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H UN T ’ S
MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE.
E s t a b li s h e d J u l y , 1839>
BY FREEMAN HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
VOLUME X X V II.
S E P T E M B E R , 1852.
C O N T E N T S OF NO.
r
III.,
VOL.
NUMBER III.
XXVII.
ART I CL ES .
A
rt
.
page.
I.
OUR EMPIRE ON THE PACIFIC........................................................................................... 275
II.
COMMERCE OF THE DANUBE. By J o h n P. B r o w n , Esq., o f the Legation o f the United
States at Constantinople...................... ........................... ........................................................ 289
III. COMMERCIAL CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE UNITED STATES.—No. xxxm .—THE
CITY OF N E W YORK. P a r t , n . — Population—Absolute progress. By E. H a l e , Jr.,
of New York...............................................................................................................
310
V
IV. THE BLASTING OF ROCKS UNDER WATER WITHOUT DRILLING. By B. M a il l k f e r t and W. R a a s l o f f , Submarine Engineers.........................................
320
JOURNAL OF MERCANTI LE LAW.
Action of Assumpsit for go ods sold and delivered............................................................................. 329
What constitutes due diligence in making a demand upon the drawer o f a note, etc.................... 332
Brokers—contract to deliver stocks, etc.................................................................................................333
Action upon a promissory note............................................................................................................. 336
COMMERCI AL CHRONI CLE AND R E V I E W :
E M B R A C I N G A F I N A N C I A L A N D C O M M E R C IA L R E V I E W O F T H E U N IT E D S T A T E S , E T C ., I L L U S T R A
T E D W I T H T A B L E S , E T C ., A S F O L L O W S :
General aspect o f commercial affairs—Credits at the south and west—Blessings and dangers of
prosperity—Increased value of property—Condition of the New York State banks—Difficul
ties connected with the warehousing system—Necessity o f a liberal interpretation o f the laws
to insure harmony between the government and the people— Deposits and coinage at the
Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints lor July—imports at New York for July—Cause o f the
decline from previous years—Imports from January 1st—Warehousing movement—Imports
of foreign dry goods at new York for July, and for seven months—Receipts for duties at
New York—Revenue of the United States for the fiscal year 1851-52—Imports into the United
States for four years—Exports at New York for July, aud for seven months—Comparative ex
ports o f specie and merchandise................................................................................................. 337-344
V O L . X X V I I .-----N O , I I I .
18
274
CONTENTS OP NO. III., VOL. XXVII.
JOURNAL
OF
BANKI NG,
CURRENCY,
AND
F I NANCE.
PAOB.
Debt and finances of New Orleans........................................ .............................................................. 344
Value of real and personal property in the British Province of Nova Scotia in 1851 .................... 348
Condition of the North-Western Bank o f Virginia.............................................................................. 348
Expenditures of the United States Government from 1789 to 1851................................................... 349
Raising money by pawnbroking in Ireland........................................................................................... 349
United States Government receipts and expenditures......................................................................... 350
Price o f manufacturing stocks in New England.—Value of a mutilated bank-note........................ 350
Consumption o f gold in the arts and manufactures.............................................................................351
Salaries of the foreign ministers of Great Britain, France, and the United States.......................... 351
United States Treasury Notes outstanding August 2, 1852 .................................................................. 351
Four bank-notes of one million pounds sterling.................................................................................. 351
Act establishing a branch mint of the United States in California.....................................................352
Will gold depreciate?..................................................................... ..................................................... 353
Statistics of the mints o f France............................................................................................................ 355
The proposed Board of Brokers in New York..................................................................................... 355
Louisiana banks and loans.........................................................................................................................356
The Pennsylvania North Branch loan.................................................................................................... 357
Origin of c o in s ......................................................................................................................................... 357
Bonds o f the Planters’ Bank o f Mississippi........................................................................................... 358
COMMERCIAL
STATISTICS.
Commerce o f France in 1852.—The mackerel fisheries of New England......................................
Exports of some of the leading articles from port o f N. Y. during three years ending June, 1852.
Fisheries of the British province of Nova Scotia.................................................................................
Imports of brandies into Great Britain..................................................................................................
Rochester flour trade.......................................................
British imports of sugar from her possessions.—Commerce o f Holland in 1852 ...........................
The foreign trade of London...................................................................................................................
NAUTI CAL
359
360
360
361
362
363
363
I NT EL L I GENCE.
Belvidere Knoll and Hooper’s Straits................................................................................................... 363
Beacon at entrance of Bombay Harbor.—Boqueron Channel, port o f Callao.................................. 364
Bearings off Bull’s Bay Light-House.—Notice to United States Consuls............................................ 364
COMMERCI AL
REGULATI ONS.
Spanish commercial regulations............................................................................................................. 365
Treaty of peace, amity, Commerce, and Navigation between the United States and Guatemala.. 365
Of allowance for tare on merchandise.—U. S. Treasury Circular....................................................... 371
Tarilf of the Peruvian Government............................................................................. ........................ 372
S T AT I S T I CS
OF POPULATI ON.
Population and representation of the United States............................................................................ 373
Complete census of the Province *1 Nova Scotia in 1851.............................................................. .
374
RAI LROAD,
CANAL,
AND STEAMBOAT
S TATI STI CS.
Statistics of the Passages, &c., o f the Collins and Cunard Steamers................................................. 376
Statistics o f the Western (Mass.) Railroad from 1842 to 1851...................... ................................... 379
The coal traffic of railways..................................................................................................................... 379
Breaking o f railway car axles.................................................................................................................. 381
Railroads in Spain......................................................................................................................................381
The longest tunnel in the world.—Railway accidents in Great Britain..............................................381
JOURNAL OF MI NI NG AND MANUFACTURES.
Gold mining in California.......................................................................................................................
The Manufacture of glass—No. i. By D e m in o J a r v i s , Esq............................................................
Statistics of Nova Scotia manufactures...............................................................................................
The first discovery o f gold in Australia ...............................................................................................
The early discovery ol coal.....................................................................................................................
The Cumberland Coal and Iron Com pany...........................................................................................
The Australia gold diggings...................................................................................................................
Manufacture of com bs............................................................................................................................
Manufacture of lumber in the north-west.......................... ................................................................
MERCANTI LE
382
383
388
388
358
389
389
390
390
MI SCELLANI ES.
“ An old merchant’s advice.” ................................................................................................................... 391
The mackerel fisheries.........................................................................
390
The prompt merchants’ clerk................................................................................................................. 392
Commercial growth o f the United States............................................................................................. 393
Commission merchants............................................................................................................................ 393
Absorption in business............................................................................................................................ 393
Thomas Tarbell, a Boston merchant...................................................................................................... 394
The French rose tra d e.............................................................................................................................. 394
The romance of trade.............................................................................................................................. 394
THE BOOK TRADE.
Notices o f new Books, or new Editions....................................................................................... 395-400
HUNT’S
MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE
AND
COMMERCIAL REVIEW,
SEPTEMBER,
1852.
Art, I.— OUR EMPIRE ON THE PACIFIC.*
f
S ince California first acquired auriferous fame, a great ink-stream, worthy
o f an age o f cheap literature and speedy transit, has flowed thence upon us,
deluging the columns o f our public journals, and surfeiting the public in
quiry with the load o f information. Y et has this big current borne a very
meager freightage o f fa cts— o f such true, solid, common-sense descriptions
o f matters and things at its source, as were wanted here, and as could alone
guide to intelligent action on the part of both our people and government.
In the first period of the Californian emigration, we could hardly expect it
to be otherwise. In the entire novelty o f the enterprise, and the exagger
ated excitement attending it at every step, we were to expect o f human na
ture precisely what we had— an unfailing rush o f words, conveying an over
whelming paucity o f facts and substance. W e were not to wonder that
well meaning men set forth such vague and contradictory statements respect
ing the sources o f this fresh segment of our em pire; or that in attempting
to picture its condition and its prospects they were swamped in the depths
o f their own speculations, or fell confounded in the void between an old
and a new community.
In what may be called the second period o f Californian emigration— now
in progress— there has been a small proportion o f such ill-qualified adven
turers as were the first to start-— men whose flickering temperaments pre
vent any steady, reasoning view— their ideas ever varying with the elevation
o f over-realized hopes, or the depression o f uncompensated fatigues and
* A Dissertation on the Resources and Policy of California: Mineral, Agricultural, and Commer
cial ; including a Plan for the Disposal of the Mineral Lands. By J ohn J. W krth . Benicia, Cali
fornia: St. Clair & Pinkham.
2?6
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
collapsed expectations. But the great mass of this late emigration has been
of a better material— of men characterized by forethought, judgment, and
cool appreciation o f this enterprise. The more sober and truthful accounts
sent back by these have, of course, corrected many of the errors of the
earlier impressions made in the Atlantic section. But still there is a great
deal o f ignorance and misinformation prevailing; and while there are but
few at present who do not acknowledge that California is destined to acquire
an importance second to that of perhaps no other section o f the country,
there are as few who understand the real character o f that region, and have
found any tolerable measurement o f the elements, upon the development o f
which the common opinion regarding this destiny is predicated. The effect
o f this ignorance has been in various ways highly detrimental to the inter
ests o f California, and no more just complaint has been made than that re-’
garding the prejudice which these interests have sustained from the miscon
ceptions existing in the government o f the United States. From the policy
—-if there may be said to have been any— prevailing at Washington, not
only have the ordinary concerns of California suffered, but she has been im
periled in matters o f grave moment. Now, this should not be so, for two
reasons— first, justice to California, which is a sort o f abstraction ; second,
justice to ourselves, as we cannot afford that it should be so, which is a very
practical idea, as soon as realized. W e can be indifferent to the fate o f Cal
ifornia, or ignorant o f her condition and wants, only at our own immediate
ar d troublesome expense. So fixed and intimate has the union with her now
become, that no section or State can “ remain unaffected by any contingen
cy that shall impede her improvement, or fail to sympathize in any impetus
given to her prosperity. Nor can any institution, financial or industrial,
public or private, escape the vibrations which a fluctuating ebb and flow of
her golden fountains would produce.”
Mr. W erth, a resident o f California, has made the best effort o f any that
has yet come beneath our notice to furnish that information which is so
much in need. Ilis pages give evidence o f careful and thorough investiga
tion. The author is a man o f practical intellect— one who sees facts in their
true light and natural dimensions, understands their relations, and follows
them to their legitimate results.
W ith flighty speculations, moonshine,
and shadows o f meat in the water, he has nothing to do. Such as the
“ sober, ungarnished truth” here displayed may induce to emigrate to California, will not be likely to carry with them any o f that orientalism of fancy
so largely exported from this quarter hitherto; while those who may be
induced from its perusal to stay at home, (and we doubt not there are num
bers upon whom it will have that tendency,) will not do so in the idea o f
standing apart to witness the bursting o f the most magnificent bubble o f
modern times.
As deserving first notice in the investigation o f the internal resources and
the commercial basis o f the State, Mr. W erth presents the astonishing fact,
that while the annual product o f gold has reached sixty millions o f dollars,
the rate of interest on money, for all purposes o f Commerce and improve
ment, is rigidly maintained at from three to five p er cent p er month, under
the best securities known to the community. This he well characterizes a
“ monstrous anomaly in political economy— significant o f serious derange
ment in its machinery.” It brings directly home to California “ the dis
couraging fact that her industry has not been compensated with thrift.”
■What, he asks, avail to her all the bounties which nature has lavished upon
>
Our Empire on the Pacific.
277
lier, “ if she retain within her borders no important portion o f her own vast
product— if she derives no element o f strength— if she secures no means
ot building up diversified domestic interests, no power to accomplish essen
tial improvements ? If matters stand thus, she is the mere factor for other
communities, without even a fair remunerating commission for the service.”
It may, indeed, be seriously questioned, whether California, as a political com
munity— whether her permanent resident people, her citizens (for it is to them
that this question presents itself) have realized and invested, or retained
within her borders in money or its fair equivalent, a commission o f 5 per cent—
or an aggregate o f $8,000,000 as a legitimate result o f her entire mining opera
tions, and the trade and traffic immediately connected with them, from the first
discovery o f gold, to the present day.
It is not intended to put this forth as a limit o f the active capital in the coun
try. Largo amounts have been brought into it, either in property or money;
and external Commerce has contributed important profits, resulting from the en
terprising operations o f her merchants with China, the Islands, and the Southern
Coast. But these are all extraneous to her actual products o f gold.
The cause o f this unfavorable state o f things is the often-stated fact of
the absorption of labor in the mining pursuit, to the almost total neglect of
agriculture, which has occasioned the unavoidable necessity o f sending one
large dividend o f the product abroad to purchase means o f subsistance.
/
California gets no share o f that, save the small net profit retained by the
merchant and trader, after they, too, have sent abroad the expense, frugal or lux
urious, o f their consumption o f products foreign to the State. The remaining
portion o f the great aggregate production being profit, and subject to the dis
posal o f the producer, would soon settle the agricultural lands, open up their
resources, and accomplish valuable improvements, if it were realized and held
by permanent residents, who would find their interest directly involved with
other interests o f the State, and who would instinctively prefer to invest their
means in congenial enterprises at hand, under their own control, or within con
venient supervision.
But, unhappily for California, this is not so. The present open policy o f the
mining region, not only does not entice, but, in truth, does not admit o f perma
nent settlement, and fixed location. It encourages and constrains a floating pop
ulation, and invites adventurers for a season. And this portion (the savings o f
the business) follows the first and goes to swell the steamers’ manifests, or to
make up the heavy item of “ well-filled buckskins, carried home by miners with
out registry,” to he invested elsewhere.
As the remedy for these things, a new policy is demanded. Under a
proper system, the basis o f which the course o f the treatise develops, the
better results will be that—
The profits o f the miner will seek investment in her agricultural lands, in her
Commerce, and in her improvements. Her farmers will find ready markets in
the mines, cities, and villages. Her merchants will no longer be mere agents—
crowding the markets, and encouraging extravagance and frightful waste at one
season, and at another, holding an insufficient supply at enormous rates. Their
own capital will enable them to order and purchase, and (if need be) hold their
heavy stocks, to meet and arrest inordinate fluctuations. The consumer will be
furnished at all times, at an approximation at least to regular prices; and he will
thus be enabled to estimate, with tolerable accuracy, his necessary expenses,
and the cost o f any projected operation. In a word, her markets, instead of
being mere gambling shops, (for their highly speculative character justifies the
term,) will become well-regulated marts o f Commerce.
The second and third chapters are devoted to surface mining.
On this
278
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
subject the writer declares, what is evident, that too wide a margin o f cal
culation, as to individual product and probable profit, has been indulged
both at home and abroad. An equal distribution o f product in mining
operations is impossible, yet the gains have been far more evenly divided
than is generally supposed. In regard to the varying accounts o f the de
gree o f success attained, the cases o f enormous gains are frequently over
statements o f the fact, and “ generally deceptive, because while large amounts
o f gold are stated to have been taken out in ‘ a few days,’ the parties fur
nishing the information omit to state, perhaps sometimes remember to forget,
that they were engaged in unproductive preliminary labor for a fe w weeks,
to enable them to reach the glittering pocket that yielded such a heavy per
diem when found.” Others “ will insist on looking at the actual result of
their labors through the inverted medium o f their sanguine ‘ calculations ’
when they left home. They will not come down to dollars and cents, and
soberly compare the result o f their labors here with any reward o f mere
labor in the Atlantic S tates'’ O f the accounts alluded to, he says, a feel
ing of amazement “ has been frequently aroused by the reflection from the
Atlantic board, as it brought back to a quiet observer in the gulches, and
amid the realities themselves, these fanciful sketches of dazzling light and
murky shade which have given their tone to public sentiment. There were
no mild and mellow tints in these artistic views. The glare o f meridian,
and the impenetrability o f midnight darkness, monopolized the canvas,
without ever blending their hues.” Mr. W erth estimates the gross product
of the surface mines for last year at $750 per man, and the clear net savings
that could be made at 1400.
Respecting the expense of reaching California, and the discomforts and
privations in the mines, put forward as insurmountable obstacles, and really
very serious, the first has been, and will continue to be, very much reduced,
while the latter has been modified, and under a system favorable to perma
nent settlement, will be entirely removed. The prejudice attaching to the
mountain climate from the very unusual winter of 18 49 -50 is altogether
unjust. The average winter climate is no more unpleasant in the mining
region than in any State on the Atlantic side, north o f Georgia. The winter
of the extreme northern region is milder than that o f New England, or
even the Middle States. The regularity and variety of supplies now fur
nished by the competition of trade to the various settlements, and the in
creased comfort of the buildings occupied by the miners, indicate that “ the
period o f privation and suffering is fast passing away.”
O f the permanence o f surface mining Mr. W erth entertains no doubt,
and that it will for a long time to come yield better returns than the profits
of labor generally in any other part of the world. The discovery o f new
placers has been constantly going on from the first opening at Sutter’s Mill,
in May, 1848, to the last day’s intelligence from the mines, and the geolog
ical and topographical structure o f the region makes it certain that the gen
eral surface of the valley, and to a great extent the mountains also, adjacent
to the auriferous quartz veins, is impregnated more or less with the precious
deposit. The area that can be profitably worked can be estimated only by
thousands o f miles, and even those which the miners now pass by as un
worthy attention, will in a short period pay better wages to mere labor than
any occupation they can follow elsewhere is now paying, or is ever likely to
pay. Moreover, the washing heretofore has been most wastefully conducted.
W ithin his own observation, places where gold has been found in very minute
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
279
and very thin scales— which he omits to mention is the most valuable form in
which gold is found, and is precisely where a good smelter would extract
the largest quantity, the gold being reduced to that state by its own abra
sion— he is satisfied that not one-half the deposit was saved. In evidence
o f the inexhaustibility o f the placers he mentions the important fact that o f
even the earliest and richest locations heretofore worked, very few are yet
abandoned. Many o f them are, indeed, yielding, under improved modes of
operating, and with moderated expenses, as much profit as when first dis
covered. Take the returning emigrants as met with, whether pleased or
disgusted with the country, and they will admit that there is gold ground
enough now known, hut rejected, to employ every man in the mining region
for years to come at a rate o f product o f two dollars per day, under the
present system o f mining. All this immense area, however, they will insist
is utterly wortldess, because it will never be worked. Against this, we are
told, that “ two years ago men turned their backs upon placers that were
yielding ten dollars per day— they thought they could not afford to work
them, because it required more than half of this to pay the cost o f living.
N ow , no prudent miner would desert a spot that yields three dollars per
day— he can live comfortably for one.” Two years hence, the cost o f liv
ing will be reduced to at least fifty cents per day. The present aggregate
product of sixty millions, Mr. Worth thinks will be sustained, if it shall not
be increased.
This portion o f the subject concludes with an allusion to Indian depreda
tions and outrages. Thousands of miners were hemmed within narrow and
unproductive limits during the whole o f last winter, because o f the peril of
explorations beyond populous settlements. Means o f repressing these sav
ages are imperiously demanded. To the objection that the miners were the
aggressors, an unanswerable argument is confronted, in the question, W h y
Congress should “ tax its time and ingenuity to digest a scheme for appro
priating these very lands— for regulating their occupancy, and their thor
ough search and occupation by our people, without adopting the essential
preliminary means to securing to them quiet possession?” N o doubt Con
gress intend to protect the miners, and perhaps think they have made effi
cient provision for that purpose in the appropriation o f twenty-five thousand
dollars voted at the last session. But this liberality is itself the best evi
dence o f what Mr. W erth has asserted o f the information o f the govern
ment regarding the wants o f California. There were seven hundred miles
of border to be guarded against the Indians, and the sum appropriated
would be absorbed in the transportation within California o f eighty tons o f
subsistence for troops, and provisions and clothing for Indian tribes, for the
first hundred miles.
The fourth chapter is on vein mining. O f the extent of the auriferous
quartz formation o f California, no estimate is given, but the assurance is of
fered that any disquiet about the monopoly o f the whole area, by actual op
erations, will be for many years quite premature. The only question is as
to the encouragement offered to the application of capital and labor. In
treating o f this, all the tales o f wonder that have gone abroad o f late, based
upon “ dazzling specimens,” and supported by “ incontestible evidence,” “ ac
tual analysis,” and “ carefully-ascertained results,” are thrown entirely out ot
calculation, and the worse than idle estimates heretofore offered to distant
capitalists of the general average result o f permanent and extensive opera
tions, are wholly discarded. Veins, similar to those worked in the Southern
280
Our E m pire on the Pacific.
States, he estimates, would involve an expense at present, in California, in
working, o f $16 to $24 a ton. In the present state of things, he thinks
capitalists cannot be induced to enter into the business in any vein yielding
less than four cents per pound, equal to twenty times the product of the
most profitable veins in the Southern States. As soon as the expense of
labor and subsistence are reduced 50 per cent, auriferous quartz veins yield
ing 1 per cent a pound, or $20 a ton, will compensate labor and capital em
ployed in them. The question is, therefore, merely one o f time, and Cali
fornia is destined to furnish the most extensive and productive vein as well
as surface mining in the world.
Chapter V . treats of the argentiferous and other ores. The attention o f
explorers has been so entirely absorbed in the search for gold, that other
valuable ores— silver, copper, lead, iron, and even cinnabar— have been al
most totally neglected. Clear proof is offered of the existence of these ores,
and some o f them in very rich mines. Some specimens o f ore brought
from the region of the Four Creeks were analyzed by Moffat & Co., with
the following result:—
Silver, in a ton weight of the o r e ..............................................................
Gold,
“
“
“
..............................................................
Lead,
“
“
“
.........................................................lbs.
$206 40
27 90
1,500
The disposal o f the mineral lands forms the subject o f the sixth chapter.
The proposition is started that no system, repugnant to the people o f Cali
fornia, can be enforced, though Congress may enact i t ; and although this
may not be clear in the atmosphere of Washington, no one of its members
would hesitate to acknowledge its infallibility, after mingling with the ele
ments that would surround him in California. “ The safety of the people
is the supreme law,” comprehends the simple and efficient criminal code of
the people, and “ The protection o f local interests as the miners understand
them,” would be the irresistible substitute for any unfavorable “ digest ” o f
Federal legislation.
The system needed in regard to the mineral lands, is one that shall en
courage, and so far as it can, constrain the permanent settlement of the im
migrants. That is declared to be the great point, overshadowing all others.
Until this is done, the wealth o f California, both mineral and agricultural,
can never be fully developed. A ll the schemes yet entertained by Congress
are disapproved of, and declared impracticable, as are all that would impose
any system of taxation by license, or by excise on production, or any plan
whatever, “ involving periodical collections o f revenue.”
W e must refer the reader for the details o f Mr. W erth’s scheme regard
ing the disposal of these lands to the pamphlet itself. The author gives us
no assurance that should it be adopted by Congress it can be carried into
effect, although as fair a system, perhaps, as any which that body might be
able to devise. It is apparently to his final suggestion only that Mr. W erth
attaches any real consideration; namely, t ie cession of the mineral lands,
under judicious conditions, to the State. W e are not at all disposed to
deny that this is the true policy for our government and the State of Cali
fornia both. A m ong these conditions are suggested a prohibition forever
against the levying of any tax by the State on the product o f the mines,
or the profits of the miners, as such— that she shall assume her own river
and harbor improvements— and that she should appropriate a portion of
the proceeds of the sale or lease o f the mineral lands toward the construc
tion o f a railroad from the waters o f the Bay o f San Francisco to the west
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
281
ern line o f the State, to meet any road extending from the Valley of the
Mississippi to that line. The power o f taxing the products o f the mines,
he thinks, will be exercised in a few years, if not relinquished in this way,
in answer to the demand of the controlling population o f her other districts.
A source o f future difficulty, if not judiciously guarded, is pointed out in
the collision between the two interests o f surface and vein mining. N o
clashing has yet occurred o f serious importance, but when surface miners
have exhausted the richer deposits on the flats, they will find profitable work
on the slopes up to the very ledges o f the quartz veins, and when the flights
come to be generally occupied by the vein miners, fresh parties will trace
out and occupy locations on the same veins in the fiats. It will be indis
pensable to the vein miners, also, to occupy the stream beds for dams, and
the flats for settlements. It is apparent, therefore, as our author states, that
it would be as difficult a task to our legislators, Federal or State, to disen
tangle the two departments by arbitrary lines, as to regulate railroad travel
by assigning one rate o f speed for the locomotive and another for the tender.
Both must be placed under one regulation, and if laid off in sections, they
must be marked out by parallel lines, and all within the same limits, whether
deposits or veins, or wood or water, must (>e subject solely and exclusively
to the occupant.
The question is difficult, but must be solved; for until some efficient sys
tem is provided, California is doomed to remain in the condition she has
thus far occupied. That effected, and the greater portion o f all who come
within her borders, instead o f carrying away her treasures to enrich other
countries and places, will settle down as permanent citizens, and devote
themselves to unlock the vast resources, and develop the mighty prosperity
which are rvaiting to be realized.
W e come now, in the seventh chapter, to the agricultural lands o f Cali
fornia. The matter embodied in this chapter equals in interest that of the
foregoing divisions. 'The amount o f arable land is such that no inquiry,
based on fear o f want, need be raised during the present century. As to
quality, the greater part o f the soil along the valleys of the rivers is richer
than anything known in any sections of corresponding extent, and perhaps
in any lands whatever in other parts o f the United States. The instances
detailed, and well attested o f the remarkable productiveness of that region,
we cannot find room to repeat. Mr. W erth estimates that the general ave
rage product o f fift y millions o f acres o f the surface o f California, under
ordinary American cultivation, may be assumed at very moderately at three
hundred bushels o f potatoes, fifty bushels (in suitable locations) o f corn,
forty bushels o f wheat, fifty bushels of barley, and sixty bushels o f oats, to
the acre. The latter grain is indigenous to the soil, and furnishes a super
abundant provision o f food, in autumn and early winter, to the millions o f
cattle and horses, and the countless herds o f elk and deer and antelopes that
roam over an almost undisturbed domain.
O f animal precocity and fruitfulness in California, Mr. W erth says:—
Heifers, as a common rule, bring forth at two years old, and sheep multiply
their kind twice in each year, very frequently thrice in fifteen months, and bringing,
much oftener than in our old States, two at a birth. Our own race is not above
this powerful influence ; for we have the published authority of the Rev. Walter
Colton for the fact that “ it is no uncommon sight to find from fourteen to
eighteen children at the same table, with their mother at their head
and he
gives instances o f twenty-two ! and “ twenty-eight, with others, probably, yet
to com e!” O f none other than a land o f health and plenty, could these things
be true.
282
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
This outdoes the tales o f even Irish fecundity ; and if it is so, California
ought not long to want the citizens, o f whose non-existence our author so
much complains, as a very small stock should afford an abundant population
in a comparatively brief period. But it might be fair to ask why have not
the Spaniards and Indians generally propagated in that region at something
like this rate, or if they have, what has become o f them all ? How is it,
that the Yankee invaders found only a sparse population o f only about
12,000, o f all races, complexions, kinds, and degrees?
But Mr. W erth insists that his picture is not exaggerated, and he appeals
to the testimony of thousands, who will confirm every word he has uttered.
H e declares there is no other place with such a climate, a soil so generous—
nature so bountiful— institutions so free, so reliable, so imperishable; and
has no apprehensions that her valleys will remain long unpopulated and un
tilled, when the truth is fairly placed before the world.
The last chapter, the ninth, is on the Commerce o f California, which is
treated in a brief space, as having better means o f introduction to the pub
lic attention than the other matters considered. But while the subject is
before us, we deem it necessary to the completeness o f the picture to give
some view o f its growth and prospects, from such data as have come within
our notice.
Prior to the possession o f California by the United States, and the start o f
San Francisco as a commercial city, the Republic of Chili— the only one of
the nations o f Spanish descent on the continent that has preserved anything
like a proper appreciation o f order and systematic industry— engrossed
nearly the whole trade o f the western coast o f the American continent.
Her capital, Valparaiso, w’as the great entrepot of this Commerce, the sup
plies o f the manufactures o f Europe, and the luxuries of Asia, being thence
distributed to the Pacific coast and islands. This commercial importance had
been secured by a wise policy, encouraging foreign merchants to settle or
establish branches o f their business there, a system of bonding and ware
housing foreign goods to facilitate the completion of assorted cargoes, and
other measures, which have overcome some natural disabilities, that o f a
somewhat exposed harbor being among them.
The imports and exports o f Chili during the years 1849, 1850, and 1851,
were as follow s:—
Imports
consumed.
Years.
Exports
of domestic
produce.
Foreign
merchandise
re-exported.
Total exports.
$11,637,221
1849.
$1,033,817
$10,722,840
$10,603,404
12,771,679
1850.
11,592,452
11,789,703
1,179,227
12,146,391
1851.
15,884,972
The following statement shows with what countries this Commerce was
carried on, and the importance o f the trade with each country, in 1849 :—
Imports.
Exports.
California..............................................
Peru......................................................
Bolivia..................................................
Mexico..................................................
Central America...................................
New Grenada......................................
Ecuador................................................
Polynesian Isles...................................
$20,523
1,286,172
447,225
128,053
118,834
118,834
140,620
3,665
$1,835,460
839,743
128,877
4,407
13,407
23,327
44,508
63,976
Spanish America and Pacific Islands .
China....................................................
$2,263,926
226,773
$2,953,705
63,597
Total Pacific trade.......................
$2,490,699
$3,017,302
Countries.
283
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
United States......................................
Brazil....................................................
Argentine Confederation.....................
Uruguay..............................................
Atlantic ports......................................
Total with American couotries
V
f
$1,070,822
198,257
171,763
1,478
$1,442,310
$3,702,571
$1,754,428
8,061
37,886
69,907
$1,870,282
$4,760,011
The Commerce with European countries was as follows
England................................................
$4,431,075
France..................................................
1,079,942
Germany..............................................
846,448
Belgium................................................
222,190
Holland................................................
59,971
Spain.....................................................
151,129
Sardinia................................................
98,872
Portugal................................................
12,346
Denmark..............................................
522
Prussia..................................................
121
Sweden and Norway.............................
94
Total.............................................
$6,789,831
Total of a ll...................................
10,722,840
$4,295,359
676,765
677,798
17.495
17.495
2.241
33,830
2.241
18,451
920
606
$5,715,820
10,603,404
O f these exports there were—
In copper, bars and ores................................................
In silver...........................................................................
In gold-dust....................................................................
Total ......................................................................
Exports to California—flour, grain, <fcc.........................
Total.......................................................................
$2,7 80,329
3,223,633
263,070
$6,267,032
1,385,460
$8,102,492
The latter sum constitutes above three-fourths o f the whole export. O f
the exports o f agricultural products, the amount shipped to California in
several years was, in 1848 $2 50 ,1 93 ; 1849 $1,835,400; 1850 $2,448,808.
Showing who feeds California and draws away her wealth, while she is neg
lecting her own luxurious valleys to wash over the glittering sands of the flats.
In all the markets o f this Chilian trade, California has equal access, and
has far greater resources, when developed, to found a Commerce upon.
W h at she has already done, in comparison with Chili, will be seen in the
statements following.
The point in this connection to which we wish to call especial attention,
is the trade with China. In this important and highly interesting branch
o f her traffic, California has made remarkable strides, and is destined to
achieve in it no insignificant part o f all her future commercial greatness,
however magnificent may be that result. The import o f last year from
China is stated at about eight hundred thousand dollars, having reached an
extent nearly four times as large as that o f Chili with the same empire.
California is fast becoming the factor o f the Pacific South American nations
in this Chinese trade, an office which Chili has heretofore held exclusively
to herself. The amount of dutiable goods imported into San Francisco from
China, and re-exported, without paying duty, during the several quarters o f
the year commencing October 1, 1850, and ending September 30, 1851,
was as follow s:—
For the quarter from 1st October
to 31st December, 1850.............
For the quarter from 1st January
to 31st March, 1851...................
For the quarter from 1st April to
30th June, 1851.........................
For thequarter from 1st July to 30th September, 1851..................................
Total for the year....................................................................................
$2,992
2,950
19,579
31,000
$56,521
284
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
The extent t-o which this Commerce with China may be pushed is indefi
nite. The whole Western America is within the grasp of California, and
will soon be made subsidiary to its development. On the Pacific she has no
rival— Chili is already long distanced. W hen the great Pacific Railway is
opened, San Francisco will become the entrepot of that trade for the whole
United States, and will be the medium of at least a portion o f European in
course with the Celestials. But it is not with China only, but other portions
o f Asia-—with the Indies, with all the islands o f the Eastern Archipelago,
and, when the penetrating spirit o f the age shall undermine her thick walls
of timid exclusiveness, with Japan— that our Pacific empire is to sustain its
commercial relations. The importance o f this trade is hardly to be over-es
timated. It has been coveted by every nation that ever aspired to commer
cial greatness, and has an historic fame, as the nursery o f empire that runs
back into the very streams o f unexplored tradition, and gleams in the tales
of Oriental genius. Tyre, the first emporium of this trade, was made by it
the richest and proudest city of the world. Nebuchadnezzar razed her to
her foundations, and it at once restored her to her former pre-eminence.
Balbec, Palmyra, Alexandria, Constantinople, Genoa, Venice, Lisbon, and
Amsterdam, have each successively risen to the pinnacle of commercial
grandeur, and almost exclusively upon the wealth derived from the East.
A great part of the supremacy o f London has been drawn from the same
source. W e come in last to enjoy this life-inspiring traffic, and are doubt
less to reap a richer harvest than them all, in the deluge o f spices and aro
matics, silks and fine cottons, precious stones, porcelains, and teas.
We
shall have what no nation has had before, at least to make available, what
has been the principal agency o f carrying it on, and is the best medium for
the purpose— abundance of gold and silver. O f these metals, Jacobs esti
mates India and China have received from Europe since the 15th century
$2,100,000,000. The “ beginning of the en d ” is already seen in the first
results of our late visitations to those regions. The British trade has de
clined in that quarter, while ours has rapidly advanced. Our fast clippers,
built since the commencement o f the California era, have entered into suc
cessful competition with the English ships for the English carrying trade
from Borneo and other Archipelagean islands, and the effect is already seen
in the diminution of the number of English ships loaded, and the regular
substitution of American ships in their place.
The Commerce of the United States, not including California, in the P a
cific Ocean, for the year ending 30th June, 1850, is stated for the different
countries and islands as follows
Imports from.
Exports to.
$1,196,811
Chili......................................................
$1,422,121
215,128
110,153
Peru......................................................
4,618
Ecuador................................................
34,925
64,414
Sandwich Islands.................................
189,862
China....................................................
1,605,211
6,593,462
18,261
1,336,866
Manila and Philippine Islands............
Total............................................
Deduct amount of teas from China ..
The amount of all other articles is.
$3,546,120
$9,961,050
4,585,120
$5,081,330
The books containing the value of the imports from the different ports o f
the Pacific into San Francisco, in 1850, were destroyed in the fire of May,
285
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
1851, but the value o f exports fro m Chili to California, during the last six
months of that year, was $1,542,366, about equal to the imports o f all the
rest o f the United States from Chili, for the full year, and the Picayune es
timates the imports from Chili into San Francisco, for the year, were above
half the amount o f all the imports o f the rest o f the United States from
the Pacific, excluding tea. The whole importation into San Francisco, for
the year, of dutiable goods for consumption, is estimated at $8,500,000,
and the total importation at about $10,000,000, showing the Commerce o f
San Francisco, at that time, equal to that o f all the rest o f the United
States with countries on the Pacific, and nearly double in other articles than
tea.
The following statement presents a view o f the total Commerce o f Cali
fornia for fifteen month, from January 1, 1851, to March 14, 1 8 5 2 ;—
Vessels.
Tons.
Cleared from New York for California..........
Arrived from rest of United States..............
84
400
590
73,357
138,417
148,474
Total.......................................................
1,074
350,348
The value of the 84 vessels cleared from New York in this period is
estimated a t ........................................................................................
The number of steamers engaged in the carrying trade via the Isthmus
of Panama and Nicaragua is 32, the value of which is estimated at.
Value of tonnage engaged directly between New York and San Fran
cisco......................................................................................................
Estimated vale of shipping from foreign and other Atlantic ports.......
Total value......................................................................................
The estimated value of the exports from the Atlantic ports of the Uni
ted States, as computed by an intelligent New York merchant, will
reach, for the year 1851, about............................................................
The cost of merchandise from foreign ports during that period, it is
presumed would reach, or even exceed..............................................
Total value of merchandise from all parts.....................................
$3,000,000
9,400,000
$12,400,000
5,737,820
$18,137,820
$31,000,000
30,009,000
$61,000,000
Below is a statement o f the Commerce o f all the Atlantic States whose
exports or imports exceed a million o f dollars, for the financial year ending
June 30, 1851 :—
New York.....................................................................
Louisiana.......................................................................
Massachusetts...............................................................
Alabama........................................................................
South Carolina.
Pennsylvania..
Maryland . . . .
Georgia...........
Virginia..........
Flurida.. . . . . .
Maine.............
Exports.
Imports.
$86,007,019
54,413,963
12,352,682
18,528,824
15,316,578
5,356,036
5,635,786
9,159,989
3,090,068
3,940,172
1,151,438
$141,546,538
12,528,460
32,715,327
413,446
2,081,312
14,168,761
6,650,645
721,547
552,933
94,997
1,176,590
As to the exports o f California, we will only restate what has been before
affirmed in this Magazine, that those of San Francisco exceed in value the
exports o f the port o f New York, and to California must therefore be con
ceded the rank o f the first exporting State— and in regard to imports, it
will be seen, that she is second only to New York.
286
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
The amount o f duties collected at the principal ports o f the United States,
in the year ending June 30, 1851, was as here stated. San Francisco, it
will be noticed, stands in the fifth place o f the lis t :—
New Y o rk .........................
Boston.................................
Philadelphia........................
New Orleans......................
San Francisco.....................
Baltimore...........................
Charleston..........................
St. Louis.............................
$31,757,199
6,577,540
3,667,838
2,296,636
2,120,884
1,047,278
600,712
213,832
Portland......................
Savannah...................
Cincinnati...................
New Haven................ ..........
Oswego.....................
Mobile....................... ..........
Richmond...................
Louisville...................
102,139
76,184
O f course, the large imports o f breadstuffs, which have formed the basis
o f so large a part o f the Commerce o f California with the Pacific countries,
will be cut oft' with the development of her own vast agricultural resources.
But this event is not to be deprecated, for that country must be forever poor
which is unable or fails to produce the main part o f the food upon which its
people subsist. It is not desirable that a trade, founded upon such a neces
sity, should continue. But with the cessation or reduction o f this branch
o f her Commerce, it is not to be feared that either the maintenance or the
extension of the present commercial importance o f California will be inter
rupted. The growth of the other branches o f her trade, and the develop
ment of new ones, will supply all the deficiency, and the result will be only
to change her Pacific Commerce to a new and a firmer basis. W ith the
progressive diversification o f her labor, and multiplication o f interests, Cali
fornia will gain more and more ability to buy, and will send forth a constant
ly enlarging demand for articles which she is unable to produce. W hen
she raises her own wheat, barley, hay, potatoes, beef, and pork, she will find
enough of the products o f her mines remaining in her own hands to pur
chase iron for her railroads, to import locomotives— to secure all the im
proved implements, and avail herself of all the improved systems for work
ing her mines and her farms— and to buy a thousand articles o f necessity
and luxury, now almost unknown, in her houses, her shops, and her public
places, or only to be obtained at enormous expense.
In the political view attaching to the future o f California, there is a great
ness entirely commensurate with the aspect of every other feature in her re
markable destiny. W ithout computing the degree o f her meridian influ
ence, as a member of a Union so glorious already before her admission to
the galaxy, or stopping to estimate the effect o f her growth, her peculiar
State elements and form, and the policies adopted for herself and those ad
vocated for the nation, upon the other States— she has an outward part to
perform, in a field most important, but hitherto almost unapproached. It
has always been a prevalent belief among our people, that it is within the
destiny o f this country to introduce in the Spanish American nations that
change o f political ideas and social habits, which are so necessary to release
them from the miserable condition in which they have been first bound since
their independence o f Spain was effected,— and to enable them to attain
that eminence of national prosperity and power, the elements o f which are
so lavishly bestowed upon the regions they inhabit. But how this was to
be effected, was getting constantly more and more a mystery. Every effort
to approach them on our part, with almost whatever intent, seemed unfor
tunate. It appeared at last, to the belief o f many, that there was a natural
antipathy between the race, or mixture o f races, on our soil, and the Amer-
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
287
icanized Spanish— a repulsion springing from ineradicable distinctions in
their natures, and designed to keep them perpetually separate. From this
view, mixed with a certain revengeful spirit against the antagonist, whose
fault alone the failure was deemed to be, came the sanguinary notion that
we were to push aside and to exterminate all these ignorant, unprogressing
communities— either directly by the sword, or through the influence o f some
incandescent emanation o f the nobler vis vitae o f Anglo Saxonism, before
which the feebler spirits in our path should be scorched and shriveled, ut
terly unable to withstand this annihilative energy. This idea saw the com
mencement o f the work to which it looked, in the Mexican W ar. But
those who repudiated the theory o f normal distinctions o f character, with
its consequences, and others, whose faith was in principles in the place of
blood, beheld in that contest the inception of an order o f circumstances and
relations, through which our superiority should find its proper exercise in
teaching the poor Spanish-Americans a better system— should freelv impart
to him the elements o f that vigor which should raise him to become the
more equal associate of his stronger brother.
The grand incident of
California was opened— and then, in its shade, the wise plan o f the Creator
clearly revealed its outlines. It began to be evident f o r what the unhappy
Republics of the South had been assigned the position they have so long
occupied, and been kept waiting therein. The grand conjunction o f events
then occurring, revealed the mode and manner o f the political regeneration
o f South America.
But it is not to this side the 'Pacific that the political influence o f Califor
nia will be confined. It is destined to reanimate the slumbering nations of
Eastern Asia, which passed the zenith o f their greatness and splendor, while
the world was yet fresh from the hands of the Architect, and have since re
posed in the long night o f semi-barbarism, while the day-light o f progress
has slowly traced its western circuit o f the earth. Already the glory o f her
morning gleams as a second dawn upon the shores o f China, and the cold
moonshine o f Celestial civilization begins to pale before its genial glow. The
Chinaman, breaking down the thick walls o f his indurated egotism, admires
the beauties o f another system, another world, another individuality. Ho
sees the Outer Barbarism has something better for him than he knows or
can know beneath his Inner Lumination. He is a denizen o f California—
and proves himself worthy to be such. He proves how easily the restraints
o f a vain and selfish policy, although o f ages’ standing, are thrown oil', when
individual common-sense is allowed its office, and how quickly, when per
mitted, men will turn from the artificial to that which is natural. The Chi
naman stands side by side with the men o f all nations in the gulches and
arroyas, and meets them all as a brother in the mart. He is studying Am er
ican laws, customs, and habits, and facilely bending to the character which
is being developed from the great amalgam. The influence which the Amer
icanized Chinaman will send back upon his native country will be incalcula
ble— it will be the seed, arriving at a speedy fruition, o f a new, a totally
different order o f things. That the hostility which has been exhibited in
California toward the Chinese should triumph in their exclusion, is, we be
lieve, in the present state of things there, and o f opinions elsewhere, utterly
impossible. But while we regret the inimical spirit with which they have
been met, we are something reconciled to its exhibition for the opportunity
it gave for the rebuke o f American narrow-mindedness by those before re
garded by us as exclusive, bigoted, and dwarfed in idea above all men. The
288
Our Em pire on the Pacific.
reply o f the Chinamen to the disparagements o f Governor Bigler, is a paper
than which, we venture to say, neither Americans in China, nor any other
misappreciated and wronged people in any place whatever, could have elab
orated a better. The gubernatorial assailant o f the Chinamen is routed,
horse, foot, and dragoons, and that by means so plain, so simple, appealing
so directly throughout to common-sense, that there is not room left for a sin
gle evasion or turn. Could the Governor have read this document before
issuing his missive, we doubt if the latter would ever have seen light. As
it is, it is undoubtedly better that the two papers, the error and antidote,
have been published together.
It cannot be long before a new day will burst also upon Japan-— and the
tawdy grandeur o f that empire— its petrified policies o f millennial ages—
its fossilated ideas—-its curtailed and hide-bound humanism, will, along with
the cast-off shell o f old custom in the universal East, be consigned to the
antique shelf of the historic museum. Perhaps a new wave o f civilization,
flowing upon the surface of the tide-elevation created by the first, will start
forward from that glorious region, and make another western circuit o f the
earth.
In the course of this progress, let us not suppose we have nothing to
change. Theories now current in Politics and in poor, baffled Science, will
be summarily shaken in pieces. So rapid will be the work beyond all over
turnings o f error ever before made, that astute professors will suddenly find
themselves in woful bereavement of their ideas— and authors reposing on
the delighted anticipation of an achieved immortality of centuries’ length,
will behold the whole fabric of their fame swallowed up in a night. That
knowledge of the general Humanity, breaking dowm the shallow distinctions
o f race once dividing the whole earth into selfish clans and sects, cribbing
and dwarfing the growth o f every good impulse, and chaining the wheels o f
human progress— those new truths, new thoughts, and new results, which
have been elicited from the commingling in equality, o f people o f different
birth in the Atlantic region— are to be developed in much swifter expansion
on the Pacific. W hat we shall see there will teach us the lesson which has
been here only partially recognized— that there is nothing in blood and in
essential peculiarities o f race, giving one part o f the family a tendency to
growth and glory, and another an irrepressible proclivity to abasement and
extinction. All these follies we shall cast into the same oblivious reservoir
in which we buried, three-fourths of a century since, the venerable errors
honored in Europe time out of mind. W e shall come to the practical
Christian doctrine o f regarding all Men as children o f one Father— created
o f one blood— members o f one family— all o f whom, the greatest misfor
tune has ever been the existence (at least, the continuance beyond any ne
cessity) o f the narrow feelings that limited their affections and fellowships
to little nationalities and clan-ships, regarding as enemies, aliens, inferiors,
outside-barbarians, all beyond— and whose greatest stride forward is that
which breaks down the prejudices that build these miserable partitions—
shows us our mutual capacities and interests, and teaches us that we can la
bor with far better success in the sociability of our general nature than in
the petty exclusiveness and shriveled idea o f our feeble isolations.
Commerce o f the Danube.
280
Art. II.— COMMERCE OF THE DANUBE.
T he largest of the important rivers which flow into the Black Sea is the
Danube, which, for its length, and the many rich and populous countries
through which it passes, as well as for the amount o f its navigation, may be
eminently called the Mississippi o f Europe.
.
From its source to its mouth it is nearly 2,000 miles in length, and re
ceives some 30 navigable rivers and a vast number o f tributary streams.
From its source to its mouth, it descends 2,178 fret, yet its descent is so
gradual that its early rapids are, near Oresova, where it leaves the Austrian
dominions, and its cataract there, called the “ Iron Gate,” is very picturesque.
The steam navigation of the Danube may be said to commence at Vienna.
Steamers go as far as Presburg; at Pesth it is also navigated by vessels or
boats not drawing more than 21 feet.
In its progress through Turkey, it varies in breadth from 1,400 to 2,100
yards, and its average depth is upwards o f 20 feet. Ships o f large size as
cend it as far as Siliztra, and vessels o f 300 tons go to Galatz.
Its mouth is much obstructed with sand-banks, and of the five passages
through which it flows into the Black Sea, one only, that of Sulina, has
sufficient depth of water to permit o f the navigation.
The delta o f the Danube is a vast swampy flat, interspersed with lagoons
covered with bulrushes ; and the bar o f Sulina has only from 10 to 12 feet
o f w'ater.
The navigation is said also to be annually more and more obstructed by
fresh accessions o f mud and sand, which the current has not sufficient
strength to carry away.
W ere it not for its falls, at the “ Iron Gate,” this great river would be
navigable, by one means or another,from its mouth to Ulm, in Wirtumburg.
A t these falls, a land carriage o f some 8 or 10 miles joins the lower with
the upper navigation.
It was' a favorite project o f uniting the Danube with- the Rhine, whose
mouth is in the North Sea, which o f late years has been effected, and the
result must eventually be an extensive increase o f the Commerce o f both
rivers.
But the history o f the Commerce of all great rivers may be best told in
stating that of the chief cities or towns near its mouth. As o f the Missis
sippi, the trade of New Orleans is the best statement of its Com merce; so of
the Danube, the trade o f Galatz comprises the greater part o f the traffic
of this great European River.
The fol owing statistics are furnished by Mr. Negropont, a Greek gentle
man holding the office of Vice-Consul of the United States at Galatz; and
he being a merchant, and desirous of making the Commerce of the ports
under his jurisdiction known to the mercantile community o f our own
great marts, with a view to its participation in it, his reports may be entirely
confided in.
It will be perceived that in 1849 no less than 588 vessels loaded cargoes
at Galatz, and that in 1850, the number was 3 9 1 ; that the imports of
1849 valued more than $2,000,000, the exports, $2,600,000; that in the year
following, the imports $2,100,000, and the exports, $2,300,000; and this
V O L . X X V I I —- N O . I I I .
19
290
Commerce o f the Danube.
principally from consumption in the two Turkish Provinces o f Wallaehia
and Moldavia. The details o f this Commerce, as given by Mr. Negropont,
cannot but be greatly interesting to commercial men, and they are given in
the hope that they may prove useful.
“ It is only since 1825 and ’ 26,” says Mr. Negropont, “ that the Com
merce of Galatz and Ibraila has begun to develop itself. Previous to the
last war, between Russia and Turkey, the trade and navigation o f the
Danube was unimportant; between Galatz and Ibraila there were few
European houses o f Commerce; now the number is considerable. W h a t is
surprising, is the great increase o f the trade directly with England, which
country formerly purchased the products of the Danubian Provinces at
Trieste and Marseilles. English vessels now visit the Danube to the num
ber of 60 to 80 a year, computing miscellaneous commodities o f the con
sumption o f the Provinces, and conveying away grains of different kinds,
tallow, preserved meats in cannisters, some fruits, and potash.”
“ English manufactures are very abundant in the Danubian Provinces,
(Wallaehia and Moldavia,) o f which Galatz and Ibraila are the chief ports.
These are ordered by houses being in direct communication with the manu
facturers in England, and are suited to the tastes and demands o f the inhabitants.”
This is one great secret of the success o f British manufactures in foreign
countries, and especially in the “ East,” where English consuls, being them
selves merchants, are required to send to England specimens o f the native
manufactures; these are, by the proper commercial and consular bureau,
laid open for the inspection o f the manufacturers, and in a short space of
time goods much superior to that o f the native looms, and much cheaper,
are offered for sale to the community requiring them. Then competition sets
i n ; other houses, not consular-commercial, profit by the information thus
conveyed to the public at large; and soon quality is lost in the endeavor to
undersell other firms. In this manner, American cotton goods, the original
occupiers of the field, have been almost entirely driven out of the
market.
O f the mouths o f the Danube, Mr. Negropont observes, that the whole
and chief difficulty o f the navigation o f the Danube is, that at its mouth
the water is not always of a sufficient depth to admit large vessels, and is
only navigable for those o f medium size; so much so that few vessels can
enter the river without having to lighter at its mouth, near Sulina.
This obstruction, to which vessels are subject, is a great evil to Commerce.
Conceive the inconvenience of vessels arriving at Sulina with their freights
on board, ready to put to sea; the water proves too shallow, and a great
portion o f the load must be discharged into boats which are always ready
there for such cases. This is an inconvenience, loss o f time, and of their
excessive prices, which the lighterers dem and; and, thirdly, the great danger
there often is o f wetting the cargo by the operation, and even o f having
portions of it stolen.
Sulina produces but a small quantity o f grain, and yet considerable is ex
ported from it annually,— the fruits, no doubt, o f the illicit acts o f those
engaged in discharging and lightering vessels which cannot otherwise cross
the bar.
The Sulina mouth is inaccessable to vessels having westerly winds, and
they are compelled to be towed or tracked, (if the wind is light,) but this is
not often needed. The depth is not always the same there; its minimun is
*■
Commerce o f the Danube.
291
9 English feet, and the maximum, 13 feet.* The following will serve to show
the nature o f the stream at different winds;—
March, April, May.........................................................................English feet
9
Jane and July..................................................................................................
11
August, September, and October.......................................... ...................... 12 to 13
During the inundations, the water diminishes in depth so much that
whilst the banks o f the Danube are overflowed, the depth at Sulina is the
least. N o vessel then o f 110 tons (register measurement) can leave the
river without lightering.
This, however, also depends upon her con
struction.
On the subject o f the agriculture o f the Danubian Provinces, Mr. Negropont observes, Moldavia is much more cultivated than Wallachia, compara
tively with their respective extent o f territory. The latter contains a great
portion of her soil uncultivated, so much so that her powers or capabilities
o f producing are as yet unknown, whilst those o f Moldavia have been
proved.
W ere the soil of Wallachia as much cultivated as that o f Moldavia,
on the Danube, she could produce six times as much grain as is now
produced by her rival neighbor. And yet Moldavia needs an improved
system of agriculture, by which means her export Commerce would be also
augmented.
The evidence o f this, it suffices to know that after a crop
of grain has been reaped the land is permitted to be sterile, for at least
two years, which is thought indispensable, and then resown with grain.
The dressing of the cattle, which collects in the winter season, is thrown
into the nearest stream, or in some useless spot, on account o f the idea
entertained that it would injure the crops if thrown on the fallow ground ;
and this perhaps is so, for they never plow the soil deeper than three
or four inches, and in covering it with a dressing so shallow the dampness
might escape with greater facility, and thus injure the crop. Notwithstand
ing, it has been observed that where the cattle graze there is an advantage to
the crop. It is, however, but little probable that an amelioration will be
made in the agriculture of the Provinces; and the greatest reason for this
is the system o f serfage in them. The serf being obliged to work a certain
portion of land for his master the Bayard, he wishes to get through it as
quickly and as easy as possible, without caring whether his work is well
clone or not.
Another cause which prevents this is the custom o f leasing lands only
for three years, which prevents the farmer from introducing improvements.
Y et it is proper to observe, that, latterly, some Bayards have introduced
machinery from England for beating out grain. The usual method as used
in the Provinces, for separating the grain from the chaff, is to place a quan
tity o f grain in the straw in an inclosure, which from ten to fifteen horses
are turned and driven round, until all the grain on the ground is damp ;
aud if the season is a wet one during the harvest all the grain will be so.
The machine for beating out the grain produces 20 per cent more o f the
same quality of straw, besides the facility of working under cover, and that
also o f having dry grain.
The system of cultivation is nearly the same in Wallachia, only that it is
* This is doubtless owing to the winds. If strong from the east it rises, or descends, if westerly.
The same occurs in the Bosphorus, and the current, which is generally into the Marmora, is turned
into the Black Sea, by southerly winds.
f
292
Commerce o f the Danube.
less advanced. The quantity o f the grain in both the Provinces is not in
creased ; and on a calculation o f different seasons, not half o f the grain of
Moldavia can be sent to England: the remainder being o f too inferior a
quality, or in too bad a condition ; and for the same reason not more than
a fourth o f the graiD o f Wallachia can be shipped to England.
Formerly the inferior grain o f Moldavia and Wallachia found an easy
sale in Constantinople, but since 1842, when the exportation o f Turkish
grain was permitted by the government, the quantity produced in Turkey
has so much increased, that Constantinople is now abundantly supplied from
its own vicinity, and the cultivators o f Wallachia and Moldavia must find
means o f improving the grains or they will soon find it difficult to dispose
o f it. In neither Province is it now customary to put the grain in holes in
the ground, as formerly, for safe keeping, and consequently it has not the
smell which in former times did so much injury to its sale.
It is surprising that though the quality o f wheat and barley is generally
very inferior, the Indian corn (maize) o f Moldavia is considered to be the
very best in the world.
The quantity produced has greatly increased in the last few years, and if
it were needed for England, at the price o f 24 shillings, or more, delivered
in England, the production would be greatly augmented.
The following table will serve to show the quantity o f grain, o f different
kinds, exported from the two chief ports of Moldavia and Wallachia, in the
last 12 years:—
G ALATZ.
I B K A IL A .
IN
Q U A R T E R S I M P E R IA L .
Indian
Y7ear.
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
Wheat.
98,380
171,813
148,117
230,568
100,845
154,675
107,634
166,535
180,032
110,902
180,860
113,605
Corn.
86,964
58,374
133,762
189,037
35,394
93,531
140,662
174,023
157,101
336,627
318,605
143,727
Total.
1S5.344
230,187
281,871
419,605
136,239
248,206
248,206
340,558
337,133
447,529
499,465
257,332
Wheat.
75,792
61,524
143,184
132,596
84,692
160,121
322,343
347,888
314,940
327,526
390,818
159,484
Indian
Corn.
24,313
37,200
67,172
68,586
26,818
10,221
121,309
12S.221
124,714
163,146
619,115
292,115
G ran d
Barley.
Total.
Total.
28,142 128,247 229,984
106,230 204,954 435,141
42,822 243,178 525,057
80,145 281,227 700,832
20,954 132,464 268,703
73,892 244,234 492,440
168,669 612,321 864,208
211,972 688,081 1,031,508
175,802 615,456 966,393
177,343 668,014 1,191,649
300,552 1,310,485 1,836,647
193,435 645,034 930,812
The quantity o f rye and o f barley exported from Galatz being o f little
importance it is not stated in the ab ove; nor is the lye and millet of
Ibraila.
The preceding table indicates the progress o f the exportation of grains in
the last twelve years from the two ports mentioned in i t ; but the increase
is rendered more evident by dividing that period into two portions, o f six
years each, when the following results are shown :—
EXPOETS FROM
GALATZ.
Wheat, 1831 to 1842....................................................imperial quarters
“
1843 to 1848................................................................................
815,356
859,568
The increase in the 6ix last years is 5 per cent, in imperial quarters.
44,212
Indian Corn, 1837 to 1842............................................ imperial quarters
“
1843 to 1848 .......................................................................
597,062
1,270,745
The increase in 6 years, 110 per cent, or, imperial quarters................
Whole exportation................................................................... quarters
673,683
717,395
293
Commerce o f the Danube.
This table shows an increase in the last six years’ exportation o f some 50
per cent.
E X P O R T A T IO N
O F IB R A IL A .
Wheat, 1837 to 1842....................................................imperial quarters
“
1843 to 1848................................................................................
667,909
1,862.909
Increase in last 6 year3 180 per cent, or, imperial quarters................
1,195,090
Indian Corn, 1837 to 1842............................................ imperial quarters
“
1843 to 1848........................................................................
224,310
1,448,619
1,224,309
Increase in 6 years, 545 per cent, or, imperial quarters.
Barley, 1837 to 1842....................................................imperial quarters
“
1843 to 1848................................................................................
358,085
1,127,773
Increase in the last 6 six years, 215 per cent, or, imperial quarters..
Total increase......................................................................................
769,688
3,189,087
In the last six years, the exportation has increased 255 per cent, upon
that o f the preceding six years three-and-a-half times. In drawing a com
parison between the exportation o f Galatz and Ibraila, we find that during
the six first years Galatz exported Grain—
Imperial quarters...................................................................................
1,412,918
And Ibraila............................. ..............................................................
1,250,304
W hich shows that the amount o f exportation o f Galatz exceeds that
o f Ibraila one-seventh, or, imperial quarters, 161,614.
During the second period o f six years it is seen that Galatz exported
grain to the amount of—
Imperial quarters...............................
2,130,313
And Ibralia........................................
4,439,319
The latter exceeding the former. . .
2,309,006
The following table shows the value o f the articles exported from Galatz
and Ibraila each year, in pounds sterling :—
Year.
Galatz.
Ibraila.
Total.
1837................................
1838................................
1839................................
1840................................
1841,..............................
1842................................
1843...............................
1S44...............................
1845...............................
1846................................
1347................................
1848................................
113,481
233,694
120,213
230,406
172,168
148,238
577,919
280,713
297,206
364,030
868,477
504,447
414,646
189,036
225,610
288,636
556,989
268,353
449,556
674,865
225,345
551,044
854,929
303.885
379,797
698,680
1,078,477
592,578
764,909
1,357,487
775,528
1,592,944
2,368,472
611,958
945,229
333,271
Besides grain, the only article o f any importance exported is suet, of
which the followiiig is a table for the last twelve years.
Year.
1837 ...............
1838 ............... ___
1839 ...............
1840 ............... ___
1S41............... ___
1842 ...............
Galatz.
250
232
2,657
9,922
Ibraila.
18,112
27,557
41,838
35,939
48,470
40,635
Year.
1843
1844
1845
1846
1847
1848
............. ____
............. ___
............. ___
.............
.............
.............
Galatz.
22,212
20,480
12,683
Ibraila.
43,101
43,603
49,732
27,102
21,649
28,018
There is also an establishment at Galatz for the preservation, in hermeti
cally sealed tin boxes, of fresh beef, from which about 500 tons of meat is
sent annually to England.
Commerce o f the Danube.
294
The following table shows the number o f vessels loaded at Galatz and
Ibraila from 1837 to 1 8 4 8 :—
Galatz............
Ibraila..........
Total..........
1817. ’ 18. ’ 19. ’10. ’ll.
431 517 635 645 230
448 451 573 661 238
’l l
309
411
879
720 1,099 1,3841,296 1,555 2,215 1,123
968 1,208 1,306
468
’l l . ’l l . ’45. ’16. ’17. ’ 18.
327 509 464 644 662 397
772 875 832 911 1,553 726
A comparison o f the first six years o f this period with the six last years;
I find the following results
At Galatz, from 1837 to 1842.............................................................. vessels
2,767
At Ibraila.........................................................................................................
2,772
Total.........................................................................................................
At Galatz, from 1843 to 1848 .............................................................vessels
At Ibraila.........................................................................................................
5,539
3,003
5,666
Total..........................................................................................................
8,669
Having an increase during the last six years o f 3,130 vessels.
It may be remarked that the vessels which visited the Danube during the
latter period were o f a larger size, and o f a better class, than those o f the
preceding term. During the first, 5,539 were loaded with 2,663,222 impe
rial quarters, whilst during the second, 8,669 vessels were loaded with
6,536,632 quarters, and in deducting from the above stated number o f ves
sels those loaded with planks, staves, &c., the medium cargoes o f grain of
each ship during the first period were about 550 quarters, whilst in those
o f the second the medium cargo was at least 850 quarters.
There are many small vessels under Turkish and Greek colors which fre
quent the Danube, and which never go further than Constantinople.
The following table will show the number o f vessels which have loaded
at Galatz and Ibraila during the past twelve years:—
Flag.
1817. ’ 38. ’39. ’40.
Greek........................
320 477
Turkish..................... .......... 282 358 377 412
Austrian.................... .......... 84 20 87 92
English......................
6 12
8
Sardinian.................
120 194 136
Russian.....................
61 89 103
"VVallachian............... .......... 17 12 19 15
..
Moldavian................. ............
Samian.....................
8 17 15
Ionian.......................
40 53 36
Roman.....................
1
1
6
2
Belgian....................... .........
2
2
2
Jerusalem..................
2 13
Neapolitan.................
7
French .....................
s 11
1
Danish.......................
Bremen......................
Tuscan......................
Prussian ..................
Holland...................... .........
1
3
3
.. .,
Sweden..................... ......
Hamburg..................
Norwegian.................
.. .. ..
Hanover................... ...........
American.................
Mecklenburg.............. ...........
1
Soutien......................
’ll.
196
87
20
3
38
77
9
3
6
23
’13. ’l l .
457 561
216 367
77 105
7 26
113 128
149 107
23 17
3
5 13
33 38
1
4
1 1
’18.
329
133
37
14
71
77
13
7
3
28
1
2
5
3
10
3
1
3
3
’15.
587
317
71
19
97
94
25
9
16
41
4
..
7
6
4
1
1
i
2
1
2
i
1
1
i
1
1
..
1
1
1
’16.
645
500
58
52
91
101
27
20
13
34
2
’47.
589
629
123
394
148
112
41
16
12
29
9
5
’18.
432
247
99
132
66
56
24
17
5
28
2
.,
2
1
3 13
1
8
7 52
8
1
1
1
2
3
1
1 H
8
5
2
2 ..
3
1 3
Commerce o f the Danube.
295
The following also states the number of vessels which took in cargo at
Galatz and Ibraila for England, from 1837 to 1848 :—
Galatz.......................................
Ibraila......................................
1817. ’38. 39. MO. ’ll. M2. Ml. ’l l MS. MG. M7. ’18.
5 13 135
72
13 l
7 5 1 6 3 9
2 5 5 3 2
9 259
60
8 4 17 14
Total........................ .
15 6 12 8 3 14 7 26 19 52 394 132
and the following, o f those which loaded there <
direct for England, from
1843 to 1 8 4 8 ;—
1817.
1848.
1841
181a.
1811.
1816.
Galatz..................................
206
115
4
10
9
57
Ibraila.................................
11
3G2
115
16
35
3
Total............................
68
568
230
26
44
7
It is necessary to remark that, for sometime past, half o f the grain loaded
directly for England, is generally sent to Constantinople and Malta, expressly
for the purpose of being there reembarked for England; and this too be
sides what is sent to these ports for sale, and then purchased for the same
destination.
The change made in the navigation laws o f Great Britain will not prob
ably make much difference in the number o f vessels seeking freight in the
Danube for England.
Besides English vessels, the Austrians may, by treaty, load directly for
England— also the Greeks, but the latter must touch at a port in Greece
before proceeding on to England,— which, however, occasions them but little
delay or extra expense. A ll vessels are now equally favored.
The only flag which frequents the Danube in large numbers is the Sar
dinian ; but as there is a high protection for the trade o f their country, it is
not probable that it will come into much competition with the English flag
for the transportation o f grain to Great Britain.
The change in the navigation laws o f Great Britain will not cause, but
for a short time, a reduction in the freights. It is known that it suits English vessels to come out from England in ballast, and to load them with
wheat and Indian corn at eleven shillings per quarter, and making two
voyages to England, without any difficulty, each y ea r; but Austrian and
Greek vessels do not seek after cargoes for England under fourteen shillings
per quarter.
It is true that during the present year, 1849, several Austrian vessels
loaded at Galatz and Ibraila at 10s. Gd. and 11s. Gd., but the position of
Austria explains sufficiently the reason which made her merchant vessels to
accept freights at a rate lower than usual,— and at present English vessels
do not obtain more than 9s. Gd. the quarter; no Austrian ship will accept
such a freight. There are a few Greek vessels of a size suitable for a voyage
to England ; and as the risk is greater with Greek ships than English, the
latter always have the preference, and a freight of one shilling per quarter
greater. Greek vessels do not seek for freight to England under thirteen
shillings per quarter.
The exportation from Bulgarian Turkey, by the Danube, does not increase,
as will be seen from the following note o f the exports during the first months
o f the present year. The greater portion o f the grain is loaded from the
Bulgarian ports in the Blacis Sea;—
Wheat......................................................... imperial quarters
25,422
Indian Corn............................................................................
40,670
Barley.....................................................................................
12,976
296
Commerce o f the Danube.
The Danube is obstructed by ice during a portion o f the winter season,
and it is necessary for masters o f vessels to be careful not to arrive so
late as to run the risk of being compelled to pass the winter there.
The following table shows the period o f the ice during several years:—
1836-37.................. . . . .
1837-3S................. ___
1838-39................. . . . .
1839-40................. . . . .
1840-41................. . . . .
1841-42.................. ___
184243.......... . . . .
184344.......... . . . .
1844-45................. . . . .
184546......... . . . .
184647......... . . . .
1847-48................. . . . .
1848-49................. . . . .
February 7th.............................
December 29th..........................
December 24th..........................
January 12th.............................
December 17th..........................
December 26th..........................
Remained open the whole year.
January 12th.............................
December 28th..........................
Remained open the whole year.
January 15th.............................
January 2 d ...............................
January 1st...............................
February 28th.
March 3d.
March 13th.
February 2d.
March 21st.
March 9th.
February 27th.
January 23d.
February 13th.
March 1st.
February 22d.
It is the general opinion that the Commerce of the Danube must become
still more important at its mouth ; o f this its development has, thus far,
been retarded by political reasons or on account o f its having been neglected
to remove the accumulation o f sand at the mouth o f Sulina. It is certainly
much desired that this mouth should be cleaned out and deepened, and yet
there is no sufficient reason for believing that the Commerce o f the Danube,
by its mouth, would become more considerable than it is at present. The
exportation will be limited to the produce o f Moldavia and Wallachia, o f a
portion o f Bessarabia and Turkey, in the environs o f Tulclia.
It may be mentioned, that the products of Hungary are not in demand
for the Black Sea, or for Turkey, but for the Mediterranean and the coun
tries out o f the Straits of Gibraltar. From any part o f the Danube, above
the junction o f theSaave, and for some distance below it, the produce may be
transported to Fuime, by the Saave, and by land carriage, at equally cheap
rates, as far as Galatz; and from Fuime, the freights would always be
cheaper than from Galatz. So long as the difficulties at the “ Iron Gate ”
exist, few products will descend from beyond it. A n attempt was made
with rape seed above the “ Iron G ate” and brought it down to Ibraila ; but
as within the last few years, nothing has come from so high up, it must be
supposed that it was not found profitable.
The Bulgarians, for the most part find it advantageous to transport their
produce to the Black S ea ; and from a part o f Bessarabia, it is better to
transport it to Odessa. It may be remaked that in the trade between V i
enna and Constantinople the plan has been made o f discharging the stea
mer at Chernevoda, and to transport the passengers and merchandise, as far
as Kustenja, by land, by which means two days are saved in the voyage ;
and if this route has been abandoned, it is on account o f there being no
shelter at Kustenja, and when it is bad whether, much difficulty is ex
perienced in discharging and reloading the goods ; but if there were a
good harbor there, the trade between Constantinople and Vienna would
again go by this route, and would not pass any more by the mouth of
Sulina.
Respecting the imports o f Galatz and Ibraila by the Danube, during
the period from 1837 to 1848, it is added—
The tables of imports given each year show sufficiently the different
articles imported into the Provinces by the Danube, and therefore the
297
Commerce o f the Danube.
revisions o f them will now be limited to English articles. Y et it must
be remembered that the only articles imported, except those o f England,
are the fruits and oil o f the Levant.
Table showing the principle articles imported entirely, or for the most
part from England from 1837 to 1 8 4 8 :—
IB R A IL A .
G ALATZ.
Year.
1837 ............
1838.............
1839............
1840.............
1841............. ___
1842.............
1843.............
1844............. ___
1815............. ___
1846..............
1847.............. ___
1848..............
Iron.
Cotton spun
Iron.
Coal.
Tons.
in twist.
Tuns.
Tons.
66
135
40
480
280
not complete.
1,060
20
290
584
570
47
410
346
683
590
1,454
803
420
1,295
1,070
453
600
495
915
1,930
685
1,600
480
1,200
1,695
874
905
560
1,025
2,213
1,966
817
650
1,038
1,688
1,728
2,727
not complete.
1,761
1.908
4,175
2,086
4,928
2,394 2,781
3,540
5,065
1,815
Cotton spun
in twist.
1,150
1,880
2,001
5,994
601
1,564
1,205
1,621
1,130
1.050
1,757
2,197
1,647
2,707
2,946
The following table shows the value estimated oni all the the vessels by
the Danube, to Galatz and Ibraila, from 1847 to 1848, inclusive., in pounds :
Year.
1837 .
183S .
1839 .
1840..
1841..
1842..
1843..
1844..
1845..
1846..
1847..
1848..
Total.
97,405
not complete.
193,839
47,388
291,075
90,,781
297,052
132,,938
347.346
178,155
865.100
177,,646
395,531
171,896
432,029
208,051
not comp'ete.
692,226
277,219
606,694
287,291
Ibraila.
fialatz.
86,674
136,998
146,461
200.294
164,114
169,191
187,454
223,635
223,978
10.,731
415,007
319,403
From the preceding table it is seen that the importation of English manu
factures and spun cotton, which in the year 1837 was only about 1,000
bales, for Galatz and Ibraila, has increased in twelve years to 8,000 bales or
more ; and it is probable that it will increase in the same proportion during
the coming twelve years— that is, in case some new misfortune does not hap
pen to the Provinces; and there is no doubt but that so long as the exports
increase the imports will increase in the same proportion.
The following details o f the trade o f the Provinces will serve to show
more minutely the return and amount o f the exports and freight for
the year 1849
N O T E O F IM P O R T A T IO N S INTO G A L A T Z
UP
TH E
AND M EASURES, AND VA LU E
Merchandise.
Manufactures—Twist—British........pkgs
Manufactures—not British.......................
Cotton yarn—Turkish..............................
Sugar, refined and crushed.. .cks bbls.
Coffee................................... bags bbls.
Pepper.............................................bags
Cloves and other spices................... pkgs
Rum.................................... bbds. & bbls.
DANUBE
O F T IIE
IN
1849,
IN
E N G L IS H
W E IG H T S
S A M E IN S T E R L IN G .
Quantity.
4,820
139
30
4,504
1,189
2,482
76
741
Value.
£40 0
30 0
15 0
20 0
4 0
0 30
7 0
7 0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total value.
£193,680
4,170
450
90,080
5,956
3,723
532
5,187
298
Commerce o f the Danube.
Merchandise.
Tin in bars...................................
Tin plates ....................................
Iron in bars, rods, and sheets.. . .
Steel..................................
Nails..................................
Lead............................................
Lead shot.....................................
Tar and pitch................................
Alum............................................
Coals............................
Saltpeter.............. .....................
Gunpowder..................................
Vitriol and copperas....................
Logwood.....................................
Indigo.......................................
Cotton wool, Levant....................
Soap...................................
Oil olives...............................
Olives...................................skins & bbls.
W ine..........................................
Champagne and other wines . . . .
Porter ........................................
Raisins........................................
Raisins.......................................... .drums
Figs..............................................
^ g s ............................................
Lemons and oranges..........bbls. & cases
Almonds......................................
Filberts........................................
Bates......................... .................
Chestnuts...................................
Pine seeds...................................
Chick pea s.................................
Locusts, or carubs.....................
Citrons........................................
H alva.................................bbls. & dried
R ic e ............................................
Tobacco......................................
Caviar black.................................
Caviar red...................................
Sardines.....................................
Fish, salt.....................................
Polipe........................................
Ciri (dried fish)............................
Aniseed........................................
Incense ......................................
Salep........................................ .
Mastic..................................... .
Galls............................................
Macaroni.....................................
Furniture...................................
Chairs..........................................
Paint..........................................
Earthenware .............................
Window-glass............................
Books.........................................
Paper, writing...........................
Paper, for cigars.........................
Lemon-juice............................... . . .bbls.
Orange-peel...............................
Dressed leather.........................
Pipe-bowls..................................
Cigars........................................
Quantity.
440
979
1,807
44
135
168
340
469
51
3,518
89
5
76
630
8
205
1,635
8,800
2,476
47
141
326
1,750
8,974
3,669
845
3,500
176
172
83
126
27
264
1,175
59
640
5,360
1,920
23
64
361
228
14
24
39
37
4
17
3
44
9
175
47
62
210
19
34
49
16
49
816
44
64
Total value.
\ alue,
5
2
9
3
0
0
0
0
2
0
4
6
0
0
80
5
0
2
0
4
0
0
0
0
30
16
50
15
0
25
0
0
50
8
0
0
35
0
15
0
0
3 0
2 0
0 10
0 8
2 0
1 0
2 0
0 15
4 0
0 15
2 0
3 0
0 5
3 0
0 10
1 0
5 0
3 0
12 0
0 30
1 0
20 0
0 12
5 0
5 0
3 0
2 0
15 0
0 25
10 0
S 0
1 0
3 0
2 0
5 0
5 0
5 0
10 0
0 10
10 0
1 0
3 0
5
0
0
0
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2,200
1,958
16,263
132
202
134
850
351
102
4,397
356
30
190
252
640
1,025
2,861
17,600
1,857
188
705
978
3,500
4,487
1,468
1,690
3,500
352
129
332
95
54
792
294
177
320
5,360
9,600
1,380
768
542
228
280
14
195
1S5
12
34
45
55
90
525
47
186
420
95
170
245
160
24
8,160
44
192
299
Commerce o f the Danube.
Quantity.
297
SOS
53
21
87
**
Merchandise.
Abba, or coarse cloth ......................bales
Pelices (sheep-skin).................................
Scented waters........................demijohns
Sail-cloth......................................... bales
Cordage and cables..........................coils
Sundries..................................................
Total value.
2,970
1,540
53
420
870
1,500
Value.
10 0 0
5 0 0
1 0 0
1 0 0
10 0 0
• •
Total
£410,648
NOTE OF E XPO R TS FR O M
G A L A T Z , B Y S E A , IN
1849,
I N E N G L IS H W E I G H T S A N D M E A S U R E S ,
A N D V A L U E O F T H E S A M E IN S T E R L IN G , F R E E O N B O A R D .
Merchandise.
Quantity.
Wheat......................................
Indian corn..............................
Rye...........................................
Barley.......................................
Linseed.....................................
Rapeseed..................................
Tallow and chervice.................
Preserved meat in tin canisters . .lbs.
Ox hides....................................
Wool........................................
Wine........................................
Walnuts...................................
Prunes......................................
Honey......................................
Planks and deals....................... pieces
Masts and spars.......................
Salt (rock)................................
173.797
258,763
60,617
741
1,521
350
3,052
1,104,536
20
24,000
106,750
2,543
1,552
108
664,319
20
5,400
Total value.
Value.
£0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
600
0
23
18
14
10
27
22
36
0
7
0
1
5
5
25
0
0
2
£199,866
232,887
42,432
370
2,053
385
5,494
13,806
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
7
0
8
0
0
0
0
800
5,337
636
388
135
11,071
12,000
675
4
0
6
Total.............................
£528,342
D E S T IN A T IO N O F V E S S E L S F R O M
GALATZ, AND
No of
Destination.
Constantinople........................___
England................................
Trieste...................................
Marseilles.............................. .
vessels.
276
71
27
___
Cefalonia................................
Malta.....................................___
___
8
9
6
10
Total............................... ___
588
N O T E OF V E S S E L S D E P A R T E D , L O A D E D , FR O M
No of
Nation.
Greeks...................................
Turkish.................................
English.................................
Russian..................................
Austrian................................ .
Sardinian.............................. .
WalJachian........................... .
vessels.
22
C A R G O E S O F S A M E IN
1849.
Wheat.
Qrs.
Indian corn.
Qrs.
Rye.
56,247
47,405
24,790
17,220
17,473
6,328
3,500
834
71,391
103.671
9,529
5,328
11,296
3,182
38,511
5,265
1,050
840
673
173,797
258,763
3,357
5,487
Qrs.
....
60,717
G A L A T Z , A N D C A R G O E S O F S A M E IN
Wheat.
Qrs.
Indian corn.
Qrs.
54,222
5,028
28,776
12,980
25,619
25,982
3,732
108,645
4,257
49,111
20,172
45,310
4,827
7,326
Rye.
Qrs.
35,854
6
3,192
4,002
6,883
3,874
Tallow.
Cwt.
2,572
....
....
480
....
....
3,052
1849.
Tallow.
Cwt.
350
392
....
1,544
....
286
* Wine, 106,750 gallons ; walnuts, 2,543 cw t.; prunes, 1,552 cw t.; honey, 108 cw t.; deals, 1,800
pieces.
300
Commerce o f the Danube.
Nation.
Ionian..................................
Samian.................................
French..................................
Moldavian.............................
Tuscan...................................
Roman..................................
Prussian...............................
Swedish...............................
Total.........................
No. of
vessels.
7
4
o
Wheat.
Qrs.
Indian corn.
Qrs.
Rye.
Qrs.
Tallow.
7,457
3,453
1,179
273
2,632
8,5S6
2,878
3,235
3,201
3,095
2,769
....
1,215
1,092
258,763
60,717
1
1
1 087
1 377
5S8
173,797
NOTE OF IMPORTATIONS INTO IBRAILA UP THE DANUBE IN 1849,
SAME IN ;STERLING.
Merchandise.
Manufactures, cotton twist, British., .pkars.
Manufactures, Turkish.........
Cotton yarn, Turkish..........
Sugar, refined and crushed..
Sugar, candied.....................
T e a ......................................
Chocolate.............................
Coffee................................... bags <fc casks
Pepper ................................
Cloves and other spices . . .
R u m .................................... ............. bbls.
Tin in bars...........................
Tin plates.............................
Iron in bars, rods, and sheets
Steel.....................................
Nails....................................
Lead.....................................
Iron safes and machines.......
Tar and pitch........................
Rosin....................................
Alum....................................
Coals...................................
Saltpeter...............................
Sulphur................................
Vitriol and copperas.............
Logwood..............................
Cochineal.............................
Soap.....................................
O il.......................................
0 , 1 ..................................................................
Olives................................... .skins tfc bbls.
Wine......................................
Porter...................................
Champague and other wines.
Raisins..................................
Raisins.................................
P 'g i......................................
Fig*......................................
Lemons................................
Lemons................................
Oranges................................
Almonds..............................
Dates...................................
Filberts................................
Locusts, or carubs...............
Halva...................................
Pine seeds........................... ............. bbls.
Quantity.
3,558
78
20
5,010
78
6
1
1,797
921
59
511
134
1,265
4,074
19
24
375
77
541
2
316
336
87
8
700
1,808
4
1.768
10,938
352
4,632
23
40
455
1,555
6,679
1,180
1,262
32
1,116940
123
34
49
1,750
72
2
Cwt.
480
AND •
3,052
VALUE! OF THE
Total value.
Value.
£40 0
30 0
15 0
20 0
3 0
10 0
5 0
4 0
0 30
7 0
7 0
5 0
2 0
12 0
3 0
1 10
0 16
10 0
0 15
0 30
0 40
0 25
0 80
0 30
0 50
0 2
15 0
0 35
0 40
0 25
0 15
4 0
2 0
5 0
2 0
0 8
1 0
0 8
0 30
0 10
0 15
2 0
4 0
0 15
0 5
0 10
2 0
...
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
£142,320
2,340
300
100,200
234
60
5
7,188
1,381
413
3,577
670
2,530
48,888
57
36
291
747
406
3
632
420
348
12
1,750
131
60
3,094
21,876
440
3,474
92
80
2,275
3,110
2,672
1,180
605
48
558
705
246
136
37
438
36
4
1
Commerce o f the Danube.
0
Merchandise.
Chick peas.......................
R ice...................................
Tobacco .............................
Caviar black.....................
Caviar r e d .........................
Tunny Fish.........................
Scombro (salt fish)..............
Sardines..............................
Polips..................................
Ciri....................................
Capers.................................
Aniseed..............................
Incense................................
Chairs................................
Furniture...........................
Earthenware.....................
China.................................
Isinglass.............................
Pasfe...................................
Paper .................................
Ink...................................... ............. bbls.
Window-glass.....................
Looking glass.....................
Paint....................................
Mastic.................................
Blacking..............................
Turpentine.........................
Bottles (empty)...................
Dressed leather.................
Laurel berries.....................
Medicine.............................
Malta stones.......................
Zambils...............................
Brooms...............................
Quantity.
(13
172
2,372
146
91
198
147
375
58
17
114
176
137
120
13
207
8
5
33
16
14
1,566
6
81
139
6
2
8,500
211
5
20
2,000
850
2,700
301
Value.
3 0 0
1 0 0
5 0 0
60 0 0
12 0 0
4 0 0
0 25 0
0 30 0
10 0 0
0 12 0
4 0 0
6 0 0
5 0 0
3 0 0
5 0 0
3 0 0
10 0 0
10 0 0
0 18 0
5 0 0
1 0 0
0 15 0
10 0 0
0 15 0
2 0 0
4 0 0
2 0 0
0 0 3
10 0 0
0 16 0
10 0 0
0 0 6
0 0 6
0 0 4
Total.......................
N O T E O f E X P O R T S F R O M I B R A IL A B Y S E A IN
V A L U E O F T H E SA M E IN
^
Merchandise.
Wheat................................
Indian corn.........................
Barley.................................
M illet.................................
Kidney Beans.....................
Linseed ...............................
Rapeseed...........................
W ool...................................
Tallow and Chervice.........
Butter, or Mantecca...........
Cheese, or Caskaval..........
Pastroma, or Jerk Beef___
Potash................................
Ox hides..............................
Staves.................................
Ropes.................................
Planks.................................
Total.......................
Total value.
189
772
11,860
8,760
1,092
792
184
563
580
10
456
880
685
360
65
921
80
50
30
so
14
1,175
60
61
278
24
4
106
2,110
4
200
50
21
45
£388,596
1849,
IN E N G L IS H W E IG H T S A N D M E A S U R E S , A N D
S T E R L IN G , F R E E ON B O A R D .
Quantity.
117,346
332,532
72,936
364
23
438
1.411
1,411,751
38,132
1,507
2,793
1;455
171
562
2,648,239
2,500
18,321
Value.
20s. 0
16 0
9 0
10 0
30 0
32 0
26 0
0 8
36 0
40 0
13 0
10 0
16 0
1 0
0 4
0 8
0 4
Total value
£117,346
266.026
32,821
182
35
702
1,S34
47,058
68,638
3,014
1,815
727
137
28
44,137
125
305
£584,930
Commerce o f the Danube .
o 02
D E S T IN A T IO N O F V E S S E L S D E P A R T IN G L O A D E D F R O M IB R A IL A , A N D C A R G O E S O F SA M E IN
Destination.
Constantinople*.. . .
England . f ...............
Trieste.....................
Marseilles................
Leghorn..................
Malta.......................
Anversa...................
Ionian Islands..........
Hamburg.................
No. of Wheat. Indian corn.
Qrs.
vessels. Qrs.
. . 344 84,546 110,599
4,655 168,161
11,551
46,595
1,976
12,127
3
3,949
2
2,450
2
518
....
1,224
i
...
1,527
Total................. . .
587 117,346
N O T E O F V E S SE L S D E P A R T IN G
Nation.
No. Of
vessels.
GreekJ...................
Turkish .§................
Austrian..................
English ||.................
Russian..................
"WallachiauTf...........
Sardinian.................
Ionian.....................
French**...............
Roman.....................
Mecklenburg..........
Samian.....................
Moldavian..............
Belgian...................
Hanoverian............
250
120
*74
53
31
19
11
10
6
5
3
2
1
1
1
Total...............
587
LOADED
332,532
FROM
Farley. Linseed.
Qrs.
Qrs.
70,236 . . . .
2,700
164
....
274
.........
....
...
.....
....
....
Staves.
Pieces.
251,146
...........
...........
173,899
...........
2,648,239
622,013
2,648,239
........
..........
.................
72,936
I B R A IL A , A N D
438
C A R G O E S O F T H E S A M E IN
Wool.
l.bs.
300,556
Wheat. Indian corn. Barley.
Qrs.
Qrs.
Qrs.
61,S32 139,313 11,475
27,103
51,743
13,457
87,309
10,082
1,186
54,866
11,662
5,011
7,425
4,151
7,999
2,007
1,143
4,153
4,939
3,267
. . . .
4,187
. . . .
884
34
1,557
1,377
594
1,215
. . . .
1849.
Wool.
Lbs.
167,813
29,155
1849.
Tallow.
Cwt.
27,953
3,116
Staves.
Fieces.
1,494,331
120,000
84,110
2,319
4,744
65,460
120,7S0
29,155
427,920
66,000
39,432
287,044
132,090
103,374
" "
1,528
1,285
. . . .
117,346
332,532
N O T E O F IM P O R T A T IO N S IN T O G A L A T Z , U P T H E D A N U B E , IN
M EASURES, AND
VALUE
OF
THE
Merchandise.
Manufactures—Twist—British ,............. pkgs.
Manufactures—not British.......
Cotton Yarn—Turkish.............
Sugar, refined and crushed------ . .casks &, bbls.
Coffee........................................
Pepper......................................
Pimento....................................
Cloves and other spices.......... ............. Pkg 3Rum............................. ............ , .hhds. <fc bbls.
Tin in bars and ingots..............
Tin plates.................................
Iron, in bars, rods, and sheets .
Steel............................. ........ . .bbls. & cases.
Hardware.................................
622,013
72,936
SA M E
1850,
IN
38,132
2,648,239
IN E N G L IS H W E IG H T S A N D
S T E R L IN G .
Quantity.
3,844
250
79
5,619
1,877
1,175
66
111
1,689
196
3,041
2,460
66
14
Value.
£55 00
30 00
15 00
15 00
4 00
0 30
0 40
7 00
7 00
5 00
2 00
9 00
3 00
10 00
Total value.
£183,920
7,500
1,185
84,285
7,508
1,762
134
777
11,823
980
6,082
22,140
198
140
* Tallow, 38,132 c w t .; Ox hides, 562 pieces; rope, 2,500 pieces; cheese, 2,793 cw t.; jerk beef»
1,455 cw t.; butter, 1,507 cw t.; millet, 364 qrs.; potash, 171 cw t.; planks, 18,321 pieces; Kidney
beans, 23 qrs.; rapeseed, 9 qrs.
f Rapeseed, 1,402 qrs.
X Ox hides, 562 pieces ; ropes, 2,500 pieces ; cheese, 4,667 cw t.; pastroma, 1,221 cw t.; butter,
1,099 cwt.
§ Cheese, 539 cw t.; pastroma, 188 cw t.; planks, 18,321 pieces; butter, 190 cw t.; millet, 364 qrs.;
Kidney beaus, 12 qrs.; rapeseed, 9 qrs.
j Linseed, 164 qrs.; rapeseed, 1,402 qrs.
«[ Cheese, 507 cwt.; butter, 218 cw t.; potash, 110 cw t.; Kidney beans, 11 qrs.
** Linseed. 274 qrs.
303
Com m erce o f the D an u be.
Merchandise.
K ails................................. ..................... bbls.
Lead...................................
Lead shot..........................
Tar and pitch................. . ..................... bbls.
Alum..................................
Coals..................................
Saltpeter...........................
Yitrol and copperas.........
Logwood........................... .
Indigo................................
Cochineal .........................
Cotton wool, Levant.........
Soap..................................
Oil, olives..........................
Olives ...............................
W in e.................................
Do. Champagne and other.,
Porter...............................
Raisins.............................
Raisins...............................
Figs....................................
Figs....................................
Lemons and oranges........
Almons..............................
Filberts.............................
Dates................................
Chestnuts.........................
Chick peas.......................
Locusts or carubs............
Halva................................
R ice.................................
Tobacco............................
Caviar, black...................
Caviar, red.......................
Sardines...........................
Fish, salt............................
Polipe................................
Ciri, (dried fish.................
Aniseed............. ...............
Incense .............................
Mastic...............................
G alls................................
Macaroni.........................
Furniture.........................
Chairs................................
Paint.................................
Earthenware................... .
Window glass................. .
Books ...............................
Paper, writing.................
Paper, for cigars...............
Lemon juice................... ....................... bbls.
Dressed leather.................
Cigars.............................
Abba, or coarse cloth . . . .
Pelices, (sheep skin).........
Quantity.
543
145
134
2,222
64
1,434
63
159
812
22
15
833
1,650
5,208
1,419
300
809
224
2,674
14,400
4,415
975
4,785
137
355
81
51
140
7,503
1,512
4,8S2
1,836
36
185
411
645
35
158
14
144
6
22
49G
144
303
8
270
318
32
32
248
77
438
19
228
162
Scented water....................
6
Sail cloth .........................
Cordage and cables..........
Sundries...........................
24
229
Total value
Value.
0 30
0 16
0 50
0 15
0 40
0 25
0 80
0 50
0 8
80 00
20 00
10 00
0 35
0 40
0 15
4 00
5 00
3 00
0 40
0 8
0 8
0 20
0 20
0 40
0 15
0 80
0 15
0 60
0 5
0 10
0 20
5 00
60 00
12 00
0 30
0 20
20 00
0 12
5 00
5 00
2 00
15 00
0 25
10 00
3 00
2 00
5 00
2 00
5 00
5 00
0 40
11 00
10 00
3 00
10 00
5 00
0 20
20 00
10 00
Total value.
814
116
335
1,666
128
9,292
252
397
325
1,760
800
8,330
2,888
10416
1,064
1,200
4,045
672
5,348
5,760
1,7 06
975
4,785
274
266
324
88
420
1,877
756
4,882
9,180
2,160
2,220
612
645
700
95
70
720
12
330
620
1,440
909
16
1,350
636
160
160
496
847
4,380
57
2,280
810
6
480
2,290
1,500
£435,090
Commerce o f the Danube.
304
N O T E O F IM P O R T A T IO N S IN T O I B R A IL A ,
A N D M E A S U R E S , AND
UP THE
Merchandise.
Manufactures—Cotton twist, British, .pkgs.
Manufactures, Turkish..........
Cotton yarn and cotton wool, Turkish, sacks
Sugar, refined and crushed..
Coffee................................... .. bags &, bbls.
Tea......................................
Pepper.................................
Cloves and other spices........
Ruin......................................
Tin, in bars...........................
Tin plates.............................
Iron, in bars, rods, and sheets ............tons
Steel......................................
Nails.....................................
Lead...................................
Lead shot.............................
Copper, sheet.......................
Copper w ire.........................
Tar and pitch.......................
Alum.....................................
Saltpeter.... .........................
Vitro! and copperas..............
Sulphur.................................
Tartaric acid.........................
Nitric acid.............................
Camphor...............................
Logwood...............................
Indigo...................................
Cochineal..............................
Coals.....................................
Soap......................................
Oil.........................................
Oil ......................................
Olives.....................................
W in e.................................... ..............bbls.
Champagne and other wine.
Raisins.................................
Figs....................................... ..............bbls.
Figs......................................
Lemons and oranges............. ,. bbls. & cases
Almonds...............................
Filberts.................................
Dates....................................
Peaches, dried.......................
Locusts, or carubs............ ,
Halva....................................
Pineseed................................
Chick peas...........................
Rabat...................................
Tobacco................................
Caviar, black.........................
Caviar, r e d ...........................
Sardines................................
Scombre................................
Tunny fish.............................
P olips..................................
Aniseed.................................
Fennelseed............................
E ice......................................
Incense .................................
D A N U B E , IN
1850,
IN
E N G L IS H
W E IG H T S
V A L U E O F T H E S A M E IN S T E R L IN G .
Quantity.
4,140
97
1,0(10
5,557
1,240
S
1,070
100
1,185
52
2,539
1,932
26
148
42
99
27
9
52?
990
138
868
76
3
5
1
2,903
1
1
175
619
6,019
343
3,948
211
1,037
1,925
1,609
831
1,020
856
120
5S
10
10
1,380
60
90
151
o
1,489
75
92
158
283
289
47
73
14
199
145
Value.
£55 00 0
30 00 0
15 00 0
20 00 0
4 00 0
10 00 0
0 30 0
7 00 0
7 00 0
5 00 0
2 00 0
9 00 0
0 60 0
0 30 0
0 16 0
0 50 0
10 00 0
10 00 0
0 15 0
0 40 0
0 SO 0
0 50 0
0 30 0
5 00 0
5 00 0
10 00 0
0 2 0
80 00 0
15 00 0
0 25 0
0 35 0
0 40 0
0 10 0
0 15 0
4 00 0
5 00 0
0 40 0
0 8 0
0 20 0
0 8 0
0 20 0
0 40 0
0 15 0
0 SO 0
5 00 0
0 5 0
0 10 0
0 40 0
0 60 0
5 00 0
5 00 0
60 00 0
0 20 0
0 30 0
0 25 0
0 80 0
10 00 0
5 00 0
3 00 0
0 20 0
5 00 0
Total vnlue.
£227,700
2,910
15,900
111,140
4,960
80
1,605
700
8,155
260
5,078
17,388
78
222
84
248
270
90
396
1,980
552
2,170
114
15
25
10
290
80
15
219
1,083
12,038
172
2,961
844
5,185
3,850
644
831
408
856
240
44
40
50
345
30
180
453
10
7,445
4,500
92
237
354
1,156
470
365
42
199
725
305
Commerce o f the Danube.
Merchandise.
Rosin...........................................................
Chairs......................................................doz.
Earthenware....................................... crates
Window glass...................................... boxes
Looking glass....................................... cases
P aper..........................................................
Paint......................................................bbls.
Mastic...........................................................
Bottles, empty..................................baskets
Iron beds.............................................pieces
Iron safes....................................................
Leather, dressed..............................buudles
Bath bricks.............................................bbls.
Bricks....................................................mille
Porter....................................................bbls.
Blacking.......................................................
Pickles..................................................cases
Ink........................................................ bbls.
Paste.....................................................cases
Medicine.......................................................
Cigars...........................................................
Empty jars.........................................pieces
Pipe bowls........................................... cases
Gall nuts................................................ bbls.
Zambils, (hand baskets)...................... pieces
Brooms........................................................
Quantity.
100
132
358
8,710
6
90
53
44
147
13
9
422
3
15
276
1
20
3
14
7
1
187
8
2
2,220
2,695
Value.
3 00
3 00
5 00
0 15
10 00
5 00
0 15
2 00
0 20
4 00
10 00
10 00
2 00
0 20
0 40
0 80
0 30
0 20
0 18
10 00
10 00
0 10
0 20
5 00
0 00
0 00
Total value.
300
396
1,790
6,533
60
450
40
88
147
52
90
4,220
6
15
552
4
80
3
13
70
10
94
8
10
56
45
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6
4
Total value
£463,615
D E S T IN A T IO N O F V E S S E L S F R O M
GALATZ, AND
No. of
vessels.
Destination.
Constantinople*......................
Lnited Kinqdornf...................
Trieste and Venice^...............
Marseillesg...............................
Genoa.......................................
Leghorn....................................
Antwerp...................................
Malta.......................................
Ionian Islands ||.....................
Odessa and Kertch ................
162
133
43
14
Total..................................
391
NOTE
OF E X P O R T S
FROM
AND
GALATZ, BY
VALUE
Quarters.
Rye.
Quarters.
29 322
82,810
2,622
3,828
Tallow.
Cwt.
6,162
3,897
41,826
9,201
164
1,275
2.502
1,791
891
....
140,652
1850,
OF TH E SAM E IN
Merchandise.
122,S75
—
—
52,776
10,640
IN E N G L IS H W E I G H T S
S T E R L IN G , F R E E
Quantity.
Wheat.........................................quarters
Indian corn..............................................
% e ...........................................................
Linseed.....................................................
Tallow and chervice...........................cwt.
Preserved meats, in tin canisters........lbs.
W ool........................................................
Cattle bones.........................................tons
140,652
122,875
52,776
366
10,640
1,291,000
9,600
396
1850.
IN
Jnd. Corn.
Quarters.
28,779
78,871
768
11,251
7,590
11,398
....
1,011
984
1
13
S E A , IN
CARGOES OF SAM E,
Wheat.
AND M E A SU R E S,
ON BOARD.
Value.
£00
00
00
00
00
00
00
00
23
18
H
£7
35
00
00
35
Total value.
0
0
0
0
0
3
8
0
£160,'750
110,588
36,948
494
18,620
16,137
320
698
* Rafts of masts, 14; deals and planks, 403,579; rafters. 28.80G; salt, 1,250 cwt.
f Bones, 390 Ions; preserved meats 44,99 boxes, and 53,375 canisters,
j Linseed, 80 quarters.
§ Linseed, 280 quarters.
| Wine, 393casks; walnuts, 1,214 bags; prunes, 1, 2G1 bbls.; planks and deals, 1,546; Rafters
C86 ; Carriages, &.c., 31, from Vienna.
V O L . X X V I I .-----N O , I I I .
20
Commerce o f the Danube
306
Merchandise.
"Wine........................................
Walnuts.................................
Prunes.....................................
Planks and deals....................
Rafters.....................................
Masts and spars......................
Eock salt.................................
Quantity.
78,600
1,214
1,891
417,018
29,429
14
1,250
Value.
00 1
00 5
00 5
00 00
00 2
600 00
00 2
Total value
3,930
S03
473
6,950
2,943
S,400
156
0
0
0
4
0
0
6
£367,700
Total value....................
NOTE OF VESSELS DEPARTED LOADED FROM GALATZ, AND CARGOES OF SAME, N 1S50.
No. of
Wheat.
vessels. Quarters.
117
56,804
77
1,636
BO
28,624
40
13,404
33
7,348
25
7,575
21
15,244
3,618
4,215
Nation.
Greeks* ................................. ........
Turkishf................................. .........
Euglislij;................................... .........
Austrian§................................ .........
Eussian ||................................. .........
Wallachian and Moldavian^). .........
Sardinian**........................... ........
Ionian.......................................
German...................................
S w edish .................................
Tuscan.....................................
Belgian...................................
Frenchff.................................
R om an ....................................
Serbian................................... ........
o
o
FROM
1
164
1,275
476
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
—
—
52,776
10,640
1,287
140,652
S E A , IN
SAM E
Merchandise.
Wheat...................................
Indian Corn...........................
Barley...................................
M illet...................................
Kidney beans.......................
Linseed..................................
Ptapeseed.............................
Yellow berries.....................
Wool, unwashed................................ lbs.
Tallow...................................
Butter, or mantecca..............
Cheese, or caskavai...............
Pastroma, or jerk b e e f........
Prunes..................................
Honey .................................
Potash...................................
O x hides.............................
R op es..................................
Staves....................................
Bones....................................
Total value'..................
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
I B R A IL A . B Y
AND V A LU E OF TH E
Tallow
Cwt.
8,725
1,074
Total................................
NOTE OF E XPO RTS
. . . .
1,110
lnd. Corn.
Rve.
Quarters. Quarters.
38,501
20,503
16,475
1,730
696
22,503
14,343
17,622
3,912
4,038
8,202
2,580
1,818
1,899
711
2,343
810
11,343
660
1,377
1,404
. . . .
891
IN
1850,
IN
122,875
E N G L IS H
S T E R L IN G , F R E E
Quantity.
283,290
149,734
44,593
68
383
398
1,200
120
205,520
25,460
690
1,722
1,243
657
71
540
355
3,200
527,281
82
W E IG H T S A N D M EASURES
ON B O A R D .
Value.
Od.
10s.
15
9
10
30
32
26
30
00
35
40
13
10
5
35
16
10
00
00
30
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
8
4
0
Total value.
£269,026
116,044
20,167
34
496
62
1,560
180
6,851
44,555
1,380
1,119
622
164
124
432
178
107
S,78S
123
£472,012
* Planks, 64,669 pieces ; deals, 42,135 : bones, 396 tons,
f Planks, 170,610 pieces; deals, 101,675 ; rafters, 12,510 ; mast rafts, 14.
j Preserved beef, 41,512 canisters.
§ Preserved beef, 4,499 boxes, 11,864canisters; wool, 66 bales.
j Linseed, 80 quarters; planks, 33,439 ; wine, 98,000 galls.; walnuts, 1,214 bags; prunes, 1,264 lbs.
+ Rafters, 16,296 ; deals, 24,460 pieces.
*"* W ool, 48 bales; linseed, 313 quarters,
f t Linseed, 286 quarters.
Commerce o f the Danube.
D E S T IN A T IO N
OF
V E SSE LS
D E P A R T IN G
LOADED
AND
CARGOES
Wheat. Ind. Corn. Barley. Linseed Wool.
Qr.
Qr.
Qr.
Lbs.
Qr.
127,230 60,694 42,320 . . .
83,113 64,055
2,273
44,282 21,528
15,060
39S 205,520
12,004
1,103
.... . . . ........
. . ...
1,595
....
....
1,083
l ’271
Tallow.
Cwt.
25,460
S A M E , IN
No. of
vessels.
Constantinople*.
285
E ngland...........
120
61
25
Marseilles-)*........
Leghorn............
10
Genoa.................
2
1
1
Destination.
Total..........
505
283,290 149,731
FROM
307
I B R A IL A ,
OF
TH E
1850.
44,593
398
205,520
Staves.
Pieces.
527,281
........
........
25,460
527,281
1S50.
Staves.
Pieces.
186,332
70,110
N O T E O F V E S S E L S D E P A R T IN G L O A D E D F R O M I B R A IL A , A N D C A R G O E S O F T H E S A M E , IN
Nation.
Greek $............. . .
Turkisli§.......... . .
English............
Austrian || . . . .
Wallachian*f..
Russian**........ . .
Ionianf f .......... . .
Sardinian........
SamianJJ..........
Prussian...........
Trench ............
Roman............
Swedish...........
Mecklenburg...
Moldavian . . . .
Hanoverian . . .
Total.........
No. of Wheat.
Qr.
vessels.
202 143,061
25,225
100
56
35,957
27,475
53
9,151
21
11,034
20
8,705
15
10,368
13
3,706
8
3,566
6
4
697
2
2,025
o
1,539
....
i
i
i
781
Ind. Corn. Barley. Linseed. Wool.
Qr.
Lbs.
Qr.
Qr.
53,476 5,747 . . . 205,520
18,682 32,234
29,576 2,272 ...............
...............
29,990 ___
3,246 1,957 ...............
1,888
583
2,218
SOS
2,318 ___
1,543
992
3,094 ___
.............. 398 ..........
.............. . . . . . . . . .
1,746
1,957
FROM
AND NUMBER
GALATZ
OF
GALATZ.
No. o f
vessels.
No. of Register
crew. tonnage.
Greek......... 117
75
Turkish . . .
English......
50
Austrian ...
40
Wallachiao.
17
Russian . . .
33
Ionian........
S
Sardinian..
21
Samian. . . .
2
Prussian. . .
5
1,175 21,152
714 14,195
415 10.583
432
8,324
184
2,957
205
3,842
1,398
73
198
3,182
275
16
46
1,001
Nation.
....
....
4,806
3,060
1,765
398
205,520
50,000
131,449
......
89,390
....
..........
25,460
527,281
A N D I B R A IL A , W I T H R E G I S T E R T O N N A G E
C R E W , IN
1850.
IB R A IL A .
No. of No. of Register
vessels. crew. tonnage.
202
100
56
53
21
20
15
13
8
6
...... .
1,798
___
___
2S3,290 149,734 44,593
N O T E O F A L L V E S S E L S D E P A R T IN G
Tallow.
Cwt.
12,942
1,089
2,089 36,980
952 15,543
478
9,596
540 10,305
159
2,836
1S6
3,479
ns
2,091
121
1,944
73
1,091
48
921
TOTAL.
No. o f
vessels.
319
175
100
93
38
53
23
34
10
11
No. o f Register
crew. tonnage.
3,264
1,666
893
972
313
391
191
319
89
94
58,132
29,738
20,179
18,629
6,793
7,321
3,4S9
5,126
1,366
1,922
* Butler, G90 cw t.; cheese, 1,722 ew t.; potash, 540 cw t.; yellow berries, 120 quarters; hides, 355
pieces; kidney beans, 333 quarters ; millet, 68 quarters; pastroma, 1,243 cw t,; primes, 657 cw t.;
honey, 71 cw t.; rapeseed, 1,200 quarters.
t Yellow berries, 120 cw t.; bones, 82 tons.
X Potash, 260 cw t.; yellow berries, 120 cw t.; hides, 355 pieces; cheese, 1.097 cwt. ; butter, 250
cw t.; kidney beans, 83 quarters; jerk beef, 494 cw t.; prunes, 125 cw t.; honey, 71 cw t.; millet, 68
quarters; bones, 82 quarters.
§ Potash, 192 cw t.; kidney beans, 41 quarters; pastroma, 93 cw4.; prunes, 77 cwt.
\ Rapeseed, 1,200 quarters.
*[ Potash, 88 cw t.; cheese, 199 cwt.’ ; butter, 18G cw t.; kidney beans, 128 quarters; pastroma, 256
cwt. ; prunes,261 cwt.
** Cheese., 90 cw t.; butter, 54 cw t.; kidney beans, 27 quarters; pastroma, 331 cw t.; prunes, 19G cwt.
t+ Cheese, 291 cw t.; kidney beans, 38 quarters ; pastroma, 69 cwt.
XX Cheese, 45 cw t.; kidney beans, 16 quarters.
Commerce o f the Danube.
308
GALATZ.
I B R A IL A .
TOTAL.
No. of No. of Register
vessels., crew. tonnage.
638
43
5
561
S3
3
490
24
4
1,224
52
6
1,963
9S
9
202
11
2
2
477
24
132
i
7
184
i
10
240
i
12
No. of No. of Register No. of No. of Register
vessels. crew. tonnage. vessels. crew. tonnage.
Nation.
4
i
10
147
33
491
French. . . .
12
Roman___
i
205
2
21
856
o
o
231
Swedish. . .
13
259
11
43
i
9
Mecklenb’rg
5
974
250
Moldavian..
86
i
12
280
8
1,683
1
6
108
i
5
93
Hanoverian.
2
.
24
477
Tuscan___
.
Hamburger.
132
..•
i
7
Belgian . . .
i
10
184
i
12
240
...
Serbian . . .
Total . . .
391
8,681
71,818
4,855
506
896
86,4S8
8,536 157,S06
In the preceding report on the Commerce o f the Danube, mention has
been made o f the passage o f Sulina, the most important, if not, indeed, the
only navigable mouth o f this river. The “ Journal de Constantinople,” un
der date o f May 9, 1852, publishes the following note o f the number of
vessels which passed Sulina during the previous year, and as it brings down
the navigation to a more recent period than is embraced in the report, occa
sion is taken to add the note to the same :—
V E S SE LS W H IC H
Nation.
English............ .
Austrian..........
Bremen............
Danish...............
French...............
Greek................
Hanoverian.......
Holland.............
Ionian...............
Lubecker..........
Mecklenburger . .
Neapolitan........
Norwegian........
PASSED
Sailed
Load
In
ed. ballast. Total.
out.
60
3
1
.
4
2
246
146
1
7
3
8
745
1
1
*75
i
7
4
4
306
154
1
7
3
11
784
2
i
82
1
11
4
6
305
147
1
5
2
12
773
6
3
69
1
6
3
5
S U L IN A I N
1851.
Nativity.
Sailed
Load
In
ed. ballast. Total, out.
Oldenburger___
Prussian............ .
i
ii
Russian . ..........
Sardinian..........
Swedish............
Tuscan............... .
Ottoman............ ,
Do. Moldavian..
Do. Wallachian.
Do. Samian.......
Do. Jerusalem..
3
19
6
2
3
1
—
T ota l............
170
8
6
7
22
11
25
1
i
3
110 113 104
76
95
91
6
12
12
4
3
3
613 613 457
22
24
23
88
104 107
4
16
17
2
2
2
—
—
—
2,219 2,3S9 2,159
A m ong the vessels arrived in the Danube in 1851, there were 9*7 in bal
last destined to Russian ports o f the Danube, and 2,292 for foreign ports.
There passed also 43 steamers under Austrian colors ; the number o f Russian
steamers, if any, have not been indicated ; nor are the English screw steam
ers mentioned, which is to be regretted, as these latter have commenced run
ning from England direct to the ports o f the Danube for the purpose of
making quicker passages than the sailing vessels. Their cargoes are gene
rally wheat and Indian corn, which commodities, it is here worthy o f remark,
can be carried to England, as thus appears, cheaper from the Danube in
screw steamers than they can be taken from the United States to English
ports in American sailing vessels. A m ong the ships which entered the
Danube in 1851, 8 were wrecked in the river, and o f those which left it, 2
were lost.
The report adds that the cargoes o f the vessels wThich entered the Danube
are not known at Sulina. Those sailing out o f it had the following articles
as cargoes, all products of the Danube ;—
Commerce o f the Danube.
309
Wheat, 869,713 Tchetwarts, of 5 95-100 bushels each.
Rye, 123,943
“
“
“
Barley, 113,836
“
“
“
Indian corn, 1,320,591
“
“
Beans, 376
“
“
“
Flour, 33
*
“
“
Linseed, 1,150
«
“
“
Cheese, 1,150 pounds, 244 sack.
Suet, 166,526 pounds, 310 hour., 394 barrels.
Smoked and salted meats, 142 sacks.
Raw hides, 30 tons.
Bones, 1 cargo, and 380 tons.
Candles, 5 cases.
- Planks and beams, 514,510 pieces.
Staves, 199,000 pieces.
Oak timber, 6,500 pieces.
Rafts of timber, 14.
Castings, 1 cargo.
The note from which the preceding is taken, says that in 1850 1,152 ves
sels entered the Danube, (at Sulina,) and that 1,380 left i t ; consequently
the number was greater than in 1851. The value o f the cargoes o f 1851
was not given, but comparatively with those o f 1850, the quantity o f grain
was greater by 900,000 tchetwarts; the Indian corn and rye figure largely
in the note, the former being mostly exported from Galatz and Ibraila, whilst
the exports from the ports o f Ismail and Reuni form only one-fifth o f the
whole quantity. It is worthy o f remark, that whilst during the past year
(1851) the exportation o f grain from Odessa, in South Russia, has been less
than in 1850, that o f the ports of the Danube and o f the two principalities
o f Wallachia and Moldavia, as well as o f Bessarabia, has been greater in
1851 than in 1850, which is readily seen by the number o f the vessels be
ing almost double.
In terminating the present report o f the trade o f one o f the greatest riv
ers o f Europe— indeed, o f the world— it may not be wholly without utility
to add a price current, o f a recent date, o f grain at Constantinople, where
the prices o f the grains do not differ much from those o f the ports o f the
Danube. Under date o f May 14, 1852, the “ Journal de Constantinople”
publishes the follow ing:—
Wheat (hard) of Azof, the kilat of 55 lbs.....................................piastres
Wheat “
Bessarabia........................................................................
Wheat “
Roowdy............................................................................
Wheat “
Galatz...............................................................................
Wheat “
Odessa..............................................................................
Wheat (soft)
Ibrail...............................................................................
Wheat “
Galatz...............................................................................
Wheat “
Roowdy............................................................................
Indian com of Roowdy...............................................................................
Indian corn of Bessarabia................ ........................................................
Indian corn of Ibraila.............................................................................
Indian corn of Galatz............... ................................................................
Barley of Ibraila........................................................................................
Rye of the Crimea......................................................................................
Oats ............................................................................................................
204 to 21
20J 21
18
184
19
194
20
204
15
16
18
184
174 18
124
124
13
134
12
124
13
134
94
94
114 12
64
7
The Turkish government sustains the exchange on London at piastres 110
though the free exchange is much greater, say piastres 116 in specie, and
piastres 1 2 0 in the Sultan’s paper currency, called Ca'imehs. The piastre is
worth in specie about 4 i cents, and in Caimehs 3 per cent more. J. p . b .
310
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United States :
Art, I I I — COMMERCIAL CITIES AND TOWNS OF T1IE UNITED STATES.
NU M BER X X X III.
NEW YORK.—Part II.
POPULATION-----ABSOLUTE PROGRESS.
T he amount o f the population o f New Y ork at various intervals since its
foundation, as furnished by the estimates and enumerations o f the earlier
period, and later by the official returns of-th e census, periodically taken un
der the authority o f the State and o f the United States— the numerical in
crease between the consecutive periods— with the actual ratio for such times,
and the corresponding ratio for decennial terms, where the interval is more
or less than ten years— are embraced in the following statement;—
Years.
1656............................. ..
1673............................. .
1696...............................
1731...............................
1756........................
1773............................. .
1776, estim ated..........
1786............................. .
1790............................. .
1800............................. .
1805...............................
1810.............................
1814.................; ...........
1816...............................
1S20.............................
1825...............................
1830...............................
1835...............................
1840............................. .
1845...............................
1850............................... ,
Population.
1,000
2 ,5 0 0
4,302
8,628
10,381
21,876
26,000
23,614
33,131
60,489
75,770
96,373
92,448
700,619
123,706
166,086
202,589
270,089
312,710
371,223
515,545
Numerical
increase.
Ratio of
increase.
1,500
150.0
1,802
72.0
4,326
100.6
1,753
20.3
11,495
138.2
4,000
20.0
2,400 dec. 10.0
9,517
40.3
27,358
82.6
15,281
25.3
20,603
27.2
3,925 dec.
4 .1
8,171
8.8
23,087
23.0
42,380
34.2
36,503
22.0
67,500
33 3
42,621
15.8
58,513
18.7
144,322
39.0
Decennial
ratio.
88.2
31.3
28.8
8.1
78.4
66.6
10.0
100.8
82.6
50.6
54.4
10.2
44.0
58.0
68.4
4 4 .0
66.6
31.6
87 4
78.0
The average ratio, according to this table, for each decennial period from
1656 to 1850 is about 40 per cent. The progress has been steadily ahead
throughout, except in two instances, occurring when the United States was
at war with Great Britain. Several unfavorable causes, o f very potential
influence, have also tended to check the ratio o f other periods. The growth
o f the period 16 7 3 -9 6 must have been limited very sensibly by the French
and Indian W a r o f 1 6 8 9 -9 7 ; and that o f the interval 1 7 3 1 -5 6 , when
there was the least ratio in any period o f actual advance, was in like man
ner affected by the mortality and alarm consequent on the yellow fever in
1 7 4 1 -2 , the Negro panic o f the same years, the great fire o f 1741, the
second French W ar, o f 1 7 4 4 -4 8 , and the commencement o f the third, in
1754. The growth o f New York at this period was probably somewhat
retarded, also, by the advance o f the other colonies, which were drawing an
enlarged proportion o f the European emigration. Boston and Philadelphia,
the latter previously behind New York, were now both ahead o f her, and
growing faster. I f we had statements o f the population at regular and
very brief intervals for the century preceding the Revolution, there would
undoubtedly be seen one or two cases o f actual decline, but only in periods
o f very short duration; probably, as afterwards, in none o f so much as ten,
and perhaps not in any o f above five years’ length.
311
N ew Y ork.
In the tables which follow, we have estimated the population o f the city
in quinquennial periods during the time embraced in the table preceding,
and upon the ratios respectively attached to the periods therein designated.
The figures are so arranged as to present also a distinct view o f the decen
nial periods. In the succeeding tables, the progress by consecutive quarter,
half, and entire centuries is also given, and a view o f like periods calculated
from the successive decennial intervals. Also, a comparative exhibit o f the
Dutch, English, and American periods, and o f the periods preceding and
succeeding the Constitution o f the United States:—
D E C E N N IA L A N D Q U IN Q U E N N IA L P E R IO D S .
Population.
Years.
1660 ................
1665..............
1670 ................ ........
1675................
1680 ................ ........
1685................
1690 ................
1695................
1700 ................ ........
1705.................
1710................ ........
1715................
1720 ................
1725................
1730 ................ ........
1735................
1740 ................ ........
1745................
1750 ................ ........
1755.................
1,800
2,250
2,650
3,050
3,450
4,225
4,800
5,400
6,000
6,650
8,000
8,400
8,900
9,150
9,600
9,850
Years.
Population.
1760 ............
1765.............
1770 ............
1775.............
1780 ............
1785.............
1790 ............
1795.............
1800 ............
1S05............
1810............
1815.............
1820 ............
1825.............
1830 ............
1835.............
1840 ............ . . .
1845.............
1850 ............
16,500
25,000
22,000
33,131
46,800
60,489
75,770
90,000
123,706
166,086
270,089
312,710
371,228
515,545
10,300
Q U A R T E R C E N T U R IE S .
C O N S E C U TIV E .
Q U IN Q U E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
C e n t e n n ia l
2,150
3,200
1,850
15,000
35,500
195,597
349,459
81
67
23
152
142
175
210
equival’t.
324
268
92
60S
568
700
840
Average ratio........
113
452
P e r io d s .
*-
1675-1700.
1700-1725.
1725-1750.
1750-1775.
1775-1800.
1800-1825.
1825-1850.
In crease.
R a t io .
Q U IN Q U E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
1660-16S5.
1665-1690.
1670-1695.
1675-1700.
1680-1705.
1685-1710.
1690-1715.
1695-1720.
1700-1725.
1705-1730.
1710-1735.
1715-1740.
1720-1745.
2,100
2,000
2,000
2,150
2,350
2,550
2,850
3,000
3,200
3,000
2,900
2,500
2,400
156
111
88
81
77
74
75
71
67
55
48
38
33
624
444
352
324
308
296
300
284
268
222
192
152
132
Periods.
1725-1750.
1730-1755.
1735-1760.
1740-1765.
1745-1770.
1750-1775.
1755-1780.
1760-1785.
1765-1790.
1770-1795.
1775-1800.
1780-1S05.
1785-1810.
1790-1815.
1795-1820.
1800-18251805-1830.
1810-1835.
1815-1840.
1820-1845.
1825-1850.
Increase.
1,850
1,900
4,100
7,300
10,200
s 15,000
16,000
9,000
16,600
27,000
35,500
50,700
74,400
57,000
77,000
105,597
126,819
173,716
222,700
247.517
349,459
Average ratio........
C e n te n n ia l
Ratio, equival’t,
23
92
23
92
46
184
80
320
425
106
152
608
145
580
69
277
100
401
142
568
142
568
203
812
348
1,392
173
693
164
658
175
700
167
668
180
720
992
247
200
800
210
840
120
480
312
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United States:
H A L F C E N TU R IE S .
C O N SE CU TIVE.
Increase.
Periods.
1650-1700.
1700-1750.
1750-1800.
1800-1850.
3,800
5,050
50,700
455,056
D E C E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
Centennial
Ratio. equival’t.
380
105
515
752
—
438
Average ratio........
760
210
1,030
1,504
-----876
D E C E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
1650-1700.
1660-1710.
1670-1720.
1680-1730.
1690-1740.
3,800
4,650
4,950
5,350
6,350
380
340
220
110
141
760
690
440
22Q
282
Periods.
Increase.
1700-1750.
1710-1760.
1720-1770.
1730-1780.
1740-1790.
1750-1800.
1760-1810.
1770-1S20.
17S0-1830.
1790-1840.
1800-1850.
6,050
7,000
12,600
16,600
24,000
50,700
83,400
104^000
177,600
279,579
455,066
Centennial
Ratio. eqnival’ t.
110
232
850
396
524
1,030
1,282
1,060
1,420
1,686
1,504
105
116
175
198
262
515
642
530
710
843
752
—
—
Average ratio........
756
378
C E N T U R IE S .
C O N SE C U TIV E .
Periods.
D E C E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
Increase.
1650 1750 .
1750-1850 . ........
505,700
Average ratio.....................
D E C E N N IA L L Y P R O G R E S S IV E .
1650-1750
1660-1760
1670-1770
16S0-1780
.
..
.
..
........
........
........
........
9,000
11,650
17,500
22,000
Ratio.
Increase.
Periods.
900
5,134
—
3,016
1690-1790 .. ___
29,300
1700-1800 . . ........
55,700
90,400
1710-1810 .. ........
1720 1820 ..
194,000
1730-1S30 .. ........
303,500
1740-1840 . . ___
900 1750-1850 .. ___
505,700
863
780
Average ratio.....................
721
Ratio.
771
1,160
1,500
1,618
2,310
3,317
5,134
—
1,734
D U T C H , E N G L IS H , A N D A M E R IC A N P E R IO D S .
Population
at close.
Periods.
Dutch..........................
English.......................
American...................
I
1613-1664
1664-1786
1786-1850
1,700
23,614
515,545
Increase.
1,700
22,000
491,931
Ratio,
Decennial
equivalent.
.......................
1,300
1,000
2,083
3,411
B E F O R E A N D A F T E R T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S CO N STITU TIO N .
Population
at close.
Periods.
Before.
After.
1613-1790
1790-1850
33,131
515,545
Increase.
33,131
482,414
Ratio,
1,456
Centennial
equivalent
2,427
The division into decennial periods, it will be observed, has the effect to
obliterate the irregularities existing in the first table, so that a constant ad
vance in the population is apparent throughout. It is certain that there has
been no 'period o f ten years' length, since the year 1756, in which the result
o f population has not been forw ard. The decennial and quinquennial peri
ods give us also a better idea of the slowness of the progress made in pop
ulation previous to that time, as compared with the movement subsequent
ly. The largest increment is in the last period o f each kind, but it has not,
in all, the largest proportionate ratio— the periods o f largest and smallest
ratio, (or largest ratio o f loss,) were as follow s:—
High’st. Low’st.
Quinquennial, (since first XT.
S. census,) 1790-1795... 41.0
1810-1815 (loss)___
Decennial,do.1790-1800... 82.6
1810-1820................
Highest. Low’flt.
Q.nart’rcent’r y .1785-1810 348.0
23.0
1725-1750...........
66.0 Half century. .1800-1850 762.0
1700-1750............ 105.0
28.4 Century........... 1750-1850 5,134.0
1680-1780........... 721.0
313
JYew YorJc.
PROGRESS OF TIXE WARDS---- SECTIONS.
The following table exhibits the advance o f population in the several
wards o f the city since 1825 ;—
1825.
1810.
11,331
8,202
9,599
12,705
17,722
13.570
15,873
20,729
22,810
16,438
14,915
11,808
12,598
14,288
1815.
10,380
7,549
10,884
15,439
19,495
16,827
21,481
28,570
20,618
20.926
26.S45
24,437
17,1 SO
17,306
13,202
1810.
10,629
6,394
11.581
15,770
19,159
17,198
22.9S2
29,073
24,795
29,026
17,052
11,652
18,517
20,235
17,755
22,273
18,619
1845.
12,230
6,962
11,900
21,000
20,362
19,343
25.502
30,846
30,907
20,993
27,259
13,378
22,411
21,103
19,432
40,337
27,147
1850.
19,754
6,655
10,355
23,250
22,668
24,699
32,690
34,612
40,657
23,316
43,758
10,451
28,246
15,196
22,564
52,882
43,763
31,546
IS,465
166,086
202,589
270,089
312,710
371,223
515,545
Wards.
i ............
i i ............
m ............
I V ............
v ............
V I ............
V II............
V III............
I X ............
X ............
x r ............
X I I ...........
X I I I * .........
X I V ............
X V ............
X V I ............
X V II .............
X V III .............
X I X . ..
Total.........., . .
f
+■
This table exhibits the progress o f the up-town movement, much the
largest portion o f the increase, at each census, with an increasing increment,
being in that section. In the Second W ard, it will be seen, there has been
an actual falling otf from 1825 ; and the Third stands at almost the same
point as at that period. This is the result o f the increase o f business in
these localities, requiring additional room. The great increase o f the First
W ard is caused only by its becoming, within a few years, in one part of it,
a depot for poor emigrants. Although the numbers in this ward may not
vary moi’e, within a given period, than in other wards, yet it is not to be
regarded as having a fixed population, as the emigrants are continually
moving from it, new forces being always at hand to fill the places of the re
migrating. The increase of the Fourth W ard has been mainly of emigrants,
also, but of another class, being mostly all mechanics in well-paid employ
ments. The comparison o f the increase o f several o f the lower wards with
the rest o f the city, is as follow s:—
wards.
I. to V I . .............................
Rest of wards...................
1825.
1SI0.
'70,809 '73,129
89,277 128,460
ISIS.
1810.
1845.
1850.
79,514
80,731
91,497 107,399
190,515 -231,979 279,426 408,056
Excess, rest of city..
12,472
56,331
110,741
151,248
187,929 300,657
I. (o VI., VIII., X IV . . .
Rest of wards................
101,094
64,994
108,146
94,443
125,450
144,639
130,039
182,731
143,746 167,207
227,477 348,248
Excess, lower..........
36,100
13,703
Excess, upper...........................................
................................... .......................
19,189
52,692
83,731 181,041
* The 13(h ward was taken from tile 10th, and the 14th from the 6th and 8tll wards in 18*26 ; the
15th from the 9tn in 1832; the 16th from the 12th, 1830; the 17th from the 11th, 1837; the 18th
from the 16th, 1846; the 19th from the 12th.
Commercial Cities aiul Toivns o f the United States:
31 4
wards.
I. to VIII., X I V ............
Rest of w ards................
1825.
115,286
50,800
1810.
1815.
1849.
1845.
1850.
124,019 146,931 153,021 169,248 201,819
18,570 123,158 159,689 201,975 313,636
Excess, lower..........
64,480
Excess, upper........................ .
45,449
2,373 .............................................
...........................
6,668
32,723 111,817
I. to VIII., X., XIII., XIV.
Rest of w ards................
139,218
26,868
153,055
49,534
184,987 200,564
85,102 112,146
212,652
158,571
253,381
262,074-
99,885
88,41S
54,081
Excess, lower.......... 112,350 103,821
Excess, upper............................................................................................
___
8,693
The division formed by taking separately the first six wards is on a line
nearly formed by Catharine and Canal streets. The statement o f wards I.
to VI., V III., and X IV ., against the rest o f the city, shows the population
at the several times, below and above a line formed by Catharine-street, the
Bowery, Houston and Hammersley streets. The next statement shows the
population below and above the line o f Grand, Division, Bowery, Houston,
and Hammersley. The last division is that formed by the line o f Bivington, Bowery, Houston, and Hammersley. The distance from the Battery
to Canal-street is about one mile-and-a-quarter, and to Iloustou-street one
mile-and-three-quarters. The average width below Canal-street cannot be
over a mile, and below Houston it is about a mile-and-a-half. The first six
wards contained, in 1825, near one-half the population o f the city— now
they have only one-fifth the whole number. The second division, which
contained two-thirds in 1825, has not less than one-third the whole popula
tion. Above ltivington and Houston in 1825, there were only 26,808,
about one-sixth the population— now ten times that number, and more than
half the city live above that line. The following statement shows the in
crease above the line o f Fourteenth-street since 1825 :—
W ards.
X I I ..................
X V I ..................
X V III..................
X I X ..................
Above 14th-st..
Increase...........
Do. of city . . . .
182$.
7,938
1810.
11,808
1815.
24,437
1840.
11,652
22,273
1845.
13,378
40,337
1850.
10,451
52,882
31,546
18,465
7,938
11,808
3,870
36,503
24,437
12,629
67,500
33,925
9,488
42,621
53,715
19,790
58,513
113,344
59,629
144,232
The following gives a view o f the progressive population o f the eastern
and western sections of the city, excepting the narrow district below Liber
ty-street, which, being cut off at that point by a crosswise line into a single
ward, (the First,) we are unable to divide. The balance, from its division,
would be in favor o f the western section. The wards embraced in this cal
culation are the 3d, oth, 6 th, 8 th, 9th, 14tb, and 15th in the western sec
tion, and the 2d, 4th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 13t.h, and 17th in the eastern— the
line o f division being along Broadway, Chatham, and the Bowery :—
■Western section.
Eastern section.
Exc. of western.
Exc. of eastern.
1825.
80,596
66,993
1810.
98,718
80,731
1815.
125,902
109,370
1840.
139,796
128,360
1845.
153,893
141,312
13,603
17.9S7
16,532
11,436
12,681
1850.
180,769
201,678
20,907
N ew Y ork.
315
COMPARISON WITH OTHER CITIES OF UNITED STATES.
Boston and Philadelphia both at a former period exceeded New York in
the amount of population. The following is a comparative statement of
the progress of the three together with that o f Baltimore, the four oldest,
as well as the four largest cities o f the Union— from the earliest periods,
and a comparison o f New York with the other three united :—
Years.
1680 ab’t .
1690 ab’t.
1696.......
1700 ab’t.
1730.......
1750 ab't.
1756.......
1700 ab’t.
1773.......
1770.......
1777.......
17S0.......
1785.......
1790.......
1800.......
1810.......
1820.......
1830.......
1340.......
1S50.......
New York. Philadelphia.
3,000
3,800
4,302
4,800
8,628
9^800
10,381
13,000
21,876
Boston.
New York’s
per cent of
the three.
Baltimore.
Three cities.
13,503
26,514
46,455
62,738
80,620
102,513
189,048
74,061
181,816
192,915
243,133
330,973
453,933
734,734
4,500
7,000
7,635
6,700
13,000
15^31
........
15,520
2,719
23,734
10,000
23,614
33,131
60,489
96,373
123,706
202,589
312,710
515,545
42,520
81,005
111,210
137,097
188,961
258,037
408,815
18,038
24,297
35,250
43,298
61,392
93,383
138,788
44.7
45.9
50.0
51.0
61.2
68.9
70.2
The comparison o f New York with all the other towns and cities o f the
United Slates containing above ten thousand inhabitants, in the years 1820,
1830, 1840, and 1850, is presented in the following statement:—
*
1850.
1830.
1820.
1810.
2,316,611
Towns above 10,000 ..................
348,376
592,754
1,017,227
Do. excluding Boston, Philadel
615,951
1,581,877
phia, and Baltimore.................
123,015
289,310
515,545
312,710
New York...................................
123,706
202,589
The towns and cities embraced in this statement, besides the four chief
cities, were, in 1820, e ig h t; namely, Portland, Salem, Providence, Albany,
Pittsburg, Richmond, Washington, and New Orleans. In 1830, there were
sixteen; in 1840, twenty-seven; in 1850, sixty-five. A ll the towns and
cities above 10,000 in 1840 were—
Boston.
Portland.
Lowell.
Salem.
New Bedford.
Charleston.
Springfield.
Providence.
New Haven.
Brooklyn.
Baltimore.
Norfolk.
Charleston.
Savannah.
Mobile.
New Orleans.
Louisville.
St. Louis.
Cincinnati.
W ashington.
and their comparison, aggregtately, with New York, for four decennial periods, is as fellows :—
1830.
1820.
1810.
1850.
31 towns.....................................
878,300
570,110
1,329,937
1,796,256
Do excluding Boston, Philadel
phia, and Baltimore...............
876,004
1,061,522
326,817
547,327
New York...................................
123,706
202,589
312,710
515,545
Philadelphia.
Albany.
Rochester.
Troy.
Buffalo.
Utica.
Newark.
Pittsburg.
Richmond.
Petersburg.
310
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United States.
B y which it will be seen that over the combined increase o f those 27
towns, New York has advanced from about 30 to near 50 per cent o f their
population.
In the following statement is given the comparison o f New York with all
the towns o f the various sections o f the Union above 1 0 ,0 0 0 .
Maryland and the Distaict o f Columbia are assigned to the south-eastern
section, Alabama is made a south-western, and Missouri a north-western
State— this being the most natural division. The towns above ten thousand
equal New York in no instance in any other section than the middle :—
New England...................................
Middle States.......................................
South-Eastern States.......................
South-Western States.....................
North-Western States.......................
Pacific Region.................................
New York C ity ...................................
18S0.
1810.
66,411
114,842
141,955 251,602
99,585
145,201
27,178
56,278
........
24,831
........
........
123,706 202,589
18-10.
215,166
394,818
184,997
136,075
86,171
........
312,710
1850.
446,463
969,732
354,243
224,268
296,925
25,000
515,545
W e next give a comparison of New York with all the towns in the Uni
ted States o f between 2 ,0 0 0 and 1 0 ,0 0 0 inhabitants, in 1840, and with all
the town population o f the United States, in places o f above 2 ,0 0 0 , at the
same period:—
P O P U L A T IO N O P T O W N S .
Between 2,000 and 10,000.
Above 2,000.
New England..........................
147 towns.
574,767
156 towns.
Middle States.........................
60 “
198,587
69 “
South-Eastern States..............
21 “
98,982
28 “
South-Western States.............
12 “
41,752
15 “
North-Western States.............
20 “
87,502
21 “
New York.....................................................................................................
789,933
906,115
307,343
177,827
140,309
312,710
From which it appears that the whole town population o f New England
was only about double the population o f the city of New Y o r k ; that of
the Middle States treble, and that o f the whole six South-western and five
North-Western States only equal.
In the comparison here made o f New York with other cities o f the Uni
ted States, we have included only the population actually resident within
her limits, while for Philadelphia the amount stated includes the great pop
ulation o f her suburbs. The cities and villages immediately around New
York may as fairly be considered portions o f herself, as the suburban pop
ulation o f Philadelphia, or of any other city, may he included in its census.
The connections with these places by steamboat is so complete, and the com
munication so constant and great, that the rivers and bay seem scarcely to
afford any separation. Estimating these appendages New York has a pop
ulation o f not less than 650,000.
COMPARISON WITH STATES.
There were, in 1790, sixteen States, all o f them exceeding the city of
New York in population. The State to which the latter approached nearest
was Tennessee, which had 35,791, New York having 33,131. O f no other
State, excepting Delaware, which had 59,096, did it reach the proportion o f
one-half. The comparative progress o f the city and the States is seen in
the statements following ;—
317
N ew Y ork.
P O P U L A T IO N OF N E W Y O R K A N D S E V E R A L O F T H E STA TE S A T E A C H CENSUS F R O M
Years.
1 7 9 0 ...
1 8 0 0 ...
1 8 1 0 ...
1 8 2 0 ...
1 8 3 0 ... .
1 8 4 0 ...
1 8 5 0 ...
New York city.
33,131
60,489
96,373
123,706
202,589
312,710
515,545
Maine. New Hampshire. N. York State.
96,540
111,899
340,120
151,719
183,762
686,756
228,705
214,360
959,049
298,335
1,372,812
244,161
399,455
263,328
1,918,608
501,793
284,574
2,428,921
583,188
3,097,394
317,964
Delaware.
59,096
64,273
72,614
72,749
76,748
78,085
91,535
1790.
Ohio.
45,365
230,760
581,434
937,903
1,519,467
1,980,408
A t present, New York exceeds fourteen o f the States ; namely, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware,
Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Cali
fornia ; and if we refer only to white population, we may add five other
States, Maryland, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and
at the present time, no doubt (two years since the census of 1850) North
Carolina and Missouri— or 2 1 out o f the 31 States— only ten States exceed
ing New York city in white population. O f the white population o f the
smaller o f these States, New York is very nearly equal to the following
combinations :—
Arkansas................................
126,071 Arkansas.....................................
126,071
Delaware................................
71,888 Delaware................................
71,88S
Florida...................................
47,120 Florida...................................
47,120
133,131
Texas.....................................
138,131 Texas.........................................
Rhode Island.........................
144,012 South Carolina..........................
264,271
Total...........................
Louisiana...............................
South Carolina......................
Total...........................
522,222
Total...........................
254,271 Delaware................................
274,775 Florida...................................
Rhode Island.........................
529,046 Iowa.......................................
632,481
91,535
87,401
147,544
192,214
518,694
Total..........................
The increase o f population in the different States o f the Union, in each
decennial period, as compared to that o f New York city, and in the whole
period from 1790 to 1850, has been as follows :—
New York city.
1790-1800
1810.
1820.
1880.
1840.
27,358
35,884
27,333
78,883
110,121
1850. 1790-1850.
202,797
482,414
S T A T E S E X C E E D IN G N E W y o k e ’ s i n c r e a s e .
Maine.............
Massachusetts.
New York. . . .
New Jersey...
Pennsylvania .
Maryland.......
Virginia..........
N. Carolina....
S. Carolina . . .
Georgia...........
Alabama........
Mississippi. . . .
Louisiana........
Tennessee . . . .
Kentucky.......
Ohio................
Indiana..........
Illinois.............
Michigan.........
55,179
41,863
69,049
44,528
240,636
27,810
167,992
131,892
84,532
96,518
79,553
74,986
68,248
48/795
373,193
207,726
88.99S
94,422
77,397
64,524
90,332
69,630
29,801
101,120
51,247
413,763
32,020
239,367
87,121
545,796
127,291
510,313
256,800 615,782
668,473 2,757,274
278,755
375,800
587,753 1,877,413
90,757
88,329
87,626
88,554
146,026
99,158
••. . .
69,811
147,218
...........
175,836
165,210
156,1*25
185,556
185,395
35,096
76,851
161,086
157,806
350,674
122,658
42,929
259,091
122,600
356,469
195,653
102,254
...........
.................
.................
486,648
........
673,353
174,569
281,229
239,030
136,672
147^306
214,607
581,564
342,835
318,738
180,628
460,941
302,550
875,287
230,904
823,451
771,671
606,555
511 914966^834
909,328
1,980,408
988,416
851,470
318
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United Stales.
1798-1800.
1810.
1820.
45,741
1810.
1810.
243,247
1150. 1790-1800.
682,043
298 n 1
274,246
27,358
35,884
27,333
78,883
110,121
202,797
Missouri..........
Wisconsin . . . .
New York city.
482,414
S TATES B E L O W N E W Y O R K ’ S IN C R E A S E .
N. Hampshire.
Vermont........
Connecticut...
Rhode Island..
New Jersey...
Delaware.......
Maryland........
Virginia..........
N. Carolina....
S. Carolina . . .
Florida...........
30,598
12,861
12
5,177
21,820
11,040
7,909
33,606
8,401
........
18.051
13,160
6,028
75
26,804
25,167
44,888
22,463
14,140
43,248
3,999
36,690
........
78,444
99 996
15,246
11,296
12,333
11,631
52,483
1,337
22,979
28,392
15,432
13,213
81,395
33,390
22,172
60,813
38,714
116,249
13,450
113,016
181,804
115,484
74,109
........
176,065
229,004
132,650
7S,4S4
315,416
32,439
263,307
475,152
419,434
S7,401
180,915
Mississippi.. . .
Louisiana.......
'i ennessee. . . .
Kentucky___
Indiana..........
Michigan.........
Missouri..........
Wisconsin . . . .
Iowa...............
Arkausas........
31,502
........
61,173
62,332
..........
91,911
........
19,645
4,134
........
.................
159,563
173,415
202,577
........
......
22,743
73,869
185,387
397,654
16;il5
149,102
112,165
305,191
192,214
209,639
67,186
From the foregoing table it appears that the numerical increase o f thirteen
States, from 1790 to 1800, was decidedly larger than that of the city o f
New York— that o f only four States being less. In the next decennial pe
riod, 18 0 0 -1 0 , the increase of thirteen was larger, and o f seven smaller;
from 1810 to 1820, the increase o f eighteen was larger, and six smaller;
in the fourth period, 1 8 2 0 -3 0 , the increase o f thirteen States was larger,
and thirteen less; fifth period, 1830 -184 0, there were thirteen States having
a larger, and fourteen a smaller increase ; and in the sixth period, 1 8 40 -50,
the increase o f but ten States equalled that o f New York, and nineteen fell
behind. Only four States, (three beside New York,) Massachusetts, Penn
sylvania, and Georgia, exhibit in each period from 1790 a larger increase
than New York c ity ; and o f the States admitted since that period, only
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois have attained as large increments o f gain. On
the other hand, six States— Connecticut, Pihode Island, Delaware, Florida,
Arkansas, and Iowa have in no one period had an increase ecptal to that o f New
York. Maryland, Michigan, and Wisconsin have had an equivalent increase
in only one instance each, and New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, A la
bama, and Louisiana in but two o f the six periods. In the general result,
if Texas were counted, (of whose population we have no statement back of
1850,) fifteen States have made a larger increase in population since the
adoption o f the government than the city o f New York, and fifteen have
fallen behind. O f the “ Old Thirteen ” nine are in the latter class.
RATIO OF GROWTH COMPARED TO STATES AND TO UNITED STATES.
The. ratio o f growth of New York, as compared to that o f several o f the
States, sections, and o f the United States, in the decennial periods from
1790, have been as follows:—
319
N ew YorJc.
1790-1S0O
1800-1810.
1810-1820.
1820-1830.
1830-1840.
1840-1850.
1790-1850.
New York
North-west S.-west
Connect- N. Y.
section. section.
city. Maine.
icut. Stale. Virginia. Ohio.
208.1
. . 82.6 57.1
5 .4 72.5 17.6
100.3
408.7 442.0
. . 59.3 50.7
4 .3 63.4 10.7
152.0
191.1
76.7
. . 28.4 30.4
5 .0 43.1
9.3
85.4
54.6
8.1 39.7 13.7 . 61.3
. . 63.8 33.9
54.8
4.1 26.6
62.0
101.9
. . 54.3 26.2
2.3
47.8
30.3
59.1
. . 64.8 16.1 19.6 27.5 14.7
. 1,456.0 504.0 56.0 810.7 90.0 4 265.0 9,291.0 4,350.0
Average. . .
58.9
35.7
7.7
45.5
11.4
155.9
142.9
97.0
United
States.
35.0
36.4
33.3
33.2
32.7
36.2
491.5
34.5
It will be noticed herein, that while those States, which commenced with
a very high ratio, have, in consequence o f the growing magnitude o f the
base on which that ratio is computed, suffered a great decline in that re
spect, New York still maintains her ratio. So New York is constantly gain
ing upon the States, and is growing proportionately larger constantly toward
the whole United States. The latter fact is made more evident in the fol
lowing statement o f the per centage o f the population of New York at the
different periods, and o f the United States at corresponding dates :■—
1790 .........................
1800 .........................
1 8 1 0 .........................
1820 ......................... ...................
.84 1 1830...........................
.14 1840..............................................
.33 1850...........................
1..28
.58
1 .83
O.22
In comparing the city o f New Y ork with the States o f the Union, it may
be remarked that the city is not only equal to several in population and
wealth, but is much more powerful, and has, although possessed independ
ently o f municipal powers only, much greater elements o f nationality than
many o f them, even among the more populous. She could maintain a far
more respectable position as an independent nation than could above three
quarters of the States, singly. Some o f the most memorable nations o f an
tiquity were only great cities, having no country region, or but an insignifi
cant and unproductive patch o f territory.
COMPARISON TO FOREIGN CITIES.
The only cities o f the world which equal or exceed New York in popula
tion are those here named :—
IN A S IA .
IN E U R O P E .
London, (with suburbs)___
Paris...................................
St. Petersburg....................
Constantinople.....................
2,363,141
1,035,000
535,000
550,000
Pekin, (China)....................
Suchon “
Nankin “
Canton “
FuchauFu, (China).............
Miaco, (Japan)....................
Calcutta, (Hindostan)........
Benares
“
Surat
“
3,000,000
2,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
600,000
600,000
650,000
600,000
600,000
In Europe, no other city beyond the four named is much above half as
large as New York. O f the cities o f Asia, the accounts are, in some cases,
rather apocryphal. The Orientals have never been remarkable for their de
votion to statistical subjects. They would be more likely to resort to imag
ination, a faculty which they are reputed to keep as a worker o f all service,
for what information they might desire on the matter, than to go to the
drudgery of taking actual enumerations. Their princes would be satisfied
with a general survey o f their realms, giving them an approximate idea of
320
Commercial Cities and Towns o f the United S tates:
tlie extent o f territory and density o f population. Had they full statistical
information, few o f them would have any idea o f its use, and therefore could
not be expected to seek it. The population o f Asiatic cities and countries
is undoubtedly overestimated, yet it is certain that Asia has the largest
cities in the world.
PERIOD OF DUPLICA.TIO’X.
The population o f New York has progressively doubled upon itself at
about the periods named below :—
Numbers.
Years.
Intervals.
515,545 reached in.
257,772 about.. . .
128,886 “ ___
64,443 “
32,221 “ ___
16,110 “ ___
1850
1834
1820
1S01
1790
1765
8,055 about..........
16 years. 4,027 “ ..........
2,013 “ ..........
14 “
19 “
1,056 “ ..........
11 “
25 “
Average period.
Numbers.
Years.
1725
1692
1668
1656
Intervals.
40 years
33 “
24 “
12 “
21£ “
I f wo take the period from 1V90, New York has within that time doubled
fou r times, making' the average period fifteen years. From 1800, the peri
od o f duplication is once in 1 0 i years. The following is a comparison with
the duplicative periods o f other cities, States, sections, and o f the United
States. The statement as to the latter and all places within it, relates to
their progress since 1800, excepting Cincinnati, Louisville, and Buffalo:—
Years.'
Years.
New Y ork ...................................
Boston...........................................
Philadelphia.................................
Baltimore......................................
Cincinnati.....................................
New Orleans...............................
St. Louis......................................
Brooklyn.......................................
Pittsburg......................................
Louisville......................................
15
204
22
20
6f
15
10
9
7£
S
Washington.................................
Charleston...................................
14
33
Albany.............................................
Buffalo.............................................
13-£
8i
New York State.........................
Virginia........................................
New England...............................
North-West.................................
United States..............................
London, (about)...........................
19
*70
45
7
23-|
40
Art. IV.— THE BLASTING OF ROCKS O D E R WATER WITHOUT DRILLING.
N ew Y ork,
F re e m a n H unt,
Esq.,
August 10, 1852.
E d i t o r M e r c h a n ts ' M a g a z i n e , e t c . :—
D ea r S i r :—We take great and sincere pleasure in sending you the following com
munication relative to the new method of blasting rocks under w a t e r w ith o u t d r il l
in g , which was invented by Mr. M a il l e f e r t , and for about one year has been most suc
cessfully practiced in this country.
This communication will, as soon as possible, be followed by another, relative to the
r e m o v a l of bars in and at th e mouth of r iv e r s by dragging , a method which, in
many instances, has been most successfully applied in Europe, aud is destined to be
extensively used in this country.
We feel very much gratified for the room which you were pleased to offer us for
these communications in the columns of your highly estimated Magazine, the name of
which is the very best introduction to an intelligent class of readers.
When Mr. Maillefert first presented his plans for the removal of those dangerous
Blasting Rocks under W ater without D rilling.
321
rocks in Hell-Gate, which for centuries past had been a terror to navigators, he had
patiently to submit to the doubts and objections raised from all sides, and even to the
far more discouraging ridicule, which some persons thought proper to throw over his
contemplated operations.
A strong conviction and a good deal of energy upheld, however, his courage, and
carried him through a severe trial to a complete triumph.
A trip to Hell-Gate on one of the many beautiful steamers that are daily running
through a passage which bore its name but too properly, will now be sufficient to con
vince even the most skeptical.
They will not any more find that terrible whirlpool which made them hold their
breath in anxiety and awe, until they got safely out of it—none of those foaming ed
dies, which it seemed impossible to avoid. However strong may have been their
doubts, they will gladly acknowledge that a wonderful change has taken place, that
if they had not known Hell-Gate before, they should not be able to comprehend how it
could be thus denominated, and that the few and harmless eddies that yet remain seem to
be placed there rather to improve the scenery, and perhaps with a view of recalling
to the mind of those who are too quick in forgetting what Hell-Gate was a year ago,
and what it will never be again. Hell-Gate has lost its terrors, and may be made the
best and safest entrance to the harbor of New York, if the necessary means be found
to continue operations which, from the very outset, have given such beautiful and im
portant results.
You will, in the following communication, find a short account of the progress of
the operations in Hell-Gate up to the present day ; the difference between Mr, Maillefert’s method of blasting rocks under water, and those hitherto used; what may be
expected from i t ; its peculiar advantages and applications towards the improvement
of our rivers, harbors, and maritime thoroughfares.
"We feel it our duty, in submitting the following communication to your readers, to
apologize for the foreignisms it may contain, and which we trust they will kindly ex
cuse, in consideration of our sincere endeavor to contribute our share to the develop
ment of the immense resources of this great and hospitable country.
We have the honor to be, dear sir, with high and sincere respect,
Your very obd’t serv’ts,
W. RAASLOFF,
j Submarine Engineers.
T he blasting o f rocks under water without drilling for which Mr. Maillefert has taken out a patent, dated the 2 d of March, 1852, is an invention
which is intimately connected with the general desire for improvements in
rivers, harbors, and maritime thoroughfares. W e do not, however, intend
to say, that this invention has been directly called forth by that desire, for
such is not the case ; but we feel convinced that nothing short o f a general
and strong feeling in favor of such improvements could have prevailed upon
private individuals to furnish the pecuniary assistance which was requisite in
order to give a fair trial to an invention, which, at the outset, met with so
many doubts and objections, and had to encounter an almost general incre
dulity.
The trial has been most successful throughout, and has been carried out
to an extent which at once secures to the invention a prominent place among
the operations to be used for the improvement of our maritime highways.
Notwithstanding the difficulties and delays always and unavoidably at
tending experiments, the most remarkable results have been obtained.
The first submarine charge was fired by Mr. Maillefert on Pot Hock, in
VOL. X X V II.— NO. III.
21
t
322
Blasting Bocks under Water without Drilling.
Hell-Gate, the 19th o f August, 1851, and from that day the operations
have been continued in that difficult and dangerous thoroughfare, being in
terrupted only during the severest frost, and during Mr. Maillefert’s illness
consequent upon an accident which happened the 26th o f March last.
It will be necessary, for a just appreciation o f the magnitude o f the un
dertaking, and o f the difficulties with which these operations were attended,
to give a short description o f the character o f this thoroughfare, and the
dangers to navigation arising from the crookedness and narrowness o f the
channel, the violence o f the currents, and the great number o f sunken and
visible rocks which obstruct it.
The very picturesque appearance which Hell-Gate bore in former times,
and which it derived from the whirlpool called the Pot, the violent agitation
o f the water rushing through it, the foaming eddies indicating the existence
o f the dangerous sunken rocks, has inspired Cooper with some of his most
thrilling d s riptions of maritime scenery and daring sea-adventures.
A more sober and business-like description than those which the great
American romancer has given us in the “ Red Rover,” and in the “ WaterW itch,” are to be found in some able and lucid reports from Lieuts. Com.
C. F. Davis and D. D. Porter,* from which we will give some o f the prommerit passages.
Lieut. Davis states in his report as follows :—
“ O f the sailing vessels that enter the Hurl-Gate passage, it is estimated that
one in fifty sustains more or less injury by being forced by the violence o f the
currents on the rocks or shoals; and the accident to the Oregon, which nearly
proved fatal to her passengers, shows that even steamboats, with a motive power
that keeps them under perfect control, and guided by the most experienced pilots,
are not secure from peril.
“ Such an improvement in the channels o f Hurl-Gate as would render them
navigable to vessels of all classes under common circumstances, woulu supply to
the Commerce of New York a new outlet to the sea— one in a different direction
from the harbor channels, and available when those were temporarily closed by
adverse winds or other causes— and would therefore be a permanent and valuable
resource both for those vessels outward bound and for those returning home.
“ But a still more serious consideration is that o f the increased facilities for
naval defense which this improvement would afford. In the event of a rupture
with a naval power, there can be no doubt that the attempt in the last war to rav
age the shores o f Long Island Sound, and to prey upon its domestic Commerce,
will be repeated. The means o f resisting or preventing such hostilities must be
drawn chiefly from New Y ork; and if the Hurl-Gate passage be made secure,
not only our largest men-of-war, but our steamboats o f a superior class, which,
on such occasions, would be armed for the purpose o f defence, would be at once
enabled to hasten to the scene o f danger.
“ The steamboats t re now constantly passing through Hurl-Gate; but the diffi
culties o f the passage would to them be seriously increased if they were pressed
down by a naval armament and equipped for action.
“ During the war with Great Britain our frigates were blockaded in the harbor o f
New York, which could not have been the case if the Hurl-Gate passage had
been open. Commodore Decatur ventured to carry his squadron through, but
with such risk that the attempt with a frigate was only made once afterwards,
notwithstanding the constantly recurring necessity.
* Rep., made by Lieut. Com. C- P. Davis, of survey of IIurl-Gate channel, and communicated to
the Chamber of Commerce of the city of New York, by Prof. A. D. Hactie, Supt. U. S. Coast Survey,
dated February 15 1848, and report made by Lieut. Com. D. D. Porter, etc., communicated by Prof.
A . D. Ruche, Sunt, U. S. c . S.. to Eben Meriam, for the use of the Chamber o f Commerce o f New
York, dated October 30,1848.
*-
V
^.
Blasting Rocks under Water without Drilling.
323
“ The removal, therefore, o f the obstructions to the safe navigation o f HurlGate, is recommended by a regard to the future naval defenses o f the country.
“ The dangers in this channel arise from the great strength o f the current, and
the number and position o f the rocks and reefs. The strength o f the current is
such that sailing vessels can only stem its force or escape from it by a command
ing breeze; butasthemaincour.se of the flood tide keeps the middle o f the
eastern channel, it is most secure for vessels which are coming from the west
ward, with the tide, to place themselves in the center o f the stream, and follow
its direction. They are thus carried through in safety. This plan, however, is
inadmissible for any but small vessels, on account o f two rocks, the ‘ Pot,’ and
the ‘ Frying Pan,’ which lie in or very near the mid-channel, are in the way both
going to the eastward and westward, and*have but little water on them at low
tide. There is also a reef called Way’s Reef, which lies in the course followed
by the steamboats principally when coming from the eastward against a strong
flood. It is their custom to keep close around Pot Cove, and run up under Hallet’s Point; by so doing they avoid the strength o f the flood. In this part they
find an eddy current in their favor.
“ But in the ebb the greatest danger arises from the divergence of the current
at a point marked (A ) on the sketch, where the ebb tide branches off into three
directions to take the course of the three channels; the main south channel, the
middle channel, and the eastern channel.
“ The safe navigation depends here upon deciding sufficiently soon at the point
o f separation which channel shall be taken ; and the neglect to do this, or a loss
o f control over the vessel for any reason, frequently results in being carried on
the Gridiron.
“ When a vessel that has attempted the eastern channel finds herself carried
towards the Gridiron, her only chance for safety is to run for the middle channel,
which is narrow, and made precarious by the middle reef, the outer rock o f which
is the Negro Head.
“ The Gridiron is, owing to the strong set o f tide on it, the most dangerous
reef in the passage.
“ The reef known as the ‘ Bread and Cheese,’ on the eastern end o f Blackwell’s
Island, is also very dangerous. Vessels are liable to go on it on the flood when
it is covered, by getting into the eddy near it, with a light wind. The chief dan
ger is on the ebb, and from the same cause as that which makes the Gridiron
dangerous, i. e., the strong set o f tide in that direction.” * * * JYew York
Municipal Gazette, p. 886 .
Lieut. Porter states as follows :—
“ It was my intention to have made you a full report on the subject, but a copy
o f the report o f Lieut. Charles H. Davis, on Hell-Gate, was sent to me to-dayt
and I find it so full and correct in all its details, that I could say but little more
without incurring the charge o f plagiarism; in fact, the opinions expressed by
Lieut, Davis, coincide with those I had formed previous to reading his report, and
it only remains for me to point out the dangers I have noticed while surveying
here, and which have escaped his attention. I have also had a better opportunity
o f measuring the size and shape of the rocks than he had, and herewith give a
description o f them.
“ The first in order, and the principal obstruction in Hell-Gate, is ‘ Pot Rock,’
on which 1 found eight feet o f water at the lowest tides. * * *
“ At half tides the depth o f water does not increase on ‘ Pot Rock,’ as there is
at least a fall o f four feet, and a vessel drawing over eight feet must strike upon it
it. A full rigged brig struck it three days since, and went down with a valuable
cargo on board. This obstruction once removed, Hell-Gate would be less dan
gerous by one-half, and the eddies, which are now the cause o f half the difficul
ties, would, in a measure, disappear. * * *
“ There is a dangerous rock, called ‘ Bald-headed Billy,’ fifteen yards from Hat
ter’s Dock, which is dry at low water, and ‘ brings u p ’ a number o f vessels at
high water. Three vessels struck upon this rock while I was at Hell-Gate : one
we got off with some difficulty; another lest bowsprit, anchors, and chains. * * *
324
Blasting Rocks under Water without Drilling.
“ Opposite ‘ Gibb’s Point,’ and within fifty yards o f Blackwell’s Island, is a
large rock, which I have called ‘ Blackwell’s Rock.’ The current sets directly
upon it with the flood tide, and it is a most dangerous obstruction. It is six feet
out o f water at low tide, and could be removed at small expense.
“ The ‘ Frying Pan’ rock is a ledge running north and south, and is a part o f
the chain o f rocks which which runs from ‘ Hog’s Back ’ to ‘ Hallet’s Point,
This rock removed, vessels would always drift through the main ship channel.
The difficulties o f removing it would be much greater than any other rock in the
Gate, as it is so difficult to hit upon it.
“ There is a small rock, though a very dangerous one, to the southward o f
Woolsey’s Bath-House. It extends about fifty yards out into the channel, and
is connected with the shore line at low water. * * *
“ In a place where the interests o f so many are at stake, the want o f attention
to the navigation o f Hell-Gate appears like culpable neglect. No one can form
an idea o f the number o f vessels that go on shore during the course o f a month;
eighteen went on shore during the period I was occupied there, (two months,)
and many o f them were very much injured. I am convinced that if proper meas
ures were taken to protect the commercial interests o f this great city, by blasting
the rocks mentioned above, and docking it as proposed by Lieut. Davis, not one
vessel would be lost in five years.”
* *
*
N. Y. Municipal Gazette, pp.
886, 887.
It will easily be understood that the operations in a thoroughfare like the
one described, and through which more than three hundred vessels have
been passing in a single day, were attended with various and peculiar diffi
culties, which hardly could be found in any other locality.
P ot Rock, the most dangerous o f the sunken rocks, rose in the middle o f
the channel, from a depth o f from fifty to eighty feet, to within eight feet
below the surface (at mean low water). It was formed as a ledge, stretch
ing across the Gate so as to present its broad side to the current; the west
ern slope rose pretty gradually, but the eastern side was steep, and even
overhanging. A t a depth o f twenty-four feet below the surface, this form
idable rock had a length o f about two hundred and fifty feet, and an extreme
width o f seventy-five feet; its upper part was prismatical, and its top had
an area o f only some few square yards.
On that side o f the rock which turned towards the current, the waters were
forced several feet above their natural level, and on the other side o f it there
was a corresponding depression— the consequence o f which was a very dan
gerous whirlpool o f considerable extent, and bordered with foaming eddies.
The violent agitation o f the water above and around P ot Rock, and the
wild roar which accompanied it, was exactly such as if some sea monster
were struggling in agony, vainly attempting to reach the surface o f the wa
ter. W h en the tide was running, P ot Rock could not even be approached
in a small boat, and the only available time for sounding the rock, or for
blasting it, was during slack water, when the tide had ceased running one
way, and until it commenced running in the opposite direction. But owing
to the situation and character of the channel, slack water lasted only some
few, never beyond ten minutes, and the operations were therefore confined
to that limited space o f time.
It is evident that, under such circumstances, no other mode o f operation
than the one invented by Mr. Maillefert could possibly be made use of.
It was not only entirely impracticable to fix any apparatus for drilling
upon P ot Rock, but even the mooring o f a vessel or float on or near the spot,
and during the tide, could not be seriously contemplated.
In the beginning o f the operations, not more than two or three charges
■s'
*•
Blasting Rocks under Water without Drilling.
325
could be fired per day ; many days were entirely lost, the weather being un
favorable, and others had to be devoted to surveying operations, which also
could be effected only during slack water, and in very favorable weather.
But all these difficulties were overcome, the work was gradually progress
ing, and a survey made on the 7th o f November by Lieut. Bartlett, U. S.
N., showed a depth o f not less than eighteen fe e t three inches, at low water,
on any part o f P ot Rock. This result had been obtained in the course of
two-and-a-half months, by the firing o f one hundred and forty-three charges.
A great improvement had then already taken place in the appearance o f
Hell-Gate. The whirlpool had entirely disappeared, and the eddies were
almost reduced to mere ripples.
It had also, at that time, become evident that the removal o f rocks by Mr.
Maillefert’s method was not only possible, but also very expeditious, and at
tended with proportionally small expense.
Although the season was then very much advanced, the operations were
continued on Pot Rock, and commenced on several o f the other most dan
gerous rocks. Am ong these, the “ Frying P a n ” offered almost the same
difficulties as “ P ot Rock,” being situated in the middle o f the channel, where
the tide sometimes turned within two or three minutes.
The operations were thus continued until the 1 2 th o f December, when
the very cold weather compelled Mr. Maillefert to suspend work until the 2d
o f February, 1852.
Pot Rock had then been broken down to nineteen feet below mean low water.
“ Bald-headed Billy,” a large and dangerous boulder, had been removed to
deep water. Lieut. W . A . Bartlett, U. S. N., Ass. U. S. Coast Survey, states
the following, in relation to this latter operation. “ By accurate measurement
of this 1 boulder,’ after a submarine explosion had dislodged it from its bed,
it was found to be sixteen feet long, ten feet wide, and eight feet deep ; and
as it was too heavy to be floated whole, it was then split by drilling, and the
two parts separately floated away to deep water, being lifted by the iron
cylinder floats at high water.”
Two other dangerous rocks, opposite Mr. Edwin Hoit’s mansion, also had
been removed to deep water. On one o f these rocks a vessel was wrecked
shortly after the commencement o f the operations in Hell-Gate.
Several charges had been fired on “ Frying Pan,” “ W a y ’s Reef,” and
“ Diamond Reef,” (New York harbor,) but the result had not been ascer
tained by a survey.
The operations were resumed the 2 d o f February, and continued in spite
o f the cold and stormy weather, until the 26th o f March, when Mr. Maille
fert was wounded by the disastrous explosion o f a charge above water.
P ot Rock had already, since the 27th of February, been broken down to
a depth o f twenty fe e t six inches below mean low water, a depth which was
deemed sufficient for commercial purposes, wherefore no operation has taken
place upon P ot Rock since that day. This splendid and highly satisfactory
result has been obtained by the firing o f two hundred and eighty-four char
ges, o f which twenty-seven were o f seventy-eight pounds o f gunpowder
each, and two hundred and fifty-seven were o f one hundred and twenty-five
pounds each.
W hen Mr. Maillefert had recovered from his wounds, he recommenced
operations the 1 2 th o f June, and has continued them since in Hell-Gate, as
well as on Diamond Reef, lying between Governor’s Island and the Battery.
The results obtained up to the 4th inst. are as follow s:—
Pot Rock broken down from 8 to 2 0 i feet below mean low water ; W a y ’s
326
Blasting Rocks under Water without Drilling.
R eef from 5 to 14| feet; Frying Pan from 9 to 184 feet; Shelldrake Rock
from
to 161 feet; Diamond R eef from 16 to 18 feet.
Bald-headed Billy, a large boulder, and two small rocks opposite Mr. Edwin
Hoit’s mansion, have been broken, and entirely removed into deep water.
The above depths at mean low water correspond with the following depths
at mean high water:—
Pot Rock removed to a depth o f 264 feet at mean high water; W a y ’s
Reef 20,5 feet; Frying Pan 24 > feet; Shelldrake Rock 2 2 j feet; Diamond
R eef 24 feet.
/
The removal o f these large and dangerous rocks constitutes a great and
very sensible improvement. The appearance o f Hell-Gate is greatly changed,
the terrible whirlpool, called the “ Pot,” is not to be found any more, and
the project o f making Long Island Sound and Hell-Gate the main entrance
for steam and other vessels coming from Europe or from the north to the
harbor o f New York, whereby, besides other great advantages, a distance o f
twenty-five miles may be saved, can now be seriously contemplated.
The experiment is now completed, and the results obtained by Mr. Maillefert’s operations are undisputed and undisputable. They greatly surpass
even the most sanguine expectations, and have established universal faith in
the modus operandi, the efficiency o f which was, at first, so generally
doubted.
W e will now proceed to show the difference between this mode of blast
ing rocks under water, and those hitherto used, its peculiar advantages, and
applications.
It has always, heretofore, been the practice in all attempts to blast rocks
under water, to insert the explosive charge in or under the rock, under the
impression that the rock could not be separated or removed unless the charge
were confined within the mass o f the rock, or in some suitable cavity under
it, or between it and the solid bottom, on which it rests. A nd as the drill
ing o f the rock, or the making o f the required excavation under it for the
confinement or reception o f the charge in many instances is entirely imprac
ticable, and almost always attended with great labor and difficulty, when
made under water, the discovery o f a more generally applicable, as well as
easier and cheaper method, has been for a long time a great desideratum.
Considering the great resistance which the water offers to the pa-sage o f
bodies through it, and which is as the squares o f the velocity and the mass
o f water to be displaced, Mr. Maillefert concluded that by placing a charge
o f gunpowder on or against the surface of the rock to be blasted, at a proper
depth under water, and by firing off that charge, the considerable volume o f
gas which is almost instantaneously produced by such an explosion, would,
in forcing its way through the water, meet with a resistance which would
make it act in all directions, though in a different degree, somewhat like
powder confined in a mine, and that the proportion o f the concussion, which
would thus be directed against the rock, would be sufficient to disintegrate
even the hardest and most tenacious kinds.
This conclusion proved perfectly correct in all cases where a proper pro
portion existed between the depth o f water above the charge, the quantity
and quality o f the powder exploded, and the character o f the rock, and was
therefore made the basis o f this new method o f blasting rocks under water,
by which the difficulty, labor, and expense connected with drilling operations
are entirely obviated.
Mr. Maillefert’s mode o f procedure in carrying out his method of blasting,
is as follows :—
Blasting Rocks under W ater without D rilling.
328
Blasting Rocks under Water without Drilling.
H e takes a canister a made of tin or other suitable material, inserts an
isolated conductor d, fills it with gunpowder, and closes it up so as to prevent
access of the water. The cylinder a is then lowered on the rock, from a
boat or float, and by means of a rope or chain c. Sliding along the guiderod, b, it is placed exactly on the spot to be blasted, after which the guiderod b is withdrawn, the boat or float moved away far enough not to be in
jured by the agitation o f the water consequent upon the explosion, which is
effected by connecting the conductor d with a galvanic battery, e, also placed
at a suitable distance.
The explosion throws up a considerable body o f water to a higlit o f from
thirty to one hundred feet, breaks and scatters part o f the rock, and some
times makes the ground tremble at a distance o f more than half a mile.
As soon as the agitation o f the water has subsided, the boats resume their
station above the rock, which is carefully examined and sounded, by means
o f one or more sounding-rods, and another charge is then lowered down and
fired on any spot discovered to require additional concussion.
W e cannot here go into detail about the depth o f water required, the
quantity o f rock broken down by every explosion, the rules for choosing the
spots on which to place the charge, the time required for the firing o f a
charge, etc., all o f which depends entirely upon the character o f the rock,
the velocity o f the current, and a great many other circumstances, which
vary according to the locality.
The above-mentioned results, obtained in Hell-Gate, where nearly sixteen
hundred cubic yards o f the hardest rock (Gneiss) have been broken down and
removed under very difficult circumstances, as an experiment, in less than
seven-and-a-half months, are sufficient to indicate what is to be expected
from this method o f blasting, which offers the following great and peculiar
advantages:—
It can be applied under all such circumstances which would render the
establishment or the working o f a drilling apparatus entirely impracticable,
or extremely difficult and expensive, as / . i. in open roads, and even in the
open sea, all along the seacoast, in the most frequented thoroughfares, etc.,
etc. It is in such cases the only available method for the breaking down o f
rocks, reefs, and shoals formed by hard agglomerations, because either the
depth o f water or the violence o f the current, the swell o f the water, and
the frequent passage o f vessels, would render it impossible, or almost so, to
establish and work a drilling or any other permanent apparatus.
The charges can be prepared either on shore or on board a vessel moored
in the vicinity o f the field o f operations. The operation itself, therefore, re
quires no other apparatus than a float or two boats, which can readily be
brought to the spot, and again withdrawn at the shortest notice.
This
makes it possible not only to profit o f almost every favorable opportunity,
either in regard to the tide or the weather, but also to carry out the opera
tion in the most frequented thoroughfares, without in the least interfering
with or impeding the navigation.
It furnishes a very excellent and easy method for removing boulders such
as obstruct and endanger, more or less, the navigation o f almost all our riv
ers and maritime thoroughfares. One or two charges properly applied being
in most instances sufficient to remove even the heaviest boulders out o f the
channel, this mode o f operation proves not only less expensive, but also in
finitely more expeditious than the one hitherto used, v iz : drilling the boulder,
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
329
blasting it to pieces, and subsequently picking up the pieces and carrying
them on shore or into deep water.
It is a cheap method, both on account o f its economy in labor and o f its
extreme expeditiousness. The greatest improvements to be made by this
mode o f operating, will hardly ever require more than one season to carry
them to a successful end.
It can be very advantageously connected or combined with other subma
rine operations, as f. i . :—
W ith drilling, as an auxiliary operation towards facilitating and quicken
ing the removal o f those rocks, etc., which are so located that breaking them
by blasting in connection with drilling, will involve less expense than the
blasting without drilling.
W ith dragging and dredging, for the special purpose o f breaking such ob
structions as snags, or other solid objects, hard agglomerations, etc., which
could not be overcome by the apparatus used for those operations, and by
which, therefore, a considerable dragging or dredging operation might be
stopped in its progress.
It can be most effectually used for the opening o f navigation in thorough
fares obstructed by ic e ; and acting as well upon the bottom as upward, it
will, in many instances, be the means o f preventing the formation o f bars
in rivers, where such obstructions very often will accumulate under or against
the ice bar.
This short account will be sufficient to indicate the many applications that
may be made o f Mr. Maillefert’s invention, and to show that it is destined
to take a prominent place among the agencies o f those submarine operations
upon which we must depend for the improvement o f our maritime highways.
It is calculated to overcome all the difficulties in the way o f those grand
improvements which could not hitherto be thought of, and we venture to
say that, by its liberal application, the greater part o f those dangerous rocks,
reefs, and ledges, by which the navigation o f the waters along our coast, and
in our rivers and lakes, is made extremely perilous, causing every year nu
merous and most melancholy shipwrecks, can be removed in the course o f
a few years, if the necessary means (small when compared to the terrible
losses which would thereby be obviated) can be obtained for such improve
ments, which the voice o f humanity and the interests o f the country loudly
call for.
JOURNAL OF MERCANTILE LAW.
ACTION OF ASSUMPSIT FOR GOODS SOLD AND DELIVERED.
In the Supreme Judicial Court o f Massachusetts, Suffolk County, March term,
1852. Judge Fletcher presiding. The Frostburg Mining Company, vs. The
New England Glass Company.
This was an action o f assumpsit for goods sold and delivered. At the trial
the plaintiffs produced one Child as a witness, who testified that he was the agent
o f the plaintiffs, who did their business in Baltimore, M d.; that about the 19th
March, 1849, he received from the agents o f the defendants, who do their busi
ness in Cambridge and Boston, a verbal order for a cargo o f coal to be shipped
by the plaintiffs from Baltimore in a vessel drawing not over ten feet o f water,
at a freight not over $2 25 per ton. This order the witness forwarded to the
330
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
agent o f the plaintiffs in Baltimore, and on the 14th April, 1849, the cargo was
shipped on board a schooner which drew, when fully loaded, nine feet nine
inches only. The bill o f lading was forwarded by the plaintiffs to Mr. Child,
and received by him in due course o f mail on the 16th or 17th April, and speci
fied the freight to be $2 25 per ton. On the day it was received, it was indor
sed by Mr. Child, and together with a bill o f the coal left by him in the counting
room o f the defendants’ agent, who was at that time absent. As soon as the
defendants’ agent returned, he sent back the bill o f lading and refused to receive
the coal. The bill for the coal reduced the price twenty cents per ton, so that
the freight on the coal to be paid by the defendants would not exceed the limits
o f $ 2 25 per ton. On the passage from Baltimore to Boston the vessel in which
the coal was shipped, foundered. After being raised and repaired, she arrived in
Boston, where the plaintiffs, by their agent, tendered the coal to the defendants,
who refused to receive it.
It was proved at the trial that by the usage o f the coal trade between Balti
more and Boston, when coal is ordered in Boston from Baltimore, the delivery of
it on board a vessel consigned to the person ordering it, is a compliance with the
order, and the coal is thereafter at the risk of the party ordering it.
Fletcher J. delivered the opinion o f the Court. The defease was, that accor
ding to the provisions o f the statute o f frauds, this being a contract for the sale
o f goods, wares, and merchandise for the price o f fifty dollars or more, and there
being no note or memorandum of the bargain in writing, the contract was not
binding unless the purchaser should accept and receive part o f the goods, or
give something in earnest to bind the bargain or in part payment. There was
nothing given in part payment, or in earnest, and the only question was, whether the
defendants did accept and receive the goods, or any part o f them ? That there
was no actual taking or acceptance o f the coal by the defendants, is quite
clear. So soon as the defendants’ agent had knowledge that the bill of lading
was left at his counting-room, he forthwith sent it back to the plaintiff’s agent,
and expressly refused to receive the coal. When the coal itself arrived, and was
tendered to the defendants’ agent, he at once refused to receive it. So that the
defendants had promptly repelled all attempts to make an actual delivery o f the
vessel to them, and had promptly refused to accept and receive the coal or any
part o f it. But it was contended by the plaintiffs’ council that it is not necessary
that there should be an actual manual taking or occupation o f the coal, but that
there may be a constructive accepting and receiving, and that the receiving on
board the vessel was a sufficient accepting and receiving by the defendants. The
proposition o f the plaintiffs that there may be a constructive accepting and receiv
ing, or a receiving without the actual manual occupation by the purchaser, seems
to be well sustained by the authorities. Therefore, in many cases it is made a
question to the Jury whether the purchaser by his mode of acting or forbear
ing to act, or by some acquiescence, has not accepted the goods though there
has been no actual manual taking and occupation o f them by him. The further
proposition o f the plaintiff, that the acceptance and receipt to satisfy the statute
o f frauds are not such as to preclude the purchaser from afterwards to the quan
tity or quality o f the goods is certainly fully sustained by the case o f Morton rs.
Tibbett (15 Adol. & Ellis.) This case in this particular differs from many pre
vious cases, which are all carefully referred to and commented on by the Chief
Justice o f the Queen’s Bench, in delivering the opinion o f the Court. In Morton
vs. Tibbetts, the receipt of the goods is considered as a substitute for writing,
leaving to the purchaser the same right to object that the contract has not been
complied with, which he would have if the contract had been in writing. The
other and most material proposition on behalf o f the plaintiffs, that the coal when
delivered on board the vessel was accepted and received by the defendants, within
the provision o f the statute, remains to be considered.
That a delivery to a carrier is not sufficient to satisfy the statute, as a general
proposition, is undoubtedly true, and is very properly admitted by the plaintiffs’
council. But it is maintained that the master o f the vessel under the particular
circumstances o f this case, was an agent to accept, to satisfy the statute, because
in the first place he was a carrier nominated by the defendants. But the facts
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
331
show that the verbal order o f the defendants was merely to transmit the coal
shipped by the plaintiffs, from Baltimore, in a vessel drawing not more than ten
feet of water, at a freight not over $2 25 per ton. No reference was made to
any particular vessel or master. Even this very general order was not complied
with by the plaintiff's, as the freight was $2 45 per ton, instead o f $2 25, as was
ordered. Tliis departure in the price of the freight would, perhaps, o f itself be
sufficient to exempt the defendants from the liability to take and pay for the coal.
But it is not necessary to put the case on that ground, or attach any importance
to that fact. The order as to a vessel was very general, referring to no particu
lar vessel, or master, specifying only the draft o f water and price o f freight. The
master was merely a carrier, and the taking by him would in no sense, and upon
no principle, be regarded as a receipt by the vendee. The case o f Morton vs.
Tibbetts was much stronger than the present one. There, the defendant himself
sent a particular lighterman to receive the wheat. But the delivery to the light
erman was not considered to be a receipt by the vendee, though other acts o f the
vendee, tending-io show an acceptance by him, were regarded as sufficient to
justify a verdict for the plaintiff. So also in Bushel vs. Wheeler, in the same
volume, the vendee ordered the goods to be forwarded by a particular sloop, yet
the delivery on board the sloop was not regarded as a receipt by the vendee
within the statute, though the subsequent acts, and forbearing to act, on the part
o f the vendee, were held to be sufficient to go to the jury, to find an actual
receipt by the vendee. It is therefore quite clear that a delivery on board the
vessel, in this case, cannot be regarded as a receipt, within the provision o f the
statute, by the vendee, on the ground that the defendants ordered the coal to be
forwarded in that wav.
But it is further maintained by the plaintiffs, that the master o f the vessel was
an agent to accept, within the statute, because the usage of trade made him such
in the coal trade between Boston and Baltimore. The usage, as shown, was
that when coal is ordered in Boston from Baltimore, the delivery o f it on board a
vessel consigned to the person ordering it, is in compliance with the order, and
the coal is thereafter at the risk o f the party ordering it. It does not in terms
appear whether or not this usage applies to mere verbal orders which are intend
ed by the statute o f frauds. Nor is it shown upon what ground this usage can
be set up and maintained against established provisions and principles o f law 1
Upon general principles o f mercantile law, where a person accepts a written order,
and delivers goods on board a vessel according to the order, consigned to the
person ordering them, in common form, they are then o f course at the risk o f the
consignee. When orders have been received and executed, and delivery has been
made to the master o f the ship and bills o f lading signed and forwarded, the sel
ler is functus ojjlcio, and can do nothing more, except so for as he may have a
right o f stoppage in transitu.
It is unnecessary to consider how for there could be any usage affecting the
rights o f the parties in this case, as it is quite clear that the case is not within the
usage set up and relied upon. The usage is said to be, that when coal ordered
is delivered on board a vessel consigned to the party ordering it, that is a com
pliance with the order, and the coal is thereafter at the risk of the party ordering
it. But in the present case, the coal was not consigned to the party ordering it,
but on the contrary was consigned to the plaintiffs’ own agent. By the bill o f
lading the coal was to be delivered to Addison Child or his assigns. But the
bill oflading expressed that it was to be delivered to Addison Child for the New
England Glass Co., and when the bill o f lading was received by the consignee he
indorsed it and offered it to the defendants’ agent, which it is said was a sub
stantial compliance with the alleged custom. The supposed custom required
the coal to be consigned to the defendants, but it was in fact consigned to the
plaintiffs’ agent. This, so far from being a substantial compliance with, was the
widest possible departure from the custom. The bill of lading gave the defen
dants no right to, or control over the coal, and when indorsed and offered to
defendants’ agent, were promptly rejected. There was, therefore, no acceptance
o f the coal by the defendants, to satisfy the statute o f frauds, and the plaintiffs
must become nonsuit.
.
332
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
WHAT CONSTITUTES DUE DILIGENCE IN MAKING A DEMAND UPON THE DRAWER OF
A NOTE, ETC.
The following opinions delivered by Judge Lewis, in the Supreme Court o f
Pennsylvania, April, 1852, are o f interest to the bar and business men. The one
is in reference to the practice in pleadings, and the other relates to what con
stitutes due diligence in making a demand upon the drawer o f a note.
Bennett vs. Young.— Lewis J.— In this case we are unahle to perceive any
error in the proceedings o f the Court below. On the contrary we are gratified
to find that the Court was so properly impressed, in regard to its powers and
duties, and so careful o f the rights o f the parties as to instruct the jury distinctly
that “ the question o f what is due diligence in making a demand upon the
drawer, when the facts are undisputed, is a question o f law exclusively, and that
where it depends upon controverted facts, it is for the jury to determine what the
facts are: and if the facts are ascertained the law settles it, whether there has
been due diligence.” There was no error in this instruction.
But it seems that the Notary undertook to draw to himself the cognizance of
the whole question o f law and fact by a sweeping certificate that he had “ made
diligent search and inquiry” for the drawers. The Judge admitted this certifi
cate in evidence, and that threw upon the defendant the burden o f disproving
the facts therein stated. This was rendered exceedingly difficult by the omis
sion to state in the certificate the acts o f the Notary, with the material circum
stances o f time, place and persons, which were supposed by him to amount to
“ diligent search and inquiry.” Where did he search? Did he g o t o the last
place o f residence o f the drawers? Did he inquire o f the holder himself, who is
presumed to know7, before he takes the note, the residence as well as the cir
cumstances o f the drawers ? Did he even take the trouble to examine the com
mon source o f information, the Directory ? The certificate is silent on all these
questions. But difficult as the task was, the defendant gave ample evidence to
show the dangerous nature o f admitting the certificate o f the notary as evidence
o f facts not distinctly stated, so that the party may have the means o f rebutting
the evidence, and the Court the means o f judging, if the facts are not contested,
whether they constitute due diligence or not. The act o f January 2 , 1815,
makes the official acts, protests, and attestations o f all Notaries Public acting
under the authority o f this Commomvealth, certified under their respective seals
o f office, prima facie evidence. But it has been properly said that this statute
was not intended to enlarge the official duties o f Notaries, but merely to furnish
the means o f authenticating such acts as were within their official authority be
fore. Chief Justice Gibson, in delivering the opinion o f the Court in Bellimere
•vs. Bank o f the United States, 4 Whar. 113, states that “ though generally if
not universally employed on such occasions, the official character o f a Notary ex
tends only to the protest, and not to the hunting up o f the parties.” Under our
present view7 o f the value o f these certificates in the form in which this was made
up, and the great abuse which may be practiced by means o f them, we are not
surprised that the Judge below told the jury that he had “ some question
whether the certificate was any evidence at all.” It is not necessary to decide
the question at present. It is sufficient to say that this remark to the jury fur
nishes no ground for reversing the judgment. Judgment affirmed.
Smith et al. vs. Latour.— Where the facts set forth in a declaration or plan do
not in any form in which they may he stated,, constitute a good cause of action in
the one case, or a valid defense in the other, the parties may, if they prefer
that course, contest the facts in the first place before the jury, and afterwards
call for the judgment o f the Court upon them as found and set forth upon the
record. But if the objections touch not the substance, but go merely to the form,
in which the facts are set forth, this course cannot he pursued. He that stands
upon matters o f form— has a slippery footing, and if he slips at the time when
the law requires him to stand, the objection is cured by his ow7n inattention to
the very matter which he charges upon his adversary. It is assuredly very late
in the day to announce, in a decision o f the highest Court in the State, that
duplicity in a declaration and defects o f form in setting forth a good cause o f
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
f
333
action cannot be taken advantage o f after verdict. The first is cause for special
demurrer only, (Todd 647,) and the last is cured by the verdict, 2 Todd, 826.
The second count, it is- true, is informal; but we can readily perceive therein the
elements from which a formal declaration, containing a good cause o f action,
might have been constructed.
The defendants below are therein charged with fraudulently obtaining goods
from plaintiff below by pretending and asserting that they would pay the value,
in a note against McMillan, which it is in effect asserted, they knew to be worth
less. After verdict, we may understand this declaration as containing the aver
ments that the defendants represented the note o f McMillan to be good and val
uable ; that they knew at the time that this representation was false, that they in
tended by means o f this falsehood to defraud the plaintiff, and that they thereby suc
ceeded in fraud ulently obtaining his goods. These facts properly set forth, constitute
a good cause o f action. But if this were not the case, it does not follow that the
judgment should be reversed. It is the ordinary case o f one entire verdict upon sev
eral counts, some o f which are good and one is supposed to be bad. In that case,
although the evidence may have been applicable to all the counts, the court
below might have extended the verdict and judgment upon the good ones.
Under the act o f assembly which authorizes this court to enter the judgment
which the court below ought to have entered, and upon the general principles
which, now independent o f the act o f assembly govern the courts in administer
ing the law according to common sense and justice, this court might now enter
the verdict and judgment upon the counts admitted to be good. Having the
whole evidence before us, we might do what was done in Catherwood vs. Kohn,
7 Barr, 392. But this is not necessary, as we are o f opinion that the informality
o f the second count consists merely o f the defective manner in which a good
cause of action is set forth, and this, as already stated, is law by the verdict.
The court below was asked in the 14th point to instruct the jury that the first
count in the declaration was defective; and. it is here complained that the court
refused to give this instruction, and stated that the defendants should have demurred to it or should move in arrest o f judgment. This was undoubtedly
correct. The jury was empanelled to try the issue o f fact, not to assume the
office o f the court and determine the question o f law arising upon the face o f the
declaration. What had the jury to do with the defects in the declaration?
They .were to ascertain whether the facts which it alleged were established by
the evidence or not, and the effect o f the finding was for the decision o f the
court afterwards. T o permit a party to obtain a verdict o f not guilty, upon
technical objections to the form o f the declaration, would be a prostration o f
justice. The court was perfectly correct in its view o f this point o f the case.
Fifteen points were presented for the solution o f the court below, and there are
nineteen specifications o f errors here. But we perceive no error in any part o f
the proceedings below. Judgment affirmed.
BROKERS— CONTRACT TO DELIVER STOCKS, ETC.
In the Superior Court, City o f New York, February, 1852, before Judge
Duer, Paine, and Bosworth. John B. Staples, vs. Charles Gould.
[Contract to deliver stock at stipulated price. Deposit by principal with bro
ker to cover contingent loss in sale o f stock on time. A contract to deliver
stock on time when none is owned either by broker or principal, whether in
name o f broker or principal absolutely void under the statute. Money deposi
ted with broker to secure him against loss in such transactions not recoverable.]
The pleadings and evidence establish the following facts:— The plaintiff, on
the 15th o f January, 1851, employed the defendant, a broker, to sell for him 200
shares o f Canton Company stock, at the price o f $66 per share, deliverable, at
the option o f plaintiff, at any time within 30 days from that date, the stock to
be paid for on delivery. In pursuance o f such employment, the defendant, on
the same day, as such broker and agent, and with the knowledge o f the plaintiff,
contracted to sell 100 shares to Gilbert, Cobb & Johnson, and 100 shares to
Wheelock & Brothers, at $66 per share, deliverable at the option of the plaintiff,
334
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
at any time within 30 days thereafter. The contracts were made in the name of
the defendant, without his disclosing to the purchasers that the plaintiff was his
principal.
On the same day, the plaintiff deposited with the defendant $750 in money,
“ for the purpose of protecting the defendant against loss or damage in the bu
siness o f such agency, and with the agreement and understanding between them
that the defendant should have the right to retain so much o f these moneys as
should be necessary fully to indemnify and save him harmless from loss or dam
age, by reason o f such sale to be made by him, as the broker and agent o f the
plaintiff.” And the plaintiff agreed, in consideration o f the acceptance o f such
agency by the defendant, to indemnify and save him harmless from all loss and
damage by reason o f such agency, and to fulfil and perform the contracts o f sale
so made by the defendant as his agent and broker. The plaintiff did not own
any stock when he employed the defendant to make the contract o f sale, nor
at the time when the contracts were made, nor at any time within thirty days
thereafter. Nor did the defendant own any o f the stock at the time he made the
contracts. On the 20th January, 1851, 350 shares o f the stock o f this company
were transferred to the defendant on the transfer books o f the company. On
the same day he transferred to each o f the purchasers the 100 shares o f stock
contracted on the 15th, to be sold to them respectively. This stock brought
on the morning o f the 20th, $80, and at the close o f the day $85 per share.
Before and at the expiration o f the thirty days it was worth less than $ 6 6 per
share.
There was no evidence tending to show that the plaintiff knew o f the delivery
o f the stock, on the 2 0 th o f January, to the purchasers, or that the defendant
requested the plaintiff to furnish any stock to be delivered in satisfaction o f the
contracts, or that the plaintiff offered to furnish the stock to enable the defen
dant to perform his contracts, or as a satisfaction for the defendant’s stock which
had been delivered in execution o f the contracts; there was no attempt to
prove that the plaintiff during the thirty days next after the making o f the con
tracts demanded a return o f the $750 from the defendant, or notified him not to
perform the contracts.
This action was tried on the 9th o f December, 1851, before the Chief Justice,
who “ reserved all the questions in the case; directed a verdict for the plaintiff,
subject to the opinion o f the court upon a case to be made, either party to be
at liberty to turn the case into a bill o f exceptions; the case to be heard at gen
eral term, without an appeal, and with liberty to the court to order a non
suit or judgment for the defendant.”
The case made, shows the facts to be as before stated.
Bosworth, Justice.— The plaintiff advanced his money to the defendant to in
demnify him against any losses he might incur by reason o f making, or having
made contracts for the sale of 200 shares o f Canton stock. The obvious pur
pose o f the advance was to furnish moneys with which the defendant might pay
the amount of any increase there might be in the value o f stock, on the day for
the delivery o f it, above the contract price o f $ 6 6 per share. The plaintiff did
not own any stock at the time he authorized the contract to be made, nor at the
time he was notified that the contracts had been made, nor within thirty days
thereafter. The only inference is, that he employed the defendant to make a
contract which is declared void by statute. If it was intended that the defen
dant should contract in the plaintiff’s name as principal, then he employed the
defendant to make a contract, falling within the express words o f the statute in
relation to stock-jobbing. (1 R. S. 710, 5 6 -)
It was probably intended that the defendant should contract in his own name
without disclosing bis principal. I f this was not intended, the deposit o f the
$750, as an indemnity against the consequences o f contracting, would be an
idle ceremony. For if it was intended that the defendant should expressly con
tract as agent, in behalf o f the plaintiff as principal, no indemnity would be
wanted, as the defendant could not then, in any event, be subjected to liability
or loss, by reason o f making the contract, whether the transaction was lawful or
unlawful.
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
335
A contract on time for the sale o f stock, made through the medium o f a bro
ker, where the name o f the principal is not disclosed, is as much within the
meaning o f the statute, as if made by the principal personally in his own name.
(6 Paige 124, Gram. vs. Stebbins and Stebbins. 2 Hall 162, J. & W . G. Ward
vs. Van Dozer.)
The defendant did not own any stock when he made the contracts; the con
tracts were, therefore, void, whether regarded as his contracts or those o f the
plaintiff. The answer and complaint severally aver that the contracts were made
by the defendant on account o f the plaintiff.
The money advanced was delivered to the defendant, to secure his aid in fur
therance o f an object repugnant to the express provisions o f the statute, and to
be put by the latter to an unlawful use, if such use o f it should become neces
sary, to save him from loss or damage on his contracts. It was, therefore, ad
vanced to be used for an illegal purpose, and as an inducement to the defendant
to engage, on account o f the plaintiff, in transactions contravening the policy o f
a statute law o f this State. It is well settled, that an act malum prohibitum, or
malum in se, cannot be made the foundation o f a civil right which will be en
forced in a court o f justice. If a person lends money, or sells property, to be
put to an unlawful use, and if such an unlawful use enters into the contract,
and is the inducement to the loan or sale, the lender cannot recover back the
money lent, nor the vendor for the property sold, though not in any other res
pect a party to or connected with the unlawful transaction. (5 Denio, 364,
Morgan, vs. Groff; 2 d Sand, S. C. R. 146, Bell, vs. Q uin; 7 Wend, 276,
Pennington and Kean, vs. Townsend; 4 Mees and Weis, 434, McKennell,
vs. Robinson vide ! Gray, vs. Hook, 4 Corns, 449.)
The plaintiff cannot recover under } 8, o f the statute. That section provides
that “ every person who shall pay and deliver any money, etc., by way o f pre
mium or difference, in pursuance of any contract or wager in the two last sections
declared void, may recover such money, etc., o f and from the party receiving
the same and his personal representatives.”
This was not paid or delivered as a premium or difference. It was paid or de
livered to indemnify the defendant against the losses to which his. contract
might subject him. It was not paid either as a premium or difference in pursu
ance o f the contract o f sale which defendant made with Gilbert, Cobb and John
son, or with Wheelock and Brother. There was never anything paid in pursu
ance o f either o f those contracts as a premium or difference. There was a literal
performance o f each o f those contracts, by a delivery o f the stock sold. That
section evidently means that, where a person sells stock on time, not then being
the owner o f any, at a stipulated price, and instead o f delivering it, pays the
excess o f its market value above the contract price, or receives the excess o f the
contract price above that o f the market price, the party so paying the premium
or difference may recover back the amount thus paid. The extent o f the statu
ary provisions is simply this: The contract of sale is made void. It cannot be
iniorced by either party. Neither can recover damages for the breach o f it. If
instead o f being literally executed, either party in pursuance o f such contract,
has paid or delivered money by way o f premium or difference, he may recover it
back. In this case the defendant, in substance and effect, received the money,
to be paid by him by way o f premium or difference, if the market value o f stock
at the period for fulfilling the contracts should exceed the contract price. This,
at all events, is the interpretation o f the object o f the advance most favorable to
the plaintiff, so far as his right to recover under the eighth section is concerned.
If it was, in fact, advanced or deposited merely to secure the defendant from
loss by means o f making the contract, without any intention that it should be
actually applied in any event to pay a premium or difference, then the advance
or deposit is not such a payment or delivery as is specified in the eighth section
o f this act; therefore it cannot be recovered back under that section. (5 Denio,
373, Morgan vs. Groff.)
Neither can the plaintiff say that he repented o f his
intended violation o f the statute, before it was violated, that he so notified the
defendant, revoked the agency, and demanded a return o f the money, and, there
330
Journal o f Mercantile Law.
fore he is entitled to recover it back. The plaintiff cannot recover on such
grounds. Even if the law would aid him to recover back the money, on such a
state o f facts, it is sufficient answer to say that such are not the facts o f this case.
There is no proof o f the revocation o f the agency; on the contrary the con
tracts were made for the plaintiff’s benefit; he was so notified and did not dis
sent ; no request for a return o f the money was made until after the whole lime
allowed, by the terms of the contract, for the delivery o f the stock, had elapsed;
if the locus penilentia; could continue beyond that period, it would continue
until the plaintiff’s claim should be barred by the statute of limitations; the
repentance, for which the law gives opportunity to a party, is repentance o f a
purpose to offend against public policy, or to violate the laws, and not o f having
lost his money; that must be exercised while a contract is executory, or before
the contingent event happens. “ The happening o f the event is the crisis in the
contract which terminates all election, opinion or repentance.” If that principle
could by any possibility be applied to a case o f this character, the recision o f
the contract and a demand o f a return o f the money should have been made
within the thirty days fixed for the delivery of the stock.— (12 J. R., Yates vs.
Foot.)
What would have been the rights o f the parties, if it had appeared that the
plaintiff, during the thirty days, had not notified the defendant not to perform
the contracts, and had demanded a return o f the money advanced, it is unneces
sary to discuss, and no opinion is intended to be expressed on that point.
On the case, as now presented to the court, the verdict should be set aside,
and a judgment o f nonsuit entered.
C. P. Kirkland for plaintiff; J. Lerocque for defendant.
ACTION UPON A PROMISSORY NOTE.
In the Supreme Court, (city o f New-York, May 17th, 1852,) before Judge
Sanford. Richard A. Reading and William H. Merchant, Ex’rs, against John
Bacon & Son and Westlake & Coger.
This vvas an action upon a promissory note for $1,620, made by J. Bacon &
Son, 4th August, 1851, to the order o f Westlake & Coger, and by them in
dorsed and negotiated to plaintiffs’ testator.
It is claimed for the defense, that the note was delivered to Westlake & Coger
to get it discounted for the benefit o f the makers; but that they' misappropriated
it, and negotiated it for their own benefit; that the note was an accommodation
note, without consideration between the original parties, and that it had been ne
gotiated at a usurious rate o f interest.
It appeared from the testimony of Westlake, called in behalf o f his co-defend
ant, that he had taken the note to get it discounted for the makers, but that he
diverted it from this use, and gave it to Merchant as collateral security on 81,300
borrowed from him upon their check on the Manhattan Bank; and that Merchant
had charged at the rate of one per cent per week upon this loan
It was also
in evidence that this check, when presented at the bank, was credited to Mer
chant; but that, as soon as it was found that Westlake & Coger had no funds
in the bank, Merchant was notified, the check protested, and charged to his ac
count.
The court charged the jury to consider this action as two different suits, one
against the makers, and the other against the indorsers— their right and interests
being distinct and separate. As to the indorsers, the jury must leave out the
testimony o f Westlake, and then the case, as against them, was free from the
charge o f usury; that what happened at the bank, at the presentment o f the
check, did not amount to a payment. The testimony of Westlake alone sup
ported the eharge of usury, on which the defendants, the makers, relied for their
defense; if the jury believed this testimony, the plaintiffs were not bona fide
holders o f the note, as against these defendants.
Yerdict for the plaintiff— 81,300, as against Bacon & Son; $1,670 51, as
against Westlake & Coger.
337
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
COMMERCIAL CHRONICLE AND REVIEW.
G E N E R A L A S P E C T OF C O M M E R C I A L
AFFAIRS— CREDITS
D A N G E R S OF P R O S P E R I T Y — I N C R E A S E D V A L U E
B A N K S — DIFF IC U LT IE S CON NE C TE D
W ITH
THE
I N T E R P R E T A T I O N OF T H E L A W S T O I N SU R E
AT
THE
SO UTH
AND
W E S T — B L E S S I N G S A ND
OF P R O P E R T Y — COND ITIO N OF T H E N E W Y O R K ST A TE
WAREHOUSING
HARMONY
S Y S T E M — NE C E S S I T Y OF A LI B E R A L
BETWEEN
T H E G O V E R N M E N T AND T H E PEO
P L E — D E PO SITS AND COINAGE A T T H E PH I L A D E L P H I A AND N E W OR LE A NS MINTS FOR J U L Y — IMPO RT S
A T N E W Y O R K F O R J U L Y — C AUS E OF T H E D E C L I N E F R O M P R E V I O U S Y E A R S — I M P O R T S F R O M J A N U A R Y
1 S T — W AREHO USING MOVEM ENT— IMPORTS
OF
FO RE IG N D R Y
GOODS A T N E W Y O R K FOR J U L Y , AND
FO R SEVEN M O N TH S— R E C E IP T S FOR DU T IE S A T N E W Y O R K — R E V E N U E OF T H E UNITE D S T A T E S FOR
T H E FI SC A L Y E A R 1 8 5 1 - 2 — I M P O R T S INTO T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S FOR FO UR Y E A R S — E X P O R T S A T N E W
Y O R K F O R J U L Y , A N D F O R S E V E N M O N T H S — C O M P A R A T I V E E X P O R T S OF S P E C I E A ND M E R C H A N D I S E .
T he season for summer relaxation from the cares o f business is about over,
and those who have been wandering in search o f health or pleasure have, for
the most part, returned to their posts. Here and there we miss from ’Change,
or the haunts o f business, some well-remembered form, which has given way
under the weight o f years, or the toils o f a too constant engagement, and while
the laugh was gayest during the summer revel, has been quietly laid to rest.
But most have again buckled on the harness, and braced themselves for a re
newed struggle in the great arena. W e Jiave cause to congratulate those who
are engaged in commercial affairs, (o f all labor the most arduous,) upon the
comparative absence o f those fretting and anxious cares, which so often crowd
upon the opening season. There is no stringency in the money-market, haunt
ing the merchant with a constant fear o f dishonored bills, or broken engage
ments. There are no suspicious whisperings o f failing credit, the precursor o f
protests and bankruptcy. No one can now be prostrated in business by being
crowded at an unexpected moment. Capital is freely supplied, and all who
have, in any substantial property, a balance on the right side o f their ledger,
need have no trouble about meeting their liabilities. This prosperity is not con
fined to the large commercial markets; it is extended throughout the country.
The South, which was at one time almost universally distrusted, has nobly sus
tained its credit. With a cotton crop o f over three millions o f bales, the price of
this great staple has been maintained far above the usual average, thus fully realiz
ing the hopes o f the planter. Throughout the W est there has been such a large
distribution o f money, that the merchants are seldom pinched for want o f the
means o f payment. It is true that the price o f wheat, and consequently o f flour,
has been lower than might be expected, as compared with other property; but pork,
beef, Indian corn, and most other provisions and products o f the soil, are unus
ually high. This general prosperity is not without its trials and dangers, some
o f them quite as real and palpable as those which attend upon adversity. There
is danger that the avenues o f business will be too much crowded; that the mass
will forsake the slow and certain methods o f acquiring, and rush into those
which promise more rapid fortunes; that thousands will be lured by the general
sunshine into spreading too much sail for their weight o f ballast, and thus be
shipwrecked in the first breath o f an adverse gale. And yet a large multitude
o f the young and thrifty will take advantage o f these golden hours to secure a
V O L. X X V II.— NO. III.
22
338
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
competency, for which they would have struggled in vain, or at least more anx
iously, in less favorable circumstances. There has been a steady advance in the
nominal value o f most descriptions o f permanent property, but as yet we have
to notice very little rash speculation.
The banks have not expanded be
yond a safe limit, their large specie basis being constantly on the increase. In
our last we gave a comparative statement o f the condition o f the New York
city banks, as just compiled by order o f the Controller; we now annex a sum
mary o f the condition o f all the banks in the State o f New York at the date o f
their last three quarterly statements:—
Loans and discounts.............___
Stocks.................................. .___
Specie.................................. .___
Cash items......................... .___
Bank notes......................... .___
Due from banks...................
Capital............................... .
Circulation...........................
Deposits...............................___
Due to banks....................... ___
Dec. 20, 1851.
$103,590,700
15,093,733
8,306,829
10,272,860
2,887,037
46,836,682
16,49S,666
March 2 7 , 1 8 5 2 .
$111,476,008
14,918,189
10,730,634
12,235,862
2,614,170
11,147,870
59,026,740
27,312,054
56,211,535
19,083,264
J'uie 26, 1852
$121,289,046
15,367,298
13,304,356
12,871,410
3,243,650
11,060,059
53,705,683
27,940,947
65,034,604
25,229,167
The increase in loans and discounts, as well as in specie, has been confined
almost exclusively to the city, as will be seen by a recapitulation o f a few items
from the statement o f the New York city banks:—
Capital.
June 26, 1852.............................
March 27, 1852...........................
December 20, 1851.....................
$35,343,000
35,’ 37,870
35,133,640
Loans and discounts.
$81,873,000
71,550.054
64,141,399
Specie.
$12,156,000
9,716,070
7,364,439
From the above it will be seen that the ratio between the specie and liabilities
has been increased in favor o f the former, and we may also mention that since
the date o f the above return, the stock of specie has received large accessions.
Some excitement has been manifested at New York in consequence o f the in
troduction of new restrictions in connection with the entry o f goods into private
bonded warehouses. The Secretary o f the Treasury claimed the right to make
a suitable charge for watching and taking care o f the goods thus stored, and
there wTould seem to be nothing unreasonable in the principle o f such remuner
ation. The importers asserted that the charge in question was contrary to law, and
therefore submitted to the exaction under protest, and proceeded to test the ques
tion in the United States Courts. Whereupon, the Secretary forwards to New
York a blank pledge, which he requires all to sign under penalty o f the entire with
drawal from them o f the privilege o f private storage. This pledge not only
provides against future protests, but also requires the signers to release all their
past claims. This is resisted as unjust and oppressive. It is difficult, some
times, to distinguish between the mutterings o f a fault-finding spirit, and the
remonstrances o f those who feel sensible o f having been wronged; but in this
case it does appear as if the government were disposed to be a little arbitrary.
The constant litigation between the importers and the officers in the Treasury
Department, seems to have somewhat irritated the latter, and induced a partisan
spirit, seldom found where no personal interests are at stake. This is all wrong,
and the continued pressing o f doubtful points will only increase the evil. The
government have been defeated in a majority o f the suits brought against it, and
339
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
that before the highest judicial tribunals of the country, where wrong has never
triumphed. This would show that those connected with the collection o f the
revenue have been more intent upon gaining some advantage for the Depart
ment, than upon a judicious and liberal interpretation o f the laws. W e do not
refer to any particular administration, but to the general tone o f feeling which,
with slight exceptions, has prevailed at Washington for years. Where there is
any doubt o f the meaning of an act, the scale should be turned in favor o f the
merchant, the government always having it in its power to protect itself by
more explicit legislation. In cases where a judicial decision is asked by a claim
ant who fancies himself wronged, the executive should accede to it readily, and
throw no obstacles in the way of its being speedily obtained. The exhibition
on the part o f the officers o f the government o f a contrary spirit, loses for the
revenue more than it gains. The moment the government assumes an antago
nistic position, and enters into the contest with the warmth o f personal feeling,
the importer is too apt to forget his own obligations, and take the opposite sidet
resolving to make the most he can, without regard to the real merits o f the
question. In the dispute particularly alluded to, the Department would appear
to be doubtful in regard to the strict interpretation o f the law, as the pledge
offered requires a renunciation o f the legal claim, without the privilege o f a ju
dicial decision.
W e annex a statement o f the deposits and coinage at the Philadelphia and
New Orleans Mints for the month o f July :—
DEPOSITS FOE JULY.
NEW
ORLEANS.
From California.
P H I L A D E L P H IA .
Total.
From California.
Total.
Gold.................................
Silver...............................
$228,413
1,372
$235,981
12,643
$4,040,000
20,000
$4,200,000
21,500
Total........................
$229,785
$248,624
$4,060,000
$4,221,500
GOLD COINAGE.
Pieces.
Double eagles......................
Eagles..................................
Half-eagles.........................
Quarter-eagles....................
Gold dollars.........................
Total gold coinage. . . .
Value.
10,750
$215,000
14,000
85,000
24,750
$250,000
Pieces.
Value.
209,093
40,305
40,924
66,656
43,860
$4,181,860
403,050
204,620
166,640
43,860
400,838
$5,000,030
SILVER COINAGE.
Quarter-dollars....................
Dimes.................................
Three-cent pieces................
96,000
..........
........
$24,000
..........
..........
..........
120,000
862,400
..........
$12,000
25,872
Total silver coinage. . .
96,000
$24,000
982,400
$37,872
466,599
$4,667
1,849,837
$5,042,669
COPPER COINAGE.
Cents...................................
........
Total coinage..........
120,750
..........
$274,000
The total deposits o f California gold for coinage at our mints since 1848
amount to about $135,000,000, while the total production is over $200,000,000.
W e gave in our last uumber a statement o f the imports at New York for the
fiscal year ending June 30th. W e have now compiled from official documents
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
340
a summary o f the receipts for July, which show a falling off from July, 1851,
o f $1,563,793, and from the same month o f 1850 o f $6,231,729, as will be seen
by the following comparison:—
I M P O R T S E N T E R E D A T N E W Y O R K F R O M F O R E IG N P O R T S F O R T H E M O N TH O F JU L Y .
Entered
direct.
Entered
warehouse.
$11,453,117
12,374,701
16,591,446
$423,919
1,022,725
2,155,320
Years.
1852...........
1851...........
1850...........
Free goods.
$915,154
1,027,481
499,512
Specie.
Total.
$150,067
81,143
1,927,708
$12,942,257
14,606,050
21,173,986
Most o f the receipts for specie, as put down for 1850, came from Chagres,
and consisted o f California gold, which then cleared from thence as from a for
eign port. The withdrawals from warehouse for the month were $1,095,800 in
1852, $1,167,644 in 1851, and $944,127 in 1850. The stock in bonded ware
house is drawn down very low, and is much lighter than for several years.
This continued decline in the imports is just what might have been expected
from the position o f the markets in reference to foreign fabrics. Large losses
had been sutfered upon even the most desirable stock, and the natural result, in
stead o f being the ruin o f the merchants, as many predicted, has been a steady
decrease in the imports.
The decrease at New York, where two-thirds o f the foreign merchandise is
received, has now reached a very considerable sum; the imports since January
1st, exclusive o f specie, being $13,205,295 less than for the corresponding seven
months o f 1851, and $6,922,639 less than for the same period o f 1850, as will
appear from the following statement:—
IMPORTS ENTERED AT NEW YORK FROM FOREIGN PORTS FOR SEVENMONTHS ENDING JULY 31.
Entered
direct.
Years.
1852...........
1851
1850...........
$58,498,029
70,762.894
63,254,488
Entered
warehouse.
Free goods.
Specie.
$5,451,668
8,486,912
9,916,433
$8,259,939
6,165,125
5,961,354
$2,028,248
1,480,476
9,064,489
Total.
$74,237,884
86,895,407
88,196,764
The apparent excess o f specie in the year last given above, is owing to causes
already stated. It will be seen that the value o f goods entered warehouse has
materially declined. This shows that the demand has been much more active,
although other causes have also been at work. The withdrawals from ware
house have, on the other hand, been much greater, amounting for the first seven
months o f 1852 to $9,622,577, against $6,879,985 for the corresponding peri
od o f 1851, and $5,378,101 for the same period o f 1850.
O f the decline in imports, as compared with last year, $7,245,923 has been
in dry goods, and $5,959,372 in general merchandise. The imports o f dry goods
for July are $1,620,254 less than for July, 1851, and $4,302,086 less than for
uly, 1850, the falling off extending to nearly every variety o f fabric:—
IMPORTS OF DRY GOODS AT THE PORT OF NEW YORK DURING THE MONTH OF JULY.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.
M
M
M
M
M
anufactures of w o o l . . . . ..............
anufactures of cotton.. . .
anufactures of s ilk ......... ..............
anufactures of flax.......... ..............
iecellaneous dry goods... ..............
Total.........................
1850.
1851.
1852.
$3,552,120
$2,354,643
1,193,817
3,933,092
611,250
453,476
$2,187,187
1,089,736
3,074,265
4S8,586
530,595
$8,546,278
$7,370,369
4,572,161
741,095
380,698
Commercial Chronicle and Review,
341
WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.
1850.
1851.
1852.
Manufactures of w o o l.....................
Manufactures of cotton.....................
Manufactures of silk.........................
Manufactures of flax.........................
Miscellaneous dry goods........... . . . .
$314,619
104,880
124,574
24,695
10,984
$318,717
157,371
265,709
37,782
21,109
$237,434
96,970
149,394
82,064
12,416
Total.........................................
Add entered for consumption..........
$579,752
10,853,849
$800,888
8,546,278
$528,278
7,370,369
Total thrown upon market.. . .
$11,433,601
$9,346,966
$7,898,647
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.
1850.
1851.
Manufactures of w ool......................
Manufactures of cotton.....................
Manufactures of silk.........................
Manufactures of fla x .......................
Miscellaneous dry goods..................
$486,339
393,933
222,142
71,207
12,313
$341,315
129,572
268,318
45,003
27,465
$126,623
72,226
130,624
16,299
21,556
Total.........................................
Add entered for consumption..........
$1,185,934
10,853,849
$811,673
8,546,278
$367,328
7,370,369
$12,039,783
$9,357,951
$7,737,697
Total entered at the port.. . .
1852.
The value o f goods thrown upon the market shows a less relative decline than
the value entered at the port, from the fact, as already stated, that the with
drawals from warehouse have been larger than the entries. W e annex, also, a
comparison o f the receipts o f dry goods at the same port since January 1st:—
IMPORTS OF DRY GOODS AT THE TORT OF NEW YORK FOR SEVEN MONTHS ENDING JULY 30.
ENTERED FOR CONSUMPTION.
1850.
1851.
1852.
Manufactures of w ool......................
Manufactures of cotton.....................
Manufactures of silk.......................
Manufactures of flax........................
Miscellaneous dry goods...................
$9,892,766
7,529,974
12,433,150
5,167,834
1,386,408
$8,936,521
6,978,178
15,742,584
4,147,367
2,373,047
$7,464,841
5,715,788
12,242,731
3,423,990
2,492,455
Total.........................................
$36,410,132
$38,177,697
$31,339,805
WITHDRAWN FROM WAREHOUSE.
1850.
1851.
1852.
Manufactures of w ool......................
Manufactures of cotton.....................
Manufactures of silk.........................
Manufactures of flax.........................
Miscellaneous dry goods...................
$724,050
753,530
689,011
258,158
88,123
$896,547
1,008,874
858,926
397,349
260,821
$1,079,138
1,125,786
1,401,176
615,523
239,265
Total.........................................
Add entered for consumption...........
$2,512,872
36,410,132
$3,422,517
38,177,697
$4,460,888
81,339,805
Total thrown upon market.. . .
$38,923,004
$41,600,214
$35,800,693
■342
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
QO
ENTERED FOR WAREHOUSING.
18§1.
1852.
Manufactures of w ool.....................
Manufactures of cotton...................
Manufactures of silk.....................
Manufactures of flax......................
Miscellaneous dry goods..................
$1,312,992
1,356,312
794,542
473,336
67,363
$1,165,289
1,038,237
1,238,440
390,664
229,890
$915,183
640,864
1,652,118
223,779
222,545
Total.......................................
Add entered for consumption.........
$4,004,545
36,410,132
$4,062,520
38,177,697
$3,654,489
31,339,805
Total entered at the port.......
$40,414,677
$42,240,217
$34,994,294
The receipts for duties continue to decline, although not in the same propor
tion as the imports, the payments upon the stock taken from warehouse having
otherwise added to the revenue. W e annex a comparison o f the total from the
1 st o f January for three years:—
RECEIPTS FOR DUTIES AT NEW YORK.
1850.
January 1st to March 31st.........
April 1st to June 30th..............
July............................................
1851.
$6,996,656 48
6,033,253 67
4,210,115 95
Total since January 1st___
1852.
$9,295,257 30
7,357,408 30
3,558,400 12
$17,240,026 00 $20,211,065 72
$7,617,887 72
6,632,425 16
3,240,787 18
$17,491,100 06
The revenue o f the United States for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1852, is
about $2,500,000 less than for the preceding year, as will be seen by the fol
lowing comparative statement, to which we also annex a summary o f the imports
for the last four years, the figures for 1852 being estimated from the duties, in an
ticipation o f the official returns:—
REVENUE OF THE UNITED STATES.
Years.
1852.........
1851.........
Customs.
Total.
$47,320,316
49,017,567
Years.
$49,728,009 I 1850..........
52,312,979 | 1849.........
Customs.
Total.
$39,668,686
28,346,738
$43,375,798
31,074,347
IMPORTS INTO THE UNITED STATES FROM FOREIGN PORTS.
Years.
1852
1851 .......................
1850
1849
Dutiable.
Free.
Total.
$178,000,000
191,118,345
155,427,936
125,479,774
$25,000,000
25,106,587
22,710,382
22,377,665
$203,000,000
216,224,932
178,138,318
147,857,439
Considering the diminished imports, it would be but reasonable to expect a
corresponding decline in the exports, but this has not thus far been realized,
judging from the returns at the same port. The exports from New York to for
eign ports for July have indeed fallen off from last year in the item o f specie,
but in the value o f produce and merchandise there is no material difference.
EXPORTS FROM NEW YORK TO FOREIGN PORTS FOR JULY.
Years.
1S52.......................
1851
1850.......................
Domestic
produce.
Foreign
dutiable.
Foreign
free.
Specie.
$2,965,542
3,188,027
3,574,260
$325,732
284,397
413,671
$20,759
2,311
17,563
$2,971,499
6,004,170
1,518,080
Total.
$6,283,530
9,478,905
5,523,574
Taking the total from January 1st, (exclusive o f specie,) the value o f goods
exported from New York show a slight advance upon the amount for the cor
responding period o f 1851, and a considerable excess as compared with the same
period o f 1850.
Commercial Chronicle and Review.
343
E X P O R T S F R O M N E W Y O R K T O F O R E IG N P O R T S F O R S E V E N M O N TH S E N D IN G J U L Y
Years.
1852 ............
1851
1850 ............
Domestic
produce.
$25,111,363
25,644,866
22,491,133
31.
Foreign
dutiable.
Foreign
free.
Specie.
Total.
$2,745,307
2,266,139
2,411,578
$541,978
373,656
444,533
$15,595,508
25,097,685
3,971,812
$43,994,156
53,382,346
29,319,056
It will be seen from this that the falling off from last year in shipments of
specie amount to about nine-and-a-half millions of dollars, and this notwith
standing undiminished receipts from California. W e annex a comparative sum
mary o f the total exports o f merchandise, recapitulated from the above table:—
E X P O R T S F R O M N E W Y O R K F O R S E V E N M ON TH S.
.Years.
1852........................................
1851 ........................................
1850........................................
Specie.
Merchandise.
Total.
$15,595,508
25,097,685
3,971,812
$28,398,648
28,284,661
15,347,244
$43,994,156
53,382,346
29,319,056
W e continue our monthly table o f the comparative exports to foreign ports
o f some o f the leading articles o f domestic produce, showing the total from
January 1st to August 20th, inclusive:—
1852.
1851.
Ashes—Pots'... .bbls.
13,968
11,450
481
Pearls..........
1,333
Beeswax...............lbs 195,905 159,181
Breadstuffs—
Wheat flour . .bbls. 782,819 856,588
Rye flour..............
7,883
6,079
Corn meal..............
33,076
30,197
firm 70S 1.072.769!
Rye........................
236,460
Oats.......................
2,658
8,053
367
Corn........................ 1,346,978 700,800
Candies—Mould. bxs.
26,601
40,370
Sperm ____
1,601
2,669
Coal................... tons
3,517
26,431
Cotton................bales 227,065 273,051
Hay...........................
4,354
6,393
Hops..........................
482
123
Naval Stores... .bbls.
1851.
232,768
1852.
282,500
Oils—
30,912
Whale.......... galls. 831,367
448,896
Sperm...........
21,975
L ard ............ ........ 187,519
9,731
Linseed........
Provisions—
,bbls.
30,885
25,697
22,596
34,866
Beef.............. ........
Cut meats... ...lbs. 2,721,722 1,190,302
........ 1.682,411 449,754
Cheese......... ........ 2,755,493 551,456
L ard............ ........ 3,970,807 2,618,131
22,378
Rice.................. ,tcs.
19,976
Tallow.............. . .lbs. 1,504,961 271,570
16,887
Tobacco—Crude.pkgs.
11,437
Mail’d ...lbs. 2,273,798 2,583,799
Whalebone....... ........ 1,126,549 577,636
There is considerable excitement in the market for breadstuffs, owing to
the partial failure o f the English wheat harvest, now thought to produce less
than an average crop ; and the prospect o f damage to potatoes, which each suc
ceeding arrival more fully confirms. The exports to supply the expected defi
ciency will he large for the coming month. It is well to notice the change in
the description o f breadstuffs shipped to English markets. During the “ famine ”
year we shipped large quantities of Indian corn, intended for consumption in
Ireland; ever since, the exports o f this article have been gradually declining. It
will be interesting to trace the progress o f this decline, which has extended to
all other ports, and we therefore annex a statement o f the comparative shipments
o f the principal breadstuffs from New York for the last five years, which we have
carefully compiled exclusively for this review :—
EXPO RTS OF BREADSTUFFS
Flour... . .bbls.
Wheat... bush.
Corn..,
1847.
1848.
1,678,590
2,114,792
6,193,902
821,666
680,587
4,565,501
FROM
NEW
1849.
819,291
752,318
4,237,973
YO RK .
1850.
1851.
1,057,728
690,056
2,471,871
1,264,322
1,468,465
1,605,674
344
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
It would seem from this, that while our flour and grain have heen well re
ceived, corn has been gradually given up. As an article o f human consumption,
it is certainly less popular than wheat, and wheaten flour. There is also another
change; so much o f our flour has reached its destination in bad order, that the
grain is now evidently preferred; and the orders for wheat are disproportionately
increased. W e give a comparison o f the shipments o f these three items from
the 1st o f January to the 20th o f August in each o f the last three years:—
Wheat flour...............................bbls.
Wheat.......................................bush.
Corn..................................................
1850.
1851.
1852.
397,626
104,505
2,321,402
782,819
606,703
1,346,978
856.588
1,072,762
700,800
Thus we see that, while the export o f flour has slightly increased from last
year, that o f wheat has beep nearly doubled, and that o f corn only about half
as much, up to the present date. This difference will be still more perceptible
as the season progresses. The late orders have been nearly all for wheat, and
the clearances will now be quite large compared with the corresponding period
o f last year.
JOURNAL OF BANKING, CURRENCY,' AND FINANCE.
DEBT AND FINANCES OF N EW ORLEANS,
We are under obligations to W. H. G arland, of New Orleans, for a pamphlet, writ
ten by him, containing an expose of the financial affairs of that city, from which we
gather the statements here presented:—
The indebtedness of New Orleans consists of two kinds:—1. That which was con
tracted before the division of the city into Municipalities, called the Old City Debt.
2. That which has been incurred by the Municipalities separately, since that division.
The following is a statement of the Old Debt as it stood on the 8th November last:—
STATEMENT OF BONDS ISSUED FOR OLD CITY DEBTS AND OUTSTANDING ON NOV. 8, 1851.
Rate
of interest.
When due
and payable.
Interest
a year.
Amount.
6 per cent
5
5
“
1850
1851
1853
1854
1855
1855
1855
1859
1860
1860
1863
1864
1861
1866
1873
1876
$3,420
8,850
7,500
450
450
6,000
17,500
5,000
5,000
5,000
10,000
21,540
2,250
25,000
18,200
2,300
$57,000
177,000
150,000
9,000
9,000
100,000
350,000
100,000
100,000
100,000
200,000
359,000
45.000
500,000
364,000
46,000
$138,460
Interest coupons due and unpaid on the 8th November, 1851.........
$2,666,000
202,065
Date.
1830, May 1....................................
1833, March 1................................
1833, February 1...........................
1847, January 16 ...........................
1835, March 2 0 .............................
1830, July 1 ...................................
1834, November 1 .........................
1835, January 1.............................
1835, January 1.............................
1835, September 1 .......................
1838, December 30.........................
1834, August 1 ..............................
1834, September 1 5 ......................
1836, January 1.............................
1833, July 20.................................
1836, March 1 ...............................
Total of Old City Debt..
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
“
$2,868,065
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
345
At the division of the city a sinking fund was created, with large assets, for the
purpose of liquidating this debt, but through bad management and the charging vi
cissitudes of commercial revulsions, these assets have become almost worthless. With
the exception of some $60,000 of available assets still in the hands of the liquidators,
the amount that may be obtained from the sale of the Batture, and the contingent
hope of realizing something from the donation by Stephen Girard of negroes and land
on the Ouachita, the means of paying this debt will have to be drawn from the gene
ral resources of the city.
There may, however, be deducted from this debt a series of bonds, originally
$500,000, issued to the Commercial Water Works, in exchange for an equal amount
of the stock of the company. From the dividends arising from this stock, a portion
of these bonds have been redeemed, and the amount remaining is $364,000, while the
city still holds the $500,000 of stock in the water works. Although the market value
of this stock is now only about $40 a share, it will undoubtedly increase in value so
far as to be amply sufficient to meet the bonds for which it was exchanged. From
the sale of the Batture, it is estimated, sufficient will be received to pay the interest
pa«t due, $202,065. These two sums amount together to $566,065, and reduce the
debt to $2,302,000.
By an act of 8th March, 1836, the means of paying the interest on this debt were
to be drawn from the several Municipalities in proportion to their respective resources,
and uot in proportion to their assessed wealth. The neglect of the Municipalities to
respond to the requisition of the General Council for the payment of the interest of
this debt, has had the effect to injure materially the credit of the city. The amount
of the yearly interest is $138,460, and, as will be eeen by the table, the interest for
about a year and a half, $202,065, was remaining unpaid at the commencement of the
present year, which, with $234,000 past due of the principal of the debt, makes the
sum of $436,065 due to the holders of this stock. The neglect in question arises from
no indisposition to meet the obligations which the city is so abundantly able to pro
vide for, but is the result of the peculiar administration of her municipal affairs. The
population of New Orleans is made up of classes not only differing from each other
in language and manners, but confined according to these differences to particular sec
tions, and constituting thus almost separate communities. Time and the genius of
our institutions, it is admitted, are gradually wearing away these distinctions, but still
they exist to a very considerable extent, with all their prejudices and influences. The
prevalent feeling between the sections is a constant jealousy lest either one should ac
quire an undue influence, and should abuse its power by aggressions upon the others.
To this sensitiveness, it has become necessary that the general principle, so much in
favor as the conservator of the rights of the weak, representation based upon popula
tion, should bend—and hence the division of the city into Municipalities, supreme in
certain matters within themselves, and among these, each liable only for such debt as
it may itself contract. This is carrying into extended practice the principle involved
in the old dogma of State Rights ; and although this may be the best system that the
city in question could adopt, under existing circumstances, it could not but be the oc
casion of serious inconveniences. Among others, is this very neglect, injurious alike to
the city and to its creditors, of meeting punctually its obligations. The Mayor draws
his warrant on the several Municipalities, and has done therein all that is required at
his hands—farther authority in the matter he has none. The present Municipal Coun
cils, not having contracted the debt themselves, and seeing that its adjustment is to
pass through the Mayor’s hands, profess to know little about the matter, and thus the
government of the city fails of doing what it ought, in consequence of a divided re
sponsibility, which is, of course, everywhere, no responsibility. The want of punctu
ality in the Municipalities gave rise to a system of giving twelve months’ drafts upon
them severally for the accrued interest; which drafts were paid or not, as circum
stances would dictate. Against the injustice of this, no practical remedy has been
found Undoubtedly, the evil will continue, getting more and more aggravated, until
some change is made in the construction of the city government. A prostration of
credit, and the inconveniences therefrom, might induce a temporary promptness on the
part of the Municipal Councils, in furnishing their respective contributions, but the
evil would be sure to recur when the spur was no longer felt, and must at last per
manently affect the reputation of the city. Such a change, at least, should be effected
as will establish sufficient centralism to prevent all considerations of the general in
terest from being swallowed up in the intense selfishness of a morbid sectionalism.
The other debt, attaching to the several Municipalities, and contracted since the
division of the city, was, at the commencement of the present year, as follows:—
346
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance,
Mmiicip.
Funded debt.
First..
Second
Third..
$492,300 00
1,749,660 00
636,480 00
Floating debt.
Total.
Cash assets.
$664,256 80 $1,156,556 80
1,011,650 98
2,761,310 98
263,705 37
900,185 37
$2,878,440 00 $1,939,613 15 $4,818,053 15
Net debt.
$114,564 37 $1,041,992 43
463,262 32
2,298.04866
900,185
37
$577,826 69
$4,240,226 46
The total liabilities of the city, exclusive of means directly available for payment,
are—
Old City Debt
..........................................................
Debts of Municipalities..................................................
$2,302,000
4,240,226
Total
$6,542,226
Municipalities.
Real estate.
First............
Second........
Third...........
Slaves, etc.
$17,449,300
30,195,710
6,794,623
$54,439,633
Capital.
Total.
$1,863,650 $2,584,400
2,071,760
7,169,595
.....................
$3,935,410
$9,753,995
$21,897,350
39,437,065
7,931,653
$69,266,068
Dividing the aggregate debt between the several Municipalities in proportion to
their real estate, the following table will show the per centage on real estate in each
Municipality, necessary to liquidate the debt—and it shows, also, upon the basis of
the white population, the per capitum indebtedness of each Municipality:—
Municipalities.
Proportion of
Debt proper, old city debt.
First......... $1,041,992
Second----- 2,298,048
Third.......
900,185
Total.
Value of
real estate,
Per
centage.
White Per capipopulat’n. turn lax.
$737,850 $1,779,842 $17,449,300 $10.20 33,561 $53.01
1,276,836 3,574,884 30,192,710 11.87 45,947 77.48
287,314 1,187,499
6,794,623 17.47 19,890 59.70
$4,240,225 $2,302,000 $6,542,225 $54,439,633 $11.92
99,298 $65.88^
The per centage of tax necessary to pay this debt, it will be seen, is, on the basis
of real estate, 11.92; if the whole assessed property be taken, the per centage
would be 9.44.
In the tables following are shown the expenses of the city government, as estimated
for the year 1852, independent of any payment on account of the principal or interest
of the debt:—
E X P E N S E S O F C IT Y G O V E R N M E N T , E S T IM A T E D F O R
Municipalities.
Salaries o f Mayor
and Municipal
officers.
First.............................
Second.........................
Third............................
$106,185
Municipalities.
First.............................
Second.........................
Third............................
Fire
companies.
Municipalities.
First.............................
Second.........................
Third............................ ............
Police.
§54,000
94,000
18,580
$55,000
100,000
19,260
$32,200
45.000
7,240
$174,268
$84,440
$166,580
House o f
Refuge.
§8,000
Charity.
800
§15,800
Lighting
the Munic
ipality.
Public
schools.
3,720
§44,120
1852.
$8,000
Commissions.
§7,000
20,000
5,480
§32,480
Workhouse, C.
prison, P. jail,
and courts.
$16,000
22,500
2,067
Inquests*
$5,000
1,500
$40,567
§6,500
Board o f
Health.
Military
companies.
§6,000
3,000
500
$2,000
1,500
$9,500
$3,500
4
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
Repair of
markets.
Municipalities.
First...............................
Second...........................
Third..............................
$5,700
Municipalities.
First................................
Second............................
Third...............................
Draining.
$12,650
2,800
4,650
347
Cleaning
streets.
$26,650
42,060
Repairs to
wharves &.
levees.
$55,300
71,650
9,000
$68,710
$135,950
Repairs to
streets.
$130,416
58,580
32,380
Miscellaneous.
$49,000
47,000
3,000
Total.
$492,355
615,791
117,223
$211,376
$99,000
$19,100
$1,225,369
In the annexed statement are shown the revenues of the city from other sources
than direct taxation:—
R E C E IP T S O F T H E M U N IC IP A L IT IE S
O T H E R T H A N F R O M D IR E C T T A X A T IO N .
Levee
dues,
Cabarets,
coffee- Merchants,Ground Parish
houses, etc. drays, etc. rent.
jail.
Municipalities.
Markets.
Ferry.
First............... §112,000 $1,650 $70,000 $50,000
Second...........
80,000
500 100,000 58,000
Third............
15,000 3,075 27,000
36,000
Public
schools.
$30,000 §7,000 $5,600 $20,000
86,500
978
30,000
17,500
700
200 15,000
$217,000 $5,225 $197,000 $144,000 $134,000 $8,678 $5,800 $65,000
Total—First Municipality................................................
“
Second Municipality..............................................
“
Third Municipality................................................
$296,250
355,978
114,475
Total................................................................
$766,703
The alteration of the rate of the levee duties probably reduced the revenue from
that source about $100,000 below what it would have been under the former rates.
Expenditures other than for debt..............................
Revenue other than from direct taxation.......................
$1,225,369
766,703
Balance......................................................... .......
$458,666
This latter sum is, therefore, to be raised by direct taxation on real and personal
estate, on account of the ordinary expenses of the year.
It is suggested by the author of the pamphlet from which these tables and the prin
cipal facts here embodied are drawn, that the whole debt of the city shall be consoli
dated so that there shall be but one species of obligation, and that to be represented
by the bonds of the city of New Orleans. The debt thus consolidated will present
all the guaranties that the city and people can give of its solvency and punctuality.
Let authority, then, be given in an amended charter, to issue the bonds of the city at
from 30 to 50 years, for the purpose of taking up the present indebtedness. In con
solidating the debt let there be three series of bonds, marked A, B, and C, designating
the debt respectively of each Municipality—the designation being made simply to
mark the origin of the debt, and point out the source whence the means for the pay
ment of interest and principal are to be drawn. An annual estimate is to be made
of the amount necessary to pay the interest, and create a sinking fund for the liquida
tion of the series marked A, and this sum is to be assessed on the real estate of the
First Municipality. A similar assessment in the Second Municipality is to meet the
bonds B, and in the Third to meet the bonds C. To secure punctuality, it is proposed
to deprive the several councils, by a provision in the charter, of the power to act
upon other matters until they have passed the necessary ordinance for the protection
of this debt; and that the executive department be impelled by strict penal enact
ments to a faithful discharge of its part of the duty. Thus will direct responsibility
be attached to those with whom the power lies, and care and promptitude fully se
cured.
318
,
,
Journal o f Banicing Currency and Finance
.
VALUE OF PRO PERTY IN TH E PROVINCE ON NOVA SCOTIA.
Under the department of the Merchants' Magazine for the present month, devoted
to “ S tatistics of P opulation ,” we have given from the official report from the Finan
cial Secretary’s office, (politely forwarded to the editor by D. M cC ulloch , Secretary
to the Board of Statistics,) a complete view of the census of Nova Scotia, taken in
1851. From the same official source we derive the subjoined tabular statement of
the value of property, taxation, &c., for the Province in 1851:—
VALUE OF PROPERTY AND ASSESSMENTS IN NOVA SCOTIA IN 1851.
Sum
Sum
asses’d asses’d Highest
Probable
Assessed
Assessed
for for
rate
value of real value of real val. of per’nal county poor for poor
Counties.
estate.
estate.
property. rates. rates, and county.
Halifax.......... . £1,893,887 £1,461,195 £1,134,912
Lunenburg.. . ,
414,830
£350 £377 £3 io 0
Queens..........
252,506
104,236 220 313 10 16 8
,.
Shelburne . . . ,
137,090
93 194
Yarmouth . . . .
286,703
357,415
98 530 16 8 4
348,000
Digby............ ,
281,173
34,713 118 226
150,667
Annapolis. . . . ,
454,624
313,560
56,568 181 658
3 17 6
Kings.............
3 15 0
618,166
582,988
173,556 235 435
Hants.............
685,809
203,811 126 459
• . . ., .
Cumberland...
590,224
500,741
112,610 119 222
Colchester... . .
572,318
3 5 0
114,954 304 288
. .
Pictou............
655,619
91,880 456 . . . . .
278,689
Guysboro’ . . . .
166,361
5 1 0
207 372
Inverness.......
1 13 4
316,787
328,453
116,560 250
. .
Richmond....
127,096
194
419,041
Lowest
rate
for poor
& county.
0 0 1
0 2 0
0 2 0
. . . . ,
0
0 10
. .
0
0
. .
o
9
6
0
•. .
0
0 4
. . . . .
0
0
1 0
0 6
. ,
Total......... . £8,050,923
CONDITION OF TH E N O RTH-W ESTERN BANK OF VIRGINIA.
STATEMENT OF THE NORTH-WESTERN BANK OF VIRGINIA, INCLUDING ITS BRANCHES OF
WELLSBURG, PARKERSBURG AND JEFFERSONVILLE, 1851-52.
RESOURCES.
July 1, 1851.
Jan. 1, 1852.
April 1, 1852.
July 1, 1852.
Bills discounted................ §1,661,453 33 §1,749,855 88 §1,766,690 87 §1,702,358 69
33,600 00
27,000 00
65,400 00
61,500 00
St’k of North-Western B’k
Stock of Wheeling and
20,000 00
20,000 00
Belmont Bridge C o.. . .
20,000 00
20,000 00
5,000 00
5,000 00
Other stocks.....................
6,000 00
Unpaid instalments on st’k
100 00
subscribed.....................
200 00
300 00
35,448 84
Banking houses.................
32,182 02
30,024 37
23,792 44
10,590 00
10,440 00
Other real estate..............
10,440 00
26,870 13
312,325 57
Due by other banks..........
178,102 62
161,272 81
285,648 38
Notes of other b’ks, checks
102,078 49
60,215 59
and certificates of d ep..
77,044 79
91,706 09
376,534 14
Coin..................................
348,824 43
321,492 65
356,773 26
9,865 96
Expense account..............
3,787 05
7,639 93
7,875 70
In transit between bank
and branches...............
13,421 <45
2,010 76
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
349
L I A B IL IT IE S .
July 1,1851.
Jan. 1.1852.
April 1, 1852.
July 1, 1852.
Capital stock..................... $792,100 00 $792,100 00 $792,100 00 $794,100 00
Circulation of bank and
branches....................... 1,336,088 00 1,320,604 00 1,397,453 00 1,432,272 00
Due Depositors.................
236,386 67
239,291 68
175,125 64
187,846 23
Due other banks...............
39,866 98
49,294 14
36.617 24
29,873 65
Discount account..............
36,502 07
23,610 31
52,796 54
49,017 25
Exchange and collection
account.........................
7,442 74
5,752 30
9,041 75
4,150 77
Rent account....................
434 31
648 23
Contingent fund................
52,938 65
53,244 49
30,481 48
52,134 94
In transit between bank
and branches................
6,300 94
14,069 24
Total
$2,510,030 09 $2,423,391 83 $2,490,742 5S $2,635,620 69
EX PEN D ITU RES OF T IIE UNITED STATES FROM 1789 TO 1851.
ST A T E M E N T OF T H E E X P E N D IT U R E S O F T H E
U N IT E D
STA TE S F R O M
1789
TO
1851,
IN C L U S IV E .
AN N U A L A V E R A G E D U R IN G E A C H A D M IN IS T R A T IO N .
Administration.
Washington.....................
John Adam s...................
Jefferson...........................
Madison...........................
Monroe.............................
John Quincy Adams.......
Jackson............................
Van Buren.......................
Harrison and Tyler........
Polk..................................
Taylor and Fillm ore___
Civil list,
foreign intercourse, Military
Revolutionary and Indian
and miscellaneous, service.
other pensions, department.
$633,152 35 $1,105,603 34
$72,507 02
$27,251 72
1,186,236 50 2,019,187 67
89,169 26
24,799 97
2,049,057 69 1,334,528 63
77,346 85
141,150 00
1,899,201 40 11,287,490 44
96,707 27
260,608 01
3,295,303 51 4,596,847 73 1,535,417 78
438,360 24
2,934,562 96 3,671,907 74 1,173,029 20
733,315 84
4,259,584 28 6,263,460 29 2,182,365 7S 1,701,285 63
7,193,858 70 10,648,054 49 2,643,633 10 3,678,234 91
5,528,600 62 5,884,750 96 1,659,603 98 1,387,210 04
6,17a,532 96 20,122,220 46 1,767,815 22 1,163,564 66
15,576,777 62 12,057,174 65 1,647,746 68 1,828,084 01
Expenditures,
Naval
exclusive of public Public debt,
Administration.
establishment.
debt.
paid.
Washington..... $106,768
29 $1,986,337 31 $4,511,619 61
John Adams.... 2,017,694
38
5,337,087 79
4,739,490 67
Jefferson......... 1,535,665
33
5,187,598 58
8,148,299 81
99 18,085,618 10 10,428,617 19
Madison........... 4,541,637
Monroe............ 3,181,996
91 13,045,438 69 12,670,763 90
John Quincy Adams.. 3,862,662 55 12,625,480 82 11,325,883 35
Jackson.......... 3,986,375
24 18,224,095 91
9,361,800 48
Van Buren..... 6,268,621
55 80,432,450 29
5,208,036 07
Harrison and Tvler. . 6,156,057 64 20,616,198 76
7,007,429 76
Polk..................... ....... 7,504,468 18 33,777,221 61
7,1S9,315 12
Taylor and Fillmore.. 8,896,976 3586,557,595 20 *15,265,451
63
Total
expenditure.
$6,497,956 92
10,076,578 46
13,285,898 39
28,514,235 29
25,716,202 59
23,951,364 17
27,5S5,S96 39
35,640,486 36
27,623,628 13
40,966,536 73
51,823,846 20
RAISING MONEY BY PAWNBR0NING IN IRELAND.
Pawbrokers’ tickets issued in Limerick last year...................................
Amount le n t............................................................................................
In Dublin the amount lent was.................................................................
In Cork......................................................................................................
In Belfast..................................................................................................
In Waterford...........................................................................................
634,392
£85,690
560,492
192,795
125,740
* This includes the average annual amounts o f $5,896,000, paid to Mexico under the treaty o f
Guadalupe Hidalgo.
85,690
350
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT REC EIPTS AND EX PEN D ITU R ES.
The following statement shows the revenues of the United States for the four quar
ters of the fiscal year 1851 and 1852, ending June 30 :—
Mineral.
Lands.
September...............
December................
M arch.....................
June .......................
$249,627
34,289
31,860
44,873
$581,892
585,243
624,355
247,947
Total year........
Total 1850 -----
$360,649
1,847,218
$2,044,037
1,359,394
Customs.
Total.
$14,754,909
9,601,500
12,109,761
10,854,146
$12,586,428
10,228,639
12,765,976
11,146,966
$47,320,316
39,668,686
$49,728,009
43,375,798
This shows an increase in the items of regular revenue; but the customs of the
quarter show a decline of $596,001 from the corresponding quarter of last year, and
the lands have declined half that amount. The expenditure of the government has,
however, for the quarter been less, by nearly one-half, than that for the corresponding
quarter last year.
PRICES OF MANUFACTURING STOCK IN NEW ENGLAND,
The following table, prepared by J oseph G. M a r tin , Stock and Exchange Broker.
Boston, for the Evening Gazette, includes twenty of the most prominent stocks. It
will be seen that all but two have declared dividends within the time embraced in the
table, making the present value stand the amount of the dividend better in compari
son with six months since :—
February 25.
Offered. Asked.
Appleton..........................
Amoskeag.........................
Atlantic M ills..................
Bay State Mills................
Boott Mills........................
Cocheco, (par 500)..........
Dwight............................
Great Falls, (par 200) . . .
Hamilton.........................
Laconia...........................
Lancaster, (par 450)........
Lawrence.........................
Massachusetts M ills........
Merrimack........................ .
Nashua, (par 500)............
Stark ...............................
Suffolk...............................
Thorndike.......................
Tremont...........................
Y ork................................
675
600
670
475
600
183
740
650
300
810
750
1,130
380
550
675
595
535
750
700
910
650
715
...
475
625
185
750
700
325
900
775
1,140
...
600
700
595
.. .
S40
August 21.
Offered. Asked.
880
1,040
840
785
950
500
...
202
920
900
350
950
980
1,240
430
880
960
770
900
895
1,045
850
800
980
506
900
205
960
950
375
1,000
990
1,250
450
..
1,010
800
950
940
Last dividend.
Per ct.
3
4
*
5
3
4
3
3
4
4
3
3*
4
6
3
3
4
6*
3
3
June.
August.
February.
May.
July.
May.
August
J une.
August.
July.
March.
July.
May.
June.
July.
August.
January, 1851.
August.
May.
VALUE OF A M UTILATED BANK NOTE.
A merchant of Pittsburg sued the Exchange Bank of that city for refusing to re
deem a $5 note on the bank, of which one-fifth part had been cut out. It was con
tended on the part of the bank, that by cutting from several in the same manner, a
new note may be formed, and the bank defrauded of the value of it. The judge be
fore whom the case was tried, decided that the prosecutor was entitled to only four
dollars, as the value of the note, and consequently rendered judgment in his favor to
that amount.
* The Atlantic Mills have made no regular dividends since going into operation. They are now
doing a good business, and having paid up previous losses, may declare a dividend in November
next. The Lawrence Manufactruing Co. will doubiless pay a dividend in September. The Thorndike
Manufacturing Co. have made no dividend since January, 1851, but the prospect is somewhat favor
able for one in January next.
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
331
CONSUMPTION OF GOLD IN TH E ARTS AND MANUFACTURES.
The following curious statistics, relative to the consumption of gold, were stated in
a lecture lately delivered at the Geological Society at London :—
The entire amount of gold in circulation is saidlobe £48,000,000; of which the wear
and waste is stated to be 3| per cent annually, or £1,680,000. The consumption of
gold in arts and manufactures is as follows :—
In the United Kingdom.................................................
France.............................................................................
Switzerland.....................................................................
Other parts of Europe....................................................
United States.................................................................
$2,500,000
1,000,000
450,000
1,600,000
500,000
Total.......................................................................
£6,050,000
In Birmingham alone there is a weekly consumption of gold for chains only amount
ing to 1,000 ounces. The weekly consumption for gold-leaf in London is 400 ounces;
in other places in Great Britain, 184 ounces.
One of the potteries in Staffordshire consumes £3,500 worth of gold annually in
gilding; and the whole consumption for gilding porcelain in England is estimated at
about 8,500 ounces annually.
TH E SALARIES OF FOREIGN M IN ISTER S.
GREAT
B R IT A IN , F R A N C E , A N D T H E U N IT E D STA TE S.
The following are the salaries paid to their ministers, at several points, by Great
Britain, France, and the United States :—
Great Britain.
London...........................
Paris.............. .............. ____
Washington.................... ____
St. Petersburg................ ____
Vienna........................... ____
Madrid............................ ____
Berlin............................. ____
Rio Janeiro....................
Constantinople.............. ____
$ 3 7 ,7 0 0
2 1 ,8 0 0
2 9 ,0 0 0
2 4 ,2 0 0
2 4 ,2 0 0
2 4 ,2 0 0
3 3 ,9 0 0
France.
$ 2 8 ,5 0 0
1 1 ,4 0 0
2 2 ,8 8 0
1 7 ,1 0 0
1 5 ,2 0 0
1 3 ,3 0 0
1 1 ,4 0 0
1 5 ,2 0 0
U nited States.
$ 9 ,0 0 0
9 ,0 0 0
9 ,0 0 0
4 ,5 0 0
9 ,0 0 0
9 ,0 0 0
9 ,0 0 0
6 ,0 0 0
UNITED STATES TREASURY NOTES OUTSTANDING AUGUST 2, 18 5 2 .
T reasury D epartm en t,
Register’s Office, August 2, 1852.
Amount outstanding of the several issues prior to 22d July, 1846, as
per records of this office.....................................................................
Amount outstanding of the issues of 22d July, 1846, as per records of
this office............................................................. ................................
Amount outstanding of the issue of 28th January, 1847, as per records
of this office........................................................................................
$101,911 64
12,250 00
8,350 00
Total....................................................... ...................................
Deduct cancelled notes in the hands of accounting officers, all under
acts prior to 22d July, 1846 ..............................................................
$128,511 64
Total............................................................................................
$128,361 64
150 00
FOUR BANK NOTES OF ONE MILLION STERLING.
What would be the sensation of an individual accustomed to handling one dollar
relief notes, to receive a bank-bill for one million sterling ! The Bank of England, it
appears, issued four notes of that denomination, and after these four were engraved,
the plates were destroyed. Of these impressions the Rothschilds have one, the late
Mr. Coutts had another, the Bank of England the third, and Mr. Samuel Rogers, the
poet and banker, now decorates his parlor with the fourth, suspended in a gold frame.
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
352
BRANCH M INT OF UNITED STATES IN CALIFORNIA.
The following Act, establishing a Branch Mint of the United States, in California,
passed during the First Session of the Thirty-second CoDgress, was approved by the
President, July, 3d, 1852 :—
AN
ACT
TO
E S T A B L IS H
A BRANCH
OF TH E
M IN T O F T H E
U N IT E D
STA TE S IN C A L IF O R N IA .
Be it enacted by the Senate and House o f Representatives o f the United States o f
America in Congress assembled, that a branch of the mint of the United States be es
tablished in California, to be located by the Secretary of the Treasury, for the coinage
of gold and silver.
S ec . 2. And be it farther enacted, That suitable buildings shall be procured or
erected, for the purpose of carrying ou the business of said branch mint; and the fol
lowing officers shall be appointed as soon as public interests may require their services,
upon the nomination of the President, [by] and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, to w it: one superintendent, one treasurer, one assayer, one melter and refiner,
and one coiner. And the said superintendent shall engage and employ as many clerks
and as many subordinate workmen and servants as shall be provided for by law; and
until the thirteenth of June, one thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, the salaries of
said officers and clerks shall be as follows: to the superintendent and to the treasurer,
the sum of four thousand and five hundred dollars each; to the assayer, to the melter
and refiner, and to the coiner, the sum of three thousand dollars each; to the clerks,
the sum of two thousand dollars each; to the subordinate workmen, such wages and
allowances as are customary and reasonable, according to their respective stations and
occupations.
S ec . 3. A nd be it further enacted, That the officers and clerks to be appointed un
der this act shall take an oath or affirmation before some judge of the United States,
or the Supreme Court of the State of California, faithfully and diligeutly to perform
the duties thereof, and shall each become bound to the United States of America,
with one or more sureties, to the satisfaction of the director of the mint and the
Secretary of the Treasury, or the District Attorney of the United States for the
State of California, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of their
offices.
S ec. 4. And be it farther enacted, That the general direction of business of said
branch of the mint of the United States, shall be under the control and regulation of
the director of the mint at Philadelphia, subject to the approbation of the Secretary
of the Treasury; and for that purpose, it shall be the duty of the said director to
prescribe such regulations, and require such returns periodically and occasionally, as
shall appear to him to be Decessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the inten
tion of this act in establishing the said branch; also, for the purpose of discriminat
ing the coin which shall be stamped at said branch and at the mint itself; and also,
for the purpose of preserving uniformity of weight, form, and fineness, in the coins
stamped at said branch ; and for that purpose, to require the transmission and deliv
ery to him at the mint, from time to time, of such parcels of the coinage of said
branch as he shall think proper, to be subjected to such assays and tests as he shall
direct.
S ec. 5. A nd be it farther enacted, That all the laws and parts of laws now in force
for the regulation of the mint of the United States, and for the government of the
officers and persons employed therein, and for the punishment of all offences con
nected with the mint or coinage of the United States, shall be, and they are hereby
declared to be in full force in relation to the branch of the mint by this act established,
so far as the same may be applicable thereto.
S ec . 6. And be it further enacted, That no permanent location of said mint shall be
made, or buildings erected therefore, until the State of Colifornia shall, by some law
or other public act, pledge the faith of the State that no tax shall, at any time, be
laid, assessed, or collected by the said State, or under the authority of the said State,
on the said branch mint, or on the buildings which may be erected therefor, or on the
fixtures and machinery which may be used therein, or on the lands on which the same
may be placed ; but nothing in this section contained shall be understood as implying
an admission that any such power of taxation rightfully exists.
S ec. 7. And be it further enacted, That the said branch mint shall be the place of
deposit for the public moneys collected in the custom-houses in the State of California,
and for such other public moneys as the Secretary of the Treasury may direct; and
the treasurer of said branch mint shall have the custody of the same, and shall per
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance .
353
form the duties of an assistant treasurer, and for that purpose, shall be subject to all
the provisions contained in an act entitled “ An act to provide for the better organiza
tion of the Treasury, and for the collection, and safe keeping, transfer, and disburse
ment of the public revenue,” approved August the sixth, one thousand eight hundred
and forty-six, which relates to the treasurer of the branch mint at New Orleans.
S ec . 8. And be it further enacted, That, if required by the broker, gold in grain or
lumps shall be refined, assayed, cast into bars <«r ingots, and stamped in said branch
mint, or in the mint of the United States, or any of its branches, in such a manner as
may indicate the value and fineness of the bar or ingot, which shall be paid for by the
owner or holder of such bullion, at such rates and charges, and under such regulations,
as the director of the mint, under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury, may
from time to time establish.
S ec . 9. A nd be it further enacted, That so soon as the said branch mint is established
in the State of California, and public notice shall be given thereof in the mode to be
designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, then so much of the act making appro
priations for the civil and diplomatic expenses of the government for the year ending
thirtieth June, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, and for other purposes, as provides for
the appointments of a United States assayer, and the contracting for the assaying and
fixing the value of gold in grain or lumps, and for forming the same into bars, be, and
the whole of the clause containing said provisions shall be hereby repealed.
S ec. 10. A nd be it further enacted, That before the Secretary of the Treasury shall
procure or erect the buildings provided for in the second section of this act, or com
mence operations under any of the provisions of the same, at San Francisco, State of
California, it shall be his duty to make a contract or contracts, for the erection of said
building*, and procuring the machinery necessary for the operations of the mint, at a
sum or sums which shall not in the whole exceed the sum of three hundred thousand
dollars, which said contract or contracts shall be secured by good and sufficient sure
ties, to the satisfaction of the said Secretary of the Treasury and the President of the
United States.
W ILL GOLD DEPRECIATE ?
[ from
THE
G L A S G O W E X A M I N E R .]
In a former number we stated that the production of the precious metals had risen
from eleven millions in 1848 to twenty-seven millions in 1850, thirty-four millions in
1851, and this year, there was every reason to expect, they would amount to fortythree millions, being a four-fold increase in as many years. The greater part of this
increase is in gold, for, while only four millions were produced in 1848, the production
in 1851 swelled to twenty-five millions, and they are annually and rapidly increasing.
What has hitherto made gold so valuable ? It has been its scarcity, and the quan
tity of labor required to produce it. Limitation of supply has imparted a high value
to this metal, and whenever it becomes of easy access, and abuudant, it is certain to
fall in price. Diamonds alone are more valuable in price, entirely the result of their
being scarcer, as not six are in existence above an ounce each in weight, and the King
of Persia possesses a bracelet worth a million sterling, because it includes two of
these. Were a locality discovered where they could be obtained as abundantly as
acorns, they would be reduced to a mere nominal value, and be in the possession of
all. Take, for another example, the article of guano, which, though a great descent
from gold, illustrates our principle. About ten years ago it was only procurable from
Peru, and was sold at about twenty pounds the ton ; large deposits were discovered
at lchaboe, on the west coast of Africa, and, as a consequence, the price fell to from
six to eight pounds. Apply this principle of scarcity to whatever commodity we
think proper, the results will be found, in every case, to be the same ; while abundance
as uniformly produces an opposite result.
As a natural induction from these premises, we may confidentially infer, that gold,
owing to its great abundance, must speedily fall in price. The fall may not be sudden,
but may spread itself over a number of years, and the effects will not be so marked
as they would have been, were its value reduced in a convulsive manner. There is a
difficulty in connection with this subject, which it is not easy to remove, and on which
the most contradictory opinions are entertained. By act of Parliament the Bank of
England is compelled to give £3 17s. 10-^d. for every ounce of gold offered to it for
sale, and it is a general opinion that the Bank will be relieved from this liability, and
VOL. x x v il— NO. in .
23
354
Journal o f Banking, Currency , and Finance .
allowed to diminish the price which is now the standard. Those persons, who so ar
gue, refer to the fluctuations in the price of gold during the war, and affirm, that from
1811 to 1815 it varied in price from £4 2s. to £5 10s. the ounce, and in the latter year
alone, while in May it was £5 6s., in December it had fallen to £4 2s. However, we
were placed in quite different circumstances at that period to what we are now, for
when the war was carried ou, large supplies of gold were required for exportation to
pay our soldiers, and also as subsidies to the European powers to enable them success
fully to repel the inroads of Napoleon; hence it became scarce and dear; but at the
present time we have attained a state of complete surfeit, and scarcely know what to
do with our superabundant supplies. Independent of the scarceness or abundance of
gold, however, there is a want of definiteness in the ideas of those who conceive that
a lower price will be given for gold. What is the obligation of the Bank of England ?
Simply to return weight for weight for what is deposited with it, or its equivalent in
bank-notes, payable on demand. It is a matter of perfect indifference what specific
value is attached to the ounce of gold—as the Bank can neither gain nor lose by the
transaction, being only bound to return what they had received, but with the assump
tion of another form. As a commercial community, we must possess a standard of
value, that our various transactions may be balanced and regulated in an exact man
ner, and we have chosen gold for this purpose, from its compactness and comparative
scarcity, and therefore value, as the great regulator of our exchanges. It is a mere
matter of convenience, and we are almost singular in adopting this standard, as the
other nations of Europe, and also the United States of America, have chosen a silver
standard. The islanders in the Indian Archipelago have shells, and in Abyssinia they
have salt to serve the same purpose.
It is, however, apparently contradictory to assert that the standard of gold will re
main unchanged, and at the same time become depreciated ; but our meaning will be
better understood, by affirming, that while gold retains a fixed value, the price of all
other commodities and productions will be enhanced in relation to it. Supposing gold
becomes, in the course of six years, depreciated to the extent of 25 per cent, and sup
posing pig iron to be now worth forty shillings the ton, it will at that period bring
fifty shillings. During the interval, the labor required to produce gold having dimin
ished, has cheapened it to that extent, and the labor required to produce pig iron hav
ing remained stationary, has resulted in this striking change. The real value of gold
has diminished, but its nominal value, or its exchangeable value, is unaltered, and hence
the value of all other commodities will be enhanced in their relation to gold as a fixed
and unchangeable standard.
It may illustrate our subject still better if we affirm as a fact, that during the last
thirty years the real value of gold has increased 25 per cent. Though nominal, its
value is the same, for its standard price is unaltered, yet its ability to employ labor, to
purchase commodities, to command productions, has very greatly augmented. In that
interval our national taxation has undergone a diminution to the ext nt of almost
twenty millions, and the reduction has chiefly taken place by repealing or reducing
taxes upon articles of consumption, which has considerably reduced their prices ; tea,
coffee, sugar, and corn, have all fallen in price, or, in other words, a sovereign will com
mand almoct 50 per cent more of these commodities at the present time, than it could
do in 1820. In manufactured articles, whether of cotton, silk, or worsted, a similar,
and as great a reduction has occurred in their relation to gold as a standard of value.
Money has been continually enhancing its importance, and our large capitalists have
increased their stores without a risk incurred, or an intelligent effort. It inspired the
deepest fear for our productive classes to anticipate this process to be continued for
another quarter of a century, but California and Australia have opened their golden
treasures when the clouds were dark and lowering, and hope was almost about taking
her departure—they have arrested the cheapening process, or in clearer language, are
cheapening gold, and bringing it to a level with other commodities—which event will
introduce an unexpected but bright day in our history.
We have shown that gold, while it maintains its present standard of value, will al
so, owing to its abundance, fall in price, or that it will require a greater quantity of it
to purchase our products than it does at present; we maintain this to be an established
and incontrovertible fact from our commercial history during the past thirty years, in
which we find that gold, though always of the same standard of value, has really in
creased in price, for its power in purchasing our products has been greatly augmented ;
the large supplies we are now receiving will equalize the relative value of all these
articles, much to our national advantage.
Journal o f Banking , Currency , and Finance .
355
TH E M INTS OF FRANCE.
The most important and best conducted mint out of Paris is at Strasbourg. At
both these places the sinking is done by means of steam. The other French mints
are at Bordeaux, Rouen, Lille, Lyons, and Marseilles. While upon this subject, it may
not be amiss to give the following official information:—
By a law of the 26th December, 1827, a central commission, instituted at Paris,
overlooks all the operations of the mint, decides the value of the different pieces, and
allows none to be put in circulation which are not perfectly good. The directors of
the mints do the business, however, on their own account, and are paid by the govern
ment according to the amount of coinage. In addition to the coining of money, the
mints strike off an immense number of medals, sometimes for the government, but in
most instances for private individuals. At the commencement of the fourteenth cen
tury the Paris Mint was situated in the Rue de la Monnaie, a locality now known as
the Rue Boucher. By a decree of Louis XV., dated in 1768, the old mint, being in a
state of decay, was ordered to be demolished, and two mansions, known as the Grand
et P etit Hotel de Conti, together with several houses adjoining, were purchased by the
government, upon the site of which was built the present mint. The administration
of the mint comprises at Paris:— 1. The coinage of money. 2. The striking of med
als. 3. The fabrication of dies and instruments used at the mint. 4. The manufac
ture of postage-stamps. 5. A bureau for assaying. The personnel of the administra
tion and the agents du controle are paid by the government. The tariff of charges
must be approved by the Minister of Finances. In 1847, the amount of money coined
in Paris was 85,991,177 francs; 7,706,020 francs in gold, and 78,285,157 francs in silver.
The charges allowed to the director were 804,423 francs. The number of clerks was
10; the number of workmen varied from 55 to 108. In 1848, the amount of money
coined was 159,514,985 francs; 39,697,740 francs in gold, 119,731,095 francs in silver,
and 86,150 francs in copper. The charges allowed to the director for this year were
1,319,916 francs. The number of clerks employed was 14 ; the number of workmen
from 65 to 125. In 1847, medals were struck off to the amount of 433,521 francs;
namely, 107,021 francs in gold; 295,597 francs in silver; 30,759 francs in copper; 144
francs in platina. The cost of fabrication was 69,915 francs. The number of clerks
was 4; that of workmen from 28 to 35. In 1848, medals were struck off to the value
of 224,887 francs; namely, 38,093 francs in gold; 167,559 francs in silver; 18,919
francs in copper; 316 francs in platina. The cost of manufacture was 38,930 francs.
The number of clerks was 4 ; the number of workmen from 22 to 30. The salaries
of the clerks vary from 1,000 to 4,000 francs per year; the wages of the workmen
from 3 to 8 francs per day. In 1848, the amount paid for engraving, sinking dies, Ac.,
was 52,260 francs. In this department the number of persons employed in 1848 was
19. The chef d'atelier received 3,400 francs per year; one engraver received 2,400
francs per year; another 1,800 francs per year; another (working by the piece) 2,400
francs ; one forger 8 francs per day ; another 6 francs; and the rest of the workmen
from 3 to
francs per day.
The ateliers for the manufacture of postage-stamps was opened in December, 1848.
The number of persons employed is 11, who gain from 3 to 6 francs per day. This
department is under the management of the Assistant Engraver of the mint, who re
ceives a franc-and-a-half per thousand for the stamps, he furnishing the wood upou
which they are engraved, and paying the workmen.
The Bureau of Assay is managed by the Assayer-in-Chief, who receives his pay
from the charge which the law allows him to make upon the articles assayed. The
amount of gold and silver assayed in 1848 was 4,500,000 francs of the former, and
9,000,000 francs of the latter. The number of persons employed was 16, of whom
one assistant-assayer gained 2,800 francs per year; six assistant-assayers 1,800 francs:
six others from 1,250 to 1,650 francs; one clerk 1,250 francs; another clerk 950
francs; aud one cutter 1,100 francs.
T H E BOARD OF BROKERS.
The proposition to found a new Board of Brokers in New York, says the Mercan
tile Journal, makes sure progress, and although that progress is slow, the scheme will
shortly assume public importance. Complaint has long been made that the proceed
ings of the present body are despotic, and that their customary mode of carrying on
356
Journal o f Banking , Currency , and Finance .
business with closed doors creates a mystery and a monopoly which the public good
demands should be abolished. On none of the commercial marts of Europe, with the
exception of London, are the sales of the Stock Exchange people conducted with a
privacy restricted to the members of the Board, and it must be conceded, the peculiar
constitution of that body in some measure justifies the exclusion practiced by them.
Although the Royal Exchange has for centuries been considered the focus of the great
monetary, exchange, and commercial operations of the kingdom, the mode of doing
business has varied with tke change of the times; and the ancient custom of the mer
chants of a particular nation or trade having possession of a certain part of the area
called a walk has fallen into desuetude. The great bulk of the merchants are now
divided into classes, each of whom possess an exchange or mart, exclusively occupied
or devoted to their peculiar branch of Commerce; thus, in London, there is a Stock
Exchange, the Corn Exchange, the Coal Exchange, a Shipping and Insurance Exchange,
{Lloyds Rooms,) and subsidiary Halls and Sales Rooms, and Coffee Houses, where
the merchants congregate and have desks; and where the large sales of foreign pro
duce, wool, Ac., periodically take place.
The stock operations in London have only assumed their present importance since
the middle of the seventeenth century, when the business of dealing in securities was
separated from that of banking. The market, for a series of years after its institution,
was held at various places in the Royal Exchange and its neighborhood. In 1801,
the vast growth of the transactions induced the brokers to seek a permanent location,
when the present building in Bartholomew Lane, was erected by subscription. The
transactions of the brokers are usually divided into three branches—English, (for
stocks and Exchequer bills;) Foreign, (stocks;) and the Share Market—these branches
are called Houses. The members are of two classes—Brokers and Jobbers—and the
business, as in this city, consists of two kinds—genuine and speculative—the former
for money and the latter for time. A jobber is a capitalist who usually keeps a large
amount of stocks on hand, and is always ready to sell in any desired quantity, thereby
saving time and trouble both to the broker and the party desiring the investment.
The members of the Stock Exchange are subjected to a rigid discipline, by a commit
tee elected by themselves. A candidate for membership must be recommended by
members, who attest that they have known him for an honorable man for more than
two years, and they are required to give security for him for a certain period of time.
The committee assist in winding up the affairs of members who are defaulters upon
the market; they also act as arbitrators in any difference arising among the members;
and as no member is allowed to be a partner in any other business, few losses are
suffered by the members from each other. It is mostly the brokers who suffer from
their outside connections. No member who fails to meet his engagements is allowed
to appear in the house, until his creditors have received a stipulated composition, and
the names of members who are defaulters, on the stated “ settling” or “ account days,”
are chalked on a black-board, exposed in the hall, which constitutes the Stock Ex
change method of expulsion. The Board are munificent contributors to public chari
ties, and have a fund for decayed members, which is liberally supported. Strangers
are not permitted to enter the Stock Exchange, and the minor speculators assemble
at the Hall of Commerce, in the adjacent street.
From the foregoing it will be perceived that the Committee of the London Stock
Exchange, in the supervision which they exercise over the business conduct and char
acter of their members, furnish the best and most valid reason for their exclusion of
the uninitiated. The same causes do not exist in New York, and we have yet to learn
the propriety of the course adopted by the present Board.
LOUISIANA BANKS AND LOANS.
The new constitution recently adopted by the Louisiana Convention, contains the
following provisions relative to banking and State loans:—
“ Corporations with banting or discounting privileges may be either created by spe
cial acts, or formed under general laws : but the Legislature shall, in both cases, pro
vide for the registry of all bills and notes issued or put in circulation as money, and
shall require ample security for the redemption of the same in specie.
« The Legislature shall have no power to pass any law sanctioning in any manner,
directly or indirectly, the suspension of specie payments by any person, association, or
corporation, issuing bank-notes of any description.
In case of insolvency of any bank or banking association, the billholders thereof
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance.
357
shall he entitled to preference in payment over all other creditors of such bank or as
sociation.”
The following resolution passed the convention by a vote of one hundred and three
yeas to five nays:—
“ Resolved, That when the Legislature shall contract a debt to an amount exceed
ing $100,000, except in case of war, to repel an invasion, or suppress insurrection, it
shall, in the law creating the debt, provide the means for payment of the current in
terest and the principal when it shall become due, and the law shall be irrepealable
until principal and interest are paid.”
The new constitution thus stops the very proposal for repudiation of State debts
in the Legislature.
TH E NORTH BRANCH LOAN.
The bids for the State loan of $850,000 authorized by the last Legislature of Penn
sylvania for the completion of the North Branch Canal, were opened at Harrisburg on
Saturday, June 12th, 1852, and the loan was allotted to the most favorable bidders.
The successful parties were Charles Henry Fisher, of Philadelphia ; Duncan, Sher
man & Co., of New York, and George Peabody, of London. They took the whole
loan, at par, as follows: $200,000 at 4^ per cent, interest per annum ; $650,000 at 5
per cent interest per annum.
The abatement of interest on this amount makes the bid equal to a premium of
about 1.90 for the whole loan at 5 per cent per annum. The whole of it was taken
on foreign account, and it may be considered a most fortunate allotment for the State,
and a new proof of the public confidence, both at home and abroad, in the credit of
Pennsylvania. The successful bidders also offered to take the whole amount of the
loan as foUows:—
$450,000 at 5 per cent, at 101 77-100 premium.
$400,000 at 5
“
at 102 03-100
This amounts to about the same thing as the former bid, and makes it about equal
to a premium of 1.90 on a 5 per cent loan.
ORIGIN OF COINS.
The Philadelphia Bulletin , has the following on the origin of coins:—
The rare beauty of the World’s Fair medals, one of which we inspected last week,
suggested a train of reflections on the history of medals and coins, and the means of
coining, which it may be worth while, perhaps, to lay before our readers.
In the early ages of mankind, all traffic, as is well known, was conducted by means
of barter. The herdsman exchanged his cattle for goods, or the merchant his goods
for food to eat. But such a rude condition of affairs could not, it is clear, continue
long ; and the necessities of mankind, therefore, led to the substitution of a medium
of exchange, or representative of value. The precious metals, from their intrinsic
worth as well as their portable character, naturally suggested themselves for this pur
pose. At first, however, they were used in simple bars, without even stamp or coin
age, and were, in such cases necessarily weighed, and often assayed, at every transfer.
But this being found inconvenient, the expedient was hit upon of authenticating the
weight and standard by a mark. Afterwards that the needs of Commerce might still
further be consulted, the bars were made of various sizes. In the end, still further to
impress the character of a legalized currency on the gold, silver, bronze, or copper
employed, appropriate shapes, differing from those of the simple bar, were selected,
the circular form of the present coin being that most generally adopted.
It was not always, however, that money was made round. Our British ancestors,
prior to the invasion of Julius Ciesar, employed rings, sometimes singly, but oftener
made into a chain, for currency. Large quantities of this species of coin have been
dug up in England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The smallest piece of money of
this description, which has yet been discovered, is a gold ring weighing half a penny
weight. But others containing three times this weight, or five, ten, ten, sixteen, or
twenty-two times this weight, up to the weight of a pound troy, have also been
discovered; thus proving that the rings were not intended for ornaments but for
358
Journal o f Banking, Currency, and Finance .
currency. Even among the Romans, circular coins were not in use until the
time of Servius Tullius, and in Great Britain they were not employed till some
time after the conquest by Caesar. Of all ancient nations, the Greeks produced
the most beautiful coins—those of the Romans not being particularly elegant till a
late period in their history. The method of stamping the piece of money was simple.
Usually the blow, which gave the impress, was struck by a hammer; and, at first,
the die was cut in the face of the instrument itself. So late as two centuries ago, the
coining of money, even in England, was conducted in a comparatively rude manner;
and many a Spanish quarter, yet in circulation, bears decisive evidence of uncouth
coining.
Even at this day, the coined money of Europe generally, is disgraceful to art, and
is frequently basely alloyed. The exceptions are the gold and silver pieces of Eng
land, France, Belgium, and Prussia. Our own coins are not so good as they might be,
a fact which any person may verify by comparing them with well executed medals—
that struck in honor of Mr. Clay, or those issued at the World’s Fair, for instance.
Some of the finest coins and medals ever executed were those issued by the Emperor
Napoleon. Generally, however, the European coins are as much inferior to those of
the United States, as these latter are to the coins of England or France. The worst
executed coins, among civilized nations, are those of Mexico and the South American
States generally.
A word more and we shall have “ coins ” enough, at least for one reading, on coins
and coining. Money is a word, we are told by Chambers, derived from the temple
of Jupiter Moneta, where a metallic currency was first struck by the ancients. Cash
comes from the French word caisse, a coffer or chest in which money is kept. And
pecuniary is derived from pecus, the Latin for a flock or herd of animals, these being
in the earlier ages the equivalents for money.
TH E EARLY DISCOVERY OF COAL.
Bituminous coal, or sea coal, was known upwards of a thousand years ago, in the
year of our Lord 853, but did not come into general use until the 16th century, and
was not used in the manufacture of iron until the 17th century. Anthracite coal came
gradually into use so late as the 19th century, and was not used as fuel in the man
ufacture of iron until about 16 years ago.
So early as 1790 anthracite coal was known to abound in the county of Schuylkill,
in the State of Pennsylvania, but it being a different quality from that known as sea
coal, or bituminous coal, and being hard of ignition, it was deemed useless until the
year 1795, when a blacksmith of Pennsylvania, named Whetstone, brought it into
notice. His success in burning it induced persons to dig for it, but when found, every
person connected with the enterprise had to experiment on its combustion, and vain
were the attempts to burn it by the majority of them, and all came to the conclusion
that it would not come into general use.
About the year 1800, Mr. Morris, who had a large tract of land in Schuylkill Coun
ty, Pennsylvania, procured a quantity of coal therefrom, and took it to Philadelphia
City, but he was uuable with all his heroic exertions to bring it into notice, and aban
doned aH his plans. From that time until 1806 it was talked about as a humbug;
when accidently a bed of coal was found in digging a tale race for a water wheel for
a forge, which induced another blacksmith, David Berlin, to make a trial of it. His
success was generally made known, which induced others to try to bum Pennsylva
nia coal.
TH E BOYDS OF TH E PLA N TER S’ BANK OF M ISSISSIPPI.
The following is the Act passed by the late Legislature of Mississippi, with regard
to the bonds issued by the State on account of the Planters’ Bank :—
A N A C T T O S U B M IT T O T H E
PEO PLE THE
Q U E S TIO N O F T H E P A Y M E N T
T H IS S T A T E ISS U E D O N ACCOUN T O F T H E
PLANTERS’
BANK
OF THE
OF THE
S TA TE
BONDS
OF
O F M IS S IS
S IP P I.
S ec. 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Mississippi: That it shall
be the duty of the returning officer at all the election precincts of this State at the
Commercia l Sta tistics.
359
next election , to propound the question to each voter where he presents his vote :
“ Will you submit to a direct tax to the payment of the Planters’ Bank Bonds, issued
by the State on account of the Planters’ Bank of the State of Mississippi,” and who
shall keep a correct record of the number of those who shall answer in the affirmative,
and of those who shall answer in the negative ; and make due returns thereof to the
general returning officer of the county in which said election shall be holden, and it i9
hereby made the duty of said general returning officer in this State to transmit to
the Secretary of the State, within ten days thereafter a true return of said vote in
their respective counties.
S ec. 2. Provides for the publication of the Act.
S ec. 3. Be it further enacted : That unless a majority of the whole number of votes
cast for election at the said presidential election, shall be cast against the payment of
said bonds, the result of said vote shall be instructive to the next legislature to provide
the most suitable plan for the payment of said bonds.
COM M ERCIAL STATISTICS.
COMMERCE OF FRANCE IN 1852,
The official returns of the trade and navigation of France, with her colonies and
foreign countries, during the first six months of the present year, have just been pub
lished, the results of which, as compared with the same period in the previous year,
are very favorable. Thus, the total duties received upon importations have been
69,002,964f.; in 1851 they amounted to 54,655,161f.; and in 1850 to 57,561,643f.
The receipts for the first six months of this year, therefore, show an excess of 14,?47,803f.
over the corresponding period of 1851, and of 11,441,32 If. over that of 1850. A very
large increase is shown in the importation of the various materials used for manufac
turing purposes, such as raw cotton, wool, silk, indigo, cochineal, dye woods, whale oil,
copper, zinc, and nitrate of soda. In colonials there has also been a very large increase
in the imports of coffee and sugar, both of colonial and foreign growth. The principal
decrease is shown in lead, nitrate of potash, and olive oil. The import of linen thread
and linens has been about the same as last year. In regard to exports the returns af
ford evidence of an increased foreign trade, which is principally shown in the articles
for which France has always found an extensive demand abroad, such as wines, brandy,
soap, printed cottons, linens, hides, leather, books, engravings, porcelain, and glass. In
the export of grain, woolen yarn, and haberdashery, there is, as compared with 1851,
a slight falling o ff; as also in silks, plain calicoes, and silk manufactures ; but the only
important decrease is in the export of refined sugar, which has been very much below
that of previous years.
T IIE MACKEREL FISH ER IE S.
The following is the estimate of the Inspector-General of Massachusetts, showing
what interest Massachusetts has in the fishery question:—
Tons, 54,040, being 858 vessels, navigated by 9,174 men and boys.
Value of vessels and outfits.......................................................................
$3,532,000
Annual value of catch .................................................................................
2,400,000
The value for the rest of New England may be considered as nearly
equal to this amount, say, value of vessels and outfits.......................
2,500.000
Value of catch................................................................................................
1,600,000
Tons, 30,000—6,000 men and boys.
But only an approximation can be made, as many vessels are employed in both cod
and mackerel.
The Massachusetts mackerelmen, in 1851, caught their fares as follows:—
In American waters...............................................................................bbls.
In waters, the exclusive right to which is now claimed by Earl Derby...
188,336
140,906
Month.
T ota l........
...
Pearl .A shes, bbls.
’ 49-50. ’501. ’51-1.
1 ,5 7 7
2 ,3 5 6
2 ,8 5 6
1 ,879
1 ,569
3 ,6 9 9
1 ,5 5 9
1 .5 9 5
2 6 ,5 6 3
3 ,1 4 0
4 ,7 7 6
2 ,3 1 2
2 ,7 9 1
2 ,2 0 8
2 ,9 5 2
2 ,5 8 8
1 ,3 4 0
891
833
2 ,8 8 1
2 ,1 8 6
1 ,6 2 7
3 ,4 6 9
1 ,1 5 6
2 ,2 6 6
2 ,0 9 7
1 ,131
815
1 .5 0 9
669
826
2 ,371
2 ,9 9 4
2 8 ,8 9 8
2 0 ,6 3 0
July................
August............ ___
September.. . . , ___
October............
November........___
December........
January ............___
February...........
March...............
A p ril...............
May...................
June..................
T ota l........
9,680
27,283
69,610
38,802
’50 51.
100
45,954
64,266
103,229
265,822
164,227
23,641
Cotton G oods, packages.
Flour, bbls.
’50-51.
’51-51.
49-59.
’50 51. ’51-51
’49-50.
’50-51.
51-1
2 0 ,2 9 2
5 5 ,0 7 7
3 7 ,6 2 4
2 2 ,7 5 5
2 0 ,0 2 7
1 5 ,1 6 2
2*2,051
2 1 ,7 6 9
3 7 ,2 0 4
4 0 ,4 7 8
4 3 ,2 1 9
2 5 ,0 6 1
1 2 ,8 5 6
2 0 ,7 7 5
1 0 .6 1 9
9 ,2 6 8
1 2 ,4 9 3
2 2 ,0 6 4
3 1 ,6 1 2
2 7 ,0 5 6
6 0 ,9 4 4
6 0 ,0 7 5
6 2 ,2 2 3
1 8 ,6 7 9
3 ,9 0 4
439
117
100
1 2 ,1 2 3
9 ,9 4 7
2 0 ,7 6 5
1 1 ,5 9 2
3 4 ,8 6 8
2 1 ,4 5 6
1 2 ,6 8 0
2 3 ,2 7 1
2 2 ,0 9 1
1 8 .9 8 8
3 0 ,0 3 1
4 3 ,0 2 9
2 ,8 9 7
417
1 ,2 3 5
1 ,0 3 5
645
2 ,6 1 3
3 ,4 4 8
3 ,6 2 3
1 2 ,0 8 8
1 ,1 9 8
540
946
3 ,4 8 6
500
2 ,8 9 6
232
1 ,7 1 6
864
9 ,0 1 3
7 ,3 0 5
7 ,8 0 3
4 ,6 6 2
269
1 ,9 0 7
1 ,4 4 8
1 ,731
1 ,7 6 2
453
322
8 ,2 7 0
6 ,4 2 9
513
6 ,9 1 6
6 ,0 4 1
1 1 3 ,4 9 8
7 4 ,4 1 7
7 4 ,6 7 5
4 5 ,2 8 6
6 9 ,1 4 5
8 0 ,1 6 0
5 6 ,3 0 2
3 3 ,0 0 7
2 7 ,1 8 1
2 3 331
2 9 ,2 7 6
5 5 ,4 0 6
4 7 ,9 2 1
1 4 8 ,4 6 2
2 1 5 ,0 8 4
1 4 1 ,6 8 7
1 5 5 ,2 6 8
9 6 ,5 5 5
4 9 ,8 5 5
2 8 ,0 0 2
2 7 ,6 4 9
4 4 ,8 0 5
9 7 ,2 8 6
9 7 ,4 6 6
2 3 1 ,0 8 4
1 9 2 ,1 8 0
9 3 ,8 9 5
7 3 ,2 9 0
1 0 0 .6 0 1
8 0 ,0 4 0
3 9 ,3 3 6
6 1 ,2 6 3
6 2 ,6 1 2
7 6 ,7 5 0
1 4 2 ,6 0 6
1 4 9 ,5 8 3
3 ,8 9 9 4 ,2 6 3 :1.938
2 6 0 ,8 4 1
3 6 0 ,7 1 9
3 4 8 ,6 6 1
3 3 ,5 4 2
3 9 ,9 6 3
3 5 ,0 5 5
188
182
466
289
192
764
525
266
176
285
269
297
Wheat, bushels.
’ 49 50.
Cotton, bales.
’49-50.
’51-2
192,096
209,396
214,945
125,853
230,757
241,423
88,819
103,554
120,608
136,142
165,617
82,044
463
676
380
640
369
1U5
784
348
162
54
206
76
174
237
70
44
241
40
67
57
91
n bushels.
’49 aO.
’ 50-51.
’51-2.
848,404 119.072 175,895
192,159
39,423
11,936
61,978
51,518
25,227
193,131
24.671 114,080
73,382
145,805
18,943
15,849
70,792
49,345
97,662
53,672
42,199
42,809
50,823
522,423
463,141
25,065
78,819
360,034
67,310 107,255
414,529 510,537 190,126
419,515 424,327 104,609
Beef packages.
’49-50.
398
774
1,688
1,330
13,318
6,089
7,819
5,152
3.996
3,716
2,759
4,277
’50 51.
4,113
2,375
1,839
1,954
7,676
9,935
4,342
2,593
3,687
6,235
3,056
4,207
’512.
7,321
4,230
2,514
3,165
2,662
6,904
4,566
2,297
5,960
3,341
4,344
4,265
6 8 1 ,5 8 4 1 ,1 5 0 ,0 4 0 1,3 0 3 ,2 4 9
Pork, bblsi.
49 50.
2,714
5,594
6,415
5,244
6,963
5,089
4,006
5,368
8,682
6,774
7,601
3,049
’50-51.
6,003
9,420
4,940
4,463
6,682
2 652
4,514
1,855
4,0S7
6,843
5,915
2,356
Lard, kegs.
’49 50.
50-51.
3,598
1,661
5,334
8,165
16,617
7,488
48,083
4,181
26,691
3,384
12,994
4,371
16,772
2,909
23,839
2,935
23,432
5,073
23,065 11,898
8,938
8,314
3,362 44,837
’51-2.
10,056
3,844
3,758
12,898
9,784
1,853
5,737
4,336
6,643
4,672
4,299
8,984
854,253 1,910,754 3i,789,573 1,399,205 1,017,687 50,316 52,015 50,659 67,499 59,730 41,405 212,725 105,216
76,866
40,693
20,081
65,755
60,525
A
’51-2.
3,272
3,343
3,794
4,462
2,928
4,275
3,192
2,510
3,341
3,313
2,494
4,501
Commercial Statistics.
July.................. . . .
August............. . . .
September....... . . .
October............ . . .
November......... . . .
December........ . . .
January ................
February........... . . .
March...............
A p r il............... . . .
M ay.................
J une..................
Pot, Ashes, bbl3
1849 50. ’St) 51. ’5! 51.
860
TABLE OF EX PO R TS OF SO R E OF TH E LEADING ARTICLES FROM TH E PO R T OF NEW YORK DURING TH E TH R E E YEARS ENDING JU N E , 1852.
Commercial Statistics,
361
FISH E R IE S OF TH E BRITISH PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA.
From the official statistics of the Province of Nova Scotia (referred to in other de
partments of the present number of the Merchants' Magazine) we derive the subjoined
statistics of the Fisheries of that Province as taken in 1851
S T A TE M E N T O F T H E F IS H E R IE S O F N O V A S C O T IA IN 1 8 5 1 .
No. o f
vessels era- Ton-
Counties.
Halifax...............
Lunenburg ....... ___
Queens..............
Shelburne........
Yarmouth........
Digby................ ___
Annapolis........
Kings................
Hants................
Cumberland.. . . ___
Cochester........
Pictou ...................
Sydney..............
Guysboro’ ........ ----Inverness...........
Richmond..........
Cape Breton . . .
Victoria............. . . [
Total.......... . . .
109
25
3
is
6
90
26
2,350 289
1,007 264
2,197 456
463
83
71
21
..
1,437
458
119
419
49
82
62
32
8
25
28
6
180
833
247
522
654
....
812
1,054
640
229
679
76
112
86
45
11
23
50
13
153
1,005
379
860
1,298
No. o f Quantity o f No. o f
dry lish bbls. o f
cured. salmon.
nets and
seines.
6,764
5,610
612
1,342
396
256
197
131
19
273
96
97
1,056
7,227
955
2,654
2,469
....
43,333 36,81
5,161
6,713
Halifax................
Lunenburg..........
Queens...............
Shelburne............
Yarmouth..........
Figby..................
Annapolis..........
Kings..................
Hants..................
Cumberland........
Colchester........... . . .
Pictou.................
Sydney...............
Guysboro’ ...........
Inverness............ . . .
Richmond..........
Cape Breton....... )
Victoria...............
Total.......... . . .
i
20
856
563
1,450
29,835
9,417
1,441
4,610
1,129
1,385
108
2
36
1,828
4 20,054
....
5,401
25 15,373
28
9,428
182
5,OS5
4,878
202
4,880
61
6,680
1,398
611
5,213
10
16
529
849
164
340
678
162
112
50
12
32
1,250
8,460
815
2,287 2,172
851
4,398
6,113
53
14,684
21,057
8,998
35,417
20,270
10,901
602
994
87
680
229
34
1,033
15,834
11,901
32,255
21,458
........
25
7
..
50
. .
30
6
97
15
75
184
601
193
42
344
...
30,154 196,434 1,669
No. of No. o f No. of No. of Quantity
bbls. of bbls. of bbls. of bbls. of of smoked
shad. mackerel, herring. alewives. herring. Value.
Counties.
r
No. of
No. of boats em- No. o f
ployed. men.
ployed. nage. men.
2,184 255
186
2,478 659
1,178 228
694
2,206 477
990 169
34
19
247
580
3S
Quantity
o f fish
Value.
oil.
93 £53,573 17,895 £1.508
8,401
875
15,113
10,274 1,055
30
275 22.215 40,992 3,977
851
7,988
100 15,000
827
1,356
4,830
7,615
132
752
7,362
1,555
242
27
2,115
1,200
....
107
98
1,810
932
150
9
98
300
2,404
2
13
252
2,518
...
. . . 28,208 21,378 1,641
6 18,492 17,174 1,914
50,085 22,947 1,782
36,290 3,304
41
3,536 100,047 53,200 5,343 15,409 217,270 189,250 17,754
IM PO RTS OF BRANDIES INTO GREAT BRITAIN.
S H IP M E N T S O F C O G N AC B R A N D IE S F R O M
FROM
TH E
1ST OF JU LY ,
CH ARENTE TO A L L
1851,
TO TH E
Punchions.
Martell & C o .....................................
Jas. Hennessay & Co...........................
George Salignac.................................
Otard, Dupuy <t Co.............................
Sundry parties...................................
1,017
1,334
561
316
698
30TH
THE
PORTS
O F JU N E ,
Hilda.
11,706
8,169
3,405
1,600
7,287
O F G R E A T B R IT A IN
1852.
casks.
Cases.
4,283
5,008
3,774
1,172
9,147
449
2,366
2,338
1,079
31,766
Q r.
Commercial Statistics.
362
ROCHESTER FLOUR TRADE,
Q U A N T IT Y O F F I.O U R S H IP P E D
FROM
ROCHESTER
IN E A C H
M O N TH
O F T H E S E A SO N O F
1851,
C O M P A R E D W I T H F O U R P R E V IO U S Y E A R S , AS P U B L IS H E D I N T H E R O C H E S T E R D E M O C R A T .
1851.
52,152
A p ril................... .___
M ay.......................
June.......................
July.......................
August...................
September.............
October................. ___
November............. .
63,887
112,637
T ota l.................
500,330
1850.
88,039
56,641
35,665
33,301
58,445
88,196
94,348
127,291
8,447
1819.
ISIS.
1817.
89,508
58.0S1
40,833
56,792
77,486
153.004
124,411
1,044
93,279
67,585
51,958
67,753
92,396
98,946
108,865
651
127,059
74.932
78,390
61,965
74,474
111,030
103,712
552,729
570,757
584,426
631,574
bbls.
584,426
570,757
552,729
500,330
Q U A N T IT IE S S H IP P E D
1844
1845
1846
1S47
bbls.
400,388
518,318
640,232
631,574
F O R S E R IE S
OF YEARS.
1848
1849
1850
1851
The Rochester and Syracuse Railroad carried 20,513 barrels in 1851. This is a
small comparative amount. In 1848 that road took 58,137 barrels, and in 1S50 about
30,000 barrels. The amount of flour left here by canal during the year is 26,888
barrels. Last year there were 44,443 barrels left by canal. The Western Railroad
during 1851 brought down 49,000 barrels, in 1850, a little more than that. Adding
to the amount shipped by canal, the difference in the amount left here during the year,
and the shipments are still less than any previous year named, excepting 1844-5.
To the amount shipped must be added the amount consumed by 40,000 inhabitants,
and by a large number of people living in the suburbs and vicinity.
The amount of wheat left here by both canals for two years is as follows :—
1850.
April....................... .........
May........................
June.......................
J u ly .......................
August.....................
September.............. ........
October....................
November................
December...............
Total.................... ........
Genesee Valley.
9.680
50,187
453,673
Erie.
..........
28,420
13,485
47,824
122,277
124,018
149,162
226,465
50,735
762,286
1351.
^Genesee Valley.
26,638
86,974
45,347
81,491
59,187
159.472
395,990
178,892
79,856
1,113,857
The following is the quantity left by both canals for a series of years :—
1844 ....................... ..bbls.
884,141 1 1848 ..........
1845.......................... ..........
1,169,281 | 1849 ..........
1946.......................... ........
1,503,546 1 1850 ............
1847..........................
1851.......... .
Erie.
16,448
53,387
36,081
37,770
22,294
18,751
61,754
62,287
40,830
351,607
1,443,133
1,426,436
1,215,759
1,465,454
The Western Railroad has left 175,000 bushels, which is more by 50,000 than it
brought here the year previous.
A rough estimate of the amount of flour manufactured here in the course of a year
is 600,000 barrels, to manufacture which, computing five bushels of wheat to each
barrel, would require three million bushels. The whole amount left here by canal
and railroad is 1,640,454 bushels, leaving 1,359,546 to be made up from receipts by
wagons from the country towns. The product of this county is computed at about
that amount. A considerable portion of what is grown in this county is brought in by
canal, while no small amount is brought from adjoining counties by land carriage.
Some wheat is received by lake vessels, both from Canadian and American ports.
The amount arriving last year is much smaller than usual, but we have not been able
N a u tica l In telligence.
363
to obtain the precise figures. Canadian produce dealers have found this an unprofit
able market, as their wheat can scarcely compete with Genesee upon paying terms,
and they do not often venture to send a cargo to our port.
BRITISH IM PO R TS OF SUGAR FROM H ER POSSESSIONS.
From a return, printed by order of the British House of Commons, we find that in
1851, 36,777,717 lf>3. of sugar were imported from British Possessions, which, as com
pared with the previous year’s imports, shows a decrease of 2,955,326 lbs. Of coeoa
4,349,051 lbs. were imported, being an increase over the previous year of 2,360,454 lbs.
Cotton wool was imported to the extent of 123,075,603 lbs., exceeding the imports of
1850 by 3,974,948 lbs. The imports of foreign sugar from all parts amounted last
year to 2,296,304 cwts., being more than the previous year by 945,781 cwts. Refined
sugar, foreign, was imported to the amount of 53,084 cwts., and of British produce
153 cwts. The sugar imported from British possessions amounted to 5.693,082 cwts.
The imports of rum from British possessions amounted to 4,652,232 gallons, being a
small increase over the previous year.
COMMERCE OF HOLLAND IN 1852.
By a comparative statement of the imports, exports, and transit of merchandise in
Holland during the first six months of 1852, published in the Staats Courant, it is
shown that the quantity of raw cotton imported in that period is nearly double that
imported in the same period of 1851. Cotton yarn also shows an increase of fully
one-third; the value of iron imported has been increased by nearly 1,500.000 florins;
the quantity of raw sugar, 15,000,000 lbs.; coffee, 10,000,000 lbs.; rice, 6,000,000 lbs.;
leaf tobacco, 6,000,000 lbs.; and tin by 1,000,000 lbs. In the exports there has been
an increase of 1,200,000 florins’ value upon iron, 3,000,000 lbs. upon raw cotton,
8,000,000 lb3. upon coffee, 1,000,000 lbs. upon sundry manufactured goods, 6,500,000
lbs. upon rice, 600,000 lbs. upon sugar, 6,000,000 lbs. upon leaf tobacco, and 1,000,000
lbs. upon cotton yarns.
TH E FOREIGN TRADE OF LONDON.
It appears from a return to Parliament, that in 1841 the number of British vessels
which had entered the port of London, engaged in the foreign trade, was 4,016 sailing
and 626 steamers, and in ten years—in 1851—the number was 5,190 sailing and 1,403
steamers; while of foreign vessels there were, in 1841, 1,927 sailing and 72 steamers,
and last year the number had increased to 3,474 sailing and 274 steam vessels.
N AUTICAL
IN T E L L IG E N C E .
BELViDERE KNOLL AND HOOPER’S STRAITS,
The Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey has communicated to the
Secretary of the Treasury the following information, which was published officially for
the benefit of mariners:—
C o a s t -S u r v e y S t a t i o n ,
near Petersburg, Va., August 7,1852.
S ir :— I have the honor to communicate a notice to mariners in relation to buoys
recently placed, by request of the collector of Baltimore, on the Belridere Knoll, near
the entrance to the Patapsco, and near a wreck in Hooper’s Straits, and respectfully
ask authority to publish it.
A buoy painted red, with a white band near the top of the spar, has been placed
near the sunken wreck of a collier, in the entrance of Hooper’s Straits, (Chesapeake
Bay,) which is a dangerous impediment to vessels entering the straits from the north
ward. The buoy is placed in seventeen feet water, seven yards from the bows of the
wreck, with the following bearings by compass :—
N autical Intelligence.
364
Light-ship in Hooper’s Straits..............................................
Toni’s point..................................................................: . . . .
E. by S.
N. W.
Vessels should pass to the westward of the buoy, and approach it no nearer than
thirty yards.
A similar buoy has been placed on Belvidere Knoll, S. E. from the Bodkin, (Chesa
peake Bay,) and east of the swash channel, into Patapsco River, (Baltimore entrance,)
with the following bearings by compass:—
Bodkin’s Light-house........................................................
Sandy point......................................................................
Very r e s p e c t fu lly ,
y o u r s , <fcc.,
a
N. W. \ N.
S.| W.
. D. BACH E, Superintendent.
BEACON AT ENTRANCE OF BOMBAY HARBOR.
C o m m o d o r e ’ s O f f ic e , B o m b a y , May 19, 1852.
The beacon on the Island of Kennery, situate at the entrance of Bombay Harbor,
the completion of which was made known by a notification published in the Bombay
Government Gazette, and dated April 3d, 1851, having been partially destroyed by
the heavy rains of the monsoon, was taken down.
A new beacon has since been commenced on, and is now sufficiently advanced to
wards completion to be visible to vessels approaching the harbor, and it is expected
will be entirely finished by the 1st of June next.
The new beacon is of a cylindrical form, and rises to the hight of 70 feet above the
foundation.
The beacon is painted black, and can be seen at a distance of 16 miles on a clear
day.
The following are a few of the bearings from Kennery
Outer light..................................................
Light-house.................................................
Inner light..................................................
Northern light............................................
N. by W. £ W. I f miles.
Ml 1I f miles.
N. f E. 11 mile3.
N. E. by E. £ E. S miles.
BOQUERON CHANNEL, PO RT OF CALLAO.
The following notice to mariners is extracted from a letter of Lloyds’ agent at Cal
lao, dated June 25th, 1852:—
“ The channel (Boqueron) is not the usual one to enter the port, and lately a num
ber of vessels have come on shore from attempting to come in that way, rather
than the ordinary one round the north point of the island of San Lorenzo. The Pe
ruvian vessels generally enter by the former channel, but most of them are small, and
the masters are, by practice, well acquainted with it. The Peruvian government have
prohibited vessels laden with guano from entering by the Boqueron Channel, and as it
is not a safe one for persons Unacquainted with it, we consider that the underwriters
and masters of vessels should be aware of the risk and danger incurred.”
BEARINGS OFF BULL’S BAY LIGHT-HOUSE.
Bring the light-house on the north-east of Bull’s Island to bear N. W. £ W . by com
pass, and run for it until over the bar, then follow the beach round by the lead, until
the point of the island gives you a harbor. This course will give you not less than
nine feet on the bar at low tide, rise of tide about six feet.
LIGHT-HOUSE ON BULL’S ISLAND.
The light-house lately constructed on Bull’s Island, about 30 miles north of Charles
ton, was lighted on the 1st of August. Bull’s Bay affords a safe anchorage ground for
vessels of light draft, which may be obliged to seek a safe harbor by stress of weather.
W . J. G R A Y SO N , Superintendent.
NOTICE TO UNITED STATES CONSULS,
Our consuls abroad will serve the interest of Commerce and Navigation by forward
ing to the Editor of the Merchants’ Magazine any authentic information touching light
houses, port charges, <Stc., ifcc.
Commercial Regulations.
365
COM M ERCIAL REGULATIONS.
SPANISH COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS.
We are enabled, through A l e x a n d e r B u r t o n , Esq., United States Consul at Cadiz,
Spain, to lay before the readers of the Merchants’ Magazine the subjoined information
in relation to the Spanish tariff of 1849, Ac.:—
The Spanish Custom-House Tariff of 1849 has undergone modifications in the
names of some articles of importation, principally of European manufacture, as also
in regard to the duties payable thereon, of alt which the Spanish Government lias re
cently ordered the publication.
The decree of 17th December last, relative to port dues on vessels arriving in Spain,
went into operation the 1st of February last.
The shipping of the United States continues subject to the payment of the followlowing duties:—
Light-house, 2 reals; anchorage, 2 reals; loading, 5 reals; unloading, 5 reals; per
ton of 2 000 pounds Spanish ; and one-eighth is added to the English tonnage of 20
cwt., to reduce it to the Spanish ton of 20 quintals.
Anchorage and light money to be paid at the port first touched at; loading and un
loading as often as either takes place.
Vessels coming strictly in ballast, and loading salt at Cadiz, are exempt from light
duty, but subject to the payment of all the other dues.
A consumption duty is levied on the provisions brought into port by vessels and
used on board by their crews and passengers. This duty may be assessed on differ
ence between the quantity of provisions manifested at time of entry and what may
exist at the time of clearing, duty being charged on the excess; but in order to avoid
such a vexatious inspection, it is permitted, by agreement with the Administration of
Contributions, to compound at four marvedis per day for each person on board.
The sanitary regulations in regard to quarantine remain without alteration since De
cember 31st, 1850.
The pilotage from and to sea, and also the health office, charges for visitor and tender
on vessels and cargo ; and searchers’ fees are regulated by a tariff of fifty years’
standing.
A royal order of the 2oth of April, explanatory of that of 17th of December last,
says, that the charges for anchorage, loading and unloading, are to be exacted from
vessels in all ports of the Peninsula ; and by ports is to be understood those points of
the coast where artificial works may have been constructed, to afford shelter and se
cure means of loading, without more exception than roadsteads and open bays (radas y
calas abiestas). Under this order of the '25th of April, the chief of the custom-house
at Algeciras has given notice to the loreign vice-consular agents there resident, that
the anchorage duty will be exacted from all foreign vessels entering that bay for shel
ter or other cause (arribada forzosa); and claims the delivery of manifests and crew
lists. The object is probably to oblige all wind-bound vessels so anchoring, and with
out performing any mercantile operation, to enter and clear at the custom-house, thus
causing delay and increase of expenses, ruinous to voyages of vessels with cargoes of
fruit and other perishable articles.
TREATY OF COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION, BETW EEN TH E U. S. & GUATEMALA.
B Y T H E P R E S ID E N T O F T H E U N IT E D ST A T E S O F A M E R IC A .
Whereas a General Convention of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, between
the United States of America and the Republic of Guatemala, was concluded and
signed in the city of Guatemala, by the respective Plenipotentiaries, on the third day
of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty-nine ; which
Convention, being in the English and Spanish languages, is, word for word, as follows :
General Convention o f peace, amity, Commerce and navigation, between the United
States o f America and the republic o f Guatemala.
The United States of America and the republic of Guatemala, desiring to make
firm and permanent the peace and friendship which happily prevails between both
366
Commercial Regulations.
nations, have resolved to fix, in a manner clear, distinct, and positive, the rules ■which
shall in future be religiously observed between the one and the other, by means of a
treaty or general convention of peace, friendship, commerce and navigation.
For this most desirable object, the President of the United States of America has
conferred full powers on Elijah Iiise, charge d’affaires of the United States near this
republic, and the Executive Power of the republic of Guatemala on the Sr. Ldo D.
Jose Mariano Rodriguez, Secretary of State and of the Department of Foreign Rela
tions, who, after having exchanged their full said powers in due and proper form,
have agreed to the following articles:
A rticle I. There shall be a perfect, firm, and inviolable peace and sincere friend
ship between the United States of America and the republic of Guatemala, in all the
extent of their possessions and territories, and between their people and citizens, res
pectively, without distinction of persons or places.
A rt . II. The United States of America and the republic of Guatemala, desiring
to live in peace and harmony with all the other nations of the earth, by means of a
policy frank and equally friendly to all, engage mutually not to grant any particular
favor to other nations, in respect of Commerce and navigation, which shall not imme
diately become common to the other party, who shall enjoy the same freely, if the
concession was freely made, or on allowing the same compensation, if the concession
was conditional.
A r t . III. The two high contracting parties, being likewise desirous of placing the
commerce and navigation of their respective countries on the liberal basis of perfect
equality and reciprocity, mutually agree that the citizens of each may frequent all
the coasts and countries of the other, and reside and trade there in all kinds of pro
duce, manufactures and merchandise, and they shall enjoy all the rights, privileges, and
exemptions in navigation and commerce which native citizens do or shall enjoy ; sub
mitting themselves to the laws, decrees, and usages there established, to which na
tive citizens are subjected. But it is understood that this article does not include the
coasting trade of either country, the regulation of which is reserved to the parties,
respectively, according to their own separate laws.
A r t . IV. They likewise agree, that whatever kind of produce, manufacturer, mer
chandise of any foreign country can be from time to time lawfully imported into the
United States in their own vessels, may be also imported in vessels of the republic of
Guatemala; and that no higher or other duties upon the tonnage of the vessels or her
cargo shall be levied and collected, whether the importation be made in vessels of
the one country or the other: and, in like manner, that whatever kind of produce,
manufacture, or merchandise of any foreign country can be from time to time lawfully
imported into the republic of Guatemala in its own vessels, may be also imported in
vessels of the United States; and that no higher or other duties upon the tonnage of
the vessel or her cargo shall Ije levied and collected, whether the importation be
made in vessels of the one country or of the other. And they further agree, that
whatever may be lawfully exported or re exported from the one country in its own
vessels to any foreign country, may be in like manner exported or re-exported in
vessels of the other country. And the same bounties, duties, and drawbacks shall be
allowed and collected, whether such exportation or re-exportation be made in vessels
of the United States or of the republic of Guatemala.
A rt . V.—No higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
United States of any articles the produce or manufactures of the republic of Guate
mala, and no higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
republic of Guatemala of any articles the produce or manufactures of the United
States, than are or shall be payable in like articles being the produce or manufactures
of any other foreign country ; nor shall any higher or other duties or charges be im
posed in either of the two countries on the exportation of any articles to the United
States or to the republic of Guatemala, respectively, than such as are payable on the
exportation of the like articles to any other foreign country; nor shall any prohibition
be imposed on the exportation or importation of any articles the produce or manufac
tures of the United States or of the republic of Guatemala, to or from the territories
of the United States, or to or from the territories of the republic of Guatemala, which
shall not equally extend to all other nations.
A rt . VI. It is likewise agreed, that it shall be wholly free for all merchants, com
manders of ships, and other citizens of both countries, to manage themselves their
own business in all the ports and places subject to the jurisdiction of each other, as
well with respect to the consignment and sale of their goods and merchandise, by
wholesale or retail, as with respect to the loading, unloading, and sending off their
Commercial Regulations.
367
ships; they being in all these cases to be treated as citizens of the country in which
they reside, or at least to be placed on a footing with the subjects or citizens of the
most favored nations.
A r t . VII. The citizens of neither of the contracting parties shall be liable to any
embargo, nor be detained with their vessels, cargoes, merchandise, or effects, for any
military expedition, nor for any public or private purpose whatever, without allowing
to those interested a sufficient indemnification.
A rt VIII. Whenever the citizens of either of the contracting parties shall be
forced to seek refuge or asylum in the rivers, bays, ports, or dominions of the other
with their vessels, whether merchant or of war, public or private, through stress of
weather, pursuit of pirates or enemies, they shall be received and treated with hu
manity, giving to them all favor and protection for repairing their ships, procuring
provisions, and placing themselves in a situation to continue their voyage without ob
stacle or hindrance of any kind.
A rt . IX. All the ships, merchandise, and effects belonging to the citizens of one
of the contracting parties, which may be captured by pirates, whether within the
limits of it* jurisdiction or on the high seas, may be carried or found in the rivers,
roads, bays, ports, or dominions of the other, shall be delivered up to the owners ; they
proving in due and proper form their rights, before the competent tribunals; it being
well understood that the claim should be made within the term of one year, by the
parties themselves, their attorneys, or agents of their respective governments.
A rt. X. When any vessel belonging to the citizens of either of the contracting
parties shall be wrecked, foundered, or shall suffer any damage, on the coasts or
within the dominions of the other, there shall be given to them all assistance and pro
tection, in the same manner which is usual and customary with the vessels of the
nation where the damage happens, permitting them to unload the said vessel (if
necessary) of its merchandise and effects, without exacting for it any duty, impost, or
contribution whatever, provided the same be exported.
A r t . XI. The citizens of each of the contracting parties shall have power to dis
pose of their personal goods within the jurisdiction of the other, by sale, donation,
testament, or otherwise, and their representatives, being citizens of the other party,
shall succeed to their said personal goods whether by testament or ab intestato, and
they may take possession thereof, by themselves or others acting for them, and dispose
of the same at their will, paying such dues only as the inhabitants of the country
wherein said goods are or shall be subject to pay in like cases. And if, in the case of
real estate, the said heirs would be prevented from entering into the possession of the
inheritance on account of their character of aliens, there shall be granted to them the
term of three years to dispose of the same as they may think proper, and to withdraw
the proceeds, without molestation, and exempt from all duties of detraction on the
part of the government of the respective States.
A rt . XII. Both the contracting parties promise and engage formally to give their
special protection to the persons and property of the citizens of each other, of all
occupations, who may be in the territories subject to the jurisdiction of the one or of
the other, transient or dwelling therein, leaving open and free to them the tribunals of
justice for their judicial recourse, on the same terms which are usual and customary
with the natives or citizens of the country in which they may be ; for which they may
employ, in defense of their rights, such advocates, solicitors, notaries, agents, and fac
tors as they may judge proper in all their trials at law; and such citizens or agents
shall have free opportunity to be present at the decisions and sentences of the tribu
nals in all cases which may concern them, and likewise at the taking of all examina
tions and evidence which may be exhibited in the said trials.
A rt . XIII. It is likewise agreed, that the most perfect and entire security of con
science shall be enjoyed by the citizens of both the contracting parties in the countries
subject to the jurisdiction of the one and the other, without their being liable to be
disturbed or molested on account of their religious belief, so long as they respect the
laws and established usages of the country. Moreover, the bodies of the citizens of
one of the contracting parties who may die in the territories of the other be buried in the
usual burying-grounds, or in other decent or suitable places, and shall be protected
from violation or disturbance.
A r t . XIV. It shall be lawful for the citizens of the United States of America and
of the Republic of Guatemala to sail with their ships, with all manner of liberty and
security, no distinction being made who are the proprietors of the merchandise laden
thereon, from any port, to the places of those who now are or hereafter shall be at
enmity with either of the contracting parties. It shall likewise be lawful for the citi
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Commercial Regulations.
zens aforesaid to sail with the ships and merchandise aforementioned, and to trade
with the same liberty and security, from the places, ports, and havens of those who
are enemies of both or either party, without any opposition or disturbance whatsoever,
not only directly from the places of the enemy before mentioned to neutral places,
but also from one place belonging to an enemy to another place belonging to an ene
my, whether they be under the jurisdiction of one power or under several. And it is
hereby stipulated, that free ships shall also give freedom to goods, and that every
thing shall be deemed to be free and exempt which shall be found on board the ships
belonging to the citizens of either of the contracting parties, although the whole lad
ing or any part thereof should appertain to the enemies of either—contraband goods
being always excepted. It is also agreed, in like manner, that the same liberty be
extended to persons who are on board a free ship, with this effect: that although they
be enemies of both or either party, they are not to be taken out of that free ship un
less they are officers or soldiers, and in the actual service of the enemies; provided,
however, and it is hereby agreed, that the stipulations in this article contained, de
claring that the flag shall cover the property, shall be understood as applying to
those powers only who recognize this principle ; but if either of the two contracting
parties shall be at war with a third and the other neutral, the flag of the neutral shall
cover the property of enemies whose governments acknowledge this principle, and not
of others.
A rt . XV. It is likewise agreed that in the case where the neutral flag of one of
the contracting parties shall protect the property of the enemies of the other, by vir
tue of the above stipulation, it shall always be understood that the neutral property
found on board such enemy’s vessels shall be held and considered as enemy’s property,
and as such shall be liable to detention and confiscation, except such property *?s was
put on board such vessel before the declaration of war, or even afterwards, if it were
done without the knowledge of it; but the contracting parties agree that, two months
having elapsed after the declaration, their citizens shall not plead ignorance thereof.
On the contrary, if the flag of the neutral does not protect the enemy’s property, in
that case the goods and merchandises of the neutral embarked in such enemy’s ship
shall be free.
A rt . X V I . This liberty o f navigation and Commerce shall extend to all kinds o f
merchandises, excepting those only which are distinguished by the name o f contraband;
and under this name o f contraband or prohibited goods shall be comprehended :—
1st. Cannons, mortars, howitzers, swivels, blunderbusses, muskets, fusees, rifles, car
bines, pistols, pikes, swords, sabers, lances, spears, halberds, and granades, bombs,
powder, matches, balls, and all other things belonging to the use of these arms.
2d. Bucklers, helmets, breastplates, coats o f mail, infantry belts, and clothes made
up in the form and lor a military use.
3d. Cavalry belts, and horses, with their furniture.
4th. And generally all kinds of arms and instruments of iron, steel, brass, and cop
per, or of any other materials, manufactured, prepared, and formed expressly to make
war by sea or land.
A rt . XVII. All other merchandise and things not comprehended in the articles of
contraband explicitly enumerated and classified, as above, shall be held and considered
as free, and subjects of free and lawful Commerce, so that they may be carried and
transported in the freest manner by both the contracting parties, even to places be
longing to an enemy, excepting only those places which are at that time besieged or
blockaded ; and to avoid all doubt in this particular, it is declared that those places
only are besieged or blockaded which are actually attacked by a belligerent force ca
pable of preventing the entry of the neutral.
A rt . XVIII. The articles of contraband before enumerated and classified, which
may be found in a vessel bound for an enemy’s port, shall be subject to detention and
confiscation, leaving free the rest of the cargo and the ship, that the owners may dis
pose of them as they see proper. No vessel of either of the two nations shall be de
tained on the high seas on account of having on board articles of contraband, when
ever the master, captain, or supercargo of said vessels will deliver up the articles of
contraband to the captor, unless the quantity of such articles be so great and of so
large a bulk that they cannot be received on board the capturing ship without great
inconvenience; but in this and in all other cases of just detention the vessel detained
shall be sent to the nearest convenient and safe port for trial and judgment according
to law.
A rt. X IX. And whereas it frequently happens that vessels sail for a port or place
belonging to an enemy without knowing that the same is besieged, blockaded, or in.
Commercial Regulations
.
369
vested, it is agreed that every vessel so circumstanced may be turned away from such
port or place, but shall not be detained; nor shall any part of her cargo, if not con
traband, be confiscated, unless, after warning of such blockade or investment from the
commanding officer of the blockading forces, she shall again attempt to enter; but
she shall be permitted to go to any other port or place she shall think proper. Nor
shall any vessel of either of the parties, that may have entered into such port or
place before the same was actually besieged, blockaded, or invested by the other, be
restrained from quitting such place with her cargo : nor, if found therein after the re
duction and surrender, shall such vessel or her cargo be liable to confiscation, but they
shall be restored to the owners thereof.
A rt . XX. In order to prevent all kind of disorder in the visiting and examination
of the ships and cargoes of both the contracting parties on the high seas, they have
agreed, mutually, that whenever a vessel of war, public or private, shall meet with a
neutral of the other contracting party, the first shall remain out of cannot shot, and
may send its boat, with two or three men only, in order to execute the said examina
tion of the papers concerning the ownership and cargo of the vessel, without causing
the least extortion, violence, or ill treatment, for which the commanders of the said
armed ships shall be responsible, with their persons and property ; for which purpose,
the commanders of the said private armed vessels shall, before receiving their com
missions, give sufficient security to answer for all the damages they may commit. And
it is expressly agreed, that the neutral party shall in no case be required to go on
board the examining vessel for the purpose of exhibiting her papers, or for any other
purpose whatever.
A rt . XXI. To avoid all kind of vexation and abuse in the examination of the pa
pers relating to the ownership of the vessels belonging to the citizens of the two con
tracting parties, they have agreed, and do agree, that in case one of them should be
engaged in war, the ships and vessels belonging to the citizens of the other must be
furnished with sea-letters or passports expressing the name, property, and bulk of the
ship, as also the name and place of habitation of the master or commander of the said
vessel, in order that it may thereby appear that the ship really and truly belongs to
the citizens of one of the parties. They have likewise agreed, that such ships, being
laden, besides the said sea-letters or passports, shall also be provided with certificates
containing the several particulars of the cargo and the place whence the ship sailed,
so that it may be known whether any forbidden or contraband goods be on board the
same; which certificates shall be made out by the officers of the place whence the
ship sailed in the accustomed form ; without which requisites said vessel may be de
tained to be adjudged by the competent tribunal, and may be'declared legal prize, unless
the said defect shall be satisfied or supplied by testimony entirely equivalent.
A r t . XXII. It is further agreed, that the stipulations above expressed relative to
the visiting and examination of vessels shall apply only to those which sail without
convoy; and when said vessels shall be under convoy, the verbal declaration of the
commander of the convoy, on his word of honor, that the vessels under his protection
belong to the nation whose flag he carries, and, when they are bound to an enemy’s
port, that they have no contraband goods on board, shall be sufficient.
A rt . XX111. It is further agreed, that in all cases the established courts for prize
causes in the country to which the prizes may be conducted shall alone take cognizance
of them. And whenever such tribunal of either party shall pronounce judgment
against any vessel, or goods, or property claimed by the citizens of the other party,
the sentence or decree shall mention the reasons or motives on which the same shall
have been founded; and an authenticated copy of the sentence or decree, and of all
the proceedings in the case, shall, if demanded, be delivered to the commander or
agent of said vessel without any delay, he paying the legal fees for the same.
A rt . X XIV . Whenever one of the contracting parties shall be engaged in war
with another State, no citizen of the other contracting party shall accept a commission
or letter of marque for the purpose of assisting or co-operating hostilely with the
said enemy against the said party so at war, under the pain of being treated as a
pirate.
A rt . X XV . If by any fatality (which cannot be expected, and which God forbid)
the two contracting parties should be engaged in a war with each other, they have
agreed, and do agree, now for then, that there shall be allowed the term of six months
to the merchants residing on the coasts and in the ports of each other, and the term
of one year to those who dwell in the interior, to arrange their business and transport
their effects wherever they please, giving to them the safe conduct necessary for it,
V O L . X X V II.---- N O . III.
24
370
Commercial Regulations
.
which may serve as a sufficient protection until they arrive at the designated port.
The citizens of all other occupations who may be established in the territories or do
minions of the United States of America and the Republic of Guatemala shall be re
spected and maintained in the full enjoyment of their personal liberty and property,
unless their particular conduct shall cause them to forfeit this protection, which, in
consideration of humanity, the contracting parties engage to give them.
A rt . X XV I. Neither the debts due from individuals of the one nation to individuals
of the other, nor shares nor moneys which they may have in public funds or in public
or private banks, shall ever, in any event of war or of national difference, be seques
tered or confiscated.
A r t . XXV II. Both the contracting parties, being desirous of avoiding all inequality
in relation to their public communications and official intercourse, have agreed, and do
agree, to grant to the envoys, ministers, and other public agents, the same favors, im
munities, and exemptions which those of the most favored nation do or shall enjoy ; it
being understood that whatever favors, immunities, or privileges the United States of
America or the republic of Guatemala may find it proper to give the ministers and
public agents of any other power, shall, by the same act, be extended to those of each
of the contracting parties.
A rt . X XV III. To make more effectual the protection which the United States of
America and the republic of Guatemala shall afford in future to the navigation and
commerce of the citizens of each other, they agree to receive and admit consuls and
vice-consuls in all the ports open to foreign commerce, who shall enjoy in them all the
rights, prerogatives, and immunities of the consuls and vice-consuls of the most fa
vored nation; each contracting party, however, remaining at liberty to except those
ports and places in which the admission and residence of such consuls and vice consuls
may not seem convenient.
A rt . X X IX . In ord er that the consuls and vice-consuls o f the t w o con tracting p a r
ties m ay en jo y the rights, p reroga tives, and im m unities w h ich b e lo n g to them b y their
p u b lic character, th ey shall, b efore entering on the ex ercise o f their functions, exhibit
their com m ission or patent in due form to the gov ern m en t to w h ich th e y are a ccredit
ed ; and, having ob taiued their e x e q u a t u r , they shall b e h e ld and con sidered as such
b y all the authorities, m agistrates, and inhabitants in the consular district in -which th ey
reside.
A rt. X X X . It is likewise agreed, that the consuls, their secretaries, officers, and
persons attached to the service of consuls, they not being citizens of the country in
which the consul resides, shall be exempt from all public service, and also from all
kinds of taxes, imposts, and contributions, except those which they shall be obliged to
pay on account of Commerce or their property, to which the citizens and inhabitants,
native and foreign, of the country in which they re.-ide, are subject; being in every
thing besides subject to the laws of the respective States. The archives and papers
of tlie consulate shall be respected inviolably, and under no pretext whatever shall
any magistrate seize or in any way interfere with them.
A rt . X X X I. The said consuls shall have power to require the assistance of the au
thorities of the country for the arrest, detention, and custody of deserters from the
public and private vessels of their country, and for that purpose they shall address
themselves to the courts, judges, and officers competent, and shall demand the said deserteis in writing, proving, by an exhibition of the registers of the vessel’s or ship’s
roll, or other public documents, that those men were part of the said crews; and on
this demand, so proved, (saving, however, where the contrary is proved,) the delivery
shall not be refused. Such deserters, when arrested, shall be put at the disposal of
the said consuls, and may be put in the public prisons, at the reqnest and expense of
those who reclaim them, to be sent to the ships to which they belonged, or to others of
the same nation. But if they be not sent back within two mouths, to be counted from
the day of their arrest, they shall be set at liberty, and shall be no more arrested for
the same cause.
A rt . X XX II. For the purpose of more effectually protecting their Commerce and
navigation, the two contracting parties do hereby agree, as soon hereafter as circum
stances will permit, to form a consular convention, which shall declare specially the
powers and immunities of the consuls and vice-eonsub of the respective parties.
A r t . X X X III. The United States of America and the republic of Guatemala, de
siring to make as durable as circumstances will permit, the relations which are to be
established between the two parties by virtue of this treaty, or b}r general convention
of peace, amity, Commerce, and navigation, have declared solemuly, and do agree to,
the following points :—
Commercial Regulations
.
371
1st The present treaty shall remain in full force and virtue for the term of twelve
years, to be counted from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, and further un
til the end of one year after either of the contracting parties shall have given notice
to the other of its intention to terminate the same ; each of the contracting parties re
serving to itself the right of giving such notice to the other at the end of said term of
twelve years. And it is hereby agreed between them, that on the expiration of one
year after such notice shall have been received by either from the other party, this
treaty, in all its parts relative to Commerce and navigation, shall altogether cease and
determine, and in all those parts which relate to peace and friendship it shall be per
petually bindiug on both powers.
2d. If any one or more of the citizens of either party shall infringe any of the arti
cles of this treaty, such citizens shall be held personally responsible for the same, and
the harmony and good correspondence between the nations shall not be interrupted
thereby ; each party engaging in no way to protect the offender or sanction such vio
lation.
3d. If, (which indeed cannot be expected,) unfortunately, any of the articles contained
in the present treaty shall be violated or infringed in any other way whatever, it is
expressly stipulated that neither of the contracting parties will order or authorize any
acts of reprisal, nor declare war against the other, on complaints of injuries or damaages, until the said party considering itself offended shall first have presented to the
other a statement of such injuries or damages, verified by competent proof, and de
manded justice and satisfaction, and the same shall have been either refused or unrea
sonably delayed.
4th. Nothing in this treaty contained shall, however, be construed or operate con
trary to former and existing pulic treaties with other sovereigns or States.
The present treaty of peace, amity. Commerce, and navigation, shall be approved
and ratified by the President of the United States of America, by and with the advice
and consent of the Senate thereof, and by the government of the republic of Guate
mala, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the city of Washington or Guatemala
within eighteen mouths, counted from the date of the signature hereof, or sooner, if
possible.
In faith whereof, we, the plenipotentiaries of the United States of America and of
the republic of Guatemala, have signed and sealed these presents, in the city of Gua
temala, this third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and forty-nine,
[ l . s .]
[l. s j
ELIJAH HISE,
J. MARIANO RODRIGUEZ.
And whereas the said convention has been duly ratified on both parts, and the re
spective ratifications of the same have been exchanged—
Now, therefore, be it known, that I, M il l a r d F illm or e , President of the United
States of America, have caused the said convention to be made public, to the end
that the same, and every clause and article thereof, may be observed and fulfilled with
good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United
States to be affixed.
Done at the city of Washington, this twenty-eighth day of July, in the
r ,n
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two, and
’ 1
of the independence of the United States of America the seven
ty-seventh.
MILLARD FILLMORE.
By the President:
W . H u n t e r , Acting Secretary o f State.
OF ALLOWANCE FOR TARE ON MERCHANDISE.
CIRCULAR
instructions to collectors and other officers of customs.
T reasu ry D epartm en t,
June 23, 1852.
The Supreme Court of the United States, in a recent decision made in the case of
Cornelius W. Lawrence, plaintiff in error, vs. John Caswell and Solomon Caswell,
having laid down a principle adverse to the construction and practice heretofore pre
vailing upon the subject of allowances for tare, draft, leakage, breakage, <tc., on im
ported merchandise, it becomes the duty of the department to instruct the collectors
and the officers of the customs, that hereafter in the assessment of duties on imported
372
Commercial Regulations.
merchandise, none of the allowances specified in the fifty-eighth and fifty-ninth sec
tions of the General Collection Act of 2d March, 1799, are to be made, the court hav
ing intimated such allowances to be inapplicable to any article of merchandise subject
under the existing Tariff Act to the payment of ad valorem duty.
No more than the actual weight of the cask or package can therefore in any case
be allowed; and if the collector has any doubt as to the correctness of such weight
or tare, in any invoice offered for entry, it will be his duty to ascertain the correctness
of it by emptying such number of packages as he may think advisable, in order to
ascertain the actual weight or tare of the cask or package, but in no instance is any
allowance to be made on a claim for alleged erroneous tare, or for other causes, actual
damage only excepted, where the full gross or net weight landed is equal to the in
voice weight. So likewise in case there should have been any shrinkage or drying in
an article during the voyage of importation, no allowance can be made for such shrink
age and drying where the full quantity shipped of such article has been landed,
though in all cases actual drainage, leakage, or damage, will be allowed as heretofore.
The Supreme Court in the above decision says, “ when the Act of 1846 changed
the duty on brandy from a specific one on the gallon to an ad valorem one, it was no
longer within the provisions of the Act of 1799, and consequently no longer entitled
to the deduction of the 2 percent. Under'this decision, the deduction of the said 2
per cent will in no case be allowed on liquids subject to guage.
As regards the return of duties illegally exacted, the court says: “ In order that the
opinion of the court may not be misunderstood, that when we speak of duties illegally
exacted, the court mean to confine the opinion to cases like the present, in which the
duty demanded was paid under protest, stating specially the ground of objection.
Where no such protest is made, the duties are not illegally exacted in the legal sense
of the term : for the law has confided to the Secretary of the Treasury the power of
deciding in the first instance upon the amount of duties due on the importation. And
if the party acquiesces, and does not by his protest appeal to the judicial tribunals,
the duty paid is not illegally exacted, but is paid in obedience to the decision of the
tribunal to which the law has confided the power of deciding the question.
“ Money is often paid under the decision of an inferior court, without appeal, under
the construction of a law which is afterwards in some other case, in a higher and su
perior court, determined to have an erroneous construction. But money thus paid is
not illegally exacted. Nor are duties illegally exacted where they are paid under the
decision of the Collector, sanctioned by the Secretary of the Treasury, and without
appealing from that decision to the j udicial tribunals by a proper and legal protest.”
Under this opinion of the court, no duties will hereafter be returned except in such
cases where a protest, in writing, may have been or shall be made at the time, stating
specially the ground of objection, nor will the allowances specified in sections fiftyeight and fifty-nine of the Act of 2d March, 1799, be allowed in any claim for return
duties on importations heretofore made.
A n y p reviou s circu lar instructions or regulations con flicting w ith the p re ce d in g are
h e r e b y rep ea led .
WM. L. HODGE, Acting Secretary o f the Treasury.
TARIFF OF THE PERUVIAN GOVERNMENT,
Information has been communicated to the Department of State, by E d w a r d
Esq., Consul of the United States at Lima, that the new tariff, or rates of
duties, lately approved and published by order of the Peruvian Government, goes in
to effect on all goods or merchandise imported from the United States or the 20th of
September next. This tariff very materially modifies the rate of duties at present
collected on foreign merchandise, and particularly on the staple articles of domestic
cottons imported from the United States. These cottons are now subject to a duty of
40 per cent, but after the 20th of September they will pay only 15 per cent; flour
will pay 30 per cent—about one-third of the duty now exacted. Chairs, wood and
cane seats, 25 per cent; furniture, all classes, 30; silks and linens, all classes, 28 ;
woolens, all classes, 25.
M cC a l l ,
ZlZ
Statistics o f Population, etc.
STATISTICS OF POPULATION, & c .
POPULATION AND REPRESENTATION OP THE UNITED STATES,
We understand, says the National Intelligencer, that on the 2d of August, 1852,
the Secretary of the Interior, in compliance with the provisions of the act of Con
gress, approved 23d May, 1850, providing for the taking of the seventh and subse
quent censuses, transmitted to the House of Representatives his official certificate of
the number of representatives apportioned to each State under the last or Seventh
Enumeration of the Inhabitants of the Uhited States, and that certificates are being
prepared to be sent to the Executive of each State of the number to which such State
is entitled. These certificates are in accordance with and founded upon the following
table, showing the federal and representative population of the United States on the
1st day of June, 1850:—
P O P U L A T IO N OF T H E U N ITE D S TATES, S E V E N T H
CENSUS,
1850,
W IT H
T I IE A P P O R T IO N M E N T OF
R E P R E S E N T A T IO N A N D T H E F R A C T IO N S F O R E A C H S TATE.
Whites.
581,813
Maine.....................
New Hampshire...
317,■456
Vermont.................
813,402
985,704
Massachusetts.......
143,875
Rhode Island........
368,305
Connecticut............
.New York............. 3,049,457
Pennsylvania........ 2,258,463
Ohio....................... 1,956,108
Indiana...................
977,628
Illinois...................
846,104
Michigan.................
395,097
304,565
Wisconsin...............
Iow a.....................
191,879
91,632
California...............
New Jersey..........
465,523
Delaware...............
71,169
Maryland. . . . . . . . .
417,943
Virginia.................
895,304
North Carolina...
553,118
South Carolina...
274,623
Georgia..................
521,438
Alabama................
426,486
Mississippi............
295,768
Louisiana..............
255416
Tennessee ..............
756,893
Kentucky..............
761,688
Missouri.................
592,077
Arkansas...............
162,068
Florida..................
47,167
Texas....................
154,100
Dist. of Columbia.
38,027
Minnesota...............
6,038
New Mexico...........
61,530
13,087
11,330
Utah...................
Free
coloied.
Total.
Slaves.
1,356
583,169
520
317,976
718
314,120
8,795
994,499
3,669
147,544
7,486
370,791
47,937 3,097.394
53,323 2,211,786
24,300 1,980,408
10,788
988,416
5,366
854,470
2,557
397,654
305,191
626
192,214
335
965
92,597
23,807
489,330
225
18,073
89,242
2,290
492,666
90,368
74,723
53,829
949,133 472,528
27,373
580,491 288,412
8,900
283,523 384,984
524,318 381,681
2,880
2,293
428,779 342,892
898
296,657 309,898
272,953 244,786
17,537
763,164 239,461
6,271
771,424 210,981
9,736
594,621
2,544
87,422
5S9
162,657
46,982
48,092
925
39,309
58,161
331
154,431
48,000
9,973
3,677
39
6,077
61,547
17
206
18,293
26
24
l l ’354
Federal
represetna
tive population.
583,169
317,976
314,120
994,499
147,544
370,791
3,097,894
2,311,786
1,980,408
988,416
851,470
397,654
305,191
192,214
92,597
489,465
90,616
546,886
1,232,649
753,538
514,513
753,326
634,514
482,595
419,824
906,840
898,012
647,074
190,846
71,677
189,327
Representa
tions o f each
State.
Fractions.
No
6 22,649
3 37,716
3 33,860
11 *60,299
2 *54,124
4 *90,531
33 14,534
25 *69,706
21 18,588
11 *54,216
9 10,690
4 23,974
3 24,931
2
5,374
+2
5 22,365
1
6 *79,786
13 18,189
8
6,178
6 *47,413
8
5,966
7 *73,994
5 15,495
4 46,144
10 *66,060
10 *57,232
7 *88,554
2 4,006
1
2
2,487
* All the States marked thus (*) have an additional member for the fraction.
+ One representative added for California under the act of Congress, approved 30th July, 1852.
Statistics o f Population, etc.
374
T O T A L P O P U L A T IO N IN T H E T H I R T Y -O N E STA TE S.
19,427,259
419,451
Whites........
Free colored
19,846,710
3,200,380
21,766,931
93,420
Slaves ................................................................................................
Federal representative population....................................................
Federal representative ratio.............................................................
T O T A L P O P U L A T IO N , IN C L U D IN G T H E T E R R I T O R IE S .
19,557,271
429,710
3,204,093
Whites...............................................................................................
Free colored........................................................................................
Slaves.................................................................................................
23,191,074
Total.
COMPLETE CENSUS OF THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA IN 1851.
We are indebted to D. M c C ulloch , Esq., Secretary to the Board of Statistics (Fi
nancial Secretary’s office) for complete “ statistics of each county of the British Prov
ince of Nova Scotia, exhibiting a view of the population, pursuits, industry, and re
sources of the country, within each county of the Province, as taken in 1851.” Under
the present head we give all that relates to population, according to the classification
of the official document from which the subjoined statements are copied :—
N U M B E R O F P E R S O N S IN T H E P R O V IN C E O F N O V A S C O TIA E N G A G E D IN L E A R N E D P R O F E S S IO N S ,
COM M ERCE,
M ANU FACTURES,
M E C H A N IC S ,
A G R IC U L T U R E ,
F IS H E R IE S ,
N A V IG A T IO N ,
AND
L U M B E R IN G .
a
»
. 5 aa
•
O
•
3
• ®CTZ
M
1,823
1,155
316
1,806
406
202
48
22
3
11
42
5
197
1 222
473
1,022
1,124
2!
86
24
282
210
48
23
46
105
99
74
204
52
81
41
3
85
fo. of persons
engaged in
lumbering ..
o. of persons
employed at
sea.............
64
159
62
107
73
67.
119
253 2,023 2,099
300
380 3,018
293
400
257
105
337
317
125
449 1,151
134
279 1,331
178
476 1,993
107
486 2,500
225
404 1,822
482
624 1,932
367
502 2,333
280 1,089 3,463
73
301 2,113
242 1,248
57
87
373 2,118
40
490
171
502 3,276
94
2!
a (dp
o. of registered
seamen.......
SO
2!
o. of farmers..
760
324
85
43
135
89
93
81
74
2!
o. of mechan
ics...............
31
9
6
5
8
7
11
10
6
15
6
8
9 11
2
7
4
3
2
2
3 4
7
7
as
o. of persons
employed in
manufactures.
57
5
4
2
3
2
10
7
5
11
2!
o. of mercha’ts
and traders...
44
11
15
13
16
14
21
21
17
16
17
21
12
16
12
4
3
o. of doctors .
Halifax.........
Lunenburg ..
Queens........
Shelburne...
Yarmouth...
Dig by...........
Annapolis....
Kings..........
Hants..........
Cumberland..
Colchester...
Pictou..........
Sydney. . . .
Guysboro’ . . .
Inverness . . .
Richmond....
Cape Breton.
Victoria.......
o. of lawyers..
CO UN TIES.
3
N o. of clergyien................
a
271
178
135
263
553
350
266
113
267
138
189
55
83
125
108
594
273
92
192
289
54
17
21
7
4
10
220
223
13
38
7
1
66
} “
Total........ 288 143 145 2,415 3,200 8,895 31,604
9,927 1,413 3,961 1,254
CENSUS O F T H E P R O V IN C E O F N O V A S C O TIA , E X H IB IT IN G T H E A G G R E G A T E N U M B E R S, A G E S ,
AND SEXES OF EACH
Counties.
Halifax...........................
Lunenburg.......................
Queens............................
D E S C R IP T IO N O F P E R S O N S .
No. of persons under No. of persons from No. o f persons from
10 years o f age.
10 to 20 years o f age. 20 to 30 years o f age.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
Males. Females.
5,408
2,576
1,107
6,291
2,618
1,081
4,228
1,877
975
4,659
1,860
841
2,543
1,387
555
3,553
1,293
550
V
S tatistics o f P op u la tion , etc.
Counties.
Shelburne.............
Yarmouth.............
Digby...................
Annapolis.............
Kings...................
Hants...................
Cumberland.........
Colchester............
Pictou ..................
Sydney.................
Guys boro’.............
Inverness.............
Richmond............
Cape Breton......... ___ )
Victoria................
No. of persons under No. of persons from No. of persons from
10 years of age.
10 to 20 years ot age. 20 to 30 venrs of age.
Males.
Females. Males. Females.
Males. Females.
1,502
1,412
1,909
714
788
1,645
2,083
1,713
917
987
1,454
1,912
1,468
863
941
1,653
2,133
1,733
1,181
987
2,122
1,720
1,679
1,082
1,086
1,629
1,044
1,168
2,261
1,719
2.370
1,665
1,680
1,099
1,079
2,412
1,912
1,866
1,116
1,142
3,105
4,038
3,036
1,772
2,196
1,788
1.161
2,129
1,749
973
1,374
834
1,737
1,405
873
2,014
1,451
2,727
2,906
1,397
1,650
1,197
1,275
839
872
4,476
3,389
4,613
3,420
2,101
2,118
....
—
......................
43 450
Counties.
Halifax...............
Lunenburg ..........
Queens................. ...........
Shelburne............. ..........
Yarmouth...........
Digby................... ...........
Kings...................
Hants.................. ...........
Cumberland........ ..........
Colchester.......................
Pictou................... ..........
Sydney ................ ..........
Guys boro’............. ...........
Inverness............. ...........
Richmond............. ..........
Cape Breton......... .___ )
Victoria..................
Total............ ..........
S3 701
33 ddd
90 9.7'7
90 3SK
No. of persons from No. of persons from No. of persons above
30 to -11) years of age. 40 to 50 years ot age.
50 vears of age.
Males.
Females.
Males. Females.
Males. Females.
1,608
2,616
1,761
1,906
1,974
754
888
818
1,240
596
519
820
539
1,380
813
593
518
647
635
793
737
728
772
838
1,359
605
496
831
521
1,333
718
275
374
479
505
5S0
527
585
496
585
1,062
428
351
532
387
971
848
283
370
456
454
633
539
538
682
546
922
468
339
607
371
907
640
392
507
669
635
827
824
825
755
916
1,379
713
601
824
498
1,467
14,615
14,665
10,616
10,271
14,378
378
496
637
....
850
426
542
667
649
801
800
734
611
798
1,326
762
492
904
482
1,405
....
14,223
No. of married persons
No. of
Deaf and
of both
No. of No. of rate
No. of dum b.
Blind.
sexes. widow’3. widows, pa) era. paupers., M. F. M. F.
Counties.
Halifax................... ........... 11,392
Lunenburg............
Queens.................. ........... 2,253
Shelburne..............
Y armouth.............
D'gby.....................
Annapolis............... ........... 4,378
K ings.................... .......... 4,286
Hants .................... .......... 4,184
Cumberland..........
Colchester.............. .......... 4,701
Pictou...................
Sydney..................
Guysboro’ ..............
Inverness..............
Richmond.............. ........... 2,993
Cape Breton........
Victoria............... . . . . [
....
Total.............. ........ 78,701
375
380
S5
61
77
85
95
122
128
126
97
135
215
99
80
129
88
236
...
2,238
1,129
277
144
234
240
213
306
317
274
193
238
539
329
198
387
247
654
4,187
2,469
1,260
1,710
2,197
1,854
1,961
2,194
2,304
2,048
2,399
3,062
1,788
1,670
2,298
1,319
3,668
..............
5,916 38,388
339
24
29
15
25
65
56
63
49
20
17
117
15
32
55
31
60
23
3
2
3
5
8
7
3
6
7
16
10
7
10
5
17
1,072 132
10 13
1
3
3
1
6
2
5
3
2
5
2
8
2
1
5
5
8
3
7
5
4
7
3
7
17
7
2
2
12 11
98
74
13
3
3
1
3
3
1
..
2
7
5
7
4
2
8
62
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
3 16
Counties.
Halifax.................... ..........
Lunenburg............... ........
Queens.....................
Shelburne...............
Yarmouth...............
Digby.......................
Annapolis............... ...........
Kings........................
Hants...................... ............
Cumberland.............
Colchester................ .........
Pictou........................
Sydney .....................
Guysboro’ .............. .
Inverness...................
Richmond.................
Cape Breton.............. . . . )
...f
Total................ ..........
Lunatics.
M. F.
so 35
4
6
1
0
6
2
3
5
7
1
2
8
62
20
18
21
14
Total
pop’n.
39,112
16,395
7,256
10,622
13,142
12,252
14,286
14,138
14,330
14,339
15,469
25,593
13,467
10,838
16,917
10,381
27,580
123 524 532
2,321
2,587
276,117
Idiots.
M.
F.
10
6
4
2
4
2
4
5
8
6
12
11
6
5
12
3
7
13
4
3
3
5
3
6
3
2
9
6
5
3
2
5
1
5
9
25
17
8
6
6
2
5 11
22 50
15
4
11
22
90
170
Indians.
M. F.
78 91
11 10
25 27
16
9
11
2
74 80
54 64
2
4
31 33
1
10
5
47 55
62 52
37 25
12
Colored persons.
Males. Females.
733
955
4
7
106
107
209
231
126
121
226
228
253
230
95
90
75
95
61
75
10
10
13
7
73
294
89
309
..
76
R A ILR O A D , CANAL, AND STEAMBOAT STATISTICS.
STATISTICS OF THE COLLINS AND ClINARD STEAMERS.
We are indebted to J. H . C . C a m p b e l l , Esq., of Boston, for the subjoined statistics
of the Collins and Cunard steamers. Mr. Campbell’s well-known accuracy as a sta
tistician is a sufficient guaranty for the fidelity of the compilation. The statements
for previous periods, published in the Merchants’ Magazine for September, 1851, and
March, 1852, were compiled by Mr. Campbell:—
FOE
Date.
January 10........
“
24........, . . .
February 7........
“
21........, . . .
6 ........ . . .
March
tt
April
«
May
U
M
June
L IV E E P O O L
FROM
NEW
Y O K E -----C O L L IN S L IN E .
Steamship.
No. pass.
Atlantic...............
27
61
Pacific..................
Baltic.....................
60 *
2 0 .............
3........
17......... . . .
i ...... . . . .
15........
29........
2 ,0 0 0
124
138
172
165
160
167
Atlantic................
A r ctic ..................
1 2 .............
26.......
FROM
Date.
January 7 ____
M
28____
Febru’ry 11.......
“
25.......
March 1 0 .............
24........
April
7 ......
“
21 ......
5 ___
May
“
19 ......
0,
June
«
16 ......
tt
30 ......
Specie.
$625,510
245,000
1,040,680
650,000
73,500
L IV E R F O O L TO N E W
Steamship.
YORK
No. pass.
45
44
36
20
40
34
47
83
69
99
77
77
120
D.
ii
II.
10
23
18
9
10
20
12
21
11
M.
30
30
30
10
6
18
3
15
10
20
,.
10
5
13
19
so
5
11
12
65,000
75,000
620,000
450,000
480,000
2
10
10
15
30
— C O L L IN S (LINE.
Commander.
Luce
Nve.
West
Luce.
Nye.
Comstock.......
Luce.
Nye.
West
Luce.
Comstock.......
West
Luce.
D.
13
15
14
11
11
11
10
11
11
10
10
10
11
II.
20
4
21
17
M
..
30
30
SO
15
18 . .
4 ..
9 30
19 30
23 30
3
2 ..
21
Railroad , Canal, awe? Steamboat Statistics.
FOR
L IV E R P O O L
Date.
FROM
NEW
Y O R K -----C C N A R D
Steamship.
Jamiary 1 4 ....
it
28___
Febru’ry 1 1 ...
«
25___
March 10___
“
24___
April
'? . . . .
“
2 1 ...
May
5 ...
(<
1 9 ...
June
2 ...
u
1 6 ...
tt
3 0 ...
50
40
40
32
50
72
60
107
113
123
100
157
112
FROM
Date.
L IV E R P O O L
January 3 . . .
«
1 7 ...
«
31. ..
Febru’ry 1 4 ...
u
2 8 ...
March 13___
((
2 7 ...
April
1 0 ...
it
2 4 ...
8 ...
U
u
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
..
5 ...
1 9 ...
FOR
L IV E R P O O L
Date.
NEW
FROM
January 10__
it
2 4 ...
February 7 . . .
“
2 1 ...
6 ...
it
2 0 ...
April
3 ...
“
1 7 ...
1- . .
«
1 5 ...
«
OQ
June
1 2 ...
(1
2 6 ...
33
17
28
16
10
13
29
21
44
60
63
57
62
.
10
10
12
11
12
12
11
10
10
10
10
10
11
H.
22
10
1
22
11
21
11
19
6
6
11
16
1
M.
30
D.
H.
9
19
21
M
45
..
..
13
20
17
14
12
12
11
10
12
11
10
11
11
6
23
5
19
19
4
12
Specie.
D.
H.
$25,000
65,000
152,716
207,463
21,000
10
11
11
11
12
12
13
13
10
12
10
10
11
21
10
4
2
23
8
9
D.
H.
3
7
19
BOSTON— C U N A R D
N o. pass.
D.
..
30
..
.,
..
..
..
30
L IN E .
Commander.
Steamship.
FROM
130,000
575,000
408,150
923,000
404,000
49 Judkins...
47 Stone......
41 L a n g . . . .
52 Ryrie......
Judkins...
59 Lott.........
86
76 Judkins...
52 Lott.........
5*2
55
51 Lott.........
SO Harrison.
January 7 . . .
it
2 1 ...
February 4 . . .
(«
1 8 ...
March
3 ...
«
1 7 ...
<(
8 1 ...
1 4 ...
April
2 8 ...
May
1 2 ...
“
2 6 ...
June
9 ...
((
2 3 ...
Date.
$600,253
500,000
958,860
688,000
73,000
84,000
4,600
Y O R K — CUNARD
No. pass
..
..
..
..
99
June
TO
Steamship.
L IN E .
Specie.
No. pass.
377
20
..
30
30
30
30
L IN E .
12,000
12,250
241,400
157,000
289,000
15
8
11
23
6
M..
.,
30
..
..
15
45
45
45
..
80
L IV E R P O O L T O BOSTON— C U N A R D L IN E .
Steamship.
No. pass.
Commander.
..
..
..
..
..
18 Shannon..
36 Lott.........
Leitch. ..
23 Shannon..
46
63 Lang----47 Shannon..
46 Stone.......
..
..
52
51
..
..
Douglas..
Stone.......
Lang-----
16
15
15
13
12
a
13
12
12
12
11
11
11
8
3
3
12
17
17
16
16
2
M.
..
30
40
45
30
io
,
Railroad Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
378
T H IR T E E N T R I P S C O L L IN S L IN E TO L IV E R P O O L .
Days.
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip.................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Arctic, February 7 ..................
Longest
“
“
by Baltic, March 6 .......................
Average number of passengers..................................................
143
11
0
12
[lours. Min.
50
17
1
30
18
21
102
T H IR T E E N T R I P S C U N A R D L IN E TO L IV E R P O O L .
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip..................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Asia, May 5 .............................
Longest
“
“
“
March 2 4 ........................
Average number of passengers...................................................
145
11
10
12
13
5
5
21
151
11
10
13
I
23
16
11
9
30
..
• 30
81
T H IR T E E N T R IP S C U N A R D L IN E BOSTON T O L I V E R P O O L .
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip.................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Canada, May 2 6 .....................
Longest
“
“
by Niagara, March 3 1 ..................
Average number of passengers...................................................
30
..
45
15
35
T H IR T E E N T R I P S OF T H E C O L L IN S L IN E F R O M L IV E R P O O L .
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip.................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Atlantic, June 16.....................
Longest
“
“
by Pacific, January 28...................
Average number of passengers...................................................
154
11
10
15
20
22
3
4
15
15
3
19
19
45
3
#.
30
61
T H IR T E E N T R I P S O F T H E C U N A R D L IN E F R O M L I V E R P O O L .
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip.................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Asia, May 22...........................
Longest
“
“
by Niagara, January 17.................
Average number of passengers...................................................
170
13
10
20
57
T H IR T E E N T R I P S OF T H E C U N A R D L IN E TO BOSTON F R O M L IV E R P O O L ,
Total time occupied.....................................................................
Average time per trip.................................................................
Quickest trip since January, by Canada, June 2 6 ......................
Longest
“
“
by America, January 10...............
Average number of passengers...................................................
169
13
11
16
5
35
2
3
10
45
C O L L IN S L IN E .
Total amount of specie shipped since January.........................
“ number of passengers sailed since January.....................
“
“
“
arrived since January...................
Largest “
“
in, per Arctic, June 30...................
“
“
“
out, per Baltic, May 15.................
“
amount of specie shipped, per Arctic, February 7 ....
$4,120,690
1,321
791
120
172
$1,010,680
C U N A R D L IN E -----N E W Y O R K .
Total amount of specie shipped since January..........................
“ number of passengers sailed since January....................
“
“
“
arrived since January.................
Largest “
“
in, per Asia, February 28........... .
“
“
“
out, per Asia, June 16.................
“
amount of specie shipped, per Niagara, February 11
$5,348,773
1,050
740
90
157
$958,S60
C U N A R D L IN E — BOSTON.
Total amount of specie shipped since January.........................
“ number of passengers sailed since January....................
“
“
“
arrived since January.................
Largest “
“
in, per Canada, June 23.............
“
“
“
out, per Canada, May 26 ..........
“
amount of specie shipped, per America, June 2 3 ...
$1,182,829
453
590
78
63
$289,000
379
Railroad, Canal, and Steamboat Statistics.
Specie shipped per Collins and Cunard steamers from New York, Jan
uary to July 1st, 1852............................................................................
Specie shipped per Cunard line from Boston, January to July 1st, 1852.
Total Collins and Cunard since July, 1851 ..............................................
$9,475,463
1,182,829
32,159,613
CO LLIN S L IN E .
Quickest trip ever perform ed—
Days. Hours. Min.
Outwards, Arctic, Captain Luce, February 7, 1852.....................
Inwards, Baltic, Captain Comstock, August 6, 1851........
9
9
18
13
10
10
2
6
9
10
20
1
30
40
C U N A R D L IN E ----- N E W Y O R K .
Outwards, Asia, Captain Judkins, May 7, 1851...........................
Inwards, Africa, Captain Ryrie, August 2, 1851.........................
CUNARD
L I N E -----BOSTON.
Outwards, Asia, Captain Judkins, December 10, 1851.................
Inwards, Canada, Captain Lang, June 28, 1851...........................
45
30
The Niagara, which sailed from Liverpool January 17th, put into Halifax in distress,
having been at sea nearly seventeen days, and encountering severe weather. The At
lantic sailed from Liverpool February 11th, and when within six hundred miles of
New York broke a part of her machinery connecting with the larboard crank, which
detained her two days. The America from Liverpool, February 21st, was seized in
Boston, March 8, by United States officers, on a charge of smuggling. Several mer
chants of high standing immediately gave the required bonds, and she sailed on her
regular day. Very little specie has been brought by either line. The Canada, March
20, America, April 3d, and Pacific, April 21st, each delivered small shipments. It
will be seen that the Collins line yet takes the lead, both as regards passengers and
speed. Captain Luce, of the Arctic, has the honor of having accomplished the pas
sage from New York to Liverpool in nine days eighteen hours and thirty minutes.
This, with the famous trip of Captain Comstock in the Baltic, places the Collins
line in a proud position. The steamship Arabia, now finishing for the Cunarders, is
expected to prove a formidable rival for Collins, but it must not be supposed that im
provements cannot be made upon the models of the American ships.
j . h . c. c.
STATISTICS OF TIIE WESTERN RAILROAD.
Incorporated in 1833; opened throughout October, 1834; length, 156 miles ; length
of double track, 54 miles ; cost, January 1, 1S52, $9,953,700.
The following table exhibits the operations of the road, during the last ten years ;
its cost, and the market price of the stock, at the beginning of each year. The item
of “ interest” is not included in the receipts or expenses :—
Year.
1842...........
1843........... .
1844........... .
1845...........
1846...........
1847 ..........
1848...........
1849........... .
1S50..........
1851...........
Cost.
$7,0S7,200
7,501.200
7,686,200
7,741.700
8,185,800
8,769,500
9,900,100
9,926,900
9,963,700
Total....
Val., p’r shr., Gross rec’ pts. ltun’^ expenses. Net income. Div. p.c.
$80
$512,689
$266,619
$246,070
45
573,882
303,973
269,909
53
753,753
314,074
439,679
3
91
813,480
370,621
442,859
5
96
*878,418
*412,679
*465,739
6
99
676,689
1,325,327
648,647
8
105
1,332,008
652,357
8
679,711
102
588,322
1,343,810
755,488
8
101
1,369,514
607,549
761,965
8
104
597,756
1,353,895
8
757,139
10,256,845
4,790,639
5,466,206 A. 5 2-5
TH E COAL TRAFFIC OF RAILWAYS.
As we mentioned a few weeks back, the Great Western Railway Company will
shortly, by means of the South Wales Liue, commence to bring coals to London. In
the neighborhood of the South Wales Liue there are coals in great quantities and of
For eleven months.
380
,
,
Railroad Canal and Steamboat Statistics
.
various qualities—some of the best. The Great Western •will, we believe, transport
coal to London at a rate of charge which the Marquis of Salisbury and Mr. Grahame
say is not only unreraunerative, but productive of actual loss. It would seem that the
Great Western are about to commit the same gross blunder that the Great Northern
now persist in—namely, to carry coals long distances for (about) one half-penny per
ton per mile! The observations of the Canal Directors, (the Marquis and Mr. Gra*
hame,) instead of deterring railway directors from carrying the coal traffic, seem to
spur them on in the enterprise. The fact is, the more the subject is investigated, the
more apparent it is that under good management, and in consideration of large quan
tities and long distances, coals can be profitably carried for the charge of about one
half-penny per ton per mile.
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Company has also its eye upon
a large coal traffic.
In short, there is scarcely a line in the kingdom which will not in time carry coals.
How far will this circumstance affect the Great Northern’s coal traffic ? The an
swer is to be found in the fact that London alone consumes, in the course of a year,
three-and-a-half millions of tons of coal. The utmost the Great Northern, in their san
guineness, expect to carry, is about three-fourths of a million tons a year, and only a
portion of this to London. Therefore, there is plenty of scope for all the London rail
ways to carry coals without injury to one another.
That against which railways will compete, is water-carriage—the canals and the sea.
We think that it is highly probable the coal traffic will pass from water conveyance
to railway, as passengers have from coaches.
If railways can carry coals as cheaply as canals, they will certainly do it better; for
on railways there are no periodical stoppages by reason of bad weather; no frightful
loss of life or property (except that which occurs now and then from gross mismanage
ment—which is within the control of man, and in the course of time will be entirely
prevented); and the coals are delivered in better condition.
The railways will, there can be no doubt, confer an immense benefit on the public
by the carriage of coals. Not only will the public have them in better condition for
use, but there will be no room for jobbing. The traders will not be enabled to run up
prices enormously in severe weather. The supply will be more regular.
The articles which some time ago appeared in the Journal on this subject, have
called forth the valuable communication of Mr. E. Hasket Derby, of Boston, America,
which now appears in another column. Mr. Derby is a first-rate authority on the
traffic of American railways. As an American railway director, his position alone is
sufficient to command a certain degree of respect; but having devoted his time and
talents to the study of the American railway system, he is entitled to the utmost def
erence on the subject.
He shows that in America, where the railways labor under some disadvantages in
the carriage of heavy traffic—fuel, for one thing, being dearer—water-carriage could
not stand against the competition of railway; that the railway could carry coals at a
cheap rate with profit. The coal traffic of the American railway in question is carried
at about five-eighths of a penny per ton per mile. This is as low, or somewhat lower
than the English Great Northern’s charge. The American charge of five-eighths of a
penny per ton per mile is for a run of ninety-five miles. The Great Northern’s charge
of one half-penny per ton per mile is for a run of one hundred and seventy-six miles;
but for their shorter distances the Great Northern charge more than one half-penny
per ton per mile—about one penny, or double. The average receipt of the Great
Northern from coals is, we believe, more than the American charge of five-eighths of
a penny per ton-mile, while their average run would be full as long. Yet the Ameri
can railway company, and notwithstanding their additional expenses of working, ex
tract a profit from their coal traffic of just about 50 per cent, the expenses including
the cost of back carriage. This fact powerfully supports the position which it will be
remembered we, in our articles on the coal traffic referred to, took up— namely, that
the Great Northern carry their coals at a profit of about 50 per cent.
The American line carries very little else than coal. Its passengers are not many,
and the tons of coal are to the tons of merchandise carried as 1,650,270 tons to 63,807
tons. Of its whole revenue of 82,314,330 per annum as much as 82,018,870 is de
rived from the coal traffic.— Hcrapatli's Journal.
,
,
Railroad Canal and Steamboat Statistics
.
381
BREAKING OF RAILWAY CAR AXLES.
A writer in the New York Journal o f Commerce attributes the breaking of the
axles of railroad cars to torsion, or twisting, occasioned in turning curves. He says
that both wheels are keyed, or otherwise fastened, on the axle ; so that they must
have a common velocity. In turning curves, the wheel on the outer rail must have a
motion as much greater than the other as is due to the greater circle which it traver
ses. The only way, therefore in which the equal speed of the two wheels can be at
tained, is by the sliding of that on the inner rail, so as to compensate for its diminished
velocity. The sliding of the wheel operates to twist the axle, and it generally parts
at its connection with the wheels. This seems to be owing to the whole leverage of
the wheel, acting from its flange to the center, bearing on this point. The only effec
tual remedy for this evil, is some method of securing an independent motion to oppo
site wheels; at the same time taking the strain off the axle. This fact may afford a
hint to the inventive genius of some of our mechanics.
In answer to this, a civil engineer in the Public Ledger of Philadelphia, says :—
“ The writer is probably not aware that all railway wheels are conical, or in other
words, they have a larger diameter near their flanges, than at the outside of their
treads ; and that, as the centrifugal force of the trains drives their flanges towards the
exterior rail, their bearing diameter on that rail increases, and on the interior rail it
decreases, so as to compensate for the difference in the length of the rails, and avoid
the sliding alluded to. Engineers, knowing the radius of their curvatures, regulate
the cone and play of their wheels to suit; and are well pleased with the practical working
of the simple mathematical rules which they apply. The frequent reference I see made
this subject, by those who are evidently not familiar with railway mechanism, must
be the excuse for this explanation, by a civil engineer.
RAILROADS IN SPAIN.
The Spanish provincial correspondence and newspapers are full of accounts of rail
roads and projects of railroads, by means ot which every province looks forward to have
its resources developed and its riches increased. Cadiz hopes to see her fallen trade
revive; Barcelona to drive even the English smuggling trade in cottons out of the
market. The semi-official organ of the ministry avails itself of the enthusiasm awak
ened on the subject by representing the present ministry as the government, whose
special mission it is to endow the country with these means of communication, which
are expected to change the lace of Spain, and put her on a level with the other nations
of Europe.
RAILWAY ACCIDENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
The usual return relating to railway acccidents for the half-year, ending 31st of
December, 1851, has been printed. The number of passengers was 4t,509,392. The
number of persons killed was 113, and 264 injured. There were eight passengers
killed and 213 injured, from causes beyond <their own control; 9 passengers were killed
and 14 injured owing to their own misconduct or want of caution; 30 servants of
companies or of contractors were killed and 17 injured from causes beyond their own
control; 32 servants of companies or of contractors were killed and 11 injured owing
to their misconduct or want of caution; 33 trespassers and other persons, neither
passengers nor servants of the companies were killed and 9 injured by crossing or
walking on railways. There was one suicide. Tho length of railways open on the
30th of June, 1851, was 6,698 miles, and on the 1st of December last, 6,890 miles ;
being an increase during the half-year of 192 miles.
T IIE LONGEST TUNNEL IN TH E WORLD.
One of the longest, if not the longest tunnel in the world is now in a forward
state of completion. It is situated in Hungary, and leads from the shores of the
River Gran, not far from Zarnowitz, to the mines in the Schemnitzer Hills. It is two
geographical or about ten English miles long. It is intended to answer the double
purpose of a channel to drain off the water accumulating in the works, and a railway
to transport the ore from the mines to the river.
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures
382
.
JOURNAL OF MINING AND MANUFACTURES.
GOLD M INING IN CALIFORNIA.
F reem an H unt, E sq ., Conductor Merchants' Magazine, New Y ork : —
S i r :—Gold is obtained in California from two sources—thq placer diggings and the
quartz rock. A large portion of that which has been exported from that State has been
obtained from the placer diggings. This method has been prosecuted to such an extent
and with so much industry and care, that the best placers have been explored, and
digging in the sand and banks of the streams has become much less profitable than at
first. The consequence is that the attention of the gold seekers is more strongly at
tracted to the rock mining, which has been prosecuted to some extent, but in a far
more limited degree than the diggings in placers.
In quartz mining, the gold is found penetrating the rock like veins, and to obtain it
the rock must be crushed to a powder which is washed and the gold finally separated
from the dust by mixing it with quicksilver.
There are two important points in this process. The first is, to crush the rock, and
the second to obtain all the gold by the use of the quicksilver.
The first machinery for crushing quartz rock was put up in June and commenced
work in July, 1851, on the big Mariposa vein. This was a Chilian mill and was put
up by Messrs. Cook & Jackson; it crushed about five hundred pounds in twelve hours.
The amalgam was examined once in three or four days and the yield found to be $250.
to $375. The Chilian mills have proved to turn out more gold to a pound of the same
ore, but they have failed tntirely because they crush such a small amount in a day.
In this respect they are only one step in advance of common hand mortars. This
same company in August went another step in advance by puting up “ Stockton
Stamps,” and set them in motion in September. These stamps weighed 209 pounds
and were worked by a steam-engine. But they were too light. They would crush
only two and a-half tons in twenty-four hours. These light stamps were sent out to
California under the impression that the rock would yield $2 00 or $3 00 in gold to
the pound.
Stockton & Aspinwall’s mill went into operation on the same vein in November,
1850. It contained twelve stamps weighing each 159 pounds. Their mine was poor
and the only part of their claims which worked to a profit was 120 feet on the Mari
posa vein, and the rock from this they were obliged to transport to the mill at an ex
pense of one cent per pound, and the amount crushed was only 3,500 pounds in twelve
hours. Of course this would not pay. It was the assertion of the agent of this com
pany that if the machinery had been heavier they would have succeeded. And this is
probable, for the miners are now in the habit of bringing the rock to the mills and
paying from $20 00 to $30 00 per ton for crushing it ; which is an evidence that it is
profitable.
All these first mills used the bowls with a single shaking table for separating the
gold from the pulverized dust, by which about 15-16 of it ran off and only 1-16
passed through the shaking table.
These mills were originally designed for the gold mines of Virginia and Georgia,
where they may have been very successful; but they were, unfortunately, found en
tirely unsuitable, under the circumstances, for California. They were generally driven
by an engine of eight or ten horse power and, therefore, were competent to crush
four or five tons of rock in a day. Such a mill, at Virginia prices for labor, could be
worked at an expense of fifty dollars per day. If we suppose the yield to be one cent
per pound, for five tons, it would amount to two hundred dollars per day, or one hun
dred and fifty dollars net profit in Virginia,
In California, on the other hand, the wages of the same number of laborers, or
force, which w’as employed in Virginia, would amount to $274 per day, which would
not pay expenses by $174. At two cent9 of gold to the pound of rock, the yield is
only $400, which is a very insignificant return for California.
By contrasting this method of labor with that adopted by the successful mills, the
importance of suitable machinery will be readily apprehended.
The Grass Valley Quartz Mining Company’s Mill has been regarded as the “ Model
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
3S3
Mill,” in California, as, in its success, it has been one of the most prosperous. This
mill has thus far crushed the rock upon the old fashioned method long in use among
miners, and known as “ stampers.” Their form is somewhat modified and much lar
ger on the face than usual. There are ten of them in the mill weighing each about
700 pounds, and they crush from thirty to forty tons of ore per day. This at a yield
of two cents to the pound is $1,600 per day, and supposing only two hundred work
ing days in a year, amounts to $320,000. But this mill has actually yielded on some
days $3,600. Its average, however, is $70 to the ton or 3A cents to the pound. The
quartz, even under the imperfect method of separating the gold with quicksilver, has
yielded at this mill an average of three-and-a half cents to the pound of rock.
This mill paid its original cost in sixty days after it was constructed : subsequently it
has paid large profits, notwithstanding it has been three times remodeled, improved
and enlarged. In the months of April and May alone the net profits of this mill exceeded
$17,800, and the last arrival brings a statement of equal richness in the yield. The
highest estimate of expenses for running a mill of this kind is in round numbers about
$400 per day.
There is one point in connection with quartz mining in California which has defeated
many enterprising persons and caused the loss of capital also. It is that lack of ex
perience which is necessary to command success in all mining operations. Many have
attempted it who possess little or no real knowledge of mining; many also have em
barked in it without the necessary capital and have not been able to sustain them
selves until abundant proceeds could be realized from the mine. All have been in
error in relation to the suitable machinery.
The method of separating the gold from the pulverized quartz has been very im
perfect, and in some cases not more than one-half or one-third of it is obtained, as was
proved by assaying it afterwards. Of course, this has been an unexpected difficulty to
many. But it has now been to a considerable extent obviated by improved amalga
mators, and will doubtless be still further remedied hereafter.
The extent of the quartz veins is estimated by Prof. Blake to be comprised “ within
a belt of land ten miles broad and running the whole length of the country north and
south, and doubtless furnishing a supply of gold which it will take centuries to ex
haust.” He also says “ there can be no doubt but that quartz mining is destined to be
the most permanent source of gold in this country. It will not be many years before
it will attract that attention which, as an investment for capital, it evidently deserves.
J.T.
TH E MANUFACTURE OF GLASS,
We commence in the present number of the Merchants' Magazine the publication of
a series of papers on the manufacture of glass. These cannot fail to be acceptable to
our readers, as they will contain much valuable information relating to the discovery
of the materials and their various improvements, which, under the influence of heat,
are fused into a substance long known as the beautiful, pellucid glass, so indispensa
ble in domestic, chemical, building, and various other uses. The process through which
its manufacture has reached its present state of perfection, with statistical and other
valuable knowledge of the art of glass making will be embodied in these articles.
To say they are from the pen of Deming Jarvis, Esq., the well known founder and
principal of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Manufactory, in Sandwich, Mass., is suf
ficient assurance to all who know this gentleman that they will be reliable and
interesting.
TH E M ANUFACTURE O F
G L A S S.-----N O . I .
It may be safely asserted, that no department of art has from its earliest period
attracted so much attention and investigation, none involved so extensive a range of
inquiry, or been productive of more ingenious, interesting, and beautiful results, than
the manufacture of glass.
The question of the. origin of glass goes back to the remotest antiquity, and is in
volved in almost entire obscurity. All that modern writers on the subject are enabled
to do, is to glean hints and indistinct statements in reference to the subject, from the
very brief and unsatisfactory accounts of the ancients. These, however, throw but a
feeble light upon the precise point of the origin of the manufacture; and little is
proved beyond the fact of its great antiquity.
384
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures
.
That the subject held a very prominent place in the technological literature of the
ancients, is clearly proved— Pliny, Theophrastus, Strabo, Petronius, Arbiter, Berzelias,
Neri, Merrit, Runket, and others, referring constantly to it. The writings of all these
demonstrate the deep interest existing upon the subject at their various times; but
still fail to present us with any connected or detailed account of the rise and progress
of the art.
When it is considered that the elements involved in the manufacture of glass are
derived from the earth,—not one of its components being in itself transparent, but
earthy, opaque, and apparently incapable of being transmuted into a transparent
and brilliant substance,— when it is considered that from these a material is produced
almost rivaling the diamond in luster and refractive power, and sometimes so closely
resembling the richest gems as to detract from the value of the costliest,—can it be
wonderful that in the earliest ages the art was invested with a mysterious interest at
taching to no other mechanical department ?
From the earliest periods, up to the eighteenth century, the art, from the peculiar
knowledge and skill involved, could only minister to the wants or pleasures of the
luxurious rich. The rarity of the material rendered the articles greatly valuable, as
tasteful ornaments of dress or furniture ;—indeed, it is well known that the glass of
Venice, at one period, was as highly valued as is plate of the present day ; and the
passion for possessing specimens, promised in England at least, to excite a spirit of
speculation fully rivaling that exhibited in the tulip mania, so ridiculous, as well as
ruinous, in Holland.
It has been reserved for the present age, however, to render the art of glass making
tributary to the comfort of man—to the improvement of science—and by its moder
ate cost, to enable the poorest and humblest to introduce the light and warmth of the
sun within, while excluding the storms and chilly blasts; to decorate his table with
the useful, and minister to his taste, at a cost barely more than that of one of his or
dinary days’ labor. That which once was prized and displayed as the treasure and
inheritance of the wealthy, and which with sacred carefulness was handed down as of
precious value, may now be found in the humblest dwellings, and is procured at a
charge which makes the account of the former costliness of glass to partake almost of
the character of the fabulous and visionary.
That the art of glass manufacture is destined to greater progress and higher tri
umphs, cannot for a moment be doubted; and the time will arrive when, from in
creased purity of materials and progressive chemical development, the present posi
tion of the art will fall comparatively into the shade. It is no undue stretch of the
imagination to conceive that lenses shall be perfected, whose 'purity will enable the
astronomer to penetrate the remotest region of space ; new worlds may perhaps be
revealed, realizing all that the “ moon hoax ” promised—
“ The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue, etherial sky
And spangled heavens-------------- ”
be read as a book, and man perhaps recognize man in other worlds than his own. It
may be that in its triumphs it is destined to concentrate the rays of the sunlight, and
make the eye to pierce into the secrets and deep places of the sea,
“ Full many a fathom deep.”
Man may be enabled to read the wonders and the hidden works of the Almighty;—
it may be, that the power of the traditional lens of Archimedes upon the fleet of Marcellus shall be realized, in the absorbing and igniting, and perhaps useful power of
some feature of its progress; and in its sphere, the art become fruitful in practical
results, rivaling the highest attainments in the department of scientific progress. It is
a visionary speculation to believe, that by the aid of machinery it may be readily
rolled into sheets, as is iron or lead now in use. It will minister more and more to
the necessities and comfort of mankind, and contribute largely to the many and vari
ous manufacturing purposes of the age. That its practical adaptations are not already
known or exhausted, cannot be doubted; and its applicability in some cheaper form
for vessels of large size and certain shape, and (strange as it may seem) for tesselated
and ordinary flooring and pavements, are among the results which we think yet to be
demonstrated in its progress.
An elegant writer in a late number of Harper's Magazine says :—
“ The importance of glass, and the infinite variety of objects to which it is applica
ble, cannot be exaggerated ; indeed, it would be extremely difficult to ennumerate its
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures
.
3S5
properties, or estimate adequately its value. This, then, transparent substance, so
light and fragile, is one of the most essential ministers of science and philosophy, and
enters so minutely into the concerns of life, that it has become indispensable to the
daily routine of our business, our wants, and our pleasures. It admits the sun and
excludes the wind, answering the double purpose of transmitting light and preserving
warmth; it carries the eye of the astronomer to the remotest region of .space;—
through the lenses of the microscope it develops new worlds of vitality, which with
out its help must have been but imperfectly known; it renews the sight of the old,
and assists the curiosity of the young; it empowers the mariner to descry distant
ships, and trace far off shores—the watchman on the cliff to detect the operations of
hostile fleets and midnight contrabandists, and the lounger in the opera to make the
tour of the circles from his stall; it preserves the light of the beacon from the rush
of the tempest, and softens the flame of the lamp upon our tables; it supplies the
revel with those charming vessels in whose bright depths we enjoy the color as well as
flavor of our wine; it protects the dial whose movements it reveals; it enables the
student to penetrate the wonders of nature, and the beauty to survey the marvels of
her person ; it, reflects, magnifies, and diminishes—as a medium of light and observa
tion its uses are without limit, and as an article of mere embellishment, there is no
form into which it may not be molded, or no object of luxury to which it may not
be adapted.”
In contrast with the foregoing, we will make one more extract from an English
writer of ancient date. Halinshed, in his “ Chronicles,” published during the reign of
Elizabeth, says:—
“ It is a world to see in these our days, wherein gold and silver aboundeth, that our
gentility, as loathing these metals, (because of the plenty,) do now generally choose
rather the Venice Glasses, both for our wine and beer, than any of these metals, or
stone, wherein before time we have been accustomed to drink; but such is the nature
of man generally, that it most coveteth things difficult to be attained—and such is the
estimation of this stufF, that many become rich only with therein new trade into Murana, (a town near to Venice,) from whence the very best are daily to be had, and
such as for beauty do well near match the Crystal or the ancient Murrhina Vase,
whereof now no man has knowledge. And as this is seen in the gentility, so iu the
wealthy commonality the like desire of glasses is not neglected, whereby the gain
gotten by their purchase is much more increased, to the benefit of the merchant. The
poorest endeavor to have glasses also if they may; but as the Venetian i3 somewhat
too dear for them, they content themselves with such as are made at home of fern and
burnt stone ; but in fine, all go one way, that is to the shades, at last.”
P R O P E R T IE S O F G L A S S.
Glass has properties peculiarly its own—one of which is that it is of no greater
bulk when hot, or in the melted state, than when cold. Some writers state that it is
(contrary to the analogy of all other metals) of greater bulk when cold than when hot.
It is transparent in itself—but the materials of which it is composed are opaque. It
is not malleable—but iu ductility ranks next to gold. Its flexibility, also, is so great
that when hot it can be drawn out like elastic thread miles in length in a moment, and
to a minuteness equal to that of the silk worm. Brittle, also, to a proverb, it is so
elastic that it can be blown to a gauze like thinness, so as easily to float upon the air.
Its elasticity is also shown by the fact that a globe, hermetically sealed, if dropped
upon a polished anvil, will recoil two-thirds the distance of its fall, and remain entire
until the second or third rebound. (The force with which solid balls strike each other
may be estimated at ten, and the reaction by reason of the elastic property at nine.)
Vessels, called bursting-glasses, are made of sufficient strength to be drawn about a
floor ; a bullet may be dropped into one without fracture of the g la s s e v e n the
stroke of a mallet sufficiently heavy to drive a nail, has failed to break such glasses.
In a word, ordinary blows fail to produce an impression upon articles of this kind. If,
however, a piece of flint, cornelian, diamond, or other hard stone, fall into one of
these glasses, or be shaken therein a few moments, the vessel will fly into a myriad of
pieces.
Glass of the class called Prince Rupert drops, exhibits another striking property.
Let the small point be broken, and the whole flies with a shock into powder. Wri
ters have endeavored to solve the philosophy of this phenomenon—some by attributing
it to percussion putting in motion some subtile fluid witli which the essential substance
of glass is permeated, and thus the attraction of cohesion being overcome. Some deVOL. X X V II---- NO. III.
25
386
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures
.
nominate the fluid electricity, and assert that it exists in glass in great quantities, and
is capable of breaking glass when well annealed. These writers do not appear to
have formed any conclusion satisfactory to themselves, and fail to afford any well-de
fined solution to the mystery.
Another phenomenon in connection with glass tubes is recorded in the “ Philo.
Transaction,” No. 476 :—
“ Place a tube, say two feet long, before a fire in a horizontal position, having the
position properly supported, say by putting in a cork at each end supported by pins
for an axis,—the rod will acquire a rotary motion round the axis, and also a progres
sive motion towards the fire even if the supporters are declined from the fire. Wh '.n
the progressive motion of the tube towards the fire is stopped by any obstacle, the
rotation is still continued. When the tubes are placed in nearly an upright position,
leaning to the right hand, the motion will be from east to west; but if they lean to
the left hand, their motion will be from west to east; and the nearer they are placed
to an upright position the less will be their motion either way. If the tubes be placed
on a sheet of glass, instead of moving towards the fire they will move from it—and
about the axis in a contrary direction from what they did before—nay, they will
recede from the fire, and move a little upwards when the plane inclines towards the
fire.”
Glass is used for pendulums, as not being subject to affections from heat or cold. It
is, as is well known, a non conductor. No metallic condenser possesses an equal power
with one of glass. In summer, when moisture fails to collect on a metallic surface,
open glass will gather it on the exterior—the slightest breath of air evidently affect
ing the glass with moisture. Dew will affect the surface of glass while apparently
uninfluential upon other surfaces.
The properties of so called “ musical glasses” are strikingly singular. Glass bowls,
partly filled with water, in various quantity, will, as is well known, emit musical
sounds, varying with the thickness of their edges or lips. When rubbed, too, with
a wet finger gently, the water in the glass is plainly seen to tremble and vibrate.
Bells manufactured of glass have been found the clearest and most sonorous—the
vibration of sound extending to a greater degree than in metallic bells.
Glass resists the action of all acids, except the “ fluoric.”
It loses nothing in
weight by use or age. It is more capable than all other substances of receiving the
highest degree of polish. If melted seven times over and properly cooled in the fur
nace, it will receive a polish rivaling almost the diamond in brilliancy. It is capable
of receiving the richest colors procured from gold or other metallic coloring, and will
retain its original brilliancy of hue for ages. Medals, too, imbedded in glass, can be
made to retain forever their original purity and appearance.
Another singular property of glass is shown in the fact that when the furnace, as
the workmen term it, is settled, the metal is perfectly plain and clear—but if by ac
cident the metal becomes too cool to work, and the. furnace heat is required to be
raised, the glass which had before remained in the pots perfectly calm and
plain, immediately becomes agitated and apparently boiling. The glass rises in amass
of spongy matter and bubbles, and is rendered worthless. A change is however im
mediately effected by throwing a tumbler of water upon the metal, when the agita
tion immediately ceases, and the glass resumes its original quiet and clearness.
All writers upon the subject of glass manufacture fail to show anything decisive uppon the precise period of its invention. Some suppose it to have been invented be
fore the flood. Nervi traces its antiquity to the yet problematical time of Job.
It seem s clear, however, that the art was known to the Egyptians thirty-five hun
dred years since; for records handed down to us in the form of paintings, hiero
glyphics, <fcc., demonstrate its existence in the reign of the first Osirtasen, and existing
relics in glass taken from the ruins of Thebes, with hieroglypbical data, clearly place
its antiquity at a point fifteen centuries prior to the time of Christ.
Mr. Kennet Loftus, “ the first European who has visited the ancient ruins of Warka
—in Mesopotamia—writes thus: Warka is no doubt the Erech of Scripture, the second
city of Nimrod, and it is the Orchoe of the Chaldees, the mounds within the walls
affords subjects of high interest to the historian, they are filled, or I may say composed
of coffins piled upon each other to the hight of forty-five feet.
“ The coffins are of baked clay, covered with green glaze, and embossed with figures
of warriors, Ac., and within are ornaments of gold, silver, iron, copper and glass."
Other writers believe that glass was in more general use in the ancient, than in
comparatively modem times, and affirm that among the Egyptians it was used even
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
387
as material for coffins. It is certainly true that so well did the Egyptians understand
the art, that they excelled in the imitation of precious stones, and were well acquainted
with the metallic oxides used in coloring glass; and the specimens of their skill, still
preserved in the British Museum, and in private collections, prove the great skill and
ingenuity of their workmen in mosaic similar in appearance to the modern paper
weights. Among the specimens of Egyptian glass still existing, is a fragment repre
senting a lion in bas relief, well executed and anatomically correct. Other specimens
are found inscribed with Arabic characters.
All writers agree that the glass houses iu Alexandria, in Egypt, were highly cele
brated for the ingenuity and skill of their workmen, and the extent of their manu
factures.
,
Strabo relates that the Emperor Hadrian received from an Egyptian priest a num
ber of glass cups in mosaic, sparkling with every color, and deemed of such rare value
that they were used only on grand festivals.
The Tombs at Thebes, the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the remains of
the villa of the Emperor Tiberius, go not only incidentally to establish the antiquity
of the art, but also to prove the exquisite taste and skill of the artists of their various
periods.
The first glass houses, well authenticated, were erected in the city of Tyre. Modern
writers upon the subject generally refer to Pliny in establishing the fact that the Phenicians were the inventors of the art of glass making. The tradition is that the art
was originally brought to light under the following circumstances :—A vessel being
driven by a storm to take shelter at the mouth of the river Belus, the crew were
obliged to remain there some length of time. In the process of cooking a fire was
made upon the ground, whereon was abundance of the herb ‘ kale.’ That plant burn
ing to ashes, the saline properties became incorporated with the sand. This causing
vitrification, the compound now called glass was the result. The fact becoming known,
the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon essayed the work and brought the new invention
into practical use. This is the tradition—but modern science demonstrates the false
philosophy, if not the incorrectness, of Pliny’s account; and modern manufacturers
will readily detect the error, from the impossibility of melting silex and so by the
heat necessary for the ordinary boiling purposes.
It is a well authenticated fact, however, that there were whole streets in Tyre en
tirely occupied by glass works; and history makes no mention of any works of this
character at an earlier period than the time mentioned by Pliny.
That Tyre possessed peculiar advantages for the manufacture, is very clear from
geographical and geological data, the sand upon the shore at the mouth of the river
Belus being pure silica and well adapted to the manufacture. The extensive range
of Tyrian Commerce, too, gave ample facilities for the exportation aud sale of the
staple; and for some ages it must have constituted almost the only article, or at least
the prominent article of trade. Doubtless the rich freights of “ the ships of Tyre,”
mentioned in Scripture, may in part have been composed of a material now as com
mon and easily procured as any of its original elements.
From Tyre and Sidon the art was transferred to Rome. Pliny states it flourished
most extensively during the reign of Tiberius, entire streets of the city being then
occupied by the glass manufactories. From the period of Tiberius the progress of the
art seems more definite and marked, both as relates to the quantity and mode of
manufacture.
It was during the reign of Nero, so far as we can discover, that the first perfectly
clear glass, resembling crystal, was manufactured. Pliny states that Nero, for two
cups of ordinary size with two handles, gave six thousand sestertia, equal in our cur
rency to about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and that rich articles of glass
were in such general use among the wealthy Romans as almost to supersede articles
of gold and silver. The art, however, at that period, seems to have been entirely de
voted to articles of luxury, and from the great price paid, supported many establish
ments, all however evidently upon a comparatively small scale, and confined, as it
would appear, to families.
lip to this period no evidence appears to prove that any other than colored articles
in glass were made. It is clear, too, that the furnaces and melting pots then in use,
were of very limited capacity, the latter being of crucible shape ; and it was not until
the time of Nero that the discovery was made that muffled crucibles or pots, as used
at the present day, were required in order to make crystal glass. (Without them, it
is well known, crystal glass cannot be perfected.) It appears, further, that a definite
388
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
street in the city of Rome was assigned to the manufacturers of this article, and that at
the reign of Severus, they had attained such a position and accumulated wealth to
such a degree, that a formal tax was levied upon them. Some writers take the
ground that this assessment was the primary cause of the transfer of the manufacture
to other places.
That the peculiar property of the manufacture at this period was its clear and
crystal appearance, is abundantly evident; and this, and the great degree of perfec
tion to which the manufacture of white or crystal like glass was carried, are by many
writers thought to have been proved from classical sources—Horace and Virgil both
referring to it, the one speaking of its beautiful luster and brilliancy, the other com
paring it to the clearness of the waters of the Fucine Lake.
D. J.
STATISTICS OF NOVA SCOTIA MANUFACTURES.
From an important document, recently published, we gather the subjoined statistics
of the manufacturing industry of Nova Scotia in 1851:—
Value. Hands emp’d.
Saw-mills..............................................
Grist-mill?...............................................
Steam-mills or factories........................
Tanneries..............................................
Leather, manufactured.........................
Boots and shoes manufactured.............
Foundries..............................................
Iron, smelted........................................
Value of castings..................................
Weaving and Carding establishments.. ..No.
Handlooms..........................................
Fulled cloth manufactured...................
Not fulled, manufactured ...................
Flannel manufactured...........................
Breweries and distilleries..................... ..No.
Malt liquor manufactured..................... •gals.
Distilled liquor manufactured...............
Other factories...................................... ..No.
Agricultural implements manufactured
Chairs and cabinet ware manufactured
Carriages manufactured.......................
Other wooden ware manufactured.......
Coal raised.... .............. ............ chaldrons
Lime burnt.............................................casks
Bricks made............................................... No.
Gypsum quarried..................................... tons
Grinding stones quarried................................
Soap manufactured.........................................
Candles manufactured...................................
M a p le Sugar manufactured...... .............lbs.
Vessels built............................................. No.
T o n n a g e ..........................................................................
Boats built......................................................
1,153
398
10
237
.,
9
400
....
81
11,096
119,698
790,104
219,352
17
78,076
11,900
131
....
....
114,992
28,603
2,845,400
79,795
£89,869
72,649
26,762
52,625
73,654
12,900
4,635
3,486
11,690
24,486
6,032
14,382
16,640
11,155
9,491
19,233
1,786
437
....
374
....
138
....
....
119
....
....
42
185
....
....
....
4,433
3,211
10,498
5,857
28,277
21,210
110,441
486
57,776
2,654
TH E FIR S T DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN AUSTRALIA.
The Whitehaven Herald gives the following information respecting the first discov
ery of gold in Australia:—
“ The first piece found was by a native. He was a bushman. The scale of intellect
of the Australian is remarkable for its lowness. Seeing his master counting a lot of
sovereigns he said he bad found a piece of “ yellow stuff,’ far bigger than all those to
gether, which he had hidden, and would bring it to his master, if he would give him
a new 'suit of corduroy. The bargain was struck, after which the man went and pro
duced a lump of Golconda, weighing one hundred and six pounds, and valued at
£5,077 4s. 6d.”
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
380
THE CUMBERLAND COAL AND IRON COMPANY.
Tbe first report of the directors of the Cumberland Coal and Iron Company is just
published. This company was organized on the 3d of May last, and owns, in Alle
ghany County, Maryland, about 7,000 acres of coal lands, with three opened working
mines, with fifteen feet coal veins, and the necessary rail-tracks, houses, shops, coal
yards, Ac., all of which property formerly belonged to the “ Washington,” “ Astor,”
“ Preston,” “ Buena Vista,” and “ People’s ” Mining Companies, and to some smaller
associations.
The cost of this real estate is set down at................................................
$3,064,800
The company is also proprietor of canal boats and barges, worth..........
35,884
And has on hand cash and bills receivable for.....................
$255,538
From which deduct debts to be paid by the company.........
156,222
-----------99,316
Capital stock not yet issued................................... ...............................
1,800,000
Making its capital
$5,000,000
Lowell Holbrook, of New York, is President, and the following gentlemen consti
tute the Board of Directors:—
J. Y\\ Tyson and C. M. Thurston, of Maryland; William Young, E. W. Dunham, H.
B. Loomis, Charles Day, Henry Coggill, D. Randolph Martin, William H. Appleton,
Thomas W. Gale, and Charles B. White, of New York.
Their report expresses a confident opinion of the great value and favorable pros
pects of the company’s property. The expense of getting the article to market is not
named iu the report, but we learn that such reductions will soon be made in the items
constituting its cost, as will allow of its delivery at New York at not far from $3 50
per ton.
Say cost of mining and delivery at Cumberland............................................
Tolls on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.........................................................
Freight from Cumberland to Alexandria........................................................
Freight from Alexandria to New York from $1 25 to...................................
Total.......................................................................................................
$0
0
1
1
60
46
10
50
$3 66
THE AUSTRALIAN GOLD DIGGINGS.
Advices have arrived by the Stebonheath, from Port Philip direct, to the 22d April.
It appears that the production at the mines was steadily increasing, and was now es
timated at £100,000 per week, or at the rate of more than £5,000,000 per annum for
this colony alone. The present vessel has brought about 60,000 ounces, valued at
£230,000; and the Vanguard, which sailed a few days previously, but which has not
yet arrived, took 17,490 ounces, nearly £70,000 worth. The quotation was 60s. to 61s.
per ounce. Great complaints continue to be made of the prevalence of crime, owing
to the influx of convicts from Van Dieman’s Land, many of whom were among the
most successful people at the mines. Rain had begun to fall at Mount Alexander, but
not so as to increase the facilities for working, and in the other districts it was still
delayed. The statement of the public revenue of the colony for the quarter had cre
ated both satisfaction and surprise, the increase being £95,592 ; a sum nearly equal to
the whole public revenue of the corresponding quarter of last year. Much of this
arose from the duties on spirits, tobacco, and foreign goods. In the territorial revenue,
likewise, there was an extraordinary augmentation. For the corresponding quarter of
1851 the total of that revenue was £9,138, and now it was £156,827; the chief items
of increase being the land sales, which amounted to £95,248; the gold licenses, which
produced £48,597; and the gold escort, which produced £4,489. The rate for bills on
England was about SJ to 10 per cent discount.
A letter from Melbourne says:—“ The total population at the diggings is estimated
by the chief commissioner at about 35,000, but a considerable portion is migratory,
390
Journal o f Mining and Manufactures.
and not half that number of licenses are issued. The present weekly produce cannot
be under 30,000 ounces, or about £100,000 in value, as the government escort alone
now brings down about 20,000 ounces, independent of the large quantity conveyed
privately. From the post-office to the River Loddon, a distance of six or seven miles,
the bed and slopes of Forest Creek present the appearance of being covered with a
series of gigantic molehills, interspersed with miserable small tents of every descrip
tion, the occupants of which have a very squallid, unhealthy appearance, from expos
ure, privation, and dust, sore eyes being universally prevalent. The roads are now
very bad, the cost of carriage from Melbourne being £22 to £25 a ton; but most peo
ple are of opinion that, when the rain falls, in about a month, they will be all but im
passable, .and serious apprehensions are entertained of a scarcity of food during the
winter months. The gold is found both in deposit and in the matrix, a quartz vein
having been struck at about twenty or thirty feet below the surface, and traced for
some distance, which is worked successfully with no other tools or machinery than
pickax, hammer, and tin dish. It has also been found in deposit in various strata of
alluvial earth, clay, and gravel, and even below the trap-rock, leaving little room to
doubt that the supply is not likely to be soon exhausted; while the Mitta-Mitta Fields,
near the boundary of the colony, on the Murray, are still all but untried.”
MANUFACTURE OF COMBS.
The greatest comb manufactory in the world is in Aberdeen, Scotland ; it is that of
Messrs. Stewart, Rowell & Co. There are 36 furnaces for preparing horns and tortois-shell for the combs, and no less than 120 iron-screw presses are continually going
in stamping them. Steam power is employed to cut the combs, and an engine of
fifty horse power is barely sufficient to do the work. The coarse combs are stamped
or cut out—two being cut in one piece at a time, by a machine invented in England
in 1828. The fiue dressing combs and all small-tooth combs, are cut by fine circular
saws, some so fiue as to cut 40 teeth in the space of one inch, aud they revolve 5,000
times in a minute. There are 1928 varieties of combs made, and the aggregate num
ber produced, of all these different sorts of combs, average upwards of 1,200 gross
weekly, or about 9,000,GOO annually ; a quantity that, if laid together lengthways,
would extend about 700 miles. The annual consumption of ox horns is about 730,000 ;
the annual consumption of hoofs amounts to 4,000,000 ; the consumption of tortoise
shell and buffalo horn, although not so large, is correspondingly valuable; even the
waste composed of horn shavings and parings of hoof, which from its nitrogenized
composition, becomes a valuable material in the manufacture of prussiate of potash,
amounts to 350 tons in the year; the broken combs in the various stages of manufac
ture average 50 or 60 gross in a week ; the very paper for packing costs $3,000 a
year.
A hoof undergoes eleven distinct operations before it becomes a finished comb. In
this great comb factory, there are 456 men and boys employed, and 164 women—in
all 620 hands. This company commenced business twenty years ago on a very small
scale, being much smaller than the smallest works in Eugland. By that determined
energy, perseverance, and shrewdness which is characteristic of that.people, they have
shot ahead of all competitors in Britain. There is a temperance society and a library
connected with the works.
MANUFACTURE OF LUMBER IN THE NORTII-WEST.
The number of saws running in 1851, on the Wisconsin River and its tributaries,
were, above—
Winnebago, Portage county.................................
Fox River, including Wolf River.........................
Mississippi, above mouth of St. Croix..................
St Croix River......................................................
Chippewa River....................................................
Black R iver..........................................................
Total...........................................................
186
Point au Barques to Algonac, on Lake Huron...
77,
56
11
17
15
10
cutting... .feet
43,400,000
30,000,000
15,000,000
26,000,000
20,000,000
14,000,000
148,400,000
93,000,000
,‘391
Mercantile Miscellanies.
M E R C A N TILE M ISCELLANIES.
“ AN OLD MERCHANT’S ADVICE.”
F reem an H unt ,
Esq., Editor Merchant's Magazine, etc. :—
Sir :—Y our Magazine for July, 1852, has just been banded me by a young gentle
man in my employ, and my attention expressly directed to a letter, or rather a piece
entitled “ A n Old Merchant's Advice." With my young friend, (whose principles are
too well established to be misled by such articles,) I agree that said piece should never
have been admitted into your Magazine without a condemnatory notice from you as
conductor of said publication.
Your Magazine, as no doubt you are aware, is extensively used by the younger
class, and after you have read over that piece again, you will surely agree with me
that it will have a decidedly bad tendency, and cannot be without bad effect on the
minds of many who need no additional aids to roguery.
I trust you will excuse the liberty thus taken, and regard me as no doubt you are,
a friend to good morals.
Very truly yours,
B a l t im o r e , A u g u s t
5, 1852.
O.
F.
P.
Proverbial wisdom has declared the “ counsel of a friend” to be of the highest val
ue, and we are the last to deny the truth, “ he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”
We therefore feel not only strengthened in the assurance of our wisdom, but confident
that our correspondent in Baltimore will be assured that we regard as the act of a
true friend the admonition he has sent us, touching a certain “ jeu d'esprit" with which
we thought to enliven the “ M e r c a n t i l e M i s c e l l a n i e s ” in the number of the Mer
chants' Magazine for July, 1852 (p. 136). Our explanation—our defense we have al
ready anticipated—the piece was a jeu d'esprit. It purports to be “ An old Merchant’s
advice,” and in an apparently serious vein of real irony, it gives hints as to the var ous
tricks of trade by which many men make haste to get rich, and which the experience
of most who try it, proves the saddest example of “ more haste less speed.” Pretend
ing to tell the young merchant what he ought to do, it really tells him what he ought
not to do, and in a tone of assumed seriousness, exposes practices which men will con
sent to follow, but hardly dare to confess to themselves, much less frame them into
formal maxims of life. By throwing them into the form of grave maxims, their re
volting wickedness is made most strikingly apparent.
The same principles, taught in a more serious tone, will be found in the article on
“ Honesty in Mercantile Life,” in our June number (p. 776). Our friend cannot mis
take its meaning, and he will please credit us with that meaning, as the one we would
always be understood a3 inculcating.
Our correspondent has heard of parodies. This little piece is a prose parody on
the practices of dishonest traders. Perhaps the take-off would have been a little
more effectual, had the irony been a little more plainly brought out; but if he will
read it over again, he can hardly fail to see the real drift of the piece, and confess
that the current dishonesties of trade could hardly be more effectually shown up in
their true colors than by such satire. At the same time we must needs admire the
moral sensitiveness ot our friend, which is up in arms at the slightest assault which
he thinks is designed upon the bulwarks of mercantile morality. No one, he may
rest assured, feels a livelier anxiety for the preservation, not only from any stain, but
from any suspicion, of that mercantile character which should be of the purity of
Caesar’s wife, than the editor of the Merchants' Magazine, and we shall be gratified
for the advice of all our friends in assisting us in the promotion of this paramount
object.
•
392
Mercantile Miscellanies.
THE MACKEREL FISHERIES.
But few are aware of the great extent of the mackerel and other fisheries of tin’s
country. It has been estimated that during the summer months, or rather between
June and November, more than twenty thousand vessels are constantly engaged in
the different kinds of fisheries, employing no less than 250,000 men. By a treaty with
Great Britain, American vessels are allowed the privilege of fishing within certain
limits of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the quantity of fLh taken from this place
alone, is truly astonishing. The coast of Newfoundland yields its codfish to the hardy
sailor from May until December, while the better class of mackerel are taken from
August to October. Many mackerel, however, of a proper class, are taken along the
southern shore of our own country prior to this, but as a general thing they are deemed
worthy of little notice. The Bay of Chaleur, along the coast of Prince Edward’s
Island, the Magdalen Islands and Northumberland Straits, are considered the choicest
mackerel grounds. Here the fleet of vessels congregated at one time will often amount
to two thousand sail, although, as a general thing, not more than from two to four hun
dred vessels sail in company. At night, when the fleet is safely anchored, the lanterns
lighted on each vessel and swinging upon the shrouds, one may fancy himself looking
upon some huge city lying in repose, with its lamps all trimmed and burning.
The bait alone, which is ground up and thrown to the fish to keep them about the
vessel, is a very large item in the expense of carrying on the trade. This is either
herrings, porgies, or clams, well salted and cleansed, put up expressly for the purpose.
The average cost of it is about three-and-a-half dollars per barrel, at least two bar
rels of which are thrown away per day in good fishing. Allowing at the time we
were in the Gulf there were two thousand sail, you then have $16,000 per day, thrown
away to the fishes, or say $100 per vessel for each trip; which is below the actual
amount, and we thus have the enormous sum of $200,000.
The method of taking the mackerel is very simple. The vessel is “ hove to,” and
men are arranged on the “ windward” side, as many as can conveniently stand from
bow to stern. Each man is provided with four lines ; ouly two can be used in fast
fishing. On each line is attached the hook, w’hich is sunk into an oblong bit of lead,
called a “ jig.” A barrel is placed behind each man, into which the fish are “ snapped ”
as caught, the jaw tearing out as easily as though made of paper. Owing to tins ten
derness of the jaw, the fish must be hauled very carefully, though with great rapidity.
One man stands “ amidships,” throwing the bait which has been carefully ground, to
keep the fish about the vessel, while the hooks are baited with pork rind, a bit of liv
er, or a piece of the mackerel itself. When caught, they are split, gibbed, scraped
washed in three waters, and then salted—the whole being done with astonishing celerity.
THE PROMPT MERCHANTS’ CLERK.
A correspondent of the London Youth's Instructor relates an anecdote, wThich we
transfer to the pages of the Merchants Magazine for the especial benefit of young
men entering mercantile life:—
“ I once new a young man,” said an eminent preacher the other day, in a sermon to
young men, “ that was commencing life as a clerk. One day his employer said to
him, ‘ Now, to morrow, that cargo of cotton must be got out and weighed, and 'we
must have a regular account of it.’
“ He was a young man of energy. This was the first time he had been intrusted
to superintend the execution of this work. He made his arrangements over night,
spoke to the men about their carts and horses, and, resolved to begin very early in
the morning, he instructed the laborers to be there at half-past four o’clock. His mas
ter comes in, and, seeing him sitting in the counting-house, looks very black, supposes
that his commands had not been executed.
“ *I thought,’ said the master, 4you were requested to get out that cargo this
morning.’
“ ‘ It is all done,’ said the young man, ‘ and here is the account of it.’
“ He never looked behind him from that moment—never! His character was fixed,
confidence was established. He was found to be the man to do the thing with prompt
ness. He very soon came to be one that could not be spared; he was as necessary to
the firm as any of the partners. He was a religious man, and went through a life of
great benevolence, and at his death was able to leave his children an ample fortune.
He was not smoke to the eye nor vinegar to the teeth, but just the contrary.”
Mercan tile Miscellanies.
393
COMMERCIAL GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES.
From the able and eloquent speech o f the Hon. D avid S eym our , of New York, on
the River and Harbor Bill, delivered in the House of Representatives, July 21, 1852,
we extract the following brief but comprehensive picture of our commercial progress:
“ Let us briefly survey the present position of our Republic, and see what it de
mands of us as wise aud patriotic legislators. Our country is rapidly advancing in
her career of greatness. Compare its situation in 1838, when the last general appro
priations for the rivers and harbors were made, with its present condition, and we are
astonished at the progress we have made. No other nation has achieved so much in
the same period. We have peaceably annexed one empire, settled the boundaries of
another, and conquered a third. Our Commerce, which, fourteen years ago, was
found in three grand divisions—that of the western rivers, the northwestern lakes, and
the Atlantic coast—has crossed the isthmus, and now covers the shores of the western
ocean. To our two maritime fronts, the Atlantic and the Gulf, we have added the
Pacific. And there from a coast of sixteen hundred miles in extent, we look out
upon the primeval habitations of our race—the seats of ancient empire—and the
most inviting field ever opened to the moral or physical energies of man. Nor is the
dominion thus gained a barren scepter. On the contrary, the precious metals found
in abundance in California have placed in the hands of this Republic a monetary pow
er which, ere long, will transfer commercial ascendancy from Europe to America, and
will adjust in our great commercial emporium the balance-sheet of the world. And
can such a nation be longer held in the swaddling bands of its infancy or the leadingstrings of its childhood ? The enterprise of our country, always bold and restless, is
already, by the liberal aids of an improved science and the vast accessions of capital,
driven onward almost with maddening speed. Nothing can arrest the progress of in
dividual effort in all the avenues of Commerce. You may excite the apprehensions of
the timid, the doubts of the wavering, or the opposition of the enemies of progress,
but all will be in vain. The mighty current of events, as they are ordained, will, in
spite of our resistance, bear us onward and still onward to our destiny. It is, then,
the part of wisdom, of exalted patriotism, to grasp the helm of the ship of State,
and, with a strong and bold hand, guide it on its course by the chart of the Con-titution.
COMMISSION MERCHANTS.
The Pittsburgh D aily Despatch, puts a question, and makes a statement in the
following paragraph, which we are assured is supported by the most incontestable
evidence.
“ How is Tins?’’— Can a Commission Merchant in “ good and regular standing”
in a Christian Church, go to a steamboat officer and bargain for the shipment of say
400 bbls of flour at fo rty cents per barrel, provided the steamboat officer will agree
to fill up the bill at fifty cents per bbl.— so as to enable the merchant to make $40
over his legitimate commission, <tc., off the confiding consigner or owner, who pays
this forty dollars more than he need pay, if the whole transaction were straight for
ward and bona fide ? Is this a “ fair business transaction ?” Is it honorable or even
honest ? Is it not a mean fraud ? We think so—yet it is done here, not occasionally,
but constantly—by people affecting honor and even piety. A man who confides in
them is made to suffer to the tune of five or ten cents per hundred on the freight
which he entrusts to them for shipment, and steamboatmen must become parties to
the fraud, or in case of refusal, give place to those who will. We may be told this
is none of our business, but it is—all that demoralizes or depraves public sentiment,
concerns every wise citizen—and it is our duty to see that neither steamboatmen
nor other men are tempted or compelled to do what they feel and acknowledge to be
wrong, by those who profess to be moral Christian men. We have a host of witnesses
to support our statements, if anybody doubts.
ABSORPTION IN BUSINESS.
Some men devote themselves so exclusively to their business, as to almost entirely
neglect their domestic and social relations. A gentleman of this class having failed,
was asked what he intended to do. “ I am going home to get acquainted with my
wife ai d children,” said he.
394
Mercantile Miscellanies.
THOMAS TARBELL, A BOSTON MERCHANT.
Esq., Editor o f the Merchants' Magazine :—
D ear S i r :—The public journals of Boston have recently announced the death of
an old merchant, and a good man—Mr. T homas T ar b e ll . He was the poor man’s
friend, and for years was ever ready to dispense the bounty of our public charities,
and to aid the poor and friendless by his purse and counsel.
One provision of his will deserves a record in your valuable Magazine. He has
provided for the ultimate payment of the balance remaining unpaid on old debts
which he was owing in 18-ti, when misfortunes in business caused him to make an as
signment of his property.
Such instances are rare, and should be noticed. His friends, and the community
among which he lived, will share the feelings of pride and pleasure he would have
enjoyed, had his measure of success while he lived enabled him then to have carried
into effect this cherished purpose of his heart.
F reem an H unt,
“ The good that men do lives after them.”
Respectfully, you obedient servant,
*
*
THE FRENCH ROSE TRADE.
The Commerce in roses is an entirely French business. As early as 1779, France
exported rose bushes, and for the last twenty years enormous quantities are sent from
France to England, Russia, Germany, and the United States. The department of the
Seine alone, it is said, produces every year roses to the amount of a million of francs.
A hundred thousand stalks (pieds) are sold in the flower-market, they (francs de pied?)
amount to a hundred and fifty thousand more; finally, the grafts which are exported
are valued at eight hundred thousand. Four millions francs value of flowers are sold
in the Paris market alone, independently of what are furnished for public and private
festivals. Paris consumes five millions franca worth of strawberries; five hundred
hectares (a hectare is a little over two acres) of the department of the Seine is devoted
to this interesting culture. Epiny, near St. Denis, sends great quantities of asparagus
to England every day. Meaden sends as large an amount of plums, while Honfleur
and its suburbs dispatch to London a million francs worth of melons.
Kitchen garden culture may then be called a peculiarly French branch of industry,
for its productions figure in all the European markets, and even in Senegal and North
America.
THE ROMANCE OF TRADE.
Lundy Foot, the celebrated snuff manufacturer of Dublin, originally kept a small
tobacconist’s shop at Limerick, Ireland. One night his house, which was uninsured,
was burnt to the ground. As he contemplated the smoking ruins on the following
morning, in a state bordering on despair, some of the poor neighbors, groping among
the embers for what they could find, stumbled upon several canisters of unconsumed
but half baked snuff, which they tried, and found so grateful to their noses, that they
loaded their waistcoat pockets with the spoil.
Lundy Foot, roused from his stupor, at length imitated their example, and took a
pinch of his own property, when he was instantly struck by the superior pungency
and flavor it had acquired from the great heat to which it had been exposed. Treas
uring up this valuable hint, he took another house, in a place called “ Black Yard,”
and preparing a large oven for the purpose, set diligently about the manufacture of
that high-dried commodity, which soon became known as “ Black Yard Snuff”— a
term subsequently corrupted into the more familiar word “ Blackguard.”
Lundy Foot, making his customers pay liberally through the nose for one of the
most “ distinguished ” kinds of snuff in the world, soon raised the price of his pro
duction, took a larger house in the city of Dublin, and was often heard to say—“ I
made a very handsome fortune by being, as I supposed, utterly ruined 1”
When he was rich enough to own and use a carriage, he applied to Lord Norbury
for an appropriate motto for its panels. The wily Judge suggested the Latin phrase,
“ Quid rides."
Mercantile Miscellanies.
395
EXPEDIENTS OF SMUGGLERS.
A gentleman from Paris writes the following:—I saw through one of the windows
of the Mayor’s office, in the twelfth arondisement, the body of a negro hanging by the
neck. At the first glance, and even at the second, I took it for a human being, whom
disappointed love, or perhaps an expeditious judge, had disposed of so suddenly ; but
I soon ascertained that the ebony gentleman in question was only a large doll, as
large as life. What to think of this I did not know, so I asked the door keeper the
meaning of it.
“ This is the Contraband Museum,” was the answer; and on my showing a curiosity
to examine it, he was kind enough to act as my cicerone.
In a huge dirty room are scattered ever the floor, along the walls and on the ceiling,
all the inventions of roguery which had been confiscated from time to time by those
guardians of the law, the revenue officers.
It is a complete arsenal of the weapons of smuggling, all, unfortunately, in complete
confusion.
Look before you; there is a hogshead dressed up for a nurse, with a child that
holds two quarts and a half. On the other side are logs hollow as the Trojan horse,
and filled with armies of cigars. On the floor lies a huge boa constrictor, gorged
with China silks; and just beyond it, a pile of coal curiously perforated with spools
of cotton.
The colored gentlemen who excited my sympathy at first, met with his Lite under
the following circumstances :—He was built of tin, painted black, and stood like a
heyduck, or Ethiopean chasseur, on the foot-board of a carriage, fastened by his feet
and hands. He had frequently passed through the gates, and was well known by
sight to the soldiers, who noticed he was always showing his teeth, which they sup
posed to be the custom of his country.
One day the carriage he belonged to was stopped by a crowd at the gate. There
was, as usual, a grand chorus of yells and oaths, the vocal part being performed by
the drivers and cartmen, and the instrumental by the whips.
The negro, however, never spoke a single word. His good behaviour delighted the
soldiers, who held him up as an example to the crowd.
“ Look at that black fellow,” they cried, “ see how well he behaves! Bravo, nigger,
bravo!”
He showed a perfect indifference to their applause.
“ My friend,” said a clerk at a barrier, jumping up on the foot-board, and slapping
our sable friend on the shoulder, “ we are very much obliged to you.”
Oh, surprise ! the shoulder rattled. The officer was bewildered, he sounded the
footman all over, and found he was made of metal, and as full as his skin could hold
of the very best contraband liquor drawn out of his foot.
The juicy mortal was seized at once, and carried off in triumph.
The first night the revenue people drank up one of his shoulders, and he was soon
bled to death. It is now six years since he lost all the moisture of his system, and
was reduced to a dry skeleton.
CHRONICLES OF THE COMMERCE OF CHARLESTON.
A correspondent of the Charleston Courier has culled from the pages of “ The P o
litical Magazine and Parliamentary . Naval, Military and Literary Journal,” pub
lished in London in 17S0, with a view to ascertain facts in relation to that city, and in
cidentally to Carolina. We give a few of his extracts, as follows:—
“ In 1686 the Spaniards invaded Carolina. In April, 1693, the labors of Locke
were abrogated on the requisition of the Carolinas themselves. It was not until twen
ty-seven years after that this province acquired the appellation of North and South
Carolina. About this time rice was introduced by a brigantine from Madagascar,
touching at Sullivau’s Island in her way to Britain. About the beginning of this cen
tury Sir Nathaniel Johnson introduced the culture of silk. After a long and violent
opposition, the Church of England was established by law.
“ In 1715 Charleston consisted of five or six hundred houses. In 1740 a great fire,
in the space of six hours, destroyed three hundred of the best houses.
“ In 1744 two hundred and thirty vessels loaded at Charleston ; fifteen hundred sea
men, at least, employed.
“ In 1745 indigo was discovered to be a spontaneous plant in the province. Many
of the planters doubled their capital every three or four years by planting indigo.
396
Mercan tile Miscellanies.
“ In 1724 British goods valued at near £60,000, imported. Eighteen thousand bar
rels of rice, 52,000 barrels of pitch, tar, and turpentine, with deer-skins, furs, and raw
silk were exported to England.
“ In 1761 rice 40s. a barred, indigo 2s. a pound; yet as the quantity increased the
price rose, for in 1771 rice sold at £3 10s. a barrel, and indigo at 3s. a pound. At the
peace of 1762. and for three years after, on an average the export was £395,666 13s.
4d., but in 1771 the export had risen to the amazing value of £756,000 sterling.
“ In 1773, 507 vessels cleared at Charleston. In December, 1799, the militia mus
ter roll in Charleston 1,400 men; inhabitants 14,000. Province militia muster roll
13,000. Total white inhabitants 65.000. The whole number of negroes and mulattoes
in the province upward of 100,000.”
POLITENESS IN DUNNING.
An old gentleman had owed a firm for years; at last, after everybody’s patience
and temper were exhausted, a clerk named Frank undertook to get the money.
Frank called upon the gentleman, and met with a polite reception, and the usual
answer, with the addition, “ You need not trouble yourself, young man, about the mat
ter ; I will make it all right.”
“ O, no,” replied Frank, “ I could not think for a moment of compelling you to call
at the store for a few dollars. It will not be the slightest inconvenience for me to
stop in, as I pass your place of business six times a day, to and from my meals, and I
can call every time I go by.”
“ Here,” said the old fellow to his bookkeeper, alarmed at the prospect of being
dunned six times a day for the next six months, “ pay this impertinent rascal. He can
beat me in politeness, and, if he wants a situation, 1 will give him two thousand dol
lars a year.”
SMUGGLING IN CHINA.
A correspondent of the London Spectator, whose letter is published in the Chinese
Repository, says:—
Smuggling is no new thing in China. Nothing in all the land seems better regulat
ed, or to be conducted more systematically than this branch of busiuess. How far its
tariff of duties has been reduced to writing no one can tell; indeed, every tariff in
China is merely nominal, as different from the reality as can well be imagined. One
of these new features, the only one I will allude to, seems to have resulted from the sto
lidity of the functionaries connected with the native custom house department. Be
cause a foreigu vessel happened to be furnished with a certain kind of machinery, her
owners must be subjected to any amount of annoyance the custom-house people might
see fit to impose. The managers of the steamer were not to be wronged in this way,
nor were those who wished to ship cargo by her; and accordingly they arranged their
own business. The amount of duties lost on the one side, and saved on the other, by
this measure, must, some persons say, be reckoned by thousands of dollars!
STUDY AND BUSINESS.
In learning, concentrate the energy of mind principally on the study ; the attention
divided among several studies is weakened by the division; besides, it is not given to
man to excel in mauy things. But while one study claims your main attention, make
occasional excursions into the fields of literature and science, and collect materials for
the improvement of your favorite pursuit.
The union of contemplative habits constructs the most useful and perfect character;
contemplation gives relief to action; action gives relief to contemplation. A man
unaccustomed to speculation is coufined to a narrow routine of action; a man of more
speculation constructs visionary theories, which have no practical utility.
Excellence in a profession, and success in business, are to be obtained only by perse
vering industry. None who thinks himself above his vocation can succeed in it, for
we cannot give our attention to what our self-importance despises. None can be emi
nent in his vocation who devotes his mental energy to a pursuit foreign to it, for suc
cess in what we love is failure in what we neglect.
The Book Trade.
397
THE HOOK TRADE.
1. — The Napoleon D ynasty; or, fJte History o f the Bonaparte Family. A n entirely
new work. B y the B er ke le y M en. With twenty authentic portrait?. 8vo., pp.
621. New York: Cornish & Lamport.
This may truly be called a new work on the Life and Family of Napoleon. It is
summary and rapid as a historical outline, and presents rather a dramatic life of the
great emperor. But the scenes are drawn in such striking colors, and with such dis
tinctness of thought, that the minds of all readers will be engrossed by the narrative.
Its style is suited to make as strong an impression upon the popular mind as “ an ar
ray with banners.” And, in truth, it possesses much of the glitter and the clang of
arms, with a corresponding force and strength in the thought. It is a work that all
will be pleased to dip into, and be moved by many striking views which it presents in
the life of this great man; but it is not a volume of calm and patient thought, over
whose pages the scholar or the historical reader would delight to linger as a fountain
of clear and refreshing intelligence. Striking as are many of its pages, to such a
mind they are not satisfactory, and one looks over them as he would gaze at the bril
liant and wonderful play of an aurora, whose impressions afterwards fade away. We
have here the Bonaparte Dynasty brought together in a group. Seventeen distinct
biographies are arranged around the principal figure of the picture. The portions de
voted to the sisters of Bonaparte are quite interesting ; and truly the entire volume
will be found to contain new material of much extent. It is issued in a very fine
style by the publisher-', with the exception of the portraits, which are too poor for a
book of such pretensions.
— Life and Public Services o f Henry Clay. Down to 1848. By E pes S ar ge an t .
Edited to his death by H. G r e e l e y . 12mo., pp. 491. Auburn : Derby Miller.
The life of Clay is a subject of interest to every American citizen. The lead which
he took in public affairs, the influence upon the prominent measures of the country,
which he exerted for so long a period, render a familiarity with his career indispensa
ble to every one who would understand the true spirit of his times. In these pages
we are presented with all that is important in the life of Mr. Clay, brief, condensed,
and yet with sufficient fullness to be satisfactory to the general reader. The woik is
written in an animated and popular style, such as will meet with the approbation of
the most extensive class of readers.
2.
— T h e Ccesars.
B y T homas D e Q uincy , author of the “ Confessions of an English
Opium Eater.” 12mo., pp. 295. Boston : Ticknor, Reed it Fields. New York : D,
Appleton & Co.
This is the fourth volume of the series of De Quincy’s writings, and in our opinion
the best of them. No one who possesses a taste for the charms of literature can read
its pages without delight. The characters of the Roman Caesars are delineated with
a correctness of perception, a delicate and masterly appreciation, and, withal, a mod
esty and gracefulness of language, that holds the reader’s attention fixed upon the
polished periods that flow beneath his eyes. The series is not yet complete. It is to
be followed by the autobiography that appeared in Tail’s Magazine, and by the
“ Sketches of Literary Men,” when it will form one of the choicest series that has been
lately published.
3.
4. — Meyer's Universum. Fart 3. New York : Hermann J. Meyer.
The subjects of the plates in this p'art are “ The Walhalla,” in Bavaria; “ The Tem
ple of the Sun at B a lb eca n d “ Street Scenery in Constantinople.” The plates are
very finely executed. The text which explains them is performed with much fullness
of historical incident by Mr. C. Dana, and is exceedingly interesting and valuable.
5. — Vestiges o f the Natural History o f Creation. With a Sequel. 12mo., pp. 288.
Cincinnati: A. J. & U. P. James.
This is a new edition of an able and important work, already well known to the
public, for the peculiar views which it presents. It is issued in a cheap and service
able style.
The B ook Trade .
398
6. — The History o f the United States o f America, from the Adoption o f the Federal
Constitution to the End o f the Sixteenth Congress. By R i c h a r d H i l d r e t h . Vol.
3. Madison and Monroe. 8vo., pp. 739. New York: Harper & Brothers.
This volume resumes the narrative with the extra session of Congress in October,
1807, and closes with the session of Congress in March, 1821. It completes the work
according to the plan of the author in six volumes, of which the first three are chiefly
taken up with the narrative of this country previous to the adoption of the Constitu
tion, and the last three with its national history. In many respects this is a model
history. It occupies a field somewhat distinct from Bancroft’s, so that neither one de
tracts from the value of the other. It is a severe narrative of facts, possessing very
little of that rich and glowing eloquence of Bancroft, but chaste, calm, severe, and
truthful to the extremest details. Its statements of facts are such as to obtain for it the
rank of high authority, and its inferences, its general views, and its suggestions re
specting national principles, are such as coincide with the views of those who hold the
power, and wield the most intelligent influence in the country. We do not view it as
a work in which the democratic element is supreme as in Bancroft’s; neither can it be
regarded as always truly expressing the sentiment of the people as such, in distinc
tion and opposition to the other powerful influences in our social system. It is, how
ever, an invaluable, indispensable work to every one who desires to comprehend our
national history.
7. — The, Mother at Home; or , the Principles o f Maternal Duly familiarly illustrat
ed. By J o h n S. C. A b b o t t . Improved and Enlarged, with Numerous Engravings.
12mo., pp. 301.
8. — The Child at Home ; or, the Principles o f Filial Duty familiarly illustrated.
By J ohn S. C. A bbott . Greatly Improved and Enlarged, w ith Numerous Engrav
ings. 12mo., pp. 318. New York: Harper & Brothers.
These two volumes, each of which is the counterpart of the other, aim to afford to
mothers, in the common walks of life, plain and simple instruction relative to the right
discharge of their mutual duties, and to aid them in leading the minds of their child
ren to proper views of their obligations to God, to their parents, and to one another.
Each is intended for perusal both by parent and child. They are admirable works for
the object in view. The first edition of them has been translated into various lan
guages, and circulated extensively throughout the Christian world.
9. — Zo'us E ating; A Summer Booh. By G eorge W illia m C urtis . Illustrated by
Kenuet. 12mo., pp. 206. New York: Harper Brothers.
The Hudson, Catskill, Trenton, Niagava, Saratoga, Lake George, Nahant, and New
port, are the places of which pictures are presented in this volume. The style of each
19 uniform, as the work of one hand. They are pleasant, entertaining, and agreeable,
and far more meritorious than many works of the kind. But we must confess there
are not manifest to us those surprising attractions which man}' have found in this vol
ume. To us there is none of that clearness of thought or expression which is the true
index of all superior intellectual or literary talent.
10. — Marco PauVs Voyage and Travels. Erie Canal. By J a c o b A
pp. 203.
11. — Marco Paul in New York. By J acob A bbott . 18mo., p p . 192.
12.
— Marco Paul in Maine.
By
J acob A
bbott .
18mo.,
bbott.
I8mo.,
pp. 190.
13. — Marco P a u lin Vermont. By J acob A bbott . 18mo., pp. 308. New York:
Harper <fc Brothers.
It is the aim of these volumes both to entertain the youthful reader with narratives
of juvenile adventures, and to communicate, in connection with them, as extensive and
varied information as possible, respecting the geography, the scenery, the customs, and
the institutions of the country a9 they present themselves to the observation of the
little traveler under the guidance of an intellegent and well informed companion,
suited to assist him in the acquisition of knowledge and the formation of character.
Perhaps there is no one among the popular writers of the day so capable as the author
of these volumes to accomplish such a task. The various works are unexceptionable
in sentiment, extremely entertaining in their contents, and are among the best books
which can be put into the hands ot youth.
The Book Trade .
399
14. — The Holy Bible, Translated from the Latin Vulgate ; diligently Compared with
the Hebrew, Greek, and other Editions in divers Languages. With useful Notes,
Critical, Historical, Controversial, and Explanatory, selectedfrom the most Eminent
Commentators. By Rev. G eorge H aydock. 4to., Nos. 1 and 2. New York : Har
per & Brothers.
This will make a very splendid edition of the Bible, if the elegance of these parts
is preserved throughout. The typography is extremely beautiful, and the pa\ei is
firm, substantial, clear, and white. Each number is embellished with a well execute d
engraving, of superior merit in its design. It is published under the approbation of
the Archbishop.
15. — Up Country Letters. Edited by Professor B---, National Observatory. 12rno.»
pp. 327. New York : D. Appleton & Co.
Few readers will be prepared to anticipate, from the title of this volume, the genu
ine entertainment which its pages will afford. It describes no great events, or distin
guished and blazing characters; but it takes the reader up into a quiet nook among
the hills, and spreads before him such a variety of incidents and events, so full of real
character and true feeling, in quiet life, that the gratification is far more intense than
is afforded by subjects of much greater pretensions. It is written in a smooth and
polished style, admirably adapted to its character, and is quite an original and racy
work in these days, when the number of books is legion.
16. — Book o f Snobs. By W. M. T h a c k e r a y . 12mo., pp. 279. New York: D. Ap
pleton & Co.
Snobs are to be found in every society. Their two features are set forth in these
pages with all the wit and sarcasm of Thackeray’s inimitable pen. Every reader will
be entertained w’ith his truthful delineations. It forms one of the series of Appletons’ admirable popular Library, and is entitled to a place among the choicest of
these volumes.
17. — The Laws o f L ife ; with Special Reference to Physical Education. B y E l iz a
beth B l o ck w ell , M. D.
12 mo., pp. 179. New York : G. P. Putnam.
This volume consists of a series of lectures delivered to a class of ladies during the
spring. It is devoted to physical education, the conditions of health, and the correc
tion of vicious habits. It is unexceptionable in the manner in which it treats these
important subjects, and indicates a thorough and scientific education, rare practical
sense and great extent of observation, on the part of the writer. It cannot fail of
producing an important influence upon the health and physical condition of woman.
18. — Scenes and Thoughts in Europe. By G eo . H. C a l v e r t . Second series. 12mo.,
pp. 185. New York: G. P. Putnam.
The scenes described in this volume occured in parts of Germany, Switzerland, and
France. They are of an instructive character. The author is thoughtful at all times,
and his reflections contain more or less of interest to all readers. It is in some re
spects a volume of a higher order than such works generally are.
19. — Arctic Journal; or, Eighteen Months in the Polar Regions. By Lieut. O s b o r n .
12mo., pp. 216. New York : G. P. Putnam.
The author of this volume commanded one of the vessels of the Royal Naval Ex
pedition which sailed foorn Woolwich, England, in 1850, to search for Sir John Frank
lin. The vessel under his command was a steamer. The expedition was directed to
explore Barrow’s Straits south-westerly to Cape Walker, and westerly toward Mel
ville Island, and north-westerly up Wellington Channel. The voyage was a perilous
one, and its incidents are described with much spirit, and present ua with many new
ideas respecting that inhospitable portion of the globe.
20. — The Art-Journal f o r August. New York : George Virtue.
The first embellishment of this number consists of an engraving of a statue of
“ Highland Mary,” by B. E. Sperm. The engraving is very finely done, but some parts
of the design are clumsy. The next is the “ Raffle for the Watch,” from a picture in
the Vernon Gallery ; and the last is a rather fine engraving of a “ Persian Warrior.”
There are, in addition, many lesser engravings and cuts with the usual amount of
reading on artistic subjects. It is beyond question the best work of its class.
21. — Eoline: Magnolia Vale. A Novel. By C a r o l i n e L e e H k n t z . 12mo., pp.
261. Philadelphia: A. Hart.
400
The Book Trade.
22.— Pencil Sketches; or, Outlines o f Character and Manners. By Miss L e s l i e .
Including Washington Potts, with other stories. 2 v.ik 12rno,, pp. 216 and 215,
Philadelphia: Allart.
Many of our readers may, perhaps, remember this tale, which was first published
some years since, and very favorably received. The characters and customs of former
days invest it with all the attractiveness of novelty, it is entertaining, written in a
commendable manner, and well worthy of perusal.
23— The American Flower-Garden Companion. Revised and Enlarged. By E d w a r d
S agebs.
Fourth edition. 12mo., pp. 207. Cincinnati: J. A. &. U. P. James.
It is the design of this work to aid those who are desirous of becoming acquainted
with the culture of flowers, and it presents a large amount of useful matter within
the compass of a convenient manual of reference. Directions are given for layiug out
flower gardens, and descriptive lists are added of the various flowers and shrubs best
adapted to the American flower-garden.
24. — Lydia: a Woman's Book. By Mrs. N e w t o n C r o s l a n d , author of “ Partners for
Life.” 12mo., pp. 287. Boston: Ticknor, Reed Jc Fields.
This is a picture of woman’s mind and heart, drawn by a woman’s pen, or rather it
L a picture of certain phases of life *•from a woman’s point of view.” It contains
scenes of much interest and power. It delineates the struggle between truth and
falsehood with unusual ability, and in a style that will be appreciated by cultivated
readers.
25. — Single Blessedness ; or Single Ladies and Gentlemen against the Slanders o f the
Pulpit, the Press , and the Lecture-Room, addressed to those who are really wise, and
those who fancy themselves so. 12mo., pp. 297. New York: C. S. Francis.
This is an effort to show that the unmarried state is a blessed one. It contains
many thoughts which will be entertaining to those whose experience is limited in that
state, and shows how well the case can be argued. At any rate, let the Bachelors
have a hearing.
2G.—Thoughts on the Original Unity o f the Human Race. Second Edition, with A d
ditions and Improvements. By C h a r l e s C a l d w e l l , M. D. 12mo., pp. 1G5. Cin
cinnati : J. A. & U. P. James.
In this volume the author aims to disprove the opinion of the original unity of the
human race. He entertains the belief that he possesses some peculiar qualifications
for this task, arising from his singular independence of mind. However this may be,
the reader will find the case well stated in these pages, and enforced by many strong
arguments.
27. —Monterey Conquered; a Fragment from La Gran Ouivcra, or Rome Unmasked.
A poem. 12mo., pp. 148. New York : C. Shepard & Co.
The beautiful and romantic region of the South-West was before the author, as the
scene in which the events of this poem are conceived. Nor was the beautiful poem
of Campbell, entitled “ Wyoming,” absent from his mind. lie ha3 written in a flow
ing verse, many passages of which possess merit The poem will be found attractive
and entertaining.
28. — Scenes from Christian History. 12mo., pp. 272. Boston: Crosby & Nichols.
New York : C. S. Francis.
Some of those striking scenes which have taken place in the progress of Christian
ity are here briefly and clearly related. They serve to unfold the operations of Chris
tian principles, and are so presented as to stimulate the youthful reader to prosecute
an investigation into more extended and learned works on the subject.
29. — Tallis' Scripture Natural History f o r Youth. Part 14. New York: J. Tallis Jc
Company.
A very elegant work, which presents the natural history of all the animals and
birds mentioned in Scripture. The plates are executed with great taste and neatness.
30. — The Illustrated Atlas and Modern History o f the World. By R. M. M a r t i n ,
Parts 48 and 49. New York: J. Tallis & Co.
These parts contain very finished engravings of the cities of Exeter and Biistol.
England, with some further pages of the index of the work.
@FedFRASER