA N D .

In England, where credit and banking have for a long time held so prom­
inent a place, writings on these important subjects may certainly be counted
by hundreds, if not by thousands ; and as the inherent vices o f the English
system have unfortunately engendered many crises, the study o f these phe­
nomena has naturally received much attention. Am ong the most recent o f
these writings are to be distinguished those of Messrs. Tooke, Lloyd, and
Torrens, and particularly the work o f Mr. T. W ilson, editor o f the Econo­
mist, and member of Parliament.* Whatever may, however, be the merit
o f several o f their works, in which are often to be found ingenious views
and profound reflections, I will venture to say that their authors have almost
always gone astray, not from want o f knowledge, but rather from refining
too much. Their chief mistake has been to dwell upon the particular cir­
cumstances o f commercial crises, without studying sufficiently their general
and dominating character— to consider their variations instead o f their traits
o f resemblance, and, consequently, stopping almost always at the immediate
or secondary causes by which they are determined, instead o f going up to
the primordial cause which engenders them. A n American writer, Mr. H.
C. Carey, o f Philadelphia, already known by several excellent works, ap­
pears to me to have been more fortunate, in this respect, than the English
writers.f Perhaps, also, these last, too near the theater o f events, and bet­
ter placed to seize its details, have not been, for the same reason, able to
take in as readily the “ tout ensemble." So far back as 1838, Mr. Carey
had clearly shown the first cause o f these perturbations, the return o f which
is almost periodical. That cause is not different in England from what it is
in France, and that it should be so may be readily understood, from the fact
that the system o f the two countries is the same, except that the privileged
bank o f England operates on a much larger scale than that o f France, and
that it encounters a greater number o f secondary institutions in the provin­
* Capital, Currency, and Banking. L o n d o n : 1847.
f The Credit System in France, Great Britain, and the United States.
p h ia : 1838.




By H. C. Carey.

Philadel­

385

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

ces. W e shall see that facts and figures are not less significant on the other
side o f the channel than on this ; but to render these facts and figures more
conclusive, another element must be added. Notwithstanding the plain in­
dications o f experience, a great number o f men in England persist in seeing
the first cause o f the evil in the abuse o f the issues o f notes, which, at cer­
tain seasons, as they supposed, would exceed just limits, and derange the
circulation. It was because o f this idea, that, as far back as 1826, English
banks were forbidden to issue notes o f a smaller denomination than five
pounds. The same idea led to the proposition, by Sir Robert Peel, and the
adoption by Parliament, o f the famous bill o f 1844, that limits the issues of
English banks. It is necessary, then, to show the rule for these emissions.
It will be seen that, while they were somewhat irregular, up to 1826, a pe­
riod when none but private banks existed in the counties, composed of less
than six associates, they became, on the contrary, after the creation o f the
joint stock banks, so regular and steady that it was difficult to remark any
sensible difference, even at the j>eriods of the most serious crises.
Let us see, first, how the circulation, the discounts, the deposits, and the
specie, o f the Bank o f England regulated themselves, at the approach o f the
terrible crisis o f 1 8 25 -6 :—Notes less
than £ 5 .

August,
1822
February, 1823
August,
1823
February 7,1824
August,
1824
February 7,1825
August,
1825
February, 1826

Notes more
than £ 5 .

£855,830 £16,609,460
681,500
17,710,740
548,480
18,682,760
486,130
10,250,860
443,140
19,688,980
416,730
20,337,030
396,343
19,002,500
1,375,250
24,092,660

Deposits.

Loans.

Snecie.

£6,399,440 £17,290,510 £10,097,960
7,181,100
18,319,730 10,384,230
7,827,350
17,469,390 12,658,240
10,097,850
18,872,000 13,810,060
9,679,810
20,904,530 11,787,470
10,168,780
24,951,330
8,779,100
6,410,560
25,106,030
3,634,320
6,935,940
32,918,580
2,459,610

W h at does this table show ?
First, the loans swell gradually from
£17,290,510 in 1822, to £25,000,000 towards the middle of 1825, the pe­
riod immediately preceding the crisis, and to more than £32,000,000 at the
beginning o f 1826, when the explosion took place. Is it now evident that
this growing development o f discounts must have displaced, and rendered
idle, a large amount o f private capital, thus deprived o f employment ? This
may be judged of, moreover, by the continual increase o f deposits, which
rose, in February, 1825, to £1 0,16 8,78 0— an enormous sum, when it is con­
sidered that these deposits yielded nothing to their owners.
This state o f things was, no doubt, well calculated to excite speculation ;
nor must we be astonished to see its spirit everywhere aroused. Hear, how­
ever, the English writers, and they will tell you it was brought about by
particular causes, forgetting but one, and the most important o f them all.
For instance, Mr. W ilson, though his work has great merit, says :— “ In the
course o f the year 1824, speculation was overstimulated by two sorts o f cir­
cumstances. The great success of loans to different continental governments,
during the five preceding years, with a single exception, and the high price to
which foreign stock had risen, had caused among our capitalists a great
thirst for similar investments. Circumstances contributed, also, to place for­
eign mines in a more favorable light. But one o f the circumstances most
felt as having led, finally, to the panic of 1825, and giving to that crisis a
distinct character, is that the importations of goods were generally small, in
1824, and barely equal to the consumption ; so that a considerable rise in
prices manifested itself, particularly toward the close o f the year. All these

VOL. xxi.—

no .




iv.

25

386

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

circumstances concurred, toward the end o f 1824, to produce a speculative
fever, in the first months o f 1825.” *
W h a t clearly proves that there must have been a more general cause for
this fever o f speculation, is the very variety o f objects to which it attached
itself. I give here the enumeration by the same writer:— “ 1st. Speculation
in foreign loans. 2d. Speculation in foreign mining. 3d. Speculation in
the country itself, in land and houses, which went up suddenly to very high
prices, particularly in the vicinity o f large cities. 4th. Speculation in insu­
rance, mining, railroad, steamboat, and other stocks, loans, &c. 5th. Specula­
tion in all kinds o f merchandise.” Is it possible, I ask, that the same spirit
should have been aroused everywhere at the same moment, if it had not
been by a common and general cause? N ow this cause was nothing more
than the excessive development o f bank discounts, and the impossibility that
the capitalists could, in view o f the privileges o f the bank, find, elsewhere,
regular employment for their capital.
It may be seen, in the preceding table, that the specie, which had risen,
in February, 1824, to £13,800,000, fell to £2,459,000, in February, 18 26 ;
which makes a decrease o f more that £11,000,000 sterling, in two years.
More, it fell to even less than £2,000,000, and the bank saw itself reduced
so low that it would probably have failed, if it had not found, in time, in its
coffers, a million sterling, in notes o f a smaller denomination than five pounds,
which it hastened to issue, to satisfy its most pressing wants.
Another thing in this table must strike the reader. It is that in 1825,
and particularly at the commencement o f 1826, the specie in the bank did
not nearly equal the deposits that it owed, and hence the deduction that it
operated exclusively with the funds o f others, for which it paid no interest
whatever. A s to the issue o f notes, it may be seen that it was, at this peri­
od, subjected to considerable variations, which have not been nearly so much
felt since joint stock banks have spread over the country. “ If the people
o f England,” Mr. Carey* very judiciously remarks, “ had had the privilege
o f establishing another bank, on the principle o f limited responsibility on
the part o f the stockholders, and such an one as could have absorbed, in
1824, the excess o f deposits, the specie would have been moved into another
street, instead o f going to another country,” and the bank would have de­
clared smaller dividends, but the country would have escaped the severest
disasters.
The crisis o f 1SST, quite as severe as that o f 1826, does not differ from
it in its essential circumstances. The different phases o f the circulation, dis­
counts, funds in hand, and deposits, in the years that preceded, were as
follow s:—
December
“
“
“
February

31, 1833.........
28, 1834.........
26, 1835.........
13,1837........
12, 1839.........

Circulation.

Deposits.

A dvances.

In bank.

£17,469,000
17,070,000
16,564,000
17,361,000
17,868,000

£15,160,000
13,019,000
20,370,000
13,330,000
14,230,000

£24,567,000
25,551,000
31,764,000
28,971,000
31,085*000

£10,200,000
6,978,000
7,718,000
4,545,000
4,032,000

It is always the same fact reproducing itself. The advances or discounts
increase, capital becomes superabundant in the country, the amount o f de­
posits rises from fifteen to twenty millions sterling, the stockholders o f the
bank receive large dividends, and other capitalists know not what to do with
Capital, Currency, and Banking, p. 172.




* Credit System, Chap. viii.

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

387

their funds, for which they get nothing. They finally seek investments
abroad, instead of employing their capital at home, and the withdrawal of
deposits commences. For a moment, the bank endeavors to limit its opera­
tions, (December, 1836,) but it results in general distress, and failures begin.
The bank is then constrained to extend its discounts again, in the face of
continued sinking o f its specie, and at the risk o f ending in a complete sus­
pension o f specie payments.
The figures that we have just grouped, are remarkable on more than one
account. Beginning with the month of December, 1833,f the specie com­
mences to diminish, whereas the amount of deposits continues to swell.
From that time, the sum in the bank is very inferior to that o f the deposits,
and by the month o f December, 1835, the period when the withdrawal
commences, the disproportion becomes enormous, which proves that the bank
gives way more and more to the fatal practice o f operating with funds not
its own, without having bound them to its fortunes, by paying interest on
them.
Another circumstance, not less worthy o f attention, is, that during all this
period o f agitation, the total amount o f the circulation varies little, and
much less, for instance, than in the years anterior to 1826. This circum­
stance proves, first, that the joint stock banks established in the provinces in
consequence of the law of 1826, had furnished an element o f regularity
which did not exist before, and that I was right in declaring, in the begin­
ning, that the more banks are multipled, the more subject they are to the
rule. W e must hence conclude that it is not in the irregular or intemper­
ate emission o f notes that the evil lies, since, even at the most critical peri­
ods, these issues have varied very little in England, and that it is a mistaken
idea o f certain English economists, with Sir Kobert Peel at their head, who
thought, by endeavoring to limit them, to prevent the return o f commercial
crises. They sought the evil where it did not exist, and refused to see where
it did. It is in this light, particularly, that the bill o f 1844, otherwise so
badly combined in its practical dispositions, is a gross error.
CO NSEQUENCES O F

THE FR EE D O M

O F B A N K IN G ------CO N CLU SIO N .

In the face o f these veiy significant facts, what must be the thoughts o f
these blind and obstinate men, who go about denouncing what they call the
'tyranny o f capital, as the cause o f our social evils? Is there any sense
whatever, in this denunciation ? If there is, where is it ? Certainly there
are great evils in the society that surrounds u s ; but is it not puerile to at­
tribute them to a pretended tyranny exercised by capital over labor ? B y
what signs does this pretended tyranny reveal itself ? It cannot be to the
interest o f capital to oppress labor, without which it can do nothing, and
which, on the contrary, it must follow and seek out with eagerness, in every
direction. In fact, however, it is not the case. The truth is, that in the
condition of things, o f which I have just drawn a faithful picture, capital it­
self is frightfully oppressed by an iniquitous monopoly. This truth, more­
over, applies (mark it) as well to the small capital as the great one, and it
must not be forgotten that the mechanic or the laborer becomes himself 'a
capitalist, the moment the fruits o f his economy begin to accumulate on his
hands. Our socialists would then' be nearer the mark if they attributed the
evils of the present state o f things to the exercise o f tyranny over capital ; but
f It had even risen to £ 1 1,078,600, in the month o f Septem ber, preceding.




388

The Causes o f Commercial Crises.

then they would be obliged to concede that what they call the “ bourgeoisie,”
suffer quite as much as what they call the people, and this acknowledgement
might perhaps interfere with their plans.
Tyranny over all kinds o f capital is the distinguishing character o f the
system o f privileged banks. The result in ordinary times is, for holders of
capital, loss of interest and cruel embarrassment, and for the country, a fatal
paralysis o f a great part of the public stocks, an habitual stagnation o f bu­
siness, and, finally, in the effort to escape, a catastrophe. If labor suffers
from this state of things, which is not to be doubted, it is because it must,
per force, feel the reaction o f all the disorders with which capital is affected.
It becomes necessary, now, to explain how it is that free banking would
prove a certain remedy for all these evils. Let us suppose, that in 1844 or
1845, it had been permitted to establish another bank in Paris. The new
one would have collected, to form its stock, all the idle capital lying useless
in the cellars o f the bank, and elsewhere. Discounts o f good notes would
not have diminished on that account, for the two banks would have compe­
ted for them. Thus, business, instead o f being impeded, would have been
more active than ev er; but a greater part o f the idle capital having now
found employment, speculation in railroads would not have been so rife. In
any case, the new bank, being responsible to no one for the funds loaned by
it, (since they belonged to itself,) might have allowed this speculation to spread
in its own way, without being in the least affected by it. As to the first
bank, being now deprived o f a large part o f the deposits heretofore confi­
ded to it, it would have felt, from that moment, the necessity o f recalling its
own proper capital, until now almost entirely absorbed in the purchase of
stocks, and instead o f operating almost exclusively with the funds of others,
it would have used its own, and thus have been fortified against the future
crises. In this situation, railroad speculation, and even short crops, might
have supervened, without causing the slightest shock.
I f the establishment o f a second bank had not proved sufficient (which is
very probable) to absorb all the idle capital, a third might have been institu­
ted, which would have strengthened the position still more. Discounts
would doubtless have increased, but to the great benefit o f commerce and
manufactures, and without danger to the country. The three banks being
each day restrained more and more to the use o f their own proper funds,
the possibility o f a crisis would have been farther and farther removed.
Each one, however, would have added something to its own resources, by the
issue o f a certain quantity o f n otes; but unless the denomination o f these
nof.es had been lowered, the amount o f circulation would not, on that ac­
count, have swelled, for this circulation is regulated by the public, without
the bank having anything to do with it. Thus, trade might have taken a
free course, without dreading any perturbation whatever; but it is hardly
necessary to say that the existing bank would have seen its profits sensibly
diminished. After the establishment o f a first rival bank, it would have seen
its profits diminish not by a half, since the total amount o f discounts might
have increased, but perhaps by a third; for instance, from 16 to 10 per cent.
A third bank would have reduced the profits to 7 or 8 per cent, and a fourth
to 5 or 6, which is yet such a respectable rate o f interest that a majority of
capitalists would be glad to get it if it could be done without risk or labor.
If it is asked where this multiplication o f banks is to cease, the reply is
simple. It would stop at the moment when the profits derived for them
.would not exceed those to be obtained in other directions. In a word, if France




D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

389

desires to better her condition, this is the route to pursue, and it is a road as easy
as it is safe. It is by free banking that present evils are to be remedied, and a
prosperous future secured. Let us hasten, then, to proclaim this salutary princi­
ple. Some other measures, it is true, would still be necessary. For instance, com­
mercial association must be freed from the bonds now imposed upon it, for it
would be useless to have permitted companies to do bank business, if their reg­
ular organization remained— nearly impossible, as it now is, by the present sys­
tem of legislation. Perhaps, also, to accelerate the return o f credit, it would be
necessary to abrogate the usury laws— laws bad at all times, and particularly
injurious at the present m om ent; but these last measures are, as it were, cor­
ollaries o f the others. Let us proclaim that the French people may, in the
exercise of a natural right, transact all kinds of banking business in their
own way, as they understand it, either individually or in companies. This
is the principle in all its latitude, and as it ought to be understood and pro­
claimed. On this condition, and on this alone, will manufactures and com­
merce rise from their ruins, to become more flourishing than they ever were
before.
c. c.

Art. II.— DEBTS AND FINANCES OF THE STATES OF TnE UNION:
W IT H R E F E R E N C E TO T H E IR G E N E R A L C O N D ITIO N A N D P R O S P E R IT Y .
C H A PTE R V II.

The Western States— Ohio.
O f the territory ceded by the State o f Virginia to the Federal Govern­
ment, in compromise o f the conflicting claims of the colonies under the vague
grants each possessed from Imperial power, Ohio was the first settled. The
North-W est Territory, as it was called, was governed under the temporary
provisions o f the ordinance o f 1787, passed by the Confederate Congress,
before the Union was formed, until 1799, when the first Territorial Legisla­
ture was convened at Cincinnati, and W . H . Harrison, afterwards President
of the United States, was chosen Delegate to Congress. The Territory he
then represented, comprises now the States o f Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michi­
gan, and Wisconsin. O f these, Ohio was formed in 1802, under a constitu­
tion which has been called “ an experiment to ascertain the minimum of
power necessary for a Government.” By it the Governor is chosen for two
years by the people, but he has no veto power, and no appointing power.
The area then created into the State o f Ohio is 39,964 square miles, or
25,576,960 acres. This tract— but two-thirds the size o f England and W ales
— is bounded on the east and south by the Ohio River, navigable the whole
distance; on the north by Lake Erie and the State o f Michigan, and on the
west by the State of Iadiana. The character o f the whole is that o f a table
land elevated on the northern center, about 1,000 feet above the level of the
sea, and on the eastern and southern borders, about 600 to 800 feet. The
dividing ridge, springing from a spur of the Alleglianies, is highest at the
east, and slopes gradually away south and west, to a level. The waters which
flow from this ridge into the northern lakes, are short and precipitous, fre­
quently broken by falls, while those which flow southward to the Ohio are
broad and gentle streams, and towards the west the elevation o f the ridge is
so slight that at high floods voyagers have been known to pass from the
lakes into the tributaries of the Mississippi, and proceed to New Olreans on




390

D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

its bosom. Between the main ridge and the Ohio River is a secondary
range, which has the appearance o f having been a table land, furrowed into
valleys by a continuous flow o f water toward the south-west. A ll the lands
in the State are exceedingly fertile, and even the greatest elevations are sus­
ceptible o f culture to their summits. W hen treating o f the State o f Indi­
ana, we mentioned the policy adopted by the Federal Government in relation
to the public lands, namely, to reserve control over the unsold lands in new
States, but to make liberal donations to each for public purposes. The new
State had, however, no power to tax the unsold lands o f the Federal Gov­
ernment, and this in Ohio was a subject o f warm contention. It was held
that the moment that the State became a member o f the Federal Union, with
the same power o f sovereignty as the original thirteen States, that like them
it had absolute power o f taxation over all the lands within its territory, and
there was no reason why the United States should escape taxation any more
than any other non-resident landholder. The grants o f land were held to be
no compensation for the withholding o f this right from the State. W ith the
settlement o f the State, this question settled itself. The disposition o f the
lands in Ohio has been as follow s:—
25,576,960

Area in acres....................................
Sold, to January, 1849...................
Donated to schools..........................
“
colleges.........................
“
internal improvements
“
individuals...................
Militaiy bounties, old war..............
“
late w a r............ .
“
Mexican war . . .
Reservations, salaries......................
'•
In d ian s.......................
“
companies...............;
Private claims.................................
Swamp lands....................................

12,490,215
675,094
24,320
1,260,051
32,141
1,301,326
63,842
49,429
24,216
16,331
8,805,976
26,460
303,329
25,067,730

Balance unappropriated

509,230

The large grants to companies were mostly in confirmation o f titles that
had been devised under the Congress o f the Confederation. These were the
Connecticut Western Reserve, 3,666,921 acres, the Virginia Military Reserve,
3,709,848 acres, J. C. Symmer purchases, 284,698, and the Ohio Company’s
purchase, 1,144,509. Total, 8,805,976 acres. The annual sales o f land in
Ohio, from its settlement up to 1847, inclusive, were as follows :—
ANNUAL SALES OF PUBLIC LANn IN OHIO.

Years.

Acres.

Years.

A cres.

1786.
1787.
1799.
1800.
1801.
1802.
1803.
1804.
1805.
1806.
1807.
1808.
1809.
1810.

76,525 14
42,057 62
640 00
70,947 81
486,787 53
254,770 45
167,551 00
479,816 02
434,112 37
269,742 46
130,900 63
135,937 52
108,041 29
176,831 95

1812.
1813.
1814.
1815.
1816.
1817.
1818.
1819.
1820.
1821.
1822.
1823.
1824.
1826.

232,715
401,196
794,821
691,680
548,952
440,600
233,714
97,374
67,404
128,163
188,959
125,573
165,760
138,376




29
06
71
66
67
92
98
23
07
65
43
17
81
55

391

Ohio.
ANNUAL SALES OF PUBLIC LAND IN OHIO-----CONTINUED.

Years,
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837

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

Years.
Acres.
147,417 46 1838
165,110 45 1839
174,504 82 1840
154,287 92 1841
338,813 72 1842
417,006 63 1843
568,329 45 1844
520,763 86 1845
741,642 21 1846
1,365,282 83 1847
483,851 09

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

Acres.
253,190 39
234,411 19
32,790 17
42,300 26
37,498 83
13,357 23
34,048 67
111,032 13
75,653 47
105,234 88

The total sales reach 13,599,602 07 acres, o f which 1,179,259 50 acres
belong to the State o f Indiana.
The first sales made by the Federal Government o f its lands were in Ohio,
and that State suffered severely from the erroneous principles adopted in
their disposition. The first ordinance proposed to sell in tracts o f 2,000,000
acres. Under that ordinance the sales to the Ohio Company o f 2,000,000,
and to Judge Symmes of 1,000,000, were made. Subsequently, an act of
1785 permitted sales o f quarter townships. In 1796, the law authorized
the division into townships o f six miles square; one-half o f the whole taken
alternately to be subdivided into sections o f one mile square, and the residue
in quarter townships o f three miles square. In 1800, a lawr was passed, per­
mitting the sale o f lands in half sections o f 320 acres. This law fixed the
minimum price at $2 per acre, payment to be made in specie, or evidences
o f public debt. On entering the land, the purchaser was to pay $6 for every
section, and 'S3 for every half section, and to deposite one-twentietli of the
purchase money. These payments were to be forfeited unless one-fourth of
the whole amount should be paid in forty days, another fourth within two
years, another within three years, and the remainder within four years from
the day o f sale. The last three instalments baring interest. The liberality
o f this law, which reduced the quantity that might be purchased from 640
to 320 acres, and gave credit, operated mainly in favor o f speculators, who
selected out the choice lots, making small payments, and hoping, by the in­
crease of settlement, to sell the lands at a high value, to be created by the
labors o f others. There were also actual settlers who likewise took advantage
o f the law to obtain farms. The individuals who were cognizant o f the
parturition o f the law, were found, on its operation, in possession o f the
choice lots. The character and high value o f the lands, as well as the salu­
brity of the climate, were then known, and a great emigration set into the
west. It is obvious that, had these immigrants been at liberty to select and
hold the lands each for his own actual settlement, there would have been no
slimit to the prosperity o f the State. But they found everywhere lawyers
and territorial officers in possession o f vast tracts at the most favorable points,
waiting for the coming tide of immigrants, to float them into immense
wealth. This state o f affairs strangled the prosperity o f the new Territory,
and disappointed the hopes o f the speculators. The workers being kept out
o f the best tracts, labored at a disadvantage, and they were unable to meet
the instalments on their purchases, while the rise in the property o f specu­
lators did not take place. Congress was called upon to relieve these people,
by extending the term o f payment, and gradually the debt owing by them
to the Government, swelled to $22,000,000, in 1820. Congress then passed
a law permitting holders o f land to relinquish part o f their purchases, and




392

D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

to credit them with all the money they had paid upon the part retained, and
to relinquish arrearage interest. Although this conferred very little benefit
upon those poor farmers who had only one farm, and therefore could relin­
quish no part o f it, it was an immense boon to the great speculators, as it
enabled them to hold on to the most valuable tracts. Cities like Cincinnati
have been held in this way by persons who have sold slip by slip, as the
value enhanced, through the enterprise and activity o f workers, to meet
taxes and personal expenses, and in some cases put the land out o f their
hands, until its value, improved through the labor o f those who were charged
high rents, enabled them to sell a portion sufficient to pay off debts, and al­
low them to resume vast domains, which, in some cases, are valued at mil­
lions o f dollars. These circumstances have caused western cities to be ill
built, without yards to houses, or public squares, or any o f those openings
necessary to health as well as to beauty.
In 1820, the minimum price o f land was reduced to $1 25 per acre, cash,
credit being prohibited. The effect o f this law, and the prevailing distress
through the workings o f paper credits, are manifest in the small sales sub­
sequent to the year 1818. A t that time the currency consisted o f depreci­
ated paper, another means adopted by the great landholders to fleece the ac­
tual settlers ; and the fact that the people had been swindled by local paper
was adroitly used as an argument in favor o f the necessity o f the location
at Cincinnati o f a branch of the new National Bank, chartered by Congress
in 1817, to “ regulate the currency.” The large landholders, therefore, sent
a committee to solicit at the parent board, and they obtained two branches,
one at Chilicothe, and one at Cincinnati. G. A . W orth, o f New York, was
appointed cashier at the latter place. The United States Bank being created
at the bidding o f speculators, was compelled to lend freely on its first opera­
tion. It was chartered in 1817, and in 1818 it had loaned $41,181,000,
nearly all to benefit speculators, and was at the point o f failure, saving itself
only by the most vigorous curtailment, which reduced its discounts to
$28,000,000, in 1822. In Ohio the sales o f lands were mostly for the de­
preciated local currency, and in order to facilitate the transaction, it was
agreed that the bank branches should receive on deposite the government
land office funds from western hanks. These were in paper, depreciated
30 a 40 cents, o f which about $900,000 was turned over to the bank, and this
stuff was loaned out by the bank on lands, as par funds. Thus the large
landholders, being desirous to sell lands that cost them $2, at perhaps $10
an acre, could aid the purchaser in getting a loan from the branch o f this
paper, secured on the land. H e would thus get an enormous price for his
land. As soon as this was completed, an order came from the mother bank
to' close up the office, and put in suit every debt due the institution. The
distress thus created among the poor purchasers o f land in Cincinnati was
unparalleled. It is true that the mother bank was struggling for life, and
was compelled to call in as fast as possible. The large landholders alone es­
caped the storm. The western banks which had been instrumental in pro­
moting the views o f large landholders had failed, and could not pay their
debts. It was not until the rigid system o f curtailment, continued by the
United States Bank until 1823, had forced all local banks into liquidation or
resumption, that business resumed its course, and sales o f land in Ohio
again continued to increase until the renewed speculations o f 18 3 5 -6 , re­
sulted in renewed distress, and the diminished sales o f 1840 were lower
than they had been since the revulsion o f 1820, just twenty years previous.




Ohio.

393

The construction o f public works in Ohio commenced in 1825, in which
year, on the 4th o f July, the ceremony o f breaking ground for the Na­
tional Road west o f the Ohio, took place at St. Clairsville.
On the
same day ground was broken at Licking Summit, for the Ohio Canal, by
Governor Clinton, o f New York, and Governor Morrow, o f Ohio, attended
by Messrs. Lord and Rathbone, who had taken the first loan o f $400,000
Ohio 5 per cent stock, at 974 per cent, for the construction o f the work.
Since that day the expenditure by the Federal Government on the National
Road in Ohio has amounted to $2,081,008 36, of which the 2 per cent of
land sales to be expended in the State by Congress amounted to $386,757 16.
The remaining 3 per cent actually paid to the State amounts to $580,125. The
expenditure upon the National Road ceased in 1838. The tolls charged upon
the National Road since it was made over to the State, although high, have not
sufficed to keep it in a reasonable state o f repair. This road was of vast advan­
tage to the early settlers o f the State, but the great want of inland communica­
tion still prompted exertion. The face of the country, such as we have described,
abounding in lakes and extensive marshes, well calculated to afford an am­
ple supply of water, was highly favorable to the construction of canals ; and
the Ohio Canal was projected to connect the Ohio River, at Portsmouth,
with Lake Erie, at a spot on which the city o f Cleaveland has grown up,
through the influence o f the work. The canal deviates from a straight line,
to take advantage o f the valleys o f various rivers in its course. Its length
is 309 miles, with several branches. Its highest point above Lake Erie, is
305 feet, and 499 feet above the Ohio. The ascent and descent are effected
by 152 locks. It was finished in 1832, at an expense o f $4,244,539. The
first loan for its construction was made April 5, 1825, at 97-^ per cent, and
issued $201,000 to Eleazer Lord, and $199,000 to John Rathbone, Jr. In
the following year a 6 per cent stock was issued to J. J. Astor and Lewis
Cass. The Miami Canal commences on Main street, Cincinnati, and runs
65 miles to Dayton, on Mad River. This canal was commenced in 1820,
and opened 44 miles to the Miami River, in 1827, at a cost o f $457,669 68.
The remaining portion to Dayton was then put under contract, and finished
to Dayton in 1829. A t the session o f 1828, Congress granted 500,000
acres o f land in aid o f the Ohio canals, on condition that they should be
completed in seven years, and in addition equal to one-half o f five sections in
width, on each side o f the Miami Canal, for the benefit o f the Miami Exten­
sion to Lake Erie. These two grants were equal to nearly 800,000 acres.
This was on condition that the canal should be begun in five years, and
completed in twenty years. Otherwise the State should be bound to pay
the United States the price o f the land. This condition was subsequently
removed, and the State sold the lands. The lands granted to the State by
Congress, to aid her in the construction o f her public works, are o f four class­
es, or rather were granted by four distinct acts o f Congress, for as many dis­
tinct branches o f the general object. The first was a grant to aid in the con­
struction of the Western Reserve and Maumee Road.
The second was a grant o f 500,000 acres in 1828, to aid the State in the
construction o f her canals generally. O f this quantity there has been sold
495,982 84 acres, leaving 4,107 16 acres unsold. N o sales appear to have
been made since 1842. The proceeds have been $620,532 30, o f which
$618,244 78 have been paid into the State Treasury.
The third was a grant, also, in 1828, o f the alternate sections for five miles
in width, on both sides o f the Miami Canal Extension, from Dayton to its
junction with the Wabash and Erie Canal.
Under this grant 464,106 63




394

D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

acres have been selected, a part on the line o f the canal, and a part else­
where, in lieu o f the alternate sections which had been sold by the United
States. O f this quantity there has been sold, as appears, 299,982 91 acres,
leaving unsold 164,123 62 acres. The proceeds have been $395,506 81,
o f which $387,580 63 have been paid into the State Treasury. The State
claims that there are 20,000 acres still due it under this grant.
The fourth, a grant was made in 1827, to the State o f Indiana, o f the al­
ternate sections for five miles in width on both sides o f the W abash and
Erie Canal, and which, so far as the canal was in Ohio, was transferred by
Indiana, on condition that Ohio would construct the canal. Ohio accepted
the lands on the terms, and has constructed the canal. Under this grant,
there has been selected 282,778 60 acres, a part on the line o f the canal,
and a part elsewhere, in lieu o f the alternate sections which had been sold
by the United States, and o f small angles o f sections falling within the limit
o f five miles from the canal. O f this quantity there has been sold, as ap­
pears, 112,037 25 acres, leaving unsold 170,741 35 acres. The proceeds
have been $415,531 54, o f which $402,987 32 have been paid into the
State Treasury.
It will thus be seen that, exclusive o f the Western Reserve and Maumee
Road lands, the State has received from the United States 1,246,885 13
acres o f land, o f which there has been sold 908,003 acres, producing
$1,431,570 65, of which the State has received $1,409,102, and leaving
338,882 13 acres unsold.
From the vague and confused manner in which the revenues arising from
different sources are blended together, it is not easy, nor at all times practi­
cable, to trace the application o f specific funds.
It appears, however, that
the whole o f the $618,244 78 paid into the Treasury from the sales o f the
500,000 acres, has been applied to the payment o f interest on the State
debt.
O f the proceeds o f the sales o f W abash and Erie Canal lands, $22,548 70
was absorbed in the payment o f interest in 1838. Thus, $640,792 85 o f
principal has been consumed in the payment o f interest, which sound policy
required should be wholly sustained by the annual accruing revenues, leav­
ing only $790,777 80 which has been employed in the construction o f the
canals.
This sum has been in the course o f receipt and expenditure since 1832,
and 480,599 06 o f it since 1836, inclusive.
The quantity of land remaining, we have seen, is 338,882 13 acres, or if
the quantity yet claimed can be obtained, it will be about 358,000 acres.
A ll these lands have been constantly in market since 1842, and only the
best tracts are selling, and those very slowly. The lands are all within the
State. Those which remained unsold, are, it is believed, situated mostly
within five miles on each side o f the canals. The Wabash and Erie and the
Miami Extension Canals together pass, for a distance o f seventy miles, through
an almost unbroken forest. From this state o f things, loss accrues to the
State, and to every tax-payer in it, in three ways directly :—
1st. The value o f the land is dead capital, producing nothing; whereas,
if the lands were sold, the purchase money would realize 6 per cent per an­
num interest.
2d. The lands pay no tax whilst they remain unsold.
3d. Their produce, whether from the forest or the field, unless when taken
by trespass, is lost to the canals, on which it should launch many tons of
freight, paying a large amount of tolls into the State Treasury.




395

Ohio.

The amount derived from lands, it appears, is $1,409,102, and from indi­
vidual donations, $20,720,22.
Making, together, $1,429,822 of money
which was appropriated to the public works, in addition to the proceeds o f a
tax that was levied for the same purpose, and the proceeds o f loans. A t
the close o f 1835, the whole debt o f the State was $4,500,000, and the two
canals were in operation, having cost $5,163,725. Subsequently, by further
expenditure, the cost was raised t o $5,715,203 67. Since that time, the debt
has swollen to $19,000,000, and the State has nothing to show for the money.
The Ohio Canal, main branch, is...................................................
Navigable feeder to Columbus...............
“
“
Granville..........................................................
“
“
Tuscarawas.....................................................
“
“
Walhonding...................................................
Muskingum side cut.........................................................................

310 miles.
11 “
6 “
3 “
1 “
3 “

Total Ohio Canal and branches.............................................
Miami, main branch.........................................................................
Hamilton side cut............................................................................

334
65
1

“
“
“

Total Miami and branch........................................................

66

“

These canals are exceedingly well constructed, and have been o f vast ser­
vice to the State, although they have never yielded a net revenue equal to 6
per cent o f the cost. A t the session o f 1832, thirteen railroads were incor­
porated, o f which the chief was the Mad River Road, to commence at Dayton, and reach Sandusky, on Lake Erie, 175 miles. The connection from
Cincinnati to Sandusky has now been completed, and is in operation. The
others were the Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Milan and Newark, Milan and
Columbus, Chilicothe and Lebanon, Cincinnati and Indianapolis, Indianapolis
and St. Louis, Columbus and Sandusky, Erie and Ohio, Franklin and W il­
mington, Port Clinton and-Lower Sandusky, Richmond and Miami. Few o f
these works were completed in their original shapo. Ohio has, however, now
the following works :—
Miles.

Little Miami...........................
Mad River and Lake Erie . .
Mansfield............................... .
Total...........................

Capital.

84
134

$1,350,000
2,000,000
850,000

274

$4,100,000

IN PROGRESS.

Xenia and Columbus..............
Cleveland and Cincinnati. . . .
Mansfield and Newark..........
Hancock and Findlay............
Iron Railroad........................ .
Dayton and Springfield.........
Greenville ana Dayton.........

55
1344
60
18
26
24
40

$650,000
2,250,000
800,000
206,000
200,000
350.000
600.000

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

3374

$5,050,000

The creation o f these charters in 1832, with many others, stimulated the1
desire for Government aid, and in the year of speculation, 1 8 36 -37, the Leg­
islature passed a law to prosecute other undertakings, also to the eftect that
when one-half the stock o f a turnpike, or two-thirds that o f a canal or rail­
road, should be taken by individuals, and the object o f the work should be
approved o f by the Board o f Public W orks, the Government should be au­
thorized, in the name o f the State, to subscribe for the remainder. Under
this law the State subscribed for the following works :—




I

PANIES ; AND THE DIVIDENDS PAID TO THE STATE DURING THE YEAR ENDING ON THE

396

STATEMENT OF STOCKS HELD BY THE STATE, AND BY INDIVIDUALS, IN TURNPIKE COMPANIES ; AND THE STOCKS HELD BY THE STATE IN RAILROAD AND CANAL COM­

15 t H NOVEMBER, 1848.

TURNPIKE STOCKS AND DIVIDENDS.




Stock held by the
State.
$30,250 00

Stock held by individuals.
$30,750 00

Total amount of Dividends paid
stock.
to the State.
$61,000 00
$1,243 20
172,100 00
2,581 50

86,050 00

86,050 00

44,850 00
75,800 00

49,502 91

94,352 91

75,800 00

178,650 00

195,042 26

151,400 00
375,692 26

3,573 00

52,400 00

66,429 23

118,829 23

631 39

71,905 00

85,385 00

157,290 00

85,775 47

85,464 45

55,450 00

55,450 00

171,239 92
110,900 00

31,480 09

39,137 94

49,557 37

49,557 37
58,176 04

66,900 00
82,835 24

70,618 03
99,114 74

57,199 89

140,035 13

119,050 00

221,775 00

39,350 00

72,800 00

49,742 20

59,944 22

109,686 42

49,925 00
14,724 97

50,100 00

100,025 00
29,582 02

55,000 00
78,369 87
50,575 00

7,719 79
831 75
989 00

125,076 04

102,725 00
33,450 00

172,000 00

3,790 00

14,857 05
163,000 00

335,000 00

50,260 04

105,260 04

85,192 03
50,575 00

101,150 00

163,561 90

1,602 15

Debts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

Name of company.
Batavia Turnpike and Miami Bridge Company..............................................................
Cincinnati and Harrison Turnpike Company....................................... ...........................
Cincinnati and Hamilton Turnpike Company.................................................... ............
Cincinnati, Columbus, and Wooster Turnpike Company..............................................
Cincinnati, Lebanon, and Springfield Turnpike Company............................................
Cincinnati, Montgomery, Hopkinsville, Rochester, and Clarksville Turnpike Comp.
Circleville and Washington Turnpike Company.............................................................
Colerain, Oxford, and Brookville Turnpike Company....................................................
Dayton and Springfield Turnpike Company.......................................................... .......
Dayton and Covington Turnpike Com pany...................................................................
Dayton, Centerville, and Lebanon Turnpike Company.................................................
Dayton Western Turnpike Company...............................................................................
Great Miami Turnpike Company......................................................................................
Goshen, Wilmington, and Columbus Turnpike Company...................... .......................
Hamilton, Springfield, and Carthage Turnpike Company............................................
Hamilton, Rossville, Darrtown, Oxford, and Fairhaven Turnpike Company.............
Hamilton, Rossville, Summerville, Newcomb, and Eaton Turnpike Company.........
Marietta and Newport Turnpike Company.....................................................................
Milford and Chillicothe Turnpike Company...................................................................
Ohio Turnpike Company.......... ....................................... .................................................
Portsmouth and Columbus Turnpike Company.............................................................
Ripley and Hillsborough Turnpike Company........................... .....................................

39,694
28,416
392,850
42,300

Steubenville, Cadiz, and Cambridge Turnpike Company , .
Urbana, Troy, and Greenville Turnpike Com pany.............
Zanesville and Maysville Turnpike Com pany.......................
Jefferson, South Charleston, and Xenia Turnpike Company,

20
30
00
00

48,896
12,869
303,408
44,382

85
03
95
18

88,590
41,285
596,258
86,682

55
33
95
18

$1,977,829 94

$3,899,505 65

Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad....................................................................................... ........................................... .........
Mansfield and Sandusky City Railroad...................................................... ................................................................................
Little Miami Railroad— Stock originally issued to the State.....................................................................
$121,900 00
Amount of dividends made in stock and scrip, 1844, 1845, 1846, 1847, and 1848 ...............................
33,812 10

$298,050 00
33,333 00

$1,921,675 71

Total

$22,961 78

RAILROAD STOCKS,

Ohio.

155,712 10
Amount of Railroad stocks held by State.

$482,095 10
CANAL STOCKS AND DIVIDENDS.

Cinicnnati and Whitewater Canal................................................................................................
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal................................ ......................................................................
Amount of Canal stocks...................................................................................................
Amount of Turnpike, Railroad, and Canal stocks held by the State, and dividends




$150,000 00
420,000 00
----------------$570,000 00
$2,973,770 81

$8,400 00
------------$31,361 78

05

SO

398

D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

The following roads are chartered, and will probably be completed :—
Hillsborough........................
Cincinnati and Belpre.........
Ohio and Mississippi...........
Scioto and Hocking Valley
Total

Miles.

Capital.

37
180
370
120

$400,000
2,600,000
6,000,000
2,000,000

707

$10,900,000

Under the law the State had loaned $249,000 to the Ohio Railroad Com­
pany. This Company failed in 1842, and the amount loaned by the State
was lost.
The State works projected in this year were the extension o f the Miami
Canal, to its junction with the W abash and Erie at Defiance, the construc­
tion o f the latter from Toledo and Lake Erie to the Indiana line, to connect
with the In liana, Wabash, and Erie Canal, the W alhonding Canal, Vernon
Canal, Mohican Canal, Warren County Canal, Hocking Canal, Muskingum
Improvement, and Maumee Road. These were estimated to cost $8,577,300 64.
The improvement o f the Muskingum River, was put under contract on
the 20th day o f October, 1836, and completed in 1840, at a cost of
$1,628,028. The work, 92 miles in length, originally contemplated 11
dams, 14 locks, and 4 short canals ; but was subsequently altered so as to
embrace 11 dams, 11 locks, aud 5 canals, overcoming 120 feet fall.
The Hocking Valley Canal overcomes a fall o f 203 feet, and extends 47
miles from Athens to Lancaster, whence a canal 8 miles long, built by a pri­
vate company, and purchased by the State, connects it with the main line.
It was finished in 1843, at a cost o f $947,670. The Canal has 26 lift locks,
with an aggregate descent o f 206 feet, 5 guard locks, 34 culverts, 8 feeder
and slack water dams, and an aqueduct with a wooden trunk o f 80 feet
span, crossing Monday Creek,
In September, 1837, the Miami Extension was put under contract, and
was finally completed in 1847, at a cost o f $3,168,965.
The Wabash and Erie Canal, 91 miles in length, was put under contract
in 1837, to be completed October, 1840, but was first put in operation in
1843, at a cost o f $2,955,269.
The W alhonding Canal, 25 miles, was put under contract, in 1837, and
was completed at a cost o f $607,369, but it has failed to pay its expenses
for the last five years, by the sum o f $6,225.
W hen Ohio, in the year 1825, commenced her system improvements, she
established a co-ordinate and co-extensive system of taxation. The 5th sec­
tion o f the act o f 1825, pledged, for the payment o f the interest and final
redemption o f the sums of money authorized to be borrowed by the act, the
net proceeds o f tolls collected on all the canals ; 2d, the rents and profits of
all works and privileges connected with, or appertaining to, the canals ; also,
$40,000 out o f money then in the Treasury, and $30,000 out of the revenue
to be raised for 1825, and also the proceeds of a tax to be levied upon the
assessed property o f the State, sufficient to meet the deficit, if any, between
the amount of the funds mentioned, and the aggregate o f the interest for the
years 1826-7, and that for the year 1828, the tax should be sufficient to
meet the interest and $10,000 in addition ; for 1829, $20,000 in addition;
for 1830, $30,000 in addition ; for 1831, $40,000 in addition ; for the year
1832, and each succeeding year, uutil three years after the completion o f the
canals, the tax should yield $40,000 annually, above the sum o f the interest,




Ohio.

399

and for each thereafter, §25,000 per annum, excess over the interest, until
the fund formed by these additional sums should be sufficient to redeem the
principle of the loans created as they matured. It was made the duty of
the State Auditor to ascertain and levy each year the amount o f tax necessa­
ry to produce the required sums. These provisions were extended to all
subsequent loans, and the taxing power o f the Auditor repeatedly confirmed
and prolonged. Under this law, Ohio went on in high credit, constructing
her canals, and obtaining premiums for her stocks, until the completion o f
the Ohio and Miami Canals, in 1836. The extended system o f improve­
ment then undertaken, involved large expenditures, with very little prospect
o f immediate returns. W hen, in the years 1839 -40, the suspension o f the
banks, and difficulties in the general money market manifested themselves,
Ohio, as well as many other States, including New York, were in the prose­
cution o f extravagant systems o f expenditure, and their stocks were sinking
in credit, under the increasing urgency for money. Ohio had expended
large sums on her new canals, loaned her credit to turnpike and other com­
panies, as well as subscribed for stocks in them, under the law o f 1836—7,
and she owed large sums to contractors, while her ability to borrow was
daily lessening. To abandon the works would involve great loss, and to disre­
gard the claims o f companies, and the just demands o f contractors, was
seemingly impossible. B y an act o f March, 1841, the Legislature appropri­
ated §2,301,625, to meet which the Commissioners o f the Canal Fund were
to borrow the money. O f this, §981,000 to pay contractors, and for the
prosecution o f the Wabash Canal,'was to be borrowed at any rate o f interest.
The remainder for canals and subscriptions to stocks, in a 6 per cent stock,
redeemable after 1860. The Commissioners found it impossible to borrow
in New York, and equally so in London. In Ohio, however, were two banks,
the Chillicothe Bank, and the Franklin Bank, o f Columbus, whose charters
were to expire January, 1843. These institutions naturally wished to avail
themselves o f the exigencies o f the State, to procure a renewal or extension
o f their charters, and they agreed to lend the State the first $581,000, the
sum due the contractors, and the §500,000 wanted for the Wabash Canal.
The banks were to pay these loans in their own paper, and to receive pay­
ment back in cash, in New York, in instalments secured by Ohio 6 per cent
stock, at a margin o f 20 per cent, with power to sell it on the best terms, at
the risk of the State, to reimburse themselves. I n case, however, the char­
ters o f the hanks should not be renewed, or extended, all the installments then
unpaid were to be discharged December, 1842. This mode o f inducing the
State to sell charters to corporations, has, in many cases, been practised with
success. There was also borrowed o f the Bank o f W ooster, §129,355 70,
on pledge o f stock, and farther temporary loans in New York were made, to
the extent o f §275,000, and o f Baring Brothers, §133,200, making
$1,170,654. In March, 1842, a law was passed, with the view to meet these
difficulties. The first section authorized the Commissioners to sell in New
York as much 6 per cent foreign stock as would realize §500,000, to meet
temporary loans, and pledged the faith o f the State that no more foreign
stock should be sold. The second section authorized the issue o f $1,300,000
6 per cent domestic stock, at not less than par, but that o f this §300,000
should be receivable for Wabash and Erie Canal lands, and §200,000 for
Miami Extension lands, and these bonds to be issued in payment to con­
tractors, at their option. O f the Miami land bonds, §122,857 was issued,
and o f the Wabash land bonds §83,026, and of the “ faith” bonds so-




D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

400

called, created by the same law, $145,188, were issued to contractors, ma­
king $350,081. None of the six per cent domestic stock was, however, sold,
and at an extra session of tire Legislature, it was proposed to raise the in­
terest to 10 per cent, and also to go again into the foreign market, on the
best practicable terms. This provision lost votes in the Senate, as it was con­
sidered by many a violation o f the State’s faith pledged in the first section
o f the law o f March, 1842. Under this provision, the State sustained a
great sacrifice ; the sales in New York being nearly as follows :—
OPERATIONS OF OHIO CANAL FUND COMMISSIONERS FOR

When issued.

April
May
.June
June
August
September
November
January
May
May
December
December
January
February
February
March
March
March
March
April
April
April
May
May
May
May
May ■
June
June
June
June
June
May
July

30,
2,
24,
24,
26,
4,
15,
18,
25,
25,

1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..

15,
25,
25,
4,
5,
6,
10,
31,
1,
9,
14,
18,
30,

1841..
1841..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842. .
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842..
1842. .
1842..

To whom issued.

Interest fund..............
Ohio Life & Trust, 6 per cent.
“
Franklin Bank, Cin.
it

il

T. S. Goodman,
G. A. Hall,
Loan & credit to railr’d
Baring Brothers
^
u

li
il
li
it
U

Bank of Wooster, sold in New
York____ _____ 6 per cent.
U
State agency
U

il

u

“

il
li

It

A t auction, N. York,
Sold, New York,

“
it
u

it

it

u

u

it

u

li

it

u

u

it

il

it

it

it

“
<(

il

a

it

it

((

it

u

«

it

it

((

it

il

it

a

a

tt

it

It

a

u

it

“

$34,400
45,000
8,000
3,000
3,000
70,000
36,000
100,000
200,000
10,000
25,000
75,000
20,000
5,800
100,000
60,000
10,000
24,000
10,000
30,000
12,000
11,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
30,000
15,000
67,000
10,000
23,000
100,000

$1,186,800
Total 6 per cents of 1860.........................
300,000
25, 1842.. Baring Brothers, 6’s, 18 7 0...
60,000
5, 1842.. S. Parsons, 6’s, 1870..

Total

1842.

Amount of
stock
issued.

$1,546,800

Rate of
Net
issues. products.
$5,000
7 5 cts.
25,800
77
34,650
78
6,240
2,497
2,250
80
60

28,800
60,000

58J
70
70
70
70
68
51
50
60J
55
62i

116,851
7,000
17,500
52,500
14,000
3,944
50,992
30,000
5,012
13,200
6,225
20,163
8,040
7,370
14,200
13,700
7,000
22,200
11,700
50,250
7,500
17,250
70,000

eii

67
67
71
6S£
70
74
78
75
75
75
70

60
75

$801,735
180,000
45,000
$1,026,735

Here was a creation o f $520,000 more 6 per cent stock than the sum o f
the proceeds, equal to borrowing at 9 per cent. It, however, cleared the
State o f its most pressing difficulties. It was ascertained, at the session of
1843, that, to complete the public works, and discharge the claims o f con­
tractors, as well as those of the turnpike and other companies, would require
still $1,500,000. A law was therefore passed, March, 1843, authorizing
the issue o f a I per cent stock, for $ l f500,000, redeemable in 1851, not to




Ohio.

401

De issued under par. For the redemption o f this stock was pledged the sur­
plus revenue received from the United States, under the act o f 1836, and
also all canal lands not otherwise provided. The same law closed up all :
means o f increasing the State debt. The liability o f the State to make in­
definite loans o f credit to railroads in 6 per cent stock, was compromised by
releasing the State liens upon the roads, and converting the sums already
loaned into stock. The subscription to turnpike companies were closed by
a payment in domestic bonds o f an amount equal to individual subscriptions
actually made, and the actual expenditures upon the works. A ll these pay­
ments were comprehended in the amount for which the new 7 per cent
stock was offered. That stock was taken in W a ll street, as specified in the
table of issues, by parties largely interested in the Ohio stocks, all o f them
bankers and brokers. That is to say, $600,000 in*May, at par, payable in
Ohio funds, with the privilege of the balance at the same rate, in September.
This was actually a discount of 2 i per cent, inasmuch as that was the de­
preciation o f Ohio funds in New York, and it will have to be paid by the
State, to replace the funds here in 1850, when the stock matures.
The proceeds o f the loan were disbursed in payment o f domestic creditors,
and the final instalments due the Franklin Bank, Chillicothe and W ooster
Banks were settled, by giving them 6 per cent stock, at the market price in
New York.
It is to be observed that the 6 per cent stocks are issued mostly redeem­
able at the pleasure o f the State, after a certain time. In 1850, there ma­
ture $400,000 of 5 per cent stock, and $4,018,658 o f 6 per cent stock, with
$1,500,000 of 7 per cent stock. To meet the two former, the following law
was passed, March 21, 1849 :—
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CANAL FUND COMMISSIONERS TO EXCHANGE CERTAIN CERTIF­
ICATES OF THE FUNDED DEBT OF THIS STATE,
b y th e G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y o f th e
S t a t e o f O h i o , That the
Canal Fund Commissioners be, and the same are hereby authorized to redeem the
5 and 6 per cent certificates o f the funded debt o f this State, payable after 1850,
with the consent o f the holders o f said certificates, by issuing and giving in ex­
change therefor, certificates payable after 1860; Provided, that neither class o f
certificates shall be paid out for less than their par value, and that said Commis­
sioners, for the 5 per cent certificates, shall not issue new certificates, bearing a
higher rate o f interest than 5 per centum per annum, and for the six per cent cer­
tificates, they shall not issue certificates bearing a higher rate o f interest than 6
per centum per annum.
S e c . 2. That the act passed February 24th, 1848, entitled, An act to authorize
the Canal Fund Commissioners to exchange certain certificates o f the funded debt
o f the State be, and the same is hereby repealed.

S e c . 1.

B e

it e n a c te d

JOHN G. B R ESLIN , Speaker o f the H ouse o f Representatives.
B R EW STER R A N D A L L , Speaker o f the Senate.

March 21, 1849.

To meet the 7 per cent stock, there is $1,653,084 o f surplus revenue, part­
ly paid over by the counties, and which, with other funds appropriated, will
be amply sufficient to meet the stock at maturity.
The whole o f the foreign stocks issued by the State o f Ohio, the date o f
issue, and persons to whom owned, are seen in the following table, showing
the present aggregate amount o f the debt. The difference between foreign
debt and domestic debt exists in the fact that the stock created for the con­
struction of public works in Ohio, is subscribed in the name of the holder,
and is transferable in person or by attorney, on the transfer books, which were
V O L . xxi.— no . iv.
26




D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

402

formerly kept at the office of the Manhattan Bank, in New York city. But
in 1840, Mr. Perkins, of the Ohio Life and Trust Company, opened an office
for that institution in New York city, and the concern offering to take charge
o f the transfer books o f the State for $1,500 per annum, instead of $2,000
formerly paid the bank, the transfer has since been made there, where the
loans are redeemable, and the interest payable half yearly, January 1st, and
July 1st, with the exception o f the 7 per cent, which is payable May 1st, and
November 1st. The domestic debt is payable, principal and interest, at the
State Treasury. The issues o f foreign stocks were as follows :—
OHIO S T A TE STOCK, D ATE S A N D AM OUNTS OF ISSUE.
FIVE PEE CENT STOCK OF

*
Dates o f issues.

1825— April
April

1850.

T o w hom issued.

5
5

Am ount.

John Rathbone, Jr...........................................
Eleazer L ord ...................................................

$199,000 00
201,000 00

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

$400,000 00

FIVE PEE CENT STOCK OF

1837— August
11
September 20
December 31

1856.

Bank of Muskingum.......................................
Bank of Marietta............................................
Bank of Marietta............................................

$25,000 00
100,000 00
25,000 00

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

$150,000 00

SIX PEE CENT STOCK OF 1850.
1826—

July
20
July
20
July
20
July
20
1827—
May
24
July
5
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
October
23
1828—
October 8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
October
8
1830— October
16
October
16
1832— November 10
Deduct

John Jacob Astor............................................
Lewis Cass.......................................................
John Rathbone, J r ...........................................
Rufus L. Lord...................................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g .................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g .................................
Mathew Lawler...............................................
Hale and Davidson.........................................
Benjamin Tevis.................................................
Thomas Biddle.................................................
Guy Bryan.......................................................
B. and J. Bowlin.............. ..............
John R. Baker and Son..................................
Charles H. Baker and Company............ ..
William W. W oolsey.....................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g .................................
Lewis Curtis....................................................
George Newbold.............................................
Frederick Perkins...........................................
James Lloyd....................................................
Farmers’ Fire Insurance & Loan Company.
Frederick A. Tracy ......................................
William G. Bucknor........................................
Thomas Biddle.................................................
William W. W oolsey.....................................
John Jacob Astor............................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g ................................
William G. Bucknor........................................
Robert White, cashier.. ..............................

Total.......................................................................................
cancelled in 1844 and 1845...............................................

B tock

Balance outstanding, February 15, 1845.




$800,000 00
20,000 00
105,000 00
75,000 00
100,000 00
200,000 00
30,000 00
100,000 00
50,000 00
310,000 00
100,000 00
110,000 00
105,000 00
25,000 00
70,000 00
170,000 00
5,000 00
5,000 00
5,000 00
30,000 00
55,000 00
30,000 00
225,000 00
308,300 00
66,700 00
300,000 00
400,000 00
200,000 00
100,000 00
$4,100,000 00
81,341 24
$4,018,658 76

Ohio.

403

SIX PER CENT STOCK OF 1856.
Dates o f issue.

-August
25
-January
1
July
7
July
7
July
7
July
7
July
7
July
7
July
7
September 18
September 21
-March
1
April
1
April
20
April
21
July
9
August
11
August
11
August
11
December 11
1839— January
1
January
28
February 14
February 20
April
23
April
23
May
22
May
22
July
1
July
1
July
1
July
1
July
1
July
1
July
15
July
29
July
30
November 22
1840— April
17
October
26
November 1
Date unknown..........

To whom issued.
David Crouse..................................................
Bank of Muskingum......................................
Charles H. Russell and Company...............
Thomas W. W ard.........................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g ...............................
Christmas, Livingston, Prime <fc Company.
John Robbins..................................................
Isaac Carrow..................................................
John Ward and Company............................
Painesville and Fairport Railroad Company.
Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad..
Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad ...........
Urbana Banking Company...........................
Prime, Ward, and K in g ...............................
Urbana Banking Company...........................
Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad..
T. P. Handy, cashier......................................
J. N. Perkins..................................................
Gustavus Sw an..............................................
Monroeville and Sandusky City Railroad..
Lancaster, Ohio, Bank....................................
Urbana Banking Company...........................
Ohio Railroad Company...............................
Lancaster, Ohio, Bank....................................
Lancaster, Ohio, Bank...................................
J. N. Perkins, cashier......................................
Bank of Wooster...........................................
Lancaster, Ohio, Bank...................................
Cammann and Whitehouse...........................
Rosewell C. Peck...........................................
Simon Perkins................................................
Chelsea Bank..................................................
Gustav uu Swan...............................................
Columbus Insurance Company....................
Joel Buttles....................................................
J. D. Beers, president....................................
Robert White, cashier....................................
J. N. Perkins, cashier.....................................
Urbana Banking Company...........................
Bank of Wooster............................................
R. H. Winslow................................................
Secretary of the Treasury of U. States.. .

Balance outstanding, February 15. 1845..............................
-April
August
August
-March
April
April
April
April
April
November
November
November




20
11
11
25
7
19
20
23
28
22
27
30

20,000 00

50.000
85.000
135.000
140.000
25.000
44.000
26.000
45.000
6,182
14,667
34.000
50.000
400.000
50.000
7,333
100.000
700.000

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

10.000 00
11,333
75.000
100.000
50.000
50.000
50.000
150.000
30.000
3 5,000
5,000
10.000
10,000

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

10,000 00

50.000 00

200.000 00
10.000
300.000
26,123
100.000
100.000
50.000
50.000
100,000

00
00
00
OO
00
00
00
00

$3,514,638 00
148,858 76

Total.......................................
Deduct stock cancelled in 1844 and 1845

SIX PER CENT STOCK OF

Am ount.
$

$3,365,779 24

1860.

Prime, Ward, and K in g...................
Lancaster, Ohio, Bank.......................
J. N. Perkins, cashier.......................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...................
T. P. Handy, cashier.........................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............
J. D. Beers, president........................
J. N. Perkins, cashier.......................
Mad River and Lake Eric Railroad
J. N. Perkins, cashier.......................
Baring Brothers and Company.......
Baring Brothers and Company.......

$300,000
100,000
300 000
50.000
25.000
50.000
500.000
350.000
86.000
65,000
500.000
425.000

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

404

D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union,

Dates of issue.
1840—March
19
1
April
1
April
2
April
April
11
23
May
June
23
July
23
August
18
20
August
August
21
August
22
August
25
October
1
October
1
26
October
November 13
December 7
December 11
December 11
15
1841— January
January
21
January
21
2
February
February
5
February 11
April
18
April
20
April
26
May
1
June
4
4
June
June
22
July
8
September 17
December 2
December 2
December 31
1842— January
3
January
5
January
14
January
14
January
15
January
15
January
18
January
27
January
27
August
3
1848— June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30
June
30




To whom issued.
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal Company. . .
Ohio Railroad Company...............................
Baring Brothers and Company....................
Same, for Little Miami Railroad Company.
Joseph S. Lake, cashier................................
Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal.....................
Vermillion and Ashland Railroad Company.
Baring Brothers and Company....................
James Hall, cashier........................................
Alexander Grimes, cashier...........................
E. F. Drake, cashier.....................................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
J. Woodbridge, cashier.................................
John H. James, president............................
Kilgore, Taylor, and Company.....................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
W. G. W. Gano, cashier...............................
R. H. Winslow................................................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
A. J. Smith, cashier.......................................
J.
Perkins, cashier.................... .............
John H. Jam es..............................................
S. F. Maccracken............................................
J. N. Perkins, cashier...................................
Little Miami Railroad Company.................
R. H. Winslow................................................
John Woodbridge, cashier...........................
John Woodbridge, cashier...........................
Gustavus Swan..............................................
Franklin Bank of Columbus........................
Vermillion and Ashland Railroad Company.
Bank of Wooster, for Ohio Railroad...........
Bank of Commerce, New Y ork...................
Bank of Commerce, New Y ork...................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
Baring Brot. & Co., for Little Miami Railr’d.
A. H. Ewing, Jr., for same...........................
Jonathan Thompson, president....................
Cammann, Whitehouse, and Company. . . .
J. N. Perkins, cashier....................................
J. N. Perkins, cashier....................................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
Joseph S. Lake, cashier...............................
Same, for Ohio Sinking Fund.......................
Same, for Ohio Sinking Fund.......................
R. H. Winslow................................................
Prime, Ward, and K in g ...............................
E. Stevens and Sons.....................................
Celina Andrew s............................................
Joel Buttles....................................................
John Barr........................................................
Amanda S. Benfield.......................................
Temperance Backus.......................................
Lucy T. Bell....................................................
Charles H. Baker...........................................
Susan B. Brown..............................................
Joshua Baldwin.............................................
Alexander Bourne.........................................
William Creighton.........................................
Samuel McMasfers.......................................
Thomas Moodie..............................................
Milton, Harvey, and George Brayton___
Mary and Louisa Casey................................

Amount.
$50,000 00
69,000 00
150,000 00
340,000 00
50,000 00
30,000 00
19,000 00
400,000 00
100,000 00
25,000 00
25,000 00
50,000 00
50,000 00
100,000 00
20,000 00
10,000 00
50,000 00
50,000 00
25,000 00
50,000 00
50,000 00
50,000 00
108,500 00
41,000 00
25,000 00
59,000 00
44,502 00
230,000 00
10,500 00
98,779 00
25,000 00
30,000 00
120,000 00
90,000 00
50,000 00
40,000 00
10,000 00
90,000 00
25,000 00
200,000 00
15,000 00
15,000 00
50,000 00
50,000 00
70,000 00
20,000 00
75,000 00
10,000 00
1,400 00
7,500 00
600 00
400 00
1,500 00
1,500 00
3,800 00
1,500 00
3,100 00
1,700 00
300 00
1,100 00
7,400 00
4,300 00
1,500 00

V

Ohio.
T o w h om issued.

Dates o f issue.

1843— June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June

30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30

June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June

30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
80
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30
30

June
June

30
30

October
28
November 20
December 11

Nathan Dunn............................... ..................
James Ewing..................................................
Lincoln Goodale.............................................
John Greenwood............................................
Jacob G rubb..................................................
John U. Geisy.................................................
Eli W. Gwinne...............................................
William B. Hubbard.....................................
Jacob Hare......................................................
James H odge...............................................
Heirs of Horton Howard.............................
Orange Johnson..............................................
John Johnson..................................................
Christian Lippincott for A. W. W inslow .. .
John L isle......................................................
Reuben Lamb.................................................
Circleville B ank.............................................
William Little................................................
Hugh McDonald, guardian of heirs of J.
McDonald McArthur.................................
J. R. Swan, in trust for E. S. McDowell. . .
Robert W. McCoy..........................................
C. J. McCauley...............................................
Robert Neil.....................................................
Daniel K. Converse........................................
Legal representatives of Maria M. Preston.
William Patten, Jr.........................................
Samuel Parsons..............................................
Jacob Rice.......................................................
George B. Reece.............................................
T. C. Rockhill.................................................
Recompence Stanberry..................................
John Stanbaugh.............................................
Gustavus Swan..............................................
Jesse Stone....................................................
Hosea Williams..............................................
Samuel F. Smith............................................
Samuel Simpson.............................................
Lyne Starling.................................................
Abiather V. Taylor........................................
James B. Thomas...........................................
George Thomas..............................................
Isaac Taylor....................................................
Thomas W ood................................................
Benjamin Tappan...........................................
Amasa Van Horne.........................................
Samuel F. Vinton..........................................
James W eir....................................................
Wisner and Gale............................................
Potter Wright................................................
Thomas W ood................................................
Robert Neil, in trust for Franklin Bank of
Columbus....................................................
Effie McA. Coons...........................................
Joseph Taggart, (issued 1870 stock, but
changed tol8 6 0 stock onN. York Books).
W. M. Vermilye, cashier..............................
W. M. Vermilye, cashier...............................
Joseph S. Lake and Company.....................

405
Am ount.

$24,000
600
19,000
500
3,000
2,300
1,900
3,800
700
1,500
1,000
1,100
3,800
1,900
3,800
800
800
3,000

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

800
4,100
7,900
4,500
10,500
500
700
7,700
15,000
15,000
3,800
15,000
3,800
1,000
20,200
2,000
200
11,300
3,800
27,400
3,300
400
2,000
2,300
1,500
7,500
2,500
2,300
3,800
2,000
900
1,500

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

2,600 00
2,200 Oo
7,500
323,000
100,000
100,000

00
Off
00
00

. \
Total___
Deduct cancelled stock ............................................................................

$6,901,781 00
39,000 00

Balance outstanding, February 15, 1845.

$6,862,781 0 0




D ebts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

406

SIX PEE CENT STOCK OF

1842— April
April
June
June
July
July
July
July
September
September
1843— January
June
June
August

1810.

T o w hom issued.

Dates o f issue.

2?
30
21
21
4
7
21
25
16
24
29
30
30
15

Am ount.

$34,400
300.000
45,000
8,000
2,000
1,000
100,000
60,000
200,000
3,000
52,000
5,700
2,800
15,163

M. T. Williams, president...........
J. N. Perkins, cashier..................
Franklin Bank, Cincinnati...........
T. S. Goodman A' Co...................
T. S. Goodman & Co...................
P. Outcalt.....................................
J. N. Perkins, cashier.................
R. W. McCoy and L. Goodale...
J. N. Perkins, cashier.................
Gordius A. H all..........................
John Woodbridge and others...
John Wood...................................
j.yne Starling..............................
Bank of Wooster.........................

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

Total.......................
Deduct stock cancelled in 1844

$829,063 50
162,000 00

Balance outstanding, February 15, 1845.

$667,063 50

SEVEN PEE CENT STOCK OF 1850.

1843— May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
May
13
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15
September 15

$100,000
100,000
100,000
30,000
145,000
25,000
20,000
20,000
10,000
50,000
150,000
150,000
150,000
217,500
15,000
37,500
45,000
75,000
80,000
30,000

J. X. Perkins, cashier...................
J. N. Perkins, attorney.................
Jacob Little and Company...........
Ketchum, Rogers, and Bement...
R. H. Winslow...............................
Drew, Robinson, and Company...
Rufus L. Lord.................................
John Rankin..................................
Elisha Riggs...................................
Joseph S. Lake and Company. . .
W. M. Vermilye, cashier..............
J. N. Perkins, attorney................
Jacob Little and Company..........
R. H. Winslow...............................
Elisha Riggs...................................
Drew, Robinson, and Company...
Ketchum, Rogers, and Bement...
Joseph S. Lake and Company...
Rufus L. Lord.............................. .
John Rankin..................................

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

$1,500,000 00

Total

B y recapitulation, the debt stands as follow s:—
OHIO STATE DEBT.

of issue.
1825........................................
1837........................................
1826 to 1832.........................
1836 to 1840.........................
1838 to 1843.........................
1842 to 1843.........................
1843........................................
Date

Interest
per cent.

Total.....................................
Less 6 per cent stock cancelled.
Net amount of d e b t..




5
5
6
6
6
6
7

Redeem able.

after
“
“
“
“
“
in

1850
1856
1850
1856
1860
1870
1850

Am ount.

$400,000
150,000
4,018,657
3,365,779
6,862,781
667,062
1,500,000

00
00
76
24
00
50
00

Annual
interest.

$20,000
7,500
241,119
201,947
411,766
40,023
105,000

00
00
53
75
86
81
00

$16,964,282 50
83,300 00

$1,027,356 95
4,998 00

$16,880,982 60

$1,022,358 95

Ohio.

40V

The fund set apart in Ohio for the payment o f the interest on this debt,
are the net revenues of the canals, the proceeds o f the school lands, the div­
idends on turnpike and other stock held by the State, and the tax on assessed
property o f the State, which the Auditor is by law authorized and required
to levy sufficiently high to meet the deficit between the sum o f the other rev­
enues mentioned, and the amount o f interest payable. The proceeds o f the
canal revenues have not materially increased since the completion o f the Ohio
and Miami Canals, nor have the companies in which the State is concerned
been very productive. The consequence has been a continually increased rate
o f taxation. The sums derived from the sale o f school lands do not form a
legitimate revenue. Those lands were granted for the use o f schools through­
out the State, and w’hen the State sells the lands and appropriates the pro­
ceeds to the building o f canals, it creates a debt due from itself to the coun­
ties, and this is discharged by the annual payment of the interest to the
counties, pro rata, from the Treasury, and this money forms the principal
item in the domestic debt of the State, which is as follows :—
School debt....................
Domestic bonds............
Foreign debt, as above
Total.

Amount.
$1,566,930 8V
725,309 85
16,880,982 50

$94,015 85
43,518 59
1,022,358 95

$19,173,223 22

$1,159,893 89

Interest.

The domestic bonds are those mentioned above as issues in aid o f differ­
ent public works, under the.laws o f 1 8 42 -43, to the amount o f $1,205,018.
O f these $479,708 57 have been redeemed.
In addition to the sums o f money thus borrowed for the construction o f
public works, the sinking fund o f nearly $2,000,000, created by the law o f
1825, appears to have been absorbed, as well as the proceeds o f lands grant­
ed by Congress, sold for cash, and also in redemption o f lands, to the extent
o f $2,000,000, also the school fund, $1,566,930, and a considerable sum re­
alized for premiums on loans. By these means, the investments o f the State
are some two to three millions less than the debts contracted on their ac­
count. The canals, with the exception o f the great Ohio, have continued
to increase in tolls, and the probability is, that under an active foreign mar­
ket for breadstuffs, the carryings o f the canals may, in the aggregate, partic­
ularly after the Indiana Canal shall have been completed, suffice to meet the
interest on the cost o f their construction. This will require a wise and lib ­
eral legislation in regard to tolls. The following is a table o f the tolls on
each canal, since 1833 :—
TOLLS ON EACH OF THE OHIO CANALS.

Miami
W abash &
W alExtension.
Erie.
Miami.
Years. Ohio.
M uskingum. honding. H ocking.
Total.
1833 $136,555 70 $50,471 00
$187,026 00
50,041 00
1834 164,488 98
214,529 98
51,917 00
1835 185,684 48
237,601 48
1836 211,823 32
51,110 00
262,933 32
1837 293,428 79
62,933 00
355,361 79
1838 382,135 96
77,863 00
459,998 SO
1839 423,599 84
78,601 00
2,195 00
504,395 84
1840 452,122 03
4,215 50
72,612 00
3,471 36
1,898 14
534,319 03
1841 416,202 63
7,683 50
70,718 00
4,024 35
637 97
3,593 51
507,173 48
1842 387,442 22
58,460 34
5,866 13
15,355 27
4,043 03
587 55
3,712 27
475,531 53
1843 322,754 82
68,640 09
23,167 01
8,291 42 35,922 36
610 17
4,756 63
464,370 10
1844 343,710 99
77,844 25
29,384 64
12,723 22 48,589 20
1,976 78
5,286 44
519,515 52
1845 260,369 33
77,243 78
32,681 71 76,114 89
30.551 34
1,282 95
5,502 41
483,746 41
1846 336,339 69
93,057 58
35,104 69
20,812 90 113,414 04
1,190 71
5,383 54
612,302 59
1847 452,530 76 114.796 52
50,832 96
2,328 77
67,693 66 109,546 92
7,290 14
805,019 63
1848 418,230 37 130,380 51 120,678 99 140,912 27
29,948 37
1,949 11
8,778 44
785,882 86
Cost 4,695,202 00 1,020,000 00 3,168,965 00 2,955,269 00 1,628,028 00 607,369 00 947,670 00 15,022,503 00
Finished
1835
1835
1847
1843
1840
1843
1843




408

Debts and Finances o f the States o f the Union.

The insufficiency o f the tolls derived from these works for the payment of
interest, has made it annually necessary to aid the interest fund by the canal
tax. This, as levied by the Auditor, was sufficient for the purpose, until, for
the years 1834-5, under some erroneous impression, he omitted to levy any
canal tax, and the consequence was, that the interest fund became indebted
to other State funds, by borrowing from them to make up the interest, which,
from the increasing debt, and non-increase of tolls, continued thenceforth to
exceed the regular means of meeting it. In the six years ending with 1844,
the deficit o f the interest fund reached nearly $ 1,6 0 0 ,0 0 0 . This was partly
supplied by $67,046 33, received from the United States, under the distri­
bution o f the public lands, by transfer o f money from other funds and irre­
gular sources, and by adding nearly $900,000 to the State debt. This was
the case, notwithstanding that the rate o f taxation reached a high figure.
The mode o f taxing property in Ohio was to assess it in a state of nature,
at a fixed minimum value, and not as in New York, at its actual value. A
very considerable portion o f the most profitably employed property escaped,
taxation, while the burden fell upon the producers. Thus domestic animals
were assessed in 1844, at $20,667,271, while merchants’ and manufacturers’
stock, moneys, and credits, at only $7,550,005, or rather less than in 1832,
notwithstanding the prodigious growth o f the State. These circumstances
induced the necessity o f reform ; and the tax law o f 1845 altered the valu­
ation o f land to its real value, and provided for the assessment o f personal
property. Thus the value o f land was raised from $3 71 per acre, to $11,
and merchants’ capital raised to $44,622,168. The progress o f taxation in
the State is seen in the following table:—
TAXABLE ACRES, TOTAL TAXABLE VALUE, STATE TAX, AND OTHER TAXES OF OHIO FOR A
SERIES OF TEARS.

Years.
1826...........
1827...........
1828......... .
1829...........
1 8 8 0 ......... .
1831...........
1882...........
1833...........
1834...........
1835...........
7 8 3 6 ...........
18 37...........
...........
1839...........
1840...........
1841...........
1842...........
1843...........
18 44...........
1845...........
1846...........
1847...........
1848...........

Acres.

Total taxable
value.
$59,527,336

15,733,510
63,519,321

16,613,399
17,819,631

1838
19,004,442
19,693,575
20,260,526
23,061,202
23,216,286
23,262,392
23,465,406
23,667,056

74,243,032
78,019,526
75,593,312
93,743,060
85,812,382
106,953,018
111,224,197
112,037,861
128,353,657
132,343,835
134,130,200
136,142,666
144,160,469
150,909,331
410,763,160
421,067,991

State and canal
tax.
$106,688
188,047
187,906
193,609
224,4S4
237,426
264,954
247,079
159,526
142,854
201,623
432,093
553,474
562,993
642,153
660,759
871,100
948,996
1,006,001
1,208,462
1,131,398
1,265,769

Other tax.
$263,227
282,342
310,575
245,925
353,092
369,458
420,955

Total.
$369,915
470,389
498,481
439,534
677,576
606,884
685,909

482,931
488,089
637,143
763,687
1,066,015
1,226,687
1,186,847
1,248,252
1,366,098
1,490,742
1,391,667
1,403,170
1,371,611
1,716,275
1,976,186

730,010
647,615
779,997
965,310
1,498,108
1,780,161
1,749,840
1,890,405
2,026,857
2,361,842
2,340,663
2,409,171
2,580,073
2,847,673
3,241,955

In 1846, the valuation had not been completed, but in the two subsequent
years it was brought up to the true line, increasing the personal property
$50,000,000. The other taxes are those levied for town and county purpo­
ses, and the aggregate forms no light burden upon an agricultural people.
The aggregate in New York is $5,295,598, for 1848, being $2,000,000 more




Ohio.

409

than in Ohio, for the same year. As the taxable value increased, under the
new valuation, the rate of taxes was diminished, to realize the same sum.
The taxes have been paid with the most extraordinary punctuality, as seen
in the following returns, showing the levy, and the amount realized :—
TAXATION FOR STATE PURPOSES.

Years.

Valuation.

Rate o f tax.
M ills.
1

$136,142,666
1844 ..............................
1845 ..............................
144,160,469
1846 ..............................
150,901,331
184*7.....................................
410,763,160
1848......................................
421,067,991

7
8
2f
3

Am ount levied.

Am ount realized.

$948,996 63
1,006,001 25
1,208,462 22
1,131,398 14
1,265,769 26

$942,608
989,883
1,182,155
1,132,398
1,240,000

39
18
82
30
00

The delinquencies for the last five years appear to be only $73,000, by
which amount the aggregate of taxes levied exceeds the amount collected.
The ability and willingness o f the people o f Ohio to pay taxes, is thus
placed beyond question, and the results o f the past year develope the fact
that the limit o f both debt and taxation has been reached, and that the pres­
ent amounts collected are not only equal to the payment of the interest, but
affords a considerable sum toward the extinguishment o f the debt.
The United States, in its assumed right o f domain, stipulated that lands
sold by it should not be subject to taxation, until a certain time after the
sale. In 1847, Congress passed a law, permitting lands to be taxed from
and after the day o f sale in each State admitted to the Union before 1820.
The law o f Ohio, passed March, 1846, exempts from taxation all lands sold
by the United States, for five years after the sale. It may yet be found that
the assumption o f the United States, that lands sold by it within the bor­
ders o f a sovereign State, are not liable to taxation, is erroneous, and that
the Federal Treasury is rightfully indebted to each new State, for an amount
equal to the taxes that should have been paid on the land since its admission
to the Union. The leading items o f revenue and expenditure in Ohio, for
four years past, have been as follows :—
FINANCES OF OHIO.

Estimate.

REVENUE.

1846 .

1847 .

1848 .

1849 .

Tax.........................................
Canal tolls.............................. .
Dividends on stocks.............. .
Bank and Co. tax...................
Surplus revenue interest. . . . ,
Canal lands............................. .
Other items.............................

$1,009,432
595,479
35,291
28,844
90,668
22,114
299,556

$1,202,528
790,793
36,848
41,748
86,379
53,942
432,545

$1,155,502
765,041
31,361
45,934
79,014
66,462
330,388

$1,256,500
750,000
35,000
50,000
67,500
40,000
313,500

Total.................................
Balance on hand..............

$2,081,384
204,161

$2,644,785
247,518

$2,473,702
494,698

$2,512,500
426,451

Total means.......... .

$2,285,545

$2,892,303

$2,968,400

$2,938,951

$1,027,357
134,054
315,178
305,692
209,813
201,319
204,192

$1,027,357
126,374
389,373
404,754
238,462
200,630
154,999

$1,024,858
141,500
350.000

State expenses.........................
School fu n d.............................
Other item s.............................

$1,106,058
134,238
233,232
108,400
192,702
200,001
63,396

Total.................................
Balance on hand.............

$2,038,027
247,518

$2,397,605
494,698

$2,541,949
426,451

$2,071,358
867,593

EXPENSES.

Interest on foreign d e b t.........
domestic d e b t.. . .
Canal repairs...........................




240,000
200,000
15,OO0

The Finance o f Cheap Postage.

410

The whole o f the temporary State debt incurred for the arrears o f inter­
est, are now discharged, and the means o f the State are rapidly acccumulating, to discharge the funded debt. It has been proposed, from this surplus
revenue, to appropriate $200,000 per annum for a sinking fund, the opera­
tion of which shall extinguish the debt as it accrues. The revenues from
canals will this year considerably exceed the estimates. Up to August 15,
they were $56,057 more than last year.

Art. III.— T H E F I N A N C E OF C II E A P P O S T A G E .
W h i l e the people of this country are beginning to inquire why they can­
not enjoy that blessing o f cheap postage, which, they are told, has now for
ten years produced so many benefits in England, the statesman who is called
to consider the subject in its details, and to be politically responsible for all
its consequences, naturally raises the financial question— H ow will it pay ?
Having at hand a variety of statistical facts, which I have never seen brought
together in one view, the idea occurred to me that a few tables could be pre­
pared, which would be appropriate to th e , pages o f the M erchants' M aga­
zine, if you will give them place.
The British Cheap Postage A ct ivent into operation at the beginning of
the year 1840. Prior to that time, for twenty years, there had been no ad­
vance in the post-office, notwithstanding the great advance in population,
trade, and general intelligence. During twenty years, ending with 1839, the
highest amount o f gross receipts was, in that year, £ 2 ,3 9 0 ,7 6 3 ; and the
lowest was in 1821, £2,038,706 ; a difference o f only £362,057. The ave­
rage o f the whole twenty years was £2,211,918 ; the average o f the first
five years wTas £2,081,036, which was £130,882 less, and o f the last five
years was £2,334,134, which was £132,216 more than the general ave­
rage. This shows that under the old system the average was wholly unaf­
fected by the general progress o f the country. The average receipts had in­
creased but 121 per cent in twenty years.
The expenditures, though somewhat more fluctuating in particular years,
were equally immovable in their general average ; the first five years giving
yearly £640,049, and the last £ 7 09 ,8 98— an increase of only 121 per cent.
The average expense o f the twenty years was £686,616 ; the highest
amount, £756,999, in 1839, and the lowest £615,981, in 1823. O f course
it is to be inferred that the general accommodation of the public, and the
general use of the post-office were little varied. The operation o f cheap
postage will be shown by the following table, giving at one view the gross
receipts, the cost o f management, the net revenue, the number o f letters,
and the average cost per letter, for the year 1839, which was the last year
o f the old postage, and the succeeding nine years, showing the progress of
cheap postage :—
Years.

1839
1840
1841
1842
1843

Gross receipts.

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




£2,390,763
1,359,466
1,499,418
1,578,145
1,620,867

Management.

£756,999
858,677
938,168
977,504
980,650

Net revenue.

No. o f letters.

£1,633,764
500,789
561,249
600,641
640,217

76,000,000
169,000,000
195,500,000
208,500,000
220,500,000

Cost per
letter.
qrs.

d.

2
1
1
1
1

1.562
0.871
0.827
0.479
0.269

The Finance o f Cheap Postage.
Years.
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848

Gross receipts.
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....

£1,705,067
1,901,580
1,978,293
2,201,114
2,192,478

Management.
£985,110
1,125,594
1,138,745
1,196,520
1,386,853

Net revenue.
£719,957
761,982
825,112
984,491
740,429

411

No. of letters.
242,000,000
271,500,000
299,500,000
322,000,000
346,861,268

Cost per
letter.
i.

qrs.

0
0
0
0
0

3.871
3.9 76
3.6 50
3.567
3.8 38

Tlie falling off in the gross receipts, the first year o f cheap postage, was
40 per cen t; by the ninth year the receipts were hut 41 per cent below
those under the old postage. The increase o f receipts in nine years after the
introduction o f cheap postage, was 61 per cent; showing a most vigorous
growth, not yet exhausted.
The increase in the number o f letters the first year o f cheap postage was
122 per cent, and in nine years was 356 per cent above the number under
the old postage. A corresponding increase in this country would give us
the first year over 128,000,000 o f letters, which, at two cents, would yield
$2,560,000.
The increase in the cost o f management in the first year o f cheap postage,
including the extra expense o f introducing the new system, was less than
131 per c e n t; thus reducing the cost per letter 50 per cent. The subse­
quent increase in the expense of management is mostly to be charged to
the cost o f railway carriages, and many other increased accommodations
which have been introduced.
If we average the increase o f cost for the first year upon the increase in
the number o f letters, we shall find that each additional letter added just one
farthing to the expenses o f the department. A striking illustration o f the
accumulative power o f small profits on large business.
The next table will show the amounts paid for government postage, the
cost o f conveyance of the mails by railroad, and the cost o f the mail packet
service. This latter is charged to the admiralty, and not to the. post-office ;
also, the number o f newspaper stamps, and the amount o f duty paid into
the Treasury; but to balance this, the post-office receives nothing for carry­
ing newspapers.
Years.
1839..
1840..
1841..
1842..
1843..
1844..
1845..
1846..
1847..
1848..

Government
postage.
£44,277
90,761
113,255
122,161
116,503
109,232
101,190
100,354
121,290
115,902

Railway
service.
£51,301
94,818
77,570
96,360
89,809
179,257
107,890
119,983
316,941

Packet
service.
£417,744
473,068
560,413
564,577
554,197
655,418
717,860
701,580

Newspaper
stamps.
60,932,151
59,936,000
63,591,146
65,767,035
71,215,498

Duty.
£244,416
252,348
247,663
253,779

The increase o f government postage the first year after the abolition o f the
franking privilege was 105 per cen t; increased the eighth year to 142 per
cent. The government postage increased 33 per cent in seven years after
the first year o f cheap postage.
The cost o f transporting the mails by railroad increased more than 519
per cent in eight years. The increase in one year, from 1847 to 1848, was
164 per cent.
The increase in the cost o f packet service in seven years is 68 per cent,
which is greater than the ratio o f increase of the general cost o f manage­
ment. . This confirms the idea that the increased expense is chiefly charge­




The Finance o f Cheap Postage.

412

able to increased accommodation. W ith cheap postage, the increase o f pub­
lic accommodation naturally becomes the characteristic or predominant poli­
cy o f the department.
In the first introduction o f cheap postage, Mr. Rowland Hill, the projector,
was sanguine in the belief that he had discovered a scheme for recovering
two millions sterling of annual revenue, which, he maintained, had been
sacrificed by the high rates o f postage. But the experienced statesmen who
adopted the system, had no such expectations. Mr. Goulburn estimated the
probable loss o f revenue at £500,000 to £1,000,000. Lord Ashburton be­
lieved it would be equal to the whole net revenue from the post-office. Mr.
Francis Baring, Chancellor o f the Exchequer, in introducing the bill, admit­
ted that the loss would be “ very considerable indeed.” Sir Robert Peel
said they were risking the loss of a million and a half o f revenue, but that
“ it was impossible to exaggerate its benefits
and “ great social and com­
mercial advantages would arise from the change, independent o f financial
considerations.”
The actual loss o f net revenue was 68 per cent the first year. Last year’s
net revenue was £749,429. The great increase in the cost o f management
has kept the net revenue from increasing in proportion to the increase o f
gross receipts. It is now only equal to one-half the amount under the old
system.
STATISTICS OF THE AMERICAN POST-OFFICE FOR TEN TEARS.

Years.

1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848

Post-offices.

.........................
.........................
.........................
............... . .
.........................
........................
.........................
..........\ ___
........................
........................

12,680
13,468
13,682
13,733
13,814
14,103
14,183
14,601
15,146
16,159

Post-roads.
M iles.

Receipts.

133,999
155,639
155,026
149,732
142,295
144,687
143,844
147,679
153,818
163,208

3)4,477,019
4,530,265
4,379,317
4,546,246
4,295,925
4,237,285
4,289,841
3,487,199
3,945,893
4,371,077

Expenses.

$4,634,718
4,759.110
4,567,228
4,627,716
4,374,713
4,320,731
4,320,731
4,084,296
3,971,310
4,326,850

Letters.

.................
27,535,554
.................
.................
24,267,552
.................
.................
.................
52,173,480
58,069,075

In 1790 there were 76 post-offices, and 1,875 miles o f post roads; the
receipts for postage were $37,935, and the expenses only $32,140.
In 1800 the post-offices were 903 ; miles of post roads, 25,315 ; receipts,
$280,804.
In 1808, during the embargo, the receipts fell short o f the expenses by
$2,264.
In 1820 there were 4,500 offices, 67,586 miles o f road; receipts $1,111,927;
and for a second time the expenses were greater than the receipts. There
have been only eight years since in which the receipts have exceeded the ex­
penses.
In twenty years, from 1820 to 1840, the post-offices were increased three­
fold, the miles o f roads more than doubled, and the receipts four-fold.
From 1840 to 1848, the post-offices have increased 20 per cent, and the
miles o f post-roads only 5 per cent— the routes to Oregon and California
not being yet included in the last returns.
During fifty-nine years that the reports have been published, the receipts
have been in excess thirty-eight years, and the expenditures in excess twentyone years. The total excess o f receipts is $3,774,058, and the total excess
o f expenditures, $2,665,165 ; showing that the post-office has netted to the
general treasury a balance o f $1,108,893, besides supporting itself, even
through all the difficulties o f the last ten years.




413

The Finance o f Cheap Postage.

The receipts maintained a general increase, corresponding with the growth
and advancement o f the country, until 1839 ; after this the growth was
small to 1842, when the highest point was reached. The falling off' from
1840 to 1847, the last year under the old postage, was nearly 6 per cent.
The cessation of growth and actual decline was attributed to the increase of
private mails.
The decrease o f receipts the first year of the reduced postage, under the
act o f 1845, was 19 per cent.
The increase of the receipts in the second year o f reduced postage, over
the first, was 13 per cen t; in the third over the first, 25 per cent, showing,
conclusively, that the same law o f the increase o f consumption by the dimi­
nution o f price obtains in regard to postage here, which has been so signal­
ly illustrated in the case o f British postage.
The expenses o f the post-office were reduced 12-’- per cent, or one-eighth,
from 1842 to 1847. This was owing to a more rigid economy, and better
arrangement in the contracts for carrying mails.
The increase o f letters from 1842, the last return made under the old
postage, to 1847, the first return under the reduced postage, is 138 per cent.
How full o f encouragement!
In 1837, the number o f letters paying postage was estimated by the then
Postmaster-General, at 29,360,992. Instead of increasing, as it ought, at
the rate of 4 per cent per annum, it diminished 17 per cent in eight years.
The increase of letters last year, according to the returns, was 11 per
cent. The increase o f expenses, 10 per cent.
According to the estimates of the Department, if the post-office is to sup­
port itself, it is necessary that letters should pay $2,650,000 ; to meet which
sum, at two cents per letter, would require 132,500,000 letters— an amonnt
which could not fail to be reached the third year, if not sooner.
A n appropriation of what the Government has already received from the
post-office— %1,108,893— would meet all the deficiencies in the meantime.
Those who have occasion to study minutely the subject o f post-office ad­
ministration in this country, will find instruction in the following detailed ac­
count of the “ charges of management ” of the English Post-office, for the
year ending 5th January, 1848 :—
Salaries and allowances—

To Postmaster General, officers, and clerics, and wages in the
London, Edinburg, and Dublin offices................................... £204,053
To deputy postmasters and agents............................................
242,394
To officers and carriers in the London district post-office.. . .
86,557
Poundage on the sale of postage stamps............. ....................
6,523
Allowance for special service and traveling....................................................

£539,420
35,771

Conveyance o f mails —

Riding work and expenses in the United Kingdom................
Conveyance by railways..............................................................
Mileage, guards, and other expenses of mail coaches.............
Tolls on mail choaches................................................................
American colonies........................................................................
London district post-office..........................................................
Postage through foreign countries................
Ship letter payments..................................................................
Rents, taxes, and tithes.......................
Tradesmen’s bills, binding, repairs, <tc
Law charges......................................... .




140,272
123,944
135,108
19,853
35,140
9,516
34,039
9,890
507,773
6,756
30,031

11,011

The Finance o f Cheap Postage.

414

Stationery and printing.......................................................................................
Postages................................................................................................................
Superannuation allowances ..............................................................................
Allowances for loss of fees.................................................................................
Miscellaneous payments......................................................................................

£2,717
22,473
13,054
14,057
2,260

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

£1,185,337

The amount of “ salaries and allowances,” in 1848, was £554,538 ; the
“ conveyance o f mails” was £698,405, of which £316,941 was by railway.
The total increase in conveyance is only £12,118, a little over 2 per cent;
while the increase on railway conveyance is £192,997, or 154 per cent. The
average cost o f the railway service for the last four years, is £181,018 ; in
the preceding four years, £89,639. The cost has increased more than five­
fold since 1840, not as the consequence of cheap postage, but from the ne­
cessity o f increased speed.
COMPARISON o r THE BRITISH AND AMERICAN POST-OFFICES, REDUCING THE FORMER RETURNS
TO FEDERAL CURRENCY, AT

$4 84

TO THE £ STEELING.

British.

Gross receipts or income................
Cost of management, or expenses
Cost of internal transportation....
Cost of railway service..................
Population served with mails . . . .
Square miles served with wants..
Receipts from letter postage........
Receipts from newspaper postage.

Am erican.

$10,610,593
$4,371,077
6,712,368
4,346,850
2,229,763
2,448,756
*599,889
584,192
27,000,000
21,000,000
116,000
1,199,000
$6,937,225
$3,350,000
............................................ 767,334

The fact that with all our extent.of country, (excluding the territories,)
our cost o f transportation is only $218,993, or less than 10 per cent greater
than the British, and that our whole cost o f management is less, by
$2,385,518, dr 35 per cent, shows how much more cheaply our government
manages its business, and proves, beyond a question, that cheap postage is
as practicable here as there; and removes the only ground o f argument against
our adoption of the same rate of postage which has worked so well in the
British experiment. The “ Financial Question,” therefore, in regard to the
practicability o f cheap postage must be considered as settled.
From the best information, I am enabled to add two other circumstances,
besides the immense increase o f railway conveyance, in explanation o f the
increased cost o f management o f the British Post-office. One is, the very
great multiplication o f rural posts and sub-post-offices, for the accommoda­
tion o f titled and other influential individuals, where great expense is incur­
red amidst a rural population that furnishes few letters except from a single
family. The other is the great increase in the staff o f the seven “ District
Surveyors,” who in fact rule England and Wales, so far as concerns postal de­
tails. Each rural post has to be surveyed, and a report made thereon, by a
surveyor from London, at an expense of £ 1 0 , or more, to obtain local infor­
mation, which could be given as well by the postmaster o f the next town.
That’s the way John Bull does his business.*
* The sum given in the second table above, w hich is from another Parliamentary return, w ould
make the cost o f railway conveyance $1,545,994.




Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney's R ailroad P roject.

415

Art. IV.— CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND WHITNEY’ S RAILROAD PROJECT.
To

F

reem an

H

unt,

E

s q .,

Editor o f the Merchants' Magazine, etc.

T h e Chamber o f Commerce being composed of the most respectable, ex­
perienced, and wealthy merchants o f our city, their opinions are, beyond
doubt, entitled to great consideration and respect, and will have an import­
ant influence throughout the country, upon the public mind, in relation to
this great subject; therefore it is believed that the many readers o f your
most valuable work will be interested in the particulars o f the proceedings
o f that body on a subject so important, not only to our country, but to the
whole world
A t the June meeting of the Chamber, by resolution, a committee o f five
were appointed “ to inquire into the expediency o f any action on the part
o f the Chamber, in relation to the proposed railroad o f Mr. W hitney to the
Pacific.”
A t the August meeting o f the Chamber, Mr. J. D. P. Ogden, Chairman,
read the report of the committee, on which it appears much investigation
and consideration has been bestowed.
The committee say :—

“ The acquisition of California, the discovery o f its mines o f gold, the proba­
bility that it must soon become one of the States o f the Union, with the pros­
pects thus opening for an extended commerce, and new branches of trade with
the Eastern World, are considerations which give to the subject before us, a great
and increased importance.
“ It has become necessary, in the opinion o f your committee, to identify the
interests and the feelings o f our people who now occupy the shores o f the Pa­
cific as well as the Atlantic; and, accordingly, the opening and completion o f a
great public highway, to connect the two oceans, becomes essential as a medium
o f international communication : it is demanded not only in aid o f the purposes
and pursuits o f trade and commerce, but it is required in order to unite, by the
bonds of mutual and common interest, the people of all the States o f the Union.
“ The undertaking, however, is one o f no ordinary magnitude, being no less than
the construction of a great National Road, for a distance of more than two thou­
sand miles, the greatest portion traversing a country nearly uninhabited and al­
most unknown.
“ But when we reflect upon the probable consequences to our Republic o f this
distant acquisition— the diversified character and extent o f the interest at stake;
the increasing demand that must arise, as the necessity becomes more apparent,
for the facilities and advantages to be afforded; the swelling tide o f emigration
that will press onward in that direction ; and the incalculable benefit, in a na­
tional point of view, both for peace and war, that must attend the progress and
success of so useful and yet so magnificent a project, your committee are ir­
resistibly led to the conclusion that a pressing necessity may be said already to
exist for such a measure, and that, accordingly, the time has arrived for Congress
to act on the subject; believing, that with the energies and perseverance o f our
people, a work of this kind, planned with due precautions, and conducted under
proper regulations, might be accomplished within a reasonable time, and there­
fore should be undertaken without delay.
“ Several plans have been submitted for the accomplishment o f this object.
That o f Mr. Whitney is for a railroad from Lake Michigan to St. Francisco, Ore­
gon— the cost to be defrayed by the sale of the public lands along the route.
The prominent features o f his plan are as follows:—
“ The public lands for thirty miles wide on each side o f the contemplated road
— estimated, for the whole extent, at about eighty millions o f acres, are to be set




416

Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney's R ailroad P roject.

aside and appropriated to him for this object—Mr. Whitney paying therefor, at
the rate o f ten cents per acre, after the road shall he completed.
“ In cases where the lands thus contiguous to the road are already taken up,
other public lands are to he selected in their stead. Mr. Whitney proposes to
begin by making ten miles o f road, estimated to cost two hundred thousand dol­
lars. H e is then to sell the lands for thirty miles wide, along one-half the dis­
tance, or five miles, comprising oneJiundred and ninety-two thousand acres, to
reimburse himself for the cost o f the roa d ; and ih this wav he is to continue his
progress, first constructing ten miles o f road, and then selling the lands along
half the distance, so long as the proceeds o f these one hundred and ninety-two
thousand acres will pay for the ten miles o f road. The remaining one hundred and
ninety-two thousand acres on each section o f ten miles o f road, comprising the lands
along the other half o f the road thus completed, are to remain in the hands o f
Government, and constitute a reserved fund, from the proceeds o f which to con­
struct the road when it shall be found, as the work advances through lands less
valuable, that the one hundred and ninety-two thousand acres sold bv Mr. W hit­
ney, together with the proceeds o f the land along the other five miles, shall not
be sufficient to pay for ten miles o f road. Congress are to regulate and estab­
lish the rate o f tolls, but the road, when completed, is to belong to Mr. W hitney
and his associates. In case the sale o f the lands, thus set apart, shall reimburse
the outlay for the cost o f the road, and the sum to be paid to Government for
the lands, then the tolls are only to be sufficient to cover repairs and operations
o f the road; $4,000 per annum to be paid to Mr. Whitney, or Ins assigns, for
superintendence.”

The committee have examined all the plans before the public, and condemn
them all, as impracticable, except that of Mr. Whitney. As the views o f the
committee on one o f these plans have a direct bearing on some points con­
nected with Mr. W hitney’s plan, we give them to our readers.
The committee s a y :—
“ A third, originating at Boston, suggests a railroad from St. Louis to San
Francisco, to be constructed by a company, with responsible men as managers,
having a capital o f one hundred millions, under a charter from Congress; to be
aided by a loan of ninety-eight millions o f United States stock, the remaining
two millions, or two millions one hundred thousand, to be paid by the stockhold­
ers ; Government to take a mortgage on the road, if desired, in order to secure
the loan o f ninety-eight millions, as well as the due performance of the contract;
to appoint one-third o f the directors, take one-third interest in the stock, and cede
to the company a strip o f land ten miles wide, on the north side of the road, and
also sufficient land for the bed of the road, stations, &c.
“ The objections to the Boston plan, apart from the opposition that may proba­
bly be enlisted against an act o f incorporation by Congress, o f the kind proposed,
exist in the emission and use o f so large an amount o f United States stock, as
well in the creation o f the debt itself, as the disturbing effect it might produce in
the general money market. Besides, this is considered in many respects too im­
portant a work to be accomplished by a corporation. Your committee are also
apprehensive that the expense o f a work of this kind, constructed with the pro­
ceeds o f the stock, for an incorporated company, would be too great for the ob­
ject in view. The tolls, in such case, must be remunerative, and, therefore, high
enough to pay interest and dividends, besides repairs and the current expenses of
the road. It is accordingly feared that the rate o f freight would he too high for
the permanent interests o f commerce to sustain. This road, intended to be a
short and direct route between oceans and continents, must, in order to answer its
great ends, become a cheap mode o f conveyance for the products o f a great por­
tion o f the world.”
The committee then say ;—




Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney's R ailroad P roject.

417

“ Havingthus stated the principal plans that have been proposed, together with
the prominent objections respectively urged or entertained against them, your
committe respectfully submit, that, in their opinion, the sales o f the public lands
appear to present the only means likely to prove sufficiently unobjectionable, or
that can be deemed both attainable and available for constructing a railroad to
the Pacific— for with respect to the delay that is apprehended from a reliance up­
on the resource, it seems evident that money alone could not be relied on to
compass the means to construct a railroad o f such extent through unsettled lands
— population must be induced to accompany its course, when, by the aid and fa­
cilities it would afford, the settlement o f the lands would necessarily follow their
sale, and as a demand for labor was created, both labor and subsistence would
be furnished at the same time, and the future progress o f the National Road would
be accelerated according to the favor it might receive, or deserve, at the hands o f
the people and their representatives. And while it is considered that the practi­
cal views, detailed information, and untiring zeal manifested by Mr. Whitney,
give to his suggestions deserved weight and consideration, he is entitled to the
credit o f having presented to Congress— ‘ the first matured plan for a railroad to
connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, across the continent.’ The Committee are
also o f opinion that the plan o f Mr. Whitney, for commencing the road from.
Lake Michigan is the correct one— as well on account o f the quantity o f unoccu­
pied land of good quality in that quarter, lying for a long distance along its pro­
jected course, and which would be rendered promptly available for the object, as
for the valuable timber abounding in that region, so essential for the purpose o f
the road; and still more, perhaps, for the great saving in the expense oftransporting, to that starting point, the supplies of all kinds required for its construc­
tion. The precise course o f the onward route could be decided on, after the
proper surveys had been made, and a lateral branch, whenever it should be found
necessary, could be established with any point on the Mississippi. In addition to
these important considerations, it is deemed o f vital consequence— for all inter­
ests, that this international communication should be directly connected with the
commerce o f the vast inland seas o f our continent.
“ Besides these advantages, and perhaps above all, the commencement o f the
road at that point, would furnish means for the shortest route across the conti­
nent, between Asia and Europe, and thus encourage the reasonable expectation
that we should thereby secure to our country both the travel and the traffic be­
tween the two great quarters o f the globe.
“ Your committee, therefore, are in favor, generally, o f the plan o f Mr. Whit­
ney, as contained in the bill submitted to the Senate— with two exceptions. They
think that the proceeds of the lands along the- five miles o f road which are al­
lowed to be sold by Mr. Whitney, for his own use and benefit, should be account­
ed for: and the excess beyond the cost o f construction, for the ten miles, after
allowing a liberal compensation for time and trouble, should be paid over to the
United States Commissioners, to constitute a fund to be applied to the purpose o f
the road, whenever required. They also think that the work itself should not
belong to an individual or to any association o f persons, but should become the
heritage o f the people.
“ With these modifications, your committee are willing to recommend for adop­
tion the plan of Mr. Whitney. Hoping, nay, believing, that the sales of the pub­
lic lands along the route will furnish, to a great extent, the requisite means, in
money, labor, and materials, as emigration shall profit by its advantages, and set­
tlements follow its train; they think that if additional resources are required, at
any subsequent stage o f its progress, as the benefits o f the road should be de­
veloped, and the necessity for an early completion become more apparent, the ex­
pediency o f interposing the national credit, to a limited extent, could be more
properly entertained, and might be more successfully advocated; and while they
are o f opinion that the enterprise, and the exertions— the practical knowledge
and the public spirit o f individuals or o f associations, under the supervision and
control of a Board of United States Commissioners, will be found essential
alike to expedition and success, and should accordingly be encouraged and availed

VOL. xxi.— no. iv.




27

418

Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney's R ailroad P reyed .

of, as well as liberally remunerated. Your committe, at the same time, are fully
convinced from every consideration o f duty and policy, that, when completed,
this great public highway should belong to the nation, for the benefit o f the
Union.
. og:
CH A R LE S A.
C H A RI.E S K IN g ,
; Committee.
L. B1ERW IRTH,
O L IV E R STATE , J r ., I

jam es d

New York, July 20th, 1849.”
Thus it appears that, after laborious examination, the committee reject all
other plans, and decide that Mr. W hitney’s is the only feasible one, and re­
commend the adoption o f the bill reported to the Senate, by Mr. Niles, chair­
man o f a select committee, with two exceptions, which exceptions caused a
warm debate in the Chamber, where it was alleged that the two exceptions
would embarrass the subject, and give to it a party political bearing, sure to
defeat i t ; that with the alterations proposed by the committee, the work
could be carried out only as a government work, which would not be sanc­
tioned, however important the work might be, by the Democratic party.
In the words o f one o f the committee— “ After a long and earnest discus­
sion, the Chamber did not adopt its (the report’s) conclusions as to the m od­
ifications suggested to Mr. W hitney’s plan, but, on the contrary, adopted a
resolution expressly recommending to the prompt action o f Congress, that
plan as heretofore laid by Mr. W hitney before the public, and approved as
well by numerous State Legislatures, as by repeated reports o f the Senate
o f the United States, and o f the House o f Representatives. The Chamber
o f Commerce o f New York, therefore, endorses Mr. W hitney’s plan, in its
conception and details.”
The following Resolutions were adopted by the Chamber, by, we believe,
a unanimous vote :—
“ Whereas, The construction o f a railroad to connect the Atlantic with the Pa­
cific, in a direct line across the continent, has become o f vital importance, and
whereas the plan o f Mr. A. W iiit n e v , o f New York, for the construction o f such
a communication, in its leading features, as well as the favor it has met with from
a large portion o f the people, disembarrasses the undertaking from sectional and
constitutional objections, which so. often have impeded internal improvements.
Therefore,
“Resolved, That we highly approve the great features o f A sa W h itne y ’s plan
for the construction o f a railroad from Lake Michigan to the Pacific, and that we
earnestly recommend its immediate adoption to Congress.
“ Resolved, That a copy o f these resolutions be transmitted to our Uuited States
Senators and members o f Congress from this Disirict.
The committee then make two exceptions, or propose two modifications to
Mr. W hitney’s plan, and intimate a third, none o f which were sustained by
the Chamber. W e now proceed to notice these objections. The first, that
“ they think that the proceeds o f the lands along the five miles o f road which
are allowed to be sold by Mr. W hitney, for his own use and benefit, should
be accounted fo r ; and the excess beyond the cost o f construction for the ten
miles, after allowing a liberal compensation for time and trouble, should be
paid over to United States Commissioners, to constitute a fund to be ap­
plied to the purpose o f the road, whenever required.”
N ow let us examine and see the necessity for, or justice in, this exception.
In the first place, it is believed that there are few indeed who would not be
more than satisfied to let Mr. W hitney, after he has completed each section
o f ten miles o f road, take pay for his actual outlay with “ a liberal compen­




Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney's R ailroad P roject.

419

sation,” in lands, on the line o f the road, at the present government price;
and now let ns see if the present bill gives him more.
In the first place, he must survey and locate his route, for one hundred
miles or more ; then must commence the work, with preparations and ma­
chinery to continue; must complete ten miles on the best plan o f construc­
tion, on a guage o f six feet wide, and rail sixty-four pounds to the yard. This
ten miles o f road alone will cost $20,000 per mile, which is $200,000 ; then
if the Commissioner is satisfied with the road, and that it is being continued
beyond, he will give his certificate, and Mr. W hitney is allowed to sell five
miles by sixty, one-half through which the road has been completed, in all,
one hundred and ninety-two thousand acres, good, bad, and indifferent, which,
at the government price o f
per acre, would amount to $240,000 ; but it
is well known that all o f any such tract would not sell for years ; there would
be waste lands, for which, and for expenses o f sale, should be deducted at
least 20 per cent, and we have but $192,000, which exceeds the sum re­
ceived by the government for any one tract five miles by six ty ; and there
are now soldiers’ bounties in the market, to the amount o f millions o f acres,
which can be purchased at seventy to eighty cents per acre, and can be lo­
cated upon any, the best, o f the government lands, and this would reduce the
value o f the one hundred and ninety-two thousand acres, allowing all to be
good, to $153,600. Now, this is all that Mr. W hitney can, under any circum­
stances, receive, after completing each ten miles o f road, for which his outlay
would be $200,000 ; and in the end ho is to pay into the treasury $19,200
for this one hundred and ninety-two thousand acres. Now we ask, is this too
much ? But it is said that the building the road through the lands, and by
connecting their sale and settlement therewith, as Mr. W hitney’s plan pro­
poses, the value of the lands would bo greatly enhanced thereby, which is very
true ; and is it not equally true, that the other five miles by sixty, the one
hundred and ninety-two thousand acres held by the government to create a
fund to continue the road through poor lands, would be also enhanced in
value ? And from what cause ? W h y, from the employment o f Mr. W h it­
ney’s labor, efforts, and means; and who would be entitled to the benefit ?
Mr. W hitney could immediately receive but one-half the benefits which his
labor would have imparted to the whole, while the other half would guar­
antee the continuance and completion o f the work.
For one hundred miles at least, on the first part o f the route, one-half of
the whole amount o f lands are taken up, so that the increase o f value which
the building o f the road would impart, could not apply to more than onehalf o f the lands for that distance, and Mr. W hitney wrould be compelled to
take an equivalent number o f acres so remote from the line o f the road as
to be beyond its benefits.
W ou ld it not be as equally just to demand o f the settler who paid ten
years ago $11 per acre for his land, lias built houses, fences, and planted or­
chards, &c., and made his land now worth $10 per acre, that he should pay
that excess into the Treasury \ Are not the cases similar— one the results o f
efforts and labor on a small, and the other on a larger scale ?
Let us see how this proposed “ modification” would work, had the Cham­
ber unfortunately adopted it. W h o is to fix the exact compensation that
Mr. W hitney should have for superintending the construction o f the road,
the trouble and risk o f selling the lands, and making them furnish the
means wanted ? Each ten miles cannot be exactly alike; one would cost
more than another.
W ou ld a Board of Commissioners have the irn-




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Chamber o f Commerce and W hitney’s R ailroad P roject.

inense power o f deciding and controlling all this, with Mr. W hitney entirely
subject to them ? Or would Mr. W hitney be compelled to go to Congress
at each ten miles, for the settlement o f his accounts ? N o : we think ho
would go to Congress with his account but once, and that once would put
an end to the work forever.
Suppose this “ modification” adopted. W h at would be the inducement
to furnish means to build sections o f the road in advance of sales o f the
lands ? W ou ld Mr. W hitney, or any one for him, furnish means, as would
be necessary to a large amount, keej) an account with the government, and
look to Congress for compensation and for settlement? N o, n o : and we
are surprised, business men, as the committee are, that they did not at once
see the insurmountable difficulties they themselves were preparing. W ith
this “ modification ” the work could not be commenced at all, except from a
direct appropriation o f money from the Treasury ; and could not be attempt­
ed except as a government work ; which, if proposed, would at once make
it a party and sectional question, involving constitutional questions sure to
defeat it.
Mr. W hitney’s plan, as it is, is a plain, simple one, involving no constitutional
or sectional questions or difficulties. As he advances ten miles at a time
with the road, he takes a fixed number o f acres o f land, which we have
shown is not now worth as much as the ten miles o f road will cost, and he
leaves as much land as he takes through which the road has been bu ilt; and
the road, with the governm ent; if the building o f the road increases the value
o f the half he takes, certainly the half held by the government would be as
much or more enhanced. This plan settles all, as it goes on, and no ac­
counts to be taken to Congress for years o f delay and discussion.
This plan gives no trouble or delay, the road being built in advance o f the
sale o f the lands, throws all risk o f success upon Mr. W hitney ; if he does
not succeed he forfeits his ou tlay; and it guarantees that more than the
present value o f the lands will be applied to the construction of the work.
The second exception or modification :—
The committee say that, when completed, this great public highway should
belong to the nation, for the benefit o f the Union.
Now it will be seen, on reading Mr. W hitney’s first memorials to Con­
gress, that he did propose “ that the lands having furnished the means, the
work, when completed, shall be the property of, and belong to, the people,
and its operation and management to be under the control and direction o f
Congress.” Constitutional objections having been urged in the different
committees in Congress, against the road being owned or operated by the
government, and which was found could not be overcome either in the committe, or in Congress, therefore the present plan, which avoids all constitu­
tional questions, was unanimously adopted by the committee, and the bill
so framed as was believed it would meet the sanction o f Congress. It is
true that the title to the road when completed, and all the conditions o f
the bill are complied with, may be said to vest in Mr. Whitney, but the
result, in fact, to the people, would be the same as if it vested in, and
belonged to, the nation; because, if Mr. W hitney succeeds, and makes
the lands produce the means to construct the road, and return the sum
which he is to pay for the lands, then the tolls for passengers and freight
shall be sufficient only for the necessary expenses o f operation and repairs o f
the road, to be fixed and regulated by Congress; Congress also retains pow­
er to give the management of the road to any other person, at any time,




Chamber of Commerce and Whitney's Railroad Project.

421

when Mr. W hitney fails or neglects to fulfil the conditions o f the bill, or fails
to operate the road as the wants o f the people may require.
As the present bill reads, we can see no object that Mr. W hitney should
desire the ownership, beyond the $4,000 per annum fixed in the bill for su­
perintendence, after its completion, except the interest and desire he must
undoubtedly feel to see its complete success, and we have no doubt that if he
could feel sure o f its complete success, he would prefer to not own the road, or
have anything to do with its operation when completed. But would not
“ the road belong to the nation, and become the heritage o f the people ?”
W h at more can the people have than its free use, with all its vast benefits,
with tolls only sufficient for its repairs and operation ? W e do not believe
that if placed under an army o f government officers, who could feel no in­
terest in the success o f the road, that the people would be any better cared
for, that the operation o f the road would be any more punctual, or better
managed, or the expense o f repairs and operation any less, or the tolls any
less, or that the road would be any less “ the heritage o f the people,” than
on Mr. W hitney’s plan, or under his management. Then what would be
gained by the proposed “ modification ?”
W e see no gain, but all loss. It would make it a party political question, and
involve constitutional and sectional difficulties sure to defeat the bill. W e are
confident that no plan can be successful in Congress, if it proposes that the
work shall be carried on as a government work, under the direction and
management o f the government, or b y government commissioners, or from
an appropriation o f money, either directly from the Treasury, or from the
proceeds o f land sales, or from a loan o f the government credit, or to be
managed and operated by the government when completed. The objections
are too obvious. The work, if commenced, would be subject to constant
changes o f management and direction, would absorb the entire action of
Congress, subject to constant delays and embarrassment— a constant and
rich source o f strife for party control, to waste and squander the resources of
the country upon an army of the hirelings o f aspirants to office, and finally
sicken the people o f its mismanagement, and forever defeat the work, which,
if accomplished, as it now can be, would make the commerce o f the entire
world tributary to us. W e therefore rejoice, and believe that the people through­
out the country will rejoice with us, that the Chamber o f Commerce did not
sanction or adopt the modifications proposed by the committee to Mr. W h it­
ney’s plan, but, on the contrary, “ endorsed his plan both in its conception
and in its details.”
The committe do not propose as a “ modification,” but intimate the ne­
cessity for a Board o f United States Commissioners. This intimation is
consequent upon, and connected with, the two “ modifications ” proposed,
and we must say that the views and conclusions o f the committee surprise us
the more, knowing they emanated from business men o f high standing, and
we can form no other conclusion from their report, than that they were influ­
enced by a constant fear that, after devoting a life o f severe toil and perplex­
ity to the accomplishment o f this stupendous work— a work which would
confer more benefits upon our nation, and upon all mankind, than any work
ever before accomplished or attempted, Mr. W hitney possibly might gain
too much wTealth, or receive too much reward ; therefore he must be checked,
curbed, and hampered, lest he might possibly jum p over a fence, where no
fence exists ; or that it was their intention to adopt Mr. W hitney’s plan in
such a form as would prepare the way to make it a government work.




422

The Consular, or Commercial Cities of China.

The committee approve o f all o f Mr. W hitney’s plan— condemn all others,
and decide that his is the only one which could be made to carry out the
work— speak o f its vast importance, and vast benefits it would confer upon
our nation— adopt his conclusions and arguments almost in his own words—
speak o f his practical views, detailed information, and untiring zeal, and say,
“ he is entitled to the credit o f having presented to Congress the first ma­
tured plan for a railroad to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean.”
After these facts from the committee, what should we expect, or look for ?
Should we expect that they would propose to check and chain the man
who has devoted his own means, with years o f the best part o f his life, to
this great subject; who has toiled night and day to perfect this mighty plan,
which, as the committee say, is to accomplish such vast results, and which
they pronounce perfect, with their two “ modifications ?” Or, rather, should
we not expect a frank and full endorsement o f the plan, with a tender o f all
the aid o f the whole strength o f the committee and Chamber combined, to
encourage and urge him on, through the many trials and difficulties from
personal and sectional jealousies, and doubts and fears, which surround him ?
Few persons, indeed, can appreciate the toils and efforts spent upon over­
coming the almost insurmountable difficulties which Mr. W hitney has al­
ready met w ith ; and few indeed reflect upon, or see the vast difficulties yet
before him. A nd is it not clearly the duty o f every one who wishes to see
this mighty work accomplished— every one who desires to see the prosperity
and happiness o f his fellow man, to see the advancement o f our country to
its great destiny, to come forth now, and do all he can to aid and encourage
Mr. W hitney on to the e n d ; and those who have not the power and means
to aid, should not even cast a pebble in his way.
Yours, <fec.,
P rogress.

Art. V.— T H E C O N S U L A R , OR C O M M E R C I A L C I T I E S OF C H I N A .
N U M B ER II.
A M O Y , F O O C H O O , N IN G P O , A N D S H A N G H A I.
AM O Y.
ISLAND OF AMOY— SITUATION OF THE CITY—APPEARANCE— COASTING TRADE— FOREIGN IMPORTS—
CURRENCY— CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE.

T h e Island o f Ileaman, or A m oy, lies in a large bay on the south-eastern
coast o f China. The city o f the same name is built on the southern ex­
tremity o f this island, and is the principal commercial emporium o f the
wealthy province o f Fookein. It lies in latitude 24° 10' 3 " North ; longi­
tude 118° 13' 5 " East from Greenwich.
The city is situated upon the declivity o f a promontory, facing the sea.
The promontory rises to a liight o f six hundred feet. Immediately in front
o f the houses is the harbor, which is well sheltered, and easy o f access. The
channel, at its entrance, is from seven to eight hundred yards wide. W ithin
fifty yards o f the buildings o f the city, there is deep water ; and the junks
lie in tiers for the distance o f a mile off from the shore.
The island is about twelve miles long, and ten wide. Two rivers flow into
the bay in which it lies. Upon the banks o f one o f these, the rich and pop­




Amoy, Foochoo, Ningpo, and Shanghai.

423

ulous city of Tchang-Chow-Foo is situated. The other flows through a
thickly peopled district.
The city o f Am oy is nine or ten miles in circumference, and contains up­
wards of 200,000 inhabitants. Its streets are narrow and filthy, and the
general appearance o f the houses betokens poverty. W ithin the city is the
inner town or citadel, which is surrounded by a castellated wall, about a mile
in circuit.
A large portion o f the inhabitants are employed in the coasting trade.
The imports o f this trade are rice, sugar, oil, and camphor, from Form osa;
alum and cotton, from Shanghai; grain, pulse, oil-cake, cotton goods, vermi­
celli, furs and felt caps, from the other northern ports; and from Canton,
cloth, camlets, shoes, and various manufactures.
The cotton o f Shanghai arrives in November and December. It is finer
than that o f the East Indies. The staple is short, and Bengal cotton is usu­
ally mixed with it.
The exports o f the coasting trade are camphor, sugar from Tchang-ChowFoo, and the Island o f Formosa, sugar candy, and a number of cheap arti­
cles o f manufacture. These are sent to Shanghai, and the other northern
ports. Earthenware is shipped to the Straits o f Malacca. The principal
articles o f export besides these, are tea, bricks, shoes, iron utensils, umbrel­
las, and idols. The manufacture and sale o f the last named product, is o f
considerable importance in the industry o f Am oy.
“ The foreign imports are Bengal and Bom bay cotton, English cotton
goods o f every description, cotton yarn, iron, lead, steel, betel-nut, liquid in­
digo, from Manilla, pepper, rattan, rice, grain, sharks’ fins, and buffaloes’ and
deers’ horns.”
The current coins o f Am oy are rupees, and Spanish and Mexican dollars.
Doubloons, guilders, and other Spanish and Dutch coins are also in com­
mon use.
The people o f A m oy are industrious and enterprising. N o portion o f the
Chinese surpasses them in industry and commercial activity, or in wealth.
Their junks, which are distinguished from those o f other parts o f the em­
pire, by being painted green at the bow, are to be seen in all the ports of
China.
In morality, the inhabitants o f the province o f Fookein are deplorably
degraded.
Child-murder is o f constant occurrence among them.
This
crime prevails among rich and poor alike. A ll classes look upon their fe­
male infants as a burden o f which they have a right to rid themselves, and
it is said that forty per cent o f the girls born in A m oy are killed immedi­
ately after their birth. The crime is reprobated by the edicts o f the gov­
ernment, and by the moral sayings o f the sages ; but it does not seem to be
seriously disapproved by public opinion.
FOOCHOO.
PROVINCE OF FOOKEIN— APPEARANCE OF FOOCHOO— BLACK TEA— COASTING TRADE— PAPER MONEY—
MANUFACTURE OF PORCELAIN— HOT SPRINGS.

The province o f Fookein, in which are the two consular ports o f A m oy
and Foochoo, is peopled by the Chin-Chew men, o f whom we have before
spoken. It is the smallest, but the most industrious, and probably the
wealthiest province o f the empire. Its climate is warm and healthy. Its
principal products are black tea, musk, precious stones, quick-silver, iron, tin,




424

The Consular, or Commercial Cities of China.

hemp, silk, fruits, (among which are oranges of a delicious flavor,) camphor,
sugar, indigo, and tobacco.
O f this province, the city o f Foochoo is the capital. It is situated on the
banks of the River Min, about thirty-five miles from the sea, in latitude 26°
2' 2 4 " N orth ; longitude 119° 25' East from Greenwich. The city is about
ten miles in circumference, and is surrounded by a castellated wall. W ithin
it, is a fortified hill, five hundred feet in bight. The inhabited suburbs are
quite as large as the city. The entire population is about 500,000.
The city within the walls is one o f the finest upon the coast. Its streets
are wide, and its shops and dwellings large, and well built. But, in the sub­
urbs, the houses are low, and the streets narrow and dirty. A winding ave­
nue, about two miles in length, leads to the celebrated bridge o f Foochoo,
which is thrown across the Min. This bridge is partly covered with shops.
From its top, the view of the city and its environs is very picturesque. The
valley, four or five miles in width, is encircled by ranges of wooded hills, and
behind these, by mountains rising to a bight o f from three to five thousand
feet. W ithin the amphitheater are the winding river, covered with bril­
liantly-painted junks— the great city, with its fantastic architecture, and its
swarms o f busy population, and the green rice fields o f the valley, dotted
here and there by farm-houses, and little clumps o f trees.
The province o f Fookein is the black tea district o f China, and the famous
hills of Bohea are only a hundred and fifty miles distant from Foochoo. It
was supposed, by the English, that a consular station here would give them
great facilities in obtaining this important article o f commerce. It was said
that the tea growers o f the province were desirous o f making this city their
depot o f commercial exchange. But, thus far, little change has been effect­
ed. The tea is still carried overland to Canton, a journey o f upwards o f six
hundred miles, at an additional expense o f not less than twenty-five per cent.
It is difficult to overcome the unwillingness o f the Chinese to depart, in any
way, from their old habits.
The province produces large quantities o f sugar. W ithin six miles o f the
capital are extensive lead mines. The price o f this metal in Foochoo, in
1845, was five dollars the pecul o f eighty pounds.
The cotton o f Fookein, which is sold at Foochoo, is o f a good quality.
The manufactured fabrics are higher iii price, and o f a coarser texture, than
those which are imported from Europe and America, but they wear much
longer, and, on that account, are preferred by the poorer classes.
The imports o f Foochoo from the coast are skins, furs, Chinaware, vegeta­
bles and drugs, cotton cloths, rice, bamboo, &c.
From the Loo-choo
Islands are brought dried fish, birds’ nests, wine, and about ten thousand dol­
lars’ worth o f Japanese gold, every year.
The exports of the city are tea, bamboo, oranges, paper, and tin foil, to bo
offered to idols. Tobacco is also exported in large quantities.
The money in common use at Foochoo is that issued by the bankers.
Their notes are o f all values; from twenty-five cents to a thousand dollars,
and are preferred to specie by the people o f the city.
The neighborhood o f the city is celebrated for its manufactures o f Chinaware. More than five hundred ovens are kept constantly in use. The wood
used in burning the ware is brought upwards o f three hundred miles. In
consequence o f this, and o f the high rates o f labor, the price o f the pro­
duct is always dear ; but the China o f Foochoo is not equalled in quality
by that o f ony other part o f the country.




Amoy, Foochoo, Ningpo,

ant?

Shanghai.

425

Mr. Martin gives the following account o f the mode o f manufacturing
porcelain in China :—
Porcelain is made of two different kinds o f stone, the Pe-tun-1sze, and
Kaou-lin; the latter o f a whitish, the former of a greenish cast. They are pul­
verized in a mortar, and the substance refined and made into paste. It is then
kneaded, rolled, and wrought into a solid substance, to make the ware close and
compact. The potter either moulds or forms with a wheel, and afterwards fin­
ishes with a chisel. When dried, the ware is painted with a white mineral oil,
which adds to their transparency and beauty. They are finally painted with the
requisite colors. To highten or vary the glazing o f the pih-yew, or white oil, it
is usually mixed with oil of lime, fern ashes, and various other mineral varnishes,
according to the design o f the potter. Mineral colors alone are sufficiently dura­
ble to stand the progress of burning in the oven. The furnaces in use are about
two fathoms high, and four in width, with several holes in the top, and are con­
structed o f brick and Chinaware. The greatest art consists in baking the porce­
lain vessels; for if the heat o f the oven be not well tempered, the whole set is
destroyed, which, with all their care, frequently occurs.
In this city, there are some hot sulphur springs. One, the temperature
o f which is nearly at boiling heat, is without taste or odor. The health o f
the people is materially henefitted by the opportunity o f cleanliness which
these springs give. Cutaneous diseases are said to be tar less common among
them than in any other part o f China. The hot springs are used by the
poor in washing clothes.
U p to 1846, only seven vessels had arrived at this port from the northern
Atlantic, three o f which were American. W e have no account o f its trade,
since that time.
NINGPO.
SITUATION AND APPEARANCE OF NINGPO— CITADEL OF CHINP(E— BRANCHES OF INDUSTRY— COASTING
TRADE— ARTICLES OF COMMERCE.

The city o f Ningpo is situated in the province o f Che-keang, upon the
eastern coast o f China. It is built upon the banks o f the River Takia, about
thirteen miles from the sea. Its geographical position is latitude 29° 54'
North ; longitude 121° 52' 3 0 " East from Greenwich. The province, o f
which it is one o f the largest cities, is very thickly peopled, containing not
less than 536 inhabitants to a square mile.
Ningpo is surrounded by a wall o f solid masonry, about six miles in cir­
cuit. This wall has six gates, opening into the suburbs and upon the river.
The plain in which the city is built, extends from the sea about twenty-five
miles to a range o f lofty hills. This plain is pierced in every direction by
canals and water-courses.
Here, as everywhere in China, every foot o f
ground is carefully cultivated. The river, from the city to the sea, is crowd­
ed with innumerable boats. The channel, at the entrance of the river, pass­
es through a group o f small islands, and has from three to three and a half
fathoms o f water in the shallowest parts.
A t the mouth o f the river, upon a commanding highland is the citadel o f
Chinpce. During the war between England and China, although this for­
tress was amply furnished with all the munitions o f war, its garrison o f 15,000
men was, in a few hours, put to rout by one-tenth the number o f British
troops and seamen.
Ningpo is said to bo the finest o f the cities which are thrown open to for­
eigners. Its streets are broad and clean, and it is adorned by numerous
temples and elegant private residences. Large spaces o f ground are used as




426

The Consular, or Commercial Cities of China.

gardens ; and, in many parts o f the city, are to be seen burial grounds taste­
fully ornamented with shrubs and vines.
The population o f the city is about 250,000. O f the people o f the sub­
urbs, more than one-half obtain their support by agriculture.
The manufacture o f mats and carpets employs a large number o f hands.
W ithin a circuit o f twenty-four miles, it is said that there are upwards of
twenty thousand persons engaged in catching and curing fish. The vessels
employed in this business are generally owned in Ningpo. Great numbers
o f the females o f the city are employed in weaving cloth.
In former times, there was a European factory at Ningpo, and the city
carried on an extensive commerce ; but o f late its trade has been on the
decline. Its coasting trade, however, is still active. Large quantities o f
merchandise are purchased to supply the wants o f the city, which is also a
point where the northern and southern parts exchange their products. The
annual value o f its imports, coastwise, is about $8,000,000. The value o f
its exports is probably about the same.
Ningpo sends to Shanghai large quantities o f wood and charcoal. Many
o f its products have fallen in price, since the port has been opened to for­
eigners.
About twelve hundred junks arrive here annually, from the south-eastern
ports, laden with fruits, vegetables, ardent spirits, teas, and various manufac­
tures. A large portion o f these goods is again shipped to the northward.
About four thousand small vessels arrive at Ningpo annually, from the inte­
rior, by the river and canals. They are generally freighted with agricultnral
products. Ningpo has a considerable trade with the ports o f the Straits of
Malacca.
Mr. Martin gives the following description o f the principal articles o f trade
at N in g p o:—
H emp is not imported into Ningpo ; it is a long, strong fiber, similar to what
is usually imported from Manilla, and sells from nine to ten dollars per Ningpo
pecul (one hundred pounds) ; however desirable to obtain return cargoes, this ar­
ticle can never be on e: on the contrary, it is more likely to be an article o f
import.
C otton, raw, is an article o f export. It is a fair*, long staple, well cleansed,
and a pure white; price o f the native production, twenty dollars per pecul. The
manufacturers prefer the Manilla cotton. As for the lower qualities o f American
and Bombay, they are almost unsaleable at any price.
R ice varies from two to three dollars per pecul, and the rice pecul is one hun­
dred and forty-five catties. At any period it is a doubtful article o f import. Ben­
gal Moonghy finds a slow sale at two dollars per bag.
T imber . The quality in most general use is soft pine, not squared; the large
junks are chiefly employed in carrying this bulky article; it averages twenty dol­
lars per load o f fifty cubic feet; planks thirty-seven dollars per load.
S ugar . The cane is abundant, but entirely used as an edible; the supply of
sugar is from Formosa and Fookein ; the cheapest is from six to seven dollars
per pecul; white, and a good grain, nine dollars; best candy, eleven to twelve
dollars.
P e pp er (black) sellin g from nine to tw elv e dollars per pecul.
B irds ’ N e st s . First quality, eighty dollars per catty; second quality, sixty

dollars, and third, forty dollars.
S andal W ood. The demand is trifling, as the Chinese do not appear to pro­
perly estimate the excellent qualities which are attached to hard woods. Ningpo
prices from thirteen to fifteen dollars per pecul.
L ead .

P ig lead selling from seven dollars to seven dollars fifty cents.




Amoy, Foochoo, Ningpo, and Shanghai.

427

W oolen C loth . Russian has hitherto been in very general use, which is sold
at extremely low prices; a serviceable cloth is sold from 180 cash to one dollar
per cubit; breadth, four and a half cubits. (See Kiachta and Russian trade.)
T obacco (leaf) very mild, much inferior to American, seven dollars per pecul.
H ides ( c o w and bullocks’) ten dollars per pecul dressed; undressed from sev­
en dollars up.
W hite L e a d ranges from fourteen to fifteen dollars per pecul. Used as a
cosmetic chiefly.
C astor O il (indigenous) ranges from six dollars per pecul, u sed for varnishes,
and unknow n as a medicine.

The black t ea s offered here are o f inferior quality, and ill-suited to the home
market, and sell from twenty-five to sixty-seven dollars per pecul.
G re en T e a s . This article appears to suit foreigners much better than the
black teas, only the leaf is rather too large; prices from twenty-seven to seventyeight dollars per pecul.
S ilks . The manufactured silks are much similar to the Canton good s; the
average is about seventeen dollars per roll (twenty yards;) the raw materials
range from four hundred and ten to four hundred and fifty dollars. Hang-ChooFoo silks are sold by weight, and average about forty-four cents per ounce.
SH AN G H A I.
SITUATION, APPEARANCE, AND CHARACTER OF SHANGHAI— FACILITIES

OF COMMUNICATION WITH

THE INTERIOR— RIVER WOO-SUNG— RESIDENCES OF FOREIGN MERCHANTS— SILK— GREEN TEA—
COMMERCE BY THE RIVER AND BY THE SEA— ARTICLES OF TRADE.

The port which, next to Canton, has the largest European trade, is Shang­
hai. This city is situated on the right bank o f the River W oo-sung, at a
distance o f fourteen miles from the sea. Its population is about 120,000.
Shanghai is surrounded by a wall, about five miles in circuit. Its streets
are narrow, and extremely filthy, and are always crowded with the business
o f an active and extensive commerce. A very large proportion o f the build­
ings are shops. Upon the river, in front o f the city, there is, at all times, a
dense forest o f masts. In the month o f January, there may usually be seen
as many as three thousand junks moored there. The people o f Shanghai
are industrious and frugal in their habits. Rice is the principal article of
their food.
Shanghai is, in fact, only the sea-port o f a large and wealthy inland city,
called Suchow, which is about one hundred and fifty miles distant, following
the river.
A t Suchow, which is considered the finest and most delighful city o f the
empire, the merchants and manufacturers whose business is transacted in
Shanghai, reside. Their clerks and brokers superintend their trade at the
port. But, besides the business which it receives from Suchow, Shanghai
has a large internal commerce. The River W oo-sung is connected with the
Yellow River about twelve miles from the city ; and, by means o f this com­
munication, and o f numerous canals, is the avenue to the sea o f the internal
navigation o f at least one-third o f the empire. The vessels passing over
these interior waters discharge their cargoes and are reladen at Shanghai.
The W oo-sung, opposite the city, is about half a mile in width, and has
five fathoms o f water in its channel. Its entrance is guarded by two forts,
about three quarters o f a mile from each other. A quay, three miles in
length, is built upon the left bank. The anchorage, at the mouth o f the
river, is in latitude 31° 25' North ; longitude 121° 1' 3 0 " East from Green­
wich. The channel passes through a maze o f sandbanks, with no mark to
guide the navigator. A t the mouth o f the river the rise o f the tide is from
fifteen to eighteen feet. The land, upon both sides, is a dead level.




428

The Consular, or Commercial Cities of China.

A t a distance o f four hundred yards from the city proper, a strip o f land
along the river, about half a mile in length, has been granted to the foreign
merchants for residences. The situation is healthy, and convenient for busi­
ness. The range o f the thermometer, at Shanghai, is from 24° to upwards
o f 100°.
The province o f Kang-soo, in which Shanghai is situated, supplies nearly
the whole o f Northern China with raw silk. Near it, and connected with
Shanghai by the Yellow River, is Ganhwuy, the green tea district o f China.
On account of the saving in expense o f transport, teas, silks, and several
other native products can be obtained at Shanghai full ten per cent cheaper
than at Canton.
The country around this port is level for many miles. It is well cultiva­
ted, and produces wheat and cotton in abundance. The manufacture o f the
last article occupies a large portion o f the people o f the city.
The number o f vessels which arrive at Shanghai from the interior, by way
o f the river and canals, is from five to six thousand a year. These vessels
never go out to sea, but exchange their cargoes at the city.
A bout sixteen hundred junks’a year arrive at Shanghai, by sea. Nine
hundred o f these come from the north, bringing salted meat, hams, oil,
wine, timber for ship-building, wheat, and fruits. They carry back cotton,
tea, paper, silks, cotton stuffs, opium, sugar, pepper, and various European
goods. These junks are small, most o f them measuring less than sixty tons.
From Canton and the ports o f Fookein, about seven hundred arrive. Many
o f these came originally from Sumatra, Siam, Manilla, and Singapore. They
are generally upwards o f two hundred tons burthen. Their cargoes consist
o f sugar, indigo, sweet potatoes, fish, black tea, paper, soap, Canton cloth,
fruits, glass, spices, and perfumes. They return with cotton, earthenware,
salted pork, green tea, raw and manufactured silks, nankins, blankets, hemp,
and fruits.
The following are some of the most important articles o f trade, commerce,
and manufacture, at Shanghai:—
S u g a r is brought in large quantities, from the Philipines, and elsewhere.
The annual imports amount to 520,000 peculs.
C o tton . The price o f cotton varies from fifteen to twenty-four dollars a
pecul.
L ead . The supply o f this metal comes chiefly from America.
S il k s . The crapes and finer textures o f silk which are sold in Shanghai,
are generally superior to those o f Canton.
T e a . Green teas can be obtained here from ten to twenty per cent cheap­
er than at Canton.
C oal abounds in the neighborhood o f Shanghai. The kind found here
resembles Kennel coal. It is largely used by the English steamers.
V e g e t a b l e O il , a n d O il C a k e . One of the chief articles o f manu­
facture at this port is the oil o f a large white pea. This oil is used for eat­
ing and burning. Large quantities o f the cake are sent into various parts o f
China, where it is used as food for pigs and buffaloes, and for manure. The
value o f the shipments for the interior is about ten millions o f dollars yearly.
A m ong other articles o f native production to be obtained at Shanghai,
are camphor, China root, cassia, and the finest porcelain. The silks manufac­
tured here, are damasks, mazarines, crapes, satins, and heavy surges.




Mercantile Law Cases.

429

MERCANTILE LAW CASES.
T A X UPON BROKERS, MERCHANTS, TR AD ER S, ETC.
W here a firm com posed o f two mem bers, bankers, one residing in New Y ork , and the other in New
Orleans, was taxed under the act o f January 12, 1842, granted by the Legislature to the General
Council o f New Orleans, to lay an annual tax upon all brokers, merchants, traders, A c., held that
the pow er to tax is lim ited to permanent residents and sojourners; and that a tax so im posed
is a tax upon the business or function, and not the individual m em bers o f a firm, unless they are
all present. W here in a suit brought for the recovery o f a tax amounting to $4(J0, against a fil m,
the partners were sued for $200 each, and tw o separate judgm ents obtained, held that an appeal
w ould not lie, the judgm ents separately being for less than $300, and that in such case the Court
could only take jurisdiction when the constitutionality o f the tax was questioned.

In the Supremo Court o f Louisiana. (June 2, 1849.) Second Municipality
vs. J. Corning & Co. Appeal from the Third District Court o f New Orleans—
Mr. Justice Slidell dissenting as to the question o f jurisdiction.
The Defendants, J. Corning and John Egerton, are sued for the sum o f $400,
under the allegation that the firm of Corning & Co., o f which they are members,
are liable to the tax imposed by the General Council on bankers, or persons buy­
ing and selling bills o f exchange, as their principal business, in New Orleans.
The defendants admitted the liability of the partnership to the tax, which was
$200, and tendered that amount, which was paid into Court. The plaintiffs took
judgment for that amount, without impairing their rights for the balance, which
were expressly reserved in the judgment. A trial was afterwards had, to deter­
mine the further indebtedness, and the plaintiffs had judgment against the two
defendants for $100 each and costs; from which the latter have appealed.
E u s t i s , Chief Justice,—-The mode of proceeding, by which judgment for the
part of a debt acknowledged to be due may be taken with a reservation o f the
rights o f the plaintiff’ for the balance claimed, has been sanctioned in several
eases. 9 La. Rep. 413. 4 Rob. Rep. 448. But it is obvious that the judgment
for a part o f a debt leaves nothing but the remainder in dispute between the par­
ties, and a debtor cannot call in question the judgment which he has confessed.
The Code o f Practice expressly prohibits an appeal in such a case. Art. 567.
The amount in dispute in this suit is therefore not sufficient to give this Court ju­
risdiction. But it is contended that the appeal can be sustained because the le­
gality of the tax imposed is drawn in question. In 1 Annual Report, 386, we
held our jurisdiction to be confined to the question o f the legality and constitu­
tionality of taxes, &c., imposed by municipal corporations, and that as to their
application and execution, such questions remained exclusively with the ordinary
tribunals, this court having jurisdiction on the appeals in cases only in which the
amount in dispute vested the jurisdiction. The legality o f this tax can therefore
be examined. The ordinance imposing it is to this effect:— Art. 10. All private
bankers, and all persons buying and selling bills o f exchange as their principal
business, and all persons carrying on both the private banking and exchange bu­
siness, shall pay a tax o f $200. This article is not to apply to the ordinary
money and exchange brokers comprehended in the 9th article, &c.
The construction contended for by the counsel for plaintiffs, that each partner
in a banking house or firm making the purchase or sale o f bills o f exchange its
principal business, is liable to the whole amount o f tax, without regard to the
place of his residence, presents circumstances which appear repugnant to all ideas
o f justice and sound policy. Many of these establishments are connected with
others in different commercial capitals, and doubtless have numerous parties in
interest in the concerns. A banking partnership would be on the same footing
with a resident banker, and when the number o f partners is great, would be sub­
ject to so heavy a tax as to render its doing business in this city impossible. The
construction which the counsel for the defendent puts upon this article o f the or­
dinance is, that it imposes the tax upon the business or function, and not upon
the individual members o f the firm, unless they are present, and we think this




Mercantile Law Cases.

430

construction is strengthened by other articles o f the ordinances imposing taxes
on theaters, &c. A reference to the statute under which the tax was laid appears
to remove every doubt as to its meaning.
The power o f the General Council to pass the ordinance, it is admitted, de­
pends exclusively upon the act o f the Legislature o f the 12th o f January, which
provides that “ the powers before conferred on the General Council o f the city
o f New Orleans shall be so construed as to authorize them to fix the rate that
shall be levied as an annual or other tax or license on, and to be paid by all brokers,
merchants, traders, wholesale and retail dealers, hotels, boarding-houses, theaters,
theatrical and other like performances, grog-shops, bar-rooms, caharets, and all
other callings, professions, or business, to be collected under the authority o f the
Councils o f the different municipalities, on such persons vendiug within their re­
spective limits, and exercising said callings, professions, or business, and whether
such persons be permanent or transient residents in the said city o f New Orleans.”
The authority exercised by the General Council in laying taxes, is derived
from a special grant o f power, and there is no warrant for extending this power
beyond the objects specified. The acknowledged power o f the State itself to
lay tax extends to persons and property within its jurisdiction. Bruen vs. the
State o f Maryland, 12 Wheaton, 441; C. Code art. 9. W e have been referred
to no authority showing that it extends further. The concluding paragraph o f
the section o f the act o f 1842, quoted, seems to us to confine the power grant­
ed within its just and proper limits, and not to purport to operate upon persons
other than permanent residents or sojourners.
On general principles, according to the rules by which the by-laws o f munici­
pal corporations are always construed in reference to the mode in which the tax­
ing power has been uniformly exercised in this State, and elsewhere, as we be­
lieve, and under the statute by virtue of which the ordinance was enacted, no
other construction can be given to the article than that which is in conformity
with the fair intendment o f the statute itself.
Under that construction which renders residents, whether permanent or tran­
sient, to use the very words o f the statute, liable to the tax for the business of
banking, and buying and selling bills o f exchange, we find nothing illegal in
the ordinance.
In establishing the true construction o f the article imposing this tax, we virtu­
ally exclude every other, and decide against that which is assumed by the plain­
tiffs, and which has been recognized by the District Court in the judgment against
each o f the defendants for the amount o f the tax. The firm o f Corning & Co.
is established in New Orleans, and both the defendants were engaged in buying
and selling exchange, as charged in the petition. Corning residos in New Y ork,
and Egerton resides in New Orleans.
The tax we find to be lawful. Coming has been condemned to pay a tax
which he did not owe— not that the tax itself was illegally imposed, but because
it did not apply to him. The amount is not sufficient to enable this Court to
take cognizance o f the appeal; the only decree we can make is to dismiss it.
It is therefore ordered, adjudged, and decreed, that the appeal taken in this case
be dismissed at the appellants’ costs.
ACTION ON A CONTRACT TO DELIVER RAILROAD IRON.

Court o f Exchequer, (London, December 19, 1848,) Thompson & Forman is.
Baily and others.
In this case, the plaintiffs were Alderman Thompson and his partner, and the
defendants were iron manufacturers, carrying on business at Liverpool and in
Wales. The action was brought to recover damages for an alleged breach o f
contract, arising under the following circumstances:— On the 28th o f April, 1847,
the defendants bought o f the plaintiffs 2,000 tons o f iron rails, through Mr. Mahony, who acted as broker for both parties, and signed a bought note in these
words:—
“ L o n d o n , April 20, 1847.
“ Bought on account o f Messrs. Baily, Brothers & Co., 2,000 tons o f good mcr-




Mercantile Law Cases.

431

chantable iron rails, o f double-headed action, to weigh not less than 70 lbs. nor
more than 82 lbs. per yard, at £ 8 17s. 6d. per ton, delivered free on board in
Wales. A template of the rails to be handed within a week from this date, and
delivery at the rate of 500 to 1,000 tons per month, (in sellers’ option,) to com­
mence next month.”
On the 26th of April the defendants sent a sketch on paper o f the shape and
size o f the rails they required for 1,000 tons. On the 4th May the plaintiffs wrote
for the template, and said they were preparing the rollers for the rails. On the
5th May the defendants wrote, promising to send in a few days; and on the 8th
they sent a piece of rail, and required the weight not to be less than 72 lbs. per
yard. On the 15th May the plaintiffs wrote, enclosing an invoice and delivery or­
der and certificate o f 737 tons. The defendants suspecting that these rails could
not have been made for them, wrote to the plaintiffs on the subject, who replied,
admitting that they had been made by the Messrs. Crawshays. The defendants,
on inspecting the rails, found that they weighed only 71i lbs. per yard, and must
have been manufactured upwards o f a twelvemonth, and refused to take them.
On examining the rails more particularly it was found that 500 tons o f them were
o f the weight o f 72 lbs. per yard; the plaintiffs thereupon tendered these 500, and
also got 500 tons more from another manufacturer, o f the required weight and
shape, and tendered them. The defendants refused to take either, and also re­
fused to send a template, the plaintiffs having offered to manufacture the remain­
ing 1,000 tons, treating the contract as at an end, in consequence o f the plaintiffs
not sending 500 tons o f their own manufacture within the first month. After
some correspondence, the present action was commenced, for the price o f the
1,000 tons rails tendered, and for the loss o f the profit which the plaintiffs would
have made by the manufacture o f the remaining 1,000 tons rails according to the
contract. There were 28 pleas, raising, o f course, every conceivable defence.
For the plaintiffs it was contended to-day, that by the contract they were not
bound to manufacture the rails themselves; that they fulfilled the contract by sup­
plying the rails of the weight and shape therein specified; that the fact o f the de­
fendants, subsequently to the execution o f the contract, having desired that the
rails should be o f the weight of 72 lbs. per yard, and o f the plaintiffs endeavoring
as much as they conveniently could, to comply with that wish, could not alter the
contract; and that the rails tendered being within the range from 70 to 82, the
contract was so far complied with; and moreover, that even if it were part o f the
contract that they should be o f the weight o f 72 lbs. per yard, the making them
711 lbs. was as near a compliance as could be expected, it being impossible to
make rails within a range of a pound in a yard. Several witnesses corroborated
these latter positions. There was no question but that the rails were perfectly
good merchantable rails.
For the defendants it was contended, that by the contract the plaintiff's should
have supplied rails of their own manufacture, and that not having done so within
the first month, the defendants were at liberty to repudiate the contract altogether.
Several witnesses also were examined, who proved that rails ready made and ly­
ing on hand, though they -were not absolutely the worse for it, were less an arti­
cle o f merchandise, and fetched generally something about £1 a ton less than
rails made to order; and one great iron master swore that he would have no diffi­
culty in making 1,000 tons o f rails within a pound per yard of the weight re­
quired. The defendants had entered into a contract to supply the Great Northern
Railroad, but there was no evidence o f that company or any other having refused
to take the rails in question from them. Indeed, the great ironmaster who proved
for the defendants that he had made these rails in the spring o f 1846, said they
were not the worse for having been so long made, and that they were better than
they would have been if the plaintiffs themselves had manufactured them. The
iron market had fallen between the time of the contract and the delivery o f the
rails and the demand o f the template.
The Lord Chief Boron, in summing up, said he thought the plaintiffs had com­
plied with the contract by the tender o f the 1st 1,000 tons; and that even if they
had not, as time was not o f the essence o f the contract, the defendants could not,




Mercantile Law Cases.

432

in consequence o f the plaintiffs not delivering the required quantity in Day, repu­
diate it altogether. Verdict for the plaintiffs— damages £3,375.
A MORTGAGEE NOT LIABLE FOR THE MORTGAGER’ S DEBTS.

In the Court o f Common Pleas. (Boston, Massachusetts.) Before Judge
Perkins. John Doherty vs. Nathaniel West.
One Charles B. Landers was, or appeared to be, the proprietor o f the Wenham
Ice Co., which supplied the city o f London with ice; he being, in fact, the com­
pany. Mr. West, the defendant, the grandfather o f Landers, an old gentleman
about ninety years of age, who had retired from business, held a mortgage on the
establishment. On the 8th o f November, 1847, Landers, having committed for­
gery, absconded. The men in his employ continued to work till the 13th o f No­
vember, as it was not known that he had absconded till that time. Mr. West af­
terwards took possession of the works, under his mortgage, and proceeded to car­
ry them o n ; and the plaintiff and three others o f the workmen now brought
suits against Mr. West to recover for their wages earned previous to Lander’s
absconding; contending that W est was all the time the owner o f the concern,
and Landers merely his agent. The defendant called no witnesses. Some of
the plaintiff’s witnesses testified that Landers was the owner, and that Mr. W est
had nothing to do with it previous to taking possession under his mortgage. The
plaintiff produced a memorandum book, in which he swore that he made the en­
tries every Saturday night, and in which his work was entered, with a heading that
it was work done for Mr. West. One o f the witnesses testified that he employed
the men for Mr. Landers. The counsel for the defendant contended that, as the
hiring was contracted through a third person, the book could be no evidence what­
ever to show for whom the work was done. The Court, however, without ruling
upon this point, allowed the book to go to the jury for what it was worth.
Two Irishmen testified that, on Thanksgiving day, 1847, they were directed to
go down to Mr. West’s house after the pay for this work, and not to go out of
the house until they got their pay. They stayed there all the afternoon of
Thanksgiving day; and at last Mr. West told them he would pay their bills as
soon as he got his pay o f a Mr. Hill, for some ice. There was no evidence in
the case, however, that he had got his pay o f Mr. H ill; and besides, a verbal
promise to pay the debt o f another, without consideration, would be o f no avail
under the statute o f frauds.
There were three other cases brought against the same defendant by Patrick
Steede, James Mooney, and Francis McElroy. It was agreed that the question
o f the defendant’s liability in all the cases should be decided by the verdict in this.
The jury returned a verdict for the defendant.
Edward N. Moore for the plaintiff.
Otis P. Lord (o f Salem) and George Minot for the defendant.
OWNERS OF CATTLE BOUND TO KEEP THEM OFF RAILROADS.

New Jersey Supreme Court. July (1849) term. Vandegrift vs. Rediker.
This was an action o f trespass brought against the engineer o f a locomotive,
for running against and killing the plaintiff’s cow. The cow was at large, and
had strayed upon an unenclosed part o f the Camden & Amboy Railroad, near
Bordentown, just as the train, at its usual speed, was approaching. The railroad,
at the place o f the accident, runs along the public highway, and the view along
the track is unobstructed for a quarter of a mile each way. The bell was tap­
ped, and the engine reversed, a few seconds before the collision, but not in time
to stop the cars. The engineer was proved to be a generally careful man in his
business. The opinion of the Court was delivered at the present (July) term,
by Mr. Justice Carpenter, the result o f which is, that the owner o f cattle is bound
to keep them on his own premises at his peril; that an engineer in charge o f a
locomotive is not liable for an accidental injury to a cow, which, suffered to go at
large, has strayed on a railroad; and that nothing but willfulness on his part will
make him liable for the loss o f a cow so exposed by the fault o f the owner.




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

433

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.

CURRENT BUSINESS— TRADE OF THE VALLEY OF THE MISSISSIPPI— RECEIPTS OF PRODUCE— VALUE
OF PRODUCE— RATES OF

BILLS— CALIFORNIA

GOLD— COTTON

CROP— PRODUCE— CONSUMPTION—

PROGRESS OF MANUFACTURES— SOTTISH EXPORTS— IMMIGRATION— INFLUENCE OF, UPON TRADE.

T he

business o f the port o f New York has exhibited unwonted activity sinee

the opening o f the fall trade. T he number o f dealers from the country has been
large, and increased by a proportion o f those who formerly bought in neighbor­
ing cities. The purchases o f these dealers have been fair, and they have also
paid up with much promptness— an operation which has caused a very general
advance in prices, and, at the same time, promoted and continued the abundance
o f money. T he large and profitable exportations o f produce that have taken
place from the country, have imparted a general ability to the producers to pur­
chase wrought fabrics. The influence o f considerable exportations o f produce
from the country, apart from the amount realized for that produce, is to enhance
the value o f all the remainder sold in the home market, and, by so doing, to
place at the command o f consumers o f goods, who are the grovyers o f the pro­
duce, the means o f purchasing to better advantage. In this respect, the position
o f the United States is directly the reverse o f that o f Great Britain. T he pre­
dominant interest on this continent is agricultural; consequently, when food and
raw produce sells well, general trade is improved. In the British islands, on the
other hand, it is well known that general business languishes when food is dear,
because the predominant interests are purchasers, and not sellers, o f food. During
the past year, very considerable quantities o f farm produce have been sold abroad,
at good prices, and cotton and tobacco have also sold in unusual quantities, at
improved rates. A s an indication o f the prosperity o f the great valley o f the
Mississippi, we compile a table o f the receipts o f leading articles o f produce at
N ew Orleans, for several years:—
AGGREGATE VALUE OF RECEIPTS OF PRODUCE AT NEW ORLEANS FOR SEVERAL TEARS.

1842
1843
1844

.
.
.

$45,716,045
53,728,054
60,094,716

1845
1846
1847

.
.
.

$57,199,122
77,193,464
90,033,256

1848 ...........
1849 ...........

$79,779,151
81,989,692

T he quantities and prices o f some o f the leading articles are as fo llo w s :—
Cotton.
Corn.
Flour.
Lard.
Pork.
Sugar.
T obacco.
B ales. Price. Sacs. Price.
B arrels. Price. B . Sr tcs. P ’ce. Lihis. Price. H kds. P ’ce. Hhds. P.
1844 910,854 *32
360,052* 0 90
502,507 *4 00 119,767 *11 412,928 *6 50 140,316 *60 70,835 *40
1845 979,238
24 390,964 0 87 i
533,312 4 00 60,078
16 216,960 10 00 200,000 45 64,093 45
1846 1,053,633
321,166,120 1 15
837,985 4 50 107,639 16 369,601 8 00 186,650 55 57,896 45
1847 740,669
44 2,386,510 2 00 1,617,675 5 50 117,077 23 302,170 12 00 140,000 70 44,588 55
1848 1,213,805
291,083,465 1 10
706,958 5 00 216,030 17 356,480 8 50 240,000 40 47,882 55
1849 1,142,382
271,705,138 1 05 1,013,177 4 50 489,847 18 550,643 9 50 220,000 40 44,335 70

The aggregate value for the year 1847, consequent upon the failure o f the
crops abroad, reached a high figure, and underwent some reaction, from which
they have recovered this year, raising the money value o f the farm produce o f the
valley, received at New Orleans, to an excess over that o f last o f nearly six mil­
lions o f dollars, in addition to the increased quantities that have sought the north­
ern route to market. T he follow ing is a comparative statement o f produce reV O L . x x i.— n o . iv .
28




434

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

ceived at Montreal, downward, via river and canal, from commencement o f season
to August 31st, inclusive:—
Standard N o. to
the ton.

1848.
Tons.

1849.
Tons.

10
8
4
37
56
40
25
..

34,299
2,056
2,457
5,766
825
.........
209
342

40,998
2,343
2,351
6,028
1,285
2,159
337
347

Flour..................................................................... bbls.
Beef and pork.............................................................
Ashes.......... ................................................................
Wheat.................................................................. bush.
Oats..............................................................................
Corn, corn meal, A c ..................................................
Butter, lard, tallow............................................. kegs
Bran and ship-stuff's............................................. tons

T he follow ing table shows the quantity o f some o f the principal articles o f
produce left at tide-water, on the Hudson River, via the New York canals, from
the commencement o f navigation to the 7th o f September, inclusive, during the
years 1847, 1848, and 1949— the canal in those years having been opened on the
1st day o f M a y :—
Flour......................
W h eat...................
Corn.......................
Barley.....................
Beef.........................
Pork........................
Ashes.....................
Butter.....................
L a rd ......................
Cheese....................
W ool.......................
Bacon.....................

184 7 .

1848.

1849.

2,467,319
2,619,023
4,628,081
312,896
28,265
68,238
24,436
5,997,962
4,876,700
6,777,350
7,696,552
3,105,900

1,238,210
1,053,722
1,626,604
150,198
17,450
82,186
23,899
5,690,172
7,600,139
6,913,980
6,903,179
7,676,292

1,393,529
1,025,829
3,822,564
111,045
17,962
66,039
32,681
3,542,482
7,172,936
7,511,957
8,714,623
7,753,366

In every direction, the quantities are very much in excess o f last year, and sold
at high prices, as compared with former years, realizing larger sums to the west­
ern interests. The exports o f five articles from the United States to Great Britain,
for the year ending September 1st, have been as fo llo w s :—
Cotton.
Bales.

1848 .................
1 8 4 9 . . . ...........

1,324,265
1,537,901

Flour.
Bbls.

188,422
1,114,016

MeaL
Bbls.

W heat.
Bush.

C om .
Bush.

104,427
88,358

244,879
1,084,385

4,493,210
12,721,626

The value o f the flour and grain exported to Great Britain, exceeds that o f last,
$9,000,000 ; and this export has sustained the value o f the home sales, by probably
$30,000,000; or in consequence o f taking those quantities out o f the market,
prices have ruled at rates as much higher than otherwise w ould have been the case,
as to realize that sum additional to the farmers. Thus there has been delivered
on the Hudson River, within a year, ending with August, 3,256,414 bbls. o f flour.
O f this 800,000 bbls. has been exported to Great Britain, sustaining the price at an
average o f $ 5 25 for the whole quantity, making a value o f $19,076,173. Had
that export demand not existed, the price, under a quantity o f 25 per cent more
pressing upon the home market, w ould probably not have reached $ 4 00, which
was the rate in the summer o f 1846.

A t that rate, the aggregate value o f the

receipts would have been $13,025,656, or $4,000,000 less than the actual sales.
This difference is equal to the whole value o f the exported flour. T he same
reasoning applies to most other articles o f farm produce.




Thus the influence o f

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

435

the export demand is not measured by the actual sales, but by the effect o f those
exports upon the prices o f the home market.
the activity o f the fall trade is evidence.

That these have been beneficial,

Notwithstanding that the prevalence o f the cholera, in the early summer, induced
many importers to observe caution in their orders for goods, and that restored
activity abroad caused a rise in prices there, checking a disposition to consign
goods to this market, the importations have been much in excess o f those o f last
year. The general assortments o f goods have therefore been desirable, and have
been taken up so freely at improving prices, as to induce holders to be cautious,
lest present stocks cannot be replaced, at anything like old prices. The general
prosperity o f the India and home markets, has had a favorable influence upon the
manufacturing districts o f England, and restored peace upon the continent, has
further promoted the demand for raw materials in that quarter. It has therefore
been the case that, although returning confidence in prolonged peace has checked
the demand for United States stocks, the level o f exchanges indicates that the
considerable importations have been paid for without raising bills firmly to p a r .
Many leading houses have asked 10 per cent for sterling, but good bills could be
had 84 a 9 f per cent, although the abundance and cheapness o f money every­
where facilitates remittances. T he continued receipts o f gold from California, o f
which nearly $1,000,000 has arrived mostly at New Y ork within tw o months, add
to the general buoyancy.
In answer to inquiries made at the Mint, we have been furnished with the fol­
lowing statement:—
The deposits of California gold to the 31st August were, at the Phil­
adelphia Mint...................... ....................................................................
Branch Mint at New Orleans....................................................................

$1,740,620 07
175,918 73

Total...............................................................................................
A dd the deposits of 1848.........................................................................

$1,916,528 80
44,177 00

Total deposits o f California gold.........................................

$1,960,715 80

The coinage of gold dollars at the Mint in Philadelphia, to the 31st
August, was.............................................................................................
A t the branch mints, to July 31st...........................................................

$462,539 00
133,227 00

Total coinage of gold dollars........................................................

$595,766 00

These supplies o f gold from so unusual a quarter, have much aided in impart­
ing confidence and activity to the markets, not from any direct effect, but from the
hopes created by operations that have turned so auspiciously for the first year. A l­
though the accounts from that wondrous region continue to represent the hard­
ships endured by the miners as very great, there is no falling o ff in the estimates
as to the extent o f the deposits. The accounts to August represent that 25,000
are actively em ployed; and at the minimum yield o f half an ounce per day per
man, the product is at the rate o f $50,000,000 per annum, o f which a consider­
able portion goes to E u rope: and by the steamers already $500,000 reaches the
Atlantic cities monthly. It is obvious that this item is already an important one.

The cotton crop o f the United States for the year has been made up, and its
results are very important.




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

436

UNITED STATES COTTON CROP, TEAR ENDING SEPTEMBER 1.
1841.

1844.

1845.

1846.

New Orleans.. 1,060,246 832,172 929,126 1,037,144
M obile............. 481,714 467,900 517,196 421,966
Florida............ 161,088
145,562 188,693 141,184
Texas....................................................................
27,008
Georgia............ 299,491
255,597 295,440 194,911
S. Carolina.... 351,058
304,870 426,361 251,405
9,030
8,618
12,487
10,637
N. Carolina___
Virginia...........
15,639
15,600
25,200
16,282

1 84 7 .

1848.

1849.

705,979 1,190,733 1,093,797
323,462 436,336 518,706
127,852 153,776 200,186
8,317
39,742
38,827
242,789 254,825 391,372
350,200 261,752 458,117
6,061
1,518
10,041
13,991
8,952
17,550

Total............ 2,378,875 2,030,409 2,394,503 2,100,537 1,778,651 2,347,634 2,728,596
The excess o f the present crop, it appears, is 368,093 bales more than ever be­
fore, and this has been disposed o f according to the follow ing ta b le:—
EXPORTS, UNITED STATES CONSUMPTION, AND STOCKS REMAINING ON HAND.

Stock on
Exports to
Great Britain.

Years.

1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
1849

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

1,469,711
1,202,498
1,439,306
1,102,399
830,909
1,324,265
1,537,901

France.

North o f
United States hand.
Europe. Other ports. Tot. exports, consum ption. A ug. 31.

346,179
282,685
359,357
359,703
241,486
279,172
368,259

117,224
62,053
134,501
86,692
75,692
120,348
165,458

76,493
75,254
150,592
118,028
93,138
134,476
156,226

2,010,137
1,629,490
2,083,756
1,666,792
1,241,222
1,858,261
2,227,844

325,129
346,744
387,006
422,597
427,967
531,772
518,039

94,486
159,772
94,126
107,122
214,837
171,468
154,753

It appears, from this table, that the quantity taken by the United States manu­
facturers, from the receipts at the Atlantic ports, reached a high figure in 1848.
It is to be observed, however, that prices ruled low in that year, and favorably to
manufacturers.
W h en the cotton crop o f 1847 began to come in, prices opened liberally, as will
be seen by the quotations in our article for September. The idea o f a short crop
had its influence, which, with reduced stocks in Prance and on the continent, gave
impulse and activity to the market. On the 1st o f October the quotation for fair
' was 11 cents; in November, however, a decline commenced. Large failures in
Europe, from speculations in grain, by which the credit o f houses, long conspicu­
ous in the mercantile world, was withdrawn from the usual channels, together
with heavy calls on railway shares, produced great stringency in the money mar­
ket. Depression ensued in business, and cotton, as the leading article, and con­
sequently most exposed to sympathetic influence, had to submit. On the 17th o f
November, fair cotton was fully down to 7 cents, a decline o f 4 cents having
taken place in the short space o f six weeks. From this date the market rallied
about one cent per pound, and continued steady until the latter part o f March.
T he cotton year o f 1849 opens under similar circumstances. The estimates
as to production were very vague, and varied 500,000 bales. The crop came for­
ward early; and stocks accumulating under adverse news from abroad, prices con­
tinued to settle until November. Manufacturers then came forward, and by D e­
cember a reaction was established, which, under the influence o f cheap food,
abundance o f money, and improved political aspects, has continued, up to the
latest dates, to enhance consumption, at constantly improving rates. These latter
have operated against the northern manufacturers, but have not been so adverse
to those mills which supply themselves from the plantations.

The number o f

mills, both south and west, increases with great rapidity, and the follow ing esti­
mate o f their consumption is made on competent authority:—




Commercial Chronicle and Review.
By mills in

437

1848.

North Carolina...............................................
Soutli Carolina...........................................................
Georgia.......................................................................
Alabama....................................................................
Ohio................................................................ ............
Pittsburg and 'Wheeling............................... .............
Kentucky....................................................... ............
Tennessee.......................................................
.............
Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois.....................

6,000
6,000
5,000
12,500
12,500
5,000
j-12,500

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

1849.

20,000
15,000
20,500
7,000
9,000
12,500
5,000
12,500
9,000
110,000

This would make the whole United States consumption for 1848, 606,772 bales,
and for 1849, 628,039 bales— an actual increase o f 21,500 bales. This is a re­
markable increase, and the rapidity with which the factories in the south and west
have spread for the last tw o years, evinces the extraordinary advantages which
a healthy “ home market” presents to manufacturers. In regions like the W est­
ern States, which, for the most part, are settled by agricultural adventurers, the
first great necessity is a market for their produce. W hen roads are constructed,
canals built, and an avenue to the Atlantic markets opened, and these become ac­
tive under a prosperous export trade, the prosperity o f the producers is established,
and manifests itself in a demand for those goods, to supply which factories spring
up in their vicinity with the rapidity indicated in the tables. H ow much more
gratifying an evidence o f national prosperity is the multiplication o f factories in
the new States, as is now the case, than the growth o f banks and paper credits,
which, a few years since, was mistaken for prosperity!

It is a curious fact that,

in those States, like Ohio, where pernicious paper credits, based on an illusive
system, most predominate, industry flourishes the least.
That the United States are now by far the largest c o n s u m

e rs

o f cotton, is evi-

ident. England works up nearly three times the quantity to supply other coun­
tries. But with the exception o f the United States, she sends to all cotton-pro­
ducing countries a greater w e i g h t o f cotton, in the shape o f goods, than she re­
ceives from it in the raw state. During the first six months o f 1849, the demand
for cotton in all directions has been large; and while the British home market has
required greater supplies, all the customers o f Great Britain have also been more
in want o f goods. The follow ing table shows the quantity o f cotton cloth ex­
ported from Great Britain for the first six months o f several years:—
BRITISH EXPORTS OF COTTON GOODS, SIX MONTHS ENDING WITH JUNE.
1 84 6 .

1847.

1848.

1849.

Dyed cottons...........
Plain cottons............
Cambrics.................
Cotton and linen___
Velveteens...............
Lace..........................

128,087,137
291,921,039
2,030,855
657,413
981,824
37,666,787

150,295,187
277,523,135
2,137,260
569,330
1,426,613
40,366,520

136,850,593
252,855,726
2,338,466
972,036
991,939
26,510,647

196,395,897
345,769,822
3,817,259
3,055,765
1,899,827
45,481,752

Total................
Thread.....................
Y arn.........................

461,345,025
1,170,203
64,159,568

472,318,045
1,238,203
51,462,499

420,519,407
1,480,251
46,774,813

596,370,822
2,394,197
58,606,904

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

65,329,771

52,700,702

48,255,064

61,001,101

It has now become evident that large as is the production o f cotton, it is une­
qual to the demands o f the world, in a year o f peace and abundant food, The




I

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

438

consumption and production o f United States cotton for the last fifteen years,
has been as follow s:—
5 years to

5 years to

1819.

1844.

7,196,000
7,005,000

9,903,000
9,245,000

11,323,000
11.939,000

28,422,000
28,189,000

191,000
658,000
Excess of production...................
Excess of consumption........................................................

...............
616,000

233,000
...............

Production....................................bales
Consumption........................................

5 years to
1849.

Total 15 years.

This excess in fifteen years’ production, is about equal to seven weeks’ con­
sumption for Great Britain alone, at the average o f the last six months; and it is
to he remarked that in each of the last four years, consumption has exceeded pro­
duction, resulting in a reduction o f stock in England and Europe, from 1,219,000
bales at the close o f 1845, to about 800,000 at the close o f 1848.
It would seem, therefore, that the impulse given to the consumption o f cotton,
by the equalizing o f the price o f food between the producers o f the United
States and the consumers o f England, as well as the amelioration o f restrictive
laws in the interior o f Germany, have given an impulse to the consumption o f
cotton, which places it in advance o f the increase o f the producing force. Another
great element in the increase o f consumption, is the rapid immigration from
Europe. So immense has this become, that the numbers who will have arrived
for the decade ending with 1850, will not fall short o f 1,000,000 souls. O f these,
a large portion go on to the virgin soil o f the west, and from successful produ­
cers o f food, become, for the first time, efficient consumers o f cotton cloth. This
accession alone would increase the consuming power faster than the producing
power, which progresses only in the ratio o f the natural increase o f the blacks,
modified by emancipation, and drafts to other employments, particularly sugar and
manufacturing. The consumption progresses with the whole natural increase o f
the whites, added to immigration. The majority o f immigrants are o f Irish and
German extraction, more accustomed at home to wear home-made coarse linens
than cottons. It is the influence o f these in the Western and Southern States,
that stimulates the growth o f factories in those sections, when the sale o f produce
is favored by a good export demand.
Since preparing the above, we have received a table prepared by Messrs. Wilson
Callet, which will serve to render our tables of the cotton trade quite complete.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF CROPS, CONSUMPTION,

Years.

First bloom .

1836-7.
1837-8.
1838-9.
1839-40
1840-1.
1841-2.
1842-3.
1843-4.
1844-5.
1845-6 .
1846-7 .
1847-8.
1848-9.

June 4
May 28
June 14
May 24
June 6
<• 10
May 17
June 9
May 25
May 30
June 10
May 29
June 1




&

OF AMERICAN COTTON FOR 13 YEARS.

Killing
frost.

Days
l'rom
b looom
to frost.

Crop as
shown by
the receipts
at Paris,
31st Aug.

Consum ed
in the
U. States,
year ending
31st Aug.

Stock A v er’g e
at the
quot.
ports, end o f o f upthe year lands
31st A ug. in L iv ,l.

Oct. 14
“
27
“
7
Nov. 7
Oct. 16
“
20
Nov. 1
Oct. 25
“
29
Nov. 3
“
1
“
27
“
20

132
152
115
167
132
132
162
138
157
157
144
182
172

1,422,930
1,801,497
1,360,532
2,177,835
1,631,945
1,684,211
2,379,460
2,030,409
2,415,448
2,100,537
1,778,651
2,347,634
2,728,596

222,540
246,063
276,018
295,193
297,288
267,850
325,129
346,744
389,006
422,597
427,967
631,772
518,039

109,036 . d.
68,961 7
69,963 * *
78,780 7 “
72,479
31,807 6S
94,486
159,772
98,420 4 i
107,122 4 f
214,837 4 i
171,468
154,753 4*

i

S'

Commercial Statistics.

439

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.
S T A T IS T IC S O F T H E

COTTON T R A D E

OF TH E

U N IT E D

STATES.

COTTON CROP OF TH E UNITED STATES.

STATEMENT AND TOTAL AMOUNT FOR THE TEAR ENDING AUGUST 31, 1849.
NEW ORLEANS.

Exports—

Bales.

To foreign ports..................................................
Coastwise..............................................................
Stock, 1st September, 1849 ..............................

Bales.

Total.

961,492
205,811
15,480
1,182,783

Deduct—
Stock, 1st September, 1848 ..................................
Received from Mobile.............................................
“
“ Florida.......................................
“
“ Texas...............................................

37,401
35,164
5,065
11,356
88,986
---------

MOBILE.

Export—
To foreign ports..................................................
Coastwise.............................................................
Burnt at Mobile...................................................
Stock, 1st September, 1849 ..............................

1,093,797

396,341
141,090
400
5,046
542,877

Deduct—
Stock, 1st September, 1848...............................

23,584

Received from New Orleans...........................

587

FLORIDA.

Export—
To foreign ports..................................................
Coastwise.............................................................
Stock, 1st September, 1849 ..............................

24,171
---------

518,706

200,693
507
-----------

200,186

39,574
747
---------

38,827

79,739
120,339
615

Deduct— Stock, 1st September, 1848
TEXAS.

Export—
To foreign ports...................................................
Coastwise.............................................................
Stock, 1st September, 1849...............................

2,495
36,627
452

Deduct— Stock, 1st September, 1848.
GEORGIA.

Export from S avannah—
To foreign ports— Uplands...............................
“
Sea Islands...........................
Coastwise— Uplands..........................................
“
Sea Islands.....................................

207,043
10,622
186,853
938
405,456

Export from D arien —
To New Y ork........................................
none.
Stock in Savannah, 1st Sept., 1 8 4 9 ... 11,500
“ Aug. A Ilamb’g, Sept. 1,1849. 13,819
--------




25,319
430,775

Commercial Statistics.

440

Deduct—
Stock in Savannah and Augusta, 1st Sept., 1848
Received from Florida.......................................

36,603
2,800
----------

39,403
391,372

SOUTH CAROLINA.

Export from C harleston —
To foreign ports— Uplands................................
“
Sea Islands.........................
Coastwise— Uplands.........................................
“
Sea Islands.....................................
Burnt at Charleston...........................................
Export from G eorgetow n —
To New York and Boston................... 3,285
Stock in Charleston, 1st Sept., 1 849.. 23,806
--------

280,671
18,111
163,356
813
462,951
150

Deduct—
Stock in Charleston, 1st September, 1848___
Received from Savannah ..................................

27,091
---------14,085
17,990
----------

NORTH CAROLINA.

490,192

32,075
458,117

----------------'

10,041

Export— Coastwise
VIRGINIA.

Export—
To foreign ports...............................................
Coastwise and..............................................)
Manufactured, (taken from the ports.......... j"
Stock, 1st September, 1849 ..............................

1,406
14,838
1,750
17,994
444
--------- 17,550

Deduct— Stock, 1st September, 1848

Total crop of the United States.................................................
“
“
1848........................................................................
“
“ 1847.........................................................................

2,728,596
2,347,634
1,778,651

Increase over last year................................................
“
year before..........................................

380,962
949,945

EXTORT OF COTTON TO FOREIGN PORTS, FROM SEPTEMBER 1, 1848, TO AUGUST 31, 1849.
T o Great
Britain.

.New Orleans. ..bales
M obile......................
Florida.................. ....

645,018
290,383
62,734

Georgia......................
South Carolina........

195,443
206,109

To
France.

Other
F ’n Ports.

Total.

17,663

961,492
396,341
79,739
2,495
217,665
298,782

44,893
3,038

484
5,101
226

1,406
106
3,303
260,643
5,872

368,259
279,172

165,458
120,348

156,226
134,476

2,227,844
1,858,261

89,087

45,110

21,750

369,583

154,647
61,597
5,721
750
18,458
48,768

61,062
16,822
6,836
1,745
3,764
26,242

108

1,056

Virginia....................
Baltimore..................
Philadelphia.............
New Y ork ................
Boston........................

242
106
2,819
132,612
2,435

78,037
173

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

1,537,901
1,324,265

Increase........

213,636




T o North
o f Europe.

100,765
27,539
4,448

Commercial Statistics.

441

GROWTH OF COTTON IN UNITED STATES.

Bales.

509,158
569,249
720,027
957,281
720,593
857,744
976^845
1,038,848
987,477

1823-4.........
1824-5.........
1825-6.........
1826-7.........
1827-8.........
1828-9.........
1829-30.......
1830-1.........
1831-2.........

Bales.

Bales.

1832-3....
1833—4 ....
1834-5.......
1835-6....
1836-7....
1837-8___
1838-9....
1839—40...
1840-1.. . .

1,070,438
1,205,394
1,254,328
1,360,725
1,422,930
1,801,497
L360|532
2,177,835
1,634,945

CONSUMPTION OF COTTON IN

1841-2........
1842-3........
1843—4........
1844-5........
1845-6........
1846-7........
1847-8........
1848-9........

1,683,574
2,378,875
2,030,409
2,394,503
2,100,537
1,778,651
2’347,634
2,728,596

1848-9.

Total crop of the United States, as above stated.............
2,728,596
A dd stocks on hand at the commencement of the year, Sept. 1st, 1848 —
In the Southern ports..
113,471
In the Northern ports........................................................

57,997
----------

171,468

Makes a supply o£...................................................................................

2,900,064

Deduct therefrcym.—

The export to foreign ports....................
Less, foreign included.............................

2,227,844
1,122
----------

2,226,722

Stocks on hand, September1st, 1849 :—
In the Southern ports..............................
In the Northern ports.............................

72,468
82,285
---------Burnt at Charleston andMobile................................

154,753
550
----------

2,382,025

Taken for home use.................................................................

518,039

QUANTITY

OF

1848-9..........
1847-8..........
1846-7..........
1845-6..........
1844-5..........
1843-4..........
1842-3..........
1841-2..........

COTTON CONSUMED BY AND IN THE HANDS OF MANUFACTEBEBS.

Bales.
518,039
531,772
427,967
422,597
389,006
346,744
325,129
267,850

1840-1..........
1839-40........
1838-9..........
1837-8..........
1836-7..........
1835-6..........
1834-5..........
1833-4..........

Bales.
297,288
295,193
276,018
246,063
222,540
236,733
216,888
196,413

1832-3..........
1831-2..........
1830-1..........
1829-30........
1828-9..........
1827-8..........
1826-7_____

Bales.
194,412
173,800
182,142
126,512
118,853
120,593
149,516

In our last annual statement, the estimate of cotton taken for consumption for the
year ending September 1,1848, in the States south and west of Virginia, was probably
below the mark— the following for the past year is believed to be very nearly correct.
The number of mills has increased since that time, and is still increasing. The follow­
ing estimate is from a judicious and careful observer at the South, of the quantity so
consumed, and not included in the receipts. Thus, in—Bales.

North Carolina...........................
South Carolina...........................
Georgia.......................................
A labam a....................................
Tennessee...................................
Kentucky....................................

20,000 Ohio................................
15,000 Pittsburg, Wheeling, etc.........
20,500 Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, <tc.
7,000
12,000
Total to Sept. 1,1849.........
s’ooO
Same time, 1848.................

Bales.

9,000
12,500
9,000
110,000
75,000

Virginia manufactures more than 20,000 bales, and obtains a portion of it by impor­
tations from the Southern and Northern ports.
To which should be added the quantity burnt in the interior, and that lost on its
way to market; these, added to the crop as given above, received at the shipping
ports, will show very nearly the amount raised in the United States the past season—
say, in round numbers, 2,840,000 bales.




Commercial Statistics.

442

I f these figures be under or over-rated, we request o f gentlemen interested in the
cotton manufacture in the several States named above, or of any others well informed
on the subject, to furnish us more correct ones.
The quantity of new cotton received at the shipping ports up to the 1st instant,
amounted to 575 bales, against about 3,000 bales last year.
The shipments given in the above statement from Texas, are those by s e a on ly; a
considerable portion of the crop of that State finds its way to market via Red River,
and is included in the receipts at New Orleans.— S h i p p i n g L i s t

E X P O R T S O F COTTON

FROM

M O B IL E .

W e give below a tabular statement of the exports of cotton from Mobile for the
last five years, i . e ., from 1844 to 1849. Years commencing on the 1st of September,
and ending on the 31st of August:—
COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE EXPORTS OF COTTON FROM MOBILE FOR FIVE YEARS.

Ports.

184 8 .

1847.

184 6 .

1845.

1844.

Liverpool...................................
H ull...........................................
Glasgow and Greenock...........

269,637

123,794
1,073
4,845
1,444

191,977
1,400
13,395

238,226

21,199

212,923
1,650
13,756

Total to Great Britain.........

290,836

228,329

131,156

206,772

269,037

Havre.........................................

63,290

60,303

39,293

63,878

66,788

448
2,495

1,068
933

66,821

68,789

4,896

1,509
Total to France....................

63,290
4,924

Antwerp....................................
Hamburg, Bremen, St. Peterb’g
Stockholm, Ghent, <fcc.............

9,499
1,801
618
10,347
1 ,1 2 5

Genoa, Trieste, <fcc...................

16,211

61,812

39,293

626
6,114
7,825
1,588
1,445
5,988

28,581
760
1,470

2,680

3,828
4,706
2,536

14,491

6,485
4,373

8,330
2,664
5,523
7,322
3,685
3,208
11,910
10,169

2,613

Total to other foreign ports.

44,525

29,070

19,784

26,824

52,811

Hew York................................
Boston.......................................
Providence................................
Philadelphia.............................
Baltimore...................................
New Orleans...........................
Other ports...............................

37,812
45,386
13,712
2,949
5,017
35,164
591

48,331
37,631
11,214
1,813
3,205
13,078
591

45,607
33,308
12,281
3,205
4,661
16,431
1,181

45,422
34,288
13,374
2,804
5,140
6,708
7,428

57,899
36,736
11,836
4,639
4,269
11,950
3,272

Total coastwise....................
Grand total.......................

140,993
539,642

120,350
439,561

116,674
306,907

115,164
415,581

130,601
521,238

Great Britain...........................
France........................................
Other foreign ports..................

290,836
63,290
44,525

228,329
61,812
29,070

131,156
39,293
19,784

206,772
66,821
26,824

269,037
68,789
52,811

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

398,651
140,993

319,211
120,350

190,233
116,674

300,417
115,164

390,637
130,601

Grand Total.....................

539,642

439,561

306,907

415,581

521,238

RECAPITULATION.




s

Commercial Statistics.

4 43

EXPORTS OF COTTON TO FOREIGN PORTS, WEIGHT AND VALUE, FOR THE PAST YEAR, COM­
MENCING SEPTEMBER 1ST, 1848.

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

Bales.
139,187
151,649

Pounds.
71,943,002
76,904,674

Value.
$4,273,073 17
4,736,950 23
19,010,023 40

Total to Great Britain..........................

290,836

148,847,676

To France, in American vessels..............
To other for. ports,
“
..............
“
British vessels...........
“
Spanish “
...........
“
Belgium “
...........
“
Sardinian “
...........

63,290
28,292
1,279
10,347
618
3,989

32,068,799
14,256,859
669,820
4,905,838
300,088
2,023,452

Total to other foreign ports.................
Grand total.......................................

44,525
398,651

22,156,057
203,072,532

HOGS PACK ED IN

TH E

1,995,664
863,641
37,504
310.973
17,602
124,123

99
14
0(1
22
49
26

$1,353,844 11
12,359,532 50

W EST,

The St. Louis R e p u b l i c a n has compiled, from the most authentic information, the
foHowing table, showing the number of hogs packed in Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois, last season, which is believed to be, in the main, correct. The table will be found
useful for future reference.
It is estimated that in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana, there were 1,000,000. In Mis­
sissippi, Illinois, and Missouri, 581,000. Making in the whole 1,581,000 head, being an
increase of 81,000 head over the yield of the seasons of 1841-8, in the W est:—
HOGS SLAUGHTERED IN MISSISSIPPI.

Davenport...................................
Farmington.................................
Madison......................................
Keokuk..................................
Burlington.......................................
Bloomington....................................
Hannibal.........................................
Rockport.....................................
Lagrange and Tully..................

2,500 |Churchville
6,500 ] Louisiana..
6,000 Warsaw . . .
34,000
Oquawka..
20,000
A lton .......
15,000
St. Louis...
25,000
3,500
Total.
1,000

Kansas
Linnville___
Arrow Rock
Camden.......
Providence.
Liberty. . . .
G lasgow ...
Brunswick .

2.300
800
1,000
6,500
2.300
1,700
1,800
5,550

5.000

6.000
15.000
7,000
35.000
90.000
277,500

MISSOURI.

On Grand River
Rocheport.........
Alexandria.........
St. Joseph.........
Lexington..........
Weston..............

11,000
12,000
10,000

Total.........

72,200

ILLINOIS.

Chillicothe...................................
Beardstown................................
Canton........................................
Tremont..............
Bemsdotte...................................
Peru.............................................
Winchester.................................
Florence......................................
Naples.........................................
Quincy.........................................
Pekin...........................................




3,500
46,500
18,000
1,000
700
4,000
2,500
3,100
3,500
22,500
20,000

Griggsville...................
Meredosia....................
Peoria..........................
Lacon...........................
Havana.........................
RushviHe.....................
Lagrange......................
Knoxville.....................
Springfield...................
Total...................

1,750
2,500
1,300

444

Commercial Statistics .
IM P O R T A N D E X P O R T

TRAD E

O F C IN C IN N A T I.

From the annual statement of the Cincinnati P rice Current, Commercial Intelli­
gencer , and Merchants' Transcript , we derive the following tabular statements of the

imports and exports of Cincinnati for five years, from September 1 to August 31, in
each year:—
IMPORTS AT CINCINNATI FOR FIVE YEARS, FROM SEPTEMBER 1 TO AUGUST 31, EACH YEAR.

Articles.
Apples, green. . . . .bbls.
B e e f...............
Beef.................
Bagging......... . , . pieces
B a rley ............
Beans..............
Butter.............. . . . .bbls.
Butter..........firk. & kegs
Blooms............
Bran, & c ..............
Candles............
Com................
Corn meal......
Cider............... . . . .bbls.
Cheese.............
Cheese.............
Cotton..............
Coffee.,............
Codfish...........
Cooperage. . . .
Eggs.........boxes & bbls.
Flour................
Feathers........
Fish, sundry. . . . . .bbls.
Fish.............kegs & kits
Fruits, dried..
G rease............ . . . .bbls.
Glass...............
Glassware...... .packages
H em p. . bundles & bales
Hides, loose... .........No.
Hides, green ..
H a y ...............
Herring..........
H ogs...............

1845.

184 6 .

12,619
1,203
556
12,553
27/790
4,634
1,810
5,137
2,048
8,710
692
172,423
6,967
1,819
2,939
79,402
5,359
52,205
396
113,781
16,742
145,934
2,076
9,3491
844
3,348
636}
13,084
10,237
21,274
20,037
12,377
6,989
2,565

17,502
2,420
737
6,805
90,225
10,202
3,339
6,841
42,770
3,117
241
57,245
9,289}
812
808
99,059
4,880
55,468
220
105,915
2,400
202,319
3,514
14,613}
996
2,566
426
13,088
11,058
9,167
19,781
5,007
8,092
2,226 _

Iron and steel. .. ..pieces
Iron and steel. . .bundles
Iron and steel.
Lead..............
L a r d ....................... bbls.
Lard................
Leather..........
Lemons..........
L im e...................... bbls.
Liquors___ hhds. & pps.
Merchand. ife sund.. p k g s .
Merchandise..
Molasses . . . , ........ bbls.
Malt................
Nails..............
O il..................
Oranges. . . boxes <fcbbls.

153,238
27,891
542}
155,779
12,656
80,829
3,615
2,011
7,647
883}
155,267
1,6784
22,203
11,603
32,118
3,252
1,778

130,965
31,920
358}
25,238
13,898}
51,870
1,904
1,904
9,212
1,222}
967,868
2,815
36,510
8,758
33,207
3,706
2,863

26,992
186
5
5,561
79,394
11,768
6,345
7,090
2,017
14,594
207
896,258
56,775
3,261
483
120,301
12,528
59,337
292
186,186
2,651
512,506
2,767
16,836
2,142
82,871
482
18,002
17,121
26,678
24,376
7,513
7,049
1,603
38,774
1,064
188^125
33,463
1,685
43,675
21,991
22,722
5,069
2,185
32,016
3,369
263,944
7,941
27,216
12,562
54,918
5,663
4,137




1844.

1847.

28,674
659
79,222
165,528
8,757
6,625
6,405
2,203
1,941
133
361,315
29,542
2,289
164
138,800
13,476
80,242
311
179,946
4,035
151,518
4,467
19,215
725
27,464
585
20,281
15,025
15,349
33,749
10,829
8,036
4,191
49,847
645
197,120
34,213
827
39,609
37,978
41,714
6,579
3,068
63,364
3,115
381,537
7,038
51,001
7,999
59,983
6,618
5,007

1848.

22,109
348
27
2,094
87,460
3,067
7,721
7,999
9,519
21,995
414
344,910
5,504
4,346
281
143,265
9,058
74,961
515
147,352
4,504
447,844
4,908
18,145
1,059
38,317
878
33,898
19,209
11,161
23,766
22,774
12,751
2,960
52,176
238
187,864
29,889
1,768
45,544
28,514
48,187
6,975
4,181
61,278
4,47(j
68,582
837
52,591
29,910
55,893
7.427
4,317

Commercial Statistics.

445

IMPORTS OF CINCINNATI FOR FIVE TEARS— CONTINUED.

Articles.
Oakum.................
Oats......................
Oil cake.............. . . .lbs.
Pork & bacon. . . .
Pork & bacon. . . .
Pork & bacon. . .
Pork in bulk. . . .
Potatoes.............. . .bbls.
Pier metal............
Pimento & pepper..bags
% e .......................
Rosin, tar, tfcc.... . .bbls.
Raisins...............
Rope, twine, & c .. •pkgs.
R ice.....................
Sugar..................
Sugar..................
Sugar..................
Seed, flax............ . .bbls.
Seed, grass........
Seed, hemp.........
Salt....................
S a lt.....................
Shot....................
Tea................... packages
T obacco.............
Tobacco .............
Tobacco . . .boxes & kegs
Tallow.................
W in es.. .bbls. <fc ^ casks
Wines.........bskts. & bxs.
W h ea t...............
Wool..................
Whisky ................bbls.
Yarns, cotton...,. ..pkgs.
Y a rn ..................

1844.

1845.

1846.

1 84 7 .

2,488
551
1,100
1,486
188,169
106,852
372,127
194,557
923,510
1,647,462 2,225,988
2,811,793
4,153
4,089
5,476
4,420
643
98
124
140
43,400
53,969
40,581
69,828
2,802,038
6,037,163
8,027,399
9,643,063
2,865
15,829
12,707
22,439
15,808
9,810
13,685|
21,145
2,052
3,180
1,743
3,455
12,113
41,016
8,582|24,326
5,004
6,393
2,161
11,668
14,832
11,990
12,021
22,796
8,002
8,135
4,341
7,806
2,250
3,140
1,145
2,494
16,649
18,736
13,710
27,153
4,956
7,196
7,457
11,175
2,184
6,177
2,928
860
25,753
20,494
32,260
22,247
4,481
4,964
2,759
4,968
400
290
1,126
214
56,292
31,147
70,247
65,265
111,005
124,360
100,075
94,722
1,118
529
580
809
4,900
4,255
5,443
2,931
4,622
5,078
6,200
4,051
655
822
1,229
877
8,095
6,918
9,241
14,815
1,748
1,083
1,734
2,472
2,621
2,252
3,071
4,006
1,419
805
1,331
2,272
487,072
434,486
590,809
570,813
769
4,471
2,960
1,943
154,354
178,336
184,439
170,436
3,564
9,721
6,403
4,367
191,539
165,914
146,541
288,095

1848.

1,423
185,723
1,767,441
6,178
465
44,267
249,380
17,269
15,612
1,257
22,233
3,298
14,927
3,950
3,365
22,685
7,575
1,847
22,859
5,920
510
76,985
76,496
818
7,412
3,471
1,311
12,463
1,829
2,663
2,101
385,888
' 1,686
165,419
5,562
262,893

EXPORTS FROM CINCINNATI FOR FIVE YEARS, FROM SEPTEMBER 1 TO AUGUST 31, EACH YEAR.

Articles.
Apples, green.. . . .bbls.
Alcohol..............
Beef....................
B eef...................
Beans................. . .bbls.
Brooms.............
Butter..............
Butter..........firk. & kegs
Bran, <fcc............
Bagging...........
Corn...................
Corn meal........ . . .bbls.
Cheese...............
Cheese...............
Candles............
Cattle...............
Cotton. . . . . . . . .
Coffee................
Cooperage . . . .
Eggs.................. . . .bbls.




1844.

1845.

1846.

1847.

9,293
531
14,476
3,552
1,302
3,249
689
15,616

3,920
1,615
8,896
11,301
2,048
1,584
1,624
20,390

14,229
238
1,561
676
40,392
7,226
1,576

19,716

13,943
7,757

18,388
4,787

1,444
1,843
10,367
7,970
3,782
5,108
1,348
31,194
3,842
8,867
258,198
88,882
1,132
70,104
16,622
872
5,019
13,037
41,121
10,308

8,512
1,771
14,811
3,615
1,097
3,760
2,937
28,315
3,761
12,632
53,021
19,999
34
59,379
29,180
733
6,123
18,587
36,924
9,450

1,258
604
35;459
6,757
168

1848.

5,824
3,022
12,623
9,332
1,685
3,333
1,272
21,398
233
15,910
7,176
3,660
122
55,134
39,640
97
4,009
18,909
55,617
5,229

446

Commercial Statistics.
EXPORTS OF CINCINNATI FOR FIVE YEARS— CONTINUED.
Articles.

F l o u r .....................
F e a t h e r s ...............
F r u it , d r ie d . . . ,
G r e a s e ..................
G rass seed . . . .
H o r s e s ..................
H e m p ....................
H i d e s ..................... . . . .lb s .
H i d e s ..................... ___ No.
I r o n ..........................
I r o n .........................
L a r d .....................
L a r d .......................
L a r d o i l .............. . . .b b ls .
L i n s e e d o i l .......... . . . b b ls .
M o l a s s e s ..............
Oil c a k e ................
O a ts .........................
P o t a t o e s , <fcc . . .
P o r k & b a c o n .. .
P ork & b acon . . .
P ork & bacon ..
P o r k in b u l k . . . . . . .lb s .
H o p e , t w in e , & c , . .p k g s .
S o a p .......................
S h e e p .....................
S u g a r ......................
S a l t ......................... . . .b b ls . ’
S a l t ..........................
S e e d , f l a x ........... ..
S u n d r y m e r c h a n d . .p k g s .
S u n d r y m e r c h a n d is e .to n s
S u n d r y liq u o r s . ....b b l s .
S u n d r y m a n u fa c .. p ie c e s
S u n d r y p r o d u c e .. . p k g s . ,
S ta r c h .....................
T a l l o w .................... . . .b b ls .
T o b a c c o ..........k e g s <i b x s .
T o b a c c o ................. . .h h d s.
T o b a c c o ..................
V i n e g a r ..................
W h i s k y .................

1844.

1845.

151,240
1,342
3,458
392
3,669
600

194,700
29
684
310
642
654

9,232

2,937

3,682
24,221
159,356
2,078
895

1,238
22,747
185,008
1,650
455

18,634
9,824
3,971
12,901
3,475
101,843
554,755
13,054
4,088
441

2,792
17,944
14,956
15,287
3,874
29,302
404,426
13,037
2,708
100

813
8,555
2,332£
517
6,181
3,357
2,869
4.161
1,692
3,210
725
109,346

138
23,603
2,106
353
7,957
1,085
2,499
3,452
1,473
3,803
204
133,220

W o o l .......................... . . .lb s .
HAVRE

184 6 .

581,920
4,100
16,077
694
3,967
2,026
321
8,733
164,930
12,444
68,905
9,389
5|646
49,878
150,828
6,199
6,032
9,046
5,246
140,067
34,130
31,538
7,894
137,218
3,478,856
8,723
10,080
726
4,998
65,346
4*413
291
234,957
18,179
7,190
22,251
17,879
5,826
4,543
4,718
6,011
277
3,884
183,928
2,452
36/710

1847

221,011
3,786
5,074
4,268
2,431
1,268
94
5,659
60,880
9,024
127,192
12,351
6,976
81,679
208,606
8,277
3,878
18,332
4,397
41,675
15,687
37,162
8,862
196,886
4,759,188
5,586
11,295
1,400
11,559
39,656
5^557
2'785
341,363
16,849
9,364
42,418
28,822
8,173
5,687
9,352
3,812
122
2,753
18,509
2,298
7^037

184 8 .

267,420
3,824
8,317
6,922
2,387
378
1 040
2,198
73,028
7,731
43,025
1,081
6,270
37,521
130,509
9,550
3,020
17,750
2,274
212
7,074
39,470
10,930
186,192
924,256
4,369
11,303
522
8,443
39,960
5,403
808
210,049
21,466
10,913
94,934
17,609
7,904
4.975
7,497
3,309
126
1,288
1,107
10,238
29,497

COTTON M O V E M E N T .

TABLE OF TIIE MOVEMENT OF COTTON AT HAVRE FROM JAN. 1 TO JULY 31, FOR LAST TEN YEARS

Years.
1849................................
1 8 4 8 ................................
1847................................
18 46................................
18 45................................
18 44................................
18 43................................
18 42................................
1 8 4 1 ................................
18 40................................




Stock,
January 1.
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................
......................

45,000
25,000
51,300
53,000
100.000
110,000
90,000
80,000
57,000

Arrivals.
286,087
201,080
168,718
247,830
257,095
207,991
266,304
300,079
267,122
313,825

Stock,
Deliveries.
July 31.
242,087 .
64,000
151,080
95,000
142,218
51,000
217,030
82,100
231,095
79,000
176,491
131,500
214,304
162,000
■ 207,079
183,000
181,122
166,000
235,835
135,000

%

Commercial Statistics.
IM P O R T S , E X P O R T S , T O W A G E , AND

447

C O N S U M P T IO N .

STATEMENT OF THE TOTAL IMPORTS, AND THE IMPORTS CONSUMED IN THE UNITED STATES,
EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE, DURING EACH FISCAL YEAR FROM 1821 TO 1848 ; SHOWING, ALSO,
THE DOMESTIC EXPORTS, EXCLUSIVE OF SPECIE, AND THE TONNAGE EMPLOYED DURING TIIE
SAME PERIODS.
Years.

Imports
consum ed in
Total imports. United States.

1821a...
1822___
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1 8 3 1 ..
1832
1833
1834
1835
1836
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
18426..
1843c.....
1844J...
1845c.....
1846
1847
1848

$62,585,724
83,241,541
_________
77,579,267
_________
80,549,007
_________
96,340,075
_________
84,974,477
79,484,068
_________
_________
88,509,824
_________
74,492,527
_________
70,876,920
..
103,191,124
_________
101,029,266
_________
108,118,311
_________
126,521,332
149,895,742
_________
_________
189.980.035
_________
140,989,217
_________
113,717,404
_________
162,092,132
_________
107,141,519
_________
127,946,177
_________
100,162,087
. 21,584,599
43,169,200
108.435.035
117,254,564
_________
121,691,797
146,545,638
_________
_________
154,977,876

d

$43,696,405
68,395,673
51,310,736
53,846,567
66,395,722
57,652,577
54,901,108
66,975,505
54,741,571
49,595,099
82,808,110
75,327,688
83,470,067
86,973,147
122,007,974
158,811,392
113,310,571
86,552,598
145,870,816
86,250,335
114.776.309
87,996,318
12.431,376
24,862,753
96,390,548
105,599,541
110,048,859
116.258.310
127,490,012

D om estic
produce
exported.

Foreign
merchandise
exported.

Total exports.

Tonnage.

$43,671,894 $10,824,429 $64,974,382 $1,298,958
49,874,079 11,476,022 72,160,281 1,324,699
47,155,408 21,170,635 74,699,030 1,336,566
50,649,500 18,322,605 75,986,657 1,389,163
66,944,745 23,793,588 99,535,388 1,423,112
52.449.855 20,440,934 77,595,322 1,534,191
57,878,117 16,431,830 82,324,827 1,620,608
49,976,632 14,044,578 72,264,686 1,741,392
55,087,307 12,347,344 72,358,671 1,260,798
58,524,878 13,145,857 73,849,508 1,191,776
59,218,583 13,077,069 81,310,583 1,267,847
61,726,529 19,794,074 87,176,943 1,439,450
69.950.856 17,577,876 90,140,433 1,606,151
80,623,663 21,636,553 104,336,973 1,758,907
100,459,481 14,756,321 121,693,577 1,824,940
106,570,942 17,767,762 128,663,040 1,882,103
94,280,895 17,162,232 117,419,376 1,896,656
95,560,880
9,417,690 108,486,616 1,995,640
101,625,533 10,626,140 121,028,416 2,096,479
111,660,561 12,008,371 132,085,946 2,180,764
103,636,236
8,181,235 121,851,803 2,130,744
91,799,242
8,078,753 104,691,534 2,092,391
25,895,451
1,713,112 28,115,493 2,174,862
51,790,903
3,426,223 56,230,987 2,158,603
99,531,774
6,214,058 111,200,046 2,280,095
98,455,330
7,584,781 114,646,606 2,417,002
101,718,042
7,865,206 113,488,516 2,562,085
150,574,844
6,166,039 158,648,622 2,839,046
7,986,806 154,032,131 3,150,502
130,203,709

a T o Septem ber 30.
b T o D ecem ber 31—3 m onths.
From July 1, 1843, to June 30, 1844.
e T o June 30.

c January 1 to June 30— 6 m onths

P R IC E S O F C O TT O N W O O L IN E N G LA N D .

The following statement compiled from authentic sources, shows the extreme prices
of cotton wool in each year from 1806 to 1848, a period of forty-two years :—
STATEMENT OF THE EXTREME PRICES IN EACH YEAR FROM 1806 TO 1848.
1806.

1807.

G ood.

G ood.

d.

Upland...............
New Orleans.. . .
Sea Island.........
Pernambucco.. .
Maranham..........
Surat..................
Demerara...........




15 a
17 a
30 a
231 a
2l| a
.. a
22 a

d.

21^
24
37
29
26
17
261

d.

151
18
26
241
221
..
22

d.

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

19
21
30
261
241
..
24

1808.
G ood.
d.

151
171
28
251
22
14
23

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

1809.

1810.

G ood.

G ood.

d.

d.

36
37
58
42
38
251
40

14
17
28
221
191
11
20

d.

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

34
36
69
38
36
26
40

d.

141 a
161 a
26 a
23 a
20 a
121a
211 a

d.

221
231
33
29
27
19
28

Commercial Statistics.

448
1811.
G ood.
d.

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island.........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranliam.........
Surat..................
Demerara...........

1812.
G ood.
d.

12 4 a 16
13J a 1 H
22 a 30
18 a 234
144 a 204
104 a 13
17 a 214

d.

d.

13 a 234
14 a 26
25 a 40
19 a 274
16 a 26
12 a 16
1 7 fa 274

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island..........
Pernambucco. . .
Marankam.........
Surat..................
Demerara..........

d.

17
22
36
24

a 214
a 24
a 40
a 30
2 2 4 a 28
15 a 184
23^- a 29-J-

d.

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island..........
Pernambucco.. .
Maranham.........
Egyptian............
Surat..................
Demerara...........

10 a 1 1 4
124 a 14
26 a 30
124 a 144
114 a 134
.. a ..
84 a 94
13 a 14

d.

d.

84 a 11
10 4 a 12 4
24 a 28
1 0 f a 12 4
94 a 114
.. a ..
7 4 a 84
1 0 4 a 13

6 fa
8 a
20 a
10f a
94 a
84 a
6 a
10 4 a

8f
114

30
12
10f
11
7
124

6t
8t
18
9
8
8
54
94

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island..........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranham..........
Egyptian............
Surat...................
Demerara...........

61a
74 a
. a
84 a
74 a
84 a
4 fa
9 a

d.

74
8
18
8f
7f
94

5f
10

1816.
G ood.
d.

Upland...............
Mew Orleans.. . .
Sea Island..........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranham..........
E gyptian...........
Surat..................
Demerara...........




11
22
114
104
..

a 13
a 24
a 144
a 134
a ..
7 4 a 84
1 1 4 a 14

d.

7 4 a 12

7 a 14
14 a 36
10 a 154
9 f a 14
11 a 18
34 a 9
9 a 16

7f
94
20
11
9|
64
11

d.

d.

7
8
.
8t
74
9
4t

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
94 a

a
a
a
a
a
84 a
5 a
9 a

104

9f
94
54
10

1817.
G ood.
d.

d.

44 a 11
44 a 13
12 a 40
74 a 13
7 a 13
74 a 17
2 f a 74
8. a 14

7f
9
22
94
84

9
64
94

d.

d.

64 a
64 a
10 4 a
84 a
7f a
84 a
44 a
74 a

124

14
22
144
134
15
8f
13

1818.
G ood.

.
7
5
14
84
7
84
3t
8
d

18
21
33
254
234
144
24

124 a
154 a
36 a
18 a
16 a
104 a
18 a

d.

d.

a 94
a 10
a 33
a 11
a 10
a 164
a 64
a 13

d.

10 4

13
27
13
I lf
12 4

8
13

d.

d.

d.

64
74
18
74
64
74

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
8 a

7
9
21
84
7f
84

9

1834.
Good.
d.

d.

7 4 a 11
a 124

74
134
9f
8f
12
5
8

a
a
a
a
a
a

26
144
134
164
8f
154

1819.
G ood.
d.

d.

54 a 104
5 f a 11
14 a 36
84 a 114
8 a 11
10f a 19
4 a It
64 a 15

134
17
36
184
164
12
19

1825.
Good.
d.

94
12
27
124

a
a
a
a
11 4 a
12 a
7 ia
124 a

1829.
G ood.
d.

254
31
57
37
33
21
35

1820.

182 4 .
Good.

8f a
11 a
22 a
I lia
10t a
11 a
7 a
12 a

a
a
a
a
a
a
a

19t
11 a
21
14 a
48
28 a
234
13 a
21
. U fa
144
94 a
24
14 a

d.

181 1 .
G ood.

d.

8
9
18

d.

6#
8
18
84
7t

a 37
a 39
a 72
a 41
a 39
a 25
a 394

d.

1828.
G ood.

d.

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

d.

8 4 a 10|

1812.
G ood.

1811.
G ood.
d.

d.

d.

d.

1821.
G ood.

d.

d.

23
29
42
284
264
18
274

1815.

d.

1819.
G ood.

d.

194 a 22
204 a 25
36 a 64
23 a 27
204 a ..
14 a 204
24 a 30

1827.
G ood.

d.

d.

1818.
G ood.
d.

1822.
G ood.

d.

1826.
G ood.

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island..........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranham.........
Egyptian............
Surat...................
Demerara...........

a 234
a 254
a 36
a 27f
a 36
a 20
a 264

1814.
Good.

d.

21 a 30
23 a 31
37 a 48
24 a 34
22 a 33
154 a 20
24 a 33

d.

20
20
30
24
23
174
234

1821.
Good.
d.

d.

1817.
G ood.

1816.
G ood.
d.

1811.
G ood.

d.

194
22
42
234
224

24
16
24

188 0 .
d.

d.

7 a 7f
8 a 9
. . a 20
8 a 94
7 a 8}
84 a 10
54 a 6
8 a 10
1885.
Good.
d.

6| a
6f a
14 a
10 a
10 a
10f a
6 a
10 a

d.

134
144
33
18
164
21
9
17

1810.
G ood.
d.

d.

44 a 74
44 a 9
10 a 36
84 a 104
7 4 a 10
8 a 14
34 a 64
7 a 13

Commercial Regulations.
1841.
G ood.
d.
d.

4 fa
4f a
10 a
If a
5f a
If a
3 a
I a

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island.........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranham..........
Egyptian...........
Surat...................
Demerara...........

1841
G ood.
d.
d.

If
8f
28
10
9}
12f
6f
12

3f
3f
If
Of
5
6
2f
of

1845.
Good.
d.
d.

Upland...............
New Orleans... .
Sea Island.........
Pernambucco. . .
Maranham..........
E gyptian...........
Surat...................
Demerara...........

3
3
9
4|
4
5
2
..

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

I
9
24
8f
If
lO f
5
lO f

1846.
G ood.
d.
d.

3 fa
3 a
9 a
5f a
4 a
5f a
2 a
.. a

a 6f
a 8
a 30
a 8
a 6£
a 10
a 4
a ..

If
10
30
8f
8
11
6
..

449

d.

1 84 3 .
G ood.
d.

8f a
3f a
1 a
5 fa
4f a
4f a
2f a
5 a

6f
8f
24
If
6f
8
4f
9

1847.
G ood.
d.
d.

4 fa
4f a
8 a
6 a
4f a
5f a
2f a
4f a

8f
10
30
9f
8f
11
6
9

1844.
G ood.
d.

d.

3
2f
9
4f
4f
5f
2f
4f

d.

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

6f
8f
30
8
If
9
5
10

1848.
G ood.
d.

3
2f
6
4f
3f
4f
2f
4

a
a
a
a
a
a
a
a

6
8
26
8
I
8f
4f
I

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
O F P U B L IC M O N E Y S R E C E I V E D

FROM

CU STOM S.

CIRCULAR TO COLLECTORS OF THE CUSTOMS.
T r ea su ry D e partm ent , A u gu st 22.1, 1849.

The instructions issued on the 18th June last, to Collectors and purveyors acting as
Collectors of the customs, in regard to the accounts rendered necessary by the act 3d
March, 1849, requiring aU moneys receivable from customs to be paid into the Treasury
without abatement or deduction, being especially applicable to the large ports where
Assistant Treasurers are established, and depositaries of public moneys designated, are
found to require more accounts from the other ports than are necessary. And it is
hereby directed, that those regulations and forms will be observed by the officers of the
customs at the following ports, namely, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Buffalo,
Richmond, Wilmington, Nashville, and Pittsburg.
A ll others will be governed by the following instructions:—
1. On the last day of each month a return in duplicate will be made, showing the
receipts for the month under their appropriate heads— as “ Duties on Imports,” Duties
on Tonnage,” “ Hospital Money,” “ Storage,” “ Fines, Forfeitures, Penalties, & c . ” that
they may be carried into the Treasury by warrant, as required by the act o f 3d March,
1849. These receipts may be stated in the same form as was required by the long
standing instructions to Collectors previous to the 30th June last, and will be certified
by the naval officer under those instructions.
2. The act referred to prohibits payments of any kind from your collections, except
under the authority of drafts from the Treasurer o f the United States, or orders from
the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit in some other depositary. To meet payments .
for expenses of collecting the revenue from customs, debentures, or drawbacks, boun­
ties, allowances, excess of deposits for unascertained duties, for the support of light­
houses, and the maintenance of sick and disabled seamen, the Collectors and Surveyors
acting as such, being constituted by the act Disbursing Agents, will be furnished with
money for these objects at certain prescribed periods out of the appropriations made
by la w ; and for these purposes estimates will be transmitted by the Collectors to the
Commissioner of customs, which will serve as the basis of warrants upon the Treasurer
of the United States, whose drafts will make the necessary provision for such disburse­
ments. You will accordingly introduce no charge for payments into these monthly reV O L . X X I .-----N O . I V .




29

Commercial R egulations.

450

turns, except of the Treasurer’s drafts, or the Secretary’s orders to deposit. A form
is herewith enclosed, showing the manner in which these entries should be made.
3. You will transmit one copy o f your monthly return to the Secretary of the Treas­
ury, duly endorsed as required by the circular of 1843. The other copy you will trans­
mit to the Treasurer of the United States. When any sum is entered as having been
paid on the Treasurer’s draft, you will enclose such draft, duly receipted, in the copy
transmitted to the Treasurer. Should any sum be entered as deposited under the order
of the Secretary, you will refer in the entry to the date of the order, and enclose the
receipt of the depositary, with whom you were directed to deposit, in the copy sent to
the Treasurer in like manner. Upon these receipts and receipted drafts so transmitted
to the Treasurer, you will be credited with the sums they represent by the accounting
officers in the adjustment of your accounts. Should the Treasurer place drafts upon
you in favor of any payee but yourself, you will be particular in seeing that before
payment they bear the legal endorsements necessary upon bills payable to order.
When such drafts are paid, you should also take separate receipts, describing the drafts
by date, number, <fcc., that in case o f miscarriage of the original, you will be able to
furnish another sufficient voucher to entitle you to credit for the payment.
4. The directions contained in the circular of the 18th June last, to open an account
with the Treasurer of the United States are hereby superseded The first items of
your return under the present instructions, which you will render to the 30th instant,
as soon as that period arrives, or as soon thereafter as these instructions shall reach
you, will show all the moneys you have collected since the 30th June last, under their
appropriate heads, as before directed, and will include all such sums placed by you to
the credit of the Treasurer under the circular of the 18th June last. The return herein
required is intended to supersede the weekly returns of moneys received and deposited
required by that circular, as well as the weekly returns of moneys placed and held to
the credit o f the Treasurer under previous instructions.
5. To secure the remittance of the requisite drafts from the Treasurer to meet your
disbursements, it is very important that the return in duplicate herein required to be
made to the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Treasurer of the United States, be ac­
curately made out and promptly transmitted. You will endorse upon the envelope
which shall enclose the several copies “ monthly return of the Collector of
for the month of
,” filling up the blanks according to the fact.
W . M . M EREDITH, Secretary o f the Treasury.

PO RTS

OF TH E

R E P U B L IC

OF V E N E ZU E L A .

LAW OF THE 5 th OF MAY, 1849, REFEALING THE LAW OF THE 3lJ OF JUNE, 1846, RESPECT­
ING THE LICENSING OF PORTS.

The Senate and Chamber of Representatives of the Republic o f Venezuela assem­
bled in Congress, decree:—
A r t ic l e 1. The licensed ports of the Republic shall be divided into three classes,
namely, first ports, freely licensed for importation and exportation.
A r t . 2. The ports o f Ciudad Bolivar, in the province of Guayana; Cumana, Carupano, and Barrancas, in that of Cumana; Barcelona and Soledad, in that of Barcelona;
La Guaira and Hignerote, in that of Caracas; Columbia, in that of Aragua; Puerto
Cabello, in that of Carabobo; La Vela, in that of Coro; Maracaibo, in that of Mara­
caibo; Juan Griego and Pampartar, in that of Margarita— belong to the first class.
2d. Licensed to import for their consumption only, and for exportation.
A r t . 3. The following correspond to the second class:— Cano Colorado, Cariaquito,
and Rio Caribe, in that of Cumana.
3d. Licensed for exportation.
A r t . 4 . The ports of Sazarida. Adicora, and Cumarebo, in that of Coro; and the
port of Guayana-la-Vieje, in that of Guayana— belong to the third class.
A r t . 5. The custom-houses licensed to import for their own consumption only cannot
grant permits for the conveyance of foreign goods to other points, whether licensed
or not.
O n l y C l a u se . The custom-house of Cariaquito, in the province of Cumana, which
shall grant permits for conveying foreign goods to inhabited places, not licensed, that
communicate by water with the Gulf of Paria, is excepted.
A r t . 9. The law of the 3d June, 1846, relating to the licensing o f ports, and all
other regulations whatever that may be contrary to the present law, are hereby re­
pealed.




Commercial Regulations.
OF M A N IF E S T S

O F V E S S E L S L IC E N S E D

FOR T H E

451
C O A S T IN G T R A D E .

CIRCULAR TO COLLECTORS AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE CUSTOMS.
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , A u gu st 25th, 1849.

From representations made to this Department, there is reason to believe that in
some of the Collection Districts due vigilance is not exercised by the officers of the
Customs in the examination of the manifests of vessels licensed for the coasting trade.
It being considered highly important that the government should at all time be en­
abled to derive full and accurate information from the records of the custom-house, in
reference to the transit, from one port to another, along the coast of the United States,
of goods, wares, and merchandise, of every description, the officers of the customs are
reminded that the manifest required under the laws, either to be deposited with the
Collector, or exhibited when demanded, as the case may be, must, in reference to all ves­
sels under license, including the regular lines of steamers or other vessels, exhibit a
full and particular account of cargo, referring to the several packages, <fcc., by mark and
number; describing their character, and giving the contents or quantities of each. In
cases where these requirements are not complied with, the officers of the customs are
not authorized to certify the manifest, or to grant entry or permit to proceed to an­
other port; and it is their duty rigorously to enforce the penalties provided for viola­
tions of the law in all cases.
\V. M. M EREDITH, Secretary o f the Treasury.

ALLO W AN CE IN

TH E

E S T IM A T E

O F D U T I E S F O R D E F I C IE N C I E S .

CIRCULAR TO COLLECTORS AND OTHER OFFICERS OF THE CUSTOMS.
T r e a s u r y D e p a r t m e n t , A u g u st 10th, 1849.

An appeal having been taken from a decision of the United States’ Circuit Court,
at Baltimore, Maryland, in a suit brought against the Collector of the Customs, involv­
ing the question o f allowance in the estimate o f duties for deficiencies in the quanty of
sugar and molasses imported into the United States, it is deemed proper, in view of
the importance of the principle contended for by this Department, that, until the ques­
tion be determined by the Supreme Court of the United States, the practice as hereto­
fore prevailing, under the instructions of this Department, of refusing any allowance
for the loss from drainage of sugar, during the VQyage of importation, be still pursued ;
and that, in relation to molasses, the circular instructions of the Department, dated the
27th May, 1847, be so far modified, that their application be limited to cases where it
shall satisfactorily appear, that the loss or deficiency was caused, not by “ ferm entation ,”
but solely by “ stress of weather, or other accident.”
W . M. M ERED ITH , Secretary o f the Treasury.

LAW

OF D E B T O R AND

C R E D IT O R IN V E N E Z U E L A .

“ W e stated some time since,” says the Courrier des Etats Unis, of September 13th,
from which we translate, “ that the .Government of Venezuela had promulgated a law
termed a stay law, ( ley de espera,) by virtue of which a debtor who is insolvent, or is
reputed such, may obtain time to the extent of from six to nine years, for the payment
of his debts, without the concurrence, and even in spite of the opposition of his credi­
tors.” A measure of this sort, apart from its ruinous effect upon credit, is naturally
calculated to call forth the complaints of those engaged in commerce, especially in
foreign commerce, the-very foundation of whose interests it undermines. The British
Cabinet has seen fit to interfere ; and the English Consul at Caracas declares that this
law was so incompatible with past treaties between England and Venezuela, so con­
trary to the fundamental principles of international relations, that its application could
not be admitted, either future or retractive, to transactions in which British subjects
are concerned. The protest further intimates that the Republic of Venezuela will be
considered responsible for all losses or damage resulting to English commerce from the
ley de espera. Thus it appears that President Monagas is no sooner victorious over
General Paez, than he goes from Charybdis on to Scylla.




Journal o f B anking , C urrency, and F inance.

452

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
FINANCIAL CONDITION OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Our readers are referred to the fourth of a series of articles in course of publication
in the M e r c h a n t s’ M a g a z i n e , on the “ D e b t s a n d F i n a n c e s o f t h e S t a t e s o f t h e U n i o n , "
in the number for March, 1849, for an elaborate and complete account of the finan­
cial condition and progress of Pennsylvania up to that time. W e now subjoin the
official statement of the Treasurer of Pennsylvania, with that gentleman’s letter, commu­
nicating the same to the Governor of that Commonwealth:—
T reasury D

To

epartm en t,

H a r r i s b u r g , A u gu st 14th, 1849.

F. J o h n s t o n , G o v e r n o r o f P e n n s y l v a n i a .
S ir :— In obedience to the requirements of the 35th and 36th sections of the act of
the 10th April last, the undersigned respectfully submits to your Excellency the fol­
lowing exhibit of the finances of Pennsylvania
W m.

DEBTOR.

By amount of money received in the State Treasury from the 10th
of April to the 14th of August, 1849...............................................

$2,173,256 80

CREDITOR.

To amount o f money paid out of Treasury since the 10th of April, namely:—
Paid loan made to meet Eebruary interest...............
$261,868 36
Paid drafts of Canal Commissioners and lock-keepers’
468,030 92
wages on State works...............................................
Paid damages on canals, <fcc.................. .......................
13,628 00
Paid hospital for insane poor.............. .......................
20,000 00
Paid public institutions in Philadelphia....................
14,000 00
Paid August interest on State debt, and Tioga, Pottsville and Dannville guarantees...............................
1,014,747 01
Paid expenses of government, <fec.............................
75,823 51
1,868,091 80
Balance.........................................................................................

$305,165 00

DEBTOR.

To estimate amount of receipts at State Treasury from the 14th August, 1849, to the
1st February, 1850, namely:—
$729,000 00
From the public works.................................................
From outstanding taxes................................................
304,000 00
From tavern licenses......................................................
20,500 00
From tax on dividends and bank stock .....................
55,326 00
From money collected, and accounts now due in hands
of unfaithful and inefficient agents.........................
91,000 00
From all other sources..................................................
504,674 00
----------------1,704,500 00
Total...................................................................

$2,099,665 00

CREDITOR.

By receipts in the sinking fund, being the amount of
State debt paid off this year................................. ..
By payment to be made at State Treasury from the
14th Angust to the 1st February, 1850, as per ap­
propriation bill..........................................................
By interest on State debt, to be paid on the 1st of
February, 1850..........................................................

$204,438 87
698,000 00
948,000 00
1,845,438 87

Excess




$164,226 13

Journal o f Banking, Currency , and Finance .

453

This balance of 8164,226 13 being an excess in the Treasury unappropriated, can
be applied, under the 30th section of the act approved on the 10th April, 1849, to the
completion of the North Branch Canal.
Respectfully submitted,
G. J. B A L L , State T reasurer.
G o v e r n o r ¥ m . F. J o h n s o n .
By the foregoing statement I report a balance in the Treasury, applicable to the
North Branch Canal, of 8164,226 13. The Auditor General prepared and signed two
reports to your Excellency on this subject, the first showing an unappropriated “ excess ”
or balance in the Treasury of 82,326 13, and the second, an unappropriated balance of
$22,726 13. I could not concur with that officer in either of said reports, therefore de­
clined signing them.
I could not conscientiously sign either of them, for the reason that they fell short of
the sum required by the act of the Assembly for the North Branch Canal by over
$126,000, while my estimates, which I have carefully revised, showed a sum more than
sufficient to authorize the commencement of that work.
Under the circumstances, I deem it to be my duty to lay before you the foregoing
statement, exhibiting the unappropriated balance in the Treasury, in order that you
may take such action in the premises as in your wisdom may be best for the interests
of the State.
The estimated receipts in Treasury from the public works, outstanding taxes, and
other sources of revenue mentioned, and based upon a careful examination of the in­
come from those sources in previous years , and it is confidently believed they can be
relied on, especially if collections are pressed with that energy wliich I am aware it is
your desire to infuse into the business operations of all the departments of the gov­
ernment.
A considerable sum can also be realized by pressing the collection of the large
amount of accounts now in the hands of the various collecting agents.
The large appropriation of over $1,200,000 to the public works by the late General
Assembly, will discharge the State indebtedness thereon, and will free the Treasury
the coming year of that burden. In consequence, we may safely calculate that no
more than $300,000 will be required by the State works the ensuing year.
In this view of the subject, there can be no hesitancy in saying, that the State debt
may be reduced at least $300,000 next year, and at the same time give, under the act
of the 10th April last, the sum of from $750,000 to $900,000 toward the completion
of the North Branch Canal.
It now remains with your Excellency to decide what shall be done in the premises
the present season. With consideration, I have the honor to be,
Your obedient servant

To his E xcellency ,

G. J. B A L L , State T reasurer.

J O I N T -S T O C K B A N K S O F E N G L A N D A N D

SCOTLAN D.

The W eekly News and Financial Economist (London) extracts the following succinct
account of the present state of the banks of the United Kingdom from James 'William
Gilbart’s “ P ractice o f B anking ” : —
“ The eighteen banks in Scotland have a paid up capital of £11,912,130, making an
average to each bank of £661,785. The number of places of issue (banks and branches)
is 403, making an average of capital to each place of £29,558. The authorized circu­
lation for Scotland is £3,087,209, making an average to each place of issue o f £7,660.
The ninety-nine joint-stock banks of England have a paid up capital o f about
£14,000,000, making an average to each bank of about £140,000. The joint-stock
banks and branches of England are 513, making an average of capital to each place
of about £27,290.
“ The sixty-six joint-banks of issue in England have a paid up capital of about
£6,000,000, making an average capital of about £91,000. The number of places of
issue, banks and branches, is 407, making an average of capital to each place of about
£15,000. The authorized issue is £3,409,987, making an average of about £8,378 to
each place o f issue.
“ There are 184 private country banks in England issuing notes at 375 places. Their
authorized issue is £4,822,488, making an average to each bank o f £26,200, and of
£12,860 to each place of issue. The capital of these banks is unknown.




Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

4 54

DEBT AND FINANCES OF GEORGIA.
ANNUAL RECEIPTS AND DISBURSEMENTS, AND STATEMENT OF THE PUBLIC DEBT OF GEORGIA IN
THE YEAR

1849.

RECEIPTS INTO THE TREASURY TO DECEMBER 1, 1848.

Balance in Treasury, 1847............................................................................
General tax, 1848 ..........................................................................
Fees on grants of land reverted to the State..............
Dividends on bank stock owned by the State............................................
Miscellaneous..................................................................................................

$362,257
439,407
15,196
22,727
4,154

50
32
32
00
35

$843,742 49

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

Civil establishment..........................................................
Interest on public d e b t....................................................
Military fund.......................................................................
School fu n d .......................................................................
Contingent fund..................................................................
Penitentiary.......................................................
Lunatic and deaf and dumb asylum s............................
Miscellaneous...................................................

$126,715
185,246
1,109
17,973
7,519
6,377
14,891
22,566

44
38
56
41
18
26
11
19
382,398 53

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

$461,3*3 96

SURPLUS INVESTED AS FOLLOWS.

Bank stock, (school fund)..................................................................
Treasurer o f Western and Atlantic Railroad.................................
Sundry items.......................................................................................
Cash on deposite in the Bank of the State of Georgia, Savannah
“
“
“
“
“
Augusta.
Specie and specie paying bank notes in Treasury......................... .
Coupons paid the present quarter...................................................

$272,300
4,784
12,638
63,946
32,830
73,478
1,365

00
75
75
10
62
74
00

$461,343 96

Total............................................................................................
THE DEBT OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA— ISSUED AND AUTHORIZED.

Am ount.

$203,750
243,000
337,500
78,000
86,000
302,500
72,000
183,600
$1,506,250
10,000
65,000
200,000
100,000
22,222

Interest.

00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00

6
6
6
6
6
6
5
7

W hen and where payable.

Milledgeville. . . .
u
«(
«
it
it

London................
Augusta & Savan.

00 in hands of the public.
00 6 Augusta,.............
00 6 Savannah............
00 6 New Y o r k .........
00 6 Savannah...........
«
22 6

$1,903,472 22
189,680 56
$2,093,152 78

1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1874
1868
1878
1853
1863
1863
1868
1873

W here.

Milledgeville.

For what purpose issued.

Western

&

Atlan. R’d.

In exch. for ster’g bonds.
Western & Atlan. R’d.

Complete Western <k
Atlantic Railroad to
the Tennessee Riv’r.
Claim of P. Trezevant.

Total issued and authorized.
This amount will he requiret
Central Bank, the property
Total liability in every shape.

By reference to the above table, it will be seen that the debt is a very small one,
when we look upon the wealth, resources, and enterprise of the people of this great
State. A glance at the financial report shows how correct and economically her finances
have been managed, and we think we hazard little by saying that no State in the Union
has stronger claims upon the public faith than Georgia.




Journal o f B anking, Currency , and Finance.

455

LON DO N AN D W E S T M I N S T E R B A N K .

This bank was projected in 1833, and commenced business in March, 1834. The di­
rectors were fortunate in securing the services of J. W. G ilbakt, Esq., a gentleman of
large experience in the business of banking, and well calculated to inspire confidence
in the establishment. That the bank has been managed with singular ability, we need
only refer to the reports of the directors from its commencement. The half-yearly
meeting o f the proprietors took place on the 18th of July, 1849, as we learn from the
London D a i l y N e w s . From reports read at that meeting by the Secretary of the bank
we derive the following particulars of its present condition :—
“ The directors have to report that the net profits of the bank, during the last halfyear, have amounted to £32,729 17s. i d . Out of these profits they now declare a
dividend, at the rate o f 6 per cent per annum. After the payment of this dividend,
there will remain the sum of £2,729 17s. i d . , to be added to the surplus fund, which
will then amount to £105,453 14s. 3d
LONDON AND WESTMINSTER BANK,

To
To
To
To

30 tH JUNE, 1849 ---- DEBTOR.

proprietors for paid up capital....................................................
amount due by the bank for deposits, circular notes, <fec..........
rest, or surplus fun d.......................................................................
profits of the past half-year..........................................................

£1,000,000
0 0
3,392,857
3 7
.102,723 16 11
32,729 17 4

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

£4,528,310 17 10

CREDITOR.

By government stock, exchequer bills, and India bonds................
By other securities, including bills discounted, loans to customers.
By cash in hand..........................................................................
Total.........................................................................................
PROFIT AND LOSS,

£964,800 13 7
3,010,867 15 2
552,642
9 1
£4,528,310 17 10

30 tH JUNE, 1849— DEBTOR.

To payment o f the dividend, now declared, at the rate of 6 per
cent per annum on a capital of £1,000,000, for the half-year
ending 30th June, 1849.......................................................................
To balance o f unappropriated profits..................................................

£30,000 0
105,453 14

0
3

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

£135,453 14

3

CREDITOR.

By balance of unappropriated profits, on 31st December, 1 8 4 8 ....
By net profits of the past half-year, after defraying the total ex­
pense of management, paying the income tax, and making pro­
vision for all bad and doubtful debts................................................
Total..............................................................................................
By balance of unappropriated profits......................... ............
FR E N C H IM P O S T S

£102,723 16 11
32,729 17

4

£135,453 14
105,453 14

3
g

AND R E V E N U E S .

In the Paris I f o n i t e u r a return is published by the Minister of Finance of the sums
received by the French Treasury during the first six months of the year 1849, under
the head o f indirect imposts and revenues, with comparative returns for the correspond­
ing periods of 1847 and 1848. These returns are exceedingly important, as the best
index of the true state of the commerce of the country. It appears from them that
the indirect taxes received for the first six months of 1849 amount to 334,436,000
francs. For the corresponding period of 1847, the amount was 393,645,000 francs.
This shows a falling off of no less than 59,209,000 francs on the half-year; but
the salt tax, amounting to 20,004,000 francs, having been suppressed from the 1st
of January, 1849, the real deficiency is only 39,205,000 francs. Comparing the same
period of 1848 and 1849, it appears that the receipts for the first half-year of the




456

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

former were 331,827,000 francs, which shows that in 1849 there was an apparent in­
crease of revenue, amounting to 2,609,000 francs. But the real increase was much
greater, for as the salt tax, which is now suppressed, was in force in 1848, and it brought
during the six months in question 19,996,000 francs, it follows that the real increase on
the half-year is 20,605,000 francs. The articles upon which the principal augmenta­
tion has taken place is as follows:—
.francs
Stamps..................
Miscellaneous merchandise. .
Colonial and French sugars..
Foreign sugars.......................

448,000
12,655,000
5.807.000
3.331.000

Customs duties on exports.. . .
Duty on indigenous sugars . . .
Miscellaneous...........................

294,000
1.953.000
1.657.000

The principal diminutions are as follows:—
Registration dues.........francs
Corn.........................................
Salt...........................................
Portable liquors.....................

3,028,000
369,000
11,376,000
1,179,000

I Sale of tobacco............... francs
| Gunpowder...............................
I Post-office revenue...................
|

1,554,000
464,000
6,057,000

It is to be remarked, as a favorable circumstance, that the improvement has been
principally within the last three months. In the first quarter of the year there was
an improvement of only 47 2,000 francs; while, in the second quarter, the increase
amounted to 21,077,000 francs. The first three months of the year are generally the
best, but the difference this year is very slight. In January, February, and March, the
receipts from indirect taxes were 168,344,000 francs, and in April, May, and June,
166,092,000 francs.
TH E

B IL L O F E X C H A N G E .

W e find the foUowing incident in one of our exchanges, which we consider too good
to be lost, and, therefore, transfer it to the pages of the M e r c h a n t s ' M a g a z i n e , as well
calculated to call forth the admiration of our mercantHe readers. It occurred, we are
told, in New York, and the gentleman who appears to so much advantage in it, is well
known in Wall-street:—
“ Mr. W. is an Englishman and a Quaker. He has realized a fortune in business,
and has now retired, spending yearly his whole income in benevolent objects; and his
merit is not lessened by the quiet and unobstrusive manner in which he effects his pur­
pose. Some years since a young gentleman came out from England to New York for
the purpose of going into the same line of business in which Mr. W. then was. The
young Englishman brought letters of introduction to Mr. W., who immediately gave
him all the assistance and counsel he needed to render his success in business sure.
After he had been in business some time, the young gentleman, who was a Quaker
also, had to remit funds to the amount of $4,000 or $5,000 to England, and seeing a
bill of exchange for about the sum advertised, he went to Mr. W. and asked him if it
was good. He told him at once it was so, and the young merchant purchased it and
sent it to England. But when it arrived there it was not accepted, and the loss fell,
of course, upon the young merchant.
“ Some time afterwards, Mr. W. accidentally learned the facts in the case, and went
to his young friend’s store.
“ ‘ George,’ said he, ‘ did not thee buy a bill of Jeremiah some time since ?’
‘“ Yes, sir.’
‘“ Was the biU accepted 1’
‘ ‘ No, sir.’
“ ‘ George, did thee buy that biH at my recommendation V
“ ‘ I asked thee about it.’
“ ‘ Would thee have bought it, had I not told thee it was good V
“ ‘ N o ; I don’t think I should.’
“ ‘ WeH, George, I want thee to give me that bill.’
“ The young man gave him the bill. He went to his own store, calculated the
amount of exchange at the time when the bill was drawn, added the interest up to
date, and drew his check for the whole amount, which he then sent to his young
friend’s store. The bill remains to this day unsatisfied by the drawer. Occasional in­
stances o f this kind, and an unvarying practice of truly Christian virtues, have placed
the society of Friends among our most respected citizens.”




Journal o f B anking , Currency, and Finance.

457

RECEIVERS OF PUBLIC MONEYS OF THE UNITED STATES.
CIRCULAR INSTRUCTIONS TO COLLECTORS AND SURVEYORS ACTING AS COLLECTORS OF THE
CUSTOMS AND RECEIVERS OF PUBLIC MONEYS.

T rea su ry D e pa rtm e n t , September 10IA, 1849.

The following additional instructions are rendered necessary in view of the provis­
ions of the act o f 3d March, 1849, entitled “ An act requiring all moneys receivable
from customs and from all other sources to be paid immediately into the Treasmy, with­
out abatement or deduction, and for other purposes.”
F ir s t.
You are hereby directed to close up your accounts to the 30tli June, 1849,
leaving all difficulties or suspended items connected therewith to be hereafter
finally adjusted, precisely as if you were out of office and another person had suc­
ceeded you on that day, or as though it was the close of a series of accounts under
an old bond; the object in view being to cause a perfect and entire settlement of all
accounts previous to the commencement of operations under the above act.
Second.
Inasmuch as before this will have reached you (in the absence of instruc­
tions to the contrary) you will have introduced the balance due on the 30th June,
1849, into your weekly and monthly accounts, to carry into future effect the above in­
structions, it will be necessary for you, on the 30th September, 1849, to render t w o
accounts, in o n e of which you will credit the United States with the balance admitted
to be due on the 30th June, 1849, and show on the d e b i t side any payments you may
have made thereof into the Treasury on account of said balance, or as commissions,
expenses of depositing, or on account of expenses incurred prior to 30th June, 1849,
which are properly payable out of the aforesaid balance, and chargeable thereto; the
other account will show, simply, your gross receipts since the 30th June, 1849, and
the payments into the Treasury on account thereof. These accounts are independent
of that as disbursing agent, which must be rendered as heretofore instructed.
W . M. M EREDITH, Secretary o f the Treasury.

U N IT E D

STATES

TREASU RY

N O T E S O U T S T A N D IN G , 1 S T

T reasu ry D epartm en t, R

e g is t e r ’ s

SEPTEM BER,

1849.

O f f ic e , September 1, 1849.

Amount outstanding of the several issues prior to the A ct of 22d
July, 1846, as per records of this office........................................
Amount outstanding of the issue of 22d July, 1846, as per re­
cords of this office.............................................................................
Amount outstanding of the issue of 28th January, 1847, as per
records of this office.........................................................................

$145,039 31
91,800 00
3,110,350 00
13,347,189 31

Deduct cancelled notes in the hands of the accounting officers, of
which $4,500 is under the Act of 22d July, 1846, $25,000
under the act of 28th January, 1847, and $350 under other acts

30,750 00
$3,316,439 31

A L L E N A . H A L L , R egister o f the Treasury.

HOW TO

REFU SE

A BANK CU STOM ER.

But although a banker ought to have a large stock of general principles— and this
stock will increase as his experience increases— yet it may not be always wise to ex­
plain these principles to his customers. It is generally best, when a banker gives a re­
fusal, to give no reason for that refusal. Banking science is so little understood, that
the public generally are unable to appreciate its principles. Besides, a man who wants
to borrow money can never be convinced by reasoning that his banker is right in re­
fusing to lend it to him ; nor, in fact, did the banker himself acquire his knowledge of
banking by reasoning. He acquired it not by reasoning, but by experience; and he
must not expect that his customers, who have had no experience, will, by reasoning
alone, readily acquiesce in the banking principles he may propound to them. In most
cases, therefore, he had better keep his reasons to himself.— G i l b a r t ' s “ P r a c t i c e o f
Banking.”




Journal o f B anking , Currency , and Finance.

458

B A N K IN G C A P I T A L O F C I T I E S I N

TH E

U N IT E D

STATES,

The following list comprises all the cities possessing a million of dollars or more, in
bank capital:—
Location.
No. Banks.
New Y ork...........
Boston.................. . . . 27
New Orleans.. . .
6
Philadelphia. . . . . . . 14
Charleston...........
Providence......... . . . 22
Baltimore........... . . . 11
Nashville, Tenn.. . . .
3
Hartford, C onn.. ___
5
Louisville, K y . . . . . .
3
Pittsburg, P a ___
Augusta, Ga___ . . .
6
Albany, N. Y . . .
6
Richmond, V a .. . . . .
3
Savannah, G a . . . . . .
4

Capatal.
$24,149,910
f 19,280,000
17,663,300
9,966,100
*9,153,683
7,972,612
6,974,646
*6,180,004
f3,733,200
2,960,000
2,619,015
2,624,900
2,162,700
2,115,370
1,890,790

D E B T OF IR E L A N D

Location.
Salem, Mass..............
New Haven..............
Cincinnati.................
Lexington, K y ..........
Mobile........................
Troy, N. Y ..............
Newark.....................
New Bedford..........
Utica.........................
Petersburg...............
Rochester..................
Washington, D. C ..
Wilmington, N. C . .
Portland..................

FROM

1801

TO

No. banks. Capital.
$1,750,000
... 7
1,679,775
... 4
1,680,026
... 6
1,530,000
... 2
1,500,000
... 1
1,475,000
1,408,650
... 3
1,300,000
... 4
1,385.200
... 5
1,170,000
1,160,000
... 5
1,029,380
. . . 3'
1,000,000
... 3
1,025,000
... 5

1848,

An official statement recently prepared of the debt, income, and expenditure of
Ireland from the Union (1801) to 1848, inclusive, gives the following results:— Amount
o f the debt o f Ireland at the period of the Union, (redeemed and unredeemed,)
£21,792,975. Amount of Irish debt created and paid off from the period o f the Union
to the union of the British and Irish Exchequers (1817); created, £106,809,794; paid
ofl^ £26,270,855. Increase of the unredeemed debt since 1801, £80,588,939. Amount
o f the Irish debt created, and of the Irish debt paid off, from the union of the two E x­
chequers to the 5th January, 1849 ; created, £1,065,462 ; paid off, £6,233,520.
C O IN A G E O F T H E

U N IT E D

S T A T E S M IN T .

The coinage of the Mint at Philadelphia, from the 1st of January, 1849, to the 30th
o f June, (six months,) amounts to $2,999,774 89, as follows:— Gold, $2,375,379 ; sil­
ver, $598,590; copper, $28,805 89. The government deposits of bullion have been
$521,115 30; individual deposits, $807,972 57, or a total o f $1,329,087 87. The Cali­
fornia gold, up to June 30th, 1749, amounts to $1,137,000; from June 30th, to July
21st, about $100,000, making a total of California gold, of $1,237,000.
D E S C R I P T IO N

OF T H E

NEW

B R IT IS H

F L O R IN .

A proclamation by Queen Victoria in the London G a z e t t e , authorizing the issue of
the new silver coin, states that “ every such florin or one-tenth of a pound has for the
the obverse our effigy, crowned, with the inscription ‘ Victoria Regina,’ and the date
of the year; and for the reverse, the ensigns armorial of the United Kingdom, con­
tained in four shields, crosswise, each shield surmounted by the royal crown, with the
rose in the center, and in the compartments between the shields, the national emblems
o f the rose, thistle, and shamrock, surrounded by the words ‘ One florin, one-tenth of a
pound,’ and with a milled graining round the edge.”
FEES

ON P A T E N T S

IN E N G L A N D .

Extract from return to House of Commons from the Lord Chancellor’s office, of
fees on patents, paid over to the Clerk o f the Hanaper, (a sinecure office held by the
Rev. Mr. Thurlow):— 1838, £3,120 6s. 8 d .; 1839, £3,158 13s. 4 d .; 1840, £3,386 6s. 5 d .;
1841, £3,378 13s. 4 d .; 1842, £2,859 6s. 8d.; 1843, £3,220; 1844, £3,447 13s. 4 d ;
1845, £4,273 0s. 4 d .; 1846, £3,895 13s. 4 d .; 1847, £3,654 6s. 8d. Total, ten years’
income, (exclusive of church livings,) £34,694 0s. 4d.
* Less capital allotted to branch banks in the interior, and not fixed,
t One additional new bank in each about to com m ence operations.




N au tical Intelligence.

459

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
L I G H T S O jV T H E

COAST O F F R A N C E .

The French Government has given notice that three new lights will be established
on the coast of France on the first of next July, namely: one at the entrance of the
Port of Boulogne, and two others on the Western Coast.
I. BOULOGNE FIX ED BED LIGHT.

On the NT. E. jetty head, at the entrance of the Port of Boulogne, a fixed and perma­
nent Bed Light, 46 feet high, will replace the present Tide Light, and be visible at
the distance of four miles.
N o t e .— The two Yerticle Lights on the S. W. jetty head, will retain their character
of Tide Lights; the upper light being shown as soon as there are nine feet in the
shoalest part of the channel, and the second light at the moment of high water. Both
o f these Tide Lights wfll be extinguished when the depth of the channel is reduced to
nine feet
n. KERMORVAN FIXED LIGHT.
A Fixed Light on Kermorvan Point, on the northern side of the entrance to Port
Conquet, in lat. 48° 31' 43" N. and Ion. 4 ° 46' 13" W. of Greenwich. Being 1 2 feet
above the level of the sea, it may be seen at the distance of about 15 miles, and if
kept in one with the light on St. Mathieu Point, it will lead through the Channel du Four.
i n . TOULINGUET FIXED BED LIGHT.

A fixed Red Light on Toulinguet Point to the westward of Camaret Bay, in lat. 48°
16' 50" N., and Ion. 4° S i ' 40" W. of Greenwich. The light is 161 feet above the
level of the sea, and is visible about four miles.
S A I L I N G D IR E C T I O N S F R O M

C A R Q U IN E Z S T R A I T S T O

S A N J O A Q U IN R I V E R .

Leave Carquinez Straits about mid-channel, steering away N. E. by N., until the
water shoals to about five fathoms, which will bring the first low point on the south
shore to bear N. E. by E .; with that bearing on, steer away half a point to the north,
and pass the second point (the upper end of one or two smaU islands near south shore)
about the same distance. From this point the second low point on the north shore will
bear about N. E. by N., and with this bearing take a range over on the table-land be­
yond, which range must be kept on steering more to the N. or E., as the tide may ebb
or flow, and pass the point within half a cable’s length, then steer away to the east­
ward, keeping the northern shore aboard, and passing the salient points half a cable’s
length, until you are abreast of a prominent point on the south shore, bearing S. E. by
S. You may then keep mid-channel for three miles, which will bring you abreast of the
San Joaquin River. You can then enter the river, steering and making the S. -J- W .
course, carrying 1 , 6, 5, 4 to 3 fathoms, which brings you half a mile within the points
o f the river. As the wind is generally W. N. W. through this channel, it would be
hazardous to beat down it without a pilot, of which there are many in this port, or
until such time as the channel may be weU marked by buoys or beacons.
JA M E S B L A IR , U. S. JV. Survey.

RO CK O FF S A N T A M A R IA IS L A N D .

The editor of the P o l y n e s i a n (S. S.) furnishes us with the foHowing information,
which we are happy to published for the benefit of those in navigation of that part of
the Pacific:—
Bearing of a rock off Santa Maria Island, Aranco Bay, coast of Chile, and transmitted
from the hydrographical office to H. B. M. S. Herald. Pahs of Bio Rio, N. E. f Ji., 29
miles. Rock of Pesca Point, Santa Maria Island, N. 65 E., 9^ miles. S. Tangent,
same island, S. I S E., I l f miles. Cape Rumena, S. 31 E , 14f miles. On this rock
the ship John Keenwiek was lost July 24, 1848.
N o t e .— The bearings are magnetic.




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

400

B E R G E N P O IN T

AN D P A S S A IC R I V E R

C ustom H ouse. N e w Y

ork,

L IG H T S .

C o l l e c t o r ’ s O f f ic e , Septem ber 17th, 1849.

N o t i c e i s h e r e b y g i v e n , That the following described light-houses, located by a recent
act o f Congress at Bergen Point, and at the mouth of the Passaic River, have been
erected, and t h a t f i x e d white lights therein will be first exhibited on the evening of
Thursday, the 20th September instant.
B ergen P oint L ight-H ouse is built on a block situated in the “ Kills,” on the ex­
tremity of a reef of rocks off Bergen Point. It will be distinctly visible to navigators
going in and out of the “ Kills,” and also Newark Bay.
Vessels may pass within a half cable’s length of the light on the starboard going
towards the bay.
P assaic R iver L ight-H ouse is situated at the mouth of the Passaic River, and near
the head of Newark Bay. It is about five miles above Bergen Point Light. It stands on
a block in four feet low water, and serves as a guide iuto the Passaic and Hackensack
Rivers.
Pass the light on the larboard, going up, a cable’s length, which is channel way.

H. M A X W E L L , Superintendent.

L IG H T ON T H E

G R IE F S W A L D E R

0 IE .

R o y a l P r u s s ia n G e n e r a l C o n s u l a t e , L on d on , August 10, 1849.

S i r :— Reverting to my communication of the 11th of June last, I have now the
honor to acquaint you, for the information of the shipping interest connected with the
Baltic trade, that His Prussian Majesty’s Government has ordered the restoration of
the light on the Griefswalder Oie, and that in like manner the interrupted light near
Swinemunde is ordained.
[Signed]
B. IIE B E L E R , Prussian Consul General,
Captain G. A . H A LS TE D , R . N.

Secretary , L

lo yd s.

JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
T H E IR O N R E G IO N S O F M A R Y L A N D .

In a recent number of this Magazine, we gave an account of the great coal regions
of Maryland, near Cumberland. A t Mount Savage, nine miles from Cumberland, and
two from Frostburg, the iron veins are scarcely less extensive, or important, than those
of coal. An English company was formed some fifteen years ago, for the purpose of
manufacturing iron on the largest scale ; but, owing partly to mistaken management,
and partly to the alteration of the tariff, they failed in business, and about two years
ago were sold out by the sheriff. Their works consist of three blast furnaces, amongst
the largest in the United States, the blast of which is carried by a monster steam en­
gine, erected at a cost of $72,000, a puddling furnace and rolling mill, large enough to
employ six hundred men, a foundry, fire-brick yard, store, three hundred and twenty
houses for workmen, nine miles of H railroad, besides eight or ten miles of platemine roads, a very large real estate at Mount Savage, at Cumberland, and in its neigh­
borhood, comprising mines of iron and coal of various qualities, a superior clay for fire­
brick, which is in great demand all over the country, as a lining for furnaces, and is
also a valuable material for the manufacture of stone-ware— abundance of lime-stone
to use as a flux for the iron-ore, and building materials of all kinds. From the balancesheet of the old company, it appears that the works and property have cost over
$1,600,000. The whole concern was sold to a company consisting of citizens of A l­
bany, Hew York, and Boston, for a little over $200,000. This company are now busy
making arrangements to open the establishment for work as soon as the price of rail­
road iron shall be such as to admit of successful competition with the English article.




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

461

A t present the high price of labor in this country renders it impossible to compete
successfully with the English manufacturer, who, deprived of a market in Europe by
the suspension of all works of internal improvement on the continent, sends all his
stock to America. An alteration of the tariff to specific, instead of a d v a l o r e m duties,
would, it is said, afford sufficient protection to set our furnaces all at work, rolling out
railroad bars.
The Mount Savage establishment, when in operation, employs nearly four thousand
workmen, mostly foreigners. These men are so banded together amongst themselves,
and with the workmen in other establishments, that they will remain idle, or work at
other business for one-half what the Company could afford to give them, rather than
abate one cent from their wages. Puddlers, for instance, who formerly received from
$3 to ?5 per ton, could now earn $2 50 per ton, but prefer to work in the mines, or on
the canal, for one-half the amount. It is astonishing how successful they are in imbu­
ing all other workmen with the same obstinacy about coming to terms. In no other
business do we find men preferring idleness, or a scantity support, to a remunerative
compensation at their legitimate occupation, simply because they have been accus­
tomed to receive more.
It is to be hoped that ere long, a peace in Europe, an alteration of the tariff, or a
return to reason on the part of workmen, will bring the superior article made at Mount
Savage into general use on our railroads.

*

SO U TH E RN M AN U FACTU RES,

A correspondent of the C o l u m b i a T e l e g r a p h has arrayed a great many facts and
figures to show that the true policy of the South is to enter, to some extent, into manu­
facturing. This writer remarks:—
I f we trace the cause of the depression of the price of southern staple, we will find
that it is principally owing to an over production; this over production originates from
too much labor being thrown into one particular channel. Diversify labor, by manu­
facturing a portion of that surplus staple at home, and the benefit will be two-fold—
first by rendering that portion of the labor thrown off from the old channel more pro­
ductive, and next by being enabled to realize a better price for the remaining part
which we have for exportation.
Experience has long proven that a crop of cotton of 1,800,000 bales, will bring, un­
der ordinary circumstances, quite as much money to the planter, as a crop of 2,500,000
bales. The reason of it is very apparent. If we raise but 1,800,000 bales, after taking
out half million bales, which is required at present for domestic consumption, we have
but 1,300,000 bales for exportation. This amount is barely enough to supply the
wants of the foreign manufacturer— the consequence is, that according to the laws of
supply and demand, he has to pay more for it than if the quantity were larger. But
the crop of late years has averaged very near 2,500,000 bales, and we are compelled
to throw two millions of bales on the market of the world, which being more than the
demand calls for, has the effect of causing the price of it almost entirely to be regulated
by foreign manufacturers and speculators.
But the culture of cotton has been pushed of late years to such an extent, that with­
out a failure, 2,500,000 bales is likely to be an average crop for the future, and the
question arises— how is the price to be raised, and the welfare of the South to be per­
manently effected 1 The answer is at hand. Let the South manufacture a portion of
her cotton herself, and the object in view will be accomplished.
To explain this matter better, let us assume that the South would adopt this policy,
and each of the cotton growing States, ten in number, would manufacture hut 50,000
bales yearly ; this would give us a consumption of 500,000 bales in the South— add to
this the amount consumed by the Northern States, say 500,000 bales more, and it will
give us a home consumption of one million of bales.
Now let us see the result of it. In the place of exporting now with a full crop,
about two millions of bales, we would then export but one and a half millions. The




462

Journal o f M ining and M anufactures .

effect of thus diminishing our exports one-half million bales yearly, would be, that we
would no longer be compelled to cast ourselves at the mercy of foreigners to beg a
purchaser ; we could in fact regulate the price of it ourselves, and in the place of six to
seven cents, being now the extent we can obtain, nine to ten cents would then be the
average price.
It must be admitted, that there is perhaps no portion of the face of the earth which
abounds so much with all the elements of greatness, and no people possess more means
at their command to become wealthy and independent, than the people of the South;
yet how little have they taken advantage of it.
It must be likewise admitted, that the cotton planter, under present circumstances,
has to work harder, and receives less remuneration for the amount of capital which he
has invested, than any other class of men, and while the very staple which he produces
enriches almost every one, he himself is the least benefitted by it.
The reason of this is very obvious. Every bale of cotton he sells more than triples
in value from the time it leaves him till he buys it back again, if it be even cotton
shirting. If he receives $25 per bale, the manufacturer, with not half as great an out­
lay of capital as it takes to raise a bale of cotton, receives at least $50 to manufacture
it into goods; he creates therefore more than twice as much wealth, with not half as
much capital as the cotton planter.
To fortify this position it is only necessary to refer to statistics whose authority is in­
disputable. McCulloch, in his Encyclopedia of Commerce, published in London in
1847, estimates the amount of American cotton consumed by British manufacturers at
about 500,000,000 pounds. The present average value of cotton in England, about 9
cents per pound, and the aggregate cost of this cotton to the British manufacturers, is,
therefore, about $45,000,000. A t this rate, the highest amount the American cotton
planters can receive, would be, (after taking the expenses oflj) say 7 cents per pound,
the sum of $35,000,000.
According to the estimate of the same author, the value of British cotton manufac­
tures, in 1847, was about £42,000,000, or nearly $186,000,000. It is estimated that
the amount of capital invested in the business is about the same as the value of the
product per annum. As the American cotton constitutes about four fifths of the entire
cotton consumed by the manufactures in England, the capital required to manufacture
the same will be about $150,000,000, and the product about the same. It will thus be
seen, that through the combination of British capital and skill, $150,000,000 is pro­
duced out of the cotton for which the American planter receives but $35,000,000 ! and
that after taking off the raw material, the amount of wealth thus created by the
British cotton mills, is the net sum of $115,000,000.
Now let us estimate the amount of capital the American cotton planter will have to
invest to produce the same cotton.
Allowing about 200 pounds to be the product of an acre, it would require about
2,500,000 acres to produce it, which we will estimate at an average cost of $15 per
acre, making about $37,500,000. To produce this, it will take at the rate of 2,000 per
hand, about 250,000 slaves, at $500 each, making the value of the slaves about
$125,000,000. Thus the land and slaves, together with necessary items, such as farm­
ing utensils, mules, horses, cotton gins, buildings, <fcc., would exceed the sum o f
$170,000,000. In making a comparison in the matter, the case stands thus : the plan­
ter invests $170,000,000 to produce about $35,000,000 worth of cotton; the British
manufacturers employ a capital of $150,000,000, and produce about $115,000,000
worth of goods, after having paid for the raw material.
So much for the productiveness of British capital in manufacturing American cot­
ton, and American capital in producing it.
Again, the British manufacturers employ about 540,000 operatives. To work up the
American cotton, it will take about four-fifths of that number, say 432,000 hands, di­
vide the above $115,000,000 among them, and they will have $266 as the value of
product per hand; divide the net receipts of $35,000,000 among 250,000 hands, you
will have $140 per hand for producing; less by $122 per annum for each hand in the
production of the article, than is realized by manufacturing it.
I f we come nearer home, we will find the case precisely to be the same. In five of
the New England States, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and
Connecticut, the capital employed in the business is estimated to be about $50,000,000,
and the product about $45,000,000 per annum. Deduct 33£ per cent, for the cost of
the raw material, labor excepted, say $15,000,000, and you have as the net product of




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

463

industry, $30,000,000, being the actual creation of -wealth, in the five States, by the
manufacturing of cotton.
The total cotton crop in the United States for 1848 is estimated at about 1,000,000,000
pounds. If it averages 6 cents per pound, it will bring $60,000,000. To produce this,
it requires, according to the basis assumed, a capital of $340,000.
In order that the Southern planter should create wealtli as fast as the Northern
manufacturer, iu proportion to the amount of capital employed, the crop of 1848 should
have brought $200,000,000 in the place of $60,000,000.
I have said at the outset, that the Southern States possess the capacity to manufac­
ture at least 500,000 bales of the raw material. This would be consumed in the man­
ufacture of coarse fabrics with which the South could defy competition. I will now ex­
amine what effect this policy would have. I have already shown that a pennanent
advance in cotton would be bound to follow, say from 2 to 3 cents; to be very limited,
let us say but 2 cents per pound, it would give the South 2,000,000 of bales, allowing
400 pounds to the average weight per bale, at least an increase of sixteen millions
yearly.
The 500,000 bales which we would manufacture ourselves would be worth, at $25
per bale, about $12,500,000. As the raw material usually costs about one-third of the
manufactured goods, the product of it would be about $37,000,000, leaving $25,000,000
for the labor and profit to the manufacturer ; and if we add to this the $16,000,000,
the South would become $41,000,000 richer every year.
A P P L IC A T IO N O F G U N C O T T O N T O

S IL V E R IN G

L O O K IN G G L A S S E S .

Mr. H. Yohl, o f the Paris Academy of Sciences, has recently discovered that a solu­
tion of gun cotton in a caustic alkaline ley, possesses, in a high degree the property of
precipitating silver from its solutions in the metallic form. If gun cotton be placed in
contact with a caustic alkaline ley of sufficient strength, the cotton desolves iu the ley,
with the disengagement of considerable heat and ammonia, and furnishes a deep
brown liquor, sometimes rather thick; which, on the addition of an acid, gives rise to a
brisk effervescence, with disengagement of carbonic acid and nitrous acid.
The manner in which the gun cotton comports itself, in this case, shows that the sub­
stance is not dissolved, as such, but undergoes a decomposition, in which the atoms of
the oxygen of the nitric acid combine with an atom of the carbon of the cotton, and
gives rise to the carbonic a cid; which, as well as the nitrous acid, combines with a
portion of the potash. A new decomposition of the nitrous salt by the potash, in the
presence of substances containing hydrogen, furnishes the ammonia.
The most remarkable property of this alkaline solution, is the following: If a few
drops of nitric silver be added to the solution, and enough ammonia added, so that the
oxide of silver which is formed, becomes re-dissolved, and heat gently applied by
means o f a water bath, a moment arrives when the liquid assumes a dark brown color,
showing an effervescence, and all the silver is precipitated on the sides of the wood,
containing the solution, as a polished mirror. The mirror, thus obtained, surpasses
considerably in brilliancy that which is produced by etherial oils or ammoniacal alde­
hyde ; and its ready production must give it an important place in many practical ap­
plications.
It is not only the gun cotton which possesses this property; it is found that cane su­
gar, milk sugar, mannite gums, and other substances, which become explosive when
treated with nitric acid, act the same. The pyroazotic acid itself, under the same cir­
cumstances, produces a bright metallic surface; and it would appear that this reflec­
tion takes place with all those bodies which, treated with nitric acid, do not furnish the
products of oxidation; but another series of bodies which admit nitric acid, as such,
into their constitution, and at the same time abandon the equivalent of water.
M IL L IN E R S AN D M A N T U A M A K E R S .

There are about 15,000 milliners and dress makers in London. They commence
work usually at from fourteen to sixteen— that is to say, at an age when the future
health and constitution are determined by the care they then receive. A very large
portion of these girls are boarded and lodged by their employers, and they often come
from the country healthy and strong. During the busy seasons, i . «., from April to Au­
gust, and from October to Christmas, the regular hours of work “ at all the principal
houses ” are, o n t h e a v e r a g e , e i g h t e e n h o u r s d a i l y .




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

464

LA R G E M IN IN G

C O M PA N Y ON T H E

POTOM AC.

The following statement of this Company is derived from the Philadelphia
Ledger:—
A strong Company, we notice, has been formed, with Samuel Jaudon at its head, for
developing the resources of an immense coal region, comprising 22,000 acres, on the
Virginia side of the Potomac River, under the name of the Phoenix Mining and Manu­
facturing Company. The coal occurs in beds, varying in thickness from seventeen feet
to two feet, and is associated, as in other coal regions, with slate, limestone, clay, and
sandstone. Beginning at the top of a ravine, the workmen have uncovered the out
crops about two-thirds of the descending slope, until within 300 feet of the bottom ;
34£ feet of coal were brought to light in this distance; and by adding to these two
beds measured at no great distance from this ravine, both of which were evidently be­
low the most inferior stratum above alluded to, an aggregate of 40 feet of coal above
the bed of the Potomac is shown; without making allowance for the undue thinness
common to the outcrops of coal. A t so many places have the main beds been recog­
nized on the Company’s lands, that there is no room for doubting their uninterrupted
continuity over the entire area. The greatest advantage connected with the position
of the coals in this region, undoubtedly arises from their being level free, i. e., from
their requiring no mechanical power to effect their drainage. The beds decline on
each side of the central axis of the field, at an angle just sufficient to allow of the easy
descent of the water towards the bed of the Potomac, which forms the grand dry-level
of the entire region.
Connected with this remarkable structure in the field is another advantage, arising
from the facility of ventilation its workings will possess. The expense involved in the
ventilation and drainage of a single mine in England often amounts to $302,000, the
whole of which vast expenditure will be rendered completely superfluous in this
highly favored district. Large beds of iron ore are scattered over the Company’s
lands. In one place, the series of beds in the ravine, show an aggregate of thirty feet
thickness, of the best quality, and almost inexhaustible in quantity. There are also
numerous beds of fire-clay quarries of excellent sandstone, and an almost unlimited
supply of timber. It is believed that iron ore can be mined for seventy-five cents per
ton, and coal .at fifty cents per ton. Pig iron, it is stated, can be made at twelve to
fifteen dollars per ton, and delivered at Georgetown, the terminus of the Chesapeake
and Ohio Canal, at a cost of about twenty dollars per ton. The estimate of the quan­
tity of coal on this property is twenty-five millions of tons to the square mile. This
coal can be delivered at Alexandria at $2 11 per ton, and New York at $4 per ton.
The value of the Cumberland bituminous coal has been well established by thorough
proofs, both for common fuel purposes, and for making iron. The Cunard steamers
are supplied exclusively with it on tlieir outward voyages. The Howland & Aspinwall line use none other, and an agent of the British West India mail steamer is now
negotiating with the coal companies now in operation in this region, for a supply of
50,000 tons per annum, to be shipped from Alexandria. This coal is equally valuable
for driving locomotives as for sea steaming. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad run
their engines with it, and find that 25 cwt. makes as much steam as two tons of
anthracite, and the Reading Road are making a trial of it. In the course of the ensu­
ing autumn, the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal will be completed to Cumberland, and
within a few months the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad will be completed to Westernport, and these, with the back-water navigation of the Potomac, will give the lands of
the Phoenix Company immediate communication with Baltimore and Alexandria.
D IS C O V E R Y I N

THE

M ANUFACTURE

OF R A W

SU GAR.

An important discovery in the manufactory of raw sugar, and which seems to super­
sede the present tedious and expensive process of refining, is thus referred to, and
described in the C o u r i e r d e s J E t a t s U n i s .
The Paris Moniteur of 22d July, publishes, officiaUy, the report of M. Laujuinais, on
the discovery, by a Belgian chymist, M. Melsens, a pupil of M. Dumas, of a process by
which the beet and the sugar cane can be made to yield up the totality of the saccha­
rine matter they contain, and whereby sugar of a superior quality can be obtained,
without the intervention of the cumbrous and expensive machinery now required in the
manufactories of beet root sugar, and in refineries.




Journal o f M ining and M anufactures.

465

If this discovery, loudly insisted upon by men of science, should turn out as is anti­
cipated, the product from beets would be increased one-third, and that from the cane,
one-half, and, moreover, all the apparatus except that for the trituration, or grinding,
and that for purifying the juice, would be dispensed with.
“ In presence of such an imminent revolution,” says the Report, “ all operations con­
nected with the manufacture of sugar are suspended, and cannot regain their accus­
tomed course, until public opinion shall be satisfied as to the merits of the alleged dis­
covery.” The minister proposed the appointment by the President of a Committee to
verify the results, and this was accordingly done with the understanding that if the
report of such Committee should be favorable, a recommendation should be made to
the Assembly to buy for the State, the right of the discoverer, to the end that it be
made public.
The Committee is composed of nine representatives, two or three sugar manufactur­
ers, the head of the Customs, the Directors of the Colonies, the Chief Assistant in the
ministry of Commerce, and some others— M. Dumas being the chairman.
These experiments on the new method were to be made forthwith, before the Com­
mittee— the first purely scientific, were to take place in the labratory of M. Dumas—
the second, the sugar works of M. Barin, a member of the Committee, to test its value
in a manufacturing point of view— and the third at the great establishment of M.
ClafF, at Valenciennes, where the proceedings were to be on a very large scale.
A letter addressed to the I n d e p e n d e n t (newspaper) gives these details:—
The discovery of M. Melsens is of the most grave and serious import for all the
interests, whether colonial or at home— connected with the manufacture of sugar.
By this process of marvellous simplicity, and of the readiest application— the de­
composition and separation of the portion of the plant containing the saccharine is ac­
complished— and the clarification takes place without any other process— the condens­
ing, the filtering, the boiling, and I had almost said the skimming, are dispensed with.
The new process applies to the syrup— hence the cutters, pressers, and even the boil­
ers for purifying the juice, are still needed— but the syrup once obtained, then com­
mences M. Melsen’s miracle. With a single pinch of the marvellous substance, which
remains the secret of the inventor, he brings about, in a few minutes, the clearing and
the crystalization of the saccharine matters. Good bye ! therefore, to Refiners, with
their slow and costly process, since in seven-quarters of an hour, may be produced a
loaf of the whitest and purest sugar.
The correspondent may well add as he does, supposing his version of the effects of
this discovery to be correct, “ it is impossible to conceive, or to calculate the conse­
quences of this new process.”
The sugar growers and the sugar refiners in the United States— in both of which
branches large capitals and expensive processes are employed— will doubtless look
early into tliis alleged discovery— which seems too marvellous.
STRENGTH OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF MARBLE.
An examination of the strength of the various kinds of marble intended for the
Washington Monument, was made a short time ago at Washington. The monument
is to be 500 feet in height, and, consequently, it is a matter of considerable importance
to obtain the strongest possible material for the construction of the base. The investi­
gation was carried on by means of a powerful hydrostatic press, based upon a perpen­
dicular pressure. Of the various cubes of marble which were submitted to the press,
the first bore a pressure of 10,000 lbs. before exhibiting the least fracture, and was
crushed by an additional weight of 1,000 lbs. The average strength of all the marble
exceeded 10,000 lbs., being thus equal to that of granite. Of the foreign kinds sub­
jected to experiment, the statuary of Italy resisted a pressure of 16,625 lbs., granite of
Normandy, 10,512 lbs., porphyry, 39,000 lbs. New York marble bore a weight of
15,625 lbs; crystal, of Symington, 18,250 lbs., and one of this last bore a pressure of
25,375 lbs.
PROGRESS OF ENGINE FACTORIES IN SWEDEN.
A t the Motala Works, during the year 1848, there have been manufactured 2 en­
gines of 120 horse-power, 2 of 75, and 1 of 45, to be employed in Sweden, and on the
Swedish coast; 1 of 160 horse-power for Lubeck, and an iron steamer, with an engine
of 15 horse-power, for Riga.
V O L . X X I .-----N O . IV .




30

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

466

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
R A IL R O A D S IN

TH E

IS L A N D

O F CU B A :

W IT H REFERENCE TO AN ARTICLE IN THE JULY NUMBER OF THIS MAGAZINE.

Our attention has been called by “ A Friend,” to an article which appeared in the
“ J o u r n a l o f C o m m e r c e ” of the 12th of September, 1849. The correspondent referred
to above, sends us the following extracts from the article in that print:—
“ That excellent work, Hunt’s Magazine, furnishes tables of exports and imports, but
they are drawn from the Custom-House statements, where a fixed government valua­
tion is used; and again, it is there stated that there are railroads from Havana to
Cardenas and Jucaro, which is entirely an error; and the railroad from Havana to
Guines is put down at eighty-eight miles, when it is only forty-five. I mention this
only to point out inaccuracies where we are accustomed to look for the most reliable
information.”
W e have also a letter from a highly respectable gentleman, who owns himself the
author of the article in the J o u r n a l o f C o m m e r c e , from which we also give an extract,
as follow s:—
“ The respect due to the editor of such a Journal as yours, induces me to admit the
authorship of an article in the Journal of Commerce of the 12th September, 1849,
(horribly mutilated by the devils, as you must have seen,) and to state that when a
friend suggested to me that I was in error regarding y o u r statements therein referred
to, I pointed out to him, in your Magazine for July, 1849, the article translated from
the. Diario de la Marina, where it is expressly stated that there are railroads from
Havana to Jucaro and Cardenas, of 35 and 29 miles, respectively. And I cited this
only to prove how many errors were constantly put forth about the Island. It may
be that your translator was not sufficiently careful. If it be of any consequence to
you to have the exact facts, let me state that from Havana to Cardenas, on the old
roads, is, more or less, 90 miles— to Jucaro 95 ; and it may be that by this time, the
railroad from Havana to Guines and Marcurijos is joined to the others, and thus have
formed a communication, by the ‘ Ironhorse,’ with more places. The railroad from
Havana to Guines, was originally 45 miles; the company who bought this road,
agreed to make branches to Batabano, 11 miles. San Antonio, 9 miles, and to (I
think) Marcurijos, 22 miles. This makes the 88— t h i s i s a l l o f t h e r o a d f r o m H a v a n a ,
— but the Diario would make it appear as if there was another to Batabano, and one
to San Antonio.”
The article in the July number o f the M e r c h a n t s ’ M a g a z i n e , on Cuba, was translated
at our instance, by a merchant of New York, from the “ D i a r i o d e l a M a r i n a ,” which
we received from a correspondent then residing in that island. The article, we have
reason to believe, was accurately translated, and the errors or misstatements, if any,
must be attributed to the writer in “ D i a r i o d e l a M a r i n a ’, ' an organ of the Cuban
Government. In a note appended to the article in the M a g a z i n e , we took occasion to
say, “ it will be understood that the remarks in illustration of the statistics in this arti­
cle represent the opinions of the editor o f the ‘ D i a r i o d e l a M a r i n a ' , and not those
of the editor of the M e r c h a n t s ' M a g a z i n e ' . ' We thank our correspondents for calling
our attention to the subject; and we trust that this brief explanation will satisfy them
that we endeavor to be accurate in our statistics, as well as candid and fair in the ex­
pression o f our opinions.
CONCORD AN D

C L A R E M O N T R A IL R O A D ,

The Concord and Claremont Railroad has been opened to Contoocookville, eleven
miles from Concord. By die 15th or 20th of this month, the road is to be opened to
Warner, seven miles farther. Two trains a day are to run between Concord and
Contoocookville, connecting with the forenoon and afternoon trains to and from Boston.




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
B R IT IS H

R A IL W A Y

467

S T A T IS T IC S ,

W e gather some interesting facts from Hyde Clarke’s contributions to railway sta­
tistics of England, as furnished by that gentleman for publication in the C i v i l E n g i n ­
e e r s a n d A r c h i t e c t s ’ J o u r n a l for August, 1848.
The following tables show the totals of each class of passengers in the years 1844
to 1847, inclusive, the years ending on the 30th of June in each year:—
1844.

1845.

1846.

184 7 .

3d “ .............
Mixed..................

2,069,498!

5,474,163
14,325,825
13,135,820
855,440f

6,160,354!
16,931,0651
18,506,527!
2,193,126

6,572,714
18,699,288!
22,850,803!
3,229,357

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

27,763,602^

83,791,253!

43,790,9831

51,352,163

1st class..............
2d “ .............

The amount received for each class, in each year, was as follows,—
1845.

1846.

1 84 7 .

147,858

£1,516,805
1,598,115
651,903
209,518

£1,661,898
1,937,946
1,032,206
93,164

£1,675,759
2,048,080
1,286,710
146,733

£3,439,294

£3,976,341

£4,725,215

£5,148,002

1844.

1st class..............
2d “ .............

1,375,679"

3d “ .............
Mixed.................
TotaL.............

The yearly increase in numbers on each class of passengers, is as follows:—
1845.

1846.

1st class............................

12 per cent

...................
3d “ ........................... ...................
TotaL................................

18
41
24

2d

“

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

17
50

“

“

1 84 7 .

7 per cent.
((
10
23
17

ft
tt

The yearly increase in money on each class of passengers, is as follows :—
1845.

1st class............................

1846.

9 per cent.

2d
“
................................... ...................
3d “ ...........................
T o ta l................................ ...................

16

21

16

58
18

“

1 84 7 .

. . per cent.
“
6
tt
24
it
9

It is to be observed that no deductions can be drawn from these figures, as the Rail­
way Department returns are defective and informal.
The gross returns in each year from passengers, goods, tic., were as follows:—
1842- 3 ..................................
£4,535,189 1845-6 ..................................
£7,565,569
1843- 4 .................................
5,074,674 1846-7 ..................................
8,510,886
1844- 5 ..................................
6,209,714
The capital expended on railways has been likewise given by Mr. Hackett, from
which we can learn the amount expended in each year:—
Whole capital.

1842..
1843..
1844.'.

£52,380,100
57.635.100
63.489.100

Expended.

1845
£5,255,000 1846
6,844,000 1847

Whole capital.

£71,646,100
83,165,100
109,528,800

Expended.

£8,157,000
12,519,000
26,363,700

The total amount of railway expenditure from 1842 to the end of 1847, was
£57,548,700.
The total amount of railway income in those years has been:—
1842......................................
£4,341,781 1847............
£8,949,681
1843
.............................
4,827,655 Add from railway returns.. .
865,984
1844
.............................
5,584,982
1845
.............................
6,649,224
TotaL.......................... £38,884,191
1846
.............................
7,664,874
Of course the whole of this income cannot be treated as real capital, no more can
he whole o f the expenditure; but it is a significant fact, that while the whole ex-




Railroad , Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

468

penditure lias been £57,548,700, the whole income has been £38,884,181, or more than
two-thirds of that amount. This is deserving the attention of those who direct their
attention towards the subject of railway capital.

S T E A M B O A T N A V IG A T IO N

O F C IN C IN N A T I,

The C i n c i n n a t i P r i c e C u r r e n t , e t c . , furnishes the following statement of the arrivals
and Departures of steamboats at the port of Cincinnati during each month of the years
1847 and 1848:—
A COMPARATIVE MONTHLY STATEMENT OF STEAMBOAT ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES AT THIS
PORT FOR TW O YEARS, ENDING SEPTEMBER

1, 1849.

ARRIVALS FROM

New Orleans.
Months.

September .
O ctober.__
November. .
December...
January. . . .
February. . .
March..........
A pril...........
May.............
J u n e...........
J uly.............
August........

Pittsburg.

St. Louis.

Other ports.

1848.

1847.

1848.

1847.

1 84 8 .

184 7 .

1848.

1847.

184 8 .

5
9
30
34
40
42
47
32
28
13
31
12

12
22
51
53
45
36
35
22
16
19
8

79
86
65
41
42
75
93
93
79
75
76
76

72
63
95
65
47
46
87
90
51
58
24
28

25
33
27
21
8
13
20
36
36
28
27
18

19
30
•32
26
7
13
21
40
41
18
15
6

220
239
238
175
213
208
246
118
200
211
205
226

168
141
155
158
158
130
152
180
182
177
130
193

329
367
362
271
303
348
406
279
343
327
339
333

271
234
304
300
255
234
308
845
296
269
188
235

319

319

880

728

295

278

2,499

1,924

4,007

—

Total.......

Total.

1847

—

—

■ ■

—

3,239

DEPARTURES FOR

New Orleans.
Months.

September .
O ctober.. . .
N ovem ber..
December...
January......
February....
March..........
A pril...........
H a y .----- . .
J u n e ...........
July.............
A u gust. . . .
T otal. . . .

1847. 184 8 .

Pittsburg.

St. Louis.

Other ports.

1847.

1848.

1847.

1 84 8 .

1847.

Total.

184 8 .

1847.

1848.

9
22
33
27
47
46
42
27
20
24
11
9

7
13
33
57
36
35
33
22
12
14
11
8

66
72
56
33
39
51
72
91
76
62
68
76

51
68
72
67
21
46
74
90
53
38
21
21

28
42
25
10
5
16
25
46
34
29
27
26

31
30
37
24
4
15
46
54
26
26
10
10

164
102
202
154
180
187
217
196
188
182
183
204

155
110
149
139
123
122
142
157
168
162
130
181

267
238
816
224
271
300
356
360
314
297
225
315

264
221
291
277
184
218
295
323
259
240
172
220

297

281

762

612

309

313

2,159

1,738

3,947

2,914

THE BRITISH RAILWAY MANTA IN 1845,
In the month of August, 1845, the period when railway prices generally saw what
is technically called “ the top of the market,” the rage for gambling was enormous.
The responsibility incurred by parties signing deeds o f subscription attracted universal
notice. A t this particular date, the f u r o r was so great, that those who were engaged
in railway share business, found a large portion of their time occupied in keeping the
necessary appointments for perfecting these documents, which were of vital import­
ance to the existence of the companies. Parliamentary returns, shortly afterwards
published, gave a list of subscribers who had fixed their names to deeds. Signatures
were common for amounts averaging from £20,000 to £60,000. Mr. George Hudson,
M. I1., stood highest on the public list He represented subscriptions for £818,000.




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

469

Other parties were set clown for £300,000 and £400,000 each. Earls, privy councellors, baronets, knights, M. Ps., colonels, captains, lieutenants, clergymen, bankers, bar­
risters, merchants, lawyers, directors, secretaries, promoters, projectors, stock-brokers,
tradesmen, and clerks, were all alike centered in the vortex of speculation, and fig­
ured for the amount of assumed liabilities. The number of clergymen who signed was
two hundred and fifty-seven. Of these the greater number were comparatively for
small amounts, of from £2,000 to £5,000. Some, however, went into the speculation
more extensively. Thus one was a subscriber for £26,000, one for £27,000, three for
£20,000 and upwards, six for £15,000 and upwards, ten for £10,000 and upwards,
fifty-three of from £5,000 to £9,000 each. Members of Parliament were subscribers
for much larger sums, and reckoned one hundred and fifty-seven in number, being nearly
one-fourth of the entire House of Commons. This fact clearly indicated the strength of
the railway interest in Parliament, and the sums subscribed for by individual members
were in many cases very heavy.— T h e C o m m e r c i a l C r i s i s , 1847-8.
STEAMBOATS BUILT AT CINCINNATI.
The following is a list of steamboats built at the port of Cincinnati during the year
ending September 1, 1849, as registered on the books of the Port Warden,—
Tonnage.

Name.

Lancaster......................
New Orleans................
Hiram Pow ers.............
J. M. Niles.....................
John Adams.................
Memphis.......................
Belvidere.......................
Webster.........................
Farm er.........................
Storm..........................
Yorktown....................
Shamrock....................
William N ob le...........
Melodeon....................
New W orld.................
Martha.........................
D. B. Mosby................
Phillip Penny wit.. . .
Sarah...........................
Defiance.....................
Yankee.........................
Diana...........................
Jenny Lind, No. 2 . . . .
Total, 23..........

Value.

135
400
316
430
435
265
290
460
293
290
420
182
420
325
280
180
190
320
540
500
315
188
107

$11,000
28,000
22,900
28,000
28,000
18,000

7,281

$480,000

21,000
25,000
19,000

20,000
26,000

10,000
28,000

20,000
17,000
9,500

12,000
24,000
32,000
35,000
23,000
15,000
8,500

W hen built.

September, 1848
October,
1848
«
1848
U
1848
U
1848
u
1848
«
1848
M
1848
«
1848
December, 1848
«(
1848
U
1848
U
1848
January,
1849
U
1849
“
1849
February, 1849
«
1849
U
1849
March,
1849
April,
1849
June,
1849
a
1849

Comparing the number and tonnage of the boats built in this district during the last
four years, ending September 1st, the figures are as follows:—
Years.

1848-9.........................
1847-8.........................

No.

Tonnage.

23
29

7,281
10,233

Years.

N o.

Tonnage

1846-7
1845-6

32
25

8,268
5,657

NASHUA AN1) EPPING RAILROAD.
A meeting of the grantees and others interested in the Nashua and Epping Railroad
was held at Derry, N. H., a short time since, for the purpose of organizing and taking
the preliminary steps to ensure the construction of the road. A board of managers
was chosen, who are to survey the route, de. This road, it is said, would complete the
link between Worcester and the Boston and Maine Railroad, and would furnish the
nearest and most direct communication from Southern New Hampshire and Maine to
New York City, over the Nashua and Epping, Worcester and Nashua, and Worcester
and Norwich Railroads. The length of the new road would be about 25 miles.




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

470

R E C E IP T S

OF TH E

C A N A L S O F O H IO .

W e give below a statement of the net receipts of tolls upon the public works of the
State o f Ohio, for the first three quarters, ending August 16th, 1848, also for the cor­
responding period of 1849, showing an increase in this year over last to the amount of
$56,057 22.
R eceived during the first
3 qrs. in 1848.

Ohio Canal..................................
Miami and Erie Canal............... ..............
Muskingum Improvement........ ...............
Hocking Canal......................... .
Walholding Canal..................... .............

177,308 91
20,140 94
644 68
406,537 84

R eceived during the first
3 qrs. in 1849.

225,978
197,734
33,511
4,460
909

85
47
43
61
20

462,594 57

*
Y O R K AND

C U M B E R L A N D R A IL R O A D .

The York and Cumberland Railroad, which was commenced in the fall of 1848, is to
run from Portland in a southwesterly course, through the towns of Westbrook, Gor­
ham, Buxton, Hollis, Waterborough, Alfred, North Berwick, and Berwick to Salmon
Falls, a distance of about 49 miles, where it unites with the Boston and Maine Rail­
road. The whole line is under contract, and the cost of construction, not including
land, buildings and machinery, will be $955,500; add to this, for other expenses, the
sum of $200,000, and the total cost of the road will amount to $1,155,500— averaging
$23,514 per mile. The contractors subscribe 25 per cent of the amount of their con­
tract in the capital stock of the company, which amounts to $238,000, leaving $916,500
as the amount to be obtained from other stockholders. The sum of $120,956 is want­
ed to complete the road from Portland to Gorham. The contractors are fuHy pre­
pared to press forward the work to completion in the most energetic manner, when­
ever the pecuniary circumstances of the road shall permit
S A V IN G S B Y R A I L W A Y S I N

EN GLAN D.

An “ observer,” in the London M o r n i n g H e r a l d , states that it has been estimated
that railways have effected a saving of £12,000,000 annually on the traffic of the coun­
try, although they comprehend as yet but a fraction relatively of the whole traffic of
trade. Among other items of traffic he states that of building-stone to be not onetenth of what is requisite for even a fourth part of the surface, “ and whereas stone
might be brought up to the metropolis at one penny per ton per mile, by the London
and North-Western and Great Western Railways, little is so brought, though there is a
great wish to have public buildings of stone instead of brick.”
R A IL W A Y S TH R O U G H E U R O P E .

The communication by rail is now either complete, or will soon be, via Calais, right
through the heart of Europe, including Paris, Brussels, Cologne, Antwerp, the Rhine,
Berlin, Warsaw, Leipsic, Vienna, Switzerland, and Venice. Arrangements are already
in progress for a grand continuous tour, or route, through most of the places here
named. Paris itself will thus be approximated to London by a time distance of only
eleven hours, or a run actually shorter than that to either of its own provincial capitals,
Edinburg or Dublin.— L o n d o n B u i l d e r , F e b r u a r y 1 1 t h , 1849.

R E C E IP T S

ON T H E

F IT C H B U R G R A I L R O A D .

The railroads throughout the country have thus far done a light business this sum­
mer, although several of them have made a gain on last year's business. For the
month of July the earnings of the Fitchburg Road, one of the best managed in the
country, amounted, to $46,000, being an increase of about $8,000 for that month, over
the same month in 1848.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

471

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
TH E

LATE

SAM U EL FLEW W ELLUVG,

Among the leading individuals long and favorably known in the financial circles of
Hew York, and who have passed off the stage within the present season, few have en­
joyed more steady esteem than the late S amuel F lewwelling . For more than half
a century a resident within this city, Mr. Flewwelling had retired during the last few
years of his life, to the quiet of his country seat, at Nyack, on the west bank of the
Hudson, where, in June last, he died in his 74th year.
He was born in 1776, in Orange County, in this State; but during the war of the
Revolution, removed, with his parents, to Nova Scotia, from which he returned in the
year 1796, commencing the active duties of life in the commercial establishment of the
late William Rhinelander. Unaided by the patronage of powerful friends or family,
his exact and reliable habits of business, and his talent and accuracy as an accountant,
nevertheless, secured the favorable regard of some of the leading men of that day, so
far, that on the organization o f the Manhattan Company, the second banking institu­
tion established in this State, young Flewwelling, then hardly of age, was selected to
fill one of its most responsible clerkships. He remained in the bank, gradually rising
step by step, until 1809, when a branch being established at Poughkeepsie, he was
placed as cashier, at its head. In the year 1810, the office of cashier of the parent
bank becoming vacant, by the accession of the late H enky R emsen to the presidency,
Mr. Flewwelling was called to the place, in which he remained to the year 1817, con­
ducting its affairs with marked ability and success, and especially during the trying
period of the three years’ war with Great Britain, when the financial arrangements of
the then embarrassed Treasury of the United States, were mainly conducted in the
City of New York, by the Manhattan Company. It was during that time that a per­
sonal and friendly acquaintance grew up between Mr. Flewwelling, and that eminent
financier, A lbekt G allatin, which was subsequently cemented and strengthened by
their more intimate connection in the National Bank.
In the year 1817, Mr. Flewwelling accepted the office of cashier of the City Bank,
and successfully discharged its duties until the memorable year, 1825, that wellknown era in our banking history, when certain active dealers in the stock market of
Wall street, unexpectedly obtained the control of several of our most solid monied in­
stitutions.
Among the changes which were caused by these operations, was the retirement of
Mr. Flewwelling from the office of cashier of the City Bank; but he was almost im­
mediately afterwards invited to occupy a similar station in the Delaware and Hudson
Canal Company, then recently incorporated with banking powers. In the present
palmy strength and prosperity of that powerful institution, the present generation can
hardly realize or credit the struggles which it underwent, even for financial existence,
in some of the most trying periods of its history. Suffice it to say, that during the
severest portion of the crisis— its monied means all but exhausted— Mr. Flewwelling
stood manfully forward, supporting its almost fallen fortunes, rallying the confidence
of its directors and stockholders, and himself contributing largely and efficiently to
sustain its credit, by pecuniary loans on his own personal responsibility.
The institution, as we now know, triumphantly weathered the storm, but its bank­




472

Mercantile Miscellanies.

ing capital was expended in the great outlay required to complete its noble canal and
railway— opening a direct channel from the tide-waters of the Hudson River to the
coal fields of Pennsylvania, and virtually annexing, for all commercial purposes, three
or four counties in the north-eastern angle of that State, to the territories tributary to
the city o f Hew York.
In 1829, the National Bank wa3 incorporated and organized, with A lbert G allatin
at its head, and the late J ohn J acob A stor as one of its largest stockholders. Mr.
Flewwelling was unanimously called by the Board to fill the office of cashier, and for
eleven years, and, indeed, until his final retirement from active life, continued to dis­
charge its duties with his accustomed energy and success. In 1840, the approach of
advancing age admonished him to withdraw from the toils and cares of financial af­
fairs, and to seek the repose he had so well earned by his long, and honorable, and
well spent life. His resignation was received with lively regret at the National Bank,
and a resolution entered on the records of the institution testified the unanimous sense
o f the directors of the fidelity and talent with which he had conducted their affairs.
Mr. Flewwelling was of the old school of our New York bankers— a great respecter,
not of persons, but o f mercantile punctuality and order— a sturdy friend of specie pay­
ment, and the unflinching opponent of all attempts to substitute baseless paper prom­
ises, redeemable at indefinite periods, in lieu of sound bank circulation, payable in
gold and silver, on demand.
In connection with C harles W ilkes, L ynde Gatlin , and others of similar stamp,
his cotemporaries in our monied institutions during the early portion of the present
century, he steadily exerted his efforts to keep the banking system within wholesome
bounds, and to prevent undue and hazardous expansions of our paper currency ; and
he shared deeply in the mortification felt by our most conservative bankers, at the
suspension o f specie payments in 1837. To one, however, of his sagacity and long
experience, that event was by no means unexpected. The madness of 1836, and the
extravagant demand for commodities of every description, and in every direction, ex­
hibited symptoms too plain to be mistaken. A remark made by an eminent states­
man of that day, whose imagination had been momentarily carried away in the excite­
ment of the hour, that “ there did not seem to be e n o u g h o f a n y t h i n g in the world,”
was repeated to Mr. Flewwelling. “ Tell your friend,” answered Mr. F., in his cool
and characteristic manner, “ that there soon will be e n o u g h o f o n e t h i n g — or mer ­
chants’ notes !”

The catastrophe of 1837, which laid most of our mercantile world in ruins, verified
the truth of his prediction.
In private life, Mr. Flewwelling was distinguished by the calmness and serenity of
his temper, and the uniform gentleness and decorum o f his manners. At heart, he was
singularly generous, tender, and amiable— while nothing could exceed the purity o f his
principles, or his undeviating fidelity, truth and honor. To the external world, the
calmness of his manner may have sometimes appeared cold and unimpassioned ; but
in his domestic relations, his virtues shone forth in all their lustre. There was “ a daily
beauty in his life,” that dispensed contentment, happiness, and joy to all within its
reach. The evening of his days was grateful and graceful—well befitting his serene
and well-regulated character. Amid the pure and almost poetical enjoyment of his
garden and flowers, surrounded by those that were dearer to him than life, his mental
faculties bright, clear, and calm to the last—he cheerfully yielded up his spirit, relying
firmly on the goodness of Him who gave it, and dying as he had lived— a philosopher,
a gentleman, and a Christian.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

473

HOW TO TRADE.

It is a standing rule with shopkeepers, when asked for an article which is not in
their stock, to offer something resembling it. Thus we once heard a countryman in­
quiring at a village store for a mowing sythe. “ Sorry, sir," replied the pert youngster
behind the counter, “ we have no sythes, but we’ve got some first chop penknives.”
The following circumstance, related in a Scotch paper, is of the same nature:—
A vender of buttons, buckles, and other small ware, who occupied a small shop at
the head of the street in Glasgow, in which, ere while, the notable Bailie Nichol Jarvie
domiciled, noticed a country lout standing at his window one day, with an undecided
kind of wanting-to-buy expression on his face, and inquired whether he had “ any pis­
tols to sell.” The shopman had long studied the counter logic of endeavoring to per­
suade a customer to buy what you have for sale, rather than what the customer may
ask for. “ Man,” said he, “ what be the use of a pistol to you ? Lame yourself, an’
may be some ither body wi’t ! You should buy a flute; see, there’s ane, an’ it’s no
sae dear as a pistol, just stop an’ open finger, about, thae sax wee holes, and blaw in
at the big ane, and ye can hae any tune ye like, after a wee while’s practice; besides
you’ll may be blaw a tune into the heart o’ some blithe lassie that’ll bring to you the
worth o’ a thousand pistols or German flutes ither.” “ Man,” said the simpleton,” I’m
glad that I have met wi’ you the day—just tie’t u p ;” and paying down the price asked,
and bidding guid day, with a significant nod of the head, remarked, “ it’ll no be my
faut ’gin ye getna an opportunity of riding the broose at my wadding, sin ye hae learned
me to be my ain piper.”
C O U R T E S Y IN

S T O R E -K E E P IN G .

It Has been understood, from time immemorial, that dress indicates the standing o f
a person in society, so much so, that business is done, in many instances, on this prin­
ciple. I f a person o f genteel address steps into a store, the utmost politeness is shown,
and the greatest pains are taken to exhibit the stock; but if a meanly clad person en­
ters scarcely anything but a yam, or a dull movement at best, is extended to the visiter.
This course has been rather detrimental to the trade of some stores in Cincinnati. For
instance, a very wealthy family lately moved to Cincinnati from Philadelphia, and from
reputation they were, as we may say, acquainted with a certain firm here before they
came, as said firm had a branch in the Quaker City which knew these wealthy cus­
tomers there, and who prized their money and patronage much. Said family wished
to purchase a large amount of things here, and stepping into the said certain firm in
their commonest dresses in the morning, were met with the most forbidding coldness.
The clerks and attendants in said certain store took the party for servants or serving
girls, and did not show them even c o m m o n courtesy. The result was, that the said
wealthy family, with $500 in their pockets to spend, left the said certain store to pur­
chase elsewhere. Perhaps some other stores go as far the other w a y ; that is, the
clerks and attendants are too polite, and quite t o o o b l i g i n g , and by their acts, become
too familiar, and disgust the would be customer, thereby forever losing good patronage.
The proper course is to steer between extremes, to study well human nature, so as to
discover at a glance a person who desires to buy, and the meddling jade that promen­
ades the streets and makes trouble for the clerks, only to show a pretty hand and face.
M A C K E R E L F IS H IN G IN

M ASSACHU SETTS.

W e learn from the B o s t o n J o u r n a l that there are now employed in the Mackerel
Fishery, from the port of Gloucester, 160 schooners; from the ports of Annisquam
and Rockport, about 30 each. The port of Gloucester, in 1829 had 60 vessels and
400 men engaged in this business; in 1849, 160 vessels and 1,600 men; the vessels
having in that time increased nearly three-fold, and the men four-fold. The next
place to Gloucester in this business is Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, which has from 60 to
80 vessels engaged in it. The catch of Gloucester, last, year, was about 47,000 bar­
rels, Wellfleet, 28 to 30,000.
Nearly the whole of this business is carried on in Massachusetts, the other New
England States doing but very little in it. A few vessels from Connecticut and Maine
fit out and pack at Gloucester. The great merchants of Philadelphia, New York and
Boston, have their agents at that place to purchase and ship for them. The extent
and importance of this business may be learned from the fact that the present season
1,000 vessels, and from 8,000 to 10,000 men are engaged in it from New England.




474

Mercantile Miscellanies.
TH E

C O -P A R T N E R S H I P O F N A T I O N S .
BY ELIHU BUEEITT.

The commerce of nations is nothing else than the co-partnership of nations, in carry­
ing on the same trade; and, what is peculiar to these international connections, they
are not l i m i t e d partnerships; they are not o p t i o n a l partnerships, neither can they be
dissolved. Individual firms may dissolve their connections by mutual consent, and to
their mutual advantage; but the great commercial firm of nations cannot do the same.
Let us glance at the commerce or co-partnership between England and the United
States, and see if it could be dissolved without dissolving into air the means whereby
millions o f each country live.
During the year 1844, the whole exports of the produce and manufactures of the
United States were valued at £23,166,676. Wow mark this important fact— the ex­
ports to Great Britain, its colonies and dependencies, amounted to £12,838.095, or more
than half of the entire exports of the nation. The entire imports for the same year
amounted to £22,590,632 ; of which £9,418,912, or more than t h r e e - e i g h t s , were from
the British Empire. Thus half of the land, labor, skill, and capital which the United
States employ in foreign trade, is invested in the business carried on under the firm of
M e s s r s . J o h n a n d J o n a t h a n . The whole amount of this business in 1844, was £22,257,000;
the profits o f which they divided equitably between them. Wow, can this partnership
be dissolved, like a business connection between two private firms established in two
different countries ? There are hundreds of commercial houses in England which have
branches in the United States, and they can dissolve their connection any day, by mu­
tual consent, and perhaps to their mutual advantage. But the two nations canijot do
the same. Their co-partnership is indissoluble and inevitable. It is founded in a
mutual necessity which all the swords that are hired to slaughter men cannot over­
come. The business connection between them is a vital connection. It is not a cotton
web of commercial interests which can be severed at pleasure or in malice. It is a
vital life-ligament between communities divided by the Atlantic, which would bleed
the two nations to weakness, if severed by the sword. Suppose this connection should
be entirely suspended for three years, what would be the result to each people, but
such disaster and wretchedness as they never experienced before! Take the case of
one article, for instance. The entire cotton crop in the United States, in 1845, was es­
timated at 2,493,504 bales. Of this amount, England took 1,439,306 bales, or nearly
f i v e - e i g h t s of the whole crop, and nearly f o u r t i m e s as much as the United States
themselves. Thus five-eiglits of all the land, capital, and labor employed in the culti­
vation of cotton in the United States, are employed in growing it for England alone.
The capital invested in the production of this important article, in 1835, was estimated
at £166,666,700. Of this amount, £104,166,665 were invested in supplying the British
market. T h r e e - f o u r t h s of all the cotton manufactured in Great Britain are imported
from the United States. Wearly half of the entire exports of the United Kingdom
consists o f goods manufactured of cotton. Thus one product of the United States
furnishes the raw material for t h r e e - e i g h t s of all the exports of Great Britain. It is
estimated that about 1,300,000 persons in Great Britain derive their subsistence from
the manufacture of cotton; and consequently nearly a million from the manufacture of
American cotton. Now, suppose the “ a r m y - w o r m ,” or that bloody reptile, the “ a r m y s w o r d ,” should cut off the entire cotton crop in the United States for three years, what
would become of that million of human beings in England who now live upon its man­
ufacture ? What would become of the factories, machinery, labor, and skill it employs
in England, or of the land, labor, and capital employed in the United States in supply­
ing those factories \
But if the article of cotton alone is such a vital bond of connection between the
two countries, what may we not predicate upon the supply of cheap food which has
recently begun to flow into England from the United States ? A new and mighty in­
terest in the wants of the millions of Britain, has sprung up in the vast and fertile re­
gions of the Western World. This very year, every furrow that broke for the first
time the surface of the boundless prairie, was turned to meet the prospective necessi­
ties o f England. The rude farmer of Iowa or Wisconsin has fraternized with the ope­
rative o f the Lancaster factory, and formed a sympathetic co-partnership with him ;
and ploughed and sown, and hopes to reap for him.




The B ook Trade.

4 75

THE BOOK TRADE.
1.—

Th e

C iv il

D u tie s

o f

J u r is d ic t io n

C o u n ty

a n d

o f J u s t ic e s

T o w n

o f

O f f ic e s i n

th e

th e

Peace\ a n d

S ta te

o f N e w

O u t lin e s o f
Y o rk .

th e

P o w e r

a n d

New Y ork : Gould,

Banks & Co.
This work is intended to give a compendium of the duties and jurisdictions of Justices
of the Peace, and county and town officers for the country in the State o f New York.
The last act of the Legislature gave Justices of the Peace jurisdiction of suits where
the debt or balance due, or damages claimed, did not exceed one hundred dollars.
Justices have the right to issue attachments against the property of a debtor for one
hundred dollars, who has departed, or is about to depart, from the county where he
last resided, with an intent to defraud his creditors, or to avoid the service of any civil
process, or when any debtor keeps himself concealed with such intent; so when a
debtor is about to remove any of his property from the county, or has assigned, or dis­
posed of, or secreted, or is about to assign, dispose of, or secrete any of his property
with an intent to defraud his creditors, an attachment may issue against the property
of the debtor, whether he be a resident of the State of New York or not. Justices’
courts have jurisdiction also for damages or injury to the person, <fcc., to real and per­
sonal property, or for taking and detaining the same, provided the damages do not ex­
ceed one hundred dollars. So in actions for penalties, or actions upon instruments for
the payment of money. So actions may be entered and judgment confessed in these
courts, to the amount of two hundred and fifty dollars, and whenever judgment is ren­
dered in a Justices’ court, the party obtaining it may file a transcript in the county
court of the county, and may docket the same in such court when it becomes a judg­
ment of such court, and may be enforced by execution out of such court in the same
manner as a judgment originally entered in such court, and this transcript may be sent
to any county in the State. Such a judgment, when it amounts to twenty-five dollars
or over is a lien on real estate. The execution may be issued to the Sheriff of any
county when the transcript has been filed, and it is to have the same effect, and be ex­
ecuted in the same manner, as judgments and executions of the county court. It will
be seen, by this imperfect reference to the civil jurisdiction of Justices of the Peace, as
organized in the State of New York, that they embrace pretty much the whole range
of business which accrues between our agricultural population and a large portion, at
least, of the mercantile collection business. Some years since a very intelligent Chief
Justice of this State declared that a majority, in amount, of judicial business in this
State was disposed of by Justices of the Peace. Mr. Waterman’s book has been com­
piled with directions, and with a collection of forms for the proceeding before Justices
of the Peace in civil actions, under our new code of procedure. It contains many
matters, such as those relating to arbitrations, masters, servants, apprentices, and duties
of Justices of the Peace in regard to beggars, vagrants, and disorderly persons, bastards
lunatics, habitual drunkards, and other disorderly persons, in regard to the disturb­
ance of religious meetings, the observance of Sunday, the preservation of public health,
excise, regulations of taverns and groceries, of hawkers and peddlers, proceedings to
drain swamps and wet lands, etc. Justices of the Peace are also commissioners of
deeds, and commissioners to administer oaths, and they are the persons who are to
preside at town meetings in the State o f New York. The office is a very important
one, and reaches every man’s door in the State. The forms of proceeding, and the
subjects treated of in this book are a valuable acquisition to the library of the lawyer,
and that o f the citizen who wishes to know the laws and obey them. Part 2d of the
work before us relates to the powers and duties of county and town officers, among
which are town clerks, supervisors, assessors, commissioners of highways, overseers of
highways, overseers of the poor, superintendents of common schools in towns, super­
intendents of the poor in counties, coroners, notaries public, county treasurers, town
auditors, and matters relating to town and county charges and assessments. The work
has brought together a body of valuable law and information relating to the internal
and municipal administration of the laws of the State of New York. Mr. Waterman’s
book is faithfully compiled, and we hope he will be well rewarded for his pains.
2.—

W o m a n

a n d

h e r in s t r u c t io n
P e r io d s .

h e r
in

D is e a s e s

,

fro m

th e

By E dward H. D ixon , M. D.




to th e G r a v e , a d o p te d e x c lu s iv e ly to
, a n d a l l th e D is e a s e s o f h e r C r i t i c a l
New Y ork: Dewitt & Davenport.

C ra d le

th e P h y s e o lo g y o f h e r S y s te m

The B ook Trade .

476

3. — A n c i e n t M o n u m e n t s o f t h e M i s s i s s i p p i V a l l e y . By E. G. S quier, M. A., and
E. H. D avis, M. D. New York: Bartlett <fc Welford, 7 Astor House.
This fine quarto constitutes the first publication issued under the auspices of the
Smithsonian Institution, and in the language of one of the ripest scholars of the coun­
try, (Dr. Morton,) “ is by far the most important contribution which has yet been made
to the Archaeology of the United States/’ In point of mechanical execution, printing
and engraving, it is undoubtedly the most elegant original work which has been pub­
lished in the country, and reflects the highest credit upon American art. Of its lite­
rary and scientific merits and value, w e cannot better convey our opinion, than by
copying the subjoined paragraph from the B r i t i s h E t h n o l o g i c a l J o u r n a l .
“ This work is one of the most important contributions to Archaeological Science
which has appeared for some tune. In making this statement we speak in some de­
gree in reference to our views of American Antiquities. Those who regard these as
comparatively recent, and the production of merely semi-barbarous tribes, must of
course attach less importance to them than we do, who fancy we see in them the rel­
ics of a great people and of a remote age ; but whatever be the views entertained upon
this point, every one interested in Archaeology must acknowledge the work before us
to be a most important production. It brings to light a vast number of most curious
and unexpected facts, describes them lucidly and faithfully, classifies them with judg­
ment, gives numerous and beautiful pictorial illustrations of many of them,—in a
word, provides an account which will not only gratify the merely curious, but also sat­
isfy, as far as books, maps, and drawings can do, the requisitions of the scholar. It
presents a full view of a range of antiquities of which most inquirers had but a glim­
mering knowledge, many no knowledge at all. When, a few years ago, no one thought
of discovering anything older than the trees of the forest, then suddenly arise before
us the ruins of an extensive and imposing civilization.”
4. — T h

e

A r t -J o u r n a l.

London and New Y ork : George Virtue.

The August issue of this excellent work, which we have frequently taken occasion
to speak of, in terms of high commendation, fully sustains us in all that we have here­
tofore said in regard to its unrivalled merits. The line engravings, of which there are
two in the present number, from paintings in the Vernon Gallery, are equal to the best
that have embellished this noble work of art. There is also a beautiful engraving on
steel, from the statue of “ Euphrosgne,” o f Sir R. Westmacott, R. A. The frontispiece,
“ Venice— the Dogana,” and “ The Penitents,” both Vernon pictures, are as perfect of
their kind as anything we have ever seen. Among the original papers which are il­
lustrated with designs, in the best style of wood engraving, is the article entitled
“ National Exposition of the Productions of Industry, Agriculture, and Manufactures
in France ”— a paper that should be in the hands of every artist and manufacturer of
taste in this country. Time would fail us to speak of every article in the number, and
the exquisite illustrations that accompany them. W e are gratified to learn, however,
that the work is rapidly extending its circulation throughout the United States, and
we predict it will continue to do so, as its merits become better understood by the Amer­
ican public.
5.

— S o u t h e y ' s C o m m o n - P l a c e B o o k . Edited by his Son-in-law, J ohn W ood W orter,
B. D. 8vo., pp. 416. New, York: Harper & Brothers.

The first volume of this work, just completed, embraces a vast collection of choice
passages from the wide range of the poet’s reading, during a long life devoted to in­
tellectual pursuits. It includes, in its scope, moral, religious, political, philosophi­
cal, historical, poetical, and miscellaneous subjects. The choicest thoughts and opin­
ions, and the most remarkable parts in Mr. Southeys reading of authors, ancient and
modern, seem to have been “ jotted down ” in his “ Common-Place Book,” which, for
extent and variety, renders it quite an “ uncommon book.” The editor, as far as his
reading extended, and the resources of a private library permitted, investigated doubt­
ful passages, and, at the same time, corrected imperfect references. “ Nothing but rev­
erence for the honored name of Southey,” says the editor, “ would have induced me,
with my clerical calls and studies, to have entered upon the work.” “ The difficulty of
carrying it out only,” he adds, “ shows the wonderful stores, the accumulated learning,
and the unlimited research of the excellently single-hearted, the devout, and gifted
collector.” It is a rare book, and one that cannot fail of interesting not only men of
learning and literature, but the great mass of general readers.




477

The Booh Trade.
6. — A

S e c o n d V is i t to th e
U n ite d S ta te s o f N o r t h A m e r ic a .
By Sir C h a r l e s L y e l l ,
F. R. S., President of the Geological Society of London, author of the “ Principles
of Geology,” and “ Travels in North America.” 2 vols., 12mo., pp. 272 and 285.
New Y ork : Harper & Brothers.
W e regret that the limited space devoted to the “ Book Trade’’ must preclude us
from giving as elaborate a notice of these volumes as they merit. But we con­
sole ourselves with the belief that they will receive, at the hands of our literary re­
views and journals, full and ample justice. W e regard the work as one of the most
candid, fair, and liberal that has yet been written regarding our country and its people,
opinions, and institutions, by an Englishman; and we think it will do good by contrib­
uting, in a great measure, to remove the prejudices of our mother country. Interesting
and instructive, as is the journal of Mr. Lyell, written during his short visit to the Uni­
ted States, his increased familiarity with the subject has enabled him to prepare a work
of even greater value. We hope it will be read by every Englishman, as we feel quite
sure its contents will impart a truer notion of the habits of our people, and more
sensible and just views of the institutions of a country they so frequently designate,
with a sneer, as “ the model republic.” It is pretty clear that Mr. Lyell, conservative,
as he is, in some particulars, would have been quite willing to have taken his chance
of birth in the republic of Yankeedom. W e shall have occasion, doubtless, to refer to
these volumes in future numbers of our Journal.

7. — H i s t o r y o f t h e N a t i o n a l C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y , f r o m M a y , 1848. By F. Corkran, Esq. 12mo., pp. 877. New Y ork : Harper ifc Brothers.
It seem that the author of this work had been for some months in almost daily at­
tendance at the National Assembly of the French Republic, where repeated questions
put to him about the style, manner, and appearance of such members as were attract­
ing public attention, suggested to him the idea of writing sketches, calculated, in some
degree, to satisfy the curiosity of friends and enquirers. A consideration of persons,
we are informed, led him, naturally, to an e x p o s e of such subjects as had become iden­
tified with particular names, so that his work, which aimed not beyond simple portrait­
ure, has necessarily assumed a certain politico-philosophical texture. The debates of
the Assembly from the first day of meeting to the invasion by the clubs on the 15th
o f May, and from that day to the insurrection of Rome, receive due notice, for the sake
o f showing how far the proceedings of the Assembly tended to bring about that ter­
rible struggle, in wliich the question at stake was civilization itself. The author fol­
lows the parties and the persons of the revolution through their struggles and their
triumphs, and has, we think, succeeded in exhibiting life-like sketches of the d r a m a t i s
p e r s o n a l , as well as the more prominent circumstances and events of the drama itself.

8. — T h e

M a g ic

o f

K in d n e s s ;

o r,

th e

W o n d ro u s

S to ry

o f

th e

G o o d

H u a n .

By the

B rothers M ayhew , authors of “ The Good Genius that Turned Everything to Gold.”
Illustrated by G eorge C ruikshank and H enry M eadows. 18mo., pp. 246. New

York: Harper <Sc Brothers.
A fancy tale, illustrating, from the world without, rather than from the imaginations
of the authors, the magical power of kindness. “ Indeed,” we quote from the preface
of the story, “ to prevent the appearance of romancing— in this perhaps one of the
most wonderful romances ever written— chapter and verse have been given for every
wonder in it.” The disjointed incidents, in illustration of the magical power of kind­
ness, have been woven together with the skillful principles of constructive art. A l­
though conceived long before the authors had seen the beautiful little work entitled,
“ Illustrations of the Law of Kindness,” it teaches, in its own way, the same great
lesson of life. W e hope it will find its way into every family, and every Sunday
school library in the land, for its teachings are in perfect harmony with the"teachings
of the Christianity of Christ.
9.

— T h e C h i l d ’s f i r s t
etc. 18mo., pp. 235.

o f H o m e.
By E. M. S ewell , author of “ Am y Herbert,”
New Y ork : D. Appleton & Co.

H is to ry

The accomplished author of this history has drawn her materials from the best, the
most reliable sources, and incorporated them in a narrative at once unostentatious, per­
spicuous, and graphic— manifestly aiming, throughout, to be clearly understood by
those for whom she wrote, and to impress deeply and permanently on their minds what
she wrote; and, in both of these aims, we have no hesitation in saying that she has
been eminently successful.




The Book Trade.

478

10. —- E v e r y

M a n

H is

C u re , a s A p p lic a b le

O w n

D o c to r.

to E v e r y

D is e a s e

T h e
to

C o ld
w h ic h

W a te r,
th e

T e p id

H u m a n

W a te r,

F ra m e

a n d

F ric tio n

is S u b je c t, a n d

a ls o to th e C u r e o f D is e a s e s i n
H o rs e s
a n d
C a t t le .
By Captain R. T. C laridge,
author of the “ Guide Along the Danube to Turkey and G r e e c e “ Hydropathy,
or the Water Cure,” etc., etc. 12mo., pp. 213. Hew Y ork: John Wiley.
W e believe, with the author of this book, that the greatest enemies to Hydropathy
— its most violent opponents— are those who know nothing whatever about i t ; who
have never seen it practiced as it ought to be, or made reasonable inquiry about it.
Dr. Fisher, editor of the “ British and Foreign Medical Review,” admits that “ Hydro­
pathy is entitled to the verdict of harmlessness, since cause has never been shown to
the contrary.” Quite an admission for a learned Professor of the Allopathic school.
W e believe that it is not only harmless, but, on the whole, when truly understood and
skillfully practiced, the most effectual remedy for most of the diseases to which “ body
and mind are heir.” W e say this not only from our own individual experience, but
from the experience of some of our friends, who have been induced to try it on our urgent
recommendation. Indeed, it is the only system in which we possess any considerable
degree o f confidence. But this is not the place for discussion. The author o f the
work regrets that Priessnitz has no successor, and that he has not himself published
something on the subject of the Water-Cure. To supply this desideratum, seems to have
been his object; and, accordingly, while with that distinguished practitioner at Graefenberg, he obtained from him, verbally, his opinion of the treatment to be followed in
the various cases as they occurred; and in the pages of this volume gives the results
of conversations with Priessnitz, as a familiar guide to the Water-Cure, for men and
animals.

11. — H

a lf -H o u r s

w ith

th e

B est

A u th o rs .

S e le c t e d

a n d

A rra n g e d ,

w ith

S h o rt

B io ­

By C harles K night. Vols. 3 and 4, 12mo., pp.
577 and 616. Hew Y ork: John Wiley.
The first two volumes of Mr. Knight’s selections from the best authors of the past
and present were republished by Mr. Wiley during the year 1848, and formed a part
of his “ Library of Choice Reading ”— containing a better selection of “ books that are
books,” in the department of general literature, we venture to say, than has ever be­
fore been produced in this country. W e noticed, at the time, the two volumes alluded
to above, in terms of high, but deserved commendation. The same general features
are preserved in the volumes before us ; and the four now completed, form a collec­
tion o f choice selections from almost every writer of note that has contributed to the
instruction and amusement of the reading world, for the two or three last centuries,
including all the best writers of the present century. The four volumes cover two
thousand three hundred and sixty-three compactly, but distinctly, printed pages. For
those who have not the means of purchasing, or the leisure to consult large libraries,
these volumes will prove an invaluable repository of literature, and that of the purest
and most interesting class. Indeed, there are few volumes, in a private library of
some three thousand, which it has cost us some twelve years’ labor to procure, that we
value more highly.
g r a p h ic a l a n d

C r i t i c a l N o t ic e s .

12. — B a c o n ; o r , M a n y T h i n g s i n F e w W o r d s ; a d d r e s s e d t o t h o s e w h o T h i n k . By
Rev. C. C. Colton, A. M. Revised Edition. Hew York: William Gowans.
W e heartily thank our antiquarian friend for a new and beautiful edition, the best
that has been published, of this favorite work. It contains, as all know who have en­
joyed the pleasure of dipping into its pages, an inexhaustible fund of wit, wisdom,
and philosophy. It embodies in its pages more, emphatically, than any book with
which we have any knowledge, what it purports to in the title-page— “ Many Things
in Few W ords! ” The life of the author was a singular compound of wisdom and of
folly. His work is replete with words of wisdom on a great variety of topics. Every
aphorism or paragraph in the book, like fine gold, is susceptable of wide expansion.
— L e t t e r s f r o m t h e A l l e g h a n y M o u n t a i n s . By C harles L anman, author of “ A
Tour to the River Laguenar,” “ A Summer in the Wilderness,” and “ Essays for
Summer Hours.” 12mo., pp. 198. Hew Y ork : George P. Putnam.
This volume contains a series of letters originally published in the Hational Intelli­
gencer. They are written in an easy, graceful style, and contain some very graphic
and readable sketches of the scenery of the Alleghany Mountains, as well as incidents
connected with the author’s sojourn in that region. The work is “ in love and grati­
tude,” dedicated to Joseph Gales, Esq., the veteran editor of the Intelligencer.
13.




The Book Trade.
14. — H

is to ry

o f

th e

A m e ric a n

B ib le

S o c ie t y , f r o m

479
its

O r g a n iz a t io n

to

th e P r e s e n t

T im e .
By W. 0 . S trickland, one of the Society’s agents. With an Introduction,
by Eev. H. L. B ice, D. D., of Cincinnati. Embellished with a likeness of the Hon.
E lias B oudinot, LL. D., first President of the Society. 8vo., pp. 466. H ew York:
"Harper & Brothers.
The author of this work seems to have studied with care the policy and operations
of the society, as contained in the reports, circulars, and letters of instruction issued by
the Board of Directors from time to time; and from scattered fragments lying here
and there has succeeded in presenting a plain, unvarnished narrative o f facts, as they
have occurred in the operations of the society, in consecutive order. The work, prior
to its publication, has been examined by several leading scholars and divines of differ­
ent denominations, and their recommendations are appended to the volume. The Bev.
Dr. Biggs, President of Woodward College, who was present at the formation of the
society, vouches for the truthful statements which the author has so kindly furnished
in his history; and Dr. Lyman Beecher regards it “ as an invaluable work due to pos­
terity and the world, and as executed with fidelity and ability, both in research and
execution.”

15. — O l i v e r G o l d s m i t h : a B i o g r a p h y . By W ashington I rving .
It will be recollected, by most of our readers, that Mr. Irving published, some years
since, as an introduction to a selection from Goldsmith’s writings, a brief memoir of
the Poet’s life. In the present volume, Mr. Irving has “ again taken up the subject,
and gone into it with more fullness than formerly, omitting none of the facts which he
considered illustrative of the life and character of the Poet,” giving them in his re­
markably graceful and graphic style. The remark of Mr. Irving, touching “ the labors
o f the indefatigable Prior,” who, he says, “ produced a biography of the Poet, execu­
ted with a spirit, a feeling, a grace and an eloquence, that leaves nothing to be desired,”
will apply with almost equal justice to the like labors of Mr. Irving.
— S ce n e s W h e re th e T e m p te r h a s T r iu m p h e d .
By the author of “ The Jail Chap­
lain.” 18mo., pp. 276. Hew York : Harper <fc Brothers.
Want, says the author of this work, may supply a motive for petty larceny; and
revenge light up the neatly-rounded stack, or well-plenished barn, on the homestead of
a grasping and tyranical master; and madder passion prompts the deadly grapple on
the highway; but in the vast majority of instances which have come under the obser­
vation o f the author, the persuasion that detection was highly improbable, if not im­
possible, justified the offense. To prove by appeals to the past to show the short­
lived success of crime by examples carefully selected from the career of those who
have planned and sinned, and suffered, is the object of the present work. The illus­
trations are drawn from individuals in almost every .rank of fife; and the circumstance s
all go to show that there is no such thing as successful villany.

16.

17. — A M a n u a l o f M o r a l s f o r C o m m o n S c h o o l s ; a d a p t e d t o t h e U s e o f F a m i l i e s '
12mo., pp. 212. Boston: John P. Jewett.
The design of this little manual is to furnish a work adapted to the condition and
character o f children in our common schools, “ which shall,” to quote from that liberal
and enlightened friend o f education, Horace Mann, “ excite the sympathies as well as
inform the intellect; and make children love virtue as well as understand what it is.”
Appended to the volume we have commendations from Dr. Weston, Chief Justice of
Maine, and several well-known divines of the “ orthodox ” church, who commend it
for the soundness of the principles it inculcates, as well as for the happy and im­
pressive illustrations of moral science it contains.
18. — T h

e

S p a n is h P h r a s e B o o h a n d S e lf -In s t r u c t o r :

D ia lo g u e s , a n d

C o m m e rc ia l

C o rre s p o n d e n c e ;

c o n t a i n i n g a s e le c tio n o f P h r a s e s ,

p re c e d e d b y a

s h o rt a n d

c o m p r e h e n s iv e

By J ose A ntonio P izarro A . M.
Professor of the Spanish Language at St. Mary’s College, Baltimore. 32mo. pp.
252. Philadelphia: F. Lucas. Hew Y o rk : A. S. Barnes <fc Co.
The increasing intercourse between the United States and the Bepublics of Horth
and South America, renders the publication of this volume particularly opportune
at this time. It gives an intelligible general notion of the language, with exact and
careful rules for its pronunciation, reading, and construction. The work partakes of
the system of Ollendorf, so much in vogue, but is without imitation or pretension, and
with perhaps a more direct and strict adherence to grammatical analysis.
E le m e n ta r y

G r a m m a r o f th e S p a n is h L a n g u a g e .




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480

19.—

T h e

H is to ry

o f

E n g la n d fr o m

th e In v a s io n

o f

J u liu s

C ce sa r to th e A b d ic a t io n

o f

1688. By D avid H ume, Esq. A new edition, with the authors last cor­
rections and improvements. To which is prefixed a short account of his life, written
by himself, Boston: Phillips, Sampson Co.
W e have received the two first volumes of a new edition of this celebrated history.
The two volumes cover one thousand handsome duodecimo pages, forming, altogether,
the most beautiful library edition of the work that has ever been issued from the
American press. Four volumes more will complete this edition of the work— in all
six volumes. It is published in uniform style with Macaulay’s history, by the same
publishers, and, in connection with that work when completed, will form a complete
history o f England to the present time. We shall allude to this enterprise, so credit­
able to the publishers, in a future number of our Journal.
Ja m e s

I I ,

W ebster’ s D ictionary — It will be recollected that the Messrs. Merriam, some time
since, transmitted, through our minister in England, the Hon. George Bancroft, a splen­
didly-bound copy of their unabridged edition of Webster’s Dictionary. It was given
to the Queen through her husband, Prince Albert, and its receipt has been acknow­
ledged by the Secretary of “ His Royal Highness.” The acknowledgment is of course
directed to His Excellency, the American Minister, and we have the pleasure of pre­
senting it to our readers. The character of this Dictionary is too well known to need
our humble endorsement. W e have recently, after mature consideration, adopted it
as the standard orthography for the M e r c h a n t s ' M a g a z i n e .
S i r — I have the honor to inform your Excellency, that Her Majesty, the Queen, has accepted, with
great pleasure, the cop y o f the last edition o f W ebster’ s English Dictionary, w hich, according to the
directions you gave m e, was laid by m e before His Royal Highness, Prince Albert, and was presented
afterwards by the Prince to H er M ajesty, on the part o f the publishers, Messrs. M erriam ; and I have
been com m anded to express to your Excellency, and to beg o f you to transmit to Messrs. Merriam,
Her Majesty’s gracious thanks fo r this beautiful present, w hich lle r Majesty highly values, not only
on account o f the great merits o f the w ork itself, but still more so, as a sign o f those feelings towards
Her R oyal Person, on the part o f a large portion o f the Anglo-Am erican nation, w hich your Excel­
lency inform ed m e it was intended to represent, and which, after the political disunion w hich has
taken place between the United K ingdom and the United States, could not, indeed, have found a
m ore appropriate way o f expressing themselves, than the presentation to Her Majesty o f a w ork on
the English language, w hich directly refers to that pow erful and indissoluble bond by w hich the two
cognate nations, on the eastern and western side o f the Atlantic w ill forever remain united. You r
Excellency, as w ell as Messrs. Merriam, w ill no doubt feel great pleasure in learning that Her Majesty
has placed the w ork presented through your Excellency amongst the few selected volum es w hich
com pose her ow n private Library,
1 have the honor to be, Sir, your E xcellency’ s faithful servant,
C. M E Y E R , Secretary to H . R . H . Prince Albert.
Buckingham Palace, June 20th, 1849.
H is E x c e l l e n c y , t h e A m e r ic a n M i n i s t e r .

BO STON

M E R C A N T IL E

L IB R A R Y

A S S O C IA T IO N .

Since our last issue, xve have received the accompanying official letter and resolution,
from the Boston Mercantile Library Association, one of the oldest and most successful
institutions of the kind, in the United States. It affords us pleasure to acknowledge
this flattering testimonial, and to tender to Mr. G. S. B lanchard, the Secretary, (the
medium of communication,) and the Society at large, our sincere thanks for their ap­
preciation o f our humble endeavors to elevate the mercantile character, and to promote
its laudable interests. The testimonial of the Association is all the more gratifying,
as it was entirely voluntary on their part, aud unsolicited on the part of the editor of
this Magazine.
M e r c a n t il e L i b r a r y R

oom s,

B o s t o n , August 20th, 1849.

D ear S ir :— I have the honor o f informing you that at a recent meeting o f the
M ercantile L ibrary A ssociation, the following resolution was u n a n i m

“

o u s ly

a d op ted :—

That the M e r c h a n t s ' M a g a z i n e a n d C o m m e r c i a l R e v i e w , conducted by
F reeman H unt, is a work eminently adapted to the wants of the mercantile commu­
nity. Containing a vast amount of accurate statistical commercial information, collected
at great labor and expense, it establishes for itself an indisputable title to entire confi­
dence and generous support; and we take this occasion to represent its claims to the
Association, urging its increased circulation and attentive perusal.”
Wishing you great success, I am truly yours,
R e s o lv e d ,

F ree m an H u nt , E sq .




GEO . S. BL A N C H A R D , Corresponding Secretary.