Full text of The Merchants' Magazine and Commercial Review : October 1859, Vol. XLI, No. IV

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H U N T ’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE.
E s t a b li s h e d J u ly * 1 8 3 9 ? b y F r e e m a n H u n t *

V O L U M E X L I.

-OCTOBER,

CONTENTS

OF

NO.

1859.

IV.,

NUM BER IV .

VOL. XLI.

ARTICLES.
A rt.

r>

pagk

I. R EV IE W , HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL, OF THE D IFFEREN T SYSTEMS OF
SOCIAL PHLLOSOPHY: OR, INTRODUCTION TO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE
SYSTEM
I’ a r t i . The two Leading Systems of General Philosophy, Plutonian and
Baconian—Necessity for their Fusion— Importance o f Enlarging the Base and Contract­
ing the Apex of the .-sciences—A new Classification of the Sciences Suggested................ 403
II. FRANCE, n u m b e r v. The Credit Mobilier Company—Objects of its Establishment—
Statutes of the Credit Mobilier, showing Extent and Character o f Operations - aio le of
Operations of the Credit Mobilier Company, and Advantages claimed for those Opera­
tions. By J oseph S. C r a w l e y , Esq., of Philadelphia, Pa.................................................. 418
III. COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES. No. l x i x .
N EW iiU RY PO R T, MASSACHUSETTS. Early Settlement— Sterile S oil— Parker
River— -'ettlem n t—Town of Newberry—Fines for wearing Silks—Correctional Pro­
ceedings - First Wharf—Dole—Building Vessels - Bank Churches—Early Manufac­
tures—Separation of Newburyport—Population— Trade —Manufactures - Shipping -E m ­
bargo Great Fire—Its Effects—Commerce — danufacnires—Cotton viills Ship-Build­
ing—Vessels Built and Tonnage Ow ned—Imports and Exports—City IncorporatedPopulation—Fishing shoemakers—Retrospect—Location and Advantages o f Newbury­
port—Elements o f its Revival.................................................................................................... 433
IV . C H IN A : I TS TRADE. Change in Policy—Attractions o f Interest—Extent o f Country
— Its Surface—Livers—Means o f Civilization—Course and Extent—Population Pov­
erty <-f the People—Cause of Rebellion —P esent Rebellion—Migration to California—
Civilization-Efficiency of Laws—Physical At'ribntes—1
Rempernmeot— Religion Na­
tional Vanity— Philosophy—Chinese and Sailors—Poppy—Tobacco—Productions—Tea
—Silk— Tea carried to England—Increase of Consumption—Its value—Aggregate Pro­
duction Silk Expoits —Competition with Manufactures—England to Manufacture Silks
for China — Prosperity of Commerce — Lord Elgin’s Treaty—Ainoor River—Opium
Trad-— Its Growth and Extent—Effect of the Opium Trade upon Silver—First English
Intercourse witli China—Woolen Goods— Imports—Probable Demand - General Condi­
tion of the People—Large Internal Manufactures—Shanghae Trade—Effect o f the War
— Trade for iSo.—Articles o f Import—Number of Vessels —English Capital -Am erican
Vessels. By J o h n C r a w f o r d , F. 11. G. S., late Governor of Singapore........................... 439
V . OBSERVATIONS OF THE PRESENT TR A D E W ITH SIAM. By T h o m a s D a l t o n ,
Jr., of New Y ork .......................................................................................................................... 445*

J O U R N A L OF M E R C A N T I L E

LAW.

Confession of Judgment.......................................................................................................................... 449Receiver's Rights...................................................................................................................................... 450*

C OMME RCI AL CHRONI CLE AND REVIEAV.
Cheerful Aspect—Abundance of Natural W ealth—Promise o f Prosperity—Imports—Exports—
Cotton Its Great Value—Leading Ports—Price o f Cotton—Large coming Crop—Elements
of Prosperity—suite of the West—Ability o f the South to Purchase—Conditions o f Im­
provement at the North—Slack Demand for Money—Rates o f Money —Drain o f Specie—
Return of Stocks —Demand for Jii Is—Rates o f Exchange—Specie Movement—Demand for
Silver Russian Lean—India Loan—Receipts from California—Assay-office— United States
Mint—Excess of Specie Export— Effect on the Banks-Drain from the Interior—Want o f
Exchange — United States Colton Crop—Consumption—Average supply o f Goods—Im ­
ports.................................................................................................................................................. 4olr-457
VOL. XLI.---- NO. IV.




2d

402

CONTENTS O F N O . IV ., V O L . X L I.
PA G E

J O U R N A L OF B A N K I N G ,

AND F I N A N C E.

CURRENCY,

City W eekly Bank Eeturns—Banks of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Pitts­
burg, St. Louis, Providence............................* •.................................................................................
Banking Law o f New York.—New York Banks, W eekly Eeturns and Daily Averages.............
Imports of Specie at New Orleans...............•■•••••• •*,y•V
-----•••:**•.............................
United States Eeceipts and Expenditures.—Banks of Kentucky, dune 30, 18o9...........................
New Orleans Bates of Exchange............................................................................................................
Finances o f Canada.—Valuation of Boston..........................................................................................
Valuation of the City o f Portsmouth, N. H., 1859.............................................................................
Iowa State Finances.—Semi-Annual Dividends..................................................................................

STATISTICS

OF

TRADE

AND

COMMERCE.
468
470
472
475
476
477
478
479

Cotton Crop of the United States......................................................................
Commerce of New Orleans................................................................................
Lumber Trade of Philadelphia..........................................................................
Growth of the Whale Trade,.............................................................................
Guano Islands Discovered..................................................................................
Eice Export from the East Indies to E urope.................................................
Lumber in the Northwest.—Prospects of the Silk Trade.............................
New York Sugar Trade.—Trade between Belgium and the United States.

JOURNAL

OF

458
462
463
464
464
465
466
467

INSURANCE.

Foreign Fire Insurance Companies....................................................................................................... 480
Marine Insurance Companies o f Massachusetts.................................................................................. 481

NAUTICAL

INTELLIGENCE.

Light on Orrio de Tapia Isle, North Coast of Spain........................................................................... 482
Light on Andros Island, Mediterranean—Archipelago...................................................................... 482
The Great Eastern......................................................................................................................... ........483
Statistics of the Whaling Business..................................... ................................................................ 484
Fixed Light on Favignana Island, Sicily.—Harbor Light at Fiurne, Adriatic............................... 485
Fifteen Ships to the Mile......................................................................................................................... 4S5

COMMERCIAL

REGULATIONS.

New Custom-house Regulation.—Caraway Seeds...............................................................................
Importations by Mail consigned to Collectors of Customs...............................................................
French Grain Duties......................................
Trade with the Islands of Cuba and Porto E ico..................................................................................
Drop B la ck ...................
The Quicksilver Mines of Almaden.—Manufactures of Linen and Worsted—Lappings..............

POSTAL

486
4S6
487
488
489
490

DEPARTMENT.

Post-office Revenue.—Dead L etters..................................................................................................... 491
French Field Telegraph.—Minor Dead Letters . ................................................ ............................... 492
Eeduction of Postage to Germany.—Eeduction o f Postage to Uruguay......................................... 492

JOURNAL

OF M I N I N G ,

MANUFACTURES,

AND

ART.

Gas Light.—A Mine of Emery in Illinois.............................................................................................
Iron in the State of New York.—Shoe and Leather Business of Methuen, Massachusetts...........
Manufactures o f Cincinnati...................................... .............................................................................
Tobacco Manufactures in California......................................................................................................
The first Silk Mill in England.—English Iron Manufactures............................................................
A Mine of Antimony in Illinois—Drilling Holes in Glass................................................................

RAILROAD,

CANAL, AND S T E A M B O A T S T A T I S T I C S .

Pennsylvania Eailroad Tonnage for 1858.......................................................................
Eailways of New York, 1S58............................................................................................

STATISTICS

OF

AGRICULTURE,

STATISTICS

OF

POPULATION,

511
512
513
516

MISCELLANIES.

A Letter to Young Men.....................................................................................................
Light Weights and Short Measures in Liverpool..........................................................
W hy Merchants Fail..........................................................................................................
The Merchant’s Clerk and his Duties.............................................................................
What is Paper?...................................................................................................................
What is Extravagance ?—Printing in France.....................................................
Short hours for Sewing-Machine Operators............................................................ .......
The Stereoscope and Forged Notes.—Self Teaching.—Industry...................

THE

506
508
510

&c.

Emigration...........................................................................................................................
British Emigration Eeturns..............................................................................................
The Roll o f Honor.—Emigration from State to S tate.................................................
Masonry in the United States.—Proportion of Clergy to Population........................

MERCANTILE

501
502

&c.

Canada Harvest o f 1S59......................................................................................................
Grain in Illinois..................................................................................................................
H ow to Test the Quality of W ool.—Vegetable Ivory...................................................

517
519
521
522
523
525
526
526

BOOR T R A D E .

Notices o f now Books or new Editions......... ..................... ..................




493
494
495
498
499
590

527-528

HUNT’S

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND

C OMME R C I A L REVI EW.
OCTOBER,

1859.

Art. I.— REVIEW, HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL, OF THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS
OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY:
OR, INTRODUCTION TO A MORE COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM.
FA S T I.

THE TWO L E A F IN G SYSTEMS ©F G EN ERAL PHILOSOPHY, PLATONIAM A N D B ACO N IAN — NECESSITY FOR
THEIR FUSION— IMPORTANCE OF ENLARGING THE BASE AND CONTRACTING THE A P E X

OF THE SCI­

ENCES— A N E W OLASSIFCATION OF THE SCIENCES SUGGESTED.

T o promote the happiness o f mankind is undoubtedly one o f the noblest
aims, if it be not the proper end, o f all philosophy. N o scheme, aiming
at the accomplishment o f this important end, can reasonably be expected
to prove effectual, which does not take a wide view o f both the spiritual
and material interests o f man, which does not embrace adequate p ro­
vision for his psycological as well as his physical wants.
It was the predominant trait o f that system o f philosophy, w hich
attained its largest development with Aristotle in the latter part o f the
fourth century before Christ, (although this predominant trait o f that
philosophical system was much more conspicuous in the doctrines o f his
predecessor, Plato, and in those o f his successor, Zeno the Stoic,) that it
sought to prom ote the happiness o f men, or their greatest good, by minister­
ing to their psychological wants— by strengthening and exalting the quali­
ties o f the soul. It is the predominant trait o f that system o f philosophy
which may be said to have fairly begun its brilliant career with Bacon,
in the earlier part o f the seventeenth century after Christ, (and o f which
it has been aptly said that “ H obbs was its politician, Gissendi its scholar,
and Locke its metaphysician,” ) that it seeks to promote the happiness of
men, by ministering to their physical or material wants, by perfecting in­
ventions and expedients which tend to increase the comforts o f the body.
B oth these systems may unequivocally be pronounced faulty, and in




404

Review , H istorical and Critical,

this, that the scope o f their intentions is too contracted— the one in re­
garding too little the wants o f the body, the other, too little those o f the
soul. The philosopher has yet to arise, who, blending these two systems
into one, com bining a spiritual with a material philosophy, embracing
the realms both o f psychology and physics, and em bodying in himself the
attributes at once o f Plato and Bacon, shall breathe into the world the
spirit o f a philosophy comprehensive enough to meet the requirements
o f a problem so difficult and so vast, as the consummation o f the summum bunvm o f all philosophy— the happiness of mankind.
Perhaps, indeed, if mankind were wise enough to receive the truth, it
m ight be discovered that this philosopher has already appeared, nearly
nineteen centuries ago, in the person o f Christ, in whom was realized a
happy blending o f the philosophical systems o f Plato and Bacon, and
what is more important, o f divine and human reason, and in whose doc­
trines are distinctly developed all that is requisite for the complete happi­
ness o f man, so far, indeed, as happiness is attainable by men. For if we
scan his doctrines with the clear seeing eye o f pure reason, we shall be
apt to discover that while they breathe a spirituality, in comparison with
which that o f Plato is little better than a lofty formalism, they inculcate
also a regard for the material interests o f men, and the practical duties
o f life that will amply satisfy the requirements of the utilitarian material­
ism o f Bacon ; enjoining on one hand, complete resignation o f the soul
to all the vicissitudes o f life, as the wise dispensations o f a Supreme Be­
ing’, by whom all things are well ordained, and on the other, an unfailing
zeal of the body “ to do with all diligence the work that is set before us,”
without neglecting the humblest offices o f life, down to the lifting o f an
ox out o f a ditch even on the Sabbath-day.
If the philosopher should hereafter appear, with the inspiration to see,
the courage to proclaim, and the strength to demonstrate this great truth
— to show that Christianity and philosophy, so far from being opposed,
as many badly-advised theologians have labored to prove, are in reality
identified ; a genuine Christianity being in truth a perfect system of moral
philosophy, exhibiting the true relations o f man to his God and his fellow
men, and his highest obligations to himself— to demonstrate that divine
and human reason, instead o f being in antagonism, as represented by the
cant of a false theology, are most probably identical in essence, and do not
differ in their real nature, any more than the light o f the sun differs from
the light o f a hand lamp, or the gravity o f a planet from that o f a stone,
and that the essence o f the doctrines o f Christ is their perfect reason— to
bring forth those doctrines o f perfect reason from the laboratory of the
priest, into the great open areiya o f human business— to strip Christianity
o f the m ythology with which it has been invested by priestly authority,*
and exhibit it to the world as a genuine spirituality and a grand
practicality — such a philosopher should be hailed as the greatest reformer
in philosophy and religion that has appeared since the time o f Christ.
But it is much to be doubted whether the world is as yet prepared, to re­
ceive this important revelation.
* The author t ops that he may not be understood, as intending to join in that indiscriminate
censuie of tin priestly order, so frequently indulged in. Among that order have been found many
distinguished on.aments o f science and lights of* religion. That tMeoh.py, however, has been cor­
rupted by the priesthood Mill not be « enied by priests then selves: though they differ in opinion
as to the extont of that corruption, and the denominations of priests to which such corruption is
mainly attributable.




O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

405

The announcement that Christ was an embodiment o f the Divine nature,
a Divine inspiration breathed into the spiritual world, to impart to it a
more healthful tone, and a more genuine vitality, is not only incom pre­
hensible to all men, but to some it is a stumbling block, and to others
foolishness. One part o f mankind, esteeming themselves the only religious
portion o f the world, but “ knowing God only by tradition,” interpret
this announcement by the rules o f Aristotle logic, and fall into a certain
rhapsody o f m ythology, about “ the ruined condition o f man,” “ the
necessity for an atonement,” “ the mystery o f the incarnation,” “ the ful­
ness o f the Divine Grace,” “ the requirements of the new birth,” “ the
agonies o f the second death,” and other unintelligible abstractions, that
are utterly barren o f useful fruit, and tend to convert the green flowery
earth o f the human heart into a parched Sahara, scarcely relieved by a
single oasis.
Another part o f mankind, esteeming themselves the only philosophical
portion o f the world, in one o f their two leading schools, (the Trans­
cental Mystical o f Germany,) knowing God only as a certain Divine Idea
under the sensuous apparitions o f the world, and in the other, (the Ultra
Sensational o f France,) not being able to discover him by the sense o f
touch, nor with their metaphysical dissecting knife, and still less to spy
him at the end o f their telescopes, having presumptuously voted God out
o f the universe, with one accord, in both their schools, reject the idea o f
the manifestation o f Deity in human form, and o f any especially Divine
authority in any teacher, as utterly unworthy o f a philosophical brain.
Thus do the greater part o f mankind run into unwise antagonisms on
both sides o f a great truth— one party receiving Christ as a sort o f
syllogism in logic, while they style him G od, from which finely rounded
syllogism they deduce an endless number of unprofitable creeds and
theory systems, and the other party disregarding him altogether as a
mere figm ent o f theological superstition, whose doctrines tend rather to
the deterioration than to the advancement o f science, while the genuine
spirit o f Christianity, the veritable essence o f this Divine Philosophy, its
grand moral precepts, and subtime piety, are almost as unrecognized in
theory as they are unheeded in practice. This is a state o f affairs neither
friendly to sound religion nor sound philosophy'. But a farther considera­
tion o f this topic does not belong to this place.
O f these two rival systems o f philosophy, the Plutonian and Baconian,
or spiritual and material, and which, with respect to their respective
metaphysical systems, have been respectively styled the Idealistic and
Sensualistic, the latter, or the Baconian, material and sensualistic, may in
every sense be pronounced the more faulty and vitally erroneous. If
Plato was wrong in despising or neglecting the wants o f the body, still
more so was Bacon in despising or slighting those o f the soul. For in
every sense it has been well said by the wisest o f men, “ keep with all
diligence thy heart, for out o f it are the issues o f life.” *
N or is it a little remarkable, nor less to be regretted, that the philosophy
which has prevailed in the world since the advent o f Christ, has been im ­
bued with a much less genuine spirituality than that which had arisen
before. Not, indeed, let it be understood, that the beneficent influence o f
his doctrines is not sensibly felt in the world at this day, but that by a




* Proverbs o f Solomon, chapter iv.

406

Review , H istorical and Critical,

singular inappropriateness, (as it would seem,) the philosophy o f the world
lias gone off in quite an opposite direction, just when it should have be­
com e most spiritually minded, and has abandoned the spiritual interests
o f men, and more especially the spirituality inculcated by Christ, to a
myth contriving 'priestcraft, instead o f its being delivered over to a truthdigesting philosophy.
This great revolution in the spirit o f human philosophy would appear,
however, to be consistent with the idea which constitutes the leading
proposition o f the very able but erroneously aimed w ork o f Mr. Auguste
Comte, which has lately emanated from the French press, entitled the
Positive Philosophy. The fundamental proposition o f this work is, that
the human mind in all its movements passes through three grand stages
successively, the Theological or fictitious, the Metaphysical or abstract,
and the Positive or scientific ;* in the last and most advanced o f which
stages, mankind reject all ideas that are not the subjects o f sensational
perception. A ccordin g to the theory o f this book, if we understand it
aright, the exalted spiritualism o f Plato and Christ, are to be regarded as
mere theological fictions, or at best, metaphysical abstractions, tending to
prepare mankind for the grand revelation by Mr. Auguste Comte o f the
Ultra Sensational, or Positive Philosophy, which, by one and the same
proofs o f reasoning, divests man o f his soul, and the universe o f its God.
It is to be borne in mind, however, that the Baconian philosophy, while
it is greatly at fault in not directing its energies m ore immediately to the
soul o f man, indirectly tends to this result, to a very great extent, and
may occasionally exert even a greater influence, in this behalf, than the
purely spiritual philosophy o f Plato. For every labor-saving machine
that is invented in the material operations o f the Baconian philosophy,
apart from its specific influence as a moral elevator, operates indirectly on
the soul or intellect o f man with potent effect. F or by releasing man
from the drudgery o f manual labor, the labor-saving machine, to that
extent, transfers the energy o f his exertion from his hand to his head, from
his body to his soul. It has been well said, therefore, that “ a steamer
is a mightier epic than the Iliad ;” f and it might be said with equal
propriety, that the printing press is an instrument for operating on the
soul o f man m ore potent than the lungs o f a thousand Platos. But if it
were possible to infuse into the mass o f material energy, by which this
age is pre-eminently distinguished, the spirituality o f Plato, or what is
far better, the spirituality o f Christ, not as a mere logical m ythology, to
form the staple o f unending controversies in theology, but as a grand
practical philosophy, chastening the sentiments o f men, and influencing
their actions, there can be no doubt that the interests o f mankind would
be far more promoted than they can ever be by this greedy pursuit after
what Bacon has styled the “ fruits” o f science, but Aristotle, much more
properly, the mere “ external goods o f human life ;” J in the all-absorbing
pursuit o f which, human industry is prostituted to the subservience o f a
baneful luxury, and religion itself is degraded into a scheme for advancing
pew rent.
* See Comte’s Positive Philosophy, translated by Miss Martineau, chapter i , page 2 of introduc­
tion. This work appears to have been published in Prance as far back as 1835, but it was not pub­
lished in English until 1S53; for which latter publication we are indebted to Miss Harriet Marti­
neau.
For further notice of this author, see part second of this review in the November number.
t United States Patent-office Report, for 1849-50, page 486.
X Aristotle’s Ethics, book i, chapter 10.




O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

407

Corresponding with the two grand divisions o f human nature, its
material and spiritual parts, all sciences may be classified under two grand
divisions, those which relate to the material interests o f mankind, and
those which relate to their spiritual. To the former class may be referred
the social sciences, as jurisprudence, politics, and political econ om y; the
Medical sciences, as physiology, therapeutics, and pharm aceutics; and
those Physical sciences (not belonging to the medical class) which are
prosecuted with reference mainly to material results, as chemistry, m e­
chanics, hydrostatics, and pneumatics. To the latter class belong theology,
ethics, metaphysics, mathematics, music, and those physical sciences
which are prosecuted with reference mainly to their influence on the mind,
either by exciting its admiration, or satisfying its desire for knowledge, as
astronomy, geology, zoology, and botany.
It is true that none o f these sciences is confined in its influences, ex­
clusively, either to the material or spiritual part o f man. For so intimately
blended are these parts, that like the body and soul, one cannot be affected
without the other, to some extent. And as . all the sciences are thus
intimately related in their effects on man, so are they in their relations
to one another, so that the great father o f modern philosophy, (Lord
Bacon,) has wisely counseled “ that all partitions o f knowledge be accepted
rather for lines and veins, than for sections and separations.” *
G eology, for example, while it expands the soul o f man by revelation
o f the great age o f the world, and its successive processes o f revelation,
also teaches him in what strata o f rocks he may find coal, iron, copper,
and other minerals that contribute so largely to his material convenience.
Astronom y, too, while it exalts the soul o f man by its transporting revela­
tions unto a nearer approach to the Supreme Divinity, also affords him
vastly important aids in the art o f navigation, and without which he
could not dare to trust himself, in his tiny barks, upon the boundless
ocean.
Again there is not one o f those sciences, which are prosecuted with
special reference to their material uses, that does not exert a sensible in­
fluence on the soul o f man. W h at disciple o f Esculapius, for example,
while studying the physiology o f the human body, with the single object
o f learning how to treat bodily disease, can fail, at times, to be overpowered
with the wonderful manifestations o f Divine wisdom presented to his view,
and to exclaim with the Hebrew psalmist, “ I will praise thee, O Lord,
for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
It. may indeed be doubted to which of these two divisions some o f the
most important and comprehensive sciences are properly to be referred.
Thus the social sciences, already enumerated, as appertaining to the
material division o f the sciences, are com m only, and, in some sense not
improperly, reckoned as “ moral scien ces;” and it m ight appear more
proper to refer them to the spiritual division o f the sciences. But to a
* Advancement of Learning book ii., page 114, original edition. It may be proper to state, by
way of explaining the different references to this work now and hereinafter made, that the Advance­
ment o f Learning vas first, published in 1605, in English, and subsequently some 20 years later, in
Laiin, under the title o f D e Jlvgmentis. which has been translated into English under the original
name. The latter is a larger work, though differing from the former mainly in its minuter di­
vision into books, chapters, and sections, being divided into nine books, while the former is all com ­
prised in two. The former will be referred to as the original, and the latter as the enlarged, edi­
tion. The reason of referring to both is, that the author is inorc familiar with the former work,
having analyzed it carefully, and made copious extracts, while it is generally preferable to refer to
the latter.




408

Review , H istorical and Critical,

m ore accurate discrimination it will appear otherwise. For while these
sciences may be termed “ moral,” in respect to their subject matter, in
that they relate to man, rather than to other inferior forms o f animated
nature, they are not on that account to be considered spiritual, for in
their effects and aims they are essentially material. The proper aim o f
all the social sciences, (whether Jurisprudence, Politics, or Political
Econom y,) is to promote tire material interests o f men, leaving their
spiritual to that m ore secret intercourse which man holds with his Crea­
tor and with himself.
There are exceptional cases, it is true, in which both Politics and Juris­
prudence, (though never, perhaps, Political Economy,) have relation to the
spiritual interests o f man. Thus, where political authority, transgressing
its legitimate bounds, and trampling on the reserved rights o f man,
(which should forever be inviolable, as freedom o f conscience and free­
dom o f speech,) outrages their moral sentiments or insults their manhood,
the spiritual part o f human nature is undoubtedly affected. A nd all
those political institutions, or constitutions, which are specially designed
to fortify and protect mankind against these unwarrantable and illegiti­
mate exertions o f political authority, may be said to have relation to his
spiritual interests. But these form only a very limited part o f the politi­
cal institutions o f society.
So also in Jurisprudence, which is only one department, though by far
the most extensive department, o f the comprehensive science o f Politics,
the spiritual interests o f men may be affected by some o f those provisions,
which affect the conjugal and parental relations, and those which relate
to injuries to the reputation, as by slander, and to injuries to the moral
sentiments, as by seduction, criminal conversation, and breach of promise
to marry. But the very fact that the remedies afforded for all these in­
juries, by judicial authority, are only pecuniary, and in the language of
the lawyers, “ sound in damages,” proves that there is very little of
spirituality to be dispensed by that species o f authority. The essential
materiality o f the functions o f jurisprudence is indeed justly, as well as
strongly, exemplified by the well-settled principle o f English and American
law, that in those cases in which the spiritual sensibilities o f men are
more outraged perhaps than in any other, where a father sues for the
seduction o f his daughter, the legal measure o f damages is the actual in­
convenience he has suffered fr o m the loss o f her personal services-—a
ridiculous fiction assuredly, but little heeded by courts or juries. But
what signifies it, that the ministers o f the law, disregarding its absurd
fictions, undertake to grant to the aggrieved party in such a case compentatory damages, for the outrage to his feelings! W h at compensation,
to the aggrieved spiritual sensibilities o f man, is that which money can
afford 1
This partitioning o f the sciences, with reference singly to their respec­
tive influences on the material and spiritual interests o f man, it will there­
fore be seen, is no easy work. Plato, appreciating the difficulty o f divid­
in g and classifying the sciences, has therefore not unreasonably said,
though with somewhat o f that extravagance which characterizes his
style, “ H e who can properly divide and define is to be considered a G od,”
a remark quoted approvingly by Lord Bacon in his Novum Organum.*




* Novum Organum, book ii., aphorism 26.

O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

409

Y et neither o f these great philosophers has done much for the cause o f
science in this behalf, although Bacon labored earnestly for its accomplish­
ment, but with an order o f mind not particularly well adapted to the work,
which requires not only the nicest discriminations, and most extensive
generalizations, but the most accurate intuitive perceptions o f the seminal
principles o f knowledge. In this last faculty Lord Bacon was decidely
deficient— a deficiency characteristic in a large degree o f Anglo-Saxon
mind.
The partitioning, dividing, and defining o f the sciences, with accurate
delineations o f the boundaries o f each, and o f their several relations to
each other, is, indeed, no slight undertaking. It is a work as difficult as
it is important. It is, in short, the Science o f Sciences. It is to bo re­
gretted that no philosopher has as yet undertaken this work, with his
undivided energies. For it would be the work o f a lifetime to the greatest
intellect. The whole realm o f science has hitherto been in confusion,
from the want o f a proper definition o f boundaries, and a more accurate
nomenclature expressive of the properties o f each particular science.
Although the material and spiritual parts o f man are so intimately
blended, that it is difficult to define with precision the boundaries o f each,
or to designate those sciences which relate to the one and the other re­
spectively, yet it would not be well to confound all distinction between
them, or to blend the consideration o f them both into one science, or even
class o f sciences. In short, it would not be well to attempt, in one and
the same scheme o f philosophy, to promote both the material and spiritual
interests o f mankind. For in the sciences, as in the arts, a division o f
labor is eminently conducive to proficiencj'. Nor is there a much more
pernicious spirit that can infect philosophy, than a disposition to compass
too much in one scheme, or a disposition excessively to simplify knowledge,
by referring too many phenomena to one common cause, and to reduce
to a few simple principles, facts which can only be thoroughly or rightly
explained by many complex principles. There is, in short, a too large as
well as a too contracted system o f philosophy; and as many systems err
from a too limited scope o f comprehension, so do others err from a too
extensive. In devising plans o f philosophy, as in devising all other plans,
there is a happy mean to be attained, and a pernicious extreme on either
side to be avoided.
There is, however, a distinction o f great importance to be taken, respect­
ing the comprehensiveness o f any system or scheme o f philosophy, as to
the nature or relation o f that comprehensiveness. For comprehensiveness,
though a great fault in one relation, is a great virtue in another. It is o f
great importance, accordingly, to consider whether the comprehensiveness
o f a science or scheme o f any kind, is in relation to its means or its ends,
to its premises or its conclusions, to its inductions or its generalizations,
to its foundations or its superstructure. For comprehensiveness is a great
virtue in relation to the former o f all these, but a great fault in relation
to the latter. Y et such is the nature o f the human mind, arising partly
from its proneness to delusion, but chiefly, no doubt, from its proneness
to indolence, and its indisposition to severe labor, that it is precisely the
latter kind o f comprehensiveness to which it is constantly addicted.
In all human enterprises, whether in the operations of art, or the con­
templations o f science, there is almost universally a grand inadequacy o f
means to ends, o f premises to conclusions. This is the prolific parent o f




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a multitude o f unsuccessful adventures in business, as well as o f false
schemes in philosophy. H ow prone are men to calculate, that, from a
very small amount o f exertion, in this or that adventure, they are to ac­
quire a large fortune ; whereas the truth is that, in 99 out o f the 100 cases,
it is only after the outlay o f a very large amount o f exertion that a very
small fortune can be realized. So it is in all the sciences. It is only after a
very large and comprehensive induction o f observations and facts, that
a very limited addition can he made to the stock o f human knowledge,
in the form o f general conclusions. Y et the realm o f science is forever
infested with a set o f mountebanks who, presumptuously pretend to
establish a multitude o f general conclusions from a most meagre and
wretched induction o f facts.
It may perhaps be safely laid down as a fundamental law o f Philosophy,
that the b a s e o f a science cannot he too large, nor its a p e x too small, p r o ­
vided always that the latter be large enough to he stood upon f o r practical
uses. There is positive utility in the contraction o f the apex, or final in­
tention, o f a science, as there is in the expansion o f its base. The contrac­
tion o f their intentions tends materially to sharpen the wits o f the sciences.
Thus we see that the oculist is a far more.skillful doctor o f the eyes, than
the physician who extends the scope o f his practice over the whole range
o f the human system. But if the contraction o f the intention o f the
sciences is positively useful, still more useful is the expansion o f their
bases, or the scopes o f their attention. The former may be two small,
but the latter cannot be too large. Indeed, it may be said, that the study
o f all sciences is necessary to the complete mastery o f one. Y et many im­
posters, inverting the pyramid o f science, pretend from the superficial and
imperfect study o f one science, to master all others. Rightly considered,
all sciences are but the spires o f a grand temple, whose foundations are
the common base o f all. So that, although each particular science may
be termed a pyramid in itself, yet in its relations to other sciences it is
but one pyramidal spire or pinnacle o f the great temple o f universal
knowledge.

The philosopher, therefore, who should take all knowledge for the base
o f his particular science, would do well, and proceed like a wise builder.
But he who should take all knowledge, (that is, the perfection or mastery
o f all knowledge,) as the end of his science, or particular province of
labor, would be guilty o f a grand presumption. A general acquaintance
with all sciences mayr indeed be acquired by one man. But the mastery
of all sciences, or such proficiency in them all as would qualify for skil­
ful practice in them, would be far beyond the compass of any man’s
power. Far less presumptuously might an architect endeavor, in his
single lifetime, to polish all the stones in the dome of a vast, temple with
the nicety and finish of a diamond in a breastpin.
W e may then safely accept this, as a fundamental rule in philosophy,
that a science cannot be too comprehensive in the scope o f its attention, hut
may very easily he too comprehensive in, the scope o f its intention. And
from this rule we may deduce this wholesome precept, that he who would
be an useful laborer in the dominions o f science, should give his attention
to all knowledge, but direct his intention exclusively to some particular
province of this extensive dominion, circumscribing his aims within some
well-defined metes and bounds.

Applying these general observations to the matter o f the present in­




O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

411

quiry, it may be concluded, that while a scheme o f philosophy which
should make the promotion both o f the material and spiritual interests o f
mankind, or. in other words, his complete happiness, its intention, or the
end o f its speculations, would be faulty, as blending natures more properly
to be considered apart, and as tending, by too much comprehensiveness
and generality, to obscurity o f vision and confusion o f ideas ; yet a scheme
which should take the promotion o f his material interests only as its end,
would also be faulty, as deficient in comprehensiveness, unless it should
take both the material and spiritual parts o f man, nay, the whole realms
o f matter and spirit, as the scope o f its attention and the basis o f its in­
ductions.
The intimate relations subsisting between the material and spiritual
parts o f man ; how the cultivation o f the one conduces to the advantage
o f the oth er; and the extent to which both may be jointly cultivated with
a view to the separate interests o f each, may be happily illustrated by the
fable related by iE sop, o f the husbandman, who, on his death bed, told
his sons that he had left them gold buried in his vinyard ; and they dug
over all the ground and found no g o ld ; but the next year they were re­
warded for their labors in search o f the gold, by an extraordinary abund­
ance o f grapes. So in cultivating the spiritual part o f our nature, with a
view to creating that noble equanimity o f soul, the end alike o f the phi­
losophy o f Plato and the religion o f Christ, which renders man superior
to all the vicissitudes o f fortune, to the sufferings o f the body, and sor­
rows o f the mind, though that noble perfection o f our nature may not be
attained, yet this cultuie o f the soul shall not be unrewarded ; for though
we may not find the gold o f spiritual perfection, wTe shall gather the fr u it
of material prosperity. There is, in fact, no guaranty o f outward pros­
perity so reliable as inward culture. The wants o f the body cannot be so
securely provided for as through expedients applied to the soul.
The common proverb that “ honesty is the best policy,” is but a popu­
lar recognition o f the great philosophic truth that the healthful vigor o f
the soul is the most reliable guaranty o f the comforts o f the body. The
man who acts habitually under a sense o f obligation to his God, his fellow
man, and himself, and with a thorough persuasion that it is due to the
sacred allegiance which he owes to his Supreme Ruler, (or, to what Mr.
Thomas Carlyle styles, “ his vital relations to this mysterious universe,” )
that he should do, with all diligence, the work that is set before him, that
man will most generally prosper in his undertakings, and be rewarded
with substantial material prosperity. The melancholy exceptions to this
general rule, too often to be seen, should not blind us to the recognition
and contemplation o f the rule. The rule is applicable to individual men,
and to nations o f men. Let not the soul o f man, therefore, be neglected,
even in a scheme or system o f philosophy, whose specific aim is no other
than the material welfare of mankind.
The same fable while it illustrates well the mode in which both the
spiritual and material part^ o f men may be advantageously exercised, to
a certain extent, as means to the end o f prom oting the separate interests
o f only one o f those parts, may also serve to show (though less
plainly) why they may not be advantageously so exercised, to an unlimited
extent; and why, in short, the promotion, both of the spiritual and mate­
rial interests o f mankind, may not be well prosecuted in one and the same
scheme o f philosophy. The reason plainly is, that the relationship sub­




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sisting between these spiritual and material parts, does not continue
through the whole course of their development. In their beginnings they
are united, as are most things, probably all things ; but in their ends, that
is, their practical ends, they are far apart. Thus, so long as the vine
tenders dug the soil o f their vinyards in quest o f gold, they were doing
work that conduced to the com m on end o f finding the gold and making
the vines yield abundantly. But so soon as they should begin to dig below
the soil, they would pass into a species o f labor o f no benefit to the vines,
and appertaining rather to the business o f the miner. On the other hand,
if the vine tenders should have confined their care o f their vines to the
single operation o f digging the soil, they would have made sorry gardeners.
It was necessary, also, that they should manure their ground, water the
roots, clip the vines, pluck the dead stems, tie up the tender shoots, and
do many other things that tend to the production o f good grapes, but in
no way to the discovery o f buried treasure. So it is in respect to the
spiritual and material interests o f mankind. W h ile there is a com m on
ground on which both unite, and o f great im portance to both, yet they
very soon branch out into widely-separated realm s; the one into Ethics
and Theology, the other into Politics and Political Econom y.
It must be evident, therefore, that it depends upon the points from
which we view the sciences, to what extent we shall find it convenient or
proper to embrace them under com m on generalizations. If we consider
them from the eminence of a mere contemplation, abstractedly and synoptically, we may generalize them to almost any extent, and confound
all sciences under one com m on appellation. For Plato has well said, that
“ All knowledge by scale ascends to unity
and to the same effect, Con­
dillac (a French philosopher o f the Baconian Sensational School) has
said, that “ From one truth all others are born.” But if we consider the
sciences from the stand-point o i practicality, and with the view o f apply­
ing them to definite uses, we must beware o f the great error o f too much
generalization. For the same great philosopher (Plato) has most wis-ly
.observed, that “ The higher generalities give no sufficient direction ; and
the pith o f all sciences, which make the artist differ from the inexpert, is
in the middle propositions, which, in every particular science, are taken
from tradition and experience” ! But this topic will be more amply elu­
cidated hereafter, when we com e to consider particularly the defects o f
the various systems o f social philosophy, and to lay down some general
rules for the installation o f a more comprehensive system. J
This elaboration o f the idea that the material and spiritual interests of
mankind cannot be judiciously embraced in one scheme or particular sys­
tem o f philosophy, (except so far as the one may be advantageously used
as a means to the end o f prom oting the other,) is o f m ore importance
than it may appear to some. A multitude o f schemes have blundered
upon this error, and have thus rendered their speculations confused and
inaccurate, at the same time that they have tended to confuse and disor­
der Philosophy. A n d although in later times this error has been fallen
upon almost exclusively by the superficial and mere pretenders in science,
yet in earlier times many o f the greatest philosophers habitually went
astray on this point. N or has any writer as yet, so far as is known to the
writer o f this review, particularly called attention to the vital seriousness
o f this error.*
* See the Dialogue entitled Parmenides.




t See the Timaeus.

£ See section 6 o f this review.

O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

413

Not. only Plato, but bis illustrious disciple Aristotle, (who was far less
prone than bis preceptor to confound just distinctions,) both erred syste­
matically and deliberately upon this point, as is manifest both from their
political and ethical writings. Aristotle distinctly betrays this error in
one o f his two Ethical treatises, that which has been styled the N icom achean Ethics. For after asserting that the end o f Political Science, which
he styles “ the master science,” is To Ayathon, or the good, (or as it is
generally, though not so properly, rendered in English, the greatest good,)*
lie proceeds with that quibbling or useless refining, so characteristic of
him and o f the Greek philosophers generally, to argue that this T o A gathon, or the good, is happiness ;f and afterwards asserts, that by human
happiness, he means not that o f the body, but that o f the soul.J N ow ,
after the lapse o f nearly twenty-two centuries, we must venture to take
issue on this point with the “ Great Stagyrite,” and distinctly to assert
that it is not the proper end o f the Political Science, nor yet o f that far
m ore comprehensive Science, which it is the design o f this work to instaurate, and o f which the Political Science is but one main department,
to promote the happiness o f the s o u l; but that its proper end is the pro­
motion o f the material interests o f man, while it appertains to a radically
different division o f the sciences to take charge o f his spiritual or psycho­
logical interests.
But if P lato and Aristotle erred in this respect, what shall we say o f
those modern pretenders in science o f the Perfectible School, as it is called,
who, not content with asserting that man is endowed with a kind o f sera­
phic perfectibilities, have had the temerity to assert that it is ow ing
merely to political causes that these quasi seraphic perfectibilities o f his
nature are not developed, and his condition rendered one o f a sort o f pro­
longed paradise on earth. The wretched quacks in medical science, who
presumptuously pretend to cure all diseases by the application o f a few
nostrums or universal panaceas, are not such monsters o f audacity as those
quacks in social philosophy who have undertaken to perfect the happiness
o f man in respect to his spiritual as well as his material interests, to cure
all diseases both o f mind and body, and to eradicate “ all the countless
ills that flesh is heir to,” by some wretched social specific, such as “ com ­
munity o f goods,” or other impracticable absurdity that would be as futile
in its operations as it is impossible to be rendered operative.
H ow extravagantly absurd, and worse than profitless, are such sense­
lessly vast and presumptuous schemes. H ow manifest should it be, that
if it were possible to endow every man with all the benefits that can pos­
sibly be conferred by political or social institutions, with the most un­
bounded external or material prosperity, so that every man should be a
prince and set upon a throne o f royal state, he would not, o f course, be
happy, or above the reach o f “ the countless ills that flesh is heir to.”
Happiness does not consist alone, or chiefly, in external prosperity ; and
all the wealth o f the Indies cannot purchase it. That “ gem o f purest ray
serene,” is contained in the deep, unfathomed caves o f the ocean o f the
soul. Far m ore wisely, therefore, than Plato and Aristotle, still more
than the quack philanthropists o f the modern perfectible school, does the
Anglo-Saxon philosopher, Dr. Johnson, express himself on this point, in
those beautifully just lines, penned by him for Dr. Goldsmith’ s poem, the
Traveller— *
* Nicomachean Ethics, book i., chapter 2.




t

Id.

book i., chapter 4.

% Id. book i., chapter 13.

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Review, H istorical and Critical,
“ How small of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure.”

It is in the domestic relations, and the religious sentiments o f men, and
in the general predispositions of their minds, that by far the greatest part
o f human happiness is to be found. A nd that which is requisite in these
respects, political institutions cannot give, though they may, to some e x ­
tent, take away. There have been kings, who, surrounded by all the
pom p and circumstance o f regal splendour, have not been seen to smile
for years— m ore wretched than the poorest o f their subjects. The man
who is afflicted.in his domestic relations, whose heart is pierced by any
o f the innumerable thorns that beset all human affections, who is labor­
ing under the pains o f a constitutionally unsound body, or who is bur­
dened with a mind diseased, a soul yearning after the unattainable, or
chafing under the contact with uncongenial realities, cannot be rendered
happy by any degree o f external prosperity. Such a man, “ not poppy
nor mandragora, nor all the drowsy syrups ” o f philanthropic quackery
can “ medicine to that sweet sleep ” o f him who has a cheerful and con­
tented soul, a sane mind in a sane body. All such men may well exclaim,
like Macbeth in the play, “ physic to the dogs.” There are no specifics
which the human philosopher can afford for their case. “ Therein the
patient must minister to himself,” or pray in aid the “ Great Physician.”
If, however, external prosperity, or the possession o f material comforts
merely, is unable to secure the happiness o f men, it is not less true, that
merely spiritual influences are equally insufficient in themselves to do so.
I f provision for the spiritual wants o f man is indispensable to his happi­
ness, provision for his material is equally as much, if not still m ore so.
Plato, Zeno, and those Christian philosophers, who, like St. Augustine
and others, have refined and sublimated altogether too much upon the
spiritual efficacy o f the Christian doctrines, may philosophize and specu­
late as they please about the all-sufficient efficacy o f virtuous energies, but
a man who is emaciated with hunger, shivering with cold, or writhing in
the agonies o f bodily pain, will not be happy even with the prospect of
heaven before him, nor will he be in a fit condition for receiving those
excellent precepts o f philosophy or religion which are calculated to pu­
rify and elevate his soul.
There is no sadder error, perhaps, either in philosophy or religion, than
that sickly sentimentality which despises, or affects to despise, the wants
and enjoyments o f the body. The comforts o f the body are not only es­
sential and valuable promoters o f happiness in themselves, but they are
also, to a large extent, the indispensable foundations for that higher or
spiritual happiness to which all men should aspire. It has, therefore,
been well said, in many senses, by Boulay Paty, “ Philosophy has been
w rong in not lookin g more deeply into physical man. It is there that
the moral man lies concealed.” So intimate are the relations subsist­
in g between body and soul.
So constant are their action and reaction
upon each other in endless succession, though the order o f priority is certain­
ly due to the body. In the mysterious organization o f the human system,
however it may have been in the grander system o f the universe, the
realm o f matter undoubtedly precedes that o f mind. A ccordingly, Aris­
totle has wisely said, in the seventh b ook o f his politics, “ The body,
therefore, necessarily demands our care previous to the soul.” * H ow




* Aristotle's Politics, book vii., chapter 15.

O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

415

very fallacious, then, are all those schemes o f philosophy or religion
which despise, or treat as o f trivial importance, the material interests o f
mankind.
It is a pretty idea, assuredly, that o f a gilded philosopher, like Seneca,
leaning upon a table o f gold and writing discourses about the pleasures
o f poverty, the insignificance o f bodily enjoyments, the folly o f anger, and
other like sublimated sentimentalities. But the sober-minded and sub­
stantial Anglo-Saxon, Macaulay, dissipates this frothy syllabub o f the an­
cient Italian sage and rose-pink philosopher, by remarking (in reference
to those o f the Seneca School) that “ the ancient sages liked the toothache
as little as their neighbors.” '*
From the foregoing observations, it must be manifest, that while the
satisfaction o f both the material and spiritual wants o f man is indispensa­
ble to his happiness, (which is unattainable by some men, and beyond
the reach o f any human agencies to guaranty to all,) it is not judicious to
treat o f the means o f prom oting both these interests in one and the same
scheme o f philosophy, but that it will be more advisable to refer to one
class o f sciences the promotion o f the material interests o f men, and to
another, the prom otion o f their spiritual. It must be equally manifest,
however, that in order to promote, effectually, either one or the other o f
these interests, it will be necessary to seek for expedients and influences
in both the material and spiritual realms o f nature, using both parts o f
man’s nature as means to the end o f promoting the interests o f only one,
and hearing ever in mind, that the body and spirit o f man are most inti­
mately related, and are constantly acting and reacting upon each other
with incalculable influence.
B ut as it is necessary, in consulting for the happiness o f mankiud in the
largest sense, to discriminate between their material and spiritual inte­
rests, and the agencies adapted to the prom otion o f each respectively, so
it is also necessary, in order to arrive at distinctness and precision o f ideas,
to discriminate between at least two different classes o f their material and
spiritual interests.
The material interests o f man may be divided into these two classes—
those which relate to the health o f his body, and those which relate to the
sustenance and positive enjoyments o f his body. Corresponding with these
two classes o f material interests, the sciences which have relation to these
interests may be divided (as already suggested) into the M edical and the
Social or Economical Sciences.
A m on g the former may be classed
anatomy, physiology, materia medica, therapeutics, and hygiene. A m on g
the latter, jurisprudence, politics, political econom y, and the like.
The end o f the medical sciences is human health, that o f the social or
econom ical, is human wealth. O f these two classes o f sciences, the latter
is, undoubtedly, the more important, and takes priority in the order o f
nature. For wealth, or the means o f subsistence, embracing, o f course,
the prime necessaries o f life, (as food, raiment, shelter, and fuel,) is not only
indispensable in itself to human happiness, but also as a foundation for all
other kinds o f enjoyment. A man may have wealth without health, little
as it may profit him ; for health is not indispensable to wealth or good
fortune ; but he cannot have health without wealth, or a proper measure
o f the comforts o f life. W ealth (in its largest and scientific sense) is indeed
one o f the fundamental and indispensable elements that must enter into




* Macaulay’s Essays—Article on Lord Bacon.

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Review, H istorical and Critical,

the calculations o f the student o f health. The medical practitioner can­
not successfully combat disease unless his patient be provided with whole­
some nourishment and the requisites for his general comfort. N or can
the medical philosopher more effectually operate in that higher depart­
ment o f his science, that o f Hygiene, than by providing for the general
diffusion o f com fort am ong mankind.
The social sciences seem, then, to underlie the medical, and indeed all
others. N or can a high degree o f proficiency be attained in any o f the
other sciences, without a certain degree o f proficiency in these. F or as
the healthful sustenance o f the body is indispensable to a proper culture
o f the soul, so is a healthful state o f society indispensable to a proper cul­
ture o f the sciences. The social sciences are indeed the body, as the
purely spiritual or moral sciences are the soul o f a highly advanced stage
o f civilization. W h a t proficiency can be made in science, in a state of
society continually convulsed by revolution, as in the States o f M exico and
South America, or in that wandering nomadic state which exists among
the Tartars o f Central Asia, or in a war scourging state like that which
prevailed in Europe during the.so-called chivalric age?
The spiritual or psychological interests o f man, may, in like manner
with his material, be divided into these two classes; those which relate
to the health o f his soul, and those which relate to the sustenance and
positive enjoyments o f his soul. Corresponding with these two classes o f
psychological interests, the sciences which have relation to those interests
may be divided into the M o r a l and I n t e l l e c t u a l . T o the former class
may be referred theology, ethics, music, poetry, painting, sculpture, and
the lik e; to the latter, metaphysics, mathematics, logic, rhetoric, gram­
mar, and the like. The end o f the M o r a l class o f psychological sciences
is the culture o f the moral sentiments and the affections, on which so vi­
tally depends our moral health ; or, more particularly, to promote reve­
rence to G od and love for man, as in the manifold relations o f parent,
child, consort, brother, friend, neighbor, citizen, and fellow-being. Their
end may, in brief, be pronounced to be to qualify man for fulfilling “ the
law o f all righteousness,” by obeying the two grand precepts o f Christ,
“ Love God wi tit all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.” The end
o f the I ntei l e c t u a l class o f psychological sciences is two-fold, (intrinsi­
cally,) to gratify the intellectual desires and sensibilities o f the human
soul, as its desire for knowledge, its love o f the beautiful, the sublime, and
the perfect,, and (extrinsical!)’) to act as auxiliaries to all the other sci­
ences. For, in reality, the intellectual sciences are the common feeders of
all others, and take cognizance of, and pass in review , all that we can ever
know, the dogmas o f certain wretchedly deceived superficialists to the
contrary notwithstanding.
The Moral and Intellectual sciences are related to each other in very
nearly the same manner precisely as are the Medical and Social. For as
it is the province o f the Social sciences to take cognizance o f the modes
o f procuring adequate material comforts for man, and o f the Medical to
take cognizance o f the modes o f preserving or restoring his bodily health,
that he may be in condition to enjoy those com forts; so it is the province
o f the Intellectual sciences to take cognizance o f the modes o f procuring
aliment for the mind or soul o f man, and o f the moral to take coa’nizance
»
•
. . . .
°
o f the modes of preserving or lestoring his spiritual health, so that he may
be in condition to enjoy the delicious fruits o f knowledge. The analogy
between these two subdivisions o f the sciences, is indeed almost perfect in




O f the Different Systems o f Social Philosophy.

417

this relation. For what is abundance o f material comforts, even the
wealth o f Indies, to the man, who, emaciated by disease and racked by
pains, lies stretched upon the bed o f sickness ? and what is knowledge, even
the accumulated treasures o f all the sciences, to the man who is diseased
in his affections or moral sentiments, and w ho is not at peace with his
fellow or his God ?
Our classification thus far, however, embraces only those sciences that
are immediately related to man. In order to make the classification
complete, it will be necessary to extend'our contemplation to the bound­
less domain o f the external world, and to embrace the extensive and
highly important order o f the physical sciences, or those o f them which
do not properly belong to the class o f medical sciences. These physical
sciences are most important promoters, both o f the material and spiritual
interests o f man, and without them, these interests, but especially the
former division o f them, would be but poorly subserved.
This whole order o f physical sciences may be divided into two classes,
so as to be arranged, according to those classes, under the two grand di­
visions already adopted o f the M a t e r i a l and S p i r it u a l Sciences. To
the former division may be.referred all those physical sciences which are
cultivated mainly with reference to material results and their applicability
to the industrial arts. To the latter may be referred those which are cul­
tivated with more especial reference to spiritual iufluences, and their
adaptability to gratify the intellectual desires and sensibilities o f man.
The former class o f physical sciences may not inappropriately be termed
(for the sake o f perspicuity) the T e c h n i c a l S c i e n c e s , or those appertain­
ing to Technical P h ysics; the latter class, with the same view, may be
termed the C o n t e m p l a t iv e S c ie n c e s , or those appertaining to Contem ­
plative Physics.
These Technical Sciences are essential aids, and some o f them, as
Chemistry, are common handmaids to both the Social and Medical Scien­
ces, and occupy an intermediate position between them, tending, in a
greater or less degree, to the prom otion alike of wealth and health. To
this class manifestly belong chemisty, mechanics, hydrostatics, hydraulics,
pneumatics, and perhaps also architecture and agriculture, with its c o g ­
nate science, horticulture, though these three last might seem more
properly to appertain to the class o f Social Sciences.
The Contemplative Sciences are, in like manner, essential aids, and, to
some extent, com m on handmaids to both the intellectual and moral
sciences, and occupy a sort o f intermediate position between them, tend­
ing not less to devote and refine the moral sentiments, than to expand
and delight the intellectual emotions o f the human soul. In this class
may be enrolled Astronomy, G eology, M eteorology, Botany, Zoology, and
History, meaning, o f course, human History, and that understood, in its
highest sense, as a sketch o f the successive and proyressive developments o f
the human race, in so far as there may have been really any progressive
development, which superfioialists and visionaries are so much disposed to
exaggerate. It is only in this highest sense, indeed, that History is enti­
tled to be regarded as a science. For in its common acceptation it is
merely a heterogeneous collection o f events and appendix to general
science, from which the cultivators o f the various sciences, as the politi­
cian, jurist, physician, and theologian may draw facts, precedents, and
illustrations for their respective particular sciences.
VOL. x l i .— n o .




iv.

27

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France.

Art. II.— F B A N C E .
NUMBER T .

I.

THE CREDIT MOBILIER COMPANY--- OBJECTS OF ITS ESTABLISHMENT.

F ro m the title o f this institution we are enabled to judge, in the most
general sense, o f the objects o f its foundation. It is destined to promote,
extend, and increase the operations o f credit upon movable, or what we
should call personal, property, in contradistiction to the Credit F on d er ,
which does the same thing for immovable or real property. It is an in­
stitution designed to be an intermediary between capital and such enter­
prises as railways, public works, etc., founded by joint-stock companies or
to be founded— the same as the Bank o f France is an intermediary in the
ordinary commercial transactions between individuals— it is designed to
collect the floating funds o f society with one hand, to centralize them, and
thus be enabled to distribute them, with the other, into, these various en­
terprises. It is designed, therefore, to impart to this class o f operations,
new vitality and greater elasticity. But it is a join t stock institution,
authorized, if we do not mistake the tenor o f its statutes, to undertake
nearly every employment, which may occupy the commercial world, with
regard to buying and selling values, applying to these employments all
the advantages inherent in that kind o f a company, and also o f a banking
institution relieved from the necessity o f paying its obligations at sigh t;
and it is a great instrument designed to buy up, consolidate, and cen­
tralize all the joint-stock companies in France, and to replace the shares
and obligations o f those companies by the issue o f obligations o f its own.
Such appear to have been the objects which its originators had in viewr in
procuring the foundation o f this com pany; how far they have been suc­
cessful in carrying out these objects, is a question for future consideration.
The task o f describing an institution on such an unique footing, invested
with powers so great and complicated, having at its head, men o f the
greatest eminence and skill in the financial world o f France, which is de­
signed to wield a power and influence greater, perhaps, than any other mere
stock company in the world ; and which, moreover, in spite o f all the de­
nunciations which have been launched against it, and the prophecies of
its speedy downfall, has continued its existence through all the financial
difficulties o f 1855, 185(5, and 1857, presents at the threshold, an amount
o f obstacles which it seems difficult to overstep. But the critics who
have already occupied their attention in reviewing the functions o f the
Credit Mobilier, have left for our guide, landmarks, which it is impossible
to mistake, and by the aid o f which we may thread our pathway through
what difficulties may be presented.
It. had been thought previously to the establishment o f the Credit M o­
bilier— nor has the apparent partial success o f that institution dissipated
that idea— that joint-stock companies, o f limited liability, should be con­
fined to a simple and undeviating course o f operations; a course which
might, in fact, be pursued in mere routine; such, for instance,as banking,
the building and management o f railways, and employments o f a similar
character ; these, as they are subject to the control o f known and fixed
rules o f procedure, proceeding from the workings o f actual experience,




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419

may all be governed and directed, without that minute surveillance, that
constant necessity of originating schemes, which springs up in the field
of the keen competition o f private enterprises. The accumulations of the
floating funds of society in individual hands, while in any simple instance
they are not available for any great undertaking, when collected together
by the agency of a stock company, form an aggregate sufficiently large
to perform the most extensive industrial operations. Stock companies
are, therefore, of the greatest benefit to society, for they collect the funds
which might otherwise remain inactively waiting for employment; es­
tablish works of a public character so extensive as to be beyond the reach
of private enterprises; and bring into active employment a vast quantity
of dead stock, increasing thereby the activity and elasticity o f capital.
But a stock company only possesses limited liability, and with functions
and powers too extensive and varied, with too great a power o f expanding
credit, and which may attract, by the brilliancy and dexterity of its move­
ments, is the most dangerous element known to a commercial commu­
nity ; and no nation, perhaps, has had greater cause bitterly to repent the
abuse of such an association than France.
But it does not appear that the Credit Mobilier Company is confined,
as it should be, to a mere routine of operations.
“ La pensee du Credit M obilier ,” says Isaac Pereire with his peculiar
delicacy of language and expression :— “ La pensee du Credit Mobilier
est nee de l’insuffisance des moyens de credit offerts a l’organisation des
grandes affaires du pays, de 1’isolement ou etaient reduites les forces financieres, de l’absence d’un centre assez puissant pour les.relier entre elles.
“ Elle est nee du besoin, d’amener sur !e marche, le concours regulier
de capitaux nouveaux destines a aider au developpement du credit public
et du credit industriel.
“ Elle est nee de l’exageration des conditions auxquelles se faisaient les
prets sur fonds publics, et des difficnltes qui en naissaient pour Ie classement definitif des meilleures valeurs.
“ Elle est nee encore, du besoin de centralizer le movement financier et
administratif des grandes Compagnies, et notammeut des Compagnies de
Chemins de fer, d’utiliser ainsi, au plus grand avantage do toutes, les capi­
taux dont chacune dispose successivement, de maniere a menager ies
ressources communes, aussi bien au profit des Compagnies qu a celui de
leurs nombreux actionnaires.
“ Elle est nee enfin, de la necessity d’introduire dans la circulation un
nouvel agent, une nouvelle monnaie fiduciaire, portant avec elle son
interet de chaque jour, et faisant fructifier les epargnes les plus humbles,
aussi bien que les capitaux les plus considerables.
“ Creer une telle institution, c’etait donner a Tindustrie, et au credit
public le plus puissant encouragement, c’etait mettre, a leur disposition,
l’instrument le plus propre a leur fournir a bon marche les capitaux necessaires a leur developpement.”
There is nothing, perhaps, which displays the boldness o f the French'
financiers, in a more striking light, than this passage. The magnificent
scheme o f consolidating all the stock companies o f France, and merging
them into the Credit M obilier , is one of which the realization would very
speedily produce startling results. But it is somewhat difficult to con­
ceive the full authority for the disadvantages o f obtaining credit so confi­
dently put forward in the preceding paragraphs. The Credit M obilierr




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France.

we are told, originated from the insufficiency of the means o f credit for
the great affairs of the country, from the isolation to which the financial
forces are reduced, from the absence o f a center sufficiently powerful to
bind them together. It is difficult, we repeat, to see the full force of these
objections. It would seem to us that the Bank of France, with its bril­
liant center in Paris and the forty satellites which revolve around that
focus o f attraction, with the present power, also, of creating others, wher­
ever the operations of commerce make the want o f them to be felt, as
well as the co-operation and the independent action of the numerous ex­
tensive banking houses and brokers, would be sufficient to afford all the
necessary assistance to the financial world of France. Let us see what
are the functions o f the bank with regard to the assistance which it is au­
thorized to render to the commercial community ; and let it be recol­
lected that all these functions were in operation at the time o f the foun­
dation of the Credit Mobilier.
The Bank o f France discounts the paper of commerce, payable in Paris
or in the cities where she has agencies, upon the condition that they shall
possess three signatures, and be payable at a maturity not exceeding three
months. She discounts paper with two signatures, if it has been created
by a bond fid e commercial transaction, and if it is fortified by a transfer
of shares of the bank, rentes, canal shares, obligations of the city of Paris,
or recepisses of merchandise deposited in the magasins generaux. She
makes advances on ingots, discounts treasury bonds, obligations of the
city of Paris, reimbursable at the end o f six months, and loans on deposits
of rentes, canal shares, obligations of the city of Paris, shares and obliga­
tions of railways, and of the Credit Fon der.
It is true that the bank has surrounded these varied operations with
many wise and wholesome restrictions, which are, perhaps, irksome to
enterprising and scheming financiers. She discounts paper only which
is fortified with the best available security, she loans only on short term, and
on public funds and shares does not advance the full value of the face of
them. But these restrictions are capable of being defended on the most
just economical grounds.
Subsidiary to the Bank o f France is the
Comptoir d'Fscompte, an institution provided with extensive functions for
advances on commercial values, and whose action has already been de­
scribed.
But again, the idea of the Credit M obilier , orignated from the want of
the power of bringing on the market the regular concourse, or accumula­
tions o f new capital, destined to aid in the development of public and in­
dustrial credit; from the exaggerations and the difficulties of procuring
loans on public funds ; from the desire (as has been already pointed out)
of centralizing the financial and administrative action o f the great com­
panies, and particularly o f railway companies; from the want of a new
agent in the circulation, a new credit money, (monnaie fid vd aire,) carrying
interest day by day, and thus making fruitful the most humble savings,
as well as the greatest capitals.
If such have been the ideas in originating the Credit M obilier , let us
see how these ideas found form ; how they embodied themselves ; what,
in a word, are the acts, or the manner of acting, by which these ideas are
to be fixed and known.




France.
II.

421

STATUTES OF THE CREDIT MOBILIER, SHOW ING EXTENT AND CHARACTER
OF OPERATIONS.

The founders, considering the important services which would be rend­
ered by the establishment of a society, having for its aim to favor the
development of industry and o f public works, and to operate by way of
consolidation into a common fund all the particular securities of diverse
enterprises, have resolved to carry out a work so useful; and to this effect,
have fixed the basis and the statutes of a joint-stock company, (societe
anonyme,) under the title o f Societe Generate de Credit M obilier.
The duration o f the society is ninety-nine years from the 18tlrN ovem ber, 1852. The capital is fixed at 60,000,000 francs, in 120,000 shares
o f 500 francs each.

The following is Mr. Tooke’s translation o f the principal statutes of the
com pany; the words in square brackets [ ] being introduced by him “ to
elucidate the technical effect of some o f the clauses —
1. To subscribe to or acquire public funds or stocks ; and also shares or bonds
in various industrial enterprises, constituted on the principle of limited liability,
particularly in railways, canals, mines, and other public works, founded or to be
founded.
2. To issue, to the extent of a sum equal to the sum employed for purposes of
the subscriptions and purchases aforesaid, the separate obligations of the society
itself.
3. To sell, or give as security for advances, all effects, shares, and obligations
acquired or held by the society ; and to exchange such effects, shares, and obli­
gations against other values.
4. To underwrite all loans, to undertake and realize them ; also, to undertake
and realize all enterprises for public works.
5. To lend on public securities, and on the deposit of shares and bonds; and to
open credits, on account current, on the deposit of different kinds of value.
6. To receive money on account current.
7. To undertake all kinds of collections for companies, as aforesaid ; to pay
their interest and dividend warrants ; and generally to undertake all business re­
lating to such companies.
8. To open a bank of deposit for all the securities issued by the companies
aforesaid. All other operations are interdicted.
9. It is expressly understood that the society shall never undertake sales “ a
depouvert,” [that is, sales of stock, &c., merely for the account day or settlement,]
nor purchases “ a primes,” [that is, purchases which may be annulled by the
payment of a mere fine or option.]
10. After the complete issue of the joint stock capital of the society, the obli­
gations created by the society may attain a sum equal to ten limes the said jointstock capital, [that is, to (10x60,000.000) 600,000,000 francs.]
11. The accumulated amount of the sums received on account current, and the
obligations created, payable at less than one year’s date or sight, shall not exceed
twice the amount of the paid-up capital, [that is, shall not exceed (2x60,000,000)
120,000,000 francs.]
12. A council of fifteen members shall administer the society.
13. An executive council of five administrators shall be charged with the exe­
cution of the decisions of the council.
14. The ordinary general assembly of the society shall take place in April. It
shall be composed of two hundred of the largest shareholders. In order to be
valid, it must be composed of at least forty members, and represent a tenth part
of the capital.
15. Bach member of the assembly shall have as many votes as he has multi­
plies of forty shares, but the largest number of votes shall not exceed five.
16. Bach financial year will terminate on the 31st December.




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France.

17.
The net profit shall be divided as follows, viz. :— (1 ) 5 per cent on the
share capital shall be distributed among the shareholders; (2.) 5 per cent shall
be added to the reserve fund, the total amount of which shall be restricted to
2,000,000 francs. Tho-surplus remaining shall belong, in the proportions of onetenth to the administrators of the society, and nine-tenths to the shareholders, as
further dividend.

From the foregoing the operations of the Credit M obilier Company
may he safely divided, as has been suggested by M. Eugene Forcade, and
embodied by Mr. Tooke, into three distinct catagories. First, to under­
take industrial operations of all kinds, particularly those relating to rail­
ways and public works, on the principle of commandite or limited liability.
Second, to buy up companies already established, and replace their shares
by the emission o f scrip or obligations o f its own ; and third, it is a jointstock company authorized to conduct the business of banking, and also
all the descriptions of business carried on by brokers and jobbers on the
stock exchange.
III.

MODE OF OPERATIONS OF THE CREDIT MOBILIER COMPANY, AND ADVAN ­
TAGES CLAIMED FOR THOSE OPERATIONS.

In a program me o f the operations o f the Credit M obilier , by Isaac
Pereire, which appeared in the Journal des Debuts, o f 23d November,
1852, and for a translation o f which we are again indebted to Mr. Tooke,
the mode of operations by this institution is fairly set forth.
“ The Bank of France,” runs the programme, “ obtains the greatest part of
the funds which it employs, by the issue of notes to bearer, payable on demand.
It is in cousequence of this obligation of constant repayment, that the bank can
only undertake investments essentially temporary, in order that it may have its
funds within its command at a short period.
“ It results from this constitution of banks of discount, that such institutions,
which, under ordinary circumstances, are of the greatest utility, become power­
less in moments of difficulty. They augment the intensity of crises, by the necessity
under which they are placed, of diminishing their credits at a moment when credits
are the most necessary.
“ But such, nevertheless, is the utility of these establishments, that we may en­
dure their inconveniences, in consideration of the considerable advantages which
they do afford.
“ The society general has a mission entirely different from that o f banks of
discount, and its constitution will not present any of the inconveniences inherent
in that form of credit.
“ The society general will promote industry, by way of commandite, by taking
shares or bonds in the principal companies constituted en sociele anonyme, and
particularly in such as have for their object the execution of public works.
“ It will contribute, also, to the formation of the fx e d capital, even of leading
companies, in contrast to banks of discount, which furnish, only under precarious
heads, but a portion of the floating funds of industry.”

The objectionable features which have always distinguished banks of
discount, issue, and deposit, are precisely as are set forth in this part of
the programme. From the necessity under which they labor of dimin­
ishing their credits in a moment of panic, they do “ augment the inten­
sity of crises.” The very essence o f their existence is, that the loans or
investments they make shall be temporary. They really do furnish only
“ a portion of the floating funds of industry.” But the mission of the
Credit M obilier is different from this. Not only will the society encour­
age industry by way of commandite or limited liability, by taking shares




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423

and bonds in all kinds o f stock companies, particularly railway compa­
nies, but it will contribute to the formation-of {he fixed capital of leading
companies in direct contradistinction to discount banks.
If the Credit Mobilier Company is actually to be treated as an institu­
tion, with banking facilities, that is, if it receives funds on deposit, liable
to be called for at any time ; if it uses those funds in the discount of the
paper of commerce, or in advances upon stocks and shares, we see no rea­
son why this branch of its operations should not be subject to the same
criticisms which have always been held to apply to this class of institu­
tions.
The funds which a bank can safely lend to a merchant, says Adam
Smith, are not the funds with which he carries on his business, nor the
greater part o f those funds; but only that portion of them which the
trader would otherwise be under the necessity of keeping on hand to meet
his accruing obligations. If the advances of a bank never exceed this,
they will never exceed the amount which the circulation can absorb, and
which, if there was no paper money, would exist in gold and silver. The
fundamental principle o f these advances, moreover, consists in their con­
tinual return, at certain short intervals of time. The operations of dis­
counting, therefore, do not, in reality, or should not, embrace advances
for the fixed capital o f individuals or companies; those advances should
be rigidly' confined to the circulating or floating capital o f society. Be­
tween advances on fixed and advances on circulating capital, there is a
great and fundamental distinction.
The fixed capital of an operator is that portion of his stock which exists
in tools, machines, and buildings necessary to carry on his enterprises.
Similarly the fixed capital of society consists of railways, canals, means of
communication, or of public utility of any kind, which require an expen­
diture to originate and keep in order. Circulating or floating capital is
all that portion of the gross capital not fixed and realized in any of those
forms. This portion of capital pays the wages of labor and the materials
or consumable goods destined for final or reproductive consumption. This
part of the capital is, therefore, continually in a state of motion ; it is
changing its form constantly. It goes away from its proprietor, if he is
a manufacturer, in the shape of wages and the cost of materials, and re­
turns to him in the payments which he receives for his goods finished up
ready for the market, augmented by a profit. If he is a merchant who
merely buys and sells, the motion is even more simple. Now, if there
was no such thing as commercial credit, there would be no use o f dis­
count banks, for the greater part of their means o f usefulness would be
wanting. But the introduction of commercial credit, by which the pro­
ducer or merchant sells his goods to his customer on condition of payment
at some future specified time, and receives from him, as an acknowledg­
ment of that debt, a bill or note whose maturity shall coincide with that
term of credit, brings into play the functions of banks of discount.
The funds which, without the existence of these banks, would be lying
dead in these acknowledgments of debt, would be so immense as seriously
to retard commercial progress ; or rather commercial progress could not
have been so largely developed if they had never been introduced.
But the introduction of the business of discounting gives circulation to
this dead capital, enables the producer to continue his production unim­
paired, and the merchant to continue bis operations of buying and selling;




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France.

and the means by which this circulation is given, is by the issue o f bills,
in convenient amounts, payable on demand at the counter o f the bank, in
exchange for the securities o f the merchant or manufacturer, and which
bills circulate the same as metallic money.
N ow , it is only from this— the circulating— portion o f the gross capital
o f an individual or o f society, that any profit is extracted. A ll the capi­
tal which exists in any community, in a fixed state, which does not circu­
late from hand to hand, which remains fixed and realized in any machine,
railway, or other work o f public improvement, is so much dead stock,
without the agency o f the circulating or floating ca p ita l; and it is con ­
tinually making drafts upon this latter capiLal for maintenance and sup­
port. If, therefore, the floating capital is not sufficient to maintain and
support these works in their functions o f utility, they will gradually de­
preciate, and the value which it originally cost to erect them, be entirely
lost to the community. A state o f things similar to this in character, if
not in extent, has produced, in the different countries o f the world, finan­
cial crises. There has been an extension o f railway enterprises, for in­
stance, a mania far beyond the power o f the floating capital to support
and maintain. The companies have been in the market as eager bor­
rowers ; they have absorbed a quantity o f floating capital which was
wanted to continue employments already in existence ; and if sifted to
the bottom, there is no doubt that the events o f 1857 were brought about
mainly through the absorption o f funds by these great companies. But
without the recital o f any special fact that has ever occurred, it is plain
that all such enterprises which represent the fixed capital o f society, must
have their origin in the first place, and must then depend for support and
maintenance upon the floating capital. The legitimate extent o f the
transfer o f capital from the floating to the fixed state, must be limited to
the extent o f the accumulations o f floating capital, and to the extent that
they can be spared from that portion o f the capital o f the community.

To increase, therefore, the fixed capital of society, that is, to increase
all such methods o f employing the gross capital, as are represented by
tools and machines, by railways, canals, and all works of public or indus­
trial improvement, there must be an increase or an accumulation of the
floating capital beyond what is immediate!}7 necessary for re-employment
in modes already existing. If the floating capital of an individual, a
manufacturer, for instance, is only sufficient to continue the employments
o f paying wages and buying materials, he is precluded from purchasing
additional machines or adding to his out-buildings. If, in such a case, he
makes a transfer from his floating to his fixed capital, he will be unable
to meet, satisfactorily, his accruing obligations; his credit will immedi­
ately become strained; he will add one more to the class of uneasy bor­
rowers who meet us at every step. He has taken a certain portion of
available funds, and he has placed it in a position in which it is not avail­
able, and the consequences are sufficiently apparent. But if he waits
long enough for his accumulations of floating capital to be beyond his
immediate and accruing wants, a transfer from the floating to the fixed
portion of his capital is an operation that is not attended with any dan­
ger, either to himself or the community at large.
If such is the case in one individual instance, it is the same with regard
to all the individuals who compose a nation. It is true, that observations
which apply to a whole nation, are not so clear as in individual cases.




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425

W e cannot put our finger upon them so readily. They are more involved
in intricate and extensive series o f operations. But we cannot forget, at
the same time, that principles are just as inevitable in their workings;
that the aggregated mass of national operations is the plain result of so
many individual acts, and that every such individual becomes involved in
the general results.
If, therefore, the Credit M obilier Company has been able to show
clearly, that of the gross capital of France there is a great accumulation
beyond the immediate and accruing wants; or, if it can show that the
successive accumulations o f floating capital, which take place naturally
from year to year, in ordinary employments, have formed an aggregate
which is strongly possessed of the desire to flow into those great schemes,
which it is the design of the Credit M obilier to advance; and if it can
show further that there do not exist channels enough to enable it to
flow, and that the Credit M obilier is the instrument by which those chan­
nels are to be made, then this company would be, if properly guarded, of
fundamental value to France. But, if on the other hand it has failed to
make this appear in a clear lig h t; if it is more apparent that what France
lacks is capital itself, and not opportunities for its employment; and if we
connect this afflicting doubt with the fact that all the efforts of the Credit
M obilier do not tend to create one dollar’s worth additional of consumable
goods, it will then seem that the Credit Mobilier is an institution for the
purpose o f developing a mania for speculation. Its evident tendency is
to absorb the floating capital, to fix it in a situation where it will not be
available, and where it will experience a hopeless depreciation.
“ The superiority of the constitution of the society general,” we are again in­
formed by the programme, “ consists in the scheme which it includes for the
emission of obligations at long term, in such a manner, that the repayment of the
obligations will proceed, pari passu, with the redemption of the shares and bonds
which the society will hold in its port folio.
“ The society will also emit obligations at less than a year of time, (d’echeance ;)
but the amount of these (short) obligations will be held in sufficient restraint, and
will be in relation with current business.
“ The society general will have, consequently, nothing to fear from political, in­
dustrial, or commercial crises. On the contrary, we may affirm that it is at those
conjunctures when it will be able to render the greatest services ; for, being the
representative of a considerable number of enterprises, the character of a com­
pany of assurance, which it presents, will secure to its obligations preference
over all other particular investments, (placements.”)
A s the obligations proposed to be issued by the Credit M obilier consti­
tute a very important part o f the functions o f that establishment, it may
be well to inquire, at some length, into their nature and effects. In the
first place, according to the above statement, these obligations are divided
into tw o classes— obligations at lon g term, that is, over a year, and obli­
gations at less than a year o f term. The lim it to the issue o f the obliga­
tions at short time, is fixed by N o. 11 o f the statutes, as follows, v iz .:—
That these obligations, added to the sums received on account current or
deposit, shall not exceed twice the paid-up capital, (that is, shall not ex­
ceed 120,000,000 francs.) As the total amount o f obligations which the
society is authorized to emit by N o. 10 o f the statutes, is 600,000,000
francs, it follows that by far the greater portion o f the obligations are to
be at more than a year o f date. The obligations, according to the scheme
embraced in the first report o f the Credit M obilier Company in 1854, are




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France.

to be “ divided into amounts which will accommodate themselves to all
the wants o f the circulation,” and are to bear “ a regulated table, showing,
day by day, the interest o f which they are productive.” The first class o f
obligations, according to the same scheme, or those “ issued at short term,
will correspond to our several temporary placements o f funds. The se­
cond issued at a long term, and repayable by way o f sinking fund, will
correspond to lodgments o f the same nature which we may have made in
rentes, shares, or in bonds o f industrial companies.” The effect o f these
obligations, we are informed, will be “ to reduce, into active circulation,
(a mobihser,) the effects o f which they will be the exact representatives ;
and also assume, by their form, and by the facility with which they will
indicate, day by day, at a glance, the interest which attaches to them, the
character and the application o f credit money, ( monnaie fiduciaire.")
But further, “ the principle of these obligations being, not to be repayable,
except at a date corresponding with that of the effects which they represent in
our port folio, and to carry interest for the benefit of the holder, their emission
will find itself free from all inconveniences ; and will have for its consequences,
on the one hand, the application, to a useful purpose, of a considerable mass of
banking funds, (fonds de caisse.) and of capitals not employed, which, at present.,
are lost to the community ; and, on the other hand, these obligations will furnish
to all a means of deposit, (placement,) regular and permanent.”
“ Our obligations at short term,” the report adds, “ will be those wdiich will
principally perform the functions of money. The society will always have the
means of maintaining their level, and of avoiding all fluctuations arising from
variations of the rate of interest.”
It was further stated, that the gains to the society arising from the ex­
ercise o f this branch o f its functions, would consist “ in the difference be­
tween the rate o f interest borne by the obligations, and the rate at which
we shall employ the sum corresponding to their amount.”
Although it appears, from the passages quoted, that the design proposed
to be carried out by the obligations, as a whole, is to reduce, into active
circulation, the capitals, o f which the values received in exchange for the
obligations are the representatives, yet the qualification is introduced
that it is the obligations, only at short term, which will chiefly fulfill the
purpose o f money. The limit fixed to these short obligations is so nar­
row, that we cannot perceive that any extraordinary results are likely to
be accomplished by them. The bills in circulation by the Bank o f France
may be stated at an average o f 600,000,000 francs, (say $120,000,000.)
The sum o f the short obligations o f the Credit M obilier and o f the de­
posits on account current, shall not exceed 120,000,000 francs, say
$24,000,000. Assuming these deposits to be a m oiety o f the sum, the
total o f the short obligations cannot exceed 60,000,000 francs, or
$12,000,000, or only one-tenth o f the average circulation o f the Bank of
France.
But it is with regard to the issue o f its long-dated obligations, upon
which depends the practical application o f the scheme o f the consolidation
o f all commercial stocks, that the greatness and magnificence o f the aspect
o f the Credit M obilier appear in the strongest light. Assuming, as be­
fore, the amount o f the short obligations to be 60,000,000 francs, the ob­
ligations, at long term, may be extended to 540,000,000. These obliga­
tions are intended to supersede and replace, by one uniform security, all
the shares, bonds, etc., which the society may acquire.




France.

427

“ Followin'; the economy of the system, which serves as the basis of our so­
ciety, these obligations will have, not merely the security of a corresponding sum
of values acquired under the control of the government, and the reunion of which
will offer, by the application of the principle of mutuality, the advantages of the
compensation and division of risks, but they will also have, still further, the guar­
anty of a capital which we have placed, with this view, at a considerable
figure.
*
*
*
*
*
*
“ They are destined to become, in the hands of great numbers, a veritable,
portable savings bank ; aDd their introduction into the circulation will, more­
over, have the result of replacing, successively, all securities (litres) of which the
income is uncertain, (such as shares in industrial companies.) by the obligations
yielding the revenues, fixed and certain, of which we have spoken.
“ Further, far from exciting speculation, as some may believe who have mis­
understood the principle, nature, and end of our institution, the definitive result
of our operations will be to olfer, to all classes of fortunes, the means and the fa­
cility to realize, without peril, floating obligations at a fixed interest.”

Suchjs the embodiment o f the greatest principle which the Credit
Mubilier has in prospective.
It is held that, in consequence o f these obligations being payable only
p a ri passu with the values upon which they are issued, the “ society
will have nothing to fe a r fr o m political , industrial , or commercial crises .”
N ow , suppose the society should be able to get out its obligations at short
and long term to the extent, say o f 000,000,000 francs, what would they
be represented by ? Assume one-tenth o f them by promissory notes and
bills o f exchange, and nine-tenths by shares, bonds, etc., of industrial com ­
panies. Suppose, that in this position there should com e a crisis like that
o f 1817, in France, when every one is anxious to have his representatives
o f value converted into value itself, when stocks of all kinds depreciate,
and millions o f money are lost by that depreciation, how long would it
take for the depreciation o f the stocks which the Credit Mobilier holds
in its port-folio, to sink the whole o f its share capital o f 00,000,000. The
Credit Mobilier has nothing to fear from a crisis, it is said, because its
obligations arrive at maturity at the same time as the effects that the
society holds, and are canceled from the funds arising therefrom— that is,
that its obligations are, to all intents and purposes, inconvertible; but ob­
ligations, which, in a season of panic, are inconvertible, suffer an extensive
and rapid depreciation, and inflict bankruptcy and ruin upon the com m u­
nity.
But it may be urged, as a set-off against this, that the security of the
Credit Mobilier is better than that of any other stock company that it

may absorb, and that, even if nothing more is gained, it certainly is a
good purpose to substitute a better security for one which is not so good.
This brings forward, in a clear light, the real nature of this part of the
functions of the Credit M obilier , and it is one which is pointed out with
great distinctness by M. Forcade. It makes the society, in the exercise
of this function, but a bank of assurance ; that is to say, by the substitu­
tion of its own obligations in exchange for bonds and shares, the society
guaranties these bonds and shares. W hy not, then, give the guaranty
directly ? asks M. Forcade. W hy put forward the flimsy pretext of the
obligations becoming a circulating medium ?
It is scarcely necessary to point out the fundamental principles which
would prevent these obligations from circulating like bank notes. Those
who wish to pursue this inquiry, may, very profitably, consult M. For-




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France.

cade’s elaborate work on the Credit Mobilier, in which this point is treated
at great length.
W e are now provided with sufficient data to enable us to generalize, as
follows, with regard to the obligations to be issued by the Credit M o ­
bilier :—
That a fundamental part o f the scheme o f the society is the issue o f
obligations payable at a determined maturity ;
That these obligations are to be divided into short obligations, o f less
than a year o f term, and long obligations, o f over a year o f term ; the
former issued in the discount o f promissory notes and bills o f exch an ge;
and the latter issued in replacement o f bonds, shares, etc., which the so­
ciety may subscribe to or acquire;
That the obligations are to bear a regulated table, showing the interest
accruing upon them day by d a y ;
That upon the function o f the issue o f the long dated obligations de­
pends the scheme evinced, in the establishment of the society, for the
consolidation or conversion o f all commercial stocks;
That it is an assumption put forward with great confidence in the offi­
cial documents published by the society general, that the obligations will
perform the functions o f money like bank notes; and will, therefore, cause
to circulate the values which they represent;
That while this function appears to be held to apply to all the obliga­
tions, yet there is introduced a qualification by which it seems that it is
the obligations, at short term only, which will principally fulfill the func­
tions of m on ey ;
That the nature o f these obligations, whether at short or at long term,
from the fact o f their not being convertible into specie at the will o f the
holder, would prevent them from ever circulating alongside o f any ex­
changeable medium— bank notes, for instance— which is so convertible;
and that while the powerful guaranty o f the society may prevent any
great fluctuations o f the obligations in the market, yet they are, to all in­
tents and purposes, the same as any other scrip issued by a joint-stock
com pany or corporation, to be eventually canceled by gold and silver, or
that which is immediately convertible into gold and silver;
That the effect o f the issue o f the long-dated obligation is, to replace,
by a uniform security, all the effects which the society may acquire; but
that the power o f the extension o f the obligations to 60 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 j0 francs—
inasmuch as the ultimate security upon which they rest is a number of
stocks o f various enterprises subject to the action o f variable causes, and,
inasmuch, also, as the share capital o f only 60,000,000 francs does not
form a requisite guaranty for evidences o f debt o f ten times its amount— is
a grant dangerous, in the highest degree, to the prosperity o f a commer­
cial com m unity;
That as the society has not as yet made any progress in this branch of
its functions, the advantages represented to be derivable from them are
purely speculative.
But there is another important function o f the Credit M obilier which
has excited, more than any other, perhaps, attention and criticism. It is
as fo llo w s:—
“ Independently of the character of a banque induslrielle, which will distinguish
the society, the society will, also, like the Bank of France, undertake bans on
public stocks and shares; but these analogous operations, far from interfering with




France.

429

the Bank of France, will be eminently favorable to that establishment; for the
society general will make its advances, in the form known on the Bourse, by the
title of reports ; [that is, continuations of stocks and shares from one account day
to another.] It will lend, through the medium, and with the guaranty of the
stock brokers, (agents de change,) the whole of the value o f public funds or shares ;
while the Bank of France lends no more than a portion. The society will make
larger advances to the public than the Bank of France, and it will then be in a
position to borrow from the Bank of France on the deposit of the same securi­
ties.
“ The gains of the society will consist in the difference of interest between the
rate at which it lends to the public, and the rate at which it borrows from the
bank.”
“ In placing itself as the intermediate between the class of borrowers and the
Bank of France as the lender, the society will be able to render great services, on
the one side, to the holders of public stocks and shares ; and on the other, to the
Bank of France. The society will, by these means, augment the usefulness of
the bank—an establishment which, during fifty years, has rendered great services
to the country.
“ In fact, by means of the funds of which it will have the disposal, the society
will be able to reduce the rate paid for reports, [continuations from account to
account;] a rate, which, during two or three months, has amounted to 15 to 25
per cent, and has even exceeded 50 per cent on the best securities. Such a state
of things calls for an immediate remedy ; and there can be no remedy as effica­
cious as the establishment of this society.”

In order to be able fully to understand this part of the operations of the
Credit Mobilier, it will be necessary to give some account of the opera­

tions on the Paris Bourse, and which we condense from M. Forcade’s
work. These operations are divided, in the first place, into operations for
cash, ( complant,) and operations for time, (a termed] The values sold in
the cash operations are to be delivered within three days after sale. It is
in the negotiations on time that speculation shows itself in its liveliest
aspect.
The operations a terme are divided into marches ferin e and marches a
•prime.
The marche ferme is that operation by which the values negotiated must be
delivered and paid for at the time of liquidation or settlement. These settle­
ments are the first of every month for rentes; and the second and sixteenth of
every month for railway shares, shares o f the Credit Mobilier, Credit Fonder, etc.
Three cases may be distinguished in these operations. 1st. The seller has the
possession of the values sold, and the buyer has the money. In this case the
course is plain and simple ; 2d. The seller has not the values, but the buyer has
the money. In this case the seller has made what is called a rente a decmuert. in
the hope that the price of the stock he has sold will fall, and that he will thus
be able tmbuy, before liquidation, at a less price than he has sold, and reap a
profit. It the stock, however, should rise instead of falling, the seller, adecouierl,
must lose the difference, provided the purchaser demands the delivery of the
values ; 3d. The seller has the values, but the buyer has not the money. In this
case, if the stock rises in the market, there is no difficulty to the buyer, for he can
then sell out before settlement day at a profit. But if, during the interval, the
stock falls instead of rising, and so continues until the liquidation arrives, if the
buyer does not wish to realize the loss, and is anxious, at the same time, to meet
his obligations, and to preserve his position until the succeeding settlement day,
he must, of course, borrow the money to pay for the titles he has purchased.
Thus, when the moment of liquidation arrives, when the operations on time be­
come operations for cash, and are liquidated by the delivery of the values against
money, if they are put off, until the next liquidation, either by means of deport,
a charge paid for the security, if the securities are in demand and scarce, or by




430

France.

means of report, interest charge paid for the money, if the securities being
abundant, it is the money, which, relatively to the securities, is in demand and
scarce.

Th e marche a prim e binds the seller without binding the purchaser.
The following examples of this kind of operation are taken from P rou d ­
hon's Sptculateur a la Bourse.
I purchase at 1,055 francs. 50 shares of the Northern Railway, on which 10—
that is, I intend to limit my loss to 10 francs per share, or 500 francs for the
whole. If, at the maturity, Northern should fall to 1,030 francs, I abandon to
the seller the premium of 10 francs per share, and the sale becomes canceled. I
lose 500 francs, while, if I had lost the whole amount of the fall, it would have
been 1,250 francs. But, if Northern rises to 1,060, the seller cannot refuse to
hold to his engagement, the right of annulling the bargain being held only by the
purchaser.
The premium is counted on the capital. In money, the 50 shares would have
cost me 52,750 francs
Another example. Tou purchase, on premium, (a prime,) 1,500 francs, of 3 per
cent rentes, at 80 francs 50 centimes current rate, of which 40.250 francs is the
capital ; (that is, as 100 : 80.50 : : 1,500 interest, of a capital at 3 per cent of
50,000 : 1,207.50 interest, of a capital at same rate of 40,250 )
You pay, in cash, the premium of 500 franc3. If, at maturity, you take the
lot, you have only to pay 39,750 francs. But, at the end of the mouth, the 3 per
cents are only 79 ; that is, the 3 per cents represent a capital of only 39,500
francs. Y ou lose, therefore, 750 francs. You, therefore, abandon your 500
francs, and the sale is void. The seller, therefore, profits by the amount of the
premium, If, on the qontrary, the 3 per cents are at 81, you take them, and are
benefited by the difference between the rate at 80.50 and 81.

These are the principal operations on the Paris Bourse. There are, of
course, thousands of modifications to which they may give rise, but they
must all depend upon these methods of operations. Let us see now what
course may be pursued by the Credit M obilier in this vast field of opera­
tions.
The statutes of the society forbid it to make sales a decouvert and pur­
chases a prime, but it is free to pursue all other operations. The society
may make advances in the way of reports ; that is, if a stock jobber makes
a bad bargain on the Bourse; if he has bought stocks that have fallen
since the purchase, he can carry these stocks to the Credit Mobilier, and
he can receive advances on them to liquidate at settlement day. He,
therefore, has the power of holding the stocks, and directs all his efforts,
before the next settlement day, to cause a rise. One of the principal
merits of the Credit Mobilier which is put forth is, that it will l>e able to
reduce the rate paid for rep orts; that is, that this merit consists in sus­
taining the stock jobbers in their time bargains and speculative operations
on the Bourse. The whole of the funds which it receives on deposit, or
account current, the Credit M obilier can devote to making advances on
reports. It is continually in communication with the most skillful specu­
lators in stocks. The knowledge which this circumstance enables it to
bring to bear on the purchase and sale of values, united to its great com­
mand of capital, makes it one of the most powerful and competent players
on the Bourse. “ It cannot make sales a decouvert," says M. Forcade,
“ but it can buy, on time, values which it is in a condition to pay for, and
can sell, on time, the values which it has in its port-folio. It is forbidden
from purchasing by premiums, but it can sell in that form. In a word,




France.

431

in devoting itself to these operations, it loans, it sells, it buys, by way o f
speculation, in having about it, beyond the advantage o f information as­
sured by its position, a superiority o f capital, and its character o f a stock
company.”
It was against this branch o f the operations of the Credit M obilier
that M. Berryer, in an action brought against the company by M. Goupy,

delivered himself o f that most withering invective, which has been so
often quoted. It will bear repetition :—
“ I do not know ,” said he, “ if, since 1828, M. Goupy has frequented the
B ou rse; but suppose he has, who is it that reproaches him with it? L a
Societe de Credit Mobilier ; that is to say, the greatest gam bling house
which the world has ever seen. W e must not be misled by words. These
are magnificent ones, I k n o w ; the protection o f industry, the enfranchise­
ment o f the national credit, the development o f private credit, the con ­
solidation of all commercial stocks— a dream. A ll that is the surface ;
they have given gam bling a new name ; they call it in their reports the
industry o f credit. The industry o f cre d it! W h a t is that ? These
twenty-eight millions o f profit, how have they been produced ? They are
not due to the prosperity o f the enterprises in which the Credit Mobilier
has taken a share, and to whose aid it has brought the greatest influence.
N o ; they are the realizations which represent the difference between, the
price at which they sell, and the price at which they buy. It is gam bling
which has produced them. Y ou are, then, an institution o f public utility ;
you have limited liability, and you p la y ; you are irresponsible, and you
gam ble; you are a bank o f play which sees the cards, etc., etc.” *
The Credit M obilier Company has not, however, been able by any

means, to carry out to the full extent, the ideas enunciated by its origi­
nators. It has, however, greatly assisted and facilitated the railway con­
struction. It is an active co-operator and large subscriber in the system
of the government loans, which has recently been inaugurated ; and has
undertaken and successfully accomplished many gigantic operations, call­
ing for large investments of fixed capital.
The company, not having been free to issue its long-dated obligations,
has not extended its sphere o f action to so great an extent as the exer­
cise o f that function would enable it to do. The principal part o f the
available funds, over and above its share capital, within the command o f
the company, are those which it receives on deposit, or, as it is called,
account current. A ccord in g to Mr. M cCulloch, who has had the advan­
tage o f local information, these deposits are held by the company, “ re­
payable either at call, or at 5, 10, 30 days’ notice, and the term o f
notice is determined by the amount o f the d eposit; the amount at call
being limited, in each case, to sums not exceeding 25,000 francs; 2d.
That though these are the terms o f notice yet in practice, the company
has not availed itself o f its right to require such n o tice ; 3d. That the
deposits consist chiefly o f moneys belonging to railroad companies, whose
works are in progress; and that, as in every case, at least one o f the di­
rectors of these companies belongs to the council o f the Credit M obilier ,
the latter has always in practice notice o f the time when the money will
be asked for ; 4th. That the deposits, other than the moneys o f such rail­
* This translation is taken from an article in the Encyc. Britannica, 8th edition, on the Credit
Jilubilier, by Mr. McCulloch.




432

France.

road companies, are only from 1,250,000 to 1,500,000 fran cs; 5th.(That
a uniform rate o f interest, at 2$ per cent, is given by the Credit Mobilier
for all such sums.”
Additional information and details, with regard to this great institution, may
be found in Porcade’s Critique on the Credit Mobilier, published in the Revue
des Deux Mondes for April and May, 1856; Tooke’s History of Prices, vol.
vi. ; Proudhon’s Specvlateur a la Bourse; the article “ Credit Mobilier,” in the
Encyclopedia Britannica, 8th edition, by Mr. McCulloch; and in the annually
published reports of the society; the details of which reports, however, are gene­
rally meagre and unsatisfactory.
The follow ing is the last annual statement published by the “ Society
Generale de Credit M obilier,” showing its condition on the 1st January,
1859 :*•—
ASSE TS.
F IX E D

IN V E S T M E N T S .

In rentes and shares................................................ francs
In obligations or bonds.......................................................

80,384,810
1,576,9 21
---------------

81,961,731

4,625,119
10,173,864
29,663,842
--------------C a sh .................................................................................................................
Balancein Bauk of France..............................................................................
Sundry assets................................................................................................

44,462,825
1,757,384
10,892,788
2,559,432

F L O A T IN G

IN V E S T M E N T S .

Discounts..............................................................................
Advances on reports............................................................
Advances on shares and bonds................................. . . . .

141,634,161
L I A B IL I T I E S .

Capital....................................................................................................francs
Accounts current or deposits.......................................................................
Sundry liabilities............................................................................................
Arrear dividends to p a y ....................... .....................................................
Interest to pay on capital stock, for the year 1858, at rate of 5 percent,
or 25 francs per share................................................................................
Reserve fund...................................................................................................
Balance of profit and loss account..............................................................

60,000,000
63,194,603
3,997,648
18,212
3.000.
000
2.000.000
9,423,697
141,634,160

In order to show the ample field which the Credit M obilier presents for
speculative purposes, it is only necessary to say that the market price of
its shares fluctuates all the way from 5 per cent to over 100 per cent pre­
mium. The shares in January, 1859, were sold for 1,057$ francs, while
in June, o f the same year, they were quoted at only 557$ ; the par value
being 500.
* For the reports of previous years, see Merchants' Magazine for July, 1S58, page 89, volume
xxxix.




433

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States.

Art. III.— COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CITIES OF THE UNITED STATES.
NUM BER

L X IX .

NEW BU RYPORT, M ASSACH U SETTS.
E A R L Y S E T T L E M E N T — S T E R I L E S O IL — P A R K E R

R I V E R — S E T T L E M E N T — T O W N O F N E W B E R R Y — F IN E S

F O R W E A R I N G S I L K S — C O R R E C T I O N A L P R O C E E D IN G S — F I R S T W I I A I I F — D O L E — B U I L D I N G

V E SSELS—

B A N K — C H U R C H E S — E A R L Y M A N U F A C T U R E S - S E P A R A T I O N O F N E W B U R Y P O R T — P O P U L A T IO N — T R A D E
— M A N U F A C T U R E S — S H I P P I N G — E M B A R G O — G R E A T F I R E — IT S E F F E C T S — C O M M E R C E — M A N U F A C T U R E S
— C O T T O N M I L L S — 8 I I I P -B U I L D I N G — V E S S E L S B U I L T A N D T O N N A G E O W N E D — IM P O R T S A N D

EXROUT8

— C IT Y I N C O R P O R A T E D — P O P U L A T I O N — F I S H I N G S H O E M A K E R S — R E T R 0 8 P E C T — L O C A T I O N A N D

AD­

V A N T A G E S OF N E W B U R Y P O R T — E L E M E N T S O F IT S R E V I V A L .

N ewdurtport , in Massachusetts, was one o f the earliest settled o f the
Am erican cities, and if it has not becom e a great seaport in the two cen­
turies o f its existence, it is m ore due to the sterile nature o f the country
which surrounds it, than to any lack o f enterprise am ong its hardy and
intelligent settlers. I f the soil denied a surplus for export, the restless
genius o f the people has converted the rocky sites on tumbling streams
into sources o f that wealth, which, in spite o f nature, has accumulated
in Newburyport. W e are indebted to the N ew England M agazine for a
sketch o f its origin :—
In 1035, the region between Parker River (a little stream w hich now
divides the towns o f Newbury and R ow ley) and the Merrimac, then called
Quaseacunquen, was “ allowed,” according to the colonial records, to be­
com e a plantation by the name o f “ Newberry.” The settlement was
made on the left bank o f the River Parker, where, it appears, Newbury
built her first vessels and established her early commerce. It does not
appear that the settlement extended to the Merrimac until 1638, when
three thousand new-comers from England were forced to look out new
plantations. Soon the Merrimac absorbed the com m erce o f the little
River Parker, in spite o f the fact, stated by one historian, that vessels o f
fifty or sixty tons could pass up that stream “ to the doores o f the inhab­
itants, whose habitations are pitched neere the banks on either side,” and
the change, which was ultimately to create the necessity for the division
o f the town, commenced. The town of Newbury grew, like the other
towns o f the colony, and its early history is much like theirs. It had its
Indian troubles and its internal vexations. The inhabitants were scattered
over a large territory, and so they had to discuss the question o f remov­
ing their house o f worship, and while they contended, a whirlwind trans­
ported it a considerable distance in a direction desired by neither party.
Some men made profane jests, and the records quaintly set forth the pun­
ishment awarded to them. W om en, whose husbands were not able to
make their ability to sustain such extravagance apparent to the authori­
ties, were fined for wearing silks ; the town failed to Maintain correctional
instruments for man and beast— stocks for the one, and pound for the
other— and it was “ presented” to the cou rt; some who so far forgot the
proprieties of good citizenship as to entertain Quakers, were fined and
admonished, and two o f the guests were hanged at Boston— an adequate
expiation o f the offence, it should seem ; there were troubles in the
church, between minister and people, and thereon there were many hear­
ings before the magistrates. A ll the while, the trade o f the town was
VOL. x l i .— no . iv.
28




434

Commercial and Industrial Cities o j the United States :

gravitating towards the river-side, and in the twentieth year after the
settlement on the River Parker, the first grant of land for wharf purposes
was made, and in the succeeding year the wharf was built by the larger
river. Twenty years after, merchant Dole, w ho had, it appears, waxed
fat upon the profits o f his business transactions by the River Parker, built
another wharf and dock near what is now the center o f Newburyport,
and several grants for similar purposes were made within a few years
from this time. The business o f building vessels had, at this period, been
commenced on the Merrimac, and Newbury had quite a valuable maritime
business, which rapidly extended itself, notwithstanding its occasional
sufferings at the hands o f pirates; and in 1721, the spirit o f enterprise
was so rife that a bank— one of the famous and ruinous land banks— was
established. B y the time N ewbury was a century old, its general char­
acter had so far changed, and the new town, o f w hich we are now writ­
ing, had becom e so far developed, that there was a talk o f new houses of
worship by the water side, and in a year or two a new Episcopal Church
— St. Paul’s— was formed, and an edifice was erected.

W ith the growth o f commerce, manufactures necessarily sprung up,
and added their share to the prosperity o f the place. Just one hundred
years ago, a self-educated mechanic, with no other knowledge of the
trade than that which common-sense had taught him, commenced the
manufacture of combs, and laid the foundation for a business still suc­
cessfully prosecuted to some extent, and now probably the largest business
of West Newbury, which in those days had no separate existence.
In 1763, the water-side people made their first attempt to free them­
selves from their connection with the farmers who lived on the plain be­
yond the ridge, and Newburyport was incorporated in 1764, with 630
acres o f area. Its character was well developed, and appeared to be fixed
and established for the w hole term o f its duration. It had a considerable
population for the times, (2,282,) and the people were devoted to mari­
time affairs, and to those branches o f the mechanic arts which are neces­
sary to the prosecution o f commercial enterprises; it was the market
town for a thriving agricultural country surrounding it ; and, in those
days o f stage-coach travel, it was, by its distance from Boston, situated
without the radius o f that circle o f attraction, which is always tending
to centralize the business o f many small towns in that o f one, havingsuperior local or other advantages. A s an independent town, it grew in
wealth and importance, but its advancement was checked by the revolu­
tionary troubles, which began almost immediately after its incorporation.
D uring the war the business o f carriage making was introduced into the
town, and at its close a brewery was established. The carriage-building
lias departed to other towns on the river. The brewery is not— we men­
tion it solely as a matter o f history. The census o f 1790 shows that the
town had grown quite rapidly, in spite o f the war, for its population num­
bered nearly five thousand persons, who were divided into nine hundred
and forty families, occupying over six hundred houses.
Its shipping
amounted to 11,870 tons, and embraced six ships, forty-four brigantines,
thirty-nine schooners, and twenty-eight sloops.
The W est India and
other similar com m erce was probably the most im portant; the number
o f vessels o f the class now used for coasting and fishing appears quite
small in proportion, when compared with the statements of shipping
made at the present day. The shipping increased in extent until 1807,




Newburyport, Massachusetts.

435

the increase being confined to vessels of the larger class; but at that
time commerce was paralyzed by the embargo laid by the general gov­
ernment. This measure caused as much excitement, and raised as vigor­
ous opposition, in Newburyport, as it did in other maritime towns. After
two years, the embargo was repealed, and, as a- consequence, twenty-one
ships, thirteen brigs, and eight smaller vessels, measuring twelve thousand
tons, were built on the Merrimac in the course of the succeeding year.
The embargo inflicted a great injury upon the prosperity o f the tow n;
the centralizing tendency o f the time detracted from its recuperative
powers; and the larger cities, in recovering what they themselves had
lost, were sure to take a portion of the trade which had before belonged
to the smaller seaports. One more blow was to be given to the enter­
prise of the town. In 1811, Newburyport was visited by “ the great fire,”
of which the older inhabitants still talk, and the effects o f which are still
visible in the vacant land, unfitted by its location for homesteads, and un­
occupied now as formerly by warehouses. The conflagration swept away
dwelling-houses, stores, and public buildings; every printing-office was
destroyed, and the loss was reckoned at one million o f dollars. The
effect of this severe disaster upon the general prosperity o f the town will
be best understood by a glance at the census of population. In 1810,
the population was stated to be 7,634, and it had increased considerably
in the first half of the previous decade; in 1820, it was 6,858 — a loss of
over nine per cent; in 1830, it was 6,741, having remained during ten
years substantially stationary. During the next term the town gained
considerably, in consequence of the erection of several cotton mills, but
even so late as 1840, it had not fully recovered its lost ground in the item
o f population.
W ith the conclusion o f the last war, the third period in the history o f
Newburyport was opened. From being the workshop o f a large agricultuial community, it had become a flourishing seaport.
The course of
events now called upon her to assume a new character. Foreign com ­
merce fell oft', and is now almost entirely abandoned ; the fishing business
increased, and, perhaps we may say, has now attained its full grow th, for
even that business is being centralized, finding its most congenial home
on Cape A n n ; the business o f ship-building was still pursued, and al­
though it is very little, if indeed it is any larger than it was half a cen­
tury since, it has contributed much towards the advancement o f the
northerly section o f the town, and, by furnishing employment to kindred
branches o f industry, has been o f much value to the place. But the in­
dustry o f the town was to be turned towards manufactures. In 1836,
the first steam cotton mill was erected by the Essex Manufacturing Com ­
pany. This mill, which ran 6,700 spindles, and annually manufactured
1,600,000 yards o f cloth, continued in existence until 1856, when it was
destroyed by fire. The profits o f the concern were not sufficient to in­
duce the company to rebuild, and the wharf on which it stood is now
occupied for mercantile purposes. The Bartlett Steam Mills, erected in
1 8 3 6 -4 0 , ran 18,000 spindles. The James Mills, erected in 1844, con ­
tained 17,100 spindles. The Globe Mills, erected in 1845, ran 12,500
spindles. The cotton manufacturing business was extended until 1855,
when the six mills in operation, viz., the Essex, Bartlett, (tw o mills,) James,
Globe, and Ocean, owned by five companies, ran 64,640 spindles, con ­
sumed 1,890,600 pounds o f cotton, produced 10,501,835 yards o f cloth,




436

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States:

valued at $790,273, and furnished em ploym ent to 441 males and 879
females. The amount o f capital invested in the business was $1,180,000.
In 1850, as has been before stated, the Essex Mills, the smallest o f those
above named, was destroyed by fire, and its affairs were closed up. Nearly
two hundred persons were thrown out o f employm ent by this means, and
the productive industry o f the town wras by just so much diminished.
The cotton manufacture can scarcely be said, in a general sense, to have
been successful in this p la ce ; it has, it must be acknowledged, added
som ething to the population, but it has not added to the general wealth,
or aggregate prosperity, in a proportionable degree. W e do not under­
stand that it has given fortunes to the few, or that it has raised the many
from poverty to moderate competency.
By the State census the manufactures o f New buryport were, in 1855,
as follow s:—
Cotton mills, 6 ; spindles, 64,040 ; cotton consumed, 1,890,600 pounds ;
cloth manufactured, 10,501,835 yards, sheets, shirtings, drillings, and
printing cloth s; value o f cloth, $ 7 9 0 ,2 7 3 ; capital, $1 ,180 ,0 00 ; males
employed, 4 4 1 ; females em ployed, 87 9.
Forges, 42 ; bar iron, anchors, chain cables, and other articles of
w rought iron manufactured, 600 to n s; value o f bar iron, &c., $84,000 ;
capital, $ 1 4 ,0 0 0 ; hands employed, 84.
Furnaces for the manufacture o f hollow ware and castings other than
pig iron, 1 ; hollow ware and other castings manufactured, 300 to n s;
value o f hollow ware and castings, $ 3 5 ,0 0 0 ; capital, $ 8 ,0 0 0 ; hands em­
ployed, 14.
Establishments for the manufacture o f cotton, woolen, and other ma­
chinery, 1 ; value o f machinery manufactured, $20,000 ; capital, $8,000 ;
hands employed, 16.
Shops for the manufacture o f iron railing, iron fences, and iron safes, 1 ;
value o f iron railing, &c., $ 2 5,00 0; capital, $5,000 ; hands employed, 10.
Serapbine manufactories, 1 ; seraphines manufactured, 12 ; value of
musical instruments manufactured, $ 1 ,2 0 0 ; capital, $ 2 0 0 ; hands em­
ployed, 2.
Saddle, harness, and trunk manufactories, 2 ; value o f saddles, &c.,
$6,000 ; capital, $2,000 ; hands employed, 6.
H at and cap manufactories, 2 ; hats and caps manufactured, $2,000 ;
capital, $ 1 ,0 0 0 ; hands em ployed, 9.
Line manufactories, 5 ; value o f line manufactured, $24,500 ; capital,
$ 6 ,0 0 0 ; hands employed, 24.
Vessels launched during said year, 1 5 ; tonnage, 12,794 ton s; value,
$650,000 ; capital, $100,000 ; hands em ployed, 540.
Establishments for the manutacture o f boats, 2 ; boats built, 40 ; value,
$ 3 ,0 0 0 ; capital, $1 ,0 0 0 ; hands employed, 4.
Masts and spar sheds, 2 ; value o f masts and spars manufactured,
$20,00u ; capital, $3,000 ; hands employed, 12.
Sail lofts, 4 ; sails made o f American fabric, (ships’ suits,) 2 5 ; value
o f sails manufactured o f American fabric, $47,000 ; Am erican duck used,
1 5 0 ,0 0 0 ; bolt-rope used, 18 ; capital, $10,000 ; hands employed, 23.
Istablishm ents for the manufacture o f railroad cars, coaches, chaises,
wagons, sleighs, and other vehicles, 4 ; value o f railroad cars, <fec., manu­
factured, $6 ,0 0 0 ; capital, $ 1 ,0 0 0 ; hands employed, 8.
Establishments for the manufacture o f soap and tallow candles, 4 ;




Newburyport, Massachusetts.

437

soap manufactured, 230,000 pou nds; value o f soap, $ 8 ,0 0 0 ; soft soap,
650 barrels ; value, $2,000 ; tallow candles manufactured, 180,000 pou n d s;
value o f tallow candles, $ 2 7 ,0 0 0 ; capital, $ 7 ,0 0 0 ; hands em ployed, 10.
Chair and cabinet manufactories, 4 ; value o f chairs and cabinet ware,
$ 3 ,0 0 0 ; capital, $ 8 0 0 ; hands employed, 4.
Com b manufactory, 1 ; value o f combs manufactured, $ 4 0 ,0 0 0 ; capi­
tal, $10,000 ; hands em ployed, 18.
Glue manufactory, and manufactory for the preparation o f gums, 1 ;
value o f glue and gums manufactured, $ 5 0 0 ; capital, $ 1 0 0 ; hands em­
ployed, $1.
Tannery, 1 ; hides o f all kinds tanned, 2 0 0 ; value o f leather tanned,
$500 ; capital, $100 ; hands employed, 1.
Boots o f all kinds manufactured, 4,400 pairs; shoes o f all kinds man­
ufactured, 424,000 pairs; value o f boots and shoes, $ 3 9 8 ,6 0 0 ; males
employed, 3 6 1 ; females employed, 238.
Bricks manufactured, 950,000 ; value o f bricks, $5,700 ; hands em­
ployed, 8.
Vessels employed in the mackerel and cod fisheries, 56 ; tonnage, 3,857
ton s; mackerel taken, 7,995 barrels; codfish taken, 15,000 quintals;
value o f mackerel taken, $ 8 6 ,0 0 0 ; value o f codfish taken, $ 3 0 ,0 0 0 ; cod
liver oil manufactured, 450 barrels; value, $9,000 ; salt consumed, 29,000
bushels; capital, $ ! 38,000 ; hands employed, 665.
H erring taken, 500 barrels; value o f same, $2,500.
A ll kinds o f sheep, 71 ; value o f sheep, $ 2 0 0 ; w ool produced, 200
pounds.
Horses, 465 ; value o f horses, $53,000 ; oxen over three years old, 74 ;
steers under three years old, 20 ; value o f oxen and steers, $4,500 ; milch
cows, 5 5 2 ; heifers, 3 6 ; value o f cows and heifers, $17,280.
Establishments for the manufacture o f casks, 3 ; capital, $ 1 ,5 0 0 ; casks
manufactured, 2 ,3 7 5 ; value, $4,750 ; hands em ployed, 8.
Establishments for the manufacture o f gas, 1 ; capital, $80,000 ; value
o f gas manufactured, $9,200 ; hands employed, 3.
Distillery, 1 ; capital, $ 5 ,0 0 0 ; liquors distilled, 1,600 barrels; value,
$ 1 7 ,5 0 0 ; hands employed, 4.
Bakeries, 4 ; capital, $ 1 2 ,0 0 0 ; flour consumed, 4,200 barrels; value o f
bread manufactured, $ 7 2 ,5 0 0 ; hands employed, 30.
Swine, 6 3 6 ; value, $12,720.
Milk produced, 229,000 gallons; value, $36,000.
Ship-building has been in a manner more successful than the cotton
manufacture, but rather incidentally than directly. Some master-work­
men, who have sailed the ships they built, have accumulated fortunes,
and their enterprise has probably contributed more than any other to the
welfare o f the best class o f the community— the middling interest men.
Mechanics em ployed in superior positions in the yards, and others engaged
in incidental pursuits— the smiths, mast-makers, sail-makers, boat-builders,
and perhaps some others, are prominent representatives o f this class. In
1856, one o f the largest and most enterprising o f the firms engaged in
ship-building suspended, and finally wound up its affairs, and since that
time the business, which, under the impulse given to it by the California
trade, was too much extended in the five years previous, has considerably
fallen o ff; too many ships were built; but as com m erce is constantly ex­
tending, and as vessels do not endure forever, it must shortly revive.
The tonnage built and owned in Newburyport has been as follow s:—




488

Commercial and Industrial Cities o f the United States.

Tears.

1855.................
1855.................
1857 ...............
1858 ...............

,----- B uilt.------ ,
No.
Tons.

11
12
6
10

8,535
7,979
4,749
4.049

,------------------------- Owned.-----------—----------- .
Registered. Coasting.
Codfish.
Mackerel.

30,84-1
25,596
24,587
8,919

6,408
2,029
____
____

2,032
2,076
2,340
1,851

1,432
1,263
3,610
4,271

Total
tons.

40,827
30,953
80,528
10,042

The registered tonnage, or that employed in the foreign trade, seems
rapidly to have disappeared, and that engaged in the coasting trade to
have been used in mackerel catching.
The imports and exports o f the city are as follow s:—
Tears.

1856 .............
1857 .............
1858 .............

Exports.

§65,101
71,080
67,579

.-------------------------Vessels entered.------------------------- ,
American.
Foreign.
Total.
No.
Tons.
No.
Tons.
N o.
Tons.

5
9
6

694
420
660

81
29
53

5,991
2,340
4,180

86
38
59

6,585
3,760
4,840

Imports.

$31,091
80,280
41,935

In 1850, a new division o f Newbury took place, and a portion o f the
town was annexed to Newbury port, which was thereupon incorporated as
a city. The population was then larger than it had been at any previous
period, and so it continued until 1855, when it was 13,357. The asses­
sors’ valuation shows this much— real estate has decreased in value during
the year 1858 to the amount o f about $75,000, though, according to the
same authority, the value o f personal property has increased in a some­
what larger degree.
There is another business which has grown to some importance in this
third period. The fishermen, who were em ployed in their principal vo­
cation i nly in the summer months, became, like the fishermen o f other
towns, shoemakers p r o tem. in the winter, and in this way a considerable
portion o f the population in the south part o f the town has com e to de­
pend mainly on this branch o f industry for its support.
"We may, then, sum up the history o f Newburyport somewhat in this
way. Founded as a commercial town, in the colonial days o f our coun­
try, it served a purpose in developing resources; without a producing
country in the rear, to serve as a poin t d'appui for its mercantile opera­
tions, and to sustain its trade against the centralizing influence o f larger
cities, such, for instance, as Portland has in the timber lands o f Maine,
its com m erce followed an inexorable law, and went to increase that of
other and larger cities. In the face o f this fact, a considerable portion
o f her capital has been persistently invested in mercantile business. The
ship builders and merchants own vessels which bear the names o f other
ports— which are never seen in the Merrimac after they once leave it—
which give employm ent to few or none o f the citizens o f the town ; and
the earnings o f which are invested in other vessels to be employed in the
same way. So the capital invested in this business is o f little benefit to
the town. It does not contribute to the support o f a permanent thrifty
population ; it adds little to the value of home property; it does scarcely
anything towards raising the town to the place she ought to occupy.
These things have led to the present condition o f the business o f N ew ­
buryport. In consequence o f these causes, the most enterprising o f her
sons are scattered all over the world, preaching, editing, teaching, mer­
chandising, benefiting by their talents the strangers am ong whom they
have settled. Thus much for the past and present o f the town. W e now
consider her future prospects.
W e have already alluded to the fine location which the people o f N ew ­
buryport enjoy, and we know o f no town in New England w hich has




439

China: its Trade.

more natural advantages, or which presents stronger attractions as a place
of residence. It needs, as we have seen, the aid of some certain and
profitable manufacturing business, conducted by resident employers, suffi­
cient in number to create a healthy competition for labor, and who, being
neighbors of the employed, are in a manner bound to them, a community
of interests between the two classes being thus secured. For the estab­
lishment of a manufacturing business, Newburyport offers inducements
which are seldom met with. The laborers are there; the cost of living
is lower there than in many New England towns o f its size; property is
cheap, and real estate may be had at prices which present a marked con­
trast with those which are obtained in other cities having less natural,
but greater artificial, advantages.
For all that can make any place attractive as a residence, Newburyport
is much more indebted to nature than to any efforts of her own. It is
located, as the reader well knows, two or three miles from the mouth of
the Merrimac, and, as possibly the reader does not know, the right bank
of the river, upon which the town is built, presents a considerable decliv­
ity, upon whose summit, extending for a distance of three miles or more,
is one of the finest avenues in New England. From various points, the
most charming views of the river, the town, and the bay, are to be ob­
tained upon the one hand, while upon the other, stretches a fertile cham­
paign country, dotted with neat farmhouses, and checkered with thrifty
fields. Parallel to this highway, and extending a mile or two beyond it,
across plains and marshes, to Plum Island, is the street by the river side.
Upon and between these two avenues, which are from a quarter to half a
mile apart— the distance varying with the sinuosities of the river— the
town is principally built, being laterally bi-seeted by State-street, (a con­
tinuation of the Boston turnpike road,) which, from its location, has be­
come a principal business locality, dividing with Market-square, in which
it terminates, the traffic of the town ; the street being the mart of the
finer sorts of goods, while the producers, sellers, and purchasers o f sub­
stantial resort to the square.

Art. IV.— C II I N A : I T S

TRADE.

C H A N G E IN P O L IC Y — A T T R A C T I O N S OF I N T E R E S T — E X T E N T OF C O U N T R Y — I T S S U R F A C E — R IV E R S — M E A N S
O F C IV I L I Z A T IO N — C O U R S E A N D E X T E N T — P O P U L A T IO N — P O V E R T Y O F T H E P E O P L E — C A U S E OF R E B E L *
L IO N — P R E S E N T
P H Y S IC A L
AND

R E B E L L IO N — M IG R A T I O N T O

C A L IF O R N I A — C IV I L I Z A T IO N — E F F I C IE N C Y

A T T R I B U T E S — T E M P E R A M E N T — R E L I G I O N — N A T IO N A L

S A I L O R S — P O P P Y — T O B A C C O — P R O D U C T IO N S — T E A — S I L K — T E A

CREASE

OF C O N S U M P T IO N — I T S

VALUE— AGGREGATE

OF

LAW S—

V A N IT Y — P H IL O S O P H Y — C H IN E S E
C A R R IE D

P R O D U C T IO N — S I L K

TO

E N G L A N D — IN ­

E X P O R T S — C O M P E T IT IO N

W I T H M A N U F A C T U R E R S — E N O L A N D T O M A N U F A C T U R E S I L K S F O R C H IN A — P R O S P E R I T Y O F C O M M E R C E

■— l o r d E l g in ’ s

t r e a t y — a m o o r r i v e r — o p iu m t r a d e — i t s

grow th

T H E O P IU M T R A D E U PON S I L V E R — F I R S T K N G L I 8 H IN T E R C O U R S E W I T H
PO RTS— PROBABLE
T U R E S — SH ANGH AE

DEM AND— GEN ERAL
TR A D E — EFFECT

C O N D IT IO N

and

e x t e n t — effect

of

C H IN A — W O O L E N GOO DS— I M ­

OF T H E P E O P LE — L A R G E

IN T E R N A L

M AN U FAC­

OF T H E W A R — T R A D E F O R 1 8 5 7 — A R T IC L E S OF IM P O R T — N U M ­

B E R OF V E S S E L S — E N G L IS H C A P I T A L — A M E R IC A N V E S S E L S .

A fter centuries o f the most profound quiet, the spirit of change seems
to have invaded the hitherto mysterious East, and daily increasing interest
attaches to the concerns o f the vast Empire of China and its vicinage. The
alleged antipathy of the Chinese to intercourse with foreigners, seems to




440

C hina: its Trade.

have originated with the policy of the government, rather than in the senti­
ments of the people. That polic\ seems to have changed, or to be in a
state of change, and the great law of interest attracts the people to interna­
tional intercourse.
The proper country of the Chinese people contains an area of about
1.400.000 square miles— full twelve times the size of the United Kingdom .
It extends from near the 18th degree o f latitude to the 4 0th degree, and
has a breadth and length of about 1,500 miles each. Some portion of it,
therefore, is within the tropic, while part o f Chinese Tartary has climates
approaching in severity to the temperature o f Siberia. About one-half of
the surface of China is said to consist o f mountains, with, however, frequent
fertile valleys between; while the other is an alluvial, well watered, and,
therefore, fertile plain. Two mighty rivers, with numerous affluents and
branches, are striking characteristics o f the physical geography of China.
These traverse the whole country from west to east, disemboguing in the
Yellow Sea. To their existence must be ascribed much of the civilization
o f China, since at one and the same time they multiplied the fertility o f the
land and afforded cheap and easy means o f intercommunication. The two
rivers in question are the Yangtse to the south, and the Iloangho, or Y el­
low River, to the north. The first o f these is the greatest river o f the Old
W orld, and the American rivers only are comparable to it. It is said to be
navigable for eight hundred miles by vessels o f considerable burden, and is
certainly so for two hundred miles for ships o f the line. On the banks o f
the river are situated some o f the largest commercial cities o f China, and
the plain watered by itself, its affluents, and branches, is peopled by one
hundred millions o f inhabitants, or twenty-seven parts out o f one hundred
o f the whole population o f the empire. The Yellow River, although also
important, is of much inferior value to the Yangtse. The population of
China, according to the census of 1813— and there is no ground to believe
that it has since diminished, amounted, in round numbers, without includ­
ing its northern dependencies, to 362,000,000, which is equal to six times
the population o f the Russian Empire, and full twelve-fold that of .he United
Kingdom . The population is very unequally distributed, following, as is to
be expected, with a people chiefly agricultural, the ratio o f the fertility of
the land. In spite o f its fertility, and the means which it possessed o f main­
taining its population, China is an over-peopled country. The mass o f the
laboring classes do not earn above eight cents a day, while the necessaries
o f life are as dear as in England ; and it is poverty that drives the people
into brigandage, rebellion, and emigration ; and has, also, in fact, been the
cause o f the present rebellion, which has now lasted five years. Emigration
has been going on among them for two centuries, and is now more rife than
ever. In search o f gold they have gone to California and Australia, in each
o f which countries there are believed to be at present 50,000 Chinese la­
borers. The civilization o f the Chinese goes back almost historically for
4.000
years'. Immemorially the Chinese have lived under the same laws

and institutions ; and these, however imperfect in the judgment of civilized
Europeans, have been sufficient to give such security to life and property as
to have created a stability, industry, and ingenuity unknown in any other
country of Asia. In physical strength and vigor of constitution, the Chinese
are far superior to any other Asiatic people; and in their capacity of bear­
ing alternations of climate, they are even superior to Europeans. The sen­
suality of the Chinese is undisguised, and they are the least imaginative people




C hina: its Trade.

441

in the world— the very antithesis o f the poetic temperament. W ith many
superstitions, they have little religion and no bigotry— the only exception
to their religion being what had been called “ worship o f ancestors ” — a
powerful sentiment which kept them by the tombs o f their forefathers,
which, indeed, they never quitted without the hope o f returning to them.
The national vanity o f the Chinese is egregious, and they admit of no equals.
This has evidently arisen from their having never known equals. All the
nations in their neighborhood are infinitely below them in sense and civili­
zation. The politics and philosophy o f the present Chinese are those o f
Confucius, who was a contemporary o f Pythagoras, who lived 2,400 years
ago ; and o f Mentius, who was a contemporary of Aristotle. The Chinese
are bad sailors and worse soldiers. Their ships are unsightly and clumsy,
and are probably constructed much as they were 2,000 years ago. They
received the Indian religion of Buddha in the second century of the Chris­
tian era, and from India they had cotton and the art o f weaving it as late
as the thirteenth century. Even within the comparatively short period they
have been known to Europeans, they have submitted to considerable changes.
The poppy, an exotic o f China, was made known to the Chinese by the
Mahomedan merchants, who frequented their country before Europeans. It
is at present largely and openly cultivated by them. The Chinese have
long received and extensively cultivated and used tobacco and maize, and
the manufacture of the Prussian blue, or the prussiate o f iron, which used
at one time to be a considerable article o f import from England into China,
was introduced into the country by a common Chinese seaman. The pro­
ductions o f China are various and valuable. She produces gold, silver, cop­
per, tin, zinc, lead, iron, steel, quicksilver, and coals; and of all these it is
itself the chief consumer. Gold and silver it has as often exported as .im­
ported. The staple vegetable productions of China are very various. In
the warm south there is rice, sugar-cane, and cocoa palm ; in the temperate
region, tea, silk, and cotton ; and in these and the cold, wheat and millets,
with a very great variety o f pulses, oil-giving plants, and the almost ubiquitary maize. To the mineral and vegetable products, now that Tartary is
thrown open, might be added wool, hides, horses, and tallow. The two
great staples of China, however, at present, are tea and silk, and these are
to be considered in detail.
China, from soil, climate, cheap labor, and the practice and experience o f
2,000 years, has a natural monopoly in the production o f tea. Tea was
first introduced into England about the year 1650, and the consumption
rapidly increased until, at the commencement of the eighteenth century, it
averaged perhaps half a million o f pounds per annum ; and at the begin­
ning o f the present century the consumption o f tea was 20,000,000 pounds a
y ea r; and in 1833 it amounted to 30,000,000 pounds. Now, under the
auspices o f free trade, it is about 65,000,000 pounds. The wholesale price
o f this is estimated at about £5 ,000,000 ; and tea, when the duty was at
the highest, yielded a revenue to the State of £ 6 ,000 ,0 00 per annum, which
was about three times the whole revenue o f the State when Queen Ann was
drinking tea and taking counsel at W indsor, and Marlborough was fighting
the battle o f Blenheim. The quantity o f tea produced in China must be
immense, when it is considered that it not only supplies its own 360,000,000,
(every man, woman, and child being a tea drinker who can afford it,) but
also the whole o f the world, Japan and Tonquin alone excepted.
The quantity exported annually by land and water cannot be less than




442

C hina: its Trade.

100,000,000 pounds. What is of more consequence is, that there seems,
for all practical purposes, no limit to the supply. Within the last one hun­
dred years the Chinese consumers themselves have more than doubled in
number, requiring something like a double supply of tea. Within the pre­
sent century the English consumption has more than doubled. America,
within the last seventy-five years, has added some 20,000,000 pounds to
the demand on China, yet all this has had no effect in raising (he cost of
teas in China. Another chief industry of China is the cultivation of the silk
worm, and from Shanghae alone there were exported last year 112,000
bales of silk, the value of which was estimated at £10,000,000, or twice the
value of the tea brought to England. The prices given were, of course, ex­
orbitant, and it was certain that the Chinese manufacturers of silk are outbid
in their own market— a proceeding which, if persevered in, will, in duo time,
make the English manufacturers of silk for the Chinese, as they are of cotton
for the Hindoos. The exportation of minor articles for China is also con­
siderable, such as coffee, camphor, cassia, and rhubard. Of the grand staple
of Chinese manufacture— silk— England imported last year something less
than £ 1 10 ,0 00 worth, while she furnished the Chinese with above £1,730,000
worth of cotton goods. But to return for a moment to such objects of ex­
ports as China is likely to offer to commerce. By Lord Elgin’s treaty, a
part in Chinese Tartary is thrown open to trade in about 40 degrees of lati­
tude, a colder region than 10 degrees of greater latitude would produce in
the western world. And Russia has lately added a free port at the mouth
of the great river Amoor, opening an intercourse with a territory wrested at
one time or another from the Chinese, computed at half a million of square
miles.
The opium trade of China dates forty-four years back, at which time the
annual consumption was said to be about 2,000 chests, of the value of
£5 00 ,0 00 sterling. When British capital and enterprise came into the
India field, after the opening of the trade in the year 1814, a vast and natu­
ral increase took place in the import of opium into China; and in 1831,
shortly before the overthrow of the tea monopoly, the quantity amounted to
18,760 chests of 140 pounds weight each, and of the value o f £2,800,000.
In 1849, the quantity had risen to 49,870 chests, and last year to 76,300,
valued at £7,200,000.
The Chinese government at one time charged the English with poisoning
its subjects with opium. If, however, we look back to the proclamations
which were put forth on the subject before the war of 1842, we shall find
that the moral branch of their argument was a mere makeweight to assist
the real one, which was that opium was robbing China of its precious metals,
and thus threatening to reduce the empire to beggary, for the Chinese are
firm and implicit believers in the doctrine that gold and silver are the only
substantial wealth. At the time in question, the precious metals had been
constantly leaving China, for the plain reason that they were cheaper and
more abundant in China than abroad. They had for some years before
been, as they have now for some years back been doing, constantly flowing
into China. The constant cry o f Chinese functionaries before 1842 was,
“ The black dirt is always coming in, and the pure Sycee silver always going
out.” Not a word is now said about the “ black dirt.” Indeed, opium
goes at present under the polite name of “ the foreign medicine,” and is as
regular and open a branch of trade as are silk and tobacco. A regular im­
port duty is even levied upon it as upon any other article of importation.




C hina: its Trade.

443

The Chinese, in fact, have come to their senses, although the process was a
painful and tedious one that brought it about. Intercourse with China dates
from the year 1683, only five years before the English revolution, and from
that time down to thirty years back woolens formed the chief exports to China;
indeed, they had long done, although not for so prolonged a time, to every
country in the world. They were then the principal English manufacture,
and in time they may become so again, taking rank of cotton.
The Chinese have hardly any woolen manufacture of their o w n ; in this
matter differing wholly from their condition as to silk, cotton, and even linen,
represented by what we choose to call grass cloth, but which is, in reality,
the produce o f a species o f nettle. They have, notwithstanding, been fa­
miliar with broad cloth, although not English, ever since they had inter­
course with Europeans, and most probably long before. W hile the East
India Company held a monopoly o f the trade o f China, their staple export
was always woolens, and their management o f this branch o f trade is worth
describing even now, not only as a curious illustration o f the mismanage­
ment o f a monopoly, but also of the dullness and ignorance that so long
submitted to it. Iu the five years ending with 1813, inclusive, being the
last of the com pany’s entire monopoly, from the Cape o f Good Hope to the
Straits o f Magellan, their export o f woolens amounted to 248,616 pieces o f
all kinds. In the five years ending with 1831, or within two years o f the
close of their Chinese monopoly, the quantity had declined to 169,578
pieces; or in eighteen years time, no one can tell why, had fallen off better
than 79,000 pieces. But since the era o f free trade with China in 1834,
there had been a still greater decline in our export o f woolens, for on the
average o f the five years ending with 1857, the total number o f pieces, ex­
clusive o f £ 5 ,500 worth entered by the yard, was only 74,189 pieces. In
the good old time the trade o f China was,in every branch o f it, a monopoly.
An obstacle to the consumption o f manufactures, necessarily exists in the
poverty o f a great mass o f the Chinese people. A coat o f Leeds broadcloth
would, no doubt, be a great comfort to a Chinese day-laborer; but the man
that earns but 4d. a day, who pays as high for his bread as an English la­
borer, and ten times as much for the condiment o f salt, cannot afford to wear
even the coarsest broadcloth. Although, however, the great body o f the
Chinese people is very poor, there are, in the vast mass, so the millions in
very easy circumstances, and many ihousands, the consumers o f birds nests
and sea cucumbers, for example, living in luxury.

Another palpable obstacle to a wide consumption of manufactures by the
Chinese is found in their possession of manufactures of their own, generally
far superior to those of any other eastern people. A hundred years ago
they were more a manufacturing people than ourselves. The nations of
Europe, indeed, long continued to consume Chinese silks and cottons, and
it has only been iu comparatively recent times that we have excelled them
in their fabrics. They, as well as the Hindoos and Japanese, quilt their
tissues with cotton for a winter dress ; and although clothing of this des­
cription is but an indifferent substitute for woolens, it is a cheap one. To
make the Chinese consumers of manufactures, we must furnish them with
cheaper and better than their own, as well as with such as are equally suited
to their tastes and habits. This, it is obvious, is a condition indispensable
to supplying them. The import duties are in no case high, and at four out
of tne five ports which have been open since 1842, they are evaded by a
compromise between merchants and the Chinese officers. What the Chi­




444

China: its Trade.

nese trade is likely to grow to, may be inferred from the progress o f the
conveniently situated port o f Shanghae, which lies on a branch o f the great
river. Shanghae, the very name o f which was before unknown to Euro­
peans, was established as a port open to European trade in 1842. In 1856,
the fourteenth year from its establishment, its imports amounted to nearly
£12,000,000, (£11,922,806,) o f which £4,287,990 was bullion. It ex­
ported, chiefly in tea and silk, nearly to the same value. Notwithstanding
this fair prospect o f improvement in commercial intercourse with China, the
long protracted struggle in China between the two dynasties, only tends to
increase the commercial influence o f foreigners. The state o f martial law
which reigned in Canton during the last eighteen months, has made Hong
K on g the center o f the commerce with the coast population o f KonangTong, Konang-Si, Youn-Nan, and Hou-Nan. The foreign vessels, every­
where present, and affording the Chinese merchant both security and quick­
ness o f dispatch, could not but take possession o f the whole commerce o f
the country, and lay the foundations for an immense amount o f coasting
trade for foreign vessels.
The importance o f the Chinese trade can best be estimated from the fol­
lowing statement, showing the value o f importation and exportation in the
various articles made by the maritime nations in one year, from July 1st,
1856, to July 1st, 1857 :—
English trade, legal.................francs
“
o p iu m .......................
Trade o f the United States..............
A ll other nations................................

Imports.
71,846,540
191,470,775
17,836,635
5,945,544

Exports.
273,996,388 )
................... J
82,198,615
27,399,539

Grand to ta l................................

286,599,494

883,593,542

Total.
536 s i " 703

’
100,035,250
33,345,083
670,193,036

The general trade may be calculated from the following schedule:—
IM P O R T S

Cotton Goods............... francs
T h read....................................
Woolens...................................

FROM

ENGLAND.

33,270,975 Colonial produce......... francs
5,025,700
6,716,000
Total..................................

IM P O R T S

FROM

ALL

OTHER

10,491,335
55,403,000

N A T IO N S .

Cotton and w o o l.........francs
8,000,000 Ammunition of w ar. . . francs
2.000,000
6,000,000
Woven cotton g o o d s ............. 41,000,000 Metals......................................
T h re a d ....................................
1,000,000 Opium...................................... 191,470,775
2,000,000
Woolen g o o d s ........................
7,250,000 Produce of the s e a ...............
Colonial produce from Europe
Rice and grains...................... 13,000,000
and America.......................... 14,878,719
286,699,494
Total........................................................

Tea, black and g re e n .......................................... francs
Silk and silk goods..........................................................
Alum, Chinese varnish, wax, cinnamon, cotton, wool,
medicines, copper coins, china, paints, A c...............
Total

Exports to
England.

All other
nations.

128,017,000
103,505,850

211,804,731
135,576,712

3,958,505

36,212,100

235,531,200

383,593,543

These exports and imports have been effected by means o f 4,013 vessels,
o f 1,247,656 tons ; and o f these vessels the following trade to each of the
Chinese ports mentioned :—




445

Observations o f the Present Trade with Siam.
T essels.
Macao..................
Hong K ong.........
Canton.................
Soeatoe...............
Total...........

520
65

Tonnage.
47,2*27
612,875
210,878
20,468

A m o y ...............
Foe-tschoe.........
Ning-po..............
Shanghae...........

Yessels.
817
164

Tonnage.
89,738
56,S12
39,573
172,5S5
1,247,656

The whole of the commerce o f China is carried on by English capital,
with the single exception, perhaps, of the United States ; for, although
Bremen, Hamburg, and Holland send every year a number of vessels there,
these are more than two thirds freighted with coal by English houses.
The large size o f the American vessels is an obstacle to the greatest ex­
tension o f their trade— they average 710 tons. This is by far too large for
many o f the Chinese ports, where, consequently, the English vessels carry
the day, as they are, in general, only about 310 tons.

Art. V.— OBSERVATIONS OF TIIE PRESENT TRADE W ITH SIAM.
P b e v i o u s to November, 1856, no American or European ships visited
the port o f Bangkok; since the treaty with the United States and Great
Britain, however, a very large amount o f shipping o f all nations has arrived
up at the city o f Bangkok, the capital o f the Kingdom o f Siam, seeking
employment, the nature o f which hitherto has been in taking cargoes from
this port to China and Singapore. A very large amount o f tonnage will
be required annually at this and other ports o f the Gulf o f Siam, for foreign,
as well as the China Sea trade; the latter will always be the most important,
from the immense export o f rice and sapanwood to H on g K ong, Macao,
and all the northern ports o f China.

Siam is now known among shipowners as an additional port in the
East, which will hereafter afford a large business for shipping o f all nations,
and as yet statistics show the American has had the lion’s share. There is
but little doubt that this port will be the pioneer of numerous others, to be
opened shortly in the Eastern Archipelago to civilization and commerce.
In Siam most of the products of the East Indies can be purchased, and at
the time of the presence of the writer there, at very reasonable and paying
rates. The present Second K in g, (the monarch in actual authority,) evinces
a disposition of enterprise, and appears anxious to cultivate friendly relations
with other nations, which policy is received with great favor among the
nobles and others, and there is every7 probability of his- successor to the
throne advocating the same liberal ideas. He is endeavoring to extend the
cultivation of the country on a large scale, and now freely offers facilities
and protection to foreigners to explore the interior, and three American
parties have already started for the interior, equipped on a prospecting
expedition for gold, which is known to exist. Much of their zeal, however,
will probably be cooled by chills and dyssentery, and which is often fatal in
this country. The rather isolated position of Bangkok has hitherto often
deterred shipmasters, when in the China Sea, from seeking business there.
It is situated at the head of the Gulf of Siam, and, except close in shore, no dan­
ger exists in the passage up the gulf.* II. B. M. Saracen, and a Captain
* Since the above was written, the American ship John Wade was lost by striking upon a reported
rock (sunken) in the Gulf of Siam, in lat. 1U deg. 4u min. N., long. 101 deg. 4d min. E., hitherto un­
known.




446

Observations o f the Present Trade with Siam.

Bonniman, in the employ o f the Second King, have now well surveyed the
gulf, and an English Admiralty Chart o f this survey, dated 18 )8, can be
purchased o f any ship-chandler in the East. The shipping at anchor are
always visible about 8 miles from the anchorage, and it is advisable, upon
arriving in the Roads, to anchor well to the westward. I f arriving at sun­
down it is well for a stranger to remain until morning, and at daylight pro­
ceed on shore to Paknam, about 12 miles from the Roads, steering for a
mound, the only land visible, and which is at the mouth o f the river Meinam,
keeping well to the westward, as the current as you approach the mouth
will sweep you past. Upon arrival at Paknam, which is but a small village
in a swamp, if your ship is to proceed over the bar to the city, a pilot can
be obtained from the Governor, (who is easily found,) to bring the ship in
over the bar the same day, or if you require communication with your
agents, you can obtain a boat and men from the same source to proceed to
Bangkok, which in all cases is more practicable than using your own boat’s
crew, owing to the excessive heat and distance. By this means you can arrive
up at the city the same day o f your arrival.
The authorities, by the late treaties, are bound to find competent pilots
for the bar, and facilities to strangers arriving also, at a very moderate charge.
A s the whole country is level with the water, it is most difficult and even
dangerous to attempt to find the month of the river during the night. The
bar extends 3 miles, and on which at spring-tides there are I3~ to 14 feet
water; from thence all the distance to the city from 7 to 10 fathoms, and no
dangers, the river banks are o f soft m u d ; and ships o f 800 tons make fast
to the trees occasionally. N o pilots are necessary for the river. In the
event o f arriving at Paknam at night, a strangers’ house has been built by
the K ing for their use, and is the only house allowed to any other than
Siamese, at Paknam, with a view o f preventing any strangers from obtain­
ing a permanent footing at this place. N o privileges are allowed but this
strangers’ shelter.

The city of Bangkok, being comprised of bamboo houses afloat, and
moored on each side of the river, renders it.very difficult and dangerous for
a stranger to attempt to find his agent at night, the whole country being
inundated with Chinamen, who would not scruple at leading you astray for
purposes of plunder ; too much confidence should not even be placed in the
Siamese, except those hired from the government. There are so many creeks
and tributaries to the river, which extend a long way in the country, that
an unfortunate individual could easily be disposed of.
A t this date, May, 1858, there are 65 large American and European ships
at the city and in the Roads. Lightering o f cargoes to ships outside the
bar has been a lucrative business, principally done by American light-draught
barks and brigs, carrying from 3,000 to 4,000 piculs, at the freight of 10
cents per picul— making easily a trip a week; a few junks and lorchas are
also employed in this business. During the northeast monsoon, ships rids
safely at single anchor, and load without detention by any swell. In the
southwest monsoon, a heavy swell sets in, causing much detention, but no
danger— lighters remain sometimes a week unable to cross the bar, on which
a heavy sea rolls. The holding ground is good.
During the year 1857, large additional tracts o f land above Bangkok and
Yuthia, have been cultivated wilh rice and sugar, to meet the demand re­
quired by the opening o f trade with foreigners, and a large increase o f pro­
duce has been raised above the previous year. Rice and sugar are the two




Observations o f the Present Trade ivith Siam.

447

staple articles o f export. Taelseed, sticlac, sapanwood, gums, teak timber,
gamboge, pepper, cocoanut oil, horns, hemp, raw silk, and ivory, are exported,
but at present form an inconsiderable item in exports, when compared with
the two former articles. Rice can be procured nearly all the year round.
The cultivation commences in the month o f June. The estimated crop last
year was 30,000 tons, and with capabilities o f doubling that am ount; it is
o f excellent quality, o f long grain, and much liked by the Chinese, and in
the San Francisco and Australian markets, (now not inconsiderable.) It is
equal to first quality China rice, and sold by the coyan o f 100 tubs, equal
to 21 piculs o f 1331 lbs., and is liable to an export duty o f 4 ticals per
coyan ; the present price is 30 ticals for cargo rice, and 45 ticals for white
rice ; last year the price for the former quality was 19— the large amount o f
purchasers now here for the China market is the cause of this large rise in
price, and which leaves but a small margin to purchasers.
S u g a r .— There are three qualities o f white, and many o f brown ; the former
is much used by confectioners, and is o f a superior quality'. It commences
coming down to the city about the month o f December. The crop was
estimated last year at 300,000 piculs; the price ranges from 9 to 9|- ticals
per picul for the white qualities, and good brown at 4 to 5 ticals; an inland
duty being paid by planters, it is exempt from export duty. The resident
Armenians, Arabs, and Parsees, have hitherto been the principal buyers,
and which they export to Bombay, Muscat, and ports in the Persian Gulf.
S a p a n w o o d .— For the China market a large quantity is shipped, and
large size preferred; small and medium for Straits and European ports.
Price ranges from 7-t to 12 salungs per picul, and liable to a duty o f 2 j
sailings per picul on exportation.
T a e l s e e d .— Is principally taken up by French ships, for continental
market; price from 55 to 60 ticals per picul, and free o f export duty ; white
is very scarce.
H id e s .— Cow, buffalo, deer, tiger, and numerous skins o f wild beasts are
plentiful. The two former range from 14 to 15 ticals per picul. Export
duty 1J ticals per picul.
H o r n s .— Deer, 7 a ticals per p icu l ; buffalo, 1 1 i, duty l salung ; gamboge,
38 ticals per picu l; cocoanut oil, 8 i to 12 ticals per picul, duty free ; pepper,
(chintabon,) 0 ; hemp, 12 ; raw silk, ivory, teak plank, various; sticlac, 9 to
i o ; Gum Benjamin, 50 to 1 0 0 ; coffee, scarce.
The exchange at present is 158 tieals to $100 Spanish; the currency is
4 salungs to 1 tical, 8 tuangs to 1 salung. The tical is the token or cur­
rency, without which no purchases can be made direct from the Siamese.
By a late government proclamation, the value o f a tical is fixed at 60 cents
o f a dollar, and the dollar itself a lawful tender. The weights are a picul
of 133 a lbs., and a coyan o f 19 piculs, but in many cases the coyan is 20
piculs.
All produce is sold for cash. The best mode o f placing funds at Bang­
kok, is by clean credits on the United States or Europe, negotiated at
Singapore, and Spanish or Mexican dollars shipped from thence. By taking
your dollars to the treasury at Bangkok, you can obtain ticals in exchange;
owing to the defective means o f coining this token, (a small lump of silver
with a stamp on it,) only 30,000 per week can be obtained for all the re­
quirements o f the merchants; this amount is far below the present demand,
which is about 300,000 weekly. The foreign consuls have represented to
the Siamese Government the annoyance and detention to business, owing to




448

Observations o f the Present Trade with Siam.

the small amount of ticals now in circulation, difficulty in obtaining them,
and losses also sustained by merchants in exchange, by their having to pur­
chase from private sources; as yet but little notice has been taken of their
communication. A combination of merchants to force the dollar into cir­
culation might succeed, could the Parsees and Chinese be brought to co­
operate. A complete coining apparatus is now on the way out, to be pre­
sented to the Second King, and which may induce him to alter the currency.
All business transactions between merchants and the Siamese planters, and
boatmen, who bring down the produce to Bangkok, is transacted through
the agency of female brokers, converted by and speaking Portuguese ; by
hiring one of these women to buy for a slight commission, any stranger can
purchase a cargo independent of merchants; in this case, a knowledge of
Portuguese is necessary, or the Malay language, which is often spoken by
these women. All disputes and differences, arising among the resident
foreign merchants, are by the treaties referred to the consuls of the respective
nations.
The Burmah village has now become the property o f foreigners, and the
merchants are clearing the ground preparatory to building. It is situated
just above Bangkok. Parties are prospecting the country with a view to
obtain rice in greater quantities, and on more favorable terms, than now
furnished in the small native craft. O f machinery, lately imported by the
British bark Oak from New York, comprising 12 single cylinder, and 4
double cylinder, steam-engines for steamboats, in all, 154 horse-power, four
are for the First King, 1 for the Second King, and 10 for Siamese nobility;
(mandarins, or coons,) so called here— all imported through the enterprise
o f the nobles, with the exception o f one engine printing press for the
American mission. This machinery will construct 7 paddle steamers, 5
propellers, 1 circular and 1 upright saw mill, 1 rice cleaning machine. In
imports, dry goods, drills, and cotton shirtings, such as shipped to Singapore
and China, are received, but to a limited extent. This branch o f trade is
altogether in the hands o f wealthy Chinamen, who are also large shipowners,
owning such ships as the Shooting Star and W ide Awake, late o f New
York, which have been sold to them. The European and American con­
sumption o f any commodity is very small, as when the writer left in May,
1858, that population was not in excess o f 150.

The diseases to which strangers are liable are dyssentery, chills, and fever
and ague— the former most prevalent and fatal— by attention to your cloth­
ing during the changes of weather, and more particularly as to your diet,
and conforming a little to Siamese customs, nothing more is to be feared
from sickness than at any other East Indian port. Many missionaries have
resided a long period at the city, and have quite healthy looking families.
The foreign mercantile houses at Bangkok are— Russell & Co.,* of
Manilla, D. O. Clark, agent; Augustine Heard & Co.,* of Canton, J. Parker,
agent; Hamilton, Gray & Co., of Singapore, J. Wilson, agent; D’Alrneida &
Co., of Singapore ; Kerr, Rawson & Co., of Singapore; Maclaine, Fraser &
Co., of Singapore; Borneo Company, limited, of Singapore; J. K. Mason,
of Canton; Pickenpack, Teese & Co., of Canton; Remi, Schmidt & Co.,
of Canton ; Williams, Anthon & Co.,* of Canton, H. Haskell, agent.




T. D.

* Those marked (*) are American

Journal o f Mercantile Law.

449

JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
CONFESSION OF JUDGMENT.

In the Supreme Court— Chambers, August 22.
Clafin & Salters vs. Rufus Sanger.

Before Justice I n g r a h a m .

This motion is made by a judgment creditor of the defendant to set aside the
judgment in this case for a defect in the statement of indebtedness. The judg­
ment was entered on a confession. The statement of the indebtedness was as
follows:—
“ Promissory note for a specified date and amount, which note was given to
L. W . & Co. for goods, wares, and merchandise, theretofore purchased of L. W .
& Co. by the defendant, which note was indorsed by the debtor, and came into
the hands of the plaintiffs for a valuable consideration.”
The objection to this statement is that it does not state the facts out of which
the indebtedness arose. In all the cases it is conceded that the object of the
statute was to compel the debtor to disclose so much of the transaction out of
which the indebtedness arose as to enable the creditor to form a more accurate
opinion as to the integrity of the debtor in confessing the judgment, and for thi3
purpose to compel the parties to spread on the record a particular and specific
statement of the facts out of which the indebtedness arose. (Chappel vs. Chappel, 2 Ivernan, 215.)
The precise question as presented in this case appears to have been passed
upon by the General Term in this district, in Moody vs. Townsend, 3 Abbt., 375.
Roosevelt, J., in that case says, “ a general allegation that the judgment was for
goods sold and delivered,” is not a compliance with the requirements of the
statute.
In Freligh vs. Brink, el al., 16 Howard, P. R., p. 272. Brown, J., held that a
statement which averred the indebtedness to rise on a note for $700, that amount
of money being had by the defendent of the plaintiff, and which was due, was in­
sufficient. In Stebbins vs. the Methodist Episcopal Church, 12 Howard, P. R.,
410, Smith, J., held that a statement of indebtedness for money lent and advanced
by the plaintiff to the defendant, and which had been used to pay his debts, was
insufficient, because it did not state when the money was lent, in what sums, and
at what times.
In Lockwood vs. Firm, el a l, 13 P. R., p. 418, Rosekrans, J., held that a
statement that the indebtedness for goods, wares, and merchandise, sold and de­
livered by the plaintiff to the defendant, since a specified date, was insufficient,
because it did not set forth what kind of goods, &c., where sold, nor how much,
nor at what time. That it did not point to any particular transaction to which
other creditors could direct their inquiries.
In Beekman vs. Kirk, 15 Howard, P . R., p. 228, Harris, J., held that a
statement of indebtedness in a judgment recovered on a bond given for money
borrowed by the defendant, was defective for want of disclosing the amount of
the loan, or when the judgment was recovered. See also 17 N . T . Rep., p. 9.
There are many other cases which might be cited of a similar character, but
the above are amply sufficient to show that the views entertained by the judges
in these cases when applied to the present case, would condemn the statement as
insufficient and defective. I will only add one more, by the General Term of
this district in Davis vs. Morris, 21 Bank, p. 152. Mitchell, P. J., held a state­
ment of indebtedness to be for money lent and advanced at divers times by the
plaintiff to the defendant, from 1853 to date, was insufficient.
These decisions, two of which are by the General Term of this district, are
controlling upon this question, notwithstanding there are some few cases of a
contrary tenor by the judges at Special Term in other districts, such as Post vs.
Coleman, 6 Howard, P. R., p. 64.
VOL.

x l i .—

N O. IV .




29

450

Journal o j Mercantile Law.

The plaintiffs in this action were not the original creditors by whom the goods
were sold, and it, was suggested that less particularity was required from them
than would be from the persons to whom the debt was originally due.
There is no distinction made iu the statute, and there is no good reason shown
for making any such distinction.
The statement is to be made by the debtor and not the creditor, and he can
as well state the particulars iu one case as the other. He knows the particular
transaction out of which the indebtedness arose, and he can state it as easily
after the claim has been transferred to a third person, as he could before the
transfer.
The motion to set aside the judgment as to the creditor making this motion
must be granted.
r e c e iv e r ' s r ig h t s .

In the Court of Appeals.

Chautauque County Bank vs. Risley.

A debtor made a fraudulent assignment of his real estate, and afterward judg­
ments were recovered against him. The creditor having the first judgment, and
having his execution returned unsatisfied, filed a bill in equity to set aside the
assignment, and for satisfaction of his debt. A decree was obtained declaring
the assignment void as to creditors, and a receiver was appointed, to whom the
debtor made a general conveyance of his property by order of the court. The
receiver then sold the real estate.
Held— That another creditor, whose judgment was recovered before the filing
of the bill, and who was not a party thereto, might, sell the same real estate
upon his execution, and that the guaranty in the sheriff’s deed acquired a title
superior to that held by the purchaser from the receiver.
In such cases the purchaser from the receiver acquires a title, not under the
judgment which is the foundation of the bill in equity, but under the debtor’s own
conveyance to the receiver, and the sale by the hitter. Such a title is, therefore,
subject to all liens existing before the tiling of the bill in favor of creditors who
do not unite iu that proceeding ; but not, it seems, subject to the liens of creditors
who are parties to the bill.
The appointment, of a receiver by a Court of Equity, it seems, vests in him
the title to the debtor’s personal estate. But the title to real estate is transferred
only by force of the debtor’s own conveyance, which the court has power to
compel him to execute. Such a conveyance is, in substance, but the creation of
a trust for creditors. Judgment creditors, not parties to the proceedings, and
not affected by a Us pendens, tiled before their liens attach, are not compelled to
renounce their legal rights and come in under the trust.
When a debtor has made a fraudulent conveyance of his real estate, a subse­
quent judgment creditor may proceed to sell under his execution, and the purchaser
may impeach the conveyance in a suit at law to recover the premises. And on
the trial of such an action he is not bound to prove the fraud, if the defendant
in possession, claiming under a sale by a receiver in Chancery, introduces the
decree declaring the conveyance void as to creditors, and also the deed from the
receiver to himself reciting such decree.
A person having a superior legal title or lien ought, it seems, to obtain the
leave of a Court of Equity before attempting to disturb the possession of a re­
ceiver. But the question is one of contempt purely, and does not affect the
legal right.
Where land is sold under a judgment by the sheriff, a person, not, being the
debtor, but having become the owner of the land which is subject to the lien,
may become the purchaser at the sale, and, as such purchaser, acquire a title un­
der the sale. The inchoate interest or title conferred by the sheriffs certificate
does not merge in the title previously held.
And, therefore, in such a case, another judgment creditor may, under the
statute, redeem or acquire the interest of the purchaser, and so become entitled
to the sheriffs deed.




451

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The dealings of a corporation, which apparently arc consistent with its charter,
are not to be regarded as illegal and unauthorized, without evidence tending to
show that they are of such a character.
The plaintiff’s bank being a corporation, and having power to acquire real
estate in “ satisfaction of debts.” took from the holder of a sheriff’s certificate
of sale, after the same had become absolute, an assignment of all his right, and
then received the sheriff’s deed. The consideration of the assignment was ex­
pressed in general terms to be “ for value received,” and there was no other proof
of the consideration.
Held— That the assignment was presumptively a valid transfer to the bank,
the words “ for value received ” being equally referable to a debt due from the
assignor, or to a present payment in money; and, therefore, further held, that the
bank, having legally acquired the certificate, could take the sheriff’s deed and
hold the title.

COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.
CHEERFUL

A SP EC T— ABUNDANCE

P O R T S— COTTON— IT S
— ELEM EN TS

OF

OF

N ATU RAL

P R O S P E R IT Y — S T A T E

OF

C O N D IT IO N S O F I M P R O V E M E N T A T T H E
— D R A IN

OF

W E A L T H — P R O M IS E

G R E A T V A L U E — L E A D IN G

S P E C IE — R E T U R N

OF

TH E

NORTH— SLACK

D R A IN

FROM

T IIE

T IO N — A V E R A G E

STATES

OF

OF

OF T H E
FO R

M ONEY— R A TE S
OF

LO AN— R E C E IP T S

S P E C IE

E X C H A N G E — U N IT E D

OF

M ONEY

E X C H A N G E — S P E C IE
FROM

E X PO RT— EFFECT
STATES

C O M IN G C R O P

SO U TH TO PU R C H A SE —

B IL L S — R A T E S

L O A N — IN D IA

M IN T — E X C E S S

IN T E R IO R — W A N T

DEM AND
FO R

OF P R O S P E R IT Y — IM P O R T S — E X ­

OF C O T T O N — L A R G E

W E S T — A B IL IT Y

STO C K S— DEM AND

M O V E M E N T — D E M A N D F O R S IL V E R .— R U S S IA N
A S S A Y -O F F I C E — U N IT E D

P O R T S — P R IC E

COTTON

ON

C A L IF O R N I A —
THE

BAN KS—

CROP— CONSUM P­

SU PPLY OF GO O D S— IM P O R T S .

T he general aspect of commercial affairs has been more cheerful during the
last month. The great abundance of natural wealth at home and abroad, as
manifested in the successful harvests, has imparted confidence, and foreshadowed
a season of great commercial prosperity, in view of the peace which is becoming
consolidated on an apparently permanent basis. The imports into the United
States have no doubt been very large, and have much exceeded the average ratio
to exports, but the deficit in the latter has been owing to the decline in the ex­
port demand for food and provisions. The export of cotton has been large, how­
ever, and the quantity of specie shipped has in some degree compensated the
lessened exports of agricultural products. The crop of cotton has been very
large, and has doubtless realized a greater amount of money than any previous
one, as will be seen in the annual returns of the New Orleans trade in the Sta­
tistics of Trade and Commerce of this number. The imports and exports of
three leading ports for the fiscal year ending June 30 have been as follows :—
I M P O R T S A N D E X P O R T S F O R F IS C A L Y E A R TO JU N E

,----------------- Imports.------------------»

18a8.
New Y o r k .............
Mobile.....................
New O rleans.........

$171,473,336
717,639
19,586,013

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

$191,776,988

30.

,------------------Exports.----------------

1^9.

1858.

1859.

$220,247,307
787,739
18,349,516

$100,667,890
21,832,493
88,382,438

$106,443,341
28,933,680
100,734,952

$210,882,821

$236,112,173

$239,384,562

These exports show, exclusive of specie, an increase of Sri4,000,000, while the
imports show an increase of 847,000,000 ; the most of which has taken place in
the last quarter of 1859. Cotton has counted largely in this return for 1859'.




452

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

The price at New Orleans has averaged higher than ever before except for the
year 1857, and the quantity has been the largest; hence, the value has attained
a figure never before reached.
A s far as these leading ports are concerned, the “ balance of trade ” has not
in the past year been against the country, but it has been maintained by the
substitution of specie for breadstufFs. The new crop year 1860 opens with firm
prices, after the delivery of a crop o f 3,851,681 bales, and with every prospect
of a crop of 4,000,000 bales for the coming year. The money value of the crop
o f cotton, taking the rate at New Orleans, §53 per bale, as the average, gives
§204,103,000 ; the crop o f 1857 was 2,939,519 bales, worth §171,000,000 ; hence
there is a greater value this year by §34,103,000. This unusual quantity is met,
however, by unusual favorable circumstances for its consumption. Food, money,
labor, and freights are all abundant and cheap, and there wants nothing but
abundance of raw material to produce an extraordinary activity in industry.
This presents itself, completing the elements of great prosperity. The abund­
ance and cheapness of money in Europe have had a very favorable influence in
helping to meet the large imports into the United States, at a time of small ex­
ports, with less inconvenience. The demand for goods in the United States has
been good from all sections but the West, where the crops are indeed abundant,
but command but low prices, in the face of a small foreign demand. The large
railroad expenditures, land speculations, and active migration of the last few
years, and which formed the basis o f a considerable demand for goods, are with­
drawn, and with them the accustomed high prices for local produce, thus reduc­
ing the ability to pay for the present. In the Atlantic States, where food is
purchased generally, cheap food, transportation, and capital are elements of re­
newed industry and improved demand for food. A t the South, the cotton and
sugar crops together have reached this year §50,000,000 more than Iasi year;
hence the continued ability to purchase goods. A s a rule, therefore, the imports
of the past two years have not exceeded the supply of the two previous years.
Nevertheless, the current of business has been altered, and coin has gone freely
instead of breadstuffs. The usual demand for money, which an active movement
of grain occasions, has not been this year felt, and as yet the supply of money
is fully equal to the demand. The rates have been as follows
R A T E S OK M O N E Y AT N E W Y O R K .

Loans on call, stock securities.. . .
Loans on call, other securities___
Prime indorsed bills, 60 days........
Prime indorsed bills, 4 a 6 m o s ...
First-class single signatures...........
Other good commercial p a p er.. . .
Names not well k n ow n .................

Jane
6 a
7 a
61 a
7 a
8 a
9 a
1C a

St.
7

8
7

8
9

10
12

July 1st. Aug. 1st. Sept. 1st. Sept.
5 a 6 6 a 7 6- a 6 6 a
6 a 7 7 a 8 7 a 8 7 a
61 a 7 61 a 74 6 a 7 6 a
7 a
7 a 8 7 a 71 7 a
8 a 9 8 a 9 8 a 81 71 a
10 a 12 11 a 13 11 a 14 10 a
12 a 15 12 a 15 12 a 16 12 a

n

5th.
61
71
7
71

8

13
15

The banks have shown their usual caution for the season of the year, but the
supply of money outside has been equal to the demand. The continued drain of
specie has been supplied from New Orleans and the interior, where the rates of
exchange continue pretty high for the season. The rates of exchange on Eu­
rope have been well sustained, as well by the demand for remittance for goods,
as by some disposition to send stocks to this market to realize, as a consequence
of growing discredit, arising in some degree from the assignment of the Erie




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

453

Railroad and the general depression of the railroad interest. The unusual num­
ber of Americans abroad also influences the demand for exchange, and the rates
have been as follows :—
R A T E S O F B I L L S IN N E W T O R E .

July 1.

L on don ...............
Paris...................
A n tw e r p ------Amsterdam.........
Frankfort...........
Bremen................
Berlin, <fcc.............
Hamburg............

August 1.

September 1.

10} a
11
10} a
10f
9} a
10}
5 . 1 1 } a 5 . 0 8 f 5.15 a 5 .1 3 } 5.15 a 5 . 1 1 i
5 .0 7 } a 5 .0 5
5.13 a 5 .1 0
5.13 a 5 .1 0
42 a 42§
42} a 4 2 }
4 2 } a 424
4 2 } a 434
424 a 4 2 f
42 a 4 2 }
80 a 8 0 }
794 a 80
79 a 7 9 }
75 a 76
734 a 7 4 }
7 3 } a 74
37 a 38
37} a 374
364 a 37

September 15-

9} a
10}
5.15 a 5 .1 1 }
5 . 1 3 } a 5 .1 0
41} a 42}
424 a 4 2 }
79} a 79}
74} a 744
36} a 37}

A t these rates, as a matter of course, the export of specie has continued at a
high figure. The comparative movement has been as follows :— *
C O L D R E C E IV E D F R O M C A L IF O R N IA A N D E X P O R T E D F R O M N E W Y O R K W E E K L Y , W I T H T H E
A M O U N T O F S P E C IE IN S U B -T R E A S U R Y , A N D T H E T O T A L I N T H E C IT Y .

,---------1858.---------, ,----------- ----------1859. ----------------------,
Received.
Exported.
8........ ..................... $2,398,684
15........ . $1,607,440 1,045,490
23........
1,244,368
so ........ . 1,567,779
57,075
Feb. 5........
2,928,271
13........ . 1,348,507
48,850
20........
641,688
128,114
27........ . 1,640,430
297,898
Mar. 5........ ......................
12.......... 1,279,134
225,274
19........
11,000
116,114
26........ . 1,403,949
88,120
115,790
Apr. 2........ .....................
9........
250,246
16........ . 1,825,198
203,163
15,850
23........
41,208
30........ . 1,550,000
136,873
106,110
May 7.......
14........ . 1,626,171
720,710
.....................
21........
532,862
28........ . 1,575,995
400,300
June 5........
51,425
12........ . 1,446,175
16,616
68,318
19........
.
1,799,502
276,487
25........
317,110
July 2.......
9........ . 1,500,000
564,030
16........ ................... ..
637,240
1,028,270
23........
30........ . 1,163,818
303,318
786,841
Aug. 6........
440,729
13........ . 1,531,514
844,781
20........
187,941
27........ . 1,434,674
662,087
Sept. 3........ .....................
227,980
10........ . 1,796,139

Received.

Jan.

$1,376,300
1,210,713
1,319,923
1,287,967
933,180
1,032,314
1,404,210
1,723,352
1,480,115
1,938,669
1,513,975
2,041,237
1,736,861
2,145,000
1,860,274
2,126,332
*962,030
2,046,006

Specie in
Total
Exported. sub-treasury, in the city.
$1,052,558 $4,202,151 $32,601,969
218,049 4,312,987 33,693,699
567,398 4,851,666 34,323,766
467,694 7,230,004 34,985,294
606,969 8,103,546 34,095,987
361,550 8,040,900 33,460,000
1,013,780 6,770,555 33,115,610
358,354 7,193,829 33,664,000
1,427,556 7.215,928 33,915,893
307,106 8,677,357 34,207,411
870,578 9,046,759 34,089,942
208,955 8,041,268 34,227,800
1,343,059 7,686,700 32,918,800
576,107 7,232,451 32,981,118
1,637,104 7,079,111 32,557,778
1,496,889 6,894,810 32,972,965
1,680,743 6,568,681 32,897,686
2,169,197 6,481,913 32,568,545
1,926,491 6,020,400 31,191,731
2,223,578 5,488,205 31,578,209
5,126,643 4,752,084 29,171,906
2,325,972 4,327,155 28,055,464
1,877,294 3,684,754 25,816,954
1,669,263 3,604 800 26,790,017
1,620,731 4,493,200 26,253,081
1,861,163 4,086,751 27,028,416
1,398,885 4,278,400 26,773,049
2,495,127 4,282,600 27,506,279
2,030,220 5,114,600 26,361,512
2,344,040 5,116,800 25,881,300
1,284,856 5,341,000 25,424,877
1,505,389 5,347,389 26,085,269
1,594,933 4,960,400 26,363,848
1,584,879 4,869,800 25,597,866
509,649 4,877,200 26,355,494
2,363,385 4,919,788 26,687,036

Total....... . 25,953,564 18,112,777 28,038,281 52,195,712
Of the specie exported in September this year, about $900,000 has been in
silver, mostly Mexican dollars arrived from New Orleans. A n active demand




* From New Orleans.

454

Commercial Chronicle and Review.

for silver sprang up in England, on the taking of the India loan, for shipment
to Asia, and the success of the Russian loan of $60,000,000 caused a renewed
demand for gold for that destination. The excess of exports over receipts from
abroad has affected the amount in bank to some extent, as will be seen on recur­
rence to the weekly tables hereto appended. The arrivals of gold from Califor­
nia have been large, but they have not much affected the operations either of the
Assay office or the Mint, which have been comparatively as follows :—
N E W Y O R K A S S A Y O F F IC E .
D E P O S IT S .

------------- 1'orelgn.----------------------.
Gold.
Silver.

January..
February.
March. . .
April . . .
May ____
June........
July........
August...

Coin.
Coin.
Bullion.
Bullion.
$4,000 $16,000 $23,380
....
6,000
10,000
57,700 $9,000
8,000
3,000
82,000
3,000
10,000
31,000 28,000
8,000
6,000
10,000
29,000 2,000
20,000
25,500
20,000
3,500
12,000
8,000
33,400
6,400
8,000
16,000
30,800 10,000

Total.. $79,000

$32,000

,----------------- United States.--------Gold.
Silver.

314,780 $61,900

Coin.
Bullion.
....
$365,000
669,000
___
___
351,000
___
328,000
....
162,000
___
185,000
137,600
___
___
201,000

Coin.
$2,500
2,300
3,500
1,000
600
2,000
1,000
___

Bullion.
$4,120
6,000
4,500
4.000
7.000
4,000
3,100
3,200

___ $2,398,600 $12,900 $33,920

P A Y M E N T S B Y A S S A Y O F F IC E .

January .........
February . . . .
March
April.
May..
June..
July .
August............

Bars.
$387,000
750,000
255,000
336,000
156,000
140,000
155,000
165,000

Coin.
$252,000
10,000
290,000
74,000
59,600
120,000
46,500
104,000

T ota l.. . .

$2,344,000

$955,100

In the same period the transactions of the United States Mint at Philadelphia
have been as follows :—
U N IT E D S T A T E S M IN T , P H I L A D E L P H IA .

January ...................
February .................
March.........................
A pril.........................
May............................
J u n e .........................
July............................
A u gu st..................... ...........
Total.................

,-------Dent )S ltS .-------------*
Gold.
Silver.
$51,635
77,650
107,640
100,015
86,710
64,230
57,770
111.650
64,900

Gold.
$59,825
147,983
119,519
42,520
76,640
180,060
117,788
92,151

610,550

836,476

—Coinage.—
Silver.
Cents.
$35,U00
$56,000
27,000
127,000
27,000
108,000
128,500
29,000
104,000
25,000
36,000
90,000
80,000
43,000
25,000
54,487
710,987

224,000

The bars as they arrive go abroad, and the Mint now has a very small portion
of them to coin. The quantity of gold shipped this year has been largely in ex­
cess of the receipts, showing a diminution of $20,808,153 in the country, includ­
ing the Boston shipments, for the first eight months of the year. Of this dimin­
ution, six millions has taken place in the New York banks, and the remainder
has been drawn from the banks of the interior to the city, following the course




Commercial Chronicle and Review.

455

of exchanges, which have required money to supply the place of crop movements
from the West to the seaboard, and thence to Europe. That continued drain
has no doubt much weakened the resources of the West, and laid a foundation
for stringency when business revives. The activity in cotton manufactures for
the past, year has been very considerable, requiring a quantity of cotton larger
than ever before. The comparative crops and consumption have been as follows :

1856
1857
1858
1859

Crop.
3,5'27,84 5
2,939,516
3,113,962
S,851,481

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

Exports.
2,954,605
2,252,657
2,590,455
3,021,403

U. S. consumption Total U. S.
from the ports. consumption.
652.789
706,412
702,138
770,789
452,185
819,936
760,21S
927,651

The total United States consumption includes estimates of quantities taken
from plantations by the Southern factories, and is an estimate merely. If the
estimate is admitted, the amount should be added to the crop. The quantity
taken by the Northern manufacturers, 760,218 bales, is 58,000 bales larger than
ever before, but, it will be observed, large as is the quantity, the average for the
two years is small comparatively. The panic of 1857 caused a cessation of
manufacturing, and in some degree of the consumption of goods. That economy,
if compensated this year, would give a larger consumption, but for the two years
the number of bales taken has been 1,212,403. an average of 606,201 bales, while
for the two preceding years the average was 706,000 bales, and for the five years
ending with 1857 the average was 618,000 bales ; hence the supply of domestic
goods has been small, as also have the imports, measured by the average of the
two years, as compared with the average of the preceding years.
The imports for the month of August have been larger than for the same
month of any previous year, as well of free as dutiable goods. They were as
follows:—
F O R E IG N

IM rO R T S

AT N E W

YORK

1856.

IN

AU GU ST.

1857.

1858.

1859.

Entered for consumption............... $18,87o,9S6 814,401,018 $15,067,732 $18,416,207
Entered for warehousing...............
4,136,716
4,516,039
2,146,021 2,964,044
Free goods.......................................
1,303,790
2,052,122
2,342,741
2,920,921
Specie and bullion.........................
103,173
17,319
67,682
348,419
Total entered at the port.............. $23,919,665 $19,986,498 $19,624,176 $24,649,591
Withdrawn from warehouse.........
2,524,407
5,624,147
3,116,013
3,296,084

The total imports at the port of New York, since January 1, are $81,186,028
more than for the corresponding total of last year, and $4,384,454 more than for
the total of the first eight months of 1857. The increase is greater if specie is
excluded from the list, the receipts of goods being large, particularly of free
goods:—
F O R E IG N

IM P O R T S A T N E W

YORK

FOR

1856.

E IG H T

M ONTH S, FR O M JA N U A R Y 1S T .

1857.

1858.

1859.

Entered for consumption .............. 117,965,756 105,681,632 $65,401,911 131,927,230
Entered for warehousing............. 25,230,040 51,427,670
17,331,440 26,173,802
Free goods......................................... 13,675,437 13,732,200
15,298,266 21,850,052
Specie and bullion... ...............
1,066,673
5,874,629
1,882,940
1,649,501
Total entered at the port.............. 157,937,906 176,716,131 $99,914,557 181,100.585
Withdrawn from warehouse . . . .
15,629,611 29,240,228 28,102,515 17,406,868




456

Commercial Chronicle and Review .

The proportion of the whole imports which is embraced under the head of dry
goods, shows for the month of August the largest increase. The aggregate for
the month has been larger than for any previous year, and the quantity put upon
the market shows the same results :—
IM T O K T S O F F O R E I G N

DRY

GOODS AT

ENTERED

FOR

NEW

YORK

1856.
Manufactures of wool................ ...
Manufactures o f cotton..............
Manufactures of silk...................
Manufactures of flax...................
Miscellaneous dry goods............

Total........................................ $10,790,163

M ONTH

O F AU GU ST.

FROM

1858.

$3,243,227
1,334,473
2,758,097
564,507
631,816

$4,312,916
1,789,745
3,526,725
839.927
618,826

$8,532,120 $11,083,139

1859.
$5,250,619
2,154,979
4,864,855
997,540
932,431
$14,200,354

W AREH O U SE.

1856.

1857.

$583,959
118,004
132,938
38,764
15,994

$796,631
229,041
511,045
188,023
45,656

$911,951
204,568
305,353
202,568
84,643

$989,517
188,039
142,475
113,755
42,720

$889,659
10,790,163

$1,770,396
8,532,120

$1,709,083
11,083,139

$1,476,506
14,200,354

Manufactures of wool..................
Manufactures of cotton...............
Manufactures of silk....................
Manufactures o f fla x ..................
Miscellaneous dry goods.............
T otal......................................
Add entered for consumption.. . .

TH E

1857.

$3,867,718
1,490,021
3,887,008
724,075

W IT H D R A W N

FOR

C O N SU M PTIO N .

1858.

1859.

Total thrown on m arket.. . . $11,679,822 $10,302,516 $12,792,222 $15,676,860
W A R E H O U S IN G .

1856.

1857.

$455,059
172,872
141,124
122,496
11,379

$380,041
120.505
218,164
78,096
136,799

$239,236
105,683
73,243
54,270
18,969

$380,120
236,627
141,549
121,655
66,602

$902,930
10,790,163

$933,605
8,532,120

$491,401
11,083,139

$946,558
14,200,354

Manufactures of w ool.................
Manufactures of cotton................
Manufactures of silk....... .........
Manufactures of flax....................
Miscellaneous dry goods.............
T o ta l.....................................
Add entered for consumption.. . .

FOR

oo
oo

ENTERED

Total entered at the port___ . $11,693,093

1859.

$9,465,725 $11,574,540 $15,146,907

The total imports of foreign dry goods at the port of New York, since Janu­
ary 1st, are §45,185,993 more than for the corresponding eight months of last
year, and §10,747,873 more than for the same period of 1857. It may be con­
sidered, however, that the two years taken together give a smaller average sup­
ply than for the two years 1856-57 :—
IM P O R T S O F

F O R E IG N

DRY

GOODS A T
FROM
ENTERED

THE PO R T OF
JA N U A R Y
FOR

NEW

Y O R K , F O R E IG H T

M ONTH S,

1ST.

C O N S U M P T IO N .

1856.

1857.

1858.

1859.

Manufactures of w ool......................819,161,032 817,648,469 $11,980,604 $26,369,976
Manufactures of cotton................. 11,712,154 12,927,582
6,676,304 18,004,221
Manufactures of silk...................... 23,373,656 20,563,139 12,381,859 25,478,077
Manufactures of fla x.....................
5,833,817
4,669,025
2,955,195 7,474,910
Miscellaneous dry goods...............
5,273,443
5,062,091
2,396,258 4,185,036
Total........................................ $65,354,102 $60,860,306 $36,390,220 $81,512,220




457

Commercial Chronicle and Review.
W IT H D R A W N FR O M W AREH O U SE.

1S56.

1857.

1858.

1859.

Manufactures of w ool................. .
Manufactures of cotton.............
Manufactures of silk....................
Manufactures of fla x ...................
Miscellaneous dry goods.............

$1,793,397
1,653,183
1,600,737
784,719
314,800

$4,485,294
2,631,053
3,755,633
1,316,035
637,637

$3,518,346
3,151,898
2,887,009
1,746,616
1,028,634

$2,260,921
1,308.321
719,331
770,699
313,870

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

$6,146,836 $12,825,552 $12,332,503
65,354,102 60,860,306 36,390,220

$5,378,142
81,512,220

Total thrown on m a r k e t.... $71,500,938 $73,6S5,858 $48,722,723 $86,885,362
E N T E R E D F O R W A R E H O U S IN G .

Manufactures of w ool................. .
Manufactures o f cotton...............
Manufactures of silk....................
Manufactures of fla x ..................
Miscellaneous dry goods.............

$2,438,657
1,433,185
1,688,628
686.779
438,688

$5,729,871
2,623,091
4,207,627
1,536,725
1,224,398

$1,731,492
1,547,638
988,141
649,230
437,277

$2,700,241
1,148,549
667,047
559,242
342,592

Total...................................... .
Add entered for consumption .. .

$6,635,937 $15,321,712
65,354,102 60,860,306

$5,353,678
36,390,220

$5,417,671
81,512,220

Total entered at the port... . $71,990,039 $76,182,018 $41,743,898 $86,929,S9!
The exports from N ew Y ork to foreign ports show an increase in specie, which
has even exceeded the exports o f 1857. There is an increase in the exports of
domestic produce, and the result is a larger aggregate export than ever before :
EXPORTS

FROM

NEW

YORK TO

Domestic produce..........................
Foreign merchandise (free)..........
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)..
Specie and b ullion ........................

F O R E IG N

PORTS FO R TH E

M ONTH

O F AU GU ST.

1856.

1837.

1858.

1850.

$5,612,828
88,242
211,933
3,202,053

$4,289,479
393,882
654,088
6,271,717

$4,660,272
102,674
224,438
2,201,802

$5,150,710
374,707
790,646
6,409,783

Total exports......................... $9,115,056 $11,609,166 $7,189,186 $12,725,846
Total, exclusive o f specie . .
5,913,003
5,337,449
4,987,384 6,316,063
This leaves the exports from New Y o r k to foreign ports, exclusive of specie,
for the first eight months o f the current year, §1,726,094 above the correspond­
ing total o f last year.

The exports o f specie show an increase o f §32,275,517

upon the total o f the previous year, and $17,3G0,618 higher than even in 1857.
The total exports have reached a very high figure, but it has been by substitut­
ing gold for breadstuffs :—
E X P O R T S F R O M N E W Y O R K T O F O R E I G N P O R T S F O R E IG H T M O N T H S , F R O M J A N U A R Y 1 .

1856.

1857.

1858.

18§9.

Domestic produce........................... $50,290,993 $43,014,815 $38,012,626 $38,524,357
Foreign merchandise (free)...........
680,750
2,709,756
955,698
2,139,807
Foreign merchandise (dutiable)...
2,044,601
3,538,044
2,782,282 8,812,536
Specie and bullion......................... 22,703,980
32,298,156 17,363,257 49,658,774

Total exports...........................$75,720,324 $81,560,771 $59,113,863 $93,135,474
Total, exclusive of specie.. . 53,016,344 49,262,615 41,750,606 43,476,700
The cash revenue for August shows a large increase compared with last year,
but the total is less as compared with 1857 :—
C A S H D U T IE S R E C E I V E D A T N E W Y O R K .

1857.
First six m onths...................
In July.....................................
In August......................... . .
Total since Jan. 1 s t . . . .




$19,293,521
6,987,019
3,946,830
$30,227,371

1858.
81
61
40
32

$11,089,112
3,387,305
3,545,119
$18,021,536

1859.
57
83
01
91

$19,912,18199
4,851,246 89
4,243,010 43
$28,606,439 31

458

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY, AND FINANCE.
CITY
NEW

Jan. 8
15

22
29
Feb. 5

12
19
26
Mar. 5

12
19
26
Apr. 2
9
16
23
SO
May 7
14
21
28
June 4

11
18
25
July 2
9
16
23
30
Aug. 6
13
20
27
Sept. 3
10
17

YORK

Loans.
128,538,642
129,349,245
129,540,050
129,663,249
130,442,176
129,106,318
127,476,495
125,866,083
125,221,627
126,205,261
127,587,943
127,751,225
128,702,192
129,865,752
129,968,924
129,192,807
128,706,705
129,519,905
129,680,408
128,701,553
127,137,660
125,006,766
122,958,928
121,800,195
121,744,449
122,401,773
121,614,633
120,405,658
119,934,160
119,347,412
118,938,059
117,757,141
117,990,199
117,541,070
118,184,258
118,421,430
119,366,352

WEEKLY

W EEKLY

BANK

Specie.
28,399,818
29,380,712
29,472,056
27,725,290
25,991,441
25,419,088
26,344,955
26,470,171
26,769,965
25,530,054
25,043,183
25,182,627
25,732,161
25,748,667
25,478,108
26,068,155
26,329,805
26,086,632
25.171,335
26,090,008
24,319,822
23,728,311
22,132,275
23,192.217
21,759,881
22,491,665
22,494,649
23.323.679
21,196,912
20,764,564
20,083,877
20,744,532
21,403,448
20,728,066
21,478,299
21,767,248
21.512.680

BANK

Circulation.
7,930,292
7,586,163
7,457,245
7.483.642
7,950,855
7,872,441
7,766,858
7,736,982
S,071,693
8, 100,021
7,996,713
7,998,098
8.221,753
8,449,401
8,293,459
8,289,112
8,300,672
8,804,032
8,490,933
8,352,723
8,232.653
8.427.642
8,391,116
8,281,111
8,216,043
8,365,790
8.553.061
8,201,675
8,170,626
8,214,959
8,623,050
8,419,606
8,317,669
8,234,279
8,373,318
8.513.062
8,444,766

3
10
17
24
31
Feb. 7
14
21
28
Mar. 7
14
21
2S
Apr. 4

..
..
...
..
..
...
.,.
.,.
,..
.,.
..
...
..
..

Loans.
60,069,424
60,310,965
60,106,798
59,400,854
58,992,556
59,120,142
59,087,249
59,099,993
58,636,328
58,892,981
68,436,379
58,152,742
57,672,804
58,031,003




$68,645,014.)

Deposits.
113,800,885
116,054,328
116,016,828
113.012.564
114,678,173
109,907,424
108.937.564
109,000,892
108,646,S23
107,458,392
108,353,336
106,581,128
110,176,088
111,692,509
111,695.711
112,627,270
113,217,504
115,586,810
113,141,178
112,731,646
107,064,0115
103,207,002
99,042,966
99,170,835
97,353,393
98,920,313
98,090,655
97,257,070
94,416,054
91,707,877
91,891,234
88,975,864
91,248,799
89,471,646
93,250,438
92,732,824
94,002,721

B O S T O N B A N K S .— (C A P I T A L ,

Jan.

RETURNS.

R E T U R N S .— (C A P I T A L ,

Specie.
Circulation.
8,548,934 6,543,184
8,295,892 7,016,104
7,931,712 6,793,723
7,383,891 6,609,374
7,088,736 6,224,137
6,814,589 6,514,576
6,671,619 6,332,342
6,679,740 6,275,458
6,410,563 6,283,959
6,386,580 6,578,472
6,265,661 6,372,298
6,238,518 6,227,150
6,370,283 6,108,505
6,401,822 6,386,853

Average
clearings.
20,974,263
20,598,005
20,950,428
19,174,629
22,712,917
20,560,606
19,911,207
19,785,055
22,626,795
21,270,283
21,911,543
20.237.879
22,438,950
23,549,945
23,607,914
23,671,453
23.655.166
26,714,767
24.445,039
24,177,516
21,501,650
20.628.166
20,159,422
20,042,356
19,160,278
20,787,701
21,077,643
19,121,159
19,114,111
17,232,982
19.366.879
17,443,211
18,038,889
17,679,829
20,094,729
20,095,939
20,855,822

Actual
deposits.
92,826,622
95,456,323
95,066,400
93,837,935
91,965,256
89,346,818
89,026,357
88,215,837
86,800,028
86,188,109
86,441,793
86,343,249
87,737.138
88,142,544
88,087.797
88,955,814
89,562,338
88,872,043
88,696,639
88,554,130
85,562,355
82,578,836
78,883.536
79,127,979
77,193,115
78,132,612
77,013,012
78,136,911
75,301,943
74.474.895
72,524,855
71,532,353
73,209,910
71,731,817
73,155,709
72.636.895
73,147,399

$35,125,433.)
Deposits.
22,357,838
21,615,468
21,127,712
20,727,905
20,598,451
20,845,520
19,983,531
20,082,960
19,469,489
19,935,649
19,202,029
19,809,807
19,908,785
20,899,191

Due
Due
from banks.
to banks.
10,789,185 7,083,737
1 1,263,766 7,137,234
11,139,700 7,111,264
10,430,454 7,037,715
9,657,823 6,547,510
9,506,146 7,057,113
9,391,733 6,763,270
9,184,941
8,477,968
8,456,312
7,945,389
7,767,582
7,665,274

6,815,160
6,673,623
6,330,719
6,817,368
6,864,684
7,524,274

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

11
13
25
May 2
9
16
28
30
June 6
13
20
27
July 4
11
18
25
Aug. 1
8
15
22
29
Sept. 5

..
..
,
,
..,
..
.. ,
..,
..
..
..
..
..
.. .
..
..
..,
..,
..
..
..
..

Loans.
58.320,346
58,496,225
58,160,215
58,178,264
58,211,765
58,445,596
57,996,456
57,318,243
57,430,695
57,972,199
58,203,731
58,474,300
59,037,935
58,802,700
58,773,537
58,214,940
57,972,321
58,122,483
58,123,231
68,016,685
58,089,045
58,567,981

Specie.
6,488,147
6,496,137
6,726,647
6,910,187
6,907,557
6,851,787
6,700,975
6,874,399
6,738,384
6,672,767
6,453,596
6,180,858
5,493,396
5,234,600
4,645,866
4,662,014
4,667,352
4,926,066
4,769,101
4,922,4 14
6,094,717
5,115,478

P H I L A D E L P H IA

Date.
3....
10----17___
24 . .
81 ----Feb. 7 . . . .
14___
2 1 ....
28___

Jan.

Mar.

7....

14___
21 ___
28___
Apr. 4 . . . .
11___
1 8 ....
2 5 ___
May 2 . . .
9 ___
16___
23___
30___
June 6 ----1 3 ....
20----27----July 4 — .
1 1 ....
1 8 ....
25___
Aug. 1 ----8 ___
15___
22___
29___

Sept. 5 . . . .

Loans.
26,451,057
26,395,860
26,865,385
26,283,118
26,320,089
26,472,569
26,527,304
26,574,418
26,509,977
26,719,383
26,685,873
26,856,891
26,967,429
27,737,429
27,884,568
28,808,106
27,817,918
27,747,339
27,693,408
27,435,268
26,837,976
26,406,458
26.177,875
25,920,993
25.715,316
25,406,842
25,416.440
25,248,246
25,200,073
25,106,124
25,007,875
24,746,238
24,497,730
24,825.308
24,363,912
24,640,746




Circulation.
7,358,859
6,985,273
6,812,855
6,658,260
7,241,597
7,064,757
7,013,197
6,664.483
7,009,878
6,863,659
7,082,781
6,552,901
6,935,803
7,371,600
6,890,858
6,987,221
6,387,768
6,678,754
6,570,163
6,444,603
6.259,360
6,495,950

Deposits.
21,422,581
21,666,840
21.663,615
21,990,246
21,852,338
21,468,49^
20,845,917
20,769,103
20,718,977
20,118,426
20,229,249
19,878,006
20,017,147
18,846,900
18,422,769
18,201,927
18,033,821
17,957,506
17,417,279
17,602,981
17,569,101
18,169,586

B A N K S .— (C A P I T A L ,

Specie.
6,063,356
6,067,222
6,050,743
6,099,317
6,138,245
5,970,439
5,991,541
6,017,663
5,9S2,260
5,926,714
6,046,248
6,136,539
6,296,429
6,363,043
6,144,905
6,404,375
6,689,591
6,680,813
6,349,390
6,286,620
5,922,147
5,521,759
5,415,587
5,521,188
5,301,167
5,066,847
4,897,863
4,696,111
4,824,864
4,697,604
4,942,313
4,880,630
4,996,541
5,079,162
6.235,976
6,435,090

459

Due
Due
to banks.
from banks.
8,410,087 8,509,638
8,663,857 8,343,446
8,237.561 7,834,888
7,850,530 7,346,135
7,998,226 8,077,777
7,704,870 7,805,577
7,542,472 7,565,826
7,289,128 7,549,033
7,090,735 7,852,924
6,865,611 7,778,657
7,134,285 7,460,245
7,099,339 6,663,773
7,076,162 7,283,020
7,307,000 7,300,400
6,854,245 6,731,181
6,838,207 7,110,420
6,511,893 6,331,385
6,580,316 6,359.393
6,570,922 5,764,922
6,857,698 6,090,950
6,892,813 5,749,899
6,921,705 6,153,490

$11,632,295.)

Circulation.
2,741,754
2,854,398
2,830,384
2,769,145
2,709,311
2,786,453
2,804,032
2,782,792
2,778,252
2,901,337
2,900,832
2,923,551
3,029,255
3,425,196
3,580,447
3,364,531
3,179,236
3,081,102
3,152,725
3.090,007
3,014,659
2,975,736
2,992,198
2,918,426
2,835,643
2,729,953
2,808,208
2.940,108
2,873,947
2,808,592
2,775,043
2,809,456
2,736,302
2,724,061
2,655,866
2,702,837

Deposits.
17,049,005
17,138,607
17,323,908
17,498,219
17,557,809
17,007,167
16,384,087
16,129,610
16,012,765
16,372,368
16,703,049
16,899,846
17,476,060
17,154,770
17,002,878
17,829,494
17,804,212
17,781,229
17,441,125
17,603,264
17,182,349
16,454,661
16,386.995
16,207,149
15,705,980
16,114,269
15,533,496
14,295,683
15,011,670
14,862,920
14,854,543
14,623,439
14,249,758
14,096,270
14,292,308
14,901,572

Due banks,
3,424,569
3,297,816
3,258,315
3,093,921
3,159,539
3,307,371
3,695,963
3,964,000
4,086,651
3,854,990
3,841,605
3,929,010
4,109,455
4,329,343
4,668,135
4,519,146
4,439,457
4,217,834
4,160,780
3,930,536
3,462,753
3,403,572
3,367,146
3,177,859
3,198,968
2,855,312
2,912,575
2,803,179
2,605,878
2,789,268
2,621,820
2,721,907
2,802,876
3,003,258
2,843,855

460

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
NEW

Jan.

3 ..
1 0 ..

IV..
2 4 ..
3 1 ..
Feb. 5 ..
1 2 ..
1 9 ..

2V..
Mar. 1 2 ..
1 9 ..
2 6 ..

Apr. 2 ..
9 ..
1 6 ..
2 3 ..
3 0 ..
May 7 ..
1 4 ..
2 1 ..
2 8 ..
June 4 . .
1 1 ..
1 8 ..
2 6 ..
July 2 . .
9 ..
1 6 ..
2 3 ..
3 0 ..
Aug. 6 ..
1 3 ..
2 0 ..
2 7 ..

O R L E A N S B A N K S .-----(C A F I T A L , $ 1 9 , 2 8 4 , 0 0 0 . )

Short loans.
Specie.
20,537,567 16,013,189
20,453,417 16,294,474
20,904,840 16,343,810
21,442,167 16,279,655
21,837,791 *16,101,158
21,809,628 16,365,053
22,594,245 16,700,188
22,677,390 16,949,263
23,126,625 16,806,998
22,944,605 16,828,140
22,633,181 17,013,593
22,420,444 16,837,405
22,465,730 16,179,137
21.655,921 16,250,790
21,182,186 15,975,547
20,287,903 15,705,599
19,926,487 15,650,786
19,443,947 15,539,235
18,948,824 15.534,148
IS,925,857 15,203,875
18,594,556 14,784,944
18,350,758 14,587,357
17,889,718 14,240,114
17,525,037 14,151,040
17,262,214 13,597,084
17,198,658 13.524,959
17,138,649i 13,475,341
16,763,853: 13,666,522
16,690,806 13,744,709
l 17,020,100 13,763,222
17,596,593 13,504,546
18.032,892 13,124,146
18,850,144 13,214,396
19,505,226 12,924,929
P IT T S B U R G

Jan.

3.
10.
17.
24.
31.,
Feb. 7 .,
14.
21.
28.
Mar. 7 ..
14..
21..
28.,
Apr., 4 .,

11.,
18.
25.
May 2.
9.
16.
23.
30.

June

6.
13.
18.




Loans.
6.837,261
6,929,874
6,743,540
6,970,837
6,964,674
6,988,923
7,027,680
6,953,599
7,001,804
6,945,722
6,982,847
7,069,162
6,991,949
7,213,664
7,212,513
7,197,068
7,245,963
7,327,114
7,276.965
7,235,561
7,161,874
7,082,987
7.090,569
7,006,137
6,890,266

Circnlation.
9,551,324
10,383,734
10,819,419
11,224,464
11,616,119
11,913,009
12,148,174
12,241,954
12,522,244
12,581,934
12,777,999
12,681,931
13,054,416
12,985,616
12,777,079
12,666,116
12,578,111
12,711,640
12.513,001
12,326,726
12,032,821
11,994,591
11,825,081
11,708,131
11,501,679
11,284,664
11,061,704
10,743,414
10,507,084
10,338,819
10,091,039
9,951,954
9,823,059
9,788,919

Deposits.
22,643,428
21,756,592
22,194,957
22,549,305
22,554,889
22,743,175
23,830,045
23,620,711
23,203,848
23,501,784
22,364,430
22,589,661
22,465,730
22,066,164
22,356,833
21,792,705
21,315,664
21,396,145
20,569,681
19,890,960
19,445,178
18,683,911
18,159,432
17,804,674
17,139,130
16,891,446
16,643,664
16,330,871
15,933,313
15,940,824
16,377,209
15,356,742
15,483,806
15,314,628

Exchange.
9,882,602
9,866,131
9,666,070
9,492,871
9,508,703
9,747,755
9,686,145
9,474,473
9,217,655
9,046,372
8,563,771
8,770,788
9,059,382
9,493,761
9,949,531
10,055,454
9,537,886
9,271,213
8,439,088
7,428,213
7,190,460
6,614,289
6,481,915
6,076,239
5,853,472
5,550,384
4,839,808
4,043,047
3,657,302
3,197,339
2,787,395
2,647,128
2,581,960
2,411,899

$4,160,200,•)
Circulation.
2,038,113
2,042,348
2,023,948
1,961,493
1,965,723
1,904,978
1,958,098
1,919,658
1,937,498
1,867,848
2,029,468
1.961.S43
1,954,903
2,080,363
2,035,188
2,089,498
2,084,153
2,000,344
2,010,948
2,101,348
2,024,673
1,952,238
1,930,468
1,878,298
1,888,478

Distant
balances.
2,331,233
2,540,573
2,380,707
2,057,217
1,861,866
2,000,056
1,879,644
2,174,619
2,320,031
1,959,638
2,432,776
2,420,725
2,545,873
2,582,084
2,243,528
2,449,421
2,100,219
2,029,992
2,127,956
2,062,447
2,089,701
2,040,656
1,928,315
1,770,409
1,774,067
1,705,349
1.743,348
1,642,797
1,728,875
1,694,469
1,976,150
1,852,705
1,803,945
1,788,802

B A N K S .— (C A P I T A L ,

Specie.
1,292,047
1,287,552
1,294,567
1,308,325
1,307,145
1,200,532
1,219,551
1,223,396
1,213,552
1,133,754
1,100,171
1,156,682
1,112,770
1,113,769
1,128,686
1,191,797
1,155,780
1,182,273
1,141,556
1,089,513
1,053,799
1,036,945
1,063,567
990,307
997,486

Deposits. Due banks.
1,811,780
162,902
1,767,594
216,097
179,451
1,804,149
241,121
1,781,474
1,739,046
215,608
1,748,144
202,505
1,724,773
164,859
1,699,020
134,859
1,683,030
175,640
1,637,796
160,996
220,822
1,638,243
215,029
1,625,949
1,602,283
180,567
237,290
1,704,191
196,288
1,747,237
262,922
1,751,230
274,549
1,782,131
291,061
1,856,843
212,682
1,899,305
228,187
1,865^57
1,774,093
1,699,393
1,666,775
266,305
1,577,358
220,362
1,578,395

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
Loans.
25...........
July 4 ...........
11..........
18...........
25...........
31...........
Aug. 7 ...........
15...........
2 2 ...........
2 9 ..........

Specie.
1,014,657
1,018,685
1,025,986
1,052,191
1,119,255
1,091,462
1,079,179
1,095,789
1,076,376
1,099,419

Circulation.
1,863,653
1,874,093
1,824,928
1,868,923
1,868,243
1,835,833
1,780,298
1,776,633
1,805,178
1,735,836

461

Deposits. Due banks.
1,636,933
1,694,895
1,718,566
225,404
1,734,554
266,888
1,750,313
232,171
1,741,588
257,160
1,695,557
239,571
1,646,966
248,565
1,645,959
222,021
1,657,486
200,076

S T . L O U IS B A N K S .

Exchange.

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

Apr.

May

June

July

Aug.

8 .............................
15.............................
2 2 .............................
29.............................
5 .............................
12.............................
19.............................
26.............................
5 .............................
12...........................
19............................
26...........................
2 ...........................
9 ...........................
16...........................
23............................
30...........................
7 ...........................
14...........................
21...........................
2S...........................
4 ............................
11...........................
18 ...........................
25..................... .
2 ...........................
9 ...........................
16...........................
23...........................
30 ...........................

6 .........................
13...........................

20.........................
27............................
P R O V ID E N C E

Jan. 17........
Feb. 7........
21........

Mar. 6........
Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.

21........
4........
2........
6........
4........

4.......
5.......

Loans.
18,037,795
18,298,481
18,533,944
18,327,546
18,333,574
18,483,550
18,260,520
18,597,814
19,124,155
18,972,736
18,900,466




B A N K S .— (C A P I T A L ,

Specie.
537,884
451,771
412,571
375,757
377.945
387,317
399,294
378,196
336,398
315,810
321,487

Circulation.

Specie.

2,030,608
1,992,670
2,116,870
2,185,385
2,032.235
1,865,125
1,932,210
1,819,745
1,808,100
1,733,620
1.673,475
1,596,806
1,566,380
1,516,840
1,492,055
1,439,085
1,332,355
1,360,835
1,359,241
1,333,815
1,274,605
1,267,675
1,218,755
1,163,440
1,134,650
1,028,760
1.035,845
1,042,310
975,220
942,460
919,415
816,895
778,365
714,060

1,705,262
1,578,800
1,584,541
1,640,541
1,599,203
1,682,084
1,678,054
1,636,054
1,575,362
1,569,742
1,605.802
1,642,589
1,542,211
1,531,199
1,525,315
1,434,491
1,435,568
1,549,133
1,574,657
1,542,616
1,373,194
1,367,181
1,358,047
1,441,301
1,419,965
1,353,069
1,339,076
1,325.552
1,275,820
1,229,777
1,120,829
1,002,615
986,750
1,013,160

$5,636,269.)

Circulation.
2,003,313
1,789,673
1,927,359
1,967,389
1,943,450
1,938,448
1,920,391
1,009,163
1,407,141
2,018,775
1,901,198

Deposits.
2,513,422
2,446,451
2,411,858
2,324,691
2,288,175
2,374,941
2,394,688
2,421,901
2,399,843
2,331,568
2,394,917

Due oth. b'ks.
1,307,647
1,135,309
968,154
97S,410
255,892
972,491
(803,729
946,691
1,076,323
1,559,874
965,545

462

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
BANKING LAW OF NEW YORK,

The following law relating to bank stockholders was adopted by the New York
Legislature last session :—
AN ACT TO AMEND “ AN ACT TO ENFORCE TOE RESPONSIBILITY OF STOCKHOLDERS
IN CERTAIN BANKING ASSOCIATIONS, PASSED APRIL 5 t H, 1 8 4 9 .”
PASSED APRIL
lO TII, 1859.

The people o f the State o f New Yorlc, represented in Senate and Assembly, do
enact as follows:—
S e c t io n 1. Section fourth of the act entitled, “ An Act to enforce the re­
sponsibility of stockholders in certain banking corporations and associations, as
prescribed by the constitution, and to provide for the prompt payment of demands
against such corporations and associations,” passed April 5th, 1849, is hereby
amended so as to read as follows :—
A book shall be provided and kept by every corporation and association de­
scribed in the first section of this act, in which shall be entered the names and
residences of the stockholders in such corporation or association on the 1st day
of January, 1850, and the names and residences of the original stockholders of
every corporation or association organized after the day last mentioned, so far as
the same are known to the officers of the bank ; the number of shares held by
each stockholder : every registered transfer of stock upon the books of the bank
after the said last mentioned day; the names of the assignor and assignee, with
their residences, and the number of shares translerred. The said book shall be
at all times, during the usual hours of transacting business, open to public inspec­
tion. And a refusal by any officer of such corporation or association to exhibit
such book to any person demanding the inspection thereof, as herein provided,
shall subject the said corporation or association to a penalty of fifty dollars for
every such refusal. And every refusal by any such officer having once refused
to exhibit such book as aforesaid, is hereby declared to be a misdemeanor, and
the officer so offending, upon conviction thereof, shall be adjudged guilty of a
misdemeanor, and be punished by a line not exceeding one hundred dollars for
every such subsequent relusal, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The said penalty may be sued
for and recovered, with costs, by any person who will prosecute for the same ;
the one moiety thereof to be paid to such person, and the other moiety to be paid
into the treasury of the State. In all proceedings under the provisions of this
act, the said book shall be presumptive evidence of the truth of the contents
thereof; but such presumption may be repelled by evidence by any party or per­
son interested in repelling the same.
S ec . 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
NEW YORK BANKS, WEEKLY RETURNS AND DAILY AVERAGES.

The bank statement for the week ending July 23 completed the sixth year
during which the banks of this city have published a weekly statement of the
daily average condition of their loans and discounts, specie, circulation, and de­
posits. W e are now able to present a statement of the average per day of the
several items for each of the six years, with the daily average of the exchanges
for those years, and the amount of “ net ” or undrawm deposits :—
A V E R A G E P E R D A Y F O R T U E Y E A R S E N D IN O

July 29, 1854
28, 1855
26. 1856
25,1857
24, 1858
23,1859

Loans
and discounts.

Specie.

$90,195,605
90,059,561
1( 0,488.046
111,174.665
107,834,676
126,002,110

11.477,186 9,228,888 $61,584.623
14,144,527 7,738,840 72,602.679
13,390,193 7.975,405 84,634,249
11,885,647 8,604,582 92,499,444
25,449,940 7,226,475 86,472,940
26,678,220 7,980,259 107,488,334




Circulation.

Deposits.

Exchanges.

Net
deposits.

19,851,328 42,183,295
17,275,885 55,326,794
21,493,380 63,140,869
27,009,386 65,490,058
16,364,377 70,108,563
20,348,865 87,144,469

463

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

The first weekly statement was made August 6, 1853. Bank balances were
not included in the deposits until June 6, 1854, at which date the deposits were
apparently increased §10,000,000. The Clearing-house was commenced on the
11th of October, 1853, and the average exchanges given in the above table, for
the year ending July 29, 1854, were for nine months and seventeen days. Con.
sidering the circulation and net deposits as representing the total liability of the
banks, and adding §10,000,000 to the net deposits and circulation for the year
ending July 29, 1854, as the average of bank balances, we present in the follow*
ing statement the daily average liability, with the percentage of specie held by
the banks for each year :—
A V E R A G E L I A B IL I T Y P E R D A Y F O R T H E Y E A R E N D IN G .

Average
liability.

July 29, 1854 ........... 161,411,683
28, 1865 ......... 63,065,634
26,1856 ......... 71,116,274

Specie,
per cent.

18.69
22.43
18.82

Average
liability.

Specie,
per ct.

July 25, 1S57............ $74,094,640
24, 1858.......... 77,335,038
23,1859.......... 95,124,728

16.04
32.91
28.04

The following table gives the statements for the weeks in each of the six years
corresponding to that ending July 30, 1859, with the percentage of coin to net
liability at each period :—
July 28, 1855.

July 28, 1858.

Aug. 1 ,1S57.

July 31,1S53.

July 39, 1859.

Loans.................. $99,083,799 $111,346,589 §120,597 650 $119,850,456 $119,347,412
Specie.............. 15,920,976
13,910.848
12,913,014
35,712,107
20,764,564
Circulation........
7,409,498
8,386,285
8,665,422
7,408.365
8,214,959
Net deposits . . 66,070,296
72,381,020
68,682,083
91,145,873
74,474,895
P E R C ENT O F S P E C IE T O N E T D E P O S IT S A N D C IR C U L A T IO N .

21.7

17.2

16.7

36.2

25.1

After the above dates the lowest line of net liability was in—
Amount.

Nov.
Nov.
Oct.
Oct.

17, 1855
10,1866
10, 1857
3, 1858

Liability,
(decreased.)

Specie loss.

Loans
reduced.

Lowest discount line.

$61,659,319 $11,930,508 $4,618,059 $7,053,879 NoV. 1 7 $92,029,920
65,880,108 14,887,197 1,657,111 7,792,139 Nov. 10 102,508,639
50,783,453 26,564,067 1,441,720 18,679,480 Nov. 28 94.963,130
93,742,120 4,812,118 7,178,921 3,309,241* Oct. 10 123,699,249
Reduced at
this date.

1859— Largest
1859— Largest
1859— Largest
1859— Largest

discount line, February 5...................
discount line, April 16 .......................
specie reserve, January 22 ...............
liability, January 15............................

$130,442,176 )
129.968.925 )
29.472,056
103,042,486

. .
’
’
8,707,492
20,352,632

®

The above figures will repay the closest attention of our bank managers. By
studying the lessons conveyed in them, a repetition of the disasters of the past
may be avoided.
D IP 0R T S OF SPECIE AT NEW ORLEANS.

The following are the receipts of specie at New Orleans for 12 yep.rs. This
includes the domestic receipts. The amount from abroad was only §1,071,000, or
little more than 11 per cen t:—
I M P O R T O F S P E C IE F O R T W E L V E Y E A R S F R O M

1858-59......... $15,627,016] 1854-55.........
1857-58......... 13,268,013 1 1853-54.........
1856-57............
6,500.015j1852-53.........
1855-56............
4,918,540j1851-52.........




1ST

SEPTEM BER TO

$3,746,087
6,967,056
7,865,226
6,278,523/

* Increased.

31ST

AUGU ST.

1850-51...........
1849-50............
1848-49............

$7,937,119
3,792,662
2,501,250

1847-48.............

1,845,808

464

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
UNITED STATES RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES.

The following are the receipts and expenditures of the United States for the
quarters ending September 30 and December 31, 1858, and March 31 and June
30,1859 :—
R E C E IP T S .

Sept. 30,1838.

Dec. 31, 1858.

March 31, 1859.

June 80, 1859.

Customs......................$13,414,520 28 $9,054,228 60 $12,786,252 19 $14,280,323 31
Sales of public lands.
421,171 84
402,490 97
490,947 78
442,376 71
Incidental A miscella.
959,987 34
306,200 24
502,319 58
313,052 17
Treasury notes, 1857
405,200 00
1,122,000 00
160,000 00
8,005,200 00
Loans of 1858.......... 10,000,000 00
.....................
8,536,000 00
85,000 00
Total...................$25,230,879 46 $10,122,000 00 $22,475,519 55 $23,126,452 19
E X P E N D IT U R E S .

Civil. Ac.................... $6,392,746 38
Interior, pensions, Ac.
1,994,304 24
8,224,490 04
W ar...........................
Navy..........................
4,086,515 48
Public debt...............
1,010,142 37

$6,681,983
522,808
6,768,648
3,378,907
1,603,999

78
62
53
86
06

$6,188,058
700,040
4,162,969
3,675,721
3,147,963

12 $4,373,032 66
13
1,536,819 61
56
5,087,714 25
72
8,571,430 15
33 11,643,180 63

Total.................. $21,708,198 51 $17,956,347 85 $17,874,752 86 $26,212,185 35

BANKS OF KENTUCKY, JUNE 30, 1859.
Notes.

Exchange.

Specie.

o

04

(M
CO
€€*■

Northern B ank... $1,548,426 $2,324,092
Farmers’ Bank.... 1,084,691 2,105,550
People’s Bank . . .
128,196
200,402
Bank of Kentucky. 2,264,320 3,410,607
Bank of Louisville
860,003 2,149,675
Southern Bank.. .
486,824 1,236,826
Commercial Bank.
305,422 1,746,907
Franklin Savings.
283,268

793,145
88,653
880,481
412,582
793,885
539,855
32,212

Circulation.

Deposits. Due banks

$1,664,064 $1,263,237 $907,168
1,926,279
477,101 111,398
35,609
605
247,743
2,024,174 1,147,677 '1,369,092
1,094,927
486,373 408,973
1,726,854
277,650 131,786
1,407,516
90,715
260,711
94,428
15,026

Total...................... $7,032,866 13,101,853 4,364,931 10,093,547 $4,042,686 2,934,763
Jan., 1859..............
24,044,764
4,980,794 14,345.696 4,772,056 ■1,332,922
Jan., 1858............
6,196,519 10,269,933 3,.997,486 9,459,912 3.186,825 :2,592,585
NEW ORLEANS RATES OF EXCHANGE.
C O M P A R A T IV E

RATES

O F E X C H A N G E ON L O N D O N , P A R I S , A N D N E W Y O R K ; O N T H E F I R S T OF

EACH M ONTH FO R T H R E E Y E A R S PA ST

Septem ber.. .
O ctober.........
Novem ber... .
December.. . .
January .........
February. . . .
March.............
April...............
M a y ...............
June...............
July................
August...........




; (60

D A Y B I L L S — C L E A R O N L O N D O N .)

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A
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London. Paris. N. Y. London.
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Dis. Premium.
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.ISSfi 7
Paris. N T. London. Paris. N. Y.
Per $. Dis. Premium. Per $.
Dis.
5 17
2
91
5 20
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5 60
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5 22
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6 17
6
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Journal o j Banking, Currency, and Finance.

465

FINANCES OF CANADA,

From the report of the Inspector-General we obtain the following particulars
of the public debt of Canada, and of the receipts and expenditures.
On the 31st December, 1858, the public debt of the province was as follows :—
Direct debt...................................................................................................
On account o f railroads.....................................
“
municipal loan fu n d .........................................................
“
miscellaneous fu n ds..............................»..........................

$24,430,975
20,295,098
9,057,792
1,169,684

Total, (£13,738,387 62 currency)...............................................

$54,953,550

O f the direct debt S3,752,843 22 is held on account of the sinking fund for
the redemption of the “ unpaid loan,” and §021,726 68 is held on account of the
consolidated fund. The debt of the province has been incurred exclusively for
public works, and herein the security for Canadian Government bonds differs
from the major portion of European States in which war expenditures form the
largest element. Scarcely one-twelfth of the whole is unproductive.
The outlay for which the direct debt has been incurred is shown in following
exhibit of special costs :—
"Welland and St. Lawrence canals...........................................................
Other canals................................................................................................
H arbors and ligh th ouses..................................................................................
Roads and bridges......................................................................................
Miscellaneous works...................................................................................
Unproductive works..................................................................................

$14,155,206
2,766,146
2,807,057
1,610,267
1,326,346
1,982,039

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

$24,657,063

VALUATION OF BOSTON,

The following table shows the value of the real estate and personal estate, and
the number of polls for each ward, according to the report o f the Assessors. The
rate of taxation is §9 70 on §1,000. Last year it was only §8 60 ; in 1857,
§9 30.
The rate of taxation this year, accordingly, is the heaviest ever known in the
city ; that of 1857 having been more onerous than in any previous year :—
Wards.
i .....................
2 .....................
3 .....................
4 .....................
5 .....................
6 .....................
7 .....................
8 .....................
9 .....................
10.....................
11.....................
12.....................

11,244,400
8,364,700
7,720,000
16,248,200
8,240,000

Personal.
$2,812,500
525,400
2,934,100
36,519,700
2.2S3.500
21,001,900
21,386,700
4,526,900
8,066.200
2,573,600
4,998,800
2,312,400

Total.
$11,010,900
5,964,000
9,729,900
73,838,900
8,111,500
46,178,100
37,886,000
15,771,300
11,430,900
10,293,600
21,247,000
10,552,400

Polls.
3,530
3,528
2,118
3,134
2,238
1,983
2,297
2,123
2,087
2,609
3,804
3,872

$157,092,800

$104,921,700

$262,014,500

33,323

Real estate.

___
___
___
___

This table shows an increase in the total valuation, over last year, of $7,293,100',
or 2.86 per cent. The increase of real estate is $3,514,100, or 2.29 per cent
of personal estate, $3,779,000, or 3.73 per cent. The increase in the number of
polls is 735, or 2.26 per cent.
VOL.

x l i .—

NO. IV .




30

466

Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.

The poll tax this year is §1 50— the old rate. Last year, it will be remem­
bered, it was raised, under a decision of the Supreme Judicial Court, to $2 10.
Of course, it will be seen, that so far as the valuation is a basis, the great in­
crease in wealth and population is at the southerly section of the city. The west
end advances, and the great center hold its own remarkably well. East Boston,
in view of the many disasters she has experienced, does remarkably well to hold
her own as she does, while South Boston makes a most gratifying advance in
both real and personal estate. On the whole, the exhibit is a gratifying one, in
view of the continued depression of the shipping interest, and indicates a con­
tinued steady advance of the leading business place of New England. We insert
below the valuation of the town and city, at various periods in its history :—

Tear.
1799...........................
1804...........................
1819
.................
1820
.................
1825...........................
1835...........................
1845...........................
1S55...........................

Real estate.
$3,224,100
13,753,000
22,795,800
21,686,000
80,992,000
47,552,800
81,991,400
136,351,S00

Personal.
$3,766,200
15,328,3C0
16,583,400
16,602,200
21,450,000
31,749,800
53,957,300
105,580,900

Total.
$6,990,300
29,681.300
39,379,200
38,288,200
62,442,600
79,302,600
135,948,7 00
249,162,500

Rate
tax per
$1,U00.
$4 40
3 12
4 00
4 00
3 60
4 85
5 70
8 00

It will be seen, that at times the city has increased in value, at a very rapid
rate," for several years, and then, for a number of years, seemed to stand still';
after which, it again advanced. In the five years previous to 1804, the city in­
creased in its valuation over four hundred per cent. From that period to 1815,
which included the time of the war with Great Britain, the gain was small ; and
in 1815 there was actually a decline of a million. From 1815 to 1826, the
valuation nearly doubled, as it did, nearly, from the period of 1836 to 1846. It
will be noticed, also, that there has been a much smaller increase of personal than
real estate. In 1799, the personal was the largest; while in 1859, the real is by
fifty millions the greatest.

VALUATI01V OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH, IV. H., 1859.
Real estate................................ $2,897,296 Shares in banks..
135,298 Money..................
Lands.........................................
7,000 Horses...................
Mills,
.....................................
204,750 O xen ....................
Factory buildings machinery
35,628 C ow s....................
Wharves....................................
2,500 Neat stock ........... ........
Bridges.......................................
Sheep....................
$2,782,472 Carriages.............
Stocks in trade......................... 1,407,212
Total.............
5,000
Public funds..............................

&c

&

92

$700,328
882,924
26,350
6,848
12,580
1,566
194
15,250
$5,840,674

The valuation of property in Portsmouth is less by §53,826 than it was last
year. There are exactly 2,000 rateable polls; last year, 1,880. The gain is
chiefly Irish voters naturalized before election. The rate of taxation is §9 23
on §1,000, and the amount of tax is §58,304 99. The rate of taxation in Newburyport this year is §9 60 on §1,000.




467

Journal o f Banking , Currency, and Finance.
IOWA STATE FINANCES.

The State of Iowa was admitted into the Union December 28, 1846. The
State at that time embraced about 100,000 people, and was without adequate
revenue. Consequently, the first Legislature under the State Government passed
an act borrowing the sum of #55,000, payable in 1857.
W e have no data showing the population, amount of taxable property, or
amount of State tax collected in 1847. But from that year, the Auditors’ re­
ports, Governors’ messages, and other documents, furnish accurate and positive
information on these points. W e present it to the people :—
Amount o f
taxable property.

Years.

1848
1849
1850
1851
1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857

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

$15,471,109
18.479,751
22,607,330
28,464,650
38,427,376
49,540,304
72,327,204
106,895,390
164,394,413
210,044,533

State tax.

$38,677
46,199
66,538
85,393
57,641
61,925
90,409
133,619
205,493
420,089

Population.

Cost o f State
Government.

160,000
175.000
192,974
230,000
255,000
300,000
850,000
450,000
509,414
600,000

$82,518 00
37,404 98
37,404 98
65,815 84
65,815 84
59,271 45
59,271 45
128,286 70
128,286 70
314,407 03

77
37
33
65
06
38
04
23
01
06

The expenses of starting the State Government the first year were #52,103 17
'exceeding the expenses of the second year by some #20,000.
SEMI-ANNUAL DIVIDENDS.

W e are indebted to Mr. J. G. M a r t i n , stock broker, Mo. 6 State-street, Bos­
ton, for the following list of dividends and interest money disbursed at the dates
given in August. They are all payable in Boston, excepting the Salem Gaslight,
at Salem :—
Capital,
Aug., 1859.

.Name of companies.

Aug. 1 .. Amoskeag Manufacturing Company .
15. .Boston, Concord, ifc Montreal bonds. .
*. .Boston Duck Com pany.......................
* . .Brooklyne Gaslight Company............
1 . .Cambridge Gaslight Company............
1 .. Connecticut River, ( o ld ) .....................
1 ..
“
“
(preferred)............
1 . . Eastern Railroad bonds, 1874 ...........
1 . .Hartford City (park) Loan..................
1 . .Laconia Manufacturing Com pany.. . .
l..P e p p e re ll Manufacturing Company...
1. .Portland City bonds..............................
1 .. Saco Water Power...............................
1 . .Salem Gaslight Company....................
1. .South Boston Gas Company...............
* . .Thorndike Manufacturing Company..
T ota l................................................

$3,000,000
Interest.
350,000
54,500
200,000
1,283,600
307,500
445,500
Interest.
1,007,000
1,000,000
Interest.
2,000sh s.
125,000
100,000
450,000

Dividends.
Feb. Aug.

4

4

3
4
4
2
4
3
3
3
4
3

3

t

4
4

•

H
5
2*
4
3
8
3
5
3
S12i
4
4

3

Amount.
Aug., ’59.
§ 1 2 0 ,0 0 0

10,000
10,500
1,908
10,000
82,090
12,300
13,365
5,000
30,210
50,000
5,000
25,000
5,000
4,000
13,500
$347,873

The Suffolk Lead Company will pay 3 per cent in September, instead of A u­
gust, as heretofore; the Lyman Mills passes the August dividend ; the Pittsburg
and Boston (Cliff) Mining Company will probably pay a dividend early in A u ­
gust, and the Suffolk and Tremont Manufacturing Companies the latter part of
the month.
Payable on demand.




t Saco "Water Power, annual—paid $10 August, 1853.

468

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce,

STATISTICS OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.
COTTON CROP OF THE UNITED STATES.
STA TE M E N T A N D TO TA L

AMOUNT

FOR

THE

YEAR

E N D IN G

A U G U ST

18§9.

N E W ORLEANS.

81, 1869.

1858.

1857.

Export to foreign ports.......... .bales 1,580,581
196,590
Coastwise...........................................
Burnt at New Orleans.......................
11,335
26,022
Stock, 1st September, 1859.............
1,814,528
Deduct received from M ob ile .........
Received from Montgomery,
. . ..
Received from Florida......................
Received from Texas.........................
Stock, 1st September, 1858.............

&c

59,703
13,540
6,684
35,097
30,230
145,254
1,669,274 1,576,409 1,435,000

MOBILE.

Export to foreign p o r ts ...................
Coastwise...........................................
Manufactured in Mobile, &c.............
Stock, 1st September, 1859.............

514,935
179,854
1,120
20,106

Deduct received from New Orleans.
Received from Texas.........................
Stock, 1st September, 1858 ............

782
154
10,673

716,015

11,609
704,406

522,364

503,177

192,062

145,286

89,882

173,484

122,361

136,344

475,788

282,973

822,111

TEXAS.

Export to foreign p o r ts ...................
Coastwise...........................................
Manufactured in Galveston..............
Stock, 1st September, 1859.............

79,534
111,672
100
2,655
193,961
1,899

Deduct stock, 1st September, 1858..
FLORIDA.

Export to foreign ports, Uplands . .
Sea Islands....................................
Coastwise, U plands.........................
Sea Islands....................................
Stock, 1st September, 1859.............

40,102
750
112,873
19,603
236
173,564
80

Deduct stock, 1st September, 1858...
GEORGIA.

Export to foreign ports, Uplands . .
Sea Islands....................................
Coastwise, U plands.........................
Sea Islands....................................
Stock in Savannah, 1st Sept., 1859.
Stock in Augusta, Ac., 1st Sept., ’59

253,743
8,298
197,266
8,493
9,320
9,063

Deduct received from Florida, S. Isl.
Uplands..........................................
Stock in Savannah, 1st Sept., 1858.
Stock in Augusta, Ac., 1st Sept., ’68

7,346
464
684
1,901

486,183




10,395

469

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
S O U T H C A R O L IN A .

Export from Charleston—
To foreign ports. U plands...............
Sea Islands....................... ............
Coastwise, (includ’g 1,242 bales from
Georgetown,) Uplands.................
Sea Islands....................................
Burnt at Charleston...........................
Stock, 1st September, 1859.............
Deduct received from Florida, S. Isl.
Uplands..........................................
Received from Savannah, S. Islands
Uplands..........................................
Received from Savannah per steam­
er Huntsville and reshipped, Up.
Stock in Charleston, 1st Sept., 1859

316,585
23,339
150,955
3,680
22

17,592
---------8,733
754
895
8,863
560
11.715
---------

512,173

31,520
---------

480,653

406,251

397,331

37,482

23,999

27,147

33,011
47,175
29,463
8,683

24,705
3,363
3,275
2,986

23,773
2,022
1,236
1,496

N O R T H C A R O L IN A .

Export to coastwise ports.
V I R G IN IA .

Export coastwise...............................
Manufactured, (taken from the ports)
Stock, 1st September, 1859............

21,537
11,099
375
---------Deduct stock, 1st September, 1858..................

33,611
600

Received at New York, Boston, (fee., from Tennessee, (fee.
Received at Philadelphia from Tennessee, (fee.................
Received at Baltimore from Tennessee, (fee.....................

Total crop of the United States........................... 3,851,481 3,113,962 2,939,519
Increase over crop of 1858 .....................................
“
“
1857......................................
“
“
1856.....................................
E X P O R T TO F O R E IG N P O R T S , F R O M S E P T E M B E R

New Orleans............ .bales
Mobile...................... .
Texas........................
Florida.................................
Savannah..................
Charleston.................
Baltim ore.................
Philadelphia..............
New Y ork................. .........
Boston.........................

To
To
Great Britain. France.
994,696
256,447
105,770
7,875
40,801
7,815
42,284

737.519
911,962
323,636

1, 1858,

T O AU GU ST

To north
of Europe.
182,475
38,287
23,036
51
11,264
40,590

31, 1859.

Other
for. ports.
146,963
19,494
2,000
4,560
39,003

30,505

31,417
2,892

9,304
35

104
1,715
193,460
8,257

T o t a l.................
Total last year..

450,696
384,002

330,012
215,145

221,443
181,342

3,021,403
2,590,455

Increase....

66,694

114,867

40,101

430,948




....
122,234

84

Total.
1,580,581
514,935
79,534
40,852
262,041
339,924

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce,

470

CONSUMPTION.

T o tal crop of the United States, as before s t a t e d ..............................bales
3,851,481
Add stocks on hand at the commencement of the year, 1st Sept., 1858—
In the Southernports........................................................
57,604
In the Northernports........................................................
45,322
------------------------------ 102,926
Making a supply o f..............................................................................
3,954,407
Deduct therefrom the export to foreign ports. 3,021,403
Less foreign included........................................
884
---------3,020,519
Stocks on hand, 18t September, 1859—
In the Southern ports.....................................
85,369
Iu the Northern ports.....................................
63,868
---------149,237
Burnt at New Orleans, New York, it Philad..
11,492
Burnt it manuf. at Mobile, Charlest’n, it Galv’n
1,242
Manufactured in Virginia...................................
11,699
_ .----24,433
----------3,194,189
bales
Taken for home use north of Virginia........
Taken lor home use in Virginia and south and west of Virginia..

760.218
167,433

Total consumed ir U. States, (including burnt at ports) 1858 - 9 . . .

927,651

North of
Virginia, Elsewhere,
bales.
bales.

1 8 5 7 -5 8 ...
1 8 5 6 -5 7 ...
1 8 5 5 -5 6 ...
1 8 5 4-5 5 ...
1 8 5 3 -5 4 ...
1 8 5 2-5 3 ...

452,185
665,718
633,027
571,117
592,284
650,393

143,377
154,218
187,712
135,295
144,952
153,832

North of
Virginia, Elsewhere,
bales.
bales.

Total,
bales.

595,562
819,936
770,739
706,412
737,236
803,725

1 8 5 1-5 2 ...
1850-51..
1849-50..
1848-49..
1S47-48..

588,322
386,429
476,486
504,143
523,892

111,281
99,185
137,012
13S.342
92,152

Total,
bales.

699,603
485,614
613,498
642,485
616,044

COMMERCE OF NEW ORLEANS.
The New Orleans Prices Current having published its exceedingly valuable
annual tables of the trade of that port, we extract a portion o f them. In its
interesting general remarks, it states that, notwithstanding the intervention of
war, the cotton crop has exceeded that of last year by G80,000 bales, the aver­
age price has been higher, and the value of the crop has been $34,000,000 iu
excess of that of last year. The sugar crop is $7,000,000 in excess. The com­
parative receipts from the interior have been as follows, showing an aggregate
increase of $5,797,118
T A B L E S H O W IN G T H E R E C E IP T S

OF TH E

T H E Y E A R S E N D IN G S l S T AU G U ST ,
TOTAL VALUE.

f------------

Articles.

&c.

76,952
35,557
2,143
32,451
343,833
35,691
133,276
7,678
33,733
1,227
41

A R T IC L E S

1858. -------- N

Amount. Av. price.

Apples.......... .
Bacon.. lihds. ifc csks.
Bacon.............
Bacon hams.hhds.
Bacon in bulk ...lb s .
Bagging...........pieces
Bale rope . . .
Bean9............
Butter.. kegs & firks.
Butter...........
Beeswax........




P R IN C IP A L

1858 A N D 1859, W I T H

$5
90
45
73

00
00
00
00
9
13 00
8 00
5 00
1000
35 00
50 00

Value.

$384,160
3,200,130
96,435
2,368,923
30,944
463,983
1,066,208
38,390
337,330
42,945
2,050

F R O M T H E IN T E R I O R D U R IN G

T H E I R E S T IM A T E D A V E R A G E AND

18.59.

---------------- V
f
Value.
Amount. Av. price.

43,320 $8 00
35,491 90 00
8,815 40 00
87,829 70 00
8
10,000
34,706 14 00
127,321
9 00
5 00
7,771
25,113 10 00
547 35 00
9 50 00

$346,560
3,194,190
152,600
2,648,030
800
485,884
1,145,889
38,855
251,130
19,145
450

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

t

471

r

1858,
1859.Articles.
Amount. Av. price.
Value.
Value.
Amount. Av. price.
B e e f...............
27,130 $13 50
$658,723
$366,255
50,671 $13 00
Beef............... .
5,547 23 00
77,660
127,581
8,883 20 00
Beef, dried . . .
30,450
12
2,770
3,654
27,700
10
Cotton............ . bales 1,678,616 52 50 88,127,340 1,774,298 53 00 '92,037,794
Corn meal...... , .bbls.
700
5 00
360
3,500
5 00
72
Corn in ear. . .
62,405
50
5,000
31,202
1 00
5,000
Corn, shelled. .sacks - 1,291,731
1 45
1,518,876
1,873,009
759,438
2 00
Cheese............,boxes
54,447
3 50
211,865
190,564
3 50
60,533
Candles.........
72,183
691,472
8 00
8 00
577,464
86,434
Cider..............
83
168
8 00
664
21
8 00
Coal, western.
2,501,000
965,250
50
1,250,500 2,145,000
45
3,809
Dried apples A p’ch’s
5,616
9 00
34,281
468 12 00
.Feathers........
886 50 00
68,650
44,300
1,373 50 00
1,031 12 00
Flaxseed........ . .trc.s.
3,504
292 12 00
12,372
Flour............ .
1,538,742
4 60
6,509,868
6 00
7,078,213 1,084,978
Furs. hhds., bdls., tfcc.
469
85,000
160,000
229
20,662
305,145
Glassware.. . . .pkgs.
5 00
61,029
5 00
103,310
H e m p ...........
224,400
13,787 25 00
344,675
11,220 20 00
H id e s...............N o .
103,174
327,696
3 00
3 00
309,522
109,232
Hay................
401,778
84,287
107,141
3 25
273,933
3 75
Iron, pig . . . .
14,640
257 35 00
8,995
488 30 00
112,970 35 00
2,356,920
Bard.. . . bbls. A trcs.
3,953,950
78,564 30 00
381,552
Lard..............
93,240
63,592
6 00
652,6S0
7 00
5,689 30 00
Leather . . . . ,
209,550
170,670
6,985 30 00
29,900
Lime, western.. bbls.
13,843
1 10
1 30
17,995
27,182
450,138
L e a d .............
112,147
6 00
672,882
75,023
6 00
1,242 21 00
9,020
26,082
Lead, bar.kegs A bxs.
410 22 00
205
1,956
Lead, white ... .kegs
2 00
978
2 00
41026
6,470,817
Molasses.(crop,) gals. 19,578,790
231 4,601,015 24,837,760
874,604
568,649
1 50
1 20
249,736
O ats.. , bbls. & sacks
682,378
110,980
12,135
Onions..........
5 00
22.196
5 00
60,675
208 35 00
17,940
Oil, linseed..
7,280
598 30 00
60,650
1,472 60 00
Oil, castor . .
1,213 50 00
88,320
Oil, lard........
733,572
12,800 35 00
448,000
20,377 36 00
494,008
210,481
123,502
4 00
Potatoes.. . .
2 25
473,582
278,480 17 75
4,631,860
266,580 17 00
4,943,020
P o rk .. . . trcs. A bbls.
7,000
200 40 00
P o r k .............
8,000
175 40 00
4,330 70 00
2,828 70 00
197,960
Pork...............
303,100
417,S68
7
7
515.010 5,969,550
Pork in bulk.. ...lb s . 7,357,291
6,350 10 00
11,466 10 00
114,660
63.500
Porter A ale.. .. bbls.
2,061
8,365
1,673
5 00
5 00
10,305
Packing yarn . .reels
1,220
3,000 20 00
61 20 00
60,000
Kum..............
43,680
1,712 20 00
2,184 20 00
34,240
Skins, d e e r... .packs
21,000
6,100
6,000
3 50
3 00
18,300
Shingles____ . ...M .
1,871 25 00
48,450
2,375 20 40
S h o t.............
46,775
13,983
55,932
4 00
9,857
4 00
39,428
S o a p .............
11,500 65 00
13,706 70 00
959,420
747,500
S ta v e s.........
379,697 64/10 17,900,608
362,296 69 00 24,998,424
Sugar, (crop,). . .hhds.
4,201 16 00
68,912
67,216
4,307 16 00
Spanish moss ..bales
905 30 00
855 30 00
25,650
27,150
Tallow . . . . . .bbls.
6,921,750
75.16S 153 00 11,500,704
62,925 n o o o
Tobacco, leaf. .hhds.
2,200,000
9,514 212 00
11,000 200 00
2.016,968
Tobacco, strips........
40,000
2,459 45 00
2,000 20 00
110,655
Tobacco, stems . . . .
202,576
3,006 25 00
9,208 22 00
75,150
Tobacco, chew’g bxs.
4,233
9 00
88,097
4,524 11 00
49,764
Twine . ..bdls. A bxs.
4 00
5,664
4 00
4,596
1,416
1,149
Vinegar . . . .
9 00
1,376,235
152,915
125,207
8 00
1,001,656
Whisky . . .
2 25
29,585
66,566
401,275
2 00
802,550
W heat. bbls. A sacks
6,500,000
6,000,000
Other various articles, estimated at. . . .
Total value




$167,155,516

$172,952,664

472

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The foreign trade of New Orleans has been as follows:—
C O M P A R A T IV E STA TE M E N T O F T H E

VALUE

OF

I M P O R T S T H R O U G H T H E CUSTOM H O U S E , N E W

O R L E A N S , F O R T H E F I S C A L Y E A R S E N D IN G 3 0 T H JU N E , F O R 8 1 X Y E A R S .

1854.

1855.

1856.

1857.

1858.

1859.

Dutiable.......... $8,272,449 $6,939,002 $8,990,583 16,417,035 10,247,093 $9,952,646
3,876,573 4,297,170 6,417,596 6,637,076 4,818,069 6,725,446
T re e................
Specie bull’n 2,253,128 1,687,436 1,775,148 1,927,039 4,520,851
1,671,424

&

Total______ 14,402,150 12,928,608 17,183,327 24,981,150 19,586,013 18,349,516
Exports___ 60,172,628 55,688,559 80,567,963 91,514,286 88,382,438 100,734,952

The exports are $9,220,666 more than for the largest year, 1857.
Current remarks:—

The Prices

According to the Custom-house records the total value of exports to foreign
countries, of produce aDd merchandise of the growth and manufacture of the
United States, and of foreign merchandise, for the fiscal year ended June 30 th,
1859, was $101,634,952, against $88,382,438 last year, showing an increase of
$13,252,514. Of the value of the exports coastwise the Custom-house has kept
no recqrd since 1857, but an estimate which we have made from our own tables
enables us to state that the amount is about $32,000,000 ; thus making the total
value o f our exports, foreign and coastwise, $133,634,952. The value of for­
eign merchandise and specie imported in the same period was $18,349,516,
against $19,586,013 last year, showing a decrease of $1,236,497. There is no
record of the value of the numerous cargoes of domestic and foreign merchan­
dise and produce received coastwise, but its amount would count by tens of mil­
lions.
LUMBER TRADE OF PHILADELPHIA,

The aggregate business of the city, says the Philadelphia Commercial List,
in lumber of all kinds, and from all sources, is very large, though very little of
it comes in such shape as to be regularly noted in the commercial statements.
The Lehigh Canal brings a share of pine, with a larger proportion of hemlock,
and from the Delaware River above there is a very large quantity of hemlock
brought in rafts, with a small share of pine, and a considerable quantity of hard
wood. White pine comes mainly from the Susquehanna, through the Tide-water
and the Chesapeake and Delaware canals. A considerable quantity of Albany
white pine now arrives through the Delaware and Raritan Canal, and a small
amount from Maine in the coasting trade.
Coasting vessels from the South
bring yellow pine and ship-timber from two ports on the Gulf, and from a large
number on the Atlantic in the entire range from St. John’s River, in Florida,
to Delaware Bay. There are several departments of this general trade which
have heretofore failed to take a place in the regular commercial statistics of the
port, and which, for this reason, require some attention to insure them considera­
tion. The coastwise lumber trade from Maine employs from ninety to a hundred
arrivals yearly, and that from the South a somewhat larger number, together
adding a considerable fleet to the coasting shipping.
The following are the quantities of lumber transported for five years past over
the principal canal lines which bring it to the city, and by the rivers and coast­
ing trade, as made up for the report of the Board of Trade. These last items
are made up in part from the recorded manifests of vessels in the lumber trade
at the Exchange, and in part from the records kept by leading houses to which




473

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

these classes are consigned. That brought from Maine is small, in the form of
plain lumber,-and its quantity is from the record of dealers. The southern lum­
ber is given from the general estimate of several leading houses dealing in it,
based upon the actual receipts of several of them, which very nearly make up
the aggregates given. They are in no case in excess of the true quantities,
which are, unfortunately, only in part recorded on the Exchange books. One
line of vessels trading largely to ports on the Atlantic south of Norfolk sends
none of its receipts lor record, aud others are but in part recorded :—
R E C E IP T S OF L U M B E R A T P H I L A D E L P H IA F R O M S E V E R A L O F T H E P R I N C I P A L S O U R C E S .

1854,

1855.

Lehigh Canal, official.........................feet
46,736,968
Chesapeake and Delaware Caual, official
56,25",533
Schuylkill Navigation....................... tons
7,858
E s tim a te ........................................feet
7,358,600
Delaware Diver, estim ate...................... 28,000,000
Delaware and Dari tan i anal, estimate..
4,000,000
State o f Delaware, coastwi&e, estimate .
1,650.000
Virginia & Maryland, coastwise,estimate
3,000,000
Southern, coastwise, estim ate................
7,000,000
Maine, coastwise, estimate......................
2,050,000

1856.

1857.

1858.

54,587,587 49,546,743 43.1411,477 35,688,031
61,368,412 64,355,384 68,925,029 51,372,199
2,793
243
6,879
27,492
2,795,060
245,000 6,879,000 27,492,000
35,000,000 32.000,000 30,000,000 30,000,000
4,000,000 4,500,000 4,500,000 4.500,000
1,700,000 1.500,090 1,500,000 1.500.000
3,500,000 3,200,000 3,250,000 3.000,000
7.000,ooO 7,300,000 7,270.000 7,090,000
2,713,000 3,003,000 2.435,000 2 , 100,000

T o ta l................................................... 156,052,859 172,666,794 165,650,372162,892,385*762,879,722

The following table of receipts of lumber of various kinds from Marne is made
up from the lists carefully kept by two or three dealers, and mainly front a table
furnished by Messrs. G a s k i l l & G a l v i n , in Kensington :—
R E C E IP T S O F L U M B E R FR O M M A IN E A T P[1 IL A D E L P H IA .

L a t h ..................................No.
Pickets.....................................
Spruce jo is ts .....................feet
White pine..............................
Ship timber...................pieces
Arrivals o f vessels............No.

1855.

185G.

1857.

56.187,000
1,746,000
2,663,000
50,0 >0
4,933
103

33,335,000
1,810,000
2,928,000
75,000
1,400
90

30,877,000
2,072,000
-2,185,000
250,000
1,350
95

1858.
21,000,000
2,357,000
1,850,000
25,000
2,075
70

The entries recorded at the Exchange give little more than half the above
quantities of lath and pickets, and a somewhat larger proportion of the remain­
ing items. The aggregate value of the lumber brought from Maine varies from
8125,000 to $150,000 yearly. A fleet of twenty to thirty vessels is employed in
this trade, with occasional shipments of fish as part freight, and most of it is
shipped at Calais and Eastport, Maine.
The Southern trade in lumber employs a like number of vessels, with about
one hundred arrivals annually. Jacksonville and St. Mary’s River, Florida,
Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, Washington, and Newbern, in North Caro­
lina, and Norfolk, are the principal points from which the yellow pine lumber is
shipped along the Southern coast. Shipments are sometimes made from Mobile
and Pensacola also, usually as mixed freight, however, aud not in full cargoes.
The trade in Southern lumber embraces a large quautity of cedar and cypress
shingles, with a quantity of ship-tiinber of various kinds. It is impossible to
distinguish the kinds and quantities, either in cubic feet, prices, or superficial
measure, from the imperfect records made, but the range 13 probably from 100,000
to 175,000 cubic feet per annum. The following are the quantities of lumber
brought through the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, which, with the Southern,
constitute about half the amount consumed here— the remainder coming mainly
down the Delaware River :—




474

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.
T IM B E R R E C E I V E D A T P H I L A D E L P H IA .

1855.
Chesapeake A Delaware Canal..c.feet
Delaware
Raritan C anal.................
Southern, coastwise................................

1856.

1857.

1858.

Delaware River, estimate...................

2,930,131
800,000
175,000
3,500,000

4,013,638 2,899,705 2,903,865
1,000,000
925,000
700,000
94,158
120,000
85,000
4,000,000 3,500,000 3,000,000

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

7,405,131

9,107,796

&

7,441,705

6,688,865

The quantities taken for the business in timber by the Delaware River are, of
course, but estimates, since all is brought iu the form of rafts, which pass no
lockage or other improvement where their quantity is noted. Timber is, not
sold in a manner which permits dealers to keep themselves informed in regard to
the quantity in the market so definitely as of timber in other forms. Timber for
spars usually comes from the Susquehanna, though a few pieces are brought from
Maine, and oak hips, beams, and knees come from various parts of the adjacent
States.
The supply of shingles is placed, by parties dealing largely in them, particu­
larly from the South, at the following figures :—
Pine from Susquehanna........... .. .
Pine, other, estimate................
Cypress, Southern.................... . .
Cedar, Southern....................... . .

1855.

1856.

1857.

11,197,637

7,735,125
2,800,000
10,000,000
2,500,000

8,828,077
2,800,000
10,000,000
2,500,000

22,035,125

24,128,077

10,000,000
2,500,000

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

1858.
7,720,937
2,500,000
9.000.
000
2.000.
000
21,220,937

The transportation of shingles and staves by the Schuylkill Navigation Com­
pany for two years is stated iu tons as follows —
Shingles descending.......
Staves descending........

.tons

1857.

185S.

932
106

606
450

The discrepancy in value is such that it is scarcely proper to put pine and
cypress shingles together in the same aggregates. Cypress shingles are worth
an average of $14 per thousand, cedar $22, and pine $6. The aggregate value
of the entire trade ranges from $220,000 to $250,000 annually, the Southern
supply being worth $150,000 to $180,000.
The quantity of sftives and heading taken here is large, but there is no mode
o f ascertaining it, except from the reports of the Chesapeake and Delaware
Canal, no other lines distinguishing it, except some imperfect manifests of the
coasting trade, and two years’ statements of the Schuylkill Canal. It is noted
by weight in the freightage of both canals, and the following quantities in pounds
are given :—

1856.
Susquehanna staves and heading...........lbs.
Schuylkill staves and heading......................

3,538,158
...............

1857.
4,217,613
237,440

1858.
4,174,661
1,008,000

This may probably be taken as one-half the quantity received from all quar­
ters, coastwise and inland. A considerable demand for cooperage and for vats
exist in the extensive manufacture of malt aud other liquors here, and in the
sugar trade with Cuba.
The foreign trade of this port in lumber is very small, and only for export to
the West Indies or other tropical ports. It forms the incidental freight of ves­
sels going out for other cargoes on ly; yet it might be extended in some cases




475

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

with advantage, particularly for the more valuable Southern yellow pine lumber.
In 1856 and 1857, the fiscal years, the following were the exports. It is certain
that in the subsequent year the aggregate was much larger, reaching $50,000 at
least:—

1857.

1856.
Boards, planks, &c.......................
Shingles.......................................... .........
Staves and heading....................... .........
Other lumber.......................

$27,706
232
661
3,185

1,848
2,018

GROWTH OF THE WHALE TRADE.

In the North American Review for January, 1834, will be found an article on
the “ Whale Fishery,” which embraced the first approximately accurate statis­
tics published in this country relative to the history and condition of this for­
midable national iuterest. The article was prepared by a gentleman then a law
student at New Bedford, who subsequently became a citizen of the West, and
has contributed articles relative to the marvelous growth and commerce of the
W est for this Magazine. Since that time the very interesting statistics of this
marvelous business have been periodically published, and will be found from
time to time embodied in our pages.
A comparison of the facts embraced in the articlo of the North American
with the “ Statistics of Whaling,” in our August number, will exhibit at a
glance the growth of this adventurous pursuit for the last twenty-five years. The
shipping from the several ports most deeply engaged in the business, the relative
tonnage, number of seamen, capital employed, importations, &c., at the respect­
ive periods were as follows :—
Ports.

No. of
vessels,
1834.

Ports.

New Bedford...............................
Fairhaven ami smaller ports
embraced in New Bedford
Collection District.................
Nantucket..................................
New London . . . ........................
Sag Harbor.................................
Edgartown, Falmouth, and Fall
River........................................
Bristol, Warren, and Newport.
Ports north of Cape Cod, viz.,
Plymouth, Salem. Newburyport, and Portsmouth............
New York citv, Hudson, Pough­
keepsie, and N ew burg.........
Building and not enumerated..

154 New Bedford..............................
Fairhaven....................................
W estport....................................
30 Mattapoisett...............................
73 Nantucket................................
37 New L ondon..............................
24 Sag H arbor................................
Edgartown..................................
12 Warren........................................
31 Provincetown..............................
Portsmouth.................................
Sundry small ports not em­
10
braced above...........................

Whole American whale fleet..

400

21 Whole American whale fleet.,
8

No. of
vessels,
1859.
320
47
20
19
36
65
20
18
16
31
10
59
661

'Phe whole whale fleet of the world was then estimated at 700 vessels; it may
now fairly, perhaps, be estimated at 900 ships
Total tonnage of ships engaged..
Value of fleet...............................
Seamen employed.......................
■Soerm oil. .bbls.
Whale oil...........
Whalebone. ..lbs.
Annual value of oil and bone, takin: average of four
previous years.......................




ISM .

1859.

132,000
$12,000,000
10,000
95,000
146,500
1,175,000

203,062
$16,525,000
16,370
193,300
153,850
1,538,009

$4,500,000

$12,295,421

476

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

The general range of value of oils is now fifty per cent, and of bone two hun­
dred per cent, higher than they were twenty five years ago.
In speculations relative to the possible or probable profits of the business, the
cautious reader should remember that, in consequence of the greatly lengthened
voyages, the cost o f recruiting at foreign ports and islands, the wear and tear,
and other incidental expenses, have vastly increased.
It will be perceived that New Bedford holds her relative position as the great
whaling port, her fleet having more than doubled. Nantucket has sunk from
the second to the third place in the scale, while New London has advanced to
the second place, these towns having almost exactly changed positions in their
rank as whaling ports. Quite a large number of cities and towns, possessing
abundant capital, and which have commanded success in other less precarious
pursuits, after having sufficiently tried the experiment, have abandoned the busi­
ness as too desperate, while the little village of Provincetown, which reaches
out its sandy arm, like the stem end of a “ crook neck,” into Massachusetts
Bay, triumphantly establishes and maintains a fleet of thirty-one vessels in the
trade.
GUANO ISLANDS DISCOVERED.

A correspondent of the New York Tribune gives the following interesting
figures in regard to Guano Islands :—
Noticing, a few days since, that Clipperton Island had been proclaimed to the
world as belonging to the Emperor of France, and as this guano question has
become one of the first moment, it has occurred to me it would not be uninterest­
ing to your readers to know, if any, and how many Guano Islands in the Pacific
Ocean, or elsewhere, have become the property of citizens of the United States,
and have been recognized by the government as pertaining to its territories
under the act of Congress approved August 18, 185C.
The following is believed to be a correct list of said islands, and^their several
latitudes and longitudes, v iz .:—
Latitude.
Baker’s.........
Jarvis..........
Holland........
Malden’s . . . .
Arthur’s........
Christmas . .
Caroline . . . .
Ann’s ...........
Slaver’s ___
Flint’s .........
Rauman’s . . .
Rogewein’s .
Gronique... .
Frienhaven .
Quiro’s ........
Low..............
Clarence___
Favorites....
Duke of York
Farmer’s.......
Birnie’s .........
Phoenix........
Mary’s .........
Edinburg’s ...

0°
0
0
4
3

I
9
9
10
11
11
11
10
10
10

16'
21
50
15
32
53
54
49
05
26

N.
S.
N.
S.
S.
N.
S.
s.
s.
s.

48

s.
s.

00
00
00

32
33
07

9
9
2 50
8 30
O 00

s.

s.
s.

s.
s.
s.

s.
s.

3
3

35

s.

40

2

53

3

08

s.
s.
s.




Longitude.
21' w.
52
W.
w.
52
00
w.
\v.
05
w.
32
w.
07
15 w .
16 w .
48
w.
w.
10
w.
07
44 w .
w.
59
w.
12
w.
38
w.
40
40 w .
10 w .
w.
50
171 39 w .
w.
170
52
172
00 w .

176°
159
176
165
176
157
150
151
152
151
154
156
156
156
170
17U
171
176
172
170

174

14

Sydney ........
Penhryn’s . . .
Pescado . . . .
Ganges . . . .
Rierson........
Sideron’s . . .
Humphrey’s.
Frances . . . .
Flint.............
Nassau... „ .
Danger.........
Mary Letitias
Kemin’s . . . .
Walker’s . . .
Sarah Anne.
Am erica.. . .
Pi ospect. . . .
Samarang . .
Palm oore.. .
Danger........
Makin..........
Mathew’s ... .
D avis...........
W . Barbera__ _

4
8
10
10
11
11
10
9
10
11
10

Latitude.
24 S.

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

55
38
59
11
05
40
58
32
52
00
40
41

S.

s.
s.
s.
s.

s.
s.
s.
s.

s.
s.

s.
N.
00 N .
40 N .
42 N.
10 N .
43 N .
30 N.
02 N.
03 N.
40 N
54 N.

58

Longitude.
bo W.
W.
07
20 W.
w.
55
w.
53
w.
50
w.
52
w.
40
w.
05
w.
90
56 AV.
w.
29
44 w .

171
157
159
160
160
161
160
161
162
165
165
173
173
149
154
159
161
162
162
162
172
173
170
173

10
22
28

33
23
20

32
46
28
10
00

w.
w.
w.
w.
w.
w.
w.
w.
w.
w.

w.

iStatistics o f Trade and Commerce.

477

The two first named islands have been claimed by the American Guano Com­
pany. and the rest by the United States Guano Company, and other citizeus of
the United States.
I understand these acquisitions are all to be surveyed and chartered, and the
quality and quantity of the guano thereon to be ascertained by competent an­
alytical chemists and topographical engineers, and a report thereof made to Con­
gress at the earliest practicable period. A t some of these islands there are good
harbors and safe anchorage; and at most of them there is a good lee, which,
coupled with the fact that most all of them are situated where storms are seldom
known, (the prevailing winds being from the East,) makes them places of safe
resort for ships.
The quantity and accessibility of the guano, on many of these islands, is placed
beyond doubt. What remains to be demonstrated is its quality, and whether
that is such to warrant its importation. On this point I am not competent to
decide, because there are two theories which now divide the opinions of scientic
men, viz., the ammoniacal and the mineral. The former advocated by Laws,
Gilbert, Johnson, and others; and the latter by Liebig, Gale, and others, who
claim that it is nutrition, not stimulus, which is the great desideratum. The
guano from these islands comes under the last head ; the Peruvian, Elide, and
Ichaboe, under the first. Time will settle which theory is correct.
A gentleman who is well acquainted with the islands of this ocean, gives us
some information in regard to some of those claimed above, which it maybe well
to state here. 1st. Arthur’s, Favorite, and Parmer’s Islands do not exist; 2d.
Walker’s, Sarah Ann, Samarang, and David’s Islands are of doubtful existence.
A ll the above are laid down on the charts, it is true, but probably none of them
exist; 3d. Flint’s, Clarence, Duke of York, Rierson’s, and Humphrey’s Islands
are all inhabited, and possession of them cannot, very well, be taken by foreign­
ers. Sydney Island is covered with trees or woods. Christmas and Caroline
Islands are partly covered with cocoanuts, and are known not to possess guano.
That there may be guano, in abundance, on many of the islands claimed, is very
likely, but the best deposits will probably be found to exist on small, rocky is­
lands, as yet, perhaps, undiscovered.

RICE EXPORT FROM THE EAST INDIES TO EUROPE.

The quantity of rice, in tons, shipped from the East Indies to Europe for the
year ending May, 1859, was as follows :—
From Akyab................................................................................................ ton9
Rangoon....................................................................................................
Moulmain.................................................................................................
B asseir...............................................................................................................
Calcutta....................................................................................................
Java..........................................................................................................

32,550
11,190
2,630
6,730
5.000
7.000

T o ta l......................................................................... ...............................
Balance of season, entire.........................................................................

65,100
25,000

Total for season..............................................................................................

90,100

Stock in London and Liverpool..........................................'.................
Stock on the continent..................................................................................

100,000
20,000

Supply for consumption in year 1860.......................................................

210,000

English consumption, 1858............................................
Continent consumption, 1853........................................




90,000
140,000
----------

230,000

Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

478

LUMBER IN THE NORTHWEST.

The Chicago Tribune recapitulates the lumber trade o f that region as fol­
lows :—
The foregoing facts we have gleaned from reliable sources, and although in
some instances they are mere estimates, yet they are generally made by men whose
experience enables them to form pretty correct ideas on the subject, based on
general facts. Below we give a recapitulation of the whole supply, as enumerated
above:—
Saginaw..................... feet
Green Bay.........................
Manistee...........................
Manitowoc .....................
Grand Traverse...............
Muskegon..........................
Grand River.....................
Two Rivers........................
Point Sauble and adjacent
m ills ..............................
White L a b e .....................

15,000,000 | St. Joseph . . . . . .
70,000,000 |Kalamazoo...........
30,000,000 j St. Clair R iver....
12,000.000 } Canada ................. ...........
8,000,000
Total.........................
45,000,000
20,000,000 To supply Milwaukee and
other ports.
5,000,000
10,000,000 Total supply for Chicago.
9,000,000

8,900,000
8,000,000
8,000,000
7,000,000
255,000,000
65,000,000
190,000,000

The sales of lumber in this market last year will be seen from the following
table :—
Oh hand December 10, 1857................................................................feet
Received during 1858..................................................................................

178,474,073
278,943,506

Stock of 1858.,.................................................................................
On hand, December 15, 1858.....................................................................

452,417,560
128,456,000

Sales in this market........................................................................
Add to this 100,000,000 sold throughout the State during the year,
from the stock on hand in January, 1859............................................

323,961,579

Total sales in Chicago, and points supplied by it...........................

423,961,579

100,000,000

This shows the sales of 1858. It is conceded on all hands that the demand
from the country west of us during the present year will at least be as great as
in 1858, and the probability is that the sales will be heavier. The following
shows how much we will have to supply our customers :—
On'hand, December 15, 1858...............................................................feet
Probable supply this year by lake............................................................
Probable supply this year by railway......................................................

128,456,000
190.000,000
4,000,000

Total su p p ly ...................................................................................

322,456,000

PROSPECTS OF THE SILK TRADE.

The China Telegraph remarks :—
Of the producing capabilities o f China for silk there is scarcely any limit.
Forty years ago the raw silk it was capable of furnishing was thought not much
to exceed 200.000 pounds annually. The quantity imported into the United
Kingdom alone, in 1830, rose to 500,000 pounds, and in 1857 it had risen to
nearly 10,000,000 pounds of all kinds ; so that the quantity Which was supposed
to be the utmost capacity of China to produce has been multiplied fifty-fold.
The year 1857 may probably be considered an exceptional one ; but even though
last year was an exceedingly dull one, in a business point of view, a difference of
the 2,000.000 pounds of silk between the imports from China in 1858 and 185G
is rather inexplicable.
In 1844-5, the exports of raw silk from Shanghae amounted to only 9,434
bales ; but in 1856-7-8, it was 60,736 bales. Within the short period of fifteen
years, Shanghae has furnished Europe and America with 534,845 bales, which,




Statistics o f Trade and Commerce.

479

taking them on an average at 180 pounds net, gives a total of 58,763,260 pounds
of silk ; and as it takes about 12 pounds of cocoons to furnish one pound of raw
silk, this gives 705,159,120 pounds of cocoons required for the production of the
silk for export, exclusive of that for the large local consumption.
There are very few, except the lower classes, in China,.who are not clad in silk
garments, and this taste for silk articles of dress is largely on the increase in the
United Kingdom and in Europe. Unlike the productions of silk in Italy, France,
and Bengal, there are no filatures or extensive establishments in China for reeling
silk of a known size, quality, or kind, uniformly throughout. A ll China silk is
the produce of cottage or domestic husbandry, and is mostly reeled by the peas­
ant population which raises the worm. The mulberry is cultivated all over China,
except in the most northerly regions.
NEW YORK SUGAR TRADE.

The annual report of the New Tork Chamber of Commerce, now issued,
states that the quantity of brown sugar used by the refineries, annually, in this
city, is about 252,000,000 of pounds, (112,000 tons.) producing, at an estimate
of sixty per cent, over 67,000 tons of refined sugar. The following i.s an estimate
of the quantities consumed by each refinery during the past year:—
R. L. A A. Stuart.............lbs. 35,000,000 Swift A Robinson.............lbs.
5,000,000
New York Steam Refinery . 25,000,000 Camp, Brunsen A Sherry... . 12,000,000
Wm. Moller A C o ................. 20,000,000 Harris, Kuhn, A C o ............... 12,000,000
Mollers, Hogg, A Martens.. . 15,000,000 Wintjen, Dick A Schomaker.
3,000,000
Greer, Turner A C o............... 12,000,000 A. F. A J. H, Ockershausen..
6,000,000
United States Refinery......... 25,000,000 Finken A Wheatley...............
5,000,000
Mollers, Shotwell A Dosher . 15,000,000 Johnson A Lazarus................. 12,000,000
Kattenhorn, Brunjes, Law A
Plume A Lamont...................
5,000,000
French..
......................... 15,000,000 Booth A E d g a r.....................
12,000,000
Havemeyer, Townsend & Co. 12,000,000
Pounds raw sugar annually 252,000,000
Robert A W illiam s...............
6,000,000
TRADE BETWEEN BELGIUM AND THE UNITED STATES.

The following has been translated from the Monileur Beige, June 24, for the
New York Herald:—
Schemes are now elaborating at the same time in the United States and Bel­
gium to establish, on new bases, commercial intercourse between the two coun­
tries, and to accelerate and give it more extension.
1. Direct exportation to Belgium of the cotton, tobacco, &c., from the place
of production in the Southern States.
2. Organization in those same States of fairs of the products of Belgian manu­
factures, appropriate to the consumption of the market and sale of those products.
These are the two principal bases of the combination patronized in the United
States by the association of the Georgia planters, and in Belgium by a central
committee, which, after several preliminary meetings, has definitely organized.
In its first meetings the committee has especially discussed that part of its pro­
gramme about the fairs and sales of the Belgian manufactures in the United
States.
A series o f resolutions has been adopted, and an expedition of manufactures
will be made this year as a trial. An appeal will be made to the manufacturers
of the country.
The committee has communicated those resolutions to the government.
The government can but applaud the efforts made for the extension of the
Belgian trade and industry. In a general point of view, and without assuming
any kind of responsibility as to the operations and their results, the government
has answered that the committee can rely on its sympathy and its warm desire to
favor the success of the enterprise, by all means that it may judge practicable.
The aid of our agents abroad has also been promised to the committee, and a
delegate has been appointed to follow the labors of the committee.




480

Journal o f Insurance.

JOURNAL OF INSURANCE.
FOREIGN FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES.
S Y N O P S IS OF T H E I R R E T U R N S TO T H E C O N T R O L L E R O F T H E

STATE OF

NEW

YORK

FO R THE

YEAR 1858.

Name and location.
JEtna, Hartford, Connecticut..........
American, Philadelphia.................
American. Boston, M ass...............
Atlantic, (Fire Marine,) Provid.*
Augusta Ins. tfc Bank’g Co., Aug’sta
Boylston, Boston, Mass..................
Conway, Conway, M a ss...............
City Fire, New Haven, Conn........
Charter Oak. Hartford, “ . . . .
Connecticut Fire, “
“ __ _
City Fire,
“
“ ....
Commonwealth, Philadelphia.. . .
Delaware Mutual,*
“
....
Eliot, Boston. M ass................... . .
Franklin, Philadelphia*...............
Franklin, Boston, M ass.................
G. Western Ins. Trust Co., Phila.
Girard
“
“
“
Hartford, Hartford, Conn.............
Hampden, Springfield, Mass.........
Hamilton Mutual, Salem, Mass...
Insurance Co. of N. America. Phila.
Jersey City, Jersey City, N. J .. . .
Merchants’, Hartford, Conn...........
Massasoit, Springfield, Mass.........
Merchants’, Boston, M a ss.............
.............
Manufacturing, “
“
Merchants’, Providence, R. I.........
North American. Hartford, Conn.
N.Eng. (Fire<fc Marine,) H’rtf’d, Ct.
Norwich, Norwich, Conn...............
North American, Boston, M ass.. .
National,
“
“ ...
Neptune,
“
“ . ..
Phoenix, Hartford, Conn...............
Provid’nce W ashingt’n, Provi., R. I.
Quaker City, Philadelphia...........
Reliance,
“
...........
Roger Williams, Providence, R. I.
Springfield, Springfield, M ass.. . .
Safeguard of N. Y.
Penn., Phila.
State Fire, New Haven, Conn . . .
Union Mutual, P h ila ...................
Unity Ins Association, London* .
Western Mass., Pittsfield, Mass...

&
,

&

Date of
Gross
Gross
organiza­
Gross loss
tion.
Capital.
income.
in i85d. exp’nditures.
1819 $1 000 000 $1,651,863 $612,329 51,348,654
1810
277,500
111,542
45,847
4,607
238,391
1818
50,903
300,000
95,244
1858
124,348
173,042
150,000
117,704
1828
21,992
172,485
375,000
1825
475,200
596,166 277,250
300,000
1849
107,168
122,092
37,024
160,000
77,498
1855
98,249
42,831
150,000
1856
160,401
156,668
300 000
73,788
67,540
1860
85,160
30,656
200,000
154,566
135,254
64,635
1847
250 000
8,281
25,840
1854
45,270
600,000
417,335
1835
524,974 248,841
363.310
1851
78,966
35,487
67,927
200.000
1829
400,246
278,228
78,757
400,000
1823
76,738
40,639
84,640
300,000
100,552
102,386
44,169
1856
223.300
1853
19,150
43,880
200.000
66,729
388,265
1810
254,891 174,219
500,000
126,960
1851
126,355
73,375
150,000
24,889
1852
175,686
24,963
13,760
537,931 270,093
1792
384,063
500 000
36,018
1866
8,619
45,882
150,000
39,603
8,458
1857
200,000
63,637
79,569
39,699
15,378
1857
150,000
380,426
338,092 185,109
1817
600,000
280,832
328,510 1^0,371
1822
400,000
115,548
1851
150,206
49,893
150 000
112,599
70,950
1857
32,755
300.000
1858
4,759
2,385
200.000
54,836
1803
23,462
61,671
150,200
1851
10,386
45,062
69,787
200.000
277,340
1831
355,865 106,931
600 000
452,277
1831
683,213 304.957
300 000
267,623
1854
330,972 100,333
200.000
79,821
1799
90,804
200,000
18,390
216,755
1855
200,000
263,427 107,989
1844
22,740
177.931
54,739
6,347
1848
71,714
27,704
65,939
100,000
1849
75,176
160,000
229,503
175,671
1857
200,000
342
31,217
37,397
1857
38.665
20,042
200,000
6,039
1803
244,094 126,730
192,502
218.175
£41,609 £18,691
£32,018
1852 £2,000,000
109,219
1852
150,000
87,947
48,851

* The Delaware Mutual's “ liabilities ” are. only the marine risks in the State o f New York. The
net surplus of the Franklin, of Philadelphia, is liable lo a large drawback on account o f its per­
petual insurance fond—such insurance being in the nature of a deposit. The Atlantic, of Provi­
dence. Rhode Island, made no return o f premiums received in idod. The Unity's partial return
refers to its business in this country.




Journal o f Insurance.

Name and location.
^Etna, Hartford, Connecticut.........
American, Philadelphia.................
American, Boston, Mass...............
Atlantic,(Fire A Marine,) Provid..
Augusta Ins. Bank’g Co., Aug’sta
Boy Iston, Boston, Mass..................
Conway, Conway, “ .................
City Fire, New Haven, Conn . . . .
Charter Oak, Hartford, “ . . . .
Connecticut Fire, “
“ ....
City Fire,
“
“ ....
Commonwealth, Philadelphia.. . .
Delaware Mutual,.
“
__ _
Eliot, Boston, M ass.......................
Franklin, Philadelphia...................
Franklin, Boston, M ass.................
G. Western Ins. Trust Co., Phila.
Girard
“
“
“
Hartford, Hartford, C on n .............
Hampden, Springfield, Mass.........
Hamilton Mutual, Salem, Mass . .
Insurance Co. o f N. America, Phila.
Jersey City, Jersey City, N. J . . .
Merchants’, Hartford, Conn...........
Massasoit, Springfield, Mass........
Merchants’, Boston, Mass...............
Manufacturing, “
“ ...............
Merchants’, Providence, R. I . . . . .
North American, Hartford, Conn.
N.Eng ,( Fired: Marine,) H’rtftl,Ct.
Norwich, Norwich Conn................
North American, Boston, M ass...
National,
“
“ ...
Neptune,
“
“ ...
Phoenix, Hartford, C on n ...............
Provid’nce Washingt’n, Provi., R. I.
Quaker City, Philadelphia...........
Reliance,
“
...........
Roger Williams, Providence, R. I.
Springfield, Springfield, M ass... .
Safeguard of N. Y & Penn,, Phila.
State Fire, New Haven, Conn . . .
Union Mutual, Philadelphia..........
Unity Ins. Association, London . .
Western Mass., Pittsfield, Mass . .

&

&

Liabilities,
including 40
per cent for
re-insurance.
$1,737,821
312,144
327,606
1,018,366
468,543
234,792
185.865
369,520
237,874
323,849
521,236
621,088
227,828
553,346
840,364
295,162
220,080
769,642
211,897
194,807
780,145
168,925
229,105
184,035
620,434
499,448
182,822
354,743
201.162
169,188
233,166
584,855
660,782
826.517
288,696
330,528
196,039
135,394
225.641
224,181
215,478
813,817
188,672

481

Net surplus.
$180,598
557.756
311,755
561,105
38,274
77,055

87,779
150,998
1,503,651
25,545
64,709
32,295
10,583
379,779
27,797
9,974
32,952
217,151
486,529
103,762
11,847
5,133
110,073
506,491
15,949
62,567
28,487
78,239
41,508
190,113
25,226
7,742
17,475

Per cent
of diviAmount at risk. dend.
$121,813,172
25
10,890,262
8
624.000
18
10.000.000
16
7,000 000
7
5,'.02,343
20
8,615,872
10
7,498,089
6
11,030,977
14
7,860,131
5
10,473,256
10
8,499,375
2,926,325
6
6,378,719
10
65.000.000
30
2,050,407
11
3,479,556
3,000,000
3J
40,855,239
20
9,086,607
12
3,258,501
33,817,756
12
4,575.107
10
4,827,784
5
4,767,429
6
12,335,323
18
10,882.925
30
4,323,738
26
7,718,950
5
450,000
4,712.410
22
6,245.765
10
5,S58,233
27
385,000
20
20,548,144
30
5,283,852
21
4,938.537
10
4,947,732
3,600,429
18
19,131,161
37
1,120,794
1,996,104
1,624,952
7,393,517

22

MARINE INSURANCE COMPANIES OF MASSACHUSETTS.
R E T U R N S OF M A R I N E B U S IN E S S T R A N S A C T E D B Y T H E
S E T T S, F O R T H E Y E A R

1858,

IN S U R A N C E

P R E PA R E D FROM THE R EPO RT

C O M P A N IE S

OF

THE

OF

M A S SA C H U

IN S U R A N C E

C O M M IS ­

S IO N E R S OF M A SSA C H U SE TTS.

Amount
Cash
Notes
of mareceived received
Marine
Capital
rine risks for marine for marine losses
Name of company and location.
paid in. outstanding.
risks.
risks.
paid.
American, Bo-ton........................... $800,000 $5,145,858 $100,787 $175,754 $166,087
Beverly, B everly.....................
11,466
11,701
214,681
6,503
Boston, Boston......................... . . . 300,000 3,474.155
1,861 201,380 151,58)
Boylston, B oston..................... . . . 300,000 9,037,546
399,064 333,250...
50,000
24,937
Equitable, Provincetewn........
71,430
12,309
3,291
31
VOL. XLI.---- NO. IV .




482

N autical Intelligence.

Name of company and location.
Franklin, Boston...........................
Gloucester, Gloucester...................
Hope, Boston..................................
Lynn, L y n n ....................................
Manufacturers’, Boston.................
Mercantile, Boston.........................
Merchants’, Boston.........................
National, B oston ...........................
Neptune, B oston ...........................
Old Colony, P lym ou th .................
Salem, Salem.................................
Shoe and Leather Dealers’, Boston
Springfield, Springfield.................
United States, Boston...................
Warren, Boston..............................
Washington, B oston .....................

Amount
Cash
Notes
of mareceived received Marine
rine risks for marinei for marine losses
Capital
paid in.
outstanding. risks.
risks.
paid.
$3110,000 $456,610 $40,859 $26,877 $32,064
50,000
126,729
11,497
6,949
67,062 133,715
200,000
627,500
50,000
81,055
501
22,292
4,330
400,000 6,698,049
14,914 165,825
82,103
300,000 2,913,268
144 154,205 135,315
500,000 7,721,440 153,431 115,055 181,393
500,000 11,895,963 151,641 102,590
92,569
300,000 12,253,590 504,433 351,001 341,134
50,000
16,509
85,200
3,413
10,852
100,000
2,163
11,711
637,518
25,407
1,953
100,000
84,384
311
16,509
7,668
10,203
150,000
692
200,000 1,364,555
245
79,064
93,225
150,000 1,587,690 117,326
74,937
59,087
200,000 6,481,717
398,400 300,559

T o ta l....................................... 4,597,000 70,858,938 11,213,478 12,383,323 S!,153,326

Bes ides the above, the Mutual Marine and Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance
Companies of Massachusetts paid in marine losses in 1858, $2,187,370 81.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.
LIGHT ON 0R R I0 RE TAPIA ISL E , NORTH COAST OF SPAIN,

Official information has been received at this office that the Minister of Marine
at Madrid has given notice, that on and after the 1st of September, 1859, a light
will be exhibited from a lighthouse recently erected on Orrio de Tapia Isle, in
the province of Oviedo, Bay of Biscay. The light will be a fixed light, varied
by a flash every two minutes. It is placed at an elevation of 93 English feet
above the level of the sea, and in ordinary weather should be visible from a dis­
tance of 15 miles. 'The illuminating apparatus is dioptric, or by lenses of the
third order. The light-tower is octagonal, of ash-colored granite, 27 feet in
height, and rises above the north face of the keeper’s dwelling, which is painted
white. It is in lat. 43° 35' 30" N . ; long. 6° 58' 26" W . of Greenwich, accord­
ing to the latest given Spanish position. By order,
■Washington, September 3, 1859.

E. SEMME3, Secretary.

LIGHT ON ANDROS ISLAND, MEDITERRANEAN— ARCHIPELAGO.

The Minister of Marine of Greece has given notice, that on and after the 27th
of February, 1859, a light would be exhibited from the lighthouse recently
erected on Cape Kabanos, the northern extreme of Andros, one of the western
isles of the Archipelago or Aegean Sea. The light is a revolving light, attain­
ing its greatest brilliancy every three minutes. It is placed at an elevation of
708 English fept above the level of the sea, and in clear weather should be visible
from a distance of 30 miles. The illuminating apparatus is dioptric, or by lenses,
and of the first order. The light-tower is about 70 feet in height, and stands in
lat. 37° 59' 18" N., long. 24°. 47' 15" east of Greenwich, nearly. By command
of their Lordships,
JOHN W ASH INGTON, Ilydrograpber.
L

ondon,

March 10,1859.




Nautical Intelligence.

483

THE GREAT EASTERN.

This immense vessel, it is decided, is to come to Portland, and the most in­
tense interest exists in regard to her. The trial of her engines is thus described
by the London Tim es:—
The deck has been planed and scrubbed to man-of-war whiteness, and not even
a stray rope’s end breaks the wonderful effect produced by its immense expanse.
Her fleet of small boats (that is to say, about the size of sailing cutters) hang at
the davits, ten on each side. The whole vessel has been painted, the saloons are
finished, the cabins decorated, and even furnished. The masts are fixed and
rigged. The three center square-rigged masts are of iron. Each is made of
hollow wrought iron in eight feet lengths, strengthened inside by diaphrams of
the same material. Between the joints, as they were bolted together, was placed
a pad of vulcanized India-rubber, which gives a spring and buoyancy to the
whole spar greater than wood, while, at the same time, retaining all the strength
of the iron. The breaking strain of the six shrouds to each of these masts is
over three hundred tons, which gives ample security for the masts being properly
supported, as the weight of each is only twenty-two tons. On deck are four
small steam winches, or engines, each of which works a pair of cranes on both
sides of the vessel. Anything more simple or more perfect than the double me­
chanism by which these are made to work at both sides can hardly be conceived,
and the value of the invention may be estimated when we say that with these
four double cranes alone 5,000 tons of coal can be hoisted into the vessel in 24
hours. Thus the grave objections of those who speculated on the loss of time
required to coal the great ship are entirely done away with.
The paddle engines consist of four oscillating cylinders, of 74 inches diameter
and 14 feet stroke; each pair of cylinders, with its crank, condenser, and air
pump, forms in itself a complete and separate engine, capable of easy disconnec­
tion from the other three, so that the whole is a combination of four engines. A
friction clutch connecting the two cranks is the means by which the engines are
connected or disconnected. A ll the sets of engines, both screw, paddle, and
auxiliary, are provided with governors, expansion and throttle valves. The
paddle engines work up to an indicated power of 3,000 horses of 33,000 pounds,
when working 11 strokes per minute with steam in the boiler at 15 pounds, the
expansion valve cutting off at one-third of the stroke. A ll the parts, however,
are so constructed that they will work smoothly either at eight strokes per
minute at 35 pounds without expansion, (beyond what is unavoidably effected in
the slides,) or at 16 strokesa minute with the expansion valve cutting oft' at onequarter of the stroke. Under the latter circumstances the paddle engines alone
would give an indicated power of 5,000 horses. The boilers are immensely
strong, and have been tested to double the pressure they are required to bear.
Their weight, including donkey engine, pumps, funnels, &c., is 210 tons, and they
are capable of containing 156 tons of water. Each set has about 8,000 square
feet of tube surface, exclusive of flue or furnace, and about 400 square feet of
fire-bar surface. Each is equal to supply freely with moderate firing steam for
an indicator of 1.800 horse-power when working with 15 pounds, but with full
firing can supply an indicator of 2,500 horse-power. The fire-places and ash-pits
are fitted so as to be well adapted for the use of anthracite coal.
The screw engines are constructed on the same improved principles. They
have four cylinders of 84 inches diameter and 4 feet stroke. The cylinders are
capable of being worked together or separately. When working 45 strokes a
minute, with steam on at 15 pounds, and cutting off at one third of the stroke,
these engines give an indicated power of 4,400 horses ; but at 55 strokes a
minute, steam on at 25 pounds, and cutting off at one-quarter of the stroke, the
power will reach to 6,500 horses. Thus the united efforts of both screw and
paddle engines will drive the immense vessel through the water with a power of
no less than 12,000 horses. What fleet could stand in the way of such a mass,
weighing some 30,000 tons, and driven through the water by 12,000 horse power
at the rate of 22 or 23 miles an hour? The screw engine boilers are in three




484

Nautical Intelligence.

distinct sets. Their weight is 362 tons, and their capacity for water 270 tons.
The probable consumption of coal, when both engines are at full work, will
average 250 tons per day. The cellular compartments at the bottom of the ship
will be used for pumping water into instead of ballast ; and as the webs subdivid­
ing these are made perfectly water-tight, any number can be filled at pleasure.
A t the first movement of the gigantic cranks and cylinders on the trial of the
paddie engines, the great masses slowly rose and fell as noiselessly as the engines
of a Greenwich boat, but exerting, in their great revolutions, what seemed to be
an almost irresistible power. There was no noise, no vibration, nor the slightest
sign of heating, and the tremendous frame of iron work sprang at once into life
and motion with as much ease as if every rod and crank had been worked for
the last ten years. The steam in the boilers was about 21 pounds, but, as a
matter of course, the engines were turned but slowly, never exceeding six revolu­
tions per minute. Even with this slow motion and the slight immersion of the
paddle floats, the effect of 1he enormous power was at once visible upon the ship.
The great mooring chains astern were tightened to the utmost, and it seemed as
if even Trotman’s anchors themselves would yield under the strain. Fortunately,
however, these held fast, and then the screw engines were got into motion, work­
ing the ship astern, so as to counteract the effect of the paddles. These latter
engines worked with the same marvelous ease and freedom ; there was no noise,
no sign of hot bearings, and the result was considered by all the engineers on
board to be satisfactory in the highest degree, and far beyond what could have
been expected.
STATISTICS OF THE WHALING BUSINESS.

From the annual report of the Secretary of State on foreign commerce for
1858, says the New England Magazine, we extract the following statement of
the present condition o f th is im portan t branch o f m aritim e business.

T h e sta-

tistie s given are supposed to be very nearly perfect
N ew B edford ...........
New London.............
F a ir b a v e n ................
N antucket..................
P rovin cetow n .........
W estport..................
S a g H arb or..............
M a tta p o ise tt............
E d g a r to w n ..............
W a r r e n .....................
Portsm outh...............
Sundry small p o rts.
Total . . . . . . . .

Tons.

Ycssels.

Seamen.

Sperm oil,
barrels.

109,845
18,733
16,500
11,829
3,314
4,252
6,929
3,701
5,757
5,512
2,805
14,855

320
65
47
36
31
20
20.
19
18
16
10
59

8,000
1,625
1,175
900
620
500
500
475
450
400
250
1,475

86,800
18,400
14,000
13,500
6,000
8,000
6,000
7,600
4,400
4,800
4,000
19,800

Whale oil,, Whaleb’ne,
pounds.
barrels.

87,500
16,150
10,200
1,750
13,600

875,900
161,500
102,000
17,000
136,000

4,250
850
5,950
3,400

42,500
8,500
59,500
34,000

10,200

102,200

203,062

1561

16,370

193,300

153,850

1,538,000

Sperm oil.

Whale oil.

Whalebone.

Total.

f l , 930,477
356,107
224,910
37,485
299,880

$612,500
113,050
71,400
11,990
95,200

S a g H arb or..............
M a tta p o ise tt- .........
E d gartow n ................
W arren.......................
P ortsm o u th ..............
Sundry sm all ports.

|3,4.7,750
724,500
551,250
531,562
236,250
315,000
236,250
299,250
173,250
189,000
157,600
740,250

93.712
18,742
131,197
74,970

29,750
4,940
41,640
23,800

224,910

71,400

£5,960,727
1,193,657
84 7,560
580,947
631,330
315,000
359,712
323,942
346,097
287,770
157,500
1,036,560

T o t a l..................

17,571,812

$3,392,392

$1,076,600

$12,040,805

New B ed fo rd ...........
N ew L o n d c u ............
F a irh a v e n ..................
N a n tu c k e t................
Provincetow n...........




485

N autical Intelligence.
The value of vessels and the expense accounts are given as follows :—
Estimated value of 661 vessels (including outfit, provisions, and ad­
vances to seamen) at $'>5,000 each................................................
Interest at 6 per cent per annum............................................................
Wear and tear, 10 per cent......................................................................
Insurance, 2$ per c e n t ................................................ .........................
Supplies purchas’d abroad by masters, equal to $1,200 p’r annum each
Wages of masters, officers, and cresv, being their share of oil taken,
equal to one-third the gross value o f products ................................

$16,525,000
991,500
1,500,000
419,125
798,000
4,018,601

Total amount invested, including interest, <Stc.........................
Value of oil and bone taken.....................................................................

$24,336,226
12,040,806

Difference between the whole capital invested and yearly profit.. .

$12,295,421

The average duration of a voyage is four years, and it will be seen that the
average yearly profit is forty-six per cent.
FIXED LIGHT OX FAVIGNAXA ISLAND, SICILY,

The Sicilian Government has given notice, that on and after the 1st of Janu­
ary, 1859, a light will be exhibited from the lighthouse recently erected on Point
Marsala, the southeastern point of the island of Favignana, west coast of Sicily.
The light will be a fixed green light, placed at an elevation of 61 English feet
above the sea, and in clear weather should be visible from a distance of 10 miles.
The lighthouse stands in lat. 37° 55' 48" N., long, about 12° 21' east of Green­
wich. By command of their Lordships,
L

ondon,

JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.

December 17, 1858.

HARBOR LIGHT AT FIUM E, ADRIATIC.

The Vice-President of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry at Fiume has
given notice, that on and after the 1st of March, 1859, a harbor light would be
exhibited all night at the new port of Fiume, at the head of Qaarnero Gulf, on
the coast of Croatia, in the Adriatic. The light is a fixed red light, placed at
an elevation o f 28 English feet above the level of the sea, and in ordinary
weather should be visible from a distance of 4 or 5 miles. The light is shown
from an iron standard at the extremity of the outer mole head, and is in about
lat. 45° 18f' N., long. 14° 25-J' east of Greenwich. By command of their
Lordships,
JOHN WASHINGTON, Hydrographer.
L ondon,

March 10, 1858.

FIFT EEN SHIPS TO THE MILE.
The following is a list o f fifteen ships, which, without their bowsprits, would
make a line o f a mile in length —
Vessels.
Great Eastern.............
Adriatic.......................
Niagara.......................
Himalaya .................
Duke of W ellington..
General Admiral .. . .
Orlando*.....................

Length. Tonnage.
680
19,tH)0
390 ab’ t 5,500
4,580
375
360
5,000
240
2,400
325
6,000
337
3,727
son
376

?,

Vessels.
Atrato...........................
Royal Charterf . . . .
Great Republic...........
Pennaysl vania.............
Arabia.........................
Great Britain..............
Asia ...........................

Total....................
* Recently launched for the British navy.
+ Runs ‘‘ inside til) days” from Liverpool to Melbourne.




Length. Tonnage3,416
336
2,720
306
8,356
302
3,241
300
2,402
800
274
3,500
2,226
280
5,181

68,428

486

Commercial Regulations.

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
NEW CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATION.
T h e follow ing letter from the C ollector o f th is p o rt, in answ er to the m em orial
before noticed, touchin g certain g rie v a n c e sa risin g from Custom -house reg u latio n s,
will be found to be highly im portan t to the m ercantile com m unity :—
C o l l e c t o r ’ s O f f ic e , C u sto m - H o u s e , N ew Y o r k , Juae 15,1859.
S ir s :— I have the honor to inform you th at the m em orial of im porters o f

foreign produce, addressed to me, w as, on 30th ultim o, transm itted to the S e cretary
o f the T reasu ry , w ith report from th is office recom m ending the favorab le con­
sid eration o f the several points urged by you ; and I have the g ratificatio n to
sta te th a t-I am this m orning in receip t o f a letter from the H on. H o w e ll C o b b ,
a ssen tin g to the m odification of article 437 of gen eral regulatio n s, which you
requested, so th a t m erchandise m ay be w ithdraw n from w arehouse for consump'tion , in whole or in p art, under penal bond, a t any tim e before liqu idation. A lso ,
upon the application in w ritin g o f an im porter upon his entry, su g a r and m olasses
w ill be allow ed to rem ain on the w harf, in B rookly n , tw o d ay s after landing, a t
th e risk and expense o f said im porter. T he D epartm en t does not, however, con­
sent to ch an ge th at p a r t o f the article 4 3 7 , which requires paym ent o f h alf
sto ra g e for one m onth. I feel much pleasure in the assu ran ce which this a lte ra ­
tion o f a regulation which h as proved so inconvenient to your interest, affords
me, th at an intelligen t represen tation by the m erchants o f N ew Y o r k of a
griev an ce sustain ed by reason o f a too strin gen t rule, will alw ay s m eet with th at
atten tion from the head o f the treasu ry , which a due reg ard to the safety o f the
revenue w ill enable him to extend. I rem ain, gentlem en, w ith much respect,
y our obedient servant,
AUGUSTUS SCHELL, Collector.
To L o y a l P h e l p s and T h o m a s T il e s t o n , Esqs., Committe on behalf o f the Memorialists.

CARAWAY SEEDS.
T reasury D

epartm en t,

August 2,1859.

S ir :— I acknow ledge the receipt o f your report o f the 19 th ultim o on the

ap p ea l o f C h a r l e s C. A n d r e w s , E s q ., from your assessm en t o f duty, a t the
ra te o f 15 per cent, on an im portation o f “ C araw ay seed,” a s unenum erated in
the ta riff o f 1 857. “ C araw ay seed s,” it is true, are not specially named iu any
schedule o f the ta riff o f 1857 ; bu t bein g used chiefly for m edicinal purposes,
and iu the m anufacture o f confectionery, they fall within the classification , in
schedule I , o f “ garden seeds, and all other seeds for ag ric u ltu ral, h orticu ltu ral,
m edicinal, and m anufacturing pu rposes, not otherw ise provided for,” and are
entitled to entry free o f duty. 1 am , very respectfully,
P. CLAYTON, Acting Secretary o f the Treasury.
A. W . A ustin’ , Esq., Collector, &c., Boston, Mass.

IMPORTATIONS BY MAIL CONSIGNED TO COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS,
P a r tie s design in g to send a rticle s o f sm all bu lk b u t o f g r e a t valu e to the
U n ited S t a te s seem to be under the im pression th at, for g re a te r secu rity, they
can properly forw ard them through the m ail to the consignm ent o f collectors of
custom s. S u ch consignm ents are not sanctioned by law , a s officers o f the c u s­
tom s are expressly prohibited from being engaged in the business o f im p ortation .
I t is em b arrassin g to a collector to be thus placed, w ithout any a c t o f his own,
in ap p aren t conflict with his duties, an d the obvious im propriety o f the p r a c tic e
h a s induced th is pu blic notice, with a view to its im m ediate d isco n tin u an ce.
Sh ou ld cases occur after this w arning, it w ill become the duty o f the D e p artm e n t
to a d o p t such m easures a s the law m ay w arran t to p u t an end to the p ra c tic e .




487

Commercial Regulations.
FRENCH GRAIN DUTIES,

The French Government, by decree, has reimposed the sliding scale of duties,
to take effect in September, 1859. It will be remembered that, owing to the
short crops of France during the last six years, grain has been permitted to be
imported at a fixed duty of 25 cts., or, adding the centimes, 30 cts., and this
•regulation was continued last year to September 30, 1859. A decree has now re­
stored the old sliding scale of duties, which imposes a rate of duty upon wheat
and flour that must make the importation from the United States impossible for
the future.
The export and import duties upon cereals in France are regulated by the
average price of wheat. The departments on the frontiers are divided into four
classes, and subdivided into sections, as per the following table:—
Classes.

Sections,

1st.

Single
f 1st.

2d.

i

l^ -

rut.
8d.

-i 2d.

i
i
!

|.Sd.

4th.

i

[ 1st.
i
[ 2 d.

Departments.
Regulating markets.
Pyrenees, Ande, Herault, Garo Bon, Ches ( Toulouse, Gray, Lyons
du Rhone, Var, and O arse............... ■•• ( and Marseilles.
Gironde, Landes, Lower and Upper Pyre- 1 Marans, Bordeaux, and
nees, Allege, and Upper Garonne.. . . (
Toulouse.
Jura Doubs, Ain Isere, Lower and Upper ( Gray, St. Laurent, MaAlps............................................................ j
con, Grandtemps.
Upper and Lower Rhine............................. Mulhouse tfc Strasbourg.
Nore, Pas de Calais, Somme, Seine, Infr., 1 Bergues, Arras, Roye,
Vendee, Charente, Infr ......................... ( Loissons, Paris. Rouen
Loire, Infr., Vendee, Charente, Infr.......... Saumer, Nantes, Marans

\

I
I

Maselle, Meuse, Ardennes, and Aisne. . .
^®r<^UD>Charle
( ville, soissons.
Manche, III et Vilaine, Cotes de Nore, Fi- 1 St. Lo Paimpol, Ouimnistre, and Morbihian............................... ( per,Hennebon, Nantes

The average prices of the regulating markets are taken every week by the
authorities, and the monthly averages published and applied as per the table
following :—

Price of the hectolitre of wheat in the several classes.
2d.
1st.
8d.
4th.
f. franc.
f. francs.
f. francs.
f. francs.
2 8 ........
2 6 ........
2 4 ........
2 2 ........
28 27.01
26 25.01
24 23.01
22 21.01
27 26.01
25 24.01
23 22.01
21 20.01
26 26.01
24 23.01
22 21.01
20 19.01
25 24.01
23 22.01
21 20.01
19 18.01
24 23.01
22 21.01
18 17.01
20 19.01
23 22.01
21 20.01
19 18.01
17 16.01
below
22 f. 01 c

below
2Of. 01 c.

below
18 f. 01 c.

below
16 f. 01 c.

-Duties inwards On grain imported On flour imported
from abroad.
from abroad.
French F oreign French Foreign
vessels. vessels. vessels. vessels.
llecto.
Hecto. 1 0 0 kils. 100 kils.
f. c.
f. c.
f. c.
f. c.
. 25
. 25
. 50
. 50
. 25
1 50
2 16
. 50
. 25
1 50
. 60
2 16
1 25
2 50
8 50
5 16
2 25
3 50
6 50
8 16
3 25
4 50
9 50
11 16
4 75
6 ..
14 . .
15 66
The above duties
will be augmented Augmented 4 fr.
8 f. 50 c. for every 50 c. every franc
lower.
franc lower.

The monthly average price of wheat, according to the above table, must
come down in Nantes to 22 francs per hectolitre; in Bordeaux, 24 ; Marseilles,
26 ; Dunkerque, 22 ; .Havre, 22 ; to admit of exportation at the nominal duty
of 25 c., or about 7 d. per quarter.
The import duties on rye commence at 15 c. per hectolitre, advancing in pro­
portion, same as above table ; barley commences atl2^ c . ; maize, 1 3 f c . ; buck­
wheat, 10 c . ; oats, 10J c.
The export duty will be increased 2 f. on wheat, and 4 f. on flour, for every
franc higher price; on rye, 1 f. 20 c. to 2 f. 60 c. ; barley, 1 f. to 2 f. 40 c. ;
maize, 1 f. to 2 f. 40 c . ; buckwheat, 80 c. to 2 f . ; and on oats it augments by
70 c . ; oatmeal, 2 f. 20 c., for every franc higher price.




488

Commercial Regulations.
TRADE WITH THE ISLANDS OF CUBA AND PORTO RICO,
C onsulate

of

Spain , N ew Y

ork ,

August 29, 1859.

Tlie undersigned, Consul of Spain, Las received from his Excellency the First
Secretary of State of H . C. M. the following circular dispatch, dated Madrid,
July 12, 1859
The Department of W ar and Ultramar has addressed to the Department of
State the following communication :—
The Queen (Q. D. G.) has been pleased to approve under this date the regula­
tions comprised in the annexed document for the guidance of captains and super­
cargoes of sailing vessels or steamers, national and foreign, who may be engaged
in the trade of importation to the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico from foreign
ports. In order to the exact fulfillment thereof, and that ignorance be not alleged,
it is requisite that the regulations referred to be communicated to the consuls and
vice-consuls of SpaiD abroad by the Department of State, that they may be re­
peatedly inserted in the official journals where they reside. Said regulations shall
be enforced thirty days after their publication, so that ignorance thereof, may at
no time serve as an excuse.
REGULATIONS REFERRED TO ABOVE— DEPARTMENT OF WAR AND ULTRAMAR.

Captains and supercargoes of Spanish sailing vessels or steamers, as well as
of other nations, who may be engaged in the trade of importation from foreign
ports to the islands of Cuba and Porto Rico, shall observe the following regula­
tions from the time of sailing until their arrival at their destined ports :—
1. Captains of vessels, who from foreign ports may be bound to the islands of
Cuba and Porto Rico, shall present to the Spanish Consul or Vice-Consul,
duplicate manifests, without correction, setting forth :— First, the class, flag, name
o f vessel, and her exact measurement in Spanish tonnage ; second, the name of
the captain or master ; third, the port or ports from which she sails ; fourth, the
names of the shippers, and of the owners or consignees to whom the cargo is
addressed ; fifth, bales, packages, casks, barrels, boxes, and other parcels, with
their corresponding marks and numbers, stating both in figures and writing the
quantity of each class contained therein ; sixth, the general class of the merchan­
dise, or the contents of the packages according to bills of lading; seventh, the
same particulars shall be observed of what may be destined for entrepot or transitu;
eighth, and shall state, in conclusion, that she carries no other merchandise, and
that no portion of that on board is of prohibitory character, from infection or
any other cause.
2. Such goods as cannot be packed in bales, or otherwise encased, as bar or
sheet iron, metals in ingots, boards, staves, lumber, and the like, shall be expressed
by Castillian weight, measure, and quantity, according to the class of goods.
This is to be done in the duplicate manifest aforesaid.
3. These two manifests shall be certified by the Spanish Consul or Vice-Consul,
who shall deliver one to the captain of the vessel, retaining the other to be trans­
mitted direct to the Tntendent of the Island to which she is bound, that it may
serve as a voucher in the process of inspection of the cargo at the respective
custom-houses.
4. The captain shall, at the termination of his voyage, make a note in his
manifest which he has in his possession, expressing
First, the merchandise
which the crew may retain, not stated in the same, to the amount of one hundred
dollars for each individual; second, the articles of provisions remaining on board ;
third, articles of ammunition and extra articles of war.
5. On the arrival of the same at the port of destination, he will give the
manifest to the Custom-house or revenue officer on his coming on board.
6. Should the vessel sail in ballast, the captain shall present to the Consul or
Vice-Consul a duplicate note, stating that she is in ballast, and the same formali­
ties shall be observed as with the manifest— that is to say, the Consul will certify
both documents, giving one to the captain, retaining the other to send on to the
Intendent of the Island where she may be bound.
7. Should the captain or supercargo fail to present the manifest or note of
the vessel being in ballast, on visitation, which will take place at the time of




Commercial Regulations.

489

anchorage in the port of destination, he will be fined $200 for want of said
document. Should the consular certificate or attestation be omitted, a fine of
$100 will be incurred for neglect of said formality, and in case of nonconformity
with the conditions mentioned in article 1, a fine of $25 will be imposed.
8. In caee of correction or amendment in said documents, the captains or mas­
ters shall be liable to the charge of forgery before the competent tribunal, it be­
ing understood that the same responsibility will attach to those arriving in
ballast and those in cargo.
9. The presentation of the manifests shall be compulsory, and shall take place
at all the ports, inlets, and anchoring grounds of the island to which the vessel
may put in, even though from the force of circumstances, the collectors retaining
a copy, and returning the original to the captain, that he may deliver it at his
port of destination.
10. The revenue vessels may demand the manifest from the captain or master
within the distance of four leagues from the port of destination.
11. The captains are obliged to present to the Spanish Consul or Vice-Consul
at the port of their departure, a note of the approximate value of the cargo, in
order that it may serve as data for the commercial stalistics which said func­
tionaries are charged to draw up.
12. Should the captain not state the exact Spanish tonnage of his vessel, he
shall incur the expense of measuring the same, should the excess be more than
ten per cent.
13. Should captains, by stress of weather, or any other fortuitous circumstance,
be obliged to throw a part of their cargo overboard, they shall likewise enter it
on the manifest, stating, at least in gross amounts, the quantity, packages, and
classes or species thereof so disposed of. being obliged to make the necessary
affidavit at the Custom house to that effect, and to exhibit the log-book as a
proof thereof.
14. All baggage of passengers shall be presented at the stores of the Custom­
house for examination ; and if any goods of commerce be found therein to the
amount of $190, the tariff duty thereon shall be exacted on presentation of a
detailed list, which the parties concerned shall deliver to the collector of the cus­
toms. If the value of the goods should exceed $100, and be not over $200,
double duty shall be exacted ; but should it amount to more, a penalty of forfeit
shall be incurred, unless in either case a note of said goods shall have been before
presented, as then the goods shall be subject only to the duties of consumption
designated in the tariff. Approved by Her Majesty.
O’DONNELL.
M adrid , July 1, 1859.

A ll which is communicated for the information of the public.
FRANCISCO STOUGHTON, Consul of Spain.
DROP BU CK ,
T reasury D epartment, July 11, 1859.

S i r :— I have examined your report of the 26ih May last on the appeal of

Messrs. W a d s w o r t h & Co. from your assessment of duty on an article known
in commerce as “ drop black,” and used as a paint. The real “ drop black ” of
commerce, it is understood, is made of “ bone b l a c k a n d as “ bone black
(animal carbon ” ) is specified in the free list in schedule I, the importers claim
that it should be entered free of duty. You assessed a duty upon it of 15 per
cent as a paint under the classification in schedule B of “ paints, dry or ground
in oil, not otherwise provided for.” The article in question, in its present form,
is well known as a paint, and is used, it is believed, exclusively for that purpose.
Whether made of " bone black, (animal carbon,” ) or carbon of vegetable origin,
it must be regarded as a preparation from those materials, which by an additional
process of manufacture, are brought into the form and condition in which it can
be used as a paint. The duty of 15 per cent, under the classification of “ paints,
dry or ground in oil, not otherwise provided for,” in schedule E, was, in the
opinion of the Department, properly exacted. I am. very respectfully,
HOWELL COBB, Secretary of tlie Treasury.

A.

W.

A

u s t in ,

Esq., Collector, Boston, Mass.




490

Commercial Regulations.
THE QUICKSILVER MINES OF ALMADEN,
Consulate

of

S p a in

at

N ew Y

oke,

August 6, 2859.

This Consulate has received official orders from the Spanish Government to
announce to the public thesaleof Almaden quicksilver :— 1st. In the warehouses
o f the Atarazanas of Seville, intended for the interior consumption of the king­
dom, or for exportation, at the price of 643 rials vellon per flask, containing 75
pounds (Castillian) of quicksilver, from 1 to 999 flasks, and at the price of 641 50
rials, from 1,000 flasks and upwards, on condition of exporting them. 2d. At
the Department of the Public Administracion de Hacienda (Treasury) of Cadiz,
at the price of 649 rials per flask, containing 75 pounds (Castillian) of quick­
silver, from 1 to 999 flasks, and at the price of 647 50 rials, from 1,000 flasks
and upwards, but on condition in this case of exporting them.
The sale will be subject io the following terms :—
1st. Orders for the quicksilver must be addressed in writing to the Commissary
of the Mines of the State, at Seville, or to the Administrador de Hacienda
(Treasurer) of the province of Cadiz, in order that he, by official communication
to the Contaduria of the province, may receive payment from the parties con­
cerned at the public treasury, with which receipt it will give an order to the
storekeeper for immediate delivery of the quicksilver purchased.
2d. The purchasers must satisfy themselves, on delivery, of the exact contents
of the quicksilver, and of the good condition of the flasks, weighing in their
presence the metal in the flasks in case of doubt, as, after taking the flasks out
of the warehouses, no reclamation on that head will be received.
3d. Purchasers from thirty flasks upwards, may make payments of the amount
at the Central Treasury of Madrid, where it will be received, on exhibiting a
note stating the number of flasks desired, which they will present to the DirectorGeneral, and must deliver the receipts of payment to the Commissary of the
Atarazanas of Seville, or to the Administrador de Hacienda, to obtain from the
warehouses the number of flasks purchased.
4th. In compliance with the provisions of the royal orders o f the 7th of
February and 9th of May last, the quicksilver for the interior consumption of
the kingdom will be furnished, subject entirely to the conditions and price afore­
mentioned ; consequently the royal order of the 15th December, 1853, (by vir­
tue of which that metal was disposed of at the price of 1,000 rials per quintal,)
is repealed.
The foregoing is published for the information of the public.
FRANCISCO STOUGHTON, Consul of Spain.
MANUFACTURES OF LINEN AND WORSTED—LAPPINGS,
T

reasury

D

epartm en t,

July 12,1859.

S i r :— I have examined your report of the 23d ultimo, and accompanying
sample, on the appeal of W i l l i a m B o a l e k , Esq., from your assessment of duty
on a certain fabric alleged by the importer to consist of “ linen and worsted,”
and decided by you to be a manufacture of “ wool and flax,” and dutiable, at
the rate of 24 per cent, under the classification, in schedule O, of “ manufactures
of wool, or of which wool shall be the component material of chief value, not
otherwise provided for.” The merchandise in question is understood to belong
to that class of fabrics known in the trade as “ lappings
but as that term is
not mentioned in any schedule of the tariff of 1857, its classification, in the
opinion of the Department, must depend upon its component materials— whether
it is composed of “ wool,” (carded.) or “ worsted,” (wool combed,) and “ flax.”
From an inspection of the sample submitted, and the reports of official experts
who have examined it, the Department is of opinion that the fabric is composed
of “ worsted and flax,” and as such liable to a duty of 19 per cent, under the
classification, in schedule D of the tariff of 1857, of “ manufactures of worsted,
or of which worsted shall be a component material, not otherwise provided for,”
I am, very respectfully,
A

ugu stu s

Schell,




HOWELL COBB, Secretary of the Treasury.
Esq., Collector, &c., New York.

Postal Department.

491

POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
POST-OFFICE REVENUE.

In our number for June, page 747, we gave the Post-office revenue, for the
quarter, December 31, 1858. The clerks in the office of the Auditor of the
Treasury for the Post-office Department, have now completed the examination,
auditing, and registering of the 28,826 accounts rendered by postmasters of the
business of their respective offices, for the quarter, to March 31, 1859, and find
that the amount of—
Letter postage paid in money w as........................................
Of newspapers and pamphlets ..............................................
Of registered letters.................................................................
Of postage stamps and stamped envelops s o ld ...................
Of emoluments from box-rents...............................................
Of fines for violating Post-office law ......................................

$236,167 53
161,328 97
6,630 15
1,651,728 40
21,784 00
5 00

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

$2,077,644 62

Amounts expended in collecting were—
For compensation to postmasters..........................................
For ship, steamboat, and way letters....................................
For incidental expenses of post offices, on account of clerks,
furniture, advertising, and miscellaneous..........................

$649,544 55
2,809 09

Total............... •...................................................................
Net receipts for the quarter.....................................................

$945,895 35
1,132,249 27

293,041 71

Being an increase of §146,586 83 over the preceding quarter.
The amount of postage stamps and stamped envelops used and canceled in
prepayment of postage was §1,537,442 44.
DEAD LETT ER S.

An article in The Constitution attributes the great accumulation of dead let­
ters to the negligence on the part of persons in misdirecting letters, illegibility
of writing, susceptibility of being read in various ways, or held for the want of
prepayment of postage. It adds :—
The number of dead letters annually returned to the department is about
2,250,000. About 20,000 annually are l'ouud to contain money and other valua­
bles, and are, as soon as found, registered and returned to the owners. The
aggregate contents of the letters thus annually restored to the owuers is about
§60,000 in money, and about §3.000,000 in drafts, checks, notes, and other
valuables, as computed at their nominal value.”
Whilst the department uses the best means in its power to correct the
errors of careless correspondents, it has generally to bear the blame of missending
letters that were'misdirected, or failed to reach their intended destination solely
through the fault of the senders. The following is a case in poin t:—
A bank cashier, some months since, mailed a letter containing over §20,000 in
drafts and notes for collection by a bank in another city, and directing the letter
to the wrong post-office, where, of course, it remained uncalled for more than
three months, and until after the maturity o f the drafts and notes. This cashier,
no doubt, felt that he had good cause for complaint against the management cf
postal affairs until his letter was returned to him through the dead letter office,
and his own error made palpable to him.
Similar cases are occurring every day, and it rests with the public, who are
interested in the matter, to remedy the evil.




492

Postal Department.
FRENCH FIELD TELEGRAPH,

A war correspondent of the London Globe, writing from Brescia on the 24th
June, reports that the remarkable precision and unity of the French evolutions
were accomplished by aides-de-camp. From each corps, once in a position, a
horseman rode off to the next division, unrolling, on his rapid course, a light wire,
which was quickly attached to a field apparatus ; and the process was repeated
all along the French line of twelve miles. Hence the movement of the whole
army w'as known and regulated like clock-work, “ from dawn to dewy eve,” on
that decisive day. This arrangement had been planned in Paris, and a supply
of gutta-percha-covered metal thread forwarded with secrecy and dispatch. Be­
sides this field telegraph, a flying telegraph corps are spread over the whole coun­
try, behind the allies, to communicate with all parts of the country and the capi­
tals of France and Piedmont. W e have been informed that the Austrians use a
similar field telegraph, and, in this respect, are on equal terms with the French.
W e know that such a flying telegraph was made part of the drill in Austria,
several year3 ago, when the army was out on review.
MINOR DEAD LETTERS.

The number of letters registered and sent from the dead letter office for de­
livery to their owners during June, 1859, was 1,026, containing, in bills of ex­
change, drafts, checks, notes, &c., £933 L5s. 10d., $219,040 79, and 9,737 francs;
also, 120 deeds and land titles, 32 articles of agreement and powers of attorney,
10 certificates of stock, 15 pension papers and land warrants, 7 court papers, and
96 miscellaneous articles. Of the above, 328 letters were evidently returned to
the dead letter office for want of care and attention on the part of the writers ;
268 of them being misdirected, and 60 held for postage. Many more were, ap­
parently, misdirected, but, not bearing the address inside as well as outside, the
fact could not be fully determined without other evidence than that furnished by
the letter. These 328 letters contained, in drafts, notes, &c., $107,311 98 ; 11
deeds, 3 powers of attorney, 7 pension papers, and 17 miscellaneous articles.
REDUCTION OF POSTAGE TO GERMANY.

W e are requested to state that an official communication from the Bremen
Government states that the recent reduction of postage at 15 cents between the
United States and Frankfort on the Main, Saxe Coburg-Gotha, and other Ger­
man States, under the direction of the Thurn and Taxis Post-office, applies only
to the correspondence forwarded via Bremen, and not to the correspondence sent
via Hamburg, as originally reported.
Postmasters will, therefore, be careful to collect the reduced rates of 15 cents
to the German States referred to, only when the letter is to be forwarded, via
Bremen, in the Bremen mail.
REDUCTION OF POSTAGE TO URUGUAY.

On and after the 1st of July instant, the single rate of letter postage in the
British mail via England, upon letters sent from the United States to Montevideo
or any other part of the Republic of Uruguay, is reduced to 33 cents for a half
ounce letter— prepayment required.




Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

493

JOURNAL OF MINING, MANUFACTURES, AND ART.
GAS L I G H T.

The Gas Light Journal is a new monthly publication, by J o h n B. M u r k y &
Co., Wall-street. Its name indicates its object. W e take from it the following
brief account of gas progress in this country :—
In 1816 it was imported from England into Baltimore, Maryland. Six years
thereafter, in 1822, the city of Boston, Massachusetts, ventured to risk the ex­
periment of adopting it. New York city, not usually “ behind the lighthouse,”
followed suit in the succeeding year, 1323. Two years afterwards, in 1825, the
then little towns of Brooklyn, New York, and Bristol, Rhode Island, were
lighted with gas. In 1830 the Manhattan Gas Light Company shared the honors
and profits with the New York Company by rescuing from “ outer darkness”
the district north of Grand-street, in this city. Again, five years elapsed, and
in 1835 the New Orleans, Louisiana, Gas Light Company was established. In
the following year Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, exchanged her oil-lamps for gas. In
1838, Louisville, Kentucky, was illuminated. In 1841, Cincinnati, Ohio, and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were gas lighted for the first time. lu 1844, Ken­
sington, Pennsylvania. In 1845, Nantucket, Massachusetts, although a fishing
town, gave up whale oil for gas light, and Albany, New York, followed her
example. In 1846, Charleston, South Carolina ; Frankfort, Kentucky, and New­
ark, New Jersey. In 1848, Buffalo, New York ; Dayton, Ohio : New Haven,
Connecticut; Providence. Rhode Island; Reading, Pennsylvania ; Syracuse,
New Y ork ; Troy, New Y o rk ; Zanesville, Ohio. In 1849, Chicago, Illinois;
Detroit, Michigan; Hartford, Connecticut; Lancaster, Pennsylvania ; Lawrence,
Massachusetts: Portland,Maine; Utica, New Y o rk ; Worcester, Massachusetts,
York, Pennsylvania. In 1850, Auburn, New York ; Columbus, Ohio ; Easton,
Pennsylvania; Nashville, Tennessee; Pawtucket. Rhode Island; Pottsville,
Pennsylvania; Poughkeepsie, New Y o r k ; Salem, Massachusetts; Wheeling,
Yirginia, and Williamsburg, New York. Since which time, gas light com­
panies, in not only every part of this Uuion, but in South America, and Central
America, Mexico, and the British Provinces, have been forming rapidly, and an
impetus is now given to the enterprise which will not be checked until the entire
continent shall be lighted with gas from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the
Atlantic on the north and east, to the entire length of the Pacific on the west
and south.
Our tables (still incomplete) include—
237 American companies, representing..................................................
6 Canadian
“
“
1 Cuban
“
“

$34,920,464
1,040,000
125,000

Total, 244 companies, with an aggregate capital of....................

$36,085,464

A MINE OF EMERY IN ILLINOIS.

The Belvidere (Illinois) Republican says that Mr. S o lo m o n R i s l e y , formerly
o f that town, has discovered and opened a mine of emery at Blood’s Point, about
five miles south of Belvidere. He has purchased a farm of one hundred acres^
through the center of which the vein runs. The emery has been tested, and is
of the best quality. The usual price of good emery is about fifty cents per
pound. I f there is no mistake about this, Mr. R is l e y has made a lucky hit, and
will not have to go to Pike’s Peak to make his fortune.




494

Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.
IRON IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

There are three principal departments of the iron manufacture ; the first rep­
resented by the blast furnaces and bloomery forges, producing crude iron from
the ore; the second represented by the forges, properly so called, turning cast
iron into malleable blooms and slabs; and the third represented by the rolling
mills, converting pig and malleable iron into manufactured shapes, ready for the
mechanic or the civil engineer. Beyond this point the manufacture of iron can­
not be followed with any present organization of inquiry, or without great ex­
pense. The following table will show the present extent and distribution of the
works in these departments, and in the different States of the Union, from the
recent work entitled *■The Iron Manufacturers’ Guide,” by L e s l e y :—
Anthracite furnaces.............................................
Charcoal and coke furnaces................................
Abandoned furnaces.........................................
Bloomery forges.................................................
Abandoned bloomeries........................................
Refinery forges....................................................
Abandoned refineries.........................................
Rolling mills......................................................
Abandoned rolling m ills...................................
Total........................................................

5

10

Total.
121
439
272
203
35
186
64
210
15

113

1,432

1,545

Row York.
14
29
6
42
1
3
2

ii

Other States.
107
410
266
161
34
183
62
199

Total in working order, 1,159— furnaces. 560 ; forges, 389 :; rolling mills, 210.
Abandoned— furnaces, 272 ; forges, 99 ; rolling mills, 15 ; in all, 1,545.
SHOE AND LEATHER BUSINESS OF METHUEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

This town is situated on the Spicket and Mcrrimac rivers, twenty-six miles
north of Boston, and about two miles from the city of Lawrence. Shoe manu­
facturing is carried on here to a fair extent, including some of the best women’s
and children’s calf shoes made in New England. The largest manufacturer, who
has had an experience of more than twenty-five years, does a business of about
§125,000 per annum', giving employment to nearly two hundred hands, among
whom are fifty of the “ boarders ” at the Middlesex County House of Correc­
tion ; the remainder, with the exception of shop hands, are scattered through
the small towns in that part of the State, and in New Hampshire and Yermont.
He manufactures about twenty different kinds of women’s and children’s calflaced boots— polka, union, &c. The principal leather used is calf-skin, although
buff, kip, grain, and enameled are cut to a considerable extent. Another manu­
facturer does a business amounting to about §60,000 a year, employs sixty men,
and about half that number of women, and makes mostly calf-laced women’s,
children’s, and misses’ boots, of a superior quality. There are four other firms,
the business of the smallest (new beginners) being about $20,000 ; the others,
$30,000 to $40,000 per annum. A building is in process of erection, forty by
seventy feet, and three-and-a-half stories high, which is to be occupied by two
shoe manufacturers, one of whom is the owner. This branch gives employment
to about five hundred men and two hundred women. The amount of sole leather
cut is from twenty-five hundred to three thousand sides a year, mostly hemlock.
About 1,200 dozen of calf skins, worth $37,000, are also used. W e estimate
the annual product of shoes in Methuen at about 400,000 pairs, of the value of




Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

495

$300,000. There are two tanneries, the largest producing forty thousand calf
skins annually, tanned under a patent process, said to be of the same principle as
that in use by the Bedouin Arabs for preparing their leathern vessels to carry
water across the desert, which preserves the vitality, and renders the leather im­
pervious to water. These find a ready sale, and the proprietor has usually orders
from one to two hundred dozen ahead. Large quantities are tanned with the
hair on, for overshoes. Another small tannery, using altogether slaughter hides,
turns out two thousand sides of leather yearly, besides the splits.
MANUFACTURES OF CINCINNATI,

Mr. C h a r l e s C is t has published a work on “ Cincinnati in 1859," and a large
amount of valuable statistical matter has been collected in the volume. The
following table, showing the progress of the industry of the city the last twenty
years, which we extract from the work, is at once valuable and interesting SYNOPSIS OF MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS.

Nature of products.
Agricultural machines and implements . . . .
Alcohol and spirits wine...............................
A le and b e e r ..................................................
Animal charcoal............................................
Artificial flow ers............................................
Awnings, sails, tents, <fcc................................
Bagging factories............................................
Bakeries..........................................................
Baking powders..............................................
Band and hat b o x e s ......................................
Bells and brass w ork .....................................
Bellows.......................................................... ,
Belting, hose, <fec............................................
Billiard ta b le s................................................
Blacking, paste................................................
Blacksmithing................................................
Blinds, Venetian............... ............................
Blocks, spars, and pumps.............................
Boilers, steam-engine.....................................
Bolts, nuts,
................................................
Bonnets, bleaching and pressing.................
Book-binding ...................................................
Boots and shoes..............................................
Boxes, packing,
........................................
Brands, stamps,
........................................
Bricks...............................................................
Brick-laying and plastering.........................
Bristles and curled hair.................................
Britannia-ware................................................
Broom s.............................................................
Brushes.............................................................
Buckets and tubs............................................
Bungs and p lu g s ............................................
Burning-fluid...................................................
Burr mill-stones..............................................
Butchers...........................................................
Candies and confectioneries....................... .
Candles, lard, oil,
....................................
Cap and hat bodies......................................
Carpenter and builders’ w o r k ................... .
Carpet-weavers............................................

&c

&c
&c

&c




1841.
$36,000
146,000
126,000
5,000
3,000

12,000
78,650
259,000

6,000
9,000

11,000
82,600

21,000
11,000
211,400

2,000
26,172
106,000

6,000
10,000
107,700
488,000
390,000
6,840
87,500
208,650
16,600
12,840
3,000
190,000
21,650
5,000
89,000
10,500
1,098,015
54,000
353,940

10,000
418,600
46,000

----- Value.----1859.
18*1.
$1,290,000
$78,000
2,260,000
608,260
1,500,000
566,000
30,000
25,000
24,000
14,200
52,000
4,500
270,000
960,280
637,000
84,000
18,000
36,000
42,000
42,500
209,500
180,000
20,000
96,000
96.000
342,000
24,000
36.000
483,060
285,495
60,000
40,000
25,100
21,000
463,000
349,000
65,000
20,000
28,000
22,000
326,000
162,000
1,750,450
1,182,650
210,000
190,000
22,000
13,500
485,000
207,000
640,700
408,650
140,000
48,800
100,000
38,960
30,000
15,000
125,000
60,500
60,000
84,200

10,000

12,000
110,000

195,000

24,000
2,850,000
28,120
4,490,900
39,000
2,116,000
56,000

4,370,000
262,000
6,114,500
140,000
2,760,000
75,000

100,000

496

Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.
-------v alue.-------------------------------— %

Nature of products.
Carriages and omnibuses...................
Carving................................................
Charcoal, pulverized.........................
Chemicals ..........................................
Cisterns........................................ . . .
Cloaks, mantillas, A c.........................
Clothing, made up............. ..............
Coffee, roasted or ground.................
Combs..................................................
Copper-ware........................................
Copper, iron, and sheet-iron ware . .
Copper and steel plate engraving . .
Cordage, hemp and Manilla.............
Cotton-yarn, sheeting, A c.................
Cured beef-tongues...........................
Cutlery, surgical, dental, A c.............
Dental furniture.................................
D entistry............................................
Die-sinking...........................................
Drugs, marble, Ac., ground...............
Dyeing and scouring.........................
Edge-tools...........................................
Engraving, seal, card, A c .................
Engraving, w o o d ................................
Feed and flour....................................
Fire-engines and hydraulic...............
Florists and nurserymen...................
F ile s ....................................................
Foundry castings...............................
Fringes................................................
Furniture............................................
Gas and co k e ......................................
Gas-fitting..........................................
Gas generators, portable...................
G ilders................................................
Gilders on glass..................................
G lassw are..........................................
Gloves..................................................
G lu e ..................... ..............................
Gold-leaf and dentists’ foil................
Gold pens............................................
Grease..................................................
Gunsmilhing........................................
H a t s .....................................................
H at-blocks..........................................
Horse-shoes........................................
Hot-air furnaces..................................
Ice ........................................ ...............
Iron, bar, sheet. A c , and n ails.........
Iron, wrought, tubular, bridges . . . .
Japanned tin-ware and tinning tools
Ladders................................................
Lead, sheet and pip e.........................
Lever locks..........................................
Lightning rods....................................
Liquors, dom estic...............................
Lithography........................................ .
Machinists............................................
Machinery, wood-working.................
M a lt.....................................................
Marble working..................................
Masonic and Odd-fellows’ regalias..




:

1841.
$127,000

2,000
6,000
187,000
21,800
3,000
1,223,800

8,000
18,550
167,000
211.300
42,000
38,600
195,600

21,000
10,700

IS,59.
$355,847
7,000
18,500
361,000
75,000
28,000
1,947,500
83,000
18,000
387,000
258,000
50,000
180,000
661,000
135,000
40,000

$460,000
3°,000
30,000
450,000
75,000
450,000
15,000,000
225,000

92,000
5,000
60,000
28,000
117,900
IS,000
51,000
1,690,000
65,000

125,000
7,500
60,000
60,000
158,000
30,000
75,000
3,216,000
150,000
300,000
18,000
6,353,400

1,510,000
610,000
48,000
234,000
680,000
225,500
80,000

10,000
6,000
1,500

10,000
15,540
41,600
5,000
22,550
816,700
13,750
15,000
1,500
668,657
15,400
676,800

120,000
7,000
2,676,500

20,000

66000

1,660,000
65,000
45,000

3,656.000
160,000

110,000

7,000

39,000

50.000
60.000

10,000

40,000

10,000
100,000

5,000

20,000

30,000

6,000

28,000

66,000

4,000

11,000

15,000
6,500
130,000
45,000
250,000
4,000
50,000

394,000

3,500
90,000
35,000
446,000
4,500
48,000
60,000
150,000
1,146,000

3,000

58,000

56,000
16,842
312,000

2,000
10,000
3,000

20,000

39,COO
145,000
3,500
77,000
89,250

10,000

100,000
250,000
4,334,000
1,000,000
134,000

6,000

20,000

5,000
53,000
150,000
726,000

61,000
75,000
175,000
3,600,000
165,000
450,000
175,000
589,500
325,000
25,000

20,000
130,000
130,000
396,200
190,000

21,000

Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

1841.

Nature of products.
M ats......................................................
Mathematical, <fcc., instruments..........
Mattresses............................................
Medicines, patent.................................
Millinery ..............................................
Mineral-waters......................................
Morocco-leather...................................
Mouldings............................................ .
Musical instruments........................... .
Music publications................. ..............
Oil-cloths and window-shades.......... .
Oil, castor............................... ..
Oil, coal................................................
Oil, cotton-seed....................................
Oil, linseed..........................................
Paints.....................................................
Painting and glazing...........................
P a p e r................................................
Pattern-making...................................
Perfumery............................................
Photographs, daguerreotypes, &c .
Pickles, preserves, & c .........................
Planed boards, flooring,
................
Planes, A c............................................
Planing-machines...............................
Platform scales....................................
Plating, silver.....................................
Plumbing............................................
Pocket-books......................................
Pottery..................................................
Pork and beef packing ...................
Printing in k ........................................
Publications, books, newspapers,
Pumps, force, lift, & c .......................
Railway chairs, & c .........................
Ranges, cooking..................................
Refrigerators......................................
Roofing, composition, metallic, <tc. .
Saddle-bags, physicians’. ...................
Saddle-trees.........................................
Saddlery, harness, <fcc.........................
Safes, vaults, <fec.................................
Sash, blinds, and doors......................
Sausages..............................................
Saws.....................................................
Saw-mills............................................
Screw-plates........................................
S h irts..................................................
Show-cases...........................................
Silver-ware.........................................
Spokes, fellows, and hubs.................
Stained glass......................................
Starch.................................................. .
Steamboats..........................................
Stockings............................................
Stone cutting................................
Stone masons..................... ................
Sugar refineries..................................
Stucco work........................................
Tapers...................................................
Tailoring...............................................

$30,000
70,000
68,000
120,000
20,000
15,000

&a

V OL. X L I.— NO. IV .




36,000
121,750
78,000
65,000
3,500
10,000
950
5,000
73,000
95,000

263,000
385,000
385,000
320,000
25,500
120,000
80,000
30,000
351,200
167,000
30,000
60,000
10,000
195,000

518.500
13,750
9,000

231,000
11,400
71,700
21,000
73,000
2,500
40,000
656,500
10,000

32

1851.
$7,240
40,000
95,000
952,000
820,000
165,000
67,000
89,500
50,000
50,000
60,000

12,000
3,074,912

&c

------Value.------

25,000
6,000
73,000

48,000

497

36,000
5,760,000
15,000
1,276,540
65,000
25,000
25,000
76,000
4,500
306,500
96,000
312,000
162,000
16,700
411,000
16,500
157,000

4,000
592,500
12,000
83,000
101,000

90,000
70,600
15,000
98,000
488,000
13,000
222,000
308,000

6,000

12,000

276,000

832,090

1869.
$9,000
40.000
120,000
1.960.000
1.750.000
256.000
167.000
30.000
49.000
200.000
56.000
80.000
660,000
100,000
350.000
418.000
456.000
616.000
27.000
190.000
190.000
35.000
565.000
30.000
80.000
84,080
36.000
406.000
40.000
90.000
6.300.000
20.000
2,610,050
76.000
360.000
75.000
75.000
366.000
5.000
5.000
663.000
408.000
1.380.000
215.000
95.000
820.000
24.000
575.000

6.000
110.000
125.000
9,000
230.000
400.000
18.000
1.126.000
775.000
750.000
18,000
65,000
2,035,000

498

Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

Nature of products.
Tanneries.........................................................
Terra cotta w a re............................................
Tobacco, snuff, and ciga rs............................
Trunks .............................................................
Trusses.............................................................
Turnery............................................................
Type, stereotype, and printing materials . .
Undertakers.....................................................
Upholsterers and undertakers.......................
Varnish, co p a l................................................
V en eers...........................................................
Vinegar............................................................
"Wagons, carts, &c ...........................................
Wall paper, staining and hanging...............
Wash-boards, z in c..........................................
W igs.................................................................
"Wine, Catawba, &c............................... . . . .
"Wire-workers...................................................
Wool-carding....................................................
Writing inks....................................................
Wrought-nails .................................................
W h bk y.............................................................
W ood and willow-ware..................................
Miscellaneous...................................................

1841.

---------Value.—

1851.

8335,000

$965,000

325,000
226,700

931,000
506,000
10,000
152,000
146,000
76,000
95,000
135,000
66,000
168,750
132,000
30,000
85,000
7,500
150,000
69,000
10,000
15,000
9,000
2,857,920
18,000
385,740

28,275
4 5,400
15,500
84,800
15,000
30,500
104,300
34,400
6,000
13,000
3,000
5,000
145,000
2,800
63,300
$17,780,033

1869.
$1,520,000
25,000
1,667,000
650,000
66,000
95,000
310,000
140,000
' 160,000
200,000
100,000
250.000
210,000
18,000
210,000
10,000
500,000
150,000
12,000
100,000
9,000
5,318,730
50,000
656,189

$54,550,134 $112,254,400

This synopsis affords an opportunity to trace our industrial progress from
1841 to this date.
O f the §112,254,400 in value of these products for 1859, §58,000,000 is em­
braced in raw materials, and §54,254,400 constitutes the value of labor, interest
on capital invested, etc. It thus appears that the average of raw materials is
but 54 per cent of the entire product, leaving the residue as the reward of enter­
prise and industry.
TOBACCO MANUFACTURES IN CALIFORNIA.

The San Francisco Call says there are now engaged in the manufacture of
cigars in that city one hundred and twenty men, who work up from 3,000 to
3,500 pounds of tobacco per week. There are also manufactories in active ope­
ration in Sacramento, Marysville, Columbia, Grass Yalley, Nevada, and Los An­
geles ; but we have no data whereby to judge of the amount of tobacco con­
sumed by them. It is highly probable, however, that all the others combined
use ou an average as much as San Francisco, making a total of 7,000 pounds
worked up every week. Each cigar maker will turn out on an average 2,000
cigars a week, so that the total weekly manufacture in the State cannot fall far
short of 240,000 cigars. The average price at which these cigars are whole­
saled, (for it must be remembered that only the best tobacco can be profitably
used here,) is §40 a thousand. In this little article of manufacture, therefore,
there is a sum of §8,400 saved to the country per week, and this is exclusive of
one-eighth of the whole, which goes to pay for the raw material imported. The
keenness of the pioneer manufacturers foresaw the importance of this branch of
industry, and about a year since organized iuto a corporate association under the
Statute of Incorporations.




Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

499

THE FIR ST SILK MILL IN ENGLAND.

One hundred and fifty years ago— according to history— there was no silk
mills in England, as there now are ; and here I quote from an old book the ac­
count of how it came :—
The Italians had been long in the exclusive possession of the art of silk-throw­
ing, when about the year 1715, a young mechanic and draughtsman named
J o h n L o m b e , undertook the perilous task of visiting Italy to procure drawings
of the machinery necessary for the undertaking. He remained there some time,
and obtained access to the silk works by corrupting two of the workmen, through
whose assistance he inspected the machinery in private, and whatever parts he
obtained a knowledge of in these clandestine visits, he recorded on paper before
he slept. When his plan was just completed his intention was discovered, and
he was compelled to seek the safety of his life by a precipitate flight in England,
where he Arrived in safety with the two Italians who had favored his scheme.
Fixing on Derby as a proper place for his design, he agreed with the corporation
for an island or swamp in the river, on which he then erected and established his
mill, at an expense of nearly £30,000, ($150,000,) which chargehe enabled him­
self to pay by the erection and employment of machines in the town hall and
other places, before the completion of his work. In 1718 he procured' a patent
for fourteen years, to secure the profits arising from his address and ingenuity.
But his days verged to a close, and before half this period had elapsed, treachery
and posion had brought him to his grave. The Italians, whose trade began
rapidly to decrease, were exasperated to vengeance, and were resolved on the
destruction of the man whose ingenuity had thus turned the current, of their
business into another channel; this they accomplished through the machinations
of an artful woman, sent from Italy for the purpose. But though suspicion was
almost strengthened into certainty from the circumstances that transpired on her
examination, yet, the evidence being indecisive, she was discharged. The death
of this lamented artist did not, however, prove fatal to his patriotic scheme; for
the machinery was in full action, and the business became every day more suc­
cessful. J o h n L o m b e was succeeded by his brother W i l l i a m , who committed
suicide, on which the property devolved to his cousin, Sir T h o m a s L o m b e , who,
previously to the expiration of the patent, petitioned Parliament, for its renewal;
but the Legislature, wishing to reward the promoters of national benefit, and at
the same time to spread the knowledge of so useful an invention, granted him
£14,000 ($70,000) in lieu of a new patent, on condition that he would suffer a
complete model of the work to be taken and deposited in the 'Tower for public
inspection, which was accordingly done. The extensive fabric occupied by the
machinery stands upon high piles of oak, doubly planked and covered with stone
work, on which he turned thirteen arches, that sustain the walls. The whole
length is one hundred and ten feet, its breadth thirty-nine feet, and its height
fifty five-and-a-half feet; it contains five stories, besides the under works, and
is lighted by four hundred and sixty-eight windows. The whole of this elaborate
machine, comprising about 14,000 wheels, is put in motion by a water-wheel
twenty feet in diameter.
Such was the first silk mill in England, and the circumstances under which it
was erected.
ENGLISH IRON MANUFACTURES.

W e have lately received several interesting papers from an English friend, says-,
the Railroad Record, in which much valuable information is given concerning
the miues, furnaces, and forges of England. The iron trade of the United King­
dom stands second ir. magnitude among the great industrial pursuits of the coun ­
try, and the exports of iron manufactures are now worth fifty millions of dollars,
annually. Cotton fabrics exported are estimated at one hundred and fifty mil­
lions, and woolens at forty-five millions of dollars. A t the beginning of the




500

Journal o f M ining, Manufactures, and A rt.

present century, the manufacture of iron amounted to only two hundred and fifty
thousand tons, while now it is nearly three millions of tons annually. Indeed,
the varied and expensive uses to which this metal is applied, and the immense
amount of interests involved in its production and manufacture, fully justify the
application of the name of “ the iron age ” to the present century. The last
twenty years has seen the rise and rapid development o f the railroad system, and
the consequent enormously increased demand for iron. There are eight thousand
five hundred miles of railroad completed in the United Kingdom, and, on a mod­
erate computation, more than twenty-five thousand miles of rails have issued
from the various iron works o f the country to form the roads for this new sys­
tem of intercommunication. But iron not only forms and sustains metallic high­
ways upon the earth, and creates the ponderous locomotives which traverse them,
but it is employed in ranging the ocean in every quarter of the globe. On the
Clyde, twelve thousand persons are engaged in the construction of iron steamers,
and out o f one hundred and twenty-three steamers built within a given time at
Greenock, one hundred and twenty-two were of iron, and only one of wood—
while in the same period sixty-six steamers of iron were also built at Port Glas­
gow, and thirteen of wood. Houses, crystal palaces, and moveable residences
for Australia, consume enormous quantities of iron ; and, to go from great things
to small, two hundred millions of iron pens are every year made by one firm at
Birmingham, from one hundred and twenty tons of metal, and employing one
thousand persons. Of a verity, iron is more valuable to mankind than gold, and
the mines of Pennsylvania may therefore be legarded as more to be prized than
those of California.
A MINE OF ANTIMONY IN ILLINOIS.

W e are indebted to a German monk, an alchemist of the 15th century— Basil
Valentine— for the discovery of this metal. It is related that, having thrown
some of it to the hogs, it purged them violently, after which they became fa t;
and, in the kindness of his heart, thinking that his brother monks might be bene­
fited by a similar dose of this delightful medicine, he administered it. But the
effects were fatal, for the monks died ; hence, the medicine was called anli-moine,
or anti-monk. The ancients also appear to have had some knowledge of this metal,
as it is mentioned by Pliny under the name o f “ stibium,” which is much used in
certain diseases at the present day. This metal, although suggestive of a vomit,
is largely employed in the arts, such as in the preparation of some enamels and
other vitreous articles, but principally in type and stereotype metals. It is wholly
imported from foreign markets, and has a large consumption.
It is announced in the St. Clairsville (Illinois) Gazelle that a vein of antimony,
two feet thick, and almost solid, has been discovered within two miles of St.
Clairville. W e hope that this statement may prove true, as it will open another
source of profitable industry in our country.
DRILLING HOLES IN GLASS.

W e are informed by Mr. I ) . M a c k e n z i e , of Canada West, that a composition
o f camphene and turpentine is the best which he has ever used for drilling holes
in glass with a file drill. The drill is kept constantly wet with the solution,
which appears to give it more “ bite” than turpentine alone, which is commonly
used for the purpose.




Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

501

RAILROAD, CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD TONNAGE FOR 1858.

The following very valuable table shows the course of trade between Philadel­
phia and the West for the year 1858 :—
From Phila­
delphia to
Articles.
Pittsburg.
Agricultural imp. ife productions.. .
917,450
Boots, shoes, hats, ifec.......................
6,569,807
Books and stationery........................
2,265,061
Butter and eggs.......................................................
Brown sheetings and bagging.........
6,276,487
Bark and sum ac......................................................
Cedar-ware.........................................
103,198
Confectionery and foreign fruits.. .
1,430,774
Coffee.................................................. 10,451,972
Cotton............................
19,761
Coal............................................................................
Copper, tin, and lead.......................
1,970,871
Dry-goods........................................... 47,400,869
Drugs, medicines, and dye-stuffs.. .
6,960,669
Earthen-ware ..................................
171,989
F lou r..................................................
.............
Fresh meats, poultry, and fish ..............................
Feathers, furs, and skins. . 1 .................................
Furniture and oil-cloth...................
2,163,032
Glass and glass-ware.......................
445,737
Green and dried fruits............................................
Grass and other se e d s .....................
119,434
Grain of all kinds....................................................
Groceries (except coffee)................. 16,903,203
Ginseng.....................................................................
G uano................................................
4,365
Hardware ........................................
8,221,136
Hides and h air..................................
13,297
Hemp and cordage...........................
1,607,324
Iron, rolled, hammered, <tc.............
687,795
Iron, railroad....................................
843,176
.............
Iron-ore..............................................
Iron, blooms and pigs.......................
293,464
Live stock..........................................
67,840
Leather..............................................
3,118,780
Lead and shot..........................................................
Lard, lard-oil, and ta llo w ......................................
Lumber and timber.........................
30,951
Machinery and castings...................
3,409,563
Marble and cem ent.........................
1,914,036
Malt and malt liquors.....................
3,823
Nails and 6pikes................................
23,160
O il......................................................
2,968,884
O ysters..............................................
214,280
Paper and rags..................................
2,139,855
Plaster.......................................................................
Potatoes, turnips,
..............................................
Pot. pearl, and soda a s h .................
13,571,301
Queens-ware......................................
3,862,598
S a lt....................................................
20,670
Salt meats and fis h .........................
3,294,586
Soap and candles.....................................................

&c




At PhilaAt Phila- From Philadelphia
delphia from phia to way
from way
Pittsburg.
stations.
stations.
5,670,876
264,418
181,401
...............
624,627
.......
226,885
152,135
...............
7,728,809
2,921,844
.................................... 280,935226,365
2,955
1,123,642
115,804
156,513
.......
..................................462,721 .......
.................................. 1,965,640......
5,680,365
112,298
27,109
1,243
1,795 194,660,410
.......
1,079,464
328,074
734,785
4,109,813 170,472
274,367
992,279
10,078
.......
106,197
805
80,680,172
710,577
239,868
3,267,998
18,619
5,545
248,120
435,287 168,198
1,568,745
346,459
.......
2,547,093
202,849
611,407
2,970 1,509,209
26,505,629
8,300,635
536,888
8,003,715
75,949
69,443
42,900
.............
25,567
........
505,524
1,915,357 256,077
2,828,051
1,692,005 482,393
1,832,904
164,900
........
40,329
335,811 4,0S0,986
375,400
1,473,237 895,477
.............
786,346
........
11,061
1,865,152
61,458,470
61,900 18,986,500
1,261,974
265,265 2,499,010
10,752,224
.............
157,213
182,906
37,772 35,828,401
552,192 1,404,683
54,988
101,743 3,305,526
10,000
1,460,288
21,121
64,420
....................................41,101796,920
144,370
754,253
.
___
5,345
......
1,804,041
228,416
538,426
636,772
4,600
39,360,027
1,704,526

196,000
670,584
815,505
1,736,520

82,200

502

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

Articles.
Tobacco.......................................... . .

From Fhila- At Phila­ From Phila
delphia to delphia fromi phia to way
Piitsburg.
Pittsburg.
stations.
2,658,838
2,536,088
483,229
1.489.010
...............
112,504

Wines and liquors, foreign.........

3,178,209
..

Wool and woolen y a r n ...............
Miscellaneous.. * ...........................
Total,
Total,
Total,
Total,

first class...................
second class............... , . .
third cla ss.................
fourth cla ss............. .. . .

31,300
2,001,181

14,636,436
5,449,957
342,803

At Phila­
delphia
from way
stations.
258,111

990,493

3,715

17,943
14,446

1,321,634
277,207
140,470

3,253,839 5,520,255
1,027,065
8,S80,828
36,877,4 6 6 26,708,498 14,164,2U4
537,381
8,212,848
5,357,617 4,046,754
41,403,050 247,210,817 10,265,101 271,769,708

Total for the y e a r ............. . . . 159,288,200 282,530,670 34,296,313 282,204,482
RAILWAYS OF AEW YORK, 1858.

From the State Engineer’s report for the year ending September 30, 1858,
says the Railway Times, we have compiled the following table of results. The
total number of companies which have been created is two hundred and fifty-five,
as near as can be learned. Of this number, there are but sixty-one at the pre­
sent time which are required to report to the State ; and of these sixty-one, only
the twenty-two tabulated below present complete reports :—■
-Length

Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada..
Albany and West Stockbridge.
Black River and Utica .............
Blossburg and Corning.................
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua,
JN. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River....................... . . .
Long Island....................................
New Ycrk Central.......................
New York and Erie.....................
New York and Harlem................
New York and New Haven . . . .
Northern, Ogdensburg..................
Oswego and Syracuse.................
Potsdam and Watertown.............
Rennselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
Syracuse, Binghamtou, As N. York
Troy and Boston...........................
Watertown and R om e.................

&

Of main
lines.
32 95
38 0 0
34 94
14 81
142 0 0
68
34
46 84
17 33
144 0 0
95 0 0
555 8 8
446 0 0
130 75
62 25
118 0 0
35 91
75 36
25 2 2
40 8 6
81 0 0
27 23
96 76

Of double
Capital
Of track and
stock
branches sidings.
Cost.
paid in.
3.
29
$2,010,6
34
$439,004
....
34 0 0
2,289,933 1 ,0 0 0 . 0 0 0
2.59
1,234,514
804,647
1 60
496,661
250,000
....
78.00 1 1 83
OSO.COO
2,975,325
18 0 0
2,772,987 1,913,000
2
89
2 0 0 ,0 0 0
2 0 0 ,0 0 0
175,000
....
0
50
175,000
. . . . 106 50 11,328,989 3,758,466
10
80
2,566,270 1,852,715
258.13 311 80 30,732,517 24,182,400
19.00 282 50 34.058,632 1 1 ,0 0 0 , 0 0 0
2 . 1 2
7,948,1 16 5,717,100
28 84
63 82
6,324,527 2,980,839
3.75 17 75
4,788,791 4,571,900
39 6,340
....
2
21
761,380
2
663,077
....
09
1,587,028
....
900,550
610,000
2 .01
6 .6 6
500,000
3 87
903,890
....
7 09
2,837,607 1,200,130
568,297
1,422,188
....
3 23
11
0 0
2,169,295 1,498,400
—

2,329 .43 370.25 925 .03 119,474,843 64,961,319
Funded
Floating
Int. paid Divid’nds
debt.
debt
on debt.
paid.
Total debt.
Names of railways.
$3,167
..........
Albany, Veimont, and Canada..
.........
Albany and West Stockbridge.. $1,289 933
. $i ,289 933
662 500 $52,570
19,303 ...........
715 070
Black River and U tic a ...............
14,350 $12,500
2 2 0 0 0 0
2 2 0 000
Blossburg and Corning...............
1,490
...........
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . . 2,409 593 164,938 2,574 532
79,216 10S,000
172,378 1, 2 2 1 378
Buffalo and State L in e ............... 1,049 0 0 0
T o ta l......................................




508

Railroad , Canal, ancZ Steamboat Statistics.
Funded
Names of railways.
debt.
Elmira, Canandaigua, N . Falls...................
Hudson and Boston.........................................
Hudson River................................ 8,842,000
Long Island...................................
639,497
New York Central....................... 14,402,634
New York and
Erie........... 26,438,016
New York and
Harlem..... 5,151,287
New York andNew Haven.......... 2,163,500
Northern, Ogdensburg................. 1,494,900
Oswego and Syracuse.................
197,000
Potsdam and Watertown.............
818,500
Rennselaer and Saratoga...........
140,000
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
395,000
Syracuse, Binghamton, N. York 1,500,000
797,500
Troy and Boston...........................
Watertown and Rom e.................
688,500

&

Total

Floating
debt.
Total debt

Int. paid Divid’nds
on debt.
paid.

10,500
455,003 9,297,003 634,969
13,765
33,077
653,263
14,402,634 976,192 1,919,564
732,057 27,170,271 :1,442,201
147,640 5,298,927 406,793
30,551 2,194,051 142,640
1,494,900 100,185
14,480
213,414
16,414
37,097
180,138
48,848
999,638
9,601
18,300
140,000
39,491
5,455
400,455
263,486 1,763,486
2,568
231,082 1,028,582
74,200
80,750
44,952
769,250
58,326

75,299,363 2,546,436 71,845,799 4,096,049 2,150,913

From
From
From
Names of railways.
Surplus. passengers
freight. mails, &c.
Total.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada.. ...........
$84,119
$54,381
$24,594 $5,043
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River and U tic a ...............
23,528
60,524
34,207
2,788
.......
Blossburg and Corning...............
20,511
365
28,554
2,677
Buffalo, New York, and E rie.. . .
128,563
283,738 17,451
429.753
Buffalo and State Line . . . . . . . .
423,686
400,748 15,681
840,116
Elmira, Canandaigua,
N. Falls.
12,155
8 8 6
17,989
4,947
339
42,909
2,243
Hudson and Boston.....................
13,053
58,207
Hudson River................................
1,042,865
544,368 49,177 1,636.412
Long Isla n d..................................
1 ,0 0 0
185,197
121,064 14,327
320,588
New York Central....................... 113,293 2,532,646 3,700,270 295,495 6.528,412
1,182,258 3,843,310 126,047 5,151,616
New York and E rie....................
....... 4 62,556 443,301 69,996 975,853
New York and Harlem...............
645,254
141,406 49.950
836,612
New York and New Haven........
65,407
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
323,866 15,341
410,806
71.598
Oswego and Syracuse.................
59,984
51,731
4,281
115,996
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
50,118
5.838
......
38,427
94,385
..... 115,088
Rennselaer and Saratoga...........
66,088 27,046
208,222
77,088
8,159
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
4,174
54,139
139,388
6,034
79,872
91,520
177,627
Syracuse, Binghamton, tfc N. York
5,410
Troy and B oston.........................
53,813
65,819
125,042
Watertown and Rom e.................
391,973
138,227
235,237 18,508
T o ta l......................................

Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada..
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River and U tic a ...............
Blossburg and Corning...............
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua, N. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River................................
Long Island..................................
New York Central.......................
New York and Erie.....................
New York and Harlem...............




&

174,215 7,365,297 10,521,632 740,276 18,627,205

Of road
bed.
$19,325
106,i 82
6,729
4,588
109,162
210,835
3,532
14,205
257,938
37,742
1,114,294
1,185,564
164,767

Percent
of ex-Expenses------------------------ vp'nse
Of motive
Of other
ito in­
Total. <line.
power.
kinds.
$9,853
$43,726
$72,904 87

....

16,818
1,437
135,358
57,111
216,196
53,474
2,976
6,424
7.240
25,922
138,890
647,275
28,810
107,661
571,326 1,801,671
890,274 1,569,228
348,056
104,287
4,543

28,091

46

301,632
480,507
11,947
47,367
1,041,773
213,946
3,487,292
3,791,457
617,061

70
57

..

6 6

81
64
67
53
74
63

504

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

Names of railways.
New York and New "Haven........
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
Oswego and Syracuse.................
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
Rensselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
Syracuse, Binghamton, N. York
Troy and B oston.........................
Watertown and Rom e.................

Of road
bed.
111,914
111,855
14,177
18,778
85,714
24,586
29,310
21,168
62,651

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

3,615,026

&

Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada..
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River and Utica................
Blossbursr and Corning...............
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua,
N. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River................................
Long Isla n d ..................................
New York Central.......................
New York and Erie.....................
New York and Harlem...............
New York and New Haven . . . .
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
Oswego and Syracuse.................
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
Rensselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
Syracuse, BiDghamton, N. York
Troy and B oston .........................
Watertown and Rom e.................

&

Total.......................................
Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, & Canada cts.
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River and U t ic a ...............
Blo9sburg and Corning...............
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua,
N. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River................................
Long Isla n d ..................................
New York Central.......................
New York and Erie ...................
New York and Harlem...............
New York and New Haven . . . .
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
Oswego and Syracuse.................
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
Rensselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............




&

Per cent
of ex■Expenses------------------------ >p’nse
to inOf motive
Of other
power.
Total. c’me.
kindt.
107,796
638,534 76
312,760
58,402
129,569
283,793 69
27,598
54,649 48
12,873
4,973
25,919
49,672 52
164,276 79
14,182
81,085
13,216
57,920
95,723 69
100,700 56
16,331
55,058
99,526 79
11,060
39,535
37,715
131,202
232,667 59
2,140,331

5,760,483

11,813,557

64

Net
income /-------- Number of miles run-------- .
Net per cent By passen- By freight
Total.
income. on cost. ger trains.
trains.
93,894
111,215 0. 5
72,494
21,400
....... ..,.
206,313
67,125 139,188
34,424
68,848
32,432 2..6
34,424
16,530
......
9,420
7,110
355,480
128,121 4 .3
165,328 190,152
356,145
359,609 12..9
177,109 179,036
4,494
20,016
6,042 3,.0
15,522
99,038
10,809 6,.2
49,519
49,519
700,224
594,639 5.. 2
416,364
283,800
213,414
106,642 4 ,i
145,360
68,054
3,041,120 9,,9 :1,821,431 1,847,763 3,669,194
1,360,158 4 .o :1,216,378 1,781,991 8,001,369
358,792 4 .5
980,191 216,356 1,196,547
432,024
353,414
78,610
198,047 3 .7
311,404
127,012 2 .7
100,248 211,156
68,845
44,870
23,975
61,347 8 .0
98,686
44,712 2 .8
78,258
20,428
89,386
43,986 4 .8
57,490
31,896
107,506
43,665 4 .8
63,831
43,675
148,240
76,927 2 .7
100,160
48,080
61,614
31,082
30,532
25,515 i .8
215,605
159,305 7 .3
125,888
89,725
6,813,648

5 .7 6,125,898 5,404,424 11,530,322
Total re- Total ex- Net inCost of Eoad receipts per ]pense per come per fuel pei■ pairs per
mile run. mile run. mile run. mile run. mile run.
20.6
88.6
77,.6
12. 0
14.8
61.5
. . ,. .
. . .. .
....
9.8
87.9
40 .8
40. 8
4 .5
142.5
27.7
..■
..
...
....
120.9
84 .9
3.7
36. 0
9.7
59.2
235.9
134 .9
16.8
101. 0
17.6
89.8
59 .6
8.S
30. 2
14.3
58.8
47,.8
8.3
11. 0
36.8
233.7
148 .8
84. 9
21.4
150,1
17.7
100 .2
50. 0
17.0
30.4
95 .2
177.1
82,,1
15.0
37.8
171,6
126 .3
45 3
15.7
13.8
81.6
51 .6
5.5
30,.0
193.5
25.9
145 .4
48 .1
19.3
36.0
132.1
91 .3
5 .5
40 .8
20.3
170.6
91 .2
10.4
79 .4
19.1
95.9
6.3
50 .0
45 .0
40.1
233.7
184 .3
24.7
49 .4
23.0
10.8
130.0
89 .7
40 .3

505

Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.

Nainas of railways.
Syracuse, Binghamton, <fcN. York
Troy and B o sto n .........................
Watertown and Rom e.................
Total.......................................

Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada..
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River and U t ic a ...............
Blossburg and Corning...............
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua, <fc N. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River................................
Long Island..................................
New York Central.......................
New York and Erie ...................
New York and Harlem...............
New York and New Haven . . . .
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
Oswego and Syracuse.................
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
Rensselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
Syracuse, Binghamton, N. York
Troy and Boston...........................
Watertown and Rom e.................

&

Total.

Names of railways.
Albany, Vermont, and Canada..
Albany and West Stockbridge..
Black River aad U tic a ...............
Blossburg and Corning...............
Buffalo, New York, and Erie . . .
Buffalo and State L in e ...............
Elmira, Canandaigua, N. Falls.
Hudson and Boston.....................
Hudson River...............................
Long Isla n d .................................
New York Central.......................
New York and Erie.....................
New York and Harlem .............
New York and New Haven . . . .
Northern, Ogdensburg.................
Oswego and Syracuse..................
Potsdam and W atertow n...........
Rensselaer and Saratoga.............
Saratoga and W hitehall.............
Syracuse, Binghamton, N. York
Troy and B oston .........................
Watertown and Rome.................

&

&

Total




Total re­ Total ex- Net inCost of Eoad re­
ceipts per pense per come per fuel per pairs per
mile run. mile run. mile run. mile run. mile run.
119.6
67.6
62.0
13.9
19.7
204.9
162.3
42.6
18.3
33.9
182.3
108.4
43.9
17.2
29.1
161.6
Engine Car
repairs repairs
per per
mile mile
run, run,
cts. cts.
6 .2 4 .0

..........

2 .7

2 .2

6 .9
5 .9
4.1
4 .2
9 .7
6 .9
7 .8
11.9
3.9
9 .4
5 8
9 .0
2.6
6.9
5 .6
6.9
6 .3
6.4

7.1
6.3
3 .9
2 .7
8.3
5.6
6 .3
15.7
4 .3
14.1
5.7
7.5
16.5
6.9
4 .4
2 .5
9 .4
10.5

8.1

9 .0

..........

102.5

59.1

14.07

Number of
Number of
passengers
passengers
carried
hauled
in the cars.
ono mile.
196,911
1,864,240
171,046
5,094,681
63,647
1,121,012
9,364
133,847
185,877
8,192,000
296,194
17,854,082
15,852
479,844
37,110
413,350
1,415,339
56,658,109
360,130
7,380,760
2,124,439 136,091,023
793,662
64,931,456
3,789,791
17,940,971
953,819
32,908,957
71,764
2,767,920
92,496
2,131,962
71,850
1,725,177
151,576
3,662,026
93,035
2,452,281
107,504
2,753,962
87,432
1,798,203
4,100.132
127,287

31.4
Number
of tons
freight
carried in
the cars.
34,918
226,035
13,136
73,904
143,709
290,532
.4,293
50,806
160,197
89,480
765,407
816,965
122,371
64,OSS
150,432
42,810
21,142
69,903
62,868
73,410
56,050
123,599

11,206,125 372,455,955 3,446,015
■\Veightintons Weig'tint'ns Total num­
pas’ng’r trains, freig’t trains, ber of tons,
Tons
not including not including not including
of freight
passengors merchandise,
passengers
haul’d 1 mile, haul'd 1 mile, haul’d 1 milo. haul’d 1 milo.
8,301,470
2,889,000
698,360
4,714,110
7,511,341
28,182,145
5,638,500 15,032,304
316,660
5,380,260
2,481,800 2,581,800
3,236,719
831,679
1,196,340 1,208,700
14,360,000 12,399,600 28,522,800
55,282,400
19,809,225 13,283,175 35,807,200
68,899,600
975,969
332,556
853,710
1,362,235
880,466
3,713,925
8,308,316
3,713,925
18,416,865 39,554,580 47,688,480 105,659,925
2,236,990 7,268,000 3,947,132
13,452,122
142,691,178 200,357,410 332,597,340
675,645,928
165,895,636 91,228,850 285,698,560 542,722,546
7,446,561 74,494,616 32,020,688
113,962,765
3,715,364 31,100,432 9,118,760
43,934.556
2,287,141
13,210,357 5,714,136 33,362,648
2,972,900
1,375,557
2,422,980
6,771,437
699,023
1,556,657 4,311,750 3,827,520
9,690,027
1,871,411
3,231,950
8,869,390
3,766,029
8,173,600
5,058,890 5,408,640
18,641,130
1,616,264 3,663,840
1,482,292
6,762,396
6,923,400 13,548,476
9,899,128
30,371,003
320,142,709 518,447,727 869,770,178 1,757,723,471

506

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE, &c.
CANADA HARVEST OF 1859.

The Spectator remarks :— The returns containing replies to the questions pro­
posed by the Hamilton Board of Trade to farmers and merchants, in all parts
of the western peninsula of Canada, are so interesting and valuable that one
may read them over and over again, and find something new and strange each
time of perusal. A more complete idea of the nature and value of the harvest
can be formed from them than from any other source, and a variety of useful
jottings gleaned as to the state of agriculture throughout the country.
W e find a most remarkable difference in the proportion of spring and fall
wheat sown in different districts. In some, such as Perth, North Wellington,
and the counties along the Sarnia line o f railway, very little but spring wheat
is grown, perhaps nine-tenths as much as fall wheat; in others, such as Dumfries,
parts of Oxford, and all the southern counties, the proportion is just the other
way. Everywhere, however, it seems— and we are glad to hear it— the farmers
are paying attention less and less exclusively to fall wheat. From Bronte we
learn “ there will be still less fall wheat sown this fall.” Around Bothwell we
are told. “ the farmers are evidently turning their attention more to spring crops,
and stock raising,” and similar reports come from fifty other places. Where fall
wheat is sown, the necessity of using the earliest kinds is generally felt. The
Milton people say “ the weevil (midge) made an attempt to destroy the wheat
here, but the skin became so hard before the insect got sufficient strength, that
it failed.” The London opinion is, “ I think we should urge upon the farmers
to persevere in sowing the Mediterranean fall wheat, for although it suffered
most from the frost, it should be remembered that such frosts are unusual, and
that wheat would have completely escaped the midge this season, it being too
early for the fly.” From Bronte we hear— “ all the fall wheat that will be sown
is of an early variety, to escape the midge.” While on this subject we may
mention that the Detroit newspapers say the variety known as “ amber wheat ”
ripens from six to twelve days earlier than the Mediterranean, and yields more
too, while a correspondent of the Country Gentleman says :—“ Early May wheat
is so much earlier than the commoner varieties, that some farmers in Kentucky
were feeding their men on flour made from it, while others were only beginning
to reap their crops.”
From the whole of the returns, taking into account the unusual breadth of
land under crop, and the nature of the yield, we gather that we have, this year,
of fall wheat— two-thirds an average crop ; spring wheat, twice an average
crop ; oats, twice an average crop ; barley, twice an average crop ; rye, half an
average cro p ; corn, an average crop ; peas, twice an average cro p ; potatoes
probably half as much again as an average crop ; hay, not quite half an average
crop. It now becomes interesting to ascertain the value of this bountiful crop
to the country. W e cannot, of course, speak with perfect exactness, for the re­
turns are only for a portion of Canada West, whilst the statistics we have of
former years are for the w'hole of the province. And the price of the various
grains cannot yet be determined with accuracy. But as this peninsula is the




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

507

granary of the whole country, and as perhaps the price o f produce will not much
vary from the average, we may venture on the following calculations :—
First, then, we find the exports of the last five years, (two good, two poor, and
one neither; so that the average may be considered fair,) to have beeu as fol­
lows, taking the trade and navigation tables as our guide
- Wheat. Bushels.
Value.

1854
1855
1856
1857
1858

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

A v. export.......... ,
Average p rice .. .

1,442,677
3,193,748
4,997,656
2,762,454
2,437,679

14 834,214
5,037,457
1,007,491
2,966,843
6s. 8d., or $1 33
Barrels.
651,400
643,936
878,775
743,949
634,576

1854...................
1855...................
1856...................
1857...................
1858...................

Average export.
Average value..

£524,634
1,482,216
1,744,460
697,473
588,774

Value.
£1,199,174
1,450,480
1,502,452
1,134,410
766,452

---------- Oats.---------Bushels.
Value.

33,656
370,275
1,296,677
866,860
1,941,710

/-------- Barley.--------Bushels.
Value.

£4,127
112,383
42,385
566,534
114,355
989,447
831,412
90,203
188,371 1,309,638

£23,580
145,807
226.820
171,016
253,904

4,509,178 439,441 3,809,414 821,127
901,835
87,888
761,882 164,225
Is. 1 1 H , or $0 39
4s. 2d, or $0 83
p
T_ 3*
Bushels.
Value.
Bushels.
Value.
57,636
£11,091
133,087 £33,579
264,034
64,863
73,066
19,861
76,935
164,495
374,479
2 2 ,8 8 6
65,342
13,672
220,726
47,671
21,547
3,306
579,244 123,145

6,052,968
3,552,636
710,527
1,210,593
£1 14s. Id., or $6 82

382,086
70,816
14,163
76,417
3s. 84d., or $0 74

1,571,570 346,193
69,238
314,314
4s. 44d, or $0 874

Here, then, we have data for approximating to the quantity o f our present crop
we have for export, and its value— thus
Wheat, (say 1^ times the a vera ge,)............
Oats, (twice the average,).. ..
Barley and rye, (1J times the :averaged . . .
Indian corn, (average,).............
Peas, (twice the iaverage,)........
Flour, (this does not usually vary so much--sa y 1£ the average,). bbls.

1,142,623
76,417
628,628
888,158

W e consider that, at least, this amount is for exportation ; perhaps more. Y e t
although the surplus o f this year bears a far greater proportion to the surplus o f
an average year, than the crop does to ani average crop, the home demand always
increases in a year o f plenty, and thus reduces the amount which would otherwise be available for exportation.
The value o f the amount is, at average, and at present prices, as follows :—
WHEAT.

Present price.
* i

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

(.Average price.
$4,450,264 | $ 1 3 2 4 ...
OATS.

35 cents......

631,285 |

89 cents.

703,331

BARLEY.

40 cents . . .

458,049 [

83 cents..

INDIAN (DORN

85 cents . . .

64,954 |

74 cents.

56,548

PEAS.

*75 cents . . .

471,471 1

87 4 cents...............

FLOUR.

4,440,790 f
$ 5 ..............
Total at present prices.
$10,515,813




$6 8 2 ... .
Total at average prices.
$13,403,622

550,049

508

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

Here we have a nice little lot of agricultural produce to sell! W ho will buy ?
Only ten millions of dollars’ worth, at present low prices 1 But in addition to
this, we shall have an immense quantity of lumber to swell the returns of the
year’s trade ; probably fifteen millions of dollars’ worth, instead of nine-and-ahalf millions, as last year. And we shall probably have a million and a quarter
as the produce of our fisheries, instead of three-quarters of a million, as we had
last season. These items alone would give us at least ten millions of dollars
more for export than we had last year. In view of this, who will despond ?
GRAIN IN ILLINOIS.

Mr. J. S. G oings , from Woodford County, Illinois, furnishes the Prairie
Farmer with the following estimate. Mr. G oings is the Assessor in the town of
Worth, in that county, and while making the assessments took a statement of the
number of acres of wheat, corn, oats, and barley, in that town, as he found it.
He takes the number of acres of each as the average o f the number in each of
the fourteen towns comprising Woodford County; Woodford County as the
average for the one hundred counties in the State, and ten bushels as the average
yield o f wheat per acre, fifty of corn, sixty of oats, and forty of barley, from
which he figures the following :—
Wheat...............................................
C orn ................................................
Oats..................................................
B a r le y .,..........................................
T o ta l....................................

Acres in
town.
2,147
2,921
074
277

Acres in
county.
30,060
40,898
9,436
3,878

6,019

84,262

Acres in
State.
3,005,000
4,089,800
943,600
387,800
S,426,200

Bushels in
State.
30,050,000
204,490,000
56,616,000
15,512,000
306,698,000

To show, says the Chicago Tribune, the movement of any single crop, the
proper time to commence the commercial year is the 1st of September. About
that time the new crop begins to come in and the old to give out. This year
the harvest was nearly one month earlier than usual; and the old grain was pretty
well out of the country before the new began to come in. Generally, however,
the 1st of September is a fair time to commence counting the receipts of grain
as belonging to the new crop, (with the single exception of corn ;) for although
there is generally some new wheat and oats received in August, this is set off by
some receipts of old grain in September.
The following table shows the dates of the receipt of new wheat, winter and
spring, in the city for the past four crops :—
1856 ........................................
1857 , ........................................
1858 ........................................
1855..........................................

Winter wheat.
July 7 to August 1
July 10 to August 1
July 25 (o August 7
July 8 to July
15

Spring wheat.
August
8 to August
August
5 to Sept.
August 12 to Sept.
July
25 to August

25
1
1
1

The first date given is that on which the first lot was received, and the second
when it began to come in more freely, so as to establish a market.
The extent of the failure of the crops of 1858 cannot be known by a mere
cursory glance of tables prepared from January to January. In order to com­
pare them with former years, therefore, we have prepared the following tables
showing the receipts of flour and grain at Chicago lor the past two years ending
August 31 :—




Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

509

RECEIPTS OF FLOUR AND GRAIN FOR TWO YEAR8.*

1858—ft.

1 8 S7 -8 .

602,230
5,118,668
5,891,800
723,149
94,008
348,724

634,730
13,873,053
7,005,745
2,340,181
61,063
288,708

14,687,499

26,242,422
14,687,499

Decrease in 185S-9...............................................................................

11,554,913

F lou r....................................................................... barrels
Wheat.......................................................................bushels
Corn........................................................................................
Oats.......................................................................................
Rye.........................................................................................
Barley...................................................................................
Total, (flour reduced to wheat).

The following table shows the shipments for the past two years, ending August
31 :—
SHIPMENTS OF FLOUR AND GRAIN FOR TWO YEARS.

1 8 5 8 -9 .
F lou r........................................................................barrels
W heat......................................................................bushels
C orn .....................................................................................
Oats.......................................................................................
R y e ........................................................................................
Barley....................................................................................
Total, (flour reduced)

1 8 5 7 -8 .

430,531
4,766,«91
5,277,731
616,459
17,644
97,962

405,113
12,745.475
5,953,470
1,510,359
..
84,557

12,929,142

22,319,426
12,939,142

Decrease in 1858-9...............................................................................

9,390,284

The above table of exports, however, includes a large amount of flour and
grain which was sent to supply regions in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan,
Indiana, aud Ohio, where they had to import, instead of export as usual. The
following table shows the amount exported by Western railways, and by the
Illinois and Michigan CaDal, from September 1,1858, to August 31, 1859 :—
EXPORT8 OF FLOUR AND GRAIN INTO WESTERN STATES IN

By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By

Illinois and Michigan Canal.....................
Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad
Illinois Central Railroad.........................
Chicago and Rock Island Railroad.........
St. Louis Railroad.....................................
Northwestern Railroad.............................
Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad..........
Michigan Central Railroad.......................
Michigan Southern Railroad...................
Pittsburg Railroad....................................
Total

1858-9.

Flour., Wheat.
Corn, Oats, Barley,
barrels, bushels. bushels. bushels, bushels.
18
97 33,323
. . . . 157,299
796 13,488
350
. . . .
835
6,467
8,319 39,602 15,331 2,569
1,522 23,275 40,952
. . . .
9,383
1,021
6,276
217 83,430
. . . .
6,363
312
924
248
202
3,435 33,943
1,792
2,559
644
.... 121,901 163,291 10,273 2,093
.... 13,259 11,408
553 3,703
8,100
862
....
13,257
19,517 268,149 205,674 220,905 19,447

So here we have a total of flour (reduced) and grain of 871,760 bushels of
the year’s exports sent into the States which usually are the feeders of the coun­
try, which would make the exports really stand thus
Total exports of flour and grain in 1858-9............................. bushels
Less exports into Western States...........................................................

12,929,142
871,760

Total exports in 1857-8

12,057,382
22,319,426

Decrease in 1858-9......

10,262,044




510

Statistics o f Agriculture, etc.

But when we take into account the fact that last year at this date, we had a
large majority of the crop of 1857 on hand, and that it kept coming in more or
less till the close of the season, while this year we have but a very little of the
old crop on hand, and that our shipments of wheat during the last half of A u ­
gust tvere almost exclusively of the crop of 1859— we find that the loss to the
W est by the failure of the crops of 1858, is much greater than the above figures
indicate.
These tables furnish much matter for reflection. In flour and grain alone here
we have a deficit of production to a given extent of country of nearly 50 per
cent. In the receipts there is a falling off of upwards of eleven-aud-a half mil­
lion bushels. In commissions alone to Chicago merchants hero is a loss of about
$250,000— not to speak of our shipping, which has been comparatively idle all
season, for want of this grain to carry forward.
W hat the loss to the West is by the disaster to the crops, it would be im­
possible to estimate, taking into consideration the sacrifices which have been
made of property that would probably have been saved by a good crop ; but the
loss in actual cash to that portion of the West which sends her produce to this
city cannot fall short of ten millions o f dollars! Had this amount of money
been scattered over the northwest at a period of so much embarrassment as the
past year, who could estimate its beneficial effects to all interests?

HOW TO TEST THE QUALITY OF WOOL.

An experienced raiser of wool, gives the following certain test of fine wool.
The wavy folds of wool have been noticed by every one. Take a lock of wool
from the sheep’s back and place it upon an inch rule. I f you can count from
thirty to thirty-three of the spirals or folds in the space of an inch, it equals in
quality the finest electoral or Saxony wool grown. Of course, when the number
of spirals to the inch diminishes, the quality of the wool becomes relatively
inferior. Many tests have been tried, but this is the simplest and best. Cotswold wool and some other inferior wools do not measure nine spirals to the inch.
With this test, every farmer has within himself a knowledge which will enable
him to form a correct judgment of the quality of all kinds of wool. There are
some coarse wools, which experienced wool-growers do not rank as wool, but as
hair, on account of the hardness and straightness of the fiber.

VEGETABLE IVORY.

The ivory nut tree, or, as it is popularly called by the natives of South America,
the Tagua Plant, is common in that country, and we believe also in the southern
portions of our State. If this should prove to be the fact, and from the testi­
mony before us we have no reason to doubt it, it will eventually form no small
element among the resources of our still wealth-prolific country. It is a tree
which belongs to the numerous family of palms ; and in one division of that
order denominated by botanists the screw pine tribe. In South America, where
they are found in great abundance, the natives use their leaves to cover cottages,
and from the nuts they make ornaments, buttons, and various other articles. In
an early state, the nuts contain a sweet, milky liquid, but afterwards assume a
solidity nearly or quite equal to ivory, and will admit of a high polish. Euro­
peans and our own countrymen call it the ivory nut tree, or vegetable ivory : and
it has recently been introduced into the bone and ivory manufactories of both
England and the United States, where it is brought into use quite successfully for
various purposes as a substitute for ivory.




Statistics o f Population , etc.

511

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.
EMIGRATION.

The migration from Great Britain and Germany, which had been so large for
many years, seems to have become decidedly retrograde. The number who left
the four great European cities and Great Britain has been for several years as
follows:—
Tears.

Havre.

1846 ...............
1847 ...............
1852...................
1857 ...............
1858 ...............

82,381
59,474
72,325
24,S25
16,119

Antwerp.

Bremen.

Hamburg.

Total,
Europe.

Great
Britain.

4,434
14,717
14,369
13,150
4,101

32,372
33,682
58,551
49,449
23,127

4,857
7,628
21,916
81,656
19,102

74,044
115,501
167,161
118,990
62,533

122,851
258,270
368,764
212,874
113,972

The number reported as left Havre have been only the Germans in transit.
There were in addition 9,06G French left France last year. The year 1852 was
that of the largest migration from Great Britain, inasmuch as in that year the
Australian fever was the most active. The German migration reached its max­
imum in 1854, and was then 203,537. The movement has now subsided. The
number who left Germany in 1858 was smaller than in any year of the last fifteen.
The majority of the number came to the United States. The decline in the mi­
gration from Great Britain has been very great, and mostly due to the improved
condition of Ireland, although the Commissioners report £472,610 ($2,350,000)
remitted from the United States in aid of emigration. The destination taken by
the emigrants has been as follows:—
EMIGRATION FROM GREAT BRITAIN.

To North
American

Years.

colonies.

1851

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

4 2 ,6 0 5

1852
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858

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

32.873
34,522
43,751
17,966
14,111
21,001
9,704

1 8 5 9 , t h r e e m o n t h s ........................

59

To Australian
To United colonies and
States. New Zealand.
267,367
21,532
244,261
87,881
61,401
230,885
83,237
193,065
103,414
62,309
127,000
33,000
61,248
126,905
69,716
39,255
10,005
6,167

To all
other
places.
4,472
3,749
3,129
3,366
.3,118
2,443
3,721
4,230
1,083

Total.
333,966
368,764
329,937
323,429
176,807
176,554
212,875
113,972
17,314

The United States continue to take the largest proportion, but the effects of
the revulsion in 1857 was not only to check the arrivals, but to send back to
England 18,841 from the United States, and 4,863 from Australia. In the first
three months of the present year the emigration has been as follows
1854
1855
1856

48,565 1857
36,677 1858
21,859 1859

35,007
19,146
17,314

The effect of the Russian war is supposed to have diminished the number in
1855 and 1856. The reports current in the first part of the year of improved
migration turns out to be erroneous. In Germany, the abundance of food there
this year, and the want of employment here, operate upon the migration.




512

Statistics o f Population, etc.
BRITISH EMIGRATION RETURNS,

The London Times remarks : —
A compact pocket blue book, of 240 pages, contains the 19th general report
of the Emigration Commissioners, (1859.) The report, comparing the emigra­
tion of 1856,' 1857, and 1858, attempts to account for the striking decline
noticeable in the number of persons emigrating from the shores of AlbioD, for
last year it fell to 113,972 from 212,875 in 1857, (this latter figure, too, exhibit­
ing a great difference as compared with preceding years.) The commercial crisis
of 1857, and the distress in the Australian colonies, are said to have been causes
greatly instrumental of late in deterring persons from leaving home to try their
chance across the Atlantic, or at the distant antipodes. There was also a great
demand for men in England. But a more satisfactory and permanent cause of
decrease is to be found, says the report, in the altered condition of Ireland. In
1851 not less than three-fourths of the whole number who left the Kingdom
were Irish.
Since that period the proportion has gradually declined, until, in 1857, it was
only 4(4 per cent, or two-filths of the emigration, while in 1858 it fell to 38 per
cent. The consequent cause here at work is to be found in the increased
prosperity of the working classes in Ireland, and the constant absence of any in­
ducement to emigrate. That it arises from no want of means to pay for passages
is evident from the remittance of £472,610 for the purpose of facilitating the
emigration of friends and relations during the year 1858. The mortality on
board emigrant ships to North America is declining year by year, from 1854 to
1858 it fell from .074 to .019 per cent. Of the 113,972 emigrants last year, 9,704
went to British North America, 59,716 to the United States, and 39,295 to
Australia,* 60,309 Germans emigrated from Germany to all parts of the world
in the same period— a great falling off as compared with previous years. The
cause of this decline cannot be assigned with certainty at present; 17,207 emi­
grants to Australia last year paid their own passages, and 15,910 were assisted;
18,841 emigrants returned last year from America, and 4,863 from Australia
and New Zealand. The return of emigrants from America is attributable, no
doubt, to the commercial distress which during the last year prevailed in the
United States and British North America, and paralyzed the usual means of
employment. The smaller number who returned from Australia consist, probably,
of persons who, having acquired property, have come back to enjoy it in the
mother country.
Dr. N ormandy ’ s apparatus for distilling fresh from sea water has been tried
and found to be so satisfactory that it will be used henceforth on board all pas­
senger ships, by express and positive order of the Privy Council. Of 4,442
adult males who emigrated to Canada, 1,651 were farmers, 1,593 laborers, and
932 mechanics. The remainder (266 persons) are classed as “ clerks and ser­
vants.” The former have already been warned by the local press that their ser­
vices are not required in Canada. Nay, the prospects for other emigrants are
not very encouraging just at present. The redundancy in mechanics and artizans’
labor continues, and cannot be provided for at once, so that the newly arrived
will find it difficult to obtain situations.
Persons of no calling or experience in work are solemnly and emphatically
warned that there is no chance whatever for them in Canada. Capital, or the
means of labor is indispensable. Farmers possessed of £500, prudent and in­
dustrious, are sure to do well. Capitalists, too, may always find safe investments
at 10 or 12 per cent on landed security ; the legal interest is 7. Good farm ser­
vants stand the next best chance, but clerks, porters, grocers, gentlemen’s servants,
and highly skilled mechanics are not invited to go out. The report on the new
colony of British Columbia is interesting. N o opinion can yet be pronounced
on the area of its gold fields, but the general prospects are cheering. The
mortality in the emigration from China to Cuba in the latter half of 1858 was
* For the table of the movement from 1825 to 1858, inclusive, see page 408, vol. xxxix., October,
1858.




513

Statistics o f Population, etc.

as much as 20.88 per cent. The irregular habits and bad health of this class of
emigrants are the inducing causes of the evil.
In conclusion the commissioners advert to the emigration of the first three
months of the present year, (1859,) as compared with the similar period of former
years. The emigration of the first three months of the eight years from 1847 to
1854, inclusive, averaged 50,604 a year, and of the twelve years from 1847 to
1858, inclusive, 43,122. In the first three months of the present year it amounted
to only 17,314. The extent to which it is affected by the demands for the military
and naval services seems very evident. In 1854, before the commencement of
the Russian war, it was 48,565 ; and in 1855, 36,677 ; in 1856, 21,859 ; in 1857,
in the interval between the Russian war and the Indian mutiny, 35,007 ; in
1858, 19,146 ; and in 1859, 17,314. Of the emigrants during the first three
months of the year, there went to the United States 10,005; British North
America, 59 ; Australia, 6,167 ; and to other places, 1,083 ; making a grand
total of 17,314.
THE ROLL OF HONOR.

The following is a list of Revolutionary soldiers supposed to be alive and pen­
sioners on the roll of Maine, with their ages, in 1859 :—
Name.
Job A llen..................
Isaac Abbott.............
Samuel A ckley.........
Benjamin Berry........

County.

Ralph Farnham........
Amaziak Goodwin . ..Y o r k ............
John Hamilton......... ..Y o r k ............
William Hatchings.. . .H ancock.. . .
James W. Head........

Ago.
y«
97
94
97
95
103

Name.
Enoch Leathers___
Edward Milliken.. .
John C. Mink..........
Josiah Parker..........
Simeon S im pson...

100 William Tukey........
99 John Sawyer............
95 Foster Wentworth .
98 William W ym an. . .

County.

Age.
96
93
96
96
. .Y o rk ............ 95
94
94
104
. .Lincoln......... 95
97

EMIGRATION FROM STATE TO STATE.

The migrations of the American people from State to State is clearly set
forth by the different national censuses. From the census report of 1850 we
have compiled the four following tables, showing the number and direction of
the emigrants, to and fro, between the different States of the Union. The first
table shows the number of Southerners residing in the Northern States, distin­
guishing the number in each individual State of the North, and the particular
State of the South from whence they came. The second table gives the same
facts with respect to the Northerners who live in the Southern States. The
third table shows the number of Northerners who reside at the North, but in
other than the States of their nativity; and the fourth table refers to the South­
ern States with regard to the same particulars.
By reference to the first table,
it will be seen that the total number of Southerners residing in the Northern
States is 614,065, while the number of Northern people in the South is only
209,688 ; showing an excess of 404,377 natives of the South residing in the
Northern States. But the course of emigration follows latitudes rather than
longitudes, for while there are only 202,688 Northerners residing at the South,
2,062,816 have changed their residences from one to another of the Northern
States; and while 1,216,381 Southerners emigrated to the different States of
the South, only 614,065 chose the North for their domicil. There are other and
interesting details presented in these tables, which are valuable for reference :—
VOL. XLI.---- N O . IV .
33




PERSONS BORN IN THE SOUTHERN, BUT LIVING IN THE NORTHERN, STATES, IN

48
21
191
228

59
3,407
409

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

Delaware.
36
10
1
90
50
58
899
1,384
12.552
4.715
2,737
1,397
368
141
439
3
805
18

Maryland.
113
34
23
744
365
265
3,953
1.400
21.013
36,098
10,177
6,898
537
402
1,888
31
1,104
78

25,203

85,838

PERSO N S B O R N

Virginia................................
Delaware............................. ........
Maryland......................................
North C rolin a ...........................
South Carolina.................... ........
G eorgia................................ ........
Florida .................................. ........
A labam a.......................................
M ississippi.......................... ........
Louisiana.............................
T e x a s ................................... ........
Arkansas............................... ........
Missouri .............................. ........
K en tu ck y............................ ........
Tennessee............................
District o f Columbia.........
T ota l............................. ........




N. Car- S. Carolina. olina.
31
27
10
21
7
5
196
224
57
76
95
116
935
673
98
141
409
559
4,807
1,468
33,175 4,069
13,851
4,162
312
81
322
107
2,589
G76
6
4
1,027
519
201
34
57,851

13,159

5,486

4S9

IN T H E N O R T H E R N , B U T L IV IN G

8,339
IN T n E

2,589

2,099

2,744

9,855

1,741

6,380

28,755

18,581

3,768

534

SO U TH ERN , ST A TE S, IN

N. Damp- Ver- Massa- R Isl- Connec- New N. Jer- Pennsyl
ticut.
Y o k. sey.
Maine. shire.
mont. chusetts. and.
vania.
23 L 1,193
239
100
556
2,934 11,447
6,323
12
204
218
113
50
24
‘ 31
1,186
5.067
2o9
200
262
1,421
484
450
2,646
1,321 16,076
26
201
59
272
27
468
174
68
665
97
39
407
228
37
182
68
884
362
122
594
712
178
186
138
1,203
331
642
61
55
235
179
141)
66
614
83
240
155
654
74
612
1,443
151
271
876
215
100
141
339
62
242
952
221
981
139
247
283
1,620
239
469
5,510
498
2,493
97
144
414
56
369
1,589
2.6
205
1,005
49
82
174
36
121
702
537
117
80
742
804
630
1,103
124
8.291
5,040
S85
811
448
665
226
7,491
227
225
277
2,SSL
1,249
04
179
331
38
201
1,019
248
2,MG
84
43
331
23
185
817
87
163
1,164
3,403

1850.

Geor- Flor- Ala- Missis- Louis- Tex- Arkangia
ida. bama. sippi.
iana.
as.
sas.
24
24
6
21
16
9
6
16
1
13
9
9
2
8
6
18
11
12
5
1
2
237
82
71
34
179
10
JO
22
21
68
13
3
4
217
46
74
64
23
20
510
135
184
164
563
46
20
87
17
36
43
83
6
2
176
21
87
101
187
17
10
447
17
209
648
422
29
141
761
21
287
321
395
44
151
1,341
23 1,335
490
480
63
727
68
12
19
34
30
4
25
4
495
49
35
78
4
67
51
119
180
138
134
10
163
4
6
4
11
54
631
876
772
929 250
350
4
20
22
8
6
15
61

54,524

1,754

MisKen- Tennes- D. o f
souri. tucky.
see
Col.
11
14
6
28
12
14
2
11
10
7
6
5
196
58
75
25
13
4
64
19
28
41
18
50
173
369
538
116
64
21
82
28
220
158
767
497
656
13,829
1,873
598
12,731
1,006 i68,651
227
7,22S ■49,588 32,303
226
92
402
101
45
1,012
449
1,429
33
4,274
3,807
8,994
70
90
71
21 . *.3
4,(590
5,890
3,145
86
730
2,206
402
15

Total.
466
221
140
2,977
975
1.338
12.625
4,120
47,184
152,319
176,575
144.809
3.G34
6,298
81,392
313
24,395
4,284

55,654 8,047

614,065

22,530 149,481

1850.

Ohio.
5,2tHJ
54
535
48
23
46
53
276
594
1,473
947
1,051
12.737
9,985
742
123

Indiana.
288
19
65
67
11
50
14
93
413
414
1,799
2,128
12,752
5.898
769
29

Illi- Mich- WisCalifornois. igan. consin. Iowa.
nia.
Total.
28,999
126
33
37
4
11
5
12
1
6,996
54
16
4
23,815
5
1
23
2
4
3
2,167
6
2
2.347
i
41
3
2
4,249
i
8
7
3
1,758
114
8
3
7
4,947
311
10
4
4,517
7
l
401
68
7
28
14,567
l
109
2,S55
125
42
9,982
13
8.495
3.276
17
1U6
6
10,917
295
123
55.624
4
1,366
1,649
59
59
11
31,350
t-72
7
8
30
6,81 l
24
28
2
3,054
1

33,893

25,009

20,682

687

238

1,759

18

209,688

Statistics o f P opulation, etc.

M aine.....................................
New Hampshire..................
V e rm o n t...............................
Massachusetts......................
Rhode Island........................
Connecticut..........................
New Y ork .............................
New Jersey............................
Pennsylvania........................
O h io .......................................
Indiana...................................
Illinois....................................
Michigan.................................
"Wisconsin.............................
I o w a ........
Minnesota............................. .......
California............................. ........
Oregon...................................____

Virginia.

¥

PERSONS BORN AND LIVING IN THE NORTHERN STATES, BUT IN OTHER THAN THE STATES OF TnEIR BIRTH.

N. namp - Yer- Massa- E. Isl- Connec-■ New N. Jer- Pennsyl .
Indishire.
mont. chusetis., and.
ticut.
York.
Ohio.
sey.
vania.
ana.
16,535
13,509
J, 177
410
460
973
134
201
68
5
11,266
18,195
1,105
1,171
49
364
148
20
66
835
19,009
15,059
801
4.551
7.218
171
165
15
158
39,502 17,646
11,414
15,602
778
14,4-3
1,831
593
60
710
4 9 11,888
2.055
193
3,976
427
98
11
705
1,508
11,366
6,890
14,416
1.174
1,055
400
47
14.519 52,599 55,773 13,129
66,101
85,319 26,352
3,743
415
301
2rt0
1,494
264
2,105 20,5 61
15,014
372
61
1,775
4,532
7.330
9,266 58,835
1.946
29,117
7,729
399
4,821
3.314
14,320 18.763
1,959
22,855 83,979 23,532 200.634
7,377
886
3, l«3
2,678
24,310
438
2.485
7,837 44,245 120,193
11,381
4 2«8
9,230
1,051
6,899
67, ISO
37,979
6,843
64,219 30,953
2.714 11,113
8,i 67 1,031
6,751 133,756
5,572
9,452
14,677 2,003
2,520 10,157
6,-85
690
4,125 68,595
1,566
9,571
11,402 2,773
1,645
1,251
580
256
1.090
8,134
14,744 30,713 19,925
1.199
904
1,194
4,760
1,317
10,160
1,022
86 L
4,506
5,500 2,077
47
100
9-2
3
48
488
227
115
241
35
44
111
187
20
72
618
69
337
739
653

496
5,292
7,247
2,722
168
1,023

Mich- "WisCali forigan. consin., Iowa. nia.. Total.
1 2
83,542
19
10
4
42,413
48
10
1
5
4f\739
86
32
12 7 131,844
122
32
22
9
20,643
6
18
38,531
89
23
70 7 275,422
1,921
360
66
15
7 3
40 891
294
70 3
122,761
45
2,238
196
378
385.781
213,727
1,817
99
4i-7
3 248,488
2,158 1,095 1,511
19N273
332
59 3
1,900
128,573
445
88,713
521
692
3
284
341
38.596
248
41
801
81
i
2,853
37
452 25
10
4,526

366,881 260,832 66,915 23,893

11,593 3,506 3,870 58 2,062,816

Maine.

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

107,646

142,671

189,353 41,527

148,808 514,932

114,695

Illinois.
38
81
34
165
15
80
605
61
333
1.415
4,173

PERSONS BORN AND LIVING IN THE SOUTHERN STATES, BUT IN OTHER THAN THE 6TATES OF THEIR BIRTH.

Dela­ Mary­
ware. land.
542 10,328
139
4,360
7,030 4,373
635
96
14
320
J,621
117
703
7,331
9
194
757
73
791
67
3,216
117 1,440
521
61
4,737
326
518 4,253
5i)7 6,470
46.63 L
95
1,5.4
99 9,243
Vir­
ginia.

V irg in ia ..............................
Delaware............................. ........
Maryland.. ........................ ........
North Carolina....................
South Carolina.................... ........
Georgia................................ ........
Florida.................................
Alabama...............................
Mississippi............................
Louisiana............................. ........
T e x a s ...................................
Arkansas............................. ........
M issouri...............................
K en tu ck y.............................
Tennessee....................................
District of Columbia...........
T ota l..............................




51

6,739 41,897

N. Car­ S- Car­
olina.
olina.
7,343
381
18
13
225
158
4,420
6,173
37,522 52,154
3,537
4,470
28,521
48,663
21,487 27.908
2,923
4.583
5,155
4.482
8,772
4,5*7
1 7 ,« i0 9
2,919
14,279
3,164
72,027
15,197
100
100
225,091

173,199

Geor­
gia
193
14
74
844
1,504

a£8,997
i,3i6
17.506
5,917
7,639
6 367
1,254
892
4,S63
67
117,347

gi

Flor­ Ala­ Missis­ Louis­ T ex­ Arkan­
ida. bama. sippi.
iana.
sas.
as.
26
93
7
92
150
73
1
4
4
4
6
37
51
143
24
14
181
54
131
6
57
14
1
55
60
30
9
225
1,103 3,154
28
25
184
42
92
8
5
2,340
146
1,060
028
55
91
2,852
456
629 34,047
139
2,557
864
803
372 7,346 10.913
365 12.040 6,545
4.472
4,693
38
4,463
1,096
336
67
2,067
24S
633
746
30
271
792
6,1
71
657
369 G,393 2,137
100
496
261
7
4
45
58
55

Mis­
Ken­ Tennes- D. o f
souri. tucky.
see. Columbi.
2,029
1,560 1,184
223
8
16
4
28
86
131
39 1,910
33
141
2,037
28
3
7.3
30
188
GO
8,211
458
72
7
87
33
158
2,694 22,541
66
303
3,948 27,439
73
909
3,352
156
2.968
5,139
5,478
17,692
35
5,328
7.428 33,807
49
69,694 44,970
238
1,467
23,623
17G
920
12,609
28
90
58

4,235 79,982 28,977

14,672

1

11,2)0

2,120

20

10,9y9

1,895 9,133

ft

S*.
o
£

Total.
24,229
4,619
14,506
19,335
10,306
111,164
22,999
177.543
145,707
45,^79
77,*97
88,635
187,118
107,754
163.758
14,932

Or

185,683 4,209 1,216,381

Qt

112

101

107,844

Statistics o f

M aine................................
New Hampshire...............
Vermont........................... ...........
Massachusetts.................
Ehode Island..................
Connecticut......................
New York........................
New J e rs e y ....................
Pennsylvania..................
Ohio ............................... ...........
Indiana.............................
Illinois...............................
Michigan .........................
\Yiseonsin........................
I o w a .................................
California..........................
Minnesota........................ .
O regon.................... ........

05

Statistics o f Population , etc.

516

MASONRY IN THE UNITED STATES.

From documents entirely reliable, an exchange has compiled the following
statistical table of Masonry, in each State, showing the number of lodges in each,
their increase in one year, the number of members belonging to each lodge, as
well as the number of initiations during the year in each lodge. W e give it a
place in our pages for the benefit of our Masonic friends
State.
Alabama.............................................
Arkansas........................................... .
California............................................
Connecticut.. .....................................
Delaware...........................................
District of Columbia....................... .
Florida................................................
Georgia...............................................
Illinois.................................................
Indiana................................................
Iow a....................................................
Kansas..............................................
Kentucky.........................................
Louisiana..........................................
Maine..................................................
Maryland..........................................
Massachusetts......................... ........
Michigan............................................
Minnesota..................................... .....
Mississippi.........................................
Missouri..............................................
Nebraska...........................................
New Hampshire.............................
New Jersey....................................... ...............
New Y ork..................... ....................
North Carolina...................................
Ohio....................................................
Oregon.. . ......................................
Pennsylvania.,................................... ...............
Rhode Island..................................... ...............
South Carolina.................................
Tennessee........ ................................
T e x a s................................................ .............
Vermont............................................
Virginia............................................
Wisconsin..........................................
Washington Territory.....................
Total.......................................

Lodges.

60

171
16
196

Increase. Members. Initiated*
920
12
7,260
458
4
2,018
882
12
4,474
418
1
4,784
7
512
134
683
2 18
3
1,636
1,037
12
13,256
1,852
10,571
52
1,291
14
8,594
770
25
3,950
94
7
280
1,223
10
10,319
663
4
4,324
480
2
3,391
1,449
84
951
6
6,927
825
6
6,058
149
4
926
917
7,779
7
876
13
6,000
45
140
3
309
5
1,731
2,204
334
5
4,022
19
26.192
440
12
4,994
1,662
16
12,105
183
9
612
1,450
16
11,500
130
1
1,176
2,600
260
10
6
10,468
1,071
3
6,396
901
300
4
2,401
775
11
6,250
606
11
3,907
•25
4
75
312

826,420

21,153

In addition to the above, the total income of the grand lodges is now $207,100,
and the total income of all the subordinate lodges is not far from $1,250,000.
PROPORTION OF 0LEROY TO POPULATION.

According to the census of 1850 there were in the United States 23,191,876
people. A t the same time there were 26,842 clergymen, or one clergyman to
863 people ; but New Hampshire takes the lead in supporting clergymen, as she
has one clergyman to every 490 people. Connecticut stands next, with one
clergyman to every 526 people. All the New England States support one clergy­
man to less than 600 people. New York has one clergyman to every 722 people.
Virginia one to 1,317. South Carolina one to 1,410. Louisiana one to 3,000.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

517

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.
A LE TT E R TO YOUNG MEN.

In an easy, sociable way, I propose to write to the young men readers of
Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, and trust, that the fact o f my being a young man
myself, and one that has been, as it were, through the mill, who has thought and
acted like most young men, and no better than the average, may favorably im­
press the reader, and not cause him to expect a stiff, sharp lecture, and scolding,
for the many sins and faults we are, as a class, well known to possess. N o young
persoD of sense will deny the possession of much that is sinful, selfish, and un­
manly in his composition; and this, spite of the general esteem he is held in by
numerous friends aDd acquaintances. He may be generally considered liberal,
manly, and correct; and he himself will be aware that he possesses some quali­
ties that are excellent in their nature, and of which he is justly proud ; yet, on
self-examination, how much will he find that is not of such a character, and how
much will there be that he could wish were otherwise? “ Know thyself.” Do
not be deceived in yourself, nor let others cause you to think less of faults than
your own good sense and conscience dictate. Y ou may know and feel that you
are pretty good, but should be better. And let this feeling once be thoroughly
awakened, and a steady, well-directed effort be made to improve, and you will
soon find that you are indeed better; and let this word be taken in its fullest
sense. Better, you know you are, and whether friends perceive it or not, you
know it, and are pleased with it. One could read, for hours and hours, books on
self-improvement; and there are volumes published of “ letters to young men,
&c.,” but young men do not generally like to read such works. I have never
relished them, although I could not but admit their utility and excellence. Several
years of my life have been passed from home, and my observation and experience
have been mostly from life. It has been my fortune, at times, to enjoy the so­
ciety of men of intelligence, character, and worth; and, again, circumstances
have changed my position, where those around me, and with whom I mingled,
were of the lower classes, and more or less ignorant and depraved. About a year
of the time I was at sea before the mast, and for five years I resided in California.
So much for my introduction to you. I have been, at times, wild enough,
have seen high and low life, and can sympathize with most young men who have
been away from home, on their own resources, and may, possibly, induce Some
one to profit by the few crude thoughts and suggestions such experience has
afforded. It is natural for youth to love adventure and a desire to see the world ;
has often, and does now, every day, start boys away from home to pursuits and
occupations entirely unsuited to them, where tastes are formed and habits ac­
quired, by which their morals and disposition are often permanently and injuri­
ously affected. Let a young man. one that can still share with you many of the
feelings and desires, and the ambitions incident to our years, but who may have
had a little more experience, whisper seriously, and with the kindest feeling, in
your ear. I am no old fogy, (tho’ I rather like ’em,) can just feel exactly as you
feel on many subjects, and can fully appreciate the merits of your case. I f the
reader is attending school, but is discontented and desires to enter a store or go
away from home to travel and see something of the world, as it is termed, let him
first seriously think over the step he contemplates to take. If the circumstances
of your parents are poor, and it is important you should labor to reduce the
family expenses, do so, but- do not think money is the most important thing in
the world. Young men have too much, spend too much, and think too much of
it. But I had especial reference to those young men whose parents are in a
comfortable position, do not require nor wish them to work, but are only anxious
they should make use of the opportunities afforded them to become educated
and intelligent men.
T o those, in particular, I address myself, and would first wish to gain their




518

Mercantile Miscellanies.

good will, have them think I am sincere, honest, and their friend, that what ig
said is felt, and not written for effect merely.
The old stereotyped style of talk
and advice will not interest them. They have heard it so often, it is annoying;
but an appeal, plain, earnest, and as direct as I will make this, may receive at­
tention, coming from one who only claims to be their peer, and but a little their
senior in years. Let me suggest, that one is apt to loose sight of and forget the
proud, the enviable position he enjoys. W e live in a free country, have civil and
religious liberty', and the attainment of distinction, honor, and wealth, are privil­
eges within the grasp of all. Each one of you has the opportunity tendered you,
and urgently offered for your acceptation, at the public schools, (where now, at
some places, a collegiate education can be obtained,) to attend ; and they will
give you an education— and this, free of cost. You have gone, made good pro­
gress, say— but get a little tired and wish to give it up, maybe forever, or only
temporarily. Now, I want to put a pin in here and have you give attention.
Y ou think of leaving school, and, very likely, spite of any particular plan you
say you've marked out, the principal thing to be obtained is a release from school
and study, and charge. Is not this, after all, the principal object to be obtained ? It
may be, half the work aud study at school has only been, as it were, a disciplin­
ing of the mind and a preparation for higher studies, which would be more en­
tertaining. But you are tired, and wish to stop. If you will only make the
pause from study a short one, well enough, but there are many chances of its be­
ing a final, full stop. Your temporary success at business may offer such induce­
ments that you will not like to return again to school, or your mind may have
become so undisciplined as to have study again too irksome, or your taste may
become entirely weaned from books. Think over all these things. Remember
the importance of education in whatever sphere of life you are placed. If you
are fond of society, how much more agreeable is it to have an intelligent and
cultivated mind ; and how it makes your company sought for, your opinion re­
spected, and the conscious dignity of strength 'you experience thereby. “ The
mind’s the measure of the man.” Y ou are at school now, in the right track.
Press on. Don’t look back. If you do, you are apt to fail. If you go on, suc­
cess, in many of the objects to be attained, is certain. A great many young men
are captivated with the idea of making money. Under many circumstances it
is very commendable ; but for most of you, you have no business to think of
money. What do you want it for? It is not necessary that you should have
more than the indulgence of your parents now supplies. The amount you would
earn would probably be too inconsiderable to materially better your fortune. Do
not be in a hurry to earn money. If you should succeed at first, you would
probably lose and make again half a dozen times before you are thirty. Yery
few accumulate much before that age. Suffice it to say, that you have nothing
to do with money now. It will do you no material permanent good. Y ou will
have abundant capital to commence life with in a well-filled head. Lay up
wealth of knowledge, and in good time you will find it to pay a good interest in
your trade and profession. Incidental to the prosecution of your studies, let me
suggest that many young men choose for their associates and companions, those
whose advantages have been limited, tastes uncultivated, and from whom not
much can be learned, though sociably they may be clever enough fellows. Now,
every one must look out for himself in this world. It is your business to make
every advancement in knowledge in your pow er; and if you can just as well
make knowledge by contact with intelligent men, make an effort to form the ac­
quaintance of such : and to do so, you need not thrust yourself where you are not
wanted. You will always find people of intelligence who will lend, such as your­
self, a helping hand ; but, do not, day by day, keep up an intimacy with those
from whom nothing can be made, when other intimacies just as friendly, just as
true, agreeable, and entertaining, can be had with men and women of cultivation
and refinement. Circumstances make men great often. Continual contact with
beautiful objects improves our tastes and elevate us. Associating with people of
a better class, by degrees and imperceptibly, elevates aud raises us to their class,
aud at no sacrifice to them. By associating with people of intelligence, you will




Mercantile Miscellanies.

519

frequently discover your own ignorance on many topics, and the regret and mor­
tification consequent thereupon, will afford an incentive to harder study, and
a stronger desire for the possession of knowledge will be acquired. Young men
in cities, or where the facilities for receiving education are so abundant and libe­
ral, are more apt to form a distate for books than country boys, who do not enjoy
the same opportunities. They see, and hear, and read so much, it becomes
tiresome. But do not give way to a little fatigue. Keep moving ; it will be
pleasanter a little further on. Do not be easily discouraged. Nothing worth
having can be acquired without an effort, and pre-eminently it is so with
knowledge. That, each one must acquire for himself, it cannot be bought, Its
pursuit confers honors, and with it an approximate appreciation of the beauties
in nature and life can be enjoyed, while its absence, at the present day, subjects
one to many keen mortifications and feelings of regtet. while his eyes are closed
to much in the world of nature, science, and art, that affords perpetual and neverfailing sources of pure pleasure and delight. Almost imperceptibly this letter
has grown to an unusual length, and I find it is principally directed to young
men attending school; but the truths it contains are capable of general applica­
tion, whether as boy at school, academician or collegian, or student at law, medi­
cine, or divinity. And now, in conclusion, let me urge you to think seriously over
the subjects brought to your mind. A ct wisely and in accordance with the wellknown views and opinions of those you know are your superiors in virtue and
learning, whose age and experience should command your respect, and whose
kind feeling toward you is undoubted; and do not assume to think you know
yourself, your capacities, tastes, &c., better than they do, and leave your school
or college, or abandon a profession, without adequate consideration ; and wher­
ever you go, choose for your friends men and women of intelligence and charac­
ter. Get knowledge whenever and wherever you can, and in future years you
will have cause for many sell-congratulations.
LIGHT WEIGHTS AND SHORT MEASURES IN LIVERPOOL,

The following cases were brought to the notice of the Alayor of Liverpool. It
is to be wished that similar justice were meted out to offenders of the same species
in the United States
There were a number of shopkeepers, grocers, provision dealers, and others,
summoned before his worship the Mayor by the Inspector of Weights and Meas­
ures, for breaches of the law in having light weights, and for having scales which
cheated the public.
Mr. J o h n L a i r d , iron ship-builder, whose yard is in Sefton-street, was sum­
moned by Inspector J o h n so n .
The inspector said Mr. L a i r d was an iron ship-builder, and his yard was in
Sefton-street. On the 19th of June, witness went to the yard and found the peo­
ple then weighing iron. One weight of 56 lbs. was 7 ozs. ligh t; one was 5 ozs.
ligh t; five were 4 ozs. each ligh t; one was 3 ozs. light; and one 28 lbs. weight
was
ozs. light.
The Mayor : Was the iron which you saw being weighed by the weights for
sale, or was it only for being brought into the works to be made use of?
The Inspector : I do not know, your worship ; but I suppose some explanation
of that will be given.
A gentleman, who appeared for the defendant, said Mr. L a i r d did not sell iron.
The weights were kept for the purpose of weighing the stock of iron coming into
the concern, so as to have a check on it.
The M ayor: N o doubt; but the law says if such weights be found in the
premises or possession of a party, the fine must be inflicted. I dare say the
weights were not used for trade purposes in the yard.
The defendant’s representative : N o ; and as your worship will see they were
used against Mr. L a i r d himself, who would lose by them, as he only used them
to check iron that came into the yard, and if they were light, so much the worse
for him.




520

Mercantile Miscellanies.

The M ayor: So I understand that, although you do not use the weights for
selling goods by, yet they might be lent out to some neighbor who would sell by
them to the public.
The gentleman said the storekeeper of Mr. L a ir d ’ s place had received orders
to have the weights properly adjusted, but he had neglected to do so.
The Mayor : I have no doubt but what you say is quite correct; the officer,
however, got the weights light in the place, and all I have to do in point of law
is to decide that case. I must fine you 10s. and costs. The fine was paid.
Mr. R ic h a r d H a r b o r d was summoned by Inspector K is sic k for having two
56-lb. weights light, one 5-J ozs., and the other somewhat light. The inspector
said Mr. H a r b o r d was a large warehouseman, and had, among other warehouses,
one in Vulcan-street, in which he (witness) found the weights in question.
Mr. H a r b o r d said it (vas his most anxious desire, as it was that of all ware­
housemen, to conform in every particular to the law. It was not a matter of
profit or loss to him to have light weights in the warehouse. It was true the
warehouses were in his possession, but-he neither gained nor lost by the weights.
The weights in question were not used, and had become light by the accident of
falling into the cellar, where a small portion of the lead that adjusted them had
fallen o u t; they were not used. The keeping of light weights was repugnant to
his feelings ; for, as a right-minded man, he would not have wrong weights in his
warehouse, and if it were possible he would wish that some definite system could
be adopted whereby weights could be properly adjusted. He bad employed a
person named J ohn J on es , who was now' in court, for the purpose of adjusting
and testing the weights; but it appeared that the officer stated that weights
could not be adjusted at any place except the office of weights and measures.
This course w'ould be totally impracticable with him, for if he had to send his
large metal weights to be adjusted, it would involve a carriage of two or three
tons every day in the week, because he was bound to say that large weights in
use every day would be found to vary the day after adjustment. I f the case
could be adjourned, he would show that he had a man engaged for the purpose of
adjusting the weights, but the officer said such could be done only at the office.
The officer said Mr. H a r b o r d was under some mistake as to the point alluded
to. I f weights were correct, they would not be legal without the stamp on them.
Mr. H a r b o r d said he had purchased weights, &c., from Mr. C h e s h ir e , that
■were galvanized so as to prevent corroding ; he got these for the purpose of test­
ing the weights.
The Mayor did not see the utility of a postponement. He believed all that
Mr. H a r b o r d had stated. The law gave him no discretion when the officer swore
he got light weights in any place. He would therefore fine Mr. H a r b o r d 20 s.
and costs.
J o h n P a r r y , g ro ce r and p rovision dealer, V au xh all-road , was charged for
h a vin g his counter scale heavy against the purchaser.
Mrs. P a r r y appeared, and said the scale was quite right, and the officer told

her so.
Officer : I told you it was all wrong as against the buyer ; and so it was.
The Mayor : I see you were fined before for a similar offence.
Mrs. P a r r y : Oh, that was all a mistake!
The Mayor : Then there shall be no mistake this tim e; I fine you 15s. and costs.
W il l ia m M oo n ey , provision dealer, Vauxhall-road, was fouud guilty of having
7 lb. and 2 lb. weights light, which he used to sell with.
The Mayor : I see this man has been already fined on three different occasions;
first, 5s., second, 10s., and third, 20s. I now fine him 40s. and costs.
J ohn T a y l o r , pork dealer, Scotlaud-road, was fined 10s. and costs for a scale
that weighed against the buyer. '
' T homas W il k in so n , grocer and provision dealer, Marybone, was charged with
having a scale heavy against the purchaser.
Defendant: It was done in my absence.
The Mayor : Then I will make you remember not to let it be done again in
your absence; you arc fined 20s. and costs.




Mercantile Miscellanies.

521

C a t h e r in e K u rt , a fish dealer, in Cavendish-street, was find 2s. 6d. and costs

for a light weight.
P a tr ic k B y r n e s , provision dealer, Vauxhall-road, was convicted fo r having
a light weight, by which he sold out provisions.
The Mayor : This is a fearful fraud on the poor. A t a time when provisions
are so enormously dear, it is right to see that the poor get what they pay for with
their hard-earned money. I fine (this being the first olfence) this man 10s. and
costs.
W il l ia m G o f f , butcher, Regent-road, was charged with having a scale 3£ ozs.
against the buyer.
The Mayor : I see you were fined in May last 20s. for a similar offence. I now
fine you 40s. and costs, and if you are brought here again I will fine you £5. It
is a disgrace to see a person like you act so dishonestly.
There were several other cases, but the above only possessed features of public
interest.

WHY MERCHANTS FAIL,

Our cotemporary, the Philadelphia Commercial List, makes the following ju­
dicious remarks upon the changes of the times :—
The successful merchant is an object o f more envy than even the prosperous
professional man. He is assumed to be a “ solid” citizen, handling thousands
where others think themselves doing well if they can command hundreds— sur­
rounded with the luxuries of a palatial home, wielding a vast influence by the
mere loan of his name,1and looking forward to an old age of ease, free from all
annoyance, except, perhaps, an aristocratic, gentlemanly gout. But how many
members of the mercantile community are actually treading such a flowery path
and basking in the beams of an unshadowed prosperity ? Our business thorough­
fares are lined with showy stores, and thronged with men who appear to be en­
gaged in negotiating heavy sales, and accumulating sums sufficient to place them
beyond the reach of want for life. Y et it is a startling fact, as a recent writer
asserts, that out of every hundred individuals who enter upon a commercial ca­
reer, not more than three are entitled to be considered entirely successful. A
man may seem to be driving a splendid trade, may live in an elegant mansion,
and move in the higher circles of society, and yet be unable to call a competence
his own, clear of all indebtedness, and go on from day to day in a constant fever
of dread. He depends upon the banks for means to meet his engagements, and
knows not at what moment the source of his supplies may be closed against him.
Surely, those who are thus continually trembling upon the verge of a precipice,
and who are liable to experience a sudden plunge from apparent wealth to
poverty, are not to be envied. They must necessarily be unhappy mortals.
W hy are so few mercantile men successful in reaching the goal of independent
fortune? Those who are embittered by failure will growl in response, that
“ luck ” goes beyond all calculation, and attribute their own sufferings to mis­
chances that could not be foreseen or averted. A comforting salve, this certainly
may be, for crippled tradesmen; but commercial pursuits do not resemble the
throw of the dice or the turning o f a card. It is quite true that even the most
penetrating sagacity may be insufficient to prevent disaster, and that unexpected
events may nullify the toil and scheming for years. A ll mortal transactions
must be conducted subject to such unseen interference. But an examination of
the various cases of failure will lead to the conclusion that in nine instances out
of ten, the ruin was the natural result o f causes which were completely under
control. Some of these may be briefly referred to as the obvious sources of com­
mercial disaster. Young men are so extremely anxious to set up for themselves
that they commence business with a very small capital, and then launch out into
a sea of over trading, where they soon lose their reckoning. A s long as money
is abundant they can manage to keep their heads above water, and disguise the
actual perils of their position. They may be said to be the slaves of the bank.
This is the plank to which they cling. But when the clouds lower, and the banks




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Mercantile Miscellanies.

are compelled to take in sail, the young merchant finds himself adrift, and speedily
sinks from our sight. Luck has no part in such failures. They are the natural
consequence of imprudence. Other merchants fall into the same practice of over­
trading from a desire to make a dashing display, and as their business passes
beyond their control, they also lie at the mercy of the banks, and must give way
when a period of depression arrives. What is called “ fast” living ruins many
commercial men. They deem it necessary to maintain a first-class social posi­
tion, and keep a costly establishment, even when they are fully aware that the
length of their purses will not justify such an expenditure. Finding themselves
getting among the breakers, they endeavor to regain a firm foothold by specu­
lating, risking all they have, perhaps, upon chances as uncertain as those of faro.
W hat is called “ luck ” is generally against individuals of this class. Another
species of imprudence is fertile in failures. Prosperous merchants, at a season
of general sunshine, invest their surplus funds in various kinds of property, re­
taining command of merely enough money to carry on their ordinary business
operations, or trusting to their credit at the bank. Should a period of financial
gloom overtake them while thus situated, they are compelled to sell their property
at a heavy sacrifice, and even then they may not be able to realize a sum suffi­
cient to meet their engagements. During the late crisis, a number of well-known
merchants went down from this cause alone. These facts may be commended to
the serious attention of the mercantile community. Those who are now much
envied, without reason, may render themselves the most enviable class of citizens.
Keeping an eye to their capital, preferring a safe business to an extended but
uncertain one, avoiding dangerous speculations, holding all operations under
complete control, while making use of bank accommodations, eudeavoring to
maintain some degree of independence of such resources, and suiting the style of
living to the actual income from trade, they may greatly swell the ranks of suc­
cessful merchants, render their daily existence more pleasant, and secure a per­
manent place in the esteem of their fellow-men.
THE MERCHANT’S CLERK AND HIS DUTIES.

The Rev. Dr. J. W . A l e x a n d e r has recently written an admirable little
volume, happily entitled “ The Merchant’s Clerk, Cheered and Counselled,” from
which we take theTollowing passages :—
B r e a k in g th e I ce . Parents, employers, and senior associates will inculcate
upon you the daily duties of your calling ; indeed, you already know them, which
may show you that the grand desideratum is not by-laws, but inward principle.
Nevertheless, take kindly a few disinterested counsels from one who is no longer
young, but who has long cherished a warm sympathy with those who are begin­
ning life. Under the general determination to do your duty, beware of early
disgusts, whether towards persons or work. All new trials are burdensome, all
beginnings are vexatious. He that ascends a ladder must take the lowest round.
A ll who are above were once below. “ An two men ride of a horse, oue must
ride behind.” To consider anything menial, which belongs to the career of train­
ing, is to be a fool. The greatest philosophers and the greatest commanders
have passed through toils as humble and as galling. These hard rubs are an in­
dispensable part of education, and it is best to have the worst first. It is not
denied that not only the younger clerks, but all the employees, have toils both
irregular and excessive in those large houses which drive a brisk business with
remote customers. This pressure is, of course, worst in jobbing and auction
houses, and in what are called the busy seasons.
The heart of the young auction-clerk often fails him on contemplating the piles
o f goods which come in from the importing and commission houses, and which
must be arranged for inspection and sale against next morning, with the know­
ledge that he must work through the ungracious task of rearranging and deliver­
ing after the hours of sale. But what then ? Other and better men have lived
through the like. Cheer up on cold winter mornings when you blow your fingers
as you walk briskly down Broadway, or at late hours of packing, invoicing, or




Mercantile Miscellanies.

523

replacing goods. Cheer up at the thought that it will make a man of you.
Perhaps you remember Latin enough to quote the words of Yirgil, “ All this it
will be sweet to remember hereafter.” Recall enough of history to think of what
Roman and especially Spartan boys were accustomed to bear. Think of the
whaling voyage ; think of the morning drill at West P o in t; think of the igno­
miny ot giving up prospects in life out of a little girlish disgust.
D u t y is P l e a s u r e . Whatever comes of it, put your shoulder to the wheel
for a few months ; by that time some of the rough places will have become plain.
Wear the yoke gracefully. Every moment of this weariness and trouble will
turn out to your lasting profit, especially in regard to character. There are cer­
tain things which you will be ashamed to class among hardships. Such are early
rising, which you should practice for pleasure and longevity, as well as religion,
exercise in the open air, or on your feet; hard work, tending towards knowledge
of business ; punctuality, without which you can never attain wealth or honor ;
and tedious employment in affairs which secure you confidential regard. In all
these temptations to discontent, let me venture an observation on life, which I
confess it cost me many years to comprehend. Uneasiness in the youthful mind
arises from a fallacy that we express thus :— “ W ork now, but rest and pleasure
hereafter.” Not merely the clerk, but the millionaire, thus deludes himself—“ I
will bear these annoyances in view of the refreshing and luxurious respite of my
hereafter.” In opposition to all this, let me declare to^ou that these hours, or
days, or years of repose, when the mighty oppressive Jiand of the giant business
is let up, it will be none the less sweet for your having taken a genuine satisfac­
tion in your work as you went along. You will not make the journey better, if.
like the famous pilgrims to Loretto, you put peas in your shoes. From the habit
of seeking pleasure in work, happiness is the duty of the hour.
WHAT IS PAPER ?

The excise on paper in Great Britain has long been condemned, and its con­
tinuance can be attributed only to the proverbial patience of John B u ll; but to
increase the tax by enlarging the definition, may, perhaps, alarm him ; at any
rate it is time that he should ask himself the question “ W hat is paper?”
In a case recently tried before B aron B r a m w e l l , the crown instituted a prose­
cution against W il l ia m B a r r y , representing Brown’s Patent Parchment Com­
pany, for not having taken out a license as a paper maker. The manufacture in
question is a preparation of skin, and, consequently, parchment, not paper. Pa­
per is essentially vegetable fiber, as all history confirms, from the papyrus of the
Egyptians to the paper made here in the reign of Henry Y I., and from that to
the paper of the present day. The article is named from the papyrus, which is a
vegetable; the papyrus was not named from the use to which it was put. Charta
was the comprehensive Latin term for writing material, and included paper,
parchment, and even their metal, a fact which we recommend to the carelul con­
sideration of that fountain of wisdom and benevolence, the Board of Inland
Revenue.
I f paper must consist of vegetable fiber, what is parchment ? Surely skin
prepared for the purpose of writing. Does any dictionary insist that the whole
skin must be taken, and that, if the skin be torn with a knife, it will cease to be
parchment? On what ground, then, does skin cut up into little bits, and then
joined in large sheets, become paper ? Because, say the board, it is made in a
paper-mill, or at least a mill where paper was once made ; some of the machinery,
too, has actually been used to make paper, and the remaining machiues are such
as paper-makers use. There are, in fact, hallowed associations blended with the




524

Mercantile Miscellanies.

once licensed paper mill, and the licensed machinery which the piety of the ex­
cisemen impels him to preserve from desecration. A certain mode of manipula­
tion has grown up under their fostering care which constitutes the orthodox mode
of making paper, and when the material is changed, they still think their atten­
tion required, as a hen sets on duck’s eggs, and keeps the ducklings when hatched
from going into the water.
Mr. M e a k y , the excise inspector, appeared in amazing form, and laid down
that whatever was pulped in the engine must be paper. When a sheet of gela­
tine was laid before him, he declared it had not been pulped, and as such was not
paper ; and yet it can be substituted for paper for as many purposes as Mr. B a r r y ’ s
parchment, and the skin used by that gentleman would, if subjected to a different
preparation, become gelatine. In order to make out the liability of pulp parch­
ment to the paper duty, Mr. M e a r y ushers in with becoming solemnity— all
properly trained for the highly honorable service they have undertaken— three
distinguished and regularly licensed paper-makers, one semi-paper maker, and one
manufacturer of untaxed parchment. It was touching to witness the presenta­
tion of the several symbols ol their respective vocations in the shape of leather
paper, loan paper, tracing paper, paper made from the debris of the entrails of
animals ; it needed only that they should have brought a specimen I once saw of
paper manufactured from manure, by means of the pulping process, to complete
the display.
Sir F it zr o y K e l l y objected to this evidence at the beginning ; the act of
Parliament only said that paper was paper; aud to know what papbr is, you
must first ascertain what is paper? Baron B r a m w e l l , after having heard the
evidence, ruled, as requested by Sir F. K e l l y , that it was altogether a question
o f law, and a denial by the Solicitor-General that pulped parchment was paper ;
but he was not sure that it was not a question of fact for the jury, and he was
not sure that pulped parchment was paper after all, though he was quite sure it
was not parchment.
So he gave judgment for the crown, with the understanding that the court
above might rate it at its real value, and set it aside. There was an old rule that
the defendant was to have the benefit of the doubt, but that was in bygone days
before the civilizing processes of the excise were introduced. I f the excise had
been continued upon parchment, and Mr. B a r r y ’ s manufacture had made its ap­
pearance, (the parchment duty being higher than that on paper,) it would have
been classed under the former denomination ; then we should have been told that
the rag engine is used in the manufacture of flur for upholsterers ; that its raw
material is pulped ; that flur, nevertheless, is not paper: that the mode of manu­
facture has nothing to do with its denomination, and that, as the act says that
paper is paper, however it is made, parchment must bo parchment, however it is
made. But after all, we must not expect logical accuracy from excisemen. Mr.
T imm said the Annual Register was not a newspaper because it was bound in a
cover, and the board seem to retain his acumen without his liberality. But of a
judge we might expect something better ; in fact, the only thing proved at the
time was that Judge B ram w e l l does not know what is paper. ' In a year or two
all England will find that it is as ignorant as Judge B r a m w e l l . Aud if nobody
can tell “ what is paper,” who will venture to tell us “ why we should pay paper




Mercantile Miscellanies.

525

WHAT IS EXTRAVAGANCE ?

It is not every man who realizes that extravagance is but a relative term.
W e often hear persons of limited means, for instance, denouncing what they call
extravagances in their wealthier neighbors, when the extravagance of the latter
as compared with their means are greatly less than that of their censors. It
does not follow because a man lives in a stately mansion, drives a handsome equi­
page, gives costly entertainments, has a conservatory, a country house, or a cellar
of choice wines, that he is necessarily a spendthrift.
In truth, if he has a realized estate, and does not exceed his income, he is act­
ing wiser than if he hoarded his rents and lived like a miser. For a liberal ex­
penditure on the part of the rich, furnishes employment for the poor, while a
restricted one makes busines dull, so far forth, and so injures the community.
There is but a solitary exception to the duty of spending freely on the rich. It
is when the money judiciously saved from their income is invested in public works
of general benefit, in which case it not only furnishes employment to the laborer,
but assists to develop the resources of the State.
Nothing, however, palliates waste, or justifies exceeding one’s income. And
as comparatively few individuals have realized estates, few, even of your rich
men, have a fixed income to spend. In all cases, where persons are still engaged
in business, which, even with the most successful and prudent, involves at least
the possibility of risk, the disbursing of a considerable portion of the supposed
income, much less of the whole, may be set down as extravagance. The bank­
ruptcy of the majority of the merchants who fail in our great cities is traceable
to this species of extravagance.
Allured by the money they have made on their books, they do not wait to
realize it, much less to withdraw it and their other capital beyond the chances o f
trade, but launch out in a costly style of living, one stimulating the other by his
example, till finally hard times come, debtors begin to cheat them, their supposed
wealth vanishes, and they awake, some morning, beggars. Yet, in popular
parlance, such conduct is not considered extravagance; when in reality it is one
o f the worst, because most subtle forms of that social epidemic Men who thus
live are like bricks set upon end, and the fall of one tumbles down all in succes­
sion.
After all, probably, there is more extravagance with men in moderate means,
or even with the poor, than with rich merchants or gentlemen of fortune. The
laborer’s tobacco and rum often cost him more proportionably than the millionaire’s
thousand dollar party. The mechanic’s wife frequently i3 relatively more
extravagant in her bonnets than the wealthy dame who pays unheard of prices
for her head dress of tulle and ribbons. It is not among those who generally get
the credit of it, but among families of slender means, that the vice of keeping up
appearances prevails the most.
The pinching, economizing, and dickering, the thousand little meannesses ; the
anxious nights and worrying days that follow on the heels of extravagance, are
oftener seen in small houses than in great. More than half the battle in getting
rich is to avoid extravagance from the outset. Two-thirds of the sufferings of
the poor arise from extravagance. Thrift, prudence, economy, and self-denial'
generally will enable almost any man in the end to acquire a competence. The
true reason why so many journeymen remain journeymen all their lives; why so
many men of small means are struggling from early manhood to the grave, is
their extravagance, and extravagance in little things at that.

PRINTING IN FRANCE.

From official returns it appears that the number of printing offices in France
is but 1,037. These employ 9,500 compositors, 3,000 pressmen, and 900 cor­
rectors and overseers. The product of the whole is valued at $5,000,000.




526

Mercantile Miscellanies.
SHORT HOURS FOR SEWING-MACHINE OPERATORS.

The Shoe and Leather Reporter remarks :— Sewing-machines are now so ex­
tensively used in stitching and binding boots and shoes, that a large amount of
female labor has been diverted to other occupations, while by the aid of these
and other improvements, the productive power of our large manufactories has
been largely developed. A large number of intelligent operators are, however,
engaged in running machines, and the labor is so exhausting, that we are assured
it not seldom undermines the health, and lays the foundation for dangerous if not
fatal diseases. A young person, except she be gifted with unusual powers of
endurance, could scarcely pursue her work at the machine for ten hours a day,
without finding herself, before a very considerable period, injured more or le^s,
and impaired in health and strength. Physiologists tell us, and experience cor­
roborates the assertion, that labor for a shorter daily period, performed with the
healthful energy and the impetuous lorce of perfect physical strength, will be
more productive to the employer, and more beneficial to the community, than
work protracted for ten hours, if partly performed under the exhaustion and
weakness induced by unremitting exertion.
One great advantage resulting from the introduction of machinery, is the dis­
pensing with the necessity for the same amount of human labor, and, consequently,
shorter hours o f work ought to be expected. This is all the more necessary in
consequence of the increased force of thought expended by the mechanic, when
he combines his labor with the productive force of machinery, the exhaustion
consequent upon intellectual or physical labor, being, of course, proportionate to
the intensity of the efforts put forth. The moral and intellectual advancement of
the laborer are also much retarded by the prostration of unduly severe to il; con­
sequently, those who employ laborers, male or female, owe it to themselves, their
country, and the best interest of their employers to abridge, as far as practicable,
the hours of labor.
THE STEREOSCOPE AND FORGED NOTES.

A cotemporary states, that by means of the stereoscope, forgery can be readily
detected in the case of bank-notes. I f two accurately identical copies of
ordinary print be placed side by side in the stereoscope they will not offer any
unusual appearance; but if their be any, the slightest difference, that difference
will at once be made manifest by the elevation into relief, or the reverse, of the
corresponding space above the adjoining marks, and by this simple process a
forged bank-note can at once be detected.
SE LF TEACHING.

The most valuable part of a man’s education is that which he receives from
himself, especially when the active energy of his character makes ample amends
for the want of a more finished course of study.
INDUSTRY.

An hours’ industry will do more to beget cheerfulness, suppress evil humor,
and retrieve your affairs, than a month’s moaning.




The Booh Trade.

527

THE BOOK TRADE.
1. — Manual of Naval T adics; together with a brief Critical Analysis of the
Principal Modern Naval Battles. By J ames H . W a r d , Commander, U. S.
N „ author of “ Ordnance and Gunnery,” and “ Steam for the Million.” With
an Appendix, being an extract from Sir H o w ard D ouglas ’ “ Naval Warfare
with Steam.” 8vo., pp. 208. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
The aim of the author in the production of this very instructive and interest­
ing treatise on naval tactics has been to produce a first book or inceptor, which
should contain the rudiments and elementary principles governing the operations
of fleets, and the effect the different systems of maneuvering adopted by hostile
ships has hitherto had in times past, in effecting the one great object in view—
success in battle. This will be the better received, inasmuch as the author ob­
serves, “ much of the very best talent in the navy has by the inclination, domestic
or otherwise, of individuals, and until recently by the countenance of the Navy
Department, been constantly diverted from the profession proper to sciences,
distantly, if at all related to i t ; consequently, should the day soon arrive, in
which the country will need a Nelson, and shall look for him among its most
gifted naval men, it may find instead a Humboldt or an Astor.” In treating his
subject the author takes up every point of naval maneuvering as practiced in
modern times, which he illustrates with numerous figures, also bringing forward
several of our most important naval engagements, which are analyzed by him in
a manner to detect the peculiar features or plan of execution employed by each
of the various commanders, and points out the results which they naturally ob­
tained. In all of which he exhibits a familiarity and skill, which could only have
been arrived at by the closest study, and shows plainly enough, that however
liable the eclat won in other professional pursuits is of attracting from the
practical branch of the service many of his most ambitious and capable com­
panions, he himself is resolved to stand 1y the ship, to acquit himself in professional
practice, and give to the service which bad attracted him in his youth all his
energies, despite every discouragement. The work throughout is logical, and
highly suggestive, and will no doubt be considered an acquisition of professional
knowledge to that particular branch of the service, as well as of real practical
utility as a guide, should the times ever demand it, to enable our officers to meet
successfully the shock of battle.
2. — A Natural Philosophy; embracing the most recent Discoveries in the
various Branches of Physics, and exhibiting the Application of Scientific
Principles in Every Day Life. By G. P. Q u ackenbos . A. M „ author of “ First
Lessons in Composition,” Illustrated School History of the United States,”
etc. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
Amons the many books on this subject, put forth by our school-book authors,
there have been but comparatively few well adapted to the uses of the school­
room, owing to the want of proper definition of things in their natural order, as
well as explanations which render themselves readily comprehensive to the youth­
ful mind. The style of this book is clear and terse, beside everything appears
to be brought up to date, embracing the recent discoveries of Faraday in magnetic
electricity, and even the balloon trip of La Mountain, on 1st of July last.
Institutions that are not fuliy supplied with apparatus, will find this book especially
valuable for its fine pictorial illustrations— 335 in number— and its lucid de­
scriptions and explanations of experiments. The laws of the material world are
illustrated with facts drawn from our,daily experience; and such as admit of it
are applied in easy problems which insure that they are properly understood.
The convenience of teacher and pupil is also consulted by the reproduction of
the figures in the back of the book, so that they can be referred to by the pupil
during recitation apart from the text.




528

The Booh Trade.

3. — Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea, viewed Classically, Poetically, and Practically;
containing numerous curious Dishes and Feasts of all Times and all Countries,
besides three hundred Modern Receipts. 4to., pp. 350. New York : D. A p­
pleton & Co.
In our own day (we quote from the compiler’s preface, and must not be held
responsible for the assertion) there may be found many active and orderly house­
keepers, who are also intelligent, well-informed, and even accomplished women.
For the entertainment of this class of persons the present work has been com­
piled. While it will be found of great practical utility, it aims to be rather more
than a mere cook-book, since it contains much curious and instructive matter in
relation to the gastronomic habits and peculiarities of all times and all countries.
It must surely be a matter of interest, while preparing dishes to gratify the pal­
ates of the present generation, to notice what have pleased poets and philosophers,
and races long passed away, as well as to remark the great diversity of tastes
among the various nations now existing on the earth. Thus it will no doubt
prove satisfactory to many of our gastronomic friends to learn that snails have
become a considerable article of food in many parts of Europe, and that they
are considered a very fashionable article of diet in Paris. The usual modes of
preparing them for the table are either by baking, frying them in butter, or
sometimes stuffing them with force-meat. In the Isle of Bourbon they are made
into soup for the sick by the French. There are now fifty restaurants, and more
than twelve hundred private tables, in Paris, where snails are accepted as a del­
icacy by thousands of consumers, and the monthly consumption is estimated at
half a million. May the epicurean fancies and gastronomic propensities of the
Gauls never grow less! The book has been got up with the usual liberality dis­
played by the Messrs. Appleton, in regard to typography, paper, &c., and will
be found to combine both amusement and instruction.
4. — Memoirs of Vidoeq, the principal agent of the French police, written by
himself, and translated from the original French, with illustrative engravings
from original designs by Oruikshank. 12mo., pp. 580. Philadelphia : T. B.
Peterson & Bros.
“ As a piece of autobiography,” to quote from the translator’s preface, “ this
work has many and singular characteristics, which stamp it at once as one of the
most interesting of narratives. Replete with incident and instructive moral, it
affords for the lovers of romance all that the wildest taste could desire of hair­
breadth escapes, imminent dangers, thrilling horrors, and powerful description.
Besides, for the amateurs of fun there are sketches as comic as humor can devise ;
and for the reflective reader, who, not content with the mere detail of events,
searches into the motives, and philosophizes on the wit or weakness, power or
puerility of the human mind, herein will be found ample scope for his most medi­
tative musings. To those who may assert their disbelief of the personal deeds
and perils of Yidocq, stands the fact that some of them have been contradicted ;
and yet many of the persons whom he has handled with severity, and spoken of
in no very measured terms, are still living, and would, doubtless, be too happy
to refute the charges alleged, did not truth forbid denial.” Taken as a whole, it
is a most entertaining narrative, told in that happy strain of expression, for
which the French are such noted masters, rendering it fully equal to the luminous
passages in the life of our own “ Jack Hayes.”
5. — Popular Tales from the Norse. By G eorge W
379. New York : D. Appleton & Co.

e bbe

D asent .

12mo., pp.

The design of these tales has been to furnish an agreeable selection of stories that
shall both cater to the amusement and instruction of the young. The wonders
of nature, and most of all art, are here put forth in the most happy and attractive
form, rivaling the glories of Alladin and his wonderful lamp. But though infor­
mation may be said to be rendered subservient to amusement, there is still a
freshness and novelty pervading them which cannot but be well received by those
for whom they are intended.