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Libris'
Dipulación
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Provincial
Central IN 1 Barcelona
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9980
A
DICTIONARY,
PRACTICAL, THEORETICAL, AND HISTORICAL,
OF
COMMERCE
AND
COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION.
BY
J. R. M°CULLOCH, ESQ.
EDITED BY
HENRY VETHAKE, LL.D.
ONE OF THE PROFESSORS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ; MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHI-
LOSOPHICAL SOCIETY AUTHOR OF A TREATISE ON POLITICAL ECONOMY; ETC.
Tutte le invenzioni le più benemerite del genere umano, e che hanno svillupato l'ingegno e la
facoltà dell' animo nostro, sono quelle che accostano l' uomo all' uomo, e facilitano la communica-
zione delle idee, dei bisogni, dei sentimenti, e riducano il genere umano a massa.
BRRI.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
PHILADELPHIA:
THOMAS WARDLE, 15 MINOR STREET.
STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON.
1840.
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R:312746
"Though immediately and primarily written for the merchants, this Commercial Dictionary will be
of use to every man of business or of curiosity. There is no man who is not in some degree R mer-
chant; who has not something to buy and something to sell, and who does not therefore want such
instructions as may teach him the true value of possessions or commodities. The descriptions of the
productions of the earth and water which this volume contains, may be equally pleasing and useful
to the speculatist with any other Natural History. The descriptions of ports and cities may instruct
the geographer as well as if they were found in books appropriated only to his own science; and the
doctrines of funds, insurances, currency, monopolies, exchanges, and duties, is so necessary to the
politician, that without it he can be of no use either in the council or the senate, nor can speak or
think justly either on war or trade.
We, therefore, hope that we shall not repent the labour of compiling this work, nor flatter our-
selves unreasonably. in predicting a favourable reception to a book which no condition of life can
render useless, which may contribute to. the advantage of all that make or receive laws, of all that
buy or sell, of all that wish to keep or improve their possessions, of all that desire to be rich, and all
that desire to be wise."
JOHNSON, Preface to Rolt's Dict.
&
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, by
THOMAS WARDLE,
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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PREFACE
OF
THE AMERICAN EDITOR.
IN offering to the public an American edition of Mr. McCulloch's valuable
Commercial Dictionary, it is unnecessary to add any thing, concerning the object
and plan of the work, to what will be found in the subjoined extracts from the
author's prefaces to the several editions of it which have appeared in England.
With respect to the labours of the present editor, he has for the most part con-
fined himself to matters relating to his own country, or of especial interest to its
citizens. Considerable information of this nature will be found appended to° the
articles Aliens, Banking, Coal, Coins, Cotton, Importation and Exportation,
Imports and Exports, Iron, Roads, Silk, and Tariff, as well as others. A few
articles have been inserted on subjects not treated by the author; such as Admi-
ralty Courts, Liverpool, London, &c.
There is, generally speaking, an extreme difficulty in the United States of
procuring statistical information, which may be depended upon for its accuracy.
Besides the reports, from time to time made to Congress, by the Secretary of the
Treasury, and by committees of that body, the principal sources that have been
consulted for the purpose are the commercial newspapers published in some of
our large cities, particularly the Philadelphia Commercial List,-Mr. Raguet's
" Financial Register,-and the " United States Commercial and Statistical Re-
gister," edited by Samuel Hazard. The former of the two works just mentioned
contains a greater mass of facts, mingled with much valuable disquisition, respect-
ing the subjects to which it is devoted, than is to be found elsewhere. Mr.
Hazard's work has just reached the close of its first volume. It is published in
weekly numbers, abounds in useful information, and is deserving of extensive
patronage.
It is proper to mention that this American has been reprinted from the last
English edition. The supplement to this, however, not having been received in
time, a page or two was unavoidably omitted to be incorporated with the rest of it
in the body of the work, but will be found in a supplement at the end of the
second volume. In the same supplement, too, the reader will find further addi-
tions by the American editor; some of which, relating to the United States, (the
article Fish, for example,) could not be prepared for an earlier insertion; and
others, again, consist of the statistics of the commerce of certain foreign ports,
brought down to a later date than is given by the author.
iii
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EXTRACTS
FROM THE
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
IT has been the wish of the Author and Publishers of this Work, that it should be as
extensively useful as possible. If they be not deceived in their expectations, it may be
advantageously employed, as a sort of vade mecum, by merchants, traders, ship-owners, and
ship-masters, in conducting the details of their respective businesses. It is hoped, however,
that this object has been attained without omitting the consideration of any topic, incident
to the subject, that seemed calculated to make the book generally serviceable, and to recom-
mend it to the attention of all classes.
Had our object been merely to consider commerce as a science, or to investigate its prin-
ciples, we should not have adopted the form of a Dictionary. But commerce is not a
science only, but also an art of the utmost practicable importance, and in the prosecution
of which a very large proportion of the population of every civilised country is actively
engaged. Hence, to be generally useful, a work on commerce should combine practice,
theory, and history. Different readers may resort to it for different purposes and every
one should be able to find in it clear and accurate information, whether his object be to make
himself familiar with details, to acquire a knowledge of principles, or to learn the revolu-
tions that have taken place in the various departments of trade.
The following short outline of what this Work contains may enable the reader to estimate
the probability of its fulfilling the objects for which it has been intended :-
I. It contains accounts of the various articles which form the subject matter of com-
mercial transactions. To their English names are, for the most part, subjoined their synony-
mous appellations in French, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish, &c. and sometimes, also,
in Arabic, Hindoo, Chinese, and other Eastern languages. We have endeavoured, by con-
sulting the best authorities, to make the descriptions of commodities as accurate as possible
and have pointed out the tests or marks by which their goodness may be ascertained. The
places where they are produced are also specified the quantities exported from such places;
and the different regulations, duties, &c. affecting their importation and exportation, have
been carefully stated, and their influence examined. The prices of most articles have been
given. sometimes for a lengthened period. Historical notices are inserted illustrative of the
rise and progress of the trade in the most important articles ; and it is hoped, that the in-
formation embodied in these notices will be found to be as authentic as it is interesting.
II. The Work contains a general article on COMMERCE, explanatory of its nature, prin-
ciples, and objects, and embracing an inquiry into the policy of restrictions intended to pro-
mote industry at home, or to advance the public interests by excluding or restraining foreign
competition. Exclusive, however, of this general article, we have separately examined the
operation of the existing restrictions on the trade in particular articles, and with particular
countries, in the accounts of those articles, and of the great sea-port towns belonging to the
countries referred to. There must of course, be more or less of sameness in the discussion
of such points, the principle which runs through them being identical. But in a Dictionary
this is of no consequence. The reader seldom consults more than one or two articles at a
time; and it is of infinitely more importance to bring the whole subject at once before him,
than to seek to avoid the appearance of repetition by referring from one article to another.
In this Work such references are made as seldom as possible.
IIL The articles which more particularly refer to commercial navigation are AVERAGE,
BILLS OF LADING, BOTTOMRY, CHARTERPARTY, FREIGHT, MASTER, NAVIGATION Laws,
OWNERS, REGISTRY, SALVAGE, SEAMEN, SHIPS, WRECK, &c. These articles embrace a
pretty full exposition of the law as to shipping we have particularly endeavoured to exhibit
the privileges enjoyed by British ships; the conditions and formalities, the observance of
which is necessary to the acquisition and preservation of such privileges, and to the trans-
ference of property in ships; the responsibilities incurred by the masters and owners in
their capacity of public carriers; and the reciprocal duties and obligations of owners, mas-
a 2
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vi
PREFACE.
ters and seamen. In this department, we have made considerable use of the treatise of
Lord Tenterden on the Law of Shipping,-a work that reflects very great credit on the
learning and talents of its noble author. The Registry Act and the Navigation Act are
given with very little abridgment. To this head may also be referred the articles on the
CoD, HERRING, PILCHARD, and WHALE fisheries.
IV. The principles and practice of commercial arithmetic and accounts are unfolded in
the articles BOOK-KEEPING, DISCOUNT, EXCHANGE, INTEREST AND ANNUITIES, &c. The
article BOOK-KEEPING has been furnished by one of the official assignees under the new
bankrupt act. It exhibits a view of this important art as actually practised in the most
extensive mercantile houses in town. The tables for calculating interest and annuities are
believed to be more complete than any hitherto given in any work not treating professedly
of such subjects.
V. A considerable class of articles may be regarded as descriptive of the various means
and devices that have been fallen upon for extending and facilitating commerce and naviga-
tion. Of these, taking them in their order, the articles BANKS, BROKERS, Buors, CANALS,
CARAVANS, CARRIERS, COINS, COLONIES, COMPANIES, CONSULS, Convor, Docks, FAC-
Tors, FAIRS AND MARKETS, LIGHT-HOUSES, MONEY, PARTNERSHIP, PILOTAGE, POST-
OFFICE, RAIL-ROADS, ROADS, TREAT'ES (COMMERCIAL), WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, &c.
are among the most important. In the article BANKS, the reader will find, besides an ex-
position of the principles of banking, a pretty full account (derived principally from official
sources), of the Bank of England, the private banks of London, and the English provincial
banks; the Scotch and Irish banks; and the most celebrated foreign banks: to complete
this department, an account of Savings' Banks is subjoined, with a set of rules which may
be taken as a model for such institutions. There is added to the article COINS a Table of
the assay, weight, and sterling value of the principal foreign gold and silver coins, deduced
from assays made at the London and Paris mints, taken, by permission, from the last edition
of Dr. Kelly's Cambist. The article COLONIES is one of the most extensive in the work
it contains a sketch of the ancient and modern systems of colonisation an examination of
the principles of colonial policy; and a view of the extent, trade, population, and resources
of the colonies of this and other countries. In this article, and in the articles CAPE OF
Good HOPE, HALIFAX, QUEBEC, SYDNEY, and VAN DIEMEN'S LAND, recent and authentic
information is given, which those intending to emigrate will find worthy of their attention.
The statements in the articles LIGHT-HOUSES and PILOTAGE have been mostly fur-
nished by the Trinity House, or derived from Parliamentary papers, and may be implicitly
relied upon. In the article WEIGHTS AND MEASURES the reader will find tables of the
equivalents of wine, ale, and Winchester measures, in Imperial measure.
VI. Besides a general article on the constitution, advantages, and disadvantages of Com-
panies, accounts are given of the principal associations existing in Great Britain for the
purpose of conducting commercial undertakings, or undertakings subordinate to and con-
nected with commerce. Among others (exclusive of the Banking and Dock Companies
already referred to) may be mentioned the EAST INDIA COMPANY, the GAS COMPANIES,
the INSURANCE COMPANIES, the MINING COMPANIES, the WATER COMPANIES, &c. The
article on the East India Company is of considerable length it contains a pretty complete
sketch of the rise, progress, and present state of the British trade with India a view of the
revenue, population, &c. of our Indian dominions; and an estimate of the influence of the
Company's monopoly. We have endeavoured, in treating of Insurance, to supply what we
think a desideratum, by giving a distinct and plain statement of its principles, and a brief
notice of its history with an account of the rules and practices followed by individuals
and companies in transacting the more important departments of the business; and of the
terms on which houses, lives, &c. are commonly insured. The part of the article which
peculiarly respects marine insurance has been contributed by a practical gentleman of much
knowledge and experience in that branch.
VII. In addition to the notices of the Excise and Customs regulations affecting particular
commodities given under their names, the reader will find articles under the heads of Cus-
TOMS, EXCISE, IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION, LICENSES, SMUGGLING, WAREHOUSING,
&c. which comprise most of the practical details as to the business of the Excise and Cus-
toms, particularly the latter. The most important Customs' Acts are given with very little
abridgment, and being printed in small letter, they occupy comparatively little space. The
article TARIFF contains an account of the various duties, drawbacks, and bounties, on the
importation and exportation of all sorts of commodities into and from this country.-(See
Preface to Second Edition.) We once intended to give the tariffs of some of the principal
Continental states; but from the frequency of the changes made in them, they would very
soon have become obsolete, and would have tended rather to mislead than to instruct. But
the reader will notwithstanding find a good deal of information as to foreign duties under
the articles CADIZ, DANTZIC, HAVRE, NAPLES, NEW YORK, TRIESTE, &c.
VIII. Among the articles of a miscellaneous description, may be specified ALIENS, Ap-
PRENTICE, AUCTIONEER, BALANCE OF TRADE, BANKRUPTCT, CONTRABAND, CREDIT
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PREFACE.
vii
HANSEATIC LEAGUE, IMPORTS AND Exports, IMPRESSMENT, IONIAN ISLANDS, MARITIME
Law, PATENTS, PAWNBROKING, PIRACY, POPULATION, PRECIOUS METALS, PRICES, Par-
VATEERS, PUBLICANS, QUARANTINE, REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE, TALLY TRADE,
TRUCK SYSTEM, &c.
IX. Accounts are given, under their proper heads, of the principal emporiums with which
this country has any immediate intercourse of the commodities usually exported from and
imported into them of their monies, weights, and measures; and of such of their institu-
tions, customs, and regulations, with respect to commerce and navigation, as seemed to de-
serve notice. There are occasionally subjoined to these accounts of the great sea-ports,
pretty full statements of the trade of the countries in which they are situated, as in the in-
stances of ALEXANDRIA, AMSTERDAM, BORDEAUX, CADIZ, CALCUTTA, CANTON, COPEN-
HAGEN, DANTZIC, HAVANNAH, HAVRE, NAPLES, NEW YORK, PALERMO, PETERSBURGH,
Rio DE JANEIRO, SMYRNA, TRIESTE, VERA CRUZ, &c. To have attempted to do this
systematically would have increased the size of the work beyond all reasonable limits, and
embarrassed it with details nowise interesting to the English reader. The plan we have
adopted has enabled us to treat of such matters as might be supposed of importance in Eng-
land, and to reject the rest. We believe, however, that, notwithstanding this selection, those
who compare this work with others, will find that it contains a much larger mass of au-
thentic information respecting the trade and navigation of foreign countries than is to be
found in any other English publication.
The reader may be inclined, perhaps, to think that it must be impossible to embrace the
discussion of so many subjects in a single octavo volume, without treating a large propor-
tion in a very brief and unsatisfactory manner. But, in point of fact, this single octavo
contains about as much letter-press as is contained in two ordinary folio volumes, and more
than is contained in Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, in four large volumes quarto, pub-
lished at 8/. 8s.! This extraordinary condensation has been effected without any sacrifice
either of beauty or distinctness. Could we suppose that the substance of the book is at all
equal to its form, there would be little room for doubt as to its success.
Aware that, in a work of this nature, accuracy in matters of fact is of primary import-
ance, we have rarely made any statement without mentioning our authority. Except, too,
in the case of books in every one's hands, or Dictionaries, the page or chapter of the works
referred to is generally specified experience having taught us that the convenient practice
of stringing together a list of authorities at the end of an article is much oftener a cloak for
ignorance than an evidence of research.
Our object being to describe articles in the state in which they are offered for sale, we
have not entered, except when it was necessary to give precision or clearness to their de-
scription, into any details as to the processes followed in their manufacture.
Such is a rough outline of what the reader may expect to meet with in this Dictionary.
We do not, however, flatter ourselves with the notion that he will consider that all that has
been attempted has been properly executed. In a work embracing such an extreme range and
diversity of subjects, as to many of which it is exceedingly difficult, if not quite impossible,
to obtain accurate information, no one will be offended should he detect a few errors. At the
same time we can honestly say that neither labour nor expense has been spared to render the
work worthy of the public confidence and patronage. The author has been almost incessantly
engaged upon it for upwards of three years and be may be said to have spent the previous
part of his life in preparing for the undertaking. He has derived valuable assistance from
some distinguished official gentlemen, and from many eminent merchants; and has en-
deavoured, wherever it was practicable, to build his conclusions upon official documents.
But in very many instances he has been obliged to adopt less authentic data; and he does
not suppose that he has had sagacity enough always to resort to the best authorities, or that,
amidst conflicting and contradictory statements, he has uniformly selected those most worthy
of being relied upon, or that the inferences he has drawn are always such as the real circum-
stances of the case would warrant. But he has done his best not to be wanting in these
respects. Not being engaged in any sort of business, nor being under any description of
obligation to any political party, there was nothing to induce us, in any instance, to conceal
or pervert the truth. We have, therefore, censured freely and openly whatever we consi-
dered wrong but the grounds of our opinion are uniformly assigned 80 that the reader
may always judge for himself as to its correctness. Our sole object has been to produce a
work that should be generally useful, particularly to merchants and traders, and which should
be creditable to ourselves. Whether we have succeeded, the award of the public will show
and to it we submit our labours, not with frigid indifference," but with an anxious hope
that it may be found we have not misemployed our time, and engaged in an undertaking
too vast for our limited means.
The following notices of some of the most celebrated Commercial Dictionaries may not,
perhaps, be unacceptable. At all events, they will show that there is at least room for the
present attempt.
The Grand Dictionnaire de Commerce, begun and principally executed by M. Savary,
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viii
PREFACE.
Inspector of Customs at Paris, and completed by his brother, the Abbé Savary, Canon of
St. Maur, was published at Paris in 1723, in two volumes folio : a supplemental volume
being added in 1730. This was the first work of the kind that appeared in modern Europe;
and has furnished the principal part of the materials for most of those by which it has been
followed. The undertaking was liberally patronised by the French government, who justly
considered that a Commercial Dictionary, if well executed, would be of national importance.
Hence a considerable, and, indeed, the most valuable, portion of M. Savary's work is com-
piled from Memoirs sent him, by order of government, by the inspectors of manufactures in
France, and by the French consuls in foreign countries. An enlarged and improved edition
of the Dictionnaire was published at Geneva in 1750, in six folio volumes. But the best
edition is that of Copenhagen, in five volumes folio; the first of which appeared in 1759,
and the last in 1765.
More than the half of this work consists of matter altogether foreign to its proper object.
It is, in fact, a sort of Dictionary of Manufactures as well as of Commerce; descriptions being
given, which are, necessarily perhaps, in most instances exceedingly incomplete, and which
the want of plates often renders unintelligible, of the methods followed in the manufacture
of the commodities described. It is also filled with lengthened articles on subjects of natural
history, on the bye laws and privileges of different corporations, and a variety of subjects
nowise connected with commercial pursuits. No one, however, need look into it for any
development of sound principles, or for enlarged views. It is valuable as a repertory of facts
relating to commerce and manufactures at the commencement of last century, collected with
laudable care and industry ; but the spirit which pervades it is that of a customs officer, and
not that of a merchant or a philosopher. "Souvent dans ses réflexions, il tend plutôt à égarer
ses lecteurs qu'à les conduire, et des maximes nuisibles au progrès du commerce et de
Pindustrie obtiennent presque toujours ses éloges et son approbation."
The preceding extract is from the Prospectus, in one volume octavo, published by the
Abbé Morellet, in 1769, of a new Commercial Dictionary, to be completed in five or pro-
bably six volumes folio. This Prospectus is a work of sterling merit; and from the ac-
knowledged learning, talents, and capacity of its author for laborious exertion, there can be
no doubt that, had the projected Dictionary been completed, it would have been infinitely
superior to that of Savary. It appears (Prospectus, pp. 353-373.) that Morellet had been
engaged for a number of years in preparations for this great work and that he had amassed
a large collection of books and manuscripts relative to the commerce, navigation, colonies,
arts, &c. of France and other countries. The enterprise was begun under the auspices of
M. Trudaine, Intendant of Finance, and was patronised by Messrs. 'Averdy and Bertin,
Comptrollers General. But whether it were owing to the gigantic nature of the under-
taking, to the author having become too much engrossed with other pursuits, the want of
sufficient encouragement, or some other cause, no part of the proposed Dictionary ever ap-
peared. We are ignorant of the fate of the valuable collection of manuscripts made by the
Abbé Morellet. His books were sold at Paris within these few years.
A Commercial Dictionary, in three volumes 4to, forming part of the Encyclopédie
Méthodique, was published at Paris in 1783. It is very unequally executed, and contains
numerous articles that might have been advantageously left out. The editors acknowledge
in their Preface that they have, in most instances, been obliged to borrow from Savary. The
best parts of the work are copied from the edition of the Traité Général de Commerce of
Ricard, published at Amsterdam in 1781, in two volumes 4to.
The earliest Commercial Dictionary published in England, was compiled by Malachy
Postlethwayt, Esq., a diligent and indefatigable writer. The first part of the first edition
appeared in 1751. The last edition, in two enormous folio volumes, was published in 1774.
It is chargeable with the same defects as that of M. Savary, of which, indeed, it is for the
most part a literal translation. The author has made no effort to condense or combine the
statements under different articles, which are frequently not a little contradictory at the
same time that many of them are totally unconnected with commerce.
In 1761, Richard Rolt, Esq. published a Commercial Dictionary in one pretty large folio
volume. The best part of this work is its Preface, which was contributed by Dr. Johnson.
It is for the most part abridged from Postlethwayt; but it contains some useful original ar-
ticles, mixed, however, with many alien to the subject.
In 1766, a Commercial Dictionary was published, in two rather thin folio volumes, by
Thomas Mortimer, Esq., at that time Vice-Consul for the Netherlands. This is a more
commodious and better arranged, but not a more valuable work than that of Postlethwayt.
The plan of the author embraces, like that of his predecessors, too great a variety of objects;
more than half the work being filled with geographical articles and articles describing the
processes carried on in different departments of manufacturing industry ; there are also ar-
ticles on very inany subjects, such as architecture, the natural history of the ocean, the land-
tax, the qualifications of surgeons, &c., the relation of which to commerce, navigation, or
manufactures, it seems difficult to discover.
In 1810, a Commercial Dictionary was published, in one thick octavo volume, purporting
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PREFACE.
ix
to be by Mr. Mortimer. We understand, however, that he had but little, if any thing, to
do with its compilation. It is quite unworthy of the subject, and of the epoch when it
appeared. It has all the faults of those by which it was preceded, with but few peculiar
merits. Being not only a Dictionary of Commerce and Navigation, but of Manufactures,
it contains accounts of the different arts: but to describe these in a sa'isfactory and really
useful manner, would require several volumes, and the co-operation of many individuals :
so that, while the accounts referred to are worth very little, they occupy so large a space
that room has not been left for the proper discussion of those subjects from which alone the
work derives whatever value it possesses. Thus, there is an article of twenty-two pages
technically describing the various processes of the art of painting, while the general article
on commerce is comprised in less than two pages. The articles on coin and money do not
together occupy four pages, being considerably less than the space allotted to the articles on
engraving and etching. There is not a word said as to the circumstances which determine
the course of exchange; and the important subject of credit is disposed of in less than two
lines! Perhaps, however, the greatest defect in the work is its total want of any thing
like science. No attempt is ever made to explain the principles on which any operation
depends. Every thing is treated as if it were empirical and arbitrary. Except in the legal
articles, no authorities are quoted, so that very little dependence can be placed on the state-
ments advanced.
In another Commercial Dictionary, republished within these few years, the general article
on commerce consists of a discussion with respect to simple and compound demand, and
simple and double competition luckily the article does not fill quite a page; being consi-
derably shorter than the description of the kaleidoscope.
Under these circumstances, we do think that there is room for a new Dictionary of Com-
merce and Commercial Navigation and whatever may be thought of our work, it cannot
be said that in bringing it into the field we are encroaching on ground already fully occupied.
EXTRACTS
FROM THE
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
THE first impression of this Dictionary, consisting of 2,000 copies, was entirely sold off
in less than nine months from the date of its publication. We feel very deeply indebted to
the public for this unequivocal proof of its approbation and we have endeavoured to evince
our gratitude, by labouring to render the work less undeserving a continuance of the favour
with which it has been honoured. In the prosecution of this object, we can truly affirm we
have grudged neither labour nor expense. We have subjected every part of the work to a
careful revision ; have endeavoured to eradicate the errors that had crept into it; to improve
those parts that were incomplete or defective ; and to supply such articles as had been
omitted. We dare not flatter ourselves with the idea that we have fully succeeded in these
objects. The want of recent and accurate details as to several important subjects, has been
an obstacle we have not, in all cases, been able to overcome; but those in any degree familiar
with such investigations will not, perhaps, be disposed severely to censure our deficiencies in
this respect.
The changes in the law bearing upon commercial transactions have been carefully speci-
fied. Copious abstracts of all the late Customs Acts are contained in the articles COLONIES
AND COLONY TRADE, IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION, NAVIGATION Laws, REGISTRY,
SMUGGLING, WAREHOUSING, &c.
The abolition of the East India Company's commercial monopoly, and the great and
growing interest that has in consequence been excited amongst all classes as to the com-
mercial capabilities and practices of India, China, and other Eastern countries, have made
us bestow peculiar attention to this department. The articles BANGKOK, BATAVIA, BoM-
BAY, BUSHIRE, Bussora, CALCUTTA, CANTON, COLUMBO, EAST INDIA COMPANY AND
EAST INDIES, INDIGO, Масло, MADRAS, MANILLA, MOCHA, MUSCAT, NANGASACKI, RAN-
GOON, SINGAPORE, TATTA, TEA, &c. contain, it is believed, a greater mass of recent and
well-authenticated details as to the commerce of the vast countries stretching from the
Arabic Gulf to the Chinese Sea, than is to be found in any other English publication.
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X
PREFACE.
In compiling these and other articles, we derived much valuable assistance from John
Crawfurd, Esq.
The article BANKING is mostly new. Besides embodying the late act prolonging the
charter of the Bank of England, and the more important details given in the Report of the
Select Committee on the Renewal of the Bank Charter, this article contains some novel
and important information not elsewhere to be met with. No account of the issues of the
Bank of England has hitherto been published, that extends farther back than 1777. But
this deficiency is now, for the first time, supplied; the Directors having obligingly furnished
us with an account of the issues of the Bank on the 28th of February and the 31st of
August of each year, from 1698, within four years of its establishment, down to the present
time. We have also procured a statement, from authority, of the mode of transacting busi-
ness in the Bank of Scotland and have been able to supply several additional particulars,
both with respect to British and to foreign banks.
We have made many additions to, and alterations in, the numerous articles descriptive
of the various commodities that form the materials of commerce, and the historical notices
by which some of them are accompanied. We hope they will be found more accurate and
complete than formerly.
&
The Gazetteer department, or that embracing accounts of the principal foreign emporiums
with which this country maintains a direct intercourse, was, perhaps, the most defective in
the old edition. If it be no longer in this predicament, the improvement has been princi-
pally owing to official co-operation. The sort of information we desired as to the great sea-
port towns could not be derived from books, nor from any sources accessible to the public
and it was necessary, therefore, to set about exploring others. In this view we drew up a
series of queries, embracing an investigation of imports and exports, commercial and ship-
ping regulations, port charges, duties, &c., that might be transmitted to any port in any part
of the world. There would, however, in many instances, have been much difficulty in
getting them answered with the requisite care and attention by private individuals; and the
scheme would have had but a very partial success, had it not been for the friendly and
effectual interference of Mr. Poulett Thomson. Alive to the importance of having the
queries properly answered, he voluntarily undertook to use his influence with Lord Palmer-
ston to get them transmitted to the Consuls. This the Noble Lord most readily did and
answers have been received from the greater number of these functionaries. There is, of
course, a considerable inequality amongst them ; but they almost all embody a great deal of
valuable information, and some of them are drawn up with a degree of skill and sagacity,
and display an extent of research and a capacity of observation, that reflect the highest
credit on their authors.
The information thus obtained, added to what we received through other, but not less
authentic channels, supplied us with the means of describing twice the number of foreign
sea-ports noticed in our former edition ; and of enlarging, amending, and correcting the
accounts of such as were noticed. Besides much fuller details than have ever been previ-
ously published of the nature and extent of the trade of many of these places, the reader
will, in most instances, find a minute account of the regulations to be observed respecting
the entry and clearing of ships and goods, with statements of the different public charges
laid on shipping, the rates of commission and brokerage, the duties on the principal goods
imported and exported, the prices of provisions, the regulations as to quarantine, the practice
as to credit, banking, &c., with a variety of other particulars. We have also described the
ports; and have specified their depth of water, the course to be steered by vessels on entering,
with the rules as to pilotage, and the fees on accounts of pilots, light-houses, &c. As it is
very difficult to convey a sufficiently distinct idea of a sea-port by any description, we have
given plans, taken from the latest and best authorities, of about a dozen of the principal
foreign ports. Whether we have succeeded, is more than we can venture to say ; but we
hope we have said enough to satisfy the reader, that we have spared no pains to furnish
him with authentic information on this important department.
The TARIFF, or Table of Duties on Imports, &c., in this edition, is highly important and
valuable. It is divided into three columns the first containing an account of the existing
duties payable on the importation of foreign products for home use, as the same were fixed
by the act of last year, 3 & 4 Will. IV. cap. 56. The next column exhibits the duties pay-
able on the same articles in 1819, as fixed by the Act 59 Geo. III. cap. 52. and the third
and last column exhibits the duties as they were fixed in 1787 by Mr. Pitt's Consolidation
Act, the 27 Geo. III. cap. 13. The duties are rated throughout in Imperial weights and
measures; and allowances have been made for differences in the mode of charging, &c.
The reader has, therefore, before him, and may compare together, the present customs'
duties with the duties as they stood at the end of the late war, and at its commencement.
No similar Table is to be met with in any other work. We are indebted for it to J. D.
Hume, Esq., of the Board of Trade, at whose suggestion, and under whose direction, it has
been prepared. Its compilation was a work of great labour and difficulty ; and could not
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PREFACE.
xi
have been accomplished by any one not thoroughly acquainted with the customs acts, and
the various changes in the mode of assessing the duties. Its accuracy may be relied on.
The article SLAVES AND SLAVE TRADE contains a full abstract of the late important
statute for the abolition of slavery.
Among the new articles of a miscellaneous description, may be specified those on ALIENS,
IONIAN ISLANDS, POPULATION, TALLY TRADE, TRUCK SYSTEM, &c.
On the whole, we trust it will be found, that the work has been improved throughout,
either by the correction of mistakes, or by the addition of new and useful matter. Still,
however, we are well aware that it is in various respects defective; but we are not without
hopes that those who look into it will be indulgent enough to believe that this has been
owing as much to the extreme difficulty, or rather, perhaps, the impossibility, of obtaining
accurate information respecting some of the subjects treated of, as to the want of care and
attention on our part. Even as regards many important topics connected with the commerce
and manufactures of Great Britain, we have had to regret the want of authentic details,
and been obliged to grope our way in the dark. Nothing, indeed, can exceed the accuracy
and luminous arrangement of the customs accounts furnished by the Inspector General of
Imports and Exports. But, owing to the want of any details as to the cross-channel trade
between Great Britain and Ireland, the value of these accounts is much diminished. The
condition and habits of the people of Ireland and of Great Britain are SO very different, that
conclusions deduced from considering the trade or consumption of the United Kingdom en
masse, are generally of very little value; and may, indeed, unless carefully sifted, be the
most fallacious imaginable while, owing to the want of any account of the trade between
the two great divisions of the empire, it is not possible accurately to estimate the consump-
tion of either, or to obtain any sure means of judging of their respective progress in wealth
and industry. As respects manufactures, there is a still greater deficiency of trustworthy,
comprehensive details. We submitted the articles relating to them in this work, to the
highest practical authorities; so that we incline to think they are about as accurate as they
can well be rendered in the absence of official returns. It is far, however, from creditable
to the country, that we should be obliged, in matters of such importance, to resort to private
and irresponsible individuals for the means of coming at the truth. Statistical science in
Great Britain is, indeed, at a very low ebb: and we are not of the number of those who
suppose that it will ever be materially improved, unless government become more sensible,
than it has hitherto shown itself to be, of its importance, and set machinery in motion,
adequate to procure correct and comprehensive returns.
The statistical Tables published by the Board of Trade embrace the substance of hun-
dreds of accounts, scattered over a vast mass of Parliamentary papers. They seem to be
compiled with great care and judgment, and are a very valuable acquisition. We have fre-
quently been largely indebted to them. But their arrangement, and their constantly in-
creasing number and bulk, make them quite unfit for being readily or advantageously
consulted by practical men. Most part of the returns relating to the principal articles given
in this work, go back to a much more distant period than those published by the Board of
Trade.
We have seen no reason to modify or alter any PRINCIPLE OF COMMERCIAL POLICY ad-
vanced in our former edition. In some instances, we have varied the exposition a little, but
that is all. In every case, however, we have separated the practical, legal, and historical
statements from those of a speculative nature; so that those most disposed to dissent from
our theoretical notions will, we hope, be ready to admit that they have not been allowed to
detract from the practical utility of the work.
The important service done to us, or rather to the public, by Mr. Poulett Thomson, in the
obtaining of the Consular Returns, is a part only of what we owe to that gentleman. We
never applied to him for any sort of information which it was in his power to supply, that he
did not forthwith place at our free disposal. That system of commercial policy, of which
the Right Honourable gentleman is the enlightened and eloquent defender, has nothing to
fear from publicity. On the contrary, the better informed the public become, the more fully
the real facts and circumstances relating to it are brought before them, the more will they
be satisfied of the soundness of the measures advocated by Mr. Thomson, and of their being
eminently well fitted to promote and consolidate the commercial greatness and prosperity
of the empire.
It is proper, also, to state, that besides the Board of Trade, all the other departments of
government to which we had occasion to apply, discovered every anxiety to be of use to us.
We have been particularly indebted to Mr. Spring Rice; Sir Henry Parnell; Mr. Wood,
Chairman of the Board of Stamps and Taxes; Mr. Villiers, Ambassador at Madrid; and
Mr. Mayer, of the Colonial Office.
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ADVERTISEMENT
To THE
LAST ENGLISH EDITION.
IN this edition all the more important returns and accounts as to the TRADE, NAVIGA-
TION, and CONSUMPTION of Great Britain and other countries, have been brought down
to the latest period. In some instances, too, the form of the returns has been changed, and
new ones, drawn up on a more comprehensive plan, and embracing various additional parti-
culars, have been substituted for those previously embodied in the work. In illustration of
this, the reader is referred to the tables now given under the article IMPORTS and EXPORTS
they will, it is believed, be found to contain, within a brief space, the completest view
hitherto laid before the public of the recent trade of the empire. A few articles have also
been rewritten, among which may be specified those on LIGHTHOUSES, BOMBAY, MALTA,
SYDNEY, &c.
The SUPPLEMENT given with this edition has been greatly enlarged, and, it is hoped,
materially improved. It contains as much matter as would fill, if printed with types of
medium size, a large octavo volume, and embraces a good deal of important information
not elsewhere to be met with. Neither labour nor expense has been spared to render it in-
structive and trustworthy. It embodies the principal part of the Supplement issued in De-
cember, 1836, and has, among others, articles on the following subjects; viz. AUSTRIAN
TABIFF, and COMMERCIAL TREATY with AUSTRIA ; JOINT-STOCK BANKS, embracing a
complete list of these establishments, with an examination of the principles on which they
should be founded; New CUSTOMS AcT for BENGAL; NEW COINAGE of AMERICA and
INDIA; State of the BRITISH COTTON MANUFACTURE from 1816 to 1838, both inclusive;
Tables showing the extent of the FOREIGN TRADE of the Country during each of the ten
years ending with 1838, with remarks; TRADE with PRUSSIA, PRUSSIAN COMMERCIAL
LEAGUE and TARIFF; RAILWAYS and RAILWAY LEGISLATION; CLASSIFICATION of
SHIPS; State of the SUGAR TRADE; ALTERATIONS in the BRITISH and RUSSIAN TARIFFS;
COMMERCIAL TREATY with TURKEY; with notices of CIVITA VECCHIA, GALACZ, GUAY-
AQUIL, PORT LAMAR, MONTEVIDEO, MOULMEIN, ROSTOCK, &c.
The author has been able to avail himself, in preparing this edition, of some very
valuable communications. In this respect, he is under especial obligations to the govern-
ment of Prussia. With a liberality of which there are a few (if any) examples, it has not
merely taken pains to supply him with ample and authentic details as to the Commerce,
Population, Finances, &c., of that flourishing kingdom, but has authorised him to make
any use he pleased of the information so communicated, without stipulation or condition
of any kind.
We have also been indebted to various private and official gentlemen, at home and abroad,
for many useful hints and valuable statements. Mr. Porter, of the Board of Trade, allowed
us the use of several unpublished returns belonging to his department; Mr. Wood, Chair-
man of the Board of Excise, and Mr. Mayer, of the Colonial Office, gave us every assist-
ance in their power; the intervention of Mr. Hall, late vice-consul for the republic of
Uruguay, at Liverpool, and of Mr. Kreeft, consul for Mecklenburg, has enabled us to furnish
the commercial world with accurate details as to the ports of Montevideo, Rostock, &c.;
and gentlemen resident in Bombay, Calcutta, Malta, Singapore, &c., have supplied im-
portant information. We are sorry that our limits will not permit of our specifying the
different parties to whom we have been indebted; but we beg them to accept our best
thanks for their attentions. We are most anxious to have the means of correcting the
errors into which we may have fallen, and of rendering our book as accurate as possible.
This, however, can only be effected by gentlemen apprising us of the changes that are con-
stantly taking place in the regulations under which commerce is conducted, and in the
channels in which it is carried on. This information, so important to the mercantile world,
might, sometimes, be communicated without much trouble, and will always be most grate-
fully received by us.
xii
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DICTIONARY
or
COMMERCE
AND
COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION.
AAM, AUM, or Ann, a measure for liquids, used at Amsterdam, Antwerp, Hamburgh,
Frankfort, &c. At Amsterdam it is nearly equal to 41 English wine gallons, at Antwerp
to 364 ditto, at Hamburgh to 384 ditto, and at Frankfort to 39 ditto.
ABANDONMENT, in commerce and navigation, is used to express the abandoning or
surrendering of the ship or goods insured to the insurer.
It is held, by the law of England, that the insured has the right to abandon, and to compel
the insurers to pay the whole value of the thing insured, in every case "where, by the
happening of any of the misfortunes or perils insured against, the voyage is lost or not worth
pursuing, and the projected adventure is frustrated; or where the thing insured is so damaged
and spoiled as to be of little or no value to the owner; or where the salvage is very high ;
or where what is saved is of less value than the freight; or where further expense is
necessary, and the insurer will not undertake to pay that expense," &c.-(Marshall, book i.
cap. 13. § 1.)
Abandonment very frequently takes place in cases of capture; the loss is then total, and
no question can arise in respect to it. In cases, however, in which a ship and cargo are
recaptured within such a time that the object of the voyage is not lost, the insured is not
entitled to abandon. The mere stranding of a ship is not deemed of itself such a loss as
will justify an abandonment. If by some fortunate accident, by the exertions of the crew,
or by any borrowed assistance, the ship be got off and rendered capable of continuing her
voyage, it is not a total loss, and the insurers are only liable for the expenses occasioned by
the stranding. It is only where the stranding is followed by shipwreck, or in any other way
renders the ship incapable of prosecuting her voyage, that the insured can abandon.
It has been decided, that damage sustained in a voyage to the extent of forty-eight per
cent. of the value of the ship, did not entitle the insured to abandon. If a cargo be damaged
in the course of a voyage, and it appears that what has been saved is less than the amount
of freight, it is held to be a total loss.-(Park on Insurance, cap. 9.)
When by the occurrence of any of the perils insured against, the insured has acquired a
right to abandon, he is at liberty either to abandon or not, as he thinks proper. He is in no
case bound to abandon; but if he make an election, and resolve to abandon, he must abide
by his resolution, and has no longer the power to claim for a partial loss. In some foreign
countries specific periods are fixed by law within which the insured, after being informed of
the loss, must elect either to abandon or not. In this country, however, no particular period
is fixed for this purpose; but the rule is, that if the insured determine to abandon, he must
intimate such determination to the insurers within a reasonable period after he has got intelli-
gence of the loss,-and unnecessary delay in making this intimation being interpreted to
mean that he has decided not to abandon.
No particular form or solemnity is required in giving notice of an abandonment. It may
be given either to the underwriter himself, or the agent who subscribed for him.
The effect of an abandonment is to vest all the rights of the insured in the insurers. The
latter become the legal owners of the ship, and as such are liable for all her future outgoings,
and entitled to her future earnings. An abandonment, when once made, is irrevocable.
In case of a shipwreck or other misfortune, the captain and crew are bound to exert them-
selves to the utmost to save as much property as possible and to enable them to do this without
prejudice to the right of abandonment, our policies provide that, " in case of any loss or mis-
A
1
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2
ABATEMENT.
fortune, the insured, their factors, servants, and assigns, shall be at liberty to sue and labour
about the defence, safeguard, and recovery of the goods, and merchandises, and ship, &c.,
without prejudice to the insurance to the charges whereof the insurers agree to contribute,
each according to the rate and quantity of his subscription."
" From the nature of his situation," says Mr. Serjeant Marshall, " the captain has an im-
plied authority, not only from the insured, but also from the insurers and all others interested
in the ship or cargo, in case of misfortune, to do whatever he thinks most conducive to the
general interest of all concerned and they are all bound by his acts. Therefore, if the ship
be disabled by stress of weather, or any other peril of the sea, the captain may hire another
vessel for the transport of the goods to their port of destination, if he think it for the interest
of all concerned that he should do so or he may, upon a capture, appeal against a sentence
of condemnation, or carry on any other proceedings for the recovery of the ship and cargo,
provided he has a probable ground for doing so; or be may, upon the loss of the ship,
invest the produce of the goods saved in other goods, which he may ship for his original
port of destination for whatever is recovered of the effects insured, the captain is accountable
to the insurers. If the insured neglect to abandon when he has it in his power to do so, be
adopts the acts of the captain, and he is bound by them. If, on the other hand, the insurers,
after notice of abandonment, suffer the captain to continue in the management, he becomes
their agent, and they are bound by his acts."
As to the sailors, when a misfortune happens, they are bound to save and preserve the
merchandise to the best of their power; and while they are so employed, they are entitled to
wages, so far, at least, as what is saved will allow : but if they refuse to assist in this, they
shall have neither wages nor reward. In this the Rhodian law, and the laws of Oleron,
Wisby, and the Hanse Towns, agree.
The policy of the practice of abandonment seems very questionable. The object of an
insurance is to render the insurer liable for whatever loss or damage may be incurred. But
this object does not seem to be promoted by compelling him to pay as for a total loss, when,
in fact, the loss is only partial. The captain and crew of the ship are selected by the owners,
are their servants, and are responsible to them for their proceedings. But in the event of a
ship being stranded, and so damaged that the owners are entitled to abandon, the captain
and crew become the servants of the underwriters, who had nothing to do with their ap-
pointment, and to whom they are most probably altogether unknown. It is admitted that a
regulation of this sort can hardly fail of leading, and has indeed frequently led, to very great
abuses. We, therefore, are inclined to think that abandonment ought not to be allowed
where any property is known to exist; but that such property should continue at the dis-
posal of the owners and their agents, and that the underwriters should be liable only for the
damage really incurred. The first case that came before the British courts with respect to an
abandonment was decided by Lord Hardwicke, in 1744. Mr. Justice Buller appears to have
concurred in the opinion now stated, that abandonment should not have been allowed in cases
where the loss is not total.
For further information as to this subject, see the excellent works of Mr. Serjeant Marshall
(book i. cap. 13) ; and of Mr. Justice Park (cap. 9) on the Law of Insurance.
[The law of abandonment has been pronounced by Lord Eldon to be one of the most
uncertain branches of the law; and Mr. Benecke, in his work on Indemnity, expresses the
opinion-an opinion sanctioned by Chancellor Kent-that little reliance is to be put on any
general principles in determining what that law is in a particular case, but that recourse
must be had, for this purpose, to actual decisions. See Kent's Commentaries, Lecture 48.
-Am. Ed.]
ABATEMENT, or REBATE, is the name sometimes given to a discount allowed for prompt
payment it is also used to express the deduction that is sometimes made at the custombouse
from the duties chargeable upon such goods as are damaged. This allowance is regulated
by the 6 Geo. 4 C. 107. & 28. No abatement is made from the duties charged on coffee,
currants, figs, lemons, oranges, raisins, tobacco, and wine.
(No abatement is to be made, on account of damage on the voyage, from the duties pay-
able on the following drugs, viz cantharides, cocculus Indicus, Guinea grains, ipecacuanha,
jalap, nux vomica, opium, rhubarb, sarsaparilla, and senna.-4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89, s 5.-
Sup.)
[ In the United States, in respect to all articles imported, that have been damaged during the
voyage, whether subject to a duty ad valorem, or which are chargeable with a specific duty,
either by number, weight or measure, the appraisers (appointed for the purpose) shall as-
certain and certify to what rate or per centage the said goods, wares, or merchandise, are
damaged, and the rate or per centage of damage, so ascertained and certified, shall be deducted
from the original amount subject to a duty ad valorem, or from the actual or original number,
weight, or measure, on which specific duties would have been computed Provided that no at
lowance for the damage on any goods, wares, and merchandise, that have been entered, and on
which the duties have been paid, or secured to be paid, and for which a permit has been
granted to the owner or consignee thereof, and which may, on examining the same, prove to
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ACACIA-ACIDS.
8
be damaged, shall be made, unless proof, to ascertain such damage, shall be lodged in the
customhouse of the port or place where such goods, wares, or merchandise, have been landed,
within ten days after the landing of such merchandise. And every person who shall be ap-
pointed to ascertain the damage, during the voyage, of any goods, wares, or merchandise,
shall take and subscribe an oath or affirmation for the faithful performance of the duties
assigned him. See Act 2d March, 1799, " to regulate the collection of duties on imports
and tonnage," sec. 52, where the form of the oath or affirmation just mentioned may be
found.
The mode of appraisement is pointed out in the act of March 1st, 1823, supplementary to
that of March 2d, 1799.-Am. Ed.]
ACACIA. See GUM ARABIC.
ACAPULCO, a celebrated seaport on the western coast of Mexico, in lat. 16° 50H N.,
long. 99° 46' W. Population uncertain, but said to be from 4,000 to 5,000. The harbour
of Acapulco is one of the finest in the world, and is capable of containing any number of
ships in the most perfect safety. Previously to the emancipation of Spanish America, a galleon
or large ship, richly laden, was annually sent from Acapulco to Manilla, in the Philippine
Islands: and at her return a fair was held, which was much resorted to by strangers. But
this sort of intercourse is no longer carried on, the trade to Manilla and all other places being
now conducted by private individuals. The exports consist of bullion, cochineal, cocoa,
wool, indigo, &c. The imports principally consist of cotton goods, hardware, articles of
jewellery, raw and wrought silks, spices, and aromatics. Acapulco is extremely unhealthy
and though it be the principal port on the west coast of Mexico, its commerce is not very
considerable. The navigation from Acapulco to Guayaquil and Callao is exceedingly tedious
and difficult, so that there is but little intercourse between Mexico and Peru. The moneys,
weights, and measures, are the same as those of Spain for which see CADIZ.
[Ruschenberger, who visited Acapulco in 1836, states its population to be about 3000 ;
and this he asserts to be greater than it ever was previous to the separation of Mexico from
Spain.-Am. Ed.]
ACIDS are a class of compounds which are distinguished from all others by the following
properties. They are generally possessed of a very sharp and sour taste; redden the infu-
sions of blue vegetable colours are often highly corrosive, and enter into combination with
the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides; forming compounds in which the characters of the
constituents are entirely destroyed, and new ones produced differing in every respect from
those previously existing. The quality or strength of an acid is generally ascertained, either
by its specific gravity, which is found by means of the hydrometer, if the acid be liquid, or
by the quantity of pure and dry subcarbonate of potass or soda, or of carbonate of lime
(marble) which a given weight of the acid requires for its exact neutralization. This latter
process is termed Acidimetry, or the ascertaining the quantity of real acid existing in any of
the liquid or crystallized acids.
The principal acids at present known are, the Acetic, Benzoic, Boracic, Bromic, Carbonic,
Citric, Chloric, Cyanic, Fluoric, Ferroprussic, Gallic, Hydrobromic, Hydriodic, Iodic, Lactic,
Malic, Margaric, Meconic, Muriatic or Hydrochloric, Nitrous, Nitric, Oleic, Oxalic, Phospo-
ric, Prussic or Hydrocyanic, Purpuric, Saccholactic, Suberic, Sulphurous, Sulphuric, Tartaric,
Uric, and many others which it would be superfluous to detail. It is the most important
only of these, however, that will be here treated of, and more particularly those employed in
the arts and manufactures.
Acetic or pyroligneous acid.-This acid, in its pure and concentrated form, is obtained from the fluid
matter which passes over in distillation, when wood is exposed to heat in close iron cylinders. This
fluid is a mixture of acetic acid, tar, and a very volatile ether; from these the acid may be separated,
after a second distillation, by saturating with chalk, and evaporating to dryness; an acetate of lime
is thus procured, which, by mixture with sulphate of soda, (Glauber's salt,) is decomposed, the re-
sulting compounds being an insoluble sulphate of lime, and a very soluble acetate of soda these are
easily separated from each other by solution in water and filtration; the acetate of soda being ob-
tained in the crystalline form by evaporation. From this, or the acetate of lime, some manufacturers
employing the former, others the latter, the acetic acid is obtained by distillation with sulphuric acid
(oil of vitriol ;) as thus procured, it is a colourless, volatile fluid, having a very pungent and refresh-
ing odour, and a strong acid taste. Its strength should be ascertained by the quantity of marble re-
quired for its neutralization, as its specific gravity does not give a correct indication. It is employed
in the preparation of the acetate of lead (sugar of lead) in many of the pharmaceutical compounds,
and also as an antiseptic.
Vinegar is an impure and very dilute acetic acid, obtained by exposing either weak wines or in-
fusions of malt to the air and a slow fermentation; it contains, besides the pure acid, a large quantity
of colouring matter, some mucilage, and a little spirit; from these it is readily separated by distilla-
tion. The impurities with which this distilled vinegar is sometimes adulterated, or with which it is
accidentally contaminated, are oil of vitriol, added to increase the acidity, and oxides of tin or copper,
arising from the vinegar having been distilled through tin or copper worms. These may be easily
detected; the oil of vitriol by the addition of a little solution of muriate of barytes to the distilled
vinegar, which, should the acid be present, will cause a dense white precipitate and the oxides of tin
or copper by the addition of water impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen. Vinegar is employed in
many culinary and domestic operations, and also very largely in the manufacture of the carbonate of
lead, (white lead.)
Benzoic acid-exists naturally, Tormed in the gum benzoin, and may be procured either by sub-
mitting the benzoin in fine powder to repeated sublimations, or by digesting it with lime and water,
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ACIDS.
straining off the clear solution, and adding muriatic acid, which enters into combination with the
lime, and the benzoic acid, being nearly insoluble in water, falls as a white powder; this may be
further purified by a sublimation. Benzoic acid is of a beautiful pearly white colour when pure, has
a very peculiar aromatic odour, and an acrid, acid, and bitter taste; it is used in making pastilles and
perfumed incense. This acid also occurs in the balsams of Tolu and Peru, and in the urine of the
horse and cow.
Boracic acid-is found in an uncombined state in many of the hot springs of Tuscany, as also at
Sesso in the Florentine territory, from whence it has received the name of Sessolin. In Thibet, Per-
sia, and South America, it occurs in combination with soda, and is imported from the former place
into this country in a crystalline form, under the name of Tincal. These crystals are coated with a
rancid, fatty substance, and require to be purified by repeated solutions and crystallizations; after
which it is sold under the appellation of borax (bi-borate of soda from a hot solution of this salt the
boracic acid is readily obtained, by the addition of sulphuric acid in slight excess; sulphate of soda is
formed, and the boracic acid crystallizes as the solution cools. When pure, these crystals are white,
and have an unctuous greasy feel they are soluble in alcohol, communicating a green tinge to its
flame; when fused it forms a transparent glass, and has been found by Mr. Faraday to unite with the
oxide of lead, producing a very uniform glass, free from all defects, and well adapted for the purpose
of telescopes and other astronomical instruments. Borax is much employed in the arts, particularly
in metallurgic operations as a flux; also in enamelling, and in pharmacy.
Carbonic acid.-This acid occurs very abundantly in nature, combined with lime, magnesia, barytes,
aerial acid, fixed air, mephitic acid; from any of these it is easily separated by the addition of nearly
any of the other acids. In its uncombined form, it is a transparent, gaseous fluid, having a density
of 1.53, atmospheric air being unity it is absorbed to a considerable extent by water, and when the
water is rendered slightly alkaline by the addition of carbonate of soda, and a large quantity of gas
forced into it by pressure, it forms the well-known refreshing beverage, soda water. This gas is also
formed in very large quantities during combustion, respiration, and fermentation. Carbonic acid gas
is destructive of animal life and combustion, and from its great weight accumulates in the bottoms of
deep wells, cellars, caves, &c., which have been closed for a long period, and numerous fatal accidents
arise frequently to persons entering such places incautiously the precaution should always be taken
of introducing a lighted candle prior to the descent or entrance of any one for should the candle be
extinguished, it would be dangerous to enter until properly ventilated. The combinations of carbonic
acid with the alkalies, earths, and metallic oxides are termed carbonates.
Citric ucid-exists in a free state, in the juice of the lemon, lime, and other fruits, combined how-
ever with mucilage, and sometimes a little sugar, which renders it, if required to be preserved for a
long period, very liable to ferment on this account, the crystallized citric acid is to be preferred. It
is prepared by saturating the lemon juice with chalk; the citric acid combines with the lime, forming
an insoluble compound, while the carbonic acid is liberated the insoluble citrate, after being well
washed, is to be acted upon by dilute sulphuric acid, which forms sulphate of lime, and the citric acid
enters into solution in the water; by filtration and evaporation the citric acid is obtained in colourless
transparent crystals. The chief uses to which it is applied are as a preventive of sea scurvy, and in
making refreshing acidulous or effervescing drinks; for which latter purpose it is peculiarly fitted
from its very pleasant flavour.
Fluoric acid-is found in the well-known mineral fluor spar in combination with lime from which it
is procured in the liquid form, by distillation with dilute sulphuric acid in a leaden or silver retort; the
receiver should be of the same material as the retort, and kept cool by ice or snow.
This acid is gaseous in its pure form, highly corrosive, and intensely acid it is rapidly absorbed by
water, communicating its properties to that fluid. Its chief use is for etching on glass, which it cor-
rodes with great rapidity. For this purpose a thin coating of wax is to be melted on the surface of the
glass, and the sketch drawn by a fine hard-pointed instrument through the wax; the liquid acid is
then poured on it, and after a short time, on the removal of the acid and coating, an etching will be
found in the substance of the glass. A very excellent application of this property, possessed by fluoric
acid, is in the roughing the shades for table lamps. All the metals, except silver, lead, and platina, are
acted upon by this acid.
Gallic acid.-The source from which this acid is generally obtained is the nut gall, a hard protube-
rance produced on the oak by the puncture of insects. The most simple method of procuring the acid
in its pure form, is to submit the galls in fine powder to sublimation in a retort, taking care that the
heat be applied slowly and with caution; the other processes require a very long period for their
completion. When pure, gallic acid has a white and silky appearance, and a highly astringent and
slightly acid taste. The nut galls, which owe their properties to the gallic acid they contain, are em-
ployed very extensively in the arts, for dyeing and staining silks, cloths, and woods of a black colour
this is owing to its forming with the oxide of iron an intense black precipitate. Writing ink is made
on the same principle a very excellent receipt of the late Dr. Black's is, to take 3 oz. of the best
Aleppo galls in fine powder, 1 oz. sulphate of iron, (green vitriol,) 1 oz. logwood finely rasped, 1 oz.
gum arabic, one pint of the best vinegar, one pint of soft water, and 8 or 10 cloves ; in this case the
black precipitate is Kept suspended by the gum.
Hydriodic acid,-a compound of iodine and hydrogen, in its separate form is of very little importance
in the arts; its combinations with potass, soda, and other of the metallic oxides, will be treated of
hereafter.
Malic acid-exists in the juices of many fruits, particularly the apple, as also in the berries of the
service and mountain ash.
Meconic acid-is found in opium, in combination with morphia, forming the meconate of morphia, on
which the action of opium principally depends.
Muriatic acid, or spirits of salts.-This acid (the hydrochloric of the French chemists) is manufactured
from the chloride of sodium (dry sea salt) by the action of sulphurie acid, (oil of vitriol.) The most
economical proportions are 20 pounds of fused salt, and 20 pounds of oil of vitriol previously mixed
with an equal weight of water; these are placed in an iron or earthen pot, to which an earthen head
and receiver are adapted, and submitted to distillation; the muriatic acid passes over in the vaporous
form, and may be easily condensed. The liquid acid thus obtained should have a specific gravity of
1.17, water being equal to 100; it has a strong acid taste, and a slight yellow colour; this is owing to
a small quantity of oxide of iron. By redistillation in a glass retort at a low temperature, it may be
obtained perfectly pure and colourless. It sometimes contains a little sulphuric acid this is detected
by a solution of muriate of barytes. Muriatic acid, in its uncombined state, is an invisible elastic gas,
having a very strong affinity for water that fluid absorbing, at a temperature of 40° Fahrenheit, 480
times its volume, and the resulting liquid acid has a density of 121. So great is this attraction for water,
that when the gas is liberated into the air, it combines with the moisture always present in that me-
dium, forming dense white vapours. Its combinations with the alkalies, &c. are termed muriates those
of the greatest importance are, the muriates of tin, ammonia, barytes, and sea salt. The test for the
presence of muriatic acid in any liquid is the nitrate of silver, (lunar caustic,) which causes a curdy
white precipitate.
Nitric ucid, or aquafortis.-This, which is one of the most useful acids with which the chemist is
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acquainted, is prepared by acting upon saltpetre (nitre or nitrate of potass) with oil of vitriol the
proportions best suited for this purpose are, three parts by weight of nitre and two of oil of vitriol
or 100 nitre, and 60 oil of vitriol previously diluted with 20 of water; either of these proportions will
produce a very excellent acid. When submitted to distillation, which should be conducted in earthen
or glass vessels, the nitric acid passes over in the form of vapour, and a bisulphate of potass (sal
mixum) remains in the retort.
Nitric acid of commerce has usually a dark orange-red colour, giving off copious fumes, and having
a specific gravity of 150, water being 100. It is strongly acid and highly corrosive. It may be obtained
perfectly colourless by a second distillation, rejecting the first portion that passes over. It is much
employed in the arts, for etching on copper-plates for engraving also, for the separation of silver from
gold, in the process of quartation. In pharmacy and surgery it is extensively used, and is employed
for destroying contagious effluvia. Combined with muriatic acid, it forms aqua regia, (nitro-muriatie
acid,) used as a solvent for gold, platina, &c. This acid is frequently contaminated with the muriatic
and sulphuric acids these may be detected by the following methods.-A portion of the suspected
acid should be diluted with three or four times its volume of distilled water, and divided into two
glasses; to one of which nitrate of silver (lunar caustic in solution) is to be added, and to the other,
nitrate of barytes; if muriatic acid be present, a white curdy precipitate will be thrown down by the
former and if sulphuric, a white granular precipitate by the latter.
Oxalic acid-occurs in combination with potass as binoxalate of potass in the different varieties
of sorrel, from whence the binoxalate of potass has been termed salt of sorrel. This acid is
usually prepared by the action of nitric acid upon sugar, evaporating the solution, after the action has
ceased, to the consistence of a syrup, and redissolving and recrystallizing the crystals which are thus
procured.
It is sold in small white acicular crystals, of a strongly acid taste and highly poisonous, and some-
times in its external appearance bears a strong similarity to Epsom salts, (sulphate of magnesia,) which
it has been unfortunately frequently mistaken for. It is instantly distinguished from Epsom salts by
placing a small crystal upon the tongue; when its strong acid taste, compared with the nauseous
bitter of the sulphate of magnesia, will be quite a sufficient criterion. In cases of poisoning, however,
by this acid, lime, or chalk, mixed with water to form a cream, should be immediately administered,
the combinations of oxalic acid with these substances being perfectly inert. It is employed in removing
ink stains, iron moulds, &c. from linen and leather; the best proportions for these purposes are, 1 oz.
of the acid to a pint of water. The most delicate test of the presence of oxalic acid is, a salt of lime
or lime-water, with either of which it forms a white precipitate, insoluble in water, but soluble in
acids. Its combinations are termed oxalates.
Phosphoric acid-is of very little importance in a commercial point of view, except as forming
with lime the earth of bones, (phosphate of lime.) It is prepared by heating bones to whiteness in a
furnace; from this phosphoric acid is obtained by the action of sulphuric acid, still combined, how-
ever, with a small quantity of lime. The action of nitric acid upon phosphorus, the latter being added
gradually and in small pieces, yields this acid in a state of purity; its combinations are termed
phosphates.
Prussic acid, or hydrocyanic acid.-This acid, which is the most virulent and poisonous acid known,
is contained in peach blossoms, bay leaves, and many other vegetable productions, which owe their
peculiar odour to the presence of prussic acid. For the purposes of medicine and chemistry, this acid
is prepared either by distilling one part of the cyanuret of mercury, one part of muriatic acid of specific
gravity 1.15, and six parts of water, six parts of prussic acid being collected or, by dissolving a
certain weight of cyanuret of mercury, and passing a current of sulphuretted hydrogen through the
solution, until the whole of the mercury shall be precipitated; if an excess of sulphuretted hydrogen
should be present, a little carbonate of lead (white lead) will remove it on filtering, a colourless
prussic acid will be obtained. By the first process, which is the one followed at Apothecaries' Hall,
the acid has a density 995, water being equal to 1,000; by the latter, it may be procured of any required
strength, depending on the quantity of cyanuret of mercury dissolved. The best test for the presence
of this acid is, first to add a small quantity of the protosulphate of iron (solution of green vitriol,)
then a little solution of potass, and lastly diluted sulphuric acid if prussic acid be present, prussian
blue will be formed. Its combinations are called prussiates or hydrocyanates; when in its concentrated
form, it is so rapid in its effects that large animals have been killed in the short space of 80 seconds,
or from a minute to a minute and a half.
Sulphurous Acid-is formed whenever sulphur is burnt in atmospheric air: it is a suffocating and
pungent gas, strongly acid, bleaches vegetable colours with great rapidity, and arrests the process of
vinous fermentation. For these purposes it is therefore very much employed, especially in bleaching
woollen goods and straws. Fermentation may be immediately arrested by burning a small quantity
of sulphur in casks, and then racking off the wine while still fermenting into them this frequently
gives the wine a very unpleasant taste of sulphur, which is avoided by the use of sulphate of potass,
made by impregnating a solution of potass with sulphurous acid gas.
Sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol-called oil of vitriol from its having been formerly manufactured from
green vitriol, (sulphate of iron.) In some parts of the Continent this process is still followed. The
method generally adopted in this country, is to introduce nine parts of sulphur, intimately mixed with
one part of nitre, in a state of active combustion, into large leaden chambers, the bottoms of which
are covered with a stratum of water. Sulphurous and nitrous acid gases are generated, which enter-
ing into combination form a white crystalline solid, which falls to the bottom of the chamber the
instant that the water comes in contact with it, this solid is decomposed with a hissing noise and ef-
fervescence, sulphuric acid combines with the water, and nitrous gas is liberated, which combining
with oxygen from the air of the chamber, is converted into nitrous acid gas, again combines with sul-
phurous acid gas, and again falls to the bottom of the chamber this process continues as long as the
combustion of the sulphur is kept up, or as long as atmospheric air remains in the chamber the nitrous
acid merely serving as a means for the transference of oxygen from the atmosphere to the sulphurous
acid, to convert it into sulphuric acid. The water is removed from the chamber when of a certain
strength, and replaced by fresh. These acid waters are then evaporated in leaden boilers, and finally
concentrated in glass or platina vessels. As thus manufactured, sulphuric acid is a dense oily fluid,
colourless, intensely acid, and highly corrosive, and has a specific gravity of 1,846, water being equal
to 1,000. This acid is the most important with which we are acquainted it is employed in the manu-
facture of the nitric, muriatic, acetic, phosphoric, citric, tartaric, and many other acids; also in the
preparation of chlorine, for the manufacture of the bleaching powder, (oxymuriate of lime or chloride
of lime,) for the preparation of sulphate of mercury, in the manufacture of calomel and corrosive sub-
limate, and in innumerable other chemical manufactures. In the practice of physic it is also very
much employed. It usually contains a little oxide of lead, which is readily detected by diluting the
acid with about four times its volume of water, and allowing the sulphate of lead to subside. Its com-
binations are denominated sulphates. The fuming sulphuric acid, as manufactured at Nordhausen,
contains only one-half the quantity of water in its composition.
Tartaric acid.-This acid is procured from the cream of tartar, (bitartrate of potass.) obtained by
purifying the crust which separates during the fermentation of wines by solution and crystallization.
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ACORNS-ADJUSTMENT.
When this purified bitartrate is dissolved, and lime or carbonate of lime added, an insoluble tartrate
of lime falls, which after washing should be acted upon by sulphuric acid; sulphate of lime is thus
formed, and the tartaric acid enters into solution, and may be obtained by evaporation and crystalli-
zation. It is employed very much in the arts, in calico-printing, as also in making effervescing draughts
and powders in pharmacy.
Uric acid-is an animal acid of very little importance, except in a scientific point of view; it exists
in the excrements of serpents, to the amount of 95 per cent., and forms the basis of many of the urinary
calculi and gravel.
N. B. This article, and that on alkalies, have been furnished by an able practical chemist.
ACORNS (Ger. Eicheln, Eckern; Fr. Glands; It. Ghiande; Sp. Bellotas; Rus.
Schedudii; Lat. Glundes), the seed or fruit of the oak. Acorns formed a part of the food of
man in early ages, and frequent allusion is made in the classics to this circumstance. (Virgil,
Georg. lib. i. lin. 8.; Ovid. Met. lib. i. lin. 106, &c.) In some countries they are still used,
in periods of scarcity, as a substitute for bread. With us they are now rarely used except for
fattening hogs and poultry. They are said to make, when toasted, with the addition of a lit-
tle fresh butter, one of the best substitutes for coffee. Their taste is astringent and bitter.
ACORUS (Calamus aromaticus), sweet flag, or sweet rush, a red or knotty root, about
the thickness of the little finger, and several inches long. The root of the sweet flag has a
pleasant aromatic odour, similar to that of a mixture of cinnamon and allspice. The taste is
warm, pungent, bitterish, and aromatic."-(Thomson's Dispensatory.) The root, which is
used in medicine, was formerly imported from the Levant, but it is now obtained of an equally
good quality from Norfolk.
ACRE, a measure of land. The Imperial or standard English acre contains 4 roods, each
rood 40 poles or perches, each pole 2724 square feet; and consequently each acre-43,560
square feet. Previously to the introduction of the new system of weights and measures by
the act 5 Geo. IV. cap. 74, the acres in use in different parts of England varied considerably
from each other and from the standard acre; but these customary measures are now abolish-
ed. The Scotch acre contains four roods, each rood 40 falls, and each fall 36 ells; the ell
being equal to 37.06 Imperial inches. Hence the Imperial is to the Scotch acre nearly as 1
to 14, one Scotch acre being equal to 1-261 Imperial acres. The Irish acre is equal to 1 acre
2 roods and 19 31 poles; 301 Irish being equal to 49 Imperial acres.
[The standard English acre is the acre in use in the United States.-Am. Ed.]
ADAMANTINE SPAR (Hind. Corundum), a stone so called from its hardness, found
in India, Ava, China, &c., crystallized, or in a mass. It is ascertained to be a species of sap-
phire. The Indian variety is the best. Colour grey, with shades of green and light brown
fracture foliated and sparry, sometimes vitreous. It is brittle, and so hard as to cut rock crystal
and most of the gems. Specific gravity from 371 to 4-18. The Chinese variety differs from
the Indian in containing grains of magnetic iron ore disseminated through it, in being gene-
rally of a darker colour, and having externally a chatoyant lustre; its specific gravity is
greater, and its hardness somewhat inferior. It is employed to polish gems.
ADJUSTMENT, in commercial navigation, the settlement of a loss incurred by the
insured.
In the case of a total loss, if the policy be an open one, the insurer is obliged to pay the
goods according to their prime cost, that is, the invoice price, and all duties and expenses in-
curred till they are put on board, including the premium of insurance. Whether they might
have arrived at a good or a bad market, is held by the law of England to be immaterial. The
insurer is supposed to have insured a constant and not a variable sum and in the event of a
loss occurring, the insured is merely to be put into the same situation in which he stood be-
fore the transaction began. If the policy be a valued one, the practice is to adopt the value-
tion fixed in it in case of a total loss, unless the insurers can show that the insured had a
colourable interest only, or that the goods were greatly overvalued. In the case of all partial
losses, the value of the goods must be proved.
"The nature of the contract between the insured and insurer is," says Mr. Justice Park,
that the goods shall come safe to the port of delivery or, if they do not, that the insurer
will indemnify the owner to the amount of the value of the goods stated in the policy. Wher-
ever then the property insured is lessened in value by damage received at sea, justice is done
by putting the merchant in the same condition (relation being had to the prime cost or value
in the policy) in which he would have been had the goods arrived free from damage; that
is, by paying him such proportion of the prime cost or value in the policy as corresponds
with the proportion of the diminution in value occasioned by the damage. The question
then is, how is the proportion of the damage to be ascertained It certainly cannot be by
any measure taken from the prime cost; but it may be done in this way :-Where any thing,
as a hogshead of sugar, happens to be spoiled, if you can fix whether it be a third, a fourth,
or a fifth worse, than the damage is ascertained to a mathematical certainty. How is this to be
found out? Not by any price at the port of shipment, but it must be at the port of delivery,
when the voyage is completed and the whole damage known. Whether the price at the lat-
ter be high or low, it is the same thing; for in either case it equally shows whether the
damaged goods are a third, a fourth, or a fifth worse than if they had come sound; conse-
quently, whether the injury sustained be a third, fourth, or fifth of the value of the thing.
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And as the insurer pays the whole prime cost if the thing be wholly lost, so if it be only a
third, fourth, or fifth worse, he pays a third, fourth, or fifth, not of the value for which it is
sold, but of the value stated in the policy. And when no valuation is stated in the policy,
the invoice of the cost, with the addition of all charge, and the premium of insurance, shall be
the foundation upon which the loss shall be computed."
Thus, suppose a policy to be effected on goods, the prime cost of which, all expenses in-
cluded, amounts to 1,000/.; and suppose further, that these goods would, had they safely
reached the port of delivery, have brought 1,200l., but that, owing to damage they have met
with in the voyage, they only fetch 800/.; in this case it is plain, inasmuch as goods that
would otherwise have been worth 1,200/. are only worth 800/.; that they have been deterior-
ated one-third, and hence it follows, conformably to what has been stated above, that the in-
surer must pay one-third of their prime cost (1,000L), or 333/. 6s. 8d. to the insured.
In estimating the value of goods at the port of delivery, the gross and not the nett proceeds
of the sales are to be taken as the standard.
A ship is valued at the sum she is worth at the time she sails on the voyage insured, in-
cluding the expenses of repairs, the value of her furniture, provisions, and stores, the money
advanced to the sailors, and, in general, every expense of the outfit, to which is added the pre-
mium of insurance.
When an adjustment is made, it is usual for the insurer to endorse upon the policy " ad-
justed this loss at (so much) per cent.," payable in a given time, generally a month, and to
sign it with the initials of his name. This is considered as a note of hand, and as such is
primâ facie evidence of the debt, not to be shaken, but by proving that fraud was used in ob-
taining it, or that there was some misconception of the law or the fact upon which it was
made. See, for a further discussion of this subject, the article MARINE INSURANCE, Park
on the Law of Insurance (cap. 6.), and Marshall (book i. cap. 14.).
[See also Kent's Commentaries, Lecture 48.-Am. Ed.]
ADMEASUREMENT. See TONNAGE.
[ADMIRALTY COURTS have authority to try and determine all maritime causes, or
such injuries, which, though they are in their nature of common law cognizance, yet, being
committed on the high seas, out of the reach of the ordinary courts of justice, are therefore to
be remedied in a peculiar court of their own. When the court of admiralty has not original
jurisdiction of the cause, though there should arise in it a question that is proper for the
cognizance of that court, yet this does not alter or take away the exclusive jurisdiction of the
ordinary courts of law. And so, vice versa, if it has jurisdiction of the original, it has also
jurisdiction of all consequential questions, though properly determinable at common law.
If part of any contract, or other cause of action, arises upon the sea, and part upon the land,
the common law excludes the admiralty court from its jurisdiction. Seamen's wages, how-
ever, though the contract for them be made upon land, as is nearly always the case, are re-
garded as a proper object of the admiralty jurisdiction; that is, provided the contract be to
receive their wages in the usual manner, and be not under seal.
The criminal jurisdiction of the admiralty courts, as well in England as in the United
States, has been conferred upon them by statute; in the former country by the act of the 28th
of Henry VIII. c. 15.; and in the latter by the judiciary act of 1789, and other subsequent
acts, explaining or enlarging its provisions. By one of these additional acts (that of 1825),
the jurisdiction in question is made to comprehend all offences which shall be committed on
board of any ship or vessel, belonging to any citizen or citizens of the United States, while
lying in a port or place within the jurisdiction of any foreign state or sovereign," by any per-
son whose offence, if committed on board of such ship or vessel on the high seas would be
cognizable by the courts of the United States; provided, " that if such offender shall be tried
for such offence, and acquitted or convicted thereof, in any competent court of such foreign
state or sovereign, he shall not be subject to another trial." This act also provides that the
admiralty jurisdiction shall extend, or it is perhaps more proper to say that it assumes that such
jurisdiction does actually extend, to certain crimes committed " in any arm of the sea, or in
any river, haven, creek, basin, or bay" of the United States, out of the jurisdiction of any
particular state.
In case of prizes in time of war between our own nation and another, or between two
other nations, which are taken at sea and brought into our ports, the courts of admiralty have
an exclusive jurisdiction to determine the same according to the law of nations. The prize
jurisdiction extends also to captures made in foreign ports, and to all captures made on land
by any force or armament, should a portion of it partake of a naval character.
The court of admiralty in England is held before the lord high admiral, or his deputy,
who is called the judge of the court, for the trial of civil causes, which are determined by the
judge without the aid of a jury. The proceedings bear much resemblance to those of the
civil law, but are not entirely founded thereon; and the court likewise adopts and makes use
of other laws, as occasion requires; such as the Rhodian laws and the laws of Oleron the
whole being-corrected, altered, and amended, by acts of parliament and common usage, and
a body of jurisprudence being thus formed, which owes its authority only to its reception by
consent of the crown and people.
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ADVANCE-AGIO.
For the trial of persons charged with the commission of crimes, three or four commissioners
(among whom two common law judges are usually appointed) are added to the admiral or
his deputy; and an indictment being first found by a grand jury of twelve men, they are to
be tried by a petit jury. The proceedings should be according to the laws of the land.
Admiralty jurisdiction in the United States is vested in the federal courts, and is exercised
by them on principles altogether analogous to those by which the English courts of admiralty
are guided. By the act of 1789, before referred to, the trial of all causes shall be by jury,
excepting civil causes of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction. See Blackstone's Commenta-
ries, book 3. c. 5 and 7. and book 4. c. 19. Also Kent's Commentaries, Lecture 17.-Am.
Ed.]
ADVANCE implies money paid before goods are delivered, or upon consignment. It is
usual with merchants to advance from a half to two-thirds of the value of goods consigned
to them, on being required, on their receiving invoice, bill of lading, orders to insure them
from sea risk, &c.
ADVERTISEMENT, in its general sense, is any information as to any fact or circum-
stance that has occurred, or is expected to occur; but, in a commercial sense, it is under-
stood to relate only to specific intimations with respect to the sale of articles, the formation
and dissolution of partnerships, bankruptcies, meetings of creditors, &c. Until last year, a
duty of 3s. 6d. was charged upon every advertisement, long or short, inserted in the Gazette,
or in any newspaper, or literary work published in parts or numbers. This duty added
about 100 per cent. to the cost of advertising, for the charge (exclusive of the duty) for
inserting an advertisement of the ordinary length in the newspapers rarely exceeds 3s.
or 4s. In 1832, the duty produced 155,401Z in Great Britain, and 15,249/ in Ireland.
Last year (1833) the duty on advertisements was reduced to 1s. 6d.; and this, we have no doubt, will
occasion such an increase of advertising as to prevent the revenue from being materially injured by
the reduction. But, instead of being modified merely, this is a duty that ought to be wholly repealed.
Its operation is necessarily most unequal, and, in many instances, most oppressive. Can any thing
be more glaringly unjust than to impose the same duty on a notice of the publication of a sixpenny
pamphlet, or of a servant being out of place, as on an intimation of the sale of a valuable estate But
as it is altogether impossible to impose the duty on an ad valorem principle, this injustice cannot be
obviated so long as it is maintained. In a commercial country, a duty on advertisements is peculiarly
objectionable, inasmuch as it checks the circulation of information of much importance to mercantile
men. We, therefore, hope that this unjust and impolitic tax may be speedily given up. Its abandon-
ment would not cause any diminution of revenue ; for it is abundantly certain that its loss would be
more than made up by the increased productiveness of the duties on paper and newspaper stamps.
For an account of the operation of the stainp duty on literature, see Books.
ADVICE is usually given by one merchant or banker to another by letter, informing
him of the bills or drafts drawn on him, with all particulars of date, or sight, the sum, to
whom made payable, &c. Where bills appear for acceptance or payment, they are
frequently refused to be honoured for want of advice. It is also necessary to give advice,
as it prevents forgeries: if a merchant accept or pay a bill for the honour of any other
person, he is bound to advise him thereof, and this should always be done under an act of
honour by a notary public.
AGARIC, a fungus growing on the trunks of trees. That produced in the Levant from
the larch is accounted the best. It is brought into the shops in irregular pieces of different
magnitudes, of a chalky whiteness, and very light. The best is easily cut with a knife, is
friable between the fingers, and has no hard, gritty, or coloured veins. It is used in medicine
and dyeing.-(Leuis, Mat. Med.)
AGATE (popularly CORNELIAN), (Ger. Achat; Du. Achaat; Fr. Agate; It. Agata;
Rus. Agat; Lat. Achates). A genus of semi-pellucid gems, so called from the Greek
axxrx, because originally found on the banks of the river of that name in Italy. It is never
wholly opaque like jasper, nor transparent as quartz-crystal it takes a very high polish,
and its opaque parts usually present the appearance of dots, eyes, veins, zones, or bands.
Its colours are yellowish, reddish, bluish, milk-white, honey-orange, or ochre-yellow, flesh-
blood, or brick-red, reddish-brown, violet-blue, and brownish-green. It is found in irregular
rounded nodules, from the size of a pin's head to more than a foot in diameter. The
lapidaries distinguish agates according to the colour of their ground; the finer semi-trans-
parent kinds being termed oriental. The most beautiful agates found in Great Britain are
commonly known by the name of Scotch pebbles, and are met with in different parts of
Scotland, but principally on the mountain of Cairngorm; whence they are sometimes
termed Cairngorms. The German agates are the largest. Some very fine ones have been
brought from Siberia and Ceylon. They are found in great plenty at the eastern extremity
of the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope; and are still met with in Italy. But the
principal mines of agate are situated in the little principality of Rajpepla, in the province of
Gujrat, fourteen miles, distant from the city of Broach, where they are cut into beads,
crosses, snuff-boxes, &c. They are exported in considerable quantities to other parts of
India, and to this country; and hence, perhaps, the jewellers' term " broach."
AGENT. See FACTOR.
AGIO, a term used to express the difference, in point of value, between metallic and
paper money; or between one sort of metallic money and another.
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ALABASTER-ALE AND BEER.
9
ALABASTER (Ger. Alabaster ; It. Alabastro; Fr. Albâtre; Rus. Alabastr; Lat.
Alabastrites). A kind of stone resembling marble, but softer. Under this name are con-
founded two minerals, the gypseous and calcareous alabasters; they are wholly distinct
from each other when pure, but in some of the varieties are occasionally mixed together.
The former, when of a white, or yellowish, or greenish colour, semi-transparent, and capable
of receiving a polish, is employed by statuaries. It is very easily worked, but it is not
susceptible of a polish equal to marble. Calcareous alabaster is heavier than the former;
it is not so hard as marble, but is notwithstanding susceptible of a good polish, and is more
used in statuary. The statuaries distinguish alabaster into two sorts, the common and
oriental. Spain and Italy yield the best alabaster. That produced at Montania, in the
papal states, is in the highest esteem for its "beautiful whiteness. Inferior sorts are found in
France and Germany. Alabaster is wrought into tables, vases, statues, chimney-pieces, &c.
ALCOHOL (ARDENT SPIRIT), (Fr. Esprit de Vin; Ger. Weingeist; It. Spirito ardente,
Spirito di Vino, Acquarzente), the name given to the pure spirit obtainable by distillation,
and subsequent rectification, from all liquors that have undergone the vinous fermentation,
and from none but such as are susceptible of it. It is light, transparent, colourless, of a
sharp, penetrating, agreeable smell, and a warm stimulating taste. It is quite the same,
whether obtained from brandy, wine, whiskey, or any other fluid which has been fermented.
The specific gravity of alcohol when perfectly pure is from .792 to 800, that of water being
1,000; but the strongest spirit afforded by mere distillation is about 820; alcohol of the
shops is about 835 or 840. Alcohol cannot be frozen by any known degree of cold. It
boils at 174°. It is the only dissolvent of many resinous substances; and in extensively used
in medicine and the arts.—(Drs. A. T. Thomson, Ure, &e.)
ALDER, the Betula alnus of botanists, a forest tree abundant in England and most
parts of Europe. It thrives best in marshy grounds, and on the banks of rivers. It rarely
attains to a very great size; its wood is extremely durable in water or in wet ground; and
hence it is much used for piles, planking, pumps, pipes, sluices, and generally for all
purposes where it is kept constantly wet. It soon rots when exposed to the weather or to
damp; and when dry, it is much subject to worms. The colour of the wood is reddish
yellow, of different shades, and nearly uniform. Texture very uniform, with larger septa
of the same colour as the wood. It is soft, and works easily.-(redgold's Principles of
Carpentry.)
ALE and BEER, well-known and extensively used fermented liquors, the principle of
which is extracted from several sorts of gain, but most commonly from barley, after it has
undergone the process termed malting.
1. Historical Notice of Ale and Beer-The manufacture of ale or beer is of very high
antiquity. Herodotus tells us, that owing to the want of wine, the Egyptians drank a liquor
fermented from barley (lib. ii. cap. 77.). The use of it was also very anciently introduced
into Greece and Italy, though it does not appear to have ever been very extensively used in
these countries. Mead, or metheglin,was probably the earliest intoxicating liquor known in
the North of Europe. Ale or beer was, however, in common use in Germany in the time
of Tacitus (Morib. Germ. cap. 23.). All the nations," says Pliny, " who inhabit the
West of Europe have a liquor with which they intoxicate themselves, made of corn and
water (fruge madida). The manner of making this liquor is somewhat different in Gaul,
Spain, and other countries, and it is called by many various names; but its nature and pro-
perties are everywhere the same. The people of Spain, in particular, brew this liquor so
well that it will keep good for a long time. So exquisite is the ingenuity of mankind in
gratifying their vicious appetites, that they have thus invented a method to make water
itself intoxicate."-(Hist. Nat. lib. xiv. cap. 22.) The Saxons and Danes were passion-
ately fond of beer; and the drinking of it was supposed to form one of the principal enjoy-
ments of the heroes admitted to the hall of Odin.-(Mallet's Northern Antiquities, cap. 6,
&c.) The manufacture of ale was early introduced into England. It is mentioned in
the laws of Ina, King of Wessex; and is particularly specified among the liquors provided
for a royal banquet in the reign of Edward the Confessor. It was customary in the reigns
of the Norman princes to regulate the price of ale; and it was enacted, by a statute passed
in 1272, that a brewer should be allowed to sell two gallons of ale for a penny in cities, and
three or four gallons for the same price in the country.
The use of hops in the manufacture of ale and beer seems to have been a German
invention. They were used in the breweries of the Netherlands, in the beginning of the
fourteenth century but they do not seem to have been introduced into England till 200
years afterwards, or till the beginning of the sixteenth century. In 1530, Henry VIII.
enjoined brewers not to put hops into their ale. It would, however, appear that but little
attention was paid to this order; for in 1552 hop plantations had begun to be formed.-
(Beckmann's Hist. Invent. vol. iv. pp. 386-341. Eng. ed.) The addition of hops renders
ale more palatable, by giving it an agreeable bitter taste, while, at the same time, it fits it for
being kept much longer without injury. Generally speaking, the English brewers employ
a much larger quantity of hops than the Scotch. The latter are in the habit of using, in brew-
2
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ALE AND BEER.
ing the fine Edinburgh ale, from a pound to a pound and a half of hops for every bushel of
malt.
2. Distinction between Ale and Beer, or Porter.-This distinction has been ably eluci-
dated by Dr. Thomas Thomson, in his valuable article on Brewing, in the Supplement to
the Encyclopedia Britannica :-" Both ale and beer are in Great Britain obtained by fer-
mentation from the malt of barley but they differ from each other in several particulars.
Ale is light-coloured, brisk, and sweetish, or at least free from bitter; while beer is dark-
coloured, bitter, and much less brisk. What is called porter in England is a species of
beer and the term " porter" at present signifies what was formerly called strong beer.
The original difference between ale and beer was owing to the malt from which they were
prepared. Ale malt was dried at a very low heat, and consequently was of a pale colour
while beer or porter malt was dried at a higher temperature, and had of consequence acquired
a brown colour. This incipient charring had developed a peculiar and agreeable bitter
taste, which was communicated to the beer along with the dark colour. This bitter
taste rendered beer more agreeable to the palate, and less injurious to the constitution than
ale. It was consequently manufactured in greater quantities, and soon became the common
drink of the lower ranks in England. When malt became high priced, in consequence of
the heavy taxes laid upon it, and the great increase in the price of barley which took place
during the war of the French revolution, the brewers found out that a greater quantity of wort
of a given strength could be prepared from pale malt than from brown malt. The conse-
quence was that pale malt was substituted for brown malt in the brewing of porter and beer.
We do not mean that the whole malt employed was pale, but a considerable proportion of
it. The wort, of course, was much paler than before and it wanted that agreeable bitter
flavour which characterized porter, and made it 80 much relished by most palates. The
porter brewers endeavoured to remedy these defects by several artificial additions. At the
same time various substitutes were tried to supply the place of the agreeable bitter com-
municated to porter by the use of brown malt. Quassia, cocculus indicus, and we believe
even opium, were employed in succession but none of them was found to answer the
purpose sufficiently. Whether the use of these substances be still persevered in we do not
know but we rather believe that they are not, at least by the London porter brewers."
3. Adulteration of Ale and Beer-substitution of Raw Grain for Malt.-The use of the
articles other than malt, referred to by Dr. Thomson, has been expressly forbidden, under heavy
penalties, by repeated acts of parliament. The act 56 Geo. 3. c. 58, has the following clauses :-
" No brewer or dealer in or retailer of beer shall receive or have in his possession, or make, or use,
or mix with, or put into any worts or beer, any liquor, extract, calx, or other material or preparation
for the purpose of darkening the colour of worts or beer; or any liquor, extract, calx, or other mate-
tial or preparation other than brown malt, ground or unground, as commonly used in brewing; or
shall receive, or have in his possession, or use, or mix with, or put into any worts or beer, any mo-
lasses, honey, liquorice, vitriol, quassia. oocculus indicus, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, or opium,
or any extract or preparation of molasses, honey, liquorice, vitriol, quassia, cocculus indicus, grains
of paradise, Guinea pepper, or opium, or any article or preparation whatsoever for or as a substitute for
malt or hope, upon pain that all such liquor, extract, calx, molasses, honey, vitriol, quassia, cocculus
indicus, grains of paradise, Guinea pepper, opium, extract article, and preparation as aforesaid, and
also the said worts and beer, shall be forfeited, together with the casks, vessels, or other packages,
and may be seized by any officer of excise; and such brewer of, dealer in, or retailer of beer, so offend-
ing, shall for each offence forfeit 2001.
No druggist, or vender of or dealer in drugs, or chemist, or other person whatever, shall sell, send
or deliver to any licensed brewer of, or dealer in, or retailer of beer, knowing him to be so licensed, or
reputed to be 80 licensed, or to any other person for, or on account of, or in trust for, or for the use of
such brewer, dealer, or retailer, any colouring, from whatever material made, or any other material
or preparation other than unground brown malt, for the purpose of darkening the colour of worts or
beer or any liquor or preparation heretofore or hereafter made use of for darkening the colour of
worts or beer, or any molasses or other articles, as mentioned in the first section, for or as a substitute
for malt or hops respectively; and if any druggist, or vender of or dealer in drugs, or any chemist, or
other person whatever, shall 80 do, all such liquor called colouring, and material or preparation for
the purpose aforesaid, and liquor and preparation used for darkening the colour of worts or beer, mo-
lasses, and article or preparation to be used as a substitute for malt or hops, shall be forfeited, and may
be seized by any officer of excise; and the druggist, vender, dealer, chemist, or other person so offend-
ing, shall forfeit 5001."
By the act 1 Will. 4. c. 51, for the repeal of the ale and beer duties, it is enacted ($17), " that no
brewer shall have in his brewery, or in any part of his entered premises, or in any mill connected with
such brewery, any raw or unmalted corn or grain; and all unmalted corn or grain which shall be
found in such brewing premises or mill, and all malted corn or grain with which such unmalted corn
or grain may have been mixed, shall be forfeited, and may be seized by any officer, together with all
vessels or packages in which such raw or unmalted corn or grain shall be contained, or in which such
unmalted corn or grain, and the malted corn or grain with which the same may have been mixed, shall
be contained; and every brewer shall for every such offence forfeit 2001."
4. Descriptions of Ale and Beer.-Previously to 1823, there were only two sorts of beer
allowed to be brewed in England, viz. strong beer, that is, beer of the value of 16s. and up-
wards the barrel, exclusive of the duty and small beer, or beer of the value of less than
16s. a barrel, exclusive of the duty. In 1823, however, an act was passed (4 Geo. 4. c. 51,)
authorizing the brewing, under certain conditions, of an intermediate beer. But this sort
of beer was either not suited to the public taste, or, which is more probable, the restrictions
laid on the brewers deterred them from engaging extensively in its manufacture.
This limitation and classification of the different sorts of ale and beer, according to their
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ALE AND BEER.
11
strength, originated in the duties laid upon them and now that these duties have been repeal-
ed, ale and beer may be brewed of any degree of strength. This is an immense advantage.
5. Regulations as to the Manufacture of Ale and Beer-Since the abolition of the beer
duties these regulations are very few and simple; and consist only in taking out a license,
entering the premises, and abstaining from the use of any article, other than malt, in the
preparation of the beer. A brewer using any place or mash-tun, for the purpose of brewing,
without having made an entry thereof at the nearest excise office, forfeits for every such offence
200L and all the worts, beer, and materials for making the same, together with the mash-
tun, are forfeited, and may be seized by any officer. Brewers obstructing officers shall, for
every such offence, forfeit 100L-(1 Will. 4. c. 51. § 15, 16.)
6. License Duties.-Number of Brewers.-The license duties payable by brewers of ale
and beer, under the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 81, and the numbers of such licenses granted during the
years 1829 and 1832 are as follows :-
Number of Licenses
Sums charged
granted.
for Licenses.
1829.
1832.
£ 8. d.
Common brewers of strong beer, not exceeding 20 barrels
-
0 10 0
2,854
8,593
Exceeding 20 and not exceeding 50 barrels
-
100
4,871
6,844
-
50
-
100
-
-
-
-
-
1 10 0
6,997
9,162
-
100
-
1,000
-
-
-
-
-
2 0 0
11,562
16,828
-
1,000
-
2,000
-
-
-
-
-
300
297
619
-
2,000
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
7 10 0
249
488
- 5,000
-
7,500
-
-
-
-
-
11 5 0
63
124
-
7,500
-
10,000
-
-
-
-
-
15 0 0
24
71
-
10,000
-
20,000
-
-
-
-
-
30 0 0
32
89
- 20,000
-
30,000
-
-
-
-
-
45 0 0
5
23
-
30,000
-
40,000
-
-
-
-
-
60 0 0
2
6
Exceeding
40,000
-
-
-
-
75 0 0
12
16
Brewers of table beer only, not exceeding 20 barrels
-
-
0 10 0
22
51
Exceeding 20 and not exceeding 50 barrels
-
-
1 0 0
8
9
-
50
-
100
-
-
-
-
-
1 10 0
13
12
Exceeding
-
100
-
-
-
-
-
2 0 0
111
27
Retail brewers of strong beer
-
-
-
-
550
1,279
50
The great increase in the number of brewers in 1832, as compared with 1829, is to be ascribed to the
abolition of the beer duties in 1830. The increase since 1832 has not been very material.
N.B. The barrel contains 36 gallons, or 4 firkins of 9 gallons each, Imperial measure. It is enacted
(1 Will. 4. c. 51. 1 7.), that, from the 10th of October, 1830, brewers are to pay their license duty ac-
cording to the malt used by them in brewing, and that every brewer shall be deemed to have brewed
one barrel of beer for every two bushels of malt used by such brewer.
Account of the Number of Brewers, Licensed Victuallers, Persons licensed for the sale of Beer, to be
drunk on and off the Premises, &c.; with the Quantities of Malt used by such Brewers, &c. in Eng-
land, Scotland, and Ireland, during the Year 1835.-(Parl. Paper, No. 259. Sess. 1836.)
Number who brew their
Number of
Bushels of Malt consumed by each
own Beer.
Class.
Persons licensed to
Persons licensed to
Persons licensed to
sell Beer.
sell Beer.
sell Beer.
Collections.
Brewers.
Victuallers.
To be
Not to be
Victuallers.
To be
Not to be
drunk on
drunk on
drunk on
drunk on
Brewers.
Victuallers.
To be
Not to be
drunk on
drunk on
the
the
the
the
the
the
Premises.
Premises.
Premises.
Premises.
Premises.
Premises.
England
2,099
54,551
35,536
4,118
25,962
14,840
987
16,412,440
9,521,797
3,702,417
218,616
Scotland
242
17,026
-
-
-
-
335
-
-
-
-
988,800
149,380
Ireland
245
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,829,587
United Kingdom.
2,586
71,577
35,536
4,118
26,297
14,840
987
19,230,827
9,671,177
3,702,417
218,616
It is enacted, (1 Will. 4. c. 51.,) that every person who shall sell any beer or ale in less quantities
than four and a half gallons, or two dozen reputed quart bottles, to be drunk elsewhere than on the
premises where sold, shall be deemed a dealer in beer.
7. Progressive Consumption of Ale and Beer.-Malt liquor early became to the labouring
classes of England what the inferior sorts of wine are to the people of France, at once a
necessary of life and a luxury ; the taste for it was universally diffused. There are, however,
no means by which an estimate can be formed of the quantity actually consumed previously
to the reign of Charles II. But duties, amounting to 2s. 6d. a barrel on strong, and to 6d.
a barrel on small ale or beer, were imposed, for the first time, in 1660. These duties being
farmed until 1684, the amount of the revenue only is known; and as there are no means of
ascertaining the proportion which the strong bore to the small beer, the quantities that paid
duty cannot be specified. But, since the collection of the duty was intrusted to officers em-
ployed by government, accurate accounts have been kept of the quantities of each sort of
beer on which duty was paid, as well as the rate of duty and its amount. Now, it appears,
that, at an average of the ten years from 1684 to 1693 inclusive, the amount of ale annually
charged with duty was as follows :-Strong ale
4,367,293 barrels.
Small do.
.
-
2,376,278 do.
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ALE AND BEER.
Soon after the Revolution several temporary duties were imposed on ale and beer; but in
1694 they were consolidated, the established duties being then fixed at 48. 9d. a barrel on the
strong, and at 1s. 3d. on the small beer, instead of 2s. 6d. and 6d., which had been the rates
previously to 1690. This increase of duty had an immediate effect on the consumption, the
quantity brewed during the ten years from 1694 to 1703 being as follows:-
Strong ale
3,374,604 barrels.
Small do.
-
2,180,764 do.
The whole of this decrease must not, however, be ascribed to the increase of the beer duties
only ; the duties on malt and hops having been, at the same time, considerably increased,
operated partly, no doubt, to produce the effect.
During the five years ending with 1750, the ale brewed amounted, at an average, to 3,803-
580 barrels of strong, and 2,162,540 barrels of small.-(Hamilton's Principles of Taxation,
p. 255.)
The ale brewed in private families for their own use has always been exempted from any
duty and it may, perhaps, be supposed that the falling off in the consumption, as evinced by
the statements now given, was apparent only, and that the decline in the public brewery
would be balanced by a proportional extension of the private brewery. But, though there
can be no doubt that the quantity of beer brewed in private families was increased in con-
sequence of the peculiar taxes laid on the beer brewed for sale, it is abundantly certain that it
was not increased in any thing like the ratio in which the other was diminished. This is
established beyond all dispute, by the fact of the consumption of malt having continued very
nearly stationary, notwithstanding the vast increase of population and wealth, from the be-
ginning of last century down to 1750, and, indeed, to 1830!-(See MALT.) Had the fact,
as to malt, been different, or had the demand for it increased proportionally to the increase of
population, it would have shown that the effect of the malt and beer duties had not been to
lessen the consumption of beer, but merely to cause it to be brewed in private houses instead
of public breweries; but the long continued stationary demand for malt completely negatives
this supposition, and shows that the falling off in the beer manufactured by the public
brewers has not been made up by any equivalent increase in the supply manufactured at home.
I. An account of the Quantity of the different Sorts of Beer made in England and Wales, in each
Year from 1787 to 1825, both inclusive, the Rate of Duty, and the total Produce of the Duties
(English Ale Gallons).
Strong Beer.
Table Beer.
Small Beer.
Years
ended
Total amount of
Rate of
Rate of
Rate of
5th July.
Barrels.
Duty.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Duty.
Duty.
Duty.
1787
4,426,482
8s. Od.
485,620
3s. Od.
1,342,301
1s. 4d.
£1,932,922
10s.8d
1788
4,304,895
-
524,176
-
1,334,947
-
1,889,580
17
4
1789
4,437,831
-
514,900
-
1,244,046
-
1,935,303
16
0
1790
4,525,950
-
546,260
-
1,282,157
-
1,977,796
2 8
1791
4,754,588
-
579,742
-
1,347,086
-
2,078,602
4 8
1792
5,082,293
-1
625,260
-
1,401,870
-
2,220,164
4
0
1793
5,167,850
-
620,207
-
1,414,255
-
2,254,454 14 4
1794
5,011,320
-
586,554
-
1,446,939
-
2,188,973
14
0
1795
5,037,804
-
576,464
-
1,453,036
-
2,198,460
5
4
1796
5,504,453
-
565,630
-
1,479,130
-
2,385,234
7
4
1797
5,839,627
-
584,422
-
1,518,512
-
2,524,748
4
8
1798
5,784,467
-
622,064
-
1,547,570
-
2,510,267 14 8
1799
5,774,311
-
611,151
-
1,597,139
-
2,507,872
19
8
1800
4,824,306
-
574,995
-
1,360,502
-
2,106,671
15
8
1801
4,735,574
-
500,025
-
1,191,930
-
2,048,695
7
0
1802
5,345,884
95
392,022
-
976,787
-
2,321,198
0 4
1803
5,582,516
-
1,660,828
-
2,782,263
13
4
1804
5,265,623
10 0
1,779,570
-
2,810,768 10 0
1805
5,412,131
-
1,776,807
-
2,883,746
4
0
1806
5,443,502
-
1,771,754
-
2,898,926
8 0
1807
5,577,176
-
1,732,710
-
2,961,859 0 0
1808
5,571,360
-
1,710,243
-
2,956,704
6
0
1809
5,513,111
-
1,682,899
-
2,924,845
8
0
1810
5,753,319
-
1,635,588
-
3,040,218 6 0
1811
5,902,903
-
1,649,564
-
3,116,407
18
0
1812
5,860,869
-
1,593,395
-
3,089,774
0
0
1813
5,382,946
-
1,455,759
-
2,837,048 18 0
1814
5,624,015
-
1,432,729
-
2,955,280 8 0
1815
6,150,544
-
1,518,302
-
3,227,102
4
0
1816
5,982,379
-
1,514,867
-
3,142,676
4
0
1817
5,236,048
-
1,453,960
-
2,763,420
0
0
1818
5,364,009
-
1,434,642
-
2,825,468 14 0
1819
5,629,240
-
1,460,244
-
2,960,644
8
0
1820
5,296,701
-
1,444,290
-
2,792,779
10
0
1821
5,575,830
-
1,439,970
-
2,931,912 0 0
1822
5,712,937
-
1,492,281
-
3,005,696 12 0
1823
6,177,271
-
1,419,589
-
3,230,594
8 0
1824
6,188,271
-
1,401,021
-
3,234,237
12
0
Intermediate
Beer.
1825
6,500,664
-
1,485,750
-
9,559
50
3,401,296 15 0
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ALE AND BEER.
13
It appears from the foregoing table, that the quantity of strong beer manufactured by the
public brewers had increased about a third since 1787; but the quantity of malt consumed
in 1787 was quite as great as in 1828; a fact, which shows conclusively, either that the
quality of the beer brewed in the public breweries has been deteriorated since 1787, or that
less, comparatively, is now brewed in private families; or, which is most probable, that both
effects have been produced.
II. An account of the Quantity of all the different Sorts of Beer, stated in Barrels, made in each Year.
from 5th of January 1825, to 5th of January 1830; the Rates of Duty per Barrel in each Year, and
Total Amount thereof in each Year in England and Scotland.- (Parl. Paper, No. 190. Bess. 1830.)
ENGLAND.
Years ended
Number of Barrels, Imperial Measure.
5th January.
Rate per
Total Amount of
Strong.
Table.
Rate per
Barrel.
Barrel.
Intermediate.
Rate per
Barrel.
Duty.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
£
8. d.
1826
7,008,143
9 10
1,606,899
1 111
6,160
4 11
3,492,779 10 4
4,177,225
9 0
1827
1,040,726
1 91
2,512,767
9 10
562,927
1 111
7,707
-
3,265,441 14 6
1
3,895,226
9 0
989,827
1
1828
91
2,500,043
9 10
542,481
17,158
-
1 11t
3,128,047 9 0
3,941,519
9 0
1829
977,962
1 91
2,617,691
9 10
1
62,617
-
552,457
111
3,217,812 2 11
3,569,364
9 0
1830
879,879
1 91
9 10
500,590
1 111
55,498
-
2,379,930
2,917,828 8 4
SCOTLAND.
8. d.
s. d.
8. d.
£
8. d.
1826
133,903
9 10
264,035
1 111
-
-
-
91,731 2 2
1827
116,594
9 0
219,722
1 91
5,545
-
9 10
-
51,613
-
1 111
79,931 4 7
102,769
9 0
1828
187,873
1 94
-
-
-
9,250
9 10
53,420
1 111
72,855 4 4
1829
101,475
9 0
178,530
1
91
17,248
9 10
68,913
1 111
-
-
-
76,885 9 11
1830
94,387
9 0
161,488
1
91
16,566
9 10
-
-
-
67,896
1 111
71,733 17 5
N. B. The duty on beer being repealed in 1830, there are no later accounts of the quantity brewed.
III. An account of the Number of Barrels of Strong Beer exported in each Year, from 5th of January
1825 to 5th of January 1830.
Number of Barrels (Imperial Measure)
exported from
England.
Scotland.
Ireland.
1826
-
53,013
1,827
9,855
1827
-
42,602
1,679
10,000
Years ended 5th of January
-
1828
-
59,471
2,509
11,261
1829
-
71,842
3,304
14,499
1830
-
74,902
3,131
15,207
The exports in 1832 were 70,130 barrels.
It has been contended by some, that the condition of the bulk of the people has declined
since the commencement of the late French war; and that this decline, and not the duties
and restrictions on the manufacture and sale of malt and beer, has been the real cause that
the consumption of malt liquors continued stationary during the thirty years ending with
1830. But nearly four millions of persons were added to the population of England and
Wales during the eighteenth century, and it is admitted, on all hands, that the condition of
the middle and lower classes was, at the same time, vastly improved. Instead, however, of
increasing, as no doubt it would have done but for some very powerful counteracting cause,
we have seen that the consumption of malt liquor continued stationary during the whole of
last century, 80 that the fair presumption is, that it continued stationary during that period
of the present century already referred to, not because the people have become less able to
purchase beer, but because the same causes which formerly prevented the increase of con-
sumption have continued to operate. If we except a portion of the peasantry in some of the
southern counties, where the pernicious practice of paying wages out of the poor's rates has
been introduced, it will be found that the condition of the labouring classes has been, speak-
ing generally, changed very much for the better during the last thirty years. Their health
has been remarkably improved a result which could hardly have taken place without an
improvement in their habits as to cleanliness, and in their ordinary accommodations and,
independent of this circumstance, the fact that the lower classes have lodged upwards of fif-
teen millions sterling in Savings' Banks, and that upwards of a million of them are members
than the former.
The ale gallon contains 282 cubic inches, and the Imperial gallon 2774 the latter being 0'o part less
B
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ALE AND BEER.
of Friendly Societies, shows pretty clearly that, though they may not be anywhere so com-
fortable as could be wished, and though, in Kent, Hampshire, and some other southern coun-
ties, they are exposed to very great privations, their condition is, on the whole, superior to
what it has ever previously been. It has further been contended, that if the decline in the
consumption of beer cannot be ascribed to any falling off in the condition of the people,
or in their power to purchase malt liquors, the fair inference is, that it has originated in a
change of taste; and the increased consumption of spirituous liquors that has taken place
of late years has been appealed to in proof that such is the fact. But this increase has been
very greatly exaggerated: admitting, however, that the circumstances are really such as have
been represented, the question instantly recurs, to what is this change of taste owing ? How
comes it that the people of England should be less partial than heretofore to that palatable
and nutritious beverage to which they have been long accustomed, and that they should be
resorting to ardent spirits and other deleterious compounds, destructive alike of their health
and morals If we mistake not, it will be found to be wholly owing to the duties and restric-
tions that have been laid on the manufacture and sale of beer.
8. Duties on Ale and Beer : old licensing System.-The duty on malt is 20s. 8d. a quar-
ter; on hops 2d. a pound; and on strong beer, which forms five-tenths of the whole quantity
brewed, the duty was 9s. 10d. a barrel. It is commonly estimated, that from three to three
and a half barrels of beer are manufactured from a quarter of malt and that each quarter of
malt requires twelve pounds of hops. Now, supposing that three and a quarter barrels of
beer are produced from a quarter of malt, the duties affecting it, down to the 10th of October,
1830, were
8.
d.
Duty laid directly on malt
20
8
Beer duty on three and a quarter barrels 31
11
Hop duty
2
0
54s. 7d.
and dividing this sum of 54s. 7d. by 31, the duties affecting each barref of beer will
be 17s.
Such duties are obviously oppressive. The price of barley does not at an average exceed
35s. per quarter. But the duties on malt or beer produced from a quarter of barley (exclu-
sive of the hop duty) amounted to 52s. 7d., being equal to 150 per cent. upon the cost of the
barley employed ! Need we seek elsewhere for the cause of the stationary demand for malt
liquors ? The taxes on wine, British spirits, tea, and coffee, do not, in any case, exceed 100
per cent. Nor can there be a doubt that the disproportionately heavy burden that has thus
been imposed on the natural and healthy beverage of the lower classes has principally con-
tributed to lessen its consumption, and to cause them to resort to less salubrious substitutes.
In another point of view, the beer duties were still more indefensible. They affected only
that description of beer which was brewed for sale; and as all the higher classes brewed their
own beer, the duty fell only on the lower and middle ranks of the community, and particularly
the former. It is singular, that a tax so grossly unequal and oppressive should have been so
long submitted to. Should the public necessities require, at any future period, that an effort
should be made to increase the revenue from beer, the fair and proper method would be to
increase the malt duties. They affect alike those who brew the beer which they consume,
and those who buy it from a public brewer. Their increase would not require the employ-
ment of any additional officers for it is obvious, that the same officers and regulations that
serve to collect a duty of 20s. 8d. would equally serve to collect a duty of 30s.; and, what is
most important, an increase of this sort would not require any interference with the process
of brewing.
But besides the obstacles to the consumption of beer arising from the oppressive duties
with which it was burdened, the system recently in force of granting licences for its sale, op-
posed obstacles that were hardly less formidable. Previously to 1830, no one could open a
house for the sale of beer without first obtaining a licence renewable annually from the magis-
trates; and as these functionaries were accustomed only to grant licences to the occupiers of
particular houses, the brewers naturally endeavoured, in order to ensure the sale of their beer,
either to buy up those houses or to lend money upon them and in many extensive districts
a few large capitalists succeeded in engrossing most of the public houses so that even the
appearance of competition was destroyed, and a ready market and good prices secured for the
very worst beer !
We, therefore, look upon the abolition of the beer duties, and the granting permission to
all individuals to retail beer upon taking out an excise licence costing 2L 2s, as highly advan-
tageous measures. The repeal of the duty has put an end to the unjust distinction that previous-
ly obtained the poor man is no longer burdened with a heavv tax, from which the noble and
affluent of the land were exempted but all classes are placed, in so far at least as the duties
on beer are concerned, in the same situation. The fall of price caused by the abolition
of the duty, by rendering beer more easily obtainable, will do much to check the consump-
tion of spirits; and will, at the same time, powerfully contribute to the health and comfort of
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ALE AND BEER.
15
the poor. The change in the mode of licensing houses for the retail of beer has introduced
into the trade that system of free competition that is so advantageous. It is no longer in
the power of any combination of brewers to maintain the price of beer at an unnatural eleva-
tion and the public may now depend on being supplied with malt liquors at the lowest price
that will serve to indemnify the brewers.
9. Complaints of the Increase of Beer Shops.-In despite, however, of what has now
been stated, it is strenuously objected to the late measure for licensing houses for the sale of
beer, that it has led to their excessive multiplication in different parts of the country, and has,
in consequence, had a most pernicious influence on the public morals: but there do not seem
to be any good grounds for such statements. The whole number of public houses licensed
for the sale of beer and ale only in England and Wales, during the year ended 31st of
March 1833, was 4,821 while 47,286 houses were licensed, during the same year, for the sale
of beer, ale, and spirits.-(Par!. Paper, No. 426. Sess. 1833.) Whatever, therefore, may
be the inconveniences arising from the number of the latter, it does seem ludicrous to imagine
that they can be materially increased by the opening of the beer shops. On the contrary, we
should think that every measure which has a tendency to substitute beer shops for spirit must
be advantageous; and such is the precise effect of the act 1 Will. 4. cap. 64. Its privileges are
acquired by those only who confine themselves to the sale of beer; and until it has been
shown that the drinking of beer is less advantageous, or more pernicious, than the drinking
of spirits, we shall not be inclined to lay much stress on the complaints so frequently put
forth as to the number of beer shops. In order, however, to check their unnecessary multi-
plication, and to ensure as far as possible the maintenance of good order in them, it might be
expedient, perhaps, to increase the licence duty, and the security required from those apply-
ing for a licence, and to facilitate the suppression of disorderly houses: but we protest against
any attempt to lessen the number of public houses by reviving the old licensing system, with
the injustice and jobbing inseparable from it, and from every modification of it.
10. Existing Regulations with respect to the Sale of Beer.-Th sale of ale, beer, &c. by
retail in England, is now regulated by the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64., of which we subjoin a pretty
full abstract.
Licenses to be granted by commissioners of excise, or by persons authorised by them; to cost 21. 2s.
a year; not to authorise the sale of wine or spirits: not to be granted to sheriffs' officers, nor to any
person executing the legal process of any court of justice, nor to any person not being a householder
assessed to the parish.- 2.
The party requiring such licence to enter into a bond to the commissioners, with one sufficient surety
in the penalty of 201., or with two sufficient sureties in the penalty of 10%. each, for the payment of
any penalty or sum of money, not exceeding the amount of such 201. or 101. respectively, which shall
be incurred for any offence against this act by the party to whom such licence shall be granted; and
no person licensed to sell beer by retail, or not being a householder paying the poor rates, shall be
surety in any such bond.-> . 4, 5.
Every person who shall be licensed under this act, shall cause to be painted, in letters three inches
at least in length, in white upon a black ground, or in black upon a white ground, publicly visible and
legible, upon a board, to be placed over the door of the house in which such person shall be licensed,
the christian and surname of the persons mentioned in such licence, at full length, together with the
words Licensed to sell Beer by Retail and every such person shall keep up such name and words
during all the time that such person shall continue so licensed, upon pain of forfeiting for every omis-
sion 104.-0 6.
No person to sell any beer by retail, under this act, after the expiration of any licence granted, nor
in any house not specified in such licence and any person selling beer by retail, not being duly licensed,
as the keeper of a common inn, ale-house, or victualling-bouse or if any such person, so licensed,
shall deal in or retail any wine or spirits, be shall, for every such offence, forfeit 201., half to go to the
informer and half to the king; such penalty to be recovered as other excise penalties; and the powers
of the excise act 7 & 8 G. 4 c. 53, &c. extended to this act.- a 7, 8, 9.
Persons trading in partnership, and in one house, shall not be obliged to take out more than one
licence in any one year provided also, that no one licence shall authorise any person to sell beer, in
any other than the house mentioned in such licence.- 10.
In cases of riot or expected riot or tumult, every person licensed under this act, and keeping any
house situate within their jurisdictions, shall close his house at any time which the justice or justices
shall direct and every such person who shall keep open his house at or after any hour at which such
justices shall have so ordered or directed such house to be closed, shall be deemed to have not main-
tained good order and rule therein, and to be guilty of an offence against the tenor of his license.- 11.
Every person licensed to sell beer by retail, shall sell (except in quantities less than a half pint) by
the gallon, quart, pint, or half pint measure, sized according to the standard and in default thereof,
he shall for every such offence forfeit the illegal measure, and pay not exceeding 40s., together with
the costs of the conviction, to be recovered within thirty days next after that on which such offence
was committed, before two justices; such penalty to be over and above all penalties to which the of-
fender may be liable under any other act.-d 12.
Every seller of beer by retail, having a licence under this act, who shall permit any person to be
guilty of drunkenness, or disorderly conduct, in the house mentioned in such licence, shall forfeit the
sums following for the first offence, not less than 40s. nor more than 5l. RS the justices, before whom
such retailer shall be convicted, shall adjudge and for the second offence, any sum not less than 51.
nor more than 101.; and for the third offence, any sum not less than 201. nor more than 501.; and it
small be law for the justices, before whom any such conviction for such third offence shall take
place, to adjudge, if they shall think fit, that such offender shall be disqualified from selling beer by
retail for the space of two years next ensuing such conviction, and also that no beer shall be sold by
retail, by any person in the house mentioned in the licence of such offender; and if any person so
licensed shall, knowingly, sell any beer, ale, or porter, made otherwise than from malt and hops, or
shall mix, or cause to be mixed, any drugs or other pernicious ingredients, with any beer sold in his
house, or shall fraudulently dilute, or in any way adulterate, any such beer, such offender shall, for
the first offence, forfeit not less than 10% nor any more than 201., and for the second such offence such
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ALE AND BEER.
offender shall be adjudged to be disqualified from selling beer, ale, or porter, by retail, for the term of
two years, or to forfeit not less than 201. nor more than 50Z., and shall be subject to a like penalty at
every house where he shall commit such offence; and if any person shall, during any term in which
it shall not be lawful for beer to be sold by retail on the premises of any offender, sell any beer by re-
tail on such premises, knowing that it was not lawful to be sold, such offender shall forfeit not less than
10L. nor more than 201.; every person suffering the conditions of the licence to be infringed to be
deemed guilty of disorderly conduct.-d 13.
Retailers' houses not to be open before four in the morning, nor after ten in the evening; nor be-
tween the hours of ten in the forenoon and one in the afternoon, nor at any time between the hours
of three and five in the afternoon, on any Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas-day, or any day appointed
for a public fast or thanksgiving; and any person offending herein shall forfeit 40s. for every offence
every separate sale to be deemed a separate offence.-> 14.
All penalties under this act, except for selling beer by any person not duly licensed, shall be reco-
vered, upon the information of any person before two justices in petty sessions; and every such pe-
nalty shall be prosecuted for within three calendar months next after the offence; and every person
licensed under this act, who shall be convicted before two justices, shall, unless proof be adduced to
the satisfaction of such justices, that such person had been theretofore convicted before two justices,
within the space of twelve calendar months next preceding, be adjudged by such justices to be guilty
of a first offence against this act, and to forfeit and pay any penalty by this act imposed for such of-
fence, or if no specific penalty be imposed, then any sum not exceeding 51., together with the costs of
the conviction; and if proof be adduced to the satisfaction of such justices, that such person had been
previously convicted, within the space of twelve calendar months next preceding, of one such offence
only, such person to be adjudged guilty of a second offence against this act, and to forfeit and pay any
penalty by this act imposed for such offence, or if no specific penalty be 80 imposed, then any sum not
exceeding 10L., together with the costs of conviction; and if proof shall be adduced that such person
had been previously convicted within the space of eighteen calendar months next preceding, of two
such separate offences, and if proof be adduced that such person, SO charged, is guilty of the offence
charged against him, such person shall be adjudged to be guilty of a third offence against this act, and
to forfeit and pay any penalty imposed by this act, in respect of such offence, or if no such specific
penalty shall be imposed, then to forfeit and pay the sum of 501. together with the costs of convic-
tion.- 15.
The party, convicted of any such third offence, may appeal to the general sessions, or quarter ses-
sions, then next ensuing, unless held within twelve days after conviction, and in that case, to the then
next subsequent sessions ; and, in such case, the party convicted shall enter into a recognizance, with
two sureties, personally to appear at the said general or quarter sessions, to abide the judgment of the
court; and to pay such costs as shall be by the court awarded: or, in failure of the party convicted
entering into such recognizance, such conviction shall remain good and valid and the said justices
who shall take such recognizance are also required to bind the person who shall make such charges
to appear at such general or quarter sessions, then and there to give evidence against the person
charged, and, in like manner, to bind any other person who shall have any knowledge of such offence
and it shall be lawful for the said general or quarter sessions to adjudge such person to be guilty of
such third offence against this act, and such adjudication shall be final: and it shall be lawful for such
general or quarter sessions to punish such offender by fine, not exceeding 100L., together with the
costs of such appeal, or to adjudge the licence to be forfeited, or that no beer be sold by retail in the
house for the term of two years, and if such licence shall be adjudged to be forfeited, it shall hence-
forth be void and whenever, in such case, the licence of such offender shall be adjudged to be void,
such offender shall be deemed incapable of selling beer, ale, or porter, by retail, in any house kept by
him, for the space of two years, to be computed from the time of such adjudication and any licence
granted to such person during such term shall be void.-Φ 16.
In default of payment of penalties, proceedings may be had against the sureties. 19.
Any person summoned as a witness, who shall neglect or refuse to appear, and not make such rea-
sonable excuse for such neglect, &c. as shall be admitted by such justices of sessions, or who, appear-
ing, shall refuse to be examined, shall, on conviction, forfeit not exceeding 101.-Φ 20.
Offenders refusing or neglecting, within seven days after conviction, to pay the penalty imposed,
and any costs assessed, such justices may issue their warrant, tolevy the amount by distress and sale,
together with the costs of distress and sale and in every such case, such offenders, if in custody, shall
be forthwith discharged but if the goods and chattels are not sufficient, such justices may commit the
offender to the common gaol or house of correction for not exceeding one calendar month, if the pe-
nalty shall not be above 51. for not exceeding three calendar months, if the penalty shall be above 51.
and not more than 102. and for not exceeding six calendar months, if the penalty shall be above 102.;
provided, that whenever such offender shall pay to the gaoler or keeper, or to whomsoever such jus-
tices shall have appointed, the penalty and costs, together with all the costs of apprehension and con-
veyance to gaol, at any time previous to the expiration of the time for which such offender shall have
been committed, such offender shall be forthwith discharged.- 21.
No conviction under this act, nor any adjudication made upon appeal therefrom, shall be quashed
for want of form, nor removed by 27.
Every action against any justice, constable, or other person, for any thing done in execution of his
duty under this act, to be commenced within three calendar months, and not afterwards; and if any
person be sued, he may plead the general issue, and give the special matter in evidence.- 28,
This act not to affect the two universities, nor the vintners' company in London; nor to prohibit
the sale of beer at fairs, as heretofore.
11. Scotch Ale and Beer Duties.-The duties on ale and beer in Scotland have been for
a lengthened period the same as in England.
At the union in 1707, the English duties on ale and beer were introduced into Scotland.
But, besides strong and small beer, the Scotch had an intermediate species, which they called
two-penny, and which was their favourite beverage. The duty on this description of beer
was fixed, at the union, at 2s. 14d. a barrel. For thirty years after its imposition, the quan-
tity of two-penny that paid duty was always above 400,000, and sometimes exceeded
500,000 barrels a year. But in 1760 the duty on two-penny was increased to 3s. 41d. and
the consumption immediately fell off to between 100,000 and 200,000 barrels ! The quan-
tity that paid duty in 1800 amounted to 149,803 barrels. The manufacture of this species
of beer ceased entirely in 1802.
No account has been kept of the quantity of beer brewed in Ireland since 1809, when it
amounted to 960,300 barrels.-(Morewood on Intoxicating Liquors, p. 353.) Perhaps it
may now amount to from 1,000,000 to 1,200,000 barrels.
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ALE AND BEER.
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12. Regulations as to the Exportation of Beer.-Ale or beer exported to foreign parts as
merchandise is allowed a drawback of 5s. the barrel of 36 gallons, Imp. meas. But before
any debenture for the above drawback shall be paid, the exporter or his principal clerk or
manager shall make oath thereon, before the proper officer of excise, that such ale or beer
was put on board the exporting ship as merchandise to be sent beyond seas, and no part
thereof for the ship's use and that, according to the best of his knowledge and belief, the
same has been brewed wholly from malt which has been charged with and paid the duty of
2s. 7d. a bushel, and shall also specify in such oath the time when and the place where and
the brewer, being an entered and licensed brewer for sale, by whom such beer or ale was
brewed, and that the quantity of malt used in brewing was not less than two bushels (Imp.
meas.) for every 36 gallons of such beer or ale. Persons making false statements forfeit the
sum of 200/. and the debenture is void.-(1 Will. 4. cap. 51. § 11.)
In consequence of the complaints, whether well or ill founded, of the inconveniences arising
from the increase of beer shops-(see Dict. p. 14), a material change has been made in the
mode of licensing houses for the sale of beer. Under the act 1 Will. 4. C. 64.-(Dict. p. 14),
the commissioners of excise, or other persons duly authorised, were bound to grant licenses,
costing 21. 2s. a year, to all persons not excepted in the act, empowering them to sell ale, beer,
porter, cider, &c. to be drunk indifferently either on or off the premises. But the act of
1834, 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 85. made the obtaining of a licence to retail beer to be drunk on the
premises contingent on the applicant being able to produce a certificate of good character,
subscribed by certain persons rated at a certain amount to the poor: it has also raised the
cost of such licence to 3/. 3s. ; and reduced the cost of a licence to sell beer not to be drunk
on the premises to 1/. 1s. We subjoin a full abstract of the act :-
Persons upplying for a Licence to sell Beer to be drunk on the Premises, to deposite a certificate of good
Character, &c.-Every person applying for a licence to sell beer or cider by retail, to be drunk in the
house or on the premises, shall, in addition to the application setting forth the particulars required by
the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64., annually produce to and deposit with the commissioners of excise, collector, or
other person authorised to grant such licence within the parish or place in which the person applying
intends to sell beer or cider by retail, a certificate signed by 6 persons residing in and being and de-
scribing themselves to be inhabitants of such parish, place, &c. and respectively rated therein to the
poor at not less than 61., or occupying a house therein rated to the poor at not less than 61., none of
whom shall be maltsters, common brewers, or persons licensed to sell spirituous liquors or beer or ci-
der by retail, nor owners or proprietors of any houses licensed to sell liquors, beer, or cider by retail,
stating that the person applying for the licence is of good character; and at the foot of such certificate
one of the overseers of the parish, township, or place shall certify (if the fact be so) that such 6 per-
sons are inhabitants respectively rated as aforesaid and such certificate shall respectively be in the
form of the schedule annexed to this act provided always, that in any parish, township, or district
maintaining its own poor, in which there are not 10 inhabitants rated to their relief to the amount of
61. each, or not occupying houses respectively rated to the poor at 61. each (not being maltsters, com-
mon brewers, or persons licensed to sell spirituous liquors or beer or cider by retail,) the certificate
of the majority of the inhabitants of such parish, township, or district maintaining its own poor, as are
rated to the amount of 61. each, shall be deemed to be a sufficient certificate for the purposes of this
act.- 2.
Penalty on Overseers.-Any overseer who shall, without due cause, refuse to certify that the persons
who have signed the certificate are respectively rated to the poor's rate as aforesaid, to forfeit not
more than 51.- 3.
Beer drunk in Sheds.-Any person licensed under the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64., to sell beer, cider, &c. not
to be consumed on the premises, who shall employ, permit, or suffer any person or persons to take or
carry any beer, &c. from his house or premises, to be drunk or consumed for his benefit or profit, in
any other house, tent, shed, &c. belonging to, or hired, used, or occupied by such licensed person, such
beer, &c. shall be held to have been consumed on the premises, and the person selling the same shall
be subject to the like forfeitures and penalties as if it had been actually drunk or consumed in a house
or upon premises licensed only for the sale thereof.-d 4.
Billetting.-Provisions for billetting soldiers under mutiny acts to extend only to those licensed to
sell beer or cider to be drunk in the house or on the premises, and not to extend to those licensed to
sell beer not to be consumed on the premises -d 5.
Justices to regulate the Opening and Closing of Houses.-Justices in petty sessions are authorised to
fix the hours at which houses and premises licensed to sell beer under this act shall be opened and
closed but any person thinking himself aggrieved by any such order may appeal at any time, within
months from its date, to the justices in quarter sessions, on giving the justices making the order 14
days' notice of his intention and the decision of the justices in quarter sessions shall be final pro-
vided, however, that the hourito be fixed for opening any house shall not in any case be earlier than 5
o'clock in the morning, nor for closing the same later than 11 o'clock at night, or before 1 o'clock in
the afternoon on Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas-Day, or any day appointed for a public fast or
thanksgiving; and the hours so fixed by the justices, with reference to the districts within their juris-
dictions, shall be taken to be the hours to be observed and complied with under this act as fully as if
the same had been specially appointed by it.-d 6.
Constables, &c. to risit licensed Houses.-All constables and officers of police are authorised to enter
into all houses licensed to sell beer or spirituous liquors to be consumed upon the premises whenever
they shall think proper; and if any person licensed as aforesaid, or any servant or person in his em-
ploy or by his direction, shall refuse to admit such constables, &c. into such house or premises, the
person having the licence shall for the first offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding 51., together
with the costs of conviction, to be recovered within 20 days before one or more justices and it shall
be lawful for any two or more justices, upon any person being convicted of such offence for the second
time, to adjudge (if they think fit) that such offender be disqualified from selling beer, ale, porter, ci-
der, or perry, by retail, for 2 years after such conviction, or for such shorter space as they may think
proper.- 7.
Penalty for making or using fulse Certificates.-Persons certifying any matter having reference to
this act as true, who know the same to be false, or using any certificate, knowing the same to be
forged, shall, on conviction of such offence before2 or more justices, forfeit and pay the sum of 201.; and
every licence granted to any person making use of any certificate to obtain the same, such person
knowing such certificate to be forged, or the matters certified therein to be false, shall be void to all
B 2
3
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ALE AND BEER.
intents and purposes; and any person using such certificate shall be disqualified for ever from ob-
taining a licence to sell beer or cider by retail.- 8.
No licence to be granted without a Certificate.-No licence for the sale of beer or cider by retail to be
consumed or drunk in the house or on the premises shall be granted, except upon the certificate hereby
required provided, that in all extra-parochial places the certificate required by this act may be signed
and given by inhabitants rated to the poor at 61. in any adjoining parish or parishes.- 9.
Retailers to produce their Licences on Requisition of 2 Magistrates.-In case any complaint be laid be-
fore 2 justices against any licensed person for an offence against the tenor of his licence, or against
this act or the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64., the said justices may require such person to produce his licence be-
fore them for their examination and if he wilfully neglect or refuse so to do, he shall forfeit for such
offence any sum, not exceeding 51., the said justices shall think proper; and such person may be con-
victed, proceeded against, and dealt with for such offence in the same manner, mutatis mutundis, as is
directed by the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64. with regard to persons guilty of a first offence against said act
and the penalty imposed for such offence is to be applied in the manner that a penalty for a first of-
fence against said act is directed to be applied.-d 10.
Continuance of Powers, &c.-The powers, provisions, and penalties of 1 Will. 4. c. 64. to apply to
persons licensed under this act, and to their sureties, &c.- 11.
Act 1 Will. 4. c. 64, to continue in force, except as hereby altered.- 12.
Duties on Beer Licences under the 1 Will. 4. c. 64. repealed, and new Duties granted in lieu thereof.-
From and after the passing of this act, the duties payable on excise licences for the sale of beer by re-
tail under the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64. shall cease, and in lieu of such duties there shall be paid upon the
licences hereby authorized to be granted the duties following; viz.:
For and upon every licence to be taken out by any person for the
For and upon every licence to be taken out by any person for the
sale of beer by retail, not to be drunk or consumed in or upon
sale of beer by retail, to be drunk or consumed in or upon the
the house or premises where sold, the annual sum of IL la
house or premises where sold, the annual sum of 3d. 3r.-Sec. 13.
The duties to be under the management of commissioners of excise, and to be recovered and ac-
counted for under the provisions of the act 1 Will. 4. C. 64.-0 14.
Not to affect Duty on Licences to Retail Cider and Perry.Nothing in this act shall affect the amount
of duty payable under the 1 Will. 4. c. 64. on licenses to retail cider and perry but every such licence
shall specify whether it be granted for the sale of cider and perry by retail not to be drunk in the house
or premises where sold, or for the retail of the same to be drunk in the house or premises where sold.
15.
Licences under this Act not to authorise Persons to sell Wine.-No licence granted under the act 1 Will.
4. c. 64. and this act shall authorise any person to take out or hold any licence for the sale of wine,
spirits, or sweets or made wines, or mead or metheglin and if any person licensed under the act 1
Will. 4. c. 64. and this act shall permit or suffer any wine, spirits, &c. to be brought into his house or
premises to be drunk or consumed there, or shall suffer them to be drunk or consumed in his house or
premises, he shall, over and above any excise penalties to which he may be subject, forfeit 201.-0 16
Penalty on unlicensed Persons.-Such persons selling beer and cider by retail to be drunk off the pre-
mises, 101. ; to be drunk on the premises, 201-0 17.
Board over the Door.-Every person licensed to sell beer, cider, or perry, by retail, under the autho-
rity of the act 1 Will. 4. c. 64. and this act, shall, on the board required by the former act to be placed
over his door, paint and keep thereon, after the words "licensed to sell beer or cider by retail," the
additional words not to he drunk on the premises," or to be drunk on the premises,' as the case
may be, on pain of forfeiting the penalty imposed by such act for not having such board over the door.
18.
What is retailing of Beer, &c.-Every sale of beer, or of cider or perry, in any less quantity than 41
gallons, shall be deemed and taken to be a sale by retail.- 19.
Penalties for selling Spirits or Wine without Licence.-Persons licensed to sell beer or cider under the
act 1 Will. 4. c. 64. and this act, who sell spirits or wine, sweets, &c. without being licensed, are lia-
ble to the penalties imposed by the laws of excise for selling spirits or wine, sweets, &c. without li-
cence. 20.
Certificate not to be required for Houses in certain Situations, if Population exceed 5,000.-The before-
mentioned certificate shall not be required as to any house situated within the cities of London and
Westminster, or within any parish or place within the bills of mortality, nor within any city or town
corporate, nor within the distance of 1 mile from the place used at the last election as the place of
election or polling place ofany town returning a member to parliament, provided that the population,
determined according to the last parliamentary census taken in such city, town, &c. shall exceed
5,000 : provided, that no licence for the sale of beer, ale, porter, cider, or perry by retail on the premi-
ses in the cities of London and Westminster, or in any parish within the bills of mortality. or in any
such city or town corporate, or town returning a member to parliament as before mentioned, shall be
granted after the 5th day of April, 1836, unless the house or premises specified as those in which beer
or cider is intended to be sold shall be of the value of 10/. per annum.-d21.
Service of Summons.-Summonses or orders not legally served, unless by some constable or other
peace officer.-Q 22.
Commencement.-Act shall commence and take effect from and after the 10th day of October, 1834.-
è 23.
Form of Certificate referred to in 1 2.
We, the undersigned, being inhabitants of the parish [or township, as the case may be] of
and
respectively rated to the poor at not less than 6/. per annum, and none of us being maltsters, common brewers, or persons licensed to sell
spirituous liquors, or being licensed to sall beer or cider by retail, do hereby certify, that A. B., dwelling in
street
[here specify the street, lane, de] in the said parish (or township, &c.] is a person of good character.
[Here insert the day of signing the certificate.)
(Signed)
E.
F.
G.H.
I.K.
[Here state the residence of each of the par-
L.M.
sons signing.)
N. O.
P. Q.
do hereby certify, That all the above-mentioned persons whose names are subscribed to this certificate are inhabitants of the parish
[or township, &c.] of
rated to 61. to the relief of the poor of the mid parish.
C. D.
[Overseer of the parish or township, &c]
Date.
Sup.)
[Ale, porter, and beer, are made in the United States in large quantities; and their con-
sumption appears to be steadily increasing.
The early emigrants from Great Britain brought with them their tastes and habits; and
we find, at an early period, that breweries were established on a small scale in all the princi-
pal seaports. Their success to the south of the Potomac was prevented by the heat of the
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ALEXANDRIA.
19
climate, together with the short duration of the winter. In Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, and Boston, however, they have succeeded, and continue to flourish. Breweries are
also to be found in large numbers throughout the state of New York and there is scarcely a
village in it where good ale cannot be procured. Along the banks of the Hudson river, almost
every town has one or more breweries, and some of these are of a considerable size. At Al-
bany, the business is carried on to a great extent. Beer was brewed in Philadelphia previous
to the revolutionary war. The manufacture of porter was introduced here after the peace
which was soon followed by that of ale. These two articles are now generally manu-
factured; and beer, properly 80 called, is rapidly going into disuse. A continued extension of
the business of brewing has been taking place in Pennsylvania, and throughout the western
country. We find breweries at all the principal towns along the banks of the Ohio. At
Pittsburg, Wheeling, and Cincinnati, there are a number, which not only supply those places
and the surrounding country, but furnish large quantities for export down the Ohio and
the Mississippi. And large quantities are exported from the northern to the southern states
generally, where their consumption is fast taking the place of that of ardent spirits.
The quality of the malt liquors manufactured in the United States has improved in the last
few years, and will now not suffer by a comparison with the best foreign. From the great abun-
dance and low price of the staple articles from which they are made, no temptation exists to
adulterate them. The public, consequently, are furnished with a pure and wholesome
beverage.
Nearly all the beer, ale, and porter, which are imported in the United States, is brought to
us from Great Britain. A small portion of what is imported is re-exported, for the most part
to the island of Cuba. The countries to which the corresponding articles of domestic pro-
duction are chiefly exported, we have no means of stating with any accuracy since they are
classed together with cider in the annual statements of the commerce of the United States,
made to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury. We may mention that this class of our
products is chiefly exported to the British North American Colonies, Cuba, Texas, the Bri-
tish West Indies, and Mexico.-Am. Ed.]
ALEXANDRIA, so called from its founder, Alexander the Great, the principal sea-port
of Egypt, on the coast of the Mediterranean. It is situated about 12 miles W. of the Canopic
mouth of the Nile the Pharos being in lat. 31° 12} N., long. 29° 53 ¥ E. The situation
of this famous city was most admirably chosen. Until the discovery of the route to India
by the Cape of Good Hope, Egypt formed the natural seat of the commerce between the
eastern and western worlds; and Alexandria was placed in the most favourable position in
Egypt for an emporium. It is the only port on the whole northern coast of that country
where there is, at once, deep water, and security for shipping throughout the year. The
ports of Rosetta and Damietta, the former on the west, and the latter on the eastern arm of
the Nile, are both difficult of entrance, each having a bar, upon which there is always a
dangerous surf. Ships bound for Alexandria avoid this serious inconvenience and by means
of an artificial navigation, stretching from the city to the western branch of the Nile, it has
for a while at least, almost the same facilities of internal navigation that are enjoyed by the
cities referred to.
It may be proper, however, to mention that this artificial communication with the Nile
has not always been open. It existed in antiquity, but fell into decay during the barbarism
of more modern times. After being shut up for some centuries, it has been re-opened by
Mohammed Ali, who has dug a canal from Alexandria to Foûah on the Nile, about 27 miles
above Rosetta. This important work is 48 miles in length, 90 feet in breadth, and from 15 to
18 feet deep. It was opened in 1819 but owing partly to the nature of the ground, partly
to some defects in its construction, and partly to the mud deposited by the water of the Nile,
it is difficult to keep in repair; and cannot now, it is said, be navigated except during the
period of the inundation. Its free navigation at all periods would, however, be of the greatest
advantage, not to Alexandria only, but to all Egypt; and it is believed that this might be
secured by facing the canal with brick, and putting it otherwise into good order.
Ports, &c.-The ancient city was situated a little more inland than the modern one, opposite to the
small island of Pharos, on which was erected the lighthouse, so celebrated in antiquity.-( de
Bello Civili, lib. iii. cap. 112.) This island was, partly by artificial means, and partly by natural causes,
gradually joined to the land by a mound, and on this the new town is principally built. The isth-
mus and island have now the form of a T, its head being N. E. and S. W. A square castle or tower,
built on a small islet or rock, at the extremity of a mole projecting from the north-east angle of the city,
is still called the Pharos, and a light is regularly exhibited upon it. On each side of the city there is
a port. That on the western, or African side, called the Old Port, is by far the largest and best. It
stretches from the town westwards to Marabout, about six miles, and is about R mile and a half wide.
It is bounded on the north, partly by the western tongue or angle of the island on which the city is
partially built, and partly by rocks and sand banks. It has three entrances. The first, or that nearest
the city, having 17 feet water, is about two miles S. W. from the large building, situated a little to the
westward of the town, called the palace; but it is too narrow and difficult to be attempted by any one
not thoroughly acquainted with the port. The eastern side of the second or middle entrance is marked
by buoys which lie about two miles and three quarters S. W. from the palace it is about a quarter
of a mile wide, and has, where shallowest, 27 feet water. The third or western entrance has its west-
ern boundary within about three-eighths of a mile from the east end of Marabout island it is about
half a mile wide, and has from 25 to 27 feet water in its shallowest places. This last is the best en-
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ALEXANDRIA.
trance. Ships, when in, may anchor close to the town in from 22 to 40 feet water, and there is good
anchorage in deep water all along the shore. Foreigners were formerly excluded from this port but
this prohibition no longer exists.
The new or Asiatic harbour is on the eastern side of the town. A rock called the Diamond hes a
little to the east of the Pharos tower ; and ships entering the port ought to have this rock about a ca-
hle's length on the right. If they get much further to the left, they will come in contact with a shoal
which stretches westward from the Pharillon, or little tower, on the east side of the port. The water
immediately within the port S. W. from the Pharos is from 30 to 40 feet deep; but the space for an-
chorage is very limited, and is exposed to the northerly gales; and the ground being foul and rocky,
hempen cables are very apt to chafe, and several accidents have happened in consequence to ships un-
provided with iron cables. Ordinary tides rise 2 feet but during the overflow of the Nile the rise is
4 feet. Variation 13° west.-(See Plan of Alexandria, by Lieut. Falbe.)
Ancient and Modern City.-Under the Ptolemies and Romans, Alexandria was the first commercial
city in the world. It suffered greatly by its reduction by the Saracens in 640; but it continued to be
a place of considerable commercial importance till the despotism of the Mamelukes and Turks, and the
discovery of the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope, completed its ruin. Under the Ptolemies,
the population is believed to have amounted to about 300,000, and the city was adorned by a vast num-
ber of magnificent structures. At present the population varies with the seasons of the year, but,
when greatest, it is not supposed to exceed 25,000; and may vary between this amount and 16,000 or
18,000. The appearance of the modern town is most unpromising. It may be justly said, that in the
new city of Alexandria we find a poor orphan, whose sole inheritance has been the venerable name
of its father. The vast extent of the ancient city is contracted in the new, to a little neck of land be-
tween the two ports. The most superb temples are changed into plain mosques the most magnificent
palaces into houses of a bad structure; the royal seat is become a prison for slaves an opulent and
numerous people has given way to a small number of foreign traders, and to a multitude of wretches,
that are the servants of those on whom they depend a place formerly so famous for the extent of its
commerce, is no longer any thing more than a mere place of embarking, in fine, it is not a phoenix that
revives from its own ashes, it is, at most, a reptile, sprung from the dirt, the dust, and corruption with
which the Alcoran has infected the whole country."-(Norden's Travels, Eng. trans. 8vo ed. p. 37.)
There is reason, however, to think that this striking description, though accurate at the time when it was
written (1737), conveys too unfavourable an idea of the present state of Alexandria. The vigorous go-
vernment of Mohammed Ali, by introducing comparative security and good order into Egypt, has lat-
terly revived the commerce of Alexandria, which has again become a place of considerable importance
in the trading world.
Trade of Alexandria.-The imports principally consist of cotton stuffs, timber, hardware, iron and
tin, tobacco, machinery, ammunition, silk goods, woollens, staves, &c. The exports consist of raw
cotton, wheat and barley, rice, linen, flax, linseed, sugar, coffee (from the Red Sea), drugs, gums, sal-
ammoniac, saffron, wax, &c.
The principal articles of importation into this country from Egypt are cotton, flax and linseed, senna,
and gum. Of these, cotton is by far the most important. We began to import it in 1823; and since
then the imports have been as follows :-
Years.
Bales.
Years.
Bales.
Years.
Bales.
1824
38,022
1827
22,450
1830
14,752
1825
111,023
1928
32,889
1831
38,124
1826
47,621
1829
24,739
1832
41,183
In 1832, the French imported 25,807 bales of Egyptian cotton the imports at Trieste during the same
year were about 50,000 bales; and those at Leghorn and Genoa were, together, about the same as at
Trieste. The bale of Egyptian cotton weighs about 220 lbs. This important trade owes its existence
almost entirely to the exertions of the Pacha, by whom the cotton plantations have been established.
The cotton exported is all long-staple, but of two sorts one called in Egypt makko, and in England
common Egyptian; the other, the produce of sea-island seed, called in Egypt Sennaar, and in England
sea-island Egyptian. Besides these two descriptions, Egypt produces from 15,000 to 20,000 bales of
short-staple cotton, similar in quality to that of Smyrna, and chiefly consumed in the country. The
cotton brought from Egypt is found to be amongst the most useful that is grown that raised from sea-
island seed ranks next to American sea-island. The exports from this country to Egypt principally
consist of cotton goods and twist, earthenware, iron and steel, arms and ammunition, &c. Their real
value amounted, in 1831, to 122,8321. but besides what goes direct, a good deal of British produce
finds its way to Egypt at second-hand from Malta, Smyrna, &c. Constantinople and the islands of the
Archipelago are the great markets for the wheat and other grain exported from Egypt, the quantity
sent to them being sometimes very large. The supplies are, however, extremely uncertain. Every
thing in Egypt depends on the Nile; and when it does not rise to the usual height, the crops are very
much below an average. Beans are extensively cultivated, and have sometimes been brought to
England, but rarely, if ever, with advantage to the importers. They are very Inferior to English
beans, and are peculiarly subject to the worm. No oats are raised in Egypt, the horses being entirely
fed upon barley. Besides cotton, the Pacha has turned his attention to the culture of sugar, indigo, &c.
The first has long been raised in Egypt, but the exports are not very considerable. Silk is grown to
some extent. The date-palm thrives in every part of Egypt, and the fruit is largely exported. It is
singular, that notwithstanding the luxuriance of many of its vegetable productions, Egypt should be
entirely destitute of timber.-(Lords' Report of 1827, on the Price of Foreign Corn, Min. of Evid. p. 120.,
and private information.)
In 1831, there entered the port of Alexandria 1,215 ships, of the burden of 198,299 tons. Of these,
the Austrian were the most numerous; next, the English and Ionian; and then the French, Sardi-
nian, Spanish, &c.
Money.-Accounts are kept at Alexandria, as at Cairo, in current piastres, each piastre being equal
to 40 paras, or medini, and each medino to 30 aspers. The medino is also divided into 8 borbi, or 6
forli. A purse contains 25,000 medini. The piastres struck in 1826 contain a great deal of alloy 15+
or 16 piastres = 1 Spanish dollar hence 1 piastre = 3jd. sterling, very nearly. Payments in transac-
tions of any importance are generally made in Spanish dollars.
Weights and Measures.-The yard, or pik, = 26.8 English inches hence 100 pike = 74.438 English
yards. The measures for corn are the rhebebe, and the quillet or kislor; the former =4'364 English
bushels, the latter - 4.729 ditto. The cantaro or quintal = 100 rottoli, but the rottolo has different names
and weights: 1 rottolo furforo - 9347 lb. avoirdupois; 1 rottolo zaidino = 1:335 lb. ditto; 1 rottolo zaure
or zaro 2.07 lbs. ditto 1 rottolo mina = 167 lb. (Manuel Universel de Nelkenbrecher.)
Duties.-With the exception of the commercial monopolies of the Pacha, and the arbitrary principles
on which he fixes the prices of commodities, there is nothing objectionable in his policy as to commerce.
The duties on imports are only 3 per cent. We believe, however, that a small increase of the customs
duty would compensate the Pacha for the abolition of most of his monopolies; and there can be little
doubt that his subjects would be materially benefited by the change.
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ALEXANDRIA.
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Policy of the Pacha.-It is to be regretted that Mohammed Ali, who, in many respects,
is one of the most extraordinary persons of the age, should have no just idea of the principles,
by the adoption of which his plans of improvement might be perpetuated, and industry be
rendered really flourishing. He leaves nothing to the discretion and enterprise of individuals.
He may, indeed, be said to be the sole proprietor, manufacturer, farmer general, and whole-
sale merchant of Egypt. He has monopolised the entire foreign trade of the country and has
fixed the price to be paid for every article to the cultivator, and the price at which it is to be
sold to the foreigner. Hence the extension of cultivation, and the growth of commerce and
manufactures, have been of no real advantage to the bulk of the nation; and hence, also, the
risk, in the event of the reins of government falling into less vigorous or able hands, that the
fabric of apparent prosperity which the Pacha has been attempting to raise, may fall to
pieces: but we would fain hope that the influence of the many intelligent Europeans now in
Egypt, and the observations which the Egyptians sent to England and France by the Pacha
cannot fail to have made upon the advantages resulting from the security of property and the
freedom of industry, may be instrumental in paving the way for the gradual introduction of
a more enlarged and liberal system.
Ancient Trade of Alexandria.-As already remarked, Alexandria was, for a long series
of years,-first under the Greek successors of Alexander, and subsequently under the Ro-
mans,-the principal entrepôt of the ancient world. Most part of the traffic between Asia
and Europe that had at a more early period centered at Tyre, was gradually diverted to this
new emporium. An intercourse between the ports on the eastern coast of Egypt, and those
on the opposite coast of Arabia, had subsisted from a very early period. That between
Egypt and India was more recent. It was at first carried on by ships, which having sailed
down the Red Sea from Myos Hormos and Berenice, coasted along the Arabian shores till
they reached Cape Rasselgate, whence a short course brought them to India near the
mouth of the river Indus. This was the course followed during the dynasty of the Ptolemies:
but about 80 years after Egypt had been annexed to the Roman empire, Hippalus, the com-
mander of an Egyptian ship trading to India, having observed the regular shifting of the trade
winds, ventured to sail with the western monsoon from the Straits of Babelmandeb right
across the Arabian Ocean; and was fortunate enough, after a prosperous voyage, to arrive at
Musiris, in that part of India now known by the name of the Malabar coast. Having taken
on board a cargo of Indian produce, Hippalus returned in safety with the eastern monsoon to
Egypt. This discovery was deemed of so much importance, that the name of the discoverer
was given to the wind which had carried him across the ocean to India and how trifling so-
ever this voyage may now appear, those who consider that Hippalus had no compass by
which to direct his course, and that owing to this circumstance, and the otherwise imperfect
state of the art of navigation, the ancients seldom ventured out of sight of land, even in seas
with which they were well acquainted, will be forward to admit that his enterprise and dar-
ing were nowise inferior to his success; and that he was well entitled to the gratitude of his
contemporaries and the respect of posterity.
From the epoch of this discovery, fleets traded periodically from Egypt to Musiris, convey-
ing the products of Europe to India, and conversely. The Indian goods having been landed
at Myos Hormos and Berenice, were thence conveyed by caravans to Coptos (the modern
Kenné), on the Nile, where they were put on board lighters and sent to Alexandria, whence
they were distributed all over the western world. The goods sent to India were conveyed
to Myos Hormos and Berenice by the same route. Myos Hormos was situated on the shore
of the Arabian gulf, about a degree to the north of the modern port of Cosseir. The dis-
tance from it to Coptos, in a straight line, is about 70 English miles. Berenice was situated
a good way further to the south, being nearly under the tropic. It was built by Ptolemy
Philadelphus. Its distance from Coptos is stated by Pliny at 258 Roman miles; the different
resting places on the road were determined by the wells, and the journey occupied about 12
days. Ptolemy seems to have preferred this station to Myos Hormos, though the land car-
riage to Coptos was so much further, from its greater proximity to the Straits of Babelmandeb,
and its lessening the voyage up the Red Sea.
Pliny says that the cost of the Indian commodities brought to Rome through Alexandria
was increased a hundred fold (centuplicato veneant) by the expence of carriage, &c. We
suspect that this is a rhetorical exaggeration, meaning merely that their price was very ma-
terially enhanced. If the increase was to any thing like the extent mentioned, it must have
been owing to the imposition of oppressive tolls and duties, for it could not possibly have
been occasioned by the mere expenses of conveyance.*-(Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vi, cap. 23.;
Ameilhon, Commerce des Egyptiens, pp. 161-176. &c.; Robertson's Ancient India, note
20. &c.)
Besides this important traffic, which supplied Rome and the western world with the silks,
* In the 16th century, the cost of Indian commodities brought to Western Europe by way of Alex-
andria and Aleppo was about three times the cost of those brought by the Cape of Good Hope.-(See
post, EAST INDIA COMPANY, History But Egypt was then occupied by the Mamelukes and Turks,
who threw every sort of obstacle in the way of commerce, and loaded it with the most oppressive
exactions.
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ALICANT.
spices, precious stones, and other products of Arabia and India, a great trade in corn was
carried on from Alexandria to Rome. Egypt, for a lengthened period, constituted the granary
from which Rome, and afterwards Constantinople, drew the principal part of their supplies;
and its possession was, on that account, reckoned of the utmost consequence. Augustus
employed merchantmen of a larger size than any that had previously traded in the Mediter-
ranean, to convey the corn of Egypt to Ostia. They were escorted by ships of war. The
fleet received the names of sacra and felix embole; and enjoyed several peculiar privileges.
The ships belonging to it were the only ones authorised to hoist the small sail called sup-
parum, when they drew near the coasts of Italy. Some of the fast-sailing vessels attached
to the fleet were sent on before, to give notice of its approach; and a deputation of senators
went down to Ostia to receive the ships, which anchored amid the acclamations of an im-
mense number of spectators. The captains were obliged to make oath that the corn on
board their ships was that which had been delivered to them in Egypt, and that the cargoes
were entire as shipped.-(Huet, Commerce et Navigation des Anciens, cap. xlviii.; Senecae
Epist. cap. 1xxvii. &c.)
Intercourse with India by Alexandria.-Theso few details will, perhaps, serve to give a
faint idea of the importance of Alexandria in the commerce of antiquity. It is impossible,
indeed, for any one to glance at a map of the world, or of the ancient hemisphere, and not
to perceive that Egypt is the natural entrepôt of the commerce between Hindostan and
Europe. Nothing but the barbarism in which it has been so long involved, could make the
intercourse with India and the East be wholly carried on by the Cape of Good Hope. The
difficulty of navigating the Red Sea seems to have been much exaggerated. Generally
speaking, its western side is shallow and infested with coral reefs; but on the Arabian side
the water is deep and unobstructed; and vessels availing themselves of the proper seasons
for sailing up and down the sea, may navigate it expeditiously, and in perfect safety.-(See
Captain Chesney's Report in Papers relating to India, printed by order of the House of
Commons, August 16, 1832.) We have, therefore, little doubt that, in the event of good
order and civilisation being again established in Egypt, some considerable portion of the
Indian trade will revert to its ancient channel. There is not, we apprehend, much reason to
think that the project entertained by the Ptolemies, of cutting a canal across the Isthmus of
Suez, will ever succeed. The distance is not great, but, notwithstanding this circumstance,
and the flatness of the ground, the fact of its consisting almost wholly of moveable parched
sand, presents obstacles to the undertaking, that Volney (Voyage en Syrie, &c. cap. xiv.)
and other good judges, have declared insuperable. The route by Cosseir (nearly the same
as that by Myos Hormos) seems, all things considered, to present the fewest obstacles. The
water in the port of Cosseir is deep, and the anchorage pretty good.-(Chesney's Report.)
The distance from Cosseir to Kenné (Coptos) may be taken at about 70 English miles and
it would not be very difficult to construct a road between these points. After reachingKenné,
the goods would, as of old, be embarked on the Nile for Alexandria, &c. Hence the im-
portance, in a general point of view, of the civilisation of Egypt. Even were it productive
of no other consequences than the facilitating of the correspondence between Europe and
the East, it would not be easy to overrate its importance but the fair presumption undoubt-
edly is, that other results would follow and that the Mediterranean ports would in future
derive the principal part of their Indian commodities by way of Alexandria. The more
westerly European ports would continue, we believe, to use the present channel of inter-
course with India.
Whether these anticipations are ever destined to be realised, it is impossible to say; but
the progress already made by Mohammed Ali in introducing a better order of things into
Egypt, and the present state of the Ottoman empire, which seems fast falling to pieces, would
appear to warrant the conclusion that important changes may be expected in the East. At
all events, the brief statements now made, can hardly be deemed out of place in a work in-
tended to exhibit, however imperfectly, the history, principles, and channels, as well as the
details of commerce.
ALICANT, a sea-port town of Spain, in Valencia, in lat. 38° 20' 41" N., long. 0° 30'
W. Population about 14,500, and declining. The port is an open and spacious bay,
between Cape de la Huerta on the north-east, and Isla Plana on the south, distant from each
other S. W. and N. E. about 10 miles. Ships may enter on any course between these
points, steering direct for the castle, which stands on an eminence about 400 feet high.
Those of considerable burden moor N. and S., distant from t to 1 mile from shore, in from
4 to 8 fathoms water; they are exposed to all winds from E. N. E. to S. by W.; but the
holding ground is good, and there is no instance during the last twenty years of a ship having
been driven from her moorings. Small craft lie alongside the mole, which is already 320
yards in length, and is to be projected still further into the sea. There are no pilots. The
trade of Alicant, though still considerable, has declined much within the last few years; a
consequence partly of the emancipation of America from the Spanish yoke, but more of the
oppressive duties laid on the importation of most articles of foreign produce in Spain—(see
BARCELONA), and the extensive smuggling carried on from Cadiz and Gibraltar. Its exports
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ALIENS.
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consist principally of barilla, almonds, wine, and raisins, with small quantities of olives, olive
oil, brandy, figs, salt, wool, silk, anise, &c. The barilla of Alicant, which is of the finest
quality, is almost wholly taken off by England. The exports amount to from 50,000 to
90,000 quintals.* The celebrated sweet wine, tent (vino tinto), is exported from this port,
principally for Brazil; a little dry wine goes to Gibraltar. Almonds, of which about 10,000
quintals are exported, go mostly to Hamburgh. The raisins are not of the finest quality
those brought to England are principally used in confectionary. Oil, which was formerly
sent in large quantities to South America, is now comparatively neglected. Dates are ex-
ported, and are not unfrequently sold here as Barbary dates. The imports consist princi-
pally of linen, salted fish, tobacco, grain, iron, timber, sugar, coffee, indigo, cochineal, cotton
and cotton stuffs, &c. The linens, of which from 350,000 to 500,000 yards are annually
imported, are furnished almost wholly by France and Genoa. In 1831, there entered the
port of Alicant 157 foreign vessels, of the burden of 16,715 tons; of these were British 54,
burden 5,719 tons; French 45, burden 3,080 tons; Sardinian 40, burden 4,166 tons;
Swedish 5, burden 1,350 tons, &c.
It was stated in the former edition of this work, that large quantities of Benicarlo wine
were shipped at Alicant for Cette: but this is a mistake; almost all the Benicarlo being
shipped from the northern ports of Valencia, and principally from Benicarlo, whence it has
its name.-(Ingliss's Spain in 1830, r. 342.)
Shipping Charges.-These varv accerding to the burden of the ship, and the country to which she
belongs. On a ship of 300 tons unloading and loading mixed cargoes, they would be, including consul-
age, as follows:-
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
Spanish
-
-
- 694
Swedish
-
-
-
15 I 104
British
-
-
-
11 12 44
Russian
-
-
14 11 104
French
-
-
- 15 7 10
Dutch
-
-
-
13 19 64
Danish
-
-
-
15 16 104
American -
-
-
13 17 104
Custom-House Regulations.-A manifest of the cargo, the ship's tonnage, and number of crew, must
be presented within 24 hours after pratique being given, when two officers are put on board to prevent
smuggling. The consignees then make entry of the articles consigned to them, and obtain an order to
land and bring them to the Custom-house, where they are inspected, and the duties ascertained but
before obtaining this order, the consignees must produce a certificate of origin from the Spanish consul
at the port of lading, if it be in a foreign country, for without this the entry is not allowed, and the
goods are deposited in the Custom-house until it be obtained. When the discharge is completed, the
vessel is searched by the surveyor, who reports having done so to the collector. To load the whole
or part of an outward cargo, the master has to report his intention to the collector, who gives his order
permitting goods to be shipped, and the shippers make their specific entries. When the vessel is
loaded, the waiting officers make their return to the collector; who, on being presented with the
receipts of the captain of the port and of the Pratique office for their respective charges, grants his
clearance, upon which a bill of health is obtained, and the vessel is clear for sea.
Warehousing System.-Goods that may be legally imported, may be deposited in bonded warehouses
for twelve months, paying, in lieu of all charges, 2 per cent. ad valorem, but at the end of the year they
must be either taken for home consumption or re-shipped. The 2 per cent. is charged, whether the
goods lie for a day or the whole year. In charging duties, no allowance is made for waste or damage
in the warehouses.
Rates of Commission are usually 21 per cent. on sales and purchases t per cent. is commonly charged
on the negotiation of bills. Goods are commonly sold at three months' credit. Ordinary discount at
the rate of 6 per cent. per annum.
Alicant is not a favourable place for repairing ships, and provisions of all sorts are scarce and dear.
Vessels with foul bills of health, or coming from an infected or suspected place, though with clean
bills, are usually ordered to Port Mahon to perform quarantine. But vessels coming with clean bills
obtain, under ordinary circumstances, immediate pratique.
Money.-Accounts are kept at Alicant in libras of 20 sueldos; each sueldo containing 12 dineros ;
the libra, also called the peso, = 10 reals: and a real of Alicant= 27-2 maravedis of plate, or 51-2 ma-
ravedis vellon. The libra may be valued at 3s. 6d. sterling, and the real at 4d. ditto.
Weights and Measures.-The cargo= 2f quintals= 10 arrobas. The arroba consists either of 24 large
pounds, or of 36 small ditto; the latter having 12 Castilian ounces to the pound, the former 18. The
arroba- 27 lbs. 6 oz. avoirdupois; but at the Custom-house the arroba = 25 lbs. of 16 oz. each,
The principal corn measure is the cahiz or caffise, containing 12 barchillas, 96 medios, or 192 quar-
tillos. The cahiz= 7 Winch. bushels, nearly.
The principal liquid measure is the cantaro of 8 medios, or 16 quartillos. The cantaro= 3.05 Eng-
lish wine gallons. The tonnelada or ton contains 2 pipes, 80 arrobas, or 100 cantaros.
The yard or vara, divided into 4 palmos, is 29.96, or very nearly 30 English inches.
(Consul's Answer to Circular Quories; Ingliss's Spain in 1830, vol. ii. p. 304. &c.; Kelly's Cambist, &c.)
ALIENS. According to the strict sense of the term, and the interpretation of the com-
mon law, all individuals born out of the dominions of the crown of England (alibi natus)
are aliens or foreigners.
It is obvious, however, that this strict interpretation could not be maintained without very
great inconvenience and the necessity of making exceptions in favour of the children born
of native parents resident in foreign countries was early recognised. The 25 Edw. 3 stat. 2.
enacts, that all children born abroad, provided both the parents were at the time of their
birth in allegiance to the king, and the mother had passed the seas by her husband's con-
sent, might inherit as if born in England. And this relaxation has been carried still fur-
ther by several modern statutes: 80 that all children born out of the king's legiance, whose
fathers, or grandfathers by the father's side, were natural born subjects, are now deemed to
be themselves natural born subjects; unless their ancestors were outlawed, or benished
This is the consul's statement. Mr. Inglise represents the exports as considerably greater,
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ALIENS.
beyond sea for high treason, or were at the birth of such children, in the service of a prince
at enmity with Great Britain.
Naturalisation of Aliens.-Aliens may be naturalised by act of parliament, which puts them in exactly
the same condition as natural born subjects, except that they are incapable of being members of the
Privy Council, of being elected to serve in parliament, or of holding any office of trust under the
crown.
A denizen is an alien born, who has obtained letters patent, ex donatione regis, to make him an Eng-
lish subject. He occupies a kind of middle station between a natural born subject and an alien. He
may acquire lands by purchase or device, but not by inheritance and may transmit such lands to his
children born after his denization, but not to those born before.-(Blackstone's Com. book i. cap. 10.)
An alien may also be naturalised by serving on board any of his Majesty's ships of war, in time of
war, for three years, or, if a proclamation has been issued to that effect, for two years.-(6 Geo. 4.
cap. 109. 0 0 16, 17.)
Influence of the Residence of Aliens.-There can be no doubt that, generally speaking,
the resort of foreigners to a country, and their residence in it, are highly conducive to its
interests. Those who emigrate in order to practise their calling in an old settled country,
are pretty uniformly distinguished for activity, enterprise, and good conduct. The native
inhabitants have 80 many advantages on their side, that it would be absurd to suppose that
foreigners should ever come into any thing like successful competition with them, unless
they were acquainted with some branch of trade or manufacture of which the others were
ignorant, or possessed superior skill, industry, or economy. But whether aliens practise new
arts, or introduce more perfect processes into the old, or display superior economy, &c.,
their influx cannot fail to be of the very greatest advantage. They practically instruct those
among whom they reside in what it most concerns them to know, that is, in those depart-
ments of art and science in which they are inferior to others; and enable them to avail
themselves of whatever foreign sagacity, skill, or practice has produced that is most perfect.
It is not easy, indeed, to overrate the benefits conferred on most countries by the resort of
aliens. Previously to the invention of printing there was hardly any other way of becoming
acquainted with foreign inventions and discoveries and even now it is far easier to learn
any new art, method, or process, from the example and instruction of those familiar with its
details, than from the best possible descriptions. The experience, indeed, of every age and
country shows that the progress of nations in the career of arts and civilisation depends
more on the freedom of commerce, and on the liberality with which they have treated
foreigners, than on almost any thing else.
English Legislation as to Aliens.-But, notwithstanding what has been stated above, an
antipathy to resident foreigners seems to be indigenous to all rude and uncivilised nations.
Whatever is done by them appears to be so much taken from the employment, and, conse-
quently, from the subsistence of the citizens; while the advantages resulting from the new
arts or improved practices they introduce, for the most part manifest themselves only by slow
degrees, and rarely make any impression on the multitude. Hence the jealousy and aver-
sion with which foreigners are uniformly regarded in all countries not far advanced in
civilisation. The early Greeks and Romans looked upon strangers as a species of enomies,
with whom, though not actually at war, they maintained no sort of friendly intercourse.
" Hostis," says Cicero, " apud majores nostros is dicebatur, quem nunc peregrinum dici-
Off. lib. i. cap. 12.) It may, therefore, be considered as a striking proof of
the good sense and liberality of those by whom it was framed, that a clause is inserted in
Magna Charta which has the encouragement of commerce for its object; being to the effect,
that " all merchants (if not openly prohibited before) shall have safe and sure conduct to
depart out of and to come into England, to reside in and go through England, as well by
land as by water to buy and sell without any manner of evil tolls, by the old and rightful
customs, except in time of war; and if they be of a land making war against us, and such
be found in our nation at the beginning of the war, they shall be attached without harm of
body or goods, until it be known unto us, or our chief justice, how our merchants be entreated
in the land making war against us; and if our merchants be well entreated there, shall be
so likewise here."
But until the era of Edward I. the stipulation in the Great Charter as to foreign mer-
chants seems to have been little attended to. It is doubtful whether, previously to his reign,
they could either hire houses of their own, or deal except through the medium of some
Englishman. But this intelligent prince saw the advantage that would result to the trade
and industry of his subjects from the residence and intercourse of Germans, Flemings,
Italians, and other foreigners, who, at that time, were very superior to the English in most
branches of manufactures and commerce. He, therefore, exerted himself to procure a repeal
of some of the more oppressive restrictions on aliens, and gave them a charter which con-
veyed considerable privileges." Down, however, to the reign of Edward III., it continued
to be customary to arrest one stranger for the debt, and even to punish him for the crimes
This charter was confirmed by Edward III. in 1328. Among other clauses, it has the following,
viz: 1st, That on any trial between foreigners and Englishmen, the jury shall be half foreigners ; 2d,
That a proper person shall be appointed in London to be justiciary for foreign merchants and 3d,
That there shall be but one weight and measure throughout the kingdom.-(Andersen, anno 1302.)
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and misdemeanors of others! It may appear extraordinary that the gross injustice of this
barbarous regulation ever permitted it to be adopted and yet it was probably, at one period,
the common law of most European states. As soon, however, as the foundations of good
order and civilisation began to be laid, its operation was seen to be most pernicious. In
1325, Edward II. entered into a convention with the Venetians, in which it was expressly
stipulated that they should have full liberty to come to England to buy and sell commodities,
without being liable for the debts or crimes of others. Conventions to the same effect were
entered into with other foreigners. At length, in 1353, this disgraceful practice was put an
end to by 27 Edward 3. stat. ii. cap. 17.; it being provided in this statute, not only that no
stranger shall be impeached for the trespass or debt of another, but that, in the event of a
war breaking out with any foreign power, its subjects, residing amongst us, shall be warned
thereof by proclamation, and be allowed forty days to arrange their affairs, and to depart out
of the kingdom; and that, under special circumstances, this term may be extended. There
are few acts in the statute-book that reflect more credit on their proposers, or that have been
more advantageous than this.
In consequence of the encouragement given by Edward III. to such of the woollen
manufacturers of Flanders as chose to immigrate to England, a good many came over and
it is from their immigration that we may date the improvement and importance of the
woollen manufacture in this country.-(See WOOLLEN MANUFACTURE.) But this policy,
however wise and judicious, was exceedingly unpopular. The foreigners were openly in-
sulted, and their lives endangered, in London and other large towns; and a few of them in
consequence returned to Flanders. Edward, however, was not to be driven from his purpose
by an unfounded clamour of this sort. A proclamation was issued, in which every person
accused of disturbing or attacking the foreign weavers was ordered to be committed to New-
gate, and threatened with the utmost severity of punishment. In a parliament held at York,
in 1335, an act was passed for the better protection and security of foreign merchants and
others, by which penalties were inflicted on all who gave them any disturbance. This seems
to have had the effect, for a while, at least, of preventing any outrages.
The corporations of London, Bristol, and other great towns, have been at all times the
principal enemies to the immigration of foreigners. Perhaps, indeed, they were not more
hostile to them than to such of their own countrymen, belonging to another part of the king-
dom, as should have attempted to settle amongst them without being free of their corporation.
But in denouncing foreigners they had the national prejudice on their side and their
attempts to confirm and extend their monopolies by their exclusion were regarded as the
noblest efforts of patriotism ! Edward III. was fully aware of the real motives by which
they were actuated, and steadily resisted their pretensions. But in the reigns of his succes-
sors they succeeded better some of these were feeble and unfortunate, whilst others enjoyed
the crown only by a disputed title, and in defiance of powerful competitors. The support
of the great towns was of the utmost consequence to such princes, who, whatever might be
their own opinion as to its policy, could hardly venture to resist the solicitations of such
powerful bodies to exclude strangers, and to impose restrictions on commerce. From the
death of Edward III. to the reign of Elizabeth, the progress made by the country was not
inconsiderable, but it was little promoted by legislative enactments. Throughout the whole
of this period, the influence of corporations seems to have predominated in all matters
relating to trade and the treatment of foreigners; and our legislation partook of the selfish,
monopolizing character of the source whence it was principally derived. Were the acts
and proceedings as to aliens the only memorials of our policy from 1377 to 1560, we should
certainly seem to have retrograded materially during the interval. Some of these acts were
passed with so little consideration, and were so very absurd, that they had to be immediately
repealed. Of this sort was the statute of the 8 Henry 6. cap. 24., to the effect " that no
Englishman shall within this realm sell, or cause to be sold, hereafter, to any merchant alien,
any manner of merchandises, but only for ready payment in hand, or else in merchandises
for merchandises, to be paid and contented in hand, upon pain of forfeiture of the same."
But as an enactment of this sort was very speedily found to be more injurious to ourselves
than to the foreigner, it was repealed in the following sessions.
The more tyrannical their conduct in other respects, the more were our princes disposed
to humour the national prejudice against foreigners. If not a cheap, it was, at least, an easy
method of acquiring popularity. In the very first parliament after the accession of Richard III.,
a statute was passed full of the most ridiculous, contradictory, and unfounded allegations as
to the injury sustained by the influx of foreigners, and laying them under the most oppressive
restraints. Considering, indeed, the sort of treatment to which aliens were then exposed, it
may excite surprise that they should ever have thought of visiting the country and, in point
of fact, it appears that the resort of foreign merchants to our ports was materially impaired
by the statutes referred to, and others of the same description. This is evident from the act
19 Henry 7. cap. 6., where it is stated that " woollen cloth is not sold or uttered as it hath
been in divers parts," and that foreign commodities and merchandises are at so dear and
exceeding high price, that the buyer cannot live thereon." But in despite of this authorita-
C
4
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ALIENS.
tive exposition of the mischiefs arising from the restraints on aliens, and on trade, they were
both increased in the reign of Henry VIII. And it was not till the reign of Elizabeth that
the pretensions of the corporations seem to have been disregarded, and an attempt made to
act, not by starts, but consistently, on the policy of Edward III.
The influx of foreigners during the reign of Elizabeth was occasioned chiefly by the per-
secutions of the Duke of Alva and the Spaniards in the Low Countries. The friends of
the reformed religion, which, at the time, was far from being firmly established, and the
government, were glad to receive such an accession of strength and from the superiority
of the Flemings in commerce and manufactures, the immigrants contributed materially to
the improvement of the arts in England. It would seem, however, that the ministers of
Elizabeth contented themselves, perhaps that they might not excite the public prejudice,
with declining to enforce the laws against aliens, without taking any very active steps in
their favour.
In the reign of James I. the corporation of London renewed with increased earnestness
their complaints of aliens. In 1622, a proclamation was issued, evidently written by James
himself, in which, under pretence of keeping a due temperament" between the interests of
the complainants and those of the foreigners, he subjects the latter to fresh disabilities.
Since the revolution, more enlarged and liberal views as to conduct to be followed with
respect to aliens have continued to gain ground several of the restraining statutes have
fallen into disuse, while others have been so much modified by the interference of the courts,
which have generally been inclined to soften their severity, that their more offensive provi-
sions are become inoperative. In 1708, an act was passed, notwithstanding the strenuous
opposition of the corporations, for the general naturalisation of all foreign protestants; but
the prejudice against them was still so powerful that it wasrepealed within about three years.
Some unsuccessful attempts have since been made to carry a similar measure. One of these,
about the middle of last century, occasioned the publication by Dr. Tucker of two excellent
pamphlets, in which the policy of the naturalisation act is most ably vindicated, and the argu-
ments against it successfully exposed.* But no such statute has hitherto been passed, and
aliens still continue subject to various disabilities.
Disabilities of Aliens.-The principal of these regards the possession of fixed property. It is ruled
that lands purchased by an alien for his own use, may be seized by the king. "If," says Blackstone,
"he could acquire a permanent property in lands, he must owe an allegiance, equally permanent with
that property, to the king of England; which would probably be inconsistent with that which he owes
to his own natural liege lord; besides that, thereby the nation might in him be subject to foreign
influence, and feel many other inconveniences. Wherefore by the civil law such contracts were made
void, but the prince had no such advantage of forfeiture thereby as with us in England. (Commen-
taries, book i. cap. 10.)
An alien cannot take a benefice without the king's consent, nor can he enjoy a place of trust, or
take a grant of lands from the crown. Aliens may, however, acquire property in money, goods, or
other personal estate, and may have houses for the purpose of their habitation, and for carrying on
their business. They may bring actions as to their personal effects, and may dispose of them by will.
The droit d'aubaine (jus albinatus, 1. e. alibi natus), or the right of the crown to succeed to the effects
of an alien at his death, so long the custom in France, never obtained in England. If an alien abroad
die intestate, his whole property here is distributed according to the law of the country where he
resided; but such residence must have been stationary, and not occasional, otherwise the foreign
municipal regulations will not apply to the property,
Aliens may trade as freely as natives; and for these many years past, the duties of package and
scavage in the port of London, repealed in 1833, were the only peculiar duties with which they were
burdened. The statutes of Henry VIII. restraining alien artificers from working for themselves, are
understood to have been repealed by the Stat. 5 Eliz. cap. 7.; and they are quite at liberty to employ
themselves as they please.
Aliens indicted for felony or misdemeanor are tried by a jury of which half are foreigners; a
privilege they have enjoyed, as already seen, with some partial interruptions, from the reign of
Edward I.
Conditions of Residence.-During the late war, aliens were placed under the surveillance of the
police; they were obliged to send frequent reports of their residence, and of the mode in which they
were employed and were liable to be sent out of the kingdom at any moment by an order from the
secretary of state. The conditions under which they now reside amongst us are embodied in the 7
Geo. 4. cap. 54.
This act requires every master of a vessel arriving from foreign parts to declare in writing the names,
rank, occupations, &c. of all aliens on board such vessel, or who have been landed from it any where
within the realm. Such declaration to be made immediately on arrival: neglecting or refusing to
make it, or making a false one, is punished by the forfeiture of 201., and a further sum of 10/. for each
alien in such vessel, or landed from it within the realm. Aliens bona Ade employed in the navigation
of the vessel are excepted.-1.
The act then goes on to lay down the conditions of residence, which are merely that every alien is
required to make a declaration and registry, renewed half yearly, or oftener if required by the secre-
tary of state, of his name, abode, and occupation. Aliens neglecting to make such declaration, or
making a false one, are, for every such offence, to forfeit any sum not exceeding 501., or be imprisoned
any time not exceeding six months, at the discretion of two justices.
Policy of the Laws as to Aliens.-The reasons assigned by Mr. Justice Blackstone and
others for preventing aliens from acquiring fixed property seem to be very unsatisfactory.
In small states there might be grounds, perhaps, for fearing lest the easy admission of aliens
to the rights of citizenship should give them an improper bias; but in a country like Eng-
land, such apprehensions would be quite futile. In this respect the example of Holland seems
* Historical remarks on the late Naturalization Bill, 1751 ; Queries occasioned by the late Naturali-
sation Bill, 1752.
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ALIENS.
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quite decisive. Notwithstanding the comparatively limited population of that country, it
was the constant policy of the republic to make Holland a perpetual, safe, and secure
asylum for all persecuted and oppressed strangers; no alliance, no treaty, no regard for,
nor solicitation of any potentate whatever, has at any time been able to weaken or destroy,
or make the state recede from protecting those who have fled to it for their own security
and self-preservation."-(Proposals for amending the Trade of Holland, printed by authori-
ty. Lond. 1751.)
A short residence in the country, and a small payment to the state, was all that was re-
quired in Holland to entitle a foreigner to every privilege enjoyed by a native. And it is of
importance to remark, that it has not been so much as insinuated that this liberal conduct
was in any instance productive of a mischievous result. On the contrary, all the highest
authorities consider it as one of the main causes of the extraordinary progress made by the
republic in wealth and commerce. It is said in the official paper just quoted, that Through-
out the whole course of all the persecutions and oppressions that have occurred in other
countries, the steady adherence of the republic to this fundamental law has been the cause
that many people have not only fled hither for refuge, with their whole stock in ready cash,
and their most valuable effects, but have also settled and established many trades, fabrics,
manufactures, arts, and sciences, in this country; notwithstanding the first materials for the
said fabrics and manufactures were almost wholly wanting in it, and not to be procured but
at a great expense from foreign parts." (Ibid.)
With such an example to appeal to, we are warranted in affirming that nothing can be
more ridiculous than to suppose that any number of foreigners which it is at all likely should
ever come to England under the most liberal system, could occasion any political inconve-
nience and in all other respects their immigration would be advantageous. A general natu-
ralisation act would, therefore, as it appears to us, be a wise and politic measure. It might
be enacted, that those only who had resided three or four years in the country, and given
proofs of their peaceable conduct, should be entitled to participate in its advantages.
(Some parts of this article have been borrowed from the Treatise on Commerce written for the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, by the author of this Work.)
(The act 7 Geo. 4 cap. 54. referred to in the Dictionary (p. 26.), has been repealed by
the act 6 Will. 4. cap. 11., which enacts in its stead some new regulations of which the
principal are, that-
Every master of a ship arriving from foreign parts shall, to the best of his knowledge and belief,
immediately declare, in writing, to the chief officer of customs, the name or names, rank, occupation,
&c. of any alien or aliens on board his ship, or who may have landed therefrom at any place within
the realm, under a penalty of 201. for omission or false declaration ; and of 101. for every alien omitted
in the declaration: this regulation does not, however, extend to foreign mariners navigating the
vessel.-Φ.
On arrival in this country, the alien is to declare his name, description, &c. and to produce his pase-
port which declaration is to be registered by the officer of customs, who is to deliver a certificate to
the alien. A copy of this declaration is to be transmitted, within two days, to the secretary of state,
or (if the alien land in Ireland) to the chief secretary of the Lord Lieutenant. The original certificate
given to the alien is to be transmitted to the secretary of state on his leaving the country. New cer-
tificates to be granted in lieu of such as may be lost, without fee, under a penalty of 201. Forging
certificates, or falsely personating aliens, punishable by imprisonment, not exceeding three months,
or by fine, not exceeding 1001.-0 e 3, 4, 5, &c.-Sup.)
[There are no denizens in the United States. Every inhabitant of the country is either a
citizen or an alien.
Citizens are either natives, or such persons as have become citizens in accordance with the
laws which have been enacted by Congress on the subject of naturalization.
Native citizens again are, first, all persons who have been born within the jurisdiction of the
United States since the declaration of American Independence, en the 4th of July, 1776; and
secondly, every person who was a native of the territory of the United States previous to that
date, provided he remained in the country afterwards.
Naturalized citizens are, in the first place, all persons who fulfil or comply with the con-
ditions prescribed in the acts of Congress, concerning naturalization, of the years 1802, 1804,
1813, 1816, 1824, and 1828. These conditions are, first, that the person applying to be na-
turalized be a free white person, of the age of 21 years or more. Secondly, he must, on oath
or affirmation, before some federal or state court, or its clerk, two years at least previous
to his application to become a citizen, have declared his intention to take this step un-
less be has been a resident in the United States before and ever since the 18th day
of June, 1812, the date of the declaration of war against Great Britain; or unless he
has resided here during the last three years of his minority, with the intention, during the
last three years of his residence, of becoming a citizen. Thirdly, he must have resided with-
in the United States five years at least, and within the state or territory, where the court to
which he applies is at the time held, one year at least; but the oath of the applicant shall,
in no case, be allowed to prove his residence. Fourthly, he must cause it to appear to the
satisfaction of the court that, during the time of his residence, he has behaved as a man of a good
moral character, attached to the principles of the constitution of the United States, and well
disposed to the good order and happiness of the same. Fifthly, he must renounce every title or
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ALKALIES.
order of nobility which he may have held in the kingdom or state from which he came.
Sixthly, he must make oath or affirmation that he will support the constitution of the United
States, and renounce and abjure all allegiance to any foreign sovereign or state. No alien,
however, who shall be a native citizen, denizen, or subject, of any sovereign or state, with
whom the United States shall be at war, at the time of his application, shall be then admit-
ted to be a citizen of the United States.
Besides the persons who may have complied with or fulfilled the conditions above enume-
rated, their children, as also the children of such persons as, previous to the passing of any
law on the subject by the government of the United States, may have become citizens of any
one of the said states, under the laws thereof, being under the age of 21 years, at the time of
their parents being so naturalized or admitted to the rights of citizenship, shall, if dwelling in
the United States, be considered as citizens of the United States; and the children of persons
who, on or before the 14th day of April 1802, were citizens of the United States, shall,
though born out of the limits and jurisdiction of the United States, be considered as citizens
of the United States.
And again, it is enacted that if any person, who shall have made the preliminary declara-
tion of intention to become a citizen as required by law, shall die before he is actually natu-
ralized, his widow and children shall be considered as citizens of the United States and they
shall be entitled to all rights and privileges as such, upon taking the oaths which the law pre-
scribes.
Every citizen of the United States enjoys the same rights and privileges excepting only
that a naturalized citizen must have been such for seven years to be eligible as a member
of the House of Representatives, and for a period of nine years to be eligible as a member of
the Senate of the Union, and that none but a natural born citizen, or a citizen at the time of
the adoption of the federal constitution, can be elected to the office of President of the United
States, or of Governor in some of the states.
Aliens cannot act as jurors; they have not the right of voting at elections; and they are
disabled from holding any office, either in the states, or under the government of the United
States. In many of the states (chiefly the older ones) they are incapable of acquiring and
holding any real estate. If an alien purchase land, or take it by devise, it is at once liable to be
forfeited to the state. His rights to and power over personal or moveable property are the
same precisely as those of citizens. (See Kent's Commentaries, Lecture 25.) The general
reader may also, for an abstract of the law relating to aliens, as it regards their right of holding
and conveying property in the different states of the Union, consult the " American Almanac,"
for 1838.-Am. Ed.]
ALKALIES. The distinguishing characters of these bodies are, a strong acrid and power-
fully caustic taste; a corrosive action upon all animal matter, destroying its texture with con-
siderable rapidity exposed to the atmosphere, when in their caustic state, they absorb car-
bonic acid with great rapidity, and become carbonated (or mild). Their action upon vegeta-
ble colours also affords us means by which the presence of an uncombined or carbonated
alkali may be detected the yellow colour of turmeric is changed to a red-brown tint when
immersed into solutions containing them the blue colour of the litmus, after being reddened
by an acid, is again restored; the infusions of the red cabbage, the violet, and many other
purple vegetable colours, are converted to green. Litmus paper reddened by carbonic acid
is, however, the most delicate test of the presence of an alkali. With the various acids they
also combine, forming the very important and extensive class of compounds generally called
salts; a salt being any compound formed by the union of an acid with an alkali or a metallic
oxide.
Alkalimotry.-The method by which the value of the alkalies, or carbonated alkalies, is determined,
being of considerable importance in a commercial point of view, we shall here treat it somewhat in
detail. It is an established fact, that 49 parts by weight of oil of vitriol of the specific gravity 1-8485,
are exactly equivalent to the neutralisation of 70 parts by weight of pure carbonate of potash, or 48
of pure potass, or 54 of carbonate of soda, or 32 of soda; and that 70 parts of oil of vitriol will there-
fore be necessary to neutralise 100 parts of carbonate of potass; hende, by employing a glass tube
of about two ounces' capacity, and accurately divided into 100 equal parts, taking 70 grains of oil of
vitriol, and diluting it with water, to make the 100 measures complete, every measure of this dilute
acid must be equal to a grain of pure carbonate of potass. The per centage of real carbonate of
potass existing in any sample of pearlash may be at once ascertained by taking 100 grains of the sam-
ple, dissolving it in hot water, straining, and adding by degrees 100 measures of the test acid above
mentioned the point of neutralisation (when it ceases to affect litmus paper or reddened litmus)
being accurately ascertained, the residual acid will give the per centage of impurities: for instance,
say that 75 measures of the dilute acid have been employed to render 100 grains of a sample of pearl-
ash perfectly neutral, then we have ascertained that it contains 25 per cent. impurities. The same
process of course must be followed in examining samples of barilla or kelp, except that the alkali
contained in them, being carbonate of soda, 90.75 of oil of vitriol must be employed instead of 70.
The process recommended by Mr. Faraday, and in which he uses only one test acid, is as follows :-
Into a tube about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and nine and A half long, and as cylindrical
as possible throughout its whole length, 1,000 grains of water are to be weighed, and the space occu-
pied marked on the tube by a fine file; this space is then divided from above downwards into 100
equal parts. At 23:44, or 76.56 parts from the bottom, an extra line should be made, and soda marked
opposite to it; at 48:96 potass should be marked in the same way; at 54.63, carbonate of soda ; and
at 65, carbonate of potass. A diluted acid is now to be prepared, which shall have a specific gravity
1.127; and this is made by mixing intimately together 19 parts by weight of oil of vitriol, and 81 of
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ALKALIES.
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water. The method to be followed in the employment of this acid is as follows :-The dilute acid is
to be measured in the tube up to the line opposite to which the alkali sought for is marked ; if barilla,
which contains carbonate of soda, 54.63 measures are to be taken. The 100 measures are then made
up by the addition of water, and is then ready for use, following the method before stated.
The alkalies are four in number, namely, ammonia (or volatile alkali), potass (or vegetable alkali),
soda (or mineral alkali), and lithia; which last is of so little importance that we shall not treat of it
here.
The combinations of these alkalies with the various acids, whenever they form compounds of any
importance, will be noticed.
Ammonia, or Spirits of Hartshorn, or Volatile Alkali,-in its uncombined form, is an elastic gaseous
body, having a very pungent and suffocating odour, destroys animal life, converts the yellow of tur-
meric paper to a brown, which, from the volatility of the alkali, is again restored by a gentle heat to
its original colour. This gas is rapidly absorbed by water, which takes into solution about 780 times
its volume, forming the liquid ammonia, or what is commonly called hartshorn. Ammonia is liberated
whenever any of the compounds of this alkali are acted upon by potass, soda, lime, and many other
alkaline earths. Lime, from its being the most economical, is generally employed the best propor-
tions for its preparations are equal weights of sal ammoniac (muriate of ammonia), and fresh slaked
lime. When these are introduced into a retort, and heat applied, ammonia is liberated in the gaseous
form, and is conducted by a Wetter's safety tube into a vessel of water, by which the gas is instantly
absorbed. Muriate of lime remains in the retort sometimes water is added to the mixture, and then
distilled. As thus obtained, it has a specific gravity of 930 or 940, water being equal to 1:000. The
most concentrated solution of ammonia has the specific gravity 875.
Carbonate of Ammonia, or Volutile Salt, or Subcarbonate of Ammonia.-This salt, which is very much
employed in various processes of the arts, was formerly obtained by the action of chalk (carbonate
of lime) upon muriate of ammonia; a double decomposition takes place. Carbonic acid and ammo-
nia are sublimed in vapour, and muriate of lime remains in the vessel. A much less expensive pro-
cess is, however, now followed, namely, from the waste gas liquors obtained in the purification of
coal gas; these are evaporated, and the black impure sulphuric acid added. By this means a sulphate
of ammonia is formed, and the carbonate procured from it by the action of powdered chalk, as in the
former process.
Its uses are principally in forming other compounds of ammonia, as smelling salts ; and it is like-
wise employed rather extensively by pastry-cooks for making light pastry, which is caused by the
volatile carbonate of ammonia escaping and raising up the pastry by the heat of the oven. It is en-
tirely dissipated during the baking, so that no ill effect can arise from its use.
Both this compound and the preceding act as violent stimulants on the animal system.
Muriate of Ammonia, or Sul Ammoniac-was formerly brought to this country from Egypt, where it
was procured by submitting the soot of camels' dung (there employed for fuel) to sublimation in
closed vessels it is, however, at present manufactured in very large quantities in this country in a
variety of ways. The most economical processes are either submitting sulphate of ammonia mixed
intimately with muriate of soda (sea salt) to sublimation, or by substituting the bittern of sea water,
which consists chiefly of muriate of magnesia, for the sea salt. In the first process a sulphate of
soda is formed, and the muriate of ammonia, which, being volatile, rises in the vaporous form, and is
condensed in the cool parts of the apparatus: in the latter process, a sulphate of magnesia (Epsom
salts) results. It is generally from this salt (muriate of ammonia) that the liquid ammonia is manu-
factured it is also employed in tinning and soldering, to preserve the metals from oxidation. It is a
semi-transparent, tough salt, having an acrid and cool taste, and is usually met with in the form
of hemispherical masses. Sal ammoniac is made at Calcutta, and is thence exported to Great Bri-
tain, the United States, and the Arabian and Persian gulfs. In 1824-25, the exports amounted to
114 tons.
Sulphate of Ammonia.-The preparation of the sulphate has been already given under the head of
ammonia ; it is employed in the manufacture both of the carbonate and muriate.
Acetate of Ammonia.-The spirit of Mindererus is obtained by acting upon the carbonate of ammo-
nia by acetic acid; the carbonic acid escapes with effervescence, and an acetate of ammonia is
formed it is employed in medicine as a febrifuge.
All these salts of ammonia have the following properties ;-they are volatile at a low red heat the
fixed alkalies decompose them, combining with their acid, and the ammonia is liberated.
When combined with a fixed acid, such as the boracic or phosphoric, they are decomposed, the am-
monia alone being volatilised, and the acid remaining pure. This process was described for obtaining
pure phosphoric acid.
Potass, or Vegetable Alkali.-The original source of this alkali is in the vegetable kingdom, whence
is derived its name of vegetable alkali. When wood is burnt, and the ashes lixiviated with water,
boiled, strained, and evaporated to dryness, an intensely alkaline mass is obtained, which is known
by the name of potash, from this process being conducted in iron pots. It is then removed to a re-
verberatory furnace, and submitted to heat, and a current of air. This burns out extractive matter
and other impurities, and the salt assumes a pearly white colour, and is hence called pearlashes.
Care should be taken, during this process, that the potashes do not enter into fusion, as this would
destroy the full effect of the operation.
Pearlashes.-Pearlashes generally contain about from 60 to 83 or 84 per cent. of pure carbonate of
potass. Its uses in manufactures are numerous and important. It is employed in making flint-glass,
of which it constitutes about one-sixth of the materials employed in soap-making, especially for the
softer kinds of soap for this purpose, however, it is first rendered caustic by means of lime. In the
rectification of spirits, large quantities are employed to combine with the water previously in union
with the spirit.
Subcarbonate of Potass, or Salt of Turtar-is used in preparing the subcarbonate of potass of the
Pharmacopoeia (carbonate of potass of the chemical nomenclature), and likewise in rendering hard
spring waters soft, and in cleansing substances from grease; it is sometimes called salt of worm-
wood. When made by the deflagration of two parts of tartar of argol and one of nitre, it is called
black flux, and is used extensively in metallurgic operations.
From the subcarbonate of potash the pure and uncombined potass is obtained, by adding an equal
weight of fresh burnt lime, previously slaked, and boiling them with half their weight of water. By
this process the lime combines with the carbonic acid, and the potass remains in solution in its caustic
state; by boiling the clear solution rapidly in iron vessels, and submitting it to fusion, we obtain the
fused potass.
If it be required perfectly pure for chemical purposes, it is necessary to evaporate in silver vessels,
and dissolve in strong alcohol. This takes up the pure potass, and leaves any portion of the subcar-
bonate that may not have been acted upon by the lime then the alcohol is to be distilled off, and the
potass fused at a red heat, and poured out in its liquid state on a cold slab. As thus procured, it is a
white, brittle mass, highly deliquescent, absorbing moisture and carbonic acid rapidly from the atmos-
phere. When evaporated in iron vessels it has a dirty colour, and lets fall a quantity of oxide of
1 on, when dissolved in water, from its having acted upon the iron boilers.
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ALKALIES.
Potass acts with great rapidity upon animal substances, destroying their texture, and is on this ac-
count employed as a caustic, and was formerly called lapis infernalis.
Carbonate (or, in the chemical nomenclature, Bicarbonate) of Potass-is prepared by passing car-
bonic acid gas through a solution of the subcarbonate: and evaporating at a temperature below 212°,
and crystallising. It is used in making effervescing draughts. It loses one proportion of its carbonic
acid when heated, and is converted into the subcarbonate.
Sulphate of Potass, or Sal Polychrest, or Vitriolated Tartar-is obtained by submitting the salt,
which remains after the manufacture of nitric acid from nitre and sulphuric acid, to a red heat, or by
neutralising the excess of acid contained in that salt by subcarbonate of potass.
Bisulphate of Potass, or Sal Enizum.-This is the salt mentioned above, as the residue from the
process for obtaining nitric acid. It is employed, in very large quantities, in the manufacture of
alum; also in tinning iron, for pickling, as it is termed; it is sometimes also used as a flux.
Nitrate of Potash, Nitre, or Saltpetre.-This salt, which is of so much importance in every branch
of the arts, is found native in many parts of the world, especially in the East Indies. It is obtained
from soils composed of decomposing granite, the felspar of which gives rise, as is supposed, to the
potass. The nitric acid is not so easily accounted for, except it is by a union of the nitrogen and
oxygen gases in the atmosphere taking place in those hot climates; for, from authenticated accounts,
no decaying animal or vegetable matter exists in the nitre districts of India. By lixiviation with
water the nitre is dissolved from the soil, which is again thrown out into the air, to be washed the
following year; so that it is formed continually. These lixiviations are then evaporated and when
of a certain strength, a quantity of common salt separates, which is removed as it falls; and the
nitre is then crystallised and imported to this country, always containing a certain quantity of im-
purities, which are deducted in the purchase of large quantities of the article, being termed its refrac-
tion. It is generally used for the manufacture of gunpowder and pure nitric acid, refined or recrys-
tallised.
Nitre may be also made artificially, in beds of decaying vegetable or animal substances, mixed with
old mortar, or other refuse calcareous earth; these are watered occasionally, too much moisture being
hurtful; after a certain period, depending on the rapidity with which the process has gone on, the
whole is submitted to lixiviation together with wood-ashes, which contain subcarbonate of potass,
and which decomposes any nitrate of lime formed, of which there is generally a considerable quantity.
After the lixiviation is complete, which takes some time, the solution is separated and boiled down
the salt separates as in the other process, and the nitre is then crystallised. It was from this source
that the whole of the nitre, nearly, employed by the French during the long protracted war with the
continental powers, was obtained.
Nitre has a cold, penetrating, and nauseous taste enters into igneous fusion at a gentle heat, and
is then moulded into round cakes called sal prunella. It is employed in the manufacture of nitric
acid; of gunpowder, which is composed of 75 parts by weight of nitre, 16 of charcoal, and 9 of sul-
phur (the nitre for this purpose should be of great purity); and in the manufacture of oil of vitriol
as a flux it is one of the most powerful we possess; it is also used for the preservation of animal
food, and in making frigorific mixtures: 1 oz. of nitre dissolved in 5 oz. of water lowers its tempera-
ture 15 degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer.- (See SALTPETRE.)
Oxalute and Binoxalate of Potass.-The binoxalate of potass, or salt of lemon, or sorrel, by both
which last names it is very commonly known, is procured from the juice of the common sorrel (Ru-
mex Acetosa), or the wood sorrel (Oxalis Acetosella), by crystallisation, after the feculent matter has
been separated by standing a few days. Its chief uses are, in removing ink spots or iron moulds ;
and also as a refreshing beverage when mixed with sugar and water.
The neutral oxalate is obtained from the salt by combining the excess of acid which it contains with
a solution of subcarbonate of potass. Is very much used in chemistry, as the best test of the presence
of lime.
Tartrate and Bitartrate of Potass.-Bitartrate of potass, or cream of tartar, is, when in its crude and
impure state, called argol, and is deposited in the interior of wine casks during fermentation, and from
this source the whole of the cream of tartar is obtained. It is generally of a very dark brown colour,
but may be purified and rendered perfectly white by solution and crystallisation. It is employed very
extensively in dyeing, hat-making, and in the preparation of tartaric acid, and many of the compounds
of tartaric acid, as tartar emetic, soluble tartar (tartrate of potass) when heated to redness it is con-
verted into carbonate of potass and charcoal mixed with half its weight of nitre and thrown into a
red hot crucible it forms the black flux, and with its own weight of nitre the white flux, both of which
are very much employed in metallurgic operations. The tartrate is made by the addition of subcar-
bonate of potass to a solution of the bitartrate until perfectly neutral it is used in medicine as a mild
purgative.
Ferrocyanate or Prussiate of Potass.-This salt is obtained by the action of subcarbonate of potass,
at a low red heat, upon refuse animal matter, such as hoofs, horns, skin, &c., in the proportion of two
of subcarbonate, to four or five of the animal matter. But the process recommended by M. Gautier
is preferable he finds, that when animal matter is heated with nitre, it yields a much larger quantity
of the ferroprussiate than when either potass or subcarbonate of potass are employed the proportions
he finds most economical are, 1 part by weight of nitre, 3 parts of dry blood, and iron scales or filings
equal to a fiftieth of the blood employed.
The coagulum of blood is mixed intimately with the nitre and iron filings, and dried by exposure to
the air; they are then submitted to a very low red heat, in deep iron cylinders, as long as vapours
continue to be liberated; when cold, the contents are dissolved in 12 or 15 times their weight and
strained. On evaporation, till of the specific gravity 1-284, and allowing it to cool, a large quantity of
bicarbonate of potass crystallises, and by further evaporation till of the specific gravity 1:306, the fer-
roprussiate of potass crystallises on cooling. This is to be recrystallised. It is a beautiful yellow
salt, very tough, having a tenacity similar to spermaceti, and is decomposed at a red heat. It is em-
ployed very extensively in dyeing blues, and in calico printing; also in the manufacture of Prussian
blue, which is a compound of the ferroprussic acid and oxide of iron, prepared by adding I part of
lution. the ferroprussiate of potass dissolved in water, to one part of copperas, and 4 parts of alum in so-
Chromate of Potass.-This salt is obtained from the native chromate of iron by the action of-nitre at
a full red heat in equal proportions. By solution, filtration, and evaporation, a beautiful lemon-yel-
low coloured salt results. It is very much employed in dyeing, calico printing, and calico making,
from its producing bright yellow precipitates with solutions of lead.
Bichromate of Potass-is prepared from the above-mentioned salt, by the addition of nitric acid to
the yellow solution obtained from the heated mass by the action of water; on evaporating this, a
dark red coloured salt crystallises, which is the bichromate. This is also very largely employed by
the calico printers, and when mixed in solution with nitric acid, possesses the property of destroying
vegetable colours; on this account it is of great importance, as it at the same time removes a vegeta-
ble colour, and forms a base for a yellow dye.
Chlorate or Hyperozymuriute of Potass.-The preparation of this salt is attended with some little
difficulty, and requires a great deal of nicety. It is obtained by passing a current of chlorine gas
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through a solution of caustic potass; then boiling and evaporating; the first salt that separates is
the chlorate of potass and by further evaporation, muriate of potass is obtained. It is used in
making matches for instantaneous light boxes, which are prepared by first dipping the wood in melted
sulphur, and then into a thin paste, formed of 3 parts chlorate of potass, 2 parts starch, and a little
vermilion; with sulphur it forms a very explosive compound, generally employed for filling the per-
cussion caps of fowling-pieces.
Soda, or Mineral Alkali.-The sources of this alkali in nature are various. It is obtained in combi-
nation with carbonic acid, when plants which grow by the sea-side are burnt. The ashes thus ob-
tained are called barilla and kelp; and also in some countries it is found as an efflorescence upon the
surface of the earth, and is called nitrum or natron; this occurs particularly in Egypt and South
America. Trona is also another native carbonate of soda, and is exported from Tripoli. In combi-
nation with muriatic acid it is also found in immense abundance, forming the rock salt, and sea salt,
or muriate of soda. It is obtained from the carbonate exactly in the same way as potass is obtained
from its carbonate, namely, by boiling it with fresh burnt lime previously slaked, decanting the clear
solution, and evaporating and fusing. It is a white brittle substance, and by exposure to the air be-
comes converted into a dry carbonate. Its uses in the arts and manufactures are of considerable im-
portance. In soap-making it is employed in very large quantities, and for this purpose is generally
procured from barilla or kelp, by mixing them with lime, and by the infusion of water procuring a
caustic soda ley this is mixed with oil and fatty mattersin various proportions, and boiled the sa-
ponification of the fatty matter takes place, and the soap formed rises to the surface the ley is then
drawn from beneath, and fresh leys added, until the soap is completely free from oil it is then allowed
to dry. Soda is also employed in the manufacture of plate, crown, and bottle glass, though for this
purpose it is generally in the form of carbonate or sulphate.
Subcarbonate of Soda. (In the chemical nomenclature it is called carbonate.)-This is generally
prepared from barilla, which contains about from 16 to 24 per cent. Barilla is procured by incinerat-
ing the salsola soda, and other sea-side plants; it is made in large quantities on the coast of Spain.
Kelp is another impure carbonate of soda, but does not contain more than 4 or 5 per cent. it is the
ashes obtained from sea weeds by incineration, and is made on the northern shores of Scotland.
From these, the crystallised carbonate (or subcarbonate, as it is more frequently called) is made by
the addition of a small quantity of water, boiling, straining, evaporating, and skimming off the com-
mon salt as it forms on the surface; on cooling, the subcarbonate of soda crystallises. Another me-
thod is by heating the sulphate of soda with carbonate of lime and charcoal, and then dissolving out
the soluble carbonate; also, by the action of carbonate of potass (pearlash) upon solutions of sea
salt.-See BARILLA and KELP.)
Bicarbonate of Soda-is procured by driving a current of carbonic acid gas through solutions of the
carbonate, and then evaporating at a temperature below 212° Fahrenheit; it is chiefly employed in
making soda water powders. This is the carbonate of soda of the Pharmacopæia. By the applica-
tion of a red heat it loses carbonic acid, and is converted into the subcarbonate.
Sulphate of Sodu, or Glauber Salts.-This salt, which has received the name of Glauber, from its dis-
coverer, is the residue of a great many chemical processes for instance, when muriate of soda is
acted upon by oil of vitriol, muriatic acid and sulphate of soda result ; in making chlorine gas for the
manufacture of the chloride of lime, or bleaching powder, sulphate of soda and sulphate of manganese
result; the materials employed being sea salt, sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), and black oxide of man-
ganese; also, in the preparation of acetic acid from the acetate of soda, and in the preparation of mu-
riate of ammonia from sea salt and sulphate of ammonia. Sulphate of soda is a colourless, trans-
parent salt, effloresces readily when exposed to the air, and becomes converted into a dry powder
it has a cold, bitter taste. It is used for the preparation of carbonate of soda, and as a medicine. It
is found native in some countries, particularly in Persia and South America-frequently as an efflo-
rescence upon new walls.
Nitrate of Soda.-This salt is found native in some parts of the East Indies, and is called from its
square form, cubic nitre; it is, however, very little used.
Muriate of Soda, or Sea Salt.-This compound is found in immense quantities in the earth, and is
called from this circumstance rock salt, or sal gem. The mines of Cheshire and Droitwich, in this
country, and those in Poland, Hungary, and Spain, and many others, afford immense quantities of
this compound. It is also obtained by the evaporation of sea water, both spontaneously in pits formed
for the purpose, and in large iron boilers; the uncrystallisable fluid is called the bittern; basket salt
is made by placing the salt after evaporation in conical baskets, and passing through it a saturated
solution of salt, which dissolves and carries off the muriate of magnesia or lime. Pure salt should
not become moist by exposure to the air it decrepitates when heated it is employed for the prepa-
ration of muriatic acid, carbonate of soda, muriate of ammonia, and many other operations also in
glazing stone-ware, pottery, &c.; and from its great antiseptic properties, is used largely for the pre-
servation of animal food ; as a flux also in metallurgy.
Borate of Soda, or Boraz.-This salt is found in Thibet and Persia, deposited from saline lakes; it is
called tincal, and is imported into this country, where it is purified by solution; the fatty matter with
which the tincal is always coated being removed ; and the solution evaporated and crystallised its
principal uses are as a flux, from its acting very powerfully upon earthy substances.
ALKANET, OR ANCHUSA (Ger. Orkanet; Du. Ossetong; Fr. Orcanette; It. An-
cusa i Sp. Arcaneta), a species of bugloss (Anchusa tinctoria Lin.). It has been culti-
vated in England; but is found of the finest quality in Siberia, Spain, and more particularly
in the south of France, in the vicinity of Montpellier. The roots of the plant are the only
parts that are made use of. When in perfection, they are about the thickness of the finger
having a thick bark of a deep purplish red colour. This, when separated from the whitish
woody pith, imparts a fine deep red to alcohol, oils, wax, and all unctuous substances. To
water it gives only a dull brownish hue. It is principally employed to tint pomatums and
unguents, wax used in the making of fancy candles, oils employed in the dressing of ma-
hogany, rose-wood, &c. The alkanet brought from Constantinople yields a more beautiful
but less permanent dye than that of France.-(Lewis's Mat. Med.; Magnien, Dictionnaire
des Productions.)
The duty, which was previously very oppressive, was reduced in 1832 to 2s. a cwt. In that year it
produced 1,7871. 4s. 8d. This, supposing it to have been all charged with the 2s. duty, shows a con-
sumption of 17,872 cwt. The price varies from 27s. to 32s. a cwt.
ALLOWANCES, TARES, &c. In selling goods, or in paying duties upon them, cer-
tain deductions are made from their weights, depending on the nature of the packages in
which they are enclosed, and which are regulated in most instances by the custom of mer-
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32
ALMONDS.
chants, and the rules laid down by public offices. These allowances, as they are termed, are
distinguished by the epithets Draft, Tare, Trett, and Cloff.
Draft is a deduction from the original or gross weight of goods, and is subtracted before the tare is
taken off.
Tare is an allowance for the weight of the bag, box, cask, or other package, in which goods are
weighed.
Real or open tare is the actual weight of the package.
Customary tare is, as its name implies, an established allowance for the weight of the package.
Computed tare is an estimated allowance agreed upon at the time.
Average tare is when a few packages only among several are weighed, their mean or average taken,
and the rest tared accordingly.
Super-ture is an additional allowance, or tare, where the commodity or package exceeds a certain
weight.
When tare is allowed, the remainder is called the nett weight; but if trett be allowed, it is called
the suttle weight.
Trett is a deduction of 4 lbs. from every 104 lbs. of suttle weight.
This allowance, which is said to be for dust or sand, or for the waste or wear of the commodity, was
formerly made on most foreign articles sold by the pound avoirdupois; but it is now nearly discon-
tinued by merchants, or else allowed in the price. It is wholly abolished at the East India ware-
houses in London; and neither trett nor draft is allowed at the Custom-house.
Cloff, or clough, is another allowance that is nearly obsolete. It is stated in arithmetical books to
be a deduction of 2 lbs. from every cwt. of the second suttle; that is, the remainder after trett is sub-
tracted; but merchants, at present, know cloff only as a small deduction, like draft, from the original
weight, and this only from two or three articles.-(See Kelly's Cambist, art. "London.")
For an account of the tares and allowances at London, see TARE; for the tares and allowances at
the great foreign trading towns, see their names.
ALMONDS (Ger. Mandeln; Du. Amandelen; Fr. Amandes; It. Mandorli; Sp. Al-
mendra; Port. Amendo; Rus. Mindal; Lat. Amygdalæ amaræ, dulces), a kind of medi-
cinal fruit, contained in a hard shell, that is enclosed in a tough sort of cotton skin. The
tree (Amygdalus communis) which produces this fruit nearly resembles the peach both in
leaves and blossoms; it grows spontaneously only in warm countries, as Spain, and par-
ticularly Barbary. It flowers early in the spring, and produces fruit in August. Almonds
are of two sorts, sweet and bitter. They are not distinguishable from each other but by the
taste of the kernel or fruit. " The Valentia almond is sweet, large, and flat-pointed at one
extremity, and compressed in the middle. The Italian almonds are not so sweet, smaller,
and less depressed in the middle. The Jordan almonds come from Malaga, and are the best
sweet almonds brought to England. They are longer, flatter, less pointed at one end and
less round at the other, and have a paler cuticle than those we have described. The sweet
almonds are imported in mats, casks, and boxes; the bitter, which come chiefly from Moga-
dore, arrive in boxes."-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
An Account of the different Descriptions of Almonds imported into the United Kingdom in the Years
1831 and 1832, the Rates of Duty thereon, the Produce of the Duties, with the countries from whence
the Almonds were brought, and specifying the Quantities brought from each.-(Obtained from the
Custom-house for this Work.)
Quantities Imported.
Countries from which
imported.
Bitter Almonds.
Jordan Almonds.
Almonds of other sorts.
1831.
1832.
1831.
1832.
1831.
1832.
Crot. qrs. lbs.
Germany
Crot. qrs. lbs.
Cwt. qrs. lbs.
Crot. qrs. lbs.
Crot. grs. lbs.
Crot. qrs. lbs.
-
-
-
22 2 5
-
-
-
-
The Netherlands
103 3 2
508
-
-
-
21 2 24
-
-
-
-
-
-
France
0 1 9
-
-
56 1 22
43 1 24
-
-
-
-
550 0 22
549 1 12
Portugal, Azores,
and Madeira
in
1 2 24
-
-
1 2 10
0 1 8
331 2 25
339 3 2
Spain
-
-
-
1 3 6
2 2 16
2,361 23
1,333 3 11
Gibraltar
2,618 2 10
1,835 3 17
-
-
193 3 7
-
130 0 23
0 0 18
232 0 22
86 1 12
Italy - - -
22 2 6
18 2 24
0 2 0
0 0 2
151 3 15
140 0 5
Malta - - -
-
-
-
-
0 1 5
0 0 6
0 0 27
-
-
Turkey
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 13
-
-
Tripoli, Barbary, and
Morocco
3,115 3 24
2,697 0 21
-
-
-
-
5,138 2 11
6,018 3 15
Cape of Good Hope
a
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 6
0 0 14
East Indies
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1 0 23
0 1 24
U. States of America
-
-
101 3 13
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Isles of Guernsey,
Jersey, and Man
-
-
-
-
-
-
1 27
7 0 1
25 3 14
Total
-
3,392 15
2,908 0 15
2,494 0 13
1,335 3 16
9,135 29
9,002 0 20
Rates of Duty per Cwt.
£ 8. d.
£ S. d.
£ s. d.
(£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ S. d.
From Foreign Countries
1 11 8
0 4 0
4 15 0
200
2 7 6
1 0 0
From British Possessions
0 15 10
040
276
100
276
1 0 0
Nett produce of the Duties.
2,260 6 2
1,068 17 1
7,830 5 11
5,092 0 6
7,850 17 6
5,466 5 7
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ALOES-ALUM.
33
Duties on Simonds.-Previonsly to 1832, almonds were among the most grossly overtaxed articles in
the British tariff; but the subjoined statement shows that the duties were then materially reduced.
It further appears from it, that though the duty on bitter almonds in 1832 amounted to only about one-
eighth part of its amount in 1831, the revenue derived from them did not fail off more than about half,
showing that the consumption had increased in a fourfold proportion The revenue from Jordan
almonds in 1831 was 7,8301. ; and in 1832, 5,0921. ; though the duty in the latter year was less than half
what it had been in the former. The results of the reduction of the duty on other sorts of almonds are
exactly similar. This, therefore, is a striking instance of the beneficial influence of reasonable duties.
The fair presumption is, that in a few years the revenue from almonds, under the present moderate
duties, will be much greater than it has ever been under the high duties.
Barbary (bitter), 31s. per ditto; Valencia (sweet), 72s. to 75s. per ditto.
Almonds were worth, in bond, in the London market, in August 1833, Jordan, 75a. to 100s. per cwt.;
[Almonds are chiefly imported into the United States from the Mediterranean ports of
France and Spain; and only an inconsiderable amount is re-exported, for the most part to
Mexico.-Am. Ed.]
ALOES (Du. Aloe; Fr. Aloés; Ger. and Lat. Aloe; Rus. Sabir; Sp. Aloè; Arab.
Mucibar), a bitter, gummy, resinous, inspissated juice, obtained from the leaves of the plant
of the same name. There are four sorts of aloes met with in commerce viz. Socotrine,
Hepatic, Caballine, and Cape.
1. Socotrine-so called from the island of Socotra, in the Indian Ocean, not very distant from Cape
Guardafui, where the plant (Aloe-spicata), of which this species is the produce, grows abundantly. It
is in pieces of a reddish brown colour, glossy as if varnished, and in some degree pellucid. When
reduced to powder, it is of a bright golden colour. Its taste is extremely bitter; and it has a peculiar
aromatic odour, not unlike that of the russet apple decaying. It softens in the hand, and is adhesive
yet is sufficiently pulverulent. It is imported by way of Snlyrna and Alexandria, in chests and casks,
but is very scarce in England.
2. Hepatic.-The real hepatic aloes, so called from its liver colour, is believed to be the produce of
the Aloe perfoliata, which grows in Yemen in Arabia, from which it is exported to Bombay, whence it
finds its way to Europe. It is duller in the colour, bitterer, and has a less pleasant aroma than the
Socotrine aloes, for which, however, it is sometimes substituted. Barbadoes aloes, which is often
passed off for the hepatic, is the produce of the Aloe vulgaris. It is brought home in calabashes, or
large gourd shells, containing from 60 to 70 lbs. It is duskier in its hue than the Bombay, or real he-
patic aloes, and the taste is more nauseous, and intensely bitter. The colour of the powder is a dull
olive yellow.
3. Caballine, or Horse, Aloes seems to be merely the coarsest species or refuse of the Barbadoes
aloes. It is used only in veterinary medicine; and is easily distinguished by its rank foetid smell.
4. Cape Aloes is the produce of the Aloe spicata, which is found in great abundance in the interior
of the Cape colony, and in Melinda. The latter furnishes the greater part of the extract sold in Eu-
rope under the name of Socotrine aloes. The odour of the Cape aloes is stronger and more disagree-
able than that of the Socotrine they have, also, a yellower hue on the outside ; are less glossy,
softer, and more pliable; the colour of the powder is more like that of gamboge than that of the true
Socotrine aloen.-(Ainslic's Mat. Indica ; Thomson's Dispensatory and Mat. Medica.)
Last year the duty on aloes was reduced to 2d. per lb. on those from a British possession, and to
8d. on those from a foreign country. The duty produced 1,8101. 5a. 2d. of nett revenue but as the old
rates of duty existed during a part of the year, it does not afford the means of determining the con-
sumption.
ALOES-WOOD (Ger. Aloeholz; Du. Aločhout, Paradyshout; Fr. Bois d' Aloés; It.
Legno di Aloe; Sp. Aloè chino; Lat. Lignum Aloes; Sans. Aguru; Malay, Agila;
Siam. Kisna), the produce of a large forest tree, to be found in most of the countries be-
tween China and India, from the 24th degree of north latitude to the equator.
It seems to be the result of a diseased action confined to a small part of a few trees, of which the
rest of the wood is wholly valueless. It appears to be more or less frequent according to soil and
climate, and from the same causes to differ materially in quality. It is produced both in the greatest
quantity and perfection in the countries and islands on the east coast of the gulf of Siam. This article
is in high repute for fumigations, and as incense, in all Hindu, Mohammedan, and Catholic countries.
It formerly brought a very high price, being at one time reckoned nearly as valuable as gold. It is
now comparatively cheap, though the finest specimens are still very dear. The accounts of this ar-
ticle in most books, even of good authority, are singularly contradictory and inaccurate. This is more
surprising, as La Loubère has distinctly stated, that it consisted only of certains endroits corrompus
dans des arbres d'une certaine espèce. Tonte arbre de cette espèce n'en a pas; et ceux qui en ont, ne les
out pas tous on тêтe endroit." (Royaume de Siam, t. i. p. 45. 12mo ed.) The difficulty of finding the
trees which happen to be diseased, and of getting at the diseased portion, has given rise to the fables
that have been current as to its origin. The late Dr. Roxburgh introduced the tree which yields this
production into the Botanical Garden at Calcutta, from the hills to the eastward of Sylhet, and de-
scribed it under the name of Aquillaria Agalocha.
ALUM (Ger. Alaun; Du. Aluin; Fr. Alun; It. Allume; Sp. Allumbre; Rus. Kwasszd;
Lat. Alumen; Arab. Sheb), a salt of great importance in the arts, consisting of a ternary
compound of aluminum, or pure argillaceous earth, potass, and sulphuric acid. Alum is
sometimes found native; but by far the greater part of that which is met with in commerce
is artificially prepared. The best alum is the Roman, or that which is manufactured near
Civita Vecchia, in the Papal territory. It is in irregular, ochtahedral, crystalline masses,
about the size of a walnut, and is opaque, being covered on the surface with a farinaceous
efflorescence. The Levant, or Roch alum is in fragments, about the size of the former, but
in which the crystalline form is more obscure; it is externally of a dirty rose-colour, and
internally exhibits the same tinge, but clearer. It is usually shipped for Europe from
Smyma; but it was anciently made at Roccha, or Edessa, in Syria; and hence its name,
Roch alum. English alum is in large, irregular, semi-transparent, colourless masses, having
a glassy fracture; not efflorescent, and considerably harder than the others. It is very
5
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84
AMBER-AMIANTHUS.
inferior to either the Roman or Roch alum. The principal use of alum is in the art of
dyeing, as a mordant for fixing and giving permanency to colours which otherwise would
not adhere at all, or but for a very short time but it is also used for a great variety of other
purposes.
Beckmann has shown (History of Inventions, vol. 1. art. Alum") that the ancients were unac-
quainted with alum, and that the substance which they designated as such was merely vitriolic earth.
It was first discovered by the Orientals, who established alum works in Syria in the thirteenth or
fourteenth century. The oldest alum works in Europe were erected about the middle of the fifteenth
century. Towards the conclusion of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Sir Thomas Chaloner established
the first alum work in England, near Whitby, in Yorkshire, where the principal works of the sort in
this country are still carried on. There is a large alum work at Hurlett, near Paisley. Alum is
largely manufactured in China, and is thence exported to all the western Asiatic countries. In 1831,
11,779 piculs (785 tons) were exported from Cauton.
AMBER (Ger. Bernstein, Du. Barnsteen; Da. Bernsteen, Rav. ; Fr. Ambre jaune
It. Ambra gialla; Sp. Ambar; Rus. Jantar; Pol. Bureztyn Lat. Succinum, Electrum),
a brittle, light, hard substance, usually nearly transparent, sometimes nearly colourless, but
commonly yellow, or even deep brown. It has considerable lustre. Specific gravity 1-065.
It is found in nodules or rounded masses, varying from the size of coarse sand to that of a
man's hand. It is tasteless, without smell, except when pounded or heated, when it emits a
fragrant odour. It is highly electric. Most authors assert that amber is bituminous but
Dr. Thomson states, that it is undoubtedly of a vegetable origin and though it differs from
resins in some of its properties, yet it agrees with them in 60 many others, that it may with-
out impropriety be referred to Chemistry, vol. iv. p. 147. 5th ed.)
Pieces of amber occasionally enclose parts of toads and insects in their substance, which are beau-
tifully preserved. It is principally found on the shores of Pomerania and Polish Prussia; but it is
sometimes dug out of the earth in Ducal Prussia. It is also met with on the banks of the river Gia-
retta, in Sicily. Sometimes it is found on the east coast of Britain, and in gravel pits round Lon-
don. The largest mass of amber ever found was got near the surface of the ground in Lithuania.
It weighs 18 lbs., and is preserved in the royal cabinet at Berlin. Most of the amber imported into
this country comes from the Baltic, but a small quantity comes from Sicily. Amber was in very high
estimation among the ancients, but is now comparatively neglected.
AMBER-GRIS, OR AMBER-GREASE (Ger. Amber; Du. Amber; Fr. Ambergris;
It. Ambma-grigia; Sp. Ambar-gris, Lat. Ambra, Ambra grisea), a solid, opaque, gene-
rally ash-coloured, fatty, inflammable substance, variegated like marble, remarkably light,
rugged and uneven in its surface, and has a fragrant odour when heated it does not effer-
vesce with acids, melts freely over the fire into a kind of yellow resin, and is hardly soluble
in spirit of wine. It is found on the sea-coast, or floating on the sea, near the coasts of India,
Africa, and Brazil, usually in small pieces, but sometimes in masses of 50 or 100 lbs. weight.
" Various opinions have been entertained respecting its origin. Some affirmed that it was
the concrete juice of a tree, others thought it a bitumen but it is now considered as pretty
well established that it is a concretion formed in the stomach or intestines of the Physeter
macrocephalus, or spermaceti whale.-(Thomson's Chemistry.) Ambergris ought to be
chosen in large pieces, of an agreeable odour, entirely grey on the outside, and grey with
little black spots within. The purchaser should be very cautious, as this article is easily
counterfeited with gums and other drugs.
AMETHYST (Ger. Amethyst; Fr. Amethyste; It. Amatista; Sp. Ametisto; Lat.
Amethystus), a precious stone, of which there are two species differing widely in quality
and value.
The Oriental amethyst is a gem of the most perfect violet colour, and of extraordinary brilliancy and
beauty. It is said to be as hard as the sapphire or ruby, with which it also corresponds in its form
and specific gravity-(See SAPPHIRE), differing in colour merely. It has been met with in India, Per-
sia, Siam, and other countries; but it is exceedingly scarce. That found in India is said by Pliny to
be the best. (Principatum amethysti Indice tenent.-Nat. Hist. lib. xxxvii. cap. 9.) Mr. Mawe, says
he had rarely seen an oriental amethyst offered for sale, unless small and inferior in colour. Mr.
Hope, the author of Anastasius, had in his cabinet the finest gem of this sort in Europe. This exqui-
site specimen exceeds an inch in its greatest diameter; in daylight it exhibits the most beautiful vio-
let colour, while by candle-light it is a decided blue.
The Occidental amethyst is merely coloured crystal or quartz.- When perfect, its colour resembles
that of the violet, or purple grape but it not unfrequently happens that the tinge is confined to one
part of the stone only, while the other is left almost colourless. When it possesses a richness, clear-
ness, and uniformity of hue, it is considered a gem of exquisite beauty ; and as it occurs of consider-
able size, it is suited to all ornamental purposes. In specific gravity and hardness it bears no com-
parison with the oriental amethyst it is also inferior in beauty and lustre though I have often seen
the common amethyst offered for sale as oriental. Brazil, Siberia, and Ceylon produce very fine ame-
thysts they are found in rolled pieces in the alluvial soil, and finely crystallised in fissures of rock.
From the first of these localities, they have lately been imported in such quantities, as considerably
to diminish their value but as they are the only coloured stones, except garnets, that are worn with
mourning, they still retain, when perfect, a distinguished rank among the precious gems. The pre-
sent price of inferior light-coloured stones, in the rough state, is about 20s. per pound, while those of
good quality sell at 10s. or 12s. per ounce. Amethysts calculated for brooches or seals may be pur-
chased at from 15s. to two or three guineas each, for which, ten years ago, treble that sum would have
been given."-(Mawe on Diamonds, 2d ed. pp. 115-117.)
AMIANTHUS, ASBESTOS OR MOUNTAIN FLAX, a mineral of which there are
several varieties, all more or less fibrous, flexile, and elastic. It is inconsuamble by a high
degree of heat and in antiquity the art was discovered of drawing the fibres into threads,
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AMMONIACUM-AMSTERDAM.
35
and then weaving them into cloth. Pliny says that he had seen napkins made of this sub-
stance, which, when soiled, were thrown into the fire, and that they were better cleaned by
this means than they could have been by washing Hence it obtained from the Greeks
the name of Auarros (undefiled). Its principal use, as stated by Pliny, was to wrap the
bodies of the dead previously to their being exposed on the funeral pile, that the ashes of the
corpse might not be mixed. with those of the wood. And in corroboration of this statement
we may mention, that in 1702, a skull, some calcined bones, and a quantity of ashes, were
found at Rome, in a cloth of amianthus nine Roman palms in length by seven in width. Its
employment in this way was, however, confined to a few of the very richest families, incom-
bustible cloth being very scarce, and bringing an enormously high price. Rarum inventu,
difficile textu propter brevitatum. Cum inventum est æquat pretia excellentium marga-
ritarum.-(Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xix. cap. 1.) The disuse of the practice of cremation, or of
burning the dead, caused the manufacture of amianthine cloth to be neglected. Several
moderns have, however, succeeded in making it but, if it be not lost, the art is now rarely
practised.-(For further particulars, see Rees's Cyclopædia.)
AMMONIACUM (Fr. Gomme Ammoniaque; It. Gomma Ammoniaco; Sp. Goma
Ammoniaco; Lat. Ammoniacum; Arab. Feshook), a concrete resinous juice obtained from
a plant resembling fennel, found in the north of Africa, Arabia, Persia, the East Indies, &c.
Pliny says that it derived its name from its being produced in the vicinity of the temple of
Jupiter Ammon in Africa.-(Hist. Nat. lib. xii. cap. 23.) It has a faint but not ungrateful
smell and a bitter, nauseous, sweet taste. The fragments are yellow on the outside and
white within, brittle, and break with a vitreous fracture their specific gravity is 1-207.
The best ammoniacum is brought from Persia by Bombay and Calcutta, packed in cases
and chests. It is in large masses, composed of small round fragments or tears, or in separate
dry tears, which is generally considered a sign of its goodness. The tears should be white
internally and externally, and free from seeds or other foreign substances. Reject that which
is soft, dark-coloured, and foul. It is used principally in the materia medica, and the quan-
tity imported is but small.-Rees's Cyclopædia; Thomson's Dispensatory ; Milburn's
Orient. Com. &c.)
AMMONIAC (SAL). See ALKALIES (Muriate of Ammonia).
AMMUNITION, a term expressive of the various implements used in war.
No ammunition can be imported into the United Kingdom by way of merchandise, except
by licence from his Majesty, and such licence is to be granted for furnishing his Majesty's
stores only, under penalty of forfeiture.-(6 Geo. 4. c. 107.) His Majesty may forbid, by
order in council, the exportation of any saltpetre, gunpowder, or any sort of ammunition.
Any master of a vessel exporting ammunition when so forbidden, shall for every such offence
forfeit 100/- (29 Geo. 2. c. 16.)
AMSTERDAM, the principal city of Holland, situated on the Y, an arm of the Zuyder
Zee, in lat. 52° 25' N., and long. 4° 40' E. From 1580 to 1750, Amsterdam was, per-
haps, the first commercial city of Europe; and though her trade has experienced a great
falling off since the last-mentioned epoch, it is still very considerable. In 1785, the popula-
tion is said to have amounted to 235,000; in 1814, it had declined to 180,000, but at present
it exceeds 200,000. The harbour is spacious and the water deep but on account of a
bank (the Pampus) where the Y joins the Zuyder Zee, large vessels going or coming by
that sea, are obliged to load and unload a part of their cargoes in the roads. The navigation
of the Zuyder Zee is also, by reason of its numerous shallows, very intricate and difficult
and as there were no hopes of remedying this defect, it became necessary to resort to other
means for improving the access to the port. Of the various plans suggested for this pur-
pose, the preference was given to the scheme for cutting a canal capable of admitting the
largest class of merchantmen, from the north side of the port of Amsterdam to Newdiep,
opposite to the Texel, and a little to the east of the Helder. This canal has fully answered
the views of the projectors, and has proved of signal service to Amsterdam, by enabling
ships to avoid the Pampus, as well as the difficult navigation of the Zuyder Zee, where
they were frequently detained for three weeks, and to get to Newdiep without any sort of
risk in less than 24 hours. The canal was begun in 1819, and completed in 1825. The
ground between its extremities being nearly level, it has only a lock at each end ; and the
dues and charges on account of towing, &c. are very moderate. At Newdiep the water is
deeper than in any other port on the coast of Holland, and ships are there in the most
favourable position for getting expeditiously to sea.-(See CANALS.) The imports princi-
pally consist of sugar, coffee, spices, tobacco, cotton, tea, indigo, cochineal, wine and brandy,
wool, grain of all sorts, timber, pitch and tar, hemp and flax, iron, hides, linen, cotton and
woollen stuffs, hardware, rock salt, tin plates, coal, dried fish, &c. The exports consist
partly of the produce of Holland, partly of the produce of her possessions in the East and
West Indies and other tropical countries, and partly of commodities brought to Amsterdam,
as to a convenient entrepôt, from different parts of Europe. Of the first class are cheese and
butter (very important articles), madder, clover, rape, hemp, and linseeds, rape and linseed oils,
Dutch linen, &c. Geneva is principally exported from Schiedam and Rotterdam oak bark
Digitized by Google
36
AMSTERDAM.
principally from the latter. Of the second class are spices, Mocha and Java coffee; sugar of
Java, Brazil, and Cuba cochineal, indigo, cotton, tea, tobacco, and all sorts of Eastern and
colonial products. And of the third class, all kinds of grain, linens from Germany, timber,
and all sorts of Baltic produce; Spanish, German, and English wools; French, Rhenish,
and Hungarian wines, brandy, &c. The trade of Amsterdam may, indeed, be said to
comprise every article that enters into the commerce of Europe. Her merchants were
formerly the most extensive dealers in bills of exchange. And though London be now, in
this respect, far superior to Amsterdam, the latter still enjoys a respectable share of this
business.
The Bank of the Netherlands was established at Amsterdam in 1814. It is not, like the
old Bank of Amsterdam, which ceased in 1796, merely a bank of deposit, but a bank of
deposit and circulation formed on the model of the Bank of England.-(See BANKS,
FOREIGN.)
For an account of the Dutch fisheries, see the articles HERRING FISHERY and WHALE
FISHERY.
Ships entering the port of Amsterdam during the three Years ending with 1831, specifying the Coun-
tries whence they came.
Countries.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Ships.
Ships.
Ships.
Ports of Norway and North Sea
-
-
-
-
-
496
788
601
Baltic and Archangel
-
-
-
-
1,134
801
565
Mediterranean, France, Spain, and Portugal
-
-
-
-
113
105
99
South America
-
-
-
-
-
7
10
10
North America
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
46
57
40
West Indies
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
79
95
77
Great Britain
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
82
114
209
East Indies and China
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
18
26
23
Total
-
1,975
1,996
1,624
There are no means of ascertaining the tonnage and the crews of these vessels. About 220 or 230
large ships belong to Amsterdam; they are employed in the East and West India trades, and in
trading to the Baltic, the Mediterranean, &c. There is comparatively little coasting trade at Am-
sterdam, the communication with most other ports in the vicinity being principally kept up by canals,
and that with Friesland by regular packets. The total number of ships of all sorts annually entering
the port amounts, at an average, to about 2,200.
Account of some of the principal Articles, specifying their Quantities and Values, imported into
Amsterdam by Sea during the Years 1829, 1830, and 1831.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Denomination of Mer-
Descrip-
tion of
chandise.
Value in
Value
Value in
Value
Value in
Value
Package.
Quantity.
Dutch
in Ster-
Quantity.
Dutch
in Ster-
Quantity.
Dutch
in Ster-
Money.
ling.
Money.
ling.
Money.
ling.
Florins.
£
Florins.
£
Florins.
£
Coffee, East India
Bags
100,000
2,016,000
168,000
84,470
1,667,437
138,953
121,500
2,704,590
-
West India
225,388
Casks
1,970
397,152
33,100
2,270
436,180
36,250
1,190
299,880
24,990
-
Ditto
Bags
43,700
2,796,800
233,060
50,770
3,096,970
258,080
24,280
1,942,400
Sugar, West India
161,860
Casks
19,000
8,351,600
279,300
21,560
3,380,608
281,717
19,850
3,223,640
Havannah
268,637
-
Chests
22,200
1,758,240
146,520
8,820
579,474
48,290
-
Brazil
17,690
1,082,628
90,219
Do.
1,370
369,900
30,825
1,060
218,625
Mauritius
18,220
1,260
255,150
21,263
-
Bags
2,550
53,760
4,480
11,400
191,520
15,960
27,800
486,500
40,540
-
East India
Chests
810
68,000
5,666
1,800
-
Ditto
122,130
10,177
Canisters
1,980
122,859
10,240
2,530
-
Ditto
126,879
10,573
Bags
7,430
457,875
38,154
1,840
36,846
3,076
6,630
Cotton Wool, American
110,389
9,200
Do.
5,190
656,016
54,670
3,740
Egyptian
466,752
38,896
1,490
178,800
14,900
-
Do.
220
24,310
2,026
40
4,680
390
West India
300
31,980
2,655
-
Do.
2,900
419,050
34,900
4,270
East India
609,756
50,813
2,590
348,837
29,070
-
Do.
1,800
142,200
11,850
490
Tobacco, Maryland
44,120
3,677
660
63,610
5,300
Casks
7,400
Virginia
1,476,300
123,080
5,520
1,033,620
86,137
5,220
963,743
80,312
-
Do.
620
90,613
Kentucky
7,550
5,330
673,712
56,143
6,050
821,469
68,455
-
Do.
2,230
298,150
24,846
580
Hides
72,007
6,000
180
23,550
1,963
28,200
359,550
Pepper
29,960
48,600
577,125
48,094
42,000
493,500
41,125
Bags
680
33,320
2,777
1,150
Rice
35,220
2,935
2,060
118,244
9,854
Casks
12,200
924,638
77,050
7,570
487,129
40,594
5,830
408,508
34,042
-
Bags
12,600
167,895
13,990
8,800
100,200
8,342
2,260
4,576
380
13,380
equal to
10,870
Linseed
3,170
Lasts
140,500
3,211,200
267,000
or 114,135
2,250,090
187,500
or 33,285
656,190
54,683
quarters
quarters
quarters
12,870
Wheat
equal to
10,940)
13,300
Do.
135,135
4,350,060
362,505
or 114,870
3,183,540
265,295
or 139,650
4,402,300
366,858
quarters
quarters
quarters
12,260
Rye
equal to
15,340
18,290
Do.
128,730
2,022,900
168,575
or 161,070
2,515,760
209,646
or 192,045
3,840,900
320,075
quarters
quarters
quarters
1,100
Barley
equal to
2,770
290
Do.
11,550
146,300
12,192
or 29,085
396,110
33,009
or 3,045
42,340
3,528
quarters
quarters
quarters
During the year 1831, there were shipped from France for Holland, according to the official accounts
given by the French Custom-bouse, 5,488,572 litres, or 1,372,188 wine gallons of wine. The total im-
ports of Amsterdam in 1831 are estimated in the Archives du Commerce (tom. i. p. 236.), at 85,169,700
francs (3,400,000L. sterling), and the exports at 72,760,000 francs (2,910,000Γ. sterling). During 1831,
93,324 lbs. (English) of cheese, 380 tons of oil cake, 2,182 tons of oak bark, and 23,100 quarters of
wheat, were exported from Amsterdam for Great Britain. The exports for England of butter, flax
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AMSTERDAM.
37
and tow, cloves and nutmegs (of which articles the Dutch have a monopoly), smaltz, linens, hides,
&c., were very considerable.
Expenses of Ships in Amsterdam.-The expenses of a ship of 300 English tons, or 158 Dutch lasts,
with a mixed cargo on board, inwards and outwards, coming and departing by the canal, were, in
1832, as follows:-
Arriving from
Arriving from the
Great Britain.
Mediterranean.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
Lock dues in the canal, and charges-inwards
-
4 10 0
8 10 0
Ditto
-
-
outwards
-
2 10 0
5 10 0
Measuring the ship
-
-
-
1 10 0
1 10 0
Tonnage dues, inwards and outwards
-
-
-
25 12 0
25 12 0
A charge called Port money
-
-
-
-
1 12 0
2 0 0
Haven money
-
-
-
-
0 13 6
0 13 6
Quay or key money
-
-
-
-
-
1 2 0
1 2 0
Permit to consume provisions free of excise dues
-
0 8 0
0 8 0
Clearance
-
-
-
0 5 0
0 12 6
Expenses of clearing, fees, &c. -
-
-
-
2 18 0
2 18 0
Total
-
£41
0
6
£48 16 0
There is besides, the merchants' and brokers' commission on recovering and procuring freights,
generally settled by agreement.
The tonnage duty is 45 cents (9d.) the Netherlands ton (nearly equal to the British) inwards, and
the same outwards, with the addition of the Syndicate tax of 13 per cent. It is payable only once a
year by shipe bearing the following flage, viz. Netherlands, British, North American, Danish, Hanover-
ian, Hamburgh. Bremen, Lubeck, Mecklenburg, Oldenburg, Russian, Portuguese, Austrian, Syrian,
Salonica, Swedish, Norwegian, Prussian, Turkish, Rio de la Plata. Others pay 57f cents (11fd.) per
ton inwards, and the same outwards every voyage.
The charge called Port money is payable half on entry, and half on departure; and that called ha-
ven money the same. The hire of a horse for towing along the whole line of the canal amounts to
12 flor. 40 cents, or about 11. 1s.
Quarantins.-The quarantine station is at the island of Wierengen, near the Helder.
Commission.-The usual rate of commission or factorage on the purchase or sale of goods is 2 per
cent., and on bill transactions 1 and t per cent. according to their nature.
Provisions of all sorts are abundant at Amsterdam, and reasonably cheap. The wages of ships'
carpenters vary from 1 flor. 20 cents to 1 flor. 80 cents; that is from about 2s. to 3s. a day.
For an account of the prices of corn at Amsterdam, see CORN TRADE AND CORN LAWS.
Custom-house Regulations.-Cuptains of ships are bound to make, within 24 hours of their arrival
at Amsterdam, or any Dutch port, a declaration in writing of the goods of which their cargo consists.
If the captains be not acquainted with the goods of which the cargo consists, they must make their
declaration under the general term of merchandise, and exhibit the bills of lading along with the decla-
ration. The Custom-house officers are instructed to inform the captains of all formalities required
by law.
All goods, whether for home consumption or transit, may be deposited in bonded warehouses. If
re-exported by sea, they pay no duty; but if re-exported by canals or otherwise for the interior, they
are subject to a transit duty. The warehouse rent chargeable per month on a quarter of wheat (Imp.
meas.) is, on an upper loft, 1 2-5thd., on an under do. ltd.; on & ton (Eng.) of sugar in casks, the
charge is 8d.; in chests or mats, 6d.
The business of insurance is extensively practised at Amsterdam; the premiums are moderate,
and the security unexceptionable. The high duty imposed in this country on policies of insurance has
contributed to the increase of this business in Holland.
Credit, Discount, &e.-Holland is, and has always been, a country of short credit. A discount is
usually given for prompt payment, at the rate of 1 per cent. for six weeks, and of two per cent. for
two months; but the terms of credit on most articles, and the discount allowed for ready money, have
been fixed by usage, and are regarded as essential conditions in every bargain. Some of the more
important of these terms and discounts are specified in the following table. In consequence of the
preference given in Holland to ready money transactions, It is not a country in which adventurers
without capital have much chance of speedily making a fortune. Rien, en effet, de plus facile que
de s'établir à Ainsterdam; mais rien de plus dificile que de s'y soutenir sans des grandes ressources.
Dans cette ville, où l'argent abonde, où on le prête contre des sûretés à si bon marché, il est pour-
tant impossible les'en procurer a crédit; et sans argent il n'y a plus de possibilité d'y travailler, que
de trouver quelqu'un qui veuille de se charger d'un papier nouveau qui ne seroit pas appuyé dun
crédit que l'opinion, la protection, ou des effets réels feroient valoir A la bourse. Les Hollandois sui-
vent IA-dessus des maximes très austères, même à l'égard des maisons d'une certaine considération."
-(Encyclopédie Mothodique, Commerce, t. ii. p. 650.) But this austerity is not a disadvantage, but the
reverse. It prevents commerce from degenerating, as it has too often done in other places, into gam-
bling adventures, and places it on a comparatively solid foundation. And it should be mentioned to
the honour of the Dutch, and as a proof of the excellence of this system, that, notwithstanding the
distress and loss of trade occasioned by the invasion and occupation of their country by the French,
the bankruptcies in 1795 and subsequent years were not, comparatively, so numerous as in England
in ordinary seasons! The regulations in the Code Napoleon as to bankruptcy are enforced in
Holland.
It bas long been the practice in Holland to make, on selling articles, considerable deductions from
their weight, particularly from those of large bulk, as compared with their value. These tares and
drafts, as they are termed, are now fixed by ancient usage: and the most important amongst them
are here specified.
Two and Alleroances on the principal Articles sold of
Cocoa, Caracas
42 lbs.
1 per cent.
Ameterdem.
Maranham
ditto
Cayenne
ditto
Tares.
Allowances.
Martinique
ditto
(Draft and Discount.)
Surinam
6 per cont
Coffee, East and West In-
bags
3
dia is general
I
per
cent.,
8 per cont. and 2
18 months die-
cashs real tare
Asbas
per cent.
48 lbs. per cask
count, and 1
Bourbon
10 lbs. per original
per cont.
mat
farills
per cost.
$ per cent. and $
Java
14 lbs. per guany
per cent.
Moeba
D
94 lbs, per bale
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AMSTERDAM.
Cotton, Surat and Bengal
8 per cent.
2 per cent. and 1
Allowances for leakage are made upon all liquids, including trea-
all other kinds
6 per cent.
per cent.
cle and honey, as follows, viz.
Cotton yarn twist
per cent.
Coming from England, the northern ports of Europe, and France,
per cent. 9 per
by inland navigation, 6 per cent.
Indigo, Bengal
real tare
cent. and 1 per
From France by Be3, and from other countries by the rivers Rhine
cent.
and Waal, 12 per cent.
4
per cent. aug.
From any other port or place, 14 per cent.
Cochineal
3à lbs.
ment.
Finally, from whatever place the same may come, upon train oil,
per cent. deduct.
12 per cent. ; blubber, 6 per cent.
Galls
2
6 lbs. or 20 lbs.
per cent. and 2
In case liquids shall have experienced, upon the voyage, such leak-
per cent.
age as shall cause the importer to be dissatisfied with the allowance
Gums, Senegal
6 lbs. 14 lbs. or 21
Barbary
lbs.
2 per cent. and 2
before specified, he is permitted to pay the duty upon the actual
per cent.
quantity, to be ascertained by the officers at the importer's expense.
Arabic
14 lbs. or 30 lbs.
Logwood
2 and 3 per cent.
2
Fustic
per cent.
Money.-Accounts used to be kept at Amsterdam by the pound
2 per cent.
Flemish=6 florins - 20 schillings=120 stivers=240 groats= 1920
Hides, Buenos Ayres, &c.
2 lbs. per hide
2 per cent. and 1
pennings. But in 1820, the decimal system was introduced. In
per cent.
order, however, to cause as little inconvenience as possible, the florin
Linens, Flemish
2 per cent. and 1
=1s. 84d. sterling, was made the unit of the new system. The florin
per cent.
is supposed to be divided into 100 equal parts or cents; and the other
all other kinds
per cent.
silver coins are equal multiples or sub-multiples of it. The new
Oils,
per cent.
gold coin is called the florin piece, and is worth 16s. 6sd. very
Rice, Carolina
real tare
per cent. and 2
nearly, But accounts are still sometimes kept in the old way or by
East India
6 lbs.
per cent.
the pound Flemish. Par of exchange between Amsterdam and Lon-
Saltpetre
8 14 lbs.
1
per cent. and 11
don is 11 flor. 58 cents per pound sterling.
per cent.
1
Liquorice
real tare and 4 lbs.
2 per cent. and
Weights and Measures.-In 1820, the French system of weights
per cent.
and measures was introduced into the Netherlands, the names only
Spices, pepper
25 lbs. or 13 lbs
being changed.
cinnamon
The pond is the unit of weight, and answers to the French kilo-
cloves and mace
1 per cent.
gramme. Its divisions are the ons, lood, wigtje, and korrel.
pimento
42 lbs. and above
The elle, which is the unit or element of long measure, equals the
100
nutmegs
1
per cent.
French mètre. Its decimal divisions are the palm, duim, and streep;
12 per cent.
and its decimal multiples, the roede and mijle.
ginger
8 lbs. à 16 lbs.
2 per cent.
The vierkante elle, or square ell, is the unit of superficial mea-
Sugars, Martinique
sure; and answers to the centiare or mètre carre of France. Its di-
St. Domingo
18 per cent.
visions are the vierkante palm, vierkante duim, and the vierkante
St. Croix
streep and its multiples, the vierkante roede and vierkante bunder.
Surinam
English colonies
20 per cent.
2 per cent. and OR
The kubicke elle is the unit of measures of capacity and equals
the French stère. Its divisions are the kubicke palm, kubicke duim,
Demerara
per cent.
and kubicke streep.
Berbice
Essequibo
18 per cent.
The term wisse is given to a kubicke elle of firewood.
The kop is the unit of measures for dry wares, and is the cube of
Brazil, white
the palm: answering to the French litre. Its division is the maatje,
18 months' dis-
and its multiples the schepel and mudde the latter is also called the
Ditto, Muscovado
count, 2 per
zak, and equals the French hectolitre. 30 mudden make 1 last.
cent. and 2 per
The kan is the unit for liquid measure, and is the cube of the
cent.
Havannah
80 lbs.
2 per cent. and 2
palm it corresponds to the French litre. Its divisions are the maatje
and vingerhoed, and 100 kans make a vat or cask, which equals the
Java
48 lbs.
per cent.
French hectolitre.
Salt
1
per cent.
The apothecary's new pound is 12 ounces, 96 drachms, 288 scru-
Tea, bohea
ples, or 5,760 grains; and answers to 375 grammes, or 5,787 English
congo
souchong
21 lbs. à 24 lbs.
grains.
By the old method of calculating, which is not yet entirely super-
campoi
per cent.
seded, the pound of Amsterdam was = to 1-09 lbs. avoirdupois, or
hyson
18 lbs.
100 lbs. Amsterdam = 108-923 lbs. avoirdupois.
pekoe
tonquin
18 lbs. à 42 lbs.
The last or measure for corn =27 mudden = 10 qurs. 51 bushels
Winchester measure. The aam liquid measure = 4 ankers=8
2 per cent. and 1
Tobacco, Maryland
per cent. da-
steckans = 21 viertels = 64 stoops or stoppen = 128 mingles 256
casks tared
pints = 41 English wine gallons.
Virginia
2 and 8 per cent.
maged, and 1
The stoop contains 5 1-8th pints English ine measure.
per cent.
100 mingles are equal to 32 English wine gallons, or 26 1-5th
Tin plates
2 per cent.
per cent.
21 months' dis-
English beer gallons, or 26 2-3d Imperial gallons.
French wine is sold per hogshead of
Wool, Spanish
bags tared, and 24
180 mingles.
count, and 1
lbs. per 175 lbs.
Spanish and Portuguese wine, per pipe of
349 ditto.
per cent.
French brandy, per hogshead of
30 viertels.
Wines
1 per cent.
Beer, per barrel (equal to the aam) of
128 mingles.
Madder
10 lbs. per cask,
casks tared
Vegetable oils, per aam, of
120 ditto.
and 2 per cent.
Whale oil,
per
ditto
16 ditto.
1
per cent. 2 per
Herrings
Rum is sold per anker of 2 steckan = 10+ English wine gallons.
3 or 5 per cent.
cent. and 2 per
The foot of Amsterdam = 11 1-7th English inches.
cent.
The Rhineland foot
=
12
ditto.
Smaltz
36 lbs.
2 per cent.
The ell, cloth measure = 27 1-12th
ditto.
Flax, hams, seeds, geneva,
1 per cent.
Rock salt is sold per hondert of 404 maaten, making 20 tons, or
grain
4,000 lbs. Dutch.
Butter
none.
2 and 1 per cent.
Pit coal is sold per hoed of 38 maaten : nine hoeds are five chal-
Hides
2 per cent.
drons of Newcastle, or six hoeds are five chaldrons of London.
Cheese, Edam
Gouda
I per cent.
Butter is sold per barrel the barrel of Leyden is 320 lbs. nett.-
that of Friesland 28 lbs. nett-and the common Dutch barrel 336 lbs.
The above are the customary tares and other allowance made by
gross.
the merchants in their transactions with each other. But in paying
A last of herrings 18 reckoned at 12, 13, or 14 barrels.
the import duties at the Custom-house, the tare upon goods paying
A last of pitch is 12 barrels.
duty by weight is, with the exceptions undermentioned, fixed at 15
A last of tar 13 barrels.
per cent. for such as are in casks or barrels, and at 8 per cent. for
A bag of seed = 2 1-2 Winchester quarters.
such as are in packages, canisters, mats, baskets, &e. Merchants
A last for freight is reckoned 4,000 lbs. equal to two English tons.
dissatisfied with these allowances may pay the duty according to the
Eight hogsheads (or oxhofts) of wine
Twelve barrels of pitch
are reckoned
real weight, ascertained by the customs officers at their expense.
Thirteen barrels of tar
as one last
Exceptions.-The tare upon grain imported in sacks is fixed at 2
Twenty chests of lemons, &c.
in settling
per cent.
4,000 lbs. of iron, copper, and colonial produce
the freight
Porcelain, 15 per cent.
4,000 lbs. of almonds
of ships.
Indigo
in chests, 25 per cent.
2,000 lbs. of wool or feathers
in serons, 15 per cent.
A last of wheat is considered 10 per cent. higher than one of rye,
chests from Havannah, 18 per cent., other places 20 per
and the latter 20 1-2 per cent. higher than oats, and 10 per cent. higher
cent.
than seed. A last of ballast is only 2,000 Ibs.-These details have
Sugar
canisters, 10 per cent.
been derived from the answers by the British consul to the circular
casks and packages, 15 and 8 per cent. The tare upon
queries, the Dictionnaire du Commerce, (Ency. Méthod.) tom. ii.
sugar refined in the interior and exported, is 12 per
pp. 554-650., Kelly's Cambist, private information, &e.
cent. per barrel, 8 per cent. per package.
Magnitude of the Commerce of Holland in the seventeenth Century.-Causes of its
Prosperity and Decline.-We believe we need make no apology for embracing this oppor-
tunity to lay before our readers the following details with respect to the commerce and com-
mercial policy of Holland. It forms one of the most instructive topics of investigation;
and it is to be regretted that so little attention should have been paid to it in this country.
Previously to the commencement of the long-continued and glorious struggle made by
the Dutch to emancipate themselves from the blind and brutal despotism of Old Spain, they
had a considerable marine, and had attained to distinction by their fisheries and commerce
and the war, instead of being injurious to the trade of the republic, contributed powerfully
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AMSTERDAM.
39
to its extension. After the capture of Antwerp by the Spaniards, in 1585, the extensive
commerce of which it had been the centre was removed to the ports of Holland, and prin-
cipally to Amsterdam, which then attained to the distinction she long enjoyed, of the first
commercial city of Europe.
In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was formed; and notwithstanding the perni-
cious influence of that association, the Indian trade increased rapidly in magnitude and
importance. Ships fitted either for commercial or warlike purposes, and having a consider-
able number of soldiers on board, were sent out within a few years of the establishment of
the company. Amboyna and the Moluccas were first wrested from the Portuguese, and
with them the Dutch obtained the monopoly of the spice trade. Factories and fortifications
were in no long time established, from Bussorah, near the mouth of the Tigris, in the Per-
sian Gulf, along the coasts and islands of India as far as Japan. Alliances were formed
with several of the Indian princes; and in many parts, particularly on the coasts of Ceylon,
and in various districts of Malabar and Coromandel, they were themselves the sovereigns.
Batavia, in the large and fertile island of Java, the greater part of which had been con-
quered by the Dutch, formed the centre of their Indian commerce; and though unhealthy,
its port was excellent, and it was admirably situated for commanding the trade of the Eastern
Archipelago. In 1651, they planted a colony at the Cape of Good Hope, which had been
strangely neglected by the Portuguese.
Every branch of commerce was vigorously prosecuted by the Dutch. Their trade with
the Baltic was, however, by far the most extensive and lucrative of which they were in
possession. Guicciardini mentions that the trade with Poland, Denmark, Prussia, &c., even
before their revolt, was so very great, that fleets of 300 ships arrived twice a year at Amster-
dam from Dantzic and Livonia only; but it increased prodigiously during the latter part of
the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth centuries. The great population of
Holland, and the limited extent and unfruitful nature of the soil, render the inhabitants
dependent on foreigners for the greater part of their supplies of corn. The countries round
the Baltic have always furnished them with the principal part of those supplies; and it is
from them that they have been in the habit of bringing timber, iron, hemp and flax, pitch
and tar, tallow, ashes, and other bulky articles required in the building of their houses and
ships, and in various manufactures. Nothing, however, redounds so much to the credit of
the Dutch, as the policy they have invariably followed with respect to the trade in corn.
They have, at all times, had a large capital embarked in this business. The variations
which are perpetually occurring in the harvests, early led them to engage very extensively
in a sort of speculative corn trade. When the crops happened to be unusually productive,
and prices low, they bought and stored up large quantities of grain, in the expectation of
profiting by the advance that was sure to take place on the occurrence of an unfavourable
year. Repeated efforts were made, in periods when prices were rising, to prevail on the
government to prohibit exportation; but they steadily refused to interfere. In consequence
of this enlightened policy, Holland has long been the most important European entrepôt for
corn; and her markets have on all occasions been furnished with the most abundant supplies.
Those scarcities which are so very disastrous in countries without commerce, or where the
trade in corn is subjected to fetters and restraints, have not only been totally unknown in
Holland, but become a copious source of wealth to her merchants, who then obtained a
ready and advantageous vent for the supplies accumulated in their warehouses. 'Amster-
dam," says Sir Walter Raleigh, is never without 700,000 quarters of corn, none of it of
the growth of Holland; and a dearth of only one year in any other part of Europe enriches
Holland for seven years. In the course of a year and a half, during a scarcity in England,
there were carried away from the ports of Southampton, Bristol, and Exeter alone, nearly
200,000/.; and if London and the rest of England be included, there must have been
2,000,000/. Observations touching Trade and Commerce with the Hollander,
Miscel. Works, vol. ii.)
The very well informed author of the Richesse de la Hollande, published in 1778,
observes, in allusion to these circumstances, Que la disette de grains regne dans les quatre
parties du monde; vous trouverez du froment, du seigle, et d'autres grains à Amsterdam;
ils n'y manquent jamais."-(Tome i. p. 376.)
The Bank of Amsterdam was founded in 1609. The principal object of this establish-
ment was to obviate the inconvenience and uncertainty arising from the circulation of the
coins imported into Amsterdam from all parts of the world. The merchants who carried
coin or bullion to the bank obtained credit for an equal value in its books: this was called
bank-money; and all considerable payments were effected by writing it off from the account
of one individual to that of another. This establishment continued to flourish till the
invasion of the French in 1795.
Between the years 1651 and 1672, when the territories of the republic were invaded by
the French, the commerce of Holland seems to have reached its greatest height. De Witt
estimates its increase from the treaty with Spain, concluded at Munster in 1643, to 1669, at
fully a half. He adds, that during the war with Holland, Spain lost the greater part of her
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naval power; that since the peace, the Dutch had obtained most of the trade to that country,
which had been previously carried on by the Hanseatic merchants and the English; that
almost all the coasting trade of Spain was carried on by Dutch shipping that Spain had
even been forced to hire Dutch ships to sail to her American possessions; and that so great
was the exportation of goods from Holland to Spain, that all the merchandise brought from
the Spanish West Indies was not sufficient to make returns for them.
At this period, indeed, the Dutch engrossed, not by means of any artificial monopoly, but
by the greater number of their ships, and their superior skill and economy in all that
regarded navigation, almost the whole carrying trade of Europe. The value of the goods
exported from France in Dutch bottoms, towards the middle of the fourteenth century exceeded
40,000,000 livres; and the commerce of England with the Low Countries was, for a very
long period, almost entirely carried on in them.
The business of marine insurance was largely and successfully prosecuted at Amsterdam
and the ordinances published in 1551, 1563, and 1570, contain the most judicious regula-
tions for the settlement of such disputes as might arise in conducting this difficult but highly
useful business. It is singular, however, notwithstanding the sagacity of the Dutch, and
their desire to strengthen industrious habits, that they should have prohibited insurance upon
lives. It was reserved for England to show the advantages that might be derived from this
beautiful application of the science of probabilities.
In 1690, Sir William Petty estimated the shipping of Europe at about 2,000,000 tons,
which he supposed to be distributed as follows :-viz. England, 500,000 France, 100,000
Hamburgh, Denmark, Sweden, and Dantzic, 250,000 Spain, Portugal, and Italy, 250,000
that of the Seven United Provinces amounting, according to him, to 900,000 tons, or to
nearly one half of the whole tonnage of Europe! No great dependence can, of course,
be placed upon these estimates; but the probability is, that, had they been more accurate,
the preponderance in favour of Holland would have been greater than it appears to be for
the official returns to the circulars addressed in 1701 by the commissioners of customs to
the officers at the different ports, show that the whole mercantile navy of England amounted
at that period to only 261,222 tons, carrying 27,196 men.-(Macpherson's Annals of Com-
merce, anno 1701.)
It may, therefore, be fairly concluded, that, during the seventeenth century the foreign
commerce and navigation of Holland was greater than that of all Europe besides; and yet
the country which was the seat of this vast commerce had no native produce to export, nor
even a piece of timber fit for ship-building. All had been the fruit of industry, economy, and
a fortunate combination of circumstances.
Holland owed this vast commerce to a variety of causes: partly to her peculiar situation,
the industry and economy of her inhabitants, the comparatively liberal and enlightened
system of civil as well as of commercial policy adopted by the republic; and partly also to
the wars and disturbances that prevailed in most European countries in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, and prevented them from emulating the successful career of the
Dutch.
The ascendancy of Holland as a commercial state began to decline from about the com-
mencement of last century. After the war terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle,
the attention of the government of Holland was forcibly attracted to the state of the ship-
ping and foreign commerce of the republic. The discovery of means by which their decline
might be arrested, and the trade of the republic, if possible, restored to its ancient flourishing
condition, became a prominent object in the speculations of every one who felt interested in
the public welfare. In order to procure the most correct information on the subject, the
Stadtholder, William IV., addressed the following queries to all the most extensive and
intelligent merchants, desiring them to favour him with their answers :-
1. What is the actual state of trade ? and if the same should be found to be diminished
and fallen to decay, then, 2. To inquire by what methods the same may be supported and
advanced, or, if possible, restored to its former lustre, repute, and dignity ?"
In discussing these questions, the merchants were obliged to enter into an examination,
as well of the causes which had raised the commerce of Holland to the high pitch of pros-
perity to which it had once attained, as of those which had occasioned its subsequent de-
cline. It is stated, that, though not of the same opinion upon all points, they, speaking
generally, concurred as to those that were most important. When their answers had been
obtained, and compared with each other, the Stadtholder had a dissertation prepared from
them, and other authentic sources, on the commerce of the republic, to which proposals
were subjoined for its amendment. Some of the principles advanced in this dissertation
apply to the case of Holland only but most of them are of universal application, and are
not more comprehensive than sound. We doubt, indeed, whether the benefits resulting
from religious toleration, political liberty, the security of property, and the freedom of in-
dustry, have ever been more clearly set forth than in this dissertation. It begins by an
enumeration of the causes which contributed to advance the commerce of the republic to its
former unexampled prosperity these the authors divide into three classes, embracing under
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the first those that were natural and physical; under the second, those they denominated
moral; and under the third, those which they considered adventitious and external; re-
marking on them in succession as follows :-
The natural and physical causes are the advantages of the situation of the country, on the sea,
and at the mouth of considerable rivers; its situation between the northern and southern parts,
which, by being in a manner the centre of all Europe, made the republic become the general market,
where the merchants on both sides used to bring their superfluous commodities, in order to barter
and exchange the same for other goods they wanted.
" Nor have the barrenness of the country, and the necessities of the natives arising from that cause,
less contributed to set them upon exerting all their application, industry, and utmost stretch of genius,
to fetch from foreign countries what they stand in need of in their own, and to support themselves
by trade.
The abundance of fish in the neighbouring seas put them in a condition not only to supply their own
oceasions, but with the overplus to carry on a trade with foreigners, and out of the produce of the
fishery to find an equivalent for what they wanted, through the sterility and narrow boundaries and
extent of their own country.
"II. Among the moral and political causes are to be placed, The unalterable maxim and funda-
mental law relating to the free exercise of different religions: and always to consider this toleration
and connivance as the most effectual means to draw foreigners from adjacent countries to settle and
reside here, and so become instrumental to the peopling of these provinces.
The constant policy of the republic to make this country a perpetual, safe, and secure asylum for
all persecuted and oppressed strangers. No alliance, no treaty, no regard for or solicitation of any
potentate whatever, has at any time been able to weaken or destroy this law, or make the state re-
cede from protecting those who have fled to it for their own security and self-preservation.
Throughout the whole course of all the persecutions and oppressions that have occurred in other
countries, the steady adherence of the republic to this fundamental law has been the cause that
many people have not only fled hither for refuge, with their whole stock in ready cash, and their
most valuable effects, but have also settled, and established many trades, fabries, manufactories,
arts, and sciences, in this country, notwithstanding the first materials for the said fabrics and manu-
factories were almost wholly wanting in it, and not to be procured but at a great expense from foreign
parts.
"The constitution of our form of government, and the liberty thus accruing to the citizen, are
further reasons to which the growth of trade, and its establishment in the republic, may fairly be
ascribed; and all her policy and laws are put upon such an equitable footing, that neither life,
estates, nor dignities, depend on the caprice or arbitrary power of any single individual; nor is
there any room for any person, who, by care, frugality, and diligence, has once acquired an af-
fluent fortune or estate, to fear a deprivation of them by any act of violence, oppression, or in-
justice.
The administration of justice in the country has, in like manner, always been clear and impar-
tial, and without distinction of superior or inferior rank,-whether the parties have been rich or poor,
or were this a foreigner and that a native ; and it were greatly to be wished we could at this day
boast of such impartial quickness and despatch in all our legal processes, considering how great an
influence it has on trade.
To sum up all, amongst the moral and political causes of the former flourishing state of trade,
may be likewise placed the wisdom and prudence of the administration; the intrepid firmness of the
councils; the faithfulness with which treaties and engagements were wont to be fulfilled and ratified;
and particularly the care and caution practised to preserve tranquillity and peace, and to decline, in-
stead of entering on a scene of war, merely to gratify the ambitious views of gaining fruitless or ima-
ginary conquests.
By these moral and political maxims was the glory and reputation of the republic so far spread,
and foreigners animated to place so great a confidence in the steady determinations of a state so
wisely and prudently conducted, that a concourse of them stocked this country with an augmenta-
tion of inhabitants and useful hands, whereby its trade and opulence were from time to time in-
creased.
"III. Amongst the adventitious and external causes of the rise and flourishing state of our trade
may be reckoned-
That at the time when the best and wisest maxims were adopted in the republic as the means of
making trade flourish, they were neglected in almost all other countries; and any one, reading the
history of those times, may easily discover, that the persecutions on account of religion throughout
Spain, Brabant, Flanders, and many other states and kingdoms, have powerfully promoted the esta-
blishment of commerce in the republic.
To this happy result, and the settling of manufacturers in our country, the long continuance of
the civil wars in France, which were afterwards carried on in Germany, England, and divers other
parts, have also very much contributed.
"It must be added, in the last place, that during our most burthensome and heavy wars with Spain
and Portugal (however ruinous that period was for commerce otherwise), these powers had both
neglected their navy; whilst the navy of the republic, by a conduct directly the reverse, was at the
same time formidable, and in a capacity not only to protect the trade of its own subjects, but to an-
noy and crush that of their enemies in all quarters."
We believe our readers will agree with us in thinking that these statements reflect the
greatest credit on the merchants and government of Holland. Nothing, as it appears to us,
could be conceived more judicious than the account they give of the causes which princi-
pally contributed to render Holland a great commercial commonwealth. The central
situation of the country, its command of some of the principal inlets to the continent, and
the necessity under which the inhabitants have been placed, in consequence of the barren-
ness of the soil and its liability to be overflowed, to exert all their industry and enterprise,
are circumstances that seem to be in a great degree peculiar to Holland. But though there
can be no doubt that their influence has been very considerable, no one will pretend to say
that it is to be compared for a moment with the influence of those free institutions, which,
fortunately, are not the exclusive attributes of any particular country, but have flourished in
Phoenicia, Greece, England, and America, as well as in Holland.
The Dissertation was translated into English, and published at London in 1751. We have quoted
from the translation.
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AMSTERDAM.
Many dissertations have been written to account for the decline of the commerce of Hol-
land. But, if we mistake not, its leading causes may be classed under two prominent heads,
viz. first, the natural growth of commerce and navigation in other countries; and second,
the weight of taxation at home. During the period when the republic rose to great eminence
as a commercial state, England, France, and Spain, distracted by civil and religious dissen-
sions, or engrossed wholly by schemes of foreign conquest, were unable to apply their
energies to the cultivation of commerce, or to withstand the competition of so industrious a
people as the Dutch. They, therefore, were under the necessity of allowing the greater part
of their foreign, and even of their coasting trade, to be carried on in Dutch bottoms, and
under the superintendence of Dutch factors. But after the accession of Louis XIV. and
the ascendency of Cromwell had put an end to internal commotions in France and England,
the energies of these two great nations began to be directed to pursuits of which the Dutch
had hitherto enjoyed almost a monopoly. It was not to be supposed, that when tranquillity
and a regular system of government had been established in France and England, their
active and enterprising inhabitants would submit to see one of their most valuable branches
of industry in the hands of foreigners. The Dutch ceased to be the carriers of Europe,
without any fault of their own. Their performance of that function necessarily terminated
as soon as other nations became possessed of a mercantile marine, and were able to do for
themselves what had previously been done for them by their neighbours.
Whatever, therefore, might have been the condition of Holland in other respects, the
natural advance of rival nations must inevitably have stripped her of a large portion of the
commerce she once possessed. But the progress of decline seems to have been considerably
accelerated, or rather, perhaps, the efforts to arrest it were rendered ineffectual, by the ex-
tremely heavy taxation to which she was subjected, occasioned by the unavoidable expenses
incurred in the revolutionary struggle with Spain, and the subsequent wars with France
and England. The necessities of the state led to the imposition of taxes on corn, on flour
when it was ground at the mill, and on bread when it came from the oven ; on butter, and
fish, and fruit; on income and legacies; the sale of houses; and, in short, almost every
article either of necessity or convenience. Sir William Temple mentions that in his time-
and taxes were greatly increased afterwards-one fish sauce was in common use, which
directly paid no fewer than thirty different duties of excise; and it was a common saying at
Amsterdam, that every dish of fish brought to table was paid for once to the fisherman, and
six times to the state.
The pernicious influence of this heavy taxation has been ably set forth by the author of
the Richesse de la Hollande, and other well-informed writers; and it has also been very
forcibly pointed out in the Dissertation already referred to, drawn up from the communica-
tions of the Dutch merchants. " Oppressive taxes," it is there stated, "must be placed at
the head of all the causes that have co-operated to the prejudice and discouragement of trade;
and it may be justly said, that it can only be attributed to them that the trade of this country
has been diverted out of its channel, and transferred to our neighbours, and must daily be
still more and more alienated and shut out from us, unless the progress thereof be stopped
by some quick and effectual remedy nor is it difficult to see, from these contemplations on
the state of our trade, that the same will be effected by no other means than a diminution
of all duties.
" In former times this was reckoned the only trading state in Europe; and foreigners
were content to pay the taxes, as well on the goods they brought hither, as on those they
came here to buy; without examining whether they could evade or save them, by fetching
the goods from the places where they were produced, and carrying others to the places
where they were consumed: in short, they paid us our taxes with pleasure, without any
farther inquiry.
" But, since the last century, the system of trade is altered all over Europe: foreign
nations, seeing the wonderful effect of our trade, and to what an eminence we had risen
only by means thereof, they did likewise apply themselves to it; and, to save our duties,
sent their superfluous products beside our country, to the places where they are most con-
sumed ; and in return for the same, furnished themselves from the first hands with what
they wanted."
But, notwithstanding this authoritative exposition of the pernicious effects resulting from
the excess of taxation, the necessary expenses of the state were so great as to render it im-
possible to make any sufficient reductions. And, with the exception of the transit trade
carried on through the Rhine and the Meuse, which is in a great measure independent of
foreign competition, and the American trade, most of the other branches of the foreign trade
of Holland, though still very considerable, continue in a comparatively depressed state.
In consequence principally of the oppressiveness of taxation, but partly too, of the exces-
sive accumulation of capital that had taken place while the Dutch engrossed the carrying
trade of Europe, profits in Holland were reduced towards the middle of the seventeenth
century, and have ever since continued extremely low. This circumstance would of itself
have sapped the foundations of her commercial greatness. Her capitalists, who could hardly
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expect to clear more than two or three per cent. of nett profit by any sort of undertsking
carried on at home, were tempted to vest their capital in other countries, and to speculate in
loans to foreign governments. There are the best reasons for thinking that the Dutch were,
until very lately, the largest creditors of any nation in Europe. It is impossible, indeed, to
form any accurate estimate of what the sums owing them by foreigners previously to the
late French war, or at present, may amount to; but there can be no doubt that at the former
period the amount was immense, and that it is still very considerable. M. Demeunier
(Dictionnaire de l'Economie Politique, tome iii. p. 720.) states the amount of capital lent
by the Dutch to foreign governments, exclusive of the large sums lent to France during the
American war, at seventy-three millions sterling. According to the author of the Richesse
de la Hollande (ii. p. 292.), the sums lent to France and England only, previously to 1778,
amounted to 1,500,000 livres tournois, or sixty millions sterling. And besides these, vast
sums were lent to private individuals in foreign countries, both regularly as loans at interest,
and in the shape of goods advanced at long credits. So great was the difficulty of finding
an advantageous investment for money in Holland, that Sir William Temple mentions, that
the payment of any part of the national debt was looked upon by the creditors as an evil
of the first magnitude. They receive it," says he, " with tears, not knowing how to dis-
pose of it to interest with such safety and ease."
Among the subordinate causes which contributed to the decline of Dutch commerce, or
which have, at all events, prevented its growth, we may reckon the circumstance of the
commerce with India having been subjected to the trammels of monopoly. De Witt ex-
presses his firm conviction, that the abolition of the East India Company would have added
very greatly to the trade with the East; and no doubt can now remain in the mind of any
one, that such would have been the case.* The interference of the administration in regu-
lating the mode in which some of the most important branches of industry should be car-
ried on, seems also to have been exceedingly injurious. Every proceeding with respect to
the herring fishery, for example, was regulated by the orders of government, carried into
effect under the inspection of officers appointed for that purpose. Some of these regulations
were exceedingly vexatious. The period when the fishery might begin was fixed at five
minutes past twelve o'clock of the night of the 24th of June ! and the master and pilot of
every vessel leaving Holland for the fishery, were obliged to make oath that they would
respect the regulation. The species of salt to be made use of in curing different sorts of
herrings, was also fixed by law; and there were endless regulations with respect to the size
of the barrels, the number and thickness of the staves of which they were to be made the
gutting and packing of the herrings; the branding of the barrels, &c. &c.-(Histoire des
Pêches, &c. dans les Mers du Nord, tom. i. chap. 24.) These regulations were intended to
secure to the Hollanders that superiority which they had early attained in the fishery, and to
prevent the reputation of their herrings from being injured by the bad faith of individuals.
But their real effect was precisely the reverse of this. By tying up the fishers to a system
of routine, they prevented them from making any improvements; while the facility of coun-
terfeiting the public marks opened a much wider door to fraud, than would have been open-
ed had government wisely declined interfering in the matter.
In despite, however, of the East India monopoly, and the regulations now described, the
commercial policy of Holland has been more liberal than that of any other nation. And in
consequence, a country not more extensive than Wales, and naturally not more fertile, con-
quered, indeed, in a great measure from the sea, has accumulated a population of upwards
of two millions; has maintained wars of unexampled duration with the most powerful
monarchies; and, besides laying out immense sums in works of utility and ornament at
home, has been enabled to lend hundreds of millions to foreigners.
During the occupation of Holland by the French, first as a dependent state, and subse-
quently as an integral part of the French empire, her foreign trade was almost entirely
destroyed. Her colonies were successively conquered by England, and in addition to the
loss of her trade, she was burdened with fresh taxes. But such was the vast accumulated
wealth of the Dutch, their prudence, and energy, that the influence of these adverse circum-
stances was far less injurious than could have been imagined; and, notwithstanding all the
losses she had sustained, and the long interruption of her commercial pursuits, Holland
continued, at her emancipation from the yoke of the French in 1814, to be the richest coun-
try in Europe ! Java, the Moluccas, and most of her other colonies were then restored, and
she is now in the enjoyment of a large foreign trade. Her connection with Belgium was
an unfortunate one for both countries. The union was not agreeable to either party, and
has been injurious to Holland. Belgium was an agricultural and manufacturing country ;
and was inclined, in imitation of the French, to lay restrictions on the importations of most
sorts of raw and manufactured produce. A policy of this sort was directly opposed to the
interests and the ancient practice of the Dutch. But though their deputies prevented the
restrictive system from being carried to the extent proposed by the Belgians, they were una-
For proofs of this, see the article on the Commerce of Holland in the Edinburgh Review, No. 102,
from which most part of these statements have been taken.
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ANCHOR.
ble to prevent it from being carried to an extent that materially affected the trade of Holland.
Whatever, therefore, may be the consequences as to Belgium, there can be little doubt that
the late separation between the two divisions of the kingdom of the Netherlands will redound
to the advantage of Holland. It must ever be for the interest of England, America, and all
trading nations, to maintain the independence of a state by whose means their productions
find a ready access to the great continental markets. It is to be hoped that the Dutch, pro-
fiting by past experience, will adopt such a liberal and conciliatory system towards the
natives of Java, as may enable them to avail themselves to the full of the various re-
sources of that noble island. And if they do this, and freely open their ports, with as few
restrictions as possible, to the ships and commodities of all countries, Holland may still be
the centre of a very extensive commerce, and may continue to preserve a respectable place
among mercantile nations. Even at this moment, after all the vicissitudes they have under-
gone, the Dutch are, beyond all question, the most opulent and industrious of European
nations. And their present, no less than their former state, shows that a free system of
government, security, and the absence of restrictions on industry, can overcome almost every
obstacle; 'can convert the standing pool and lake into fat meadows, cover the barren rock
with verdure, and make the desert smile with flowers."
(Principal articles of Merchandise imported into Amsterdam in 1834 and 1835, with the Stocks on hand
on the 31st December each year. (Circular of Labouchere & Co.)
Stocks on
Stocks on
Imports in 1834.
31st December, 1834.
Imports in 1835.
31st December, 1835.
Teas
qr. chests
16,000
10,100
5,290
3,320
Coffee
kilogs.
20,000,000
11,000,000
18,250,000
10,125,000
hhds.
19,027
700)
28,509)
1,200
boxes
23,178
kilogs.
2,000
kilogs.
26,470
kilogs.
4,400
kilogs.
Sugar
mais, &c.
15,448
28,000,000
1,100
canist.
2,750,000
21,723
40,674
7,500
34,000,000
3,480
44,355
17,569
5,750,000
chests.
2,792
700
2,820
323
Tobacco
M. hhds.
10,203
7,176
7,369
4,664
V and K.
58
58
882
852
Cotton
bales, &c.
13,523
1,418
11,718
1,697
Rice, Carolina
casks
9,000
2,000
5,800
300
Java
bags
34,000
24,000
13,000
2,300
Pepper
-
2,953
1,200
3,300
800
Ashes
barrels
4,469
440
2,585
20
Hides
number
105,400
26,000
120,800
46,700
Indigo
cases
750
470
1,493
1,215
serons
60
100
66
116
Dyewoods
kilogs.
2,840,000
2,725,000
12,294,000
4,210,000
Sup.)
[The principal imports from Amsterdam, as also from Rotterdam, into the United States,
are gin, madder, linseed oil, nutmegs, Rhenish and Moselle wines, and sailcloth or duck.
This last article has a decided superiority to the corresponding article of any other country.
We may make the same remark concerning the bolting cloths which are manufactured in
Holland. Our millers give them a preference to all others. The herrings of the Dutch
fisheries have long been accounted superior to those caught elsewhere. They are of small
size, but very fat and the Dutch surpase all other nations in the art of curing them. They
are well known to epicures, but are, nevertheless, imported into the United States only in
small quantities. The cheese of Holland is another article in much repute yet, like the
herring of that country, it is imported by us only to a very limited extent.
It may be here added that, while we export a certain amount of coffee to Holland, we also
import thence a quantity of old Java, commonly called government coffee." The wealthier
portion of the inhabitants of our large cities are its principal consumers.
Our exports to Holland, which very much exceed in value our imports from that country,
are, in the order nearly of their relative importance, tobacco, cotton, whale and other fish
oils, rice, brown sugar, teas, coffee, pot and pearlash, raw hides, &c.-Am. Ed.]
ANCHOR (Fr. Ancre; Lat. Anchora; Gr. Aznuga), a well-known maritime instru-
ment used in the mooring or fastening of ships. It consists of a shank having two hooked
arms at one end, and at the other end a bar, or stock, at right angles to the arms, with a ring
to which the cable is fastened. The arms, shank, and ring should be made of the very best
and toughest iron the stock is for the most part of oak, but it is frequently also, especially
in the smaller anchors, made of iron. On being let go, or cast into the water, the anchor
sinks rapidly to the bottom, and is thrown by the stock into such a position that the fluke,
or point of one of the arms, is sure to strike the ground perpendicularly, and being kept in
that direction, unless the bottom be particularly hard or rocky, sinks into it, and cannot be
dislodged, where the ground is not soft or oozy, without a violent effort. When the anchor
is dislodged, it is said, by the sailors, to come home.
Seeing that the safety and preservation of ships and crews are very frequently dependent
on their anchors and cables, it is needless to say that it is of the utmost importance that these
should be of the most approved quality and construction.
Every ship has, or ought to have, three principal anchors; viz. 1st, the sheet anchor, the
largest of all, and only let down in cases of danger, or when the vessel is riding in a gale of
wind ; 2d, the best bower anchor; and 3d, the small bower anchor. There are, besides,
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ANCHORAGE, ANCHOVY.
45
smaller anchors for mooring in rivers, ports, &c. The largest class of men-of-war have six
or seven anchors. The weight of an anchor is determined principally by the tonnage it
being usual to allow, for every 20 tons of a ship's burthen, 1 cwt. for the weight of her best
bower anchor so that this anchor in a ship of 400 tons should weigh about 20 cwt., or a
ton.
Tb cast, or let FO, the anchor, is to let the anchor fall from the ship's bows into the water, so that It
may take hold of the ground.
To drag the anchor, is to make it come home; that is, to dislodge it from its bed, and to drag it over
or through the ground. This may be occasioned by the anchor being too light, by the violent strain-
ing of the cable in n storm or a current, by the too great hardness or softness of the ground, &c.
To weigh the anchor, is to dislodge it from its hold, and heave it up by means of the capstan, &c.
Law as to Anchors left, parted from, &c.-By the 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 75., pilots and other persons taking
possession of anchors, cables, and other ship materials, parted with, cut from, or left by any vessel,
whether in distress or otherwise, shall give notice of the same to a deputy vice-admiral, or his agent,
within forty-eight hours, on pain of being considered as receivers of stolen goods; and if any person
shall knowingly and wilfully purchase any such anchor, 3c. that shall have been so obtained, with-
out its being 80 reported, he shall be held to be a receiver of stolen goods, and suffer the like punish-
ment as for a misdemeanour at common law, or be liable to be transported for seven years, at the
discretion of the court. Any master of a ship or vessel outward-bound finding or taking on board
any anchor, &c. shall make a true entry of the circumstance in the log-book of such ship or vessel,
reporting the same by the first possible opportunity to the Trinity House, and on his return shall deli-
ver the article to the deputy vice-admiral, or his agent, nearest to the port where he shall arrive,
under a penalty of not more than 100/. nor less than 301., on conviction before a magistrate on the
oath of one witness; one half to go to the informer, the other half to the Merchant Seaman's Society,
established by 20 Geo. 3. c. 38.: he shall also forfeit double the value of the article to the owner.
And every pilot, hoveller, boatman, &c. who shall convey any anchor, &c. to any foreign harbour,
port, creek, or bay, and sell and dispose of the same, shall be guilty of felony, and be transported for
any term not exceeding seven years.-(See SALVAGE.)
Invention of the Anchor.-This instrument, admirable alike for its simplicity and effect,
is of very considerable antiquity. It was not, however, known in the earliest ages. The
President de Goguet has shown that it was not used by the Greeks till after the Trojan war
and that they were then accustomed to moor their ships by means of large stones cast into
the sea, a practice which still subsists in some rude nations.-( Origin of Laws, vol. ii. p. 330.
Eng. trans.) Pliny ascribes the invention of the anchor to the Tyrrhenians-(Hist. Nat.
lib. vii. cap. 56.) At first it had only one arm, the other being added at a subsequent
period; some authors say, by Anacharsis the Scythian-(Origin of Laws, vol. i. p. 293.)
Since this remote epoch, the form and construction of the instrument seem to have under-
gone very little change.
ANCHORAGE, OR ANCHORING GROUND. Good anchoring ground should nei-
ther be too hard nor too soft; for, in the first case the anchor is apt not to take a sufficient
hold, and in the other to drag. The best bottom is a stiff clay, and next to it a firm sand.
In a rocky bottom the flukes of the anchor are sometimes torn away, and hempen cables are
liable to chafe and be cut through. It is also essential to a good anchorage that the water
be neither too deep nor too shallow. When too deep, the pull of the cable, being nearly per-
pendicular, is apt to jerk the anchor out of the ground; and when too shallow, the ship is
exposed to the danger, when riding in a storm, of striking the bottom. Where a ship is in
water that is land-locked, and out of the tide, the nature of the ground is of comparatively
little importance.
The anchorage of ships, especially ships of war, being a subject of great importance to the naval
and commercial interests of the kingdom, several statutes have been enacted with respect to it. The
first which it is necessary to notice here is 19 Geo. 2. c. 22. It prohibits masters of ships from casting
out ballast, or rubbish of any kind, into any harbour or channel, except on the land where the tide
never comes, on pain of forfeiting not more than 51. nor less than 50s. on conviction before a justice
on view, or on the oath of one witness, or of being committed to prison for two months; which
penalty is increased to 101., over and above the expense of removing the same, by 54 Geo. 3. c. 159.
In pursuance of the same object, 54 Geo. 3. C. 159. enables the Lords of the Admiralty to establish
regulations for the preservation of the king's moorage or anchorage, as well as for those of merchant
ships, in all the ports, harbours, channels, &c. &c. of the United Kingdom, as far as the tide flows,
where or near to which his Majesty has, or may hereafter have, any docks, dock-yards, arsenals.
wharfs or moorings. It probibits all descriptions of private ships from being moored, or anchored, or
placed in any of his Majesty's moorings, &c. without special licence obtained from the Admiralty, or
other persons appointed to grant such licenses, on pain of forfeiting not exceeding 10Γ., one molety to
his Majesty, the other to the informer, on conviction before any justice of the peace or commissioner
of the Navy.
It further prohibits the breaming of private vessels in such places, otherwise than appointed by the
said authority of the Admiralty and the receiving or having gunpowder, beyond a certain limited
quantity, under a penalty of 51. for every five pounds' weight of such powder beyond the quantity
allowed. It prohibits, likewise, all such private vessels, in any such places, having any guns on
board shotted or loaded with ball, as well as firing and discharging any such before sun-rising and
after sun-setting, under a penalty of 51. for every gun so shotted, and 101. for every gun so fired. It
further gives to every officer of vessels of war, to harbour-masters, and others in their aid, a right
of search in all private vessels so moored in such places, and inflicts a penalty of 10l. on resistance.
ANCHORAGE also means a duty laid on ships for the use of the port or harbour.
ANCHOVY (Fr. Anchois; It. Acciughe; Lat. Encrasicolus), a small fish (Clupea
enerasicolus Lin.), common in the Mediterranean, resembling the sprat. Those brought
from Gorgona in the Tuscan Sea are esteemed the best. They should be chosen small,
fresh pickled, white outside and red within. Their backs should be round. The sardine, a
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ANGELICA-ANTWERP.
fish which is flatter and larger than the anchovy, is frequently substituted for it. About
120,000 lbs. are annually entered for home consumption.
ANGELICA, a large umbelliferous plant with hollow jointed stalks, of which there are
several varieties. It grows wild, and is cultivated in moist places near London, and in most
European countries from Lapland to Spain. Its roots are thick, fleshy, and resinous have
a fragrant agreeable smell, and a bitterish pungent taste, mixed with a pleasant sweetness
glowing on the lips and palate for a long time after they have been chewed. To preserve
them, they must be thoroughly dried, and kept in a well-aired place. The other parts of
the plant have the same taste and flavour as the roots, but in an inferior degree. The leaves
and seeds do not retain their virtue when kept. The London confectioners make a sweet-
meat of the tender stems. The faculty used to direct that none but the roots of Spanish
angelica should be kept by the druggists, In Norway the roots are sometimes used as bread,
and in Iceland the stalks are eaten with butter. Here the plant is used only in confec-
tionary and the materia medica.-(Lewis's Mat. Med. ; Rees's Cyclopædia, &c.)
The duty of 4s. per cwt. on Angelica produced, in 1832, 2751. 2s. 10d., showing that 1,375 cwt. had
been entered for home consumption.
ANISE, OR ANISUM (Fr. Anis; It. Anice; Lat. Anisum), a small seed of an oblong
shape. It is cultivated in Germany, but the best comes from Spain. It is also a product of
China, whence it is exported. It should be chosen fresh, large, plump, newly dried, of a
good smell, and a sweetish aromatic taste.
ANKER, a liquid measure at Amsterdam. It contains about 10} gallons English wine
measure.
ANNOTTO, OR ARNOTTO (Fr. Rocou ; Ger. Orlean; It. Orianu), a species of red
dye formed of the pulp enveloping the seeds of the Bixa orellana, a plant common in South
America, and the East and West Indies; but dye is made, at least to any extent, only in the
first. It is prepared by macerating the pods in boiling water, extracting the seeds, and leav-
ing the pulp to subside; the fluid being subsequently drawn off, the residuum, with which
oil is sometimes mixed up, is placed in shallow vessels and gradually dried in the shade. It
is of two sorts, viz. flag or cake, and roll annotto. The first, which is by far the most im-
portant article in a commercial point of view, is furnished almost wholly by Cayenne, and
comes to us principally by way of the United States. It is imported in square cakes, weigh-
ing 2 or 3 lbs. each, wrapped in banana leaves. When well made, it ought to be of a
bright yellow colour, soft to the touch, and of a good consistence. It imparts a deep but not
durable orange colour to silk and cotton, and is used for that purpose by the dyers. Roll
annotto is principally brought from Brazil. The rolls are small, not exceeding 2 or 3 OZ. in
weight; it is hard, dry, and compact, brownish on the outside, and of a beautiful red colour
within. The latter is the best of all ingredients for the colouring of cheese and butter; and
is now exclusively used for that purpose in all the British and in some of the continental
dairies. In Gloucestershire it is the practice to allow an ounce of annotto to a cwt. of cheese
in Cheshire, 8 dwts. are reckoned sufficient for a cheese of 60 lbs. When genuine, it neither
affects the taste nor the smell of cheese or butter. The Spanish Americans mix annotto with
their chocolate, to which it gives a beautiful tint-(Gray's Supplement to the Pharmaco-
poeias; Loudon's Encyc. of Agriculture, and private information.)
At an average of the three years ending with 1831, the annotto entered for home consumption
amounted to 128,528 lbs. a year. Previously to 1832, the duty on flag annotto was 18s. 8d. a cwt., and
on other sorts 51. 12s. ; but the duty is now reduced to Is. a cwt. on the former, and to 4s. on the lat-
ter. This judicious and liberal reduction will, we have no doubt, be followed, by a considerable in-
crease of consumption. The price of flag annotto varies in the market from 6d. to 1s. per lb., and of
roll from 1s. to 1s. 6d.
ANNUITIES. See INTEREST AND ANNUITIES.
ANTIMONY (Ger. and Du. Spiesglas; Fr. Antimoine; It. Antimonio; Rus. Anti-
monia, Lat. Antimonium), a metal which, when pure, is of a greyish white colour, and
has a good deal of brilliancy, showing a radiated fracture when broken it is converted by
exposure to heat and air into a white oxide, which sublimes in vapours. It is found in
Saxony and the Hartz, also in Cornwall, Spain, France, Mexico, Siberia, the Eastern Islands,
and Martaban in Pegu. We are at present wholly supplied with this metal from Singapore,
which receives it from Borneo it is imported in the shape of ore, and commonly as ballast.
It is about as hard as gold; its specific gravity is about 6.7; it is easily reduced to a very
fine powder; its tenacity is such that a rod of Tnth of an inch diameter is capable of sup-
porting 10 lbs. weight. Antimony is used in medicine, and in the composition of metal
types for printing. The ores of antimony are soft, and vary in colour from light lead to dark
lead grey their specific gravity varies from 4.4 to 68; they possess a metallic lustre, are
brittle, and occur in the crystallised massive forms.-(Thomson's Chemistry, and private
information.)
ANTWERP, the principal sea-port of Belgium, long. 4° 22' E., lat. 51° 14' N. A large,
well built, and strongly fortified city, situated on the Scheldt. It has about 65,000 inhabi-
tants. Previously to its capture by the Spaniards, under Farness, in 1585, Antwerp was one
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ANTWERP.
47
of the greatest commercial cities of Europe; but it suffered much by that event. In 1648,
at the treaty of Westphalia, it was stipulated by Spain and Holland, that the navigation of
the Scheldt should be shut up; a stipulation which was observed till the occupation of
Belgium by the French, when it was abolished. In 1803, the improvement of the harbour
was begun, and extensive new docks and warehouses have since been constructed. Ships
of the largest burden come up to the town, and goods destined for the interior are forwarded
with the greatest facility by means of canals. Almost all the foreign trade of Belgium is at
present centred in Antwerp, which has again become a place of great commercial importance.
By a decree issued in 1814, all goods are allowed to be warehoused in Antwerp en entrepôt,
and may be exported on paying a charge of 1 per cent. ad valorem. The exports chiefly
consist of corn, seeds, linen, lace, carpets, flax, tallow, hops, &c. The imports principally
consist of cotton, wine, hardware, sugar, tobacco, coffee, and all sorts of colonial produce.
Money.-Accounts are now commonly kept in florins of 1816, worth 1s. 81d. sterling. The florin is
divided into 20 sous, and the sou into 5 cents. Formerly accounts were kept in the pound Flemish = 21
rix dollars = 6 florins = 20 schillings= 120 stivers = 240 groats = 1,920 pennings.-(See TABLE OF
COINS.) The par of exchange between Antwerp and London is 11 florins 58 cents per pound sterling.
Weights and Measures.-By a law of 1816, the French system of weights and measures was adopted
in the Netherlands on the 1st of January, 1820; but the old denominations are retained. The pond
is the unit of weight, and answers to the French kilogramme.-(See AMSTERDAM.)
Of the old weights, which are still occasionally referred to, the quintal of 100lbs. is equal to 103} lbs.
avoirdupois, 100 lbs. avoirdupois being consequently equal to 96.8 lbs. of Antwerp. A schippound is
equal to 3 quintals, or 300 lbs. a stone is equal to 8 lbs.
Of the old measures, a viertel of corn =4 macken; 371 viertels = last and 40 viertels = 101 Impe-
rial quarters very nearly. The aam of wine contains 50 stoopen, or 36 English wine gallons.
Of the weights and measures now current, 50% lbs. = 112 lbs. English; 100 lbs. = 100 kilogrammes
of France, or 2121 Antwerp old weight. One barrel 261 gallons English= 100 litres French.
Custom-house Regulations.-Captains of ships arriving at Antwerp, or any of the Belgian ports,
must make, within 24 hours, a declaration in writing, of the goods of which their cargo consists
specifying the marks and numbers of the bales, parcels, &c.; their value, according to the current
price at the time when the declaration is made; the name of the ship or vessel, as well as that of the
captain, and of the country to which she belongs, &c.
Shipping.-The ships entering the port of Antwerp, during the five years ending with 1828, have
been as follows
Years.
Ships.
Years.
Ships.
1824
681
1827
822
1825
800
1828
-
955
1826
928
Of the 800 ships entering Antwerp in 1825, 114 were from Liverpool, 119 from London, 44 from
Hull, 48 from Havre, 41 from Bordeaux, 24 from Petersburgh, 24 from New York, 25 from Cuba, 26
from Rio Janeiro, 11 from Batavia, &c.-(Bulletin des Sciences Geographiques, for January, 1829, and
February 1826.)
The commerce of Antwerp suffered much, in 1831 and 1832, from the hostilities between the Bel-
gians and Dutch. In 1831, there were only 388 arrivals of foreign ships.
Comparative statement of the Imports of the undermentioned Goods, at Antwerp, since 1827, and
of the Stocks at the Close of each year.
Imports.
Stocks, 31st December.
Articles.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Ashes, U.S.
barrels
7,158
9,647
11,642
6,951
7,452
8,506
600
800
2,950
214
650
1,800
-
Russia
casks
4,420
1,501
3,987
1,639
728
3,558
1,000
200
1,200
250
550
750
Coffee
tons
23,100
22,900
23,050
21,110
10,300
14,700
8,250
8,650
8,430
4,000
2,700
1,900
Cotton
bales
23,108
18,324
33,985
21,845
13,720
28,687
4,420
5,563
6,155
4,700
1,050
900
Hides, S.
No.
211,349
148,584
462,577
340,507
228,896
362,878
4,000
1,350
43,600
22,500
38,500
92,000
Indigo
chests
1,367
2,103
1,846
1,063
433
649
287
606
717
286
175
210
-
serons
599
380
725
206
120
252
247
268
360
101
55
65
Pimento
bags
1,819
1,870
1,340
2,220
576
562
500
500
200
100
200
200
Pepper, small
do.
22,149
6,340
11,522
12,999
6,406
4,960
12,500
6,000
8,400
3,000
4,000
1,000
Race
tierces
14,505
13,961
18,712
23,221
6,029
14,458
2,300
1,200
5,000
4,500
700
300
-
bags
16,897
38,889
98,827
41,530
16,483
10,153
9,400
30,000
13,500
2,500
3,500
1,600
Sugar
tons
18,000
17,800
24,730
10,511
9,800
12,200
3,370
2,600
8,050
1,250
1,400
1,450
Tex
packages
1,564
91
186
1,253
814
3,778
2,255
1,878
1,335
391
155
1,600
Tobacco
hhds.
1,101
2,328
1,552
2,253
8,361
12,825
375
717
225
40
1,119
3,200
Logwood
tons
706
2,260
855
952
1,250
1,200
700
900
350
130
500
380
Fustie
do.
573
822
1,639
2,033
255
315
220,
300
490
570
340
25
In the Imports of 1831 and 1832, are included those received through Ostend which were destined
for this port. The stocks of these goods now at Ostend, or on their way thence, are also included.
The following goods were imported at Antwerp in 1832 from all places
Coffee.
Sugar.
Hides.
Cotton
Places.
Casks.
Barrels.
Bags.
Casks.
C. Braz.
Bx.Hav.
Can.
Barrels'
Baga.
Ox & Cow.
Bales.
Great Britain
211
15
101,285
623
992
8,103
2,451
443
16,316
66,164
12,789
S. America and W. Indian
8
71,424
1,375
495
30,088
147
314
208,756
1,623
United States
90
162
60,102
841
1,732
908
13,602
66,079
13,754
Continent of Europe
11,680
291
960
1,078
20,962
581
East Indies
19,200
Jenuy and Guarancy
86
7,616
Totals
301
179
246,769
2,839
1,490
40,299
2,451
1,058
31,850
368,878
28,687
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APPLES, APPRENTICE.
Pepper.
Pimento
Ashes.
Rice.
Indigo.
Tobac.
Tea.
Dyewoods.
Places.
Baga.
Bags.
U. Stat.
Russia.
Tierces.
Bags.
Chests.
Serms.
Hbds.
Pack.
C.Tons.
F. Tons.
Great Britain
960
218
779
1,592
1,936
9,958
596
71
1,103
8. America and W.Indies
150
United States
6,000
850
7,792
10,731
45
61
173
10,839
1,456
Continent of Europe
25
2,046
1,791
21
S
883
2,289
1,200
315
East Indies
41
Jersey and Guerneey
Totals
6,960
562
8,596
3,568
14,458
10,153
649
252
12,825
3,738
1,200
315
Conditions under which Goods are sold-On goods generally 2 per cent. is allowed for payment in 20
days, and If per cent. on credit of 6 weeks or 2 months. On cottons, at 20 days' credit, 3 per cent.
are allowed, and If per cent. on a credit of 2 or 3 months. On ashes, hides, and sugar, 3 per cent. for
20 days, and It per cent. for 3 months' credit.
Tares.-West India, Brazil, and Java coffee, in single bags, 2 per cent., and Havannah in joncs, t
1b. per bag extra. Bourbon, in whole bags, 41 lbs., and in t do. 21 lbs. Pimento, pepper, and ginger
in bags, 2 per cent. ; on these articles, as also coffee, in casks and barrels, real tare. Cassia lignea,
and cinnamon in bales, 10 per cent.; and in chests, 6 to 61 lbs. per chest. Ashes, 12 per cent. Quer-
citron bark, 10 per cent. Cotton in bales, 4 per cent., exclusive of ropes; and in serons, 6 lbs. per
seron. Horse bair, real tare. Indigo, in chests or barrels, real tare ; and in serons, of to 7 lbs. per
seron. Rice, in casks, 12 per cent.; and in bags, 2 per cent. Muscovado sugars, in casks and barrels,
and Havennah clayed, in boxes, 14 per cent.; Brazil, in chests, 16 per cent.; Java in canisters and
baskets, 9 per cent.; Siam and Manilla, in bags, 3 per cent.; Bengal, in triple bags, 5lbs. each: Bour-
bon, in mats, 6 per cent. Bohea tea, exclusive of wrappers, 46 lbs. per chest, 24 lbs. per t ditto, and
13 lbs. per 1 ditto, 14} lbs. per t ditto; fine black and green tea, 12 to 13 lbs. per t chest, 9 lbs. per
1-6th ditto, 7 lbs. per t ditto, 5 lbs per 1-12th ditto, 3 lbs. per 1-16th ditto, and 2 per cent. in boxes.
Tobacco, real tare: no draft or other deduction allowed.-(From the Circular of Jollie, Clibborn,
and Co.)
[Our imports from Belgium, although they have been steadily on the increase, are not of
much moment. Their annual value, taking the average of five years, amounts to no more
than about 330,000 dollars; which is only a fourth part of the value of the exports from the
United States to that country. Few of the products of Belgium can compete in our markets
with the similar products of England, France, or Germany.
The principal article imported by us from Antwerp is firearms, and these chiefly, if not
exclusively, fowling pieces and pistols, manufactured at Liege. Zinc, for roofing, is another
article which may deserve to be mentioned. Although dearer than that imported from Ham-
burg, and which is brought to that place from Silesia, it is preferred to the latter, on account
of its superior pliability. To these articles may be added linseed oil, window glass, and cloths
and kersimeres, the finest descriptions of which are manufactured at Vervins. Brussels and
Mechlin laces come to us also from Antwerp, but only to an inconsiderable amount.
We export to Belgium cotton, pot and pearl ash, coffee, tobacco, whale and other fish oil,
raw hides, &c.-Am. Ed.]
APPLES, the fruit of the Pyrus Malus, or apple tree. It is very extensively cultivated
in most temperate climates. An immense variety and quantity of excellent apples are raised
in England, partly for the table, and partly for manufacturing into cider. Those employed
for the latter purpose are comparatively harsh and austere. The principal cider counties are
Hereford, Monmouth, Gloucester, Worcester, Somerset, and Devon. Mr. Marshall calculates
the produce of the first four at 30,000 hhds. a year, of which Worcester is supposed to sup-
ply 10,000. Half a hogshead of cider may be expected, in ordinarily favourable seasons,
from each tree in an orchard in full bearing. The number of trees on an acre varies from
10 to 40, so that the quantity of cider must vary in the same proportion, that is, from 5 to 20
hhds. The produce is, however, very fluctuating and a good crop seldom occurs above once
in three years.-(Loudon's Encyc. of Agriculture, &c.)
Besides the immense consumption of native apples, we import, for the table, considerable supplies
of French and American apples, especially the former; the entries of foreign apples for home con-
sumption having amounted, at an average of the three years ending with 1831, to 36,012 bushels a
year. Were it not for the oppressive duty of 4s. a bushel, there can be little doubt that the imports
would be decidedly larger. The apples produced in the vicinity of New York are universally admitted
to be the finest of any; but unless selected and packed with care, they are very apt to spoil before
reaching England. The exports of apples from the United States during the year ended the 30th of
September, 1832, amounted to 6,928 barrels, valued at 15,314 dollars. or these, 1,370 barrels were
shipped for England.- (Papers published by the Board of Trade, p. 106.; Papers laid before Congress,
15th of February, 1833.)
(Duty on apples reduced from 4a. to 2s. a bushel.-(4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89. s 15.)-Sup.)
[The apples in most esteem are the various sorts of pippins; and the best of these are pro-
duced in New York and New Jersey. From an average of four years, ending in 1837, the
annual export of apples from the United States may be stated to amount to 19,462 barrels,
valued at 35,866 dollars. Of this quantity, 8,237 barrels were shipped for England 6,782
wore sent to British North American Colonies; and 4,280 to the island of Cuba-Am.
Ed.]
APPRENTICE, a young person of either sex, bound by indenture to serve some parti-
cular individual or company of individuals, for a specified time, in order to be instructed in
some art, science, or trade.
According to the common law of England, every one has a right to employ himself at
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aqua FORTIS-ARANGOES.
49
pleasure in every lawful trade. But this sound principle was almost entirely subverted by a
statute passed in the fifth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, commonly called the Statute
of Apprenticeship. It enacted that no person should, for the future, exercise any trade,
craft, or mystery, at that time exercised in England and Wales, unless he had previously
served to it an apprenticeship of seven years at least; so that what had before been a bye-law
of a few corporations, became the general and statute law of the kingdom. Luckily, how-
ever, the courts of law were always singularly disinclined to give effect to the provisions of this
statute; and the rules which they established for its interpretation served materially to mi-
tigate its injurious operation. But though its impolicy had been long apparent, it was con-
tinued till 1814, when it was repealed by the 54 Geo. 3. c. 96. This act did not interfere
with any of the existing rights, privileges, or bye-laws of the different corporations; but wher-
ever these do not interpose, the formation of apprenticeships, and their duration, is left to
be adjusted by the parties themselves.
The regulations with respect to the taking of apprentices on board ships, the only part of
this subject that properly comes within the scope of this work, are embodied in the 4 Geo.
4. c. 25. They are as follows:-
From the 1st of January, 1824, every master of a merchant ship exceeding the burden of 80 tons
shall have on board his ship, at the time of such ship clearing out from any port of the United King-
dom, one apprentice or apprentices, in the following proportion to the number of tons of her admea-
surement, according to the certificate of registry ; viz:
For every vessel exceeding 80 tons, and under 200 tons, 1 apprentice at least,
200
400
-
2
400
500 3
500
700 4
700 and upwards
-
-
5
who shall, at the period of being indentured, respectively be under the age of 17 years provided that
every apprentice so to be employed on board any vessel, as above described, shall be duly indented
for at least four years; and the indentures of every such apprentice shall be enrolled with the collector
and comptroller at the Custom-house of the port whence such vessel shall first clear out after the
execution of such indentures.-> 2.
Every apprentice so enrolled is hereby exempted from serving in his Majesty's navy until he shall
have attained the age of years; provided he is regularly serving his time either with his first mas-
ter or ship-owner, or some other master or ship-owner to whom his indentures shall have been regu-
Barly transferred; and every owner or master neglecting to enrol such indentures, or who shall suffer
any such apprentice to leave his service, except in case of death or desertion, sickness, or other una-
voidable cause, to be certified in the log book, after the vessel shall have cleared outwards on the
voyage upon which such vessel may be bound, shall for every such offence forfeit 10l., to be paid in
manner following; that is to say, one moiety by the owners of such versel, and the other molety by
the master thereof, to be levied, recovered, and applied, in manner hereinafter mentioned.-
Every person to whom such apprentice shall have been bound may employ him, at any time, in any
vessel of which such person may be the master or owner and may also, with the consent of such
appprentice, if above 17, and if under that age, with the consent of his parents or guardians, transfer
the indentures of such apprentice, by endorsement thereon, to any other person who may be the mas-
ter or owner of any registered vessel.- 5.
No stamp duty shall be charged on any such transfer by endorsement.- 6.
And by 6 Geo. 4. c. 107. . 138. it is enacted, that no person shall be deemed to be an apprentice for
the purposes of the preceding act (4 Geo. 4. c. 25.), unless the indenture of such apprentice shall have
been enrolled with the collector and comptroller of the port from which any such apprentice shall
first go to sea after the date of such indenture or in default of such enrolment, until the same shall
have been enrolled at some port from which the ship in which such apprentice shall afterwards go to
sea shall be cleared.
By stat. 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 56. 1 7. it is enacted that no higher duty than 2s. shall be charged upon the
indenture of any apprentice bound to serve at sea in the merchant service.
[It may be stated, as a general rule, that apprentices in the United States may be bound to
serve some master or mistress, if a male, till the age of twenty-one years, and if a female, till
the age of eighteen. Every person, however, has the right, in accerdance with the principles
of natural equity, as well as of the common law of England, to employ himself at pleasure
in every lawful occupation, even though he should not have served an apprenticeship to it.
This is, at least, the case in all but a very few occupations, such as that of an auctioneer, and
the professions of law and medicine, the door of the admission into which is guarded, either
by requiring a previous apprenticeship, or by restrictions and regulations of a different descrip-
tion, and is thus guarded on the ground of securing to the public, in the most effectual man-
ner, the due performance of the services to be rendered.-Am. Ed.]
AQUA FORTIS. See ACID (Nitric).
AQUAMARINE. See BERYL.
AQUA VIT E. (Ger. Aquavit; Fr. Eau vie, It. Acqua vite; Sp. Agua de vida; Rus.
Wodka; Lat. Aqua vita), a name familiarly applied to all native distilled spirits; equiva-
lent to the cau de vie, or brandy, of the French, the whiskey of the Scotch and Irish, the
geneva of the Dutch, &c. In this way it is used in the excise law relating to the distilleries.
ARANGOES, a species of beads made of rough cornelian. They are of various forms,
as barrel, bell, round, &c., and all drilled. The barrel-shaped kind, cut from the best stones,
are from two to three inches long, and should be chosen as clear as possible, whether red or
white, having a good polish, and free from flaws. The bell-shaped are from one to two inches
long, being in all respects inferior. Considerable quantities were formerly imported from
E
7
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ARCHANGEL, ARGOL.
Bombay, for re-exportation to Africa; but since the abolition of the slave trade, the imports
and exports of arangoes have been comparatively trifing.-(Milburn's Orient. Com.)
ARCHANGEL, the principal commercial city of the north of Russia, in lat. 64° 34' N.,
long. 38° 59' E. It is situated on the right bank of the Dwina, about 30 English miles
above where it falls into the White Sea. Population, 7,000 or 8,000. The harbour is at
the island of Sollenbole, about a mile from the town. The bar at the mouth of the Dwina
has generally 14} feet water so that ships drawing more than this depth must be partially
loaded outside the bar from lighters. The Dwina being a navigable river, traversing a great
extent of country, renders Archangel a considerable entrepôt. It was discovered in 1554,
by the famous Richard Chancellor, the companion of Sir Hugh Willoughby in his voyage
of discovery and from that period, down to the foundation of Petersburgh, was the only port
in the Russian empire accessible to foreigners. Though it has lost its ancient importance, it
still enjoys a pretty extensive commerce. The principal articles of export are grain, tallow,
flax, hemp, timber, linseed, iron, potash, mats, tar, &c. Deals from Archangel, and Onega
in the vicinity of Archangel, are considered superior to those from the Baltic. Hemp not so
good as at Riga, but proportionally cheaper. Tallow is also inferior. Iron same as at
Petersburgh, sometimes cheaper and sometimes dearer. The quality of the wheat exported
from Archangel is about equal to that from Petersburgh. The imports are not very exten-
sive. They consist principally of sugar, coffee, spices, salt, woollens, hardware, &c. The
merchants of Archangel are said by Mr. Coxe to be distinguished for honesty and intelligence.
(Travels in the North of Europe, vol. iii. p. 150.)
Account of the Quantities of the principal Articles exported from Archangel during each of the six
Years ending with 1832.
Articles.
1827.
1828.
1629.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Flax - - poods
49,855
54,877
131,160
162,383
266,485
120,719
Grain, Barley chets.
3,670
550
11,765
1,897
8,657
323
Oats - do.
308,810
47,137
352,792
84,639
226,109
27,779
Rye do.
44,108
39,106
96,460
157,645
174,102
189,486
Wheat do.
2,017
11,777
113,738
83,400
104,037
37,728
Hemp - - poods
46,979
45,693
57,317
63,057
53,855
51,142
Iron - - - do.
64,319
65,013
117,261
116,372
89,675
47,369
Linseed- - chets.
78,612
131,804
136,968
149,158
95,039
103,494
Mats - - pieces
1,363,334
530,353
651,438
674,481
424,119
841,450
Pitch - barrels
13,460
9,973
8,407
17,917
8,237
13,434
Potashes - poods
10,166
3,967
3,209
10,065
12,823
9,205
Tallow - - do.
100,634
186,126
156,778
135,157
119,264
100,263
Tallow candles
2,815
3,422
3,773
4,756
3,491
2,937
Tar - barrels
91,226
70,985
37,764
92,548
52,467
58,014
Train oil - poods
21,217
17,004
16,534
19,169
4,129
8,989
Wood, Deals pieces
$92,245
246,526
260,771
415,989
238,660
234,313
Battens do.
84,745
73,133
75,335
121,426
63,175
43,354
Deal ends do.
74,644
56,620
64,160
101,285
53,363
44,535
The total value of the exports in 1831 was estimated at 14,750,756 rubles, while that of the imports
was estimated at only 1,155,872 rubles. During the same year there arrived at Archangel 443 ships ;
of which 349 were British, 12 Dutch, 14 Prussian, 12 Mecklenburg, &c.
Account of the Number of Ships that sailed from Archangel during each of the Six Years ending
with 1832.
Years
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Ships
-
-
386
290
450
505
445
364
The trade of Archangel is very much influenced by the demand from the more southerly parts of
Europe, and especially from England, for corn. When a brisk demand is anticipated, oats are
brought in large quantities from the interior, sometimes even from the distance of 1,500 miles, in
covered barks capable of holding several hundred quarters. But as there are few extensive mercan-
tile establishments here, the supplies are scanty, except when a large demand has been expected for
some time previously to the season for bringing them down.-(Oddy's European Commerce, and pri-
vate information.)
Monies, Weights, and Measures, same as at Petersburg; which see.
ARGOL, ARGAL, OR TARTAR, (Ger. Weinstein; Du. Wynsteen; Fr. Tartre ; It.
Sp. and Port. Tartaro; Rus. Winnui kamen; Lat. Tartarus), a hard crust formed on
the sides of the vessels in which wine has been kept; it is red or white according to the colour
of the wine, and is otherwise impure. On being purified, it is termed cream or crystals of
tartar. It consists principally of bitartrate of potash. White argol is preferable to red, as
containing less drossy or earthy matter. The marks of good argol of either kind are, its
being thick, brittle, hard, brilliant, and little earthy. That brought from Bologna is reckoned
the best, and fetches the highest price. Argol is of considerable use among dyers, as serving
to dispose the stuffs to take their colours the better. Pure argol, or cream of tartar, is ex-
tensively used in medicine. It has an acid and rather unpleasant taste. It is very brittle,
and easily reduced to powder: specific gravity 195.
The duty on argol, which was judiciously reduced in 1832, from 2s. a cwt. to 6d. produced in that
year 6784. 3s. 7d. of nett revenue. This, supposing the whole to have been charged with the low duty,
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ARISTOLOCHIA-ARSENIC.
51
would show an importation of 27,127 cwt. The price of argol in the London market, in August, 1833,
varied, Bologna from 52s. to 58s. per cwt., Leghorn 48a. to 50s. per ditto, Naples 42a. to 48s., Rhenish
48a. to 50e.
ARISTOLOCHIA (Fr. Serpentaire; Ger. Schlangenuurzel; It. Serpentaria ; Lat.
Aristolochia serpentaria), the dried root of Virginia snake-root, or birthwort; it is small,
light, and bushy, consisting of a number of fibres matted together, sprung from one com-
mon head, of a brownish colour on the outside, and pale or yellow within. It has an aro-
matic smell something like that of valerian, but more agreeable; and a warm, bitterish,
pungent taste, very much resembling camphor.—(Ency. Metrop.)
ARMS. See FIRE-ARMS.
ARQUIFOUX (Ger. Bleyglanz; Fr. Arquifou ; It. Archifoglio; Lat. Galena), a sort
of lead ore, very heavy, easily reduced to powder, and hard to melt; when it is broken, it
parts into shining scales of a whitish colour. The potters use it to give their works a green
varnish; and in England it is commonly called potters' are. Arquifoux is exported from
England in large lumps; it should be chosen heavy, the scales bright and resembling tin-
glass.
ARRACK, OR RACK (Fr. Arac; Ger. Arrack, Rack; Du. Arak, Rak; It. Araco;
Sp. Arak; Port. Araca; Rus. Arak), a spirituous liquor manufactured at different places
in the East.
Arrack is a term applied in most parts of India, and the Indian islands, to designate every
sort of spirituous liquor; a circumstance which accounts for the discrepancy in the state-
ments as to the materials used in making it, and the mode of its manufacture. The arrack
of Goa and Batavia is in high estimation; that of Columbo or Ceylon has been said to be
inferior to the former; but this is doubtful. Goa and Columbo arrack is invariably made
from the vegetable juice, toddy, which flows by incision from the coco nut tree (Cocos nuci-
fera). After the juice is fermented, it is distilled and rectified. It usually yields about an
eighth part of pure spirit. Batavia or Java arrack is obtained by distillation from molasses
and rice, with only a small admixture of toddy. When well prepared, arrack is clear and
transparent; generally, however, it is slightly straw-coloured. Its flavour is peculiar; but it
differs considerably, no doubt in consequence of the various articles of which it is prepared,
and the unequal care taken in its manufacture. In England, arrack is seldom used except
to give flavour to punch formerly the imports were quite inconsiderable; but they have
recently increased so as to amount, at an average of the years 1829 and 1830, to above
30,000 gallons a year. In the East its consumption is immense. It is issued to the soldiers
in India as part of the established rations; and it is supplied, instead of rum, to the seamen
of the royal navy employed in the Indian seas. It is one of the principal products of Ceylon.
Its prime cost in that island varies from 8d. to 10d. a gallon; and from 600,000 to 700,000
gallons are annually exported, principally to the presidencies of Bengal, Madras, and Bom-
bay. It is sold in Ceylon by the legger of 150, and in Java by the legger of 160 gallons.
In 1829, the first quality of Java arrack sold in Batavia at 160 florins the legger, or 1s. 82d.
per gallon. The second quality fetched 125 florins.
Parish-arrack is a phrase used to designate a spirit distilled in the peninsula of India, which is said
to be often rendered unwholesome by an admixture of ganga (Cannabis sativa), and a species of Da-
ture, in the view of increasing its intoxicating power. But it is not clear whether the term parish-
arrack be meant to imply that it is an inferior spirit, or an adulterated compound. This liquor is
sometimes distilled from coco nut toddy, and sometimes from a mixture of jaggery, water, and the
barks of various trees.-(Seé Milburn's Orient. Com.; and Mr. Marshall's valuable Essay on the Coco
Nut Tree, p. 18.)
ARROW-ROOT, the pith or starch of the root Maranta arundinacea. It has received
its common name from its being supposed to be an antidote to the poisoned arrows of the
Indians. The powder is prepared from roots of a year old. It is reckoned a very wholesome
nutritious food; it is often additerated, when in the shops, with the starch or flour of pota-
toes. It is a native of South America; but has been long introduced into the West Indies,
where it forms a pretty important article of cultivation. An excellent kind of arrow-root, if
it may so be called, is now prepared in India from the root of the Curcuma angustifolia.
The plant is abundant on the Malabar coast, where the powder is made in such quantities
as to be a considerable object of trade. Some of it has been brought to England. The
Maranta arundinacea has been carried from the West Indies to Ceylon, where it thrives
extremely well, and where arrow-root of the finest quality has been manufactured from it.
(Ainslie's Mat. Indica.)
At an average of the three years ending with 1831, the arrow-root entered for home consumption
amounted to 441,556 lbs. a year. Previously to last year (1832), the duty on arrow-root from a British
possession was 9a. 4d. a cwt. ; but as it is now reduced to 1s. a cwt., a considerable increase of con-
sumption may be expected. It was quoted in the London market, in August, 1833, at from 9d. to 1s.
10d. per lb.
ARSENIC (Ger. Arsenik; Fr. Arsenic; It. and Sp. Arsenico; Rus. Müschjah , Lat.
Arsenicum). This metal has a bluish white colour not unlike that of steel, and a good deal
of brilliancy. It has no sensible smell while cold, but when heated it emits a strong odour
of garlic, which is very characteristic. It is the softest of all the metallic bodies, and so brittle
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52
ASAFETIDA-ASSIGNEE.
that it may easily be reduced to a very fine powder by trituration in a mortar. Its specific
gravity is 5.76.-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
Metallic arsenic is not used in the arts, and is not, therefore, extracted from the ore, except for the
purposes of experiment or curiosity. The arsenic of commerce is the white oxide, or arsenious acid,
of chemists. It is a white, brittle, compact substance, of a glassy appearance is inodorous has an
acrid taste, leaving on the tongue a sweetish impression; and is highly corrosive. In its metallic
state, arsenic exerts no action on the animal system; but when oxidised, it is a most virulent poison.
The arsenic of the shops is sometimes adulterated with white sand, chalk, or gypsum the fraud may
be detected by heating a small portion of the suspected powder ; when the arsenic is dissipated, leav-
ing the impurities, if there be any, behind. Though the most violent of all the mineral poisons, the
white oxide of arsenic, or the arsenic of the shops, is yet, when judiciously administered, a medicine
of great efficacy. It is also used for various purposes in the arts. It is principally imported from
Saxony and Bohemia.-(Thomson's Chemistry A. T. Themson's Dispensatory.)
ASAFCETIDA (Ger. Teufelsdrech; Du. Duivelsdreck; Fr. Assa-fetida; Sp. Asa-
fetida; Lat. Asa-fætida; Per. Ungoozeh), a gum resin, consisting of the inspissated juice
of a large umbelliferous plant, the Ferula asafætida. It is produced in the southern pro-
vinces of Persia, and in the territory of Sinde, or country lying at the mouth of the Indus.
It is exported from the Persian gulf to Bombay and Calcutta, whence it is sent to Europe. It has a
nauseous, somewhat bitter, biting taste, and an excessively strong, foetid, alliaceous smell the newer
it is, it possesses its smell and other peculiar properties in the greater perfection. It is imported,
packed in irregular masses, in mats, casks and cases; the last being, in general, the best. It should
be chosen clean, fresh, strong-scented, of a pale reddish colour, variegated with a number of fine,
white tears: when broken, it should somewhat resemble marble in appearance; and, after being ex-
posed to the air, should turn of a violet red colour. That which is soft, black and foul, should be re-
jected. The packages should be carefully examined, and ought to be tight, to prevent the smell from
injuring any other article. In 1825, the Imports of asafostida amounted to 106,770 lbs., but they have
not been so large since ; and in 1830, only 8,722 lbs. were imported. We have not learned the quan-
tity cleared for consumption, but it must be trifling. In this country, it is used only in the materia
medica. In France, it is used both in that way, and to some extent, also, as a condiment. It is worth
in bond, in the London market, from 21. to 81. per cwt.-(Milburn's Orient. Com.; Parl. Papers; and
private information.)
ASARUM (Fr. Asaret; Ger. Hazehwurzel; Sp. Asaro de Europa), the root or dried
leaves of the asarabacca. The leaves are nearly inodorous; their taste slightly aromatic,
bitter, acrid, and nauseous. The powder of the leaves is the basis of most cephalic snuffs.
A good deal of their acrimony is lost in keeping they should, consequently, be used in as
recent a state as possible, and dried without the application of much heat. Asarabacca grows
in several parts of England, particularly Lancashire and Westmoreland.
ASH (COMMON), the Fraxinus excelsior of botanists, a forest tree of which there are
many varieties. It is abundant in England, and is of the greatest utility.
The ash is of very rapid growth; and, unlike most other trees, its value is rather increased than
diminished by this circumstance. Like the chesnut, the wood of young trees is most esteemed. It
grows on a great variety of soils, but is best where the growth has been most vigorous. It is infe-
rior to the oak in stiffness, and is more easily split; but in toughness and elasticity it is far superior
to the oak, or to any other species of timber. Hence its universal employment in all those parts of
machinery which have to sustain sudden shocks, such as the circumference, teeth, and spokes of
wheels, ship-blocks, &c. and in the manufacture of agricultural implements; in the latter, indeed, it
is almost exclusively made use of. The want of prolonged durability is its greatest defect; and it is
too flexible to be employed in building. The wood of old trees is of a dark brown colour, sometimes
beautifully figured the wood of young trees is brownish white, with a shade of green. The texture
is alternately compact and porous ; where the growth has been vigorous, the compact part of the
several layers bears a greater proportion to the spongy, and the timber is comparatively tough, elas-
tic, and durable. It has neither taste nor smell ; and, when young, is difficult to work. The moun-
tain ash (Pyrus aucuparia) is quite a different tree from the common ash, and its timber is far less
(Tredgold's Principles of Curpentry Timber Trees and Fruits, in Lib. of Entertaining
Knowledge, &c.)
ASHES (Fr. Vedasse; Ger. Waidasche; Du. Weedas; Da. Veedaske; It. Feccia bru-
ciata; Sp. Alumbre de hez; Rus. Weidasch; Lat. Cineres infectorii), the residuum or
earthy part, of any substance after it has been burned. In commerce, the term is applied to
the ashes of vegetable substances; from which are extracted the alkaline salts called potash
pearlash, barilla, kelp, &c.; which see.
ASPHALTUM. See BITUMEN.
ASS (Fr. Ane; Ger. Esel, It. Asino; Lat. Asinus), the well-known quadruped of that
name.
ASSETS, in commerce, a term used to designate the stock in trade, and the entire prop-
erty of all sorts, belonging to a merchant or to a trading association. It is also applied to
goods or property placed, for the discharge of some particular trust or obligation, in the
hands of executors, assignees, &c.
ASSIENTO, a Spanish word signifying a contract. In commerce, it means the contract
or agreement by which the Spanish government ceded first to a company of French, and
afterwards (by the treaty of Utrecht) to a company of English merchants, the right to im-
port slaves into the Spanish colonies.-(Brougham's Colonial Policy, vol. i. p. 439.)
ASSIGNEE, a person appointed by competent authority to do, act, or transact some busi-
ness, or exercise some particular privilege or power, for or on account of some specified
individual or individuals.
Assignees may be created by deed, or by law by deed, where the lessee of a farm assigns
the same to another; by law, where the law makes an assignee without any appointment of
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ASSIZE-AUCTIONEER.
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the person entitled, as an executor is assignee in law to the testator, and an administrator to
an intestate. The term is most commonly applied to the creditors of a bankrupt appointed
to manage for the rest, and who consequently have the bankrupt's estate assigned over to
them.-(See BANKRUPT.)
ASSIZE. See BREAD.
ASSURANCE. See INSURANCE.
AUCTION, a public sale of goods to the highest bidder. Auctions are generally notified
by advertisement, and are held in some open place. The biddings may be made either by
parties present, or by the auctioneer under authority given to him; the sale is usually termi-
nated by the fall of a hammer.
AUCTIONEER, a person who conducts sales by auction. It is his duty to state the
conditions of sale, to declare the respective biddings, and to terminate the sale by knocking
down the thing sold to the highest bidder. An auctioneer is held to be lawfully authorised
by the purchaser to sign a contract for him, whether it be for lands or goods. And his
writing down the name of the highest bidder in his book is sufficient to bind any other per-
son for whom the highest bidder purchased, even though such person be present, provided
he do not object before entry.
Every auctioneer must take out a licence, renewable annually on the 5th of July, for which he is
charged 51.; and if he sell goods for the sale of which an excise licence is specially required, he
must also take out such licence, unless the goods be the property of a licensed person, and sold for
his behalf and on his entered premises, in which case such additional licence is not required.-(6) Geo.
4. c. 81.)
Auctioneers within the limits of the chief excise office in London are bound, when they receive
their licence, to give security to the excise by bond, themselves in 1,000L. and two sureties in 2001.
each, to deliver in within twenty-eight days of any sale a true and particular account of such sale,
and to pay the duties on the same. Auctioneers refusing or delaying to pay the duties within the
specified time, forfeit their bond and the bonds of their sureties, and double the amount of the duties.
-(19 Geo. 3. c. 56.)
Auctioneers carrying on their trade without the limits of the head office give bond, themselves in
5001. and two sureties in 501. each, to render an account of the duties accruing on sales, and to pay
them within six weeks, under the penalties already mentioned.-(19 Geo. 3. c. 56, and 38 Geo.
3. c. 54.)
A licensed auctioneer going from town to town by a public stage coach, and sending goods by a pub-
lic conveyance, and selling them on commission by retail or auction, is a trading person within the
50 Geo. 3. e. 41. $ 6., and must take out a hawker's and pedlar's licence.
The following duties are payable on goods sold by auction
For every 20s. of the purchase money arising or payable by virtue of any sale at auction for the
benefit of the growers or first purchasers respectively of any sheep's wool, the growth or produce of
any part of the United Kingdom, 2d.
For every 20s. of the purchase money arising or payable by virtue of any sale at auction of any in-
terest in possession or reversion in any freehold, customary, copyhold, or leasehold lands, tenements,
houses, or hereditaments, and any share or shares in the capital or joint stock of any corporation or
chartered company, and of any annuities or sums of money charged thereon, and of any ships and
vessels, and of any reversionary interest in the public funds, and of any plate or jewels, and 80 in
proportion for any greater or less sum, 7d.
For every 20s. of the purchase money arising or payable by virtue of any sale at auction of furni-
ture, fixtures, pictures, books, horses, and carriages, and all other goods and chattels whatsoever, and
SO in proportion for any greater or less sum, 1s.
The duties to be paid by the auctioneer, agent, factor, or seller by commission.
By stat. 29 Geo. 3. c. 63. 1 1 1, 2., no duty shall be paid for piece goods sold by auction, wove or fa-
bricated in this kingdom, which shall be sold entire in the piece or quantity as taken from the loom,
and in lots of the price of 201. or upwards, and so as the same be sold in no other than entered places,
and openly shown and exposed at such sale.
And the auctioneer shall, besides the bond given on receiving his licence, give a further bond in
5,000Z. with two sureties, that he will, within fourteen days after every such sale, deliver an account
thereof at the next excise office, and will not sell by auction any goods woven out of this kingdom,
or woven in this kingdom, which shall not be sold in the entire piece, without payment of the proper
duty. 1 6.
By stat. 41 Geo. 3. C. 91. 1 8., all corn and grain of every sort, flour, and meal, and all beef, pork,
hams, bacon, cheese, and butter, imported into Great Britain, shall be free of the duty on the first
sale thereof by auction on account of the importer, so as the same be entered at some custom-
house at the port of importation, and the sale thereof be within twelve months and by a licensed
auctioneer.
By stat. 30 Geo. 3. c. 26., all goods imported by way of merchandise from Yucatan, and by 32 Geo
3. c. 41., all whale-oil (and by 41 Geo. 3. c. 42., all elephant-oil, produced from sea-cows or sea-ele-
phants, and commonly called elephant's oil,") whalebone, ambergris, and head-matter, and all
skins of seals and other animals living in the sea, and also elephant's teeth, palm-oil, dyeing-wood,
drugs, and other articles for dyers' use, and all mahogany and other manufactured wood for the use
of cabinet-makers and other manufacturers, imported in British ships from Africa and (by 42 Geo. 3.
c. 93. 1 3.) America, or any British settlement abroad, shall be free of the excise duty on the first sale
thereof at auction by or for the account of the original importer to whom the same were consigned,
and by whom they were entered at the Custom-house, so as such sale be made within twelve months
after such goods are imported, and the same be sold by a licenced auctioneer.
By stat. 19 Geo. 3. C. 56. 1 13., no duties shall be laid (1.) on any sale by auction of estates or chat-
tels made by order of the Court of Chancery or Exchequer, or courts of great sessions in Wales: (2.)
on any sale made by the East India or Hudson's Bay companies (3.) by order of the commissioners
of customs or excise: (4.) by order of the Board of ordnance: (5.) by order of the commissioners of
the navy or victualling offices (6.) on any such sales made by the sheriff, for the benefit of creditors,
in execution of judgment: (7.) on sales of goods distrained for rent: (8.) on sales for non-payment
of tithes: (9.) on sales of effects of bankrupts sold by assignees: (10.) on goods imported by way of
merchandise from any British colony in America, the same being of the growth, produce, or manu-
facture of such colony, on the first sale thereof on account of the original importer to whom they
were consigned, and by whom they were entered at the Custom-house, so as such sale be made
within twelve months after importation (see 59 Geo. 3. c. 54. e 3.): (11.) on any ships or their cargoes
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condemned as prize, and sold for the benefit of the captor (12.) on any ships or goods wrecked of
stranded, sold for the benefit of the insurers or proprietors: (13.) on the sale of any goods damaged
by fire, and sold for the benefit of the insurers (14.) on any auction to be held on the account of the
lord or lady of the manor for granting any copyhold or customary messuages, lands, or tenements for
the term of a life or lives, or any number of years (15.) on any auction to be held for the letting or
demising any messuages, lands, or tenements for the term of a life or lives, or any number of years
to be created by the person on whose account such auction shall be held (16.) on the sale of any
wood, coppice, produce of mines or quarries, or materials for working the same; or on the sale of
any cattle, and live or dead stock, or unmanufactured produce of land, so as such sale of woods,
coppices, produce of mines or quarries, cattle, corn, stock or produce of land, may be made whilst
they continue on the lands producing the same, and by the owner of such lands, or proprietor of or
adventurer in such mines or quarries, or by their steward or agent.
By stat. 52 Geo. 3. c. 53. 1 1., all coffee imported in any British ship from any British colony in Ame-
rica may be sold by auction, free of the auction duty, whilst the same shall remain in warehouses un-
der the act 43 Geo. 3. c. 132. or any other act.
Certain articles from the United States, as regulated by the act 59 Geo. 3. c. 54. 3., and goods from
Portugal imported under stat. 51 Geo. 3. c. 47., may also be sold by auction free of duty, if on account
of the original importer, and within twelve months of their importation.
By stat. 19 Geo. 3. c. 56. 1 9., the auctioneer, if the sale be within the limits of the chief office of
excise in London, shall give two days' notice at the said office, elsewhere three days' notice to the
collector or at the next excise office, in writing, signed by him, specifying the particular day when
such sale shall begin; and shall at the same time, or within twenty-four hours after, deliver a writ-
ten or printed catalogue, attested and signed by such auctioneer or his known clerk, in which cata-
logue shall be particularly enumerated every article, lot, parcel, and thing intended to be sold at such
auction. And if he shall presume to make such sale without delivering such notice and catalogue,
or sell any estate or goods not enumerated therein, he shall forfeit 201.
By stat. 32 Geo. 3. c. 11., every auctioneer who shall have delivered such notice or catalogue shall,
within 28 days (if within the limits of the chief office of excise, elsewbere within six weeks) after the
day specified in such notice for such sale, deliver at such chief office, or to the collector of excise in
whose collection such sale has been or was intended to be, a declaration in writing, setting forth
whether or not any such sale had been or was opened or begun under such notice, or any article, lot,
parcel, or thing contained in such catalogue was bid for or sold at such auction; and such auctioneer,
or person acting as his clerk as aforesaid, shall make oath to the truth of such declaration before the
said commissioners or collector, on pain of forfeiting 50% for every neglect or refusal of delivering
such declaration, verified as aforesaid.
The real owner of any estate, goods, or effects put up to sale by way of auction, and bought in
either by himself or by his steward or known agent employed in the management of the sale, or by
any other person appointed in writing by the owner to bid for him, shall be allowed the duties, pro-
vided notice in writing be given to the auctioneer before such bidding, both by the owner and person
Intended to be the bidder, of such person being appointed by the owner; and provided such notice be
verified by the oath of the auctioneer, as also the fairness of the transaction to the best of his know-
ledge and belief.- Geo. 3. c. 56.; 28 Gee. 3. c. 37.) An auctioneer employed in a case of this sort,
and neglecting to take the proper steps to prevent the duties from attaching, may be obliged to pay
them himself. (19 Geo. 3. c. 56.)
If the sale of an estate be void through defect of title, the commissioners of excise, or jus-
tices of the peace in the county, may, on oath being made, grant relief for the duties paid.
Claim must be made within twelve months after the sale, if rendered void within that time
or if not rendered void within that time, within three months after the discovery.
The auctioneer is by law liable to pay the auction duties, but he may recover the same
from the vendor. The conditions of sale usually oblige the buyer to pay the whole, or a
part of the duties; and upon his refusing or neglecting to pay them, the bidding is void.
An auctioneer who declines to disclose the name of his principal at the time of sale,
makes himeelf responsible. But if he disclose the name of his principal, he ceases to be
responsible, either for the soundness of or title to the thing sold, unless he have expressly
warranted it on his own responsibility.
If an auctioneer pay over the produce of a sale to his employer, after receiving notice that
the goods were not the property of such employer, the real owner of the goods may recover
the amount from the auctioneer.
It has long been a common practice at certain auctions (called for that reason mock auc-
tions) to employ puffers, or mock bidders, to raise the value of the articles sold by their
apparent competition, and many questions have grown out of it. It was long ago decided,
that if the owner of an estate put up to sale by auction employ puffers to bid for him, it is a
fraud on the real bidder, and the highest bidder cannot be compelled to complete his contract.
-(6. T. Rep. p. 642.) But it would seem as if the mere employment of puffers under
any circumstances were now held to be illegal. The inclination of the courts at the present
time is, that a sale by auction should be conducted in the most open and public manner
possible; that there should be no reserve on the part of the seller, and no collusion on the
part of the buyers. Puffing is illegal, according to a late case, even though there be only
one puffer; and it was then decided that the recognised practice at auctions of employing
such persons to bid upon the sale of horses could not be on Com-
mercial Law, p. 26%.)
A party bidding at an auction may retract his offer at any time before the hammer is
down. Another clearly established principle is, that verbal declarations by an auctioneer
are not to be suffered to control the printed conditions of sale; and these, when pasted up
under the box of the auctioneer, are held to be sufficiently notified to purchasers.
Auctioneers, like all other agents, should carefully observe their instructions. Should
those who employ them sustain any damage through their carelessness or inattention, they
will be responsible. They must also answer for the consequences, if they sell the property
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intrusted to their care for less than the price set upon it by the owners, or in a way contrary
to order.
An auctioneer who has duly paid the licence duty is not hable, in the city of London, to
the penalties for acting as a broker without being admitted agreeably to the 6 Anne, c. 16.
The establishment of mock auctions is said to be a common practice among swindlers in
London. Persons are frequently placed at the doors of such auctions, denominated barkers,
to invite strangers to come in ; and puffers are in wait to bid up the article much beyond its
value. A stranger making an offer at such an auction is almost sure to have the article
knocked down to him. Plated goods are often disposed of at these auctions; but it is almost
needless to add, that they are of very inferior quality. Attempts have sometimes been made
to suppress mock auctions, but hitherto without much success.
We subjoin
An account of the Number of Auction Licenses granted from the 5th of January, 1819, with the
Amount of Duty received on Sales by Auction; distinguishing each Year, and specifying those
who have taken out such Licenses for Town, Country, and Town and Country, down to 1831.-
(Parl. Paper, No. 138. Sess. 1831.)
Number of Licenses taken out.
Years ended
Number of
Amount of Duty received on Sales
9th of January.
Auction Licenses.
by Auction.
For Town and
For Town
For Country.
Country.
£
8.
d.
1890
2,557
256,534 16 9
327
2,124
106
1821
2,770
225,630 5 9
338
2,323
109
1822
2,939
202,317 18
2j
369
2,523
107
1823
2,897
206,322 8 1
343
2,433
121
1894
2,939
223,835 4 9
334
2,493
112
1825
2,941
279,264
1
91
338
2,496
107
1826
2,910
308,591 12 74
857
2,437
116
1837
2,981
225,061 9 11
607
2,325
49
1828
3,119
250,239 10 3
-
2,577
542
1829
2,972
235,447 18 10f
-
2,422
550
1830
3,043
225,258 11 41
-
2,519
524
1831
2,467
203,090 17 0
-
2,478
489
Account of the Produce of the Auction Duties, in each of the Three Years, ending the 5th of Janu-
ary 1833, listinguishing the Amount paid under separate Heads.
Amount of Auction Duties on the Sale of
Household Furni-
Estates,Houses,
ture, Horses,
Foreign
Annuities,
Carriages, and all
Sheep's Wool.
Produce (First
Total Produce.
Ships,Plate,
other Goods
Sale thereof.)
Jewels, &c.
and Chattels,
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£
9.
d.
England
-
-
-
-
72,348 19 6
128,184 13 1
11 14 9
2,865 13 4
203,411 0 8
Scotland
-
-
-
-
7,150 6 7
12,387 11 3
0 19 9
85 10 11
19,624 8 6
Ireland
-
-
-
-
1,952 13 5
9,004 18
8
0 6 9
10,957 18 10
Year ended 5th of January, 1831.
81,451 19 6
149,577 3 0
13 1 3
2,951 4 3
233,993 8 0
England
-
-
-
-
76,164 3 0
122,088 8 11
25 10 11
2,857 3 8
201,135 6 6
Scotland
-
-
-
-
4,863 9 7
12,014 11
3
0 16 9
69 7 2
16,948 4 9
Ireland
-
-
-
-
1,616 8 5
8,847 2 7
0 7 3
1 7 5
10,465 5 8
Year ended 5th of January, 1832.
82,644 1 0
142,950 2 9
26 14 11
2,927 18 3
228,548 16 11
England
-
-
-
-
79,218 9 8
126,126 15 2
15 10 6
2,694 13" 8
208,055 9 0
Scotland
-
-
-
-
5,436 13
8
12,294 3 7
1 2 2
136 0 2
17,867 19 7
Ireland
-
-
-
-
2,213 5 5
8,180 5 4
0 13 2
10,394 3 11
Year ended 5th of January, 1833.
86,868 8 9
146,601 4 1
16 12 8
2,831 7 0
236,317 12 6
Excise Office, London, 5th of August, 1833.
[Sales at public auction, in the United States, are restricted in various ways. In some of
the states, a limited number only of auctioneers is appointed by the government; while in
others, every person who undertakes to act as an auctioneer is obliged to pay a certain sum
into the public treasury for a license to entitle him to do so.-Am. Ed.]
AVERAGE, a term used in commerce and navigation to signify a contribution made by
the individuals, when they happen to be more than one, to whom a ship, or the goods on
board it, belong, or by whom it or they are insured; in order that no particular individual
or individuals amongst them, who may have been forced to make a sacrifice for the preserv-
ation of the ship or cargo, or both, should lose more than others. "Thus," says Mr. Ser-
jeant Marshall, " where the goods of a particular merchant are thrown overboard in a storm
to save the ship from sinking or where the masts, cables, anchors, or other furniture of the
ship, are cut away or destroyed for the preservation of the whole; or money or goods are
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AVERAGE.
given as a composition to pirates to save the rest; or an expense is incurred in reclaiming
the ship, or defending a suit in a foreign court of admiralty, and obtaining her discharge
from an unjust capture or detention; in these and the like cases, where any sacrifice is de-
liberately and voluntarily made, or any expense fairly and bonà fide incurred, to prevent a
total loss, such secrifice or expense is the proper subject of a general contribution, and ouglit
to be rateably borne by the owners of the ship, freight, and cargo, 80 that the loss may fall
equally on all, according to the equitable maxim of the civil law-no one ought to be en-
riched by another's loss Nemo debet locupletari aliena jacturâ."
Upon this fair principle is founded the doctrine of average contributions regulations with
respect to which having been embodied in the Rhodian law, were thence adopted into the
Roman law; and form a prominent part of all modern systems of maritime jurisprudence.
The rule of the Rhodian law is, that if, for the sake of lightening a ship in danger at sea,
goods be thrown overboard, the loss incurred for the sake of all, shall be made good by a
general contribution."-(Dig. lib. 14. tit. 2. s 1.; Schomberg on the Maritime Laws of
Rhodes, p. 60.)
Formerly it was a common practice to ransom British ships when captured by an enemy,
the ransom being made good by general average. But this practice having been deemed
disadvantageous, it was abolished by statute 22 Geo. 3. c. 25., which declares, That all
contracts and agreements which shall be entered into, and all bills, notes, and other securi-
ties, which shall be given by any person or persons, for ransom of any ship or vessel, mer-
chandise, or goods, captured by the subjects of any state at war with his Majesty, or by any
person committing hostilities against his Majesty's subjects, shall be absolutely void in law,
and of no effect whatever and a penalty of 5001. is given to the informer, for every offence
against this act.
Average is either general or particular, that is, it either affects all who have any interest
in the ship and cargo, or only some of them. The contributions levied in the cases men-
tioned above, come under the first class. But when losses occur from ordinary wear and
tear, or from the perils naturally incident to a voyage, without being voluntarily encoun-
tered, such as the accidental springing of masts, the loss of anchors, &c., or when any pecu-
liar sacrifice is made for the sake of the ship only, or of the cargo only, these losses, or this
sacrifice, must be borne by the parties not immediately interested, and are consequently de-
frayed by a particular average.
There are also some small charges called petty or accustomed averages it is usual to
charge one third of them to the ship and two thirds to the cargo.
No general average ever takes place, except it can be shown that the danger was immi-
nent, and that the sacrifice made was indispensable, or supposed to be indispensable, by the
captain and officers, for the safety of the ship and cargo. The captain, on coming on
shore, should immediately make his protests and he, with some of the crew, should make
oath that the goods were thrown overboard, masts or anchors cut away, money paid, or other
loss sustained, for the preservation of the ship and goods, and of the lives of those on board,
and for no other purpose. The average, if not settled before, should then be adjusted, and it
should be paid before the cargo is landed; for the owners of the ship have a lien on the
goods on board, not only for the freight, but also to answer all averages and contributions
that may be due. But though the captain should neglect his duty in this respect, the suf-
ferer would not be without a remedy, but might bring an action either against him or the
owners.
The laws of different states, and the opinions of the ablest jurists, vary as to whether the
loss incurred in defending a ship against an enemy or pirate, and in the treatment of the
wounded officers and men, should be made good by general or particular average. The
Ordinance of the Hanse Towns (art. 35.), the Ordinance of 1681 (liv. iii. tit. 7. s 6.), and
the Code de Commerce (art. 400. § 6.), explicitly declare that the charges on account of
medicine, and for attendance upon the officers and seamen wounded in defending the ship,
shall be general average. A regulation of this sort seems to be founded on reason. But
other codes are silent on the subject; and though the contrary opinion had been advanced
by Mr. Serjeant Marshall, and by Mr. Justice Park in the earlier editions of this work, the
Court of Common Pleas has unanimously decided, that in England neither the damage
done to a ship, nor the ammunition expended, nor the expense of healing sailors wounded
in an action with an enemy or pirate, is a subject of general average.-(Abbot on the Law
of Shipping, part iii. cap. 8.)
Much doubt has been entertained, whether expenses incurred by a ship in an intermediate
port in which she has taken refuge, should be general average, or fall only on the ship.
But on principle, at least, it is clear, that if the retreat of the ship to port be made in order
to obviate the danger of foundering, or some other great and imminent calamity, the ex-
penses incurred in entering it, and during the time she is forced by stress of weather, or
adverse winds, to continue in it, ought to belong to general average. But if the retreat of
the ship to port be made in order to repair an injury occasioned by the unskilfulness of the
master, or in consequence of any defect in her outfit, such, for example, as deficiencies of
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water, provisions, sails, &c., with which she ought to have been sufficiently supplied before
setting out, the expenses should fall wholly on the owners.
When a ship (supposed to be seaworthy) is forced to take refuge in an intermediate port,
because of a loss occasioned by a peril of the sea, as the springing of a mast, &c., then, as
the accident is not ascribable to any fault of the master or owners, and the retreat to port is
indispensable for the safety of the ship and cargo, it would seem that any extraordinary ex-
pense incurred in entering it should be made good by general average.
Supposing, however, that it could be shown, that the ship was not, at her outset, sea-
worthy, or in a condition to withstand the perils of the sea; that the mast, for example,
which has sprung, had been previously damaged; or supposing that the mischief had been
occasioned by the incapacity of the master; the whole blame would, in such a case, be
ascribable to the owners, who besides defraying every expense, should be liable in damages
to the freighters for the delay that would necessarily take place in completing the voyage,
and for whatever damage might be done to the cargo.
These, however, are merely the conclusions to which, as it appears to us, those must
come who look only to principles. The law with respect to the points referred to, differs
in different countries, and has differed in this country at different periods. " A doubt," says
Lord Tenterden, " was formerly entertained as to the expenses of a ship in a port in which
she had taken refuge to repair the damage occasioned by a tempest; but this has been re-
moved by late decisions. And it has been held, that the wages and provisions of the crew
during such a period must fall upon the ship alone. But if a ship should necessarily go into
an intermediate port for the purpose only of repairing such a damage as is in itself a proper
object of general contribution, possibly the wages, &c. during the period of such detention,
may also be held to be general average, on the ground that the accessory should follow the
nature of its principal."-(Law of Shipping, part iii. cap. 8.)
Perhaps the reader who reflects on the vagueness of this passage will be disposed to con-
cur with Lord Tenterden's remark in another part of the same chapter, That the determi-
nations of the English courts of justice furnish less of authority on this subject (average) than
on any other branch of maritime law."
The question, whether the repairs which a ship undergoes that is forced to put into an
intermediate port ought to be general or particular average, has occasioned a great diversity
of opinion but the principles that ought to regulate our decision with respect to it seem
pretty obvious. Injuries voluntarily done to the ship, as cutting away masts, yards, &c. to
avert some impending danger, are universally admitted to be general average. It seems,
however, hardly less clear, and is, indeed, expressly laid down by all the great authorities,
that injuries done to the ship by the violence of the winds or the waves should be particular
average, or should fall wholly on the owners. The ship, to use the admirable illustration of
this principle given in the civil law, is like the tool or instrument of a workman in his trade.
If in doing his work he break his hammer, his anvil, or any other instrument, he can claim
no satisfaction for this from his employer.-(Dig. lib. xiv. tit. 2. 2.) The owners are
bound, both by the usual conditions in all charterparties, and at common law, to carry the
cargo to its destination; and they must consequently be bound, in the event of the ship sus-
taining any accidental or natural damage during the voyage, either to repair that damage at
their own expense, or to provide another vessel to forward the goods. In point of fact, too,
such subsidiary ships have often been provided; but it has never been pretended that their
hire was a subject of general average, though it is plain it has quite as good a right to be so
considered as the cost of repairing the damage done to the ship by a peril of the sea. Hence,
when a ship puts into an intermediate port for the common safety, the charges incurred in
entering the port, and down to the earliest time that the wind and weather become favoura-
ble for leaving it, ought to be general average; but the repair of any damage she may have
sustained by wear and tear, or by the mere violence of the storm, or an accidental peril, and
the wages of the crew, and other expences incurred after the weather has moderated, should
fall wholly on the owners.
It has been, however, within these few years, decided, in the case of a British ship that
had been obliged to put into port in consequence of an injury resulting from her accidentally
coming into collision with another, that so much of the repair she then underwent as was
absolutely necessary to enable her to perform her voyage should be general average. The
Judges, however, spoke rather doubtfully on the subject; and it is exceedingly difficult to
discover any good grounds for the judgment.-(Plummer and Another v. Wildman, 3 M. &
S. 482.)-It seems directly opposed to all principle, as well as to the authority of the laws
of Rhodes (Dig. 14. tit. 2.), of Oleron (art. 9.), of Wisby (art. 12.), and to the common
law with respect to freight. Lord Tenterden has expressed himself as if he were hostile to
the judgment. It is, indeed, at variance with all the doctrines he lays down and the terms
in which he alludes to it, " yet in one case," appear to hold it forth as an exception (which it
certainly is) to the course of decisions on the subject.
It is now usual in this country, when a vessel puts into port on account of a damage
belonging to particular average, which requires to be repaired before she can safely proceed
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AVERAGE.
on her voyage, to allow in general average the expense of entering the port and unloading,
to charge the owners of the goods, or their underwriters with the warehouse rent and
expenses attending the cargo, and to throw the expense of reloading and departure on the
freight.
According to the law of England, when a ship is injured by coming into collision with
or running foul of another, if the misfortune has been accidental, and no blame can be
ascribed to either party, the owners of the damaged ship have to bear the loss; but where
blame can be fairly imputed to one of the parties, it, of course, falls upon him to make good
the damage done to the other. The regulations in the Code de Commerce (art. 407.)
harmonise, in this respect, with our own. According, however, to the laws of Oleron and
Wisby, and the famous French ordinance of 1681, the damage occasioned by an accidental
collision is to be defrayed equally by both parties.
The ship and freight, and every thing on board, even jewels, plate, and money, except
wearing apparel, contribute to general average. But the wages of seamen do not contribute
because, had they been laid under this obligation, they might have been tempted to oppose a
sacrifice necessary for the general safety.
Different states have adopted different modes of valuing the articles which are to contri-
bute to an average. In this respect the law of England has varied considerably at different
periods. At present, however, the ship is valued at the price she is worth on her arrival at
the port of delivery. The value of the freight is held to be the clear sum which the ship has
earned after seamen's wages, pilotage, and all such other charges as come under the name
of petty averages, are deducted. It is now the settled practice to value the goods lost, as well
as those saved, at the price they would have fetched in ready money, at the port of delivery,
on the ship's arrival there, freight, duties, and other charges, being deducted. Each person's
share of the loss will bear the same proportion to the value of his property, that the whole
loss bears to the aggregate value of the ship, freight, and cargo. The necessity of taking
the goods lost into this account is obvious; for otherwise their owner would be the only
person who would not be a loser.
When the loss of masts, cables, and other furniture of the ship, is compensated by general
average, it is usual, as the new articles will in all ordinary cases be of greater value than
those that have been lost, to deduct one third from the value of the former, leaving two
thirds only to be contributed.
But the mode of adjusting an average will be better understood by the following example,
extracted from Chief Justice Tenterden's valuable work on the Law of Shipping, part iii.
cap. 8.
" The reader will suppose that it became necessary, in the Downs, to cut the cable of a
ship destined for Hull; that the ship afterwards struck upon the Goodwin, which compelled
the master to cut away his mast, and cast overboard part of the cargo, in which operation
another part was injured and that the ship, being cleared from the sands, was forced to
take refuge in Ramsgate harbour, to avoid the further effects of the storm.
AMOUNT OF LOSSES.
VALUE OF ARTICLES TO CONTRIBUTE.
£
£
Goods of A. cast overboard
-
500
Goods of A. cast overboard
500
Damage of the goods of B. by the jettison
200
Sound value of the goods of B., deduct-
Freight of the goods cast overboard
100
ing freight and charges
-
-
1,000
Price of a new cable, anchor, and)
Goods of C.
-
-
-
500
mast
£300
200
of D.
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,000
Deduct one third
100
of E.
-
-
-
- 5,000
Expense of bringing the ship off the sands
50
Value of the ship
-
-
2,000
Pilotage and port duties going into the
Clear freight, deducting wages, victuals,
harbourand out, and commission to the
&c.
800
agent who made the disbursements
-
100
Expenses there
-
25
Adjusting this average
-
-
4
Postage
-
1
Total of losses
-
£1,190
Total of contributory values
-
£11,800
Then, 11,800L. : 1,1801. 100/. : 101.
44 That is, each person will lose 10 per cent. upon the value of his interest in the cargo, ship, or
freight. Therefore, A. loses 50l., B. 100l., C. 501., D. 2001., E. 5001., the owners 2861. in all, 1,180%.
Upon this calculation, the owners are to lose 2801. but they are to receive from the contribution 3802.,
to make good their disbursements, and 1001. more for the freight of the goods thrown overboard ; or
4801., minus 2801.
They, therefore, are actually to receive
£200
A. is to contribute 501., but has lost 5001. ; therefore A. is to receive
-
-
-
450
B. is to contribute 100l., but has lost 2001.; therefore B. is to receive
-
-
-
100
Total to be actually received
-
£750
C. £ 50
On the other hand, c., D., and E. have lost nothing, and are to pay as before viz.
D.
200
E.
500
Total to be actually paid
-
£750
which is exactly equal to the total to be actually received, and must be paid by and to each person in
rateable proportion.
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AVERAGE.
59
In the above estimate of losses, I have included the freight of the goods thrown overboard,
which appears to be proper, as the freight of the goods is to be paid, and their supposed
value is taken clear of freight, as well as other charges. In this country, where the practice
of insurance is very general, it is usual for the broker, who has procured the policy of insu-
rance, to draw up an adjustment of the average which is commonly paid in the first instance
by the insurers without dispute. In case of dispute, the contribution may be recovered
either by a suit in equity, or by an action at law, instituted by each individual entitled to
receive, against each party that ought to pay, for the amount of his share. And in the case
of a general ship, where there are many consignees, it is usual for the master, before he delivers
the goods, to take a bond from the different merchants for payment of their portions of the
average when the same shall be adjusted."
The subject of average does not necessarily make a part of the law of insurance though
as insurers, from the terms of most policies, are liable to indemnify the insured against those
contributions which are properly denominated general average, its consideration very fre-
quently occurs in questions as to partial losses. But in order to confine assurances to that
which should be their only object, namely, an indemnity against real and important losses
arising from a peril of the sea, as well as to obviate disputes respecting losses arising from
the perishable quality of the goods insured, and all trivial subjects of difference and litiga-
tion, it seems to be the general law of all maritime states, and is expressly, indeed, provided
by the famous Ordinance of 1681 (see liv. iii. tit. 6. § 47., and the elaborate commentary of
M. Valin), that the insurer shall not be liable to any demand on account of average, unless
it exceed one per cent. An article (No. 408.) to the same effect is inserted in the Code de
Commerce, and, by stipulation, this limitation is frequently extended in French policies to
three or four per cent. A similar practice was adopted in this country in 1749. It is now
constantly stipulated in all policies, that upon certain enumerated articles of a quality pecu-
liarly perishable, the insurer shall not be liable for any partial loss whatever that upon cer-
tain others liable to partial injuries, but less difficult to be preserved at sea, he shall only be
liable for partial losses above five per cent. and that as to all other goods, and also the ship
and freight, he shall only be liable for partial losses above three per cent. This stipulation
is made by a memorandum inserted at the bottom of all policies done at Lloyd's of the fol-
lowing tenour :- N. B. Corn, fish, salt, fruit, flour, and seeds, are warranted free from
average, unless general, or the ship be stranded sugar, tobacco, hemp, flax, hides, and skins,
are warranted free from average under 5% per cent. ; and all other goods free from average
under 3/. per cent., unless general, or the ship be stranded."
The form of this memorandum was universally used, as well by the Royal Exchange and
London Assurance Companies as by private underwriters, till 1754, when it was decided
that a ship having run aground, was a stranded ship within the meaning of the memoran-
dum; and that although she got off again, the underwriters were liable to the average or
partial loss upon damaged corn. This decision induced the two Companies to strike the
words " or the ship be stranded," out of the memorandum so that now they consider them-
selves liable to no losses which can happen to such commodities, except general averages and
total losses. The old form is still retained by the private underwriters.-See STRANDING.)
The reader is referred, for the further discussion of this important subject, to the article
MARINE INSURANCE; and to Mr. Stevens's Essay on Average; Abbott on the Law of
Shipping, part iii. cap. 8.; Marshall on Insurance, book i. cap. 12. S. 7.; Park on Insur-
ance, cap. 7.; and Mr. Beneke's elaborate and able work on the Principles of Indemnity in
Marine Insurance.
[On this very perplexed subject of average, see also Kent's Commentary on American
Law, Lecture 47.-Am. Ed.]
AVOIRDUPOIS, a weight used in determining the gravity of bulky commodities.See
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
B.
BACON (Ger. Speck; Du. Spek; Fr. Lard; It. Span. and Port. Lardo; Rus. Solo
Lat. Lardum) is made from the sides and belly of the pig, which are first thoroughly
impregnated with salt; then suffered to remain for a certain period in brine and, lastly,
dried and smoked. The counties of England most celebrated for bacon are York, Hants,
Berks, and Wilts. Ireland produces great quantities of bacon ; but it is neither so clean
fed, nor so well cured as the English, and is much lower priced. Of the Scotch counties,
Dumfries, Wigton, and Kirkcudbright are celebrated for the excellence of their bacon and
hame, of which they now export large quantities, principally to the Liverpool and London
markets.
The imports of bacon and hams from Ireland have increased rapidly of late years. The
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BAGGAGE, bahia.
average quantity imported during the three years ending the 25th of March, 1800, only
amounted to 41,958 cwt; whereas during the three years ending with 1820, the average
imports amounted to 204,380 cwt; and during the three years ending with 1825, they had
increased to 338,218 cwt. In 1825, the trade between Ireland and Great Britain was
placed on the footing of a coasting trade; and bacon and hams are imported and exported
without any specific entry at the Custom-house. We believe, however, that the imports of
these articles into Great Britain from Ireland amount, at present, to little less than 500,000
cwt. a year. The quantity of bacon and hams exported from Ireland to foreign countries
is inconsiderable; not exceeding 1,500 or 2,000 cwt. a year.
The duty on bacon, being 28s. the cwt. is in effect prohibitory. The duty on hams is
the same as on bacon. By the 7 Geo. 4 C. 48. bacon is not to be entered to be warehoused
except for exportation only; and if it be so warehoused, it cannot be taken out for home
use.
BAGGAGE, in commercial navigation, the wearing apparel and other articles destined
for the sole use or accommodation of the crews and passengers of ships. The following are
the Custom-house regulations with respect to baggage :-
Baggage and apparel accompanied by the proprietor, worn and in use (not made up for the purpose
of being introduced into this country), exempted from all duty on importation.
Articles in baggage subject to duty or prohibited may be left in custody of the officers of customs
for a period of six months, to give the party an opportunity of paying the duty or taking them back.
Customs Order, August 6. 1822.)
If unaccompanied by proprietor, proof must be made by the party that it is as aforesaid, and not
imported as merchandise, otherwise it is subject to a duty of 20 per cent.
If not cleared at the expiration of six months from the date of landing, it is liable to be sold for
duty and charges, the residue (if any) to be paid to the right owner on proof being adduced to the
satisfaction of the honourable Board.
One fowling-piece and one pair of pistols accompanying the party, bond fule in use, free per Cus-
toms Order, July 5. 1825.
Spirits, being the remains of passengers' stores may be admitted to entry.-(6 Geo. 4. c. 107. e 107.)
One pint of drinkable spirits of whatever strength, or halfa pint of cordial or Cologne water, in
baggage for private use-free.-(Treasury Order, October 20. 1820.)
Carriages of British manufacture, in use-free.-(Treasury Order, September 26. 1817.)
Glass, in dressing or medicine cases, of British manufacture, free upon proof that no drawback has
been received.-(Treasury Order, December 5. 1821.)-(Nyren's Tables.)
English Books reprinted abroad.Not more than a single copy of each work is allowed to be im-
ported in a passenger's baggage, and for the private use of the party (Customs Order,
20th of June, 1830.)-Such works are absolutely prohibited to be imported as merchandise.-(See
Books.)
Passengers denying having Foreign Goods in their Possession.-The following clause in the act 3 &
4 Will. 4. c. 53. has reference to this subject If any passenger or other person, on board any ves-
sel or boat, shall, upon being questioned by any customs officer, whether he or she has any foreign
goods upon his or her person, or in his or her possession, deny the same, and any such goods shall,
after such denial, be discovered upon his or her person, or in his or her possession, such goods shall
be forfeited, and such person shall forfeit treble the value of such goods. 37.
BAHIA, OR ST. SALVADOR, a large city (formerly the capital) of Brazil, contiguous
to Cape St. Antonio, which forms the right or eastern side of the entrance of the noble bay
of Todos os Santos, or All-Saints. According to the observations of M. Roussin, the light-
house on the Cape is in lat. 13° o 30" S., long. 38° 30' W. The opposite side of the en-
trance to the bay is formed by the island of Taporica, distant from Cape St. Antonio about
21 leagues. But a bank along the shore of the island narrows the passage for large ships to
about two thirds this distance. Another bank runs S.S. W. from Cape St. Antonio about 11
league. Within, the bay expands into a capacious basin, having several islands and har-
bours, the depth of water varying from 8 and 10 to 40 fathoms, affording ample accommo-
dation and secure anchorage for the largest fleets.
There is another entrance to the bay, partly exhibited in the following plan, on the west side
of the island of Taporica; but it is narrow, intricate, and at its mouth has not more than 6
feet water. Several rivers have their embouchure in the bay, which generally occasions a
current to set from the north end of the island by Cape St. Antonio; when the rivers are
flooded, this current is sometimes very strong. The light-house at the extremity of the cape
has no great elevation, and cannot be seen at a distance of more than 3 or 31 leagues. The
usual place of anchorage is abreast of the city, north and south of Fort do Mar.
The city is partly built on the beach, but principally on pretty high ground immediately
contiguous. The public buildings, particularly the churches, are numerous, and some of
them magnificent; but the streets are narrow, ill paved, and filthy. Population, 125,000.
The city is defended by several ports, but none of them are of very great strength.
The trade of Bahia is very considerable; and will no doubt continue to increase. The
average exports amount, at present, to about 45,000 chests (13 cwt. each) of sugar; 35,000
bags (170 lbs. each) of cotton ; 4,000 tons of coffee, with hides, tobacco, rice, dye and fancy
woods, bullion, &c. The imports are similar to those of Rio de Janeiro, to which the reader
is referred for some account of the commerce of Brazil, with particulars as to duties, charges,
&c. There are several private building yards at Tapagippe, in which ships of all dimensions
are built; they are handsome, well modelled, and the timber very suitable for the purpose.
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BALACHONG-BALANCE.
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Monies, Weights, and Measures of Brazil same as those of Portugal; for which, see LISBON. The
alquiere, or measure of corn, rice, &c. differs in different provinces, being in some 1.25 bushel Winch.
meas., and in others 1 only. At Bahia it is estimated at 1, Wine and olive oil pay duty on being
imported by the pipe, hogshead, or barrel they are retailed by the frasco or case bottle = 4.5 pints
English wine measure. In 1828, 122 British ships, carrying 25,166 tons, entered Bahia.-(Annuaire du
Commerce Maritime for 1833, p. 583.; and private information.)
Plan.-The subjoined wood-cut conveys a clearer and better idea of this celebrated bay than could
be acquired from any description. It is copied, without any reduction, from a revised edition of a
Portuguese chart, published by Mr. Laurie ; and exhibits the banks, soundings, anchorage, &c.
9
4
38°30' W.
5
12
6
6
8
9
9
3
10
29 20
456
4
3
4
4
7
4
6
I
5
F
7
E
4
30
17
4
10
5
5
4
8
10
$
9
20
€
10
7
24
7
21
16
10
%
2
9
16
8
4
6
8
9
5
G
3
15
14
16
6
13
20
5
12
7
5
17 7
6
4
6
24
5
13
24
4
15
5
3
4
5
8
12
.D
5
6
17
F
10
24
11
12
14
10
24
20
AB
7
BAHIA
9
25
12
10
&
16
7
18
10
11
9
2
16
10
20
4
4
17
3
10
20
8
9
6
10
5
13°
30"
12
18
5
15
B
A
20
17
3t
5
5
4
14
20
4
9
31
7
5
18
7
8
10
12
8
E.
1
2
3
N.N.
25
14
Scale of Nautic Leagues.
References to the Plan.-A, Cape, light-house, and fort of St. Antonio; B, Fort do Mar C, Fort St.
Philip; D, Tapagippe; E, Isla do Mar; F, Isla dos Frados; G, Fort Beaumont. The figures in the
plan are the soundings in fathoms.
BALACHONG, an article consisting of pounded or bruised fish. Small fish, with prawns
and shrimps, are principally employed in making it. Though fœtid and offensive to strangers,
this substance, used as a condiment to rice, is largely consumed in all the countries to the
east of Bengal, including the southern provinces of China, and the islands of the Eastern
Archipelago. Its distribution gives rise to an extensive internal traffic.
BALANCE, in accounts, is the term used to express the difference between the debtor
and creditor sides of an account.
BALANCE, in commerce, is the term commonly used to express the difference between
the value of the exports from and imports into a country. The balance is said to be favoura-
ble when the value of the exports exceeds that of the imports, and unfavourable when the
value of the imports exceeds that of the exports. According to the Custom-house returns,
the official value of the exports from Great Britain, exclusive of foreign and commercial mer-
chandise, during the year ending 5th of January, 1833, amounted to 64,582,037/; and the
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BALANCE.
official value of the imports during the same year amounted to 43,237,416/; leaving a favour-
able balance of 21,344,6214
The attainment of a favourable balance was formerly regarded as an object of the greatest
importance. The precious metals early acquired, in consequence of their being used as
money, an artificial importance, and were long considered as the only real wealth either in-
dividuals or nations could possess. And as countries without mines could not obtain supplies
of these metals except in exchange for exported products, it was concluded, that if the value
of the commodities exported exceeded that of those imported, the balance would have to be
paid by the importation of an equivalent amount of the precious metals; and conversely. A
very large proportion of the restraints imposed on the freedom of commerce, during the last
two centuries, grew out of this notion. The importance of having a favourable balance be-
ing universally admitted, every effort was made to attain it and nothing seemed so effectual
for this purpose as the devising of schemes to facilitate exportation, and hinder the importa-
tion of almost all products, except gold and silver, that were not intended for future exporta-
tion. But the gradual though slow growth of sounder opinions with respect to the nature
and functions of money, showed the futility of a system of policy having such objects in
view. It is now conceded on all hands that gold and silver are nothing but commodities and
that it is in no respect necessary to interfere either to encourage their importation, or to pre-
vent their exportation. In Great Britain they may be freely exported and imported, whether
in the shape of coin or bullion.-(See Coin.)
The truth is, however, that the theory of the balance of trade is not erroneous merely from
the false notions which its advocates entertained with respect to money ; it proceeds on radi-
cally mistaken views as to the nature of commerce. The mode in which the balance is usu-
ally estimated is, indeed, completely fallacious. Supposing, however, that it could be cor-
rectly ascertained, it would be found in opposition to the common opinion, that the imports
into every commercial country generally exceed the exports; and that when a balance is form-
ed, it is only in certain cases, and those of rare occurrence, that it is cancelled by a bullion
payment.
I. The proper business of the wholesale merchant consists in carrying the various products
of the different countries of the world, from the places where their value is least to those
where it is greatest; or, which is the same thing, in distributing them according to the effect-
ive demand. It is clear, however, that there could be no motive to export any species of pro-
duce, unless that which it was intended to import in its stead were of greater value. When
an English merchant commissions a quantity of Polish wheat, he calculates on its selling for
so much more than its price in Poland, as will be sufficient to pay the expense of freight, in-
surance, &c., and to yield, besides, the common and ordinary rate of profit on the capital em-
ployed. If the wheat did not sell for this much, its importation would obviously be a loss to
the importer. It is plain, then, that no merchant ever did or ever will export, but in the view
of importing something more valuable in return. And so far from an excess of exports over
imports being any criterion of an advantageous commerce, it is directly the reverse and the
truth is, notwithstanding all that has been said and written to the contrary, that unless the
value of the imports exceeded that of the exports, foreign trade could not be carried on. Were
this not the case-that is, were the value of the exports always greater than the value of the
imports-merchants would lose on every transaction with foreigners, and the trade with them
would be speedily abandoned.
In England, the rates at which all articles of export and import are officially valued were
fixed so far back as 1696. But the very great alteration that has since taken place, not only
in the value of money, but also in the cost of most part of the commodities produced in this
and other countries, has rendered this official valuation, though valuable as a means of de-
termining their quantity, of no use whatever as a criterion of the true value of the exports
and imports. In order to remedy this defect, an account of the real or declared value of the
exports is annually prepared, from the declarations of the merchants, and laid before parlia-
ment; there is, however, no such account of imports; and, owing to the difficulties which
high duties throw in the way, it is, perhaps, impossible to frame one with any thing like ac-
curacy. It has also been alleged, and apparently with some probability, that merchants have
not unfrequently been in the habit of exaggerating the value of articles entitled to drawbacks
on exportation; but the recent extension and improvement of the warehousing system,
and the diminution of the number of drawbacks, must materially lessen whatever fraud or
inaccuracy may have arisen from this source. Indeed, as most articles are charged with an
ad valorem duty of 10s. per cent. on exportation, we should consider that, if any thing, their
value would be rather under than over-rated. We believe, however, that their declared value
comes very near the truth; at least, sufficiently so for all practical purposes.
Now the declared value of the exports in 1832 was only 36,046,027L., being little more
than half their official value, and upwards of 7,000,000L under the official value of the im-
ports. What the excess of the latter might be, had we the means of comparing their real value
with that of the exports, it is impossible to say : but there can be no manner of doubt, that,
generally speaking, it would be very considerable. The value of an exported commodity is
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BALANCE.
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estimated at the moment of its being sent abroad, and before its value is increased by the ex-
pense incurred in transporting it to the place of its destination whereas the value of the
commodity imported in its stead is estimated after it has arrived at its destination, and, con-
sequently, after its value has been enhanced by the cost of freight, insurance, importer's
profits, &c.
In the United States, the value of the imports, as ascertained by the Custom-house returns,
always exceeds the value of the exports. And although our practical politicians have been
in the habit of considering the excess of the former as a certain proof of a disadvantageous
commerce, "it is nevertheless true," says Mr. Pitkin, " that the real gain of the United States
has been nearly in proportion as their imports have exceeded their exports." Commerce
of the United States, 2d ed. p. 280.) The great excess of American imports has in part
been occasioned by the Americans generally exporting their own surplus produce, and con-
sequently, receiving from foreigners not only an equivalent for their exports, but also for the
cost of conveying them to the foreign market. In 1811," says the author just quoted,
" flour sold in America for nine dollars and a half per barrel, and in Spain for fifteen dol-
lars. The value of the cargo of a vessel carrying 5,000 barrels of flour would, therefore, be
estimated at the period of its exportation at 47,500 dollars; but as this flour would sell,
when carried to Spain, for 75,000 dollars, the American merchant would be entitled to draw
on his agent in Spain for 27,500 dollars more than the flour cost in America or than the sum
for which he could have drawn, had the flour been exported in a vessel belonging to a
Spanish merchant. But the transaction would not end here. The 75,000 dollars would be
vested in some species of Spanish or other European goods fit for the American market; and
the freight, insurance, &c., on account of the return cargo, would probably increase its value
to 100,000 dollars; so that, in all, the American merchant might have imported goods worth
52,500 dollars more than the flour originally sent to Spain." It is as impossible to deny
that such a transaction as this is advantageous, as it is to deny that its advantage consists en-
tirely in the excess of the value of the goods imported over the value of those exported. And
it is equally clear that America might have had the real balance of payments in her favour,
though such transactions as the above had been multiplied to any conceivable extent.
II. In the second place, when a balance is due by one country to another, it is but seldom
that it is paid by remitting bullion from the debtor to the creditor country. If the sum due
by the British merchants to those of Holland be greater than the sum due by the latter to
them, the balance of payments will be against Britain; but this balance will not, and indeed
cannot, be discharged by an exportation of bullion, unless bullion be, at the time, the cheapest
exportable commodity; or, which is the same thing, unless it may be more advantageously
exported than any thing else. To illustrate this principle, let us suppose that the balance of
debt, or excess of the value of the bills drawn by the merchants of Amsterdam on London
over those drawn by the merchants of London on Amsterdam, amounts to 100,000Z. it is
the business of the London merchants to find out the means of discharging this debt with
the least expense and it is plain, that if they find that any less sum, as 96,000/. 97,000/.,
or 99,000/., will purchase and send to Holland as much cloth, cotton, hardware, colonial pro-
duce, or any other commodity, as would sell in Amsterdam for 100,000/., no gold or silver
would be exported. The laws which regulate the trade in bullion are not in any degree
different from those which regulate the trade in other commodities. It is exported only when
its exportation is advantageous, or when it is more valuable abroad than at home. It would,
in fact, be quite as reasonable to expect that water should flow from a low to a high level,
as it is to expect that bullion should leave a country where its value is great to go to one
where it is low It is never sent abroad to destroy, but always to find its level. The
balance of payments might be ten or a hundred millions against a particular country, with-
out causing the exportation of a single ounce of bullion. Common sense tells us that no
merchant will remit 100l. worth of bullion to discharge a debt in a foreign country, if it be
possible to invest any smaller sum in any species of merchandise which would sell abroad
for 100Z. exclusive of expenses. The merchant who deals in the precious metals is as much
under the influence of self-interest, as he who deals in coffee or indigo; but what merchant
would attempt to extinguish a debt, by exporting coffee which cost 100/., if he could effect
his object by sending abroad indigo which cost only 99/.?
The argument about the balance of payment is one of those that contradict and confute
themselves. Had the apparent excess of exports over imports, as indicated by the British
Custom-house books for the last hundred years, been always paid in bullion, as the supporters
of the old theory contend is the case, there ought at this moment to be about 450,000,000 or
500,000,000 of bullion in the country, instead-of 50,000,000 or 60,000,000, which it
is supposed to amount to! Nor is this all. If the theory of the balance be good for any
thing-if it be not a mere idle delusion-it follows, as every country in the world, with the
single exception of the United States, has its favourable balance, that they must be paid by
an annual importation of bullion from the mines corresponding to their aggregate amount.
But it is certain, that the entire produce of the mines, though it were increased in a tenfold
proportion, would be insufficient for this purpose This reductio ad absurdum is decisive
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BALE.
of the degree of credit that ought to be attached to the conclusions respecting the flourishing
state of the commerce of any country drawn from the excess of the exports over the imports
Not only, therefore, is the common theory with respect to the balance of trade erroneous,
but the very reverse of that theory is true. In the first place, the value of the commodities im-
ported by every country which carries on an advantageous commerce (and no other will be
prosecuted for any considerable period), invariably exceeds the value of those which she ex-
ports. Unless such were the case, there would plainly be no fund whence the merchants
and others engaged in foreign trade could derive either a profit on their capital, or a return
for their outlay and trouble; and in the second place, whether the balance of debts be for or
against a country, that balance will neither be paid nor received in bullion, unless it be at
the time the commodity by the exportation or importation of which the account may be most
profitably settled. Whatever the partisans of the doctrine as to the balance may say about
money being a preferable product, a marchandise par excellence, it is certain it will never ap-
pear in the list of exports and imports, while there is any thing else with which to carry on
trade, or cancel debts, that will yield a larger profit, or occasion a less expense to the debtors.
It is difficult to estimate the mischief which the absurd notions relative to the balance of
trade have occasioned in almost every commercial country ;-here they have been particular-
ly injurious. It is principally to the prevalence of prejudices to which they have given rise,
that the restrictions on the trade between this country and France are to be ascribed. The
great, or rather the only, argument insisted upon by those who prevailed on the legislature, in
the reign of William and Mary, to declare the trade with France a nuisance, was founded on
the statement that the value of the imports from that kingdom considerably exceeded the
value of the commodities we exported to it. The balance was regarded as a tribute paid by
England to France; and it was sagaciously asked, what had we done, that we should be
obliged to pay so much money to our natural enemy It never occurred to those who so
loudly abused the French trade, that no merchant would import any commodity from France,
unless it brought a higher price in this country than the commodity exported to pay it; and
that the profit of the merchant, or the national gain, would be in exact proportion to this excess
of price. The very reason assigned by these persons for prohibiting the trade affords the
best attainable proof of its having been a lucrative one; nor can there be any doubt that an
unrestricted freedom of intercourse between the two countries would still be of the greatest
service to both.
[There are some circumstances which have had an influence in determining the relation
of exports to imports in the United States, and which are in a great measure peculiar to this
country. These it may not be uninteresting briefly to notice here. Our readers will bear
in mind that we use the terms exports and imports in their ordinary and mercantile accepta-
tion, as including all sorts of commodities, specie only being excepted.
1. While the exports have been valued at the exporting port, the imports, until the 3d
day of March, 1833, were valued by adding 20 per cent. to the actual cost thereof, if im-
ported from the Cape of Good Hope, or from any place beyond the same and 10 per cent.
on the actual cost thereof, if imported from any other place or country, including all charges;
commissions, outside packages, and insurance, only excepted."
2. The profits of capital being higher in the United States than in most other countries
of the commercial world, it follows that capital must be continually flowing into them from
abroad; thus swelling the imports beyond the amount they would otherwise be at.
3. The owner of the capital, imported into the country, in many cases does not come with
his property, but continues to reside where he did. A certain amount of profits, or interest,
on the foreign capital employed in the United States, is consequently remitted every year to
other countries. It must hence be obvious that our exports will, on this account, be rendered
more considerable in comparison to our imports.
4. The rapid advances of the country in population and wealth, since its separation from
Great Britain, and the adoption of the present constitution, has required a supply of the pre-
cious metals, for the most part from abroad, much greater than was sufficient to replace the
consumption of those metals, either as coin, or in the arts. Money was, therefore, to a cer-
tain extent, on this account, imported into the United States, in exchange for our exports,
instead of those other commodities which are ordinarily designated by the term imports.
5. The substitution, in a degree continually greater and greater, of paper money for a gold
and silver currency, which has been taking place during the same period, must of course have
diminished the effect just stated.
If we now put these different circumstances together, two of them operating in one direc-
tion, and the other three in the opposite, and if we compare them also with those which are not
peculiar to the United States, but belong equally to every country, there will be no cause for
surprise why the general law of the excess of imports over exports should almost always have
held good among ourselves.-Am. Ed.]
BALE, a pack, or certain quantity of goods or merchandise; as a bale of silk, cloth, &c.
Bales are always marked and numbered, that the merchants to whom they belong may
know them; and the marks and numbers correspond to those in the bills of lading, &c. Selling
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under the bale, or under the cords, IS a term used in France and other countries for selling
goods wholesale, without sample or pattern, and unopened.
BALKS, large pieces of timber.
BALLAST (Du. Ballast; Fr. Lest; Ger. Ballast; It. Savorra Sp. Lastre; Sw. Ballast),
a quantity of iron, stones, sand, gravel, or any other heavy material, laid in a ship's hold in
order to sink her deeper in the water, and to render her capable of carrying sail without be-
ing overset. All ships clearing outwards, having no goods on board other than the personal
baggage of the passengers, are said to be in ballast.
The quantity of ballast required to fit ships of equal burden for a voyage, is often materially dif-
ferent: the proportion being always less or more, according to the sharpness or flatness of the ship's
bottom, called by seamen, the floor.
The proper ballasting of a ship deserves peculiar attention, for, although it be known that ships in
general will not carry sufficient sail, till they are laden so that the surface of the water nearly glances
on the extreme breadth midships, more than this general knowledge is required. If the ship have
a great weight of heavy ballast, as lead, iron, &c. in the bottom, the centre of gravity will be too low
in the hold this no doubt will enable her to carry a press of sail, but it will, at the same time, make
her sail heavily, and roll 80 violently, as to run the risk of being dismasted.
The object in ballasting a ship is, therefore, so to dispose of the ballast or cargo, that she may be
duly poised, and maintain a proper equilibrium on the water, 80 as neither to be too stiff, nor too
crunk, qualities equally pernicious. If too stiff, she may carry much sail, but her velocity will not be
proportionably increased; whilst her masts are endangered by sudden jerks and excessive labouring.
If too crank, she will be unfit to carry sail without the risk of oversetting.
Stiffness in ballasting is occasioned by disposing a too great quantity of heavy ballast, as lead, iron,
&c. in the bottom, which throws the centre of gravity very near the keel; and this being the centre
about which the vibrations are made, the lower it is placed, the more violent is the rolling.
Crankness, on the other hand, is occasioned by having too little ballast, or by disposing the ship's
lading so as to raise the centre of gravity too high: this also endangers the masts when it blows
hard; for when the masts cease to be perpendicular, they strain on the shrouds in the nature of a
lever, which increases as the sine of their obliquity; and it is superfluous to add, that a ship that
loses her masts is in great danger of being lost.
Hence the art of ballasting consists in placing the centre of gravity to correspond with the trim and
shape of the vessel, so as to be neither too high nor too low ; neither too far forward, nor too far aft;
and to lade the ship so deep, that the surface of the water may nearly rise to the extreme breadth
midships: she will then carry a good quantity of sail, incline but little, and ply well to windward.-
(See Falconer's Marine Dictionary.)
The mischievous consequences of not attending to the circumstances now mentioned are often ex-
perienced by ships loading barilla, brimstone, and such heavy articles, on the coasts of Sicily and
Spain. The habit there is to cut large quantities of brushwood and faggots, and to spread them in the
hold, to hinder the cargo from sinking the centre of gravity too low, and causing the ship to labour
violently but it very frequently happens that the pressure of the cargo on this sort of dunnage is so
great as to squeeze it into a much smaller space than could at first have been supposed ; so that ships
after getting to sea are sometimes obliged to return to port, to unload a part of their cargo, to prevent
their foundering. In such cases, firm dunnage, such as oak staves, should, if possible, be always
employed.-(See Jackson's Commerce of Mediterranean, pp. 125-128.)
Ships that have cargoes of light goods on board require a quantity of ballast increasing, of course,
according to the greater lightness of the goods. The following table shows the average quantity of
ballast allowed to ships of war:
Ballast allowed to the following Ships.
Guns.
Tonnage.
Iron, Tons.
Shingles, Tons.
Guns.
Tonnage.
Iron, Tons.
Shingles, Tons.
110
2,290
180
370
36
870
65
160
100
2,090
180
370
32
700
65
140
98
2,110
160
350
28
600
60
100
90
1,870
160
350
24
500
50
80
80
1,620
140
300
22
450
50
70
74
1,700
80
270
20
400
50
60
64
1,370
70
260
Sloop -
300
50
40
50
1,100
65
170
Brig
-
160
30
15
44
900
65
160
Cutter -
I
20
38
930
70
170
Sloop -
seldom any.
-
15
The iron ballast is first stored fore and aft, from bulk-head to bulk-head; then the shingle ballast
is spread and levelled over the iron.
The soil of the River Thames from London Bridge to the sea is vested in the Trinity House corpo-
ration, and a sum of 10L, is to be paid for every ton of ballast taken from the channel of the river
without due authority from the said corporation. Ships may receive on board land ballast from the
quarries, pits, &c. east of Woolwich, provided the quantity taken in a year do not exceed the num-
ber of tons notified to the Trinity corporation. Land ballast must be entered, and Id. paid per ton on
entering. No ballast is to be put on board before entry at the ballast office, under the penalty of 51.
a ton. The Trinity Corporation is authorised by the 3 Geo. 4.c. 111. to charge the following rates for
all ballast demanded and entered at the ballast office, viz. :-
For every ton (20 cwt.) of ballast, not being washed ballast, carried to any ship or vessel employed
in the coal trade, the sum of is.
For every such ton carried to any other British ship or vessel, the sum of 1s. 3d.
For every such ton carried to any foreign ship or vessel, the sum of is. 7d.
For every ton of washed ballast carried to any ship or vessel employed in the coal trade, the sum
of 2s.
For every ton of washed ditto carried to any other British ship or vessel, the sum of 20. 6d.
For every ton of washed ditto carried to any foreign ship or vessel, the sum of 3s. 2d.
And for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Inward West India Dock, the further
sum of 10d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Outward West India Dock,
the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the London Docks,
the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the Inward East
India Dock, the further sum of 10d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or unladen from the
Outward East India Dock, the further sum of 4d ; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or un-
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66
BALSAM.
laden from the Commercial Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or
unladen from the East Country Dock, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in
or unladen from the City Canal, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or
unladen from the Surrey Canal, the further sum of 4d.; and for every ton of ballast delivered in or
unladen from the Regent's Canal, the further sum of 4d.
Which further rates or prices shall be payable and paid over and above the respective rates first
mentioned.
In 1832, the gross receipt of the sums paid on account of ballast to the ballast office, on the Thames,
amounted to 25,2201. 19s. 4d. The expenses amounted, during the same year, to about 23,000l.
The ballast of all ships or vessels coming into the Thames is to be unladen into a lighter, at the
charge of 6d. a ton. If any ballast be thrown or unladen from any ship or vessel into the Thames,
the captain, master, &c. shall for every such offence forfeit 201. No ballast is to be received on board
otherwise than from a lighter. By the stat. 54 Geo. 3. c. 149. it is enacted, that no person shall, under
a penalty of 101. over and above all expenses, discharge any ballast, rubbish, &c. in any of the ports,
harbours, roadsteads, navigable rivers, &c. of the United Kingdom; nor take ballast from any place
prohibited by the Lords of the Admiralty.
The masters of all ships clearing out in ballast, are required to answer any questions that may be
put to them by the collectors or comptrollers, touching the departure and destination of such ships.-
(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. e 80.)
If a foreign ship clear out in ballast, the master may take with him British manufactured goods of
the value of 201., the mate of the value of 101. and 51. worth for each of the crew.- e 87.
BALSAM (Ger. Balsam Du. Balsem; Fr. Baume; It. and Sp. Balsamo; Lat. Balsamum).
Balsams are vegetable, juices, either liquid, or which spontaneously become concrete, consist-
ing of a substance of a resinous nature, combined with benzoic acid, or which are capable of
affording benzoic acid by being heated alone, or with water. The liquid balsams are copaiva,
opobalsam, balsam of Peru, storax, and Tolu; the concrete are benzoin, dragon's blood, and
red or concrete storax.-(Dr. Ure.)
1. Copaiva (Fr. Baume de Copahu; Ger. Kopaiva Balsam; Sp. Copayva), obtained
from a tree (Copaifera) growing in South America and the West India islands. The largest
quantity is furnished by the province of Para in Brazil. It is imported in small casks contain-
ing from ] to 14 cwt. Genuine good copaiva or copaiba balsam has a peculiar but agreeable
odour, and a bitterish, hot, nauseous taste. It is clear and transparent its consistence is that
of oil but when exposed to the action of the air it becomes solid, dry, and brittle, like resin.--
(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
2. Opobalsam (Fr. Balsamier de la Mecque; It. Opobalsamo; Pat. Balsamum verum
album, Egyptiacum, Egypt. Balessan), the most precious of all the balsams, commonly
called Balm of Gilead. It is the produce of a tree (Amyris Gileadensis) indigenous to
Arabia and Abyssinia, and transplanted at an early period to Judea. It is obtained by cut-
ting the bark with an axe at the time that the juice is in the strongest circulation. The true
balsam is of a pale yellowish colour, clear and transparent, about the consistence of Venice
turpentine, of a strong, penetrating, agreeable, aromatic smell, and a slightly bitterish
pungent taste. By age it becomes yellower, browner, and thicker, losing by degrees, like
volatile oils, some of its finer and more subtile parts. It is rarely if ever brought genuine into
this country dried Canada balsam being generally substituted for it. It was in high repute
among the ancients; but it is now principally used as a cosmetic by the Turkish ladies.-
(Drs. Ure and Thomson.)
The Canada balsam, now referred to, is merely fine turpentine. It is the produce of the
Pinus Balsamea, and is imported in casks, each containing about 1 cwt. It has a strong,
but not a disagreeable odour, and a bitterish taste; is transparent, whitish, and has the con-
sistence of copaiva balsam.-(See TURPENTINE.)
" Szafra and Beder are the only places in the Hedjaz where the balsam of Mecha, or Balessan, can
be procured in a pure state. The tree from which it is collected grows in the neighbouring moun-
tains, but principally upon Djebel Sobh, and is called, by the Arabe, Beshem. I was informed that it
is from 10 to 15 feet high, with a smooth trunk, and thin bark. In the middle of summer small inci-
sions are made in the bark; and the juice, which immediately issues, is taken off with the thumb
nail, and put into a vessel the gum appears to be of two kinds, one of a white, and the other of a
yellowish white colour the first is the most esteemed. I saw here some of the latter sort in a small
sheep-skin, which the Bedouins use in bringing it to market it had a strong turpentine smell, and its
taste was bitter. The people of Szafra usually adulterate it with sesamum oil and tar. When they
try its purity, they dip their finger into it and then set it on fire; if it burn without hurting or leaving
a mark on the finger, they judge it to be of good quality, but if it burn the finger as soon as it is set
on fire, they consider it to be adulterated. I remember to have read, in Bruce's Travels, an account
of the mode of trying it. by letting a drop fall into a cup filled with water the good balsam falling
coagulated to the bottom, and the bad dissolving and swimming on the surface. I tried this expert-
ment, which was unknown to the people here, and found the drop swim upon the water I tried also
their test by fire upon the finger of a Bedouin, who had to regret his temerity I, therefore, regarded
the balsam sold here as adulterated it was of less density than honey. I wished to purchase some ;
but neither my own baggage, nor any of the shops of Szafra could furnish any thing like a bottle to
hold it: the whole skin was too dear. The Bedouins, who bring it here, usually demand two or three
dollars per pound for it when quite pure; and the Szafra Arabs resell it to the hadjeys of the great
caravan at between 8and 12 dollars per pound in an adulterated state. It is bought up principally by
Persians."-(Burckherdt's Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 123.)
3. Baleam of Peru (Fr. Baume de Peru Ger. Peruvianischer Balsam ; Sp. Balsamo
de Quinquina, Lat. Balsamum Peruvianum), the produce of a tree (Myroxylon Perui-
forum) growing in the warmest parts of South America. The balsam procured by inci-
sions made in the tree is called white liquid balsam; that which is found in the shops is
obtained by boiling the twigs in water; it is imported in jars, each containing from 20 to
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BALSAM.
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40 lbs. weight. It has a fragrant aromatic odour, much resembling that of benzoin, with 2
warm bitterish taste. It is viscid, of a deep reddish brown colour, and of the consistence
of honey.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
4. Storax Storax; Ger. Stryaxbroom; It. Storace; Sp. Azumbar; Lat. Styrax,
Arab. Usteruk), the produce of a tree (Styrax officinale) growing in the south of Europe
and the Levant. Only two kinds are found in the shops: storax in tears, which is pure,
and storax in the lump, or red storax, which is mixed with sawdust and other impurities.
Both kinds are brought from the Levant in chests and boxes. Storax has a fragrant odour;
and a pleasant, sub-acidulous, slightly pungent, and aromatic taste; it is of a reddish brown
colour, and brittle.(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
5. Tolu, Balsam of (Fr. Baume de Tolu; Ger. Tolutanischer Balsam Sp. Balsamo de
Tolu). The tree which yields this balsam is the same as that which yields the balsam of
Peru; it being merely the white balsam of Peru, hardened by exposure to the air.
6. Benzoin, or Benjamin (Fr. Benzoin ; Ger. Benzoe; Sp. Bengui; It. Belzuino; Lat.
Benzoinum; Arab. Liban ; Hind. Luban; Jav. Menian; Malay, Caminyan), is an
article of much greater commercial importance than any of those balsams previously men-
tioned. It is obtained from a tree (Styrax Benzoin) cultivated in Sumatra and Borneo,
but particularly the former. The plants produce in the seventh year. The balsam is ob-
tained by making incisions in the bark, when it exudes, and is scraped off. During the first
three years, the balsam is of a clear white colour, after which it becomes brown. Having borne
10 or 12 years, the tree is cut down, a very inferior article being obtained by scraping the
wood. The balsams procured in these different stages are distinguished in commerce, and
differ widely in value. Benzoin has a very agreeable, fragrant odour, but hardly any taste.
It is imported in large masses, packed in chests and casks. It should be chosen full of clear,
light-coloured, and white spots, having the appearance of white marble when broken it is
rarely, however, to be met with in 80 pure a state, but the nearer the approach to it the better.
The worst sort is blackish, and full of impurities.-(Milburn's Orient. Com., and private
information.)
Mr. Crawfurd has given the following interesting and authentic details with respect to
this article:-Benzoin, or frankincense, called in commercial language Benjamin, is a more
general article of commerce than camphor, though its production be confined to the same
islands. Benzoin is divided in commerce, like camphor, into three sorts (head, belly, foot),
according to quality, the comparative value of which may be expressed by the figures 105,
45, 18. Benzoin is valued in proportion to its whiteness, semi-transparency, and freedom
from adventitious matters. According to its purity, the first sort may be bought at the
emporia to which it is brought, at from 50 to 100 dollars per picul (133) lbs.); the second
from 25 to 45 dollars; and the worst from 8 to 20 dollars. According to Linschoten,
benzoin, in his time, cost, in the market of Sunda Calapa or Jacatra, from 19100 to 25100
Spanish dollars the picul. By Niebuhr's account, the worst benzoin of the Indian islands
is more esteemed by the Arabs than their own best olibanum, or frankincense. In the Lon-
don market, the best benzoin is fourteen times more valuable than olibanum, and even the
worst 21 times more valuable. Benzoin usually sells in England at 10s. per pound. The
quantity generally imported into England, in the time of the monopoly, was 312 cwts. The
principal use of this commodity is as incense, and it is equally in request in the religious
ceremonies of Catholics, Mohammedans, Hindus, and Chinese. It is also used as a luxury
by the great in fumigations in their houses and the Japanese chiefs are fond of smoking
it with tobacco. Its general use among nations in such various states of civilisation, and
the steady demand for it in all ages, declare that it is one of those commodities, the taste for
which is inherent in our nature, and not the result of a particular caprice with any individual
people, as in the case of Malay camphor with the Chinese.-(Indian Archipelago, vol. iii.
p. 418.) The imports of benzoin, at an average of the three years ending with 1830, were
36,397 lbs. a year.
An inferior description of benzoin, the produce of a different tree from the Styrax benzoin,
is produced in Siam. It is comparatively cheap and abundant.
7. Dragon's Blood (Fr,Sang-Dragon; Lat. Sanguis Draconis; Arab. Damulákhwain
Hind. Heraduky), the produce of a large species of rattan (Calamus Draco) growing on
the north and north-east coast of Sumatra, and in some parts of Borneo. It is largely
exported to China, and also to India and Europe. It is either in oval drops, wrapped up in
flag-leaves, or in large and generally more impure masses, composed of smaller tears. It is
externally and internally of a deep dusky red colour, and when powdered it should become
of a bright crimson if it be black, it is worth little. When broken and held up against a
strong light, it is somewhat transparent: it has little or no smell or taste what it has of
the latter is resinous and astringent. Dragon's blood in drops is much preferable to that in
cakes; the latter being more friable, and less compact, resinous, and pure than the former.
Being a very costly article, it is very apt to be adulterated. Most of its alloys dissolve like
gums in water, or crackle in the fire without proving inflammable; whereas the genuine
dragon's blood readily melts and catches flame, and is scarcely acted on by watery liquors.
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BALTIMORE-BANDANAS.
It sells in the market of Singapore at from 15 to 35 dollars per picul, according to quality:
but the Chinese have the art of purifying and refining it, when it sells at from 80 to 100
dollars per picul. The price of the best dragon's blood in the London market, varies from
21L to 251. per cwt.-(Milburn's Orient. Com.; Crawfurd's East. Archip. and private
information.)
The nett duty on balsams imported into Great Britain in 1832 amounted to 2,440l. 8s. 10d.
BALTIMORE, a large and opulent city of the United States, in Maryland, situated on
the north side of the Patapeco river, about 14 miles above its entrance into Chesapeake bay,
in lat. 30° 17' N. long. 76° 30' W. Population in 1830, 81,000. The harbour is spa-
cious, convenient, and the water deep. The exports principally consist of tobacco, wheat and
wheat-flour, hemp and flax, flax-seed, Indian corn, and other agricultural products, timber,
iron, &c. The imports principally consist of cottons and woollens, sugar, coffee, tea, wine,
brandy, silk goods, spices, rum, &c. There were in 1830 ten banks in this city, with an
aggregate capital of 6,888,691 dollars; the total dividends for the same year amounted to
362,118 dollars, being at the rate of 54 per cent. There were also four marine insurance
companies, with a capital of 1,200,000 dollars, producing a dividend of nearly 15 per cent.
on the capital paid up; and two fire insurance companies, one of which is on the principle
of mutual guarantee.-(Statement by J. H. Goddard, New York Daily Advertiser, 29th
of January, 1831.) The registered, enrolled, and licensed tonnage belonging to Baltimore,
in December, 1831, amounted to 43,263 tons, of which 17,575 tons were employed in the
coasting trade. The total value of the articles imported into Maryland, in the year ending
the 30th of September, 1832, was 4,629,303 dollars; the total value of the exports during
the same year being 4,499,918 do. (Papers laid before Congress, 15th of February, 1833.)
In Maryland the dollar is worth 7a. 6d. currency, 1L sterling being-- 13s. 4d. currency.
For an account of the currency of the different states of the Union, with a table of the
value of the dollar in each, see NEW YORK; and to it also the reader is referred for an
account of the foreign trade of the United States. Weights and measures same as those of
England.
Exports of Flour.-Baltimore is one of the principal ports of the United States for the export of
flour. None is allowed to be shipped from any port of the Union till it has been inspected by public
officers appointed for the purpose, and its quality branded on the barrel. (See NEW York.) It ap-
pears from the reports of these officers that the flour inspected at Baltimore during the five years
ending with 1830, was as follows
Wheat Flour.
Rye Flour.
Indian Corn Meal.
Years.
Barrels.
Half barrels.
Barrels.
Half barrels.
Hbds.
Barrels.
Half barrels.
1826
583,671
25,355
1,098
4
30
2,699
20
1827
561,259
22,921
1,874
63
5,214
2
1828
537,010
18,882
4,409
415
8,798
11
1829
466,144
15,149
12,777
48
1,609
6,483
1
1830
587,875
19,865
4,436
559
5,458
In 1832 there were inspected 518,674 barrels, and 17,544 half barrets of wheat flour. The inspec-
tions of tobacco during the same year amounted to 24,156 hhds.
[The banking capital of Baltimore had increased in the early part of 1837, to $8,611,359.
The registered, enrolled, and licensed tonnage belonging to it, on the last day of September,
1837, was 67,107 tons; of which 31,621 tons were employed in the coasting trade, and
6799 tons in steam navigation. The total value of the articles imported into Maryland during
the year, ending on the day just mentioned, was $7,857,033 ; and the total value of the
exports for the same period was $3,789,917.-Am. Ed.]
BAMBOO (Fr. Bambou, Bambochés; Ger. Indianischer Rohr; It. Bambu; Hind.
Rans; Malay, Bûlûh; Jav. Preng), a species of cane, the Bambos arundinacea of
botanists. It grows every where within the tropics, and is of the greatest utility : strictly
speaking, it is a gigantic grass with a ligneous stem. It often rises to the height of 40 or 50
feet, and sometimes to even double those heights. Like most plants long and extensively
cultivated, it diverges into many varieties. Some of these are dwarfish, while others, instead
of being hollow canes, are solid. The bamboo is of rapid growth, and in four or five years
is fit for many uses, but does not bear fruit or grain till it be 25 years old, after which it
perishes. The grain makes tolerable bread. The young, but gigantic shoots, as they spring
from the earth, make a tender and good esculent vegetable. The mature bamboo is employ-
ed in an immense variety of ways, in the construction of houses, bridges, boats, agricultural
implements, &c. Some varieties grow to such a size as to be, in the largest part, near two
feet in circumference, and single knees of these are used as pails or buckets. The Chinese
are believed to fabricate their cheap and useful paper of macerated bamboo. The canes used
in Europe as walking sticks are not bamboos, but rattans-a totally distinct class of plants.
Bamboos are never used for that purpose-(Private information.)
BANDANAS, silk handkerchiefs, generally red spotted with white. They were formerly
manufactured only in the East Indies; but they are now manufactured of a very good
quality at Glasgow and other places.
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BANK-BANKING. Banks are establishments intended to serve for the safe custody
of money to facilitate its payment by one individual to another; and, sometimes, for the
accommodation of the public with loans.
I. BANKING (GENERAL PRINCIPLES of).
П. BANK OF ENGLAND (Account or).
III. BANKS (ENCLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
IV. BANKS (Scorcn).
V. BANKS (IRISH).
VI. BANKS (FOREISN).
VII. BANKS (SAVINGS).
I. BANKING (GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF).
Banks are commonly divided into two great classes; banks of deposit, and banks of
circulation. This division is not, however, a very distinct one; for there is no bank of
deposit that is not, at the same time, a bank of circulation, and few or no banks of circulation
that are not also banks of deposit. But the term banks of deposit is meant to designate those
which keep the money of individuals and circulate it only; while the term banks of circula-
tion is applied to those which do not thus confine their circulation, but issue notes of their
own payable on demand. The Bank of England is the principal bank of circulation in the
empire but it, as well as the private banks of England and Scotland that issue notes, is also
a bank of deposit. The private banking establishments in London do not issue notes, and
there are many similar establishments in Lancashire, and other parts of the country.
(1.) Utility of Banks. Private Banking Companies of London.-The establishment of
banks has contributed, in no ordinary degree, to give security and facility to all sorts of com-
mercial transactions. They afford safe and convenient places of deposit for the money that
would otherwise have to be kept, at a considerable risk, in private houses. They also pre-
vent, in a great measure, the necessity of carrying money from place to place to make pay-
ments, and enable them to be made in the most convenient and least expensive manner.
A merchant or tradesman in London, for example, who employs a banker, keeps but very
little money in his own hands, making all his considerable payments by drafts or checks on
his banker and he also sends the various checks, bills, or drafts payable to himself in Lon-
don, to his bankers before they become due. By this means he saves the trouble and incon-
venience of counting sums of money, and avoids the losses he would otherwise be liable to,
and would no doubt occasionally incur, from receiving coins or notes not genuine. Perhaps,
however, the great advantage derived by the merchant or tradesman from the employment
of a banker, consists in its relieving him from all trouble with respect to the presentation
for payment of due bills and drafts. The moment these are transferred to the banker, they
are at his risk. And if he either neglect to present them when due, or to have them properly
noted in the event of their not being paid, he has to answer for the consequences.
This circumstance alone must cause an immense saving of expense to a mercantile house
in the course of a year. Let us suppose that a merchant has only two bills due each day.
These bills may be payable in distant parts of the town, so that it may take a clerk half a
day to present them; and in large mercantile establishments it would take up the whole time
of one or two clerks to present the due bills and the drafts. The salary of these clerks is,
therefore, saved by keeping an account at a banker's: besides the saving of expense, it is
also reasonable to suppose that losses upon bills would sometimes occur from mistakes, or
oversights, from miscalculation as to the time the bill would become due-from errors in
marking it up-from forgetfulness to present it, or from presenting it at the wrong place.
In these cases the indorsers and drawees are exonerated and if the acceptor do not pay the
bill, the amount is lost. In a banking house such mistakes occur sometimes, though more
rarely but when they do occur, the loss falls upon the banker, and not upon his customer."
-(Gilbart's Practical Observations on Banking.)
It is on other grounds particularly desirable for a merchant or tradesman to have an
account with a banking house. He can refer to his bankers as vouchers for his respects-
bility and in the event of his wishing to acquire any information with respect to the cir-
cumstances, or credit, of any one with whom he is not acquainted, his bankers will render
him all the assistance in their power. In this respect they have great facilities, it being the
common practice amongst the bankers in London, and most other trading towns, to com-
municate information to each other as to the credit and solvency of their customers.
To provide for the public security, the statute 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. 1 49. for the punishment of em-
bexxiement committed by agents intrusted with property," enacts, That if any money, or security
for the payment of money, shall be intrusted to any banker, merchant, broker, attorney, or other
agent, with any direction in writing to apply such money, or any part thereof, or the proceeds, or any
part of the proceeds of such security, for any purpose specified in such direction, and he shall, in vie-
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lation of good faith, and contrary to the purpose so specified, in any wise convert to his own use or
benefit such money, security, or proceeds, or any part thereof respectively, every such offender shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court,
to be transported beyond seas, for any term not exceeding fourteen years, nor less than seven years,
or to suffer such punishment by fine or imprisonment, or by both, as the court shall award; and if
any chattel or valuable security, or any power of attorney for the sale or transfer of any share or In-
terest in any public stock or fund, whether of this kingdom, or of Great Britain, or of Ireland, or of
any foreign state, or in any fund of any body corporate, company or society, shall be intrusted to any
banker, merchant, broker, attorney, or other agent, for safe custody, or for any special purpose, with-
out any authority to sell, negotiate, transfer, or pledge, and he shall, in violation of good faith, and
contrary to the object or purpose which such chattel or security, or power of attorney, shall have
been intrusted to him, sell, negotiate, transfer, pledge, or in any manner convert to his own use or
benefit such chattel or security, or the proceeds of the same, or any part thereof, or the share or in-
terest in stock or fund to which such power of attorney shall relate, or any part thereof, every such
offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the dis-
cretion of the court, to any of the punishments which the court may award as hereinbefore last
mentioned."
This act is not to affect trustees and mortgagees, nor bankers receiving money due upon securities,
nor securities upon which they have a lien, claim, or demand, entitling them by law to sell, transfer,
or otherwise dispose of them, unless such sale, transfer, or other disposal shall extend to a greater
number or part of such securities or effects than shall be requisite for satisfying such lien, claim,
&c.- 50.
Nothing in this act is to prevent, impeach, or lessen any remedy at law or in equity, which any
party aggrieved by any such offence might or would have had, had it not been passed. No banker,
merchant, &c. shall be convicted as an offender against this act, in respect of any act done by bim, if
he shall at any time previously to his being indicted for such offence have disclosed such act on oath,
in consequence of any compulsory process of any court of law or equity, in any action bona fide insti-
tuted by any party aggrieved, or if he shall have disclosed the same in any examination or deposition
before any commissioner of bankrupt.-& 52.
The Bank of England, and the private banking companies of London as well as some of
the English provincial banks, charge no commission on the payments made and received on
account of those who deal with them. But they allow no interest on the sums deposited in
their hands; and it is either stipulated or distinctly understood that a person employing a
banker should, besides furnishing him with sufficient funds to pay his drafts, keep an average
balance in the banker's hands, varying, of course, according to the amount of business done
on his account; that is, according to the number of his checks or drafts to be paid, and the
number of drafts and bills to be received for him. The bankers then calculate, as well as
they can, the probable amount of cash that it will be necessary for them to keep in their
coffers to meet the ordinary demands of their customers, and employ the balance in discount-
ing mercantile bills, in the purchase of government securities, or in some other sort of pro-
fitable adventure; so that their profits result, in the case of their not issuing notes, from the
difference between the various expenses attendant on the management of their establish-
ments, and the profits derived from such part of the sums lodged in their hands as they can
venture to employ in an advantageous way.
The directors of the Bank of England do not allow any individual to overdraw his account.
They answer drafts to the full extent of the funds deposited in their hands; but they will
not pay a draft if it exceed their amount. Private bankers are not generally so scrupulous;
most of them allow respectable individuals, in whom they have confidence, to overdraw their
accounts; those who do so paying interest at the rate of 5 per cent. or whatever sums they
overdraw. The possession of this power of overdrawing is often a great convenience to
merchants, while it is rarely productive of loss to the banker. The money which is over-
drawn is usually replaced within a short period; sometimes, indeed, in the course of a day
or two. The directors of the Bank of England decline granting this facility from a disin-
clination on their part to come into competition in a matter of this sort with private bankers,
who transact this kind of business better, probably, than it could be done by a great esta-
blishment like the Bank.
The facility which banks afford to the public in the negotiation of bills of exchange, or
in the making of payment at distant places, is very great. Many of the banking companies
established in different districts have a direct intercourse with each other, and they have all
correspondents in London. Hence an individual residing in any part of the country, who
may wish to make a payment in any other part, however distant, may effect his object by
applying to the bank nearest to him. Thus, suppose A. of Penzance has a payment to
make to B. of Inverness: to send the money by post would be hazardous and if there
were fractional parts of a pound in the sum, it would hardly be practicable to make use of
the post: how then will A. manage He will pay the sum to a banker in Penzance, and
his debtor in Inverness will receive it from a banker there. The transaction is extremely
simple the Penzance banker orders his correspondent in London to pay to the correspond-
ent of the Inverness banker the sum in question on account of B.; and the Inverness
banker, being advised in course of post of what has been done, pays B. A small commission
charged by the Penzance banker, and the postage, constitute the whole expense. There is
no risk whatever, and the whole affair is transacted in the most commodious and cheapest
manner.
By far the largest proportion both of the inland bills in circulation in the country, and also
of the foreign bills drawn upon Great Britain, are made payable in London, the grand focus
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to which all the pecuniary transactions of the empire are ultimately brought to be adjusted.
And in order still further to economise the use of money, the principal bankers of the me-
tropolis are in the habit of sending a clerk each day to the clearing house in Lombard-street,
who carries with him the various bills in the possession of his house that are drawn upon
other bankers; and having exchanged them for the bills in possession of those others that
are drawn upon his constituents, the balance on the one side or the other is paid in cash or
Bank of England notes. By this contrivance the bankers of London are enabled to settle
transactions to the extent of several millions a day, by the employment of not more, at an
average, than from 200,000L to 300,000Z. of cash or Bank notes.-(See CLEARING HOUSE.)
In consequence of these and other facilities afforded by the intervention of bankers for the
settlement of pecuniary transactions, the money required to conduct the business of an
extensive country is reduced to a trifle only, compared with what it would otherwise be.
It is not, indeed, possible to form any very accurate estimate of the total saving that is thus
effected but, supposing that 50 or 60 millions of gold and silver and bank notes are at
present required, notwithstanding all the devices that have been resorted to for economising
money, for the circulation of Great Britain, it may, one should think, be fairly concluded,
that 200 millions would, at the very least, have been required to transact an equal extent of
business but for those devices. If this statement be nearly accurate, and there are good
grounds for thinking that it is rather under than over rated, it strikingly exhibits the vast
importance of banking in a public point of view. By its means 50 or 60 millions are ren-
dered capable of performing the same functions, and in an infinitely more commodious man-
ner, that would otherwise have required four times that sum; and supposing that 20 or 30
millions are employed by the bankers as a capital in their establishments, no less than 120 or
130 millions will be altogether disengaged, or cease to be employed as an instrument of
circulation, and made available for employment in agriculture, manufactures, and com-
merce.
(2.) Substitution of Bank Notes for Coins. Means by which the value of Bank Notes
may be sustained.-Not only, however, does the formation of banking establishments enable
the business of a country to be conducted with a far less amount of money, but it also enables
a large portion of that less amount to be fabricated of the least valuable materials, or of
paper instead of gold. It would, however, alike exceed the limits and be inconsistent with
the objects of this article, to enter into lengthened details with respect to the mode in which
this substitution originally took place. It is sufficient to observe, that it naturally grew out
of the progress of society. When governments became sufficiently powerful and intelligent
to enforce the observance of contracts, individuals possessed of written promises from others
that they would pay certain sums at specified periods, began to assign them to those to whom
they were indebted; and when those by whom such obligations are subscribed are persons
of whose solvency no doubt can be entertained, they are readily accepted in payment of the
debts due by one individual to another. But when the circulation of obligations or bills in
this way has continued for a while, individuals begin to perceive that they may derive a
profit by issuing them in such a form as to fit them for being readily used as a substitute for
money in the ordinary transactions of life. Hence the origin of bank notes. An individual
in whose wealth and discretion the public have confidence being applied to for a loan, say
of 5,000/., grants the applicant his bill or note payable on demand for that sum. Now, as
this note passes, in consequence of the confidence placed in the issuer, currently from hand
to hand as cash, it is quite as useful to the borrower as if he had obtained an equivalent
amount of gold; and supposing that the rate of interest is 5 per cent., it will yield, so long
as it continues to circulate, a revenue of 250L a year to the issuer. A banker who issues
notes, coins as it were his credit. He derives the same revenue from the loan of his written
promise to pay a certain sum, that he would derive from the loan of the sum itself; and
while he thus increases his own income, he at the same time contributes to increase the
wealth of the society. Besides being incomparably cheaper, bank notes are also incompar-
ably more commodious than a metal currency. A bank note for 1,000L. or 100,000/. may
be carried about with as much facility as a single sovereign. It is of importance, too, to
observe, that its loss or destruction, whether by fire, shipwreck, or otherwise, would be of
no greater importance in a public point of view, than the loss or destruction of as much
paper. No doubt it might be a serious calamity to the holder; but whatever the extent it
injured him, it would proportionally benefit the issuer, whereas the loss of coin is an injury
to the holder without being of service to any one else; it is, in fact, so much abstracted from
the wealth of the community.
Promissory notes issued by private individuals or associations circulate only because those
who accept them have full confidence in the credit and solvency of the issuers, or because
they feel assured that they will be paid when they become due. If any circumstances trans-
pired to excite suspicions as to their credit, it would be impossible for them to circulate any
additional notes, and those that they had issued would be immediately returned for payment.
Such, however, is not the case with paper money properly so called, or with notes that are
declared legal tender. It is not necessary, in order to sustain the value of such notes, that
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they should be payable at all the only thing that is required for that purpose is, that they
should be issued in limited quantities. Every country has a certain number of exchanges
to make; and whether these are effected by the employment of a given number of coins of a
particular denomination, or by the employment of the same number of notes of the same
denomination, is, in this respect, of no importance whatever. Notes which have been made
legal tender, and are not payable on demand, do not circulate because of any confidence
placed in the capacity of the issuers to retire them; neither do they circulate because they
are of the same real value as the commodities for which they are exchanged but they circu-
late because, having been selected to perform the functions of money, they are, as such,
readily received by all individuals in payment of their debts. Notes of this description may
be regarded as a sort of tickets or counters to be used in computing the value of property,
and in transferring it from one individual to another. And as they are no wise affected by
fluctuations of credit, their value, it is obvious, must depend entirely on the quantity of them
in circulation as compared with the payments to be made through their instrumentality, or
the business they have to perform. By reducing the supply of notes below the supply
of coins that would circulate in their place were they withdrawn, their value is raised above
the value of gold while, by increasing them to a greater extent, it is proportionally lowered.
Hence, supposing it were possible to ebtain any security other than immediate converti-
bility into the precious metals, that notes declared to be legal tender would not be issued in
excess, but that their number afloat would be so adjusted as to preserve their value as com-
pared with gold nearly uniform, the obligation to pay them on demand might be done away.
But it is needless to say that no such security can be obtained. Wherever the power to
issue paper, not immediately convertible, has been conceded to any set of persons, it has been
abused, or, which is the same thing, such paper has uniformly been over-issued, or its value
depreciated from excess. It is now admitted on all hands to be indispensable, in order to
prevent injurious fluctuations in the value of money, that all notes be made payable, at the
pleasure of the holder, in an unvarying quantity of gold and silver. This renders it impos-
sible for the issuers of paper to depreciate its value below that of the precious metals. They
may, indeed, by over-issuing paper, depress the value of the whole currency, gold as well as
paper, in the country in which the over-issue is made; but the moment that they do this,
gold begins to be sent abroad; and paper being returned upon the issuers for payment, they
are, in order to prevent the exhaustion of their coffers, compelled to lessen their issues; and
thus, by raising the value of the currency, stop the drain for bullion.
It does, however, appear to us, that it is not only necessary, in order to prevent the over-
issue of paper, to enact that all notes should be payable on demand, but that it is further
necessary, in order to insure compliance with this enactment, to prohibit any one from issu-
ing notes until he has satisfied the government of his ability to pay them. The circum-
stances that excite public confidence in the issuers of paper are often of the most deceitful
description and innumerable instances have occurred, of the population of extensive dis-
tricts having suffered severely from the insolvency of bankers in whom they placed the
utmost confidence. In 1793, in 1814, 1815, and 1816, and again in 1825, a very large
proportion of the country banks were destroyed, and produced by their fall an extent of ruin
that has hardly been equalled in any other country. And when such disasters have already
happened, it is surely the bounden duty of government to hinder, by every means in its
power, their recurrence. It is no exaggeration to affirm, that we have sustained ten times
more injury from the circulation of worthless paper, or paper issued by persons without the
means of retiring it, than from the issue of spurious coin. It is said, indeed, by those who are
hostile to interference, that coins are legal tenders, whereas, notes being destitute of that
privilege, those who suspect them are at liberty to refuse them; but, whatever notes may be
in law, they are, in very many districts, practically and in fact, legal tenders, and could not
be rejected without exposing the parties to much inconvenience. It should also be observed,
that labourers, women, minors, and every sort of persons, however incapable of judging of
the stability of banking establishments, are dealers in money, and consequently liable to be
imposed upon. This, then, is clearly a case in which it is absolutely imperative upon
government to interfere, to protect the interests of those who cannot protect themselves,
either by compelling all individuals applying for stamps for notes, to give security for their
payment, or by making sure, in some other way, that they have the means of, paying them,
and that the circulation of the notes will be a benefit and not an injury to the public.
A security of this sort has been exacted in the case of the Bank of England; and the
whole 14,686,000L lent by the Bank to government, must be sacrificed before the holders
of her notes can sustain the smallest loss. Her stability has, therefore, been truly said, by
Dr. Smith, to be equal to that of the British government. The system of taking securities
having been found to answer so well in the case of the Bank of England, is a powerful
argument in favour of its extension. Were securities taken from the country banks, their
ultimate failure, in the capacity of banks of issue, would be rendered impossible; and a
degree of solidity would be given to our money system, which it is idle to expect it can ever
attain, so long as it continues on its present footing.
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It is exceedingly difficult to prevent the issue of forged notes. Various schemes have been
suggested for this purpose; and though it is hardly possible to suppose that an inimitable
note will ever be produced, it is contended, that by judiciously combining different sorts of
engraving, forgery may be rendered so difficult, as to be but rarely attempted. But however
this may be, during the period from 1797 to 1819, when the Bank of England issued 1/.
notes, their forgery was carried on to a great extent. And the desire to check this practice,
and to lessen the frequency of capital punishments, appears to have been amongst the most
prominent circumstances which led to the return to specie payments in 1821, and the sup-
pression of 1/. notes—(See Table I.)
(3.) Bank of England Notes legal tender.-According to the law as it stood previously
to the present year (1834), all descriptions of notes were payable at the pleasure of the
holder, in coin of the standard weight and purity. But the policy of such a regulation was
very questionable and we regard the enactment of the late stat. 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 98.,
which makes Bank of England notes legal tender, every where except at the Bank and its
branches, for all sums above 5/., as a very great improvement. So long as the notes of the
Bank are themselves convertible, at the pleasure of the holder, into coin, an arrangement of
this sort will, it is obvious, effectually prevent any over-issue of country paper, at the same
time that it is free from many very serious disadvantages that attached to the former plan.
The unjust liabilities imposed upon the Bank of England by the old system, placed her in a
situation of great difficulty and hazard. They obliged her to provide a supply of coin and
bullion, not for her own exigencies only, but for those of all the country banks; and, what
is harder still, they exposed her to be deeply injured by any misconduct on the part of the
latter, as well as by the distress in which they might accidentally be involved. In conse-
quence her free action has been at all times in some degree impeded; and her power to
render assistance to the banking and mercantile interests in periods of discredit materially
diminished. The country banks kept but a small supply of coin in their coffers. They
were all, however, holders, to a greater or less extent, of government securities; and whenever
any circumstance occurred, to occasion a demand upon them for coin, they immediately
sold or pledged the whole or a portion of their stock, carried the notes to the Bank to be
exchanged, and then carried the specie to the country. Hence, when any suspicions were
entertained of the credit of the country banks, or when a panic originated amongst the hold-
ers of their notes, as was the case in 1793 and 1825, the whole of them retreated upon the
Bank of England, and 700 or 800 conduits were opened, to draw off the specie of that
establishment, which was thus, it is evident, exposed to the risk of stoppage without
having done any thing wrong. It was not the drain for gold from abroad, but the drain for
gold from the country, that nearly exhausted the Bank's coffers in 1825, and forced her to
issue about a million of 1/. and 2/. notes. The currency could not possibly be in a sound
healthy state, while the Bank of England, and, through her, public credit, were placed in so
perilous a situation. But the making of Bank of England notes legal tender at all places
except the Bank, will tend materially to protect her from the injurious consequences of
panics or runs among the holders of country bank paper; and while it does this, it will not,
as it appears to us, in any wise impair the securities against over-issue or depreciation.
It was, no doubt, contended during the discussions on the late act, that the measure now
referred to would lead to the depreciation of provincial paper; inasmuch as the expense of
sending notes from a distance to London, to be exchanged for gold, would prevent any one
from demanding Bank of England notes from country banks in good credit, till the value of
the notes issued by them was so much depreciated below the value of gold, that the difference
would more than pay the expense of sending men to London, and bringing gold back. But
this notion proceeds on a radical misconception of the nature of the old as well as of the new
system of currency. There cannot, in point of fact, be the least difference, as repects value,
in the provinces, between Bank of England paper, now that it is legal tender, and gold.
London being the place where the exchanges are adjusted, the value of money in every part
of the empire must depend on its value in it; and this, it is plain, cannot be in any degree
affected by the late measure. Formerly the provincial currency, gold as well as paper,
might be, and, indeed, frequently was, depreciated. This was brought about either by an
over-issue on the part of the country banks, generally in the first instance, the effect, but
always, in the end, the cause of a rise of prices; or by the issues of the Bank of England,
being, in consequence of an adverse exchange, narrowed sooner or more rapidly than those
of the country banks. In either case the provincial currency being redundant as compared
with that of the metropolis, there was a demand on its issuers for bills on London but it is
material to observe, that, unless their credit was suspected, there was not in such cases, any
demand upon them for gold. It is, indeed, obvious that a redundancy of the currency is a
defect that cannot be obviated by getting gold from the country banks, unless (as hoarding
is out of the question) it be intended to send it abroad; and that may always be done better
and cheaper by getting from them Bank of England notes, or bills on London. A local
redundancy of the currency may take place in future as it has done formerly, and its occur-
rence cannot be prevented, even though paper were wholly banished from cireulation. so
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long as the whole currency is not supplied from one source, and as London is the focus
where the exchanges with foreign countries are adjusted. But the statements now made
show that it is a radical mistake to suppose that it can take place more readily, or to a greater
extent, under the new system than formerly. In this respect no change has been made.
But while our ancient security against over-issue is maintained unimpaired, the recent
arrangements increase the stability of the Bank of England, and consequently improve our
whole pecuniary system.
If any doubt could possibly remain as to the operation of the new system, it would be
removed by referring to Scotland. Gold has been practically banished from that country
for a long series of years; and yet no one pretends to say that prices are higher in Scotland
than in England, or that her currency is depreciated. The Scotch currency is kept at its
proper level, not by the check of gold payments, but by the demand for bills on London and
it is as effectually limited in this way as it could be were the banks universally in the habit
of exchanging their notes for gold. On what grounds, then, is it to be apprehended that the
obligation to give Bank of England notes or bills on London, will be less effectual in restrain-
ing over-issue in Yorkshire or Durham than in Scotland ?
A banker who issues notes must keep beside him such a stock of cash and bullion, as
may be sufficient to answer the demands of the public for their payment. If the value of
the cash and bullion in his coffers were equal to the value of his notes in circulation, he
would not, it is plain, make any profit; but if he be in good credit, a third, a fourth, or even
a fifth part of this sum will probably be sufficient; and his profit consists of the excess of
the interest derived from his notes in circulation, over the interest of the sum he is obliged
to keep dormant in his strong box, and the expenses of managing his establishment. The
Bank of England, as will be afterwards seen, keeps an average stock of coin and bullion
equal to a third of her liabilities.
(4.) Legal Description of Bank Notes.-Bank notes are merely a species of promissory
notes. They are subscribed either by the parties on whose account they are issued, or by
some one in their employment, whose signature is binding upon them. A Bank of England
note for 5L is as follows:-
Bank of England.
N°
I promise to pay to Mr. Thomas Rippon, or Bearer,
N°.
on Demand, the Sum of Five Pounds.
1833. September 9, London, 9 September, 1833.
For the Gov and Comp" of the
Fibe.
BANK of ENGLAND.
A.B.
No particular form of words is necessary in a bank note. The essential requisites are,
that it should be for a definite sum (in England and Wales not less than 5L, and in Scot-
land and Ireland not less than 12), that it should be payable to bearer on demand, and that
it should be properly stamped. Promissory notes, though issued by bankers, if not payable
to bearer on demand, do not come under the denomination of bank notes: they are not, like
the latter, taken as cash in all ordinary transactions; nor are they, like them, assignable by
mere delivery.
The circulation of notes for less than 51. was restrained by law (stat. 15 Geo. 3. c. 51.)
from 1766 to 1797. In 1808, it was enacted by stat. 48 Geo. 3. c. 88., that all bank notes,
promissory notes, or other negotiable instruments for less than 20s. should be absolutely
void a penalty of from 20s. to 51., at the discretion of the justices, being imposed on
their issuers. It was enacted by the 7 Geo. 4. c. 6., that the issue of all bank notes or pro-
missory notes for less than 51. by the Bank of England, or by any licensed English bankers,
and stamped on the 5th of February, 1826, or previously (after which period such notes
were not stamped), should terminate on the 5th of April, 1829.
The stamp duties on bank notes or promissory notes payable on demand, are-
£ s. d.
£ s.d.
£ 8. d.
Not exceeding
110
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 5
Exceeding
1 1 0 and not exceeding
220-
-
.
- 0 0 10
-
220
-
550 -
-
-
- 0 1 3
-
5 5 0
-
10 0 0 -
-
-
- 0 1 9
-
10 0 0
-
20 0 0 -
-
-
- 0 2 0
-
20 0 0
-
30 0 0 -
-
-
- 0 3 0
-
30 0 0
-
50 0 0 -
-
-
- 0 5 0
-
50 0 0
-
100 0 0 -
-
-
- 0 8 6
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75
Which notes may be reissued after payment, as often as shall be thought fit, provided they
be issued by a banker or person who has taken out a licence, renewable annually, and cost-
ing 30/., to issue notes payable to bearer on demand. Any banker or other person issuing
such re-issuable notes, without being duly licensed, shall forfeit 100l. for every offence.-(55
Geo. 3. c. 184. s 27.)
These conditions do not apply to the Bank of England, the stamp duties on the notes
of that establishment being compounded for at the rate of 3,500L per million of its notes in
circulation.
Notes or bills not payable to bearer on demand, are not re-issuable, under a penalty of 50L
(For the stamp duties affecting them, see EXCHANGE.)
By the 9 Geo. 4. c. 23., English bankers not in the City of London, or within three miles
thereof, are authorised to issue promissory notes, and to draw and issue bills of exchange, on
unstamped paper, for any sum of 5L or upwards, expressed to be payable to the bearer on
demand, or to order at any period not exceeding 7 days after sight (bills may also be drawn
at any period not exceeding 21 days after date), upon obtaining licences, costing 30L, to that
effect, provided such bills of exchange be drawn upon bankers in London, Westminster, or
Southwark: or provided such bills be drawn by any banker or bankers at the place where
he or they shall be licensed to issue unstamped notes and bills, upon himself or themselves,
or his or their copartner or copartners, payable at any other place where such banker or
bankers shall be licensed to issue such notes and bills. Bankers having such licences, are to
give security by bond, that they will keep a true account of all promissory notes and bills so
issued, and account for the duties on them at the rate of 3s. 6d. for every 100/., and also for
the fractional parts of 100L of the average value of such notes and bills in circulation. Per-
sons post-dating unstamped notes or bills shall, for every such offence, forfeit 100L
(5.) Legal Effect of the Payment of Bank Notes.Notes of the Bank of England were
not, previously to the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 98., like bills of exchange, mere securities, or
documents of debt, but were treated as money or cash in the ordinary course or trans-
actions of business; the receipts given upon their payment being always given as for money.
Now, however, they are legal tender, every where except at the Bank, for all sums above
5L All notes payable to bearer are assignable by delivery. The holder of a bank note is
prima facie entitled to prompt payment of it, and cannot be affected by the previous fraud
of any former holder in obtaining it, unless evidence be given to show that he was privy to
such fraud. Such privity may, however, be inferred from the circumstances of the case. To
use the words of Lord Tenterden, If a person take a bill, note, or any other kind of secu-
rity, under circumstances which ought to excite suspicion in the mind of any reasonable man
acquainted with the ordinary affairs of life, and which ought to put him on his guard to make
the necessary inquiries, and he do not, then he loses the right of maintaining possession of
the instrument against the lawful Guildhall, 25th October, 1826.)
Country bank notes are usually received as cash. But though taken as such, if they be
presented in due time and not paid, they do not amount to a payment, and the deliverer of
the notes is still liable to the holder. It is not easy to determine what is a due or reasonable
time, inasmuch as it must depend in a great measure on the circumstances of each particular
case. On the whole, the safest rule seems to be to present all notes or drafts payable on de-
mand, if received in the place where they are payable, on the day on which they are received,
or as soon after as possible. When they have to be transmitted by post for payment, no un-
necessary delay should be allowed to intervene.-Chifty's Commercial Law, vol. iii. p.
590., and the art. " Check" in this Dictionary.)
II. BANK OF ENGLAND (Account OF).
(1.) Historical Sketch of the Bank.-This great establishment, which has long been the
principal bank of deposit and circulation, not in thiscountry only, but in Europe, was founded
in 1694. Its principal projector was Mr. William Paterson, an enterprising and intelligent
Scotch gentleman, who was afterwards engaged in the ill-fated colony at Darien. Govern-
ment being at the time much distressed for want of money, partly from the defects and
abuses in the system of taxation, and partly from the difficulty of borrowing, because of the
supposed instability of the revolutionary establishment, the Bank grew out of a loan of
1,200,000L for the public service. The subscribers, besides receiving eight per cent. on the
sum advanced as interest, and 4,000L a year as the expense of management, in all 100,000L
a year, were incorporated into a society denominated the Governor and Company of the
Bank of England. The charter is dated the 27th of July, 1694. It declares, amongst other
things, that they shall be capable in law, to purchase, enjoy, and retain to them and their suc-
cessors, any manors, lands, rents, tenements, and possessions whatsoever; and to purchase
and acquire all sorts of goods and chattels whatsoever, wherein they are not restrained by
act of parliament; and also to grant, demise, and dispose of the same.
That the management and government of the corporation be committed to the go-
vernor, deputy governor, and twenty-four directors, who shall be elected between the 25th
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
day of March and 25th day of April, each year, from among the members of the Company
duly qualified.
That no dividend shall at any time be made by the said Governor and Company, save
only out of the interest, profit, or produce arising by or out of the said capital stock or fund,
or by such dealing as is allowed by act of parliament.
They must be natural born subjects of England, or naturalised subjects; they shall
have in their own name and for their own use, severally, viz-the governor, at least 4,000L,
the deputy governor 3,000l., and each director 2,000l. of the capital stock of the said corpo-
ration.
That thirteen or more of the said governors and directors (of which the governor or de-
puty governor must be always one) shall constitute a court of directors, for the management
of the affairs of the Company, and for the appointment of all agents and servants, which
may be necessary, paying them such salaries as they may consider reasonable.
" Every elector must have, in his own name and for his own use, 5001. or more capital
stock, and can only give one vote. He must, if required by any member present, take the
oath of stock; or the declaration of stock, in case he be one of the people called Quakers.
" Four general courts to be held in every year; in the months of September, December,
April, and July. A general court may be summoned at any time, upon the requisition of
nine proprietors, duly qualified as electors.
" The majority of electors in general courts have the power to make and constitute by-laws
and ordinances for the government of the corporation, provided that such by-laws and ordi-
nances be not repugnant to the laws of the kingdom, and be confirmed and approved, accord-
ing to the statutes in such case made and provided."
The corporation is prohibited from engaging in any sort of commercial undertaking other
than dealing in bills of exchange, and in gold and silver. It is authorised to advance money
upon the security of goods or merchandise pledged to it ; and to sell, by public auction, such
goods as are not redeemed within a specified time.
It was also enacted, in the same year in which the Bank was established, by statute 6
William and Mary, c. 20., that the Bank " shall not deal in any goods, wares, or merchan-
dise (except bullion), or purchase any lands or revenues belonging to the crown, or advance
or lend to their Majesties, their heirs or successors, any sum or sums of money by way of
loan or anticipation, or any part or parts, branch or branches, fund or funds of the revenue,
now granted or belonging, or hereafter to be granted to their Majesties, their heirs and suc-
cessors, other than such fund or funds, part or parts, branch or branches of the said revenue
only, on which a credit of loan is or shall be granted by parliament." And in 1697 it was
enacted, that the common capital and principal stock, and also the real fund of the Gover-
nor and Company, or any profit or produce to be made thereof, or arising thereby, shall be
exempted from any rates, taxes, assessments, or impositions whatsoever, during the conti-
nuance of the Bank; and that all the profit, benefit, and advantage, from time to time arising
out of the management of the said corporation, shall be applied to the uses of all the mem-
bers of the said corporation of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, rate-
ably, and in proportion to each member's part, share, and interest in the common capital and
principal stock of the said Governor and Company hereby established."
It was further enacted, in 1697, that the forgery of the Company's seal, or of any sealed
bill or Bank note, should be felony without benefit of clergy, and that the making of any
alteration or erasure in any bill or note should also be felony.
In 1696, during the great recoinage, the Bank was involved in considerable difficulties,
and was even compelled to suspend payment of her notes, which were at a heavy discount.
Owing, however, to the judicious conduct of the directors, and the assistance of government,
the Bank got over the crisis. But it was at the same time judged expedient, in order to
place her in a situation the better to withstand any adverse circumstances that might after-
wards occur, to increase her capital from 1,200,000/. to 2,201,1714 In 1708, the directors
undertook to pay off and cancel one million and a half of Exchequer bills they had circu-
lated two years before, at 4d per cent., with the interest on them, amounting in all to
1,775,028L which increased the permanent debt due by the public to the Bank, including
400,000L then advanced in consideration of the renewal of the charter, to 3,375,028L, for
which they were allowed 6 per cent. The Bank capital, was then also doubled or increased
to 4,402,3431. But the year 1708 is chiefly memorable, in the history of the Bank, for the
act that was then passed, which declared, that during the continuance of the corporation of
the Bank of England, " it should not be lawful for any body politic, erected or to be erected,
other than the said Governor and Company of the Bank of England, or for any other per-
sons whatsoever, united or to be united in covenants or partnership, exceeding the number of
6 persons, in that part of Great Britain called England, to borrow, owe, or take up any sum
or sums of money on their bills or notes payable on demand, or in any less time than 6
months from the borrowing thereof."-This proviso, which has had so powerful an operation
on banking in England, is said to have been elicited by the Mine-adventure Company hav-
ing commenced banking business, and begun to issue notes.
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BANK OF ENGLAND
77
It has been pretty generally imagined, from the private banking companies in the metro-
polis not issuing notes, that they were legally incapacitated from doing so. But the clause
in the act of 1708, which has been the only restriction on the issue of notes, applied gene-
rally to all England, and had no peculiar reference to London. The fact that banks with 6
or fewer partners have not issued notes in the metropolis, as well as in the provinces, is,
therefore, ascribable either to their being aware that their notes would obtain no considerable
circulation concurrently with those of a great association like the bank of England, or from
their believing that their issue would not be profitable.
The charter of the Bank of England, when first granted, was to continue for eleven years
certain, or till a year's notice after the 1st of August, 1705. The charter was further pro-
longed in 1697. In 1708, the Bank having advanced 400,000/. for the public service,
without interest, the exclusive privileges of the corporation were prolonged till 1733. And
in consequence of various advances made at different times, the exclusive privileges of the
Bank have been continued by successive renewals, till a year's notice, after the first of Au-
gust, 1855. under the proviso that they may be cancelled on a year's notice to that effect
being given on the 1st of August, 1845.
We subjoin
An account of the successive Renewals of the Charter, of the Conditions under which these Re-
newals were made, and of the Variations in the Amount and Interest of the Permanent Debt due
by Government to the Bank, exclusive of the Dead Weight.
Date of
Conditions under which Renewals were made, and Permanent Debt contracted.
Permanent Debt.
Renewal.
1694.
Charter granted under the act 5 & 6 Will. 3. c. 20., redeemable upon
£ S. d.
the expiration of 12 months' notice after the 1st of August, 1705,
upon payment by the public to the Bank of the demands therein spe-
cified.
Under this act the Bank advanced to the public 1,200,000L., in
consideration of their receiving an annuity of 100,000L. a year,
viz: 8 per cent. interest, and 4,000L. for management
1,200,000 0 0
1697.
Charter continued by the 8 & 9 Will. 3. c. 20. till 12 months' notice
after 1st of August, 1710, on payment, &c.
Under this act the Bank took up and added to their stock
1,001, 1711. Exchequer bills and tallies.
1708.
Charter continued by 7 Anne, c. 7. till 12 months' notice after 1st of
August, 1732, on payment, &c.
Under this act the Bank advanced 400,000Z. to government
without interest; and delivered up to be cancelled 1,775,0271.
17s. 10d. Exchequer bills, in consideration of their receiving an
annuity of 106,501L. 13s., being at the rate of 6 per cent.
2,175,027 17 10
1713.
Charter continued by 12 Anne, stat. 1. C. 11. till 12 months' notice after
1st of August, 1742, on payment, &c.
In 1716, by the 3 Geo. 1. c. 8., Bank advanced to government,
at 5 per cent.
-
-
2,000,000 0 0
And by the same act, the interest on the Exchequer bills can-
1 celled in 1708 was reduced from 6 to 5 per cent.
In 1721, by 8 Geo. 1. C. 21., the South Sea Company were au-
thorised to sell 200,000Z. government annuities, and corporations
purchasing the same at 26 years' purchase were authorised to add
the amount to their capital stock. The Bank purchased the
whole of these annuities at 20 years' purchase
-
4,000,000 0 0
5 per cent. interest was payable on this sum to Midsummer,
1727, and thereafter, 4 per cent.
-
9,375,027 17 10
At different times between 1727 and 1738, both inclusive, the
Bank received from the public, on account of permanent debt,
3,275,0271. 17s. 10d., and advanced to it on account of ditto,
3,000,000L. Difference
-
-
-
-
-
275,027 17 10
Debt due by the public in 1738
-
-
-
-
9,100,000 0 0
1742.
Charter continued by 15 Geo. 2. c. 13. till 12 months' notice after 1st
of August, 1764, on payment, &c.
Under this act the Bank advanced 1,600,000Z. without interest,
which being added to the original advance of 1,200,000L. and the
400,000Z. advanced in 1710, bearing interest at 6 per cent., reduced
the interest on the whole to 3 per cent.
-
1,600,000 0 0
In 1745, under authority of 19 Geo. 2. C. 6., the Bank delivered
up to be cancelled 956,000Z. of Exchequer bills, in consideration
of an annuity of 39,4721., being at the rate of 3 per cent.
-
986,000 0 0
In 1749, the 23 Geo. 2. C. 6. reduced the interest on the 4 per
cent. annuities held by the Bank, to 31 per cent. for 7 years from
the 5th of December, 1750, and thereafter to 3 per cent.
1764.
Charter continued by 4 Geo, 3. c. 25. till 12 months' notice after 1st of
August, 1786, on payment, &c.
Under this act the Bank paid into the Exchequer 110,000L. free
of all charge.
1781.
Charter continued by 21 Geo. 3. c. 60. till 12 months' notice after 1st
of August, 1812, on payment, &c.
Under this act the Bank advanced 3,000,000Z. for the public ser-
vice for 3 years at 3 percent.
1800.
Charter continued by 40 Geo. 3. c. 28. till 12 months notice after 1st
of August, 1833, on payment, &c.
Carried forward,
11,686,000 0 0
2
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
An Account of the successive Renewals of the Charter, &ce.-continued.
Date of
Renewal.
Conditions under which Renewals were made, and Permanent Debt contracted.
Permanent Debt.
Brought forward
11,086,000 0 o
Under this act the Bank advanced to government 3,000,000L. for
6 years without interest ; but in pursuance of the recommenda-
tion of the committee of 1807, the advance was continued with-
out interest till 6 months after the signature of a definitive
treaty of peace.
In 1816, the Bank, under authority of the act 56 Geo. 3. c. 96.
advanced at 3 per cent., to be repaid on or before 1st of August
1833.
-
3,000,000 0 0
1883.
Charter continued by 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 98. till 12 months' notice after
1st of August, 1855, with a proviso that it may be dissolved on 12
14,686,800 0 0
months' notice after 1st of August, 1845, on payment, &c.
This act directs that in future the Bank shall deduct 120,000L. a
year from their charge on account of the management of the
public debt ; and that a fourth part of the debt due by the public
to the Bank, or 3,638,2501., be paid off
-
3,638,250 0 0
Permanent advance by the Bank to the public, bearing interest
at 3 per cent., independent of the advances on account of dead
weight
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,048,550 0 0
For further details as to this subject, see the Appendix No. 1. of the Report of 1832 on the Renewal of
the Bank Charter, and the acts of parliament referred to in it; see also Jumes Postlethwayt's History
of the Revenue, pp. 301-310.; and Fairman on the Funds, 7th ed. pp. 85-88. &c.
The capital of the Bank on which dividends are paid, has never exactly coincided with,
though it has seldom differed very materially from, the permanent advance by the Bank to
the public. We have already seen that it amounted, in 1708, to 4,402,343L Between that
year and 1727 it was increased to near 9,000,000L In 1746, it amounted to 10,780,000£
From this period it underwent no change till 1782, when it was increased 8 per cent., or to
11,642,400L It continued stationary at this sum down to 1816, when it was raised to
14,553,000L by an addition of 25 per cent. from the profits of the Bank, under the provi-
sions of the act 56 Geo. 3. c. 96. The late act for the renewal of the charter, & 4 Will.
4. c. 98., directs that the sum of 3,638,250L the portion of the debt due to the Bank to be
repaid by the public, shall be deducted from the Bank's capital which will, therefore, be in
future 10,914,750L-(Report on Bank Charter, Appen. No. 33.)
The Bank of England has been frequently affected by panics amongst the holders of its
notes. In 1745, the alarm occasioned by the advance of the Highlanders under the Pre-
tender as far as Derby, led to a run upon the Bank; and in order to gain time to concert
measures for averting the run, the directors adopted the device of paying in shillings and
sixpences! But they derived a more effectual relief from the retreat of the Highlanders,
and from a resolution agreed to at a meeting of the principal merchants and traders of the
city, and very numerously signed, declaring the willingness of the subscribers to receive
Bank notes in payment of any sum that might be due to them, and pledging themselves to
use their utmost endeavours to make all their payments in the same medium.
During the tremendous riots in June, 1780, the Bank incurred considerable danger. Had
the mob attacked the establishment at the commencement of the riots, the consequences
might have proved fatal. Luckily, however, they delayed their attack till time had been
afforded for providing a force sufficient to insure its safety. Since that period a considerable
military force is nightly placed in the interior of the Bank, as a protection in any emergency
that may occur.
In the latter part of 1792 and beginning of 1793, there was, in consequence of a pre-
vious over-issue on their part, a general run on most of the private banks; and about one
third of these establishments were. forced to stop payment. This led to a considerable
demand for coin from the Bank.
The year 1797 is, however, the most important epoch in the recent history of the Bank.
Owing partly to events connected with the war in which we were then engaged-to loans
to the Emperor of Germany-to bills drawn on the treasury at home by the British agents
abroad-and partly, and chiefly, perhaps, to the advances most unwillingly made by the
Bank to government, which prevented the directors from having a sufficient control over
their issues,-the exchanges became unfavourable in 1795, and in that and the following
year large sums in specie were drawn from the Bank.* In the latter end of 1796 and
So early as December, 1794, the court of directors represented to government their uneasiness
on account of the magnitude of the debt due by the government to the Bank, and anxiously requested
a repayment of at least a considerable part of what had been advanced. In January, 1795, they re-
solved to limit their advances upon treasury bills to 500,0001. and at the same time they informed
Mr. Pitt that it was their wish that be would adjust his measures for the year in such a manner as not
to depend on any further assistance from them. On the 11th of February, 1796, they resolved, That it,
is the opinion of this court, founded upon the experience of the late Imperial loan, that if any further
loan or advance of money to the emperor, or to any of the foreign states, should in the present state
of affairs take place, it will, in all probability, prove fatal to the Bank of England. The court of
directors do, therefore, most earnestly deprecate the adoption of any such measure, and they solemnly
protest against.any responsibility for the calamitous consequences that may follow thereupon." But
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
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beginning of 1797, considerable apprehensions were entertained of invasion, and rumours
were propagated of descents having been actually made on the coast. In consequence of
the fears that were thus excited, runs were made on the provincial banks in different parts
of the country and some of them having failed, the panic became general, and extended
itself to London. Demands for cash poured in upon the Bank from all quarters; and on
Saturday, the 25th of February, 1797, she had only 1,272,000L of cash and bullion in her
coffers, with every prospect of a violent run taking place on the following Monday. In this
emergency an order in council was issued on Sunday, the 26th, prohibiting the directors
from paying their notes in cash until the sense of parliament had been taken on the subject.
And after parliament met, and the measure had been much discussed, it was agreed to conti-
nue the restriction till six months after the signature of a definitive treaty of peace.
As soon as the order in council prohibiting payments in cash appeared, a meeting of the
principal bankers, merchants, traders, &c. of the metropolis, was held at the Mansion-house,
when a resolution was agreed to, and very numerously signed, pledging, as had been done
in 1745, those present to accept, and to use every means in their power to cause Bank notes
to be accepted as cash in all transactions. This resolution tended to allay the apprehensions
that the restriction had excited.
Parliament being sitting at the time, a committee was immediately appointed to examine
into the affairs of the Bank; and their report put to rest whatever doubts might have been
entertained with respect to the solvency of the establishment, by showing that at the moment
when the order in council appeared, the Bank was possessed of property to the amount of
15,513,690Z., after all claims upon it had been deducted.
Much difference of opinion has existed with respect to the policy of the restriction in
1797; but, considering the peculiar circumstances under which it took place, its expediency
seems abundantly obvious. The run did not originate in any over-issue of Bank paper
but grew entirely out of political causes. So long as the alarms of invasion continued, it
was clear that no Bank paper immediately convertible into gold would remain in circula-
tion. And as the Bank, though possessed of ample funds, was without the means of in-
stantly retiring her notes, she might, but for the interference of government, have been
obliged to stop payment; an event which, had it occurred, must have produced consequences
in the last degree fatal to the public interests.
It had been generally supposed, previously to the passing of the Restriction Act, that
Bank notes would not circulate unless they were immediately convertible into cash: but the
event showed, conformably to principles that have since been fully explained, that this was
not really the case. Though the notes of the Bank of England were not, at the passing
of the Restriction Act, publicly declared to be legal tender, they were rendered so in prac-
tice, by being received as cash in all transactions on account of government, and of the vast
majority of individuals. For the first three years of the restriction, their issues were so
moderate, that they not only kept on a par with gold, but actually bore a small premium. In
the latter part of 1800, however, their quantity was so much increased that they fell to a
discount of about 8 per cent. as compared with gold, but they soon after rose nearly to par
and it was not until 1808 that the decline of their value excited any considerable attention.
Early in 1810, they were at a discount of about 131 per cent.; and this extraordinary fall
having attracted the attention of the legislature, the House of Commons appointed a com-
mittee to inquire into the circumstances by which it had been occasioned. The committee
examined several witnesses; and in their report, which was drawn up with considerable
ability, they justly ascribed the fall to the over-issue of Bank paper, and recommended that
the Bank should be obliged to resume cash payments within two years. This recommenda-
tion was not, however, acted upon; and the value of Bank paper continued to decline, as
compared with gold, till 1814.
At the period when the restriction on cash payments took place in 1797, it is supposed
that there were about 280 country banks in existence but so rapidly were these establish-
ments multiplied, that they amounted to above 900 in 1813. The price of corn, influenced
partly by the depreciation of the currency, and the facility with which discounts were ob-
tained, but far more by deficient harvests, and the unprecedented difficulties which the war
threw in the way of importation, had risen to an extraordinary height during the five years
ending with 1813. But the harvest of that year being unusually productive, and the inter-
course with the Continent being then also renewed, prices, influenced by both circumstances,
sustained a very heavy fall in the latter part of 1813, and the beginning of 1814. And this
notwithstanding these, and many other similar remonstrances, fresh advances of money were made
to our foreign allies, and fresh demands upon the Bank; the directors reluctantly abandoning their
own better judgment to what they truly termed the pressing solicitations" of the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and their desire to avert the probable distress which a refusal (on their part) might
occasion, in the then alarming situation of public affairs." But notwithstanding the difficulties of
the Bank were greatly aggravated by that conduct on the part of government against which the di-
rectors had so strongly protested, she could hardly, in any state of her affairs, have got safely over
the crisis of 1797. The run upon the Bank that then took place, was occasioned by alarms of inva-
sion and it is clear, as remarked in the text, that while they. continued, no paper immediately con-
vertible into gold could remain in circulation.
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
fall having proved ruinous to a considerable number of farmers, and produced a general
want of confidence, such a destruction of provincial paper took place as has rarely been
paralleled. In 1814, 1815, and 1816, no fewer than 240 country banks stopped payment
and eighty-nine commissions of bankruptcy were issued against these establishments, being
at the rate of one commission against every ten and a half of the total number of banks
existing in 1813.
The great reduction that had been thus suddenly and violently brought about in the
quantity of country bank paper, by extending the field for the circulation of Bank of
England paper, raised its value in 1817 nearly to a par with gold. The return to cash pay-
ments being thus facilitated, it was fixed, in 1819, by the act 59 Geo. 3. c. 78. commonly
called Mr. Peel's act, that they should take place in 1823. But to prevent any future over-
issue, and at the same time to render the measure as little burdensome as possible, it was
enacted, in pursuance of a plan suggested by the late Mr. Ricardo, that the Bank should be
obliged, during the interval from the passing of the act till the return to specie payments, to
pay her notes, if required, in bars of standard bullion of not less than sixty ounces' weight.
This plan was not, however, acted upon during the period allowed by law; for, a large
amount of gold having been accumulated at the Bank, the directors preferred recommencing
specie payments on the 1st of May, 1821.-(See Table IV. for an account of the price of
bullion, the depreciation of paper, &c. from 1800 to 1821.)
A great diversity of opinion has been entertained with respect to the policy of the return
to the old standard, in 1819. By one party it has been represented as a wise and politic
measure: they contend that Mr. Peel's Act not only put an end to those fluctuations in the
value of money, which had previously been productive of great mischief, and gave effect to
the solemn engagements into which the public had entered with the national creditor, but
that it did this without adding any thing material to the national burdens. But another,
and, perhaps, a more numerous party, take a totally different view of this measure they
contend that the public was not really bound to return to cash payments at the old standard
at the termination of the war; that the return has very greatly enhanced the value of the
currency and that this enhancement, by adding proportionally to the fixed burdens laid on
the industrious classes, has been most injurious to their interests. It will, however, be
found in this, as in most cases of the sort, that the statements of both parties are exagger-
ated; and that if, on the one hand, the measure has not been 80 advantageous as its apo-
logists represent, neither, on the other, has it been nearly so injurious as its enemies would
have us believe.
In discussing this question, it is material to observe that the value of paper, which had
been in 1815 and 1816 about 16} per cent. below that of gold, rose in 1817 and 1818, from
the causes already mentioned, without any interference whatever on the part of govern-
ment, to within little more than 21 per cent. of the value of gold; and that in 1819 the
depreciation only amounted to 41 per cent-(See Table IV.) It is, therefore, quite ludi-
crous to ascribe to the act of 1819, as is often done, the whole rise that has taken place in
the value of the currency since the peace, seeing that the currency had been for three years
previously to its enactment from 12h to 14} per cent. above its value in 1815, and from 21
to 23 per cent. above its value in 1814! The main object which the promoters of the act
of 1819 had in view, was to sustain the value of the currency at the point to which it had
recovered itself, without legislative interference. This, however, could not be done without
recurring to specie payments; and the difference of 41 per cent. that obtained in 1819
between the value of gold and paper, was not deemed sufficiently considerable to warrant a
departure from the old standard, and from the acts engaging to restore it.
But it is alleged, that those who suppose that the act of 1819 added only 41, per cent. to
the value of the currency, mistake altogether the effect of the measure. It is admitted, in-
deed, that paper was then only 41 per cent. less valuable than gold; but by reverting to
specie payments, we made an unexpected purchase of thirty millions of gold and it is
affirmed, that this novel and large demand, concurring simultaneously with the contraction
of paper in several of the continental states, and with a falling off in the supply of bullion
from the mines, had the effect of adding very greatly to the value of gold itself, and conse-
quently to that of the currency. It is very difficult, or rather, perhaps, impossible, to deter-
mine the precise degree of credit that ought to be attached to this statement but while we
incline to think that it is well founded to a certain extent, we see no grounds for believing
that it is so to any thing like the extent that has been stated. The gold imported into
Great Britain, to enable the Bank to resume specie payments, was not taken from any par-
ticular country or district, but was drawn from the market of the world and considering
the vast extent of the supply whence it was derived, it is against all reason to suppose that
its value could be materially influenced by our purchases. We doubt, too, whether the con-
traction of the paper currency of some of the continental states, and the substitution of
specie in its stead, was not more than balanced by the cessation of the demand for specie for
the military chests of the different armies, by the stoppage of the practice of hoarding, and
the greater security consequent to the return of peace. And with respect to the falling off
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in the supplies from the mines, it is not a circumstance, supposing it to have had a consider-
able influence, that parliament could take into account. It could neither determine the
extent to which bullion had been raised, nor at what point the rise would stop, nor how soon
it might again begin to decline. The diminution in the supply of bullion had then conti-
nued for too short a period, and its influence on the value of gold was much too uncertain,
to make it a ground for interfering in any degree with the standard.
The decline in the price of most articles that has taken place since the peace, has been
often referred to, as a conclusive proof of the great enhancement in the value of bullion.
But the inference is by no means so certain as has been represented. The prices of com-
modities are as much affected by changes in the cost of their production, as by changes in
the quantity of money afloat. Now, there is hardly one of the great articles of commerce,
the cost of which has not been considerably reduced, or which has not been supplied from
new sources, within the last few years. The growth of corn, for example, has been vastly
extended in France, Prussia, and generally throughout the Continent, by the splitting of
large estates, and the complete subversion of the feudal system; and the reduction of its
price in this country is, at least, as much owing to the extraordinary increase of imports
from Ireland, as to any other cause. The fall in the price of wool is most satisfactorily ac-
counted for by the introduction and rapid multiplication of Merino sheep in Germany,
where they seem to succeed even better than in Spain; and by the growing imports from
New Holland and elsewhere. And a very large portion, if not the whole, of the fall in the
price of colonial products, is admitted, on all hands, to be owing to the destruction of the
monopoly system, and the vast extension of cultivation in Cuba, Brazil, Louisiana, Deme-
rara, &c. Although, therefore, we do not deny that the falling off in the supply of bullion
from the mines must have had some influence on prices, we hold it to be the greatest imagi-
nable error to ascribe to it the entire fall that has taken place since the peace. Were its
effect rated at 10 per cent. we believe it would be very considerably overstated.—(See art.
PRECIOUS METALS.)
On the whole, therefore, we are disposed to approve of the conduct of those who framed
the act of 1819. That it added to the burdens of the industrious classes, and has been in
so far hostile to the public interests, it seems impossible to doubt; but it has not done this
in any thing like the degree which its enemies represent. The period, too, when it was
passed, is now so distant, that the existing engagements amongst individuals have almost all
been formed with reference to the altered value of the currency so that whatever injury it
may have occasioned in the first instance, must be nearly gone by. To modify or change
the standard at this late period, would not be to repair injustice, but to commit it afresh. At
the end of the war, the circumstances were considerably different. The standard had been
really abandoned for the previous 18 years and, perhaps, we may now say, that it would
have been better, all things considered, had the mint price of bullion been raised, in 1815,
to the market price. But having surmounted all the difficulties attendant upon the restora-
tion of the old standard, and maintained it since 1821, it would be in the last degree impoli-
tic to subject it to new alterations. Should the country become, at any future period, unable
to make good its engagements, it will better consult its honour and its interest, by fairly
compounding with its creditors, than by endeavouring to slip from its engagements by resort-
ing to the dishonest expedient of enfeebling the standard.
The price of corn, which had been very much depressed in 1821 and 1822, rallied in
1823; and this circumstance contributed, along with others peculiar to that period, to pro-
mote an extraordinary rage for speculation. The issues of the country banks being in con-
sequence far too much extended, the currency became redundant in the autumn of 1824
and the exchanges having been depressed, a drain for gold began to operate upon the Bank
of England. But the directors of the Bank having entered, in the early part of that year,
into an engagement with government to pay off such holders of 4 per cent. stock as might
dissent from its conversion into a 34 per cent. stock, they were obliged to advance a con-
siderable sum on this account after the depression of the exchange. This tended to coun-
teract the effect of the drain on the Bank for gold; and, in consequence, the London cur-
rency was not very materially diminished till September, 1825. When, however, the
continued demand of the public on the Bank for gold had rendered money scarce in the
metropolis, the pressure speedily extended to the country. Such of the provincial banks-
and they were a numerous class-as had been originally established without sufficient capi-
tal, or had conducted their business upon erroneous principles, began to give way the moment
they experienced an increased difficulty of obtaining pecuniary accommodations in London.
The alarm, once excited, soon became general; and confidence and credit were, for a while,
almost wholly suspended. In the short space of 6 weeks, above 70 banking establishments
were destroyed, notwithstanding the very large advances made to them by the Bank of
England; and the run upon the Bank, for cash to supply the exigencies of the country
banks, was so heavy, that she was wellnigh drained of all the coin in her coffers, and
obliged, as already remarked, to issue about a million of 1/. and 21. notes.
In order to guard against a recurrence of the wide-spread mischief and ruin, produced by
11
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this and the previous bankruptcies of the country banks, it was resolved, in 1826, with con-
sent of the Bank of England, to make a change in the law of 1708, limiting the number of
partners in banking establishments to 6 only. And it was accordingly enacted, that thence-
forth any number of partners might form themselves into associations, to carry on the busi-
ness of banking, including the issue of notes, any where not within sixty-five miles of Lon-
don. The directors of the Bank of England came, at the same time, to the resolution of
establishing branches in some of the principal towns; and, at this moment, branch banks
are established in Gloucester, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Bristol, Exeter,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hull, Norwich, &c.
The branch bank cannot fail of being highly useful; but we believe that the benefit
resulting from the formation of joint stock banks will not be nearly so great as has been
anticipated.-(See post, BANKS (ENGLISH PROVINCIAL).) So long as every one is allowed
to issue notes without any sort of check or control, a thousand devices may be fallen upon
to insure a certain circulation to those that are most worthless. At best, this measure is but
a feeble palliative of inveterate disorders. It is quite illusory to expect to make any real
improvement upon the system of country banking in England, by the mere introduction of a
plan for allowing banking establishments with large capitals to be set on foot. There have
always been, and are at this moment, a great number of such establishments in England.
What is really wanted, is the adoption of a system that will exclude the possibility of notes
being discredited, by preventing all individuals or associations from issuing such as have not
been previously guaranteed.
Besides attempting to lessen the frequency of bankruptcy among the country banks, by
repealing the law limiting the number of partners, it was further resolved in 1826, to pro-
hibit the future issue of 14 notes. The policy and effects of this measure have given rise to
much dispute. It seems clear, that it has gone far to shut up one of the most convenient
channels by which the inferior class of country bankers contrived to get their notes into
circulation, and must, in so far, do good. But there are many other channels still open to
them and to imagine that this measure will place the provincial currency on that solid
basis on which it ought to be placed, is quite visionary. There were no notes under 5L in
circulation in 1792; and yet fully one third of the country banks then in existence became
bankrupt! The truth is, as already stated, that it is not possible to guard against loss and
fraud, from the proceedings of the country bankers, otherwise than by compelling them to
give security for their issues; and, as security may as easily be given for 14 notes as for
those of 5/., the suppression of the former does not appear to have been at all essential. No
doubt can, however, be entertained, that the representations as to the extreme injury occa-
sioned by the withdrawal of the 11. notes have been very greatly exaggerated ;-though it is at
the same time obvious, that the means of the bankers to make advances, as well as the profit
derived from making them, must both have been diminished by the suppression of the small
notes; and it would be foolish to deny that this circumstance must have occasioned some
loss and inconvenience to many individuals.
These remarks are meant to apply only to the case of the country banks. The extraor-
dinary extent to which the forgery of the 1/. notes of the Bank of England was carried,
affords, perhaps, a sufficient vindication of the policy of their suppression. But the com-
paratively limited circulation of the country banks, and, perhaps we may add, the greater
attention paid to the manner in which their notes were engraved, hindered their forgery from
becoming injuriously prevalent.
(2.) Cash kept by the Bank. Regulation of her Issues.-Of late, the Bank directors
have endeavoured, as a general rule, to have as much coin and bullion in their coffers as
may together amount, when the exchange is at par, to a third part of the Bank's liabilities,
including deposits as well as issues; so that, in the event of the notes afloat, and the public
and private deposits in the coffers of the Bank, amounting to 27,000,000L. or 30,000,000L,
they would not consider the establishment in a perfectly satisfactory state, unless she was,
generally speaking, possessed of about 9,000,000/. or 10,000,000L of coin and bullion.
Such a supply seems to afford every requisite security and now that the notes of the Bank
are made legal tender, and that she must be less exposed than formerly to drains during
panics, it may, probably, be found to be unnecessarily large.
The issues of the Bank are wholly governed, at least in all ordinary cases, by what Mr.
Horsley Palmer expressively calls " the action of the public :"-that is, they are increased
during a favourable exchange, or when bullion is sent to the Bank to be exchanged for
notes, and diminished during an unfavourable exchange, or when notes are sent to the Bank
to be paid. If the exchange were so favourable that the Bank was accumulating consider-
ably more bullion than was equivalent to the third part of her liabilities, the directors would
seem to be justified in adding to the currency by buying a larger amount of government
securities, or by increasing their discounts, &c.; and conversely, if the exchange were so
unfavourable as to depress the supply of coin and bullion considerably below the average
proportion. But the most intelligent directors seem to think that this would be an undue
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interference; and, in all but extraordinary cases, the rule of the Bank is, to allow the public
to regulate the currency for itself through the action of the exchange.*
It is frequently said that the value of money, and, consequently, that the price of all sorts
of property, depends on the fiat of the Bank, by which it is capriciously elevated at one time and
depressed at another. But the account now given of the mode in which the issues of the
Bank are regulated completely disproves such statements; and independently of this, every
one who knows that the Bank must pay her notes in coin when presented, and that coin
may be at all times obtained from the Mint, without any charge, in exchange for bullion,
must know that the very supposition of their being true involves a contradiction.
(3.) Bank of England in its Connection with Government and the Public.-The Bank
of England conducts the whole banking business of the British government. " It acts not
only," says Dr. Smith, " as an ordinary bank, but as a great engine of state. It receives and
pays the greater part of the annuities, which are due to the creditors of the public; it circu-
lates Exchequer bills; and it advances to government the annual amount of the land and
malt taxes, which are frequently not paid till some years thereafter."
(4.) Advances by the Bank in Discounts, &c.-The greater part of the paper of the Bank
has generally been issued in the way of advances or loans to government, upon security of
certain branches of the revenue, and in the purchase of Exchequer bills and bullion but
her issues through the medium of discounts to individuals have, notwithstanding, been at all
times considerable, while, during war and in periods of distress, they have been occasionally
very great. Generally speaking, however, the directors do not think it advisable to enter
into competition with private bankers in the transacting of ordinary banking business, or in
the discounting of mercantile paper. Mr. Horsley Palmer is decidedly of opinion, that all
banking business, apart from the issue of notes, is better transacted by private bankers than
by public bodies.-(Min. of Evidence, p. 37.) He also thinks, that were the bank to come
fairly into competition, at all times, with the private bankers and other individuals in dis-
counting, it would be very apt to lead, every now and then, to an excess of the currency,
and a fall of the exchange, producing fluctuations that could not fail to be most injurious.
At present, therefore, and generally since the peace, the rate of interest charged by the Bank
for loans has been somewhat above the market rate. The consequence is, that, in ordinary
periods, very few applications are made to her for discounts. But, at the same time, every
one who has any reasonable security to offer, knows where they may always be had while
the rate of interest charged by the Bank necessarily forms a maximum rate which no other
establishment can exceed. When, however, any circumstances occur to occasion a pressure
in. the money market, or a difficulty of obtaining recommendations in the usual channels,
the market rate of interest immediately rises to the rate fixed by the Bank; and on such
occasions, the private bankers, and the public generally, resort to the Bank for aid. She then
becomes, as it were, a bank of support; and has, as such, on many trying occasions, par-
ticularly in 1793, 1815 and 1816, and 1825-26, rendered the most essential service to public
credit, and to the commercial interests of the country. The usual limited amount of the
Bank's discounts does not, therefore, proceed, as has been absurdly enough stated, from any
indisposition on the part of the directors to render every assistance in their power to the
commercial classes, but is, in fact, the effect of such disposition. They consider, and we
believe justly, that, except under peculiar circumstances, the business of discounting and
banking is best conducted by private parties; and that, by abstaining from coming into
competition with them, they are better able to act as a bank of support-that is, to sustain
public and private credit by making extraordinary advances in seasons of distress and diffi-
culty. This is not to neglect the interests of the mercantile classes, but to promote them
in the best and most efficient manner, even though it should be at the expense of the
Bank.
No. XIV. of the accounts subjoined to this article shows the average annual amount of
commercial paper discounted by the Bank in London, from 1795 down to 1831. But the
subjoined account will probably be deemed still more interesting, from its exhibiting in detail
the variations in the discounts by the Bank during the 17 years ending with 1831. The
sudden increase and immense amount of the discounts, in the last quarter of 1825 and the
first quarter of 1826, show the vast importance of the assistance then rendered by the Bank
to the trading interests. Had this assistance been withheld, or the Bank not been in a situa-
tion to render it, it is not easy to estimate the consequences.
The annual average loss by bad debts on the discounts of the Bank of England in Lon-
don, from 1791 to 1831; both inclusive, has been 31,698/.-(Appen. to Rep. on Bank
Charter, No. 60.)
Mr. Horsley Palmer's evidence before the late committee of the House of Commons on the
Bank charter contains by far the best exposition ever given to the public, of the mode in which the
business of the Bank of England is conducted. It is also highly deserving of attention, from its
general ability, and the strong and steady light which it throws on the principles of banking and
currency.
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
Account of the Average Amount of Bills and Notes discounted by the Bank of England, in each
Quarter of each of the Seventeen Years ending with 1831.-(Appen. to Rep. on Bank Charter,
No. 56.)
Years.
1st Quarter, ending
2d Quarter, ending
3d Quarter, ending
4th Quarter, ending
31st of March.
30th of June.
30th of September.
31st of December,
&
£
£
£
1815
13,611,500
13,846,500
16,613,200
15,717,300
1816
14,315,900
13,380,400
10,569,400
7,399,800
1817
5,823,500
4,148,300
3,329,300
2,541,200
1818
2,976,900
2,847,800
4,610,400
6,865,700
1819
8,363,700
6,632,300
6,021,600
5,042,200
1820
4,810,700
3,605,500
3,987,600
3,130,700
1821
3,238,300
2,715,100
2,294,100
2,459,300
1822
3,137,000
3,216,500
3,388,700
3,724,600
1823
4,107,200
3,252,200
2,801,400
2,334,200
1824
2,226,800
2,553,500
2,449,800
2,248,900
1825
2,466,800
3,973,700
5,486,000
7,839,500
1826
9,586,700
5,037,400
2,950,500
2,164,800
1827
2,198,600
1,226,400
1,107,500
1,239,800
1828
1,298,400
1,165,600
1,170,800
2,157,200
1829
3,952,900
3,283,700
2,611,800
2,152,700
1830
1,860,500
1,414,600
1,275,000
1,930,700
1831
2,549,200
3,240,200
3,422,500
3,771,500
(5.) Advances by the Bank to Government.-These are made on account of the produce
of taxes not yet received, and on the security of Exchequer bills, &c. They varied, from
1792 down to 1810, from about 10,000,000/. to about 16,000,000/. During the remainder
of the war, and down to 1820, they were a good deal larger; they were, at an average of
each of the 7 years ending with that last mentioned, as follows:-
£
£
1814
-
-
-
30,149,000
1818
-
28,061,000
1815
-
-
-
-
26,494,000
1810
-
-
-
-
24,636,975
1816
-
-
-
-
23,544,000
1820
-
-
-
-
21,915,825
1817
-
-
-
-
27,347,000
But in these are included about 1,000,000Z a year paid to government out of the sums
issued on account of the dividends, but not claimed. This can hardly be regarded as an
advance by the Bank.
In 1819, provision was made for reducing the amount of these advances; and they do
not at present, excluding the permanent advance on account of the dead weight, exceed a
third of their amount in 1820. They are represented by the Exchequer bills and defi-
ciency bills in the hands of the Bank ; and the average amount of these in her possession
during the 4 years ending with 1831, was as follows :-
£
£
1828
-
9,367,630
1830
-
8,783,730
1899
-
8,664,020
1831
6,733,960
(Appen. to Rep. on Bank Charter, No. 64.)
(6.) Balances of Public Money.-In point of fact, however, a very large part of theso
advances has been nominal only, or has been virtually cancelled by the balances of public
money in the hands of the Bank. Thus, from 1806 to 1810, both inclusive, the average
advances to government amounted to 14,492,970L But the average balance of public money
in possession of the Bank during the same period amounted to about 11,000,000.; so that
the real advance was equal only to the difference between these two sums, or to about
3,500,000L This statement completely negatives, as Mr. Tooke has justly stated, the sup-
position so commonly entertained and reasoned upon as a point beyond doubt, that the Bank
was rendered, by the restriction, a mere engine in the hands of government for facilitating its
financial operations.-(First Letter to Lord Grenville, p. 64.)
The Bank being enabled to employ the greater part of the balances of public money in
her hands as capital, they have formed one of the main sources of the profit she has derived
from her transactions with the public. This subject was brought very prominently forward
in the Second Report of the Committee of the House of Commons on Public Expenditure in
1807. And it was agreed in the same year, that the Bank should, in consideration of the
advantages derived from the public balances, continue the loan of 3,000,000/. made to
government in 1800 for 6 years, without interest, on the same terms, till 6 months after the
signature of a definitive treaty of peace. In 1816, this sum was finally incorporated with the
debt due by government to the Bank, at an interest of 3 per cent. In 1818, the public
balances had fallen to about 7,000,000/.; and they have been still further reduced, in conse-
quence of measures that were then adopted. They amounted, at an average of the 3 years
ending with 1831, to 4,157,570l.-(See Table XII.)
A part of the public balances is formed of the dividends payable at the Bank, but un-
claimed. The balance arising from this source has sometimes amounted to above 1,000,000Z
* These are the averages of the total advances on the 20th of February, and the 26th of August,
each year.
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but in 1808 and 1811, arrangements were made by which the balances growing out of this
fund have been much reduced.
(7.) Management of Public Debt.-Previously to 1786, the Bank received an allowance
on this account-that is, for trouble in paying the dividends, superintending the transfer of
stock, &c.-of 562/. 10s. a million. In 1786, this allowance was reduced to 450/. a million,
the Bank, being, at the same time, entitled to a considerable allowance for her trouble in
receiving contributions on loans, lotteries, &c. This, however, though long regarded as a
very improvident arrangement on the part of the public, was acquiesced in till 1808, when
the allowance on account of management was reduced to 340/. a million on 600,000,000L
of the public debt; and to 300l. a million on all that it exceeded that sum, exclusive of
some separate allowances for annuities, &c. The impression, however, was still entertained,
that the allowances for management should be further reduced and the act 3 & 4 Will. 4.
c. 98., for the renewal of the charter, has directed that 120,000/. a year shall be deducted
from their amount. During the year ended the 5th of April, 1832, the Bank received 251,461/.
for the management of the public debt, and annuities. This item may therefore, be taken
for the future at about 130,000Z. a year.*-(Report on Bank Charter, Appen. p. 35.)
It should be observed, that the responsibility and expense incurred by the Bank in manag-
ing the public debt are very great. The temptation to the commission of fraud in trans-
ferring stock from one individual to another, and in the payment of the dividends, is well
known; and notwithstanding the skilfully devised system of checks adopted by the Bank for
its prevention, she has frequently sustained very great losses by forgery and otherwise. In
1803, the Bank lost, through a fraud committed by one of her principal cashiers, Mr. Astlett,
no less than 340,000L and the forgeries of Fauntleroy the banker cost her a still larger
sum ! At an average of the 10 years ending with 1831, the Bank lost, through forgeries
on the public funds, 40,204/. a year.f-(Report on Bank Charter, Appen. p. 165.)
The total sum paid by the public to the Bank on account of the loans raised, Exchequer
bills funded, transfer of 31, per cent. stock, &c. from 1793 to 1820, both included, amounted
to 426,795/. 1s. 11d.-(Parl. Paper, No. 81. Sess. 1822.)
(8.) Dead Weight.-Besides the transactions alluded to, the Bank entered, on the 20th
of March, 1823, into an engagement with government with respect to the public pensions
and annuities, or, as they have been more commonly termed, the dead weight. At the end
of the war, the naval and military pensions, superannuated allowances, &c. amounted to
above 5,000,000/. a year. They would, of course, have been gradually lessened and ulti-
mately extinguished by the death of the parties. But it was resolved, in 1822, to attempt
to spread the burden equally over the whole period of forty-five years, during which it was
calculated the annuities would continue to decrease. To effect this purpose, it was supposed
that, upon government offering to pay 2,800,000/. a year for 45 years, capitalists would be
found who would undertake to pay the entire annuities, according to a graduated scale pre-
viously determined upon, making the first year a payment of 4,900,000Z. and gradually
decreasing the payments until the forty-fifth and last year, when they were to amount to
only 300,000L This supposition was not, however, realised. No capitalists were found
willing to enter into such distant engagements. But in 1823 the Bank agreed, on condi-
tion of receiving an annuity of 585,740/. for forty-four years, commencing on the 5th of
April 1823, to pay, on account of the pensions, &c., at different specified periods, between
the years 1823 and 1828, both inclusive, the sum of 13,089,419/.-(4 Geo. 4. c. 22.)
See Table VI. for an account of the sums paid by the public to the Bank, for the management of
the public debt during the year 1829.
t We subjoin an abstract of the principal provisions in the late statute with respect to the forgery
of bank notes, powers of attorney, &c.
It is enacted, 1 Will. 4. c. 66., that if any person shall forge or alter, or shall offer, utter, dispose of,
or put off, knowing the same to be forged or altered, any Exchequer bill or Exchequer debenture, or
any endorsement on or assignation of any such bill or debenture, or any East India bond, or indorse-
ment upon or assignation of the same, or any note or bill of the Bank of England, or a bank post bill,
or any indorsement on or assignment of any bank note, bank bill of exchange, or bank post bill, with
intent to defraud any person whatsoever, he shall be guilty of felony, and shall upon conviction suffer
death as a felon.-& 3.
Persons making false entries in the books of the Bank of England, or other books in which accounts
of public stocks or funds are kept, with intent to defraud, shall suffer death as felons.-& 5.
By the same act, the forging of any transfer of any share of, or interest in, or dividend upon, any
public stock, or of a power of attorney to transfer the same, or to receive dividends thereon, is made
capital. If any person, falsely personating the owner of any share, interest, or dividend of any of
the public funds, thereby transfer such share, &c., and receive the money due to the lawful owner, he
shall upon conviction suffer death as a felon.- 6.
And any person endeavouring by such false personation to procure the transfer of any share, in-
terest, &c. in the public funds, may, upon conviction, be transported beyond seas for life, or for any
term not less than seven years, or be imprisoned for any term not more than four, nor less than two
years.-d7.
The forgery of the attestation to any power of attorney for the transfer of stock is to be punished
by transportation for seven years, or by imprisonment for not more than two and not less than one
year.-$8
Clerks or servants of the Bank of England knowingly making out or delivering any dividend war-
rant for a greater or less amount than the party in whose behalf such warrant is made out is entitled
to, may, upon conviction, be transported beyond seas for the term of seven years, or imprisoned for
not more than two nor less than one year.- 9.
H
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
(9.) Rate of Discount.-The Bank discounted private bills at 5 per cent. during nearly
the whole period from her establishment till 1824, when the rate was reduced to 4 per cent.
In 1825, it was raised to 5 per cent.; but was again reduced to 4 per cent. in 1827, at
which it continues. It may well be doubted, however, whether the rate of discount ought
not to be more frequently varied, as occasion may require. When the currency happens,
from any cause, to become redundant, its contraction, always a matter of some difficulty, is
to be effected only by the sale of bullion or public securities by the Bank, or by a diminu-
tion of the usual discounts, or all. But were the Bank to throw any considerable amount
of public securities upon the market, the circumstance would be apt to excite alarm; and
even though it did not, it would be difficult to dispose of them without a heavy loss.
Hence, when a reduction is determined upon, it is most commonly effected partly by a
contraction of discounts; and it is plain, that such contraction cannot be made except by
rejecting altogether some of the bills sent in for discount, or, which is in effect the same
thing, by shortening their dates, or by raising the rate of interest, so that fewer may be sent
in. Of these methods, the last seems to be in every respect the most expedient. When
bills are rejected for no other reason than that the currency may be contracted, the greatest
injury is done to individuals, who entertaining no doubt of getting their usual accommoda-
tions from the Bank, may have entered into transactions which they are thus deprived of
the means of completing. Were the reduction made by raising the rate of interest, it would
principally affect those who are best able to bear it ; at the same time that its operation,
instead of being, like the rejection of bills, arbitrary and capricious, would be uniform and
impartial. It does, therefore, seem that the Bank should never throw out good bills that
she may contract her issues; but that when whe has resolved upon such a measure, she
should, provided the contraction cannot be made by the sale of bullion and public securities,
raise the rate of discount. The Bank could not, however, act in the way now suggested, -
until the usury laws were modified; but the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. cap. 98. has exempted all
bills not having more than 3 months to run from their operation; and it is to be hoped that
this serious inroad on these antiquated, unjust, and impolitic laws may be followed by their
total repeal.
The dividends on Bank stock, from the establishment of the Company to the present
time, have been as follows :-
Years.
Dividend.
Years.
Dividend.
1694
8 per cent.
Michaelmas
-
1732
54 per cent.
1697
9 -
Lady-day - - 1747
5
-
1708
1729
}
Varied from 9 to
Ditto - - - 1753
4} -
51 per cent.
Michaelmas - 1764
5
-
Lady-day - - 1730
6 -
Ditto - - - 1767
51 -
Michaelmas - 1730
5f -
Ditto - - - 1781
6
-
Lady-day - - 1731
6 -
Lady-day - - 1788
7
-
Michaelmas - 1731
5t -
Ditto - - - 1807
10
-
Lady-day - - 1732
6 -
Ditto 1822
8
-
Previously to 1759, the Bank of England issued no notes for less than 20L She began
to issue 10L. notes in 1759; 51. notes in 1793 and 1L and 21. notes in March, 1797. The
issue of the latter ceased in 1821.
(10.) Interest on Deposits.-The Bank of England does not allow, either in London, or
at her branches, any interest on deposits; but it would be exceedingly desirable if she could
safely make some alteration in this respect. The want of the power readily to invest small
sums productively, and, at the same time, with perfect security, tends to weaken the motives
to save and accumulate. Nothing has contributed more to diffuse a spirit of economy, and
a desire to save, amongst all classes of the population of Scotland, than the readiness with
which deposits of small sums are received by banks of undoubted solidity in that part of the
country, and the allowance of interest upon them.-(See BANKS (Scorca).) This advan-
tage is in some degree, indeed, secured in England by the institution of savings banks.
These, however, are but a very inadequate substitute. They are not open to all classes of
depositors; and of those to whom they are open, no one can deposit more than 30L in a
year, and 150L. in all.-(See BANKS (SAVINGS).) But it is desirable that every facility
should be given to safe and profitable investments. " Were the English banks, like the
Scotch banks, to receive deposits of 10L and upwards, and allow interest upon them at about
1 per cent. less than the market rate, they would confer an immense advantage upon the
community, and open a source of profit to themselves. This is, in fact, a part of the proper
business of a bank. A banker is a dealer in capital, an intermediate party between the bor-
rower and the lender. He borrows of one party, and lends to another; and the difference
between the terms at which he borrows and those at which be lends is the source of his profit.
By this means, he draws into active operation those small sums of money which were pre-
viously unproductive in the hands of private individuals, and at the same time furnishes
accommodation to another class, who have occasion for additional capital to carry on their
commercial transactions."-(See Gilbarf's Practical Observations on Banking, p. 52.)
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
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In further corroboration of what has now been stated, it may be mentioned that it was
estimated by a very well-informed witness (Sir J. G. Craig), before the Lords' Committee
on Scotch and Irish Banking, in 1826, that the deposits in the Scotch banks, at that period,
amounted to about 24,000,000/., of which more than a half consisted of sums from 10% to
200/.! This is a most satisfactory proof of the vast importance of the system. Perhaps it is
not going too far to affirm, that but for the receiving of deposits by the banks, and the
allowing of interest upon them, not one third of the sums under 2001., and not one half of
those above it, would ever have been accumulated.-(See BANKS (Scorch).)
We are not, however, able to say whether the Bank of England could offer interest on
deposits without having so large a sum forced upon her as might endanger her stability.
And it were better that the system should continue as at present, than that any risk of this
sort should be incurred.
Since 1826, the private deposits in the hands of the Bank have nearly doubled. Their
increase is mainly ascribable to the preceding panic, and the loss that was then occasioned
by the failure of private banks.
The composition paid by the Bank at the rate of 3,500/. per million, as an equivalent for
the stamp duty on her notes, amounts, at an average, to about 70,000/. a year.
(11.) Method of conducting Business at the Bank.-All accounts kept at the Bank with
individuals are termed drawing accounts; those with whom they are opened being entitled
/
to draw checks upon them, and to send the bills and drafts in their favour to be presented by
the Bank, exactly as if they dealt with private bankers. There is no fixed sum with which
an individual must open a drawing account; nor is there any fixed sum which the Bank
requires him to keep at his credit to indemnify them for their trouble in answering his
drafts, &c. Mr. Horsley Palmer gave in his evidence the following statement as to the
facilities granted by the Bank in drawing accounts since 1825
1. The Bank receive dividends by power ofattorney forall persons having drawing accounts at theBank.
2. Dividend warrants are received at the Drawing-office, for ditto.
3. Exchequer bills and other securities are received for ditto; the bills exchanged, the interest re-
ceived, and the amount carried to their respective accounts.
4. Checks may be drawn for 51. and upwards, instead of 10L. as heretofore.
5. Cash boxes taken in, contents unknown, for such parties as keep accounts at the Bank.
6. Bank notes are paid at the counter, instead of drawing tickets for them on the pay clerks as
heretofore.
7. Checks on city bankers paid in by three o'clock may be drawn for between four and five; and
those paid in before four will be received and passed to account the same evening.
8. Checks paid in after four are sent out at nine o'clock the following morning, received and passed
to account, and may be drawn for as soon as received.
9. Dividend warrants taken in at the Drawing-office until five in the afternoon, instead of three as
heretofore.
10. Credits paid into account are received without the Bank book, and are afterwards entered
therein without the party claiming them.
11. Bills of exchange accepted payable at the Bank are paid with or without advice; heretofore
with advice only.
12. Notes of country bankers payable in London are sent out the same day for payment.
13. Checks are given out in books, and not in sheets as heretofore.
A person having a drawing account may have a discount account; but no person can
have the latter without, at the same time, having the former. When a discount account is
opened, the signatures of the parties are entered in a book kept for the purpose, and powers
of attorney are granted, empowering the persons named in them to act for their principals.
No bill of exchange drawn in the country is discounted by the Bank in London under
201., nor London note under 100l., nor for a longer date, under existing regulations, than
three months.
The number of holidays formerly kept at the Bank has recently been reduced about a
half, in the view, as stated by the directors, of preventing the interruption of business. There
are no holidays in the months of March, June, September, and December, excepting Christ-
mas; Easter Monday and Tuesday are no longer kept.
We subjoin an account of the days for transferring stock, and when the dividends are due
at the Bank, the South Sea House, and the East India House :-
Transfer Days at the Bank.
Dividends
Dividends
due.
due.
Bank Stock.-Tues. Thurs. and Frid.
Annuit. for Terms of Years, ending'
April 5.
3 per Cent. Red.-Tues. Wed. Thurs.
April 5.
10th of Oct. 1859, pursuant to 10 Geo.
Oct. 10.
and Frid.
Oct. 10.
4.-Tues. Thurs. and Sat.
31 per Cent. 1818.-Tues. Thurs and Frid.
Annuit. for Terms of Years, ending 5th
Jan. 5.
3 per Cent. 1726.-Tues. and Thurs.
Jan. 5.
of Jan. 1860, pursuant to 10 Geo. 4.-
July 5.
3 per Cent. Cons.-Tues. Wed. Thurs.
Tues. Thurs. and Sat.
and Frid.
July 5.
Life Annuit., if transferred between
Jan. 5.
31 per Cent. Red.-Tues. Wed. Thurs.
Jan. 5. and April 4., or between July 5.
July 5.
and Frid.
April 5.
and Oct. 9.
Long Annuit. to Jan. 1860.-Mond.
Oct. 10.
Life Annuit., if transferred between
April 5.
Wed. and Sat.
April 5. and July 4., or between Oct.
Oct. 10.
4 per Cent. 1826.-Mond. Wed. and
April 5.
10. and Jan. 4.
Frid.
Oct. 10.
At the South Sea House.
New 3t per Cent. Annuit.-Tues. Wed.
Jan. 5.
Thurs. and Frid.
Jan. 5.
31 per Cents.-Mond. Wed. and Frid.
July 5.
New 5 per Cent. Annuit.-Tues. Wed.
July 5.
3 per Cent. Old Annuit.-Mond. Wed.
April 5.
and Frid.
and Frid.
Oct. 10.
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
Transfer Days at the South Sea House.
Dividends
At the East India House.
Dividends
due.
des.
3 per Cent. New Annuit.-Tues. Thurs.
and Sat.
Jan. 5.
India Stock.-Tues. Thurs. and Bat.
Jan.
3 per Cent. 1751.-Tues. and Thurs.
July 5.
July.
Interest on India Bonds, due
Mar. 31.
Sept. 30.
Tickets for preparing transfer of stock must be given in at each office before one o'clock at the
East India house before two o'clock. Private transfers may be made at other times than as above,
the books not being shut, by paying, at the Bank and India House, 2s. 6d. extra for each transfer ; at
the South Sea House, 3s. 6d.
Transfer at the Bank must be made by half-past two o'clock at the India House, by three : at the
South Sea House by two on Saturday, by one.
Expense of transfer in Bank Stock, for 251. and under, 9s. ; above that sum, 12s.
India Stock, for 10%.
-
11. 10s.
-
II. 14s.
South Sea Stock, If under 1001. - 9a. 6d.
-
-
12s.
Powers of attorney for the sale or transfer of stock to be left at the Bank, &c. for examination, one
day before they can be acted upon if for receiving dividends, present them at the time the first divi-
dend is payable.
The expense of a power of attorney is 11. Is. 6d. for each stock ; but for Bank, India, and South Sea
stock, 11. 11s. 6d. If wanted for the same day, half past twelve o'clock is the latest time for receiving
orders. The boxes for receiving powers of attorney for sale close at two.
Probates of wills, letters of administration, and other proofs of decease, must be left at the Bank,
&c. for registration, from two OF three clear days, exclusive of holidays.
Stock cannot be added to any account (whether single or joint) in which the decease of the indi-
vidual, or one or more of a joint party, has taken place ; and the decease to be proved as soon as
practicable. Powers of attorney, in case of the death of a party or parties granting it, become void.
The unaltered possession of 5001. or upwards Bank Stock, for six months clear, gives the proprietor
a vote.
(12.) Branch Banks of the Bank of England-The Bank of England, as already
observed, has within these few years established branch banks at several of the most con-
siderable towns throughout the country. The mode and terms of conducting business at
these establishments have been described as follows:- :-
" The branch bank (of Swansea, and the same is true of those established in other places)
is to be a secure place of deposit for persons having occasion to make use of a bank for that
purpose; such persons are said to have drawing accounts: to facilitate to the mercantile
and trading classes the obtaining discounts of good and unexceptionable bills, founded upon
real transactions, two approved names being required upon every bill or note discounted;
these are called discount accounts. The application of parties who desire to open discount
accounts at the branch are forwarded every Saturday to the parent establishment for ap-
proval, and an answer is generally received in about ten days. When approved, good bills
may be discounted at the branch without reference to London. Bills payable at Swansea,
London, or any other place where a branch is established, are discounted under this regula-
tion. The dividends on any of the public funds, which are payable at the Bank of Eng-
land, may be received at the branch, by persons who have opened drawing accounts,' after
signing powers of attorney for that purpose, which the branch will procure from London.
No charge is made in this case, except the expense of the power of attorney and the postages.
Purchases and sales of every description of government securities are effected by the branch
at a charge of t per cent., which includes brokerage in London, and all expenses of post-
age, &c. A charge of t per cent. is also made on paying at the Bank of England, bills
accepted by persons having drawing accounts at Swansea, such bills to be advised by the
branch; also for granting letters of credit on London, or on the other branches. The branch
grants bills on London, payable at 21 days' date, without acceptance, for sums of 101. and
upwards. Persons having drawing accounts at Swansea may order money to be paid at
the Bank in London to their credit at this place, and vice verså, without expense. The
branch may be called upon to change any notes issued and dated at Swansea but they do
not change the notes of the Bank in London, nor receive them in payment, unless as a mat-
ter of courtesy where the parties are known. Bank post bills, which are accepted and due,
are received at the branch from parties having drawing accounts, and taken to account with-
out any charge for postage; but unaccepted Bank post bills, which must be sent to London,
are subject to the charge of postage, and taken to account when due. No interest is allowed
on deposits. No advance is made by the branch upon any description of landed or other
property, nor is any account allowed to be overdrawn. The notes are the same as those
issued by the parent establishment, except being dated Swansea, and made payable there
and in London. No note issued exceeds the sum of 500L and none are for a less amount
than 51."
(13.) Act for the Renewal of the Charter.-We subjoin a full abstract of the act 3 & 4
Will. 4. c. 98., continuing the charter, and regulating the exclusive privileges of the Bank
of England.
The first section, after referring to the acts 30 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 28., and the 7 Geo. 4. c. 46., goes on to
declare that it is expedient that certain exclusive privileges of banking be continued to the Governor
and Company of the Bank of England, for the period, and upon the terms and conditions hereinafter
mentioned.-> 1.
No Banking Company of more than 6 Persons to issue Notes payable on Demand within London, or 65
Miles thereof.-That during the continuance of the said privilege, no body politic or corporate, and
no society or company, or persons united or to be united in covenants or partnerships, exceeding 6
persons, shall make or issue in London, or within 65 miles thereof, any bill of exchange or promissory
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
89
note, or engagement for the payment of money on demand, or upon which any person holding the
same may obtain payment on demand provided always, that nothing herein or in the said act of the
7 Geo. 4. c. 46. contained shall be construed to prevent any body politic or corporate, or any society or
company, or incorporated company or corporation, or co-partnership, carrying on and transacting bank-
ing business at any greater distance than 65 miles from London, and not having any house of busi-
ness or establishment as bankers in London, or within 65 miles thereof, (except as hereinafter men-
tioned,) to make and issue their bills and notes, payable on demand or otherwise, at the place at which
the same shall be issued, being more than 65 miles from London, and also in London, and to have an
agent or agents in London, or at any other place at which such bills or notes shall be made payable,
for the purpose of payment only, but no such bill or note shall be for any sum less than 51., or be
re-issued in London, or within 65 miles thereof.-d 2.
Companies or Partnerships may curry on Banking in London, or within 65 Miles thereof.-And whereas
the intention of this act is, that the Bank of England should, during the period stated in this act (sub-
ject nevertheless to such redemption as is described in this act), continue to hold and enjoy all the
exclusive privileges of banking given by the act 39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 28. as regulated by the act 7 Geo. 4.
C. 46. or any prior or subsequent act or acts of parliament, but no other or further exclusive privilege
of banking and whereas doubts have arisen as to the construction of the said acts, and as to the ex-
tent of such exclusive privilege and it is expedient that all such doubts should be removed, be it
therefore declared and enacted, that any body politic or corporate, or society, or company, or partner-
ship, although consisting of more than 6 persons, may carry on the trade or business of banking in
London, or within 65 miles thereof, provided that such body politic or corporate, or society, or com-
pany, or partnership, do not borrow, owe, or take up in England any sum or sums of money on their
bills or notes payable on demand, or at any less time than 6 months from the borrowing thereof,
during the continuance of the privileges granted by this act to the said Governor and Company of the
Bank of England.-> 3.
All Bank of England Notes payable on Demand issued out of London puyable at the Place where issued,
&c.-From and after the 1st of August, 1834, all promissory notes payable on demand of the Governor
and Company of the Bank of England issued at any place in England out of London, where the trade
and business of banking shall be carried on for and on behalf of the said Governor and Company,
shall be made payable at the place where such promissory notes shall be issued and it shall not be
lawful for the said Governor and Company, or any committee, agent, cashier, officer, or servant of
the same, to issue at any place out of London, any promissory note payable on demand not made
payable at the place where the same shall be issued, any thing in the said act 7 Geo. 4. c. 46. to the
contrary notwithstanding.- 4.
Exclusive Privileges to end upon One Year's Notice at the end of 10 Years after August, 1834.-Upon
one year's notice given within 6 months after the expiration of 10 years from the 1st of August, 1834,
and upon repayment by parliament to the said Governor and Company, or their successors, of all prin-
cipal money, interest, or annuities which may be due from the public to the said Governor and Com-
pany at the time of the expiration of such notice, as is hereinafter stipulated and provided in the
event of such notice being deferred until after the 1st of August, 1855, the exclusive privileges of bank-
ing granted by this act shall cease and determine at the expiration of such year's notice; and any
vote or resolution of the House of Commons, signified by the Speaker of the said house in writing,
and delivered at the public office of the said Governor and Company, or their successors, shall be
deemed and adjudged to be a sufficient notice.- δ.
Bank Notes to be a legal Tender, except at the Bank and Branch Banks.-From and after the 1st of Au-
gust, 1834, unless and until parliament shall otherwise direct, a tender of a note or notes of the Go-
vernor and Company of the Bank of England, expressed to be payable to bearer on demand, shall be
a legal tender, to the amount expressed in such note or notes, and shall be taken to be valid as a ten-
der to such amount for all sums above 51. on all occasions on which any tender of money may be
legally made, so long as the Bank of England shall continue to pay on demand their said notes in legal
coin; provided always, that no such note or notes shall be deemed a legal tender of payment by the
Governor and Company of the Bank of England, or any branch bank of the said Governor and Com-
pany but the said Governor and Company are not to become liable or be required to pay and satisfy
at any branch bank of the said Governor and Company, any note or notes of the said Governor and
Company, not made specially payable at such branch bank; but the said Governor and Company shall
be liable to pay and satisfy at the Bank of England in London all notes of the said Governor and
Company, or of any branch thereof.-d 6.
Bills not huving more than 3 Months to run, not subject to Usury Laws.-No bill of exchange or pro-
missory note made payable at or within 3 months after the date thereof, or not having more than 3
months to run, shall, by reason of any interest taken thereon or secured thereby, or any agreement
to pay or receive or allow interest in discounting, negotiating or transferring the same, be void, nor
shall the liability of any party to any bill of exchange or promissory note be affected by reason of any
statute or law in force for the prevention of usury; nor shall any person or persons drawing, accept-
ing, indorsing, or signing any such bill or note, or lending or advancing any money, or taking more
than the present rate of legal interest in Great Britain and Ireland respectively for the loan of money
on any such bill or note, be subject to any penalties under any statute or law relating to usury, or any
other penalty or forfeiture any thing in any law or statute relating to usury in any part of the
United Kingdom to the contrary notwithstanding.- 7.
Accounts of Bullion and of Notes in Circulation to be sent weekly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.-
An account of the amount of bullion and securities in the Bank of England belonging to the said
Governor and Company, and of notes in circulation, and of deposits in the said bank, shall be trans-
mitted weekly to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for the time being, and such accounts shall be con-
solidated at the end of every month, and an average state of the Bank accounts of the preceding 3
months, made from such consolidated accounts as aforesaid, shall be published every month in the
next succeeding London Gazette.- 8.
Public to pay the Bank 1 Part of 14,686,8001.-One fourth part of the debt of 14,686,800L., now due
from the public to the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, shall, and may be repaid to the
said Governor and Company.-& 9.
Capital Stock of the Bank may be reduced.-A general court of proprietors of the said Governor and
Company of the Bank of England shall be held some time between the passing of this act and the 5th
of October, 1834, to determine upon the propriety of dividing and appropriating the sum of 3,638,2501.
out of or by means of the sum to be repaid to the said Governor and Company as before mentioned,
or out of or by means of the fund to be provided for that purpose amongst the several persons, bodies
politic or corporate, who may be proprietors of the capital stock of the said Governor and Company
on the said 5th of October, 1834, and upon the manner and the time for making such division and ap-
propriation, not inconsistent with the provisions for that purpose herein contained and in case such
general court, or any adjourned general court, shall determine that it will be proper to make such di-
vision, then, but not otherwise, the capital stock of the said Governor and Company shall be, and the
same is hereby declared to be reduced from the sum of 14,553,000L., of which the same now consists,
to the sum of 10,914,750L., making a reduction or difference of 3,638,2501. capital stock, and such re-
duction shall take place from and after the 5th of October, 1834; and thereupon, out of or by means
H 2
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
of the sum to be repaid to the said Governor and Company as herein-before mentioned, or out of or by
means of the fund to be provided for that purpose, the sum of 3,638,2501. sterling, or such proportion
of the said fund as shall represent the same, shall be appropriated and divided amongst the several
persons, bodies politic or corporate, who may be proprietors of the said sum of 14,553,000L. Bank stock
on the said 5th of October, 1834, at the rate of 251. sterling for every 100L. of Bank stock which such
persons, bodies politic and corporate, may then be proprietors of, or shall have standing in their
respective names in the books kept by the said Governor and Company for the entry and transfer of
such stock, and 80 in proportion for a greater or lesser sum.- 10.
Governor, Deputy, or Directors not to be disqualified by Reduction of their Share of the Capital Stock-
The reduction of the share of each proprietor in the capital stock of the said Governor and Company
of the Bank of England, by the repayment of such 1/8 part thereof, shall not disqualify the present go-
vernor, deputy governor, or directors, or any or either of them, or any governor, deputy governor, or
director who may be chosen in the room of the present governor, deputy governor, or directors at any
time before the general court of the said Governor and Company to be held between the 25th of
March and the 25th of April, 1835: provided that at the said general court, and from and after the
same, no governor, deputy governor, or director of the said corporation shall be capable of being
chosen such governor, deputy governor, or director, or shall continue in his or their respective offices,
unless he or they respectively shall at the time of such choice have, and during such his respective
office continue to have, in his and their respective name, in his and their own right, and for his and
their own use, the respective sums or shares of and in the capital stock of the said corporation in and
by the charter of the said Governor and Company prescribed as the qualification of governor, deputy
governor, and directors respectively.- 11.
Proprietors not to be disqualified.-Provided also, and be it enacted, that no proprietor shall be dis-
qualified from attending and voting at any general court of the said Governor and Company to be
held between the said 5th of October, 1834, and the 25th of April, 1835, in consequence of the share of
such proprietor of the capital stock of the said Governor and Company having been reduced by such
repayment as aforesaid below the sum of 500L. of the said capital stock; provided such proprietor had
in his own name the full sum of 5001. of the said capital stock on the said 5th of October, 1834; nor
shall any proprietor be required, between the said 5th of October, 1834, and the 25th of April, 1835, to
take the oath of qualification in the said charter.- 12.
Bank to deduct 120,000/. from Sum allowed for Management of National Debt.-From and after the
1st of August, 1834, the said Governor and Company, in consideration of the privileges of exclusive
banking given by this act, shall, during the continuance of such privileges, but no longer, deduct from
the sums now payable to them, for the charges of management of the public unredeemed debt, the
annual sum of 120,000/., any thing in any act or acts of parliament or agreement to the contrary not-
withstanding: provided always, that such deduction shall in no respect prejudice or affect the right
of the said Governor and Company to be paid for the management of the public debt at the rate and
according to the terms provided by the act 48 Geo. 3. c. 4., intituled An act to authorise the advanc-
ing for the public Service, upon certain Conditions, a Proportion of the Balance remaining in the
Bank of England for Payment of unclaimed Dividends, Annuities, and Lottery Prizes, and for regu-
lating the Allowances to be made for the management of the National Debt. 13.
Provisions of Act of 39 & 40 Geo. 3. to remain in force, except as altered by this Act.-All the powers,
authorities, franchises, privileges, and advantages given or recognised by the said recited act of the
39 & 40 Geo. 3. c. 28. aforesaid, as belonging to or enjoyed by the Governor and Company of the Bank
of England, or by any subsequent act or acts of parliament, shall be and the same are hereby declared
to be in full force, and continued by this act, except 80 far as the same are altered by this act, subject
nevertheless to such redemption upon the terms and conditions following; (that is to say,) that at any
time, upon 12 months' notice to be given after the 1st of August, 1855, and upon repayment by par-
liament to the said Governor and Company, or their successors, of the sum of 11,015,100Z., being the
debt which will remain due from the public to the said Governor and Company after the payment of
the 1 of the debt of 14,686,8041. as herein-before provided, without any deduction, discount, or abate-
ment whatsoever, and upon payment to the said Governor and Company and their successors of all
arrears of the sum of 100,000Z. per annum in the said act of 39 & 40 Geo. 3. aforesaid mentioned, to-
gether with the interest of annuities payable upon the said debt or in respect thereof, and also upon
repayment of all the principal and interest which shall be owing unto the said Governor and Compa-
ny and their successors upon all such tallies, exchequer orders, exchequer bills, or parliamentary
funds which the said Governor and Company, or their successors, shall have remaining in their hands
or be entitled to at the time of such notice to be given as last aforesaid, then and in such case, and
not till then, (unless under the proviso herein-before contained,) the said exclusive privileges of
banking granted by this act shall cease and determine at the expiration of such notice of 12 months.
- 14.
Tables exhibiting a View of the Circulation, Deposits, Profits, Ac. of the Bank of England.
No. I.-A return of the Number of Persons convicted of Forgery, or passing forged Notes and Post
Bills of the Bank of England, in each Year, from 1791 to 1829, inclusive.
Convictions
Convictions
for having
Total Num-
Total Num-
Years.
Capital
forged Bank
Years.
Capital
for having
ber of Con-
ber of con-
Convictions.
forged Bank
Notes in
victions each
Convictions.
victions each
Notes in
Year.
Year.
Possession.
Possession.
1791-1796
nil.
nil.
nil.
1813
9
49
58
1797
1
-
1
1814
5
39
44
1798
11
-
11
1815
8
51
59
1799
12
-
12
1816
20
84
104
1800
29
-
29
1817
33
95
128
1801
32
1
33
1818
62
165
227
1802
32
12
44
1819
33
160
193
1803
7
1
8
1820
77
275
352
1804
13
18
21
1821
41
93
134
1805
10
14
24
1822
16
-
16
1806
nil.
9
9
1823
6
-
6
1807
16
24
40
1824
5
-
5
1808
9
23
32
1825
2
-
2
1809
23
29
52
1826
18
4
22
1810
10
16
26
1827
24
-
24
1811
5
19
24
1828
10
-
10
1812
26
26
52
1829
13
1
14
The Bank of England does not possess the means of stating or distinguishing the punishments in-
flicted for the said crimes.
Digitized by Google
BANK OF ENGLAND.
91
No. П.-А Return of the Number of Persons convicted of Forgery on the Bank of England con-
nected with the Public Funds, Bills of Exchange, or otherwise, except Bank Notes, &c., in each
Year, from 1791 to 1829, inclusive.
Convictions.
Convictions.
Convictions.
Convictions.
.
1790
-
-
1
1800
-
-
1
1810
-
- nil.
1820
1791
-
-
nil.
1801
-
-
nil.
1811
-
-
2
1921
-
- nil.
1792
-
-
2
1802
-
-
1
1812
-
- nil.
1822
-
-
1
1793
}
1803
-
-
1
1813
-
-
2
1823
-
- mill.
1794
-
- nil.
1804
-
-
1
1814
-
-
1
1824
-
-
1
1795
1805
-
-
1
1815
-
-
nil.
1825
1796
-
-
2
1806
-
- all.
1816
-
-
2
1826
1797
- nil.
1807
-
-
-
-
1
1817
-
-
3
1827
- nil.
1798
-
- 3
1808
-
- nil.
1818
1828
1799
-
- nil.
1809
-
-
1
1819
nil.
-
-
1829
-
-
2
The Bank of England does not possess the means of stating or distinguishing the punishments in-
flicted for the said orimes.-(90th of May, 1830.)
No. III-Account of the Debts and Assets (exclusive of the Bank Capital) of the Bank of England
exhibiting, on the one hand, the Amount of Bank Notes, Post Bills, &c. in Circulation, and of the
public and private Deposits in the Hands of the Bank; and, on the other, the Amount of the
various public and private Securities, and of the Bullion held by the Bank, on the 31st of August,
in each Year, from 1778 to 1831 inclusive.-(From the Appendix, No. of Report on Bank Charter.)
31 August, 1778.
&
31 August, 1778.
£
Circulation -
6,758,070
Securities
s Public
6,540,433
-
-
1 Private
-
3,087,537
s
9,627,970
Deposits
-
-
4,715,580
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,128,420
11,473,650
- - - Rest, 1,282,7401.
12,756,390
31 August, 1779.
31 August, 1779.
7,276,540
Securities
s Public
-
7,493,649
Circulation - -
-
9,849,840
Private
-
2,356,191
Deposits
-
-
5,201,040
Bullion
-
-
-
-
3,983,300
12,477,580
-
-
- Rest, 1,355,560L.
13,833,140
31 August, 1780.
31 August, 1780.
Circulation - -
6,341,600
Securities
s Public
6,740,514
-
1 Private
-
3,605,026
10,345,540
Deposits
-
-
6,655,800
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
4,179,370
12,997,400
-
-
- Rest, 1,527,5101.
14,524,910
31 August, 1781.
.
31 August, 1781.
s Public
6,609,457
Circulation - -
6,309,430
Securities
-
Private
4,501,053
11,110,510
-
Deposits
-
5,921,630
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,862,590
12,231,060
-
- - Rest, 1,742,040L.
13,973,100
31 August, 1782.
31 August, 1782.
s Public
-
Securities
8,967,573
Circulation -
-
6,759,310
-
Private
4,496,217
13,483,790
-
Deposits
6,759,450
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,956,550
13,518,760
-
- - Rest, 1,921,5801.
15,440,340
30 August, 1783.
30 August, 1783.
Public
-
9,566,037
Circulation - -
6,307,270
Securities
-
1 Private
-
4,275,763
13,841,800
Deposits
-
6,105,650
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
590,080
12,412,920
- - Rest, 2,018,960L.
14,431,880
31 August, 1784.
31 August, 1784.
Public
8,435,777
Circulation
-
5,592,510
Securities
-
Private
- 4,088,603
12,524,380
Deposits
-
-
6,267,130
Bullion
-
-
1,539,830
11,859,640
- - Rest, 2,204,5701.
14,064,210
31 August, 1785.
31 August, 1785.
5 Public
-
6,725,891
Circulation -
-
6,570,650
Securities
-
3,218,679
9,944,570
Private
-
Deposits
-
-
6,252,030
Bullion
-
5,487,040
12,822,680
- - - Rest, 2,608,9301.
15,431,610
31 August, 1786.
31 August, 1786.
S Public
-
7,988,241 ?
Circulation
-
-
8,184,330
Securities
-
2,390,539
10,378,780
Private
-
Deposits
-
5,867,210
Bullion
-
-
6,311,050
14,051,570
- - - Rest, 2,638,2601.
16,689,830
Digitized by Google
92
BANK OF ENGLAND.
Amount of Notes in Circulation, and Deposits, and Securities held by the Bank-continued.
31 August, 1787.
&
31 August, 1787.
£
&
9,685,720
Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
Private
-
3,787,357 }
8,066,303
-
11,853,660
Deposits
-
-
5,631,540
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,293,000
15,317,260
-
-
-
Rest, 2,829,4001.
18,146,660
30 August, 1788.
30 August, 1788.
S
Public
-
Circulation - -
10,002,880
Securities
8,840,068
-
Private
2,730,252 }
11,570,320
-
Deposits
-
-
5,528,640
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,899,160
15,531,520
-
-
-
Rest, 2,937,9601.
18,469,480
31 August, 1789.
31 August, 1789.
Public
-
Circulation - -
11,121,800
Securities
9,661,859
-
Private
-
2,035,901
11,697,760
Deposits
-
-
6,402,450
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
8,645,860
17,524,250
-
-
- Rest, 2,819,3701.
20,343,620
31 August, 1790.
31 August, 1790.
Circulation - -
Public
-
11,433,340
Securities
10,047,257
-
Private
1,956,263
12,003,520
-
Deposits
-
-
6,199,200
Bullion
-
-
-
-
- &
8,386,330
17,632,540
- - - Rest, 2,757,3101.
20,389,850
31 August, 1791.
31 August, 1791.
Circulation - -
11,672,320
Securities
s Public
-
10,921,300
-
1 Private
12,819,940
-
1,898,640 s
Deposits
-
-
6,437,730
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
8,055,510
18,110,050
- - - Rest, 2,765,400Z.
20,875,450
31 August, 1792.
31 August, 1792.
Circulation - -
11,006,300
Securities
s Public
-
10,715,041
-
13,905,910
Private
-
3,190,869
Deposits
-
-
5,526,480
Bullion
-
-
-
-
5,357,380
16,532,780
-
-
- Rest, 2,730,510L.
19,263,290
31 August, 1793.
31 August, 1793.
Circulation - -
10,865,050
Securities
s Public
-
10,381,838
-
1 Private
- 4,427,842
}
14,809,680
Deposits
-
-
6,442,810
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
5,322,010
17,307,860
-
-1 - Rest, 2,823,8301.
20,131,690
30 August, 1794.
30 August, 1794.
Circulation - -
10,286,780
Securities
S Public
-
8,863,048
-
Private
-
3,583,412
}
12,446,460
Deposits
-
-
5,935,710
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,770,110
16,222,490
-
-
- Rest, 2,994,080L.
19,216,570
31 August, 1795.
31 August, 1795.
Circulation - -
10,862,200
s Public
-
Securities
-
1 Private
-
13,250,904 }
3,739,016
16,989,920
Deposits
-
-
8,154,980
Bullion
-
-
-
-
5,136,350
19,017,180
-
-
- Rest, 3,109,090L.
22,126,270
31 August, 1796.
31 August, 1796.
Circulation - -
Securities
Public
-
9,246,790
10,875,347
-
Private
-
6,150,123
}
17,025,470
Deposits
-
-
6,656,320
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
2,122,950
15,903,110
--- Rest, 3,245,310L.
19,148,420
31 August, 1797.
31 August, 1797.
Circulation - -
11,114,120
Securities
S
Public
-
8,765,224
-
~
Private
-
9,495,946
}
18,261,170
Deposits
-
-
7,765,350
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
4,089,620
18,879,470
- - - Rest, 3,471,320L.
22,350,790
31 August, 1798.
31 August, 1798.
Circulation - -
Securities
{ Private
Public
-
12,180,610
10,930,038
-
6,419,602
}
17,349,640
-
Deposits
-
-
8,300,720
Bullion
-
-
6,546,100
20,481,330
-
-
- Rest, 3,414,410L.
23,895,740
31 August, 1799.
31 August, 1799.
Circulation - -
13,389,490
Securities
{ Private
Public
9,452,955
-
-
7,477,485
}
16,930,440
Deposits
-
-
7,642,240
Bullion
-
-
-
7,000,780
21,031,730
- - - Rest, 2,899,4901.
23,931,220
Digitized by Google
BANK OF ENGLAND.
93
Amount of Notes in Circulation, and Deposits, and Securities held by the Bank-continued.
30 August, 1800.
£
30 August, 1800.
£
&
15,047,180
Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
13,586,590
-
-
Private
-
8,551,830
}
22,138,420
Deposits
-
-
8,335,060
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
5,150,450
23,382,240
-
-
-
Rest, 3,906,6301.
27,288,870
31 August, 1801.
31 August, 1801.
s
Public
-
Circulation - -
14,556,110
Securities
11,926,873
-
Private
10,282,697 }
22,209,570
-
Deposits
-
-
8,133,830
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
4,335,260
22,689,940
-
-
-
Rest, 3,854,890%
26,544,830
31 August, 1802.
31 August, 1802.
Circulation - -
Securities
S
Public
-
17,097,630
13,528,599
-
2 Private
-
13,584,761
s
27,113,360
Deposits
-
-
9,739,140
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,891,780
26,836,770
-
-
-
Rest, 4,168,370L.
31,005,140
31 August, 1803.
31 August, 1803.
Circulation -
5 Public
-
-
15,983,330
Securities
13,336,179
-
Private
13,582,661
26,918,840
-
Deposits
-
-
9,817,240
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,592,500
25,800,570
-
-
-
Rest, 4,710,770L.
30,511,340
31 August, 1804.
31 August, 1804.
Circulation -
Securities
s Public
-
17,153,890
14,993,395
-
-
25,826,680
Private
-
10,833,285 1
Deposits
-
-
9,715,530
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
5,879,190
26,869,420
-
-
-
Rest, 4,836,4501.
31,705,870
I
31 August, 1805.
31 August, 1805.
Circulation - -
16,388,400
Securities
s Public
-
11,413,266
-
27,772,850
Private
-
16,359,584 s
Deposits
-
-
14,048,080
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
7,624,500
30,436,480
-
-
-
Rest, 4,960,8701.
35,397,350
31 August, 1806.
31 August, 1806.
Circulation - -
21,027,470
Securities
s Public
-
14,167,772
-
Private
-
15,305,328
29,473,100
Deposits
-
-
9,636,330
Bullion
-
-
=
-
-
6,215,020
30,663,800
-
-
-
Rest, 5,024,3201.
35,688,120
31 August, 1807.
31 August, 1807.
Circulation - -
19,678,360
Securities
S Public
-
13,410,055
-
( Private
-
16,526,895 }
29,936,950
Deposits
-
-
11,789,200
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,484,350
31,467,560
-
-
-
Rest, 4,953,740L.
36,421,300
31 August, 1808.
31 August, 1808.
Circulation - -
s Public
-
Securities
14,956,394
17,111,290
-
1 Private
14,287,696 s
29,244,090
-
Deposits
-
-
13,012,510
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,015,940
30,123,800
-
-
-
Rest, 5,136,2301.
35,260,030
31 August, 1809.
31 August, 1809.
Circulation - -
Securities
S Public
-
19,574,180
-
l Private
-
15,307,673 }
18,127,597
33,435,270
Deposits
-
-
12,257,180
Bullion
-
-
.
-
3,652,480
31,831,360
-
-
- Rest, 5,256,390L.
37,087,750
31 August, 1810.
31 August, 1810.
Circulation - -
Securities
5 Public
-
17,198,677
24,793,990
-
c Private
I
23,775,093 }
40,973,770
Deposits
-
-
13,617,520
Bullion
-
-
-
#
-
3,191,850
38,411,510
-
-
-
Rest, 5,754,110L
44,165,620
31 August, 1811.
31 August, 1811.
Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
21,884,248
23,286,850
-
( Private
15,199,032
37,083,280
-
Deposits
-
-
11,075,660
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,243,300
34,362,510
-
-
-
Rest, 5,964,070L.
40,326,580
31 August, 1812.
31 August, 1812.
23,026,880
Securities
s Public
-
Circulation - -
21,165,190
-
-
17,010,930
38,176,120
l Private
Deposits
-
-
11,848,910
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,099,270
34,875,790
-
-
- Rest, 6,399,600L.
41,275,390
Digitized by Google
94
BANK OF ENGLAND.
Amount of Notes in Circulation, and Deposits, and Securities held by the Bank-continued.
31 August, 1813.
£
31 August, 1813.
£
£
24,828,120
Securities
-
Public
-
Circulation - -
-
Private
-
25,591,336 }
14,514,744
40,106,080
Deposits
-
-
11,159,730
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
2,712,270
35,987,850
- - - Rest, 6,830,500L.
42,818,350
31 August, 1814.
31 August, 1814.
Circulation - -
Securities
Public
-
28,368,290
: 34,982,485
-
Private
48,345,960
-
13,363,475
Deposits
-
-
14,849,940
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
2,097,660
43,218,230
-
- - Rest, 7,225,4101.
50,443,640
31 August, 1815.
31 August, 1815.
Securities
Public
-
Circulation - -
27,248,670
24,194,086
-
Private
20,660,094
44,854,180
-
Deposits
-
-
12,696,000
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,409,040
39,944,670
- - - Rest, 8,318,550L.
48,263,220
31 August, 1816.
31 August, 1816.
Securities
Public
-
Circulation - -
26,758,720
26,097,431
-
2 Private
-
11,182,109
37,279,540
Deposits - -
11,856,380
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
7,562,780
38,615,100
-
- - Rest, 6,227,2201.
44,842,320
so August, 1817.
30 August, 1817.
Circulation - -
29,543,780
Securities
s Public
-
27,098,238
-
Private
-
5,507,392
32,605,630
Deposits - -
9,084,590
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
11,668,260
38,628,370
- - - Rest, 5,645,5301.
44,273,890
(
31 August, 1818.
31 August, 1818.
Circulation - -
26,202,150
Securities
s Public
- 27,257,012
-
Private
-
5,113,748
32,370,760
Deposits
-
-
7,927,730
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,363,160
34,129,880
- - - Rest, 4,604,040L.
38,733,920
31 August, 1819.
31 August, 1819.
Circulation - -
25,252,690
Securities
s Public
-
25,419,148
-
Private
-
6,321,402
31,740,550
Deposits - -
6,304,160
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,595,360
31,556,850
- - - Rest, 3,779,060L.
35,335,910
31 August, 1820.
31 August, 1820.
Circulation - -
Securities
Public
24,299,340
-
19,173,997
-
Private
-
4,672,123
23,846,190
Deposits - -
4,420,910
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
8,211,080
28,720,250
- - - Rest, 3,336,9501.
32,057,200
31 August, 1821.
31 August, 1821.
Circulation - -
s Public
- 2,728,587 }
-
20,295,300
Securities
15,752,953
-
Private
18,475,540
Deposits
-
-
5,818,450
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
11,283,500
26,113,750
- - - Rest, 3,595,2801.
29,709,130
31 August, 1822.
31 August, 1822.
.
Circulation - -
Securities
s
Public
-
17,464,790
13,668,359
-
Private
-
3,622,151
}
17,290,510
Deposits
-
-
6,399,440
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
10,097,960
23,864,230
-
- - Rest, 3,524,2401.
27,388,470
30 August, 1823.
30 August, 1823.
Circulation - -
19,231,240
Securities
s Public
-
11,842,677
-
Private
,
5,624,693
17,467,370
Deposits - -
7,827,350
Bullion
-
-
-
.
-
12,658,240
27,058,590
-
-
- Rest, 3,007,0201.
30,125,610
31 August, 1824.
31 August, 1824.
Circulation - -
20,132,120
Securities
Public
-
14,649,187
-
Private
-
6,255,843
20,004,530
Deposits
-
.
9,679,810
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
11,787,430
29,811,930
- - - Rest, 2,880,0301.
32,091,960
31 August, 1825.
31 August, 1825.
.
.
Circulation - -
19,398,840
Securities
S Public
-
17,414,566
-
Private
. 7,691,464
25,106,039
Deposits
-
-
6,410,560
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
3,624,390
25,809,400
- - - Rest, 2,930,9561.
28,740,350
Digitized by Google
BANK OF ENGLAND.
95
Amount of Notes in Circulation, and Deposits, and Securities held by the Bank-continued.
31 August, 1826.
£
31 August, 1826.
£
£
21,563,560
Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
17,713,881
-
Private
-
7,369,749
25,083,630
Deposits
-
-
7,199,860
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,754,230
28,763,420
-
- - Rest, 3,074,4402.
31,837,860
31 August, 1927.
31 August, 1827.
S Public
-
Circulation - -
22,747,600
Securities
19,809,595
-
Private
-
3,389,725
23,199,320
Deposits
-
-
8,052,090
Bullion
-
-
-,
-
-
10,463,770
30,799,690
-
-
-
Rest, 2,863,4001.
33,663,090
30 August, 1828.
30 August, 1828.
Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
20,682,776
21,357,510
-
Private
-
3,229,754
23,905,530
Deposits
-
-
10,201,280
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
10,496,880
31,558,790
-
- - Rest, 2,845,0201.
34,404,410
31 August, 1829.
31 August, 1829.
Public
-
Circulation -
-
19,547,380
Securities
20,072,440
-
2 Private
4,589,370
24,661,810
-
Deposits
-
-
9,035,070
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,795,530
28,582,450
-
-
- Rest, 2,874,8901.
31,457,340
30 August, 1830.
30 August, 1830.
s Public
-
Circulation - -
Securities
20,911,616
21,464,700
-
Private
-
3,654,074
24,565,690
Deposits
-
-
11,620,840
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
11,150,480
33,085,540
-
- - Rest, 2,630,630.
35,716,170
31 August, 1831.
31 August, 1831.
Circulation - -
S Public
-
Securities
18,056,552
18,538,630
-
23,905,030
Private
-
5,848,478
Deposits
-
-
9,069,310
Bullion
-
-
-
-
-
6,439,760
27,607,940
-
-
- Rest, 2,736,8501.
30,344,799
(Account of the Issues, Securities, and Bullion, of the Bank of England, as published in the Gazette,
from the Commencement of the Publication to the Present Time; distinguishing Gold from
Silver.
Bullion.
Average in the Quarters ending
Circulation.
Deposits.
Securities.
Gold.
Silver.
£
£
£
£
£
29 July,
1834
-
19,110,000
15,675,000
28,502,000
8,147,000
451,000
26 August,
-
-
19,147,000
15,384,000
28,679,000
7,930,000
342,000
23 September
-
-
19,126,000
14,754,000
28,691,000
7,460,000
235,000
21 October,
-
-
18,914,000
13,514,000
27,840,000
6,951,000
172,000
18 November,
-
-
18,694,000
12,669,000
27,138,000
6,589,000
192,000
16 December,
-
-
18,304,000
12,256,000
26,362,000
6,499,000
221,000
13 January,
1835
-
18,012,000
12,585,000
26,390,000
6,489,000
252,000
10 February,
-
-
18,099,000
12,535,000
26,482,000
6,431,000
262,000
10 March,
-
-
18,311,000
12,281,000
26,657,000
6,274,000
262,000
7 April,
-
-
18,591,000
11,289,000
26,228,000
6,064,000
265,000
5 May,
-
-
18,542,000
10,726,000
25,764,000
5,928,000
269,000
2 June,
-
-
18,460,000
10,568,000
25,562,000
5,875,000
275,000
30 June,
-
-
18,315,000
10,954,000
25,678,000
5,935,000
284,000
28 July,
-
-
18,322,000
11,561,000
26,244,000
5,995,000
288,000
25 August,
-
-
18,340,000
12,308,000
26,964,000
6,039,000
287,000
22 September,
-
-
18,240,000
13,230,000
27,888,000
5,987,000
274,000
20 October,
-
-
17,930,000
14,227,000
28,661,000
5,918,000
268,000
17 November,
-
-
17,549,000
16,180,000
30,069,000
5,998,000
307,000
15 December,
17,729,000
31,048,000
6,257,000
369,000
-
-
17,321,000
12 January,
1836
-
17,262,000
19,169,000
31,954,000
6,625,000
451,000
9 February,
-
-
17,427,000
18,366,000
31,022,000
6,957,000
514,000
8 March,
-
-
17,739,000
16,966,000
29,806,000
7,153,000
548,000
5 April,
-
-
18,063,000
14,751,000
27,927,000
7,239,000
562,000
3 May,
-
-
18,154,000
13,747,000
27,042,000
7,214,000
568,000
31 May,
-
-
18,051,000
13,273,000
26,534,000
7,088,000
575,000
28 June,
17,899,000
13,810,000
27,153,000
6,784,000
578,000
I
-
26 July,
-
-
17,940,000
14,495,000
28,315,000
6,351,000
575,000
23 August,
-
-
18,061,000
14,796,000
29,345,000
5,766,000
559,000
20 September,
-
-
18,147,000
14,118,000
29,406,000
5,211,000
508,000
18 October,
-
-
17,936,000
13,324,000
28,845,000
4,810,000
447,000
15 November,
-
-
17,543,000
12,682,000
28,134,000
4,558,000
375,000
13 December,
-
-
17,361,000
13,330,000
28,971,000
4,545,000
Sup.)
Digitized by Google
96
BANK OF ENGLAND.
No. IV.-An account of the Average Market Price of Bullion in each Year, from 1800 to 1821 (taken
from official Documents), of the Average Value per Cent. of the Currency, estimated by the Mar-
ket Price of Gold for the same Period, and of the Average Depreciation per Cent.
Years.
Average Price of
Average per Cent
of the Value of
Average Depre-
Years.
Average Price of
Average per Cent.
Gold per oz.
the Currency.
ciation per Cent.
Gold per oz.
of the Value of
Average Depre-
the Currency.
ciation per Cent.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
£ S. d.
1800
3 17 101
100 0 0
Nil.
1811
4 4 6
92 3 2
7 16 10
1801
4 5 0
91 12 4
8 7 8
1812
4 15 6
79 5 3
20 14 9
1802
4 4 0
92 14 2
7 5 10
1813
5 1 0
77 2 0
22 18 0
1803
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1814
5 4 0
74 17 6
25 2 6
1804
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1815
4 13 6
83 5 9
16 14 3
1805
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1816
4 13 6
83 5 9
16 14 3
1806
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1817
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1807
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1818
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1808
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1819
4 1 6
95 11 0
4 9 0
1809
4 0 0
97 6 10
2 13 2
1820
3 19 11
97 8 0
2 12 0
1810
4 10 0
86 10 6
13 9 6
1821
3 17 10}
100 0 0
Nil.
No. V.-An Account of the total Amount of Outstanding Demands on the Bank of England, and
likewise the Funds for discharging the same; 30th January, 1819.
DR.
-
-
The Bank,
-
30th January, 1819.
-
CR.
£
By advances on government se-
£
To Bank Notes out
-
-
-
26,094,430
curities; viz.
To other debts; viz.
On Exchequer bills, on malt,
Drawing accounts
-
-
&c. 1818
-
-
-
Audit roll
-
-
-
-
7,800,150
Bank loan, 1808
-
-
Exchequer bills deposited
-
Supply, 1816, at 41. per cent. -
And various other debts
-
Growing produce of the conso-
8,438,660
lidated fund to 5th of April,
33,894,580
1819, and interest due, and
loans to government on un-
Balance of surplus in favour of
claimed dividends
-
the Bank of England, exclu-
By all other credits, viz.
sive of the debt from govern-
Cash and bullion
-
ment, at 31. per cent.
Exchequer bills purchased, and
£11,686,800
interest
-
And the advance to govern-
Bills and notes discounted -
ment, per 56 Geo. 3. cap. 96. at
5,202,320
Treasury bills for the service
30,658,240
31. per cent.
of Ireland
-
-
£3,000,
Money lent, and various other
articles
-
-
-
£39,096,900
£39,096,900
By the permanent debt due from
government, for the capital of
the Bank, at 31. per cent. per
annum
11,686,800
By the advance to government,
per act 56 Geo. 3. cap. 96. at 31.
per cent. per annum
-
-
£3,000,000
Bank of England, 22d of February, 1819.
WILLIAM DAWES, Accountant General.
No. VI.-An Account of Money paid or payable at the Bank of England, for the Management of
the Public Debt, in the Year 1829, together with an Account of all the Allowances made by the
Public to the Bank, or charged by the Bank against the Public, for transacting any Public Service
in the Year 1829; describing the Nature of the Service, and the Amount charged thereon in the
said Year, and including any Sum under the Denomination of House-money, or House Expenses :
and also, any Sum under the Denomination of Charges of Management on South Sea Stock, and
stating the aggregate Amount of the whole.
Denomination of Payments.
Amount.
£ s d.
Charge for management of the unredeemed public debt for one year, ending the
5th of April, 1830, being the annual period at which the accounts are made up,
as directed by the act 48 Geo. 3. c. 4.
248,417 17 21
Ditto, ditto, for one year ending ditto, on sundry annuities, transferred to the Com-
missioners for the Reduction of the National Debt, for the purchase of life an-
nuities per act 48 Geo. 3. and subsequent acts
2,922 11 9
Charges of management, being part of an entire yearly fund of 100,000Z. enjoyed
by the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, originally by the act of
the 5th and 6th of William and Mary, C. 20., confirmed to the said Governor and
Company by several subsequent acts, and lastly by the Act of the 39th and 40th
Geo. 3. c. 28., as per Return made to the Honourable House of Commons, on the
21st of June, 1816
4,000 0 0
Ditto, ditto, on 4,000,000L. South Sea stock, purchased by the Governor and Com-
pany of the Bank of England of the South Sea Company, and transferred by
them to the said Governor and Company, in pursuance of the act of the 8th Geo.
1. c. 21., and which charges of management were assigned by the said South
Sea Company to the said Governor and Company, out of a sum of 8,3971. 9s. 6d.
per annum then paid by the public to the said South Sea Company for charges
of management on their funds, as per Return made to the Honourable House of
Commons, on the 21st of June, 1816
1,898 3 5
£257,238 12 41
Bank of England, 11th of March, 1830.
T. RIPPON, Chief Cashier.
Digitized by Google
BANK OF ENGLAND.
97
No. VII.-The following is an Account of All Distributions made by the Bank of England amongst
the Proprietors of Bank Stock, whether by Money Payments, Transfer of 5 per Cent. Annuities, or
otherwise, under the Heads of Bonus, Increase of Dividend, and Increase of Capital, betwixt the
25th of February, 1797, and 31st of March, 1832, in addition to the ordinary Annual Dividend of 7
per Cent. on the Capital Stock of that Corporation, existing in 1797, including therein the whole
Dividend paid since June, 1816, on their increased Capital; stating the Period when such Distribu-
tions were made, and the aggregate Amount of the whole.-(Appen. No. 29.)
Denomination and Periods of Distribution.
Amount.
£
In June, 1799 10% per cent. bonus in 5 per cents. 1797, on 11,642,400L. is
-
1,164,240
May, 1801: 51. per cent ditto, in Navy 5 per cents. ditto
-
-
-
-
582,120
November 1802: 21. 10s. per cent. ditto, ditto, ditto
-
-
-
-
291,060
October, 1804: 51. per cent. ditto, cash, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
582,120
October, 1805 51. per cent. ditto, ditto, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
582,120
October, 1806: 51. per cent. ditto, ditto, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
582,120
From April, 1807, to Oct. Increase of dividends at the rate of 31. per cent. per
1822, both inclusive
Sannum on 11,642,400L., is, 16 years
5,588,352
From April, 1823, to Oct.
1 Increase of dividend at the rate of 11. per cent. per
1829, both inclusive
Sannum on 11,642,400L., is, 7 years
814,968
In June, 1816
Increase of capital at 25 per cent., is
-
2,910,600
From Oct. 1816, to Oct.
Dividend at the rate of 10/. per cent. per annum on
1822, both inclusive
$2,910,600L. increased capital, is, 61 years
-
1,891,890
From April, 1823, to Oct.
Dividend at the rate of 81. per cent. per annum on
1831, both inclusive
$2,910,600L. increased capital, is, 9 years
-
2,095,632
Aggregate amount of the whole
-
-
£17,318,070
Annual dividend payable on Bank Stock in 1797, on a capital of 11,642,400Z. at the
rate of 71. per cent. per annum
£814,968
Annual dividend payable since June, 1816, on a capital of 14,553,000L, to October,
1822, inclusive, at the rate of 10Z. per cent. per annum
-
-
-
£1,455,300
Annual dividend payable from April, 1823, to the 31st of March, 1832, both inclu-
sive, on a capital of 14,553,000L., at the rate of 81. per cent. per annum
-
£1,164,240
Bank of England,
WILLIAM SMEE,
27th of June, 1832.
Dep. Acct.
No. VIII.-An Account of the Profits of the Bank of England, in the Year ending 29th of February,
1832; stating the Description of the Securities held by the Bank, and the sources from which the
said Profits have accrued.-(No. 15. Appen. to Report.)
£
Interest on commercial bills
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
130,695
Interest on Exchequer bills
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
204,109
Annuity for 45 years (the dead weight account)
-
-
-
-
-
451,415
Interest on capital received from government
-
-
-
-
-
446,502
Allowance received for management of the public debt
-
-
-
-
251,896
Interest on loans on mortgages
-
-
-
-
-
-
60,684
Interest on stock in the public funds
-
-
-
-
-
-
15,075
Interest on private loans
,
-
-
56,941
Profit on bullion, commission, rent, receipts on discounted bills unpaid, manage-
ment of the business of the Banks of Ireland, of Scotland, and Royal Bank of
Scotland, and sundry items
-
-
71,859
£1,689,176
No. IX-Expenses of the Bank of England, for the Year ending 29th of February, 1832.
DR.
£
CR.
£
National debt department
-
-
164,143
Salaries and pensions
-
-
-
218,003
Bank notes
-
-
106,092
House expenses
-
-
-
39,187
Banking department
-
-
-
69,165
Directors' allowance
-
-
-
8,000
Rent
-
40,000
Expenses at eleven branches, arising
from the banking department
-
5,702
Expenses attending the circulation of
2,500,000. of branch Bank of Eng-
land notes, at eleven branches -
28,508
£339,400
£339,400
No. X.-An estimated Account of Profit derived by the Bank from Circulation of Promissory Notes,
and from Government Business.-(Appen. No. 23.)
£
Circulation
-
-
20,000,000
Government deposits -
4,000,000
24,000,000, of which two thirds are estimated to be invested in securities,
and one third in bullion.
I
13
Digitized
by
Google
98
BANK OF ENGLAND.
Table X.-continued.
Securities of 16,000,000Γ. ; viz.
£
£
£
9,000,000 Exchequer bills
-
-
-
- at 2t per cent.
202,500
800,000 stock
-
-
-
-
3
24,000
1,000,000 advances for circulation on discount
-
3
-
30,000
500,000 country discount
-
3t
-
17,500
4,700,000
-
-
-
193,875
467,875
16,000,000
Deduct,
Expense of Circulation
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
106,000
Expense of government deposits
-
-
-
-
-
10,000
Stamp duty on circulation
-
-
-
-
70,000
1 per cent. on capital (held by government at 3 per cent.)
-
-
147,000
333,000
134,875
The Public Debt.
Amount received from government for management of the public debt,
for the year ending 5th of April, 1832, including life annuities
-
251,000
Management of life annuities, supposed to be transferred
-
-
3,000
Deduct,
248,000
Expenses for management of the national debt
-
-
-
164,000
Average of forgeries per annum, during the last ten years
-
-
40,000
204,000
44,000
Estimated profit
-
-
£178,875
No. XI.-State of the Affairs of the Bank of England, 20th of February, 1832.
DR.
£
&
CR.
£
£
To Bank notes outstand-
By advances on govern-
ing
-
18,051,710
ment securities; by Ex-
To public deposits, viz.
chequer bills on the
Drawing accounts
-
2,034,790
growing produce of the
Balance of audit roll
550,550
consolidated fund in the
Life annuities unpaid
85,030
Annuities for terms of
3,198,730
quarter ending 5th of
April, 1832
-
3,428,340
years unpaid
38,360
Ditto, 5th of July, 1832
697,000
Exchequer bills deposited
490,000
Exchequer bills on sup-
4,134,940
To private deposits, viz.
plies, 1825
7,600
Drawing accounts
-
5,683,870
}
5,738,430
Do. for 10,500,000L. for 1825
2,000
Various other debts -
54,560
By the advances to the trus-
To the Bank of England
tees appointed by the act
for the capital
-
14,553,000
3 Geo.4.c. 51. towards the
To balance of surplus in
purchase of an annuity
favour of the Bank of
of 585,740L for 44 years
England
-
-
-
2,637,760
from 5th of April, 1823
-
-
10,897,880
By other credits; viz.
Exchequer bills purchased
2,700,000
Stock purchased
-
764,600
City bonds
-
500,000
Bills & notes discounted
2,951,970
Loans on mortgages
1,452,100
9,166,860
London Dock Company
227,500
Advances on security,
and various articles
570,690
By cash and bullion
-
-
5,293,150
By the permanent debt due
from government
-
-
-
14,686,800
£44,179,630
£44,179,630
Rest or surplus brought down
2,637,760
Bank capital due to proprietors
14,553,000
£17,190,760
No. XII.-An Account of the Average aggregate Amounts of Public Deposits in the Hands of the
Bank, from the Year 1800; distinguishing each Year.-(Appen. No. 24.)
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
£
£
is
£
1807
12,647,551
1814
12,158,297
1820
3,713,442
1826
4,214,271
1808*
11,761,448
1815
11,737,436
1821
3,920,157
1827
4,223,867
1809
11,093,648
1816
10,807,660
1822
4,107,853
1828
3,821,697
1810
11,950,047
1817
8,699,123
1823
5,526,635
1829
3,862,656
1811
10,191,854
1818
7,066,887
1824
7,292,187
1830
4,761,952
1812
10,390,130
1819
4,538,373
1825
5,347,314
1831
3,948,102
1813
10,393,404
N. B.-The Bank is unable to furnish correctly the aggregate amount of public deposits previous
* The Bank advanced, in March, 1808, 3,000,000L., without interest, for the public service, which so
centinued till April, 1818, on account of public balances.
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BANK OF ENGLAND.
99
to the year 1807; the public accounts prior to that period not being required generally to be kept at
the Bank; and many of the public accounts at that time were in the names of individuals, without
reference to that part of the public service to which the accounts applied.
No. XIII.-An Account of the Average aggregate Amounts of Private Deposits in the Hands of the
Bank, from the Year 1807 ; distinguishing each Year.-(Appen. No. 32.)
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
£
£
£
£
1807
1,582,720
1814
2,374,910
1820
1,325,060
1826*
3,322,070
1808
1,940,630
1815
1,690,490
1821
1,326,020
1827
3,931,370
1809
1,492,190
1816
1,333,190
1822
1,373,370
1828
5,701,280
1810
1,428,720
1817
1,672,800
1823
2,321,920
1829
5,217,210
1811
1,567,920
1818
1,640,210
1824
2,369,910
1830
5,562,250
1812
1,573,950
1819
1,790,860
1825
2,607,900
1831
5,201,370
1813
1,771,310
N. B.-The Bank is unable to return the average aggregate amounts of private deposits for the
years prior to 1807, as the public and private drawing accounts were not kept separately till that
period, when distinct offices were established.
No. XIV.-An Account of the annual Average Amount of Commercial Paper under Discount at the
Bank, in London, in each Year, from the Year 1795.-(Appen. No. 59.)
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
£
£
£
£
1795
2,946,500
1805
11,366,500
1814
13,985,800
1823
3,123,800
1796
3,505,000
1806
12,380,100
1815
14,947,100
1894
2,369,800
1797
5,350,000
1807
13,484,600
1816
11,416,400
1825
4,941,500
1798
4,490,600
1808
12,950,100
1817
3,960,600
1826
4,908,300
1799
5,403,900
1809
15,475,700
1818
4,325,200
1827
1,940,400
1800
6,401,900
1810
20,070,600
1819
6,515,000
1828
1,167,400
1801
7,905,100
1811
14,355,400
1820
3,883,600
1829
2,250,700
1802
7,523,300
1812
14,291,600
1821
2,676,700
1830
919,900
1803
10,747,600
1813
12,330,200
1828
3,366,700
1831
1,533,600
1804
9,982,400
No. XV.-An Account of the Notes, Post-Bills, &c. of the Bank of England in Circulation, on the
28th of February and 31st of August in each Year, from 1698 to 1792 both included, as near as the
same can be made up.
Year.
28th Feb.
31st Aug.
Year.
28th Feb.
31st Aug.
Year.
28th Feb.
Sist Ang.
Year.
28th Feb.
Sist Aug.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
1698
1,221,290
1,240,400
1722
2,365,640
3,006,430
1746
3,383,720
3,842,500
1770
5,237,210
5,736,780
1699
743,850
519,150
1723
3,516,110
3,482,210
1747
4,107,490
3,652,310
1771
6,822,780
6,014,110
1700
938,240
781,430
1724
3,232,830
3,857,710
1748
3,894,650
3,789,720
1772
5,902,160
5,987,570
1701
208,960
763,860
1725
3,734,480
3,343,400
1749
3,737,110
4,183,390
1773
6,037,060
6,302,220
1702
920,730
1,030,900
1726
3,076,850
3,152,340
1750
3,964,970
4,318,490
1774
7,550,780
9,886,220
1703
933,760
1,214.040
1727
3,888,180
4,677,640
1751
4,022,160
5,195,310
1775
9,135,930
8,396,310
1704
961,990
946,010
1728
4,574,920
4,513,790
1752
4,444,960
4,750,350
1776
8,699,720
8,551,090
1705
556,610
1,943,150
1729
4,152,590
4,199,910
1753
4,401,580
4,490,290
1777
8,712,230
7,753,590
1706
996,840
805,410
1730
3,998,980
4,416,870
1754
4,062,870
4,081,280
1778
7,440,330
6,758,070
1707
959,820
824,860
1731
4,451,720
5,249,880
1755
3,950,650
4,115,280
1779
9,012,610
7,276,540
1708
648,680
598,940
1732
4,251,660
4,592,400
1756
4,106,790
4,516,360
1780
8,410,790
6,341,600
1709
707,470
691,350
1733
4,385,060
4,543,000
1757
5,319,130
5,149,940
1781
7,092,450
6,309,430
1710
601,580
480,920
1734
4,203,070
4,671,930
1758
5,320,590
4,864,110
1782
8,028,880
6,759,310
1711
477,510
573,230
1735
4,627,990
4,738,550
1759
4,586,840
4,809,790
1783
7,675,090
6,307,270
1712
738,920
2,025,200
1736
4,907,750
5,077,570
1760
4,969,250
4,936,280
1784
6,202,760
5,592,510
1713
1,221,860
800,810
1737
5,215,010
4,414,690
1761
5 632,350
5,246,680
1785
5,923,090
6,570,650
1714
623,640
1,651,780
1738
4,766,280
4,609,420
1762
5,741,090
5,886,980
1786
7,581,960
8,184,330
1715
972,160
978,840
1739
4,347,270
4,152,420
1763
5,999,910
5,314,600
1787
8,329,840
9,685,720
1716
1,460,660
1,579,730
1740
4,550,980
4,444,000
1764
5,501,800
6,210,680
1788
9,561,120
10,002,880
1717
2,053,150
2,188,030
1741
4,841,840
4,084,450
1765
6,316,670
5,356,490
1789
9,807,210
11,121,800
1718
2,782,420
1,806,640
1742
4,471,510
4,911,390
1766
5,617,570
5,246,410
1790
10,040,540
11,433,340
1719
1,807,010
1,989,550
1743
4,654,890
4,250,180
1767
5,510,990
4,883,440
1791
11,439,200
11,672,320
1720
2,466,880
3,032,460
1744
4,253,610
4,270,590
1768
5,778,990
5,415,530
1792
11,307,380
11,006,300
1721
2,244,280
2,206,260
1745
4,279,610
3,465,350
1709
5,707,190
5,411,450
N. B.-No previously published table of the circulation of the Bank of England extends further
back than 1777; we are indebted to the Court of Directors for being able to supply this striking de-
fect, and to exhibit, for the first time, the circulation of the Bank, from within four years of its
establishment down to the present day.
* The increased amount of deposits in this and the following years, arose from the increase of
accounts.
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100
BANK OF ENGLAND.
No. XVI.-An Account of the Amount of Bank Notes in Circulation on the undermentioned Days;
distinguishing the Bank Post Bills, and the Amount of Notes under Five Pounds, with the Aggre-
gate of the whole.
Notes of 51.
Bank Post
Bank Notes
Total.
and upwards.
Bills.
under 51.
1792
February 25
£10,394,106
£ 755,703
- 1£
-
£11,149,809
August 25
10,281,071
725,898
-
-
11,006,969
1793
February 26
10,780,643
647,738
-
-
11,428,381
August 26
10,163,839
674,375
-
-
10,838,214
1794
February 26
10,079,165
618,759
-
-
10,697,924
August 26
10,060,248
567,972
-
-
10,628,220
1795
February 26
12,968,707
570,456
-
-
13,539,163
August 26
10,939,880
518,502
-
-
11,458,382
1796
February 26
10,266,561
643,133
-
-
10,909,694
August 26
8,981,645
549,690
-
-
9,531,335
1797
February 25
8,167,949
474,615
-
-
8,601,964
August 26
9,109,614
524,587
934,015
10,568,216
1798
February 26
10,856,188
551,549
1,442,348
12,850,085
August 25
9,997,958
553,236
1,639,831
12,191,025
1799
February 26
10,576,510
607,907
1,451,728
12,636,145
August 26
11,260,675
653,766
1,345,432
13,259,873
1800
February 25
13,106,368
723,600
1,406,708
15,236,676
August 26
12,221,451
823,366
1,690,561
14,735,378
1801
February 26
12,975,006
954,982
2,647,526
16,577,514
August 26
11,715,665
759,270
2,495,386
14,970,321
1802
February 26
12,038,970
803,499
2,616,407
15,458,876
August 26
12,801,746
772,577
3,312,790
16,887,113
1803
February 26
11,796,424
820,039
2,960,469
15,576,932
August 26
12,413,924
776,030
3,846,005
17,035,959
1804
February 25
12,054,943
848,894
4,673,515
17,577,352
August 25
11,766,628
743,841
4,813,525
17,323,994
1805
February 26
11,403,290
1,029,580
4,801,596
17,234,466
August 26
11,182,188
718,510
4,395,480
16,296,178
1806
February 25
11,994,350
725,736
4,428,360
17,148,446
August 26
14,141,510
702,425
4,228,958
19,072,893
1807
February 26
12,274,629
724,485
4,206,230
17,205,344
August 26
15,077,013
725,262
4,231,837
20,034,112
1808
February 26
13,746,598
742,671
4,103,785
18,593,054
August 26
12,440,930
795,102
4,129,234
17,365,266
1809
February 25
12,730,999
944,727
4,338,951
18,014,677
August 26
13,255,599
880,104
5,221,538
19,357,241
1810
February 26
13,650,592
907,620
5,871,069
20,429,281
August 25
16,078,390
1,145,832
7,221,953
24,446,175
1811
February 26
15,110,688
1,133,419
7,140,726
23,384,833
August 26
15,203,611
1,016,303
7,573,201
23,793,115
1812
February 26
14,523,049
1,059,854
7,415,294
22,998,197
August 26
14,873,705
987,880
7,621,325
23,482,910
1813
February 26
14,567,267
1,034,882
7,705,322
23,307,471
August 26
14,975,479
1,015,616
8,033,774
24,024,869
1814
February 26
15,632,250
1,091,242
8,371,923
25,095,415
August 26
18,066,180
1,246,479
9,667,217
28,979,876
1815
February 25
16,394,359
1,184,459
9,094,552
26,673,370
August 26
16,332,275
1,115,079
9,576,695
27,024,049
1816
February 26
15,307,228
1,336,467
9,036,374
25,680,069
August 26
16,686,087
1,286,429
9,103,338
27,075,854
1817
February 26
17,538,656
1,376,416
8,143,506
27,058,578
August 26
20,388,502
1,712,807
7,998,599
30,099,908
1818
February 26
19,077,951
1,838,600
7,362,492
28,279,043
August 26
17,465,628
1,627,427
7,509,782
26,602,837
1819
February 26
16,307,000
1,622,330
7,317,360
25,246,690
August 26
16,972,140
1,468,920
7,216,530
25,657,590
1820
February 26
15,402,830
1,421,160
6,745,160
23,569,150
August 26
16,047,390
1,633,730
6,772,260
24,453,380
1821
February 26
14,372,840
1,615,600
6,483,010
22,471,450
August 26
16,095,020
1,634,260
2,598,460
20,327,740
1822
February 26
15,178,490
1,609,620
1,384,360
18,172,470
August 26
15,295,090
1,610,600
862,650
17,768,340
1823
February 26
15,751,120
1,742,190
683,160
18,176,479
August 26
17,392,260
1,763,650
550,010
19,705,920
1824
February 26
17,244,940
2,198,260
486,600
19,929,800
August 26
18,409,230
2,122,760
443,970
20,975,960
1825
February 26
18,308,990
2,334,260
416,880
21,060,130
August 26
17,091,120
2,061,010
396,670
19,548,800
1826
February 26
21,100,400
2,487,080
1,367,560
24,955,040
August 26
18,172,160
2,040,400
1,175,450
21,388,010
1827
February 26
18,787,330
2,052,310
668,910
21,508,550
August 26
19,253,890
2,270,110
483,060
22,007,060
1828
February 26
19,428,010
2,329,880
416,890
22,174,780
August 26
19,016,980
2,417,440
382,860
21,817,280
1829
February 26
17,402,470
2,444,660
357,170
20,204,300
August 26
17,164,940
2,030,280
334,190
19,529,410
1830
February 26
17,862,990
2,284,520
320,550
20,468,060
August 26
19,403,610
2,217,870
313,460
21,934,940
1831
February 26
17,566,140
1,777,790
306,900
19,650,830
August 26
16,774,890
1,621,350
302,480
18,698,720
1832
February 25
16,201,890
1,641,990
299,190
18,143,070
August 25
16,068,370
1,533,970
294,940
17,897,280
1833
February 26
17,507,320
1,603,710
292,450
19,403,480
August 26
17,827,150
1,604,590
289,720
19,721,460
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BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL.) 101
No. XVII.-An Account of the aggregate Circulation of the Branch Banks of the Bank of England,
from their first Establishment, on the 28th of February and 31st of August in each Year.
£
£
£
1827 February
322,150
1830 February
1,482,160
1832 February
2,748,280
August
559,870
August
2,019,770
August
2,800,650
1826 February
585,820
1831 February
2,272,360
1833 February
3,088,670
August
649,740
August
2,433,860
August
3,313,850
1829 February
807,450
August
1,165,390
III. BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
Besides charging the usual rate of interest on bills discounted, the provincial bankers are
mostly in the habit of charging 5s. or 6s. per cent. as commission. They also charge a com-
mission on all payments; and derive a profit from charges for the transmission of money, &c.
They usually allow from 2 to 3 per cent. on money deposited but the numerous failures
that have taken place amongst them have, by generating a feeling of insecurity in the minds
of the depositors, confined this branch of their business within comparatively narrow limits.
When their customers overdraw their accounts, they are charged with interest at the rate of
5 per cent.
Country banks established by individuals possessed of adequate funds, and managed with
due discretion, are productive of the greatest service. They form commodious reservoirs,
where the floating and unemployed capital of the surrounding districts is collected, and from
which it is again distributed, by way of loan, to those who will employ it to the best advan-
tage, It is, therefore, of the utmost importance, in a public point of view, that these esta-
blishments should be based upon solid foundations. But in England, unfortunately, this
has been but little attended to ; and the destruction of country banks has, upon three differ-
ent occasions,-in 1792, in 1814, 1815, and 1816, and in 1825 and 1826,-produced an
extent of bankruptcy and misery that has never, perhaps, been equalled, except by the
breaking up of the Mississippi scheme in France. Government is bound to interfere to hinder
the recurrence of such disastrous results. The repeal of the act of 1708, preventing the
association of more than six persons for carrying on the trade of banking, has already led to
the formation of joint stock banking companies in a few of the large towns but it remains
to be seen in how far this should be regarded as an improvement. It is, indeed, quite vision-
ary to suppose that the power to establish such banks is all that is required to establish the
provincial currency on a secure foundation. What is really wanted, is not a regulation to
allow banks with large capitals to be set on foot, (for there have, at all times, been many
such banks in England,) but a regulation to prevent any bank, be its partners few or many,
from issuing notes without previously giving security for their payment. This would render
the bankruptcy of such banks impossible, and would give a degree of security to the money
system of the country that it can never otherwise attain.-(The reader is referred, for a full
discussion of this important question, to the Note on Money, in my edition of the Wealth
of Nations, vol. iv. pp. 280-292.)
The following is an account of the number of commissions of bankruptcy issued against
country bankers in England, from 1809 to 1830, both inclusive :-
Years.
Commissions.
Years.
Commissions.
Years.
Commissions.
Years.
Commissions.
1809
4
1815 1
25
1821
10
1826
43
1810
20
1816
37
1822
9
1827
8
1811
4
1817
3
1823
9
1828
3
1812
17
1818
3
1824
10
1829
3
1813
8
1819
13
1825
37
1830
14
1814
27
1820
4
(Append. to Report on Bank Charter, p. 116.)
Exclusive of the above, many banks stopped payments, to the great injury of their credit-
ors and the public, that afterwards resumed them; at the same time that the affairs of some
bankrupt concerns were arranged without a commission. During the whole of this period,
not a single Scotch bank gave way.
The stamp duties on country bank notes have been already specified (p. 69.).
Besides the stamp duties payable on Notes, each individual or company issuing them
must take out a licence, renewable annually, which costs 30L This licence specifies the
names and places of abode of the body corporate, person, or persons, in the firm to whom it
is granted, the name of such firm, the place where the business is carried on, &c.; and a
separate licence is to be taken out for every town or place where any notes shall be issued by
or on account of any banker, &c. Unless the licence granted to persons in partnership set
forth the names and places of abode of all persons concerned in the partnership, whether
their names appear on the notes issued by them or not, such licence shall be absolutely
void.-(55 Geo. 3. c. 184. S. 24.) For the regulations as to the issue of unstamped notes
see antè, p. 69.
I 2
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102 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
The issue of notes for less than 5/. was prohibited in England, as previously shown, from
1777 to 1797 but they continued to be issued from the latter period down to the 5th of
April 1829, when their further issue ceased in consequence of an act passed in 1826. This
act did not extend to Scotland or Ireland, and was intended to give greater stability to the
system of country banking in England, by shutting up one of the principal channels through
which the inferior class of bankers had been in the habit of getting their notes into circula-
tion. But notwithstanding it will certainly have this effect, the policy of the measure seems
very doubtful. It is idle, indeed, to imagine that it can give that stability to the banking
system which is so desirable; and in proof of this, it is sufficient to state, that though none
of the country banks existing in 1793 had any notes for less than 5% in circulation, upwards
of one third of their entire number stopped payment during the revulsion that then took
place. The truth is, that nothing but the exacting of security for payment of notes can ever
place the country issue of notes on that solid foundation on which it ought to stand and as
security may be taken for 11. notes as easily as for those of 5l., there would, were such a sys-
tem adopted, be no ground for suppressing the former.
Metropolitan Joint Stock Banks.-It was for a lengthened period generally understood,
that the act of 1708, and the other acts conveying exclusive privileges to the Bank of Eng-
land, not only prevented any company with more than 6 partners from issuing notes payable
on demand but that they also prevented such companies from undertaking ordinary bank-
ing business,-that is, from receiving the money of individuals and paying their drafts, &c.
Recently, however, strong doubts began to be entertained whether companies with nume-
rous bodies of partners, established for the mere business of banking, and without issuing
notes, were really prohibited by the acts in question. During the discussions on the late
renewal of the charter of the Bank of England, the point was submitted for the consideration
of the Attorney and Solicitor Generals, who gave it as their decided opinion, that such banks
might be legally established within the limits to which the exclusive privileges of the Bank
of England were restricted by the act 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 46. But as the opinion of other
eminent lawyers differed from theirs, a clause has been inserted in the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c.
98., which removes all doubts on the subject, by expressly authorising the establishment of
banks not issuing notes, with any number of partners, any where within the district to which
the exclusive privileges of the Bank of England, as a bank of issue, are now restricted.-(See
antè, p. 84.)
Down to this period (September, 1833), no advantage has been taken of this declaratory
enactment, by the formation of a joint stock bank in the metropolis; but several projects of
the kind have been made public, and it seems most likely that some of them will be matured.
It is not easy to form beforehand any certain conclusions as to the probable working of such
establishments. Provided, however, that they possess large paid up capitals, and numerous
bodies of partners, individually liable, as at present, for the debts of the company, it may,
one should think, be fairly concluded, that they will afford comparatively safe places for the
deposit of money; and in so far their institution will be advantageous. But it is not easy
to discover in what other respects they will have any superiority over the present banks.
There is great weight in the following statement made by Mr. Jones Loyd before the Com-
mittee on the Bank of England charter:-"I think that joint stock banks are deficient in
every thing requisite for the conduct of banking business, except extended responsibility
the banking business requires peculiarly persons attentive to all its details, constantly, daily,
and hourly watchful of every transaction, much more than mercantile or trading businesses.
It also requires immediate, prompt decisions upon circumstances when they arise,-in many
cases a decision that does not admit of delay for consultation it also requires a discretion
to be exercised with reference to the special circumstances of each case. Joint stock banks
being, of course, obliged to act through agents, and not by a principal, and, therefore, under
the restraint of general rules, cannot be guided by so nice a reference to degrees of difference
in the character or responsibility of parties; nor can they undertake to regulate the assist-
ance to be granted to concerns under temporary embarrassment by so accurate a reference
to the circumstances, favourable or unfavourable, of each case."-(Min. of Evid. p. 236.)
We confess, too, that we have great doubts whether the competition of such banks with
each other, and with the private banks, may not be productive of much inconvenience. It
will be very apt, at times, to occasion an artificial reduction of the rate of interest, and a
redundancy of the currency, which must, of course, be followed by a fall of the exchange,
and a period of more or less difficulty. It is stated, that the metropolitan joint stock banks
are to give interest on deposits; and if they can do so without endangering their stability, it
will be an important advantage. But we have yet to learn how it is possible that a joint
stock bank should be able to do what would seem to exceed the power of the wealthiest and
best managed private establishments.
As already remarked, the only circumstance in which joint stock banks seem to have any
decided superiority over private companies, consists in their greater responsibility. But this
is not a necessary attribute of all joint stock companies. Associations of this sort may, and
indeed do, exist, that are in all respects inferior to respectable private companies. And it
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seems indispensable, in order to the prevention of fraud, that such regulations should be
adopted as may make the public fully aware of the real nature of all joint stock associations,
and of their claims to credit and confidence.
Proposed Measures as to Joint Stock Banks.-The future intentions of government as to
the regulation of private banking companies in England were supposed to be partially deve-
loped by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his speech introducing the bill for the renewal
of the charter of the Bank of England. According to the statement then made it appears to
have been intended that half the subscribed capital of all banks for the issue of notes should
be paid up and vested in such securities as parliament should direct that the responsibility
of the partners in such banks should be unlimited and that their accounts should be
periodically published. In the case of banks not issuing notes, only a fourth part of their
subscribed capital was to be paid up, and the responsibility of their shareholders was to be
limited.
But with the exception of that part of the above plan which relates to the publication of
the accounts of banks of issue, the consideration of the remainder was deferred to a more
convenient opportunity and notwithstanding our respect for the quarter whence it pro-
ceeded, we hope it may never be revived. The adoption of the proposed regulations would
not have amended any one of the principal defects in the present system of English country
banking, while there are not a few which it would have materially aggravated. There is
not so much as the shadow of a ground for interfering with the concerns of such banks as
do not issue notes, further than to let the public know with whom they are dealing, and the
real amount of their paid up capital and the proposed interference in the case of banks
that do issue notes, could have been productive of nothing but mischief. On this point we
shall take leave to quote a conclusive paragraph from a memorial drawn up by the directors
of the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company :- We contend, first, that,
except in so far as the issue of notes is concerned, banking is essentially a private business,
with which the state has no more title to interfere than it has to interfere with any other
description of mercantile agency. If A. choose to deposit money in the hands of B., who
lends it to others, why is the interference of government more necessary than if A. had
deposited it in the hands of C., who employs it in manufactures or agriculture ? It is the
duty of parliament to take care that coins, and the paper notes issued as substitutes for them,
be always of their professed value but assuredly it is no part of its duty to inquire into the
solvency of those into whose hands coins or paper may come. We contend, secondly, that,
admitting it to be right to exact security from banks of issue, that should not be done by the
compulsory investment of a portion of their capital. The issues of one bank may be more
than twice or three times the amount of its capital; while those of another, placed in a dif-
ferent situation, or conducted in a different way, may be under a third or a fourth part of
its capital. What, then, could be more unequal as respects the banks, and more illusory as
respects the public, than to oblige both these establishments to give security for their issues
by vesting half their capital in government stock ? Were the first bank to stop payment,
the security in the hands of government would not afford the holders of its notes more than
from 3s. 4d. to 5s. in the pound while, were the latter in the same predicament, the holders
of its notes would be paid in full out of the government securities, and there would be a
large surplus over. It is clear, therefore, that the security to be given by a bank of issue
ought to be proportioned to its issues, and not to its capital. The former mode will effec-
tually protect the public from loss; the latter gives little, or rather no protection whatever."
It is, in fact, quite ludicrous to tamper with a subject of this sort. Nothing short of the
obligation to give security for their issues can ever give the public that effectual guarantee
for the integrity of the currency that is so essential nor is there any other plan at once fair
and equal as respects different banks.
Distinction between subscribed and paid up Capital. Expediency of suppressing all
Reference to the former. An immediate stop ought, we think, to be put to the practice
now so prevalent among joint stock banking companies, of representing their capitals as
consisting, not of what has been actually paid up by the shareholders, but of what they
have subscribed for. Not a few institutions have recently been set on foot in England, pro-
fessing to have capitals of 1,000,000L, 2,000,000/. or more, when, in point of fact, their
capital does not really consist of a tenth part of that sum. The practice is to organise a
company with some 5,000 or 10,000 shares of 100l. each but it is perfectly understood
that not more than 5 or at most 10 per cent. of each share is to be called up ; and if more
were demanded, it is most probable it could not be paid, at least without much difficulty.
This practice is pregnant with mischief. In the first place, it tends to deceive the public,
who imagine there can be no risk in dealing with a bank professing to possess 1,000,000/.
of capital, who yet might hesitate about having any thing to do with it, were they aware
that the capital paid into its coffers, and on which it carries on business, does not really
exceed 50,000/. or 100,000L In the second place, this system tends to deceive the mass of
the partners. These are tempted to embark in such hazardous concerns, imagining that
they are to be large shareholders with but little outlay, and that they will derive a consider-
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104 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
able dividend upon the nominal amount of their shares! We mistake if a good many such
persons be not in the end grievously disappointed. Banking, in an ordinary state of things,
is not a business in which large profits can be expected. It is true that many banking houses
made immense sums during the war, but they did this more as dealers in the funds, and par-
ticularly by their rise on the return of peace, than as bankers. But it is needless to say that
no prudently conducted banking establishment will now count much upon this source of
emolument. At present, the dividend on the stock of the best established Scotch banks
varies, we believe, from about 5 to 6 per cent.; and as they might invest their capital at 34
or 4 per cent., it appears that the real profits of banking, even in the best managed concerns,
can hardly be estimated at more than from 1} to 21 per cent.
It is, besides, a radical mistake to suppose that any banking concern can ever be esta-
blished on a solid foundation, that is not possessed of a pretty large amount of paid up
and available capital. We believe, however, that several of the joint stock companies
recently established in England take a different view of this matter; and that they trust
more to deposits and credit, than to their command of capital of their own. There can be
no objection to these, or, indeed, to any associations whatever, being allowed to issue notes,
provided they give full security for their payment; but government and parliament will be
alike neglectful of their duty to the public if they do not take immediate steps to compel this
being done; and to secure the currency of the country from being disturbed by the fraud,
mismanagement, or insufficient capital of its issuers. The system of advertising subscribed
instead of paid up capitals ought also to be put an end to; nor ought any association to be
allowed to say that its capital exceeds what has actually been paid into its coffers.
Responsibility ought not, in any Case, to be limited.-We protest against the proposal
for allowing the partners in banks not issuing notes to limit their responsibility. Such a
measure would be good for nothing, except to serve as a premium on every species of fraud.
What check would there be, under such a system, to hinder the partners of a bank going on
for a series of years dividing large profits, when, perhaps, they were really incurring a loss,
until every farthing of its capital and deposits was absorbed To talk of subjecting such
persons to punishment as fraudulent bankrupts, on evidence derived from their books, is
absurd ; for, supposing that it was the intention of the parties to defraud, they might easily
keep their books so that they could afford no information that was not false or misleading.
The annexed list of joint stock banking companies shows that there is no disinclination on
the part of individuals to engage in such concerns even with the present unlimited responsi-
bility. And the way in which some of them are conducted, proves sufficiently, if any such
proof were wanted, that the serious liabilities incurred by the partners are not more than
enough for the protection of the public. To lessen them would be an act of gratuitous
folly. If we are to interfere, let them be increased, not diminished. But in the case of
banks not issuing notes, enough is done if measures be taken to prevent deception, by let-
ting the public know the partners in them, and making sure that they shall have no means
of evading the responsibility attaching to their engagements. The first object may be secured
by compelling all banking associations whatever to publish annually a list of the names and
addresses of their partners, with the amount of their paid up capital; and to accomplish the
latter object, we have merely to abstain from interference, and to let the law take its natural
course.
Accounts of Issues.-The act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 83. directs that all persons or associations
carrying on banking business, and issuing promissory notes payable on demand, shall keep
weekly accounts of their issues; and shall, within a month of each of the quarters ending
with the 1st of April, 1st of July, 1st of October, and 1st of January, make up, from the
weekly accounts, an average account, verified on oath, of their issues during the preceding
quarter, which shall be transmitted to the Stamp-office in London. Penalty for neglecting
or refusing to make and transmit such account, 500L. on the corporation, company, per-
sons, &c. issuing the notes, and 100L. on the secretary so offending. The wilful sending a
false return to be punished as perjury.
Drawing on London.-The act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 83. repeals the regulation in the 7 Geo.
4. c. 46., prohibiting banks with more than 6 partners from drawing on London on demand,
or otherwise, for sums of less than 50%-$ 2.
No. I.-An Account of the Number of Licenses taken out by Country Bankers in England and
Wales, in each Year since 1809.
Years.
Licenses.
Years.
Licenses.
Years.
Licenses.
Years.
Licenses.
1809
702
1815
916
1821
781
1827
668
1810
782
1816
831
1822
776
1828
672
1811
779
1817
752
1823
779
1829
677
1812
825
1818
765
1824
788
1830
671
1813
922
1819
787
1825
797
1831
641
1814
940
1820
769
1826
809
1832
636
N. B.-The years in this account end on the 10th of October. The account for 1832 only comes
down to the 26th of June.
Stamp Office, 26th of June, 1832.
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BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
105
No. II.-An Account of all Places where United or Joint Stock Banks have been established under
the Act 7 Geo. 4. c. 46., together with the Number of Partners therein; also, the Nominal Capital*
of each such Bank, and the Amount of Capital paid up.-(Parl. Puper, No. 504. Sess. 1833.)
Places.
Banks.
Number of
Partners.
Birmingham
-
-
-
-
The Bank of Birmingham
-
-
203
Liverpool
-
-
-
-
-
The Bank of Liverpool -
-
-
427
Manchester and Bolton in Lancashire, and
Stockport in Cheshire
The Bank of Manchester
-
-
578
-
-
Kendal
-
-
-
-
-
The Bank of Westmoreland
-
-
129
Barneley -
-
-
-
-
The Barnsley Banking Company
-
119
Birmingham
-
-
-
-
The Birmingham Banking Company
-
295
Bradford, Yorkshire
-
-
-
The Bradford Banking Company
-
173
Bradford, Yorkshire
-
-
-
}
The Bradford Commercial Joint Stock
Banking Company
131
Bristol
-
-
-
-
-
The Bristol Old Bank
-
-
-
8
Workington,
Cockermouth,
Maryport,
The Cumberland Union Banking Com-
Wigton, Carlisle and Penrith
pany
-
-
-
-
-
158
Darlington, Stockton and Barnard Castle,
in Durham; Northallerton and Stokes-
The Darlington District Joint Stock Bank-
ing Company
-
ley in Yorkshire
-
-
-
274
Gloucester
-
-
-
-
The Gloucestershire Banking Company
130
Halifax
-
-
-
The Halifax Joint Stock Banking Com-
-
-
pany
-
-
-
-
-
172
Huddersfield
-
-
The Huddersfield Banking Company
285
Knaresborough, Wetherby, Ripon, Easing-
wold, Helmsley, Thirsk, Boroughbridge,
The Knaresborough and Clare Banking
Masham, Pately Bridge, Otley and Har-
Company
-
-
-
-
160
rogate
Lancaster, Ulverston and Preston
-
The Lancaster Banking Company
-
81
Leeds
-
-
The Leeds Banking Company
-
496
Leicester and Hinckley
-
-
The Leicestershire Banking Company
53
Carlisle
-
-
-
-
The Leith Banking Company
-
-
14
Liverpool
The Liverpool Commercial Banking Com-
-
-
-
-
-
pany
-
-
-
-
-
104
Manchester, Liverpool, Oldham, Ashton,
Warrington, Bury, Preston, Blackburn,
and Wigan, in Lancashire; Stockport
and Nantwich in Cheshire; Hanley,
The Manchester and Liverpool District
Stafford, Cheadle, Lane End and Ruge-
Banking Company
-
-
-
857
ley, in Staffordshire Market Drayton in
Shropshire, and Glossop in Derbyshire.
Mirfield, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Dews-
The Mirfield and Huddersfield District
bury and Dobcross
Banking Company
-
-
-
213
Norwich, Swaffham, Foulsham, East
Derebam, Fakenham, Lynn, Harleston
The Norfolk and Norwich Joint Stock
and Watton, in Norfolk; and Bungay in
Banking Company
-
-
-
131
Suffolk
Newcastle-upon-Tyne in Northumberland,
North of England Joint Stock Banking
and Sunderland in Durham.
Company
-
505
Plymouth, Devonport and Kingsbridge
Plymouth and Devonport Banking Com-
pany
-
132
Saddleworth, Ashton and Oldham
-
The Saddleworth Banking Company
113
Sheffield
The Sheffield Banking Company
-
154
Stamford, Spalding, Market Deeping, Bos-
ton, Bourn and Grantham, in Lincoln-
shire; Oundle, Kettering, Thrapstone
and Peterborough, in Northamptonshire;
Oakham and Uppingham, in Rutland-
The Stamford and Spalding Joint Stock
shire Melton Mowbray and Market
Banking Company
-
-
-
74
Harborough, in Leicestershire Hunt-
ingdon in Hunts, and Wisbeach in Cam-
bridgeshire
Bristol, Bridgewater, Taunton, Chard,
Crewkerne, Ilminster, Langport, Wells,
Stuckey's Banking Company
-
-
12
Bruton and Shepton Mallet.
Wakefield
-
-
The Wakefield Banking Company
217
Whitehaven and Penrith
The Whitehaven Joint Stock Banking
-
-
Company
-
225
Wolverhampton
The Wolverhampton and Staffordshire
-
-
Banking Company
-
-
-
239
York, Malton, Selby, Howden, Scarbo-
The York City and County Banking Com-
rough and Goole
pany
-
266
York, Bridlington and Great Driffield
The York Union Banking Company
200
Stamps and Taxes, Somerset Place, 4th of July, 1833.
It is not possible to obtain any accurate account of the number of country notes in circu-
lation at different periods. But the following table, drawn up by the late Mr. Mushet, of
the Mint, founded partly on official returns, and partly on the estimates of Mr. Sedgwick,
late chairman of the Board of Stamps, is, 80 far as it goes, the most complete and compre-
hensive hitherto published.
* This department is not in possession of any information which enables a statement to be made
as to the nominal capital of each such Bank, and the amount of capital paid up.
14
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106 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
No. III.-An Account of the Number of Country Bank Notes, of all Denominations, stamped in each
Year, ending Oct. 10., from 1804 to 1825 inclusive, with the Percentage of Increase and Decrease,
comparing each Year with the Year preceding; together with an Estimate of the Total Amount in
Circulation, according to Mr. Sedgwick's Tables, in each Year, from 1804 to 1825 inclusive; with
the Percentage of Increase and Decrease, comparing each Year with the Year preceding.
The Amount of Coun-
The Amount of Coun-
The Percent-
The Percent-
try Bank Notes in Circu-
The Percent-
The Percent-
try Bank Notes of all
age of Increase,
age of Decrease,
lation, according to Mr.
age of Increase,
age of Decrease,
Years.
Denominations stamped
comparing each
comparing each
Sedgwick's Tables, in
comparing each
comparing each
in each year, ending Oct,
year with the
year with the
each year, ending Oct.
year with the
year with the
10., from 1804 to 1825.
year preceding.
year preceding.
10., from 1804 to 1825 in-
year preceding.
year preceding.
clusive.
1805
11,342,413
1806
11,480,547
12
1807
6,587,398
-
-
42-6
18,021,900
1808
8,653,077
23.8
-
-
16,871,524
-
-
6.3
1809
15,737,986*
81.8
-
-
23,702,493
40.5
1810
10,517,519
-
-
33:1
23,893,868
8.
1811
8,792,433
-
-
16.4
21,453,000
-
-
1-6
1812
10,577,134
20:3
-
-
19,944,000
-
-
7.
1813
12,615,509
19.2
-
-
22,597,000
13.3
1814
10,773,375
-
-
14.6
22,709,000
.5
1815
7,624,949
-
-
29'2
19,011,000
-
-
a 16-3
1816
6,423,466
-
-
15.7
15,096,000
-
-
20.6
1817
9,075,958
41.1
-
-
15,898,000
5.3
1818
12,316,868
35.7
-
-
20,507,000
29
1819
6,130,313
-
-
50-2
17,366,875
-
-
15.3
1820
3,574,894
-
-
41.7
11,767,391
-
-
32.2
1821
3,987,582
11.5
-
-
8,414,281
-
-
28.5
1822
4,217,241
5.7
-
-
8,067,260
-
-
41
1823
4,657,589
10.4
-
-
8,798,277
9.
1824
6,093,367
30.8
-
-
10,604,172
20-5
1825
8,532,438
40.
-
-
14,147,211
23.4
No. IV.-An Account of the Value of Country Bank Notes, of all Denominations, stamped in each
Year from 1826 to 1832, both inclusive.
Years.
Value.
Years.
Value.
£
£
1826
1,239,755
1830
1,955,430
1827
1,970,595
1831
2,217,915
1828
2,842,130
1832
1,751,685
1829
2,403,700
(Parl. Paper, No. 456. Sess. 1833.)
N. B.-No 11. and 21. notes were stamped after the 3d of February, 1826.
(Since the publication of the 2d edition of the Dictionary, in 1834, an extraordinary in-
crease has taken place in the number of joint stock banks, both in Great Britain and in
Ireland. It appears from the official return, dated the 4th of July, 1833 (Dict., p. 99.), that
there were then 34 joint stock banks established in England and Wales; but it appears from
the subjoined account, dated the 26th of November, 1836, that the number of joint stock
banks had, in the interval, been very nearly trebled, or had increased to 101; and it is
deserving of notice, that a very large proportion of this rapid increase had taken place during
the previous part of the year 1836. The progress of the system has been as follows:-
In 1826, there were
In 1830, there were
In 1834, there were
registered
-
-
3
registered
-
- 1
registered
-
-
10
1827
-
- 4
1831
-
- 9
1835
-
-
9
1828
-
- 0
1832
-
- 7
To 26 Nov. 1836
-
42
1829
-
- 7
1833
-
- 9
Total
-
-
101
We should, however, form a very inadequate idea of the extension of the joint stock banking
system, if we measured it merely by the increase in the number of banks, as stated above.
Many of the older banks, and even of those established within the present year (1836), have
from 30 to 40 or more branches, or subordinate establishments; and, as these carry on all
sorts of banking business, and are frequently very far removed from the head office, and
from each other, they should really be regarded as 80 many separate banks, so that the num-
ber of the latter is incomparably greater than, at first sight, it may appear to be.
Proceedings of Joint Stock Banks.-We regret, however, to have to state that the so-
lidity of the system seems by no means to correspond with its power of extension. Though
the joint stock banks universally almost profess to have immense nominal capitals, their
actually paid up and really available capitals are, in many instances, very limited indeed;
and it is by no means clear, did any thing occur to render it necessary that they should call
for any considerable additional proportion of their nominal capital, that the call could be
responded to by the proprietary of some of them without great difficulty, if at all. They
seem, also, speaking generally, to have been infinitely more anxious to increase their busi-
* In 1809, the duty on 11. notes was increased from 3d. to 4d., and may account for the great in-
crease in this year, the notes bearing a 3d. stamp being no longer issuable.
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BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL). 107
ness, than to provide for that security which ought to be the paramount consideration.
Hence, the inordinate multiplication of their branches, and hence, also, the extent to which
many of them have carried the abusive and dangerous practice of rediscounting. Nearly
four fifths of the joint stock banks issue notes; and the subjoined account shows that their
issues, which amounted to 1,783,689/. on the 27th of September, 1834, amounted to
3,969,121/. on the 24th of September, 1836. This, no doubt, is an extraordinary increase,
more especially when contrasted with the issues of the Bank of England, which were re-
duced more than a million during the same interval; and must have had a powerful effect in
producing that redundancy of the currency, and drain upon the Bank for gold, that has re-
cently taken place. We should, however, fall into the greatest imaginable error, if we mea-
sured the influence of the joint stock banks upon the currency by the mere amount of their
notes in circulation. These really constitute but a very small portion of their obligations.
Most of them have been in the habit of trading, not on their own capital, or on the deposits
made with them; but on credit obtained in the metropolis and elsewhere. Instead of retain-
ing the bills, and other securities they have discounted, in their coffers till they are paid,
many banks have been in the habit of immediately forwarding them to London to be redis-
counted at a lower rate of interest. This practice has been carried to an extent that would
not readily be imagined by any one not pretty well acquainted with the circumstances.
But, though recourse may properly enough be had to assistance of this sort on extraordinary
occasions, no bank can be justly said to be established on sound, or to be conducted on safe,
principles, that trusts habitually to such accommodation. It is always at the mercy of cir-
cumstances over which it has no control, and is not really more secure than a house of
cards. While pecuniary accommodation may be had readily in the metropolis, the system
goes on smoothly but should prices begin to give way, or credit sustain any sort of shock,
distrust takes the place of confidence, and the usual supplies are no longer to be had. The
provincial banks being in consequence disabled from making their ordinary advances to their
customers, the latter are necessarily involved in difficulties that are frequently as injurious
to the banks as to themselves. Such has hitherto been the invariable result of the abuse of
banking, or of the granting of undue facilities for the obtaining of credit; and, instead of
being lessened by the formation of joint stock banks, they seem to have materially increased
the chances of such disasters in future. The circumstances connected with the difficulties
in which the Northern and Central Bank of England, and some of the other joint stock
banks, have recently been involved, sufficiently illustrate what has now been stated but
they are too well known to our readers to require to be recapitulated here.
But there are other and, if possible, still more suspicious circumstances connected with the
existing joint stock banking system. The shares in the greater number of the recently
formed and projected banks are very small, few being above 50L, while others are only 25%,
and some not more than 10Z., and even 5/.! Generally, too, it is understood, or rather it is
distinctly set forth in the prospectus, that not more than 5, 10, or 20 per cent. of these shares
is to be called for; so that an individual who has 10s. or 20s. to spare, may become a share-
holder in a bank. And, owing to a practice, or rather a flagrant abuse, introduced into the
management of various banks, by which they make large advances or discounts on the credit
of the stock held by the shareholders, not a few individuals in doubtful, or even desperate,
circumstances take shares in them in the view of obtaining loans and bolstering up their
credit ! The great danger arising from such banks is obvious; and where one of them to
stop payment, it is plain, even though the claims on it should be ultimately made good, that
they could be so only at the cost, and, perhaps, ruin of such of its proprietors as had ab-
stained from the abusive practices resorted to by others. It may well, indeed, excite asto-
nishment, that any one who can really afford to make a bonâ fide purchase of shares in a
bank should be foolhardy enough to embark in such concerns.
Report of Committee of 1836.-A knowledge of the circumstances now stated, and of
the sort of agency by which certain joint stock banks had been established*, having been
pretty generally diffused, a secret committee was appointed by the House of Commons, in
1836, to inquire into the operation of the act 7 Geo. 4. cap. 46., permitting the establishment
of joint stock banks; and whether it was expedient to make any alteration in its provisions.
The report of this committee, and portions of the evidence taken before it, have since been
published, and confirm all the conclusions of those who had contended that the existing sys-
tem required material amendment. The committee state that,-
Subject to the local restrictions imposed for the protection of the privilege of the Bank of
England, it is open to any number of persons to form a company for joint stock banking, whether for
the purpose of deposit, or of issue, or of both.
1. The law imposes on the joint stock banks no preliminary obligation beyond the payment of a
licence duty, and the registration of the names of shareholders at the Stamp Office.
2. The law does not require that the deed of settlement shall be considered or revised by any
competent authority whatever; and no precaution is taken to enforce the insertion in such deeds of
clauses the most obvious and necessary.
For instances of this, see Edinburgh Review, No. 128. art. 6., and the account of the Norwich
Bank in the evidence taken by the Secret Committee.
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108 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
" 3. The law does not impose any restrictions upon the amount of nominal capital. This will be
found to vary from 5,000,000L. to 100,000L. ; and in one instance an unlimited power is reserved of
issuing shares to any extent.
4. The law does not impose any obligation that the whole or any certain amount of shares shall
be subscribed for before banking operations commence. In many instances banks commence their
business before one half of the shares are subscribed for, and 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 shares are
reserved to be issued at the discretion of the directors.
" 5. Thelaw does not enforce any rule with respect to the nominal amount of shares. These will
be found to vary from 1,000L. to 51. The effects of this variation are strongly stated in the evidence.
" 6. The law does not enforce any rule with respect to the amount of capital paid up before the
commencement of business. This will be found to vary from 1051. to 51.
7. The law does not provide for any publication of the liabilities and assets of these banks, nor
does it enforce the communication of any balance-sheet to the proprietors at large.
" 8. The law does not impose any restrictions by which care shall be taken that dividends are paid
out of banking profits only, and that bad or doubtful debts are first written off.
" 9. The law does not prohibit purchases, sales, and speculative traffic on the part of these compa-
nies in their own stock, nor advances to be made on the credit of their own shares.
" 10. The law does not provide that the guarantee fund shall be kept apart and invested in govern-
ment or other securities.
" 11. The law does not limit the number of branches or the distance of such branches from the
central bank.
" 12. The law is not sufficiently stringent to insure to the public that the names registered at the
Stamp Office are the names of persons bona fide proprietors, who have signed the deed of settlement,
and who are responsible to the public.
" 13. The provisions of the law appear inadequate, or, at least, are disregarded, so far as they im-
pose upon banks the obligation of making their notes payable at the places of issue.
" All these separate questions appear to your committee deserving of the most serious considera-
tion, with a view to the future stability of the banks throughout the United Kingdom, the mainte-
nance of commercial credit, and the preservation of the currency in a sound state."
Remedial Measures that should be adopted.-We do not, however, think that it would
be at all necessary, in providing for a secure system of joint stock banking, to make any
regulations with respect to many of the points noticed by the committee as to which the law
is silent. At present, every partner in a joint stock bank is liable to the public for the whole
debts of the firm; and this may be truly said to be the cardinal principle of the system, and
without which, it would be an unmixed evil. No individual should, however, by merely
withdrawing from a joint stock concern, get rid of his liabilities in connection with it. To
prevent fraud, and to insure due caution, these ought to continue for a period of three years
at least after he has publicly withdrawn his name. The public, too, are clearly entitled to
know the partners in joint stock associations, that is, to be informed who the individuals are
with whom they are dealing, and who are responsible to them. But, unluckily, no effective
means are taken for supplying the public with this necessary information, or, consequently,
of properly discriminating between one establishment and another. The act of 1833 (3 &
4 Will. 4. c. 83.) directed that an account of the places where they carry on business, and
of the names and residences of the partners, should be quarterly transmitted to the Stamp
Office. But doubts have been entertained as to the correctness of these returns, and com-
paratively little use has been, or, indeed, can be, made of them. The accounts of the names
and residences of the proprietors are not published; but are carefully secluded from the public
eye in the repositories of Somerset House It is true that these lists may be seen by those
who choose to apply at the office, for a small fee, and that certified copies may be procured
at no great expense. But few know that such returns exist; and fewer still have the op-
portunity, or think of availing themselves of them as sources of information. To render
them of any real utility, they should be brought under the public eye, by being hung up in
the offices of the banks to which they refer, and periodically published in the newspapers
of the places where they carry on business. By this means the public would know exactly
to whom they had to look, and would act accordingly. They would not be deceived,
as they are liable to be at present, by supposing that, because a bank has a number of part-
ners, some of them must be opulent and trustworthy. They would know the precise state
of the fact; and if it were seen, from the quarterly returns, that opulent and intelligent indi-
viduals were withdrawing from any bank, every one would be put on his guard, and would
naturally conclude that the parties had very sufficient reasons for quitting the concern. Thus
far publicity may be made effectual, and would be of the very greatest importance. Neither
is it possible to allege a single plausible objection to this proposal. It interferes in no degree,
nor in any way, with the proceedings of the parties all that it does is to declare who and
what they are; and to this degree of publicity no honest man will ever object.
But we have great doubts whether it be possible to carry publicity farther than this. The
committee state that " the law does not provide for any publication of the liabilities and assets
of these banks, nor does it enforce the publication of any balance-sheet to the proprietors at
large;" and it has been proposed to compel the periodical publication of a statement of this
sort but it is very questionable whether any such publication would not be a great deal
worse than useless. It is not proposed that commissioners should be appointed to inspect
the accounts of the different banks, and to see that the returns are accurate this would be
too inquisitorial, too cumbrous, and too costly a plan to be thought of for a moment. There
would be nothing for it, in fact, but to trust entirely to the honour of the parties ! Hence,
in all cases in which a disclosure would be really useful, the publication of an account of
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BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL). 109
assets and liabilities would afford the means of deceiving the public, and of representing a
bankrupt concern as being in a prosperous condition. Supposing, however, that the parties
were, in all instances, perfectly honest, still the publication of a balance-sheet would be good
for nothing. Every one knows how sanguine people are in relation to their own affairs;
and that debts and obligations that other parties would hardly reckon worth any thing, are
estimated by them as if they were so much bullion. But, independently of this, the futility
of the thing is obvious. A bank with a capital of 100,000Z. discounts bills and other
obligations to the extent, perhaps, of 300,000L or 400,000Z the fact that it has discounted
them shows that it believes these bills and obligations to be good; and they will, conse-
quently, be reckoned among its assets. But should a revulsion take place, or any circum-
stance occur to shake credit, these bills may not be worth 100,000Z ; and those who have
dealt with the bank, on the hypothesis of its having capital and assets more than enough to
meet all its obligations, will find, to their cost, that it is not possessed of a single shilling,
but is, on the contrary, some 200,000/. or 300,000L worse than nothing
The committee seem to think that some regulation should be enacted, providing that a
certain portion of its capital should be paid up before a bank begins business. But we incline
to think that the better way would be to prohibit all advertising of nominal capitals; and to
enact that the capital actually paid up, whatever its amount, shall always be represented as,
and held to be, the capital of the bank. But though such a regulation were made, there
would be no security that the capital said to have been paid up had really been paid into the
coffers of the bank, or that, if received, it had not again been lent out, in one way or another,
to the partners. Perhaps it might be good policy to enact that no shares should be issued
under a certain sum, as 50/.; and that no loans should be made to the partners on the
credit of their stock. But we should not be inclined to lay much stress on the first regula-
tion, and the latter might, and no doubt would, be defeated in a thousand ways.
We are decidedly hostile to a proposition we have heard mooted, and which seems to be
countenanced by the committee, for obliging all banks to establish a guarantee fund that is,
for obliging them to accumulate a portion of their profits as a reserve stock. But where is
the security that such reserve would be always deducted from profits The truth is, that
bankrupt and fraudulent concerns, and none else, would gain by such a regulation; inasmuch
as it would enable them, by appearing to be prosperous, the better to deceive the public,
and to blind them as to the real state of their affairs. It is, plainly, worse than absurd
to depend on guarantees that cannot be enforced, and which, consequently, must be good for
nothing. The knowledge of who the partners are in a bank, and their unlimited responsi-
bility, are the only securities that, speaking generally, are good for any thing. If these can-
not protect the public from fraud and loss, nothing else will; and the question will come to
be, not whether the system should be reformed, but whether it ought to be entirely abo-
lished.
We have already noticed the extraordinary multiplication of branch banks all over the
country and it is not very difficult to discover why banks of issue, at least, are so very
anxious about the establishment of these outworks. They are bound, it seems, by the pre-
sent law to pay their notes only at the parent establishment; SO that, by issuing them at a
branch bank, perhaps a hundred miles distant from the head bank, the chances are ten to
one that they will continue for a much longer period in circulation, and that they will con-
sequently be able to carry on business with a much less amount of capital, than if they were,
as they ought to be, obliged to pay their notes at the branches as well as at the principal
office. It is obvious, indeed, that the convertibility of the paper, even of first class banks,
into either cash or Bank of England notes, is at present exceedingly imperfect and that
very great facilities are afforded for getting the worst class of notes into circulation, and for
keeping them afloat, even after their quality may be suspected. This defect in the law
ought, undoubtedly, to be amended, by obliging all banks that issue notes to pay them in-
differently at any of their offices. But we incline to think that parliament might go
further than this: and that it should enact that no branch be established, whether for
the issue of notes, or otherwise, beyond a certain distance (say fifty miles) from the head
office.
Several of the points recapitulated by the committee, as to which the law is silent, respect
the rights and interests of the partners in joint stock banks, in relation to each other, and not
as between them and the public. But it is always a very difficult matter to interfere to dic-
tate the footing on which parties in any undertaking should stand among themselves. Much
should, in such cases, be left to the judgment of the parties; and public regulations, if
enforced at all, should only go to prevent obvious and acknowledged abuse the parties may,
in most cases, be safely left to take care of themselves. The protection of the public interest
is the paramount consideration; and we do not well know what can be done to effect this,
in the case, at least, of such banks as do not issue notes, other than the making known who
their partners are.
Suppression of the Notes of Country Banks.-The Committee have, we are sorry to say,
omitted all reference to what is by far the most prominent evil in our banking system-we
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110 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
mean the power conceded to all private and joint stock banks and companies, whether with
or without property or character, to issue paper money or notes payable on demand, with-
out let or hindrance of any sort. We have elsewhere endeavoured to show (Dictionary, p.
72.) that parties issuing notes ought, in all cases, to be obliged to give security for their issues;
but further experience and reflection have satisfied us that this, though a vast improvement
on the existing system, would not be enough, and that nothing will suffice short of the abo-
lition of all private notes. Till this be done, or till the sole power of issuing paper money
be committed to the Bank of England, or to some one body, the country will necessarily be
exposed to those perpetually recurring fluctuations in the quantity and value of money that
are productive of the most pernicious consequences, and which go far, indeed, to impart to
all industrious undertakings a sort of gambling character. At present, the currency is sup-
plied by hundreds of individuals and bodies, all actuated by different and frequently con-
flicting views and interests. The issues of the Bank of England are wholly governed, as
those of the empire ought to be, by the state of the exchange, or rather by the influx and ef-
flux of bullion-increasing when it flows into, and decreasing when it flows out of the
country. But the issues of the provincial banks are not regulated by any such standard,
but exclusively by the state of credit and prices in the district in which they happen to be
situated. If their managers suppose that these are good or improving, they rarely hesitate
about making additional issues. Hence, when the state of the exchange, and the demand
on the Bank of England for bullion, shows that the currency is redundant, and ought to be
contracted, the efforts of the Bank to effect its diminution are often impeded, and met by a
contrary action on the part of the country banks. This, in fact, has been very remarkably
the case during the last few months. The excessive multiplication of joint stock banks, the
great additions they made to the amount of notes afloat, and the still greater addition they
made to the number of bills, checks, and other substitutes for money, occasioned a redun-
dancy of the currency, a fall of the exchange, and a drain upon the Bank for gold. But
while the Bank of England was narrowing her issues by supplying the exporters of bullion
with gold in exchange for notes, the country banks went on increasing their issues What
the former did, by contracting, on the one hand, the latter more than undid, by letting out on
the other. The vacuum created by the withdrawal of Bank of England paper was im-
mediately filled up, and made to overflow, by the issue of a more than equal amount of
provincial paper; so that had it not been for the rise in the rate of interest, and the other re-
pressive measures adopted by the Bank, the probability is, that she might have gone on pay-
ing away bullion for notes, till she was drained of her last sixpence, without, in any degree,
affecting the exchange! But this is not all. Not only do the country banks almost uni-
versally increase their issues when they ought to be diminished, but the moment they are
compelled to set about their reduction they run headlong into the opposite extreme. The
cry of sauve qui peut then becomes all but universal and, provided they succeed in secur-
ing themselves, little attention is usually paid to the interests of those they have taught to
look to them for help.
Were the Bank of England the sole issuer of notes, she would be able to regulate the
currency without the least difficulty, and without pressing more upon London than upon any
other part of the country. If from any circumstances the currency became redundant, and
there were a drain upon the Bank for gold, then, as there would be no other description of
paper to come into the place of that brought to the Bank to be exchanged for gold, the cur-
rency would be in so far contracted, and the drain checked, without the reduction being
carried beyond the required limit. But at present the efforts of the Bank, or rather of the
public, who carry notes to her for payment, to effect a contraction of the currency, are, in the
first instance, invariably counteracted by the country banks; and when the latter, in con-
sequence of the increasing difficulty of obtaining pecuniary accommodation in London are,
in the end, obliged to pull up, the chances are ten to one that the contraction is carried to an
improper extent. A revulsion of this sort seldom occurs without destroying some of the
provincial banks; and the alarm, or, it may be, panic, that is in consequence apt to be pro-
duced, may be very injurious to the best established and best managed banks, and even to
the Bank of England herself. In fact, we have no idea that it will be possible for the latter
and the country banks to go on together on their present footing. As matters now stand,
the Bank of England may be brought at any time into the greatest jeopardy by the proceed-
ings of parties over whom she has no sort of control. The over issue of the provincial banks,
by depressing the exchange, drains the Bank of gold and then their discredit, and, perhaps,
failure, may, by exciting a panic, bring her to a stand still ! Provided banks of deposit be
established on sound principles, there cannot be too many of them. But it is quite other-
wise with banks of issue. The more they are multiplied the greater is the chance of fluctua-
tion in their issues, and consequently in prices, credit, and so forth. Had the Bank of Eng-
land been the sole issuer of paper, the crash of 1825-26, and the difficulties of the past year,
never would have been heard of. They grew entirely out of the competition and proceed-
ings of the provincial banks, and are in no degree whatever ascribable to any thing else,
domestic or fureign.
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BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL). 111
Private Banks.-It may be thought, perhaps, that the unprecedented increase in the num-
ber of joint stock banks will have been productive of a corresponding decline in the number
of private banks, or of those having six partners or under; but such has not been the case.
The latter, no doubt, have decreased, some having been abandoned, while others have been
converted into joint stock banks, but not to the extent that might have been anticipated. In
1833, 598 licences were granted to private banks; in 1834, 580; in 1835, 579; and in the
present year (1836), down to the 18th of June, 559 licences had been granted. The issues
of the private banks are seen in the table below.
I. Official Return of all Places where United or Joint Stock Banks have been established under the
Act 7 Geo. 4. c. 46.; with the Dates when such Banks respectively were established, and the Num-
ber of Partners therein, down to the 26th of November, 1836. Subjoined is the paid up Capital of
certain Banks, according to the Returns rendered to the Secret Committee of 1836.
Date when esta-
Number
Places.
Name of the Bank.
blished.
of
Paid up Capital.
Partners.
&
8.
d.
Ashton-under-Lyne
-
Ashton, Staleybridge, Hyde,
18 June, 1836
328
and Glossop Bank.
Barnsley
-
-
-
Barnsley Banking Company
25 Jan. 1832
118
25,150 0 0
Birmingham
-
-
-
Bank of Birmingham
-
2 Aug. 1832
227
73,785 0 0
Liverpool
-
-
-
Bank of Liverpool
-
23 April, 1831
441
258,100 0 0
Manchester, Stockport, Bolton,
*Bank of Manchester
-
19 Mar. 1829
552
500,000 0 0
and Newton
Caermarthen
-
-
Bank of South Wales -
26 Feb. 1835
7
Stockport
-
-
Bank of Stockport
-
3 May, 1836
390
31,850 0 0
Walsall and Cannock
-
Bank of Walsall and South
10 Aug. 1835
112
25,000 0 0
Staffordshire.
Kendal and Ulverston
-
Bank of Westmoreland
8 June, 1833
154
20,950 0 0
Bilston
-
-
-
Bilston District Banking
31 Aug. 1836
146
Company.
Birmingham
-
-
-
Birmingham and Midland
18 Aug. 1836
222
Bank.
Birmingham
-
-
-
Birmingham Town and Dis-
4 July, 1836
314
trict Banking Company.
Birmingham
-
⑉
-
Birmingham Banking Com-
30 Sept. 1829
311
50,000 0 0
pany.
Bolton
-
-
-
Bolton Joint Stock Banking
30 May, 1836
166
Company.
Bradford
-
-
-
Bradford Banking Company
7 July, 1827
173
77,300 0 0
Ditto
-
-
-
Bradford Commercial Joint
27 Feb. 1833
160
44,100 0 0
Stock Banking Company.
Bristol
-
-
-
Bristol Old Bank -
-
16 June, 1826
8
Bury -
-
-
-
Bury Banking Company
14 June, 1836
104
Bury and Heywood
-
-
Bury and Heywood Banking
17 Sept. 1836
48
Company.
Carlisle and Wigton
-
-
Carlisle and Cumberland
8 Oct. 1836
222
Banking Company.
Cheltenham
-
-
-
Cheltenham and Gloucester-
19 May, 1836
99
15,000 0 0
shire Bank.
Chesterfield
-
-
-
Chesterfield and North Der-
21 Dec. 1831
98
23,200 0 0
byshire Banking Company.
Manchester, Preston, Burnley,
Commercial Bank of England
1 July, 1834
444
260,005 0 0
Skipton, Birmingham, Ches-
ter, Leek, Burslem, Liverpool,
Blackburn, Ashbourn, Roch-
dale, Shrewsbury, Ellesmere,
Uttoxeter, Whitchurch, Han-
ley, Newport, and Ludlow
Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bur-
County of Gloucester Bank
1 Aug. 1836
273
ford, Cirencester, Faringdon,
Tetbury, and Dursley
Coventry
-
-
-
Coventry and Warwickshire
13 Dec. 1835
261
35,000 0 0
Banking Company.
Ditto -
-
-
-
Coventry Union Banking
12 May, 1836
158
28,050 0 0
Company.
Workington, Cockermouth, Ma-
*Cumberland Union Banking
13 Mar. 1829
152
ryport, Wigton, Carlisle, and
Company.
Penrith
Darlington, Stockton, Stokes-
*Darlington District Joint
22 Dec. 1831
247
55,425 0 0
ley, Barnard Castle, Northal-
Stock Banking Company.
lerton, Bedale, Egglestone,
Durham, Masham, Yarm,
Thirsk, Hartlepool, Gisbo-
rough, Bishop's Auckland,
Brough and Stagshaw
Derby, Ashbourn, and Belper
*Derby and Derbyshire
28 Dec. 1833
204
20,000 0 0
Banking Company.
Plymouth, Devonport, Kings-
*Devon and Cornwall Bank-
31 Dec. 1831
146
40,380 0 0
bridge, Totness, Bodmin, Ash-
ing Company.
burton, St. Austell, Liskeard,
Dartmouth, Newton Abbot,
Exeter, and Collumpton
* The banks to which an asterisk (*) is prefixed, issue notes payable to bearer on demand.
t Where blanks are left no returns have been made.
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112 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL).
Table I.-continued.
Date when esta-
Number
Places.
Name of the Bank.
blished.
of
Paid up Capital.
Partners.
£ a. d.
Dudley and Westbromwich
*Dudley and Westbromwich
30 Dec. 1833
190
39,085 0 0
Banking Company.
Norwich, Great Yarmouth, Ips-
*East of England Bank
27 Feb. 1836
534
75,752 10 0
wich, Swaffham, Lynn, East
Dereham, Foulsham, Faken-
ham, Harleston, Eye, Sax-
mundham, Bungay, Watton,
Lowestoff, Beccles, Dies, Bu-
ry St. Edmund's, North
Walsham, and Framlingham
Swansea and Neath
Glamorganshire Banking
8 Sept. 1836
83
Company.
Gloucester
-
-
-
Gloucester County and City
31 Dec. 1834
23
19,720 0 0
Bank.
Gloucester, Stroud, Newnham,
*Gloucestershire Banking
28 June, 1831
265
100,000 0 0
Evesham, Tewkesbury, Chel-
Company.
tenham, Newent, Cambden,
Alcester, Pershore, Redditch,
Blockley, Moreton, Cirences-
ter, and Winchcomb
Halifax and Huddersfield
-
Halifax and Huddersfield
29 June, 1836
404
Halifax
Union Banking Company
-
-
-
Halifax Commercial Banking
21 June, 1836
172
Ditto -
Company.
-
-
-
*Halifax Joint Stock Bank-
11 Nov. 1829
178
39,225 0 0
ing Company.
Southampton, Fareham, Rum-
*Hampshire Banking Com-
29 April, 1834
141
24,170 0 o
sey, and Stockbridge
pany.
Helston
-
*Helston Banking Company
4 Aug. 1836
9
Hereford, Ross, Leominster,
*Herefordshire Banking
5 Aug. 1836
200
Ledbury, Kington, Hay, Mon-
Company.
mouth, Coleford, Bromyard,
and Abergavenny
Holywell and Mold -
-
*Holywell Bank, North
11 Nov. 1834
7
Wales.
Huddersfield, Holmfirth, and
*Huddersfield Banking Com-
7 June, 1827
335
65,000 0 0
Brighouse
pany.
Hull, Barton, Beverly, Brigg,
*Hull Banking Company
30 Nov. 1833
247
42,200 0 0
Gainsborough, Goole, Grims-
by, Lincoln, Louth, South
Cave, Caistor, Market Raisin,
Retford, Howden, Snaith, and
Market Weighton
Knaresborough, Ripon, We-
*Knaresborough and Clare
14 Sept. 1831
100
therby, Easingwold, Hemsley,
Banking Company.
Thirsk, Boroughbridge, Ma-
sham, Pateley Bridge, Otley,
and Harrogate
Lancaster, Ulverstone, and
*Lancaster Banking Com-
9 Oct. 1826
127
48,600 0 0
Preston
pany.
Leamington Priors
-
-
*Leamington Bank
-
8 May, 1835
157
25,710 0 0
Leamington Priors, Southam,
*Leamington Priors and
27 Aug. 1836
135
22,020 0 0
Warwick, Kenilworth, and
Warwickshire Banking
Banbury
Company.
Leeds
-
-
-
*Leeds Banking Company
22 Nov. 1832
451
116,109 0 0
Ditto -
-
-
-
Leeds Commercial Banking
21 June, 1836
290
Company.
Leeds, Harrogate, Pudsey,
*Leeds and West Riding
28 Nov. 1835
161
45,000 o 0
Heckmondwicke, and Brad-
Banking Company.
ford
Leicester, Ashby-de-In-Zouch,
*Leicestershire Banking
28 Aug. 1829
101
7,865 0 0
Hinckley, Market Harbo-
Company.
rough, and Melton Mowbray
Carlisle
*Leith Banking Company
28 Nov. 1827
Litchfield, Rugeley, and Tam-
Litchfield, Rugeley, and
21 Nov. 1885
98
26,000 0 0
worth
Tamworth Banking Com-
pany.
Lincoln, Gainsborough, Louth,
*Lincoln and Lindsay Bank-
10 Aug. 1833
230
20,000 0 0
Horncastle, Brigg, Market
Company.
Raisin, Caistor, Bleaford, Al-
ford, Spilsby, Epworth,
Grimsby, Partney, and Ret-
ford
Liverpool
-
-
-
Liverpool Berough Bank
28 June, 1836
309
Ditto
-
-
-
-
Liverpool Commercial Bank-
29 Dec. 1832
263
244,400 0 0
ing Company.
Ditto -
-
-
-
Liverpool Tradesmen's
28 Mar. 1836
542
46,050 0 o
:
Bank.
Ditto -
-
-
-
Liverpool United Trades'
12 May, 1836
319
Bank.
Manchester, Liverpool,Oldham,
*Manchester and Liverpool
26 Nov. 1829
1,054
749,600 o 0
Warrington, Ashton-under-
District Bank.
Lyne, Bury, Blackburn, Wi-
gan, Preston, Staleybridge,
Digitized by Google
BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL). 113
Table I.-continued.
Date when esta-
Number
Places.
Name of the Bank.
blished.
of
Paid up Capital.
Partners.
£
8. d.
Rochdale, Hyde, Stockport,
Nantwich, Hanley, Stafford,
Burslem, Leek, Lane-End,
Cheadle, Rugeley, Market
Drayton, and Glossop
Manchester
-
-
-
Manchester and Salford
15 June, 1836
255
Bank.
Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Wake-
Mirfield and Huddersfield
29 Dec. 1832
263
field, and Bradford
Banking Company.
Newport, Ponty-Pool, Usk,
Monmouthshire and Glamor-
28 July, 1836
260
Chepstow, and Cardiff
ganshire Banking Compa-
ny.
Nottingham
-
-
-
Moore and Robinson's Not-
12 July, 1836
28
tinghamshire Banking
Company.
Aberystwith, Birmingham, Bre-
National Provincial Bank
27 Dec. 1833
487
250,000 0 0
con, Llandovery, Hay, Bath,
of England.
Shepton Mallet, Boston, Cas-
tle Cary, Somerton, Bideford,
Southmolten, Torrington,
Bury St. Edmund's, Chelten-
ham, Cardiff, Bridge-End,
Dursley, Gloucester, Here-
ford, Honiton, Stowmarket,
Ipswich, Woodbridge, Lich-
field, Rugby, Tiverton, Wal-
sall, Wisbeach, Whittlesea,
Chatteris, Long Sutton, Wor-
cester, Ledbury, Wotton-un-
der-Edge, Yarmouth, Bristol,
Norwich, Leicester, and Dol-
gelly
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
*Newcastle Commercial
16 July, 1836
318
Banking Company.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North
*Newcastle, Shields, and
11 July, 1836
436
and South Shields, Sunder-
Sunderland Union Joint
land, and Durham
Stock Banking Company.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle-upon-Tyne Joint
27 June, 1836
136
-
Stock Banking Company.
Norwich, Swaffham, Foulsham,
*Norfolk and Norwich Joint
31 Mar. 1827
125
East Dereham, Fakenham,
Stock Banking Company.
Lynn, Harleston, Bungay, and
Watton
Liverpool, Dolgelly, Bangor,
North and South Wales
30 April, 1836
526
25,000 0 0
Machynlleth, Aberystwith,
Bank.
Holywell, Wrexham, Pwilhe-
li, Bala, Denbigh, Oswestry,
Llanidloes, Ruthin, Llanroost,
Fastining, Mold, Newtown,
St. Asaph, Chester, Caernar-
von, Llangefni, Conway,
Welehpool, and Amlwch
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sun-
North of England Joint Stock
28 Nov. 1832
571
240,000 0 0
derland, North Shields, Ber-
Banking Company.
wick-upon-Tweed, Morpeth,
Hexham, South Shields, Dur-
ham, and Bishop's Auckland
Manchester, Bolton, Colne, Cli-
*Northern and Central Bank
12 Mar. 1834
1,204
711,860 0 0
theroe, Liverpool, Ormskirk,
of England.
St. Helen's, Preston, Bangor,
Caernarvon, Bakewell, Ches-
ter, Birmingham, Bristol, Con-
gleton, Knutsford, Maccles-
field, Northwich, Nantwich,
Halifax, Cleckheaton, Keight-
ley, Leeds, Sheffield, Wake-
field, Denbigh, Wrexham,
Evesham, Worcester, Holy-
well, Mold, Leominster, Not-
tingham, Oswestry, Wem,
Shrewsbury, Whitehurch,
Wellington, Tamworth, and
Grantham
Northampton, Daventry, Wel-
Northamptonshire Banking
23 May, 1836
296
lingborough,
Kettering,
Company.
Thrapstone, Peterborough,
Oundle, Hyham Ferrars,
Stamford, Spalding, and Mar-
ket Harborough
Northampton, Daventry, and
Northamptonshire
Union
13 May, 1836
464
Wellingborough
Bank
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
-
Northumberland and Dur-
23 May, 1836
464
ham District Banking Com.
X %
15
Digitized by Google
114 BANKS (ENGLISH PRIVATE AND PROVINCIAL)
Table I.-continued.
Date when esta-
Number
Places.
Name of the Bank.
blished.
of
Paid up Capital.
Partners.
£ 8. d.
Melksham, Devizes, Bradford,
*North Wilts Banking Com-
6 Nov. 1835
152
36,925 0 0
Trowbridge, Calne, Westbury,
pany.
Chippenham, Warminster,
and Corsham
Nottingham, Newark, Mans-
*Nottingham and Notting-
12 April, 1834
272
62,610 0 0
field, and Loughborough
hamshire Banking Com.
Leicester, Hinckley, Loughbo-
*Pares's Leicestershire
15 Mar. 1836
15
15,825 0 0
rough, and Melton Mowbray
Banking Company, or the
Leicestershire
Union
Banking Company
Liverpool
-
-
Royal Bank of Liverpool
30 April, 1836
215
91,980 0 0
Saddleworth, Ashton, and Old-
*Saddleworth Banking Com.
29 June, 1833
114
29,650 0 0
ham
Sheffield and Rotherham
-
*Sheffield Banking Com.
24 June, 1831
225
75,955 0 0
Sheffield
-
-
Sheffield and Hallamshire
20 May, 1836
738
Banking Company.
Sheffield and Rotherham
-
Sheffield and Rotherham
25 June, 1836
234
Joint Stock Banking Com-
pany.
Shiffnal, Wellington, Newport,
Shropshire Banking Com-
27 May, 1836
277
and Coalbrook Dale
pany.
Manchester
-
South Lancashire Bank
25 May, 1836
778
Stamford, Spalding, Boston,
*Stamford and Spalding Joint
28 Dec. 1831
85
44,000 0 0
Oundle, Bourn, Market Deep-
Stock Banking Company.
ing, Spilsby Burgh, Wainfleet,
Swineshead, Peterborough,
Holbeach, Oakham, and Up-
pingham
Stourbridge,
Kidderminster,
*Stourbridge and Kiddermin-
9 April, 1834
223
45,000 0 0
Stratford-upon-Avon, Hen-
ster Banking Company.
ley-in-Arden, Bromsgrove,
Redditch, Shipston-on-Stour,
Chipping Norton, Alcester,
and Moreton-in-Marsh
Bristol, Axbridge, Bridgewater,
*Stuckey's Banking Com.
9 Oct. 1826
35
60,000 0 0
Taunton, Wellington, Crew-
kerne, Chard, Ilminster,
Langport, Wells, Glaston-
bury, Shepton Mallet, Bruton,
Wineanton, Selwood, Frome,
Castle Cary, Yeovil, Bam-
well, Weston-super-Mare,
Williton, Martock, Somerton,
South Petherton, and Ilches-
ter
Sunderland
-
-
-
Sunderland Joint Stock
4 Aug. 1836
266
Banking Company for De-
von and Cornwall.
Liverpool
-
-
-
Union Bank of Liverpool
2 May, 1835
323
Manchester
-
-
Union Bank of Manchester
6 May, 1836
598
Wakefield
-
-
*Wakefield Banking Com.
25 Oct. 1832
192
44,840 0 0
Warwick, Leamington, Strat-
*Warwick and Leamington
10 Sept. 1834
122
31,310 0 0
ford-on-Avon, Southam,
Banking Company.
Henley-in-Arden, and Ship-
ston-on-Stour
Bristol, Bath, Barnstaple, Ex-
*West of England and South
22 Dec. 1834
469
209,882 10 0
eter, Swansea, Taunton,
Wales District Bank.
Bridgewater, Cardiff, New
port, Wells, Glastonbury,
Bideford, Merthyr Tydvil,
Stowey, Dulverton, Williton,
Axbridge, Somerton, Llanelly,
and Sidmouth
Salisbury, Warminster, De-
*Wilts and Dorset Banking
11 Jan. 1836
485
42,672 10
0
vizes, Bradford, Westbu-
Company.
ry, Trowbridge, Melksham,
Calne, Chippenham, Maribo-
rough, Swindon, Malmesbury,
Wootton Bassett, Cricklade,
Frome, Yeovil, Wincanton,
Chard, Crewkerne, Taunton,
Glastonbury, Wells, Shepton
Mallet, Bruton, Bridgewater,
Dorchester, Blandford, Wim-
borne, Wareham, Poole,
Bridport, Lyme Regis,
Shaftesbury,
Sherborne,
Weyhill, Highworth, Ludger-
shall, Mere, Weymouth, Stur-
minster, Beaminster, Mel-
borne Port, Fordingbridge,
Christchurch, Lymington, and
Ringwood
Digitized by Google
BANKS (ENGLISH, PRIVATE, AND PROVINCIAL). 115
Table I.-continued.
Number
Date when esta-
Places.
Name of the Bank.
of
blished.
Paid up Capital.
Partners.
£ 8. d.
Devonport, Plymouth, Totnes,
*Western District Banking
1 Sept. 1836
278
Kingsbridge,Crediton, Exeter,
Company for Devon and
Teignmouth, Torrington,
Cornwall.
Holsworthy, Falmouth, Pen-
zance, Truro, Helston, Red-
ruth, St. Ives, and Callington
Whitehaven and Penrith
*Whitehaven Joint Stock
25 May, 1829
236
26,050 0 0
Banking Company.
Wolverhampton
*Welverhampton and Staf-
28 Dec. 1831
238
50,000 0 0
fordshire Banking Com-
pany.
York, Malton, Selby, Howden,
*York City and County
2 Mar. 1830
207
75,000 0 0
Scarborough, Boroughbridge,
Banking Company.
and Goole
York, Driffield, Bury, Thirsk,
*York Union Banking Com-
23 April, 1833
277
57,450 0 0
Malton, Heimsley, Kirby
pany.
Moorsidge, Pickering, Pock-
lington, Market Weighton,
and Tadcaster
York, Whitby, Wetherby, Tad-
Yorkshire Agricultural and
27 July, 1836
694
caster, Sherburn, Howden,
Commercial Banking Com-
Pickering, Malton, Bcarbo-
pany.
rough, Burlington, Driffield,
Pockington, Goole, Kirby-
moorside, Bedale, Ripon, Bo-
roughbridge, Knaresborough,
Hull, Wakefield, Doncaster,
Easingwold, Thirsk, Northal-
lerton, Hawes, Skipton, and
Beverley
Leeds, York, Hull, Sheffield,
*Yorkshire District Bank
20July, 1834
680
311,110 0 0
Halifax, Doncaster, Selby,
Thirsk, Malton, Pocklington,
Bradford, Pontefract, Ripon,
Knaresborough. Huddersfield,
Beveriey, Darlington, Rich-
mond, and Dewsbury
N.B. "The Mirfield and Huddersfield Banking Company" is now called "The West Riding Union
Banking Company the name of the bank having been changed.
II. A Return of Joint Stock Banks in Ireland with the Dates of their Establishment, the Names of
the several Towns and Places where such Banks and their Branches have been established, and the
Number of Partners in each.
Number
Towns and Places where the Banks or their
Joint Stock Banks.
When established.
of
Branches have been established.
Partners.
1.-The Hibernian Joint
By special Act, 5 Geo.
-
-
Dublin
-
-
225
Stock Company.*
4. c. 159.
2-The Northern Banking
31st of December, 1834
Belfast.
Ballymena.
208
Company.
Lisburne.
Coleraine.
N.T. Limavady.
Magherafelt.
Lurgan.
Armagh.
Downpatrick.
Londonderry.
3.-The Provincial Bank of
31st of August, 1825 -
Armagh.
Athlone
644
Ireland.
Ballina.
Ballymena
Ballyshannon.
Banbridge.
Bandon.
Belfast.
Cavan.
Clonmel.
Coleraine.
Cork
Downpatrick.
Dungannon.
Dungarvan.
Ennis.
Enniskillen.
Galway,
Kilkenny
Limerick.
Londonderry.
Lurgan.
Mallow
Monaghan.
Moneymore.
Omagh.
Parsonstown.
Sligo.
Strabane.
Tralee.
Waterford.
Wexford
Youghall.
4.-The Belfast Banking
1826
Belfast.
Coleraine
292
Company.
Ballymoney
Londonderry.
Ballymena.
Lurgan.
Dungannon.
Cookstown
Armagh.
Banbridge
* This bank does not issue notes, and is not, therefore, required to make a registry at this office: it
did, however, register its firm and partners in 1825, and the number of the partners above given is
taken from the registry then made.
Stamps, Ireland, April 19, 1836.
J. S. COOPER, Compt. and Acct. Genl.
Digitized by Google
116
BANKS (SCOTCH).
Table II.-continued.
Number
Towns and Places where the Banks or their
of
Joint Stock Banks.
When established.
Branches have been established.
Partners.
5.-The Agricultural and
28th of October, 1834.
Nenagh.
Ennis.
2,170
Commercial Bank of
Bandon.
Castlebar.
Ireland.*
New Ross.
Enniscorthy.
Limerick.
Tuam.
Roscrea.
Skibbereen.
Killarney.
Strabane.
Mallow.
Kilkenny.
Cork.
Longford.
Ballins.
Galway.
Strokestown.
Kilrush.
Ballinasloe.
Tipperary.
Fermoy.
Sligo.
Boyle.
Parsonstown.
Londonderry.
6.-The National Bank of
24th of January, 1835.
Carrick-on-Suir.
Clonmel.
250
Ireland.
Thurles.
Cashel.
Cork.
Enniscorthy.
Kilkenny.
Longford.
Tipperary.
Fermoy.
Mitchelstown.
Roscrea.
Traice.
Cahirciveen.
Dingle.
Killarney.
Listowell.
Waterford.
Dungannon.
New Ross.
7.-The Limerick National
17th of August, 1835.
Limerick.
Kilrush.
523
Bank of Ireland.
Charleville.
8.-The Uister Banking
15th of April, 1836.
-
-
-
Belfast
-
-
117
Company.
Account of the aggregate amount of Notes circulated in England and Wales by Private Banks, and
by Joint Stock Banks and their Branches; distinguishing Private from Joint Stock Banks.-(From
Returns directed by 3 & 4 Will. 4.)
Private Banks
Juint Stock Banks.
Total.
Quarters ending
£
£
£
28 Dec.
1833
-
-
-
-
8,836,803
1,315,301
10,152,104
29 March,
1834
-
-
-
-
8,733,400
1,458,427
10,191,827
28 June,
-
-
-
-
8,875,795
1,642,887
10,518,682
27 Sept.
-
-
-
-
8,370,423
1,783,689
10,154,112
28 Dec.
-
-
-
-
8,537,655
2,122,173
10,659,828
98 March, 1835
-
-
-
-
8,231,206
2,188,954
10,420,160
27 June,
-
-
-
-
8,455,114
2,484,687
10,939,801
26 Sept.
-
-
-
-
7,912,587
2,508,036
10,420,023
26 Dec.
-
-
-
-
8,334,863
2,799,551
11,134,414
26 March, 1836
-
-
-
-
8,353,894
3,094,025
11,447,919
25 June,
-
-
-
-
8,614,132
3,588,064
12,202,196
24 Sept.
-
-
-
-
7,969,121
3,969,121
11,733,945
Sup.)
IV. BANKS (Scorce).
The act of 1708, preventing more than 6 individuals from entering into a partnership for
carrying on the business of banking, did not extend to Scotland. In consequence of this
exemption, several banking companies, with numerous bodies of partners, have always existed
in that part of the empire.
Bank of Scotland-This institution was projected by Mr. John Holland, merchant of
London, and was established by act of the Scotch parliament (Will. 3. Parl. 1. § 5.) in
1695, by the name of the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland. Its original
capital was 1,200,000/. Scotch, or 100,000L sterling, distributed in shares of 1.000l. Scotch,
or 83/. 6s. 8d. sterling, each. The act exempted the capital of the bank from all public
burdens; and gave it the exclusive privilege of banking in Scotland for 21 years. The objects
for which the bank was instituted, and its mode of management, were intended to be, and
have been, in most respects, similar to those of the Bank of England. The responsibility of the
shareholders is limited to the amount of their shares.
The capital of the bank was increased to 200,000L. in 1744; and was enlarged by subsequent
acts of parliament, the last of which (44 Geo. 3. c. 23.) was passed in 1804, to 1,500,000/., its
present amount. Of this sum, 1,000,000L has been paid up. The last mentioned act
directed that all sums relating to the affairs of the bank should henceforth be rated in sterling
money, that the former mode of dividing bank stock by shares should be discontinued, and
that, for the future, it should be transferred in any sums or parcels. On the union of the
two kingdoms in 1707, the Bank of Scotland undertook the recoinage, and effected the
exchange of the currency in Scotland : it was also the organ of government, in the issue of the
new ailver coinage in 1817.
This Bank stopped payment in November, 1836.
Digitized by
Google
BANKS (SCOTCH).
117
The bank of Scotland is the only Scotch bank constituted by act of parliament. It began
to establish branches in 1696 and issued notes for 1l. so early as 1704. The bank also began,
at a very early period, to receive deposits on interest, and to grant credit on cash accounts;
a minute of the directors with respect to the mode of keeping the latter, being dated so far
back as 1729. It is, therefore, entitled to the credit of having introduced and established the
distinctive principles of the Scotch banking system, which, whatever may be its defects, is
probably superior to every other system hitherto established. Generally speaking, the Bank
of Scotland has always been conducted on sound and liberal principles; nor can there be a
doubt that it has been productive, both directly and as an example to other banking establish-
ments, of much public utility and advantage.
It may be worth mentioning, that the act of Will. 3., establishing the Bank of Scotland,
declared that all foreigners who became partners in the bank, should, by doing so, become,
to all intents and purposes, naturalised Scotchmen. After being for a long time forgotten,
this clause was taken advantage of in 1818, when several aliens acquired property in the
bank in order to secure the benefit of naturalisation. But after being suspended, the privilege
was finally cancelled in 1822.
We subjoin an official abstract of the constitution and objects of the Bank of Scotland,
printed for the use of the proprietors in 1818;-the terms and mode of transacting business
are, of course, sometimes altered, according to circumstances.
I. The Bank of Scotland is a public national establishment erected and regulated by the legisla-
ture alone and expressly as a public Bank in this kingdom; for the benefit of the nation, and for the
advancement of agriculture, commerce and manufactures; and for other objects of public policy.-
(Will. Parl. 1. è 5.; 14 Geo. 3. c. 32. 24 Geo. 3. c. 8.; 32 Geo. 3. c. 25. ; 34 Geo. 3. c. 19. 44 Geo. 3.
c. 23.)
II. The statutory capital is at present 1,500,000L. sterling. It is raised by voluntary subscription
and has been subscribed for. 1,000,000L. has been called for, and paid in.-(44 Geo. 3. c. 23.)
III. Subscribers, if not under obligation to the Bank, may, at pleasure, transfer their right. If
under obligation to the Bank, the obligation must be previously liquidated; or, the proceeds of the
sale, at a price to the satisfaction of the directors, must be applied towards such liquidation. Trans-
fers are made by a short assignment and acceptance thereof, both in a register appointed for that
purpose. The expense, beside the government stamp, is (Will. Parl. 1. 5.)
IV. Bank of Scotland stock may be acquired, in any portions, by any person, community, or other
lawful party whatsoever without selection, exclusion, or limitation of numbers.-(W Parl. 1 e 5.;
44 Geo. 3. c. 23.)
V. Bank of Scotland stock may be conveyed by latter will, and, if specially mentioned, without
expense of confirmation. It cannot be arrested the holder's right may be adjudged. Dividends
may be arrested.-(Will. Parl. 1. 0 5.)
VI. The Bank of Scotland is a public corporation by act of parliament. The Bank's transactions
are distinct from those of the stockholders; and theirs from those of the Bank.-(Will. Parl. 1. 5.)
VII. The establishment is expressly debarred from any other business than that of banking.-
(Will. Parl. 1. (5.)
VIII. The management is vested, by statute, in a governor, deputy governor, twelve ordinary, and
twelve extraordinary directors. They are chosen annually, on the last Tuesday of March, by the
stockholders having 250L. of stock or upwards. Those above 2501. have a vote for every 2501. to
5,000% or 20 votes. No person can have more than 20 votes. The governor must hold, at least,
2,000L. of stock the deputy governor 1,500%; and each director 750L. They swear to be equal to all
persons and cannot hold any inferior office in the Bank.-(Will. Parl. 1. 1 5.; 14 Geo. 3. c. 32.
44 Geo. 3. c. 23.)
IX. The executive part is conducted by a treasurer, secretary, and other public officers, all sworn.
Those having the official charge of cash find due security.-(Will. Parl. 1. 1 5.)
X. The Board of directors sits for the general administration of the Bank, at the Bank's Public
Head Office in Edinburgh. The local business of that district is also conducted at that office. For
the local business in the other parts of the kingdom, the Bank has its regular public offices in the
principal towns. At each of these offices there is the Bank agent or cashier, who gives due security,
and conducts the Bank's business for that district, in the manner after mentioned. There is also the
Bank's accountant for that office ; who is appointed by the directors. (Will. Parl. 1. 5.)
XI. The Bank takes in money, at all its public offices, on deposit receipts or promissory notes, or on
current deposit account.* At the Head Office, draughts on London, or on any of the agencies, are
given at each agency, draughts on London, or on the Head Office, are given. All these documents
are on the Bank's check (and sealed with the Bank's sealt). They bear, in words, to be For the Bank
of Scotland;" or, For the Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland.' These documents
are signed, if at Edinburgh, by the treasurer, and countersigned by the principal accountant if at an
agency, they must be signed by the Bank's agent, as agent, and countersigned by the Bank's account-
ant for that agency otherwise they infer no obligation on the Bank.-(Resolution of Court, 28th Feb.
1793.)
XII. Bills on London, Edinburgh, or any town where the Bank has its official correspondents, are
discounted and purchased at all the Bank's public offices. The Bank's agents judge, in ordinary
cases, of the bills presented so that parties meet with no delay. The Bank does not sell, at any of
its offices, the bills which it has discounted and purchased. Its agents cannot indorse its bills, unless
officially to the treasurer.-(Resolution of Court, 23d Feb. 1789.)
XIII. Government stock and other public funds, transferable in London, may be purchased or sold,
and dividends thereon may be received, through the Bank.
XIV. The Bank gives credit on cash accounts at any of its offices, on bond, with security. The
security may be personal co-obligants, conjunctly and severally or Bank of Scotland stock or both
or such other security as may be specially agreed on. Applications for cash accounts are given in to
the office where the cash account is wanted, and must specify the credit desired, and the security pro-
posed; and the individual partners, where copartneries are proposed. Cash accounts are granted by
The Bank has always allowed interest on deposits. The rate allowed varies, of course, with the
variations in the market rate. During the greater part of the late war it was as high as 4 per cent. ;
out at present it is only 2 per cent.
t The seal is now dispensed with, except on the Bank's notes.
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BANKS (SCOTCH).
the directors only ; and not recalled unless by their special authority. It is understood that these
credits are not used as dead loans, to produce interest only. In the fair course of business, the ad-
vantage of the Bank is consulted by an active circulation of its notes, and by frequent repayments
to it in a way least affecting that circulation.-(Resolution of Court, 6th Nov. 1729, and 23d Feb. 1789.)
XV. The Bank's dividend of profits has for some time been of per cent. per annum (at present,
1833, it is 6 per cent.) on that part of its capital stock, or 1,000,000L. sterling, paid in. The dividends
are paid regularly twice a year, without expense. They may be drawn either at the Bank's Head
Office, or at any of its other offices, as most agreeable to the stockholder.
By order of the Court of Directors.
6th Nov. 1818.
Most of the other Scotch banks are conducted on the same principles and in the same
way as the Bank of Scotland, so that the details as to its management will nearly apply to
them all.
The Royal Bank of Scotland was established in 1727. Its original capital was 151,000L
At present it amounts to 2,000,000L
The British Linen Company was incorporated in 1746, for the purpose, as its name
implies, of undertaking the manufacture of linen. But the views in which it originated
were speedily abandoned and it became a banking company only. Its capital amounts to
500,000L
None of the other banking companies established in Scotland are chartered associations,
with limited responsibility the partners being jointly and individually liable, to the whole
extent of their fortunes, for the debts of the firms. Some of them, such as the National
Bank, the Commercial Banking Company, the Dundee Commercial Bank, the Perth Bank-
ing Company, &c., have very numerous bodies of partners. Their affairs are uniformly
conducted by a Board of directors, annually chosen by the shareholders.
The Bank of Scotland began, as already stated, to issue 1L notes 80 early as 1704 and
their issue has since been continued without interruption. In Scotland," to use the state-
ment given in the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons of 1826, on the Pro-
missory Notes of Scotland and Ireland, " the issue of promissory notes payable to the bearer
on demand, for a sum not less than 20s. has been at all times permitted by law nor has any
act been passed, limiting the period for which such issue shall continue legal in that country.
In England, the issue of promissory notes for a less sum than 5% was prohibited by law
from the year 1777 to the period of the Bank Restriction in 1797. It has been permitted
since 1797; and the permission will cease, as the law at present stands, in April, 1829."
There have been comparatively few bankruptcies among the Scotch banks. In 1793 and
1825, when 80 many of the English provincial banks were swept off, there was not a single
establishment in Scotland that gave way. This superior stability seems to be ascribable
partly to the formation of so many banks with numerous bodies of partners, which tends to
prevent any company with only a few partners, unless they are known to possess consi-
derable fortunes, from getting paper into circulation partly to the less risk attending the
business of banking in Scotland and partly to the facility afforded by the law of Scotland
of attaching a debtor's property, whether it consists of land or moveables, and making it
available to the payment of his debts.
In the Report already quoted, the last-mentioned topic is touched upon as follows :-"The
general provisions of the law of Scotland bearing upon this subject are calculated to promote
the solidity of banking establishments, by affording to the creditor great facilities of ascertain-
ing the pecuniary circumstances of individual partners, and by making the private fortunes
of those partners available for the discharge of the obligations of the bank with which they
are connected. There is no limitation upon the number of partners of which a banking
company in Scotland may consist; and, excepting in case of the Bank of Scotland and the
two chartered banks, which have very considerable capitals, the partners of all banking com-
panies are bound jointly and severally, so that each partner is liable, to the whole extent of
his fortune, for the whole debts of the company. A creditor in Scotland is empowered to
attach the real and heritable, as well as the personal estate of his debtor, for payment of per-
sonal debts, among which may be classed debts due by bills and promissory notes; and
recourse may be had, for the purpose of procuring payment, to each description of property
at the same time. Execution is not confined to the real property of a debtor merely during
his life, but proceeds with equal effect upon that property after his decease.
" The law relating to the establishment of records gives ready means of procuring informa-
tion with respect to the real and heritable estate of which any person in Scotland may be
possessed. No purchase of an estate in that country is secure until the seisine (that is, the
instrument certifying that actual delivery has been given) is put on record, nor is any
mortgage effectual until the deed is in like manner recorded.
" In the case of conflicting pecuniary claims upon real property, the preference is not re-
gulated by the date of the transaction, but by the date of its record. These records are
accessible to all persons; and thus the public can with ease ascertain the effective means
which a banking company possesses of discharging its obligations; and the partners in
that company are enabled to determine, with tolerable accuracy, the degree of risk and
responsibility to which the private property of each is exposed."
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119
Deposits.-As was previously observed, all the Scotch banks receive deposits of so low a
value as 10L, and sometimes lower, and allow interest upon them.
The interest," say the committee, allowed by the Bank upon deposits varies from time
to time according to the current rate of interest which money generally bears. At present
(1826) the interest allowed upon deposits is 4 per cent." (At this moment (1833) the in-
terest allowed on deposits is only 2 or 2f per cent.) It has been calculated that the
aggregate amount of the sums deposited with the Scotch banks amounts to about 20,000,000Z.
or 21,000,000/." (It is believed to be now, (1833,) little if any thing under 24,000,000/.)
66 The precise accuracy of such an estimate cannot of course be relied on. The witness by
whom it was made thought that the amount of deposits could not be less than 16,000,0004,
nor exceed 25,000,000L, and took an intermediate sum as the probable amount. Another
witness, who had been connected for many years with different banks in Scotland, and has
had experience of their concerns at Stirling, Edinburgh, Perth, Aberdeen, and Glasgow,
stated that more than one half of the deposits in the banks with which he had been connected
were in sums from ten pounds to two hundred pounds. Being asked what class of the
community it is that makes the small deposits, he gave the following answer, from which it
appears that the mode of conducting this branch of the banking business in Scotland has
long given to that country many of the benefits derivable from the establishment of savings
banks.
" Question. What class of the community is it that makes the smallest deposits ?-Answer.
They are generally the labouring classes, in towns like Glasgow in country places, like
Perth and Aberdeen, it is from servants and fishermen, and that class of the community,
who save small sums from their earnings, till they come to be a bank deposit. There is now
a facility for their placing money in the Provident Banks, which receive money till the de-
posit amounts to 10L. When it comes to 10L, it is equal to the minimum of a bank deposit.
The system of banking in Scotland is an extension of the Provident Bank system. Half-
yearly or yearly those depositors come to the bank, and add the savings of their labour, with
the interest that has accrued upon the deposits from the previous half year or year, to the
principal; and in this way it goes on without being at all reduced, accumulating (at com-
pound interest) till the depositor is able either to buy or build a house, when it comes to be
100/, or 2001, or 300L, or till he is able to commence business as a master in the line in
which be has hitherto been a servant. A great part of the depositors of the bank are of that
description, and a great part of the most thriving of our farmers and manufacturers have
arisen from such beginnings."
Cash Accounts or Credits.-The loans or advances made by the Scotch banks are either
in the shape of discounts, or upon cash credits, or, as they are more commonly termed, cash
accounts.
This species of account does not differ in principle from an over-drawing account at a
private banker's in England. A cash credit is a eredit given to an individual by a banking
company for a limited sum, seldom under 100L or 200L, upon his own security, and that
of two or three individuals approved by the bank, who become sureties for its payment. The
Individual who has obtained such a credit is enabled to draw the whole sum, or any part of
it, when he pleases; replacing it, or portions of it, according as he finds it convenient interest
being charged upon such part only as he draws out. " If a man borrows 5,000/. from a pri-
vate hand, besides that it is not always to be found when required, he pays interest for it
whether he be using it or not. His bank credit costs him nothing, except during the mo-
ment it is of service to him; and this circumstance is of equal advantage as if he had bor-
rowed money at a much lower rate of interest."-(Hume's Essay on the Balance of Trade.)
This, then, is plainly one of the most commodious forms in which advances can be made.
Cash credits are not, however, intended to be a dead loan; the main object of the banks in
granting them is to get their notes circulated, and they do not grant them except to persons
in business, or to those who are frequently drawing out and paying in money.
The system of cash credits has been very well described in the Report of the Lords' Com-
mittee of 1826, on Scotch and Irish Banking. There is also," say their lordships, " one
part of their system, which is stated by all the witnesses (and, in the opinion of the com-
mittee, very justly stated) to have had the best effects upon the people of Scotland, and par-
ticularly upon the middling and poorer classes of society, in producing and encouraging
habits of frugality and industry. The practice referred to is that of cash credits. Any per-
son who applies to a bank for a cash credit, is called upon to produce two or more competent
sureties, who are jointly bound and after a full inquiry into the character of the applicant,
the nature of his business, and the sufficiency of his securities, he is allowed to open a credit,
and to draw upon the bank for the whole of its amount, or for such part as his daily transac-
tions may require. To the credit of the account be pays in such sums as he may not have
occasion to use, and interest is charged or credited upon the daily balance, as the case may
be. From the facility which these cash credits give to all the small transactions of the
country, and from the opportunities which they afford to persons, who begin business with
little or no capital but their character, to employ profitably the minutest products of their
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BANKS (SCOTCH).
industry, it cannot be doubted that the most important advantages are derived to the whole
community. The advantage to the banks who give these cash credits arises from the call
which they continually produce for the issue of their paper, and from the opportunity which
they afford for the profitable employment of part of their deposits. The banks are indeed so
sensible, that in order to make this part of their business advantageous and secure, it is ne-
cessary that their cash credits should (as they express it) be frequently operated upon, that
they refuse to continue them unless this implied condition be fulfilled. The total amount
of their cash credits is stated by one witness to be 5,000,000L of which the average amount
advanced by the banks may be one third."
The expense of a bond for a cash credit of 500L is 4L stamp duty, and a charge of from
5s. to 10s. 6d. per cent. for filling it up.
Circulation, &c.-According to a demi-official return given in the Commons' Report
already referred to, the total number of notes in circulation in Scotland, in the early part of
1826, amounted to 3,309,082; of which 2,079,344 were under 5L., and 1,229,838, 5/. and
upwards.
The Scotch banks draw on London at 20 days' date. This is denominated the par of
exchange between London and Edinburgh.
Most of the great Scotch banks, such as the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank, &c., have
established branches in other towns besides that where the head office is kept.
By the act 9 Geo. 4. c. 65., to restrain the negotiation in England of Scotch or Irish
promissory notes and bills under 5/., it is enacted, that if any body politic or corporate, or
person, shall, after the 5th of April, 1829, publish, utter, negotiate, or transfer, in any part
of England, any promissory or other note, draft, engagement, or undertaking, payable on
demand to the bearer, for any sum less than 5l., purporting to have been made or issued in
Scotland or Ireland, every such body politic or corporate, or person, shall forfeit for every
such offence not more than 20/. nor less than 5/.
Nothing contained in this act applies to any draft or order drawn by any person on his or
her banker, or on any person acting as such banker, for the payment of money held by such
banker or person for the use of the person by whom such draft or order shall be drawn.
No. I.-The following Table contains an Account of the Number of Banks in Scotland; the Names
of the Firms or Banks; Dates of their Establishment; Places of the Head Offices; Number of
Branches; Number of Partners; and the Names of their London Agents.-(Extracted principally
from the Appendix, p. 19. to the Commons' Report of 1826, on Scotch and Irish Banking.)
Names of Firms or Banks.
Date.
Head Office.
No of
No. of
Branches.
Partners.
London Agents.
1
Bank of Scotland
-
1695
Edinburgh
16
Act of P.
Coutts and Co.
2
Royal Bank of Scotland
1727
Ditto
1
Charter
Bank of England, and ditto.
3
British Linen Company
1746
Ditto
27
Ditto
Smith, Payne, and Co.
4
Aberdeen Banking Comp.
1767
Aberdeen
6
80
Glyn and Co.
5
Aberdeen Town and Co. Bk.
1825
Ditto
4
446
Jones, Loyd, and Co.
6
Arbroath Banking Comp.
1825
Arbroath
2
112
Glyn and Co.
7
Carrick and Co. or Ship Bk.
1746
Glasgow
None
3
Smith, Payne, and Co.
8
Com. Bk. Comp. of Scotland
1810
Edinburgh
31
521
Jones, Loyd, and Co.
9
Commercial Banking Comp.
1778
Aberdeen
None
15
Kinloch and Sons.
10
Dundee Banking Company
1777
Dundee
None
61
Kinloch and Sons.
11
Dundee New Bank
1802
Ditto
1
6
Ransom and Co.
12
Dundee Commercial Bank
1825
Ditto
None
202
Glyn and Co.
13
Dundee Union Bank
-
1809
Ditto
4
85
Glyn and Co.
14
Falkirk Banking Company
1787
Falkirk
1
5
Remington and Co.
15
Greenock Banking Comp.
1785
Greenock
3
14
Kay and Co.
16
Glasgow Banking Company
1809
Glasgow
1
19
Ransom and Co., Glyn & Co.
17
Hunters and Co.
1773
Ayr
3
8
Herries and Co.
IS
Leith Banking Company -
1792
Leith
4
15
Barnet and Co.
19
National Bank of Scotland
1825
Edinburgh
8
1,238
Glyn and Co.
20
Montrose Bank
1814
Montrose
2
97
Barclay and Co.
21
Paisley Banking Company
1783
Paisley
4
6
Smith, Payne, and Co.
22
Paisley Union Bank
1788
Ditto
3
4
Glyn and Co.
23
Perth Banking Company
1766
Perth
5
147
Barelay and Co.
24
Perth Union Bank
-
Ditto
-
69
Remington and Co.
25
Ramsay's, Bonar's, and Co.
1738
Edinburgh
None
8
Coutts and Co.
26
Renfrewshire Banking Co.
1802
Greenock
5
6
Kay and Co.
27
Shetland Bank
-
Lerwick
-
4
Barclay and Co.
28
Sir Wm. Forbes and Co. -
-
Edinburgh
-
7
Barelay and Co., Coutts & Co.
29
Stirling Banking Company
1777
Stirling
2
7
Kinloch and Sons.
30
Thistle Bank
1761
Glasgow
None
6
Smith, Payne, and Co.
Private Banking Companies in Edinburgh who do not issue Notes.
No. of
No. of
Names of Firms or Banks.
Date.
Head Office.
Branches.
Partners.
London Agents.
1
Kinnear, Smith and Co.
1830
Edinburgh
None
Smith, Payne, and Co.
2
Robert Allan and son.
1776
Ditto
None
Bosanquet and Co.
3
James Inglis and Co.
Ditto
None
Bosanquet and Co.
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121
No. II.-An Account of the Number of Licences taken out by Country Bankers in Scotland for the
Years ending the 10th of October, 1824, 1825, 1826, and 1827 ; specifying such as have been given to
Firms carrying on Business in more Places than one.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
Number of licences issued to bankers who issue notes at one place only
10
13
9
9
Ditto to bankers who issue notes at two different places
-
-
10
12
12
6
Ditto to bankers who issue notes at three different places
-
-
6
6
12
6
Ditto to bankers who issue notes at four or more places
-
-
52
52
56
60
78
83
89
81
Certified,
THOMAS PENDER, Compt.
Stamp Office, Edinburgh, 4th of March, 1828.
No. III.-Statement of the Number of Persons convicted of Forgery of all Instruments connected
with the Chartered and other Banks of Scotland; whether of Bank Notes, of Post Bills, Bills of
Exchange, or otherwise, from 1791 to 1829, both inclusive; particularizing the Capital Convictions
upon which Execution took place, and the Cases of mitigated Punishment.
Number whose
Number where Pains
Number on
Total Number
Sentences were miti-
For Forging.
For Uttering.
Convicted.
of Law restricted,
whom Capital
Number
and Sentence short of
Sentence pro-
gated by His Majesty.
Executed.
Death pronounced.
nounced.
Pardoned.
Commuted.
49
150
199
172
27
2
11
16
Edinburgh,
Certified by
JA. ANDERSON,
18th of June, 1830.
Depute Clerk of Justiciary.
v BANKS (IRISH).
" In no country, perhaps," says Sir Henry Parnell, has the issuing of paper money
been carried to such an injurious excess as in Ireland. A national bank was established in
1783, with similar privileges to those of the Bank of England, in respect to the restriction
of more than 6 partners in a bank; and the injury that Ireland has sustained from the
repeated failure of banks may be mainly attributed to this defective regulation. Had the
trade of banking been left as free in Ireland as it is in Scotland, the want of paper money
that would have arisen with the progress of trade would, in all probability, have been sup-
plied by joint stock companies, supported with large capitals, and governed by wise and
effectual rules.
" In 1797, when the Bank of England suspended its payments, the same privilege was
extended to Ireland; and after this period the issues of the Bank of Ireland were rapidly
increased. In 1797, the amount of the notes of the Bank of Ireland in circulation was
621,917/.; in 1810, 2,266,4714 and in 1814, 2,986,9991.
These increased issues led to corresponding increased issues by the private banks, of
which the number was 50 in the year 1804. The consequence of this increase of paper was
a great depreciation of it; the price of bullion and guineas rose to 10 per cent. above the
mint price; and the exchange with London became as high as 18 per cent., the par being
81. This unfavourable exchange was afterwards corrected; not by any reduction in the
issues of the Bank of Ireland, but by the depreciation of the British currency in the year
1810, when the exchange between London and Dublin settled again at about par.
The loss that Ireland has sustained by the failure of banks may be described in a few
words. It appears by the Report of the Committee on Irish Exchanges in 1804, that there
were at that time in Ireland 50 registered banks. Since that year, a great many more have
been established; but the whole have failed, one after the other, involving the country from
time to time in immense distress, with the following exceptions a few that withdrew
from business secondly, four banks in Dublin thirdly, three at Belfast; and lastly, one at
Mallow. These eight banks, with the new Provincial Bank, and the Bank of Ireland, are
the only banks now existing in Ireland.
" In 1821, in consequence of 11 banks having failed nearly at the same time in the pre-
ceding year, in the South of Ireland, government succeeded in making an arrangement
with the Bank of Ireland, by which joint stock companies were allowed to be established at
a distance of 50 miles (Irish) from Dublin, and the bank was permitted to increase its capi-
tal 500,000L The act of 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 72. was founded on this agreement.
" But ministers having omitted to repeal in this act various restrictions on the trade of
banking that had been imposed by 33 Geo. 2. c. 14., no new company was formed. In 1824,
a party of merchants of Belfast, wishing to establish a joint stock company, petitioned par-
liament for the repeal of this act of Geo. 2.; and an act was accordingly passed in that
session, repealing some of the most objectionable restrictions of it (the 5 Geo. 4. c. 73.).
" In consequence of this act, the Northern Bank of Belfast was converted into a joint
stock company, with a capital of 500,000Z, and commenced business on the 1st of January,
1825. But the remaining restrictions of 33 Geo. 2,, and certain provisions contained in the
L
16
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BANKS (IRISH).
new acts of 1 & 2 Geo. 3. and 5 Geo. 4,, obstructed the progress of this company, and they
found it necessary to apply to government to remove them ; and a bill was accordingly in-
troduced, which would have repealed all the obnoxious clauses of the 33 Geo. 2., had it not
been so altered in the committee as to leave several of them in force. In 1825, the Provin-
cial Bank of Ireland commenced business with a capital of 2,000,000L; and the Bank of
Ireland has of late established branches in all the principal towns in Ireland.
" The losses that have been sustained in Ireland by abusing the power of issuing paper
have been so great, that much more is necessary to be done, by way of protecting the public
from future loss, than the measure proposed last session (1826) by ministers, of abolishing
small notes; and the measure already adopted, of allowing joint stock companies to be
established in the interior of the country. As the main source of the evil consists in the
interference of the law in creating a national bank with exclusive privileges, the first step
that ought to be taken for introducing a good system into Ireland is the getting rid of such a
bank, and opening the trade of banking in Dublin. The next measure should be the requir-
ing of each bank to give security for the amount of paper that is issued; for after the expe-
rience of the ignorance with which the Irish banks have conducted their business, and the
derangement of the natural course of the trade by the long existence of the bank of Ireland,
it would be unwise to calculate upon a sound system of banking speedily supplanting that
which has been established.
" Under the circumstances in which Ireland is placed, nothing would so much contribute
to her rapid improvement in wealth, as the introducing of the Scotch plan of cash credits,
and of paying interest on deposits. By cash credits, the capital which now exists would be
rendered more efficient, and the paying of interest on small deposits would lead to habits of
economy, and to the more rapid accumulation of new capital.
The charter of the Bank of Ireland has still to run till the year 1838."-(Observations
on Paper Money, &c. by Sir Henry Parnell, pp. 171-177.)
The capital of the Bank of Ireland at its establishment in 1783 amounted to 600,000Z
but it has been increased at various periods; and has, since 1821, amounted to 3,000,000L
At present, no bank having more than 6 partners can be established any where within 50
Irish miles of Dublin nor is any such bank allowed to draw bills upon Dublin for less than
50L, or at a shorter date than 6 months. This enactment seems to amount to a virtual pro-
hibition of the drawing of such bills. The Bank of Ireland draws on London at 20 days'
date. She neither grants cash credits, nor allows any interest on deposits. She discounts
at the rate of 51. per cent.
In 1828, the currency of Ireland was assimilated to that of Great Britain. Previously
to that period, the currency of the former was 81 per cent. less valuable than that of the
latter.
Account of Bank of Ireland Notes in Circulation, including Bank Post Bills, in each Half Year, com-
mencing with the Half Year ending lat of January, 1797, to 1st of January, 1819, inclusive.
Years.
January 1.
July 1.
Years.
January 1.
July 1.
£
£
£
£
1797
733,763
785,101
1809
3,002,699
3,144,677
1798
1,081,512
1,245,214
1810
3,170,064
3,171,607
1799
1,363,710
1,557,737
1811
3,331,892
3,472,781
1800
1,928,381
2,317,235
1812
3,616,476
3,763,229
1801
2,350,133
2,393,901
1812
3,957,920
4,199,474
1802
2,431,152
2,587,187
1814
4,165,906
4,281,449
1803
2,662,405
2,617,144
1815
4,528,041
4,434,455
1804
2,796,767
2,859,977
1846
4,179,540
4,193,853
1805
2,817,697
2,778,635
1817
4,277,018
4,304,040
1806
2,560,271
2,517,581
1818
4,387,155
4,413,463
1807
2,693,796
2,789,544
1819
4,477,019
1808
2,746,717
2,798,635
An Account of the Average Amount of Bank of Ireland Notes, including Bank Post Bills, issued dur-
ing the Six Years ending with 1825.
Years.
Notes and Bills.
Irish Currency.
Years.
Notes and Bills.
Irish Currency.
£
8.
£
8.
£
8.
in
s.
1820
of 51. and upwards
2,894,777 5
1823
of5l. and upwards
3,528,025 7
under al.
1,314,806 15
under 51.
1,588,764
7
4,209,584 0
5,117,389 14
1821
of 51. and upwards
8,501,119 11
1824
of5l. and upwards
3,890,337 6
under 51.
1,710,003 3
under 51.
1,732,118 6
5,211,798 14
5,022,455 14
1828
of 51. and upwards
3,618,111 1
1825
of51. and upwards
4,446,995 0
under 54.
1,552,321 2
under 51.
1,964,354 8
5,170,432 2
6,411,349 8
$
(Commons Report of 1826, p. 20.)
There is no later account of the circulation of the Bank of Ireland, or of the other Irish banks. The
entire sterling. paper circulation of Ireland may now, probably, amount to between 7,000,000. and 8,000,000L.
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BANKS (FOREIGN).
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(Retura of the Amount of the Notes of the Bank of Ireland (including Bank Post Bills) in Circuls-
tion at the undermentioned Periods.-(Part. Puper, No. 435. Sess. 1834.)
£
8.
d.
£
8.
d.
1832. June 7. -
3,975,322 7 5
1834. January 2.
3,990,841 7 6
1833. January 3.
4,245,528 10 11
June 5.
3,791,951 19 4
July 4. -
3,790,653 7 7
Sup.)
It appears from the statements given in the Report of the Commons' Committee of 1326,
that the average value of the notes and post bills of the Bank of Ireland of 51. and upwards
in circulation, during the five years ending with 1825, amounted to 3,646,660/. Irish cur-
rency and that the average value of the notes and post bills under 51. in circulation during
the same period amounted to 1,643,828/. Irish currency. The average value of the notes of
all descriptions issued by the other banking establishments in Ireland, in 1825, amounted to
1,192,886L
Provincial Bank of Ireland.-This important establishment was, as already stated,
founded in 1825. Its subscribed capital consists of 2,000,000L. divided into 20,000 shares
of 100L each, of which 25 per cent., or 500,000L, has been paid up. Its head office is in
London; and at present it has subordinate offices in Cork, Limerick, Clonmel, Londonderry,
Sligo, Wexford, Waterford, Belfast, Galway, Armagh, Athlone, Coleraine, Kilkenny, Bal-
lina, Tralee, Youghall, Enniskillen, Monaghan, Banbridge, and Ballymena. The last 5
have been opened since 1831. The entire management of the establishment is vested in
the court of directors in London. The business of the branch banks is conducted, under
the control of the head office, by the managers, with the advice and assistance of 2 or more
gentlemen of respectability in the district, each holding 10 shares in the bank. The business
consists of discounting bills; granting cash credits, after the manner of the Scotch banks;
receiving deposits, on which interests, varying according to circumstances, is allowed in
drawing and giving letters of credit on other places of Ireland, Great Britain, &c. and of
other details incident to banking. It has had several pretty severe runs to sustain. In the
course of a single week, in October, 1828, about 1,000,000L in gold was sent from England
to Ireland on account of the Provincial Bank This prompt and ample supply effectually
maintained the credit of the establishment, and did much to restore confidence.
The notes of the Provincial Bank have always been payable at the places where they are
issued. The Bank of Ireland began to establish branches in 1825; but the notes issued by
her branches were not, at first, payable except at the head office in Dublin. This distinction,
which tended to throw the principal pressure of runs in the country on the Provincial Bank,
and other private companies, was abolished by the act 9 Geo. 4. c. 81., which made it obli-
gatory on all banks to pay their notes at the place of issue. Notes of the Provincial Bank
are received by the Treasury in payment of taxes, in the same way as those of the Bank of
Ireland; and it is the bank of government for the excise, post-office, and stamp revenues for
those parts of the country beyond the exclusive privileges of the Bank of Ireland. The divi-
dends have been at the rate of 4, 5, and, since the 25th of December, 1832, of. 6 per cent.
per annum. Its stock is now at a high premium, the 25% paid up shares fetching 35L
or 36/.
Northern Banking Company.-This establishment has its head office in Belfast, and its
branches are distributed throughout Ulster. Its capital and operations are on a much less
extensive scale than those of the Provincial Bank, but in other respects they are conducted
nearly in the same way.
There are very few private banking establishments at present existing in Ireland, at least
compared with those in this country.
VI. BANKS (FOREION).
To attempt giving any detailed account of the principal foreign banks would very far
exceed our limits; we shall, therefore, only notice a few of the more celebrated.
The Bank of Venice seems to have been the first banking establishment in Europe. It
was founded so early as 1171, and submisted till the subversion of the republic in 1797. It
was essentially a deposit bank; and its bills bore at all times a premium or agio over the
current money of the city.
The Bank of Amsterdam was established in 1659. It was a deposit bank; and pay-
ments were made by writing off sums from the account of one individual to those of another.
According to the principles on which the bank was established, it should have had at all
times in its coffers bullion equal to the full amount of the claims upon it. But the directors
privately lent about 10,500,000 florins to the states of Holland and Friesland. This circum-
stance transpired when the French invaded Holland, and caused the ruin of the bank-(See
my edition of the Wealth of Nations, vol. ii. p. 833.)
The Bank of the Netherlands was established in 1814. It is formed on the model of the
Bank of England; and was to enjoy for 25 years the exclusive privilege of issuing notes.
The original capital of 5,000,000 florins was doubled in 1819. The king holds one tenth of
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BANKS (FOREIGN).
the shares. The affairs of the bank are managed by a president, secretary, and 5 directors
who are chosen every 6 months, but may be indefinitely re-elected. This bank discounts
bills of exchange with three responsible signatures; it takes continuations on stock, and
sometimes lends on bullion at such a rate of interest and to such an extent as may be agreed
upon. It occasionally, also, makes loans on merchandise, but never at less than 5 per cent.
Its notes vary from 1,000 florins to 25 florins, that is, from 8314 to 2111 The dividends
have varied from 3 to 7 per cent. The shares are each 1,000 florins, and are at present
worth 25 per cent. premium ex-dividend. The responsibility of the shareholders is limited
to the amount of their Consul's Answer to Circular Queries.)
The Bank of Hamburgh is a deposit bank, and its affairs are managed according to a
system that insures the fullest publicity. It receives no deposits in coin, but only in bullion
of a certain degree of fineness. It charges itself with the bullion at the rate of 442 schillings
the mark, and issues it at a rate of 444 schillings; being a charge of 4ths, or nearly the per
cent. for its retention. It advances money on jewels to 4ths of their value. The city is
answerable for all pledges deposited with the bank they may be sold by auction, if they
remain 1 year and 6 weeks without any interest being paid. If the value be not claimed
within 3 years, it is forfeited to the poor. The Bank of Hamburgh is universally admitted
to be one of the best managed in Europe.
The Bank of France was founded in 1803. The exclusive privilege of issuing notes
payable to bearer was granted to it for 40 years. The capital of the bank consisted at first
of 45,000,000 fr., but it was subsequently increased to 90,000,000 fr., divided into 90,000
shares or actions of 1,000 fr. each. Of these shares, 67,900 are in the hands of the public
22,100, being purchased up by the bank, form part of her capital. The notes issued by the
bank are for 1,000 and 500 fr. The dividend varies from 4 to 5 per cent. and there is,
besides, a reserve retained from the profits, which is vested in the 5 per cents. A bonus of
200 fr. a share was paid out of this reserve to the shareholders in 1820. The reserve in
possession of the bank in 1828, amounted to 6,623,000 fr. No bills are discounted that
have more than 3 months to run. The customary rate of discount is 4 per cent., but it
varies according to circumstances. The discounts in 1827 amounted to 621,000,000 fr.
The bank is obliged to open a compte courant for every one who requires it; and performs
services for those who have such accounts, similar to those rendered by the private banks
of London to their customers. She is not allowed to charge any commission upon current
accounts, so that her only remuneration arises out of the use of the money placed in her
hands by the individuals whose payments she makes. This branch of the business is said
not to be profitable. There are about 1,600 accounts current at the bank; and of the entire
expenses of the establishment, amounting to about 900,000 fr. a year, two thirds are said to
be incurred in this department. The bank advances money on pledges of different kinds,
such as foreign coin or bullion, government or other securities, &c. It also undertakes the
care of valuable articles, as plate, jewels, bills, title-deeds, &c. The charge is 1 per cent.
of the value of each deposit for every period of 6 months or under.
The administration of the bank is vested in a council general of 20 members, viz. 17
regents, and 3 censors, who are nominated by 200 of the principal proprietors. The king
appoints the governor and deputy governor. The first must be possessed of 150, and the
latter of 50 shares. A compte rendu is annually published, and a report by the censors,
which together give a very full exposition of the affairs of the bank. The institution is
flourishing, and enjoys unlimited credit.-(For further details with respect to the Bank of
France, see Storch, Cours d' Economic Politique. Paris, 1823, tom. iv. pp. 168-180,, and
the Comptes Rendus of the different years.)
Banks have also been established at Berlin, Copenhagen, Vienna, and Petersburgh.
Those who wish for detailed information with respect to these establishments, may consult
the work of M. Storch, to which we have just referred. In the 4th volume, there is an ad-
mirable account of the paper money of the different continental states. The objects we have
in view will be accomplished by laying before our readers the following details with respect
to the Commercial Bank of Ruesia, established in 1818 :-"This bank receives deposits in
gold and silver, foreign as well as Russian coin, and in bars and ingots. It has a department
for transferring the sums deposited with it, on the plan of the Hamburgh Bank. It dis-
counts bills, and lends money on deposits of merchandise of Russian produce or origin. Its
capital consists of 30,000,000 of bank-note rubles. It is administered by a governor and 4
directors appointed by government, and 4 directors elected by the commercial body of Peters-
burgh. The property in the bank is protected against all taxation, sequestration, or attach-
ment; and it is enacted, that subjects of countries with which Russia may be at war shall
be entitled at all times to receive back their deposits without any reservation. It is also de-
clared, that at no time shall the bank be called upon for any part of its capital to assist the
government. All deposits must be made for 6 months at least, and be repayable at or before
that period, and not be less than 500 rubles sums 80 deposited to pay + per cent. The
deposits, if in bars, ingots, or foreign specie, are estimated in Russian silver coin, and so regis-
tered in the attestation and if not demanded back within 15 days of the expiration of 6
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BANKS (FOREIGN).
125
months, or the necessary premium paid for the prolongation, the owner loses the right of
claiming his original deposit, and must take its estimated value in Russian silver coin. No
bills are discounted that have less than 8 days or more than 6 months to run. The rate of
discount is 6 per cent. No interest is allowed on money deposited in the bank, unless notice
be given that it will be allowed to lie for a year, and 3 months' notice be given of the inten-
tion to draw it out, when six per cent. interest is allowed."-(Kelky's Cambist, vol. i. p.
303.) This bank has branches at Archangel, Moscow, Odessa, Riga, &c.
The Bank of the United States was incorporated in 1816. Its capital is 35,000,000 dol-
lars, divided into 350,000 shares, of 100 dollars each. Seven millions were subscribed by
the United States, and the remaining 28,000,000 by individuals, companies, corporations,
&c. In 1832, 84,000 shares were held by foreigners. The bank issues no note for less
than 5 dollars; all its notes are payable in specie on demand. It discounts bills and makes
advances on bullion at the rate of 6 per cent. The management is under 25 directors: 5
of whom, being holders of stock, are annually appointed by the President of the United
States. Seven directors, including the president, constitute a Board.
The principal office of the bank is in Philadelphia; but in January, 1830, it had twenty-
seven subordinate offices, or branch banks, established in different parts of the Union. Sub-
joined is a statement of some of the items in the affairs of the Bank of the United States, on
the 1st of April, 1830, and the 2d of November, 1832.
1830.
1832.
Notes discounted
-
-
-
-
32,138,270-89 dol.
45,726,934.95 dol.
Domestic bills discounted
-
-
-
10,506,888.54
16,304,498.46
Funded debt held by the bank -
-
-
11,122,530-90
4,747,696.45
Real estate
-
-
-
2,891,890-75
1,888,721-51
Funds in Europe, equal to specie
-
-
2,789,498.54
2,885,016-96
Specie
-
-
-
-
-
9,043,748.97
8,096,055.45
Public deposits
-
-
-
-
8,905,901.87
6,957,621-54
Private deposits -
-
-
-
-
7,704,256-87
7,629,898.84
Circulation
-
-
-
-
-
16,083,894-00
17,968,733.36
The total liabilities of the bank to the public on the 1st of November, 1832, including its
notes in circulation, deposits, and debts to the holders of public funds, were 37,296,950-20
dollars; and its assets, including specie, cash in Europe, debts from individuals, banking
companies, &c. were 79,593,870-97 dollars; leaving a surplus of 42,296,920.77 dollars,
showing the stability of the bank to be equal to that of any institution of the sort in the
world.-(Report to Secretary of Treasury on Affairs of the Bank of the United States,
Dec. 4. 1832.) The charter of the bank expires in 1836. A bill for its renewal passed
both houses of Congress in 1832, but was rejected by the President. The probability, how-
ever, seems to be, that the measure will still pass. Of its expediency no reasonable doubt
can be entertained.
(We stated in our last Supplement that the President had succeeded in his contest with
this establishment, and that the probability was, that it would wind up its affairs in the course
of the present year. But since then it has been rechartered, in so far at least as respects
Pennsylvania, by the legislature of that state; and it seems to be expected that it will be re-
chartered by the legislature of some of the other states. Although, therefore, the United
States Bank no longer exists, as a great national establishment, it maintains its place as the
greatest banking company of the New World; and is, in this respect, second, indeed, to
none anywhere to be met with, except the Bank of England.-Sup.)
The establishment of the Bank of the United States has been of material service, by afford-
ing a currency of undoubted solidity, readily accepted in all parts of the Union. At the
period when it was organized, nothing could be in a leas satisfactory condition than the paper
currency of the United States; in fact, with the exception perhaps of England and Ireland,
they have suffered more than any other country from the abuse of banking. In 1814, all
the banks south and west of New England stopped payment; and it appears, from the
official returns, that in all, no fewer than 165 banks were in this predicament between the
1st of January, 1811, and the 1st of January, 1880! It is of importance to observe, that
most of these banks were joint stock companies. At present, indeed, there are no strictly
private banking companies in the United States. They are all incorporated by law, with a
fixed capital, the shareholders being only liable in most cases, though not uniformly, to the
extent of their shares. They all issue notes of 5 dollars: but the issue of notes of a lower
value has been forbidden in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. A good deal has been
said in this country of the flourishing state of the New England banks, particularly those of
Massachusetts, and they have been held up as a medel for our imitation. But, bad as our sys-
tem of country banking undoubtedly is, we should be exceeding sorry to see any attempt made
to improve it, by the adoption of even the best parts of the American system. Among other
L 2
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BANKS (FOREIGN).
regulations, an act of the legislature of Massachusetts provides that no bank for the issue of
notes can go into operation in any way, until at least half its capital stock shall be paid in
gold and silver into the bank, and be actually existing in its coffers; and the cashier of
every bank is bound to make specific returns once a year of its debts and assets, on being
required to do so by the secretary of state. But such regulations are found, in practice, to
be nearly if not wholly worthless. Instances have occurred of banks having borrowed an
amount of dollars equal to half their capital, for a single day; and of such dollars having
been examined by the commissioners appointed for that purpose, and reported by them, and
sworn by a majority of the directors to be the first instalment paid by the stockholders of
the bank, and intended to remain in !-(Gouge's Paper Money and Banking in the
United States, part ii. p. 157.) We do not, of course, imagine that such disgraceful in-
stances can be of common occurrence but a system which permits of frauds of this sort
being perpetrated under cover of authority, must be altogether vicious. The publicity, too,
to which the banks are subject, is injurious rather than otherwise. They know when they
are to be called upon to make their returns; and in order to render them as favourable as
possibler they are in the habit, for a month or two previously, of narrowing their discounts,
to the great inconvenience of those with whom they deal and endeavour by every means
in their power, through temporary loans, and all manner of devices, to swell the amount of
bullion in their coffers on the day of examination. If the banks were obliged to make regular
weekly or even monthly returns of their situation, they might afford some little useful in-
formation but it is abundantly obvious, that that which is derived from the present returns
must be, even when not so intended, misleading and deserving of very little attention. The
truth cannot be too often repeated, that it is quite impossible ever to organize secure banks
of issue,-and it is with such only that the legislature has any right to interfere,-except by
obliging them to give security for their notes. Every other scheme, how carefully soever it
may be devised, is sure in the end to prove nugatory and to be defeated. That part of the
American system which limits the responsibility of the partners in a lank to the amount of
their shares, seems to us to be in the last degree objectionable. It affords a strong tempta-
tion to the commission of fraud, and we have yet to learn that it possesses a single counter-
vailing advantage. We have been assured by those well acquainted with the facts, that it
has been productive of the most mischievous consequences. Six of the Massachusetts banks,
having, or professing to have, a capital of 800,000 dollars, failed between the 1st of January,
1811, and the 1st of July, 1830.
We subjoin an official abstract of the state of the 84 banks existing in Massachusetts, on
the first Saturday of August, 1832.
Abstract Account of the Massachusetts Banks.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Capital stock paid in
-
-
24,520,200.00
Bills of Banks in this State -
1,027,362-03
Bills in circulation
-
-
7,122,856.00
Bills of banks elsewhere
-
174,568.02
Nett profits on hand
-
-
1,031,900.16
Bulances due from other banks
2,307,784-26
Balances due to other banks -
1,993,904.15
Due to the banks, excepting ba-
Cash deposited, &c., not bearing
lances
-
-
38,889,727-24
interest
2,938,970.33
Total resources of the banks -
44,042,006.54
Cash deposited, bearing interest
6,268,584.61
Amount of last dividend
-
689,275.00
Due from the banks
-
-
43,996,900.00
-
reserved profits
-
436,708-74
Gold, silver, &c. in banks
-
902,205-78
Debts secured by pledge of stock
944,761-73
Real estate
-
-
-
738,612.64
- due, and considered doubtful
211,914-78
Rate of dividend on amount of capital of the banks, as existing when dividend was made, 3.125
per cent.
Mr. Gallatin has given the following account of the number and capital of the banking es-
tablishments existing in the United States on the 1st of January, 1830:-
Number
States.
of Banks.
Capital.
States.
Number
of Banks.
Capital.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Massachusetts
-
66
20,420,000
North Carolina
-
3
3,195,000
Maine
-
-
-
18
2,050,000
South Carolina
-
5
4,631,000
New Hampshire
-
18
1,791,670
Georgia
-
-
9
4,203,029
Vermont
-
-
10
432,625
Louisiana
-
-
4
5,665,980
Rhode Island -
-
47
6,118,397
Alabama
-
-
2
643,503
Connecticut -
13
4,485,177
Mississippi
-
-
1
950,600
New York
-
-
37
20,083,253
Tennessee
-
-
1
737,817
New Jersey
-
-
18
2,017,009
Ohio -
-
-
11
1,454,386
Pennsylvania -
-
33
14,609,963
Michigan
-
-
1
10,000
Delaware :-
-
4
820,000
Florida
-
-
1
75,000
Maryland
-
F -
n
6,250,495
Delaware
-
.
2
District of Columbia -
9
3,875,794
Virginia
-
-
4
5,571,100
Total
-
-
330
110,101,808
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127
For further information with respect to the banks of the United States, see the Report,
12th of February, 1820, of the Secretary of the Treasury (W. H. Crawford, Esq.) to Con-
gress; the pamphlet of Albert Gallatin, Esq. on the Currency and Banking System of the
United States, Philadelphia, 1831; Gouge's Account of Paper Money and Banking in the
United States, &c. And for further details as to foreign banks, see BORDEAUX, CALCUTTA,
CHRISTIANIA, COPENHAGEN, NAPLES, &c.
(Private Banks of the United States.-The following table shows the extraordinary pro-
gress that the banking system has made in the United States. It has recently, however,
sustained a considerable check by the suppression in New York and most other states of all
bank notes for less than 5 dollars, and by the regulation enforced by government, that the
price of all public lands shall be paid in specie. It appears, from the official accounts pub-
lished by order of the legislature of the state of New York, that the notes for less than 5 dol-
lars in circulation in that state on the 1st of December, 1834, amounted to 3,730,902 dollars
and these have since been either wholly, or almost wholly, suppressed. We do not know
that any official account has been published of the issue of such notes in the other states
but there can be no doubt that, in the aggregate, it must have been many times greater than
their issue in New York only. And as these notes are everywhere, we believe, in the
course of being withdrawn from circulation, it is clear that a large additional amount of
specie will be required to fill up the vacuum occasioned by their withdrawal. This cir-
cumstance seems sufficiently to account for the fact, that notwithstanding the alteration in
the proportion of gold and silver in the American mint (See article Coins in this Supple-
ment), very little silver has been exported from America to Europe. The alteration in
question has made it profitable to use gold in preference to silver in all large payments where
metallic money is employed but the suppression of small notes has, at the same time,
opened a new field for the employment of silver as a subsidiary currency, or as a means of
effecting small payments; and it seems to be generally supposed, that the most part of the
silver that would otherwise have found its way to foreign countries, in consequence of the
new mint regulations, will be retained in this subordinate capacity.
Account of the Progress of Banking in the United States, from January, 1815, to January, 1835
specifying the Number of Banks in the different States, at different Epochs, with the Amount of
their Capital. (Official Letter by the Secretary to the American Treasury, 5th January, 1836. p. 91.)
January 1st,
January 1st,
January 1st,
1815.
1820.
1830.
June, 1834.
January, 1835.
States.
No. of
Banks.
Capital.
No. of
Banks.
Capital.
No. of
Banks.
Capital.
No. of
Banks.
Capital.
No. of
Banks.
No. of
Branches.
Capital.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Maine
8
1,380,000
15
1,654,900
18
2,050,000
29
2,777,000
36
3,549,850
New Hampshire
10
941,152
10
1,005,276
18
1,791,670
22
2,271,300
26
2,655,008
Vermont
I
44,955
10
432,625
17
912,000
18
1,021,815
Missachusetts
21
11,050,000
28
10,485,700
66
20,420,000
102
28,236,250
105
30,409,450
Rhode Island
14
2,027,000
30
2,982,026
47
6,118,397
51
7,488,748
60
8,097,482
Connecticut
10
3,655,750
8
3,689,337
13
4,485,177
21
5,708,015
31
3
7,350,766
New York
26
18,946,318
33
18,988,774
37
20,083,353
78
27,755,264
87
2
31,881,460
New Jersey
11
2,121,932
14
2,130,949
18
2,017,009
26
2,500,000
24
2,707,135
Pennsylvania
42
15,068,818
36
14,681,780
33
14,610,333
41
17,061,044
44
17,958,444
Delaware
6
966,990
6
974,900
5
830,000
7
2,000,000
4
4
830,000
Maryland
17
7,832,002
14
6,708,131
13
6,250,495
20
9,270,091
15
4
7,662,639
District of Columbia
10
4,078,295
13
5,525,319
9
3,875,794
8
3,337,305
7
2,613,985
Virginia
4
4,121,097
4
5,212,192
4
5,571,100
4
5,694,500
5
17
5,840,000
North Carolina
3
1,576,600
3
2,964,887
3
3,195,000
3
1,824,725
4
7
2,464,925
South Carolina
5
3,730,900
5
4,475,000
5
4,631,000
7
3,156,318
8
2
7,556,318
Georgia
2
623,580
4
3,401,510
9
4,203,029
13
6,534,691
13
10
6,783,308
Florida
I
75,000
6
1,000,000
3
114,320
Alabama
3
469,112
20
643,503
5
4,308,207
2
4
6,107,623
Louisiana
3
1,432,300
4
2,597,420
4
5,665,980
10
23,664,755
11
31
27,172,145
Mississippi
1
100,000
1
900,000
I
950,600
3
3,666,805
5
10
5,890,162
Tennessee
2
212,962
8
2,119,782
1
737,817
3
2,243,827
3
4
2,890,381
Kentucky
2
959,175
42
8,807,431
3
1,875,418
6
11
4,898,685
Missouri
1
250,000
1
Illinois
2
140,910
1
200,000
I
I
278,739
Indiana
2
202,857
I
150,000
1
9
800,000
Ohio
12
1,434,719
20
1,797,463
11
1,454,386
20
5,986,625
31
6,390,741
Michigan
1
100,000
5
500,000
7
1
658,980
203
82,259,590
307
102,210,611
329
110,192,268
506
170,123,788
557
121
194,584,361
United States' bank
1
35,000,000
1
35,000,000
I
35,000,000
1
25
35,000,000
208
82,259,590
308
137,240,611
330
145,192,268
507
205,123,788
558
146
229,584,361
Estimated capital of seven banks
from which no returns
1,665,976
Totals
208
82,259,590
308
137,210,611
330
145,192,268
507
205,123,788
558
146
231,250,337
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128
BANKS FOR SAVINGS.
Account of the Average Dividends paid by the Banks of the State of New York, on their paid up
Capitals, in 1831, 1832, 1833, and 1834.-(Report of Bank Commissioners to the Legisluture of New
York, 22nd Jan. 1835.)
Capital.
Amount of Dividends.
Rate per cent.
1831.
Dollars.
Dollars.
9 Country banks, capitals of 100,000 dollars,
and under
-
-
880,000
80,500
9:14
9 do. capitals over 100,000 dollars, and not
over 200,000 dollars
-
-
-
1,395,000
117,180
8:40
10 do., capitals over 200,000 dollars -
-
3,750,000
330,000
8-80
Total -
6,025,000
527,680
8:75
1832.
17 Country banks, 1st class, as above
-
1,680,000
158,500
9.43
11 do. do. 2d class -
-
-
1,745,000
163,030
9:34
11
do.
do. 3d class
-
-
-
4,160,600
362,568
8:69
13 New York city banks
-
-
-
11,311,200
695,165
6:14
Total
-
18,905,800
1,379,263
7.29
1833.
19 Country banks, 1st class
-
-
-
1,880,000
197,500
10-50
14 do.
do. 2d class
-
-
-
2,215,000
206,080
9:30
11
do.
do. 3d class
-
-
-
4,169,600
444,126
10-65
14 New York city banks
-
-
-
12,111,200
760,787
6-28
Total
-
20,375,800
1,608,493
7.89
1834.
20 Country banks, 1st class
-
-
-
1,980,000
206,000
10:43
21 do. do. 2d class
-
-
-
3,420,000
290,818
850
13 do.
do. 3d class
-
-
-
4,719,600
409,492
8.67
15 New York city banks
-
-
-
13,611,200
1,028,462
7.55
Total -
23,730,800
1,934,772
8:15
Sup.)
VII. BANKS FOR SAVINGS,
Are banks established for the receipt of small sums deposited by the poorer class of persons,
and for the accumulation of such sums at compound interest. They are managed by in-
dividuals, who derive no benefit whatever from the deposits. All monies paid into any
Savings Bank established according to the provisions of the act 9 Geo. 4. c. 92. are ordered to
be paid into the Banks of England and Ireland, and vested in Bank annuities or Exchequer
bills. The interest payable to depositors is not to exceed 2łd. per cent. per diem, or 3/. 8s.
51d. per cent. per annum. No depositor can contribute more than 30L, exclusive of com-
pound interest, to a Savings Bank in any one year; and the total deposits to be received
from any one individual are not to exceed 150/.; and whenever the deposits, and compound
interest accruing upon them, standing in the name of any one individual, shall amount to
200L, no interest shall be payable upon such deposit so long as it shall amount to 200L
Since the establishment of this system in 1817, down to January, 1831, the sums received
from depositors, and the interest accruing upon them, amounted to 20,760,228!., of which
the depositors had received, in principal and interest, 5,648,838L leaving at the period in
question, a balance due to the depositors of 15,111,890L The commissioners for the re-
duction of the national debt have the disposal of the sums vested in the public funds on ac-
count of Savings Banks.
The principle and object of these institutions cannot be too highly commended. In the
metropolis, and many other parts of England, public banks do not receive small deposits,
and upon none do they pay any interest. And even in Scotland, where the public banks
allow interest upon deposits, they do not generally receive less than 10/. But few poor per-
sons are able to save 80 large a sum, except by a lengthened course of economy. The truth,
therefore, is, that until Savings Banks were established, the poor were every where without
the means of securely and profitably investing those small sums they are not unfrequently
in a condition to save and were consequently led, from the difficulty of disposing of them,
to neglect opportunities for making savings, or if they did make them, were tempted, by the
offer of high interest, to lend them to persons of doubtful characters and desperate fortunes,
by whom they were, for the most part, squandered. Under such circumstances, it is plain
that nothing could be more important, in the view of diffusing habits of forethought and
economy amongst the labouring classes, than the establishment of Savings Banks, where the
smallest sums are placed in perfect safety, are accumulated at compound interest, and are
paid, with their accumulations, the moment they are demanded by the depositors. The
system is yet only in its infancy but the magnitude of the deposits already received, sets
its powerful and salutary operation in a very striking point of view.
We subjoin a copy of the rules of the St. Pancras Savings Bank, which may be taken as
a model for similar institutions, inasmuch as they have been drawn up with great care, and
closely correspond with the provisions in the act 9 Geo. 4. c. 92.
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BANKS FOR SAVINGS.
129
1. Management.-This Bank is under the management of a president, vice-presidents, trustees, and
not less than fifty managers, none of whom are permitted to derive any benefit whatsoever, directly
or indirectly, from the deposits received, or the produce thereof. One or more of the managers attend
when the Bank is open for business.
2. Superintending Committee.-A committee of not less than ten managers, three of whom form a
quorum, is empowered to superintend, manage, and conduct the general business of this Bank ; to
add to their number from among the managers to fill up vacancies in their own body, and to appoint
a treasurer or treasurers, agent or agents, auditors, an actuary and clerks, and other officers and ser-
vants, and to withdraw any such appointments, and to appoint others, should it be considered neces-
sary so to do. The proceedings of this committee are regularly laid before the general meetings of
the Bank.
3. Elections.-The superintending committee is empowered to add to the number of managers, until
they amount to one hundred and twenty, exclusively of the president, vice-presidents, and trustees.
And any vacancies of president, vice-presidents, and trustees, are to be filled up at a general meeting.
4. General Meetings.-A general meeting of the president, vice-presidents, trustees, and managers of
this Bank shall be held once a year, in the month of February. The superintending committee shall
lay before every such meeting a report of the transactions of the Bank, and state of the accounts.
The superintending committee for the succeeding year shall be elected at such general meeting and
failing such election, the former committee shall be considered as reappointed.
5. Special Meetings.-The superintending committee are authorised to call special general meetings,
when they think proper and also, on the requisition of any ten managers, delivered in writing to the
actuary, or to the manager in attendance at the Bank; and of such meeting seven days' notice shall
be given.
6. Liability of Trustees, Managers, Officers, &c.-No trustee or manager shall be personally liable
except for his own acts and deeds, nor for any thing done by him in virtue of his office, except where
he shall be guilty of wilful neglect or default; but the treasurer or treasurers, the actuary, and every
officer intrusted with the receipt or custody of any sum of money deposited for the purposes of this
Institution, and every officer, or other person, receiving salary or allowance for their services from
the funds thereof, shall give good and sufficient security, by bond or bonds, to the clerk of the peace
of the county of Middlesex, for the just and faithful execution of such office of trust.
7. Investment and Limitation of Deposits.-Deposits of not less than one shilling, and not exceeding
thirty pounds in the whole, exclusive of compound interest, from any one depositor, or trustee of a
depositor, during each and every year ending on the 20th of November, will be received and invested,
pursuant to 9 Geo. 4. c. 92. S. 11., until the same shall amount to one hundred and fifty pounds in the
whole; and when the principal and interest together shall amount to two hundred pounds, then no
interest will be payable on such deposit, so long as it shall continue to amount to that sum. But depo-
sitors whose accounts amounted to, or exceeded, two hundred pounds, at the passing of the said act,
on the 28th of July, 1828, will continue to be entitled to interest and compound interest thereon.
8. Interest to be allowed to Depositors.-In conformity with the 24th clause of the 9 Geo. 4. c. 92., an
interest at the rate of 21d. per cent. per day, being 31. 8s. 54d. per cent. per annum (the full amount
authorised by the said act), will be allowed to depositors, and placed to their accounts as a cash deposit,
in the month of November in each year. Depositors demanding payment of the whole amount of
their deposits in this Bank, will be allowed the interest due on such deposits up to the day on which
notice of withdrawing shall be given, but no interest will be allowed, in any case, on the fractional
parts of a pound sterling.
9. Description and Declaration.-Every person desirous of making any deposit in this Bank, shall, at
the time of making their first deposit, and at such other times as they shall be required so to do, declare
their residence, occupation, profession, or calling, and sign (either by themselves, or, in case of infants
under the age of seven years, by some person or persons to be approved of by the trustees or managers,
or their officer) a declaration that they are not directly or indirectly entitled to any deposit in, or bene-
fit from, the funds of any other Savings Bank in England or Ireland, nor to any sum or sums standing
in the name or names of any other person or persons in the books of this Bank. And in case any such
declaration shall not be true, every such person (or the person on whose behalf such declaration may
have been signed) shall forfeit and lose all right and title to such deposits, and the trustees and
managers shall cause the sum or sums so forfeited to be paid to the commissioners for the reduction
of the national debt; but no depositor shall be subject or liable to any such forfeiture, on account of
being a trustee on behalf of others, or of being interested in the funds of any Friendly Society legally
established. 10. Trustees on behalf of others.-Persons may act as trustees for depositors, whether such persons
are themselves depositors in any Savings Bank or not, provided that such trustee or trustees shall
make such declaration on behalf of such depositor or depositors, and be subject to the like conditions
in every respect, as are required in the case of persons making deposits on their own account, and the
receipt and receipts of such trustee or trustees, or the survivor of them, or the executors or adminis-
trators of any sole trustee, or surviving trustee, with or without (as may be required by the managers)
the receipt of the person on whose account such sum may have been deposited, shall be a good and
valid discharge to the trustees and managers of the Institution.
11. Minors.-Deposits are received from, or for the benefit of, minors, and are subject to the same
regulations as the deposits of persons of 21 years of age and upwards.
12. Friendly and Charitable Societies.-Friendly Societies, legally established previous to the 28th of
July, 1828, may deposit their funds through their treasurer, steward, or other officer or officers, with-
out any limitation as to the amount. But Friendly Societies formed and enrolled after that date, are
not permitted to make deposits exceeding the sum of 300L, principal and interest included and no
interest will be payable thereon, whenever the same shall amount to, or continue at, the said sum of
3001. or upwards.
Deposits are received from the trustees or treasurers of Charitable Societies, not exceeding 100Z. per
annum, provided the amount shall not at any time exceed the sum of 300L, exclusive of interest.
13. Deposits of Persons unable to attend.-Forms are given at the office, enabling persons to become
depositors who are unable to attend personally; and those who have previously made a deposit, may
send additional sums, together with their book, by any other person.
14. Depositors' deposits are entered in the books of the Bank at the time they are made,
and the depositor receives a book with a corresponding entry therein; which book must be brought
to the office every time that any further sum is deposited, also when notice is given for withdrawing
money, and at the time the repayment is to be made, so that the transactions may be duly entered
therein. 15. Withdrawing Deposits.-Depositors may receive the whole or any part of their deposits on any
day appointed by the managers, not exceeding fourteen days after notice has been given for that pur-
pose but such deposits can only be repaid to the depositor personally, or to the bearer of an order
under the hand of the depositor, signed in the presence of either the minister or a churchwarden of
the parish in which the depositor resides, of a justice of the peace, or of a manager of this Bank.
17
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130
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
15 The Depositor's Book must always be produced when notice of withdrawing is given.
16, Money withdrawn may be re-deposited.-Depositors may withdraw any sum or sums of money, and
re-deposit the same at any time or times within any one year, reckoning from the 20th day of Novem-
ber, provided such sum or sums of money re-deposited, and any previous deposit or deposits which
may have been made by such depositor in the course of the year, taken together, shall not exceed, at
any time in such year, the sum of 30L., additional principal money bearing interest.
17. Return or Refusal of Deposits.-This Bank is at liberty to return the amount of the deposits to
all or any of the depositors, and may refuse to receive deposits in any case, where it shall be deemed
expedient so to do.
18. Deposits of a deceased Depositor exceeding Fifty Pounds.-In case of the death of any depositor
in this Bank, whose deposits, and the interest thereon, shall exceed in the whole the sum of fifty
pounds, the same shall only be paid to the executor or executors, administrator or administrators, on
the production of the probate of the will, or letters of administration.
19. Deposits of a deceased Depositor not exceeding Fifty Pounds.-In case a depositor in this Bank
shall die, whose deposits, including interest thereon, shall not exceed the sum of fifty pounds, and that
the trustees or managers shall be satisfied that no will was made and left, and that no letters of
administration will be taken out, they shall be at liberty to pay the same to the relatives or friends
of the deceased, or any or either of them, or according to the statute of distribution, or require the
production of letters of administration, at their discretion. And the Bank shall be indemnified by
any such payments from all and every claim in respect thereof by any person whatsoever.
20. Certificate.-In all cases wherein certificates shall be required of the amount of deposits in this
Bank belonging to depositors therein, for the purpose of obtaining, free of stamp duties, a probate of
will, or letters of administration, such certificate shall be signed by a manager, and countersigned by
the actuary for the time being, as a true extract from the Ledger of the Institution.
21. Arbitration of Differences.In case any dispute shall arise between the trustees or managers of
this Bank, or any person or persons acting under them, and any individual depositor therein, or any
trustee of a depositor, or any person claiming to be such executor, administrator, or next of kin, then,
and in every such case, the matter so in dispute shall be referred to the barrister at law appointed by
the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, under the authority of the 9 Geo. 4. c. 92.
S. 45. and whatever award, order, or determination shall be made by the said barrister, shall be bind-
ing and conclusive upon all parties, and shall be final, to all intents and purposes, without any appeal.
Purchase of Government Annuities by depositors in Savings Banks.-The act 2 & 3
Will. 4. c. 14. enables depositors in Savings Banks and others to purchase government an-
nuities for life or for years, and either immediate or deferred. At present these annuities
are limited to 20/. a year. The money advanced is returnable in case the contracting party
does not live to the age at which the annuity is to become payable, or is unable to continue
the monthly or annual instalments. That this measure was benevolently intended, and
that it may be productive of advantage to many individuals, cannot be doubted; but we look
upon all attempts, and particularly those made by government, to get individuals to ex-
change capital for annuities, as radically objectionable; and as being subversive of principles
which ought to be strengthened rather than weakened.-(See FUNDS.)
Summary of Savings Banks, &c. in England, Wales, and Ireland, November, 1832.
In England there were, on the 10th of November,
In Wales there were on the 10th of November,
1832, 384 Savings Banks of these, 7 have made
1832, 22 Savings Banks: 1 has made no return;
no return, the remaining Banks contain,
the remaining Banks contain,
Depositors.
Amount.
Depositors.
Amount.
£
No.
£
No.
£
Under
20
-
-
- 195,035
1,410,792
Depositors
-
-
- 10,374
322,573
-
50
-
-
- 102,536
3,146,753
Friendly Societies
-
-
167
23,385
-
100
-
-
- 47,903
3,235,083
Charitable ditto,
-
-
53
3,836
-
150
-
-
- 17,031
2,042,425
- 200
-
-
-
7,908
1,338,233
Accounts
-
-
- 10,594
349,794
Above 200
-
-
-
3,756
930,953
Average amount of each deposit in Wales, 311.
374,169
12,161,607*
In Ireland there were, on the 10th of November,
Friendly Societies
-
-
4,162
623,273
1832, 77 Savings Banks: 7 have made no return;
Charitable ditto
-
-
1,996
131,148
the remaining Banks contain,
Accounts -
-
- 380,327
12,916,028
Depositors.
Amount.
Average amount of each deposit in England, 32/.
No.
£
Depositors
-
-
- 37,898
1,004,189
Friendly Societies
-
-
234
This is the amount given in the table whence
10,609
Charitable ditto
-
-
347
this abstract has been taken, but it does not quite
31,027
agree with the items.
Accounts
-
38,479
1,045,825
Average amount of each deposit in Ireland, 261,
Grand Total in England, Wales, and Ireland, on the 10th of November, 1832.
Savings Banks.
Accounts.
Amount.
Average Amount of each Deposit.
£
is
483
429,400
14,311,647
30
(From the Statistical Table compiled by John Tidd Pratt, E.g.)
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
[Historical Account of Banking in the United States.-Although various plans had been
formed, as well before as during the war of the Revolution, for the establishment of a public
bank of deposit, discount, and circulation, the first which was actually carried into execu-
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BANKS (UNITED STATES).
131
tion, within the territory of the United States, was that of Mr. Robert Morris, the Superin-
tendent of Finance under the Old Congress. The Bank of North America was incorporated
by that body on the last day of the year 1781, and by the Legislature of Pennsylvania on
the first day of the following month of April. Besides the powers incidental to every cor-
poration, it was authorized to hold property, real and personal, to the amount of ten mil-
lions of Spanish silver milled dollars, and no more." Its capital, therefore, might be just
what the stockholders thought proper to make it within this limit; and no restrictions what-
ever were imposed by law on the extent of its issues.
The bank, however, went into operation in January, 1782, with a capital of only
$400,000. Of this sum $254,000 were subscribed by Mr. Morris, in behalf of the general
government; thus making it the principal stockholder, and, in fact, giving it the entire con-
trol over the institution. Why the sum subscribed by individual stockholders was so small,
as appears from this statement, was owing chiefly to the distrust, which pervaded the com-
munity, of the ability and willingness of the bank to maintain the notes they might issue at
their par or specie value. Experience had hitherto led the people to look with suspicion on
every thing in the shape of paper money. Paper promises to pay had been, for a long
period, put forth by the different States of the Confederacy and the value of such promises
had uniformly, after a time, become depreciated, and frequently exceedingly depreciated.
The public had also, very lately, witnessed the fall to utter worthlessness of the continental
money" of Congress. In such circumstances, it is not singular that capitalists in general
should have thought it improbable that the business of a bank of circulation could be carried
on with a sufficient degree of success to enable them to receive, after the payment of all the
necessary expenses, the ordinary rate of profits in other employments.
Even the comparatively small amount of capital, with which the Bank of North America
has been stated to have commenced its operations, was to a considerable extent merely no-
minal. The government took out of the bank with one hand what it put in with the other.
Nay, the money borrowed by it from the bank left to the latter only the inconsiderable sum
of about $70,000 to constitute its proper banking capital. To what amount its notes were
in fact put into circulation, we have no means of determining. But it must be obvious that,
in the then existing state of public opinion in relation to paper money, this amount could
not have been very large; notwithstanding every contrivance or artifice was resorted to which
honest men could make use of, in order to produce a general impression favourable to the
credit of the bank. And we may here add, that to us it appears altogether incredible that a
banking institution on so contracted a scale, operating too under circumstances so unpro-
pitious, should have had, as has often been very confidently asserted, an extraordinary effect
in restoring public and private credit, and in aiding the fiscal operations of the government.
By a proper degree of caution at the outset in the issue of its notes, and in consequence
of their being received by the States, indifferently with specie, in payment for duties and
taxes, such an amount was before long successfully put into circulation, as to enable the
bank to make dividends at the rate of from 12 to 16 per cent. per annum. In this condition
of things, capitalists, of course, no longer had any doubts of the expediency of engaging in
the business of banking; and the project of a new bank was formed, to be styled the Bank
of Pennsylvania. To prevent its being carried into execution, the books of the Bank of
North America were reluctantly opened for additional subscriptions. These were now pro-
cured without difficulty; and bank notes were thereupon issued to so great an amount as to
yield, as before, extraordinary profits to the stockholders, and on this account, as also on
account of the successive expansions and contractions of the currency which were exten-
sively laid to the charge of the bank, to excite against it a strong popular feeling. In con-
sequence, the Legislature of Pennsylvania took away, in 1785, the charter which they had
granted to it in 1782. Yet the bank still carried on its business, claiming the right to do so
under the act of Congress above mentioned. It, however, obtained a new charter from the
State of Pennsylvania in 1787 and its existence has been continued, by successive acts of
incorporation, without interruption, down to the present time.
When the general government went into operation under the present constitution, only
two other banks had been incorporated in the whole extent of the country. These were the
Bank of New York, in the city of New York, and the Bank of Massachusetts, in Boston.
It was, then, with a very limited experience only on the part of the community, of the effects
of banking, that the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Alexander Hamilton, in December, 1790,
presented to Congress his celebrated report, recommending the establishment of a bank of
the United States. The advocates of the measure, besides maintaining the expediency of it,
as a means of stimulating the industry of the people and augmenting the national wealth,
held it to be a most useful, and therefore so desirable an instrument, for exercising the fiscal
functions of the government, as to entitle it to be regarded, in the language of the constitu-
tion, as necessary and proper for carrying into execution" the powers vested in the
government by the constitution. Its opponents denied both its expediency and constitu-
tionality. Most of them preferred a metallic currency to one composed of bank notes; whilst
the measure was by many regarded as unconstitutional, because, however convenient the
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132
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
proposed bank might be to the government, in their opinion it could not, in the true mean-
ing of the constitution, be pronounced to be necessary and proper for carrying into execution
other powers, of a primary nature, expressly conferred by that document. The act, incor-
porating the Bank of the United States, passed the Senate on the 20th of January, 1791, a
few members only of this body having resisted its passage, and the House of Representatives,
by a vote of 39 to 20, on the 8th day of February following. After great deliberation, and
after having requested and received elaborate opinions for and against the adoption of the
measure from the several members of his cabinet, who were equally divided on the subject,
the bill was signed by the President and became a law on the 14th of the same month.
As the act incorporating this first Bank of the United States, is one of great importance in
the civil and financial history of the country, and may be regarded as a model on which, in,
many respects, future bank charters were framed; it is judged better to insert it verbatim
than to give any abstract or abridgment of it. It is as follows :-
An Act to incorporate the Subscribers to the Bank of the United States.
Whereas it is conceived that the establishment of a bank for the United States, upon a foundation
sufficiently extensive to answer the purposes intended thereby, and at the same time, upon the prin-
ciples which afford adequate security for an upright and prudent administration thereof, will be very
conducive to the successful conducting of the national finances; will tend to give facility to the
obtaining of loans, for the use of the government, in sudden emergencies; and will be productive of
considerable advantages to trade and industry in general: Therefore,
$ 1. Be it enacted, &c. That a bank of the United States shall be established; the capital stock
whereof shall not exceed ten millions of dollars, divided into twenty-five thousand shares, each share
being four hundred dollars; and that subscriptions, towards constituting the said stock, shall, on the
first Monday of April next, be opened at the city of Philadelphia, under the superintendence of such
persons, not less than three, as shall be appointed for that purpose, by the President of the United
States, (who is hereby empowered to appoint the said persons accordingly), which subscriptions shall
continue open until the whole of the said stock shall have been subscribed.
. 2. That it shall be lawful for any person, copartnership, or body politic, to subscribe for such or so
many shares as he, she, or they shall think fit, not exceeding one thousand, except as shall be here-
after directed relatively to the United States; and that the sums respectively subscribed, except on
behalf of the United States, shall be payable, one fourth in gold and silver, and three fourths in that
part of the public debt which, according to the loan proposed in the fourth and fifteenth sections of the
act, entitled An act making provision for the debt of the United States," shall bear an accruing
interest, at the time of payment, of six per centum per annum, and shall also be payable in four equal
parts, in the aforesaid ratio of specie to debt, at the distance of six calendar months from each other ;
the first whereof shall be paid at the time of subscription.
2 3. That all those who shall become subscribers to the said bank, their successors and assigns,
shall be, and are hereby, created and made a corporation and body politic, by the name and style of
The president, directors, and company of the bank of the United States and shall so continue until the
fourth day of March, one thousand eight hundred and eleven: And by that name shall be, and are
hereby, made able and capable, in law, to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and retain, to them
and their successors, lands, rents, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, and effects, of what
kind, nature, or quality, soever, to an amount not exceeding, in the whole, fifteen millions of dollars,
including the amount of the capital stock aforesaid and the same to sell, grant, demise, alien, or dis-
pose of to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended,
in courts of record, or any other place whatsoever: And also to make, have, and use a common seal,
and the same to break, alter, and renew at their pleasure; and also to ordain, establish, and put in
execution such by-laws, ordinances and regulations, as shall seem necessary and convenient for the
government of the said corporation, not being contrary to law, or to the constitution thereof (for
which purpose general meetings of the stockholders shall, and may, be called by the directors, and in
the manner hereinafter specified), and generally to do and execute all and singular acts, matters, and
things, which to them it shall or may appertain to do; subject, nevertheless, to the rules, regulations,
restrictions. limitations, and provisions hereinafter prescribed and declared.
2 4. That for the well ordering of the affairs of the said corporation, there shall be twenty-five
directors ; of whom there shall be an election on the first Monday of January in each year, by the
stockholders or proprietors of the capital stock of the said corporation, and by plurality of the votes
actually given; and those who shall be duly chosen at any election shall be capable of serving as
directors, by virtue of such choice, until the end or expiration of the Monday of January next ensu-
ing the time of such election, and no longer. And the said directors, at their first meeting after each
election, shall choose one of their number as president.
è 5. That as soon as the sum of four hundred thousand dollars, in gold and silver, shall have been
actually received on account of the subscriptions to the said stock, notice thereof shall be given, by
the persons under whose superintendence the same shall have been made, in at least two public
gazettes printed in the city of Philadelphia; and the said persons shall, at the same time, in like man-
ner, notify a time and place, within the said city, at the distance of ninety days from the time of such
notification, for proceeding to the election of directors; and it shall be lawful for such election to be
then and there made; and the persons who shall then and there be chosen shall be the first directors,
and shall be capable of serving, by virtue of such choice, until the end or expiration of the Monday in
January next ensuing the time of making the same, and shall forthwith thereafter commence the ope-
rations of the said bank, at the said city of Philadelphia. And provided further, That in case it should
at any time happen, that an election of directors should not be made upon any day, when, pursuant
to this act, it ought to have been made, the said corporation shall not, for that cause, be deemed to be
dissolved; but it shall be lawful, on any other day, to hold and make an election of directors, in such
manner as shall have been regulated by the laws and ordinances of the said corporation. And pro-
rided lastly, That in case of the death, resignation, absence from the United States, or removal of a
director by the stockholders, his place may be filled up, by a new choice, for the remainder of the year.
- 6. That the directors for the time being shall have power to appoint such officers, clerks, and ser-
vants under them, as shall be necessary for executing the business of the said corporation, and to
allow them such compensation for their services, respectively, as shall be reasonable and shall be
capable of exercising such other powers and authorities, for the well governing and ordering of the
affairs of the said corporation, as shall be described, fixed, and determined, by the laws, regulations,
and ordinances of the same.
1 7. That the following rules, restrictions, limitations, and provisions sball form and be funda-
mental articles of the constitution of the said corporation, viz.
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1. The number of votes to which each stockholder shall be entitled shall be according to the num-
ber of shares he shall hold, in the proportions following, that is to say: For one share, and not more
than two shares, one vote For every two shares above two, and not exceeding ten, one vote: For
every four shares above ten, and not exceeding thirty, one vote: For every six shares above thirty,
and not exceeding sixty, one vote: For every eight shares above sixty, and not exceeding one hundred,
one vote And for every ten shares above one hundred, one vote: But no person, copartnership, or
body politic, shall be entitled to a greater number than thirty votes. And after the first election, no
share, or shares, shall confer a right of suffrage, which shall not have been holden three calendar
months previous to the day of election. Stockholders actually resident within the United States, and
none other, may vote in elections by proxy.
2. Not more than three fourths of the directors in office, exclusive of the president, shall be eligible
for the next succeeding year: But the director, who shall be president at the time of an election, may
always be re-elected.
3. None but a stockholder, being a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible as a director.
4. No director shall be entitled to any emolument, unless the same shall have been allowed by the
stockholders, at a general meeting. The stockholders shall make such compensation to the president
for his extraordinary attendance at the bank, as shall appear to them reasonable.
5. Not less than seven directors shall constitute a board for the transaction of business, of whom
the president shall always be one, except in case of sickness, or necessary absence in which case his
place may be supplied by any other director, whom he, by writing under his hand, shall nominate for
the purpose.
6. Any number of stockholders, not less than sixty, who, together, shall be proprietors of two hun-
dred shares or upwards, shall have power, at any time, to call a general meeting of the stockholders,
for purposes relative to the institution, giving, at least, ten weeks' notice, in two public gazettes of the
place where the bank is kept, and specifying, in such notice, the object, or objects, of such meeting.
7. Every cashier or treasurer, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall be required to
give bond, with two or more sureties, to the satisfaction of the directors, in a sum not less than fifty
thousand dollars, with condition for his good behaviour.
8. The lands, tenements, and hereditaments, which it shall be lawful for the said corporation to
hold, shall be only such as shall be requisite for its immediate accommodation, in relation to the con-
venient transacting of its business, and such as shall have been bona fide mortgaged to it by way of
security, or conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts, previously contracted in the course of its dealings,
or purchased at sales upon judgments which shall have been obtained for such debts.
9. The total amount of the debts which the said corporation shall, at any time, owe, whether by
bond, bill, note, or other contract, shall not exceed the sum of ten millions of dollars, over and above
the moneys then actually deposited in the bank for safe keeping, unless the contracting of any greater
debt shall have been previously authorised by a law of the United States. In case of excess, the
directors, under whose administration it shall happen, shall be liable for the same in their natural and
private capacities; and an action of debt may, in such case, be brought against them, or any of
them, their, or any of their, heirs, executors, or administrators, in any court of record of the United
States, or either of them, by any creditor or creditors, of the said corporation, and may be prosecuted
to judgment and execution; any condition, covenant, or agreement, to the contrary notwithstanding.
But this shall not be construed to exempt the said corporation, or the lands, tenements, goods, or chat-
tels of the same, from being also liable for, and chargeable with the said excess. Such of the said
directors who may have been absent when the said excess was contracted, or created, or who may
have dissented from the resolution, or act, whereby the same was so contracted or created, may,
respectively, exonerate themselves from being so liable, by forthwith giving notice of the fact, and of
their absence or dissent, to the president of the United States, and to the stockholders, at a general
meeting which they shall have power to call for that purpose.
10. The said corporation may sell any part of the public debt whereof its stock shall be composed,
but shall not be at liberty to purchase any public debt whatsoever; nor shall, directly or indirectly,
deal or trade in any thing, except bills of exchange, gold or silver bullion, or in the sale of goods,
really and truly pledged for money lent, and not redeemed in due time ; or of goods which shall be
the produce of its lands. Neither shall the said corporation take more than at the rate of six per
centum per annum, for, or upon, its loans or discounts.
11. No loan shall be made by the said corporation for the use, or on account, of the government of
the United States, to an amount exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, or of any particular state,
to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, or of any foreign prince or state, unless previously
authorised by a law of the United States.
12. The stock of the said corporation shall be assignable and transferable, according to such rules
as shall be instituted in that behalf, by the laws and ordinances of the same.
13. The bills obligatory, and of credit, under the seal of the said corporation, which shall be made
to any person, or persons, shall be assignable, by endorsement thereupon, under the hand, or hands,
of such person, or persons, and of his, her, or their assignee, or assignees, and so as absolutely to
transfer, and vest the property thereof in each, and every, assignee, or assignees, successively, and
to enable such assignee, or assignees, to bring and maintain an action thereupon, in his, her, or their,
own name, or names. And bills or notes, which may be issued by order of the said corporation,
signed by the president, and countersigned by the principal cashier, or treasurer, thereof, promising
the payment of money to any person, or persons, his, her, or their order, or to bearer, though not
under the seal of the said corporation, shall be binding and obligatory upon the same, in the like man-
ner, and with the like force and effect, as upon any private person, or persons, if issued by him, or
them, in his, her, or their, private or natural capacity, or capacities and shall be assignable and nego-
tiable, in like manner as if they were so issued by such private person or persons that is to say,
those which shall be payable to any person, or persons, his, her, or their order, shall be assignable by
endorsement, in like manner, and with the like effect, as foreign bills of exchange now are ; and
those which are payable to bearer shall be negotiable, and assignable, by delivery only.
14. Half yearly dividends shall be made of so much of the profits of the bank as shall appear to the
directors adviseable; and once in every three years, the directors shall lay before the stockholders,
at a general meeting, for their information, an exact and particular statement of the debts which
shall have remained unpaid after the expiration of the original credit, for a period of treble the term
of that credit; and of the surplus of profit, if any, after deducting losses and dividends. If there
shall be a failure in the payment of any part of any sum subscribed by any person, copartnership, or
body politic, the party failing shall lose the benefit of any dividend which may have accrued prior to
the time for making such payment, and during the delay of the same.
15. It shall be lawful for the directors aforesaid, to establish offices wheresoever they shall think
fit, within the United States, for the purposes of discount and deposit only, and upon the same terms,
and in the same manner, as shall be practised at the bank ; and to commit the management of the said
offices, and the making of the said discounts, to such persons, under such agreements, and subject to
such regulations, as they shall deem proper not being contrary to law, or to the constitution of the
bank.
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16. The officer at the head of the treasury department of the United States shall be furnished, from
time to time, as often as he may require, not exceeding once a week, with statements of the amount
of the capital stock of the said corporation, and of the debts due to the same; of the moneys depo-
sited therein ; of the notes in circulation, and of the cash in hand and shall have a right to inspect
such general accounts in the books of the bank as shall relate to the said statements: Provided, That
this shall not be construed to imply a right of inspecting the account of any private individual, or in-
dividuals, with the bank.
2 8. That if the said corporation, or any person or persons for or to the use of the same, shall deal
or trade, in buying or selling any goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities whatsoever, contrary to
the provisions of this act, all and every person and persons, by whom any order, or direction, for so
dealing or trading, shall have been given, and all and every person and persons, who shall have been
concerned as parties or agents therein, shall forfeit and lose treble the value of the goods, wares,
merchandises, and commodities, in which such dealing and trade shall have been; one half thereof to
the use of the informer, and the other half thereof to the use of the United States, to be recovered
with costs of suit.
2 9. That if the said corporation shall advance or lend any sum, for the use or on account of the
government of the United States, to an amount exceeding one hundred thousand dollars; or of any
particular State, to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars; or of any foreign prince or state
(unless previously authorised thereto by a law of the United States), all and every person and per-
sons, by and with whose order, agreement, consent, approbation, or connivance, such unlawful
advance or loan shall have been made, upon conviction thereof, shall forfeit and pay, for every such
offence, treble the value or amount of the sum or sums which shall have been so unlawfully ad-
vanced or lent; one fifth thereof to the use of the informer, and the residue thereof to the use of the
United States to be disposed of by law, and not otherwise.
2 10. That the bills or notes of the said corporation, originally made payable, or which shall have
become payable, on demand, in gold and silver coin, shall be receivable in all payments to the United
States.
è 11. That it shall be lawful for the president of the United States, at any time or times, within
eighteen months after the first day of April next, to cause a subscription to be made to the stock of
the said corporation, as part of the aforesaid capital stock of ten millions of dollars, on behalf of the
United States, to an amount not exceeding two millions of dollars; to be paid out of the moneys
which shall be borrowed by virtue of either of the acts, the one entitled " An act making provision
for the debt of the United States;" and the other, entitled " An act making provision for the redue-
tion of the public debt;" borrowing of the bank an equal sum, to be applied to the purposes for
which the said moneys shall have been procured reimburseable in ten years, by equal annual in-
stalments; or at any time sooner, or in any greater proportions, that the government may think fit.
1 12. That no other bank shall be established, by any future law of the United States, during the
continuance of the corporation hereby created; for which the faith of the United States is hereby
pledged.
The high dividends of the Bank of North America, previous to the date of the incorpora-
tion of that of the United States, have been already noticed. They, however, gradually de-
clined as other banks sprang into existence; but were still as high as 10 per cent. in 1801,
and so late as 1810, at the rate of 9 per cent. per annum. During the existence too of the
Bank of the United States, from 1791 to 1811, its dividends amounted to from nearly 8 to
10 per cent. And at the last mentioned date, " none of the banks divided less than 8 per
cent., and some of them much more."
Hence it is not to be wondered at, that, as the period of the expiration of the charter of
the United States Bank approached, the stockholders should have been exceedingly desirous
of obtaining a renewal of it. Application was, accordingly, made by them for this purpose
to Congress, so early as the spring of the year 1808. Their memorial on the subject was re-
ferred by the Senate to the then Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Gallatin, " to consider and
report thereon, at the next session of Congress." In pursuance of the reference thus made
to him, that officer, on the last day of the next session, presented a report favourable to the
views of the memorialists, and in which he made the following suggestions:- :-
That the bank should pay interest to the United States on the public deposits, whenever they
shall exceed a certain sum, which may perhaps be fixed at about three millions of dollars.
II. That the bank should be bound, whenever required, to lend to the United States a sum not ex-
ceeding three fifths of its capital, at a rate of interest not exceeding six per cent.; the amount of such
loan or loans to be paid by the bank in instalments, not exceeding a certain sum, monthly, and to be
reimbursed at the pleasure of government.
III. That the capital stock of the bank should be increased to thirty millions of dollars, in the fol-
lowing manner, viz.
1. Five millions of dollars to be subscribed by citizens of the United States, under such regulations
as would make an equitable apportionment amongst the several States and Territories.
2. Fifteen millions to be subscribed by such States as may desire it, and under such equitable appor-
tionments among the several States as may be provided by law; and a branch to be established in
each subscribing State, if applied for by the State.
3. The payments, either by individuals or States, to be either in specie or in public stock of the
United States, at such rates as may be provided by law.
4. The subscribing States to pay their subscription in ten annual instalments, or sooner if it suits
their convenience, but to receive dividends in proportion only to the amount of subscription actually
paid; and their shares of bank stock not to be transferable.
IV. That some share should be given in the direction to the general and state governments, the
general government appointing a few directors in the general direction, and the government of each
subscribing State appointing a few directors in the direction of the branch established in such
State."
Mr. Gallatin concluded his report by remarking that the result of his plan would be,
" first, that the United States, receiving an interest on the public deposits, might, without
inconvenience, accumulate, during years of peace and prosperity, a treasure sufficient to meet
periods of war and calamity, and thereby avoid the necessity of adding, by increased taxes,
to the distreases of such periods. Secondly, that they might rely on a loan of eighteen mil-
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lions of dollars, on any sudden emergency. Thirdly, that the payment of the greater part
of the proposed increase of capital, being paid in ten annual instalments, that increase would
be gradual, and not more rapid than may be required by the progressive state of the country.
Fourthly, that the bank itself would form an additional bond of common interest and union
among the several States."
Presented, as this report was, on the very last day of the session of Congress, that body,
of course, rose without any action having been had in relation to it.
During the session of 1809-1810, the subject of the recharter of the bank did not come up
in the Senate: but in the House, the memorial, previously presented by the stockholders,
was referred to a select committee, who reported a resolution declaring that it is proper to
make provision for continuing the establishment of the Bank of the United States, with of-
fices of discount and deposit, under the regulations necessary for the beneficial administra-
tion of the national finances, during such time and on such conditions, as may be defined by
law." Another resolution was offered by a member, " that it is expedient to inquire into
the propriety of establishing a national bank." These resolutions were referred to different
committees. And two bills were, in consequence, reported to the House; one of which was
entitled " A bill to establish a National Bank," the other, An act to incorporate the sub-
scribers to the Bank of the United States." By the former bill, a bank was to be established
in the city of Washington, with branches in the Territories of the United States, and in the
States respectively, on application of their legislatures; the capital of which bank was not to
exceed 15,000,000 dollars. This bill met with very little favour, as it was generally con-
ceded that the proper place for a bank, with a large capital, was a large city, having exten-
sive mercantile transactions, which was very far from being the case with Washington city.
Indeed, the only object which the advocates of the bill had in view, when they argued in
behalf of placing the national bank in the District of Columbia, where the entire legisla-
tive power was vested in Congress, was, if possible, to overcome the constitutional scruples
of a portion of the members as to their authority to incorporate an institution of the kind in
any of the states. The bill for renewing the charter of the existing bank seemed at first to
be much more in accordance with the views of a majority of the House. After having been
debated, it was, however, laid on the table, and not again taken up during the remainder of
the session. Provision had been made in it for the payment by the bank into the treasury
of the United States of a bonus of 1,250,000 dollars; the bank, on the other hand, to be the
better enabled to pay this bonus, was authorised to add a milllion of dollars to the former
amount of its capital. It was, also, made obligatory upon it to lend to the government, at
any time the latter might require a loan, any sum not exceeding five millions of dollars, at a
rate of interest not exceeding six per cent. per annum. The bank was further bound to pay
to the United States, in conformity with the suggestion made by Mr. Gallatin, an interest at
the rate of three per cent. per annum, on all sums of money above the sum of three mil-
lions of dollars, which should accumulate in the bank to the credit of the Treasurer of the
United States, or in any of its branches, and which should remain there for one whole year.
And the government was to be at liberty to subscribe to a certain number of additional
shares, annually for a term of years.
A new petition was presented to Congress, in the beginning of the next session (December,
1810), by the stockholders of the Bank of the United States, for the renewal of their charter;
which petition was, in both the Senate and House of Representatives, referred to a com-
mittee, that of the House being composed of one member from each state of the Union.
This committee, early in January, 1811, reported a bill, for a renewal of the charter, not un-
like the one above mentioned as having been laid on the table during the preceding
session. After much debate, the bill reported was, on the 24th of that month, indefinitely
postponed by a vote of 65 to 64. No report had as yet been made by the committee of the
Senate. On the 5th of February, only four weeks before the close of the session and the
expiration of the charter of the bank, they reported a bill for its renewal, the first section of
which was, on the 20th day of the month, struck out by the casting vote of the Vice Presi-
dent, George Clinton. The fate of the bank was thus decided; and nothing remained for it
but to close its business.
To enable it to do so with more convenience to itself, and to prevent as much as possible
the distress among the community which its friends confidently asserted would inevitably
ensue from its affairs being wound up in a short period of time, application was made to
both Houses of Congress, in a few days afterwards, for a temporary continuation of its
powers, for this purpose only. The request so preferred was, nevertheless, refused. A com-
mittee of the House of Representatives, to which it had been referred, stated, that they " are
of opinion that a law of Congress, granting the powers prayed for, would facilitate the final
adjustment of the affairs of the bank, although they do not think such a law indispensable
to that object. But believing, as your committee do, that, in granting the original charter to
the stockholders, Congress transcended the legitimate powers of the constitution, the same
objection now presents itself to the extension of any of their corporate capacities."
Trustees were appointed, who proceeded so expeditiously in settling the accounts of the
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bank, that, in about a year and a half after the expiration of the charter, they had already
paid to the stockholders 88 per cent. of the capital stock. It is proper to mention that all
this was accomplished without any extraordinary derangement of the currency, and without
any of the disastrous effects which had been anticipated and dreaded by many among the
most intelligent men of the country. And it may not be uninteresting to note the fact, that
the whole amount of the sums, which were received by the stockholders, from first to last,
amounted to 108} dollars, on every 100 dollars of stock.
That no extraordinary derangement of the currency followed immediately upon the refusal
of Congress to recharter the Bank of the United States, and the rapid winding up of its con-
cerns, was owing chiefly to the extent in which the notes of the other banks of the country
were issued; an extent much greater, indeed, than would have sufficed to take the place of
the United States Bank notes in the circulation. At this period, these institutions had become
very numerous, especially in the eastern and middle states. The aggregate capitals of the
banks " most deserving of notice" amounted, in the beginning of the year 1811, according
to a statement in the American edition of the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, article Banks, to
nearly five times that of the Bank of the United States. In the course of a single year, this
amount was augmented fifty per cent. A sort of mania for the creation of new banks
seemed every where to prevail, and often nearly as much in districts almost exclusively
agricultural as in those where a great extent of commerce was carried on. Such was the
anxiety displayed in Pennsylvania for the incorporation of local banks, that it probably con-
tributed in no slight degree to the rejection there by the Legislature, of an application on the
part of the Bank of the United States for a charter, with a capital of five millions of dollars,
although a bonus was offered the state of half a million of dollars, together with a loan of
another half million.
" During the session of 1812-13" (we quote the words of an able report made to the
Senate of Pennsylvania, January 29th, 1820, by a committee, of which Condy Raguet,
Esq. was chairman), "a bill to incorporate twenty-five institutions, the capitals of which
amounted to nine millions five hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars, was passed by
both Houses of the Legislature, by a bare majority of one vote in each. The bill was return-
ed by the governor, with his objections, which were sensible and cogent, and on a recon-
sideration the votes were 38 to 40. At the following session the subject was renewed with
increased ardour, and a bill authorising the incorporation of forty-one banking institutions
with capitals amounting to seventeen millions of dollars, was passed by a large majority.
This bill was also returned by the governor, with additional objections, but two thirds of
each house (many members of which were pledged to their constituents to that effect) agree-
ing on its passage, it became a law, on the 21st of March, 1814, and thus infficted upon the
commonwealth, an evil of a more disastrous nature than has ever been experienced by its
citizens. Under this law thirty-seven banks, four of which were established in Philadelphia,
actually went into operation.
" The immediate commencement of a number of these banks, with scarcely a bona fide
capital equal to the first instalment, for the convenient mode of discounting stock notes, to
meet the subsequent payments, was soon discovered, increased the mass of paper credits
already too redundant, and depreciated the whole circulating medium so far below specie
value, as to excite a want of confidence in its convertibility. In the absence of a foreign de-
mand for specie, a domestic one arose. The laws of the New England States had been so
rigorous upon the subject of banks, which were liable to a penalty of 12 per cent. per an-
num, for the non-payment of their notes, that no depreciation of their currency took place.
The consequence thereof was, that the difference between the New England prices of com-
modities, stocks and foreign bills of exchange, and those of Pennsylvania, was equal to the
extent of the depreciation of the latter; and as our bank notes were redeemable on demand,
the most profitable remittance which could be made to New England, in exchange for her
commodities, was specie; and this demand created a run upon the banks which they were
not able to withstand. The situation of the southern and western banks was precisely simi-
lar to that of our own. All had over-issued, and a general depreciation had ensued. The
same causes produced the same effects, and a general stoppage of all the banks in the United
States, except those of New England, took place in August and September, 1814. The
New England demand, it is true, was increased by two causes, viz. first, by facilities in
foreign trade through neutral vessels, which were afforded them by an exemption from the
blockade of the enemy, and, secondly, by a well grounded apprehension that the southern
banks, from their extensive emissions, would necessarily become embarrassed. Certain it is,
however, that all these causes combined could not have produced a general suspension of
payment, had our banks observed the same caution in their issues as that which characterized
the banks of the eastern states."
The following table, from Mr. Gallatin's valuable little work, entitled " Considerations on
the Currency and Banking System of the United States," presents the results of that gen-
tleman's researches respecting the progress of the banking system in the United States, in
the period from 1810 to 1816.
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Capital.
Notes is circulation.
Specia.
1st Jan. 1811.-Bank of the United States
-
$10,000,000
5,400,000
5,800,000
88 State banks
-
-
42,610,001
22,700,000
9,600,000
Total
-
-
-
52,610,601
28,100,000
15,400,000
1815.-208 State banks
-
-
82,259,590
45,500,000
17,000,000
1816.-246 do. do.
-
-
89,822,422
68,000,000
19,000,000
Mr. Crawford, in his report to the House of Representatives, of January 12th, 1820, esti-
mated the bank notes in circulation in 1816, as high as 99 millions of dollars. And Mr.
Pitkin is of opinion that the truth lay between the amounts stated by Mr. Gallatin and Mr.
Crawford.
The unequal distribution of the specie of the banks, on the 1st of January, 1815, was,
according to the first of these two gentlemen, as follows:-
" At that time the banks of the four States of
Capital.
Circulation.
Specia.
Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New
inin
$15,690,000
5,390,000
8,200,000
Hampshire, had
The States of Pennsylvania and Maryland,
with the District of Columbia, had
26,000,000
13,750,000
3,000,000
And all the other States
-
40,930,000
25,630,000
5,800,000"
Not only did the banks which had suspended specie payments enlarge their issues, with a
view to augment their profits, so as to cause their paper to become depreciated below its no-
minal value; but this depreciation was very different in different parts of the country. For
example, soon after the suspension of specie payments, in September, 1814, while the notes
of the New York city banks were 10 per cent. below their par or specie value, those of
Baltimore were at a discount of no less than 20 per cent. This inequality, too, continued to
a greater or less extent until the return of the banks to specie payments. Mr. M'Duffie, in
his report of the 13th of April, 1830, to the House of Representatives, in relation to the re-
charter of the Bank of the United States, remarks concerning the state of the currency on
the 1st day of July, 1816, that among the principal eastern cities, Washington and Balti-
more were the points at which the depreciation was the greatest. The paper of the banks
in these places was from 20 to 22 per cent. below par. At Philadelphia the depreciation
was considerably less, though, even there, it was from 17 to 18 per cent. But in the inte-
rior of the country, where banks were established, the depreciation was even greater than at
Washington and Baltimore. In the western part of Pennsylvania, and particularly at Pitts-
burgh, it was 25 per cent." It may be added, that during the period of which we speak,
specie had so entirely disappeared from the circulation, that the smallest payments, for
marketing and other ordinary purchases of daily occurrence, were everywhere made in
paper money issued by the banks, by corporations of various descriptions, or even by indi-
viduals.
Searcely had the suspension by the banks of specie payments taken place, and the con-
sequences above mentioned begun to be exhibited, when the Secretary of the Treasury, Mr.
Alexander J. Dallas, on the 17th of October, 1814, recommended to Congress the establish-
ment of a national bank, as the proper remedy to be applied.
He proposed that such a bank should be incorporated for a term of twenty years, to be
established at Philadelphia, with a power to erect offices of discount and deposit elsewhere;
that the capital of the bank should be fifty millions of dollars, three fifths of it to be sub-
scribed by corporations, companies, or individuals and two fifths of it by the United States
that the former subscriptions should be paid, one fifth part in gold or silver coin, and four
fifth parts in gold or silver coin, or in six per cent. stock, issued since the declaration of war,
and in treasury notes, in the proportion of one fifth in treasury notes, and three fifths in six
per cent. stock; and that the subscription of the United States should be paid in this kind of
stock. The United States were to be at liberty, also, to substitute six per cent. stock for the
amount of the treasury notes subscribed by corporations, companies, and individuals, as the
notes respectively became due and payable. No part of the public stock, constituting a por-
tion of the capital of the bank, was to be sold during the war; nor at any subsequent time
for less than par, nor at any time to an amount exceeding one moiety, without the consent
of Congress; and the bank was to be bound to loan to the United States $30,000,000.
A bill was reported to the House of Representatives, Nov. 7th, by the Committee of Ways
and Means, in conformity with the views of the Secretary, which were also understood to be
those of the President; which bill contained a clause authorising the bank to suspend specie
payments, whenever such a measure should, in the opinion of the President, be advisable.
On the proposition, however, of Mr. Calhoun, this clause, with that rendering it obligatory
on the bank to make loans to the government, were stricken out of the bill,-no portion of the
capital was to be subscribed by the United States, and none of the directors to be appointed
by them,-and the capital, the six millions in specie only excepted, was to be in treasury
notes to be thereafter issued. The capital was subsequently reduced to thirty millions of
dollars. While the bill in its present form was still pending, the Chairman of the Committee
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of Ways and Means addressed a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, requesting him to
communicate his opinion in relation to the effect which a considerable issue of treasury
notes (to which should be attached the quality of being receivable in subscriptions to the
bank) might have upon the credit of the government, and particularly on the prospects of a
loan for 1815." An answer unfavourable to the bill was promptly returned by the Se-
cretary ; and it was thereupon, on the 28th of November, rejected by a vote of 101 to 49,
many of its friends being unwilling to insist upon its adoption, after having been assured of
its being unsatisfactory to the executive branch of the government.
A bill was now introduced into the Senate, and passed by a vote of 17 to 14, in substan-
conformity with the views of the Secretary, before stated. The thirteenth section of this
was as follows :-
"That if, during the continuance of the present war between the United States and Great
Britain, and a period of one year after the termination of the said war, demands shall, at any
time or times, be made upon the said corporation, for gold and silver coin, to an amount, and
under circumstances, which induce a reasonable and probable belief, that the said gold and
silver coin is intended to be exported from, and out of, the United States, 80 as greatly to
diminish or endanger the specie capital of the government and country, as well as of the
said corporation; or that the said gold and silver coin is intended to be wilfully withdrawn
from the circulation, so as greatly to embarrass, obstruct, and discredit the pecuniary transac-
tions of the people and the government, as well as of the said corporation; or that the said
gold and silver coin is demanded, in consequence of a wilful and sinister accumulation of the
bills and notes of the said corporation, with the intention to impair or destroy the credit of
the said corporation then, and in every such case, and as often as such cases shall occur, it
shall be lawful for the directors of the said corporation to suspend its payments in specie, and
their duty forthwith, to represent the same to the President of the United States. And it
shall be thereupon lawful for the President of the United States to direct the said corpora-
tion to resume, or to continue to suspend, its payments in specie, for such time as he shall
deem it expedient; and the said corporation shall resume, or continue to suspend, its pay-
ments in specie, according to such directions. And the President of the United States shall
cause a statement of the proceedings, in all such cases, to be laid before Congress, if in ses-
sion, immediately if not in session, then within ten days after the next meeting of Congress;
and such suspension may continue until removed by Congress, or by the President."
With such a section as the one now recited, not only did it pass the Senate by the vote
of 17 to 14 above stated, but it was defeated in the House of Representatives merely by the
casting vote of the speaker, Mr. Cheves. This took place on the 2d of January, 1815. The
bill was, however, reconsidered on the following day, and, on the 7th of January, passed the
House by a vote of 120 to 37, having been amended by reducing the capital of the bank
from fifty to thirty millions of dollars, as well as by striking out from the bill those parts of
it which authorised the suspension of the specie payments, and which obliged the bank to
make loans to the government. On the bill being returned to the Senate, as amended, it
was again amended, by the increase of the capital of the bank from thirty to thirty-five mil-
lions of dollars, and by the reinstatement in the bill of the section authorising a. suspension,
in certain cases, of payments in specie. These amendments not being agreed to by the
House, the Senate, January 20th, receded from its amendments, and passed the bill without
them. It was destined to receive the veto of the President, Mr. Madison. "Waiving the
question of the constitutional authority of the Legislature to establish an incorporated bank,
as being precluded," in his judgment, " by repeated recognitions, under varied circum-
stances, of the validity of such an institution, in acts of the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches of the government, accompanied by indications, in different modes, of a concur-
rence of the general will of the nation he objects to the bill because " the proposed bank
does not appear to be calculated to answer the purposes of reviving the public credit, of pro-
viding a national medium of circulation, and of aiding the treasury by facilitating the india-
pensable anticipations of the revenue, and by affording to the public more durable loans."
And the President was not alone in being ready to waive the scruples which he had for-
merly entertained as to the constitutionality of a national bank, in consequence of a growing
conviction of the necessity of such an institution for the fiscal operations of the general govern-
ment. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. Dallas, had already expressed himself in reference
to this question of constitutionality in language very similar to that of Mr. Madison and the
minority of only 37 in the House of Representatives on the final passage of the bill is itself
sufficient evidence of the opposition to a national bank having, at the period of which we
speak, very much declined, as well on the ground of inconsistency with the powers bestowed
upon Congress by the constitution, as on the ground of its inexpediency. Indeed, compara-
tively few persons were then disposed to take the former ground. Almost the only question
at issue between the contending parties seemed to be what was the most desirable mode of
organising a bank.
The friends of an institution organised in accordance with the views of the President and
Secretary, did not yet despair of accomplishing their object before the rising of Congress.
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They succeeded in getting the Senate to pass such a bill as they desired, on the 11th of Febru-
ary ; which bill was, however, indefinitely postponed in the House of Representatives, on the
17th of the same month, by a vote of 74 to 73. It is more than probable that, but for the
news of peace with Great Britain, which had just arrived, the bill would have become a law,
and the country would have had irremediably imposed upon it an institution authorised by
law to issue millions and tens of millions of promises to pay specie to its creditors, and au-
thorised at the same time to refuse the fulfilment of those promises.
During the session of Congress of 1815-16, the subject of the incorporation of a national
bank was resumed and a bill was passed in the House of Representatives, on the 14th of
March, 1816, by a vote of 80 to 71, and in the Senate, with amendments, by a vote of 22 to
12, on the 3d of April. These amendments having been concurred in by the House, the
bill was approved by the president, on the 10th of April, and constituted the charter of the
late Bank the United States. We give this bill entire, as follows.
An act to incorporate the subscribers of the Bank of the United States.
2 1. Be it enacted &c. That a bank of the United States of America shall be established, with a
capital of thirty-five millions of dollars, divided into three hundred and fifty thousand shares, of one
hundred dollars each share. Seventy thousand shares, amounting to the sum of seven millions of
dollars, part of the capital of the said bank, shall be subscribed and paid for by the United States, in
the manner hereinafter specified and two hundred and eighty thousand shares, amounting to the
sum of twenty-eight millions of dollars, shall be subscribed and paid for by individuals, companies, or
corporations, in the manner hereinafter specified.
22. That subscriptions for the sum of twenty-eight millions of dollars, towards constituting the
capital of the said bank, shall be opened on the first Monday in July next, at the following places
that is to say: at Portland, in the District of Maine at Portsmouth, in the state of New-Hampshire;
at Boston, in the state of Massachusetts; at Providence, in the state of Rhode Island at Middle-
town, in the state of Connecticut; at Burlington, in the state of Vermont at New York, in the state
of New York: at New Brunswick, in the state of New Jersey; at Philadelphia, in the state of
Pennsylvania; at Wilmington, in the state of Delaware at Baltimore, in the state of Maryland;
at Richmond, in the state of Virginia ; at Lexington, in the state of Kentucky at Cincinnati, in the
state of Ohio; at Raleigh, in the state of North Carolina; at Nashville, in the state of Tennessee
at Charleston, in the state of South Carolina at Augusta, in the state of Georgia; at New Orleans,
in the state of Louisiana; and at Washington, in the District of Columbia. And the said subscrip-
tions shall be opened under the superintendence of five commissioners at Philadelphia, and of three
commissioners at each of the other places aforesaid, to be appointed by the president of the United
States, who is hereby authorized to make such appointments, and shall continue open every day, from
the time of opening the same, between the hours of ten o'clock in the forenoon and four o' clock in the
afternoon, for the term of twenty days, exclusive of Sundays, when the same shall be closed, and
immediately thereafter the commissioners, or any two of them, at the respective places aforesaid,
shall cause two transcripts or copies of such subscriptions to be made, one of which they shall send
to the secretary of the treasury, one they shall retain, and the original they shall transmit, within
seven days from the closing of the subscriptions as aforesaid, to the commissioners at Philadelphia
aforesaid. And, on the receipt of the said original subscriptions, or of either of the said copies
thereof, if the original be lost, mislaid, or detained, the commissioners at Philadelphia aforesaid, or a
majority of them, shall immediately thereafter convene, and proceed to take an account of the said
subscriptions. And if more than the amount of twenty-eight millions of dollars shall have been sub-
scribed, then the said last mentioned commissioners shall deduct the amount of such excess from the
largest subscriptions, in such manner as that no subscription shall be reduced in amount while any
one remains larger: Provided, That if the subscriptions taken at either of the places aforesaid shall
not exceed three thousand shares, there shall be no reduction of such subscriptions, nor shall, in any
case, the subscriptions taken at either of the places aforesaid be reduced below that amount. And,
in case the aggregate amount of the said subscriptions shall exceed twenty-eight millions of dollars,
the said last mentioned commissioners, after having apportioned the same as aforessid, shall cause
lists of the said apportioned subscriptions to be made out, including in each list the apportioned sub-
scription for the place where the original subscription was made, one of which lists they shall trans-
mit to the commissioners, or one of them, under whose superintendence such subscriptions were
originally made, that the subscribers may thereby ascertain the number of shares to them respect-
frely apportioned as aforesaid. And, in case the aggregate amount of the said subscriptions made
during the period aforesaid, at all the places aforesaid, shall not amount to twenty-eight millions of
dollars, the subscriptions to complete the said sum shall be and remain open at Philadelphia aforesaid,
under the superintendence of the commissioners appointed for that place and the subscriptions may
be then made by any individual, company, or corporation, for any number of shares, not exceeding,
in the whole, the amount required to complete the said sum of twenty-eight millions of dollars.
& 3. That it shall be lawful for any individual, company, corporation, or state, when the subscrip-
tions shall be opened as hereinbefore directed, to subscribe for any number of shares of the capital
of the said bank, not exceeding three thousand shares, and the sums so subscribed shall be payable,
and paid, in the manner following; that is to say: seven millions of dollars thereof in gold or silver
coin of the United States, or in gold coin of Spain of the dominions of Spain, at the rate of one hun-
dred cents for every twenty-eight grains and sixty hundredths of a grain of the actual weight thereof,
or in other foreign gold or silver coin at the several rates prescribed by the first section of an act regu-
lating the currency of foreign coins in the United States, passed tenth day of April, one thousand
eight hundred and six, and twenty-one millions of dollars thereof in like gold or silver coin, or in the
funded debt of the United States, contracted at the time of the subscriptions respectively. And the
payments made in the funded debt of the United States, shall be paid and received at the following
rates that is to say: the funded debt bearing an interest of six per centum per annum, at the nomi-
nal or par value thereof; the funded debt bearing an interest of three per centum per annum, at the
rate of sixty-five dollars for every sum of one hundred dollars of the nominal amount thereof; and
the funded debt bearing an interest of seven per centum per annum, at the rate of one hundred and
six dollars and fifty-one cents for every sum of one hundred dollars of the nominal amount thereof;
together with the amount of the interest accrued on the said several denominations of funded debt, to
be computed and allowed to the time of subscribing the same to the capital of the said bank as afore-
said. And the payments of the said subscriptions shall be made and completed by the subscribers,
respectively, at the times and in the manner following; that is to say: at the time of subscribing there
shall be paid five dollars on each share, in gold or silver coin as aforesaid, and twenty-five dollars
more in coin as aforesa!d, or in funded debt as aforesaid; at the expiration of six calendar months
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after the time of subscribing, there shall be paid the further sum of ten dollars on each share, in gold
or silver coin as aforesaid, and twenty-five dollars more in coin as aforesaid, or in funded debt as
aforesaid; at the expiration of twelve calendar months from the time of subscribing, there shall be
paid the further sum of ten dollars on each share, in gold or silver coin as aforesaid, and twenty-five
dollars more, in coin as aforesaid, or in funded debt as aforesaid.
8 4. That, at the time of subscribing to the capital of the said bank as aforesaid, each and every
subscriber shall deliver to the commissioners, at the place of subscribing, as well the amount of their
subscriptions, respectively, in coin as aforesaid, as the certificates of funded debt, for the funded debt
proportions of their respective subscriptions, together with a power of attorney, authorising the said
commissioners, or a majority of them, to transfer the said stock in due form of law to the president,
directors, and company, of the bank of the United States," as soon as the said bank shall be organized
Provided always, That if, in consequence of the apportionment of the shares in the capital of the said
bank among the subscribers, in the case, and in the manner, hereinbefore provided, any subscriber
shall have delivered to the commissioners, at the time of subscribing, a greater amount of gold or silver
coin and funded debt than shall be necessary to complete the payments for the share or shares to such
subscribers, apportioned as aforesaid, the commissioners shall only retain so much of the said gold or
silver coin and funded debt as shall be necessary to complete such payments, and shall, forthwith,
return the surplus thereof, on application for the same, to the subscribers lawfully entitled thereto.
And the commissioners, respectively, shall deposite the gold and silver coin, and certificates of public
debt, by them respectively received as aforesaid from the subscribers to the capital of the said bank,
in some place of secure and safe keeping, so that the same may and shall be specifically delivered and
transferred, as the same were by them respectively received, to the president, directors, and com-
pany, of the bank of the United States, OF to their order, as soon as shall be required after the organiza-
tion of the said bank. And the said commissioners appointed to superintend the subscriptions to the
capital of the said bank as aforesaid, shall receive a reasonable compensation for their services,
respectively, and shall be allowed all reasonable charges and expenses incurred in the execution of
their trust, to be paid by the president, directors, and company, of the bank, out of the funds thereof.
. 5. That it shall be lawful for the United States to pay and redeem the funded debt subscribed to
the capital of the said bank, at the rates aforesaid, in such sums, and at such times, as shall be deemed
expedient, any thing in any act or acts of Congress, to the contrary thereof notwithstanding. And it
shall also be lawful for the president, directors, and company, of the said bank, to sell and transfer for
gold and silver coin, or bullion, the funded debt subscribed to the capital of the said bank as aforesaid:
Provided always, That they shall not sell more thereof than the sum of two millions of dollars in any
one year; nor sell any part thereof at any time within the United States, without previously giving
notice of their intention to the secretary of the treasury, and offering the same to the United States
for the period of fifteen days, at least, at the current price, not exceeding the rates aforesaid.
$ 6. That, at the opening of subscription to the capital stock of the said bank, the secretary of the
treasury shall subscribe, or cause to be subscribed, on behalf of the United States, the said number of
seventy thousand shares, amounting to seven millions of dollars as aforesaid, to be paid in gold or
silver coin, or in stock of the United States, bearing interest at the rate of five per centum per annum
and if payment thereof, or of any part thereof, be made in public stock, bearing interest as aforesaid,
the said interest shall be payable quarterly, to commence from the time of making such payment on
account of the said subscriptions; and the principal of the said stock shall be redeemable in any sums,
and at any periods, which the government shall deem fit. And the secretary of the treasury shall
cause the certificates of such public stock to be prepared, and made in the usual form, and shall pay
and deliver the same to the president, directors, and company of the said bank, on the first day of
January, one thousand eight hundred and seventeen; which said stock it shall be lawful for the said
president, directors, and company, to sell and transfer, for gold and silver coin or bullion, at their dis-
cretion: Provided, They shall not sell more than two millions of dollars thereof in any one year.
07. That the subscribers to the said bank of the United States of America, their successors and
assigns, shall be, and are hereby, created a corporation and body politic, by the name and style of
the president, directors, and company, of the bank of the United States," and shall so continue until
the third day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six, and by that name shall
be, and are hereby, made able and capable, in law, to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, and
retain, to them and their successors, lands, rents, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, and
effects, of whatsoever kind, nature, and quality, to an amount not exceeding, in the whole, fifty-five
millions of dollars, including the amount of the capital stock aforesaid; and the same to sell, grant,
demise, alien, or dispose of; to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered,
defend and be defended, in all state courts having competent jurisdiction, and in any circuit court of
the United States: and also to make, have, and use, a common seal, and the same to break, alter, and
renew, at their pleasure: and also to ordain, establish, and put in execution, such by-laws and ordi-
nances, and regulations, as they shall deem necessary and convenient for the government of the said
corporation, not being contrary to the constitution thereof, or to the laws of the United States; and
generally to do and execute all and singular the acts, matters, and things, which to them it shall or
may appertain to do; subject, nevertheless, to the rules, regulations, restrictions, limitations, and
provisions, hereinafter prescribed and declared.
$8. That, for the management of the affairs of the said corporation, there shall be twenty-five direct-
ors, five of whom, being stockholders, shall be annually appointed by the president of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, not more than three of whom shall be resi-
dents of any one state; and twenty of whom shall be annually elected at the banking house in the
city of Philadelphia, on the first Monday of January in each year, by the qualified stockholders of the
capital of the said bank, other than the United States, and by a plurality of votes then and there
actually given, according to the scale of voting hereinafter prescribed: Provided always, That no per-
son, being a director in the bank of the United States, or any of its branches, shall be a director of
any other bank; and should any such director act as a director in any other bank, it shall forthwith
vacate his appointment in the direction of the bank of the United States. And the directors, so duly
appointed and elected, shall be capable of serving, by virtue of such appointment and choice, from the
first Monday in the month of January of each year, until the end and expiration of the first Mon-
day in the month of January of the year next ensuing the time of each annual election to be held by
the stockholders as aforesaid. And the board of directors, annually, at the first meeting after their
election in each and every year, shall proceed to elect one of the directors to be president of the cor-
poration, who shall hold the said office during the same period for which the directors are appointed
and elected as aforesaid: Provided also, That the first appointment and election of the directors and
president of the said bank shall be at the time and for the period hereinafter declared: And provided
also, That in case it should at any time happen that an appointment or election of directors, or an
election of the president of the said bank, should not be 80 made as to take effect on any day when
in pursuance of this act, they ought to take effect, the said corporation shall not, for that cause, be
deemed to be dissolved; but it shall be lawful at any other time to make such appointments, and to
hold such elections, (as the case may be ;) and the manner of holding the elections shall be regu-
lated by the by-laws and ordinances of the said corporation: and until such appointments or elections
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be made, the directors and president of the said bank, for the time being, shall continue in office: And
provided also, That in case of the death, resignation, or removal, of the president of the said corpo-
ration, the directors shall proceed to elect another president from the directors as aforesaid and in
case of the death, resignation, or absence, from the United States, or removal of a director from office,
the vacancy shall be supplied by the president of the United States, or by the stockholders, as the
case may be. But the president of the United States alone shall have power to remove any of the
directors appointed by him as aforesaid.
$ 9. That as soon as the sum of eight millions four hundred thousand dollars, in gold and silver coin
and in the public debt, shall have been actually received on account of the subscription to the capita
of the said bank (exclusively of the subscription aforesaid, on the part of the United States) notice
thereof shall be given by the persons under whose superintendence the subscription shall have been
made at the city of Philadelphia, in at least two newspapers printed in each of the places (if so many
be printed in such places respectively) where subscriptions shall have been made; and the said per-
sons shall, at the saine time, and in like manner, notify a time and place, within the said city of Phi-
ladelphia, at the distance of at least thirty days from the time of such notification, for proceeding to
the election of twenty directors as aforesaid, and it shall be lawful for such election to be then and
there made. And the president of the United States is hereby authorised, during the present session
of congress, to nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, to appoint, five di-
rectors of the said bank, though not stockholders, any thing in the provisions of this act to the con-
trary notwithstanding; and the persons who shall be elected and appointed as aforesaid, shall be the
first directors of the said bank, and shall proceed to elect one of the directors to be president of the
said bank; and the directors and president of the said bank, so appointed and elected as aforesaid,
shall be capable of serving in their respective office, by virtue thereof, until the end and expiration
of the first Monday of the month of January next ensuing the said appointments and elections and
they shall then and thenceforth commence, and continue the operations of the said bank, at the city
of Philadelphia.
$ 10. That the directors for the time being, shall have power to appoint such officers, clerks, and
servants, under them, as shall be necessary for executing the business of the said corporation, and to
allow them such compensation for their services, respectively, as shall be reasonable and shall be
capable of exercising such other powers and authorities for the well governing and ordering of the
officers of the said corporation, as shall be prescribed, fixed, and determined, by the laws, regulations,
and ordinances, of the same.
è 11. That the following rules, restrictions, limitations, and provisions, shall form and be funda-
mental articles of the constitution of the said corporation, to wit: 1. The number of votes to which
the stockholders shall be entitled, in voting for directors, shall be according to the number of shares
he, she, or they, respectively, shall hold, in the proportions following, that is to say ; for one share
and not more than two shares, one vote; for every two shares above two, and not exceeding ten, one
vote ; for every four shares above ten, and not exceeding thirty, one vote; for every six shares above
thirty, and not exceeding sixty, one vote; for every eight shares above sixty, and not exceeding one
hundred, one vote; and for every ten shares above one hundred, one vote; but no person, copart-
nership, or body politic, shall be entitled to a greater number than thirty votes ; and after the first
election, no share or shares shall confer a right of voting, which shall not have been holden three
calendar months previous to the day of election. And stockholders actually resident within the
United States, and none other, may vote in elections by proxy. Second. Not more than three fourths
of the directors elected by the stockholders, and not more than four fifths of the directors appointed by
the president of the United States, who shall be in office at the time of an annual election, shall be
elected or appointed for the next succeeding year; and no director shall hold his office more than
three years out of four in succession: but the director who shall be the president at the time of an
election, may always be re-appointed, or re-elected, as the case may be. Third. None but a stock-
holder, resident citizen of the United States, shall be a director; nor shall a director be entitled to
any emolument; but the directors may make such compensation to the president, for his extraordi-
nary attendance at the bank, as shall appear to them reasonable. Fourth. Not less than seven direct-
ors shall constitute a board for the transaction of business, of whom the president shall always be
one, except in case of sickness or necessary absence; in which case his place may be supplied by any
other director whom he, by writing, under his hand, shall depute for that purpose. And the director
so deputed may do and transact all the necessary business, belonging to the office of the president of
the said corporation during the continuance of the sickness or necessary absence of the president.
Fifth. A number of stockholders, not less than sixty, who, together, shall be proprietors of one thou-
sand shares or upwards, shall have power, at any time, to call a general meeting of the stockholders,
for purposes relative to the institution, giving at least ten weeks' notice in two public newspapers of
the place where the bank is seated, and specifying in such notice the object or objects of such meet-
ing. Sixth. Each cashier or treasurer, before he enters upon the duties of his office, shall be required
to give bond, with two or more sureties, to the satisfaction of the directors, in a sum not less than
fifty thousand dollars, with a condition for his good behaviour, and the faithful performance of his
duties to the corporation. Seventh. The lands, tenements, and hereditaments, which it shall be law-
ful for the said corporation to hold, shall be only such as shall be requisite for its immediate accom-
modation in relation to the convenient transacting of its business, and such as shall have been bona
fide mortgaged to it by way of security, or conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously con-
tracted in the course of its dealings, or purchased at sales, upon judgments which shall have been
obtained for such debts. Eighth. The total amount of debts which the said corporation shall at any
time owe, whether by bond, bill, note, or other contract, over and above the debt or debts due for
money deposited in the bank, shall not exceed the sum of thirty-five millions of dollars, unless the
contracting of any greater debt shall have been previously authorised by law of the United States.
In case of excess, the directors under whose administration it shall happen, shall be liable for the
same in their natural and private capacities and an action of debt may, in such case, be brought
against them, or any of them, their or any of their heirs, executors, or administrators, in any court
of record of the United States, or either of them, by any creditor or creditors of the said corporation,
and may be prosecuted to judgment and execution, any condition, covenant, or agreement, to the
contrary notwithstanding. But this provision shall not be construed to exempt the said corporation,
or the lands, tenements, goods, or chattels, of the same, from being also liable for, and chargeable
with, the said excess. Such of the said directors who may have been absent when the said excess
was contracted or created, or who may have dissented from the resolution or act whereby the same
was so contracted or created, may respectively exonerate themselves from being so liable, by forth-
with giving notice of the fact, and of their absence or dissent, to the president of the United States, and
to the stockholders, at a general meeting, which they shall have power to call for that purpose. Ninth
The said corporation shall not, directly or indirectly, deal or trade in any thing except bills of ex-
change, gold or silver bullion, or in the sale of goods really and truly pledged for money lent and not
redeemed in due time, or goods which shall be the proceeds of its lands. It shall not be at liberty to
purchase any public debt whatsoever, nor shall it take more than at the rate of six per centum per
annum for or upon its loans or discounts. Tenth. No loan shall be made by the said corporation, for
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the use or on account of the government of the United States, to an amount exceeding five hundred
thousand dollars, or of any particular state, to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars, or of any
foreign prince or state, unless previously authorized by a law of the United States. Eleventh. The
stock of the said corporation shall be assignable and transferable, according to such rules as shall be
instituted, in that behalf, by the laws and ordinances of the same. Twelfth. The bills obligatory and
of credit, under the seal of the said corporation, which shall be made to any person or persons, shall
be assignable by endorsement thereupon, under the hand or hands of such person or persons, and his,
her, or their, executors or administrators, and of his or their assignee or assignees, and so as abso-
lutely to transfer and vest the property thereof in each and every assignee or assignees successively,
and to enable such assignee or assignees, and his, her, or their, executors or administrators, to main-
tain an action thereupon in his, her, or their, own name or names: Provided, That said corporation
shall not make any bill obligatory, or of credit, or other obligation under its seal, for the payment of
a sum less than five thousand dollars. And the bills or notes which may be issued by order of the
said corporation, signed by the president and countersigned by the principal cashier or treasurer
thereof, promising the payment of money to any person or persons, his, her, or their, order, or to
bearer, although not under the seal of the said corporation, shall be binding and obligatory upon the
same, in like manner, and with like force and effect, as upon any private person or persons, if issued
by him, her, or them, in his, her, or their, private or natural capacity or capacities, and shall be as-
signable and negotiable in like manner as if they were SO issued by such private person or persons ;
that is to say, those which shall be payable to any person or persons, his, her, or their, order, shall be
assignable by endorsement, in like manner and with the like effect as foreign bills of exchange now
are; and those which are payable to bearer shall be assignable and negotiable by delivery only:
Provided, That all bills or notes, so to be issued by said corporation, shall be made payable on demand,
other than bills or notes for the payment of a sum not less than one hundred dollars each, and paya-
ble to the order of some person or persons; which bills or notes it shall be lawful for said corpora-
tion to make payable at any time not exceeding sixty days from the date thereof. Thirteenth. Half
yearly dividends shall be made of so much of the profits of the bank as shall appear to the directors
advisable; and once in every three years the directors shall lay before the stockholders, at a general
meeting, for their information, an exact and particular statement of the debts which shall have re-
mained unpaid after the expiration of the original credit, for a period of treble the term of that cre-
dit, and of the surplus of the profits, if any, after deducting losses and dividends. If there shall be
a failure in the payment of any part of any sum subscribed to the capital of the said bank, by any
person, copartnership, or body politic, the party failing shall lose the benefit of Any dividend which
may have accrued prior to the time for making such payment, and during the delay of the same.
Fourteenth. The directors of the said corporation shall establish a competent office of discount and
deposite in the district of Columbia, whenever any law of the United States shall require such an es-
tablishment; also one such office of discount and deposite in any state in which two thousand shares
shall have been subscribed or may be held, whenever, upon application of the legislature of such
state, congress may, by law, require the same: Provided, The directors aforesaid shall not be bound
to establish such office before the whole of the capital of the bank shall have been paid up. And it
shall be lawful for the directors of the said corporation to establish offices of discount and deposite
wheresoever they shall think fit, within the United States or the territories thereof, and to commit
the management of the said offices, and the business thereof, respectively, to such persons, and under
such regulations, as they shall deem proper, not being contrary to law or the constitution of the
bank. Or instead of establishing such offices, it shall be lawful for the directors of the said corpora-
tion, from time to time, to employ any other bank or banks, to be first approved by the secretary of
the treasury, at any place or places that they may deem safe and proper, to manage and transact the
business proposed as aforesaid, other than for the purposes of discount, to be managed and transacted
by such offices, under such agreements, and subject to such regulations, as they shall deem just and
proper. Not more than thirteen, nor less than seven, managers or directors, of every office esta-
blished as aforesaid, shall be annually appointed by the directors of the bank, to serve one year; they
shall choose a president from their own number ; each of them shall be a citizen of the United States,
and a resident of the state, territory, or district, wherein such office is established; and not more than
three fourths of the said managers or directors, in office at the time of an annual appointment, shall
be re-appointed for the next succeeding year; and no director shall hold his office more than three
years out of four, in succession but the president may be always re-appointed. Fifteenth. The offi-
cer at the head of the treasury department of the United States shall be fornished, from time to time,
as often as he may require, not exceeding once a week, with statements of the amount of the capital
stock of the said corporation, and of the debts due to the same; of the moneys deposited therein
of the notes in circulation, and of the specie in hand; and shall have a right to inspect such general
accounts in the books of the bank as shall relate to the said statement: Provided, That this shall not
be construed to imply a right of inspecting the account of any private individual or individuals with
the Bank. Sixteenth. No stockholder, unless he be a citizen of the United States, shall vote in the
choice of directors. Seventeenth. No note shall be issued of less amount than five dollars.
& 12. That if the said corporation, or any person or persons, for or to the use of the same, shall deal
or trade in buying or selling goods, wares, merchandise, or commodities, whatsoever, contrary to the
provisions of this act, all and every person and persons by whom any order or direction for so dealing
or trading shall have been given, and all and every person and persons, who shall have been con-
cerned as parties or agents therein, shall forfeit and lose treble the value of the goods, wares, mer-
chandise, and commodities, in which such dealing and trade shall have been ; one half thereof to the
use of the informer, and the other half thereof to the use of the United States; to be recovered in
any action of law, with costs of suit.
è 13. That if the said corporation shall advance or lend any sum of money for the use or on account
of the government of the United States, to an amount exceeding five hundred thousand dollars; or
of any particular state, to an amount exceeding fifty thousand dollars; or of any foreign prince or
state (unless previously authorized thereto by a law of the United States), all and every person and
persons, by and with whose order, agreement, consent, approbation, and connivance, such unlawful
advance or loan shall have been made, upon conviction thereof, shall forfeit and pay, for every such
offence, treble the value or amount of the sum or sums which have been so unlawfully advanced or
lent one fifth thereof to the use of the informer, and the residue thereof to the use of the United
States.
è 14. That the bills or notes of the said corporation, originally made payable, or which shall have
become payable, on demand, shall be receivable in all payments to the United States, unless otherwise
directed by act of congress.
1 15. That, during the continuance of this act, and whenever required by the secretary of the trea-
sury, the said corporation shall give the necessary facilities for transferring the public funds from
place to place, within the United States, or the territories thereof, and for distributing the same in
payment of the public creditors, without charging commissions, or claiming allowance, on account of
difference of exchange and shall also do and perform the several and respective duties of the com-
missioners of loans for the several states, or of any one or more of them, whenever required by law.
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$ 16. That the deposites of the money of the United States, in places in which the said bank and
branches thereof may be established, shall be made in said bank or branches thereof, unless the secre-
tary of the treasury shall at any time otherwise order and direct; in which case the secretary of
the treasury shall immediately lay before congress, if in session, and, if not, immediately after the
commencement of the next session, the reasons of such order or direction.
è 17. That the said corporation shall not, at any time, suspend and refuse payment in gold and
silver, of any of its notes, bills, or obligations; nor of any moneys received upon deposite in said
bank, or in any of its offices of discount and deposite. And if the said corporation shall, at any time,
refuse or neglect to pay, on demand, any bill, note, or obligation, issued by the corporation, according
to the contract, promise, or undertaking, therein expressed; or shall neglect or refuse to pay,on
demand, any moneys received in said bank, or in any of its offices aforesaid, on deposite, to the per-
son or persons entitled to receive the same, then, and in every such case, the holder of any such note,
bill, or obligation, or the person or persons entitled to demand and receive such moneys as aforesaid,
shall, respectively, be entitled to receive and recover interest on the said bills, notes, obligations, or
moneys, until the same shall be fully paid and satisfied, at the rate of twelve per centum per annum,
from the time of such demand as aforesaid Provided, That congress may, at any time hereafter, enact
laws enforcing and regulating the recovery of the amount of the notes, bills, obligations, or other
debts, of which payment shall have been refused as aforesaid, with the rate of interest above men-
tioned, vesting jurisdiction for that purpose in any courts, either of law or equity, of the courts of
the United States, or territories thereof, or of the several states, as they may deem expedient.
2 18. That if any person shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause or procure to be falsely
made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in falsely making, forging, or counterfeiting,
any bill or note in imitation of, or purporting to be, a bill or note issued by order of the president,
directors, and company, of the said bank, or any order or check on the said bank or corporation, or
any cashier thereof; or shall falsely alter, or cause or procure to be falsely altered, or willingly aid or
assist in falsely altering, any bill or note issued by order of the president, directors, and company, of
the said bank, or any order or check on the said bank or corporation, or any cashier thereof; or shall
pass, utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish, as true, any false, forged, or counterfeited,
bill or note, purporting to be a bill or note issued by order of the president, directors, and company,
of the said bank, or any false, forged, or counterfeited, order or check upon the said bank or corpora-
tion, or any cashier thereof, knowing the same to be falsely forged or counterfeited; or shall pass,
utter, or publish, or attempt to pass, utter, or publish, as true, any falsely altered bill or note, issued
by order of the president, directors, and company, of the said bank, or any falsely altered order or
check on the said bank or corporation, or any cashier thereof, knowing the same to be falsely altered,
with intention to defraud the said corporation, or any other body politic or person or shall sell, utter,
or deliver, or cause to be sold, uttered, or delivered, any forged or counterfeit note or bill, in imita-
tion, or purporting to be, a bill or note issued by order of the president and directors of the said bank,
knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeited; every such person shall be deemed and
adjudged guilty of felony, and being thereof convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to be
imprisoned and kept to hard labour, for not less that three years nor more than ten years, or shall be
imprisoned not exceeding ten years, and fined not exceeding five thousand dollars: Provided, That
nothing herein contained shall be construed to deprive the courts of the individual states of a jurisdic-
tion, under the laws of the several states, over any offence declared punishable by this act.
è 19. That if any person shall make or engrave, or cause or procure to be made or engraved, or shall
have in his custody or possession, any metallic plate, engraved after the similitude of any plate from
which any notes or bills, issued by the said corporation, shall have been printed, with intent to use
such plate, or to cause or suffer the same to be used, in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes or
bills issued by the said corporation or shall have in his custody or possession any blank note or
notes, bill or bills, engraved and printed after the similitude of any notes or bills issued by said corpo-
ration, with intent to use such blanks, or cause or suffer the same to be used, in forging or counter-
feiting any of the notes or bills issued by the said corporation or shall have in his custody or posses-
sion any paper adapted to the making of bank notes or bills, and similar to the paper upon which any
notes or bills of the said corporation shall have been issued, with intent to use such paper, or cause
or suffer the same to be used, in forging or counterfeiting any of the notes or bills issued by the said
corporation; every such person, being thereof convicted by due course of law, shall be sentenced to
be imprisoned and kept to hard labor for a term not exceeding five years, or shall be imprisoned for a
term not exceeding five years and fined in a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars.
è 20. That, in consideration of the exclusive privileges and benefits conferred by this act upon the
said bank, the president, directors, and company, thereof, shall pay to the United States, out of the
corporate funds thereof, the sum of one million and five hundred thousand dollars, in three equal pay-
ments; that is to say: five hundred thousand dollars at the expiration of two years; five hundred
thousand dollars at the expiration of three years and five hundred thousand dollars at the expiration
of four years after the said bank shall be organized and commence its operations in the manner here-
inbefore provided.
è 21. That no other bank shall be established by any future law of the United States during the
continuance of the corporation hereby created, for which the faith of the United States is hereby
pledged: Provided, Congress may renew existing charters for banks in the district of Columbia, not
increasing the capital thereof, and may also establish any other bank or banks in said district, with
capitals not exceeding, in the whole, six millions of dollars, if they shall deem it expedient. And, not-
withstanding the expiration of the term for which the said corporation is created, it shall be lawful to
use the corporate name, style, and capacity, for the purpose of suits for the final settlement and liqui-
dation of the affairs and accounts of the corporation, and for the sale and disposition of their estate,
real, personal, and mixed but not for any other purpose, or in any other manner, whatsoever, nor
for a period exceeding two years after the expiration of the said term of incorporation.
e 22. That if the subscriptions and payments to said bank shall not be made and completed so as to
enable the same to commence its operations, or if the said bank shall not commence its operations on
or before the first Monday in April next, then, and in that case, congress may, at any time within
twelve months thereafter, declare, by law, this act null and void.
1 23. That it shall, at all times, be lawful for a committee of either house of congress, appointed
for that purpose, to inspect the books, and to examine into the proceedings, of the corporation hereby
created, and to report whether the provisions of this charter have been, by the same, violated or not;
and whenever any committee, as aforesaid, shall find and report, or the president of the United States
shall have reason to believe, that the charter has been violated, it may be lawful for congress to direct,
or the president to order, a scire facias to be sued out of the circuit court of the district of Pennsyl-
vania, in the name of the United States (which shall be executed upon the president of the corpora-
tion for the time being, at least fifteen days before the commencement of the term of said court),
calling on the said corporation to show cause wherefore the charter hereby granted shall not be
declared forfeited; and it shall be lawful for the said court, upon the return of the said scire facias,
to examine into the truth of the alleged violation, and if such violation be made appear, then to pro-
nounce and adjudge that the said charter is forfeited and annulled. Provided, however, Every issue
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of fact which may be joined between the United States and the corporation aforesaid, shall be tried
by jury. And it shall be lawful for the court aforesaid to require the production of such of the books
of the corporation as it may deem necessary for the ascertainment of the controverted facts: and the
final judgment of the court aforesaid shall be examinable in the supreme court of the United States,
by writ of error, and may be there reversed or affirmed, according to the usages of law.
The bank commenced operations on the 7th of January, 1817; and soon after entered
into a compact with the State banks for a simultaneous resumption of specie payments. It
was agreed that this should take place on the 20th of February, on the condition, among
others, that the Bank of the United States should not demand payment of any balances
which might accumulate against the State institutions, until that bank and its branches
should have discounted for individuals, not having duties to pay, at some of the principal
Atlantic ports, to the amount of $6,000,000.
Immediately on going into operation, every effort was, very naturally, made by the bank
to push its paper into circulation, and to make its transactions as extensive as possible. Its
discounts were augmented, in the course of little more than a month, from three to twenty
millions of dollars and in the end of October, of the same year, they already amounted to
33 millions. With respect to the circulation of its notes, this was soon only limited by the
physical inability of the President and Cashier to sign more than a certain number of them
in a given time. On the whole, however, there is no doubt that the continued expansion of
its paper by the Bank of the United States more than counterbalanced any contraction of
that of the other banks, which may have ensued by means of its action upon them. The
whole currency of the country remained still in a depreciated condition. Prices were uni-
versally high and the spirit of speculation in the different kinds of stocks especially was
everywhere rife. Independently of any other consideration, a return to a more natural state
of things could not fail before long to ensue, from the exportation of specie, and the conse-
quent necessity of the banks to curtail their discounts. This reaction, it is also true, must
necessarily give occasion to much pecuniary embarrassment and distress to almost every por-
tion of the community. But the distress, when it actually came, was unquestionably very
much aggravated by the system of management adopted in the early administration of the
new Bank of the United States. In the first place, not only were its discounts and circula-
tion augmented altogether too rapidly, but its discounts were, to a considerable extent, made
to the stockholders, on pledges of their stock. The object which the directors had, at the
outset, in thus favouring the stockholders, above every other class of borrowers, was to enable
them to pay the specie portion of the several instalments due by them for their shares, as
the time for their payment occurred. As a consequence, the whole amount of the specie
paid into the bank by the stockholders, intead of being what was contemplated by Congress,
when they incorporated the bank, viz. $7,000,000, was, it is probable, considerably short of
third of this sum. But it soon became a practice to lend to the stockholders to the extent
*the par value of their shares, on a pledge of these to the bank, without any personal secu-
City. Persons of little or no property were, by this means, enabled to hold bank stock, even
to a very large amount; since all that they needed to do was to procure from the bank, on a
pledge of the stock which they purchased, the very money which they were called upon to
pay for it. An increased demand was in this way created for the stock and it is not sur-
prising that its price in the market should have been, for some time, almost steadily on the
rise, as well as that it should have presented a tempting field for the operations of the specu-
lator and the gambler. Again, it was in the natural order of things that, when a contraction
on the part of the bank became necessary, the directors, instead of throwing any portion of
the pledged stock into the market, which would have a tendency to lower the value of the
stock, should curtail their discounts of mercantile paper to an extent far greater than would
otherwise have been requisite, and should thus, as we have said, veaggravated the pecuniary
embarrassments incidental to every sudden diminution of the circulating medium.
We cannot better continue this account of the mode in which the Bank of the United
States was managed, in the period under consideration, than by adopting the language of Mr.
Cheves, the second president of the bank, in a report made by him to the stockholders in 1822.
" The bank, immediately on its commencement, did a very extensive business, imported
vast sums of specie, paid its notes and those of the offices, without reference to the places
where they were payable, at the bank and all the principal offices north of the Potomac,
while they were, under the charter, necessarily received every where in payments of debts to
the government of the United States; and drafts were given without limit, on the parent
bank and northern offices, by the western offices, at par or at a premium merely nominal. As
soon as the notes of the southern and western offices were paid or received by the bank and
northern offices, they were returned to them and re-issued in perpetual succession. The re-
sult was, that the bank and the great northern offices were drained of their capital, and on
the 20th of July, 1818, only eighteen months after the institution began its operations, it was
obliged to commence a rapid and heavy curtailment of the business of the bank and its of-
fices. During all this time, it had the advantage of immense government deposites. At the
moment that curtailments were ordered, the government deposites in the bank and its
branches, including the deposites of public officers, amounted to eight millions of dollars, and
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they had been larger at preceding periods. Curtailments were ordered from time to time, at the
southern and western offices, to the amount of seven millions of dollars, and at the parent
bank to the amount of two millions, though at the latter they were made to the amount of
3,600,000 dollars, and upwards, between the 30th of July, 1818, and the 1st of April, 1819.
No curtailments were ordered at the offices of New York and Boston, because there was no
room for them, yet necessity obliged them to reduce their business very much. The cur-
tailments at all points within the above mentioned dates, being eight months, were 6,530,000
dollars, 49 cents. Yet after these immense and rapid curtailments, the most sensible and
vital points (Philadelphia, New York, and Boston) were infinitely in worse condition than
when the remedy was devised.
" At that moment" (the 1st of April, 1819) " the discount line of the important office at
Boston was only 94,584 dollars, 37 cents. And when in this wretched state, the southern
and western circulation was pouring in upon these weak points, and the government was at
liberty, according to the practice of the time, to draw on every office of the bank, for the
gross amount of its deposites, throughout the whole establishment, whether north, south,
east, or west. The southern and western offices were not restrained from issuing their
notes, which they did most profusely. The curtailments, in many instances, resulted merely
in a change of debts bearing interest, for debts due by local banks, or the notes of local
banks, on neither of which was interest received. The western offices curtailed their dis-
counted paper, but they purchased what were called race horse bills, to a greater amount
than their curtailments. The bank itself continued, during the whole period, to purchase
and collect drafts on the southern and even western offices, though almost the whole of the
active capital already lay in those quarters of the Union, and though the great object of the
curtailments was to draw funds from these points. The debt due in Kentucky and Ohio,
instead of being reduced, was within this period actually increased upwards of half a million
of dollars. Instead of getting relief from the southern and western offices generally, where
curtailments had been ordered, the bank was still further exhausted by the intervening ope-
rations.
" At the commencement of this period, (a period commencing with the order for curtail-
ments, and ending March, 1819,) the bank was indebted to Baring, Brothers & Co., Reed,
Irving & Co., Adams, Robertson, & Co., and Thomas Wilson & Co., the sum of 1,586,345
dollars, 47 cents, growing principally, if not entirely, out of its specie operations. Of this
sum the greater part was paid during this period. It had, however, contracted new debts
with Baring, Brothers & Co., and Thomas Wilson & Co., of which there remained due,
including any balance which may have been due on the former accounts, the sum of 876,648
dollars; and, within the same period, it had disposed of 2,270,926 dollars, 65 cents of its
funded debt, furnishing by these compound operations ways and means, in addition to its
curtailments, to the amount of 1,561,229 dollars, 13 cents, and making, with these curtail-
ments, a reduction in the productive capital of the bank, within the period of eight months,
of eight millions of dollars, and upwards.
" At the close of this period, the discounts on personal security at Philadelphia had been
so long the subject of curtailment, that a small portion of them admitted of further reduction,
and, after great efforts, a rule had been established to reduce the discounts which had been
granted on the stock of the bank, at the rate of five per cent. every 60 days. The latter
constituted the bulk of the discounted paper, and 80 small a reduction afforded no relief
against a great and immediate demand. Even this small reduction was the subject of loud,
angry, and constant remonstrance among the borrowers, who claimed the privileges and the
favours which they contended were due to stockholders, and sometimes succeeded in com-
municating their sympathies to the board. All the funded debt which was valuable had
been disposed of, and the proceeds exhausted. The specie in the vaults at the close of the
day, on the 1st of April, 1819, was only 126,745 dollars, 28 cents, and the bank owed to the
city banks, deducting balances due to it, an aggregate balance of 79,125 dollars 99 cents.
" It is true there were in the mint 267,978 dollars, 9 cents, and in transitu from Kentucky
end Ohio over land, 250,000 dollars; but the Treasury dividends were payable on that day
to the amount of near 500,000 dollars, and there remained at the close of the day more than
one half of the sum subject to draft, and the greater part of the sum which had been drawn
during the day remained a charge upon the bank, in the shape of temporary deposits, which
were almost immediately withdrawn. Accordingly, on the 12th of the same month, the
bank had in its vaults but 71,522 dollars, 47 cents, and owed to the city banks a balance of
196,148 dollars, 47 cents; exceeding the specie in its vaults 124,895 dollars, 19 cents. It
must again be remarked, that it had yet the sum before mentioned in the mint, as well as
the sum in transitu from Ohio and Kentucky this last sum (250,000 dollars) arrived very
seasonably on the next day, or a day or two thereafter. The bank in this situation, the
office at New York was little better, and the office at Boston a great deal worse. At the
same time the bank owed to Baring, Brothers & Co., and Thomas Wilson & Co., nearly
900,000 dollars, which it was bound to pay immediately, and which was equivalent to a
charge upon its vaults to that amount. It had, including the notes of the offices, a circula-
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tion of six millions of dollars to meet, to which were to be added the demands of depositors,
public and private, at a time, too, when the scarcity of money called forth every disposable
dollar, and therefore created demands upon the bank for an unusual portion of the ordinary
deposites and circulation.
The sums which were collected daily on account of the revenue, in branch paper, were
demandable the next day in Philadelphia, and, at the same time, at every office of the es-
tablishment, at the discretion of the officers of government. The revenue was chiefly paid in
branch paper, as well at Boston and New York as at Philadelphia, and while the duties
were thus paid at one counter, in branch paper, the debentures, which amounted to one
million of dollars every three months, were demanded and paid at the other, in specie or its
equivalent-money of the place. Many additional details, increasing the difficulties of the
moment, might be added. The southern offices were remitting tardily, and the western not
at all. All the resources of the bank would not have sustained it in this course and mode
of business another month. Such was the prostrate state of the bank of the nation, which
had, only twenty-seven months before, commenced business with an untrammelled active
capital of twenty-eight millions of dollars."
Mr. Cheves then goes on to state the losses incurred by the bank and its offices, especially
at Baltimore, in consequence of the improper conduct of certain of the officers connected
with it. The losses in that city alone, he says, were estimated at the sum of 1,671,221 dol-
lars, 87 cents. " The aggregate of the losses of the institution, growing out of the opera-
tions which preceded the 6th of March, 1819, exceeded considerably 3,500,000 dollars. The
dividends during the same time amounted to 4,410,000 dollars. Of this sum 1,348,553
dollars, 98 cents, were received as the interest on the public debt held by the bank, which
leaves, as the entire profits on all the operations of banking, the sum of 3,061,441 dollars, 2
cents, which is less by at least half a million of dollars, than the losses sustained on the same
business.
" Thus stood the bank at the organisation of the present administration. I was elected
and took my seat as President of the Board on the 6th of March, 1819. But some time, of
course, was necessary to look into the state of the bank, before measures of relief could be
projected. Its danger, however, was too manifest and too pressing to allow much time for
this purpose. The principal errors which produced the danger were fortunately of easy
discovery, and to them the proper remedy was immediately applied. The southern and
western offices were immediately directed not to issue their notes, and the bank ceased to
purchase and collect exchanges on the south and west.
" At a meeting of the directors on the 9th of April, which was very full, the state of the
bank was submitted to them, and a select committee appointed, to whom the subject of its
difficulties was referred, and after very mature deliberation that committee made a report,
which was unanimously agreed to. The principal means of relief proposed and agreed to
were
" 1. To continue the curtailments previously ordered. 2. To forbid the offices, at the south
and west, to issue their notes when the exchanges were against them. 3. To collect the
balances due by local banks to the offices. 4. To claim of the government the time neces-
sary to transfer funds from the offices where money was collected to those where it was to
be disbursed, as well as like time (until the difficulties of the banks were removed) to trans-
fer funds to meet the notes of offices paid in the bank or other offices than those where they
were payable according to their tenor. 5. To pay debentures in the same money in which
the duties on which the debentures were secured had been paid. 6. To obtain a loan in
Europe for a sum not exceeding 2,500,000 dollars, for a period not exceeding three years.
These measures, simple and obvious as they are, and some of them 80 strangely over-
looked 80 long, lifted the bank in the short space of seventy days (from the 6th of March to
the 17th of May) from the extreme prostration which has been described to a state of safety,
and even in some degree of power, enabled it to cease its curtailments, except at points where
it had an excess of capital, to defy all attacks upon it, and to sustain other institutions which
wanted aid and were ascertained to be solvent; above all to establish the soundness of the
currency, which had just before been deemed hopeless; and in a single season of business
(the first) to give to every office as much capital as it could advantageously employ."
Nothing more need be added to this exposition of Mr. Cheves, in order to enable the
reader to understand the injurious action of the bank, at the period of which we are speak-
ing, on the currency of the country, than to state the fact that the branches of the United
States Bank made a practice of exchanging their drafts on the Atlantic cities for the notes
of the local banks, upon which they required interest to be paid. The obvious consequence
of this proceeding was to stimulate those institutions to enlarge their business also to a very
extravagant extent; thus contributing to render the contraction of the currency in the
western states, when it necessarily happened, both more extensive and more sudden than it
would otherwise have been.
The mismanagement of the affairs of the Bank of the United States could not fail to at-
tract the attention of Congress. It was brought before the House of Representatives by 8
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resolution offered by Mr. Spencer of New York, on the 25th of November, 1818; which
resolution was referred to a select committee of which the mover of the resolution was the
chairman. This committee, on the 16th of January following, made an elaborate report,
concluding with an explicit declaration, that, in their opinion, the charter of the bank had in
several instances been violated. However, excepting the passage of a bill to prevent the
larger stockholders from having an undue number of votes at elections, they did not recom-
mend any specific action, on the part of Congress, to correct the many evils and mischiefs"
depicted by them, because, by the provisions of the charter, the Secretary of the Treasury
has full power to apply a prompt and adequate remedy, whenever the situation of the bank
shall require it." Resolutions were shortly after offered to the House, for taking the proper
measures preparatory to declaring the charter of the bank to have been forfeited; but they
were voted down by very large majorities.
It is unnecessary to go into any details here concerning the history of the Bank of the
United States, from the period at which we have now arrived until the meeting of Congress
in December, 1829, when the President presented the question of its recharter for the con-
sideration of that body. Its expansions and contractions," as well as those of the banks
of the country generally, during the whole of this time were merely such as are incidental
to the operations of all banks of circulation. The President observed that the charter of
the Bank of the United States expires in 1836, and its stockholders will, most probably,
apply for a renewal of their privileges. In order to avoid the evils resulting from precipi-
tancy, in a measure involving such important principles, and such deep pecuniary interests,
I feel that I cannot, in justice to the parties interested, too soon present it to the deliberate
consideration of the legislature and the people. Both the constitutionality and the expe-
diency, of the law creating this bank, are well questioned by a large portion of our fellow-
citizens; and it must be admitted by all, that it has failed in the great end of establishing a
uniform and sound currency.
.. Under these circumstances, if such an institution is deemed essential to the fiscal opera-
tions of the government, I submit to the wisdom of the legislature whether a national one,
founded upon the credit of the government, and its revenues, might not be devised, which
would avoid all constitutional difficulties, and, at the same time, secure all the advantages to
the government and country that were expected to result from the present bank."
The Committee of Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, through their chair-
man, Mr. McDuffie, made a report on the 13th of April, 1830; in which, after an elaborate
examination of the several questions presented by the message of the President, and sub-
mitted to them for consideration, they conclude that Congress has the constitutional power
to incorporate a bank, such as that of the United States; that it is expedient to establish and
maintain such an institution and that it is inexpedient to establish a national bank, founded
upon the credit of the government and its revenues."
In the Senate, a resolution had been referred, early in the same session, to the committee
of finance, directing them to inquire into the expediency of establishing an uniform national
currency for the United States; which committee reported on the 29th of March, and, like
that of the House of Representatives, expressed opinions, concerning the currency and the
Bank of the United States, in direct opposition with those of the President.
No further steps were taken by either the Senate or the House of Representatives on the
subject, until the session of 1831-32, when the bank made application to Congress for a re-
newal of its charter. The President had, in the mean while, a second, and a third time, in
successive annual messages, reiterated his views in opposition to such a renewal. This did
not prevent a bill from passing through both branches of the national legislature, incorporat-
ing anew the Bank of the United States; which bill was, however, vetoed by the President,
who stated his reasons for doing so in a message to the Senate, where the bill had originated.
It was there promptly reconsidered; but, failing to obtain in its favour the constitutional
majority of two-thirds of the members of that body, it was finally rejected on the 13th day
of July, 1832.
The removal by the President of the government deposites from the Bank of the United
States, in the autumn of 1833; the adoption, in consequence, by Congress of what has been
styled the deposite bank system, as a means of safely keeping the public money the passage
of the act of June 23d, 1836, for the distribution of the surplus revenue among the different
states of the Union; the issue by the Secretary of the Treasury of the famous specie circular,
of July 11th, 1836 the incorporation of the Bank of the United States by the Legislature
of Pennsylvania, early in the same year; the derangement in the currency of the country,
which led, in May of the following year, to the general suspension of specie payments by
the banks; the resumption of specie payments by the banks, in the summer of 1838 with
the adoption by the State of New York, and one or two others, of a system of free bank-
ing;" constitute the principal events, in the monetary and financial history of the United
States, during the last six years. They are, of course, fresh in the recollection of our
readers; and, on this account, as well as with the view of abstaining entirely from any in-
terference on our part in the party contentions to which those events have afforded an ample
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field, we shall content ourselves with enumerating them here, and inserting below the act
incorporating the Pennsylvania Bank of the United States, as also the act to authorise the
business of banking, passed by the Legislature of the State of New York, April 18th, 1838.
An Act to repeal the State Tax on Real and Personal Property, and to continue and extend the Improve-
ments of the State, by Railroads and Canals, and to charter a state bank, to be called the United States
Bank."
a 1. Be it enacted, &c., That all and every provision of the Acts of Assembly, passed the twenty-fifth
day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, respectively, entitled An act
assessing a tax on personal property, to be collected with the county rates and levies, for the use of
the commonwealth, and An act to increase the county rates and levies for the use of the common-
wealth, be and the same are hereby repealed, except so far as relates to the collection of taxes assessed
before the first day of October last: Provided, That the said repeal shall not go into effect, until all
the terms and provisions hereinafter set forth shall be fully complied with.
1 2. That the present stockholders of the Bank of the United States, (excepting the United States
and the treasurer of the United States,) and such other persons as may become stockholders agree-
ably to the by-laws made for that purpose, to an amount not exceeding in the whole the present capi-
tal of the said bank, their successors and assigns, be and are hereby created a corporation and body
politic, by the name and style of "The President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the United
States," and shall 80 continue until the third day of March, in the year one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-six; and by that name shall be and are hereby made capable in law, to have, purchase, and
receive, possess, enjoy, and retain, to them and their successors, lands, rents, tenements, heredita-
ments, goods, chattels, and effects, of whatsoever kind, nature, and quality, and the same to sell,
grant, demise, alien or dispose of, to sue and be sued, to use a common seal, and the same to alter and
renew, and to make such by-laws and ordinances as they shall deem necessary, not being contrary to
this act, the constitution of the United States, or to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth;
and also to prescribe rules for the transfer of the stock of said corporation, and generally to do all the
acts which to them it shall or may appertain to do. and to enjoy the same privileges and authority
given by law to any bank within this commonwealth, subject to the rules and restrictions hereinafter
prescribed.
0 3. For the management of the affairs of the said corporation, there shall be annually elected at
the banking-house, in the city of Philadelphia, on the first Monday in January in each year, by a plu-
rality of votes, which shall be given by the qualified stockholders of the said bank, in person or by
proxy, twenty directors, who shall be capable of serving for one year, and who shall, at the first
meeting after their election in each year, proceed to elect one of the directors to be the president of
the corporation, who shall hold the said office during the same period for which the directors are
elected; but if an election of directors or of the president should not be made on that day, the said
corporation shall not for that cause be dissolved, but it shall be lawful at any other time to hold such
elections; and until such elections be made, the directors and president for the time being shall con-
tinue in office; and in case of the death or resignation of the president, the directors shall elect ano-
ther president from their own number and in case of the death or resignation of a director, the va-
cancy may be supplied by the remaining directors.
0 4. The following shall be the fundamental articles of the said corporation, to wit
1. None but a stockholder who is a citizen of the United States shall be a director, or vote at an
election for directors, either in person or by proxy; and all proxies shall be dated within sixty days
before the day of each election. The number of votes to which each stockholder shall be entitled in
voting for directors shall be as follows for one share and not more than two shares, one vote ; for
every two shares above two and not exceeding ten shares, one vote for every four shares above ten
and not exceeding thirty, one vote; for every six shares above thirty, and not exceeding sixty, one
vote for every eight shares above sixty, and not exceeding one hundred, one vote but no person,
copartnership, or body politic, shall be entitled to a greater number than thirty votes: and after the
first election, no share or shares shall confer a right of voting, unless the same shall have been held
three calendar months before the day of election.
2. Not more than three fourths of the directors who shall be in office at the time of an annual
election, shall be elected for the succeeding year, and no director shall hold his office for more than
three years out of four in succession, but the director who shall be the president may always be re-
elected and previous to each election of directors, the board of directors shall appoint three stock-
holders, not directors, to be judges of the election, who shall conduct and regulate the same, after
having severally taken and subscribed an oath or affirmation, before some justice of the peace or
alderman, well and faithfully and lawfully to conduct the election, and who, after the conclusion of
the ballot, shall decide and openly declare who are chosen directors for the ensuing year. No director
of any other bank shall be, at the same time, a director of this bank; nor shall the governor. or any
executive or judicial officer of this commonwealth, or member of congress, or of the state legislature,
be a director.
3. Not less than seven directors shall constitute a board for the transaction of business, of whom.
the president shall always be one, except In case of sickness or necessary absence, in which case his
place may be supplied by any other director whom he by writing under his hand shall depute for that
purpose; and in case the president shall not 80 depute, the board of directors may elect a director to
act during the absence of the president.
4. A general meeting of the stockholders for purposes relative to the institution, may at any time
be called, either by the board of directors, or by sixty or more stockholders owning one thousand or
more shares of the capital stock, on giving at least six weeks' notice in two public newspapers pub-
lished in the city of Philadelphia, and specifying in such notice the object or objects of such meeting.
And there shall be a general meeting of the stockholders at the banking house, in the city of Phila-
delphia, on the first Monday of January in every year, at which time the directors shall lay before
them a general and particular statement of the affairs of the company.
5. The lands, tenements, and hereditaments which it shall be lawful for the said corporation to
hold, shall be only such as shall be requisite for its immediate accommodation in transacting its
business, and such as shall have been bona fide mortgaged to it by way of security, or conveyed to it
in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in the course of its dealings, or purchased at sales upon
judgments which shall have been obtained for such debts, or purchased for the purpose of securing
such debts. The said corporation shall not directly, or indirectly, deal or trade in any thing except
bills of exchange, gold and silver bullion, or in the sale of goods really and truly pledged for money
lent, and not redeemed in due time,-or goods which shall be the proceeds of its lands. Neither shall
it make any loan to any foreign prince or state unless previously authorised by law. The said cor-
poration shall not be at liberty to purchase any stock whatever, except their own stock, treasury
notes, or public stocks created by the government of the United States, or of this State, or stock of
or loans to any of the incorporated companies of this State, for the construction and improvement of
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roads, bridges, canal or inland navigation, or other stocks which may be bona fide pledged as security
for debts to the bank, and not duly redeemed.
6. The rate of discount at which loans may be made by said Bank within this commonwealth, shall
not exceed one half of one per centum for thirty days. And the notes and bills which shall be issued
by order of said corporation, or under its authority, shall be binding upon it, and those made payable
to order, shall be assignable by endorsement, but none shall be issued of a denomination less than ten
dollars; and if the bank shall neglect or refuse to pay its notes or bills or moneys deposited when
due, on demand made at the bank during banking hours, the person or persons entitled to the same
shall receive interest thereon at the rate of twelve per centum a year until payment be made. And
the notes of the corporation in circulation shall never exceed the capital actually paid in. The total
amount of debts which the said corporation may at any time owe, whether by bond, note, or other
contract, excepting the amount of money due to depositors, shall not at any time exceed double the
amount of capital stock actually paid in and in case of excess, the directors under whose administration
it shall happen, shall be liable in their individual capacities, and an action of debt may in such case be
brought against them, or any of them, or any of their heirs, executors or administrators, in any court
having competent jurisdiction, by any creditor or creditors of such corporation, and may be prosecuted
to judgment and execution, any condition, covenant or agreement to the contrary notwithstanding
but this shall not be construed to exempt the said corporation, or the lands, tenements, goods and
chattels of the same, from being also liable for, and chargeable with the said excess. Such of the said
directors as may have been absent when the said excess was contracted or created, shall not be con-
sidered as consenting thereto, or liable therefor, and those who may have dissented from the resolu-
tion or act whereby the same was so contracted or created, and who shall enter their dissent upon the
minutes of the board, may exonerate themselves from being so liable, by forthwith giving notice of
the fact to the stockholders at a general meeting, which they shall have power to call for that
purpose.
7. If the said bank should at any time refuse to pay any of its notes, bills, obligations, or deposited
moneys, in gold or silver, then at or after the expiration of three months from the time of the first
refusal of said bank to pay as aforesaid, it shall and may be lawful for the holder or proprietor of the
same, to make application in writing to any judge of any court in the proper county, to allow him or
her to make proof of said refusal on oath or affirmation, by one or more disinterested witness or wit-
nesses, before said judge, whose duty it shall be to give at least ten days' notice to the president or
cashier of said bank, of the time and place of making such proof, in order that an opportunity may
be afforded for rebutting the same by testimony, and if the facts be substantiated, it shall be the duty
of the said judge to reduce the same to writing, and to transmit the same to the Governor. And it
shall be the duty of the Governor, immediately on the receipt of the written proof above specified, to
issue his proclamation, declaring the charter of the said bank to be forfeited. And from and after the
tenth day after the date of the said proclamation, the charter of the said bank shall be absolutely null
and void, and of no effect whatsoever-except that the said bank shall be liable, in its corporate ca-
pacity, for the fulfilment of all contracts previously made and entered into by it; and the stock-
holders thereof shall have power to elect directors as usual, and be capable of compelling the fulfil-
ment of any contract entered into with said bank, previously to the date of the said forfeiture.
8. Dividends of so much of the profits as the directors may deem advisable, shall be declared twice
a year, on the first Mondays of January and July in each year, and paid to the stockholders on de-
mand at any time after the expiration of ten days therefrom. But such dividends shall in no case
exceed the amount of the nett profits, actually acquired by the bank, so that the capital stock of the
said bank shall never thereby be impaired. If the directors of the bank shall make any dividends
which shall impair the capital stock of said bank, the directors consenting thereto, shall be liable in
their individual capacities, to such corporation for the amount of the stock so divided and each
director present when such dividend shall be made, shall be adjudged to be consenting thereto, unless
he forthwith enter his protest on the minutes of the board, and give public notice to the stockholders
of the declaring of such dividend.
9. The salary of the President shall be established and allowed by the stockholders at a general
meeting, and no compensation shall be allowed to any person for his services as a director. The
board of directors shall appoint a cashier, and such other officers, clerks, and persons as shall be ne-
cessary for transacting the business of the bank, and shall take from each such security as the by-
laws shall prescribe, and shall make to each a just compensation for his services.
10. The said bank shall make to the auditor general monthly returns of its condition, showing the
details of its operations, according to the form of the returns the Bank of the United States now makes
to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, or according to such form as may be esta-
blished by law.
è5. It shall at all times be lawful for a committee of the legislature, appointed for that purpose, to
inspect the books and examine into the proceedings of the corporation hereby created, and to report
whether the provisions of this charter have been by the same abused or violated, or not; and if the
officers of said corporation should refuse to be sworn or affirmed, or give evidence, or to produce all
such of their books or papers as may be demanded before any such committee, then the legislature
may by law declare the said charter void, and repeal the same; and whenever any committee as
aforesaid shall find and report, or the Governor shall have reason to believe, that the charter has been
violated, it may be lawful for the legislature to direct, or the Governor to order, a scire facias to be
issued out of the supreme court of Pennsylvania, in the name of the Commonwealth of Pennsyl-
vania (which shall be executed on the president of the corporation for the time being, at least ten
days before the commencement of the term of said court), calling on said corporation to show cause
wherefore the charter hereby granted, shall not be declared forfeited; and it shall be lawful for said
court upon the return of said scire facias, to examine into the truth of the alleged violation, and if
such violation be made to appear, then to pronounce or adjudge that such charter is forfeited and an-
nulled: Provided, however, every issue of fact which may be joined between the commonwealth or
the corporation, such issue shall be tried by jury, and on the trial thereof, the commonwealth shall
have the right to change the venue from the county of Philadelphia to any adjoining county. And
it shall be lawful for the court aforesaid, to require the production of such of the books or papers of
the corporation, as it may deem necessary for the ascertainment of the controverted facts, and
the final judgment of said court shall be subject to all the usages of law in other cases.
$6. In consideration of the privileges granted by this act, and in lieu of all taxes on dividends, the
said corporation shall pay into the Treasury of the Commonwealth the sum of two millions of dollars,
at such time and in such instalments as the Governor may require: Provided, That at least thirty
days' notice shall be given by the Governor, of the time when each instalment will be required And
provided also, that for all sums the Governor shall not so require to be paid within three months
after the acceptance of this charter by the stockholders, interest at the rate of five per cent. a year
shall be paid by the corporation, commencing at the expiration of the said three months, and termi-
nating thirty days before the time fixed for the payment of each sum ; and the said corporation shall
also, whenever required by law, advance on permanent loan any sum or sums, not exceeding in the
whole six millions of dollars, and for each sum of money so loaned, shall receive from the common-
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wealth a negotiable certificate of stock, reimbursable on the third day of March, one thousand eight
hundred and sixty-eight, transferable at the Bank of Pennsylvania, or such other place as the legisla-
ture may hereafter designate, bearing an interest of either four or five per cent. per annum, payable
half yearly at the Bank of Pennsylvania, or such other place as the legislature may hereafter desig-
nate, as the law requiring such loan may determine, and in case the interest shall be five per cent.
shall pay to the commonwealth one hundred and ten dollars in money for each hundred dollars in
stock; or if the interest be four per cent. shall pay one hundred dollars in money for each hundred
dollars in stock and the said corporation shall be bound, whenever required by law, to advance to
the commonwealth as a temporary loan, any sum of money not exceeding one million of dollars in
any one year, at an interest of four per cent. a year, reimbursable at the pleasure of the common-
wealth, within twelve months from the date of the loan and the said corporation shall further pay
to the Treasurer for the use of the commonwealth, the sum of five hundred thousand dollars on the
third day of March, Anno Domini, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-seven, and shall pay the
further sum of one hundred thousand dollars on the first Monday of June next, and the like
sums of one hundred thousand dollars on each succeeding first Monday of June, for nineteen
years thereafter, to be added to and paid over with the annualappropriation provided by the common-
wealth for common school purposes, and be distributed according to the several laws of this common-
wealth regulating the distribution of such appropriation and the said corporation shall further be
bound to subscribe the following sums to the capital stock of the following named companies, if re-
quested so to do by the directors of the said companies, or either of them, within one year from the
passage of this act, namely, To the capital stock of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the
sum of two hundred thousand dollars ; To that of the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad Company,
the sum of two hundred thousand dollars; To the Monongahela Navigation Company, fifty thousand
dollars, if the same be incorporated, at the opening of the books of subscription for the capital stock
thereof, and the further sum of fifty thousand dollars as soon as one hundred thousand dollars sub-
scribed by other persons or bodies corporate shall have been bona fide expended in the construction
of the said work To the Cumberland Valley Railroad Company, one hundred thousand dollars; To
the Warren and Pinegrove Railroad Company, twenty thousand dollars; To the Warren and Frank-
lin Turnpike-road Company, fifteen thousand dollars, if the said company be incorporated this ses-
sion of the legislature To the Warren and Ridgeway Turnpike-road Company, five thousand dol-
lars; To the Johnstown and Ligonier Turnpike-road Company, ten thousand dollars; To the Snow
Shoe and Packerville Turnpike Company, twenty thousand dollars; To the Roseburg and Mercer
Turnpike Company, five thousand dollars. All of which subscriptions shall place the said bank on
the same footing as to the rights and liabilities with the original subscribers to said companies respect-
ively: Provided, That such subscription shall not be made to the stock of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad Company until a law of Maryland shall be passed, and assented to by said company, ena-
bling the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and any company or companies duly authorised by the
said commonwealth, to intersect by Railroad and unite with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, at any
point In the state of Maryland; and that the whole amount 80 to be subscribed by the said bank, shall
be appropriated exclusively to the construction of the Railroad from Cumberland to Pittsburg and
that no payment shall be called for by the directors of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company on ac-
count of said subscription, until at least twenty miles of the Railroad within the state of Pennsylvania
shall have been bona fide placed under contract, and the construction thereof actually begun.
1 14. The said bank may establish two offices of discount and deposite in this state, one of which
shall be at such place in the county of Beaver as the directors may select for the purpose.
è 15. Nothing in this act contained shall take effect until the several sections and provisions relat-
ing to the bank of the United States shall have been accepted by the stockholders thereof, at a general
meeting, which acceptance shall be made known to the Governor on or before the third day of March
next; whereupon every preceding section of this act shall be in full force. And within thirty days
after the acceptance by the stockholders of the existing Bank of the United States, notice shall be
given by the directors thereof, that on a day named, not exceeding thirty days thereafter, an election
shall be held for directors under the charter 80 accepted, which election shall be held in like manner
as elections are now held in said bank and the directors so elected shall elect a President, and shall
serve until the first annual election: Provided, That from the said third day of March to the holding
of the election authorised by this section, the President and directors in office at the time of such ac-
ceptance may continue to act.
In April, 1836, the United States Bank was authorised to establish, in addition to the two offices
specified in the 14th section of the act Just recited, an office of discount and deposite in the town of
Erie; but this office is not to be continued there longer than the first day of January, 1850. The
Bank was also authorised to purchase and hold any real estate belonging to the late Bank of the
United States, and to purchase and hold any bank stock. All proxies, moreover, dated at least sixty
days before the date of any election, shall be lawful.
An Act to authorise the business of Banking, passed April 18, 1838.
The people of the State of New York, represented in senate and assembly, do onact as follows:
0 1. The comptroller is hereby authorised and required to cause to be engraved and printed in the
best manner, to guard against counterfeiting, such quantity of circulating notes, in the similitude of
bank notes in blank, of the different denominations authorised to be issued by the incorporated banks
of this state, as he may from time to time deem necessary, to carry into effect the provisions of this
act, and of such form as he may prescribe. Such blank circulating notes shall be countersigned,
numbered. and registered, in proper books to be provided and kept for that purpose in the office of
said comptroller, under his direction, by such person or persons as the said comptroller shall appoint
for that purpose, so that each denomination of such circulating notes shall all be of the same simili-
tude, and bear the uniform signature of such register, or one of such registers.
è 2. Whenever any person or association of persons, formed for the purpose of banking under the
provisions of this act, shall legally transfer to the comptroller any portion of the public debt now
created or hereafter to be created by the United States or by this state, or such other states of the
United States as shall be approved by the comptroller, such person or association of persons shall be
entitled to receive from the comptroller an equal amount of such circulating notes. of different deno-
minations, registered and countersigned as aforesaid; but such public debt shall in all cases be, or be
made to be, equal to a stock of this state, producing five per cent. per annum, and it shall not be law-
ful for the comptroller to take any stock at a rate above its par value.
. 3. Such person or association of persons are hereby authorised, after having executed and signed
such circulating notes in the manner required by law, to make them obligatory promissory notes pay-
able on demand, at the place of business within this state, of such person or association, to loan and
circulate the same as money, according to the ordinary course of banking business as regulated by
the laws and usages of this state.
0 4. In case the maker or makers of any of such circulating notes, countersigned and registered as
aforesaid, shall at any time hereafter on lawful demand during the usual hours of business between
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the hours of ten and three o'clock, at the place where such note is payable, fail or refuse to redeem
such note in the lawful money of the United States, the holder of such note making such demand
may cause the same to be protested for non-payment by a notary public, under his seal of office in the
usual manner and the comptroller, on receiving and filing in his office such protest, shall forthwith
give notice in writing to the maker or makers of such note to pay the same and if he or they shall
omit to do so for ten days after such notice, the comptroller shall immediately thereupon (unless he
shall be satisfied that there is a good and legal defence against the payment of such note or notes),
give notice in the state paper that all the circulating notes issued by such person or association will
be redeemed out of the trust funds in his hands for that purpose and it shall be lawful for the comp-
troller to apply the said trust funds belonging to the maker or makers of such protested notes to the
payment and redemption of such notes, with costs of protest, and to adopt such measures for the pay-
ment of all such circulating notes put in circulation by the maker or makers of such protested notes,
pursuant to the provisions of this act, as will in his opinion most effectually prevent loss to the holders
thereof.
è5. The comptroller may give to any person or association of persons, so transferring stock in pur-
suance of the provisions of this act, powers of attorney to receive interest or dividends thereon,
which such person or association may receive and apply to their own use; but such powers may be
revoked upon such person or association failing to redeem the circulating notes so issued, or when-
ever, in the opinion of the comptroller, the principal of such stock shall become an insufficient secu-
rity ; and the said comptroller, upon the application of the owner or owners of such transferred stock
in trust, may, in his discretion, change or transfer the same for other stocks of the kind before specified
in this act, or may re-transfer the said stocks, or any part thereof, or the mortgages, or any of them
hereinafter mentioned and provided for, upon receiving and cancelling an equal amount of such cir-
culating notes delivered by him to such person or association, in such manner that the circulating
notes shall always be secured in full either by stocks or by stocks and mortgages, as in this act
provided.
0 6. The bills or notes so to be countersigned, and the payment of which shall be so secured by the
transfer of public stocks, shall be stamped on their face, Secured by the pledge of public stocks."
è7. Instead of transferring public stocks as aforesaid to secure the whole amount of such bills or
notes, it shall be lawful for such person or association of persons, in case they shall so elect before
receiving any of the said bills or notes, to secure the payment of one half of the whole amount so to
be issued, by transferring to the comptroller bonds and mortgages upon real estate, bearing at least
six per cent. interest of this state, payable annually or semi-annually; in which case all such bills or
notes issued by the said person or association of persons, shall be stamped on their face, " Secured
by pledge of public stocks and real estate."
(8. Such mortgages shall be only upon improved, productive, unincumbered lands within this state,
worth, independently of any buildings thereon, at least double the amount for which they shall be so
mortgaged; and the comptroller shall prescribe such regulations for ascertaining the title and the
value of such lands as he may deem necessary; and such mortgages shall be payable within such
time as the comptroller may direct.
$ 9. The comptroller may, in his discretion, resign the said bonds and mortgages, or any of them,
to the person or association who transferred the same, on receiving other approved bonds and mort-
gages of equal amount and when any sum of the principal of the bonds and mortgages transferred to
the comptroller shall be paid to him, he shall notify the person or association that transferred the
bonds and mortgages of such payment, and may pay the same to such person or association on
receiving other approved bonds and mortgages of equal amount.
è 10. The person or association of persons assigning such bonds and mortgages to the comptroller,
may receive the annual interest to accrue thereon, unless default shall be made in paying the bills or
notes to be countersigned as aforesaid, or unless in the opinion of the comptroller the bonds and mort-
gages or stocks so pledged shall become an insufficient security for the payment of such bills or notes.
8 11. In case such person or association of persons shall fail or refuse to pay such bills or notes on
demand in the manner specified in the 4th section of this act, the comptroller, after the ten days' notice
therein mentioned, may proceed to sell at public auction the public stocks so pledged or the bonds and
mortgages so assigned, or any or either of them, and out of the proceeds of such sale shall pay and
cancel the said bills or notes, default in paying which shall have been made as aforesaid but nothing
in this act contained shall be considered as implying any pledge on the part of the state for the pay-
ment of said bills or notes, beyond the proper application of the securities pledged to the comptroller
for their redemption.
è 12. The public debt, and bonds, and mortgages, to be deposited with the comptroller by any such
person or association, shall be held by him exclusively for the redemption of the bills or notes of such
person or association put in circulation as money, until the same are paid.
1 13. The plates, dies, and materials to be procured by the comptroller for the printing and making
of the circulating notes provided for hereby, shall remain in his custody and under his direction and
the expenses necessarily incurred in executing the provisions of this act, shall be audited and settled
by the comptroller, and paid out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated and for
the purpose of reimbursing the same, the said comptroller is hereby authorised and required to charge
against and receive from such person or association applying for such circulating notes, such rate per
cent. thereon as may be sufficient for that purpose, and as may be just and reasonable.
$ 14. It shall not be lawful for the comptroller, or other officer, to countersign bills or notes for any
person or association of persons, to an amount in the aggregate exceeding the public debt, or public
debt and bonds and mortgages at their value, as provided in the 2d section of this act, deposited with
the comptroller by such person or association; and any comptroller or other officer who shall violate
the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction, be adjudged guilty of a misdemeanour, and
shall be punished by a fine not less than five thousand dollars, or be imprisoned not less than five
years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
1 15. Any number of persons may associate to establish offices of discount, deposite, and circula-
tion, upon the terms and conditions, and subject to the liabilities prescribed in this act but the aggre-
gate amount of the capital stock of any such association shall not be less than one hundred thousand
dollars.
1 16. Such persons, under their hands and seals, shall make a certificate which shall specify :-
1. The name assumed to distinguish such association, and to be used in its dealings.
2. The place where the operations of discount and deposite of such association are to be carried on,
designating the particular city, town, or village.
3. The amount of the capital stock of such association, and the number of shares into which the
same shall be divided.
4. The names and places of residence of the shareholders, and the number of shares held by each
of them respectively.
5. The period at which such association shall commence and terminate which certificate shall be
proved or acknowledged and recorded in the office of the clerk of the county where any office of such
association shall be established, and a copy thereof filed in the office of the secretary of state.
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BANKS (UNITED STATES).
1 17. The certificate required by the last preceding section to be recorded and filed in the offices of
the clerk of the county and secretary of state as aforesaid, or copies thereof, duly certified by either
of those officers, may be used as evidence in all courts and places for and against any such association.
2 18. Such association shall have power to carry on the business of banking, by discounting bills,
notes, and other evidences of debt ; by receiving deposites by buying and selling gold and silver bul-
lion, foreign coins and bills of exchange in the manner specified in their articles of association for the
purpose authorised by this act by loaning money on real and personal security; and by exercising
such incidental powers as shall be necessary to carry on such business; to choose one of their num-
ber as president of such association, and to appoint a cashier, and such other officers and agents as
their business may require, and to remove such president, cashier, officers and agents at pleasure, and
appoint others in their place.
. 19. The shares of said association shall be deemed personal property, and shall be transferable on
the books of the association in such manner as may be agreed on in the articles of association, and
every person becoming a shareholder by such transfer, shall, in proportion to his shares, succeed to
all the rights and liabilities of prior shareholders; and no change shall be made in the articles of asso-
ciation by which the rights, remedies, or security of its existing creditors shall be weakened or im-
paired. Such association shall not be dissolved by the death or insanity of any of the shareholders
therein.
è 20. It shall be lawful for any association of persons organised under this act by their articles of
association, to provide for an increase of their capital and of the number of the associates, from time
to time, as they may think proper.
1 21. Contracts made by any such association, and all notes and bills by them issued and put in cir-
culation as money, shall be signed by the president or vice-president and cashier thereof; and all
suits, actions, and proceedings brought or prosecuted by or on behalf of such association, may be
brought or prosecuted in the name of the president thereof; and no such suit, action, or proceeding,
shall abate by reason of the death, resignation, or removal from office of such president, but may be
continued and prosecuted according to such rules as the courts of law or equity may direct, in the
name of his successor in office, who shall exercise the powers, enjoy the rights, and discharge the
duties of his predecessor.
0 22. All persons having demands against any such association, may maintain actions against the
president thereof; which suits or actions shall not abate by reason of the death, resignation, or
removal from office of such president, but may be continued and prosecuted to judgment against his
successor; and all judgments and decrees obtained or rendered against such president for any debt
or liability of such association, shall be enforced only against the joint property of the association,
and which property shall be liable to be taken and sold by execution under any such judgment or
decree.
. 23. No shareholder of any such association shall be liable in his individual capacity for any con-
tract, debt, or engagement of such association, unless the articles of association by him signed shall
have declared that the shareholder shall be so liable.
0 24. It shall be lawful for such association to purchase, hold, and convey real estate for the follow-
ing purposes :-
1. Such as shall be necessary for its immediate accommodation in the convenient transaction of its
business or
2. Such as shall be mortgaged to it in good faith, by way of security for loans made by, or moneys
due to, such association ; or
3. Such as shall be conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in the course of its
dealings; or
4. Such as it shall purchase at sales under judgments, decrees or mortgages held by such asso-
ciation.
5. The said association shall not purchase, hold or convey real estate in any other case, or for any
other purpose and all conveyances of such real estate shall be made to the president, or such other
officer as shall be indicated for that purpose in the articles of association and which president or
officer, and his successors, from time to time, may sell, assign and convey the same, free from any
claim thereon, against any of the shareholders. or any person claiming under them.
2 25. Upon the application of creditors or shareholders of any such association, whose debts or
shares shall amount to one thousand dollars, and stating facts, verified by affidavit, the chancellor
may, in his discretion, order a strict examination to be made by one of the masters of his court of all
the affairs of such association, for the purpose of ascertaining the safety of its investments, and the
prudence of its management; and the result of every such examination, together with the opinion of
the master and of the chancellor thereon, shall be published in such manner as the chancellor shall
direct, who shall make such order in respect to the expenses of such examination and publication as
he may deem proper.
. 26. Such associations shall, on the first Mondays of January and July in every year after having
commenced the business of banking as prescribed by this act, make out and transmit to the comp-
troller, in the form to be provided by him, a full statement of the affairs of the association, verified
by the oath of the president or cashier, which statement shall contain
1. The amount of the capital stock paid in according to the provisions of this act or secured to be
paid.
2. The value of the real estate of the association, specifying what portion is occupied by the asso-
clation as necessary to the transaction of its business.
3. The shares of stock held by such association; whether absolutely or as collateral security spe-
cifying each kind and description of stock, and the number and value of the shares of each.
4. The amount of debts due to the association, specifying such as are due from monied or other cor-
porations or associations and also specifying the amount secured by bond and mortgage or judgment
and the amount which ought to be included in the computation of losses.
5. The amount of debts due by such association specifying such as are payable on demand, and
such as are due to monied or other corporations or associations.
6. The amount of claims against the association not acknowledged by its debts.
7. The amount of notes, bills, or other evidences of debt, issued by such association.
8. The amount of the losses of the association; specifying whether charged on its capital or profits,
since its last preceding statement, and of its dividends declared and made during the same period.
9. The average amount in each month during the preceding six months of the debts due to and from
the association; the average amount of specie possessed by the same during each month, and the
amount of bills and notes issued by such association and put in circulation as money, and outstand-
ing against the association, on the first day of each of the preceding six months.
10. The average amount in each month during the preceding six months due to the association,
from all the shareholders in the association also the greatest amount due to the association in each
of the.said preceding six months, from all the sharebolders in such association.
11. The amount which the capital of the said association has been increased during the preceding
six months, if there shall have been any increase of the said capital; and the names of any persons
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BANKS (UNITED STATES).
153
who may become parties to the said articles of association, or may have withdrawn therefrom since
their last report.
It shall be the duty of the comptroller to cause the statement required to be made by this section, to
be published in a newspaper printed in the county where the place of business of such association is
situated, and in the state paper; the expense of which shall be paid by such association.
è 27. If such association shall neglect to make out and transmit the statement required in the last
preceding section, for one month beyond the period when the same is required to be made, or shall
violate any of the provisions of this act, such association may be proceeded against and dissolved by
the court of chancery, in the same manner as any monied corporation may be proceeded against and
dissolved.
2 28. If any portion of the original capital of any such association shall be withdrawn for any pur-
pose whatever whilst any debts of the association remain unsatisfied, no dividends or profits on the
shares of the capital stock of the association shall thereafter be made, until the deficit of capital shall
have been made good. either by subscription of the shareholders, or out of the subsequently accruing
profits of the association; and if it shall appear that any such dividends have been made, it shall be
the duty of the chancellor to make the necessary orders and decrees for closing the affairs of the asso-
ciation, and distributing its property and effects among its creditors and shareholders.
1 29. Such association shall be liable to pay the holder of every bill or note put in circulation as
money, the payment of which shall have been demanded and refused, damages for non-payment
thereof, in lieu of interest, at and after the rate of fourteen per cent. per annum, from the time of
such refusal until the payment of such evidence of debt. and the damages thereon.
. 30. The president and cashier of every association formed pursuant to the provisions of this act,
shall at all times keep a true and correct list of the names of the shareholders of such association, and
sha II file a copy of such list in the office of the clerk of the county where any office of such associa-
tion may be located, and also in the office of the comptroller, on the first Mondays of January and
July in every year.
2 31. It shall not be lawful for any association formed under the provisions of this act, to make any
of its bills or notes of a denomination less than one thousand dollars, to be put in circulation as
money, payable at any other place than at the office where the business of the association is carried
on and conducted.
a 32. The legislature may at any time alter or repeal this act.
2 33. No association of persons authorised to carry on the business of banking under this act, shall
at any time, for the space of twenty days. have on hand at their place of business, less than twelve
and a half per cent. in specie on the amount of the bills or notes in circulation as money.
It has been already mentioned, on the authority of Mr. Gallatin, that the State banks, on
the 1st January, 1816, a short time only before the incorporation by Congress of the Bank
of the United States, amounted in number to 246, with a capital of about $90,000,000, and
that, in 1830, their number amounted to as many as 330. From this date, however, down
to the present moment, their number has been continually increasing until it has at length
reached, including branch banks, to between 800 and 900. A very general conviction has
ensued of the expediency of some modification or change in a system presenting so many
different sources of a paper currency, all of them in a considerable degree independent of
each other, and liable, in consequence, to frequent and extensive expansions and contractions
of their issues.
To guard against the evils of the banking system, the banks, in many of the States, are
obliged to make an annual statement to the legislature of their condition, specifying the
amount of their capitals paid in, of their bills in circulation, of their deposites, and of the
specie in their vaults. In New York, commissioners are appointed by the legislature to
examine into the affairs of the banks, and to make report accordingly. But the measure, in
relation to the banking system, which is peculiar to that State, is the establishment of a
" safety fund," as a security to the public against losses resulting from the failure of
banks. One half per cent. on the capital of these institutions is exacted from them annu-
ally. When the fund, thus obtained, shall amount to half a million of dollars, no farther
payment on their part is to be made; and this amount is put out at interest and accuinu-
lates, until the failure occurs of some bank, whose notes it is then appropriated to redeem.
As soon as the fund shall again fall below a half million of dollars, the half per cent. above
mentioned is again exacted, and 80 on. Another measure, which has been adopted as a
security against over issues by the banks, is the compelling of them to pay a very high in-
terest, commonly 12 per cent. or even as much as 24 per cent., upon every sum which they
refuse to pay in specie, whether of their notes in circulation, or of the deposites made with
them. And in some of the States the banks have been prohibited from issuing any notes
below the denomination of five dollars.
Notwithstanding, however, all the contrivances hitherto invented for remedying the
acknowledged evils of our existing banking system, the opinion of the public seems to be
at present divided, between first, a preference for a currency purely metallic; secondly, for
one to consist in part of metallic money, and in part of a paper money to be issued exclu-
sively by the general government, or by some institution created, or commissioners appointed
by it, subjected to certain checks and responsibilities, to prevent over issues thirdly, for the
incorporation once more of a bank of the United States, with a capital sufficiently large to
give it a control over the other banks of the country, numerous as they now are; and, lastly,
the introduction of the free system of banking, of which the State of New York has fur-
nished an example. Perhaps, indeed, we ought rather to have said that public opinion was
divided between the two last mentioned schemes, since those who are advocates of the former
two, constitute as yet, without doubt, only a small minority of the people.
We here abstain altogether from expressing our own preferences contenting ourselves
20
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154
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
with the remark, in reference to the proposed free system of banking, that in our view it is
singular that the principal evils which pertain to the existing system, and which pertain to
it especially on account of the great multiplication of the sources whence paper money is
issued, should look for a remedy to the enactment of a law, granting liberty to the invest-
ment of capital without limit in the business of banking, and therefore also to the issuing
of paper money without limit. It is comparatively easy to devise means to secure the public
against losses which may arise from the ultimate failure of banks to comply with their en-
gagements; and it is against losses of this nature that the advocates among us of a free
trade in banking seem to have been particularly solicitous to provide. These losses, indeed,
have been sufficiently extensive, and injurious to the community. Mr. Gallatin enumerates
as many as 165 banks which either failed, or discontinued their business, from the 1st of
January, 1811, to the 1st of July, 1830. Still there can be little doubt that the distresses
and losses which have arisen from fluctuations in the quantity and value of the circulating
medium have been of far greater amount. Against these evils, little or no provision seems
to have been deemed requisite.
No. I.-Comparative View of the Condition of all the Banks in the United States at four different
periods.
According to returns nearest
Jan. 1, 1834.
Jan. 1, 1835.
Jan. 1, 1836.
Jan. 1, 1837.
Number of banks from which returns have
been received,
406
515
559
632
Number of branches from which returns have
been received,
-
141
146
154
Number of banks, the affairs of which have
been estimated, for want of returns,
100
43
8
2
Number of branches, the affairs of which have
been estimated, for want of returns,
-
-
5
Whole number of banks in operation,
-
506
558
567
634
Whole number of branches in operation, -
-
146
146
154
Whole number of banks and branches in
operation, -
-
-
-
-
506
704
713
788
Capital paid in,
-
-
-
-
$200,005,944
$231,250,337
$251,875,292
$290,772,091
Loans and discounts, -
-
-
-
324,119,499
365,163,834
457,506,080
525,115,702
Stocks,
-
-
-
-
-
6,113,195
9,210,579
11,709,319
12,407,112
Real estate,
-
-
-
-
-
10,850,090
11,140,167
14,194,375
19,064,451
Other investments,
-
-
-
-
1,723,547
4,642,224
9,975,226
10,423,630
Due from other banks,
-
-
-
27,329,645
40,084,038
51,876,955
59,663,910
Notes of other banks on hand,
-
-
22,154,919
21,086,301
32,115,138
36,533,527
Specie funds,
-
-
-
-
-
26,641,753
3,061,819
4,800,076
5,366,500
Specie,
-
-
⑉
-
-
-
43,937,625
40,019,594
37,915,340
Circulation,
-
-
-
-
-
94,839,570
103,692,495
140,301,038
149,185,890
Deposites,
-
-
-
-
-
75,666,986
83,081,365
115,104,440
127,397,185
Due other banks,
-
-
-
-
26,602,293
38,972,578
50,402,369
62,421,118
Other liabilities,
-
-
-
-
-
19,320,475
25,999,234
36,560,289
Aggregate of bank accounts,
-
-
816,047,441
974,643,887
1,205,879,136
1,372,826,745
Aggregate of investments supposed to yield
income,
342,806,331
390,156,804
493,385,000
567,010,895
Excess of such investments above amount of
capital paid in,
-
-
142,800,387
158,906,467
241,409,708
276,238,804
Aggregate of deposites and circulation,
-
170,506,556
186,773,860
255,405,478
276,583,075
Aggregate of deposites, circulation, and sums
due to other banks,
-
-
197,108,849
225,746,438
305,807,847
339,004,193
Aggregate of specie, specie funds, notes of
other banks, and sums due by other banks,
76,126,317
108,169,783
128,811,763
139,479,277
Excess of immediate liabilities beyond imme-
diate means,
-
-
120,982,532
117,576,655
176,996,084
199,524,916
Total of means of all kinds,
-
-
418,932,648
498,326,587
622,196,763
706,490,172
Total of liabilities, exclusive of those to stock-
holders,
197,108,849
245,066,913
331,807,081
375,564,482
Total of liabilities of the banks to one another,
76,086,857
100,142,917
134,394,462
158,618,555
Total of liabilities to all, except other banks
and stockholders,
-
-
-
121,121,992
144,923,996
281,404,712
313,143,364
Net circulation,
-
-
-
-
72,684,651
82,606,194
108,185,900
112,652,363
No. II.-Condensed Statement of the Condition. at different intervals, of all the Banks in the
United States.
Number of
Number of
banks from
banks the
Total
Date.
which re-
affairs of
number of
Loans and dis-
Specie.
Circulation.
counts.
Deposites.
Capital.
turns
are
which are
banks.
received.
estimated.
Jan. 1. 1811,
51
38
89
-
$15,400,000
28,100,000
:-
52,601.601
1815,
120
88
208
-
-
17,000,000
45,500,000
-
82,259,590
-
1816,
134
112
246
-
19,000,000
68,000,000
-
89,822,422
-
1820,
213
95
308
-
19,820,210
44,863,344
35,950,470
137,110,611
-
1830,
282
48
330
$200,451,214
22,114,917
61,323,898
55,559,928
145,192,268
-
1834,
406
100
506
324,119,499
-
94,839,570
75,666,986
200,005,944
-
1835,
515
43
558
365,163,834
43,937,625
103,692,495
83,081,365
231,250,337
-
1836,
559
8
567
457,506.080
40,019,594
140,301,038
115,104,440
251,875,292
-
1837,
632
2
634
525,115,702
37,915,340
149.185,890
127,397,185
290,772,091
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No. III.-Summary Statement of the Condition of all the Banks in the United States, at the dates annexed, 1835-36.
No. of
Banks.
Branches.
Date.
Loans and
Stocks.
Real Estate.
Other
Due by other
Notes of other
banks.
Specie.
Circulation.
Due to other
Other
discounts.
Investments.
banks on hand.
Specie funds.
Deposits.
banks.
liabilities.
Capital.
Digitized by Google
s
8
8
$
8
$
s
$
8
8
$
$
$
Maine,
36
June 4, 1836,
6,579,761
-
-
109,970
-
-
318,673
185,166
176,939
1,788,040
834,929
290,261
409,195
3,935,000
New Hampshire
26
May 2, 1836,
4,501,701
-
-
87,621
-
-
84,948
535,960
1,526,512
816,569
2,663,308
Vermont,
19
January 1, 1836,
2,594,675
-
-
40,502
-
-
46,609
126,048
801,913
76,802
2,086,860
348,875
23,874
1,125,624
Massachusetts,
105
May, 1835,
48,342,019
-
-
922,543
-
-
3,797,926
2,097,797
-
-
1,136,444
9,430,357
6,422,266
3,490,097
5,499,434
30,410,000
Rhode Island,
61
October, 1835,
11,085,543
149,752
171,680
18,078
290,290
379,618
-
-
566,416
1,644,289
1,699,389
189,486
8,750,581
Connecticut,
31
3
March 7, 1836,
11,736,163
383,700
191,056
139,454
582,703
63,094
1,770,118
3,874,212
1,465,977
488,793
153,124
8,519,368
New York,
86
2
January 1, 1836.
72,826,111
803,159
1,811,925
442,696
15,991,168
10,237,574
1,277,886
6,224,646
21,127,927
29,532,616
19,783,482
4,068,891
31,281,461
Pennsylvania,
44
November, 1835.
35,987,776
1,621,018
1,699,570
43,477
2,834,073
3,971,270
-
-
3,876,868
10,932,023
13,347,977
4,097,333
434,844
18,858,482
New Jersey,
25
Oct. 1835 to Dec. 1836,
6,700,072
70,845
150,513
8,028
669,211
344,560
-
-
336,132
1,755,829
1,139,827
388,512
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
532,032
3,970,090
Delaware,
4
4
Feb. to Nov. 1836,
1,470,687
193,126
83,035
2,312
257,284
88,372
-
-
161,860
806,665
410,824
69,263
817,775
Maryland,
18
2
Dec. 1835 to Dec.1836,
12,728,478
2,125,646
490,446
24,628
1,803,804
951,536
-
-
1,300,868
3,200,163
4,379,945
1,750,211
1,246,482
8,203,575
Dist. Columbia,
7
January 1, 1836,
3,157,782
328,300
318,684
529,148
320,074
-
-
643,582
961,798
1,385,523
460,768
13,796
2,339,738
Virginia,
5
18
January 1, 1836,
14,329,680
167,166
629,835
3,482
2,264,746
560,291
-
-
1,552,528
8,182,763
3,548,414
457,685
2,423
6,511,300
North Carolina,
3
4
November, 1835,
3,441,241
107,704
3,981
674,213
141,164
111,238
314,896
2,050,518
655,311
193,181
41,630
1,769,231
South Carolina,
8
2
Jan. to Oct. 1836,
16,316,319
948,198
148,470
237,769
2,014,435
902,255
-
-
2,500,427
7,488,727
4,021,210
1,863,376
1,125,497
7,936,318
Georgia,
14
11
April, 1836,
15,138,142
1,236,749
309,091
191,978
1,303,029
1,016,322
-
-
2,602,595
7,971,587
3,295,930
1,074,247
349,000
8,209,967
Florida,
5
Jan. to July, 1836,
2,340,850
15,717
90,350
213,900
19,168
261,394
39,037
714,589
449,451
221,165
47,506
1,484,386
Alabama,
2
4
Oct. 1835 to Oct. 1836,
15,020,505
600,000
140,862
205,002
1,441,198
429,436
-
-
1,562,494
6,172,107
3,152,047
1,123,864
1,556,837
6,558,969
Louisiana,
14
31
April to Oct. 1836.
51,234,158
807,568
3,611,876
6,279,650
3,460,917
1,680,565
-
-
2,607,587
7,130,546
11,744,712
7,161,452
4,091,574
34,065,284
Mississippi,
5
8
Dec.1835 to Nov. 1836,
19,124,977
196,711
1,465,011
599,343
543,085
-
-
659,470
4,490,521
6,401,518
1,027,020
2,106,688
8,764,550
Tennessee,
3
4
May to October 1836,
9,862,921
584,092
59,025
1,152,634
206,518
41,567
211,976
4,205,508
1,514,065
392,568
1,087,381
4,546,285
Kentucky,
4
10
Dec.1835 to July 1836,
8,818,406
1,690,000
169,384
113,218
587,611
1,659,168
-
-
1,199,354
3,819,480
1,925,101
1,149,969
1,769,017
5,116,400
Missouri,
1
January 30, 1836,
976,185
-
-
2,044
109,049
233,671
-
-
371,598
1,382,262
297,928
Illinois,
2
5
Jan. to July 1836,
1,203,763
-
-
8,296
4,465
55,689
69,983
-
-
279,670
653,661
252,734
13,175
200,000
478,220
Indiana,
1
10
January 9, 1836,
2,304,683
-
-
17,214
226,404
1,278,223
557,612
-
-
869,839
1,981,650
1,673,887
78,823
128,392
1,279,857
Ohio,
31
1
Dec. 1835 to Dec. 1836,
17,079,714
-
-
223,375
29,075
3,318,708
2,725,262
-
-
2,924,906
9,675,644
6,125,914
1,420,613
921,005
8,369,744
Michigan,
7
3
Oct.1835 to Nov. 1836,
2,099,608
-
-
25,707
100,472
1,671,325
200,710
-
-
172,071
1,184,498
2,114,943
52,922
25,000
909,779
Total,
566
123
397,001,920
11,709,319
11,740,812
9,631,574
47,265,909
29,795,267
4,800,076
32,369,005
124,856,474
110,042,216
47,370,582
25,999 234
216,875,292
Bank of U. S.
1
23
February 1, 1836,
60,504,160
2,453,563
343,652
4,611,046
2,319,871
7,650,589
15,444,564
5,062,224
3,031,787
35,000,000
Aggregate,
567
146
s 457,506,050
11,709,319
14,194,375
'9,975,226
51,876,955
32,115,138
4,800,076
40,019,594
140,301,038
115,104,440
50,402,369
25,999,234
251,875,292
Increase of ca-
pital in 34
December, 1836,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,195,000
old banks,
Banks lately
-
-
-
-
-
December, 1836,
-
-
110
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
chartered,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
60,170,000
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Aggregate,
677
146
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
324,240,202
No. IV,-General Statement of the Condition of all the Banks according to returns nearest to January 1, 1837.
156
No. of
State or Territory.
Date.
Banks.
Branches.
Loans and
Stocks.
Real Estate.
Other
Due by other
Notes of other
Due to other
Other
discounts.
Investments.
banks.
banks on hand.
Specie funds.
Specie.
Circulation.
Deposits.
banks.
liabilities.
Capital.
$
8
$
s
s
8
$
$
$
8
8
$
$
Maine,
Jan. 2, 1837,
55
7,821,023
-
129,831
-
650,962
266,606
-
387,169
1,912,418
1,242,540
279,479
422,737
5,226,700
New Hampshire
May 1, 1837,
27
4,829,562
-
80,444
-
-
154,306
790,175
-
1,662,952
1,147,373
-
2,839,508
Vermont,
Jan. 1, 1836,
19
2,594,675
-
40,502
-
46,609
126,048
801,913
76,802
2,086,860
348,875
23,874
-
1,125,624
Massachusetts,
Sept. 3, 1836,
117
56,643,171
-
1,140,004
-
5,126,900
3,428,852
-
1,455,230
10,892,249
8,784,516
5,063,886
-
34,478,110
Rhode Island,
Mar. 18, 1837,
62
13,401,344
143,462
198,056
23,952
451,978
430,426
-
243,482
1,864,132
2,113,260
603,974
6,477,928
9,837,171
Connecticut,
Oct. 1, 1836,
31
3
13,361,928
410,542
179,603
17,664
502,486
339,579
282,064
426,290
4,094,681
1,869,369
457,650
93,145
8,665,607
New York,
Jan. 1, 1837,
98
2
79,313,188
1,794,152
2,263,857
1,123,225
18,832,254
12,487,610
3,268,648
6,557,020
24,198,000
30,883,179
20,462,823
7,078,167
37,101,460
Pennsylvania,
Jan. 1, 1837,
49
44,601,933
1,551,908
1,740,242
2,178,211
4,697,053
4,147,647
-
3,113,990
13,794,014
12,902,251
7,224,953
1,411,498
23,750,338
New Jersey,
Jan. 1837,
25
9,341,797
1,096,367
3,104,998
840,445
993,273
418,632
-
496,917
1,918,017
1,869,254
604,663
7,090,385
4,142,031
Delaware,
Jan. 1837,
4
4
1,599,168
195,140
86,839
2,312
183,615
113,618
-
141,956
718,948
563,985
46,197
818,020
Maryland,
Jan. 1837,
21
2
14,986,487
1,678,515
530,141
65,543
1,396,558
1,521,432
-
1,139,347
3,310,835
4,840,477
1,443,476
705,139
10,438,655
Dist. Columbia,
Jan. 1, 1837,
7
4,204,512
220,152
306,073
75,912
433,233
394,406
-
438,327
1,136,557
1,950,736
597,235
3,059
2,204,445
Virginia,
Jan. 1, 1837,
5
18
18,021,429
276,734
632,710
1,218
1,654,205
797,137
-
1,624,899
9,107,347
5,309,554
548,391
294,747
6,731,200
North Carolina,
Dec. 1836,
3
7
5,769,094
123,424
-
681,076
181,675
-
883,011
3,319,428
1,387,120
262,070
-
2,525,000
South Carolina,
Jan. 1837,
10
2
18,899,838
1,402,226
210,191
442,392
882,473
819,143
-
1,664,786
7,223,616
5,048,477
1,885,173
803,578
8,636,118
Georgia,
April, 1837,
16
16
16,692,215
1,253,334
1,230,047
187,016
1,941,452
1,571,377
-
2,860,326
8,058,739
2,943,632
1,546,834
377,967
11,438,828
Alabama,
Nov. 1, 1836,
3
4
18,133,788
-
-
-
2,126,373
-
-
1,572,246
7,090,819
3,073,979
1,839,237
-
7,572,176
Louisiana,
Jan. 23, 1837,
16
31
59,108,741
100,000
4,761,168
528,876
3,607,412
2,467,229
-
3,108,416
7,909,788
11,487,431
11,817,341
893,422
36,769,455
Mississippi,
Jan. 1837,
9
9
24,351,414
52,000
465,430
5,000
1,343,647
638,148
-
1,369,457
5,073,425
5,345,384
2,226,677
1,723,817
12,872,815
Tennessee,
Jan. 1, 1837,
3
8
10,960,368
-
70,048
790,379
412,640
-
378,930
4,272,635
2,230,833
236,937
380,495
5,092,665
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
Kentucky,
Jan. I, 1837,
4
10
11,631,475
2,066,000
147,073
25,000
1,945,015
1,301,518
-
1,456,384
4,105,155
3,428,666
1,635,924
1,733,682
7,145,326
Missouri,
Jan. 14, 1837,
1
1,298,811
-
3,241
508,204
449,064
-
222,924
2,262,900
299,749
Illinois,
Jan. 1837,
2
6
3,098,751
-
14,179
11,070
620,790
268,653
-
590,794
1,565,373
828,644
37,342
1,681
2,014,760
Indiana,
Nov. 26, 1836,
1
10
3,179,271
-
48,901
270,197
1,457,204
489,753
-
1,204,737
1,970,595
2,738,405
66,867
63,777
1,585,481
Ohio,
Jan. 1837,
32
1
18,178,699
-
271,558
-
4,597,579
1,710,827
-
3,153,334
8,326,974
7,590,933
1,471,659
-
9,247,296
Digitized by
Michigan,
Dec. 1836,
9
2
2,946,697
14,250
37,064
28,161
1,496,583
308,305
-
564,275
1,350,325
2,379,380
218,035
-
1,400,000
Florida,
Dec. 1836,
5
2,652,614
152,430
14,969
59,881
411,999
82,142
223,700
145,842
774,010
493,623
155,432
78,699
2,113,302
Penn. Bank of
U.S.
Jan. 2, 1837,
1
18
57,393,709
-
1,237,099
4,534,314
2,284,598
1,206,754
-
2,638,449
11,447,968
2,332,409
1,365,240
6,926,366
35,000,000
Total,
634
154
525,115,702
12,407,112
19,064,451
10,423,630
59,663,910
36,533,527
5,366,500
37,915,340
149,185,890
127,397,185
62,421,118
36,560,289
290,772,091
Google
NOTE.-To complete this table, It has been necessary to take the returns of the 19 Vermont banks for January, 1836; the returns of eight banks in New Jersey for the latter part of
1835, or the early part of 1836 of one bank in South Carolina, of three banks in Georgia, and of one bank in Florida, for the early part of 1836; of one bank in Mississippi, and one in
Michigan, for the latter part of 1835; and to estimate the affairs of one bank in South Carolina, and one in Louisiana.
1
State or Territory.
Date
No. of banks.
No. of
branches.
Loans and dis-
Other invest-
Notes of other
Capital.
counts.
Stocks.
Real estate.
Specie
Due other
Other liabili-
ments.
Due by banks.
banks.
funds.
Specie.
Circulation.
Deposites.
banks.
ties.
Maine,
1837, Dec. 30,
55
$5,458,750
$7,552,938
-
$136,260
-
$640,696
$163,145
-
$246,720
$1,690,023
$763,741
$351,200
New Hampshire,
$315,656
1838, Feb. 1,
27
2,839,500
4,200,245
-
82,250
-
531,638
109,308
-
148,793
1,111,074
466,092
-
-
Vermont,
1837, Aug.
19
1,274,970
2,405,249
Google
$10,000
33,728
$70,682
431,693
53,793
$85,029
97,333
1,457,441
282,283
44,112
1,135
Massachusetts,
1838, Feb. 10,
124
37,080,000
56,398,121
-
1,117,883
-
5,662,780
2,954,804
-
1,474,743
9,964,110
8,231,580
5,498,012
5,318,484
Rhode Island,
Jan. 5,
62
9,849,853
13,250,296
74,860
301,945
-
537,350
420,196
-
399,944
2,164,344
799,306
788,680
764,115
New York,
Jan. 1,
95
2
36,611,460
60,999,770
2,795,207
2,356,249
38,256
18,297,899
3,616,918
618,277
4,139,732
12,432,478.
15,895,684
15,221,478
6,142,047
Pennsylvania,
1837, Nov. 1,
49
24,941,435
38,237,566
1,407,803
1,833,326
3,658,404
9,254,641
3,148,184
-
3,674,194
11,330,474
10,363,562
8,862,928
2,972,846
New Jersey,
Dec.
28
4,997,012
8,029,700
2,438,001
307,738
380,117
645,909
324,396
-
418,992
1,345,241
820,805
495,993
Delaware,
4,140,111
1838, Jan. 1,
4
4
990,658
1,550,221
187,990
88,131
Digitized by
-
310,877
163,543
-
126,007
756,148
444,020
49,766
-
Maryland,
Jan. 1,
22
2
11,971,876
15,813,006
1,505,641
541,677
91,946
3,076,511
1,452,574
-
1,259,908
3,002,085
3,253,683
3,036,772
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
Dist. of Columbia,
1,395,714
Jan. 1,
7
2,175,970
3,109,814
272,752
311,636
169,793
342,560
394,925
-
318,354
764,822
1,222,052
553,511
-
Virginia,
Jan. 1,
5
18
7,005,356
15,900,987
439,781
636,404
123,305
1,477,542
473,895
-
1,366,582
7,178,776
3,028,954
342,568
1,600,386
North Carolina,
Feb.
3
7
2,980,640
4,571,328
127,424
34,495
878,308
177,763
-
705,389
2,267,793
756,591
187,774
-
South Carolina,
1837, Nov.
10
2
7,947,419
16,657,217
1,162,630
211,759
98,325
923,161
622,571
-
1,436,315
5,011,656
3,383,468
698,675
1,610,411
Georgia,
Oct.
20
16
11,790,573
15,937,526
1,215,501
1,830,430
324,715
1,057,866
1,345,808
-
2,475,788
5,077,273
2,121,617
1,954,361
93,409
Florida,
1838, Jan.
6
2
2,387,585
3,270,015
5,000
466,134
105,540
316,527
107,392
16,872
161,310
621,393
417,191
173,404
637,376
Alabama,
1837, Nov.
3
4
10,150,538
26,087,750
600,000
158,499
213,380
1,081,412
117,625
-
796,151
7,535,475
5,220,346
2,395,062
1,293,351
Louisiana,
Dec. 23,
16
31
39,943,832
55,593,371
995,076
4,235,476
1,791,030
1,395,737
4,508,761
-
2,729,983
7,558,465
7,426,468
9,131,466
3,748,343
Mississippi,
Dec.
11
15
19,231,123
28,999,984
367,633
1,618,676
4,731,925
2,563,783
1,058,274
-
766,360
7,472,334
4,638,669
3,039,201
3,505,364
Arkansas,
1838, Jan. 1,
1
2
413,105
374,791
-
-
100,657
3,678
2,450
40,395
96,455
8,100
87,242
-
102,095
Tennessee,
Jan. 1,
3
8
5,309,454
11,249,170
59,750
84,021
345,792
581,711
327,817
-
595,667
2,620,185
1,502,271
660,513
2,370,481
Kentucky,
1837, Dec.
4
10
8,499,094
10,346,152
2,256,000
208,562
324,301
1,279,274
673,852
-
1,716,489
3,600,570
2,159,700
872,112
1,245,005
Missouri,
Dec. 30,
1
2
607,398
1,034,852
50,101
67,335
45,271
223,930
-
628,167
94,000
748,655
312,760
297,808
Illinois,
1838, Jan. 8,
2
6
4,673,050
4,416,577
2,690,000
27,533
4,944
234,145
70,718
-
684,487
1,990,993
789,652
348,995
188,836
Indiana,
Jan. 6,
1
10
1,900,687
3,556,341
-
97,301
298,658
281,393
209,185
-
1,221,181
2,308,130
952,009
136,647
5,720
Ohio,
1837, Dec.
33
1
11,331,618
17,212,694
-
387,427
-
1,340,338
864,597
-
2,674,212
6,221,136
4,071,975
481,344
1,509,459
Michigan,
Dec.
18
2
1,918,365
3,773,370
-
123,113
253,681
569,011
233,031
-
435,073
1,724,409
1,313,286
196,366
113,959
Wisconsin,
Nov.
2
119,625
152,676
-
3,179
-
45,908
27,432
-
83,494
141,363
43,228
163
9,435
Penn. Bk. of U.S.
Dec. 30,
1
19
35,000,000
45,181,854
14,862,108
1,504,772
10,809,774
3,657,251
866,597
-
3,770,842
6,768,067
2,617,253
4,957,291
20,524,568
Total of recent re-
turns,
632
163
309,403,946
475,863,581
33,345,733
18,881,634
24,037,055
57,464,870
24,713,484
760,573
34,648,665
114,218,358
83,821,383
60,791,214
59,906,114
Connecticut,
1827, Mar. 25,
31
3
8,744,697
13,246,945
416,016
175,883
56,019
941,314
296,725
-
415,386
3,998,325
1,484,966
639,824
288,130
* Total of returns
nearest Jan. 1,
1838.
663
166
318,148,643
489,110,526
33,761,749
19,057,517
24,093,074
58,406,184
25,010,209
760,573
35,064,051
118,216,683
85,306,349
61,431,038
60,194,244
*Note.-R. Island,
1838, April 6,
62
9,852,353
12,772,099
108,226
300,201
-
488,210
415,733
-
460,999
2,191,609
695,798
640,754
716,791
VoL. I.-0
N. York,
April 1,
94
2
36,401,460
59,075,768
529,771
2,366,456
3,595,547
14,603,770
5,301,579
794,636
5,117,063
11,057,935
16,503,114
9,389,108
6,501,787
Louisiana,
Mar. 21,
16
31
39,523,693
52,058,084
-
7,837,546
3,216,465
1,355,165
4,410,333
-
2,970,723
4,734,739
8,021,137
10,591,600
904,411
158
No. VI.-Abstract of the statements of the Bank of the United States, chartered by Congress, from its commencement in 1817, to March, 1836, when its charter expired, and of the Penn-
sylvania Bank of the United States, from March, 1836, to December, 1836.
Deposites by
Loans and
Bank'g houses
Date.
Funded debt.
Due by Euro-
Balances due
Notes of state
discounts.
Real estate.
& permanent
pean bankers.
by state banks.
banks.
Specie.
Circulation.
Balance due
Due to Euro-
to state banks.
pean bankers.
Capital.
expenses.
United States
Public officers.
Other depo-
Treasurer.
sites.
1817, Feb.
$3,485,194
$4,829,234
-
-
-
$8,848,315
$587,281
$1,724,109
$1,911,200
$10,112,487
$67,791
$1,052,743
-
-
$15,879,865
March
9,536,993
11,907,365
-
-
-
7,647,313
696,309
1,459,158
4,565,398
-
-
-
-
-
23,155,010
July
26,235,536
-
-
-
-
2,424,900
1,757,268
2,129,368
4,759,861
24,746,641
-
3,023,167
-
-
-
Oct.
33,764,035
-
-
-
-
2,518,669
1,825,241
2,271,611
5,492,827
7,743,899
-
4,535,280
-
-
-
1818, March
41,181,750
9,475,932
-
$175,201
$1,033,682
1,203,894
1,837,254
2,515,949
8,339,448
-
7,369,911
4,909,296
-
$1,357,778
-
July
41,458,985
7,430,926
-
423,332
1,188,291
2,463,064
2,398,698
2,357,137
9,045,216
-
7,967,775
4,786,923
-
1,760,668
34,972,568
1819, Jan.
35,786,263
7,391,823
-
433,808
621,667
2,624,797
1,877,909
2,666,696
6,563,750
1,329,525
1,526,867
2,936,477
-
1,434,022
-
July
30,949,642
7,139,081
-
742,261
57,094
2,908,160
1,330,490
2,954,266
5,213,040
2,112,147
1,558,234
2,643,808
-
60,465
-
1820, Jan.
31,401,158
7,192,980
-
1,296,626
261,548
2,727,080
1,443,166
3,392,755
3,589,481
2,096,686
1,464,026
3,008,082
-
2,053,650
-
July
30,207,579
9,158,984
-
1,345,815
1,066,479
727,553
1,285,055
5,821,495
4,005,382
1,307,794
1,618,008
3,963,820
-
2,093,650
-
1821, Jan.
30,905,199
9,155,855
-
1,886,724
83,548
1,178,897
677,022
7,643,140
4,567,053
1,106,801
1,822,020
4,996,164
-
2,053,074
-
July
28,386,916
13,360,780
$429,015
1,880,674
1,337,509
-
1,036,073
5,876,534
5,551,910
1,330,894
1,613,309
4,362,603
$291,810
2,040,000
-
1822, Jan.
28,061,169
13,318,950
563,480
1,855,946
1,107,637
1,717,723
917,629
4,761,299
5,578,782
1,688,577
928,977
5,457,598
-
2,040,000
34,992,139
July
31,795,700
13,112,443
595,746
1,999,441
781,184
1,055,146
760,003
3,350,443
5,620,960
1,971,555
1,416,692
3,839,388
-
2,040,000
-
1823, Jan.
30,736,432
11,018,552
626,674
1,956,764
24,599
1,407,573
766,248
4,424,874
4,361,058
2,746,366
1,528,964
3,347,010
-
1,292,710
-
July
34,803,829
10,876,023
736,957
1,893,893
260,052
1,205,250
856,697
4,910,434
4,629,349
6,116,933
1,616,306
3,688,919
-
1,020,000
-
1824, Jan.
33,432,084
10,874,014
1,302,551
1,871,635
1,434,020
1,287,808
705,173
5,813,694
4,647,077
8,281,718
1,900,146
3,520,072
-
1,020,000
-
July
32,694,096
15,872,791
1,418,143
1,880,545
527,538
296,864
1,105,466
5,588,000
6,383,647
5,951,933
2,207,815
6,043,562
-
-
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
1825, Jan.
31,812,617
18,422,027
1,495,150
1,852,935
24,178
2,130,095
1,056,224
6,746,952
6,068,394
4,610,180
2,092 263
5,330,921
-
2,407,282
-
July
33,531,692
20,738,600
1,568,125
1,831,464
517,030
241,982
1,541,568
4,048,178
9,540,694
6,460,455
1,532,258
5,966,444
-
-
1826, Jan.
33,424,621
18,303,501
1,848,354
1,792,870
421,524
747,375
1,114,831
3,960,158
9,474,987
3,704,527
2,065,268
5,444,845
-
251,494
-
July
35,020,490
17,764,359
1,620,927
1,809,530
487,965
1,833,822
1,210,645
6,194,275
10,210,412
4,518,544
5,264,617
5,630,623
-
314,498
-
1827, Jan.
30,937,866
17,764,359
2,039,226
1,678,192
460,686
1,683,510
1,068,483
6,457,161
8,549,409
5,619,075
3,363,167
5,337,944
-
280,056
-
July
34,191,166
17,764,359
2,163,767
1,625,189
1,275,093
1,834,502
1,154,082
6,381,225
10,198,760
4,711,456
4,737,531
6,257,738
-
306,037
-
Digitized by Google
1828, Jan.
33,682,905
17,624,859
2,295,401
1,634,260
356,470
-
1,447,386
6,170,045
9,855,677
5,553,449
2,801,774
6,142,107
1,697,401
1,467,806
-
July
38,506,410
17,352,859
2,354,821
1,600,198
335,303
-
1,418,826
6,621,734
10,890,343
7,544,267
4,010,146
6,402,121
1,737,080
687,383
-
1829, Jan.
39,219,602
16,099,099
2,345,539
1,557,356
482,420
1,723,297
1,293,578
6,098,138
11,901,656
5,941,049
4,755,917
6,364,952
-
-
-
July
43,018,132
14,932,639
2,606,495
1,502,024
1,447,196
1,960,398
1,311,611
6,641,958
13,691,783
4,889,940
6,767,478
7,122,188
-
-
-
1830, Jan.
40,663,805
11,610,290
2,686,397
1,444,801
1,530,553
1,199,458
1,465,047
7,608,076
12,924,145
5,579,568
4,075,209
6,391,005
-
-
-
July
43,238,168
10,674,724
2,802,004
1,384,171
3,756,813
1,335,058
1,489,358
10,252,325
15,346,407
6,266,742
4,170,327
7,928,550
-
-
-
1831, Jan.
44,032,057
8,674,681
2,629,125
1,344,761
2,383,331
-
1,494,506
10,808,047
16,251,267
6,940,268
2,191,336
8,165,437
734,900
-
-
July
56,562,044
3,674,681
2,493,455
1,298,098
144,439
60,538
2,043,287
12,175,476
19,195,817
5,067,653
2,588,150
9,103,864
-
-
I
Table VI.-Continued.
Deposites by
Loans and
Bank'g houses
discounts.
Real estate.
Due by Euro-
Due by state
Notes of state
& permanent
Specie.
Circulation.
Dividends un-
Due to state
Date.
Due to Euro-
pean bankers.
banks.
banks.
paid.
banks.
United States
pean bankers.
Capital.
expenses.
Publicofficers.
Other depo-
Treasurer.
sitors.
1832, Jan.
$66,293,707
$2,136,525
$1,159,637
$91,668
$3,944,847
$2,171,676
$7,038,823
$21,355,724
$8,258,155
$4,331,207
$8,107,155
$64,917
$1,951,103
$1,447,748
$35,000,000
July
67,416,081
1,829,889
1,174,176
630,144
4,774,187
2,165,555
7,519,083
20,520,068
9,568,123
2,303,982
8,115,367
72,399
2,221,406
-
35,000,000
1833, Jan.
61,695,913
1,855,169
1,181,071
3,106,833
3,688,143
2,292,655
8,951,847
17,518,217
4,180,813
8,571,730
7,518,677
76,529
2,091,891
-
35,000,000
April
64,323,929
1,832,846
1,181,071
3,942,019
2,828,040
2,226,936
9,001,661
18,033,205
4,514,670
3,952,159
10,265,605
130,419
3,029,787
-
35,000,000
July
63,369,897
1,809,289
1,187,238
1,911,044
2,768,324
2,523,857
10,098,816
19,366,555
3,312,012
3,199,490
9,868,728
1,290,589
2,282,729
-
35,000,000
Oct.
60,094,202
1,787,406
1,187,238
2,375,390
3,619,741
2,431,399
10,663,441
19,128,189
6,691,883
3,176,551
8,008,862
101,691
1,331,168
-
35,000,000
1834, Jan.
54,911,461
1,741,407
1,189,125
1,801,669
3,058,870
1,982,640
10,031,237
19,208,379
1,973,452
2,057,056
6,734,866
73,181
1,522,124
-
35,000,000
April
54,806,817
1,704,322
1,221,306
2,255,090
2,606,724
1,608,651
10,180,008
17,251,264
372,599
2,560,266
7,166,028
96,720
2,019,886
-
35,000,000
July
51,024,972
1,741,878
1,222,443
3,827,413
2,565,524
1,564,556
12,823,997
16,641,997
305,226
2,370,206
6,735,869
67,164
2,156,797
-
35,000,000
Oct.
46,006,791
1,821,525
1,215,943
3,127,982
2,127,438
1,568,247
15,561,374
15,637,676
351,654
1,688,699
6,912,591
118,533
2,946,149
-
35,000,000
Nov.
45,754,201
1,808,845
1,215,943
2,727,781
2,036,103
1,341,094
15,910,045
15,968,731
429,465
1,572,173
6,741,752
82,791
2,950,095
-
35,000,000
Dec.
45,570,088
1,752,141
1,215,943
2,761,222
2,194,475
1,635,970
15,680,387
15,603,446
441,988
1,432,783
7,144,716
70,982
3,207,874
-
35,000,000
1835, Jan.
51,808,739
1,760,632
1,218,896
1,922,498
4,609,973
1,506,200
15,708,369
17,339,797
431,248
2,190,193
7,844,798
1,290,666
3,119,172
-
35,000,000
Feb.
55,524,806
1,759,786
1,218,896
2,340,643
2,862,723
1,778,710
16,369,525
19,733,527
744,297
2,014,488
8,755,419
257,052
4,324,491
-
35,000,000
March
57,814,404
1,765,350
1,218,896
2,892,835
2,261,477
2,173,925
16,567,893
19,519,777
690,704
1,892,722
8,934,807
141,963
5,011,634
-
35,000,000
April
60,100,216
1,775,224
1,218,896
2,421,354
2,036,291
2,055,862
16,448,814
20,544,736
710,744
1,752,904
9,372,204
98,930
6,023,344
-
35,000,000
May
61,919,425
1,774,040
1,218,896
2,457,937
2,983,737
2,340,702
14,385,843
20,347,936
545;062
1,439,837
9,383,954
84,815
6,404,048
-
35,000,000
June
63,642,646
1,775,736
1,218,395
2,007,145
4,000,158
3,018,066
13,912,577
22,009,474
510,999
1,299,561
10,549,197
76,057
4,691,857
-
35,000,000
July
65,197,692
1,758,345
1,218,395
2,378,669
3,904,537
2,073,826
13,429,328
25,332,820
475,410
1,210,700
9,558,757
70,824
5,969,593
-
35,000,000
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
Aug.
64,314,518
1,736,175
1,212,395
2,258,886
3,739,454
1,710,513
12,883,968
24,329,222
411,097
1,039,150
8,508,041
236,115
5,533,375
-
35,000,000
Sept.
61,787,020
1,678,416
1,212,395
1,885,135
3,080,268
2,289,806
12,840,781
23,645,122
327,552
1,016,016
7,870,462
143,603
4,026,714
-
35,000,000
Oct.
60,163,249
1,679,305
1,200,808
1,810,897
3,456,832
1,707,575
12,545,652
24,403,074
206,487
972,659
6,708,750
119,008
4,108,827
-
35,000,000
Nov.
57,529,053
1,690,329
1,143,628
685,753
3,514,564
2,349,808
10,224,675
23,031,667
3,927
728,107
5,406,962
105,277
2,828,993
-
35,000,000
Dec.
57,144,258
1,691,256
1,076,581
212,272
3,767,355
2,842,389
8,749,920
22,113,902
10,588
634,331
5,058,449
72,433
2,073,819
-
35,000,000
1836, Jan.
59,232,445
1,486,561
967,404
73,171
4,088,005
1,736,491
8,417,988
23,075,422
625
627,192
4,369,220
64,419
2,660,694
-
35,000,000
Feb.
60,191,478
1,486,158
967,404
546,299
4,611,016
2,319,871
7,650,589
21,802,355
19,611
572,497
3,936,770
533,345
3,031,787
-
35,000,000
March
58,345,107
1,452,492
881,504
115,589
4,376,267
2,350,591
6,224,197
20,114,227
19,584
326,909
3,484,143
250,453
3,412,417
271,777
35,000,000
52,511,081
2,570,318
474,657
1,303
4,908,652
2,207,647
5,595,077
21,109,352
17,395
306,855
3,390,418
253,937
2,255,003
371,777
39,015,130
Digitized by Google
NOTE.-In addition to the above, the following amounts were due to the United States Bank by European bankers, viz. :
August 1, 1836,
-
-
-
-
$1,872,479
Sept. 1, "
-
-
-
-
-
100,438
159
No. VIL.-PENNSYLVANIA BANK OF THE UNITED STATES.
Bills discounted
Bills discounted
Date.
on personal se-
Bills discounted
Domestic bills
Total of bills dis-
Due from the
on other securi-
Foreign bills
Bank U. States
counted and bills
Mortgages.
Banking
Other real
United States
on bank stock.
of exchange.
chartered by
Due from
Notes of state
curity.
ties.
of exchange.
of exchange.
houses.
estate.
and Daty ag"t.,
state tanks.
banks.
Specie,
Norfolk.
Congress.
March 31, 1836,
$17,998,368
$2,951,512
$18,914,952
$16,524,419
#114,285
$56,503,539
$56,037
$315,214
$1,196,103
$45,411
$599,288
$2,444,923
$2,284,082
$5,079,460
May 2,
11,371,031
5,920,058
22,967,348
17,029,111
114,285
54,401,836
56,037
208,200
1,196,775
45,411
599,288
2,818,870
2,422,889
5,020,471
May 30,
9,598,024
2,928,547
24,509,323
15,362,543
268,385
52,664,824
56,037
264,417
1,166,687
45,411
599,349
2,522,000
2,087,050
4,528,881
July 4,
12,162,434
2,885,374
29,404,921
13,438,820
109,049
58,000,600
79,861
165,815
1,361,822
45,411
103,782
1,601,261
1,251,029
4,064,455
August 1,
14,236,490
2,889,141
27,879,110
12,532,354
109,477
57,646,573
124,081
534,359
1,119,481
45,411
33,782
1,456,062
1,246,011
4,997,500
Digitized by Google
Sept. 1,
14,863,374
2,880,137
27,951,287
11,793,938
73,962
57,562,600
132,589
508,621
993,162
45,411
33,782
1,285,991
1,604,822
4,696,693
Sept. 29,
15,096,892
2,841,379
27,900,009
11,156,549
74,109
57,068,940
132,589
506,208
970,465
45,411
33,782
1,722,339
1,735,694
3,424,763
Oct. 31,
14,817,638
2,826,735
26,817,878
11,012,191
74,335
55,548,779
144,589
506,268
829,844
45,411
33,782
5,274,212
1,812,443
3,410,181
Dec.
1,
14,566,008
2,775,869
25,679,478
11,907,433
-
54,928,790
143,859
506,268
803,028
45,411
33,782
5,009,217
2,370,195
3,275,292
PENNSYLVANIA BANK OF THE UNITED STATES-Continued.
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
Due officers
Loans in Eu-
Date.
Nett circulation.
Deposites.
Dividends un-
Due to state
Due to Euro-
of common-
rope, and inte-
Capital.
Due U.S. for
Post notes.
Notes issued.
Notes on hand.
Notes at state
Notes in tran-
claimed.
banks.
pean bankers.
wealth of
rest on the
capital s'ock.
bank agencies.
situ.
Penn.
same.
March 31, 1836,
$18,155,396
$2,194,231
$241,900
#1,333,372
$1,547,090
$98,721
-
$35,000,000
-
-
$36,620,420
$16,794,713
-
$1,670,310
May
3
17,251,165
2,521,410
212,479
1,095,911
956,213
141,542
-
35,000,000
-
-
37,177,895
15,094,514
-
4,832,215
May 30,
13,323,659
2,074,662
203,086
1,520,992
792,892
34,804
-
35,000,000
$6,875,200
-
35,635,125
3,101,040
-
19,210,425
July
4,
13,764,305
1,972,401
1,404,745
1,275,671
2,631,950
2,913
-
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
35,217,648
18,237,673
-
3,215,670
August 1,
14,027,524
2,617,819
196,315
1,610,356
-
39,636
$6,788,194
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
35,039,566
18,355,837
-
2,656,205
Sept. 1,
11,805,454
1,944,718
139,775
1,655,994
-
91,220
6,788,194
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
34,541,541
21,023,572
-
1,712,515
Sept. 29,
10,480,828
1,913,137
112,696
1,347,564
603,888
44,917
6,788,194
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
33,989,246
21,912,453
-
1,595,965
Oct.
31,
10,044,097
1,735,588
103,517
965,213
644,016
-
6,788,194
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
33,017,326
17,744,784
-
5,228,445
Dec.
1,
9,733,032
1,695,480
80,400
1,146,351
622,489
-
6,788,194
35,000,000
6,875,200
-
33,232,925
18,468,138
-
5,031,755
PENNSYLVANIA BANK OF THE UNITED STATES-Continued.
Common-
Bonus and
Discount, ex.
Date.
wealth of
Contingent fund,
Losses charge-
Fund for extin-
permanent
Deficiencies.
Expenses.
change, and
Profit and loss.
able to contin-
Contingent
Foreign exch.
guishing cost
Contingent
Due from U. S.
Due to U. States
Penn.
interest.
Bank and offices.
Bank and offices.
expenses.
interest.
gross.
gent fund.
fund, nett.
account.
of banking-
houses.
March 31, 1836,
-
$640,000
#149,912
$197,792
$732,434
$3,765,520
$5,943,308
$4,248,202
$1,695,105
$1,033,052
$1,104,223
$656,328
$29,108,111
$29,422,189
May
2,
$334,138
600,000
147,872
260,093
914,614
3,765,520
5,943,308
4,414,834
1,528,473
981,867
1,104,233
782,052
24,797,763
21,821,200
May 30,
334,138
665,583
115,445
258,879
1,121,061
3,765,520
5,943,308
4,465,369
1,477,938
996,889
1,104,223
742,451
23,439,669
23,499,213
July
4,
352,357
866,828
116,999
50,106
215,986
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,464,365
1,478,942
1,051,529
1,070,600
706,773
30,539,078
30,515,730
August 1,
593,575
895,754
116,587
62,031
399,954
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,452,914
1,490,313
1,213,618
1,070,600
690,740
31,189,571
29,838,302
Sept.
1,
783,753
897,804
86,193
85,987
612,014
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,394,624
1,548,683
1,301,628
1,070,600
689,360
30,017,921
30,190,454
160
Sept. 29,
784,023
901,454
90,171
109,738
779,181
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,406,522
1,536,785
1,366,827
1,070,600
657,673
44,921,912
44,858,085
Oct.
31,
845,852
911,924
122,734
134,201
1,010,741
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,407,736
1,535,571
1,366,943
1,070,600
617,481
44,067,374
44,279,495
Dec.
1,
906,031
916,216
128,022
152,020
1,320,651
4,291,210
5,943,308
4,619,790
1,323,517
1,323,517
1,070,600
586,052
35,553,479
34,749,350
No. VIII.Statement of the Condition of the Bank of the United States in the Year 1837, on the Days mentioned.
161
RESOURCES.
January 2.
January 31.
March 1.
April 1.
May 11.
June 3.
July 1.
August 1.
September 1.
October 2.
November 1.
December 1.
Bills discounted on personal security,
D. 14,901,191 30
13,550,206
11,218,697 39
9,839,513 88
11,851,928 90
11,615,864 57
12,184,962 59
11,296,474 07
11,511,544 35
10,866,932 49
10,678,606 61
10,734,999 65
"
bank stock,
2,807,707 47
2,876,558 37
2,719,021 14
2,376,218 S1
2,283,648 55
2,262,198 55
1,554,157 23
1,504,018 97
1,452,917 46
1,379,340 96
1,372,965 96
1,189,682 38
other securities,
26,256,440 60
26,276,805 16
25,548,888 34
25,390,631 94
29,447,249 83
29,262,114 54
24,973,006
25,310,608 45
24,724,645 27
23,258,548 2
22,546,390 70
21,693,140 72
Bills of exchange,
13,246,878 35
15,884,556 81
17,163,578 53
18,729,696 72
19,970,125 18
17,805,413 79
15,297,515 08
12,751,741 10
9,062,428 70
9,351,569 92
8,723,551 85
8,643,390 26
Real estate,
816,985 22
779,308
781,508 82
778,223 84
755,881 75
755,676
717,188
1,078,622 75
1,117,015 80
1,130,704 28 28
1,137,029 21
1,115,820 16
Due from Bank of United States and offices,
36,423,333 21
34,033,948 70
30,672,825 04
29,875,051 88
34,010,391 05
33,829,174
33,123,579
33,427,613 16
36,146,587 45
34,717,244 92
34,999,071 06
35,015,317 95
Digitized by Google
"
State banks,
2,284,598 90
1,279,077 73
2,132,520 52
3,276,485
1,420,393 65
2,654,866
3,940,070
6,189,458 67
5,212,231 32
3,590,494 41
3,786,991 71
3,482,573 66
"
the United States,
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
5,267 32
Deficiencies,
128,797
84,115 66
92,687
95,661
95,665 03
26,321
26,321 83
15,140 27
28,069 17
29,670 84
30,420 84
86,660 78
Banking houses,
470,244 57
470,244 57
470,244
470,244.57
470,244 57
470,244 57
470,244 57
445,363 94
435,134 92
435,134 92
435,559 39
455,361 13
Expenses,
124,417
65,829 S0
78,536 14
97,657 17
120,083 31
138,413 63
119,668 28
59,525
15
90,129 94
96,426 80
115,448 37
137,648 14
Cash, viz. notes of the Bank of U. S. & offices,
15,467,792 70
17,517,298 90
19,848,778 90
20,650,214 19
18,748,053
21,290,846 71
* see note.
"
State banks,
1,206,754 84
877,366 78
1,236,849 13
1,625,187 49
2,689,470 21
1,212,585 01
643,316
1,214,530 77
1,495,004 84
1,746,419
935,819 68
997,156 20
Specie,
2,638,449 04
2,161,441 75
2,653,272 51
1,919,094 02
1,490,968 03
1,465,820
1,594,371 54
1,773,266 68
2,636,103 09
3,016,230 55
2,822,697 15
3,349,850 89
Mortgages,
136,081 91
136,066 91
136,081 91
136,081 91
147,751 77
147,711 77
147,711 7
147,652 40
147,652 40
189,207 13
189,207 13
336,860 91
Navy agent, Norfolk,
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
40,144 17
Bank of United States chartered by Congress,
28,062 65
28,062 65
28,062 65
28,086 24
28,086 24
28,086
28,086 24
28,554 19
28,855 33
28,855 33
28,855 33
28,855 33
Bonus and permanent expenses,
2,339,578
2,339,578
2,339,578 31
2,840,078
2,850,678 31
2,850,678 31
2,951,928 31
2,951,928 31
2,951,928 31
2,951,928 31
3,013,300 33
3,018,385 68
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
Bills receivable for post notes,
-
-
-
-
-
2,644,242
2,550,279
2,251,339 24
1,225,210 31
1,025,069 07
850,227 70
713,570
Secretary of the navy,
-
-
-
-
-
400,000
400,000
600,000 00
500,000
500,000 00
Notes of the late bank and offices,
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,962,752 44
16,271,678 54
16,939,276 64
16,972,581 06
17,229,560 50
17,023,504 10
new bank and offices,
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,950,300 00
2,071,670 00
2,707,785 52
2,783,003 03
2,539,585 77
2,787,498 01
Baring, Brothers & Co., Hope & Co., Hottinger & Co.
-
-
-
-
-
-
133,345
270,972 81
267,263 09
I
185,159 99
Stock accounts,
-
-
-
-
-
-
13,044,853 55
13,968,131 16
14,508,362 95
14,323,823 71
14,337,080 39
14,683,045 85
Foreign exchange,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
420,874
1,101,898 54
1,675,529 48
1,195,050 04
2,315,200 87
Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
75,359 42
100,000
150,037 00
Cashier of Bank U. S. attorney for foreign banks,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
110 88
1%
Interest on bonds in Europe,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I
I
---
552 09
119,322,726 27
118,405,859 01
117,166,542 59
118,173,545 12
126,426,031 77
128,908,671
65
132,859,071 91
133,994,574 51
134,335,456 89
130,189,597
21
127,597,991 40
128,004,523 77
LIABILITIES.
Capital Stock,
28,124,800 00
28,124,800 00
28,124,800 00
28,124,800 00
28,124,800
28,124,800 00
35,000,000 00
35,000,000 00
35,000,000 00
35,000,000 00
35,000,000 00
35,000,000 00
Notes " issued,
of United States,
6,875,200 00
6,875,200
6,875,200
6,875,200 00
6,875,200
6,875,200 00
t
32,155,356 69
33,199,356
33,636,080 59
34,948,080 50
37,252,403 94
37,610,102 75
6,121,504 13
7,045,045
7,645,045 03
6,099,093 42
5,689,563 21
5,689,563 21
Discount, exchange, and interest,
1,164,877 28
377,327 47
566,508 08
864,373 15
1,293,681
1,566,486
1,583,664
252,633 46
418,893
565,310 99
822,730 95
987,132 37
Dividends unclaimed,
72,671 55
190,110 55
133,052 55
107,828 24
75,036
67,933 24
64,182 74
164,255
123,905 74
94,746 49
86,487 49
77,134 91
Profit and loss,
4,291,210
4,755,985
4,755,985
4,755,985 3
4,755,985
4,755,985 32
4,755,985
5,191,718 83
5,191,718 83
5,191,718
5,191,718 83
5,191,718 83
Contingent fund, less losses chargeable to it,
1,276,667 93
1,291,733 35
1,291,733
1,291,733 35
1,320,834 21
1,145,510 79
1,145,861 25
1,204,944 91
1,202,953 63
1,202,383 73
1,202,587 98
1,202,587 98
Due to Bank United States and offices,
31,917,081 01
29,605,223 71
27,317,127 24
26,567,067 01
27,888,725 85
28,715,361 87
26,860,705 77
26,078,894 01
26,230,468 05
24,927,785 25
24,181,390 55
23,988,459 97
"
state banks,
1,365,240
1,599,760
1,812,827 23
1,678,615
1,753,993
1,925,435 45
2,741,097 43
3,933,761 71
4,432,576 74
4,627,779 16
5,012,199 85
5,094,317 26
Foreign exchange account,
1,309,623
1,241,174
1,247,867 59
1,242,140 80
1,231,645 51
1,221,401 07
1,190,669 11
1,115,512 87
1,049,175 58
942,368 61
933,090 18
956,723
Baring, Brothers Co., Hope & Co., Hottinger & Co.
138,172 68
300,129 14
572,158 31
680,077
361,418 77
227,483 67
-
252,414 4
507,838 2
2
Fund for extinguishing cost of banking houses,-
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,056,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,056,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
1,055,259 11
0
Contingent interest,
528,632 71
514,602
506,198
478,698
457,381
422,891 74
379,676 88
371,381 88
350,370 91
348,513 68
429,S36 61
387,811 15
Deposites,
2,259,738
2,367,556
2,401,595
2,688,871
2,846,933
2,520,730
2,738,991 82
3,033,679 84
2,545,101 32
2,686,753 93
2,924,150
2,817,542 10
Loan in Europe,
6,788,194
6,788,194
6,788,194
6,788,194
6,788,194 44
6,788,194
6,788,194 44
6,565,972 22
6,145,972 22
4,798,611 11
4,798,611 11
4,798,611 11
Interest on ditto,
-
119,444 44
81,944 44
26,388
26,388 88
5,295 13
5,295 13
124,739 57
$7,239
76,097 22
20,541 66
Bonds in Europe,
-
-
-
-
4,318,149
5,880,599
6,019,300 76
6,269,300 76
6,269,300 76
6,633,745
6,728,189 65
6,728,189 65
Late bank for issues,
-
-
-
-
-
28,462,326 00
28,462,326 00
28,462,326
27,561,866
27,561,866 90
27,561,866 90
Bonds to United States,
-
-
-
-
-
-
7,946,356 16
7,946,356 16
7,946,356 96
7,946,356 16
5,959,767 12
5,959,767 12
Interest on ditto, 1
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
178,793.01
178,793 01
178,793.01
119,322,726 27
118,405,859
01
117,166,542
118,173,545
126,426,031
77
128,908,671
65
132,859,071
91
133,994,574
134,335,456
89
130,189,597
21
127,597,991
40
128,004,523
77
I. VoL.I.
From this date the notes of the old bank were separated from those of the new bank, as shown lower down in the column.
+
The stock held by the government was purchased by the bank, and it is presumed makes one of the items in the stock account, which first appears in this month. The amount paid for the stock is represented by the bonds due the government
for d. 7,946,356 16.
162
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
No. IX.-Statement of the Condition of the Bank of the United States in the Year 1838, on the days
mentioned.
1st dis. day of Jan.
of May.
of June.
of November.
RESOURCES.
Bills and notes discounted,
$33,876,208 51
$31,035,913 29
$30,069,002 23
$32,052,091 58
Specie,
3,770,842 52
4,409,330 92
6,457,853 48
5,223,476 79
Notes and checks of other banks,
19,140,575 36
20,075,363 09
20,699,039 62
7,062,455 28
Due by banks,
38,479,200 68
29,379,092 40
27,483,106 35
25,709,373 87
Real estate and other property,
1,504,772 53
1,507,973 83
1,550,793 64
1,515,194 62
Expenses,
133,478 49
119,845 05
137,332 19
90,409 73
Stocks,
14,862,108 93
17,979,078 03
18,156,684 29
17,486,841 73
Bills of exchange,
10,313,129 13
13,765,226 95
14,905,433 06
6,522,596 82
Miscellaneous,
4,123,565 69
4,213,220 43
4,311,335 18
1,606,957 57
Totals,
$126,203,881 84
$122,485,043 99
$123,770,690 04
$97,299,397 99
LIABILITIES.
Capital stock,
$35,000,000 00
$35,000,000 00
$35,000,000 00
$35,000,000 00
Notes in circulation,
6,768,067 62
6,451,605 17
6,077,738 98
4,220,854 11
Due to banks,
28,970,019 12
25,423,330 38
23,397,395 19
16,552,548 95
Deposites,
2,544,316 81
4,319,384 33
3,851,816 12
5,668,124 37
Dividends unpaid,
72,937 99
95,594 49
81,326 49
80,187 55
Contingent fund,
1,106,654 40
1,157,546 57
1,134,123 39
1,109,179 68
Profit and loss,
5,191,718 83
5,255,972 02
5,255,972 02
2,816,687 80
Discount, exchange, and interest,
1,200,846 11
1,495,426 80
1,834,115 89
1,482,913 95
Miscellaneous,
45,349,320 96
43,286,184 23
47,138,201 96
30,368,901 58
Totals,
$126,203,881 84
$122,485,043 99
$123,770,690 04
$97,299,397 99
" From documents" (we quote from the Journal of Commerce of January 18, 1839)
" appended to the annual Report of the Comptroller, just published, it appears that, under
the General Banking Law passed at the last session of the Legislature, certificates have
been filed in the office of the Secretary of State from FIFTY-FOUR banking associations,
with an aggregate capital subscribed, of $12,319,175, and with a reserved right to increase
the same to the aggregate amount of $487,680,000. The articles of association are so
framed as to cover this enormous amount, in case it should ever be wanted. The dura-
tion of the associations, as contemplated by their articles, varies from 25 years to 4050
years. At the time of making out the Comptroller's statements, 24 of the fifty-six associa-
tions had been organized, and had applied to that officer for bills in the aggregate amount of
$2,493,090 comprising 296,000 one dollar bills, 173,045 twos, 20,000 threes, 218,600 fives,
33,300 tens, 1250 twenties, 900 fifties, 1150 hundreds, 60 five hundreds, and 50 thousands.
Sixteen associations had already made transfers of State stocks, or State stocks and mort-
gages, to the Comptroller, in the aggregate amount of $1,170,090 of stocks, and $422,900
of mortgages. The particulars of these various items will be found in the annexed tables.
Several associations, for which bills have been ordered, have their securities ready, and
will transfer them to the Comptroller as soon as the bills can be prepared. The process of
engraving the plates, from which the bills were to be struck, occupied so much time, that it
was only a few weeks since any of the associations could be supplied. A further delay is
occasioned by the circumstance that all the bills are required to be countersigned by the
Registers, who are only two in number, Messrs. John O. Cole and J. M. Woodward, and
whose pens cannot move fast enough to supply the demand from so many associations, all
desiring to commence operations immediately. The whole amount countersigned prior to
the 29th of December was $370,200. The securities lodged with the Comptroller are to
be applied exclusively to the redemption of the bills which are countersigned and registered
in the Comptroller's office; i. e. in case said bills should fail to be redeemed by the associa-
tions at their counters. The interest on the securities is paid to the associations so long as
they continue to redeem their bills. In any event, the holders of the bills are safe the
securities, held by the Comptroller as a guard against contingencies, being alone sufficient for
their redemption. The mortgages lodged with the Comptroller, are required by the law to
be only upon improved, productive, unincumbered lands within this State, worth, independ-
ently of any buildings thereon, at least double the amount for which they shall be so mort-
gaged.' And only one half of the securities lodged with the Comptroller can consist of
mortgages at all. The residue must consist of State or national stocks. The arhount of
bills, given out by the Comptroller to any association, is never to exceed the amount of secu-
rities lodged by said association in his hands. In the case of each association he appoints
commissioners to view the premises on which mortgages are offered, and to make a full
report to him both in regard to title and value. On the whole, we do not see but every pre-
caution has been taken to guard the interests of bill-holders, which the case admits of."
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No. X.-New York Banking Associations under the General Banking Law.
163
Name and Style of Company.
Where located.
Capital
May be in-
Duration of
Amount of secu-
Amount of
subscribed.
Charter.
Stockholders.
When filed.
creased to
rities pledged.
Bills ordered.
$
Years.
$
Bank of Western New York
New York City
500,000
500,000
100
Elisha B. Strong, Simeon B. Jewitt and others
Bank of Western New York
July 10, 1838
Rochester
180,000
180,000
100
do.
do.
do.
-
14,
1 00,000
93,000
North American Trust and Banking Company
New York City
2,000,000
50,000,000
468
Joseph D. Beers and 19 others
- 18,
302,000
400,000
Bank of the United States in New York
do.
200,000
50,000,000
62
George Griswold and Richard Alsop
Aug. 7,
200,000
900,000
Mechanics' Banking Association
do.
128,175
10,000,000
99
Thomas R. Mercein and 76 others
-
21,
120,000
115,000
Staten Island Bank
Port Richmond
100,000
6,000,000
Digitized by Google
100
Richard D. Littell and 79 others
- 24,
50,000
100,000
Erie County Bank
Buffalo
100,000
100,000
112
George N. Rinney, H. Griffin and W. C. Sherwood
Lockport Bank and Trust Company
Sept. 4,
50,000
Lockport
500,000
2,000,000
262
Lot Clark and 46 others
-
Bank of Central New York
6
129,600
200,000
Utica
100,000
2,000,000
4960
Spencer Kellogg and 9 others
- 17,
Bank of Syracuse
20,000
40,000
Syracuse
100,000
1,000,000
600
George F. Leitch and 9 others
- 22,
70,800
120,000
American Exchange Bank
New York City
500,000
50,000,000
100
Nathaniel Weed and 242 others
Farmers' Bank of Orleans
Oct. 1,
Gaines
200,000
600,000
25
Lyman H. Phillips and 92 others
-
St. Lawrence Bank
a
98,300
100,000
Ordensburgh
100,000
2,000,000
100
S. D. Moody and 21 others
-
15,
100,000
Merchants' and Farmers' Bank
Ithaca
150,000
2,000,000
201
Timothy S. Williams, Manuel R. Williams, and J. B. Williams
- 24,
67,200
100,000
Willoughby Bank
Brooklyn
100,000
100,000
100
Samuel A. Willoughby and Margaretta Duffield
Nov. 6,
Stuyvesant Banking Company
100,000
100,000
New York City
300,000
2,000,000
199
Peter Palmer and 9 others
- 10,
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
New York Banking Company
do.
1,000,000
20,000,000
100
John Delafield and 7 others
-
12,
East River Bank of the city of New York
do.
100,000
25,000,000
158
Samuel D. Dakin and Ralph Pomeroy
-
16,
Chelsea Bank
do.
1,000,000
10,000,000
150
Isaac H. Mead, Gouverneur Morris and 5 others
-
20
Farmers' Bank of Ovid
Ovid
100,000
1,000,000
118
Claudius C. Coan and Jonathan Thomas and others
-
18
Tenth Ward Bank
New York City
100,000
10,000,000
462
Alexander H. Prescott, Charles Marsh and others
Dec. 8,
Bank of Waterville
Waterville
100,000
1,000,000
1080
Amos Osborn, Stanton Park and others
-
10,
Millers' Bank of New York
Clyde
300,000
1,000,000
1000
Benjamin Ford and 4 others
I
10,
100,000
300,000
Albany Exchange Bank
Albany
100,000
10,000,000
662
John Q. Wilson, G. W. Stanton and others
I
12,
Exchange Bank of Genesee
Alexander
100,000
500,000
162
Samuel Benedict, Jr., Elias J. Pettibone and others
-
13,
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Genesee
Batavia
100,000
1,000,000
162
Philip P. Kissam, Timothy Treadwell and others
-
13,
100,000
20,000
Genesee County Bank
Le Roy
100,000
1,000,000
161
Israel Rathbun, M. P. Lampson, Samuel Skinner and others
-
19,
-
30,000
United States Bank at Buffalo
Buffalo
100,000
5,000,000
200
Bank of Kinderhook
Pierre A. Barker, Wm. Hodge and Wm. Hodge, Jr.
I
19,
-
100,000
Kinderhook
125,000
300,000
50
J. P. Beckman and others
-
Merchants' Exchange Bank of Buffalo
19,
-
80,000
Buffalo
200,000
5,000,000
100
Sherman Stevens, Wm. More, E. Fitch Smith and others
-
of
-
50,000
Le Roy Bank of Genesee
Le Roy
100,000
1,000,000
161
G. W. Blodget, J. Lathrop, Augustus P. Hascall and others
-
Mechanics' and Farmers' Bank
of
Ithaca
100,000
1,000,000
362
Wm. Andrus and J. M. McCormick
-
Genesee Central Bank
24,
Attica
100,000
1,000,000
300
Wm. Mitchell, Nathaniel Huggins and others
-
Wool Growers' Bank of the State of New York
24,
New York City
100,000
8,000,000
100
John A. Parker and Melancthon W. Whitman
-
Bank of Lowville
24,
10,000
10,000
Lowville
100,000
600,000
463
Isaac W. Bostwick, Gerrit Borhart and others
-
Erie Canal Trust and Banking Company
26,
Buffalo
200,000
10,000,000
300
Reuben B. Heacock, Stephen G. Austin and others
-
Hudson River Bank
29,
New York City
100,000
20,000,000
150
Lemuel Arnold, Wm. Finch and others
-
Powell Bank
3
Newburgh
130,000
1,000,000
100
Thomas Powell, Benjamin Carpenter and others
-
29,
100,000
70,000
Patriot Bank of Genesee
Batavia
100,000
1,000,000
161
Pardon C. Sherman, W. S. Mallory, Horace W. Soper
-
31,
Bank of Brockport
Brockport
150,000
1,000,000
160
Robert Staples, Levi Preston and others
-
Ithaca Bank
SI,
Ithaca
250,000
1,000,000
662
Frederick M. Camp and Robert Halsey
-
Deposite Bank of Albany
31,
Albany
100,000
5,000,000
161
Thaddeus Joy, Lyman Chapin, Aaron Thorp and others
I
Bank of Waterford
31,
Waterford
100,000
500,000
161
Silver Lake Bank of Genesee
J. Mandeville, G. W. Kirtland, N. Bailey and others
-
31,
Perry village
100,000
1,000,000
161
Rufus H. Smith, Calvin P. Bailey and others
-
Bank of the City of New York
31,
New York City
100,000
60,000,000
600
Josh. C. Morrison, Chr. B. Morrison, and John C. Morrison, Jr.
Jan.
1839
Fort Plain Bank
Fort Plain
100,000
500,000
161
John Webster, Joshua Read, Robert Hall and others
-
Troy Exchange Bank
of
Troy
100,000
10,000,000
661
N. Church and C. H. Read
-
United States Trust and Banking Company
10
New York City
1,000,000
50,000,000
500
Amos Palmer, Courtlandt Palmer and others
-
Rail Road Bank of Coxsackie
jo
Coxesckie
100,000
1,000,000
161
Joseph Sherman and Pardon C. Sherman
a
I
-
90,000
James' Bank
Jamesville®
100,000
1,000,000
651
John W. James, James O. Bennett and others
-
North Bank
+,
New York City
106,000
10,000,000
462
Clark S. Dunning, Thomas Russell and others
-
Bank of Warsaw
4,
Warsaw
100,000
1,000,000
161
John A. McElwain, Joshua H. Darling and others
-
Bank of North America
5,
New York City
100,000
50,000,000
200
William Irving and his assigns
-
State Stock Security Bank
7,
do.
-
-
-
25,090
25,090
. Saratoga Co.
18,319,175
487,680,000
1,599,990
2,493,090
164
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
No. XI.-Statement of the Amount and kinds of Securities pledged by the several Banks which have
gone into operation under the General Banking Law.
Securities.
Names of Banks.
Date.
Rate
State Stocks.
per cent.
Amount.
Bonds and
Mortgages
Total.
1838.
8
$
$
Bank of Western New York, Rochester,
July, 14.
Indiana,
5
100,000
-
100,000
North American Trust and Banking Com-
Nov. 1, 14.
Arkansas,
6
pany, New York,
200,000
102,000
302,000
Bank of the United States in New York,
Aug. 13.
Michigan,
6
200,000
-
200,000
Mechanics' Banking Association, New York
Nov. 6.
Maine,
5
60,000
60,000
120,600
Staten Island Bank, Port Richmond,
Oct. 29.
Indiana,
5
-
25,000
25,000
50,000
Lockport Bank and Trust Company, Lock-
port,
Oct. 31.
Alabama,
5
100,000
29,600
129,000
Bank of Syracuse, Syracuse,
-
Sept. 3.
Michigan,
6
50,000
20,800
70,800
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank, of Gene-
Arkansas,
6
Sept.17.
Michigan,
6
100,000
-
100,000
see, Batavia,
Farmers' Bank of Orleans, Gaines,
Oct. 29.
Indiana,
5
-
50,000
48,300
98,300
Merchants' and Farmers' Bank, Ithica, -
Oct. 24.
Michigan,
6
40,000
27,200
67,200
Willoughby Bank, Brooklyn,
Nov. 6.
Maine,
5
50,000
50,000
100,000
New York State Stock Security Bank, New
Nov. 1.
New York
5
10,000
Dec. 19.
do.
5
-
15,090
25,090
York,
Millers' Bank, of New York, Clyde,
-
Dec. 15.
Arkansas,
6
100,000
-
100,000
The Powell Bank, Newburgh,
-
Dec. 27.
Michigan,
6
50,000
50,000
100,000
Dec. 26.
Michigan,
6
Bank of Central New York,
-
Arkansas,
6
10,000
10,000
20,000
The Wool Growers' Bank of the State of
New York,
-
-
Dec. 31.
Maine,
5
10,000
-
10,000
1,170,090
422,900
1,592,990
In here concluding what we have thought proper to add to the author's article on banking,
properly so called, we earnestly recommend to our readers, besides the American works
already referred to in the preceding pages, the Financial Register, in two 8vo. volumes,
edited by Condy Raguet, Esq. It embraces a great mass of information on currency and
banking, of high interest to the merchant as well as to the political economist, and rendered
accessible on the cheapest terms.
In regard to Savings' Banks, we may mention that their introduction into the United States
dates from the month of December, 1816. The " Philadelphia Saving Fund Society" was
then instituted by a number of intelligent and philanthropic citizens, with the object in view
of promoting habits of foresight and saving among the labouring poor of their vicinity. As
was to have been expected from the novelty of the undertaking, and the difficulty with
which the habits of a people, and especially of the comparatively uneducated portion of a
people, can be in any way changed, the amount of the deposites made with the society was
at first quite inconsiderable. During the first 13 months the deposites had, in fact, only
reached the sum of $8,945.41. The society was incorporated by the legislature of the
State in February 1819; and on the 31st of March of that year, when the funds were trans-
ferred to the corporation, they amounted to $45,114.85. That the institution had, in the
mean time, been managed with due discretion and skill was testified by the legislature
making the articles of association and the by-laws of the society the basis of the act of
incorporation. From the date of the passing of this act, however, the deposites began to
increase more rapidly than they had hitherto done. In 1821, they exceeded $200,000 the
maximum of deposites then allowed being $300,000. The legislature, by a supplementary
act passed in March 1824, just as the deposites were approaching the sum just mentioned,
extended the maximum allowed to an amount twice as large. And as the deposites con-
tinued to augment, the maximum was still farther extended, until at present $1,500,000 is
the amount of deposites which is authorised to be received.
The interest allowed to depositors, originally 41°o per cent., was, in consequence of a fall
in the general rate of interest, reduced in December 1820, to 4 per cent and, since Febru-
ary 1828, no deposite greater than 200 dollars could be received from the same person in
any one year.
The deposites received in 1837, a year of extraordinary pecuniary pressure, amounted
to $422,698.92 while the payments to depositors were $712,444.96. In 1838, when that
pressure was in a considerable degree alleviated, the deposites received exceeded the pay-
ments to the depositors the former amounting to $459,711.38; and the latter to $449,084.94.
The whole amount of deposites, since the establishment of the society down to the close
of the year 1838, was $6,794,813.03; that of deposites returned, during the same period,
$5,720,474.42.
The benefits of the institution have been extended to 38,743 depositors.
Since the establishment of the " Philadelphia Saving Fund Society," and especially since
the experience of its successful operation, other societies have sprung into existence at New
York, Boston, Baltimore, and elsewhere in the United States, conducted on similar princi-
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BANKS (UNITED STATES).
165
ples. The details given above will serve as a favourable illustration of their nature as well
as of the mode in which they have been administered.
We subjoin, as a farther illustration of their nature, the original act of incorporation of the
Philadelphia Society together with its " rules and regulations respecting deposites and
payments."
An Act incorporating the Philadelphia Saving Fund Society.
WHEREAS, a voluntary association of a number of the citizens of Philadelpbia and its neighbour-
hood, under the title of "THE PHILADELPHIA SAVING FUND SOCIETY," has for some time existed,
and has been established for the sole purpose of receiving and investing in public stock or substan-
tial security on real estate, such small sums as may be saved from the earnings of tradesmen, me-
chanics, labourers, servants and others, and of affording to industrious persons the advantages of
security and interest. And whereas the members of this society by their memorial to the legislature
have prayed to be perpetuated, and brought into legal existence by being incorporated and established
by law, with perpetual succession, for the purpose of receiving, holding and improving, in such way
as to them may seem proper, all such real and personal estate, as the said institution shall become
possessed of, or entitled to, by gift, grant, devise, bequest, purchase, deposit, loan and payment, for
the purpose of the said institution.
Therefore,
e 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That Andrew Bayard,
Samuel Archer, Richard Bache, Charles N. Bancker, Clement C. Biddle, Samuel Breck, Turner Ca-
mac, Reuben Haines, Thomas Hale, Adam Konigmacher, Ludwig Krumbhaar, John I'Crea, Samuel
B. Morris, Isaac W. Norris, Richard Peters, Jun., Condy Raguet, Joseph Rotch, William Schlatter,
Samuel Spackman, John C. Stocker, John Strawbridge, Roberts Vaux, John Vaughan, Daniel B.
Smith, and Matthew C. Ralston, and their successors, forever, be, and they are hereby erected and
made one body politic and corporate, in deed and in law, by the name, style and title, of THE PHI-
LADELPHIA SAVING FUND SOCIETY," and by the same name shall have perpetual succession, and are
hereby made able and capable in law, to have, purchase, receive, take, hold, possess, enjoy, and re-
tain, to them and their successors, lands, rents, tenements, hereditaments, stock, goods, chattels, and
effects of what kind, nature, or quality, soever, whether real, personal, or mixed, by gift, grant, de-
mise, bargain and sale, devise, bequest, testament, legacy, loan, deposit or advance, or by any other
mode of conveyance or transfer whatever, and the same to give, grant, bargain, sell, demise, convey,
assure, transfer, alien, pay, release, and dispose of, for the whole or any less estate or property than
they have in the same, and also to improve and augment the same, in such manner and form as the
said society by their by-laws and regulations shall order and direct, and shall and may apply the same
with the rents, issues, profits, income, interest and profits of such estate, and the moneys arising
from the sale, alienation, disposal, or employment thereof to the uses, ends and purposes of their in-
stitution, according to the rules, regulations and orders of their society now in force, or which, ac-
cording to the provisions, hereinafter made, shall from time to time, be declared, touching the same,
as effectually and fully, as any natural person or body politic or corporate within this state, by the
constitution and laws of this commonwealth, can do and perform. And the said society, by the name,
style and title aforesaid, shall and may sue, and be sued, plead, and be impleaded, answer, and be an-
swered, defend, and be defended, in all courts of law within the commonwealth, and elsewhere, and
also make, have, and use a common seal, and the same break, alter and renew at their pleasure and
shall have power also to make, establish, ordain, and put in execution, such by-laws, ordinances and
regulations, as shall to them, or a majority of such quorum of them (as has already or shall here-
after be directed), seem meet or convenient for the government of such corporation, not being con-
trary to the constitution and laws of this commonwealth; and generally to do and execute all and
singular such acts, matters and things, which to the said corporation shall or may appertain, and be
necessary for the purposes thereof, subject, nevertheless, to the rules, regulations, restrictions, limi-
tations, and provisions, berein prescribed and declared.
12. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That the following rules, limitations and
provisions, shall form and be fundamental articles of the constitution of the corporation.
1. The institution shall be conducted by twenty-five managers, who shall annually, on the
first Monday in January, choose one of their number as President, and shall have power to appoint a
Secretary, Treasurer, and such other officers, as the business of the corporation may require. The
seat of any manager, who shall have neglected to attend for three successive stated meetings, may
be vacated by the board and any of the officers of the society may be removed at the pleasure of
the board.
2. The managers shall have power to fill up by ballot, after notice of one month, any vacancy
which may occur in their own body or officers ; two-thirds of the members present to agree to all re-
movals and new appointments; and no appointment or removal to take place when a less number
than thirteen managers are present.
3. No emolument whatever shall be received by the president or managers for their services.
4. The money deposited shall bear an interest at the rate of four and eight-tenths per cent. per
annum, and shall be repaid when required, upon two weeks' notice, with the interest thereon, to the
time of such notice.
5. No sum less than one dollar shall be received as a deposit, and no interest shall be allowed on
any payments, until they amount to the sum of five dollars, the interest on which will be twenty-four
cents per annum, or two cents per calendar month. Every additional sum of five dollars that may
be lodged, will bear interest in the same manner.
6. Interest is to be estimated by calendar months, and in order to avoid the calculation of days upon
small sums, no interest will be allowed for the fractional parts of a month.
7. Two or more managers shall attend at the office of the society, at such times as may be ap-
pointed by the board of managers, to receive deposits, and to pay such sums as may be withdrawn.
No money shall be drawn out under five dollars, unless to close an account.
8. The deposits and payments shall be regularly entered in the books of the office, and every person
depositing money, shall be furnished with a duplicate of his or her account, in which every deposit or
payment shall be regularly entered as soon as made.
9. A cash book and leger shall be kept at the office, in which the deposit money and payments shall
be immediately entered.
10. A book shall be kept at the office in which every depositor shall be at liberty to appoint some
person or persons to whom, in the event of his or her death, the money shall be paid, if not otherwise
disposed of by will.
11. The managers shall meet at least once in every month, and five shall be a quorum. The books,
Treasurer's accounts and other documents shall be produced at such meetings.
12. The managers shall be at liberty any time to refuse deposits, and on giving one month's notice
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166
BANKS (UNITED STATES).
to return such as have been made, with interest thereon, to be calculated to that time and no
longer
13. A report shall be annually prepared by three auditors, who shall not be managers or officers of
the corporation, chosen by the board, and such report shall be published in one or more of the ga-
zettes of the City of Philadelphia and the managers shall annually transmit one copy of the said
report to the speaker of the Senate, and one copy to the speaker of the House of Representatives.
14. The managers shall not receive deposits from any one person, to a greater amount than five
hundred dollars in any one year, and the amount of the deposits received by the corporation, shall at
no time exceed three hundred thousand dollars.
$3. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That until the election of the officers afore-
said, pursuant to this act, the officers now elected and appointed shall be and continue officers of the
said society ; and that no misnomer of the said corporation, in any deed, testament or gift, grant,
devise, or other instrument, or contract, or conveyance, shall vitiate or defeat the same, if the said
corporation, shall be sufficiently described to ascertain the intent of the party or parties, to give, de-
vise, bequeath, assure to or contract with the corporation hereby created, by the name aforesaid. Nor
shall any of the non-users of the said privileges hereby granted, create any forfeiture of the same,
but the same may be exercised by the said corporation; and notwithstanding any failure to meet at
any of the times appointed herein or by the by-laws and ordinances of the said society, to hold their
annual or other meetings for elections or other subjects for consideration, the officers then in office
shall continue to hold and exercise their respective offices, until others shall be duly elected to suc-
ceed them, at some future meeting of the said society, which the said corporation is hereby author-
ised to hold, for such purpose.
(4. And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid, That if at any time the said corporation shall
misuse or abuse any of the privileges granted by this act, or if it shall appear that the said privileges
are injurious to the citizens of this commonwealth, the legislature shall have power to revoke and
annul them. at any time they may deem the same expedient.
Rules and Regulations respecting Deposits and Payments.
1. Of Deposits.
1. Every person desirous of becoming a depositor with this society, shall, at the time of making
the first deposit, sign his or her name in a book provided for the purpose, and shall state his or her
business, occupation or calling, and place of residence, which shall be recorded in the same book.
2. No money will be received from any depositor, unless his or her book be brought at the time
and the society will not hold itself accountable for any money brought to its office to be deposited,
unless an entry thereof be made in the book of the depositor by the proper officer of the society, at
the time of making the deposit.
3. No sum less than one dollar can be received as a deposit, and no person can deposit to a greater
amount than two hundred dollars in any one year.
4. Whenever the moneys standing to the credit of any depositor shall amount to the sum of one
thousand dollars, no further deposit can be received from such depositor; and compound interest
shall cease to be computed in favour of such depositor.
5. Every deposit made by one person for the benefit of another person, shall be expressed to be "in
trust and no deposit shall be received or be expressed to be received, from one person "by" another
person, or by one person "for" another person.
6. No deposit will be received in the name of any unincorporated society or association of persons.
In all cases in which any such society or association shall be desirous of making a deposit, the same
may be done in the name of some person in trust for" such society or association; and in
every such case, the trustee alone will be entitled to receive payments; and his receipt, with the pro-
duction of the book, will be considered by this society, and is agreed by the depositors to be, a suffi-
cient discharge. In case of the death of such trustee, or in case the society or association in trust
for whom the deposit was made, shall be desirous of appointing another in his place, the vacancy
must be filled, or the substitution made, according to law.
2. Of the interest payable to Depositors.
1. Interest is allowed by this society at the rate of four per cent. per annum; but no interest is
allowed on any deposits until they amount to the sum of five dollars. Every additional sum of five
dollars will bear interest in the same manner.
2. Interest is estimated by calendar months, and no interest is allowed for the fractional parts of a
month.
3. The interest payable on deposits will, at the conclusion of every year, either be added to the
principal, and will from time to time become principal, and bear the same interest, or will be paid to
the depositor, according to the rules prescribed for payments.
3. Of payments to Depositors.
1. No depositor can receive any payment without having given two weeks' notice.
2. When notice is given, the book must be sent to the office, and the Treasurer must be informed at
the time how much is wanted; and if the whole amount is wanted, the book must be left at the office
for settlement.
3. At the expiration of the two weeks, payment will be made of the amount required.
4. In all cases in which the whole amount is withdrawn, the book must be given up to the society.
5. No sum less than five dollars can be withdrawn, unless to close an account, or in payment of in-
terest to a depositor.
6. No payment can in any case be made, unless the book is produced at the time of giving notice,
and at the expiration of the two weeks.
7. No check or order for the payment of money will be accepted and no transfer or assignment of
the book, or of the money belonging to a depositor, can be acknowledged.
8. In case any depositor shall be unable by reason of sickness or other infirmity, or of absence from
the city, to attend in person to receive any payment, he or she may receive the same by means of a
power of attorney duly executed and proven or acknowledged. Blank powers of attorney for this
purpose will be furnished gratis, at the office of the society.
9. In case of the death of a depositor, payment can be made only to his or her executors or admi-
nistrators producing the book, unless an appointment shall have been made by such depositor in the
book of the society of a person to receive the same, agreeably to the 10th article of the constitution
of this society.
10. In all cases in which deposits are made in the names of two or more persons, either in their own
right, or in trust for others, they must all appear at the office at the time payment is desired, and sign
joint receipt, except in case of death or inability as aforesaid, unless at the time of making the de-
posit. it is expressed on the book of the society, and signed by such persons, that the deposit may be
withdrawn by "either of them," or "any two of them," or otherwise, as the case may be.
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4. Of Books lost, destroyed, &c.
1. In case any depositor shall lose his or her book, or the same shall be destroyed or fraudulently
obtained from such depositor, immediate notice thereof is to be given at the office of the society.
2. After the expiration of the two weeks from the time of notice given that any book has been lost
or destroyed, if a satisfactory explanation be given, and a bond of indemnity, with a sufficient surety,
be given to the society, the amount to the credit of the depositor in the books of the society, will be
paid to him or her.
3. If it shall appear that the book has been fraudulently obtained from the depositor as aforesaid,
the society shall not be liable to pay the amount deposited, or any part thereof, and will not furnish
another book to the depositor, unless satisfactory evidence be produced that notice of the application
to the society for such purpose, was given at least thirty days previously, to the person in whose hands
the book was supposed to be, or if the person be not known, that notice of such application was given
for the same space of time, in at least one daily newspaper published in this city and a bond of in-
demnity shall also be given as aforesaid.
4. If any person shall present a deposit-book at the office of this society, and allege himself or
herself untruly, to be the depositor named therein, and shall thereby obtain from the officers of this
society the amount deposited, or any part thereof, and the actual depositor shall not have given pre-
vious notice at the office, of his book having been lost or taken from him, this society will not be
responsible for the loss so sustained by any depositor, neither will this institution be liable to make
good the same, provided that such payment has been entered in the book of the depositor at the time
when made.
5. Depositors to sign these Rules, &c.
Every person making a deposit for the first time is to sign a book containing these Rules and Regu-
lations, which he thereby signifies his assent to and his willingness to be bound by and by receiving
the book with these Rules and Regulations printed thereon, he is informed of the same and any alter-
ation made in these regulations, and any new regulations made by the managers shall be equally
binding on all depositors as those by them subscribed, after the same shall have been duly made
known.-Am. Ed.]
BANGKOK, the capital of the kingdom of Siam, situated about 20 miles from the sea,
on both sides of the river Menam, but chiefly on its left or eastern bank, in lat. 13° 40' N.,
long. 101° 10' E. The Menam opens in the centre nearly of the bottom or the Gulf of
Siam. There is a bar at its mouth, consisting, for the most part, of a mud flat 10 miles in
depth. The outer edge of this flat, which is little more than 200 yards broad, is sandy and
of harder materials than the inner part; which is so soft, that when a ship grounds on it
during the ebb, she often sinks 5 feet in the mud and clay, which supports her upright, so
that she is but little inconvenienced. The highest water on the bar of the Menam, from
February to September, is about 13} feet and in the remaining 4 months, somewhat more
than 14 feet-a difference probably produced by the accumulation of water at the head of
the bay after the south-west monsoon, and by the heavy floods of the rainy season. On
account of the deficiency of water on the bar, vessels sent to Bangkok had better, perhaps,
not exceed 200 or 250 tons burden. In all other respects, the river is extremely safe and
commodious. Its mouth is no sooner approached, than it deepens gradually and at Pak-
nam, two miles up, there are 6 and 7 fathoms water. This depth increases as you ascend,
and at Bangkok is not less than 9 fathoms. The only danger is, or rather was, a sand bank
off Paknam, bare at low water; but on this a fort or battery has been erected within the last
few years, affording at all times a distinct beacon. The channel of the river is so equal, that
a ship may range from one side to another, approaching the banks so closely that her yards
may literally overhang them. The navigation is said to be equally safe all the way up to
the old capital of Yuthia, 80 miles from the mouth of the river.
The city of Bangkok extends along the banks of the Menam to the distance of about 21
miles; but is of no great breadth, probably not exceeding 11 mile. On the left bank there
is a long street or row of floating houses; each house or shop, for they are in general both,
consisting of a distinct vessel, which may be moored any where along the banks. Besides
the principal river, which at the city is about a quarter of a mile broad, the country is inter-
sected by a great number of tributary streams and canals, so that almost all intercourse at
Bangkok is by water. The population has been computed at 50,000 or 60,000, half of
whom are Chinese settlers.
The total area of the kingdom of Siam has been estimated at 190,000 square miles, and
the population at only 2,790,500, principally resident in the rich valley of the Menam. Of
the entire population, it is supposed that not less than 440,000 are Chinese. The common
necessaries of life at Bangkok are exceedingly cheap. A cwt. of rice may always be had for
2s. and very often for 1s. Other necessaries, such as salt, palm-sugar, spices, vegetables,
fish, and even flesh, are proportionably cheap. The price of good pork, for example, is 23d.
per lb. A duck may be had for 7d. and a fowl for 3d. The neighbourhood of Bangkok is
one of the most productive places in the world for fine fruits; for here are assembled, and to
be had in the greatest perfection and abundance, the orange and the lichi of China, the
mangoe of Hindostan, and the mangostein, durian, and shaddock of the Malay countries.
Monies, Weights, and Measures.-Gold and copper are not used as money in Siam, and the currency
consists only of cowrie shells and silver. The denominations are as follow :-200 bia or cowries make
1 'hai-nung 2 p'hai-nungs, 1 sing-p'l ; 2 sing-p'hais, 1 fuang; 2 fuangs, 1 salung 4 salungs, 1 bat
or tical; 80 ticals, 1 cattie; 100 catties, 1 picul.
The standard coin is the bat, which Europeans have called a tical; but there are also coins, though
less frequently, of the lower denominations. These are of a rude and peculiar form. They are, in
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BANGKOK.
fact, nothing more than small bits of a silver bar bent, and the ends beaten together. They are im-
pressed with two or three small stamps, not covering the whole surface of the coin. The cattie and
picul are, of course, only used in speaking of large sums of money. Gold and silver are weighed by
small weights, which have the same denominations as the coins. The p'hai-nung, the lowest of these,
is in this case subdivided into 32 sagas, or red beans, the Abrus precatorius of bothnists.
The bat, or tical, was assayed at the mint of Calcutta; it was found to weigh 236 grains; its stand-
ard, however, was uncertain, and the value of different specimens varied from 1 rupee 3 anas and
3 pice, to 1 rupee 3 anas and 7 pice. The value, therefore, in sterling money, is about 2s. 6d., and it is
so considered.
In respect to ordinary measures, the Siamese cattle is double the weight of the Chinese cattie, which
as is well known, is equal to If lb. avoirdupois. The picul, however, is of the same weight, consist-
ing in the one case of 50 catties only, and in the other of 100. In weighing rice and salt, a large mea-
sure is used, consisting, in respect to the first of 22 piculs, and of the last of 25 piculs. Rice is also
measured by the basket, of which 100 go to the large measure above-mentioned.
The long measures are as follow :-12 finger breadths make 1 span 2 spans, 1 cubit 4 cubits, 1 fa-
thom; 20 fathoms, 1 sen ; and 100 sen, 1 yuta, or, as it is more commonly pronounced by the Siamese,
yut. The fathom is the measure of most frequent use, and the Siamese have a pole of this length
divided into its fractional parts. This, as nearly as can be ascertained, is equal to about 6 feet 6
inches. The sen appears to be also used in the admeasurement of land, and to be the name of a square
measure of 20 fathoms to the side.
Port Regulations and Duties.-As soon as a European ship reaches the bar of Siam, she must, ac-
cording to the regulations of the country, communicate with the chief of the village of Paknam, at
the mouth of the Menam, and from him obtain a pilot. At Paknam, the rule is to land ammunition,
cannon, and small arms; but this regulation is not very rigidly Insisted on. The duties and other
imposts levied on external trade are somewhat complex, and differ in some degree according to the
class of vessels subjected to them, and which consist of junks carrying on trade with China Proper,
junks of the island of Hai-nan, junks trading to the Malay Islands, and European shipping. The
imposts consist of a duty on the measurement or dimensions of the vessel an ad valorem duty upon
imports and a rated tariff in most cases, with an ad valorem duty in a few, on exports. The first
named class of vessels, viz. the large junks trading with the principal ports of China, pay no mea-
surement or import duties, because these are vessels belonging to the king, or to the princes, or cour-
tiers, licensed to engage freely in this branch of trade. The Hai-nan junks pay 40 ticals per Siamese
fathom, on the extreme breadth of the vessel. The junks trading to the Malay countries, in lieu of
measurement duty, pay 130 ticals each, without regard to size. Neither of these vessels pay import
duties. The measurement duties on European vessels are estimated at 118 ticals per fathom, besides
an inconsiderable impost in the form of an anchorage fee. The cargoes of these alone pay an import
duty, which is reckoned at 8 per cent. ad valorem, levied in kind.
The tariff on exports consists of specific duties, of which the following are specimens :-
Ivory
-
-
-
-
-
per picul
-
- 21 ticals.
Stick lac
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sugar, if exported under a European flag
-
-
-
- If
Ditto
-
an Indian flag
-
-
-
- 1
Cotton wool
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Trade.-The foreign trade of Siam is conducted with China, Cochin China, Cambogia,
and Tonquin, Java, Singapore, and the other British ports within the Straits or Malacca,
with an occasional intercourse with Bombay and Surat, England and America. The most
important branch of the foreign trade is that with China. This is wholly carried on in
vessels of Chinese form, navigated by Chinese, but the greater portion of them are built in
Siam. The whole of the Chinese trade centres in Bangkok, with the exception of a few
junks, which trade to Sungora and Ligor. The ports of China which carry on trade with
Siam, are, Canton, Kiang-mui, and Changlim, in the province of Quantong; Amoi, or Emwi,
in Fokien; Limpo, or Nimpo, in Chekiang with Siang-hai and Saochen, in Kiang-nan;
besides several ports of the great island Hai-nan. These junks are expected in Siam in the
following ;-those of the island of Hai-nan usually arrive in January and those from
the provinces of Canton, Fokien, and Chekiang, in the latter end of February, and down
to the beginning of April. They all sail from the Menam in the months of June and July,
when the south-west monsoon is at its height, and, of course, there is but one voyage per-
formed yearly. The imports from China are very numerous, consisting of what are called
in commercial language assorted cargoes." The following is a list of the principal com-
modities:-Coarse earthenware and porcelain, spelter, quicksilver, tea, lacksoy (vermicelli),
dried fruits, raw silk, crapes, satins, and other silk fabrics, nankeens, shoes, fans, umbrellas,
writing paper, sacrificial paper, incense rods, and many other minor articles. Not the least
valuable part of the importations are immigrants.
The exports from Siam are also very various, but the following list comprehends the most
considerable :-Black pepper, sugar, tin, cardamoms, eagle-wood, sapan-wood, red mangrove
bark, rose-wood for furniture and cabinet work, cotton, ivory, stick lac, rice, areca nuts, salt
fish; the hides and skins of oxen, buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceroses, deer, tigers, leopards,
otters, civet cats, and pangolins; of snakes, and rays, with the belly-shell of a species of
land tortoise; the horns of the buffalo, ox, deer, and rhinoceros: the bones of the ox, buffalo,
elephant, rhinoceros, and tiger; dried deer's sinews the feathers of the pelican, of several
species of storks, of the peacock and kingfisher, &c.; and, finally, esculent swallows' nests.
The tonnage carrying on the China trade amounts in all to probably about 130 junks in
number, a few of which are of 1,000 tons burden, and the whole shipping is not short of
35,000 tons.
The trade with the different countries of the Malay Archipelago forms the next most im-
portant branch of the Siamese commerce, and the only one respecting which it can be neces-
sary to give any particulars in this place. It is conducted with the following ports:-Patain,
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Kalantan, Tringano, Pahang, Rhio, Singapore, Malacca, Penang, Batavia, Samarang,
Cheribon, Palembang, and Pontianak. In this intercourse, the staple exports of Siam are
sugar, salt, oil, and rice; to which may be added the minor articles of stick lac, iron pans,
coarse earthenware, hogs' lard, &c. The returns are British and Indian piece goods, opium,
with a little glass ware, and some British woollens from the European settlements, with
commodities suited for the Chinese market, such as pepper, tin, dragon's blood, rattans,
biche-de-mer, esculent swallows' nests, and Malay camphor from the native ports.
The following are believed to be the quantities of the two greatest staple articles of Siamese
export; viz. clayed sugar, 10,000 tons; black pepper, 3,525 tons.
(We are indebted for this, as we have been for many other excellent communications, to
our esteemed friend, John Crawfurd, Esq., who ascertained the particulars on the spot.)
BANKRUPT AND BANKRUPTCY. In the general sense of the term, bankrupt is
equivalent to insolvent, and is applied to designate any individual unable to pay his debts.
But in the law of England bankrupts form that particular class of insolvents who are en-
gaged in trade, or who seek their living by buying and selling," and who are declared,
upon the oath of one or more of their creditors, to have committed what the law has defined
to be an act of bankruptcy. At present, however, we shall merely lay before the reader a
few observations with respect to the principles and leading provisions embodied in the law as
to bankruptcy and insolvency; referring the reader to the article INSOLVENCY AND BANK-
RUPTCY, for a detailed statement of these and the other provisions in that law.
" All classes of individuals, even those who have least to do with industrious undertakings,
are exposed to vicissitudes and misfortunes, the occurrence of which may render them inca-
pable of making good the engagements into which they have entered, and render them
bankrupt or insolvent. But though bankruptcy is most frequently, perhaps, produced by un-
controllable causes, it is frequently also produced by the thoughtlessness of individuals, or
by their repugnance to make those retrenchments which the state of their affairs demands;
and sometimes also by fraud or bad faith. Hence it is, that the laws with respect to bank-
ruptcy occupy a prominent place in the judicial system of every state in which commerce
has made any progress, and credit been introduced. They differ exceedingly in different
countries and stages of society; and it must be acknowledged that they present very many
difficulties, and that it is not possible, perhaps, to suggest any system against which pretty
plausible objections may not be made.
" The execrable atrocity of the early Roman laws with respect to bankruptcy is well
known. According to the usual interpretation of the law of the twelve tables, which Cicero
has so much eulogised", the creditors of an insolvent debtor might, after some preliminary
formalities, cut his body to pieces, each of them taking a share proportioned to the amount
of his debt; and those who did not choose to resort to this horrible extremity, were
authorised to subject the debtor to chains, stripes, and hard labour; or to sell him, his wife,
and children, to perpetual foreign slavery trans Tyberim! This law, and the law giving
fathers the power of inflicting capital punishment on their children, strikingly illustrate the
ferecious and sanguinary character of the early Romans.
" There is reason to think, from the silence of historians on the subject, that no unfortu-
nate debtor ever actually felt the utmost severity of this barbarous sentence but the history
of the republic is full of accounts of popular commotions, some of which led to very impor-
tant changes, that were occasioned by the exercise of the power given to the creditors of
enslaving their debtors, and subjecting them to corporal punishments. The law, however,
continued in this state till the year of Rome 427, 120 years after the promulgation of the
twelve tables, when it was repealed. It was then enacted, that the persons of debtors should
cease to be at the disposal of their creditors, and that the latter should merely be authorised
to seize upon the debtor's goods, and sell them by auction in satisfaction of their claims. In
the subsequent stages of Roman jurisprudence, further changes were made, which seem
generally to have leaned to the side of the debtor and it was ultimately ruled, that an indi-
vidual who had become insolvent without having committed any fraud, should upon making
a cessio bonorum, or a surrender of his entire property to his creditors, be entitled to an
exemption from all personal penalties-(Terasson, Histoire de la Jurisprudence Romaine,
117.)
The law of England distinguishes between the insolvency of persons engaged in trade,
and that of others. The former can alone be made bankrupts, and are dealt with in a com-
paratively lenient manner. 'The law,' says Blackstone, 'is cautious of encouraging prodi-
gality and extravagance by indulgence to debtors; and therefore it allows the benefit of the
laws of bankruptcy to none but actual traders, since that set of men are, generally speaking,
the only persons liable to accidental losses, and to an inability of paying their debts without
any fault of their own. If persons in other situations of life run in debt without the power
of payment, they must take the consequences of their own indiscretion, even though they
Fremant omnes, licet dicam quod sentio; bibliothecas, mehercule, omnium philosophorum unus
mihi videtur duodecim tabularum libellus; siquis legum fontes et capita viderit et authoritatis pon-
dere et utilitatis ubertate superare.-De Oratore, lib. i.
VoL. I-P
22
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BANKRUPT AND BANKRUPTCY.
meet with sudden accidents that may reduce their fortunes; for the law holds it to be an
unjustifiable practice for any person but a trader to encumber himself with debts of any con-
siderable value. If a gentleman, or one in a liberal profession, at the time of contracting his
debts has a sufficient fund to pay them, the delay of payment is a species of dishonesty, and
a temporary injustice to his creditors and if at such time he has no sufficient fund, the die-
honesty and injustice are the greater he cannot, therefore, murmur if he suffer the punish-
ment he has voluntarily drawn upon himself. But in mercantile transactions the case is far
otherwise trade cannot be carried on without mutual credit on both sides the contracting
of debts is here not only justifiable, but necessary and if, by accidental calamities, as by the
loss of a ship in a tempest, the failure of brother traders, or by the nonpayment of persons out
of trade, a merchant or trader becomes incapable of discharging his own debts, it is his mis-
fortune and not his fault. To the misfortunes, therefore, of debtors, the law has given a
compassionate remedy, but denied it to their faults; since at the same time that it provides
for the security of commerce, by enacting that every considerable trader may be declared a
bankrupt, for the benefit of his creditors as well as himself, it has also, to discourage extrava-
gance, declared that no one shall be capable of being made a bankrupt but only a trader, nor
capable of receiving the full benefit of the statutes but only an industrious trader.'-( (Com-
mentaries, book ii. cap. 31.)
" After the various proceedings with respect to bankruptcy have been gone through, if
nothing be discovered to impeach the honesty of the debtor, he is allowed a certificate or
discharge, provided three out of five of his creditors both in number and value agree to sign
it. The bankrupt is then entitled to a reasonable allowance out of his effects; which is
however, made to depend partly on the magnitude of his dividend. Thus, if his effects will
not pay half his debts, or 10s. in the pound, he is left to the discretion of the commissioners
and assignees, to have a competent sum allowed him, not exceeding 3 per cent. upon his
estate, or 300l. in all but if his estate pay 10s. in the pound, he is to be allowed 5 per cent.,
provided such allowance do not exceed 400l. 12s. 6d. then 71 per cent. under a limitation
as before of its not exceeding 500L and if 15s. in the pound, then the bankrupt shall be
allowed 10 per cent. upon his estate, provided it do not exceed 600L.
" According to our present law, when a person not a trader becomes insolvent, he may,
after being actually imprisoned at the suit of some of his creditors for fourteen days, present
a petition to the court to be relieved and upon surrendering his entire property, he is, un-
less something fraudulent be established against him, entitled to a discharge. While, how-
ever, the certificate given to the bankrupt relieves him from all future claims on account of
debts contracted previously to his bankruptcy, the discharge given to an insolvent only
relieves him from imprisonment; in the event of his afterwards accumulating any property,
it may be seized in payment of the debts contracted anterior to his insolvency. This princi-
ple was recognised in the cessio bonorum of the Romans, of which the insolvent act is nearly
a copy.
" It may be questioned, however, notwithstanding what Blackstone has stated, whether
there be any good ground for making a distinction between the insolvency of traders and
other individuals. There are very few trades so hazardous as that of a farmer, and yet
should he become insolvent, he is not entitled to the same privileges he would have enjoyed
had he been the keeper of an inn, or a commission agent! The injustice of this distinction
is obvious; but, without dwelling upon it, it seems pretty clear that certificates should be
granted indiscriminately to all honest debtors. Being relieved from all concern as to his
previous incumbrances, an insolvent who has obtained a certificate is prompted to exert
himself vigorously in future, at the same time that his friends are not deterred from coming
forward to his assistance. But when an insolvent continues liable to his previous debts, no
one, however favourably disposed, can venture to aid him with a loan and he is discouraged,
even if he had means, from attempting to earn any thing more than a bare livelihood; so
that, while creditors do not, in one case out of a hundred, gain the smallest sum by this
constant liability of the insolvent, his energies and usefulness are forever paralysed.
The policy of imprisoning for debt seems also exceedingly questionable. Notwithstand-
ing the deference due to the great authorities who have vindicated this practice, I confess I
am unable to discover any thing very cogent in the reasonings advanced in its favour. Pro-
vided a person in insolvent circumstances intimate his situation to his creditors, and offer to
make a voluntary surrender of his property to them, he has, as it appears to me, done all
that should be required of him, and ought not to undergo any imprisonment. If he had de-
ceived his creditors by false representations, or if he conceal or fraudulently convey away
any part of his property, he should of course be subjected to the pains and penalties attached
to swindling; but when such practices are not alleged, or cannot be proved, sound policy, I
apprehend, would dictate that creditors ought to have no power over the persons of their
debtors, and that they should be entitled only to their effects. The maxim carcer non solvit,
is not more trite than true. It is said, that the fear of imprisonment operates as a check to
prevent persons from getting into debt; and 80 no doubt it does. But then it must, on the
other hand, be borne in mind, that the power to imprison tempts individuals to trust to its
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influence to enforce payment of their claims, and makes them less cautious in their inquiries
as to the condition and circumstances of those to whom they give credit. The carelessness
of tradesmen and their extreme earnestness to obtain custom, are, more than any thing else,
the great causes of insolvency; and the power of imprisoning merely tends to foster and en-
courage these habits. If a tradesman trust an individual with a loan of money or goods,
which he is unable to pay, he has made a bad speculation. But why ought he, because he
has done so, to be allowed to arrest the debtor's person ? If he wished to have perfect secu-
rity, he either should not have dealt with him at all, or dealt with him only for ready money
such transactions are, on the part of tradesmen perfectly voluntary and if they place undue
confidence in a debtor who has not misled them by erroneous representations of his affairs,
they have themselves only to blame.
It would really, therefore, as it appears to us, be for the advantage of creditors, were all
penal proceedings against the persons of honest debtors abolished. The dependence placed
on their efficacy is deceitful. A tradesman ought rather to trust to his own prudence and
sagacity to keep out of scrapes, than to the law for redress; he may deal upon credit with
those whom he knows; but he should deal for ready money only with those of whose
circumstances and characters he is either ignorant or suspicious. By bringing penal statutes
to his aid, he is rendered remiss and negligent. He has the only effectual means of security
in his own hands and it seems highly inexpedient that he should be taught to neglect them,
and put his trust in prisons.
It is pretty evident, too, that the efficacy of imprisonment in deterring individuals from
running into debt has been greatly overrated. Insolvents who are honest, must have suf-
fered from misfortune, or been disappointed in the hopes they entertained of being able, in
one way or other, to discharge their debts. The fear of imprisonment does not greatly in-
fluence such persons; for when they contract debts, they have no doubt of their ability to
pay them. And though the imprisonment of bona fide insolvents were abolished, it would
give no encouragement to the practices of those who endeavour to raise money by false re-
presentations; for these are to be regarded as swindlers, and ought as such to be subjected
to adequate punishment. (See CREDIT.)
" But the regulations with respect to bankruptcy and insolvency differ radically in other
important respects. An individual cannot be subjected to the insolvent law, except by his
own act, that is, his petitioning for relief from actual imprisonment for debt; and, on the
other hand, an individual cannot be made a bankrupt and subjected to the bankrupt law, ex-
cept by the act of another, that is, of a petitioning creditor*, as he is called, swearing that
the individual in question is indebted to him, and that he believes he has committed
what is termed an act of bankruptcy. These differences, coupled with the refinements
introduced into other branches of the law, give rise to very extraordinary results.
" While the law of England gives the creditor an unnecessary degree of power over the
debtor's person, it does not give him sufficient power over his property. In this respect, in-
deed, it is so very defective, that one is almost tempted to think it had been intended to pro-
mote the practices of fraudulent debtors. The property of persons subjected to the bankrupt
laws, as well as those who choose to subject themselves to the insolvent laws, is placed
at the disposal of assignees or trustees for the benefit of their creditors; but when a person
possessed of property, but not subject to the bankrupt laws, contracts debts, if he go abroad,
or live within the rules of the King's Bench or the Fleet, or remain in prison without
petitioning for relief (in neither of which cases can he be subjected to the insolvent
laws), he may most probably continue to enjoy the income arising from that property with-
out molestation.
" It is true, the law says that the creditors shall be authorised to seize the debtors' lands
and goods,-a description which an unlearned person would be apt to conclude was abun-
dantly comprehensive; but the law is so interpreted, that neither funded property, money,
nor securities for money, are considered goods. If the debtor have a copyhold estate, it can-
not be touched in any way whatever; if his estate be freehold, the creditor may, after a
tedious process, receive the rents and profits, but no morè, during the lifetime of his debtor.
Should the debtor die before judgment against him in a court has been obtained, then, unless
the debt be on bond, the creditor has no recourse upon the land left by the debtor, whatever
may be its tenure nay, though his money borrowed on note or bill has been laid out in
buying land, the debtor's heir takes that land, wholly discharged of the debt "-(Lord
Brougham's Speech on the State of the Law, p. 100.)
In consequence of this preposterously absurd system, an individual known to have a
large income, and enjoying a proportionally extensive credit, may, if he go to Paris or Brus-
sels, or confine himself within the rules of the King's Bench or Fleet, defraud his creditors
of every farthing he owes them, without their being entitled to touch any part of his fortune.
All owners of funded, monied, and copyhold property, have a licence given them to cheat
One creditor, whose debt is to the amount of upwards of 100% ; or two, whose debts amount to
1501.; or three, whose debts amount to 2001.
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172
BARCALAO, BARCELONA.
with impunity and the only wonder is, not that some do, but that a vast number more do
not avail themselves of this singular privilege. In point of fact, therefore, the power of
imprisonment is operative only on the really necessitous-on those from whom it can
extract little or nothing. The rich debtor is seldom subjected to its operation; he re-
sorts, before a writ can be executed against him, either to the Continent or the rules,
and then laughs at the impotent wrath of those he has defrauded, and perhaps ruined.
That such a system of law should be suffered to exist in a commercial country, and
so little outcry be raised against it, is truly astonishing, and strikingly exemplifies the
power of habit in reconciling us to the most pernicious absurdities. Can any one won-
der at the frequency of fraudulent bankruptcy, when it is thus fostered and encouraged
"A reform of the bankrupt law on the principles already mentioned, seems, therefore, to
be imperiously called for. Its evils were forcibly stated by Mr. Brougham (now Lord
Brougham) in his Speech on the State of the Law.' He has also pointed out the remedia!
measures necessary to be adopted to render this important department of commercial juris-
prudence consistent with the obvious principles of justice and common sense. Let the
whole,' says he, of every man's property, real and personal-his real, of what kind soever,
copyhold, leasehold, freehold; his personal, of whatever nature, debts, money, stock, chattels
-be taken for the payment of all his debts equally, and, in cases of insolvency, let all be dis-
tributed rateably ; let all he possesses be sifted, bolted from him unsparingly, until all his
creditors are satisfied by payment or composition; but let his person only be taken when
he conceals his goods, or has merited punishment by fraudulent conduct.'-(pp. 106-110.)
Were these measures adopted, and a certificate given to every man who has been divested of
his property for behoof of his creditors, and against whom no charge of fraud has been es-
tablished, there would be little room for improvement in the principles of the law of bank-
ruptcy."-(See my Principles of Political Economy, 2d ed. pp. 264-274.)
[For Bankrupt laws in the United States, see article INSOLVENCY.-Am. Ed.]
BARCALAO, OR BACALAO, the Spanish name for cod.
BARCELONA, the capital of Catalonia, and the principal town of Spain, on the Medi-
terranean, in lat. 41° 22' N., and long. 2° 10' E. It is a strongly fortified, well-built city.
The population is supposed to amount to about 150,000. Barcelona is eminently dis-
tinguished in the history of the middle ages, for the zeal, skill, and success with which her
citizens prosecuted commercial adventures at a very early period. She would seem also to
be entitled to the honour of having compiled and promulgated the famous code of maritime
law known by the name of the Consolato del Mare; and the earliest authentic notices of
the practice or marine insurance and of the negotiation of bills of exchange are to be found
in her annals.* Catalonia has continued, amidst all the vicissitudes it has undergone, to be
the most industrious of the Spanish provinces; and several valuable and extensive manu-
factures have been established at Barcelona. Latterly, however, her commerce, owing to a
variety of causes, but principally to oppressive restrictions on the importation of foreign
goods, and the emancipation of South America, has very much declined.
The Harbour, which is naturally bad, is formed by a mole or jetty, which has recently been a good
deal enlarged, running out to a considerable distance in a southerly direction, and having a light-
house and some batteries near its extremity. The depth of water within the mole is from 18 to 20
feet; but there is a bar between the mole and Monjui, which has frequently not more than 10 feet
water ; and which would, it is believed, entirely shut up the harbour, were it not occasionally low-
ered by means of dredging machines. Vessels in the harbour moor at a short distance from the mole;
where, though exposed to the southerly gales, they are so well protected that no accident of any con-
sequence has taken place since the dreadful storm of 1821. Large ships must anchor outside the mole,
and in winter are much incommoded by winds. Vessels entering the harbour are under no obligation
to take a pilot on board but they are always in attendance, and it is generally deemed safest to have
their assistance in passing the bar.
Turiff.-Of prohibited articles, the most important are tobacco, cotton goods, salt, gunpowder,
brandy, carpets, leather, baizes, soap, wearing apparel, hemp, fire-arms, copper, beds, mattrasses,
furniture, manufactured tin, flour, and all sorts of grain and pulse, manufactured cast iron, earthen-
ware, blankets, paper, oil-cloths, sealing-wax, &c.
The following were the duties on the principal articles allowed to be imported into Barcelona in
1833:-
Spanish
National
Foreign
Eng.
Nat.
For.
Span.
National
Wts.
Wts.
Articles.
Foreign
Eng.
National
For.
Articles.
Flag.
Flag.
Flag.
Flag.
Wts.
Flag.
Flag.
Wts.
Flag.
Flag.
Sterl.
Sterl.
Sterling
Sterl
8. d.
8. d.
a. d.
1. d.
Cotton
lb.
16 marave.
25 marars.
lb.
0 1.1
0 1-8
Dyewoods
quintal
61 maravs.
6 reals
-
04
1 2
Sugar
arroba
4 reals
8 reals
-
0 0-4
0 0-8
Fish
do.
36 reals
48 reals
-
7 X
97
Hides
do.
84 marava.
1 real
-
0 0-6
0
2.2
hoops
do.
26 reals
35 reals
-
52
7 0
Cocoa
lb.
10 marava.
20 marava.
-
0 0-7
0 1-4
Staves
1,000
20 reals
40 reals
1,000
40
80
Coffee
quintal
8 reals
20 reals
cwt.
17
40
Cheese
quintal
121 reals
17g reals
cwt.
26
3 6
Beeswax
lb.
36 marava.
59 maravs.
0 2f
04
Tar
arroba
3 maravs.
I real
lb.
0 001
0 24
Horns
quintal
5 reals
20 reals
cwt.
10
40
Butter
lb.
If reals
2f reals
-
0 3f
06
* For proofs of this, see the articles MARITIME LAW, INSURANCE, &c. in this Dictionary. The Me-
morias Historicas sobre la Marina, Comercio, &c. de Barcelona, by Capmany, in 4 vols. 4to, is one of the
most valuable and authentic works that has ever been published on the commerce, arts, and commer-
cial and maritime legislation of the middle ages. The first volume is the most interesting, at least to
the general reader; the others consisting principally of extracts from the archives of the city. There
is a brief but pretty good account of the early trade of Barcelona, drawn principally from Capmany,
in the work of Depping, Histoire du Commerce entre le Levant et l' Europe depuis les Croisades, &c. tom.
i. c. 5.
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BARCELONA.
173
All articles whatever, the produce of the soll, or the manufacture of the country, may at present be
exported; and, in most instances, without paying any duty. In this respect there is nothing in the
legislation of Spain to which to object; but the government seems, like many others, to have for-
gotten that reciprocity is the beginning, the middle, and the end of commerce,-that there can be no
exportation without an equivalent importation; and that, to prohibit or restrict the latter is, in fact,
to prohibit or restrict the former.
Custom-house and Warehousing Regulations, same M at All-
cant which see.
nett weights must be rigorously manifested. A surplus of 3 per cent.
Port Charges-The following are the various charges of a public
is, however, allowed, to cover any inexactness in the proportion be-
nature that would be paid by a Spanish and a British ship, each of
tween foreign and Spanish weights, but if the weight of any parcel
should turn out to be 3 per cent. greater than is marked in the mani-
300 toms burden, unloading and loading mixed cargoes in Barce-
losa -
fest, the surplus is seized, at the same time that the importer loses
the benefit of the 3 per cent. allowed by law, and becomes liable to
the penalties of smuggling. 1 he tares usually allowed by merchants
are, on Havannah sugar 13 per cent. ; on coffee? per cent., exclusive
Spanish Versel.
Reals.
British Vessel.
Reals.
of the barrel, bag, &c. in which it is contained on COCOR and pepper
2 per cent. ; Pernambuco cotton lbs. per bale; other cotton 1 lb.
Anchorage
75
Anchorage
75
per cwt.
New do.
15
Double do.
75
Sea-stores of all sorts are dear at Barcelona, but they may always
Cleaning of port
10
New do.
15
be obtained. Beef costs about 7d. per lb., and biscuit about 8 dollars
Lantern
6
Cleaning of port
10
per cwt.
Captain of the port
8
Lantern
6
Money.-Accounts are kept in hibras of 20 sucidos, 240 dineros, or
Light-house of Tarrifa
106
Captain of the port
8
480 mallas. The libra is likewise divided into reals de plata Cater
Loading (1 real per ton)
300
Light-house of Tarrifa
211
lan, of 3 rueldos each ; and into reales ardites, of 2 sucidos each.
Extraordinary contribu-
New mole (8 reals per
Hence, 67 of the former, or 10 of the latter, = I libra Catalan.
tion
40
ton)
2,400
The libra Catalan is - 2a. 4d. sterling nearly.
New mole
16
Loading (1 real per ton)
300
The pean duro, or hard dollar, is valued at 87 1-2 sueldos Catalan,
Extraordinary contribu-
eight such dollars making 15 libras.
Total
575
tion
40
Weights and Measures.-There are endless discrepancies amonget
the weights and measures in the different Spenish provinces, and
3,140
there is a very great discrepancy in the accounts of the authors who
Consular fees usually
have written upon them. The following statements are taken from
required
160
Nelkenbrecher :-
I
The quintal is divided into 4 arrobas, or 104 lbs. of 12 OZ. to the
Total
3,300
pound. The pound = 6-174 English grains = 4 kilog. = 8326-6 as
of Holland. 100 lbs. of Barcelona = 88-215 lbs. avoirdupois.
Taking the real at 4d., this would be 9L 11s. 2d. on the Spanish
The yard named cana, is divided into 8 palmoe, of 4 quartos, and
ship, and 651. on the British do.
is = 21 inches very nearly. Hence, 100 canas = 53-499 metres -
Commission is at the rate of 2 1-2 per cent. on goods shipped, and
77.5 yards of Amsterdam = 58-514 English yards.
2 per cent. on those received on consignment. Goods are sometimes
The quartera, or measure for grain, is divided into 12 cortanes
sold for ready money, and sometimes on credit for 3 or 4 months;
and 49 picoline. 100 quarteras = 23-536, or 23 1-2 Winchester
accreantile discount is 1-8 per cent. per month. There are no bank-
quarters.
ing establishments in Barcelona.
The carsa, or measure for liquids, is divided into 12 cortanes or
Insurance on ships is effected by individuals, but insurances on
arrobas, 24 cortarinas, and 72 mitadellas. It is = 32.7 English
houses, lives, &c. are unknown here.
wine gallons. 4 cargas = 1 pipe The pipe of Majorea contains
Tares-At the Custom-house, real tares only are allowed; and the
107 cortanes.
Imports.-Account of the Quantity and Value of the principal Foreign Articles imported into Bar-
celona during the Three Years ending with 1831.
Value in
Value in
Value in
Articles.
In 1829.
Sterling
In 1830.
Sterling
In 1891.
Sterling
Money.
Money.
Money.
£
£
£
Cotton
-
18,600 bales
100,000
22,900 bales
137,000
43,400 bales
260,000
Sugar
-
14,100 boxes
112,000
23,600 boxes
188,000
20,300 boxes
160,000
Hides
-
67,500
54,000
82,400
62,000
75,000
56,000
Cocoa
-
4,100 bags
25,000
8,300 bags
50,000
7,300 bags
44,000
Coffee
-
1,400 cwt.
2,800
2,030 cwt.
4,500
620 cwt.
1,200
Bees'-wax
-
1,200 cwt.
4,200
700 cwt.
1,100
460 cwt.
2,400
Horns
-
111,000
2,200
133,600
2,600
95,000
2,000
Specie
-
51,400 dollars
10,300
39,286 dollars
7,900
380,700 dollars
76,200
Dye woods -
15,000 cwt.
9,000
5,000 cwt.
3,000
16,000 cwt.
9,600
Fish
-
70,000 cwt.
84,000
42,000 cwt.
50,000
64,300 cwt.
77,000
Iron hoops -
22,000 bundles
17,000
6,000 bundles
5,000
4,000 bundles
3,200
Staves
-
400,000
6,400
820,600
14,850
762,000
16,000
Cheese
-
2,000 cwt.
6,000
1,000 cwt.
3,000
2,000 cwt.
6,000
Tar
-
700 barrels
800
180 barrels
200
-
-
Butter
-
50 cwt.
200
-
-
-
-
Indigo
-
200 cwt.
8,000
750 cwt.
30,000
900 cwt.
36,000
Pepper
-
600 cwt.
1,200
800 cwt.
1,600
700 cwt.
1,400
Cinnamon -
250 cwt.
10,000
800 cwt.
32,000
1,000 cwt.
40,000
Grain is usually represented as forming an important article in the imports into Barcelona ; but its
importation from abroad is prohibited; and the wants of the city are supplied either by land carriage
from the interior, or by coasting vessels from the Spanish ports more to the north.
Of the imports specified above, the greater portion are furnished by Cuba and Porto Rico. The im-
ports from France are also considerable. Those from England, which were once very large, have
dwindled to almost nothing. The only goods now openly imported from Great Britain, are iron hoops,
hardware, and woollen stuffs, and these in too small quantities to deserve notice. Fish is principally
supplied by Sweden and Denmark. Smuggling, particularly in tobacco and printed cottons, is carried
on to a considerable extent.
Exports.-The principal exports are wrought silks, soap, fire-arms, paper, hats, laces, ribands, steel,
&c. But no vessels, except a few that take on board manufactured goods for the Spanish West In-
dies, are loaded here and even this trade is much fallen off. Upwards of 2,000 hands used formerly
to be employed in the city in the manufacture of shoes for the colonies; but their export has now
nearly ceased. The cotton manufacture has made some progress in the town and its vicinity, and is
Increasing. The principal articles of native produce that Catalonia has to export are most conve-
niently shipped at Villanova, Tarragona, and Salon. They consist of wine, brandy, nuts, almonds,
cork bark, wool, fruits, &c. Of these, Cuba takes annually about 12,000 pipes of wine, worth at an
average 4l. per pipe, and about 3,000 pipes of brandy, worth 81. per do.; South America, 16,000 pipes
of wine, and 6,000 do. brandy the north of Europe, 2,000 pipes of wine, and 2,000 do. brandy. A good
deal of brandy is sent to Cadiz and Cette: most part of the former finds its way into the wine vaults
of Xeres; and the latter, being conveyed by the canal of Languedoc to the Garonne, is used in the
preparation of the wines of Bordeaux. From 25,000 to 30,000 bags of nuts are annually sent from
Tarragona to England. Tarragona also exports about 12,000 bags of almonds.
In 1831, only 128 foreign ships, of the burden of 15,130 tons entered Barcelona. Of these, 31 were
P 2
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174
barilla, BARK.
Tuscan, 24 Sardinian, 19 Swedish, 18 English, 14 French, 8 American, &c. The ships belonging to
the port carry on no foreign trade except to the Spanish West Indies they are few in number, and
are daily decreasing. Those engaged in the coasting trade are usually of very small burden. The
customs duty in the same year did not exceed 100,000Γ.
(We have derived these details from various sources; but principally from the Consul's Answer to
Circular Queries, and from Inglis's Spain in 1830, vol. ii. pp. 384-387. and 362.)
BARILLA (Du. Soda; Fr. Soude, Barille; Ger. Soda, Barilla; It. Barriglia; Port.
Solda, Barrilha; Rus. Socianka; Sp. Barrilla; Arab. Kali), carbonate of soda-(see
ALKALIES), is found native in Hungary, Egypt, and many other countries. It is largely
used by bleachers, manufacturers of hard soaps, glass-makers, &c. The barilla of commerce
consists of the ashes of several marine and other plants growing on the sea-shore. The best,
or Alicant barilla, is prepared from the Salsola soda, which is very extensively cultivated for
this purpose in the huerta of Murcia, and other places on the eastern shores of Spain.-
(Townsend's Travels in Spain, vol. iii. p. 195.) The plants are gathered in September,
dried and burned in furnaces heated 80 as to bring the ashes into a state of imperfect fusion,
when they concrete into hard, dry, cellular masses of a greyish blue colour. Sicily and
Teneriffe produce good barilla, but inferior to that of Alicant and Carthagena. Kelp, which
is a less pure alkali, is formed by the incineration of the common sea-wrack.-(See KELP.)
The Saracens established in Spain seem to have been the first who introduced the
manufacture of barilla into Europe. They called the plants employed in its preparation
kali; and this, with the Arabic article at prefixed, has given rise to the modern chemical
term alkali.
Of 184,649 cwt. of barilla imported into Great Britain in 1831, 61,921 cwt. came from
Spain, 95,995 from Teneriffe, and 23,867 from Sicily. The values of these species
are, for the most part, in the proportion of about 12, 9, and 10; that is, if Spanish
barilla fetch 12/. a ton, Teneriffe barilla will fetch 91., and Sicilian 10% Prime quality in
barilla is to be distinguished by its strong smell when wetted, and by its whitish colour. Par-
ticular attention should be paid to have as little smell or dust as possible. The duties on
barilla have recently been very considerably reduced.-(See TARIFF.)
At an average of the three years ending with 1831, the barilla entered for home consumption
amounted to 255,289 cwt. a year. In 1832, it produced 15,3291. 8s. 2d. nett revenue.
(The duties on barilla used in the bleaching of linen are to be repaid to the persons
using it, under such regulations as the commissioners of customs may issue.-(4 & 5 Will
4. c. 89. § 14.)-Sup.)
[Barilla is imported into the United States, free of duty, chiefly from the Canary islands.
The value of it annually imported, on.an average of four years ending with 1837, amount-
ed to little more than 100,000 dollars; scarcely any of which wassubsequently exported.-
Am. Ed.]
BARK, the outer rind of plants. There is an immense variety of barks known in com-
merce, as cinnamon, Peruvian bark, oak bark, quercitron, &c. The term " bark" is, how-
ever, generally employed to express either Peruvian bark, or oak bark and it is these only
that we shall describe in this place.
1. Peruvian or Jesuits' Bark (Fr. Quinquina; Ger. Kron-china; Du. China-bast;
Sp. Quina, Quinquina Lat. Quinquina, Cortex Peruvianus). There are three principal
species of this bark known in commerce, which have been elaborately described by Dr. A.
T. Thomson, from whose account the following particulars are selected.
The first species is the pale bark of the shops. It is the produce of the Cinchona lancifolia,
and is the original cinchona of Peru. It is now very scarce. It is imported in chests
covered with skins, each containing about 200 lbs., well packed, but generally mixed
with a quantity of dust and other heterogeneous matter. It consists of pieces 8 or 10
inches long, some of them being scarcely one-tenth of an inch thick, singly and doubly
quilled, or rolled inwards; the quills, generally, being in size from a swan's quill to an
inch and a half. It is internally of a pallid fawn or cinnamon hue but approximates,
on being moistened, to the colour of a pale orange. When in substance it has scarcely
any odour: but during decoction the odour is sensible, and agreeably aromatic. The
taste is bitter, but not unpleasant, acidulous, and austere.
The second species, or red bark, is obtained from the Cinchona oblongifolia, growing on the
Andes. It is imported in chests containing from 100 to 150 lbs. each. It consists of
variously sized pieces, most of them flat, but some partially quilled or rolled. The internal
part is woody, and of a rust red colour; it has a weak peculiar odour; and its taste is much
less bitter, but more austere and nauseous, than that of the other barks.
The third species, or yellow bark of the shops, is obtained from the Cinchona cordifolia,
growing in Quito and Santa Fé. It is imported in chests containing from 90 to 100 lbs.
each, consisting of pieces 8 or 10 inches long, some quilled, but the greater part flat. The
interior is of a yellow colour, passing to orange. It has nearly the same odour in decoction
as the pale; the taste is more bitter and less austere, and it excites no astringent feeling
when chewed. The goodness decreases when the colour varies from orange yellow to pale
yellow; when of a dark colour, between red and yellow, it should be rejected.
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BARLEY.
175
It is needless to add, that bark is one of the most valuable medical remedies. The In-
dians were unacquainted with its uses, which seem to have been first discovered by the
Jesuits. It was introduced into Europe in 1632, but was not extensively used till the latter
part of the seventeenth century. According to M. Humboldt, the Jesuits' bark annually
exported from America amounts to from 12,000 to 14,000 quintals. Of these, 2,000 are
furnished by Santa Fé, and 110 by Loxa; Peru furnishing the remainder, which is shipped
at Callao, Guayaquil, &c.
2. Oak Bark (Fr. Ecorce de la Chêne; Ger. Eichenrinde; It. Corteccia della Quercia;
Lat. Quercûs cortex). The bark of the common oak is a powerful astringent, and is pre-
ferred to all other substances for tanning leather. The bark of the larch is now, however,
used for the same purpose. The import of oak bark is very considerable; but owing to the
cork tree being a species of oak (Quercus Suber), bark for tanning and cork bark are usually
mixed together in the parliamentary returns. The latter, however, does not amount to a
tenth part of the whole quantity imported. The imports of both sorts amounted, in 1831, to
931,075 cwt., which is about the average importation. Of this quantity, no less than
608,304 cwt. were brought from the Netherlands (Holland and Belgium), 62,437 cwt. from
Germany, &c. Cork bark is almost entirely imported from Italy, Spain, and Portugal; the
imports from them being, in the above-mentioned year, Italy 95,163 cwt., Spain 78,067 cwt.,
and Portugal only 187 cwt. The quality of bark varies according to the size and age of
the tree, the season when it is barked, &c., so much, that the price varies, at this moment,
from about 5l. to about 10L per ton. The duty, which is 13s. 4d. a ton, produced in 1832,
in Great Britain, 22,251/. 0s. 5d. nett.
Quercitron is the bark of a species of oak tree (Quercus tinctoria). It is not used, at
least in this country, for tanning, but for imparting a yellow dye to silk and wool. It is
principally imported from North America. The price varies, at present, according to the
quality, from about 12s. 6d. to 15s. a cwt., duty (1s.) included. At an average of the three
years ending with 1831, the entries for home consumption were 25,015 cwt. a year.
We are indebted for the discovery and application of the useful properties of quercitron to
Dr. Bancroft. The doctor obtained a patent for his invention in 1775; but the American
war breaking out soon after, deprived him of its advantages. In consideration of this eir-
cumstance, parliament passed, in 1785, an act (25 Geo. 3. c. 38.) securing to him the
privileges conveyed by his patent for 14 years. At the expiration of the latter period, the
House of Commons agreed to extend the doctor's privilege for an additional 7 years but the
House of Lords rejected the bill. Like too many discoverers, Dr. Bancroft profited but
little by his invention, though it has been of great use to the arts and manufactures of the
country.-(See Bancroft on Permanent Colours, vol. ii. p. 112., and the Report of the
Committee of the House of Commons on Patents, Appendix, p. 175.)
Oak bark, the produce of Europe, is not to be imported into the United Kingdom for home consump-
tion, except in British ships, or in ships of the country of which it is the produce, or in ships of the
country from which it is imported, on pain of forfeiting the goods, and 1001. by the master of the ves-
sel.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 58.)
BARLEY (Fr. Orge; Ger. Gerstengraupen; Du. Ryg; It. Orzo; Sp. Cebada; Rus.
Fatschmea; Lat. Hordeum; Arab. Dhourra; Hind. Jow), a species of bread-corn (Hordeum
Lin.), of which there are several varieties. It is extensively cultivated in most European
countries, and in most of the temperate districts of Asia and Africa. It may also be raised
between the tropics; but not at a lower elevation than from 3,000 to 4,000 feet, and then it
is not worth cultivating. Large quantities of barley have been, for a lengthened period,
raised in Great Britain. Recently, however, its cultivation has been supposed, though
probably on no good grounds, to be declining. In 1765, Mr. Charles Smith estimated the
number of barley consumers in England and Wales at 739,000 and as a large proportion
of the population of Wales, Westmoreland, and Cumberland continue to subsist chiefly on
barley bread, we are inclined to think that this estimate may not, at present, be very wide
of the mark. But the principal demand for barley in Great Britain is for conversion into
malt, to be used in the manufacture of ale, porter, and British spirits; and though its con-
sumption in this way has not certainly increased proportionally to the increase of wealth and
population, still there does not seem to be any grounds for supposing that it has diminished.
Barley is also extensively used in fattening black cattle, hogs, and poultry. It now gene-
rally follows turnips, and is a very important crop in the rotation best adapted to light soils.
The principal barley counties of England are Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, Bedford, Herts,
Leicester, Nottingham, the upper parts of Hereford, Warwick, and Salop. The produce
varies, according to soil, preparation, season, &c., from about 20 to 60 or 70 bushels an acre.
The most usual crop is from 28 to 36 or 38 bushels. The Winchester bushel of good
English barley generally weighs about 50 lbs., but the best Norfolk barley sometimes weighs
53 or 54 lbs. Its produce in flour is about 12 lbs., to 14 lbs. grain. Barley is a tender
plant, and easily hurt in any stage of its growth. It is more hazardous than wheat, and is,
generally speaking, raised at a greater expense; so that its cultivation should not be
attempted except when the soil and climate are favourable for its growth.-(For details as to
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BARLEY-SUGAR-BARRATRY.
the prices of barley, the quantities imported and exported, &c., see CORN LAWS AND Corn
TRADE. And for further details as to its consumption and culture, see Smith's Tracts on
the Corn Trade, 2d ed. p. 182. Brown on Rural Affairs, vol. ii. p. 42.; Loudon's Encyc.
of Agriculture, &c.)
[Barley has long been cultivated in various parts of America, especially in Canada, and
in the States as far south as Virginia.
There are two species. One of these is called winter barley, from the seed being sown
in autumn, and remaining in the earth during the winter. It ripens about July. The grain
is longer, and the hull thicker, than in the other species. In weight, it seldom exceeds 47 lbs.
to the bushel. Under favourable circumstances, 50 bushels have been raised from an acre of
ground; though the produce generally does not exceed 25 or 30.
The other species, called spring barley, is sown in the spring, and also ripens about July.
This species has two varieties, distinguished from each other by the number of rows of
grain on the head, as two-rowed and four-rowed barley. The crop is generally from 25 to
30 bushels per acre, and frequently weighs from 48 to 52 lbs. per bushel. By common
consent, however, among the dealers in this article, the weight of a bushel is fixed at 48 lbs.
at which rate it is now altogether bought and sold.
Barley, in the United States, is generally raised for malting, and is seldom made into
flour, barley bread being almost unknown. Small quantities are hulled, and used in
soup and for medicinal purposes. It is also used as food for cattle; but only occasionally,
as the price of it is ordinarily much greater in proportion than that of Indian corn or oats.
New soils are best fitted for the cultivation of barley and it is a very uncertain crop on
lands on which it has been often sown. Hence its culture has been abandoned in many
sections of the country, where large quantities were formerly raised.-Am. Ed.]
BARLEY-SUGAR (Fr. Sucre d'orge; Ger. Gerstenzucker; It. Pennito; Sp. Alfenique;
Lat. Alphenix), a preparation of sugar, candied with orange or lemon peel.
BARRATRY, in navigation, is, in its most extensive sense, any fraudulent or unlawful
act committed by the master or mariners of a ship, contrary to their duty to their owners, and
to the prejudice of the latter. It appears to be derived from the Italian word barratrare, to
cheat. It may be committed by running away with a ship, wilfully carrying her out of the
course prescribed by the owners, delaying or defeating the voyage, deserting convoy without
leave, sinking or deserting the ship, embezzling the cargo, smuggling, or any other offence
whereby the ship or cargo may be subjected to arrest, detention, loss, or forfeiture.
It is the practice, in most countries, to insure against barratry. Most foreign jurists hold,
that it comprehends every fault which the master and crew can commit, whether it arise
from fraud, negligence, unskilfulness, or mere imprudence. But in this country it is ruled,
that no act of the master or crew shall be deemed barratry, unless it proceed from a criminal
or fraudulent motive.
" Barratry can only be committed by the master and mariners by some act contrary to their
duty, in the relation in which they stand to the owners of the ship. It is, therefore, an of-
fence against them, and consequently an owner himself cannot commit barratry. He may,
by his fraudulent conduct, make himself liable to the owner of the goods on board, but not for
barratry. Neither can barratry be committed against the owner, with his consent; for
though he may be liable for any loss or damage occasioned by the misconduct of the master
to which he consents, yet this is not barratry. Nothing is more clear than that a man can
never set up as a crime, an act done by his own direction or consent."-(Marshall on Insur-
ance, book i. c. 12. s 6.)
When, therefore, the owner of a ship is also the master, no act of barratry can be com-
mitted; for no man can commit a fraud against himself.
It is a maxim in law, that fraud shall not be presumed, but must be clearly proved and
it is a rule in questions of insurance, that he who charges barratry must substantiate it by
conclusive evidence.
It is not necessary, to render an act barratrous, that it should be committed with a crimi-
nal intent as respects the owners, in order to injure them, or to benefit the captain or crew.
It may even be committed with a view to promote the owner's interest; for an illegal act
done without the authority or privity of the owners, and which proves detrimental to them,
is barratry, whatever be the motives in which it originated. Lord Ellenborough, in an able
judgment, has laid it down as clear law, that a breach of duty by the master in respect of
his owners, with a fraudulent or criminal intent, or ex maleficio, is barratry that it makes
no difference whether this act of the master be induced by motives of advantage to himself,
malice to the owner, or a disregard of those laws which it was his duty to obey ; and that it
is not for him to judge or suppose, in cases not intrusted to his discretion, that he is not
breaking the trust reposed in him, when he endeavours to advance the interests of his
owners by means which the law forbids, and which his owners also must be taken to have
forbidden."
The circumstance of the owners of ships being permitted to insure against the barratry of
the master and mariners can hardly fail, it may be not uncharitably presumed, of rendering
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BARREL-BATAVIA.
177
them less scrupulous in their inquiries with respect to their character than they would other-
wise be. Perhaps, therefore, it might be expedient to prohibit such insurances, or to lay
some restrictions upon them. They were, indeed, expressly forbidden by the Ordinance of
Rotterdam; and Lord Mansfield, whose authority on all points connected with the law of
insurance is so deservedly high, seems to have thought that it would be well to exclude bar-
ratry entirely from policies, and to cease "making the underwriter become the insurer of the
conduct of the captain whom he does not appoint, and cannot dismiss, to the owners who
can do either." But though it were expedient to prevent the owners from making an in-
surance of this sort, nothing can be more reasonable than that third parties, who freight a
ship, or put goods on board, should be allowed to insure against such a copious source of
loss-(For a further discussion of this subject, see the article MARINE INSURANCE; and
Marshall on Insurance, book i. c. 12. § 6., and Park on Insurance, c. 5.)
Owners, masters, or seamen, who wilfully cast away, burn, or destroy ships, to the preju-
dice of freighters or insurers, incur the penalty of death.-(See SEAMEN.)
BARREL, a cask or vessel for holding liquids, particularly ale and beer. Formerly the
barrel of beer in London contained only 32 ale gallons - 321 Imperial gallons: but it was
enacted by 43 Geo. 3. c. 69., that 36 gallons of beer should be taken to be a barrel; and by
the 6 Geo. 4. c. 58. it is enacted, that whenever any gallon measure is mentioned in any
excise law, it shall always be deemed and taken to be a standard Imperial gallon. At pre-
sent, therefore, the barrel contains 36 Imperial gallons. It may be worth while observing
that the barrel or cask is exclusively the produce of European ingenuity; and that no such
article is known to any nation of Asia, Africa, or America, who have not derived it from
Europeans.
[In the United States the barrel in use is uniformly one of 31} gallons.-Am. Ed.]
BARWOOD, a red dye wood brought from Africa, particularly from Angola, and the
river Gaboon. The dark red which is commonly seen upon British Bandana handkerchiefs
is for the most part produced by the colouring matter of barwood, saddened by sulphate of
iron-(Bancroft on Colours.) The imports of barwood, in 1829, amounted to 246 tons 15
cwt. It fetches at present (October, 1833) from 9/. to 11/ a ton (duty 5s. included) in the
London market.
BASKETS (Fr. Corbeilles; Ger. Körbe; It. Paniere; Sp. Canastas, Canastos; Rus.
Korsinü) are made, as every one knows, principally of the interwoven twigs of willow,
osier, birch, &c., but frequently also of rushes, splinters of wood, straw, and an immense
number of other articles. They are used to hold all sorts of dry goods, and are constructed
of every variety of quality and shape. Besides the vast quantities produced at home, some
of the finer kinds are imported under an ad valorem duty of 20 per cent. In 1832, this
duty produced 1,044L 7s. 9d., showing that the value of the foreign baskets entered for
home consumption in the same year had been 5,2214 18s. 9d.
BAST, for straw hats or bonnets. See HATS.
BATAVIA, a city of the island of Java, the capital of the Dutch possessions in the East
Indies, and the principal trading port of the Oriental islands, in lat. 6° 12' S., long. 106°
54' E., situated in the north-west part of the island, on an extensive bay. The harbour, or
rather road, lies between the main land and several small uninhabited islands, which, during
the boisterous or north-western monsoon, afford sufficient shelter and good anchorage.
Ships of from 300 to 500 tons anchor at about a mile and a half from shore. A small river
runs through the town, navigable for vessels of from 20 to 40 tons, from the sea, a couple of
miles inland; a number of canals branch off from it into different parts of the town, afford-
ing great conveniences for trade. Batavia was formerly so notorious for its insalubrity, that
General Daendels was anxious to transfer the seat of government to Sourabaya; but being
thwarted in this, he set about building a new town, a little further inland, on the heights of
Weltevreden, whither the government offices were immediately removed. Most of the
principal merchants have now their residences in the new town, repairing only to the old
city, when business requires it, during a portion of the day. In consequence, the old town is
at present principally occupied by Chinese, and the descendants of the ancient colonists,
several of its streets having been deserted and demolished. Recently, however, the Baron
Capellen, whose enlightened administration will long be gratefully remembered in Java,
sensible of the superior advantages of the old town as a place of trade, exerted himself to
prevent its further decay, by removing the causes of its unhealthiness; to accomplish which,
he widened several of the streets, filled up some of the canals, and cleaned others, demolished
useless fortifications, &c.; and the effect of these judicious measures has been, that Batavia
is now as healthy as any other town in the island. The population, according to an accurate
census taken in 1824, consisted of 3,025 Europeans and their descendants, 23,108 natives,
14,708 Chinese, 601 Arabe, and 12,419 slaves; in all, 53,861 persons, exclusive of the
garrison. As the population has increased since, it may at present be estimated at about
60,000, independently of the military, of which there are always a considerable number.
Among the principal merchants are Dutch, English, Americans, French, and Germans. The
island of Java forms the most important portion of the Dutch possessions in the East, and is,
VoL. I.
23
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BATAVIA.
in fact, one of the finest colonies in the world. It contains an area of 50,000 square miles,
with a population of 6,000,000 individuals, or 120 to the square mile. The annual revenue of
the Dutch government, which possesses about two thirds of the island, amounts to about
3,000,000/. sterling ; and the military force amounts to about 15,000; of which not less than
8,000 are European troops, being about one third of the whole European force in British India,
which has a population of 90,000,000, and an area of between 1,200,000 and 1,300,000 square
miles of territory.
The staple products of the island are rice (of which 25,500 tons were exported in 1828),
a variety of pulses, vegetable oils, tobacco, sugar, and coffee. The production of sugar is
rapidly increasing. In 1832 the exports were estimated at 200,000 piculs (12,000 tons)
but it was supposed that the exports in 1833 would not fall short of 18,000 tons; and as the
Dutch authorities have made extensive contracts with the owners of large tracts of land to
take sugar at very remunerating prices for some years to come, it has been calculated that
the exports of 1834 would amount to 400,000 piculs, or about 24,000 tons. The produc-
tion of indigo, cocoa, tea, and raw silk, is making considerable progress. The tin exported
from Batavia is brought from Banca, the copper from Japan, the finer spices from the
Moluccas, and the pepper from Sumatra.
In 1828, the exports from and imports into Batavia were, in quantity and value, as follows :-
Exports.
Imports.
Piculs of
Articles.
Florins.
Piculs of
136 lbs. each.
Articles.
136 lbs. each.
Florins.
Coffee
416,171
8,024,039
Cotton manufactures, Netherlands
-
2,940,635
Mace
600
96,078
English
-
1,819,435
Cloves
1,832
229,107
French
-
18,679
Nutmegs
1,647
221,121
Woollen
ditto
Netherlands
-
246,545
Rice
419,499
1,194,486
English and French
-
16,861
Tin
19,554
866,521
Provisions from England only
-
522,342
Sugar
25,869
456,084
Brandy and geneva
-
322,606
Birds' nests
-
521,392
Wines
-
1,154,868
Piece goods
-
499,470
Opium, Levant
559
717,529
Java tobacco
-
401,002
Bengal
110
314,300
Pepper
8,226
151,537
Lead
2,891
76,612
Rattans
31,301
141,506
Copper, Europe
354
45,110
Salt
24,930
119,890
Japan
11,631
988,635
Japan and sandal wood
7,240
96,474
Steel from the Netherlands
726
22,963
Indigo
188
04,342
England
404
12,625
Arrack
Leg.533
86,362
Sweden
186
5,812
Hides
52,140
Iron from Sweden
3,200
23,276
Turmeric
5,412
42,038
England
4,593
45,050
Horses 384 (to the Isle of France)
-
35,975
Netherlands
9,033
138,003
Tortoiseshell
37
57,941
Cotton piece goods, Bengal and Madras
-
787,917
Japan camphor
489
43,200
Cotton yarn from the Netherlands
99
1,146
Articles not specified
-
2,859,336
ditto
English
243
41,430
Treasure
-
1,209,294
Gambir (terra Japonica)
-
477,854
Rattans
-
223,667
Total
-
17,499,341
Tripang (Holothurion)
-
380,964
Silk and cotton piece goods, Chinese ma-
nufacture
-
366,701
Marine stores
-
264,226
Articles not specified
-
3,383,596
Treasure
-
2,616,707
Total
-
17,976,094
The following Table shows the different Countries with which Batavia carries on Trade, and the
Value of the Export and Import Trade with each, in 1828.
Imports.
Exports.
From
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
To
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total
Florins.
Florins.
Florins.
Florins.
Florins.
Florins.
Netherlands
-
6,459,852
1,001,913
7,461,765
Netherlands -
9,188,929
279,601
9,398,530
England
-
2,166,515
-
2,166,515
England
-
200,962
165,750
366,712
France -
-
139,302
I
139,302
France -
-
102,628
7,650
110,278
Hamburgh
-
59,932
16,830
76,762
Hamburgh
-
85,174
-
85,174
Gibraltar
-
18,275
89,250
107,525
Sweden
-
23,652
-
23,652
Sweden -
-
30,384
-
30,384
U.S. of America
120,880
-
120,880
U.S. of America
305,161
697,210
1,002,371
Cape Good Hope
1,970
-
1,970
Cape Good Hope
1,624
-
1,624
Isle of France
88,547
62,523
151,070
Isle of France
21,051
-
21,051
Mocha
-
-
28,481
-
28,481
Persian Gulf -
1,510
-
1,510
Persian Gulf -
112,957
-
112,957
Bengal
-
-
737,424
10,200
747,621
Bombay -
-
3,055
-
3,055
Siam
-
-
131,004
I
131,001
Bengal -
-
77,497
2,040
79,537
Cochin China -
4,909
-
4,909
Siam
-
77,451
22,785
100,236
China
-
-
585,566
5,408
590,974
Cochin China -
21,883
-
21,883
Macao
-
-
65,628
-
65,625
China
-
-
1,474,486
87,167
1,561,653
Manilla
-
-
29,989
-
29,989
Macao -
-
78,361
15,536
93,897
Japan
-
-
1,067,231
-
1,067,231
Manilla -
-
35,240
37,500
72,740
New Holland -
7,613
2,550
10,163
Japan
-
-
291,263
22,050
313,313
Eastern Ar-
chipelago
s
3,526,415
793,346
4,319,761
New Holland -
75,083
1,377
76,460
Eastern Ar-
chipelago
271,544
505,314
4,776,858
Total
-
15,359,387
2,616,707
17,976,094
'
Total
-
16,290,046
1,209,294
17,499,341
* The quantity of sugar exported in 1829 had risen to 80,000 piculs, and the indigo to 1,200 lbs.
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BATAVIA.
179
The Exports and Imports under different Flags were as follow :-
Imports.
Exports.
Florina.
Cent.
Florina.
Cent.
Netherlands
-
-
-
12,843,901
88
Netherlands
-
-
-
11,986,049
26
English
-
-
-
-
1,928,743
English
-
-
-
-
2,312,449
24
American (U. States) -
-
1,715,306
27
French
-
-
-
-
166,025
50
Chinese
-
-
-
-
472,093
50
American (U. States)
-
1,324,570
34
Siamese
-
-
-
-
314,802
941
Siamese
-
-
-
-
314,802
94
Native
-
-
-
-
473,083
73
Chinese
-
-
-
-
951,133
97
Various other flags
-
-
228,163
22/
Portuguese
-
-
-
103,822
85
Various other foreign
-
334,487
17,976,094
55
17,499,341
12
In 1828, the Number of Ships and Amount of Tonnage entering inwards and clearing outwards under
different Flags were as follow:
Outwards.
Inwards.
Number of
Tonnage in
Number of
Flag.
Vessels.
Flag.
Tonnage in
Lasts.
Vessels.
Lasts.
Netherlands
-
-
843
45,689
Netherlands
-
-
801
45,684
English
-
-
-
68
14,7781
English
-
-
-
54
10,7991
French
-
-
-
9
8611
French
-
-
-
8
6921
Hamburgh
-
-
1
137
Hamburgh
-
-
1
137
Danish
-
-
-
1
85
Danish
-
-
-
1
85
Swedish
-
-
-
1
66
Swedish
-
-
-
1
66
Russian -
-
-
1
153
Russian
-
-
⑉
1
153
Spanish
-
-
-
2
420
Spanish
-
-
-
3
505
Portuguese
-
-
4
9621
Portuguese
-
-
4
9621
American
-
-
19
3,116
American
-
-
-
14
2,087
Chinese
-
-
-
8
805
Chinese
-
-
-
8
805
Siamese
-
-
7
308
Siamese
-
-
-
9
4971
Other Asiatic
-
-
26
813
Other Asiatic
-
-
55
804
1,026
68,1941
960
63,278
Note.-Taking the last at 2 tons, the quantity of tonnage which cleared outwards will be 136,389,
and inwards 126,556 tons.
Pert Regulations.-The following is the substance of the port regulations of Batavia :-1st. The
commander of a ship arriving in the roads, is not to land himself, or permit any of his crew or passen-
gers to land, until his vessel be visited by a boat from the guard-ship.-2d. The master, on landing is
first to wait on the master attendant, and afterwards report himself at the police office.-3d. A mani-
fest of the whole cargo must be delivered at the Custom-house within 24 hours of the ship's arriving
in the roads.-4th. The master of the vessel must lodge the ship's papers with the master attendant
when he first lands, which are duly delivered up to him when he receives his port clearance from the
same authority.-5th. No goods can be shipped or landed after sunset, under a penalty of 500 florins.
-6th. No goods can be shipped on Sunday without a special permission from the water fiscal, which,
however, is never refused on application.-7th. No muskets or ammunition can be imported; but the
prohibition does not extend to fowling pieces exceeding 100 florins value.
Tariff.With respect to the tariff. all foreign woollens and cottons. being the manufacture of coun-
tries to the westward of the Cape of Good Hope, imported under a foreign flag, pay an ad valorem duty
of 26+ per cent., and under the Netherlands flag, of 121 per cent., that is, a duty upon the wholesale
price at Batavia, not in bond. With the exception of wines, spirits, and opium, which pay a rated
duty, all other articles, if imported under a foreign flag, pay an ad valorem duty, rated on the invoice
value, of 16:38 per cent., and if under the Netherlands flag, of 8.19 per cent. Cottons and woollens,
the manufacture of the Netherlands, if accompanied by a certificate of origin, are duty free but
since the separation of Belgium and Holland, there have been no importations of cotton manufactures
claiming this privilege. The export duty on coffee, if exported on a foreign bottom to a foreign coun-
try, is 5 florins per picul; if on a foreign bottom to a port in the Netherlands, 4 florins; and if on a
Netherlands bottom to a Netherlands port, 2 florins. Sugar, if exported on a foreign bottom to what-
ever country, pays 1 florin per picul; but if exported on a Netherlands bottom to a Netherlands port,
is duty free. Rice, on whatever bottom exported, and to whatever country, pays a duty of 3 florins
per coyang of 27 piculs. Tin, exported on a foreign ship to whatever port, 4 florins per picul and by
a Netherlands ship, 2 florins per picul. The trade in spices is now monopolised by the Netherlands
Trading Company.
Goods are received in entrepôt not only at Batavia, but at the ports of Samarang, Sourabaya, and
Anjie in Java, and Rhio in the Straits of Malacca, on payment of a duty of 1 per cent. levied on the
invoice value.
Money.-Accounts are kept at Batavia, in the florin or guilder, divided into centimes, or 100 parts,
represented by a proper coinage or doits. The florin is a new coin made expressly for India, but of the
same value as the florin current in the Netherlands. It is usually estimated at the rate of 12 to the
pound sterling, but the correct par is 11 florins 58 centimes per pound. Doubloons, and the coins of
Continental India, are receivable at the Custom-house at a fixed tariff; the Spanish dollar, for exam-
ple, at the rate of 100 for 260 florins.
Weights.-The Chinese weights are invariably used in commercial transactions at Batavia, and
throughout Java and the other Dutch possessions in India. These are the picul. and the cattie, which
is its hundredth part. The picul is commonly estimated at 125 Dutch, or 1334 lbs. avoirdupois, but at
Batavia it has been long ascertained and considered to be equal to 136 lbs. avoirdupois.- Hogendorp,
Coup d' CEil sur l'Ile de Java, cap. 8. &c.; Evidence of Gillian Maclaine, Esq. before the Select Commit-
tee of the House of Commons on the Affairs of the East India Company, 1831, and pricute communications
from the same.)
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BATTEN-BEECH.
(Statements with respect to the Imports and Exports of Java during the Years 1830-1834.)
Exports.
Imports of Cotton
Total Im-
Indiga.
Tin,
Exports.
Years.
Goods from Europa.
ports, Value
Coffee.
Sugar.
Rice.
Pounds, old
Banca.
Value in
Pepper.
Value in Florian.
in Florins.
Piculs.
Piculs.
Coyange.
Ameterdam
Piculs.
Florina.
Piculs.
weight,
1830.
Nethds.
2,873,309
15,681,978
288,742
108,640
14,521
22,063
21,425
14,501,779
6,061
Foreign
1,510,786
1831.
Nethds.
1,399,905
14,178,401
299,096
120,298
18,637
42,841
30,255
14,702,148
7,836
Foreign
1,546,791
1832.
Nethds.
67,240
12,190,067
314,173
245,872
23,072
108,211
47,801
21,031,099
7,075
Foreign
1,891,611
1833.
Foreign
3,984,066
17,864,577
360,166
210,947
30,344
217,480
Return
23,343,327
Return
wanting.
wanting.
1834.
Nethda.
313,549
455,008
367,131
25,379
250,433
39,165
29,021,217
7,704
Foreign
4,111,282
Among the articles imported into Java, in 1834, were copper, iron, steel, &c. value 875,166 florins
glass and earthenware, 299,321 do.; wines and spirits, 951,345 do.; provisions, 496,158, &c. The total
value of the exports, in 1834, was, 29.021,217 florins, which, at 20d. to the florin, is equal to 2,418,435.
We have not learned the exact amount of the imports during the same year, but taking them at
2,000,000L. the whole trade of the island would amount to about 4,400,000L. or 4,500,000.
Remarks on the above Statements.-These statements show, that the trade of Java has increased very
materially since 1830. In fact, there wants nothing but an enlightened, liberal administration, that
by dealing fairly by, and giving confidence to the natives, should develope the resources of this noble
island, to render Java by far the most valuable of all the eastern colonial possessions of any European
power. It is due to the Dutch to state, that their colonial government is now materially improved, as
compared with what it formerly was; but it is still susceptible of much amendment; and it is to be
hoped, seeing the wonderful influence that a more liberal system has had in Cuba, and other foreign
colonies, and even in Java itself, that the administration of the latter will be still farther improved.
It is stated in the Dictionary (p. .) that the export of coffee from Java might be estimated at about
18,000 tons but it appears from the above table, that it has increased so rapidly that it amounted, in
1834-5, taking the picul at 136 lbs., to 61,881,088 lbs., or to above 27,000 tons! The export of sugar
during the same year exceeded 22,300 tons.-Sup.)
BATTEN, a name in common use for a scantling of wood 21 inches thick and 7 wide.
If above 8 inches wide, it is called deal.
BAZAAR, a term used in the East to designate a market, or building in which various
articles of merchandise are exposed for sale. Bazaars are now met with in most large cities
of Europe. There are several in London, of which the one in Soho-square is the most
considerable.
BDELLIUM (Arab. Aflatoon), a gum-resin, semi-pellucid, and of a yellowish brown or
dark brown colour according to its age, unctuous to the touch, but brittle; soon, however,
softening between the fingers; in appearance it is not unlike myrrh, of a bitterish taste, and
moderately strong smell. Two kinds have been distinguished: the opoculpasum of the
ancients, which is thick like wax; and the common dark sort. It is found in Persia and
Arabia, but principally in the latter; all that is met with in India is of Arabic origin. The
tree which produces it has not been clearly ascertained.-(Ainslie's Materia Indica.)
BEACONS, in commerce and navigation, public marks or signals to give warning of
rocks, shoals, &c. No man is entitled to erect a light-house, beacon, &c., without being
empowered by law. The Trinity House corporation are authorised to set up beacons in
whatever places they shall think fit; and any person who shall wilfully remove or run down
any buoy, beacon, &c. belonging to the Trinity House, or to any other corporation, indivi-
dual or individuals, having authority to establish it, shall, besides being liable to the expense
of replacing the same, forfeit a sum not less than 10/. nor more than 50L for every such of-
fence.-(6 Geo. 4. c. 125. 91.)-(See Buors.)
BEADS (Fr. Rosaires; Ger. Rosenkränze; Du. Paternosters; It. Corone; Sp. Coronas),
small globules or balls used as necklaces, and made of different materials; as pearl, steel,
amber, garnet, coral, diamonds, crystal, glass, &c. Roman Catholics use beads in rehears-
ing their Ave Marias and Paternosters. Glass beads or bugles are imported in large quan-
tities into India and Africa, and also into Borneo and Sumatra. They are brought partly
from Europe, and partly from China and the Persian Gulf. The glass beads sent from
England are all imported, principally, we believe, from Venice. The non-manufacture in
this country is said to be a consequence of the excise regulations on the manufacture of glass.
BEANS (Fr. Fêves; Ger. Bohnen; It. Fave; Rus. Boobü; Sp. Habas; Lat. Fabæ), a
well-known vegetable of the pulse species, largely cultivated both in gardens and fields. Its
cultivation is of much importance in rural economy, inasmuch as it has gone far to super-
sede fallows on strong loams and clays.
BEAVER. See SKINS.
BEECH (Fagus sylvatica), a forest tree to be met with every where in England.
-There is only one species, the difference in the wood proceeding from the difference of soil
and situation. A considerable quantity of beech is grown in the southern parts of Bucks.
It is not much used in building, as it soon rots in damp places; but it is used as piles in
places where it is constantly wet. It is manufactured into a great variety of tools, for which
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its great hardness and uniform texture render it superior to all other sorts of wood; it is also
extensively used in making furniture.
BEEF, as every one knows, is the flesh of the ox. It is used either fresh or salted.
Formerly it was usual for most families, at least in the country, to supply themselves with a
stock of salt beef in October or November, which served for their consumption until the
ensuing summer; but in consequence of the universal establishment of markets where fresh
beef may be at all times obtained, the practice is now nearly relinquished, and the quantity
of salted beef made use of as compared with fresh beef is quite inconsiderable. Large
supplies of salted beef are, however, prepared at Cork and other places for exportation to
the East and West Indies. During the war, large supplies were also required for victualling
the navy. The vessels engaged in the coasting trade, and in short voyages, use only fresh
provisions.
The English have at all times been great consumers of beef; and at this moment more
beef is used in London, as compared with the population, than any where else.-(For
further details with respect to the consumption of beef, &c., see CATTLE.)
BEER. See ALE AND BEER.
BELL-METAL (Fr. Metal de Fonte ou de Cloches; Ger. Glockengut; Du. Klokspys,
Sp. Campanil; Rus. Koloklnaja mjed), a composition of tin and copper, usually consisting
of 3 parts of copper and 1 of tin. Its colour is greyish white; it is very hard, sonorous,
and elastic. Less tin is used for church bells than for clock bells; and in very small bells, a
little zinc is added to the alloy-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
BENZOIN. See BALSAM.
BERGEN, the first commercial city of Norway. situated at the bottom of a deep bay, in
lat. 60° 24' N., long. 5° 20' E. Population 21,000. The bay is inclosed on all sides by
rugged rocks and islands the water is deep.; but, owing to the number and intricacy of the
passages, the access to the town is attended at all times with a good deal of difficulty, and
should never be attempted without a pilot. Codfish, salted or dried, is one of the principal
articles of export; when dried, it is called stock-fish, and goes chiefly to Italy and Holland.
The cod fishery employs several thousand persons during the months of February and
March; and the exports amounted, in 1829, to 184,064 barrels. The herring fishery, which
used to be very successfully carried on upon the coasts of Norway, has, for a good many
years, been comparatively unproductive. Whale oil, skins, bones, tar, with immense num-
bers of lobsters, &c., are exported. The exports of timber from Bergen are inconsiderable,
and none has latterly gone to England. Norway timber is not so large as that brought
from Prussian ports, nor so free from knots; but, being of slower growth, it is more compact,
and less liable to rot. The planks are either red or white fir or pine: the red wood is pro-
duced from the Scotch fir; the white wood, which is inferior in price and estimation, is the
produce of the spruce fir: each tree yields three pieces of timber of 11 or 12 feet in length;
and is 70 or 80 years of age before it arrives at perfection. The planks or deals of Bergen
are, however, a good deal inferior to those of Christiania. The imports into Bergen prin-
cipally consist of grain from the Baltic; and salt, hardware, coffee, sugar, &c. from England.
For Monies, Weights, and Measures, see CHRISTIANIA where there are further details as to the trade
and navigation of Norway.
We subjoin an account of the principal exports from Bergen in 1829.
Bones
-
-
-
50 tons.
Oil, whale
-
-
2,402 tuns.
Fish, Lobsters
-
-
- 250,000 number.
Skins, goat, buck, and deer -
440 cwt.
Cod, smoked and dry
-
15,373 tons.
sheep and lamb
-
75 do.
- salt
-
- 184,064 barrels.
fox, martin, otter, &c.
97 skins.
- roe, ditto
-
- 13,927 do.
Tar
-
451 barrels
Pickled sprate
-
-
1,912 kegs.
Wood, timber and deals
-
380 tons.
Horns, ox and cow
-
-
178 cwt.
staves
-
800 number.
Moss, rock
-
-
-
131 tons.
(Private information.)
BERRIES (Baccæ), the fruits or seeds of many different species of plants. The berries
quoted in London Price Currents are bay, juniper, Turkey, and Persian.
1. Bay Berries (Fr. Baies de Laurier; Ger. Lorbeeren; It. Bacchi di Lauro: Sp.
Bayas), the fruit of the Laurus nobilis. This tree is a native of the south of Europe,
but it is cultivated in this country, and is not uncommon in our gardens. The berry is of
an oval shape, fleshy, and of a dark purple colour, almost black; it has a sweet fragrant
odour, and an aromatic astringent taste. Bay berries, and the oil obtained by boiling them
in water, are imported from Italy and Spain.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
2. Juniper Berries (Fr. Genévrier; Du. Sevenboom; It. Ginepro; Sp. Embro), the
fruit of the common juniper (Juniperus communis). They are round, of a black purple
colour, and require two years to ripen. They have a' moderately strong, not disagreeable,
but peculiar smell, and a warm, pungent, sweetish taste, which, if they be long chewed, or
previously well bruised, is followed by a considerable bitterness. They are found in this
country but most of those made use of here are imported from Holland, Germany, and
Italy. They should be chosen fresh, not much shrivelled, and free from mouldiness, which
they are apt to contract in keeping. On distillation with water, they yield a volatile essential
oil, very subtile and pungent, and in smell greatly resembling the berries. The peculiar
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BERYL, BETEL-NUT.
flavour and diuretic qualities of Geneva depend principally on the presence of this oil. Eng-
lish gin is said to be, for the most part, flavoured with oil of turpentine.-(Lewis's Mat.
Med.; Thomson's Dispensatory.)
The duty on juniper berries, previously to 1832, was 11s. 1d. a cwt., being more than 100
per cent. on their price in bond. The oppressiveness of this duty seems to have been the
principal reason why turpentine, which in point of flavour and all other respects is so in-
ferior, has been largely used in preference to juniper berries in the preparation of gin. This
oppressive duty was reduced, in 1832, to 2s., and we entertain little doubt that this wise and
liberal measure will at no distant period occasion the receipt of a greater amount of revenue,
at the same time that it cannot fail materially to improve the beverage of a large proportion
of the people.
Italian juniper berries fetch at present (Sept. 1833), in the London market, from 9s. 6d.
to 10s. 6d. a cwt., duty included; and German and Dutch ditto, from 8s. to 9s.
3. Turkey Yellow Berries, the unripe fruit of the Rhamnus infectorius of Linnæus.
They are used as a dye drug, in preparing a lively but very fugitive yellow, for topical ap-
plication in calico-printing. Considerable quantities of them are exported from Salonica, to
which they are brought from Thessaly and Albania. An inferior sort is produced in France.
-(Bancroft on Colours.) The duty on Turkey berries is 2s.; and their price, duty in-
cluded, in the London market, is (Sept. 1833) 34s. to 36s. a cwt.
4. Persian Yellow Berries are said by the merchants to be of the same species as the Turkey
yellow berries. The colours which they yield are more lively and lasting. They are high
priced, fetching (duty 2s. included) from 110s. to 130s. a cwt. Hitherto the imports have
been very inconsiderable; the yellow berries (Turkey as well as Persian) entered for home
consumption during the 3 years ending with 1831, being only 1,939 cwt. a year. The nett
revenue derived from all sorts of berries imported in 1832, was 3,062/. 12s. 4d.
BERYL, called by the jewellers Aquamarine. This stone was suspected by Pliny to be
a variety of the emerald a conjecture which modern mineralogists have completely confirm-
ed. The term emerald is applied to that particular variety which presents its own peculiar
colour, or emerald green while that of beryl is given indiscriminately to all the other varie-
ties; as the sea green, pale blue, golden yellow, and colourless. Pliny says that the beryl is
found in India, and rarely elsewhere; but besides India, it is found in Peru and Brazil; at
Nantes and Limoges, in France; in the Wicklow mountains, in Ireland in the district of
Cairngorm, in Scotland; and in various other places.-(Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xxxvii. cap. 5.;
Ency. Brit. new edit.)
Those only which are of good colour and sufficient depth are manufactured they have a.pretty,
lively effect, if in good proportion and well polished. Large stones, from one to three and four ounces,
are not uncommon, but from their bulk are only in request as specimens for the cabinet smaller
stones suitable for necklaces may be bought at low prices, within the reach of every description of
purchasers; ring stones may be had at a few shillings each; and larger, for brooches or seals, from
11. to 51. and often lower. (Mawe on Diamonds. FC. 2d Edit.)
BETEL-NUT, OR ARECA (Sans. and Hind. Supari; Malay, Pinang, Javan. Jambi),
the fruit of the Areca catechu, a slender and graceful palm, rising to the height of about 30
or 40 feet it produces fruit at the age of five or six years, and continues bearing till its 25th
or 30th year. The fruit, which is the only part of the palm that is made use of, is eaten
both in its unripe and in its mature state. When ripe, it is of the size of a small egg, and
of an orange colour; the exterior part consists of a soft, spongy, fibrous matter, inclosing a
nucleus resembling a nutmeg in shape, internal structure, and colour, but usually larger, and
always harder. A single tree produces, according to its situation, age, culture, &c., from 200 to
800 nuts. They are objects of great importance in the East, forming the principal ingredient of
a compound in universal use as a masticatory in all Central and Tropical Asia. The other
ingredients are the leaf of the Betel pepper-(which see), in which the areca nut is wrap-
ped; a little CHUNAM-(which see) and generally, but not always, a little catechu or terra
japonica-(see CATECHU). The whole compound is called betel, and is used to an extent
of which it is difficult for a European to form a just idea. All individuals, without exception
of age or sex, begin at an early period to accustom themselves to betel. They are unceasing-
ly masticating it, and derive a gratification from its use that strangers can neither under-
stand nor explain. It reddens the saliva, gives a bright hue to the lips, and, in course of
time, renders the teeth quite black. It is said to dispel nausea, excite appetite, and strengthen
the stomach. Besides being used as an article of luxury, it is a kind of ceremonial which
regulates the intercourse of the more polished classes of the East. When any person of
consideration visits another, after the first salutations, betel is presented; to omit it on the
one part would be considered neglect, and its rejection would be judged an affront on the
other. No one of inferior rank addresses a dignified individual without the previous precau-
tion of chewing betel; two people seldom meet without exchanging it; and it is always
offered on the ceremonious interviews of public missionaries. The areca nut is, in conse-
quence, an article of very extensive trade. The countries which yield it most largely for
exportation are Malabar, Ceylon, and Sumatra. Of the extent of this trade, some notion
may be formed from the fact, that the imports of areca into Bengal in 1829-30, were 695
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tons, and into Canton, 2,894 tons, though Bengal and Southern China are countries in
which areca is largely produced.-(See the article Betel in the new edition of the Ency.
Britannica; Bell's Review of the External Commerce of Bengal; Crawford's Indian
Archipelago, vol. i. p. 102., vol. iii. p.414.; Chinese Kalendar and Register for 1832, &c.)
BETEL-LEAF (Hind. Pan; Malay, Sireh; Javan. Suro), the leaf alluded to in the
foregoing article. It is the produce of a species of pepper vine (Piper betel), and some-
what resembles the ivy leaf. In their fresh state, betel leaves form an important article of
Eastern traffic, being every where used in the preparation of betel. The Piper betel is a
scandent plant, and poles are placed in the ground, round which it twines itself. In conse-
quence of the great consumption of its leaves, it is extensively cultivated throughout Tropical
Asia. It grows in the greatest perfection in rich soils close to the equator; and is raised
with more difficulty the further we recede from it.-(Ency. Britannica, new edition, article
Betel; Crawford's Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 403.)
BEZOAR (Arab. Faduj; Hind. Zeher-morah; Pers. Padzehr Kanie), a concretion
found in the stomach of an animal of the goat kind it has a smooth glossy surface, and is
of a dark green or olive colour; the word bezoar, however, has lately been extended to all the
concretions found in animals ;-such as the hog bezoar, found in the stomach of the wild
boar in India; the bovine bezoar, found in the gall-bladder of the ox, common in Nepaul
and the camel bezoar, found in the gall-bladder of the camel; this last is much prized as a
yellow paint by the Hindoos. The finest bezoar is brought to India from Borneo and the
sea-ports of the Persian Gulf; the Persian article is particularly sought after, and is said to
be procured from animals of the goat kind, Capra Gazella. Many extraordinary virtues
were formerly ascribed to this substance, but without any sufficient reason.-(Ainslie's Ma-
teria Indica.)
BILBAO, OR (as it is commonly, though incorrectly, written in this country) BILBOA,
a sea-port town of Spain, in the province of Biscay, on the river Ybai Cabal, about 9 miles
from Portugalete. Population 14,500.
Port.-The bay of Bilbao lies between Punto Galea on its east, and Punto Luzuero on its western
side, distant about 3 miles. It stretches S. E. to within 4 of a mile of Portugalete, in lat. 43° 20' 10"
N., long. 2° 541' W., near the mouth of the river on which Bilbao is built. The water in the bay va-
ries from 5 to 10 and 14 fathoms. There is a bar at the mouth of the river, between Santurce and
Portugalete, on which there is not above four feet water at ebb tide. High water at full and change
at 3 h. P. M. Spring tides rise about 13 feet; and large ships taking advantage of them sometimes
ascend the river as far as Bilbao; but they usually load and unload by lighters, either at Portugalete,
or at Olaviaga, 4 miles below the town. Pilots are to be had at Santurce, without the bar. In win-
ter, a heavy sea sometimes sets into the bay but if the pilot cannot go off, he places himself on one
of the batteries to the N. W. of Santurce, and makes signals with a red flag, so as to direct the ship
to the best anchorage ground.-(See Laurie's excellent Chart of the Bay of Biscay, with the Sailing
Directions that accompany it.)
Trade.-Bilbao is favourably situated for commerce. The Biscayans are distinguished
for the zeal and courage with which they have defended their peculiar privileges, and for
their industry and activity. Bilbao and Santander are the principal ports through which
the extensive province of Old Castile, and large portions of Leon and Navarre, most easily
communicate with foreign countries. They have in consequence, particularly the former, a
pretty considerable foreign trade. Wool is one of the principal articles of export; but since
the introduction of Merino sheep into Germany, and their extraordinary increase in that
country, this branch of Spanish commerce, though still of a good deal of importance, has
materially declined. Since the abolition, in 1820, of all restrictions on the exportation of
corn, flour, &c., the shipments of wheat from Bilbao have been, in some years, very con-
siderable. The supplies are principally brought from the provinces of Palencia, Valladolid,
and Zamora, which yield immense quantities of wheat. The distance is from 130 to 140
English miles; and owing to the badness of the roads, and the deficient means of transport,
the rate of carriage advances enormously when there is any extraordinary foreign demand.
If the Canal of Castile, intended to unite the Douro with Reynosa, Bilbao, and Santander,
were completed, it would make a considerable revolution in this trade. The campos,
or plains, on the south side of the Douro, are amongst the finest wheat countries in the
world the crops being frequently so abundant, that the peasants decline reaping the fields
at a distance from the villages! In 1831, 146,234 quarters of Spanish wheat, principally
from Bilbao, were imported into Great Britain. The iron manufactures of Biscay are in a
state of considerable activity, and some part of the produce is exported. The principal ar-
ticles of importation are wove fabrics, cod-fish, cutlery, and jewellery; sugar, coffee, cacao,
and other colonial products, spices, indigo, &c. In 1831, 210 foreign ships, of the burden
of 18,822 tons, entered the port of Bilbao. The countries to which these ships belonged
are not mentioned but in 1828, 49 British ships, of the burden of 6,051 tons, entered the
port-(We have derived these details from the Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 9. art. Spain;
the Annuaire du Commerce Maritime for 1833, p. 265. the Parl. Paper, No. 550. Sess.
1833 ; and private information.)
Monies, Weights, and Measures, same as those of CADIZ; which see. We may mention, however,
that the fanega, or measure for grain, is equivalent to 1:65 Winchester quarters.
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BILL OF EXCHANGE-BILL OF LADING.
BILL OF EXCHANGE. See EXCHANGE.
BILL OF HEALTH, a certificate or instrument signed by consuls or other proper au-
thorities, delivered to the masters of ships at the time of their clearing out from all ports or
places suspected of being particularly subject to infectious disorders, certifying the state of
health at the time that such ships sailed. A clean bill imports, that at the time that the ship
sailed no infectious disorder was known to exist. A suspected bill, commonly called a
touched patent or bill, imports that there were rumours of an infectious disorder, but that it
had not actually appeared. A foul bill, or the absence of clean bills, imports that the place
was infected when the vessel sailed.-(See QUARANTINE.)
BILL OF LADING, is a formal receipt subscribed by the master of a ship in his ca-
pacity of carrier, acknowledging that he has received the goods specified in it on board his
ship, and binding himseif (under certain exceptions) to deliver them, in the like good
order as received, at the place, and to the individual named in the bill, or his assigns, on his
or their paying him the stipulated freight, &c. When goods are sent by a ship hired by a
charter-party, the bills of lading are delivered by the master to the merchant by whom the
ship is chartered; but when they are sent by a general ship,-that is, by a ship not hired
by charter-party, but employed as a general carrier,-each individual who sends goods on
board, receives a bill of lading for the same. In all cases, therefore, the bill of lading is the
evidence of and title to the goods shipped.
The liability of a carrier, at common law, to deliver the goods intrusted to his care, is can-
celled only by " the act of God and the king's enemies." But to limit this responsibility, the
following exception is now, invariably almost, introduced into the clause in bills of lading, bind-
ing the master to the delivery of the goods act of God, the king's enemies, fire,
and all and every other dangers and accidents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of
whatever nature and kind soever, excepted."
Bills of lading are not, in general, immediately given by the master on receiving the
goods. The usual practice is for the master or his deputy to give a common receipt
for the goods, which is delivered up on receiving the bill of lading. The latter should
always be required within 24 hours after the goods are received on board.
Three sets of all bills of lading are made out on stamped paper one of these should be re-
mitted by the first post to the person to whom the goods are consigned, a second being sent
to him by the ship; the third is retained by the shipper of the goods. The master ought al-
ways to retain copies of the bills of lading for his government. A stamp duty of 3s. is
charged on all bills of lading, whether for goods exported or carried coastwise.
The usual form of a bill of lading is as follows :-
W.B.
N. B.-SHIPPED, in good order and well conditioned, by A. B. merchant, in and upon
No. 1. a. 10. the good ship called
whereof C. D. is master, now in the river Thames. and
bound for
, the goods following, viz. [here describe the goods,] marked and
numbered as per margin, to be delivered, in the like good order and condition, at
aforesaid, (the act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other
dangers and accidents of the seas, rirers, and narigation, of whatever nature and kind so-
over, excepted,) unto the said A. B. or his assigns, he or they paying for the said goods
at the rate of
per piece freight, with primage and average accustomed. In witness
whereof, 1 the said master of the said ship, have affirmed to three bills of lading. of this
tenour and date ; any one of which bills being accomplished, the other two are to be void.
London, this
day of
, 1834.
C. D., Master.
But in the case of ships homeward bound from the West Indies, which send their boats to
fetch the cargo from the shore, the exception in the bill of lading is usually expressed as fol-
lows:-"The act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other dangers and acci-
dents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of whatever nature and kind soever, save risks of
boats, 80 far as ships are liable thereto, excepted." Other exceptions may be and are some-
times introduced but the above is the general form.
Transfer of Bills of Lading.-Bills of lading are transferable either by blank or special
indorsement, like bills of exchange. And whatever may be the character of the person to
whom the goods are consigned, whether he be a buyer, or merely the factor, agent, or broker
of the consignor, the bona fide holder of the bill of lading indorsed by the consignee, is en-
titled to the goods, and may claim them from the master, if he can prove that he has pur-
chased the bill for a good consideration, but unless he can do this, he is not entitled to the
goods.-(Holt, Law of Shipping, 2d ed. p. 363.)
Formerly, a factor, though he might sell, could not pledge the goods of his principal. But
the hardship and inconvenience arising from this rule were such, that it was set aside by the
act 6 Geo. 4. c. 94. The second section of this act declares, that any person in possession
of a bill of lading shall be deemed the true owner of the goods specified in it, so as to make
a sale or pledge by him of such goods or bill of lading valid, unless the person to whom the
goods are sold or pledged has notice that the seller or pledger is not the actual and bona fide
owner of the goods.-(See FACTOR.)
Delivery under Bill of Lading.-It being usual to sign and deliver three bills of lading,
it is possible that there may be conflicting demands upon the captain by the different holders.
Nothing, however, is, in such a case, required of him, except that he act with good faith, and
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to the best of his judgment; and that he make delivery of the goods to the person who first
demands them of him, upon presentment of the bill of lading, provided the circumstances be
not such as to justify a suspicion of his having unfairly got possession of it. If he act dif-
ferently, he is answerable, according to the peculiarities of the case, to the person injured by
his negligence; the bill of lading being not only the instructions of the merchant to him, as
his carrier or servant, but his own especial agreement to deliver according to its con-
ditions.
Where several bills of lading of a different import have been signed, no regard is to be
paid to the time when they were first signed by the master; but the person who firsts gets
legal possession of one of them from the owner or shipper, has a right to the consignment
and where such bills of lading, though different upon the face of them, are constructively
the same, and the master has acted bona fide, a delivery according to such legal title will dis-
charge him from all.-(Holt, p. 375. and 377.)
BILL OF SALE, a contract under seal, by which an individual conveys or passes away
the right and interest he has in the goods or chattels named in the bill. The property of
ships is transferred by bill of sale.-(See REGISTRY.)
BILL OF SIGHT. When a merchant is ignorant of the real quantities or qualities of
any goods assigned to him, 80 that he is unable to make a perfect entry of them, he must ao-
quaint the collector or comptroller of the circumstance; and they are authorised, upon the
importer or his agent making oath that he cannot, for want of full information, make a per-
fect entry, to receive an entry by bill of sight, for the packages, by the best description which
can be given, and to grant warrant that the same may be landed and examined by the im-
porter in presence of the officers; and within 3 days after any goods shall have been so land-
ed, the importer shall make a perfect entry, and shall either pay down the duties, or shall
duly warehouse the same.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. C. 52. § 24.)
In default of perfect entry within 3 days, such goods are to be taken to the king's ware-
house; and if the importer shall not, within 1 month, make perfect entry, and pay the duties
thereon, or on such parts as can be entered for home use, together with charges of moving
and warehouse rent, such goods shall be sold for payment of the duties.-$ 25.
The East India Company are authorised without the proof before-mentioned, to enter
goods by bill of sight, and to make perfect entry, and pay the duties within 3 months.-
$ 26.
BILL OF STORE, is a license granted by the Custom-house, to merchants, to carry
such stores and provisions as are necessary for a voyage, free of duty.
By the act 3 and 4 Will. 4. c. 52., returned goods may be entered by bill of store, as
follows:-
From 5th January, 1826, it shall be lawful to re-import into the United Kingdom, from any place, in
a ship of any country, any goods (except as herein-after excepted) which shall have been legally ex-
ported from the United Kingdom, and to enter the same by bill of store, referring to the entry out-
wards, and exportation thereof; provided the property in such goods continue in the person by whom
or on whose account the same have been exported; and if the goods so returned be foreign goods which
had before been legally imported into the United Kingdom, the same duties shall be payable thereon as
would, at the time of such re-importation, be payable on the like goods, under the same circumstances
of importation as those under which such goods had been originally imported; or such goods may be
warehoused upon a first importation thereof; provided always, that the several sorts of goods enu-
merated or described in the list following shall not be re-imported into the United Kingdom for home
use, upon the ground that the same had been legally exported from thence, but that the same shall be
deemed to be foreign goods, whether originally such or not, and shall also be deemed to be imported
for the first time into the United Kingdom; viz.
Goods exported, which may not be re-imported for Home Use.
Corn, grain, meal, flour, and malt; hops, tobacco, tea.
Goods for which any bounty or any drawback of excise had been received on exportation, unless by
special permission of the commissioners of customs, and on repayment of such bounty or such
drawback.
All goods for which bill of store cannot be issued in manner herein-after directed, except small rem-
nants of British goods, by special permission of the commissioners of customs, upon proof to their
satisfaction that the same are British, and had not been sold.- 33.
The person in whose name any goods 80 re-imported were entered for exportation, shall deliver to
the searcher, at the port of exportation, an exact account signed by him of the particulars of such
goods, referring to the entry and clearance outwards, and to the return inwards of the same, with
the marks and numbers of the packages both inwards and outwards; and thereupon the searcher,
finding that such goods had been legally exported, shall grant a bill of store for the same; and if the
person in whose name the goods were entered for exportation was not the proprietor thereof, but his
agent, he shall declare upon oath on such bill of store the name of the person by whom he was em-
ployed as such agent; and if the person to whom such returns are consigned shall not be such pro-
prietor and exporter, he shall declare upon oath on such bill of store the name of the person for whose
use such goods have been consigned to him; and the real proprietor. ascertained to be such, shall
make oath upon such bill of store to the identity of the goods 80 exported and so returned, and that
he was at the time of exportation and of re-importation the proprietor of such goods, and that the same
had not during such time been sold or disposed of to any other person and such affidavits shall be
made before the collectors or comptrollers at the ports of exportation and of importation respectively,
and thereupon the collector and comptroller shall admit such goods to entry by bill of store, and grant
their warrant accordingly.-d 34.
(The 6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 60. enacts, that goods legally, exported, and which are after-
wards re-imported, may, if the proprietor thereof be resident abroad, be entered by bill of
store, on the proprietor subscribing a declaration as to the identity of the goods, and that
VoL. L-Q 2
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BILLINGSGATE-BIRDS' NESTS.
they did and do belong to him, and have not been sold or disposed of to any other person
such declaration to be subscribed before the British Consul, &c.-(§ 2.)-Sup.)
BILLINGSGATE, a market for fish, contiguous to the Custom-house in London. It is
held every lawful day, and was established in 1699 by stat. 10 & 11 Will. 3. c. 24. Every
person buying fish in Billingsgate market, may sell the same in any other market-place or
places within the city of London or elsewhere, by retail, with this condition, that none but
fishmongers be permitted to sell in fixed shops or houses. No person or persons shall pur-
chase at Billingsgate any quantity of fish, to be divided by lots or in shares amongst any
fishmongers or other persons, in order to be afterwards put to sale by retail or otherwise
nor shall any fishmonger engross, or buy in the said market, any quantity of fish, but what
shall be for his own sale or use, under the penalty of 20/. No person is to have in his
possession, or expose to sale, any spawn of fish, or fish unsizeable, or out of season.-(36
Geo. 3. c. 118.) The minimum size of the lobsters to be sold at Billingsgate is fixed by
statute.-(See LOBSTER.)
No fish of foreign taking or curing, or in foreign vessels, is to be imported into the United
Kingdom, under penalty of forfeiture, except turbots and lobsters, stock-fish, live eels, ancho-
vies, sturgeon, botargo, and caviare. Fresh fish of British taking, and imported in British
ships, and turbot, however taken or imported, may be landed without report, entry or war-
rant.-(6 Geo. 4. c. 107.)
For some further remarks with respect to this subject, see FISH.
BIRCH (Fr. Bouleau; Du. Berke; Ger. Birke; It. Betulla; Lat. Betula; Pol.
Brzoza; Rus. Bereza; Sp. Abedul, Betulla), a forest tree met with every where in the
north of Europe. It is applied to various purposes. In Lapland, Norway, and Sweden,
the long twigs of the birch are woven into mats and twisted into ropes; the outer bark
forms an almost incorruptible covering for houses; and the inner bark is used in periods of
scarcity, as a substitute for bread. Russia leather is prepared by means of the empyreu-
matic oil of the birch. It is an excellent wood for the turner, being light, compact, and
easily worked. Its durability is not very great. It is sometimes used in the manufacture
of herring barrels.
BIRDLIME (Ger. Vogelleim; Fr. Glu; It. Pania; Sp. Liga; Rus. Ptitschei Klei)
crudes spontaneously from certain plants, and is obtained artificially from the middle bark
of the holly. Its colour is greenish, its flavour sour, and it is gluey, shining, and tenacious
The natural is more adhesive than the artificial birdlime.-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
BIRDS' NESTS (Ger. Indianische Vogelnester ; Du. Indiaansche Vogelnestjes; Fr.
Nids de Tunkin; It. Nidi di Tunchino; Sp. Nidos de la China; Java. Susu; Malay,
Sarungburung), the nests of a species of swallow peculiar to the Indian islands (Hirundo
esculenta), very much esteemed in China. In shape this nest resembles that of other swal-
lows; it is formed of a viscid substance; and in external appearance, as well as consistence,
is not unlike fibrous, ill-concocted isinglass. Esculent nests are principally found in Java,
in caverns that are most frequently, though not always, situated on the sea-coast. Many
conflicting statements have been made as to the substance of nests some contending that
they are formed of sea-foam or other marine products, and others that they are elaborated
from the food of the bird, &c. But these are points as to which nothing satisfactory is
known.
We borrow from Mr. Crawfurd's valuable work on the Eastern Archipelago (vol. iii. pp. 433-437.).
the following authentic and curious details as to the tratiic in this singular production :- The best
nests are those obtained in deep dainp caves, and such as are taken before the birds have laid their
eggs. The coarsest are those obtained after the young are fledged. The finest nests are the whitest,
that is, those taken before the nest has been rendered impure by the food and faces of the young birds.
They are taken twice a-year, and, if regularly collected, and no unusual injury be offered to the ca-
verns, will produce very equally, the quantity being very little, if at all, improved by the caves being
left altogether unmolested for a year or two. Some of the caverns are extremely difficult of access,
and the nests can only be collected by persons accustomed from their youth to the office. The most
remarkable and productive caves in Java, of which I superintended a moiety of the collection for
several years, are those of Karang-bolang, in the province of Baglen, on the south coast of the island.
Here the caves are only to be approached by a perpendicular descent of many hundred feet, by ladders
of bamboo and rattan, over a sea rolling violently against the rocks. When the mouth of the cavern
14 attained, the perilous office of taking the nests must often be performed by torch-light, by pene-
trating into recesses of the rock where the slightest trip would be instantly fatal to the adventurers,
who see nothing below them but the turbulent surf making its way into the chasms of the rock.
The only preparation which the birds' nests undergo IS that of simple drying, without direct ex-
posure to the sun, after which they are packed in small boxes, usually of half a picul. They are as-
sorted for the Chinese market into three kinds, according to their qualities, distinguished into first or
hert. second, and third qualities. Caverns that are regularly managed, will afford, in 100 parts, 53.3
parts of those of the first quality, 35 parts of those of the second, 11.7 parts of those of the third.
The common prices for birds nests at Canton are, for the first sort, no less than 3,500 Spanish
dollars the picul, or 51. 18s. 13d. per 1b.; for the second. 2.500 Spanish dollars per picul; and for the
third, 1,600 Spanish dollars. From these prices it is sufficiently evident, that the birds' nests are no
more than an article of expensive luxury. They are consumed only by the great; and, indeed, the
best part is sent to the capital for the consumption of the court. The sensual Chinese use them, under
the imagination that they are powerfully stimulating and tonic; but it is probable that their most
valuable quality is their being perfectly harmless. The people of Japan, who so much resemble the
Chinese in many of their habits, have no taste for the edible nests; and how the latter acquired a
taste for this foreign commodity is no less singular than their persevering in it. Among the western
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BISMUTH, BITUMEN.
187
nations there is nothing parallel to it, unless we except the whimsical estimation in which the Romans
held some articles of luxury, remarkable for their scarcity rather than for any qualities ascribed to
them."
Mr. Crawfurd estimates the whole quantity of birds' nests exported from the Archipelago at 242,400
lbs. worth 284,2901. "The value," he observes, "of this immense property to the country which
produces it, rests upon the capricious wants of a single people. It is claimed as the exclusive pro-
perty of the sovereign, and every where forms a valuable branch of his income, or of the revenue of
the state. This value, however, is of course not equal, and depends upon the situation and the cir-
cumstances connected with the caverns in which the nests are found. Being often in remote and se-
questered situations, in a country 80 lawless, a property so valuable and exposed is subject to the per-
petual depredation of freebooters, and it not unfrequently happens that an attack upon it is the prin-
cipal object of the warfare committed by one petty state against another. In such situations, the
expense of affording them protection is so heavy, that they are necessarily of little value. In situa-
tions where the caverns are difficult of access to strangers, and where there reigns enough of order
and tranquillity to secure them from internal dépredation, and to admit of the nests being obtained
without other expense than the simple labour of collecting them, the value of the property is very
great. The caverns of Karang-bolang, in Java, are of this description. These annually afford 6,810
lbs. of nests, which are worth, at the Batavia prices of 3,200, 2,500, and 1,200 Spanish dollars the picul,
for the respective kinds, nearly 139,000 Spanish dollars; and the whole expense of collecting, curing,
and packing, amounts to no more than 11 per cent. on this amount. The price of birds' nests is of
course a monopoly price, the quantity produced being by nature limited, and incapable of augmenta-
tion. The value of the labour expended in bringing birds' nests to market is but a trifling portion of
their price, which consists of the highest sum that the luxurious Chinese will afford to pay for them,
and which is a tax paid by that nation to the inhabitants of the Indian islands. There is, perhaps, no
production upon which human industry is exerted, of which the cost of production bears so small a
proportion to the market price."-(See also the valuable work of Count Hogendorp, Coup d' CEil sur
rile de Juva, p. 201.)
BISMUTH (Ger. Wismuth; Du. Bismuth, Bergsteen, Fr. Bismuth; It. Bismutte;
Sp. Bismuth, Piedra inga; Rus. Wismut; Lat. Bismuthum), a metal of a reddish white
colour, and almost destitute of taste and smell. It is softer than copper; its specific gravity
is 9-822. When hammered cautiously, its density is considerably increased it breaks,
however, when struck smartly by a hammer, and, consequently, is not malleable, nei-
ther can it be drawn out into wire; it melts at the temperature of 476°.-(Thomson's
Chemistry.)
Bismuth is used in the composition of pewter, In the fabrication of printers' types, and in various
other metallic mixtures. With an equal weight of lead, it forms a brilliant white alloy, much harder
than lead, and more malleable than bismuth, though not ductile and if the proportion of lead be in-
creased, it is rendered still more malleable. Eight parts of bismuth, 5 of lead, and 3 of tin, consti-
tute the fusible metal, sometimescall Newton's, from its discoverer, which melts at the heat of boil-
Ing water, and may be fused over a candle in a piece of stiff paper without burning the paper. Pew-
terers' solder is formed of one part of bismuth, with 5 of lead, and 3 of tin. It forms the basis of a
sympathetic ink."-(Ure.)
BITUMEN (Ger. Judenpech; Du. Jodenlym ; It. Asfalto; Sp. Asfalto; Port. As-
phalto ; Rus. Asfalt; Lat. Asphaltum, Bitumen Judaicum). This term includes a con-
siderable range of inflammable mineral substances, burning with flame in the open air. They
differ in consistency, from a thin fluid to a solid but the solids are for the most part lique-
fiable at a moderate heat. They are,-1. Naphtha; a fine, white, thin, fragrant, colourless
oil, which issues out of white, yellow, or black clays in Persia and Media. This is highly
inflammable. Near the village of Amiano, in the state of Parma, there exists a spring which
yields this substance in sufficient quantity to illuminate the city of Genoa, for which purpose
it is employed. With certain vegetable oils, naphtha is said to form argood varnish.-2.
Petroleum is much thicker than naphtha, resembling in consistence common tar. It has a
strong disagreeable odour, and a blackish or reddish brown colour. During combustion, it
emits a thick black smoke, and leaves a little residue in the form of black coal. It is more
abundant than the first mentioned variety, from which it does not seem to differ, except in
being more inspissated. It occurs, oozing out of rocks, in the vicinity of beds of coal, or float-
ing upon the surface of springs. In the Birman empire, near Rainanghong, is a hill con-
taining coal, into which 520 pits have been sunk for the collection of petroleum, the annual
produce of the hill being about 400,000 hogsheads. It is used by the inhabitants of that
country as a lamp oil, and, when mingled with earth or ashes, as fuel. In the United States
it is found abundantly in Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, where it is known by the name
of Seneca or Genesee oil. It is also obtained from wells in the island of Zante. Herodotus
tells us, that he has seen these wells-(lib. iv. c. 195.); and the description he has given of
them, and of the mode of obtaining the petroleum, corresponds, in all respects, with the
accounts of the best modern travellers. The average annual produce of the Zante springs
is about 100 barrels.-Chandler's Travels in Greece, 4to ed. p. 301.; Holland's Travels
in Greece, 4to ed. p. 18.) Petroleum is particularly abundant in Persia. " When taken
from the pit, it is a thick liquid resembling pitch. The bottoms of most vessels which navi-
gate the Euphrates and Tigris are covered with it, and it is also used in lamps, instead of
oil, by the natives. The most productive fountains are those of Kerkook, Mendali, and
Badku. The wells in the neighbourhood of the latter seem to be quite inexhaustible, being
no sooner emptied than they again begin to fill. Some of them have been found to yield
from 1,000 to 1,500 lbs. a day !"-Kinneir's Persian Empire, p. 39. and 359.)-3. Maltha,
or Sea-wax, is a solid whitish substance, not unlike tallow. It melts when heated, and in
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BLACKING-BOATS.
cooling assumes the consistence of white cerate. This is, most probably, the bitumen can-
didum of Pliny (Hist. Nat. lib. XXXV. c. 15.). It is not used as pitch but it affords a better
light than petroleum, and emits a less disagreeable smell. It is found on the surface of the
Baikal Lake in Siberia, at the foot of the mountains of Bucktiari in Persia, and in some
other places.-4. Elastic Bitumen yields easily to pressure; is flexible and elastic. It emits
a strong bituminous odour, and is about the weight of water. On exposure to the air it
hardens, and loses its elasticity. It takes up the traces of crayons in the same manner as
caoutchouc, or Indian rubber, whence it has obtained the name of mineral caoutchouc. It
has hitherto been found only in the lead mines of Derbyshire.-5. Compact Bitumen, or
Asphaltum, is of a shining black colour, solid, and brittle, with a conchoidal fracture. Its
specific gravity varies from 1 to 16. Like the former varieties, it burns freely, and leaves
but little residuum. It is found in India, on the shores of the Dead Sea, in France, in
Switzerland, and in large deposits in sandstone in Albania but nowhere so largely as in
the island of Trinidad, where it forms a lake three miles in circumference, and of a thick-
ness unknown. A gentle heat renders it ductile, and when mixed with grease or common
pitch, it is used for paying the bottoms of ships, and is said to protect them from the teredo
of the West Indian seas. The ancients employed bitumen in the construction of their
buildings. The bricks of which the walls of Babylon were built were, it is said (Herodotus,
lib. i. § 179.), cemented with hot bitumen, which gave them unusual solidity.
BLACKING (Ger. Schuhschwürze, Wichse, Fr. Noir (de cordonniera) ; It. Nero da
ugner le scarpe Sp. Negro de zapatos). A factitious article, prepared in various ways,
used in the blacking of shoes. It is in very extensive demand.
BLACK-LEAD, OR PLUMBAGO (Du. Potloot; Fr. Mine de plomb noir, Plomb de
mine, Potelot Ger. Pottloth, Reissbley; It. Miniera di piombo, Piombaggine, Corezolo;
Lat. Plumbago; Sp. Piedra mineral de plomo), a mineral of a dark steel grey colour, and
a metallic lustre; it is soft and has a greasy feel; it leaves a dark coloured line when drawn
along paper. It is principally employed in the making of pencils; it is also employed in the
making of crucibles, in rubbing bright the surface of cast-iron utensils, and in diminishing
friction, when interposed between rubbing surfaces. The finest specimens of this mineral
are found in the celebrated mine of Borrowdale, in Cumberland, worked since the days of
Queen Elizabeth.-(Thomson's Chemistry.) Recently, plumbago, of a very good quality,
has been imported from Ceylon.
BLACK-LEAD PENCILS (Du. Potlootpennen; Fr. Crayons noirs ; Ger. Bleystifte;
It. Lapis nero Port. Lapis negro; Rus. Karanaschü; Sp. Lapiz negro), are formed of
black-lead encircled with cedar.
BLOOD-STONE (Ger. Blutstein, Fr. Pierre sanguine à crayon It. Sanguigna;
Sp. Piedra sanguinaria; Lat. Hæmatites), or the Lapis hæmatites, a species of calcedony,
is a mineral of a reddish colour, hard, ponderous, with long pointed needles. It is found
among iron ore in great abundance. These stones are to be chosen of the highest colour,
with fine strise or needles, and as much like cinnabar as possible. Goldsmiths and gilders
use it to polish their work. It is also used for trinkets.
BLUBBER (Ger. Thran, Fischtran; Du. Thraan It. Olio di pesce, Sp. Grassa,
Aceite de pescado; Rus. Salo worwannoe, Worwan; Lat. Oleum piscinum), the fat of
whales and other large sea-animals, of which train oil is made. The blubber is the adeps of
the animal: it lies under the skin, and over the muscular flesh it is about 6 inches in
thickness, but about the under lip it is 2 or 3 feet thick. The whole quantity yielded by
one of these animals ordinarily amounts to 40 or 50, but sometimes to 80 or more cwt.
Formerly train oil was manufactured from the blubber in the seas round Spitzbergen, and
other places where whales were caught; but the practice is now to bring the blubber home
in casks, and to prepare the oil afterwards.
It is enacted by the 6 Geo. 4. c. 107 1 44., that before any blubber, train oil, spermaceti oil, head mat-
ter, or whale fins, shall be entered as being entirely the produce of sea-animals caught by the crews
of ships fitted out in the United Kingdom, or the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, and Man, the
master of the ship importing such goods shall make oath, and the importer also shall make oath, to the
best of his knowledge and belief, that the same are the produce of fish or creatures living in the sea,
taken and caught wholly by the crew of such ship, or by the crew of some other ship (naming it) fitted
out in the United Kingdom, or in one of the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man
(naming which).
Before blubber, train oil, &c. can be entered as from a British possession, a certificate must be
obtained from the Custom-house officer at such British possession, or in default of such officer being
there, from two principal inhabitants, notifying that oath had been made before him or them that such
blubber, &c. was the produce of fish or creatures living in the sea, and had been taken by British sub-
jects usually residing in some part of his Majesty's dominions; and the importer is to make oath, to
the best of his knowledge and belief, to the same effect.
The gauging of casks of oil and blubber is dispensed with since 1825. They are to be passed at the
rate of 126 gallons the pipe, and 63 gallons the hogshead.
BOATS are open vessels, commonly wrought by oars, and of an endless variety of shapes,
according to the purposes to which they are to be applied.
It is ordered by stat. 0 Geo. 4. c. 108., that every boat belonging to or attached to any other vessel,
shall have painted on the outside of the stern of such boat, the name of the vessel and place to which
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she belongs, and the master's name within side of the transom, in white or yellow Roman letters, 2
Inches long, on a black ground, under pain of forfeiture. Boats not belonging to vessels, are to be
painted with the name of the owner and place to which they belong, under penalty of forfeiture. All
boats having double sides or bottoms, or secret places for the purpose of concealing goods, or having
any hole, pipe, or other device for the purpose of running goods, are to be forfeited.
Regulations of Watermen on the Thames.-From Chelsea Bridge towards Windsor, 3d. per half mile
for scullers.
Over the water directly between Windsor and Crawley's wharf, Greenwich (excepting the Sunday
ferries), for one person, 3d.; two persons, 11d. each ; exceeding two persons, 1d. each.
To or from ships westward of Greenwich. for one person, 2d.; exceeding one person, 1d. each and,
where the distance to the ship does not exceed the distance across the river, the fare across the river
shall be taken.
To or from ships eastward of Greenwich. at the rate of 6d. per half mile.
To or from vessels for passengers, for one person 4d.; exceeding one person, 3d. each, with not
exceeding 56 lbs. of luggage for each. After this at the rate of 1s. per cwt.
Watermen detained by passengers to be paid for time or distance, at the option of the watermen.
s.d.
d.
By Time for a Pair of Oars.-First hour - 20
Each succeeding hour
-
-
- 10
Second hour -
-
-
-
- 16
For the day
-
-
-
-
- 12 0
To last from 7 A. M. to 5 P. M. between Michaelmas and Lady Day; and from 6 A. M. to 6 P. M. from
Lady Day to Michaelmas.
SCULLER'S FARES.
The Bridges &c..stand in the following order.
London Bridge
Nine Elms
Shadwell Dock Stairs
Southwark Bridge
Red House, Battersea
Kidney ditto
Blackfriars Bridge
Swan Stairs, Chelsea
Limehouse Hole ditto
Waterloo Bridge
Chelsea Bridge
Ditto, Torrington Arms
Westminster Bridge
Iron Gate
Deptford, George Stairs
Lambeth Stairs
Union Stairs
Ditto, Low-Water Gate
Vauxhall Bridge
King Edward ditto
Greenwich, Crawley's Wharf.
The fare from either of the above places to the next is 3d., and so on in proportion.
Passage Boats.-Oars' Fare 8 Passengers. Sculler's Fare 6 Passengers.
each
each
each
London Bridge to
8. d.
London Bridge to
S. d.
London Bridge to
S. d.
Chelsea Bridge
-
- 0 6
Brentford
-
-
- 13
Walton-upon-Thames
19
Wandsworth
-
- 07
Isleworth
-
-
- 13
Shepperton
-
- 20
Putney -
-
-
- 0 8
Richmond
-
-
- 1 3
Weybridge
-
- 20
Fulham
-
-
- 0 8
Twickenham
-
- 1 6
Laleham
-
-
- 2 0
Barn's Elms
-
- 0 8
Tide-end Town
-
- 1 6
Chertsey
-
-
- 2 0
Hammersmith
-
- .09
Kingston
-
-
- 1 6
Staines
-
-
- 20
Chiswick
-
-
- 09
Hampton Court
-
- 1 9
Datchet
-
-
- 3 0
Barnes
-
-
- 10
Hampton Town -
- 1 9
Windsor
-
-
- 30
Mortlake
-
-
- 10
Sunbury
-
-
- 1 9
Deptford
-
-
- 06
Blackwall
-
-
- 09
Gravesend
-
-
- 16
Greenwich
-
-
- 06
Woolwich
- 10
For a full boat load of luggage, same as for 8 passengers. For half a load, same as for 4 passengers.
Penalties.-Taking more than fare, not exceeding 21.
Waterman to have a list of fares in his boat, and on not permitting the passenger to examine it, the
passenger is discharged from paying his fare, and the waterman may be fined not exceeding 51.
Refusing to take a passenger, or not answering when called by the number of his boat, not exceed-
Ing 51.
Unnecessarily delaying a passenger, not exceeding 51.
Refusing to permit any person to read the name and number of his boat, or to tell his Christian or
surname, or the number of his boat, on being paid his fare, or making use of any abusive language, not
exceeding 51.
Rules and By-laws made by the Court of Aldermen, 15th of April, 1828.-Letting his boat remain at any
stairs, while wilfully absent, or not being ready to take a passenger into his boat, not exceeding 11.
Refusing to give his name or number, or that of any other waterman, not exceeding 11.
Obstructing any other waterman in taking in or landing a passenger, or obstructing a passenger, not
exceeding 11.
Towing or being towed by any other boat without the consent of all the passengers, not exceed-
ing 3/.
Agreeing to take any less sum than the rate allowed, and afterwards demanding more than the sum
agreed for, not exceeding 21.
Only two boats to be placed aboard any steamboat at the same time in turn. Waterman, previous
to taking turn as aforesaid, to lie with his boat upon his oars at least one boat's length distant from
any other boat lying alongside, and shall not approach nearer, until after the former boat shall have
proceeded two boats' length, not exceeding 51.
The offices of Harbour-masters are in Little Thames street, St. Catharine's; and Canal Office,
Blackwall.
BOLE, a friable earthy substance, a species of the soapstone family. Specific gravity
14 to 2. It is found in the island of Lemnos, whence it is sometimes called Lemnian earth;
and in Armenia, Italy, France, Silesia, various parts of South America, &c. Armenian and
French boles were at one time not uncommon in this country, being used in the materia
medica, but they are now entirely, or almost entirely, discarded. In India, however, Arme-
nian bole still continues to be in extensive demand. It is brought to Bombay from the
Persian Gulf. It is soft, feels greasy to the touch, adheres strongly to the tongue, and is
very frangible; it is generally of a yellowish brown colour; though sometimes it is seen of
a fine flesh red, which is the variety held in the highest estimation. Some savage nations,
such as the Ottomaques, described by M. Humboldt, are in the habit of allaying the pains
of hunger by eating holes. The Javanese, when they wish to become thin, eat cakes,
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190
BOHEA, BOMBAY.
called tanaampo, made of bole.-(Lewis, Mat. Medica; Thomson's Chemistry Ainslic's
Mat. Indica.)
BOHEA, a species of tea. See TEA.
BOMBAY, a sea-port on the western coast of British India, being, after Calcutta and
Canton, the greatest commercial emporium in the East; lat. 18° 56' N., long. 72° 57' E.
It is situated on the south-eastern extremity of a small island of the same name, separated
from the main land by an arm of the sea, forming, with the contiguous islands of Colabah,
Salsette, Butcher's Island, and Caranjah, one of the best harbours in India. Bombay
Island was ceded by the Portuguese to the English in 1661, as the dower of Queen Cathe-
rine, wife of Charles II., and was taken possession of in 1664; so that it has been in our
occupation about 170 years, being by far the oldest of our possessions in the East. In 1668,
it was transferred by the crown to the East India Company, by letters patent, in free and
common soccage, on payment of the annual rent of 10/. But, by the present charter, it has
reverted to the crown, with the rest of the Company's assets, being held by the Company in
trust merely. On its cession to the crown of England, in 1661, its population did not ex-
ceed 15,000 souls, the outcasts of the natives of India. It now contains 15,474 houses,
valued at 3,606,4241. and a population exceeding 229,000. The following statement of the
population of Bombay, at different periods, will show its progress:
1664, when taken possession of
-
15,000
16,000
I
1816
-
-
-
-
- 161,550
1716,
-
-
-
-
-
1830
-
-
-
-
- 229,000
The census of 1816 exhibits the proportion of the different classes of inhabitants as
follows :-
British, not military
-
-
-
1,840
Hindoos
-
-
-
-
-
103,800
Ditto, military and marine
-
- 2,460
Parsees
-
-
-
- 13,550
Native Christians, Armenians, and de-
scendants of Portuguese
-
-
11,500
Total 161,550
Jews
-
-
-
-
800
Mohammedans
-
-
-
- 28,000
The fort stands on the south-east extremity of the island, on a narrow neck of land, im-
mediately over the harbour. The fortifications are extensive, and on the sea side very
strong.
Bombay Harbour is one of the safest and most commodious in India. It is bounded on the west and
north by the island of Colabah, or Old Woman's Island, Bombay Island, and the island of Salsette.
The first two are separated only by a narrow creek fordable at low water, and Bombay Island was
joined to Salsette by a causeway constructed in 1805. On the east side of the harbour, between it
and the main land, is Butcher's Island, distant about 4 miles from Bombay and immediately behind
Butcher's Island is the famous island of Elephanta. About 3 miles south from Butcher's Island is the
island of Caranjah, on the western side of which, next the harbour, is an extensive shoal. S. W. from
Caranjah, distant about 5 miles, is Tull point; between which and Colabah, or Old Woman's Island,
is the entrance to the harbour. There is a light-house on the southern extremity of Colabah Island,
elevated about 150 feet above the level of the sea, which in clear weather may be seen at the distance
of 7 leagues. The point on which the light-house stands is surrounded on all sides by an extensive
reef of rocks divided into prongs: of these, the most dangerous is the prong stretching S. W. about 3
miles from the light-house, and forming the northern boundary of the entrance into the harbour. The
reef stretching W.N. W. from Tull point about 34 miles, forms the southern boundary of the entrance :
the breadth of the channel between them being about 3 miles, with a depth of from 7 to 8 fathoms.
In going into the harbour, it is necessary to clear a sunken rock, lying almost due east from the light-
house, at about 11 mile distant; and also a bank, called the middle ground, lying nearly opposite to
and about 11 mile from the southern extremity of the (See Nicholson and Watson's Plan of
Bombay Harbour.)
Docks.-Bombay is the only port of consequence in British India in which the rise and
fall of the tide are so considerable as to admit of the formation of extensive wet docks. At
ordinary spring tides, the rise is about 14 feet, but occasionally as high as 17. The capa-
cious docks constructed by the East India Company are their property, and are for the most
part under the direction of Parsees, who, excepting the Chinese, are the most industrious
and intelligent people of the East. The expense of repairing ships in them is enormous.
Merchant vessels of great size, or from 1,000 to 1,200 tons burden, for the cotton trade to
China, have been built in these docks. Frigates and line-of-battle ships have also been occa-
sionally constructed in them, sometimes under the exclusive direction of Parsee artificers.
Ships built at Bombay, on account of the timber being brought from a great distance, are
very costly; but being, contrary to the practice in other parts of India, entirely constructed
of teak, they are the most durable vessels in the world, requiring little repair, and often run-
ning 50 or 60 years. Being for the most part built by natives, without any very strict ap-
plication of the rules of art, they are commonly, though not always, heavy sailers.
Monies.-Accounts are here kept in rupees each rupee being divided into 4 quarters, and each quarter
into 100 reas. The rupee is also divided into 16 annas, or 50 pice. An urdee is 2 reas a doreea, 6
reas; a dooganey, or single pice, 4 reas; a fuddea, or double pice, 8 reas a paunchea is 5 rupees
and a gold mohur, 15 rupees. Of these, the annas and reas only are imaginary monies. The coins
of Bombay are the mohur, or gold rupee, the silver rupee, and their divisions; also the double and
single pice, the urdee, and doreea, which are copper coins with a mixture of tin or lead. The follow-
ing is the assay and sterling value of the present gold and silver coinage of Bombay:-
Digitized by
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BOMBAY.
191
Gross Weight.
Pure Metal.
Sterling Value.
É
grs.
8.
Gold mohur
-
-
-
-
179.0
-
164.68
-
29:18
Silver rupee
-
-
-
-
179.0
-
164:68
-
2.48
In the East India's Company's financial accounts rendered to parliament, the Bombay rupee is
reckoned at 2s. 3d. The charge for coinage in the Bombay Mint is 21 per cent. for gold, and 3 per
cent. for silver, including the charges for refining. The machinery for this mint was sent out from
England a few years ago, and is complete, but very costly. At Bombay there are no banks, as at
Madras and Calcutta, and paper money is unknown in mercantile transactions.
Weights and Measures.-The weights and measures used at Bombay are as follow :-
Gold and Silver Weight.
lbs. or. dr.
E:
7 Pailies = 1 Parah = 19 9 96
1 Wall = 4.475
8 Parabs = 1 Candy = 156 12 12.8
40 Walls = 1 Tola - 179
Pearl Weight.
Salt Measure.
cubic inches
gr.
1 Tucka - 0.208
10} Adowlies - 1 Parah =
1607-61
134 Tuckas = 1 Ruttee - 3
100 Parahs = 1 Anna = 160761
24 Ruttees - 1 Tank - 72
16 Annas = 1 Rash = 2572176
Commercial Weight.
The anna weighs 21 tons, and the rash 40 tons.
Avoirdupois.
lbs. oz. dr.
Liquor Measure.
1 Tank - 0 0 2.488
72 Tanks = 1 Seer = 0 11 32
(Spirits and Country Arrack.)
40 Seers = 1 Maund = 28 00
The seer weighs 60 Bombay Rupees, and equals
11b. 8oz. 81 dr. and 50 seers make the maund.
These weights are used for all heavy goods, ex-
cepting salt.
Long Measure.
Grain Measure.
English inches.
lbs. oz. dr.
16 Tussoos = 1 Hath = 18
2 Tipprees = 1 Seer = 0 11 3.2
24 Tussoos = 1 Guz = 27
4 Seers - 1 Paily= 2 12 12.8
An the foregoing standards are likewise divided into halves, quarters, &c. The preceding weights
and measures are generally used in Bombay but it sometimes occurs in mercantile transactions, that
calculations are made in pounds and maunds, which last weight is reckoned at 40, 401, 41, 431, and 44
seers; and sometimes in Surat candies of 20, 21, and 22 maunds.
Shipping, Commerce, &c.-At Bombay there is an insurance society with a capital of
20 lacs of rupees, or about 200,000/. sterling; and there are also private underwriters who
insure separately on ships. In 1820, and we believe the number continues about the same,
there were 45 registered ships belonging to this port engaged in the trade to China and
Europe, the aggregate burden of which amounted to about 20,000 tons, giving at an average
450 tons to each ship. These are for the most part navigated by Indian seamen or Las-
cars, those of Bombay being accounted by far the best in India; the master and superior
officers only being Englishmen. Besides these large vessels, there is a numerous class of
native craft, under various forms and names. In 1820, they were computed to amount in
all to near 47,000 tons, of from 2 to 175 tons each. These vessels, besides furnishing the
town with firewood, hay, straw, &c. from the neighbouring continent, navigate coastways
from Cape Comorin to the Gulf of Cutch, and sometimes cross the sea to Muscat and the
Arabian Gulf. During the eight fair months, that is, from October to May, the largest sized
vessels perform five or six trips to Damaun, Surat, Cambay, Broach, Jumbosier, and Cutch,
bringing from these ports, where they sometimes winter, and where many of their owners
reside, cotton, ghee, oil, pulse, wheat, cotton cloths, timber, firewood, putchok, mawah, &c.
and return to the northern ports laden with the produce of Europe, Bengal, and China.
The capital employed in this trade, in the minor articles of commerce, exclusive of cotton,
has been estimated to amount to 1,500,000/. sterling.
The island of Bombay, a small and sterile spot, containing only about 184 square miles,
affords no produce for exportation indeed, hardly yields a week's consumption of corn for
its inhabitants. Neither is the neighbouring territory fruitful; nor does the whole presidency
of Bombay, although estimated to contain about 70,000 square miles, and from 10,000,000
to 11,000,000 inhabitants, yield, with the exception of cotton and rice, any of the great colo-
nial staples, such as coffee, sugar, and indigo; a circumstance that seems mainly ascribable
to the impolitic restraints upon the employment of British settlers and capital that have been
hitherto imposed by law, and acted upon with peculiar rigour in this and the sister presi-
dency of Madras, in contradistinction to the greater latitude afforded in Bengal. Bombay
is, notwithstanding, a great emporium for the exports and imports of foreign countries. Its
principal trade is carried on with the countries on the Gulfs of Cambay, Persia, and Arabia
with Calcutta, China, Great Britain, and other European countries, and the United States
of America. From the countries on the Gulf of Cambay it receives cotton wool and grain ;
and from the Persian and Arabian Gulfs, raw silk of Persia, copper from the same country,
and also pearls, galls, coffee, gum arabic, bdellium, copal, myrrh, olibanum, and asafoctida,
with dates, and other dried fruits, horses, and bullion. Its exports to Arabia and Persia
consist of grain, raw sugar from China and Bengal, British cotton manufactures, woollens,
and metals, pepper and other spices. From Calcutta, Bombay receives raw silk, sugar,
indigo, and grain; and exports to it oak timber, coir, or the fibre of the coco nut husk, with
coco nuts and sandal-wood. The trade between Bombay and Calcutta has declined since
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192
BOMBAY.
the abolition of the restrictive system in 1815 gave to Bombay a wider intercourse with
foreign countries. Previously to the opening of the trade, Calcutta was the entrepôt from
which many of the productions of the neighbourhood of Bombay used to find a market in
distant countries. In 1813 and 1814, according to the Custom-house returns of Calcutta,
the value of the imports into it from Bombay amounted to 400,000Z. sterling in 1819 and
1820, to 360,000/.; and in 1827 and 1828, to 200,000/. The exports from Calcutta to
Bombay in the first-named year amounted to 280,000/.; and in 1827, to only half that
amount. The greatest branch of the trade of Bombay used to be that with China; but it
has considerably declined of late years. The principal article of export is cotton wool, to
which opium has been added since we obtained possession of the province of Malwa. The
minor articles are pepper, sandal-wood, Arabian gums, salt-fish, fish maws, and sharks' fins.
The imports consist of alum, camphor, cassia, nankeens, rhubarb, tea, raw sugar, vermilion,
and other paints, with a considerable quantity of bullion. In 1828 and 1829, the number
of ships which cleared out from Bombay for Canton was 36, of the burden of 25,731 tons
but the number which entered from thence was only 30, of the burden of 17,534 tons; many
of the ships which cleared out having made intermediate voyages after discharging their
cargoes at Canton.
The principal export from Bombay to Great Britain is cotton wool, after which follow
pepper, cardamoms, Arabian gums and drugs, and Persian raw silk. The chief imports are
cotton fabrics and cotton twist, for both of which Bombay is, after Calcutta, the greatest
mart in India; woollens, iron, copper, spelter, glass-ware, &c. &c. Bombay trades with
France and Hamburgh, but not to any considerable amount. Neither is her trade with the
United States of America of much importance. The following statements, drawn up from
papers laid before parliament in 1830 and 1831, show the whole amount of the trade car-
ried on by Bombay, including Surat, with Great Britain, foreign Europe, and America, in
the years 1813 and 1814, and 1828 and 1829 :-
Imports into Bombay and Surat.
1813 and 1814.
1828 and 1829.
Merchandise.
Bullion.
Total.
Merchandise.
Bullion.
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
From Great Britain
275,716
110
275,826
781,248
-
781,249
-
France
-
-
-
-
63,291
-
63,291
-
Hamburgh -
-
-
-
7,329
-
7,329
-
America
-
-
-
-
1,461
-
1,461
Total
-
275,716
110
275,826
853,394
-
853,394
Exports from Bombay and Surat.
1813 and 1814.
1828 and 1829.
Merchandise.
Bullion.
Total.
Merchandise.
Bullion.
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
To Great Britain
135,342
169,811
305,154
694,654
139,113
833,767
- France
-
-
-
5,995
-
5,995
- Hamburgh
I
-
-
-
-
-
-
America
-
-
-
-
-
-
Total
135,342
169,811
305,154
700,649
139,113
839,762
In some of the intermediate years between 1814 and 1829 there was some trade between
Bombay, Portugal, and Brazil, but not very considerable. It will appear from these state-
ments that the present imports into Bombay from Great Britain amount to above 780,000L,
and the exports to near 840,000/.; the first having increased since the opening of the free
trade by 500,000Z. sterling, or above 180 per cent., and the latter by somewhat more than
that amount.
Dock Regulations.-At daylight the wickets of the gates are opened, and at 7 clock the sentry gate.
Half an hour after sunset the gates are shut, the wicket of the centre gate being left open till the
evening gun be fired. No boats, saving those belonging to the Company's marine department. or his
Majesty's navy, are permitted to come to the dock-yard stairs; but must use the piers expressly con-
structed for their accommodation. No meat, stores, or baggage for the merchant shipping, of any
description, are to be passed through the dock-yards. After the firing of the evening gun, nobody
belonging to the ships in the harbour, below the rank of a commissioned officer, is to be allowed to
land or enter the dock-yard, without the express permission of the master attendant, or other consti-
tuted authorities.
Boats' crews are not to be permitted to quit their boat at the stairs, after the hour of shutting the
gates. Small craft are not to deliver firewood or any other lading within the limits of the yard,
without the superintendent's sanction. The ships and vessels in dock are not to land any lumber
whatever on the pier. No cargo of any description is to be landed in or passed through the yard, from
or to any ship in dock, without the superintendent's permission in writing. No fire or light is allowed
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BOMBAZINE, BONES.
193
on board any ship or vessel in dock, without the authority of the superintendent, to whom the pur-
poses for which either may be required, must be stated in writing.
Export of Cotton from Bombay to China, England, &c., with prices, freights, &c. from 1824 to 1831.
To China.
Price of Surat
Cotton per
Price of
Rates of
To London.
To Liverpool.
To the Clyde.
To other Places
than the foregoing.
Candy of
Dhollera.
784 lbs.
Rates of Freight
Grand
Company's
Investments.
to England perTon
Total.
Freight to
of 41 Bales, or
Years.
Private
Trade.
Total to
China.
Lov Lowest. est.
Highest.
Average.
China per Can-
Lowest.
Highest.
Average.
about 1,530 lbs.
dy of 784 lbs.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Rupees.
Rupees.
L. 1. L. s.
Rupees.
7 0 to 9 07
1824
12,106
63,407
76,786
39,331
5,834
None.
640
122,591
140
170
153
135
140
138
11 0 10>
30,40,50
(90-77)
60,70,35
1825
12,130
70,885
83,015
35,454
14,129
1,559
300
134,457
146
192
166
134
175
151
6 02
10 8
45, 40, 48
1826
14,686
103,537
118,228
21,262
7,404
4,838
2,097
153,824
125
155
137
110
128
120
9 9
7 6
45, 40, 44
1827
19,093
105,596
124,689
43,870
10,118
8,523
4,261
191,461
110
130
122
95
116
109
5 6102
7 0 - 6105
40, 35, 25, 35
1828
15,883
102,020
117,903
62,103
19,694
10,871
3,952
214,523
104
135
120
100
118
105
2
0.15 0 15
25, 25, 28
1829
14,495
86,063
100,558
23,608
11,542
11,058
3,442
150,208
115
140
125
105
128
117
- 2
15- - 1
20, 18, 191
1830
22,303
117,969
140,272
17,339
14,458
7,542
2,960
182,571
114
120
116
80
110
89%
15 3 10
4 4
30,32,40
1831
to2d
17,578
115,274
132,852
17,965
22,238
9,470
3,413
185,938
100
110
104}
70
81
751
5 6
Oct.
6 10
25,35,45
From 1,500 to 2,000 bales may be added to the exports to China for each year, as, after the Com-
pany's vessels are nominally loaded, the captains take from 300 to 500 bales, which are never placed
upon the Custom-house records.
(See Milburn's Oriental Commerce; Hamilton's East India Gazetteer, 1828; Bombay Calendar and
Register; Kelly's Cambist; Wilson's Review of the External Commerce of Bengal, under head "Coast
of Malabar Parl. Papers relating to the Finances of India, and Trade of India and China, 1830 and
1831 Second Appendix to Report of the Select Committee on Public Departments, 1832, p. 274; Circular
of Beckwith & Co., &c.)
BOMBAZINE, a kind of silk stuff, originally manufactured at Milan, and thence sent
into France and other countries. Now, however, it is nowhere manufactured better, or in
larger quantities, than in this kingdom.
BONES of cattle and other animals are extensively used in the arts, in forming handles
for knives, and various other purposes. So long as bones are preserved fresh, a highly
nutritious jelly may be obtained from them.
Bones have latterly been employed, particularly in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, as a
manure for dry soils, with the very best effect. They are commonly ground and drilled in,
in the form of powder, with turnip seed. Their effect is considerably increased when they
have undergone the process of fermentation. The quantities employed are usually about 25
bushels of dust, or 40 bushels of large, to the acre. Besides the immense supplies collected
at home, they have begun, within these few years, to be largely imported from the Continent,
principally from the Netherlands and Germany. They occupy about 40,000 tons of small
vessels belonging to these countries. Mr. Huskisson estimated the real value of those annu-
ally imported for the purpose of being used as manure at 100,000Z.; and he contended,
that it was not too much to suppose, that an advance of between 100,000/. and 200,000L
expended on this article occasioned 500,000 additional quarters of corn to be brought to
market.-(Loudon's Encyclopædia of Agriculture; Mr. Huskisson's Speech, May 7,
1827.)
Account of the Declared Value of the Bones imported into Great Britain during each of the Twelve
Years ending with the fifth of January, 1833; and of the Amount of Duty charged on the same.-
(Parl. Paper, No. 708. Sess. 1833.)
Imports into
Years.
Duty.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
Declared Value.
Declared Value.
Declared Value.
£
s.
d.
£ 3. d.
in
8.
d.
£ 8. d.
1821
15,898 12 11
69 17 0
15,968 9 11
159 14 4
1822
9,438
0
5
52 12 0
9,490 12 5
94 16 4
1823
14,395 15 8
82 0 0
14,477 15 8
144 16 1
1824
43,940 17 11
82 14 0
44,023 11 11
440 6 3
1825
86,571 5 8
139 4 6
86,710 10 2
867
4
10
1826
94,747 16 1
245 18 3
94,993 14 4
995 15 6
1827
77,956 6 8
1,798 4 6
79,754 11 2
835 1 9
1828
59,782 9 11
2,874 5 7
62,656 15 6
654 14 0
1829
59,741 11 10
12,398 4 9
72,063 16 7
748
7
11
1830
58,233 16 5
8,529 13 8
66,763 10 1
688 1 6
1831
65,623 10 0
7,073 16 0
72,697 6 0
'749
9
3
1832
77,847 4 4
13,908
1
1
91,755 5 5
940
5
9
VoL. I.-R
25
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194
BOOK, BOOKS.
There are no means of distinguishing between the bones imported for manure and for
other purposes.
BOOK, BOOKS (Ger. Bücher ; Du. Boeken; Da. Böger Sw. Böcker ; Fr. Livres;
It. Libri; Sp. Libros; Port. Livros; Rus. Knigi; Pol. Ksiaski, Ksiegi; Lat. Libri),
a written or printed treatise or treatises on any branch of science, art, or literature, composed
in the view of instructing, amusing, or persuading the reader.
Copyright is the right which the authors of books or treatises claim to the exclusive pri-
vilege of printing, publishing, and selling them.
Books are sometimes blank, as account books; but these enjoy no peculiar privileges, and
do not come within the scope of our inquiries.
Books are divided into the following classes, according to the mode in which the sheets
of the paper on which they are printed or written are folded viz. folio, when the sheet is
folded into two leaves; quarto, when folded into four; octavo, when folded into eight duo-
decimo, when the sheet is folded into twelve, &c. In making these classifications, no
attention is paid to the size of the sheet.
I. Progress and present State of the Law as to the Copyright of Books.-It has been
doubted whether in antiquity, an author had any exclusive right to a work, or whether,
having once published it, he could restrain others from copying it, and selling copies. We
incline to think that he could. The public sale of copies of works is often referred to in the
classics; and in such a way as warrants the inference that they were productive to the author,
which could not have been the case had every one been permitted to copy them at pleasure.
Terence, in one of his plays (Prol. in Eunuch. 1. 20), says, Fabulam, quam nunc acturi
sumus, postquam rediles emerunt; but why should the magistrates have bought it, had it
been free to every one to copy it ? Martial, in one of his epigrams, says-
Sunt quidam, qui me dicunt non esse poëtam:
Sed qui me vendit, bibliopola, putat.
Mart. lib. xiv. Ep. 194.
This evidently conveys the idea that he had assigned the right to sell his book to a single
person, who profited by it. Passages to the same effect may be found in Horace (De Arte
Poeticâ, line 345.), Juvenal (Sat. 7. line 83.), &c.
It would have been singular, indeed, had it been otherwise. Of all the species of pro-
perty a man can possess, the fruits of his mental labours seem to be most peculiarly his own.
And though it may, we think, be shown, that many serious inconveniencies would result
from giving the same absolute and interminable property over ideas that is given over material
objects, these inconveniencies could hardly have been perceived in antiquity.
It will also be observed, that in antiquity a copyright was of much less value than in modern
times. Books could then not only be multiplied by copying them with the pen and if any
one chose privately to copy a work, or to buy it of another, it must have been very difficult
to hinder him but when printing had been introduced, the greater cheapness of books not
only extended the demand for them in far greater proportion, and consequently rendered
copyrights more valuable, but it also afforded the means of preventing their piracy. Print-
ing is not a device by which a few copies of a book can be obtained at a cheap rate. It is
productive of cheapness only when it is employed upon a large scale, or when a considerable
impression is to be thrown off. And hence, after its invention, piracy could hardly be com-
mitted in secret the pirated book had to be brought to market the fraud was thus sure to
be detected, and the offending party might be prosecuted and punished.
For a considerable time after the invention of printing, no questions seem to have occurred
with respect to copyrights. This was occasioned by the early adoption of the licensing
system. Governments soon perceived the vast importance of the powerful engine that had
been brought into the field; and they endeavoured to avail themselves of its energies by
interdicting the publication of all works not previously licensed by authority. During the
continuation of this system, piracy was effectually prevented. The licensing act (13 & 14
Chas. 2. c. 2.) and the previous acts and proclamations to the same effect, prohibited the
printing of any book without consent of the owner, as well as without a licence. In 1694,
the licensing act finally expired, and the press then became really free. Instead, however,
of the summary methods for obtaining redress for any invasion of their property enjoyed by
them under the licensing acts, authors were now left to defend their rights at common law
and as no author or bookseller could procure any redress for a piracy at common law, except
in so far as he could prove damage, property in books was virtually annihilated; it being in
most cases impossible to prove the sale of one printed copy out of a hundred. Under these
circumstances, applications were made to parliament for an act to protect literary property,
by granting some speedy and effectual method of preventing the sale of spurious copies. In
consequence, the statute 8 Anne, c. 19. was passed, securing to authors and their assignees
the exclusive right of printing their books for 14 years certain, from the day of publication,
with a contingent 14 years, provided the author were alive at the expiration of the first
term. Persons printing books protected by this act, without the consent of the authors or
their assignees, were to forfeit the pirated copies, and 1d. for every sheet of the same.
Such books as were not entered at Stationers' Hall were excluded from the benefit of this act.
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It had been customary, for some time previous to this period, for the libraries of the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, &c. to get a copy of most books entered at Station-
ers' Hall ; and the act of Anne made it imperative that one copy of all works entitled
to its protection should be delivered to the following libraries viz. the Royal Library, now
transferred to the British Museum ; the Libraries of Oxford and Cambridge the Libraries
of the four Scotch Universities the Library of Sion College, London and that of the
Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh ;-in all, nine copies.
The act of Anne did not put to rest the questions as to copyrights. The authors con-
tended that it did not affect their natural ownership, and that they or their assignees were
entitled to proceed at common law against those who pirated their works after the period
mentioned in the statute had expired. The publishers of spurious editions resisted these
pretensions, and contended that there was either no right of property at common law in the
productions of the mind or that, supposing such a right to have existed, it was superseded
by the statute of Anne. There was some difference of opinion in the courts as to these
points; but Lord Mansfield, Mr. Justice Blackstone, and the most eminent Judges, were
favourable to the claims of the authors. However, it was finally decided, upon an appeal to
the House of Lords in 1774, that an action could not be maintained for pirating a copy-
right after the term specified in the on the Law of Patents and Copy-
rights, p. 205.)
The act of Queen Anne referred only to Great Britain but in 1801, its provisions were
extended to Ireland the penalty, exclusive of forfeiture, on printing or importing books with-
out consent of the proprietor, was also increased from 1d. to 3d. a sheet. In return for this
concession, two additional copies of all works entered at Stationers' Hall were to be delivered;
one to Trinity College, Dublin, and one to the King's Inns, Dublin.
Every one must be satisfied that 14 years' exclusive possession is far too short a period to
indemnify the author of a work, the composition of which has required any considerable
amount of labour and research; though 28 years is, perhaps, all things considered, as pro-
per a period as could be fixed upon. Now, the grand defect of the statute of Anne con-
sisted in its making the right to the exclusive possession for 28 years contingent on the fact
of a person having lived a day more or less than 14 years after the publication of his work.
This was making the enjoyment of an important right dependent on a mere accidental cir-
cumstance over which man has no control. Could any thing be more oppressive and unjust
than to hinder an author from bequeathing that property to his widow and children, that
would have belonged to himself had he been alive Nothing, indeed, as it appears to us,
can be more obvious than the justice of extending all copyrights to the same period, whether
the authors be dead or not.
But though the extreme hardship, not to say injustice, of the act of Queen Anne had been
repeatedly pointed out, its provisions were continued down to 1814, when the existing copy-
right act, 54 Geo. 3. c. 156., was passed. This act extended the duration of all copy-
rights, whether the authors were dead or alive, to 28 years certain with the further
provision, that if the author should be alive at the end of that period, he should enjoy
the copyright during the residue of his life. We subjoin the principal clauses of this
statute.
Having recited the acts 8 Anne, c. 19. and 41 Geo. 3. c. 107., it enacts that so much of the said seve-
ral recited acts as requires that any copies of any books which shall be printed or published, or re-
printed and published with additions, shall be delivered by the printers thereof to the warehouse-
keeper of the said Company of Stationers, for the use of any of the libraries in the said act mentioned,
and as requires the delivery of the said copies by the warehouse-keeper for the use of the said libra-
ries, and as imposes any penalty on such printer or warehouse-keeper for not delivering the said
copies, shall be repealed.
And that 11 printed copies of the whole of every book, and of every volume thereof, upon the paper
upon which the largest number or impression of such book shall be printed for sale, together with all
maps and prints belonging thereto, which from and after the passing of this act shall be printed and
published, on demand thereof being made in writing to or left at the place of abode of the publisher
or publishers thereof, at any time within twelve months next after the publication thereof, under the
band of the warehouse-keeper of the Company of Stationers, or the librarian or other person thereto
authorised by the persons or body politic and corporate, proprietors or managers of the libraries
following videlicet, the British Museum, Sion College, the Bodleian Library at Oxford, the Public
Library at Cambridge, the Library of the Faculty of Advocates at Edinburgh, the Libraries of the
Four Universities of Scotland, Trinity College Library and the King's Inns Library at Dublin, or so
many of such 11 copies as shall be respectively demanded, shall be delivered by the publishers thereof
respectively, within 1 month after demand made thereof in writing as aforesaid, to the warehouse-
keeper of the said Company of Stationers; which copies the said warehouse-keeper shall receive for
the use of the library for which such demand shall be 80 made and he is hereby required, within 1
month after any such book or volume shall be 80 delivered to him, to deliver the same for the use of
such library. And if any such publisher or warehouse-keeper shall not observe the directions of this
act, he and they so making default shall forfeit, besides the value of the said printed copies, the sum
of 51. for each copy not 80 delivered or received, together with the full costs of suit; to be recovered
by action in any court of record in the United Kingdom.-> 2.
Provided always, that no such copy shall be so demanded or delivered, &c. of the second, or of any
subsequent edition of any such book, unless the same shall contain additions or alterations; and in
case any edition after the first shall contain any addition or alteration, no printed copy thereof, shall
be demanded or delivered, if a printed copy of such additions or alterations only, printed in an uni-
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form manner with the former edition of such book, be delivered to each of the libraries aforesaid:
provided also, that the copy of every book that shall be demanded by the British Museum shall be
delivered of the best paper on which such work shall be printed.- 3.
And whereas by the said recited acts it is enacted, that the author of any book, and the assigns of
such author, should have the sole liberty of printing and reprinting such book for the term of 14 years
&c.; and it was provided, that after the expiration of the said term of 14 years, the right of printing
or disposing of copies should return to the authors thereof, if they were then living, for another term
of 14 years: and whereas it will afford further encouragement to literature, if the duration of such
copyright were extended be it enacted, that the author of any book or books composed, and not
printed and published, or which shall hereafter be composed, and be printed and published, and his
assigns, shall have the sole liberty of printing and reprinting such book or books, for the full term of
twenty-eight years, to commence from the day of first publishing the same; and also, if the author
shall be living at the end of that period, for the residue of his natural life; and if any bookseller or
printer, or other person whatsoever, in any part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland,
in the Isles of Man, Jersey, or Guernsey, or in any other part of the British dominions, shall, from
and after the passing of this act, within the times granted and limited by this act, print, reprint, or
import, or shall cause to be printed, &c. any such book, without the consent of the author, or other
proprietor of the copyright, first had in writing or knowing the same to be so printed, &c. without
such consent, shall sell, publish, or expose to sale, or cause to be sold, &c., or shall have in his pos-
session for sale, any such book, without such consent first had and obtained; such offender shall be
liable to a special action at the suit of the author or other proprietor of such copyright; and every
such author or other proprietor may, in such special action, recover damages, with double costs ; and
every such offender shall also forfeit such book, and every sheet of such book, and shall deliver the
same to the author or other proprietor, to be made waste paper of, and shall also forfeit the sum of 3d.
for every sheet thereof either printed or printing, or published or exposed to sale; the one moiety
thereof to any person who shall sue for the same.- 4.
And in order to ascertain what books shall be from time to time published, the publishers of every
book demandable under this act shall, within 1 calendar month after the day on which any such book
shall be first sold, published, advertised, or offered for sale, within the bills of mortality, or within 3
calendar months in any other part of the United Kingdom, enter the title to the copy of every such
book, and the names and place of abode of the publisher, in the register book of the Company of
Stationers in London (for every of which several entries the sum of 2s. shall be paid, and no more),
under a penalty of the sum of 51., together with eleven times the price at which such books shall be
sold or advertised; to be recovered, together with full costs of suit, by persons authorised to sue, and
who shall first sue for the same provided, that in the case of magazines, reviews, or other periodical
publications, it shall be sufficient to make such entry in the register book of the said Company within
1 month next after the publication of the first number or volume provided, that no failure in making
any such entry shall in any manner affect any copyright, but shall only subject the person making
default to the penalty aforesaid under this act.-d 5.
Provided always, that if any publisher shall be desirous of delivering the copy of such book or
volume, on behalf of any of the said libraries, at such library, it shall and may be lawful for him to
deliver the same at such library ; and such delivery shall be held as equivalent to a delivery to the
said warehouse-keeper.
And if the author of any book, which shall not have been published 14 years at the time of passing
this act, shall be living at the said time, and if such author shall afterwards die before the expiration
of the said 14 years, then the personal representative of the said author, and the assigns of such per-
sonal representative, shall have the sole right of printing and publishing the said book for the further
term of "14 years after the expiration of the first 14.
And if the author of any book which has been already published shall be living at the end of 28
years after the first publication, he or she shall, for the remainder of his or her life, have the sole
right of printing and publishing the same.
Actions and suits shall be commenced within 12 months next after such offence committed, or be
void and of no effect.- 1 7, 8, 9, 10.
Musical compositions, engravings, maps, sculptures, models, &c. enjoy a similar pro-
tection.
The great practical difficulty in interpreting the copyright acts, is in distinguishing be-
tween an original work and a copy made, animo furandi, from one already in existence.
The following is a summary of Mr. Godson's remarks on this subject:-
'The identity of a literary work consists entirely in the sentiments and language. The same con-
ceptions, clothed in the same words, must necessarily be the same composition; and whatever method
is taken of exhibiting that composition to the ear or the eye, by recital, or by writing, or by printing,
in any number of copies, or at any period of time, the property of another person has been violated;
for the new book is still the identical work of the real author.
Thus, therefore, a transcript of nearly all the sentiments and language of a book is a glaring pi-
racy. To copy part of a book, either by taking a few pages verbatim, when the sentiments are not
new, or by imitation of the principal ideas, although the treatises in other respects are different, is
also considered to be illegal.
Although it was held by Ellenborough C. J. that a variance in form and manner is a variance in
substance, and that any material alteration which is a melioration cannot be considered as a piracy
yet a piracy is committed, whether the author attempt an original work, or call his book an abridg-
ment, if the principal parts of a book are servilely copied or unfairly varied.
But if the main design be not copied, the circumstance that part of the composition of one author
is found in another is not of itself piracy sufficient to support an action. A man may fairly adopt part
of the work of another; he may so make use of another's labours for the promotion of science, and
the benefit of the public, but having done so, the question will be, Was the matter so taken used fairly
with that view, and without what may be termed the animus furandi
In judging of a quotation, whether it is fair and candid, or whether the person who quotes has
been swayed by the animus furandi, the quantity taken and the manner in which it is adopted, of
course, must be considered.
If the work complained of be in substance a copy, then it is not necessary to show the intention to
pirate for the greater part of the matter of the book having been purloined, the intention is apparent,
and other proof is superfluous. A piracy has undoubtedly been committed.
46 But if only a small portion of the work is quoted, then it becomes necessary to show that it was
done animo furandi, with the intention of depriving the author of his just reward, by giving his work
to the public in a cheaper form. And then the mode of doing it becomes a subject of inquiry; for it is
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not sufficient to constitute a piracy, that part of one author's book is found in that of another, unless
ft be nearly the whole, or so much as will show (being a question of fact for the jury) that it was
done with a bad intent, and that the matter which accompanies it has been colourably introduced."-
(pp. 215-817.)
If a work be of such a libellous or mischievous nature as to affect the public morals, and that the
author cannot maintain an action at law upon it, a court of equity will not interpose with an injune-
tion to protect that which cannot be called property. Even if there be a doubt as to its evil tendency,
the Lord Chancellor will not interfere.' (Godson, p. 212.)
II. Expediency of limiting Copyrights to Twenty-eight Years.-It is argued by many
that copyrights should be made perpetual that were this done, men of talent and learning
would devote themselves much more readily than at present to the composition of works re-
quiring great labour inasmuch as the copyright of such works, were it perpetual, would be
an adequate provision for a family. But we doubt much whether these anticipations would
be realised. Most books or manuscripts are purchased by the booksellers, or published upon
the presumption that there will immediately be a considerable demand for them and we ap-
prehend that when copyrights are secured for 28 years certain, very little more would be
given for them were they made perpetual. When an annuity, or the rent or profit arising
out of any fixed and tangible property, with respect to which there can be no risk, is sold, if
the number of years for which it is to continue be considerable, the price which it is worth,
and which it fetches, does not differ materially from what it would bring were it perpetual.
But the copyright of an unpublished work is, of all descriptions of property in which to spe-
culate, the most hazardous and the chances of reaping contingent advantages from it, at the
distance of 28 years, would be worth very little indeed.
Those who write books, and those who publish them, calculate on their obtaining a ready
and extensive sale, and on their being indemnified in a few years. Very few authors, and
still fewer booksellers, are disposed to look forward to so distant a period as 28 years for re-
muneration. They are mostly all sanguine enough to suppose that a much shorter term will
enable them to reap a full harvest of fame and profit from the publication; and we doubt
much whether there be one case in a hundred, in which an author would obtain a larger
sum for a perpetual copyright, than for one that is to continue for the period stipulated in
the late act.
But while the making of copyrights perpetual would not, as it appears to us, be of any
material advantage to the authors, there are good grounds for thinking that it would be dis-
advantageous to the public. Suppose an individual calculates a table of logarithms to five
or seven places; if his computations be correct, no improvement can be made upon them, to
the extent at least to which they go; but is he or his assignees to be entitled, in all time to
come, to prevent other individuals from publishing similar tables, on the ground of invasion
of privato property ? Such a pretension could not be admitted without leading to the most
mischievous consequences; and yet there is no real ground (though the courts have at-
tempted to make one) on which the claim in question and others of the same description
could be resisted, were copyrights made perpetual, and placed in all respects on the same
footing as other property. We therefore, are clearly of opinion that good policy sug-
gests the limitation of the exclusive right of printing and publishing literary works to
such a reasonable period as may secure to authors the greater part of the profit to be de-
rived from their works; and that this period being expired, they should become public
property.
Perhaps the period of 28 years might be advantageously extended to 35 or 40; but we
are satisfied that more injury than benefit would result to literature, by extending it beyond
that term. In France, copyrights continue for 20 years after the death of the author. In
most of the German states they are perpetual this, however, until very recently, hardly in-
demnified the authors for the ease with which spurious copies might be obtained from
other states. But by a late resolution of the Diet, a copyright secured in one state is good
in all.
III. Taxes on Literature-These taxes have been carried to such an extent in England
as to be in the highest degree injurious. They are at once impolitic, oppressive, and unjust
impolitic, because they tend to obstruct the growth and diffusion of knowledge oppressive,
because they very frequently swallow up the entire reward of the labours of the most deserv-
ing persons; and unjust, because they are not proportioned to the value of the article on
which they are laid, and are, indeed, much oftener paid out of capital than out of profit.
These taxes consist of the duty on paper—(See PAPER), the duty on advertisements-
(See ADVERTISEMENTS), and the 11 copies given to the public libraries. The follow-
ing statements, drawn up by a very competent authority (Mr. Rees, of the firm of Longman,
Rees, and Co.), show the mode in which they operate. They refer to an octavo volume of
500 pages, the paper such as this, with the ordinary quantity of matter on the page, and sold
by retail for 12s. a copy.
Estimate of the cost of such a volume, when 500, 750, and 1,000 copies are printed,
showing what part of this cost consists of taxes.
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BOOK, BOOKS.
Cost.
Duty.
Five Hundred Copies.
£ S. d.
£ 8. d.
Printing and corrections
-
-
-
-
-
88 18 0
0 0 0
-
-
-
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
38 10 0
8 12 10
-
Boarding
-
-
-
-
,
-
10 0 0
3 3 8
-
-
-
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
30 0 0
9 0 0
-
167 8 0
20 16 6
11 copies to public libraries.
14 copies (say) to author.
£ 3. d.
475 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
-
-
199 17 11
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 167 8 0
Profit to author and publisher, commission, and inte-
32
9
11
rest on capital, when all are sold
-
-
-
s
Seven Hundred and Fifty Copies.
Printing and corrections
,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
95 6 0
0 0 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
57 15 0
12 19 4
Boarding
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
15 0 0
4 15 7
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
37 o 0
11 5 0
11 copies to public libraries.
205 1 0
28 19 11
14 copies to authors.
£ 8. d.
725 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
-
- 305 2 5
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 205 1 0
Profit to author and publisher, commission, and inte-
100 1 5
rest on capital, when all are sold
-
-
-
s
One Thousand Copies.
.
Printing and corrections
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
102 14 0
0 0 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
77 0 0
17 5 9
Boarding -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
20 0 0
6 7 5
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
45 0 0
13 10 0
244 14 0
37 3 2
11 copies to public libraries.
14 copies to author.
£ S. d.
975 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
-
- 410 6 3
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 244 14 0
Profit to author and publisher, commission, and inte-
165 12 3
rest on capital, when all are sold
-
-
-
The following statement shows the operation of the duties on a pamphlet of 5 sheets or
80 pages, of which 500 copies are printed:
Cost.
Duty.
Pamphlet, Five Hundred Number.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ S. d.
Printing
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14 14
19 19 0
0 0 0
Extras
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5 5 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6 0 0
1 0 0
Stitching I
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 12 6
0 0 0
Advertising (say) -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7 2 0
2 3 6
33 13 6
3 3 6
25 copies for author and public libraries.
475 copies for sale, 25 for 21. 14s.
-
-
-
51 6 0
Profit to author and publisher, interest, &c. after all
are sold
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
£17 12 6
These statements set the oppressive operation of the taxes on literature in a very striking
point of view. Where the edition is an average one of 750 copies, the duties amount to
about a seventh, or 143 per cent. of the cost of the edition. If the edition consist of 500 or
750 copies, the duties amount to more than the entire remuneration of the author; and if
it consist of 1,000 copies, they amount to about as much !
It is essential, however, to bear in mind that the previous statements show only how the
duties affect books when the entire impression is sold off at the full publication price; but
this seldom happens. Excluding pamphlets, it may be truly affirmed, that, at an average,
the original impression of half the books printed is hardly ever sold off, except at a ruinous
reduction of price. Now, if we suppose, in the previous example of an edition of 750 copies,
that only 625 instead of 725 were sold, the result would be that only 57% 19s. would remain
as profit to the author and publisher, and as a compensation for interest, the risk of bad
debts, &c. Were only 500 copies sold, the cost would not be more than balanced; and
there would be nothing whatever to remunerate the author for his labour, or the bookseller
for the use of his capital. Were only 400 copies sold, government would have received 28/.
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19s. 11d. of duty from a speculation by which the author had lost all his labour, and the
bookseller 36/. 15s. of his capital The mere possibility of such a supposition being
realised, would be a sufficient ground for a revision of the duties; but, in point of fact, such
cases, instead of being merely possible or rare, are of every day occurrence!
There is a radical difference between the demand for books, or of food for the mind, and
food for the body. The latter is always sure, under any circumstances, to command a sale.
The demand for it is comparatively constant it cannot be dispensed with. If a tax be laid on
malt, hats, or shoes, it will, perhaps, somewhat lessen the demand for these articles; but the
quantities of them brought to market, in future, will sell for such an advanced price as will
leave the customary rate of profit to their producers. But with books the case is altogether
different. The taste for them is proverbially capricious; so much so, that the most saga-
cious individuals are every day deceived in their anticipations as to the success of new works,
and even as to the sale of new editions. But if a book do not take, it is so very ruinous an
affair, that a publisher is glad to dispose of the greater part of an impression at a fourth or
fifth part of its regular price; and is often, indeed, obliged to sell it as waste paper to the
trunk-maker or the tobacconist.
On a late investigation into the affairs of an extensive publishing concern, it was found,
that of 130 works published by it in a given time, fifty had not paid their expenses. Of
the 80 that did pay, 13 only had arrived at a second edition but, in most instances, these
second editions had not been profitable. In general it may be estimated, that of the books
published, a fourth do not pay their expenses; and that only one in eight or ten can be re-
printed with advantage. As respects pamphlets, we know we are within the mark, when
we affirm that not one in fifty pays the expenses of its publication
Now, when such is the fact, can any thing be more glaringly unjust than to impose the
same duty on all works before they are published ? In a very few cases, such duty may
fall principally on the buyers, and be only a reasonable deduction from the profits of the au-
thor and publisher but in a vast number more it swallows them up entirely and in very
many cases there are no profits for the duty to absorb, so that it falls wholly on the capital
of the unfortunate author or publisher. Were the judges of the courts of law to decide
cases by a throw of the dice, there would be quite as much of reason and justice in their decisions,
as there has been in the proceedings of our finance ministers as to taxes on literature. If
books must be taxed, let publishers be put under the surveillance of the excise; let them be
obliged to keep an account of the books they sell, and let them be taxed accordingly but do
not let the loss arising from an unsuccessful literary speculation-and more than half such
speculations are unsuccessful-be aggravated to a ruinous degree by the pressure of a sys-
tem of taxation, than which there is nothing, even in Algiers, more unequal or oppressive.
The reduction of the advertisement duty has done something to lessen this injustice.
But the above statements, which apply to the reduced duty, show that the relief is most in-
adequate. It acknowledges, without correcting, the evil. Instead of being reduced, this
duty ought to have been entirely repealed. Before the reduction it only amounted to about
170,000L a year and there cannot be a doubt that the loss of revenue occasioned by its re-
peal, and by the repeal of half the paper duty, would, at no distant period, be made up by the
greater productiveness of the remaining duty on paper, resulting from its greater consump-
tion. The advertisement duty presses very severely on all sorts of works, but particularly
on pamphlets it may, indeed, be said to have utterly destroyed the latter class of publications,
in so far at least as they are a source of profit.
But we object altogether to the imposition of taxes on books previously to their being
published. It is not possible, for the reasons already stated, that such taxes can be other-
wise than unjust. This objection to them might, indeed, be removed by imposing the du-
ties according to the number and value of the copies actually sold. Still such duties must,
however imposed, by raising the price of books, and preventing the diffusion of knowledge
among the poorer and least instructed classes, be in the utmost degree injurious at the
same time that they can never be rendered considerably productive. They seem, in fact, to
have every quality that taxes ought not to have, and hardly one that they should have.
The delivery of eleven copies to public libraries is exceedingly burdensome upon the more
expensive class of works, of which small impressions only can be printed eleven copies of
such works would in many instances be a very fair profit for the author and the obligation
to make such a sacrifice has frequently, indeed, caused their publication to be abandoned.
A tax of this sort would not be tolerable, even were it imposed for a public purpose ; but
such is not the object of its imposition. Though called public, the libraries which receive
the eleven copies are, with the exception of the British Museum, private establishments,
belonging to particular corporations or institutions, and accessible only to their members.
Why, when an author produces a book, should he be compelled to bestow copies of it on
the lawyers of Edinburgh and Dublin, and on the Universities On what principle can
these bodies pretend to demand from him a portion of his property Perhaps it might be
expedient, in order to insure the preservation of every work, that copies of it should be
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deposited, one in London, one in Edinburgh, and one in Dublin. Even this would be call-
ing upon authors to make a considerable sacrifice for the public advantage. But to call upon
them to sacrifice ten copies, exclusive of that given to the British Museum, for the benefit
of 80 many private institutions, is a proceeding utterly at variance with every principle of
justice.
The law of other countries is, in this respect, far preferable to ours. In America, Prussia,
Saxony and Bavaria, only one copy of any work is required from the author; in France and
Austria, two copies are required and in the Netherlands three. The governments of the
most despotical states treat authors better than they have hitherto been treated by the legisla-
ture of England.
IV. Book Trade of Great Britain.-London is the great centre of the British book trade;
the number of new publications that issue from its presses being far greater than all that
appear in the rest of the empire. Within the course of the last forty years, however, many
very important works, have been published at Edinburgh; but the latter, as well as those
that appear at Oxford, Cambridge, Glasgow, &c., are principally disposed of by the London
trade. The booksellers of Edinburgh, and of all the provincial towns, have agents in Lon-
don to whom they consign a certain number of copies of every work they publish; and to
whom, also, they address their orders for copies of such new or old works as they have occa-
sion for. The London booksellers, who act as agents for those in the country, are in the
habit of regularly despatching parcels to their correspondents on the last day of each month,
with the magazines and other monthly publications; but if any new work of interest
appears in the interim, or orders be received from the country that cannot be conveniently
deferred to the end of the month, a parcel is immediately forwarded by coach. The book-
sellers of Edinburgh and Dublin act as agents for those of London, and supply the Scotch
and Irish country trade with the metropolitan publications.
The price of new works is fixed by the publishers, who grant a deduction to the retail
dealers of from 20 to 25 per cent. on the price of quartos, and from 25 to 30 per cent. on
that of octavos, and those of smaller size. The credit given by the publishers to the retailers
varies from seven to twelve months; a discount being allowed for prompt payment at the
rate of 5 per cent. per annum.
From inquiries we have made, we believe it may be laid down that about 1,500
volumes of new publications (exclusive of reprints, pamphlets, and periodical publications
not in volumes) are annually produced in Great Britain and, estimating the average im-
pression of each volume at 750 copies, we have a grand total of 1,125,000 volumes; the
value of which, if sold at an average publication price of 9s. a volume, would be 506,250L
The number of reprinted volumes, particularly of school-books, is very great; and if to these
we add the reviews, magazines, pamphlets, and all other publications, exclusive of newspa-
pers, the total publication value of the new works of all sorts, and new copies of old works,
that are annually produced, may be estimated at about 750,000/. At an average of the
three years ending with 1831, 1,176 new works were annually entered in Stationers' Hall
but, as no account is kept of the size or price of these works, this return furnishes no clue
by which to judge of the number of volumes, their magnitude or value. This deficiency
might easily be supplied either by the Stationers' Hall or the British Museum keeping an
account of the size and price of all the new books coming into their hands, and making an
annual abstract of the same.
The old book trade carried on in Great Britain is very extensive, and employs many
dealers. The price of old books depends very much on their condition but, independently
of this circumstance, it is very fluctuating and capricious; equally good copies of the same
works being frequently to be had in some shops for a half or a third of what they can be
bought for in others.
V. Regulations as to Importation of Works.-For the duties, see TARIFF. To prevent
foreign books and maps, the property of individuals, from being charged with duty more
than once, the proprietor shall, on each importation subsequent to the original one, make
oath, that the duties were paid when they were first imported, or that he purchased them in
this country in a fair way of trade; that they are the identical books or maps he exported
from this kingdom, and that they are now brought back for his private use, and not for sale.
-(Treasury Order, 3d, and Customs Order, 8th of October, 1818.)
No books, first composed, written or printed in the United Kingdom, imported for sale,
except books not reprinted in the United Kingdom within 20 years, or being parts of collec-
tions, the greater part of which had been composed or written abroad. shall be imported into
the United Kingdom, under forfeiture thereof.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. § 58.)
Books first composed or written, or printed and published, in the United Kingdom, and
reprinted in any other country or place, may not be entered to be wareboused.-§ 59.
The permission to import English works reprinted abroad for private use, is limited to a
single copy of each work, brought as a part of a passenger's baggage, for the private use of
the parties themselvea-(Treasury Order, 29th of June 1830.)
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Account of the Amount of Duty paid upon the Foreign Books imported into the United Kingdom
during each of the Ten Years ending with 1830.-(Parl. Paper, No. 146. Sess. 1832.)
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
Year.
Amount.
£ 8. d.
£ S. d.
£ 8. d.
1821
12,987 8 9
1825
17,095 18 6
1828
11,026 18 1
1822
13,035 7 11
1826
10,785 3 8
1829
11,400 8 2
1823
15,339 1 5
1827
11,133 2 5
1830
11,865 4 4
1824
17,237 17 3
VI. Book Trade of France.-The activity of the French press has been very greatly
increased since the downfall of Napoleon. The Count Daru, in a very instructive work
(Notions Statistiques sur la Librairie) published in 1827, estimated the number of printed
sheets, exclusive of newspapers, produced by the French press in 1816, at 68,852,883 and
in 1825, at 128,011,483! and we believe that the increase from 1825 down to the present
period has been little if any thing inferior. The quality of many of the works that have
recently issued from the French press is also very superior; and it may be doubted whether
such works as the Biographie Universelle, the new and enlarged edition of the Art de verifier
les Dates, in 38 vols. octavo, and the two octavo editions of Bayle's Dictionary, could have
been published in any other country. The greater number of new French works of merit,
or which it is supposed will command a considerable sale, are immediately reprinted in the
Netherlands or Switzerland, but principally in the former. To such an extent has this
piratical practice been carried, that it is stated in the Requête presented by the French book-
sellers to government in 1828, that a single bookseller in Brussels had, in 1825 and 1826,
and the first six months of 1827, reprinted 318,615 volumes of French works ! Having
nothing to pay for copyright, these counterfeit editions can be afforded at a lower price than
those that are genuine. This is a very serious injury to French authors and publishers, not
only by preventing the sale of their works in foreign countries, but from the ease with which
spurious copies may be introduced into France.
All the French booksellers are brevetés, that is, licensed, and sworn to abide by certain pre-
scribed rules. This regulation is justly complained of by the publishers, as being vexatious
and oppressive; and as tending to lessen the number of retail booksellers in the country,
and to prevent that competition which is so advantageous.
The discount allowed by the French publishers to the retail dealers is not regulated, as in
England, by the size of the volumes, but by the subjects. The discount on the sale of books
of history, criticism, and general literature, is usually about 25 per cent.; in the case of
mathematical and strictly scientific works, it is seldom more than 10 or 15 per cent. while
upon romances, tales, &c. it is often as high as 50 or 60 per cent.
VII. German Book Trade.-"Th trade is very much facilitated by the book fairs at
Leipsic; the Easter fair being frequented by all the booksellers of Germany, and by those of
some of the neighbouring countries, as of France, Switzerland, Denmark, Livonia, &c., in
order to settle their mutual accounts, and to form new connections. The German publisher
sends his publications to the keeper of assortments à condition, that is, on commission, for a
certain time, after which the latter pays for what have been sold, and may return the re-
mainder. This is not so favourable for the publisher as the custom in the French and Eng-
lish book trades, where the keepers of assortments take the quantity they want at a fixed
rate. In the German book trade, it is the custom for almost every house, either in the coun-
try or abroad, which publishes or sells German books, to have its agent at Leipsic, who
receives and distributes its publications. A., of Riga, who publishes a book calculated for
the German trade, has his agent B., in Leipsic, to whom he sends, free of expense, a number
of copies of his publication, that he may distribute the new work to all the booksellers with
whom he is connected, from Vienna to Hamburgh, and from Strasburgh to Königsberg, each
of whom has his agent in Leipsic. Instructions are also given as to the number of copies to
be sent to each. B. delivers those copies in Leipsic to the agents, who send them every
week. or more or less frequently, by the post or by carriers, at the expense of the receiver.
C., of Strasburgh, who finds that he has not received copies enough, writes for an additional
number of copies to his agent D., of Leipsic: D. gives the order to B., who delivers the
number wanted to D., to be transmitted to C. This arrangement is advantageous to the
German book trade, as well as to Leipsic. The dealer receives every thing from Leipsic;
and as a great number of packets, with books from all parts of Germany, arrive there for
him every week, he can have them packed together and sent at once. The carriage is thus
much less than if the packets were sent to him separately from the different places and the
whole business is simplified. The booksellers are also enabled to agree with ease on a cer-
tain discount per cent. No such intimate connection of the booksellers has yet been formed
in any other country. The German booksellers rarely unite, as is the practice in England,
in undertaking the publication of extensive works."-German Conversations-Lexicon,
American edition.)
The literary deluge which commenced in Germany in 1814 still continues to increase.
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For the 2,000 works which were then about the annual complement, we have now about
6,000. The catalogue of the Leipsic fair for Michaelmas, 1830, contains 3,444 articles, of
which 2,764 are actually published; and if these are added to the 3,162 announced in the
Easter catalogue, the number of books published in 1830 will amount to 5,926. The num-
ber published in 1829 was 5,314 in 1828, 5,654 in 1827, 5,108; previously to which, the
number had never exceeded 5,000. Magazines and popular Encyclopædias have increased
in the same proportion; and the public has shown as great a desire to read, as the learned
have to write. Private libraries are diminishing, while the public ones are daily increasing.
(Foreign Quarterly Review, No. XIV. p. 551.)
(We are glad to have to announce that, during the course of the present year (1836),
the taxes affecting books have been very materially diminished,-1st, by the duties
on paper having been reduced a half, or from 3d. per lb. to 14d.; and 2d, by its having
been enacted that five only instead of eleven copies of new works are in future to be fur-
nished, at the expense of authors and publishers, to public libraries. (6 & 7 Will. 4. cap.
110.) These important reductions will be of the greatest service to the interests of litera-
ture, and will contribute, in no slight degree, both to lessen the risk of publication, and to
reduce the cost and price of books. It is to be hoped that, at no distant period, the remain-
der of the paper duty and the advertisement duty may both be repealed. However reduced,
all duties on books are liable to the fundamental objection (see Dict. p. 198.) of being
imposed on articles that may not, and, indeed, very frequently do not, sell; and when such
is the case, the duties have to be either partially or wholly paid out of the capital of the
authors or publishers. The advertisement duty is still very heavy, and it is, at the same
time, most unfair. What, in fact, can be more subversive of every principle of justice than
to impose the same duty on the announcement of the publication of a sixpenny pamphlet, as
on that of the sale of an estate worth 100,000l.? Luckily, this duty may be relinquished
without any sensible sacrifice. The total produce of the advertisement duty, in 1835,
amounted only to the trifling sum of 96,910/. and, as its repeal would be of as much ser-
vice to commerce as to literature, it cannot, surcly, be permitted to exist much longer.
Compensation is to be given by the public to the six public libraries that have abandoned
their claim to copies of each new work. The Advocates' Library of Edinburgh still retains
its privilege of receiving a copy but it is not easy to see why it should be entitled to any such
distinction. It is essentially a private institution, from which the public are carefully ex-
cluded, and there neither is nor can be any good reason why an author should be obliged to
present it with a copy of his works.
The following statement may be substituted for that given in the Dict. p. 198. It is
derived from the same source, and shows the present cost of printing and publishing an
octavo volume of about 500 pages,-the paper such as this, with the ordinary quantity of
matter on the page,-when 500, 750, and 1,000 copies are printed It further shows what
portion of the cost consists of duty, and the profits of the author and publisher on each edi-
tion, supposing the volume to be sold by retail at 12s. a copy, and the entire edition to be
sold off. A similar statement is subjoined for a pamphlet of 80 pages.
Total Cost.
Whereof Duty.
Five Hundred Copies.
£ S. d.
£ 3. d.
Printing and corrections
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
88 18 0
0 0 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
32 0 0
4 6 0
Boarding
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10 0 0
0 15 6
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
40 0 0
10 0 0
170 18 0
15 1 6
5 copies to public libraries.
14 copies to author, &c.
£ 8. d.
481 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
- 202 8 5
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 170 18 0
For profit to author and publisher. commission, and in-
terest on capital, when all are sold.
1
-
}
31 10 5
,
Seven Hundred and Fifty Copies.
Printing and corrections
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
95 6 0
0 0 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
48 0 0
6 9 0
Boarding
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
15 0 0
1 3 3
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
50 0 0
12 10 0
208 6 0
20 2 3
5 copies to public libraries.
14 copies to author, &c.
£ 8. d.
731 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
-
- 307 12 7
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 208 6 0
For profit to author and publisher, commission, and in-
terest on capital, when all sold.
99 6 7
-
-
-
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Total Cost.
Whereof Duty.
One Thousand Copies.
£ s. d.
£ 3. d.
Printing and corrections
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
102 14 0
0 0 0
Paper
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
64 0 0
8 12 0
Boarding
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
20 0 0
1 11 0
Advertising
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
60 0 0
15 0 0
246 14 0
25 3 0
5 copies to public libraries.
14 copies to author, &c.
£ 8. d.
981 copies for sale at 8s. 5d.
-
-
-
- 412 16 9
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 246 14 0
For profit to author and publisher, commission, and in-
terest on capital, when all sold
166 2 9
-
-
-
Pamphlet of 5 sheets, 500 printed.
Printing
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Extra corrections and alterations
14 14 0
0 0 0
-
-
-
-
-
Paper
5 5 0
0 0 0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5 0 0
Stitching -
0 13 5
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 12 6
0 0 0
Advertising (say) -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10 0 0
2 10 0
25 copies for author and public libraries.
35 11 6
3 3 5
£ 8. d.
475 copies for sale, at 25 for 21. 14s.
-
-
- 51 6 0
Deduct cost
-
-
-
-
-
- 35 11 6
For profit to-author and publisher, interest &c. when all
are sold.
15
14
6
-
-
-
-
-
s
Importation of Books.-Under the late law, such books as might be imported were ad-
mitted, provided they were of editions printed in or since the year 1801, on payment of a
duty of 51. a cwt.; but this duty has been reduced to 21. 10s. a cwt.; with the additional
proviso, that the books, besides being printed in or since 1801, are in foreign living lan-
guages.-(4 & 5 Will. 4 c. 89 § 15.) This condition was inserted principally to obviate
the risk of dictionaries, or the class books used in our schools, being supplied from the Con-
tinent; the booksellers contending that the 21. 10s. a cwt. of duty was insufficient to balance
the influence of the paper duty, and the peculiar burdens incident to the getting up of books
in this country. It has been alleged, indeed, that it will not effect its purpose because, as
is contended, both Latin and Greek are living languages; the former being spoken in cer-
tain parts of Hungary and Poland, and the latter in Greece! But the intention of the
legislature is too obvious to admit of its being defeated by any quibbling of the sort now men-
tioned. By a living language is meant a language spoken by a nation or people, and not by
a few learned individuals; and the dialect of the modern Greeks is abundantly different
from that of their ancestors. The duty of 11. a cwt. on foreign books printed prior to 1801
ought to be repealed it throws obstructions in the way of their importation, while it is quite
unproductive of revenue.
Smuggling of English Books from abroad.-Very considerable loss is sustained by literary men and
booksellers, by the clandestine importation of English works printed abroad, of which the copyright
has not expired. There is hardly, in fact, one of our popular authors, copies of whose works, printed
in France or America, may not be readily procured in London and as those by whom they are printed
have neither copyright nor paper duty to pay, they are able materially to undersell the native article.
It is surely unnecessary to say, that every practicable effort should be made to hinder such an inva-
sion of private property; and in this view we beg to suggest, that the permission given to persons
coming from abroad to bring with them single copies of all prohibited works, ought to be withdrawn.
It opens a door for smuggling and fraud; and there is neither sense nor justice in allowing any indi-
vidual to invade the rights of another, merely because he has been across the Channel. A specific
penalty, recoverable by a summary process, ought also to be imposed on every individual offering
such books for sale. This would be much more effectual in preventing such practices than the exist-
ing law.See Dict. p. 196.-Sup.)
[In addition to the statements of the author concerning copyright in the different Euro-
pean countries, we may mention that the government of Denmark, by an ordinance of the
7th of May 1828, not merely sanctioned a perpetual right of literary property in its own
subjects, but even went so far as to assert a similar right in the case of foreigners, by pro-
hibiting all reprints of foreign books, excepting by an authority to do so derived from their
authors or proprietors abroad. Copyright in Russia, by a law enacted in 1828, was conferred
upon an author and his heirs, until the expiration of 25 years after his death. A law of the
25th January 1817, common to both Holland and Belgium, and probably still in force, not-
withstanding the separation of the two countries, guarantees the right of literary property
for a period extending from the publication of a book until 20 years after the death of an
author ; any edition of his work, published without his consent, being rendered liable to
confiscation. The publisher is also subjected to a penalty, equivalent to the price of 2000
copies, to accrue to the benefit of the party injured, and is obliged to pay a considerable fine
to be appropriated to the support of the poor. On again offending in a similar manner, the
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publisher may be declared incapable of pursuing his occupation. The disturbed condition
of Spain and Portugal, for some years past, renders what the law is in those countries con-
cerning the press and literary property of comparatively little moment. And in respect to
Italy and Switzerland, whatever protection to authors is professedly granted by the govern-
ments of the different states into which they are subdivided, these states are so numerous, and
so independent of each other in their legislation on the subject of literary property, that very
little protection is in reality afforded. A work which appears at Florence may, for example,
be immediately reprinted at Modena and the possibility of any pecuniary advantage being
derived by the author from his labours may thus be at once entirely frustrated.
An author, in the United States, by the act of Congress of May 31st, 1790, " for the
encouragement of learning, &c.," had, if a citizen or a resident in the country, an exclusive
copyright in his works conferred upon him for a term of 14 years,-a right renewable when
this term shall have expired, provided the author be then living, in favour of him and his
legal representatives, for the farther term of 14 years. By an act passed February 3d, 1831,
the privilege in question is to be enjoyed in the first instance during a term of 28 years; and
if, at the expiration of this term, the author, or his widow, or any child of his, be still living,
it may be enjoyed for 14 years more. The expense of procuring a copyright is very trifling
and only one copy of a work is required from the author, which is to be delivered to the
Secretary of State, to be preserved in his office.
Latterly, there has been almost every where a tendency to extend the right of literary
property; and the justice as well as expediency of assimilating it to the right of property in
material things, by making it perpetual, has been argued with much earnestness and force.
The desirableness, too, of an international copyright law, placing the rights of authors on the
same footing in every portion of the civilised and literary world, has been of-late frequently
expressed in quarters entitled to the highest respect. These topics were brought to the con-
sideration of the Congress of the United States, in the winter of 1837, by a petition signed
by 56 British authors, asking the privilege to secure copyrights for their works in the United
States. The committee of the Senate, to whom this petition was referred, made a report
favourable to the object of the petitioners, accompanied by the following bill, which was,
however, not acted upon.
A Bill to amend the act entitled "An Act to amend the several acts respecting copyright."
"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the provisions of the act to amend the several acts respecting copyrights, which was
passed on the third day of February, eighteen hundred and thirty-one, shall be extended to, and the
benefits thereof may be enjoyed by, any subject or resident of the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Ireland, or of France, in the same manner as if they were citizens or residents of the United
States, upon depositing a printed copy of the title of the book or other work for which a copyright is
desired, in the clerk's office of the district court of any district in the United States, and complying
with the other requirements of the said act Provided, That this act shall not apply to any of the
works enumerated in the aforesaid act, which shall have been etched or engraved, or printed and
published, prior to the passage of this act: And provided, also, That, unless an edition of the work
for which it is intended to secure the copyright, shall be printed and published in the United States
simultaneously with its issue in the foreign country, or within one month after depositing as afore-
said the title thereof in the clerk's office of the district court, the benefits of copyright hereby allowed
shall not be enjoyed as to such work."
For a concise and excellent view of what has been done on the subject of copyright
generally, both abroad and at home, we may refer the reader to the little work entitled
" Remarks on Literary Property" by Philip H. Nicklin, Esq., lately published. He will be
well repaid for the time he may spend in its perusal.
The progress of publication and of the book trade in the United States has been exceed-
ingly rapid. Previous to the year 1803, most of the books published, besides the Bible,
were such as were adapted for elementary instruction in the schools. In that year the whole
of the Bible was set up by Mathew Carey, Esq., then actively engaged in the business of
bookselling and publishing, and kept permanently standing in the 4to form. Long after-
wards, however, pocket Bibles and other kinds continued to be imported, chiefly from Scot-
land. There cannot, at the present time, be less than 100 sets of stereotype plates, of va-
rious sizes, in use for the printing of Bibles.
At the date above mentioned, such standard works as Shakspeare and the Pilgrim's
Progress were constantly imported. Now there must be half a dozen sets of plates of Shak-
speare alone.
A fact evincive of the great extent to which the book trade is carried on is the division of
labour which exists among our principal booksellers and publishers. One deals exclusively
in law books another confines his attention to medicine; another again to theology and a
fourth is concerned only with school books.
The most extensive and costly works have been printed in the United States such as
Rees's and Brewster's Encyclopadias.
The first trades' sale took place in 1824. Since that time the amount of books annually
disposed of at trades' sales has been constantly increasing until the amount at present has
probably reached the sum of half a million of dollars.
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The sale of five bookselling establishments, it is said, amounted, in 1836, to $1,350,000.
And it was stated in a report made to the United States Senate during the late session of
Congress, that the number of persons employed in the United States, in the various branches
connected with book-making and periodical publication, is estimated at 200,000, and the
capital employed in those branches, at from 30 to 40 millions of dollars."
The progress of authorship in this country has been perhaps more rapid than in any
other. It commenced, of course, with the books used in schools, for which there was a large
demand. The authors of such books, it is probable, derive a larger revenue from their works
than in any other country. American school books are now constantly reprinted in Eng-
land. This is even occasionally true in reference to American editions of the Greek and
Latin classics in use for purposes of instruction. Books of science also, which are used in
our colleges and higher seminaries, have become almost universally American. Step by
step, we have risen, until Irving and Cooper have obtained higher prices for their works
than have been received in Europe, except by a very few authors. Of Prescott's " Ferdi-
nand and Isabella" 3,000 copies have been printed, and nearly all have been sold in 16
months. Of Bancroft's " United States" 4,000 have been sold. A single publisher is said
to have paid, in the five years preceding 1834, $135,000 for copyrights, out of which
$30,000 were for two works only. Carey, Lea, and Blanchard subsequently paid $30,000
in a single year to American writers; and Harper and Brothers have paid about the same
sum for several years past.
The imports of books into this country, in the years 1834, 1835, 1836, and 1837, amount-
ed in value to $175,635, $204,953, $293,371, and $248,164, respectively ; and the exports
of books, during the same period, to $42,543, $67,354, $61,553, and $41,438. The former
were chiefly from England and France ; while the latter were, for the most part, destined for
the Mexican and South American market. It may be added too that the exports consisted
mostly of books printed in the United States.-Am. Ed.}
BOOK-KEEPING, the art of keeping the accounts and books of a merchant. Book-
keeping by double entry means that mode or system in which every entry is double, that is,
has both a debtor and a creditor. It is called also the Italian method, because it was first
practised in Venice, Genoa, and other towns in Italy, where trade was conducted on an ex-
tensive scale at a much earlier date than in England, France, or other parts of Europe. This
method, however familiar to merchants and book-keepers, seems intricate to almost all who
have not practised it; nor is the dryness and difficulty of the task much lessened by the
printed works on the subject, which, having been compiled more by teachers than by practi-
cal merchants, contain a number of obsolete rules and unnecessary details. The most effect-
ual mode of giving clearness and interest to our remarks will be, first to state a few mer-
cantile transactions, and then to explain the nature of the accounts and entries which result
from them.
The Journal of a mercantile house ought to open, at the beginning of each year, with an
enumeration of their assets and debts, as follows :-
Folio of
Ledger.
SUNDRIES DRS. to STOCK.
£
8.
d.
For the following, being the assets of the house.
1
CASH ; amount at the bankers' this day (1st Jan.)
-
-
-
2,550 0 0
1
EXCHEQUER BILLS; amount in hand
-
-
-
5,310 0 0
7
BILLS RECEIVABLE; in hand, as per bill book
7,300 15 0
1
THREE AND A HALF PER CENT. STOCK, 6,000L., valued at 90% P 1001. stock
5,400 0 0
8
DESENTURE ACCOUNT; drawbacks receivable at the Custom-house
513 0 0
6
SHIP AMELIA our three eighths of that vessel
3,000 0 0
7
ADVENTURE IN IRISH LINEN ; amount in hand, computed at cost price -
2,467 0 0
7
JAMES BAILEY & Co., Liverpool due by them
1,350 10 0
7
THOMAS WATSON, & Co., Dublin; do.
-
-
-
3,530 12 0
7
WILLIAM SPENCE & Co., Plymouth; do.
-
-
-
-
970 0 10
£ 32,391 17 10
Folio of
STOCK DR. to SUNDRIES.
Ledger.
For the debts of the house, as follows
£ s. d.
6
To BILLS PAYABLE: amount of acceptances at this date
-
-
2,350 10 0
3
To INSURANCE; amount of premiums due to underwriters
-
-
1,880 15 0
9
To MORRIS PITMAN, Trinidad balance due to him
-
-
-
1,370 5 0
4
To JAMES FORBES, Demarara do.
-
-
720 5 0
7
To SIMON FRAZER, London do
-
-
-
-
960 15 0
2
To JAMES ALLAN & Co., Kingston, Jamaica ; do.
-
-
-
1,150 10 0
8
To GEORGE and WILLIAM Fox, Falmouth; do.
-
-
-
-
320 15 0
8,753 15 0
Balance, being the present capital of the house
-
-
23,638 2 10
£32,391 17 10
VOL L-8
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206
BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
Let the transaction to be first explained be an order for goods from a correspondent
abroad. A house in Jamaica sends instructions to the house at home to buy and ship a
quantity of manufactured articles, suited to the Jamaica market, as follows:-
Order from JAMES ALLAN & Co., of Kingston, Jamaica, to HENRY BARCLAY & Co., of London.
J. A.
Linen; Lint Strelitz Osnaburgs, 14 bales, about 6d. P yard.
& Co.
Best tow Strelitz do., 9 bales, 4d. or 4jd.
Best white Platillas, 1 case.
Linen tick assorted, Iths width, 9d., 1s., Is. 3d.; 10 pieces each, cut up in 22-yard
lengths.
Woollens 5 bales Penistones, 4ths wide, best indigo blue, 1s. a yard.
Cottons; 50 pieces stout calico, 28 yards each, the wide, 4d. a yard.
50 do.
do.
do.
iths, superior, 5d. a yard.
100 do. stout calico shirting, the wide, superior, 6d. a yard
Hats; 4 dozen gentlemen's superfine black, 20s. each.
2 do.
do
drab, 20s. each.
1 do. youth's do.
black, 15s. each.
20 do. felt hats, for negroes, 22s. P dozen.
Shoes ; 10 dozen prime calf-skin shoes, full size, 65s. P dozen.
10 do. youth's
do
52s. P dozen.
5 do. gentlemen's dress do. 72s. P dozen.
This order the London merchant divides among six, seven, or more wholesale dealers,
according to their respective lines of business. Each dealer, or tradesman, as he is com-
monly called, provides his portion of the order in the course of the fortnight, three weeks,
or month, allowed him by the merchant; and when the goods are packed and ready to ship,
he sends in his account, or bill of parcels, thus :-
London, 20th February, 1831.
Messrs. HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
Bought of SIMON FRAZER.
J.A.
& Co.
£ 8. d.
No. 8.
10 pieces best tow Strelitz Osnaburgs, 146 yards each, at 4d. P yard
-
24 6 8
Inside wrapper, 16 yards, at 3d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 4 0
Cord, bale, and press packing
-
-
-
-
-
0100
25 0 8
Then follow, stated in like manner, the particulars of 8 bales, No. 9. to 16.
both inclusive, amounting to
-
-
-
-
212 4 2
£237 4 10
London, 20th February, 1831.
Messrs. HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
Bought of J. BORRADAILE & Co.
J. A.
& Co.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
39.
Case, 1 dozen and 2 youths' hats and bands, at 15s. each
- 10 10 0
Case (small)
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 040
10 14 0
40.
Case, 9 dozen felt hats for negroes, at 22s. + dozen
-
- 9 IS 0
Case (large)
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 16 0
10 14 0
41.
Do. the same
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
10 14 0
£32 2 0
The merchant, having received the whole of the bills of parcels, fixed on a vessel, and
agreed for the freight, proceeds to make an entry at the Custom-house, and to ship the
goods. That done, the next step is to prepare the Invoice, or general account of the ship-
ment, as exhibited in the next page.
This invoice, being sent out by the vessel to Messrs. Allan & Co. conveys to them a
number of particulars in a short space viz. the mark, the numbers, the value, and the con-
tents of each package. In former times it was the practice to make an invoice very long,
inserting in it a literal copy of each bill of parcels, but it has now become usual to make
each tradesman deliver a duplicate of his account, to be sent abroad with the goods; in
which case the invoice may be, like the above, little more than a summary of the bills of
parcels. This method has two advantages it saves time at the counting-house of the export-
er; and it affords to his correspondent an assurance that no more is charged to him than
has been actually paid for the articles.
An invoice ought to be made out with the utmost care, for it is a document of great
importance in several respects: first, between the exporting merchant and his correspond-
ent abroad; and next, when in the hands of the latter, it may and generally does form a
voucher for calculating the import duty, as well as for the sales effected to retailers or other
dealers.
The sum insured by the exporting merchant generally exceeds the amount of the invoice
by 2 per cent., because the recovery of a loss from insurers involves a charge of fully that
amount. It is thus necessary to cover not only the price of the goods, and the charges of
Digitized by Google
BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
207
shipping, insurance, and freight, but, such further sum as may enable the shipper, in case
of loss, to carry to the credit of his correspondent the amount of the invoice, clear of any
deduction.
INVOICE of Goods shipped by HENRY BARCLAY & Co., in the Rawlins, J. Thomson, from London to
Kingston in Jamaica, on account and risk of Messrs. JAMES ALLAN & Co. of Kingston.
J. A.
& Co.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
No. 1.
Puncheon strong calf-skin shoes, P J. Johnson's bill of
parcels
-
-
-
-
-
- 93 7 0
2.
Do.
do.
do. -
-
- 94 16 4
3.
French calf-skin shoes,
do. -
-
- 23 9 0
4,5,6.
3 trunks do.
-
do. -
-
- 67 3 7
278 15 11
7.
Case linen tick assorted, per J. Wilson's bill of parcels
-
-
42 0 0
8. to 16.
9 bales best tow Osnaburgs, 10 pieces each, Simon Frazer's bill
of parcels
-
-
-
236 5 0
17.
1 case white Platillas, Molling & Co's. bill of parcels
-
41 0 8
18. to 24.
7 cases the same,
do.
-
-
287 4 8
25. to 38.
14 bales lint Osnaburgs, P J. Mackenzie's bill of parcels
-
367 10 0
39.
1 case youth's hats and bands, P J. Borradaile & Co's bill of parcels
10 14 0
40, 1.
2 cases felt hats,
do
P do.
-
-
-
21 8 0
1,284 18 3
£ S. d.
Entry; duty on part at t + cent.; bond and debenture
4 8 0
Cartage, wharfage, and shipping charges
-
-
7 9 6
Freight and primage 381. 7s.; bills of lading 3s. 6d.
-
38 10 6
Insurance on 1,500L. at 40s. + 1001.
-
£30 0 0
Policy duty
-
-
-
-
3 18 9
33 18 9
Commission, 5 P cent. on 1,3351.
-
-
-
66 15 0
do
cent. on 1,5001. insured
-
7 10 0.
158 11 9
Errors excepted.
£1,443 10 0
At 6 months credit; due 6th of September.
London, 6th of March, 1830.
HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
JOURNAL ENTRIES resulting from the foregoing Invoice.
Folio of
JAMES ALLAN & Co. Drs. to SUNDRIES.
Ledger.
For goods shipped to them in the Rawline, Thomson, for Jamaica.
£ 8. d.
1
To JAMES JOHNSON; amount of shoes, P his bills of parcels
-
278 15 11
1
To JOHN WILSON; linen tick
do.
-
-
42 0 0
1
To SIMON FRAZER; tow Osnaburgs
do.
-
-
236 5 0
1
To JOHN MACKENZIE; lint Osnaburgs
do.
-
-
367 10 o
2
To JAMES BORBADAILE & Co.; hats
do.
-
-
32 2 0
2
To MOLLING & Co.; for Platillas
do.
-
-
328 5 4
3
To FREIGHT ACCOUNT freight, primage, and bills of lading
-
38 10 6
3
To INSURANCE; premium and policy
-
-
33 18 9
3
To CHARGES; entry outward, duty, and shipping charges -
-
11 17 6
3
To PROFIT AND Loss; for commission
-
-
-
74 5 0
£1,443 10 0
The preceding invoice, being for account of a mercantile house, who sell again to dealers,
comprises a variety of articles as a further specimen, we subjoin two short invoices, for
account of sugar planters, and confined to articles consumed on their estates.
INVOICE of Plantation Stores, shipped by HENRY BARCLAY & Co. in the Adventure, J. Williamson,
Master, for Kingston, Jamaica, by order of Mr. JAMES THOMSON, Planter, and for his account and
risk.
J. T.
£ 8. d.
1.to 6.
6 bales lint Osnaburgs, P bill of parcels from James An-
derson
-
-
-
-
- £240 0 0
Then follow, in like manner, the mark, number, and contents of va-
rious other packages of plantation stores (hats, shoes, nails, &c.), com-
posing the shipment amounting in all to
-
-
2,352 10 0
CHARGES.
£ s. d.
Custom-house entry, and shipping charges
-
-
2 12 6
Freight, primage, and bills of lading
-
-
18 7 6
Commission on 2,3741. at 21 P cent.
-
-
59 7 0
80 7 0
Insurance on 2,5501. at 21. P cent.
-
9
5100
Policy duty
-
-
-
-
-
6100
Commission, t P cent.
-
-
-
-
12 15 0
70 5 0
£ 2,503 2 0
Errors excepted.
London, 2d of October, 1830.
HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
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208
BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
INVOICE of 60 Barrels of Herrings, shipped by HENRY BARCLAY & Co. of London, in the Barclay,
James Ferrier, bound to Barbadoes, by order and for account and risk of JOHN HENDERSON, Esq.,
Planter, and consigned to him at Bridgetown, Barbadoes.
London, 18th of Feb. 1824.
J.H.
60 barrels prime white herrings, deliverable at Bridgetown, Barbadoes, free
of charges, at 21s. P barrel
-
-
-
-
- £63 0 0
This invoice is very short the agreement having been, that the herrings should be delivered at a
fixed price, all charges included.
ACCOUNT OF SALES.We come now to a transaction of a different kind; to the sale of
goods imported from abroad. A merchant in England receives from a correspondent,
whether in India, the West Indies, or North America, notice of a shipment of sugar, coffee,
rice, or other produce, about to be made to England, with instructions to effect insurance on
the computed value. This is the first step in the transaction; on the arrival of the vessel
the goods are entered, landed, and warehoused ; and a broker is instructed to report on the
state and prospects of the market. On a sale taking place, an account is made out and for-
warded to the correspondent abroad, as follows:-
ACCOUNT SALE of 7 Hhds. Sugar, by the Ceres, from Trinidad, for account of MORRIS PITTMAN, Esq.
of Trinidad.
£ S. d.
cwt. qrs. lbs.
£ s. d.
Insurance on 1751. at 60s.
M.P.
7 Hhds. weighing 87 3 21
P 100Z.
-
- £5 5 0
1. to7.
Deduct draft
- 0 0 14
Policy
-
- 0 10 6
5 15 6
87 3 7
Freight of 79cwt. 25 lbs. at 6s. P cwt.
23 15 4
Deduct tare
- 9 3 7
Primage, pierage, and trade
-
0 9 7
Duty on 79 cwt. 25 lbs. at 27s. P cwt.
106 19 0
Nett 78 0 0
Entry
-
-
-
0 6 0
at 60s. P cwt.
}
234 0 0
Dock dues
-
-
-
2 12 0
Landwaiters and entry
-
-
0 16 0
Warehouse rent, 19 weeks
-
15 2
Sampling
-
-
0 3 6
Insurance from fire
-
-
0 6 0
Interest on freight and duty
-
1 12 3
Brokerage, 1 P cent.
-
-
2 6 9
Commission, 2 P cent.
-
-
4 13 4
P cent. on 1751. insured
-
0 17 6
152 8 9
Nett proceeds, due 2d of May, 1830.
81 11 3
234 0 0
234 0 0
Errors excepted.
London, 2d of April, 1831.
HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
We have here on one side of the account, the quantity and value of the goods sold ; on
the other, the various charges attending the bringing home, the warehousing, and the sale of
the articles.
The quantity of goods accounted for in an account sale must be the same as in the
invoice; if it be less, whether through damage at sea, through waste or any other cause, the
extent of the deficiency should be explicitly stated. By the "overtaker" in the following
sale is meant the additional barrel or package required for the coffee taken out of such of the
tierces as have been opened on account of breakage or other damage.
Allowances of Weight.-The tare is the weight of the cask, and differs, of course, in
almost every package: but trett (see the following sale) is a fixed allowance of 5 lbs. per
tierce in the case of coffee, intended, like draft in the case of sugar, to insure good weight to
the buyer, and to enable him to do the same to those who purchase again from him.
ACCOUNT SALE of 20 Tierces of Coffee, P Vittoria, from Demerara, for Account of JAMES FORBES,
Esq., Demerara.
CHARGES.
£ s. d.
Gross Weight.
Tare.
£ s. d.
Insurance on 20 tierces at 351. a
J.F.
Clot. qrs. lbs.
Cut. qre. lbs.
tierce, 7001. at 50s. ; policy
No.
5 tierces
30
7
3 2 15
36s. 9d.
-
-
-
1969
1.to20.
5 do.
32 2 5
405
-
Freight on 114 cwt. at
4 do.
2424
2 3 16
7s. 6d. P cwt. £42 15 0
Primage, pierage, and
6 87 1 16 10 2 8
trade
-
176
Trett 0 2 14
-
44 2 6
Dock dues
-
-
-
-
-
10 9 1
11 0
Landwaiters, entry, and part of
Deduct 11 0 22
bond
-
-
-
-
126
Insurance from fire
-
-
-
0 19 6
Nett 76 0 22 at
Pcwi.}
462 17 9
Carried forward
-
-
£76 0 4
.
Carried forward
£462 17 9
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
209
ACCOUNT SALE-continued.
CHARGES.
Brought forward
£462 17 9
Brought forward
£76 0 4
J.F.
Gross Weight.
Tare.
Public sale charges
-
-
-
176
No.
Cut.
Cut. qre. 11s.
Brokerage, 1 P cent.
-
6167
Lto20.
-
-
3 tierces
17 1 1
209
Commission, 2f P cent. on 6761. -
16 18 0
3 do.
19 3 15
2 1 15
Commission, t cent. on 700L.
insured
-
3100
37 0 16
-
4 1 24
Trett 0 1 1
104 12 5
Nett proceeds, due 3d of May, 1831
571 13 1
4 2 25
Deduct 4 2 25
£676 5 6
Nett 32 1 19 at 120s.
194 9 4
cwt.
Gross Weight.
Tare.
Cut. qrs. lbs. Cut. qrs. lbs.
Overtaker 519 039
Trett 0 0 11
0 3 20
Deduct 0320
Nett 4 1 17 at 117s.
25 15 0
P cwt.
683 2 1
Discount, 1 P cent.
6 16 7
Gross proceeds
£676 5 6
London, 3d of April, 1831.
Errors excepted.
HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
Freight is charged on the weight of the produce only; not of the produce and packages
together. This allowance is of old standing, and is to be traced less to the reason of the
case, than to the competition prevailing among shipmasters.
JOURNAL ENTRIES resulting from the preceding Accounts of Sale.
Folio of
Lodger.
June, 1831.
4
THOMAS KEMBLE & Co. Drs. to SUNDRIES.
£ 8. d.
2
To SUGAR + Ceres.
Proceeds of 7 hhds., M. P. 1. to 7., sold by them at one month's credit, from
2d of April
-
234 0 0
4
To COFFEE P Vittoria.
Proceeds of 20 tierces, J. F. 1. to 20., sold at one month's credit, from 3d of
April
-
-
-
676 5 6
910 5 6
2
SUGAR P CERES Dr. to SUNDRIES.
3
To INSURANCE ACCOUNT; for premium and policy
-
-
-
515 6
3
To FREIGHT ACCOUNT; for freight, primage, and pierage
-
-
-
24 4 11.
4
To CUSTOMS INWARD; duty and entry
-
-
-
107 5 0
4
CHARGES; dock dues, 52s. 10d. warehouse rent, 35s. 2d. landwaiters, 16s. ;
sampling, 3s. 6d.; and fire insurance, 6s.
-
-
-
5 13 6
4
To THOMAS KEMBLE & Co.; brokerage, 1 P cent.
-
-
-
-
2 6 9
3
To PROFIT AND Loss; for commissions
-
-
-
-
£5 10 10
Interest on freight and duty
-
-
0
-
1 12 3
7 3 1
4
To MORRIS PTTMAN proceeds due 2d of May, 1831
-
-
-
-
81 11 3
234 0 0
4
COFFEE P VITTORIA Dr. to SUNDRIES.
3
To INSURANCE; for premium and policy
-
-
-
-
19 6 9
3
To FREIGHT ACCOUNT; freight, primage, and pierage
-
-
-
-
44 2 6
3
Ta CHARGES; dock dues, landwaiters, insurance from fire, and public sale
charges
-
-
-
-
-
13 18 7
4
To THOMAS KEMBLE & Co. brokerage
-
-
-
-
-
-
6 16 7
3
To PROFIT AND Loss; for commissions
-
-
-
-
-
-
20 8 1
4
To JAMES FORBES ; nett proceeds due 3d of June, 1830 -
-
-
-
571 13 1
£676 5 7
We have thus given an example of the transactions which form a great part of the busi-
ness of our merchants the export of manufactured goods, and the import and sale of pro-
duce received in return. Our next illustration shall be of a merchant's Cashbook the
following is an example of the entries for a month:-
S 2
27
Digitized by Google
210
BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
Dr.
CASH.
PAID.
Cr.
1830.
£ S. d.
1830.
£ S. d.
Mar. 1
To balance at the Banker's
2,550 0 0
Mar. 2
By bills payable, paid No.
3
To ship Amelia, received of
261. to James Harding -
145 10 0
James Jacobs, for freight
175 3 0
4
By George and William Fox,
6
To bills receivable, received
paid their balance of ac-
payment of No. 251. on J.
count
-
320 15 0
Henderson
-
200 0 0
6
By John Smith & Sons, paid
9
To James Bailey & Co., re-
J. Jackson for their ac-
ceived payment of their
count
-
98 0 0
draft at sight on J. Bain-
7
By bills payable, paid No.
bridge
-
152 10 0
269. to J. Stewart
-
-
300 0 0
15
To William Spence & Co.,
18
By interest paid, discount on
received balance of their
Harrison & Co., 2 months
6 110
account
-
-
790 0 10
By J. Johnson, paid his bill
-
To debenture account, re-
of parcels
-
-
278 15 11
ceived drawback on to-
By John Wilson
do.
-
42 0 0
baeco shipped by the Plo-
By Simon Frazer do.
-
236 5 0
ver
15 8 0
By John Mackenzie do.
-
367 10 0
18
To bills receivable, dis-
By James Borradaile
counted at the bankers,
& Co.
do.
-
32 2 0
Harrison & Co., due 15-
By Molling & Co. do.
-
328 5 4
18 March
-
730 10 0
31
By charges paid, postage,
To profit and loss, received
and petty disbursements
5 P cent. discount, on
this month, per petty cash
paying with ready money,
book
-
-
15 2 6
the accounts per contra,
By balance, carried to next
not due till six months
month
-
-
-
2,686 13 0
hence, from
James Johnson £13 19 0
John Wilson - 2 20
Simon Frazer 11 16 0
John Mackenzie 18 7 6
James Borradaile
& Co.
-
-
0 16 0
Molling & Co. - 16 8 3
63 8 9
£4,857 0 7
£4,857 0 7
These transactions, when put into the Journal form, stand thus :-
Folio of
MARCH, 1830.
Ledger.
CASH DR. to SUNDRIES.
£ 8. d.
Received this month.
6
To SHIP AMELIA.
3d. Freight from James Jacobs
-
-
-
-
175 3 0
6
To BILLS RECEIVABLE.
6th. Received payment of J. Anderson, due this day
£200 0 0
18th. Discounted Harrison and Co., due 9th May
-
730 10 0
930 10 0
7
To JAMES BAILEY & Co.
9th. Received their draft on Bainbridge, due
-
-
152 10 0
7
To WILLIAM SPENCE & Co.
15th. Received balance of their account
-
-
-
-
970 0 10
8
To DEBENTURE ACCOUNT.
15th. Drawback on tobacco by the Plover
-
-
-
-
15 8 0
3
To PROFIT AND Loss.
18th. Received discount on sundry accounts, per cash book
-
63 8 9
£2,307 0 7
Folio of
Ledger.
SUNDRIES DRS. to CASH.
Paid this month as follows:
£ S. d.
6
BILLS PAYABLE.
2d. Paid No. 261.
-
-
-
-
- £ 145 10 0
7th. Do.
269.
-
-
-
-
-
192 15 0
338 5 0
4
CUSTOMS INWARD.
23d. Paid duty on sugar, P Ceres, 79 cwt. 25 lbs. at 27s.
P
cwt.
-
-
-
-
106 19 0
Entry
.
-
-
-
-
-
0 6 0
107 5 0
8
SIMON FRAZER.
18th. Paid his bill of parcels
-
-
-
236 5 0
1
26th. Paid J. Jackson for his account
-
-
98 0 0
334 5 0
8
INTEREST ACCOUNT.
18th. Paid discount on Harrison & Co.
-
-
-
-
6 10
1
JAMES JOHNSON.
18th. Paid his bill of parcels
-
-
-
-
-
278 15 11
Carried forward.
-
1,064 12 9
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
211
Folio of
SUNDRIES DRS. to CASH-continued.
Ledger.
£ S. d.
Brought forward
1,064 12 9
1
JOHN WILSON.
18th. Paid his bill of parcels
-
-
-
-
-
42 0 0
1
JOHN MACKENZIE.
18th. Paid his bill of parcels
-
-
-
-
-
307 10 0
2
JAMES BORRADAILE & Co.
18th. Paid their bill of parcels
-
-
-
-
-
32 2 0
2
MOLLING & Co.
18th. Paid their balance of account
-
-
-
-
-
328 5 4
8
GEORGE AND WILLIAM Fox.
24th. Paid their balance of account
-
-
-
-
-
320 15 0
3
CHARGES.
31st. Paid postage, and petty disbursements this month
-
-
15 2 6
£2,170 7 7
The above shows, that for all sums received, the account of cash is made debtor, and the
parties paying the same are made creditors; while for all sums paid, the cash is credited, and
the parties receiving them are made debtors.
We are next to state the mode of entering bill transactions.
BILLS RECEIVABLE.-We have seen by the Balance sheet that several correspondents are
indebted to the house. The debts of correspondents abroad may be reduced by remitting
either bills, specie, or merchandise for sale: from correspondents in England, bills are
almost the only mode of remitting. When bills come to hand, the rule is to enter each in
the bill book, with a minute statement of the date, term, sum, and other particulars thus:-
No.
Received
From whom.
Drawn by
Date.
Term.
Drawn on
To order of
Due.
Sum
How disp. of.
L.
660
8 March
Bailey & Co.
W. Adams
Belfast, 1 Mar.
2 mths.
T. Jones, Dublin
A. Williams
1-4 May
850
Rainier & Co.
631
10 do.
Watson & Co.
J. Jacobs
Cork, 3 do.
1 do.
J. Adams, London
G. Wilson
3-6 April
136
Smith & Co.
632
12 do.
Spence & Co.
T. Johnson
Falmo. 5 do.
2 do.
T. Allan, Liverpool
D. Jones
5-8 May
260
Overend & Co.
The JOURNAL ENTRIES for these bills are as follows:-
Folio of
Ledger.
BILLS RECEIVABLE DR. to SUNDRIES.
For the following remitted this month
£ S. d.
7
To JAMES BAILEY & Co.
No. 630. on T. Jones, Dublin, due 4th of May
-
-
-
350 0 0
7
To T. WATSON & Co.
No. 631. on J. Adams, London, due 6th of April
-
-
-
135 0 0
7
To WILLIAM SPENCE & Co.
No. 632. on T. Allan, Liverpool, due 8th of May
-
-
-
260 0 0
£745 0 0
BILLS PAYABLE.-The entries under this head are, of course, wholly different from the
preceding, being for acceptances of the house given on account of sums owing by it to corres-
pondents. Each acceptance is entered in the book of bills payable, thus:-
Drason by
Place and Date
To Order of
On Account of
Term.
When accepted.
Due.
Sum.
No.
L 8. d.
151
J. Allan & Co.
Jamaica, 15 Jan.
J. Jones
J. Allan & Co.
90 days' sight
12 March
10-13 June
175 10 0
152
G. & W. Fox
Falmouth, 7 Mar.
J. Thompson
G. & W. Fox
15 days' date
14 do.
22-25 March
73 15 0
132 10 0
153
J. Clark
Hull, 5 Mar.
G. Barclay
J. Smith & Sone
1 month's date
16 do.
5-8 ditto
The Journal entries for these bills are as follows:-
Folio of
SUNDRIES DRS. to BILLS PAYABLE.
Ledger.
£ S. d.
For the following bills accepted.
JAMES ALLAN & Co. No. 151. their draft, due 13th of June
-
175 10 0
2
G. & W. Fox. No. 152. their draft, due 25th of March
-
73 15 0
8
1
SIMON FRAZER. J. Clark's draft on his account, due 8th of March
-
132 10 0
£ 381 15 0
May, 1830.
CASH DR. to THOMAS KEMBLE & Co.
27th. Received from them proceeds of sugar P
Ceres
-
284
0
0
1
Less their brokerage
-
-
2 6 9
-
231 13 3
30th. Received coffee P Vittoria
- 676 5 6
-
-
.
4
6 16 7
Less brokerage
-
-
-
-
669 8 11
£ 901 22
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
The preceding entries, few as they are compared to the monthly transactions of a house
of business, are sufficient to show the nature of a Journal as well as of the subsidiary books,
(for cash, bills, invoices, and account sales,) from which it is composed. The Journal, being
a complete record of the business of the house, is very varied and comprehensive in its
nature, and may be termed an index to every book of consequence in the counting-house.
But while in the cash book every payment or receipt is entered on the day it takes place,
and in the bill books every bill is registered on the day it comes to hand, or is accepted, the
Journal entries, being completed only at the end of the month, admit of being combined to a
considerable extent, so as to exhibit a number of transactions in collective sums. Thus all
the acceptances of the house paid in the course of the month appear in the Journal entry of
Bills Payable Dr. to Cash; they are arranged in this entry as they fall due, after which the
whole are added into one sum, which sum alone needs be carried to the Ledger. In like
manner, all bills receivable, whether discounted, or kept by the house till they fall due, are
collected under the head of Bills Receivable Dr. to Cash, summed up together, and carried
to the Ledger in one line; a point of great importance, as we shall see presently, in facilitat-
ing the balance of the Ledger.
We proceed to give a specimen of the Ledger: the whole of the Journal entries in the
preceding pages, when posted into the Ledger, will stand thus :-
Dr.
STOCK.
CR.
Fo.
£ 8. d.
Fo.
£ 8. d.
1831.
1831.
Jan. 1
1
To sundries
-
8,753 15 0
Jan. 1
1
By sundries
-
32,391 17 10
Dr.
CASH.
CR.
Jan. 1
I
To Stock -
-
2,550 0 0
Mar. 31
By sundries
2,170 7 7
Mar. 1
4
To sundries
-
2,307 0 7
May 30
15
ToT. Kemble & Co.
901 2 2
DR.
EXCHEQUER BILLS.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock
-
-
5,310 0 0
DR.
THREE AND A HALF PER CENT. STOCK.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock
-
5,400 0 0
DR.
JAMES JOHNSON, London.
CR.
Mar. 1
4
To cash
-
-
278 15 11
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
278 15 1
DR.
JOHN WILSON, London.
CR.
Mar. 1
4
To cash
-
-
420
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
4200
DR.
SIMON FRAZER, London.
CR.
Mar. 26
4
To cash
-
-
334 5 0
Jan. 1
2
By stock
-
-
960 15 0
31
5
To bills payable
-
132 10 0
Jan. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
236 5 0
DR.
JOHN MACKENZIE, London.
Ca.
Mar. 8
4
To cash
-
-
367 10 0
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
367 10 0
DES.
JAMES BORRADAILE & Co., London.
CRS.
Mar. 1
4
To cash
-
-
320
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
32 2 0
Das.
IOLLING & Co., London.
Cas.
I
Mar. 1
4
To cash
-
-
328 5 4
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
is 328 5 4
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
213
DRS.
J. ALLAN & Co., Kingston, Jamaica.
Cas.
Mar. 6
9
To sundries
-
1,443 10 0
Jan. 1
2
By stock -
-
1,150 10 0
31
11
To bills payable
-
175 10 0
DR.
SUGAR BY THE CERES.
Ca.
April 2
11
To sundries
-
234 0 0
April 2
11
By T. Kemble & Co.
234 0 0
DR.
FREIGHT ACCOUNT.
CR.
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
38 10 6
April 2
11
By sugar P Ceres
24 11 11
May 3
13
By coffee P Vittoria
44 2 6
DR.
INSURANCE ACCOUNT.
CR.
Jan. 1
2
By stock
-
-
1,880 15 0
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
33 18 9
April 2
11
By sugar P Ceres
5 16 6
May 3
13
By coffee P Vittoria
19 6 9
DR.
CHARGES.
CR.
Mar. 3
4
To cash
-
-
15 2 6
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
11 17 6
April 2
11
By sugar P Ceres
5136
May 3
13
By coffee P Vittoria
13 18 7
DR.
PROFIT AND Loss.
CR.
Mar. 6
9
By J. Allan & Co.
74 5 0
Mar. 8
4
By cash
-
-
63 8 9
April 2
11
By sugar P Ceres
7 3 1
May 3
13
By coffee + Vittoria
20 8 1
DR.
CUSTOMS INWARDS.
CR.
April 2
4
To cash
-
-
107 5 0
April 2
11
By sugar + Ceres
107 5 0
DR.
COFFEE PER VITTORIA.
CB.
April3
3
To sundries
-
676 5 6
April 3
11
By T. Kemble & Co.
676 5 6
DR.
MORRIS PITTMAN, Trinidad.
CR.
Jan. 1
2
By stock
-
-
1,370 5 0
April 2
11
By sugar P Ceres
81 11 3
DR.
JAMES FORBES, Demarara.
CR.
Jan. 1
2
By stock
-
-
720 5 0
May 3
13
By coffee P Vittoria
571 13 1
DRS.
THOMAS KEMBLE & Co., London.
DRS.
April 3
11
To sundries
-
910 5 6
April 7
11
By sugar P Ceres
2 6 9
30
13
By coffee # Vittoria
6 16 7
May 30
15
By cash
-
-
901 2 2
910 5 B
DR.
BILLS RECEIVABLE.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock
-
-
7,300 15 0
Mar. 1
4
By cash
-
-
930 10 0
Mar. 3
5
To sundries
-
745 0 0
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
DR.
BILLS PAYABLE.
CR.
Mar. 7
4
To cash
-
-
388 5 0
Jan. 1
2
By stock -
-
2,359 10 0
Mar. 3
5
By sundries
-
381 15 0
DR.
SHIP AMELIA.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock -
-
3,000 0 0
Mar. 1
4
By cash
-
175 3 0
DR.
ADVENTURE IN IRISH LINEN.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock :
-
2,467 0 0
Das.
JAMES BAILEY & Co., Liverpool.
CRS.
Jan. 1
1
To stock -
-
1,350 10 0
Mar. 3
4
By cash
-
-
152 10 0
Mar. 9
5
By bills receivable
350 0 0
DRS.
THOMAS WATSON & Co. Dublin.
CRS.
Jan. 1
1
To stock -
-
3,530 12 0
Mar. 3
5
By bills receivable
135 0 0
DRS.
WILLIAM SPENCE & Co., Plymouth.
CRs.
Jan. 1
1
To stock -
-
970 0 10
Mar. 3
4
By cash
-
-
970 0 10
Mar. 5
5
By bills receivable
260 0 0
DRS.
GEORGE AND WILLIAM Fox, Falmouth.
CRS.
Mar. 4
4
To cash
-
-
320 15 0
Jan. 1
2
By stock -
-
320 15 0
Mar. 6
To bills payable -
73 15 0
DR.
DEBENTURE ACCOUNT.
CR.
Jan. 1
1
To stock
-
513 0 0
Mar. 5
4
By cash
-
-
1580
DR.
INTEREST ACCOUNT.
CR.
Mar. 8
4
To cash
-
-
6 1 10
The Ledger is thus a register of all the entries in the Journal; and a register so arranged
as to exhibit on one side all the sums at Debtor; on the other all those at Creditor. It is
kept in the most concise form, the insertions in it hardly ever exceeding a line each, or con-
taining more than the title of the entry in the Journal. On opening a page in the Ledger,
a person unacquainted with book-keeping is apt to consider this brevity unsatisfactory ; and
it was formerly the practice to add in each line a few explanatory words. Thus the entries
in the account of Simon Frazer, which in our preceding page are briefly
£ 8. d.
March 26. To cash
-
-
-
-
-
-
334 5 0
31. To bills payable
-
-
-
-
-
132 10 0
would, at an earlier date in the practice of book-keeping, have been expanded to
£ 8. d.
March 18. To cash paid for goods per Rawlins -
-
-
236 5 0
26. To ditto paid J. Jackson for his account
-
-
9800
31. To bills payable, paid J. Clarks' draft for his account 132 10 0
This method is still followed in some counting-houses, and such explanatory additions are
certainly conducive to clearness; but they are practicable only in a house of limited business:
wherever the transactions are numerous and varied, they should be left out of the Ledger,
for two reasons; they increase greatly the labour of the book-keeper, and they never can be
so full or circumstantial as to supersede the account current book.
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
215
The same Ledger may continue in use from one to five years, according to the size of the
book, or the extent of the transactions of the house. On opening a new Ledger, it is proper
to place in succession accounts of the same class or character: thus-Stock account ought
to be followed by that of the Three per cent. consols, exchequer bills or other property be-
longing to the house; and if the business be with the West Indies, it is fit that accounts
with Jamaica should be placed near those with Demerara, Trinidad, and other sugar
colonies.
Balancing the Ledger.-This important operation is performed by adding up the Debtor
and Creditor side of every account in the Ledger, ascertaining the difference or balance in
each, and carrying such balance, as the case may be, to the Debtor or Creditor column in
the balance sheet. On closing, for example, a few of the preceding Ledger accounts, we
find them to stand thus :-
Debtors.
Creditors.
£ 8. d.
£
8.
d.
Cash
-
-
-
-
3,587 15 2
Simon Frazer
-
-
780 5 0
James Allan & Co.
-
-
468 10 0
Freight Account
-
-
107 4 11
And so on with every account except Stock, which, having no entries in the current year,
is put in the balance sheet exactly as it was in the beginning of the year. Including Stock,
the total at the Debtor side of the balance sheet ought to agree exactly with the total at the
Creditor side and if it do not, it is a rule in all well-regulated counting-houses to follow up
the examination perseveringly, until they are made to agree. The apparent difference may
not exceed a few shillings or a few pence; still the search is continued, because the smallest
discrepancy shows the existence of error, and to an extent perhaps greatly beyond the frac-
tion in question. It often happens, indeed, that, as the examination proceeds, the difference
undergoes a change from a smaller to a larger amount, and without increasing the difficulty
of discovering the error, which is as likely to have occurred in the case of a large as of a
small sum. Differences, when in round sums, such as 10/. 100L, or 1,000l., generally lie in
the addition; fractional sums frequently in the posting. All this, however, is uncertain for
the error or errors may be in any month in the year, and in any one of the thousand entries
and upwards which have been made in the course of it. Hence the necessity of examining
the whole; and young book-keepers are often obliged to pass week after week in the tedious
labour of revising, adding, and subtracting. On the other hand, there are sometimes exam-
ples of the balance being found on the first trial; but such cases are rare, and occur only to
careful and experienced book-keepers. The only effectual means of lessening the labour
and perplexity of balancing the Ledger, is to exercise great care in every stage of the book-
keeping process; as well in making the additions in the Journal, as in posting from the
Journal into the Ledger, and casting up the Ledger accounts; and, lastly, in adding up the
balance sheet, which is generally of formidable length.
Accuracy in addition is one of the main requisites in a clerk, and particularly in a book-
keeper. Of the extent to which it may be attained by continued practice, those only can
judge who have experienced it themselves, or have marked the ease and correctness with
which clerks in banking-houses perform such operations. They are in the habit of striking
a daily balance which comes within small compass; but a merchant's balance, comprising
the transactions of a year, extends commonly over a number of folio pages. It is advisable,
therefore, to divide each page into portions of ten lines each, adding such portions separately.
This lessens the risk of error, as it is evidently easier to add five or six such portions in suc-
cession, than to do at once a whole folio containing fifty or sixty sums.
Another important point towards agreeing a balance, is to limit carefully the number of
Ledger entries; in other words, to comprise as much as possible in those aggregate sums in
the Journal which are posted in the Ledger. Thus, in the case of the monthly entries for
bills, whether receivable or payable, while the inner column of the Journal contains the
amount of each specific bill-the final column, that which is carried to the Ledger-should,
and generally does, comprise a number of bills in one sum. Entries in the cash book, which
generally form so large a proportion of the transactions of the month, are carried by some
book-keepers directly from the cash book into the Ledger, without an intermediate arrange-
ment in the Journal form. In some lines of business this plan may answer; but as a gene-
ral rule it is better to take the trouble of journalising the cash, thereby comprising in 30 or
40 Ledger entries the transactions of the month, which, when posted separately, would ex-
ceed 100. The time required for re-writing or rather re-casting them, will, in most cases,
be amply made good, by exhibiting the cash in a proper form, and by facilitating the ba-
lance of the Ledger at the close of the year.
We have said the close of the year, because, in nine mercantile houses out of ten, that is
the period for striking a balance. In some branches of trade, however, the case is other-
wise. Thus, among West India merchants, the 30th of April is the time of balancing,
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
because at that season the sales of the preceding crop are, in general, completed, and those
of the current year not yet begun.
Arrears in book-keeping ought to be most carefully avoided-calculated as they are to
engender mistakes, and to produce loss from delay in adjusting accounts. The practice of
balancing the Ledger every six months, and of transmitting as often accounts current to the
correspondents and connections of merchants, will, it is to be hoped, become general. It is,
however, hardly practicable in cases where, as too often happens in the lesser mercantile
establishments, the book-keeper is charged with a share of the active management. Exemp-
tion from interruption, and removal from the bustle of current business, are main requisites
to accuracy and despatch in accounts. In examining, or, as it is called, collating the books,
the book-keeper requires not only a retired apartment, but the assistance of a clerk for the
purpose of calling them over. A similar arrangement for another purpose-we mean for
composing the Journal, the book-keeper dictating from the subsidiary books to a clerk whose
writing forms the draught or rough copy of the Journal, has as yet been seldom adopted;
although, when properly applied, it is highly conducive both to accuracy and expedition.
A Ledger must, of course, have an index ; but it is very brief, containing merely the titles
of the accounts and a reference to the page, as follows :-
Folio
Folio
Allan & Co., James
-
-
-
2
Bailey & Co., James
-
-
-
7
Amelia, ship
-
-
-
-
6
Bills payable
-
-
-
-
6
The Subsidiary Books.-In former times, when business in this country was conducted
by most persons on a very limited scale, the accounts of a number of merchants, or rather of
those dealers whom we should now think it a compliment to call merchants, were often kept
on a plan somewhat like that at present followed by our shopkeepers. The merchant or his
chief clerk kept a daily record of transactions, whether sales, purchases, receipts, or pay-
ments, in a diary, which was called a Waste-book, from the rude manner in which the
entries or rather notices in it were written, being inserted, one by one, soon after the trans-
actions in question took place. From this diary the Journal and Ledger were posted and
book-keeping by double entry being in those days understood by few, one person frequently
kept the books of several merchants, passing one or two days in the week at the house of
each, and reducing these rough materials into the form of regular entries. In process of
time, as transactions multiplied and mercantile business took a wider range, separate books
were more generally required for particular departments, such as a bill book for all bills of
exchange, and a cash book for all ready money transactions. This had long been the case
in the large mercantile towns of Italy and Holland; and above a century ago it became a
general practice in London and Bristol, which were then the only places of extensive busi-
ness in England. But in English, as in foreign counting-houses, the bill book and even the
cash book were long considered as little more than memoranda of details not as books of
authority, or as fit documents for Journal entries: for that purpose the diary only was used.
In time, however, the mode of keeping these subsidiary books improved, and merchants
became aware that, when cash or bill transactions were properly entered in them, the Jour-
nal might be posted from them as well as from the diary.
Similar observations are applicable to the other subsidiary books, viz. an invoice book for
goods shipped, and an account of sales book for goods received and sold. When from the
gradual improvement in the management of counting-houses these books were kept in a
manner to supply all that was wanted for Journal entries, the use of the diary was dispensed
with for such entries also. And at last it was found, that in all well-regulated counting-
houses the books kept for separate departments of the business were sufficient for the com-
position of the Journal, with the exception of a few transactions out of the regular course,
which might be easily noticed in a supplementary book called a Petty Journal, or a book for
occasional entries. The consequence was, that the diary or waste book, formerly the ground-
work of the Journal and Ledger, became excluded from every well-regulated counting-house.
This has long been the case, and the name of waste book would have been forgotten, were
it not found in the printed treatises on book-keeping which have appeared from time to time,
and have been generally composed by teachers in schools or academies, who, unacquainted
with the actual practice of merchants, were content to copy and reprint what they found
laid down in old systems of book-keeping.
The subsidiary books required in a counting-house are, the Cash book;
Book of Acceptances of the house, or Bills Payable;
Book of Bills Receivable, or bills on other merchants which are or have been in possession
of the house.
Bought book, or book for bills of parcels;
Invoice book, or register of goods sold or exported;
Account of Sales book
Insurance Policy book, containing copies of all policies of insurance;
Petty Journal, or book for such occasional entries as do not belong to any of the
preceding.
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
217
Such are the authorities from which it is now customary, in every well-regulated house,
to compose the Journal. Their number indicates a repartition or subdivision, to a consider-
able extent, of counting-house work, and nowhere is such repartition productive of greater
advantage. How much better is it to enter all bills receivable in one book, all bills payable
in another, and all cash transactions in a third, than in any way to blend these very distinct
entries ! The effect of this subdivision is to simplify the Journal entries in a manner highly
conducive to accuracy and despatch and to present such means of checking or examining
them, that many transactions may be stated, and an account extended over a number of
folios, without a single error.
The use of most of the subsidiary books is sufficiently pointed out by their names but it
may be well to add a few remarks on the Bought book," or receptacle for the accounts of
goods purchased. A bill of parcels is the name given to the account of goods supplied by a
manufacturer, tradesman, or dealer, to a merchant. Such accounts soon become numerous,
and it is evidently of consequence to adopt the best method of keeping them. In former
times it was the practice to fold them up in a uniform size, and after writing on the back the
names of the respective furnishers, to put them away in bundles. But wherever the pur-
chases of a merchant are extensive, and the bills of parcels numerous, the better mode, after
arranging them alphabetically, is to paste them in a large book, generally a folio, made of
blue or sugar-loaf paper: this book to have its pages numbered, and to have an alphabetical
index. Any single bill of parcels may thus be referred to with the same case as we turn to
an account in a ledger; and one of these folios may be made to hold a very great quantity
of bills of parcels; as many as would form a number of large bundles when tied up on the
plan of former times.
Book of Bills Payable.-The notice, or, as it is termed, advice of bills payable after sight,
generally comes to hand before the bills themselves. As the time of the arrival of the latter
is uncertain, the better plan is not to enter them from the advice among the other bills pay-
able, but to appropriate a space of ten or twelve pages at the beginning or end of the book
of bills payable, and to insert there the substance of the advice received.
There are a few books in every counting-house which do not form part of the vouchers
or materials for the Journal; viz., the Account Current book, containing duplicates of the
accounts furnished by the house to their different correspondents and connections
The Letter-book, containing copies of all letters written to the correspondents or connec-
tions of the house;
The Petty Cash book, or account of petty disbursements, the sum of which is entered
once a month in the cash book.
The Order book, containing copies of all orders received
The Debenture book, or register of drawbacks payable by the custom-house.
It was formerly a practice in some houses for the book-keeper to go over the letter book
at the end of each month, that he might take note of any entries not supplied by the subsi-
diary books. This, however, is now unnecessary these books, when carefully kept, con-
taining, in one shape or other, every transaction of the house.
The Principle of Double Entry-From these explanations of the practice of book-keep-
ing, we must call the attention of our readers to a topic of more intricacy-the origin of the
present system, and the manner in which it was adopted. To record the transactions of a
merchant in a Journal or day book was an obvious arrangement, and to keep a Ledger
or systematic register of the contents of the Journal was a natural result of his busi-
ness, particularly when conducted on credit. Such, in a rude form, are the books of our
shopkeepers, who enter their sales and purchases in a day book, and in their Ledger carry
the former to the Dr. of their customers, the latter to the Cr. of the wholesale dealers who
supply them with goods. By making at the end of the year a list of the sums due to him
by his customers, and of those due by him to wholesale dealers, a shopkeeper may, after
adding to the former the value of his stock on hand, make out an approximative statement
of his debts and assets. Now, that which in this manner is done indirectly and imperfectly,
it is the object of double entry to do with method and certainty. The shopkeeper makes
out a list of debtors on one side and to creditors on the other, but he cannot make them
balance, because his entries have been single; that is, they have had no counterpart. On
making a purchase of cottons from Messrs. Peel of Manchester, or of woollens from Messrs.
Gott of Leeds, he merely enters the amount of their credit, but he makes no one Dr. to them,
because the goods are not sold; and to introduce an imaginary account would be too great a
refinement for a plain, practical man. But a person accustomed to double entry would,
without any effort of thought, make " Printed Calicoes" Dr. to Messrs. Peel, and Ker-
seymeres" Dr. to Messrs. Gott, for the respective amounts after which, as the sales
proceeded, he would make the buyers Drs. to these accounts for the amount of their
purchases.
We thus perceive that the intricacy in the application of double entry was not with the
personal so much as with the nominal accounts. Let us refer to the country where book-
VoL. L-T
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
keeping was first studied, and take as an example the case of Doria, a merchant in Genoa,
shipping, in a former age, silk, of the value of 2001, bought from Flori, in Piedmont, to
Henderson & Co., silk manufacturers, in England, on the terms of charging, not an addi-
tional price, but a commission of 5 per cent. with interest until reimbursed his advance. In
entering the transaction, Doria's book-keeper would, as a matter of course, make Hendersone
debtors to Flori 200L for the cost of the silk ; but he might not so readily find a creditor
for the 10L commission, or the 71. interest eventually due on the advance, The custom in
this primitive era of book-keeping probably was, to introduce the firm of the house into their
books, making Hendersons debtors to Doria, for the 10/. and 71.; but as the practice of book-
keeping improved, it was found preferable to avoid inserting, on any occasion, the firm of
the house, and to substitute nominal accounts, such as, commission, interest, bills payable,
bills receivable. These, attention and practice rendered in time familiar to the book-keeper,
who learned to open his Journal at the beginning of a year by making the parties who owed
balances to the house debtors, not to the firm by name, but to Stock; and those to whom
the house was indebted, creditors by Stock. As the transactions of the year proceeded, he
made those to whom money was paid debtors, not to the firm of the house, but to Cash
and those for whose account bills were accepted debtors to Bills payable; so that book-
keeping by double entry assumed its present form gradually and almost imperceptibly.
What are the advantages of this method compared to that of single entry ! First, it sup-
plies a test of accuracy, inasmuch as, the entries on the debtor side of the Ledger being equal
to those on the creditor side, their respective totals ought, as a matter of course, to balance.
After going through this proof, personal accounts of whatever length may be settled with
confidence; while in a general account, such as kerseymeres or printed calicoes, the value
sold and the value remaining on hand may be ascertained by merely balancing the account
in the Ledger, without the repeated references to the sales book that would otherwise be
required. Without double entry, a dealer could hardly estimate his property unless he took
stock; but with it an extraction of the Ledger balances fulfils that object, and stock-taking,
however proper as a test of the honesty of servants, becomes quite unnecessary as a means
of calculation. In short, in regard to any person in trade, whether merchant, dealer, or
manufacturer, double entry forms the connecting link of his accounts, and affords a ready
solution of any inquiry as to the appropriation, increase, or diminution of his capital.
This advantage may fortunately be obtained without any great sacrifice of time or labour.
Of the books of dealers, manufacturers, and retailers, nine parts in ten may continue to be
kept by single entry ; for the addition of a few pages of double entry in the form of a sum-
mary, at the end of the month or quarter, will be sufficient to exhibit the result of a great
extent of transactions.
Nominal Accounts.-Of these our limits permit us to notice only two Profit and Loss,
and Merchandise. The former contains on the creditor side all the entries of commissions
earned, and gains obtained on particular adventures; while the debtor side exhibits the losses
incurred, whether by bad debts or by unsuccessful purchases. Every house keeping regular
books must have a profit and loss account, but a merchandise account is altogether optional.
Those who have such a head in their Ledger are accustomed to make it Dr. to the dealers or
furnishers from whom they make purchases, and to credit it in return by the correspondents
or connections to whom they make sales. In many houses, however, there is no such
intermediate account; the parties to whom the goods are sent being made Drs. at once to
the furnishers of the goods, as in the case of the shipment to Jamaica stated in our preceding
pages.
A merchant, before estimating his profits, ought to charge interest on each head of
investment. His clear profit cannot be ascertained without it; and the practice of charg-
ing it, is a lesson to him to hold no property that does not afford, at least, interest on his
advances.
Mercantile books and accounts must be kept in the money of the country in which the
partners reside. A house in Rotterdam composed of English partners necessarily keep their
accounts in Dutch money, although their transactions may be chiefly with England. Fur-
ther, books, it is obvious, can be kept in only one kind of money and when a merchant in
England, receives from a distant country, accounts which cannot at the time be entered in
sterling for want of a fixed exchange, these accounts should be noted in a separate book,
until, the exchange being ascertained, they can be entered in the Journal in sterling.
A book-keeper will do well to avoid all such puzzling distinctions, as " J. Johnson, my
account with him and J. Johnson, his account proper;" on the plain ground that every
account in the Ledger ought to be the general account of the person whose name it bears.
Errors excepted.-This expression is merely a proviso, that if any mistakes be discovered
in the account in question, they shall be open to correction.
Accounts Current.-An account current generally contains all the transactions of the
house with one of its correspondents during a given time, generally six or twelve months.
The following is an example:-
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BOOK-KEEPING AND ACCOUNTS.
219
Messrs. JAMES ALLAN & Co., Jamaica, in Account Current with HENRY BARCLAY & Co., London.
Days
Days
Drs.
to 31
Interest.
Crs.
to 31
Interest.
Dec.
Dec.
1831.
£ 8. d.
1831.
£ S. d.
June 30
To balance of last
Aug. 10
By proceeds
account
867 10 0
184
1,595
of 20 tierces
July 2
To your draft to J.
coffee P
Smith, due Aug. 13.
128 0 0
140
179
Louisa, due
July 9
To invoice of goods
Sept. 10.
410 0 0
112
459
P Amelia, due
By your re-
Oct. 9.
752 0 0
83
624
mittance on
Oct. 10
To cash paid J. Har-
J. Austin,
vey on your ac-
due Oct. 10.
350 0 0
82
287
count
75 10 0
82
62
Sept. 15
By proceeds
To insurance on pro-
of 17 hhds.
duce shipped by
sugar, P
you in the Ann,
Hercules,
Nokes, £1,400, at
due Oct. 15.
238 0 0
77
173
2guineas per cent.
Sept. 20
By cash re-
£29 8 0
ceived from
Policy 3 10 0
J. Johnson
32 18 0
on your ac-
Dec. 31
Postage and petty
count
260 0 0
102
265
charges during this
Dec. 31
Balance of in-
half year
1 15 0
terest car-
To commission, 1 ₱
ried to Dr.
-
1,276
cent. on £203 paid,
Balanceofac-
Do. on £260 re-
count car-
ceived on your ac-
ried to your
count
4 6 0
Dr. in new
To balance of inte-
account
621 8 7
rest this half year,
1,276 divided by 73,
is
17 9 7
1,879 8 7
2,460
1,879 8 7
2,460
Errors excepted.
London, 31st of December, 1831.
HENRY BARCLAY & Co.
We have here on the Dr. side all the payments made or responsibilities incurred for the
correspondents in question, and on the Cr. side the different receipts on their account. The
interest for the half year, the commission on receipts and payments, the postage and petty
charges, being then added, the account may be closed and the balance carried to next year.
Copies of accounts current ought to be sent off as soon as possible after the day to which
they are brought down and with that view they ought to be written out from the Ledger
before the close of the year or half year, particularly as the entries for interest and commis-
sion can be made only after they are written out. The whole ought then to be copied into
the account current book.
But in some counting-houses the account current book, instead of being copied from the
Ledger and Journal, is posted, like the latter, from the bill book, the cash book, the invoice
book, and the account of sales book. It is then considered a check on the Journal and
Ledger and from the comparative ease with which it is posted, may be completed and
made use of before the latter are fully brought up, This is certainly an advantage in houses
where, from pressure on the book-keeper, the Journal and Ledger are in arrear, but such
ought never to be the case for any length of time; while as to the former point-that of
forming a check on the Journal and Ledger-the fact is, that these books, from the mode in
which they are kept, are much more likely to be correct than the account current book.
Printed Works on Book-Reping.-To the publications of old date by teachers have suc-
ceeded, in the present age, several treatises on book-keeping by accountants. Some of these
are of very limited use, being directed more to recommend a favourite practice of the author
in some particular branch of book-keeping, than to convey a comprehensive view of the
system. The only works on the subject entitled to that character are two one by the late
Benjamin Booth, published above thirty years ago the other by Mr. Jones, an accountant
in London, printed so lately as the year 1831. Booth was a man of ability, who had expe-
rience both as a merchant and a book-keeper, having passed one part of his life in London,
the other in New York. The reader of his work finds a great deal of information in short
compass, without being perplexed either by superfluous detail or by fanciful theory.*
The form of Mr. Booth's Journal and Ledger is similar to what we have given in the
preceding pages, and to the practice of our merchants for more than a century : it was by
The title of the book is A Complete System of Book-keeping, by Benjamin Booth." London,
1799, thin 4to. Printed for Growvenor and Chater, and for the late J. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-
yard.
Mr. Jones's book is entitled " The Science of Book-keeping exemplified." 4to. London, 1831. 4l. 4s.
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220
BOOTS-BORDEAUX.
much the best work on book-keeping, until Mr. Jones devised several improvements calcu-
lated to lessen the risk of error in both Journal and Ledger. One of these improvements is
the use of two columns for figures in each page of the Journal, one for the Drs., the other
for the Crs. by inserting each sum twice, the book-keeper obtains the means of proving
the Journal additions page by page. The posting from the Journal to the Ledger is also
simplified and rendered less subject to error by the use of these columns. In regard to the
great task of balancing the Ledger, Mr. Jones's plan is to do it quarter by quarter, making
use of a separate book, called a balance book, in which are inserted the totals on each side of
the Ledger accounts at the end of three months. By these means, the agreement of the
general balance is made a matter of certainty after completing the additions. Other parts of
Mr. Jones's book, viz. his formulæ for books on the single entry plan, and for the accounts
of bankers, contain suggestions of evident utility. His volume consists of two parts: the
printed part (120 pp.) containing the treatise, with directions; and the lithographed part
(140 pp.) giving copious examples in two sets of books, one kept by single, the other by
double entry. If, on a reimpression, the author were to divide the work, and to sell the sin-
gle entry part separately from the double entry, the price of each might be moderate, and a
great service would be rendered to the mercantile public.
BOOTS AND SHOES, the external covering for the legs and feet, too well known to
require any description.-(For an account of the value of the boots and shoes annually pro-
duced in Great Britain, see LEATHER.)
BORAX, OR TINCAL (Arab. Buruk; Pers. Tunkar), one of the salts of soda. This
salt is obtained in a crystallised state from the bottom of certain lakes in Thibet. It is found
dissolved in many springs in Persia, and may be procured of a superior quality in China.
It is also said to be found in Saxony and South America; but it is more abundant in Thibet
than any where else. When dug up it is in an impure state, being enveloped in a kind of
fatty matter. It is then denominated tincal and it is not till it has been purified in Europe
that it takes the name of borax. The process followed in its purification was for a long
time known only to the Venetians and Hollanders. Borax is white, transparent, rather
greasy in its fracture, its taste is styptic, and it converts syrup of violets to a green. It rea-
dily dissolves in hot water, and swells and bubbles in the fire. It is of great use as a flux
for metals.-(Thomson's Chemistry, Ure's Dictionary, &c.)
The borax entered for home consumption amounted, at an average of the 3 years ending with 1831,
to 151,569 lbs. a year; the total imports during the 3 years ending with 1832 having been 170,392 lbs. a
year. Previously to 1832, it was subject, refined, to a duty of 56s., and unrefined, to a duty of 28s.
a cwt. In 1832, however, these duties were reduced, the former to 10s., and the latter to 4s. a cwt.
Their produce in that year amounted to 8821. 15s. Id. Borax is worth, in bond, unrefined, 31. 15s. to 41.;
refined, 41. 10s. to 51. a cwt.
BORDEAUX, a large and opulent commercial city of France, situated on the Garonne,
about 75 miles from its mouth, in lat. 44° 50¥ N., long. 0° 34' W. Population 110,000.
The commerce of Bordeaux is very extensive. The Garonne is a noble river, with depth
of water sufficient to enable large ships to come up to the city, laying open, in conjunction
with the Dordogne and their tributary streams, a large extent of country. The commerce
of Bordeaux is greatly promoted by the famous canal of Languedoc, which communicates
with the Mediterranean. By its means Bordeaux is enabled to furnish the south of France
with colonial products at : early as cheap a rate as Marseilles. Wines, brandies, and fruits
are the staple articles of export ; but the merchants apply themselves more particularly to the
wine trade. Most part of their other business is confined to dealing upon commission ; but
this they conduct almost invariably on their own account. The reason they assign for this
is, that the difficulties attending the purchase, racking, fining, and proper care of wines, so
as to render them fit for exportation, are so very great, as to make it almost impossible to
conduct the business on any thing like the ordinary terms so as to satisfy their employers.
Colonial products, cotton, &c. form the principal articles of importation.
Money is the same at Bordeaux as in other parts of France. All accounts are kept in francs, the par
of exchange being 25 fr. 20 cent. the pound sterling.-(See EXCHANGE.)
Weights and Measures.-With the exception of wines and brandies, the new or decimal system is of
general application in Bordeaux, both in wholesale and retail operations.-(See WEIGHTS AND MEA-
SURES.)
Wine is still sold by the tun of 4 hogsheads. The hogshead contains 30 veltes.
Brandy by the 50 veltes.
Spirits of wine by the velte.
The velte is an old measure of which 50 are equal to 3.8 hectolitres.
Oil is sold by weight (per 50 kilog.)
50
811 imperial gallons.
Entrance to the River.-This lies between Point de la Coubre on the north, and Point de Grave on the
south, bearing from each other nearly S. E. and N. W., distant about 4 leagues. There are lights on
both these points, but neither of thein is elevated to any great height above the level of the sea. The
middle part of the entrance to the river is encumbered with extensive sand banks and rocks. On
one of the latter, in lat. 45° 351' N., long. 1° 10' W., stands the Tour de Cordouan, one of the most
celebrated light-houses in Europe. It was erected in 1610; but has been materially improved since.
It is 206 feet high. The light, which is revolving, exhibits in succession a brilliant light, a feeble light,
and an eclipse, the changes following each other every half minute. It may be distinguished at the
distance of 8 or 9 leagues. The point de la Coubre is 21 leagues N. t W., and the Point de Grave If
league S. E. by E. $ E., from the Tour de Cordouan. There are two main channels for entering the
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BORDEAUX.
221
river,-the Passe du Nord, and the Passe de Grave. The former lies between the north side of the
river and the banks in the middle, about It mile south from the Point de la Coubre the water, where
shallowest, being about 41 fathoms. The course hence is nearly S. E. t E. The other principal pas-
sage lies between the Tour de Cordouan and the Point de Grave, nearly in a N. N. E. and S. S. W.
direction. In some places it has not more than 13 feet water and is in all respects very inferior to
the other passage, which is always to be preferred, especially with a large ship. The tides, both ebb
and flood, set through the channels with great rapidity, so that a good deal of caution is required on
making the river; but having once entered, there is no further danger. Spring tides rise from 14 to
15 feet, and neaps from 7 to 8; but they depend a good deal on the direction of the wind. All ves-
sels, except French coasters under 80 tons burden, and small craft from the north of Spain, entering
the Garonne, are obliged to take a pilot on board as soon as one offers himself. In summer, pilots are
not unfrequently met with 30 or 40 miles west of the Tour de Cordouan; but in winter they seldom
venture far beyond the banks, and sometimes cannot proceed even thus far.-(See Laurie's Plan of
the Bay of Biscay, with the Sailing Directions, &c.)
Shipping.In 1831, the arrivals at Bordeaux were-
Ships.
Tons.
French from French colonies
-
-
-
103
24,722
-
foreign countries -
-
- 146
27,226
-
fishery
-
-
-
-
234
9,165
-
coasting trade
-
-
- 2,341
108,370
Foreign ships from foreign countries
-
-
114
16,453
Total
- 2,938
185,936
-(Administration des Douanes, p. 342.) It is stated in the Resumb Annuel, published at Bordeaux, that
of the 114 foreign ships entering the port in 1831, 50 were English. In 1832, there were ninety-five
arrivals from England and there was also a considerable increase in the arrivals from the north.
The entire produce of the customs duties at Bordeaux in 1831, was 10,415,682 francs.
Port Charges.-Account of Port Charges, Brokerage, and other public Disbursements, payable in
Bordeaux on account of a French or English Vessel of 300 Tons Burden, from a Port of England to
Bordeaux, or from Bordeaux to a Port of England, or from or to any other British Possession in
Europe.
On a Fr. or Brit. Vessel.
On a Foreign Vessel.
Nature of Charges.
In French
La Sterling
In French
In Sterling
Money.
Money.
Money.
Money.
Fr. c.
L. a. d.
Fr. c.
L s. a
Report and pilotage from sea to Bordeaux, for a vessel drawing 14 French
net water (15 IL S-9 in- British)
218 93
8 15 2
247 50
918 0
Lamretto dues
61 0
2 18 10
61 0
2 18 10
Moving ressel up and mooring her
10 0
080
10 0
0 8 0
Entering vessel at Custom-bouse, and brokerage inwards
100 0
400
100 0
400
Advertisements for freight and passengers, 6 fr. (4. 10d.) to each newspaper
Tonanage money and navigation dues on 300 tons
495 0
19 16 0
1,239 0
49 2
Visit mg officers, clearances, harbour-master, ac.
14 75
0 11 10
14 75
0 10
Man ifest and freight list
15 0
0 12 0
15 0
0120
Ball cast taken in and out, fr. 25 per ton (1s.)
Consul's bill. Usual fees (English vemels), 17 fr. 25 c. (15e.)
Pilottage from Bordeaux to sea
200 0
8 16 0
245 84
9 16 3
Broizer's commission outwards, care and attendance for expediting the vessel
in ballast, 50 c. per tom (5d.), say 120 fr. at most (41. 16a.)
Londed per charter or on owner's account, 1 fr. (10d.) per ton
}
average
300 0
12 0
300 0
12 0 0
Loaded in freight, 1 fr. 50 c. (La. 3d.) per ton
-
1,434 68
57 10
2.232 59
89 6 1
N. B.-No regard paid to the nature of the cargo, as all goods are importable either for consump-
tion or exportation, which does not expose vessels to pay more or less charges.
British vessels are on a perfect equality with French vessels when they come from British ports in
Europe, otherwise they pay pilotage and tennage dues like all other foreign vessels, as stated in the
foreign column.
Imports.-The following is a note of the leading articles imported, by the ships not of Europe, in
1827 and 1828, since which they have not materially varied. They are taken from the ship brokers'
reports, no official account being published by the Customs.
1827.
1828.
1827.
1828.
Sugar
-
16,094
22,748 hogeheads
Indigo
1,143
1,568 serons
5,073
4,783
boxes
Lac dye
-
0
210 chests
312
346
tieroes
Campeachy and
casks
other dye
5,717
383317
}
parcels,
1,540
1,608
118
152 quantities
sacks
woods
-
unknown
Coffee
-
2,273
1,949
hogsheads
Cochineal
-
1,243
2,926 serons
4,800
3,490
casks
Annotto
-
680
666 casks
736
663 tierces
Gums (different
}
9,423
do., bales
sacks or
kinds)
15,151
38,661
27,540
and sacks
bales
Quercitron
-
340
116
casks
Cocoa -
-
130
51
hogsheads
Quino
-
4,793
250 serons
1,202
525 casks
Bablap
-
512
208 bales
34,424
12,229
sacks
Jalap
-
252
717 serons
Pimento
- 1,996
342
bales
Sarsaparilla
-
290
230 do. and bales
Pepper
- 25,498
21,698
do., sacks,
Saltpetre
-
9,467
8,713
sncks
andpackages
Saffron
-
0
110 bales
Clanamon
-
149
0
cases and
Tea -
-
670
99 chests
serons
Rice -
-
2,520
4,306
casks
2,635
2,374
bundles 3 to
White and yel-
}
460
680
an
do., sacks,
5 lbs.
low wax
&c.
Cloves
-
543
323 casks
Curcuma
-
1,130
2,034
sacks
2,997
227 bales
Ivory
-
28
70 teeth, &c.
Dc. bruised
-
614
434 do.
Mother of pearl
602
0 canisters
Vanilla
-
52
45 chests
Indigo
4,144
5,693 do.
Cotton
-
9,429
7 068
bales and
-
serons
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222
BORDEAUX.
1827.
1828.
1827.
1828.
Raw silk
-
46
0
cases and
Cigars
466
685
boxes
bales
Rattans
-
1,604
10,370
packets
Wool, Cashmere
6
0 bales
Quicksilver
-
2,739
1,990
bottles
Do. Peru
-
3
616
do.
Tin, Peru and
Tufia (new rum)
1,031
460 puncheons
Banca
}
9,759
804
bare
Guinea blue
122
490
bales
Lead
-
0
1,583 saloners
cloth
-
Copper
-
4,400
R,240 do. or bars
American hides
47,116
15,738
single
Platina
-
5
10
packages
109
0 bales
Gold
-
-
735
29
ingots
Ox horns
-
10,000
21,700
8,250
2,517
doubloons
Chinchilla
-
216
0 dozens
Silver
-
105
51 chests
Raw skins
-
55
80 bales I
25
40 ingots
Tobacco
-
4,594
4,616
hogsheads
and bales
23
11
boxes or
sacks
Cigars
-
170,000
80,000
1,559,569
3,784,231
dollars
In addition to the articles above specified, there were also received for re-exportation considerable
quantities of bar iron, utensils, and tools from England, Spain, and Sweden zinc from Germany
and linens from England, Holland, and Germany for consumption, lead, tin plates, coal (as ballast),
arsenic, litharge, minium, &c. from England ; lead, steel, olive oil, liquorice, paste, saffron, and saf-
frarum from Spain; steel from Germany; olive oil from Italy; fish, glue, and tallow from Russia
timber from Baltic ports; cheese, stock-fish, &c. from Holland.
Exports.-It is impossible to procure even approximate information regarding the quantities of the
several articles of exportation. No reports are published by the Customs, nor do they allow extracts
of the entries ontwards to be taken.
The following is a list of the species of articles exported from Bordeaux to the different parts of the
world :-
To Martinique and Guadalowpe.-Provisions, flour, wine, brandy, and a small quantity of manufac-
tured goods.
To Bourbon.-Wines, provisions, cattle. furniture, coarse and fine hardwares, perfumery, silk, cot-
ton and linen stuffs, stationery, fashionable articles, &c.
To the United States.-Wines, brandy, almonds, prunes, verdigris, and a trifling quantity of manu-
factured goods.
To Spanish America, Cuba, &c.-Wines, brandy, silks, cloths, stationery, fashions, jewellery, per-
fumery, saddlery, &c.
To the South Seas.-Wines, brandy, liqueurs, and all sorts of manufactured articles.
To the East Indies and China.-Wines, brandy, furniture, silver, &c.
To England.-Wines, brandy, liqueurs, fruits, tartar, cream of tartar, plums, chesnuts, walnuts,
loaf-sugar to Guernsey and Jersey, clover seed, annotto, corn, flour, skins raw and dressed, cork wood
and corks, vinegar, turpentine, resins, &c.
To the North of Europe.-Wines, brandy, spirits of wine, tartar, cream of tartar, colonial produce,
loaf-sugar, molasses, &c.
Wine.-This forms the great article of export from Bordeaux. The estimated produce of the de-
partment of the Gironde in wines of all kinds, and one year with another, is from 220,000 to 250,000
tuns; the disposal of which is, approximately, as follows :-
Consumed in the department
-
about
50,000 tuns.
Expedited to the different parts of France
-
-
125,000
-
Converted into brandy
-
-
-
25,000 -
Exported to foreign countries
-
-
-
50,000
-
250,000 tuns.
The exports to foreign countries are as follow :-
To England
-
1,500 to 2,000 tuns.
Holland
-
-
12,000 15,000 -
The north of Europe
-
27,000 34,000 -
America and India
-
1,000
1,200
-
41,500 to 52,000 tuns.
The red wines are divided into three great classes, each of which is subdivided into several sorts.
Class 1. embraces the Medoc wines,
2.
-
Grave, and St. Emilion,
3.
-
common, or cargo wines.
The first class is composed of the " grands crus," the crus bourgeois," and the "crus ordinaires."
The grands crus" are further distinguished as firsts, seconds and thirds.
The firsts are the wines of Château Margaux, Lafitte, Latour. and Haut-Brion. The latter is pro-
perly a Grave wine, but it is always classed amongst the first Medocs.
The seconds are the wines of Rauzan, Leoville, Larose, Mouton, Gerse, &c.
The thirds, wines which are produced by the vineyards touching those above named, and which
differ little in quality from them.
The quantity of " grands crus" wine of the above description does not exceed 3,000 tuns, and sells
at from 1,600 fr. to 3,500 fr. per tun on the lees.
The crus bourgeois" consists of the superior Margaux, St. Julien, Pauillac, St. Estaphe, &c.
quantity estimated about 2,000 tuns, and prices on the lees 800 fr. to 1,800 fr. per tun.
The " crus ordinaires," sell at 300 fr. to 700 fr. according to the year and the quality. Quantity.
25,000 to 35,000 tuns.
The whole produce of Medoe is therefore about 40,000 tuns.
The grands crus" and "crus bourgeois" require 4 years' care and preparation, before delivery for
use or for exportation; and this augments their price from 30 to 35 per cent.
The second class is composed of the red wines of Grave and St. Emilion, which are in greater quan-
tity, and amongst them some of a very superior quality, that are generally bought for mixing with
Medoc. The first quality of these wines sells from 800 fr. to 1,800 fr. per tun. The second qualities-
Queyries, Montferrand, Bassans, &c.300 fr. to 600 fr.
The third class consists of the common or cargo wines, the greater part of which is consumed in
the country, or converted into brandy. The portion exported is sent off the year of its growth.
Prices from 160 fr. to 250 fr. per tun.
The white wines of the first "crus," such as-Haut-Barsac, Preignac, Beaumes, Sauterne, &c., are
only fit for use at the end of 4 or 6 years, and for exportation at the end of 1 or 2 years more. Prices
on the lees vary from 800 fr. to 1,500 fr. per tun.
The grand crus," of white Grave St. Bries, Carbonieux, Dulamon, &c., sell, in good years, from
500 fr. to 800 fr.
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Inferior white wines 130 fr. to 400 fr. per tun.
The expenses of all kinds to the wine-grower of Medoc, for the cultivation, gathering, and making
his wine, and the cask, are estimated to amount, in the most favourable years, to 50 fr. per hogshead,
or 200 fr. per tun.
The merchants in general purchase up the finest crus as soon as sufficiently advanced to judge of
their character; or more frequently they are bought up for a series of years, whether good or bad.
They are transported to their cellars or "chays," in Bordeaux, SO situated and protected by surround-
ing houses, as to preserve a tolerable equable temperature throughout the year; and in these they
ripen, and undergo all the different processes of fining, racking, mixing, &c. considered necessary to
adapt them to the different tastes of the foreign consumers.
It is pretty generally the practice to adapt the wines for the English market by a plentiful dose of
the strong, full-bodied, and high flavoured wines of the Rhone; such as Hermitage, Côte Rotie, and
Croze-especially the first, by which means they are hardly cognisable by the Medoc flavour. Per-
haps the principal reason for keeping these wines SO long before they are used, is to give them time to
acquire a homogeneous flavour, destroyed by the mixture of several different qualities. The wines
shipped under the titles of Château Margaux, Lafitte, and Latour, are also mixed with the wines of
the surrounding vineyards, which, from the nature of the soil, and proximity, cannot be greatly dif-
ferent. Other good wines are also said to enter largely into the composition of these celebrated crus;
and those of a superior year are employed to bring up the quality of one or two bad years, so that it
is easy to conceive, that the famous wines of 1811 and of the years 1815, 1819, and 1825, are not
speedily exhausted. Some houses pretend to keep their wines pure; but the practice of mixing is,
at any rate, very general.
The purchase of the wines, whether from the grower or merchant, is always effected through a
broker. There are a few of them who have acquired a reputation for accuracy in dissecting the dif-
ferent flavours, and in tracing the results of the wines by certain measures of training, or treat-
ment.
England takes off nearly half the highest priced wines, and very little of any other quality. Except
in Bordeaux itself, there is but a very moderate portion of the superior Medoc consumed in France.
The capital even demands only second, third, and fourth rate wines.
The Dutch, who are large consumers of Bordeaux wine, go more economically to work. They send
vessels to the river in the wine season, with skilful supercargoes, who go amongst the growers, and
purchase the wines themselves, cheaper even than a broker would do. They live on board the ship,
take their own time to select, and wait often for months before their cargo is completed but they
attain their object, getting a supply of good sound wine, and at as low a rate, with all charges of
shipping included, as the wine merchants can deliver it into their stores in Bordeaux. They never
purchase old wine; they take only that newly made, which, being without the support of stronger
bodied wines, must be consumed in the course of 2 or 3 years. They follow the same system at Bay-
onne, where 2 or 3 ships go annually for the white wines of Jurancon, &c.
The cargo wines are so manufactured that it is hardly possible to know of what they are composed.
They are put free on board for 21. per hogshead and upwards, according as they are demanded. They
are such as will not bear exposure in a glass when shipping: the tasters have a small flat silver cup
expressly for them. These wines are principally shipped to America and India, and some at a higher
price to the north of Europe.
The principal wine merchants have agents in London, whose business is more particularly to intro-
duce their wines to family use; and it is to that end they pay them from 300L. to 800/. for travelling
expenses and entertainments, besides allowing 3 per cent. or more, on the amount of sales. They
generally look out for individuals for their agents of good address, and some connection amongst the
upper classes.
Brandies and Spirits of Wine.-The quantity distilled in the neighbourhood of Bordeaux is esti-
mated at about
18,000 pieces, of 50 veltes each.
Ditto, in the Armagnac
-
20,000
ditto
Ditto, in the Marmauduis
-
8,000
ditto
46,000 pieces, ordinary proof.
or this quantity, France takes off about 23,000 pieces for consumption; England, 2,500; United States,
10,000; India, 2,500 north of Europe, 5,000; in all, 43,000 pieces.
Languedoc produces annually about 40,000 pieces, of 80 veltes each, the greater part of which
comes to Bordeaux to be forwarded to the different ports of the north of France, or to foreign
countries.
France consumes about two thirds of the above quantity the remaining one third goes to the north
of Europe.
The prices of brandy are from 130 fr. to 150 fr. per 50 veltes, ordinary proof; spirits of wine, from
4 fr. to 5 fr. per velte.
It is at the port of Formay, on the Charente, that the greatest shipments of brandy take place to
England. Cognac, from which the brandy takes its name, and where there are large distilleries, is a
few leagues up the river. The quantity exported is far greater than what is made at Cognac-the
two leading distillers there (Martel, and Henessey) buying great quantities from the small cultiva-
tors. The greater part of the wines made about Angouleme, and thence down toward the sea, are of
Inferior quality, and fit only for making brandy and so little do the prices vary, that the proprietors
look upon it nearly in the samelight as gold. When they augment their capital by savings or profits,
it is employed in keeping a larger stock of brandy, which has the further advantage of paying the in-
terest of their capital by its improved value from age. England is said to receive upwards of 6,000
pieces annually from Charente.
At Bordeaux, as at Paris and Marseilles, there is a constant gambling business in time bargains of
spirits of wine. It is in the form of spirits of wine that nearly all the brandy consumed in France is
expedited; as in this form there is a great saving in carriage.-(For an official account of the exports
of wine and brandy from France. see WINE.)
The fruits exported consist almost entirely of prunes and almonds. The latter come principally
from Languedoc.
The policy of the Spanish government toward her American colonies during the last 10 years has
been the cause of a great many very wealthy Spaniards settling in Bordeaux; and their number has
been still further increased by the Spaniards expelled from Mexico, who do not choose to employ their
fortunes in their native country, or find greater facilities for employing them in Bordeaux. These are
in possession of the greater part of the Spanish American trade of this port, and are viewed with a
very jealous eye by the old merchants. They have also contributed greatly to beautify the city, by
employing their wealth in building, which they have done to a considerable extent. They have also
reduced the rate of interest, and contributed to the facilities of discounting bills: the Spanish houses
generally discount long bills at 11 or 2 per cent. lower than the Bank.
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BORDEAUX.
Bordeaux possesses some iron founderies, cotton factories, sugar refineries, glass works, &c., but
labour and living are too high to admit of its becoming a considerable manufacturing city.
Banking Establishments.-There is only one banking company in Bordeaux-the Bordeaux Bank."
It. has a capital of 3,000,000 in shares of 1,000 fr. each. It issues notes for 1,000 and 500 fr. (40L.
and 201.) payable in specie on demand. Its affairs are managed by a Board of directors, named by the
50 principal shareholders. This Board fixes the rate of discount, and the number of names that ought
to guarantee. each bill it being left to the discount committee to judge of the responsibility of the
signatures on the bills presented. At present the bank discounts bills on Bordeaux. having 3 months
to run, and guaranteed by 3 signatures, at 5 per cent., and those on Paris at 41 per cent.
When bills are presented, not having the required number of names, or these deemed suspicious,
they take, in guarantee, public stock bonds or other effects-advancing to the extent of 9-10ths of
their current value.
The bank advances iths of the value of gold and silver in ingots, or in foreign money, deposited
with them, at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum. It also accepts in deposit, diamonds, plate, and every
kind of valuable property, engaging to redeliver the same in the state received, for t per cent. per
quarter, or 1 per cent. per annum.
Those who have accounts current with the bank may have all their payments made, and money re-
ceived, by the bank, without fee. It allows no Interest on balances, and never makes advances either
on personal security or on mortgage.
On the 31st of December, 1832, the bank notes in circulation amounted to 12,650,000 fr. (506,000Z.)
The affairs of the bank are subject to the inspection of the Prefect, to whom half yearly reports of
its situation are made. These are printed entire, and distributed to the 50 principal shareholders an
abstract being, at the same time, published in the Bordeaux journals.
After the revolution of July, 1830, there was a severe run on the bank; and owing to the difficulty
of procuring gold from Paris, the directors were obliged to limit their deliveries in specie to 500 fr.
(201.) in a single payment; but notwithstanding this circumstance, no notes were protested and the
moment supplies of gold could be obtained from Paris, the operations of the bank resumed their usual
course; and her affairs have been, during the last 3 years, uncommonly prosperous. Exclusive of the
dividend of 5 per cent., the bank accumulated, in 1831, a surplus profit of 72,000 fr.; and, in 1832, her
surplus profits were 250,000 fr., or 10,000/.
Brokers.-No one is allowed to act as a mercantile broker in France, who is not 25 years of age, and
who has not served 4 years in a commercial house, or with a broker, or a notary public. They are
nominated by the king, after their qualifications have been ascertained by the Chamber of Commerce.
All brokers must deposit the sum of 8,000 fr. in the treasury, as a guarantee for their conduct, for
which they are allowed interest at the rate of 4 per cent. At present there are in Bordeaux 21 ship
brokers, 24 merchandise do., 20 wine and spirit do., 7 insurance do., and 20 money and exchange do.
the latter form a separate class.
All foreigners are obliged to employ ship brokers to transact their business at the Custom-house
and although masters and owners of French vessels might sometimes dispense with their services,
they never do so, finding it to be, in all cases, most advantageous to use their intervention. All
duties outward on vessels and cargoes are paid by the ship brokers, who invariably clear out all ves-
sels, French as well as foreign.
Rates of Commission.-1. Ship brokers -Vessel in ballast, 50 cents (5d.) per ton; vessel loaded
per charter or on owners' account, 1 fr. (10d.) per ton. 2. Merchandise brokers :- per cent. on co-
lonial produce, and other goods. 3. Wine and spirit brokers :-2 per cent. on wine, &c. 4. Insu-
rance brokers :- per cent. 5. Money brokers :- per cent. on Paris and foreign paper; ! per cent.
on Bordeaux do. 6. Merchants :-2 per cent. on all sorts of operations between natives; 21 per cent.
on all sorts of operations between strangers 5 per cent. on litigious affairs; 1 per cent. on goods in
transitu, when the constituent is present; # per cent. on banking affairs.
Insurance of ships, houses, and lives is effected at Bordeaux. The first is carried on partly by indi-
viduals, and partly by companies; the last two by companies only. The partners in these associa-
tions are generally liable only to the amount of the shares they respectively hold.
For statements as to the Warehousing System, Smuggling, &c., the reader is referred to the article
HAVRE.
Quarantine is performed at Trompeloup, where a spacious lazaretto has been constructed. Bor-
deaux is a favourable place for repairing and careening ships, and for obtaining supplies of all sorts
of stores.
The exchange or money brokers of Bordeaux follow a kind of business pretty similar to the London
private bankers. They receive, negotiate, and pay bills and orders, of such houses as have accounts
open with them, charging and allowing an interest on balances, which varies from 31 to 41 per cent.
according to circumstances. They charge t per cent. for negotiating bills, and t per cent. on all the
payments they make.
There are, besides, numerous capitalists who employ their spare funds in discounting bills. They
prefer bills at long dates, and take from 3 to 6 per cent. discount, according to the confidence they
have in the paper presented.
There are not wanting individuals who guarantee, with their names, every sort of paper presented,
taking from 5 to 60 per cent. for the risk.
Customary Mode of Payment, and Length of Credit.-Colonial produce, spices, dye stuffs, and metals
are usually sold for cash, with 3 per cent. discount. Corn, flour, brandy, and several other articles,
are sold for nett cash, without discount.
Wines are generally bought of the cultivators at 12 and 15 months' credit, or 6 per cent. discount.
When they change hands amongst the merchants, the practice is to sell for cash, allowing 3 or 5 per
cent. discount.
The usage is generally established in Bordeaux, to consider all paper having less than 30 days to
run as cash; and with such all payments are made, where there is not an express stipulation to be
paid in coin.
Tares.-The tares allowed in Bordeaux are as follows
At Curtom-house.
In Commerce.
All Custom-house.
In Commerce.
Cotton in bales, 6 per
Large square bales, 6 per cent.
Rice, from all countries
Tare nett, or 12 per cent.
cent.
Smaller do., 8 per cent.
none.
Round do., 4 per cent.
Coffee in bags, tare nett,
In bags weighing 60 kil. (134 lbs.), I
Sugar in hhds, 15 per
In hhds., 17 per cent.
or 2 per cent.
kil.
cent.
Tret per hhd., 1 kil. (2.21 lbs.)
Do. from 60 1-2 to 75 kil. (136 to 168 lbs.),
Do. in cases, Havannah,
In cases, Havannah, &c, 14 per cent.
I 1-2 kil.
&c., 15 per cent.
Tret per case, I kil. (2.24 15s.)
Do. above 75 kil. (163 lbs.), 2 kil.
Do. in bales from Bour-
In bales from Bourbon, &c., real.
Cocoa in bags, tare nett,
In bags weighing 60 kil. (134 lbs.), 1
bon, Mauritius, Ma.
Mauritius, Manilla, &c., 8 per cent.
or 2 per cent.
kil.
nilla, &c., nett.
Do 60 1-2 kil, to 73 kil. (135 to 168 lbs.)
Do. clayed, in hhds.,
Clayed, in hbds. white, 12 per cent.
I 1-2 kil.
white and brown, 12
Tret per hhd., I kil.
Do. above 75kil. (168 Ibs.), 2 kil.
per cent.
Clayed do., brown, 13 per cent.
Pepper in bags, 2 per
In bags weighing 60 kil. (134 lbs.), I
Trot per hhd., 1 kil.
cent.
kil.
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It Custom-house
In Commerce.
at Custom-house.
In Commerce.
Pupper in bags, 2 per
In bags weighing from 60 1-2 to 75 kil.
Peruvian bark, real tare.
In chests, tare nett.
cent.
(135 to 168 lbs.), I 1-2 kil.
In serons weighing from 45 to 57 1-8 kil.
In bales, 130 to 150 kil. (291 to 336 Iba.),
(101 to 129 lbs. ), 8 kiL
2 kil.
Do. 60 to 75 kil. (134 to 168 lbs.), 10 kil.
In serons, 50 to 60 kil. (112 to 134 lbs.), 2
Ashes, pot and pearl, 12
Pot and pearl, 18 per cent.
kil.
per cept.
Indigo, in chests, real
In chests, real tare.
Cinnamon in chests, 12
Ceylon, in serons, or single bales, 3 kil.
tare.
In serons weighing from 45 to 55 kil. (101
per cent.
Do. in double bales, 6 kil.
to 123 lbs.), 7 kil.
Do. in bales, 2 per cept.
China, in chests, real tare.
Do. 55 1-2 to 65 kil. (102 to 146 lba.), 8 kil.
Cloves, real tare.
In casks, real tare.
Do. 65 1.2 to 75 kil. (103 to 168 lbs.), 9 kil.
In bales weighing from 30 1-2 to 50 kil.
Do. 1.2 to 95 kil. (160 to 213 lbs.), 10 kil.
(68 to 112 lbs.), real tare, or 2 kil.
Do. 95 1-2 to 107 kil. (214 to 240 lbs.), 11
In bags, single, 1 kil.
kil.
Cochineal, real tare.
Real tare.
Quareitron bark, real
In casks of 200 kil. and above (448 1bs.),
Gum in casks, do.
Real tare.
tare.
12 per cent.
Mace and nutmegs, do.
Real tare.
Do. from 150 1-2 to 200 kil. (337 to 448
Annotto, none.
In casks, 4 per cent. for leaves, and 6 per
1bs.), 15 per cent.
cent. tare.
Do. from 120 to 130 kil. (269 to 336 lbs.),
Saranparilla, real tarejor
In bales, 5 kil.
20 per cent.
2 per cent.
The instructive details with respect to the trade of Bordeaux given above, so very superior to
what are to be found in any other publication, have been principally derived from a communication
of Mr. Buchanan, of the house of James Morrison and Co., acquired his information on the spot ;
but some particulars have been learned from the carefully drawn-up answers made by the Consul to
the Circular Queries.
Operation of the French commercial System on the Trade of Bordeaux, &c-The trade
of this great city has suffered severely from the short-sighted, anti-social policy of the French
government. This policy was first broadly laid down, and systematically acted upon, by
Napoleon ; and we believe it would not be difficult to show that the privations it entailed on
the people of the Continent powerfully contributed to accelerate his downfall. But those
by whom he has been succeeded, have not hitherto seen the expediency of returning to a
sounder system on the contrary, they have carried, in some respects at least, the conti-
nental system" to an extent not contemplated by Napoleon. Notwithstanding the vast im-
portance to a country like France, of supplies of iron and hardware at a cheap rate, that
which is produced by foreigners is excluded, though it might be obtained for half the price
of that which is manufactured at home. A similar line of policy has been followed as to cot-
ton yarn, earthenware, &c. And in order to force the manufacture of sugar from the beet-
root, oppressive duties have been laid, not only on foreign sugar, but even on that imported
from the French colonies. The operation of this system on the commerce and industry of
the country has been most mischievous. By forcing France to raise, at home, articles for
the production of which she has no natural or acquired capabilities, the exportation, and
consequently the growth, of those articles in the production of which she is superior to every
other country, has been very greatly narrowed. All commerce being bottomed on a fair
principle of reciprocity, a country that refuses to import must cease to export. By exclud-
ing foreign produce-by refusing to admit the sugar of Brazil, the cottons and hardware of
England, the iron of Sweden, the linens of Germany, and the cattle of Switzerland and Wir-
temberg-France has done all that was in her power to drive the merchants of those coun-
tries from her markets. They are not less anxious than formerly to obtain her wines, bran-
dies, and silks inasmuch, however, as commerce is merely an exchange of products, and
as France will accept very few of the products belonging to others, they cannot, how
anxious soever, maintain that extensive and mutually beneficial intercourse with her they
would otherwise carry on they sell little to her, and their purchases are of course, propor-
tionally diminished.
This, indeed, is in all cases the necessary and inevitable effect of the prohibitive system.
It never fails to lessen exportation to the same extent that it lessens importation so that,
when least injurious, it merely substitutes one sort of industry for another-the production
of the article that had been obtained from the foreigner, in the place of the production of
that which had been sent to him as an equivalent-(See COMMERCE.)
France is not only extremely well situated for carrying on an extensive intercourse with
foreign countries, but she is largely supplied with several productions, which, were she to
adopt a liberal commercial system, would meet with a ready and advantageous sale abroad,
and enable her to furnish equivalents for the largest amount of imports. The superiority
enjoyed by Amboyna in the production of cloves is not more decided than that enjoyed by
France in the production of wine. Her claret, burgundy, champagne, and brandy, are un-
rivalled and furnish, of themselves, the materials of a vast commerce. Indeed, the produc-
tion of wine is, next to the ordinary business of agriculture, by far the most extensive and
valuable branch of industry in France. It is estimated by the landholders and merchants of
the department of the Gironde, in the admirable Pétition et Mémoire à l'Appui presented
by them to the Chamber of Deputies in 1828, that the quantity of wine annually produced
in France amounts, at an average, to about 40,000,000 hectolitres, or 1,060,000,000 gallons;
that its value is not less than from 800,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 francs, or from 32,000,000/.
to 40,000,000L sterling and that upwards of three millions of individuals are employed in
its production. In some of the southern departments, it is of paramount importance. The
population of the Gironde, exclusive of Bordeaux, amounts to 432,839 individuals, of
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BORDEAUX.
whom no fewer than 226,000 are supposed to be directly engaged in the cultivation of the
vine.
Here, then, is a branch of industry in which France has no competitor, which even now
affords employment for about a tenth part of her population, and which is susceptible of
indefinite extension. The value of the wines, brandies, vinegars, &c. exported from France,
at an average of the 3 years ending with 1790, amounted to about 51,000,000 francs, or
upwards of two millions sterling. The annual exports of wine from Bordeaux only, exceed-
ed 100,000 tuns; and as the supply of wine might be increased to almost any amount,
France has, in this single article, the means of carrying on the most extensive and lucrative
commerce. " Le gouvernement Francais," says Mr. Chaptal, in his work Sur Industrie
Francaise, " doit les plus grands encouragements à la culture des vignes, soit qu'il considére
ses produits relativement à la consommation intérieure, soit qu'il les envisage sous le rap-
port de notre commerce avec l'étranger, doni il est en effet la base essentielle."
But instead of labouring to extend this great branch of industry, government has con-
sented to sacrifice it to the interests of the iron-founders, and the planters of Martinique and
Guadaloupe ! We do not, indeed, imagine that they were at all aware that such would be
the effect of their policy. Theirs is only one instance, among myriads that may be specified,
to prove that ignorance in a ministry is quite as pernicious as bad intentions. The conside-
ration, apparently, not a very recondite one, that, notwithstanding the bounty of nature,
wine was not gratuitously produced in France, and could not, therefore, be exported except
for an equivalent, would seem never to have occurred to the ministers of Louis and Charles
X. But those whose interests were at stake, did not fail to apprise them of the hollowness
of their system of policy. In 1822, when the project for raising the duties on sugar, iron,
linens, &c. was under discussion, the merchants of Bordeaux, Nantes, Marseilles, and other
great commercial cities, and the wine-growers of the Gironde, and some other departments,
presented petitions to the Chambers, in which they truly stated, that it was a contradiction
and an absurdity to attempt selling to the foreigner, without, at the same time, buying from
him; and expressed their conviction, that the imposition of the duties in question would be
fatal to the commerce of France, and would consequently inflict a very serious injury on the
winegrowers and silk manufacturers. These representations did not, however, meet with a
very courteous reception. They were stigmatised as the work of ignorant and interested
persons. The Chambers approved the policy of ministers and in their ardour to extend
and perfect it, did not hesitate deeply to injure branches of industry on which several mil-
lions of persons are dependent, in order that a few comparatively insignificant businesses,
nowise suited to France, and supporting 100,000 persons, might be bolstered up and
protected
The event has shown that the anticipations of the merchants were but too well founded.
There is a discrepancy in the accounts laid before the late Commission d'Enquête by
government, and those given in the above-mentioned Pétition et Mémoire a ľAppui from
the Gironde. According to the tables printed by the Commission, the export of wine from
France is, at this moment, almost exactly the same as in 1789. It is, however, plain that,
had there not been some powerful counteracting cause in operation, the export of wine ought
to have been very greatly augmented. The United States, Russia, England, Prussia, and
all those countries that have at all times been the great importers of French wines, have made
prodigious advances in wealth and population since 1789; and, had the commerce with
them not been subjected to injurious restrictions, there is every reason to think that their
imports of French wine would have been much greater now than at any former period.
But the truth is, that the accounts laid before the Commission are entitled to extremely
little credit. In so far as respects the export of wine from Bordeaux, which has always been
the great market for this species of produce, the statements in the Mémoire à Appui are
taken from the Custom-house returns. Their accuracy may, therefore, be depended upon,
and they show an extraordinary falling off. Previously to the Revolution, the exports
amounted to 100,000 tuns a (Peuchet, Statistique Elémentaire, p. 138.) ; but since
1820, they have only been as follows :-
Tuns.
Tuns.
Tuns.
Tuns
1820, 61,110
1822, 39,955
1824, 39,625
1826, 48,46
1821, 63,244
1823, 51,529
1825, 46,314
1827, 54,49
It is also stated (Mémoire, p. 33.), that a large proportion of these exports has been made
on speculation and that the markets of Russia, the Netherlands, Hamburgh, &c. are glut-
ted with French wines, for which there is no demand. " Dans ce moment," (25th April,
1828,) it is said in the Mémoire, it existe en consignation, à Hambourg, 12,000 à 15,000
barriques de vin pour compte des propriétaires du département de la Gironde, qui seront
trop heureux s'ils ne perdent que leur capital."
This extraordinary decline in the foreign demand has been accompanied by a correspond-
ing glut of the home market, a heavy fall of prices, and the ruin of a great number of mer-
chants and agriculturists. It is estimated, that there were, in April, 1828, no fewer than
600,000 tuns of wine in the Gironde, for which no outlet could be found and the glut in
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BORDEAUX.
227
the other departments, is said to have been proportionally great. The fall in the price of
wine has reacted on the vineyards, most of which have become quite unsaleable ; and a total
stop has been put to every sort of improvement. Nor have matters been in the least amend-
ed during the current year on the contrary, they seem to be gradually getting worse.
Such is the poverty of the proprietors, that wine is now frequently seized, and sold by the
revenue officers in payment of arrears of taxes; and it appears, from some late statements in
the Mémorial Bordelais (a newspaper published at Bordeaux), that the wine so sold has
not recently fetched more, at an average, than about two thirds of the cost of its production !
The following official account of the exports of wine from the Gironde, during the 3 years
ending with 1831, sets the extraordinary decline of this important trade in the most striking
point of view :-
Year.
Litres.
Imp. Gal.
Year.
Litres.
Imp. Gal.
Year.
Litres.
Imp.
1829
43,832,064 9,643,053
1830
98,551,863 = 6,281,412
1831
24,409,604 = 5,370,110
The exports of brandy have declined in about the same degree and the foreign shipping
frequenting the port has been diminished nearly a half.
Such are the effects that the restrictive system of policy has had on the wine trade of
France,-on a branch of industry which, as we have already seen, employs three millions of
people. It is satisfactory, however, to observe, that the landowners and merchants are fully
aware of the source of the misery in which they have been involved. They know that they
are not suffering from hostile or vindictive measures on the part of foreigners, but from the
blind and senseless policy of their own government; that they are victims of an attempt to
counteract the most obvious principles-to make France produce articles directly at home,
which she might obtain from the foreigner in exchange for wine, brandy, &c. at a third or
a fourth part of the expense they now cost. They cannot export, because they are not
allowed to import. Hence they do not ask for bounties and prohibitions; on the contrary,
they disclaim all such quack nostrums and demand what can alone be useful to them, and
beneficial to the country,-a free commercial system.
Considéré en lui-même," say the landowners and merchants of the Gironde, "le système prohi-
bitif est la plus déplorable des erreurs. La nature, dans sa variété infinie, a départi a chaque contrée
ses attributs particuliers; elle a imprimé sur chaque sol sa véritable destination, et c'est par la diver-
sité des produits et des besoins, qu'elle a voulu unir les hommes par un lien universel, et opérer entre
eux ces rapprochements qui ont produit le commerce et la civilisation.
Quelle est la base du système prohibitif1 Une véritable chimère, qui consiste a essayer de vendre
à l'étranger sans acheter de lui.
"Quelle est donc la conséquence la plus immédiate du système prohibitif, ou, en d'autres termes,
du monopole C'est que le pays qui est placé sous son empire ne peut vendre ses produits a l'étran-
ger. Le voilà donc refoulé dans lui-meme et a l'inpossibilité de vendre ce qu'il a de trop vient se
joindre la nécessité de payer plus cher ce qui lui manque.
44 Notre industrie ne demandoit, pour fructifier, ni la faveur d'un monopole, ni cette foule d'artifices
et de secours dont bien d'autres ont imposé le fardeau au pays. Une sage liberté commerciale, une
économie politique fondée sur la nature, en rapport avec la civilisation, en harmonie avec tous les
intérêts véritables; telle étoit son seul besoin. Livrée a son essor naturel, elle se seroit étendue
d'elle-même sur la France de 1814, comme sur celle de 1789; elle auroit formé la plus riche branche de
son agriculture; elle auroit fait circuler, et dans son sol natal, et dans tout le sol du royaume, une
sève de vie et de richesse; elle auroit encore attiré sur nos plages le commerce du monde; et la
France, au lieu de s'ériger avec effort en pays manufacturier, auroit reconquis, par la force des choses,
une supériorité incontestable comme pays agricole.
Le système contraire a prevalu.
La ruine d'un des plus importants départements de la France la détresse des départements cir-
convoisins; le dépèrissement général du Midi; une immense population attaquee dans ses moyens
d'existence; un capital énorme compromis; la perspective de ne pouvoir prélever l'impôt sur notre
sol appauvri et dépouillé; un préjudice immense pour tous les départements dont nous somme tribu-
taires; un décroissement rapide dans celles de nos consommations qui profitent au Nord; la stagna-
tion générale du commerce, avec tous les désastres qu'elle entraine, toutes les pertes qu'elle produit,
et tous les dommages ou matériels, ou politiques ou moraux, qui en sont l'inévitable suite; enfin,
l'anéantissement de plus en plus irréparable de tous nos anciens rapports commerciaux; les autres
peuples s'enrichissant de nos pertes et développant leur système commercial sur les débris du notre
Tels sont les fruits amers du système dont nous avons été les principales victimes."
Such is the well authenticated account, laid before the Chamber of Deputies by 12,563
landowners and merchants of the Gironde, of the practical operation and real effect of that
very system of policy, which, extraordinary as it may seem, has been held up for imitation
to the parliament of England!
The effect of this system upon the silk trade of France, the most important branch of her
manufacturing industry, and one in which she had long the superiority, is similar, and
hardly less destructive. Her prohibitions have forced others to manufacture for themselves,
so that the foreign demand for silks is rapidly diminishing. It is stated, in Observations
addressées d la Commission Enquête, by the delegate of the Chamber of Commerce of
Lyons, that the silk manufacture is in the worst possible state. " Ce qui doit surtout ex-
citer," he observes, " la sollicitude du gouvernement, et le décider à entrer dans nos vues, c'est
l'état déplorable, alarmant, de la fabrique de Lyon : les quatre années de 1824 à 1827
offrent sur les quatre années précédentes un déficit qui excéde 150 mille kilog. pour les
seules expéditions d'Allemagne l'année 1828, et l'année courante, 1829, nous donnent une
progression décroissante plus effrayante encore."-(p. 11.) It is further stated, in a Report
by the manufacturers of Lyons, that there were 26,000 looms employed in that city in 1824,
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228
BOSTON.
while at present there are not more than 15,000. The competition of Switzerland and Eng-
land has been chiefly instrumental in producing these effects. At Zurich, where there were
only 3,000 looms employed in 1815, there were, in 1830, more than 5,000 and at Eber-
feld, where there were none in 1815, there were then above 1,000. Switzerland is said to
have, in all, 11,000 looms employed at this moment (1833) in the manufacture of plain
broad silks.
Besides the injury done to the wine trade of France by her anti-commercial system, it has
been much injured by the octrois, and other duties laid on wine when used for home con-
sumption. These, however, have been modified since the accession of Louis Philippe; and
it is reasonable to suppose, that the experience that has been afforded of the ruinous effects
of the prohibitive system, and the more general diffusion of correct ideas with respect to the
real sources of wealth, will at no distant period cause the adoption of such changes in the
commercial legislation of France, as may render it more conducive to her interest, and more
in accordance with the spirit of the age. If we were hostile to France, we should wish her
to continue the present system ; but we disclaim being actuated by any such feelings. We
are truly anxious for her prosperity, for her sake and our own for, unless she be surround-
ed by Bishop Berkeley's wall of brass, whatever contributes to her prosperity must, in some
degree, redound to the advantage of her neighbours.
" Were such narrow and malignant politics to meet with success," said Mr. Hume, writ-
ing in the middle of the last century, and when the prosperity of others was generally
regarded with an evil eye, we should reduce all our neighbouring nations to the same state
of sloth and ignorance that prevails in Morocco and the coast of Barbary. But what would
be the consequence ? They could send us no commodities; they could take none from us:
our domestic commerce itself would languish for want of emulation, example, and instruc-
tion; and we ourselves should soon fall into the same abject condition to which we had
reduced them. I shall, therefore, venture to acknowledge, that not only as a man, but as a
British subject, I pray for the flourishing commerce of Germany, Spain, Italy, and even
France itself. I am, at least, certain that Great Britain, and all those nations, would flourish
more, did their sovereigns and ministers adopt such enlarged and benevolent sentiments
towards each other.' on the Jealousy of Trade.)
For a more ample exposition of the nature and effects of the French commercial system,
the reader is referred to an article in the 99th number of the Edinburgh Review, contri-
buted by the author of this work. Most of the foregoing statements are taken from that
article.
[To one residing in the United States, where the population is so very locomotive that
almost every person is occasionally a traveller, it must appear singular that only two dili-
gences should daily leave a city as considerable and important as Bordeaux, for Paris,
and only a single diligence should leave it in the opposite direction for Spain. Such is,
nevertheless, the fact. Steam navigation has been introduced on the Garonne, both above
and below Bordeaux. And since the year 1825, three packets regularly sail between that
city and the Havanna, and six others between it and Mexico.
The chief imports from Bordeaux into the United States are wines, white as well as red,
brandies, cordials, olive oil, and fruits of various descriptions. But our commerce with that
port has very much declined since Havre has grown into importance.-Am. Ed.]
BOSTON, a commercial city of the United States, the capital of Massachusetts, and the
largest town of New England, in lat. 42° 23' N., long. 71° 4' W. Population, in 1830,
62,000. The city is situated on a peninsula near the bottom of a large and deep bay, being
surrounded on all sides by water, except on the south, where it is joined to the main land
by the narrow isthmus called Boston Neck. But it communicates, by means of extensive
wooden bridges, with Charleston on the north side of the bay, and with Dorchester on the
south. Boston Bay is of great extent, and is studded with many islands. The plan
on the opposite side, will give a better idea of it than could be derived from any descrip-
tion.
Shipping.-According to the official accounts laid before Congress, 15th of February. 1833, the regis-
tered, enrolled, and licensed tonnage belonging to Boston in 1831 amounted to 138,174 tons, of which
21,084 tons were employed in the coasting trade, and 17,784 in the fisheries.*
In 1831, there arrived from foreign parts 766 ships, of the burden of 126,980 tons. Of these were,
American, 671 ships, tonnage, 115,780; and British, 86 ships, tonnage 9,350. With the exception of
Sweden, which sent 3, there was not more than I ship from any other country! In 1832, the foreign
arrivals were 1,064 ships, tonnage not stated of these, 842 were American, and 211 British.
The arrivals coastwise in 1832 were 3,536; of these were 62 ships, 514 brigs, 2,332 schooners, and
628 sloops.
Shipping Charges.-For an account of these, see NEW YORK.
By comparing this return with that for 1828, given in the former edition of this work, there would
appear to have been a considerable falling off in the interim in the amount of shipping; this, how-
ever, is not really the case. For an explanation of the discrepancy, see art. NEW YORK.
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BOSTON.
229
D B O S T O N
5
3
3
5
3
4
6
6
5
4
4
4
NOTSON
5
3
4
3
2
4
3
4
4
N
3
7
3
3
3
2
3
3
4
2
3
6
3
2
6
2
K
2
7
6
7
2
5
2
2
2
2
H
4
S
7
4
6
7
5
3
5
2
5
5
3
3
8
5
5
6
3
0
5
8
3
7
12
7
7
3
6
5
7
6
5
5
4
3
D
9
3
B
6
4
9
5
7
10
7
4
6
5
7
fir
10
5
5
9
7
10
9
0
1
2
Nautic Miles.
References to Plan-A, outer light-house, 65 feet high, having a revolving light, alternately brilliant
40 and obscured 20 seconds. B, buoy on the outward edge of the shoal, off Alderton Point. C, D, E,
Great, Middle, and Outward Brewster's Islands. F, George's Island. The passage for ships, lying
between this island and the rocks on the opposite side of Lovell's Island (G), being very narrow, it is,
in effect, the key of the harbour; and large sunis have recently been expended on its fortification.
To the south of George's Island, and Rainsford's Island (H), is Nantasket road, where there is good
anchorage. The outer harbour lies to the west of Lovell's (G) and George's (F) Islands, being sepa-
rated from the inner harbour by Castle Island (M), and Governor's Island (N.) On the north end of
Long Island (I) is R harbour fixed light, 27 feet high. K, Deer Island. L, Spectacle Island. o, Middle
Ground, dry at + ebb. P, Upper and Middle Ground. having, at ebh, only 5 feet water. Q, Thomson's
Island. R, Dorchester Point. S, East Boston. T, Charlestown. M. N, and S, are all fortified. The
course that a ship ought to steer is marked by the dotted line, leading between the light-house and
Alderton Point, and between George's Island (F) and Lovell's Island (G). The soundings are laid
down in fathoms at low water.
VoL. I.-U
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BOSTON.
How to enter the Port.-In coming from the Atlantic, a ship should bring the light-house to bear W.
by N. to W. N. W., and run direct for it. The largest ships may pass it at within less than a cable's
length. If there be no pilot on board, or the master be unacquainted with the harbour, or the wind
be north-westerly, which is the most unfavourable for entering, she had better steer W. by S. for
Nantasket roads, where she may anchor, and get a pilot.'
Mooring, &c.-Generally speaking, there is sufficient depth of water to enable the largest ships to
come up to town at all times of the tide. They usually moor alongside quays or wharfs, where they
lie in perfect safety. There are in all about 60 wharfs; which, for the most part, are built on piles,
with a superstructure of stone and earth. The two principal are Long Wharf," 550 yards in length;
and Central Wharf," 413 yards long by 50 in breadth, having a range of lofty brick stores and ware-
houses along its whole length.
Pilotage.-No particular place is specified at which vessels must heave to for a pilot. But all vessels,
with the exception of coasters under 200 tons, and American vessels laden with plaster of Paris from
British America, if hailed by a pilot within about If mile of the outer light, must take him on board,
under a penalty of 50 dollars. If they have got within this distance before being hailed, the obligation
to take a pilot on board ceases. This regulation has obviously been dictated by a wish to have the
pilots constantly on the alert; it being supposed that masters not well acquainted with the bay will
heave to to take one on board, though they have got within the free limits.
Table of the Rates of Pilotage on Outward and Inward bound Vessels in the Port of Boston.
Outward.
Inward.
From Nov. 1. to May 1.
From May 1. to Nov. 2.
From Nov. 1. to May 1.
From May 1. to Nov. 1.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
Ships
Dol.
drwg.
per
drwg.
per
drivg.
per
drwg.
per
drwg.
per
drwg.
per
drwg.
per
drwg.
per
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
Water.
Foot.
7 ft.
0.90
17 ft.
1:10
7 ft.
0.75
17 ft.
1:00
7 ft.
1-45
17 ft.
1.87
7 ft.
1:10
17 ft.
1:35
8
0:90
18
1.20
8
0.75
18
1:00
8
1:45
18
2:50
8
1:10
18
1:88
9
0:90
19
1:30
9
0.75
19
1.25
9
1.45
19
2.75
9
1.10
19
1:88
10
0:95
20
1:50
10
0.80
20
1:50
10
1:56
20
3:00
10
1:20
20
1.88
11
1:00
21
2:00
11
0.85
21
1.75
11
172
21
4:00
111
1.25
21
2.80
12
1·05
22
2.50
12
0.90
22
2:00
12
1.77
22
4:00
12
1:30
22
3:00
13
1:10
23
2.75
13
0.95
23
2.25
13
1.77
23
4-00
13
1:35
23
3:00
14
1·10
24
2.75
14
0.95
24
2.25
14
187
24
4:00
14
1:35
24
3:00
15
1:10
25
2.75
15
0.95
25
2.25
15
187
25
4:00
15
1:35
25
3:00
16
1·10
16
0.95
16
1.87
16
1:35
Careening, Stores, &c.-Boston is a very favourable place for careening and repairing ships. All
kinds of supplies may be had of the best quality and at moderate prices.
Customs Revenue.-The amount collected at Boston in 1831 was 5,227,592 dollars= 1,176,2081. 4s.-
(For an Account of the American warehousing system, see NEW YORK.)
Immigration.-The number of immigrants arriving at Boston is not great, seldom exceeding 1,600 in
n year. A city ordinance directs that the masters of vessels bringing immigrants shall enter Into a
bond with sureties to the amount of 200 dollars for each immigrant, that he shall not become a charge
upon the state for 3 years, or pay a commutation of five dollars on account of each Individual. But
this regulation does not apply to immigrants having a reasonable amount of property the declaration
of the foreign consuls as to this point is commonly acted upon.
Trade of Boston, &c.-Boston has a very extensive trade with the southern states and
with foreign countries, and is also one of the principal seats of the American fisheries. She
is wholly indebted to her southern neighbours, and principally to New York, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania, for supplies of flour and wheat, and for large quantities of barley, maize,
oatmeal, oats, &c., as well as for cotton, tobacco, staves, rice, &c. Of these, the imports of
flour may amount, at an average, to about 400,000 barrels a year all sorts of grain to about
2,000,000 bushels cotton, 160,000 bales; staves, 3,000,000, &c. Her returns are made,
partly in native raw produce, as beef, pork, lard, &c. partly and principally in the produce
of her manufacturing industry, in which Massachusetts is decidedly superior to every other
state in the Union; and partly in the produce of her fisheries and foreign trade. At an
average, Boston annually sends to the southern ports of the Union about 45,000 barrels of
beef and pork 165,000 barrels of mackerel, herrings, alewives, &c. 20,000 quintals of
dried and smoked fish 3,500,000 pairs of boots and shoes 600,000 bundles of paper be-
sides a very large amount of cotton and woollen manufactured goods, nails, furniture, cord-
age, &c. ; so as to leave a large balance in her favour. Her exports of native produce to
foreign countries consist principally of the same articles she sends to the southern states but
she also exports a large amount of the foreign produce she had previously imported. The
imports from abroad consist principally of cotton and woollen goods; linens, canvas, &c.
hardware, silks, sugar, tea, coffee, wines and brandy, spices, hides, indigo, dye woods, &c.
The total imports from foreign countries into the state of Massachusetts in the year ending
30th of September, 1832, amounted to 18,118,900 dollars; while the exports of native pro-
duce, during the same year, amounted to only 4,656,635 dollars, and of native and foreign
produce together, to 11,993,763 dollars; the balance against Massachusetts being paid off
by bills upon the southern states, to which she exports much more than she imports. New
York alone is, in fact, supposed to be at all times indebted to Boston about 5,000,000 dollars.
We subjoin a summary
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BOSTON.
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Account of the Trade of Boston and Massachusetts with Foreign Countries in 1831.
Imports from
Dollars.
Exports to
Dollars.
Russia
-
-
1,606,300
Russia
-
-
-
-
-
-
176,400
Sweden and Denmark
-
322,800
Sweden and Denmark
-
-
-
285,600
Brazil
-
-
-
-
396,500
Brazil
-
-
-
-
428,500
England
-
-
-
-
6,030,000
England
-
-
-
-
200,000
British East Indies
-
-
685,000
British East Indies
-
-
426,000
Do. West Indies
-
92,000
Do. West Indies
-
-
-
80,500
Do. American provinces
-
92,100
Do. American provinces
-
531,000
Cuba and Spanish West Indies
-
1,991,300
Cuba and Spanish West Indies
-
1,077,000
China
762,000
China
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
325,000
12,278,000
3,530,000
From other places to Boston
-
1,000,000
To other places from Boston
-
2,000,000
Total value of imports to Boston
13,278,000
Total value of exports from Boston
5,530,000
To other ports in Massachusetts
from various places
}
To various places from other
991,056
-
ports in Massachusetts -
s
2,203,763
Total value of imports into
14,269,056
Total value of exports from }
7,733,763
Massachusetts
-
Massachusetts
-
14,269,056 dollars = 3,210,5271. 12s. sterling.
7,733,763 dollars = 1,740,0961. 13s. 6d. sterling.
Banks.-In January, 1833, there were 84 Banks in the state of Massachusetts, of which 24 were in
Boston. Of the latter, 4 or 5 were only recently established. We subjoin a detailed statement of the
principal circumstances in the condition of the Boston banks in 1830; and for further particulars the
reader is referred to the article BANKS (FOREIGN).
Banks.
Shares.
Each.
Capital.
Time and Rate of
Amount of
Dividend.
Dividend.
Dollars.
Dollars.
U. S. Branch -
-
-
15,000
100
1,500,000
Jan. 3f-July 3t
105,000
American
-
-
-
7,500
100
750,000
April 1 -Oct. 2
22,500
Massachusetts
-
-
3,200
250
800,000
April 2 -Oct. 21
36,000
New England
-
-
10,000
100
1,000,000
April 3 -Oct. 3
60,000
State Bank
-
-
-
30,000
60
1,800,000
April 2f-Oct. 21
90,000
Washington
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April 1f-Oct. 2t
18,750
Commonwealth
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April 3 -Oct. 3
30,000
Eagle
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April 3 -Oct. 3
30,000
Globe
-
-
-
10,000
100
1,000,000
April 2f-Oct. 3
55,000
Union
-
-
-
8,000
100
800,000
April 2 -Oct. 21
44,000
Boston
-
-
-
12,000
75
900,000
April 0 -Oct. 3
27,000
City
-
-
-
-
10,000
100
1,000,000
April 11-Oct. 3
45,000
Columbian
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April -Oct. 21
22,500
Franklin
-
-
-
1,000
100
100,000
April 3 -Oct. 3f
6,500
Tremont
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April -Oct. 21
12,500
North Bank
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April 3f-Oct. 3t
33,750
Suffolk
-
-
-
7,500
100
750,000
April -Oct. 3
45,000
Atlantic
-
-
-
5,000
100
500,000
April 2f-Oct. If
20,000
Totals -
149,200
13,900,000
703,500
So that there were in 1830, in Boston, 18 banks with a capital of 13,900,000 dollars. The dividends on
this sum for the same year amounted to 703,500 dollars, being at the rate of 5:06 per cent. The paper
under discount is estimated to have exceeded 70,000,000 dollare.- (Statement by J. H. Goddard, New
York Advertiser, 29th of January, 1831.)
Insurance Companies.-Insurance, both fire and marine, is carried on to a great extent by joint stock
companies, and to some extent also by individuals. The stocks of the different insurance companies
amounted in January; 1833, to 6,675,000 dollars. Only one company is established for insurance upon
lives. The stocks of the different insurance companies produced, in 1830, an average dividend of
5-113 per cent.
Credit.-Foreign goods are frequently sold for ready money, but more usually at a credit of from 3
to 12 months average length of credit, 6 months; but on iron and some other articles, 12 months'
credit is given. Discount for ready money at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum.
Commission.-The rates of commission are arbitrary, varying from 2 to 5, and sometimes (del cre-
dere included) to 71 per cent. On small accounts, and West India goods, 5 per cent. is usually
charged. The ordinary rate may be taken at 21 per cent. ; but competition is so great, that commis-
sion merchants may be found who will transact business on almost any terms. Sometimes whole
cargoes are sold by brokers on an agreement to receive a specific sum in lieu of commission and bro-
kerage.
Bankruptcy.-The law as to bankruptcy in Massachusetts seems to be in a most disgraceful state.
Preferences are very frequently given; and property is in many instances conveyed, for behoof of the
bankrupt's family, to persons said to be creditors to a corresponding amount, without their having
any real claim to such character. It is true that these conveyances may be cancelled; but the diffi-
culties in the way are so great, that they are seldom set aside. The safest course that a foreigner, or
one not thoroughly acquainted with the city, can pursue, is to deal only for ready money and to
employ none but the most respectable agents.
Money.-In Massachusetts, and throughout New England, the dollar passes at 6s.; so that the
pound sterling = 11. 6s. 8d. Boston currency.-(For further particulars as to Money, Weights, Measures,
&c. see NEW YORK.)
We have derived these details partly from the authorities referred to, partly from private informa-
tion, and partly from the elaborate Answers of the Consul to the Circular Queries.
[According to a census taken in May, 1837, the population of Boston was 80,325.
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232
.BOTARGO-BOTTOMRY.
From an abstract of the returns made by the banks of Massachusetts, showing their con-
dition on the 10th of February, 1838, and published under the direction of the Secretary of
the Commonwealth, it appears that at that date there were no less than 128 banks in the
State. No returns were received from five of these. The aggregate of the amounts returned
by the remaining 123, together with those returned by them on the preceding 1st day of
October, were as follows :-
Oct. 1.
Feb. 10.
Circulation
-
-
-
-
-
$9,964,110
$9,100,776
Balances to other banks -
-
-
-
5,498,012
4,534,813
Deposites not on interest
-
-
-
8,231,580
5,436,530
Do.
on interest
-
-
-
-
5,318,484
3,650,832
Specie
-
-
-
-
1,474,743
1,701,460
Bills of other banks
-
-
-
-
2,954,804
2,700,275
Balances from other banks
.
-
-
5,662,780
4,037,618
Loans
-
-
-
-
56,398,121
52,799,967
Nett profits on hand
-
-
-
-
1,474,487
2,442,578
Amount of last dividend
-
-
-
1,038,850
1,041,350
For a later account of the trade of Boston with foreign countries than is given above, the
reader is referred to the article Imports and Exports-Am. Ed.]
BOTARGO, called in Provence Bouargues, a sausage made on the shores of the Medi-
terranean .and the Black Sea, of the roe of the mullet. The best comes from Tunis and
Alexandria.
BOTTLES (Fr. Bouteilles; Ger. Bouteillen; It. Bottiglie; Fiaschi; Rus. Bulülki,
Sp. Botellas), glass vessels for holding liquids, too well known to require any description.
They are exported in considerable quantities. The duty of 8s. a cwt. on bottle glass, like the
duties on other descriptions of glass, is both oppressive in amount, and is imposed and col-
lected in the most vexatious manner. The manufacture has declined considerably since
1826.-(For further details, see GLASS.)
(BOTTLES (STONE).-In 1812, a duty of 2s. 6d. a cwt., increased in 1817 to 5s., was
imposed upon stone bottles. The average nett produce of this duty has not recently ex-
ceeded 3,500/. a year. But, to collect this insignificant sum, the manufacture had to be
placed under the surveillance of the excise, and those engaged in it subjected to various
troublesome and vexatious regulations. The duty did not extend to Ireland, so that a draw-
back had to be granted on bottles exported to that country, and a countervailing duty charged
on those imported from it. This unproductive and troublesome duty was imposed at the
instance of the glass bottle manufacturers, who contended, that if stone bottles were exempt-
ed from duties, they would be used instead of glass bottles, to the injury of those engaged in
manufacturing the latter. But the purposes to which stone bottles and glass bottles are
applied are 80 very different, that it would require a much greater reduction of the price of
the former than could possibly be occasioned by the abolition of the duty, to make them be
substituted, to any extent worth mentioning, in the place of the latter. These views were
ably enforced by the Commissioners of Excise Inquiry ; and having been adopted by go-
vernment, the duty has been abolished.-(4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 77.; see also Fifth Report by
Commissioners of Excise Inquiry.)
It is to be hoped that the duty on glass bottles may, also, be speedily put an end to. It produces
about 110,000L. a year. We noticed (see art. WINE) the propriety of enacting and enforcing some re-
gulations as to the size of bottles. The bottle is, in fact, a very important measure; a great deal of
wine and other liquors being sold by the dozen. But there is, at this moment, the greatest discrepan-
cy in the size of bottles; and it appears to us that it would be highly expedient, in order to obviate
the numerous frauds arising from this source, to enact that all bottles be made to contain not less than
a certain specified quantity, and to place them under the acts relating to weights and measures.
-Sup.)
BOTTOMRY AND RESPONDENTIA.-Bottomry, in commercial navigation, is a
mortgage of the ship. The owner or captain of a ship is, under certain circumstances,
authorised to borrow money, either to fit her out so as to enable her to proceed on her voy-
age, or to purchase a cargo for the voyage, pledging the keel, or bottom of the ship (a part for
the whole), in security for payment. In bottomry contracts it is stipulated, that if the ship
be lost in the course of the voyage, the lender shall lose his whole money but if the ship
arrive in safety at her destination, the lender is then entitled to get back his principal, and
the interest agreed upon, however much that interest may exceed the legal rate.—(Black.
Com. book ii. c. 30.) The extraordinary hazard run by the lenders of money on bottomry,
who, in fact, become adventurers in the voyage, has been held, in all countries, as justifying
them in stipulating for the highest rate of interest.
When the loan is not on the ship, but on the goods laden on board, which, from their
nature, must be sold or exchanged in the course of the voyage, the borrower's personal
responsibility is then the principal security for the performance of the contract, which is
therefore called respondentia. In this consists the principal difference between bottomry
and respondentia. The one is a loan upon the ship. the other upon the goods. The money
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BOTTOMRY.
233
is to be repaid to the lender, with the marine interest, upon the safe arrival of the ship, in
the one case and of the goods, in the other. In all other respects, these contracts are
nearly the same, and are governed by the same principles. In the former, the ship and
tackle, being hypothecated, are liable, as well as the person of the borrower; in the latter,
the lender has, in general, only the personal security of the borrower.
This contract, which must always be in writing, is sometimes made in the form of a
deed poll, called a bill of bottomry, executed by the borrower sometimes in the form of a
bond or obligation, with a penalty. But whatever may be its form, it must contain the
names of the lender and the borrower, those of the ship and the master the sum lent, with
the stipulated marine interest; the voyage proposed, with the commencement and duration
of the risk which the lender is to run. It must show whether the money is lent upon the
ship, or upon goods on board, or on both; and every other stipulation and agreement which
the parties may think proper to introduce into the contract.-(See the Forms at the end of
this article.)
" It is obvious," says Lord Tenterden, that a loan of money upon bottomry, while it
relieves the owner from many of the perils of a maritime adventure, deprives him also of a
great part of the profits of a successful voyage; and, therefore, in the place of the owners'
residence, where they may exercise their own judgment upon the propriety of borrowing
money in this manner, the master of the ship is, by the maritime law of all states, precluded
from doing it, 80 as to bind the interest of his owners without their consent. With regard
to a foreign country, the rule appears to be, that if the master of a vessel has occasion for
money to repair or victual his ship, or for any other purpose necessary to enable him to
complete the enterprise in which she is engaged whether the occasion arises from any ex-
traordinary peril or misfortune, or from the ordinary course of the adventure; he may, if he
cannot otherwise obtain it, borrow money on bottomry at marine interest, and pledge the
ship, and the freight to be earned in the voyage, for repayment at the termination of the
voyage. When this is done, the owners are never personally responsible. The remedy of
the lender is against the master of the ship."-(Law of Shipping, part ii. c. 3.)
In bottomry and respondentia bonds, the lender receives the whole of his principal and
interest, or nothing he is not answerable for general or particular average"; nor will any
loss by capture, if subsequently recaptured, affect his claim. In this respect our law differs
from that of France (Code de Commerce, art. 330.) and most other countries: the lenders
on bottomry bonds being there subject to average, as our underwriters upon policies of insu-
rance. No loss can avoid a bottomry contract, unless a total loss, proceeding from a peril
of the sea, during the voyage, and within the time specified by the contract. If the loss hap-
pen through any default or act of the owners or master, to which the lender was not privy,
he may still recover.
There is no restriction by the law of England as to the persons to whom money may be
lent on bottomry or at respondentia except in the single case of loans on the ships of
foreigners trading to the East Indies, which are forbidden by the 7 Geo. 1. stat. 1. c. 21. § 2.
It does not, however, appear to be necessary, in order to enable the master of a ship in a
foreign port to obtain money for her repair, outfit, &c., that the contract pledging the vessel
in security of the debt should be in the nature of a bottomry bond. Provided the person
who advances the money do not choose to take upon himself the risk of the ship's return,
and do not stipulate for maritime interest, " there seems," says Lord Tenterden, to be no
reason why the master should not pledge both the ship and the personal credit of the
owner." And in the case of money advanced in this way to refit a ship in distress at
Jamaica, which was captured on the voyage home, the lender recovered.-(Law of Ship-
ping, part ii. c. 3.)
Bottomry contracts were well known to the ancients. At Athens, the rate of interest was
not fixed by law; but the customary rate seems to have been about 12 per cent. But when
money was lent for a voyage, upon the security of the ship and cargo, the interest on account
of the superior risk encountered by the lender, was in most cases much higher. In voyages
to the Taurica Chersonesus and Sicily, it was sometimes as high as 30 per cent.-(Ana-
charsis's Travels, vol. iv. p. 369. Eng. trans.) By the Rhodian law, the exaction of such
,high interest as in usual bottomry was declared to be illegal, unless the principal was really
exposed to the dangers of the sea-(Boeckh's Public Economy of Athens, vol. i. p. 177.
Eng. trans.) The principle was adopted by the Romans who gave to bottomry interest
the name of nauticum fanus; and has been transferred from the Roman law into all modern
codes.
Formerly," says Mr. Serjeant Marshall, the practice of borrowing money on bottomry
and respondentia was more general in this country than it is at present. The immense
capitals now engaged in every branch of commerce render such loans unnecessary and
money is now seldom borrowed in this manner, but by the masters of foreign ships who put
into our ports in need of pecuniary assistance to refit, to pay their men, to purchase provi-
* Mr. Serjeant Marshall doubts this but it was so decided by the Court of King's Bench in Joyce
V. Williamson, B. R. Mich. 23 Gep. 3.
U 2
30
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234
BOTTOMRY.
sions, &c. Sometimes officers and others belonging to ships engaged in long voyages,
who have the liberty of trading to a certain extent, with the prospect of great profit, but
without capitals of their own to employ in such trade, take up money on respondentia to
make their investments; but even this, as I ain informed, is now not very frequently done in
this country."
The term bottomry has sometimes been incorrectly applied to designate a contract, by the
terms of which the ship is not pledged as a security, but the repayment of money, with a
high premium for the risk, is made to depend upon the success of the voyage. This, how-
ever, is plainly a loan upon a particular adventure, to be made by a particular ship, and not
a loan upon the ship, and of course, the lender has only the personal security of the borrower
for the due performance of the contract. And it seems that loans have sometimes been made
in this manner, and probably also with a pledge of the ship itself, to an amount exceeding
the value of the borrower's interest in the ship; and such a contract is still legal in this
country in all cases, except the case of ships belonging to British subjects bound to or from
the East Indies, as to which it is enacted (19 Geo. 2. c. 37. s 5.),
That all sums of money lent on bottomry or at respondentia upon any ship or ships belonging to
his Majesty's subjects, bound to or from the East Indies, shall be lent only on the ship, or on the mer-
chandise or effects laden, or to be laden, on board of such ship, and shall be so expressed in the condi-
tion of the bond, and the benefit of salvage shall be allowed to the lender, his agents or assigns, who
alone shall have a right to make assurance on the money 80 lent; and no borrower of money on bot-
tomry or at respondentia as aforesaid, shall recover more on any assurance than the value of his
interest on the ship, or in the merchandises and effects laden on board of such ship, exclusive of the
money so borrowed ; and in case it shall appear that the value of his share in the ship, or in the mer-
chandises and effects laden on board, doth not amount to the full sum or sums he hath borrowed as
aforesaid, such borrower shall be responsible to the lender for so much of the money borrowed as he
hath not laid out on the ship, or merchandises laden thereon, in the proportion the money not laid out
shall bear to the whole money lent, notwithstanding the ship and merchandises be totally lost."
Lord Tenterden says that this statute was introduced for the protection of the trade of the
East India Company and its rules must be complied with in the case of bottomry by the
masters of ships trading to the East Indies.
For a further discussion of this subject, see Abbott on the Law of Shipping, part ii. c. 3.
Marshall on Insurance, book ii. and Park on Insurance, c. 21.
I. Form of a Bottomry Bond.
KNOW ALL MEN by these presents, That I, A. B. commander and two-thirds owner of the ship
Exeter, for myself and C. D., remaining third owner of the said ship, am held and firmly bound unto
E. F. in the penal sum of two thousand pounds sterling, for the payment of which well and truly to be
made unto the said E. F., his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, I hereby bind myself, my
heirs, executors, and administrators, firmly by these presents. In witness whereof I have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this 14th day of December, in the year of our Lord 1796.
WHEREAS the above bound A. B. hath taken up and received of the said E. F. the full and just sum
of one thousand pounds sterling, which sum is to run at respondentia on the block and freight of the
ship Exeter, whereof the said A. B. is now master, from the port or road of Bombay on a voyage to
the port of London, having permission to touch, stay at, and proceed to all ports and places within the
limits of the voyage, at the rate or premium of twenty-fire per cent. (25 per cent.) for the voyage. In
consideration whereof usual risks of the seas, rivers, enemies, fires, pirates, &c. are to be on account
of the said E. F. And for the further security of the said E. F. the said A. B. doth by these presents
mortgage and assign over to the said E. F. his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, the said
ship Exeter and her freight, together with all her tackle, apparel, &c. And it is hereby declared that
the said ship Exeter and her freight is thus assigned over for the security of the respondentia taken
up by the said A. B., and shall be delivered to no other use or purpose whatever, until payment of
this bond is first made, with the premium that may become due thereon.
Now THE CONDITION of this obligation is such, that if the above bound A. B. his heirs, execu-
tors, or administrators, shall and do well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said E. F.
or his attorneys in London legally authorised to receive the same. their executors, administrators, or
assigns, the full and just sum of 1,000L. sterling, being the principal of this bond, together with the
premium which shall become due thereupon, at or before the expiration of ninety days after the safe
arrival of the said ship Exeter at her moorings in the river Thames, or in case of the loss of the said
ship Exeter, such an average as by custom shall have become due on the salvage, then this obligation
to be void and of ne effect, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. Having signed to three bonds
of the same tenor and date, the one of which being accomplished, the other two to be void and of no
effect.
A. B. for self
and C. D.*
Signed, sealed, and delivered, where no stamped G.H.
paper is to be had, in the presence of
SI.K.
In this bond the occasion of borrowing the money is not expressed, but the money was in reality
borrowed to refit the ship which being on a voyage from Bengal to London was obliged to put back to
Bombay to repair. See The EXETER, Whitford, 1 Rob. A. R. 176. The occasion therefore of borrow
the money gave the lender the security of the entire interest of the ship. But this bond, although
expressed to be executed by the master for himself and the other part-owner, would not bind the
other part-owner personally, unless he had by a previous deed authorised the master to executesuch a bend
for him.-(Abbott on the Law of Shipping, part iii. C. 1. 1 2.)
II. Form of a Bottomry Bill.
TO ALL MEN TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME. 1, A. B. of Bengal, mariner, part-
owner and master of the ship called the Exeter, of the burthen of five hundred tons and upwards, now
riding at anchor in Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, send greeting:
W HEREAS 1, the said A. B., part-owner and master of the aforesaid ship, called the Exeter, now in
prosecution of a voyage from Bengal to the port of London. having put into Tuble Bay for the purpose
of procuring provision and other supplies necessary for the continuation and performance of the
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BOUNTY.
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voyage aforesaid, am at this time necessitated to take up upon the adventure of the said ship, called
the Exeter, the sum of one thousand pounds sterling monies of Great Britain, for setting the said ship
to sea, and furnishing her with provisions and necessaries for the said voyage, which sum C. D. of
the Cape of Good Hope, master attendant, hath at my request lent unto me, and supplied me with, at
the rate of twelve hundred and twenty pounds sterling for the said one thousand pounds, being at the
rate of one hundred and twenty-two pounds for every hundred pounds advanced as aforesaid, during the
voyage of the said ship from Table Buy to Lordon. Now KNOW YE, that 1, the said A. B., by these
presents, do, for me, my executors and administrators, covenant and grant to and with the said C. D.
that the saidship shall, with the first convoy which shall offer for England after the date of these pre-
sents, sail and depart for the port of London, there to finish the voyage aforesaid. And I, the said A. B.,
in consideration of the sum of one thousand pounds sterling to me in hand paid by the said D. at and
before the sealing and delivery of these presents, do hereby bind myself, my heirs, executors, and
administrators, my goods and chattels, and particularly the said ship, the tackle and apparel of the
same, and also the freight of the said ship, which is, or shall become due for the aforesaid voyage
from Bengal to the port of London, to pay unto the said C. D. his executors, administrators, or assigns,
the sum of twelve hundred and twenty pounds of lawful British money, within thirty days next after
the safe arrival of the said ship at the port of London from the same intended voyage.
AND 1, the said A. B. do, for me, my executors and administrators, covenant and grant to and with
the said C. D., his executors and administrators, by these presents, that I, the said A. B., at the time
of sealing and delivering of these presents, am a true and lawful part-owner and master of the said
ship, and have power and authority to charge and engage the said ship with her freight as aforesaid,
and that the said ship, with her freight, shall, at all times after the said voyage, be liable and charge-
able for the payment of the said twelve hundred and twenty pounds, according to the true intent and
meaning of these presents.
AND lastly, it is hereby declared and agreed by and between the said parties to these presents, that
in case the said ship shall be lost, miscarry, or be cast away before her arrival at the said port of Lon-
don from the said intended voyage, that then the payment of the said twelve hundred and twenty pounds
shall not be demanded, or be recoverable by the said C. D., his executors, administrators, or assigns,
but shall cease and determine, and the loss thereby be wholly borne and sustained by the said C. D.,
his executors and administrators, and that then and from thenceforth every act, matter, and thing
herein mentioned on the part and behalf of the said A. B. shall be void ; any thing berein contained to
the contrary notwithstanding.
IN WITNESS whereof the parties have interchangeably set their hands and seals to four
bonds of this tenor and date, one of which being paid, the others to be null and void.
At the Cupe of Good Hope, this 15th day of November, in the year of our Lord
one thousand eight hundred and thirty.
E.F.
Witness,
G.H.
A.B.
1. K.
[Besides the works referred to by the author, the reader may consult with advantage the
49th Lecture of Chancellor Kent's Commentary on American Law. It contains a concise
and very lucid statement of the subject of maritime loans.-Am. Ed.]
BOUNTY, a term used in commerce and the arts, to signify a premium paid by govern-
ment to the producers, exporters, or importers of certain articles, or to those who employ
ships in certain trades.
1. Bounties on Production are most commonly given in the view of encouraging the
establishment of some new branch of industry or they are intended to foster and extend a
branch that is believed to be of paramount importance. In neither case, however, is their
utility very obvious. In all old settled and wealthy countries, numbers of individuals are
always ready to embark in every new undertaking, if it promise to be really advantageous
without any stimulus from government: and if a branch of industry, already established,
be really important and suitable for the country, it will assuredly be prosecuted to the neces-
sary extent, without any encouragement other than the natural demand for its produce.
2. Bounties on Exportation and Importation.-It is enacted by the & 4 Will. 4. c. 52., that a merchant
or exporter claiming a bounty or drawback on goods exported, must make oath that they have been
actually exported, and have not been relanded, and are not intended to be relanded, in any part of the
United Kingdom, or in the Isle of Man (unless entered for the Isle of Man), or in the islands of Faro
or Ferro: and it is further enacted, that if any goods cleared to be exported for a bounty or draw-
back, shall not be duly exported to parts beyond the seas, or shall be relanded in any part of the
United Kingdom, or in the islands of Faro or Ferro, or shall be carried to the islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or Man, (not having been duly entered, cleared, and shipped for exportation
to such islands,)such goods shall be forfeited, together with the ship or ships employed in relanding or
carrying them; and any person by whom or by whose orders or means such goods shall have been
cleared, relanded, or carried, shall forfeit a sum equal to treble the value of such goods.-& . 87-95.
3. Policy of Bounties.-It was formerly customary to grant bounties on the exportation
of various articles; but the impolicy of such practice is now very generally admitted. It is
universally allowed that bounties, if they be given at all, should be given only to the export-
ers of such commodities as could not be exported without them. But it is plain that, by
granting a bounty in such cases, we really tax the public, in order to supply the foreigner
with commodities at less than they cost. A. has a parcel of goods which he cannot dispose
of abroad for less than 110/. ; but they will fetch only 100/. in the foreign market and he
claims and gets a bounty of 10/. to enable him to export them. Such is the mode in which
bounties on exportation uniformly operate; and to suppose that they can be a means of
enriching the public, is equivalent to supposing that a shopkeeper may be enriched by sell-
ing his goods for less than they cost !
But however injurious to the state, it has been pretty generally supposed that bounties on
exportation are advantageous to those who produce and export the articles on which they
are paid. But the fact is not so. A trade that cannot be carried on without the aid of a
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BOX-WOOD-BRANDY.
bounty, must be a naturally disadvantageous one. Hence, by granting it, individuals are
tempted to engage or continue in businesses which are necessarily very insecure, and are
rarely capable of being rendered lucrative; at the same time that they are prevented, by
trusting to the bounty, from making those exertions they naturally would have made, had
they been obliged to depend entirely on superior skill and industry for the sale of their pro-
duce. The history of all businesses carried on in this country by the aid of bounties, proves
that they are hardly less disadvantageous to those engaged in them than to the public.
The truth of these remarks has been acknowledged by government. The bounty on the
exportation of corn was repealed in 1816; and the bounties on the exportation of linen and
several other articles ceased in 1830.
4. Bounties on Shipping have principally been paid to the owners of vessels engaged in
the fishery, and their influence will be treated of under the articles HERRING FISHERY and
WHALE FISHERY.
For an account of the bounties that still exist, see the article TABIFF.
BOX-WOOD (Ger. Buchsbaum; Du. Palmhout; Fr. Buis; It. Busso, Bosso, Bossolo),
the wood of the box tree (Buxus sempervirens), growing wild in several places in Great
Britain. This tree was greatly admired by the ancient Romans, and has been much culti-
vated in modern times, on account of the facility with which it is fashioned into different
forms. Box is a very valuable wood. It is of a yellowish colour, closegrained, very hard,
and heavy it cuts better than any other wood, is susceptible of a very fine polish, and is
very durable. In consequence, it is much used by turners and mathematical and musical
instrument makers. It is too heavy for furniture. It is the only wood used by the engravers
of wood-cuts for books; and provided due care be exercised, the number of impressions
that may be taken from a box-wood cut is very great. In France, box-wood is extensively
used for combs, knife-handles, and button-moulds; and sometimes, it has been said, as a sub-
stitute for hops in the manufacture of beer. The value of the box-wood sent from Spain to
Paris is reported to amount to about 10,000 fr. a year. In 1815, the box trees cut down on
Box-hill, near Dorking, in Surrey, produced upwards of 10,000/. They are now, however,
become very scarce in England. The duty on box-wood is quite oppressive, being 5L a ton
if brought from a foreign country, and 1/. a ton if from a British possession. At an ave-
rage of the 3 years ending with 1831, the entries of box-wood for home consumption
amounted to 382 tons a year. In 1832, the duty produced 1,867L 17s. 4d. Turkey box-
wood sells in the London market for from 71. to 14/. a ton, duty included.
BRAN, the thin skins or husks of corn, particularly wheat, ground and separated from
the corn by a sieve or boulter.
BRANDY (Ger. Brantewein; Du. Brandewyn Fr. Eau de vie, Brandevin It.
Aquarzente; Sp. Aguardiente; Port. Aguardente; Rus. Wino; Lat. Vinum adustum),
a spirituous and inflammable liquor, obtained by distillation from wine and the husks of
grapes. It is prepared in most of the wine countries of Europe; but the superiority of
French brandy is universally admitted. The latter is principally distilled at Bordeaux, Ro-
chelle, Cognac, the Isle de Rhé, Orleans, Nantes, and in Poitou, Touraine, and Anjou.
That of Cognac is in the highest estimation.
Wines of all descriptions, but chiefly those that are strong and harsh (poussés), are
used in the manufacture of brandy. The superior vintages, and those that have most fla-
vour, are said to make the worst brandy. It is naturally clear and colourless. The different
shades of colour which it has in commerce, arise partly from the casks in which it is kept,
but chiefly from the burnt sugar, saunders wood, and other colouring matter intentionally
added to it by the dealers. It is said that the burnt sugar gives mellowness to the flavour of
the liquor, and renders it more palatable.
The art of distillation is believed to have been first discovered by the Arabians. From a
passage in the Testamentum Novissimum of the famous Raymond Lully, who flourished in
the 13th century, it would appear that the production of brandy and alcohol from wine was
familiar to his contemporaries.-(p. 2. edit. Argent. 1571.) But the practice does not ap-
pear to have been introduced into France till 1313.—(Le Grand ď Aussi Vie privé de
François, t. iii. p. 64.) When first introduced, brandy or burnt wine (vinum adustum)
appears to have been used principally as an antiseptic and restorative medicine and the
most extravagant panegyrics were bestowed on its virtues. It was described as a sovereign
remedy in almost all the disorders of the human frame; it was commended for its efficacy in
comforting the memory, and strengthening the reasoning powers; it was extolled, in short,
as the elixir of life, and an infallible preservative of youth and beauty -(Henderson's Hist.
of Wine, p. 24.) Dr. Henderson says that the experience of later times has shown how
little this eulogy was merited but in this he is contradicted by Burke, who maintains with
equal eloquence and ingenuity, that the alembic has been a vast benefit and blessing."
-(Thoughts and Details on Scarcity, p. 41.)
Brandy has always formed a very prominent article in the exports of France; few ships
sailing from Bordeaux, Rochelle, or Nantes, without taking a certain quantity of it on
board. The following is an account of the exportation of brandy from France during
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BRANDY.
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the 3 years ending with 1789, and the 14 years ending with 1828.-(Enquête sur les
Fers, P. 39.)
Years.
Hectolitres.
Years.
Hectolitres.
Years.
Hectolitres.
1787
-
-
- 305,638
1817
-
-
-
61,697
1823
-
-
- 310,059
1788
-
-
- 221,499
1818
-
-
- 99,402
1824
-
-
- 317,347
1789
-
-
- 234,500
1819
-
-
- 231,652
1825
-
-
- 250,937
1820
-
-
- 253,349
1826
-
-
- 194,110
1815
-
-
- 154,160
1821
-
-
- 153,408
1827
-
-
- 273,574
1816
-
-
-
137,398
1822
-
-
- 230,186
1828
-
-
- 403,207
Which, as the hectolitre is equal to 26.42 wine gallons, shows that the exportation in 1828 was equiva-
lent to 10,252,728 gallons; but it has since declined considerably.
Duties on Brandy in Great Britain and Ireland. Quantities consumed.-In nothing,
perhaps, has the injurious operation of oppressive duties been so strikingly exemplified as in
the case of brandy. At the latter end of the 17th century, when the duty on brandy did
not exceed 9/. a tun, the imports into England amounted to about 6,000 tuns, or 1,512,000
gallons-(Historical and Political Remarks on the Tariff of the late Treaty, 1786, p. 113.) ;
whereas at present, notwithstanding our vast increase in wealth and population since the
period referred to, we do not import more brandy than we did then ! Nor is this extraordi-
nary circumstance to be ascribed to any preference on the part of the public to other beve-
rages, but is wholly owing to the exorbitant duties with which brandy is loaded. The price
of brandy in bond varies, at this moment, according to quality, from 3s. to 5s. a gallon
(Imperial measure), while the duty is no less than 22s. 6d. Had the imposition of such a
duty taken away the taste for brandy, it would have been comparatively innocuous. But it
has done no such thing. Its only effect has been to convert a trade, that might otherwise
have been productive of the most advantageous results, into a most prolific source of crime
and demoralisation. The temptation to smuggle, occasioned by the exorbitancy of the duty,
is too overpowering to be counteracted by the utmost penalties of the law. All along the
coast of Kent and Sussex, and the districts most favourably situated for running spirits,
almost the whole of the labouring population are every now and then withdrawn from their
ordinary employments, to engage in smuggling adventures. The efforts of the revenue
officers to seize foreign brandy and geneva have in innumerable instances been repelled by
force. Bloody and desperate contests have, in consequence, taken place. Many individuals,
who, but for this fiscal scourge, would have been industrious and virtuous, have become
idle, predatory, and ferocious; they have learned to despise the law, to execute summary
vengeance on its officers; and are influenced by a spirit that has been, and may be, turned
to the most dangerous purposes.
Neither can it be truly said that this miserable system is upheld for the sake of revenue.
On the contrary, it is easy to show that, besides the other mischievous effects it entails on
the public, it occasions the loss of at least 1,000,000/. a year. In 1786, Mr. Pitt, by a wise
and politic measure, took 50 per cent. from the duty on brandy and geneva (the duty on
the latter has been for a lengthened period the same as that on brandy ;) and instead of
being diminished, the revenue was increased. In 1790, when the duty on brandy and geneva
was 5s. the wine gallon, the quantity retained for home consumption was 2,225,590 gal-
lons. During the 3 years ending with 1803, when the duty was 9s. 2d., the quantities of
brandy and geneva retained for home consumption amounted, at an average, to about
2,700,000 gallons; but during the 3 years ending with 1818, when the duty had been in-
creased to 18s. 10d. the wine gallon, the quantities retained did not exceed 850,000 gallons,
while the quantities actually entered for home consumption were considerably less ! Since
then the consumption has increased with the increasing wealth of the country but at this
moment, the quantity consumed in Great Britain is fully 635,000 gallons less than in 1790 !
Nothing, therefore, can be more palpably erroneous than to contend that the revenue is im-
proved by the present system. Have we not seen the revenue derived from coffee trebled
by reducing the duty from 1s. 7d. to 6d. Have we not seen the revenue derived from
British spirits greatly increased, by reducing the duty from 5s. 6d. to 2s. the wine gallon ?
And where is the ground for supposing that the result would be different, were the duties
on brandy equally reduced ! But the experience afforded by Mr. Pitt's measure in 1786, is
decisive as to this point. He quadrupled the consumption and increased the revenue, by
taking a half from the duty when it was a good deal less oppressive than now. Were a
similar reduction made at present, does any one doubt that a similar result would follow ?
Smuggling and adulteration would immediately cease our trade with France would be
very greatly extended and the revenue would gain, not merely by a direct increase of duty,
but indirectly by a very great diminution of the expense of collection.
But the effect of the increase of the duties on brandy in Ireland has been still more extra-
ordinary. At an average of the 3 years ending with 1802, when the duty was 7s. 3łd. the
wine gallon, the average annual consumption of brandy in Ireland amounted to 208,064
gallons, producing a nett revenue of 77,714/. Now, mark the consequence of trebling the
duties. The consumption during the last 2 years, notwithstanding the population is more
than doubled, only amounted, at an average, to 20,199 gallons, producing about 22,500/. a
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BRANDY.
year revenue. Dr. Swift has shrewdly remarked, that in the arithmetic of the customs two
and two do not always make four, but sometimes only one. But here we have threefold
duties, with little more than a fourth part of the revenue, and less than a tenth part of the
consumption !
It is surely impossible that such a system-a system evincing in every part a degree of
ignorant rapacity, to be paralleled only by that of the savages, who to get at the fruit cut
down the tree-should be permitted for a much longer period to disgrace our fiscal code.
Those only who are anxious for the continuance of smuggling, with all its consequent crime
and misery, can be hostile to a reduction of the duty on brandy. By fixing it at 10s. the
gallon, neither the consumption of British spirits nor rum would be sensibly affected. The
middle classes would, however, be able to use brandy, on occasions when, perhaps, at pre-
sent, they use nothing; its clandestine importation would be prevented; those engaged in
smuggling would be obliged to have recourse to industrious pursuits, and the manufacture
of the abominable compounds, that are now so frequently substituted in its stead, would be
put an end to. It is not easy, indeed, to suggest any measure that would be productive of
so much advantage, and be attended with fewer inconveniences.
Regulations as to Importations, &e.-Brandy, geneva, and other foreign spirits, must be imported, if
in casks, in casks containing not less than 40 gallons, under penalty of forfeiture.-( & 4 Will. 4. c. 52.)
They must also be imported in ships of 70 tons burden or upwards, and are not to be exported from a
bonded warehouse except in a vessel of like tonnage, under pain of forfeiture.-(bid.)
Brandy is not to be imported except in British ships, or in ships of the country or place of which it
is the product, or from which it is imported, on pain of forfeiture thereof, and 1001. by the master of
the ship.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 54.)
Brandy may be exported to Mexico, Chili, or Peru, in casks containing not less than 15 gallons
each.-(Treas. Ord. 17th. of December, 1827.)
Brandy and geneva may be bottled in bonded warehouses, for exportation to British possessions in
the East Indies, under the same conditions as wine and rum.-(See SPIRITS.)
In most of the public accounts. the imports of brandy and geneva are blended together. It would
appear, too, from the note to the following account, that there are no means of accurately distinguish-
ing them, except since 1814. The reader will find, in the article SPIRITS, an account of the quantities
of brandy and geneva entered for home consumption, and the rates of duty upon them, in each year
since 1789. The following account shows the consumption of brandy, and rates of duty on it, since
1814:-
An Account of the Number of Gallons (Imperial Measure) of Foreign Brandy entered for Home
Consumption in Great Britain and Ireland, the Rates of Duty affecting the same, and the entire
nett Produce of the Duty, each Year since 1814.-(Obtained from the Custom-house.)
Quantities entered for Home
Rates of Duty
Consumption.
Nett Produce of Duty (Customs and Excise).
per Imperial
Gallon (Customs
Years.
and Excise).
United
United
Gt. Britain.
Ireland.
Kingdom.
Great Britain.
Ireland.
Kingdom.
Gt. Brit.
Ireland.
Imp. gal.
Imp. gal.
Imp. gal.
L. 8. d.
L. 8. d.
L.
s.
d.
L. 8. d.
L. d.
1814
500,592
7,169
507,761
581,056 1 1
6,618 12 4
587,674 13 5
1 2 61
17
3)
1815
656,555
5,160
661,715
740,747 12 1
4,702 6
1
745,449 18 2
-
-
1816
657,062
5,275
662,337
742,304 8 0
4,124 19 5
746,429 7 5
-
-
1817
634,017
3,875
637,892
716,734 0 6
3,248 4 4
719,982 4 10
-
-
1818
431,583
6,232
537,815
599,586 0 4
5,287 10 1
604,873 10
5
-
1
1819
787,422
7,080
794,502
890,068 19 8
6,090 17 10
896,159 17
61 2 71
1820
842,864
6,025
848,889
956,275 16 9
5,219 8 6
961,495 5 3
-
-
1821
914,630
6,001
920,631
1,034,327 17 0
5,173 19
2
1,039,501 16 2
-
-
1822
1,001,607
7,308
1,008,915
1,132,416 3 5
6,414 1 10
1,138,830 5 3
-
1823
1,083,104
17,118
1,100,222
1,225,481 19 7
14,330 1 8
1,239,812 1 3
-
1
2
8
1824
1,226,715
984
1,227,699
1,387,204 2 8
1,207 9
8
1,388,411 12 4
-
1825
1,321,327
3,550
1,324,877
1,489,768 11 4
4,177 3
9
1,493,945 15 1
-
-
1826
1,473,243
7,371
1,480,614
1,636,499 6 7
8,397 15
3
1,464,897 1 10
126
126
1827
1,313,217
7,271
1,320,488
1,471,501 12 4
8,232 5 0
1,479,733 17 4
-
1828
1,327,929
7,556
1,335,485
1,490,793 4 2
8,629 19 10
1,499,423 4 0
-
-
1829
1,301,450
8,529
1,309,979
1,460,764 17 6
9,686 17 8
1,470,451 15 2
-
1830
(See note
below.)
1,285,967
-
I
1,443,018 5 8
-
-
1831
1,226,280
8,821
1,235,101
1,378,244 0 0
9,923 0 0
1,388,166 0 0
-
1832
1,570,075
31,577
1,601,652
1,765,889 0 0
35,511 0 0
1,801,400 0 0
Note.-In consequence of the destruction of the official records by fire, no separate account can be
rendered of the consumption of brandy and geneva, or the revenue derived therefrom, for the years
prior to 1814.
The trade accounts of Great Britain and Ireland having been incorporated during 1830, the particu-
lars for that year are stated for the United Kingdom only.
s
[By the act of March 2d 1827, it was enacted
1. That, from and after the passage of this act, brandy may be imported into the United States, in
casks of a capacity not less than 15 gallons, any thing in any law to the contrary notwithstanding
Provided, however, that all the provisions of existing laws, not inconsistent with this act, relating to
the importation of foreign spirits, be complied with: And provided further, That all brandy, imported
in casks of a capacity less than ninety gallons. shall be deposited, at the expense and risk of the im-
porter, in such public or other warehouses, as shall be designated by the collector or surveyor, for the
port where the same shall be landed, and shall be removed therefrom in the manner prescribed by an
act, entitled An act providing for the deposite of wines and distilled spirits in public warehouses,
and for other purposes."
@ 2. That brandy, imported in casks of a capacity not less than fifteen gallons, may be exported for
the benefit of a drawback of the duties which shall have been paid thereon, and the exporter or ex-
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BRASS-BRAZIL WOOD.
239
porters of brandy so imported, shall be entitled to receive a debenture or debentures, for the amount
of such drawback, agreeably to the existing laws; and all acts now in force regulating the exporta-
tion of spirits, and the allowance and payment of drawbacks and debentures, shall be deemed appli-
cable to brandy, the importation of which is permitted by this act."
This act was limited in its duration to three years; but it was re-enacted in February
1830, and is still in force.
See article SPIRITS.-Am. Ed.]
BRASS (Ger. Messing; Du. Messing, Missing, Geelkoper ; Fr. Cuivre jaune, Laiton ;
It. Ottone , Sp. Laton, Azofar, Rus. Selenoi mjed; Lat. Orichalcum, Aurichalcum) is a
factitious metal, made of copper and zinc in certain proportions. It is of a beautiful yellow
colour, more fusible than copper, and not so apt to tarnish. It is malleable, so ductile that
it may be drawn out into wire, and is much tougher than copper. Its density is greater than
the mean density of the two metals. By calculation it ought to be 7.63 nearly, whereas it is
actually 8-39; so that its density is increased by about one tenth. The ancients do not seem
to have known accurately the difference between copper, brass, and bronze. They consider-
ed brass as only a more valuable kind of copper, and therefore used the word as to denote
either. They called copper as cyprium, afterwards cyprium; and this in process of time
was converted into cuprum. Dr. Watson has proved that it was to brass they gave the
name of orichalcum. Brass is malleable when cold, unless the proportion of zinc be exces-
sive; but when heated it becomes brittle. It may be readily turned upon the lathe and,
indeed, works more kindly than any other metal.
There is a vast variety in the proportion of the different species of brass used in com-
merce; nor is it easy to determine whether the perfection of this alloy depends on any cer-
tain proportions of the two metals. In general, the extremes of the highest and lowest pro-
portions of zinc are from 12 to 25 parts in the 100. In some of the British manufactories,
the brass made contains one third its weight of zinc. In Germany and Sweden the propor-
tion of zinc varies from one fifth to one fourth of the copper. The ductility of brass is not
injured when the proportion of zinc is highest. This metal is much used in the escapement
wheels, and other nicer parts of watch-making and bars of brass, very carefully made, fetch
for this purpose a high price.
The use of brass is of very considerable antiquity. Most of the ancient genuine relies
are composed of various mixtures of brass with tin and other metals, and are rather to be
denominated bronze. The best proportion for brass guns is said to be 1,000 lbs. of copper,
990 lbs. of tin, and 600 lbs. of brass, in 11 or 12 cwt. of metal. The best brass guns are
made of malleable metal, not of pure copper and zinc alone; but worse metals are used to
make it run closer and sounder, as lead and pot-metal.-(Thomson's Chemistry, Encyc.
Britannica, &c.)
BRAZILETTO, an inferior species of Brazil wood brought from Jamaica. It is one of
the cheapest and least esteemed of the red dye woods.
BRAZIL NUTS, or Chesnuts of Brazil, the fruit of the Juvia (Bertholletia excelsa),
a majestic tree growing to the height of 100 or 120 feet, abounding on the banks of the
Orinoco, and in the northern parts of Brazil. The nuts are triangular, having a cuneiform
appearance, with sutures at each of the angles; the shell is rough and hard, and of a brown-
ish ash colour. The kernel resembles that of an almond, but is larger, and tastes more like a
common hazel nut; it contains a great deal of oil, that may be obtained by expression or
otherwise. These nuts do not grow separately, or in clusters, but are contained, to the num-
ber of from 15 to 50 or more," in great ligneous pericarps or outer shells, generally of the
size of a child's head. This outer shell is very hard and strong, so that it is rather difficult
to get at the nuts, which are closely packed in cells inside. The natives are particularly
fond of this fruit, and celebrate the harvest of the juvia with rejoicings it is also very much
esteemed in Europe. The nuts brought to this country and the Continent are chiefly ex-
ported from Para, and form an article of considerable commercial importance.-(Humboldt's
Pers. Nar. vol. V. p. 538. Eng. trans.)
BRAZIL WOOD (Fr. Bois de Brésil; Ger. Brasilienholz; Du. Brasilienhout; It.
Legno del Brasile, Verzino Sp. Madera del Bresil, Port. Pao Brasil). It has been com-
monly supposed that this wood derived its name from the country in which it is principally
produced. But Dr. Bancroft has conclusively shown that woods yielding a red dye were
called Brazil woods long previously to the discovery of America; and that the early voyagers
gave the name of Brazil to that part of that continent to which it is still applied from their
having ascertained that it abounded in such woods.-(See the learned and excellent work,
Philosophy of Colours, vol. ii. pp. 316-321.)
It is found in the greatest abundance, and is of the best quality, in the province of Pernambuco,
where it is called Pao da rainha, or Queen's wood; but it is also found in many other parts of the
Western Hemisphere. The tree is large, crooked, and knotty: the leaves are of a beautiful red, and
exhale an agreeable odour. Its botanical name is Casalpinia Brasiletto ; but it is called by the na-
Humboldt says he had most frequently found from 15 to 22 nuts in each pericarp; but De Laet,
who gave the first and most accurate description of this fruit, says that the pericarp is divided into
six compartments, each of which encloses from 8 to 12 nuts.-(See Humbolt in loc. cit.)
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BREAD.
tives ibiripitanga. Notwithstanding its apparent bulk, the bark is so thick, that a tree as large as a
man's body with the bark, will not be so thick as the leg when peeled. When cut into chips, it loses
the pale colour it before had, and becomes red ; and when chewed. has a sweet taste. It is used for
various purposes by cabinet-inakers, and admits of a beautiful varnish: but its principal use is in
dyeing red and though the colour is liable to decay, yet, by mixing with it alum and tartar, it is easily
made permanent there is also made of it, by means of acids, a sort of liquid lake or carmine, for
painting in miniature.
Brazil wood has been for many years past a royal monopoly; its exportation, except on account of
government, being prohibited under the severest penalties. Owing to the improvident manner in
which it has been cut down by the government agents, it is now rarely found within several leagues
of the coast. Indeed, we are assured that many of the planters have privately cut down the trees on
their estates, and used the timber as fire-wood, that they might not expose themselves to annoyance
from the arbitrary and vexations proceedings of these functionaries. The quantity of Brazil wood
imported into this country is but inconsiderable. Its price in the London market, exclusive of the
duty (u. per ton), varies from 601. to 801. per ton.-(Dr. Bancroft in loc. cit. Encye. Metrop. Modern
Traveller, vol. xxix. p. 87.; Malte Brun, vol. V. p. 525. Eng. ed. &c.)
BREAD, the principal article in the food of most civilised nations, consists of a paste or
dough formed of the flour or meal of different sorts of grain mixed with water, and baked.
When stale dough or yeast is added to the fresh dough, to make it swell, it is said to be
leavened; when nothing of this sort is added, it is said to be unleavened.
1. Historical Sketch of Bread.-The President de Goguet has endeavoured, with his
usual sagacity and learning, to trace the successive steps by which it is probable men were
led to discover the art of making bread-(Origin of Laws, drc. vol. i. pp. 95-105. Eng.
trans.) but nothing positive is known on the subject. It is certain, however, from the state-
ments in the sacred writings, that the use of unleavened bread was common in the days of
Abraham-(Gen. xviii. 8.) and that leavened bread was used in the time of Moses, for be
prohibits eating the Paschal lamb with such bread-(Exod. xii. 15.) The Greeks affirmed
that Pan had instructed them in the art of making bread but they, no doubt, were indebted
for this art, as well as for their knowledge of agriculture, to the Egyptians and Phonicians,
who had early settled in their country. The method of grinding corn by hand mills was
practised in Egypt and Greece from a very remote epoch; but for a lengthened period the
Romans had no other method of making flour, than by beating roasted corn in mortars.
The Macedonian war helped to make the Romans acquainted with the arts and refinements
of Greece; and Pliny mentions, that public bakers were then, for the first time, established
in Rome-(Hist. Nat. lib. xviii. c. 11.). The conquests of the Romans diffused, amongst
many other useful discoveries, a knowledge of the art of preparing bread, as practised in Rome,
through the whole south of Europe.
The use of yeast in the raising of bread seems, however, from a passage of Pliny (lib. xviii.
c. 7.), to have been practised by the Germans and Gauls before it was practised by the
Romans; the latter, like the Greeks, having leavened their bread by intermixing the fresh
dough with that which had become stale. The Roman practice seems to have superseded
that which was previously in use in France and Spain; for the art of raising bread by an ad-
mixture of yeast was not practised in France in modern times, till towards the end of the
seventeenth century. It deserves to be mentioned, that though the bread made in this way
was decidedly superior to that previously in use, it was declared, by the faculty of medicine
in Paris, to be prejudicial to health; and the use of yeast was prohibited under the severest
penalties ! Luckily, however, the taste of the public concurring with the interest of the bakers,
proved too powerful for these absurd regulations, which fell gradually into disuse and yeast
has long been, almost every where, used in preference to any thing else in the manufacture
of bread, to the wholesomeness and excellence of which it has not a little contributed.
The species of bread in common use in the country depends partly on the taste of the
inhabitants, but more on the sort of grain suitable for its soil. But the superiority of wheat
to all other farinaceous plants in the manufacture of bread is so very great, that wherever it
is easily and successfully cultivated, wheaten bread is used, to the nearly total exclusion of
most others. Where, however, the soil or climate is less favourable to its growth, rye, oats,
&c. are used in its stead. A very great change for the better has, in, this respect, taken
place in Great Britain within the last century. It is mentioned by Harrison, in his descrip-
tion of England (p. 168.), that in the reign of Henry VIII, the gentry had wheat sufficient
for their own tables, but that their household and poor neighbours were usually obliged to
content themselves with rye, barley, and oats. It appears from the household book of Sir
Edward Coke, that in 1596, rye bread and oatmeal formed a considerable part of the diet of
servants, even in great families, in the southern counties. Barley bread is stated in the
grant of a monopoly by Charles I., in 1626, to be the usual food of the ordinary sort of peo-
ple.-(Sir F. M. Eden on the Poor, vol. i. p. 561.) At the Revolution, the wheat produced
in England and Wales was estimated by Mr. King and Dr. Davenant to amount to 1,750,000
quarters.-(Davenant's Works, vol. ii. p. 217.) Mr. Charles Smith, the very well informed
author of the Tracts on the Corn Trade, originally published in 1758, states, that in his time
wheat had become much more generally the food of the common people than it had been in
1689; but he adds (2d ed. p. 182. Lond. 1766.), that notwithstanding this increase, some
very intelligent inquirers were of opinion that even then not more than half the people of
England fed on wheat. Mr. Smith's own estimate, which is very carefully drawn up, is a
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BREAD.
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little higher for taking the population of England and Wales, in 1760, at 6,000,000, he
supposed that 3,750,000 were consumers of wheat; 739,000, of barley 888,000, of rye;
and 623,000, of oats. Mr. Smith further supposed that they individually consumed, the
first class, 1 quarter of wheat the second, 1 quarter and 3 bushels of barley; the third, 1
quarter and 1 bushel of rye; and the fourth, 2 quarters and 7 bushels of oats.
About the middle of last century, hardly any wheat was used in the northern counties of
England. In Cumberland, the principal families used only a small quantity about Christ-
mas. The crust of the goose pie, with which almost every table in the county is then sup-
plied, was, at the period referred to, almost uniformly made of barley meal.-(Eden on the
Poor, vol. i. p. 564.)
Every one knows how inapplicable these statements are to the condition of the people of
England at the present time. Wheaten bread is now universally made use of in towns and
villages, and almost every where in the country. Barley is no longer used, except in the
distilleries and in brewing oats are employed only in the feeding of horses; and the consump-
tion of rye bread is comparatively inconsiderable. The produce of the wheat crops has
been, at the very least, trebled since 1760. And if to this immense increase in the supply
of wheat, we add the still more extraordinary increase in the supply of butcher's meat-
(see art. CATTLE), the fact of a very signal improvement having taken place in the condi-
tion of the population, in respect of food, will be obvious.
But great as has been the improvement in the condition of the people of England since
1760, it is but trifling compared to the improvement that has taken place, since the same
period, in the condition of the people of Scotland. At the middle of last century, Scotch agri-
culture was in the most depressed state the tenants were destitute alike of capital and skill
green crops were almost wholly unknown and the quantity of wheat that was raised was
quite inconsiderable. A field of 8 acres sown with this grain, in the vicinity of Edinburgh,
in 1727, was reckoned so great a curiosity that it excited the attention of the whole neigh-
d!-(Robertson's Rural Recollections, p. 267.) But even so late as the American
war, the wheat raised in the Lothians and Berwickshire did not exceed a third part of what
is now grown in them and taking the whole country at an average, it will be a moderate
estimate, to say that the cultivation of wheat has increased in a tenfold proportion since
1780. At that period no wheaten bread was to be met with in the country places and vil-
lages of Scotland; oat cakes and barley bannocks being universally made use of. But at
present the case is widely different. The upper and also the middle and lower classes in
towns and villages use only wheaten bread, and even in farmhouses it is very extensively
consumed. There is, at this moment, hardly a village to be met with, however limited its
extent, that has not a public baker.
In many parts of England it is the custom for private families to bake their own bread.
This is particularly the case in Kent, and in some parts of Lancashire. In 1804, there was
not a single public baker in Manchester ; and their number is still very limited.
2. Regulations as to the Manufacture of Bread.-Owing to the vast importance of bread,
its manufacture has been subjected in most countries to various regulations, some of which
have had a beneficial and others an injurious operation.
a Assize of Bread.-From the year 1266, in the reign of Henry III., down to our own
days, it has been customary to regulate the price at which bread should be sold according to
the price of wheat or flour at the time. An interference of this sort was supposed to be
necessary, to prevent that monopoly on the part of the bakers which it was feared might
otherwise take place. But it is needless, perhaps, to say that this apprehension was of the
most futile description. The trade of a baker is one that may be easily learned, and it
requires no considerable capital to carry it on; 80 that were those engaged in the business
in any particular town to attempt to force up prices to an artificial elevation, the combination
would be immediately defeated by the competition of others; and even though this were not
the case, the facility with which bread may be baked at home would of itself serve to nullify
the efforts of any combination. But the assize regulations were not merely useless ; they
were in many respects exceedingly injurious they rendered the price of flour a matter of
comparative indifference to the baker; and they obliged the baker who used the finest flour,
and made the best bread, to sell at the same rate as those who used inferior flour, and whose
bread was decidedly of a worse quality. But these considerations, how obvious soever they
may now appear, were for a long time entirely overlooked. According, however, as the use
of wheaten bread was extended, it was found to be impracticable to set assizes in small towns
and villages and notwithstanding the fewness of the bakers in such places gave them
greater facilities for combining together, the price of bread was almost uniformly lower in
them than in places where assizes were set. In consequence, partly of this circumstance,
but still more of the increase of intelligence as to such matters, the practice of setting an
assize was gradually relinquished in most places; and in 1815 it was expressly abolished,
by an act of the legislature (55 Geo. 3. c. 99.), in London and its environs. In other places,
though the power to set an assize still subsists, it is seldom acted upon, and has fallen into
comparative disuse.
VoL. I-X
31
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BREMEN.
b. Regulations as to the Weight, and Ingredients to be used in making Bread-Accord-
ing to the assize acts, a sack of flour weighing 280 lbs. is supposed capable of being baked
into 80 quartern loaves; one fifth of the loaf being supposed to consist of water and salt,
and four fifths of flour. But the number of loaves that may be made from a sack of flour
depends entirely on its goodness. Good flour requires more water than bad flour, and old
flour than new flour. Sometimes 82, 83, and even 86 loaves have been made from a sack
of flour, and sometimes hardly 80.
Under the assize acts, bakers are restricted to bake only three kinds of bread, viz. wheaten, stand-
ard wheaten, and household; the first being made of the finest flour, the second of the whole flour
mixed, and the third of the coarser flour. The loaves are divided into peck, half-peck, and quartern
loaves; the legal weight of each, when baked, being, the peck loaf 17 lbs. 6 oz., the half peck 8 lbs.
11 oz., and the quartern 4 lbs. 5f oz. avoirdupois.
Now, however, it is enacted, that within the city of London, and in those places in the country
where an assize is not set, it shall be lawful for the bakers to make and sell bread made of wheat,
barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, Indian corn, peas, beans, rice, or potatoes, or any of them, along with
common salt, pure water, eggs, milk, barm. leaven, potato or other yeast, and mixed in such propor-
tions as they shall think fit.-( 3 Geo. 4. c. 106. Q 2., and I & 2 Geo. 4. c. 50. . 2.)
It is also enacted, by the same statutes, that bakers in London, and in the country, that is, in all
places 10 miles from the Royal Exchange where an assize is not set, may make and sell bread of such
weight and size as they think fit, any law or assize to the contrary notwithstanding. But it is at the
same time enacted, that such bread shall always be sold by avoirdupois weight of 16 ounces to the
pound, and in no other manner, under a penalty for every offence of not more than 40s.; except,
however, French or fancy bread, or rolls, which may be sold without previously weighing the same.
Bakers or sellers of bread are bound to have fixed, in some conspicuous part of their shop, a beain
and scales, with proper weights for weighing bread; and a person purchasing bread may require it to
be weighed in his presence. Bakers and others sending out bread in carts, are to supply them with
beams, scales, &c., and to weigh the bread if required, under a penalty of not more than 51.-(3 Geo.
4. 3. 106. (8.)
Bakers, either journeymen or masters, using alum or any other unwholesome ingredient, and con-
victed on their own confession, or on the oath of one or more witnesses, to forfeit not exceeding 20/.
and not less than 51. if beyond the environs of London, and not exceeding 101. nor less than 51. if
within London or its environs. Justices are allowed to publish the names of offenders. The adul-
teration of meal or flour is punishable by a like penalty. Loaves made of any other grain than wheat,
without the city and its liberties, or beyond 10 miles of the Royal Exchange, to be marked with a large
Roman M.; and every person exposing such loaves without such mark shall forfeit not more than 40s.
nor less than 10s. for every loaf so exposed.-(1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 50. (6.)
Any ingredient or mixture found within the house, mill, stall, shop, &c. of any miller, mealman, or
baker, which after due examination shall be adjudged to have been placed there for the purpose of
adulteration, shall be forfeited; and the person within whose premises it is found punished, if within
the city of London and its environs, by a penalty not exceeding 101. nor less than 40s. for the first
offence, 51. for the second offence, and 10% for every subsequent offence.-(3 Geo. 4. c. 106. 0 14.) And
if without London and its environs, the party in whose house or premises ingredients for adulteration
shall be found, shall forfeit for every such offence not less than 51. and not more than 20d.-(1 & 2 Geo.
4. c. 5. 0 8.)
Bakers in London and its environs are not to sell, or expose to sale, any bread, rolls, or cakes, nor
bake or deliver any meat, pudding, pie, tart, or victuals of any sort, on Sundays, except between the
hours of nine in the morning and one in the afternoon, under penalty of 10s. for the first offence, 20s.
for the second offence, and 40s. for every subsequent offence.-(3 Geo. 4. c. 106. a 16.)
Bakers in the country are prohibited from selling, &c. any bread, &c., or baking or delivering any
meat, &c., on Sundays, any time after half past 1 o'clock of the afternoon of that day, or during the
time of divine service, under penalty of 5s. for the first offence, 10s. for the second, and 20s. for the
third and every subsequent offence.-(59 Geo. 3. c. 36. 0 12.)
There are several regulations in the acts now in force with respect to the sale, &c. of bread where
an assize is set; but as the practice of setting an assize is nearly relinquished, it seems unnecessary
to recapitulate them. The weight of the assize bread has already been mentioned, and the principle
on which its price is fixed.
Notwithstanding the prohibition against the use of alum, it is believed to be very generally em-
ployed, particularly by the bakers of London.-" In the metropolis," says Dr. Thomson, (Suppl. to
Encyc Brit., art. Baking), where the goodness of bread is estimated entirely by its whiteness, it is
usual with those bakers who employ flour of hn inferior quality, to add as much alum as common
salt to the dough; or, in other words, the quantity of salt added is diminished a half, and the defi-
ciency supplied by an equal weight of alum. This improves the look of the bread, rendering it much
whiter and firmer."
There are believed to be about 1,700 bakers in London, Westminster, &c. The trade which they
carry on is in general but limited, and it is not reckoned a very advantageous line of business.
[Government in our own country, too, has undertaken to regulate the quantity and quality
of a loaf of bread. There is a law in Pennsylvania inflicting a penalty of five pounds on any
baker who shall mix up or adulterate his bread with any impure or unwholesome ingredient;
and he is obliged to make his loaves of a certain weight. The legislation of other States on
the subject is of the same character.-Am. Ed.]
BREMEN, one of the free Hanseatic cities, situated on the river Weser, about 50 miles
from its mouth, in lat. 53° N., long. 8° 48' E. Population about 46,000. Its situation
on the Weser renders Bremen the principal emporium of Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse, and
other countries traversed by that river. The charges on the buying, selling, and shipping
of goods, are very moderate. The principal exports are linens, grain, oak bark, glass, smalts,
hams. hides, rapeseed, beef and pork, rags, wool and woollen goods, wine, &c. The wheat
and barley shipped here are mostly very inferior; but the oats are useful common feed
beans are good. The linens are mostly the same as those from Hamburgh. The imports
consist of coffee, sugar, and other colonial products; tobacco, whale oil, iron, rice, hides,
wines, raw cotton, cotton stuffs and yarn, earthenware, brandy, butter, tar, tea, dyewoods,
timber, hemp, &c.
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BREMEN.
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Entrance to Bremen.-The entrance to the Weser lies between the Mellum and other sands on the
south-western, and the Teglers Plaat, &c. on the north-eastern side. Its course from Bremerlehe to
its mouth is nearly S. E. and N. W. It is buoyed throughout. The buoys on the right or starboard
side when entering, being black and marked with letters, while those on the left or larboard are white
and numbered. The first or outer black buoy has a gilt key upon it, and is, therefore, called the
schlussel or key buoy; it lies in 101 fathoms, bearing N. E. miles from Wrangeroog light. This is an
intermitting light, having replaced in 1830, the old coal-fire beacon on the island of Wrangeroog,
opposite to the northern extremity of East Friesland. It is, according to the most authentic state-
ments, in lat. 53° 471' N., long. 7° 51' 55" E.; is elevated 634 feet above high water mark, being alter-
nately visible and invisible for the space of a minute. A light vessel is moored in the fair-way of the
Weser, between the black buoys E and F, and the white buoys 2 and 3. She has two masts: during
day, a red flag, with a white cross upon it, is kept flying at the mainmast; and at night she exhibits
7 lantern lights, 28 feet above deck. This vessel is on no account to leave her station, unless com-
pelled by the ice. Large vessels do not now generally ascend further than Bremerlehe, on the east
side of the river, about 38 miles below Bremen, where a new and spacious harbour, called Bremen
Haven," has been constructed. But vessels not drawing more than 7 feet water come up to town
and those drawing from 13 to 14 feet may come up to Vegesack, about 13 miles from Bremen.-(See
the Sailing Directions for the North Sea, published by Mr. Norrie.)
A Statement of the Quantities and Value of the principal Articles of Merchandise imported into
Bremen, in the year 1835.-(Consular Return).
Imports.
Imports.
Description.
Description.
Quantities.
Value.
Quantities.
Value.
£
£
Barilla
-
- cwts.
5,277
2,216
Raisins
-
- cwts.
7,990
7,383
Brandy
-
- hbds.
1,284
6,741
Rice
-
-
do.
33,655
33,924
Butter
-
- cwts.
10,377
23,003
Resin
-
- do.
3,816
961
Coals
-
- lasts.
234
842
Rum
-
casks.
852
15,720
Coffee
-
- lbs.
10,103,000
263,138
Salt
-
lasts.
684
2,118
Copper
-
- cwts.
1,107
5,700
Saltpetre
- cwts.
4,670
6,277
Copperas
-
do.
8,268
2,220
Sugar, raw,
-
do.
108,691
215,571
Cotton
-
- lbs.
753,700
31,404
refined -
do.
17,931
35,564
Currants
- cwts.
3,241
6,518
Syrup
-
-
do.
9,675
8,340
Earthenware
-
-
6,087
Tallow
-
-
do.
1,157
1,944
Fustic
-
- cwts.
11,607
1,980
Tar
-
- brls.
6,449
4,035
Indigo
-
- lbs.
20,800
5,190
Tea
-
- lbs.
415,860
46,785
Iron
-
- tons.
2,817
47,325
Tinplates
boxes.
1,886
3,394
Linseed
-
- bris.
11,300
22,878
Tobacco, leaf
-
lbs.
24,170,870
478,380
Hides
-
- No.
27,100
32,205
, roll do.
605,634
27,947
Logwood
- cwts.
12,080
3,252
, stems
do.
4,893,447
55,051
Mahogany
-
-
3,705
segars
No.
1,633,000
3,840
Oil, Greenland
brls.
3,400
Miscellaneous -
-
-
271,647
-, Newfoundland do.
4,500
-, Norwegian do.
5,760
106,440
Total
-
1,802,553
-, Archangel
do.
600
Further imports by water from the
-, South Sea
do.
22,000
small towns situated between
Pepper
-
- lbs.
320,900
5,347
Bremen and the mouth of the
32,553
Pimento
-
- do.
381,360
7,150
river Weser
-
-
-
-
Pitch
-
- bris.
501
324
Total imports
-
1,835,106
Exports.-Linens are one of the most important articles of export from Bremen. They are mostly
sold by the piece. The dimensions of the pieces, and their prices, are similar to those of Hamburgh,
which see. The Westphalia hams are mostly shipped from this port.
Duties.-An export duty of t per cent., ad valorem, is charged on all merchandise shipped from
Bremen.
The import duty is 1 per cent., ad valorem, on all articles; having been increased a third per cent. by
the ordinance of 1830.
The value of the imports is calculated according to the invoice price, adding thereto the freight and
the rate of insurance current in Bremen; the value of the exports is estimated from the invoice price
only. Should there be no invoice of imports, it is the duty of the importer to make a correct estimate
of the value upon his oath as a citizen but the Custom-house has power to institute a stricter ex-
amination, if the estimate appears too low.
Emigration.-Bremen has become the most considerable port on the Continent for the shipment of
emigrants to the United States, and other parts in America. In 1832 the number of emigrants amount-
ed to between 9,000 and 10,000; and their conveyance has become an object of much importance,
particularly to the American ship-owners. A large proportion of the emigrants are from Hesse.
Ship-brokers are licensed officers, and give security, to the amount of 2,000 rix-dollars, for the faith-
ful discharge of their duties. These are to engage freights, to sell vessels by auction, to enter ves-
nels, and collect freights. They are not permitted to have partners, to transact any commercial
business on their own account, to accept commissions or consignments, to sell or purchase bills of
exchange, or to engage in any mercantile concerns.
None but appointed brokers of this class can undertake any of the duties assigned to them. Any
person employing a non-appointed broker, is deprived of legal redress against the unauthorised agent
by whose conduct he may sustain injury.
Ship-brokers are obliged to keep a register of all vessels coming in or going out, of the names of
the captains who employed them, to procure manifests of cargoes, and to attend to the payment of
duties and other dues chargeable on vessel or cargo.
The fees allowed to them are, for chartering a vessel in bulk, 18 grotes per grain last of this, the
owner pays 12 grotes, and the freighter six grotes.
For outward-bound vessels, taking merchandise as it may be offered, 2 per cent. on the freight.
For entering a vessel from sea measuring 50 lasts, 5 rix-dollars measuring 100 ditto, 71 rix-dol-
lars; and if she measure above 100 lasts, 10 rix-dollars.
Entry dues are to be paid by the consignees of foreign vessels out of the commission they may
charge.
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BREMEN.
For the collection of freight money, the broker is entitled to receive one per cent., but the consignee
of a foreign vessel is to pay this sum.
Regulations of the Harbour of Bremen Haven.-All vessels entering the harbour are subject to the
superintendence of the harbour-masters, whose directions are to be obeyed by the captains and
crews.
No ballast or rubbish is to be thrown overboard, under a penalty of 10 rix-dollars for the first
offence, which is increased in case of repetition; the offender, too, is obliged to remove the articles he
may have 80 cast into the harbour.
It is not permitted to keep gunpowder on board, and any which may be in the vessel must be deli-
vered up within two hours after she has reached her berth: non-compliance with this subjects the
party to a fine of from 10 to 50 rix-dollars; nor is it permitted to discharge any fire-arms in port.
The use of all fire on board, from sunset to sunrise, is prohibited; the captain, however, may have
a light, in a closed lantern, in his cabin.
The crews are not allowed to carry on shore any fire-arms, dirks, or other weapons.
Vessels passing in and out of the drawbridge, or which may remain in the harbour during two
months, are subject to the payment of the following rates, viz.
Rx. D. Gr.
Rx. D. Gr.
Of
300 lasts and upwards
40 0
Below 60 lasts to 40 lasts
7 36
Below 300 to 250 lasts
35 0
- 40 - to 30
5 o
- 250 to 200 -
30 0
- 200 to 150
25 0
If vessels remain longer than two months, they are to pay for
- 150 - to 120 -
20 0
every additional month, calculating the entrance on a new month as
a full mouth.
- 120 - to 100 square-rigged
17 36
- 120 - to 100 galliots, &c.
15 0
Vessels of 300 lasts and upwards
5 0
- 100 - to S0 equare-rigged
15 0
Below 300 - to 250 lasts
4 36
- 100 - to 80 galliots, &c.
12 36
- 250 - to 200 -
3 36
- 80 - to 60 square-rigged
12 36
- 200 - to 100 -
X 36
- 80 - to 60 galliots, &c.
10 0
- 100 - to 60
1 36
Arrivals.-During the year 1834, 1,006 ships entered the port of Bremen. Of these, 194 were from
Hanover 111 from Great Britain; 103 from the United States; 44 from France; and the remainder
from the Netherlands, Russia, South America, Spain, Sweden, &c. The shipping charges at Bremen
are particularly low.
Money.Accounts are kept in thalers, or rix-dollars, of 72 grootes or grotes; the grotes being di-
vided into 5 swares. The Bremen rix-dollar current is worth 3s. 2d. sterling; and the par of exchange
is 11. sterling == 6 rix-dollars 22 grotes 4 swares.
Weights and Measurcs.-The commercial pound = 2 marks = 16 ounces = 32 loths = 7,690 English
grains. Hence, 100 lbs. of Bremen= 1098 avoirdupois, or 49:825 kilog. load of pfundschwer = 300 lbs.,
but carriers reckon it at 308 lbs. A centner = 116 lbs. ; a shippound = 21 centners, or 290lbs.; a waage
of iron = 120 lbs. ; a stone of flax = 20 lbs. ; a stone of wool = 10 lbs. A ton of butter great mea-
sure = 300 lbs. and a ton of do. small measure = 220 lbs.
The dry measures are, 4 spints == 1 viertel 4 viertels = scheffel; 10 scheffels = 1 quart 4 quarts =
1 last; the last = 80:70 bushels Winchester measure, or 10:087 quarters; that is, 10 quarters and 0.7
bushel. A barrel of salt= 31 scheffels. A last of coals = 2 chaldrons Newcastle measure.
The liquid measures are 88 quarts = 1 viertel; 5 viertels = 1 anker; 4 ankers = 1 tierce; It tierce
= oxhoft ; the oxhoft = 58 English wine gallons. Wine is sometimes sold by the ahm of lankers = 374
Eng. wine gallons. A barrel of whale oil = 6 steckan, or 216 lbs. nett = 311 Eng. wine gallons. A ship
last of herrings, salt, and coals= 12 barrels.
The Bremen foot = 11:38 Eng. inches: hence, 100 Bremen feet = 948 Eng. ditto. The Bremen ell is
2 feet; and 100 ells of Bremen = 63.2 Eng. yards.
Tares. -The usual tares are, on sugar in casks and Brazil chests, 17 per cent. ; on Havannah boxes,
70 lbs. Maryland tobacco, 90 lbs. per hogshead ditto Virginia and Kentucky, 110 lbs. per hogshead
cotton, round bales, 4 per cent. ; square ditto, 6 per cent. tea (green), 20 lbs. per quarter chest ; ditto
(black), 221bs. per quarter chest. Most other articles, such as East India indigo, rice, coffee, spices,
&c. real (Drawn up principally from the communications of Bremen merchants; and from the
Digest of Customs' Laws printed by order of the American Congress, vol. i. p. 434. &c.)
[The mercantile marine of Bremen has of late years been very much augmented, and
may be now estimated at about 40,000 tons. Since the construction of the harbour of
Bremerlehe, above mentioned, ship-building has chiefly been carried on there, instead of at
Vegesack, as was formerly the case. And some very fine ships and brigs have been lately
constructed on American models.
The commercial intercourse of Bremen with the United States is extensive and important.
This small city is the principal market in Europe for American tobacco. The average quan-
tity imported by it approaches to 30,000 hogsheads annually ; and of this amount the larger
portion is Maryland. It is distributed from Bremen all over Germany, Prussia, Austria,
and even through Italy and Russia. A considerable number of Bremen vessels resort for it
to Baltimore; some to Petersburg and Richmond. The inspection lately established in
Philadelphia has already augmented the direct intercourse between it and Bremen; and a
regular line of packets is to sail between the two ports.
The quantity of cotton annually shipped to Bremen from the United States does not go
beyond six or eight thousand bales. Five or six thousand casks of rice are annually export-
ed thither.
For many years past the Bremen vessels have brought to this country a large number of
German emigrants, consisting chiefly of industrious farmers, mechanics, and labourers.
During the years 1836 and 1837, they supplied us with grain; but their cargoes ordi-
narily consist of goods manufactured in various parts of Germany, such as
Silks, manufactured mostly at Elberfeld and Crevelt, in Prussia.
Cotton goods, principally hosiery, made in Saxony.
Woollens, chiefly merinoes, some coarse woollen hosiery, some light summer cloths, and
a small quantity of broad cloth.
Hardware and steel, manufactured at Remscheid, Solingen, and neighbouring places, in
the Prussian dominions.
Hollow glassware, such as tumblers of the commonest description, and wine and por-
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BRIBE, BRICKS AND TILES.
245
ter bottles. The importation of these articles is gradually decreasing, as our own glass-
works are improving.
Linens. All kinds of German linen goods have been in a great measure superseded by the
linens of Ireland and Scotland. Some very coarse linen, however, for bagging, called Hes-
sians and Hoeden rolls, and some burlaps for negro clothing, as also sail cloth of a good
quality, made in imitation of the Dutch, together with linen tapes and bobbins, continue to
be imported also damask table linen and napkins, and linen pocket handkerchiefs.
Looking-glass plates of small sizes, low priced toilet and pocket glasses, burning glasses,
and spectacle glasses procured from Nuremberg, in the kingdom of Bavaria as also hooks
and eyes, bone buttons, toys, and a great variety of small articles, procured from the same
place.
Thread, silk, and cotton lace, lace veils and embroideries, cotton and worsted fringes,
brought to Bremen from Saxony.
Slates, slate pencils, marbles, and toys from Sonnenberg in Saxony.
Oil cloth manufactured in Saxony.
Westphalia hams.
We may remark that the consumption of German manufactures in this country is, gene-
rally speaking, on the increase; the frugality and industry of the Germans enabling them
more and more to compete with the English and French.-Am. Ed.]
BRIBE. Any person giving or offering a bribe, recompence, or reward, to any officer
of the customs, to induce him to neglect his duty, to forfeit 2001.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 53. § 38.)
[By the act of the 2d of March, 1799, entitled " An act to regulate the collection of
duties on imports and exports," it was enacted,
That if any officer of the customs shall, directly or indirectly, take or receive any bribe,
reward, or recompense, for conniving, or shall connive, at any false entry of any ship or
vessel, or of any goods, wares, or merchandise, and shall be convicted thereof, every such
officer, or other person, shall forfeit and pay a sum, not less than two hundred, nor more
than two thousand dollars, for each offence; and any person giving or offering any bribe,
recompense, or reward, for any such deception, collusion, or fraud, shall forfeit and pay a
sum, not less than two hundred dollars, nor more than two thousand dollars, for each
offence."-Am. Ed.]
BRICKS AND TILES, well known articles used in the building and covering of houses.
They are made of baked clay and sand. Until last year (1833) an excise duty was
charged both on bricks and tiles, their manufacture being, in consequence, placed under sur-
veillance. It is ordered by 17 Geo. 3. c. 42. that all bricks made in England for sale shall
be 84 inches long, 21 inches thick, and 4 wide; and all pantiles 13} inches long, 91 inches
wide, and 1 an inch thick on pain of forfeiting, for bricks or tiles made of less dimensions
when burnt, as follows, viz. 20s. for every 1,000 of bricks, and 10s. for every 1,000 of pan-
tiles, and proportionally for a greater or less number. It is also provided, that the size of the
sieves or screens for sifting or screening sea-coal ashes to be mixed with brick earth in mak-
ing bricks, shall not exceed t of an inch between the meshes. Makers of bricks and tiles
must give notice, under a penalty of 100/., to the excise, of their intention to begin the
manufacture. Tiles used in draining land were exempted from the duties. But in so far
as respects tiles, these regulations are no longer of importance, the duty on them having
been abolished in 1833. The revenue derived from it was but trifling. It was, however,
very prejudicial to the manufacture, particularly after the repeal of the duty on slates. It
were to be wished that the state of the revenue was such as to admit of the repeal of the
duty on bricks.
Account of the Rates of Duty on, and Quantities of, the different Species of Bricks produced in
England and Wales in 1827, 1828, and 1829.
Species.
Rates of Duty.
Quantity.
Quantity.
Quantity.
1827.
1828.
1829.
Common
-
5s. 10d. per 1,000
1,092,447,058
1,068,400,330
1,099,744,701
Large -
-
10s.
per
do.
2,683,046
2,645,425
2,540,360
Polished
-
12s. 10d. per do.
8,150,750
7,769,075
7,295,366
Large polished
2s. 5d. per 100
98,550
122,810
110,275
Totals
1,103,379,404
1,078,937,640
1,109,690,702
Account of the Rates of Duty on, and Quantities of, the different Species of Bricks produced in
Scotland, in 1827, 1828, and 1829.
Species.
Rates of Duty.
Quantity.
Quantity.
Quantity.
1827.
1828.
1829.
Common
-
5s. 10d. per 1,000
20,071,337
24,281,032
24,741,582
Large -
-
10s.
per
do.
255,850
406,439
396,187
Polished
-
12s. 10d. per do.
3,375
1,850
6,522
Totals
20,330,562
24,689,321
25,144,291
X 2
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BRIMSTONE-BROKERS.
Nett Produce of the Duties on Bricks and Tiles in 1829.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
England
s Bricks
319,051 14 5
-
-
Scotland -
s Bricks
6,714 0 0
-
Tiles
34,830 7 5
Tiles
1,922 12 0
Total nett amount of revenue from bricks and tiles in Great Britain, 362,5181. 13s. 10d.
There were, in 1830, 5,369 brick and tile manufacturers in England and Wales, and 104 in Scot-
land.*
The entire duties on bricks and tiles are drawn back upon exportation. Sufficient security must be
given before their shipment, that they shall be shipped and exported, and not relanded in Great
Britain.-(24 Geo. 3. sess. 2. c. 24. 1 16.)
If bricks or tiles shipped for drawback be relanded, the bricks or tiles so relanded shall, over and
above the penalty in the bond, be forfeited.-() 17.)
Return of the Number of Tiles made in the Year 1830, in Great Britain; stating the Number of each
Kind, and the Rate of Duty charged per Thousand on each; also, the Gross Amount of Duty for
the Year, and Amount paid for Drawback on Tiles exported; distinguishing each Country, and the
Number of Tiles exported.
Plain.
Rate of
Pan or
Rate of
Small
Rate of
Large
Rate of
All
Rate of
GrossAmount
Duty.
Ridge.
Duty.
Paving.
Duty.
Paving.
Duty.
other.
Duty.
of Duty.
s. d.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
L. 8. d.
England
41,707,915
5 8
20,603,450
12 10
3,972,507
2 5
1,036,300
4 10
399,675
4 10
32,438 19 5
per 1000
per 1000
per 100
per 100
per 1000
Scotland
3,250
-
2,638,942
-
57,330
-
19,370
-
1,750
-
1,810 15 0
Gt. Britain
41,711,165
-
23,242,382
-
4,029,837
-
1,055.670
-
401,425
-
34,249 14 5
Number of Tiles exported.
Amount of Draw.
Plain.
Pan or Ridge.
Small Paving.
Large Paving.
All other.
back.
£ S. d.
England
-
17,000
734,742
126,909
143,073
1,424
975 9 5
Scotland
-
-
52;000
7,900
750
-
44 14 6
Great Britain
17,000
786,742
134,809
143,823
1,424
1,020 3 11
Note.-Bricks and tiles made in Ireland are not subject to excise duty.
BRIMSTONE. See SULPHUR.
BRISTLES (Fr. Soies; Ger. Borsten; Du. Borstels; It. Setole; Sp. Cerdas, Setas;
Pol. Szezeciny; Rus. Schtschetina; Lat. Setæ), the strong glossy hairs growing on the
back of the hog and the wild boar. These are very extensively used by brushmakers, shoe-
makers, saddlers, &c., and form a considerable article of import. Russia is the great mart
for bristles; those of the Ukraine being held in the highest estimation. Of the total quan-
tity imported in 1831, amounting to 2,070,306 lbs., Russia furnished 1,867,096 lbs., and
Prussia (Königsberg) 136,721 lbs. At an average of the 3 years ending with 1831, the
entries for home consumption amounted to 1,789,801 lbs. a year. The duty, which varies
from 24d. to 34d. a pound, produced, in 1832, 25,613/. 2s. 10d. nett.
BROCADE (Du. Brokade; Fr. Brocade; Ger. Brokal; It. Broccalo; Rus. Partscha;
Sp. Brocado), a stuff made of silk variegated with gold and silver.
BROKERS, persons employed as middlemen to transact business or negotiate bargains
between different merchants or individuals. They are sometimes licensed by public authority,
and sometimes not.
Brokers are divided into different classes, as bill or exchange brokers, stockholders, ship
and insurance brokers, pawnbrokers, and brokers simply so called, or those who sell or
appraise household furniture distrained for rent. Exclusive, too, of the classes now men-
tioned, the brokers who negotiate sales of produce between different merchants usually con-
fine themselves to some one department or line of business; and by attending to it exclu-
sively, they acquire a more intimate knowledge of its various details, and of the credit of
those engaged in it, than could be looked for on the part of a general merchant; and are
consequently able, for the most part, to buy on cheaper and to sell on dearer terms than those
less familiar with the business. It is to these circumstances-to a sense of the advantages
to be derived from using their intervention in the transacting of business-that the exten-
sive employment of brokers in London and all other large commercial cities is wholly to be
ascribed.
The number of brokers in London is unlimited but by the statute 8 & 9 Will. 3. c. 20.
they are to be licensed by the lord mayor and aldermen, under such restrictions and limita-
tions as they may think fit to enact. By the 57 Geo. 3. c. 60., brokers acting without being
duly admitted are made liable in a penalty of 100/. The fee on admission is fixed by the
same act at 51. ; and there is, besides, an annual payment also of 5%
The following are some of the regulations established by the mayor and aldermen pursu-
ant to the act of Will. 3. :-That every person shall, upon his admission, take an oath truly
and faithfully to execute and perform the office of broker between party and party, in all
(Compiled from the Parliamentary Papers, No. 194. Sess. 1830, and No. 354. Sess. 1831.)
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BROKERAGE.
247
things pertaining to the duty of the said office, without fraud or collusion, to the best and
utmost of his skill and knowledge that he shall in all cases reveal the name of his princi-
pal and neither deal in goods on his own account, nor barter and sell again, nor make any
gain in goods beyond the usual brokerage; and that he shall regularly register all the con-
tracts, &c. into which he enters.
Brokers grant a bond under a penalty of 500l. for the faithful performance of the duties
sworn to in the eath of admission.
A medal is delivered to the broker, with his name engraved thereon, which he may pro-
duce, if required, as evidence of his qualification.
Twelve persons professing the Jewish religion are permitted to act as brokers within the
city, under the same regulations, and receive the silver medal accordingly. This medal is
transferable sold generally at from 800L. to 1,500/., exclusive of the expense of transfer,
which is uncertain. Upon the decease of any of the holders of the medal without its hav-
ing been transferred, the appointment falls to the lord mayor for the time being; and for it
the sum of 1,500/. has not unfrequently been given.-(Montefiore's Com. Dict. art.
Brokers.)
If goods in the city of London be sold by a broker, to be paid for by a bill of exchange,
the vendor has a right, within a reasonable time, if he be not satisfied with the sufficiency
of the purchaser, to annul the contract, provided he intimate his dissent as soon as he has an
opportunity of inquiring into the solvency of the purchaser. In a case of this sort (Hodg-
son V. Davies, 2 Camp. N. P. C. 536.), Lord Ellenborough was, at first, rather inclined to
think that the contract concluded by a broker must be absolute, unless his authority were
limited by writing, of which the purchaser had notice. But the special jury said, that
"unless the name of the purchaser has been previously communicated to the seller, if the
payment is to be by bill, the seller is always understood to reserve to himself the power of
disapproving of the sufficiency of the purchaser, and annulling the contract." Lord Ellen-
borough allowed that this usage was reasonable and valid. But he clearly thought that the
rejection must be intimated as soon as the seller has had time to inquire into the solvency
of the purchaser. The jury found, in the case in question, that five days was not too long a
period for making the necessary inquiries.
Brokers, Bill,-propose and conclude bargains between merchants and others in matters
of bills and exchange. They make it their business to know the state of the exchange, and
the circumstances likely to elevate or depress it. They sell bills for those drawing on foreign
countries, and buy bills for those remitting to them and, from their knowledge of the
mutual wants of the one class as compared with those of the other, a few of the principal
brokers are able to fix the rate of exchange at a fair average, which it would not be possible
to do if the merchants directly transacted with each other. Their charge as brokerage is
2s. per cent.
Those," says Mr. Windham Beawes, " who exercise the function of bill brokers, ought
to be men of honour and capable of their business; and the more so, as both the credit and
fortune of those who employ them may, in some measure, be said to be in their hands; and,
therefore, they should avoid babbling, and be prudent in their office, which consists in one
sole point, that is, to hear all and say nothing so that they ought never to speak of the
negotiations transacted by means of their intervention, or relate any ill report which they
have heard against a drawer, nor offer his bills to those who have spread it."
Brokers, Stock,-are employed to buy and sell stock in the public funds, or in the funds
of joint stock companies. Their business is regulated by certain, acts of parliament, by
which, among other things, it is enacted, that contracts in the nature of wagers, or contracts
apparently framed for the sale or purchase of stock, but really intended only to enable the parties
to speculate on contingent fluctuations of the market, without any stock being actually sold,
shall be void, and those engaging in them subjected to a penalty of 500l.-(7 Geo. 2. c. 8,
made perpetual by 10 Geo. 2. c. 8.) And by the same act, any one contracting to sell stock
of which he is not actually possessed, or to which he is not entitled, forfeits 500L Brokers
not keeping a book in which all contracts are regularly inserted, are liable in a penalty of
50/. for each omission half to the king and half to those who sue for it. The charge for
brokerage on all public funds, except Exchequer bills and India bonds, is 2s. 6d. per cent.
on these it is 18. per cent. No transaction with respect to the purchase and sale of stock
in the public funds can be concluded except by the intervention of a licensed broker, unless
by the parties themselves.
Brokers, Ship and Insurance.-The chief employment of this class of brokers is in the
buying and selling of ships, in procuring cargoes on freight, and adjusting the terms of
charterparties, settling with the master for his salary and disbursements, &c. Their charge
as ship brokers is about 2 per cent. on the gross receipts. When they act as insurance
brokers, they charge 5 per cent. on the premium, exclusive of a discount allowed them on
settling with the underwriter. The merchant looks to the broker for the regularity of the
contract, and a proper selection of underwriters. To him also the underwriters look for a fair
and candid disclosure of all material circumstances affecting the risk, and for payment of
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248
BROKERAGE-BUBBLES.
their premiums. From the importance of their employment, ship and insurance brokers
ought to be, and indeed generally are, persons of respectability and honour, in whom full
confidence may be reposed. A ship broker is not within the various acts for the regulation
and admission of brokers.- Gibbons V. Rule, C. P. 27th of June, 1827.)
Brokers, Custom-house.-It is enacted by the 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52., that no person shall
be authorised to act as an agent for transacting business at the Custom-house in the port of
London, relative to the entry or clearance of any ship, &c., unless authorised by licence of
the commissioners of customs, who are to require bond with one surety for 1,000l. for the
faithful conduct of such person and his clerks. This regulation does not, however, apply to
the clerk or servant of any person or persons transacting business at the Custom-house on
his or their account. The commissioners may extend this regulation to other ports-4$
144. & 148.
Brokers, Pawn. See PAWNBROKERS.
Brokers, simply so called, in their character of appraisers and sellers of goods distrained
for rent, are regulated by 57 Geo. 3. c. 93., which enacts, that no such person making any
distress for rent, where the sum due does not exceed 201., shall take more than the following
sums viz.
£ s. d.
For levying
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 3 0
For men keeping possession, per day
-
-
- 0 2 0
Advertisements, if any
-
-
-
-
- 0 10 0
Catalogues, sale, commission, &c. in the pound on the nett produce 0 1 0
Stamp duty, lawful amount.
Appraisements, whether by one broker or more, 6d. per pound on the value of the goods,
under a penalty of treble the amount of the money unlawfully taken, with costs to be reco-
vered summarily before a justice of the peace.
In France, the brokers who deal in money, exchange, merchandise, insurance, and stock,
are called agents de change, and their number, at Paris, is limited to sixty. The company
of agents de change is directed by a chamber of syndics (chambre syndicale) chosen annu-
ally by the company. They are severally obliged to give bonds to the amount of 125,000
fr. for the prevention of abuses. They are also obliged to keep books; are restricted to a
charge of from 1 to t per cent.; and are interdicted from carrying on, or having any inte-
rest in, any commercial or banking operations.-See Code de Commerce, & 74. &c. and
art. BORDEAUX, in this Dictionary.)
In the United States, brokers are not licensed, nor do they give bonds.
BROKERAGE, the commission, or percentage, paid to brokers on the sale or purchase of
bills, funds, goods, &c.-(See FACTORAGE.)
BRONZE (Ger. Stückgut, Stükmetall; Du. Stückgoed; It. Bronzo; Sp. Metal de
Canones; Lat. Metallum tormentorum), a mixed metal, consisting chiefly of copper, with
a small proportion of tin, and sometimes other metals. It is used for casting statues,
cannon, bells, and other articles, in all of which the proportions of the ingredients vary."
-(Ure.)
BROOMS (Ger. Besen; Fr. Balais; It. Scope, Granate; Sp. Escobas; Rus. Methü),
are principally made of birch or heath. Vast quantities are manufactured in Southwark, for
the supply of the London market.
BRUSHES (Ger. Bürsten; Fr. Brosses; It. Setole, Spazzole; Sp. Brozas, Cepillos,
Escobillas; Rus. Schtschetki), well-known implements, made of bristles, and manufactured
of various forms.
BUBBLES, a familiar name applied generally to fraudulent or unsubstantial commercial
projects, which hold out hopes of rapid gain, for the purpose of enriching the projectors at
the expense of sanguine and ignorant adventurers; and particularly used to designate those
projects, the funds for which are raised by the sale of shares or subscription to a transferable
stock. In consequence of the mischief produced by the gambling in transferable shares of
bubble companies at the time of the South Sea project, 1719 and 1720, the stat. 6 Geo. 1.
c. 18., reciting that several undertakings or projects had been contrived and practised, which
" manifestly tended to the common grievance, prejudice, and inconvenience of great num-
bers of his Majesty's subjects in their trade and commerce," and describing, among other
practices of the time, the ordinary mode of raising money by. shares and subscriptions to a
pretended transferable stock, enacted, that the undertakings and attempts so described, and
public subscriptions, assignments, and transfers for furthering them, and particularly the
raising or pretending to raise transferable stocks without authority of charter or act of parlia-
ment, should be deemed illegal and void, and prohibited them under severe penalties. Some
decisions limited the operation of, and finally the stat. 6 Geo. 4. c. 91. altogether repealed,
these enactments and prohibitions. The projectors of bubbles, therefore, are now punishable
only when they can be deemed guilty of frauds or conspiracies at common law; and there
is no other check on the adventurers than the loss and troublesome liabilities under the law
of partnership, in which participation in these projects often involves them.
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BUCKRAM-BUOYS.
249
BUCKRAM (Fr. Bougran; Ger. Schettre, Sleife Leinwand; It. Tela collata 0 gom-
mata; Rus. Kleanka; Sp. Bucaran), a sort of coarse cloth made of hemp, gummed, calen-
dered, and dyed several colours.
BUCKWHEAT (Fr. Blé Sarrasin, Blé noir; Ger. Buchweizen, Heidekorn; It. Grano
Saraceno, Faggina, Fraina; Sp. Trigo Saraceno, Trigo negro; Pol. Tatarca, Gryka,
Pohanca; Rus. Gretscha; Lat. Fagopyrum) is principally cultivated in order that it may
be cut when young and green, and employed as fodder for cattle; when allowed to ripen,
the grain is usually employed to feed pigeons and poultry. When ripe it is of a deep yellow
colour, the seeds bearing a great resemblance to beech-mast it will grow on the poorest
soils. Buckwheat has been cultivated in this country from the latter part of the sixteenth
century. Its native country is unknown, but supposed to be Asia. Beckmann has a very
learned dissertation on its introduction and early culture in Europe.-(See Hist. of Invent.
vol. i. art. Buckwheat.) The average quantity of buckwheat imported, is about 10,000
quarters. The duty is the same as on barley.-(See CORN Laws.)
BUENOS AYRES, a city of South America, on the south side of the La Plata, about
200 miles from its junction with the sea, in lat. 34° 364' S., long. 58° 22' W. Population
very differently estimated; but said (Bulletin des Sciences Gèographiques, vol. xx. p. 152.)
to amount to 81,000. The La Plata is one of the largest rivers of the world, traversing a
vast extent of country, of which it is the great outlet. Unluckily, however, it is of very dif-
ficult navigation, being shallow, infested with rocks and sand-banks, and exposed to sudden
and violent gusts of wind. There is no harbour at Buenos Ayres, or none worthy of the
name. Ships can only come within 2 or 3 leagues of the town there they unload their
goods into boats; from which they are received at the landing places into carts that convey
them to the town, which is about 4 of a league distant. Ships that want careening repair to
the bay of Barragon, a kind of port about 10 leagues to the S. E. of the city and there also
the outward bound ships wait for their cargoes. All the timber used in the construction of
houses, and in the building and repairing of vessels, come down the river from Paraguay in
rafts. The principal articles of export consist of hides and tallow, of which vast quantities
are sent to England, the United States, Holland, Germany, &c. besides these, there are
exported bullion and viccunna wool from Peru, copper from Chili, salt beef, nutria skins, &c.
The imports principally consists of cotton and woollen goods from England, hardware and
earthenware from ditto, linens from Germany, flour from the United States, spices, wines,
salt fish, machinery, furniture, &c. the finest tobacco, sugars, wax, &c. are brought from
the interior; as is Paraguay tea, an article in considerable demand in South America. The
inland trade carried on between Buenos Ayres, and Peru, and Chili, is very considerable
and its trade by sea with foreign countries is daily becoming of more importance.
During the year 1832, there were exported from Buenos Ayres. dry hides, 877,132 ditto salted
48,378; horse hides, 40,076; jerked beef, 105,780 quintals; horns, 2,049,017; tips, 101,851 wool, 33,052
arrobas hair, 31,257 ditto; nutria skins, 14,562 dozen, &c. The trade from this country to Buenos
Ayres is confounded in our Custom-house accounts with that to Monte Video, under the general name
of the States of the Rio de la Plata; but by far the largest share belongs to Buenos Ayres. In 1831,
we imported from these states, exclusive of bullion, of which no account is kept, 429,966 nutria skins
-(See NUTRIA), 146,008 cwt. hides, 2,470 cwt. tallow, 12,244 lbs. sheep's wool, &c. The declared
value of the articles of British produce and manufacture exported to these states during the same
year, was 339,870/. ; of which cottons, woollens, hardware, and linens made more than three fourths.
In 1828, 64 British ships, of the burden of 12,746 tons, entered the port; the total number of foreign
vesscls that annually enter it being from 300 to 400. The commerce of Buenos Ayres will no doubt
continue to increase according as the vast countries situated on the La Plata, now in a great degree
unoccupled, are settled.
Monies, Weights, Measures, &c. same as those of Spain; for which, see CADIZ.
[We shall only add to what the author has stated concerning the trade of the United
States with Buenos Ayres, or the Argentine Republic, of which it is the capital, that the
amount of our domestic manufactured cottons which we export to that country has become
by no means inconsiderable. It was respectively $263,000, $101,000, $400,000, and
$50,000, in the four years ending the 30th of September, 1837.-Am. Ed.]
BUFF (Ger. Büffel, Büffelhäute; Fr. Buffle, Peau de buffles, et Peaux passées en
buffles; It. Bufalo, Cuojo di bufalo), a sort of leather prepared from the skin of the buffalo,
dressed with oil, after the manner of chamois. The skin of elks, oxen, and other like ani-
mals, when prepared after the same manner as that of the buffalo, is likewise called buff.
It is used in making sword-belts and other articles, where great thickness and firmness are
required.
BUGLES, small glass beads of different colours. They are in considerable demand in
Africa, to which they are mostly exported.
BULLION, uncoined gold and silver in the mass. See GOLD and SILVER.
BUOYS, pieces of wood, cork, or some light substance, moored and floating on the
water. Those of wood are sometimes solid, and sometimes hollow, like a cask, and
strongly hooped they are made of various shapes and sizes; and are either private or
public.
32
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BUOYS.
Subjoined is an
Account specifying the Buoys and Bencons under the Control of the Trinity-House, Deptford Strond,
with the Rates of Charge on account of the same on British and Foreign Ships, and the Produce
of the Rates in each of the Three Years ending with 1822.-(Parl. Paper, No. 315. Sess. 1833.)
Rates of Charge.
Amounts collected.
British and Fo-
Foreign Vessels
Coasters.
reign privileged
not privileged
1830.
1831.
1832.
Vessels Oversea,
Oversea, per
per Ton.
Ton.
For the buoys
In the port of London the following
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
and beacons
rates are payable for the inward pas-
in the chan-
sage only; viz.-
nels leading
The rates
to the river
vary from 1
Thames and
penny to 1 far-
port of Lon-
thing per ton,
including
according to
loadsmanage
the description
and primage,
of the vessels'
alsoincluding
cargoes, and
the dues for-
the placesfrom
1 penny -
2 pence -
8,623 7 5
9,313 16 51
8,449 16 91
merly return-
whence they
ed under the
arrive.
head of Tri-
nity House
duties from
stranger's
ships.
These dues are also received at the
ports of Gravesend, Sheerness, Rochester, Faver-
sham, Leigh, Maldon, Colchester, Ipswich, Wood-
bridge, Harwich, and Aldborough, at which they
are payable for the inward passage only. The rate
on foreign vessels not privileged, is 2 pence per
ton, but in other respects the rates are determined
by the ancient usage of the respective places, and
are generally one half the amount of those in the
port of London.
Buoys off Yar-
1 farthing per
1 farthing
1 farthing
1,806 10 24
1,835 11 41
1,802 8 If
mouth -
ton.
Buoys and
4 pence per vessel under 40 tons, 6
462 7 8
452 17 2
465 7 6
beacons in
pence on all others.
the river
Tees
Exeter buoys
Stone boats, 5
1 penny -
2 pence
305 14 0
296 5 10
350 19 7
shillings per
annum.
Conwaybuoys
3 farthings per ton, each and every
48 18 21
49 2 111
45 8 41
time of passing.
Carmarthen
3 farthings per ton, each time of pass-
110 12 of
105 14 111
107 7 3
buoys
ing.
Aberdovey
1 half-penny
I
1 penny -
1 penny
-
31 14 104
40 9 2
buoys
per ton.
Total
-
£
11,357 10 31
12,085 3 71
11,261 16 91
Trinity House, London, 9th of March, 1833.
(Errors excepted.)
J. HERBERT, Secretary.
Private Buoys are so called from their belonging to private individuals. They are prin-
cipally employed to mark the place of the ship's anchor, being fastened to it by a rope or
chain, so that the men who go in the boat to weigh it may readily find out where it is.
By the 1 & 2 Geo. 4. C. 75. ) 11. it is enacted, that if any person or persons shall wilfully cut away,
cast adrift, remove, alter, deface, sink, or destroy, or in any way injure or conceal, any buoy, buoy-
rope, or mark belonging to any ship or vessel, or which may be attached to any anchor or cable be-
longing to any ship or vessel, whether in distress or otherwise, such person or persons so offending
shall upon conviction be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall be liable to be transported for any term
not exceeding 7 years, or to be imprisoned for any number of years, at the discretion of the court.
Public Buoys, being intended for the public service, cannot be placed, altered, or removed,
except by competent authority. They are generally of a pretty large size; and are firmly
,moored by chains or cables to rocks, large stones, anchors, &c. By floating on the surface
of the water, they serve at once to mark the channels through which it is safe to steer, and
to point out dangers to be avoided, such as sunken rocks, shoals, wrecks of vessels, &c.
The places in, and the purposes for, which buoys are exhibited, are always specified in good
charts: and as the leading buoys are generally of a peculiar figure or colour, which is also
indicated in the chart, the navigator, as soon as he recognises them, shapes his course
accordingly. Hence the great importance of having buoys properly placed, and of their
being carefully marked in charts.
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The 6 Geo. 4. c. 125. è 91, enacts, that every person who shall ride by, make fast to, remove, or
wilfully run down or run foul of any vessel placed to exhibit lights, or any buoy or beacon belonging
to the corporation of the Trinity House of Deptford Strond, or to any other corporation having au-
thority to place such vessel, buoy, or beacon, shall, besides making good all damage occasioned
thereby, forfeit, for every such offence, any sum not exceeding 501. nor less than 101.
BURDEN of a ship. See TONNAGE.
BURGUNDY. See WINE.
BURGUNDY PITCH, a resin, the produce of the Pinus Abies, or spruce fir. It is
obtained by making incisions in the bark down to the wood, whence it flows thickly and
languidly, immediately concreting into flakes that adhere firmly to the tree. These being
taken off are melted in boiling water, and strained through coarse cloths. It is of a close
consistence, rather soft, has a reddish brown colour, and a not unpleasant smell; it is very
adhesive. The greatest quantity is collected in the neighbourhood of Neufchâtel, whence it
is brought to us packed in casks. A fictitious sort is made in England, and found in the
shops under the title of common Burgundy pitch; it may be distinguished by its friability,
want of viscidity and of the odour which characterises the genuine sort.
A species of Burgundy pitch exudes spontaneously from the Norway spruce fir. This,
which undergoes no preparation, is the resin or thus of the old London Pharmacopœias. It
is imported in the form of tears or small masses, packed in casks, each containing from 1 to
2 cwt. It fetches about half the price of that which is strained.-(Gray's Supplement to
the Pharmacopæias, Thomson's Dispensatory.)
BUSHEL, a measure of capacity for dry goods, as grain, fruit, dry pulse, &c. containing
4 pecks, or 8 gallons, or 1/8 of a quarter.
The Winchester bushel contains 2150-42 cubic inches, while the Imperial bushel con-
tains 2218-192. Hence to convert Winchester bushels into imperial, multiply by the frac-
tion 22/8192 2150.42 or .969447, or approximately deduct and 210th; and if great accuracy
be required, 2000 and 20000 more. To convert prices per Winchester bushel into prices
per Imperial bushel, multiply by the fraction 2318192 215042' or 1-0315157.
By the 5 Geo. 4. c. 74. § 7. the bushel shall be the standard measure of capacity for
coals, culm, lime, fish, potatoes, or fruit, and all other goods and things commonly sold by
heaped measure. The bushel shall contain 80 lbs. avoirdupois of distilled water, being made
round, with a plain and even bottom, and being 191 inches from outside to outside. Sec-
tions 7 and 8 direct the mode in which the bushel shall be used for heaped measure.
-(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
The standard measure of capacity, by this act, as well for liquids as for dry goods not
measured by heaped measure, shall be the gallon, containing 10 lbs. avoirdupois weight of
distilled water weighed in air at the temperature of 62° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, the
barometer being at 30 inches; and such measure shall be the Imperial standard gallon
(containing 277274 cubic inches) and all measures shall be taken in parts or multiples,
or certain proportions, of the said Imperial standard gallon; and the quart shall be the
fourth part, and the pint shall be an eighth of such standard gallon; and 2 such gal-
lons shall be a peck, and 8 such gallons shall be a bushel, and 8 such bushels a quarter of
corn or other dry goods not measured by heaped measure.
BUSHIRE OR ABUSHIRE, a sea-port town of Persia, in the province of Fars, on the
north-east coast of the Persian Gulf, in lat. 29° N., long. 50° 50' E. Population uncertain,
but estimated by Major Wilson at from 15,000 to 20,000. Bushire is situated at the north-
ern extremity of a sandy peninsula, to the north and east of which is the bay. There is a
convenient anchorage for large ships due west from the town, 3 or 4 miles distant, in from
25 to 28 feet water; but ships of 300 tons burden or thereby lie in the inner roads, to the
north, about 6 miles from shore; the anchorage is pretty good; but during violent north-
westerly gales, they are sometimes obliged to cut their cables, and bear up for Karak, a small
island about 15 leagues W. N. W. of Bushire. The water immediately to the east of
the town is deep, but the passage to it is obstructed by a bar, which cannot be passed by
vessels drawing-more than 8 or 9 feet water, except at spring tides, when there is a rise of
from 8 to 10 feet. The variation in 1811 was 4° 43' of the Persian Gulf,
by Captain Ritchie, &c.) The climate here, as in all the other ports of the Persian Gulf,
is extremely hot, particularly in June, July, and August. The unhealthy season is in the
fall of the year.
Trade, &c.-Bushire has a good deal of trade, particularly with Calcutta, Bombay, and
Madras. Its merchants supply almost all Persia with Indian commodities: as, also, with a
good many of those brought from Europe. Of the imports from India, indigo, sugar, sugar
candy, and spices are the most important; the steel of India is preferred in Persia to every
other, and is made into excellent sabres: tin is brought from Banca; and coffee is princi-
pally supplied by Mocha and other ports on the Arabian Gulf. English cotton goods, not-
withstanding the admitted inferiority of our red dyes,-a colour in great esteem in Persia,-
have already gone far to supersede those that were formerly brought from Hindostau and
the demand for them is rapidly extending, and is susceptible of an almost indefinite increase.
Besides those imported at Bushire, a good many are introduced through Bussorah, and
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BUSHIRE.
some through Turkey and Russia ; the latter by way of the Black Sea, the former of Smyrna
and Constantinople. Hitherto, indeed, a considerable part of the cottons imported through
the last mentioned channels have been supplied by Switzerland and Germany,-their
fabrics having been, in some respects, better fitted. than ours for the Turkish and Persian
markets; but they seem to have lost this advantage, as our exports of cottons to Turkey
are now rapidly increasing. Woollen goods, cutlery, watches, Scc., sent to India from
England, are thence exported to Bushire. Imitation shawls, of the proper size and pattern,
are said to meet with a fair sale. The exports principally consist of raw silk, Kerman wool,
Kerman and Cashmere shawls, carpets, horses, silk goods, dried fruits, wine, grain, copper,
turquoises, asafoetida, gall-nuts, pearls, and other articles of minor importance. Turkey
annually supplies Persia with a very considerable amount of bullion, most part of which is
sent to India.
Of the Persian exports, raw silk is the most important. It is produced to some extent in
every province; but Gheelan and Mazunderan are those which are most celebrated for its
growth. In the former, about 900,000 lbs. are annually raised. Russia is a large customer
for this article. Dried fruits and dates are sent in considerable quantities to India. Horses
are largely exported to India both by sea and land they serve for mounting our Indian
cavalry, and for supplying the large private demand that always obtains in Hindostan for
this noble animal. Though neither so swift nor so beautiful as those of Arabia, the Persian
horses are large, more powerful, and, all things considered, better for cavalry. They are
capable of supporting an extraordinary degree of fatigue. Wine of Shiraz enjoys a degree
of celebrity, to which, judging from the few samples we have seen, it seems but ill entitled.
Mr. Frazer says, that it is made in so careless a manner, that, in choosing it, not more than
1 bottle in 4 or 5 can be made use of. Persian tobacco and yellow dye berries are highly
esteemed the former enters to a considerable extent into the trade to Turkey as well as to
India the berries bring a very high price in our markets, but the imports hitherto have
been inconsiderable. Turquoises, asafœtida, and various sorts of drugs, rose water, with
other minor articles, form part of the exports. Sheeps' and goats' wool is also exported.
The best is that of Kerman. The down furnished by the goats of this province is almost
as fine as that of the Thibet or shawl goats. Cotton is extensively produced in Persia the
Russians carry away some, but the greater part is used in the country. Grain is sent to
Muscat, but not in large quantities. The pearl trade is now principally centered at Muscat.
The imports of copper into Calcutta from Bushire, Bussorah, and other ports of the Persian
Gulf, during the 7 years ending with 1827-28, were valued at about 30,000l. a year. This
copper is principally the produce of the Persian mines, mixed, however, with some Russian
copper from Georgia. Of manufactured articles, the principal are carpets of the most beau-
tiful fabric shawls, partly native, and partly brought from Cashmere velvets, silk goods,
gold and silver brocades, and a few other articles. The trade between Persia and Russia
by the Caspian Sea is very considerable. Most part of the paper used in the former is sup-
plied by the latter. The furs of Russia find a ready market in Persia; but it is a fact worth
mentioning, that Persian merchants have recently been seen at the Leipsic fairs, carrying
gold thither for American Urquhart on the Resources of Turkey, p. 155.) The
Russian provinces on the Caspian derive their supplies of indigo from Persia by way of
Bushire.
The official returns show that the total value of the entire trade, imports as well as exports, carried
on between British India and the Persian Gulf. at an average of the 7 years ending with 1828, was
(taking the rupee at 28.) 1,337,1631. a year. Of this amount, Calcutta participated to the extent of
559,6861., Madras of 54,9811., and Bombay of 722,4971. This, however, includes the trade to Muscat
and Bussorah, as well as to Bushire, and we have no means of discriminating the separate amount of
each. It appears, indeed, from an account in the same paper whence these statements are taken, that
of 34 ships belonging to the Persian Gulf that arrived at Bombay during the 7 years referred to, 28
belonged to Muscat, and only 7 to Bushire. But it must not be supposed that the trade to these places
is in this proportion, inasmuch as most of the Arabian ships trading to Bussorah belong to Mus-
cat. It may, however, be fairly presumed, that the arrivals of Gulf ships at Calcutta and Madras
would be in about the saine proportion as those at Bombay; but the destination of the British ships
trading to the Gulf not being given, and it being customary for most ships to visit both Bushire and
Bussorah, it is impossible to say whether the value of the trade to the former, as compared with that
to the latter and Muscat, corresponds with the number of ships they respectively send to India.
Water at Bushire is excessively bad and dear but excellent water, and in great abundance, may
be had at Karak. The anchorage at this island is safe at all times and ships may lie close to the
beach. Sir John Malcolm suggested, that the permanent possession of Karak would be an object of
considerable importance and we are rather inclined to agree with him. It is of no value to the Per-
sians, and there seems little doubt that they would be glad to cede it for a trifling consideration. Its
possession would not only enable us to command the navigation of the Persian Gulf; but it would
form a depôt where goods destined for Bushire, Bussorah, &c. might be kept in perfect safety, and in
R situation the most convenient, being readily accessible to all sorts of Arabian vessels. A taste for
British cottons and woollens is now forming in all the vast countries watered by the Euphrates and
the Tigris, or which derive their supplies from the emporia erected on their banks and it is of the great-
est consequence that nothing be omitted that may serve to facilitate the diffusion of this taste, and
the means of gratifying it.
Money.-Accounts are kept in tomans of 50 abasses, or 100 mamoodis. The toman is a Persian gold
coin, containing, according to the report of the Bombay mint, from 71.5 to 67 gr. pure metal, being
consequently equal to from 12s. 73d. to 11s. 11d. sterling. The toman of Bussorah is worth about 36s.,
and that of Gombroon about 24s. These, with Persian and foreign silver coins of all denominations,
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are found at Bushire; but the rates of the foreign coins are perpetually varying, and the weight of
the native coins is also subject to-frequent changes.
Weights and Measures.-Gold and silver are weighed by the miscal of 2 dwt. 23 7-12 gr., or 3 dwt.
very nearly.
The commercial weights vary according to the commodities sold, and the places where they are
used. The maund tabree weighs 61 lbs. avoirdupois at the Custom-house, but only 61 lbs. at the ba-
zaar. This weight is used by dealers in sugar, coffee, copper, and all sorts of drugs. The maund
copra is 74 lbs. at the Custom-house, and from it to 71 lbs. at the bazaar. Dealers in rice and other
articles of provision use this weight. The maund shaw is double the maund tabree, or 131 lbs.
Pearls are weighed by the abbas = 2.25 gr. Troy.
There are various sorts of guz's or cubits. One called the royal guz = 37t Eng. inches; the com-
mon guz is two thirds of the former, or 25 inches.
The Persian league or parasang is 1-20th of a degree of the equator, and should, therefore, be equal
to 3 miles 3 furlongs and 25 poles English.
The artaba, or principal corn measure. is equivalent to about 2 Winch. quarters.
For further particulars, see Niebuhr, Voyage en Arabie, tome ii. p. 75.; Kinneir's Memoir of the Per-
sian Empire, p. 70.; Fraser's Travels on the Shores of the Caspian, Appen. pp. 352-384.; Parl. Paper,
No. 735.-11. Sess. 1832. pp. 632-638; Kelly's Oriental Metrology; Thoraton's East Indian Calcu-
lator, &c.
BUSS, a small sea-vessel, used by us and the Dutch in the herring fishery, commonly
from 50 to 60 tons burden, and sometimes more. A buss has two small sheds or cabins;
one at the prow, and the other at the stern that at the prow serves for a kitchen.-(See
FISHERY.)
BUSSORAH OR BASRAH, a city of Arabia, on the western bank of the Shat-el-Arab
(the name given to the river formed by the junction of the Tigris and the Euphrates),
above 70 miles from its mouth, lat. 30° 30' N., long. 47° 32' E. Population about 60,000,
consisting of Arabs, Turks, Persians, Armenians, Jews, &c. The houses and streets are
mean and filthy. There is a vast area within the walls, occupied principally by gardens
and plantations of date trees, and intersected by canals, on which are numerous small
craft.
The bar at the mouth of the Shat-el-Arab has only about 12 feet water, but the channel
within is deep, so that ships of 500 tons burden, provided they cross the bar at the springs,
may without difficulty ascend the river as far as the city and both its grand branches may
be navigated to a great distance by smaller vessels. Bussorah is the principal inlet on the
east, through which Indian and other Eastern products find their way into the Turkish
empire. Its commerce is, therefore, even at present, pretty considerable and were the rich
and extensive countries traversed by the Tigris and the Euphrates occupied by a civilized
and industrious people, it would be very great. Its imports from India and Europe are
similar to those at BUSHIRE (which see) ; from Persia it imports shawls, pearls from Bah-
rein, &c., and coffee from: Mocha. At an average, 6 or 8 British ships arrive in the course
of the year from India; but the principal part of the trade is carried on in Arabian bottoms,
the merchants of Muscat being the owners of some of the finest ships that are to be met
with in the Indian seas. Its exports are principally bullion, pearls, dates, copper, raw silk,
horses, gall nuts, and drugs. Captain Hamilton mentions, that in the early part of last cen-
tury, the exports of dates from Bussorah exceeded 10,000 tons a year.-(New account of
the East Indies, vol. i. p. 78.) The commerce with the interior is conducted by means of
caravans to Aleppo and Bagdad; but it might be carried on to much more advantage by
means of steam-boats. It has been proposed to forward mails from India by steam by the
Shat-el-Arab and the Euphrates to Bir, thence by land to Scanderoon, and again by steam
to Gibraltar and England.
Money.-All sorts of coins circulate here, but their values are constantly fluctuating. Accounts are
kept in mumoodies of 10 danims, or 100 Roose; 100 mamoodies make a toman, which may be valued at
about 15 sicca rupees, or 36s. sterling.
Weights and Measures.Gold and silver are weighed by the cheki of 100 miscals, or 7,200 Eng. grains.
The commercial weights are the maund atteree. the maund sofy or sesse, and the oke of Bagded. 1
nakia - 19 OZ. avoirdupois; 2f vakias = 1 oke of Bagdad = 471 oz. avoir.; 1 maund atteree = 28 lbs. 8
OZ. avoir.; 1 maund sofy - 90 lbs. 4 OZ. avoir.; 1 cutra of indigo - 138 lbs. 15 OZ. avoir.
These are the weights used by the Europeans settled at Bussorah those used by the Arabians dif-
fer a little from the above, and frequently also among themselves,-a circumstance to which the mer-
chant must pay particular attention.
The long measures are the Aleppo yard for silks and woollens = 2 feet 2.4 inches; the Hadded do.
for cottons and linens = 2 feet 10.2 Inches; the Bagdad do. for all purposes = 2 feet 7.6 inches.
For further details as to the commerce of Bussorah, see Kinneir's Mamoir on the Persian Empire, p.
283.; the art. BUSHIRE in this Dictionary; Kelly's Oriental Metrology; Thornton's East Indian Calcula-
tor, p. 424. Niebuhr has given a plan of Bussorab, Voyage en Arubic, tome ii. p. 170.
BUTLERAGE. See PRISAGE.
BUTT, a vessel or measure for wine, containing 2 hogsheads, or 126 wine gallons.
BUTTER (Da. Smör; Du. Boter ; Fr. Beurre; Ger. Butter; It. Burro, Butiro;
Lat. Butyrum, Pol. Maslo; Port. Manteiga ; Rus. Masslo Korowe; Sp. Manteca, Sw.
Smör), as every one knows, is a fat, unctuous, and, in temperate climates, a pretty firm sub-
stance, obtained from milk, or rather from cream, by the process of churning.
The various circumstances attending the introduction and use of butter in antiquity
have been investigated by Beckmann with great learning and industry. The conclusion at
which he arrives is, 'that butter was not used either by the Greeks or Romans in cooking
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BUTTER.
or the preparation of food, nor was it brought upon their tables by way of dessert, as is every
where customary at present. We never find it mentioned by Galen and others as a food,
though they have spoken of it as applicable to other purposes. No notice is taken of it by
Alpicius; nor is there any thing said of it in that respect by the authors who treat of agri-
culture, though they have given us very particular information with respect to milk, cheese,
and oil. This, as has been remarked by others, may be easily accounted for, by the ancients
having accustomed themselves to the use of good oil and in the like manner butter is very
little employed at present in Italy, Spain, Portugal, and the southern parts of, France."
-(History of Inventions, vol. ii. p. 413. Eng. ed.)
Butter is very extensively used in this and most other northern countries; that of Eng-
land and Holland is reckoned the best. In London, the butter of Epping and Cambridge
is in the highest repute; the cows which produce the former, feed during summer in the
shrubby pastures of Epping Forest; and the leaves of the trees, and numerous wild plants
which there abound, are supposed to improve the flavour of the butter. It is brought to
market in rolls from one to two feet long, weighing a pound each. The Cambridgeshire
butter is produced from cows that feed one part of the year on chalky uplands, and the other
on rich meadows or fens; it is made up into long rolls like the Epping butter, and generally
salted or cured before being brought to market; the London dealers, having washed it, and
wrought the salt out of it, frequently sell it for Epping butter.
The butter of Suffolk and Yorkshire is often sold for that of Cambridgeshire, to which it
is little inferior. The butter of Somersetshire is thought to equal that of Epping it is
brought to market in dishes containing half a pound each out of which it is taken, washed
and put into different forms, by the dealers of Bath and Bristol. The butter of Gloucester-
shire and Oxfordshire is very good it is made up in half pound packs or prints, packed up in
square baskets, and sent to the London market by wagon. The butter of the mountains of
Wales and Scotland, and the moors, commons, and heaths of England, is of excellent quality
when it is properly managed and though not equal in quantity, it often is confessedly supe-
rior, to that produced by the richest meadows.—(Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture.)
Considerable quantities of butter are made in Ireland, and it forms a prominent article in
the exports of that country generally it is very inferior to that of Britain but this is a
consequence rather of the want of cleanliness and attention, than of any inferiority in the
milk. Some of the best Irish butter brought to London, after being washed and repacked,
is sold as Dorsetshire and Cambridge butter.
The salt butter of Holland is superior to that of every other country large quantities
of it are annually exported. It forms about three fourths of all the foreign butter we import.
The production and consumption of butter in Great Britain is very great. The consumption in the
Metropolis may, it is believed, be averaged at about one half pound per week for each individual,
being at the rate of 26 lbs. a year; and supposing the population to amount to 1,450,000, the total an-
nual consumption would, on this hypothesis, be 37,700,000 lbs or 16,830 tons but to this may be added
4,000 tons, for the butter required for the victualling of ships and other purposes; making the total
consumption, in round numbers, 21,000 tons, or 47,040,000 lbs., which at 10d. per lb. would be worth
1,960,0001.
The average produce per cow of the butter dairies is estimated by Mr. Marshall at 168 lbs. a year
so that, supposing we are nearly right in the above estimates, about 280,000 cows will be required to
produce an adequate supply of butter for the London market.
The consumption of butter in London has sometimes been estimated at 50,000 tons; which, accord-
ing to Mr. Marshall's statement, of the accuracy of which no doubt can be entertained, would require
for its supply upwards of 666,000 cows! Further commentary on such a statement would be super-
fluous.
In order to obviate the practice of fraud in the weighing and packing of butter, different statutes
have been passed, particularly the 36 Geo. 3. c. 86., and 38 Geo. 3. C. 73., the principal regulations of
which are subjoined. It is very doubtful, however, whether they have been productive of any good
effect. It might be proper, perhaps, to order the weight of the butter, exclusive of the vessel, and the
dairyman's or seller's name, to be branded on the inside and outside of each vessel but most of the
other regulations, especially those as to the thickness of the staves, and the weight of the vessels,
seem to be at once vexatious and useless.
Every cooper or other person who shall make any vessel for the packing of butter, shall make the
same of good well-seasoned timber, tight and not leaky, and shall groove in the heads and bottoms
thereof; and every vessel made for the packing of butter, shall be a tub, firkin, or half-firkin, and no
other.
Every tub shall weigh of itself, including the top and bottom, not less than 11 lbs. nor more than 15
lbs. avoirdupois; and neither the top nor the bottom of any such tub shall exceed in any part five
eighths of an inch in thickness.
Every firkin shall weigh at least 7 lbs. including the top and the bottom, which shall not exceed four
eighths of an inch thick in any part.
Half-firkins to weigh not less than 4 lbs. nor more than 6 lbs. including the top and the bottom,
which shall not exceed the thickness of three eighths of an inch in any part; upon pain that the
cooper or every other person making any such vessel, in any respect contrary to the preceding direc-
tions, shall forfeit every such vessel and 10s.
Every cooper, &c. shall brand every cask or vessel before going out of his possession. on the out-
side, with his name, in legible and permanent letters, under penalty of 10s., together with the exact
weight or tare thereof.
Every dairyman, farmer, or seller of butter, or other person packing the same for sale, shall pack
it in vessels made and marked as aforesaid, and in no other, and shall properly soak and season
every such vessel; and on the inside, and on the top on the outside, shall brand his name at length,
in permanent and legible letters; and shall also, with an iron, brand on the top on the outside, and
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on the bouge or body of every such cask, the true weight or tare of every such vessel, when it shall
have been soaked and seasoned and also shall brand his name at length, on the bouge or the body
of every such vessel, across two different staves at least, and shall distinctly, and at length, Imprint
his Christian and surname upon the top of the butter in such vessel when filled, on pain of forfeiting
51. for every default thereof.
Every tub of butter shall contain, exclusive of the tare, of good and merchantable butter, 84 lbs.;
every firkin 56 lbs.; every half firkin 28 lbs ; and no old or corrupt butter shall be mixed, or packed in any
vessel whatever, with any butter that is new and sound ; nor shall any butter made of whey be packed
or mixed with butter made of cream, but the respective sorts shall be packed separately, and the whole
vessel shall, throughout, be of one sort and goodness; and no butter shall be salted with any great salt,
but all butter shall be salted with small salt; nor shall more salt be intermixed with the butter than
is needful for its preservation, under penalty of 51. for offending against any of these regulations.
No change, alteration, frand, or deceit, shall be practised by any dealers or packers of butter, either
with respect to the vessel or the butter 80 packed, whether in respect to quantity or otherwise, un-
der a penalty of 301. to be imposed on every person engaged in the offence.
Every cheesemonger, dealer in butter, or other person, who shall sell any tubs, firkins, or half-fir-
kins of butter, shall deliver, in every such cask or vessel respectively, the full quantity appointed by
this act, or, in default thereof, shall be liable to make satisfaction to the person who shall buy the same
for what shall be wanting, according to the price for which it was sold, and shall be liable to an action
for recovery of the same, with full costs of suit.
No cheesemonger, dealer in butter, &c. shall repack for sale any butter, under penalty of 51. for
every tub, firkin, or half-firkin 80 repacked.
Nothing in this act shall extend to make any cheesemonger, dealer in butter, or other person, liable
to any penalties for using any of the tubs, firkins, or half-firkins, after the British butter used in such
vessels shall have been taken thereout, for the repacking for sale of any foreign butter, who shall,
before he so repack such foreign butter, entirely cut or efface the several names of the original dairy-
man, farmer. or seller of butter, from every such vessel, leaving the name and tare of the cooper, and
the tare of the original dairyman, farmer, or seller, thereon; and, after the names are so effaced,
shall, with an iron, brand his Christian and surname, and the words foreign butter, upon the bouge of
every such vessel, across two staves at least, to denote that such butter is foreign butter.
Persons counterfeiting or forging any such names or marks, shall for every such offence forfeit 401.
Penalties not exceeding 51. to be determined by one justice, upon the evidence of one witness, and
the whole shall go to the informer.
Penalties above 51. to be recovered by action of debt, or information, in the courts at Westminster,
and the whole to the informer.
Nothing to extend to the packing of butter in any pot or vessel which shall not be capable of con-
taining more than 14 lbs.
Previously to 1826, no butter could be sold in any public market in Ireland, or exported from it,
without being previously examined and branded by a public inspector but compliance with this re-
gulation is no longer compulsory, but is left to the discretion of the parties.
It is enacted by statute 4 Will. 3. c. 7., that every warehouse-keeper, weigher, searcher or shipper of
butter and cheese, shall receive all butter and cheese that shall be brought to him for the London cheese-
mongers, and ship the same without undue preference and shall have for his pains 2s. 6d. for every
load ; and if he shall make default, he shall, on conviction before one justice, on oath of one witness,
or confession, forfeit for every firkin of butter 10s., and for every weigh of cheese 5s., half for the use
of the poor, and half to the informer.
And every such person shall keep a book of entry of receiving and shipping the goods, on pain of
2s. 6d. for every firkin of butter and weigh of cheese.
The master of a ship refusing to take in butter or cheese before he is full laden (except it be a
cheesemonger's own ship sent for his own goods) shall forfeit for every firkin of butter refused 5s.,
and for every weigh of cheese 2s. 6d.
This act does not extend to any warehouse in Cheshire or Lancashire.
Butter made in hot countries is generally liquid. In India it is denominated ghee, and is
mostly prepared from the milk of buffaloes; it is usually conveyed in duppers, or bottles
made of hide, each of which contains from 10 to 40 gallons. Ghee is an article of consider-
able commercial importance in many parts of India.
The Arabs are the greatest consumers of butter in the world. Burckhardt tells us, that
it is a common practice among all classes to drink every morning a coffee-cup full of melted
butter or ghee! and they use it in an infinite variety of other ways. The taste for it is uni-
versal and the poorest individuals will expend half their daily income that they may have
butter for dinner, and butter in the morning. Large quantities are annually shipped from
Cosseir, Souakin and Massuah, on the west coast of the Red Sea, for Djidda and other
Arabian ports.-(Burckhard's Travels in Nubia, p. 440.; Travels in Arabia, vol. i. p. 52.)
The average contract prices of the butter furnished to Greenwich Hospital from 1730 to 1832, have
been as follows:-
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb
8. d.
8.
d.
8. d.
8. d.
1730
0 5
1795
0 81
1813
1 3
1823
0 74
1740
0 5
1800
0 111
1814
1 2
1824
0 81
1750
0 51
1805
0 111
1815
1 2
1825
0 101
1755
0 51
1806
0 111
1816
0 91
1826
0 of
1760
0 51
1807
1 01
1817
0 84
1827
0 84
1765
0 51
1808
1 of
1818
0 11
1828
0 81
1770
0 61
1809
1 1
1819
0 11
1829
0 8
1775
0 64
1810
1 If
1820
0 91
1830
0 61
1780
0 64
1811
1 21
1821
0 84
1831
0 94
1785
0 64
1812
1 31 ?
1822
0 71
1832
0 84
1790
0 of
(See art. PRICES.)
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256
BUTTONS.
An Account of the Total Quantity (in Hundred Weights) of Butter imported into Great Britain from
Foreign Countries and Ireland, in each Year, from 5th of January, 1801, to 5th of January, 1832;
distinguishing the Quantity from Ireland, from the Isles of Jersey, Guernsey, and Man, from Hol-
land and the Netherlands, and from all other Foreign Countries; and stating the Rate and Amount
of Duty in each Year paid thereon.
Quantities of Butter imported into Great Bri-
tain from all Parts (except Ireland).
Quantities of Butter
imported into Great Britain
from Ireland.
Amount of
Years.
From the Isles of
Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney, and
Man.
From Holland and
the Netherlands.
From Germany
and other Foreign
Countries.
Total from all
Parts, except
Duty received
Ireland.
in Great Britain
Rates of Duty on Foreign Butter.
on Foreign
Butter.
Crots.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cwts.
Cwts.
£ 8. d.
8. d.
1801
186,821
339
71,206
43,583
115,130
86 4 7
2 9 cwt., and 31. centum
ad valorem.
1802
254,248
99
84,100
8,819
93,018
-
2 9 cwt. and 31. 12s. cent-
um ad valorem (from
12th of May).
1803
246,388
26
53,682
50,411
104,120
3 11 11
3
64
cwt. (from 5th of July)
1804
196,037
59
100,685
25,989
126,734
960
10
5
3 111 cwt. (from 1st of June)
1805
242,441
56
64,616
32,169
96,843
4 10
2
4 0:45 cwt. (from 5th of Apr.)
1806
261,911
143
66,544
18,968
85,657
244 12
4
4 3.61 P cwt. (from 10th May)
1807
314,386
61
68,315
18,970
87,316
2 12 1
-
1808
312,408
46
73,727
5,816
79,590
0 0 6
-
1809
317,676
36
44,061
32,185
76,283
0 19 0
4 4 cwt. (from 5th of July)
1810
311,551
611
5,956
26,676
33,244
-
-
1811
353,791
359
-
2,451
2,810
-
-
1812
311,475
27
22,415
3,451
25,894
196 4 4
-
1813
351,832
-
the records were destroyed by fire.
5 14 cwt. (from 15th of April)
1814
315,421
1,864
96,560
17,373
115,798
7,397 13 8
-
1815
320,655
944
106,885
17,470
125,300
32,301 10 8
-
1816
280,586
327
61,753
2,062
64,143
48,737 11 5
£1 cwt. (from 5th of April)
1817
305,662
258
20,279
152
20,690
20,540 10 4
-
1818
352,538
1,917
66,232
15,544
83,691
83,550 10 1
-
1819
429,614
1,256
62,498
2,295
66,050
65,836 16 4
-
1820
457,730
275
65,986
2,295
68,557
68,578 15 9
-
1821
413,088
190
99,345
16,291
115,827
115,980 12 4
-
1822
377,651
291
108,501
9,627
118,420
118,263 13 10
-
1823
466,834
387
101,549
20,394
122,331
122,164 14 10
-
1824
431,174
305
132,093
28,255
160,654
160,854 10 2
-
1825
425,070
394
160,048
118,975
279,418
263,861 19 6
-
1826
t -
131
136,779
59,288
196,200
202,130 8 8
-
1827
-
366
142,658
68,117
211,141
209,427 1 3
-
1828
-
493
145,647
55.532
201,673
195,850 7 9
-
1829
-
445
116,233
31,485
148,164
147,997 4 1
-
1830
-
585
77,025
31,222
108,854
102,881 15 11
-
1831
-
622
80,900
42,147
123,670
121,336 12 6
-
1832
-
331
92,409
38,460
131.202
128,330 9 8
-
N. B.-We have omitted qrs. and lbs. from this account; but they are allowed for in the column of
totals.
Custom House, London, 5th of October, 1833.
[There is no butter superior to what is made in our own country. Of this, too, the fresh
butter with which the Philadelphia market is supplied, has the character of being as good
as any other of the same description; while the best butter which is put up, 80 as to keep
for a considerable time, is that made at Goshen, in the State of New York. The glades'
butter from Somerset county, Pennsylvania, although perhaps inferior generally to the
Goshen, is also of an excellent quality.
During a period of four years, upwards of 600,000 pounds of butter have been, on the
average, exported annually from the United States, mostly to the West Indies and South
America.-Am. Ed.]
BUTTONS (Du. Knoopen, Fr. Bouton; Ger. Knöpfe; It. Bottoni; Rus. Pogowird;
Sp. Botones) are well known articles, serving to fasten clothes, &c. They are manufactured
of an endless variety of materials and forms.
It might have been supposed, that the manufacture of such an article as this would have been left
to be carried on according to the views and interests of those concerned, individuals being allowed to
select any sort of button they pleased. Such. however, has not been the case and various statutes
have been passed, pointing out the kind of buttons to be worn, and the way in which they are to be
Butter imported in British shipping. or in shipping of states in amity with his Majesty, was admitted
free of duty under the authority of Orders in Council, by virtue of the act 39 Geo. 3. c. 87., from 12th
of July, 1799, continued by subsequent acts until 6 months after the ratification of the definitive treaty
of peace, and further continued. by Order in Council, until 25th of September, 1814.
t No account can be furnished of the quantities of butter imported from Ireland for the years sub-
equent to 1825, the records of the trade between Great Britain and Ireland having been discontinued,
1 consequence of the regulations adopted for the purpose of giving effect to the law which placed the
atercourse between the two countries on the footing of a coasting traffic.
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CABBAGE, CABLES.
257
made ! Most of these regulations have luckily fallen into disuse, but they still occupy a place in the
statute book, and may be enforced. The following are amongst the more prominent of these regula-
tions
No person shall make, sell, or set upon any clothes, or wearing garments whatsoever, any buttons
made of cloth, serge, drugget, frieze, camblet, or any other stuff of which clothes or wearing garinents
are made, or any buttons made of wood only, and turned in imitation of other buttons, on pain of for-
feiting 40s. per dozen for all such buttons.-(4 Geo. 1. c. 7.)
No tailor shall set on any buttons, or button-holes, of serge, drugget, &c., under penalty of 40s. for
every dozen of buttons or button-holes so made or set on.
No person shall use or wear, on any clothes, garments, or apparel whatsoever, except velvet, any
buttons or button-holes made of or bound with cloth, serge, drugget. frieze, camblet, or other stuffs
hereof clothes or woollen garments are usually made, on penalty of forfeiting 40s. per dozen, under
a similar penalty.- Geo. 1. C. 22.)
To prevent the frauds which it is alleged had taken place in the manufacture of gilt and plated but-
tons, an act, 36 Geo. 3. c. 6., was passed, which regulates what shall be deemed gilt and what plated
buttons; and imposes penalties on those who order as well as on those who make any buttons with
the words "gilt" or plated" marked upon them, except they be gilt and plated as the act directs.
Inasmuch as this statute goes to obviate a fraud, it is, perhaps, expedient; but no apology can be
made for the regulations previously alluded to, which are at once vexatious and absurd.
The importation of buttons from abroad was prohibited in the reign of Charles 11. But the Geo. 4.
c. 107. 1 52. repealed this prohibition, and they may now be imported, for home consumption, on pay-
ing an ad valorem duty.
[Buttons constitute an article of exportation from the United States, chiefly to South
America.-Am. Ed.]
C.
CABBAGE, a biennial plant (Brassica Lin.), of which there are many varieties. It is
too well known to require any particular description it is extensively cultivated in the
vicinity of London. Sour crout, or properly sauer kraut, is a very favourite dish in Ger-
many ; it consist of a fermented mass of salted cabbage.
CABLES are strong ropes or chains, principally used in the anchoring or mooring of
ships.
1. Rope Cables are in Europe principally manufactured of hemp; but in the East they
are very frequently made of coir, or of the fibrous part of the coco nut, and in some places,
particularly on the Red Sea, of the coating of the branches of the date-tree. Hemp cables
are formed of three principal strands, every strand of three ropes, and every rope of three
twists. The twists have more or fewer threads according to the greater or less thickness of
the cable. All vessels have ready for service three cables which are usually designated the
sheet cable, the best bower cable, and the small bower cable but besides these, most ships
have some spare cables. The ordinary length of a cable is from 100 to 120 fathoms. The
following are the existing regulations as to the manufacture of hemp cables and cordage :-
No person shall make or sell any cordage for shipping in which any hemp is used, called short
chucking, half clean, whale line, or other toppings, codilla, or any damaged hemp, on pain of forfeiting
the same, and also treble the value thereof.
Cables, hawsers, or ropes, made of materials not prohibited by this act, and whose quality shall be
inferior to clean Petersburgh hemp, shall be deemed inferior cordage, and the same shall be distin-
guished by marking on the tally, staple or inferior. Manufacturers making default herein forfeit for
every hundred weight of cordage, 10s.
Manufacturers are to affix their names and manufactory to new cordage before sold, under the like
forfeiture and putting a false name is a forfeiture of 201.
Persons making cables of old and overworn stuff, containing above 7 inches in compass, shall forfeit
four times the value.
Vessels belonging to British subjects, having on board foreign-made cordage, are to make entry
thereof, on entering into any British port, on penalty of 20s. for every hundred weight. But this is
not to extend to cordage brought from the East Indies, nor to materials at present used by any vessels
built abroad before this act.-(25 Geo. 3. c. 56.)
2. Iron Cubles.-The application of strong iron chains or cables to the purposes of navi-
gation is a late and an important discovery, for which we are indebted to Captain Samuel
Brown, R. N. It is singular, indeed, that this application should not have been made at a
much earlier period. On rocky bottoms or where coral is abundant, a hempen cable speedily
chafes, and is often quite destroyed in a few months, or perhaps days. A striking instance
of this occurred in the voyage of discovery under the orders of M. Bougainville, who lost
six anchors in the space of nine days, and narrowly escaped shipwreck; a result, says that
able seaman, which would not have happened, si nous cussions été munis des quelques
chaines de fer. C'est une précaution que ne doivent jamais oublier tous les navigateurs
destinés à de pareils voyages." Voyage autour du Monde, p. 207. 4to ed.) The work
from which this extract is taken was published in 1771 and yet it was not till nearly forty
years after, that any attempt was made practically to profit by 80 judicious a suggestion.
The difficulties in the way of importing hemp from 1808 to 1814, and its consequent high
price, gave the first great stimulus to the manufacture of iron cables.
Iron cables are constructed in different ways-(see Encye. Metrop.) ; but they are uni-
formly tried by a machine, which strains them by a force greater than the absolute strength
of the hempen cable they are intended to replace. By this means the risk of accident from
Y 2
33
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258
CACAO, CADIZ.
defective links is effectually obviated; and there are exceedingly few instances in which an
iron cable has broken at sea. Their great weight also contributes to their strength, inasmuch
as the impulse of the ship is checked before the cable is brought nearly to a straight line, or
that the strain approaches to a maximum. Bolts and shackles are provided at every fathom
or two fathoms, by striking out which the ship may, if necessary, be detached from her
anchors with less difficulty than a hempen cable can be cut.
Even in their most defective form, iron cables are a great deal stronger than those of
hemp; and as to durability, no sort of comparison can be made. No wonder, therefore,
that they should be rapidly superseding the latter; which are now almost wholly laid aside
in the navy, and, to a great extent, also, in the merchant service.
[We import cables and cordage for the most part from Russia, and export these articles
to the South American States and the West Indies.-Am. Ed.]
CACAO, or, as it is commonly, but incorrectly written in this country, Cocoa (Fr. and
Sp. Cacao; Ger. Kakao), the seed, or nuts of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), growing
in the West Indies, and in many parts of South America. It is said, by Mr. Bryan Ed-
wards, to bear some resemblance, both in size and shape, to a young blackheart cherry.
The nuts are contained in pods, much like a cucumber, that proceed immediately from all
parts of the body and larger branches; each pod contains from 20 to 30 nuts, of the size of
large almonds, very compactly set. The shell of the nut is of a dark brown colour, brittle,
and thin the kernel is both internally and externally brownish, divided into several unequal
portions, adhering together, but separating without much difficulty it has a light agreeable
smell, and an unctuous, bitterish, rather rough and peculiar, but not ungrateful taste. The
nuts should be chosen full, plump, and shining, without any mustiness, and not worm-
eaten. They yield, by expression, a great deal of oil ; but they are cultivated only that they
may be employed in the preparation of the excellent beverage cacao, and the manufacture of
chocolate, of which they form the principal ingredient. The finest cacao is said to be that
of Socomusco. The principal importations are, however, derived from the Caraccas and
Guayaquil, particularly the former. The price of the cacao of the Carraccas is, also, at an
average, from 30 to 40 per cent. higher than that of Guayaquil.
M. Humboldt estimated the consumption of cacao in Europe, in 1806, at 23,000,000
lbs., of which from 6,000,000 to 9,000,000 were supposed to be consumed in Spain. The
production of cacao had been languishing in the Caraccas for several years previously to
the commencement of the disturbances in South America; and latterly the cultivation of
one or other of the great staples of cotton, sugar, and coffee, seems to have been every
where gaining the ascendency.-(Humboldt Pers. Narrative, vol. iv. pp. 236-247. Eng.
trans.)
Duties.-Very little cacao is consumed in England a result which we are inclined to ascribe to the
oppressiveness of the duties with which it has hitherto been loaded, and not to its being unsuitable
to the public taste. It is now many years since Mr. Bryan Edwards declared that the ruin of the
cacao plantations, with which Jamaica once abounded, was the effect of the heavy hand of minis-
terial exaction.' of West Indies, vol. ii. p. 363.) And, unaccountable as it may seem, this pres-
sure was not materially abated till 1832, when the duties on cacao from a British plantation were re-
duced from 56s. to 18s. 8d. a cwt. Foreign cacao is still subject to the oppressive duty of 56s. a cwt.
The entries of cacao for home consumption, at an average of the three years ending with 1831, were
440,578 lbs. a year. In 1832, the entries were 502,817 lbs.; and there can be little doubt that the re-
duction in the rate of duty will occasion a considerable increase of consumption. Exclusive of the
above, 470,000 lbs. of cacao were taken off in 1832 for the use of the navy this, not being liable to the
duty, was entirely foreign. The high discriminating duty on the latter is the greatest defect in the
new arrangements. Had the duty on foreign cacao been fixed at 28s. per cwt., it is pretty certain
that a good deal of it would have been taken for consumption. Even on this footing, there would have
been a discriminating duty of no less than 50 per cent. in favour of British cacao ; and, unless our object
be to exclude the foreign article altogether, this is surely an ample preference. The duties on cacao
produced, in 1832, 12,2241. 12s. British cacao is worth, at present (August, 1833,) from 64s. to 76s. a
cwt. in bond.
Cacao nut husks and shells are allowed to imported under a duty of 9s. 4d. a cwt. None of them
are imported into Great Britain ; but, in 1832. 336.551 lbs. were imported into Ireland. They are
brought not only from the West Indies, but from Gibraltar and other places, being the refuse of the
chocolate manufactories carried on in them.
Cacao cannot be entered as being the produce of some British possession in America, or of the Mau-
ritius, until the master of the ship by which it is imported delivers to the collector or comptroller a
certificate, and makes oath that the goods are the produce of such places.-(3 and 4. Will. 4. c. 52. è 37.)
Neither shall they be deemed to be the produce of such places, unless imported direct from thence.-
(7 Geo. 4. c. 48.) Permits are no longer required for the removal of cacao.-(9 Geo. 4. c. 44. 1 5.)
CADIZ, the principal commercial city and sea-port of Spain. It is situated on its south-
western coast, on the rocky and elevated extremity of a narrow, low peninsula, or tongue of
land, projecting from the Isla de Leon, N. N. W. about 41 nautical miles. It is surrounded
on all sides, except the south, where it joins the land, by the sea, and is very strongly forti-
fied. Population from 60,000 to 70,000. It is well built, and has, at a distance, a very
striking appearance. The tower or lighthouse of St. Sebastian stands on the western side of
the city, being, according to Tofino, in lat. 36° 31' 7" N., long. 6° 18' 52" W. It is a most
conspicuous object to vessels approaching from the Atlantic. The light, which is 172 feet
high, is of great brilliancy, revolves once a minute, and in fair weather may be seen more
than 6 leagues off.
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CADIZ.
259
Boy of Cadiz-The entrance to this noble basin lies between the city and the town and promontory
of Rota, bearing N. W. by N., distant about 11 league. The bay is of very great extent, affording, in
most places, good anchorage. The port is on the eastern side of the city, where a mole of considera-
ble dimensions has been constructed ; but the water is not sufficiently deep to allow large vessels to
approach nearer than within about + of a mile, where they anchor in from 5 to 7 fathoms. The rocks
called the Cochinos, the Puercas, and the Diamante, lie to the north of the city in the entrance to the
bay; the first two at about 3-5ths of a mile distant, and the Diamante at rather more than If mile
from the city. Vessels may enter between the Puercas and the Diamante; but none, except those
not drawing more than 15 feet water, and well acquainted with the channel, ought to attempt enter-
ing between the Cochinos and Puercas and the city. The town of St. Mary's, on the opposite side of
the bay, is famous for being the depôt of the wines of Xeres. The outer bay, or that of Cadiz properly
so called, is separated from the inner bay by the promontory having at its extremity the castle of
Matagorda, which approaches within about + of a mile of the Puntales castle on the Isla de Leon.
Within the inner bay is the famous arsenal of the Caraccas, the town of San Carlos, the canal of
Trocadero, &c. At spring tides the water in the bay rises 10 or 11 feet, but at neaps the rise does not
exceed 6 feet.-(For further particulars see the excellent Chart of the Bay of Cadi:, by Tafino ; Mal-
ham's Naval Gazetteer; and Purdy's Sailing Directions for the Bay of Biscay, &c.)
History, Trade, &c.-Cadiz is a very ancient city, having been founded by the Phœni-
cians about 1,200 years before the Christian era. The temple which they erected in it in
honour of Hercules was one of the most celebrated in antiquity.-(Sainte Croix, Des
Anciennes Colonies, p. 14.; Pomp. Mela, lib. iii. cap. 6.) Its excellent port, and its situa-
tion, favourable alike for commerce and security, have made it, whether possessed by Car-
thaginians, Romans, Moors, or Christians, and under every vicissitude, a place of considera-
ble commercial and political importance. It has long been one of the principal stations of
the Spanish naval force. In 1720, the commerce with Spanish America, which had pre-
viously been exclusively carried on from Seville, was transferred to Cadiz. It enjoyed this
valuable monopoly till 1765, when it was partially relaxed by the trade to Cuba, St. Do-
mingo, Porto Rico, and the other islands being opened to all the greater ports of Spain.
The benefits resulting from this relaxation were so very great, that in 1778 the trade to all
parts of America was opened to ships from every considerable Spanish port, except those of
Biscay, which, not being subjected to the general laws of the kingdom, were not allowed to
participate in this privilege. In consequence, however, of her situation, the great capital of
her merchants, and their established connections, Cadiz continued, notwithstanding the
abolition of the monopoly, to preserve the largest share of the American trade. But since
the colonies achieved their independence, her commerce has been contracted within com-
paratively narrow limits; nor is there much prospect of its being materially improved, with-
out a total change of policy on the part of the Spanish government.-(Robertson's America,
b. viii. passim Townsend's Travels in Spain, vol. ii. pp. 395-401. 2d edit.)
The white wines of Xeres in its vicinity form by far the principal article of export from
Cadiz. The quantity exported may amount to about 20,000 pipes a year. The prices vary
from 12/. to 65L per pipe but, as the lower qualities predominate, the price may be taken,
at a medium, at about 25/., making the total value of the exports 500,000/. More than 4ths
of the whole comes to England. The other articles of export are brandy, oranges, and other
fruits, olive oil, wool, quicksilver, &c. The imports consist principally of sugar and coffee
from the Havannah and Porto Rico, cacao, hemp, flax, linens, dried fish, hides, cotton wool,
and cotton manufactures, rice, spices, indigo, &c.
In 1826, the Spanish government published what they termed the Balanza Mercantil, or an account
of the commodities imported into, and exported from, Spain during that year. It is a very defective
document; but as it is the best that can be obtained, it is subjoined. The values of the articles only
are given. We have converted the sums into English money.
Note of the most considerable Articles of Importation into Spain in 1826.
From
From Spa-
From
From Spa-
Europe,
nish Ameri-
Europe,
nish Ameri-
Articles
Asia, Africa,
can Colonies,
Articles.
Asia, Africa,
can Colonies,
1
and United
inclusive of
and United
inclusive of
States of
the Philip-
States of
the Philip-
America.
pines.
America.
pines.
Sugar
-
-
-
£7,640
£437,550
Hides
-
-
£120,600
£4,910
Cocoa
-
-
-
104,400
90,425
Cotton wool
-
-
166,970
7,920
Indigo
-
-
-
4,770
69,030
Ditto yarn
-
-
63,660
Spices, Cinnamon £95,420
Ditto manufactures
-
430,980
Cloves
-
40,100
Woollen ditto
-
-
91,030
Pepper
-
67,500
Hemp and flax
-
-
165,760
203,020
Linen manufactures
-
222,870
Wool of all kinds -
-
167,560
21,440
Ditto thread
-
-
12,970
Rice
-
- 102,270
Silk manufactures
-
106,170
Wheat
-
- 8,110
Iron and brass ditto
-
108,700
110,380
Gold and silver, in coin
Salt fish
-
-
-
200,560
and bars
-
-
81,880
15,280
Coffee
-
-
1
-
-
75,830
Earthenware
-
-
19,700
Olive oil
-
-
-
18,130
Copper
-
-
-
12,400
2,200
Butter
-
- 57,560
Tin
-
-
-
11,630
Cheese
-
- 17,660
Crystal and glass ware -
37,000
75,220
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260
CADIZ.
Note of the most considerable Articles of Exportation from Spain in 1826.
To Europe,
To Spanish
To Europe,
To Spanish
Asia, Africa,
American
Asia, Africa,
American
Articles.
and United
Colonies, in-
Articles.
and United
Colonies, in-
States of
clusive of the
States of
clusive of the
America.
Philippines.
America.
Philippines.
Wines
-
-
-
£137,550
£51,790
Raw silk -
-
-
£28,890
Fruits, Almonds £24,355
Indigo
-
-
-
11,240
Filberts
-
- 29,165
-
-
3,030
Silk manufactures
-
218,930
£74,590
Lemons & oranges 36,240
Wool
-
-
-
161,650
Raisins
-
- 59,905
Woollen manufactures -
12,020
Grapes, olives, and
Cork-wood and corks
-
34,640
figs
-
-
2,410
Leeches
-
-
19,080
152,075
2,645
Paper of all kinds
-
20,220
17,500
Brandy -
-
-
107,715
13,156
Gut, fishing
-
£18,480
Olive oil
-
-
-
7,170
6,030
for guitars -
2,500
Saffron
-
-
-
14,610
2,800
20,980
16,905
Lead
-
-
-
215,360
Thread lace
-
-
10,285
Ditto ore -
-
-
7,765
Cast iron -
-
-
16,626
Quicksilver
-
-
66,300
Garbanzos, beans, and
Barilla
-
-
-
79,290
wheat -
-
-
3,980
3,600
Flour
-
-
-
-
-
49,290
Shipping. 1831 there arrived at Cadiz from foreign countries 475 ships, of the burden of 38,582
tons ; and from the Spanish colonies, that is, from Cuba, Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands, &c., 103
ships, of the burden of 17,812 tons. The arrivals from England are not specified; but, in 1828, 184
British ships entered Cadiz. The coasting trade is very considerable.
Money.-The monies, weights, and measures, used at Cadiz, are those of Castile. Accounts are
kept by the real (of old plate), of which there are 10} in the peso duro, or hard dollar and as the dol-
lar = 4s. 34d. the real = 4d. A real is divided into 16 quintos, or 34 maravedis. The ducado de plata, or
ducat of plate, is worth 11 reals.
Weights and Measures.-The ordinary quintal is divided into 4 arrobas, or 100 lbs. of 2 marcs each:
100 lbs. Castile = 1011 lbs. avoirdupois. The yard, or vara = 927 English yard, or 100 varas - 924
English yards. The cahiz, or measure for corn, is divided into 12 fanegas, or 144 celeminas, or 576
quartillas; 100 cahiz's = 1977 Winch. quarters, and 5 fanegas = 1 quarter. The cantaro, or arroba, the
measure for liquids, is divided into 8 azumbres, and 32 quartillos. There are two sorts of arrobas, the
greater and the lesser: they are to each other as 32 to 25; the former being equal to 41 English wine
gallons, the latter to 37 do. A moyo of wine = 16 arrobas. The botta = 30 arrobas of wine, or 381 of
oil. A pipe = 27 arrobas of wine, or 34f of oil. Hence the botta = 1271 English wine gallons, and the
pipe 1141 do.
British trade with Spain.-Notwithstanding the anti-commercial influence of prohibitions and op-
pressive duties, we carry on a very considerable trade with Spain. In 1831 we imported from her
61,921 cwt. barilla, 78,067 cwt. oak and cork bark, 146,234 quarters wheat-(see BILBAO), 769cwt. figs,
972 tons lead, about 28,000 packages oranges and lemons, 1,243,686 gallons olive oil, 269,558 lbs. quick-
silver, 105,066 cwt. raisins, 3,700 cwt. sumach, 14,184 lbs. silk, 69,319 gallons brandy, 3,474,823 lbs.
wool, and 2,537,968 gallons wine. No account of the declared or real value of the imports is kept at
the Custom-house but the official value of the imports from Spain in 1831, exclusive of those from the
Canaries, was above 1,000,000L. sterling.
During the same year the real value of the various articles of British produce and manufacture
cleared out from our ports for Spain was 597.8481. Of these articles linen was the principal, its value
being estimated at 222,8381. Cottons amounted to above 148,000L. The other articles were hardware,
iron and steel, tin, &c.-(Parl. Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)
Smuggling, &c.-In 1829 Cadiz was made a free port, that is, a port where goods may
be consumed and bonded without paying duty. This boon would have been of compara-
tively little consequence but for the opportunity of smuggling afforded by the oppressively
high duties laid on most foreign articles imported into Spain. These, as such duties wherever
imposed never fail to do, have given birth to a very extensive contraband trade; and under
the free regime Cadiz became the grand focus of this traffic. The government having seen
this effect of the franchise, it was withdrawn on the 22d of December, 1832. This, how-
ever, is but a very trifling inconvenience to the smuggler. Nothing, fortunately, but the
repeal of prohibitions, and the reduction of oppressive duties to a reasonable amount, can
ever, materially diminish the field of his exertions. It would appear, however, that the ex-
perience of a couple of centuries has been as unable to impress the Spanish government with
a conviction of this unquestionable truth, as it has been to open their eyes to the enormous
abuses that infect every part of the public administration.
Mr. Townsend, the author of by far the best English work on Spain, which he visited in
1786 and 1787, has the following admirable remarks on this subject, in his chapter on
Cadiz :-
The Spanish government has never yet acquired any liberal ideas respecting trade and even at
the present moment, some of their best political writers resemble lag hounds hunting the stale scent,
whilst the fleetest are already in possession of the game. Instead of throwing down every obstacle to
commerce, they labour to contract its limits, under the vain hope of establishing a monopoly, without
considering either their own want of capital, of industry, and of an enterprising spirit, or the utter
impossibility of preventing smuggling, whilst other nations, with greater advantages for trade, can
undersell them in the market. Until they shall be more enlightened, until they shall have banished
their inquisitors, and until the happy period shall arrive when, under the protection of a free govern-
ment, they shall have restored public credit, and placed it on a firm foundation all their prohibitions,
all their severities exercised on the property and persons of the illicit traders, all their commercial
treaties, and all their commercial wars, into which ambition may betray them, will be frivolous and
vain because no efforts will ever prevail against the united interests of their own subjects, and of all
surrounding nations.
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CAGLIARI.
261
Even at home, the watchfulness and energy of every government have never been able to enforce
its prohibitions for, notwithstanding these, when I was travelling through Spain, all the men ap-
peared in Manchester cotton goods, and no woman was seen without her muslin veil. In Spain, as
throughout Europe, it is found that when the price of insurance is less than the duties imposed on the
commodity, no laws are sufficient to control the operations of illicit traders."-(Vol. ii. p. 394.)
But the Spanish government has been proof against such considerations. Instead of
diminishing, they have materially increased, the number of prohibitions and the pressure of
the duties and the consequence is, that in many extensive provinces there is no regular
trade, and that every thing is carried on by the agency of the smugglers, partly in defiance,
but principally through the connivance, of the revenue officers. Notwithstanding their
exclusion, English cotton goods may, at this moment, be bought in Madrid, and generally
throughout Spain, at from 20 to 30 per cent. above their price in Gibraltar, where they are
about as cheap as in Manchester While Cadiz was a free port, about 6,000 persons are
said to have been employed in it twisting cigars, which, as soon as finished, were forthwith
smuggled into the interior. Three fourths of the foreign trade of Spain may, in fact, be said
to be carried on in defiance of the law. And where such is the case, need we wonder at the
low state of industry, or at the prevalence of those predatory and ferocious habits that uni-
formly mark the character of the smuggler ?
In the valuable work of Mr. Ingliss, entitled " Spain in 1830," we find the following
statement under the head Cadiz. Though written more than 40 years after the paragraph
previously quoted from Mr. Townsend, it shows that not one of the flagrant abuses de-
nounced by the latter has been eradicated; but that, on the contrary, they all continue to
flourish in still ranker luxuriance.
The whole commercial system of Spain is most erroneously conceived. The prohibitory system is
carried to a length absolutely ruinous to the fair trader, and highly injurious to the revenue. The
immense duties upon admissible articles, and the total prohibition of others, has occasioned a most
extensive contraband trade, both externally with the various ports, along the coast of Spain, and
internally, throughout the whole of the kingdom and by this trade admissible articles are introduced
into the interior, at from 100 to 300 per cent. below the duties imposed. Government could not fail to
be benefited by permitting the importation of articles of general use, upon payment of such a duty as
would allow the sale of the article at a lower price than is now paid by the consumer to the smug-
gler. As one example of the impolicy of the system, I may cite a fact respecting the trade in salted
fish, the returns of which 1 have before me. The import of this article into Cadiz in one year, before
that city was made a free port, amounted to 4 vessels, whose cargoes reached 4,092 cwt.; while at the
free port of Gibraltar, in the same year, 41 vessels entered with 89,106 cwt., the whole of which was
intended for the illicit trade, and passed into Spain through the hands of the smugglers. The duty upon
this article is more than 100 per cent.; the smuggler considers himself remunerated by a gain of
twenty-five per cent.; so that the article which finds its way into the market through the contraband
trade is sold per cent. cheaper than that which is admitted upon payment of the regular duties.
The duties upon British manufactured goods amount almost to a prohibition they often reach
100 per cent., and this trade is therefore also in the hands of the smugglers, who obtain the profit
which, under a more wholesome system, might go into the treasury of the kingdom. The fraudulent
dealer is also greatly assisted by the custom of granting a royal licence to individuals to import a
certain limited quantity of prohibited goods; an expedient resorted to in order to meet the exigencies
of the state and under the licence to enter 100 tons of merchandise, the merchant enters perhaps
1.000 tons ; a deception easily practised in a country where, among the public officers, a scale of
bribery is perfectly understood and acted upon. ii. pp. 132-136.)
But for the system of misrule to which Spain has been subjected, there can be no reasona-
ble doubt that her commerce would have been about the most extensive of any European
state. Her natural advantages, superior to most, and not inferior to those enjoyed by any
other kingdom her wines, brandies, fruits, &c.; her wheat, of which she might produce the
largest supplies; her wool; her iron, which is of the best quality her lead and quicksilver
mines, respectively the most productive in the world; the number and excellence of her
harbours; the enterprising and adventurous character of her inhabitants, and her favourable
situation would, were she permitted to avail herself of them, raise her to a very high rank
among commercial nations. Let the government cease to counteract the intentions of na-
ture let moderate duties take the place of prohibitions, and freedom of regulation and all
sorts of industrious pursuits will speedily revive from the deadly lethargy in which they have
been so long sunk.
[The trade of the United States with Cadiz is not of much importance. Wines and salt
are the principal commodities we get from there. See the article MALAGA.-Am. Ed.]
CAGLIARI, the capital of Sardinia, situated on the north-east shore of a spacious bay on
the south coast of the island, lat. 39° 12' 13" N., long. 9° 6' 44" E. Population 26,000.
The city stands on a rising ground, and has an imposing effect from the sea. The public
buildings and churches are numerous, and some of them splendid but the streets are, for the
most part, narrow, steep, and filthy.
The Gulf of Cagliari extends from Pula on the west to Cape Carbonaro on the east, a distance of
about 24 miles across, and about 12 in depth, with good anchorage every where after getting into
soundings. A mole projects from the Pratique office, and ships usually lie about 1 mile S. W. by S.
from it, in 6 or 8 fathoms water, on an excellent bottom of mud. There is a very convenient pier har-
bour at the south angle of the tower wall, capable of containing 14 or 16 vessels of a tolerable size,
besides small craft. Altogether, Cagliari is one of the best and safest ports in the Mediterranean.
Imports and Erports.-Almost all the trade of Sardinia is carried on by strangers; and even the
fish on its coast and in its harbours is caught by Sicilians, Neapolitans, Tuscans, and Genoese. Corn
is the principal article of export. In good years, the exports from the whole island may amount to
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262
CAGLIARI.
400,000 starelli, or about 500,000 bushels, of wheat, 200,000 starelli of barley, 6,000 ditto of maize,
100,000 ditto of beans, 200,000 of peas, and 1,000 ditto of lentils. The culture of vines is gradually
becoming of more importance ; and about 3,500 Catalan pipes are exported, principally from Alghero
and Ogliastra. Cheese is an important object in the rural economy of Sardinia, and considerable
quantities are exported. Salt is a royal monopoly, and affords a considerable revenue. Until recently
Sweden drew almost all her supplies of this important necessary from Sardinia, and it continues to be
exported in considerable quantities. Flax, linseed, hides, oil, saffron, rags, alquifoux, &c. are among
the articles of export. The tunny and coral fisheries employ a good many hands; but, as already
observed, they are almost wholly managed by foreigners.
Almost every article of dress, whether for the gentry or the peasantry, is imported. Soap, station-
ery, glass, earthenware, and furniture, as well as sugar, coffee, drugs, spices, &c., are also supplied
by foreigners; and notwithstanding the Sards possess many rich mines, several of which were suc-
cessfully wrought in antiquity, they import all their iron and steel. The only manufactures carried
on in the island are those of gunpowder, salt, tobacco, and woollen caps. In 1831, there entered the
ports of Sardinia 166 foreign vessels, of the burden of 6,925 tons. Of these, the greater number were
French ; and next to them were Neapolitans, Austrians, Tuscans, &c.
Money, Weights, and Measures.-Accounts are kept in lire, reali, and soldi. 5 soldi = I reale = 41d.;
4 reali = 1 lira = 1s. 6d.; 19 reali - 1 scudo - 3s. 9d. The paper money consists of notes for 5, 10, and
20 scudi.
Farm produce and the coarser metals are weighed by the pesi di ferro: 12 Sard. oz. - 1 lb. = 14 oz. 5
dr. avoirdupois; 26 lbs. = 1 rubbo ; 4 rubbi = 1 cantaro = 93 lbs. 0 oz. 8 dr. avoirdupois.
The starello, or corn measure, is equivalent to 1 bush. 14 peck Eng. The palm 10} Eng. inches.
Causes of the depressed state of Sardinia.-The above statements sufficiently show that
the commerce of Sardinia is very far from being what might naturally be expected from its
extent, fertility, admirable situation, and the excellence of its many harbours. It contains
an area of about 9,500 square miles., being, in point of size, but little inferior to Sicily; and
in antiquity it was hardly less celebrated for its productiveness :-
Non opimas
Sardinise segetes feracis."-Her. lib. i. Od. 31.
But a long series of wars and revolutions, followed by the establishment of the feudal
system in its worst form, and the subjection of the island, first to Spain, and more recently
to the house of Savoy, have been attended by the most ruinous consequences. The Ro-
mans encouraged the exportation of corn and other produce from the provinces to Rome,
where it always met with a ready and advantageous sale. But the modern rulers of Sar-
dinia have followed quite an opposite policy; they have prevented the occupiers of the land
from carrying their productions abroad and as, owing to the want of a commercial and
manufacturing population, there was little or no demand for it at home, no surplus was
raised so that the wish, as well as the means, of emerging from poverty and barbarism has
been well nigh eradicated. It is to this impolitic conduct on the part of government,
and to the insecurity arising from the want of police and of occupation under the worst sort
of feudal tenures, that we are inclined principally to attribute that habitual idleness, and
indifference to the future, that distinguish the modern Sards.
We are glad, however, to have to state, that some improvements have been made within
these few years. A good road has been formed from Cagliari to Sassari, and cross roads
are being carried from it to some of the most considerable places in the island. The popu-
lation, which, in 1816, amounted to only 352,000, is now estimated at 480,000 or 500,000*
and some meliorations have been introduced into various departments of industry. But
without the establishment of an effective system for the administration of justice and the
prevention and punishment of crime, the introduction of a better system of letting land, and
the total abolition of the existing restraints on the exportation of corn and other produce
from the island, it will be in vain to expect that its capacities should ever be fully developed.
At present, it is usual to hire land, for the purposes of tillage, by the year no corn can be
exported if its price exceed 30 reals the starello; and a heavy duty is laid on all that is ex-
ported, as a substitute for a general land-tax. Nothing can be more preposterously absurd
than such regulations. They have paralysed the exertions of the husbandman to such an
extent, that this " benignant nurse" of ancient Romet is sometimes, notwithstanding its
scanty population, under the necessity of importing a portion of its supplies Most other
articles of export have been loaded with similar duties 80 that the industry of the island has
been, in effect, completely sacrificed to a short-sighted rapacity, of which, fortunately, there
are not many examples. Let this disgraceful system, which, if possible, is even more in-
jurious to the government than to the people, be put an end to,-let the freedom of export-
ation, with reasonable duties on imports, and the security of property, be established,and
we venture to predict that Sardinia will, at no very remote period, recover her ancient pros-
perity that the revenues of the crown will be increased in a tenfold proportion and that
the population will cease to be conspicuous only for ferocity, idleness, and contempt of in-
novation.
In compiling this article, we have consulted Captain Smyth's valuable work on Sardinia, particu-
larly pp. 106-128. But the most complete work on the island is that of Marmara, already referred to
See Marmara, Voyage on Sardaigne, p. 176., and the Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 23. p. 256.
Captain Smyth reckons the population, at an average of the 10 years ending with 1825, at about
400,000.-(p. 128.)
t 'Siciliam et Sardinlam, benignissimas urbis nostre nutrices."-Val. Maximus, lib. vii. c. 6.
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CAJEPUT OIL-CALCUTTA.
263
It, however, touches very gently on the gross and scandalous abuses that infect every part of the
administration. We have borrowed some details from the Annales du Commerce Maritime for 1833,
p. 302, &c.
CAJEPUT OIL, the volatile oil obtained from the leaves of the cajeput tree (Melaleuca
Leucadendron Lin.). The name is a corruption of the native term cayu-puti, that is, white-
wood oil; because the bark of the tree which yields it has a whitish appearance, like our
birch. This tree is common in Amboyna and other Eastern islands. The oil is obtained
by distillation from the dried leaves of the smaller of two varieties. It is prepared in great
quantities in Banda, and sent to Holland in copper flasks. As it comes to us it is of a green
colour, very limpid, lighter than water, of a strong smell resembling camphor, and a strong
pungent taste. It burns entirely away without leaving any residuum. It is often adulterated
with other essential oils, coloured with resin of milfoil. In the genuine oil, the green colour
depends on the presence of copper for, when rectified, it is colourless.-(Thomson's Dis-
pensatory.)
Cajeput oil not being used except in the materia medica, only small quantities are imported. In
July, 1831, it sold in bond at about 7d. an ounce ; but an idea having then got abroad that it was one
of the most efficient remedies in cases of cholera, its price rose in November, 1831, to no less than
11s. an ounce! But it soon after fell into discredit with the faculty, and additional supplies having
been obtained from Holland, its price declined almost as fast as it had risen. It is not at present
(September, 1833) worth more in bond, than from 4d. to 9d. an ounce.
CALABAR SKIN (Fr. Petit-gris; Ger. Grauwerk; It. Vaor, Vajo ; Rus. Bjelka;
Sp. Gris pequeno), the Siberian squirrel skin, of various colours, used in making muffs,
tippets, and trimmings for clothes.
CALABASH, a light kind of vessel formed of the shell of a gourd, emptied and dried.
The Indians both of the North and South Sea put the pearls they have fished in calabashes,
and the natives of Africa do the same by their gold dust. They also are used as a measure
in Africa.
CALAMANCO (Du. Kallemink, Kalmink Fr. Calmande, Calmandre, It. Durante;
Rus. Kolomenka; Sp. Calmaco; Sw. Kalmink), a sort of woollen stuff, manufactured in
England and the Netherlands; it has a fine gloss; and being chequered in the warp, the
checks appear only on the right side.
CALAMANDER WOOD, a beautiful species of timber brought from Ceylon.
It is so hard that common edge-tools cannot work it, so that it must be rasped and almost ground
into shape. It is singularly remarkable for the variety and admixture of colours. The most prevail-
ing is a fine chocolate, now deepening almost into absolute black, now fading into a medium between
faw n and cream colours. It arrests the eye from the rich beauty of the intermingled tints, not from
any undue showiness. It takes a very high polish; and is wrought into chairs, and particularly into
tables. Sir Robert Brownring, late governor of Ceylon. had the doors of the dining-room of his seat
in Monmouthshire made of calamander. It is scarce in Ceylon, and is not regularly imported all
that is in Great Britain has been imported by private gentlemen, returning from the colony, for their
ow use. It is by far the most beautiful of all the fancy woods. The nearer it is taken from the root
of the tree, the finer it is.-(Milburn's Orient. Com. ; Lib. of Entertaining Knowledge, Vegetable Sub-
stances, p. 179.)
CALCUTTA, the principal city of the province of Bengal, the capital of the British
dominions in India, and, with the exception perhaps of Canton, the greatest emporium to
the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. Its citadel is in lat. 22° 33' 54" N., long. 88° 20'
17" E. It is about 100 miles distant from the sea, being situated on the eastern bank of the
western branch of the Ganges, denominated by Europeans the Hooghly River, which is the
only arm of the Ganges navigable to any considerable distance by large ships. At high
water the river opposite to the town is about a mile in breadth; hut during the ebb the side
opposite to Calcutta exposes a long range of dry sand banks. Owing to the length and in-
tricacy of the navigation from the sea, it cannot be undertaken without a pilot so that,
even if it did not exceed our limits, it would be useless to attempt any description of it in
this place.-(See the reduced Plan of the Mouths of the Hooghly River, in the Mercator's
Chart in this work.)
In 1717, Calcutta was a petty native village of paltry huts, with a few hundred inhabitants. Little
more than a century later, or in 1822, the following were the returns of the population viz. Chris-
tians, 13,138; Mohammedans, 48,162; Hindoos, 118,203; Chinese, 414, making in all, 179,917.
A great part, however, of what may be fairly considered the population of Calcutta, consisting of
labourers, mechanics, and persons engaged in trade, reside at night in the suburbs, or neighbouring
villages coming into town early in the morning to their respective employments. These have been
estimated by the magistrates, on tolerably good data, at 100,000; and allowing for the increase of in-
habitants which is admitted to have taken place within the last dozen years, the existing population
may be estimated at about 300,000. The town, excluding suburbs, extends to about 4f miles along the
bank of the river, with an average breadth inland of about If mile. Fort William, the citadel, lies
on the same side of the river, a little lower down. It is a strong regular fortification but so exten-
sive that it would require a garrison of 10,000 men for its effectual defence. Calcutta possesses great
natural advantages for inland navigation ; all sorts of foreign produce being transported with great
facility on the Ganges and its subsidiary streams to the north-western quarters of Hindostan, over a
distance of at least 1,000 miles, while the productions of the interior are received by the same easy
channels.
The principal merchants and traders of Calcutta consist of the following classes; viz. British and
other Europeans, Portuguese born in India, Armenians, Greeks, Jews, Persians from the coast of the
Persian Gulf, commonly called Parsees, Moguls, Mobammedans of Hindostan, and Hindoos the lat-
ter usually either of the Brahminical or mercantile castes, and natives of Bengal. In 1813, the total
number of adult male British subjects, in the Bengal provinces (the great majority being in Calcutta),
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264
CALCUTTA.
engaged in trade or agriculture, was 1,225 in 1830, it was 1,707. This is the statement given by the
printed register but it is probably much underrated, particularly for the last year. The native Por-
tuguese and Armenian merchants have of late greatly declined in wealth and importance. On the
other hand, the Persian merchants have increased in numbers and wealth, several of them being
worth 250,000/. sterling. The large fortunes of the Hindoo merchants have been much broken down
of late years by litigation in the courts, and naturally through the law of equal coparcenary among
brothers. To counterbalance this, there has been, since the opening of the free trade in 1814, a vast
augmentation of the number of inferior merchants, worth from 20,0001. to 50,000L. sterling. There are
but few Hindoo merchants at present whose wealth exceeds 200,000/. sterling.
The principal foreign business is conducted by the English merchants; but the other parties also,
either in partnership with the English, or on their own account, speculate largely to Europe, Ame-
rica, and especially to China. The brokers known under the name of Sircars and Baboos are all Hin-
doos. The general rates of agency commission are as follow :-
1. On the sale or purchase of ships, vessels, houses
The charge for coining silver at the Calcutta mint is 2 per cent. if
and lands
2 1-2 per cent.
the bullion be the standard fineness; but where it differs, a propor-
2. On the sale, purchase, or shipment of bullion
1-2
do.
tional charge of from 1-4 to 1-2 per cent. is made for refining.
Do. of jewellery, diamonds, or other precious
The course of exchange by which the customs of Calcutta are at
stones
2
do.
present regulated is as follows:-
Do. of indigo, lac-dye, country piece goods, silk,
opium, cochineal, coral, spices, coffee, cop-
Sic. rup. An. Pice.
per, tin, and tutenague
218
do.
Great Britain
Pound sterling
=
10
0
0
Do. of all other kinds of goods
6
do.
Cape of Good Hope
Rix-dollar (2s.)
=
1
0
0
3. On goods or treasure, &c. consigned, and after-
Madras
100 rupees
=
93
I
8
wards withdrawn or sent to auction and on
Bombay
100
=
94
13
0
goods consigned for conditional delivery to
Ceylon
Rix-dollar
=
0
14
0
others
1-8 commission
China
tale
-
3
5
4
4. On all advances of money for the purposes of
Burmah
125 tickals
=
100
0
0
trade, whether the goods are consigned to the
Manilla
Spanish dollar
=
2
4
0
agent or not, and where a commission of 5 per
Portugal
1,000 reas
=
2
12
0
cent. is not charged
21-2 per cent.
France
24 francs
=
10
0
0
5. On ordering goods, or superintending the fulfil-
Holland
21 florins
=
2
4
0
ment of contracts, where no other commis-
Hamburgh and Co-
sion is derived
218 do.
11 mare banco
=
1
0
0
penhagen
6. On guaranteeing bills, bonds, or other engage-
Leghorn
100 pezzas
=
202
8
0
ments, and on becoming security for adminie-
trations of estates, or to government or indi-
Other sorts of rupees are met with in Bengal, differing in fineness
viduals for contracts, agreements, Ac.
818 do.
and weight, though their denominations be the same. From this,
7. On del credere, or guaranteeing the responsibili-
1-2 per cent.
and from the natives frequently punching holes in the rupees, and
ty of persons to whom goods are sold
per mensem.
filling them up with base metal, and their fraudulently diminishing
8. On acting for the estales of persons deceased, as
the weight of the coin after coming from the mint, the currencies of
executors or administrators
5 per cent.
the different provinces are of different values. This defect has in-
9. On the management of estates for others, on the
troduced the custom of employing shroffs, or money-changers, whose
amount received
2 12 do.
business is to set a value upon the different currencies, according to
10. On procuring freight, or advertising as the agent
every circumstance, either in their favour or their prejudice. ben
of owners or commanders on the amount of
a sum of rupees is brought to one of these shroffs, he examines them
freight, whether the same passes through
piece by piece, and arranges them according to their fineness; then,
the hands of the agent or not
5
do.
11. On chartering ships for other parties
by their weight; he then allows for the different legal battas upon
2 do.
siccas and sounats and this done, he values in gross, by the rupees
12. On making insurance, or writing orders for
current, what the whole are worth so that the rupee current is the
insurance
1-8 do.
only thing fixed, by which coin is valued.
13. On settling insurance losses, total or partial, and
A current rupee is reckoned at 2a, and a sicca rupee of account
on procuring returns of premium
1
do.
commonly at 2a. 6d. A lac, means 100,000; and a crore 100 lacs, or
14. On effecting remittances, by bills of the agent
10,000,000. The following are the monies of account, premising
or otherwise, or purchasing, selling, or nego-
that the lowest denomination is represented by a small smooth shell,
tiating bills of exchange
1
do.
a species of cypraca, chiefly imported as an article of trade from the
15. On debts, when a process at law or arbitration
Laccadive and Maldive islands, and current as long as they continue
is necessary
2 1-2 do.
entire:-
And if recovered by such means
5
do.
16. On bills of exchange returned, noted, or pro-
4 Cowries
=
1 Gunda.
tested
I
do.
2,560 do.
=
I Current rupee.
17. On the collecting of house-rent
2 1-8 do.
20 Gundas
=
1 Punn.
18. On ships' disbursements
2 1-2 do.
4 Punns, or 12 pice
=
Anna.
19. On negotiating loans on respondentia
2
do.
4 Annas
=
1 Cahaun.
20. On letters of credit granted for mercantile pur-
4 Cahauns
=
1 Sicca rupee.
poses
2 1-8 do.
16 Sicca rupees
= I Gold mohur.
21. On purchasing or selling government securi-
Weights.-The great weights are maunds, seers, chittacks, and
ties, and on each exchange of the same, in
siccas or rupee weights, thus divided
the transfer from one loan to another
1-2 do.
22. On delivering up government securities, or
5 Siccas
=
1 Chittack.
depositing the same in the treasury
1-2 do.
16 Chittacks
=
Seer.
23. On all advances not punctually liquidated, the
40 Seers
=
Maund.
agent to have the option of charging a second
There are two maunds in use, viz. the factory maund, which is
commission, as upon a fresh advance, pro-
74 lbs. 10 oz. 10-668 drs. avoirdupois; and the bazaar maund. which
vided the charge does not occur twice in the
is 10 per cent. better, viz, 82 lbs. oz. 2-133 drs.
same year
24. At the option of the agent, on the amount
80 Sieca weight
= a Calcutta bazaar secr.
debited or credited within the year, including
60 Ditto
= a Serampore seer.
interest, and excepting only items on which
82 Ditto
=
a Hooghly seer.
a commission of 5 per cent. has been charged
1
do.
84 Ditto
a Benaras Mirzapore seer.
N. B.-This charge not to apply to paying over
96 Ditto
=
an Allahabad and Lucknow seer.
a balance due on an account made up to a particu-
A Calcutta factory seer is equal to 72 sicca weight, II annas, 2
lar period, unless where such balance is withdrawn
puns, 10 gundas, 3.63 cowries.
without reasonable notice.
Money.-Accounts are kept here in imaginary money called ru-
Gold and Silver.
pees, either current or sicca, with their subdivisions, annas and
4 Punkhos
=
Dhan, or grain.
pice 12 pice make I anna; 16 annas I rupee; and 16 rupees 1 gold
4 Dhans
=
Ruity.
mohur. To this currency must all the real specie be converted. be-
6 1-4 Rutties
=
Anna.
fore any sum can be regularly entered in a merchant's books. The
8 Rutties
=
1
Massa.
Company keep their accounts in sicca rupees, which bear a hatta
10 Massas
I Sicca weight= 179-7 grs. Troy,
=
(premium) of 16 per cent. over the current. The coins current are
or 6-5705 drs. avoirdupois.
gold mohurs, with their subdivisions-halves and quarters; sicca ru.
100 Rutties
=
Tolah.
pees, halves and quarters; annas, pice, and half pice. The two
12 1.2 Massas
=
Tolah.
last are o copper. There are two mints under the Rengal presi-
16 Annas
=
Tolah.
dency that at Calcutta; and that of Ferruckabad, in the north-
166 1-4 Rutties
=
Mohur.
western provinces. The first is probably the most splendid esta-
13-28 Massas
=
Mohur.
blishment of the kind in the world the cost of the machinery, sup-
17 Annas
= Mohur.
plie by Measrs. Bolton and Watt of Birmingham, having exceeded
The tolah is equal to 224-588 grs. Troy.
300,000L Gold money is coined at Calcutta only; but silver, which
is now, and has always been, the standard of India, equally at both
Liquid Measure.
mints. The following statement shows the present weight, fineness,
and sterling value of the coins, reckoning the value of gold at 3/. 17s.
5 Sicca weight
=
1
Chittack.
10 1-2d. per standard ounce, and silver at 5e. 2d.:-
4 Chittacks
Pouah, or pice
4 Pouahs
=
Seer.
40 Seers
=
Maund.
Grains
5 Seers
Coins.
Grains
Grains
=
Gross
Value.
Pussaree, or measure.
pure.
Alloy.
8 Measures
=
I Bazaar maund.
Weight.
Grain Measure.
L. 8. d.
Gold mohur
187-631
17.059
204-710
1
13
2-25
4 Khaonks
1 Raik.
Sicca Rupee
175-923
15-993
191-916
0
2
6-25
4 Raiks
Pallie= 9-08 lbs. avoird.
Ferruckshad rupee
165-215
15-019
180-234
0 1 8-25
20 Pallies
-
Soallie.
16 Soallies
=
I Khahoon= 30 bz. mds.
Digitized by Google
CALCUTTA.
265
Square Measure.
Long Measure.
5 Cabits, or hauts, in length
1
Chittack,
or
45
feet
(Eng.
3 Barleycorna, or jows
-
square,
(barley)
}
- I Finger.
X 4 in breadth
16 Chittacks
1 Cottan.
4 Fingers
= Hand.
=
so Cottain
- 1 Biggah - 14,440 sq. n.
3 Hands
- Span.
3 1-2 Biggabs
= 1 English statute acre.
2 Spans
= 1 Cubit, or arms: 18 inches.
4 Cubits
- Fathom.
Cloth Measure.
1,000 Fathoms.
1 Com = 1 mile 1 furlong 3
ME
poles 3 1-2 yards.
3 Jorbes
- Angulia.
3 Angulise
= I Gheriah.
1
For Goods reckoned by Tale.
S Ghorishs
- 1 Haut or cubit - 18 inches.
5 Particulars
-
I Gunda.
= Hants
= 1 Guz = 1 yard.
4 Gundas, or 20 particulars
- 1 Koorje, or 1 corge.
Commercial Weights and Measures of India, with their equivalents in English Avoirdupois, Bengal
Factory, Madras, and Bombay Weights.
Commercial Measures, &c.
Avoirdupois.
Bengal Factory.
Madras.
Bombay.
lbs. OR. dr.
Mds. S. Ch.
Mds. Vis. Pol.
Mds. S. Pice.
Achees Bahar of 200 catties
423 6 13
5 2S 13
16 7 19
15 4 27
guncha of 10 nelly
220 0 0
2 37 13.7
8 6 16
7 34 8-6
Anjengo candy of 20 maunds
580 0 0
7 20 0
23 3 8
20 0 0
Batavia pecul of 100 catties
135 10 0
1 32 10
5 3 16
4 33 22-4
Beacoolen bahar
560 0 0
7 20 0
22 3 8
20 0 0
Bengil factory maund
74 10 10-7
1
0
0
2
7
357
2 26 20
bazaar maund
82 2 2.1
I
4
0
3
2
11.3
2 37 10
Bombay candy of 20 maunds
560 0 0
7 20 0
22
3
8
20 0 0
Bumorah maund of 76 vakias
90 4 0
1
8
5-6
3 4 35-2
3
8
27.9
of
24
ditto
28 8 0
0 15 43
1
1
4.8
1
0
21-4
Calicut maund of 100 pools
30 0 0
0
16
1.1
1
1
24
1
2
25.7
China pecul of 100 catties
133 5 5-3
1
31
6
5 2 26
4
30
14-3
Cochin candy of 20 maunds
543 8 0
7
11
2-6
81
5
36-8
19 16 12.9
Gombroos bazaar candy
7 8 0
0
4
0
0
2
16
0
10
21-4
Gon candy of 20 maunds
495 0 0
6 25 2-9
19
6
16
17
27
4-3
Jonkceylon bahar of 8 capins
485 5 5.3
6
20
0
19 3 18
17 13 10
Madras candy of 20 maunds
500 0 0
6 28 0
20 0 0
17
34
8-6
Malacca babar of 3 peculs
405 0 0
5
16
15
16 1 24
14 18
17.1
Mocha behar of 15 frazils
450 0 0
6
0
I
18 0 0
16 2 25-7
Muscat Custom-house maund
8 12 0
0
4
11
0
2
32
0 12
15
M anre candy of 7 morahs
560 0 0
7
20
0
22 3 8
20 0
0
Pegu candy of 150 vis
500 0 0
6 28 0
20
0
0
17
34
86
Penang pecul of 100 catties
133 5 5.3
1
31
6
5
2
26
4
30
14.3
Sera: maund of 40 seers
37 6 5.3
0 20 0
1
3
379
1
13
10
Pucca maund
74 10 10-7
1
0
0
2
7
35-7
8 26 20
Tellicberry candy of 20 maunds
600 0 0
8
0
2
24
0
0
21 17 43
Banks, Banking.-The paper currency of Calcutta is supplied by the following banks:-
Bank of Bengal.-This is the only bank in Calcutta that has a charter. hs capital is 50 lacs, divided
into 500 shares of 10,000 sicca rupees each, of which the East India Company hold 100 shares. The
shares are now at a premium of 5,000 to 6,000 rupees. It is managed by nine directors; three ap-
pointed by government, and six elected by the proprietors time of service, for the latter, three years.
The secretary to government in the financial department, the accountant-general, and the sub-trea-
surer, are the ex officio government directors. The bank secretary and treasurer is also a civil ser-
vant. This bank possesses peculiar advantages, but has not been 80 useful to the public as it might
have been. Its notes are received at all the public offices, in payment of revenue, by the collectors
in all the districts below Benares; and, consequently, its circulation. averaging 80 to 100 lacs, extends
over a very large and the wealthiest portion of our Indian territory. The government being such consi-
derable shareholders, too, it is generally supposed by the natives that the Bengal Bank is part and par-
cel thereof; and it enjoys, therefore, the same credit. But other circumstances have operated against
the usefulness which, with the advantages alluded to, it might have been supposed would have cer-
tainly attended it.
1. The government required a deposit in their treasury of 20 lacs of rupees in Company's paper, as
security for the notes received at the public offices and the district treasuries. To this extent, there-
fore, their means applicable to commercial purposes, or rather to the assistance of the commer-
cial community, were crippled.
2. By their charter, they were required to issue their notes in the proportion of one third of specie
to two thirds of paper,-in other words, for every 90 rupees of notes issued, they kept 30 rupees of
cash in their strong box.
3. Their rules for granting accommodation on personal credit were so severe, that the public rather
avoided applications to them, if they could obtain discounts elsewhere and, consequently, the busi-
ness of the Bengal Bank was almost entirely confined to the granting of loans on the security of the
Company's paper. In 1826, 1827, and 1828, when the Burinese war, and the financial arrangements
of the government, occasioned a great demand for money, the amount of discounts of mercantile
paper in Calcutta did not exceed 10 or 12 lacs or rupees, whilst loans secured by Company's paper rose
to 60 and 70 lacs.
The inconvenience of this system having been felt, the government of Calcutta has recommended
an alteration and we understand the capital is to be increased to 75 lacs; the proportion of a third
specie to be reduced to a fourth the deposit of 20 lacs of Company's paper at the treasury to be done
away; and greater facilities to be afforded to the mercantile community in obtaining accommodation.
As soon as this alteration is carried into effect, there will unquestionably be a great improvement
in the money market in Calcutta.
The Union Bank.-This establishment was founded in 1829. It is the only private bank at present
(1834) existing in Bengal; for the Bank of Hindostan, the Commercial Bank, and the Calcutta Bank,
noticed in the former edition of this work, have all, though solvent. been discontinued. The capital
of the Union Bank is 50 lacs of rupees, consisting of 1,000 shares of 5,000 each, held by all classes of
the community. Its notes circulate only in Calcutta and its immediate neighbourhood no private
notes being received at the collectors' treasuries in the provinces. The main object of this esta-
blishment was to fill up the space in the money market, occasioned by the restrictions imposed on the
Bank of Bengal by its charter; but it has not yet been able to effect its intentions to their full extent,
from its notes not being generally circulated and it is possible that the proposed alterations in the
Bengal Bank may, in some measure, limit its operations. There is no doubt, however, but that it will
be a favourite establishment; and should it obtain a charter, it will probably get most of the banking
business of Calcutta; its rules being well adapted for facilitating commercial transactions, and sus-
taining commercial credit and confidence.
The rates of discount vary, from time to time, with the state of the money market. The last rates
quoted were, at the Union Bank, 6 per cent. per annum on notes at 3 months, 5 ditto, at 2 ditto; 4
VOL. I.-Z
34
Digitized by Google
266
CALCUTTA.
ditto, at 1 ditto: the Bank of Bengal, discount on private bills at 3 months, 6 per cent. per annum $
ditto government bills*, ditto, 4 ditto; interest on loans, on deposit, ditto, 5 ditto.
Indian Funds.-The public debt contracted by the Indian government, on the security of the terri-
tory, is under the management of the treasury department at Calcutta. This debt is of two descrip-
tions; that bearing no interest, and that which bears interest. The last is again divided into three
parts; viz. monies deposited by public bodies for specific purposes; treasury notes, of the same cha-
racter as our Exchequer bills; and the actual funded or registered debt. The latter, on the 30th of
April, 1830, was as follows; for Bengal.
Statement of the Amount standing on the general Registers of the Presidency of Bengal, in the Name
of Europeans and Natives.
Debt.
Europeans.
Natives.
Total.
Sicca rupees.
Sicca rupees.
Sicca rupees.
6 per cent. loan of 1822
-
-
-
703,43,500
43,68,700
747,12,200
5
-
-
1823
-
-
-
709,87,800
206,39,700
916,27,500
5
-
-
1825-26
-
-
-
532,74,800
408,79,500
941,54,300
5
-
-
1829-30
-
-
-
19,51,700
7,01,300
26,53,000
4
-
-
1824-25
-
-
-
3,13,000
5,86,200
8,99,200
4
-
-
1828-29
-
-
-
6,63,600
5,84,100
12,47,700
Sicca rupees
1,975,34,400
677,59,500
2,652,93,900
The 6 per cent. loan of 1822 is irredeemable until the expiration of the Company's present charter,
and then 15 months' notice to be given previously to discharge: the interest on this loan is payable
either half-yearly in India, or, if the proprietor be resident in Europe, he has the option, as a matter
of right, of demanding a bill upon the court of directors for the interest, payable at 12 months' date,
at 2s. Id. the sicca rupee. The 5 per cent. loan of 1823 was not payable, in any part, until after the
31st of March, 1825, and then only 11 crore in any one year, after 60 days' notice; the interest is pay-
able upon the same termsas that on the 6 per cent. loan, with this important difference, that the pri-
vilege which the residents in Europe possess of receiving interest in England belongs as of right to the
holders of the 6 per cent. loan, and is only enjoyed by the holders of this loan during the pleasure of
the home authorities. Of the 5 per cent. loan of 1825, no part was dischargeable till after the 30th of
April, 1832, and then previous notice of 3 months to be given; the interest upon this loan is payable
to all the holders, whether resident in Europe or not, either in cash in India, or by bills upon England,
at 2s. the rupee. In this case, also, the option of remittance to England may be withdrawn by the
home authorities at pleasure. Of the two4 per cent. loans, no part of the first was dischargeable till
after the 30th of April, 1830, nor of the second till the 30th of April, 1832; and, in both cases, previous
notice of 3 months to be given. From the favourable conditions of the 6 per cent. loan, it has, of late
years, borne a premium of from 30 to 40 per cent. The 5 per cent. loans have generally borne a pre-
mium of about 5 per cent.; and even the 4 per cent. securities have been at little more than a nominal
discount. We have been thus particular in describing the nature of the Indian national funds, because
in a country where Europeans have been hitherto precluded from holding property in land beyond the
narrow boundaries of the principal cities, and where the principal holders reside in Europe, they have
been justly considered as a very desirable security.
Pilotage-The navigation of the river Hooghly from the Sand
which extends from April to October inclusive; 12 branch pilots, 24
Heads to Calcutta, a distance of about 130 miles, is naturally dan-
masters, 24 first mates, 24 second mates, and between 70 and SO TO-
gerous and intricate; but rendered comparatively safe by a skilful
lunteers. Each branch pilot has a salary of 701. a month each
and excellent, though very costly, pilot establishment. This consists
master 27L first mates 152.; and second mates and volunteers &
of twelve vessels, being brigs of between 150 and 200 tons burthen,
each. The following table exhibits the rates of pilotage:
capable of maintaining their stations in the most boisterous season,
Table of Rates of full and broken Pilotage, chargeable to Ships and Vessels inward and outward of
the River Hooghly.
Additional
Draught of
Full Pilotage
Water.
inward.
Pilotage
Inward Proportion.
Outward Proportion.
outward.
Feet.
L.
L.
From Sea.
From Calcutta.
9 to 10
10
To Saugor
4 12ths
To Moyapore or Fulta
2 12ths
10
11
12
1
To Kedgeree
6 12ths
To Fulta harbour
3 12:bs
11
12
14
To Culpee
8 12ths
To Culpee
4 12ths
12
13
16
To Culpee harbour
9 12ths
To Kedgeree
6 12ths
13
14
18
To Fulta, or Moyapore
10 12ths
To Saugor
8 12ths
14
15
21
2
To Calcutta, full pilotage
To Sea, full pilotage.
15
16
25
16
17
30
17
18
35
4
18
19
40
19
20
45
20
21
50
21
22
55
6
22
23
60
Note-All foreign vessels pay the same pilotage as those under
Detention money, at the rate of 4s. per diem, from British and
British colours. By broken pilotage is meant the proportion of full
foreign vessels, is charged by persons of the pilot service kept on
pilotage between the different stages or places of anchorage. All
board ships at anchor by desire of the commander or owner.
ships, the property of foreigners, as well Asiatic as European, are
In the river before Calcutta, and in other parts, there are chain
subject to the charge termed lead money ;" it being indispensibly
moorings, of which the charges are as follow:
necessary that the pilot should have with him a leadsman in whom
he can confide.
Burthen of Ships.
April to October, 7 months.
November to March, 6 mouths.
L. 8. d.
L. a. d.
1
500 tons and upwards
Per diem
0 16 0
Per diem
0 12 0
Under 500 tons
Ditto
0 14 0
Ditto
. 0 10 0
Hire of the chain moorings at Diamond Harbour, IL per diem.
blished rate per diem for every day exceeding 10. The charge for
The lowest charge to a ship requiring the accommodation of the
transporting a ship from her moorings into any of the docks at Kid-
chain moorings at either of the places above mentioned, is for 10
derpore, Howrah. or Sulkea, or from any of the docks to her most-
days; and using them longer, a further charge is made at the esta-
ings, is fixed at 50 rupees; and no higher charge for such service is
This partiality to the government bills is objected to. The Union Bank makes no distinction.
Digitized by Google
CALCUTTA.
267
authorised. Besides pilotage, every ship is chargeable with the hire
is with the first only. The export and import duties and drawbacks
of a row-boat to accompany her via. for a boat of the first class, 24a;
are regulated by an ordinance of the year 1825, and are the same for
of the second class, 18a; and of the third class, 14a. Of late years a
every port under the government of Bengal ; or, as it is technically
light-house bas been erected at Kodgeree, for which the charge on
called, the Presidency of Fort William. The tariff is regulated by
British or American fings is at the rate of 3d. per ton per annum.
three schedules, stating respectively the rates of duty chargeable on
Ships proceeding to Calcutta must land their suppowder at the pow-
goods imported by sea, the drawbacks allowed on re-exports, and the
der magazine at Moyapore the charge is at the rate of I 1-2d. per
rates of duty chargeable and drawbacks allowed on exported articles
tom for each voyage. The whole pilot establishment and the care of
being the produce and manufacture of the country. The duty on
the navigation of the Hooghly is under the management of govern-
goods and merchandise imported by sea is imposed ad valorem, or
ment, and is directed by a mariae board, with a master attendant
according to their market value at the time of importation, except
and harbour master.
when otherwise specially provided. The value of all such goods
There are several dry docks at Calcutta, in which vessels of any
and merchandise must be stated OR the face of the application to
size may be built or repaired. Ships built at Calcutta, are of infe-
clear the same from the Custom-house presented by the importer,
nor durability to those constructed at Bombay, in consequence of the
consignee, or proprietor of such goods, or his known agent or factor,
framework being always of the inferior woods of the country and
be must subjoin to such application a declaration of the truth of
the planks, sheathing, upper works, and decks, alone, of teak; which
the same, according to a prescribed form.
last is furnished almost entirely from Pegu.
The following table contains the import duties on goods produced
In 1824, the number of registered ships belonging to the port of
or manufactured in the United Kingdom, foreign Europe, or the
Calcutta was 120, of the burthen of 44,366 tons being at an average
United States. No duty is charged on any article the produce or
of about 370 tons for each. The largest class of vessels carry nearly
manufacture of the country, if exported in a British vessel, and very
800 tons but ships drawing so much water are unfit for the naviga-
rarely when exported in a foreign vessel. The inland duties vary
tion of the Hooghly. Not being able to load at Calcutta, they are
from 10 to 2 12 per cant., a drawback of two thirds of which is usu-
obliged to receive part of their cargo at Diamond Harbour, about 34
ally allowed when the articles on which they are charged are ex-
miles farther down the river. The most convenient sized ship for
ported in British vessels, and of one third when they are exported in
trade between Calcutta, and Europe, and America, is from 300 to
foreign veasels. The drawbacks allowed on re-exports of foreign ar-
400 tons.
ticles imported in British vessels vary from half to two thirds and
Duties, &c.-At Calcutta there are two distinct Custom-bouses
three fourths of the import duty; on re-exports in a foreign vessel,
the one for the sea, and the other for the inland duties. Our business
they are commonly from half to two thirds and seven eighths.
Rates of Duty chargeable on Goods, the Produce or Manufacture of the United Kingdom, Foreign
Europe, and the United States, imported by Sea into Calcutta, or any Port or Place belonging to the
Presidency of Fort William.
Enumeration of Goods.
Imported on a
Imported on a
Foreign Bottom.
Enumeration of Goods.
Imported on a
Imported on a
British Bottom.
British Bottom.
Foreign Bottom.
23. Canvas, excepting can-)
let. Goods, the Produce or Manufacture of the United Kingdom.
vas made of sunn or
1. Bullion and coin
Free
Free.
hemp, or other mate-
2 Horses
Free
Free.
rial, the growth or ma-
3. Marine stores
Free
2 1-4 per cent.
nufacture of places sub-
4. Metals, wrought and
ject to the government
5
ditto
10 ditto.
Free
2 1-2 ditto.
anwrought
of the East India Com-
84 rs. a seer of
48 TE. a seer of
pany, which is ex.
5. Opium
80 SL. wt.
80 sa. wt.
empted from charge
6. Precious stones and pearls
Free
Free.
of duty on importation
3 rs. a md. of
6 re. a maund of
by sea
7. Salt
82 m. wt.
82 m. wt. per
24 Cardamums
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
per seer
seer.
25. Carriages and convey.
7 1-8 ditto
8. Spirituous liquors
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
ances
16 ditto.
4 asses a md.
8 annas a md. of
26. Cassia
10 ditto
90 ditto.
9. Tobacco
of 80 $3. wt.
80 m. wt. per
27. Chanks
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
per seer
scer.
28. Cherayta
10 ditto
20 ditto.
10. Wines
10 per coat.
20 per cent.
29. China goods, or goods
IL Weellens
Free
2 1-2 dista.
from China, not other-
All articles not included
wise enumorated in
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
in the above eleven
2 1-2 per cent.
5 ditto.
this table
items
30. Cloves
10 ditto
20 ditta
31. Cochineal, or crimdanah
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
Sd. Goods the Produce of Foreign Europe, or of the United States
32. Coffee
71-2 ditto
15 ditto.
of America.
33. Coir, the produce of
L Arrack at a fixed value.
places not subject to
the government of the
5
ditto
10 ditto.
tion of 30L per cask
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
East India Company
of 196 gallons
in India
2. Ballion and coin
Free
Free.
34. Coin and bullion
Free
Free.
3. Horses
Free
Free.
35. Columbo root
24 rs. a seer of
48 rs. a seer of
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
4. Opium
36. Cooscom fool, or saf-
80 m. wt.
80 sa. wt.
flower
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
5. Precious stones and pearls
Free
Free.
37. Copal, or kahroba
10 ditto
20 ditto.
3 rs. a md. of
6 rs. a maund of
82 sa. wt.
38. Copper, wrought and
6. Salt
82 sa. wt. per
10 ditto
90 ditto.
unwrought
per seer
seer.
39. Coral
10 ditto
20 ditto.
7. Spirits
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
40. Cordage, excepting
4 annas a md.
8 annas a md. of
cordage made of supn,
a. Tobacco
of 80 83. wt.
80 sa. wt. per
hemp, or other mate-
per seer
seer.
rial, the produce of
9. Wines
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
All articles not included
places subject to the
5
ditto
10 ditto.
5 ditto.
in the above nine items
10 ditto.
government of the East
India Company, which
2d. Goods, the Produce or Manufacture of Places other than the
shall be exempt from
United Kingdom, Foreign Europe, or the United States of
the charge of duty on
America.
importation by sea
41. Crimdanah, or cochineal
71-2 ditto
15 ditto.
1. Allspice
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
42. Dhye flower
7 1.2 ditto
15 ditto.
2 Aloe wood
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
43. Elephants' teeth
7 1-8 ditto
16 ditto.
3. Altah
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
44. Embroidered goods and
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
4. Alom
10 ditto
20 ditto.
brocades
5. Ambergris
7 1.2 ditto
15 ditto.
45. Frankincense, or gun-
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
6. Arrack, Batavia
55 m. rs. per
110 sa. rs. per
diberosa
leager
leager.
46. Galbanum
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
7. Arrack. from foreign
30 sa. rs. per
60 sa. ra. per
47. Galingall
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
teritories in Asia
leager
leager.
48. Ghee (custome)
5
ditto
10 ditto.
5. Areenic, white, red, or
Ditto (town duty)
10 ditto
20 ditto.
yellow
to per cent.
20 per cent.
49. Gin, from foreign terri-
9. Asaketida
10 ditto
30 ditto
60 ditto.
20 ditto.
ritories in Asia
10. Awl root, or morinda
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
50. Goopee muttee, or yel.
11. Beads, malas, or romries
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
low ochre
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
12. Betel out (customs)
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
51. Goomootoo, suns, and
5 ditto
10 ditto.
Free
Free.
Ditto (lown duty)
hemp
13. Benjamin, or loban
7 14 ditto
15 ditto.
62. Gum Arabic
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
14. Brandy, from foreign
30 ditto
60 ditto.
58. Gundibernza, or frank
territories in Asia
15. Bram, wrought and un-
inn
90 ditto.
-
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
incense
10 ditto
54. Hemp, sunn, or goo-
Free
Free.
wrought
mootoo
16. Brimetone
10 ditto
20 ditto.
55. Hurrah, or myrobalan
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
17. Brocades, and embroi-
dered goods
}
7 1-2 ditto
16 ditto.
56. Horses
Free
Free.
67. Hurshinghar flower
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
13. Bubera, or myrobalan
10 ditto
20 ditto.
58. Hurtaul, or orpiment,
19. Bockum, or sapan wood
7 1-8 ditto
15 ditto.
or yellow arsenic
20. Bullion and coin
Free
Free.
59. Iron, wrought or -
inn
10 ditto
20 ditto.
10 ditto
90 ditto.
21. Calizorah, or Nigellah
7 1-8 per cont.
16 per cent.
wrought
22. Camphire
10 date
90 ditto.
60. Ivory
I-8 ditto
15 ditto,
Digitized by Google
268
CALCUTTA.
Rates of duties-continued.
Enumeration of Goods.
Imported on a
Imported on a
Enumeration of Goods.
Imported on a
Imported on a
British Bottom.
Foreign Bottom.
British Bottom.
Foreign Bottom.
61. Juttamunsee, or spike-
10 ditto
nard
20 ditto.
97. Rum, from foreign ter-
}
30 ditto
ritories in Asia
60 ditto.
62. Kullinium
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
93. Saffron
10 ditto
20 ditto.
63. Lead, pig, sheet, milled,
10 ditto
20 ditto.
99. Safflower, or coonoom
7 1-2 ditto
and small shot
fool
15 ditto.
64. Loadh
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
100. Sago
7 1.2 ditto
15 ditto.
65. Loban, or benjamin
7 1-2 ditto
16
ditto.
3 rs. per md.
6 PL per md. of
66. Mace
10 ditto
20
ditto.
101. Salt, foreign
of 82 sa. wt.
82 sa. wt. per
67. Madder, or munjeet
7 1-8 ditto
15
ditto.
per seer
seer.
68. Mahogany, and all other
102. Sandal wood, red,
sorts of wood used in
7 1-8 ditto
15 ditto,
white, or yellow
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
cabinet-work
103. Sapan, or buckum wood
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditta.
69. Mastick
10 ditto
20
ditto.
104. Senna
10 ditto
20 ditto.
70. Minium, or red lead
10 ditto
20
ditto.
105. Soonamookey leaf
10 ditto
20 ditto.
71. Morinda, or awl root
7 1-2 ditto
15
ditto.
106. Spikenard, or jutta.
10 ditto
20 ditto.
72. Munjeet, or madder
7 1-2 ditto
16
ditto.
munsee
73. Musk
7 1-2 ditto
15
ditto.
107. Spirituous liquors, not
74. Myrobalans, viz buhe-
otherwise described
10 ditto
20 ditto.
10 ditto
ra, hurrah, and ownls
20 ditta.
in this table
75. Myrrh
10 ditto
20
ditto.
109. Steel, wrought or un-
10 ditto
20 ditta.
76. Nutmers
10 ditto
20
ditto.
wrought
77. Oils, vegetable or ani-
109. Storax
10 ditto
20 ditto.
7 1-2 ditto
mal (customs)
15 ditto.
110. Stones (precious) and
Free
Free.
Ditto, ditto (town duty)
5 ditto
10 ditto.
pearls
78. Oil seeds (customs)
7 18 ditto
15 ditto.
111. Sugar, wet or dry, in-
Ditto (town duty)
5
ditto
10 ditto.
cluding jaggery and
5 per cent.
10 per cent.
79. Oils, perfumed or
molasses (customs)
sential. or otter and
7 I-2 ditto
15 ditto.
Ditto, ditto (town duty)
5 ditto
10 ditto.
fooleyl teyl
112. Sulphur, or brimstone
10 ditto
20 ditto.
24 rs. per seer
48 n. per seer
113. Sunn, hemp, and goo-
Free
Free.
80. Opium, foreign
of 80 Cal.
of 80 Cal.
mootoo
sa. wt.
sa. wt.
114. Tape
71-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
81. Orpiment, or yellow
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
115. Taizepaut, or mala
10 ditto
20 ditto.
arsenic, or hurtaul
bathrum leaf
82. Otter, or emential oils
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
116. Tea
10 ditto
20 ditto.
83. Ownla, or myrobalan
10 ditto
20 ditto.
117. Teak timber
Free
Free.
84. Pepper, black and white
10
ditto
20 ditto.
118. Thread
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cest.
85. Piece goods, cotton,
119. Tin and tin ware
10 ditto
20 ditta
silk, and partly cot-
4 as. per md of
8 26. per md. of
ton and partly silk,
180. Tobacco (customs)
80 Wt. per
80 sa. WL per
the manufacture of
2 1-2 ditto
5 ditto.
seer
seer.
the Honourable Com-
Ditto (town duty)
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
pany's territories in
121. Toond flower
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
India
122. Tugger wood
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
86. Ditto, ditto, ditta. when
123. Turmeric (customs)
5 ditto
10
ditto.
not the manufacture
Ditto (town duty)
5 ditto
10
ditto.
of the Honourable
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
124. Tutenague
10 ditto
20
ditto.
Company's territories
125. Ugger, or aloe wood
7 1-2 ditto
15
ditto.
in India
126. Vermilion
10 ditto
20
ditta.
87. Piments, or allspice
10 ditto
20 ditto.
127. Verdigris
10 ditto
20
ditto.
88. Pipe staves
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
128. Wax and wax candles
10 ditto
20
ditto.
89. Precious stones and
Free
Free.
129. Wines and spirits, not
pearls
otherwise provided
10 ditto
20 ditto.
90. Prussian blue
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
for
91. Putcha paut
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
130. Wood of all sorts used
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
92. Quicksilver
10 ditto
20 ditto.
in cabinet-work
93. Rattans
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
131. Yellow ochre, or goo-
10 ditto
20 ditto.
94. Red sandal wood
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditta.
pee mutee
95. Red lead, or minium
10 ditto
20 ditto.
132. Articles and anumer-
5 ditto
10 ditto.
96. Rose-water
7 1-2 ditto
15 ditto.
ated above
Trade of Calcutta-Exports-During the last 20 years the trade of Calcutta has experienced some
very striking vicissitudes. Previously to the opening of the trade in 1814-15, cotton piece goods
formed the principal article of export from India: the value of those exported from Calcutta, at an
average of the 5 years from 1814-15 to 1818-19, being (at 2s. per sicca rupee) 1,260,7361. a year. The
extreme cheapness of labour in India, and the excellence to which the natives had long attained in
several departments of the manufacture, would, it might have been supposed, have sufficed to place
this important department beyond the reach of foreign competition. But the wonderful genius of our
mechanists, the admirable skill of our workmen, and our immense capital, have far more than coun-
tervailed the apparently insuperable drawback of high wages, and the expense of bringing the raw
material of the manufacture from America, and even India itself; and have enabled our manufac-
turers to bear down all opposition, and to triumph over the cheaper labour, contiguous material, and
traditional art of the Hindoos. The imports of British cottons and twist into India have increased
since 1814-15, with a rapidity unexampled in the annals of commerce; and the native manufacture
has sustained a shock from which it is not very likely it will ever recover.-(See EAST INDIES.) The
influence of these circumstances on the trade in piece goods has been very striking. During the year
1833-34, the value of those exported from Bengal was no more than 77,1751., being only about one
sixteenth or one seventeenth part of what it amounted to 16 or 18 years previously!
An extraordinary change has also taken place in the trade in bullion at Calcutta. At no distant pe-
riod it was one of the principal articles of export from Europe to India; and in 1818-19, there were
imported into Calcutta from England only 1,216,1151. of gold and silver! But the current began soon
after to change; and now sets 80 strongly in the opposite direction, that in 1832-33 the exports of the
precious metals from Calcutta for England amounted to 516,4191.
The export of bullion from England to India at the former period, though influenced by other causes.
was mainly occasioned by the difficulty under which we were then placed, of providing articles of
merchandise suitable for the Indian markets, sufficient to balance our imports. The astonishing in-
crease of our exports of cotton goods, besides completely obvlating this difficulty, has actually, as we
have just seen, produced an importation of large quantities of bullion from India. But it should be
observed, that India derives most part of the bullion sent to Europe from China and Singapore, in
payment of opium and other articles, 80 that the drain upon her is by no means 80 heavy as has been
represented ; and it may well be doubted, notwithstanding the numerous allegations to the contrary,
bether it has had any injurious influence. Undoubtedly, however, it were much to be wished that
the returns made by India to Europe in articles of native produce and manufacture, should be materi-
ally increased. The taste for British produce is already widely diffused over most parts of Hindostan;
and it will, no doubt, continue to gain ground according as the natives become better acquainted with
Digitized by Google
CALCUTTA.
269
our language, arts, and habits. The difficulty of procuring return cargoes is now, in fact, almost the
only obstacle to the rapid and indefinite extension of the trade with India. And it may be reasonably
presumed, that this difficulty will progressively diminish, by the adoption of a course of policy and of
measures calculated to develope the vast resources and dormant energies of the country. The repeal
of the injudicious restrictions that formerly hindered Europeans from acquiring land, and from apply-
ing their capital and skill to most sorts of industry, carried on in the interior, with the exception of
the culture of indigo, will doubtless be of considerable advantage. But the exorbitant amount of the
land revenue, and the restrictions and duties imposed on the transit trade and internal commerce of
the country, are unquestionably the principal causes of the depressed state of agriculture, as well as
of the poverty of the inhabitants, and their inability to furnish equivalents for foreign products. The
former should, if possible, be materially reduced and it is not easy tosee why the latter should not
be wholly abolished. The soil and climate of Bengal are both admirably suited for the production of
grain, indigo, sugar, opium, silk, cotton, saltpetre, and a vast variety of other desirable articles: the
inhabitants are not deficient in industry, nor in a desire to improve their condition; and there wants
only the adoption of a sound and liberal system, to render the country prosperous and flourishing, and
to lay the foundations of an immense commerce.
At present the principal articles of export from Calcutta are, opium, indigo, rice, and other species
of grain, silk and silk goods, sugar, saltpetre, cotton and cotton piece goods, lac-dye and shell lac,
gunnies and gunny bags, &c. We subjoin a statement of the
Quantity and Value (taking the Sicca Rupee at 2s.) of the principal Articles of native Produce, ex-
ported from Calcutta during the Years 1832-33, and 1833-34.
1832-33.
1833-34.
Articles.
Quantity.
Value.
Quantity.
Value.
Opium
-
-
-
-
chests
9,408
£ 1,177,559
12,006
£ 1,240,382
Indigo
-
-
-
- Fy. mds.
131,016
1,310,160
90,217
902,175
Rice -
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
1,630,146
240,532
2,667,465
461,455
Raw silk
-
-
-
-
-
12,4404
343,121
13,550}
376,919
Silk piece goods
-
-
-
pieces
450,973
240,061
479,578
247,951
Sugar
-
-
-
- Bz. mds.
229,347
182,400
290,363±
230,822
Saltpetre
-
-
-
-
-
354,8534
190,813
490,554
254,801
Raw Cotton -
-
-
-
-
126,943
127,038
143,555
143,250
Cotton piece goods
-
-
-
pieces
478,189
82,289
477,571
77,174
Lac dye
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
5,0821
10,956
9,590
22,416
Shell lac
-
-
-
-
-
19,063}
35,114
26,056}
60,412
Stick lac
-
-
-
-
-
1,272
1,249
104
199
Gunnies and gunny bags
-
-
No.
3,528,628
24,577
2,615,975
19,567
Skins and hides
-
-
-
-
1,013,348
57,238
1,251,577
66,004
Safflower
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
6,9731
17,339
7,6304
18,763
Ginger
-
-
-
-
-
21,488
7,053
39,877
13,524
It appears from the following table that the total value of the merchandise exported from Calcutta
by private traders in 1833-34 was 4,045,7201, and of treasure, 242,5731. The value of the Company's
exports of merchandise during the same year was 552,2521. ; but their exports of treasure have not
been stated. In these statements indigo and raw silk are valued at the Custom-house rates, which
are considerably below their real value. Altogether, the exports from Calcutta in 1833-34 cannot
have been much under 5,500,0001.
Destination of Exports.-From 40 to 50 per cent. of the exports from Calcutta are for the United
Kingdom, from 20 to 25 for China, 6 or 7 for Singapore and Penang, 7 for France, 41 for North and
South America, the residue being for the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, Pegu, the Arabian and
Persian Gulfs, the Mauritius, &c. We subjoin a
Statement exhibiting the Value of the Merchandise, and the Value of the Treasure, exported from
Calcutta on private Account, in 1832-33 and 1833-34, specifying the Shipments for each Country.
1832-34.
1833-34.
Countries.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sieca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Great Britain
-
-
1,27,15,094
51,64,189
1,78,79,283
1,18,88,475
19,68,257
1,38,56,732
France
-
-
-
29,97,422
500
29,97,922
35,54,237
-
35,54,237
Sweden
-
-
-
-
-
-
90,064
-
90,064
Portugal
-
-
1,60,814
-
1,60,814
I
-
-
-
North America
-
-
20,16,903
5,500
20,22,403
28,46,361
-
28,46,361
Coast of Coromandel
-
13,29,198
12,000
13,41,198
28,22,372
200
28,22,572
Ceylon
-
-
-
29,645
-
29,645
38,588
30,000
68,588
Maldives and Laccadives
50,610
-
50,610
53,241
-
53,241
Coast of Malabar -
-
17,84,330
-
17,84,330
22,92,998
-
22,92,998
Arabian and Persian Gulfs
9,77,629
-
9,77,629
9,68,577
I
9,68,577
Singapore
-
-
-
24,22,202
33,100
24,55,302
20,99,168
2,025
21,01,193
Penang and Malacca
-
5,13,151
-
5,13,151
2,39,237
3,36,237
China
-
-
97,63,511
32,000
97,95,511
1,09,08,120
37,427
1,09,45,547
New Holland
-
10,684
-
-
10,684
87,031
6,975
94,006
Sumatra and Java
-
29,460
-
29,460
98,189
-
98,189
Pegu
-
-
-
8,44,982
-
8,44,982
9,67,574
4,655
9,72,229
Mauritius
-
-
-
7,51,121
6,49,7781
14,00,899
12,07,598
3,76,188
15,83,786
Bourbon
-
-
-
1,13,331
-
1,13,331
2,17,371
-
2,17,371
Cape and St. Helena
-
58,816
-
58,816
78,003
-
78,003
Total sicca rupees
-
-
3,65,68,903
58,97,0671
4,24,65,970$
4,04,57,204
24,25,727
4,28,82,931
or at 2s. per sicca rupee
£
3,656,890
589,707
4,246,597
4,045,720
242,573
4,288,293
Sicca Rupees.
Total amount, merchandise and treasure, exported in 1833-34
-
4,28,82,931
Total amount, merchandise and treasure, exported in 1832-33
-
4,24,65,9704
Difference in favour of 1833-34
-
-
-
4,16,9604
z 2
Digitized by Google
270
CALCUTTA.
The Company's exports, in 1832-33, were, merchandise and treasure together, 1,00,14,430 sicea ru-
pees, or 1,001,4431.
Remarks on Exports.-The reader will elsewhere find (see articles CANTON and OPIUM) pretty
ample information in relation to the trade in Opium. It is sufficient here to state, that it is
rapidly growing in magnitude and importance. At an average of the 5 years ending with 1828-29, the
exports from Calcutta were 6,369 chests, worth 944,0711. a year; but at an average of the 5 years end-
ing with 1833-34, the exports had increased to 9,014 chests, worth 1,163,8091. a year, being an annual
increase of 2,6451 chests, and of 219,7381. of value. China is not the principal merely, but almost the
only market for opium; so that the trade between Calcutta and her, is now second only to that
between the former and England. Some opium is shipped for Singapore, but China is its ultimate
destination.-(Bell's Review for 1833-34, p. 45.)
Previously to the close of the American war, the exports of indigo from Calcutta were compara-
tively trifling. But about that period Europeans began to engage in the business and the culture of
the plant has since been 80 much extended, and the preparation of the drug so much improved, that it
has now become an article of primary commercial importance-(See INDIGO.) Next to Great Britain,
France is the principal market for indigo.
The crop of indigo in Bengal, which had, at an average of the 4 years ending with 1832-33, amount-
ed to about 126,000 maunds a year, fell off in 1833-34 to 93,802 maunds. This great decline was occa-
sioned partly by the unfavourableness of the season, but more by the diminished cultivation occasioned
by the previous low prices, and the failure of some of the principal parties engaged in the trade-
(See post.) But notwithstanding this decrease of the crop, and the great reduction in the imports
into England in 1834 as compared with previous years, prices have not sustained any very material
advance. The consumption of indigo in England has fallen off considerably since 1830, the effect, as
is supposed, of the decreasing use of blue cloth. Subjoined is a statement of the
Exports of Indigo from Calcutta during the Five Years ending with 1833-34, specifying the Countries
for which it has been exported, and the Quantities sent to each.
Hamburgh,
Years.
Great Britain.
France.
N. America.
Sweden, and
Arabian and
Other Places.
Total
Portugal.
Persian Gulfs.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
Fac. Mds.
1829-30
104,724
16,451
4,737
-
6,024
319
132,235
1830-31
85,741
23,151
5,899
244
10,939
583
126,556
1831-32
85,330}
15,219
10,488
-
7,110
9031
119,051}
1832-33
93,929
26,319
6,6254
235
2,9911
9151
131,016
1833-34
51,9061
30,212
5,4811
257
12,114
1,1454
90,217
Total
421,6314
111,352
33,2314
736
28,2781
3,8664
599,0951
Fac. Mds.
Average total annual exports, 1829-30 to 1833-34
-
-
- 119,819
Average total annual exports, 1824-25 to 1828-29
-
-
-
115,846
of the various articles exported from Bengal, sugar is that of which a large increase may, perhaps,
be most reasonably anticipated. The processes followed in its culture and production have hitherto
been of the rudest description; but, now that Europeans may engage in the business, it is probable
they will be materially improved. The excess of 5a. a cwt. of duty laid on East India sugar, imported
for home consumption, over that which is laid on West India sugar, ought to be repealed. There
neither is nor can be any good reason why similar products, from different dependencies of the em-
pire, should not be allowed to come into our markets on the same footing. Should any considerable
decline take place in the production of sugar in our West India colonies, the expediency of equalising
the duties on sugars of the East and West Indies, would be as obvious as its justice.
Cotton is another article of export which might, it is believed, be very greatly increased in quantity,
and, probably also, improved in quality, by giving greater attention to its culture and preparation.
Recently, however, the trade has been declining. The exports of cotton from Calcutta, at an average
of the 3 years ending with 1833-34, did not exceed half the quantity exported during the 3 years end-
ing with 1826-27. Bombay and Surat are, however, the great shipping ports for Indian cotton.
The exports of rice from Bengal fluctuate very greatly. This is not caused so much by variations
in the crops of the country, as by variations in those of other countries; for, when a scarcity occurs
in most parts of continental Asia, or in any of its islands, recourse is almost invariably had to Bengal
to supply the deficiency and the demands thence arising have been sometimes enormous. In 1831-32,
for example, the exports of rice from Calcutta to the coast of Coromandel amounted to only 16,545
maunds, whereas in 1833-34, they amounted to 1,252,056 maunds.-(Bell's Comparative View of
1832-33, and 1833-34, p. 41.) It is worthy of remark, that while Bengal is shipping immense supplies
of rice and other grain to distant parts, a largé part of her own population is frequently in a state of
great want and suffering. Ireland is not, therefore, the only country in which the most abject po-
verty and wretchedness on the part of the inhabitants, are found combined with great fertility of soil,
and a large exportation of food.
The exports of saltpetre from Calcutta have increased materially during the last dozen years, and
were greater in 1833-34 than they have been for a lengthened period. It is doubtful, however, owing
to the competition of nitrate of soda from South America, whether this increase will be maintained.
France is now principally supplied from America.-(See SALTPETRE.)
Besides the articles of native Indian produce exported from Calcutta, she re-exports pretty consi-
derable quantities of various articles brought from other parts. The value of the British cotton goods
re-exported, amounts to about 90,000L. a year. They are principally bartered with the Burmese for
silver. The conveyance of the latter out of the Burmese dominions is strictly prohibited; but in
Burma, as in England and elsewhere, the ingenuity of the smuggler is too much for the vigilance of
the government, and the trade is carried on without much difficulty.
Imports.-The great articles of import into Calcutta are, British cotton manufactures and cotton
twist; bullion; copper with spelter, tin, lead, iron, and other metals; woollens; wines and spirits;
ale and beer; haberdashery, millinery, &c.; coffee; hardware and cutlery pepper; coral, glass, and
bottles; plate, jewellery, watches, &c. books and stationery ; tea, &c.
Digitized by
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CALCUTTA.
271
Statement exhibiting the Quantity and Value of the Principal Articles (classed in Alphabetical
Order) imported into Calcutta during the Years 1832-33, and 1833-34.
1832-33.
1833-34.
Species of Merchandise.
Quantity.
Value.
Quantity.
Value.
Betel nut
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
29,931
£5,574
12,602
£ 5,504
Bottles, empty
-
-
-
dozens
77,825
9,454
109,785
10,833
Books and pamphlets
-
-
-
-
22,700
-
16,725
Buffalo horns
-
-
-
No.
990,001
6,766
1,166,905
7,090
Camphor
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
7931
3,085
1,3931
6,428
Coffee
-
-
-
-
-
13,530
22,047
17,9544
26,020
Coals
-
-
-
-
-
64,642
2,942
140,717
44,100
Coral, real -
-
-
-
Sa. wt.
115,630
8,197
288,804
14,117
Glass
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
-
12,447
-
13,577
Guns and pistols
-
-
-
-
-
6,132
-
4,318
Haberdashery, millinery & apparel
-
31,569
-
34,565
Hardware and cutlery
lbs.
-
-
-
26,548
-
16,882
Lametta
-
-
-
-
corge
44,669
13,881
56,976
15,356
Metals:
Copper -
-
-
- Bz. mds.
84,640
292,907
89,189
285,187
Spelter -
-
-
-
-
30,7104
13,095
24,941
9,631
Tin, block
-
-
-
-
12,5451
21,283
9,476
16,973
Tin plates
-
-
-
boxes
890
1,355
2,017
3,825
Lead
-
-
-
- Bz. mds.
28,1211
14,920
12,407
5,842
Lead shot
-
-
-
bags
6,554
1,636
3,296
991
Iron
-
-
-
- Bz. mds.
155,173
41,965
135,141
43,584
Steel
-
-
-
-
-
9,049
6,841
12,757
6,987
Quicksilver
-
-
-
-
1,321
11,275
1,234±
10,088
Brass, ingot
-
-
-
-
419
1,075
1,182
2,512
Metal, sheathing
-
-
-
338
499
-
Ironmongery, machinery & anchors
-
15,893
-
20,215
Oilman's stores and grocery
Bz. mds.
-
15,103
-
-
19,071
Pepper, black
-
⑉
-
-
69,2731
56,451
31,219
28,389
Piece goods:
White cotton
-
-
-
pieces
909,135
1,036,227
yards
35,809
273,233
4,630
339,699
dozens
2,049
492
pieces
346,297
174,320
Coloured cotton
-
-
yards
8,742
153,237
8,831
89,150
dozens
163,325
36,953
Silk and mixed goods -
-
pieces
13,899
36,694
26,524
70,848
Plate, jewellery, and watches
-
-
20,800
-
12,948
Salt
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
8,438
2,468
12,496
3,659
Spices, mace and nutmegs
-
-
8551
6,813
1,100
8,787
Segars and cheroots
-
-
-
-
2,823
-
5,329
Stationery and cards
-
-
-
-
12,283
-
14,626
Spirits
-
-
-
-
30,323
-
-
30,536
Ale, beer, and porter
-
-
butts
252
322
hogsheads
8,011
42,483
7,193
26,972
dozens
2,293
2,082
Twist and yarn
-
-
-
lbs.
2,993,715
238,781
3,036,621
251,649
Tea
-
-
-
-
-
-
19,831
-
18,850
Vermillion
-
-
-
chests
552
4,430
1,941
16,555
Wines
-
-
-
-
Bz. mds.
-
81,805
-
61,391
Wood
-
-
-
-
-
-
22,609
-
14,475
Woollens
-
-
-
-
-
-
80,370
-
115,173
The total amount of all sorts of merchandise imported into Calcutta by private traders in 1833-34
was 1,956,6271., exclusive of 586,3941. of treasure. The Company's imports, during the same year,
amounted to 90,3251.
Sources of Imports.-These differ in different years, but, speaking generally, Great Britain furnishes
about 60 per cent. of the whole France, about 3 per cent.; North America, 21 ; China, from 12 to 15 ;
Singapore, from 6 to 8; coast of Coromandel, from 3 to 4; Malabar, from 3 to 4; Pegu, from 3 to 4, &c.
We subjoin a
Statement exhibiting the Value of the Merchandise, and the Value of the Treasure, imported into
Calcutta on private Account, in 1832-33 and 1833-34, specifying the Imports from each Country.
1832-33.
1833-34.
Countries.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicca Rupees.
Great Britain
1,40,26,707
-
1,40,26,707
1,39,91,801
2,900
1,39,94,701
France
7,90,283
-
7,96,283
10,04,133
3,825
10,07,958
Sweden
-
57,625
-
57,625
South America
.
.
20,831
1,24,875
1,45,706
19,004
-
19,004
North America
-
3,69,677
2,08,786 1-
5,78,463
3,03,807
3,40,424
6,44,231
Coast of Coromandel
6,58,328
1,88,862 3-4
8,47,190 3-4
7,18,013
1,81,905 1-2
8,99,918
Ceylon
6,975
-
6,975
25,991
-
25,991
Maldives and Laccadives
98,659
-
98,659
91,698
-
91,698
Coast of Malabar
7,92,430
3,000
7,95,430
7,23,750
-
7,23,750
Arabian and Persian Gulfs
3,28,050
16,400
3,44,450
4,39,462
23,900
4,63,362
Singapore
5,81,595
12,65,725 1-4
18,47,320 1-4
5.59.383
9,99,906
15.59.289
Penang and Malacea
2,65,906
1,62,175
4,28,081
2.28,337
1,51,173
3,79,510
China
9,34,228
22,12,431
31,46,659
10,18,170
37,58,524 1-2
47,76,694 1-2
New Holland
-
5,347
-
5,347
20,892
20,892
Sumatra and Java
34,441
-
34,441
28,501
24,215
52,716
Pegu
2,56,471
4,89,444
7,45,915
2,06,399
2,86,298 1-2
4,92,687 1-2
Mauritius
34,522
24,864
59,386
30,967
90,870 1-2
1,21,837 1-2
Bourbon
73,775
-
73,775
95,100
-
95,100
Cape and St. Helena
6,974
-
6,974
3,247
-
3,247
Total sicca Rupees
.
-
1,92,91,199
46,96,563 1-4
2,39.87,762 1-4
1,95,66,270
58,63,942
2,54,30,212
at 2s. per sicca rupee
L.
1,929,120
469,656
2,398,776
1,956,627
586,394
2,543,021
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272
CALCUTTA.
Sicca Rupees.
Total amount, merchandise and treasure, imported in 1833-34
-
2,54,30,212
Total amount, merchandise and treasure, imported in 1832-33
-
2,39,87,7024
Difference in favour of 1833-34
-
-
-
14,42,4494
The Company's imports in 1833-34 were
-
-
-
-
8,00,221
Account of the Value (in Sicca Rupees) of the private Trade between Great Britain and Bengal, from
the 1st of May 1813 to 30th of April 1834.-(Bell's Comparative View for 1832-33 and 1833-34, p. 55.)
Imports into Calcutta.
Exports from Calcutta.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicce Rupces.
Sicca Rupees.
Sicce Rupees.
Siece Rupees.
Sicce Rupees.
1813-14
53,76,775
32,750
54,09,525
1,19,63,405
-
1,19,63,405
1814-15
40,99,165
5,25,127
46,24,292
1,21,42,283
-
1,21,42,283
1815-16
57,52,886
11,42,596
68,95,482
1,64,44,208
-
1,64,14,208
1816-17
80,51,112
18,59,853
90,10,965
1,38,06,966
-
1,38,06,966
1817-18
1,35,62,962
61,57,981
1,97,20,943
1,69,12,905
-
1,69,12,905
1818-19
1,59,44,490
1,21,61,159
2,81,05,654
1,38,72,325
-
1,38,72,325
1819-20
66,80,873
63,07,519
1,29,88,392
1,25,64,391
-
1,25,64,391
1820-21
87,19,664
14,89,017
1,02,08,681
2,07,98,860
4,106
2,08,02,966
1821-22
1,25,68,218
1,64,758
1,42,15,676
94,10,405
13,500
94,23,903
1822-23
1,67,98,082
1,70,758
1,69,68,840
1,27,10,960
5,460
1,27,16,420
1823-24
1,37,67,035
5,24,032
1,42,91,067
1,35,64,851
2,23,767
1,37,88,618
1824-25
1,61,84,454
13,250
1,61,97,704
1,39,30,093
2,69,466
1,41,99,559
1825-26
1,24,93,958
1,26,978
1,26,50,936
1,71,31,915
48
1,71,31,963
1826-27
1,26,26,147
20,180
1,26,46,327
99,61,591
3,78,032
1,03,39,623
1827-28
1,86,43,444
73,620
1,87,17,064
1,28,83,130
7,06,979
1,35,90,109
1828-29
2,20,29,791
1,687
2,20,31,478
1,16,40,299
12,41,443
1,28,81,742
1829-30
1,61,25,841
-
1,61,25,841
1,08,40,687
12,20,257
1,20,60,944
1830-31
2,00,73,354
1,000
2,00,74,354
1,18,40,971
30,16,384
1,48,57,355
1831-32
1,73,72,762
-
1,73,72,762
1,18,10,761
37,06,397
1,55,17,158
1832-33
1,40,26,707
-
1,40,26,707
1,27,15,094
51,64,189
1,78,79,283
1833-34
1,39,91,801
2,900
1,39,94,701
1,18,88,475
19,68,257
1,38,56,732
Account of Ships and Tonnage, arrived at and departed from Calcutta, during the Years 1832-33, and
1833-34. (Fractions omitted in this Table, but allowed for in the summing up.)
Arrivals.
Departures.
1832-33.
1833-34.
1832-33.
1833-34.
British Imports.
British Exports.
Sh.
Tons.
Sh.
Tons.
Sh.
Tons.
Sh.
Tons.
Honourable Company's regular
Hon. Company's regular ships
7
9,391
S
9,918
ships
7
9,383
8
10,587
Hon. Company's chartered ships
8
4,082
6
3,418
Honourable Company's charter-
Ships cleared for England, via
ed ships
7
3,543
9
5,106
Madras, &c.
68
29,716
S7
37,268
Ships from the U. Kingdom
77
33,379
95
38,297
Ships cleared for Africa (Cape)
2
591
-
from Asiatic ports
137
39 264
158
46,050
for Asiatic ports
111
33,560
166
52,096
Dhonies
54
4,445
172
21,042
Dhonies
27
2,805
58
5,235
Vessels laden with coast salt
153
15,339
319
35,793
Ships laden with grain
169
22,386
357
46,072
in ballast
4
1,389
11
3,486
Arab and Turkish
8
3,250
10
4,444
Arab and Turkish
9
3,825
10
4,445
in ballast
48
4,569
102
9,672
Burmese
-
-
2
490
Burmese
-
-
1
400
Total
448
110,571
784
165,299
Total
448
110,550
795
168,523
Foreign Imports.
Foreign Exports.
Ships from foreign Europe
15
4,942
23
7,708
Ships cleared for foreign Eu-
from North America
15
4,484
22
7,353
rope
15
5,399
17
5,852
from Asiatic ports
8
2,894
9
3,131
Ships cleared for North America
17
5,103
18
5,932
in ballast
-
-
3
992
for Asiatic ports
12
3,905
16
4,983
Total
38
12,321
57
19,185
Total
44
14,407
51
16,767
Grand Total
486
122,892
841
184,485
Grand total
492
124,957
846
185.230
Duties.-Account of the Gross Amount of Duties collected on Mer-
Duties.-Account of the Gross Amount of Duties collected on Mer-
chandise imported at Calcutta by sea.
chandise exported from Calcutta by Sea.
1832-33.
1833-34.
1832-33.
1833-34.
L.
L
L.
L.
Under British colours (including town duty)
57,150
54,267
Under British colours
-
3,918
4,203
Foreign colours (ditto)
14,786
13,037
Foreign colours
1,308
2,176
Total
L. 71,936
67,304
Total
L. 5,226
6,384
Number and Tonnage of Vessels cleared out at Calcutta for Great Britain, Foreign Europe, and the
United States, during the Ten Years ending with 1832-33.
Years.'
Great Britain.
Foreign Europe.
United States.
Venels.
Tonnage.
Vessels.
Tonnage
Venela.
Tonnage.
1822-23
59
34,832
21
9,277
11
3,378
1823-24
66
34,122
3
1,165
3
911
1824-25
49
26,843
10
3,897
10
3,449
1825-26
65
35,446
12
4,296
17
5,021
1826-27
86
41,124
13
4,941
6
1,823
1827-28
72
35,201
18
5,855
13
3,969
1828-29
80
37,802
29
8,906
13
4,297
1829-30
64
32,816
15
5,475
13
4,068
1830-31
79
36,351
17
5,220
15
4,716
1831-32
74
34,931
7
2,648
25
7,414
1832-33
79
35,240
15
5,399
17
5,013
Digitized by
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CALCUTTA.
273
Failures at Calcutta.-Within the 3 years ending with 1833, some of the principal mercantile esta-
blishments in this city failed for immense sums. To examine minutely into the origin of these disasters
would lead us into inquiries foreign to the object of this work, and with respect to which it is diffi-
cult to acquire accurate information. We believe, however, that the main source of the evil was the
combination, by most of the principal houses, of the business of merchants with that of bankers.
Their credit being high, at the end of the war large sums were deposited in their hands, for which
they engaged to pay a high rate of interest. But instead of employing these deposits, as bankers in
England would have done, in the discount of bills at short dates, or in the purchase of government
securities readily convertible into money, they employed them, probably because they could with diffi-
culty dispose of them otherwise, in all manner of mercantile speculations,-advancing very large
sums to the indigo planters, exporting goods to Europe, either directly on their own account, or indi-
rectly by lending to those who did,-becoming owners of Indian shipping, &c. Most of those specu-
lations turned out exceedingly ill. The production of indigo was 80 much increased, partly in conse-
quence of the large capitals turned to the business, and partly of the high prices in England, that fine
blue violet," which had brought, in the London market, at an average of the 3 years ending with
1827, from 12s. 10d. to 13s. 4d. per lb., fell, at an average of the 3 years ending with 1832, to from 5s. 8d.
to 6s. 4d. per lb., and other sorts in proportion. At these prices the production would not pay and
very heavy losses were sustained, and much capital sunk, by the planters and those who had supplied
them with funds to extend their undertakings. The investments in Indian shipping turned out even
worse than those in the indigo plantations, the shipping of England having nearly driven that of India
out of the field. The embarrassment occasioned by thislocking up of their capital, and by the ruinous
nature of the adventures in which they were embarked, began to manifest itself simultaneously with
the scarcity of money occasioned by the drains on account of the Burmese war. The great mercan-
tile houses began then to find that they were entangled in difficulties from which they have been
wholly unable to extricate themselves. After struggling on, some for a longer and some for a shorter
period, most of them have since failed, the greater number for very large sums.
But, however distressing in the mean time, the embarrassment and want of confidence arising from
the failures alluded to could not be of long continuance. In the end they will, no doubt, be productive
of a better order of things. It is of the utmost consequence that the vicious combination of the busi-
ness of a merchant with that of a banker should be put an end to It is singular, indeed, that indi-
viduals should be found willing to intrust large sums in the hands of those who, they are aware, are
employing them in the most hazardous adventures. The higher the interest promised by such persons,
the greater ought to be the caution of the public in dealing with them.
Some, perhaps most, branches of the import trade of Calcutta seem also to have been completely
overdone. That of cotton twist is an instance. In 1829-30, the imports were 1,625,333 lbs.; in 1830-
31, they were 3,449,044 lbs.; and in 1831-32, 5,433,323 lbs. Such a supply was far beyond the wants
of the country; and the returns were so very inadequate. that the imports were reduced in 1832-33
to 2,993,715 lbs. In 1833-34, the imports amounted to 3,036,621 lbs., and the trade is now comparatively
steady. The imports of copper were also carried to an excess but the greatest excess was in the
article spelter, which has for some time past been almost unsaleable at Calcutta. (See SPELTER.)
For further details as to the points now touched upon, the reader is referred to the clear and able
evidence of G. G. de H. Larpent, Esq. before the Committee of the House of Commons on Manufac-
tures, Commerce, &c.)
This article has been compiled from the following authorities :-Milburn's Oriental Commerce; A
Review of the external Commerce of Bengul, by Horace Hayman Wilson, Esq., 1830; Bell's Compura-
tive View of the external Commerce of Bengal, for the years 1832-33, and 1833-34; The Bengal Direct-
ory; Thornton's East Indian Calculator; Parliamentary Papers relating to the Finances of India and
the Trade of India and China, 1830-1833 and private communications.
Internal Transit Duties.-A very great improvement has recently been effected in the
domestic economy of our Indian empire, by the abolition of the duties on the transit of
goods from one part of the country to another.* These duties have existed in India from a
very remote period and, by obstructing the intercourse between its different districts, have
been singularly pernicious. After the East India Company began to acquire a footing in
India, they availed themselves of a favourable opportunity to procure an exemption from the
transit-duties in favour of their own trade " the goods which they imported being allowed
to pass into the interior, and those which they purchased for exportation in the interior being
allowed to pass to the sea, without either stoppage or duties.' (Mill's India, 8vo ed. vol.
iii. p. 289.) They were not, however, long permitted to monopolise this privilege. Im-
mediately after the victories of Clive had raised the Company to the situation of a great
territorial power, their servants engaged largely in the inland trade, and endeavoured, partly
by fraud and partly by force, to extend to their own goods the exemption from transit
duties established in favour of those belonging to the Company. Every reader of Indian
history is aware of the multiplied abuses and disturbances that grew out of this attempt of
the Company's servants to release themselves from duties and charges that pressed with
grinding severity on the natives, and, by consequence, to engross (for such was their object)
the whole internal trade of the country. The Company endeavoured to obviate the evil by
strictly forbidding its servants from engaging in internal traffic. But its orders to this effect
were long either totally disregarded, or but very imperfectly obeyed. At length, in 1788,
Lord Cornwallis adopted the decisive and judicious measure of abolishing the duties. They
were, however, again renewed in 1801. The exclusion of Englishmen from all participa-
tion in the interior traffic of the country having been gradually carried into complete effect
for a lengthened period, they were less alive than they would otherwise have been to the
injurious influence of the duties, 80 that their re-establishment met with comparatively little
* This important measure was preceded, and, we believe, principally brought about, by the publica-
tion of an elaborate and very valuable report on the inland customs of Bengal, by Mr. Trevelyan, one
of the Secretaries to Government. We avail ourselves of this opportunity to state, that the most
ample details as to the foreign trade of Bengal are embodied in the Comparative Reviews thereof, pub-
lished annually by Mr. Bell, of the customs' establishment at Calcutta. They contain a greater fund
of information, combined with sound remarks, than are to be met with respecting the trade of any
other emporium with which we are acquainted.
35
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CALCUTTA.
opposition. In 1810, a new tariff was introduced by which the duties " were frightfully
augmented and they have continued from that epoch down to their recent abolition
seriously to obstruct all sorts of internal traffic, and to oppose the most formidable obstacle
to the improvement of the country.
Had the inland transit duties been productive of a large amount of revenue, that would
have been some set-off against the enormous evils of which they have been productive.
But such has not been the case. The expense of collection, and the interruption of communi-
cation, have been so very great, that the nett produce of the inland transit duties has been
quite insignificant; so much so that, according to Mr. Trevelyan, it has not exceeded, in
the extensive province of Bengal, the miserable pittance of 27,500/. a year. (Report, p.
153.) We have no reason to doubt the accuracy of this statement; and assuming it to be
correct, we are warranted in affirming that there is not another instance to be found, in the
history of taxation, of a tax so fruitful of mischievous results, and so barren of revenue.
Town Duties.-These were charged on the principal articles of consumption in 23 of the chief towns
of Bengal. They were in many respects similar to the octrois in France; and, though not nearly so
injurious as the internal transit duties. were productive of much inconvenience. We are glad, how-
ever, to have to state that they, as well as the transit duties, have recently been abolished; and that
the internal trade of Bengal is now as free, in 80 far at least as statutory regulations can make it, as
the internal trade of England. This emancipation will undoubtedly be productive of the most bene-
ficial results. When," says Mr. Bell, "the transit duties shall have been abolished, an impulse will
be given to every sinew of commerce, which will cause us only to wonder how such an execrable
system should have been permitted to exist for a (Review of the Commerce of Bengal, 1833-34
and 1834-35.)
New Customs Duties.-There are no good grounds for thinking that the revenue would have lost
any thing by the abolition of the transit and town duties, even though no new taxes had been imposed
in their stead. But some small additions have been made to the customs duties, or to the duties
charged on the importation and exportation of certain articles. The present customs law, enacted in
May 1836, and the duties charged under it, are subjoined :-
ACT No. XIV. of 1836.
SCHEDULE A.-continued.
I. It is hereby enacted, that from the 1st June next, such parts of
Regulations IX. and X. 1810, Regulations XV. 1925, and of any other
regulations of the Rengal Presidency as prescribe the levy of transit
When imported
When imported
or inland customs duties, or of town duties; and likewise the sche-
Enumeration of Goods.
on British
on Foreign
dules of duties and provisions of any kind contained in these or any
Bottoms.
Bottoms.
other regulations for fixing the amount of duty to be levied upon
goods imported into or exported from the said Presidency by sea,
Woollens, the produce of any
shall be repealed.
other place or country
4 per ceat.
8 per cent.
11. And it is hereby enacted, that duties of customs shall be levied
Cotton and silk piece goods,
on goods imported by sea into Calcutta, or into any other place with-
cotton twist and yarn, the
in the provinces of Bengal and Orism, according to the specified
produce of the United King-
in Schedule A. annexed to this Act, with the exceptions specified
dom, or of any British pos-
therein, and the said schedule, with the notes attached thereto, shall
session
3 1-2 per cent.
7 per cont.
be taken to be a part of this Act.
Do., the produce of any other
III. And it is hereby further enacted, that duties of customs shall
place
7 per cent.
14 per cent.
be levied upon country goods exported by sea from any port of Ben-
24 rs. per seer
24 rs. per sear or
Opium
gal or Orissa, according to the rates specified in Schedule B. annexed
of 80 tolas
80 tolas
to this Act, with the exceptions therein specified, and the said sche-
Rs. 3-4 per md.
Rs. 3-4 per md.
dule. with the notes attached thereto, shall also be taken to be a part
Salt
of 80 tolas per
of 80 toles per
of this Act.
seer
seer.
N. B.-These duties are to be collected under the same regulations
Alum
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
as fortner duties: and baggage is to be passed by the collector of cus-
Camphor
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
toms as heretofore.
Cassia
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
The remainder of the Act relates to regulations respecting ships'
Cloves
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
manifests, ac.
Coffee
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
Coral
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
SCHEDULE A.
Nutmegs and mace
10 per cent.
20 per cept.
Rates of Duty to be charged on Goods imported by Sea into any Port
Pepper
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
of the Presidency of Fort-William in Bengal.
Rattans
7 1-2 per cent.
15 per cent.
Tea
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
When imported
Vermilion
When imported
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
Enumeration of Goods.
on British
Wines and liquors
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
on Foreign
Bottoms.
Bottoms.
Spiri's, consolidated duty, in-
cluding that levied hereto-
Rullion and coin
Free
Free.
fore through the police of
Calcutta
Ditto
9 as. p. Imp. gal.
16 as. p. Im. gil.
Precious stones and pearls
Ditto.
Grain and pulse
Ditto
Ditto.
And the duty on spirits shall be
Horses and other living animals
Ditto
Ditto.
rateably increased as the
Lee
Ditto
Ditto.
strength exceeds of London
proof, and when imported
Coal, coke, bricks, chalk, and
stones
Ditto
Ditto.
in bottles, five quart bottles
shall 18 deemed equal to the
Books printed in the United
Imperial gallon.
Kingdom, or in any British
All articles not included in the
possession
Ditto
3 per cent.
above enumeration
3 1-2 per cent.
7 per cent.
Foreign books
3 per cent.
6 per cent.
Marine stores, the produce or
manufacture of the United
And when the duty is declared to be ad valorem, it shall be levied
Kingdom, or of any British
on the market value without deduction and if the collector of -
possession
3 per cent.
6 per cent.
toms shall see reason to doubt whether the goods come from the
Do. do., the produce or manu-
country from which they are declared to come by the importer. it
facture of any other place or
shall be law ful for the collector of customs to call on the importer to
country
6 per cent.
12 per cent.
furnish evidence as to the place of manufacture or production. and
Metals, wrought or unwrought,
if such evidence shall not satisfy the said collector of the truth of
I the produce or manufacture
the declaration, the goods shall be charged with the highest rates and of
of the United Kingdom, or
duty. subject always to an appeal to the Board of Customs, salt
any British possession
3 per cent.
6 per cent.
opium excepted.
Metals, do. do., excepting tin,
And, upon the re-export by sea of goods imported, excepting
the produce or manufacture
opium and salt, provided the re-export be made within two years
of any other place
6 per cent.
12 per cent.
of the date of import as per custom-bouse register. and the goods
Tin, the produce of any other
be identified to the satisfaction of the collector of customs, there
place than the United King-
shall be retained one-mghth of the amount of duty levied, and be
dom, or any British posses-
the remainder shall be repaid as drawback. And if goods
sion
10 per cent.
20 per cent.
re-exported in the same ship without being landed, (always except-
Woollems, the produce or ma-
ing opium and salt, in regard to which the special rules in force
nufacture of the United King-
shall continue to apply,) there shall be no import duty levied
dom, or any British posses-
thereon.
slon
8 per cest.
4 per cent.
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CALCUTTA.
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SCHEDULE B.
SCHEDULE B.-continued.
Rates of Duty to be charged upon Goods exported by Sea from
any Port or Place in the Presidency of Fort William in Bengal.
Exported on
Exported on
Enumeration of Goods.
British
Foreign
Exported on
Exported on
Bottoms.
Bottoms.
Enumeration of Goods.
British
Foreign
Bottoms.
Bottoms.
Lac dye and shell lac
4 per cent.
8 per cent.
Silk raw, filature
3 1.2 as. p. seer of
7 as. per sear of
Bullion and coin
Free
Free.
80 tolas
80 tolas.
Precious stones and pearls
Ditto
Ditto.
Silk, Bengal wound
3 as. p. seer of 80
6 as. per seer of
Ditto.
tolas
80 tolas.
Books printed in India
Ditto
Tobacco
Horses and living animals
Ditto
Ditto.
4 as. p. maund
S as. p. maund,
All country articles not enu.
Opium purchased at govern-
Ditto
Ditto.
merated or named above
3 per cent.
6 per cent.
ment sales in Calcutta
Cotton wool exported to Eu-
8 as. p. md. of
And when the duty is declared to be ad valcrem, the same shall be
rope, the United States of
Ditto
80 tolasto the
levied on the market value of the article at the place of export,
America, or any British
seer.
without deduction.
possessions in America
As. 16 p. md.
And in settling for the duties on exports by sel, credit shall be
Do. do. exported to places
As. 8. p. md. of
of 80 tolas to
given for payment of inland customs duty, and drawback shall be
other than above
80 tolas seer
the seer.
allowed of any excess of duty paid upon production of ruwanas
under the following conditions, until the lat April, 1837
Sugar and rum exported to the
First, That the goods shall be identified, and destination to the port
United Kingdom, or to any
Free
of export proved in the usual manner.
British possession
3 per cent.
Do. exported to any other place
3 per cent.
Second, That the ruwanas shall bear date before the 1st April, 1836,
6 per cent.
I anna per bag,
2 34. per bag not
and the goods shall not have been protected thereby, or by the origi-
not exceeding
exceeding
2
nal thereof, more than two years.
mds. of 80 tolas
mds. of 80 to-
And after the said 1st April, 1837, credit shall not be given, nor
las to the seer,
shall drawback be allowed of any inland customs or land frontier
to the seer, or if
Grain and pulse of all sorts
exported other-
or if exported
duty, paid at any custom-house or chokee of the Jumia frontier line,
wise than in
otherwise than
or of Benares, except only upon the article of cotton wool, covered
by ruwanas taken out at the custom-houses of the western provinces,
bags 1.8 an an-
in bage, 1 anna
and proved to have been destined for export by sea, when passed out
na per maund.
per maund.
of those provinces.
W. H. MACNAGHTEN,
Rs. 3 p. md. of
Rs. 6 p. md. of
Secy. to the Govt. of India.
Indigo
80 tolas to the
80 tolas to the
seer.
sear.
Remarks on the above Duties.-The policy of charging duties on exported articles, and of making so
great a distinction between the duties on articles imported and exported in British and in foreign ships,
seems very questionable. The great difficulty under which India labours, in a commercial point of
view, consists principally in her inability to furnish equivalents for foreign imported goods, and to
make the necessary payments abroad and when such is the case, it is certainly not a little contradict-
ory to lay duties on exports. The most obvious considerations of expediency and common sense would
suggest that they should be allowed to be exported duty-free. There can be no doubt that the stimu-
lus this would give to their production, would, by increasing the public wealth, infinitely more than
compensate the government for the loss of the inconsiderable sum produced by the duties with which
they are charged.
The duties on most articles of importation do not appear to be at all excessive, provided they were
equally distributed. But it seems quite inconsistent, seeing that we have admitted the reciprocity
principle into the trade of Britain, that we should exclude it from that of India. The best informed
parties concur in opinion, that the effect of the discriminating duties is to diminish trade, without
promoting, in any material degree, the employment of British shipping, and to provoke retaliatory
measures on the part of the foreigner. The sooner, consequently, that this distinction is abolished,
the better will it be for all parties. Regulations of this sort are never productive of any real ad-
vantage.
Pilotage, &e-The Marine Board at Calcutta have recently issued
When the vessel is finally laden. the commander is to give notice
the following regulations, with respect to pilotage, atc.
thereof to the Master Attendant, when the draft of water is to be as-
1. Commanders are requested, prior to quitting their vessels, on
certained and certified by the commander or commanding officer on
arrival off Calcutta, to fill up and certify, or cause to be filled up and
the part of the vessel, and by the harbour-master on the part of go-
certified, a form of certificate, showing the actual registered tonnage,
verument; subject, in case of dispute, to the decision of the Master
the draft of water, and whether the vessel has or has not been tugged
Attendant. On receipt of the certificate, the Master Attendant will
by a steamer any part of the way, or has or has not had the use of a
cause a bill to be made out for the regular amount of pilotage, and
row boat which form will be furnished to the pilot, in order to the
for the row-boat hire, according to an average rate, with reference to
bills of the vessel being correctly made out.
the size of the vemels and the season of the year, fixed by a marine
2. Commanders are further requested, as early after their arrival
committee which lately sat at the Bankshall, the majority of which
as possible, to notify in writing, to the Master Attendant, the name
was composed of members of houses of agency and commanders
and residence of the reference for the payment of his vemel's bills.
of ships. The bill and certificate will be presented in due course
3. On the receipt by the Master Attendant of the above certificate,
for payment.
and written reference for payment, a single bill will be prepared,
7. As, however, it frequently happens that veasels are taking in
racluding inward pilotage, light-house duty, Moyapore magazine
cargo or filling their water up to the last day of their departure, or
daty, and row-boat hire (if any,) which, together with the certificate,
that from other causes the bills for the chain-moorings and outward
will be forwarded to the marine paymaster, for collection within 15
pilotage cannot be made out till the eve of departure, owners, agents,
days of the arrival of the vessel, and having on it the name and resi-
and commanders, are in such cases particularly requested, with a view
dence of the party referred to for payment, which commanders are
to despatch, to cause an individual to attend at the Bankshall, and ex-
requested to furnish to the Master Attendant, in writing. as early after
pedite the transmission of the bill and certificate to the board for re-
their arrival as practicable, that officer will more readily be enabled
gistry, and to the Pay Office for collection; at each of which offices
to present it. By this arrangement, all the charges connected with
they may in such cases depend upon the most ready and special at-
the vemel, up to her arrival off Calcutta, will be embodied in one bill,
tention.
instead of, as hitherto, being made up in separate bills.
8. In the event of a vessel being tugged any part of the way down
4. In the event of vessels docking, or being transported at the de-
by steam, or not having the use of a row-boat, commanders are to
aire of the commander, it is requested that a certificate may be given
obtain from the pilot at Kedgeree a certificate to that effect, which
by the commanding officer of the operation having been performed,
they should, forward by Dak to their agents. On receipt thereof,
in order to its accompanying the bill when presented for payment to
agents are requested to make out a bill against the honourable com-
the referes.
pany for the quarter deduction from the pilotage allowed if tugged
5. The practice of charging for hauling to the chain-moorings for
by steam, or for the row-boat hire paid, as the case may be and to
their monthly hire, and for hauling from the moorings in separate
forward it, together with the certificate, to the marine board for audit
bills, is discontinued, and henceforward one bill will be prepared,
and yment.
including the charge for hauling to the moorings, that for occupying
9. In cases where a vemel leaves Calcutta avowedly intended to
them, and that for bauling from them and commanders are requested
fill up cargo at some place below, the pilotage will be charged at the
to give, or cause their commanding officers to give to the Master At-
draft at which she leaves Calcutta in like manner, though at the re-
tendant, or the harbour-master, certificate of the date of hauling to
duced amount, as if she had proceeded to sea; and, with respect to
and from the moorings, which certificate, as before, will accompany
the subsequent pilotage charge, from the place at which the vessel
the bill when presented for payment. The hire of the moorings will
takes in the additional cargo to sea, owners or agents of vemels will
be charged for the day on which the vemel is hauled thereto, without
be required to furnish a special guarantee to pay the amount charge-
reference to the period of the day and, in like manner, no charge
able according to a certificate of the draft of water to be signed by the
will be made for the day on which she hanis from her moorings,
commander or commanding officer and pilot.
however late in the day she may quit them. The charges connected
10. Six nets of moorings at Diamond Harbour having been fitted
with the chain-moorings will thus be embodied in one bill, and be
spocially to enable vessels arriving in distress from loss of anchors
discharged in one payment instead of three or more, according to the
and cables to be readily moored, the charge will be Co's Rs. 50 for
number of months the vemel occupied the moorings.
mooring and unmooring, and the daily hire the same as for the moor-
6. The system of charging outward pilotage on as estimated
logs at Calcutta. The moorings will, of course, be available to ves-
draught of water, with an addition of 10 per cent., subject to adjust-
sels not in distress from loss of anchors and cables, but the harbour-
ment after the vemel has sailed, and of charging a certain number of
master will be instructed at all times to keep two sets vacant during
days for a row-boat, subject to a like adjustment, is abolished; and
the 8. W. momeon, to meet casualties.
in future the outward pilotage and charge for row-boat hire on out-
(Sup.)
ward-bound vemels will be made as follows
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CALICO.
CALICO (Ger. Kattun ; Du. Katoen; Dan. Kathun; Sw. Cattun ; Fr. Coton, Toile de
Coton ; It. Tela Bambagina, Tela dipinta; Sp. Tela de Algodon ; Port. Pano de Algodao;
Rus. Wüboika; Pol. Bawelnika), cloth made of cotton; so called from Calicut, on the
Malabar coast, whence it was first imported. In England, all white or unprinted cotton
cloths are denominated calicoes; but in the United States this term is applied to those only
that are printed.
Historical Notice of the Art of Calico Printing.-This art, though apparently one of the
most difficult, has been practised from a very remote era. Herodotus mentions (lib. 1. § 202),
that a nation on the shores of the Caspian were in the habit of painting the figures of
animals on their clothes, with a colour formed from the leaves of trees bruised and soaked in
water; and he adds, that this colour was not effaceable, and was as durable as the clothes
themselves. It is difficult to imagine that the colours could have been so permanent, had
not those using them been acquainted with the use of mordants. There is, however, a pas-
sage in Pliny (Hist. Nat. lib. XXXV. § 11), which, though in some respects obscure, shows
that the ancient Egyptians were fully acquainted with the principle of calico printing.
" They paint," says he, " the clothes, not with colours, but with drugs (sorbentibus medica-
mentis) that have no colour. This being done, they immerse them in a vat full of boiling
dye, and leave them there for a little; when they take them out, they are painted of various
colours. It is extraordinary, seeing that there is only one colour in the vat (unus in cortina
color), that a variety of colours should be produced by the operation of the drugs." Pliny
further states, that the colours were so adhesive they could not be washed out; and that
clothes were the stronger for being dyed. A similar process is known to have been fol-
lowed in India from the earliest times. The chemical and mechanical inventions of modern
ages have been the cause of vast improvements in this ingenious and beautiful art; but the
passage now quoted shows distinctly that we have, in this instance, been only perfecting and
improving processes practised in the remotest antiquity.
Calico Printing in this Country. Duties on Calicoes.-In Great Britain the printing
of cottons has formed, for a considerable period, a very important and valuable business. It
has been calculated that there are not less than 230,000 individuals employed in, and de-
pendent upon, the print trade for subsistence, receiving the annual sum of 2,400,000/. in
wages.
This important and valuable business may be truly said to have grown up amongst us in
despite of repeated efforts for its suppression. To prevent the use of calicoes from inter-
fering with the demand for linen and woollen stuffs, a statute was passed in 1721, imposing
a penalty of 5L upon the weaver, and of 20/. upon the seller, of a piece of calico ! Fifteen
years after, this extraordinary statute was 80 far modified, that calicoes manufactured in
Great Britain were allowed to be worn, " provided the warp thereof was entirely of linen
yarn." This was the law with respect to calicoes till after the invention of Sir Richard
Arkwright introduced a new era into the history of the cotton manufacture, when its im-
policy became obvious to every one. In 1774, a statute was passed, allowing printed goods,
wholly made of cotton, to be used, after paying a duty of 3d. a yard (raised to 3rd. in
1806) and enacting some regulations as to the marks to be affixed to the ends of the
pieces, the stripes, &c.
This act continued in force down to 1831 ; but, though an improvement upon the old law, it was
much, and justly, complained of. Its injustice and injurious operation were very forcibly pointed out
by Mr. Poulett Thompson, in his excellent speech on taxation. It is a matter of surprise to me,"
said the Right Hon. gent. "that this most impolitic impost should have been allowed to con-
tinue, especially when it was declared by the committee of 1818 to be partial and oppressive, and that
its repeal was most desirable who, indeed, can examine it, and not feel the truth of this observa-
tion? Is it credible, that in order to raise a nett revenue of 599,6691., a gross tax should be imposed of
2,019,7371.1 and yet this was the return, according to the paper on your table, for 1828. And these
figures are still far from showing the real cost of the collection of this tax ;-that must be taken upon
the gross produce and supposing the rate of the collection for the excise to be 5 per cent., which is less
than it really is, you have a cost of 20 per cent. on the nett produce of this tax, for charges. In
addition to this, from all the inquiry I have been able to make, the increased cost to the manufacturer
is fully 5 per cent. upon the whole quantity made; so that you have thus two sums, each of 100,000l.,
levied on the public, for the sake of exacting a duty of 600,000Z. But the revenue is again, in this case,
far from being the measure of the injury you inflict. The inequality of the tax constitutes its chief
objection. The duty is levied upon the square yard, at 3d. per yard. Thus, the piece of calico
which sells for 6d., duty paid, contributes equally with that which is worth 5a. a yard. You levy an
onerous and oppressive tax of 100 or 150 per cent. upon the poor, who are the purchasers of inferior
cottons; whilst the rich, who buy only the finest kinds, pay but 10 or 15 per cent."
It is due to Mr. Thompson to state, that, not satisfied with giving this forcible exposition of the in-
equality and injurious operation of the duty on printed goods, one of his first measures, on coming into
office, was to propose its repeal.
By the 34 Geo. 3. c. 23. it is enacted, that the inventor, designer, or printer of any new and original
pattern for printing linens, cottons, calicoes, or muslins, shall have the sole right of printing and re-
printing the same for three months, to commence from the day of first publishing.
The following tables exhibit the quantity of printed cloths produced in Great Britain, the quantity
exported, and the amount of revenue and drawback thereon, during the year ended 5th of January,
1830.
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277
L Return of the Number of Square Yards of Calicoes, Muslins, Linens, and Stuffs, made either of
Cotton or Linen, printed, painted, stained, or dyed, in Great Britain (except such as shall have
been dyed of one Colour throughout), with the Amount of Excise Duties collected thereon in Eng-
land and Scotland, in the Year ended 5th of January, 1830; distinguishing the Number of Square
Yards and Amount of Duty collected thereon.-(Purl. Paper, No. 335. Sess. 1830.)
Number of yards.
Amount of duty.
Foreign cali-
Linens and
Calicoes and Mus-
coes.
stuffs.
lins.
£
S.
d.
England -
-
-
22,338
1,704,761
102,234,454
1,516,431 14 10
Scotland -
-
-
-
8,755
26,105,550
380,833 12 3
Year ended 5th Jan. 1830
22,338
1,713,516
128,340,004
1,897,265 7 1
II. Return of the Total Number of Square Yards of printed Calicoes, Muslins, Linens, and Stuffs, ex-
ported from England and Scotland, in the Year ended 5th of January, 1830; the Amount of Draw-
backs paid or allowed thereon ; distinguishing the Quantities and Amount of Drawbacks allowed
to Foreign Parts from the Quantities and Drawbacks paid or allowed on the like Articles on the Re-
moval coastwise to Ireland.
Exported to Foreign Countries.
Exported to Ireland.
Number of Yards.
Number of Yards.
Amount of
Amount of
Linens, Stuffs,
Drawback.
Linens, Stuffs,
Drawback.
Foreign
Calicoes, and
Calicoes, and
Calieves.
Muslins.
Muslins.
£
8.
d.
£ 8. d.
England -
-
-
3,672
81,445,424
1,187,852 17 4
5,169,683
75,391 4 2
Scotland -
-
-
-
8,417,009
122,748 0 11
869,358
12,678 2 9
Year ended 5th of Jan. 1830
3,672
89,862,433
1,310,600 18 3
6,039,041
88,069 6 11,
CALOMEL. Chloride of mercury; frequently called mild muriate of mercury; and
sometimes, but less properly, submuriate of mercury.
CAMBRIC, OR CAMBRICK (Ger. Kummertuch; Du Kameryksdoek; Fr. Cambray
Batiste; It. Cambraja; Sp. Cambrai; Port. Cambraia; Rus. Kamertug), a species of
very fine white linen, first made at Cambray, in French Flanders, whence it derives its ap-
pellation. It is now produced, of an equally good quality, in Great Britain.
CAMEL (Fr. Chameau; It. and Sp. Camelo; Ger. Kameel; Arab. Djimel; Lat.
Camelus; Greek, Kaundos) is indigenous to Arabia, and we only mention it in this place
on account of its extreme importance in the commerce of the East.
The camel is one of the most useful of the animals over which the inhabitants of Asia
and Africa have acquired dominion. These continents are intersected by vast tracts of
burning sand, the seats of desolation and drought, so as, apparently, to exclude the possibility
of any intercourse taking place between the countries that they separate. But as the ocean,
which appears at first view to be placed as an insuperable barrier between different regions
of the earth, has been rendered, by navigation, subservient to their mutual intercourse; so,
by means of the camel, which the Arabians emphatically call the Ship of the Desert, the
most dreary wastes are traversed, and the nations which they disjoin are enabled to trade
with one another. Those painful journeys, impracticable by any other animal, the camel
performs with astonishing despatch. Under heavy burdens of 600, 700, and 800 lbs. weight,
they can continue their march during a long period of time, with little food or rest, and
sometimes without tasting water for 8 or 9 days. By the wise economy of Providence, the
camel seems formed of purpose to be the beast of burden in those regions where he is placed,
and where his service is most wanted. In all the districts of Asia and Africa, where deserts
are most frequent and extensive, the camel abounds. This is his proper station, and beyond
this the sphere of his activity does not extend far. He dreads alike the excesses of heat and
cold, and does not agree even with the mild climate of our temperate zone."-(Robertson's
Disquisition on Ancient India, Note 53.)
The first trade in Indian commodities of which we have any account (Genesis xxxvii. 25.)
was carried on by camels; and they still continue to be the instruments employed in the
conveyance of merchants and merchandise throughout Turkey, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, Bar-
bary, and many contiguous countries. The merchants assemble in considerable numbers,
forming themselves into an association or caravan—(see CARAVAN), for their mutual pro-
tection against the attacks of robbers, and the dangers incident to a journey through such
rude and inhospitable countries. These caravans are often very large and usually consist
of more camels than men. The capacity of the camel to endure fatigue, and the small sup-
ply of provisions that he requires, is almost incredible. " His ordinary burden," says Vol-
ney, is 750 lbs.; his food, whatever is given him-straw, thistles, the stones of dates,
beans, barley, &c. With a pound of food a day, and as much water, he will travel for
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weeks. In the journey from Cairo to Suez, which is 40 or 46 hours, they neither eat nor
drink; but these long fasts, if often repeated, wear them out. Their usual rate of travelling
is very slow, hardly above two miles an hour it is in vain to push them; they will not
quicken their pace but, if allowed some short rest, they will travel 15 or 18 hours a day."
(Voyage en Syrie, tom. ii. p. 383.)
The Arabians regard the camel as a sacred animal, the gift of Heaven, without whose aid
they could neither subsist, nor trade, nor travel. Its milk is their ordinary food they also
eat its flesh, especially that of the young camel, which they reckon excellent its hair, which
is renewed every year, is partly manufactured into stuffs for their clothes and furniture, and
partly sent abroad as a valuable article of merchandise; and even its faces serve them for
fuel. Blest with their camels, the Arabs want nothing, and fear nothing. In a single day
they can traverse 40 or 50 miles of the desert, and interpose its trackless sands as an im-
penetrable rampart between them and their foes.-(See the admirable description of the
camel, in Buffon.)
But, however useful to the inhabitants of parched, sandy deserts, it may be worth while,
perhaps, to observe, that the camel is of very little service elsewhere. He cannot walk 100
yards on wet or slippery ground without stumbling. He is totally unknown in all hilly or
woody countries; and, with few exceptions, may be said to be as great a stranger in the
Eastern Islands, Japan, the southern parts of China, the whole country lying between China
and India, and all the southern parts of the latter, including Bengal, as he is in Europe. In
all those vast countries the ox is the most useful of the lower animals. It is used for draught
(for which the camel is totally unfit), in the cart and plough, in the carrying of burdens, in
treading corn, in the oil press, &c., and finally as food.
CAMELS' HAIR (Ger. Kameelhaar; Fr. Poil de chameau, Laine de chevron ; It.
Pelo di camello; Sp. Pelo ó lana de cámello). The hair of the camel imported into this
country is principally used in the manufacture of fine pencils for drawing and painting. In
the East, however, it is an important article of commerce, and is extensively used in the
arts. It serves for the fabrication of the tents and carpets of the Arabs, and for their wearing
apparel. Cloth is also manufactured of it in Persia and other places. The most esteemed
hair comes from Persia. It is divided into three qualities; black, red, and grey. The black
is the dearest, and the grey is only worth half the red. Considerable quantities of camels'
hair are exported from Smyrna, Constantinople, and Alexandria. It is used in the manu-
facture of hats, particularly by the French.-(Rees's Cyclopædia, art. Camelus.)
CAMLET, OR CAMBLET (Ger. and Du. Kamelot; Fr. Camelot; It. Ciambellotto,
Sp. Camelote, Rus. Kamlot), a plain stuff, manufactured on a loom, with two treadles, as
linens are. There are camlets of various colours and sorts: some wholly of goats' hair;
others, in which the warp is of hair, and the woof half hair and half silk others, again, in
which both the warp and the woof are of wool; and, lastly, some, of which the warp is of
wool and the woof of thread some are striped, some watered, and some figured.
CAMOMILE (Fr. Camomille; It. Camomilla; Sp. Manzanilla; Lat. Chamomilla),
a well-known plant, whose flowers are used for medical purposes. Most of what is brought
to the London market is grown about Mitcham, in Surrey.
CAMPHOR, OR CAMPHIRE (Ger. Kampfer; Du. Kamfer; Fr. Camphre; It.
Canfora; Sp. Alcanfor; Rus. Kamfora; Lat. Camphora; Arab. and Pers. Kafoor,
Mal. Kaafur). There are two descriptions of this valuable article, which must not not be
confounded.
1. Camphor of Commerce, or that met with in Europe, is obtained by boiling the tim-
ber of a species of laurel (Laurus Camphora), a tree found in the forests of Fokien, in
China, near the city of Chinchew, where there is annually produced from 2,500 to 3,000,
and sometimes as much as 4,000 piculs. Most of the camphor imported into Europe comes
from China; but a small quantity, considered of superior quality, comes from Japan by way
of Batavia. The exports from Canton in 1830 and 1831 were respectively 3,452 and 2,043
piculs, being, at an average, 366,266 lbs. ; if to this we add the exports from Batavia of
Japan camphor, amounting to 489 piculs, the total annual produce of China and Japan for ex-
portation will be 432,770 lbs. It is brought to this country in chests, drums, and casks and
is in small, granular, friable masses, of a dirty white or greyish colour, very much resembling
half-refined sugar. When pure, the camphor of commerce has a strong, peculiar, fragrant,
penetrating odour, and a bitter, pungent, aromatic taste. It is in reality a concrete essential
oil. Camphor, when refined, is in thin hollow cakes of a beautiful virgin whiteness, and, if
exposed to the air, totally evaporates. Great care is therefore requisite in packing camphor,
to prevent serious loss.
2. Camphor, Malay, commonly called, to distinguish it from the last, camphor of Barus,
from the port of Sumatra, where it is mostly shipped. It is a product of the Dryobalanops
Camphora, a forest tree confined to Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malay peninsula. It is found
in concrete masses in the fissures of the wood there are, however, but very few trees that
afford it; and those that do, only in small quantities. This species of camphor is more fra-
grant and less biting and pungent than that yielded by the laurel, and is in high repute
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among the Chinese, by whom it is almost wholly consumed. There is an immense dia-
parity in the prices of the two species in China. In a price current recently published at
Canton, the finest Chinese camphor is quoted at 30 dollars per picul, while the Malay cam-
phor is quoted at 30 dollars per catty, making the price of the latter 100 times greater than that
of the former ! Malay camphor is wholly unknown in Europe as an article of trade.-(Pri-
vate information.)
[The quantity of camphor imported into the United States has of late years been rapidly
increasing. It used to be procured mostly by way of England and Holland. But it now comes to
us directly from China and is in part subsequently re-exported to Europe.-Am. Ed.]
CAMPHOR OIL (Malay, Minyak), a fragrant essential oil, obtained in large quantities
by heating the wood of the Dryobalanops Camphora. It is nearly as cheap as spirits of
turpentine, but is not held in any esteem by the Chinese. It might, perhaps, be profitably
imported into England as a substitute for spirits of turpentine in the arts, and for medicinal
purposes. We may add, that the timber of the Dryobalanops Camphora is not inferior to
any produced in the countries where it grows, for the purposes of house and ship building.
-(Private information, and Crawford's Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 516.)
CAMWOOD, a red dye wood, first brought to Europe from Africa by the Portuguese.
It is principally obtained from the vicinity of Sierra Leone. The colouring matter which it
affords differs but little from that of ordinary Nicaragua wood, either in quality or quantity
and it may be employed with similar mordants.-(Baneroft on Colours. See also Dampier,
vol. ii. part ii. p. 58.) Camwood is at present worth, in the London market, from 16/. to
18L a ton, duty (5s. a ton) included. In 1828, 475 tons of camwood were imported; but
the imports in 1829 only amounted to 119 tons.-(Parl. Paper, No. 661. Sess. 1830.)
CANAL, CANALS. A canal is an artificial channel, filled with water kept at the de-
sired level by means of locks or sluices, forming a communication between two or more
places.
(1.) Historical Sketch of Canals. Ancient Canals.-The comparative cheapness and
facility with which goods may be conveyed by sea, or by means of navigable rivers, seem to
have suggested, at a very early period, the formation of canals. The best authenticated ac-
counts of ancient Egypt represent that country as intersected by canals conveying the waters
of the Nile to the more distant parts of the country, partly for the purpose of irrigation, and
partly for that of internal navigation, The efforts made by the old Egyptian monarchs, and
by the Ptolemies, to construct a canal between the Red Sea and the Nile are well known
and evince the high sense which they entertained of the importance of this species of com-
munication.-(Ameilhm, Commerce des Egyptiens, p. 76.)
Greece was too small a territory, too much intersected by arms of the sea, and sub-divided
into too many independent states, to afford much scope for inland navigation. Attempts
were, however, made to cut a canal across the Isthmus of Corinth but they did not succeed.
The Romans did not distinguish themselves in canal navigation. Their aqueducts, the
stupendous ruins of which attest the wealth and power of their founders, were intended to
furnish supplies of water to some adjoining city, and not for the conveyance of vessels or produce.
(2.) Chinese Canals.-In China, canals, partly for irrigation, and partly for navigation,
have existed from a very early period. The most celebrated amongst them is the Imperial
or Grand Canal, forming a communication between Pekin and Canton, said to be about
1,660 miles long. But there can be no doubt that this is a very great exaggeration and
that it includes the various rivers which really form the greater part of the navigation, the
excavated portion being of comparatively limited dimensions. The canal is said not to have,
at any time, more than from 5 to 6 feet water and in dry seasons, its depth is frequently
reduced to 3 feet. (De la Lande, Canaux de Navigation, p. 529.) The locks are con-
structed with very little skill; and as the vessels are generally dragged by men, the naviga-
tion is extremely slow. The canals are mostly faced with stone; and the bridges across
them are said to be very ingeniously contrived.
(3.) Italian Canals.-The Italians were the first people in modern Europe that attempted
to plan and execute canals. They were principally, however, undertaken for the purpose of
irrigation; and the works of this sort executed in the Milanese and other parts of Lombardy,
in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, are still regarded as models, and excite the
warm admiration of every one capable of appreciating them. In 1271, the Navilio Grande,
or canal leading from Milan to Abbiate Grasso and the Tesino, was rendered navigable.-
(Young's Travels in France, &c. vol. ii. p. 170.)
(4.) Dutch Canals.-No country in Europe contains, in proportion to its size, so many
navigable canals as the kingdom of the Netherlands, and particularly the province of Hol-
land. The construction of these canals commenced as early as the twelfth century, when,
owing to its central and convenient situation, Flanders began to be the entrepôt of the com-
merce between the north and south of Europe. Their number has since been astonishingly
increased. "Holland," says Mr. Phillips, in his History of Inland Navigation, is inter-
sected with innumerable canals. They may be compared in number and size to our public
roads and highways and as the latter with us are continually full of coaches, chaises,
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wagons, carts, and horsemen, going from and to the different cities, towns, and villages so,
on the former, the Hollanders, in their boats and pleasure barges, their treckschuyts and
vessels of burden, are continually journeying and conveying commodities for consumption
or exportation from the interior of the country to the great cities and rivers. An inhabitant
of Rotterdam may, by means of these canals, breakfast at Delft or the Hague, dine at Ley-
den, and sup at Amsterdam, or return home again before night. By them, also, a most
prodigious inland trade is carried on between Holland and every part of France, Flanders,
and Germany. When the canals are frozen over, they travel on them with skaits, and
perform long journeys in a very short time; while heavy burdens are conveyed in carts and
sledges, which are then as much used on the canals as on our streets.
" The yearly profits produced by these canals are almost beyond belief; but it is certain,
and has been proved, that they amount to more than 250,000/. for about 400 miles of inland
navigation, which is 625/. per mile, the square surface of which mile does not exceed two
acres of ground a profit so amazing, that it is no wonder other nations should imitate what
has been found so advantageous.
The canals of Holland are generally 60 feet wide and 6 deep, and are carefully kept
clean; the mud, as manure, is very profitable; the canals are generally levels; of course,
locks are not wanted. From Rotterdam to Delft, the Hague, and Leyden, the canal is quite
level, but is sometimes affected by strong winds. For the most part the canals are elevated
above the fields or the country, to enable them to cary off the water, which in winter inun-
dates the land. To drain the water from Delftland, a province not more than 60 miles
long, they employ 200 windmills in spring time to raise it into the canals. All the canals
of Holland are bordered with dams or banks of immense thickness, and on these depends the
security of the country from inundation of course it is of great moment to keep them in the
best repair to effect which there is a kind of militia, and in every village is a magazine of
proper stores and men, whose business it is to convey stones and rubbish in carts to any
damaged place. When a certain bell rings, or the waters are at a fixed height, every man
repairs to his post. To every house or family there is assigned a certain part of the bank,
in the repair of which they are to assist. When a breach is apprehended, they cover the
banks all over with cloth and stones."
(5.) Canal from Amsterdam to Niewdiep, near the Helder.-The object of this canal,
which is the greatest work of its kind in Holland, and probably in the world, is to afford a
safe and easy passage for large vessels from Amsterdam to the German Ocean. This city
has 40 feet of water in the road in front of its port, but the pampus or bar at the junction of
the Y with the Zuyder Zee, 7 miles below, has only a depth of 10 feet and hence all ships
of any considerable burden entering or leaving the port must unload and load part of their
cargoes without the bar. As the Zuyder Zee is every where full of shallows, all ordinary
means of improving the access to Amsterdam were necessarily ineffectual and the resolu-
tion was, therefore, at length adopted, of cutting a canal from the city to the Helder, the
most northern point of the province of Holland. The distance between these extreme
points is 41 English miles, but the length of the canal is about 50}. The breadth at the
surface of the water is 124} English feet (120 Rhinland feet) ; the breadth at bottom 36
the depth 20 feet 9 inches. Like the Dutch canals generally, its level is that of the highest
tides, and it receives its supply of water from the sea. The only locks it requires are of
course, two tide-locks at the extremities but there are, besides, two sluices with floodgates
in the intermediate space. It is crossed by about 18 drawbridges. The locks and sluices
are double,-that is, there are two in the breadth of the canal and their construction and
workmanship are said to be excellent. They are built of brick, for economy ; but bands of
limestone are interposed at intervals, and these project about an inch beyond the brick, to
protect it from abrasion by the sides of vessels. There is a broad towing path on each side,
and the canal is wide enough to admit of two frigates passing.-(For the expense of towing,
see AMSTERDAM.)
The line which the canal follows may be easily traced on a map of Holland. From the
Y at Amsterdam it proceeds north to Purmerend; thence west to Alkmaar Lake; again
north by Alkmaar to a point within 2 miles of the coast, near Petten, whence it runs nearly
parallel to the coast till it joins the sea a little to the east of the Helder, at the fine harbour
of Niewdiep, formed within the last 30 years. At the latter place there is a powerful steam-
engine for supplying the canal with water during neap tides, and other purposes. The time
spent in towing vessels from Niewdiep to Amsterdam is 18 hours. The Helder is the only
spot on the shores of Holland that has deep water; and it owes this advantage to its being
opposite to the Texel, which, by contracting the communication between the German Ocean
and the Zuyder Zee to a breadth of about a mile, produces a current which scours and
deepens the channel. Immediately opposite the Helder there are 100 feet water at high
tides, and at the shallowest part of the bar to the westward there are 27 feet. In the same
way, the artificial mound which runs into the Y opposite Amsterdam, by contracting the
water-way to about 1,000 feet, keeps a depth of 40 feet in the port (at high water), while
above and below there is only 10 or 12.
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The canal was begun in 1819, and finished in 1825. The cost was estimated at
10,000,000 or 12,000,000 florins, or about 1,000,000L sterling. If we compute the magni-
tude of this canal by the cubic contents of its bed, it is the greatest, we believe, in the world,
unless some of the Chinese canals be exceptions. The volume of water which it contains,
or the prisme de remplissage, is twice as great as that of the New York Canal, or the
Canal of Languedoc, and two and a half times as great as that of the artificial part of the
Caledonian Canal. In consequence, however, of the facility with which the Dutch canal
was dug, and of the evenness of the ground through which it passes, the difficulties with
which the engineer had to contend in making it were trifling compared to those which had
to be overcome in constructing the canals now mentioned. We have not learned what
returns this canal yields; most probably it is not, at least in a direct point of view, a profita-
ble concern. Even in Holland, notwithstanding the lowness of interest, it would require
tolls to the amount of 40,000L a year to cover interest and expenses and so large a sum
can hardly, we should think, be raised by the very moderate tolls laid on the ships passing
through it.-(See AMSTERDAM.) This, however, is not the only consideration to be attended
to in estimating the value of a work of this sort. Its influence in promoting the trade of
Amsterdam, and, indeed, of Holland, may far more than compensate for its cost. It is evi-
dent, too, that the imposition of oppressive tolls would have effectually counteracted this
advantage; that is, they would have defeated the very object for which the canal was con-
structed.-(We have derived these details, partly from an able article in the Scotsman, and
partly from private information.)
(6.) Danish Canals.-The Holstein Canal, in Denmark, is of very considerable import-
ance. It joins the river Eyder with Kiel Bay on the north-east coast of Holstein, forming
a navigable communication between the North Sea, a little to the north of Heligoland, and
the Baltic; enabling vessels to pass from the one to the other by a short cut of about 100
miles, instead of the lengthened and difficult voyage round Jutland, and through the Catte-
gat and the Sound. The Eyder is navigable for vessels not drawing more than 9 feet water,
from Tonningen, near its mouth, to Rendsburg, where it is joined by the canal, which com-
municates with the Baltic at Holtenau, about 3 miles north of Kiel. The canal is about 26
English miles in length, including about 6 miles of what is principally river navigation.
The excavated portion is 95 feet wide at top, 51 feet 6 inches at bottom, and 9 feet 6 inches
deep (Eng. meas.). Its highest elevation above the level of the sea is 24 feet 4 inches to
which height vessels are raised and let down by 6 locks or sluices. It is navigable by
vessels of 120 tons burden, or more provided they are constructed in that view. The total
cost of the canal was about 500,000Z. It was opened in 1785, and has so far realised the
views of its projectors, as to enable coasting vessels from the Danish islands in the Baltic
and the east coast of Holstein, Jutland, &c., to proceed to Hamburgh, Holland, England, &c.
in less time and with much less risk, than, in the ordinary course of navigation, they could
have cleared the point of the Skaw and conversely with ships from the west. The smaller
class of foreign vessels, particularly those under the Dutch and Hanseatic flags, navigating
the Baltic and North Seas, have largely availed themselves of the facilities afforded by this
canal. During the 5 years ending with 1831, no fewer than 2,786 vessels passed each year,
at an average, through the canal. This is a sufficient evidence of its utility. It would,
however, be much more frequented, were it not for the difficult navigation of the Eyder from
the sea to Rendsburg. The dues are moderate.-(Coxe's Travels in the North of Europe,
5th ed. vol. V. p. 239., where there is a plan of the canal; Catteau, Tableau des Etats
Danois, tom. ii. pp. 300-304.; and private information.)
(7.) Swedish Canals.-The formation of an internal navigation connecting the Cattegat
and the Baltic has long engaged the attention, and occupied the efforts, of the people and
government of Sweden. Various motives conspired to make them embark in this arduous
undertaking. The Sound and other channels to the Baltic being commanded by the Danes,
they were able, when at war with the Swedes, greatly to annoy the latter, by cutting off all
communication by sea between the eastern and western provinces of the kingdom. And
hence, in the view, partly of obviating this annoyance and partly of facilitating the convey-
ance of iron, timber, and other bulky products, from the interior to the coast, it was deter-
mined to attempt forming an internal navigation, by means of the river Gotha, and the lakes
Wener, Wetter, &c. from Gottenburgh to Soderkoeping on the Baltic. The first and most
difficult part of this enterprise was the perfecting of the communication from Gottenburgh
to the lake Wener. The Gotha, which flows from the latter to the*former, is navigable,
through by far the greater part of its course, for vessels of considerable burden but, besides
others less difficult to overcome, the navigation at the point called Tröllhætta is interrupted
by a series of cataracts about 112 feet in height. Owing to the rapidity of the river, and
the stubborn red granite rocks over which it flows, and by perpendicular banks of which it is
bounded, the attempt to cut a lateral canal, and still more to render it directly navigable,
presented the most formidable obstacles. But, undismayed by these, on which it is, indeed,
most probable he had not sufficiently reflected, Polhem, a native engineer, undertook, about
the middle of last century, the Herculean task of constructing locks in the channel of the
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river, and rendering it navigable ! Whether, however, it were owing to the all but insupera-
ble obstacles opposed to such a plan, to the defective execution, or deficient strength of the
works, they where wholly swept away, after being considerably advanced, and after vast
sums had been expended upon them. From this period, down to 1793, the undertaking was
abandoned; but in that year, the plan was proposed, which should have been adopted at
first, of cutting a lateral canal through the solid rock, about 1} mile from the river. This
new enterprise was begun under the auspices of a company incorporated for the purpose in
1794, and was successfully completed in 1800. The canal is about 3 miles in length, and
has about 61 feet water.* It has 8 sluices, and admits vessels of about 100 tons. In one part it
is cut through the solid rock to the depth of 72 feet. The expense was a good deal less
than might have been expected, being only about 80,000/. The lake Wener, the naviga-
tion of which was thus opened with Gottenburgh, is very large, deep, and encircled by some
of the richest of the Swedish provinces, which now possess the inestimable advantage of a
convenient and ready outlet for their products.
As soon as the Tröllhætta canal had been completed, there could be no room for doubt as
to the practicability of extending the navigation to Soderkoeping. In furtherance of this
object, the lake Wener has been joined to the lake Wetter by the Gotha Canal, which admits
vessels of the same size as that of Tröllhætta and the prolongation of the navigation to the
Baltic from the Wetter, partly by 2 canals of equal magnitude with the above, and partly
by lakes, is now, we believe, about completed. The entire undertaking is called the Gotha
Navigation, and deservedly ranks among the very first of the kind in Europe.
Besides the above, the canal of Arboga unites the lake Hielmar to the lake Maelar and
since 1819, a canal has been constructed from the latter to the Baltic at Södertelge. The
canal of Stroemsholm, so called from its passing near the castle of that name, has effected a
navigable communication between the province of Dalecarlia and the lake Maelar, &cc.-
(For further details see, besides the authorities already referred to, Coxe's Travels in the
North of Europe, 5th ed. vol. iv. pp. 253-266., and vol. V. pp. 58-66. Thomson's Tra-
vels in Sweden, p. 35, &c.)
(8.) French Canals.-The first canal executed in France was that of Briare, 341 Eng-
lish miles in length, intended to form a communication between the Seine and Loire. It
was commenced in 1605, in the reign of Henry IV., and was completed in 1642, under his
successor, Louis XIII. The canal of Orleans, which joins the above, was commenced in
1675. But the most stupendous undertaking of this sort that has been executed in France,
or indeed on the Continent, is the canal of Languedoc. It was projected under Francis I.;
but was begun and completed in the reign of Louis XIV. It reaches from Narbonne to
Toulouse; and was intended to form a safe and speedy means of communication between
the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean. It is 64 French leagues long, and 6 feet deep
and has, in all, 114 locks and sluices. In its highest part it is 600 feet above the level of
the sea. In some places it is conveyed by bridges of great length and strength, over large
rivers. It cost upwards of 1,300,000Z; and reflects infinite credit on the engineer, Riquet,
by whom it was planned and executed.
Besides this great work, France possesses several magnificent canals, such as that of The
Centre, connecting the Loire with the Saone; of St. Quentin, joining the Scheldt and the
Somme; of Besançon, joining the Saone, and consequently the Rhone, to the Rhine ; of
Burgundy, joining the Rhone to the Seine, &c. Some of these are of very considerable
magnitude. The canal of the Centre is about 72 English miles in length. It was com-
pleted in 1791, at an expense of about 11,000,000 francs. Its summit level is about 240
feet above the level of the Loire at Digoin ; the breadth at the water's edge is about 48 feet,
and at bottom 30 feet depth of water 51 feet number of locks 81. The canal of St. Quen-
tin, 28 English miles in length, was completed in 1810. The canal joining the Rhone to
the Rhine is the most extensive of any. It stretches from the Saone, a little above St. Jean
de Losne, by Dole, Besançon, and Mulhouse, to Strasburg, where it joins the Rhine,-a
distance of about 200 English miles. From Dole to Vogaucourt, near Montbéliard, the canal
is principally excavated in the bed of the Doubs. It is not quite finished. The canal of
Burgundy will, when completed, be about 242 kilom., or 150 English miles in length ; but
at present it is only navigable to the distance of about 95 kilom. In addition to these, a
great many other canals have been finished, while several are in progress, and others pro-
jected. There is an excellent account of the French canals completed, in progress, and
projected, in the work of M. Dutens, entitled Histoire de la Navigation Intérieure de la
France, 2 vols. 4to, and to it we beg to refer the reader for further details. He will find, at
the end of the second volume, a very beautiful map of the rivers and canals of France.
It is probable, however, that the railroad projects now set on foot in France may tend, for
a while at least, to check the progress of canalisation. We may observe, too, that the state
of the law in France is very unfavourable to the undertaking and success of all great public
works; and we are inclined to attribute the comparative fewness of canals in France, and
This is the statement of Catteau, Tableau de la Mer Baltique, tome ii. p. 77.; Oddy, in his European
Commerce, p. 306., and Balbi, Abrégé de la Géographie, p. 385., say that the depth of water is 10 feet.
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the recent period at which most of them have been constructed, to its influence. In that
country, canals, docks, and such like works, are mostly carried on at the expense and for
behoof of government, under the control of its agents. No scope has been given to the
enterprise of individuals or associations. Before either a road or a canal can be constructed.
plans and estimates must be made out and laid before the minister of the interior, by whom
they are referred to the prefect of the department, and then to the Bureau des Ponts et des
Chaussés, and supposing the project to be approved by these, and the other functionaries
consulted with respect to it, the work must after all be carried on under the superintendence
of some public officer. In consequence of this preposterous system, very few works of this
description have been undertaken as private speculations. And while not a few of those
begun by government remain unfinished and comparatively useless, those that are completed
have, as was to be expected, rarely proved profitable. There are some good remarks
on this subject in the useful work of M. Dupin, on the Forces Commerciales of Great
Britain.
(9.) Prussian Canals.-The Prussian states are traversed by the great navigable rivers
the Elbe, the Oder, and the Vistula; the first having its embouchure in the North Sea, and
the others in the Baltic. The formation of an internal navigation, that should join those
great water-ways, excited the attention of government at a distant period; and this object
has been successfully accomplished, partly by the aid of the secondary rivers falling into the
above, and partly by canals. In 1662, the canal of Muhlrose was undertaken, uniting the
Oder and the Spree; the latter being a navigable river falling into the Havel, also a naviga-
ble river joining the Elbe near Havelburg. But the navigation from the Oder to the Elbe
by this channel was difficult and liable to frequent interruption; and to obviate these defects
Frederick the Great constructed, towards the middle of last century, the Finnow Canal,
stretching from the Oder at Oderberg to the Havel, near Leibenwalde; the communication
is thence continued by the latter and a chain of lakes to Plauen from which point a canal
has been opened, joining the Elbe near Magdeburg. The Elbe being in this way connected
with the Oder by a comparatively easy navigation, the latter has been united to the Vistula,
partly by the river Netze, and partly by a canal joining that river to the Brahe, which falls
into the Vistula near Bromberg. A vast inland navigation has thus been completed barks
passing freely through the whole extent of country from Hamburgh to Dantzic affording
the means of shipping the products of the interior, and of importing those of foreign coun-
tries, either by the North Sea or the Baltic, as may be found most advantageous.-(Cateau,
Tableau de la Mer Baltique, tome ii. p. 11-18.
(10.) Russian Canals-The inland navigation of Russia is of vast extent, and very
considerable importance. The reader will find some details with respect to it under the
article PETERSBURGH.
(11.) Austrian Canals-The Austrian empire is traversed in its whole extent by the
Danube; but the advantages that might result to the foreign trade of the empire from so
great a command of river navigation, have been materially abridged by the jealousy of the
Turks, who command the embouchure of the river, and by the difficulties that are in some
places incident to its navigation. Two pretty extensive canals have been constructed in Hun-
gary. That called the Bega Canal is 73 English miles in length it stretches from Fascet
through the Bannat by Temeswar to Becskerek, whence vessels pass by the Bega into the
Theiss, a little above its junction with the Danube. The other Hungarian canal is called
after the Emperor Francis. It stretches from the Danube by Zambor to the Theiss, which
it joins near Földvar, being 62 English miles in length its elevation, where highest, does
not exceed 27 feet. Besides the above, the canal of Vienna establishes a communication
between that city and Neustadt. It is said to be the intention to continue this canal to
Trieste but, however desirable, we doubt much whether this be practicable. A railroad is
at present being made from Munthausen on the Danube to Budweiss on the Moldau, a
navigable river that falls into the Elbe. This promises to be a highly useful communication.
-(Bright's Travels in Hungary, p. 246. Balbi, Abrégé de la Géographie, p. 216.)
(12.) Spanish Canals.-No where are canals more necessary, both for the purposes of
navigation and irrigation, than in Spain; but the nature of the soil and the poverty and
ignorance of the government as well as of the people, oppose formidable obstacles to their
construction. During the reign of Charles II., a company of Dutch contractors offered to
render the Mançanares navigable from Madrid to where it falls into the Tagus, and the latter
from that point to Lisbon, provided they were allowed to levy a duty for a certain number
of years on the goods conveyed by this channel. The Council of Castile took this proposal
into their serious consideration, and after maturely weighing it, pronounced the singular
decision- That if it had pleased God that these two rivers should have been navigable, he
would not have wanted human assistance to have made them such but that, as he has not
done it, it is plain that he did not think it proper that it should be done. To attempt it, there-
fore, would-be to violate the decrees of his providence, and to mend the imperfections which
he designedly left in his works!"-(Clarke's Letters on the Spanish Nation, p. 284.) But
such undertakings are no longer looked upon as sinful; and many have been projected since
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the accession of the Bourbon dynasty, though few have been perfected. The canal of the
Ebro, begun under the Emperor Charles V., is the most important of the Spanish canals;
but it is only partially completed, and during dry seasons it suffers from want of water. It
runs parallel to the right bank of the Ebro, from Tudela in Navarre to below Saragossa ;
the intention being to carry it to Sastago, where it is to unite with the Ebro. The canal of
Castile is intended to lay open the country between the Douro and Reynosa, and to facilitate
the conveyance of grain from the interior to Santandar and Bilbao. It passes by Valladolid,
Palencia, and Aguilar del Campos; a small part has been executed, and is now in operation.
A company has recently undertaken, what the Dutch contractors formerly offered, to render
the Tagus navigable from Aranjuez to Lisbon the free navigation of the river having been
stipulated at the Congress of Vienna. A project for deepening the Guadalquivir, and some
others, are also on foot.-(Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 9. p. 85. Balbi, Abrégé de la
Géographie, p. 349.)
(13.) British Canals.-Owing partly to the late rise of extensive manufactures and com-
merce in Great Britain, but more, perhaps, to the insular situation of the country, no part of
which is very distant from the sea or from a navigable river, no attempt was made in Eng-
land, to construct canals till a comparatively recent period. The efforts of those who first
began to improve the means of internal navigation, were limited to attempts to deepen the
beds of rivers, and to render them better fitted for the conveyance of vessels. So early as
1635, a Mr. Sandys of Flatbury, Worcestershire, formed a project for rendering the Avon
navigable from the Severn, near Tewkesbury, through the counties of Warwick, Worcester,
and Gloucester, " that the towns and country might be better supplied with wood, iron, pit-
coal, and other commodities." This scheme was approved by the principal nobility and
landowners in the adjoining counties; but the civil war having broken out soon after, the
project was abandoned, and does not seem to have been revived. After the restoration, and
during the earlier part of last century, various acts were at different times obtained for cheap-
ening and improving river navigation. For the most part, however, these attempts were
not very successful. The current of the rivers gradually changed the form of their channels;
the dykes and other artificial constructions were apt to be destroyed by inundations alluvial
sand banks were formed below the weirs; in summer, the channels were frequently too dry
to admit of being navigated, while at other periods the current was so strong as to render it
quite impossible to ascend the river, which at all times, indeed, was a laborious and expen-
give undertaking. These difficulties in the way of river navigation seem to have suggested
the expediency of abandoning the channels of most rivers, and of digging parallel to them
artificial channels, in which the water might be kept at the proper level by means of locks.
The act passed by the legislature in 1755, for improving the navigation of Sankey Brook on
the Mersey, gave rise to a lateral canal of this description, about 111 miles in length, which
deserves to be mentioned as the earliest effort of the sort in England.
But before this canal had been completed, the celebrated Duke of Bridgewater*, and his
equally celebrated engineer, the self-instructed James Brindley, had conceived a plan of
canalisation independent altogether of natural channels, and intended to afford the greatest
facilities to commerce, by carrying canals across rivers and through mountains, wherever it
was practicable to construct them.t
The Duke was proprietor of a large estate at Worsley, 7 miles from Manchester, in which
were some very rich coal-mines, that had hitherto been in a great measure useless, owing to
the cost of carrying coal to market. Being desirous of turning his mines to some account, it
occurred to his Grace that his purpose would be best accomplished by cutting a canal from
Worsley to Manchester. Mr. Brindley, having been consulted, declared that the scheme
was practicable; and an act having been obtained, the work was immediately commenced.
The principle," says Mr. Phillips, laid down at the commencement of this business,
reflects as much honour on the noble undertaker as it does upon his engineer. It was
resolved that the canal should be perfect in its kind; and that, in order to preserve the level
of the water, it should be free from the usual construction of locks. But in accomplishing
this end many difficulties were decmed insurmountable. It was necessary that the canal
should be carried over rivers, and many large and deep valleys, where it was evident that
such stupendous mounds of earth must be raised, as would scarcely, it was thought by num-
bers, be completed by the labour of ages; and, above all, it was not known from what source
SO large a supply of water could be drawn, even on this improved plan, as would supply the
navigation. But Mr. Brindley, with a strength of mind peculiar to himself, and being pos-
sessed of the confidence of his great patron, contrived such admirable machines, and took
* This truly noble person expended a princely fortune in the prosecution of his great designs; and
to increase his resources, is said to have restricted his own personal expenses to 4001. a year! But
his projects were productive of great wealth to himself and his successors; and have promoted, in no
ordinary degree, the wealth and prosperity of his country. He died in 1823.
t There is a good account of Brindley in Aikin's Biographical Dictionary. His intense application,
and the anxiety of mind inseparable from the great enterprises in which he was engaged, terminated
his valuable life at the early age of 56.
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such methods to facilitate the progress of the work, that the world soon began to wonder
how it could be thought so difficult.
" When the canal was completed as far as Barton, where the Irwell is navigable for large
vessels, Mr. Brindley proposed to carry it over that river by an aqueduct 39 feet above the
surface of the water in the river. This, however, being considered as a wild and extrava-
gant project, he desired, in order to justify his conduct towards his noble employer, that the
opinion of another engineer might be taken, believing that he could easily convince an
intelligent person of the practicability of the design. A gentleman of eminence was accord-
ingly called, who, being conducted to the place where it was intended that the aqueduct
should be made, ridiculed the attempt; and, when the height and dimensions were commu-
nicated to him, he exclaimed— have often heard of castles in the air, but never was shown
before where any of them were to be erected.' This unfavourable verdict did not deter the
Duke from following the opinion of his own engineer. The aqueduct was immediately be-
gun ; and it was carried on with such rapidity and success as astonished those who, but a
little before, thought it impossible."
Before the canal from Worsley to Manchester had been completed, it occurred to the
Duke and his engineer that it might be practicable to extend it by a branch, which, running
through Chester parallel to the river Mersey, should at length terminate in that river, below
the limits of its artificial navigation; and thus afford a new, safer, and cheaper means of
communication between Manchester and its vicinity and Liverpool. The execution of this
plan was authorised by an act passed in 1761. This canal, which is above 29 miles in
length, was finished in about 5 years. It was constructed in the best manner, and has proved
equally advantageous to its noble proprietor and the public.
" When the Duke of Bridgewater," says Dr. Aikin, " undertook this great design, the
price of carriage on the river navigation was 12s. the ton from Manchester to Liverpool,
while that of land carriage was 40s. the ton. The Duke's charge on this canal was limited,
by statute, to six shillings; and together with this vast superiority in cheapness, it had all
the speed and regularity of land carriage. The articles conveyed by it were, likewise, much
more numerous than those by the river navigation besides manufactured goods and their
raw materials, coals from the Duke's own pits were deposited in yards at various parts of the
canal, for the supply of Cheshire lime, manure, and building materials were carried from
place to place and the markets of Manchester obtained a supply of provisions from districts
too remote for the ordinary land conveyances. A branch of useful and profitable carriage,
hitherto scarcely known in England, was also undertaken, which was that of passengers.
Boats, on the model of the Dutch treckschuyts, but more agreeable and capacious, were set
up, which, at very reasonable rates, and with great convenience, carried numbers of persons
daily to and from Manchester along the line of the canal."-(Aikin's Description of the
Country round Manchester, p. 116.)
The success that attended the Duke of Bridgewater's canals stimulated public-spirited
individuals in other districts to undertake similar works. Mr. Brindley had early formed
the magnificent scheme of joining the great ports of London, Liverpool, Bristol, and Hull,
by a system of internal navigation and, though he died in 1772, at the early age of 56, he
had the satisfaction to see his grand project in a fair way of being realised. The Trent and
Mersey, or, as it has been more commonly termed, the Grand Trunk Canal, 96 miles in
length, was begun in 1766 and completed in 1777. It stretches from near Runcorn on the
Mersey, where it communicates with the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal, to Newcastle-under-
Line; thence southwards to near Titchfield and then north-westerly, till it joins the Trent
at Wilden Ferry, at the north-western extremity of Leicestershire. A water communication
between Hull and Liverpool was thus completed and by means of the Staffordshire and
Worcestershire Canal, which joins the Grand Trunk near Haywood in the former, and the
Severn near Stourport in the latter, the same means of communication was extended to
Bristol. During the time that the Grand Trunk Canal was being made, a canal was under-
taken from Liverpool to Leeds, 130 miles in length; another from Birmingham to the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, joining it near Wolverhampton and one from
Birmingham to Fazeley and thence to Coventry. By canals subsequently undertaken, a
communication was formed between the Grand Trunk Canal and Oxford, and consequently
with London, completing Brindley's magnificent scheme. In 1792, the Grand Junction
Canal was begun, which runs in a pretty straight line from Brentford, on the Thames, a little
above the metropolis, to Braunston in Northamptonshire, where it unites with the Oxford
and other central canals. It is about 90 miles in length. There is also a direct water
communication, by means of the river Lea navigation, the Cambridge Junction Canal, &c,,
between London and the Wash. In addition to these, an immense number of other canals,
some of them of very great magnitude and importance, have been constructed in different
parts of the country; so that a command of internal navigation has been obtained, unparal-
led in any European country, with the exception of Holland.
In Scotland, the great canal to join the Forth and Clyde was begun in 1768, but it was
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suspended in 1777, and was not resumed till after the close of the American war. It was
finally completed in 1790. Its total length, including the collateral cuts to Glasgow and the
Monkland Canal, is 184 miles. Where highest it is 150 feet above the level of the sea.
It is on a larger scale than any of the English canals. Its medium width at the surface is
56, and at the bottom 27 feet. Originally it was about 8 feet 6 inches deep; but recently
its banks have been raised 80 that the depth of water is now about 10 feet. It has, in all, 39
locks. In completing this canal, many serious difficulties had to be encountered. These,
however, were all successfully overcome; and though unprofitable for a while, it has, for
many years past, yielded a handsome return to its proprietors. Swift boats, on the plan of
those subsequently described, were established on this canal in 1832.-(See Cleland's Sta-
tistics of Glasgow, p. 170. &c.)
The Union Canal joins the Forth and Clyde Canal near Falkirk, and stretches thence to
Edinburgh, being 31f miles in length. It is 40 feet wide at the top, 20 at bottom, and
5 deep. It was completed in 1822; but has been, in all respects, a most unprofitable
undertaking. Hitherto the proprietors have not received any dividend and their prospects,
we understand, are little, if any thing, improved.
A canal intended to form a communication between Glasgow, Paisley, and Ardrossan,
was commenced in 1807 but only that portion connecting Glasgow with Paisley and the
village of Johnstoun, has hitherto been finished. This part is about 12 miles long; the canal
being 30 feet broad at top, 18 at bottom, and 41 deep. It was here that the important
experiments were originally made on quick travelling by canals, which demonstrated
that it was quite practicable to impel a properly constructed boat, carrying passengers
and goods, along a canal at the rate of 9 or 10 miles an hour, without injury to the banks
(See post.)
The Crinan Canal, across the peninsula of Kintyre, is 9 miles long, and 12 feet deep,
admitting vessels of 160 tons burden.
The Caledonian Canal is the greatest undertaking of the sort attempted in the empire.
It stretches S. W. and N. E. across the island from a point near Inverness to another near
Fort William. It is chiefly formed by Loch Ness, Loch Oich, and Loch Lochy. The total
length of the canal, including the lakes, is 581 miles ; but the excavated part is only 214
miles. At the summit it is 961 feet above the level of the Western Ocean. It has been
constructed upon a very grand scale, being 20 feet deep, 50 feet wide at bottom, and 122 at
top the locks are 20 feet deep, 172 long, and 40 broad. Frigates of 32 guns and merchant
ships of 1,000 tons burden may pass through it. This canal was opened in 1822. It was
executed entirely at the expense of government, from the designs and under the superin-
tendence of Thomas Telford, Esq., on whose skill and talents as an engineer it reflects the
highest credit. The entire cost has been 986,924/. It would, however, appear to have been
projected without due consideration, and promises to be a very unprofitable speculation.
During the year 1829, the total revenue of the canal, arising from tonnage dues and all
other sources, amounted to only 2,5751. 6s. 4d., while the ordinary expenditure, during the
same year, amounted to 4,573/. Os. 14d. ! It is, therefore, very doubtful whether the revenue
derived from it will ever be able to defray the expenses of keeping it in repair, without allow-
ing any thing for interest or capital.
The following is a detailed account of the various items of expenditure on account of the Caledo-
nian Canal, from 20th of October, 1803, to 1st of May, 1830:-
£ 8. d.
Management and travelling expenses
-
-
-
-
36,691 12 104
Timber, and carriage thereof
-
-
-
- 72,317 1 104
Machinery, cast-iron works, tools, and materials
-
-
-
128,886
4
74
Quarries and masonry
-
-
-
9
-
-
200,014
4 101
Shipping
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 11,719 1 6
Houses and other buildings
-
-
-
-
-
5,539 10 6
Labour and workmanship (day-work)
-
-
-
- 54,209 1 11
Labour and workmanship (measure work)
-
-
- 418,551 16 81
Purchase of land, and payments on account of damages
-
-
47,956 12 91
Purchase and hire of horses and provender
-
-
-
3,638 12 24
Incidental expenses
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,820 18 10
Roadmaking
-
-
-
-
1
-
-
4,579
3
64
Total cost
-
-
-
£986,924 1 6f
Some other canals have been projected and completed in different parts of Scotland.
Of these the Monkland Canal, for the supply of Glasgow with coal, has been the most
successful.
The following extract from the share list of Mr. Edmunds, Broker, (9. Change Alley,
Cornhill, 12th of October, 1833,) gives an account of the number of shares in the princi-
pal British canals, the cost or sum actually expended upon each share, the dividend payable
upon it, its selling price at the abovementioned date, and the periods when the dividends are
payable:- :-
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Number of
Amount of
Average Cost
Names of Canals.
Price per
Div. per
Dividend
Shares.
Share.
per Share.
Share.
Annum.
Payable,
£ 8.
£ s. d.
£s.
£ S. d.
1,482
Ashby-de-la-Zouch
-
-
100 0
113 0 0
74 0
400
Ap. Oct.
1,766
Ashton and Oldham
-
-
-
113 0 0
136 0
500
Ap. Oct.
720
Barnsley
-
-
-
160 0
217
0
0
290 0
14 0 0
Feb. Aug.
1,260
Basingstoke
-
-
-
100 0
-
55
Ditto bonds
-
-
-
100 0
-
-
-
April.
4,000
Birmingham (1th sh.)
-
17 10
-
233 10
12 10 0
Ap. Oct.
4,000
Birmingham & Liverpool Junc-
100 0
100
0
Opd.
36 0
tion
477
Bolton and Bury
-
-
250 0
-
105 0
6 0 0
January.
1,005
Brecknock and Abergavenny
150 0
-
85 0
400
Jan. July.
600
Bridgewater and Taunton
-
100 0
100
0
Opd.
70 0
Calder and Hebble
-
-
-
-
490 0
1,600
Carlisle
-
-
-
50 0
21
10
Opd.
400
Chelmer and Blackwater
-
100 0
-
103 0
5 0 0
January.
1,500
Chesterfield
-
-
-
100 0
-
176 0
8 0 0
500
Coventry
-
-
-
100 0
-
600 0
32 0 0
May, Nov.
1,851
Crinan -
-
-
-
50 0
-
20
460
Cromford
-
-
-
100 0
-
300 0
18 0 0
Jan. July.
4,546
Croydon
-
-
-
100 0
31 2 10
I 0
11,810Z.
Ditto bonds
-
-
-
100 0
-
50 6
5 0 0
600Z.
Derby -
-
-
-
100 0
110 0 0
117 0
6 0 0
Jan. July.
2,060
Dudley
-
-
-
100 0
-
50 0
2 10 0
Mar. Sept.
Edinburgh and Glasgow
-
100 0
3,575
Ellesmere and Chester
-
133 0
133 0 0
80 0
3150
September.
231
Erewash
-
-
-
100 0
750 0 0
705 0
47 0 0
May, Nov.
1,297
Forth and Clyde
-
-
100 0
400 10 0
545 0
25 0 0
June, Dec.
600
Glamorganshire
100 0
172 13 4
290 0
13 12 8
s Ma. June,
-
-
(Sep. Dec.
1,187
Gloucester and Berkeley
-
100 0
-
13 10
899
Ditto (New) of 10 per cent.
-
-
-
45 0
11,600
Grand Junction
-
-
100 0
224 10 0
245 0
12 0 0
Jan. July.
1,521
Grand Surrey
-
-
100 0
-
22 0
-
Apr. Oct.
120,000Z.
Ditto loan
-
-
-
-
-
80 0
4 0 0
Jan. July.
2,8491
Grand Union
-
-
-
100 0
-
24
0
100
1st Oct.
3,096
Grand Western
-
-
100 0
100
0
Opd.
21
0
749
Grantham
-
-
-
150 0
150 0 0
200 0
10 0 0
May.
Hereford and Gloucester
-
100 0
6,238
Huddersfield
-
-
-
100 0
57 6 6
34 0
10 0
September.
148
Ivel and Ouse Beds
-
-
100 0
100 0 Opd.
115 10
500
Jan. July.
25,328
Kennet and Avon
-
-
100 0
39 18 10
27 0
150
September.
150
Kensington
-
-
-
100 0
100 0 Opd.
10 0
11,699}
Lancaster
-
-
-
100 0
47 6 8
26 0
100
April.
2,8791
Leeds and Liverpool
-
-
100 0
-
470 0
20 0 0
May, Nov.
181
Ditto (New)
-
-
-
-
-
-
16 0 0
May, Nov.
540
Leicester
-
-
-
-
140 0 0
175 0
.10 0 0
Jan. July.
5
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
90 0 0
80 0
13 10 0
Jan. July.
1,897
Leicester and Northampton
-
100 0
83 10 0
80 0
400
Jan. July.
70
Loughborough
-
-
-
142 17 0
1,820 0
124 0 0
Jan. July.
3,000
Macclestield
-
-
-
100
0
100 0 Opd.
50 0
250
Melton Mowbray
-
-
100 0
-
190 0
9 0 0
July.
500
Mersey and Irwell
-
-
100 0
-
750 0
40 0 0
June.
101
Monkland
-
100 0
-
-
-
90 0
2,409
Monmouthshire
.
-
100 0
100 0 0
198 0
10 0 0
Jan. July.
700
Montgomeryshire
-
-
100 0
-
85 0
400
Mar. Aug.
600
North Walsham and Dilham
-
50 0
50 0 Opd.
10 0
-
January.
247
Neath
-
-
-
-
107 10 0
290 0
15 0 0
Aug. Feb.
500
Nottingham
-
150 0
-
265 0
12 0 0
-
-
April, Oct.
130
Nutbrook
109 0
-
-
620
-
-
-
522
Oakham
-
-
-
130 0
-
44 0
200
May.
1,786
Oxford
-
100 0
-
-
595 0
32 0 0
-
-
Mar. Sept.
2,400
Peak Forest
-
-
-
100 0
48 0 0
77 0
3 10 0
June, Dec.
2,520
Portsmouth and Arundel
-
50 0
50 0 0
10 0
21,418
Regent's
-
-
-
100 0
33 16 8
16 15
0 13 6
July.
5,669
Rochdale
-
-
-
100 0
85 0 0
111 0
460
May.
500
Shrewsbury
-
-
125 0
-
255 0
11 0 0
-
May, Nov.
500
Shropshire
125 0
-
-
-
-
138 0
710 0
June, Dec.
800
Somerset Coal
50 0
-
170 0
10 10 0
-
-
Jan. July.
45,000
Ditto Lock Fund
-
-
12 10
-
12 10
5 10 ct.
June, Dec.
700
Stafford and Worcester
-
140 0
140 0 0
610 0
34 0 0
Feb. Aug.
300
Stourbridge
-
-
I
145 0
-
200 0
900
Jan. July.
3,647
Stratford-on-Avon
-
-
-
79 9 8
36 0
150
August
200
Stroudwater
150 0
-
500 0
23 0 0
-
-
-
May, Nov.
533
Swansea
-
-
100 0
180 0 0
220 0
12 0 0
November.
-
350
Tavistock
-
-
-
100 0
I
105 0
200
4,805
Thames and Medway
-
-
100 0
30 4 3
10
3,344
Ditto New
-
-
-
3 10
2
15
Opd.
Ditto 1st loan
-
56 0 0
-
2 10 0
-
-
-
Ditto 2d loan
-
-
40 0 0
-
2 0 0
-
-
-
Ditto 3d loan
-
-
-
-
100 0 0
-
5 0 0
Ditto 4th loan
-
-
-
100 0 0
I
5 0 0
June.
1,150
Thames and Severn, New
-
-
-
33 0
1 10 0
June.
1,300
Ditto Original
1 10 0
June.
-
-
-
27 7
-
2,600
Trent and Mersey (1)
50 0
-
640 0
37 10 0
-
May, Nov.
1,000
100 0
Warwick and Birmingham
-
278 0
16 0 0
-
May, Nov.
1,0001
50 0
980
Warwick and Napton
-
100 0
-
210 0
12 0 0
May, Nov.
Digitized by Google
288
CANALS.
Number of
Names of Canals.
Amount of
Average Cost
Price per
Div. per
Dividends
Shares.
Share.
per Share.
Share.
Annum.
Payable.
905
Wey and Arun
-
-
110 0
110 0 0
32 0
-
May.
20,000
Wilts and Berks
-
-
-
-
5 10
0 5 0
June.
126
Wisbeach
-
-
105 0
105 0 0
: 40 0
-
February.
6,000
Worcester and Birmingham
-
-
-
88 10
4 0 0
Feb. Aug.
800
Wyrley and Essington
-
125 0
-
75 0
-
February.
(14.) Irish Canals.-Various canals have been undertaken in Ireland, of which the
Grand Canal and the Royal Canal are the principal. The Grand Canal was begun in 1756,
by a body of subscribers; but they could not have completed the work without very large
advances from government. The canal commences at Dublin, and stretches in a westerly
direction, inclining a little to the south, to the Shannon, with which it unites near Banagher,
a distance of 87 statute miles. But, exclusive of the main trunk, there is a branch to Athy,
where it joins the Barrow, a distance of about 26 miles; and there are branches to Portar-
lington, Mount Mellick, and some other places. There is also a westerly branch, recently
constructed, from the Shannon to Ballinasloe, about 14 miles in length. The total length
of the canal, with its various branches, is about 156 Eng. miles. Its summit elevation is
278 feet above the level of the sea at Dublin. It is 40 feet wide at the surface, from 24 to
20 feet at bottom, and has 6 feet water. It cost, in all, above 2,000,000/. In 1829, 191,774
tons of commodities were conveyed along the canal to and from Dublin, and about 67,000
passengers. The tonnage dues on the former amounted to 31,435/., and the fares of the
latter to 10,575/. In 1831, the produce conveyed by the canal had increased to 237,889
tons, and the tonnage dues to 36,736L We have not learned the number of passengers for
this year.
Two capital errors seem to have been committed in the formation of this canal,-it was
framed on too large a scale, and was carried too far north. Had it been 4 or 41 instead of
6 feet deep, its utility would have been but little impaired, while its expense would have
been very materially diminished. But the great error was in its direction. Instead of join-
ing the Shannon about 15 miles above Lough Derg, it would have joined it below Limerick.
By this means, barges and other vessels passing from Dublin to Limerick, and conversely,
would have avoided the difficult and dangerous navigation of the upper Shannon; the canal
would have passed through a comparatively fertile country and it would not have been
necessary to carry it across the bog of Allen, in which, says Mr. Wakefield, " the company
have burried more money than would have cut a spacious canal from Dublin to Limerick."
-(Account of Ireland, vol. i. p. 642.)
The Royal Canal was undertaken in 1789. It stretches westward from Dublin to the
Shannon, which it joins at Tormanbury. Its entire length is about 83 miles; its highest
elevation is 322 feet above the level of the sea. At bottom it is 24 feet wide, having 6 feet
depth of water. It has cost, exclusive of interest on stock, loans, &c. advanced by govern-
ment, 1,421,954L The tolls produced, in 1831, 12,729/. 6s. Id.-a sum hardly adequate
to defray the ordinary wear and tear of the canal, and the wages of the persons employed
upon it, without leaving any thing for interest of capital !
This canal seems to have been planned in the most injudicious manner. It has the same
defect as the Grand Canal, of being extravagantly large; and throughout its whole course
it is nearly parallel to, and not very distant from, the latter. There are consequently two
immense canals, where there ought, perhaps, to be none. At all events, it is abundantly
certain that one canal of comparatively moderate dimensions would have been quite enough
for all the business of the district, though it were much greater than it is at this moment, or
than it is ever likely to become.
Besides the above, there are some other canals, as well as various river excavations, in
Ireland: but hardly one of them yields a reasonable return for the capital expended upon it.
They have almost all been liberally assisted by grants of public money and their history,
and that of the two great canals now adverted to, strikingly corroborates the caustic remark
of Arthur Young, that " a history of public works in Ireland would be a history of jobs."
-(Tour in Ireland, part ii. p. 66. 4to ed.) Those who wish to make themselves fully
acquainted with the history and state of the canals of Ireland, may consult the valuable
Report by Messrs. Henry, Mullins, and M.Mahon, in the Appendix to the Report of the
Select Committee of 1830 on the State of Ireland. The previous statements have been
derived principally from it, and from the evidence of Nicholas Fleming, Esq. before the same
committee.
(15.) American Canals.-The United States are pre-eminently distinguished by the
spirit with which they have undertaken, and the perseverance they have displayed in exa
cuting the most magnificent plans for improving and extending internal navigation. Besides
many others of great, though inferior, magnitude, a canal has been formed connecting the
Hudson with Lake Erie. This immense work is 363 miles long, 40 feet wide at the surface,
28 feet wide at the bottom, and 4 feet deep. The locks, 81 in number, exclusive of guard
Digitized by Google
CANALS.
289
locks, are 90 feet long and 14 feet wide, the average lift of each being 84 feet they are
constructed of stone, and finished, like the rest of the canal, in a substantial and handsome
manner. The rise and fall along the entire line is 661 feet. This great work was opened
on the 8th of October 1823, but was not finally completed till 1825. It cost nearly 1,800,000Z.
sterling, and was executed at the expense of the state of New York. It has completely
answered the views of the projectors; and will remain an example to the other states fully
justifying the encomiums that have been bestowed upon it.
Besides Erie Canal, the state of New York has completed Champlain Canal, stretching
from the Hudson, near Albany, to the lake of that name, and two smaller ones. The length,
cost, and revenue of these canals are as follow :-
Canals.
Length.
Cost.
Tolls, 1829.
Tolls, 1830.
Tolls, 1831.
Miles.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Erie
-
-
-
363
9,027,456.05
707,883.49
954,328.05
1,091,714.26
Champlain -
63
-
-
1,179,871.95
87,171.03
78,148.63
102,896.23
Oswego
38
-
-
-
525,115.37
9,439.44
12,335.18
16,271-10
Cayuga and Seneca
-
20
214,000.31
8,643.49
11,987-81
12,920.39
484
Navigable feeders
-
8
492
10,946,443.68
813,137.45
1,056,799-67
1,222,801.90
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal is the largest by far of those now in progress. This
Guly gigantic work was commenced in 1828. It begins at the tide water of the Potomac
River above Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, and is to terminate at Pittsburgh, in
Pennsylvania, a distance of 3414 miles. Its dimensions considerably exceed those of the
Erie Canal its breadth at the surface of the water being from 60 to 80 feet, do. at bottom
50 feet, with a depth of water varying from 6 to 7 feet. The locks are of stone, 100 feet
by 15 ;-amount of lockage required in the whole line, 3,215 feet. At the summit level on
the Alleghany mountains, there is a tunnel 4 miles and 80 yards in length. The estimated
cost of this vast work was 22,375,000 dollars; but it is believed that it will be finished for
less.-(American Almanac for 1833.)
A great number of other canals have been completed in different parts of the Union, and
many new ones are now in progress.
(16.) Canada Canals-The British government has expended a very large sum upon
the Rideau River and Canal, stretching from Kingston, on Lake Ontario, to the Ottawa, or
Grand River but this work was undertaken as much in the view of improving the military
defences of Canada, as of promoting its commerce. The expense has been enormous,
while the benefits are contingent and doubtful.
(17.) Utility of Canals.-The utility of canals, when judiciously contrived, and opening
an easy communication between places capable of maintaining an extensive intercourse with
each other, has never been better set forth than in a work published in 1765, entitled "A
View of the advantages of Inland Navigation," &c. But the following extract from Mac-
pherson's Annals of Commerce (anno 1760) contains a brief, and at the same time elo-
quent, summary of the principal advantages resulting from their construction.-" They give
fresh life to established manufactures, and they encourage the establishment of new ones, by
the ease of transporting the materials of manufacture and provisions; and thence we see
new villages start up upon the borders of canals in places formerly condemned to sterility
and solitude. They invigorate, and in many places create internal trade, which, for its
extent and value, is an object of still more importance than foreign commerce, and is ex-
empted from the many hardships and dangers of a maritime life and changes of climate.
And they greatly promote foreign trade; and consequently enrich the merchants of the
ports where they, or the navigable rivers they are connected with, terminate, by facilitating
the exportation of produce from, and the introduction of foreign merchandise into the inte-
rior parts of the country, which are thus placed nearly on a level with the maritime parts;
or, in other words, the interior parts become coasts, and enjoy the accommodations of ship-
ping. The price of provisions is nearly equalised through the whole country the blessings
of Providence are more uniformly distributed ; and the monopolist is disappointed in his
schemes of iniquity and oppression, by the ease wherewith provisions are transported from a
considerable distance. The advantages to agriculture, which provides a great part of the
materials, and almost the whole of the subsistence, required in carrying on manufactures
and commerce, are pre-eminently great. Manure, marl, lime, and all other bulky articles,
which could not possibly bear the great expense of cartage, and also corn and other produce,
can be carried at a very light expense on canals; whereby poor lands are enriched, and
barren lands are brought into cultivation, to the great emolument of the farmer and land-
holder, and the general advantage of the community, in an augmented supply of the neces-
saries of life and materials of manufactures; coals (the importance of which to a manufac-
turing country, few people, not actually concerned in manufactures, are capable of duly
VoL. L-2 B
37
Digitized by
Google
290
CANALS.
appreciating), stone, lime, iron ore, and minerals in general, as well as many other articles
of great bulk in proportion to their value, which had hitherto lain useless to their proprietors
by reason of the expense, and, in many cases, impossibility, of carriage, are called into life,
and rendered a fund of wealth, by the vicinity of a canal; which thus gives birth to a trade,
whereby, in return, it is maintained. The cheap, certain, and pleasant conveyance of tra-
vellers by the treckschuyts in Holland, has been admired by all who have been in that
country and it must be owing to the universal desire in this country of flying over the
ground with the greatest possible rapidity, that a mode of travelling so exceedingly easy to
the purse and the person is so little used here. Neither ought we entirely to forget, among
the advantages of canals, the pleasure afforded to the eye and the mind by a beautiful mov-
ing landscape of boats, men, horses, &c. busied in procuring subsistence to themselves, and
in diffusing opulence and conveniences through the country. And, in a word, we have
now the experience of about 40 years to establish as a certain truth, what was long ago
said by Dr. Adam Smith, that 'navigable canals are among the greatest of all improve-
ments."
(18.) Increased Speed of Travelling by Canals.-Great, however, as have been the
advantages derived from the formation of canals, it is not improbable that their further
progress may be in some degree checked by the formation of RAILROADS (which see).
We believe, however, that the proprietors of most of the existing canals have very little to
fear from this cause. The recent improvements in the art of constructing and propelling
canal vessels promise to be of very great national importance, and will enable the canal
owners still better to withstand the competition of the railroad companies. The new system
was introduced on the Paisley and Glasgow Canal, by Mr. Houston, in June 1831. The
results are described in the following statements, to which it is unnecessary to call the read-
er's attention.
Mr. Thomas Grahame, civil engineer, in his "Letter to Canal Proprietors and Traders" says, The
experiments of great velocity have been tried and proved on the narrowest, shallowest, and most curved
canal in Scotland, viz. the Ardrossan or Paisley Canal, connecting the city of Glasgow with the town
of Paisley and village of Johnstoun,-a distance of 12 miles." The result has disproved every pre-
vious theory as to difficulty and expense of attaining great velocity on canals; and as to the danger
or damage to their banks by great velocity in moving vessels along them.
The ordinary speed for the conveyance of passengers on the Ardrossan Canal has, for nearly 2 years,
been from nineto ten miles an hour; and, although there are fourteen journeys along the canal per day,
at this rapid speed, its banks have sustained no injury. The boats are 70 feet in length, about 5 feet 6
inches broad, and, but for the extreme narrowness of the canal, might be made broader. They carry
easily from 70 to 80 passengers; and when required, can and have carried upwards of 110 passengers.
The entire cost of a boat and fittings is about 1251. The hulls are formed of light iron plates and ribs,
and the covering is of wood and light oiled cloth. They are more airy, light, and comfortable than
any coach. They permit the passengers to move about from the outer to the inner cabin, and the fares
per mile are one penny in the first, and three farthings in the second cabin. The passengers are all car-
ried under cover, having the privilege also of an uncovered space. These boats are drawn by 2 horses
(the prices of which may be from 501. to 601. per pair), in stages of 4 miles in length, which are done
in from 22 to 25 minutes, including stoppages to let out and take in passengers, each set of horses doing
3 or 4 stages alternately each day. In fact, the boats are drawn through this narrow and shallow
canal, at a velocity which many celebrated engineers had demonstruted, and which the public believed to
be impossible.
"The entire amount of the whole expenses of attendants and horses, and of running one of these
boats 4 trips of 12 miles each (the length of the canal), or 48 miles daily, including interest on the
capital, and 20 per cent. laid aside annually for replacement of the boats, or loss on the capital therein
vested, and a considerable sum laid aside for accidents and replacement of the horses, is 7001. some
odd shillings; or, taking the number of working days to be 312 annually, something under 21. 2s. 4d.
per day, or about 11d. per mile. The actual cost of carrying from 80 to 100 persons a distance of 30
miles (the length of the Liverpool railway), at a velocity of nearly 10 miles an hour, on the Paisley
Canal, one of the most curved, narrow, and shallow in Britain, is therefore just 11. 7s. 6d. sterling.
Such are the facts, and, incredible as they may appear, they are facts which no one who inquires can
possibly doubt."
The following statement by Mr. Macneill shows the gross expense of running old heavy boats on the
Paisley Canal at the rate of 4 miles per hour, and new light boats, on the same canal, at the rate of
10 miles per hour, and the comparative expense per mile ; also the number of passengers carried before
and after the introduction of the new system.
1830.*
1831.+
1832.+
Speed, 10 hours
-
-
-
miles
-
4
10
10
Number of passengers carried
-
-
-
32,831
79,455
148,561
Number of miles run each day
-
-
-
48
varying
152
£ 3. d.
£ 3. d.
£ 8. d.
Gross expense in the year
-
-
-
-
700 4 7
1,316 17 5
218 5 11
Cost per mile, year taken at 312 days
-
-
0 0 11
-
0 0 104
The power of conveyance thus established on the Paisley canal may be judged of from the fact,
that on the 31st of December, 1832, and 31st of January, 1833, there were conveyed in these boats
nearly 2,500 passengers. The increase still continues. The number carried in April, 1833, being
20,000, or at the rate of 240,000 a year.-(Macneill on the Resistance of Water, &c. p. 5.)
(19.) Profits of Canals.-It is a well-known fact, that canals, at an average, and allow-
ing for the length of time that must elapse from the first outlay of capital before they yield
* These charges are the bare outlays.
+ These charges include loss on purchase and sale of additional horses, and 10 per cent. on cost of
horses and boats, deposited in a contingent fund.
Digitized by
Google
CANARY SEED, CANDLE.
291
any return, are not very productive. When, indeed, they connect places that have an
extensive intercourse, and when no very extraordinary difficulties have to be surmounted in
their construction, they most commonly yield very large profits; but, generally speaking, this
does not appear to be the case; and, on the whole, they seem to have been more beneficial
to the public than to their projectors.
It is customary to insert clauses in the acts authorising canals to be cut, limiting the
charge which the proprietors shall be entitled to impose upon the goods conveyed by them.
But we think that the dividend ought also to be limited and that it should be stipulated that
whatever a moderate toll yielded over and above defraying this dividend, and providing for
the repair of the canal, should be accumulated as a fund in order to buy up the stock of the
canal, 80 that the toll may ultimately be reduced to such a sum as may suffice merely to
meet the necessary repairs. We are not aware that any good objection could be made to a
plan of this sort and had it been adopted in this country, there are several instances in
which it would have been very advantageous for the public.
When the canal of Languedoc was completed, the most likely method, it was found, of
keeping it in constant repair, was to make a present of the tolls to Riquet the engineer.
These tolls constitute," says Dr. Smith, a very large estate to the different branches of
the family of that gentleman; who have, therefore, a great interest to keep the work in con-
stant repair. But had these tolls been put under the management of commissioners, who
had no such interest, they might, perhaps, have been dissipated in ornamental and unnecessary
expenses, while the most essential parts of the work were allowed to go to ruin." Dr. Smith
ought, however, to have mentioned that Riquet advanced a fourth part of the entire sum
Iaid out upon the canal (Dutens, Navigation Intérieure de la France, tom. i. p. 119. &c.)
and that officers were appointed by the crown to see that the tolls were not rendered oppress-
ive, and the canal kept in good order. At the Revolution, most part of the property of the
canal was confiscated; but at the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, such parts of the
confiscated property as had not been sold were restored to the successors of M. Riquet, who
have at this moment the principal management of the canal.
For a map of the canals, railroads, &c. of Great Britain and Ireland, the reader is
referred to the magnificent six sheet map, published by J. Walker, Esq. of Wakefield.
This map, which is equally correct and beautiful, is a truly national work, and well deserves
the public patronage. An Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers and Canals, &c.,
of Great Britain," in 4to, attached to it by way of Index, is both an accurate and a useful
publication.
[To avoid unnecessary repetitions, it is deemed expedient to treat of the ordinary roads,
the railroads, and the canals of the United States, or, in other words, of our 'internal
improvements," as we choose to style them, under one head, to wit, under that of ROADS; to
which article the reader is accordingly referred.-Am. Ed.]
CANARY SEED. See SEED.
CANDLE (Ger. Lichter, Kerzen; Du. Kaarzen; Fr. Chandelle; It. Candelle; Sp.
and Port. Velas; Rus. Swjetschi Lat. Candela;) a taper of tallow, wax, or spermaceti, the
wick of which is commonly of several threads of cotton spun and twisted together.
Dr. Ure gives the following table, as containing the result of certain experiments he had
made, in order to determine the relative intensity of the light, and the duration of different
sorts of tallow candles :-
Number in a
Duration of a
Weight in
Consumption per
Proportion of
Economy of
Candles equal
Pound.
Candle.
Grains.
Hour in Grains.
Light.
Light.
one Argand.
10 mould,
5 h.
9 m.
682
132
121
68
5.7
10 dipped,
4
36
672
150
13
651
5.25
8 mould,
6
31
856
132
101
591
6·6
6 do.
7
21
1,160
163
141
66
5:0
4 do.
9
36
1,787
186
20/-
80
35
Argand oil
flame.
512
69.4
100
« A Scotch mutchkin," says Dr. Ure, " or 1 of a gallon of good seal oil, weighs 6,010 gr.,
or 13 10 OZ. avoirdupois, and lasts in a bright Argand lamp 11 hours 44 minutes. The
weight of oil it consumes per hour is equal to 4 times the weight of tallow in candles 8 to
the pound, and 34 times the weight of tallow in candles 6 to the pound. But its light being
equal to that of 5 of the latter candles, it appears from the above table, that 2 lbs. weight of
oil, value 9d., in an Argand, are equivalent in illuminating power to 3 lbs. of tallow candles,
which cost about 2s. The larger the flame in the above candles, the greater the economy
of light."
Until 1831, when it was repealed, candles were, for a lengthened period, subject to all
excise duty ; and their consumption was, in consequence, pretty exactly ascertained.
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CANDLESTICKS-CANTHARIDES.
An Account of the Rates of Duty separately charged on Tallow, Wax, and Spermaceti Candles, the
Number of Pounds' Weight of each Sort produced, and the Total annual Nett Revenue derived from
Candles, in Great Britain, in each Year since 1820.-(Parl. Paper, No. 468. Sess. 1830.)
Pounds' Weight of Candles.
Years.
Rate of
Rate of
Rate of
Nett Revenue.
Tallow.
Duty per lb.
Wax.
Duty per lb.
Spermaceti.
Duty per lb.
d.
d.
d.
£ 3. d.
1820
88,352,461
1
692,705
3t
193,463
31
373,455 14 5
1821
93,816,346
-
697,196
-
165,647
-
395,911 8 7
1822
98,311,801
-
682,241
-
179,208
-
415,609 15 3
1823
102,461,879
-
694,194
-
180,401
-
433,537 15 8
1824
109,810,900
-
759,751
-
179,454
-
466,042 16
1
1825
114,187,550
-
851,370
-
208,377
485,014 8 9
1826
110,102,643
-
705,615
-
201,790
-
467,069 12 1
1827
114,939,578
-
713,655
-
226,277
-
487,318 3 4
1828
117,342,157
-
748,293
-
270,263
-
497,770 2 9
1829
115,156,808
-
746,052
-
330,683
-
489,059 1 9
[Both spermaceti and tallow candles are exported to a very considerable amount from the
United States to the West Indies, Mexico, and South America. New Bedford, in Massa-
chusetts, is the principal place where the former description of them are made; although
Judd's candles, from New York, are those which are in the highest repute.-Am. Ed.]
CANDLE, Sale or Auction by Inch of, is when a small piece of candle being lighted, the
bystanders are allowed to bid for the merchandise that is selling but the moment the candle
is out, the commodity is adjudged to the last bidder.
CANDLESTICKS (Ger. Leuchter; Du. Kandelaars; Fr. Chandeliers; It. Candel-
lieri; Sp. Candeleros; Rus. Podsweschnikü) are of silver, brass, iron, bronze, tin japanned,
or copper plated, made of different patterns and sorts. The best plated candlesticks are
manufactured at Sheffield; the common sort of plated ones, as also brass, japanned, &c. are
made at Birmingham.
CANELLA ALBA (Fr. Canelle blanche Ger. Weisser Zimmet, It. Canella bianca ;
Sp. Canella blanca; Lat. Canella alba), the inner bark of the Canella alba, a tree growing
in the West Indies. It is brought to this country packed in casks and cases, in long pieces,
some rolled in quills and others flat the quilled sort is considerably thicker than cinnamon,
and the flat nearly 1 of an inch in thickness. The quilled pieces are yellow on both sides
the flat pieces are yellow on the outside and pale brown within. The odour of both kinds,
when fresh broken, is aromatic, something like a mixture of cloves and cinnamon; and the
taste slightly bitter, and extremely warm and pungent.
CANES. See BAMBOO, RATTANS.
CANNON, CANNONS (Du. Kanonen Fr. Canons Ger. Kanonen; It. Cannoni;
Pal. Dziala; Por. Canhoes; Rus. Puschki; Sp. Canones; Sw. Kanon), a kind of long
hollow engines for throwing iron, lead, or stone balls by the force of gunpowder. They are
commonly made of iron, but frequently also of a mixture of copper, tin, and brass. They
are either cast hollow, or solid and then bored; those made in the latter way being very
superior. Brass cannons, or cannons made of mixed metal, are said not to be so well cal-
culated for hard service, or quick and continued firing, as those made of iron. The propor-
tions of the ingredients used in making the former do not differ materially in different coun-
tries, though they rarely coincide. To 240 lbs. of metal fit for casting, we commonly put
68 lbs. of copper, 52 lbs. of brass, and 12 lbs. of tin. To 4,200 lbs. of metal fit for casting,
the Germans put 3,687.3 lbs. of copper, 20411 lbs. of brass, and 307 lbs. of tin.
Others, again, use 100 lbs. of copper, 6 lbs. of brass, and 9 lbs. of tin; and others, 100 lbs. of
copper, 10 lbs. of brass, and 15 lbs. of tin.
It seems to be the general opinion that cannon were first made use of in 1336 or 1338
but Don Antonio de Capmany has produced some statements, which render it almost certain
that some sort of artillery was used by the Moors in Spain so early as 1312.-(Questiones
Criticas, p. 181. &c.) Cannons were certainly used by the English in 1347 at the siege of
Calais, and by the Venetians at Chioggia in 1366, and in their wars with the Genoese in
1379 and 1380. The Turks employed them at the sieges of Constantinople, in 1394 and
1453. When first introduced, they were for the most part very heavy and unwieldly, and
threw balls of an enormous size; they were, however, owing to their frequently bursting,
about as dangerous to those using them as to their opponents. There is a valuable article
on the construction and history of cannons in Rees's Cycloprdia; but it was published pre-
viously to the appearance of Capmany's work referred to above.
CANTHARIDES, OR SPANISH FLY (Fr. Cantharides, Mouches d' Espagne; Ger.
Spanische Fliegen; It. Canterelle; Lat. Cantharis; Rus. Hischpanskie muchi; Sp.
Cantaridas). This insect is found on a variety of shrubs in Spain, Italy, France, &c.
Those used in this country are imported partly from Sicily, but principally from Astracan,
packed in casks and small chests. The best are of a lively fresh colour, a small size, and
not mouldy. They are frequently adulterated with the Melolontha vitis, but this is distin-
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CANTON.
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guishable by its form, which is squarer than the cantharis, and by its black feet. If they
be properly dried and protected from the air, they may be kept for a very long period.
-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
CANTON, one of the greatest emporiums in the East, ranking, as a port of trade, either
before, or immediately after Calcutta, situated in the province of Quantong, in China being the
only place in that empire frequented by European traders lat. 23° 7' 10" N., lon. 113° 14' E.
Canton stands on the eastern bank of the Pekiang River, which flows from the interior
in a navigable streamf of 300 miles to this city, where it is rather broader than the Thames
at London Bridge ; falling, after an additional course of 80 miles, into the southern sea of
China. Near its junction with the sea, it is called by foreigners Bocca Tigris. The town
is surrounded by a thick wall, built partly of stone and partly of brick, and is divided into 2
parts by another wall running east and west. The northern division is called the Old,
and the southern part the New City. In the old city is the Mantchou or Tartar general,
with a garrison of Mantchou troops under his command. The lieutenant-governor or
Fooyuen's office is also in the old city, but the governor and Hoppo (principal customs offi-
cer) reside in the new city, not far from the river.
All foreign commerce is conducted in the south-west suburb, where the foreign factories
are situated and which, with the other suburbs, is probably not less populous than the
city itself. The residence of Europeans is confined to a very small space, on the banks of
the river; which might, however, be as pleasant as a crowded mercantile place can well be,
were it not for the great number of small dwelling boats, which cover the face of the river.
The people who occupy the larger portion of these boats are said to have come originally from
the south ; and being a foreign and despised race, were not, at first, allowed to dwell on shore
but most of the distinctions between them and the rest of the people have been abolished.
Although Canton is situated nearly in the same parallel of latitude as Calcutta, there is a
considerable difference in their temperature; the former being much the coolest, and requir-
ing fires during the winter months. The streets of Canton are very narrow, paved with
little round stones, and flagged close to the sides of the houses. The front of every house is a
shop, and those of particular streets are laid out for the supply of strangers; China-street is
appropriated to Europeans; and here the productions of almost every part of the globe are
to be found. One of the shopkeepers is always to be found sitting on the counter, writing
with a camel's hair brush, or calculating with his swanpan, on which instrument a Chinese
will perform operations in numbers with as much celerity as the most expert European
arithmetician. This part of Canton being much frequented by the scamen, every artifice is
used by the Chinese retailers to attract their attention each of them having an English
name for himself painted on the outside of his shop, besides a number of advertisements
composed for them by the sailors in their own peculiar idiom. The latter, it may be sup-
posed, are often duped by their Chinese friends, who have, in general, picked up a few sea
phrases, by which the seamen are induced to enter their shops; but they suit each other
extremely well as the Chinese dealers possess an imperturbable command of temper, laugh
heartily at their jokes without understanding them, and humour the seamen in all their sallies.
Ships only ascend the river as far as Whampoa, about 15 miles below Canton loading
and unloading by means of native boats.
The Chinese, considered as traders, are eminently active, persevering, and intelligent
They are, in fact, a highly commercial people and the notion that was once very generally
entertained, of their being peculiarly characterised by a contempt of commerce and of strangers,
is as utterly unfounded as any notion can possibly be. Business is transacted at Canton
with great despatch; and it is affirmed, by Mr. Milburn, and by most of the witnesses
examined before the late parliamentary committees, that there is no port in the world
where cargoes may be sold and bought, unloaded and loaded, with more business-like speed
and activity.
The fears, whether real or pretended, of disturbances arising from a want of discipline in
the crews of private ships, have been proved to be in a great degree futile; the Americans
and other private traders having rarely experienced the slightest inconvenience from any
tumults between their sailors and the natives.
Provisions and refreshments of all sorts are abundant at Canton, and, in general, of an
excellent quality nor is the price exorbitant. Every description of them, dead or alive,
is sold by weight. It is a curious fact, that the Chinese make no use of milk, either in its
liquid state, or in the shape of curds, butter, or cheese. Among the delicacies of a Chinese
market are to be seen horse flesh, dogs, cats, hawks, and owls. The country is well sup-
plied with fish from the numerous canals and rivers by which it is intersected.
Foreign Factories.-These extend for a considerable way along the banks of the river, at
the distance of about 100 yards. They are named, by the Chinese, hongs, and resemble
long courts, or closes, without a thoroughfare, which generally contain 4 or 5 separate
houses. They are built on a broad quay, and have a parade in front. This promenade is
railed in, and is generally called Respondentia Walk and here the European merchants,
commanders, and officers of the ships, meet after dinner and enjoy the cool of the evening.
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CANTON.
The English hong, or factory, far surpasses the others in elegance and extent. This, with
the American and Dutch hongs, are the only ones that keep their national flags flying. The
neighbourhood of the factories is occupied with warehouses for the reception of European
goods, or of Chinese productions, until they are shipped. In 1822, during a dreadful con-
flagration that took place at Canton, the British factories, and above 10,000 other houses
were destroyed; on which occasion the East India Company's loss was estimated at
500,000/. sterling, three fifths in woollens.
For the space of 4 or 5 miles opposite to Canton, the river resembles an extensive floating
city, consisting of boats and vessels ranged parallel to each other, leaving a narrow passage
for others to pass and repass. In these the owners reside with their families; the latter
rarely visiting the shore.
All the business at Canton with Europeans is transacted in a jargon of the English lan-
guage. The sounds of such letters as B, D, R, and X, are utterly unknown in China. In-
stead of these they substitute some other letter, such as L for R, which occasions a Chinese
dealer in rice to offer for sale in English à rather unmarketable commodity. The name
mandarin is unknown among the Chinese; the word used by them to denote a person in
authority being quan. Mandarin is a Portuguese word derived from the verb mandar, to
command.-(Hamilton's East India Gazetteer; Milburn's Orient. Commerce; Companion
to Anglo-Chinese Calendar, Macao, 1832, &c.)
Conduct of Chinese Government.-The only real difficulty in trading with China origin-
ates in the despotism, pride, and jealousy of the government, and in the general corruption
of its officers. The former affects to treat all foreigners with contempt, and is always ex-
posing them to insult; while the latter endeavour to multiply and enforce vexatious regula-
tions and demands, that they may profit by the douceurs given for their evasion. Hitherto
we have submitted with exemplary forbearance to every annoyance the Chinese authorities
have chosen to inflict; but it is questioned by some whether this be the most politic course.
The imbecility and powerlessness of the government is at least equal to its pride and pre-
sumption: and in the event of its attempting to stop the trade, or to subject those engaged
in it-to unmerited ill treatment, it is contended that we ought, in the event of redress being re-
fused on the presentation of a remonstrance, to vindicate our rights by force. We are rather
disposed to concur in this opinion. We believe that little more than a demonstration would
be necessary and that the appearance of a single ship of the line in the Chinese seas would
have more influence over the court of Pekin than a dozen ambassadors. But it is essential,
before employing this sort of negociators, that we be well assured that we have justice on
our side, and that our own misconduct has not occasioned the interruptions and annoyances
complained of. The superintendents about to be sent to Canton-(see post)-should be
vested with full powers to prevent, if possible, and, at all events, suitably to punish, any
British subject who may act so as to give just cause of offence to the Chinese. We have a
right to claim fair treatment from them, as we have a right to claim it from the Americans, or
any other people; but we have no right to expect that our claim should be regarded, unless we
respect the prejudices of the people, and the equitable rules and regulations of the government.
Trade to the North of China.-At present, all foreign trade with China is confined to the
port of Canton ; but this was not the case for a long time after China was visited by British
ships, and it appears highly probable that it will be again extended towards the north. The
interesting details given in the account of the voyage of the ship Amherst along the Chinese
coasts show that the people are every where most anxious for an intercourse with foreigners,
and that the law is the only obstacle to its being carried on to a very great extent. But,
where the people are so well disposed to trade, the officers 80 corrupt, and the government so
imbecile, it may, we think, be fairly anticipated that the unalterable laws of the " Celestial
Empire" will not prove a very serious obstacle to such private individuals as may choose to
engage in a clandestine trade with the northern provinces. The smuggler is even more om-
nipotent in China than in Spain. The extent and perfect regularity with which the trade
in opium is carried on, in defiance of all the efforts of government for its suppression.
shows how unable it is to contend against the inclinations of its subjects, which, fortunately,
are all in favour of a free and liberal intercourse with foreigners.
Monies.-Accounts are kept at Canton in taels, mace, candarines, and cash; the tael being divided
into 10 mace, 100 candarines, or 1,000 cash. There is but one kind of money made in China, called cash,
which is not coined but cast, and which is only used for small payments; it is composed of six parts
of copper and 4 of lead; it is round, marked on one side, and rather raised at the edges, with a square
hole in the middle. These pieces are commonly carried, like beads, on a string of wire. A tael of
fine silver should be worth 1,000 cash; but, on account of their convenience for common use, their
price is sometimes so much raised that only 750 cash are given for the tnel.
Foreign coins, however, circulate here, particularly Spanish dollars; and for small change they are
cut into very exact proportions, but afterwards weighed; for which purpose merchants generally
carry scales, called dotchin, made somewhat after the plan of the English steelyards.
The tael is reckoned at 6s. 8d. sterling in the books of the East India Company but its value varies,
and is generally computed according to the price paid per ounce for Spanish dollars in London. The
tables given for this proportional value may be calculated in pence sterling, by the multiplier 1-908.
Thus, if the price of the Spanish dollar be 60d. per ounce, the value of the tael will be 60 multiplied
by 1-208 = 72:48d.; If at 66d., the value of the tael will be 79-728d.; and for any other price in the
same proportion.
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CANTON.
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Fineness of Gold and Silver.-The fineness of gold and silver is expressed by dividing the weight
into 100 parts, called toques or touch; similar to the modern practice of France. Thus, if an ingot be
93 touch, it is understood to contain 7 parts of alloy and 93 of pure metal, making in the whole 100.
The fineness of the precious metals, expressed in these decimal proportions, may be converted into
English proportions by the following analogies :-Suppose gold is 91:66 touch, say, as 100: 91.66 12:
11, the standard, and vice versd and to convert standard silver into touch, say, as 240 222 100: 92.5,
the touch of sterling silver. Pure gold or silver without alloy is called by the Chinese sycee and
sometimes, when of less purity, the metal is accepted as sycee.
Silver Ingots are used as money, and weigh from t a tael to 100 taels, their value being determined
by their weight. These ingots are of the best sort of silver: that is, about 94 touch.
Gold Ingots.Gold is not considered as money, but as merchandise: it is sold in regular ingots of a
determined weight, which the English call shoes of gold; the largest of these weigh 10 taels each
and the gold is reckoned 94 touch, though it may be only 92 or 93.
Weights-Gold and silver are weighed by the catty of 16 taels; the tael is divided into 10 mace, 100
candarines, or 1,000 cash. 100 taels are reckoned to weigh 120 OZ. 16 dwts. Troy, which makes the
tael equal to 579.8 English grains, or 37-566 grammes.
The principal weights for merchandise are the picul, the catty, and the tael; the picul being divided
into 100 catties, or 1,600 taels.
Lbs. OZ. dwts.
1 Tael weighs, avoirdupois
-
-
0
1
5:333 =
If
oz.
16 Taels, or 1 catty
-
-
-
1
5
5:333
-
11
lb.
100 Catties, or 1 picul
-
-
-
133
5
5.333
=
133}
lbs.
Hence the picul weighs 60.472 kilogrammes, or 162 lbs. 0 oz. 8 dwts. 13 grs. Troy.
The above weights are sometimes otherwise denominated, especially by the natives: thus, the
catty is called gin; the tael, lyang; the mace, tchen ; the candarine, fivan; and the cash, lis.
There are no commercial measures in China, as all dry goods and liquids are sold by weight. In
delivering a cargo, English weights are used, and afterwards turned into Chinese piculs and catties.
Long Measure.-That used in China is the covid or cobre; it is divided into 10 punts, and is equal to
0-3713 metres, or 14,625 English inches.
The Chinese have 4 different measures answering to the foot, viz.
Metres. Eng. inches.
The foot of the mathematical tribunal - 0:333 - 13-125
The builder's foot, called congpu
- = 0.3228 = 12.7
The tailors' and tradesmen's foot
- = 0.3383 = 13:33
The foot used by engineers
-
- = 0.3211 = 12:65
The li contains 180 fathoms, each 10 feet of the last mentioned length; therefore the li = 1,8974 Eng-
lish feet; and 1921 His measure a mean degree of the meridian nearly; but European missionaries in
China have divided the degree into 200 lis, each li making 1,826 English feet which gives the degree
69166 English miles, or 11-131 French myriametres.
European Trade at Cunton.-As soon as a vessel arrives among the islands which front the entrance
to the Canton river, she is generally boarded by a pilot, who conducts her into Macao roads. The
entrance is, however, 80 safe, that ships push on without waiting for the pilot, who, if the weather be
bad, is sometimes long in coming on board. The pilots' names are registered at the Keun-min-foo's
office, near Macao; and for a licence to act, the sum of 600 dollars is paid. The person who takes out
the licence sometimes knows nothing about ships or the river but employs fishermen to do the duty.
On the vessel's arrival at Macao roads, the pilot goes on shore, to report her at the office of the keun-
min-foo, who, when he has received answers to his inquiries, gives a permit for her to pass through
the Bogue, and orders a river pilot on board. This pilot seldom repairs on board the vessel before 24
hours have elapsed. When arrived, the vessel proceeds through the Bogue, and up the Canton river
to Whampoa.
Every ship that enters the port is required to have a hong merchant as security for the duties, and a
linguist, and comprador, before she can commence unloading. The master is required to give a writ-
ten declaration, in duplicate, solemnly affirming that the ship has brought no opium. The East India
Company's ships alone are excused giving this declaration.
The hong or security merchants (at present 10 in number) are the only individuals legally permitted
to trade with foreigners. To obtain this privilege, they have to pay largely; and when once become
merchants. they are rarely allowed to retire, and are at all times subject to severe exactions from the local
government. The linguists are government interpreters, ho procure permits for delivering and tak-
ing in cargo, transact all the Custom-house business, and keep accounts of the duties. All the minor
charges of the government, also, are paid by them; in consideration of which they receive a fee of
about 173 dollars, previously to the vessel's departure.
When a vessel wishes to discharge or receive cargo, the linguist is informed, a day or two previously,
what kind of goods are to be received or discharged, and in what quantities. He then applies for a
permit, which being issued, the lighters or chop-boats proceed to Whampoa, where they usually ar-
rive on the evening of the second or morning of the third day. For a single boat the linguist receives
a fee of 23 dollars; but if a permit be obtained for from 2 to 6 boats at a time, the fee for each boat
is only 11 taels 2 mace 6 cand., or about 151 dollars.
When the goods are ready to be landed from or sent to the ship, the hoppo (principal Custom-house
officer) sends a domestic, a writer, and a police runner; the hong merchant who has secured the ship
sends a domestic, called a court going man (one who attends at the public offices, on ordinary occa-
sions, in behalf of his master); and the linguist sends an accountant and interpreter, to attend at the
examination of the goods. The hong merchants are always held responsible by the government for
paying all duties, whether on imports or exports in foreign vessels; and, therefore, when goods are
purchased, it is customary for the parties, before fixing the price, to arrange between themselves who
is actually to pay the duties. The hong merchants are required to consider the duties payable to
government as the most important part of their affairs. If a merchant fail to pay at the proper period,
his hong, house, and all his property are seized, and sold to pay the amount and if all that he pos-
sesses be inadequate, he is sent into banishment at Ele, in Western Tartary, which the Chinese call
the cold country;" and the body of hong merchants are commanded to pay in his stead.
Of an import cargo, each chop-boat, according to rule, which, however, is not rigidly enforced,
should contain,-of woollens, camlets, and long-ells, 140 bales; tin, 500 bars; lead, 600 pigs; Bombay
cotton, 55 bales; Bengal cotton, 80 bales; betel-nut, pepper, &c. 300 piculs.
Of export goods, a chop-boat should take,-of tea, 600 chests of other sorts of goods, 500 piculs.
If more than this, the hong merchant gives to the chop-boat, for each additional picul, 61 dollars.
In calculating the duties on export goods, 90 cattles are considered 100. The woollens, long-ells,
and camlets, are measured by the chang of 10 covids, without any deduction and single articles are
numbered.
Each ship may export, of silk, 88 piculs the duty on each picul is 10f dollars. Those ships that want
more, avail themselves of the names of ships which have exported none and the Custom-house con-
nives at this, on receiv ing a fee of 14) dollars per picul.
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CANTON.
If, after entering the port, any persons tranship goods, it is considered that the one ship sold them
to the other and, in that case, the same duty has to be paid as if the goods were brought up to Can-
ton. Provisions are not included in this regulation.
Ships' boats are not allowed to carry up or down any thing chargeable with duty.
Gold, silver, copper, and iron are prohibited to be exported; a few culinary utensils are the only ex-
ception. When it is desired to export treasure, the hong merchant must make an estimate of the
value of the import and export cargoes and whatever balance there may be in favour of the ship,
may then be shipped off as treasure.
The whole amount of tutenague that is allowed to be exported by foreign ships, including the Portu-
guese at Macao, is 100,000 catties; but regulations of this sort may be easily evaded.
If more cargo be sent to a ship than she can take on board, and she wishes it to be shipped on board
another, it must be done within three days after announcing the goods at the Custom-house, and a
hong merchant must state it to government; if granted, a hong merchant and linguist are ordered to
go to Whampoa and take an account of such goods all which, with the expense of boats, runners,
&c. at Whampoa, costs 40 or 50 (Companion to Anglo- Chinese Calendar for 1832, pp. 99-101.)
Hong, or Security Merchants.-It may be supposed, perhaps, from the previous state-
ments, that difficulties are occasionally experienced before a hong merchant can be prevailed
upon to become security for a ship but such is not the case. None of them has ever
evinced any hesitation in this respect. The Americans, who have had as many as forty
ships in one year at Canton, have never met with a refusal. The captain of a merchant
ship may resort to any hong merchant he pleases, and, by way of making him some return
for his becoming security, he generally buys from him 100l. or 200L worth of goods. Indi-
viduals are, however, at perfect liberty to deal with any hong merchant, whether he has
secured their ship or not, or with any outside merchant; that is, with any Chinese mer-
chant not belonging to the hong. So that, though there are only 10 hong merchants at
Canton, there is, notwithstanding, quite as extensive a choice of merchants with whom to
deal in that city, as in either Liverpool or New York.
Duties.-It is very difficult, or rather, perhaps, impossible, to get any accurate account of
the duties on goods exported and imported. They are almost always paid by the Chinese,
though they must, of course, frequently be borne by the foreigner. Imported goods are
weighed on board, and the duty paid by the purchaser; the duty on those exported is
paid by the seller. The officers are notoriously corrupt and it is a common practice to
give them a douceur to under-rate the weight of the goods.
Foreign Merchants.-These consist of British, American, French, Dutch, Danish, Swed-
ish, Spanish, and Portuguese, with Persee and Indian Mohammedan British subjects, and in
1832 amounted in number to above 110. The principal mercantile firms consisted of 8
British establishments, 7 American establishments, and 1 joint French and Dutch establish-
ment. The Americans, French, and Dutch have each a consular agent; and though these
functionaries be not publicly recognised by the Imperial government, all public business is con-
ducted with them by the provincial government, through the agency of the hong merchants.
Newspapersand Public Accommodations.-At Canton, there are 2 English newspapers viz. the Can-
ton Register," once a fortnight, with a Price Current; and the Chinese Courier,' once a week. There
are 3 hotels, a billiard room, and 3 European shops or warehouses upon a large scale, with surgeons,
apothecaries, watch-makers, and boat-builders.
General Rates of Agency Commission in China, agreed upon the 1st of November, 1831 in confirma-
tion of those fixed by a meeting of merchants on the 1st of March, 1825.
1. On all sales or purchases of goods except the
17. Effecting remittances by bills of the agent or
following
5 per cent.
otherwise, OD purchasing or negociating bills
2 On all sales or purchases of oplum, cotton, co-
of exchange
1 per cent.
chineal, quicksilver, camphor-barroes, birds'
18. Bills of exchange returned. noted, or pro-
neets, diamonds and other precious stones, or
tested
1
ditto.
pearls, abipa, and houses
3
ditto.
19. Negociating loans on respondentia
2
ditto
3. On returns, if in goods
2 1-2 ditto.
20. Debta, where a process at law or arbitration
4. On ditto, if In treasure, bullion, or bills
I
ditto.
is necessary, 2 1-2 per cent.; and if reco-
5. On sale, purchase, or shipment of bullion
1
ditto.
vered
5 ditto.
a On all goods, treasure, ac. consigned, and at-
21. Collecting house-rent
2 1-8 date.
terwards withdrawn or sent to auction, and
22. Letters of credit granted for mercantile par-
on goods consigned for conditional delivery
poses
2 1-8 ditta.
to others
1-8 commission.
93. Acting for the estate of persons deceased, as
7. Ordering goods, or soperintending the fulfil-
executors, or administrators
5
ditta.
ment of contracts, where no other commis-
24. The management of the estates of others, on
sion is derived
2 1-8 per cent.
the amount received
2 142 ditta
8. On all advances of money for the purposes of
25. All cash receipts, not serving for the purchase
trade, whether the goods are consigned to
of goods, and not-otherwise specified above
1
ditta.
the agent or not, and where a commission of
26 Shroffing
1-8 per mil.
5 per cent is not charged
8 1-2 ditta.
27. Transhipping goods
1 per cent.
9. Del credere, or guaranteeing sales, when spo-
28. Upon all advances not punctually liquidated,
cially required
2 1-2 ditto.
the agent to have the option of charging a
10. Guaranteeing bills, bonds, or other engage-
second commission as upon a fresh advance,
ments
2 1-8 ditto.
provided the charge do not occur twice in
11. Procuring freight, or advertising as agent of
the same year.
owners or commanders, on the amount of
29. At the option of the agent, on the amount de-
freight, whether the same passes through the
bited or credited within the year, including
hands of agents or not
5
ditto.
interest, and excepting only items on which
12. Receiving inward freight
1
ditto.
a commission of 5 per cent. has been
18. Ships' disbursements
2 1-2 ditto.
charged
1
ditto.
14. Chartering ships for other parties
2 1-8 ditto.
N. B.-This charge not to apply to paying over
15. Effecting insurance or writing orders for in-
a balance due on an account made up to
surance
1-2 ditto.
a particular period, unless where such
16. Settling insurance losses, total or partial, and
balance is withdrawn without reasonable
on procuring return of premium
1
ditto.
notice.
Port Charges.-All foreign vessels trading to Canton have to pay a measurement charge, varying
according to the size of the vessel. For this purpose they are divided into 3 classes viz.
1st. Vessels of 160 covids and upwards, pay
-
I
-
- 7-874,755 Taels. per covid.
2d.
-
above 120 and under 160 covids,
-
-
-
-
-
7.221,091
3d.
-
of 120 covids and under
-
-
-
-
- 5.062,341
-
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CANTON.
297
The dimensions are taken from the mizen to the foremast for the length, and between the gangways
for the breadth ; these two numbers multiplied together, and divided by 10, give the measurement in
covids; and the quotient multiplied by the sum to be paid per covid, according to the vessel's size,
gives the whole amount of measurement charge. Of this amount, only 10-11ths are, properly speak-
ing, the measurement charge, the other 11th part being a fee of 10 per cent. on the Imperial dues.
Once a year the hoppo goes in person to superintend the measurement of vessels, on which occasion
he goes on board a Company's ship. At other times an officer is sent to represent him.
The item next in importance to the measurement charge, is what is called the cumshaw or present,
amounting, according to the reduced rate, to the sum of 1,600 683 taels, or 2,233 dollars, except on
French, Austrian, and Prussian vessels, which are required to pay 80 taels more. This charge does
not vary with the size of the ship; but is the same whether she carry 100 or 1,000 tons. The cumshaw
is made up of the following sums viz.
Taels.
The entrepôt fees
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 810-691
Port clearance fee
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 480:420
Difference of scales, carriage to Pekin, &c., 6.75 per cent. on the above
-
- 87-150
Fee to the leang-taou, or superintendent of grain
-
- 116-424
For difference in the leang-taou's scales, 11 per cent. on the last named fee
-
-
1-281
For making it into sycee, 7 per cent. on the whole
-
-
-
- 104717
Taels
1,600-683
Vessels loaded with rice are exempted from the entrepôt and leang-taou's fees, as also from the
measurement charge; the latter by command of the reigning sovereign, in 1825; and the two former
by previous orders of the local government. They are likewise exempted from certain small monthly
and daily fees, so long as they are engaged in discharging the imported rice; but these charges com-
mence as soon as the vessel begins to take in an export cargo ; and the port clearance fee, with the
double percentage of 64 and 7 per cent., is levied alike on all vessels. A vessel importing rice, in
common with other vessels, is required either to receive an export cargo, or to pay about 300 dollars
in default thereof.
Until the measurement charge, present, &c. have all been duly paid, no vessel can obtain her grand
chop, or port clearance from the hoppo's office.
The other fixed charges besides the above are, 120 dollars for pilotage, in and out : fees paid to
boats at second bar, and linguist's and comprador's fees. These last are intended to remunerate the
expenses incurred on account of various daily and monthly charges, and other petty fees, besides se-
veral unauthorised sums exacted by the inferior local officers. Lists of these charges have been
printed; but they vary 50 much in particular instances, that it is next to impossible to attain
any certainty with respect to them.
The following is an example of a vessel of the 1st class subject to the highest rate of measurement
charge, from which an idea of the amount of port charges on other vessels may be obtained :-
The Glenelg, 867 tons.
Length from mizen to foremast, covids
-
-
-
-
-
83.1
Which multiplied by the breadth, from gangway to gangway
-
-
-
26.0
And divided by 10, gives the dimensions
-
-
-
-
- 216.06
Multiply that sum by
-
-
-
-
-
-
Taels
7.874755
The measurement charge will be 1,701-418 taels, which, at 72 taels per 100 dollars, =
Spanish dollars
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,363
Cumshaw, or present, taels 1,600-683, at 72 per 100 -
-
-
-
-
2,223
Pilotage in and out
-
-
-
-
-
120
Bar boats and other small charges, about
-
-
-
-
-
30
Lingnist's fees, about
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
173
Comprador's fees, about
-
-
-
[' -
-
-
50
Spanish dollars
4,959
Vessels of the 2d class are charged in measurement from 1,200 to 1,600 dollars, and those of the 3d
size from 600 to 800 dollars. The covid employed is equal to about 141 inches.
The consequence of this mode of imposing the port duties is, that while they are very moderate on
ships of 400 or 500 tons burden and upwards, they are very heavy on small ships: and hence small
country ships frequently lie off Linting Flora, or Large Bay, till some of the large European ships
come in sight, when they shift their cargoes on board the latter. They are commonly carried up to
Canton for 1 per cent., by which means the duties and cumshaw are both saved. Chinese junks are
exempted from the port dues.
Captain Coffin, the commander of an American ship of about 400 tons register trading to China, in-
formed the late committee of the House of Commons, that the whole charges of every description
falling upon his ship, in entering and clearing out from Canton, including measurement duty,
cumshaw, pilotage, victualling of theship, and consul's fee, amounted to between 7,000 and 8,000 dollars.
(Companion to Anglo-Chinese Calendar, pp. 101-103. ; First Report, Evidence, p. 124.)
British Trade with Canton.-The trade between Great Britain and Canton has hitherto
been entirely monopolised by the East India Company and its officers. Tea has always
been by far the principal article of import and it is mainly owing to the diffusion of the
taste for this article, and its consumption by all ranks and orders of the community, that the
trade has increased, notwithstanding the pernicious influence of the monopoly, to the extent
that it has done. Besides tea, the Company formerly imported from China raw silk, silk
piece goods, nankeens, mother-of-pearl shells, sandal wood, and a few other articles ; but of
late years the value of these articles has been quite inconsiderable.
The articles exported in the East India Company's ships from England to China con-
sisted principally of woollens, copper, iron and lead, glass, earthenware, and jewellery.
Bullion used, formerly, to be largely exported ; but recently the current has begun to set in
the opposite direction, and bullion has been imported from China into England.
38
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298
CANTON.
The invoice value of the Company's trade between China and England in the under-mentioned
years has been-
Exports from China
Imports into China from England.
to England.
Total Imports and
Years.
Exports.
Merchandise.
Treasure.
Total.
Merchandise.
£
£
£
£
£
1814-15
860,093
127,695
987,788
1,967,978
2,955,766
1815-16
926,920
1,127,518
2,054,433
2,231,366
4,285,799
1830-31
593,755
-
593,755
1,861,980
2,455,735
1831-32
398,475*
-
398,475
1,814,043
2,212,518
* Mem.-There is an apparent reduction in the value of exports of merchandise from England,
arising from cargoes to the amount of 192,3101. of this season having been despatched after the 1st of
May, 1832 allowing for the consignments so deferred, the imports into China from England would be
augmented to 590,7851., and the total of imports and exports to 2,404,8281.
East India House, 25th of April, 1833.
It appears from this account, that the merchandise exported from England to China during the
years 1814-15 and 1815-16 amounted, at an average, to 893,5061. a year, exclusive of above 600,000L. a
year in treasure; whereas, the exports of merchandise during the years 1830-31 and 1831-32 only
amounted to 592,270L. a year, without any treasure! This extraordinary decline strikingly contrasts
with the results of the free trade between Great Britain and India in the same years.
The following is a detailed Account of the Value of the Exports by the East India Company from
Great Britain to China during the Five Years ending the 5th of January, 1828.
Species of Goods.
1824.
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
£
£
£
£
£
Cotton manufactures
-
-
6,092
-
167
11,995
20,752
Iron in bars (British)
-
-
13,482
15,502
17,214
36,067
24,350
Lead and shot -
-
-
8,793
22,430
39,221
41,918
32,154
Skins and furs
-
-
-
-
33,516
31,151
-
-
Woollens
-
-
-
674,585
532,221
652,047
756,968
413,422
All other articles
-
-
5,095
8,467
5,058
5,082
3,137
Total value of exports by the
East India Company to China
708,047
612,139
744,856
852,030
493,815
Account of the registered Tonnage employed by the East India Company, clearing out annually from
the Port of Canton for England, and of the Charges imposed by the Chinese on the Company's
Ships in Canton during the undermentioned Years.
Cleared out for
Years.
England.
Charges in Tack.
Rate per Tael.
Amount.
Tonnage.
s.
d.
L
1829
27,904
91,518
6 8
30,506
1830
29,037
92,976
-
38,989
1831
27,431
85,691
-
28,564
1832
27,852
95,184
-
31,728
The following is a detailed Account of the Quantities and Prices of the different Sorts of Teas ex-
ported from China in 1824-25 and 1828-29 by the East India Company, to Great Britain and British
America.
Exported to England.
Exported to the North American Colonies.
1824-25.
1828-29.
1824-25.
1828-29.
Teas.
Average
Average
Average
Average
Quantity.
Prime Cost
Quantity.
Prime Cost
Quantity.
Prime Cost
Quantity.
Prime Cost
per lb.
per lb.
per lb.
per lb.
Lbs.
8. d.
Lbs.
8. d.
Lbs.
8. d.
Lbs.
8. d.
Bohea
-
3,589,804
0 9:301
4,198,964
0 9:512
87,340
0 9:301
100,385
0 9-404
Congou
-
18,773,989
1 3:397
16,951,171
1 2.587
81,733
1 3-600
914,616
1 0.349
Campoi
-
214,153
1 6.427
507,881
1 7:461
-
Souchong
-
269,456
1 10:501
183,498
1 10870
51,312
1 3:067
19,768
1 9-599
Pekoe
-
33,973
1 11-569
-
-
3,539
2 0-594
Twankay -
3,791,405
1 4-460
5,471,633
1 3.810
579,120
I 3-831
146,753
1 6-796
Hyson skin -
178,596
1 5.526
154,767
I 4.238
163,929
1 3-309
10,195
I 4800
Young hyson
-
-
-
-
173,347
2 2:038
Hyson
-
666,562
2 7'094
1,149,371
2 2.263
38,830
2 4'730
33,284
2 6-037
Gunpowder -
-
4,953
2 6-511
-
-
27,517,938
28,617,280
1,179,150
1,229,954
27,517,938
28,617,280
In
Whole exports to Britain and America in the year 1824-25.
28,697,088
1828-29
29,847,234
In 1831-32 the total exports of tea by the East India Company were, to England, 30,203,098 lbs. : to
North American colonies 1,276,856 lbs. being together 31,479,954 lbs. The aggregate prime cost (par-
ticulars not stated) was 1,907,6481.-(N. B.-For full details as to the tea trade, see art. TEA.)
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CANTON.
299
The Company's business in China has been carried on by an establishment of public officers, con-
sisting of 12 supercargoes and as many writers, promoted according to seniority; the former were
paid by a commission chiefly derived from the monopoly sales of tea in England, and the latter by
fixed salaries; both being supplied with lodging and a public table at the Company's expense. The 3
senior supercargoes, called the select committee, constituted the governing body, and had the whole
control, not only of the Company's trade, but politically of all British interests in China. The entire
charges of the Company's China establishment in 1828-29 were 138,5261. ; being
£
Twelve supercargoes
-
-
-
-
-
- 53,121
Twelve writers
-
-
-
-
-
- 10,226
Persons filling professional and other distinct offices
-
- 8,857
Rents and repairs of private apartments
-
-
-
- 16,782
Rent of factory, port charges, and other expenses
-
- 49,440
The Company's business was wholly conducted with the hong merchants, to the exclusion of the
unlicensed or outside merchants, as they are called. The select committee divided amongst such of
the solvent hong merchants as it pleased, the whole amount of the Company's export and import
cargoes, and the business was done by a kind of barter a system long banished among the free
traders. The ships employed by the East India Company in the China trade were commonly from
1,000 to between 1,400 and 1,500 tons burden, the greater proportion being from 1,300 to 1,400 tons.
Trade between British India and China.-The trade is of decidedly more value and im-
portance than that carried on between Great Britain and China; a result which seems
mainly ascribable to the circumstance of its being principally in the hands of private in-
dividuals. The greatest article of export from India to Canton used to be cotton wool, prin-
cipally from Bombay; but it is now far surpassed by opium, the imports of which into China
have sextupled since 1816-17, and are worth, at present, about 13,500,000 dollars ! This
increase is the more extraordinary, seeing that opium is contraband in China; but the edicts
of the emperors are as unable to prevent its introduction, as the proclamations of James and
Charles were to hinder the use of tobacco in England. It is every where smuggled with
case and safety. The trade was at first principally conducted at Whampoa; but the exac-
tions of the Chinese authorities drove it to Macao, where it increased, but whence it was
subsequently driven by the exactions of the Portuguese. It is now principally carried on
in the Bay of Lintin. Here the opium is kept on board receiving ships, of which there are
frequently not less than 12 quietly lying at anchor, without danger or molestation of any
sort.
The exports from China to India consist of sugar for Western India, tea, porcelain, nan-
keens, cassia, camphor, &c. ; but the amount of these is not very considerable, and the re-
turns are principally made in bills and bullion.
Opiuna is sold by the resident European or American agents; and, on an order from
these for its delivery, it is handed over to the smugglers, who come alongside the ships at
night to receive it ; putting the naval force, Custom-house establishment, and police of the
empire at defiance. We subjoin an
Account of the Imports of the different Sorts of Opium into China from 1816-17 to 1830-31, both
Inclusive.
Patus and Benares.
-
Malwa.
Total.
Turkey.
Seasons.
No. of
Aver.
Total
No. of
Aver.
Total
No. of
Chests.
Price.
Value.
Chests.
Price.
Value.
No. of
Aver.
Total
Value.
Chests.
Chests.
Price.
Value.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1816-1817
2,610
1,200
3,132,000
600
875
525,000
3,210
3,657,000
750
300
375,000
1817-1818
2,530
1,265
3,200,450
1,150
612
703,800
3,680
3,904,250
1,000
610
610,000
1818-1819
3,050
1,000
3,050,000
1,530
725
1,109,250
4,580
4,159,250
700
625
437,500
1819-1820
2,970
1,235
3,667,950
1,620
1,175
1,915,250
4,600
5,583,200
200
975
195,000
1820-1821
3,050
1,900
5,795,000
1,720
1,515
2,605,800
4,770
8,400,800
30
1,525
45,750
1821-1822
2,910
2,075
6,038,250
1,718
1,325
2,276,350
4,628
8,314,600
500
1,025
512,500
1822-1823
1,822
1,552
2,828,930
4,000
1,290
5,160,000
5,822
7,988,930
226
1,270
267,060
1823-1824
2,910
1,600
4,656,000
4,172
925
3,859,100
7,082
8,515,100
4
1824-1825
2,655
1,175
3,119,625
6,000
750
4,500,000
8,655
7,619,625
1825-1826
3,442
913
3,141,755
6,179
723
4,466,450
9,621
7,608,205
No account has
1826-1827
3,661
1,002
3,668,565
6,308
942
5,941,520
9,969
9,610,085
been kept of Tur-
1827-1828
5,114
998
5,105,073
4,361
1,204
5,251,760
9,475
10,356,833
key opium during
1828-1829
5,961
940
5,604,235
7,171
966
6,928,880
13,132
12,533,115
these years.
1829-1830
7,143
858
5,149,577
6,837
861
5,907,580
14,000
12,057,157
1830-1831
6,660
869
5,789,794
12,100
587
7,110,227
18,760
12,900,031
Total
56,488
-
-
64,997,204
65,496
-
-
58,260,977
121,984
123,208,181
3,406
-
-
2,402,770
In 1831-32, the total import of opium into China was 21,062 chests, of the value of 13,917,426 dollars.
The stock on hand, 1st of January, 1833, was 5,110 chests. Nine tenths of the opium trade is in the
hands of the British Indians.
The following tables exhibit the general results of our trade with China from 1814-15
downwards:-
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800
CANTON.
Account of the Annual Value of the Trade between the Subjects of Great Britain and China, from
1814-15 to 1830-31, both inclusive, distinguishing the Trade of the East India Company from that of
individuals.
Value of Im-
Value of Exports and Im-
ports and Ex-
ports between India and China
ports between
Total Value of
Total.
England and
the British
Value of Trade
Value of Trade
Years.
Trade with
of Individuals
of the Company
China on Ac-
count of the
China.
with China.
with China.
On Account of
On Account of
Individuals.
the Company.
Company.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
1814-15
2,573,940
221,589
2,795,529
2,955,776
5,751,295
2,573,940
3,177,355
1815-16
2,379,026
356,470
2,735,496
4,285,799
7,021,295
2,379,026
4,642,269
1816-17
3,034,031
230,083
3,264,114
2,962,062
6,226,176
3,034,031
3,192,145
1817-18
3,327,770
710,100
4,037,870
2,183,022
6,220,892
3,327,770
2,893,122
1818-19
3,516,332
364,543
3,880,875
2,065,389
5,946,264
3,516,332
2,429,932
1819-20
2,190,137
334,807
2,524,944
3,092,456
5,617,400
2,190,137
3,427,263
1820-21
3,325,039
602,994
3,931,033
2,935,904
6,866,937
3,328,039
3,538,898
1821-22
3,011,010
469,657
3,480,667
2,700,425
6,181,092
3,011,010
3,170,082
1822-23
3,047,792
189,304
3,237,096
2,642,845
5,879,941
3,047,792
2,832,149
1823-24
2,734,509
721,425
3,455,934
2,815,048
6,270,982
2,734,509
3,536,473
1824-25
2,832,191
326,591
3,158,782
2,600,060
5,758,842
2,832,191
2,926,651
1825-26
3,943,729
291,603
4,235,332
2,687,013
6,922,345
3,943,729
2,978,616
1826-27
3,764,404
362,405
4,126,809
3,176,901
7,303,710
3,764,404
3,539,306
1827-28
4,951,678
376,247
5,327,925
2,836,397
8,164,322
4,951,678
3,212,644
1828-29
3,795,966
433,388
4,229,354
2,517,726
6,747,080
3,795,966
2,951,114
1829-30
-
308,767
-
2,490,947
-
-
2,799,714
1830-31
-
363,741
-
2,983,487
-
-
3,347,228
The statements from India for 1829-1830 and 1830-31 are not yet received.
Account of the Quantity of each Article of Chinese Produce imported into the United Kingdom, in
each Year, from 1793 to 1831, both inclusive.
Miscellaneous
Miscellaneous
Years.
Tea.
Nankees
Articles
Silk.
of Chinese
Years.
Tea.
Silk.
Nankeen
Articles
Cloths.
Cloths.
of Chinese
Produce.
Produce.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Pieces.
Value L.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Pieces.
Value L
1793
16.067,331
171,998
77,808
26,692
1813
The records of this year were destroyed by fire.
1794
23,710,774
99,671
374,398
19,809
1814
26,110,550
150,629
783,253
29,054
1795
27,208,003
158,225
146,365
19,186
1815
25,602,214
216,129
896,797
19,474
1796
6,184,628
12,968
48,642
23,062
1816
36,234,380
88,987
396,453
29,050
1797
16,235,125
78,520
77,338
23,252
1817
31,467,073
103,367
564,226
35,703
1798
44,873,112
136,196
257,473
25,054
1818
20,065,728
146,878
409,349
19,510
1799
15,090,080
63,604
184,490
17,131
1819
23,750,413
141,325
523,852
55,595
1800
15,165,368
92,385
170,917
25,960
1820
30,147,994
271,115
969,746
70,827
1801
29,804,739
131,335
366,851
29,293
1821
30,731,105
275,110
569,062
39,654
1802
27,356,502
75,588
274,921
19,054
1822
27,362,766
222,673
287,431
23,419
1803
30,843,134
74,538
232,894
23,134
1823
29,046,885
392,717
412,076
73,635
1804
26,680,784
90,362
264,407
26,184
1824
31,681,977
293,014
1,010,494
69,618
1805
28,538,825
76,359
252,207
15,198
1825
29,345,699
142,676
392,998
75,963
1806
22,155,557
18,607
376,234
10,504
1826
29,840,401
405.185
431,520
124,569
1807
12,599,236
55,277
72,135
11,474
1827
39,746,147
208,287
99,698
97,752
1808
35,747,224
117,855
484,647
17,617
1828
32,678,546
288,916
529,602
95,412
1809
21,717,310
90,603
287,720
14,268
1829
30,544,382
606,444
919,255
103,077
1810
19,791,356
54,376
305,009
14,890
1830
31,897,546
456,991
593,339
94,131
1811
21,231,849
81,397
316,616
9,630
1831
31,648,922
476,692
857,171
89,796
1812
28,318,153
86,197
503,276
12,929
Account of the Number of Ships, and of their Tonnage, that entered Inwards in the United Kingdom
from China in each Year, from 1793-94 to 1831-32, both inclusive.
Years.
Ships,
Tons.
Years.
Ships.
Tons.
Years.
Shipa
Tens.
1793-4
18
17,436
1806-7
9
11,083
1819-20
24
28,451
1794-5 I
21
20,234
1807-8
24
31,797
1820-21
23
28,692
1795-6
5
4,856
1808-9
15
19,290
1821-22
19
24,975
1796-7
17
14,354
1809-10
13
17,272
1822-23
19
26,013
1797-8
32
37,682
1810-11
15
18,984
1823-24
21
28,237
1798-9
13
12,731
1811-12
19
25,324
1824-25
19
25,970
1799-1800
10
12,840
1812-13
21
27,227
1825-26
23
27,894
1800-1
22
27,407
1813-14
19
24,466
1826-27
29
35,969
1801-2
21
24,531
1814-15
21
24,890
1827-28
25
29,833
1802-3
24
25,994
1815-16
26
33,075
1828-29
20
27,904
1803-4
17
22,279
1816-17
27
28,032
1829-30
23
29,111
1804-5
18
24,191
1817-18
15
20,000
1830-31
21
27,879
1805-6
15
19,100
1818-19
16
21,210
1831-32
22
27,940
The following tables give very full details as to the trade between Great Britain and Can-
ton, and the trade between the latter and British India, carried on under the British flag,
during the years ended the 31st of March, 1831 and 1832.
Most part of the trade between India and Canton is conducted by the outside merchants. The hong
merchants rarely adventure upon transactions in opium, of which this trade principally consists.
We have obtained from Canton the following corrected account of the British trade at that city, in
1831-32. It corresponds pretty closely with the succeeding account, derived from the Parl. Paper, No.
229. Sess. 1833; but it is drawn up in a different form, and more in detail. Being anxious to afford
all the information in our power with respect to this great emporium, we did not think we should be
warranted in withholding it.
Digitized by
Google
IMPORTS.
LATURIS
301
On Account of the East India Company.
Taels.
Dollars.
On Account of the East India Company.
Tacis.
Tacls.
Dollars.
Broad cloth
bales
5,200 yards 543,132
602,593
Bohea
piculs
861,347
1,976,930
340,340
1,577,543
77,000
54 367
Long-ells
-
7,000
pieces
140,000
756,000
Congo
-
129,106
3,041,473
Camlets
1,200
12,000
168,716
Souchong
-
-
-
2,154
78,411
British cotton piece goods
1,200
-
30,000
89,131
(a)
Hyson
-
-
8,851
430,427
British cotton twist
-
2,000
lbs.
480,000
105,759
Hyson skin
-
1,181
32,122
British worsted yarn
-
50
-
6,250
4,171
Twankay
-
30,834
882,207
1,134,623 Dollars.
Dollars 3,971,813
5,275,987
842,307
171,542
168,798
British stuffs
pieces
40
yards
1,200
389
1,053,326
524,217
Stamped long-ells
bales
20
pieces
300
1,650
N. American investment (supercargoes' commission included)
276,042
Union satinets
-
3
--
30
540
Cape stores
20,290
Dyed cotton piece goods
-
20
-
500
2,160
St. Helena stores
4,540
British iron
tons
1,501
piculs
25,223
49,039
Stores to Bengal, Madras, and Bombay
12,672
Lead
pigs
24,643
313,544
-
28,561
91,395
Corrected Statement of the British Trade at the Port of Canton for the Year ending the 31st of March, 1832.
Cotton, Bengal
bales
18,320
-
41,220
Ts.353,259
1,871,343
(b) Bullion (charges of shipment included) 1,173,967 dollars
845,249
Bombay
-
18,156
-
50,642
430,323
783,582
Port charges on 24 ships (Bridgewater included)
89,131
Unloading charges, Canton factory expenses, &c.
110,340
199,471
On Private Account (per E.I. C. Ships).
2,655,125
3,687,674
T. m.
Taels.
On Private Account.
6,634,251
9,214,238
Cotton, Bengal
piculs
63,024
at 8 6 per pic.
542,006
T.
Madras
-
4,543
-
90
40,887
Congou
pieu's
6,069
at
21
per picul 127,449
Bombay
-
283,639
-
77
-
2,184,020
2,766,913
3,842,935
Souchong. pouchong
-
1,737
-
23
-
39,961
Sycee, equal to dollars
Sycee, equal to dollars
S. American silver and sycee }
N. B.-The sycee is calculated at 718, with 5 per cent. premium added
Digitized by Google
equal to dollars
(c)
Pekoe and orange pekoe
-
5,015
-
24
1 120,360
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Twankay
-
128
-
20
392,286
-
2,560
Opium, Patna and Benares
chests
5,912
at 954 per chest
5,640,048
Hyson and young hyson
-
2,139
-
44
-
94,116
Malwa
-
8,034
- 705
-
5,663,970
Gunpowder and Imperial
-
157
-
60
I
7,850
11,304,018
-
-
Sundry places, dollars
13,946
(d)
{
Black tea
1,641
42,446
}
153,201
(e) To England, dollars
Calcutta, dollars
Green tea
-
7,085
-
110,755
Bombay, dollars
Total export of bullion, sycee included.
-
23,971
545,487
767,625
Sandal wood
piculs
6,338
at 113-4 per picul
74,471
Pepper
-
15,771
-
7
110,397
Dollars
Dollars
Dollars,
-
CANTON:
Rattans
-
6,349
- 23-4
-
17,459
Raw silk, Nankin
piculs 6,283 at 368 per picul 2,312,144
Canton
2,168
158
342,544
}
2,654,688
Betel nut
-
6,691
-
3
20,073
-
-
-
Putchuck
-
460
-
13
-
5,980
Nankeen cloth
pieces 315,570
-
51
per 100 pieces
160,941
Olibanum
-
550
-
5
-
2,750
Silk piece goods
value
247,861
Broad cloth
pieces
7,816
-
31
per piece
242,296
Sugar candy
piculs
32,279
at
71.2 per picul
242,093
Camlets
-
2,621
-
27
-
70,767
Soft sugar
-
60,627
-
51-4
-
318,256
Cotton piece goods
35,298
41-4
150,016
Cassia lignea
-
7,096
-
7
-
49,672
-
-
-
Printed cotton piece goods
value
24,443
buds
-
614
-
18
-
.
7,368
Cochineal
piculs
46
at 314
per picul
14,444
Tortoiseshell and scraps
value
19,017
Cotton yarn
-
1,252
42
-
52,584
Mother-o'-pearl shells
piculs
2,235
at
17
per picul
37,996
-
Lead
1,393
5
6,965
Vermilion
boxes
825
-
37
per box
30,525
-
-
-
24,754.968 lbs.
6,445,800
1,000,490
173,467
1,173,957 dollars.
1,709,466 lbs.
003'336
2.00 I
Iron
-
13,482
- 31-2
-
47,187
Camphor
piculs
279
-
24
per picul
6,696
Tin
-
5,032
-
17
-
85,544
Rhubarb
-
763
-
54
I
41,202
Tin plates
boxes
2,525
93-4 per box
24,619
Alum
-
20,475
-
13-4
-
35,831
-
Steel
piculs
2,101
-
7 1-2 per picul
15,758
Aniseed
-
477
10 1-2
5,008
..
a
..
-
-
Quicksilver
-
178
-
70
-
12,460
China root, gallangal, and musk
value
10,799
Watches and clocks
value
11,785
Floor mats
-
3,129
Pearls, cornelians, diamonds
-
215,475
Bamboos and whangees
-
7,476
Ivory
piculs
209
at
71
per picul
14,829
Pearls, false pearls, and glass beads
-
48,094
Elephants' teeth
-
159
-
76
-
12,084
China ware
-
23,179
Fish maws
-
1,075
-
60
-
64,500
Paper, kethsols, lacquered ware, fire-works
-
83,840
Sharks' fins
-
3,010
-
24
-
72,240
Cochineal
piculs
144
at
209
per picul
30,096
Skins
numb. 20,580 -
-
9,850
Cotton piece goods
value
14,250
Saltpetre
piculs
7,068
at
7
per picul
49,476
Cotton yarn
piculs
1,532
at
48
per picul
73,536
Rice
-
51,496
-
212
-
128,740
Saltpetre
-
1,868
7
-
13,076
Rose maloes and myrrh
value
7,212
S. American copper
-
4,610 - 21
-
96,810
Dollars
-
16,200
Tobacco and segars
value
9,947
Sundries
-
120,906
Sundries
-
146,492
Gold
-
61,190
To England per 23 ships
Importation of Opium, 1831-32.
Consum.ofopium
On hand.
13,005,618
(c) Silver bullion (sycee, S. American silver dollars)
-
2,797,856
On English Account.
Port. acct.
Total.
1831-32.
1st April, 1832.
Disbursements on 20 regular ships, at 10,000 dollars: 4 chartered ships, at
7,967,623
Sycee equal to dollars
To England per 23 ships.
VoL. I.-2C
Patna and Benares 5,912
700
6,612
Patna chts. 4,442
Paina chts. 2,186
4,000 dollars: 33 country ships, at 8,000 dollars; and 33 ships at Listin,
}
828,000
Malwah, Bombay
4,000
677
4,577
Benares 1,518
Benares
409
at 1,500 dollars each
(a) Black tea
Green tea
Dollars (4)
(c) Black tea
Green tea
(d) Per country ships.
Demaun
4,034
600
4,634
Malwah 8,265
Malwah 2,983
Balance
2,768,741
13,946
1,877
15,823
14,226
20,536,927
Stat of March, 1832.
E.E.
T. J. MORRIS.
5,678
20,636,227
-
1. Account of the Shipping engaged in the Trade carried on with China by the East India Company; and of the Quantity and Value of the various Articles imported by the Company and
its Officers from England and India into China, and of those exported by them from China, in 1830-31 and 1831-32.
GOODS IMPORTED INTO CHINA.
302
No. of Ships
Quick-
Pepp.
Rat-
Betel
Put-
Shark
Stock
Salt-
Sandal
Cotton
Diam.
Watch
cleared from
silver.
and
tans,
Nut.
chuck.
Fina,
Fish.
Drugs.
petre.
&other
Yarn.
Pearls,
and
Season.
China in the
Tonnage.
Cotton.
Metals.
Woollens.
Sun
Total
Total
Spices,
ac.
Wood.
Cotton Goods.
Corne-
Clocks.
Bul-
Value of
Season.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
dries.
Value of
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
lians.
Value.
Goods.
lion.
imports.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolla
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Pieces.
Dollars.
Pieces.
Dollars
Dollars
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dollars.
Dulls.
Dollars.
1830-31
21
27,977
146,788
1,821,876
39,741
144,347
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
177,685
2,306,965
30,000
150,000
81,000
-
-
-
4,502,888
I
4,502,888
Privilege trade of the com-
manders and officers carried
}
69,313
781,299
~~~
Pcls.
6,372
Bxs.
720
70,318
12,816
67,900
16,611
66,409
21,432
23,208
10,075
30,944
9,280
80,821
2,661
89,562
16,936
99,181
11,748
80,789
-
42,680
1,515,073
56,000
1,570,073
on in the Company's ships
6,072,961
1831-321
24
29,179
91,974
1,086,840
Pcls. 53,719
194,806
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
167,934
2,123,730
30,500
132,883
146,886
-
-
6,543
3,691,688
-
3,691,688
Privilege trade of the com-
manders and officers carried
an
69,723
781,863
{ - 19,893
Brs.
2,525
148,318
12,460
74,284
11,690
18,849
2,808
-
-
14,444
5,257
27,941
5,766
174,546
-
84,997
9,156
3,000
11,785
42,730
1,424,128
16,200
1,440,328
on in the Company's ships
5,132,016
GOODS EXPORTED FROM CHINA.
Drugs
Tin.
Tortoise-
Mats.
Total
Total
Season.
Tea.
Raw Silk.
Nanksens.
Sugar
Silk Piece Goods.
Mother-o'-Pearl
shell,
Bamboos and
Sundries.
Value of
Value of
Bullion.
and Sugar Candy.
Value.
Value.
Shells.
&c.
Value.
Whangees.
Goods.
Exports.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Pieces.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Pieces.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dolls.
Number
Dolls.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1820-31.
228,574
7,964,485
-
-
-
-
96
1,233
-
37
465
-
-
-
-
I
-
-
563
7,966,746
1,962,136
9,928,882
Privilege trade of the commanders
and officers carried on in the
15,032
523,104
23
7,820
2,500
1,450
-
-
-
-
38,322
12,096
1,134
22,680
4,125
14,558
584,400
10,124
312
634,591
692,964
1,397,555
Company's ships
11,856,437
1831-32
237,516
7,997,501
-
-
1,000
844
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I
I
-
1,706
8,000,061
1,179,119
9,179,170
Privilege trade of the commanders
and officers carried on in the
15,845
544,842
1,221
449,328
-
-
-
-
4,254
-
26,400
-
737
12,529
5,767
3,829
-
5,846
6,338
1,069,133
842,949
1,902,082
CANTON.
Company's ships
11,081,252
II. Account of the Shipping under the British Flag, engaged in the Private Trade between India and China, and of the Quantity and Value of the various Articles imported in these Ships
into China, and exported in them from China, in 1830-31 and 1831-32.
GOODS IMPORTED INTO CHINA.
Pepp.
Rat-
Betel
Put-
Sharks'
Sandal
Wool-
Cotton
Diam.
Wood,
Cotton
Salt-
and
tans.
chuck.
Fins,
Drugs.
Pearls,
Ivory,
No. of
Ton-
lens.
Goods.
Total Val.
Season.
Nut.
Value of
Cotton.
Metals.
&c.
Yarn.
Opium.
&c.
Corneli-
&c.
Total
Spices.
petre,
Ships.
Rice.
Sundries.
of Opium
other
Value of
nage.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
ans.
Value.
Value.
and Cotton.
Articles.
Imports.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dollars
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dollars.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Digitized by Google
1830-31
58
29,127
an
243
(3,822)
Chests.
12,222,525
282,096
3,014,989
Brs.
46,230
63,667
10,161
17,516
960
118,887
10,918
63,479
81,010
-
-
30,680
53,034
6,020
24,322
60,805
76,688
15,237,514
640,055
15,877,569
17,458
160
Chests.
Piculs
1831-32
59
28,485
13,946
11,304,018
231,483
3,061,072
2,115
31,755
36,113
5 769
1,224
3,172
136,740
9,962
46,530
138,517
89,462
43,425
212,475
44,219
26,913
51,496
123,740
88,116
14,365,090
1,043,135
15,408,225
GOODS EXPORTED FROM CHINA.
Cassia
Silk
Tor-
Moth.
False
China
Writing
Cotton
and
Piece
toise
o'-Pri.
Pearls
Paper,
Cotton
Tutenague.
Raw Silk.
Nankeens.
Sugar and
Tea.
Cassia
Cloves
Drugs.
Ware.
Goods.
Shell.
&c.
&c.
Copper.
Goods.
Yarn.
Shell,
Sundries.
Total Value
Value.
Value.
of Goods.
Bullion.
Total Value
Sugar Candy.
Buds.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
Value.
of Exports.
Pets.
Dolls.
Pols.
Dollars.
Pieces.
Dollars.
Piculs.
Dollars.
Dollars
Dollars,
1830-31
Pcls.
Dollars
Dollars.
2,400
19,200
Dolle.
6,645
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolls.
Dolla,
Dollars,
Piculs.
Dolls.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1,560,100
922,700
535,166
1831-32
143,464
952,520
5,562
-
7,230
150,776
111,803
386,989
426,873
9,900
-
2,205,360,315,570
15,880
55,643
34,076
150,620
3,002
78,052
8,300
-
155,956
4,651,854
3,997,432
8,649,286
-
160,941
92,906
560,349
8,7261
212,73
57,040
-
155,903
221,461
13,250
25,406
48,094
23,179
83,840
4,610
96,810
14,250
73,536
164,807
4,117,069
2,006,097
6,123,166
This statement includes the trade carried on between China and the Philippine Islands and New South Wales both by private India ships under the British flag, and by other vessels under that flag,
CANTON.
303
TOTAL BRITISH TRADE WITH CHINA.
Trade by the Company and their Officers.
Trade by Individuals.
Total value of the
British Trade
Season.
Imports.
Exports.
Total.
Imports.
Exports.
Total.
with China,
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1830-31
6,072,961
11,256,437
17,329,398
15,877,569
8,649,286
24,526,855
41,856,253
1831-32
6,132,016
41,061,252
16,213,268
15,408,225
6,123,166
21,531,391
37,744,659
East India House, 25th of April, 1833.
New Regulations as to the British Trade with Canton.-Notwithstanding the opposition
made by the East India Company, the trade to China has at length been thrown open to all
classes of his Majesty's subjects and British merchants may now freely trade to all places,
accessible to Europeans, to the east of the Straits of Malacca. We congratulate our readers
on the opening of this new and almost boundless field for the display of commercial enter-
prise. It is not, indeed, a channel in which it would be prudent for any one not possessed
of adequate capital and the necessary skill to embark. But the example of the Americans,
and of the free traders from India to China, shows conclusively that there is nothing in the
nature of the trade to prevent its being as successfully prosecuted by individuals as that to
any other country. We are satisfied that the intercourse between the Eastern and Western
worlds is as yet quite inconsiderable, compared with what it is destined to become, now that
the incubus of monopoly is removed. The opening of the potts of Hindostan, in 1814, has
more than trebled our trade with India and a similar result may be fairly anticipated in the
case of China. In making these remarks, we are very far from meaning to throw any reflec-
tions on the conduct of the East India Company. It is due to its directors to state that they
have always evinced the greatest anxiety to extend the trade with India and China, and to
carry it on in the most economical manner. But it was not in the nature of things that they
could succeed. The affairs of all great associations must necessarily be managed according
to a system of routine, by the intervention of salaried officers. And it were an insult to com-
mon sense to suppose that such persons should display the same enterprise, or that they
should manage the affairs intrusted to their care with the same watchful attention to details,
and the same regard to economy, as private individuals trading on their own account, and
reaping all the advantage of successful, as they must abide all the loss resulting from unsuc-
cessful, adventures. Speculations may be eminently profitable to the latter, that would have
been highly injurious had they been attempted by the former. It is true that the too great
ardour of competitors may occasionally render even the best business unprofitable to those
engaged in it but if this be an evil, it is one that is inseparable from all commercial under-
takings; and there is no reason whatever for supposing that it will be oftener or more
severely felt in the trade to Canton, than in that to Petersburg or any other port.
In conducting an intercourse with the Chinese,-a people whose institutions and habits
differ so very widely from those of Europeans,-it is essential that due circumspection should
be used, and that nothing should be done by any one to give them reasonable grounds of
offence. The experience of the Americans, and of the other foreigners, besides the English,
resorting to Canton, shows, we think, pretty clearly, that the amount of danger from the
circumstances just adverted to is not very considerable. It is right, however, as already
stated, that effectual measures should be taken for preventing any interruption to the trade
from the ignorance or misconduct of any individual. To accomplish this object there are
provisions in the act opening the trade, enabling his Majesty to appoint superintendents of
the trade to China, who are to be authorised to issue regulations in regard to it, to which all
individuals engaged therein are to be obliged to submit. These regulations will, no doubt,
be framed so as to prevent any just offence being given to the natives, without unnecessarily
interfering with the free action of the traders. There is one very questionable clause in the
act-that which authorises the imposition of a tonnage duty on the shipping employed in
the trade, for defraying the cost of the establishments in China. We subjoin a full abstract
of this important statute.
ACT 3 & 4 WILL. 4. C. 93. FOR REGULATING THE TRADE TO CHINA AND INDIA.
Repeal of the Act 4 Geo. 4. c. 80. &c.-Having stated that it is expedient that the trade to China should
be opened to all classes of his Majesty's subjects, it is enacted, that the act 4 Geo. 4. c. 80. should be
repealed, except such parts thereof as relate to Asiatic sailors, Lascars, being natives of the territo-
ries under the government of the East India Company; and except also as to such voyages and ad-
ventures as shall have been actually commenced under the authority of the said act; and as to any
suits and proceedings which may have been commenced, and shall be depending on the 22d day of
April, 1834 and from and after the said 23d day of April, 1834, the enactments herein-after contained
shall come into operation.-d 1.
Repeal of Prohibitions upon the Importation of Tea and Goods from China, imposed by 6 Geo. 4. c. 107.
and 6 Geo. 4. c. 114.-80 much of the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 107., Intituled An Act for the general Regulation
of the Customs," as prohibits the importation of tea, unless from the place of its growth, and by the
East India Company, and into the port of London; and also 80 much of the said act as probibits the
importation into the United Kingdom of goods from China, unless by the East India Company, and
into the port of London; and also so much of the said act as requires that the manifests of ships de-
parting from places in China shall be authenticated by the chief supercargo of the East India Com-
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CANTON.
pany and also that 80 much of the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 114., intituled " An Act to regulate the Trade of the
British Possessions abroad," as prohibits the importation of Tea into any of the British Possessions
in America, and into the island of Mauritius, except from the United Kingdom, or from some other
British possessions in America, and unless by the East India Company, or with their Hcence; shall be,
from and after the 22d day of April, 1834, repealed and thenceforth (notwithstanding any provision,
enactment, &c. to the contrary) it shall be lawful for any of his Majesty's subjects to carry on trade
with any countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of 2.
List of Persons on board any Ship arriving in India to be delivered to Officers of Customs.-The person
In command of any ship or vessel arriving at any place in the possession of or under the government
of the said Company shall make out, sign, and deliver to the principal officer of the customs, or other
person lawfully authorised, a true and perfect list, specifying the names, capacities, and descriptions
of all persons who shall have been on board such ship or vessel at the time of its arrival; and if any
person having the command of such ship or vessel shall not make out, sign, and deliver such list, be
shall forfeit 1001., half to such person or persons as shall inform or sue for the same, and the other half
to the Company; and if the Company shall inform or sue for the same, then the whole penalty shall
belong to the Company.- 3.
Penalties how recoverable.-The penalties and forfeitures aforesaid to be recoverable by action of
debt, bill, &c. in any court of record in the United Kingdom, or in India, or elsewhere, to which juris-
diction shall be afterwards given.- 4.
Three Superintendents to the China Trade to be appointed.-Whereas it is expedient for the objects of
trade and amicable intercourse with the dominions of the emperor of China, that provision be made
for the establishment of a British authority in them ; he it enacted, that it shall be law ful for his Ma-
jesty by any commission or warrant under his royal sign manual, to appoint 3 superintendents of the
trade of his Majesty's subjects to and from the said dominions, for the purpose of protecting and pro-
moting such trade, and to appoint such officers to assist them in the execution of their duties, and to
grant such salaries to such superintendents and officers as his Majesty shall from time to time deem
expedient.- § 5.
His Majesty may issue Orders and Commissions to have force in China.-It shall be lawful for his Ma-
jesty, by any such order or commission as to his Majesty in council shall appear expedient and salu-
tary, to give to the said superintendents, or any of them, powers and authorities over and in respect
of the trade and commerce of his Majesty's subjects within any part of the said dominions; and to
issue directions and regulations touching the said trade and commerce, and for the government of his
Majesty's subjects within the said dominions; and to impose penalties, forfeitures, or imprisonments,
for the breach of any such directions or regulations, to be enforced in such manner as in the said order
shall be specified and to create a court of justice with criminal and admiralty jurisdiction for the trial
of offences committed by his Majesty's subjects within the said dominions, and the ports and havens
thereof, and on the high seas within 100 miles of the coast of China and to appoint one of the super-
intendents herein-before mentioned to be the officer to hold such court, and other officers for executing
the process thereof; and to grant such salaries to such officers as may appear reasonable.- 6.
Superintendents, &c. not to accept Gifts.No superintendent or commissioner appointed under this
act shall accept in regard to the discharge of his duties any gift, gratuity, or reward, other than the
salary granted to him as aforesaid, or be engaged in any trade or traffic for his own benefit, or for the
benefit of any other person or persons.-d 7.
A Tonnage Duty to be imposed, to defray the Expense of Establishments in China.-It shall be lawful
for his Majesty in council, by any order or orders to be issued from time to time, to impose and to em-
power such persons as his Majesty in council shall think fit to collect and levy from or on account of
any ship or vessels belonging to any of the subjects of his Majesty entering any port or place where
the said superintendents or any of them shall be stationed, such duty on tonnage and goods as shall
from time to time be specified in such order or orders, not exceeding in respect of tonnage the sum of
5a. for every ton, and not exceeding in respect of goods the sum of 10s. for every 100/. of the value of
the same, the fund arising from the collection of which duties shall be appropriated, in such manner
as his Majesty shall direct, towards defraying the expenses of the establishments by this act author-
ised within the said dominions provided always, that every order in council issued by authority of
this act shall be published in the London Gazette; and that every such order in council, and the
amount of expense incurred, and of duties raised under this act, shall be annually laid before both
houses of parliament.-d 8.
Limitation of Actions.-The next and last clause contains the usual provisions as to the limitation of
actions, &c.-P 9.
American Trade with China-The American intercourse with China commenced shortly
after the termination of the revolutionary war, and speedily became of the most valuable
branches of the trade of the United States.
The following statement shows the amount of the American trade from 1829-30 to 1831
-32, according to the returns furnished to parliament by the East India Company.
An Account of the Value of Imports into, and Exports from, the Port of Canton by the Subjects of the
United States of America, in the Years 1829-30 to 1831-32.
Imports into China.
Exports from China.
Total Value Importe
Years.
Sale Value
and Exports.
Dollars.
Total Value.
Merchandise.
Total Value.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars
1829-30
2,793,988
1,123,644
3,917,632
4,108,611
1
8,026,243
1830-31
2,871,320
183,655
3,054,975
4,263,551
7,318,526
1831-32
2,383,685
667,252
3,050,937
5,857,732
8,908,669
r Bills of exchange negotiated by the Americans in 1829-30, 393,650 dollars; ditto in 1830-31, 1,168,500
dollars ditto in 1831-32, 2,480,871 dollars.-(Part. Paper, No. 229. Seas. 1833, p. 13.)
We have obtained from the United States the subjoined account of the American trade at Canton
in 1831-32. This interesting document exhibits in detail the quantity and value of each article im-
ported by the Americans into Canton, and of those exported; the latter are divided according to their
destination.
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CANTON.
305
Statement of the American Import and Export Trade at the Port of Canton, during the Season of
1831-32.
Imports.
Exports.
Dollars.
Dollars.
To the United States.
Bills of exchange
-
2,480,871.00
Taels.
Dollars.
-
667,252.00
Chests.
Piculs. Taels.
Spanish dollars
Dol.
12,182 Bohea
7,309.20 at 11
80,401 2
10,295 piculs Quicksilver, at
70
720,650-00
37,151 Souchong
24,147.85 18
434,661 5 0
24,892
Lead
41-2
112,014-00
3,212 Twankay
1,991.40 24
47,794 5 5
4,481
Iron
23-4
12,332.75
17,671 Hyson skin
8,835.50 24
212,052 00
1,949
Crude ginseng
54
105,246-00
40,065 Young hyson
26,042-25 44
1,145,859 00
799
Clarified do.
72 1-2
54,302-50
9,346 Hyson
4,486-08 46
206,359 68
376
Cochineal
200
75,200.00
4,514 Imperial
3,159.80 54
170,629 2 0
4,652
Copper
201-2
95,366-00
4,603 Gunpowder
3,682.40 58
213,579 2 0
1,400
Sandal wood
5
7,000-00
2,245 Pouchong
1,122.50 20
22,450 00
10,761
Rice and paddy
2
21,342.00
517 Pekoe
258.50 50
12,925 00
402
Opium
550
221,100-00
200 Congou
.
120-00 16
1,920 00
Taels.
170
Cotton
8
1,888.88
131,706
81,155.52
2,548,631 4
3,539,725,47
Dollars,
2,510
11,922-50
Dollars.
Spelter
3-4
Dollars.
2,286
Cotton yarn
37
84,582.00
34,822 Embroidered crape shawls,at 3 1-2
121,877-00
601
Tobacco
10
6,010-00
68,063 Damask do. do.
134
119,110.00
770
Pearl shells
5
3,850-00
8,507 pieces Crape
7
66,549-00
1,072
Tin
16
17,152.00
23,157
Handkerchiefs
6
138,954.00
900 boxes Tin plates
7
6,300-00
22,292
Senshaws
91-2
211,774.00
Black sarsnets
8
3,418 pieces Broad cloths
30
102,540.00
28,986
231,968.00
820
Camlets
-
23
18,860.00
8,459
White do.
8
67,672-00
2,890
Long-ells
8
23,040-00
7,998
Levantines
9
71,982.00
56,178
Long cloths
414
238,756.50
5,645
Do. satin
121-2
70,562.00
-
19,802
Chintz
4
79,208.00
6,963
Satins
13
90,545-00
6,492
Cambrics
2
12,984.00
276
Satin damask
18
4,968.00
3,500
9
10,334
Domestics
3
31,002.00
Camlets
31,500-00
24,566 dozen Handkerchiefs
11-2
36,849-00
10,677
White pongees
11
117,447:00
11,722 Land otter skins
61-2
76,193-00
33,901
Sutchnen do.
41-2
152,554.50
1,591 Sea otter skins
42
66,822.00
4,417
Mixed lutestrings
T
30,919-00
9,369 Fox skins
112
11,240.00
350 piculs Sewings
400
140,000.00
1,868 Beaver skins
112
12,339.00
109
Raw silk
370
40,330-00
142-00
1
708-719-90
71 Seal skins
2
12
2,160.00
54,700 pieces Blue Nankeens
70
38,290.00
180,000 Cigars
Wine, value
2,300.00
67,585
Company Nankeens 50
33,792.50
Watches
10,000-00
3,541
piculs
Cassia
101-2
37.180-00
2,000.00
38
Cassia oil
130
4.940-00
Glass
Morocco skins
500-00
25
Camphor
14
600-00
2,283,684.53
584
Rhubarb
30
17,520.00
Sundry merchandise
-
100,000-00
1,101
Sweetmeats
15
16,515 00
£ 2,000
4
2,318
Sugar
318
8
}
10,544.00
15,915 boxes Crackers
11-2
23,872-50
313
Vermilion
42
13,146-00
2,844 rolls Matting
- 5
14,220.00
65,200 gross Pearl buttons
17
11,084-00
China ware and grass cloth, in value
7,550.00
Sundry merchandise, in value
100,000.00
329,254.50
To Europe.
Chests.
Piculs.
300 Bohea
210-00
720 Souchong
468.00
1,550 Congou
1,007.50
413 Campoy
268-45
125 Twankay
77.50
321 Hyson skin
160-50
354 Young hyson
170-11
216 Hyson
103-68
74 Imperial
51.80
72 Gunpowder
57 60
294 Pekoe
145.00
4,485
2,720.13
30 piculs Sweetmeats.
150
Cassia.
5
Vermilion.
The above investments to Europe,
per invoices
130 000-00
To South America and the
Sandwich Islands.
Brig Chilian's cargo, value
40,000.00
Bogeta's
70,000.00
Diana's
.
40,000.00
150,000-00
Dol.
Disbursements of 22 vessels, at 6,000
132,000.00
8 Rice vessels 1,000
8,000-00
5 Lintin
400
2,000.00
Balance
-
467,924-44
142,000.00
Dollars
5,999,731-97
Dollars
-
5,999,731-97
-
It results from this statement, that the American trade at Canton, in 1831-32, amounted to about
12,000,000 dollars, being equal to three fourths of that carried on at Canton during the same year on
account of the East India Company. It is of importance to observe that the dealings of the Americans
are principally carried on with the outside merchants. Captain Coffin, and other American gentlemen
examined by the late committee of the House of Commons on the China trade, speak in strong terms
of the facility and expedition with which business may be conducted at Canton.
Trade of Portuguese, Spaniards, &c. at Canton.-Respecting the extent of the Portuguese, Spanish,
French, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch trades, we have no data to lay before the reader on which rell-
ance could be placed; but they are inconsiderable and fluctuating, compared with the branches already
described. The Dutch trade is probably the largest; but even with the assistance of protecting duties
in Holland, the Dutch are unable to withstand the enterprise and activity of the Americans. The
2 c 2
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306
CANTON.
Portuguese trade, particularly that with the possessions of Portugal on the continent of India, was
considerable during the war, but has since greatly declined. A nation of more spirit than the Portu-
guese would, with the advantage they enjoy in the possession of the convenient station of Macao, be
able to carry on the Chinese trade with superior success. There is a considerable intercourse, carried
on in Spanish ships, between Canton and Manilla. The Philippine Islands afford many commodities
in demand in the Chinese markets; and the Spaniards are the only European people allowed openly
to trade with the busy and commercial port of Amoy, in the province of Fokien; unfortunately, how-
ever, they are deficient in the skill and enterprise required fully to avail themselves of these advan-
tages. It appears from the official accounts, published by the French government, that in 1831, only
2 ships, of the burden of 585 tons, cleared out from French ports for China. This, we believe, is prin-
cipally to be ascribed to the trifling extent to which the great article of Chinese produce, tea, is con-
sumed in France.
Trade with the Indian Islands, &c.-In his evidence before the select committee of the
House of Commons, Mr. Crawfurd gave the following instructive details with respect to the
native foreign trade of China :-
Native Foreign Trade of China.- The principal part of the junk trade is carried on by the four con-
tiguous provinces of Canton, Fokien, Chekiang, and Kiannan.
No foreign trade is permitted with the island of Formosa and I have no means of describing the
extent of the traffic which may be conducted between China, Corea, and the Leechew Islands. The
following are the countries with which China carries on a trade in junks viz. Japan, the Philippines,
the Soo-loo islands, Celebes, the Moluccas, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Singapore, Rhio, the east coast
of the Malayan peninsula, Siam, Cochin China, Cambodia, and Tonquin. The ports of China at which
this trade is conducted are Canton, Tchaou-tcheou, Nomhong, Hoeitcheon, Suheng, Kongmoon,
Chang-lim, and Hainan in the province of Canton; Amoy and Chinchew, in the province of Fokien
Ningpo and Siang-hai, in the province of Chekiang and Soutcheon, in the province of Kiannan.
The following may be looked upon as an approximation to the number of junks carrying on trade with
the different places already enumerated, viz.
Junks.
I
Junks.
Japan 10 junks, two voyages
-
20
Singapore 8, Rhio 1
-
-
9
Philippine Islands
-
-
- 13
East coast of Malay peninsula
-
6
Soo-loo Islands
-
-
-
4
Siam
-
-
- 89
Borneo 13, Celebes 2
-
-
- 15
Cochin China
-
-
- 20
Java
-
-
-
-
-
7
Cambodia
-
-
-
9
Sumatra
-
-
-
-
10
Tonquin
-
-
-
-
20
- Total 222.
This statement does not include a great number of small junks belonging to the island of Hainan,
which carry on trade with Tonquin, Cochin China, Cambodia, Siam, and Singapore. Those for Siam
amount yearly to about 50, and for the Cochin Chinese dominions to about 43; these alone would
bring the total number of vessels carrying on a direct trade between China and foreign countries to
307. The trade with Japan is confined to the port of Ningpo, in Chekiang, and expressly limited to 10
vessels; but as the distance from Nangasaki is a voyage of no more than 4 days, it is performed twice
a year.
" With the exception of this branch of trade, the foreign intercourse of the two provinces Chekiang
and Kiannan, which are famous for the production of raw silk, teas, and nankeens, is confined to the
Philippine islands, Tonquin, Cochin China, Cambodia, and Siam; and none of this class of vessels,
that I am aware of, have ever found their way to the western parts of the Indian Archipelago. The
number of these trading with Siam is 24, all of considerable size ; those trading with the Cochin Chi-
nese dominions 16, also of considerable size ; and those trading with the Philippines 5; making in all
45, of which the average burden does not fall short of 17,000 tons. I am the more particular in de-
scribing this branch of the Chinese commerce, as we do not ourselves at present partake of it, and as
we possess no direct means of obtaining information in regard to it. All the junks carrying on this
trade with Siam are owned in the latter country and not in China and I am not sure how far it may
not also be 80 in the other cases. I do not doubt but that a similar commerce will, in the event of a
free trade, extend to Singapore; and that through this channel may eventually be obtained the green
teas of Kiannan, and the raw silks of Chekiang.
" Besides the junks now described, there is another numerous class, which may be denominated the
colonial shipping of the Chinese. Wherever the Chinese are settled in any numbers, junks of this
description are to be found such as in Java, Sumatra, the Straits of Malacca, &c.; but the largest
commerce of this description is conducted from the Cochin Chinese dominions, especially from Siam,
where the number was estimated to me at 200. Several junks of this description from the latter
country come annually to Singapore, of which the burden is not less than from 300 to 400 tons.
The junks which trade between China and the adjacent countries are some of them owned and
built in China; but a considerable number also in the latter countries, particularly in Siam and Cochin
China. Of those carrying on the Siamese trade, indeed, no less than 81 out of the 89, of considerable
size, were represented to me HS being built and owned in Siam. The small junks, however, carrying
on the trade of Hainan, are all built and owned in China.
The junks, whether colonial or trading direct with China, vary in burden from 2,000 piculs to
15,000, or carry dead weight from 120 to 900 tons. Of those of the last size I have only seen 3 or 4, and
these were at Siam, and the same which were commonly employed in carrying a mission and tribute
yearly from Siam to Canton. Of the whole of the large class of junks, I should think the average
burden will not be overrated at 300 tons each, which would make the total tonnage employed in the
native foreign trade of China between 60,000 and 70,000 tons, exclusive of the small junks of Hainan,
which, estimated at 150 tons each, would make in all about 80,000 tons.
'The junks built in China are usually constructed of fir and other inferior woods. When they ar-
rive in Cambodia, Siam, and the Malayan islands, they commonly furnish themselves with masts,
rudders, and wooden anchors, of the superior timber of these countries. The junks built in Siam are
a superior class of vessels, the planks and upper works being invariably teak. The cost of ship build-
ing is highest at the port of Amoy in Fokien, and lowest in Siam. At these places, and at Chang-lim in
Canton, the cost of a junk of 8,000 piculs, or 476 tons burden, was stated to me, by several command-
ers of junks, to be as follows :-
At Siam
-
-
-
-
-
-
7,400 dollars.
Chang-lim
-
-
-
-
-
16,000 -
Amoy
-
-
-
-
-
-
21,000 -
A junk of the size just named has commonly a crew of 90 hands, consisting of the following officers,
besides the crew ; a commander, a pilot, an accountant. a captain of the helm, a captain of the an-
chor, and a captain of the hold. The commander receives no pay, but has the advantage of the cabin
accommodation for passengers, reckoned on the voyage between Canton and Singapore worth 150
Spanish dollars. He is also the agent of the owners, and receives a commission, commonly of 10 per
Digitized by Google
CANTON.
307
cent. on the profits of such share of the adventure, generally a considerable one, in which they are
concerned. The pilot receives for the voyage 200 dollars of wages, and 50 piculs of freight out and
home. The helmsman has 15 piculs of freight and no wages. The captains of the anchor and the
hold have 9 piculs of freight each ; and the seamen 7 piculs each. None of these have any wages.
The officers and seamen of the colonial junks are differently rewarded. In a Siamese junk, for ex-
ample, trading between the Siamese capital and Singapore, of 6,000 piculs burden, the commander
and pilot had each 100 dollars for the voyage, with 12 piculs of freight apiece. The accountant and
helmsman had half of this allowance, and each seaman had 13 dollars, with 5 piculs of freight.
" In construction and outfit, Chinese junks are clumsy and awkward in the extreme. The Chinese
are quite unacquainted with navigation, saving the knowledge of the compase notwithstanding this,
as their pilots are expert, their voyages short, and as they hardly ever sail except at the height of the
monsoons, when a fair and steady 7 or 8 knots' breeze carries them directly from port to port, the sea
risk is very small. During 13 years' acquaintance with this branch of trade, I can recollect hearing
of but 4 shipwrecks; and in all these instances the crews were saved.
The construction and rigging of a Chinese junk may be looked upon as her proper registry, and
they are a very effectual one ; for the least deviation from them would subject her at once to foreign
charges and foreign duties, and to all kinds of suspicion. The colonial junks, which are of a more
commodious form and outfit, if visiting China, are subjected to the same duties as foreign vessels.
Junks, built in Siam, or any other adjacent country, if constructed and fitted out after the customary
model, are admitted to trade to China upon the same terms as those built and owned in the country.
If any part of the crew consist of Siamese, Cochin Chinese, or other foreigners, the latter are admit-
ted only at the port of Canton; and if found in any other part of China, would be seized and taken up
by the police exactly in the same manner as if they were Europeans. The native trade of China
conducted with foreign countries is not a clandestine commerce, unacknowledged by the Chinese
laws, but bas in every case at least the express sanction of the viceroy or governor of the province,
who, on petition, decides the number of junks that shall be allowed to engage in it; and even enu-
merates the articles which it shall be legal to export and import. At every port, also, where such a
foreign trade is sanctioned, there is a hong or body of security merchants as at Canton a fact which
shows clearly enough that this institution is parcel of the laws or customs of China, and not a pecu-
liar restraint imposed upon the intercourse with Europeans.
The Chinese junks properly constructed pay no measurement duty, and no cumshaw or present ;
duties, however, are paid upon goods exported and imported, which seem to differ at the different
provinces. They are highest at Amoy, and lowest in the island of Hainan. The Chinese traders of
Siam informed me that they carried on the fairest and easiest trade, subject to the fewest restrictions,
in the ports of Ningpo and Siang-hai in Chekiang, and Soutcheon in Kiannan. Great dexterity seems
every where to be exercised by the Chinese in evading the duties. One practice, which is very often
followed, will afford a good example of this. The coasting trade of China is nearly free from all du-
ties and other imposts. The merchant takes advantage of this; and intending in reality to proceed
to Siam or Cochin China, for example, clears a junk out for the island of Hainan, and thus avoids the
payment of duties. When she returns she will lie 4 or 5 days off the mouth of the port, until a regu-
lar bargain be made with the Custom-house officers for the reduction of duties. The threat held out
in such cases is to proceed to another port, and thus deprive the public officers of their customary
perquisites. I was assured of the frequency of this practice by Chinese merchants of Cochin China,
as well as by several commanders of junks at Singapore. From the last-named persons I had another
fact of some consequence, as connected with the Chinese trade; viz. that a good many of the junks,
carrying on trade with foreign ports to the westward of China, often proceeded on voyages to the
northward in the same season. In this manner they stated that about 20 considerable junks, besides
a great many small ones, proceeded annually from Canton to Souchong, one of the capitals of Kian-
nan, and in wealth and commerce the rival of Canton, where they sold about 200 chests of opium at
an advance of 50 per cent. beyond the Canton prices. Another place where the Canton junks, to the
number of 5 or 6, repair annually, is Chinchew, in the province of Canton, within the Gulf of Peche-
ley, or Yellow Sea, and as far north as the 37th degree of latitude. Report of 1830,
p. 298.)
A Chinese ship or junk is seldom the property of one individual. Sometimes 40, 50, or
even 100 different merchants purchase a vessel, and divide her into as many different compart-
ments as there are partners; so that each knows his own particular part in the ship, which he
is at liberty to fit up and secure as he pleases. The bulk-heads, by which these divisions are
formed, consist of stout planks, so well caulked as to be completely water-tight. A ship thus
formed may strike on a rock, and yet sustain no serious injury a leak springing in one
division of the hold will not be attended with any damage to articles placed in another;
and, from her firmness, she is qualified to resist a more than ordinary shock. A considera-
ble loss of stowage is, of course, sustained; but the Chinese exports generally contain a
considerable value in small bulk. It is only the very largest class of junks that have so many
owners; but even in the smallest class the number is very considerable.
Population of China-The most conflicting accounts have been given of the population
of the Chinese empire. According to the statement of the Chinese authorities, it was found,
by a census taken in 1813, to amount, for China Proper, to 367,821,000! Vast as this
number must certainly appear, it does not, taking the prodigious extent of territory over
which it is spread into account, give more than 268 individuals to a square mile,-a density
inferior to that of several European countries. It is said that the inhabitants are in the
practice of under-rating their numbers in their returns to government.-(Companion to
Anglo-Chinese Calendar, p. 156.) We are, however, wholly without the means of coming
to any positive conclusion as to the degree of credit to be attached to the census.
Price Current.-A perusal of the subjoined Price Current, published at Canton, the 1st of December,
1832, will give the reader a tolerable notion of the various articles and their prices in the Canton mar-
ket, at the very height of the shipping season.
CANTON, 1st of December, 1832.
Imports.
Betel nut
3 J 4
-
Amber
Sp.
drs.
8
to
14
per catty.
Birds' nests
26
40
per catty.
Associatida
41.2
per picul.
Camphor, Barus
10
30
-
Biche de mer
8 to 16
Cloves, Molueca
30
32
per pical.
very superior
36
50
-
Mauritius
18 20
Beer wax
24
25
-
Cochineal, Europe, garbled
260
290
-
Digitized by Google
308
CANTON.
Emports
Woollens, Long ells
7
per prece.
Cochineal, Earope, ungarbled
180
200
per picul.
Scarlet cuttings
80
to
90
per pical.
Copper, South America
15
16
-
Exports.
at Lintin for exportation
23-50
-
Japan
18
20
Alum, at Macao, 1 3-4 to 2 here
Sp.
drs.
2-25
per pical
-
Coral fragments
30
50
Aniseed, star
10 to 11
-
-
Cotton, Bombay
taels
8
10-4
oil of
1-50
per catty.
-
Bengal
Bamboo canes
85 to 10-5
14 to 16
per 1,000.
-
Madras (old) 103: (new)
Brass leaf
11
45
46
per box.
-
Cotton goods, British, viz.
Camphor, at Macao, none: at Canton
28 30
per pieul.
Chintzes
28 yda.
Sp. drs. 2 1-2 to 1-2 per piece.
Camia (shipped outside), 9: at do.
12 IS
-
Longeloths
40 do.
31-2 1-2
buds (new)
15
-
-
Musline
20 do.
China root
2
1-2
318
-
-
Cambrics
12 do.
Cubebs
118
13-4
none.
-
Monteith's bandannoes, scarlet
21-4 81-4
Dragon's blood
80 to 100
-
-
blue, &c.
1 1-8 13-4
Galangal
414
-
-
Cotton yaru, No. 16. to 90.
35
per picul
Gambage
75 to
85
-
No. 90. to 30.
Glass beads
42
16 22
-
-
No. 30. to 40.
Hartall
38
12
13
-
-
No. 40. to 70.
not wanted.
Lead, white
10
-
Cow besoar
red
30
11
-
per catty.
Cudbear
25 to 26
per pieul.
Mother-of pearl shells
20 to 22
-
Musk
Cutch, Pege
41-2
70 110
4
per catty.
-
Ebony, Mauritius
3
Nankeens, Company's 1st.
72
4
74
-
per 100.
Ceylon
2
818
9d, 1st sort
52
-
-
Elephant's teeth, 1st, 5 to 8 to a picul
2d. do.
90
47 to 48
-
-
2d, 12 to 15 do.
80
3d,
38 40
-
-
3d, 18 to 25 do.
small
70
none.
-
cuttings
70
blue Nankin, small (9 3-4 yds. 12 ins.) do.
-
Fishmaws
60 to 70
large, (10 1-2 do. 13 do.) 85 to 90
-
-
Flists
Canton
50
62
63
-
cts.
-
Gambier
Oil of Cassia
1-8
Sp. drs. 1 to 1-8
per catty
-
Rhubarb
Ginseng, crude
70
80
52 to 55
per picul.
-
clarified
80
333
-
85
Silk, raw, Nankin, Taymam
-
Iron bar, 1 to 3 inch
Tratlee
21-4 21-2
358
-
-
rod, 1-4 inch and under
3
Canton, No. 1.
taels 260 to 265
-
-
No. 2.
scrap
2 to 21-4
250
-
-
Lead, pig
No. 3.
225 to
-
41-2
-
Mace
No. 4.
140
-
none.
Myrrh
4 to 18
(!
Sp. dra. 90
-
-
Nutmegs
No. 5.
2
70
-
none.
Olibanum, garbled, 10: ungarbled
5 to 6
(3
63
-
-
Opium, Patna (nominal)
950
Sugar, raw
taels 5-2 to 5-6
-
per chest.
Benares do.
950
Pingfa
6-2 6-4
-
-
Bombay do.
896
Sugar candy, Chinchew
Sp. drs. 11
-
-
Damaum do.
825
Canton, 1st sort
taels 6-6
-
-
2d do
Turkey do.
800
per picul.
none.
Pepper, Malay
3-4 to 8
Tea, Robea
12 to 15
-
-
Putchuck
14
15
Congou
20
28
-
-
Quicksilver
58
60
Campoy
28
30
-
-
Rattans
23-4 31-8
Souchong
19
35
-
-
Rice
Pako
2
2-50
38
60
-
-
Rose, Maloes
38
Ankoi souchong
18
20
-
-
Saltpetre at Whampos
Hyson
55
70
-
none.
skin
Lintin
1-2 to 9
26
35
-
-
Sandal wood, Indian
10
16
young
45
50
-
-
Sandwich Island
112 7
Gunpowder
64
66
-
-
Sapan wood
1-80 to 2
Twankay
30
32
-
-
Sharks' fins
23 to 24
Orange peko
20
21
-
-
very fine
28 40
Caper
20
22
-
-
Tortoiseshell
Skins, rabbit
45
50
per 100.
20
28
-
Turmeric
seal
1.90 to 2
each.
Sp. drs.
5
51e
-
sea otter
45 to 50
Tutenague
13
-
-
Vermilion
land do.
5 61-2
34 to 35
per box.
-
beaver
41-2 612
Whangees
25
-
per 1,000.
fox
cts. 70 90
-
Bullion.
Smalts, (for a small supply)
Sp. dra. 20
60
per picul.
Steel, English
41-2
Gold
-
98 touch
drs. 23 3-4 per tasl.
Swedish, in kits
5
per cwt.
Sycee silver at Lintin, 1 to 2 per cent. premium.
Stockfish
6 to 6
per picul.
Spanish dollars, entire
none.
Spelter
to 4
-
Republican do.
do.
Thread, gold and silver
32 to 35
per catty.
Tin plates
6
per box.
Exchanges.
Tin, Banca
Sp. drs. 15
per picul.
London, per Sp. dr., 6 months' sight.
Straits', 1st quality
14 to 141-2
-
Bills suitable for negotiation in India, dra. 4-3.
Woollens, broad-cloth
1.40
to
1.50
per
yard.
Other bills
drs. 4-4 to 4-5.
Camlets, English, 55 yds. by 30 ins. 14 to 15
per piece.
Bengal Co.'s 207 Sicca rupees, per 100 Sp. dra., 30 days' sight.
Dutch, 40 do. by 28 do. 26
28
-
Private bills 210
do.
do.
do.
do.broad,4 do. by 33 do. 26
28
-
Bombay
218 Bombay rupees
do.
do.
(Account of the Import Trade by British and American Vessels at Canton, from 1st July, 1836, to 30th
June, 1837.
Imports.
British Ships.
American Ships.
Total Quantity.
Price per yard,
Total Value is
piece, ac.
Spanish Dollars.
Broad Cloth
-
- yards
1,295,279
263,344
1,558,623
dol.
1-20
1,870,348
Camlets
-
- pieces
16,257
5,642
21,299
25.
532,475
Long ells
-
-
-
69,124
34,472
123,596
9.
,112,364
Bombazettes
-
-
-
4,613
6,344
10,957
11.
120,527
Woollen yarn
-
-
pls.
165
76
241
100
24,100
Flannel
-
- yards
2,400
-
2,400
33
792
Blankets
-
- pairs
1,322
1,251
2,573
4.
10,292
Velveteens
-
- yards
4,996
4,400
9,396
-20
1,879
Cotton yarn
-
-
pls.
18,431
4,232
22,663
40
906,520
Long Cloths
-
- yards
5,629,849
3,605,826
9,235,675
Ditto
12}
1,154,458
-
-
-
-
391,117
391.117
'14
54,756
Domestics
-
-
-
7,286
489,520
496,806
-10
49.681
Handkerchiefs
-
- dozen
35,620
20,783
56,403
1:50
84,603
Chintzes
-
- yards
119,808
194,964
314,772
121
39,346
Cambrics
-
-
-
22,850
3,000
25,850
Linen
12t
3,231
-
-
-
-
10,920
5,726
16,646
1.
16,646
Canvas
-
- bolts
198
420
618
12.
7,416
Gold tbread
-
- cattles
167
-
167
40.
6,680
Cochineal
-
-
pls.
349
132
481
180
86,580
Smalts
-
-
-
166
-
166
38-
6,308
Digitized by Google
CANTON.
309
Account of Imports.-continued.
Price per yard,
Total Value in
Imports.
British Ships.
American Ships.
Total Quantity.
piece, ac.
Spanish Dollars.
Ginseng
-
-
pls.
52
1,509
1,561
60-
93,660
Quicksilver
-
-
-
2,054
501
2,555
115-
293,825
Tin plates
- boxes
1,200
-
-
1,200
7.50
9,000
Tin
-
-
-
pls.
15,732
834
16,566
19.
314,754
Spelter
-
-
-
-
2,955
3,049
6,004
5:50
33,022
Lead
-
-
-
-
14,961
9,946
24,907
6.
149,442
Iron
-
-
-
-
16,238
3,490
19,728
3.
59,184
Copper -
-
-
-
54
2,288
2,342
20.
46,840
Amber, false
-
-
chests
4%
-
42
20.
840
Betel nut
-
-
pls.
23,755
2,005
25,760
3.
77,280
Bicho de mar
-
-
-
134
-
134
6.
804
Birds' nests
- catties
373
-
-
373
20.
7,460
Camphor baroos
-
-
121
-
121
40.
4,840
Cotton, Bengal -
-
pls.
240,192
-
240,192
T. 9.
3,002,400
Bombay
-
347,580
-
-
347,580
8.5
4,103,375
Madras
-
-
89,579
-
89,579
9.
1,119,738
Cornellans
7 value
135,700
-
135,700
-
-
135,700
Cloves -
-
-
pls.
198
122
320
28.
8,960
Ebony -
-
-
-
9,796
-
9,796
3.
29,388
Elephants' teeth
-
532
-
-
532
85-
45,220
Fish maws
-
-
1,501
-
-
1,501
55.
82,555
Glass beads
-
chests
10
-
-
10
18.
180
Gum olibanum -
pls.
-
-
3,820
3,820
3.
11,460
animi
-
-
-
157
-
157
4.
628
myrrh -
-
-
205
-
205
5.
1,025
copal
-
67
-
-
-
67
20
1,340
bdellium -
-
1,234
-
-
1,234
4.
4,936
Horns, Rhinoceros
20
-
-
-
n 20
20
400
Unicorn
-
-
63
-
. 63
40.
2,520
Kayabuco wood
-
33
-
-
33
5.
165
Mother Cloves -
-
-
46
-
46
10*
460
Mother o'-Pearl shells
-
1,649
449
2,068
4.
8,272
Nutmegs
-
-
-
-
39
39
120
4,680
Opium, Patna -
chests
7,192
-
-
7,192
778
5,595,376
Benares
-
-
2,575
5
2,580
683
1,762,140
Malwa
-
17,687
-
-
17,687
675
11,938,725
Turkey
-
pls.
292
446
738
611-
450,918
Pearls
-
- value
120,000
-
120,000
-
120,000
Pepper
-
-
pls.
12,311
2,292
14,603
8.
116,824
Pimento
--
-
30
-
-
30
10*
300
Putchuck
-
-
357
-
-
857
18.
6,426
Rattans
-
-
-
8,155
3,781
11,936
3.
35,808
Rice
-
-
-
-
218,949
577,578
796,527
1:50
1,194,791
Saltpetre
-
-
-
10,031
-
10,031
7.50
75,233
Sandal wood
-
10,325
-
-
10,325
22.
-
227,159
Sapan wood
-
-
-
142
-
142
3.
426
Sea-horse teeth
-
44
-
-
44
40.
1,760
Shark fins
4,650
-
-
-
-
4,650
26.
120,900
Skins, beaver
-
-
No.
-
1,465
1,465
4.
5,860
fox
-
-
-
-
1,198
1,198
1.20
1,438
land otter
-
-
7,376
6,773
14,149
6.
84,894
rabbit
-
-
-
9,980
560
1,394
40*
55,760
sea otter
4-
-
-
834
310
1,023
4,092
ditto tails
-
-
713
-
9,980
50
4,990
musk-rat
1
-
4,735
410
5,145
1.
5,145
Soap
-
-
-
pls.
162
-
162
3.
488
Stock fish
-
1,195
-
-
1,195
5.
-
5,975
Sundries
-
- value
77,224
8,450
85,674
-
85,674
Treasure, gold -
-
-
5,912
-
5,912
-
5,912
-
plata pina
-
-
87,393
35,485
122,878
-
122,878
bar silver
-
70,226
-
70,226
-
-
70,226
dollars
-
-
307,409
428,485
735,894
-
735,694
Balance
-
-
-
-
-
352,891
Spanish dollars -
-
-
-
-
-
38,579,358
Account of the Export Trade by British and American Vessels at Canton, from 1st July, 1836, to 30th
June, 1837.
Exports.
British Ships.
American Ships.
Total Quantity.
Price per yard,
Total Value in
piece, &c.
Spanish Dollars.
Alum
-
-
-
pls.
35,632
10
35,642
dol.
2.50
85,105
Anniseed
-
- value
4,213
200
4,413
-
4,413
Arsenic
- chests
114
-
114
10:
1,140
-
Bangles
-
66
-
66
50
3,300
-
-
Baskets
-
- value
120
120
120
-
120
Beads -
- chests
1,345
-
1,345
18.
24,210
-
Brass leaf
-
-
231
-
231
45°
10,395
-
Bricks -
No.
100,000
-
100,000
5.
500
-
-
Camphor
-
- value
28,489
69,300
97,779
-
97,779
Capoor cutchery
- chests
78
-
78
6.
468
Cassia
-
-
- value
58,375
60,900
119,275
-
119,275
Cassia buds
-
-
pls.
-
30
30
14°
420
Digitized by Google
310
CANTON.
Account of Exports.-continued.
Exports.
British Ships.
American Ships.
Price per yard,
Total Value is
Total Quantity.
piece, &c.
Spanish Dollars.
China ware
-
- value
16,346
32,179
48,595
-
48,525
ditto ink
-
- catties
-
231
231
1.
231
ditto root
-
-
pls.
665
-
665
3:50
2,328
Cochineal
-
-
-
153
-
153
180
27,540
Copper
-
-
-
-
11
+
11
20
230
ditto, white
-
- boxes
49
-
49
50°
2,450
ditto, ware
-
- value
830
-
830
-
830
Corals, false
-
- chests
124
-
124
40.
4,960
Cotton yarn
-
-
pls.
5,643
-
5,643
$
225,720
Crackers
-
- boxes
3,762
$1,700
25,462
-
36,748
Dragon's blood
-
pls.
-
6
6
60·
360
Fans and fire screens
-
No.
-
161,143
161,143
i1:50
2,417
Feather fans
-
-
-
-
2,200
2,200
40
880
Galangal
-
-
pls.
266
127
393
3.50
1,376
Gamboge
-
-
-
-
13
13
55-
715
Gauze -
-
- value
300
10,100
10,400
-
10,400
Gold ware
-
-
-
4,450
-
4,450
-
4,450
Grass cloth
-
-
-
4,120
[103,940
108,060
-
108,060
Gum Benjamin
-
chests
38
-
38
40°
1,520
Hartall
-
-
- pls.
612
-
612
|14-
8,568
Hats
-
-
- boxes
56
-
56
50°
2,800
Ivory ware
-
- value
2,200
5,528
7,728
-
7,728
Kettisall's
-
- chests
2,007
-
2,007
11-
22,077
ditto, silk -
-
-
61
-
61
13°
793
Lacquered ware
-
-
3,630
5,929
9,559
-
9,559
Marble slabs
-
- boxes
3,856
-
3,856
5.
19,280
Matting
-
- value
4,532
105,368
109,900
-
109,900
Mats, bamboo
-
-
-
-
33
33
-
33
Pearl buttons
-
-
gross
-
184,300
[184,300
10. cts.
18,430
slabs
-
- value
-
50
50
-
50
Musk
-
-
-
-
17,600
-
17,600
-
17,600
Nankeens
-
-
-
108,718
32,686
141,404
-
141,404
Oils spice
-
-
pls.
78
173
251
-
23,100
Paper -
-
- value
38,113
200
38,313
-
38,313
Pearls, false
-
-
-
13,991
-
13,991
-
13,201
seed
-
-
-
105
-
105
-
105
Preserves
-
-
boxes
1,050
-
[1,050
4-
4,900
Rattans, split
-
-
pls.
l
100
100
20-
2,000
Rhubarb
-
-
-
122
95
217
-
57,276
Raw silk
-
-
-
20,397
125
20,522
-
8,154,766
Silk piece goods
-
value
338,212
2,006,313
2,344,525
-
2,344,525
Silver ware
-
-
-
4,645
-
4,645
-
4,645
Sugar -
-
-
pls.
63,803
15,469
79,272
-
584,552
Sugar candy
-
-
-
31,377
40
31,417
-
305,334
Sweetmeats
-
- boxes
1,161
2,225
3,386
-
36,375
Sewing silk
-
-
pls.
-
410
410
450
184,500
Tea
Taels.
Bohea
-
-
pls.
1,149
1,266
2,415
30,905
Congo
-
-
-
183,509
-
183,509
5,872,288
Caper
-
-
-
5,094
-
5,094
132,444
Souchong
-
-
-
19,100
17,483
36,583
1,304,660
Pouchong
-
-
-
-
2,322
2,322
58,050
Campoi
-
-
-
287
-
287
8,610
Ankoi
-
-
-
1,274
-
1,274
26,754
Hongmuey
-
-
3,989
-
3,989
127,648
Pekoe
-
-
-
2,952
802
3,754
233,652
Orange Pekoe
-
-
7,088
-
7,088
219,728
Black
-
-
224,442
21,873
-
8,014,740
[11,131,584
Hyson
-
-
-
19,923
9,993
29,916
1,664,988
Young hyson
-
-
5,118
63,278
68,396
1,966,268
Hyson skin
-
-
12,613
12,524
25,137
603,466
Twankay -
-
-
31,448
3,181
34,629
1,001,060
Gunpowder
-
-
4,587
7,790
12,377
655,546
Imperial
-
-
-
3,149
5,722
8,871
442,129
Green
-
-
76,838
102,488
-
6,333,457
8,796,468
Not specified
-
6,925
-
6,925
235,450
327,013
Tiles
-
-
-
No.
21,000
-
21,000
10
210
Tobacco
-
-
pls.
400
-
400
1 25
10,000
Trunks
-
-
sets
329
157
486
L
10,849
Umbrellas
-
- chests
200
-
200
20
4,000
Velvet -
-
- boxes
119
-
119
70
8,330
Vermilion
-
-
-
1,096
-
1,096
63
69,048
Sundries
-
- value
62,615
2,287
64,902
-
64,902
Treasure, gold -
- taels
43,919
-
43,919
23:50
1,032,096
sycee
-
-
2,058,754
I
2,058,754
5 per cent.
3,002,350
dollars, Sp.
-
-
-
-
728,395
ditto, S. A.
-
68,304
-
68,304
3 per cent.
66,255
Disbursements on
171 British ships
-
96 American do.
-
s
561,000
177,000
-
-
738,000
Spanish dollars -
,
-
-
-
-
-
38,579,258
Sup.)
Digitized by Google
CANTON.
311
[We find the following account of the Teas and Silks exported from Canton to the United
States between June 30th, 1837, and the same date in 1838.
Teas.
Silks.
Chests
Crape shawls
-
-
-
- 19,841
Young hyson
-
-
-
- 70,146
Handkerchiefs
-
-
- pieces
38,212
Hyson
-
-
-
-
- 13,112
Linchews
-
-
-
-
2,536
Hyson skin
-
-
-
- 20,986
Sarsnets
-
-
-
-
2,692
Tonkay -
-
-
-
-
561
Levantines
-
-
-
-
375
Gunpowder
-
-
-
- 8,343
Satin do.
-
-
-
-
600
Imperial
-
-
-
- 6,911
Satins
-
-
-
-
-
1,200
Bohea -
-
-
-
- none.
Satin damask
-
-
-
-
50
Souchong
-
-
-
- 51,378
Camblets
-
-
-
-
74
Pouchong
-
-
-
- 7,720
Pongees
-
-
-
-
24,215
Pecco
-
-
-
-
- 3,186
Mixed lustrings
-
-
-
-
580
Congo
-
-
-
-
-
757
Crapes
-
-
-
-
-
22
Sewings
-
-
- peculs
31
Total
-
-
-
- 183,100
The above amount of teas is stated to be about 10,000 chests less than the average of the
six years preceding.-Am. Ed.]
CANVAS (Fr. Toile à voile; Ger. Segeltuch; It. Canevazza, Lona; Rus. Parussnoe
polotno, Parussina; Sp. Lona), unbleached cloth of hemp or flax, chiefly used for sails for
shipping. Masters of ships are required to make entry of all foreign-made sails and cordage,
not being standing or running rigging, in use on board their respective ships, under a penalty
of 100L Sails in actual use, and fit and necessary for such ship, are imported free; but
when otherwise disposed of, they are liable to an ad valorem duty of 20 per cent.-3 & 4
Will. 4. c. 56.) It had been the practice for a considerable period to grant bounties on the
exportation of canvas or sail-cloth; these, however, finally ceased on the 1st of January,
1832. By an act passed in the reign of Geo. 2., new sails were ordered to be stamped with
the maker's name and place of abode but this regulation was repealed by the 10 Geo. 4. c.
43. § 9.
CAOUTCHOUC. " This substance, which has been improperly termed elastic gum,
and vulgarly, from its common application to rub out pencil marks on paper, India rubber,
is obtained from the milky juice of different plants in hot countries. The chief of these are
the Jatropha elastica, and Urceola elastica. The juice is applied in successive coatings on
a mould of clay, and dried by the fire or in the sun and when of a sufficient thickness, the
mould is crushed, and the pieces shaken out. Acids separate the caoutchouc from the thin-
ner part of the juice at once, by coagulating it. The juice of old plants yields nearly two
thirds of its weight; that of younger plants less. Its colour, when fresh, is yellowish white,
but it grows darker by exposure to the air. The elasticity of this substance is its most
remarkable property when warmed, as by immersion in hot water, slips of it may be drawn
out to 7 or 8 times their original length, and will return to their former dimensions nearly.
Cold renders it stiff and rigid, but warmth restores its original elasticity. Exposed to the
fire, it softens, swells up, and burns with a bright flame. In Cayenne it is used to give light
as a candle."-(Ure's Dictionary.)
Caoutchouc promises to become an article of very considerable importance. M. de la
Condamine, who was one of the first to communicate authentic information with respect to
it, mentions, that, owing to its being impervious to water, it was made into boots by the
Indians-(Voyage de la Rivicre des Amazones, p. 76.) It is now employed in a similar
way here. Means have, within these few years, been discovered of reducing it to a state of
solution; and when thin filaments of it are spread over cloth, or any other substance, it is
rendered impervious alike to air and water. Air cushions and pillows are manufactured in
this way ; as are water-proof cloaks, hats, boots, shoes, &c. It is also extensively used in the
manufacture of braces and other articles which it is desirable should possess considerable
elasticity and there can be little doubt that it will be employed still more extensively, and
in a still greater variety of ways.
Previously to 1830, the importations of caoutchouc were comparatively inconsiderable. In that
year they amounted to about 52,000 lbs.; while, during the year ended the 5th of April, 1833, the quan-
tity entered for consumption amounted to 178,676 lbs. Its price varies from 6d. to 2s. 6d. per lb. The
duty has been judiciously reduced from 5d. per lb. to 1s. per cwt.
CAPERS (Fr. Capres; Ger. Kappern; Du. Kappers; It. Cappari; Sp. Alcapar-
ras ; Rus. Kaperszü; Lat. Capparis), the pickled buds of the Capparis spinosa, a low
shrub, generally growing out of the joints of old walls, and the fissures of rocks, in most of
the warm parts of Europe. Capers are imported into Great Britain from different parts
of the Mediterranean; the best from Toulon in France. Some small salt capers come from
Majorca, and a few flat ones from about Lyons. The duty of 6d. per lb. on capers pro-
duced, in 1832, 1,553/. 5s. 4d. nett, showing that 62,130 lbs. had been entered for home
consumption.
CAPE-TOWN, the capital of the British territory in South Africa; lat. 33° 55' 56" S.,
long. 18° 21' E. It lies at the bottom of Table Bay, about 32 miles north from the Cape
of Good Hope; and on the western side of the territory to which it gives its name. The
Digitized by Google
312
CAPE-TOWN.
town was founded by the Dutch in 1650; and remained, with the territory subject to it, in
their possession till it was taken by the British in 1795. It was restored to the Dutch by the
treaty of Amiens; but being again captured by the British in 1806, it was finally ceded to
us in 1815. The streets are laid out in straight lines, crossing each other at right angles;
many of them being watered by canals, and planted on each side with oaks. The popula-
tion in 1829-30 amounted, according to the statement in the Cape Almanac, to 13,103
free persons and 5,838 slaves, making together 18,491. The town is defended by a castle
of considerable strength. Table Bay is capable of containing any number of ships; but it is
exposed to the westerly winds, which, during the months of June, July, and August, throw
in a heavy swell, that has been productive of many distressing accidents. This in fact, is
the great drawback upon Cape-Town, which in all other respects is most admirably fitted
for a commercial station. At the proper season, however, or during the prevalence of the
easterly monsoon, Table Bay is perfectly safe; while the cheapness and abundance of pro-
visions, the healthiness of the climate, and above all its position, render it a peculiarly desira-
ble resting place for ships bound to or from India, China, Australia, &c.
The subjoined plan of Table Bay is taken from the survey of the Cape of Good Hope,
executed by Lieut. Vidal and others, under the direction of Captain Owen.
10
17
7
7
6
8
4
4
©
9
9
7
6
7
E
3
31
10
41
3
10
9
5
3
6
7
10
5
11
9
5
7
21
9
8
19
41
++
15
9
9
8
39
13
12
7
11
6
4
F
5}
16
14
10
3
8
13
11
21
16
9
7
12
41
11
3
10
10
5
T
A
B
L
E
7
10
6
20
41
3
B A Y
8
2
23
A
31
10
6
31
54
8
7
8
14
1
4
4
2
3
10
B
1
1
1
W
TOWN
02
D
C
00
Nautic Miles
1
2
13
Digitized by Google
CAPE-TOWN.
313
References to the Plan.-A, light-house, furnished with double lights. They may be seen clearly off
deck at 16 miles' distance; but they do not appear double till within 6 or 7 miles to the westward
from the northward only one light is seen. B, Lion's Rump. C, Table Mountain. D, Devil's Peak,
in lat. 33° 57' 2". E, Robbin Island. F, Salt River. The figures denote the soundings in fathoms.
Port Instructions.-Art. 1. On the arrival of merchant vessels in Table Bay, a proper berth will be
pointed out to the masters thereof by the port captain, when he boards them; and no master of a mer-
chant vessel shall shift his berth without permission from the port captain, unless in case of extreme
emergency, when he must report his havingdone so as early as possible at the Port-office.
2 Should it be the intention of a master of a vessel to discharge or receive on board any consider-
able quantity of merchandise, a berth will be pointed out to him as close to the jetty, or other landing
place, as the safety of the vessel and other circumstances will admit. And the master will then moor
with two bower anchors, with an open hawse to the N. N. E., taking especial care, in so mooring, not
to overlay the anchors of any other ship, or in any way to give the vessel near him a foul berth.
Ships and vessels touching in Table Bay for water and refreshments alone, may ride at single anchor
in the outer anchorage; but in this case it is particularly recommended to veer out 80 or 90 fathoms,
if they ride by a chain cable, as the liability of starting or fouling the anchor, or breaking the chain,
will thereby be greatly lessened; and If riding by a rope or coir cable, to run out a stream or good
kedge, to steady the ship; and in both cases the other bower anchor should be kept in perfect readi-
ness to let go. When the vessel is properly moored with bower anchors, or well secured with a bower
and stream anchor, and with good cables, buoys, and buoy-ropes, the master will then take the exact
place of the ship by the bearings of 2 land-marks, and the depth of the water and should accident
occur, by which the vessel may drift from this situation, or lose her anchors, a good bearing and depth
of water must be taken at the time, and the same must be notified in writing to the port captain. It
is particularly recommended that vessels be kept as snug as possible, to counteract the effects of the
periodical winds, which at times blow with considerable violence.
The district subject to Cape-Town is of very great extent, and contains every variety of
soil, from the richest level land to the wildest mountain, and tracts destitute of even the ap-
pearance of vegetation. The climate fluctuates between the two extremes of rain and
drought. On the whole, its advantages and disadvantages seem to be pretty equally
balanced and the prospects which it holds out to the industrious emigrant, if not very allur-
ing, are certainly not discouraging.
Population.-According to the official returns, the population of the Cape Colony, in
1834, consisted of-
Whites and Free Coloured.
Negro Apprentices, formerly Slaves.
Males.
Females.
Males.
Females.
60,440
56,418
19,580
16,589
Total 153,027
Produce-Large quantities of corn of a very good description are produced in the imme-
diate neighbourhood of Cape-Town; but its free exportation is restrained; none being
allowed to be sent abroad, except a specified quantity decided upon by government after an
investigation into the state of the crops ! This restriction, Mr. Thompson tells us (Travels
in Southern Africa, p. 395.), has neither produced regular prices nor averted scarcity. It
has, however, been in no common degree injurious to the colony and it is really surprising
that systems of policy universally condemned in England should be allowed to exert a per-
nicious influence over any of our colonies. The Mauritius and Rio Janeiro are the principal
markets for the corn of the Cape.
Large quantities of wine, and of what is called brandy, are produced at the Cape but,
with the exception of Constantia, they are very inferior. Objections have been made to the
duties recently imposed on Cape wines but, as it appears to us, without any good founda-
tion. The real effect of allowing their importation at a comparatively low duty is not to
occasion their direct consumption, but to cause them to be employed as a convenient means
of adulterating others; so that, besides being injurious to the revenue, such reduction of duty
promotes fraudulent practices, and detracts from the comforts of the public.
Considerable quantities of hides, skins, and horns are exported. They are principally
brought from Algoa Bay, on the eastern side of the colony and the trade has increased very
fast during the last 6 or 7 years. Horses, butter, beef, ivory, whale oil, aloes, argol, and
various other articles, are among the exports.
The imports at the Cape consist of woollens, cottons, hardware, earthenware, furniture,
haberdashery, soap, paper, books, and portions of most articles used in this country. Piece
goods and telk timber are imported from India, tea from China, sugar from India and the
Mauritius, &c.
Revenue, &c.-The total revenue of the Cape Colony for the year 1832 amounted to
130,80% 7s. 34d.; the expenditure for the same year was 126,889/. 08. 9td.; leaving a
balance of 3,919% 6s. 10±d. in favour of the former.
Trade.-The trade between the colonists and the independent natives is subjected to
various restraints, of which it is not always very easy to discover the policy. The sale of
gunpowder and fire-arms to the natives has been prohibited a regulation which might have
been a judicious one, had they not been able to obtain them from any one else. But the
Americans have begun to trade at Natal, on the eastern coast, and have liberally supplied
the natives with these and various other articles; so that by keeping up the regulation in
question, we merely exclude ourselves from participating in what might be an advantageous
trade.
VoL. L-2 D
40
Digitized
by
Google
314
CAPE-TOWN.
According to the official accounts, the values of the products imported into, and exported from the
Cape of Good Hope in 1834, were as under :-
Estimated Value of Imports.
Estimated Value of Exports.
G. Britain.
British
United
Other
States.
Foreign
Total.
G. Britain.
British
United
Other
Colonica.
Colonies.
States.
Foreign
Total
States.
States.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Cape-town
275,049
27,200
4,349
86,229
392,827
171,310
106,830
4,603
14,822
207,574
Simon's town
508
3,338
5,391
392
9,624
5,797
670
61
4
6,492
Port-Elizabeth
56,868
3,430
-
19
6,317
61,142
4,156
-
498
65,796
Total.
382,490
33,968
9,740
86,640
462,768
238,258
111,566
4,664
15,324
369,803
During the same year, the ships and tonnage entering inwards from, and clearing outwards to, the
undermentioned countries, were :-
Ships Inwards.
Ships Outwards.
United
Other
United
Other
G. Britain.
B. Colonies.
States.
Foreign
Total.
G. Britain.
B. Colonies.
States.
Foreign
Total.
States.
States.
Porta.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
ons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tona.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
&
T
Tons.
Ships.
I
C. Town.
78
25,047
98
35,140
31
9,572 82
18419
299
88,178
115
45,447
102
30,900
25
7,670
41
12,537
283
96,554
S. Town.
9
3,141
8
2,973
20
5,632
4
2,003
41
13,749
8
3,063
12
4,606
19
5,504
4
1,962
43
14,435
P. Eliz.
15
2,771
9
2,227
2
559
2
171
25
5,728
12
1,937
6
1,210
-
6
1,019
24
4,166
Total
102
30,959
115
40,340
2.
15,763 88
20,593
358
107,655
135
50,447
120
36,716
13,174
51
14,818
350
115,155
Articles exported from the Cape.-The following account of the exports from the Cape in 1829 is taken
from the Cape Almanac for 1831. It is the most complete of any that we have seen, and its accuracy
may be depended upon.
Articles, the Produce and Manufacture of the Cape Colony, exported during 1829.
Articles.
Amount.
Articles.
Amount
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
Aloes, 375,736 lbs. and 61 casks and cases, esti-
Salt, 288 muids
28 16 0
mated value
2,794 0 0
Sheep, 3,282 in number pigs, 33; goats, 2
1,506 10 0
Angol, 22,422 lbs.
535 0 0
Spirits, viz.
Butter, 105,519 lbs. and 152 casks and jars
5,570 16 43
Brandy, 1,408 1-2 gallons
85 0 0
Beef, pork, and tongues, salted, 1,780 casks and
Liqueurs, 24 gallons
20 0 0
kegs
4,353 7 H
Soap, 1,218 lbs.
24 0 0
Beer, 3,306 gallons
240 0 0
Saddlery and harness
23 0 0
Biscuits and rusks, 20,000 lbs.
228 0 0
Skins, viz.
Corn, grain, meal, &c., viz,
Goat, 91,781 pieces and 55 bundles
514 15 0
Barley and oats, 13,553 muids
4,163 6 0
Seal, 3,928 pieces
834 0 0
Beans and peas, 60 muids
87 0 0
Sheep, 77,343 pieces
3,795 0 0
Bran, 36,332 lbs.
121 0 0
Calf, 1,414 pieces and 2 bundles
169 0 0
Flour, 78,224 lbs.
866 0 0
Rabbit and mole, 490 pieces
14 0 0
Wheat, 24,236 muids
23,449 0 0
Karosses, I case
7 10 0
Cheese
31 10 0
Tallow, 13,333 lbs.
409 0 0
Curiosities
467 12 6
Vinegar, 428 gallons
13 0 0
Confectionery
29 0 0
Wine, ordinary, 1,548,977 1-2 gallons
146,936 0 0
Candles, 11,584 lbs.
383 0 0
Constantia, 2,874 gallons
2,137 0 0
Carriages
38 0 0
Wool, 33,280 lbs. and 11 bags
1,220 0 0
Feathers, ostrich, 539 lbs. and 31 boxes
1,917 0 0
Wood
73 10 0
Fish
1,589 10 5
Whalebone, 13,038 lbs. and 229 bundles
1,392 0 0
Fruits, dried, 133,333 lbs.
4,236 0 0
Wax, bees', 910 lbs.
22 0 0
green
49 0 0
Zebras, 4 head
148 0 0
Garden seeds and bulbs
413 2 0
Gum, 16,943 lbs. and 2 cases
96 0 0
Hides, horse and ox, 79,035 pieces
33,722 18 51
Horns, 244,610 in number
5,989 6 0
Supplies to his Majesty's Navy.
Hay, 29,160 lbs.
79 0 0
Beef, fresh, 137,662 lbs,
717 0 0
Horses, 314 in number
8,753 0 0
Biscuit, 259,616 lbs.
2,859 0 0
Ivory, 25,497 lbs. and 227 tusks, bundles and
Bread, soft. 118,480 lbs.
740 0 0
casks
3,759 0 0
Flour, 57,422 lbs.
632 0 0
Lime, 72 half aams
10 0 0
Hay, 5,630 lbs.
26 0 0
Leather, 2 cases
10 0 0
Raisins, 10,722 lbs.
191 0 0
Mules, 48 head
688 0 0
Sheep, 34 in number, and oxen 23
83 0 0
Oil, whale, 34,662 rallons and 90 casks
4,023 6 0
Vegetables, 30,013 lbs.
306 0 0
Oxen, cows, and calves, 444 head
1,782 0 0
Wine, ordinary, 18,091 Imperial quarts
1,432 0 0
Polonies
63 0 0
Total estimated value of colonial pro-
Potatoes and onions, 367 muids
169 0 0
duce and manufactures exported
285,247 15 10
Poultry
138 0 0
during the year 1829.
CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS, FEES, &c.
On Admission of a Ship to Entry, observe-
3. Export declarations must be sent in by the several shippers. of
1. The ship's register must be lodged in the Custom-house, until
the quantity and value of goods or produce shipped by them, in or-
the vessel clear again for sea.
der to ascertain the amount of the exports of the colony. 0
2. The manifest of the cargo on board for this place must be de.
4. When Cape wine is shipped for exportation to England, affide-
posited there.
vit of the particular description of such wine must be delivered, and
3. The cockets of cargoes shipped from any place in Great Britain
a certificate granted, by the collector or comptroller of customs, to
or Ireland for this place must also be deposited there.
the master, of his having received such affidavit.
From the endorsement of such cockets, an extract is to be male,
5. Manifests, in triplicate, of such goods as are shipped from the
which will show the contents of the different packages on board,
Cape for Great Britain, must be delivered, signed, and sworn to by
and facilitate the making out of the entries.
the master, before the collector or comptroller.
4. In making out the declarations, the value by invoice of the
The original of which is to be returned to the master to accompt-
different commodities must be given by the importer, in order to
my the cargo.
enable the Custom-house to estimate the duties payable, and to send
The duplicate to be forwarded, by the first conveyance sailing
in to government, annually, the required statement of the total duties
subsequently to the vessel containing the original, to the commis-
received upon the several articles imported.
sioners of customs in England or Scotland respectively, as the case
In the clearing of a Ship outwards, observe-
may happen.
1. The master must produce a certificate from the harbour master,
And the triplicate, written on or covered with a stamp, to reseals
that the tonnage duties of the port have been paid.
as an office copy.
2. The export manifest must be examined with the permits
granted, in order to ascertain whether packages have been shipped
N. B.-Ships taking in cargoes for other parts of the world, are
without a permit.
required to deliver only original and duplicate manifests.
Digitized
by
Google
CAPE-TOWN.
315
Description of Stamps required.
L.t.d.
L d.
Coastwise: Entrance-gratie
From 1 to 10 tons of goods shipped from the Cape
076
Clearance
10 20
15 0
Landing (or shipping) cargo
20 50
10 0
50 and upwards
250
In obtaining Permits, observe-
1. No credit will be given to any person whatever.
6. When whale oil or whale bone is shipped from the Cape for
2. The duties are to be collected on all imports, whether intended
England, the proprietor of the whale fishery is to make oath, before
for private me, for presents, or for trade; except on wearing appa
the collector or comptroller, that the same were bona fide the pro-
rel accompanying the propristor.
duce of fish, or creatures living in the sea, actually taken and caught
Or on specie.
wholly by his Majesty's subjects usually residing in this colony and
On garden seeds.
the collector or comptroller is to grant a certificate under his hand
On horses (exclusive of geldings).
and seal to the master, testifying that such oath hath been made be-
On goods lodged in the Custom house stores for exportation.
fore him.
On goods transhipped in the bay for other ports (provided neither
7. When salted seal skins are shipped from the Cape for England,
bargain nor sale of them have taken place).
the shipper is to make oath before the collector or comptroller, that
On naval stores.
the same are really and bona fide the skins of seals taken and caught
On government stores (provided an order be sent from govern-
on the coast appertaining to the Cape of Good Hope, wholly by his
ment).
Majesty's subjects usually residing in this colony; and that all the
3. 1a. 6d. is charged for every permit for goods exceeding the
walt used in the curing or preserving of the same was not made in,
value of 7L 10e. shippea or landed, and 9d. on goods under 7L 10s.
or exported from, Great Britain or Ireland; and the collector or
value; as also 9d. for every baggage permit.
comptroller is to grant a certificate to the master accordingly.
8. The original manifest, and a copy thereof, of ships touching at
Wharfage Dues.
L & d.
the Cape of Good Hope, with cargoes from the eastward for
Every pipe, puncheon, or cask equal in size or larger than
England, to be delivered and sworn to by the master before the col-
a pipe
016
lector or comptroller. The original to be returned to the master,
Every half-pipe, or any description of cask larger than a
and the copy forwarded from the Custom-house to the commissioner
half-aam
009
of customs.
For every hoist at the crane
009
9. If any pirt of such cargo shall be discharged at the Cape of
For every horse
076
Good Hope, the collector or comptroller is to endorse upon the mani-
For all oxen
016
Sest the part of the cargo so discharged, and verify the same.
For sheep
004
10. The usual fees to be charged, viz-
L.d.d.
For pig
0041
Entrance
060
For every case measuring 1-2 a ton, or larger
016
Clearance
060
Port Dues.
Landing (or shipping) cargo
0 15 0
Upon all vessels entering this port for the purposes of trade, per
Landing (or shipping) part cargo
076
ton, 4 1-2d.
Coastwise: Landing (or shipping) part cargo
016
Upon all versols entering this port to procure refreshments, or
Manifest of goods taken in here
016
for any purpose short of trade, per ton, 21-4d.
Regulations asto Trade.-All goods, the produce or manufacture of the Cape of Good Hope, or the
territories or dependencies thereof, are subject (on importation into England) to the same duties as
are imposed on the like articles, the produce or manufacture of the British possessions within the
limits of the East India Company's charter, except when any other duty is expressly laid on them.-
(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 56. 0 9.)
The 6 Geo. 4. c. 114. enacts, that it shall be lawful for his Majesty, by any order in council to be is-
sued from time to time, to give such directions and make such regulations touching the trade and
commerce to and from any British possessions in Africa, as to his Majesty in council shall appear most
expedient and salutary and if any goods be imported or exported in any manner contrary to such or-
der of his Majesty in council, the same shall be forfeited, together with the ship importing or export-
ing the same.-> 73.
It shall not be lawful for any person to re-export, from any of his Majesty's possessions abroad, to
any foreign place, any coals, the produce of the United Kingdom ; and no such coals shall be shipped
at any of such possessions, to be exported to any British place, until the exporter or the master of the
exporting vessel shall have given bond, with one sufficient surety, in double the value of the coals,
that such coals shall not be landed at any foreign place.- 85.
It shall be lawful for the shipper of any wine, the produce of the Cape of Good Hope or of its de-
pendencies, which is to be exported thence, to go before the chief officer of customs, and make and
sign an affidavit before him, that such wine was really and bona fide the produce of the Cape of Good
Hope or of its dependencies and such officer is hereby authorised and required to administer such
affidavit, and to grant a certificate thereof, setting forth in such certificate the name of the ship in
which the wine is to be exported, and the destination of the same.- 78.
Duties.-A duty of 34 per cent. is charged on the importation of all articles of the growth, produc-
tion, or manufacture of Great Britain, or of the British plantations in the West Indies.
A duty of 10 per cent. is charged on the importation (by British vessels) of all articles of the growth,
production, or manufacture of foreign Europe, America, or the eastward of the Cape, to be levied
according to the declaration of the value by the importer. No abatement or reduction whatever ad-
mitted, except of the duties and landing charges payable on the importation thereof.
An additional duty of Is. 6d. per gallon is charged on the importation of arrack, rum, gin, liqueurs,
whisky, or other spirituous liquors, brandy excepted.
No tea may be landed, unless the permission of the East India Company's agent be first obtained.
No ammunition may be landed or shipped, unless the permission of government be first obtained.
Commission.-The following rates of commission are charged and allowed, namely-
Per Cent.
1. On the nett amount of all sales of goods by public sale, and on the gross amount of all other
sales
- 5
2. Goods consigned, and afterwards withdrawn
-
-
-
-
2f
3. On purchases effected from the proceeds of goods on which a commission has already been
charged
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 21
4. On all other purchases, or shipments of goods
-
-
-
-
- 5
5. On the sale or purchases of ships, houses, or lands
-
-
-
-
- 2f
6. On ships' disbursements
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5
7. On procuring freight
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5
8. On collecting freight on ships bound to this place
-
-
-
-
- 21
9. On guaranteeing bills or bonds by endorsement or otherwise
-
-
-
- 2f
10. On collecting debts without recourse to law
-
-
- 21
Ditto, where legal proceedings are taken
-
-
-
-
-
- 5
11. On effecting remittances by bills of exchange
-
-
-
-
-
- 1
12. On the negotiation of bills
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1
13. On effecting insurances
-
-
0
-
-
-
-
- 04
14. On the administration of estates
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5
15. On cash advances
-
-
- 21
16. On the debtor and creditor sides of cash accounts, on which no other commission is charged
1
Noney.-Accounts are either kept in pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings, or in rix-dollars, schil-
lings, and stivers.
1 Stiver
=
1 of a Penny.
6 Stivers
=
2+ Pence, or 1 schilling.
8 Schillings
=
18 Pence, or 1 rix-dollar.
The commissariat department grant bills on the Treasury at a premium of It per cent.
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316
CAPITAL-CARAVAN.
Weights and Measures.-The weights made use of in the Cape are derived from the standard pound
of Amsterdam; and those assized are from 50 lbs. down to 1 loot, or the 32d part of a pound, which
is regarded as unity.
Liquid Measure.
The muid of wheat weighs, at an average,
16 Flasks
-
1 Anker.
about 110 lbs. Dutch, being somewhat over 196 lbs.
4 Ankers
-
1 Aam.
English.
4 Aams
=
1 Leaguer.
Cloth and Long Measures.
Corn Measure.
12 Rhynland inches = 1 Rhynland foot.
4 Schepels
=
1 Muid.
27
ditto
= 1 Dutch ell.
10 Muids
- 1 Load. 107 schepels
144
ditto
= 1 Square foot.
82 Winch. bushels, or 4 schepels = 3 Imp. bush.
144 Square feet
= 1 Rood.
very nearly.
600 Roods
1
= 1 Morgen.
Colonial Weights and Measures compared with those of England.
Weights.
100 lbs. Dutch
-
nearly 109 lbs. English avoirdupois.
100 lbs. English
-
nearly 92 lbs. Dutch.
Wine or Liquid Measure.
1 Flask
= 0.6 Old gallon, or 4946 Imperial gallons.
1 Anker
=
91
ditto,
7.9
ditto.
1 Aum
=
38
ditto,
311
ditto.
1 Leaguer
-
152
ditto,
126.6
ditto.
1 Pipe
= 110
ditto,
91.6
ditto.
Saldanha Bay, in lat. 33° 6' S., long. 17° 58' 15" E., being 16} leagues north of Cape-Town, is one of
the best and most commodious harbours in the world. It is perfectly safe at all seasons.
Besides the Cape Almanac, one of the best of that class of publications, and the other authorities
referred to, we have derived part of the above details from papers laid before the Finance Com-
mittee.
CAPITAL, in political economy, is that portion of the produce existing in a country,
which may be made directly available, either to the support of human existence, or to the
facilitating of production.-(Principles of Political Economy, 2d ed. p. 97.) But in com-
merce, and as applied to individuals, it is understood to mean the sum of money which a
merchant, banker, or trader adventures in any undertaking, or which he contributes to the
common stock of a partnership. It signifies likewise the fund of a trading company, or
corporation in which sense the word stock is generally added to it. Thus we say the
capital stock of the Bank, &c. The profit derived from any undertaking is estimated by
the rate which it bears to the capital that was employed.
[The definition of capital given by the author seems to be too general. It makes no real
difference between wealth and capital; for surely every portion of wealth " may be made
directly available, either to the support of human existence, or to the facilitating of produc-
tion." The editor has defined capital to be that portion of wealth which is not simply liable
to be applied to the purpose of again producing wealth, but which is actually 80 applied.
See his Principles of Political Economy, book i. chapter 4.-Am. Ed.]
CAPSICUM. See PEPPER.
CARAVAN, an organized company of merchants, or pilgrims, or both, who associate
together in many parts of Asia and Africa, that they may travel with greater security through
deserts and other places infested with robbers; or where the road is naturally dangerous.
The word is derived from the Persian kervan, or cârvân, a trader or dealer.-(Shaw's Tra-
vels in the Levant, p. 9. 4to ed.)
Every caravan is under the command of a chief or aga (caravan-bachi), who has fre-
quently under him such a number of troops or forces as is deemed sufficient for its defence.
When it is practicable, they encamp near wells or rivulets; and observe a regular discipline.
Camels are used as a means of conveyance, almost uniformly, in preference to the horse or
any other animal, on account of their wonderful patience of fatigue, eating little, and sub-
sisting three or four days or more without water. There are generally more camels in a
caravan than men.-(See CAMEL.)
The commercial intercourse of Eastern and African nations has been principally carried
on, from the remotest period, by means of caravans. During antiquity, the products of
India and China were conveyed either from Suez to Rhinoculura, or from Bussorah, near
the head of the Persian Gulf, by the Euphrates, to Babylon, and thence by Palmyra, in the
Syrian desert, to the ports of Phoenicia on the Mediterranean, where they were exchanged
for the European productions in demand in the East. Sometimes, however, caravans set
out directly from China, and, occupying about 250 days in the journey, arrived on the shores
of the Levant, after traversing the whole extent of Asia-(Gibbon, vol. vii. p. 93.) The
formation of caravans is, in fact, the only way in which it has ever been possible to carry OR
any considerable internal commerce in Asia or Africa. The governments that have grown
up in those continents have seldom been able, and seldomer indeed have they attempted, to
render travelling practicable or safe for individuals. The wandering tribes of Arabs have
always infested the immense deserts by which they are intersected ; and those only, who
are sufficiently powerful to protect themselves, or sufficiently rich to purchase an exemption
from the predatory attacks of these freebooters, can expect to pass through territories subject
to their incursions, without being exposed to the risk of robbery and murder.
Digitized by Google
CARAVAN.
317
Since the establishment of the Mohammedan faith, religious motives, conspiring with
those of a less exalted character, have tended to augment the intercourse between different
parts of the Eastern world, and to increase the number and magnitude of the caravans.
Mohammed enjoined all his followers to visit, once in their lifetime, the Caaba, or square
building in the temple of Mecca, the immemorial object of veneration amongst his country-
men ; and in order to preserve continually upon their minds a sense of obligation to perform
this duty, he directed that, in all the multiplied acts of devotion which his religion prescribes,
true believers should always turn their faces towards that holy place. In obedience to a
precept so solemnly enjoined and sedulously inculcated, large caravans of pilgrims used to
assemble annually in every country where the Mohammedan faith is established and
though, owing either to a diminution of religious zeal, or the increasing difficulties to be
encountered in the journey, the number of pilgrims has of late years declined greatly, it is
still very considerable. Few, however, of the pilgrims are actuated only by devotional feel-
ings. Commercial ideas and objects mingle with those of religion and it redounds to the
credit of Mohammed, that he granted permission to trade during the pilgrimage to Mecca
providing at the same time for the temporal as well as the lasting interests of his votaries.
44 It shall be no crime in you, if ye seek an increase from your Lord by trading during the
pilgrimage." (Sale's Koran, c. 2. p. 36. ed. 1764.)
The numerous camels of each caravan are loaded with those commodities of every coun-
try which are of easiest carriage and readiest sale. The holy city is crowded during the
month of Dhalhajja, corresponding to the latter part of June and the beginning of July, not
only with zealous devotees, but with opulent merchants. A fair or market is held in Mecca
and its vicinity, on the twelve days that the pilgrims are allowed to remain in that city,
which used to be one of the best frequented in the world, and continues to be well attended.
'Few pilgrims," says Burckhardt, except the mendicants, arrive without bringing some
productions of their respective countries for sale: and this remark is applicable as well to
the merchants, with whom commercial pursuits are the main object, as to those who are
actuated by religious zeal for, to the latter, the profits derived from selling a few articles at
Mecca diminish, in some degree, the heavy expenses of the journey. The Moggrebyns
(pilgrims from Morocco and the north coast of Africa) bring their red bonnets and woollen
cloaks; the European Turks, shoes and slippers, hardware, embroidered stuffs, sweetmeats,
amber, trinkets of European manufacture, knit silk purses, &c. the Turks of Anatolia
bring carpets, silks, and Angora shawls; the Persians, Cashmere shawls and large silk
handkerchiefs; the Afghans, tooth-brushes, called Mesouak Kattary, made of the spongy
boughs of a tree growing in Bokhara, beads of a yellow soapstone, and plain coarse shawls
manufactured in their own country; the Indians, the numerous productions of their rich
and extensive region; the people of Yemen, snakes for the Persian pipes, sandals and va-
rious other works in leather; and the Africans bring various articles adapted to the slave
trade. The pilgrims are, however, often disappointed in their expectations of gain want
of money makes them hastily sell their little adventures at the public auctions, and often
obliges them to accept very low prices."-(Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 21.)
The two principal caravans which yearly rendezvous at Mecca are those of Damascus and
Cairo. The first is composed of pilgrims from Europe and Western Asia the second of
Mohammedans from all parts of Africa.
The Syrian caravan is said by Burckhardt to be very well regulated. It is always accom-
panied by the pacha of Damascus, or one of his principal officers, who gives the signal for
encamping and starting by firing a musket. On the route, a troop of horsemen ride in the
front, and another in the rear to bring up the stragglers. The different parties of pilgrims,
distinguished by their provinces or towns, keep close together. At night torches are lighted,
and the daily distance is usually performed between 3 o'clock in the afternoon and an hour
or two after sunrise on the following day. The Bedouins or Arabe, who carry provisions for
the troops, travel by day only, and in advance of the caravans; the encampment of which
they pass in the morning, and are overtaken in turn and passed by the caravan on the fol-
lowing night, at their own resting place. The journey with these Bedouins is less fatiguing
than with the great body of the caravan, as a regular night's rest is obtained but their bad
character deters most pilgrims from joining them.
At every watering-place on the route is a small castle and a large tank, at which the
camels water. The castles are garrisoned by a few persons, who remain the whole year to
guard the provisions deposited there. It is at these watering-places, which belong to the
Bedouins, that the sheikhs of the tribe meet the caravan, and receive the accustomed tribute
for allowing it to pass. Water is plentiful on the route; the stations are no where more
distant than 11 or 12 hours' march and in winter, pools of rain-water are frequently found.
Those pilgrims who can travel with a litter, or on commodious camel-saddles, may sleep at
night, and perform the journey with little inconvenience: but of those whom poverty, or
the desire of speedily acquiring a large sum of money, induces to follow the caravan on foot,
or to hire themselves as servants, many die on the road from fatigue.-(Travels in Arabia,
vol. ii. p. 3-9.)
2 D 2
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318
CARAVAN.
The caravan which sets out from Cairo for Mecca is not generally so large as that of
Damascus; and its route along the shores of the Red Sea is more dangerous and fatiguing.
But many of the African and Egyptian merchants and pilgrims sail from Suez, Cosseir, and
other ports on the western shore of the Red Sea, for Djidda, whence the journey to Mecca
is short and easy.
The Persian caravan for Mecca sets out from Bagdad but many of the Persian pilgrims
are now in the habit of embarking at Bussorah, and coming to Djidda by sea.
Caravans from Bagdad and Bussorah proceed to Aleppo, Damascus, and Diarbeker, laden
with all sorts of Indian, Arabian, and Persian commodities and large quantities of European
goods, principally of English cottons, imported at Bussorah, are now distributed throughout
all the eastern parts of the Turkish empire by the same means. The intercourse carried on
in this way is, indeed, every day becoming of more importance.
The commerce carried on by caravans, in the interior of Africa, is widely extended and
of considerable value. Besides the great caravan which proceeds from Nubia to Cairo, and
is joined by Mohammedan pilgrims from every part of Africa, there are caravans which have
no object but commerce, which set out from Fez, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and other states
on the sea-coast, and penetrate far into the interior. Some of them take as many as 50
days to reach the place of their destination and as their rate of travelling may be estimated
at about 18 miles a day at an average, the extent of their journeys may easily be computed.
As both the time of their outset and their route is known, they are met by the people of the
countries through which they travel, who trade with them. Indian goods of every kind
form a considerable article in this traffic; in exchange for which, the chief commodity the
inhabitants have to give is slaves.
Three distinct caravans are employed in bringing slaves and other commodities from
Central Africa to Cairo. One of them comes direct from Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan,
across the Libyan desert; another from Senaar; and the third from Darfur. They do not
arrive at stated periods, but after a greater or less interval, according to the success they
have had in procuring slaves, ivory, gold dust, drugs, and such other articles as are fitted for the
Egyptian markets. The Mourzouk caravan is said to be under the best regulations. It is
generally about 50 days on its passage and seldom consists of less than 100, or of more
than 300, travellers. The caravans from Senaar and Darfur used formerly to be very
irregular, and were sometimes not seen in Egypt for 2 or 3 years together but since the
occupation of the former by the troops of Mohammed Ali, the intercourse between it and
Egypt has become comparatively frequent and regular. The number of slaves imported
into Egypt by these caravans is said to amount, at present, to about 10,000 a year. The
departure of a caravan from Darfur is looked upon as a most important event ; it engages
for a while the attention of the whole country, and even forms a kind of era-(Browne's
Travels in Africa, 2d ed. p. 278.) A caravan from Darfur is considered large, if it has
2,000 camels and 1,000 slaves. Many of the Moorish pilgrims to Mecca cross the sea
from Souakin and Massouah to the opposite coast of Arabia, and then travel by land to
Mecca; and Burckhardt states, that of all the poor pilgrims who arrive in the Hedjaz, none
bear a more respectable character for industry than those from Central Africa.
Caravans are distinguished into heavy and light. Camels loaded with from 500 to 600
lbs.* form a heavy caravan light caravans being the term applied to designate those formed
of camels under a moderate load, or perhaps only half loaded. The mean daily rate at
which heavy caravans travel is about 181 miles, and that of light caravans 22 miles.
The safety of a caravan depends materially on the conduct of the caravan-bachi, or leader.
Neibuhr says, that when the latter is intelligent and honest, and the traveller understands
the language, and is accustomed to the Oriental method of travelling, an excursion through
the desert is rarely either disagreeable or dangerous. But it is not unusual for the Turkish
pachas to realise considerable sums by selling the privilege of conducting caravans and it
is generally believed in the East, that leaders so appointed, in order to indemnify themselves,
not unfrequently arrange with the Arabian sheikhs as to the attack of the caravans, and
share with them in the booty! At all events, a leader who has paid a large sum for the situe-
tion, even if he should be honest, must impose proportionally heavy charges on the associa-
tion. Hence the best way in travelling with caravans is, to attach oneself to one conducted
by an active and experienced merchant, who has a considerable property embarked in the
expedition. With ordinary precaution, the danger is then very trifling. It would be easy,
indeed, were there any thing like proper arrangements made by government, to render tra-
velling by caravans, at least on all the great routes, abundantly secure.-(Niebur, Voyage
en Arabie, tome ii. p. 194. ed. Amst. 1780.)
No particular formalities are required in the formation of a caravan. Those that start at
fixed periods are mostly under the control of government, by whom the leaders are appointed.
But, generally speaking, any dealer is at liberty to form a company and make one. The
individual in whose name it is raised is considered as the leader, or caravan-bachi, unless he
This is the burden of the small camel only. The large ones usually carry from 750 to 1,900 lbs.
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appoint some one else in his place. When a number of merchants associate together in the
design, they elect a chief, and appoint officers to decide whatever controversies may arise
during the journey.-(For further details with respect to caravans, see the Modern Part of
the Universal History, vol. xiv. pp. 214-243. Robertson's Disquisition on Ancient India,
Note 54.; Rees's Cyclopædia, art. Caravan, most of which is copied from Robertson,
though without a single word of acknowledgment; Burckhardf's Travels in Arabia, vol. ii.
passim; Urquhart on Turkey and its Resources, p. 137. p. 151., &c.)
CARAVANSERA, a large public building or inn appropriated for the reception and
lodgment of the caravans. Though serving in lieu of inns, there is this radical difference
between them,-that, generally speaking, the traveller finds nothing in a caravansera for the
use either of himself or his cattle. He must carry all his provisions and necessaries with
him. They are chiefly built in dry, barren, desert places; and are mostly furnished with
water brought from a great distance and at a vast expense. A well of water is, indeed,
indispensable to a caravansera. Caravanseras are also numerous in cities; where they serve
not only as inns, but as shops, warehouses, and even exchanges.
CARAWAY-SEED (Fr. Carvi, Cumin des prés; Ger. Keummel, Brodkümmel; It.
Carvi), a small seed, of an old oblong and slender figure, pointed at both ends, and thickest
in the middle. It is the produce of a biennial plant (Carum carui), with a taper root like
a parsnep, but much smaller. It should be chosen large, new, of a good colour, not dusty,
and of a strong agreeable smell. It is principally used by confectioners; and is extensively
cultivated in several parts of Essex.
CARBUNCLE (Ger. Karfunkel; Fr. Escarboukle; It. Carbonchio; Sp. Carbunculo;
Lat. Carbunculus), a precious stone of the ruby kind, of a very rich glowing blood-red
colour, highly esteemed by the ancients.-(See Rusr.)
CARD (Fr. Cardes; Ger. Kardütschen, Karden, Wollkratzen ; It. Cardi; Rus. Bardü;
Sp. Cardas), an instrument, or comb, for arranging or sorting the hairs of wool, cotton, &c.
Cards are either fastened to a flat piece of wood, and wrought by the hand or to a cylinder,
and wrought by machinery.
CARDAMOMS (Fr. Cardamomes; Ger. Kardamom; It. Cardamomi; Sp. Karda-
momos; Hind. Gujarati elachi), seed capsules produced by a plant, of which there are
different species growing in India, Cochin China, Siam, and Ceylon. The capsules are
gathered as they ripen; and when dried in the sun, are fit for sale. The small capsules, or
lesser cardamoms, are produced by a particular species of the plant, and are the most valua-
ble. They should be chosen full, plump, and difficult to be broken of a bright yellow
colour a piercing smell with an acrid, bitterish, though not very unpleasant taste; and
particular care should be taken that they are properly dried. They are reckoned to keep
best in a body, and are therefore packed in large chests, well jointed, pitched at the seams,
and otherwise properly secured; as the least damp greatly reduces their value. The best
cardamoms are brought from the Malabar coast. They are produced in the recesses of the
mountains, by felling trees, and afterwards burning them for wherever the ashes fall in the
openings or fissures of the rocks, the cardamom plant naturally springs up. In Soonda
Balagat, and other places where cardamoms are planted, the fruit or berry is very inferior to
that produced in the way now mentioned. The Malabar cardamom is described as a species
of bulbous plant, growing 3 or 4 feet high. The growers are obliged to sell all their pro-
duce to the agents of government, at prices fixed by the latter, varying from 550 to 700
rupees the candy of 600 lbs. avoirdupois; and it is stated that the contractor often puts an
enhanced value on the coins with which he pays the mountaineers or makes them take in
exchange tobacco, cloths, salt, oil, betel nut, and such necessary articles, at prices which are
frequently, no doubt, estimated above their proper level. Such a system ought assuredly to
be put an immediate end to. Not more than one hundredth part of the cardamoms raised
in Malabar are used in the country. They are sent in large quantities to the ports on the
Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, to Sind, up the Indus, to Bengal, Bombay, &c. They form
a universal ingredient in curries, pillaus, &c. The market price, at the places of exportation
on the Malabar coast, varies from 800 to 1,200 rupees the candy.-(Milburn's Orient. Com-
merce, and the valuable evidence of T. H. Baber, Esq., before the Lords' Committee of
1830, p. 216.)
Malabar cardamoms are worth at present (September, 1833), from 3s. 8d. to 3s. 10d. a
pound in the London market, duty (1s.) included. Ceylon cardamoms are worth from 1s.
8d. to 2s. 2d.
CARDS, OR PLAYING CARDS (Du. Kaarten, Speelkarden; Fr. Cartes à jouer
Ger. Karten, Spiel karten ; It. Carte da giuoco Rus. Kartü; Sp. Carras, Naipes; Sw.
Kort). The only thing necessary to be noticed in this place with respect to cards, is the
regulations as to their manufacture, sale, and the payment of the duty.
It is regulated by the 9 Geo. 4. c. 18., that an annual license duty of 5s. shall be paid by every maker
of playing cards and dice. The duty on every pack of cards is 1s. and is to be specified on the ace of
spades. Cards are not to be made in any part of Great Britain, except the metropolis; nor in Ireland,
except in Dublin and Cork under a penalty of 100/. Cards are to be enclosed in wrappers, with such
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marks as the commissioners of stamps may appoint. Before license can be had, bond must be given
to the amount of 500L. for the payment of the duties, &c. Selling or exposing to sale any pack of
cards not duly stamped, subjects a licensed maker to a penalty of 50L. ; and any one else to a penalty
of 10Z. Any person having in his possession, or using, or permitting to be used, any pack of cards not
duly stamped, to forfeit 51. Second-hand cards may be sold by any person, if sold without the wrap-
per of a licensed maker; and in packs containing not more than 52 cards, including an ace of spades
duly stamped, and enclosed in a wrapper with the words Second-hand Cards" printed or written in
distinct characters on the outside: penalty for selling second-hand cards in any other manner, 201.
An Account of the Duty received on Playing Cards in Great Britain and Ireland in each Year from
1820, specifying the Rates of Duty charged.-(Parl. Paper, No. 427. Sess. 1832.)
Great Britain.
Ireland.
Year.
Rate.
Amount of Duty.
Rate.
Amount of Duty.
£
8.
d.
£ 8. d.
1820
2s. 6d. per pack
-
21,267 5 0
2s. per pack
-
-
2,019 14 1
1821
21,347 5 0
-
1,821 16 81
1822
-
-
-
21,179 17 6
-
-
-
1,643 0 11
1823
-
-
-
22,006 12 6
-
-
-
1,657 4 51
1824
-
-
-
25,874 12 6
-
-
-
1,598 12 81
1825
-
-
22,577 17 6
-
-
-
1,559 8 0
1826
-
-
-
18,300 15 0
-
-
-
1,037 12 6
1827
-
-
20,864 12 6
-
1,001 12 5
2s.per pack to 5th of Ju-
1828
1s. per pack from May
17,365 5 6
ly, 1s. per pack for the
640 19 0
remainder of the year.
1829
-
-
-
15,542 14 0
1s. per pack
403 11 0
1830
-
-
-
14,509 7 0
244 12 0
1831
-
-
-
14,400 2 0
-
-
-
104 18 0
CARMEN, of the City of London, are constituted a fellowship by act of common coun-
cil. The rates which they are allowed to charge, and the regulations by which they are to
be guided, are settled at the quarter sessions. In other respects they are subjected to the
rule of the president and governors of Christ's Hospital, to whom the owner of every cart
pays an annual licence duty of 17s. 4d.
Carmen are to help to load and unload their carts; and if any carman exacts more than the regu-
lar rates, upon due proof, before the Lord Mayor, or any two magistrates, he shall suffer imprison-
ment for the space of 21 days.
If any person shall refuse to pay any carman his hire, according to the regular rates, upon com-
plaint made, the president of Christ's Hospital, or a justice of the peace, may compel payment.
Merchants or other persons may choose what cart they please, except such as stand for wharf-
work, tackle-work, crane-work, at shops and merchants' houses, which are to be taken in turn; and
every carman standing with his empty cart next to any goods to be loaded, shall, upon the first de-
mand, load the same for the accustomed rates; and if any person shall cause a carman to attend at
his house, shop, warehouse, or cellar, with his loaded cart, the carman being willing to help to unload
the same, he shall pay the carman after the rate of 12d. for every hour after the first half-hour for his
attendance.
Every licensed carman is to have a piece of brass fixed upon his cart, upon which is to be engraven
a certain number; which number, together with the carman's name, is registered in a register kept
at Christ's Hospital; so that, in case of any misbehaviour, the party offended, by taking notice of the
number of the cart, may search for it in the register, and the name will be found.
Carmen not conforming to these rules, or working without a numbered piece of brass fixed on the
cart, may be suspended from their employment.
Carmen riding upon the shafts of their carts, or sitting within them, not having some person on foot
to guide the horses, shall forfeit 10s.
CARMINE (Ger. Karmin; Du. Karmyn; Fr. Carmine; It. Carminio; Lat. Car-
minium), a powder of a very beautiful red colour, bordering upon purple, and used by
painters in miniature. It is a species of lake, and is formed of finely pulverised cochineal.
It is very high priced.
CARNELIAN. See AGATE.
CARPET, CARPETS (Ger. Teppiche; Du. Tapyten, Vloer-tapyten; Fr. Tapis; It.
Tappeti; Sp. Alfombras, Alcatifas, Tapetes Rus. Kowrd, Kilimi). Persian and Turkish
carpets are the most esteemed. In England, carpets are principally manufactured at Kid-
derminster, Wilton, Cirencester, Worcester, Axminster, &c.; and in Scotland, at Kilmar-
nock. Those made at Axminster are believed to be very little, if any thing, inferior to those
of Persia and Turkey.
CARRIAGES. See COACHES.
CARROT (Daucus carota Lin.), a biennial plant, a native of Britain. Though long
known as a garden plant, its introduction into agriculture has been comparatively recent.
The uses of the carrot in domestic economy are well known. It is extensively cultivated in
Suffolk, whence large quantities are sent to the London market. Horses are said to be
remarkably fond of carrots.
CARRIERS, are persons undertaking for hire to carry goods from one place to another.
Proprietors of carts and wagons, masters and owners of ships, hoymen, lightermen, barge-
men, ferrymen, &c. are denominated common carriers. The master of a stage coach who
only carries passengers for hire, is not liable for goods; but if he undertake to carry goods
and passengers, then he is liable for both as a common carrier. The post-master general is
not a carrier in the common acceptation of the term, nor is he subjected to his liabilities.
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1. Duties and Liabilities of Carriers.-Carriers are bound to receive and carry the goods
of all persons, for a reasonable hire or reward to take proper care of them in their passage
to deliver them safely, and in the same condition as when they were received (excepting
only such losses as may arise from the act of God or the king's enemies) ; or, in default
thereof, to make compensation to the owner for whatever loss or damage the goods may
have received while in their custody, that might have been prevented.
Hence a carrier is liable, though he be robbed of the goods, or they be taken from him by
irresistible force; and though this may seem a hard rule, yet it is the only one that could
be safely adopted; for if a carrier were not liable for losses unless it could be shown that he
had conducted himself dishonestly or negligently, a door would be opened for every species
of fraud and collusion, inasmuch as it would be impossible, in most cases, to ascertain
whether the facts were such as the carrier represented. On the same principle a carrier has
been held accountable for goods accidentally consumed by fire while in his warehouse. In
delivering the opinion of the Court of King's Bench on a case of this sort, Lord Mansfield
said-" A carrier, by the nature of his contract, obliges himself to use all due care and dili-
gence, and is answerable for any neglect. But there is something more imposed on him by
custom, that is, by the common law. A common carrier is in the nature of an insurer.
All the cases show him to be 80. This makes him liable for every thing except the act of
God and the king's enemies; that is, even from inevitable accidents, with those exceptions.
The question then is, What is the act of God ? I consider it to be laid down in opposition
to the act of man such as lightning, storms, tempests and the like, which could not hap-
pen by any human intervention. To prevent litigation and collusion, the law presumes
negligence except in those circumstances. An armed force, though ever so great and irresist-
ible, does not excuse the reason is, for fear it may give room for collusion, which can never
happen with respect to the act of God. We all, therefore, are of opinion that there should
be judgment for the plaintiff." (Forward V. Pittard, 1 T. R. 27.)
A carrier is not obliged to have a new carriage for every journey it is sufficient if he
provide one that, without any extraordinary accident, may be fairly presumed capable of per-
forming the journey.
A carrier may be discharged from his liability by any fraud or concealment on the part
of the individual employing him, or of the bailor as if the latter represent a parcel as con-
taining things of little or no value, when, in fact, it contains things of great value. But
when the carrier has not given a notice limiting his responsibility, and when he puts no
questions with respect to the parcel to the bailor, the latter need not say any thing with
respect to it and though the bailor should represent the thing delivered to the carrier as of
no value, yet if the latter know it to be otherwise, he will be responsible in the event of its
being lost or damaged. If the bailor deliver goods imperfectly packed, and the carrier does
not perceive it, he is not liable in the event of a loss occurring; but if the defect in the pack-
age were such that the carrier could not but perceive it, he would be liable. On this prin-
ciple a carrier was made to answer for the loss of a greyhound that had been improperly
secured when given to him.
A carrier may refuse to admit goods into his warehouse at an unseasonable time, or before
he is ready to take his journey but he cannot refuse to do the ordinary duties incumbent
on a person in his situation.
It is felony, if a carrier open a parcel and take goods out of it with intent to steal them
and it has been decided, that if goods be delivered to a carrier to be carried to a specified
place, and he carry them to a different place, and dispose of them for his own profit, he is
guilty of felony but the embezzlement of goods by a carrier, without a felonious taking,
merely exposes to a civil action.
No carrier, wagonman, carman, or wainman, with their respective carriages, shall travel
on Sundays, under a penalty of 20s.-(3 Chas. 1. c. 1.)
A carrier is always, unless there be an express agreement to the contrary, entitled to a
reward for his care and trouble. In some cases his reward is regulated by the legislature,
and in others by a special stipulation between the parties; but though there be no legislative
provision or express agreement, he cannot claim more than a reasonable compensation.
2. Limitation of Responsibility.-Until the act of 1530, a carrier might by express stipu-
lation, giving public notice to that effect, discharge his liability from all losses by robbery,
accident or otherwise, except those which arose from misfeazance and gross negligence (from
which no stipulation or notice could exempt him), and provided the notice did not contra-
vene the express conditions of an act of parliament.
Notices generally bore, that the carrier would not be responsible for more than a certain
sum (usually 51.) on any one parcel, the value of which had not been declared and paid for
accordingly ; so that a person aware of this notice, entering a box worth 1000l. without
declaring its value, or entering it as being worth 200L would, should it be lost, have got in
the first case only 51., and in the latter only 2001., unless he could have shown that the
carrier had acted fraudulently or with gross negligence. But, to avail himself of this defence,
the carrier was bound to show that the bailor or his servant was acquainted with the notice
41
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CARRIERS.
at the time of delivering the goods. No particular manner of giving notice was required.
It might be done by express communication, by fixing it up in a conspicuous place in the
carrier's office, by insertion in the public papers or Gazette, by the circulation of handbills,
&c. ; it being in all cases a question for the jury to decide whether the bailor was really
acquainted with the notice of the limitation ; since, if he were not, he was entitled to recover,
whatever efforts the carrier may have made to publish it. Thus, a notice stuck up in a
carrier's warehouse, where goods were delivered, was of no avail against parties who could
not read neither was it of any avail against those who could read, and who had seen it,
unless they had actually read it. On this principle it was held, that a notice in a newspa-
per is not sufficient, even when it was proved that the bailor read the newspaper, unless it
could also be proved that he had read the notice itself.
These attempts to limit responsibility gave rise to a great deal of litigation and uncer-
tainty ; and to obviate the inconveniences thence arising, the important statute, 1 Will. 4.
c. 68., was passed. This act declares, that carriers by land shall not be liable for the loss
of certain articles specified in the act, when their value exceeds 10/., unless the nature and
value of such articles be stated at the time of their delivery to the carrier, and an increased
charge paid or agreed to be paid upon the same. It is further declared, that no publication
of any notices by carriers shall have power to limit their responsibility at common law for
all other articles except those specified in the act but as the act is of great importance, we
subjoin it.
From and after the passing of this act, no mail contractor, stage coach proprietor, or other common
carrier by land for hire, shall be liable for the loss of or injury to any article or articles of property of
the description following, viz. gold or silver coin of this realm or of any foreign state, or any gold or
silver in a manufactured or unmanufactured state, or any precious stones, jewellery, watches, clocks,
or time-pieces of any description, trinkets, bills, notes of the Governor and Company of the Banks of
England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively, or of any other bank in Great Britain or Ireland, orders,
notes, or securities for payment of money, English or foreign stamps, maps, writings, title-deeds,
paintings, engravings, pictures, gold or silver plate or plated articles, glass, china, silks in a manufac-
tured or unmanufactured state, and whether wrought up or not wrought up with other materials,
furs, or lace, or any of them, contained in any parcel or package which shall have been delivered,
either to be carried for hire or to accompany the person of any passenger in any mail or stage coach
or other public conveyance, when the value of such article or articles or property aforesaid contained
in such parcel or package shall exceed the sum of 101., unless at the time of the delivery thereof at the
office, warehouse, or receiving house of such mail contractor, &c. the value and nature of such arti-
cle or articles of property shall have been declared by the person or persons sending or delivering the
same, and such increased charge as hereinafter mentioned, or an engagement to pay the same be ac-
cepted by the person receiving such parcel or package.-d 1.
When any parcel or package containing any of the articles above specified shall be 80 delivered,
and its value and contents declared as aforesaid, and such value shall exceed the sum of 101., it shall
be lawful for such mail contractors, stage coach proprietors, and other common carriers, to demand
and receive an increased rate of charge, to be notified by some notice, affixed in legible character in
some public and conspicuous part of the office, warehouse, or other receiving house, where such
parcels or packages are received by them for the purpose of conveyance, stating the increased rates
of charge required to be paid over and above the ordinary rate of carriage, as a compensation for the
greater risk and care to be taken for the safe conveyance of such valuable articles; and all persons
sending or delivering parcels or packages containing such valuable articles as aforesaid at such office
shall be bound by such notice, without further proof of the same having come to their knowledge.-&
Provided always, that when the value shall have been 80 declared, and the increased rate of charge
paid, or an engagement to pay the same shall have been accepted as herein-before mentioned, the
person receiving such increased rate of charge or accepting such agreement shall, if required, sign a
receipt for the package or parcel, acknowledging the same to have been insured, which receipt shall
not be liable to any stamp duty and if such receipt shall not be given when required, or such notice
as aforesaid shall not have been affixed, the mail contractor, stage coach proprietor, or other common
carrier as aforesaid, shall not have or be entitled to any benefit or advantage under this act, but shall
be liable and responsible as at the common law, and be liable to refund the increased rate of
charge.-d 3.
And be it enacted, that from and after the 1st day of September, 1830, no public notice or declara-
tion heretofore made or hereafter to be made shall be deemed or construed to limit or in any wise
affect the liability at common law of any such mail contractors, stage coach proprietors, or other pub-
Hc common carriers as aforesaid, for or in respect of any articles or goods to be carried and conveyed
by them but that all and every such mail contractors, stage coach proprietors, and other common
carriers as aforesaid, shall, from and after the said 1st day of September, be liable, as at the common
law, to answer for the loss of any injury [so in the act] to any articles and goods in respect whereof
they may not be entitled to the benefit of this act, any public notice or declaration by them made and
given contrary thereto, or in anywise limiting such liability, notwithstanding.-| 4.
And be it further enacted, that for the purposes of this act every office, warehouse, or receiving
house, which shall be used or appointed by any mail contractor, or stage coach proprietor, or other
such common carrier, for the receiving of parcels to be conveyed as aforesaid, shall be deemed and
taken to be the receiving house, warehouse, or office of such mail contractor, stage coach proprietor,
or other common carrier and that any one or more of such mail contractors, stage coach proprietors,
or common carriers, shall be liable to be sued by his, her, or their name or names only and that no
action or suit commenced to recover damages for loss or injury to any parcel, package, or person.
shall abate for the want of joining any co-proprietor or co-partner in such mail, stage coach, or other
public conveyance by land for hire as aforesaid.— 5.
Provided always, and be it further enacted, that nothing in this act contained shall extend or be
construed to annul or in anywise affect any special contract between such mail contractor, stage
coach proprietor, or common carrier, and any other parties, for the conveyance of goods and mer-
chandises.- δ 6.
Provided also, and be it further enacted, that where any parcel or package shall have been delivered
at any such office. and the value and contents declared as aforesaid, and the increased rate of charges
been paid, and such parcels or packages shall have been lost or damaged, the party entitled to recover
damages in respect of such loss or damage shall also be entitled to recover back such increased
charges 80 paid as aforesaid, in addition to the value of such package or parcel.- 7.
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Provided also, and be it further enacted, that nothing in this act shall be deemed to protect any
mail contractor, stage coach proprietor, or other common carrier for hire, from liability to answer for
loss or injury to any goods or articles whatsoever, arising from the felonious acts of any coachman,
guard, book-keeper, porter, or other servant in his or their employ, nor to protect any such coachman,
guard, book-keeper, or other servant, from liability for any loss or injury occasioned by his or their own
personal neglect or misconduct.-d 8.
Provided also, and be it further enacted, that such mail contractors, stage coach proprietors, or
other common carriers for hire, shall not be concluded as to the value of any such parcel or package
by the value so declared as aforesaid, but that he or they shall in all cases be entitled to require, from
the party suing in respect of any loss or injury, proof of the actual value of the contents by the ordi-
nary legal evidence ; and that the mail contractors, stage coach proprietors, or other common carriers
as aforesaid, shall be liable to such damages only as shall be so proved as aforesaid, not exceeding
the declared value, together with the increased charges as before mentioned.- 9.
And be it further enacted, that in all actions to be brought against any such mail contractors, &c.,
the defendant or defendants may pay the money into court.- Φ 10.
It will be observed, that carriers continue, notwithstanding this act, liable, as before, for
the felonious acts of their servants, and their own misfeazance or gross negligence. It is not
possible, however, to lay down any general rule as to the circumstances which constitute
this offence. Differing as they do in almost every case, the question, when raised, must be
left to a jury. But it has been decided, that the misdelivery of a parcel, or its nondelivery
within a reasonable time, is a misfeazance that cannot be defeated by any notice on the
part of the carrier limiting his responsibility. In like manner, the sending of a parcel by a
different coach from that directed by the bailor, the removing it from one carriage to another,
are misfeazances. Where a parcel is directed to a person at a particular place, and the car-
rier, knowing such person, delivers the parcel to another, who represents himself as the con-
signee, such delivery is gross negligence. Leaving parcels in a coach or cart unprotected in
the streets is also gross negligence.
At common law, there is no distinction between carriage performed by sea or land but
by the 7 Geo. 2. c. 15. and 26 Geo. 3. c. 86., corrected and amended by the 53 Geo. 3. c.
159., it is enacted that ship-owners are not to be liable for any loss or damage happening to
goods on board through the fraud or neglect of the master, without their knowledge or
privity, further than the value of the vessel and the freight accruing during the voyage.
-(See OWNERS.)
3. Commencement and Termination of Liability.-A carrier's liability commences from
the time the goods are actually delivered to him in the character of carrier. A delivery to a
carrier's servant is a delivery to himself, and he will be responsible. The delivery of goods
in an inn-yard or warehouse, at which other carriers put up, is not a delivery so as to charge
a carrier, unless a special notice be given him of their having been so delivered, or some
previous intimation to that effect.
A carrier's liability ceases, when he vests the property committed to his charge in the hands
of the consignee or his agents, by actual delivery or when the property is resumed by the con-
signor, in pursuance of his right of stopping it in transitu. It is in all cases the duty of
the carrier to deliver the goods. The leaving goods at an inn is not a sufficient delivery.
The rule in such cases, in deciding upon the carrier's liability, is to consider whether any
thing remains to be done by the carrier, as such and if nothing remains to be done, his lia-
bility ceases, and conversely.
A carrier has a lien upon goods for his hire. Even if the goods be stolen, the rightful
owner is not to have them without paying the carriage.
For further details as to this subject see Jeremy on the Law of Carriers, passim Chitty's
Commercial Law, vol. iii. pp. 369-387; and Burn's Justice of the Peace, tit. Carriers.
There are some excellent observations with respect to it in Sir William Jones' Essay on the
Law of Bailments.-(For an account of the regulations as to the conveyance of passengers
in stage coaches, see COACHES, STAGE.)
CARTS. Every cart, &c. for the carriage of any thing to and from any place, where the
streets are paved, within the bills of mortality, shall contain 6 inches in the felly. No per-
son shall drive any cart, waggon, &c. within 5 miles of the General Post Office, unless the
name, surname, and place of abode of the owner, be painted in conspicuous letters, at
least 1 inch in height, on the right or off side thereof, under a penalty of 5/. Any per-
son may seize and detain any cart, waggon, &c. without such mark.-(1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 22.)
CASH, in commerce, means the ready money, bills, drafts, bonds, and all immediately
negotiable paper in an individual's possession.
CASH ACCOUNT, in book-keeping, an account to which nothing but cash is carried
on the one hand, and from which all the disbursements of the concern are drawn on the
other. The balance is the cash in hand. When the credit side more than balances the debit,
or disbursement side, the account is said to be in cash; when the contrary, to be out of cash
CASH ACCOUNT, in banking, is the name given to the account of the advances made by
a banker in Scotland, to an individual who has given security for their repayment.-(See
BANKS (Scorch).)
CASHEW NUTS, (Ger. Akajunüsse, Westindische Anakarden; Du. Catsjoenooten;
Fr. Noix d'acajou; It. Acaju; Sp. Nueces d'acaju; Port. Nozes d'acaju) the produce of the
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CASPIAN SEA-CASTOR OIL.
Anacardium occidentale. They are externally of a greyish or brownish colour, of the shape
of a kidney, somewhat convex on the one side, and depressed on the other. The shell is
very hard and the kernel, which is sweet and of a very fine flavour, is covered with a thin
film. Between this and the shell is lodged a thick, blackish, inflammable oil, of such a
caustic nature in the fresh nuts, that if the lips chance to touch it, blisters immediately fol-
low. The kernels are used in cooking, and in the preparation 8f chocolate.
CASPIAN SEA. See TAGANROG.
CASSIA. There are four species of cassia in the market viz. Cassia Fistula; Cassia
Lignea, or Cassia Bark; Cassia Buds, and Cassia Senna.
1. Cassia Fistula (Fr. Casse; Ger. Rhonkasie; It. Polpa di cassia; Lat. Cassix put
pa; Arab. Khyar sheber) is a tree which grows in the East and West Indies, and Egypt
(Cassia fistula Lin.). The fruit is a woody, dark brown pod, about the thickness of the
thumb, and nearly 2 feet in length. Those brought to this country come principally from
the West Indies, packed in casks and cases; but a superior kind is brought from the East
Indies, and is easily distinguished by its smaller smooth pod, and by the greater blackness of
the pulp.
2. Cassia Lignea, or Cassia Bark (Fr. Casse; Ger. Cassia; Port. Cassia lenhosa;
Arab. Seleckeh, Hind. Tuj; Malay, Kâyü-legi), the bark of a tree (Laurus Cassia Lin.)
growing in Sumatra, Borneo, the Malabar coast, Philippine Islands, &c.; but chiefly in the
provinces of Quantong and Kingsi, in China, which furnish the greatest part of the cassia met
with in the European markets. The tree grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with large,
spreading, horizontal branches, the bark resembles that of cinnamon in appearance,
smell, and taste, and is very often substituted for it but it may be readily distinguished; it
is thicker in substance, less quilled, breaks shorter, and is more pungent. It should be
chosen in thin pieces; the best being that which approaches nearest to cinnamon in flavour:
that which is small and broken should be rejected. A good deal of the cassia in the Indian
markets is brought from Borneo, Sumatra, and Ceylon. Malabar cassia is thicker and darker
coloured than that of China, and more subject to foul packing; each bundle should be
separately inspected.-(Ainslie's Materia Indica; Milburn's Orient. Com. &c.)
The duty on cassia was reduced in 1825 from 2s. 6d. per lb. to 1s., and in 1829 to 6d. Owing partly
to these reductions, and partly to the heavy duty on and high price of cinnamon, the consumption of
cassia has more than doubled since 1820. Still, however, it is very inconsiderable when compared
with the importation. In 1892, the duty of 6d. per lb. produced 1,8071. 2s. 10d., showing that 72,985 lbs.
had been cleared for consumption. The imports in ordinary years, vary from about 400,000 lbs. to
about 800,000 lbs.; the excess over what is made use of at home being principally sent to Germany,
Italy, and Russia. Of 837,589 lbs. imported in 1830, 799,715 lbs. were brought from the East India
Company's territories and Ceylon, 25,586 lbs. from the Philippine Islands, 6,290 lbs. from Brazil, and
5,995 lbs. from the Mauritius, Cassia was quoted in the London markets, in August, 1833, at from 86s.
to 90s. a cwt. in bond.-(Parl. Paper, No. 367. Sess. 1832, &c.)
[See IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
CASSIA BUDS, the dried fruit or berry of the tree (Laurus cassia) which yields the bark
described in the previous article. They bear some resemblance to a clove, but are smaller,
and, when fresh, have a rich cinnamon flavour. They should be chosen round, fresh, and
free from stalks and dirt. Cassia buds are the produce of China. The exports from Canton
in 1831 amounted to 1,334 piculs, or 177,866 lbs. The imports into Great Britain in 1832
were 75,173 lbs., but the entries for home consumption are not specified. They were quoted
in the London markets in October, 1833, at 80s. a cwt. in bond.-(Milburn's Orient. Com.;
Anglo-Chinese Kalendar for 1832 and Parl. Paper, No. 425. Sess. 1833.)
Cassia Senna. See SENNA.
CASTOR (Fr. Castoreum; Ger. Kastoreunt It. Castoro; Sp. Castoreo), the produce
of the beaver. In the inguinal region. of this animal are found four bags, a large and a
small one on each side in the two large ones there is contained a softish, greyish yellow or
light brown substance, which, on exposure to the air, becomes dry and brittle and of a brown
colour. This is castor. It has a heavy but somewhat aromatic smell, not unlike musk
and a bitter, nauseous, and subacrid taste. The best comes from Russia; but of late years
it has been very scarce; and all that is now found in the shops is the produce of Canada.
The goodness of castor is determined by its sensible qualities; that which is black is insipid,
inodorous, oily, and unfit for use. Castor is said to be sometimes counterfeited by a mix-
ture of some gummy and resinous substances; but the fraud is easily detected, by comparing
the smell and taste with those of real castor.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
CASTOR OIL (Fr. Huile du Ricin; Ger. Rizinusohl; It. Olio di Ricino, Sp. Ricin-
soel) is obtained from the seeds of the Ricinus communis, or Palma Christi, an annual plant,
found in most tropical countries, and in Greece, the south of Spain, &c. The oil is sepa-
rated from the seeds either by boiling them in water, or by subjecting them to the action of
the press. It is said, that though the largest quantity of oil may be procured by the first
method, it is less sweet, and more apt to become rancid, than that procured by expression,
which, in consequence, is the process now most commonly followed. Good expressed castor
oil is nearly inodorous and insipid but the best leaves a slight sensation of acrimony in the
throat after it is swallowed. It is thicker and heavier than the fat oils, being viscid, trans-
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CATECHU-CAT SKINS.
325
parent, and colourless, or of a very pale straw colour. That which is obtained by boiling
the seeds has a brownish hue; and both kinds, when they become rancid, thicken, deepen
in colour to a reddish brown, and acquire a hot nauseous taste. It is very extensively em-
ployed in the materia medica as a cathartic.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
The quantity cleared for home consumption in 1831 amounted to 327,940 lbs., being about double the
quantity cleared for consumption in 1820; an increase principally ascribable to the reduction of the
duty from 1s. 3d. to 3d. Of the total quantity imported in 1830, amounting to 490,558 lbs., no fewer
than 441,267 lbs. were from the East Indies, 39,408 lbs. from British North America, 5,139 lbs. from the
United States, and 4,718 lbs. from the British West Indies. Castor oil from foreign countries, being
loaded with a daty of 1s., is almost wholly re-exported. The price of East India castor oil in bond
varies from 10d. to 1s. 7d per lb.; that of the West Indies is much higher.-(Accounts published by the
Board of Trade, p. 118.; Parl. Paper, No. 367. Sess. 1832, &c.)
CATECHU (Fr. Cachou; Ger. Kaschu; Hind. Cut; Mal. Gambir), a brown astrin-
gent substance, formerly known by the name of Terra Japonica, because supposed to be a
kind of earth. It is, however, a vegetable substance obtained from two plants; VIZ. the
Mimosa, or more correctly the Acacia catechu, and the Uncaria gambir. The first of
these is a tree from 20 to 30 feet high, found in abundance in many of the forests of India,
from 16° of lat. up to 30°. The places most remarkable for its production are, the Bur-
mese territories; a large province of the Malabar coast, called the Concan; and the forests
skirting the northern part of Bengal, under the hills which divide it from Nepaul. The
catechu is obtained from this tree by the simple process of boiling the heart of the wood for
a few hours, when it assumes the look and consistency of tar. The substance hardens by
cooling; is formed into small balls or squares; and being dried in the sun, is fit for the
market. The price to the first purchaser in the Concan is about 15s. a cwt. According to
Dr. Davy, who analysed it, the specific gravity of Concan catechu is 1.39; and that of
Pegu, 1-28. The taste of this substance is astringent, leaving behind a sensation of sweet-
ness it is almost wholly soluble in water. Of all the astringent substances we know, catechu
appears to contain the largest portion of tannin. According to Mr. Purkis, 1 lb. is equivalent
to 7 or 8 lbs. of oak bark for tanning leather. From 200 grs. of Concan catechu, Dr. Davy
procured 109 of tannin, 68 of extractive matter, 13 of mucilage, and 10 of earths and other
impurities the same quantity of Pegu catechu afforded 97 grs. of tannin, 73 of extract, 16
of mucilage, and 14 of impurities. The uncaria gambir is a scandent shrub, extensively
cultivated in all the countries lying on both sides of the Straits of Malacca; but chiefly in
the small islands at their eastern extremity. The catechu is in this case obtained by boiling
the leaves, and inspissating the juice; a small quantity of crude sago being added, to give
the mass consistency it is then dried in the sun, and being cut like the Concan catechu
into small squares, is ready for use. There is a great consumption of this article throughout
all parts of India as a masticatory it forms an ingredient in the compound of betel pepper,
areca nut, and lime, which is in almost universal use. Catechu may be purchased at the
Dutch settlement of Rhio, or at Malacca, in the Straits of Singapore, at the rate of about 10s.
a cwt. The quantity of it, under the corrupted name of cutch, imported yearly into Cal-
cutta from Pegu, at an average of the 5 years ending with 1828-29, was about 300 tons, at
a cost not exceeding 9s. per cwt. From Bombay a considerable quantity is annually im-
ported into China. The quantity of catechu, under the name of gambir, produced in Rhio
by the Chinese settlers, is equal to about 4,600 tons a year, about 2,000 of which are ex-
ported for the consumption of Java; the rest being sent to China, Cochin China, and other
neighbouring countries.
Catechu, particularly from Singapore, has lately been imported in considerable quantities
for trial in our tanneries; but with a duty of 1/. per cwt., equal to twice the prime cost, we
fear the speculation is not likely to succeed.-(See Ainstie's Materia Indica; Ure's Dic-
tionary ; Singapore Chronicle; Buchanan's Journey through Mysore Canara, and Mala-
bar; Bell's Review of the external Commerce of Bengal.)
CAT'S EYE, a mineral of a beautiful appearance, brought from Ceylon. Its colours are
grey, green, brown, red, of various shades. Its internal lustre is shining, its fracture imper-
fectly conchoidal, and it is translucent. From a peculiar play of light, arising from white
fibres interspersed, it has derived its name. The French call the appearance chatoyant.
It scratches quartz, is easily broken, and resists the blowpipe. It is set by the jewellers as a
precious stone.
CAT SKINS. The skin or fur of the cat, is used for a variety of purposes, but is prin-
cipally dyed and sold as false sable. It appears from evidence taken before a late Committee
of the House of Commons, that it is a common practice in London to decoy the animal and
kill it for the sake of its skin. The fur of the wild cat is, however, far more valuable than
that of the domestic cat. The wild cat skins imported into this country are brought almost
wholly from the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company. The animal from which they
are taken is a good deal larger than the English wild cat, and is sometimes called the loup
cervier, or Canadian lynx. It is very courageous. At an average of the 3 years ending with
1831, the number of cat skins imported amounted to 40,006 a year, of which about 24,000
a year were retained for home consumption.
VOL. L-2 E
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CATTLE.
CATTLE, a collective term applied to designate all those quadrupeds that are used either
as food for man, or in tilling the ground. By neat or horned cattle is meant the two species
included under the names of the ox (Bos) and the buffalo (Bubuhus) ; but as the latter is
hardly known in this country, it is the former only that we have here in view.
The raising and feeding of cattle, and the preparation of the various products which they
yield, have formed, in all countries emerged from the savage state, an important branch of
industry.
It would be quite inconsistent with the objects and limits of this work, to enter into any
details with respect to the different breeds of cattle raised in this or other countries. They
are exceedingly various. In Great Britain they have been vastly improved, both in the
weight of carcase, the quality of the beef, and the abundance of the milk, by the extraordi-
nary attention that has been given to the selection and crossing of the best breeds, according
to the objects in view. This sort of improvement began about the middle of last century,
or rather later, and was excited and very much forwarded by the skill and enterprise of two
individuals-Mr. Bakewell of Dishley, and Mr. Culley of Northumberland. The success
by which their efforts were attended roused a spirit of emulation in others; and the rapid
growth of commerce and manufactures since 1760 having occasioned a corresponding in-
crease in the demand for butcher's meat, improved systems of breeding, and improved breeds,
have been very generally introduced.
But the improvement in the size and the condition of cattle has not been alone owing to
the circumstances now mentioned. Much of it is certainly to be ascribed to the great im-
provement that has been made in their feeding. The introduction and universal extension
of the turnip and clover cultivation has had, in this respect, a most astonishing influence, and
has wonderfully increased the food of cattle, and consequently the supply of butcher's meat.
It was stated in the First Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on
Waste Lands (printed in 1795), that cattle and sheep had, at an average, increased in size
and weight about a fourth since 1732 but there are strong grounds for supposing that the
increase had been much more considerable than is represented by the committee.
According to an estimate of Dr. Davenant in 1710, the average weight of the nett carcase
of black cattle was only 370 lbs., of calves 50 lbs. and of sheep only 28 lbs. ; but according
to Sir F. M. Eden (Hist. of the Poor, vol. iii. Appen. p. 88.) and Mr. Middleton (Agrie. of
Middlesex, 2d ed. p. 541.) the weight of the carcase of bullocks killed in London, is now, at
an average, 800 lbs., calves 140 lbs., sheep 80 lbs., and lambs 50 lbs. including offal and de-
ducting the latter, the nett weight of the carcases is nearer a half than a fourth greater than
the weight assigned by Davenant.
Consumption of Butcher's Meat in London.-The number of head of cattle, sheep and
lambs, sold in Smithfield market, each year since 1732, has been as follows :-
Years.
Cattle.
Sheep.
Years.
Cattle.
Sheep.
Years.
Cattle.
Sheep.
Years.
Cattle.
Sheep.
1732
76,210
514,700
1758
84,252
550,930
1783
101,840
701,610
1808
144,042
1,015,280
1733
80,169
555,050
1759
86,439
582,260
1784
98,143
616,110
1809
137,600
989,250
1734
78,810
566,910
1760
88,594
622,210
1785
99,047
641,470
1810
132,155
962,750
1735
83,894
590,970
1761
82,514
666,010
1786
92,270
665,910
1811
125,012
966,400
1736
87,606
587,420
1762
102,831
772,160
1787
94,946
668,570
1812
133,854
953,630
1737
89,862
607,330
1763
80,851
653,110
1788
92,829
679,100
1813
137,770
891,240
1738
87,010
589,470
1764
75,168
556,360
1789
93,269
693,700
1814
135,071
870,880
1739
86,787
568,980
1765
81,630
537,000
1790
103,708
749,660
1815
124,948
962,840
1740
84,810
501,020
1766
75,534
574,790
1791
101,164
740,360
1816
120,439
968,560
1741
77,714
536,180
1767
77,324
574,050
1792
107,348
760,859
1817
129,888
1,044,710
1742
79,601
503,260
1768
79,660
626,170
1793
116,848
728,480
1818
138,047
963,250
1743
76,475
468,120
1769
82,131
642,910
1794
109,448
719,420
1819
135,296
949,900
1744
76,648
490,620
1770
86,890
649,090
1795
131,092
745,640
1820
132,933
947,990
1745
74,188
563,990
1771
93,573
631,860
1796
117,152
758,840
1821
129,125
1,107,230
1746
71,582
620,790
1772
89,503
609,540
1797
108,377
693,510
1822
142,043
1,340,100
1747
71,150
621,780
1773
90,133
609,740
1798
107,470
753,010
1823
149,552
1,264,920
1748
67,681
610,060
1774
90,419
585,290
1799
122,986
834,400
1824
163,615
1,239,720
1749
72,706
624,220
1775
93,581
623,950
1800
125,073
$42,210
1825
156,985
1,130,310
1750
70,765
656,340
1776
98,372
671,700
1801
134,546
760,560
1826
143,460
1,270,530
1751
69,589
631,890
1777
93,714
714,870
1802
126,389
743,470
1827
138,363
1,335,100
1752
73,708
642,100
1778
97,360
658,540
1803
117,551
787,430
1828
147,698
1,288,460
1753
75,252
648,440
1779
97,352
676,540
1804
113,019
903,940
1829
158,313
1,940,300
1754
70,437
631,350
1780
102,383
706,850
1805
125,043
912,410
1830
159,907
1,287,070
1755
74,290
647,100
1781
102,543
743,330
1806
120,250
858,570
1831
148,168
1,189,010
1756
77,257
624,710
1782
101,176
728,970
1807
134,326
924,030
1832
166,224
1,364,160
1757
82,612
574,960
Down to 1820, this table is extracted from papers laid before parliament since 1820, it is made up
from returns procured, for this work, from the Chamberlain's office.
The number of fatted calves, exclusive of sucklers, of which no account is taken, sold annually in
Smithfield from 1821 inclusive, has been as follows :-
1821
-
-
-
-
21,768
1827
-
-
-
-
20,729
1822
-
-
-
-
24,255
1828
-
-
-
-
20,832
1823
-
-
-
-
22,739
1829
-
-
-
-
20,879
1824
-
-
-
-
21,949
1830
-
-
-
-
20,300
1825
-
-
-
-
20,958
1831
-
-
-
-
-
1826
-
-
-
-
22,118
1832
-
-
-
-
19,522
(Obtained from the clerk of the market, 5th of Nov. 1833.)
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CATTLE.
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The contract prices of butcher's meat per cwt. at Greenwich Hospital, since 1730, have been as
below:-
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.'
1730 -
- 1 5 8
1785 -
- 1 17 of
1823 -
- 2 2 7+
1735 -
- 0 16 11
1790 -
- 1 16 10
1824 -
- 2 2 81
1740 -
- 1 8 0
1795 -
- 2 2 10
1825 -
- 2 19 6f
1745 -
- I 2 2
1800 -
- 3 4 4
1826 -
- 2 17 8
:
1750 -
- 1 6 6
1805 -
- 3 0 4
1827 -
- 2 15 41
1755 -
- 1 7 of
1810 -
- 3120
1828 -
- 2 10 71
1760 -
- 1 11 6
1815 -
- 3 8 0
1829 -
- 2 6 3f
1765 -
- 1 7 3
1820 -
- 3 10 41
1830 -
- 2 3 6
1770 -
- 1 8 6
1821 -
- 2 18 10
1831 -
- 2 4 31
1775 -
- 1 13 5
1822 -
- 1 19 5}
1832 -
- 2 6 21
1780 -
- 1 12 6
We suspect, from what we have heard from practical men of great experience, that the
weight assigned by Sir F. M. Eden and Mr. Middleton to the cattle sold in Smithfield is a
little beyond the average. It must also be observed, as already stated, that it is the gross
weight of the carcase, or the weight of the animal under deduction of blood and refuse and
therefore to get the nett weight, we have further to deduct the offal, or the hide, tallow,
entrails, feet, &c. We have been informed that the following quantities may be deducted
from the carcase weights, in order to obtain the nett weights of the different animals; viz.
-from neat cattle, 250 lbs. each calves, 35 lbs.; sheep, 24 lbs.; lambs, 12 lbs. If these
estimates be nearly right, we should be able, provided we knew the respective numbers of
sheep and lambs, to estimate the total quantity of butcher's meat furnished for London by
Smithfield market, exclusive of hogs and pigs. Sheep and lambs are not, however, distin-
guished in the returns; but it is known that the former are to the latter nearly as 3 to 1; so
that we may estimate the average gross weight of the sheep and lambs at about 70 lbs., and
their average nett weight at about 50 lbs. The account for 1830 will then stand as under :-
Number and Species of Animals.
Gross Weight.
Offal.
Nett Weight.
Butcher's Meat.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
159,907 Cattle
-
-
-
800
250
550
87,948,850
1,287,070 Sheep and lambs
-
70
20
50
64,353,500
20,300 Calves
-
-
-
140
35
105
2,131,500
Total
154,434,850
This quantity, estimated at the average price of 6d. would cost 3,860,871/.; at 8d., it
would cost 5,147,828%
A part of the cattle sold at Smithfield go to supply the town in the vicinity but, on the
other hand, many cattle are sold in the adjoining towns, and slaughtered for the use of
London, of which no account is taken. We have reason to think that the latter quantity
rather exceeds the former; but supposing that they mutually balance each other, the above
quantity of 154,434,850 lbs. may be regarded as forming the annual supply of butcher's
meat at present required for London; exclusive, however, of hogs, pigs, suckling calves,
&c., and exclusive also of bacon, hams, and salted provisions brought from a distance. The
quantities thus omitted from the account are very considerable; nor can there, we appre-
hend, be any doubt that, with the addition of such parts of the offal as are used for food,
they may be considered as more than balancing the butcher's meat required for the victual-
ling of ships. On this hypothesis, therefore, it will follow, assuming the population of the
metropolis to amount to 1,450,000, that the annual consumption of butcher's meat by each
individual, young and old, belonging to it, is, at an average, very near 107 lbs.
This, though not nearly so great as has been sometimes represented*, is, we believe, a
larger consumption of animal food than takes place any where else by the same number of
individuals. According to M. Chabrol, the consumption of butcher's meat in Paris amounts
to between 85 lbs. and 86 lbs. for each individual. At Brussels the consumption is a little
greater, being supposed to average 89 lbs. each individual; being rather more than 3 lbs.
above the mean of Paris, and 18 lbs. under the mean of London.
According to the reports of the inspectors of hides and skins, the following are the numbers of
cattle, calves, and sheep, slaughtered in Liverpool, Manchoster, Leeds, and Sheffield, from 1815 to 1820
inclusive
Cattle.
Calves.
Sheep.
Liverpool
-
-
-
-
74,671
100,329
457,268
Manchester
-
-
I
95,054
96,574
489,557
Leeds
-
-
-
-
22,976
34,598
317,642
Sheffield
-
-
-
-
30,097
28,455
184,859
Totals
-
222,798
259,956
1,443,326
(Appen, to Agrie. Report of 1821, p. 267.)
* Mr. Middleton (Agriculture of Middlesex, p. 643.) estimates the consumption of animal food in
London, exclusive of fish and poultry, at 234 lbs. a year for every individual! And he further esti-
mates the total average annual expense incurred by each inhabitant of the metropolis, for all sorts of
animal food, at 81. 8s.! To make any comments on such conclusions would be worse than useless;
but the fact of their being met with in a work, otherwise of considerable merit, is one of the many
proofs. every where to be met with, of the low state of statistical knowledge in this country.
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CATTLE.
In estimating the weights of the animals killed at these towns, a lower standard must be
adopted than that which we have taken for London first, because the largest and finest
cattle are brought to the metropolis; and secondly, because a very large proportion of the
calves are sucklers, which are excluded from the London accounts. These considerations
have not been sufficiently attended to by the framers of the estimate in the report now
quoted. Sheep, in the above table, means no doubt sheep and lambs.
We extract from Dr. Cleland's valuable work on the statistics of Glasgow the subjoined
account of the number, weight, &c. of the animals slaughtered and sold in that city during
the year 1822.
Butchers' Meat sold in the Glasgow Market, in 1822.
Royalty.
Suburbs.
Total.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
Bullocks
13,009
1,557
14,566
average 28 stone, 407,848, at 7s.
142,746 16 0
Calves
7,927
630
8,557
-
-
36s.
15,402 12 0
Sheep
48,896
8,624
57,520
-
-
20s.
57,520 0 0
Lambs
59,424
9,213
68,637
-
-
6s.
20,591 2 0
Swine
5,899
640
6,539
-
-
20s.
6,539 0 0
Total
135,155
20,664
155,819
242,790 10 0
Tallow, &c. belonging to these Carcasses.
Bullocks
-
- 14,566, averaging 3f stone, 50,981, at 7s.
17,843 7 o
Hides
-
- 14,566,
-
-
28s.
20,392 8 0
Heads and offals
- 14,566,
-
-
8s.
5,826 8 0
Calf skins -
- 8,557,
-
-
2s.
855 14 0
Sheep tallow
- 57,520, averaging 3} lbs., 201,320,
-
5d.
4,194 3 4
Heads and offals
- 8,557,
-
-
1s. 6d.
641 15 6
Sheep skins
- 57,520,
-
-
1s. 6d.
4,314 0 0
Heads and offals
-
57,520,
-
-
7d.
1,677 13 4
Lamb skins
- 68,337,
-
-
1s. 3d.
4,289 16 3
Heads and offals
- 68,637,
-
--
4d.
1,143 19 0
61,179 4 5
Total value of Carcasses, Tallow, Hides, &c.
303,978 14 5
N. B.-The weight is estimated in this statement by the stone of 16 lbs., each of 221 oz. The office
of hide-inspector having been abolished, there are no means of continuing this table to a later period ;
but the returns of the cattle sold in the market at Glasgow since 1822, show that the increase in the
supply of animal food has at least kept pace with the increase of population.
The population of Glasgow, when this account was taken, amounted to 147,043, which
shows, that the consumption of butcher's meat in that city, is, as compared with its popula-
tion, but little inferior to that of London. This statement, taken in connection with the fact
that, 80 late as 1760, the slaughter of bullocks for the supply of the public market was un-
known in Glasgow, sets the wonderful improvement that has since taken place in the food
of the Scotch people in the most striking point of view. Previously to 1780 it was custom-
ary in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and the principal Scotch towns, for families to purchase in No-
vember what would now be reckoned a small half-fed cow or ox, the salted carcase of which
was the only butcher's meat they tasted throughout the year. In the smaller towns and
country districts this practice prevailed till the present century but it is now every where
abandoned. We believe, indeed, that there has never been in any country a more rapid
increase in the quantity, or a greater improvement in the quality of the food brought to
market, than has taken place in Scotland since 1770. In so far as respects butcher's meat,
this has been occasioned partly by the growing numbers and opulence of all classes, and
partly by the vast increase in the food of cattle consequent to the introduction of green crops,
and of an improved system of cultivation.-(See BREAD.)
The introduction of steam navigation, and the improved means of communication by rail-
roads and otherwise, has already had, and will, no doubt, continue to have, a material influ-
ence over the supply of butcher's meat. Owing to the difficulty and expense of their con-
veyance, cattle could not formerly be conveniently fattened at any very considerable distance
from the great markets; but steam navigation has gone far to remove this difficulty. Instead
of selling their cattle, lean or half-fed, to the Norfolk graziers, and by whom they were
fattened for the London market, the producers, in various districts of Scotland, are now be-
ginning to fatten them at home, either sending the live animals or the carcases by steam to
London, Liverpool, &c. This practice is indirectly as well as directly advantageous to the
farmer, inasmuch as it enables him to turn his green crops to better account, and to raise
larger supplies of manure. The same practice is also extending in Ireland and will, no
doubt, spread itself over every part of the country where feeding can be carried on, that has
the required facility of transport.
Number of Head of Cattle in Great Britain.-It would, on many accounts, be very
desirable to be able to form an accurate estimate of the number and value of the stock of
cattle in Great Britain, and of the proportion annually killed and made use of; but owing to
the little attention that has been paid to such subjects in this country, where every sort of
statistical knowledge is at the very lowest ebb, there are no means of arriving at any con-
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CATTLE.
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able. clusions that can be depended upon. The following details may not, however, be unaccept-
Arthur Young has given, both in his Eastern and Northern Tours, estimates of the num-
ber and value of the different descriptions of stock in England. The greatest discrepancy.
unaccompanied by a single explanatory sentence, exists between them but there can be no
doubt that the following estimate (Eastern Tour, vol. iv. p. 456.), though, perhaps, rather
under the mark, is infinitely nearer the truth than the other, which is about twice as great :-
Number of Draught cattle
-
-
-
-
-
-
684,491
Cows
-
-
-
-
-
-
741,532
Fatting cattle
-
-
-
-
-
-
513,369
Young cattle
-
-
-
-
-
-
912,656
Total
-
- 2,852,048
Now taking this number at the round sum of 3,000,000, and adding a third to it for the
increase since 1770, and 1,100,000 for the number of cattle in Scotland (General Report of
Scotland, iii. Addenda, p. 6.), we shall have 5,100,000 as the total head of cattle of all sorts
in Great Britain. The common estimate is, that about a fourth part of the entire stock is
annually slaughtered; which, adopting the foregoing statement, gives 1,275,000 head for
the supply of the kingdom a result which all that we have heard inclines us to think is
very near the mark.
Dr. Colquhoun estimated the total head of cattle in England and Wales only, in 1812,
at 5,500,000; but he assigns no data for his estimate, which is entitled to very little
attention.
cattle from Ireland.
Exclusive of the cattle . raised in Great Britain, we import considerable supplies of beef and of live
Account of the number of Cows and Oxen, and of the quantities of Beef, imported into Great Britain
from Ireland, from 1801 :-
Years.
Cows
Beef.
Cows
Beef.
Cows
and Oxen.
Years.
and Oxen.
Years.
and Oxen.
Beef.
No.
Barrela
No.
Barvels.
No.
Barrels.
1801
31,543
58,911
1810
44,553
71,605
1818
58,165
80,587
1802
42,501
59,448
1811
67,680
108,282
1819
52,176
70,504
1803
28,016
62,226
1812
79,192
114,504
1820
39,014
52,591
1804
15,646
59,342
1813
48,973
101,516
1821
26,725
65,905
1805
21,862
88,519
1814
16,435
83,162
1822
34,659
43,139
1806
27,704
91,261
1815
33,809
60,307
1823
46,351
69,079
1807
26,252
85,255
1816
31,752
39,495
1824
62,314
54,810
1808
13,958
88,366
1817
45,301
105,555
1825
63,519
63,557
1809
17,917
89,771
In 1825 the trade between Great Britain and Ireland was placed on the footing of a coasting trade,
80 that there are no means of continuing this account to a later date ; but for some further particulars,
the reader is referred to Liverpool, art. Docks; for an account of the sales of cattle at the great fair
of Ballinasloe, see FAIRS AND MARKETS.
Cattle of the Continent.-Baron Malchus has given, in his work on European Statistics, published
at Stuttgard in 1826, an account of the number of horned cattle, sheep, swine, &c., in most European
countries. In so far as respects the British empire, the statements are mostly copied from Colquhoun,
and are ludicrously inexact. Perhaps, however, they may, in so far as regards the Continental
states, be better entitled to credit. The following are some of the items in his Table :-
Countries.
Cattle.
Countries.
Cattle.
Sweden and Norway
-
-
2,647,000
Baden -
-
-
-
421,900
Russia
-
-
-
-
19,000,000
Bavaria
-
-
-
1,896,700
Denmark
-
-
-
1,607,000
Austria
-
-
-
9,912,500
Netherlands
-
-
-
2,500,000
France
-
-
-
6,681,900
Prussia
-
-
-
4,275,700
Spain -
-
-
-
2,500,000
Saxony -
-
-
-
345,000
Portugal
-
-
-
650,000
Hanover
-
-
-
794,000
Switzerland
-
-
-
800,000
Wirtemberg
-
-
-
713,000
Italy
-
-
-
-
3,500,000
On the whole the Baron estimates the neat or horned cattle of Europe, including the British isles,
but excluding Turkey, at 70,270,974. At best, however, this estimate can only be considered as a very
rough approximation.
Laws as to Cattle.-No salesman, broker, or factor, employed in buying cattle for others, shall buy
for himself in London, or within the bills of mortality, on penalty of double the value of the cattle
bought and sold.-( Geo. 2. c. 40.)
Cattle not to be driven on Sunday, on penalty of 20s.-(3 Cha. 1. c. 1.)
Any person unlawfully and maliciously killing, wounding, or maiming any cattle, shall be guilty of
felony, and, upon conviction, may be transported, at the discretion of the court, beyond seas for life,
or for any term not less than 7 years, or be imprisoned for any term not exceeding 4 years, and kept to
hard labour ; and, if a male, may be once, twice, or thrice publicly or privately whipped, if the court
shall think fit 90 to order.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 30.)
Persons wantonly and cruelly abusing, beating, or ill-treating cattle, may, upon being convicted
before a justice of such offence, be fined in any sum not exceeding 51. and not below 10s.; and upon
nonpayment of fine, may be committed to the house of correction for any time not exceeding 3
months.
Complaint must be made within 10 days after the offence. Justices are instructed to order compen-
sation to be made, not exceeding 20s., to persons vexatiously complained against.-(3 Geo. 4. c. 71.)
2 E 2
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CAVIAR-CERTIFICATES.
CAVIAR (Fr. Caviar, Cavial; Ger. Kaviar; It. Caviario, Camase; Sp. Caviario ;
Rus. Ikra; Lat. Caviarium), a substance prepared in Russia, consisting of the salted roes
of large fish. The Uralian Cossacks are celebrated for making excellent caviar. The best
is made of the roe of the sturgeon, appears to consist entirely of the eggs, and does not easily
become fetid. This is packed in small casks or kegs; the inferior sort being in the form of
dry cakes. Caviar is highly esteemed in Russia, and considerable quantities are exported to
Italy. It is principally made of the sturgeon caught in the Wolga, in the neighbourhood of
Astrachan.-(See Tooke's Russia, 2d ed. vol. iii. p. 345.)
CAYENNE PEPPER, OR GUINEA PEPPER. See CHILLIES.
CEDAR (Ger. Zeder; Du. Ceder; Fr. Cedre; It. and Sp. Cedro; Rus. Kedr; Lat.
Cedrus). The cedar of Lebanon, or great cedar (Pinus cedrus), is famous in Scripture;
it is a tall, majestic-looking tree. Behold," says the inspired writer, " the Assyrian was a
cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature;
and his top was among the thick boughs. His height was exalted above all the trees of
the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long. The fir trees were
not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the
garden of God was like unto him in beauty."-(Ezekiel, xxxi. 3. 5.8.) The cedar grows to
a very great size. The timber is resinous, has a peculiar and powerful odour, a slightly
bitter taste, a rich yellowish brown colour, and is not subject to the worm. Its durability is
very great; and it was on this account (propter ælernitatem Vitruvius, Lib. ii. § 9.) em-
ployed in the construction of the temples, and other public buildings, in the formation of the
statues of the gods, and as tablets for writing upon. In the time of Vitruvius, cedars were
principally produced in Crete, Africa, and some parts of Syria.-(Loc. cit.) Very few are
now found on Lebanon but some of those that still remain are of immense bulk, and in the
highest preservation.
Cedar exceeds the oak in toughness, but is very inferior to it in strength and stiffness.
Some very fine cedars have been produced in England.
There are several other kinds of timber that are usually called cedar thus, a species of
cypress is called white cedar in America; and the cedar used by the Japanese for building
bridges, ships, houses, &c., is a kind of cypress, which Thunberg describes as a beautiful
wood, that lasts long without decay. The Juniperus oxycedrus is a native of Spain, the
south of France, and the Levant; it is usually called the brown berried cedar. The
Bermudian cedar (Juniperus Bermudiana), a native of the Bermuda and Bahama islands,
is another species that produces valuable timber for many purposes; such as internal joiners'
work, furniture, and the like. The red cedar, so well known from its being used in making
black-lead pencils, is produced by the Virginian cedar (Juniperus Virginiana), a native of
North America, the West India islands, and Japan. The tree seldom exceeds 45 feet in
height. The wood is very durable, and, like the cedar of Lebanon, is not attacked by worms.
It is employed in various ways, but principally in the manufacture of drawers, wardrobes,
&c., and as a cover to pencils. The internal wood is of a dark red colour, and has a very
strong odour. It is of a nearly uniform texture, brittle, and light-See Tredgold's Princi-
ples of Carpentry; Lib. of Entertaining Knowledge, Veget. Substances; Rees's Cyclop.
&c.)
The duty on cedar (21. 10s. a ton from a foreign country, and 10s. from a British possession) pro-
duced 2,5491. 19s. 11d. in 1832. Its price in bond varies from 6d. to 9d. a foot.
CERTIFICATES, in the customs. No goods can be exported by certificate, except
foreign goods formerly imported, on which the whole or a part of the customs paid on im-
portation is to be drawn back. The manner of proceeding is regulated by the 3 & 4 Will.
4. c. 52. s 68, &c. The person intending to enter outwards such goods, is to deliver to the
collector or comptroller of the port where the goods were imported or warehoused, two or
more bills, specifying the particulars of the importation of such goods, and of the entry out-
wards intended to be made; and the officers, if they find such bills to agree with the entry
inwards, are to issue a certificate of such entry, with the particulars necessary for the com-
putation of the drawback upon the goods, the names of the person and ship by whom and in
which the goods are to be exported, &c. The merchant then enters the goods outwards, as
in the common way of exportation. The cocket granted upon this oceasion is called a certi-
ficate cocket, and differs a little in form from common over-sea cockets. Notice of the time
of shipping is to be given to the searcher. Some time after the departure of the vessel, the
exporter may apply for the drawback. The collector and comptroller than make out on a
proper stamp a debenture, containing a distinct narration of the transaction, with the export-
er's or merchant's oath that the goods are really and truly exported beyond seas, and not
relanded, nor intended to be relanded and also with the searcher's certificate of the quan-
tity and quality of the goods at the time of shipping. The debenture being thus duly made
out and sworn to, the duties to be repaid are indorsed, the merchant's receipt taken below,
and the money paid.
Certificates of origin, subscribed by the proper officers of the places where the goods were
shipped, are required, to entitle the importers of sugar, coffee, cocoa, and spirits from any
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CHAIN-CHARLESTON.
331
British plantation, to get them entered as such. A similar certificate is required in the case
of blubber-(see BLUBBER); and in the case of wine from the Cape of Good Hope and
sugar from the limits of the East India Company's charter, &c.-(See IMPORTATION AND
EXPORTATION.)
CHAIN, in surveying, a measure of length, composed of a certain number of links
made of iron wire, serving to take the distance between two or more places. Gunter's
chain contains 100 such links, each measuring 7108 inches, consequently equal to 66 feet,
or 4 poles.
CHALDRON, a dry English measure. 36 coal bushels make a chaldron, and 21 chal-
drons a score. The coal bushel is 19} inches wide from the outside, and 8 inches deep. It
contains 2,217.6 cubic inches; but when heaped, 2,815.5, making the chaldron 58.65 cubic
feet. There are 12 sacks of coal in a chaldron; and if 5 chaldrons be purchased at the same
time, the seller must deliver 63 sacks; the 3 sacks additional are called the ingrain. But
coals are now sold in London, and almost every where else, by the ton of 20 cwt. avoirdu-
pois. The Newcastle chaldron of coals is 53 cwt., and is just double the London chaldron.
-(See COAL.)
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, is an assembly of merchants and traders, where affairs
relating to trade are treated of. There are several establishments of this sort in most of the
chief cities of France; and in this country, chambers of this kind have been created for
various purposes.
CHAMBER OF ASSURANCE, in France, denotes a society of merchants and others for car-
rying on the business of insurance; but in Holland it signifies a court of justice, where
causes relating to insurances are tried.
CHAMPAGNE, one of the most esteemed and celebrated of the French wines. See
WINE.
CHANKS, OR CHANK SHELLS, common conch shells, are fished up by divers in the
Gulf of Manar, on the coast opposite Jaffnapatam, in Ceylon, in about 2 fathoms of water;
and at Travancore, Tuticoreen, and other places. Large fossil beds of chanks have also
been found. They are of a spiral form, and form a considerable article of trade in India,
where they are in extensive demand all over the country. They are sawn into narrow rings
or bracelets, and are worn as ornaments for the arms, legs, fingers, &c. by the Hindoo wo-
men; many of them are also buried with the bodies of opulent and distinguished persons.
Those which, from being taken with the fish, are called green chanks, are most in demand.
The white chank, which is the shell thrown upon the beach by strong tides, having lost its
gloss and consistency, is not worth the freight up to Calcutta. The value of the green
chank depends upon its size. A chank opening to the right, called in Calcutta the right-
handed chank, is so highly prized as sometimes to sell for 400, or 500, or even 1,000 rupees.
-(Bell's Commerce of Bengal, and private communications.)
The fishery of chanks is monopolised by government, who most commonly let the banks for
about 4,000L a year. Sometimes, however, they are fished by the servants of government
on its account. But as the fishermen of the coast, and those belonging to the little islands
where they are found, cannot be prevented from taking chanks, the better plan, as it appears
to us, would be to give every one leave to fish them but to lay a somewhat heavier duty on
their exportation. We have been assured by those well acquainted with the circumstances,
that this would be advantageous to all parties, but especially to government. We have
heard that an arrangement of this sort has recently been made, but we have not learned any
thing positive respecting it.
CHARCOAL (Fr. Charbon de bois; Ger. Reine Kohle; It. Carbone di legna; Sp.
Carbon de lena; Lat. Carbo ligni), a sort of artificial coal, consisting of wood burned with
as little exposure to the action of the air as possible. " It was customary among the ancients
to char the outside of those stakes which were to be driven into the ground or placed in wa-
ter, in order to preserve the wood from spoiling. New-made charcoal, by being rolled up in
clothes which have contracted a disagreeable odour, effectually destroys it. When boiled
with meat beginning to putrefy, it takes away the bad taint it is, perhaps, the best tooth-
powder known. When putrid water at sea is mixed with about 1 of its weight of charcoal
powder, it is rendered quite fresh; and a much smaller quantity of charcoal will serve, if the
precaution be taken to add a little sulphuric acid previously to the water. If the water casks
be charred before they are filled with water, the liquid remains good in them for years; this
precaution ought always to be taken for long sea voyages. The same precaution, when
attended to for wine casks, will be found very much to improve the quality of the wine."
-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
CHARLESTON, a city and sea-port of the United States, of South Carolina, in lat. 32°
47' N., long. 79° 48' W. Population in 1830, including the suburbs, 40,300. The situa-
tion of Charleston has a good deal of resemblance to that of New York, being built on a
point of land between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, at their point of confluence. The ex-
ports principally consist of cotton and rice (particularly the former), which are the staple
products of the state. There are a few other articles exported, such as naval stores, hams,
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CHARLESTON.
bacon, &c., but their value is quite inconsiderable. All the cotton sent from South Caro-
lina to foreign countries is shipped at Charleston. In 1831-32, the exports are said to have
amounted to 182,628 bales, of which 138,683 were for Great Britain.* The value of the cot-
ton exported in 1831 amounted, according to the customhouse valuation, to 4,885,431 dollars,
and that of the rice to 1,218,859 do. But exclusive of the exports to foreign countries,
South Carolina sends a great deal of cotton and rice to other ports of the Union. The ship-
ments of cotton coastwise in 1831-32 were estimated at about 43,000 bales. The imports
from foreign countries principally consist of cottons, woollens, and linens, hardware, iron, and
steel, coffee, sugar, tea, wine, spices, &c. The greater part of the imports do not, however,
come from abroad, but from the northern and middle states. The former supply her with
fish, shoes, and all sorts of coarse manufactured goods for the use of the slave population;
while the latter supply her with wheat, flour, &c. Most part of the imports of foreign pro-
duce are also brought at second-hand from New York, which occupies the same rank in the
Union that Liverpool and London do in Great Britain. There were, in 1830, 5 banks in
this city, including the branch of the United States Bank, with an aggregate capital of
4,975,000 dollars the total dividends for the same year amounted to 317,000 dollars being
at the rate of 6.371 per cent. There were also 2 marine insurance companies, having a
capital of 750,000 dollars.-(Statement by J. H. Goddard, Esq., New York Daily Advertiser,
29th of January, 1831.) The registered, enrolled, and licensed tonnage belonging to
Charleston, in 1831, amounted to 13,008 tons, of which 7,147 tons were employed in the
coasting trade. The total value of the articles imported into South Carolina, in the year
ending 30th of September, 1832, was 1,213,725 dollars; the total value of the exports dur-
ing the same year being 7,752,781 dollars.—(Papers laid before Congress, 15th of Febru-
ary, 1833.) In South Carolina, the dollar is worth 4s. 8d. currency; so that 11. sterling
-14 Os. 83d. currency. Weights and Measures same as in England.-(For further details,
see NEW YORK.)
Port-Charleston harbour is spacious and convenient; but the entrance to it is incommoded by a
range of sand-banks, stretching from Sullivan's Island on the north to Folly Island on the south,
about 21 leagues. There are several channels through these banks, but only three, the middle or
direct channel, the ship channel, and Lawford channel, between the latter and the mainland, that
ought to be attempted by ships of considerable burden. The entrance to the ship channel is in lat. 39°
40'. The depth of water on the shallowest part of the bar at ebb tide is 12 feet, and at flood from 17
to 18 feet; whilst the depth in the middle channel at low water does not exceed 9 feet, and in Lawford
channel it does not exceed 10 or 11 feet. A lighthouse has been erected on the south point of Light-
house Island, bearing from the middle of the bar of the ship channel W. N. W. 1 N. It is 80 feet high,
having a revelving light, alternately brilliant and obscure, the period of obscuration being double that
of brilliancy but on approaching the light, the latter gains upon the former, and within It league it
is never wholly dark. The light may be seen in fine weather at from 3 to 4 leagues off. After getting
into the channel, which is marked by the breakers and buoys on each side, the proper course for a
ship to steer is to bring the lighthouse to bear N. W. by W., and stand direct for it till you get within
the banks, when the course is N. by W. But it is unnecessary to enter into further details on these
points, as all ships entering Charleston harbour are bound, provided they are bailed by a licensed
pilot off the bar, to pay him full pilotage fees whether they accept his services or not. In point of
fact, however, they are always accepted; for the shifting of the sands, the influence of the tides, &c.
render the entrance 80 difficult to those not perfectly familiar with it, that even the packet ships that
sail regularly to and from New York uniformly heave-to without the bar for a pilot.-(See Plan of
Charleston Harbour, reduced from the original survey of Major H. Bache.)
Ships usually moor alongside quays or wharfs, where they are in perfect safety.
Departures from Charleston-The following is
Dollars. cents. L.d
An Account of the Number of Ships, with the Specification of their
Pilotage inwards and outwards sup-
posing the ship to draw 14 ft. water
50
-
10
13
18
Tonnage, and the Countries to which they belonged, that cleared
from Charleston for Foreign Ports during each of the Three Years
Wharfage, per diem
1
0
31-4
ending with 1831 -
The difference in the fees on the clearance at the Custom-house of
a native and a foreign ship, is owing to the former being obliged to
give certain bonds which are not required of the latter.
1829.
1880.
1831.
The greater or smaller tonnage of the ship makes no difference on
Nation.
Vala.
Tons.
Vsis.
Tons.
Vals.
Tons.
any of the above charges, except that of pilotage, which is is pro-
portion to her draft of water, and is the same whether for a foreign
British
55
19,052
51
16,250
91
26,631
or a native ship.
United States
258
61,783
269
64,742
186
43,369
Rates of Commision-The rates of commission or factorage
French
22
5,481
11
2,777
6
1,848
Spanish
5
490
18
1,108
27
2,671
usually charged and allowed at Charleston on transacting different
Bremen
8
811
5
872
3
371
sorts of business, are as follows, viz-
Dutch
1
193
-
-
-
-
For selling domestic produce
2 1-2 per cent.
Danish
1
45
1
125
1
125
For selling foreign merchandise
5 per cent.
For guaranteeing either of these sales, 2 1.2 per cent. additional is
Total
345
87,785
349
85,872
314
75,016
commonly allowed.
For purchasing with funds in hand, or drawing domestic bills for
reimbursement, 2 1-2 per cent.
Shipping Charges.-The charges of a public nature paid by ships
entering this port differ but little in amount on a native and a foreign
For purchasing goods and drawing foreign bills for reimbursement,
ship. On a vessel supposed to be of 300 tons burden, entering, un-
5 per cent. is charged.
loading, taking on board a mixed cargo, and clearing out, they
For the sale of real or personal estate, the regular charge is 5 per
cent. but where the property to be sold is of any considerable
would be as under
value, the parties in general enter into an agreement beforebead,
Dollars. cents. L s. d.
and a much lower rate of commission is allowed.
Fee on entry at the custombouse
2 60
011
114
Surveyor's fee, on a foreign ship
5 00
1
I
11-4
Charges on Rice and Cotton shipped at Charleston...
Ditto.
on a native ship
3 00 0 12 93-4
8 00 0 8 61-2
Cents.
Harbour-master's fee
Port warden's survey, when required
10
00
8 2 812
Drayage, wharfage, be.
Fees on clearance at the customhouse, of
Cooperage
:
1818 per barrel.
183-4 ditto.
$ 50
a native ship
0 14 11 1-4
Ditto of a foreign ship
2 70 011 6 1-4
Total 31 1-4 cents per barral.
* This statement is taken from an American paper, and is believed to be nearly accurate, but It is
not official.
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CHART, CHARTERPARTY.
333
On cotton the charges are-
On round bales or bags,
Cards.
On square bales,
Cents.
Drayage, wharfage, &c.
10 per bale.
Drayage, wharfage, ac.
10 per bale.
Labour, mending bagging, &c.
15
ditto.
Labour, mending bagging, atc.
10
ditto.
Total 23 cents per bale.
Total 20 cents per bale.
For commission, see above.
Three particulars have been principally derived from the answers made by the Consul at Charleston, to the circular quaries; answers
which do great credit to his intelligence and industry.
[The capital of the Charleston banks had been augmented, in 1836, to $6,480,000 the
banking capital of the entire state of South Carolina then amounting to the sum of
$7,936,318.
For information concerning the commerce and shipping of the port of Charleston, the
reader is referred to the articles IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, and SHIPS.-Am. Ed.]
CHART (Ger. Seekarten; Du. Zeekarten; Fr. Cartes marines; It. Carte marine;
Sp. and Port. Cartas de marear) is properly applied to a projection of some part of the sea,
as the term Map is to a portion of the land; wherefore charts are sometimes denominated
" Hydrographical Maps." They are distinguished into several kinds, as plain, globular, and
Mercator charts.
CHARTERPARTY, the name given to a contract in writing, betwoen the owner or
master of a ship and the freighter, by which the former hires or lets the ship, or a part of the
ship, under certain specified conditions, for the conveyance of the goods of the freighter to
some particular place or places. Generally, however, a charterparty is a contract for the use
of the whole ship it is in commercial law, what an indenture is at common law.
No precise form of words, or set of stipulations, is requisite in a charterparty. The forms
subjoined to this article are those most commonly in use; but these may, and, indeed, in
many cases must, be varied, to suit the views and intentions of the parties.
A charterparty is generally under seal but sometimes a printed or written instrument is
signed by the parties, called a memorandum of a charterparty; and this, if a formal char-
terparty be not afterwards executed, is binding. The stamp in either case is the same.
Charterparties, when ships are let or hired at the place of the owners' residence, are gene-
rally executed by them, or some of them; but when the ship is in a foreign port, it must
necessarily be executed by the master, and the merchant or his agent, unless the owners
have an agent in such port, having proper authority to act for them in such matters.
A charterparty made by the master in his name, when he is in a foreign port in the usual
course of the ship's employment, and, therefore, under circumstances which do not afford
evidence of fraud; or when it is made by him at home, under circumstances which afford
evidence of the expressed or implied assent of the owners; is binding upon the latter. But,
according to the law of England, no direct action can be maintained upon the instrument
itself against the owners, unless it be signed and sealed by them, or unless they authorise
the master (or agent, as the case may bc) to enter into the contract, and unless it be dis-
tinctly expressed in the charterparty that he acts only as agent.
When a ship is chartered by several owners to several persons, the charterparty should be
executed by each, or they will not be liable to an action for nonperformance. But if the
charterparty be not expressed to be made between the parties, but runs thus-" This char-
terparty indented witnesseth, that C., master of the ship W., with consent of A. and B., the
owners thereof, lets the ship to freight to E. and F.," and the instrument contains covenants
by E. and F. to and with A. and B.; in this case A. and B. may bring an action upon the
covenants expressed to be made with them but unless they seal the deed, they cannot be
sued upon it. This, therefore, is a very proper form.
The general rule of law adopted in the construction of this, as of other mercantile instru-
ments, is, that the interpretation should be liberal, agreeable to the real intention of the
parties, and conformable to the usage of trade in general, and of the particular trade to which
the contract relates.
The charterparty usually expresses the burden of the ship; and by the famous French
Ordinance of 1681, it is required to do so. According to Molloy (book ii. c. 4. § 8.), if a
ship be freighted by the ton, and found of less burden than expressed, the payment shall be
only for the real burden; and if a ship be freighted for 200 tons, or thereabouts, the addition
of thereabouts (says the same author) is commonly reduced to five tons more or less but
it is now usual to say so many tons register measurement."
The usual covenant, that the ship shall be seaworthy, and in a condition to carry the
goods, binds the owners to prepare and complete every thing to commence and fulfil the
voyage. But though the charterparty contained no such covenant, the owner of the vessel
would be, at common law, bound, as a carrier, to take care that the ship should be fit to per-
form the voyage and even though he should give notice, limiting his responsibility from
losses occasioned to any cargo put on board his vessel, unless such loss should arise from
want of ordinary care, &c., he would be liable if his ship were not seaworthy.-(See SEA-
WORTHY.)
In all maritime transactions, expedition is of the utmost consequence; for even by a short
delay, the object or season of a voyage may be lost; and therefore, if either party be not
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CHARTERPARTY.
ready by the time appointed for the loading of the ship, the other may seek another ship or
cargo, and bring an action to recover the damages he has sustained.
The manner in which the owner is to lade the cargo is, for the most part, regulated by
the custom and usage of the place where he is to lade it, unless there be an express stipula-
tion in the charterparty with respect to it. Generally, however, the owner is bound to
arrange the different articles of the cargo in the most proper manner, and to take the greatest
care of them. If a cask be accidentally staved, in letting it down into the hold of the ship,
the master must answer for the loss.
If the owner covenants to load a full and complete cargo, the master must take as much
on board as he can do with safety, and without injury to the vessel.
The master must not take on board any contraband goods, whereby the ship or cargo may
be liable to forfeiture and detention nor must he take on board any false or colourable
papers but he must take and keep on board all the papers and documents required for the
protection and manifestation of the ship and cargo by the law of the countries from and to
which the ship is bound, by the law of nations in general, or by any treaties between par-
ticular states.
If the master receive goods at the quay or beach, or send his boat for them, his responsi-
bility commences with the receipt in the port of London. With respect to goods intended
to be sent coastwise, it has been held, that the responsibility of the wharfinger ceases by the
delivery of them to the mate of the vessel upon the wharf. As soon as he receives the
goods, the master must provide adequate means for their protection and security for even if
the crew be overpowered by a superior force, and the goods taken while the ship is in a port
or river within the country, the master and owners are liable for the loss, though they may
have committed neither fraud or fault. This may seem a harsh rule; but it is necessary, to
put down attempts at collusive or fraudulent combinations.
The master must, according to the terms of the charterparty, commence the voyage with-
out delay, as soon as the weather is favourable, but not otherwise.
Sometimes it is covenanted and agreed upon between the parties, that the specified num-
ber of days shall be allowed for loading and unloading, and that it shall be lawful for the
freighter to obtain the vessel a further specified time, on payment of a daily sum as demur-
rage.-(See DEMURRAGE.) If the vessel be detained beyond both periods, the freighter is
liable to an action on the contract. The rate of demurrage mentioned in the charterparty
will, in general, be the measure of the damages to be paid; but it is not the absolute or
necessary measure; more or less may be payable, as justice may require, regard being had
to the expense and loss incurred by the owner. When the time is thus expressly ascer-
tained and limited by the terms of the contract, the freighter is liable to an action for damages
if the thing be not done within the time, although this may not be attributable to any fault
or omission on his part for he has engaged that it shall be done.-(Abbett on the Law of
Shipping, part iii. c. 1.)
If there has been any undertaking or warranty to sail with convoy, the vessel must repair
to the place of rendezvous for that purpose and if the master neglect to proceed with con-
voy, he will be answerable for all losses that may arise from want of it.
The owners or master should sail with the ship for the place of her destination with all
due diligence, and by the usual or shortest course, unless in cases of convoy, which the master
must follow as far as possible. Sometimes the course is pointed out in the charterparty. A
deviation from the usual course may be justified for the purpose of repairs, or for avoiding an
enemy or the perils of the seas, as well as by the sickness of the master or mariners, and the
mutiny of the crew.
By an exception in the charterparty, not to be liable for injuries arising from the act of
God and the king's enemies, the owner or master is not responsible for any injury arising
from the sea or the winds, unless it was in his power to prevent it, or it was occasioned by his
imprudence or gross neglect. The question," said Lord Mansfield, in an action brought
by the East India Company, is, whether the owners are to pay for the damage occasioned
by the storm, the act of God and this must be determined by the intention of the parties,
and the nature of the contract. It is a charter of freight. The owners let their ships to
hire, and there never was an idea that they insure the cargo against the perils of the sea.
What are the obligations of the owners which arise out of the fair construction of the char-
terparty ? Why, that they shall be liable for damages incurred by their own fault, or that
of their servants, as from defects in the ship, or improper stowage, &c. If they were liable
for damages occasioned by storms, they would become insurers." The House of Lords
confirmed this doctrine by deciding (20th of May, 1788) that the owner is not liable to make
satisfaction for damage done to goods by storm.
The charterer of a ship may lade it either with his own goods, or, if he have not sufficient,
may take in the goods of other persons, or (if not prevented by a clause to that effect in the
charterparty) he may wholly underlet the ship to another.-(For further details, see Abbott
on the Law of Shipping, part iii. c. 1.; Chitty's Commercial Law, vol. iii. C. 9, &c.; and
the articles BILL OF LADING, FREIGHT, MASTER, &c. in this Dictionary.)
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CHARTERPARTY.
335
Forms of Charterparties.
The following is one of the most usual forms of a charterparty :-
THIS charterparty, indented, made, &c., between A. B., &c., mariner, master, and owner, of the
good ship or vessel, called, &c., now riding at anchor, &c., of the burthen of 200 tons. or thereabouts,
of the one part, and C. D. &c., merchant, of the other part, witnesseth, that the said A. B., for the
consideration hereinafter mentioned, bath granted, and to freight letten, and by these presents doth
grant, and to freight let, unto the said C. D., his executors, administrators, and assigns, the whole
tonnage of the hold, stern-sheets, and half deck of the said ship or vessel, called, &c., from the port
of London, to, &c., in a voyage to be made by the said A. B. with the said ship, in manner hereinafter
mentioned, (that is to say,) to sail with the first fair wind and weather that shall happen after, &c.,
next, from the port of London, with the goods and merchandise of the said C. D., his factors or as-
signs, on board, to, &c., aforesaid, (the act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other
dangers and accidents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of whatever nature and kind, in so far as
ships are liable thereto, during the said voyage always excepted,) and there unlade and make dis-
charge of the said goods and merchandises; and also shall there take into and on board the said ship
again, the goods and merchandises of the said C. D., his factors or assigns, and shall then return to
the port of London with the said goods, in the space of, &c. limited for the end of the said voyage.
In consideration whereof, the said C. D., for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth cove-
nant, promise, and grant, to and with the said A. B., his executors, administrators, or assigns, by
these presents, that the said C. D., his executors, administrators, factors, or assigns, shall and will
well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said A. B., his executors, administrators, or assigns,
for the freight of the said ship and goods, the sum of, &c. (or so much per ton,) within twenty-one
days after the said ship arrived, and goods returned, and discharged at the port of London aforesaid,
for the end of the said voyage and also shall and will pay for demurrage, (if any shall be by default
of him, the said C. D., his factors or assigns,) the sum of, &c. per day, daily, and every day, as the
same shall grow due. And the said A. B., for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth cove-
mant, promise, and grant, to and with the said C. D., his executors, administrators, and assigns, by
these presents, that the said ship or vessel shall be ready at the port of London to take in goods by
the said C. D., on or before, &c. next coming. And the said C. D., for himself, his, &c., doth covenant
and promise, within ten days after the said ship or vessel shall be thus ready, to have his goods on
board the said ship, to proceed on in the said voyage; and also, on arrival of the said ship at, &c.,
within, &c. days to have his goods ready to put on board the said ship, to return on the said voyage.
And the said A. B., for himself, his executors, and administrators, doth further covenant and grant, to
and with the said C. D., his executors, administrators, and assigns, that the said ship or vessel now
is, and at all times during the voyage shall be, to the best endeavours of him, the said A. B., his ex-
ecutors and administrators, and at his and their own proper costs and charges, in all things made and
kept stiff, staunch, strong, well apparelled, furnished, and provided, as well with men and mariners
sufficient and able to sail, guide, and govern the said ship, as with all manner of rigging, boats, tackle,
and apparel, furniture, provision, and appurtenances, fitting and necessary for the said men and
mariners, and for the said ship during the voyage aforesaid. In witness, &c.
The great variety of circumstances under which different voyages are made produce a
corresponding diversity in charterparties. The charterparty of which the following is a copy
affords a good example of the more complex species of these instruments.
It is this day mutually agreed between Mr. T. B. Rann, owner of the good ship or vessel called the
Mermaid, William Henniker, master, of the measurement of 472 tons, or thereabouts, now in the
river Thames, and Mr. David Thomson, of the firm of Messrs. Thomson, Passmore, and Thomson, of
auritius, merchants, that the said ship, being tight, staunch, and strong, and every way fitted for
the voyage, shall with all convenient speed, sail and proceed to Calcutta, with leave to take convicts
out to New South Wales, and from thence troops, merchandise, or passengers, to the aforementioned
port of Calcutta, with leave to touch at Madras on her way thither, if required on owner's account,
or so near thereunto as she may safely get, and there load from the factors of the said merchants at
Calcutta, a full and complete cargo of rice, or any other lawful goods which the charterer engages to
ship, and proceed with the same to Port Louis, in the Isle of France, and deliver the same free of
freight; afterwards load there a full and complete cargo of sugar in bags, or other lawful merchandise
of as favourable tonnage, which the charterer engages to ship, not exceeding what she can reasonably
stow and carry over and above her tackle, apparel, provisions, and furniture; and, being SO loaded,
shall therewith proceed to London, or 80 near thereunto as whe may safely get, and deliver the same
on being paid freight, viz. for such quantity of sugar equal to the actual quantity of rice, or other
goods, that may be shipped at Calcutta, at the rate of 51. 12s. 6d. per ton of 20 cwt. nett, shipped there
and should the vessel deliver more nett sugar in the port of London than the quantity of rice, or other
goods, actually shipped in Calcutta, the owners to be paid on the excess at the regular current rate of
freight for sugar which other vessels, loading at the same time at Port Louis, receive; the tonnage of
the rice, wheat, or grain, to be reckoned at 20 cwt. nett per ton; that of other goods at the usual
measurement (the act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other dangers and accidents
of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of whatever nature and kind soever, during the said voyage,
always excepted). The freight to be paid on unloading and right delivery of the cargo, as is custom-
ary in the port of London. Ninety running days are to be allowed the said merchant (If the ship is
not sooner despatched) for loading the shipat Calcutta, discharging the cargo at Port Louis, and load-
ing the cargo there; the said lay days to commence on the vessel being ready to receive cargo, the
master giving notice in writing of the same at Calcutta, and to continue during the loading there
and from the time of her arrival at Port Louis, and being ready to discharge, till the final loading at
that port, and to be discharged in the port of London with all possible despatch; and 20 days on de-
murrage over and above the said laying days, at 12/. per day. Penalty for non-performance of this
agreement, 4,000% The cargo to be brought to and taken from alongwide at the expense and risk of
the merchants. The necessary cash for the disbursements of the vessel at Calcutta, not exceeding
350L., to be advanced by the charterer's agents; they taking the master's drafts on the owner for the
same, at the regular current rate of exchange, and at three months' sight; and if the said bills be not
regularly accepted and paid when due, the same to be deducted from the freight payable by this char-
terparty. The vessel to be disbursed at Port Louis by the chartering agents ; sum not to exceed 3001.,
free of commission and the amount to be deducted from the freight at the final settlement at the
port of London. Captain not to ship goods without consent. In the event of the ship being prevented,
by damage or any other cause, reaching the Mauritius on or before the 1st day of January, 1831, the
charterer or his agents shall be at liberty to employ the vessel for one or two voyages to Calcutta, at
the rate of 21. per ton of rice, or other goods, delivered at Mauritius. Fifty running days, to load and
discharge, to be allowed on each voyage it being understood that the charterer or his agents shall
load the ship, as before agreed, either at the end of the first or second voyage, as the case may be.
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CHAY ROOT-CHEESE.
The freight on the intermediate voyages (if any) to be paid on delivery of the cargo, in cash, or by
bills on London at usance, at the option of the master. The vessel to be addressed, both at Calcutta
and Isle of France, to the agents of the charterer. In witness whereof, the said parties have here-
unto set their hands and seals, at London, the 2d day of December, 1829.
Signed, sealed, and delivered,
(Signed) THOS. B. RANN, (L.S.)
in the presence of
D. THOMSON, (L.S.)
(Signed)
E. FORSYTH.
Stamp Duty on Charterparties-The statute 55 Geo. 3. c. 184. enacts, that any char-
terparty or any agreement or contract for the charter of any ship or vessel, or any memo-
randum, letter, or other writing, between the captain, master, or owner of any ship or vessel,
and any other person, for or relating to the freight or conveyance of any money, goods, or
effects, on board of such ship or vessel, shall be charged with a duty of 1/. 15s.
And when the same, together with any schedule, receipt, or other matter, put or indorsed
thereon, or annexed thereto, shall contain 2,160 words or upwards, then for every entire
quantity of 1,080 words contained therein over and above the first 1,080 words, there shall
be charged a further progressive duty of 1L 5s.
CHAY OR CHOY ROOT, the roots of a small biennial, rarely triennial, plant, growing
spontaneously in light, dry, sandy ground near the sea; and extensively cultivated, especially
on the coast of Coromandel. The cultivated roots are very slender, and from 1 to 2 feet in
length with a few lateral fibres; but the wild are shorter, and supposed to yield one fourth
part more of colouring matter, and of a better quality. The roots are employed to dye the
durable reds for which the Indian cotton yarn and chintzes have been long famous, and
which can only be equalled by the Turkey red.
Chay root forms a considerable article of export from Ceylon. Only a particular set of
people are allowed to dig it. It is all bought up by government, who pay the diggers a
fixed price of 75 or 80 rix-dollars a candy, and sell it for exportation at about 175 rix-dol-
lars.-(Bertolacci's Ceylon, p. 270.)
This root has been imported into Europe, but with no success. Dr. Bancroft suspects it
may be injured by the long voyage but he adds, that it can produce no effect which may
not be more cheaply produced from madder. It is a very bulky article, and is consequently
burdened with a very heavy (Permanent Colours, vol. ii. p. 282-303.)
CHECKS, CHEQUES, OR DRAFTS, are orders addressed to some person, generally a
banker, directing him to pay the sum specified in the check to the person named in it, or
bearer on demand. The following is the usual form :-
London, 30th October, 1833.
£100.
Pay Mr. A. B. or bearer, One Hundred Pounds, on
account of
C. D.
Messrs. Jones, Loyd, and Co.
In point of form, checks nearly resemble bills of exchange, except that they are uniformly
payable to bearer, and should be drawn upon a regular banker, though this latter point is
not essential. They are assignable by delivery only and are payable instantly on present-
ment, without any days of grace being allowed. But by the custom of London, a banker has
until 5 of the afternoon of the day on which a check is presented for payment to return it;
80 that where a check was returned before 5, with a memorandum of " cancelled by mis-
take" written under it, it was held a refusal to pay. If a check upon a banker be lodged
with another banker, a presentment by the latter at the clearing-house is sufficient. Checks
are usually taken conditionally as cash; for unless an express stipulation be made to the
contrary, if they be presented in due time and not paid, they are not a payment. It is diffi-
cult to define what is the due or reasonable time within which checks, notes, or bills, should
be presented. A man, as Lord Ellenborough has observed, is not obliged to neglect all other
business that he may immediately present them nevertheless it is the safest plan to present
them without any avoidable delay; and if received in the place where payable, they had
better be presented that day, or next at furthest. If a check be not presented within a rea-
sonable time, the party on whom it is drawn will be justified in refusing to pay it; and the
holder will lose his recourse upon the drawer. Checks drawn on bankers residing 10 miles
or more from the place where they are drawn, must be on a stamp of the same value as a
bill of exchange of an equal amount; but checks drawn on a banker, acting as such within
10 miles of the place where they are issued, may be on plain paper.-(Chitty on Commer-
cial Law, vol. iii. p. 591.; Woolrych on Commercial Law, c. 3. § 2., &c.)
CHEESE, (Ger. Käse; Du. Kaas; Fr. Fromage; It. Fromaggio, Cucio; Sp. Queso;
Rus. Sur; Lat. Caseus), the curd of the milk separated from the whey, and pressed or
hardened. It has been used as an article of food from the earliest ages vast quantities of it
are consumed in Great Britain, and in most countries in Europe.
There is an immense variety of cheeses, the qualities of which depend principally on the
richness and flavour of the milk of which they are made, and partly on the way in which
they are prepared. England is particularly celebrated for the abundance and excellence of
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CHEESE.
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its cheese. Cheshire and Gloucestershire are, in this respect, two of its most famous coun-
ties; the cheese produced in the former has been estimated at 11,500 tons a year. There
are two kinds of Gloucester cheese, double and single; the first is made of the milk and
cream, the latter of the milk deprived of about half the cream. They are of various sizes,
from 20 to 70 and even 80 lbs.; but they generally run from 50 to 60 lbs. A great deal of
cheese is also made in that part of Shropshire which borders upon Cheshire, and in North
Wiltshire. The former goes under the name of Cheshire cheese: the latter was, till lately,
called Gloucestershire cheese; now it receives its appellation from the county where it is
made. A strong cheese, somewhat resembling Parmesan, is made at Chedder in Somerset-
shire. The celebrated rich cheese, called Stilton, is made in Leicestershire, principally in
the villages round Melton Mowbray. It is not reckoned sufficiently mellow for cutting un-
less it be two years old; and is not saleable unless it be decayed, blue, and moist. A rich
cheese is also made at Leigh, in Lancashire. The other cheeses made in England, which
have acquired a peculiar name, either from the quantity made, or from the quality, are the
Derbyshire, Cottenham, and Southam cheeses. The two last are new milk cheeses, of a
peculiarly fine flavour: the places where they are made are in Cambridgeshire. Bath and
York are remarkable for their cream cheeses. The county of Warwick, and Banbury
in Oxfordshire, are also remarkable for cheeses; the former for the quantity made in it,
about 20,000 tons being annually sent to London, besides a very large supply to Birming-
ham. Banbury cheese is distinguished for its richness.
Scotland is not celebrated for its cheese: the best is called Dunlop cheese, from a parish
in Ayrshire, where it was originally manufactured. Dunlop cheeses generally weigh from
20 to 60 lbs. each; and are, in all respects, similar to those of Derbyshire, except that the
latter are smaller.
Turmeric, marigolds, hawthorn buds, &c. were formerly used to heighten and improve
the colour of cheese; but annotto (which see) is decidedly the best ingredient that can be
employed for that purpose, and is at present used in Cheshire and Gloucestershire to the
exclusion of every thing else. An ounce of genuine annotto will colour a hundred weight
of cheese.
Large quantities of very good cheese are produced in Holland. In the manufacture of
Gouda cheese, which is reckoned the best made in Holland, muriatic acid is used in curd-
ling the milk instead of rennet. This renders it pungent, and preserves it from mites.
Parmesan cheese, so called from Parma in Italy, where it is manufactured, is merely a
skim-milk cheese, which owes its rich flavour to the fine herbage of the meadows along the
Po, where the cows feed. The best Parmesan cheese is kept for 3 or 4 years, and none is
ever carried to market till it be at least 6 months old.
Swiss cheese, particularly that denominated Gruyère, from the bailiwick of that name in
the canton of Fribourg, is very celebrated. Gruyère cheeses are made of skimmed or par-
tially skimmed milk, and are flavoured with herbs. They generally weigh from 40 to 60
lbs. each, and are packed for exportation in casks containing 10 cheeses each.
According to Mr. Marshall the average yearly produce of cheese from the milk of a cow
in England is from 3 to 4 cwt., or more than double the weight of the butter.
For further details, see Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture; art. Dairy in Supp. to Ency.
Brit ; Stevenson's art. on England, in the Edinburgh Ency., &c.
The imports of cheese, in 1831, amounted to 134,459 cwt., almost the whole of which
came from the Netherlands. The quantity re-exported was but inconsiderable. The duty
of 10s. 6d. a cwt. on imported cheese produced, in 1823, 69,049/. 2s. 8d.; showing that the
quantity entered for home consumption amounted to about 132,000 cwt.
The contract price of the cheese furnished to Greenwich Hospital, in the undermentioned
years, has been as follows
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb.
Years.
Prices per lb.
d.
d.
d.
d.
1730
31
1800
61/
1814
8%
1824
41
1740
3½
1805
74
1815
8
1825
51
1750
31
1806
74
1816
61
1826
6f
1760
31
1807
71
1817
51
1827
5+
1770
31
1808
77
1818
6
1828
51
1775
3½
1809
8
1819
8
1829
5
1780
31
1810
81
1820
7
1830
4
1785
34
1811
81
1821
6
1831
41
1790
4
1812
81
1822
5
1832
32
1795
54
1813
8%
1823
4
See art. PRICES.
It is not possible to form any estimate of the value of the cheese annually consumed in
Great Britain. Dr. Colquhoun states that the butter and cheese consumed in the United
Kingdom must be worth at least 5,000,000L. a year, exclusive of the milk of which they are
made but he assigns no grounds for this statement which we are inclined to think is very
greatly exaggerated.-(See BUTTER.)
[The quality of the cheese made in the United States has been gradually improving, and
VoL. L-2 F
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CHERRIES-CHOCOLATE.
is in such estimation that while, on an average of four years, the value of the foreign article
consumed in the United States has been only $12,800, the annual amount of American
cheese exported to foreign countries, chiefly to the West Indies and the British North
American colonies, has been as much as $650,000.-Am. Ed.]
CHERRIES, the fruit of a tree (Prunus Cerasus Lin.) too well known to require any
description. They derive their name from Cerasus, a city of Pontus, whence the tree was
brought by Lucullus, about half a century before the Christian era. It soon after spread
into most parts of Europe, and is supposed to have been carried to Britain about a century
after it came to Rome. The principal supplies of cherries for the London market are brought
from the cherry orchards in Kent and Herts. The wood of the cherry is close, takes a fine
polish, and is not liable to split-(Rees's Cyclopædia; Loudon's Ency. of Agric., &c.)
CHESNUT, a forest tree (Fagus castanea) growing abundantly in most parts of the
southern countries of Europe. It was at one time very common in England; and is still
frequently met with. It is long lived grows to an immense size; and is very ornamental.
The wood is hard and compact; when young, it is tough and flexible; but when old, it is
brittle, and often shaky. The chesnut contains only a very small proportion of sap-wood;
and hence the wood of young trees is found to be superior to even the oak in durability. It
is doubtful whether the roof of Westminster Hall be of oak or chesnut; the two woods
being, when old, very like each other, and having been formerly used almost indifferently in
the construction of buildings. A good deal of chesnut has been planted within the last
thirty (Tredgold's Principles of Carpentry.)
CHESNUTS (Fr. Châtaignes; Ger. Kastanien; It. Castagne Sp. Castanas), the
fruit of the cheanut tree. Chesnuts grows in this country, but are very inferior both in size
and perfection to those imported from the south of Europe. In some parts of the Conti-
nent they are frequently used as a substitute for bread, and form a large proportion of the
food of the inhabitants. This is particularly the case in the Limousin, in Corsica, and in
several districts of Spain and Italy. The inhabitants of the Limousin are said to prepare
them in a peculiar manner, which deprives them of their astringent and bitter properties.
Chesnuts imported from Spain and Italy are frequently kiln-dried, to prevent their germina-
tion on the passage. In this country they are principally served up roasted at desserts.
During the 3 years ending with 1831, the entries of foreign chesnuts for home consumption averaged
20,948 bushels a year. The duty of 2s. a bushel produced, in 1832, 2,321L. 12s. 10d. nett, allowing that
the consumption must have amounted to 23,216 bushels.
CHETWERT, a measure of corn in Russia, equal to 51/20 Winchester bushels, so that
100 chetwerts - 74h Winchester quarters.
CHILLIES (Hind. Gas Murridge; Javan. Lombok; Malay, Chabai), the pods or fruit
of the Capsicum annuum, or Guinea pepper. This is one of the hardiest and most pro-
ductive plants found in tropical climates; growing luxuriantly in almost all dry soils, how-
ever indifferent. In the wild state, the pods are small, and so pungent and acrid as to
blister the tongue; but when raised on rich soils, they are large, and comparatively mild.
The plant is said to be a native of both Indies. It is very extensively cultivated and, with
the exception of salt, is far more extensively used than any other condiment. In tropical
countries, the pods are frequently made use of when unripe and green when ripe, they be-
come of a deep red colour; and in this state they are exported dry and entire, or reduced to
powder-that is, to Cayenne pepper which, when genuine, consists wholly of the ground
pods of the capsicum.-See PEPPER.)
CHINA ROOT (Ger. Chinawurzel; Du. Chinawortel; Fr. Squine, Esquine, Sp.
Raiz China, Cocolmeca; Arab. Rhubsinie), the root of a species of climber (Smilax China
Lin.). It comes from the West Indies as well as from China; but that from the latter is
best. It is oblong and thick-joined, full of irregular knobs, of a reddish brown colour on the
outside, and a pale red within while new, it will snap short, and look glittering within; if
old, the dust flies from it when broken, and it is light and kecky. It should be chosen large,
sound, heavy, and of a pale red colour internally. It is of no value if the worm be in it.
-(Milburn's Orient. Commerce.)
CHINA WARE. See PORCELAIN.
CHINTS OR CHINTZ (Fr. Indiennes; Ger. Zitze; It. Indiane; Rus. Siz; Sp. Chites,
Zaraza), fine printed calico, first manufactured in the East Indies, but now largely manu-
factured in Europe, particularly in Great Britain.-(See CALICO.)
CHIP HATS. See HATS.
CHOCOLATE (Du. Chocolade; Fr. Chocolat; Ger. Schokolate; It. Cioccolata; Por.
Chocolate; Rus. Shokolad; Sp. Chocolate), a kind of cake or confection, prepared princi-
pally from the cacao nut. The nuts are first roasted like coffee; and being next reduced to
powder and mixed with water, the paste is put into tin moulds of the desired shape, in
which it speedily hardens, being, when taken out and wrapped in paper, fit for the market.
Besides cacao nut, the Spaniards use vanilla, sugar, maize, &c. in the preparation of choco-
late. This article which is celebrated for its nutritious qualities, is but little used in Great
Britain; a circumstance that seems to be principally owing to the very heavy duties with
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CHRISTIANIA.
339
which it has been loaded. The importation of chocolate used formerly to be prohibited;
and though this prohibition no longer exists, yet, as the duties on it are proportionally much
heavier than upon cacao, we manufacture at home almost all that is required for our con-
sumption. British chocolate is said to be very largely adulterated with flour and Castile
soap.-(See Edward's West Indies, vol. ii. p. 364. ed. 1819.; and the art. CACAO.) The
quantity of chocolate brought from abroad, entered for home consumption in the United
Kingdom, in 1830, only amounted to 1,324₫ lbs., producing 160L of revenue.
"Alike easy to convey and employ as an aliment, it contains a large quantity of nutritive
and stimulating particles in a small compass. It has been said with truth, that in Africa,
rice, gum, and shea butter, assist man in crossing the deserts. In the New World, chocolate
and the flour of maize have rendered accessible to him the table lands of the Andes, and vast
uninhabited forests."-(Humboldt's Pers. Nar. vol. iv. p. 234. Eng. trans.)
CHRISTIANIA, the capital of Norway, situated at the bottom of a fiord or gulf, in the
province of Aggerhuus; in lat. 59° 55¥ N., lon. 10° 484' E. Population, according to the
Weimar Almanack for 1832, about 20,000. Christiania is about 60 miles from the open
sea the gulf is in some places very narrow, and its navigation somewhat difficult; but it is
sufficiently deep for the largest vessels, having 6 or 7 fathoms water close to the quay. It is
compulsory on all ships to take a pilot on board at the mouth of the bay. The trade of
the town is considerable. The principal exports are timber and deals; glass, particularly
bottles linseed and oil-cake, iron and nails, smalts, bones, oak bark, &c. Salted and pickled
fish, one of the staple products of Norway, is principally exported from Bergen. The deals
of Christiania have always been in the highest estimation a consequence of the excellence
of the timber, and of the care with which the sap-wood and other defective parts is cut
away and not, as Mr. Coxe seems to have supposed, of the skilful sawing of the plank.
The saw mills were formerly licensed to cut a certain quantity only, and the proprietors were
bound to make oath that it was not exceeded.-(Coxe's Travels in the North of Europe, 5th
edit. vol. iv. p. 28.) This absurd regulation no longer exists. There are far fewer restric-
tions on industry and commerce in Norway than in Sweden. In the former, British manu-
factured goods are admitted on moderate duties, and are very generally made use of. The
principal articles of import are corn, colonial produce woollen, linen, and cotton goods
butter, wine, brandy, &c.
Trade of Norway-The following tables give a comprehensive view of the foreign trade
of Norway.
Imports.-An Account of the Quantities of the principal Articles imported into Norway, during each
of the Three Years ending with 1831.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Articles.
Norwegian
English Weight
Norwegian Weight
English Weight
Norwegian Weight
English Weight
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
Cotton goods
132,629 lbs.
6,499 tons.
180,563 lbs.
88-47 tons
174,385 lbs.
85.45 tons
French brandy
551,397 pot.
140,589 gals.
809,630 pot.
206,431 gals.
314,184 pot.
80,107 gals.
Coffee
-
1,547,575 lbs.
758.31 tons
1,576,130 lbs.
772.30 tons
1,814,185 lbs.
888.95 tons
Vinegar
-
104,430 pot.
26,626 gals.
119,826 pot.
30,552 gals.
73,956 pot.
18,856 gals.
Hemp
-
2,209,653 lbs.
1,082-73tons
1,369,549 lbs.
671:08 tons
1,416,248 lbs
693.96 tons
Hops
-
96,984
47.52
75,164
36.83
66,807
32.73
Flax
-
763,973
374.35
651,802
319:38
462,552
226.65 tons
Grain, wheat
13,766tond.
6,700
qrs.
15,675 tond.
7,625 qrs.
11,962 tond.
5,822 qrs.
Rye
232,603
113,219
252,405
122,858
305,306
148,607
Barley
300,644
146,338
304,019
147,981
330,730
160,982
Oats
15,179
7,384
10,330
5,028
32,045
15,597
Malt
42,530
20,701
56,240
27,374
36,277
17.657
Wheaten flour
573,087 lbs.
280.81 tons
682,071 lbs.
334:21 tons
688,640 lbs.
337.43 tons
Rye flour
-
27,395
13.42
90,525
44:35
146,464
71.76
Barley flour
146,815
71.94
165,616
76.25
65,696
32:18 tons
Peas
-
11,202tond.
5,452
qrs.
8,264 tond.
4,022 qrs.
9,330 tond.
4,541.36 qrs.
OR
-
203,423 lbs.
99-68tons
223,144 lbs.
109:34 tons
254,623 lbs.
124.76 tons
Cheese
-
238,438
116.83
222,363
108:96
215,885
105.78
Rice
-
273,093
133:81
341,110
167.14
255,917
125:40
Raisins
-
102,271
50:11
103,836
50.88
117,955
57.80
Rum
-
12,142 pot.
3,095
gals.
17,386 pot.
4,432 gals.
13,815 pot.
3,522 gals.
Salt
-
284,375 tond.
138,419
qrs.
283,600 tond.
-
294,799 tond.
3,580 pcs.
2,013 pieces
Salltioth
-
-
-
&49,400 lbs.
an
21.02 tons
235 pees. &
78.55 tons
160,316 lbs.
Silks
-
4,270 lbs.
2.09tons
4,883 lbs.
2.39
4,902 lbs.
2:40
Syrup
720,738
353-16
807,635
395-74
719,631
352.62
133 chald.
22 chald. &
Grindstones
-
-
}
-
-
No return.
& 5,587 pcs.
1,337 pieces
Butter
-
417,824 lbs.
204-73 tons
365,808 lbs.
179.24 tons
391,818 lbs.
191.99 tons
Coals
-
39,506 tond.
4.807-48 chald.
27,001 tond
3,285.75 chal.
21,233 tond.
2,583.83 chal.
Sugar
:
2,195,752 lbs.
1,075.91 tons
2,342,225
1,147.69 tons
2,421,816 lbs.
1,186.69 to::8
Soap, green
126,219
61-85;
145,774
71:43
137,708
67.48
Soap, white
100,456
49-22|
123,023
60:28
132,959
65-15
Tea
-
41,435
20:30
45,560
22:32
44,247
21.68
Tobacco
-
1,405,952
688.91
2,209,469
1,082-63
1,083,193
530.76
Woollens
-
180,926
88.65
186,058
91:17
193,900
95.01
Wine
-
474,218 pot.
120,911 galls.
638,794 pot.
162,873 gals.
189,001 pot.
48,313gris.
1826.
1827.
1828.
Linen cloth
205,291 lbs.
100.59 tons
159,226 lbs.
78.02 tons
263,325 lbs.
129.02 tons
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CHRISTIANIA.
Exports.-An Account of the Quantities of the principal Articles exported from Norway during each
of the Three Years ending with 1831.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Articles.
Norwegian Weight
English Weight
Norwegian Weight
English Weight
Norwegian Weight
English Weight
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
and Measure.
and deasure.
and Measure.
Anchovies,
(pickled
7,390 kegs
-
6,172 kegs
-
9,413 kegs
sprats)
Oak bark
-
-
-
-
6,876 sk. lbs.
1,078-15tons
12,320 sk. lbs.
1,931.77 tons
Bones
-
820,916 lbs.
402.25 tons
1,097,755
537.89
955,742
468.31
Bottles
-
161,520 bot.
-
144,028 bot.
-
344,987 bot.
Smalts
-
208,418 lbs.
102-12
257,340 lbs.
126.09
183,700 lbs.
90-01
Chromate of
578,658
283.53
538,608
263.91
594,506
201:30
lead
-
Lobsters
1,034,905 lobs.
-
-
1,196,904 lob.
-
872,944 lob.
Dried fish
-
44,417,712 lbs.
21,764.67
43,447,887 lbs.
21,289-46
25,448,895 lbs.
12,469.95
Salted fish
397,846 tnd.
38,039
bar.
313,993 tnd.
300,218 bar.
469,659 tnd.
449,051-15bar.
Horns
-
26,198 lbs.
12-83 tons
52,391 lbs.
25.67 tns.
39,858 lbs.
19-41 tons
Iron
-
6,458,192
3,164.51
6,123,037
3,000-28
5,135,677
2,516.48
Rags
-
6,686
3.27
14,238
6.97
8,640
4-23
Copper
-
610,225
299
751,825
368.39
524,894
257.20
Caraway seed
1,605
0.78645
1,518
0.74382
1,535
0.75215
Fish roes -
17,029 tnd.
16,282
bar.
22,677 tnd.
21,682 bar.
17,011 tnd.
16,264bar.
Buck & goat
84,101 lbs.
41-20 tons
113,847 lbs.
55.78 tns.
114,951 lbs.
56:32 tons
skins
Rock moss
357,515
175.17
109,803
53-80 tns.
91,812
44-98
Tar
-
1,257 tnd.
1,201
bar
1,017 tnd.
972 bar.
604 tnd.
577.50 bar.
Train oil
-
21,806
20,849
20,476
19,577
18,708
17,887
Wood, tim-
183,802
-
194,615
-
172,979
ber & deals s
woodlester
360,251.92 tons
woodlester
381,445'4tms.
woodlester
339,038-84tns.
Zaffre
33,860 lbs.
16-59 tons
no return
-
-
610 lbs.
0-29,890
Trade with England.-According to the official accounts rendered by the British Custom-house,
there were imported from Norway, in 1831, 48,151 cwt. oak bark, 377 tons iron, 18,219 goat skins,
206,840 lbs. smalts, 118 cwt. tallow, 8,439 great hundreds battens and batten ends, 10,457 great do. deal
and deal ends, 4,826 masts, &c. under 12 inches diameter, and 23,527 loads of timber, exclusive of
about 1,000,000 lobsters, of which no account is kept. During the same year we exported to Norway
535, lbs. coffee, 7,765 lbs. indigo, 8,189 1bs. pepper, 4,981 lbs. pimento, 4,585 gallons rum, 3,169 cwt.
muscovado sugar, 366,024 lbs. tobacco, 83,566 lbs. cotton wool, 3,774 tons coal, 434,744 yards cotton
cloth, earthenware of the value of 3,4021., cuttery of the value of 2,6481., 92,150 bushels of salt, soap
and candles of the value of 2,9381., woollen manufactures of the value of about 13,000l., and some
minor articles - (Part. Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)
Nothing would do so much to extend our trade with Norway, and not with it only, but with the
whole north of Europe, as the repeal of the discriminating duty on Norwegian and Baltic timber.
And, as this measure would be, in other respects, highly advantageous, it is to be hoped that its adop-
tion may not be long deferred.
Customs Duties.-As previously remarked, these, when compared with the Swedish duties-(see
GOTTENBURGH), are moderate. They amounted, in 1831, inwards, to 161,8401. 5s. 3d. outwards, to
47,3811. 8s. 3d. making together, 209,2214. 13s. 6d. To these have to be added 27,4361. 19s. 5d. received
on account of tonnage duties, lights, &c.
Customs Regulations-Within 24 hours after a vessel has got to
be bonded for a certain period, in order to facilitate the payment of
her mooriage, the master should deliver to the collector his general
the duties.
.
report as to ship and cargn, or present the requisite documents for
The former is called " transit oping," that is, depositing or
having such report made out with the assistance of a ship broker,
warehousing goods for exportation, subject to transit duties only.
whose services masters of foreign vessels cannot entirely dispense
The latter is called 44 credit oping," that is, warehousing OF bonding
with. On making this general report, the measuring bill is to be ex-
on credit.
hibited, and payment of the tonnage and other dues inward is to be
1. Transit Oplag.-Under this system, goods from abroad may be
made. If the ship have not been previously measured in Norway,
warehoused for exportation free of import duty, paying OR exports-
and is, consequently, not provided withs Norwegian measuring bill,
tion a transit duty, which, in most cases, is 1-10th of what they
she is to be measured, to ascertain her burden in Norwegian com-
would pay if entered for home consumption. If the goods are
mercial lasts, for the calculation of the tonnage duty.
deposited in the Custom-house warehouses, they lie free of rest or
The general report having been made, the Custom-house officers
dues during 14 days, and if in private warehouses, under the bey
in charge of the vessel are furnished with the books for delivery, and
and seal of the customs, during 6 months. If they remain long, viz.
the discharge of the cargo commences under their inspection and
beyond 14 days in the one, and beyond 6 months in the other
the consignees may make their special reports under their responsi-
case, they pay rent or dues equal to 1-8th of the transit duty per
bility and signature. If they are without precise information as to
month which, after the lapse of 3 months, as regards goods in the
the contents of any or all of the packages or bales to their address,
Custom-home warehouses, is increased to 1-4th of the transit duty
these bales or packages may, at their request, be opened in the pre-
per month.
sence of the officers before report is made. If a consignee omits
2 Credit Oplag.-This system allows most goods imported from
availing himself of this permission, his pretending thereafter that
abroad to be placed in the owner's or importer's own warehouses,
more or other goods than be had ordered, or been advised of, have
under his own lock, free of duty, for a given time, on his reporting
been sent to his address, will not be attended to. In the reports or
to the customs, every 3 months, how much he has sold, otherwise
entries is to be stated, whether it is intended to pay the duties forth-
consumed, or exported, and then paying the duty on such amount;
with, whether the goods are intended for exportation, or whether
the Custom-house officers, who are bound quarterly to examine
they are to be landed.
the goods, convincing themselves, by ocular demonstration, that
Prior to commencing loading outwards, the master is to give ver-
no more is missing than the quantity reported to have been taken
bal notice of bis intention at the Custom-house. If he have no Nor-
away.
wegian measuring bill, the vessel is to be measured. This being
This credit on the duties in no case to exceed 2 years from the time
done, the shipper or shippers of the outward bound cargo are each
the goods were imported.
of them to make their special entries as to the quality, weight, and
By way of security for payment of the duties on which the credit
measure of the goods they mean to load. A copy of such entries is
is granted, government reserve to themselves-
to be deposited at the Custom-bouse, and the loading commences
I. Priority of mortgage on all the goods in question.
under the control of the officers. This applies to all mixed cargoes;
2. Priority, or first right, in the property, goods, and effects of
but if the outward bound cargo consist exclusively of wood, the ship-
every description belonging to the trader availing himself of this
per or shippers are only to notify that they intend Inading wood,
credit, in as far M such property is not previously legally mort
without specifying quantity, measure, &c., as the export duty on
gaged.
wood is charged according to the burden of the vessel. When the
3. Liberty for the Custom-house officers, when and as often as
master cleare outwards, he produces the proper documents for show.
they shall deem it expedient, between the stated quarterly impect
ing the burden of his veasel, and to what port she belongs, and he is
tino, to look over the stock on hand, with a view of acceptaing
then, on proper application being made, provided with a pilot, who
whether there remains sufficient value for the duties; and if they ⑉
takes his vessel to sea.
reason to doubt this, full right, In default of other satisfactory secu-
Warehousing.-In Norway, goods brought from abroad may be
rity being offered, to seize the stock, and to sell the whole, or .
bonded or warehoused, with a view to their being again exported at
much as shall cover the duties.
some future period. Goods entered for home consumption may also
4. In case of death or failure of the party, BD equal right to all
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CHRISTIANIA.
341
Sorthwith the whole of his stock at public anction, and to retain M
9. d.
much of the proceeds as shall cover the duties; and in case of de-
On a quarter of wheat, for the first 3
Reiency, an established claim for the remainder on the estate of the
months
0 0-5538 per month.
deceased or bankrupt, as the case may be.
Afterwards
0 1-1076
-
in charging he duties, no allowance is made for waste or damage
On a ton of raw sugar, for the first
in the warehouses.
months
0 11-5384 per month.
The warehouse rent charged on goods bended under the transit
Afterwards
1 11-0769
-
system, in the Custom-house warehouses, is as follows
Money, Weights, and Measures.-In Norway there are no gold coins. The principal silver coin,
called a species dollar, is divided into 120 skillings. There are, also, half species, or 60 skilling pieces ;
1-5th species, or 24 skilling pieces; 1-15th species, or 8 skilling pieces ; and what is denominated
skillemynt, or small change-that is, 4 and 2 skilling pieces. The species dollar contains 390.58 Eng.
grs. pure silver, and is, consequently, worth 4s. 6}d. sterling, the par of exchange being 4 species dol-
lars 42 6-17 skill. = 11. All Norway coins, except the small change, are alloyed with 1-7th copper, so
that the species dollar weighs 448.38 Eng. grs., and its divisions in proportion. Small change coins
are alloyed with three times their weight of copper. There are 1 and 2 skilling pieces of copper.
Weights and Measures, same as at COPENHAGEN; which see.
Table showing the Number of Ships, their Destination, and Tonnage in Norwegian Lasts and
English Tons, that cleared out from Christiania; and also the Number of Ships, their Destination,
and Tonnage, that cleared out from Norwegian Ports generally, Christiania included; during each
of the Three Years ending with 1831.
Sailed from Christiania.
Sailed from Norway.
Destination.
Year.
Ships.
Lasts.
Tons.
Ships.
Lasts.
Tons.
1829
15
376
940
568
13,172
32,930
Sweden -
-
-
1830
10
217
542
423
10,323
25,807
1831
11
302
755
546
13,226
33,065
1829
117
1,899
4,747
2,062
24,442
61,105
Denmark, Altona excepted
1830
126
2,216
5,540
1,968
24,396
60,990
1831
155
2,678
6,695
2,096
26,817
67,042
1829
Russia
-
-
-
1830
-
-
-
117
4,537
11,342
1831
1
17
42
133
6,638
16,595
1829
2
44
110
354
11,827
29,567
Other Baltic ports
-
1830
2
60
150
222
6,092
15,230
1831
8
302
755
240
7,210
18,025
1829
6
207
Hamburgh, Altona, and
517
89
2,067
5,167
1830
Bremen -
7
239
597
97
2,268
5,670
-
-
1831
9
326
815
114
2,865
7,162
1829
96
8,144
20,360
228
44,027
110,067
Great Britain and Ireland
1830
86
7,189
17,972
840
44,819
112,047
1831
122
9,981
24,952
970
53,735
134,337
1829
1
Holland, Hanover, and Ol-
60
150
982
43,595
108,977
1830
5
381
952
denburgh
1,030
50,170
125,425
-
-
1831
5
349
872
823
33,024
82,560
1829
127
8,825
22,062
579
35,706
89,265
France
-
-
-
1830
145
9,683
24,207
569
35,120
87,800
1831
101
6,685
16,712
423
25,855
64,637
1829
-
-
-
86
3,674
9,185
Portugal and Spain
-
1830
-
-
-
81
3,189
7,972
1831
1
91
227
63
3,015
7,537
1829
-
-
-
65
4,307
10,767
Other Mediterranean ports
1830
-
-
-
90
6,357
15,892
1831
-
-
-
67
5,004
12,510
1829
-
-
-
2
71
177
Ports beyond Europe
-
1830
1831
Shipping Charges-The various charges of a public nature pay.
way; but there is a public bank, having its principal office at Dron-
able by a ship of about 300 tons burden, entering the port of Christi-
theim, with branches at Christiania, Bergen, and Christiansand. It
ania with a mixed cargo on board, unloading there, taking on board
was established by a compulsory assessment in 1816. its capital
another cargo, and clearing out, are as follow -
consists of 2,000,000 species dollars, in transferable shares, divided
L 8. d.
amongst those who were forced to contribute to its formation. These
1. Charges Interds-Pilotage from Farder, at the mouth
shares are now at a premium of 30 per cent. Its managers are ap-
of Christiania Bay, where all ships must take a pilot
pointed by, and are accountable to, the Storthing or Norwegian par-
on board
222
liament. It issues notes for 100, 50, 10, and so low as 1 species
Bill of health, assuming that the crew, including the
dollar. These notes should be payable in specie on demand but
master, consists of 14 persons
0 17 9
they are at a discount of 36 per cent., and are paid by the bank at
Tounage dues and light money
16 9
that rate. It discounts bills at 2 and 3 months date at 6 per cent. per
Brokers' fees
5 4
annum; advances money on mortgage at 4 per cent.; and transacts
the ordinary banking business of individuals. It does not allow in-
L 14 2 0
terest on deposits. The dividend is, at present, from 8 2-3ds to 7 per
cent.
2. Charger Outstrds.-Pilotage
092
Credit.-Gonds are sold partly for ready money, and partly on
Castle dues
0 7
credit, but principally the former.
Muster roll of crew
1 0 5
Commission, &e-The number of brokers in Christiania is limited
Pale of stake money
0 3 8
to 4. Commission on the sile of goods, 2 per cent., or, del creders
Measuring bill
2 4 5
included, 3 per cent. Brokerage is fixed by law at 5-6the per cent.,
Charity chest
0 7
which, to practice, is paid by the sellers.
Tonnage dues and light money
10 11 1
Insurance-All houses situated in Norwegian market towns must
Higholm light
0 0 9
be insured is the General Insurance Company at Christiania, which
Pilotage to Farder
16 8
is guaranteed by the state. The premium is moderate, being, on
Brokers' fees
18 11
buildings situated in towns, 1-4th, and on those situated in the coun-
try, 1-8th per cent. Sometimes, however, when very destructive
L 18 6 "
fires occur, It is raised.
Provisions, &c.-Christiania is not a favourable place for careen-
ing and repairing ships; but supplies of beef, bread, water, and other
N. B.-There to no difference between the charges on native
sea stores, may be had as cheap or cheaper than in any other part of
ships in Norwagian ports, and privileged foreign ships, that is, the
Norway; but its distance from the sea is too great to allow of its
ships of countries having reciprocity treaties with Norway nor in
being visited by ships desirous merely of victualling.-(We have de.
the duties on goods imported by native ships and such privilaged
rived these details from various sources, but principally from the
foreign ships. Great Britain is a privileged country.
able Annoers of the Consul at Christiania to the Circular Quaries.)
The shipping of Norway has declined considerably of late years;
Timber.-A standard Christiania deal is 11 feet long, 1 1-4 inch
a proof, if any such were wanting, of the groundlessness of the
thick. and 9 inches broad and 51-2 such deals make a load.
clamours kept up in this country as to the supposed pernicious influ-
Freight of deals from Norway to England is calculated at the rate
once of reciprocity treaties on our shipping.
of single deals, the standard measure of which for Christiania and all
Benking-T re are no private banking establishments is Nor-
the southern ports of Norway, except Dram (a small town on the
212
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342
CHUNAM-CINNAMON.
Drammen, about 20 miles 8. W. of Christiania), is 11 feet long, and
lump, or according to the number of deals which the and may
1 1-4 inch in thickness. A single deal from Dram is reckoned 10
have taken on board on a former occasion.
feet long and 1 1.8 inch thick.
One hundred deals - 120.
Battens Three battens make 2 deals, retaining their own length
A ton = 40 solid feet of timber, cut to a square.
and thickness. Half deals are only counted as deal ends, if they run
One load of balk, or timber, = 50 solid feet.
under 6 feet but if they run 6 or 7 feet long, then 2 half deals are
Two loads of timber are reckoned for 150 deals.
counted a deal, retaining their own thickness.
The several bills of lading contain together as exact account of the
Ends of Deals.-Four ends of deals, although 5 feet long, make
cargo which the captain has received on board ship. consequently
but a deal 11 feet long, retaining their thickness, which the owners
binding him to deliver according to their contents when, therefore,
and captains of ships think unreasonable; but M the freighters of
the deals are mentioned as usual 9 and 10 feet, and 11 and 12 fact, he
ships seldom wish to have this assortment, which commonly run
cannot insist on more freight than half of the length, according to its
from 3 to 5 feet, and are taken on board as stowage, consequently for
description.
the advantage of the ship and not the freighter, the ship ought to bear
One thousand Norway standard deals are reckoned equal to a keel
the burden.
of coals, which is 21 tone.
End of Battens, called Larwich Palings-No less than 6 ought
Boweprits pay duty as masts capravens are above 12 and under
to be counted a single deal, 11 feet long and 1 1-4 inch thick.
18 inches in circumference at the middle, and without bark. Clap-
Pale-boards, when they have their proper length, are 7 feet long
board is exported in whole pieces and unquartered. Deals from Gen
$ pale-boards are counted a single deal.
many pass as Norway deals; spruce deals are upwards of 90 feet in
Staves for bogeheads take up much room in consequence of which
length; deals from Norway, above 7 feet long, are counted as whole
more than 10 cannot be computed a single deal.
deals above 5 feet, and not above 7 feet in length, are accounted as
The width of deal is Dever noticed in the calculation of freight; a
half deals, and 2 of them pass as one vhole deal.
good deal ought to run 9 inches within the mp, which not a twen-
The difference between the Christiania and Dram standard being
tieth part of a cargo does at present; but, though some may be above
nearly 1-11th part, the freights to Dram ought to be varied propor-
9 inches wide, many are only 8, therefore one must make up for the
tionally. It has sometimes happened that ships both for Christiasia
other.
and Dram have boen in company, and those for Christiania have got
Timber, or Hown Goods-cannot be exactly computed according
up, loaded, and sailed, before the others for Dram have got over
to the contents in deals, because it cannot be stowed in a ship in the
Drametroom, which runs very strong down in the spring of the year.
same manner as deals: the freight is, therefore, agreed for by the
-(Rordans' European Commerce.)
CHUNAM, the name given in India to lime. The best, obtained by the calcination
of shells, is employed in the composition of BETEL-(which see), to prevent, it is said, its
injuring the stomach.
CIDER, OR CYDER (Fr. Cidre; Ger. Zider, Apfelwein; It. Cidro; Rus. Sidor; Sp.
Sidra), the juice of apples expressed and fermented. The produce of the duty on cider and
perry (the expressed and fermented juice of pears) amounted, in 1828, to 37,220/.; which,
as the duty was 10s. a barrel, shows that the quantity produced must have amounted to
74,440 barrels, exclusive of what might be clandestinely manufactured. The perry is sup-
posed to have amounted to about a fourth part of this quantity. The duty was repealed in
1830.-(See APPLES.)
CIGARS. See TOBACCO.
CINNABAR (Ger. Zinnober Du. Cinaber, Virmilioen; Fr. Cinnabre; It. Cinabro;
Sp. Cinabrio; Rus. Kinowar Lat. Cinnabrium).
1. Native Cinnabar-a mineral substance, red, heavy, and brilliant. It is found in va-
rious places, chiefly in quicksilver mines, being one of the ores of that metal. The cinnaber
of the Philippine Islands is said to be of the highest colour; but that of Almaden in Spain,
is the richest. The best native cinnabar is of a high colour, brilliant, and free from earthy
or stony matter.
2. Artificial Cinnabar.-" When two parts of mercury and one of sulphur are triturated
together in a mortar, the mercury gradually disappears, and the whole assumes the form of a
black powder, formerly called Ethiops mineral. When this mineral is heated red hot, it
sublimes; and if a proper vessel be placed to receive it, a cake is obtained of a fine red
colour. This cake was formerly called cinnabar; and when reduced to a fine powder, is
well known in commerce under the name of vermilion."-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
CINNAMON (Du. Kaneel; Fr. Cannelle; Ger. Zimmet, Kanehl; It. Canella; Lat.
Cinnamomum, Canella; Por. Canella; Sp. Canela; Pers. and Hind. Darchinie; Arab.
Darsini; Malay, Kaimanis; Greek, Kivxfror), the bark of the cinnamon tree (Laurus cinna-
momum), a native of Ceylon, where it grows in great abundance; it is also found in Cochin
China, but no where else. The cinnamon said to be found in China, Borneo, &c. is merely
Cassia lignea. It is brought home in bags or bales weighing 921 lbs. each; and in stowing
it, black pepper is mixed with the bales to preserve the cinnamon. The best cinnamon is
thin and rather pliable it ought to be about the substance of royal paper, or somewhat
thicker; is of a light yellow colour, approaching nearly to that of Venetian gold; it is smooth
and shining fractures splintery has an agreeable, warm, aromatic flavour, and a mild
sweetish taste when chewed, the pieces become soft and seem to melt in the mouth; it is not
80 pungent but that it may be borne on the tongue without pain, and is not succeeded by
any after taste. Whatever is hard, thick as a half-crown piece, dark-coloured or brown, or
so hot that it cannot be borne, should be rejected. Particular care should be taken that it
be not false packed, or mixed with cinnamon of an inferior sort.-(Milburn's Orient. Comm;
Marshall's Essay, quoted below.)
The cinnamon of Cochin China grows in the dry sandy districts lying N. W. of the town
of Faifoe, between 15° and 16° N. lat. It is preferred in China to the cinnamon of Cey-
lon the annual imports into Canton and other ports vary from 250,000 to 300,000 lbs.
There are no fewer than 10 varieties of this species in the market. It is not cured, like
that of Ceylon, by freeing it from the epidermis.-(Crawford's Embassy to Siam, &c.
p. 475.)
Cinnamon Monopoly.-Down to the present year, the cultivation of cinnamon in Ceylon
was restricted to a few gardens in the neighbourhood of Colombo the production and sale
of the article being wholly monopolised by government. Upon the transference of the
island from the East India Company to the king's government, the former agreed to pay
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CINNAMON.
343
60,000Z. a year for 400,000 lbs. or 4,342₫ bales of cinnamon; it being stipulated, that if
the quantity collected exceeded this amount, the surplus was to be burned But this
agreement was afterwards broken off; and, for these some years past, the cinnamon has
been sent to England by government, and sold on its account at quarterly sales. The
revenue derived by the Ceylon treasury from the cinnamon monopoly, in 1831, it said to
have amounted to 106,434L 11s. 11d.; but it is not said whether this is the nett or gross
revenue, that is, whether it be exclusive or inclusive of the expenses attending its manage-
(Ceylon Almanac for 1833, p. 82.) As the monopoly could not be enforced except
by confining the culture of cinnamon to certain districts, it necessarily led to the most op-
pressive interference with the rights of individuals, to the creation of numberless imaginary
offences, and the multiplication of punishments, forming a heavy drawback upon the pros-
perity of the island. We are, therefore, glad to have to state that it has been at length
abandoned; and that we are no longer liable to the charge of upholding, without improving,
the worst part of the Dutch policy but have restored to the natives their right to cultivate
cinnamon any where and in any way they think fit. We subjoin a copy of the advertise-
ment issued by the Ceylon government in reference to this important subject.
Notice is hereby given, that in direct pursuance of instructions received from the secretary of
state, from and after the 10th of July next, the general export of cinnamon from the ports of Colombo
and Point de Galle exclusively, in the island of Ceylon, will be allowed, on payment of an export
duty of 3a. per pound, without distinction of quality.
From the same period, all restrictions and prohibitions against the cultivation, possession, or sale
of cinnamon by private individuals will cease; and such quantities of cinnamon as government now
has in its possession, or may hereafter be obliged to receive in payment of rent, or from the govern-
ment plantations (until they can otherwise be disposed of), will be sold at periodical sales, subject
always to the payment of the said export duty, and under conditions as to the completion of the pur-
chase, and the actual payment of the purchase money in cash or government bills, on delivery of the
cinnamon, similar to those heretofore stipulated at the sales held in London, and which will be fully
notified and explained hereafter.
No collections will, for the future, be made in the forests on account of government.
The first sale will be held on the 10th day of July next, at the office of the commissioner of re-
venue; when 1,000 bales of cinnamon will be put up to sale in lots at the undermentioned prices, and
will be sold to the highest bidder above the reserved price.
8. d.
Ist sort, per lb.
3 6
2d
-
2 0
3d
0 9
The proportion of each sort to be put up will be notified hereafter.
The stock of cinnamon in the hands of the agent in London, in September, 1832, and which was to
be sold at the 4 usual quarterly sales, in October, 1832, and January, April, and July, 1833, amounted
to 4,688 bales; two consignments, amounting to 826 bales, have since been sent to England, viz. 500
bales in July, 1832; 326 bales In October, 1832; since which no shipments have been made, and none
will be made hereafter.
The sales for the 2 years ending with that of July, 1832, somewhat exceeded 5,500 bales per annum.
Chief Secretary's office, Colombo, March 9, 1833.
Duties on Cinnamon.-Nothing can be more satisfactory than this document, in so far as
the free culture of cinnamon is concerned but it is deeply to be regretted, that the abolition
of the old monopoly system should be accompanied by the imposition of the exorbitant duty
of 3s. per lb. on all cinnamon, exported, without distinction of quality. Its natural cost
does not, we believe, exceed 6d. or 8d. per lb.; but taking it at 1s., the duty is no less than
300 per cent. ! So enormous a tax, by confining the export of cinnamon within the narrow-
est limits, will go far to deprive the island of the advantages it would otherwise derive from
the repeal of the monopoly, and will be, in all respects, most injurious. We have heard,
that it is contended, in vindication of this oppressive tax, that Ceylon having a natural
monopoly of cinnamon, it is sound policy to burden it with the highest duty it will bear; as
the largest revenue is thus obtained at the least expense to the island. But in addition to
the cinnamon produced in Cochin China, and which it is more than probable will speedily
find its way to the European markets, the extent to which cassia lignea is substituted for
cinnamon, shows that the monopoly possessed by Ceylon is of very trifling importance. But
though it were otherwise, though cassia lignea did not exist, and cinnamon were to be found
no where but in Ceylon, we should not the less object to 80 exorbitant an export duty. So
long as it is maintained, it will confine within the narrowest limits, what might otherwise
become a most important branch of industry, and a copious source of wealth to the island.
According to the crown commissioners, the average quantity and value of the different sorts
of cinnamon annually sold of late years has been,-
Sorts of Cinnamon.
Quantity.
Rate.
Amount
Lbs.
8.
d.
£
8.
First sort
90,000
7
21
32,842 15
Second sort
-
-
230,000
5
101
67,562 10
Third sort
-
-
180,000
4
3t
38,437 10
All sorts
8
-
500,000
-
-
138,343 15
* See an article by H. Marshall, Esq., staff surgeon to the forces in Ceylon, in Thomson's Annals
of Philosophy, vol. X. p. 356.
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344
CINQUE PORTS.
It is not at all probable that the exports will materially increase under the new system;
but had the duty varied from about 6d. per lb. on the best, to 3d. or 4d. on the inferior sorts,
we have little doubt, now that the culture is free, that the exports would, at no very distant
period, have amounted to some millions of pounds. It is the high price of cinnamon,-a price
not caused by its scarcity or the difficulty of its production, but by the oppressive monopo-
lies and duties to which it has been subjected,-that has made it be regarded as a luxury
attainable only by the rich. There is no other spice that is so universally acceptable and
there is none, were it charged with a reasonable duty, that would be 20 sure to command an
immense sale. We know, quite as well as the writer of an article on this subject in the
Colombo Journal, " that the cook who employs 1 ounce of cinnamon to improve the flavour
of his dishes, will not employ 4 ounces when the spice is a fourth of the price but we
further know, what the journalist would seem to be ignorant of, that were its price reduced,
as it might be, to a third of what it has hitherto cost, it would be used by ten or a dozen
cooks, for every one who employs it at present. In fact, the entire consumption of cinna-
mon in Great Britain is under 20,000 lbs. a year
Should the exports of cinnamon from Ceylon under the new plan amount to 500,000 lbs.
a year, government will receive from it an annual revenue of 75,000L and supposing them
to amount to 600,000 lbs., the revenue will be 90,000L And to secure the immediate pay-
ment of this trifling sum, every ulterior consideration of profit and advantage has been sacri-
ficed. It is, however, pretty clear, that this short-sighted rapacity will be, in the end, no less
injurious to the revenue, than to the industry and trade of the island. Were cinnamon allow-
ed to be exported for a few years under a low duty, or till such time as the taste for it was fully
diffused throughout this and other countries, it would then be easy, by gradually raising the
duty, to obtain from it, without materially checking the consumption, a very large revenue ;
at least 5 or 6 times more than it will ever produce under the present plan.
Suppose that we had had the power effectually to monopolise the inventions by which Sir
Richard Arkwright and others have so prodigiously facilitated the spinning of cotton; what
would have been thought of the policy of those who should have proposed laying a duty on
exported cottons equivalent to the peculiar advantages we enjoyed in their production
Had this been done, we should have got a monopoly value for our exports of cotton; but
instead of amounting, as at present, to 17,000,000/. a year, they would not, under such a
plan, have amounted, to 170,000L and instead of affording subsistence for some 1,300,000
or 1,400,000 individuals, the cotton manufacture would not have supported 50,000 And yet
this is the mischievous nostrum, for it would be an abuse of terms to call it a principle,-on
which we have proceeded to regulate the export of the staple product of Ceylon.
The following table shows the quantities of cinnamon retained for home consumption, the
rates of duty, and the nett amount of the duties in each year, since 1810.
Quantities
Quantities
retained for
Nett Amount of
retained for
Home Con-
Nett Amount of
Years.
Duty received
Rates of Duty charged
thereon.
Years.
Home Con-
Rates of Duty charged
sumption in
thereon.
sumption in
Duty received
thereon.
thereon.
the United
the United
Kingdom.
Kingdom.
Lbs.
£ 8. d.
Of the East Indies.
Lbs.
£ 8. d.
Of the East Indies.
2s. per lb. and 21.
1820
10,618}
1,331 3 6
2s. 6d. per lb.
1810
12,793
5,609 7 3
13s. 4d. per cent.
1821
12,002
1,503 18 2
do.
ad valorem.
1822
14,507}
1,816 19 0
do.
1811
8,748
3,715 16 7
do.
1823
14,225
1,767 8 7
do.
1812
13,416
4,081 10 1
do.
1824
13,7664
1,723 16 4
do.
(From April 15.)
1925
14,0984
1,766 0 2
do.
1813
Records destroyed -
2s. 4jd. per lb. and
1826
14,155
1,782 14 9
do.
31. 3s. 4d. per cent.
1827
14,4514
1,807 19 7
do.
ad valorem.
1828
15,6964
1,773 16 9
do.
1814
9,565
8,977 3 11
(From April 10.)
(From June 21.)
2s. 6d. per lb.
1815
9,355
1,175 17 7
1829
29,720
1,342 8 4
6d. per lb. from
do.
British posses-
1816
9,863
1,235 14 1
do.
sions.
1817
10,689
1,824 0 9
do.
1830
Nil.*
709 5 0
do.
1818
11,381
1,424 18 11
do.
1831
23,172
583 17 6
do.
1819
13,077
1,637 1 1
(From April 10.)
1832
15,271
435 0 10
do.
2s. 6d. per lb.
In the London market, cinnamon is divided into 3 sorts. The first is worth, at present (Sept. 1633),
duty included, from 8s. 6d. to 10s. per lb.; the second, 6s. to 7s. 6d.; and the third from 5a. to 6s.
[See IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
CINQUE PORTS. These are ancient trading towns, lying on the coast of Kent and
Sussex, which were selected from their proximity to France, and early superiority in navi-
gation, to assist in protecting the realm against invasion, and vested with certain privileges
by royal charter.
" The ports so privileged, as we at present account them, are Dover, Sandwich, Romney,
Hastings, Hythe, and the two ancient towns of Winchelsea and Rye although the two
latter places appear to have been originally only members. The services which they were
The export having exceeded the quantity charged with duty within the year.
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CITRON-CIVITA VECCHIA.
345
appointed to perform, were either honorary, viz. assisting at the coronation and sending
members to parliament; or auxiliary to the defence of the realm, as furnishing a certain
supply of vessels and seamen, on being summoned to that service by the king's writ.
In process of time the Cinque Ports grew so powerful, and, by the possession of a war-
like fleet, so audacious, that they made piratical excursions in defiance of all public faith
on some occasions they made war, and formed confederacies as separate independent states.
It seems, however, that these irregularities were soon suppressed, when the government was
strong, and sufficiently confident to exert its powers. So long as the mode of raising a navy
by contributions from different towns continued, the Cinque Ports afforded an ample sup-
ply; but since that time their privileges have been preserved, but their separate or peculiar
services dispensed with. Their charters are traced to the time of Edward the Confessor ;
they were confirmed by the Conqueror, and by subsequent monarchs. William the Con-
queror, considering Dover Castle the key of England, gave the charge of the adjacent coast,
with the shipping belonging to it, to the constable of Dover Castle, with the title of Warden
of the Cinque Ports; an office resembling that of the Count of the Saxon coast (Comes
littoris Saxonici) on the decline of the Roman power in this island. The lord warden has
the authority of admiral in the Cinque Ports and its dependencies, with power to hold a
court of admiralty he has authority to hold courts both of law and equity is the general
returning officer of all the ports,-parliamentary writs being directed to him, on which he
issues his precepts; and, in many respects, he was vested with powers similar to those pos-
sessed by the heads of counties palatine. At present the efficient authority, charge, or
patronage, of the lord warden is not very great the situation is, however, considered very
honourable, and the salary is 3,000/. He has under him a lieutenant and some subordinate
officers; and there are captains at Deal, Walmer, and Sandgate Castles, Archcliff Fort, and
Moats Bulwark.
" There is an exclusive jurisdiction in the Cinque Ports (before the mayor and jurats of
the ports), into which exclusive jurisdiction the king's ordinary writ does not run; that is,
the court cannot direct their process immediately to the sheriff, as in other cases. In the
Cinque Ports, their process is directed to the constable of Dover Castle, his deputy, or lieu-
tenant. A writ of error lies from the mayor and jurats of each port to the lord warden
of the Cinque Ports, in his court of Shepway, and from the court of Shepway to the King's
Bench a memorial of superiority reserved to the crown at the original creation of the
franchise; and prerogative writs, as those of habeas corpus, prohibition, certiorari, and man-
damus, may issue, for the same reason, to all these exempt jurisdictions, because the privi-
lege that the king's writ runs not must be intended between party and party, and there can
be no such privilege against the '-(Chitty's Commercial Law, vol. ii. p. 12.)
CITRON (Ger. Succade; Da. Sukkat; It. Confetti di cedro, Sp. Acitron verde; Fr.
Citronat verd), an agreeable fruit, resembling a lemon in colour, smell, and taste. The
principal difference lies in the juice of the citron being somewhat less acid, and the yellow
rind being somewhat hotter, and accompanied with a considerable bitterness.-(Lewis's Mat.
Med.) It is imported, preserved and candied, from Madeira, of the finest quality.
CIVET (Ger. Zibeth, Du. Civet; Fr. Civette; It. Zibetto, Sp. Algalia), a perfume
taken from the civet cat. It is brought from the Brazils, Guinea, and the interior of Africa.
When genuine, it is worth 30s. or 40s. an ounce.
CIVITA VECCHIA, a fortified sea-port town of the papal dominions, on the Mediter-
ranean, in lat. 42° 4' 38" N., lon. 11° 44' 52" E. Population 7,000.
Harbonr.-The port of Civita Vecchia is artificial, and is formed by three large moles. Two of
them projecting from the mainland, inclined one to the north and the other to the south, form the
sides of the harbour; while a third mole, or breakwater, constructed opposite to the gap between the
other two, serves to protect the harbour from the heavy sea that would otherwise be thrown in by
the westerly gales. A lighthouse, having the lantern elevated 74 feet above the level of the sea, is
erected on the southern extremity of the outward mole; the distance from its extremities to the ex-
tremities of the lateral moles, on which there are towers, being about 90 fathoms. Vessels may
enter either by the south or north end of the outer mole, but the southern channel is the deepest,
having from 8 to 6 and 4 fathoms. Ships may anchor within the port, in from 16 to 18 feet water, or
between it and the outer mole where the water is deeper. Within the port there is a dock and an
arsenal.-(Plan of Civita Vecchia.)
Historical Notice.-This harbour, which is by far the best on the western side of the papal domi-
nions, owes its origin to the Emperor Trajan, and affords the most unequivocal proof, not of his
power merely, but of his sagacity and desire to promote the interests of commerce and navigation.
There is in one of Pliny's Letters (lib. vi. epist. 31.) a clear and interesting account of this great work,
which has obviously been planned and constructed with equal skill and judgment. The outer mole
was mostly formed, precisely like the breakwater at Plymouth, by sinking immense blocks of stone
into the sea, which became fixed and consolidated by their own weight, till by degrees it was raised
above the waters. (Assurgit autem arts visenda: ingentia suxa latissima navis provehit. Contra hec
alia super alia dejecta ipse pondere manent, ac sensim quodam velut aggere construuntur.) Originally it
was called Trajanus Portus, and it is to be regretted that it did not always bear the name of its illus-
trious founder. But in the latter ages of the Roman empire it was called Centum Cella, and in
modern times Civita Vecchia.- Cellurii Notitia Orbis Antiqua, 1. p. 734.)
Money.-Accounts are kept here, and throughout the papal states,
a species of bank notes; but these, not being payable in specie on
in crowns or acudi, called scudi Romani and scudi moneta. 1 acudo
demand, are uniformly at a discount.
= 10 paoli, and I paoli = 10 bajocchi. The scudo contains 403
Weights.-The libra, or pound of 12 one or 6,912 grani, contains
grains of English standard silver, and is, consequently, worth 4s. 4d.
5,234 English grains. Hence, 100 Roman pounds = 74,771 lbs.
sterling. Payments above 5 seudi are made in cadale, or schedules,
avoirdupois = 90,968 lbs. troy - 33,906 kilogrammes - 70,008 lbs.
44
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346
CLARET-CLOCKS.
of Hamburg. There are three different cantaros or quintals; viz.
the barrel of wine = 12,841 Imp. gallons, and the Barral of oil =
of 100, 160, and 250 lbs. The migliajo - 1,000 lbs.
12-64 imp. galls; the soma of oil = 36-13 imp. do.; the rubbio of
Maasures-The Roman foot= 11.72 Enginches: the canna=
Eng. inches; the canna used by builders = 87.96 English inches;
corn = S-143 imp. bosbels.-(Mally's Cambist; Nelhenbrecher,
Manual Universel)
Imports and Exports.-Though the wealth and population of the country round Civita Vecchia be
much fallen off in modern times compared with antiquity, it still continues to be the entrepôt of
Rome, and engrosses almost the entire trade of the papal dominions on the side of the Mediterra-
nean. The imports consist principally of cotton, woollen, silk, and linen stuffs; coffee, sugar, cocoa,
and other colonial products; salt and salted fish, wines, jewellery, glass and earthenware, &c. The
exports consist of staves and timber, corn, coal, wool, cheese, potash, pumice-stone, alum, from
Tolfa, in the vicinity, and other articles. The total value of the imports may be reckoned at from
650,000L. to 700,0001., and it may be fairly presumed that the real value of the exports is not much
inferior. Marseilles and Genoa have the largest share of the foreign trade of Civita Vecchia, and
next to them England.
Duties.-Civita Vecchia is a free port, that is, a port into which produce may be imported, and
either consumed or re-exported, free of duty
Quarantine regulations are strictly enforced no vessel with a foul bill of health being permitted to
enter any of the papal ports.-(Annuaire du Commerce Maritime, tom. ii. p. 366, &c.)
Return of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels, distinguishing the Countries to which they belonged,
which entered inwards in the Papal States in 1833.
Of the vessels entering the ports on the Mediterranean, fully three fourths entered Civita Vecchia.
In Ports of the Mediterranean.
In Ports in the Adriatic.
Flags.
Touching or
Touching or
For Trading
calling, not for
Purposes.
Trading Pur-
Fishing Vessels.
For Trading
calling, not for
Purposes.
Trading Pur-
Fishing Vessels.
poses.
poses.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Austrian
32
3,592
2
133
-
-
1,100
40,765
53
1,678
1,190
7,835
Greek
2
599
-
-
-
-
6
450
Modenese
-
-
-
-
-
-
167
4,261
French
64
5,726
42
4,539
British
26
4,165
-
-
2
2
34
5,637
Ionian
-
-
-
-
-
-
16
1,101
Lombardo-Venetian
-
-
-
-
-
-
442
14,881
48
2,521
3,393
23,001
Lucchese
145
3,485
45
897
1
4
Neapolitan
745
45,532
423
19,647
244
2,662
95
3,766
35
1,287
49
942
Parma
-
-
-
-
4
62
I
41
Papal
632
31,433
217
11,701
82
799
3,182
127,443
434
15,828
11,802
151,585
Sardinian
166
13,437
109
10,321
-
-
44
5,634
1
531
Spanish
27
1,132
Swedish
-
-
-
-
-
6
842
1
183
Tuscan
412
17,722
183
8,613
3
9
Totals
2,251
126,823
1,021
55,851
332
3,476
5,096
204,842
573
22,069
16,434
183,363
Sup.)
CLARET, one of the best French wines. See the articles BORDEAUX and WINE.
CLEARING, " among London Bankers, is a method adopted by them for exchanging
the drafts on each other's houses, and settling the differences. Thus, at half-past 3 o'clock, a
clerk from each banker attends at the clearing-house, where he brings all the drafts on the
other bankers, which have been paid into his house that day, and deposits them in their
proper drawers (a drawer being allotted to each banker) ; he then credits their accounts
separately with the articles which they have against him, as found in the drawer. Balances
are then struck from all the accounts, and the claims transferred from one to another, until
they are so wound up and cancelled that each clerk has only to settle with two or three
others, and their balances are immediately paid.
Such drafts as are paid into a banker's too late for clearing, are sent to the houses on
which they are drawn, to be marked, which is understood as an engagement that they will
be paid the next day."-(Kelly's Cambist.)-(For an account of the saving of money
effected by this device, see antè, p. 71. The technical operations carried on at the clear-
ing-house have been described by Mr. Gilbart, in his Practical Treatise on Banking, pp.
16-20.)
CLEARING-HOUSE, the place where the operation termed clearing is carried on.
CLOCK, CLOCKS, (Ger. Uhren, Grosse Uhren, Wianduhren; Du. Uuren, Uurwerken,
Horologien; Fr. Horloges; It. Orologgi, Oriuoli; Sp. Relojes; Rus. Tschasü), a kind
of machine, put in motion by a gravitating body, and so constructed as to divide, measure,
and indicate the successive portions of time with very great accuracy. Most clocks mark
the hour by striking or chiming. It is a highly useful instrument, and is extensively em-
ployed for domestic and philosophical purposes. Clocks are made of an endless variety of
materials and models, 80 as to suit the different uses to which they are to be applied, and the
different tastes of their purchasers. Their price consequently varies from a few shillings to
more than 100/. The Germans and Dutch are particularly celebrated for their skill in the
manufacture of wooden clocks; while the English, French, and Genevese, especially the
former, have carried the art of making metallic clocks, so as to keep time with the greatest
precision, to a high degree of perfection.
The history of the invention, introduction, and successive improvements in the manufac-
ture of clocks has been carefully investigated by some very learned and industrious antiqua-
ries—(see Beckmann's Hist. of Inventions, vol. i. pp. 419-462. Eng. ed.; and Rees's Cy-
clopadia); but, notwithstanding these researches, the subject is still involved in considera-
blo obscurity. It seems, however, that the middle of the fourteenth century may be regard-
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CLOTH-CLOVES.
347
ed as the epoch when clocks, having weights suspended as a moving power, and a regulator,
began to be introduced. The period when, and the individual by whom, the pendulum was
first applied to clockwork, have been subjects of much contention. Galileo and Huygens
have disputed the honour of the discovery. " But whoever may have been the inventor, it
is certain that the invention never flourished till it came into the hands of Huygens, who
insists, that if ever Galileo thought of such a thing, he never brought it to any degree of
perfection. The first pendulum clock made in England was in the year 1662, by one Fro-
mantel, a Dutchman."-(Hutton's Math. Dictionary.)
The clock manufacture is of considerable importance and value. It is carried on to a
great extent in London.
The ad valorem duty of 25 per cent. on foreign clocks produced, in 1832, 6,023L 8s.
nett. It is principally derived from the wooden clocks brought from Holland and Germany.
Under the article WATCHES, the reader will find some statements as to the importation
and exportation of clocks as well as watches.
Clockmakers are obliged to engrave upon the dial-plate of all clocks made by them their name, and
the place of their residence. No outward or inward box, case, or dial-plate of any clock or watch,
with the maker's name engraved thereon, shall be exported without the movement or machinery
being in or with such box or case, under forfeiture of double its value.-( & 4 Will. 4. cap. 52. 8 104.)
It is illegal to import, or to enter to be warehoused, any clock or watch impressed with any mark
purporting to represent any legal British mark, or not having the name of some foreign maker visible
on the frame, and also on the face, or not being in a complete state.-() 57.)
It is said, however, not to be an uncommon practice, among the less reputable portion of the trade,
to engrave their names and London" on foreign clocks and watches, and to sell them to the public
as English work. The fraud may be detected by referring to any respectable watchmaker.
By a Treasury order of the 4th of September, 1828, clocks and watches for private use, though not
marked in the manner now specified, may be admitted on payment of the duty, on the parties making
affidavit of their entire ignorance of the law in question.
Persons hired by or in the employment of, clock and watch makers, who shall fraudulently em-
bezzle, secrete, sell, &c. any metal, material, or precious stone, with which he may happen to be in-
trusted, shall, upon trial and conviction before a justice of the peace, forfeit 201. for the first offence
and for the second, and every subsequent offence, he shall forfeit 401.; and, in default of payment, is
to be committed to the house of correction.-(27 Geo. 2. c. 7. è 1.)-(See WATCH.)
CLOTH. See WooL, LINEN, &c.
CLOVER (Ger. Klee; Du. Klaver; Fr. Trefle, Luzerne; It. Trifoglio Sp. Trebol;
Rus. Trilistnik; Lat. Trifolium), a very important species of grass. Some of the species
in cultivation are annual others biennial or triennial and others perennial. The seed
used formerly to be principally imported from Holland; but that which is raised in this
country is now said to be of a superior quality.- Encyclopedia of Agriculture.)
Culture for seed is, however, very precarious, and of uncertain profit.
The entries of foreign clover seed for home consumption, at an average of the 3 years ending with
1831, were 99,046 cwt. a year. But for the high duty of 20s. a cwt., there can be little doubt that the
importation would be much more considerable. The price of foreign clover seed in the London mar-
ket, at present (September, 1833), varies, duty included, from 50s. to 66s. a cwt.
CLOVES (Ger. Näglein, Gewürznelken; Du. Kruidnagelen; Fr. Clous de girofle, Gi-
rofles; It. Chiovi di garofano, Garofani; Garoffoli; Sp. Clavos de especia, Clavillos
Rus. Gwosdika; Arab. Kerenful; Malay, Chankee), the fruit, or rather cups of the un-
opened flowers, of the clove tree, or Caryophyllus aromaticus. The clove tree is a native
of the Moluccas, where it was originally found but plants have since been carried to Cay-
enne and other places, where they succeed tolerably well. Cloves are shaped like a nail
whence the name, from the French clou, nail. They are imported from the Dutch settle-
ments; the best in chests, and an inferior kind in bags. The best variety of the Amboyna
cloves is smaller and blacker than the other varieties, very scarce, and as a mark of pre-emi-
nence, is termed the Royal clove. Good cloves have a strong, fragrant, aromatic odour
and a hot, acrid, aromatic taste, which is very permanent. They should be chosen large
sized, perfect in all parts; the colour should be a dark brown, almost approaching to black;
and, when handled, should leave an oily moisture upon the fingers. Good cloves are some-
times adulterated by mixing them with those from which oil has been drawn but these are
weaker than the rest, and of a paler colour; and whenever they look shrivelled, having lost
the knob at the top, and are light and broken, with but little smell or taste, they should be
rejected. As cloves readily absorb moisture, it is not uncommon, when a quantity is ordered,
to keep them beside a vessel of water, by which means a considerable addition is made to
their weight.-(Thomson's Dispensatory; Milburn's Oriental Commerce.)
Policy of the Dutch as to the Trade in Cloves.-From the expulsion of the English from
Amboyna, in 1623, the Dutch have, a few short intervals only excepted, enjoyed the exclu-
sive possession of the Moluccas, or Clove Islands. In their conduct as to the clove trade,
they have exhibited a degree of short-sighted rapacity, which has been, we believe, seldom
equalled even tn the annals of monopoly. Their object has not been to encourage the
growth and trade of cloves, but to confine both within the narrowest limits. They have
preferred deriving a large profit from a stunted and petty trade, to a moderate profit from a
trade that might have afforded employment for a very large amount of capital and to 'pre-
vent their narrow and selfish projects from being counteracted by the operations of the na-
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348
'CLOVES.
tives, they have subjected them to the most revolting tyranny. That they might," says Mr.
Crawfurd, regulate and control production and price just as they thought proper, the clove
trees were extirpated every where but in Amboyna, the seat of their power and the sur-
rounding princes were bribed, by annual stipends, to league with them for the destruction
of their subjects' property and birthright. This plan was begun about the year 1551. The
contracts are still in force, and an annual fleet visits the surrounding islands to suppress the
growth of cloves, which, in their native country, spring up with a luxuriance which these
measures of Satanic rigour and of sacrilege towards bountiful nature, can scarce repress.
By the plan on which the clove trade is now conducted,-a plan carried into effect through
so much iniquity and bloodshed,-the country of spices is rendered a petty farm, of which
the natural owners are reduced to the worst condition of predial slavery ; and the great
monopoliser and oppressor is that government, whose duty it should have been to insure
freedom and afford protection. Human ingenuity could hardly devise a plan more destruc-
tive of industry, more hostile to the growth of public wealth, or injurious to morals, than
this system framed in a barbarous age and it reflects disgrace upon the character of a civil-
ised people to persevere in it.
" It is curious to remark how the monopolisers, in carrying the details of this system into
effect, at once impose upon the natives and deceive themselves. The nominal price paid to
the natives is actually above the natural price of the commodity, but they are cheated in the
details. The cultivator brings his produce to the public stores, where it is subjected at once
to a deduction of one fifth for payment of the salaries of the civil and military officers. The
price of the remainder is fixed at the rate of 96 Spanish dollars the picul but before payment
is made, another deduction of one fifth is made one half of which is for the chiefs or rajas,
and the other for the native elders, who are overseers of the forced culture. The real price,
therefore, paid to the grower is 8 Spanish dollars per picul, or 3łd. per lb. avoirdupois, in-
stead of 11100 Spanish dollars per picul, or 43d. per lb. which is pretended to be given.
" When cloves have been sold on the spot, the price usually exacted has been about 64
Spanish dollars the picul, or 8 times the price paid to the cultivator. The average price in
Holland, previously to the war of the French revolution, may be taken at 6s. per lb., or
177100 Spanish dollars per picul, being 2,122 per cent. advance on the real cost of the
commodity in the place of its growth. When brought direct to England, they have cost at
an average 3s. 8d. the lb., making 108,84 Spanish dollars per picul, an advance on the
natural export price of 1,258 per cent."-Eastern Archipelago, vol. iii. pp. 388-390.)
An Account of the Quantity of Cloves entered for Home Consumption each Year since 1810; of the
Nett Amount of Duty received therefrom, and the Rates of Duty.
Quantities
retained for
Rates of Duty charged thereon.
Years.
Home Con-
Nett Amount of Duty
sumption in the
received thereon.
or the Foreign Possemions
United King-
Of the East Indies.
Of the British Pos-
sessions in America.
in America.
dom.
Lbs.
£
s.
d.
4s. 8d. per lb. and
1810
35,584
10,197
19
10
21. 13s. 4d. per cent.
}
2s. per 1b.
4s. 8d. per lb.
ad valorem.
1811
28,977
8,370
1
1
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1812
35,552
8,547
19
10
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
From 15th of April
1813
Records destroyed
5s. 6ld. per lb. and
-
2s. 4jd. per lb.
5s. 6ld. per lb.
31. 3a. 4d. per cent.
ad valorem.
1814
31,975
9,540
9
3
From 10th of April
-
do.
-
-
do.
5s. 7fd. per lb.
311. 13s. 4d. per cent.
1815
50,462
5,708
3
9
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
ad valorem,equal to
about Is. Od. per lb.
1816
16,470
1,867
6
10
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1817
73,973
6,390
13
6
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1818
18,281
1,777
5
3
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1819
34,2544
3,354
4
7
From 5thof July2s.
2s. per lb.
3x. per lb.
1820
36,554}
3,657
0
5
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1821
32,933
3,285
9
2
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1822
49,7654
5,026
16
8
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1823
57,7804
5,747
14
4
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1824
60,3234
6,035
10
0
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
1825
45,261
4,543
9
10
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
Of British Possessions.
Of Foreign Possessions.
1826
52,7017
5,279
4
9
-
-
2s. per lb.
-
-
-
-
3s. per lb.
-
-
1827
85,9904
8,602
1
9
do.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
do.
1828
61,2164
6,148
19
2
-
-
do.
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
1829
48,6374
4,875
13
2
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
do.
-
-
1830
60,111
6,061
9
7
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
do.
-
-
1831
83,885
8,379
8
2
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
do.
-
-
1832
82,672
8,169
6
9
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
do.
-
-
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COACHES.
349
Duty on Clores.-This was considerably reduced in 1819; and there has, in consequence,
been a decided increase in the consumption of the article, though not nearly 80 great as it
would have been, had it been supplied under a more liberal system. The cloves at present
entered for home consumption in Great Britain amount to about 80,000 lbs. a year, of which
a part comes from Cayenne. But the cultivation of the clove in Cayenne depends entirely
on the existence of the present system in the Moluccas. The superiority which the latter
enjoy over every other place in the production of cloves is so very great that were any thing
like freedom given to those engaged in their culture, they would very speedily exclude every
other from the market, It is not to be imagined, that so liberal and intelligent a govern-
ment as that of Holland can much longer continue insensible to the disgrace of support-
ing a system like the present, and to the many advantages that would result from its abo-
lition.
The price of cloves, exclusive of the duty, in the London market, is, at present (October, 1823), as
follows:-
Amboyna, Bencoolen, &c.
-
-
1s. 2d. to 1a. 6d. per lb.
Bourbon, Cayenne, &c.
-
-
1s. 2d. to la 3d. per lb.
[See IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
CLOVES, OIL OR, is procured from cloves by distillation. When new, it is of a pale red-
dish brown colour, which becomes darker by age. It is extremely hot and fiery, and sinks
in water. The kind generally imported from India contains nearly half its weight of an
insipid expressed oil, which is discovered by dropping a little into spirits of wine, and on
shaking it, the genuine oil mixes with the spirit, and the insipid separating, the fraud is dis-
covered.-(Milburn.)
COACHES, vehicles for commodious travelling. They have sometimes two and some-
times four wheels. The body of the coach is generally suspended, by means of springs,
upon the framework to which the wheels are attached. They are usually drawn by horses,
but recently have been impelled by steam. The forms and varieties of coaches are almost
innumerable.
1. Historical Notice.-Beckmann has investigated the early history of coaches with his
usual care and learning. It is certain that a species of coaches were used at Rome; but
whether they were hung on springs, like those now made use of, is not certain. After the
subversion of the Roman power, horseback was almost the only mode of travelling. About
the end of the fifteenth century, however, covered carriages began to be employed by per-
sons of distinction on great occasions. In 1550, there were at Paris only three coaches:
one of which belonged to the queen; another to the celebrated Diana of Poitiers; and the
third to a corpulent, unwieldy nobleman, René de Laval, lord of Bois Dauphin. Coaches
were seen, for the first time, in Spain, in 1546. They began to be used in England about
1580; and were in common use among the nobility in the beginning of the seventeenth
century.-(Hist. of Invent. vol. i. pp. 111. 127. Eng. trans.)
2. Manufacture of Carriages.-This is a department of considerable value and import-
ance. The best built and handsomest carriages are made in London, where only the trade of
a coach currier is carried on; but the carriages made at Edinburgh, and some other places,
are also very superior. Down to 1825, a duty was laid on all carriages made for sale; and
it appears from the following account, that in 1812, 1,531 four-wheeled carriages, 1,700
two-wheeled ditto, and 105 taxed carts (small carriages without springs), were made for
sale.
3. Duties on Carriages.-These duties have been long imposed, and have fluctuated con-
siderably at different periods. The table on p. 350 shows the number of four-wheeled and
other carriages (exclusive of hackney coaches) charged with duties in the years 1812, 1825,
and 1830, the rates of duty on each species of carriages, and the produce of the duties.
(Compiled from Parl. Paper, No. 686. Sess. 1830. and Papers published by the Board of
Trade.)
Rates of Duty on Carriages.-On those having-
Rate.
Rate.
Rate.
Wour wheels.
Lad.
L.s.d.
L.i.d.
Persons keeping
1
-600
Persons keeping 8.840
Carriages drawn by one horse
-
2-6100
-
7-8100
Carriages used by common carriers
:
:
:110
-
3.700
-
8 -8160
Two wheels.
-
4 7 10 0
9 and upwards 916
Drawn by I horse
350
-
5 7176
Drawn by 2 or more
10 0
Additional bottles
-
-330
Additional bodies
11 6
Carriages let to hire
600
Described in act 2 & 3 Will. 4. cap. 32. No. 1.
Post chaises
550
charged
- 1 0 0
Carriages with wheels of less diameter than 30
Ditto, ditto, No. II., common stage carts
10 0
inches, drawn by ponies or mules not exceeding
Let out to hire
360
13 hands
. -850
Carringes used by common carriers
-150
VOL. L-2
Digitized by Google
1812.
1825.
1830.
Number of
Rates of
Carriages.
Duty.
Amount of Duty.
Number of
Rates of
Amount of Duty.
Number of
350
Carriages.
Duty.
Carriages.
Rates of Duty.
Amount of Duty.
FOUR-WHEELED CARRIAGES.
Carriages charged at progressive rates
£s.d.
£
s.d.
£ 8. d.
£
s.d.
£
s.d.
Persons keeping 1
-
-
-
12,866
12 00
154,392 00
17,242
6 00
103,452 00
19,417
as for 1825 }
The same
116,502 00
-
2
-
-
-
2,792
13 0 0
39,296 00
3,292
6100
21,398 00
5,173
do.
33,624 10 0
-
3
-
-
-
657
14 00
9,198 00
693
7 00
4,851 00
1,006
do.
7,042 0 0
-
4
-
-
-
180
15 00
horses and drivers are but little superior forming a striking contrast to the elegance and
coaches are the dirtiest, most disagreeable vehicles that can well be imagined, and the
nothing can be said in favour of its hackney coach establishment. Speaking generally, the
ing the business open, and trusting to competition to rectify abuses. As respects London,
whether the public would not be as well accommodated, at least in all large towns, by throw-
It may be doubted, however, whether these regulations have had any good effect, and
regulations, intended to prevent strangers and others using them from fraud and imposition.
tances travelled. They have generally been licensed by authority, and subjected to certain
to carry such persons as require their services, for certain rates of hire according to the dis-
27,000 00
172
7 10 0
1,290 00
216
do.
1,620 00
-
4. Hackney Coaches are coaches stationed in the streets or other public places, and bound
5
-
-
-
60
15 15 0
945 00
75
7176
590 12 6
101
do.
795 76
-
6
-
-
-
18
16 8 0
295 40
30
8 40
246 00
30
do.
246 00
-
7
-
-
-
7
17 00
119 00
-
-
8 10 0
-
-
-
35
do.
297 10 0
-
8
-
-
-
16
17 12 0
281 0
-
-
8160
-
-
-
-
-
do.
-
-
-
-
9
-
-
-
-
-
18 3 0
-
-
-
10
9 16
90 15 0
14
do.
127 10
Total
16,596
-
204,226 16 0
21,514
-
-
131,918 76
25,992
-
-
-
160,254 86
Additional bodies
-
-
-
-
143
660
900 18 0
68
3 30
214 40
54
do.
170 20
Carriages let to hire without horses
-
249
12 0 0
2,288 00
419
6 00
2,514 00
518
do.
3,108 00
Post chaises and other carriages let to hire }
with horses
5,295
10 10 0
55,597 10 0
5,786
5 5 0
30,376 10 0
6,983
do.
-
36,660 15 0
-
-
-
Public stage coaches
-
-
-
1,355
10 10 0
14,227 10 0
2,747
5 5 0
14,421 15 0
3,138
do.
16,474 10 0
TWO-WHEELED CARRIAGES.
Drawn by 1 horse
-
-
-
-
25,957
6 10 0
168,720 10 0
39,121
350
127,143 5 0
47,962
do.
155,811 10 0
2 or more horses
-
-
1,329
900
11,961 00
539
4100
2,425 10 0
408
do.
1,836 00
COACHES.
Total
27,286
- - -
180,681 10 0
39,660
- -
129,568 15 0
59,133
-
-
-
214,060 17 0
Additional bodies
-
-
.
.
11
330
34 13 0
20
1116
31 10 0
18
do.
28 0
TAXED CARTS.
Without springs
-
-
-
7,592
190
11,008 80
Exclusive of the above, there paid duty in 1830-
With springs, not metallic -
.
-
11,549
2 15 0
31,759 15 0
£
s.d.
Four-wheeled carriages drawnby 1 horse, 5,838,
Total
at 42. 10s.
19,141
42,768 30
26,271 00
-
-
with wheels of less diameter than 30 inches,
Digitized by Google
DUTIES paid by coachmakers and by persons
Repealed in 1825.
drawn by ponies, 383, at 31. 5a.
1,944 50
selling carriages.
used by carriers, 179, at 2/. 10s.
447 10 0
Four-wheeled carriages made for sale
-
1,531
150
1,913 15 0
Two-wheeled carriages let to hire 2,246, at 31. 5s.
7,299 10 0
Two-wheeled
do.
do.
-
1,701
0 12 6
1,063 26
used by carriers 241, at 12. 5s,
301 50
Taxed carts made for sale
-
407
030
61 10
Four-wheeled carriages sold by auction, or
105
150
131 5 0
85,563 10 0
on commission
Two wheeled carriages
do.
-
.
184
0126
115 0 0
Total duty collected from carriages in 1830 409,907 20
Taxed carts
-
do.
-
-
46
030
6 180
Total
3,974
-
-
-
3,291 16
COACHES.
351
commodiousness of the private carriages, the excellence of the horses, and the neatness of
the servants.
Hackney coaches were first established in London in 1625 but they were not then sta-
tioned in the streets, but at the principal inns. In the reign of Charles II. their number was
considerable. Commissioners for licensing and superintending hackney coaches were esta-
blished by the act 9 Ann. c. 23.; and successive acts have been passed, specifying the num-
ber of coaches that might be licensed, the duties payable to government, and the conditions
under which licenses were to be granted. The total number of hackney coaches, chariots,
and cabriolets, actually licensed in the metropolis, on the 1st of January, 1830, appears, from
the following table, to have been 1,265.
An account of the Number of Hackney Coaches, Chariots, and Cabriolets, licensed in the Metropolis,
in each of the Five Years to the 1st of January, 1830; showing the Rates of Duty, and the Pro-
duce of the Duties.-(Parl. Paper, No. 667. Sess. 1830.)
Number
licensed.
Rates of Duty.
Produce of the Duties,
including Fines.
£
s.
d.
Years ending 1st of January 1826
1,150
2/. per lunar month
each carriage.
}
29,392
12
6
-
1st of January 1827
1,200
do.
30,606 12 6
-
1st of January 1828
1,200
do.
31,333
7
6
-
1st of January 1829
1,265
do.
32,176 17 6
-
1st of January 1830
1,265
do.
32,908
18
6
5. Hackney Coach Regulations, Fures, &c.-The laws as to hackney coaches in the city of London
were consolidated by the act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 22., which placed the collection of the duties, &c. in the
hands of the commissioners of stamps. We notice a few of the more important clauses.
Definition.-1 hackney coach is any carriage with 2 or more wheels, standing or plying for hire in
any public street or road.-d 4.
Licensing, Plates, &c.-A license to keep a hackney coach costs 51., and a weekly sum of 10s. has to
be paid per advance on every licence. A plate specifying the number of the licence is to be placed
inside the coach; and 2 other plates, on which are painted the names of the proprietor, or of one of
the proprietors of the coach, are to be placed externally one on each side. Penalty on proprietor for
letting or employing a hackney coach without having properly numbered plates properly fixed upon
such coach, 10% : ditto on driver, if proprietor, 10Γ.; if not, 51.-0 R 22, 23.
Obligation to ply.-Carriages standing on the streets with plates, to be deemed backney coaches
and, unless actually hired, shall be compellable, under a penalty of 40s., to go with any person offer-
ing to hire the same.-d 35.
Distance.-Drivers of hackney coaches compellable, under a penalty of 40s., to go any distance not
exceeding 5 miles from the General Post Office, or from the place where they shall have been hired.
-p 34.
Number of Passengers.-To prevent disputes, the number of persons to be carried by hackney
coaches is to be painted in some conspicuous place outside; and they are compellable, under a pe-
nalty of 40s., to carry this number if required.-d 46.
Rates and Fares-These may be charged, at the option of the pro-
Fares when taken by time are-For any time within and not ex-
prietor or driver, either by time or distance; that is, by the hour or
ceeding 30 minutes, 1s. above 30 minu'es and not exceeding
mile, but not by the day. The terms are, when charged by die-
45 do., 1s. 6d. above 45 minutes and not exceeding 1 hour,
tena,
2a. and for any further time exceeding one hour, then after
the rate and proportion of 6d. for every 15 minutes com-
For every backney coach drawn by 2 horses, for any distance
pleted, and 6d. for any fractional part of the period of 15
within and not exceeding I mile, 1a. and for every distance
minutes.
exceeding one after the rate of 6d. for every t mile, and
Cabriolets, or carriages with one horse, are entitled to two thirds,
for any fractional part of t a mile over and above any num-
and no more, of the rates and charges above mentioned.-s. 3a. and
ber of 1 miles completed.
schedules.
Back Fare-The driver of a hackney coach discharged beyond the limits of the metropolis, that is,
beyond 3 miles from the General Post Office, after 8 o'clock in the evening, or before 5 o'clock in the
morning, shall be entitled to full fare from the place of such discharge to the nearest part of said
limits, or to the stand where the coach shall have been hired beyond the limits, at the option of the
hirer. Coaches discharged during the day beyond the limits, are entitled to a back fare at the rate of
6d. a mile; but such back fare is not payable for any distance less than 4 nilles.- 39.
Coaches waiting are entitled to a reasonable deposit, to be accounted for in the fare. Penalty on
drivers refusing to wait, or to account for deposit, 40s.-0 47.
Refusal to pay Fare, or defacing or injuring any hackney eoach, may be punished, unless reasonable
satisfaction be made for the same, by imprisonment for 1 calendar month.- 41.
Drivers exacting more than legal Fare liable to a penalty of 40s.-d 42.
Agreement to pay more than legal Fare, not binding sum paid beyond such legal fare may be reco-
vered back, and driver be liable in a penalty of 40s.-> 43.
Drivers demanding more than Sum agreed upon, though distance be exceeded, or it be less than the
legal fare, forfeit 40s. for each offence.- 2 44, 45.
Drivers to hold Check Strings, under a penalty of 20s.-0 48.
Property left in Hackney Coaches to be carried to Stamp Office, under a penalty of 201. If not claimed
within a year, to be given up to driver; or If not applied for, to be sold.- 49.
Court of Aldermen authorised to make orders for regulating hackney coaches in city-d 54.
Offences may be tried either by a justice appointed for that purpose by the secretary of state, or by
any other of his Majesty's justices.-d 62.
Hackney coaches were first established at Edinburgh in 1673 but the number licensed
was inconsiderable till after the American war.
5. Stage Coaches, Travelling by.-Owing to the improvement in the breed of horses and
the building of carriages, but, above all, to the extraordinary improvements that have been
effected, within these few years, in the laying out, construction, and keeping of roads, the
ordinary rate of travelling by stage coaches is seldom under 9 or 10 miles an hour, stop-
pages included, and, on some roads, is as much as 11 or 12! The stages having been
shortened, this wonderful speed is not found to be materially more injurious to the horses
Digitized
by
Google
352
COACHES.
than the slower rate at which they travelled some years ago. The surface of the roads be
ing perfectly smooth, and most sharp turns or rapid descents having been got rid of, travel-
ling even at this speed has been rendered comparatively safe; and it is astonishing, consider-
ing the number of coaches, how few accidents occur. They are occasioned, for the most
part, by the misconduct of the drivers; and principally by their endeavouring to make up
by increased speed for time lost at stoppages, or by their attempting to pass each other.
6. Law as to Stage Coaches.-This is now embodied in the acts 2 & 3 Will. 4. C. 120. and 3 & 4 Will.
4. c. 48.
Definition.-A stage coach is any carriage travelling along the road at the rate of 3 miles or more an
hour, without regard to form, provided the passengers pay separate fares for their places therein; but
all carriages used wholly on a railway, or impelled by steam, are excepted from this definition.-
(2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 120. (4.)
Licenses, Duties, &c.-A large portion of the act is occupied with regulations as to licences, duties,
plates, &c. But it is sufficient for our purpose to give the following schedule of the duties :-
Duty.
Daty.
Lid
Lid
For and in respect of every original license to be taken
And if such stage carriage shall be licensed to carry
out yearly by the person who shall keep, use, or cm-
more than 21 passengers, then for every 3 addi-
ploy any stage carriage in Great Britain, (that is to
tional passengers exceeding 21 which such stage car-
my,) for every such stage carriage
500
riage shall be licensed to carry, the additional daty of 0 0 of
And for and in respect of every supplementary license
for the same carriage, for which any such original
And where such excess above 21 shall not be exactly s, or a mul-
licence shall have been granted, which shall be taken
tiple of 3, then such additional duty of td. shall be payable for any
out in any of the several cases provided for by this
number of such excess being less than 3, or progremively less then
act, during the period for which such original licence
any multiple of 3, which such stage carriage shall be licensed to
was granted.
010
carry.
And for and in respect of every mile which any such
Provided always, that the number of passengers for carrying of
stage carriage shall be licensed to travel, the several
which any stage carriage shall be licensed, shall be reckoned exclu-
sums following respectively, (that is to say,) if such
sive of the coachman or driver, and also exclusive of the conductor
stage carriage shall be licensed to carry-
Duty
or guard, if there shall be a conductor or guard.
per mile.
And also the duties on passengers conveyed for hire by carriages
Not more than 4 passengers
0 0 1
travelling upon railways; (that is to say,)
More than 4 and not more than 6 passengers
0 0 if
The proprietor or company of propristors of every railway -
More than 6 and not more than 9 passengers
002
Great Britain, along which any passengers shall be conveyed for
More than 9 and not more than 12 passengers
002
hire, in or upon carriages drawn or impelled by the power of
More than 12 and not more than 15 passengers
003
steam, or otherwise, shall pay for and in respect of all such passen-
More than 15 and not more than TS passengers
0031
gers of and after the rate of fd. per mile for every 4 passengers so
More than 18 and not more than 21 passengers
004
conveyed.
Want of Licence, &e.-Keeping, using, &c. any stage carriage without a licence, or without plates,
or with recalled plates, or contrary to their licences, or with improper plates, are offences punishable
each by a penalty of 201.-0 0 27, 28.
Penalty on Drivers of Coaches without Plates, If not the owner, 10% if the owner 201.-d'3
Forging Plates, a misdemeanor.— 32.
Names of Proprietors, &c. to be painted outside, in legible and conspicuous characters, the names of
the extreme places between which such carriage shall be licensed to go, and also the greatest num-
ber of passengers licensed to be carried inside and outside. Penalty for neglect in this particular, 51.
-0 36.
Certain Carriages not to carry outside Passengers or Luggage, viz. those, the top or roof of which
shall be more than 8 feet 9 Inches from the ground, or the bearing of which on the ground, that is, the
distance between the centres of the tracks of the wheels, shall be less than 4 feet 6 inches. Penalty
51.- 37.
Luggage on the Roof not to exceed a certain Height, viz. 10 feet 9 inches from the ground on a carriage
drawn by 4 or more horses; and 10 feet 3 inches from ditto, if on a carsiage drawn by 2 OF 3 horses.
Driver of any carriage where such offence is committed liable in a penalty of 51.-0 43.
The clauses in the act 2 & 3 Win. 4. c. 120. relating to the distribution of outside passengers, &cc.
have been repealed by the act 3 & 4 Win. 4. C. 48., which substitutes the following in their stead.
Number of outside Passengers, &c.-Any licensed stage carriage with 4 wheels or more, the top or
roof of which shall not be more than 8 feet 9 inches from the ground, and the bearing of which on the
ground shall not be less than 4 feet 6 inches from the centre of the tracks of the wheels, if such car-
riage shall be licensed to carry any number not more than 9 passengers, shall be allowed to carry not
more than 5 of such passengers outside; and if licensed to carry more than 9 and not more than 12
passengers, shall be allowed to carry not more than 8 of such passengers outside; and if licensed to
carry more than 12 and not more than 15 passengers, shall be allowed to carry not more than 11 of
such passengers outside; and if licensed to carry more than 15 and not more than 18 passengers, shall
be allowed to carry not more than 12 of such passengers outside and if licensed to carry any greater
number than 18 passengers, shall be allowed to carry not more than 2 additional passengers outside
for every 3 additional passengers which such carriage shall be so licensed to carry in the whole pro-
vided that in no case a greater number of passengers shall be carried on the outside than is authorised
by the licence. If more be carried, driver to forfeit 51.-2.
Driver, Guard, and Children in lap, not to be counted as passengers 2 children under 7 years
reckoned as 1 passenger.- 3.
No Person to sit on Luggage on the Roof, nor more than 1 person besides driver on the box. Penalty
51.-0 14.
Justices, Road-surveyors, Toll-keepers, &c. authorised to cause stage carriages and Ruggage to be
measured; any passenger authorised to require the driver to stop at a toll-gate, and to require the
gate-keeper to measure the carriage and luggage, and to count the number of inside and outside pas-
sengers. Penalty on driver refusing to stop, 51. on gate-keeper neglecting to provide a measure, or
refusing to measure and count, 51.-(% & 3 Will. 4. c. 120. 1 45.)
Conduct of Drivers, &c.-Drivers quitting the box before a proper person shall stand at the head of
the horses such person leaving the horses before some other person shall be placed in like manner,
or have the command of the horses, or before the driver has resumed his seat on the box and taken
the reins driver allowing any passenger or other person to drive for him, or leaving the box without
any reasonable occasion, or for a longer time than is absolutely necessary; concealing or misplacing
plates; guard discharging fire-arms unnecessarily; driver, conductor, or guard, neglecting to take
care of luggage asking more than the proper fare; neglecting to account to his employer; or as-
saulting or using abusive language to any person having travelled, or about to travel, as a passenger,
or to any person accompanying the same: shall in each and every such case forfeit 51.-1 47.
Drunkenness, &c.-Drivers, conductors, or guards having the care of any stage carriage, endanger-
ing, through intoxication, negligence, or wanton and furious driving, the safety of any passenger or
other person, or the property of the owner of such carriage or other person, shall each person so
offending forfeit 51.- 49.
Digitized by Google
COAL.
353
Owners liable for penalties, when driver or guard is not known, or cannot be found 49.
Railway Proprietors are to render accounts of the passengers conveyed along the same to the Stamp
Office, and to give security to keep and render such accounts, and to pay the duties.-> 1 50, 51.
Treasury may compound with proprietors of railways for the duties chargeable on passengers con-
veyed by them.- 52.
MAIL COACHES are under the regulations of the post-master general; and the enactments in this
act as to plates, inscriptions, outside passengers, and luggage, do not extend to them; but the other
regulations as to the conduct of drivers, guards, &c. do apply to them. Mail coaches have only four
outside passengers one on the box, and three immediately behind the box. No passenger allowed
to sit beside the guard. The rate of travelling, the time allowed for stoppages, the quantity of lug-
gage to be carried, &c. are all regulated by the post-master general.
COAL (Da. Steenkull; Du. Steenkoolen; Fr. Charbon de terre; Ger. Steinkohlen,
It. Carboni fossili; Lat. Lithanthrax; Port. Carvoes de terra, ou de pedra; Rus. Ugolj,
Kamennoe; Sp. Carbones de tierra, Carbones de piedra; Sw. Stenkol). This highly
important combustible mineral is divided by mineralogists into the three great families of
black coal, uninflammable coal, and brown coal; each of these being again divided into
many subordinate species.
All the common coals, as slate coal, foliated coal, cannel coal, &c., belong to the black coal
family. Slate and foliated coal is found in vast quantities in Durham and Northumber-
land, at Whitehaven in Cumberland, in the river district of the Forth and Clyde, &c. The
best Newcastle coal kindles easily in burning it cakes or runs together into a solid mass,
emitting a great deal of heat, as well as of smoke and flame; it leaves a small quantity of
heavy, dark-culoured residuum or ashes. Most of the Scotch coals are what are familiarly
called open burning coals. They do not last so long as the Newcastle coal, yield less heat,
de not cake or run together in burning, and usually leave a considerable quantity of light,
white ashes. They make, however, a very pleasant, cheerful fire and, for most house-
hold purposes, the best fire is said to be made of a mixture of Scotch and Newcastle coal.
Cannel coal is sometimes met with in the Newcastle pits, in Ayrshire, &c. but the
largest beds of it, and of the purest kind, are near Wigan in Lancashire. It burns with a
beautiful clear flame, emitting a great deal of light, but not a great deal of heat. It takes a
good polish and articles made of it are often passed off for pure jet.
The uninflammable coals are those known by the names of Welsh culm or stone coal,
Kilkenny coal, and the blind or deaf coal of Scotland. These coals are difficult to kindle,
which has given rise to their name but when once thoroughly ignited, they burn for a long
time: they make a hot, glowing fire, like charcoal, without either flame or smoke; but owing
to their emitting noxious vapours, they cannot be used in dwelling houses, though they are
in considerable demand among malsters, dyers, &c.
Brown, or Bovey coal, so called from its being principally found at Bovey near Exeter, is
light, yields but little heat in burning, and is seldom used as fuel.
In all, about seventy species of coal are said to be imported into London, of which forty-
five are sent from Newcastle! Of course, many of them differ from each other by almost
imperceptible degrees, and can only be distinguished by those thoroughly conversant with
the trade.
Origin of Coal. Phenomena of Combustion, &c.-Coal beds, or strata, lie among those
of gravel, sand, chalk, clay, &c. which form great part of the present surface of the earth,
and have been evidently accumulated during remote ages by the agency of " moving water,"
-similar to accumulations now in process of formation at the mouths of all great rivers,
and in the bottoms of lakes and seas. When these strata had, by long contact and pres-
sure, been solidified into a rocky crust to the earth, this crust, by subsequent convulsions of
nature, of which innumerable other proofs remain, has been in various parts broken and
heaved up above the level of the sea, so as to form the greater part of our dry or habitable
land in some places appearing as lofty mountains, in others as extended plains. In many
situations, the fracture of the crust exhibits the edges of the various distinct strata found in
a given thickness of it. When the fracture has the form of a precipitous cliff, these edges
appear one above another, like the edges of piled planks or books; but often also they are
met with in horizontal succession along a plain, as the edges of a pile of books laid down
upon a table or they may be seen surrounding hills of granite which protrude through
them. Coal, and other precious minerals. were first discovered by man at the fractures of
the strata above described, and by his continued digging of the strata or veins he has gra-
dually formed the vast excavations called mines. When it was at last discovered, that all
the world over, the mineral strata occur among themselves in nearly the same order or suc-
cession, so that the exposure any where of a portion of one stratum is a good indication of
the other strata lying near, the operations of the miner became of much surer result, and
expensive boring through superior strata might be prudently undertaken, even where no
specimen of the desired but more deeply buried substance had yet been seen.
Before the discovery of coal mines, or the invention of cheap means of working them,
wood was the general fuel of the earth; and in many countries where the arts have not
much flourished, it is still the chief fuel. Coal, however, for many purposes, answers much
better than wood. Now, coal and wood, although in appearance 80 different, are in their
2 & 2
45
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ultimate composition very nearly allied. They both have for their basis or chief ingredient
the substance called by the chemists carbon, and for their chief other ingredient, the sub-
stance called hydrogen, which, when separated, exists in the form of air or gas. The hy-
drogen is easily driven away or volatilised from either coal or wood, by heating in a close
place and when it is caught and preserved, it forms the gas now used to light our streets
and public buildings. What remains of coal, after being 80 treated, is the substance called
coke; and what remains of wood, similarly treated, is the substance called charcoal,-both
being nearly pure carbon, but differing as to the states of compactness. This kindred nature
of coal and wood does not surprise, when the fact is known, that much of our coal is really
transformed wood; many coal mines being evidently the remains of antediluvian forests, swept
together in the course of the terrestrial changes already alluded to, and afterwards solidified
to the state now seen. In these mines, the species of the plants or trees which formed them
are still quite evident in abundant specimens mixed often with the remnants of the animals
which inhabited the earth at the same time. The extensive peat-mosses now existing on
the surface of the earth, consist chiefly of vegetable remains in an early stage of the kind
of change which terminates in the formation of coal.
A substance which, like coal or wood, cheaply answers the purpose of producting great
heat and light, is called fuel, and the phenomenon of that production is called combustion.
Now, modern discovery has ascertained that, in every instance, combustion is merely an
appearance which accompanies the mutual action, when very intense, of two substances in
the act of forming an intimate or chemical union. Where that act is less energetic, the
heat produced is less intense, and there is no light. Thus water and sulphuric acid when
mixing produce great heat, but no light. Water and quicklime produce still greater heat suf-
ficient, it is known, to set fire to a ship in which the mixture unfortunately occurs. It is an
occurrence of the same kind when heat is evolved from an acid dissolving a metal and it
is still of the same kind when a mass of coal or wood in a fire-grate is, with the appearance
of combustion, undergoing solution in the oxygen of the atmosphere. In this last case,
however, the temperature of the fuel is, by the very intense action, raised so much that the
fuel becomes incandescent or luminous; an appearance assumed by every substance, whether
burning or not,-of a stone, for instance, or piece of metal,-when heated beyond the tem-
perature indicated by 800° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The inferior degrees of such
incandescence are called red heat, the superior degrees white heat. The reason why any
strongly heated body throws out light, we cannot yet explain. When a quantity of wood
or coal has been burned to ash in a confined portion of air, the whole of the fuel, vanished
from view, is held in solution by the air, as salt is held in water, and is again recoverable by
the art of the chemist. The phenomenon of common fire, or combustion, then, is merely
the fuel being chemically dissolved in the air of the atmosphere. If the fuel has nothing
volatile in it, as is true of pure carbon, and therefore nearly true of coke and charcoal, it
burns with the appearance of red-hot stones; but if there be an ingredient, as hydrogen,
which, on being heated, readily assumes the form of air, that ingredient dilates before burn-
ing, and in the act produces the more bulky incandescence called flame.
The two great purposes which combustion serves to man, are to give light and heat. By
the former he may be said to lengthen considerably the duration of his natural existence;
for he converts the dismal and almost useless night into what, for many ends, serves him as
well as day ; and by the latter, besides converting winter into any climate which he desires,
he is enabled to effect most important mutations on many of the substances which nature
offers for his use and, since the invention of the steam engine, he makes heat perform a
great proportion of the work of society. From these considerations may be perceived the
importance of having fire at command; and, as the cheapest means of commanding fire, of
having abundance of coal.
In respect to the natural supply of coal, Britain, among the nations, is most singularly
favoured much of the surface of the country conceals under it continuous and thick beds
of that valuable mineral,-vastly more precious to us than would have been mines of the
precious metals, like those of Peru and Mexico; for coal, since applied to the steam engine,
is really hoarded power, applicable to almost every purpose which human labour directed by
ingenuity can accomplish. It is the possession of her coal mines which has rendered
Britain, in relation to the whole world, what a city is to the rural district which surrounds
it,-the producer and dispenser of the rich products of art and industry. Calling her coal
mines the coal cellars of the great city, there is in them a supply, which, at the present rate
of expenditure, will last for 2,000 years at least; and therefore a provision which, as coming
improvements in the arts of life will naturally effect economy of fuel, or substitution of
other means to effect similar purposes, may be regarded as inexhaustible.
The comparative values of the different kinds of fuel have been ascertained by frnding
how much ice a certain quantity of the different kinds, while burning, will melt and thes,
1 lb. of good coal
-
- melts of ice 90 lbs.
1 lb. of good wood
-
melts of ice 58 lbs.
-
coke
-
-
-
94 do.
-
peat
-
-
19 do.
-
charcoal of wood
-
95 do.
-
hydrogengas
-
370 do.
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The kinds or differences of coal depend on the comparative proportions in them of carbon
and hydrogen, and of earthy impurities totally incombustible. While some species of coal
contain nearly a third of their weight of hydrogen, others have not a fiftieth. The former
kinds are flaming coal, pleasing in parlour fires, and fit for the manufacture of gas. The
other kinds-some of the Welsh stone coal, for instance-will only burn when in large
heaps, or when mixed with more inflammable coal ; they have no flame. When flaming
coal is burned where a sufficiency of oxygen cannot pass through or enter above the fire, to
combine with and consume the hydrogen as fast as it rises, a dense smoke is given out, con-
sisting of hydrogen and carbon combined in the proportions which form a pitchy substance.
The Welsh coal above mentioned can as little give out smoke as flame, and hence is now
much used in great breweries, and in the steam engine furnaces of towns, where smoke is a
serious nuisance.
According to Mr. Kirwan,
Charcoal.
Bitumen.
Earth.
Sp. gr.
100 parts Kilkenny coal yield
-
-
97.3
0
37
1:596
-
comp. cannel
-
-
-
75%
21.68 maltha
3.1
1'232
-
Swansea
-
-
-
73.53
23.14 mixt.
3:33
1.357
-
Leitrim
-
-
-
71'43
23.37 do.
5-20
1-351
-
Wigan -
-
-
-
61.73
36.7 do.
1.57
1.268
-
Newcastle
-
-
-
58:00
40.0 do.
-
1'271
-
Whitehaven
-
-
-
57.0
41.3
17
1.257
-
slaty cannel
-
-
-
47.62
32.52 maltha
20.0
1.426
-
asphaltum
-
31.0
68.0 bitumen.
-
-
-
1.117
-
maltha
-
-
-
8.0
-
-
2.07
100 parts of the best English coal give, of coke 63.0 by Mr. Jars.
100 do.
-
-
-
73.0 Hielm.
100 do. Newcastle do.
-
-
-
58.0 Dr. Watson.
The foliated or cubical coal, and slate coal, are chiefly used as fuel in private houses ; the
caking coals, for smithy forges the slate coal, from its keeping open, answers best for giving
great heats in a wind furnace, as in distillation on a large scale and glance coal, found in
Staffordshire, is used for drying grain and malt. The coals of South Wales contain less
volatile matter than either the English or the Scotch and hence, in equal weight, produce
a double quantity of cast iron in smelting the ores of this metal. It is supposed that 3 parts
of good Newcastle coal are equivalent, as fuel, to 4 parts of good Scotch coal.
Consumption of Coal. Number of Persons engaged in the Trade. Supply of Coal.-
The great repositories of coal in this kingdom are in Northumberland and Durham, whence
London and most parts of the south of England are at present supplied; in Cumberland,
whence large quantities of coal are exported to Ireland; and in Staffordshire, Derbyshire,
Lancashire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, South Wales, &c. In Scotland, coal
is found in the Lothians, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, and other counties. In
Ireland, coal is both deficient in quantity and inferior in quality to that of Great Britain
and turf forms the great article of fuel.
Mr. Taylor, an experienced coal owner and coal agent, estimates the annual consumption of coal in
Great Britain, as follows
Tons.
The annual vend of coals carried coastwise from Durham and Northumberland is
-
3,300,000
Home consumption, say one fifth
-
660,000
Which quantity supplies about 5,000,000 persons; and supposing the whole population
of Great Britain to be 15,000,000, this must be trebled for though these two thirds of
population are perhaps less able to afford fuel, yet taking into consideration the manu-
facturing districts, and the cheapness of coal in the interior, the estimate will not be
too high
-
-
11,880,000
Consumed by iron works, say 600,000 tons of metal, to produce which requires at least 4
times the quantity of coal in making even pig metal, and the extraordinary consump-
tion in the Cornwall, &c. mines
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,000,000
Consumed in great Britain
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14,880,000
Exported to Ireland, say
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
700,000
Total tons, exclusive of foreign exportation
-
-
15,580,000
This estimate does not differ materially from that of Mr. Stevenson (Edinburgh Encye. art. England,
P. 740), and Mr. Bakewell-(see post) ; and may be regarded as sufficiently accurate.
Mr. Buddle of Wallsend, an extremely well informed coal engineer, gives the following
estimate of the number of persons engaged in the different departments of the coal trade
on the Tyne and Wear, in the conveyance of coal to London, and in the London coal
trade: :-
I hold a paper in my hand stating the number of people employed in the coal trade in
each department. I would beg to observe, the returns from the Tyne are official documents;
from the Wear I have no returns, but it is by an approximate calculation. The number of
persons employed under-ground on the Tyne are,-men, 4,937; boys, 3,554; together,
8,491 above-ground,-men, 2,745 ; boys 718; making 3,463 making the total employed
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in the mines above and below ground, 11,954, which in round numbers I call 12,000. be-
cause I am pretty sure there were some omissions in the returns. On the river Wear, I
conceive there are 9,000 employed making 21,000 employed in digging the coal, and
delivering it to the ships on the two rivers. From the best calculations I have been able to
make, it would appear that, averaging the coasting vessels that carry coals at the size of
220 London chaldrons each vessel, there would be 1,400 vessels employed, which would
require 15,000 seamen and boys. I have made a summary. There are, seamen, 15,000
pitmen and above-ground people employed at the colleries, 21,000 keelmen, coal-boatmen,
casters, and trimmers, 2,000 : making the total number employed in what I call the North-
ern Coal Trade, 38,000. In London, whippers, lightermen, and 80 forth, 5,000 factors,
agents, &c. on the Coal Exchange, 2,500;-7,500 in all, in London. Making the grand
total in the North country and London departments of the trade, 45,500. This does not,
of course, include the persons employed at the outports in discharging the ships there."
In another place, Mr. Buddle states, that colliers are always paid by the piece," and con-
sequently their wages, although at the same rate per chaldron, vary according to the quan-
tity of work they have to do; and it is difficult to form an average, they vary so very con-
siderably they have varied from 14s. a week, to, in some instances, 40s. "The colliers
can earn up to 5s. or even more per day; but there is not full employment for them; they
sometimes do not earn more than half that sum 2s. 6d. is the certain wages that they are
hired to receive from their employers, whether they are employed or not; that is, conse-
quently, a tax on the coal owner, during the suspension of his colliery from any accident.
The men have the option of finding work elsewhere; but if they cannot do this, they may
call upon their master to pay them 14s. per week; it was 15s. a week till 1828."
We regret that we are unable to lay any estimates before our readers of the number of
persons employed in the other branches of the coal trade; but taking into view the propor-
tion which the trade on the Tyne and the Wear bears to the trade of Great Britain, as
shown in Mr. Taylor's statement, we are inclined to think that the total number of persons
directly engaged in the coal trade may be set down at from 160,000 to 180,000.
The importance of coal as a necessary of life, and the degree in which our superiority in
arts and manufactures depends upon our obtaining supplies of it at a cheap rate, has natu-
rally attracted a good deal of attention to the question as to the period when the exhaustion
of the coal mines may be anticipated. But the investigations hitherto made as to the magni-
tude and thickness of the different coal-beds, and the extent to which they may be wrought,
are too vague and unsatisfactory to afford grounds for forming any thing like a tolerably
near approximation to a solution of this question. But such as they are, they are sufficient
to show that many centuries must elapse before posterity can feel any serious difficulties
from a diminished supply of coal. According to Mr. Taylor, whose estimate of the con-
sumption of coal is given above, the coal-fields of Durham and Northumberland are ade-
quate to furnish the present annual supply for more than 1,700 years. We subjoin Mr.
Taylor's estimate.
ESTIMATE OF THE EXTENT AND PRODUCE OF THE DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND COAL-FIELDS.
Durham.
Sq. Miles.
" From South Shields southward to Castle Eden, 21 miles; thence westward to West Auck-
land, 32 miles; north-east from West Auckland to Eltringham, 33 miles ; and then to
Shields, 22 miles ; being an extent of area of
-
-
-
-
-
- 504
Northumberland.
" From Shields northward, 27 miles, by an average breadth of 9 miles
-
-
- 243
- 837
Portion excavated.
" In Durham, on Tyne, say
-
-
-
-
.
-
-
-
- 39
-
on Wear
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 40
-
79
"In Northumberland, say 13 miles by 2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
26
- 105
732
Tona.
" Estimating the workable coal strata at an average thickness of 12 feet, the contents
of 1 square mile will be 12,390,000 tons, and of 732 square miles
-
-
- 9,069,480,000
" Deduct one third part for loss by small coal, interceptions by dikes, and other inter-
ruptions
-
-
-
-
- 3,023,160,000
Remainder - 6,046,320,000
64 This remainder is adequate to supply the present vend from Newcastle, Sunderland, Hartley,
Blyth, and Stockton, of 3,500,000 tons, for a period of 1,727 years.
" It will be understood that this estimate of the quantity of coal in Durham and Northumberland
can only be an approximation, especially as the south-eastern coal district of Durham is yet almost
wholly unexplored; but the attempt is made, in the hope of satisfying your Lordships that no
apprehension need be entertained of this valuable mineral being exhausted for many future gene-
rations.
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There is also a considerable extent of coal-field in the northern and south-western districts of
Northumberland but the foregoing comprises that which is continuous, and most suitable and avail-
able for exportation."-(Lords' Report, 1829, p. 124.)
Dr. Buckland, the celebrated geologist, considers this estimate as very greatly exaggerated;
but in his examination before the committee of the House of Commons, he quotes and ap-
proves a passage of Bakewell's Geology, in which it is stated that the coal-beds in South
Wales are alone sufficient to supply the whole present demand of England for coal for
2,000 years. The passage is as follows
" Fortunately we have in South Wales, adjoining the Bristol Channel, an almost exhaust-
less supply of coal and ironstone, which are yet nearly unwrought. It has been stated, that
this coal-field extends over about 1,200 square miles and that there are 23 beds of worka-
ble coal, the total average thickness of which is 95 feet; and the quantity contained in each
acre is 100,000 tons, or 65,000,000 tons per square mile. If from this we deduct one half
for waste, and for the minor extent of the upper beds, we shall have a clear supply of coal
equal to 32,000,000 tons per square mile. Now, if we admit that 5,000,000 tons from the
Northumberland and Durham mines is equal to nearly one third of the total consumption of
coal in England, each square mile of the Welsh coal-field would yield coal for 100 years'
consumption; and as there are from 1,000 to 1,200 square miles in this coal-field, it would
supply England with fuel for 2,000 years, after all our English coal mines are worked out!"
It is therefore quite idle either to prohibit, or impose heavy duties on, the exportation of
coal, on the ground of its accelerating the exhaustion of the mines. The abolition of the
expensive and destructive process of screening-(see post)-will more than balance any
export that is ever likely to take place to foreign countries.
Profits of Coal Mining. Coal Owners' Monopoly, &c.-Instead of the business of coal
mining being, generally speaking, an advantageous one, it is distinctly the reverse. Some-
times, no doubt, large fortunes have been made by individuals and associations engaged in
this business; but these are rare instances. The opening of a mine is a very expensive and
hazardous operation, and of very uncertain result. Collieries are exposed to an infinite
number of accidents, against which no caution can guard. The chances of explosion have,
it is true, been a good deal lessened by the introduction of Sir Humphry Davy's lamp
and some mines are now wrought, that but for the invention of this admirable instrument,
must have been entirely abandoned. But besides explosions, which are still every now and
then occurring, from the carelessness of the workmen and other contingencies, mines are
very liable to be destroyed by creeps, or by the sinking of the roof, and by drowning, or the
irruption of water from old workings, through fissures which cannot be seen, and conse-
quently cannot be guarded against. So great, indeed, is the hazard attending this sort of
property, that it has never been possible to effect an insurance on a coal-work, against fire,
water, or any other accident.
Mr. Buddle, who is intimately acquainted with the state of the coal trade, informed the
committee of the House of Lords, that "Although many collieries, in the hands of fortunate
individuals and companies, have been, perhaps making more than might be deemed a rea-
sonable and fair profit, according to their risk, like a prize in a lottery ; yet, as a trade, tak-
ing the whole capital employed on both rivers, he should say that certainly it has not been
so."-(First Report, p. 56.) Again, being asked, " What have the coal owners on the Tyne
and Wear, in your opinion, generally made on their capital employed ?" he replied, "Ac-
cording to the best of my knowledge, I should think that by no means ten per cent. has been
made at simple interest, without allowing any extra interest for the redemption of capital."
(p. 57.)
In addition to the vast expense attending the sinking of shafts, the erection of steam en-
gines, &c., and the risk of accidents, the coal, after being brought to the surface, has fre-
quently to be conveyed 7 or 8 miles to the place of shipping and those whose collieries are
in that situation, have to pay way-leave rents, amounting, in some cases, to 500L a year,
for liberty to open a communication, or a railroad, through the properties lying between
them and the shore.
Much has frequently been said of the monopoly of the coal owners on the Tyne and the
Wear; but we are satisfied, after a pretty careful investigation of the circumstances, that no
such monopoly has ever existed; and that the high price of coal in the metropolis is to be
ascribed wholly to the various duties and charges that have been laid upon it, from the time
that it has passed from the hands of the owner, to the time that it is lodged in the cellar of
the consumer. What means have the coal owners of obtaining a monopoly price for their
coal ? They enjoy no exclusive privileges of any sort; they are a numerous body and the
trade is as open as any other to all capitalists to engage in. The number of places on the
east and west coasts, both of England and Scotland, and the southern parts of Wales, from
which coals are exported, render it quite visionary to suppose that any general agreement to
keep up prices can take place amongst the various coal proprietors. And though such an
agreement were entered into, it is impossible it could be maintained. The power of produc-
ing coal greatly exceeds the present demand; many new mines have been recently opened,
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COAL.
and many others would be brought into activity were the price artificially enhanced. It is
true that the coal owners referred to, having experienced the ruinous effects of throwing a
superabundant quantity of coal upon restricted and already glutted markets, have occasionally
met together ; and each having named the price he thinks his coal will command, and at
which he intends to sell it, they have proceeded jointly to regulate, according to the proba-
ble demand, the quantity that each shall raise during any particular period. By means
of this arrangement, the supply and price of coal have been kept, during the time it has
existed, comparatively steady. Common prudence prompts and justifies such an arrange-
ment; but it also suggests the necessity of reducing the price of coal to the lowest level that
will afford the customary rate of profit. For were the price demanded by the northern coal
owners raised above this level, new mines would be opened in Durham and Northumber-
land; the imports from the Tees, whence a large supply of excellent coal is at present
brought to the London market, would be augmented and fresh competitors, from Swansea
and other places, would come into the field and undersell them. Government should en-
courage and promote this fair competition but it ought, at the same time, to do equal jus-
tice by all the competitors. It is not to lend assistance to, or remove burdens from, one set
of adventurers, which it does not lend to or remove from others. It is no part of its duty to
say how coals, or any species of produce, shall be carried to market. It is bound to give
every reasonable facility for the opening of new channels or modes of conveyance between
all parts of the country; but it would be glaringly unjust to lay a tax on the coals conveyed
by a particular channel, from which those conveyed by other channels were exempted.
Mr. Buddle thinks that the aggregate capital employed by the coal owners on the Tyne
amounts to about 1,500,000l. exclusive of the craft in the river and supposing this esti-
mate to be nearly correct, it will follow, allowing for the value of the ships, that the total
capital employed in the coal trade may be moderately estimated at from eight to ten mil-
lions an immense sum to be almost wholly at the risk of the owners, without any insur-
ance upon it.
Progressive Consumption of Coal. Duties and Regulations affecting it, particularly in
the Port of London.-There are no mines of coal in either Greece or Italy and no evi-
dence has been produced to show that the ancients had learned to avail themselves of this
most useful mineral. Even in England it does not seem to have been used previously to
the beginning of the thirteenth century for the first mention of it occurs in a charter of
Henry III., granting licence to the burgesses of Newcastle to dig for coal. In 1281, New-
castle is said to have had a considerable trade in this article. About the end of this century,
or the beginning of the fourteenth, coals began to be imported into London, being at first
used only by smiths, brewers, dyers, soap-boilers, &c. This innovation was, however loudly
complained of. A notion got abroad, that the smoke was highly injurious to the public
health ; and, in 1316, parliament petitioned the king, Edward I., to prohibit the burning of
coal, on the ground of its being an intolerable nuisance. His Majesty issued a proclamation
conformably to the prayer of the petition ; but it being but little attended to, recourse was had
to more vigorous measures; a commission of oyer and terminer being issued out, with in-
structions to inquire as to all who burned sea-coal within the city, or parts adjoining, to pu-
nish them for the first offence, by " pecuniary mulcts;" and upon a second offence to de-
molish their furnaces; and to provide for the strict observance of the proclamation in all
time to come.
But notwithstanding the efforts that were thus made to prohibit the use of coal, and the
prejudice that was long entertained against it it continued progressively to gain ground.
This was partly, no doubt, owing to experience having shown that coal smoke had not the
noxious influence ascribed to it, but far more to the superior excellence of coal as an article
of fuel, and the growing scarcity and consequent high price of timber. In the reign of
Charles I. the use of coal became universal in London, where it has ever since been used
to the exclusion of all other articles of fuel. At the Restoration, the quantity imported was sup-
posed to amount to about 200,000 chaldrons. In 1670, the imports had increased to 270,000
chaldrons. At the Revolution, they amounted to about 300,000 chaldrons, and have since
gone on increasing with the growing magnitude and population of the city being, in 1750,
about 500,000 chaldrons; in 1800, about 900,000 chaldrons; and at present about 1,700,000
chaldrons.—( Campbell's Political Survey of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 30.; Edington on the
Coal Trade, p. 41. &c.)
It might have been supposed, considering that coal is, in this country, a prime necessary
of life, and by far the most important of all the instruments of manufacturing industry,
that it would have been exempted from every species of tax ; and that every possible facility
would have been given for its conveyance from the mines to the districts in the south of
England, and other places in want of it. But such, we regret to say, has not been the
case. The coal trade of Great Britain has been for more than a century and a half subjected
to the most oppressive regulations. From a very early period, the corporation had under-
taken the task of weighing and measuring the coal brought to London; and had been
accustomed to charge 8d. a ton for their trouble. In 1613, the power to make this charge
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was confirmed to the city by royal charter, it being at the same time ordered that no coal
should be unladen from any vessel till the Lord Mayor had given leave. The right to
charge this sum according to the chaldron of coal, has since been confirmed to the city by
act of parliament; and as the labouring meters, notwithstanding they have been very well
paid, have received only 5d. out of the 8d., the balance of 3d. per chaldron, producing at
present about 20,000L a year, goes to the city treasury.
But besides the above, duties for civic purposes have been laid on the coal imported into
London from the reign of Charles II. downwards. They were originally imposed in 1667,
after the great fire, in order to assist in the rebuilding of churches and other public edifices
and have ever since been continued, to enable the corporation to execute improvements in
the city; though it is probable most of our readers will be inclined to think that few im-
provements could be so great, as a reduction in the price of so very important an article as
coal. At present, a duty of 10d. per chaldron, denominated the orphans' duty, is appropriated,
until 1858, to defray the expense of the approaches to London Bridge.
Exclusive of the corporation duties, a duty payable to government was laid on all sea-
borne coal in the reign of William III., which was only repealed in 1830. This duty was
at ence glaringly unjust and oppressive unjust, inasmuch as it fell only on those parts of
the empire to which coals had to be carried by sea; and oppressive, inasmuch as it amounted
to full fifty per cent. upon the price paid to the coal owner for the coal. It is not very easy
to calculate the mischief that this tax has done to the southern counties. We, however, are
satisfied that the depressed condition of the peasantry of the south, as compared with those
of the north, is, in no inconsiderable degree, to be ascribed to the operation of the coal tax.
This tax, after being long stationary at 5s. a chaldron, was raised to 9s. 4d. during the late
war but was reduced to 6s. in 1824. But the inequality of the tax was not confined to
its affecting those parts only of the empire to which coal had to be carried by sea. Even
there its pressure was not equal for, while it amounted to 6s. a chaldron, or 4s. a ton, in
the metropolis and all the south of England, it only amounted to 1s. 74d. a ton on coal
carried by sea to Ireland, and to 1s. 8d. on that carried to Wales; while Scotland was for
many years entirely exempted from the duty.
Besides this striking partiality and injustice, various troublesome Custom-house regula-
tiens were required, in consequence of distinctions being made between the duties on large
and small coal, between those on coal and culm (a species of coal), and coal and cinders,
and of coal being allowed to be imported duty free into Cornwall, Devon, &c. for the use
of the mines. These distinctions are now, however, wholly abolished and no duties exist
on coal except those collected in London and a few other ports, and appropriated to local
purposes.
A small supply of coal was of late years brought to London from Staffordshire, by
canal navigation. This coal was charged with a duty of 1s. a chaldron; but this is now
also repealed.
The regulations to which the sale and delivery of coals have been subjected in the city
of London, have been, if possible, still more objectionable than the duties imposed on them.
Instead of being sold by weight, all coals imported into the Thames have been sold by measure.
It is curious to observe the sort of abuses to which this practice has given rise. It is stated
by the celebrated mathematician, Dr. Hutton, who, being a native of Newcastle, was well
acquainted with the coal trade, that, "If one coal, measuring exactly a cubic yard (nearly
equal to 5 bolls), be broken into pieces of a moderate size, it will measure 71 bolls; if broken
very small, it will measure 9 bolls; which shows that the proportion of the weight to the
measure depends upon the size of the coals; therefore, accounting by weight is the most
rational method." The shippers were well aware of this, and insisted upon the coal
owners supplying them with large coal only and to such an extent was this principle car-
ried, that all coal for the London market was screened, as it is technically termed, or passed
over gratings, to separate the smaller pieces. Inasmuch, however, as coals were sold in
all their subsequent stages by measure, no sooner had they been delivered by the owner,
than it was for the interest of every one else into whose hands they came before reaching
the consumer, to break them into smaller portions. In fact, the profit of many of the re-
tailers in London has arisen chiefly from the increase of measure by the breakage of coal.
And Mr. Brandling, a very intelligent and extensive coal owner, stated to the Commons'
committee, that, in consequence of the breakage, coals are reduced in London to a size in-
ferior to what they would be, were they put on board unscreened, and subjected to no addi-
tional breakage.
The statements now made sufficiently evince the nullity of all the regulations enforcing
the sale of coal by correct measures for even though these regulations had been enforced,
instead of being, as they usually were, wholly neglected, they would have been of almost
no use; inasmuch as any dishonest dealer was as able to cheat, by breaking his coals a little
smaller than usual, as if he had sold them in deficient measures.
The loss occasioned by the useless process of screening has been very great. The quantity
of coal seperated by it has amounted in some cases to from 20 to 25 per cent. of the whole
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360
COAL.
and the greater part of this residue, containing a portion of the very best coal, is burned on
the spot. " I have known," says Mr. Buddle, " at one colliery, as many as from 90 to 100
chaldrons a day destroyed. If they were not consumed, they would cover the whole surface,
and in the burnings of them they are extremely destructive; they destroy the crops a
great way round, and we pay large sums for injury done to the crops, and for damage to the
ground."- (First Lords' Rep. p. 72.) The waste of coal has been in this way enormous
and the coal owner has been obliged to charge a higher price upon the coal sold, in order to
indemnify himself for the loss of so great a quantity, and for the mischief he does to others
in burning.
The fact, that so monstrous a system should have been persevered in for more than a
century, sets the power of habit in reconciling us to the most pernicious absurdities in a very
striking point of view. Happily, however, the nuisance has been at last abated; the
sale of coal by weight taking away both the temptation to break coal, and the necessity of
screening.
But the abuses that have infected the coal trade were not confined to those that grew out
of the duties, and the sale by measure. They have insinuated themselves into most de-
partments of the business; and to such an extent have they been carried, that it takes, at
this moment, a larger sum to convey a chaldron of coal from the pool, a little below London
Bridge, to the consumers in the city, than is sufficient to defray the entire cost of the coal
in the north, including the expense of digging them from the mine, their conveyance to the
shore, landlord's rent, &c.! The following statement shows the various items that made
up the price of coal to the London consumer, in October, 1830, distributed under their
proper heads. They have been carefully abstracted from the evidence before the parliamentary
committees.
CHARGES UP TO THE TIME OF ARRIVAL IN THE PORT OF LONDON.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
Coal Owner.
Paid coal owner for coals
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 14 0
Deduct river duty paid by him for improvement of Sunderland harbour
003
0 13 9
Coal Fitter.
Keel dues, and fittage (including 7 miles' water-carriage)
-
-
023
Skip Owner.
For freight, including insurance of ship and cargo, pilotage, seamen's wages,
wear and tear of the ship and materials, discharging ballast, &c.
-
0 8 6f
Municipal Dues.
£ 8. d.
River duty, as above
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 3
Pier duty, lights, &c. paid by ship
-
-
-
-
0051
0081
..
0 11 51
CHARGES IN THE PORT OF LONDON.
Government Tax
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
060
Municipal Dues.
Trinity and Nore lights, tonnage duty, Trinity House for bal-
last, &c.
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 5
Entries, &c.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 21
Corporation of London metage -
-
-
-
-
0 0 4
Ditto orphans' dues
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 10
Ditto meter's pay and allowance
-
-
-
-
004
Ditto market dues
-
-
-
-
-
-
001
Ditto Lord Mayor's groundage, &c.
-
-
-
-
0 0 of
Ditto land metage
-
-
-
-
-
-
006
Ditto undertaker
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
001
Coal-whippers
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
017
044
Coal Factor.
Factorage and del credere commission
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 4f
Coal Merchant.
Buyer's commission
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 1 0
Lighterage
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 2 0
Cartage
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 6 0
Credit
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
020
Shootage
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
013
Add for even money
-
-
-
-
,
-
003
(See Com. Rep. p. 8.)
0 12 6
Add for discount, scorage, and ingrain* (see same Rep. p. 9.)
0221
0 14 8f
1 5 5f
Making the price paid by the consumer
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 10 74
Which is thus apportioned
Coal owner for coal
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 13 9
Ship owner, &c. for voyage to London
-
-
-
-
-
0 11 54
Government duty, corporation charges, and London coal merchant
-
1 5 5
210 71
* Scorage and ingrain were allowances that grew out of the system of selling by measure. As
this system is now repealed, it is unnecessary to describe them.
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COAL.
361
or these charges but little reduction need be looked for in those incurred in the rivers Tyne and
Wear, and in the rate of freight: and as the government duty of 6s. per chaldron has been abolished,
the charges that admit of further reduction are the municipal dues, and those attending the delivery
of coal to the consumers and in these, certainly, there is ample room for retrenchment.
Of the items which make up the sum of 4s. tod. of charges in the port of London, a sum of 1s. 2d.
(IOd. as orphan duty, appropriated to the new bridge, and Ad. as corporation metage) is a species of
public tax. So soon. however, as the term for which the orphan duty is appropriated has expired, it
ought to be abolished and it would be highly desirable were some means then also found of indemni-
fying the corporation for the 4d. of metage claimed by them; inasmuch as the abolition of these duties
would not only occasion a direct saving in the price of coal, but would afford great facilities for its
delivery.-(See post, for an account of the local duties in 1832.)
The most important item, in those forming the charges in the port of London, is the fee of the coal-
whipper, or coal-heaver-that is, the deliverer of the coals from the ship to the barge or lighter. This
fee is about 1s. 7d., and is at least 5 times as great as it ought to be. At Newcastle and Sunderland
the filling of a chaldron of coal into the wagon costs from 14d. to 11d. ; and admitting that to raise coal
from the hold is a little more difficult, still, if 4d. were allowed, it would be a most liberal payment.
But the truth is, that this item should be struck off altogether. It is occasioned by a regulation pe-
culiar to the Thames, which prevents the crews of colliers from performing this indispensable part
of their peculiar duty. In the outports, to which luckily this preposterous regulation does not extend,
the crews act as coal-heavers, and they do so without efther asking or obtaining additional wages.
And there certainly is no reason whatever for supposing that the case would be materially different
in the port of London, were it not for the regulation referred to. In 1829, the total amount of money
paid to the coal-heavers was 107,5667. 13s.; of which at least 90,000Z. may be saved to the citizens,
by simply allowing the crew to perform the function of coal-heavers.
The evidence given by the ship owners and captains before the parliamentary committees esta-
blishes, in the fullest manner, all that has been stated. To discharge a ship when loaded with timber
is admitted to be rather more difficult than when she is loaded with coal. Luckily, however, the
masters of all ships other than colliers may employ, in their discharge, either the crew, or such other
tabourers as they think fit, without any sort of interference. And it is proved, that while the cost of
discharging a ship of 300 tons, laden with coal, amounts to about 361., a ship of the same burden,
laden with timber, may be discharged for 91. or (Com. Rep. p. 321.) This, certainly, is a subject
deserving of the immediate attention of parliament.
Besides the charge of 8d. on account of ship metage, there has been a further charge of 6d. per
chaldron on account of land metage. But the new regulations enforcing sale by weight will lead to
the abolition of the land as well as the ship meters. Their inefficiency for all useful purposes was
conclusively shown by the witnesses examined by the parliamentary committees. In fact, the system
of metage has rather been a means of concealing than of discovering fraud.
The duties appropriated to public purposes, those claimed by the city of London as private property,
and those required to defray the cost of the coal exchange, and the weighing establishments, &c., are,
in future, to be charged in the aggregate at 50 much a ton on the coal imported, and paid into the City
Chamberlain's office: accounts of the distribution of the produce of the duty being annually prepared
and laid before parliament.
But the charges on account of the delivery of coal from the ship to the consumer are the most
oppressive. They amount in all to no less than 14s. 8jd. ! One item is lighterage, being a sum of 2s.
a chaldron paid for conveying the coals from the ship to the wharf. This charge seems to be in no
ordinary degree exorbitant. It is mentioned by Mr. Buddle, in his evidence (First Lords' Rep. p. 121.),
that the Tyne keelmen, who take the coals from the spouts or staiths, as they are termed, to deliver
them to the ships, are paid only Is. 6d. a chaldron, though they have to navigate their keels from 7 to
8 miles, and though it is far more difficult to shovel the coals from the keels into the port-holes of the
ships, than from a Jighter to a wharf. Were the charge for lighterage reduced to the same level in
the Thames as in the Tyne, it would not certainly exceed 8d. or 9d. a chaldron. But before this
desirable result can be accomplished, this department of the trade must, like all the rest, be thrown
open. Here again the trammels of monopoly interfere. At present no individual can act as a lighter-
man, who is not free of the Waterman's Company, and who has not served 7 years as an apprentice
upon the siver. Competition is thus wholly excluded, and the charges rendered far higher than they
would be under a different system.
The next item in the charge for delivery is 6s. a chaldron for cartage from the wharf to the con-
sumer's residence. The best way, perhaps, to judge of the reasonableness of this charge, is by com-
paring it with the sums charged for similar work done elsewhere. Now, assuming the average weight
of the chaldron to be 27 cwt., and the average distance to which coals are carted If mile, the charge
will be 3s. 5td. per ton per mile; but in the north, in Durham, Lancashire, &c., it is usual to let the
eartage of coais, including the loading, by contract, at from 7d. to 8d. a ton on turnpike roads, and 9d.
and 10d. on heavy country roads. So that the expense of cartage in London is four or five times as
much as it costs in the north. It seems difficult to account for this difference by the greater expense
attending keep of men, horses, &c. in the metropolis, though that certainly is very heavy. Perhaps a
part of it is owing to the system of licensing carts, and regulating the fees of cartage. At all events
the subject is one that ought to be investigated.
Exclusive of the charge of 6a. for cartage, there is a further charge of 1a. 6d. for shooting, that is,
for unloading the wagon into the cellar. Next to the item for whippers, this is the most outrageous
overcharge in this lengthened catalogue of abuses. There are thousands of labourers in London who
would be glad to be allowed to perform the same work for 3d. or 4d., for which the citizens are obliged
to pay Is. 6d. Indeed, we believe it might be done for a good deal less. Mr. Buddle says, At the
rate we pay our wagon-men for filling the wagons, I believe they would be very glad, for 2d., to heave
these same coals out of the cellar again up the hole,"-(First Lords' Rep. p. 121.) ; an operation
which, every one knows, would be about 10 times as troublesome as pouring them down.
Such of our readers as may have gone through these statements will, we think, feel but little dis-
posed to differ from the committee of the House of Lords, who observe, in the Second Report. 'that
in every stage, from the port of shipment to the enal merchant's wharf, and thence to the consumer's
cellar, the regulations under which the trade is conducted are productive of delay, of an aggravation
of expense, and an encouragement to p. 8.)
The sale of coal by weight, and the abolition of the metage system, have undoubtedly eradicated
some of the more flagrant abuses that infected the trade. But the statements now laid before the
reader show that there are other departments that require to be thoroughly examined. The exorbitancy
of the existing charges for the delivery of coal from the ships to the wharf, and for carting, shooting,
&c. demand that nothing should be left untried that may have any chance of contributing to their
effectual reduction.
Regulations as to Safe in Lendon.-A seller's ticket is to accompany all coal sold within the city of
London and its environs, specifying the species of coal, and the number of sucks and weight of coal
sent. The coals may be either in bags containing 1 or 2 cwt., or in bulk. The carman is in all cases
bound to carry a weighing machine with the coal, which machine is to be made conformably to regu-
VoL. L-2 H
46
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362
COAL.
lation, and, upon being desired, he is to weigh any one suck, or the whole sacks in his wagon.
Penalty on refusing to weigh, or otherwise obstructing the weighing, 20% Penalty on non-delivery
of ticket to purchaser, 201. In the event of the weight being deficient, a penalty is imposed of 10l.
or 50%, according to deficiency. Quantities of less than 560 lbs. may be sold without being weighed.-
(1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76.)
In order to save trouble in collecting the duties that still attach to coal in the port of London, the
corporation is authorised to compound with the owner or master of any ship or vessel importing coal,
for the tonnage upon which the duties are to be paid. A certificate of such composition, expressing
the number of tons of coal, cinders, or culm, agreed to be taken as the cargo of the ship or vessel com-
pounded for, is to be given to the master or owner of the same, and to be taken as evidence of the
quantity on board.
When no composition is entered into, the coal is to be weighed in the presence of an officer of the
customs at the port of shipment and the duties are to be paid upon the weight so shipped.
The shipment of coal in the Tyne is at present regulated by the act 5 Geo. 4. c. 72., commonly called
the Turn Act. The object of this act is to make all ships engaged in the trade of the Tyne be loaded
in the order in which they arrive. It prevents any preference being given to particular ships; and
renders it nearly impossible for any coal owner to give constant employment to any vessel in the
trade which he may wish to employ. In some respects this act is probably advantageous, but, on the
whole, its policy seems very questionable. Why should a coal owner be prevented from employing
certain ships in preference to others 1 Under this act, if more ships engage in the trade than can be
profitably employed in it, the loss produced by detention in port, and waiting for a cargo, instead
of falling, as it naturally would, were the trade free, on particular ships, and driving them from the
business, falls equally on every ship employed, and depresses the whole trade. There is no regula-
tion of this sort in the Wear.
Exportation of Coal.-For a considerable number of years past a duty of 17s. 6d. a chaldron was laid
on all large, and of 4s. 6d. a chaldron on all small coal exported. The first of these duties is quite ex-
cessive and is not to be vindicated, unless the policy of preventing the exportation of coal were ad-
mitted. Inasmuch, however, as small coal is the only species used in manufactories, no ground could
be assigned for prohibiting the exportation of round coal, except the risk of exhausting the mines.
But the statements previously made show the futility of this apprehension. There cannet, therefore,
be any reasonable doubt as to the policy of the reduction that has recently been made in the duty on
large coal exported. We believe, indeed, that it might have been carried a good deal further, with
advantage to the revenue and to all parties.-(For the existing duties on cost exported, see TARIFF.)
Price of Coal.-The following is an account of the contract price of coal supplied to Greenwich
Hospital in the undermentioned years :-
Years.
Per Chaldron.
Years.
Per Chaldron.
Years.
Per Chaldron.
£
8.
d.
£
8.
d.
£
8.
d.
1730
1
4
.6
1785
1
14
21
1824
2
3
8
1735
1 5 0
1790
1 14 44
1826
1 $ 2
1740
1 9 a
1795
1
19
9
1826
2
o
4
1745
1 10 0
1800
2
11
7
1827
2
1
51
1750
1
7
71
1805
2 11 84
1828
2 0 84
1755
1
8
71
1810
3
0
8
1829
1
16
7
1760
I 12 8
1815
2 15 64
1830
1 12 11
1765
1 12 41
1820
2 5 9
1831
1 7 e
1770
1 9 If
1821
2
6
6
1832
1
&
3
1775
1 10 11t
1822
2 4 64
1780
1 17 34
1823
2
6
7
(See art# PRICES.)
This table sets the beneficial influence of the abolition of the duty on coals, and of the other altera-
tions that have been made in the management of the trade, in a very striking point of view.
Imports of Coal into London, and public Duties thereon.-The following table shows the quantity of
coal and culm (small coal) imported into London during each of the 7 years ending with 1832, the
public duties charged on the same, and the produce of the duties.-(Part. Paper, No. 197. Sess. 1833.)
Coals, Chaders, and Culm, imported into the Port of London.
Total Quantity imported,
Years.
Stated in Tons, allowing
Rates of Public Duties charged on Importation
Produce of the
Stated in
25 1-2 cwt. to the Chaldron,
Dutise.
-
Chaldrons.
1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76. a. 44.
£
1826
1,600,229
2,040,291
Coals and cinders:
467,852
1827
1,476,331
1,882,321
Charged by measure, 6s. per chaldron.
416,804
1828
1,537,694
1,960,559
Charged by weight, 4s. per ton.
443,217
1829
1,583,511
2,018,975
Culm, 6d. per chaldron.
464,659
1830
1,630,804
2,079,275
Duties repealed from 1st of March, 1831,
407,716
1831
1,604,151
2,045,292
per act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 16.
40,708
1832
1,677,708
2,139,078
Account of the various Local or Municipal Duties charged on Coals imported into the Port of London
since 1825 specifying such Duties in detail, the Rate of each, and the Amount of Duty annually
produced by each.-(Parl. Paper, No. 296. Sess. 1833.)
Years.
Description of Duties.
Rate of each Duty.
Annual Produce of
each Duty.
1826
Duty on coals delivered in the year ending 5th of January,
£
a.
d.
1827, pursuant to the act of the 5th & 6th of Will. & Mary,
c. 10., for the relief of the orphans and other creditors of
the city of London, and continued by various acts of par-
liament for effecting public works
6d. per chald.'
Additional metage duty, pursuant to the said act of 5 & 6
W. & M. and applicable to the purposes of the said or-
}
65,548 $ 5
phans' fund
-
4d. per chald.
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COAL.
363
Table of Duties on Coal.-continued.
Years.
Rate of each Duty.
Annual Produce of
Description of Duties.
each Duty.
1827
Additional metage duty, pursuant to the said act of 5 & 6
W. & M. and applicable to the purposes of the said
orphans' fund
-
-
-
-
-
-
4d. per chald.
59,292 9 9
1828
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
63,211 14 6
1829
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
65,029 14 10
1830
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
66,689 10 11
1831
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
65,364 15 6
1832
Commutation pursuant to the act of 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76. for
the said duties of 6d. and 4d. per chaldron, continued by
the act of 10 Geo. 4. c. 136. for making the approaches to
London Bridge
-
-
-
-
-
8d. per ton
71,020 5 4
1826
Duty charged by 43 Geo. 3. c. 134. for establishing a market
in the city of London for the sale of coals
-
-
1d. per chald.
6,649 8 101
1827
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
6,091 18 21
1828
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
6,472 15 11
1829
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
6,639 18 51
1830
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
6,785 9 11
1831
Ditto including 2677. 8s. 61d. for duty on coals import-
ed in 1831, but delivered in 1832
-
ditto
6,865 2 of
1832
Continued by the act of the 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76. for the sup-
port of the said market, and for paying the compensations
of the land coal-meters of London, Westminster, and
Middlesex, for the abolition of their offices
-
-
1d. per ton
8,877 10 8
1826
Duty payable to the corporation of the city of London, for
metage
-
-
-
-
-
4d. per chald.
26,624 1 4
1827
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
24,367 12 11
1828
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
25,893 13 11
1829
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
26,559 13 10
1830
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
27,141 19 5
1831
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
26,390 14 0
1832
Commutation for the said duty of 4d. per chaldron, water-
bailliage and groundage of coals, and fees to Lord Mayor
on permit, &c. pursuant to the act of the 1 & 2 Will. 4. c.
76., chargeable with the compensations to the clerks,
officers, and deputy sea-coal meters, for the abolition of
their places by the said act
-
-
-
-
4d. per ton
35,510 2 8
4d. per New-
1826
Duty of water-bailliage on coals and groundage of colliers,
castle ,or dou-
payable to the corporation of London by non-freemen
ble chald. and
999 4 71
only
6d. per ship
groundage
1827
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
903 11
31
1828
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
942 11 9
1829
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
990 2 5
1830
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
1,010 6 31
1831
Ditto
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
991 15 04
1832
Commuted by said act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76., as before stated
Nil.
1826
Fees payable to the Lord Mayor of London for permit and
registering certificates of the quantity and quality of coals,
pursuant to the act 9 Anne, c. 28.
-
-
-
1s. 6d. per ship
517 11 6
1827
Ditto
-
-
-
-
ditto
467 16 0
1828
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditte
495 19 0
1829
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
515 13 6
1830
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
524 19 0
1831
Ditto -
-
-
-
-
-
-
ditto
481 14 6
1832
Commuted under the said act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76., as before
Nil.
mentioned.
-
-
-
-
-
-
Note.-The act of the 47 Geo. 3. c. 68. (repealed by the act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 76.), imposed a duty of
6d. per chaldron on all coals sold by wharf measure, and 1s. per 5 chaldrons, sold by pool measure ;
but the corporation of London have no means of ascertaining the amount of those duties paid in
the districts of Westminster, Middlesex, and Surrey.-GuildhaM, 15th of May, 1833.
It appears from this account, that the various local and municipal duties charged on coal in the port
of London in 1832, amounted to 115,407L. 18s. 8d., being at the rate of about 1s. 4d. per chaldron on the
coal imported that year. Were these duties wholly abolished, or commuted for some other tax, and
all regulations as to the unloading of ships in the river, with the exception of those necessary to pre-
serve order, swept off, we have no doubt that the price of coal would be materially reduced.
(We are glad to have to state, that the duty on coal exported in English ships is repealed
and that the duty on all descriptions of coal exported in foreign ships is reduced to 4s. a ton.
The increased exportation of coal this measure has occasioned cannot fail of being highly
advantageous. Ships, that might otherwise have had to go out in ballast, have now an op-
portunity of taking with them what may prove a profitable cargo, at the same time that the
cost of conveying the mineral abroad operates as a premium in favour of our own manufac-
tures. The fact, too, that there is, in South Wales alone, a supply of coal sufficient to meet
the present demand of the empire for more than 2,000 years, shows the futility of imagining
that the measure can be injurious, by its hastening the exhaustion of the mines.-Sup.)
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An Account of the Quantity of Coals, Culin, and Cinders exported from the different Ports of England, Scotland, and Wales, for the Ten years ending with 1828; distinguishing
those sent Coastways, to Ireland, to British Colonies, and to all Foreign Countries; and distinguishing the Quantities sent to each.-(Parl. Paper. No. 37. Sess. 1829.)
364
To other Ports of Great Britain (Coastwise).
To Ireland.
To British Colonies.
To Foreign Countries.
Coals (except Small
Small
Coals (except Small
Small
Coals (except
Coals.
Culm.
Culm.
Coals) and Cinders.
Small Coals) and
Small
Coals (except
Years.
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Total Quantity
sent Coast-
wise, stated in
Tons Weight.
Coals) and Cinders.
Coals.
Total Quantity
Tons.
Imperial
Imperial
exported to Ire-
land, stated in
Tons Weight.
Coals.
Culm.
Cinders.
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Total Quantity
exported to
Imperial
Imperial
British Colonies,
Small
Tons Weight.
Small Coals) and
Culm.
stated in
Cinders.
Coals.
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Total Quantity
exported to
stated in
Tons.
Imperial
Imperial
Imperial
Tons Weight.
Tons.
Imperial
Imperial
Tens.
Newcastle
Measure.
Newcasile
Newcastle
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Measure
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
1819
438,045
2,105,745
18
70,934
3,459,508
156,581
354,439
21
15,168
669,660
9,895
42,813
1,333
233
71,497
9,475
22,732
35,712
9
164,375
1820
437,074
2,423,263
71
105,911
3,947,908
119,609
399,743
-
10,946
606,400
9,191
56,500
1,784
254
90,447
7,081
20,536
36,509
159
158,672
1821
463,974
2,256,757
105
97,396
3,731,908
140,851
352,600
-
10,441
644,787
10,521
55,431
2,016
115
90,423
8,236
23,671
37,509
218
170,941
1822
491,094
2,301,770
427
88,953
3,810,239
156,236
376,943
10,486
694,024
9,741
54,821
18,719
-
111,822
9,692
22,425
38,892
216
172,754
1823
534,835
2,672,456
62
92,425
4,372,839
166,131
373,333
112
6,415
693,413
13,606
51,281
3,448
99
89,713
5,446
16,579
42,599
526
163,662
1824
547,939
2,587,880
232
121,091
4,308,571
162,878
367,815
1,607
11,352
691,429
12,211
60,254
2,684
-
99,575
10,952
18,783
44,349
515
179,617
1825
539,760
2,623,354
25,036
121,357
4,384,433
159,723
368,815
2,368
15,036
695,832
10,527
69,618
5,022
63
114,264
27,827
15,501
47,671
755
197,234
1826
557,355
2,788,125
78,758
139,360
4,730,307
236,052
367,849
119
23,599
779,584
42,490
55,231
2,796
288
123,437
45,518
9,222
57,565
270
223,219
1827
595,278
2,539,871
103,115
127,026
4,440,318
198,857
306,289
30
19,214
650,728
43,963
53,645
3,095
278
123,109
54,090
11,403
59,867
478
244,222
1828
645,471
2,586,266
75,097
121,201
4,507,935
242,944
336,550
486
21,100
740,071
50,563
53,277
2,458
118
128,092
38,507
11,056
60,315
26
227,709
COAL.
Aggregate Quantities shipped to all Parts.
Customs Revenue on Coals, Cinders, and Culm.
Coals (except Small Coals, and Cinders.
Small Coals.
Culm.
Gross Revenue.
Total Quantity
Nett Produce of the
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
Chaldrons
shipped to
On Coals, Cinders, and
Years.
Tons.
Newcastle
Imperial
Newcastle
Imperial
Newcastle
Imperial
all Parts, stated
Culm, brought or carried
Total Gross Revenue,
Duties on Coals, Cinders,
On Coals, Cinders
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
in Tons Weight.
Years.
and Culm in the United
Measure.
Measure.
Measure.
Coastwise, or by Inland
and Culm exported to
Digitized by
Navigation, in the United
Foreign Parts.
Kingdom.
Kingdom.
1819
613,996
22.732
2,502,997
35,712
1,372
9
86,335
4,365,040
£
s. d.
1820
2,819,506
36,509
£
572,955
20,536
1,855
159
S. d.
£
8. d.
117,111
£
4,803,427
8.
d.
1819
623,582
23,671
957,899
9
37,509
101
1821
2,121
48,861
7
2,664,788
218
11t
1,006,760 17 01
107,952
4,638,059
986,869
4
71
1820
1822
666,763
22,425
2,723,534
38,892
19,146
1,086,564 17 31
216
48,359 3 9
99,439
1,134,924 1 01
4,788,839
1,115,995
7
91
Google
1821
1823
720,018
16,579
3,097,070
42,599
3,622
526
1,019,865 10 51
50,911 13 11
98,939
1,070,777
3
6%
5,319,627
1,050,032 14 41
1822
1824
733,980
18,783
3,015,949
44,349
4,523
515
1,006,506 2 34
52,771 4 61
1,059,277 6 10
132,443
1,037,852 6 2
5,279,192
1825
737,837
15,501
3,061,817
47,671
32,426
1823
1,145,659
1
755
31
44,020 5 64
1,189,679 6 91
136,456
1,167,767 17 11
5,391,763
1826
881,415
1824
9,222
3,211,205
57,565
81,673
270
948,810 16 10
42,821 16 10$
991,632 13 83
968,291 16 5f
163,247
5,856,547
1825
1827
892,188
11,403
2,899,805
59,867
106,240
899,918 14 91
43,421 1 10
943,339 16 78
917,230
4 101-
478
146,518
5,458,377
1826
1828
977,485
11,056
2,976,093
60,315
26
972,839 19 01
40,553 17 8
78,041
1,013,393 17 51
987,083 17 71
142,419
5,603,807
1827
862,526 8 61
45,182 9 3
907,718 17 91
883,369 9 44
1828
922,682
1
41
41,423 6 2
964,105 7 61
936,088
4 10
COAL.
365
[The great coal field of the United States is situated west of the Alleghany ridge of moun-
tains, which constitutes its eastern boundary from the county of Bradford, in Pennsylvania,
through that State, Maryland, and Virginia. This boundary line then bends towards the
west, through Tennessee, and into the State of Alabama; coal being found as far south
as the neighbourhood of Tuscaloose. Its western boundary passes from Pennsylvania
into Ohio near the town of Sharon, and enters Kentucky near the mouth of the Little Sandy
river; whence it proceeds into Tennessee, in the direction of the town of Irvine, and of the
point where the Cumberland river intersects the boundary line between the two last men-
tiened States. The coal in this field is of a bituminous character.
Abundance of bituminous coal has been recently found in the States of Indiana, Illinois,
and Missouri, which no doubt belongs to one extensive coal field. It has been noticed par-
ticularly in the vicinity of St. Louis, a very important position.
On the Raystown branch of the Juniata there is a small bituminous ceal field, which is
likely to become important in a commercial point of view; and the same description of
coal has been lately found in Dauphin county, near Harrisburg, being at the western termi-
nation of the Pottsville or Schuylkill field of anthracite coal.
But the most important of the smaller bituminous coal fields is that lying in the coun-
ties of Henrico, Goochland, Chesterfield, Prince Edward, and Cumberland, in the State of
Virginia. A considerable amount of capital has been here invested within a few years, in
mining and conveying the coal to market. Previous to 1820, it is said that the whole ex-
port of it from Virginia to the northern ports of the Union did not exceed 500,000 bushels.
In the year 1835, the amount exported from Richmond to different ports of the United
States had attained to about 3,500,000 bushels, with a supply to the home market of nearly
a million of bushels."
The bituminous coals are more particularly designed for manufacturing purposes. The
veins are generally found in positions nearly horizontal, and in parallel strata. The close-
burning species is the kind which melts, and forms a crust, or what smiths call a hollow fire,
and emits a bituminous smell. The open-burning kind produces an extensive flame, which
passes freely through the coals, and emits little or no bituminous smell when burnt in a
grate."
Even in the State of Pennsylvania, where the anthracite coal is to be found most abun-
dantly, the anthracite coal districts are of very limited extent, in comparison to that of the
bituminous districts. These were estimated by Mr. Packer, in his report to the Senate of
the State, in 1834, on the subject of the coal trade, to consist respectively of 624,000 and
13,440,000 acres. From the peculiar situation, however, of the anthracite coal districts 80
near the Atlantic coast, and the rapidly increasing rate with which their product has been
brought into market, as well as the extraordinary enterprise of the parties who have invested
their capitals in them, they have become an object of especial interest to the community
for which reason we shall now throw together some of the most important facts we have
been able to collect concerning them and the trade to which they have given origin.
The anthracite coal fields under consideration are three in number, averaging about 65
mile in length and 5 miles in width. The first, or southern, or Schuylkill field, includes the
Lehigh, Little Schuylkill, Schuylkill, Swatara, and Dauphin districts. The second comprises
the Beaver Meadow, Shamokin, and Mahanoy districts. The third, or northern, includes the
Lackawanna, and Wilkesbarre or Susquehanna districts. " Each of these fields forms a
long elliptical basin, with a well defined border of red shale, and surrounded by a barrier of
long and sharp mountain ridges. Two of these fields, the first and the second, run side
by side, ranging a little north of east ; the remaining one is somewhat apart from them, and
has a more northerly direction."
Of the above mentioned districts, the most important, at the present time, are the Schuyl-
kill, Lehigh, Beaver Meadow, and Lackawanna. The Shamokin district is just opening, and
will soon take a station among the first in the quality of its coal and extent of its products.
The first field is remarkable from its containing Red Ash coal, which is supposed to exist in
none of the others to any extent. This coal is easily ignited, burns freely, and its residuum
is more ponderous than that of the White Ash. It occupies nearly two-thirds of this field.
The White Ash produces a more intense heat. and leaves less residuum than the Red Ash.
It is free from what are called clinkers, which a white heat produces in all the Red Ash
coals. On these accounts it is better suited for stoves, and for manufacturing purposes.
This is the product of the northern portion of the first or Schuylkill, as well as of the other
two fields.
The consumption of anthracite coal is rapidly increasing. It is superseding all other
kinds of fuel in a considerable part of this country for almost every purpose. It is now very
generally used for domestic purposes upon the seaboard. In stationary steam engines it is
now a common fuel; and in locomotives it is every day becoming more general. During
the last year it has been effectually introduced into steamboats. It is the common fuel in
the coal regions for blacksmith's forges, in preference to any other. And it has lately been
2 H 2
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Google
366
COAL.
introduced with success in the manufacture of iron; in Wales on a large scale; in this
country on a scale sufficient to prove its economy.
It may be fair to put the saving in the use of anthracite coal, instead of wood, as high as
fifty per cent.
The progressive consumption of anthracite coal, for the first fifteen years after its intro-
duction into use, was quite extraordinary, amounting to about 33 per cent. per annum. For
the last 3 years the increase has been only about 16 per cent. per annum. About 830,000
tons were consumed in 1838. As our forests, too, disappear, and as the demand for timber
for building purposes increases, the consumption of coal must also increase and the period
is fast approaching when its importance to us may not be less than is that of the collieries
of England to her.
Before the year 1820, the anthracite ooal fields of Pennsylvania were entirely unworked.
The quantity brought to market from that time to the present is exhibited below in a tabular
form.
Quantities of Anthracite shipped from the mines.
By the Union
Lacks-
Years.
Canal, from
Lehigh.
Schuyikill.
wanna.
Totals.
Years.
Lehigh.
Schuylkill.
Lackawanna.
the Pine-
Shamokin.
Totals.
grove.
Tons.
Tone.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tona.
Tens.
1820
365
-
-
365
1830
42,790
89,984
43,000
-
-
175,774
1821
1,073
-
-
1,073
1831
41,085
81,854
54,000
-
-
176,939
1822
2,240
-
-
2,240
1832
80,000
209,271
84,600
-
-
1373,871
1823
5,823
-
-
5,823
1833
123,000
250,588
112,000
2,383
-
487,971
1824
9,541
-
-
9,541
1834
106,244
224,242
47,700
2,450
-
380,636
1825
28,393
6,500
-
34,893
1835
131,250
334,872
90,660
5,226
-
562,008
1826
31,280
16,767
-
48,047
1836
146,502
432,045
106,270
11,709
-
696,525
1827
32,070
31,360
-
63,430
1837
223,902
523,152
115,387
12,098
-
874,539
1828
30,232
47,284
-
77,516
1838
212,831
433,875
76,321
13,809
3,746
727,582
1829
25,110
79,973
7,000
112,083
The country along the North Branch of the Susquehanna is supplied with coal from the Wilkes-
barre district, of which no account is taken above.
General Statement of the whole Anthracite Coal business.
On hand at tide water
Total receipts at
On hand, and brought
Consumed of all kinds
Years.
tide water.
April 1st, being surplus
down during the
in year ending
Annual increase of
over consumption.
year.
April 15th.
consumption.
Tons
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
1820
365
-
365
365
1821
1,073
-
1,073
1,073
708
1822
2,240
-
2,240
2,240
1,167
1823
5,823
-
5,823
5,823
3,583
1824
9,541
-
9,541
9,541
3,718
1825
34,893
-
34,893
34,893-
25,352
1826
48,047
-
148,047
43,047
8,154
1827
63,430
5,000
68,430
60,430
17,383
1828
77,516
8,000
85,516
73,516
13,086
1829
112,083
12,000
124,083
106,083
32,567
1830
175,774
18,000
193,774
133,774
27,691
1831
176,939
60,000
236,939
236,939
103,165
1832
373,871
-
373,871
313,871
76,932
1833
487,971
60,000
547,971
427,971
114,100
1834
380,636
120,000
500,636
420,820
2,849*
1835
562,008
79,816
641,824
641,824
221,004
1836
696,525
-
696,525
646,525
4,701
1837
874,539
50,000
924,539
724,539
78,014
1838
727,582
200,000
927,582
827,582
103,043
Decrease.
We subjoin the following Statement of the Retail prices during a series of Years, for Unbroken Coal
delivered in Philadelphia, per ton of 2240 pounds.
Years.
Lehigh,
Schuylkill.
Years.
Lehigh.
Schuylkill.
(White Ash.)
(Red Ash.)
(White Ash.)
(Red Ash.)
1820
#8 40
1830
$6 50
$6.50
1821
8 40
1831
6 00
5 00 a 10 00
1822
8 40
1832
6 00 a 6 50
5 50 a 7 50
1823
8 40
1833
6 00
5 50
1824
7 33
1834
4 75 a 5 25
5 25
1825
7 33
1835
4 75 a 5 25
5 25 a 600
1826
7 33
1836
6 25 a 6 50
6 00 a 8 50
1827
7 00
$6 50
1837
575
6 50 a 9 50
1828
6 50
7 00
1838
6 25 a 6 75
5 50 a 7 00
1829
6 50
6 50 a 7 50
Hitherto the coal fields of Pennsylvania have presented almost the exclusive source
whence anthracite coal is procurable in the United States. The explorations lately made in
Massachusetts and Rhode Island have met with little or no success the coal procured ap-
pearing to be of an inferior quality.
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COAL.
867
The duty on coal imported into this country from abroad was five cents per bushel from
1794 to 1812; and it was doubled during the war. In 1816, after the war, it was reduced
to five cents on the heaped bushel. It continued at this rate until 1824, when it was raised
to six cents on the heaped bushel. And in the year 1833, the law, commonly regarded
as a compromise of the tariff question, provided for the limited continuance, and for the
reduction of this, in common with other duties.
The average amount of the coal annually imported from abroad, that is to say almost
altogether from Nova Scotia and from Great Britain, during the four years ending Septem-
ber 30th, 1837, was 2,750,000 bushels, valued at about 240,000 dollars.
For an account of the quantity of coal exported from Philadelphia and Richmond to
other places, the reader is referred to the comparative statement of the trade of our principal
ports, under the head of IMPORTS AND Exports.
Additional information concerning American coal may be obtained by consulting a Re-
port of the Committee of the Senate of Pennsylvania upon the subject of the Coal Trade,
S. Y. Packer, Chairman; an article on the coal trade of Pennsylvania in the 42d volume
of the North American Review; the reports on the geological survey of this state, by Pro-
fessor Henry D. Rogers; a letter from Isaac Lea, Esq. to Nicholas Biddle, Esq. dated April
4th, 1838, and published in the National Gazette of Philadelphia; &c.-Am. Ed.}
COASTING TRADE, the trade or intercourse carried on by sea between two or more
ports or places of the same country.
It has been customary in most countries to exclude foreigners from all participation in the
coasting trade. This policy began in England in the reign of Elizabeth (5 Eliz. c. 5,), or,
perhaps, at a more remote era; and was perfected by the acts of navigation passed in 1651
and 1660. A vast number of regulations have been since enacted at different periods. The
existing rules with respect to it, which have been a good deal simplified, are embodied in the
act 3 and 4 Will. 4. c. 52., and are as follow :-
Definition of Coasting Trade-All trade by sea from any one part of the United Kingdom to any
other part thereof, or from one part of the Isle of Man to another thereof, shall be deemed to be a
coasting trade, and all ships while employed therein shall be deemed to be coasting ships and no part
of the United Kingdom, however situated with regard to any other part thereof, shall be deemed in
law, with reference to each other, to be parts beyond the seas in any matter relating to the trade or
navigation or revenue of this realm.- 105.
Lords of Treasury to regulate what shall be deemed trading by sea under this Act.-It shall be lawful
for the said commissioners of his Majesty's treasury to determine and direct in what cases the trade
by water from any place on the coast of the United Kingdom to another of the same shall or shall not
be deemed a trade by sea within the meaning of this act or of any act relating to the customs.-> 106.
Coasting Ship confined to coasting Voyuge.-No goods shall be carried in any coasting ship, except
such as shall be laden to be 80 carried at some port or place in the United Kingdom, or at some port or
place in the Isle of Man respectively and no goods shall be laden on board any ship to be carried
coastwise until all goods brought in such ship from parts beyond the seas shall have been unladen
and if any goods shall be taken into or put out of any coasting ship at sea or over the sea, or if any
coasting ship shall touch at any place over the sea, or deviate from her voyage, unless forced by un-
avoidable circumstances, or if the master of any coasting ship which shall have touched at any
place over the sea shall not declare the same in writing under his hand to the collector or comptroller
at the port in the United Kingdom or in the Isle of Man, where such ship shall afterwards first arrive,
the master of such ship shall forfeit the sum of 2001.-d 107.
Before Goods be laden or unladen, Notice of Intention, &c. to be given, and proper Documents to issue.-
No goods shall be laden on board any ship in any port or place in the United Kingdom or in the Isle
of Man to be carried coastwise, nor having been brought coastwise shall be unladen in any such port
or place from any ship, until due notice in writing, signed by the master, shall have been given to the
collector or comptroller, by the master, owner, wharfinger, or agent of such ship, of the intention to
lade goods on board the same to be 80 carried, or of the arrival of such ship with goods so brought, as
the case may be, nor until proper documents shall have been granted as hereinafter directed for the
lading or for the unlading of such goods; and such goods shall not be laden or unladen except at
such times and places, and in such manner, and by such persons, and under the care of such officers,
as are hereinafter directed; and all goods laden to be so carried, or brought to be so unladen, con-
trary hereto, shall be forfeited.- 108.
Particulars in Notice.-In such notice shall be stated the name and tonnage of the ship, and the
name of the port to which she belongs, and the name of the master, and the name of the port to which
she is bound or from which she has arrived, and the name or description of the wharf or place at
which her lading is to be taken in or discharged, as the case may be and such notice shall be signed by
the master, owner, wharfinger, or agent of such ship, and shall be entered in a book to be kept by the
collector, for the information of all parties interested; and every such notice for the unlading of any
ship or vessel shall be delivered within 24 hours after the arrival of such ship or vessel, under a
penalty of 201. to be paid by the master of such ship or vessel and in every such notice for the lading
of any ship or vessel shall be stated the last voyage on which such ship or vessel shall have arrived
at such port; and if such voyage shall have been from parts beyond the seas there shall be produced
with such notice a certificate from the proper officer of the discharge of all goods, if any, brought in
such ship, and of the due clearance of such ship or vessel inwards of such voyage.-d 109.
From and to Ireland.-Upon the arrival of any coasting ship at any port in Great Britain from Ire-
land, or at any port in Ireland from Great Britain, the master of such ship shall, within 24 hours after
such arrival, attend and deliver such notice, signed by him, to the collector or comptroller; and if such
ship shall have on board any goods subject on arrival to any duty of excise, or any goods which had
been imported from parts beyond the seas, the particulars of such goods, with the marks and numbers
of the packages containing the same, shall be set forth in such notice and if there shall be no such
goods on board, then it shall be declared in such notice that no such goods are on board and the
master shall also answer any questions relating to the voyage as shall be demanded of him by the
collector or comptroller; and every master who shall fail in due time to deliver such notice, and truly
to answer such questions, shall forfeit the sum of 1001.- 110.
After Notice given of lading, Collector may grunt a general Suferance.-When due notice shall have
been given to the collector or comptroller at the port of lading of the intention to lade goods on board
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COASTING TRADE.
any coasting ship, such collector or comptroller shall grant a general sufference for the lading of goods
(without specifying the same) on board such ship, at the wharf or place which shall be expressed in
such sufferance; and such sufferance shall be a sufficient authority for the lading of any sort of goods,
except such, if any, as shall be expressly excepted therein: provided always, that before any suf-
ferance be granted for any goods prohibited to be exported, or subject to any export duty other than
any ad valorem duty, the master or owner of any such ship, or the shipper of such goods, shall give
bond with one sufficient surety, in treble the value of the goods, that the same shall be landed at the
port for which such sufferance is required, or shall be otherwise accounted for to the satisfaction of
the commissioners of his Majesty's customs.- 111.
Master of Coasting Vessel to keep a Cargo Book-The master of every coasting ship shall keep or
cause to be kept a cargo book of the same, stating the name of the ship and of the master, and of the
port to which she belongs, and of the port to which bound on each voyage; and in which book shall
be entered, at the port of lading, an account of all goods taken on board such ship, stating the descrip-
tions of the packages, and the quantities and descriptions of the goods therein, and the quantities and
descriptions of any goods stowed loose, and the names of the respective shippers and consignees, as
far as any of such particulars shall be known to him ; and in which book, at the port of discharge,
shall be noted the respective days upon which any of such goods be delivered out of such ship, and
also the respective times of departure from the port of lading, and of arrival at any port of unlading;
and such master shall produce such book for the inspection of the coast-waiter or other proper officer,
so often as the same shall be demanded, and who shall be at liberty to make any note or remark
therein; and if such master shall fail correctly to keep such book, or to produce the same, or if at any
time there be found on board such ship any goods not entered in the cargo book as laden, or any goods
noted as delivered, or if at any time it be found that any goods entered as laden, or any goods not noted
as delivered, be not on board, the master of such ship shall forfeit the sum of 501.; and if, upon examina-
tion at the port of lading, any package entered in the cargo book as containing any foreign goods shall
be found not to contain such goods, such package, with its contents, shall be forfeited and if at
the port of discharge any package shall be found to contain any foreign goods which are not entered
in such book, such goods shall be forfeited.-> 112.
Accounts of Foreign Goods, &c. to be delivered to Collector.-Before any coasting ship shall depart
from the port of lading, an account, together with a duplicate of the same, all fairly written, and
signed by the master, shall be delivered to the collector or comptroller; and in such account shall be
set forth such particulars as are required to be entered in the cargo book of all foreign goods, and of all
goods subject to export duty (other than any ad valorem duty), and of all corn, grain, meal, flour, or
malt, laden on board, and generally, whether any other British goods or no other British goods be laden
on board, as the case may he, or whether such ship be wholly laden with British goods not being of
any of the descriptions before mentioned, as the case may be and the collector or comptroller shall
select and retain one of such accounts, and shall return the other, dated and signed by him, and noting
the clearance of the ship thereon; and such account shall be the clearance of the ship for the voyage,
and the transire for the goods expressed therein and if any such account be false, or shall not cor-
respond with the cargo book, the master shall forfeit the sum of 501.-d 113.
Transire to be delivered to Collector.-Before any goods be unladen from any coasting ship at the port
of discharge, the master, owner, wharfinger, or agent of such ship shall deliver the transire to the
collector or comptroller of such port, who shall thereupon grant an order for the unlading of such ship
at the wharf or place specified in such order provided always, that if any of the goods on board such
ship be subject to any duty of customs or excise payable on arrival coastwise at such port, the master,
owner, wharfinger, or agent of such ship, or the consignee of such goods, shall also deliver to the
collector or comptroller a bill of the entry of the particulars of such goods, expressed in words at
length, together with a copy thereof, in which all sums and numbers may be expressed in figures, and
shall pay down all duties of customs, or produce a permit in respect of all duties of excise, which
shall be due and payable on any of such goods, as the case may be and thereupon the collector and
comptroller shall grant an order for the landing of such goods, in the presence or by the authority of
the coast-waiter.-d 114.
Collector in certain Cases may grant general Transire for Coasting Vessels.-It shall be lawful for the
collector and comptroller, in the cases herein-after mentioned, to grant for any coasting ship a general
transire, to continue in force for any time not exceeding one year from the date thereof, for the lading
of any goods (except such goods, if any, as shall be expressly excepted therein), and for the clearance
of the ship in which the goods shall be laden, and for the unlading of the goods at the place of dis-
charge (that is to say,)
For any ship regularly trading between places in the river Severn eastward of the Holmes
For any ship regularly trading between places in the river Humber
For any ship regularly trading between places in the Frith of Forth;
For any ship regularly trading between places to be named in the transire, and carrying only manure,
lime, chalk, stone, gravel, sand, or any earth, not being fullers' earth:
Provided always, that such transire shall be written in the cargo book herein-before required to be
kept by the masters of coasting ships: provided also, that if the collector and comptroller shall at any
time revoke such transire, and notice thereof shall be given to the master or owner of the ship, or
shall be given to any of the crew when on board the ship, or shall be entered in the cargo book by any
officer of the customs, such transire shall become void, and shall be delivered up by the master or
owner to the collector or comptroller.-d 115.
Coast-waiter, &c. may go on board and examine any Coasting Ship.-It shall be lawful in any case,
and at all legal times, for the coast-waiter, and also for the landing-waiter, and for the searcher, and
for any other proper officer of the customs, to go on board any coasting ship in any port or place in
the United Kingdom or in the Isle of Man, or at any period of her voyage, and strictly to search such
ship, and to examine all goods on board, and all goods being laden or unladen, and to demand all
documents which ought to be on board such ship.-d 116.
Times and Places for landing and shipping.- goods shall be unshipped from any ship arriving
coastwise in the United Kingdom or in the Isle of Man, and no goods shall be shipped or waterborne
to be shipped, in the United Kingdom or in the Isle of Man, to be carried coastwise, but only on days
not being Sundays or holidays, and in the daytime, (that is to say,) from the 1st of September until
the last day of March betwixt sun-rising and sun-setting, and from the last day of March until the 1st
of September between the hours of 7 clock in the morning and 4 'clock in the afternoon nor shall
any such goods be so unshipped, shipped, or waterborne, unless in the presence or with the authority
of the proper officer of the customs, nor unless at places which shall be appointed or approved by the
proper officer of the customs.- 117.
Goods prohibited or restraincd.-Whenever any goods which may be prohibited to be exported by
proclamation or by order in council under the authority of this act shall be 80 prohibited, it shall be
lawful in such proclamation or order in council to prohibit or restrict the carrying of such goods coast-
wise and if any such goods shall be carried coastwise, or shall be shipped or waterborne to be carried
coastwise, contrary to any such prohibition or restriction, the same shall be forfeited.-d 118.
Dues of the City of London.-For the purpose of enabling the dues payable to the city on articles
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imported coastwise to be ascertained and collected, it is enacted, that if all or any of the following
goods, VIZ. firkins of butter, tons of cheese, fish, eggs, salt, fruit, roots eatable, and onions, brought
coastwise into the port of the said city, and which are liable to the said dues, be landed or unshipped
at or in the said port before a proper certificate of the payment of the said dues shall have been ob-
tained, such goods shall be forfeited, and may be seized by an officer of customs empowered to seize
any goods that may be landed without due entry thereof.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 56. 8 15.)
Account of the Tonnage of Vessels employed in the Coasting Trade, which have entered at and
cleared out from the Ports of Great Britain, from 1827 to 1831, both inclusive.-(Part. Paper, No. 429.
Sess. 1832.)
Years.
Tomage entered
Tonnage cleared
Tonnage entered
Tonnage cleared
Inwards.
Outwards.
Years.
Inwards.
Outwards.
1827
8,186,004
8,648,868
1830
9,121,619
9,439,099
1828
8,811,109
8,957,286
1831
9,176,758
9,372,870
1829
8,933,633
9,158,525
[As in England, so in the United States, the coasting trade is forbidden to foreigners. It
is enacted that no goods shall be imported, under penalty of forfeiture thereof, from one to
another port of the United States, in a vessel belonging wholly or in part to a subject of
any foreign power. This, however, is not to be construed to prohibit the sailing of any
foreign vessel from one to another of such ports, carrying goods imported in it from some
foreign port, which goods shall not have been unladen.
Vessels of twenty tons and upwards, enrolled, and having a license in force, or if less
than twenty tons, not enrolled, but having a license in force, shall be deemed vessels of the
United States, entitled to the privileges of vessels employed in the coasting trade and fisheries.
Every vessel of twenty tons or upwards, (other than such as are registered,) found trading
between district and district, or between different places in the same district, or carrying on
the fishery, without being enrolled and licensed, or if less than twenty tons, and not less
than five tons, without a license, if laden with goods the growth or manufacture of the
United States only, (distilled spirits only excepted,) or in ballast, shall pay the same fees and
tonnage in every port at which she may arrive, as vessels not belonging to citizens of the
United States; and if she have on board any articles of foreign growth or manufacture, or dis-
tilled spirits, other than sea stores, the vessel, together with her tackle, apparel, and furniture,
and the lading found on board, shall be forfeited. But if such vessel be at sea at the ex-
piration of the time for which the license was given, and the master shall swear that such
was the case, and shall also, within forty-eight hours after his arrival, deliver to the collector
of the district, in which he shall first arrive, the license which shall have expired, the for-
feiture aforesaid shall not be incurred, nor shall the vessel be liable to pay the fees and ton-
nage aforesaid.
For the regulations concerning the enrollment, licensing, and registry of vessels, as well
as for the regulations generally of the coasting trade, see Gordon's Digest of the Laws of
the United States, or the acts of Congress of February 18th, 1793; of March 2d, 1795; of
March 12th, 1812; of March 1st, 1817; of March 3d of the same year; of March 2d, 1819
of May 7th. 1822; of February 11th, 1830 and of March 2d, 1831.-Am. Ed.]
COBALT (Ger. Kobalt; Du. Kobal; Sw. Cobolt; Fr. Cobalt; It. Cobalto; Rus.
Kobolt; Lat. Cobaltum), a mineral of a grey colour, with a shade of red, and by no means
brilliant. It has scarcely any taste or smell; is rather soft; specific gravity about 8.6.
Sometimes it is composed of plates, sometimes of grains, and sometimes of small fibres ad-
hering to each other. Its oxides are principally employed-(See SMALTS, or SMALTZ.)
They form the most permanent blue with which we are acquainted. The colouring power
of oxide of cobalt on vitrifiable mixtures is greater, perhaps, than that of any other metal.
One grain gives a full blue to 240 grains of glass.-(Thomson's Chemistry, and Ure's Dic-
tionary.)
COCCULUS INDICUS, OR INDIAN BERRY (Sans. Kakamari; Malay, Tuba-
bidgi), the fruit of the Menispermum Cocculus, a large tree of the Malabar coast, Ceylon,
&c. It is a small kidney-shaped berry, having a white kernel inside, of a most unpleasant
taste. It is of a poisonous and intoxicating quality, and has been employed to adulterate
ale and beer. But its employment in that way is prohibited, under a penalty of 2001. upon
the brewer, and of 500L. upon the seller of the drug, by the 56 Geo. 3. c. 58.
COCHINEAL (Ger. Koscherilje; Du. Conchenilje; Fr. Cochenille; It. Cocciniglia;
Sp. Cochinilla, Grana; Port. Cochenilha; Rus. Konssenel), an insect (Coccus cacti)
found in Mexico, Georgia, South Carolina, and some of the West India islands; but it is in
Mexico only that it is reared with care, and forms an important article of commerce. It is a
small insect, seldom exceeding the size of a grain of barley and was generally believed,
for a considerable time after it began to be imported into Europe, to be a sort of vegetable
grain or seed. There are two sorts or varieties of cochineal the best or domesticated, which
the Spaniards called grana fina, or fine grain; and the wild, which they call grana sylvestra.
The former is nearly twice as large as the latter; probably because its size has been improved
by the favourable effects of human care, and of a more copious and suitable nourishment,
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COCOA, COCO.
derived solely from the Cactus cochinellifer, during many generations. Wild cochineal is
collected six times in the year; but that which is cultivated is only collected thrice during
the same period. The insects are detached from the plants on which they feed by a blunt
knife; they are then put into bags, and dipped in boiling water to kill them, after which
they are dried in the sun; and though they lose about two thirds of their weight by this
process, about 600,000 or 700,000 lbs. (each pound being supposed to contain 70,000 in-
sects) are brought annually to Europe. It is principally used in the dyeing of scarlet, crimson,
and other esteemed colours. The watery infusion is of a violet crimson; the alcoholic of a
deep crimson; and the alkaline of a deep purple, or rather violet hue. It is imported in
bags, each containing about 200 lbs.; and has the appearance of small, dry, shrivelled
rugose berries or seeds, of a deep brown, purple, or mulberry colour, with a white matter
between the wrinkles. In this state they suffer no change from length of keeping. Dr.
Bancroft says that that cochineal is the best, which " is large, plump, dry, and of a silver
white colour on the surface."
The species of cochineal called granilla, or dust, is supposed by Dr. Bancroft to be prin-
cipally formed of grana sylvestra. The insects of which it consists are smaller than those
composing the fine cochineal; and it does not yield more than a third of the colouring mat-
ter that is yielded by the latter. The cochineal insect was introduced into India in 1795
but a very inferior sort only is produced. It has also been introduced into Java and
Spain, but with what success remains to be seen-(Thomson's Dispensatory; Bancreft on
Colours, &c.)
The imports of cochineal usually vary from 1,100 to 1,650 bags, or from 220,000 to
330,000 lbs. In 1831, the quantity imported amounted to 224,371 lbs.; of which 95,728
lbs. were brought from Mexico, 69,824 lbs. from the United States, 51,146 lbs. from the
British West Indies, and 4,370 lbs. from Cuba and the foreign West Indies. The exports
during the same year amounted to about 90,000 lbs. The duty on foreign cochineal was
reduced, in 1826, from 1s. per lb. to 6d. At an average of the three years ending with 1831,
the entries for home consumption amounted to 148,131 lbs. a year.
The price of cochineal fluctuated very much during the war, partly on account of the
obstacles which it occasionally threw in the way of importation, and partly on account of
its being an article of direct government expenditure. In 1814, the price of the best
cochineal was as high as 36s. and 39s.; and it has since gone on regularly declining, with
hardly a single rally, till it has sunk to 8s. or 10s. Previously to the war it had never been
under 12s. or 13s. Lac dye has recently been employed to some extent in dyeing scarlet;
but notwithstanding this circumstance, the consumption of cochineal, occasioned, no doubt,
partly by its cheapness, and partly, perhaps, by some change of fashion, has been
materially increased since 1824. This, however, has not had any material influence
on its price; and it would appear, from the long continuance of low prices, without any
diminution of imports, that they are still sufficient to remunerate the growers of the arti-
cle.-(Tooke on High and Low Prices; Cook's Commerce of Great Britain for 1830;
Parl. Papers, &c.)
COCOA. See CACAO.
COCO, COKER, OR, more properly, COCOA NUTS (Ger. Kokosnüsse; Du. Kokos-
nooten; Fr. and Sp. Cocos; It. Cocchi; Rus. Kokos; Sans. Narikela), the fruit of a
species of palm tree (Cocos nucifera Lin.). This tree is common almost every where with-
in the tropics, and is one of the most valuable in the world. It grows to the height of from
50 to 90 feet; it has no branches, but the leaves are from 12 to 14 feet in length, with a very
strong middle rib. The fruit is nearly as large as a man's head; the external rind is thin,
tough, and of a brownish red colour; beneath this there is a quantity of very tough fibrous
matter, which is used in many countries in the manufacture of cordage, and coarse sail-
cloth—(see COIR); within this fibrous coating is the shell of the nut, which is nearly glo-
bular, very hard, susceptible of a high polish, and used for many domestic purposes; the
kernel is white, in taste and firmness resembling that of a hazel nut; it is hollow in the in-
terior, the hollow being filled with a milky fluid. While the nut is green, the whole hollow
of the shell is filled with fluid, which is refreshing, agreeable, and pleasant to the taste. The
solid part of the ripe kernel is extremely nutritious, but rather indigestible. The kernels
yield by expression a great deal of oil, which, when recent, is equal to that of sweet almonds,
but it soon becomes rancid, and is then employed by painters. A tree generally yields about
100 nuts, in clusters near the top of about a dozen each. The wood of the tree is made
into boats, rafters, the frames of houses, and gutters to convey water. The leaves are used
for thatching buildings; and are wrought into mats, baskets, and many other things, for
which osiers are employed in Europe; 80 that every part of it is applied to some useful
purpose.
If the body of the tree be bored, there exudes from the wound a white liquor, called
palm wine or toddy. It is very sweet when fresh; kept a few hours, it becomes more poig-
nant and agreeable; but next day it begins to grow sour, and in the space of 24 hours is
changed into vinegar. When distilled, it produces the best species of Indian arrack; it
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also yields a great deal of sugar. Toddy is obtained from several species of palms,
but that of the Cocos nucifera is the best.-(See Ainslie's Materia Indica; Rees's Cyclo-
predia, &c.)
An improvement has recently been effected in the preparation of cocoa oil, which pro-
mises to be of much importance in the arts, by making it available in the manufacture of
candles and soap, and for various purposes to which it was not previously applicable.
The palm oil met with in the market is not obtained from the Cocos nucifera, but
from another species of palm. It is chiefly imported from the coast of Guinea.-(See PALM
OIL.)
Cocoa nuts are produced in immense quantities in Ceylon, forming, with their products,-
oil, arrack, and coir,-the principal articles of export from that island. They are also
very abundant in the Maldive Islands, Siam, and on several places of the coast of Brazil.
Cocoa oil is in very extensive use all over India, and large quantities are manufactured in
the lower provinces of Bengal. This latter is said to be superior to that imported from
Ceylon.
The duty on cocoa nuts, which is imposed by tale, was judiciously reduced in 1832, from
5a. per 120 on those from a British possession to 1s. per 1,200; those from a foreign country
pay 20 per cent. ad valorem.
COD (Ger. Kabljau, Bakalau; Du. Kabeljaauw, Baukaelja; Da. Kabliau, Skreitorsk,
Bakelau; Sw. Kabeljo, Bakelau; Fr. Morue, Cabillaud; It. Baccala, Baccalare; Sp.
Bacalao Port. Bacalhão; Lat. Gadus), a species of fish, too well known to require any
description. It is amazingly prolific. Leewenhoek counted 9,384,000 eggs in a cod-fish
of a middling size; a number that will baffle all the efforts of man to exterminate. In our
seas they begin to spawn in January, and deposit their eggs in rough ground, among rocks.
Some continue in roe till the beginning of April.
'The cod is only found in the northern parts of the world it is an ocean fish, and never
met with in the Mediterranean. The great rendezvous of the cod-fish is on the banks of
Newfoundland, and the other sand banks that lie off the coasts of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
and New England. They prefer those situations, by reason of the quantity of worms pro-
duced in these sandy bottoms, which tempt them to resort there for food. But another cause
of the particular attachment the fish have to these spots is their vicinity to the polar seas,
where they return to spawn there they deposit their roes in full security but want of food
forces them, as soon as the more southern seas are open, to repair thither for subsistence.
Few are taken to the north of Iceland, but they abound on its south and west coasts. They
are also found to swarm on the coasts of Norway, in the Baltic, and off the Orkney and
Western Isles; after which their numbers decrease in proportion as they advance towards the
south, when they seem quite to cease before they reach the mouth of the Straits of Gib-
raltar.
" Before the discovery of Newfoundland, the greater fisheries of cod were on the seas of
Iceland, and of our Western Isles, which were the grand resort of ships from all the com-
mercial nations; but it seems that the greatest plenty was met with near Iceland. The
English resorted thither before the year 1415; for we find that Henry V. was disposed to
give satisfaction to the King of Denmark, for certain irregularities committed by his subjects
on those seas. In the reign of Edward IV. the English were excluded from the fishery, by
treaty. In later times, we find Queen Elizabeth condescending to ask permission to fish in
those seas, from Christian IV. of Denmark. In the reign of her successor, however, no
fewer than 150 English ships were employed in the Iceland fishery; which indulgence
might arise from the marriage of James with a princess of Denmark."-(Pennant's British
Zoology.)
Cod is prepared in two different ways; that is, it is either gutted, salted, and then bar-
relled,-in which state it is denominated green or pickled cod,-or it is dried and cured-in
which state it is called dried cod. Ready access to the shore is indispensable to the prosecu-
tion of the latter species of fishery.
Cod Fishery, British.-Newfoundland was discovered by John or Sebastian Cabot, in
1497 and the extraordinary abundance of cod-fish on its banks was speedily ascertained.
The French, Portuguese, and Spaniards engaged in the fishery soon after this discovery.
The English were later in coming into the field. In 1578, France had on the banks of
Newfoundland 150 vessels, Spain 120 or 130, Portugal 50, and England from 30 to 50.
During the first half of last century, the fishery was principally carried on by the English,
including the Anglo-Americans, and the French; but the capture of Cape Breton, and of
their other possessions in America, gave a severe blow to the fishery of the latter. The
American war divided the British fishery that portion of it which had previously been
carried on from New England, being thereafter merged in that of the United States. Still,
however, we contrived to preserve the largest share. At an average of the 3 years ending
with 1789, we are said to have had 402 ships, 1,911 boats, and 16,856 men, engaged in the
American fisheries. During last war, the French being excluded from the fisheries, those
England attained to an extraordinary degree of prosperity the total value of the produce
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of the Newfoundland fishery in 1814 having exceeded 2,800,000L But since the peace,
the British fishery on the Newfoundland banks has rapidly declined; and can hardly, in-
deed, be said, at this moment, to exist. It is now carried on almost entirely by the French
and the Americans; the facilities enjoyed by the latter for its prosecution being greater than
those of any other people, and the former being tempted to engage in it by the extraordinary
encouragements afforded by government. At present, the British fishery carried on by the
inhabitants of Newfoundland, is confined entirely to the shore or boat fishery. But this,
though probably not so good a nursery of sailors as the bank fishery, is admitted to be the
most productive of merchantable fish and oil."-(MiGregor's British America, 2d ed. vol.i.
p. 206.) The average annual produce of the fisheries of all sorts, including seal, salmon,
&c., exported from Newfoundland, during the 3 years ended with 1832, is stated by Mr.
M'Gregor at 516,417%-(vol. i. p. 161.) A considerable fishery is also carried on from the
ports and harbours of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, New Brunswick, &c. But next to
that of Newfoundland, the principal British fishery is carried on along the coast of Labrador.
We borrow from the valuable work now referred to, the following recent and authentic state-
ments with respect to it:-
" During the fishing season, from 280 to 300 schooners proceed from Newfoundland to the different
fishing stations on the coast of Labrador, where about 20,000 British subjects are employed for the
season. About one third of the schooners make two voyages, loaded with dry fish, back to New-
foundland during the summer; and several merchant vessels proceed from Labrador with their cargoes
direct to Europe, leaving, generally, full cargoes for the fishing vessels to carry to Newfoundland.
A considerable part of the fish of the second voyage is in a green or pickled state, and dried after-
wards at Newfoundland. Eight or 9schooners from Quebec frequent the coast, having on board about
80 seamen and 100 fishermen. Some of the fish caught by them is sent to Europe, and the rest to
Quebec; besides which, they carry annually about 6,0001. worth of furs, oil, and salmon, to Canada.
From Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but chiefly from the former, 100 to 120 vessels resort to
Labrador; the burden of these vessels may amount to 6,000 or 7,000 tons, carrying about 1,200 seamen
and fishermen. They generally carry the principal part of their cargoes home in a green state.
" One third of the resident inhabitants are English, Irish, or Jersey servants, left in charge of the
property in the fishing rooms, and who also employ themselves, in the spring and full, catching seals
in nets. The other two thirds live constantly at Labrador, as furriers and seal-catchers on their own
account, but chiefly in the former capacity, during winter and all are engaged in the fisheries during
summer. Half of these people are Jerseymen and Canadians, most of whom have families.
" From 16,000 to 18,000 seals are taken at Labrador in the beginning of winter and in spring. They
are very large and the Canadians, and other winter residents, are said to feast and fatten on their
flesh.-About 4,000 of these seals are killed by the Esquimaux. The whole number caught produce
about 350 tuns of oil, value about 8,0001.
There are 6 or 7 English houses, and 4 or 5 Jersey houses, established at Labrador, unconnected
with Newfoundland, who export their fish and oil direct to Europe. The quantity exported last year
(1832) to the Mediterranean was about
54,000 quintals cod-fish, at 10s.
-
-
- £27,000
1,050 tierces salmon, at 60s.
a
-
-
3,150
To England, about
200 tons cod oil
-
-
-
-
-
5,200
220 do. seal do.
-
-
-
-
-
4,880
Furs
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,150
£43,380
By Newfoundland houses, 27,500 quintals cod-fish, at 10s.
-
-
-
13,750
280 tierces salmon, at 10s.
-
-
-
840
Total direct export from Labrador
-
£57,970
Produce sent direct to Newfoundland from Labrador :-
32,120 quintals cod-fish, at 10s. best quality
-
16,060
312,000 quintals cod-fish, at Ss.
-
-
124,800
1,800 tuns cod oil, at 201.
-
1
-
-
36,000
Salmon, &c.
-
-
-
-
3,220
Fish, &c. sent to Canada, about
-
-
-
12,000
Do. carried to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick,
should be in value at least
52,000
Estimated value of the produce of Labrador, exclusive of what the Mo-
ravians send to London
£302,050
"The Labrador fishery has, since 1814, increased more than sirfold, principally in consequence of
our fishermen being driven from the grounds (on the Newfoundland coast) now occupied by the
French. In 1829, the Americans had about 500 vessels and 15,000 men employed on the coast; and
three "catch' amounted to 1,100,000 quintals fish, and about 3,000 tuns oil ; value together about
610,000l."-(British America, vol. i. pp. 185-187.)
The total produce of the British fisheries in the various seas and rivers of America, including seal
oil and skins, is estimated by Mr. M'Gregor, at an average of the 5 years ending with 1832, at 857,210L
a year.—(Vol. ii. p. 596; see, also, for further particulars, the useful pamphlet of Mr. Blies on the
Statistics, Trade, &c. of British America.)
About eight tenths of the dried fish exported from Newfoundland by British subjects, are
sent to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and other Continental nations; the rest goes to the West Indies
and to Great Britain.
By the act 26 Geo. 3. c. 26. bounties were given, under certain conditions specified in the
act, to a certain number of vessels employed in the fishery on the coasts and banks of New-
foundland; but these bounties have entirely ceased several years since. A bounty was, how-
ever, paid, down to the 5th of April, 1830, to all persons residing in Great Britain and Ire-
land, curing, drying, or pickling cod-fish, ling, or hake; the bounty being 4s. a cwt. on the
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dried cod, &c., and 2s. 6d. a barrel on that which was pickled. A tonnage bounty was at
the same time paid on vessels fitted out for the cod, ling, and hake fishery on the coasts of
Great Britain and Ireland; but this has also ceased.
The act 5 Geo. 4. c. 51. contains several regulations with respect to the Newfoundland fisheries
Aliens are prohibited from fishing on the coasts, or in the bays or rivers of Newfoundland except-
ing, however, the rights and privileges granted by treaty to foreign states at amity with his Majesty.
All British subjects may take, cure, and dry fish, occupy vacant places, cut down trees for building,
and do other things useful for the trade.- 3.
Certificates shall be granted to vessels clearing out for the fishery; and on arrival at Newfoundland
a report shall be made of such certificate, and registered; and on leaving the fishery the usual
clearance shall be obtained. Vessels having on board any goods other than fish, &c. to forfeit the
fishing certificate.- 4.
Persons throwing out ballast, &c. to the prejudice of the harbours in Newfoundiand, shall be sub-
ject to a penalty.-d 5.
A contract in writing, specifying wages, and how to be paid, must be entered into with seamen and
fishermen--07.
A fisherman is prohibited receiving more than three fourths of his wages during service but the
balance due to him is to be paid immediately upon the expiration of the covenanted time of service.
No fisherman to be turned off, except for wilful neglect of duty, or other sufficient cause, under a
penalty, for each offence, of not less than 51. nor more than 50l.
In order to fulfil the conditions in any treaty with a foreign state, his Majesty may empower the
governor of Newfoundland to remove any works erected by British subjects for the purpose of carry-
ing on the fishery between Cape St. John and Cape Ray, and to compel them to depart to another
place.-2 12.
Every person so refusing to depart shall forfeit 502-> 13.
The governor is empowered to sell or lease places within the island called Ship-rooms.-> 14.
There are no means whatever by which to form any estimate of the number of ships and
boats employed, either regularly or occasionally, in the cod-fishery on the coasts of Great
Britain, and on those of Norway, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Well-bank, the
Dogger-bank, the Broad-fourteens, &c. or of the quantity and value of the fish annually
caught. They must, however, be very considerable. See FISH.
For the regulations, &c. as to the importation of fish into Great Britain, see FISH.
It is deubtful whether the distant cod fishery may not have passed its zenith. Spain,
Italy, and other Catholic countries, have always been the great markets for dried fish but
the observance of Lent is every day becoming less strict and the demand for dried fish will,
it is most likely, sustain a corresponding decline. The relaxed observance of Lent in the
Netherlands and elsewhere has done more than any thing else to injure the herring fishery
of Holland.
Cod Fishery, American.-The Americans have at all times prosecuted the cod fishery
with great vigour and success. Their fishermen are remarkable for their activity and enter-
prise, sobriety and frugality and their proximity to the fishing grounds, and the other facili-
ties they possess for carrying on the fishery, give them advantages with which it is very
difficult to contend. In 1795, the Americans employed in the cod-fishery about 31,000 tons
of shipping; in 1807, they are said to have employed 70,306 tons but it subsequently de-
clined for several years, and was almost entirely suspended during the late war. According
to the official returns, the Americans had 85,687 tons of shipping engaged in the cod fishery
in 1828 but owing to the slovenly and inaccurate way in which the navigation accounts
laid before Congress have been prepared,-(for proofs of this, see New York,)-this state-
ment is entitled to no credit. The corrected accounts for 1831 (laid before Congress the
15th of February, 1833) represent the shipping engaged that year in the cod fishery as
amounting to 60,977 tons. During the year ended the 30th of September, 1832, the
Americans exported 250,514 quintals of dried, and 102,770 barrels of pickled cod their
aggregate value being about 1,050,000 dollars.
"The Americans follow two or more modes of fitting out for the fisheries. The first is accomplished
by 6 or 7 farmers, or their sons, building a schooner during winter, which they man themselves (as all
the Americans on the sea coast are more or less seamen as well as farmers) and after fitting the
vessel with necessary stores, they proceed to the banks, Gulf of St. Lawrence, or Labrador: and,
loading their vessel with fish, make a voyage between spring and harvest. The proceeds they divide,
after paying any balance they may owe for outfit. They remain at home to assist in gathering their
crops, and proceed again for another cargo, which is salted down, and not afterwards dried: this is
termed mud-fish, and kept for home consumption. The other plan is, when a merchant, or any other,
owning a vessel, lets her to 10 or 15 men on shares. He finds the vessel and nets. The men pay for
all the provisions, books, and lines, and for the salt necessary to cure their proportion of the fish. One
of the number is acknowledged master; but he has to catch fish as well as the others, and receives
only about 20s. per month for navigating the vessel the crew have five eighths of the fish caught, and
the owners three eighths of the whole.
The first spring voyage is made to the banks; the second either to the banks, Gulf of St. Lawrence.
or the coast of Labrador; the third, or fall voyage, is again to the banks; and a fourth, or second fall
voyage, is also made, sometimes, to the banks." Gregor, vol. i. p. 220.)
It is stipulated in the first article of a convention between Great Britain and the United States, signed
at London, 20th of October, 1818, that the subjects of the United States shall have liberty to take all
sorts of fish on that part of the coast of Newfoundland from Cape Ray to the Rameau Islands, on
the western and northern coasts of Newfoundland from Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands, on the
Magdalen Islands, and also on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks, from Mount Joly, on the southern
coast of Labrador, to and through the Straits of Belleisle, and thence northwardly indefinitely along
the coast, without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson's Bay Company
and that the American fishermen shall also have liberty, for ever, to dry and cure fish in any of the
unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks, of the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland here above
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COFFEE.
described, and of the coast of Labrador; but so soon as the same, or any portion thereof, shall be
settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish without previous agreement for
such purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors, or possessors of the ground. And the United States
hereby renounce forever any liberty heretofore enjoyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof, to take,
dry, or cure fish on or within 3 marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbours of his
Britannic Majesty's dominions in America not included within the above mentioned limits." The
American fishermen are, however, admitted into all bays, &c. for the purpose of shelter, of repairing
damages, of purchasing wood, and of obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever; and when
there, they are to be placed under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent their abusing the
privileges hereby reserved to them.
Cod Fishery, French.-France has always enjoyed a considerable share of the cod
fishery. The following Table shows the extent to which she has carried it since the
peace :-
Account of the number of Ships, with their Tonnage, Crews, and Cargoes, that have entered the
different Ports of France from the Cod Fishery during the Nine Years ending with 1831.-(From the
Tableau Général du Commerce de la France for 1831, p. 346.)
Years.
Ships.
Tonnage.
Crew.
Cod, green.
Cod, dry.
Oil.
Kilog.
Kilog.
Kilog.
1823
184
16,258
3,655
4,407,730
4,423,739
415,210
1824
348
36,999
6,672
7,677,824
14,691,189
1,353,898
1825
336
35,172
6,311
7,288,949
15,823,731
1,294,336
1826
341
38,938
7,088
8,627,341
15,591,664
1,063,670
1827
387
44,868
8,238
9,046,145
15,970,250
1,201,023
1828
381
45,094
7,957
12,838,291
17,256,155
1,395,897
1829
414
50,574
9,428
10,548,878
30,377,594
1,909,147
1830
377
45,036
8,174
10,410,302
13,645,790
1,156,059
1831
302
35,180
6,243
9,922,680
12,817,943
1,162,299
The quantities of oil are exclusive of draches (huiles non epurés) there are also sounds, &c.
Marseilles, Granville, Dunkirk, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, and Nantes, are the principal ports whence
ships are fitted out for the fishery.
But notwithstanding the apparent prosperity of this branch of industry, it may be doubted
whether it be really so beneficial to France as would at first sight appear. It depends more
upon artificial regulations than upon any thing else. Foreign cod is excluded from the
French markets by the oppressive duty with which it is loaded and the comparatively great
demand for dried fish in Catholic countries renders this a very great boon to the French
fishermen. But it is admitted, that this would not be enough to sustain the fishery; and
bounties amounting to about 1,500,000 fr., or 60,000L. a year are paid to those engaged in it.
These, however, have been recently reduced.
St. Pierre and Miquelon, small islands on the coast of Newfoundland, belong to the French.
Their right of fishing upon the shores of that island, and upon the great bank, was replaced,
in 1814, upon the footing on which it stood in 1792. This concession has been much
objected to by Mr. McGregor and others; we believe, however, that they have materially over-
rated its influence.
[See article Fish for further accounts of the American cod fishery.-Am. Ed.]
COFFEE (Ger. Koffe, Koffebohnen; Du. Koffy, Koffiboonen; Da. Kaffe, Kaffebönner
Sw. Koffe; Fr. It. and Port. Caffé; Sp. Café; Rus. Kofé; Pol. Kawa; Lat. Coffea,
Caffea; Arab. Bun; Malay, Kawa; Pers. Tochem, Keweh; Turk. Chaube), the berries
of the coffee plant (Coffea Arabica Lin.). They are generally of an oval form, smaller
than a horse-bean, and of a tough, close, and hard texture; they are prominent on the
one side and flattened on the other, having a deeply marked furrow running lengthwise
along the flattened side; they are moderately heavy, of a greenish colour, and a somewhat
bitterish taste.
Historical Notice of Coffee-The coffee plant is a native of that part of Arabia called
Yemen; but it is now very extensively cultivated in the southern extremity of India, in
Java, the West Indies, Brazil, &c. We are ignorant of the precise period when it began
to be roasted, and the decoction used as a drink, though the discovery is not supposed to
date further back than the early part of the fifteenth century. No mention of it is made by
any ancient writer; nor by any of the moderns previously to the sixteenth century. Leon-
hart Rauwolf, a German physician, is believed to be the first European who has taken any
notice of coffee. His work was published in 1573, and his account is, in some respects,
inaccurate. Coffee was, however, very accurately described by Prosper Albinus, who had
been in Egypt as physician to the Venetian consul, in his works de Plantis Egypti, and
de Medicina Egyptiorum, published in 1591 and 1592.
A public coffee-house was opened for the first time, in London, in 1652. A Turkey mer-
chant, of the name of Edwards, having brought along with him from the Levant some bags
of coffee, and a Greek servant accustomed to make it, his house was thronged with visiters
to see and taste this new sort of liquor. And being desirous to gratify his friends without
putting himself to inconvenience, he allowed his servant to make and sell coffee publicly.
In consequence of this permission, the latter opened a coffee-house in St. Michael's Alley,
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Cornhill, on the spot where the Virginia Coffee-house now stands. Garraway's was the
first coffee-house opened after the great fire in 1666.-(Moseley on Coffee, 5th ed. p. 15.)*
M. de la Roque mentions that the use of coffee was first introduced into France in the
period between 1640 and 1660; and he further. states, that the first coffee-house for the
sale of coffee in France was opened at Marseilles, in 1671 and that one was opened at Paris
in the following year.-(Voyage de la Syrie, tom. ii. pp. 310-319.)
Some time between 1680 and 1690, the Dutch planted coffee beans they had procured
from Mocha, in the vicinity of Batavia. In 1690, they sent a plant to Europe ; and it was
from berries obtained from this plant that the first coffee plantations in the West Indies and
Surinam were derived.
Progressive Consumption of Coffee in Great Britain. Influence of the Duties.-In
1660, a duty of 4d. a gallon was laid on all coffee made and sold. Previously to 1732, the
duty on coffee amounted to 2s. a pound; but an act was then passed, in compliance with
the selicitations of the West India planters, reducing the duty to 1s. 6d. a pound; at which
it stood for many years, producing, at an average, about 10,000L a year. In consequence,
however, of the prevalence of smuggling, caused by the too great magnitude of the duty,
the revenue declined, in 1783, to 2,869/. 10s. 10}d. And it having been found impossible
otherwise to check the practice of clandestine importation, the duty was reduced, in 1784,
to 6d. The consequences of this wise and salutary measure were most beneficial. Instead
of being reduced, the revenue was immediately raised to near three times its previous
amount, or to 7,200L 15s. 9d., showing that the consumption of legally imported coffee must
have increased in about a ninefold proportion !-a striking and conclusive proof, as Mr.
Bryan Edwards has observed, of the effect of heavy taxation in defeating its own object.-
(Hist. of the West Indies, vol. ii. p. 340. 8vo ed.)
The history of the coffee trade abounds with similar and even more striking examples of
the superior productiveness of low duties. In 1807, the duty was 1s. 8d. a pound and the
quantity entered for home consumption amounted to 1,170,164 lbs., yielding a revenue of
161,245L 11s. 4d. In 1808, the duty was reduced from 1s. 8d. to 7d.; and in 1809, there
were no fewer than 9,251,847 lbs. entered for home consumption, yielding, notwithstanding
the reduction of duty, a revenue of 245,856/. 8s. 4d. The duty having been raised, in
1819, from 7d. to 1s. a pound, the quantity entered for home consumption, in 1824, was
7,993,041 lbs., yielding a revenue of 407,5444 4s. 3d. In 1824, however, the duty being
again reduced from 1a. to 6d., the quantity entered for home consumption, in 1825, was
10,766,112 lbs., and in 1831 it had increased to 22,740,627 lbs., yielding a nett revenue
of 583,751L
The consumption of the United Kingdom may, at present, be estimated at about
23,000,000 lbs., producing about 600,000L of revenue.
We subjoin
1. Quantities of the different Sorts of Coffee entered for Home Consumption in the United Kingdom,
each Year since 1822.
Foreign
Years ended
Years ended
British
Foreign
British
Plant-
East
Total.
Plant-
East
Total.
Plantation.
ation.
India.
Plantation.
ation.
India.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
I.be.
Lbs.
Us.
5th Jan. 1822
7,386,060
764
206,177
7,598.001
5th Jan. 1828
14,676,968
1,210
888,198
15,566,376
-
1823
7,494,218
3,416
171,717
7,669,351
-
1829
16,151,239
2,984
973,410
17,127,633
-
1824
8,218,342
881
235,697
8,454,920
-
1830
18,495,407
6,197
974,576
19,476,180
-
1825
7,947,890
1,540
313,513
8,262,943
-
1831
21,697,966
3,971
969,585
22 691,522
-
1826
10,622,376
2,849
457,745
11,082,970
-
1832
21,501,966
3,910
1,234,721
22,740,627
-
1827
12,409,000
2,753
791,570
13,203,323
-
1833
20,964,301
17,591
1,970,635
22,952,527
II. An Account of the quantity of Coffee retained for Home Consumption in Great Britain, the Rates
of Duty thereon, and the Produce of the Duties, each Year since 1789.
Years.
Quantities retained
Rates of Duty on
for Home
Nett Revenue of Customs and
Consumption
British Plantation.
East India.
Excise.
Lbs.
Per lb.
Per lb.
Percenta valorem.
£
8. d.
8. d.
&
d.
£ 8. d.
1789
930,141
0 10f
2 of
Nil.
46,286 17 11
1790
973,110
-
-
--
50,799 7 4
1791
1,047,276
-
-
I
57,659 5 11
1792
946,666
I
-
-
48,825 6 2
1793
1,070,438
-
-
I
67,357 11 9
1794
969,512
-
-
-
74,430 4 6
1795
1,054,588
1 5f
2 of
-
65,788 3 7
* Charles II. attempted, by proclamation issued in 1675, to suppress coffee-houses, on the ground of
their being resorted to by disaffected persons who devised and spread abroad divers false, malicious,
and scandalous reports, to the defamation of his Majesty's government, and to the disturbance of the
peace and quiet of the nation." The opinion of the Judges having been taken as to the legality of the
proceeding, they resolved, That retailing coffee might be an innocent trade; but as it was used to
mourish sedition, spread lies, and scandalise great men, it might also be a common nuisance!"
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COFFEE.
II. An Account of the Quantity of Coffee retained for Home Consumption in Great Britain-continued.
Quantities retained
Rates of Duty on
Nett Revenue of Customs and
Years.
for Home
Excise.
Consumption.
British Plantation.
East India.
Lbs.
Per lb.
Per lb.
Per cent. ad valorem.
£
s. d.
S. d.
3.
d.
£ s. d.
1796
396,953
1 51
2 6f
Nil.
30,048 6 11
1797
637,001
1 51
3 7
-
92,469 3 11
1798
697,487
1 57
2 77
-
78,966 6 9
1799
682,432
1 57
2 7t
2 0 0
74,001 2 2
1800
826,590
-
-
-
142,867 11 5
1801
750,861
1 51
2 7
2 0 0
106,076 2 7
1802
829,435
1
6
2 71
2 0 0
72,183
2 3
1803
905,532
1 63
I 114
2 16 3
72,093 15 8
1804
1,061,327
1
71/
2 04
3 2 6
151,388 0 11
1805
1,201,736
1 71
2 01
3 3 9
120,172 18 7
1806
1,157,014
1 77
2 01
3 7 11
152,759 6 9
1807
1,170,164
-
-
-
161,245 11 4
1808
1,069,691
0 7
0 10
3 7 11
229,738 16 8
1809
9,251,837
0 7
0 10
3 6 8
245,886
8
4
1810
5,308,096
-
-
-
175,567
1 4
1811
6,390,122
-
I
212,890
12 10
-
1812
8,118,734
-
-
-
255,184
7 1
1813
8,788,601
0 71
0 104
3 19 2
Custom records destroyed.
1814
6,324,267
0 78
0 11t
Nil.
213,513
18
4
1815
6,117,311
258,762
18 3
-
-
-
1816
7,557,471
-
-
-
298,834 0 II
1817
8,688,726
-
-
-
298,540 5 1
1818
7,967,857
-
-
-
250,106 4 10
1819
7,429,352
1 0
1 6
-
292,154 8 10
1820
6,869,286
-
-
340,223 6 7
-
1821
7,327,283
-
-
-
371,252 5 6
1822
7,404,204
-
-
-
374,596 19 7
1823
8,209,245
I
-
-
416,324 3) 9
1824
7,993,040
-
-
&
-
407,544 4 3
1825
10,766,112
0 6
0 9
-
307,204 M 2
1826
12,724,139
-
-
-
324,667 11 1
1827
14,974,378
-
-
-
384,994 13 2
1828
16,522,423
-
-
-
425,389 3 7
1829
18,906,373
-
-
I
484,975 10 8
1830
21,840,520
-
-
-
558,544
3
10
1831
21,747,813
-
-
-
559,431 19 6
1832
22,053,326
-
-
-
575,264 18 8
III. Account of the Quantity of Coffee imported into the United Kingdom from the several British
Colonies and Plantations, from the British possessions in the East Indies, and from Foreign Coun-
tries, in the Year ending the 5th of January, 1836; distinguishing the several Sorts of Coffee, and
the Colonies and Countries from which the same was imported.-(Furnished by the Custom House.)
Of the British
Possessions in
or the East Indies
or the Foreign
Total Quantity
Colonies and Countries from which imported.
America, and of
and Masritius.
Plantations.
Imported.
Sierra Leone.
Los.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
British colonies and plantations in Ame-
rica ; viz.
Antigua
-
580
580
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,825
-
-
57,825
Barbadoes
-
-
-
-
-
112,557
-
112,557
-
Dominica
-
-
-
-
-
8,236
-
8,236
-
Grenada
-
11,154,307
1
-
11,154,307
Jamaica
-
-
-
-
St. Christopher
40
40
-
I
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
53,582
-
-
53,582
St. Lucia
-
118
-
118
-
St. Vincent's
-
-
Trinidad
-
-
-
-
21,950
-
11,110
33,060
28
Tortola
-
-
28
-
I
-
-
280,156
280,156
-
Bahamas
-
-
-
-
-
1,139,054
-
1,139,054
-
Demerara
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,027,037
-
-
2,627,037
Berbice
-
British North American Colonies
5,416
-
-
8,899
14,315
-
-
50
50
-
Egypt
-
-
West Coast of Africa
32,306
-
31,032
63,338
-
-
-
338
338
-
Cape of Good Hope
-
-
-
-
Eastern Coast of Africa
-
214
214
I
-
-
Mauritius
-
-
-
243,296
-
243,996
British possessions in the East Indies; viz.
-
East India Company's territories,
-
2,462,813
-
2,462,813
exclusive of Singapore
-
I
-
849,900
-
249,900
Singapore
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I
1,870,143
-
1,870,143
Ceylon
-
-
-
Java
-
-
-
-
1,034,202
-
3,084,998
-
-
-
-
34,019
-
34,019
Philippine Islands
-
-
Other islands of the Indian Seas
-
442
442
-
-
27
27
-
China
-
-
-
-
-
-
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COFFEE.
377
III. Account of the Quantity of Coffee imported into the United Kingdom-continued.
of the British
Possessions in
Of the East Indies
Of the Foreign
Total Quantity
Colonies and Countries from which imported.
America, and of
and Mauritius.
Plantations.
imported.
Sierra Leone.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
New South Wales
-
-
-
-
110
-
110
Hayti
-
-
-
-
-
1,124,213
1,124,213
Foreign colonies in the west Indies ; viz.
Cuba
-
-
-
609,418
609,418
United States of America
-
-
-
-
37,360
37,360
Guatemala
-
-
-
-
-
-
57,539
57,539
Columbia
-
-
-
-
-
-
228
228
Brazil
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,117,094
4,117,094
Europe
-
-
-
-
-
4,010
672,350
336,434
1,012,794
Totals
-
14,617,046
7,167,914
6,613,533
28,398,493
IV. Account of the Quantity of Coffee exported from the United Kingdom, in the Year ended the 5th
of January, 1836; distinguishing the several Sorts of Coffee, and the Countries to which the same
was exported.-(Furnished by Custom House.)
or the British
Possessions in
Of the East Indies
of the Foreign
Countries to which exported.
Total Quantity
America, and of
and Mauritius.
Plantations.
exported.
Sierra Leone.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Russia
-
-
-
-
18,852
3,750
1,319,652
1,342,254
Sweden
-
-
-
-
-
102
9,985
10,087
Norway
-
-
-
-
-
722
309,737
310,459
Denmark
-
-
-
-
-
13,839
615,328
629,167
Prussia
-
-
do
-
-
94,156
133,613
157,769
Germany
-
-
-
-
44,867
194,081
866,730
1,105,678
The Netherlands
-
-
-
43,597
2,008,468
4,397,527
6,449,592
France
-
-
-
95,951
-
-
95,951
Portugal, the Azores, and Madeira
-
30
642
7,534
8,206
Spain and the Canaries
-
-
-
479
149
628
Gibraltar
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,279
6,279
Italy
-
-
-
-
35,512
209,686
1,489,905
1,735,103
Malta
-
-
-
-
42,026
4,907
364,888
411,881
The Ionian Islands
-
-
-
-
260
37,621
37,881
Turkey and Continental Greece
-
-
8,821
739,114
747,935
Morea and Greek Islands
-
-
-
-
104,139
104,139
Guerneey, Jersey, Alderney, and Man -
8,892
10,488
3,837
23,217
193,776
2,576,412
10,406,038
113,176,226
Cape of Good Hope
-
-
-
-
-
34,776
34,776
Other parts of Africa
-
-
-
2,108
5,370
5,255
12,733
East Indies and China
-
-
-
-
966
302
1,268
New South Wales, Swan River, and
Van Dieman's Land
-
-
2,447
9,749
7,348
19,544
British North American Colonies
-
1,648
14,702
52,819
69,169
British West Indies
-
-
-
8,676
19,988
28,664
United States of America
-
-
-
-
640
640
Brazil
-
-
-
-
761
-
761
States of the Rio de la Plata
-
-
-
-
781
781
Chill
-
-
-
-
112
245
1,330
1,687
Peru
-
-
-
-
-
-
121
121
-
Totals from Great Britain
-
200,091
2,616,881
10,529,398
13,346,370
British North American Colonies
-
167
-
-
167
Total quantity exported from the
United Kingdom
-
-
200,258
2,616,881
10,529,398
13,346,537
V. Account of the Amount of Duties received on Coffee in Great Britain and Ireland respectively in
the Year ending 5th of January, 1836 distinguishing each Sort of Coffee, and the nett Produce of the
Duties on Coffee in the United Kingdom in such (Furnished by the Custom-house.)
In the United
Year ending 5th January, 1836.
In Great Britain.
In Ireland.
Kingdom.
&
£
£
Of the British possessions in America and Sierra
Leone
}
428,416
14,581
442,997
-
Of the East Indies and Mauritius
-
-
-
203,340
6,120
209,460
Other sorts
-
-
-
-
-
145
1
146
Total gross receipt
-
-
-
-
631,901
20,702
652,603
Nett produce -
-
-
-
-
631,422
20,702
652,124
The introduction of tea and coffee, it has been well remarked, " has led to the most won-
derful change that ever took place in the diet of modern civilized nations,-a change highly
important both in a moral and physical point of view. These beverages have the admirable
advantage of affording stimulus without producing intoxication, or any of its evil conse-
2 I 2
48
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378
COFFEE.
quences. Lovers of tea or coffee are, in fact, rarely drinkers; and hence the use of these
beverages has benefited both manners and morals. Raynal observes that the use of tea has
contributed more to the sobriety of the Chinese than the severest laws, the most eloquent
discourses, or the best treatises on morality."-(Seoteman, 17th of October, 1827.)
Supply and Consumption of Coffee.-Owing to the rapidly increasing consumption of
coffee in this country, the Continent, and America, the great value of the article, the large
amount of capital and labour employed in its production, and the shipping required for its
transport, it has become a commodity of primary commercial importance. It deserves par-
ticular attention, too, inasmuch as there are few, if any, articles that exhibit such variations,
not only as to consumption, but also as to growth and price. These are occasioned partly
by changes of commercial regulations and duties, and partly, also, by the plant requiring 4
or 5 years before it comes to bear; so that the supply is neither suddenly increased when
the demand increases, nor diminished when it falls off. St. Domingo used formerly to be
one of the greatest sources of supply, having exported, in 1786, about 35,000 tons; and it
is supposed that, but for the negro insurrection which broke out in 1792, the exports of that
year would have amounted to 42,000 tons. The devastation occasioned by this event caused,
for a series of years, an almost total cessation of supplies. Recently, however, they have
again begun to increase; and are understood to amount, at present, to above 20,000 tons a
year. From Cuba, the exports of coffee have within these few years rather declined, owing
partly to an increased consumption in the island, and partly to the efforts of the planters
having, a little time back, been more directed to the cultivation of sugar they may at present
amount to from 18,000 to 20,000 tons; or, including Porto Rico, to 25,000 or 27,000 tons.
In Java, also, the exports of coffee have, of late, been on the decline, but not to any consi-
derable extent. In Jamaica and the other British West India colonies, the cultivation of
coffee was greatly extended during the prevalence of the high prices, but the imports have
fallen off from 12,000 tons in 1829, to about 10,800 tons in 1832. In Brazil, the growth
of coffee has increased with unprecedented rapidity. So late as 1821, the quantity of coffee
exported from Rio de Janeiro did not exceed 7,500 tons; whereas it now amounts to about
30,000 tons This extraordinary increase has probably been, in some measure, owing to
the continuance of the slave trade; and it remains to be seen, whether the growth of coffee
may not now be checked by the late cessation of that abominable traffic. The culture of
coffee in India and Ceylon is daily becoming of more importance. In India, it is raised
chiefly on the coast of Malabar, and the quantity exported is, at present, believed to exceed
4,000,000 lbs. The exports from Ceylon, in 1830, were 1,669,490 lbs. The total imports
of coffee into Great Britain from the East Indies, in 1832, were 10,407,897 lbs.
The following may, we believe, be regarded as a pretty fair estimate of the annual exports
of coffee from the principal places where it is produced, and of the annual consumption in
those countries into which it is imported from abroad, at the present time :-
Exports.
Tons.
Mocha, Hodeida, and other Arabian ports
-
-
-
- 10,000
Java
-
-
-
-
- 18,000
Sumatra and other parts of India
-
-
-
-
- 8,000
Brazil and the Spanish Main
-
-
-
-
-
- 42,000
St. Domingo
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 20,000
Cuba and Porto Rico
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 25,000
British West India colonies
-
-
-
-
-
- 11,000
Dutch West India colonies
-
-
-
-
-
- 5,000
French West India colonies and the Isle de Bourbon
-
-
- 8,000
147,000
Consumption.
Tons.
Great Britain
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10,500
Netherlands and Holland
-
-
-
-
-
- 40,500
Germany and countries round the Baltie -
-
-
-
- 32,000
France, Spain, Italy, Turkey in Europe, the Levant, &e.
-
- 35,000
America
-
-
- 20,580
138,500
Of this quantity, the consumption of Great Britain and America amounts to nearly a fourth
part, and may be said to have arisen almost entirely since 1807.
Of the entire export of coffee from Arabia, not more, perhaps, than 5,000 or 6,000 tons
finds its way to the places mentioned above; 80 that, supposing these estimates to be about
correct, it follows that the supply of coffee is, at present, about equal to the demand. The
latter is, however, rapidly increasing; and it is impossible to say whether it be destined to
outrun, keep pace with, or fall short of the supply. On the whole, however, we should be
inclined to think, that though they may occasionally vary to the extent of a few thousand
tons on the one side or the other, the probability is that they will be pretty nearly balanced
* M. Montveran is pleased to inform us, in his Essai de Statistique sur les Colonies, a work in other
respects of considerable merit (Pièces Justificatives, p. 11.), that the exports of coffee from Brasil in
1830-31 amounted to 1,865,000 kilog. - 1,836 tons In point of fact they were more than 20 times
as much.
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COFFEE.
379
80 that, supposing peace to be preserved, we do not anticipate any very great variation of
price. The prices of 1827, 1828, 1829, and 1830, seem to have been a good deal below the
average. This depression naturally checked production and stimulated consumption, so that
prices rose considerably in 1831, 1832, and 1833 but the advance, in the last, has not been
maintained, at least to the whole extent. Such oscillations will, no doubt, continue to take
place; but unless the cost of producing coffee should be permanently increased or diminish-
ed, they can only be temporary.
The consumption of coffee in the United States has been more than quadrupled since
1821, in which year it amounted to 6,680 tons. Part of this increase is, no doubt, to be
ascribed to the reduction of the duty, first from 5 to 2 cents per pound, and its subsequent
repeal part to the fall in the price of coffee; and a part, perhaps, to the increase of temper-
ance societies. Probably, also, it was in some degree ascribable to the comparatively high
duties formerly laid on the teas imported into the United States; these, however, finally
ceased in 1833.
Account of the Imports of Coffee into the United States, the Exports from the same, and the Quan-
tities left for Home Consumption, during each of the Fifteen Years ending the 30th of September,
1835.-(Papers published by Order of Congress.)
Years.
Imports.
Exports.
Left for Home Consumption.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Tons.
1821
21,273,659
9,387,596
11,886,063
5,306
1822
25,782,390
7,267,119
18,515,271
8,266
1823
37,337,732
20,900,687
16,437,045
7,338
1824
39,224,251
19,427,227
19,797,024
8,838
1825
45,190,630
24,512,568
20,078,002
9,231
1896
43,319,497
11,584,713
31,734,784
14,167
1827
50,051,986
21,697,789
28,354,197
12,658
1828
55,194,697
16,037,964
39,156,733
17,481
1829
51,133,538
18,063,843
33,049,695
14,754
1890
51,488,248
13,194,561
38,363,087
17,127
1831
81,759,386
6,056,629
75,702,757
33,796
1832
91,722,329
55,251,158
40,471,171
18,067
1833
99,955,020
24,897,114
75,057,906
33,508
1834
80,153,366
35,806,861
44,346,505
19,797
1835
103,199,577
11,446,775
91,752,802
40,961
Mr. Cook gives the following statement of the imports of coffee into the Continent and Great
Britain, and of the stocks on hand on the 31st of December each year :-
Imports.
Stocks.
Places.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Tone.
Tons.
Tons.
Tons.
Tone.
Tons.
France
-
-
-
-
13,000
8,300
13,130
6,150
2,900
5,100
Trieste, Genoa, and Leghorn
-
12,100
6,430
13,570
4,300
1,250
6,200
Antwerp -
-
-
-
21,200
5,130
8,400
4,000
2,850
1,900
Rotterdam
-
-
-
4,500
11,740
14,200
3,600
4,500
7,500
Amsterdam
-
-
-
9,000
10,700
10,550
5,800
6,000
7,480
Hamburgh
-
-
-
20,250
17,380
22,500
10,700
7,500
11,000
Bremen -
-
-
-
4,960
4,330
6,130
2,000
1,750
2,680
Copenhagen
-
-
-
1,340
1,570
1,670
350
490
600
Petersburgh
-
-
-
500
1,200
1,700
300
1,000
960
Totals
-
86,850
66,780
91,850
37,200
28,240
43,490
Great Britain
-
-
-
18,290
19,350
22,370
13,420
12,530
12,180
Continent and Great Britain
-
105,140
86,130
114,290
50,620
40,770
55,600
(State of Commerce of Great Britain for 1832, p. 19 & 21.)
According to Mr. Cook, the prices of Jamaica and St. Domingo (Hayti) coffee, exclusive of duty,
in the London market, at the close of each year since 1814, have been-
Years.
Jamaica.
St. Domingo.
Years.
Jamaica.
St. Domingo.
1814
81s. to 105s. per cwt.
90s. to 104s. per cwt.
1826
42s. to 95s. per. cwt.
50s. to 51s. per cwt.
1815
61 - 110
72 - 80
1827
30 80
37 - 39
1816
68 - 102
74 - 75
1828
28- 80
36 - 38
1817
86 - 105
93 - 98
1829
30 - 75
32 - 34
1818
134 - 155
144 - 148
1830
32- 78
34 - 35
1819
147 - 165
128 - 134
1831
50- 86
45 - 46
1820
112 - 135
118 - 120
1832
60- 90
55 - 57
1821
85 - 125
98 - 102
1833
77 - 110
65 - 66
1822
85 - 135
95 - 100
1834
68- 124
48 - 52
1823
79 - 117
75 - 79
1835
80- 113
51 - 53
1824
50 - 102
58 - 61
let Nov.
1895
48 - 100
55 - 56
1836
71- 120
51 - 54
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880
COFFEE.
The following extract from Prince's Price Current shows the prices of the different sorts of coffee
in London on the 4th of November, 1836.
Coffee, per cwt. in bond,-
8. d. 8. d. Duty.
s.d. s.d. Duty.
fine mid. and fine
110 0 to 119
E.
St. Domingo
51 to 54 on E. In.
middling
94 106 0
Brazil
44 54 0
low do.
Ind.
Brit.
Jamalea
90 93 0
Brit.
Havannah and Cuba, good and fine
PL &
fine ord.
85 89 0
Pl. &
ord.
48 0
W.I.
good ord.
75 80
Porto Rico
53 78 0
W.I.
B.P.
ord. and triage
66 72 e
40 48
B.P.
East India, Java
6d.
Demerara
good mid. to fine
107 118
6d.
Cheribon and Bat. good
50 70
F.E.
and
middling
93 106 0
Coy certificate
71 72 0
77 91 0
F.E.
I.9d.
Berbice
good and fine ard.
70 76 0
I.9d.
for export
44 48
F.
ordinary
Sumatra and Samarang
38 48
Ls. 3d.
Dominica
mid. and fine
92 116 0
F.
Mocha
52 106
1a.
3d.
per
and
good and fine ord.
80 91 0
St. Lucia
triage and ord.
70 76
per lb.
Coffee is sold is bond , the business is done in the public market,
count, and 4 per cent. for cash. The tares are the same as allowed
either by public sale or private contract. The terms are-E. 1. and
by the revenue. The draft on B. P., namely, casks of 5 cwt. and -
W. 1. British Plantation, I month, 1 per cent. discount, allowing 4
wards 5 lbs. under 5 cwt. 4 lbs.; barrels and bags 2 lbs. Foreign
per cent for cash East India at a prompt of three months from the
and East India 1 lb.
day of sale, without discount; Foreign 1 month, 21 per cent. dis.
Notwithstanding the great reduction of the duties on coffee in 1824, there can be no doubt
that they are still too high. At this moment they amount to 50 per cent. on the price of
very fine coffee, and to 75 or 90 per cent. on the price of inferior sorts. Were the duties
on British plantation coffee reduced to 3d. per lb. (28s. a cwt.), and those on Mocha and
Foreign India coffee to 4d. per lb. (37s. 4d. a cwt.), the consumption would be so much
extended, that, instead of being diminished, the revenue would be decidedly increased. The
increase of consumption mentioned above must not, however, be wholly attributed to the
reduction of the duty in 1824 the low prices from that year to 1830 had, no doubt, a ma-
terial effect in facilitating the formation of a taste for coffee. The great reduction in the
price of low brown sugar (at least 14d. per lb.) must also have assisted the consumption of
coffee,-the one being so necessary to the extensive use of the other. The small increase
of consumption since 1830 is wholly to be ascribed to the rise of prices; but were the duty
reduced to 3d., this rise would be counteracted, and the consumption would again rapidly
increase nor, provided East India were admitted at a duty of 4d., and foreign at a duty of
6d., is there any reason to fear that the increased consumption would have any material in-
fluence on the price.
Species of Coffee. Roasting, &c.-The coffee of Mocha is generally esteemed the best;
then follow the coffees of Jamaica, Dominica, Berbice, Demerara, Bourbon, Java, Martinique,
and Hayti. Arabian or Mocha coffee is produced in a very dry climate, the best being
raised upon mountainous slopes and sandy soils. The most fertile soils are not suitable for
the growth of very fine coffee. Mr. Bryan Edwards observes, that a rich deep soil, fre-
quently meliorated by showers, will produce a luxuriant tree and a great crop; but the
beans, which are large, and of a dingy green, prove, for many years, rank and vapid."
And the same remark is made by Mr. Crawfurd, with respect to the coffee of Java-(East
Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 487.) Coffee is improved by being kept; it then becomes of
a paler colour.
Mocha or, as it is commonly called, Turkey coffee, should be chosen of a greenish light
olive hue, fresh and new, free from any mustiness, the berries of a middling size, clean,
plump, and without any intermixture of sticks or other impurities. Particular care should
be taken that it be not false packed. Good West India coffee should be of a greenish
colour, fresh, free from any unpleasant small, the berries small and unbroken.
Coffee berries readily imbibe exhalations from other bodies, and thereby acquire an adven-
titious and disagreeable flavour. Sugar placed near coffee will, in a short time, so impreg-
nate the berries, as to injure their flavour. Dr. Moseley mentions, that a few bags of pep-
per, on board a ship from India, spoiled a whole cargo of coffee.
" The roasting of the berry to a proper degree requires great nicety; the virtue and agree-
ableness of the drink depend upon it; and both are often injured by the ordinary method.
Bernier says, when he was at Cairo, where coffee is so much used, he was assured by the
best judges, that there were only two people in that great city who understood how to pre-
pare it in perfection. If it be under-done, its virtues will not be imparted, and, in use, it
will load and oppress the stomach if it be over-done, it will yield a flat, burnt, and bitter
taste, its virtues will be destroyed, and, in use, it will heat the body, and act as an astrin-
gent."-(Moseley, p. 39.)
Adulteration of Coffee.-A mill for grinding coffee may be bought for a small sum and
no one who has the means of grinding it at home ought to purchase it ground, unless from
shops of the first respectability. Ground coffee is liable to be, and in point of fact is, very
extensively adulterated with succory, beans, roasted corn, &c. The facilities for this fraud-
ulent intermixture are so very great as to render it impossible materially to lessen them other-
wise than by a reduction of the duty.
Regulations with respect to Sale, Importation, &c.-Ronsted beans and rye, reduced to powder, have
frequently been used to adulterate ground coffee and the possession of such substitutes for coffee
was formerly an offence punishable by the forfeiture of the articles, and a penalty of 100{. But by
the act 3 Geo. 4. c. 53., persons who are not dealers in coffee may take a license for roasting and selling
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COFFEE.
381
corn, peas, beans, or parsneps, labelling the parcels with the names, and conforming to the various
regulations prescribed in the act.
Dealers in coffee must take out a licence, renewable annually, which, at present, costs 11s.
No coffee can be imported in packages of less than 100 lbs. nett weight.
No abatement of duties is made on account of any damage coffee may have received.
Coffee cannot be entered as being the produce of any British possession in America or of the Mau-
ritius, until the master of the ship in which the coffee is imported deliver to the collector or comp-
troller a certificate of its origin, and declare that the coffee is the produce of such place.-(3 & 4 Will.
4. c. 52. " 36, 37.)
We subjoin two pro forma accounts, one of the sale of 100 bags Brazil coffee, the other of the sale
of 10 tierces Jamaica coffee. They may be depended upon as accurate; and are interesting from
their showing in detail the various charges, exclusive of duty, affecting this important article.
Pro forma Account Sale of B. 100 Bags Coffee per London," from Rio Janeiro, on Account of C. D. and Co.
1
1833.
L. a. d.
L. & d.
Oct. 30.
By E. F. for 100 bags. Prompt 1 month.
Cut. qrs. lbs.
Lots 1 to 5. weighing
145 0 gross
3 2 8 Tare 2 lb. Draft 2 lb. per bag.
141 1 20 nett
.
at SL 3a.
445 10 0
Discount 2 1-2 per cent.
11 9
434 7 8
Charges
L. 8. d.
To Sea Insurance on 4002. at 21. per cent
.800
Policy 5a. 6d. per cent.
2 0
Commission 1.2 per cent.
2 0 0
11 0
Dock rates OD 143 cwt. 0 qr. 24 lbs. at Is. Rd.
Lotting Id. per bag
-871
8 15 5
Insurance against fire
0 12 5
Freight on 143 cwt. 0 qr. 24 lbs. at 3a.
21 9 8
Primage 5 per cent. 11. Is. 6d. Pierage 2s. Id.
1 3 7
22 13 3
Public sale charges 17s. 6d. Petty expenses 8a. 6d.
160
Brokerage 1 per cent.
Commission 2 18 per cent.
:
491
11 2 9
60 0 11
Errors excepted.
Nett proceeds
L.374 6 4
(Cash, 30th of November, 1833.)
London, 2d of November, 1833.
Pro forms Account Sale of G. H. 10 Tierces Coffee per Kingston," from Jamaica, on Account of I.K. and Co.
1833.
L d.
L. a. d.
Oct. 30
By L M. for 10 tierces. Prompt 1 month.
Cashs.
Cut. qrs. lbs.
Crote. qre. lbs.
Lot. 4. 5 weighing 45 0 0
Tare 3 2 18
3 0 15
Draft 0 0 25
31 0 13 nett
at 51. 10s.
171 8 9
25
-
3500
Tare 3 2 18
3 3 15
Draft 0 0 25
81 0 13 nett
at 42. 5a.
132 4 10
303 7 7
Discount 1 per cent.
300
300 6 11
Charges.
L. d.
To Sea Insurance on 3001. at 91. per cent.
000
Policy 5a. 6d. per cent.
: 0 16 6
Commission 1-2 per cent.
1 10 0
806
Dock rates on 62 cwt. 8 qrs. 20 lbs. at 1s. 6d.
4 14 0
Lotting at 9d. per tierce
076
5 6
Insurance against fire
083
Freight on 62 cwt. 2 qrs. 20 lbs. at 6a.
18 16 1
Primage 5a. and pierage 3a. 9d.
0 8 9
19 10
Public sale charges 7s. Petty expenses 7a. 6d,
0 14 6
Brokerage 1 per cent.
308
Commission 2 1-2 per cent.
7 11 8
44 7 11
Errors excepted.
Nett proceeds
L.255 19 0
(Cash, 30th of November, 1833.)
London, 2d of November, 1833
We pointed out (art. EAST INDIES) the injustice and impolicy of charging 3d. per lb. more
on the coffee of our Eastern dominions, when imported for home consumption, than on that
imported from the West Indies. This distinction has, however, been put an end to; the 5
and 6 Will. 4. c. 66. having enacted that coffee, the produce of British possessions within
the limits of the East India Company's charter and of Sierra Leone, shall pay, when entered
for home consumption, a duty of 6d. per lb.
Such coffee must, however, be accompanied with a certificate of origin, that is, R certificate sub-
scribed by the proper officer of the place where it was shipped. bearing that he had received from the
master, and examined, a declaration under the hand and seal of the shipper of the coffee, stating that
It was really and bona fide the produce of some such British possession, and that he (the officer) be-
* Coffee in bags pays 1s. 2d., and in casks 1s. 6d. of dock dues.
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COINS.
lieved such declaration to be true. The master must also, when he arrives in this country, make and
subscribe a declaration before the collector or comptroller, stating that the certificate of origin was
received by him at the port where the coffee was taken on board, and that the coffee imported is the
same that is mentioned therein. (We believe that this is the sense of the clause (2) relating to the
certificate; but, from some error of the press or otherwise, it is all but unimtelligible.)-Sup.)
[The consumption of coffee in the United States is very large. As much as 91,321,000
pounds of it were annually imported, on an average of the four years ending September
30th, 1837, chiefly from Brazil, Cuba, Hayti, Colombia, and Java. Of this amount, how-
ever, nearly 19 millions of pounds were re-exported to France, the Hanse towns, Holland,
Belgium, Trieste, Turkey, the Levant, &c.-Am. Ed.]
COINS, pieces of metal, most commonly gold, silver, or copper, impressed with a public
stamp, and frequently made legal tender in payment of debts, either to a limited or an un-
limited extent.
1. Circumstances which led to the Introduction and Use of Coins.-When the precious
metals first began to be used as money, or as standards by which to measure the value of
different articles, and the equivalents for which they were most commonly exchanged, they
were in an unfashioned state, in bars or ingots. The parties having agreed upon the quantity
of metal to be given for a commodity, the exact amount was then ascertained by weight. But
it is obvious that a practice of this sort must have been attended with a great deal of trouble
and inconvenience. There can, however, be little doubt that the greatest obstacle to the
use of unfashioned metals as money would be found in the difficulty of determining their
quality, or the degree of their purity, with sufficient precision. The operation of assaying
is one of great nicety and difficulty and could not be performed in the early ages otherwise
than in a clumsy, tedious, and inaccurate manner. It is, indeed, most probable, that when
the precious metals were first used as money, their quality would be appreciated only by
their weight and colour. A very short experience would, however, be sufficient to show the
extreme inexactness of conclusions derived from such loose and unsatisfactory criteria and
the dèvising of some method, by which the fineness of the metal might be easily and cor-
rectly ascertained, would very soon be felt as indispensable to the general use of gold and
silver as money. Such a method was not long in presenting itself: it was early discovered,
that, to ascertain the purity of the metal, and also to avoid the trouble and expense of weigh-
ing it, no more was necessary than to mark each piece with a stamp declaring its weight
and fineness. This invention was made at a very early period. According to Herodotus,
the Lydians were the first who coined money.-Lib. i. c. 94. Other ancient authors say
that the art of coining was invented during the period when Saturn and Janus reigned in
Italy ; that is, in a period antecedent to authentic history.-Goguet, de I Origine des Loix,
&c. tom. i. p. 267.)
2. Metal used in the Manufacture of Coins.-Before the art of metallurgy was well under-
stood, the baser metals were frequently used as money. Iron was the primitive money of
the Lacedmmonians, and copper of the Romans. But both iron and copper deteriorate by
being kept; and besides this defect, the rapid improvement of the arts, by lowering their
price, rendered their bulk too great in proportion to their value to permit of their continuing
to be used as money. Copper, indeed, is still used in the form of tokens, convertible into
silver in very small payments. In this country, copper pence and halfpence are rated at
about 72 per cent. above their real value; but as their issue is exclusively in the hands of
government, and as they are only legal tender to the extent of one shilling in any one pay-
ment, this over-valuation is not productive of any bad effect. The use of copper in other
countries is limited in much the same way gold and silver being every where the only
metals made use of in the manufacture of the coins used in considerable payments.
3. Standard of Coins.-By the standard of a coin, is meant the degree of its' purity and
its weight; that is, the fineness of the metal of which it is made, and the quantity of metal
contained in it.
(1.) Silver Coins.-A pound Troy, or 12 ounces, of the metal of which English silver
coins are made, contains 11 OZ. 2 dwts. pure silver, and 18 dwts. alloy. This pound is
coined into 66 shillings so that each shilling contains 80.727 grains fine silver, and 87.27
grains standard silver; and the money pound, consisting of 20 shillings, contains 1614-545
grains pure silver, and 1745.454 grains standard silver. From 1600 down to 1816, the
pound weight of standard silver bullion was coined into 62 shillings. All the English
silver coins have been coined out of silver of 11 OZ. 2 dwts. fine, from the Conquest to this
moment, except for the short period of 16 years, from the 34th Henry VIII. to the 2d
Elizabeth.
(2.) Gold Coins.-The purity of gold is not estimated by the weights commonly in use,
but by an Abyssinian weight called a carat. The carats are subdivided into four parts,
called grains, and these again into quarters; so that a carat grain, with respect to the com-
mon divisions of a pound Troy, is equivalent to 2f dwts. Gold of the highest degree of
fineness, or pure, is said to be 24 carats fine. When gold coins were first made at the
English mint, the standard of the gold put in them was of 23 carats 34 grains fine and 1
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grain alloy; and so it continued, without any variation, to the 18th of Henry VIII., who, in
that year, first introduced a new standard of gold of 22 carats fine, and 2 carats alloy. The
first of these standards was called the old and the second the new standard, or crown gold;
because crowns, or pieces of the value of 5s., were first coined of this new standard. Henry
VIII. made his gold coins of both these standards under different denominations; and this
practice was continued by his successors until 1633. From that period to the present, the
gold of which the coins of this kingdom have been made has been invariably of the new
standard, or crown gold; though some of the coins made of the old standard, previously to
1633, continued to circulate till 1732, when they were forbidden to be any longer current.
(Liverpool on Coins, p. 27.)
The purity of our present gold coins is, therefore, 11 parts fine gold and 1 part alloy. The
sovereign or 20 shilling piece, contains 113.001 grains fine gold and 123274 grains stand-
ard gold. The pound Troy of standard gold is coined into 46 18D 30 sovereigns, or into 46L
14s. 6d. The mint or standard price of gold is, therefore, said to be 46/. 14s. 6d. per lb.
Troy, or 3L 17s. 10}d. an ounce.
The alloy in coins is reckoned of no value, It is allowed, in order to save the trouble and
experise that would be incurred in refining the metals, so as to bring them to the highest
degree of purity and because, when its quantity is small, it has a tendency to render the
coins harder, and less liable to be worn or rubbed. If the quantity of alloy were considera-
ble, it would lessen the splendour and ductility of the metals, and would add too much to
the weight of the coins.
The standard of the coins of foreign countries may be learned at a glance, by inspecting
the Table of Coins subjoined to this article.
4. Variations of the Standard.-The value of all sorts of property being estimated, and
the stipulations in almost all contracts for its purchase, sale, or hire, being made in money
or coins, it is plain that no change can take place in the value of such money or coins, with-
out virtually subverting these estimates and contracts, and enriching the debtor portion of
society at the expense of the creditor portion, or vice versâ. As the cost of producing all
commodities is liable to vary from improvements in the arts, the exhaustion of the present
or the discovery of new sources of supply, none can be selected to serve as money or coin,
that may. not vary in its real value. It is believed, however, that the precious metals vary
less than any material that could be suggested. And with the exception of the extraordinary
fall in their value caused by the discovery of the American mines, it seems to have been
remarkably constant at other periods.
But in addition to the fluctuations naturally inherent in the value of coins, arising from
variations in the cost of the metal of which they are made, their standard has been repeat-
edly changed. Notwithstanding that money or coin, from its being universally used as a
scale by which to compute the value of all commodities, and as the equivalent for which
they are commonly exchanged, is by far the most important of all the measures used in
society ; and should, consequently, be preserved as invariable as possible; there is none that
has been 80 frequently altered. The necessities or extravagance of government have forced
them to borrow and to relieve themselves of the incumbrances thus contracted, they have
almost universally had recourse to the disgraceful expedient of degrading the coin ; that is,
of cheating those who lent them money, to the extent of the degradation, and of enabling
every other debtor in their dominions to do the same.
The ignorance of the public in remote ages facilitated this species of fraud. Had the
names of the coins been changed when the quantity of metal contained in them was di-
minished, there would have been no room for misapprehension. But, although the weight
of the coins was undergoing perpetual, and their purity occasional, reductions, their ancient
denominations were almost uniformly preserved; and the people who saw the same names
still remaining after the substance was diminished who saw coins of a certain weight and
fineness circulate under the names of florins, livres, dollars, and pounds; and who saw them
continue to circulate as such, after both their weight and the degree of their fineness had
been lessened began to think that they derived their value more from the stamp affixed to
them by authority of government, than from the quantity of the precious metals they con-
tained. This was long a very prevalent opinion. But the rise of prices which invariably
followed every reduction of the standard, and the derangement that was thereby occasioned
in every pecuniary transaction, undeceived the public, and taught them, and their rulers, the
expediency of preserving the standard of money inviolate.
The standard may be reduced by simply raising the denomination of the coin by order-
ing, for example, that a half-sovereign should pass for a sovereign, and the latter for a double
sovereign, &c. If injustice be resolved upon, this is the least mischievous way in which it
can be perpetrated, inasmuch as it saves all the trouble and expense of a recoinage. But as
it renders the fraud obvious and glaring, it has rarely been resorted to and most reductions
have been effected either by diminishing the weight of the coins, or by increasing the pro-
portion of alloy in the metal of which they are made, or both.
Originally the coins of all countries seem to have had the same denomination as the
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COINS.
weights commonly used in them and contained the exact quantity of the precious metals
indicated by their name. Thus, the talent was a weight used in the earliest period by the
Greeks, the as or pondo by the Romans, the livre by the French, and the pound by the
English and Scotch; and the coins originally in use in Greece, Italy, France, and England,
bore the same names, and weighed precisely a talent, a pondo, a livre, and a pound. The
standard has not, however, been preserved inviolate, either in modern or ancient times. It
has been less degraded in England than any where else but even here the quantity of sil-
ver in a pound sterling is less than a third part of a pound weight,-the quantity it con-
tained in 1300. In France, the livre current in 1789 contained less than one sixty-sixth
part of the silver implied in its name, and which it had actually contained previously to
1103. In Spain, and some other countries, the degradation has been carried still further.*
From 1296 to 1355, the coins of England and Scotland were of the same weight and
purity ; but at the last mentioned epoch the standard of Scotch money was, for the first
time, sunk below that of England; and by successive degradations, the value of Scotch
money, at the union of the crowns in 1600, was only a twelfth part of the value of the
English money of the same denomination. It remained at this point till the union of the
kingdoms cancelled the separate coinage of Scotland.
The gold and silver coins of Ireland have been for a considerable period the same as
those of Great Britain but, until 1825, they were nominally rated 81 per cent. higher.
This difference of valuation, which was attended with considerable inconveniences, was
put an end to by the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 79., which assimilated the currency throughout the
empire.
The Tables annexed to this article contain all the information that can be desired by
mercantile men with respect to the weight, fineness, &c. of English and Scotch gold and
silver coins, from the earliest periods to the present moment.
5. Mint, or Government valuation of Gold and Silver Coins.-If both gold and silver
coins be made legal tenders, it is obviously indispensable that their value with respect to
each other should be fixed by authority or that it should be declared, that individuals shall
be entitled to discharge the claims upon them by payments, either of gold or silver coins,
according to some regulated proportion. The practice of making both metals legal tenders
was long adopted in England. From 1257 till 1664, the value of gold coins was regulated
by proclamation; or, which is the same thing, it was ordered that the gold coins, then cur-
rent, should be taken as equivalent to certain specified sums of silver.-(Liverpool on Coins,
p. 128.) From 1664, down to 1717, the relation of gold to silver was not fixed by authority;
and silver being then the only legal tender, the value of gold coins fluctuated, according to
the fluctuations in the relative worth of the metals in the market. But, in 1717, the ancient
practice was again reverted to and it was fixed that the guinea should be taken as the
equivalent of 21 shillings, and conversely.
But the value of each of the precious metals is liable to perpetual changes. And hence,
how accurately soever their proportional value, as fixed by the mint regulations, may corre-
spond with the proportion which they actually bear to each other in the market when the
regulation is made, the chances are 10 to 1 that it will speedily cease to express their re-
lation to each other. But the moment that such a change takes place, it becomes the obvious
interest of every one who has a payment to make, to make it in the overvalued metal which,
consequently, becomes the sole, or nearly the sole, currency of the country. Hence the
reason why the coins of some countries are almost wholly of silver, and others almost
wholly of gold. It is estimated, for example, that when it was fixed, in 1717, that the guinea
should exchange for 21 shillings, gold was overvalued as compared with silver to the extent
of 111 per cent-(Liverpool on Coins, p. 85.) ; and as the real value of silver with respect
to gold continued to increase during the greater part of last century, the advantage of pay-
ing in gold in preference to silver became more decided, and ultimately led to the universal
use of gold in all large payments, and to the fusion or exportation of all silver coins of full
weight-(Liverpool, loco cit.)
In France, a different valuation of the metals has had a different effect. Previously to
the recoinage in 1785, the Louis d'or was rated in the mint proportion at only 24 livres,
when it was really worth 25 livres 10 sols. Those, therefore, who should have discharged
the obligations they had contracted by payments of gold coin instead of silver, would plainly
have lost one livre 10 sols on every sum of 24 livres. In consequence, very few such pay-
ments were made; gold was almost entirely banished from circulation, and silver became
almost the only species of metallic money used in France.-(Say, Traité "Economie Poli-
tique, tom. i. p. 393.)
In 1816, however, a new system was adopted in this country it being then enacted
(56 Geo. 3. c. 68.), that gold coins only should be legal tender in all payments of more
* For an account of the degradation of the coins of the ancient and modern Continental nations,
see the article Money, in the Supplement to the old, or in the new edition of the Encyclepadia
Britannica.
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than 40 shillings. The pound of silver bullion, that had previously been coined into 62
shillings, was then also coined into 66 shillings, the additional four shillings being retained
by government as a seignorage or duty (amounting to 614 per cent.) upon the coinage.
To prevent the silver coins from becoming redundant, government has retained the power
to issue them in its own hands. Under these regulations, silver has ceased to be a standard
of value, and forms merely a subordinate or subsidiary species of currency, or change, occu-
pying the same place in relation to gold that copper occupies in relation to itself. This sys-
tem has been found to answer exceedingly well.
A good deal of difference of opinion has existed as to whether gold or silver coins are best
fitted for being made a legal tender. It does not seem that the one possesses any very
striking advantage over the other; none, certainly, that would justify a change, after a
selection had been made, and acted upon for any considerable period.
Down to 1626, a seignorage or duty upon the coinage was usually charged upon the
gold and silver coins issued by the mint; and it may be easily shown that the imposition
of such a duty, when it is not carried to an undue height, is advantageous. A coin is more
useful than a piece of uncoined bullion of the same weight and purity the coinage fitting
it for being used as inoney, while it does not unfit it for being used for any other purpose.
When, therefore, a duty of seignorage is laid upon coin equal to the expense of coinage, it
circulates at its real value; but when this charge is defrayed by the public, it circulates at
less than its real value, and is consequently either melted down or exported whenever there
is any demand for bullion in the arts, or any fall in the exchange. It is, indeed, true, that
were a seignorage to be laid on gold coins, it would be necessary, to prevent an enhancement
of the value of the currency, that their weight should be proportionally reduced; and it is on
this account better, perhaps, to let them remain on the present footing. But when a seignor-
age was laid on the silver coins, in 1816, it was not necessary to take the circumstance
now alluded to into consideration; for as they were made subordinate to gold, and were in-
tended to serve as change merely, its imposition had no tendency to raise the value of the
currency, at the same time that it was calculated effectually to prevent the fusion of the
coins, and to yield a small revenue to government.
6. Coinage since 1790. Amount of Coin in Circulation.-No. V. of the subjoined
Tables shows the amount of the gold and silver coinage at the British mint, each year, from
1790 downwards.
It will be seen from this account, that gold coin to the amount of about 47,000,000L has
been coined at the mint between 1817 and 1831, both inclusive. It is not easy to form any
very precise estimate of the portion of this immense sum now in circulation. In conse-
quence of the exemption of our gold coin from any seignorage, large quantities of the coins
carried abroad during an unfavourable exchange find their way to the foreign mints, where
they are melted and recoined. We are not, however, wholly destitute of the means of ap-
proximating to the quantity of coin in circulation. The mint works wholly, or almost
wholly, for the Bank of England, so that, by comparing the issues of coin by the Bank
with the coin paid to her, and allowing for. the export, we are able to get at a tolerably
accurate result. We are indebted to Mr. Horsley Palmer for the following estimate, made
up on this principle, of the gold coin in circulation in February, 1833. It may not be quite
accurate, but we are sure that it is as accurate as it is possible to make any estimate of the
sort-(See next page.)
7. The Exportation and Importation of Gold and Silver Coins was formerly prohibited
but in 1819 it was enacted (59 Geo. 3. c. 49.), that they might be freely exported and im-
ported, without being liable to any charge or duty whatever; and they may be imported
without being either reported or entered at the Custom-house. This regulation has rendered
it next to impossible to ascertain the value of the bullion imported.
8. Forgery of Coin. Issue of forged or spurious Coins.-The forgery of coin is an
office that is practised more or less at all periods. The most effectual means of preventing
it is to improve the fabric of the genuine coins, to cut the dies with great delicacy, and occa-
sionally to vary the form of the coins. During the lengthened period from 1770 down to
1816, the genuine silver coins in circulation were so much worn and defaced, that it was
very difficult to distinguish between them and counterfeits, which, in despite of the severest
penalties, were thrown into circulation in immense quantities. But since the issue of the
new coins, in 1816, forgery has been comparatively rare. There has, however, been a con-
siderable increase of forgery during the last 7 years, as compared with the previous 7.
Sufficient time has not yet been afforded for determining the influence of the law exempting
the offence of counterfeiting from the punishment of death.
VOL. L-2 K
49
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COINS.
Estimate of Gold Coin in circulation in February, 1833.
Issued by the Bank.
Observations.
£
From January, 1821,
to July, 1824, inclu-
}
17,370,000
The exchanges during this period were in favour of the
sive
country, and gold was imported.
-
The exchanges during the major part of this period were
against the country, and gold was exported. or the total
From August, 1824,
inclusive
}
issue of 8,660,000L. about 2,500,0001. were issued from Oc-
to December, 1825,
8,660,000
tober to the end of December, 1825, to supply the place of
-
-
the country notes then discredited, leaving 6,080,000L. as
the estimated export of coin, in addition to the bar and
other uncoined gold sold by the Bank during this period.
From January, 1826,
to April, 1828, in-
}
2,370,000
The exchanges during this period were in favour of the
clusive
country, and gold was imported.
-
-
1st. The exchanges were against the country from Novem-
ber, 1828, to February, 1829, during which period the issue
From May, 1828, to }
amounted to 1,500,000L. of which 1,000,000L. is estimated
15th of February,
9,600,000
to have been applied in the withdrawal of the country 11.
1832
-
-
notes, leaving 500,000L. as the amount of estimated export
during that period.
38,000,000
2d. From August, 1830, to February, 1832, the exchanges
were also against the country, during which period the
issue was 4,000,000Γ. 1,000,000. of this sum was issued in
Deduct for export.
November, 1831, upon the rejection of the Reform Bill, and
1824-25 £6,000,000
1,000,0001. more may fairly be estimated as the further
1828-29
500,000
8,500,000
amount applied within the whole period, from August,
1830-32
2,000,000
1830, in the withdrawal of the country small notes; leaving
2,000,000/. as the estimated amount of coin exported from
29,500,000
1830 to 1932.
From 15th of Febru-
ary, 1832, to 15th of
This sum was taken out during the political discredit of
1,800,000
February, 1833.
May, 1832, and has not yet returned to the Bank.
31,300,000
Deduct the stock at
the branch banks,
which has been
taken as part of the
1,300,000
issue from the Bank
in London
-
Leaving in circulation
in the hands of the
public on the 15th
30,000,000
of February, 1833 -
9. Law as to the counterfeiting, &c. of Coin.-The acts as to this were consolidated and amended by
the 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 34, of which the following is a brief abstract :-
Counterfeiting the gold or silver coin of the realm, transportation for life, or for not less than 7
years, or imprisonment for not exceeding 4 years ; and every such offence shall be deemed to be cem-
plete, although the counterfeiting be not finished.-> 3.
Colouring counterfeit coin, or any pieces of metal, with intent to make them pass for gold or silver
coin ; colouring or altering genuine coin with intent to make it pass for higher coin; transportation for
life, or for any term not less than 7 years, or imprisonment for any term not exceeding 4 years.- 4.
Impairing the gold or silver coin, with intent to make the coin so impaired pass for gold or silver
coin of full weight, transportation for not exceeding 14, nor less than 7 years, or imprisonment for not
exceeding 3 yearn.- 8.
Buying or selling, &c. counterfeit gold or silver coin for lower value than its denomination, import-
ing counterfeit coin from beyond seas, transportation for life, or for not less than 7 years, or imprison-
ment for not exceeding 4 years.- 6.
Uttering counterfeit gold or silver coin, imprisonment for not exceeding 1 year and uttering, accom-
panied by possession of other counterfeit coin, or followed by a second uttering within 10 days, im-
prisonment for not exceeding 2 years every second offence of uttering after a previous conviction,
shall be felony, transportation for life, or for not less than 7 years, or imprisonment for not exceeding
4 years.- 7.
Having 3 or more pieces of counterfeit gold or silver coin in possession, with intent to utter the
same, imprisonment for not exceeding 3 years; second offence, transportation for life, or for not less
than 7 years, or imprisonment for not exceeding 4 years.-d 8.
Making, mending, having possession of, or selling any mould, &c. or cotning tools, or any press or
engine, conveying tools of monies out of the mint without authority, felony transportation for life,
or for not less than 7 years, or imprisonment for not exceeding 4 years.-dd 10, 11.
Counterfeiting any current copper coin, or making, mending, or having in his possession any coin-
ing tool, or buying, selling, &c. any counterfeit copper coin for lower value than its denomination,
transportation for not exceeding 7 years, or imprisonment for not exceeding 2 years: and attering
any counterfeit copper coin, or having in his possession 3 or more pieces of counterfeit copper coin,
imprisonment for not exceeding 1 year.-d 12.
Gold or silver coin tendered to any person suspecting any piece to be counterfeit, may be broken by
such person and If it shall appear to be counterfeit, the person tendering shall bear the loss but
if it shall be of due weight, and appear to be of lawful coin, the person breaking it is to receive it at
the rate it was coined for, and any dispute shall be finally determined by any justice; and the tellers
of the Exchequer and the receivers-general of the revenue are to break or deface every piece of
counterfeit coin tendered for payment.- 13.
Any person discovering any counterfeit coin, gold, silver, or copper, or any coining tool, is to carry
the same forthwith, before some justice, and on reasonable cause to suspect any person of counter-
feiting, or having such coin, or any tool, Ac., such justice may cause any place under the control of
such suspected person to be searched, either in the day or night, and if any such coin or tool shall be
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found, to cause the same to be seised forthwith, and carried before a justice, who is to secure the
same for the purpose of being produced in evidence, and afterwards of being delivered up to the
mint.- 14.
The necessity of the evidence of any officer of the mint to prove counterfeit coin dispensed
with.-> 17.
The court may order hard labour or solitary confinement.- 19.
The words "king's coin" include all coin lawfully current in the United Kingdom and wilfully
having, in any dwelling-house or other building, lodging, apartment, field, or other place, open or
inclosed, whether belonging to or occupied by himself or not, and whether for his own use or benefit,
or for that of another, shall be deemed having in his possession within this act.-d 21.
Persons acting in the execution of this act, protected in the usual manner, by requiring notice of
action, &c., and allowing tender of amends, &c.-d 22.
10. Convictions for Coining and Uttering.-In the 7 years ending with 1818, 63 persons were con-
victed in England and Wales of the offence of counterfeiting the coin of the realm, of whom 1 was
executed. In the next 7 years the convictions for coining were reduced to 14, but of these 5 were
executed. In the last septennial period, ending with 1832, the convictions were 34, and the execu-
tions 7. The convictions for issuing forged coins in the first of the above periods were 21, in the
second 2, and in the third, 32.
TABLES RELATIVE TO THE COINS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND OTHER COUNTRIES.
No. I. ENGLISH Corns.-Account of the English Silver and Gold Coins; showing their Value, the
Seignorage or Profit upon the Coinage, and the Price of the Pound Troy of Standard Gold and
Silver, from the Conquest to the present time.-(This and the next Table, No. II., are taken from
Part 11. of Essays on Money, Exchanges, and Political Economy, by Henry James.)
Silver.
Gold.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Equal to the
Equal to the
Fineness
Pound
Profit or
Mint Price
Fineness
Pound
Profit or
Mint Price
A.D.
Anno Regni.
of the Sil-
Weight of
Seignorage
for Standard
of the
Weight of
Seignorage
for Standard
ver in the such Silver
on the
Silver of
Gold in
such Gold
on the
Gold of 22
Coins.
coined into
Coinage.
11 OK. 2 dwts.
the Colum.
coined into
Coinage.
Carats fine
fine Troy
Troy weight.
weight.
Oz. drs.
L.a.d.
Led.
L. d.
Crts. grea.
Led
L a. d.
L & d
1066
Conquest
-
11 2
100
1280
8 Edward I.
-
-
-
100
01 0
1 0 34
1300
28
1 03
01 21
1344
18 Edward III. -
-
-
103
01 3
1034
23 31
13 34
084
12 10 8
1349
23
1 26
013
128
-
-
14 00
0118
13 3 9
1356
30
150
0 0 10
1591
-
-
15 00
068
14 8 4
1394
18 Richard II.
-
-
-
150
0010
15 %
-
-
15 00
050
14 9 11
1401
3 Henry 1V.
-
-
-
150
0010
159
-
-
15 00
050
14 11
1421
9 Henry V.
-
-
-
100
010
1 10 111
-
-
16 13 4
050
16 2 9
1425
4 Henry VI.
-
-
-
1 10 0
010
1 10 111
-
-
16 13 4
0 5 10
16 1 11
1464
4 Edward IV. -
-
-
1 17 6
046
1 15 21
-
-
20 16 8
210 0
18 0 5
1465
5
-
-
1 17 6
046
1 15 21
-
22 10 0
1010
21 1 10
1470
49 Henry VI.
-
-
-
1 17 6
02 0
1 17 101
-
-
22 10 0
0 13 0
21 9 7
1482
22 Edward IV. -
-
-
1 17 6
016
1 18 44
-
22 10 0
076
21 15 0
1483
1 Richard III. -
-
-
1 17 6
016
1 18 41
-
22 10 0
076
21 15 0
1485
1 Henry VII. -
-
-
1 17 6
016
1 18 41
-
-
22 10 0
076
21 15 0
1509
1 Henry VIII.
-
1176
010
1 18 111
-
22 100
026
22 0 0
*1527
18
200
01 04
1 18 111
-
24 00
028
200
2 50
010
240
-
27 00
029
-
-
-
-
-
-
22 0
25 26
030
24 19 6
1543
34
10 0
280
08 0
2 4 41
23 0
28 16 0
140
2680
1545
36
6 0
2 80
20 0
2 11 91
220
30 00
2100
97 10 0
1546
37
40
280
440
2 15 6
20 0
30 00
500
27 10 0
1547
1 Edward VI.
40
280
440
2 15 6
20 0
30 00
1100
3170
1549
3
60
3120
400
2 19 2f
220
34 00
110
3300
1551
5
3 0
3120
11 0
300
-
-
-
-
23 31
36 00
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22 0
33 00
1552
6
11 1
.00
010
2 19 31
23 3f S
36 00
020
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2202
33 00
030
32 17 8
1553
1 Mary
-
11 0
300
01 0
2 19 61
23 31
36 00
030
3308
1560
2 Elizabeth
-
11 2
300
016
2 18 6
23315
36 00
050
- -
-
-
2201
33 00
040
32 16 0
1600
43
320
080
3 0 0
233}S
36 10 0
0 10 0
-
-
-
-
-
2202
33 10 0
0 10 0
3300
1604
2 James I.
-
-
320
026
2 19 6
22 0
37 4 0
1 10 0
35 14 0
1626
2 Charles I.
-
-
320
020
300
41 00
115
39 18 7
+1666
18 Charles IL
-
-
320
000
320
-
44 10
-
-
44 10 0
1717
3 George I.
-
-
320
000
320
-
46 6
-
-
46 14 6
1816
56 George III.
-
3
040
-
-
-
46 6
-
-
46 14 6
*
1587-Heary VIII.] The Saxon or Tower pound was used at the mint up to this time, when the
pound Troy was substituted in its stead. The Tower pound was but 11 oz. 5 dwts. Troy so that,
from the Conquest to the 28th of Edward I., 20 shillings in tale were exactly a pound in weight.
t 1666-18 Charles II.] The seignorage on the coinage was at this time given up, and the gold
bullion brought to the mint has ever since been coined free of expense. A seignorage of 614 31 per cent
was imposed on the coinage of silver by 56 Geo. 3.
Digitized by Google
388
COINS.
No. II. ENGLISH Coins.-Account of the Quantity of Fine Sliver coined into 90s. or the Pound Ster-
ling; the Quantity of Standard Silver, of 11 oz. 2 dwts. Fine and 18 dwts. Alloy, contained in 20s.
or the Pound Sterling, in the different Reigns, from the Time of Edward I. to the Reign of William
IV.-A similar Account with respect to Gold.-And an Account of the proportional Value of Fine
Gold to Fine Silver, according to the Number of Grains contained in the Coins.-Calculatad in
Grains and 1000th Parts Troy Weight.
Silver.
Gold.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Number of Grains
Number of Grains
Number of Grains
Number of Grains
Proportionate
A.D.
of Fine Silver in
of Standard Sil-
Anno Regni.
of Fine Gold in
of Standard Gold,
Value of Fine
20 Shillings, or
ver, 11 oz. 2 dwts.
Fine in 20 Shil-
20 Shillings, or
22 Carats fine, in
Gold to Fine
the Pound Ster-
the Pound Ster-
20 Shillings, or
Silver, according
ling, as coined by
lings, or the
the Pound Ster-
ling, as coined by
to the Quantity of
the Mint Inden-
Pound Sterling,
the Mint Inden-
ling, as coined by
each Metal con-
tures.
as coined by the
the Mint Inden-
tures.
tained in the
Mint Indentures.
tures.
Grains.
Grains.
Grains.
Grains.
Gold to Silver.
1066
Conquest - -
-
4,995-000
5,400.000
1280
8 Edward I.
-
4,995-000
5,400-000
1344
18 Edward III.
-
4,933-333
5,333.333
407-990
445-080
I to 12-091
1349
23
-
4,440.000
4,800-000
383-705
418-588
1- 11-571
1356
30
-
3,996.000
4,320-000
358 125
390-682
1 - 11.158
1401
3 Henry IV.
-
3,996.000
4,320-000
358:125
390 682
1 - 11-158
1421
9 Henry V.
-
3,330-000
3,600.000
322-312
351-613
1- 10:331
1464
4 Edward IV.
-
2,664.000
2,880.000
257.850
281.291
1 - 10:331
1465
5
-
2,664.000
2,880.000
238.750
260 454
1 — 11-158
1470
49 Henry VI.
-
2,664.000
2,880.000
238.750
260-454
1 — 11-158
1482
22 Edward IV.
-
2,664.000
2,880.000
238-750
260-454
1- 11-158
1509
1 Henry VIII.
-
2,664.000
2,880-000
238-750
260-454
1 - 11-158
1527
18
-
2,368.000
2,560.000
210.149
229-253
1- 11-268
1543
34
-
2,000.000
2,162.162
191 666
209.090
I — 10-434
1545
36
-
1,200.000
1,297-297
176-000
192-000
1 - 6-818
1546
37
-
800-000
864-864
160-000
174-545
1 - 5-000
1547
1 Edward VI.
-
800-000
864-864
160-000
174.545
1- 5-000
1549
3
-
800-000
864-864
155.294
169-412
1 - 5.151
*1551
5
-
400:000
-
1,769.000
1,902.702
160-000
174-545
1- 11:000
1552
6
-
1,768.000
1,911.351
160-000
174545
11-050
1553
I Mary - -
1,760*000
1,902.702
159:166
173-636
1 - 11-057
1560
2 Elizabeth
-
1,776.000
1,920-000
160-000
174-545
1- 11-100
1600
43
-
1,718:709
1,858-064
157.612
171:940
1- 10-904
1604
2 James I.
-
1,718.709
1,858-064
141-935
154-838
1 - 12-109
1626
2 Charles I.-
-
1,718.709
1,858.064
128780
140-487
1- 13-346
1666
18 Charles II.
-
1,718.709
1,858-064
118.651
129-438
1- 14-485
1717
3 George I.
-
1,718.709
1,858.064
113-001
123:274
1 - 15-209
41816
56 George III.
-
1,614.545
1,745.454
113-001
123.274
1- 14-287
No. III. SCOTCH Come.-Account of the Number of Pounds. Shillings, and Pennies Scotch, which
have been coined out of One Pound Weight of Silver, at different Times; with the Degree of Purity
of such Silver, or its Fineness, from the year 1107 to the year 1601.-(From Cardonnel's Munismata
Scotia, p. 24.)
Value of the
Value of the
Money coin-
Money coin-
A.D.
Anno Begni.
Purity.
Alloy.
ed out of a
A.D.
Anno Regni.
Purity.
Alloy.
ed out of a
Lb. Weight
Lb. Weight
of Silver.
of Silver.
From
Oz. pro.
Oz. pro.
£ s. d.
Oz. pro.
Oz. pto.
£ 8. d.
1107
Alexander I.
1451
James II.
15
11 2
0 18
340
David I.
}
1456
20
11 2
0 18
4 16 6
William
018
1 0 0
1475
James IPI.
16
11 2
11 2
0 18
740
to
Alexander II.
1484
24
11 2
0 18
7 0 0
Alexander III.
1488
1296
John Baliol
1489
James IV.
an
11 2
0 18
7 0 o
From
1529
James V.
16
11 0
10
912 0
1306
Robert 1.
11 2
0 18
110
1544
Mary
3
11 0
10
912 0
-
to
1556
14
11 0
10
13 0 o
1329
1565
23
11 0
10
18 0 0
1366
David II.
38
11 2
0 18
150
1567
James VI.
1
11 0
10
18 0 6
1367
39
11 %
0 18
194
1571
5
90
30
16 14 0
From
1576
10
80
40
16 14 0
1371
Robert II.
11 2
0 18
194
1579
13
11 0
10
22 0 0
-
to
1581
15
11 0
10
94 0 0
1390
1597
31
11 0
10
30 0 0
1393
Robert III.
4
11 2
0 18
1 12 0
1601
35
11 0
10
3600
1424
James 1.
19
11 %
0 18
1 17 6
* 1551-5 Edward VI.] The coinage of debased silver money in the 5th year of Edward VI. of 3
oz. fine, ought more properly to be considered as Tokens. The sum of 120,000l. only was so coined.-
(See James's Essays, chap. iv.)
+ 1816-56 George III.] The government having taken the coinage of silver Into its own hands,
there is at present no fixed price paid to the public, by the mint, for standard silver. And supposing
the government to continue the present mint regulations, and to keep gold at 77s. 10Hd. an ounce, as
the price of silver varies, the relative value of gold to sliver will vary in like proportion.
Digitized by Google
COINS.
389
No. IV. SCOTCH Come.-Account of the Number of Pounds, Shillings, and Pennies Scotch, which
have been coined out of One Pound Weight of Gold; with the degree of their Purity, and the Pro-
portion that the Gold bore to the Silver.-(Cardonnel, p. 25.)
Value of the Coin
Pound of Pure Gold
B.
Anno Regal.
Fineness.
Alloy.
coined out of One
weighed of Pure
Pound of Gold.
Silven
Oz. pro. gr.
Oz. pro. gn.
£ 8. d.
Lbs. oz. pto. gr.
1371, &c.
Robert II.
-
11 18 18
0 1 6
17 12 0
11 1 17 22
1390,&c.
Robert II.
-
11 18 18
0 1 6
19 4 0
11 1 17 22
1424
James I.
19
11 18 18
0 1 6
22 10 0
11 1 17 22
1451
James II.
15
11 18 18
016
33 6 0
9 8 4 14
1456
20
11 18 18
0
1
6
50 0 0
98 4 14
1475
James III.
16
11 18 18
0
1
6
78 15 0
10
2
0
20
1484
24
11 18 18
0
1
6
78 15 0
10
5
7
9
1488
James IV.
1
11 18 18
0 1 6
78 15 0
10 5 7
9
1529
James V.
16
11 18 18
0 1 6
108 0 0
10 5 7 9
1556
Mary
14
11 0 0
1 0 0
144
0
0
10 5 8
6
1567
James VI.
10
11 0 0
1 0 o
240 00
10
5
8
6
1579
13
10 10 0
1 10 0
240 0 0
11
5
2
20
1597
31
11 0 0
1 0 0
360 0 0
12 0 0 0
1001
35
11 0 0
1 0 0
432 0 0
12 0 0 0
1633
Charles I.
9
11 0 0
1 0 0
492 0 0
13 2 7 11
No. V.-Account of the value of the Gold and Silver Coins, specifying each, coined at the Mint, each
Year since 1790.-(Parl. Paper, No. 138. Sess. 1833; and papers published by the Board of Trade.)
Years.
Gold coined.
Silver coined.
Years.
Gold coined.
Silver coined.
£
8.
d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£
8. d.
1790
2,660,521 10 0
Nil.
1812
Nil.
52 14 0
1791
2,456,566 17 6
Nil.
1813
519,722 36
89 18 0
1792
1,171,863 0 0
251 17 6
1814
Nil.
161 4 0
1793
2,747,430 0 0
Nil.
1815
Nil.
Nil.
1794
2,558,894 12 6
Nil.
1816
Nil.
1,805,251 16 0
1795
493,416 0 0
293 11 11
1817
4,275,337 10 0
2,436,297 12 0
1796
464,680 2 6
Nil.
1818
2,862,373 10 0
576,279 0 0
1797
2,000,297 5 0
Nil.
1819
3,574 10 8
1,267,272 12 0
1798
2,967,504 15 0
Nil.
1820
949,516 0 10
847,717 4 0
1799
449,961 15 0
Nil.
1821
9,520,758 13 10
433,686 0 0
1800
189,937 2 6
Nil.
1822
5,356,787 12 6
31,430 7 1
1801
450,242 2 0
53 7 1
1823
759,748 10 0
285,271 16 0
1802
437,018 18 6
62 0 0
1824
(4,065,075 0 0
282,070 16 0
1803
596,444 12 6
72 6 8
1825
4,580,919 0 0
417,535 16 0
1804
718,396 17 6
77 10 0
1826
5,896,461 7 6
608,605 16 0
1805
54,668 5 0
182 18 0
1827
2,512,636 17 6
33,019 16 0
1806
405,105 15 0
Nil.
1828
1,008,559 2 6
16,288 3 0
1807
Nil.
108 10 0
1829
2,446,754 12 6
108,259 16 0
1808
371,744 2 0
Nil.
1830
2,387,881 2 6
151 16 0
1809
298,946 11 0
114 14 0
1831
587,949 14 5
33,696 5 8
1810
316,935 13 6
120 18 0
1811
312,263 3 6
Nil.
Total
-
£69,856,894 8 9
9,183,259 5 9
No. VI. GOLD COINS OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.-A Table containing the Assays, Weights, and
Values of the principal Gold Coins of all Countries, computed according to the Mint Price of Gold
in England, and from Assays made both at London and Paris, which have been found to verify each
other.*
*** The publishers of this work have purchased the right to publish this Table from Dr. Kelly, in
the second edition of whose Cambist it originally appeared.
Standard
Contents
Weight.
Value in
COINS.
Assay.
Weight.
in Pure
Gold.
Sterling.
Car.gr.
Drot.gr.
Dut.gr.mi.
Grains.
3. d.
AUSTRIAN
Souverain
-
-
-
-
W.0 04
3 14
3 13 15
78.6
13 10:92
DOMINIONS Double ducat
-
-
B. 1 21
4 12
420 5
106.4
18 9.97
Ducat Kremnitz, or Hungarian
-
B.1 3
2 54
2103
53.3
9 5:91
BAVARIA
- Carolin
-
W.3 2
6 51/
5 5 10
115-
20 4.23
Max d'or, or Maximilian
-
-
W.3 21
44
3140
77.
13 7.44
Ducat
-
B. 1 21
2 5%
2 19 11
52.8
9 4-12
BERN
- Ducat (double, &c. in proportion)
-
-
B. 1 11
1 23
221
45.9
8 1.48
Pistole
-
W.0 11
4 21
4 19 0
105-5
18
7:86
BRUNSWICK Pistole (double in proportion)
-
W.0 11
4 214
4 19 5
105.7
18 8:48
Ducat
-
-
-
-
B. 1 01
2 54
289
518
9 2-
COLOGNE
- Ducat
-
-
-
-
B. 1 2
2 51
298
52.6
9 3:70
DENMARK
- Ducat current
-
-
-
W.0 31
20
1 21 19
42.2
7 5.62
Ducat specie
-
-
-
B. 1 2
2 51
298
52.6
9 3.70
Christian d'or
-
-
-
W.0 1
47
4 5 16
93.3
16 6.14
The London assays in this Table were made by Robert Bingley, Esq. F. R. N. the King's Assay
Master of the Mint, and those at Paris by Pierre Frédéric Bonneville, Essayeur du Commerce, as
published in his elaborate work on the coins of all nations.
Specimens of all the foreign coins brought to London for commercial purposes have been supplied
for this Table from the Bullion-office, Bank of England, by order of the Bank Directors, and have
been selected by John Humble, Esq., the chief clerk of that office, who also examined the Tables in
their progress. It may likewise be added, that the Mint Reports of these commercial coins are chiefly
from average assays; and that all the computations have been carefully verified by different calcu-
lators.-(Note by Dr. Kelly, to second edition of the Cambist, published in 1821.)
2x2
Digitized by Google
890
COINS.
Standard
Contracts
COINS.
Weight.
in pare
Value in
Anny.
Weight.
Gold.
Sterling.
Car. gr.
Dut. 5.
Dust.gr.mi.
Grains.
a. d
ENGLAND
- Guinea
-
-
-
-
Stand.
5 of
5910
1187
я o
Half-guines
-
-
-
-
Stand.
2 164
2 16 15
593
10 6·
Seven shilling piece
-
-
Stand.
19
19 0
39.6
7 0°
Sovereign
-
-
Stand.
5 3t
585
113.1
20 o
FRANCE
- Double Louis (coined before 1786)
.
W.0 2
10 11
1056
294.9
39 9-64
Louis
.
W.0 2
5 5f
522
112.4
10 10-71
Double Louis (coined since 1786)
-
W.0 It
9 20
9 15 19
212's
37 7.53
Louis
-
.
W.0 If
4 22
4 19 19
106·3
18 9-75
-
Double Napoleon, or piece of 40
franca
-
-
W.0 It
87
830
179-
31 8.36
Napoleon, or piece of 20 france
-
W.0 11
4 3f
4 1 10
897
15 10'5
New Louis (double, &c.) the same as
the Napoleon.
FRANCEFORT ON THE MAINE Ducat -
-
-
21
2 57
2914
58-9
9 424
GENEVA
- Pistole, old
-
-
-
-
W.0 2
4 7t
4 4 18
925
16 4-45
Pistole new -
-
-
-
W.0 of
8 154
3 15 4
80.
14 19
GENOA
- Sequin
-
-
-
-
B.1 8
% 54
2106
53.4
9 5-41
HAMBUROH
- Ducat (double in proportion)
-
B.1 %
2 54
2914
52.9
9 4-25
HANOVER
- George d'or
-
-
-
-
W.0 It
4 of
453
92.6
16 466
Ducat
-
-
B.1 3
2 51
10 3
533
-
-
9 5.19
Gold florin (double in proportion)
-
W.8 0f
% 2
1186
39.
6 10-83
HOLLAND
- Double ryder
-
-
Stand.
1221
12 21 0
283.2
50 1·46
-
Ryder
-
-
Stand.
69
690
140-2
24 9-75
-
Ducat
-
-
-
-
B. 1 &
2 51
2.9.12
528
9 4-13
MALTA
- Double Louis
9 18 18
215.3
-
-
-
W.1 34
10 16
38 1.25
Louis
-
-
-
-
W.1 3
58
4 21 16
106
19 1.37
Demi Louis -
-
-
-
W.1 %
216
2118
545
9 775
MILAN
-
- Sequin
-
-
-
-
B.13
2 54
200
53.2
9 4-98
Doppia or pistole
-
-
-
W.0 1
4 11
408
884
15 774
40 Lire piece of 1808
-
-
W.0 If
88
840
1797
31 9-64
NAPLES
- Six ducat piece of 1783
-
-
W.0 2/
516
5 12 18
121-9
21 6.89
Two ducat piece, or sequin, of 1762
W.1 % 24
1 204
166
37.4
6 7.42
Three ducat piece, or oncetta, of 1818
B.1 3|
2 104
2 15 1
58-1
10 3-40
NETHERLANDS Gold lion, or 14 florin piece
-
Stand.
5 74
5 7 16
117.1
20 8-60
Ten florin plece (1820)
-
W.0 11
4 74
4 5 15
93%
16 5-93
PARMA
- Quadruple pistole (double in propor-
tion)
-
-
W.1 0
18 9
17 12 18
386
08 378
Pistole or doppia of 1787
-
-
W.0 3
414
410 4
97.4
17 2-85
Ditto of 1796
-
-
W.1 of
414
4 8 14
95-9
16 11-07
Maria Theresa (1818)
-
-
W.0 14
4 31
410
89-7
15 10-5
PIEDMONT
- Pistole coined since 1785 (t, &e. in
proportion)
-
-
-
W.0 11
5 20
5170
125-6
22 275
Sequin (t in proportion)
-
-
B. 21
2 54
2912
52-9
9 4-34
Carlino, coined since 1785 (t, &c. in
proportion)
-
-
W.0 It
20 6
28 20 0
634-4
112 3-36
Piece of 20 francs, called Marango
W.2 0
4 34
184
827
H 7-63
POLAND
- Ducat
-
-
B.1 %
2 54
2912
529
9 4-34
PORTUGAL
- Dobraon of 24,000 rees
-
-
Stand.
34 12
34 12 0
750-
134 3-96
Dobra of 12,800 rees
-
-
Stand.
18 6
18 6 0
401-5
71 0-70
Moidore or Lisbonnine " &c. in pre-
portion)
-
Stand.
6 22
6220
152-2
26 11-24
Piece of 16 testoons, or 1,600 rees
W. of
26
2 5 14
493
8 8-70
Old crusado of 400 rees
-
-
W.0 of
0 15
0 14 18
13.6
2 4-88
New crusado of 480 rees
-
-
W.0 of
0 16}
0162
148
2 7-43
Milree (coined for the African colo-
nies 1755)
-
-
-
.
Stand.
0 194
0 19 15
181
3 2-44
PRUSSIA
- Ducat of 1748
-
-
-
B.1 21
2 51
2914
529
9 4-04
Ducat of 1787
-
-
-
B.12
2 54
295
52.6
9 3-71
Frederick (double) of 1769 -
-
W.0 14
8 14
8 918
185-
32 8-90
Frederick (single) of 1778
-
-
W.0 If
47
454
92.8
16 5-08
Frederick (double) of 1800 -
-
W.0 2
8 14
896
184-5
32 7-64
Frederick (single) of 1800
-
-
W.0 2
47
4 13
92.2
16 3-42
ROME -
- Sequin (coined since 1760)
-
-
B. 1 31
% 41
290
52%
9 2-66
Scudo of the Republic
-
-
W 0 14
17 of
16 16 6
367
64 11-43
RUSSIA
- Ducat of 1796
-
-
-
B.1 2ₜ
26
200
53-2
9 4-28
Ducat of 1763
-
-
-
B.1 %
2 54
298
526
9 371
Gold ruble of 1756
-
-
-
Stand.
1 of
1010
22-5
3 1178
Ditto of 1799
-
-
-
W.0 04
0 184
0 18 14
17.1
3 0-31
Gold poltin of 1777
-
-
-
Stand.
09
090
8-2
I 5.41
Imperial of 1801
I
-
-
B.1 %
171
868
181-9
32 2-31
Half Imperial of 1801
-
-
B.1 2
3201
434
90-9
16 1-05
Ditto of 1818
-
-
-
B.00
4 3f
4 3 12
913
16 1-98
SARDINIA
- Carlino (i in proportion)
-
-
W.0 2!
10 71
9 23 10
2198
30 8:10
SAXONY
- Ducat of 1784
-
-
-
B.1 2
2 51
298
52.6
9 3-71
Ducat of 1797
-
-
-
B.1 %
% 51
2914
529
9 4.34
Augustus of 1754
-
-
-
W.0 %
4 6/
438
91.2
16 1-69
Augustus of 1784
-
-
-
W.0 11
4 6f
4 4 12
92.2
16 3-81
SICILY*
- Ounce of 1751
-
-
-
W.1 21
2 20,
2158
58.2
10 3-69
Double ounce of 1758
-
-
W.1 2
5 17
5 7 14
117
99 8-48
SPAIN
-
- Doubloon of 1772 (double and single
in proportion)
-
-
W.0 21
17 81,
61 21 16
372
65 10-05
Quadruple pistole of 1801 -
-
W.1 1
17 9
1696
369-5
63 9-08
* Much variation is found in the finences of the Sicilian gold coins.
Digitized by Google
COINS.
891
COINS.
Assay.
Weight.
Standard
Contents
in pure
Value in
Weight.
Gold.
Starling.
Car. gr.
Dest.
Dest. mi.
Grains.
ad
SPAIN
- Pistole of 1801
-
-
-
W.11
4 81
426
90-1
15 11-85
Coronilla, gold dollar, or vintem of
1801
-
-
-
W. 1 2j
1 :
1 0 18
22.8
4 0.42
SWEDEN
-
Ducat
-
-
-
-
B.12
25
2812
51-9
9 9.23
SWITZERLAND Pistole of the Helvetic Republic of
1800
-
-
-
-
W. 0 It
4 211
4199
105.9
18 8-91
TREVES
- Ducat
-
-
-
B.1 %
2 54
298
52-6
9 371
TURKEY
- Sequin fonducli of Constantinople
of 1773
-
-
-
W.2 %
2 64
1236
43.3
7 7.94
Sequin fonducti of 1789
-
-
W. 2 3t
2 54
19916
42.9
7 711
Half missier (1818)
-
-
W.5 3
0 18
0185
12:16
2 182
Sequin fonducil
-
-
-
W.2 3
25
1987
42.5
7 6.96
Yermeebeshiek
-
-
-
B.0 31
2 11
3 4 13
70.3
12 5:30
TUSCANY
- Zecchino or sequin -
-
-
B. 1 34
1 54
2014
53.6
9 5.83
Ruspone of the Kingdom of Etruria
B.1 &
6 174
7 7 13
161.
28 5-93
UNITED STATES * Eagle (t and + in proportion) -
W.0 0f
11 6
1148
246.1
43 6.66
VENICE
- Zecchino or sequin (t and t in pro-
portion)
-
-
-
-
B. 1 It
26
2 10 10
53-6
9 5.83
WISTEMBERG Carolin
-
-
-
-
W.3 2
6 31
540
1137
20 1-47
Ducat
-
-
-
-
B.12
25
2.812
51.9
9 2.22
Ducat (double and t ducat in propor-
tion)
-
-
-
-
B.1 %
2 51
298
52.6
9 3-71
EAST INDIES.
Mohur of 1770
-
-
-
B. 1 21
7 221
8 11 15
186.8
33 0.72
Mohur, Half (1787), t in proportion
B.1 2
3234
4 16 10
94
16 7-64
Mohur Sicca of Bengal
-
-
B. 1 34
7 23
8 15 0
1898
30 1-04
Mohur of the Dutch East India
W.3 H
10 2
Company, (1783)
880
183.4
32 5:50
Mohur, Half Ditto (1801)
-
-
W.8 lt
5 st
4 18 18
96.2
17 0.30
Rupee, Bombay (1818)
-
-
B.0 0f
7 11
7 11 13
1647
29 178
Rupee of Madras (1818)
-
-
Stand.
7 12
7120
165
20 2.42
Pagoda, star -
-
-
-
W.8 0
24
1 21 11
41.8
7 4'77
No: VII. SILVER Coins OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.-A Table containing the Assays, Weights, and
Values of the principal Silver Coins of all Countries, computed at the rate of 5a. 2d. per Ounce
Standard, from Assays made both at the Loadon and Paris Mints.
Standard
Contents
COINS.
Amay.
Weight.
Weight.
in Pure
Value in
Silver.
Sterling.
Oz. dut.
Dut. gr.
Dut.gr.mi.
Grains.
s. d.
AUSTRIA
- Rixdollar of Francis II., 1800
-
W.1 5
18 1
16 0 4
355.5
4 1.64
Rixdollar of the kingdom of Hengary
W.1 2
18 1
16 6 1
360.9
4 2:39
Half rixdollar, or florin, Convention
W.1 8
9 04
8 % 1
1796
2 1:07
Copftsuck, or 20 creutzer piece
-
W.43
4 of
2163
59.4
0 8-29
17 Creutzer piece
-
-
W.4 8
40
2 9 18
53.5
0 7.47
Halbe copf, or 10 creutzer piece
-
W.5 5
211
171
28.8
0 4-01
BADEN
- Rixdollar
-
W.1 4
18 %
16 3 1
358-1
4 2.
BAVARIA
- Rixdollar of 1800 (t in proportion)
W. 1 4f
17 12
15 13 13
345-6
4 0:25
Copftsuck
-
W.4 3
4 of
2163
59.4
0 8-29
BERN
-
- Patagon or crown (t in proportion)
W.0 7
18 22
18 7 14
406.7
4 879
Piece of 10 batzen
-
-
W.1 %
53
41417
102.5
1 231
BREMEN
- Piece of 48 grotes
-
-
-
W.2 2
11 0
8 8 22 22 1
198
% 3-64
BRUNSWICK
Rixdollar, Convention
-
-
W.1 3
18 1
1644
359.2
4 2:15
Half rixdollar
-
-
-
W.1 3
9 of
822
179-6
1 T07
Gulden, or piece of 1, fine, of 1764
B. 0 16
8 101
911
2008
2 4-03
Gulden, common, of 1764
-
-
W.1 %
90
8 2 10
180
2 1.13
Gulden, ditto of 1795
-
-
W.2 2
11 If
8937
199-1
2 3.80
Half gulden, or piece of 1, of 1764 -
W.1 2
412
415
90
1 0.56
DENMARK
- Ryksdaler, specie, of 1798
-
-
W.013
18 14
17 11 17
388.4
4 6.23
New piece of 4 marks
-
-
W.0 12
12 9
II 16 14
259.8
3 0.27
Half ryksdaler
-
-
W.013
97
8 17 8
1942
% 3'11
Mark, specie, or t rykadaler
-
W.3 1
40
2112
64-4
0 7.59
Rixdollar, specie, of Sleswig and
Holstein (pleces of t and t in pro-
portion.)
-
-
-
W.012
18 13
17 12 6
389.4
4 6.37
Piece of 24 skillings
-
-
W.4 7
5 21
3 2 10
68.9
0 9.6%
EWULAND
- Crown (old)
-
-
-
Stand.
19 81
19 8 10
429.7
5 0.
Half-crown
-
-
-
-
Stand.
9 10+
916 5
214.8
2 6.
Shilling
-
-
-
Stand.
3 21
3210
85.9
1 0.
Sixpence
-
.
-
Stand.
1921
1 88 10
42.9
0 6.
Crown (new)
-
0
-
Stand.
18 44
1847
403.6
4 8-36
Half-crown
-
-
-
-
Stand.
92
9 % 4
2018
2 4'18
Shilling
-
-
-
-
Stand.
3
315 6
80.7
0 11 27
Sixpence
-
-
-
-
Stand.
I 191
1914
40:3
0 5-63
FRANCE
- Ecn of 6 livres
-
.
-
W.0 7
18 18
18 7 16
403-1
4 8.28
Demi ecu
-
-
-
-
W.0 7
99
9 1 18
201.5
2 4'13
Piece of 24 sous (divisions in prop.)
W.0 7
3 20
31619
83.4
0 11-64
Piece of 30 sous (t in proportion)
W.3 8
612
4124
100.2
1 1.99
Piece of 5 francs of the Convention
W.0 10}
16 0
15 5 14
:38:3
3 11:94
Piece of 5 francs (Napoleon) of 1808
W.0 7
16 1
15 12 4
344.9
4 0:16
Piece of 2 france of 1808
.
-
W.0 7
6 11
662
138.8
1 7.38
* This value of the American eagle is taken from average assays of the coins of twelve years.
Digitized by Google
392
COINS.
Standard
Contents
COINS.
Assay.
Weight.
Value in
Weight.
in Pure
Silver.
Sterling.
Oz. dut.
Dut. gr.
Dut.gr.mi.
Grains.
a. d.
FRANCE
- Franc of 1809
-
.
-
W.0 7
3 5f
331
69-4
0 9-09
Demi franc
-
-
-
-
W.0 &
115
4136
347
0 4.84
Franc (Louis) of 1816, same as franc
of 1809.
GENEVA
- Patagon
-
-
-
W.10
17 9
15 19 8
351-
4 1-08
Piece of 15 sous of 1794
-
-
W.26
2 11
1 15 1
36.1
0 5-04
GENOA
-
- Scudo, of 8 lire, of 1796 (t, 1, &c. in
proportion)
-
W.0 8
21 9
20 14 10
457.4
5 3.87
Scudo of the Ligurian Republic
-
W. of
21 9
20 11 8
454-3
5 3.43
HAMBURGH
- Rixdollar, specie
-
-
-
W.0 10
18 18
17 21 12
397.5
4 7.49
Double mark, or 32 schilling piece
(single in proportion)
-
-
W.23
11 18
9118
210-3
2 5:36
Piete of 8 schillings
-
-
W.3 12
3 84
264
50:1
0 6-99
Piece of 4 schillings
.
-
W.46
22
1612
28.3
0 3.95
HANDVER
- Rixdollar, Constitution
-
-
W.0 9
18 19
18 14
400'3
4 7.89
Florin, or piece of 1, fine
-
-
B.016
810
9 010
2003
2 3-96
Half florin, or piece of t, ditto
-
B.0 16
44
4114
99.2
I 1.85
Quarter, or piece of 6 good groschen,
ditto
-
-
B.016
21
2410
486
0 678
Florin, "or piece of 1, base -
-
W.2 1
11 04
8 23 15
1996
2 3.87
HESSE CASSEL Rixdollar, Convention
-
-
W.16
18 1
15 22 6
353
4 1:39
Florin, or piece of 1 (t in proportion)
W.1 6
9 of
7 23 3
176.8
2 0.08
Thaler of 1789
-
-
W.0 10f
12 7t
11 17 5
2597
3 026
Ecu, Convention (1815)
-
-
W.16
17 234
15 2
3493
4 077
Bon gros
-
-
-
-
W.614
14
0 11 5
10'3
0 1:43
HOLLAND
- Ducatoon
-
-
-
.
B.03
20 22
21 15
4716
5 5.85
Piece of 3 florins
-
-
-
W.0 2
20 7
20 12
446.4
5 2:33
Rixdollar (the assay varies)
-
W.0 16
18 6
16 20 8
375.9
4 4-99
Half rixdollar
-
-
-
W.0 16
90
888
185.4
% 1-88
Florin or guilder (t in proportion)
-
W.0 41
6 18
6 14 14
1468
I 8:49
12 Stiver piece
-
-
-
W.0 16
412
4 3 18
92.4
1 0.90
Florin of Batavia
-
-
-
W. 5f
6 13
692
141.6
1 777
Rixdollar, of 50 stiver piece, of the
kingdom of Holland
-
-
W.0 5
17 0
16 13 18
367.9
4 3:37
LUBEC -
- Rixdollar, specie
-
-
-
W.013
18 8
17 15 12
391-9
4 6.72
Double mark
-
-
-
W.2 3
11 18
9 11 8
210.3
2 5.36
Mark
-
-
-
-
W.2 3
5 21
4 17 14
105.1
1 2-67
LUCCA -
- Scudo
-
-
-
-
W.0 3
17 0
16 18 10
372.3
4 3.98
Barbone
-
-
-
-
W.3 3
1 201
1 7 14
293
0 4-09
MALTA"-
- Ounce of 30 tari of Emmanuel Pinto
W.25
19 It
15 4 14
337.4
3 11.11
2 Tari piece
-
-
-
W.219
1 2
0192
17.7
0 241
MILAN
-
- Scudo of 6 lire (t in proportion)
-
W.0 7
14 201
14 9 10
319-6
3 8.62
Lira, new
-
-
-
-
W.4 10
40
290
528
0 7:37
Lira, old
-
-
-
-
W.0 3
210
294
52.9
0 7:38
Scudo of the Cisalpine Republic
-
W.0 7
14 211
14 10 4
320.2
3 8-71
Piece of 30 soldi of ditto
-
-
W.2 18
417
3 11 8
77.2
0 10.78
MODENA
- Scudo of 15 lire, 1739 (double, &c. in
proportion)
-
-
-
W.0 14
18 121
1789
385-2
4 5.78
Scudo of 5 lire, of 1782
-
-
W.0 3
5 19
5172
126.8
1 5.70
Scudo of 1796
-
-
-
W.3 3
18 14
12 22 12
287.4
3 4.13
NAPLES
- Ducat, new (t in proportion)
-
W.1 0
14 15
1378
295.4
3 5.94
Piece of 12 Carlini of 1791
-
W.1 0
17 15
16 18
356
4 171
Ditto of 1796
-
-
-
W.1 2
17 164
15 22 12
353.9
4 1.41
Ditto of 1805 (I in proportion)
W.1 2
17 18
15 23 18
355.2
4 1-60
Ditto of 10 Carlini (1818)
-
-
W.1 %
14 18
1370
@95.1
3 5-20
NETHERLANDS Ducatoon, old
-
-
B.04
21 0
21 9 0
474.6
5 6-27
Ducatoon of Maria Theresa
-
W.0 14
21 10
20 1 12
445.5
5 2-20
Crown, (t, &c. in proportion)
-
W.0 14
19 0
17 19 4
395-2
4 7.18
5 Stiver piece
-
-
-
W.6 3
34
1 9 18
31.3
0 4.37
Florin of 1790
-
-
-
W.014
5 231
5149
124'3
1 5.35
Florin of 1816
-
-
-
W.0 7t
6 22
6166
148.4
1 8.78
Half florin (with divisions in prop.)
W.4 5f
511
392
75.
0 10-46
PARMA
Ducat of 1784
-
-
-
W.0 9
16 11
15 18
350-6
4 0.95
Ducat of 1796 (I in proportion)
-
W.0 51
16 121
16 18
357.9
4 1.97
Piece of 3 lire
-
-
W.1 4
4 14
422
90-7
1 0.66
PIEDMONT
-
Scudo, 1755 (t, &c. in proportion)
-
W.0 51
22 14
22 0 10
488.9
5 8-26
Scudo, 1770 (t and 1 in proportion)
-
W.0 5
22 14
22 1 16
490
5 8.42
Piece of 2 lire (1714)
-
-
W.0 4f
7 201
7 16 13
170.8
1 11-85
5 Franc piece (1801)
-
-
W.0 8
16 It
15 11 12
343.7
3 11-99
POLAND
- Rixdollar, old
-
-
-
W.1 2
18 1
16 6 0
360.8
4 2.38
Rixdollar, new (1794)
-
-
W.2 17
15 104
11 11 6
254'3
2 11.51
Florin, or gulden
-
-
-
W.4 2
00
3 18 16
84
0 1178
PORTUGAL
- New crusado (1690)
-
-
W.0 4
11 0
10 19 0
239-2
2 9'40
Ditto
(1718)
-
-
W.0 6f
98
910
2002
2 3-95
Ditto
(1795)
I
-
W.0 7
99
9 1 18
2016
2 4.15
Doze vintema, or piece of 240 rees
(1799)
-
-
-
-
W.0 7
4 16
4 12 10
100·4
1 2-01
Testoon (1799)
-
-
-
W.0 7
2 01
1 22 18
43'4
0 6-06
New crusado (1809)
-
-
W.0 4
93
8 23 0
198-2
2 407
Seis vintems, or piece of 120 rees
(1802)
-
-
-
-
W.0 9
2 41
228
46-6
0 6.50
Testoon (1802)
-
-
-
W.0 9
20
1220
42.5
0 5.93
Tres vintems, or piece of 60 rees (1802)
W.0 9
1 21
114
23.3
0 3.25
Half testoon (1802) -
-
-
W.0 9
0 23
0 22
0
20.4
0 264
Digitized by Google
COINS.
393
1
Standard
Contents
COINS.
Assay.
Weight.
Weight.
in Pure
Value in
Silver.
Sterling.
Oz. dut.
Dut. gr.
Dut.
Grains.
a
d.
PORTUGUESE 1 Piece of 8 macutes, of Portuguese
COLONIES s Africa
-
-
-
-
W.0 9
7 12
7 4 14
159 8
1 10:31
Ditto of 6 ditto
-
-
-
W.0 9
5 13
5 712
118.
1 4.47
Ditto of 4 ditto
-
-
-
W.0 9
316
3128
781
0 10:90
PRUSSIA
- *Rixdollar, Prussian currency, (I in
proportion)
-
-
-
W.2 5
14 64
1190
252.6
2 11'27
Rixdollar, Convention
-
-
W.1 3
18 1
1642
359
4 2.13
Florin, or piece of 1 -
-
-
W.2 3
11 2
8228
198.4
2 3'70
Florin of Silesia
-
-
W.2 2
911
7160
170.3
1 11.78
Drittel or piece of 8 good groschen
W.3 3
5 81
3204
85.3
0 11.91
Piece of 6 groschen
-
W.2 8
3 14
2196
623
0 8.69
ROME
-
- Scudo, or crown (coined since 1753)
W.0 4
17 1
16 17 13
371.5
4 3.87
Mezzo scudo, or half-crown
-
W.0 4
8 124
8 8 16
185-7
2 193
Testone (1785)
-
-
-
W.0 5
5 %
4 23 4
110·3
1 3:40
Paolo (1785)
-
-
-
W.0 4
1 17
1 16 4
37.2
0 5-19
Grosso, or half Paolo (1785)
-
W.0 5
0 90t
0200
18.5
0 2.58
Scudo of the Roman Republic (1799)
W.0 6
17 1
16 13 18
368'1
4 3:40
RUSSIA
- Ruble of Peter the Great
-
-
W.2 7
18 1
14 1 8
312'1
3 7.58
Ditto of Catherine I. (1725)
-
W.2 4
17 11
13 0
309.9
3 7.27
Ditto of Peter II. (1727)
-
-
W.212
18 57
13 4
310-
3 7.28
Ditto of Anne (1734)
-
-
W.111
1614
14 616
317'8
3 8.29
Ditto of Elizabeth (1750)
-
-
W.1 7
16 12
14 11 16
321.8
3 8.93
Ditto of Peter III. (1762)
-
-
W.2 2
15 10
12 12 0
277.5
3 2.75
Ditto of Catherine II. (1780)
-
W..2 4
15 12
12 10 6
275.9
3 2.52
Ditto of Paul (1799)
-
-
W.014
13 12
12 15 10
2808
3 3.21
Ditto of Alexander (1802)
-
-
W.0 13
13 If
17 7 2
273
3 2.12
Ditto of ditto (1805)
-
-
W.0 16
13 12
12 12 12
278.1
3 2.83
20 Copeck piece (1767)
-
-
W.2 2
3 104
219 0
62.6
0 8.74
Ditto (1784)
-
-
-
-
W.2 2
33
2 12 18
56.2
0 7.84
15 Copeck piece (1778)
-
-
W.2 2
26
1 19 18
40.5
0 5-65
10 Copeck piece
-
-
-
W.2 6
21
1 14 16
35.9
0 5.11
Ditto (1798)
-
-
-
-
W.014
19
1616
23.5
0 3.97
Ditto (1802) -
-
-
-
W.0 13
1 81
1 611
28.3
0 3.95
5 Copeck piece (1801)
-
-
W. 0 131
0101
0 15 10
15.3
0 213
SARDINIA
- Scudo, or crown (i and t in prop.)
W.0 7
15 If
14 15 0
3247
3 9:34
SAXONY
- Rix-dollar, Convention (i and t in
proportion)
-
-
W.1 3
18 0
16 3 4
358-2
4 2-01
Piece of 16 groschen of Leipsic
-
W.2 2
9 91
7 14 16
169.1
1 11.61
Rixdollar current of Saxe Gotha
-
W.4 41
18 1
1142
248.1
2 10-64
1-6th Thaler of 1804
-
-
W.4 11
311
2 0 19
45.3
0 6.32
Ditto of 1808
-
-
-
W.4 11t
3 51
1 21 8
42.1
0 5:87
Ditto of Jerome Bonaparte of 1809
-
W.5 4
3 17
1236
437
0 6.10
SICELY
- Scudo (t in proportion)
-
-
W.1 4
17 14
15 16 6
348-2
4 0.62
Piece of 40 grains
-
-
W.1 2
5 21
572
117.5
1 4-40
SPAIN
-
- +Dollar, of late coinage
-
-
W.0 8
17 8
16 17 0
370.9
4 3-79
Half dollar, ditto
-
-
W.0 8
8 16
8 8 10
185.4
2 1.88
Mexican peceta (1774)
-
-
W.0 8
4 71
4 3 16
92.3
1 0.88
Real of Mexican plate (1775)
-
W.0 8
% 31
2 1 20
46-1
0 6.43
Peceta provincial of 2 reals of new
plate (1775)
-
-
W. 1 91
3 18
360
72.2
0 10:08
Real of new plate (1795)
-
-
W.1 %
121
1 15 0
36.1
0 5:04
SWEDEN
- Rixdollar (1762)
-
-
-
W.012
18 20
17 19 10
395.5
4 7-22
Rixdollar of late coinage
-
-
W.014
18 17
17 12 0
388.5
4 6.28
SWITEHELAND Ecu, or rixdollar of Lucerne, 1, &c.
In proportion (1715)
-
-
W.014
17 81
16 5 8
360-1
4 2.28
Old gulden, or florin of Lucerne (1714)
W. 1 19
8 14
728
157.5
1 9-99
Ecu of 40 batzen of Lucerne (1796)
W.0 5
19 0
18 13 14
4123
4 9.57
Half ditto
-
W.1 2
9 20
8 20 12
1967
2 3.46
Florin, or piece of 40 schillings of
Lucerne (1793)
-
-
W.1 5
4 22
4 8 14
96.8
1 1-51
Ecu of 40 batzen of the Helvetic Re-
public, 1798 (t in proportion)
-
W.0 6
18 23
18 10 14
409.5
4 918
Ecu of 4 franken (1801)
-
-
W.0 7
18 23
18 8 12
407.6
4 9:18
TURKEY
- Plastre of Selim of 1801
-
-
W.5 6
86
478
95.7
1 1.36
Piastre of Crim Tartary (1778)
-
W.6 13
10 5
424
90.9
1 0.69
Plastre of Tunis (1787)
-
-
W.6 5
10 0
486
96.5
1 1.47
Plastre (1818)
-
-
W.5 14
6 61
314
67.7
0 9-45
TUSCANY
- Piece of 10 Paoli of the Kingdom of
Etruria (1801)
-
-
W.0 4
17 131
17 5 18
382.9
4 5:46
Scudo Pisa of ditto (1803)
-
-
W.0 2
17 12
17 84
385.0
4 5-76
Piece of 10 lire ditto (1803) -
-
B. 0 7
25 6
26 1 12
578.7
6 8.80
Lira (1808)
-
-
B.0 7
28
2 9 16
53'4
0 7:45
UNITED STATES IDollar, 1795 (1, &c. in proportion)
W.0 6f
17 8
16 19 16
373.5
4 ^ 4'15
Dollar (1798)
-
-
W.0 7
17 10+
16 21 6
374-9
4 435
Dollar (1802) -
-
-
-
W.0 101
17 10
16 14 0
368.3
4 3:42
Dollar, an average of 8 years
-
W.0 81
17 8
16 16 0
370-1
4 3.68
Dime, or one-tenth dollar (1796)
-
W.0 4
1
1 18 14
39.5
0 5.71
Half dime (1796)
-
-
-
W.0 7
0211
021 0
19.5
0 2.72
* The Prussian coins, having been debased at different periods. vary in their reports.
+ This is the coin which is universally circulated under the name of the Spanish dollar.
$ The American dollars, and inferior silver pieces of late coinage, vary in fineness from W. 4 dwts.
to W. If dwts.
50
Digitized by Google
394
COINS.
Contents
COINS.
Assay.
Weight.
Standard
Value in
Weight.
in pure
Gold.
Sterling.
Oz. deat.
Dut. gr.
Dut. gr. mi.
Grains.
& d
VENICE
- Piece of 2 lire, or 24 creutzers (1800)
W.8 4
5 191
112
33.4
0 4-66
Ditto of 2 lire, called moneta pro-
vinciale (1808)
W.8 3
513t
1 11 8
328
0 4.58
Ditto of 2 lire, 1802 (I and t in prop.)
W.8 4
5 64
1819
305
0 4-25
WIRTEMBURG
Rixdollar, specie
-
-
W.1 3
18 1
16 14 2
359-1
4 2.14
Copftsuck
-
-
-
-
W.4 2
4 16}
2 16 12
59.8
0 8-35
EAST INDIES.
Rupee Sicca, coined by the East In-
dia Company at Calcutta -
-
B. 0 13
7 111
7 22 0
175.8
2 0.54
Calcutta (1818)
-
-
Stand.
80
800
175.9
2 0:56
Bombay, new, or Surat (1818)
W. 0 07
7 11
7104
1647
1 11-01
Fanam, Cananore
-
-
-
W.0 1t
1 111
1 11 10
32.9
0 4-5
Bombay, old - -
-
-
B. 0 13
1 111
I 13 16
35
0 4-88
Pondicherry -
-
-
B.0 5f
1 of
112
22.8
0 3-18
Ditto, double
-
-
W.0 3
1 181
1182
39-
0 5.44
Gulden of the Dutch E. I. Co. (1820)
W.0 7f
6 22
6166
148.4
1 872
The sterling value of the foreign coins, in the foregoing tables. has been computed from the assays
as follows:-Let it be required to assign the value in sterling of a French double Louis d'or coined
since 1786, the assay master's report being as follows:- Weight, 9 dwts. 20 grs.; assay W. If grs.,"
that is, 0 car. It grs. worse than the English standard. We proceed as under :-
From 22 car. 0 gr. the fineness of English standard gold,
Take 0 If gr.
Remains 21 24
Then, as 22 car. 21 car. If grs. :: 9 dwts. 20 grs. 9 dwt. 16 gra., the standard gold contained in the Louis
d'or; and hence, as 1 OZ. : 31. 17s. 104d. :: 9 dwts. 16 grs. : 11. 17s. 7d., the value of the Louis in ster-
ling money, and so for any of the other coins.
Ancient Coins.-We subjoin, for the convenience of such of our readers as may at any time have
occasion to consult works in which reference is made to ancient coins, the following tables of those
that were principally current among the Jews, Greeks, and Romans. They were calculated by Dr.
Arbuthnot (Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights, &c. 4to ed. Lond. 1754.), and do not differ materially from
the tables of Paucton, whose Métrologie (4to. Paris, 1780), is the most complete and elaborate work
that has ever been published with respect to ancient monies, weights, and measures. At the same
time we confess we should not be disposed to place much reliance on these tables, and we have else-
where stated our reasons for holding this opinion.-(Art. Money, Supp. to Encyc. Britennice.)
JEWISH Come.
Names and Proportions.
Value in Storling.
£ 8. d.
Gerah
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 159 100
10
Bekah
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 1 11 16
20
2
Shekel
,
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0234
1,200
120
50
Manch
Mina Hebraisa
}
-
-
-
-
- 5 14 of
60,000
6,000
3,000
60
Talent
-
-
-
-
-
- 342 3 9
Solidus aureus, or sextula, worth
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 12 of
Siclus aureus, worth
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 16 6
A talent of gold, worth
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,475 0 0
GRECIAN Coins.
8. d. qrs.
Lepton
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
00
021
336
7
Chalcus
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0 0 021
14
2
Dichalcus
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0
152
28
4
2
#
Hemiobolum
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
0
56
8
4
2
Obolus
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
1
11
112
16
8
4
2
Diobolum
-
-
-
-
-
I
0 2 21
224
32
16
8
3
2
Tetrobolum
-
-
-
-
-
0 5 of
336
48
24
12
6
4
It
Drachma
-
-
-
-
-
0 7 3
662
96
48
24
12
6
3
2
Didrachma
-
-
-
-
1 3 2
1,324
112
96
48
24
12
6
4
2
Tetradrachma
-
-
2 7 0
1,660
384
120
60
30
15
7t
5
If
It
Pentadrachma
-
-
3 2 3
Of these the drachma and didrachma were of silver; the rest, for the most part, of brass.
The drachma is here, with the generality of authors, supposed equal to the denarius; though there
is reason to believe that the drachma was somewhat the weightier.
Digitized by Google
COINS.
395
Value in Sterling.
£ s. d.
The Grecian gold coin was the stater aureus, weighing 2 Attic drachms, or half of the
stater argenteus; and exchanging usually for 25 Attic drachmas of silver
}
0 16 14
But according to our proportion of gold to silver it was worth
-
-
-
1 0 9
There were likewise the stater Cyzicenus, exchanging for 28 Attic drachmas, or
-
0 18 1
The stater Philippicus, and stater Alexandrinus, were of the same value.
Stater Daricus, according to Josephus, worth 50 Attic drachmas, or
-
-
-
1 12 3}
Stater Crossius, of the same value.
VALUE AND PROPORTION OF THE ROMAN Coins.
Sterling.
s. d. qrs.
Teruncius
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 0775
1000
2
Sembella
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 155
100
4
2
Libella
As
s
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 31
10
10
5
2f
Sestertius
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 01 34
20
10
5
2
Quinarius
Victoriatus }
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 3 st
40
20
10
4
2
Denarius
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 073
£ s. d.
The Roman gold coin, or aureus, weighed generally double the denarius; its value, }
according to the proportion of gold to silver, mentioned by Pliny, was
1 4 34
-
-
According to the proportion that now obtains amongst us
-
-
109
According to the decuple proportion mentioned by Livy and Julius Pollux
-
-
0 12 11
According to the proportion mentioned by Tacitus, by which the aureus exchanged for } 0
25 denarii, its value
16
11
-
-
-
(1. AMERICAN EAGLE. This, which, with its subdivisions, is the only American gold
coin, has lately undergone an important alteration. By the mint regulations of the United
States, the eagle, which is declared to be the equivalent of 10 dollars, contained, previously
to the 31st of July, 1834, 270 grains of standard gold, viz.: 246 grains pure, and 24 grains
alloy. But, by an act of Congress, which came into operation at the above date, the weight
of the eagle is reduced to 258 grains, of which 232 are pure and 26 alloy. In consequence
of this alteration, the sovereign, that was formerly worth 4 dollars 57 cents, is now worth 4
dollars 87 cents, and is received by the Americans at this rate.
We do not know whether it was the object of the American government, in enacting this
law, to substitute a gold in the place of a silver currency; but it will most probably have that
effect. Under the former system, silver was over-valued in the American mint as compared
with gold; and, as it consequently became everybody's interest to pay his debts in silver
rather than in gold, the latter was nearly banished from circulation, precisely in the same
way that the over-valuation of gold in the British mint benished all silver coins of full weight
from this country, and that the over-valuation of silver is the French mint banished gold.-
(Dict. p. 382.) Under the present American system, it is believed that gold is over-valued
from + to 14 per cent., so that an individual who has to pay a debt of 100l. and who employs
metallic money for that purpose, will save from 25s. to 30s. by using gold rather than silver.
This has certainly been the principal cause of that exportation of gold to the United States
from Europe that has been carried on at intervals during the last four years, though it, no
doubt, has been partly owing to other causes, and especially, perhaps, to the suppression of
notes for less than 5 dollars in New York and other States.-(See BANKS, American, pp.
180-168.)
Amount of Gold received annually from the Gold Region of the United States from 1824 to 1838, both
inclusive.
Years.
Virginia.
N. Carolina.
8. Carolina.
Georgia.
Not
Tennessee.
Alabama.
accertained.
Total.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1834
-
5,000
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
1825
-
17,000
-
-
-
-
17,000
1896
-
20,000
-
-
-
-
20,000
1827
-
21,000
I
-
-
-
21,000
1828
-
46,000
-
-
-
-
46,000
1830
2,500
134,000
8,600
-
-
-
-
140,000
1830
24,000
904,000
26,000
212,000
-
-
-
466,000
1831
26,000
294,000
22,000
176,000
1,000
1,000
-
520,000
1882
34,000
458,000
45,000
149,000
1,000
-
678,000
1833
104,000
475,000
66,000
$16,000
7,000
-
868,000
1684
62,000
$80,000
38,000
416,000
3,000
-
898,000
1836
60,400
263,900
48,500
319,900
100
-
12,200
698,000
*1836
62,000
148,100
55,200
201,400
300
-
467,000
1837
52,100
116,900
29,400
83,600
-
I
282,000
1838
55,000
66,000
13,000
$6,000
1,500
-
200
171,700
482,000
2,648,500
340,500
1,799,900
13,900
1,000
12,400
5,298,200
* The amounts for the last three years have been added by the American Editor.
Digitized by Google
396
COINS.
Value of Foreign Gold Coins in the Currency of the United States.-It was ordered by an act of Con-
gress, passed at the same time with the New Mint Act, that there shall pass current as money, and
be receivable in all payments, by weight, for the payment of all debts and demands, from and after
the 31st day of July, 1834," viz. 1. The gold coins of Great Britain, Portugal, and Brazil, of not less
than 22 carnts fine, at the rate of 93 8-10 cents per pennyweight 2. The gold coins of Prance, 9-10ths
fine, at the rate of 93 1-10 cents per pennyweight; and, & The gold coins of Spain, of the fineness of
20 carats 3-7-16 grains, at the rate of 89 9-10 cents per pennyweight. On this principle the following
table has been calculated.
Gold Coins of Great Britain, Portugal & Brazil, 22 carats fine.
Gold Coins of France, 9-10ths fine.
Value in
Value in
U. S. cur-
U. S. cur-
rency, es-
rency, es-
Weight.
Contents in pure gold.
Value in U.S. currency at
8-10 cts. per dwt.
timated
by the
pure gold
compared
with that
Contents in pure gold.
Value in U. currency, at
95 1-10 cts. per dwt.
timated
by the
quantity of
quantity of
Weight.
pure gold
compared
with that
in the new
in the new
eagle of
engle of
232 grains.
232 grains.
G. BRITAIN.
dut.
E
grains
d. c. m.
d. c. m.
dut. gr.
grains
d. c. m.
d. c. m.
Guinea, (half and
Double louis, coined
7a. piece in pro-
since 1786, (single in
portion)
5 9 39-89
118.6
5 11 0
5 11 2
proportion)
9 0
212-6
9 15 4
9 16 3
Sovereign (half in
Double napoleon, (sin-
proportion)
5 3 171-623
113
4 86 9
4 87*
gle in proportion)
8 7
179
7 71 8
7
71
5.
PORTUGAL
New louis
4312
82.5
3 85 9
3 85 7
Dobraon of 24,000
Note.-The double louis, louis, and demi-louis, coined before 1786,
rees (half in pro-
portion)
34 12
759
32
70
6
32
71
9
not being 9-10ths fine, are not included in the table, because they
Dobra of 12,800 rees
18 6
401-5
17 30 I
17 30 6
are not legal tenders. Neither are the double and single napoleon,
Moidore
6 22
152-2
6 64 2
or the new louis, exactly 9-10ths fine, but the deficiency is so very
6 55 7
Milree, 1755
19 3-4
18-1
0 78 0
0 78 0
small that it is believed it is covered by what is called the remedy of
the mint.
BRAZIL.
Dobraon
34 12
759
32
70
6
32 71 9
Dobra
18 6
401-5
17 30
1
17 30 6
Gold Coins of Spain, 20 carats 3 7-16 grains fine.
Moidore
22
152-2
6 55
7
6 64 2
N. B.-There are several gold coins of Portugal and Brazil, the
Value in
joannese, the pieces of 16, 12, and 8 festoons, and the old and new
crusado, which are not included in the above table, because they are
not 22 carats fine, and of course are not legal tenders, the words of
Weight.
Contents in
pure gold.
Value in U. S.
currency at 89
9-10 cts. per dwt.
U. S. cur-
rency, es-
timated by
the act being express.-" The gold coins of Great Britain, Portugal,
the quanti-
and Brazil, of not less than 22 carats fine.
ty of pure
gold, &c.
In the above table the coins are all presumed to be of full
weight, but fractional parts of a. mill have been disregarded in the
dut. gr.
grains
d. cm.
d. c. 772.
calculation of their value. It will be found to be a sufficient approx-
Quadruple pistole or
imation to the truth for all ordinary purposes. To those who wish
doubloon, coined be-
perfect accuracy, it may be observed that the quantity of pure gold
fore 1772, (double,
in the sovereign is 113 18-11, 214 grains, and that the true value of
single, and half in
the sovereign, compared with the new eagle of 232 grains, is
proportion)
17 81-2
375-3
15
59
0
16
17
6
4 87-7 100. This is also the true par of exchange between the
Quarter pistole,or gold
United States and London, and is equal to a premium of 7-10 per
dollar, coined before
cent., as near as can be calculated, on the nominal par of 444 or
1772
1 3
24-2
1 01 1
I
04
3
109 7-10 for 100.
Doubloon of 1772,(dou-
ble and single in pro-
portion)
17 81-2
372
15 59 0
16
03
Half pistole of 1772
2 4
463
1 94 7
I 99 5
Quarter pistole of 1772
13
23-9
1 01
1 03 G
2. INDIAN RUPEE.-The variety of rupees of different weights and values, circulating in
different parts of India, was long found to be productive of considerable inconvenience. But
this is now nearly obviated, it having been enacted that, from the 1st of September, 1835,
the coinage of former rupees should cease at all the mints throughout India, and that in
future there should be coined a rupee (with doubles, halves, and quarters), to be called The
Company's rupee," which contains 165 grains (1) pure silver, and 15 grains (T'S) alloy.
This new rupee, which is made legal tender in all payments, is equal to the former Bombay,
Madras, and Furrackabad standard rupees, and is receivable as an equivalent for them and
for the Sonat rupee, and for 18ths of the Calcutta sicca rupee. It is worth, reckoning silver
at 5s. 2d. and 5s. 6d. an ounce, 1s. 11d. and 2s. old. sterling. The new, or Company's
rupee, bears on the one side the head of the reigning sovereign of Great Britain, and on the
obverse the words 'East India Company," and the designation of the coin in English and
Persian.
MOHUR.-It has also been enacted, that from the 1st of September, 1835, no gold coins shall be coined
at any mint in India, except gold mohurs or 15 rupee pieces (with the subdivisions), containing each
165 grains (11-12ths) pure gold, and 15 grains (1-12th alloy. Such mohurs are consequently worth
29s. 2d. each. These coins are marked in the same way as the new rupees, but they are not legal
tender.-Sup.)
[We subjoin the act of Congress of January 18th, 1837, relative to the Mint and Coinage
of the United States; annexing to it the other legal provisions still in force on the same
subject.
An act supplementary to the act, entitled "An act establishing a mint, and regulating the coins of the
United States."
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the officers of the mint of theUnited States shall be a director, a treasurer, an assayer,
a melter and refiner, a chief coiner, and an engraver, to be appointed by the President of the United
States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
1 2. And be it further enacted, That the respective duties of the officers of the mint shall be as
follows:
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397
First, The director shall have the control and management of the mint, the superintendence of the
officers and persons employed therein, and the general regulation and supervision of the business
of the several branches. And in the month of January of every year he shall make report to the
President of the United States of the operations of the mint and its branches for the year preceding
and also to the Secretary of the Treasury, from time to time, as said Secretary shall require, setting
forth all the operations of the mint subsequent to the last report made upon the subject.
Second. The treasurer shall receive and safely keep, all moneys which shall be for the use and sup-
port of the mint shall keep all the current accounts of the mint, and pay all moneys due by the mint,
on warrants from the director. He shall receive all bullion brought to the mint for coinage; shall be
the keeper of all bullion and coin in the mint, except while the same is legally placed in the hands of
other officers; and shall, on warrants from the director, deliver all coins struck at the mint to the
persons to whom they shall be legally payable. And he shall keep regular and faithful accounts of all
the transactions of the mint, in bullion and coins, both with the officers of the mint and the depositors
and shall present, quarter yearly, to the Treasury Department of the United States, according to such
forms as shall be prescribed by that department, an account of the receipts and disbursements of the
mint, for the purpose of being adjusted and settled.
Third. The assayer shall carefully assay all metals used in coinage, whenever such assays are
required in the operations of the mint; he shall also make assays of coins whenever instructed to do
so by the director.
Fourth. The melter and refiner shall execute all the operations which are necessary in order to form
ingots of standard silver or gold, suitable for the chief coiner, from the metals legally delivered to him
for that purpose.
Fifth. The chief coiner shall execute all the operations which are necessary in order to form coins,
conformable in all respects to the law, from the standard silver and gold ingots, and the copper
planchets, legally delivered to him for this purpose.
Sixth. The engraver shall prepare and engrave, with the legal devices and inscriptions, all the
dies used in the coinage of the mint and its branches.
è 3. And be it further enacted, That the director shall appoint, with the approbation of the President,
assistants to the assayer, melter, and refiner, chief coiner and engraver, and clerks for the director
and treasurer, whenever, on representation made by the director to the President, it shall be the
opinion of the President that such assistants or clerks are necessary. And it shall be the duty of the
assistants to aid their principals in the execution of their respective offices, and of the clerks to per-
form such duties as shall be prescribed for them by the director.
è 4. And be it further enacted, That whenever any officer of the mint shall be temporarily absent, on
account of sickness, or any other sufficient cause, it shall be lawful for the director, with the consent
of the said officer, to appoint some person attached to the mint to act in the place of such officer dur-
ing his absence and to employ such workmen and servants in the mint as he shall from time to time
find necessary.
è 5. And be it further enacted, That every officer, assistant, and clerk of the mint, shall, before he
enters upon the execution of his office, take an oath or affirmation before some judge of the United
States, or judge of the superior court, or any court of record of any State, faithfully and diligently to
perform the duties thereof.
è 6. And be it further enacted, That the following officers of the mint, before entering upon the exe-
cution of their respective offices, shall become bound to the United States, with one or more sureties,
to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury, in the sums hereinafter mentioned, with condition
for the faithful and diligent performance of the duties of their offices, viz.: The treasurer in the sum
of ten thousand dollars; the assayer in the sum of five thousand dollars; the melter and refiner in
the sum of ten thousand dollars; and the chief coiner in the sum of ten thousand dollars. And that
similar bonds may also be required of the assistants and clerks, in such sums as the director shall de-
termine, with the approbation of the Secretary of the Treasury.
0 7. And be it further enacted, That there shall be allowed to the officers of the mint the following
salaries per annum To the director, for his services, including travelling expenses incurred in visit-
ing the different branches, and all other charges whatever, three thousand five hundred dollars ; to
the treasurer, assayer, melter and refiner, chief coiner, and engraver, each two thousand dollars to
the assistants and clerks, such annual salaries shall be allowed as the director may determine, with
the approbation of the President: Provided, That an assistant shall not receive more than fifteen
hundred dollars, and that a clerk shall not receive more than twelve hundred dollars. To the work-
men and servants shall be allowed such wages, to be determined by the director, as may be custom-
ary and reasonable, according to their respective stations and occupations and that the salaries
provided for in this section shall be payable in quarterly instalments.
28. And be it further enacted, That the standard for both gold and silver coins of the United
States shall hereafter be such, that of one thousand parts by weight, nine hundred shall be of pure
metal, and one hundred of alloy ; and the alloy of the silver coins shall be of copper; and the alloy
of the gold coins shall be of copper and silver, provided that the silver do not exceed one half of the
whole alloy.
R 9. And be it further enacted, That of the silver coins, the dollar shall be of the weight of four
hundred and twelve and one half grains the half dollar of the weight of two hundred and six and
one fourth grains the quarter dollar of the weight of one hundred and three and one eighth grains
the dime, or tenth part of a dollar, of the weight of forty-one and one fourth grains; and the half dime,
or twentieth part of a dollar, of the weight of twenty and five eighth grains. And that dollars, half
dollars, quarter dollars, dimes, and half dimes, shall be legal tenders of payment, according to their
nominal value, for any sums whatever.
$ 10. And be it further enacted, That of the gold coins, the weight of the eagle shall be two hundred
and fifty-eight grains that of the half eagle one hundred and twenty-nine grains; and that of the
quarter eagle sixty-four and one half grains. And that, for all sums whatever, the eagle shall be a
legal tender of payment for ten dollars; the half eagle for five dollars : and the quarter eagle for two
and a half dollars.
1 11. And be it further enacted, That the silver coins heretofore issued at the mint of the United
States, and the gold coins issued since the thirty-first day of July, one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-four, shall continue to be legal tenders of payment, for their nominal values, on the same
terms as if they were of the coinage provided for by this act.
. 12. And be it further enacted, That of the copper coins, the weight of the cent shall be one hundred
and sixty-eight grains, and the weight of the half cent eighty-four grains. And the cent shall be
considered of the value of one hundredth part of a dollar, and the half cent of the value of one two-
hundredth part of a dollar.
1 13. And be it further enacted, That upon the coins struck at the mint there shall be the following
devices and legends: Upon one side of each of said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of
liberty, with an inscription of the word LIBERTY, and the year of the coinage; and upon the reverse
of each of the gold and silver coins, there shall be the figure or representation of an eagle, with the in-
VOL. I.-2 L
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COINS.
scription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and a designation of the value of the coin but on the reverse
of the dime and half dime, cent and half cent, the figure of the cagle shall be omitted.
0 14. And be it further enacted, That gold and silver bullion brought to the mint, for coinage, shall
be received and coined, by the proper officers, for the benefit of the depositor: Provided, That it shall
be lawful to refuse, at the mint, any deposite of less value than one hundred dollars, and any bullion
so base as to be unsuitable for the operations of the mint And provided, also, That when gold and
silver are combined, if either of these metals be in such small proportion that it cannot be separated
advantageously, no allowance shall be made to the depositor for the value of such metal.
è 15. And be it further enacted, That when bullion is brought to the mint, for coinage, it shall be
weighed by the Treasurer, in the presence of the depositor, when practicable, and a receipt given,
which shall state the description and weight of the bullion: Provided, That when the bullion is in such
a state as to require melting before its value can be ascertained, the weight after melting shall be
considered as the true weight of the bullion deposited.
1 16. And be it further enacted, That from every parcel of bullion deposited for coinage, the trea-
surer shall deliver to the assayer, a sufficient portion for the purpose of being assayed but all such
bullion remaining from the operations of the assay shall be returned to the treasurer by the
assayer.
$ 17. And be it further enacted, That the assayer shall report to the treasurer the quality OF
standard of the bullion assayed by him; and he shall also communicate to the treasurer such in-
formation as will enable him to estimate the amount of the charges hereinafter provided for, to
be made to the depositor, for the expenses of converting the bullion into standard metal fit for
coinage.
è 18. And be it further enacted, That the only subjects of charge by the mint to the depositor shall be
the following:-For refining, when the bullion is below standard for toughening, when metals are
contained in it which render it unfit for coinage; for copper used for alloy, when the bullion is above
standard for silver introduced into the alloy of gold ; and for separating the gold and silver, when
these metals exist together in the bullion and that the rate of these charges shall be fixed, from time
to time, by the director, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Treasury, so as not to exceed,
in their judgment, the actual expense to the mint of the materials and labour employed in each of the
cases aforementioned and that the amount received from these charges shall be accounted for, and
appropriated for defraying the contingent expenses of the mint.
2 19. And be it further enacted, That from the report of the assayer, and the weight of the bullion,
the trensurer shall estimate the whole value of each deposite, and also the amount of the charges or
deductions, if any; of all which be shall give a detailed memorandum to the depositor; and he shall
also give, at the same time, under his band, a certificate of the nett amount of the deposite, to be paid
in coins of the same species of bullion as that deposited.
I 20. And be it further enacted, That parcels of bullion shall be, from time to time, transferred by the
treasurer to the melter and refiner; that a careful record of these transfers, noting the weight and
character of the bullion, shall be kept; and that the bullion thus placed in the hands of the melter and
refiner shall be subjected to the several processes which may be necessary to form it into ingots of
the legal standard, and of a quality suitable for coinage.
è 21. And be it further enacted, That the ingots thus prepared shall be assayed by the assayer, and
if they prove to be within the limits allowed for deviation from the standard, they shall be transferred
by the melter and refiner to the treasurer, accompanied by the assayer's certificate of their fine-
ness ; and that a careful record of the transfer shall be kept by the treasurer.
1 22. And be it further enacted, That no ingots of gold shall be used for coinage of which the quality
differs more than two thousandths from the legal standard and that no ingots of silver shall be used
for coinage of which the quality differs more than three thousandths from the legal standard.
R 23. And be it further enacted, That in the treasurer's account with the melter and refiner, the
melter and refiner shall be debited with the standard weight of all the bullion placed in his hands,
that is to say, with the weight of metal of legal standard fineness which it will make ; and that he
shall be credited by the standard weight of all the ingots delivered by him to the treasurer; and that
one at least in every year, at such time as the director shall appoint, the melter and refiner shall
deliver up to the treasurer all the bullion in his possession, in order that his accounts may be settled
up to that time and, in this settlement, be shall be entitled to a credit for the difference between the
whole amount of bullion delivered to him and received from him, since the last settlement, as an
allowance for necessary waste: Provided, That this allowance shall not exceed two thousandths
of the whole amount of gold and silver bullion, respectively, that had been delivered to him by the
treasurer.
24. And be it further enacted, That the treasurer shall, from time to time, deliver over to the chief
coiner, ingots for the purpose of coinage ; and he shall keep a careful record of these transfers,
noting the weight and description of the ingots; and that the ingots thus placed in the hands of the
chief coiner shall be passed through the several processes necessary to make from them coins in all
respects conformable to law.
$ 25. And be it further enacted, That in adjusting the weights of the coins, the following deviations
from the standard weight shall not be exceeded in any of the single pieces :-In the dollar and half
dollar, one grain and a half; in the quarter dollar, one grain; in the dime and half dime, half a grain
in the gold coins, one quarter of a grain ; in the copper coins, one grain in the pennyweight; and that
in weighing a large number of pieces together, when delivered from the chief coiner to the trea-
surer, and from the treasurer to the depositors, the deviations from the standard weight shall not
exceed the following limits: Four pennyweights in one thousand dollars; three pennyweights in one
thousand half dollars; two pennyweights in one thousand quarter dollars; one peany weight in one
thousand dimes one pennyweight in one thousand half-dimes two pennyweights in one thousand
eagles; one and a half pennyweight in one thousand half eagles; one pennyweight in one thousand
quarter eagles.
0 26. And be it further enacted, That the chief coiner shall, from time to time, as the coins are pre-
pared, deliver them over to the treasurer, who shall keep a careful record of their kind, number, and
weight; and that in receiving the coins it shall be the duty of the treasurer to see whether the coins
of that delivery are within the legal limits of the standard weight: and if his trials for this purpose
shall not prove satisfactory, he shall cause all the coins of this delivery to be weighed separately, and
such as are not of legal weight shall be delivered to the melter and refiner, as standard bullion, to be
again formed into ingots and recoined.
( 27. And be it further enacted, That at every delivery of coins made by the chief coiner to the
treasurer, it shall be the duty of the treasurer, in the presence of the assayer, to take, indiscriminate-
ly, a certain number of pieces of each variety for the annual trial of coins, (the number being pre-
scribed by the director,) which shall be carefully labelled and deposited in a chest appropriated for
the purpose, kept under the joint care of the treasurer and assayer, and so secured that neither can
have access to its contents without the presence of the other.
e 26. And be it further enacted, That the chief coiner shall, from time to time, deliver to the trea-
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wurer, the clippings and other portions of bullion remaining after the process of coining, and that the
treasurer shall keep a careful record of their amount.
è 29. And be it further enacted, That, in the treasurer's account with the chief coiner. the chief
coiner shall be debited with the amount In weight of standard metal of all the bullion placed in his
hands, and credited with the amount, also by weight, of all the coins, clippings, and other bullion de-
Hvered by him to the treasurer, and that once at least in every year, at such time as the director
shall appoint, the chief coiner shall deliver to the treasurer all the coins and bullion in his posses-
sion, 80 that his accounts may be settled up to that time; and, in this settlement, he shall be entitled
to a credit for the difference between the whole amount of ingots delivered to him, and of the coins
and bullion received from him, since the last settlement, as an allowance for necessary waste Pro-
vided, That this allowance shall not exceed two thousandths of the whole amount of the silver, or
one and one half thousandth of the whole amount of the gold that had been delivered to him by the
treasurer.
è 30. And be it further enacted, That when the coins which are the equivalent to any deposite of
bullion are ready for delivery, they shall be paid over to the depositor, or his order, by the treasurer,
on a warrant from the director ; and the payments shall be made, if demanded, in the order in which
the bullion shall have been brought to the mint, giving priority according to priority of deposite only ;
and that in the denominations of coin delivered, the treasurer shall comply with the wishes of the
depositor, unless when impracticable or inconvenient to do so, in which case the denominations of coin
shall be designated by the director.
è 31. And be it further enacted, That, for the purpose of enabling the mint to make the returns to
depositors with as little delay as possible, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to keep
in the said mint, when the state of the treasury will admit thereof, a deposite of such amount of
public money, or of bullion procured for the purpose, as he shall judge convenient and necessary, not
exceeding one million of dollars, out of which those who bring bullion to the mint may be paid the
value thereof, as soon as practicable after this value has been ascertained that the bullion so de-
posited shall become the property of the United States; that no discount or interest shall be charged
on money so advanced ; and that the Secretary of the Treasury may at any time withdraw the said
deposite, or any part thereof, or may, at his discretion, allow the coins formed at the mint to be given
for their equivalent in other money.
@ 32. And be it further enacted, That, to secure a due conformity in the gold and silver coins to their
respective standards and weights, an annual trial shall be made of the pieces reserved for this pur-
pose at the mint and its branches, before the judge of the district court of the United States for the
eastern district of Pennsylvania, the attorney of the United States for the eastern district of Penn-
sylvania, and the collector of the port of Philadelphia, and such other persons as the President shall
from time to time designate for that purpose, who shall meet as commissioners for the performance of
this duty, on the second Monday in February, annually, and may continue their meetings by adjourn-
ment, if necessary and if n majority of the commissioners shall fail to attend at any time appointed
for their meeting, then the director of the mint shall call a meeting of the commissioners at such
other time as he may deem convenient and that before these commissioners, or a majority of them,
and in the presence of the officers of the mint, such examination shall be made of the reserved
pieces as shall be judged sufficient; and if it shall appear that these pieces do not differ from the
standard fineness and weight by a greater quantity than is allowed by law, the trial shall be considered
and reported as satisfactory but if any greater deviation from the legal standard or weight shall
appear, this fact shall be certified to the President of the United States, and if, on a view of the cir-
cumstances of the case, he shall $0 decide, the officer or officers implicated in the error shall be
thenceforward disqualified from holding their respective offices.
1 33. And be it further enacted, That copper bullion shall be purchased for the mint, from time to time,
by the treasurer, under instructions from the director; that the cost shall be paid from the fund here-
inafter provided for; and that the copper bullion shall be of good quality, and in the form of planchets
fit for passing at once into the hands of the chief coiner.
1 34. And be it further enacted, That the copper planchets shall be delivered, from time to time, by
the treasurer to the chief coiner, to be by him coined and all such copper shall be returned to the
treasurer by the chief coiner, weight for weight, without allowance for waste.
2 35. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the treasurer of the mint to deliver the cop-
per coins in exchange for their legal equivalent in other money, to any persons who shall apply for
them: Provided, That the sum asked for be not less than a certain amount to be determined by the
director, and that it be not so great as, in his judgment, to interfere with the capacity of the mint to
supply other applicants.
? 36. And be it further enacted, That the copper coins may, at the discretion of the director, be de-
livered in any of the principal cities and towns of the United States, at the cost of the mint for
transportation.
2 37. And be it further enacted, That the money received by the treasurer in exchange for copper
coins, shall form a fund in his hands, which shall be used to purchase copper planchets, and to pay
the expense of transportation of copper coins and that if there be a surplus, the same shall be appro-
printed to defray the contingent expenses of the mint.
. 39. And be it further enacted, That all acts or parts of acts heretofore passed, relating to the mint
and coins of the United States, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this act, be, and the
same are hereby, repealed.
Approved, Jan. 18th, 1837.
Other legal Provisions still in force.
I. Provisions of the Constitution of the United States.
The Congress shall have power to coin money regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coins;
and fix the standard of weights and measures.-(Art. I. 8.)
No State shall coin money, or make any thing but gold and silver a legal tender in payment of
debts.-(Art. I. 1 10.)
II. Establishment and location of the Mint.
Be it onacted, &c.-That a mist, for the purpose of a national coinage, be, and the same is established,
to be situate and carried on at the seat of government of the United States for the time being.-(Act
of April 2d, 1792: the seat of government being then at Philadelphia.)
Be it enacted, &c., That, until the 4th day of March, 1801, the mint shall remain in the city of Phila-
delphia, and be carried on as heretofore, under the laws now in force, any law to the contrary not-
withstanding.-(Act of May 14th, 1800.)
Be it enacted, &c., That the mint shall remain in Philadelphia until the 4th day of March, in the year
1803.-(Act of March 3d, 1801.)
This act was revived and continued in force and operation, for successive periods of five years,
until the 4th of March, 1828, when the location of the mint at Philadelphia was made permanent, by
the following enactment
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Be it enacted, &c., That the act entitled An act concerning the mint," approved March the third
one thousand eight hundred and one, be, and the same hereby is, revived and continued in force and
operation, until otherwise provided by of May 19th, 1828, 1 1.)
III. Money of account of the United States.
Be it enacted, &c., That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars or
units, dimes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and mills or thousandths ; a dime being the tenth part
of a dollar, a cent the hundredth part of a dollar, a mill the thousandth part of a dollar; and that all
accounts in the public offices, and all proceedings in the courts of the United States, shall be kept and
had in conformity to this regulation.-(Act of April 2d, 1792, è 20.)
IV. Copper Coins current.
Be it enacted, &c., That after the expiration of six calendar months from the time when there shall
have been paid into the treasury, by the said director, in cents and half cents, a sum not less than
fifty thousand dollars-which time shall forthwith be announced by the treasurer in at least two
gazettes or newspapers, published at the seat of the government of the United States, for the time
being-no copper coins or pieces whatsoever, except the said cents and half cents, shall pass current
as money, or shall be paid or offered to be paid, or received in payment for any debt, demand, claim,
matter or thing whatsover and all copper coins or pieces, except the said cents and half cents, which
shall be paid or offered to be paid, or received in payment, contrary to the prohibition aforesaid, shall
be forfeited and every person by whom any of them shall have been so paid or offered to be paid,
or received in payment, shall also forfeit the sum of ten dollars; and the said forfeiture and penalty
shall and may be recovered with costs of suit, for the benefit of any person by whom information of
the incurring thereof shall have been given.-(Act of May 8th, 1792, 2. The announcement re-
quired having been duly made by the Treasurer of the United States, this enactment is in full
force.)
V. Foreign Coins Current.
GOLD COINS.
1. Be it enacted, &c., That, from and after the thirty-first day of July next, the following gold coins
shall pass current as money within the United States, and be receivable in all payments, by weight,
for the payment of all debts and demands, at the rates following; that is to say-the gold coins of
Great Britain, Portugal, and Brazil, of not less than twenty-two carats fine, at the rate of ninety-
four cents and eight tenths of a cent per pennyweight; the gold coins of France, nine tenths fine, at
the rate of ninety-three cents and one tenth of a cent per pennyweight; and the gold coins of Spain,
Mexico, and Colombia, of the fineness of twenty carats, three grains and seven sixteenths of a grain,
at the rate of eighty-nine cents and nine tenths of a cent per pennyweight.
2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to cause
assays of the aforesaid gold coins, made current by this act, to be had at the mint of the United
States, at least once in every year, and to make report of the result thereof to Congress.
SILVER COINS.
1 1. Be it enacted, &c., That, from and after the passage of this act, the following silver coins shall
be of the legal value, and shall pass current as money within the United States, by tale, for the pay-
ment of all debts and demands, at the rate of one hundred cents the dollar; that is to say-the dollars
of Mexico, Peru, Chili, and Central America, of not less weight than four hundred and fifteen grains
each; and those restamped in Brazil of the like weight; and of not less fineness than ten ounces
fifteen pennyweights pure silver in the Troy pound of twelve ounces of standard silver. And the
five-franc piece of France, when of not less fineness than ten ounces and sixteen pennyweights, in
twelve ounces Troy weight of standard silver, and weighing not less than 384 grains each, at the rate
of ninety-three cents each.
12. And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to cause
assays of the aforesaid sHver coins, made current by this act, to be had at the mint of the United
States. at least once in every year, and to make report of the result thereof to Congress. (Acts of
June 28th, 1834.)
VI. Old Standards and Weights of Coins.
SILVER COINS.
Be it enacted, &c., That the standard for all silver coins of the United States shall be one thousand
four hundred and eighty-five parts fine, to one hundred and seventy-nine parts alloy and, accord-
ingly, that one thousand four hundred and eighty-five parts, in one thousand six hundred and sixty-
four parts of the entire weight of each of the said coins, shall consist of pure silver, and the remain-
ing one hundred and seventy-nine parts of alloy-which alloy shall be wholly of copper. (Act of
April 2d, 1792, $ 13.)
This standard corresponds to 892.4 thousandths.
By 1 9 of the same act, the weight of the dollar is fixed at four hundred and sixteen grains of the
above standard, and the weight of the parts of the dollar in proportion.
This standard and weight were retained until the end of the year 1836 and the coids of this period
are still legal tenders of payment.
GOLD COINS.
Be it enacted, &c., That the standard for all gold coins of the United States shall be eleven parts
fine to one part alloy ; and, accordingly, that eleven parts in twelve of the entire weight of each of
the said coins shall consist of pure gold, and the remaining one twelfth part of alloy and the said
alloy shall be composed of silver and copper, not exceeding one half silver, as shall be found con-
venient. (Act of April 2d, 1792, part of è 12.)
This standard corresponds to twenty-two carats, or to 916f thousandths.
By 1 9 of the same act, the weight of the eagle was fixed at two hundred and seventy grains, and
the weight of the half and quarter eagle in proportion.
This standard and weight were retained until the end of July, 1834, when the following enactments
came into force.
Be it enacted, &c., That the gold coins of the United States shall contain the following quantities of
metal; that is to say-each eagle shall contain two hundred and thirty-two grains of pure gold, and
two hundred and fifty-eight grains of standard gold; each half eagle, one hundred and sixteen grains
of pure gold, and one hundred and twenty-nine grains of standard gold; each quarter eagle shall
contain fifty-eight grains of pure gold, and sixty-four and a half grains of standard gold. Every such
eagle shall be of the value of ten dollars; every such half eagle shall be of the value of five dollars;
and every such quarter eagle shall be of the value of two dollars and fifty cents. And the said gold
coins shall be received in all payments, when of full weight, according to their said respective values;
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COINS.
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and, when of less than full weight, at less values, proportioned to their respective actual weights.
(Act of June 28th, 1834, $ 1.)
Be it further enacted, That all gold coins of the United States, minted anterior to the thirty-first
day of July next, shall be receivable in all payments at the rate of ninety-four and eight tenths of a
cent per pennyweight. ( 3 of the same act.)
The above standard, which corresponds to 21 carats 14-43 grains, or 899-225 thousandths, conti-
nued until the act of January, 1837, when it was changed to 900 thousandths. The weights of the gold
coins were not, however, altered; and all gold coins made after July, 31, 1834, are legal tenders, ac-
cording to their nominal values.
VII. Against Counterfeiting Coins.
Be it enacted, &a, That if any person or persons shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or cause
or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited or willingly aid or assist in falsely making,
forging, or counterfeiting, any coin in resemblance or similitude of the gold or silver coin which has
been, or hereafter may be, coined at the Mint of the United States; or in the resemblance or simili-
tude of any foreign gold or silver coin which by law now is, or hereafter may be made, current in the
United States; or shall pass, utter, publish, or sell, or attempt to pass, utter, publish, or sell, or bring
into the United States from any foreign place, with intent to pass, utter, publish, or sell, as true, any
such false, forged, or counterfeited coin, knowing the same to be false, forged, or counterfeited, with
intent to defraud any body, politic or corporate, or any other person or persons whatsoever; every
person, so offending, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished
by fine, not exceeding five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment and confinement at hard labour,
not exceeding ten years, according to the aggravation of the offence.
And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons shall falsely make, forge, or counterfeit, or
cause or procure to be falsely made, forged, or counterfeited, or willingly aid or assist in falsely
making, forging, or counterfeiting any coin in the resemblance or similitude of any copper coin which
has been, or hereafter may be, coined at the mint of the United States : or shall pass, utter, publish,
or sell ; or attempt to pass, utter, publish, or sell; or bring into the United States from any foreign
place, with intent to pass, utter, publish, or sell, as true, any such false, forged, or counterfeited coin,
with intent to defraud any body, politic or corporate, or any person or persons whatsoever every
person so offending shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by
fine, not exceeding one thousand dollars, and by imprisonment, and confinement to hard labour, not
exceeding three years. (Act of March 3d, 1825, " 20, 21.)
VIII. Against offences at the Mint.
Be it enacted, &c., That if any of the gold or silver coins, which shall be struck or coined at the mint
of the United States, shall be debased, or made worse as to the proportion of fine gold or fine silver
therein contained; or shall be of less weight or value than the same ought to be. pursuant to the
several acts relative thereto, through the default or connivance of any of the officers or persons who
shall be employed at the said mint, for the purposes of profit or gain, or otherwise, with a fraudu-
lent intent; and if any of the said officers or persons shall embezzle any of the metals which shall,
at any time, be committed to their charge for the purpose of being coined, or any of the coins
which shall be struck, or coined, at the said mint, every such officer or person who shall commit any,
or either of the said offences, shall be deemed guilty of felony, and shall be sentenced to imprisonment
and hard labour, for a term not less than one year, nor more than ten years; and shall be fined in a
sum not exceeding ten thousand dollars. (Act of March 3d, 1825, e 24.)
IX. Standard weights of the Mint.
Be it enacted, &c., That, for the purpose of securing a due conformity in weight of the coins of the
United States, to the provisions of the ninth section of the act, passed the second of April, one thou-
sand seven hundred and ninety-two, entitled, An act establishing a mint, and regulating the coins
of the United States," the brass Troy pound weight procured by the minister of the United States, at
London, in the year one thousand eight hundred and twenty-seven, for the use of the mint, and now
In the custody of the director thereof, shall be the standard Troy pound of the mint of the United
States, conformably to which the coinage thereof shall be regulated.
And be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the director of the mint to procure, and safely
to keep, a series of standard weights, corresponding to the aforesaid Troy pound, consisting of a one
pound weight and the requisite subdivisions and multiples thereof, from the hundredth part of a
grain to twenty-five pounds; and that the Troy weights ordinarily employed in the transactions of
the mint, shall be regulated according to the above standards, at least once in every year, under his
inspection, and their accuracy tested annually in the presence of the assay commissioners, on the day
of the annual assay. (Act of May 19th, 1828, " 2, 3.)
X. Assay of bullion not intended for coinage.
Be it enacted, &c., That it shall be lawful for the director of the mint to receive, and cause to be
assayed, bullion not intended for coinage, and to cause certificates to be given of the fineness thereof,
by such officer as he shall designate for that purpose, at such rates of charge, to be paid by the owner
of said bullion, and under such regulations as the said director may from time to time establish.
(Act of May 19th, 1828, 1 7.)
XI. Unexpended appropriations.
Be it enacted, &c., That in regard to any sum which shall have remained unexpended upon any
appropriation other than for the payment of interest on the funded debt; for the payment of interest
upon, and reimbursement, according to contract, of any loan or loans made on account of the United
States; for the purpose of the sinking-fund; or for a purpose, in respect to which a longer duration
is specially assigned by law, for more than two years after the expiration of the calendar year in
which the act of appropriation shall have been passed, such appropriation shall be deemed to have
ceased and been determined and the sum 80 unexpended shall be curried to an account, on the books
of the treasury, to be denominated, The surplus fund," &c. (Act of March 3d, 1795, 1 16.)
XII. Provision for the purchase of bullion for coinage.
Prorided, That it may be lawful for the President of the United States to direct transfers of the
public money to be made from time to time, to the mint and branch mints of the United States, for
supplying metal for coinage. (Provise in 1 12 of the law regulating the deposites of public moneys:
approved, July, 1836.)
XIII. Act to establish branches of the mint of the United States.
Be it enacted, &c., That branches of the mint of the United States shall be established as follows :-
One branch at the city of New Orleans for the coinage of goid and silver: one branch at the town of
Charlotte in Mecklenburg county, in the state of North Carolina, for the coinage of gold only and one
branch at or near Dahlonega in Lumpkin county, in the state of Georgia, also for the coinage of gold
only. And for the purpose of purchasing sites, erecting suitable buildings, and completing the neces-
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COINS.
sary combinations of machinery for the several branches aforesaid, the following sums, to be paid out
of any money in the treasury, not otherwise appropriated, shall be and hereby are appropriated for
the branch at New Orleans, the sum of two hundred thousand dollars for the branch at Charlotte,
fifty thousand dollars ; and for the branch at Dahlonega, fifty thousand dollars.
2. And be it further enacted, That so soon as the necessary buildings are erected, for the well con-
ducting the business of each of the said branches, the following officers shall be appointed upon the
nomination of the President, and with the advice and consent of the Senate :-One superintendent,
one treasurer, one assayer, one chief coiner, one melter, and one refiner. And the superintendent
of each mint shall engage and employ as many clerks, and as many subordinate workmen and ser-
vants, as shall be provided for by law and the salaries of the said officers and clerks shall be as
follows :-For the branch mint at New Orleans :-to the superintendent, the sum of two thousand
five hundred dollars to the treasurer, the sum of two thousand dollars : to the chief coiner, the sum
of two thousand dollars to the assayer, melter and refiner, the sum of two thousand dollars each:
to two clerks, the sum of twelve hundred dollars each to the subordinate workmen and servants,
not exceeding twenty in number, such wages and allowances as are customary and reasonable, accord-
ing to their respective stations and occupations. For the branches at Charlotte and Dahlomega, to
the superintendents, each the sum of two thousand dollars, who shall respectively discharge the duty
of treasurers: to the chief coiners, each the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars: to the
assayers, melters, and refiners, each the sum of one thousand five bundred dollars: to the clerks,
not exceeding one at each branch, the sum of one thousand dollars: and to the subordinate workmen
and servants, not exceeding the number of five at each of the said branches, such wages and allow-
ances shall be paid as are customary and reasonable, according to their respective stations and occu-
pations. And for the purpose of paying the said salaries, wages, allowances, and the incidental
expenses of the said branches of the mint for the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-five,
the following sums, to be paid out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated :-for the
branch at New Orleans, the sum of thirty-five thousand dollars; for the branches at Charlotte and
Dahlonega, the sum of fifteen thousand dollars each.
3. And be it further enacted, That the officers and clerks to be appointed under this act, before enter-
ing upon the duties thereof, shall take an oath or affirmation, before some judge of the United States,
faithfully and diligently 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, with condition for the faithful and diligent performance of the duties of
their offices.
4. And be it further enacted, That the general business of the said branches 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 oc-
casionally, as shall appear to him to be necessary, for the purpose of carrying into effect the intention
of this act in establishing the said branches: also, for discriminating the coins which shall be stamped
at each branch, and at the mint itself: also for the purpose of preserving uniformity of weight, form,
and fineness in the coins stamped at each place. And for that purpose, to require the transmission
and delivery to him at the mint. from time to time, such parcels of the coinage of each branch as be
shall think proper, to be subjected to such assays and tests as he shall direct.
$5. And be it further enacted, That all the laws, and parts of laws, made 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 connected with the mint or coinage of the United States, shall be,
and the same are hereby declared to be, in full force, in relation to each of the branches of the mint,
by this act established, so far as the same shall be applicable thereto. (Act of March 3d, 1835.)
XIV. Amendment to the foregoing act establishing Branch Mints.
Be it enacted, &c. That the officers of the branch mint at New Orleans shall be one superintendent,
one treasurer, one assayer, one melter and refiner, and one cotner; and that the officers of the
branch mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega, severally, shall be one superintendent, whe shall also per-
form the duties of treasurer; one assayer, who shall also perform the duties of melter and refiner;
and one coiner: and the annual salaries of the said officers shall be RS follows: for the branch at
New Orleans, to the superintendent, two thousand five hundred dollars; to the treasurer, the as-
sayer, the melter and refiner, and the coiner, each, two thousand dollars; for the branches at Char-
lotte and at Dahlonega, to the superintendent, two thousand dollars; and to the assayer and the
coiner, each, fifteen hundred dollars.
1 2. And be it further enacted, That so much of the act entitled An Act to establish branches of
the mint of the United States," approved the third day of March, one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-five, as is inconsistent with the provisions of this act, be, and the same is hereby, repealed.
Act of 1837.)
The following table exhibits the amount of coinage at the mint, from the commenesment
of its operations in 1792 until the 31st of December, 1838, inclusive.
Tabular Statement of the Amount of Coinage at the Mint of the United States, Philadelphia, in
the several Denominations of Coin, from the commencement of its operations until the 31st of De-
cember, 1838, inclusive.
Years.
Half Eagles.
Quarter Eagles.
Dollara.
Half Dollars.
Quarter Dollars.
Dimes.
Half Dimes.
Costs.
1792
1793
8,707
-
204,791
323,144
-
-
86,416
1,086,633
1794
1795
1796
6,196
963
72,920
3,918
5,894
22,135
10,230
974,700
1797
3,609
859
7,776
-
252
25,961
44,527
897,510
1798
24,867
614
327,536
-
-
27,550
-
979,789
1799
7,451
480
423,515
-
I
-
-
994,585
1800
11,022
-
220,920
-
-
21,760
24,000
2,823,175
1801
26,006
-
54,454
30,289
-
34,640
33,910
1,302,837
1802
53,176
2,612
41,650
29,890
-
10,975
13,010
3,425,100
1803
33,506
423
66,064
31,715
-
33,040
37,850
2,475,263
1804
30,475
3,327
19,570
156,519
6,738
8,265
-
1805
33,183
1,781
321
211,722
121,394
120,790
15,600
1806
64,098
1,616
-
839,576
206,121
-
1807
84,093
6,812
-
1,051,756
220,643
165,000
-
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Tabular Statement of the amount of Coinage-continued.
Years.
Half Eagles.
Quarter Eagles-
Dollars.
Half Dollars.
Quarter Dollars.
Dimes.
Half Dimes.
Cents.
1808
55,578
2,710
-
1,368,600
-
-
-
1809
1,109,000
33,875
-
-
1,405,810
-
44,710
-
1810
222,867
100,287
-
-
1,276,276
-
6,355
-
1811
1,458,500
99,581
1
-
1,203,644
-
65,180
-
1812
218,025
58,087
-
-
1,628,059
-
-
-
1813
1,075,500
95,428
-
-
1,241,903
-
-
-
1814
418,000
15,454
-
-
1,039,075
-
421,500
-
1815
357,830
635
-
-
-
69,232
-
-
1816
-
-
-
47,150
20,003
-
-
2,820,982
1817
-
-
-
1,125,567
-
-
-
1818
3,948,400
48,588
-
-
1,960,322
361,174
-
-
3,167,000
1819
51,723
-
-
2,208,000
144,000
-
-
1820
2,671,000
263,806
-
-
751,122
127,444
942,587
-
1821
4,407,550
34,641
6,448
-
1,305,797
216,851
1,186,512
-
1822
389,000
17,796
-
-
1,559,573
64,080
100,000
-
1823
2,072,339
14,485
-
-
1,694,200
17,800
440,000
-
1824
17,340
2,600
-
3,504,954
-
1825
1,262,000
29,060
4,434
-
2,943,166
168,000
1826
510,000
-
1,461,100
18,069
760
-
4,004,180
-
1827
1,517,425
24,913
2,800
-
5,493,400
4,000
1,215,000
-
1828
2,357,732
28,029
-
-
3,075,200
102,000
125,000
-
1829
2,260,624
57,442
3,403
-
3,712,156
-
770,000
1,230,000
1830
1,414,500
126,351
4,540
-
4,764,800
-
510,000
1,240,000
1,711,500
1831
140,594
4,520
-
5,873,660
398,000
771,350
1,242,700
3,359,260
1832
157,487
4,400
-
4,797,000
320,000
522,500
965,000
2,362,000
1833
193,630
4,160
-
5,206,000
156,000
485,000
1,370,000
2,739,000
1834
732,169
117,370
-
6,412,004
286,000
635,000
1,480,000
1,855,100
1835
371,534
131,402
-
5,352,006
1,952,000
1,410,000
2,760,000
3,878,400
1836
553,147
547,986
1,000
6,546,200
472,000
1,190,000
1,900,000
2,111,000
1837
207,121
45,080
-
3,629,820
252,400
1,042,000
2,276,000
5,558,300
1838
286,588
47,030
-
3,546,000
832,000
1,992,500
1,255,000
6,370,200
Total.
4,220,422
949,130
1,440,517
91,443,993
6,524,069
14,854,600
15,984,243
82,241,302
excepted. The above table contains the number of the several denominations of coin, eagles and half cents
Previous to 1805, the whole number of eagles coined amounted to 132,592. Since then none have
been coined until the year 1838, during which the number of eagles coined amounted to 7,200. The
number of half cents coined, down to the end of the year 1838, was 7,888,713.
Deposites and Coinage at the Mint and its Branches for the Year 1838.
DEPOSITES.
Mists.
Gold.
Silver.
Total.
U. Gold.
Foreign Gold.
Total of Gold.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Philadelphia
-
171,700
1,452,800
1,624,500
2,301,200
3,925,700
Charlotte
-
127,000
3,600
130,600
-
130,600
Dahlonega -
-
135,700
6,100
141,800
-
141,800
New Orleans
-
700
39,900
40,600
237,000
277,600
435,100
1,502,400
1,937,500
2,538,200
4,475,700
COINAGE.
Mints.
Gold.
Silver.
Copper.
Total.
Pieces.
Value.
Pieces.
Value.
Pieces.
Value.
Pieces.
Value.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Philadelphia
-
340,818
1,622,515
8,625,500
2,293,000
6,370,200
63,702
15,336,518
3,979,217
Charlotte -
-
20,780
84,165
-
-
-
-
20,780
84,165
Dahlonega -
-
20,583
102,915
-
-
-
-
20,583
102,915
New Orleans
-
-
-
402,430
40,243
-
-
402,430
40,243
382,181
1,809,595
9,027,930
2,333,243
6,370,200
63,702
15,780,311
4,206,540
COIR, a species of yarn manufactured out of the husk of cocoa nuts. The husks being
steeped in water, the dry dusty substance mixed with the fibres is separated. These are
afterwards spun into yarn, and manufactured into cordage, that is deemed by some superior
to that made of hemp. The goodness of coir depends on the fineness of the filaments, and
on their being of a bright yellow colour. About 3,000,000 lbs. weight are annually ex-
ported from Ceylon, principally to Calcutta, and other ports in the East Indies: It is also
prepared in the Maldive Islands, and many other places; and is very extensively used
throughout the East.- (Bertolacci's Ceylon; Bell's Commerce of Bengal, &c.)
COLOCYNTHIS, COLOQUINTIDA, OR BITTER CUCUMBER (Ger. Koloquinten;
Du. Bitter-appelen; Fr. Coloquintes; It. Coloquintida; Sp. Coloquintidas; Arab. and
Pers. Hunzil), the produce of an annual plant (Cucumis colucynthis Lin.) growing in
Digitized by Google
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COLONIES.
Turkey, Nubia, India, and other places, much resembling the cucumber in herbage. When
ripe, the fruit is peeled and dried in a stove; and in this state is brought to England. It is
inodorous, but has an extremely bitter, nauseous taste. It is an exceedingly powerful drastic
cathartic. When it is larger than a St. Michael's orange, and has black acute pointed ends,
it is not good.-(Ainslie's Materia Indica.)
COLONIES.-COLONY TRADE-Colonies are establishments founded in foreign
countries by individuals who either voluntarily emigrate from, or are forcibly sent abroad by,
their mother country. The colony trade is the trade carried on between colonies and their
parent states.
I. ESTABLISHMENT OF COLONIES.
II. INFLUENCE OF THE MONOPOLY OF THE COLONY TRADE.-SLAVERY.
III. MAGNITUDE, POPULATION, TRADE, &c. OF BRITISH COLONIES.
IV. REGULATIONS UNDER WHICH COLONY TRADE IS CONDUCTED.DISFOSAL or
LAND IN THE COLONIES, &c.
V. FOREIGN COLONIES.
I. ESTABLISHMENT OF COLONIES.
(1.) Greek Colonies.-Various motives have, in different countries and ages, led to the
formation of colonies.* The Greek colonies of antiquity seem to have been chiefly founded
by citizens whom the violence and fury of contending factions forced to leave their native
land; but they were sometimes formed for the purpose of relieving the mother country of a
redundant population, and sometimes also for the purpose of extending the sphere of com-
mercial transactions, or of providing for their security. The relations between the mother
country and the colony depended, in a great measure, on the motives which led to the esta-
blishment of the latter. When a colony was founded by fugitives, forcibly expelled from
their ancient homes; or when it was founded, as was frequently the case, by bodies of volun-
tary emigrants, who received no assistance from, and were in no respect controlled by, the
parent state, it was from the first independent: and even in those rarer cases in which the
emigration was conducted under the superintendence of the parent city, and when the colony
was protected by her power and influence, the dependence was, mostly, far from being abso-
lute and complete. The great bulk of the Greek colonies were really independent states;
and though they commonly regarded the land of their forefathers with filial respect, though
they yielded to its citizens the place of distinction at public games and religious solemnities,
and were expected to assist them in time of war, they did so as allies only, on fair and equal
terms, and never as subjects. Owing to the freedom of their institutions, and their superiority
in the arts of civilized life to the native inhabitants of the countries among whom they were
generally placed, these colonies rose, in a comparatively short period, to a high pitch of
opulence and refinement; and many among them, as Miletus and Ephesus in Asia Minor,
Syracuse and Agrigentum in Sicily, and Tarentum and Locri in Italy, not only equalled,
but greatly surpassed, their mother cities in wealth and power.
(2.) Roman Colonies.-The Roman colonies were, for the most part, founded by and
under the authority of government; being intended to serve both as outlets for poor and dis-
contented citizens, and as military stations, or garrisons, to secure the subjection of the con-
quered provinces over which they were scattered. The most intimate political union was
always maintained between them and the mother city. Their internal government was
modelled on that of Rome; and, while their superior officers were mostly sent from the capi-
tal, they were made to contribute their full quota of troops and taxes, to assist in carrying
on the contests in which the Republic was almost constantly engaged.
(3.) Spanish Colonies.-The early colonies of most modern nations were founded by
private adventurers, influenced either by the hope of gain, or by a desire to escape from reli-
gious persecution, without any wish to relieve the mother country of a surplus population,
or to bridle subjugated provinces. On their first institution, therefore, the modern colonies
approached, though with some essential variations, more nearly to the Grecian than the
Roman model-but the period of their freedom was of very limited duration. They were
very soon subjected to laws and regulations framed in the metropolis, and calculated, as was
to be supposed, rather to promote its interests than those of the colony. At a somewhat
later period the foundation of colonial establishments was eagerly patronised by most Eu-
ropean governments, in the view of extending commerce, and of enriching the mother country,
* Seneca has given, in a few words, a very clear and accurate statement of the different motives
that induced the ancients to found colonies.-" Nec omnibus eadem causa relinquendi quarendique
patriam fuit. Alios excidia urbium suarum, hostilibus armis elapsos, in aliena, spoliatos suis, expulerant:
Alios domestica seditio submovit: Alios nimia superfluentis populi frequentia, ad exonerandas vires, emisit:
Alios pestilentia, aut frequens terrarum hiatus, aut aliqua intoleranda infelicis soli ejecerunt Quesian
fertilis ore, et in majus laudata, fama corrupit: Alios alia causa excivit domibus suis."-(Consol. ad
Helviam, c. 6.)
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by securing to her the exclusive possession of the market of distant countries; and where,
from the thinness of the aboriginal population, or their inferiority in the arts of civilized life,
the colonists were enabled to amass fortunes with comparative rapidity.
The Spaniards who first resorted to America after its discovery, had no intention of
settling in the country, or of colonising it. The idea that gold and silver alone constituted
wealth was then universally prevalent; and the bold and enterprising companions and fol-
lowers of Columbus, instead of engaging in industrious undertakings, which they neither
understood nor relished, sought only to enrich themselves by plundering the feeble and de-
fenceless natives of the gold and silver in their possession, and of the abundance of which
the most exaggerated accounts were immediately spread throughout Europe. When new
adventurers arrived on an unknown coast, their single inquiry was, whether it abounded in
gold. If it did, they remained, for some time at least, in the country; if not, they imme-
diately set sail for some other quarter. Auri rabida sitis a cultura Hispanos divertit, is the
expressive statement of a contemporary writer (Petrus Martyrus, in the Novus Orbis of
Gryneus, p. 511.). The slow progress of the Spanish colonies, after their first discovery,
must principally be ascribed to this cause. The gold and silver accumulated by the natives
were very soon exhausted and the skill and energy of the successive swarms of adventurers,
who continued to pour into the country, were principally directed to the unproductive and
generally ruinous trade of mining. The few large fortunes that were made in this way, like
the large prizes in a lottery, inflamed the cupidity of the multitude, and gave an appearance
of credibility to the fabulous accounts of the excessive productiveness of the mines. After
the gambling spirit which had exclusively actuated the early adventurers had begun to sub-
side, the colonists gradually betook themselves to agricultural and commercial pursuits: and
the vast variety of valuable productions with which Mexico and the other Spanish colonies
abound, the extreme richness of their soil, and their advantageous situation, would, had they
been only tolerably well governed, have occasioned their rapid increase in wealth and civiliza-
tion. But a blind and intolerant despotism paralysed their energies, and fettered and
retarded their progress. All the abuses and defects of the government of Old Spain were
transferred to, and multiplied in, the colonies. The whole property of those vast regions
was considered as vested in the crown of Spain; and every law or regulation, whether of a
local or general nature, affecting their government, emanated from the council of the Indies,
in which it was supposed the king was always present. We cannot stop to describe the sort
of regulations to which the colonists were subjected with any degree of minuteness; but we
may notice a few of them, to furnish the means of judging of their general spirit and probable
effect. It was, for example, made a capital offence to carry on any intercourse with foreign-
ers; and the inhabitants of the different colonies were even forbidden any intercourse with
each other, unless under the strictest and most vexatious regulations. There were several
articles, such as flax, hemp, and wine, which they were not permitted to cultivate at the
same time that the crown reserved to itself the monopoly of salt, tobacco, gunpowder, and
some other less important articles. The alcavala, and other oppressive imposts, which had
proved destructive of industry in Old Spain, were rigorously levied as well on the exports as
on the imports of the colonies. No situation of power or emolument could be filled except
by a native of Old Spain. The Catholic religion was established, to the exclusion of every
other; and bishops, tithes, and the inquisition, followed in its train while, in order still
better to consolidate and strengthen the foundations of this monstrous despotism, the go-
vernment endeavoured to make the colonists insensible of their degradation, by proscribing
every species of instruction, and watchfully opposing the introduction and progress of all
useful knowledge!
Under such circumstances, we cannot be surprised that the Continental colonists, among
whom the monopoly system was maintained in its greatest purity, should have languished
for above two centuries in a state of sluggish inactivity. Though surrounded by all the
means of producing wealth, they were not generally wealthy. Oppression rendered them
indolent; and went far to deprive them not only of the power, but also of the wish, to emerge
from poverty. The progress of the colonists who occupied the West India islands was not
quite 80 slow. It is certain, however, that down to the middle of last century, Spain reaped
no greater advantage from the possession of Cuba, Hispaniola, and Porto Rico, than England
or France from the smallest of its dependencies. In proof of this we may mention, that the
noble island of Cuba, which could without difficulty supply all Europe with sugar, did not,
in 1750, produce a sufficient quantity even for the consumption of Old Spain. But the
combined influence of an arbitrary and intolerant government, and of a degrading supersti-
tion, could not balance the means of improvement, which the fertility of the soil, and the
command thence arising over most of the necessaries and many of the conveniences of life,
gave to the colonists. Owing also to the total incapacity of Old Spain to furnish her trans-
atlantic provinces with a sufficient supply of the articles she had forced them to import from
Europe, and the consequent extension of the contraband trade carried on with them by the
other European nations, she had been compelled gradually to relax the severity of her com-
mercial monopoly. A new impulse was thus given to the spirit of industry. The colonists
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began to be more sensible of the natural advantages of their situation, and less inclined to
submit to the blind and bigoted policy of the Spanish Court. In 1781, a rebellion broke
in Peru, in consequence of an attempt made by the government to establish a new monopoly
in that province, which threatened to end in the total dissolution of the connection between
Spain and South America, and was not quelled without great difficulty and much bloodshed.
But the spirit of liberty, when once excited, could not be suppressed. It continued to gain
ground progressively, until the commencement of the late contest between France and Spain
interrupted the communication with the mother country, and gave the colonists an oppor-
tunity of proclaiming that independence which, after a lengthened and bloody struggle, they
happily succeeded in achieving.
(4.) British Colonies.-The English, who, like all the other nations of Europe, had been
impressed with mingled feelings of admiration and envy by the extent and importance of the
acquisitions made by the Spaniards in the New World, speedily entered with enthusiasm
and ardour into the career of discovery. Owing, however, to the bull which Ferdinand and
Isabella had obtained from the Pope, conveying to them the ample donation of all the coun-
tries inhabited by infidels that the Spaniards had discovered, or might discover, the English,
to avoid encroaching on the dominions of their rivals, directed their efforts further to the
north. Several attempts to found colonies on the coast of America were made in the reign
of Elizabeth by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Richard Grenville, Sir Walter Raleigh, and
others. But in consequence of their ignorance of the country, the deficiency of their supplies
of provisions, the loss of time in fruitless searches after gold, and the various difficulties in-
cident to the first settlement of a colony, none of these attempts proved successful and it
was not until 1607, that a small body of adventurers founded the first permanent establish-
ment of the English in America, at Jamestown in Virginia. Letters patent were granted
in 1609, by King James, to the principal persons resident in London, by whom the expense
attending the formation of the colony was to be defrayed, incorporating them into a com-
pany, and establishing a council in England for the direction of their proceedings, the mem-
bers of which were to be chosen by, and removable at the pleasure of, the majority of the
partners of the company permitting whatever was necessary for the support and sustenance
of the colony for the first 7 years to be exported free of duty; declaring that the colonists
and their descendants were to be secured in all the rights and privileges of Englishmen, the
same as if they had remained at home, or been born in England; and reserving only, as the
stipulated price of these concessions, and in imitation of the policy of the Spaniards, one fifth
part of the gold and silver ore to be found in the colonies, which was to be paid to his Ma-
jesty and his successors in all time to come. In virtue of these powers, the company issued,
in 1621, a charter or ordinance, which gave a legal and permanent form to the constitution
of the colony. By this charter the supreme legislative authority was lodged, partly in the
governor, who held the place of the sovereign, partly in a council of state named by the
company, and partly in a general council, or assembly composed of the representatives of the
people, in which were vested powers and privileges similar to those of the House of Com-
mons. It was not long, however, before the king and the company quarrelled. The latter
were in consequence divested of all their rights, partly by open violence, and partly under
colour of law, without compensation, after having expended upwards of 150,000L in found-
ing the colony; and a governor and council of state appointed by the king succeeded to the
powers of those appointed by the committee.-(Robertson's History of America, book ix.
passim; Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, p. 179.)
The founders of the colony in Virginia had been actuated solely by the hopes of gain: but
the colonies that were soon after established in New England, were chiefly planted by men
who fied from religious and political persecution. The form of government in the New
England colonies, though at first modified a good deal by the peculiar religious opinions en-
tertained by the colonists, was in its leading principles essentially free. For a considerable
period, the colonists elected their own governors, coined money, and exercised most of the
rights of sovereignty while the English, wholly engrossed with the contest between free-
dom and prerogative at home, had no leisure to attend to their proceedings. Subsequently
to the restoration, however, the governments of most of the New England states were es-
tablished nearly on the same footing as that of Virginia; which, indeed, became the favour-
ite model, not only for the constitution of the colonies established on the Continent, with the
exception of the proprietary governments of Pennsylvania and Maryland, but also for those
that were established in the West India islands. But under every vicissitude of government
and fortune, the New England colonists were distinguished by the same ardent and enthusi-
astic love of liberty that had first induced them to quit their native land. Every thing relat-
ing to the internal regulation and administration of the different colonies was determined, in
the colonial assemblies, by representatives freely chosen by the settlers. The personal liberty
of the citizens was well secured and vigilantly protected. And if we except the restraints
on their commerce, the monopoly of which was jealously guarded by the mother country,
the inhabitants of Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New England, enjoyed nearly the same de-
gree of freedom, when colonists of England, that they now enjoy as citizens of the powerful
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republic of North America. Their progress in wealth and population was in consequence
quite unprecedented in the history of the world. The white population of the colonies had
increased in 1776, at the commencement of the revolutionary war, to above 2,000,000, and
the value of the exports from Great Britain to them amounted to about 1,300,000/. a year !
It is not difficult to discover the causes of the unexampled prosperity and rapid growth of
our North American colonies, and generally of all colonies placed under similar circum-
stances. The North American colonists carried with them a knowledge of the arts and
sciences practised by a civilized and polished people. They had been trained from their
infancy to habits of industry and subordination. They were practically acquainted with the
best and wisest form of civil polity that had been established in Europe; and they were
placed in a situation that enabled them, without difficulty, to remedy its defects, and to try
every institution by the test of utility. But the thinness of the aboriginal population, and
the consequent facility of obtaining inexhaustible supplies of fertile and unoccupied land,
must certainly be placed at the head of all the causes which have promoted the rapid increase
of wealth and population in the United States, and in all the other colonies both of North
and South America. On the first foundation of a colony, and for long after, each colonist
gets an ample supply of land of the best quality; and having no rent, and scarcely any
taxes, to pay, his industry necessarily becomes exceedingly productive, and he has every means,
and every motive, to amass capital. In consequence, he is eager to collect labourers from all
quarters, and is both willing and able to reward them with high wages. But these high wages
afford the means of accumulation, and, joined to the plenty and cheapness of the land, speedily
change the more industrious labourers into proprietors, and enable them, in their turn, to
become the employers of fresh labourers; so that every class participates in the general im-
provement, and capital and population advance with a rapidity hardly conceivable in old
settled and fully peopled countries.
It has been frequently said, that the establishment of our American and West India
colonies was a device of the supporters of the exclusive or mercantile system-that they
founded them in the view of raising up a vast agricultural population, whose commerce
should be confined entirely to an exchange of their raw products for our manufactured goods.
There is, however, no truth in these assertions. On the contrary, the charters granted to the
founders of the settlement in Virginia distinctly empower the colonists to carry on a direct
intercourse with foreign states. Nor were they slow to avail themselves of this permission;
for they had, so early as 1620, established tobacco warehouses in Middleburgh and Flush-
ing.-(Robertson's America, book ix. p. 104.) and the subsequent proceedings of the British
government, depriving them of this freedom of commerce, were the chief cause of those
disputes, which broke out, in 1676, in an open rebellion of ominous and threatening import.-
(Robertson's America, p. 147.) It was not until the colonists had surmounted the diffi-
culties and hardships incident to their first establishment, and had begun to increase rapidly
in wealth, that their commerce became an object of importance, and that regulations were
framed in the view of restricting its freedom, and of rendering it peculiarly advantageous to
the mother country. The act of 1650, passed by the republican parliament, laid the first
foundations of the monopoly system, by confining the import and export trade of the colonies
exclusively to British or colony built ships. But the famous Navigation Act of 1660 (12
Charles 2. c. 18.) went much further. It enacted, that certain specified articles, the produce
of the colonies, and since well known in commerce by the name of enumerated articles,
should not be exported directly from the colonies to any foreign country; but that they
should first be sent to Britain, and there unladen (the words of the act are, laid upon the
shore), before they could be forwarded to their final destination. Sugar, molasses, ginger,
fustic, tobacco, cotton, and indigo, were originally enumerated; and the list was subsequently
enlarged by the addition of coffee, hides and skins, iron, corn, lumber, &c. In 1739, the
monopoly system was so far relaxed, that sugars were permitted to be carried directly from
the British plantations to any port or place southward of Cape Finisterre; but the conditions
under which this indulgence was granted, continued so strict and numerous down to 1803,
when they were a good deal simplified, as to render it in a great degree nugatory.-(Edwards's
West Indies, vol. ii. p. 452. ed. 1819.); and with this exception, the oppressive and vexatious
restrictions on their direct exportation to foreign countries were maintained on most of the
other enumerated commodities of any importance, down to the recent alterations.
But besides compelling the colonists to sell their produce exclusively in the English
markets, it was next thought advisable to oblige them to buy such foreign articles as they
might stand in need of entirely from the merchants and manufacturers of England. For this
purpose it was enacted, in 1663, that no commodity of the growth, production, or manu-
facture of Europe, shall be imported into the British plantations, but such as are laden and
put on board in England, Wales, or Berwick-upon-Tweed, and in English built shipping,
whereof the master and three fourths of the crew are English." The preamble to this statute,
which effectually excluded the colonists from every market for European produce, except
that of England, assigns the motive for this restriction to be, " the maintaining a greater
correspondence and kindness between the subjects at home and those in the plantations;
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keeping the colonies in a firmer dependence on the mother country making them yet more
beneficial to it, in the further employment and increase of English shipping, and the vent of
English manufactures and commodities; rendering the navigation to and from them more
safe and cheap; and making this kingdom a staple, not only of the commodities of the plan-
tations, but also of the commodities of other countries and places for their supply it being
the usage of other nations to keep their plantation trade exclusively to themselves."
It was also a leading principle in the system of colonial policy, adopted as well by Eng-
land as by the other European nations, to discourage all attempts to marrufacture such
articles in the colonies as could be provided for them by the mother country. The history
of our colonial system is full of efforts of this sort; and so essential was this principle deemed
to the idea of a colony, that Lord Chatham did not hesitate to declare, in his place in par-
liament, that " the British colonists of North America had no RIGHT to manufacture even a
nail for a horseshne!"-(Edwards's West Indies, vol. ii. p. 566.) And when such were the
enactments made by the legislature, and such the avowed sentiments of a great parliamentary
leader and a friend to the colonies, we need not be surprised at a declaration of the late Lord
Sheffield, who did no more, indeed, than express the opinion of almost all the merchants
and politicians of his time, when he affirmed that THE ONLY use of American colonies or
West India islands is THE MONOPOLY of their consumption, and the carriage of their
produce!"
II. INFLUENCE OF THE MONOPOLY OF THE COLONY TRADE.SLAVERY.
It is not necessary to enter into any lengthened disquisitions with respect to this part of
our subject. The rules by which we are to form our judgment upon it, are unfolded in the
article COMMERCE. Here it is sufficient to observe, in the first place, that, though it could
be shown that restrictions on the colony trade were really advantageous to the mother coun-
try, that is not enough to prove that they should be adopted. In dealing with a colony, we
are not dealing with a foreign country, but with an integral part of our own empire. And
hence, in order to show that restrictions on the colony trade are advantageous, it must not
merely be shown that they are beneficial to the mother country, but it must further be shown
that they are beneficial, or, at all events, not injurious, to the colony. The advantage of one
part of the empire is not to be purchased by the depression of some other part. The duty of
government is to promote the prosperity, and to maintain the equal rights and privileges of
all not to enrich one class, or one province, at the expense of others.
This principle is decisive of the whole question. Owing to the identity of language,
manners, and religion, the merchants of the mother country must always have very great
advantages in the colony markets; and if the commodities which they have to sell be about
as suitable for them, and as low priced, as those of others, none else will be imported into
them; but if they be not, it would plainly be to the injury of the colony to compel her to
buy from the mother country what she might procure cheaper from others. It will imme-
diately be seen that such forced sale could be of no real advantage to the mother country;
but whether that were 80 or not, its mischievous influence upon the colony is manifest.
Were Jamaica, for example, obliged to import any article from England which cost her
100,000L a year more than she could procure a similar article for elsewhere, she would
manifestly lose this amount; and though it were true that every shilling of this sum found
its way as extra profit into the pockets of the merchants or manufacturers of England, that
would be no sufficient justification of the policy of such a system. The protection due by
a government to its subjects does not depend on the varying degrees of latitude and longitude
under which they happen to live. It would not be more glaringly unjust to lay peculiar
burdens on the Lothians for the sake of Middlesex, than it is to lay them on Jamaica for the
sake of England.
In point of fact, however, the monopoly of the colony trade is of no real use, but the
reverse, to the mother country. If, as has been already observed, she can supply her colo-
nists with goods as cheaply as they can be supplied by others, she will have no competitors
in their markets; and if she cannot do this, the monopoly is really hostile to her interests.
Each country has some natural or acquired capabilities that enable her to carry on certain
branches of industry more advantageously than any one else. But the fact of a country
being liable to be undersold in the markets of her colonies, shows conclusively, that instead
of having any superiority, she labours under a disadvantage, as compared with others, in the
production of the peculiar articles in demand in them. And hence, in providing a forced
market in the colonies for articles that we should not otherwise be able to dispose of, we
really engage a portion of the capital and labour of the country in a less advantageous chan-
nel than that into which it would naturally have flowed. We impress upon it an artificial
direction and withdraw it from those secure and really beneficial businesses in which it
would have been employed, to engage it in business the existence of which depends only on
the continuance of oppressive regulations, and in which we are surpassed by foreigners.
Even were it conceded that the possession of an outlet in the colonies for goods that could
not otherwise be disposed of, was an advantage, it is one that can exist in theory only.
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Practically it can never be realised. The interests of the colonists, and the dexterity and
devices of the smuggler, are too much for Custom-house regulations. Cheap goods never
fail of making their way through every obstacle. All the tyrannical laws and guarda costas of
Old Spain did not hinder her colonies from being glutted with prohibited commodities. And
we may be assured that the moment a competitor appears in the field capable of supplying
the Canadians and people of Jamaica with cottons, woollens, hardware, &c. cheaper than
we can supply them, that moment will they cease to be our customers. All the revenue
officers, and all the ships of England, supposing them to be employed for that purpose, would
be unable to avert this result.
The consequence of the American war ought to have led to sounder opinions than those
that are still current as to the value of the monopoly of the colony trade. Has the independ-
ence of the United States been in any respect injurious to us? So far from this, it is cer-
tain that it has redounded materially to our advantage. We have been relieved from the
expense and trouble of governing extensive countries at a great distance from our shores, at
the same time that we have continued to reap all the advantage that we previously reaped
from our intercourse with them. It is visionary to imagine that we could have succeeded
either in preventing them from establishing manufactories at home, or from importing pro-
ducts from abroad, had any one been able to undersell us. Our command of the American
market depends, at this moment, on the very same principle-the comparative cheapness of
our goods-on which it depended when we had a governor in every state. So long as we
preserve this advantage, we preserve the only means by which the monopoly of any distant
market can be maintained, and the only means by which such monopoly is rendered of the
least advantage.
But it is not to be supposed that, because restrictions on the trade of colonies can be of
no real advantage to their mother countries, they are not often very injurious to them and to
the colonies. We could not, however anxious, exclude manufactured articles, and such
foreign goods as are valuable without being very bulky, from our West India islands, pro-
vided they were offered cheaper by others. But such is not the case with lumber, provi-
sions, &c. They are too bulky to be easily smuggled; and may be, and indeed are, very
much raised in price by restrictions on their importation. For many years past, all direct
intercourse between our West India colonies and the United States was interdicted and, in
consequence, the planters were compelled either to supply themselves with lumber, staves,
&c. by a distant voyage from Canada, or, which was by far the most common practice, from
the United States, through the circuitous and expensive channel of St. Thomas and other
neutral islands In papers laid by the West India merchants and planters before the House
of Commons (No. 120. Session 1831), they estimate the increased expense they thus in-
curred on lumber, staves, flour, shingles, fish, &c. at 15 per cent. of the entire value of these
articles, or at 187,5761. a year. And it will be observed, that no part of this sum went into
the pockets of any British merchant. It went wholly to indemnify the Americans and
others for being obfiged to bring their products round about by St. Thomas, instead of direct
from the States.
This system grew out of the American war; but it is due to Mr. Pitt to state that it
received no countenance from him. On the contrary, he introduced a bill, in 1785, for
reviving the beneficial intercourse that existed previously to the war, between the United
States and the West India islands. But being opposed by a powerful party in parliament,
and by the ship owners and Canada merchants, he was obliged reluctantly to withdraw the
bill. The following remarks of Mr. Bryan Edwards on this subject are as applicable at this
moment, as they were at the period (1794) when they were written.
This," says he, is not a business of selfishness or faction ; nor (like many of those ques-
tions which are daily moved in parliament merely to agitate and perplex government) can it
be dismissed by vote. It will come forward again and again, and haunt administration in a
thousand hideous shapes, until a more liberal policy shall take place; for no folly can pos-
sibly exceed the notion that any measures pursued by Great Britain will prevent the Ameri-
can states from having, some time or other, a commercial intercourse with our West India
territories on their own terms. With a chain of coast of 20° of latitude, possessing the
finest harbours for the purpose in the world, all lying so near the sugar colonies and the
track to Europe, with a country abounding in every thing the islands have occasion for, and
which they can obtain no where else all these circumstances necessarily and naturally lead
to a commercial intercourse between our islands and the United States. It is true we may
ruin our sugar colonies, and ourselves also, in the attempt to prevent it; but it is an experi-
ment which God and nature have marked out as impossible to succeed. The present re-
straining system is forbidding men to help each other ; men who, by their necessities, their
climate, and their productions, are standing in perpetual need of mutual assistance, and
able to supply it."-(Hist. West Indies, Preface to 2d ed.)
We have also thought fit to interdict the West Indians from the refining, or, as it is tech-
nically termed, the claying of sugars. This is one of the few manufactures that might be
advantageously set up in the islands. The process adds considerably to the value of sugar;
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and it might be carried on in the buildings, and by the hands that are required to boil the
cane, or to prepare the raw or muscovado sugar. Instead, however, of being allowed to refine
their sugars on the spot, and where it might be done for a third of the expense that is required
in England, the planters have been prohibited from engaging in this branch of industry
and have been obliged to export all their sugars, either raw or crushed, to England. Nothing
can exceed the oppressiveness of such a regulation and what is most singular, it has not
been enforced, like most regulations of the sort, in order to bolster up any of the leading in-
terests of the country, but merely to give a factitious employment to a very small class,-that
of the sugar refiners, whose natural residence is in the West Indies. The planters and mer-
chants estimate the loss caused by this preposterous regulation at 75,550L a year.
The distillation of spirits from sugar has only been occasionally allowed but provided
the duties were so adjusted as to give no advantage to the planters over the growers of bar-
ley, or to the latter over the former, we think the distillers should be, at all times, allowed to
distil indiscriminately from sugar, molasses, or grain. It is the duty of government to take
care that the duties be 80 arranged as to give no unfair advantage to any party over another;
but, having done this, it should do nothing more. To prohibit distillation from sugar, that
a forced market may be opened for grain; or distillation from grain, that a forced market
may be opened for sugar; are interferences with the freedom of industry, for which no good
reason has been, nor we believe can be, assigned.
The interests of the planters have been sacrificed in many other ways besides those now
pointed out, in the view of securing some illusory advantage to our merchants and ship-
owners. Perseverance in this line of policy is the less excusable, as it is in direct opposition
to the principle of the measures introduced by Mr. Robinson (now Lord Goderich) in 1822,
and Mr. Huskisson in 1825; and sanctioned by the legislature. The avowed object of
these measures was the subversion of the old colonial system, and the repeal of the vexa-
tious restrictions laid on the trade of the colonies. If we look," said Mr. Robinson, to
the dominions of England in the Eastern hemisphere, we shall find the restrictive system
has been entirely and systematically abandoned. The whole of the East India Company's
territories have never been shackled with the peculiar restrictions of the navigation laws;
and who will say that the interests of commerce and navigation have suffered ? or rather,
who will deny that they have been materially benefited by the freedom they have enjoyed
" I propose," said Mr. Huskisson, in 1825, " to admit a free intercourse between all our
colonies and other countries, either in British ships, or in the ships of those countries, allow-
ing the latter to import all articles, the growth, produce, or manufacture of the country to
which the ship belongs; and to export from such colonies all articles whatever of their
growth, produce, or manufacture, either to the country from which such ship came, or to
any other port of the world; the United Kingdom and all its dependencies only excepted."
Unluckily, however, the conditions and regulations introduced into the bills were, for the
most part, in direct contradiction to the principle laid down in the speeches now quoted nor
is it easy, indeed, to conceive for what purpose the latter were made, unless it were to ex-
hibit the impolicy of the former. Among others which will subsequently be specified, the
act of 1825 imposed the following duties for the express purpose of securing to Canada and
to British ships the supply of the West India islands with food and lumber.
Table of Duties imposed by 6 Geo. 4. c. 114. on certain Articles of
L a d.
Provision, and of Wood and Lumber, not being the Growth, Pro-
Other wood and lumber, the 1,000 feet of 1 inch thick 1 8 0
duction, or Manufacture of the United Kingdom, nor of any Bri-
Fish, beef, pork, prohibited.
tish Possession, imported or brought into the British Possessions
on the Continent of South America, or in the West Indies, the Ba-
The revenue derived from these and the other duties imposed by ,
hama and Bermuda Islands included.
the act of 1825, amounted to about 75,000/. a year, and the charges
of collection to about 68,000/.:
Provisions, VIE.
L. & d.
The effects of these duties in adding to the prices of the food and
Wheat, the bushel
0 1 0
lumber imported by the planters, is exhibited in the following
Wheat flour, the barrel
0 5 0
statement of the prices of some of the principal of these articles in
Bread or biscuit, the cwt.
0 6
the United States and the Continent, and in Canada and the United
Flour or meal, not of wheat, the barrel
-086
Kingdom
Peas, beans, rye, calavances, oats, barley, Indian corn,
L a d.
the bushel
0 0 7
Herrings (Danish) at the Island of St. Thomas, the barrel 100
Rice, the 1,000 lbs. nett weight
026
Ditto (British) in the colonies, the barrel
11 0
Live stock, 10 per cent.
Mem beef, in Hamburgh, the barrel
300
Lumber, viz
Ditto, in the United Kingdom, ditto
400
Shingles, not being more than 12 inches in length,
Pork, in Hamburgh, the barrel
260
the 1,000
070
Ditto, in the United Kingdom, ditto
850
Shingles, being more than 18 inches in length, the
Red oak staves, in the United States, per 1,000
400
1,000
0 14 0
Ditto, at Quebec, per ditto
-784
Staves and headings, viz.
White oak staves, in the United States, per ditto
10 $
Red oak, the 1,000
0 15 0
Ditto, at Quebec, per ditto
10 2
White oak, the 1,000
0126
Flour, in the United States, the barrel
0
Wood hoops, the 1,000
063
Ditto, at Quebec, ditto
5
White, yellow, and pitch pine lumber, the 1,000 feet
Shingles, in the United States, per 1,000
14 0
of 1 inch thick
1 0
Ditto, in Canada, per ditto
IS 0
The United States, who felt themselves aggrieved by the imposition of such oppressive
duties on flour, wheat, and lumber, refused to accede to those conditions of reciprocity under
which the colonial ports were to be opened to their ships; and, owing to this circumstance,
it was not till the end of 1830, when fresh negotiations were entered into with the United
States, and it was agreed to modify some of the duties, that the West India colonies derived
any sensible advantage from the changes, such as they were, that were made in 1825.
But notwithstanding the modifications introduced by the act 1 Will. 4. c. 24, and now,
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embodied in the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 59.-(see post),-the regulations under which the
colony trade is at present conducted, are in the highest degree objectionable. There is, for
example, a duty of 5s. a barrel on all flour brought from a foreign country into our posses-
sions in the West Indies and South America, and also into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
and Prince Edward Island. At first sight there seems nothing to object to in this regulation,
except the imposition of the duty ; in point of fact, however, this is its least objectionable
feature, and is used merely as a pretext to conceal its real object. The necessity of raising
a revenue might, in some degree, excuse even the imposition of a duty on the food of the
colonists but there cannot be so much as the shadow of an apology for taxing it for the
benefit of another class. Such, however, is the sole end and purpose of this ingeniously
contrived regulation. It will be observed, that though no wheat flour can be carried duty
free direct, from a foreign country to our possessions in the West Indies, or to our posses-
sions to the north of the United States on the Atlantic, it may be imported duty free into
Canada, where it is not needed The consequence is, that a large proportion of the United
States' flour intended for the West Indies, instead of being shipped direct from New York,
Philadelphia, &c. for the islands, is carried, in the first instance, to Montreal and Quebec,
and is thence conveyed in British ships to its final destination. The duty is imposed to
force this trade; that is, to make the food of the colonists be carried to them by a round-
about course of more than 2,000 miles, in order that a few hundred pounds may be forced
into the pockets of the ship-owners, at an expense of many thousand pounds to the colonists.
Such, indeed, is the influence of the system, that there have been instances of wheat having
been carried from Archangel to Quebec, landed there, and again shipped for Jamaica !
Shingles, lumber, &c. are subjected to the same regulations, with this difference merely, that
they may be imported duty free into Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, &c., being thence car-
ried to the West Indies; whereas, by confining the importation of duty free flour to Canada,
it must pass, before it can reach the consumers, through the lengthened, difficult, and dan-
gerous navigation of the St. Lawrence.
It is unnecessary to make any commentary on such regulations. None more objections-
ble in principle, or mischievous in practice, are to be met with in the worst parts of the old
Spanish colonial régime.
All duties on and regulations with respect to the importation of articles of provision,
lumber, &c. into the colonies, ought to be wholly abolished. Jamaica, and our other West
India colonies, may be viewed as immense sugar, rum, and coffee manufactories, which,
though situated at a distance from England, belong to Englishmen, and are carried on by
English capital. But to promote the prosperity of any manufacture without injuring that
of others, there are no means at once so obvious and effectual, as to give those engaged in it
every facility for supplying themselves with the materials necessary to carry it on at the
lowest price, and to keep the duties on its produce as low as possible. This is the sound.
and obvious principle that ought to have been kept steadily in view in legislating for the
colonies; though, as already seen, it has been totally lost sight of. That the system of
forcing importation from Canada may be advantageous to that province, we do not presume
to deny ; but we are not to impoverish one part of our dominions that we may enrich another,
more especially when it is certain, as in the present case, that the advantage conferred is
trifling indeed compared with the injury inflicted. In other respects, the operation of the
present system is most pernicious. Sugar is an important necessary of life, and enters
largely into the consumption of every individual in Great Britain. Surely, then, it is highly
important that every means should be resorted to for reducing its cost; and as we have ex-
cluded foreign sugars from our markets, the only way in which any such reduction can be
effected is by abolishing the existing restrictions, and allowing the planters to furnish them-
selves with the materials necessary for their manufacture at the lowest rate, and to dispose
of their produce in the state and at the places they prefer.
The vexatious regulations now alluded to, have been, for the most part, imposed to benefit
the mother country at the expense of the colonies. There has, however, been, in this re-
spect, a reciprocity of injuries. Being obliged to buy whatever they wanted in the markets
of the mother country, the colonists early succeeded in obtaining, what, indeed, could not,
under the circumstances of the case, be denied to them, the monopoly of these markets for
the sale of their peculiar productions. And hence the high discriminating duties on foreign
sugars, coffee, timber, &c. Owing to the very great fertility of the colonics of Demerara,
Berbice, &c., acquired during the late war, the exclusion of foreign sugar has not latterly
been so great a burden as it used to be, though it still occasions an enhancement of its price.
But there are no palliating circumstances about the discriminating duty on foreign timber.
Not satisfied with giving the Canadians an unfair advantage in the markets of the West In-
dies, we give them a still more unjustifiable advantage in those of England. It was proved in
evidence taken before a committee of the House of Lords, that timber from Canada is not half
so durable as that from the Baltic, and is, besides, peculiarly liable to dry rot. It is not
allowed to be used in the building of ships for the navy, and is rejected by all the more
respectable house-builders : and yet, under the miserable pretext of giving employment to
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saw mills in Canada, and to a few thousand tons of additional shipping, we actually force
the use of this worthless article, by imposing a discriminating duty of no less than 45s. a
load on all timber from the north of Europe. It has been shown, by papers laid before par-
liament, that were the same duty laid on timber from Canada that is laid on timber from the
Baltic, the revenue would gain 1,500,000Z. a year, while the durability of our ships and
houses would be doubled.-(For a further discussion of this subject, see TIMBER.)
These restrictions tend to render the colony trade a source of loss, and of irritation and
disgust to all parties. In other respects, too, their influence is most pernicious. So long as
the colonies are prevented from purchasing lumber, provisions, &c. in the cheapest markets,
and as their trade continues subjected to regulations injurious to their interests, they are jus-
tified in resisting all efforts to make them contribute any thing considerable to the expenses
of the armaments required for their protection. "Attempts," said Lord Palmerston, have
been made in all the West India islands to induce them to contribute to the expenses of the
establishments; and they have always represented that their means of doing so were crip-
pled by the commercial arrangements of the mother country they have said, 'If you will
let us trade as we like, and collect our own custom duties, and 30 on, we will do it." And
no proposal could be fairer.-(Finance Committee, Evidence, P. 146.)
The expense of the colonies is a very heavy item in the national expenditure-far more
80 than is generally supposed. Not only are we subjected, as in the case of timber, to op-
pressive discriminating duties on foreign articles, that similar articles from the colonies may
enjoy the monopoly of our markets, but we have to defray a very large sum on account of
their military and naval expenditure. There are no means by which to estimate the precise
amount of this expense but it is, notwithstanding. abundantly certain, that Canada and the
islands in the West Indies cost us annually, in military and naval outlays, upwards of a
million and a half in time of peace, exclusive of the revenue collected in them. And if to
this heavy expense were added the vast additional sums their defence costs during war, the
debtor side of a fairly drawn up colonial budget would attain to a very formidable magni-
tude ; and one which we apprehend could not possibly be balanced.
In entertaining this opinion we are not singular. If," said Lord Sheffield, " we have not
purchased our experience sufficiently dear, let us derive a lesson of wisdom from the mia
fortunes of other nations, who, like us, pursued the phantom of foreign conquest and distant
colonisation; and who, in the end, found themselves less populous, opulent, and powerful.
By the war of 1739, which may be truly called an American contest, we incurred a debt of
upwards of 31,000,000/; by the war of 1755 we incurred a further debt of 71,500,000L;
and by the war of the revolt we have added to both these debts nearly 100,000,000L more
And thus we have expended a far larger sum in defending and retaining our colonies, than
the value of all the merchandise we have ever sent them. So egregious has our impolicy
been, in rearing colonists for the sake of their custom !"—(On the Commerce of the Ameri-
can States, p. 240.)
But our object is not to excite unavailing regrets for hygone follies, but to induce the re-
turn to a better system. The repeal of the restrictions on the colony trade seems indispensa-
ble, as a preliminary to other reforms. We have already seen that the legislature has recog-
nised the principle of this repeal and until it has taken place, or the existing restrictions
been materially modified, we shall neither be able to rid ourselves of the discriminating duties
in favour of colonial products, nor to make the colonies defray any considerable part of the
expenditure incurred on their account.
If there be no room for surprise at the complaints so constantly put forth by the West In-
dians, there is very great room for surprise that so few attempts should have been made to
redress the grievances of which they complain. Met in every quarter by the keen and ac-
tive competition of the Brazilians and Cubans, who have been emancipated from the tram-
mels of monopoly, and permitted freely to resort, whether as buyers or sellers, to every
market, the planters in the British colonies could not be otherwise than depressed. They
have been made the victims of an erroneous system of policy; for there is nothing in the
circumstances under which they are naturally placed, to lead to a belief that their distresses
are incurable. Were they permitted freely to supply themselves with such articles as they
require, to refine their sugar in the islands, and were the exorbitant duties that are now laid
on some of their staple products adequately reduced, can any one doubt that their condition
would be materially improved or that these measures would not equally redound to the
general advantage of the public?
The colonies being integral parts of the empire, the trade with them should, as far as cir-
cumstances will permit, be conducted on the footing of a coasting trade. The state of the
revenue requires that moderate duties should be laid on sugar, coffee, and rum, when im-
ported into Great Britain or Ireland; but the duties on cotton, cacao, and most other colonial
products, might be repealed without injury to the revenue, and with advantage to all parties.
The system we have hitherto pursued has been a radically different one, and in most respects
the reverse of what it ought to have been. By excluding the colonists from the cheapest
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markets for their food and lumber, we have artificially raised the cost of their produce; and
then, to protect them from the consequences of such short-sighted policy, we give them a
monopoly of the British market ! It is thus that one unjust and vicious regulation is sure
to give birth to others; and that those who depart from sound principle have nothing left but
to endeavour to bolster up one absurdity by another. It is time, surely, that an end were
put to 60 ruinous a system. It is as much for the interest as it is the duty of England, to
remove all restrictions from the colonists, not essential for the sake of revenue; for this is the
only means by which she can provide for their real prosperity, and rid herself of those mono-
polies that form the beaviest clog upon her industry.
We hope it will not be supposed, from any thing now stated, that we consider the founda-
tion of colonial establishments as, generally speaking, inexpedient. We entertain no such
opinion. It is not to the establishment of colonies, provided they be placed in advantageous
situations, but to the trammels that have been laid on their industry, and the interference
exercised by the mother countries in their domestic concerns, that we object. Every indi-
vidual ought to have full liberty to leave his native country; and occasions very frequently
occur, when governments may advantageously interfere to settle emigrants in foreign coun-
tries, and when the soundest policy dictates the propriety of their supporting and protecting
them until they are in a situation to support and protect themselves. There can be no ques-
tion whatever that Europe has been prodigiously benefited by the colonisation of America.
The colonists carried the arts, the sciences, the language, and the religion of the most civi-
lized communities of the Old World to regions of vast extent and great natural fertility, oc-
cupied only by a few miserable savages. The empire of civilisation has in consequence
been immeasurably extended: and while the experience afforded by the rise and progress
of communities placed under such novel circumstances, has served to elucidate and establish
many most important and fundamental principles in government and legislation, Europe has
been enriched by the vast variety of new products America has afforded to stimulate the in-
ventive powers of genius, and to reward the patient hand of industry.
But whatever may have been the advantages hitherto derived from the colonisation of
America, they are trifling compared to what they would have been, had the European powers
left the colonists at liberty to avail themselves of all the advantages of their situation, and
avoided encumbering themselves with the government of extensive territories, 3,000 miles
distant. Fortunately, however, a new era is, at length, begun-Novus sæclorum nascitur
ordo! The monopoly of the trade of America is destroyed, and her independence achieved.
From Canada to Cape Horn, every port is ready to receive adventurers from Europe; and
a boundless field has, in consequence, been opened for the reception of our surplus popula-
tion, and for the advantageous employment of European arts, capital, and skill. The few re-
mains of the old colonial system which still exist, and which are principally to be found in
the mercantile policy of this country and France, cannot be of long duration. Their mis-
chievous operation is no longer doubtful; and they will disappear according as the know-
ledge of sound commercial principles is more generally diffused.
Slavery.-Since the publication of the former edition of this work, a law has been made
which will effect a radical change in the condition of society in the British West Indies.
The abolition of the slave trade has been consummated by the act for the freedom of the un-
happy persons now in a state of bondage. The statute 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 73. enacts, that on
the 1st of August, 1834, slavery is to cease throughout the British dominions, and that the
then existing slaves are to become apprenticed labourers; the term of their apprenticeship
partly ceasing on the 1st of August, 1838, and partly on the 1st of August, 1840; when the
black and coloured population will become altogether free. A sum of 20,000,000/. is to be
distributed in certain proportions, and according to certain conditions, to the planters, as a
compensation for the loss of their slaves.-(See article SLAVES AND SLAVE TRADE.)
Such are the prominent features of this famous statute, by which the British parliament
has endeavoured at once to meet and satisfy the claims of humanity and justice. The pay-
ment of 20,000,000L to the colonists, though not more than they were fairly entitled to, is,
perhaps, the most striking instance to be met with in history, of a resolution to vindicate and
maintain the right of property and reflects as much credit on the wisdom as on the liberality
of the British nation.
Nothing but vague conjectures can, of course, be indulged in as to the future working of
this measure in the colonies. We believe, however, that those who have contended that it
will not be productive of any falling off in the industry of the blacks will be found to have
taken a very erroneous view of the matter. Field labour in the West Indies has hitherto
been always associated with slavery and degradation, and been enforced by the lash. The
fair inference, consequently, is, that when the fetters are struck off the slave, and he is left
to follow his bwn inclinations, he will be desirous of escaping from what he cannot fail to
consider an ignominious occupation. Necessity, no doubt, will prevent him from becoming.
altogether indolent; but the effect will in this, as in other instances, be proportioned to its
cause and necessity in the West Indies is very different from necessity in Europe. Most
articles that are here deemed indispensable, would there be positive encumbrances; and those
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essential to subsistence may be procured with less certainly than half the labour hitherto ex-
acted from the slaves. At some future period, perhaps, when the recollection of their degra-
dation has begun to fade, and a taste for conveniences and gratifications has been introduced
amongst them, they may become more industrious; but this is a distant and a very uncertain
prospect. We, therefore, look, at first, for a very considerable decline in the industry of the
slaves, and a proportional falling off in the exports from the islands. It will give us pleasure
should our anticipations be disappointed; and assuredly we do not state them by way of ob-
jection to, or deduction from, the great measure of emancipation. It would be monstrous
to suppose that we might retain above 750,000 of our fellow-creatures in a state of bond-
age, for no better reason than that sugar might be sent to England from Jamaica or Barba-
does, rather than from India, Java, or Cuba.
For further information on this subject, we beg to refer our readers to an article on Colo-
nial Policy, in No. 84. of the Edinburgh Review, to the chapter on Colonies, in Sir Henry
Parnell's invaluable work on Financial Reform," and to the Parliamentary Paper No. 120.
Sess. 1831. This paper, being prepared by a committee of West India merchants and plant-
ers, occasionally, probably, exaggerates the injury they sustain from the existing regulations;
it is, however, a very instructive and valuable document. Some of the previous statements
are taken from the article in the Edinburgh Review; but we are not, on that account, liable
to the charge of appropriating the labours of others.
III. MAGNITUDE, POPULATION, TRADE, ETC. OF THE BRITISH COLONIES.
Notwithstanding the loss of the United States, the colonies of Great Britain, exclusive of
India, exceed in number, extent, and value, those of every other country. Previously, in-
deed, to the breaking out of the late contests, the colonial dominions of Spain far exceeded
in extent and importance those of any other power. But Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philip-
pine Islands, are now all that remain to her. These, indeed, are very valuable possessions,
though inferior to those of England.
(1.) North American Colonies.In North America we possess the provinces of Lower
and Upper Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, with their dependencies. The situa-
tion and boundaries of these provinces will be more easily learned from the inspection of the
accompanying map, than they could be from any description. The shores of Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick are washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the noble river St. Lawrence,
by its communication with the great American lakes, gives to Canada all the benefits of a
most extensive inland navigation, and forms a natural outlet for her surplus produce, as well
as for the surplus produce of that part of the United States which is washed by the lakes.
There is every variety in the soil and climate of these regions. In Lower Canada, the winter
is very severe. The surface of the country is covered with snow for nearly half the year.
From the beginning of December to the middle of April, the St. Lawrence is frozen over, and
affords a smooth and convenient passage for the sledges by which it is then covered. But
though severe, the climate is far from being unhealthy or disagreeable. The weather is
generally clear and bracing; and the labour of artisans, at their out-door employments, is
rarely suspended for many days in succession. On the breaking up of the ice in the latter
end of April, or the beginning of May, the powers of vegetation almost immediately resume
their activity, and bring on the fine season with a rapidity that is astonishing to a stranger.
The highest temperature in Lower Canada varies from 96° to 102° of Fahrenheit; but the
purity of the atmosphere abates the oppressive heat that is felt in most countries where the
mercury ranges so high and the weather is, on the whole, decidedly pleasant. In 1814, it
was ascertained that the province of Lower Canada contained about 335,000 inhabitants; at
present the number may amount to about 580,000. The population is chiefly confined to
the banks of the St. Lawrence.
That part of the province of Upper Canada, which stretches from Lake Simcoe and the
rivers Trent and Severn, westward to Lake Huron and the St. Clair River, and southward
to Lake Erie, and part of Lake Ontario, has a soil of extraordinary fertility, capable of pro-
ducing the most luxuriant crops of wheat, and every sort of grain. The climate," says
Mr. Bouchette, surveyor-general of Lower Canada, is so particularly salubrious, that epi-
demic diseases, either among men or cattle, are almost entirely unknown. Its influence on
the fertility of the soil is more generally perceptible than it is in Lower Canada, and is sup-
posed to be congenial to vegetation in a much superior degree. The winters are shorter, and
not always marked with such rigour as in the latter. The duration of frost is always ac-
companied with a finé clear sky and a dry atmosphere. The spring opens, and the resump-
tion of agricultural labours takes place, from 6 weeks to 2 months earlier than in the neigh-
bourhood of Quebec. The summer heats rarely prevail to excess, and the autumns are
usually very friendly to the harvests, and favourable for securing all the late crops."-
(Bouchette's Topographical Description of Canada, p. 595.) The ground on the shores
of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, as far west as the junction of the Themes with the St. Claim
Lake, is laid out in townships, and partly settled. But the population is so very thin as
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not, on an average, to amount to more than twenty persons to a square mile, in settled
townships; while the fertility of the soil is such, that 120 persons to a square mile would not
be a dense population. To the north of the River Thames, along the banks of the St. Clair,
and the shores of Lake Huron, round to the River Severn, and thence to the river that joins
Lake Nippissing and Lake Huron, is a boundless extent of country that is almost entirely
unoccupied. The interior of this space has hitherto been but imperfectly explored but the
banks of the St. Clair and the shores of Lake Huron afford the finest situations for settle-
ments. The soil is in many places of the greatest fertility, the river and lake teem with fish,
and every variety of the best timber is found in the greatest profusion. In 1783, the settlers
in Upper Canada were estimated at only 10,000 in 1825 they amounted to upwards of
157,000; and now amount, according to Mr. M'Gregor, to above 300,000: a miserably
small population for a country that could easily support many millions of inhabitants in a
state of the greatest comfort.
The winters in the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are more severe than in
Upper Canada, and they are a good deal infested with fogs and mists. But their proximity
to England, and their favourable situation for the fishing business, give them considerable
advantages.
In addition to the above, we possess the Hudson's Bay territory,-a tract of vast extent,
but situated in an inhospitable climate, and worth very little except as hunting grounds.
We also possess the large islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton; but the soil is bar-
ren, and the climate severe and foggy 80 that they are valuable principally as fishing sta-
tions.
We extract from the valuable work of Mr. M'Gregor on British North America (2d ed.
vol. ii. p. 589.) the following statistical Table, representing the population, stock of cattle,
cultivated land, &c. in the different provinces in 1832:-
Horned
Acres culti-
Inhabitants.
Horses.
Cattle.
Hogs.
Sheep.
vated.
Upper Canada
-
-
-
310,000
34,380
214,692
220,000
240,000
1,800,000
Canada
-
-
-
-
580,000
126,000
440,000
350,000
610,000
2,125,000
New Brunswick -
-
-
110,000
12,000
87,000
65,000
105,000
365,000
Nova Scotia
-
-
-
196,000
19,000
144,796
98,214
234,658
398,964
Prince Edward Island
-
-
35,000
4,500
32,000
30,000
48,000
180,000
Newfoundland and Labrador
-
76,000
600
8,000
16,000
10,000
45,000
Total
-
-
1,307,000
196,480
926,488
779,214
1,247,658
4,913,964
Number of Emigrants.-There emigrated to the British Colonies in North America in
Individuals.
Individuals.
Individuals.
1825
8,741
1828
12,084
1831
58,067
1826
12,818
1829
13,307
1832
66,339
1827
12,648
1830
30,574
(Parl. Paper, No. 696. Sess. 1833.)
Of these, the great majority have been destined for Upper Canada.-(For the total emigration from
the United Kingdom, see PASSENGERS.)
Information for Emigrants to British North America.-In the latter part of 1831, a set
of commissioners were appointed by government for the purpose of digesting plans of emi-
gration, procuring information useful for emigrants, &c. On the 9th of February, 1832,
they issued the following paper, the statements in which may be, consequently, regarded as
quite authentic.
Colonial Office, 9th of February, 1832.
The object of the present notice is to afford such information as is likely to be useful to persons who
desire either to emigrate, or to assist others to emigrate, to the British possessions in North America.
In the first place, it seems desirable to define the nature of the assistance to be expected from go-
vernment by persons proceeding to these colonies. No pecuniary aid will be allowed by government
to emigrants to the North American colonies; nor after their arrival will they receive grants of land,
or gifts of tools, or a supply of provisions. Hopes of all these things have been sometimes held out
to emigrants by speculators in this country, desirous of making a profit by their conveyance to North
America, and willing for that purpose to delude them with unfounded expectations, regardless of their
subsequent disappointment. But the wish of government is to furnish those who emigrate with a
real knowledge of the circumstances they will find in the countries to which they are going.
No assistance of the extraordinary extent above described is allowed. because, in colonies, where
those who desire to work cannot fail to do well for themselves, none such is needed. Land, indeed,
used formerly to be granted gratuitously; but when it was taken by poor people, they found that they
had not the means of living during the interval necessary to raise their crops; and further, that they
knew not enough of the manner of farming in the colonies, to make any progress. After all, there-
fore, they were obliged to work for wages, until they could make a few savings, and could learn a
little of the way of farming in Canada. But now, land is not disposed of except by sale. The produce
of sales, although the price is very moderate, is likely to become a considerable fund, which can be
turned to the benefit of the colonies, and therefore of the emigrants while yet no hardship is inflicted
on the poor emigrant, who will work for wages just as he did before, and may after a while acquire
and, if land be his object, by the savings which the high wages in these colonies enable him speedily
to make.
These are the reasons why government does not think it necessary to give away land in a country,
where, by the lowness of its price, the plentifulness of work, and high rate of wages, an industrious
man can earn enough in a few seasons to become a freeholder by means of his own acquisitions.
The land which is for sale will be open to public competition, and of course, therefore, its price
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COLONIES AND
must depend upon the offers that may be made but it will generally not be sold for less than from 4a. to
5s. per acre and in situations where roads have been made, or the ground has been partially cleared,
the common prices lately have been 7s. 6d., 10s., and 15s. Further particulars will be best learned
upon the spot, where every endeavour will be made to meet the different circumstances and views
of different purchasers.
Although government will not make any gifts at the public expense to emigrants to North America,
agents will be maintained at the principal colonial ports, whose duty it will be, without fee or reward
from private individuals, to protect emigrants against imposition upon their first landing, to acquaint
them with the demand for labour in different districts, to point out the most advantageous routes, and
to furnish them generally with all useful advice upon the objects which they have had in view in
emigrating: and when a private engagement cannot be immediately obtained, employment will be
afforded on some of the public works in progress in the colonies. Persons newly arrived should not
omit to consult the government agent for emigrants, and as much as possible should avoid detention
in the ports, where they are exposed to all kinds of impositions, and of pretexts for keeping them at
taverns till any money they may possess has been expended.-For the same purpose of guarding
against the frauds practised on new comers, and of preventing an improvident expenditure at the first
moment of arrival, it seems very desirable that individuals who may wish to furnish emigrants with
money for their use in the colony should have the means of making the money payable there, instead
of giving it into the hands of the emigrants in this country. The commissioners for emigration are
engaged in effecting general arrangements for this purpose, and due notice will be given to the public
when they shall be completed. Agents for emigration have been appointed at St. John's, St. An-
drew's, and Miramichi in New Brunswick, and at Quebec and York in Canada. On the whole sub-
ject of the manner of proceeding upon landing, it may be observed, in conclusion, that no effort will
be spared to exempt emigrants from any necessity for delay at the place of disembarkation, and from
uncertainty as to the opportunities of at once turning their labour to account.
After this explanation of the extent of the aid to be expected from government, the following state-
ments are subjoined of the ordinary charges for passage to the North American colonies, as well as
of the usual rates of wages and usual prices in thein, in order that every individual may have the
means of judging for himself of the inducements to emigrate to these parts of the British dominions.
Passage.-Passages to Quebec or New Brunswick may either be engaged inclusive of provisions, or
exclusive of próvisions, in which case the ship owner finds nothing but water. fuel, and bed places,
without bedding. Children under 14 years of age are charged one half, and under 7 years of age one
third, of the full price; and for children under 12 months of age no charge is made. Upon these con-
ditions the price of passage from London, or from places on the east coast of Great Britain, has gene-
rally been 61. with provisions, or 31. without. From Liverpool, Greenock, and the principal ports of
Ireland, as the chances of delay are fewer, the charge is somewhat lower; this year it will probably
be from 21. to 21. 10s. without provisions, or from 41. to 51. including provisions. It is possible that in
March and April passages may be obtained from Dublin for 35s. or even 30s.; but the prices always
grow higher as the season advances. In ships sailing from Scotland or Ireland, it has mostly been
the custom for passengers to find their own provisions but this practice has not been so general in
London and some ship owners, sensible of the dangerous mistakes which may be made in this mat-
ter through ignorance, are very averse to receive passengers who will not agree to be victualled by
the ship. Those who do resolve to supply their own provisions, should at least be careful not to lay
in an insufficient stock; 50 days is the shortest period for which it is safe to provide; and from Lon-
don the passage is sometimes prolonged to 75 days.
The best months for leaving England are certainly March and April; the later emigrants do not find
employment so abundant, and have less time in the colony before the cominencement of winter.
Various frauds are attempted upon emigrants, which can only be effectually defeated by the good
sense of the parties against whom they are contrived. Sometimes agents take payment from the
emigrant for his passage, and then recommend him to some tavern, where he is detained from day to
day under false pretences for delay, until, before the departure of the ship, the whole of his money is
extracted from bim. This of course cannot happen with agents connected with respectable houses;
but the best security is to name in the bargain for passage a particular day, after which, whether or not
the ship salls, the passenger is to be received on board and victualled by the owners. In this manner
the emigrant cannot be intentionally brought to the place of embarkation too soon, and be compelled
to spend his money at public houses, by false accounts of the time of sailing; for from the very day
of his arrival at the port, being the day previously agreed upon, the ship becomes his home.
The conveyance of passengers to the British possessions in North America is regulated by an act
of parliament (9 Geo. 4. c. 21.), of which the following are the principal provisions :-Ships are not
allowed to carry passengers to these colonies unless they be of the height of 5f feet between decks;
and they must not carry more than 3 passengers for every 4 tons of the registered burden ; there must
be on board at least 50 gallons of pure water, and 50 lbs. of bread, biscuit, oatmeal, or bread stuff. for
each passenger. When the ship carries the full number of passengers allowed by law, no part of the
cargo, and no stores or provisions, may be carried between decks; but if there be less than the com-
plete number of passengers, goods may be stowed between decks in a proportion not exceeding 3 cu-
bical feet for each passenger wanting of the highest number. Masters of vessels who land passengers
unless with their own consent, at a place different from that originally agreed upon, are subject to a
penalty of 202., recoverable by summary process before 2 justices of the peace in any of the North
American colonies.
The enforcement of this law rests chiefly with the officers of his Majesty's customs and persons
having complaints to make of its infraction, should address themselves to the nearest Custom-house.
Besides the sea voyage from England, persons proceeding to Canada should be provided with the
means of paying for the journey which they may have to make after their arrival at Quebes. The
cost of this journey must, of course, depend upon the situation of the place where the individual may
find employment, or where he may have previously formed a wish tosettle; but to all it will probably be
useful to possess the following report of the prices of conveyance, during the last season, on the route from
Quebec to York, the capital of Upper Canada. From Quebec to Montreal (180 miles), by steam-boat,
the charge for an adult was 6s. 6d. from Montreal to Prescott (120 miles), by boats or barges, 7a.
from Prescott to York (250 miles), by steamboat, 7a. The journey, performed in this manner, usually
occupies 10 or 12 days: adding, therefore, 11s. for provisions, the total cost from Quebec to York (a
distance of 550 miles) may be stated, according to the charges of last year, at 11. 11a. 6d. Persons who
are possessed of sufficient means prefer to travel by land that part of the route where the River St.
Lawrence is not navigable by steam-boats, and the journey is then usually performed in 6 days. at a
cost of 61. It must be observed, that the prices of conveyance are necessarily fluctuating, and that
the foregoing account is only presented as sufficiently accurate for purposes of information in this
country, leaving it to the government agent at Quebec to supply emigrants with more exact particu-
lars, according to the circumstances of the time at which they may arrive.
Rates of Wages and Market Prices.-The colonies in North America, to which emigrants can with
advantage proceed, are Lower Canada, Upper Canada, and New Brunswick. From the reports re-
ceived from the other British colonies in North America, namely, Prince Edward's Island, Newfound-
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COLONY TRADE.
417
land, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, it appears that they do not contain the means either of affording
employment at wages to a considerable number of emigrants, or of settling them upon land.
Upper Canada.-From a comparison of all the documents before the commissioners for emigration,
it appears that the yearly wages of labourers in Upper Canada, hired by the year, are from 271. to
301.; that their monthly wages, in different situations and at different seasons, range from 11. 10s. to
3/. 10s. per month; and that daily wages range from 2s. to 3s. 9d. In all these rates of wages, board
and lodging are found by the employer. Without board, daily wages vary from 3s. 6d. out of harvest
to 5s. during harvest; 6s. 3d., besides provisions, is sometimes given to harvest men. The wages of
mechanics may be stated universally at from 5a. to 7a. 6d. per day.
The following Table exhibits the lowest and the highest price which the several articles therein
named bore, during the year 1831, in each of the principal districts of Upper Canada
Seconds
Fine
Flour 100 lbs.
Veal
Pork
Mutton
Beef
,
I
Meat, per lb.
Bread, lb. loaf
Straw, per load
Hay, per ton
Turkeys
Geese
Fowls
11
Ducks, per pair
Eggs, per doz.
Cheese
Ditto (salt)
Butter (fr.) lb.
Potatoes, cwt.
Barley
Oats
Maize
Wheat, per bu.
1
,
#
,
8
.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
15
0
0
91
-
0
0
0
15
&
4
-
-
0
0
0
0
0 2 6
0 - 3
0 20 6
0 S 0
L. 8. d.
6
0
3
4
3
to
6
8
0
0
0
4
8
5
6
bushel
per
E I 0
1831.
in Price
Lowest
12
12
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
17
bushel.
0 2 6
8 I 0
0 8 0
9 9 0
Eastern District.
0
0
0
0
16
5
9
5
-
-
0
0
0
0
per
I
6
6
3
5
4
18
0
8
9
6
9
6
S. d.
Ditto.
10
Highest
8
0
0
6
7f
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
15
0
0
0
0
0
5
10
3
00
-
-
0
0
0
0
I
I
-
I
5
L. 8. d.
Lowest.
6
0
to
4
NO
20
6
0
0
6
4
0
9
6
4
71
6
to
6
3
6
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
10
=
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
L.
15
" 0
Johnstown ditte.
0
0
0
0
0
10
10
4
to
I
to
0
0
0
0
I
-
I
2
9
8.
Highest.
0
6
3
6
4
-
8
0
0
0
6
3
0
10
6
10
6
6
0
9
3
6
P
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
DD
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
L.
or
12
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
4
-
I
to
0
0
0
0
I
be
I
to
5
8.
Lowest.
6
6
4
3
4
4
OI
9
0
0
0
8
6
4
9
71
9
3
0
6
9
0
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
L.
Bathurst ditto.
9 BI 0
16
0
0
0
0
0
7
10
4
-
to
to
0
0
0
0
I
3
DD
3
5
8.
Highest.
0
4
3
4
4
10
6
0
0
0
3
0
8
6
71
8
6
6
0
0
0
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
I
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
ó
0
0
L.
of 0
0 12
0
0
0
0
0
5
10
to
to
-
DD
0
0
0
0
to
to
I
0 0 so
CO
8.
Lowest.
0
6
3
3
NO
18
&
0
0
3
9
3
0
6
5
71
72
0
6
3
6
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
L.
0 15 0
0 17 6
Newcastle ditto.
0
0
0
0
0
5
10
3
3
I
to
0
0
0
0
3
be
to
3
6
8.
Highest.
FE
-
3
3
71
Q
0
9
6
3
6
71
71
9
6
0
I
0
0
3
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
L.
0 11 3
0 12
0
0
0
0
0
15
10
5
3
I
I
0
0
0
0
0
&
0
2
10
6 E 0
8.
Lowest.
6
3
3
5
3
4
0
0
0
3
3
3
71
9
0
71
3
10
0
d.
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
12
15
0
0
0
0
0
15
10
10
9
-
I
I
0
0
-
to
80
to
7
0
0
6
10
10+ -
0 5 3
L. a. 8.
Home ditto.
Highest.
9
0
5
6
7t
5
0
0
for
for
6
0
9
6
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
-
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0 12 6
0 12 6
0
0
0
0
0
5
15
5
3
-
I
0
0
0
0
-
to
E I 0
20 = 6
6 E 0
L. 8. d.
Lowest.
2
is
3
to
DD
7
0
0
0
6
3
3
9
4
19
71
3
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
51 0
15 0
0
0
0
0
0
5
10
7
3
-
3
-
0
0
0
2
2
I
2
5
L. 8. d.
Niagara ditto.
Highest.
0
0
34
3
31
3
16
3
18
8
0
0
9
6
6
0
9
6
71
71
9
9
9
6
0
15
0
0
0
0
to
to
2
0
0
0
0
3
4
0
=
71
#
34
6
6
3
0
7f
7t
71
71
10+ -
9
11 E
6 $
"8
0
d.
Low.
15
0
0
0
0
8
2
-
2
0
0
I
I
2
3
3
3
5
5.
(pan nomp)
London ditto
0
#
=
#
#8
6
9
3
0
71
0
0
6
6
If
6
0
P
High.
53
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418
COLONIES AND
Lower Canada.-From Lower Canada the commissioners for emigration have not received the official
reports which were required from the North American colonies, for the purpose of compiling the pre-
sent statement. They believe, however, that the following account of the prices of grain and of
wages may be relied upon for its general correctness:
8. d.
Wheat
-
- per bushel
-
-
-
- 46
Rye
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 30
Maize
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 26
Oats
-
-
-
-
-
-
-13
Wages of labourers
- per day
-
-
-
-26
Ship-builders, carpenters, joiners, coopers, masons, and tailors
- 5 0
New Brunswick-The following is a list of prices compiled from documents sent in from various
parts of New Brunswick:-
L.s.d.
L.a.d.
Lad.
Led
Wheat
per bushel 050 to 0100
Bread
per 4 lb. loaf 10 to 010
Maine
-
046-050
Beef
per stone 033 040
Oats
-
016-026
Motton
-
024-040
Barley
-
040 - 060
Pork
-
020-040
Potatoes
per cwt. 013 - 036
Veal
-
024 - 048
Butter (fresh)
per lb. 009 - 010
Flour
per 100 lbs. 0 16 0 - 0176
Ditto (salt)
-
008-0010
Salt pork
per barrel 4150 - 550
Cheese
-
004-007
Ditto beef
-
300
-
3100
Eggs
per dozen - 010
Malt
per bushel 068 - 064
Ducks
per pair 0 2 0 - 036
Rye flour
per Larrel 126
Fowls
-
016-026
Indian ditto
-
126
Geese
-
030-650
Oatmeal
per cwt. 0 16 0 0180
Turkeys
-
076 - 0100
Salt cod
per 112 1bs. 0 10 0 - 0
Hay
per ton 1100 - 210
Ditto mackared
per barrel 0 17 0 - 100
Straw
-
100-150
Ditto alewives
-
0100 0
Coals are sold at 30s. per chaldron. House rent is from 51. to 61. per annum for families occupying
one room; and for families occupying two rooms, from 61. to 10/. Common labourers receive from
3s. to 4s. a day, finding their own subsistence but when employed at the ports in loading vessels, their
subsistence is found for them. Mechanics receive from 5s. to 7a. 6d. per day, and superior workmen
from 7a. 6d. to 10s.
Upon the foregoing statements, It must be observed that emigrants, especially such of them as are
agricultural labourers, should not expect the highest wages named until they have become accustomed
to the work of the colony. The mechanics most in demand are those connected with the business of
house-building. Shoemakers and tailors, and ship-builders, also find abundant employment.
Mr. Buchanan, his Majesty's chief agent for the superintendence of emigrants in Upper
and Lower Canada, has issued the following information, dated Quebec, 16th of July,
1833.
There is nothing of more importance to emigrants on arrival at Quebec, than correct information
on the leading points connected with their future pursuits. Many have suffered much by a want of
caution. and by listening to the opinions of interested designing characters, who frequently offer their
advice unsolicited, and who are met generally about wharfs and landing places frequented by strangers.
To guard emigrants from falling into such errors, they should, immediately on arrival at Que-
hec, proceed to the office of the chief agent for emigrants in Sault-au-Matelot Street, Lower Town,
Where every information requisite for their future guidance, in either getting settlement on lands, or
obtaining employment in Upper or Lower Canada, will be obtained gratis. On your route from Que-
bec to your destination you will find many plans and schemes offered to your consideration, but turn
away from them unless you are well satisfied of the purity of the statements. On all occasions
when you stand in need of advice, apply to the government agents.
Emigrants are informed that they may remain on board ship 48 hours after arrival nor can they
be deprived of any of their usual accommodations for cooking or berthing during that period and the
master of the ship is bound to land the emigrants and their baggage, free of expense, at the usual land-
ing places and at seasonable hours.
Should you require to change your English money, go to some respectable merchant or to the banks.
The currency in the Canadas is at the rate of 5s. the dollar, and is called Halifax currency; at present
the gold sovereign is worth 24s. currency in Montreal; in New York, 8s. is calculated for the dollar
hence many are deceived when hearing of the rates of labour, &c.: 5a. in Canada is equal to 8s. New
York; thus, 8s. New York currency is equivalent to 5s. Halifax currency.
Emigrants who wish to settle in Lower Canada, or to obtain employment, are informed that many
desirable situations are to be met with. Wild lands of superior quality may be obtained by purchase
on very easy terms from the commissioners of Crown lands in various townships in the province, and
good farm labourers and mechanics are much in request, particularly in the eastern townships, where
also many excellent situations and improved farms may be purchased from private proprietors. At
the Chambly Canal many labourers will find immediate employment. In every part of Upper Canada
the demand for labourers and mechanics is also very great. All labouring emigrants who reach York,
and who may be in want of immediate employment, will be provided with it by the government. The
principal situations in Upper Canada where arrangements are made for locating emigrants, are in the
Bathurst, Midland, Newcastle, Home, London, and Western districts. Settlers with means will have
opportunities of purchasing Crown lands in several parts of the province at the monthly sales,
Information of which may be obtained on application at the Crown Land Office, York, or to A. B.
Hawke, Esq. the government agent for emigrants there, to whom they will apply, on arrival, for such
further advice as they may require.
Emigrants proceeding to Upper Canada, above Kingston, either by the Ottawa or St. Lawrence
route, are advised to supply themselves with provisions at Montreal, such as bread, tea, sugar, and
butter, which they will purchase cheaper and of better quality than along the route. They are also
particularly cautioned against the use of ardent spirits, or drinking cold river water, or lying on the
banks of the river exposed to the night dews; they should proceed at once from the steamboat at
Montreal for Lachine, 8 miles above, from whence the Durham and steamboats start for Prescott and
Bytown daily.
Emigrants will obtain from Mr. John Hays, the government agent at Lachine, such advice and
assistance as they may require and they will find there a convenient barrack log house, where those
wishing may remain for the night, and avoid exposure and expense of lodgings. Mr. John Patton,
the government agent at Prescott, will render every advice and assistance to emigrants.
Labourers or mechanics dependent on immediate employment are requested to proceed immediately
on arrival into the country. The chief agent will consider such persons as may loiter about the ports
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COLONY TRADE.
419
or landing beyond one week after arrival to have no further claims on the protection of his Majesty's
agents for assistance or employment, unless they have been detained by sickness or some other satis-
factory cause.
The following information with respect to Upper Canada has been circulated by the Ca-
nada Company :-
Persons desirous of obtaining employment, and having the means of emigrating to Upper Canada,
may get work at high prices compared with what they have been accustomed to receive in this
country as agricultural labourers. The wages given in Upper Canada are from 21. to 31. per month,
with board and lodging. At these wages there is a constant demand for labour in all parts of Upper
Canada; and there is no doubt that a very great number, beyond those now there, would find employ-
ment. Working artisans, particularly blacksmiths, carpenters, bricklayers, masons, coopers, mill-
wrights, wheelwrights, shoemakers, and tailors, get high wages, and are much wanted. Industrious
men may look forward with confidence to an improvement in their situation, as they may save
enough out of one season's work to buy land themselves in settled townships.
'Freehold land of excellent quality is to be sold at 8s. 9d. to 20s. currency per acre, payable as fol-
lows: :-One fifth of the purchase money to be paid down at the time of making choice of the land in
Canada, and the remainder in 5 annual payments with interest, which an industrious settler would be
able to pay out of the crops.
" Upper Canada is a British province, within a few weeks' sail of this country. The climate is
good all the fruits and vegetables common to the English kitchen garden thrive well sugar, for
domestic purposes, is made from the maple tree, on the land. The soil and country possess every
requisite for farming purposes and comfortable settlement, which is proved by the experience of the
numerous industrious emigrants now settled there. The samples of Upper Canada wheat have not
been exceeded in quality by any in the British market during the past year. The population of the
province, which is rapidly increasing, consists almost exclusively of persons from Great Britain and
Ireland, who have gone there to settle. The taxes are very trifling, and there are no tithes. The
expense of clearing the land ready for seed is about 41. per acre if paid for in money but if done by
the purchasers themselves, they must employ part of their time at wages, or possess some means
of their own.
The expense of removing from this country to Quebec or Montreal, including provisions for the
voyage, is, for grown persons, men or women, from 61. to 71., and half price for children under 14
years of age: if the parties find their own provisions, the passage money is 31. or 31. 10s. for an adult,
and in proportion for children. From Ireland and Scotland the expense is considerably less. The
expense of the transport of an adult emigrant from Quebec to York and the head of Lake Ontario, will
not exceed from 11. to 11. 2s. 6d. currency, or 18a. or 19s. sterling, exclusive of provisions.
The Canada Company, to encourage settlement in the Huron tract, have determined for this year
(1833) to allow all families, settlers in that district, purchasing 160 acres or more, of the Company, the
expenses of conveyance, at a stipulated rate, from Quebec or Montreal to the head of Lake Ontario,
allowing each family to consist of 2 adults and three children, by deducting those expenses from the
second instalment of the purchase money of their farm. The present prices of land in the Huron
tract, which is of the finest quality in America, are from 8s. 9d. to 10s. provincial currency, that is,
from 11 to 2 dollars per acre.
" The Canada Company, to facilitate the transmission of money to the Upper and Lower Provinces,
will receive from Intending emigrants any deposits in London, for which they will issue letters of
credit on their agents, allowing the parties the full benefit of the rate of exchange, which usually ranges
from 8 to 10 per cent. Persons resident in this country, desirous of making remittances to their
friends in the Canadas, are afforded the same facilities and advantages.
Further information, and the papers distributed by the Canada Company, may be obtained on
application to the secretary, John Perry, Esq.
London, October, 1833."
The following extract from the Montreal Daily Advertiser of the 4th of September, 1833, gives the
prices of the principal articles of Canadian produce as under
L. 8. d. L. s. d.
L. 3. d. L. 8. d.
Ashes,
pot,
1st
sort,
per
cwt.
1 3 6to1 4 6
Grain and seed-
pearl
-
-
-
150-156
Wheat, W. Canada, per 60 lbs. 0 6 0 6 6
Flour and meal-
mixed - 0 6 0 0 6 2
Superfine, per 196 lbs. (Canada) 1 10 9- 1 11 3
red
- 0 5 10 - 0 6 0
Fine
ditto
ditto 1 9 10 0
Barley, per bushel
-
- 0 3 0 3 6
Middling
ditto
ditto 1 7 1 8 0
Indian corn
-
-
- 0 4 0 4 6
Pollards
ditto
ditto 1 2 1 2 6
Oats
-
-
-
- 0 1 0 1 8
Indian meal, per 168 lbs.
- 126
Peas (boiling)
-
-
- 0 4 0 5 0
Oatmeal, per cwt.
-
-
0 13
14
0
Flax seed, per bushel
-
- 050-053
(2.) West India Colonies.-In the West Indies we possess Jamaica, Barbadoes, St. Lucia,
Antigua, Grenada, Trinidad, and some other islands, exclusive of Demerara and Berbice in
South America. Jamaica, by far the largest and most valuable of our insular possessions,
is about 120 miles in length and 40 in mean breadth, containing about 2,800,000 acres, of
which from 1,100,000 to 1,200,000 are supposed to be in cultivation. Being situated
within the tropic of Cancer, the heat in the West Indies is intense, but is moderated by the
sea breeze which blows regularly during the greater part of the day. The rains make the
only distinction of seasons. They sometimes fall with prodigious impetuosity, giving
birth to innumerable torrents, and laying all the low country under water: the trees are
green the whole year round: they have no snow, no frost, and but rarely some hail. The
climate is very humid; iron rusts and corrodes in a very short time; and it is this, perhaps,
that renders the West Indies so unfriendly to European constitutions, and produces those
malignant fevers that are so very fatal. The vegetable productions are numerous and valu-
able; but the sugar cane and the coffee plant are incomparably more important than the
others, and constitute the natural riches of the islands.
The West Indies are occasionally assailed by the most dreadful hurricanes, which destroy
in a moment the hopes and labours of the planters, and devastate entire islands. Whole
fields of sugar canes are sometimes torn up by the roots, houses are either thrown down or
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COLONIES AND
unroofed, and even the heavy copper boilers and stills in the works have, in numerous instances,
been wrenched from the ground and battered to pieces. The rain pours down in torrents,
sweeping before it every thing that comes in its way. The destruction caused by such
dreadful scourges seldom fails to produce a very great scarcity, and not unfrequently famine
and we are ashamed to have to add, that the severity of the distress has on several occasions
been materially aggravated by a refusal on the part of the authorities to allow importation
direct from the United States This was the case at Dominica so late as 1817.
Jamaica was discovered by Columbus in 1494, and continued in possession of the Spa-
niards till 1655, when it was wrested from them by the English. Although it had thus
been for more than a century and a half under the power of Spain, such was the deadening
influence of her colonial system, that it did not, when we conquered it, contain 1,500 white in-
habitants, and these were immersed in sloth and poverty. Of the many valuable articles which
Jamaica soon afterwards produced in such profusion, many were then altogether unknown;
and of those that were known, such a supply only was cultivated as was required for the
consumption of the inhabitants. " The Spanish settlers," it is said by Mr. Bryan Edwards,
possessed none of the elegancies of life; nor were they acquainted even with many of
those gratifications which, in civilised states, are considered necessary to its comfort and
convenience. They were neither polished by social intercourse, nor improved by education;
but passed their days in gloomy languor, enfeebled by sloth, and depressed by poverty.
They had been for many years in a state of progressive degeneracy, and would probably in
a short time have expiated the guilt of their ancestors, by falling victims themselves to the
vengeance of their slaves."-(Hist. West Indies, vol. i. p. 297. 8vo ed.)
For a considerable number of years after we obtained possession of Jamaica, the chief
exports were cacao, hides, and indigo. Even so late as 1772, the exports of sugar amounted
to only 11,000 hogsheads. In 1774, they had increased to 78,000 hogsheads of sugar,
26,000 puncheons of rum, and 6,547 bags of coffee. The American war was very injurious
to the West India settlements; and they may, indeed, be said to be still suffering from its
effects, as the independence of America led to the enactment of those restrictions on the
importation of food, lumber, &c. that have been so very hurtful to the planters. In 1780,
Jamaica was visited by a most destructive hurricane, the devastation occasioned by which
produced a dreadful famine; and other hurricanes followed in the immediately succeeding
years. But in 1787, a new era of improvement began. The devastation of St. Domingo
by the negro insurrection, which broke out in 1792, first diminished, and in a few years
almost entirely annihilated, the annual supply of 115,000 hogsheads of sugar, which France
and the Continent had previously been accustomed to receive from that island, This dimi-
nution of supply, by causing a greatly increased demand for, and a consequent rise in the
price of, the sugar raised in the other islands, occasioned an extraordinary extension of cul-
tivation. So powerful in this respect was its influence, that Jamaica, which, at an average
of the 6 years preceding 1799, had produced only 83,000 hogsheads, exported, in 1801 and
1802, upwards of 286,000 hogsheads, or 143,000 a year !
The same rise of price, which had operated so powerfully in Jamaica, occasioned a similar
though less rapid extension of cultivation in our other islands, and in Cuba, Porto Rico,
and the foreign colonies generally. The vacuum caused by the cessation of the supplies
from St. Domingo being thus more than filled up, a reaction commenced. The price of
sugar rapidly declined; and notwithstanding a forced market was for a while opened to it,
by substituting it for malt in the distillery, prices did not attain to their former elevation.
On the opening of the Continental ports, in 1813 and 1814, they, indeed, rose, for a short
time, to an extravagant height; but they very soon fell again, involving in ruin many of the
speculators upon an advance. And notwithstanding a recent rally, they are, and have been
for the last 10 years, comparatively low. The fall seems to be entirely owing to the vast
extension of the sugar cultivation in Cuba, Brazil, Java, Louisiana, &c., and in Demerara,
Berbice, and the Mauritius. From the facility, too, with which sugar may be raised in most
of these countries, and their vast extent, there seems little prospect of prices ever again attain-
ing to their old level. It is to no purpose, therefore, to attempt to relieve the distresses of the
planters of Jamaica and our other islands by temporary expedients. The present low prices
have not been brought about by accidental or contingent circumstances. And to enable the
planters to contend successfully with the active competitors that surround them on all sides,
we must place them, at least in so far as we have the means, in a similar situation, by allow-
ing them to resort for supplies to the cheapest markets, and to send their produce into Eu-
rope in such a shape as they may think best.
The devastation of St. Domingo gave the same powerful stimulus to the growth of coffee
It is stated in a report by a committee of the Assembly of Jamaica, that 15,000 negroes perished
between the latter end of 1780 and the beginning of 1787, through famine occasioned by hurricanes
and the prohibition of importation from the United States (Edwards's West Indies, vol. ii. p. 515.)
Those who are so very fond of vituperating "hard-hearted economists," as they are pleased to term
those who advocate the repeal of oppressive restrictions, must, we presume, look upon occurrences
of this sort as merciful dispensations.
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COLONY TRADE.
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in the other West Indian colonies, that it did to the growth of sugar; and owing to the
extraordinary increase in the demand for coffee in this and other European countries during
the last 10 years, the impulse has been, in a great measure, kept up.-(See COFFEE.) In
1752, the export of coffee from Jamaica amounted to only 60,000 lbs.; in 1775, it amounted
to 440,000 lbs. ; in 1797, it had increased to 7,931,621 lbs. in 1832, the exports to Eng-
land amounted to 19,811,000 lbs.; and they have been stationary at about this quantity
for some time.
We have already seen, that when Jamaica was taken from the Spaniards, it only con-
tained 1,500 white inhabitants. In 1673, the population amounted to 7,768 whites and
9,504 slaves. It would have been well for the island had the races continued to preserve
this relation to each other; but, unfortunately, the black population has increased more than
five times as rapidly as the white; the latter having increased only from 7,768 to about
30,000, while the former has increased from 9,504 to 322,421, exclusive of persons of
colour. The immense preponderance of the slave population has rendered the question of
emancipation so very difficult.
The correspondence of the slaves in Jamaica with their emancipated brethren in Hayti
or St. Domingo has been prohibited by a provision in the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 59. § 55.-
(see post.)
The real value of the exports to Jamaica amounts to about 1,600,000Z. a year, being
more than half the amount of the exports to the West Indian colonies. It should, how-
ever, be observed, that a considerable portion of the articles sent to Jamaica, and some of
the other colonies, are only sent there as to an entrepôt, being subsequently exported to the
Spanish main. During the ascendancy of the Spanish dominion in Mexico and South
America, this trade, which was then contraband, was carried on to a very great extent. It
is now much fallen off; but the central situation of Jamaica will always secure to her a
considerable share of this sort of transit trade.
Barbadoes was the earliest of our possessions in the West Indies. It is the most easterly
of the Caribbee islands; Bridge Town, the capital, being in lon. 59° 41' W. Barbadoes
is by far the best cultivated of all the West India islands. It contains about 105,000 acres,
having a population of about 16,000 whites, 2,700 free people of colour, and 68,000 slaves.
It exports about 21,000 hogeheads of sugar, of 16 cwt. each. Barbadoes had attained the
acmé of its prosperity in the latter part of the seventeenth century, when the white popula-
tion is said to have amounted to about 50,000, though this is probably an exaggeration.
But it is only as compared with itself that it can be considered as having fallen off for
compared with the other West India islands, its superiority is manifest. It raises nearly as
much food as is adequate for its supply.
The islands next in importance are St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad, Antigua, &c. It is
unnecessary to enter into any special details with respect to them; their population and
trade being exhibited in the Tables annexed to this section.
During the late war, we took from the Dutch the settlements of Demerara, Berbice, and
Essequibo, in Guiana, which were definitively ceded to us in 1814. The soil of these
settlements is naturally very rich; and they have, in this respect, a decided advantage over
most of the West India islands. Their advance, since they came into our possession, was
for a while very great; but recently their progress seems to have been checked, and their
exports, particularly those of rum and coffee, have declined considerably. The imports of
sugar from them amount to about a third of the imports from Jamaica. The rum of Deme-
rara enjoys a high reputation; and of the total quantity imported from the British colonies
and plantations in 1832, amounting to 4,741,649 gallons, Demerara and Berbice furnished
1,415,449 gallons. The best samples of Berbice coffee are of very superior quality but
the planters finding the cultivation of sugar more profitable, the imports have materially
declined of late years. In 1832, they amounted, from both colonies, to 3,449,400 lbs. Con-
siderable quantities of cotton were formerly exported from Guiana; but the Americans
having superior facilities for its production, the planters have in a great measure ceased to
cultivate it. Cacao, annotto, &c. are produced, but not abundantly.
These statements are sufficient to shew the importance of Demarara and Berbice. Con-
sidering, indeed, their great natural fertility, and the indefinite extent to which every sort
of tropical culture may be carried in them, they certainly rank among the most valuable of
the colonial possessions we have acquired for many years.
Exclusive of the above, we possess the settlement of Balize on the Bay of Honduras.
This is of importance, as affording a means of obtaining abundant supplies of mahogany
but it is of more importance as an entrepôt for the supply of Guatemala with English ma-
nufactured goods.-(For accounts of the colonies in Australasia, &c., see COLUMBO, CAPE
OF Good HOPE, PORT LOUIS, SYDNEY, &c.)
VOL. I.-2 N
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COLONIES AND
Account of the Quantities of Sugar, Rum, Molasses, and Coffee, imported into the United Kingdom
from the West Indies and the Mauritius, and of the Portions of those Quantities entered for Re-
exportation in 1834 and 1835.-(Perl. Paper, No. 208., Sess. 1836.)
Sugar (unrefined.)
Run.
Molamen.
Coffee.
Colonies whence
imported.
1834.
1835.
1834.
1835.
1834.
1835.
1834.
1536.
West Indies.
Cuts.
Custs.
Gallons.
Gallons.
Cuts.
Crote
Lbs.
Lbs.
Antigua
257,177
174,818
71,445
67,051
87,882
75,986
224
580
Barbadoes
394,527
344,689
2,170
1,798
65,553
68,126
77,968
67,825
Dominica
54,876
25,014
27,764
7,308
2,560
2,700
893,492
112,567
Grenada
194,542
170,280
247,049
248,524
23,219
8,747
10,332
6,236
Jamaica
1,256,253
1,148,760
2,984,067
2,450,272
2,809
982
18,268,883
11,154,307
Montserrat
26,631
16,261
20,480
26,492
4,779
1,848
-
-
Nevis
59,748
39,637
23,286
39,366
5,468
161
-
-
St. Kitty
106,355
87,614
79,080
107,101
17,397
7,526
185
$
St. Lucia
63,306
54,744
4,707
10,972
2,811
6,057
96,004
63,582
St. Vincent
213,017
195,057
96,397
189,154
23,094
26,455
197
118
Tobago
79,018
77,260
272,787
299,705
11,646
5,986
-
-
Tortola
21,926
13,821
3,478
5,220
1,408
-
28
Trinidad
339,615
269,383
7,714
9,586
90,494
84,640
160,915
38,000
Bahamas
4
-
-
59
-
-
45,579
280,156
Bermudas
-
-
2
35
-
-
-
-
Demerara
687,282
760.376
1,273,693
1,875,245
282,967
221,782
1,481,980
1,139,054
Berbice
90,699
126,485
61,277
115,411
20,699
5,225
1,045,688
2,027,037
Honduras
4
18
-
-
163
MAURITIUS
553,890
558,712
1
201
206
-
701
243,296
Total Importations
4,897,866
4,082,921
5,112,401
5,453,518
650,572
507,627
22,082,191
15,108,876
Proportion re-
W.I.
12,313
11,455?
exported(unref.) M.
4,850
1,750
1,613,163
1,668,205
2,078
4,753
768,819
613,058
The duties on West India produce entered for home consumption during the year 1835,
yielded about 6,700,000L nett.
The exports from this country to our West India colonies consist of coarse cottons, linens,
checks, hats, and other articles of negro clothing hardware and earthenware; staves,
hoops, coal, lime, paint, lead Irish provisions, herrings and other salt fish ; along with fur-
niture, wine, beer, medicines, and, indeed, almost every article which a great manufacturing
country can supply to one situated in a tropical climate, which has very few mechanics,
and hardly any manufactures. Since the depression of West Indian property, and the open-
ing of the ports on the Spanish main to ships from England, the exports to the West Indies
have decreased both in quantity and value. Their declared or real value amounted, as appears
from the following account, in 1834, to 2,680,022L
Statement of the Total amount of Trade between the United Kingdom and the British West India
Colonies, in each year, from 1814 to 1834, both inclusive.
Official Value.
Declared Value
Exports to the British West Indies.
of
Years.
British and Frish
Imports from
Products
the British
British and Irish
Foreign and
Total
West Indies.
Produce and
Colonial
of
exported to the
Merchandise.
British West Indies.
Manufactures.
Exports.
£
£
£
£
£
1814
9,022,309
6,282,226
339,912
6,222,138
7,019,938
1815
9,903,260
6,742,451
453,630
7,196,081
7,218,057
1816
7,847,895
4,584,509
268,719
4,853,228
4,537,056
1817
8,326,926
6,632,708
382,883
7,015,591
5,890,199
1818
8,608,790
5,717,216
272,491
5,989,707
6,021,627
1819
8,188,539
4,395,215
297,199
4,692,414
4,841,253
1820
8,353,706
4,246,783
314,567
4,561,350
4,197,761
1821
8,367,477
4,940,609
370,738
5,311,347
4,320,581
1822
8,019,765
4,127,052
243,126
4,370,178
3,439,818
1823
8,425,276
4,621,589
285,247
5,906,836
3,676,780
1824
9,065,546
4,843,556
324,375
5,167,931
3,827,489
1825
7,932,829
4,702,249
295,021
4,997,270
3,866,834
1826
8,420,454
3,792,453
255,241
4,047,694
3,199,265
1827
8,380,833
4,685,789
331,586
5,017,375
3,683,222
1828
9,496,950
4,134,744
326,298
4,451,042
3,289,704
1829
9,087,923
5,162,197
359,059
5,521,256
3,612,085
1820
8,599,100
3,749,799
290,878
4,040,677
2,838,448
1831
8,448,839
3,729,522
258,764
3,988,286
2,581,949
1832
8,138,668
3,813,821
286,605
4,100,426
2,439,807
1833
8,008,248
4,401,990
302,189
4,704,180
2,597,591
1834
5,410,113
4,494,659
323,986
4,818,046
2,680,022
The following are the quantities of some of the principal articles exported to the West Indian
colonies in 1831 :-Cottons, 21,975,459 yards; linens, 11,029,191 yards; woollens, 149,952 yards; hats,
26,694 dozens; leather, wrought and unwrought, 349,842 lbs. earthenware, 1,331,799 pieces glass,
23,544 cwt.; hardware and cutlery, 13,535 cwt. coals and culm, 48,536 tons; beef and pork, 24,472
barrels; soap and candles, 4,389,968 lbs., &c.-(Parl. Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)
The articles exported from Canada and the British possessions in North America princi-
pally consist of timber and lumber of all sorts; grain, flour, and biscuit; furs, dried fish,
fish oil, turpentine, &c. The imports principally consist of woollens, cottons, and linens,
earthenware, hardware, leather, salt, haberdashery of all sorts; tea, sugar, and coffee;
spices, wine, brandy, and rum, furniture, stationery, &c.
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The following are the quantities of some of the principal articles exported from Great
Britain to Canada, Nova Scotia, &c., in 1831 :-Cottons, 15,618,106 yards; woollens,
900,124 yards; linens, 3,309,165 yards; earthenware, 2,253,851 pieces; iron and steel,
wrought and unwrought, 12,400 tons; hardware and cutlery, 29,482 cwt.; coals and
culm, 31,134 tons; salt, 1,559,684 bushels; beef and pork, 8,534 barrels, &c.-(Parl.
Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)
We are indebted to Mr. Mayer, of the Colonial Office, for much valuable information,
and in particular for the Tables given in the next two pages, the most complete that have
ever been published, of the population and trade of our colonial possessions.
Money.-What is called West India currency is an imaginary money, and has a different value in
different colonies. The value it bears, as compared with sterling money, was supposed to represent
the corresponding value of the coins in circulation in the different islands at the time the proportion
was fixed: these coins being for the most part mutHated, and otherwise worn and defaced, currency
is in all cases less valuable than sterling. The following are the values of 1001. sterling, and of a
dollar, in the currencies of the different islands:-
Sterling.
Currency.
Dollar.
Currency.
Jamaica
-
-
-
-
-
-
100%
-
1401.
1
-
6s. 8d.
Barbadoes
-
-
-
-
- 100%
-
1351.
1 - 6s. 3d.
Windward Islands (except Barbadoes)
- 1001. - 1751.
1 = 8s. 3d.
Leeward Islands
-
-
-
- 1001. = 2001.
1 = 9s. Od.
But these proportions are seldom acted upon; the exchange being generally from 10 to 20 per cent.
above the fixed par.
By an order in council of the 23d of March, 1825, British silver money is made legal tender through-
out all British colonial possessions, at the nominal value as in England; and bills for the same are
given on the Treasury of London, of 100/. each bill for 1031. such silver money. By this order, also,
the value of the Spanish dollar is fixed at 4s. 4d. British silver money throughout all the colonies
where it is current.
The following are the gold coins circulating at Jamaica, with their legal weight and fineness:-
Value in Currency.
Dute. gre. Ty.
L. & d.
Spanish doubloon
-
-
-
- 17
8
-
-
-
- 5 0 0
Two pistole piece
-
-
-
8
10
-
-
-
- 2 10 0
Pistole
-
-
-
-
4
8
-
-
-
- 1 5 0
Half pistole
-
-
-
-
2
4
-
-
-
- 0 12 6
Portuguese Johannes (called Joe)
-
-
18
12
-
-
-
- 5 10 0
Half Joe
-
-
-
-
9
6
-
-
-
- 2 15 0
Quarter Joe
-
-
-
4
15
-
-
-
- 7 6
Moidore
-
-
-
-
6
22
-
-
-
- 2 0 0
Half moidore
-
-
,
3
11
-
-
-
- 1 0 0
English guinea
-
-
-
-
5
8
-
-
-
- 1 12 6
Half guinea
-
-
-
-
2
16
-
-
-
- 0 16 3
Sovereign
-
-
-
-
5
2
-
-
-
- 1 12 0
IV. REGULATIONS UNDER WHICH COLONY TRADE IS CONDUCTED.-DISPOSAL OF
LAND IN THE COLONIES, &c.
These are embodied in the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 59., which came into operation on the 1st
of September, 1833. It is as follows: :-
Importation and Exportation of Goods confined to free Ports.-No goods shall be imported into, nor
shall any goods, except the produce of the fisheries in British ships, be exported from, any of the
British possessions in America by sea, from or to any place other than the United Kingdom, or some
other of such possessions, except into or from the several ports in such possessions, called 'Free
Ports," enumerated or described in the table following; (that is to say,)
Table of free Ports.Kingston, Savannah Le Mar, Montego Bay, Santa Lucia, Antonio, Saint Ann,
Falmouth, Maria, Morant Bay, Annotto Bay, Black River, Rio Bueno, Port Morant, Jamaica Saint
George, Grenada; Roseau, Dominica; Saint John's, Antigua; San Josef, Trinidad; Scarborough,
Tobago; Road Harbour, Tortola; Nassau, New Providence; Pitt's Town, Crooked Island; Kings-
ton, Saint Vincent; Port Saint George and Port Hamilton, Bermuda; any port where there is a
Custom-house, Bahamas; Bridgetown, Barbadoes; Saint John's, Saint Andrew's, New Brunswick;
Halifax, Pictou, Nova Scotia; Quebec, Canada; Saint John's, Newfoundland; George Town, Deme-
vara; New Amsterdam, Berbice; Castries, Saint Lucia; Basseterre, Saint Kitt's; Charles Town,
Nevis; Plymouth, Montserrat; Sydney, Cape Breton; Charlotte Town, Prince Edward's Island
Anguilla, Anguilla; and if any goods shall be imported into any port or place in any of the said pos-
sessions contrary thereto, such goods shall be forfeited.- 2.
His Majesty may appoint other Ports to be free Ports.-Provided always, that if his Majesty shall
deem it expedient to extend the provisions of this act to any port or ports not enumerated in the said
table. it shall be lawful for his Majesty, by order in council, to do 80; and from the day mentioned in
such order in council, all the privileges and advantages of this act, and all the provisions, penalties,
and forfeitures therein contained, shall extend, and be deemed and construed to extend, to any such
port or ports, as fully as if the same had been inserted and enumerated in the above table provided
also, that nothing herein-before contained shall extend to prohibit the importation or exportation of
goods into or from any ports or places in Newfoundland or Labrador in British ships.-d 3.
His Majesty may appoint Ports for limited Purposes.-And whereas there are in the said possessions
many places situated in rivers and in bays at which it may be necessary to establish ports for par-
ticular and limited purposes only; be it therefore enacted, that it shall be lawful for his Majesty, on
any order in council made for the appointment of any free port, 10 limit and confine such appointments
respectively to any and such purposes only as shall be expressed in such order.- 4.
Privileges granted to Foreign Ships limited to the Ships of those Countries granting the like Privileges
to British Ships, &e.-And whereas by the law of navigation foreign ships are permitted to import into
any of the British possessions abroad, from the countries to which they belong, goods the produce of
those countries, and to export goods from such possessions to be carried to any foreign country what-
ever; be it therefore enacted, that the privileges thereby granted to foreign ships shall be limited to
the ships of those countries which, having colonial possessions, shall grant the like privileges of
trading with those possessions to British ships, or which, not having colonial possessions, shall place
the commerce and navigation of this country, and of its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the
Digitized by Google
424
COLONIES AND
Extent, Population, &c. of the British North American and West Indian Colonies.
British North American Colonies.
Area in British
Square Miles.
1806.
1825.
1834,
or latest Census.
Lower Canada
250,000
200,000
423,630
549,005
Upper Canada
105,000
70,718
157,541
336,461
New Brunswick
27,700
35,000
72,932
119,457
Nova Scotia
15,600
65,000
104,000
Cape Breton
3,100
2,513
16,000 }
142,548
Prince Edward's Island
2,100
9,676
20,000
32,292
Newfoundland
36,000
26,505
52,497
60,088
Totals
439,500
409,412
846,600
1,239,851
1824.
1834, or Intest Census.
Imports
of Sugar
Area
British
from
Free
Whites.
Free
Coloured.
Slaves.
Total.
Whites.
Apprent.
in
West
Coloured.
Labour.
Total.
West Indian
British
Colonies.
India
Square
Colonies
Miles.
into U. K.
in 1835.
Male.
Female.
Male.
Female.
Male.
Female.
Male and
Female.
Male and
Female.
Male and
Female.
Male and
Female.
Male and
Female.
Cut.
Antigua
108
158,503
1,140
840
1,549
2,346
14,454
16,531
36,860
1,980
33,432
-
35,412
Barbadoes
150
323,705
6,827
7,803
2,258
2,266
36,159
42,657
97,970
14,959
5,146
82,807
102,912
Dominica
275
25,014
487
417
1,406
1,758
7,919
8,635
20,622
840
3,606
14,384
18,830
Grenada
125
170,280
628
219
1,387
2,104
12,258
13,052
29,648
801
3,786
23,538
28,123
Jamaica
?
s
37,152
,
1,145,377
no census taken. S
166,595
169,658
373,405
No census taken.
311,692*
311,692
Montserrat
47
16,262
175
213
234
320
3,032
3,473
7,447
330
974
6,355
7,659
Nevis
20
39,637
1,140
4,583
4,678
10,401
700
2,000
8,722
1,422
St. Kitt's
68
87,614
1,612
1,996
9,505
10,312
23,425
1,612
3,000
20,660
26,972
St. Lucia
58
34,133
676
518
1,576
2,083
6,297
7,497
18,647
881
3,919
13,348
18,148
St. Vincent
130
195,056
1,053
1,482
12,007
12,245
26,787
1,301
2,824
22,997
27,122
Tobago
187
77,260
200
44
225
360
6,558
7,098
14,485
280
3,000
11,621
4,901
Tortola and Virgin
Islands.
-
13,821
207
201
283
328
2,975
3,485
7,479
477
1,296
5,192
6,965
Anguilla
-
162
203
150
177
1,279
1,695
3,666
365
327
2,388
3,080
Trinidad
2,400
221,342
2,243
1,853
6,681
7,314
13,052
10,336
41,479
4,201
18,724
22,359
45,2843
Bahamas
-
-
2,282
2,278
867
1,332
5,529
5,279
17,567
4,657
4,211
9,705
18,573
Bermudas
-
-
1,897
2,751
312
410
2,620
2,622
10,612
4,264
4,456
-
8,720
British Guiana, De-
marara and Es-
sequibo
-
685,284
2,609
250
1,336
1,773
41,224
33,753
80,945
3,006
6,360
65,556
74,922
Berbice
-
126,143
453
108
325
510
r3,007
10,349
24,762
570
1,661
19,359
21,580
Honduras
63,000
-
156
61
685
737
1,654
811
4,107
250
1,788
1,920
3,958
Total
850,304
Total
784,575
Population and Trade of Asiatic, African, and European Colonies in 1834.
Declared or
Number and Tonnage of Vessels
Population.
Imports
Exports
real Value
to and from the United
into the
from the
of British
Kingdom and the Colonies.
British African and European
United
United
and Irish
Colonica.
Free
Kingdom,
Kingdom,
Produce
Coloured
Official
Official
and Manu-
Whites.
Value.
Value.
factures ex-
and Ap-
Inwards.
Outwards.
ported from
prentices.
the U.K.
L.
L
L
Ships.
Tons.
Shipe,
Tone.
Mauritius
8,844
84,464
782,148
307,848
149,318
75
20,909
#
9,193
Ceylon
6,786
1,150,259
289,917
95,937
50,181
10
2,774
13
4,318
New South Wales
60,794
-
152,040
736,825
482,313
Van Diemen's Land
37,688
-
96,349
336,539
220,145
42
12,400
so
99,587
Swan River
-
-
69
6,089
3,555
min
Cape of Good Hope
56,675
76,279
248,760
649,153
304,381
27
5,566
47
9,145
Sierra Leone, and settlements
on the coast of Africa-
86
33,438
River Gambia, Sierra Leone,
and coast to Mesurada
Windward Coast from Mesu-
rada to Cape Apollonia
Cape Coast Castle and Gold
456,016
794,979
325,687
136
22,213
150
35,358
Coast from Cape Apollonia
to Rio Volta
Coast from Rio Volta to Cape
of Good Hope (including
1
Fernando Po)
Heligoland
2,221
-
11
903
31
I
56
I
R
Gibraltar
14,998
10
47,355
1,493,166
460,719
83
3,790
100
12,865
Malta
123,195
-
14,956
589,425
242,696
9
1,219
86
13,005
United States of the Jonian
Islands
194,395
-
207,393
214,229
-
62
8,469
42
5
. The white population of Jamaica is supposed to amount to about 36,000.
Digitized by
Google
Returns as to the Acquisition, Government, and Trade of the American and West Indian Colonies in 1823, 1825, and 1834.
Google
Declared Value of
British and Irish
Number and Tonnage of Vessels to and from the United
Colonies.
Imports into the
Exports from the
Produce and Manufac-
Kingdom and the Colonies.
Date of Capture, Cession, or
Whether having Legislative Assemblies, or
U. K. Official
U.K. Official
tures exported
Settlement.
governed by Orders in Council.
British
Value.
Value.
from the U. K. to
North American
British Colonies and
Dependencies.
Inwards.
Outwards.
Colonies.
Digitized by
1825.
1834.
1825.
1834.
1825.
1834.
1825,
1834.
1825.
1834.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Lower Canada
Capitulation, 18th Sept. 1759
Governor, Council, and Assembly
Ditto, 8th Sept. 1760, and ces-
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
731,855
613,598
1,145,461
1,339,624
866,258
799,912
782
203,886
989
290,881
662
178,785
186
288,180
Upper Canada
sion by treaty, 1763
New Brunswick
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
319,559
220,418
474,044
519,061
458,604
350,992
842
235,097
613
177,129
705
210,071
456
134,870
Nova Scotia
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Fisheries and settlements es-
44,548
258,696
234,226
109
25,570
101
24,092
Cape Breton
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
6,864
12,199
tablished soon after their
88,014
285,244
10,622
189,565
15
3,201
161
15
37,925
3,266
143
Prince Edward's
35,739
Island
discovery in 1497
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
9,244
38,638
38,626
32
6,897
16
3,351
COLONY TRADE.
Newfoundland
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
200,841
181,566
317,265
353,981
351,964
273,125
126
14,447
137
17,120
316
43,590
292
43,726
Totals
1,312,911
1,103,596
2,246,303
2,497,910
1,960,300
1,613,594
1,856
489,098
1,900
523,055
1,815
463,156
1,577
502,515
Settlements of the
Hudson's
Bay
Settlement, 1668
Hudson's Bay Company.
35,902
64,225
13,711
54,268
20,153
-
2
746
5
1,551
2
751
3
878
54
Company.
British West India
1823.
1834.
1823.
1834.
1823.
1834.
1823.
1834.
1823.
1834.
Colonies.
Antigua
Settlement, 1632
Governor, Council, and Assembly
243,921
446,746
138,533
159,288
114,650
99,258
33
7,395
67
15,202
40
8,949
60
14,108
Barbadoes
Ditto, 1605
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
558,410
648,446
322,322
394,764
301,482
267,713
72
19,048
79
21,387
82
21,268
113
30,299
Dominica
Ceded by France, 1763
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
175,269
135,396
44,277
35,700
42,207
24,897
11
2,603
12
2,880
11
2,623
9
2,566
Grenada
Ditto, 1763
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
387,546
315,611
69,559
90,712
67,792
68,908
36
11,206
40
10,876
33
10,189
36
9,809
Jamaica
Capitulation. 1655
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
3,736,935
3,346,359
2,739,554
2,193,346
1,906,670
1,153,130
279
86,823
259
78,602
284
88,055
238
72,040
Montserrat
Settlement, 1632
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
37,588
42,080
9,310
7,212
10,648
6,721
4
1,039
5
1,281
6
1,441
4
1,056
Nevis
Ditto, 1628
Ditto
Ditto
Ditte
63,358
90,454
12,924
12,169
14,225
9.390
8
2,069
10
2,639
10
2,324
14
3,739
St. Kitt's
Ditto, 1623
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
118,100
166,709
59 972
77,432
54,923
52,013
15
4,314
22
5,958
13
3,644
10
3,002
St. Lucia
Capitulation, 22d June, 1803
Gov. and Counc., and Orders of the King in Counc.
117,063
110,816
41,146
33,034
31,539
16,560
17
3,491
14
3,003
18
2,670
12
2,747
St. Vincent
Ceded by France, 1763
Governor, Council, and Assembly
358,992
331,467
105,578
110,509
97,372
81,167
45
11,640
36
10,509
39
10,425
40
11,523
Tobago
Ditto, 1763
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
187,874
139,668
42,691
49,122
44,007
37,663
27
6,278
20
4,814
22
5,816
22
5,289
Tortola
Settlement, 1606
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
36,550
31,719
665
2,077
775
1,534
6
1,258
5
1,011
2
504
4
920
Anguilla
Ditto, 1666
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
Trinidad
Capitulation, 18th Feb, 1797
Gov. and Counc., and Orders of the King in Counc.
463,365
625,897
323,077
328,435
230,557
176,108
65
14,411
87
20,012
57
12,938
80
18,845
Bahamas
Settlement, 1629
Governor, Council, and Assembly
23,520
67,736
107,891
81,577
70,670
44,744
13
2,203
27
4,515
10
1,985
15
2,608
Bermudas
Ditto, 1609
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
12,945
6,710
30,652
83,909
32,182
27,165
3
529
I
59
6
1,647
8
1,802
at
British Guiana-
AT
Demerara
169
48,169
Essequibo
Capitulation, 18th Sept. 1803
Gov. and Counc., and Orders of the King in Coune.
1,492,250
1,416,936
389,108
481,324
395,418
356,251
153
41,749
169
46,904
145
41,137
2
Berbice
Ditto, 23d Sept. 1803
Ditto
Ditto
Ditto
68,060
223,925
90,920
55,766
81,583
42,993
28
6,053
22
5,788
25
5,413
22
6,074
Honduras
Treaty, 1670
Superintendent and Magistrates
143,622
263,432
357,833
672,959
191,420
213,800
46
11,731
43
11,165
44
11.689
44
12,013
Totals
8,425,277
8,410,107
4,835,912
4,818,635
3,678,120
2,680,015
861
233,840
918
246,605
842
232,717
900
246,609
426
COLONIES AND
most favoured nation, unless his Majesty by order in council shall in any case deem k expedient to
grant the whole or any of such privileges to the ships of any foreign country, although these condi-
tions be not in all respects fulfilled by such foreign country: provided, that no foreign country shall
be deemed to have fulfilled the before-mentioned conditions, or to be entitled to these privileges,
unless his Majesty shall, by his order or orders, have declared that such foreign country hath 80 ful-
filled the said conditions, and is entitled to the said privileges: provided also, that every order in
council in force at the time of the commencement of this act, whereby declaration is made of the
countries entitled in whole or in part to the privileges of the law of navigation, shall continue in force
as effectually as if the same had been made under the authority of this act.- 5.
This Act not to affect certain Acts.-Nothing contained in this act, or any other act passed in the pre-
sent session of parliament, shall extend to repeal or in any other way alter or affect an act (4 Geo. 4.
c. 77.), intituled "An Act to authorize his Majesty, under certain Circumstances, to regulate the Duties
and Drawbacks on Goods imported or exported in foreign Vessels, and to exempt certain foreign
Vessels from Pilotage," nor to repeal or in any way alter or affect an act (5 Geo. 4. c. 50.) to amend
the last-mentioned act; and that all trade and intercourse between the British possessions and all
foreign countries shall be subject to the powers granted to his Majesty by those acts.-d
Goods prohibited or restricted to be imported into Colonies-The several sorts of goods enumerated or
described in the table following, denominated "A Table of Prohibitions and Restrictions," are hereby
prohibited to be imported or brought, either by sea or by inland carriage or navigation, into the
British possessions in America, or shall be so imported or brought only under the restrictions men-
tioned in such table, according as the several sorts of such goods are set forth therein; (that is to
say,)
A Table of Prohibitions and Restrictions.
Gunpowder, arms, ammunitions or utensils of war, prohibited to be
cept herrings from the Isle of Man, taken and cured by the inko
imported, except from the United Kingdom, or from some other
bitants thereof.
British possession.
Coffee, sugar, metasses, and rum, being of foreign production, or the
Tea, prohibited to be imported except from the United Kingdom, or
production of any place within the limits of the East India Com-
from some other British possession in America, unless by the East
pany's charter, prohibited to be imported into any of the British
India Company, or with their licence during the continuance of
possessions on the continent of South America or is the West
their exclusive right of trade.
Indies (the Bahama and Bermuda islands not included), except to
Fish, dried or salted, oil, blubber, fins, or skins, the produce of crea-
be warehoused for exportation only and may also be prohibited to
tures living in the sea, prohibited to be imported, except from the
be imported into the Bahama or the Bermuda islands by bis Ma-
United Kingdom, or from some other British possession, or unless
jesty's order in council.
taken by British ships fitted out from the United Kingdom or from
Base or counterfeit coin, and books, such = are prohibited to be in-
some British possession, and brought in from the fishery, and ex.
ported into the United Kingdom, prohibited to be imported.
And if any goods shall be imported or brought into any of the British possessions in America contrary
to any of the prohibitions or restrictions mentioned in such table in respect of such goods, the same
shall be forfeited; and if the ship or vessel in which such goods shall be imported be of less burden
than 70 tons, such ship or vessel shall also be forfeited.-d 7.
Coffee, &c., though British, deemed Foreign in certain Cases.-All coffee, sugar, melasses, and rum
(although the same may be of the British plantations), exported from any of the British possessions in
America, into which the like goods of foreign production can be legally imported, shall, upon subse-
quent importation from thence into any of the British possessions in America, into which such goods,
being of foreign production, cannot be legally imported, or into the United Kingdom, be deemed to be
of foreign production, and shall be liable, on such importation respectively, to the same duties or the
same forfeitures as articles of the like description, being of foreign production, would be liable to,
unless the same shall have been warehoused under the provisions of this act, and exported from the
warehouse direct to such other British possession, or to the United Kingdom, as the case may be.
-08.
Duties of Importation in America.-There shall be raised, levied, collected, and paid unto his
Majesty the several duties of customs, as the same are respectively set forth in figures in the table of
duties herein-after contained, upon goods, wares, and merchandise, imported or brought into any of
his Majesty's possessions in America (that is to say,)
Table of Duties.
Duties payable upon spirits, being of the growth, production, or ma-
L.ad
nufacture of the United Kingdom, or of any of the British pos-
Red oak staves and headings; viz.
sessions in America or the West Indies, imported into Newfound-
until the 1st of January, 1834, the 1,000
163
land or Canada.
on and from the 1st of January, 1834, until the
Spirits imported into Newfoundland viz
8.
1st of January, 1836, the 1,000
183
the produce of any of the British possessions in South
on and from the 1st of January, 1836, the 1,000 0150
America or the West Indies; viz.
imported from any British possession in North
imported from any British possession in America,
America, or from the warehouse in the United
or from the United Kingdom, the gallon
006
Kingdom
Free.
Imported from any other place, to be deemed fo-
White oak staves and headings viz.
reign, and to be charged with duty as such.
until the 1st of January, 1834, the 1,000
139
the produce of any British possession in North Ame-
on and from the 1st of January, 1834, until the
rica, or of the United Kingdom, and imported from
1st of January, 1836, the 1,000
0199
the United Kingdom, or from any British possession
on and from the 1st of January, 1836, the 1,000 0126
in America, the gallon
016
imported from any British possession in North
Imported from any other place, to be deemed
America, or from the warehouse in the United
foreign, and to be charged with duty as such.
Kingdom
Free.
Spirits imported into Canada via.
Pitch pine lumber, 1 inch thick, the 1,000
0
the produce of any British possession in South Ame-
imported from any British possession is North
rica or the West Indies, and imported from any
America. or from the warehouse in the United
British possession in America, or from the United
Kingdom
Free.
Kingdom, the gallon
006
White and yellow pine lumber, I inch thick, the 1,000
Imported from any other place, to be deemed
feet; viz
foreign, and to be charged with duty as such.
until the 1st of January, 1834
180
Note-When imported from the United Kingdom, this duty is
on and from the 1st of January, 1834, until the
not to be abated upon the ground of any duty under any colonial
1st of January, 1836
160
law.
on and from the 1st of January, 1836
110
imported from any British possemion in North
Duties payable upon goods, wares, and merchandise, not being of
America, or from the warehouse in the United
the growth, production, or manufacture of the United Kingdom,
Kingdom
Free.
or of any of the British possessions in America, imported or
Dye wood and cabinet-maker's wood
Free.
brought into any of the British possessions in America, by son or
Other kinds of wood and lumber, 1 inch thick, the
by Inland carriage or navigation.
1,000 feet
180
Imported into the British possessions in the West Indies or
Wood hoops, the 1,000
053
on the continent of South America, or into the Bahama
imported from any British possemion in North
or Bermuda islands; vis.
America, or from the warehouse in the United
Wheat flour, the barrel
0 5 0
Kingdom
Free
imported from any British possession in North
Beef and pork, salted, of all snrts, the cwt.
12 0
America, or from the warehouse in the United
imported from any British possession is North
Kingdom
Free.
America
Free.
thingles, not more than 12 inches in length. the 1,000 070
Imported into New Brunswick. Nova Scotia, or Prince
more than 18 inches in length, the 1,000
0140
Edward's Island viz.
imported from any British possession in North
Wheat flour, the barrel
0
America, or from the warehouse in the United
Beef and pork, salted, of all sorts, the cwt.
1019
Kingdom
.
Free.
fresh, brought by land or inland navigation
Free.
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427
Lad.
L a
Imported into any of the British possessions in America;
of lavender, of rosemary emery stone; fruit, preserved
VIZ
in sugar or brandy figs; honey; iron in bars, un-
Spirits viz.
wrought, and pig iron; juniper berries, incense of frank-
Brandy, genera, or cordials, and otherspirits, ex-
incense, lava and Malta stone for building, lentils; mar-
cept run, the gallon
010
ble, rough and worked mosaic work, medals, musk,
and further, the amount of any duty payable
maccaroni, outs of all kinds; oil of olives, oil of al-
for the time being on spirits the manufac-
monds; orris root, ostrich feathers, ochres, orange buds
ture of the United Kingdom.
and peel, olives, pitch, pickles in jars and bottles, paint-
Rum, the gallon
006
ings, pozzolana, pumice stone, punk, Parmesan cheese,
and further, the amount of any duty payable
pickles, prints, pearls, precious stones (except diamonds),
for the time being on rum of the British
quicksilver, raisins, sausages, sponges, tar, turpentine,
possessions in South America or the West
vermilion, vermicelli, whetstones; for every 1002. of the
Indies.
value
7 10 0
N. B.-Rum, although British, if imported
Goods, wares, and merchandise, not otherwise charged
from any British possession in which foreign
with duty, and not herein declared to be free of duty,
rum is not prohibited, is treated as foreign, un-
for every 1001. of the value
1500
less it had been wareboused, and exported from
Coin, bullion, and diamonds; horses, mules, asses, neat
the warehouse.
cattle, and all other live stock; tallow and raw hides;
Wine in bottles. the tun
770
rice corn and grain, unground: biscuit or bread meal
and further, for every 100% of the value
7100
or flour (except wheat flour) fresh meat, fresh fish,
and on the bottles, the dozen
010
carriages of travellers
Free.
bottled in and imported from the United King-
Wheat flour, beef and pork, hams and bacon, wood and
dom, for every 100L of the value
710
lumber, imported into Canada; wood and lumber, im-
the bottles
Free.
ported into New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Prince
Wine not in bottles, for every 100% of the value
710
Edward's Island; hay and straw, fruit and vegetables,
imported into the British possessions in North
fresh; salt, cotton wool goods, the produce of places
America from Gibraltar or Malta, rubject to no
within the limits of the East India Company's charter,
higher duty than if imported from the United
imported from those places, or from the United King-
Kingdom; via 1-10th of the duty remitted.
dom, or from some place in the British dominions her-
Coffee, the cwt.
0 5 0
rings taken and cured by the inhabitants of the Isle of
Cocoa, the cwt.
0 5 0
Man, and imported from thence; lumber, the produce
Sugar, the cwt.
0 5 0
of and imported from any British possession on the west
Melasses, the cwt.
030
coast of Africa; any sort of craft food and victuals, ex-
and further, the amount of any duty payable for
cept spirits and any sort of clothing, and implements
the time being on coffee, cocoa, sugar, and me-
and materials, fit and necessary for the British fisheries
lasses respectively, being the produce of the
in America, imported into the place at or from whence
British possessions in South America or the
such fishery is carried on; drugs, gums or resins, dye
West Indies.
wood and hard wood, cabinet-maker's wood, tortoise-
Clocks and watches, leather manufactures, linen, musical
shell, hemp, flax, and tow
Free.
instruments, wires of all sorts, books and papers, silk
Seeds, wheat flour, fruits, pickles, woods of all sorts,
manufactures, for every 100L of the value
3000
oakum, pitch, tar, turpentine, ochres, brimstone, sul-
Class manufactures, soap, refined sugar, sugar candy, to
phur, vegetable oils, burr stones, dog stones, hops, cork,
bacco manufactured, cotton manufactures, for every 100/.
sago, tapioca, sponge, sausages, cheese, cider, wax, spices,
of the value
2000
tallow, imported direct from the warehouse in the
Alabaster, anchovies, argol, aniseed, amber, almonds,
United Kingdom.
Free.
brimstone, botargo, box wood, currants, capers, casca-
All goods imported from the United Kingdom, after having
coo, cummin seed, coral, cork, cinnabar, dates; essence
there paid the dutiesof consumption, and being exported
of bergamot, of lemon, of roses, of citron, of oranges,
from thence without drawback
Free.
And if any of the goods herein-before mentioned shall be imported through the United Kingdom (hav-
ing been warehoused therein, and exported from the warehouse, or the duties thereon, if there paid,
having been drawn back), one tenth part of the duties herein imposed shall be remitted in respect of
such goods.-? 9.
Acts not repeuled.-Nothing in this act or in any other passed in the present session of parliament
shall extend to repeal or abrogate, or in any way to alter or affect an act (18 Geo. 3. c. 12.), intituled
"An Act for removing all Doubts and Apprehensions concerning Taxation by the Parliament of Great
Britain in any of the Colonies, Provinces, and Plantations of North America and the West Indies, and
for repealing so much of an Act made in the 7th Year of the Reign of his present Majesty as imposes
a Duty on Tea imported from Great Britain into any Colony or Plantation in America, as relates
thereto;' nor to repeal or in any way alter or affect any act now in force which was passed prior to
the last-mentioned act, and by which any duties in any of the British possessions in America were
granted and still continue payable to the Crown nor to repeal or in any way alter or affect an act
(31 Geo. 3. c. 31.) intituled "An Act to repeal certain Parts of an Act passed in the 14th Year of his
Majesty's Reign, intituled 'An Act for making more effectual Provisions for the Government of the
Province of Quebec in North America, and to make further Provisions for the Government of the said
Province. 10.
Duties imposed by prior Acts to be applied to Purposes of those Acts.-The duties imposed by any of
the acts herein-before mentioned or referred to, passed prior to the said act (18 Geo. 3. c. 12) shall be
received, accounted for, and applied for the purposes of those acts: provided always, that no greater
proportion of the duties imposed by this act, except as herein-before excepted, shall be charged upon
any article which is subject also to duty under any of the said acts, or subject also to duty under any
colonial law, than the amount, if any, by which the duty charged by this act shall exceed such other
duty or duties: provided, that the full amount of the duties mentioned in this act, whether on account
of such former acts, or on account of such colonial law, or on account of this act, shall be levied and
received under the regulations and powers of this act.- 11.
Currency, Weights, and Measures.-All sums of money granted or imposed by this act, either as
duties, penalties, or forfeitures, in the British possessions in America, are hereby declared to he ster-
ling money of Great Britain, and shall be collected, and paid to the amount of the value which such
nominal sums bear in Great Britain; and that such monies may be received and taken at the rate of
5a. 6d. the ounce in silver; and all duties shall be paid and received in overy part of the British pos-
sessions in America according to British weights and measures in use on the 6th day of July, 1825
and in all cases where such duties are imposed according to any specific quantity or any specific
value, the same shall be deemed to apply in the same proportion to any greater or less quantity or
value; and all such duties shall be under the management of the commissioners of the customs.
12.
Duties paid by Collector to Treasurer of Colony in which levied.-The produce of the duties so re-
ceived under this act, except such duties as are payable under any act passed prior to the 18 Geo. 3.
as aforesaid, shall be paid by the collector of the customs into the hands of the treasurer or receiver-
general of the colony, or other proper officer authorized to receive the same, to be applied to such
uses as shall be directed by the local legislatures of such colonies; and that the produce of such duties
so received in colonies which have no local legislature may be applied in such manner as shall be
directed by the commissioners of his Majesty's treasury.- 13.
All British Vessels shall be subject to equal Duties, except coasting Fessels.-Whereas in some of his
Majesty's possessions abroad, certain duties of tonnage are. by acts of the local legislatures of such
possessions, levied upon British vessels, to which duties the like vessels built within such posses-
sions, or owned by persons resident there, are not subject; be 11 further enacted, that there shall be
levied and paid at the several British possessions abroad, upon all vessels built in any such posses-
sions, or owned by any person or persons there resident, other than coasting or drogueing vessels
employed in coasting or drogueing, all such and the like duties of tonnage and shipping dues as are or
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COLONIES AND
shall be payable in any such possessions upon the like British vessels built in other parts of his Ma.
jesty's dominions, or owned by persons not resident in such possessions. 14.
Drawback on Rum, &c.-There shall be allowed upon the exportation from Newfoundland to Canada
of rum or other spirits, the produce of the British possessions in South America or the West Indies,
a drawback of the full duties of customs paid upon the importation thereof from any of the said places
into Newfoundland, provided proof on oath be made to the satisfaction of the collector and comptrol-
ler of the customs at the port whence such rum or other spirits is exported, that the full duties on
the importation of such rum or other spirits at the said port had been paid, and that a certificate be
produced under the hands and seals of the collector and comptroller of the customs at Quebec, that
such rum or other spirits had been duly landed in Canada provided that no drawback shall be al-
lowed upon any such rum or other spirite unless the same shall be shipped within 1 year from the day
of the importation of the same, nor unless such drawback shall be duly claimed within 1 year from
the day of such shipment.-
Ship and Cargo to be reported on Arrival.-The master of every ship arriving in any of the British
possessions in America, or the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, whether laden or in
ballast, shall come directly, and before bulk be broken, to the Custom-house for the port or district
where he arrives, and there make a report in writing to the collector or comptroller, or other proper
officer, of the arrival and voyage of such ship, stating her name, country, and tonnage, and if British
the port of registry, the name and country of the master, the country of the owners, the number of the
crew, and how many are of the country of such ship, and whether she be laden or in ballast, and if
laden the marks, numbers, and contents of every package and parcel of goods on board, and where
the same was laden, and where and to whom consigned, and where'any and what goods, if any, had
been unladen during the voyage, as far as any of such particulars can be known to him; and the mas-
ter shall further answer all such questions concerning the ship, and the cargo, and the crew, and the
voyage, as shall be demanded of him by such officer; and If any goods be unladen from any ship be-
fore such report be made, or if the master fail to make such report, or make an untrue report, or do
not truly answer the questions demanded of him, he shall forfeit the sum of 1001. ; and if any goods
be not reported, they shall be forfeited.- 16.
Entry outwards of Ship for Cargo.-The master of every ship bound from any British pessession in
America, or the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, shall, before any goods be laden
therein, deliver to the collector or comptroller, or other proper officer, an entry outwards under his
hand of the destination of such ship, stating her name, country, and tonnage, and if British the port
of registry, the name and country of the master, the country of the owners, the number of the crew,
and how many are of the country of such ship; and if any goods be laden on board any ship before
such entry be made, the master of such ship shall forfeit the sum of 50/. and before such ship depart
the master shall bring and deliver to the collector or comptroller, OF other officer, a content in writing
under his hand of the goods laden, and the names of the respective shippers and consigners of the goods,
with the marks and numbers of the packages or parcels of the same, and shall make and subscribe a
declaration to the truth of such content as far as any of such particulars can be known to him; and the
master of every ship bound from any British possession in America, or from the islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, whether in ballast OF laden, shall before departure come before the collector
or comptroller, or other proper officer, and answer upon oath all such questions concerning the ship,
and the cargo, if any, and the crew and the voyage, as shall be demanded of him by such officer and
thereupon the collector and comptroller, or other proper officer, if such ship be laden, shall make out and
give to the master a certificate of the clearance of such ship for her intended voyage, containing an ac-
count of the total quantities of the several sorts of goods laden therein, or a certificate of her clearance
in ballast, as the case may be; and if the ship depart without such clearance, or if the master deliver a
false content, or shall not truly answer the questions demanded of him, he shall forfeit the sum of
100l.- 17.
Guods not stated in Certificate to be Produce of British Pessessions to be deemed of Foreign Production.
-No goods shall be stated in such certificate of clearance to be the produce of British possessions is
America, unless such goods have been expressly stated 80 to be in the entry outwards of the same;
and all goods not expressly stated in such certificate of clearance to be the produce of the British pos-
sessions in America shall, at the place of importation in any other such possessions, or in the United
Kingdom, be deemed to be of foreign production.- 18.
Newfoundland Fishing Certificates in lieu of Clearance.-Whenever any ship shall be cleared out
from Newfoundland, or any other part of his Majesty's dominions, for the fisheries on the banks or
coasts of Newfoundland or Labrador, or their dependencies, without having on board any article of
traffic, (except only the provisions, nets, tackle, and other things usually employed in and about the
said fishery,) the master of such ship shall be entitled to demand from the collector or other principal
officer of the customs at such port a certificate under his hand that such ship hath been specially
cleared out for the Newfoundland fishery; and such certificate shall be in force for the fishing season
for the year in which the same may be granted, and no longer and upon the first arrival in any port
in Newfoundland, &c. of any ship having on board such certificate, a report thereof shall be made by
the master of such ship to the principal officer of the customs and all ships having such certificate so
reported, and being actually engaged in the said fishery, or in carrying coastwise to be landed or put
on board any other ships engaged in the said fishery any fish, oil, salt, provisions, or other necessaries
for the use and purposes thereof, shall be exempt from all obligation to make an entry at or obtain any
clearance from any Custom-house at Newfoundland upon arrival at or departure from any of the
ports or harbours of the said colony, &c. during the fishing season for which such certificate may be
granted; and previously to obtaining a clearance at the end of such season for any other voyage at
any of such ports, the master of such ship shall deliver up the before-mentioned certificate to the
officer of the customs: provided always, that in case any such ship shall have on board, during the
time the same may be engaged in the said fishery, any goods or merchandises whatsoever other than
fish, seals, oil made of fish or seals, salt, provisions, and other things, being the produce of or usually
employed in the said fishery, such ship shall forfeit the said fishing certificate, and shall thenceforth
be subject and liable to the same rules, regulations, &c. as ships in general are subject or liable 10.-1 19.
Entry of Goods to be laden or unladen.-No goods shall be laden, or water-borne to be laden, on
board any ship, or unladen from any ship, in any of the British possessions in America, or the islands
of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, until due entry be made of such goods, and warrant granted
for the lading or unlading of the same and no goods shall be SO laden or water-borne, or 80 unladen,
except at some place at which an officer of the customs is appointed to attend the lading and unlading
of goods, or at some place for which a sufferance shall be granted by the collector and comptroller
and no goods shall be so laden or unladen except in the presence or with the permission in writing of
the proper officer: provided always, that it shall be lawful for the commissioners of customs to make
and appoint such other regulations for the carrying constwise, or for the removing of any goods for
shipment, as shall appear expedient and that all goods laden, water-borne, or unladen contrary to
the regulations of this act, or contrary to any regulations 10 made, be forfeited.- 20.
Particulars of Entry of Goods, inwards and outwards.-The person entering any such goods shall
deliver to tipe collector or comptroller, or other proper officer, a biM of the entry thereof, fairly written
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COLONY TRADE.
429
in words at length, containing the name of the exporter or importer, and of the ship, and of the master,
and of the place to or from which bound, and of the place within the port where the goods are to be
laden or unladen, and the particulars of the quality and quantity of the goods, and the packages con-
taining the same, and the marks and numbers on the packages, and setting forth whether such goods
be the produce of the British possessions in America or not; and such person shall at the same time
pay down all duties due upon the goods and the collector and comptroller, or other proper officer,
shall thereupon grant their warrant for the lading or unlading of such goods.-₹ 21.
Entry Inwards by Bill of Sight.-If the importer of any goods make and subscribe a declaration
before the collector or comptroller, or other proper officer, that he cannot, for want of full information,
make perfect entry thereof, it shall be lawful for the collector and comptroller to receive an entry by
bill of sight for the packages or parcels of such goods by the best description which can be given, and
to grant a warrant thereupon, in order that the same may be landed and secured to the satisfaction
of the officer of the customs, and at the expense of the importer, and may be seen and examined by
such importer in the presence of the proper officers; and within 3 days after the goods shall have been
so landed, the importer shall make a perfect entry thereof, and pay down all duties due thereon and
in default of such entry such goods shall be taken to the King's warehouse, and if the importer shall
not, within 1 month after such landing, make perfect entry of such goods and pay the duties due
thereon, together with charges of removal and warehouse rent, such goods shall be sold for the pay-
ment thereof, and the overplus, if any, shall be paid to the proprietor of the goods.-Φ 22.
Goods subject to ad Valorem Duty.-In all cases where the duties imposed by this act upon the im-
portation of articles into his Majesty's possessions in America are charged, not according to the weight,
tale, gauge, or measure, but according to the value thereof, such value shall be ascertained by the
declaration of the importer of such articles, or his known agent, in manner and form following; (that
is to say,)
A. B. do hereby declare, that the articles mentioned in the entry, and contained in the packages
. [here specifying the several packages, and describing the several marks and numbers, as the case may
'be,] are of the value of
Witness my hand the
day of
A. B.
The above declaration, signed the
day of
in the presence of C. D. collector
4
[or other principal officer].'
Which declaration shall be written on the bill of entry of such articles, and shall be subscribed by the
importer thereof, or his known agent, in the presence of the collector or other principal officer of the
customs at the port of importation provided, that if upon view and examination of such articles by
the proper officer of the customs it shall appear to him that the said articles are not valued according
to the true price or value thereof, and according to the true intent and meaning of this act, in such case
the importer or his known agent shall be required to declare on oath before the collector or comptroller
what is the invoice price of such articles, and that he verily believes such invoice price is the current
value of the articles at the place from whence the said articles were imported; and such invoice price
with the addition of 10% per centum thereon, shall be deemed to be the value of the articles in lieu of
the value so declared by the importer or his known agent, and upon which the duties imposed by this
act shall be charged and paid: provided also, that if it shall appear to the collector and comptroller,
or other proper officer, that such articles have been invoiced below the real and true value thereof, at
the place from whence the same were imported, or if the invoice price is not known, the articles shall
in such case be examined by two competent persons, to be nominated and appointed by the governor
or commander-in-chief of the colony, plantation, or island into which the said articles are imported,
and such persons shall declare on oath before the collector or comptroller, or other proper officer, what
is the true and real value of such articles in such colony, plantation, or island and the value so
declared on the oaths of such persons shall be deemed to be the true and real value of such articles,
and upon which the duties imposed by this act shall be charged and paid.-Φ 23.
If Importer refuse to pay such Duty, the Goods may be sold.-If the importer of such articles shall
refuse to pay the duties hereby imposed thereon, it shall be lawful for the collector or other chief of-
ficer of the customs where such articles shall be imported, to take and secure the same, with the casks
or other package thereof, and to cause the same to be publicly sold within the space of 20 days at the
most after such refusal made, and at such time and place as such officer shall, by 4 or more days' pub-
lic notice, appoint for that purpose which articles shall be sold to the best bidder ; and the money
arising from the sale thereof shall be applied in the first place in payment of the said duties, together
with the charges that shall have been occasioned by the said sale, and the overplus, if any, shall be
paid to such importer or proprietor, or any other person authorised to receive the same.- Φ 21.
If Goods be not entered in 20 Days, the Officer may land and secure them.-Every importer of any goods
shall, within 20 days after the arrival of the importing ship, make due entry inwards of such goods,
and land the same and in default of such entry and landing it shall be lawful for the officers of the
customs to convey such goods to the king's warehouse; and if the duties due upon such goods be not
paid within 3 months after such 20 days shall have expired, together with all charges of removal and
warehouse rent, the same shall be sold, and the produce thereof applied first to the payment of freight
and charges, next of duties, and the overplus, if any, shall be paid to the proprietor of the goods.-
0 25.
Goods imported from United Kingdom or British Possessions must appear in Cocket, &c.-No goods shall
De imported into any British possession as being imported from the United Kingdom, or from any
other British possession (if any advantage attach to such distinction), unless such goods appear upon
the cockets or other proper documents for the same to have been duly cleared outwards at the port of
exportation in the United Kingdom, or in such other British possession, nor unless the ground upon
which such advantage be claimed be stated in such cocket or document.-
Goods imported from, to be deemed of the Growth of, United Kingdom.-No goods shall, upon importa-
tion into any of the British possessions in America, be deemed to be of the growth, production, or
manufacture of the United Kingdom, or of any British possession in America, unless imported from
the United Kingdom, or from some British possession in America.- 27.
Entry not to be valid, if Goods be not properly described in it.-Noentry, nor any warrant for the land-
ing of any goods, or for the taking of any goods out of any warehouse, shall be deemed valid, unless
the particulars of the goods and packages in such entry correspond with the particulars of the goods
and packages in the report of the ship, or in the certificate or other document, where any is required,
by which the importation or entry of such goods is authorised, nor unless the goods shall have been
properly described in such entry by the denominations and with the characters and circumstances
according to which such goods are charged with duty or may be imported and any goods taken or
delivered out of any ship or out of any warehouse by virtue of any entry or warrant not correspond-
ing or agreeing in all such respects, or not properly describing the same, shall be deemed to be goods
landed or taken without due entry thereof, and shall be forfeited.- 28.
Certificate of Production for Sugar, Coffee, Cocoa, or Spirits.-Before any sugar, coffee, cocoa, or
spirits shall be shipped for exportation in any British possession in America or in the island of Mauri-
tius, as being the produce of such possession or of such island, the proprietor of the estate on which such
goods were produced, or his known agent, shall make and sign an affidavit in writing before the col-
lector or comptroller at the port of exportation, or before a justice of the peace, or other officer duly
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COLONIES AND
authorised to administer such oath, declaring that such goods are the produce of such estate; and such
affidavit shall set forth the name of the estate, and the description and quantity of the goods, and the
packages containing the same, with the marks and numbers thereon, and the name of the person to
whose charge at the place of shipment they are to be sent; and if any justice or other officer shall sub-
scribe his name to any writing purporting to be such affidavit, unless the person making it shall actu-
ally appear before him and be sworn to the truth of the same, such justice of the peace or officer shall
forfeit and pay for any such offence the sum of 50Z.; and the person entering and shipping such goods
shall deliver such affidavit to the collector or comptroller, or other proper officer, and shall make and
subscribe a declaration before him that the goods which are to be shipped by virtue of such entry are
those mentioned in such affidavit and the master of the ship in which such goods shall be laden shall
before clearance, make and subscribe a declaration before the collector or comptroller that the goods
shipped by virtue of such entry are the same as are mentioned and intended in such affidavit, to the
best of his knowledge and belief; and thereupon the collector or comptroller, or other proper officer,
shall sign and give to the master a certificate of production, stating that proof has been made, in man-
ner required by law, that such goods (describing the same) are the produce of such British possession
or of such island, and setting forth in such certificate the name of the exporter and of the exporting
ship, and of the master thereof, and the destination of the goods; and if any sugar, coffee, cocoa, or
spirits be imported into any British possession in America, as being the produce of some other such
possession or of such island, without such certificate of production, the same shall be forfeited.-
Certificate of Production on Re-exportation from another Colony.-Before any sugar, coffee, cocoa, or
spirits shall be shipped for exportation in any British possession in America, as being the produce of
some other such possession, the person exporting the same shall in the entry outwards state the place
of the production, and refer to the entry inwards and landing of such goods, and shall make and sub-
scribe a declaration before the collector or comptroller to the identity of the same; and thereupon,
if such goods shall have been duly imported with a certificate of production within 12 months prior to
the shipping for exportation, the collector and comptroller shall sign and give to the master a certifi-
cate of production, referring to the certificate of production under which such goods had been so im-
ported, and containing the like particulars, with the date of such importation.-d 30.
Goods brought over Land, or by Inland Navigation.-It shall be lawful to bring or import by land or
by inland navigation into any of the British possessions in America from any adjoining foreign coun-
try any goods which might be lawfully imported by sea into such possession from such country, and
SO to bring or import such goods in the vessels, boats, or carriages of such country, as well as in Bri-
tish vessels, boats, or carriages.-d 31.
What Vessels shall be deemed British on the Lakes in America.-No vessel or boat shall be admitted to
be a British vessel or boat on any of the inland waters or lakes in America, except such as have been
built within the British dominions, and shall be wholly owned by British subjects, and shall not have
been repaired at any foreign place to a greater extent than in the proportion of 10s. for every ton of
such vessel or boat at any one time provided always, that nothing herein-before contained shall
extend to prevent the employment of any vessel or boat as a British vessel or boat on such inland
waters or lakes, which shall have wholly belonged to British subjects before the 5th day of July, 1825,
and which shall not have been since that day repaired as aforesaid in any foreign place.- 32.
Goods must be brought to a Place where there is a Custom-house.-It shall not be lawful so to bring
or import any goods except into some port or place of entry at which a Custom-house-now is or here-
after may be lawfully established : provided also, that it shall be lawful for the governor, lieutenant-
governor, or person administering the government of any of the said possessions respectively, by and
with the advice of the executive council thereof, from time to time to diminish or increase, by pro-
clamation, the number of ports or places of entry.- ₹ 33.
Duties to be collected in same Manner as on Goods imported by Sea.-The duties imposed by this act
shall be ascertained, levied, and recovered upon all goods so brought or imported in the same man-
ner, and by the same means, rules, regulations, penalties, &c. as the duties on the like goods imported
by sea and if any goods shall be brought or imported contrary hereto, or if any goods so brought or
imported shall be removed from the station or place appointed for the examination of such goods
before all duties payable thereon shall have been paid or satisfied, such goods shall be forfeited,
together with the vessel, boat, or carriage, and the horses or other cattle, in or by which such goods
shall have been so imported or brought, or SO removed.-α 34.
Duties in Canada on American Boats, as in America on British Boats.-The same tonnage duties shall
be paid upon all vessels or boats of the United States of America importing any goods into Canada as
are or may be payable in the United States of America on British vessels or boats entering the
harbours whence such goods have been imported.- 35.
CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO WAREHOUSING IN THE COLONIES.
Ports herein mentioned to be free warehousing Ports.-The several ports herein-after mentioned,
(that is to say,) Bridgetown in Barbadoes, Quebec in Canada, Sydney in Cape Breton, Roseau in Do-
minica, St. George in Grenada, Kingston and Montego Bay in Jamaica, Charlestown in Nevis, St.
John's and St. Andrew's in New Brunswick, St. John's in Newfoundland, Nassan in New Provi-
dence, Halifax and Pictou in Nova Scotia, Basseterre in St. Kitt's, Kingston in St. Vincent, Road
Harbour in Tortola, San Josef in Trinidad, shall be free warehousing ports for all the purposes of this
act; and Kingston and Montreal in the Canadas, and Liverpool and Yarmouth in Nova Scotia. shall
be warehousing ports for the warehousing of goods brought by land or by inland navigation, or
imported in British ships; and it shall be lawful for the several collectors and comptrollers of the said
ports respectively, by notice in writing under their hands, to appoint from time to time such ware-
houses at such ports as shall be approved of by them for the free warehousing and securing of goods,
and also in such notice to declare what sort of goods may be 80 warehoused, and also by like notice
to revoke or alter any such appointment or declaration: provided always, that every such notice
shall be transmitted to the governor of the place, and shall be published in such manner as he shall
direct.-d 36.
Goods may be warehoused without Payment of Duty.-It shall be lawful for the importer of any such
goods into the said ports to warehouse them in the warehouses NO appointed, without payment of any
duty on the first entry thereof, subject nevertheless to the rules, regulations, &c. herein-after con-
tained.-> 37.
Regulation as to warehousing of Goods on Arrival in Canada.-Upon the arrival of any goods at any
frontier port in the Canadas, such goods may be entered with the proper officer of the customs at
such port, to be warehoused at some warebousing port in the Canadas, and may be delivered by such
officer to be passed on to such warehousing port, under bond, to the satisfaction of such officer, for
the due arrival and warehousing of such goods at such port.-d 38.
Stowage of Goods in Warehouse.- goods so warehoused shall be stowed in such parts or divisions
of the warehouse and in such manner as the collector and comptroller shall direct; and the ware-
house shall be locked and secured in such manner, and shall be opened and visited only at such
times, and in the presence of such officers, and under such rules and regulations, as the collector and
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comptroller shall direct and all such goods shall, after being landed upon importation, be carried to
the warehouse, or shall, after being taken out of the warehouse for exportation, be carried to be
shipped, under such rules and regulations as the collector and comptroller shall direct.- Φ 39.
Bond upon Entry of Goods to be warchoused.-Upon the entry of any goods to be warehoused, the
importer of such goods, instead of paying down the duties due thereon, shall give bond with two suf-
ficient sureties, to be approved of by the collector or comptroller, in treble the duties payable on such
goods, with condition for the safe depositing of such goods in the warehouse mentioned in such entry,
and for the payment of all duties due upon such goods, or for the exportation thereof, according to the
first account taken of such goods upon the landing of the same; and with further condition, that no
part thereof shall be taken out of such warehouse until cleared from thence upon due entry and pay-
ment of duty, or upon due entry for exportation; and with further condition, that the whole of such
goods shall be so cleared from such warehouse, and the duties, upon any deficiency of the quantity
according to such first account, shall be paid, within 2 years from the date of the first entry thereof;
and if after such bond shall have been given, the goods or any part thereof shall be sold or disposed
of, so that the original bonder shall be interested in or have any control over the same, it shall be
lawful for the collector and comptroller to admit fresh security to be given by the bond of the
new proprietor or other person having control over such goods, with his sufficient sureties, and to
cancel the bond given by the original bonder of such goods, or to exonerate him to the extent of the
fresh security so given.-d
Goods not duly warehoused, &c. to be forfeited.-If any goods which have been entered to be ware-
housed shall not be duly carried and deposited in the warehouse, or shall afterwards be taken out of
it without due entry and clearance, or having been entered and cleared for exportation shall not be
duly carried and shipped, or shall afterwards be relanded except with permission of the customs, such
goods shall be forfeited.- ≥ 41.
Account of Goods to be taken on landing.-Upon the entry and landing of any goods to be ware-
housed, the proper officer shall take a particular account of the same, and shall mark the contents on
each package, and shall enter the same in a book to be kept for that purpose and no goods which
have been so warehoused shall be taken or delivered from the warehouse except upon due entry, and
under care of the proper officers for exportation, or upon due entry and payment of duty for home use
and whenever the whole of the goods warehoused under any entry shall be cleared from the ware-
house, or whenever further time shall be granted for any such goods to remain warehoused, an
account shall be made out of the quantity upon which the duties have been paid, and of the quantity
exported, and of the quantity (to be then ascertained) of the goods still remaining in the warehouse,
as the case may be, deducting from the whole the quantity contained in any whole packages (if any)
which may have been abandoned for the duties ; and if upon such account there shall in either case
appear to be any deficiency of the original quantity, the duty payable upon the amount of such defi-
ciency shall then be paid.-Φ 42.
Samples may be taken.-It shall be lawful for the collector and comptroller, under such regulations as
they shall see fit, to permit moderate samples to be taken of any goods so warehoused, without entry,
and without payment of duty, except as the same shall eventually become payable, as on a deficiency
of the original quantity.- 43.
Goods may be sorted and repacked.-It shall be lawful for the collector and comptroller, under such
regulations as they shall see fit, to permit the proprietor or other person having control over any
warehoused goods to sort, separate, and pack and repack any such goods, and to make such lawful
alterations therein, or arrangements and assortments thereof, as may be necessary for the preserva-
tion of such goods, or in order to the sale, shipment, or legal disposal of the same; and also to permit
any parts of such goods so separated to be destroyed, but without prejudice to the claim for duty upon
the whole original quantity of such goods provided always, that it shall be lawful for any person to
abandon any whole packages to the officers of the customs for the duties, without being liable to any
duty upon the same.-? 44.
Goods warehoused may be delivered for Removal without Payment of Duty.-Goods warehoused at any
warehousing port in any of the British possessions in America, being first duly entered, may be deli-
vered, under the authority of the proper officer of the customs, without payment of duty, except for
any deficiency thereof, for the purpose of removal to another warehousing port in the same possession,
under bond, to the satisfaction of such officer, for the due arrival and rewarehousing of such goods at
such other port.-d 45.
All Goods to be cleared within 2 Years, or sold.-All goods which have been so warehoused or reware-
housed shall be duly cleared, either for exportation or for home consumption, within two years from
the day of first entry for warehousing and if any such goods be not so cleared, it shall be lawful for the
collector and comptroller to cause the same to be sold, and the produce shall be applied, first to the
payment of the duties, next of warehouse rent and other charges, and the overplus (if any) shall be
paid to the proprietor: provided always, that it shall be lawful for the collector and comptroller to
grant further time for any such goods to remain warehoused, if they shall see fit.-d 46.
Bond on Entry for Exportation.-Upon the entry outwards of any goods to be exported from the
warehouse, the person entering the same shall give security by bond in treble the duties of importa-
tion on such goods, with two sufficient sureties, to be approved by the collector or comptroller, that
the same shall be landed at the place for which they be entered outwards, or be otherwise accounted
for.-) 47.
Power to appoint other Ports.-It shall be lawful for his Majesty, by order in council, from time to
time to appoint any port in his Majesty's possessions in America to be a free warehousing port for all
or any of the purposes of this act and every such port so appointed by his Majesty shall be, for all
the purposes expressed in such order, a free warehousing port under this act, as if appointed by the
same.- 48.
Goods from Mauritius liable to same Duties and Regulations as West India Goods.-α 49.-(See PORT
LOUIS.)
Cape of Good Hope within Limit of the Company's Charter.-In all trade with the British possessions in
America, the Cape of Good Hope, and the territories and dependencies thereof, shall be deemed to be
within the limits of the East India Company's charter.- Φ 50.
DUTCH PROPRIETORS, &c.
Dutch Proprietors in Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, may supply their Estates from Holland.-It
shall be lawful for any of the subjects of the King of the Netherlands, being Dutch proprietors in the
colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, to import in Dutch ships from the Netherlands into the
said colonies all the usual articles of supply for their estates therein, and also wine imported for the
purposes of medicine only, and which shall be liable to a duty of 10s. per ton, and no more and in
case seizure be made of any articles so imported, upon the ground that they are not such supplies, or
are for the purpose of trade, the proof to the contrary shall lie on the Dutch proprietor importing the
same, and not on the seizing officer: provided always, that if sufficient security by bond be given in
court to abide the decision of the commissioners of customs upon such seizure, the goods so seized
shall be admitted to entry and released.- 51.
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Dutch Proprietors may not export to United Kingdom.-It shall not be lawful for such Dutch pro-
prietors to export the produce of their estates to the United Kingdom, or to any of his Majesty's sugar
colonies in America, except under the conditions herein-after provided.- 52.
What Persons shall be deemed Dutch Proprietors.-All subjects of his Majesty the King of the Nether-
lands resident in bis said Majesty's European dominions, who were at the date of the convention
between his Majesty George III. and the King of the Netherlands, dated the 12th day of August, 1815,
proprietors of estates in the said colonies, and all subjects of his said Majesty who may hereafter
become possessed of estates then belonging to Dutch proprietors therein, and all such proprietors as
being then resident in the said colonies, and being natives of his said Majesty's dominions in the
Netherlands, may have declared, within 3 months after the publication of the aforesaid convention in
the said colonies, that they wish to continue to be considered as such, and all subjects of his said
Majesty the King of the Netherlands who may be the holders of mortgages of estates in the said
colonies made prior to the date of the convention, and who may under their mortgage deeds have the
right of exporting from the said colonies to the Netherlands the produce of such estates, shall be
deemed Dutch proprietors under the provisions of this act: provided, that where both Dutch and
British subjects have mortgages upon the same property in the said colonies, the produce to be coh-
signed to the different mortgagees shall be in proportion to the debts respectively due to them. 53.
Persons not wishing to be considered Dutch Propristors to sign a Declaration to that Effect-Whereas it
is expedient to permit any of such persons, at their option, to relinquish such character of Dutch pro-
prietor; be it therefore enacted, that if any such person shall make and sign a declaration in writing,
attested by two credible witnesses, setting forth that he is desirous and has elected not to be deemed
to be a Dutch proprietor within the meaning of the said act in respect of any such estate or mortgage
to be mentioned and named in such declaration, and shall cause such declaration to be delivered to
the commissioners of his Majesty's customs, such person shall thenceforth be no longer deemed a
Dutch proprietor within the meaning of the said act in respect of the estate or mortgage so mentioned
in such declaration as aforesaid, and such declaration shall have effect in respect of any goods the
produce of any such estate of which such person so far as relates to those goods was a Dutch pro-
prietor, although such goods may have been exported from the colony before the delivering of such
declaration as aforesaid.- 54.
No Ship to sail from Jamaica to St. Domingo, or from St. Domingo to Jamaica.-No British merchant
ship or vessel shall sail from Jamaica to St. Domingo, nor from St. Domingo to Jamaica, under the
penalty of forfeiture of such ship or vessel, together with her cargo; and no foreign ship or vessel
which shall have come from, or shall in the course of her voyage have touched at St. Domingo, shall
come into any port or harbour in the island of Jamaica; and if any such ship or vessel, having come
into any such port or harbour, shall continue there for 48 hours after notice shall have been given by
the officers of the customs to depart, such ship or vessel shall be forfeited and if any person shall be
landed in Jamaica from any ship or vessel which shall have come from or touched at St, Domingo,
except in case of urgent necessity, or unless licence shall have been given by the governor of Jamaica
to land such person, such ship shall be forfeited, together with her cargo.- 55.
Colonial Laws repugnant to any Act of Parliament to be null and void.-All laws, by-laws, usages, or
customs at this time or which hereafter shall be in practice, or pretended to be in practice, in any of
the British possessions in America, in anywise repugnant to this act, or to any other act of parlia-
ment, so far as such act relates to the said possessions, shall be null and void to all intents and pur-
poses.-d 56.
Exemption from Dutics to extend only to Duties by Act of Parliament.-Provided always, that no
exemption from duty in any of the British possessions abroad, contained in any act of parliament,
extends any duty not imposed by act of parliament, unless and so far only as any duty not so
imposed is expressly mentioned in such exemption.- 57.
Officers may board Ships hovering on the Coasts.-It shall be lawful for the officers of customs to go on
board any ship in any British possession in America, and to rummage and search all parts of such
ship for prohibited and uncustomed goods, and also to go on board any ship hovering within 1 league
of the coasts thereof, and in either case freely to stay on board such ship so long as she shall remain
in such port or within such distance; and if any such ship be bound elsewhere, and shall continue so
hovering for the space of 24 hours after the master shall have been required to depart, it shall be law-
ful for the officers of the customs to bring such ship into port, and to examine her cargo, and to
examine the master upon oath touching the cargo and voyage; and if there be any goods on board
prohibited to be imported, such ship and cargo shall be forfeited; and if the master shall not truly
answer the questions demanded of him, he shall forfeit 100l-d 58.
Forfeiture of Vessels, Carriages, &c. removing Goods liable to Forfeiture.-All vessels, boats, car-
riages, and cattle made use of in the removal of any goods liable to forfeiture under this act shall be
forfeited, and every person who shall assist or be otherwise concerned in the unshipping, landing, or
removal, harbouring, &c. of such goods, or into whose possession the same shall knowingly come,
shall forfeit the treble value thereof, or the penalty of 1002., at the election of the officers of the cus-
toms.- 59.
Goods, Vessels, &c. liable to Forfeiture, may be seized by Officers.-All goods, ships, vessels, boats,
carriages, and cattle, liable to forfeiture under this act, may be seized and secured by any officer of
the customs or navy, or by any person employed for that purpose with the concurrence of the com-
missioners of his Majesty's customs; and every person who shall in any way hinder or obstruct
such officers or persons employed as aforesaid, or any person aiding him, shall for every such offence
forfeit the sum of 2001.-$ 60.
Writ of Assistance to search for and seize Goods liable to Forfeiture.-Under authority of a writ of
assistance granted by the supreme court of justice or court of vice admiralty having jurisdiction in
the place. it shall be lawful for any officer of the customs, taking with him a peace officer, to enter
any building or other place in the daytime, and to search for, seize, and secure any goods liable to
forfeiture under this act, and, in case of necessity, to break open any doors and any chests or other
packages for that purpose and such writ of assistance, when issued, shall be deemed to be in force
during the whole of the reign in which the same shall have been granted, and for 12 months from the
conclusion of such reign.-d 61.
Obstruction of Officers by Force.-If any person shall by force or violence assault, molest, hinder, or
obstruct any officer of the customs or navy, or other person employed as aforesaid, or any person
acting in his aid, such person upon conviction shall be adjudged a felon, and punished at the discre-
tion of the court.- 62.
Goods seized to be secured at the next Cristom-house, and sold by Auction.-All things seized as
liable to forfeiture under this act, or under any act made for the prevention of smuggling, or relating
to the customs, or to trade or navigation, shall be delivered to the collector and comptroller of the
customs next 40 the place where the same were seized; and after condemnation they shall cause the
same to be sold by public auction to the best bidder provided always, that it shall be lawful for the
commissioners of the customs to direct in what manner the produce of such sale shall be applied. or,
in lieu of such sale, to direct what things shall be destroyed, or be reserved for the public service.
-100.
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The next 17 clauses relate to the mode of proceeding in actions as to seizures before the courts, the
application and recovery of penalties, &c. It seems unnecessary to insert these in this place.
The King may regulate the Trude of certain Colonies.-It shall be lawful for his Majesty, by any
order or orders in council to be issued from time to time, to give such directions and make such regu-
lations touching the trade and commerce to and from any British possessions on or near the continent
of Europe, or within the Mediterranean Sea, or in Africa, or within the limits of the East India Com-
pany's charter (excepting the possessions of the said Company), as to his Majesty in council shall
appear expedient; and if any goods shall be imported or exported in any manner contrary to any
such order, the same shall be forfeited, together with the ship importing or exporting the same.
-0
81.
East India Company may carry Goods from India to Colonies.-It shall be lawful for the East India
Company, during the continuance of their exclusive privileges of trade, to export from one place
within the limits of their charter any goods for the purpose of being carried to some of his Majesty's
possessions in America, and so to carry and to import the same into any of such possessions, and
also to carry return cargoes from such possessions to any place within the limits of their charter, or
to the United Kingdom; and it shall be lawful for any of his Majesty's subjects, with the licence or
under the authority of the said Company, to lade in and export from any of the dominions of the Em-
peror of China any goods, and to lade in and export from any place within the limits of the said
Company's charter any tea, for the purpose of being carried to some of his Majesty's possessions in
America, and also so to carry and to import the same into any of such possessions.- 82.
Certificate of Production of East India Sugar.-It shall be lawful for any shipper of sugar the pro-
duce of some British possession within the limits of the East India Company's charter, to be exported
from such possession, to go before the collector, comptroller, &c. of the customs at such place, or, if
there be none such, to go before the principal officer of such place, or the judge or commercial resi-
dent, and make an affidavit that such sugar was really and bond fide the produce of such British pos-
session, to the best of his knowledge and belief; and such officer, &c. is to grant a certificate thereof,
setting forth the name of the ship in which the sugar is to be exported, and her destination.- 83.
Ships built prior to the 1st of January, 1816, deemed British Ships within certain Limits.-All ships
built within the limits of the East India Company's charter prior to the 1st day of January, 1816, and
which were then, and have continued since, to be solely the property of his Majesty's subjects, shall
be deemed to be British ships for all the purposes of trade within the said limits, including the Cape
of Good Hope.-Φ 84.
Certificate of Production of Cape Wine.-It shall be lawful for the shipper of wine the produce of the
Cape of Good Hope, or of its dependencies, which is to be exported from thence, to go before the
chief officer of the customs, and make an amdavit that such wine was really and bonâ fide the produce
of the Cape or its dependencies; and such officer is required to administer such affidavit, and to
grant a certificate thereof, stating the name of the ship in which the wine is exported, and her desti-
nation.-> 85.
Certificate of Production of Goods in Guernsey, &c.-It shall be lawful for any person who is about
to export from Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, to the United Kingdom or any British possession
in America, any goods the growth or produce of any of those islands, or any goods manufactured
from materials the growth or produce thereof, or of the United Kingdom, to go before a magistrate
of the island from which the goods are to be exported, and sign a declaration that such goods are of
such growth, produce, or manufacture, and such magistrate shall administer and sign such declara-
tion; and thereupon the governor, lieutenant-governor, &c. of the island shall, upon the delivery to
him of such declaration, grant a certificate under his hand of the proof contained in such declaration,
stating the ship by, and the port in the United Kingdom, or in such possession, to, which the goods
are to be exported and such certificate shall be produced at such ports, in proof that the goods men-
tioned therein are of the growth, produce, &c. of such islands.-> 86.
The next section relates to the importation of tea into Guernsey, &c. during the exclusive trading
privileges enjoyed by the East India Company.
Guernsey, &c. Tonnage of Ships and Size of Packages for Spirits.-No brandy, geneva, or other spirits
(except rum of the British plantations), shall be imported into, or exported from, the islands of Jersey,
Guernsey, Alderney, or Sark, or removed from any one to any other of the said islands, or coastwise
from any one part to any other part of either of the said islands, or be shipped to be so removed or
carried, or be water-borne for the purpose of being so shipped in any ship, vessel, or boat of less bur-
den than 100 tons (except when imported from the United Kingdom in ships of the burden of 70 tons
at least), nor in any cask or package of less size or content than 40 gallons, (except when in bottles,
and carried in a square-rigged ship.) nor any tobacco or snuff in any ship, vessel, or boat of less
burden than 100 tons (except when imported from the United Kingdom in ships of the burden of 70
tons at least), nor in any cask or package containing less than 450 lbs. weight, (save and except any
such spirits or loose tobacco as shall be for the use of the seamen belonging to and on board any such
ship, vessel. or boat, not exceeding 2 gallons of the former, and 5 lbs. weight of the latter, for each sea-
man, and also except such manufactured tobacco or snuff as shall have been duly exported as mer-
chandise from Great Britain or Ireland,) on pain of forfeiture of all such foreign brandy, geneva, or
other spirits, tobacco or snuff respectively, together with the casks or packages containing the same,
and also of every such ship, vessel, or boat, together with all her guns, furniture, &c.-d 88.
Not to extend to Vessels of 10 Tons supplying Island of Sark, having Licence 30 to do.-Nothing herein
contained shall extend, or be construed to extend, to any boat not exceeding the burden of 10 tons, for
having on board at any one time any foreign spirits of the quantity of 10 gallons or under, in casks or
packages of less size or content than 40 gallons, or any tobacco, snuff, or tea, not exceeding 50 lbs.
weight of each, for the supply of the said island of Sark, such boat having a licence from the officer of
customs at either of the islands of Guernsey or Jersey, for the purpose of being employed in carrying
commodities for the supply of the said island of Sark: provided that every such boat having on board
at any one time any greater quantity of spirits than 10 gallons, or any greater quantity of tobacco or
snuff than 50 lbs. weight of each of the said articles, unless such greater quantity of spirits, tobacco.
or snuff shall be in casks or packages of the size, content, or weight herein-before required, or having
on board at any one time any greater quantity of tea than 50 lbs. weight, shall be forfeited.- 89.
Penalty on Persons found on board Vessels liable to Forfeiture within 1 League of Guernsey, &e-
Every person found or discovered to have been on board any vessel or boat liable to forfeiture, for
being found within 1 league of the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, or Sark, having on
board or in any manner attached or affixed thereto, or conveying or having conveyed, in any manner,
such goods or other things as subject such vessel or boat to forfeiture, or who shall be found or dis-
covered to have been on board any vessel or boat from which any part of the cargo shall have been
thrown overboard during chace, or staved or destroyed, shall forfeit the sum of 1001.- §
British Coals not to be re-exported from British Possessions without Duty.-It shall not be lawful to
re-export from any of his Majesty's possessions abroad to any foreign place any coals the produce of
the United Kingdom, except upon payment of the duty to which such coals would be liable upon ex-
portation from the United Kingdom to such foreign place; and no such coals shall be shipped at any
of such possessions, to be exported to any British place, until the exporter or the master of the export-
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ing vessel shall have given bond, with one sufficient surety, in double the value of the coals, that such
coals shall not be landed at any foreign place.- 91.
Penalty for using Documents counterfeited or falsified.-If any person shall, in any of his Majesty's
possessions abroad, counterfeit or falsify, or wilfully use when counterfeited or falsified, any entry,
warrant, cocket, &c. for the unlading, lading, entering, reporting, or clearing any ship or vessel, or for
the landing, shipping, or removing of any goods, stores, baggage, or article whatever, or shall by any
false statement procure any writing or document to be made for any such purposes, or shall falsely
make any oath or affirmation required by any act for regulating the trade of the British poesessions
abroad, or shall forge or counterfeit a certificate of the said oath or affirmation, or shall knowingly
publish such certificate, he shall for every such offence forfeit the sum of 2001.-2 92.
The American government having declined complying with those conditions of recipro-
city under which the trade between the United States and the British colonies was to be
opened by the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 114., it was directed by an order in council, dated the 27th
of July, 1826, that a duty of 4s. 3d. per ton should be charged upon all American vessels
entering his Majesty's possessions in the West Indies, as well as an addition of 10 per cent.
upon the duties imposed by the above-mentioned act on all and each of the articles named
in it, when imported into the West Indies in American ships.
In the course of 1830, however, the negotiations that had been entered into with the
United States relative to this subject were happily terminated by the Americans agreeing to
the conditions of reciprocity above mentioned 80 that the discriminating duties imposed
upon the ships and goods under authority of the above-mentioned order in council are
wholly repealed.
Subjoined is the circular letter of the American government, and an extract from the
British order in council, dated the 5th of November, 1830, relative to this new arrange-
ment.
Circular to the Collectors of Customs.
Treasury Department, Oct. 6, 1830.
SIE,-You will perceive by the proclamation of the president herewith transmitted, that from and
after the date thereof, the act entituled "An Act concerning Navigation," passed on the 13th of April,
1818; an act supplementary therein, passed the 15th of May, 1820; and an act entituled "An Act to
regulate the commercial Intercourse between the United States and certain Bsitish Ports," passed on
the 1st of March, 1823, are absolutely repealed; and the ports of the United States are open to British
vessels and their cargoes, soming from the British colonial posocasions in the West Indies, on the conti-
nont of South America, the Bahama Islands, the Caicos, and the Bermuda or Somer Islands; also from
the islands, provinces, or colonies of Great Britain on or near the North American continent, and
north or east of the United States. By virtue of the authority of this preclamation, and in conformity
with the arrangement made between the United States and Great Britain, and under the sanction of
the president, you are instructed to admit to entry such vessels being laden with the productions of
Great Britain or her said colonies, subject to the same duties of tonmage and impost, and other charges,
as are levied on the vessels of the United States, or their cargoes arriving from the said British colo-
nies: you will also grant clearances to British vessels for the several ports of the aforesaid colonial
possessions of Great Britain, such vessels being laden with such articles as may be exported from the
United States in vessels of the United States; and British vessels coming from the said cetonial pos-
sessions may also be cleared for foreign ports and places other than those in the said British colonial
possessions, being laden with such articles as may be exported from the United States in vessels of
the United States. I am, &c.
(Signed)
S. D. INGHAM, Secretary to the Treasury.
Extract from the British Order in Council, dated the 5th of November, 1830, relative to the Trade between
the United States and the British West Indies.
" Whereas it hath been made to appear to his Majesty in council, that the restrictions heretofore
imposed by the laws of the United States upon British vessels navigated between the said States and
his Majesty's possessions in the West Indies and America, have been repealed; and that the dis-
criminating duties of tonnage and of customs heretofore imposed by the laws of the said United States
upon British vessels and their cargoes entering the ports of the said States from his Majesty's said
possessions, have also been repealed, and that the ports of the United States are now open to British
vessels and their cargoes coming from his Majesty's possessions aforesaid. His Majesty doth, there-
fore, with the advice of his privy council, and in pursuance and exercise of the powers so vested in
him by the act passed in the sixth year of the reign of his said late Majesty, or by any other act er
acts of parliament, declare that the said recited orders in council of the 21st of July, 1823, and of the
27th of July, 1826, and the said order in council of the 16th of July, 1827 (so far as such last-mentioned
order relates to the said United States), shall be, and the same are hereby respectively revoked.
"And his Majesty doth further, by the advice aforesaid, and in pursuance of the powers aforesaid,
declare that the ships of and belonging to the said United States of America may import from the
United States aforesaid into the British possessions abroad, goods the produce of those States, and
may export goods from the British possessions abroad, to be carried to any country whatever."
Connection of the Planter and Home Merchant. Mode of transacting Business in
England.-The mode of transacting West India business is as follows :-A sugar planter
forms a connection with a mercantile house in London, Bristol, Liverpool, or Glasgow
stipulates for an advance of money on their part; grants them a mortgage on his estate; and
binds himself to send them annually his crop, allowing them the full rate of mercantile
commissions. These commissions are 21 per cent. on the amount of sugar sold, and of
plantation stores sent out; along with to per cent. on all insurances effected. During the
war, when prices were high, the amount of those commissions was large; but, like other
high charges, the result has, in nine cases in ten, been to the injury of those who received
them they led the merchants to undertake too much, and to make too large advances to
the planters, for the sake of obtaining their business. At that time it was usual to allow a
permanent loan at the rate of 3,000L for the assured consignment of 100 hogsheads of
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sugar; but that ratio was very often exceeded by the planter, the 3,000L becoming 4,000l.,
5,000l., 6,000L, and, in very many cases, still more, in consequence of unforeseen wants
and too sanguine calculations on his part.
Persons resident in the West Indies are almost always bare of capital, and for obvious
reasons. A climate of such extreme heat, and a state of society possessing 80 few attrac-
tions to persons of education, offer no inducements to men of substance in Europe to go
thither. Those who do go, must trust to their personal exertion and the support of others;
and when, after a continued residence in the West Indies, they have made some progress in
acquiring a competency, and have become accustomed to the climate, they hardly ever con-
sider themselves as settled there for life; their wish and hope is to carry their acquisitions
so far as to be enabled to pass the remainder of their days comfortably at home. The
readiest means, in the view of the planter, of accomplishing this, is the extension of his
undertakings; which he can do only by borrowing money. Hence a continued demand on
his mercantile correspondents at home for fresh advances: the consuming effect of heavy
commissions, and of the interest on borrowed money, is, or rather was, overlooked in his
ardent speculations. But when prices unfortunately fall, he finds himself 10,000/. or 20,000L
in debt, with a reduced income. The merchants at home become equally embarrassed, be-
cause the case of one is the case of three fourths of their correspondents; and the capital
of the merchants, large as it may be, is absorbed and placed beyond their control. The
mortgages they hold are of value only in an ultimate sense to foreclose them, and to take
possession of the estates, is, in general, a very hazardous course.
Such has been for a mumber of years the state of our West India trade. Perhaps it is
impossible to point out any means of effectual relief: our planters must not build expecta-
tions on such doubtful, or rather improbable, events as the stoppage of distillation from malt,
or an insurrection of the negroes in rival countries, such as Cuba or Brazil. Of a bounty
on exportation it is idle to speak: so that their only rational and substantial ground of hope
seems to be in a further reduction of the duties on sugar, coffee, and rum; and an abolition
of the duties on imports, and of the restrictions laid on their trade with America and other
countries.
The sale of West India articles takes place through the medium of produce brokers, who
in London reside chiefly in Mincing Lane and Tower Street. Samples of sugar and rum
are on show in their respective sale rooms during four days of the week, viz. Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 11 to 1 o'clock; during which time the sugar
refiners, wholesale grocers, and other dealers in produce, call in, observe the state of the
market, and buy what they require. The term of credit is short; only 1 month for coffee
and rum, and 2 months for sugar. Coffee is generally sold by public auction, sugar and
rum by private contract. The broker's commission is usually t per cent. on the amount
but in the case of coffee, as they guarantee the buyers, their charge amounts to 1 per
cent. The brokers have no correspondence or connection with the planters; they are em-
ployed by the merchants; and their sales, though for large amounts, being very simple, a
brokerage house of consequence generally does the business of a number of merchants.
Neither merchants nor brokers see, or are in the least under the necessity of seeing, the
bulky packages containing the different articles of produce of which they effect the sales
all is done by sample the packages remaining in the bonded warehouse from the time of
landing till they are sold after which they pass to the premises of the refiner, wholesale
grocer, or whoever may be the purchaser.
The allowances made to the buyer in respect of weight, consist, first, of the tare, which is
the exact weight of the cask and, in the second place, of a fixed allowance of 5 lbs. per
cask in the case of coffee, called trett, and of 2 lbs. per cask on sugar, under the name of
draft-(See Account Sales of both, in p. 208.)
The shipping of stores from England to the plantations is also a very simple transaction.
West India merchants in London, Liverpool, or Bristol, receive from the planters, in the
autumn of each year, a list of the articles required for the respective estates: these lists
they divide, arrange, and distribute among different wholesale dealers in the course of Sep-
tember and October, with instructions to get them ready to ship in a few weeks. November
and December are the chief months for the despatch of outward-bound West Indiamen, as
the plantation stores ought, by rights, to arrive about the end of December, or in the course
of January. That is a season of activity, and generally of health, in the West Indies the
comparatively cool months of November and December having cleared the air, and the pro-
duce of the fields having become ripe and ready to carry. Crop time lasts from January to
the end of July, after which the heavy rains put a stop to field work in the islands.
Demerara, being so near the line, experiences less difference in the seasons, and it is cus-
tomary there to continue making sugar all the year round.
The arrivals of West Indiamen in England with homeward cargoes begin in April and
continue till October ; after which, with the exception of occasional vessels from Demerara
and Berbice, they cease till the succeeding April. This corresponds with the time of car-
rying and leading the crops: for it would be quite unadvisable, on the score of health, as
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well as of the interruptions to work from the heavy rains, to attempt loading vessels in the
sugar islands during the autumnal months.
The unloading of West Indiamen in London usually takes place at the West India docks;
and did 80 uniformly from the autumn of 1802, when the docks were first opened, till Au-
gust, 1823, when the dock monopoly expired. The delays in discharging, occasionally
complained of during the war, arose from two causes from the vessels arriving in fleets
(in consequence of sailing with convoy,) and from the imperfections inseparable from a new
establishment. The latter have been long remedied and as to the former, though at parti-
cular seasons, and after a change of wind, the vessels still come close on each other, the crowd-
ing in the docks is by no means to be compared to that arising from the arrival of a convoy.
Cargoes are discharged very speedily, the time seldom exceeding 3 days. The dock dues
have also been materially reduced since the peace and the whole exhibits a striking ex-
ample of the advantage attendant on transacting a mass of business on one spot an ad-
vantage which can be enjoyed only in great sea-ports, such as London, Liverpool, or Amster-
dam.-(See Docks.)
The rates of freight during the war were, on sugar from 7s. to 8s. per cwt., and on coffee
from 10s. to 11s. whereas they now amount, the former to 4s. and 4s. 6d., and the latter to
6s. The ship owners complain that these freights leave them very little profit; but in con-
sequence of the speed with which vessels may now be unloaded and cleared at London, it
is probable that the practice of making two voyages in the season will become general.
Disposal of Land in the Colonies.-The chief cause of the rapid advancement of all
colonies placed in rude and thinly peopled countries, has been the facility with which they
have obtained supplies of fertile and unoccupied land. Were the inhabitants of a colony
SO situated, that instead of resorting to new land to obtain increased supplies of food, they
were obliged to improve the land already in cultivation, their progress would be compara-
tively slow, and they would approach to the condition of an old country and the greater
the concentration of the inhabitants, the nearer, of course, would be their approach to that
state. On the other hand, several inconveniences result from allowing the colonists to
spread themselves at pleasure over unoccupied districts. The inhabitants become too much
dispersed to be able to lend sufficient assistance to each other; a large extent of roads is
necessary, and their construction is a task too great for so thin a population. But the
greatest injury that can be done to a colony is the making of gratuitous grants of large
tracts of land to corporations or individuals, without laying upon them any obligations as to
their occupation, or obliging them to contribute their share of the expenses necessary on
account of public improvements. Wherever such an unwise policy has been pursued, as
in Lower Canada for example, the consequences have been most injurious. The occur-
rence of the unoccupied districts obliges the settlers to establish themselves at inconvenient
distances from each other ; it prevents, by the want of roads, their easy communication
and retards, in a degree not easy to be imagined, the advancement of the district. The in-
conveniences resulting from these grants are, indeed, obvious. They have been loudly
complained of by the colonists, and are now almost universally admitted.
It is not difficult to discover the principle of the measures that ought to be adopted with
respect to the disposal of unoccupied colonial land. They should be so contrived as to
prevent too great a diffusion of the colonists, without, however, occasioning their too great
concentration. And it is plain, that these advantages may be realised by selling all lands
at a moderate price, or by imposing upon them a moderate quit-rent. If the price or quit-
rent were very high, it would, of course, occasion too great a concentration, and be an insu-
perable obstacle to the rapid progress of the colony ; while, if it were too low, it would not
obviate the inconvenience of too great dispersion. The fixing of the price at which land
should be sold is, therefore, the only really difficult point to be decided upon. The Ameri-
cans sell their public lands at 2 dollars an acre; and this is, perhaps, all things considered,
as proper a sum as could be selected.
Until very recently we did not follow any fixed plan in the disposal of colonial lands,
which have in many instances been bestowed in the most improvident manner. But a dif-
ferent system has been adopted, and lands in the colonies are no longer obtainable except by
purchase. We, however, are not without apprehensions that considerable inconvenience
will result from the proposed plan of selling land by auction. It is easy, no doubt, to fix a
minimum upset price; but the market price must entirely depend on the quantity put up
for sale, compared with the number and means of the buyers. And, as the regulation of
this quantity must necessarily be left to the local authorities, they will, in fact, have the
power of fixing the price. A system of this sort can hardly fail of leading to very great
abuses and will give rise to perpetual complaints, even when they are not deserved, of
partiality and preference. The best way, as it appears to us, would be to order competent
persons to fix certain prices upon all the lands to be located, according to the various cir-
cumstances for and against them and to grant specified portions of such lands to all who
claim them, according to the amount of capital they proposed to employ in their cultivation.
We do not, however, think that the maximum price ought in any case to exceed 12s. or 15a.
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an acre: a price of this magnitude would secure a sufficient degree of concentration, with-
out carrying the principle so far as to make it injurious."
Disposal of Land in Canada-The following advertisement, dated at the office of the
Commissioner of Crown Lands, York, Upper Canada, 27th of May, 1833, explains the
terms on which lands are in future to be granted in that province:-
In conformity to instructions recently received from his Majesty's secretary of state for the colonies,
the following arrangements for disposing of the waste lands of the crown in Upper Canada, are made
known for the information of emigrants and others.
Except in the case of U. E. Loyalists, and other persons entitled by the existing regulations of the
government to free grants, no person can obtain any of the waste lands of the crown otherwise than
by purchasing at the public sales, made from time to time under the direction of the commissioner of
crown lands.
These sales will be made on the 1st and 3d Tuesday of each month, and will either be continued
through the following day, or not, as circumstances may appear to the agent to require.
Besides these general periodical sales, there may be occasional sales by auction in other districts, of
such town lots, or other lots of land, as may remain to be disposed of; and of these sales ample notice
will be given.
The conditions of every sale by public auction will be as follows:-One fourth of the purchase mo-
mey to be paid down; and the remainder in 3 equal annual instalments, with interest at per cent. on
each instalment, payable with the instalment.
The lands will be put up at an upset price, of which notice will be given at the time of sale, and in
the previous advertisements which will be published of the lands intended to be put up at each sale:
and in case no offer shall be made at the upset price, the land will be reserved for future sale, in a
similar manner, by auction.
A patent for the lands will be issued free of charge, upon the payment in full of the purchase money
and interest.
The commissioner for crown lands, acting also as agent for the sale of clergy reserves, requests it
to be noticed, that such clergy reserves as have not been hitherto occupied by authority, or leased by
the government, will be disposed of, by public auction only, either at the periodical sales of crown
lands, or at occasional sales, to be duly advertised, and that the terms of payment for clergy reserves
will continue to be as follows :-10 per cent. to be paid at the time of sale, and the remainder in 9 an-
nual instalments of 10 per cent. each, with interest on each instalment, to be paid with the instal-
ment.
Such clergy reserves as have been leased, or occupied by the authority of the government, must be
applied for by letter to the commissioner of crown lands, and when disposed of, will be sold by private
sale on the same terms of payment as those disposed of by public auction.
Terms upon which the Crown Lands will be disposed of in New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land.
It has been determined by his Majesty's government that no land shall, in future, be disposed of in
New South Wales or Van Diemen's Land otherwise than by public sale, and it has therefore been
deemed expedient to prepare for the information of settlers the following summary of the rules which
it has been thought fit to lay down for regulating the sales of land in those colonies
1. A division of the whole territory into counties, hundreds, and parishes, is in progress. When
that division shall be completed, each parish will comprise an area of about 25 square miles.
2. All the lands in the colony, not hitherto granted, and not appropriated for public purposes, will
be put up to sale. The price will of course depend upon the quality of the land, and its local situation
but no land will be sold below the rate of 5a. per acre.
3. An persons proposing to purchase lands not advertised for sale, must transmit a written applica-
tion to the governor, in a certain prescribed form, which will be delivered at the Surveyor General's
Office to all persons applying, on payment of the requisite fee of 2s. 6d.
4. Those persons who are desirous of purchasing, will be allowed to select, with certain defined
limits, such portions of land as they may wish to acquire in that manner. These portions of land will
be advertised for sale for 3 calendar months, and will then be sold to the highest bidder, provided that
such bidding shall at least amount to the price fixed by Article 2.
5. A deposit of 10 per cent. upon the whole value of the purchase must be paid down at the time of
sale, and the remainder must be paid within 1 calendar month from the day of sale, previous to which
the purchaser will not be put in possession of the land: and in case of payment not being made within
the prescribed period, the sale will be considered void, and the deposit forfeited.
6. On payment of the money, a grant will be made in fee-simple to the purchaser at the nominal
quit-rent of a pepper-corn. Previous to the delivery of such grant, a fee of 40s. will be payable to
the colonial secretary, for preparing the grant, and another fee of 5a. to the registrar of the Supreme
Court, for enrolling it.
7. The land will generally be put up to sale in lots of 1 square mile, or 640 acres but smaller lots
than 640 acres may, under particular circumstances, be purchased, on making application to the
governor in writing, with full explanations of the reasons for which the parties wish to purchase a
smaller quantity.
8. The crown reserves to itself the right of making and constructing such roads and bridges as may
be necessary for public purposes in all land purchased as above and also to such indigenous timber,
stone, and other materials, the produce of the land, as may be required for making and keeping the
said roads and bridges in repair, and for any other public works. The crown further reserves to itself
all mines of precious metals.
Colonial Office, 20th of January, 1831.
Selection of Sites for Colonial Establishments.-Nothing can be more unwise than the
plan, if so we may call it, hitherto followed in the selection of places at which to found
colonies. The captain of a ship, without any knowledge whatever of the nature of soils,
or the capacities of a country in an agricultural point of view, falls in after a long cruise
with a river or bay, abounding with fish and fresh water, and surrounded with land that
* The injurious consequences resulting from the late system of granting lands in the colonies have
been very forcibly pointed out by Mr. Gouger, Mr. Tennant, and others ; but the degree of concentration
they recommend would be ten times more injurious.
2 0 2
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looks fertile, and is covered with herbage. He forthwith reports all these circumstances,
duly embellished, to the Admiralty, strongly recommending the situation as an admirable
one at which to found a colony ; and in nine cases out of ten this is all the information
that is required in taking a step of such infinite importance! No wonder, therefore, that,
many fine schemes of colonisation should have ended only in loss and disappointment; and
that situations which the colonists were taught to look upon as a species of paradise, have
proved to be any thing but what they were represented. Botany Bay, though described by
Captain Cook as one of the finest places in the world, had to be abandoned by the colonists
that were sent out to it; as the country round it, instead of being favourable for cultivation,
is a mere sandy swamp. Is it possible to suppose, had the proper inquiries been entered
into, that any attempt would have been made to establish a colony in 50 pestilential a climate
as that of Sierra Leone ? The colony in the district of Albany, in the Cape of Good Hope,
was founded upon the representations of an individual, who, whatever might be his informa-
tion in other respects, had not the slightest knowledge of agriculture; and the distresses the
settlers have had to encounter were the natural consequences of their relying on such au-
thority. The late establishment at Swan River may be adduced as another instance of mis-
placed or premature confidence in the reports of those who were really without the means
of forming a correct estimate of the various circumstances necessary to be attended to in
forming a colony.
We do, therefore, hope that an end will be put to this system,-a system which is in no
common degree injurious to the public interests, and is highly criminal towards those who
embark as colonists. The founding of a colony ought to be looked upon in its true point
of view-as a great national enterprise. It is not an adventure to be intrusted to presump-
tuous ignorance but should be maturely weighed, and every circumstance connected with
it carefully investigated. Above all, the situation in which it is proposed to found the colony
should be minutely surveyed: and its climate, soil, and capacities of production, deliberately
inquired into by competent persons employed for the purpose. Were this done, govern-
ment and the public would have the best attainable grounds upon which to proceed; and
neither party would have much reason to fear those disappointments, which have hitherto so
often followed the exaggerated representations of those to whom the important and difficult
task of selecting situations for colonies has been delegated.
V. FOREIGN COLONIES.
1. Spanish Colonies.-Spain, whose colonial possessions extended a few years ago from
the frontiers of the United States to the Straits of Magellan, is not, at present, possessed
of a foot of ground in the whole American continent. Still, however, her colonial posses-
sions are of great value and importance. In the West Indies, she is mistress of Cuba and
Porto Rico;-the former by far the largest and finest of the West India islands; and the
latter also a very valuable possession. In the East, Spain is mistress of the Philippine
Islands, which, were they in the hands of an enterprising people, would speedily become of
very great commercial importance.-(See the articles HAVANNA, MANILLA, PoBTo Rico.)
2. Dutch Colonies.-Java forms the most important and valuable of the Dutch colonial
possessions.-(See BATAVIA.) In the East they also possess the Moluccas, Bencoolen on
the coast of Sumatra, Macassar, and the eastern coast of Celebes, Banda, &c. They have
several forts on the Gold Coast in Africa; and.in the West Indies they possess the islands
of Curaçoa and St. Eustatius, Saba, and part of St. Martin; and on the continent of South
America, they are masters of Dutch Surinam. Curaçoa and St. Eustatius are naturally
barren, but they have been both highly improved. From its being very conveniently
situated for maintaining a contraband traffic with the Caraccas and other districts in South
America, Curaçoa was formerly a place of great trade, particularly during war. But since
the independence of South America, Curaçoa has ceased in a great measure to be an entre-
pôt; the goods destined for the Continent being now, for the most part, forwarded direct
to the places of their destination.
That district of Surinam ceded to the British in 1814, comprising the settlements of
Demerara, Berbice, and Essequibo (see antè, p. 421.), formed the most valuable portion of
Surinam, or Dutch Guiana. The district which still belongs to the Dutch lies to the south
of Berbice. It contains about 25,000 square miles, and a population of about 60,000. It
is daily becoming of more value and importance.
3. French Colonies.Previously to the negro insurrection that broke out in 1792, St.
Domingo was by far the most valuable colony in the West Indies. But this disastrous
event, having first devastated the island, terminated in the establishment of the independent
black republic of Hayti-(See PORT AU PRINCE.) Having also sold Louisiana to the
Americans, and ceded the Mauritius to the English, without making any new acquisitions,
the colonial dominions of France are, at this moment, of very limited extent. They consist
of Guadeloupe and Martinique, and the small islands of Marie-Galante and Deseada, in the
West Indies; Cayenne, in South America; Senegal and Goree, in Africa; the Isle de
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Bourbon, in the Eastern Ocean St. Marie, in Madagascar; and Pondicherry and Chander-
nagor, with a very small surrounding territory, in the East Indies. The tabular statements
annexed show the population, trade, &c. of the French colonies.
Table of the Population of the French Colonies, and of their Commerce with France.-(Montoéran,
Essai de Statistique sur les Colonies, Pièces Justificatives, No. 5.)
Commerce with
Population in 1829, or according
France.
Navigation.
Cod of the French
to the last Census.
Fisheries.
Colonies.
Real Value, 1831.
Entered.
Cleared out.
People ofColour
Imports
Exports
Ton-
Total.
into
from
Ships.
Ships.
Ton-
Imported
Official
Whites.
Free.
Slaves.
France.
France.
nage.
nage.
in 1831.
Value.
North America.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Francs.
Francs.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Kilogr.
Francs.
Saint Pierre and
Miquelon, 1831
861
-
-
861
6,700,916
476,117
3
353
The Antilles.
Martinique (Jan.
1. 1832)
min
9,410
18,832
80,753
109,995
20,123,584
12,633,530
154
40,996
136
35,037
1,744,618
436,155
Guadeloupe (Jan.
1. 1831)
10,596
10,772
90,743
112,111
26,642,222
12,146,853
195
47,623
194
47,772
2,820,075
705,019
South America.
Cayenne, (Jan. 1.
1832)
}
1,291
2,220
19,173
22,684
2,442,158
1,736,792
29
4,458
23
4,056
131,157
32,789
Africa.
Bourbon (Jan. 1. }
1830)
20,000
11,500
66,000
97,500
15,057,276
5,732,908
50
15,122
62
18,315
210,345
58,584
Senegal (1825)
240
3,573
12,297
16,110
3,445,087
3,095,818
29
3,058
25
2,706
Asia.
French factories
in India (1825)
1,021
107,986
1,194
110,201
3,723,270
753,235
4
1,145
5
1,241
Total
43,419
156,073
270,160
469,615
79,133,603
33,888,240
464
110,755
445
109,127
4,906,193
1,226,549
Able-bodied blacks of both sexes
194,141
individuals.
Colonies for colonial produce :-Importations
64,265,250
francs.
Old men, caildren, and sick
75,989
-
Ditto
Exportations
30,250,083
-
Statement of the Products of the French Colonies imported into France, and entered for Consump-
tion, and of the Duties charged on their Introduction, in 1831.-(Montotran, No. 6.)
Colonies and
Sugars of
Cloves
Wood of
Custom
Establishments.
all
Coffee.
Cacao.
Cotton.
and
Annotto.
Indigo.
Gum.
Wax.
Qualities.
Spices.
all Kinds.
Duties.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Kilogr.
Francs.
Guadeloupe
36,579,836
968,480
9,042
28,892
61
-
-
-
-
241,042
18,813,357
Martinique
27,049,000
379,044
157,110
5,117
24,318
-
-
-
-
949,840
13,845,765
Bourbon
16,229,003
761,814
191
3,174
729
-
282
-
-
31,995
7,092,305
Cayenne
1,432,075
42,426
22
169,520
18,112
82,122
-
-
-
68,729
851,408
Senegal
-
-
-
-
12,754
677,040
12,898
93,285
114,752
Factories in India
43,023
47,282
-
81,232
193,747
-
-
-
-
-
424,608
St. Pierre and Fish-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
eries of Miquelon
6,789
Total
81,332,937
2,199,646
168,345
268,935
236,967
82,122
13,036
677,040
12,898
1,384,889
41,148,984
Produce of the
French colonies
imported, but not
entered for con-
sumption, in 1831.
6,582,833
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
938,317
Total
87,915,770
2,199,646
168,345
268,935
236,967
82,122
13,036
677,040
12,898
1,384,889
42,087,301
Value in francs
52,749,462
1,649,286
116,442
175,148
2,369,670
164,244
130,360
947,856
25,796
346,222
58,674,486*
N. B.-The kilogramme 22 lbs. avoirdupois.
4. Danish Colonies.-In the West Indies, these consist of the islands of St. Croix, St.
Thomas, and St. John of these, St. Croix only is valuable. It is about 81 square miles
in extent, and contains about 37,000 inhabitants, of whom 3,000 are whites, 1,200 free
blacks and mulattoes, and the remainder slaves. The soil is fertile, and it is well cultivated.
The principal productions are sugar, rum, and coffee. In India, the Danes possess Tran-
quebar, near Madras; and Serampoor, near Calcutta. The former contained, in 1809,
about 19,000 inhabitants; but it has greatly improved since the peace, both in commerce
and population. Serampoor is a neat but not very considerable place. It serves as an
asylum for the debtors of Calcutta, and is the capital station of the missionaries. The Danes
have a few forts on the coast of Guinea.
5. Swedish Colonies-The Swedes only possess one colony-the small island of St.
Bartholomew, in the West Indies. It is only about 25 square miles in extent, but is very
fertile. It has no springs, nor fresh water of any sort, except such as is supplied by the
rain. Population between 8,000 and 9,000.
4 Allowing for bounty on exports.
Digitized by Google
440
COLONIES AND COLONY TRADE.
(Statement of the Nett Expenditure incurred by Great Britain, on account of her several Military and
Maritime Stations, Colonies, and Plantations, during 1883-34.- (Parl. Paper, No. 408. Bess. 1835.)
Repayments
Total Expenditure
from Colonial
Colonies, ac.
Military
Civil
Naval Ex-
for Military, Civil,
Revenues, and
Total Expenditure
Expenditure.
Expenditure.
penditure.
and Naval
Surples Coo-
incurred by
Establishments.
tome, and Post
Great Britain.
Office Collec-
tions.
Military and Maritime
L 8. d.
L a d.
L & d.
L. & d.
L a d.
L. a. d
Stations.
-
Gibraltar
153,868 3 9
-
659 5 9
154,517 9 6
127 6 9
164,390 2 9
Malta
100,805 17 10
-
6,120 9 7
106,926 7 5
211 13 534
108,714 B 11 1-4
Cape of Good Hope
92,657 18 5
1,904 4 0
3,360 14 3
97,222 16 8
-
97,292 16 R
Mauritius
116,389 12 2
685 6 0
117,074 18 2
-
117,074 18 2
Bermuda
69,338 10
29,464 15 = 1-4
13,296 19 6
112,099 17 1-4
-
112,009 17 3
Fernando Po
983 19 0
7,542 5 9
-
8,526 4 9
-
8,528 4 9
Ascension
1,417 11 10
-
9,754 2 9
11,171 14 7
-
11,171 14 7
Heligoland
500 0 0
362 19 5
-
862 19 6
-
862 19 6
Ionian Islands
97,690 17 4
-
-
97,690 17 4
-
97,690 17 4
Plantations and Set-
tiements.
Jamaica Command
Jamaica
Bahamas
210,753 14 5
5,654 16 9
2,679 11
219,087 12 1
-
219,087 18 1
Honduras
Windward and Leeward
Islands Command
Barbadoes
Grenada
St. Vincent
Tobago
Antigua
Montservat
St. Christopher's
Nevis
409,612 0 5
5,980 19 8
458 0 0
416,000 19 7
-
423,725 0 10
Anguilla
Virgin Islands
a
Dominica
St. Lucia
a
Trinidad
British Guiana
a
Lower Canada
Upper Canada
254,778 14 0
5,898 10 114
2,577.10 0
268,249 14 114
-
265,249 14 114
Nova Scotla Command
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Prince Edward's Is.
128,326 2 5
20,435 10 51-4
7,802 18 0
156,564 10 10
-
102,312 6 414
Newfoundland
Sierra Leone
Gambia
28,199 16 7
11,061 16 1
1,500 0 0
40,761 19 8
-
40,761 18 $
Cape Coast
-
3,500 0 0
-
3,500 0 0
-
3,500 0 0
Ceylon
128,167 17 3
1,006 0 0
1,964 13 8
131,137 10 11
17,797 10 418
113,340 0 612
Western Australia
5,371 18 1
19,082 3 4
-
24,454 1 5
-
24,454 1 5
Penal Sattlements.
New South Wales
Van Dieman's Land
}
98,321 3 2
311,418 7 5 3-4
406,739 10 734
$ 26,676 18 71-4
-
6,068 6 814
}
371,010 91-4
General charges
29,114 8 1
8,000 0 0
-
37,114 8 1
-
37,114 s 1
Totals
1,920,287 16 7
431,841 14 51.2
50,178 14
512,401,703 5 61-2
50,865 15 534
2,364,309 6 9
Note-In the above totals are comprehended, in addition to the specified expenditures, the following advances in aid of Colminal TEMP
FILMS, to wit, L.848 6e. 8d. for Barbadoes, L.6875 14a. 7d. for British Guiana, and L.5,747 15a. 6d, for Nova Scotia, &c.-Sup.)
[The only colonies which have been hitherto planted by the people of the United States
are those classed together under the general name of Liberia, on the western coast of Africa.
They present a remarkable, and indeed singular instance, of establishments of the kind hav-
ing been formed, and conducted from their origin, with views of a purely disinterested and
philanthropic character, viz. the facilitating of the gradual emancipation of the slaves in the
United States, and the spreading of Christianity and civilization among the surrounding tribes
of savage men.
We extract the following account of " Liberia as it is" from the report of the Pennsylva-
nia Colonization Society for 1838, 17 years after the first settlement was made under the
auspices of the American Colonization Society. This account is given by Mr. Buchanan,
who resided about a year in Africa, and who made himself familiar with the condition of all
the settlements.
Liberia extends from the St. Paul's river on the north-west to the Cavally river on the
south-east, a distance of 300 miles along the coast. Its extent inland is from 10 to 40 miles.
Four separate colonies are now included within its limits, viz.
" Monrovia, established by the American Colonization Society, including the towns of Mon-
rovia, New Georgia, Caldwell, Millsburgh, and Marshall.
" Bassa Cove, established by the United Colonization Societies of New York and Pennsyl-
vania. This colony includes Bassa Cove and Edina. The latter village was founded by
the American Colonization Society, and lately ceded to the United Societies.
" Greenville, established by the Mississippi Colonization Society at Sinou.
" Maryland, established by the Maryland Colonization Society at Cape Palmas.
" In the nine villages enumerated above, there is a population of about 5,000-all of course
coloured persons, of which 3,500 are emigrants from this country, and the remainder natives
of Africa.
" The commerce of the colonies, though in its infancy, is already extensive. From $80,000
Digitized by Google
COLUMBO.
441
to $125,000 is exported annually, in camwood, ivory, palm oil, and hides and an equal or
greater amount of the manufactures and productions of Europe and America are brought
into the colonies in return. Monrovia, which is the largest town and principal seaport, car-
ries on a considerable coasting trade by means of small vessels built and owned by her own
citizens. Not less than 12 or 15 of these, averaging from 10 to 30 tons burden, manned
and navigated by the colonists, are constantly engaged in a profitable trade along 700 miles
of the coast.
" The harbour of Monrovia is seldom clear of foreign vessels; more than 70 of which,
from the United States, England, France, Sweden, Portugal, and Denmark, touch there
annually.
" Bassa Cove and Cape Palmas have both good harbours, and possess great advantages for
commerce. Already their waters are gladdened by the frequent presence of traders from
other countries, and in a few years, when the hand of enterprise shall have developed the
rich mines of wealth which nature has so abundantly provided there, these growing towns
will become the centres of an extensive and important business.
'Sinou, too, possesses an excellent harbour, and is the natural outlet of a vast tract of rich
and productive country. Under the fostering hand of its enterprising founders it must soon
become an important link in the great maritime chain of Americo-African establishments.
The productions of the country, which may be raised in any quantity for exportation, are
coffee, cotton, sugar, rice, indigo, palm oil, together with the gums, dye-woods, ivory, &c.,
which are collected from the forests."
The fact may be mentioned that a regular packet has commenced plying between Liberia
and the port of Philadelphia.-Am. Ed.]
COLUMBO, the modern capital of Ceylon, situated on the southwest coast of the island,
lat. 6° 55' N., lon. 79° 45' E.* It is defended by a very strong fort, nearly surrounded by
the sea, in which is a light-house 97 feet high. In 1816, the population of the town and
fort was 24,664; and in 1831, 26,357.-( Columbo Journal, 17th of October, 1832.) The
houses are generally only one story high; they are of stone, clay, and lime; and the town
has more of a European appearance than any other in India. The inhabitants are principally
Cingalese. In 1821, there were only 32 Europeans in the place qualified to serve on juries.
The temperature of the air is remarkable for its equality; and though very humid, the climate
may, on the whole, be esteemed salubrious and temperate. There is no harbour at Columbo
for large vessels, but only an open roadstead. A projecting rock, on which two batteries are
erected, affords shelter to a small semicircular bay on the north side of the fort, having a
wooden quay to facilitate the loading and unloading of boats. The depth of water is not
sufficient to allow sloops or large dhonies to come alongside the quay those exceeding 100
tons burden lying at about a cable's length from it. A bar of sand, on some parts of which
the water is not more than 7 feet deep, extends from the projecting rock across this bay.
The channel where it may be crossed by the larger class of ships is liable to shift; and it is
only in the fine weather of the safe season that they venture to go within the bar. The
outer road affords secure anchorage for half the year, from the beginning of October to the
end of March, during the prevalence of the N. E. monsoon, when the wind blows off the
land: during the other, or S. W. monsoon, when the wind blows from the sea on shore, the
road is very far from safe; and the ships that frequent it are sometimes obliged to slip their
cables and stand out to sea.-(Milburn's Orient. Comm.; Hamilton's Gazet., &c.) As
respects its harbour, Columbo is, therefore, very inferior to Trincomalee, the harbour of
which is accessible at all times, and is one of the best in India but the country in the vicinity
of Columbo is more fertile; and it has the command of an internal navigation, stretching in
a lateral direction along the coast, from Putlam, to the north of the city, to Caltura on the
south, a distance of about 100 miles, partly obtained by rivers, and partly by canals. Many
flat-bottomed boats are employed in this navigation, the families dependent on which reside
mostly on board. Nearly all the foreign trade of Ceylon is carried on from Columbo; and
it has also a large proportion of the coasting traffic.
Moneys.-The rixdollar - 1s. 6d.; but accounts are kept in pounds, shillings, and pence, as in Eng-
land.
Weights, Measures, &c.-The weights are divided into ounces, pounds, &c., and are the same as in
Great Britain. The candy or bahar = 500 lbs. avoirdupois, or 461 lbs. Dutch Troy weight. The prin-
cipal dry measures are scers or parrahs. The former is a perfect cylinder, of the depth and diameter
undermentioned :-
Depth.
Diameter.
Seer -
-
-
- 4.35 inches.
4.35 inches.
The parrah is a perfect cube, its internal dimensions being every way 11.57 inches.
The liquid measure consists of gallons, and their multiples and sub-multiples. 150 gallons - 1
leaguer or legger.
The bale of cinnamon consists of 924 lbs. very nearly.
* This is the position as given by Hamilton. According to Mr. Steuart, master attendant of the
port, it is in lat. 6° 57' N., lon. 79° 52' E.
56
Digitized
by
Google
442
COLUMBO.
Rates of pilotage payable by all Square-rigged Vemole, Sloops, or
Fore on Port Clearances payable by Merchant Ships and Venells,
Schooners. at the Ports of Columbo, Trincomalee, and Galle.
from the 1st Day of October, 1826.
Square-riezed vemels, sloops, or schooners via.
Lid
Led
Of 600 tons or upwards
800
Columbo
0150
400 and under 600
10 0
200
-
400
-400
For Back
For the Inner
100
-
200
15 0
Bay.
Harbour.
under 100
10
Trincomalee-
L.i.d.
Led
Dhonies; vis.
Vessels of 600 tone and upwards
200
400
or 30 garee and upwards
400 and under 600
10 0
300
25 garce and under 30
!!!!
200
-
400
0
2 8 0
20
-
25
is 6
100
-
200
10 6
110
15
-
99
0
under 100
060
0150
10
-
15
17 6
5
-
10
170
Galle-
under 5
15 0
Vessels of 600 toas
300
Exceptions-Manar and Jaffna dhonies, when passing from part
400 and under 600
250
to port within the districts they belong to, or from Manar to Jaffan
900
-
400
10 0
Kaits or Point Pedro, or vice versa, to pay half of the above rates.
100
-
200
126
Boats, vessels, or dhonies, certified to belong to any port of Coyica,
under 100
15 0
being under the 5 garce or 1,000 parrabs burden, are to pay as fai-
lows
L.ad
The above rates of pilotage will be charged to all vessels going in-
Under 50 parrahs,
000
to the inner harbour of Trincomales and the harbour of Galle, who
50 and under 200 parrabs, or I garee
030
ther they make a signal for pilot or not. In Columbo and Back
1 garce and under 2 garee
-060
Bay, at Trincomalee, the charge will only be made, if the vemel
2
-
3
070
make signal, and a pilot actually repair on beard.
3
-
4
10 0
4
-
5
0120
Sailing Directions and Remarks on the Port of Columbo, by James Steuart, Esq. Master Attendant.
The land about Columbo is low near the sea, with some bills to
ward of the anchorage in Columbo mad, as scareely to form any
the castward at a distance in the country. The high mountain
impediment to ships bound to or from Columbo.
having on it a sharp cone, called Adam's Peak, bears from Columbo
The currents off Columbo are subject to considerable variation
E. 7 S., distant 12 1-2 leagues; its beight above the level of the sea
but they are never so strong as to cause inconvenience to ships, which
is estimated at about 7,000 feet, according to a rough trigonometrical
may have to communicate with the shore in either mossosa with
measurement by Colonel Willerman. When the atmosphere is
out coming to anchor.
clear, it may be seen 30 leagues. During the prevalence of the N.E.
Columbo road affords good anchorage, free from foal ground and
monsoon, Adam's Peak is generally visible in the morning, and fre-
is frequented at all seasons of the year.
quently the whole of the day; but it is rarely seen in the S. W.
The best anchorage during the prevalence of S. W. winds from
monsoon, dense vapours generally prevailing over the island at this
April to October, is in from 7 to 8 fathoms, with the light-house
season.
bearing S. by E 1-8 B., Dutch charch E. by 3. In the N.E. mon-
Ships approaching Columbo in the night have a brilliant light to
soon from November to April, it is more convenient to anchor -
direct them, which is exhibited every night from a light-house in the
6 1-2 fathoms, with the light-house bearing S. or S. 1-2E, and the
fort; the height of the light above the level of the sea is 97 feet, and
Dutch church R S. B.
may be seen in clear weather as far as the light appears above the
Ships requiring pilots to conduct them to the anchorage should
horizon.
make the usual signal the charge for pilotage is 16a.
A steep bank of coral, about half a mile broad, with 15 fathoms
The bar is a bank of sand with 7 feet water on its shallowest part,
water on It, lies 7 miles W. from Columbo, extending northward to-
the morthern extremity being about 400 yards N. W. of the Custom-
wards Negombo (where its surface is sand), and a few miles to the
house Point small vemels that draw less than 10 feet water, ride
southward of Columbo outside the bank the water deepens at once
within the bar protected from the S. W. wind and sea.
to 23 fathoms, and in 2 miles to 28 fathoms, greenish sand, which is
When the sea is high, it breaks with great force on the bar, and
not far from the edge of soundings. Within the bank there are 25
renders the passage from the shipping in the outer road dangurous
fathoms gradually shoaling towards the abore.
for small boats: the native boats generally pass out and in to the
A bed of sunken rocks, called the Drunken Sailor, lies S. W. by
southward of the bar, close to the breakers on the rocky point of the
W. 1-2 W. from Columbo Light-house, distant 1,000 yards. The
Custom-house but as the passage is narrow, it should not be at-
length of the ledge may be estimated at 100 yards, and the breadth
tempted by strangers when the son breaks on the bar, it is better to
20 yards; on its N. end a small spot, about the size of the bull of a
proceed round to the northward of the bar, which may be easily -
90 ton boat, is raid to have only 3 feet water on it at low water; but
tinguished by the breakers.
during several recent visits, when some of the coral from its sur-
What is strictly understood by a gale of wind, is a rare occurrence
face was brought up, there did not appear to be less than 7 feet
at Columbo: this may be owing to the vicinity of the equator. The
6 inches water on the shallowest part: on the other parts of the
strong gales which blow on the Malabar coast are falt in small
ledge there is 4, 5, and 6 fathoms. The sea breaks on the shallow
equalls, and a high sea, but there is scarcely wind to endanger versels
part of these rocks almost constantly during the S. W. monsoon, but
properly found in ground tackling it is true, ships have sometimes
this is very seldom the case during the N. E. monsoon.
required the aid of a second anchor, but in most cases the cause has
There appears to be no doubt, that the Drunken Sailor is granite,
been attributable to some defect in the first anchor or cable, a Light
or stone of the same description as the rocks on the shore, with its
anchor, an anchor breaking. a short chain, or the chain coming -
surface incrustated with coral if there ever was so little water M
shackled: as instance occurred in Columbo road, of two ships
3 feet on it, it may be supposed to be sinking.
receiving cargo during the & W. monsoon, whose chain cables came
The Drunken Sailor should not be approached under 9 fathoms
unshackled twice; twice did it occur to each ship.
during the night, as there are 8 fathoms very near to it, and in its
On the 2d of June, 1831, the Hector drove in a equall; having
stream to the southward.
about 80 fathoms of chain ahead, they let go the second anchor; but
In the N. E. mossoon 1896, the E. I. Company's brig of war
finding the ship did not immediately bring up, they made will and
Thetis touched on the Drunken Sailor, having stood too close to the
shipped their cables: this ship stood out of the roads under double-
land in beating up to the anchorage from the southward; but with
rected fore and mixen top-sails, and from its size, a single received
common attention to the depth of water approaching the rock, it may
main top-sail, foresail, fore and main trynsilsand driver, and returned
be easily avoided.
to anchorage on the 4th. Instances of ships putting to sea are rare, and
The passage within the Drunken Sailor is clear, and some ships
when it is considered that although the is high, the wind is not
have sailed through but no advantage can be gained by approach-
violent and as at these times the rain having fallen in the interior,
ing the shore 80 very near at this point.
strong freshes escape to the 3. W., from the Kalany Ganga; it is by
The Drunken Sailor lies so near the land, and so far to the south-
no means surprising that Columbo road proves a safe auchorage.
Trade and Vavigation of Ceylon.-The quantity and estimated value of the principal articles
exported from Ceylon in 1830, beginning with cinnamon, the most important of all, were as follow:
viz. Cinnamon 380,000 lbs., value 142,500l.; arrack 739,472 gallons, value 24,6001. coir, and coir ropes
and cables, 1,499,453 lbs., value 5,4331.; cocoa nuts 2,842,495, value 2,5281.; cocoa nut oil 118,511 gal-
lons, value 8,9921.; chanks and chank rings 822,833 pieces, value 3,0891.; plumbago 50,629 lbe., value
1801.; jaggery 292,283 lbs., value 3,6001. coffee 1,669,490 lbs., value 12,2321.; areca nuts 3,348,972 lbs.,
value 12,0641.; tobaeco and sherroots 1,095,673 lbs., value 4,8961 The destination and total value of
the exports from Ceylon in 1830, were, to Great Britain, 168,576 lbs. to British colonies, Including
India, 80,6751.; to foreign states, 1,5361.; being, in all, 250,7871.; but to this has to be added, for the
value of the pearl fishery in 1830, 24,0231.; making an aggregate sum of 274,8101.
Of the imports, the principal are rice and other grain, the estimated value of the quantity imported
in 1830 being 141,7612.; the next article of importance is cotton cloth, mostly brought from India, esti-
mated at 123,759. The imports from Great Britain are very trifling their entire value in 1830 being
only estimated at 40,7771. The total imports during that year amounted to 349,5811.; of which 274,576L.
were from British colonies, including India and China.*
The number and tonnage of the ships entering Ceylon inwards in 1830 were as follow
From Great Britain.
From British Colonies and
From Foreign States.
Total.
India.
Ships,
Tona.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tone.
Ships.
Tome.
11
3,911
878
60,157 ₹
169
12,962
1,058
77,030+
* Dr. Colquhoun (2d ed. p. 412.) estimated the exports of Ceylon at 1,500,000Γ. a year, and the imports
at 1,000,000/.1 Perhaps a third of the Doctor's estimates are about equally near the mark.
t No accurate returns of the trade of Ceylon for 1831 have as yet (10th of October, 1833) been
Digitized by Google
COLUMBO ROOT, COMBS.
443
Extent, Population, Revenue, &c. of Ceylon-The area of Ceylon has been computed at
24,664 square miles. Its population has been much exaggerated; having frequently been
estimated as high as 2,000,000, and even Mr. Bertolacci reckoned it at 1,500,000.-(View
of Ceylon, p. 65.) But it was found by an actual enumeration taken in 1831, that the total
population did not exceed 950,000, of which about 6,600 were whites. It appears from
the official accounts laid before the Finance Committee in 1825, that during the 14 years
ending with 1824, the excess of expenditure over revenue in the island amounted to
1,365,452L, at the same time that various heavy items of expense are not included in this
account. But according to a statement in the Ceylon Almanac for 1833, which seems to
proceed from authority, there was, during the 3 years ending with 1831, an aggregate
surplus of revenue over expenditure of 174,828/. We may, however, observe that the
accounts laid before the Finance Committee differ very widely for the period to which they
apply, from those in the Ceylon Almanac; so much so, that while, according to the former,
there was, in 1822, an excess of expenditure over revenue of 55,396l., there was, according
to the latter, an excess of revenue over expenditure of 15,323!.! Of course, we do not pre-
sume to say which of these accounts is most to be relied upon. Probably our readers will
be inclined to think that neither is entitled to implicit credit.
A part, at least, of the former excess of expenditure may fairly be ascribed to the nature
of the establishment kept up in the island; which, in point of magnitude and éxpensiveness,
seems to have been a good deal beyond what was really required. We are, however, dis-
posed to believe that the greater part of the excess is to be ascribed to the poverty and back-
ward state of the colony, arising from the perpetual interference of government with every
branch of industry. All the restrictive regulations enacted by the Dutch more than a century
ago were kept up till 1832. The cultivation of cinnamon, the fishery of pearls and chanks,
the digging for chaya root, the felling of timber, &c.-(see these articles)-have been all
monopolised by government, and were carried on exclusively either by its servants or by
those whom it had licensed. A country where most of the principal branches of industry
were subjected to such restrictions, could not be otherwise than languishing. We believe,
too, that most of these monopolies have not been worth the expense attending them. In
fact, the whole revenue of the island, including land rent, customs, cinnamon monopoly, &c.,
very seldom exceeds 360,000L a year; but looking at its extent, its fertility, its faveurable
situation for commerce, and the advantage it enjoys in the possession of cinnamon, can any
one doubt that, were it rightly governed, its trade and revenue would be far greater than
they are? Nothing is wanted but the adoption of measures calculated to give freedom and
security to industry, and the imposition of moderate duties on imports and exports, to increase
them both in a very high degree.
We are glad to have to state that government seems, in part at least, to have at length
come round to this way of thinking; and that, under the auspices of the present governor
(Sir R. W. Horton), the system of compulsory labour has been relinquished, and most
monopolies, including that of cinnamon, been thrown up. This wise and liberal conduct
will, no doubt, be productive of the most beneficial effects. These, however, will be mate-
rially lessened by the exorbitant duty of 3s. per lb. laid on the exportation of cinnamon. It
is difficult, indeed, to imagine for what other purpose so oppressive a duty could be imposed,
except it were to countervail the advantages that would otherwise have resulted from the
abolition of the monopoly. It is not, however, possible that 80 mischievous an impost should
be maintained.-(See CINNAMON.) Among other improvements recently introduced into
the island, may be mentioned the establishment of a mail coach from Columbo to
Candy.
COLUMBO ROOT (Du. Columbo wortel; Fr. Racine de Colombo; Ger. Columbo-
wurzel; It. Radice di Columbo; Port. Raiz de Columba; Sp. Raiz de Columbo; Mosamb.
Kalumb), the root of the plant of that name. It is a staple export of the Portuguese from
Mosambique. It is not cultivated, but grows naturally in great abundance. It is imported
in circular pieces, from the an inch to 3 inches in diameter, generally from 1 to & of an inch
thick; the bark is wrinkled and thick, of a brownish colour without, and a brightish yellow
within; the pith is spongy, yellowish, and slightly striped: when fresh, its smell is rather
arematic; it is disagreeably bitter, and slightly pungent to the taste, somewhat resembling
mustard that has been too long kept. Choose the largest pieces, fresh, and of a good colour,
as free from worms as possible, rejecting that which is small and broken. The freight is
calculated at 16 cwt. to a ton.-(Milburn's Orient. Com.)
COMBS (Ger. Kamme; Du. Kammen; Fr. Peignes; It. Peltini; Sp. Peines; Rus.
Grebnü; Lat. Pectines), instruments for combing the hair, sometimes made of horns of
bullocks, or of elephants' and sea-horses' teeth; sometimes also of tortoiseshell, and some-
times of box or holly wood.
received in England. Those given in the papers printed by the Board of Trade for 1831, are really
for 1830.
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COMMERCE.
COMMERCE, from commutatio mercium, is simply, as its name imports, the exchange
of commodities for commodities.
I. ORIGIN OF COMMERCE.-MERCANTIEE CLASSES.
II. Home TRADE.
III. FOREIGN TRADE.
IV. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMERCE.
I. ORIGIN OF COMMERCE.-MERCANTILE CLASSES.
(1.) The Origin of Commerce is coeval with the first dawn of civilization. The mo-
ment that individuals ceased to supply themselves directly with the various articles and
accommodations they made use of, that moment must a commercial intercourse have begun
to grow up amongst them. For it is only by exchanging that portion of the produce raised
by ourselves that exceeds our own consumption, for portions of the surplus produce raised by
others, that the division of employments can be introduced, or that different individuals can
apply themselves in preference to different pursuits.
Not only, however, does commerce enable the inhabitants of the same village or parish to
combine their separate efforts to accomplish some common object, but it also enables those
of different provinces and kingdoms to apply themselves in an especial manner to those
callings, for the successful prosecution of which the district or country which they occupy
gives them some peculiar advantage. This territorial division of labour has contributed
more, perhaps, than any thing else to increase the wealth and accelerate the civilisation of
mankind. Were it not for it, we should be destitute of a vast number of the necessaries,
comforts, and enjoyments, which we now possess; while the price of the few that would
remain would, in most instances, be very greatly increased. But whatever advantages may
be derived,-and it is hardly possible to exaggerate either their magnitude or importance,-
from availing ourselves of the peculiar capacities of production enjoyed by others, are wholly
to be ascribed to commerce as their real source and origin.
We do not mean to say any thing in this article with respect to the practical details con-
nected with the different departments of commerce. These will be found under the various
titles to which they refer. Our object, at present, is merely to show the nature and influence
of commerce in general, and of the restrictions that have sometimes been imposed upon it.
We shall begin by endeavouring, first of all, to give some account of the nature of the services
performed by those individuals by whom commercial undertakings are usually carried on.
In the second place, we shall consider the influence of the home trade, or of the intercourse
subsisting amongst individuals of the same country. In the third place, we shall consider
the influence of foreign trade, or of that intercourse which subsists amongst individuals be-
longing to different countries. After these topics have been discussed, we shall offer a few
remarks on what has been termed the restrictive system ; or on the principles involved in the
regulations enacted at different times, in this and other countries, for the government and
direction of commerce.
(2.) Mercantile Classes.-While the exchange of different products is carried on by the
producers themselves, they must unavoidably lose a great deal of time, and experience many
inconveniences. Were there no merchants, a farmer wishing to sell his crop would be
obliged, in the first place, to seek for customers, and to dispose of his corn as nearly as possible
in such quantities as might suit the demands of the various individuals inclined to buy it;
and after getting its price, he would next be obliged to send to 10 or 20 different and, per-
haps, remote places, for the commodities he wanted to get in its stead. So that besides
being exposed to a world of trouble and inconvenience, his attention would be continually
diverted from the labours of his farm. Under such a state of things, the work of production,
in every different employment, would be meeting with perpetual interruptions, and many
branches of industry that are successfully carried on in a commercial country would not be
undertaken.
The establishment of a distinct mercantile class effectually obviates these inconveniences.
When a set of dealers erect warehouses and shops for the purchase and sale of all descrip-
tions of commodities, every producer, relieved from the necessity of seeking customers, and
knowing beforehand where he may at all times be supplied with such products as he requires,
devotes his whole time and energies to his proper business. The intervention of merchants
gives a continuous and uninterrupted motion to the plough and the loom. Were the class
of traders annihilated, all the springs of industry would be paralysed. The numberless diffi-
culties that would then occur in effecting exchanges would lead each particular family to
endeavour to produce all the articles they had occasion for society would thus be thrown
back into primæval barbarism and ignorance; the divisions of labour would be relinquished;
and the desire to rise in the world and improve our condition would decline, according as it
became more difficult to gratify it. What sort of agricultural management could be expected
from farmers who had to manufacture their own wool, and make their own shoes ! And
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what sort of manufacturers would those be, who were every now and then obliged to leave
the shuttle for the plough, or the needle for the anvil? A society, without that distinction of
employments and professions resulting from the division of labour, that is, without commerce,
would be totally-destitute of arts or sciences of any sort. It is by the assistance each indi-
vidual renders to and receives from his neighbours, by every one applying himself in prefer-
ence to some particular task, and combining, though probably without intending it, his ef-
forts with those of others, that civilised man becomes equal to the most gigantic efforts, and
appears endowed with almost omnipotent power.
The mercantile class has generally been divided into two subordinate classes—the whole-
sale dealers, and the retail dealers. The former purchase the various products of art and in-
dustry in the places where they are produced, or are least valuable, and carry them to those
where they are more valuable, or where they are more in demand; and the latter, having
purchased the commodities of the wholesale dealers, or the producers, collect them in shops,
and sell them in such quantities and at such times as may best suit the public demand.
These classes of dealers are alike useful; and the separation that has been effected between
their employments is one of the most advantageous divisions of labour. The operations of
the wholesale merchant are analogous to those of the miner. Neither the one nor the other
makes any change on the bodies which he carries from place to place. All the difference
between them consists in this,-that the miner carries them from below ground to the sur-
face of the earth, while the merchant carries them from one point to another on its surface.
Hence it follows that the value given to commodities by the operations of the wholesale mer-
chant may frequently exceed that given to them by the producers. The labour or expense
required to dig a quantity of coal from the mine, does not exceed what is required for its con-
veyance from Newcastle to London; and it is a far more difficult and costly affair to fetch a
piece of timber from Canada to England, than to cut down the tree. In this respect there is
no difference between commerce and agriculture and manufactures. The latter give utility
to matter, by bestowing on it such a shape as may best fit it for ministering to our wants and
comforts; and the former gives additional utility to the products of the agriculturist and
manufacturer, by bringing them from where they are of comparatively little use, or are in ex-
cess, to where they are of comparatively great use, or are deficient.
If the wholesale merchant were himself to retail the goods he has brought from different
places, he would require a proportional increase of capital; and it would be impossible for
him to give that exclusive attention to any department of his business, which is indispensa-
ble to its being carried on in the best manner. It is for the interest of each dealer, as of each
workulan, to confine himself to some one business. By this means each trade is better un-
derstood, better cultivated, and carried on in the cheapest possible manner. But whether
carried on by a separate class of individuals or not, it is obvious that the retailing of com-
modities is indispensable. It is not enough that a cargo of tea should be imported from
China, or a cargo of sugar from Jamaica. Most individuals have some demand for these
articles; but there is not, perhaps, a single private person, even in London, requiring so large
a supply of them for his own consumption. It is clear, therefore, that they must be retailed;
that is, they must be sold in such quantities and at such times as may be most suitable for
all classes of consumers. And since it is admitted on all hands, that this necessary business
will be best conducted by a class of traders distinct from the wholesale dealers, it is impossi-
ble to doubt that their employment is equally conducive as that of the others to the public
interest, or that it tends equally to augment national wealth and comfort.
II. HOME TRADE.
The observations already made serve to show the influence of the home trade in allowing
individuals to confine their attention to some one employment, and to prosecute it without
interruption. But it is not in this respect only that the establishment of the home trade is
advantageous. It is so in a still greater degree, by its allowing the inhabitants of the differ-
ent districts of the empire to turn their labour into those channels in which it will be most
productive. The different soils, different minerals, and different climates of different districts,
fit them for being appropriated, in preference, to certain species of industry. A district, like
Lancashire, where coal is abundant, which has an easy access to the ocean, and a considera-
ble command of internal navigation, is the natural seat of manufactures. Wheat and other
species of grain are the natural products of rich arable soils; and cattle, after being reared in
mountainous districts, are most advantageously fattened in- meadows and low grounds.
Hence it follows, that the inhabitants of different districts, by confining themselves to those
branches of industry for the successful prosecution of which they have some peculiar capa-
bility, and exchanging their surplus produce for that of others, will obtain an incomparably
larger supply of all sorts of useful and desirable products, than they could do, were they to
apply themselves indiscriminately to every different business. The territorial division of la-
bour is, if possible, even more advantageous than its division among individuals. A person
may be what is commonly termed Jack of all trades; and though it is next to certain that
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he will not be well acquainted with any one of them, he may nevertheless make some sost
of rude efforts in them all. But it is not possible to apply the same soil or the same minerals
to every different purpose. Hence it is, that the inhabitants of the richest and most exten-
sive country, provided it were divided into small districts without any intercourse with each
other, or with foreigners, could not, how well soever labour might be divided among them-
selves, be otherwise than poor and miserable. Some of them might have a superabundance
of corn, at the same time that they were wholly destitute of wine, coal, and iron; while
others might have the largest supplies of the latter articles, with but very little grain. But
in commercial countries no such anomalies can exist. Opulence and comfort are there uni-
versally diffused. The labours of the mercantile classes enable the inhabitants of each dis-
trict to apply themselves principally to those employments that are naturally best suited to
them. This superadding of the division of labour among different provinces to its division
among different individuals, renders the productive powers of industry immeasurably greater;
and augments the mass of necessaries, conveniences, and enjoyments, in a degree that could
not previously have been conceived possible, and which cannot be exceeded except by the in-
troduction of foreign commerce.
" With the benefit of commerce," says an eloquent and philosophical writer, or a ready
exchange of commodities, every individual is enabled to avail himself, to the utmost, of the
peculiar advantages of his place; to work on the peculiar materials with which nature has
furnished him; to humour his genius or disposition, and betake himself to the task in which
he is peculiarly qualified to succeed. The inhabitant of the mountain may betake himself
to the culture of his woods and the manufacture of his timber; the owner of pasture lands
may betake himself to the care of his herds; the owner of the clay-pit to the manufacture of
his pottery and the husbandman to the culture of his fields, or the rearing of his cattle.
And any one commodity, however it may form but a small part in the accommodations of
human life, may, under the facility of commerce, find a market in which it may be exchanged
for what will procure any other part, or the whole so that the owner of the clay-pit, or the
industrious potter, without producing any one article immediately fit to supply his own ne-
cessities, may obtain possession of all that he wants. And commerce, in which it appears
that commodities are merely exchanged, and nothing produced, is, nevertheless, in its effects,
very productive, because it ministers a facility and an encouragement to every artist in multi-
plying the productions of his own art; thus adding greatly to the mass of wealth in the
world, in being the occasion that much is produced."-(Ferguson's Principles of Moral
Science, vol. ii. p. 424.)
The roads and canals that intersect a country, and open an easy communication between
its remotest extremities, render the greatest service to internal commerce, and also to agricul-
ture and manufactures. A diminution of the expense of carriage has, in fact, the same effect
as a diminution of the direct cost of production. If the coals brought into a city sell at 20s.
a ton, of which the carriage amounts to a half, or 10s., it is plain that in the event of an im-
proved communication, such as a more level or direct road, a railway, or a canal, being opened
for the conveyance of the coals, and that they can, by its means, be imported for half the pre-
vious expense, their price will immediately fall to 15s. a ton; just as it would have done, had
the expense of extracting them from the mine been reduced a half.
Every one acquainted with the merest elements of political science is aware that employ-
ments are more and more subdivided, that more powerful machinery is introduced, and the
productive powers of labour increased, according as larger masses of the population congre-
gate together. In a great town like London, Glasgow, or Manchester, the same number of
hands will perform much more work than in a small village, where each individual has to per-
form several operations, and where the scale of employment is not sufficiently large to admit
of the introduction of extensive and complicated machinery. But the great towns with
which England is studded, could not exist without our improved means of communication.
These, however, enable their inhabitants to supply themselves with the bulky products of the
soil and of the mines almost as cheap as if they lived in country villages; securing to them
all the advantages of concentration, with but few of its inconveniences. Roads and canals
are thus productive of a double benefit; for while, by affording comparatively cheap raw
materials to the manufacturers, they give them the means of perfecting the divisions of la-
bour, and of supplying proportionally cheap manufactured goods; the latter are conveyed by
their means, and at an extremely small expense, to the remotest parts of the country. The
direct advantages which they confer on agriculture are not less important. Without them
it would not be possible to carry to a distance sufficient supplies of lime, marl, shells, and
other bulky and heavy articles necessary to give luxuriance to the crops of rich soils, and to
render those that are poor productive. Good roads and canals, therefore, by furnishing the
agriculturists with cheap and abundant supplies of manure, reduce, at one and the same
time, the cost of producing the necessaries of life, and the cost of bringing them to market.
In other respects, the advantages resulting from improved communications are probably
even more striking. They give the same common interest to every different part of the most
widely extended empire; and put down, or rather prevent, any attempt at monopoly on the
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part of the dealers of particular districts, by bringing them into competition with those of all
the others. Nothing in a state enjoying great facilities of communication is separate and
unconnected. All is mutual, reciprocal, and dependent. Every man naturally gets into the
precise situation that he is best fitted to fill and each, co-operating with every one else, con-
tributes to the utmost of his power to extend the limits of production and civilisation.-(See
ROADS.)
Such being the nature and vast extent of the advantages derived from the home trade, it is
obviously the duty of the legislature to give it every proper encouragement and protection.
It will be found, however, on a little consideration, that this duty is rather negative than posi-
tive-that it consists less in the framing of regulations, than in the removal of obstacles.
The error of governments in matters of trade has not been that they have done too little, but
that they have attempted too much. It will be afterwards shown that the encouragement
which has been afforded to the producers of certain species of articles in preference to others,
has uniformly been productive of disadvantage. In the mean time it is sufficient to observe
that the encouragement which a prudent and enlightened government bestows on industry,
will equally extend to all its branches; and will be especially directed to the removal of every
thing that may in any respect fetter the freedom of commerce, and the power of individuals
to engage in different employments. All regulations, whatever be their object, that operate
either to prevent thercirculation of commodities from one part of the empire to another, or the
free circulation of labour, necessarily tend to check the division of employments and the spirit
of competition and emulation, and must, in consequence, lessen the amount of produce. The
same principle that prompts to open roads, to construct bridges and canals, ought to lead
every people to erase from the statute book every regulation which either prevents or fetters
the operations of the merchant, and the free disposal of capital and labour. Whether the
freedom of internal commerce and industry be interrupted by impassable mountains and
swamps, or by oppressive tolls or restrictive regulations, the effect is equally pernicious.
The common law and the ancient statute law of England are decidedly hostile to monopo-
lies, or to the granting of powers to any particular class of individuals to furnish the market
with commodities. Lord Coke distinctly states, that all monopolies concerning trade and
traffic are against the liberty and freedom granted by the great charter, and divers other acts
of parliament which are good commentaries upon that charter."-(2 Inst. 63.) And he af-
firms, in another place, that "Commercium jure gentium commune esse debet, et non in
monopolium et privatum paululorum questum convertendum. Iniquum est aliis permit-
tere, aliis inhibere mercaturam."
But, notwithstanding this concurrence of the common and statute law of the country in
favour of the freedom of industry, during the arbitrary reigns of the princes of the house of
Tudor, the notion that the crown was by its prerogative entitled to dispense with any law
to the contrary, and to establish monopolies, became fashionable among the court lawyers,
and was acted upon to a very great extent. Few things, indeed, occasioned so much dis-
satisfaction in the reign of Elizabeth as the multiplication of monopolies; and notwithstand-
ing the opposition made by the crown, and the court party in parliament, the grievance be-
came at length so intolerable as to give rise to the famous statute of 1624 (21 James 1. c.
3.), by which all monopolies, grants, letters patent, and licences, for the sole buying, selling,
and making of goods and manufactures, not given by an act of the legislature, are declared
to be altogether contrary to the laws of this realm, void, and of none effect." This statute
has been productive of the greatest advantage and has, perhaps, contributed more than any
other to the development of industry, and the accumulation of wealth. With the exception
of the monopoly of printing Bibles, and the restraints imposed by the charters of bodies le-
gally incorporated, the freedom of internal industry has ever since been vigilantly protected
full scope has been given to the principle of competition; the whole kingdom has been sub-
jected to the same equal law no obstacles have been thrown in the way of the freest trans-
fer of commodities from one county or place to another the home trade has been perfectly
unfettered; and though the public have not been supplied with commodities at so low a price
as they might have obtained them for, had there been no restrictions on foreign commerce,
they have obtained them at the lowest price that would suffice to pay the home producers the
cost of producing and bringing them to market. It is to this freedom that the comparatively
flourishing state of industry in Great Britain is mainly to be ascribed.
III. FOREIGN TRADE.
What the home trade is to the different provinces of the same country, foreign trade is to
all the countries of the world. Particular countries produce only particular commodities, and,
were it not for foreign commerce, would be entirely destitute of all but such as are indigenous
to their own soil. It is difficult for those who have not reflected on the subject, to imagine
what a vast deduction would be made, not only from the comforts but even from the neces-
saries, of every commercial people, were its intercourse with strangers put an end to. It is
not, perhaps, too much to say that in Great Britain we owe to our intercourse with others a
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full half or more of all that we enjoy. We are not only indebted to it for the cotton and silk
manufactures, and for supplies of wine, tea, coffee, sugar, the precious metals, &c.; but we
are also indebted to it for most of the fruits and vegetables that we now cultivate. At the
same time, too, that foreign commerce supplies us with an immense variety of most important
articles, of which we must otherwise have been wholly ignorant, it enables us to employ our
industry in the mode in which it is sure to be most productive, and reduces the price of almost
every article. We do not misemploy our labour in raising sugar from the beet-root, in culti-
vating tobacco, or in forcing vines; but we employ ourselves in those departments of manu-
facturing industry in which our command of coal, of capital, and of improved machinery,
give us an advantage and obtain the articles produced more cheaply by foreigners, in ex-
change for the surplus produce of those branches in which we have a superiority over them.
A commercial nation like England avails herself of all the peculiar faculties of production
given by Providence to different countries. To produce claret here is perhaps impossible;
and at all events it could not be accomplished, unless at more than 100 times the expense re-
quired for its production in France. We do not, however, deny ourselves the gratification
derivable from its use and to obtain it, we have only to send to France, or to some country
indebted to France, some article in the production of which we have the advantage, and we
get claret in exchange at the price which it takes to raise it under the most favourable circum-
stances. One country has peculiar capacities for raising corn, but is at the same time desti-
tute of wine, silk, and tea; another, again, has peculiar facilities for raising the latter, but is
destitute of the former; and it is impossible to point out a single country which is abundantly
supplied with any considerable variety of commodities of domestic growth. Non omnis fert
omnia tellus. Providence, by giving to each particular nation something which the others
want, has evidently intended that they should be mutually dependent upon one another.
And it is not difficult to see that, cxteris paribus, those must be the richest and most abund-
antly supplied with every sort of useful and desirable accommodation, who cultivate the arts
of peace with the greatest success, and deal with all the world on fair and liberal principles.
" The commerce of one country with another is, in fact," to use the words of an able and
profound writer, " merely an extension of that division of labour by which so many benefits
are conferred upon the human race. As the same country is rendered the richer by the
trade of one province with another ; as its labour becomes thus infinitely more divided and
more productive than it could otherwise have been and as the mutual supply to each other
of all the accommodations which one province has, and another wants, multiplies the ac-
commodations of the whole, and the country becomes thus in a wonderful degree more opu-
lent and happy; the same beautiful train of consequences is observable in the world at large,
-that great empire of which the different kingdoms and tribes of men may be regarded as
the provinces. In this magnificent empire, too, one province is favourable to the production
of one species of accommodation, and another province to another by their mutual inter-
course they are enabled to sort and distribute their labour as most peculiarly suits the genius
of each particular spot. The labour of the human race thus becomes much more productive,
and every species of accommodation is afforded in much greater abundance. The same
number of labourers, whose efforts might have been expended in producing a very insigni-
ficant quantity of home-made luxuries, may thus in Great Britain, produce a quantity of
articles for exportation, accommodated to the wants of other places, and peculiarly suited to
the genius of Britain to furnish, which will purchase for her an accumulation of the luxu-
ries of every quarter of the globe. There is not a greater proportion of her population em-
ployed in administering to her luxuries, in consequence of her commerce there is probably
a good deal less but their labour is infinitely more productive the portion of commodities
which the people of Great Britain acquire by means of the same labour, is vastly greater."
-(Mill's Commerce defended, p. 38.)
What has been already stated is sufficient to expose the utter fallacy of the opinion that
has sometimes been maintained, that whatever one nation may gain by her foreign com-
merce, must be lost by some one else. It is singular, indeed, how such a notion should ever
have originated. Commerce is not directly productive, nor is the good derived from it to
be estimated by its immediate effects. What commercial nations give is uniformly the fair
equivalent of what they get. In their dealings they do not prey upon each other, but are
benefited alike. The advantage of commerce consists in its enabling labour to be divided,
and giving each people the power of supplying themselves with the various articles for which
they have a demand, at the lowest price required for their production in those countries and
places where they are raised with the greatest facility. We import wine from Portugal, and
cotton from America, sending in exchange cloth and other species of manufactured goods.
By this means we obtain two very important articles, which it would be all but impossible
to produce at home, and which we could not, certainly, produce, except at an infinitely
greater cost. But our gain is no loss to the foreigners. They derive precisely the same
sort of advantage from the transaction that we do. We have very superior facilities for
manufacturing, and they get from us cloth, hardware, and other important articles, at the
price at which they can be produced in this country, and consequently for far less than their
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direct production would have cost them. The benefits resulting from an intercourse of this
sort are plainly mutual and reciprocal. Commerce gives no advantage to any one people
over any other people; but it increases the wealth and enjoyments of all in a degree that
could not previously have been conceived possible.
But the influence of foreign commerce in multiplying and cheapening conveniences and
enjoyments, vast as it most certainly is, is perhaps inferior to its indirect influence-that is,
to its influence on industry, by adding immeasurably to the mass of desirable articles, by
inspiring new tastes, and stimulating enterprise and invention by bringing each people into
competition with foreigners, and making them acquainted with their arts and institutions.
The apathy and languor that exist in a rude state of society have been universally re-
marked. But these uniformly give place to activity and enterprise, according as man is
rendered familiar with new objects, and is inspired with a desire to obtain them. An indi-
vidual might, with comparatively little exertion, furnish himself with an abundant supply of
the commodities essential to his subsistence; and if he had no desire to obtain others, or if
that desire, however strong, could not be gratified, it would be folly to suppose that he should
be laborious, inventive, or enterprising. But, when once excited, the wants and desires of
man become altogether illimitable; and to excite them, no more is necessary than to bring
new products and new modes of enjoyment within his reach. Now, the sure way to do
this is to give every facility to the most extensive intercourse with foreigners. The markets
of a commercial nation being filled with the various commodities of every country and every
climate, the motives and gratifications which stimulate and reward the efforts of the indus-
trious are proportionally augmented. The husbandman and manufacturer exert themselves
to increase their supplies of raw and manufactured produce, that they may exchange the
surplus for the products imported from abroad. And the merchant, finding a ready demand
for such products, is prompted to import a greater variety, to find out cheaper markets, and
thus constantly to afford new incentives to the vanity and ambition, and consequently to
the enterprise and industry, of his customers. The whole powers of the mind and the body
are thus called into action and the passion for foreign commodities-a passion which has
sometimes been ignorantly censured-becomes one of the most efficient causes of wealth
and civilisation.
Not only, however, does foreign commerce excite industry, distribute the gifts of nature,
and enable them to be turned to the best account, but it also distributes the gifts of science
and of art, and gives to each particular country the means of profiting by the inventions and
discoveries of others as much as by those of her own citizens. The ingenious machine in-
vented by Mr. Whitney of the United States, for separating cotton wool from the pod, by
reducing the cost of the raw material of one of our principal manufactures, has been quite
as advantageous to us as to his own countrymen. And the discoveries and inventions of
Watt, Arkwright, and Wedgwood, by reducing the cost of articles we send abroad, have
been as advantageous to our foreign customers as to ourselves. Commerce has caused the
blessings of civilisation to be universally diffused, and the treasures of knowledge and science
to be conveyed to the remotest corners. Its humanising influence is, in this respect, most
important while, by making each country depend for the means of supplying a considera-
ble portion of its wants on the assistance of others, it has done more than any thing else to
remove a host of the most baleful prejudices, and to make mankind regard each other as
friends and brothers, and not as enemies. The dread, once so prevalent, of the progress of
other nations in wealth and civilisation, is now universally admitted to be as absurd as it is
illiberal. While every people ought always to be prepared to resist and avenge any attack
upon their independence or their honour, it is not to be doubted that their real prosperity
will be best secured by their endeavouring to live at peace. "A commercial war, whether
crowned with victory or branded with defeat, can never prevent another nation from becom-
ing more industrious than you are; and if they are more industrious they will sell cheaper
and consequently your customers will forsake your shop and go to theirs. This will happen,
though you covered the ocean with fleets, and the land with armies. The soldier may lay
waste the privateer, whether successful or unsuccessful, will make poor; but it is the
eternal law of Providence that the hand of the diligent can alone make rich."-(Tucker's
Four Tracts, p. 41. 3d ed.)
Mr. Hume has beautifully illustrated the powerful and salutary influence of that spirit of
industry and enterprise resulting from the eager prosecution of commerce and the arts.
" Men," says he, are then kept in perpetual occupation, and enjoy, as their reward, the
occupation itself, as well as those pleasures which are the fruits of their labour. The mind
acquires new vigour ; enlarges its powers and faculties and, by an assiduity in honest in-
dustry, both satisfies its natural appetites, and prevents the growth of unnatural ones, which
commonly spring up when nourished with ease and idleness. Banish those arts from socie-
ty, you deprive men both of action and of pleasure; and, leaving nothing but indolence in
their place, you even destroy the relish of indolence, which never is agreeable but when it
succeeds to labour, and recruits the spirits, exhausted by too much application and fatigue.
"Another advantage of industry and of refinements in the mechanical arts is, that they
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commonly produce some refinements in the liberal ; nor can the one be carried to perfection,
without being accompanied in some degree with the other. The same age which produces
great philosophers and politicians, renowned generals and poets, usually abounds with skil-
ful weavers and ship-carpenters. We cannot reasonably expect that a piece of woollen cleth
will be wrought to perfection in a nation which is ignorant of astronomy, or where ethics
are neglocted. The spirit of the age affects all the arts ; and the minds of men, being once
roused from their lethargy, and put into a fermentation, turn themselves on all sides, and
carry improvements into every art and science. Profound ignorance is totally banished; and
men enjoy the privilege of rational creatures, to think as well as to act, to cultivate the
pleasures of the mind as well as those of the body.
" The more these refined arts advance, the more sociable do men become nor is it possi-
ble that, when enriched with science, and possessed of a fund of conversation, they should
be contented to remain in solitude, or live with their fellow citizens in that distant manner
which is peculiar to ignorant and barbarous nations. They flock into cities love to receive
and communicate knowledge; to show their wit or their breeding their taste in conversa-
tion or living, in clothes or furniture. Curiosity allures the wise, vanity the foolish, and
pleasure both. Particular clubs and societies are every where formed both sexes meet in
an easy and sociable manner; and the tempers of men, as well as their behaviour, refine
apace. So that beside the improvements they receive from knowledge and the liberal arts,
it is impossible but they must feel an increase of humanity from the very habit of conversing
together, and contributing to each other's pleasure and entertainment. Thus industry,
knowledge, and humanity are linked together by an indissoluble chain and are found, from
experience as well as reason, to be peculiar to the more polished, and, what are commonly
denominated, the more luxurious ages."-(Essay of Refinement in the Arts.)
Most commercial treatises, and most books on political economy, contain lengthened state-
ments as to the comparative advantages derived from the home and foreign trade. But these
statements are almost always bottomed on the most erroneous principles. The quantity and
value of the commodities which the inhabitants of an extensive country exchange with each
other, is far greater than the quantity and value of those they exchange with foreigners
but this is not, as is commonly supposed, enough to show that the home trade is propor-
tionally more advantageous. Commerce, it must be borne in mind, is not a direct but an indi-
rect source of wealth. The mere exchange of commodities adds nothing to the riches of
society. The influence of commerce on wealth consists in its allowing employments to be
separated and prosecuted without interruption. It gives the means of pushing the divisions
of labour to the furthest extent; and supplies mankind with an infinitely greater quantity of
necessaries and accommodations of all sorts, than could have been produced, had individuals
and nations been forced to depend upon their own comparatively feeble efforts for the sup-
ply of their wants. And hence, in estimating the comparative advantageousness of the
home and foreign trades, the real questions to be decided are, which of them contributes
most to the division of labour and which of them gives the greatest stimulus to invention
and industry ? These questions do not, perhaps, admit of any very satisfactory answer.
The truth is, that both home trade and foreign trade are most prolific sources of wealth.
Without the former, no division of labour could be established, and man would for ever
remain in a barbarous state. Hence, perhaps, we may say that it is the most indispensable;
but the length to which it could carry any particular country in the career of civilisation,
would be limited indeed. Had Great Britain been cut off from all intercourse with strangers,
there is no reason for thinking that we should have been at this day advanced beyond the
point to which our ancestors had attained during the Heptarchy ! It is to the products and
the arts derived from others, and to the emulation inspired by their competition and example,
that we are mainly indebted for the extraordinary progress we have already made, as well as
for that we are yet destined to make.
Dr. Smith, though he has satisfactorily demonstrated the impolicy of all restrictions on the
freedom of commerce, has, notwithstanding, endeavoured to show that it is more for the public
advantage that capital should be employed in the home trade than in foreign trade, on the
ground that the capitals employed in the former are more frequently returned, and that they set
a greater quantity of labour in motion than those employed in the latter. But we have else-
where endeavoured to show that the rate of profit which different businesses yield is the
only test of their respective advantageousness.-(Principles of Political Economy, 2d ed.
pp. 160-180.) Now, it is quite evident that capital will not be employed in foreign trade,
unless it yield as much profit as could be made by employing it at home. No merchant
sends a ship to China, if it be in his power to realise a larger profit by sending her to Dub-
lin or Newcastle; nor would any one build a ship, unless he expected that the capital so
laid out would be as productive as if it were employed in agriculture or manufactures.
The more or less rapid return of capital is a matter of very little importance. If the average
rate of profit be 10 per cent., an individual who turns over his capital 10 times a year, will
make one per cent. of profit each time; whereas if he turns it only once a year, he will get
the whole 10 per cent. at once. Competition reduces the rate of nett profit to about the
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same level in all businesses and we may be quite certain that those who employ themselves
in the departments in which capital is most rapidly returned, do not, at an average, gain more
than those who employ themselves in the departments in which the returns are most distant.
No one is a foreign merchant because he would rather deal with foreigners than with his
own countrymen, but because he believes he will be able to employ his capital more advan-
tageously in foreign trade than in any other business: and while he does this, he is follow-
ing that employment which is most beneficial for the public as well as for himself.
IV. RESTRICTIONS ON COMMERCE.
The statements already made, by explaining the nature and principles of commercial trans-
actions, are sufficient to evince the inexpediency of subjecting them to any species of restraint.
It is obvious, indeed, that restrictions are founded on false principles. When individuals are
left to pursue their own interest in their own way, they naturally resort to those branches
of industry which they reckon most advantageous for themselves; and, as we have just seen,
these are the very branches in which it is most for the public interest that they should be
employed. Unless, therefore, it could be shown that a government can judge better as to
what sort of transactions are profitable or otherwise than private individuals, its regulations
cannot be of the smallest use, and may be exceedingly injurious. But any such pretension
on the part of government would be universally scouted. It is undeniably certain that a
regard to our own interest is, if not an unerring guide to direct us in such matters, at least
incomparably better than any other. If the trade with a particular country or in a par-
ticular commodity be a losing one, or merely a less profitable one than others, it is quite as
unnecessary to pass an act to prevent it from being carried on, as it would be to interfere to
prevent individuals from selling their labour or their commodities below the market price.
It appears, therefore, that all regulations affecting the freedom of commerce, or of any branch
of industry, are either useless or pernicious. They are useless, when they are intended to
protect the interest of individuals by preventing them from engaging in disadvantageous
businesses and pernicious, when they prevent them from engaging in those that are advan-
tageous. The self interest of the parties concerned is the only safe principle to go by in
such matters. When the acts of the legislature are in unison with it, there is nothing to
object to in them, save only that they might as well not exist; but whenever they are incon-
sistent with it-that is, whenever they tend to divert capital and industry into channels, into
which individuals, if left to their own discretion, would not have carried them-they are
decidedly injurious.
No one denies that it is possible to confer, by means of a restrictive regulation, an advan-
tage on a greater or less number of individuals. This, however, is no proof that it is advan-
tageous in a public point of view ; and it is by its influence in this respect that we are to
decide concerning it. If the exclusion of an article imported from abroad, in order to encou-
rage its manufacture at home, raise its price in the home market, that circumstance will, for
a while at least, be advantageous to those engaged in its production. But is it not clear that
all that is thus gained by them, is lost by those who purchase the article ? To suppose, in-
deed, that the exclusion of commodities that are comparatively cheap, to make room for
those that are comparatively dear, can be a means of enriching a country, is equivalent to
supposing that a people's wealth might be increased by destroying their most powerful
machines, and throwing their best soils out of cultivation.
But it is contended, that though this might be the case in the instance of commodities pro-
duced at home, it is materially different when the commodity excluded came to us from
abroad. It is said, that in this case the exclusion of foreign produce increases the demand
for that produced at home, and consequently contributes to increase the demand for labour;
so that the rise of price it occasions is, in this way, more than balanced by the other advan-
tages which it brings along with it. But the fact is, that though the demand for one spe-
cies of produce may be increased by a prohibition of importation, the demand for some
other species is sure to be at the same time equally diminished. There is no jugglery in
commerce. Whether it be carried on between individuals of the same country or of different
countries, it is all in cases bottomed on a fair principle of reciprocity. Those who will not
buy need not expect to sell, and conversely. It is impossible to export without making a
corresponding importation. We get nothing from the foreigne: gratuitously and hence,
when we prevent the importation of produce from abroad, we prevent, by the very same act,
the exportation of an equal amount of British produce. All that the exclusion of foreign
commodities ever effects, is the substitution of one sort of demand for another. It has been
said, that " when we drink beer and porter we consume the produce of English industry,
whereas when we drink port or claret we consume the produce of the industry of the Por-
tuguese and French, to the obvious advantage of the latter, and the prejudice of our coun-
trymen But, how paradoxical soever the assertion may at first sight appear, there is not
at bottom any real distinction between the two caser, What is it that induces foreigners to
supply us with port and claret ? The answer is obvious -We either send directly to Por-
tugal and France an equivalent in British produce, or we send such equivalent, in the first
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place to South America for bullion, and then send that bullion to the Continent to pay for
the wine. And hence it is as clear as the sun at noon-day, that the Englishman who drinks
only French wine, who eats only bread made of Polish wheat, and who wears only Saxon
cloth, gives, by occasioning the exportation of a corresponding amount of British cotton,
hardware, leather, or other produce, the same encouragement to the industry of his country-
men, that he would give were he to consume nothing not immediately produced at home.
A quantity of port wine and a quantity of Birmingham goods are respectively of the same
value; so that whether we directly consume the hardware, or, having exchanged it for the
wine, consume the latter, must plainly, in so far as the employment of British labour is con-
cerned, be altogether indifferent.
It is absolutely nugatory, therefore, to attempt to encourage industry at home by restrain-
ing importation from abroad. We might as well try to promote it by interdicting the ex-
change of shoes for hats. We only resort to foreign markets, that we may supply ourselves
with articles that cannot be produced at home, or that require more labour to produce them
here, than is required to produce the equivalent exported to pay for them. It is, if any thing
can be, an obvious contradiction and absurdity to attempt to promote wealth or industry by
prohibiting an intercourse of this sort. Such prohibition, even when least injurious, is sure
to force capital and labour into less productive channels; and cannot fail to diminish the
foreign demand for one species of produce, quite as much as it extends the home demand
for another.
It is but seldom, however, that a restriction on importation from abroad does no more than
substitute one sort of employment for another. Its usual effect is both to alter the distribu-
tion of capital, and to increase the price of commodities. A country rarely imports any com-
modity from abroad that may be as cheaply produced at home. In the vast majority of in-
stances, the articles bought of the foreigner could not be directly produced at home, without
a much greater outlay of capital. Suppose that we import 1,000,000L worth of any com-
modity, that its importation is prohibited, and that the same quantity of produce cannot be
raised in this country for less than 1,200,000L or 1,500,000L: in a case of this sort,-and
this is actually the case in 99 out of every 100 instances in which prohibitions are enacted,-
the prohibition has the same effect on the consumers of the commodity, as if, supposing it
not to have existed, they had been burdened with a peculiar tax of 200,000L or 500,000L a
year. But, had such been the case, what the consumers lost would have gone into the coffers
of the treasury, and would have afforded the means of repealing an equal amount of other
taxes; whereas, under the prohibitory system, the high price, being occasioned by an in-
creased difficulty of production, is of no advantage to any one. So that, instead of gaining
any thing by such a measure, the public incurs a dead loss of 200,000L or 500,000/. a year.
We have said that a prohibition of importation may be productive of immediate advantage
to the home producers of the prohibited article. It is essential, however, to remark that this
advantage cannot continue for any considerable time, and that it must be followed by a period
of distress. Were the importation of foreign silks put an end to, that circumstance, by nar-
rowing the supply of silk goods, and raising their prices, would, no doubt, be in the first in-
stance, advantageous to the manufacturers, by elevating their profits above the common level.
But the consequence would be, that those already engaged in the trade would immediately set
about extending their concerns; at the same time that not a few of those engaged in other
employments would enter a business which presented such a favourable prospect: nor would
this transference of capital to the silk manufacture be stopped, till such an increased supply
of silks had been brought to market as to occasion a glut. This reasoning is not founded
upon hypothesis, but upon the widest experience. When a business is carried on under the
protection of a restriction on importation, it is limited by the extent of the home market, and
is incapable of further extension. It is, in consequence, particularly subject to that fluctua-
tion which is the bane of industry. If, owing to a change of fashion, or any other cause,
the demand be increased, then, as no supplies can be brought from abroad, prices suddenly
rise, and the manufacture is rapidly extended, until a reaction takes place, and prices sink
below their usual level and if the demand decline, then, as there is no outlet abroad for the
superfluous goods, their price is ruinously depressed, and the producers are involved in inex-
tricable difficulties. The businesses deepest entrenched behind ramparts of prohibitions and
restrictions, such as the silk trade previously to 1825, the West India trade, and agriculture
since 1815, have undergone the most extraordinary vicissitudes; and have been at once
more hazardous and less profitable than the businesses carried on under a system of fair and
free competition.
A prohibition against buying in the cheapest markets is really, also, a prohibition against
selling in the dearest markets. There is no test of high or low price, except the quantity of
other produce for which an article exchanges. Suppose that, by sending a certain quantity
of cottons or hardware to Brazil, we might get in exchange 150 hhds. of sugar, and that the
same quantity, if sent to Jamaica, would only fetch 100 hhds. is it not obvious, that by pre-
venting the importation of the former, we force our goods to be sold for two thirds of the
price they would otherwise have brought? To suppose that a system productive of such
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results can be a means of increasing wealth, is to suppose what is evidently absurd. It is
certainly true that a restrictive regulation, which has been long acted upon, and under which
a considerable quantity of capital is employed, ought not to be rashly or capriciously repealed.
Every change in the public economy of a great nation ought to be gone about cautiously and
gradually. Adequate time should be given to those who carry on businesses that have been
protected, either to withdraw from them altogether, or to prepare to withstand the fair com-
petition of foreigners. But this is all that such persons can justly claim. To persevere in
an erroneous and oppressive system, merely because its abandonment might be productive of
inconvenience to individuals, would be a proceeding inconsistent with every object for which
society is formed, and subversive of all improvement.
It may, perhaps, be supposed that in the event of commodities being imported from abroad,
after the abolition of a protecting regulation, that were previously produced at home, the
workmen and those engaged in their production would be thrown upon the parish. Such,
however, is not the case. We may, by giving freedom to commerce, change the species of
labour in demand, but it is not possible that we should thereby change its quantity. If, in
consequence of the abolition of restrictions, our imports were increased to the amount of
4,000,000L or 5,000,000/., our exports, it is certain, must be augmented to the same extent
so that whatever diminution of the demand for labour might be experienced in certain de-
partments would be balanced by a corresponding increase in others.
The pressure of taxation has often been alleged as an excuse for restrictions on commerce,
but it is not more valid than the rest. Taxation may be heavy, and even oppressive; but so
long as it is impartially and fairly assessed, it equally affects all branches of industry carried
on at home, and consequently affords no ground whatever for the enactment of regulations
intended to protect any particular business. And to propose to protect all branches of in-
dustry from foreign competition, is, in effect, to propose to put a total stop to commerce for
if nothing is to be imported, nothing can be exported. The imposition of moderate duties
on foreign commodities, for the sake of revenue, is quite another thing. Many of these form
among the very best subjects of taxation and when the duties on them are confined within
proper bounds,-that is, when they are not so high as to exert any injurious influence upon
trade, or to occasion smuggling and fraud,-they cannot fairly be objected to.
It is sometimes contended, by those who assert, on general grounds, that restrictions are
inexpedient, that it would be unwise, on the part of any country, to abolish them until she
had obtained a security that those imposed by her neighbours would also be abolished. But
the reasons that have been alleged in favour of this statement are not entitled to the least
weight. It is our business to buy in the cheapest and sell in the dearest markets, without
being, in any degree, influenced by the conduct of others. If they consent to repeal the re-
strictions they have laid on commerce, 80 much the better. But whatever others may do, the
line of policy we ought to follow is clear and well defined. To refuse, for example, to buy
claret, brandy, &c. from the French, because they lay absurd restrictions on the importation
of British hardware, cottons, &c., would not be to retaliate upon them, but upon ourselves.
The fact that we do import French wine and brandy shows that we do export to France, or
to some other country to which France is indebted, an equivalent, in some sort, of British
produce. The fear of being glutted with foreign products, unless we secure beforehand a
certain outlet for our own, is the most unfounded that can be imagined. The foreigner who
will take nothing of ours, can send us nothing of his. Though our ports were open to the
merchants of all the countries of the world, the exports of British produce must always be
equal to the imports of foreign produce and none but those who receive our commodities,
either at first or second hand, could continue to send any thing to us.
" Les étrangers ne peuvent demander ni désirer rien mieux, que la liberté de vous acheter
et de vous vendre chez vous et dans vos colonies. Il faut la leur accorder, non par foiblesse .
et par impuissance, mais parcequ'elle est juste en elle-même, et qu'elle vous est utile. Ils
ont tort sans doute de la refuser chez eux mais cette faute d'ignorance dont, sans le savoir,
ils sont punis les premiers, n'est pas un raison qui doive vous porter à vous nuire à vous-
même en suivant cet exemple, et à vous exposer aux suites et aux dépenses d'une guerre
pour avoir la vaine satisfaction d'user des représailles, dont l'effet ne peut manquer de retom-
ber sur vous, et de rendre votre commerce plus désavantageux."-(Le Trosne de l'Ordre
Social, p. 416.)
There are some, however, who contend, that though restrictions on importation from
abroad be unfavourable to opulence, and the advancement of individuals and nations in arts
and civilisation, they may, notwithstanding, be vindicated on other grounds, as contributing
essentially to independence and security. The short and decisive answer to this is to be found
in the reciprocity of commerce. It does not enrich one individual or nation at the expense
of others, but confers its favours equally on all. We are under no obligations to the Portu-
guese, the Russians, or any other people with whom we carry on trade. It is not our ad-
vantage, but their own, that they have in view in dealing with us. We give them the full
value of all that we import and they would suffer quite as much inconvenience as we should
do were this intercourse put an end to. The independence at which those aspire who would
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promote it by laying restrictions on commerce, is the independence of the solitary and un-
social savage it is not an independence productive of strength, but of weakness. The
most flourishing states, at the moment of their highest elevation, when they were closely con-
nected with every part of the civilised world by the golden chains of successful commercial
enterprise, were, according to this doctrine, in the most perfect state of absolute dependence.
It was not till all these connections were dissolved, and they had sunk in the scale of nations,
that their true independence commenced! Such statements carry with them their own refu-
tation. There is a natural dependence of nations upon each other, as there is a natural de-
pendence of individuals upon each other. Heaven has so ordered it. Some soils, some cli-
mates, some situations, are productive exclusively of some peculiar fruits, which cannot
elsewhere be profitably procured. Let nations follow this as their guide. In a rich and
rising community, the opulent capitalists may be as dependent upon the poor labourers, as
the poor labourers upon the opulent capitalists. So it is with nations. The mutual depend-
ence of individuals upon each other knits and binds society together, and leads to the most
rapid advancement in wealth, in intelligence, and in every kind of improvement. It is the
same, but on a far larger scale, with the mutual dependence of nations. To this alone do
we owe all the mighty efforts of commerce; and what lights, what generous feelings, and
multiplied means of human happiness, has it not every where !"-(North American
Review, No. 57.)
The principles of commercial freedom, and the injurious influence of restrictive regula-
tions, were set in a very striking point of view by Dr. Smith, in his great work and they
have been since repeatedly explained and elucidated. Perhaps, however, the true doctrines
upon this subject have no where been better stated than in the petition presented by the mer-
chants of London to the House of Commons on the 8th of May, 1820. This document is
one of the most gratifying proofs of the progress of liberal and enlarged views. It was sub-
scribed by all the principal merchants of the metropolis, who have not scrupled to express
their conviction, that the repeal of every protective regulation would be for the public ad-
vantage. Such an address, confirming, as it did, the conclusions of science, by the approval
of the best informed and most extensive merchants of the world, had a powerful influence
on the legislature. During the last 10 years several most important reforms have been made
in our commercial system; so that besides being the first to promulgate the true theory of
commerce, we are now entitled to the praise of being the first to carry it into effect. No
doubt our trade is still fettered by many vexatious restraints; but these will gradually disep-
pear, according as experience serves to disclose the benefits resulting from the changes already
made, and the pernicious operation of the restrictions that are still allowed to continue.
The petition now referred to, is too important to be omitted in a work of this sort. It is
as follows :-
To the Honourable the Commons, &c., the Petition of the Merchants of the City of London.
Sheweth,
That foreign commerce is eminently conducive to the wealth and prosperity of a country, by ena-
bling it to import the commodities for the production of which the soil, climate, capital, and industry
of other countries are best calculated, and to export, in payment, those articles for which its OWN
situation is better adapted.
That freedom from restraint is calculated to give the utmost extension to foreign trade, and the
best direction to the capital and industry of the country.
That the maxim of buying in the cheapest market, and selling in the dearest, which regulates
every merchant in his individual dealings, 18 strictly applicable, as the best rule for the trade of the
whole nation.
" That a policy founded OR these principles would render the commerce of the world an interchange
of mutual advantages, and diffuse an increase of wealth and enjoyments among the inhabitants of
each state.
That, unfortunately, a policy the very reverse of this has been and is more or less adopted and
acted upon by the government of this and every other country; each trying to exclude the produe-
tions of other countries, with the specious and well-meant design of encouraging its own productions:
thus inflicting on the bulk of its subjects, who are consumers, the necessity of submitting to privations
in the quantity or quality of commodities ; and thus rendering what ought to be the source of mutual
benefit and of harmony among states, a constantly recurring occasion of jealousy and hostility.
That the prevailing prejudices in favour of the protective or restrictive system may be traced to
the erroneous supposition that every importation of foreign commodities occasions a diminution or
discouragement of our own productions to the same extent: whereas it may be clearly shown, that
although the particular description of production which could not stand against unrestrained foreign
competition would be discouraged, yet, as no importation could be continued for any leagth of time
without a corresponding exportation, direct or indirect, there would be an encouragement, for the
purpose of that exportation, of some other production to which our situation might be better suited;
thus affording at least an equal, and probably a greater, and certainly a more beneficial, employment
to our own capital and labour.
That of the numerous protective and prohibitory duties of our commercial code, it may be proved
that, while all operate as a very heavy tax on the community at large, very few are of any ultimate
benefit to the classes in whose favour they were originally instituted, and none to the extent of the
loss occasioned by them to other classes.
That among the other evils of the restrictive or protective system, not the least is, that the arti-
ficial protection of one branch of industry or source of production against foreign competition, is set
up as a ground of claim by other branches for similar protection 80 that if the reasoning upon which
these restrictive or prohibitory regulations are founded were followed out consistently, it would not
stop short of excluding us from all foreign commerce whatsoever. And the same train of argument,
which, with corresponding prohibitions and protective duties, should exclude us from foreign trade, might
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be brought forward to justify the re-enactment of restrictions upon the interchange of productions
(unconnected with public revenue) among the kingdoms composing the union, or among the counties
of the same kingdom.
"That an investigation of the effects of the restrictive system at this time is peculiarly called for, as
it may, in the opinion of your petitioners, lead to a strong presumption, that the distress, which now
so generally prevails, is considerably aggravated by that system; and that some relief may be
obtained by the earliest practicable removal of such of the restraints as may be shown to be most
injurious to the capital and industry of the community, and to be attended with no compensating
benefit to the public revenue.
That a declaration against the anti-commercial principles of our restrictive system is of the more
Importance at the present juncture; inasmuch as, in several instances of recent occurrence, the mer-
chants and manufacturers of foreign countries have assailed their respective governments with appli-
cations for further protective or prohibitory duties and regulations, urging the example and authority
of this country, against which they are almost exclusively directed, as a sanction for the policy of
such measures. And certainly, if the reasoning upon which our restrictions have been defended is
worth any thing, it will apply in behalf of the regulations of foreign states against us. They insist
upon our superiority in capital and machinery, as we do upon their comparative exemption from tax-
ation, and with equal foundation.
" That nothing would tend more to counteract the commercial hostility of foreign states, than the
adoption of a more enlightened and more concillatory policy on the part of this country.
"That although, as a matter of mere diplomacy, it may sometimes answer to hold the removal of
particular prohibitions, or high dutles, as depending upon corresponding concessions by other states in
our favour, it does not follow that we should maintain our restrictions in cases where the desired
concessions on their part cannot be obtained. Our restrictions would not be the less prejudicial to
our own capital and industry, because other governments persisted in preserving impolitic regu-
lations.
That, upon the whole, the most liberal would prove to be the most politic course on such
occasions.
'That independent of the direct benefit to be derived by this country, on every occasion of such
concession or relaxation, a great incidental object would be gained, by the recognition of a sound
principle or standard, to which all subsequent arrangements might be referred; and by the salutary
influence which a promulgation of such just views, by the legislature and by the nation at large,
could not fail to have on the policy of other states.
That in thus declaring, as your petitioners do, their conviction of the impolicy and injustice of the
restrictive system, and in desiring every practicable relaxation of it, they have in view only such parts
of it as are not connected, or are only subordinately so, with the public revenue. As long as the
necessity for the present amount of revenue subsists, your petitioners cannot expect 80 important a
branch of it as the customs to be given up, nor to be materially diminished, unless some substitute
less objectionable be suggested. But it is against every restrictive regulation of trade, not essential to
the revenue, against all duties merely protective from foreign competition, and against the excess of such
duties as are partly for the purpose of revenue, and partly for that of protection, that the prayer of the
present petition is respectfully submitted to the wisdom of parliament.
May it therefore," &c.
For examples of the practical working and injurious operation of restrictions, see the arti-
cles BORDEAUX, CADIZ, CAGLIARI, Colony TRADE, Corn LAWS AND Corn TRADE,
NAPLES, TIMBER, &c., in this Dictionary the articles on the American Tariff and the
French Commercial System in Nos. 96. and 99. of the Edinburgh Review; the Report of
the Committee of Commerce and Navigation to the House of Representatives of the United
States, 8th of February, 1830; and the Petition and Memoire à l'Appui, addressed, in 1828,
by the landowners and merchants of the Gironde to the Chamber of Deputies.
For an account of the doctrines with respect to the balance of trade, and the importation
and exportation of the precious metals, see the articles BALANCE OF TRADE, and Ex-
CHANGE.
For an account of the articles exported from and imported into Great Britain, see IM-
PORTS AND EXPORTS.
COMPANIES. In commerce or the arts, a company is a number of persons associated
together for the purpose of carrying on some commercial or industrious undertaking. When
there are only a few individuals associated, it is most commonly called a copartnery the
term company being usually applied to large associations, like the East India Company, the
Bank of England, &e., who conduct their operations by means of agents acting under the
orders of a Board of directors.
Companies have generally been divided into two great classes-exclusive or joint stock
companies, and open or regulated companies.
1. Exclusive or Joint Stock Companies.-By an institution of this sort is meant a com-
pany having a certain ambunt of capital, divided into a greater or smaller number of trans-
ferable shares, managed for the common advantage of the shareholders by a body of directors
chosen by and responsible to them. After the stock of a company of this sort has been sub-
scribed, no one can enter it without previously purchasing one or more shares belonging to
some of the existing members. The partners do nothing individually all their resolutions
are taken in common, and are carried into effect by the directors and those whom they em-
ploy.
According to the common law of England, all the partners in a joint stock company are
jointly and individually liable, to the whole extent of their fortunes, for the debts of the
company. They may make arrangements amongst themselves, limiting their obligations
with respect to each other; but unless established by an authority competent to set aside the
general rule, they are all indefinitely responsible to the public. Parliament sometimes limits
the responsibility of the shareholders in joint stock companies established by statute, to the
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amount of the shares they respectively hold. Charters of incorporation granted by the
Crown were also, until lately, supposed necessarily to have this effect; but by the act 6 Geo. 4.
c. 96. the Crown is empowered to grant charters of incorporation by which the members of
corporate bodies may be made individually liable, to such extent, and subject to such regu-
lations and restrictions, as may be deemed expedient. Hence charters are now frequently
granted for the purpose merely of enabling companies to sue and be sued in courts of law,
under the names of some of their office-bearers, without in any respect limiting the responsi-
bility of the shareholders to the public. This limitation cannot be implied in a charter any
more than in an act of parliament, and will be held not to exist unless it be distinctly set
forth.
In a private copartnery, no partner, without the consent of the company, can transfer his
share to another person, or introduce a new member into the company. Each member,
however, may, upon proper warning, withdraw from the copartnery, and demand payment
from them of his share of the common stock. In a joint stock company, on the contrary,
no member can demand payment of his share from the company; but each member may,
without their consent, transfer his share to another person, and thereby introduce a new
member. The value of a share in a joint stock is always the price which it will bring in the
market; and this may be either greater or less, in any proportion, than the sum which its
owner stands credited for in the stock of the company."-( Wealth of Nations, vol. iii. p.
238.)
2. Utility of Joint Stock Companies.-Whenever the capital required to carry on any
undertaking exceeds what may be furnished by an individual, it is indispensable, in order to
the prosecution of the undertaking, that an association should be formed. In all those cases,
too, in which the chances of success are doubtful, or where a lengthened period must neces-
sarily elapse before an undertaking can be completed, an individual, though ready enough to
contribute a small sum in connection with others, would, generally speaking, be very little
inclined, even if he had the means, to encounter the whole responsibility of such enterprises.
Hence the necessity and advantage of companies or associations. It is to them that we are
indebted for those canals by which every part of the country is intersected, for the formation
of so many noble docks and warehouses, for the institution of our principal banks and insur-
ance offices, and for many other establishments of great public utility carried on by the com-
bined capital and energies of large bodies of individuals.
3. Branches of Industry, for the Prosecution of which Joint Stock Companies may be
advantageously established.-In order to ensure a rational prospect of success to a company,
the undertaking should admit of being carried on according to a regular systematic plan.
The reason of this is sufficiently obvious. The business of a great association must be con-
ducted by factors or agents; and unless it be of such a nature as to admit of their duties
being clearly pointed out and defined, the association would cease to have any effectual con-
trol over them, and would be, in a great measure, at their mercy. An individual who ma-
nages his own affairs reaps all the advantage derivable from superior skill, industry, and
economy; but the agents, and even directors, of joint stock companies labour, in most cases,
entirely or principally for the advantage of others; and cannot therefore, however conscien-
tious, have the same powerful motives to act with energy, prudence, and economy. Like,"
says Dr. Smith, " the stewards of a rich man, they are apt to consider attention to small
matters as not for their master's honour, and very easily give themselves a dispensation from
having it. Negligence and profusion, therefore, must always prevail more or less in the
management of the affairs of such a company." It also not unfrequently happens that they
suffer from the bad faith, as well às the carelessness and extravagance of their servants; the
latter having, in many instances, endeavoured to advance their own interests at the expense
of their employers. Hence the different success of companies whose business may be con-
ducted according to a nearly uniform system,-such as dock, canal, and insurance compa-
nies, rail-road companies, &c.-and those whose business does not admit of being reduced
to any regular plan, and where much must always be left to the sagacity and enterprise of
those employed. All purely commercial companies, trading upon a joint stock, belong to the
latter class. Not one of them has ever been able to withstand the competition of private ad-
venturers they cannot subject the agents they employ to buy and sell commodities in die-
tant countries to any effectual responsibility and from this circumstance, and the abuses
that usually insinuate themselves into every department of their management, no such com-
pany has ever succeeded, unless when it has obtained some exclusive privilege, or been pro-
tected from competition.
The circumstances now mentioned would seem to oppose the most formidable obstacles to
the success of the companies established in this country for the prosecution of mining in
America. This business does not admit of being reduced to a regular routine system.
Much must always depend on the skill and probity of the agents employed at the mines
and it must plainly be very difficult, if not quite impossible, for directors resident in London
to exercise any effectual surveillance over the proceedings of those who are at so great 8
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distance. Hence it is not at all likely that these establishments will ever be so productive to
the undertakers, as if they had been managed by the parties themselves.
The Abbé Morellet has given, in a tract published in 1769 (Examen de la Réponse de
M. N., pp. 35-38.), a list of 55 joint stock companies, for the prosecution of various
branches of foreign trade, established in different parts of Europe since 1600, every one of
which had failed, though most of them had exclusive privileges. Most of those that have
been established since the publication of the Abbé Morellet's tract have had a similar fate.
But notwithstanding both principle and experience concur in showing how very ill fitted
a large association is for the purpose of prosecuting commercial undertakings, there are cases
in which they cannot be prosecuted except by associations of this sort, and when it may be
expedient to grant them certain peculiar privileges. When, owing either to the disinclina-
tion or inability of government to afford protection to those engaged in any particular depart-
ment of trade, they are obliged to provide for their own defence and security, it is obviously
necessary that they should have the power to exclude such individuals as may refuse to sub-
mit to the measures, or to bear their due share of the expense. required for the common pro-
tection of all. The Russian Company, the East India Company, the Levant or Turkey
Company, and most of the other great trading companies which have existed in this country,
seem principally to have grown out of a real or supposed necessity of this sort. It was not
believed that any safe or advantageous intercourse could be carried on with barbarous coun-
tries without the aid of ships of war, factories, interpreters, &c. And as government was
not always able or willing to afford this assistance, the traders were formed into companies
or associations, and vested with such peculiar privileges as appeared to be necessary for en-
abling them to prosecute the trade without any extrinsic support. " When," says Dr. Smith
" a company of merchants undertake, at their own risk and expense, to establish a new trade
with some remote and barbarous nation, it may not be unreasonable to incorporate them into
a joint stock company, and to grant them, in case of success, a monopoly of the trade for a
certain number of years. It is the easiest and most natural way in which the state can re-
compense them for hazarding a dangerous and expensive experiment, of which the public is
afterwards to reap the benefit. A temporary monopoly of this kind may be vindicated upon
the same principles upon which a like monopoly of a new machine is granted to its inventor,
and that of a new book to its author. But upon the expiration of the term, the monopoly
ought certainly to determine; the forts and garrisons, if it was found necessary to establish
any, to be taken into the hands of government, their value to be paid to the company, and
the trade to be laid open to all the subjects of the Wealth of Nations, vol. iii. p.
258.)
It may be doubted, however, whether it be really necessary, even in such a case as that
now mentioned, to establish a joint stock company with peculiar privileges, and whether the
same thing might not be more advantageously effected by the establishment of an open or
regulated company.
4. Open or Regulated Companies-The affairs of such companies or associations are
managed by directors appointed by the members. They do not, however, possess a common
or joint stock. Each individual pays a fine upon entering into the company, and most com-
monly an annual contribution a duty applicable to the business of the company is also
sometimes charged upon the goods imported and exported from and to the countries with
which they trade. The sums 80 collected are applied by the directors to fit out ambassa-
dors, consuls, and such public functionaries as may be required to facilitate commercial deal-
ings, or to build factories, maintain cruisers, &c. The members of such companies trade
upon their own stock, and at their own risk. So that when the fine, or the sum payable on
admission into a regulated company, is moderate, it is impossible for its members to form
any combination that would have the effect of raising their profits above the common level
and there is the same keen and close competition amongst them that there is amongst other
classes of traders. A regulated company is, in fact, a device for making those engaged in a
particular branch of trade bear the public or political expenses incident to it, at the same
time that it leaves them to conduct their own business with their own capital, and in their
own way.
Should, therefore, government at any time refuse, or be unable to afford, that protection
to those engaged in any branch of trade which is necessary to enable them to carry it on,
their formation into a regulated company would seem to be the most judicious measure that
could be adopted inasmuch as it would obtain for them that protection which is indispensa-
ble, without encroaching on the freedom of individual enterprise.
The African, the Levant, and some other branches of trade, were for a long time conducted
by open or regulated companies. These, however, have been recently abolished the African
Company, by the act 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 28.; and the Levant Company, by the act 6 Geo. 4.
c. 33. The Russia Company still exista.-(See RUSSIA COMPANY.)
In so far as relates to protection, it may perhaps be thought, for the reasons given by Dr.
Smith, that a joint stock company is better calculated to afford it than a regulated company.
The directors of the latter having, Dr. Smith alleges, no particular interest in the prosperity
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of the general trade of the company, for behoof of which, ships of war, factories, or forts,
have to be maintained, are apt to neglect them, and to apply their whole energies to the care
of their own private concerns. But the interest of the directors of a joint stock company
are, he contends, in a great measure identified with those of the association. They have no
private capital employed in the trade; their profits must depend upon the prudent and pro-
fitable management of the common stock; and it may, therefore, it is argued, be fairly pre-
sumed that they will be more disposed to attend carefully to all the means by which the
prosperity of the association may be best secured. On the other hand, however, it is seldom
that the directors of joint stock companies stop at the proper point; having almost invariably
attempted to extend their commercial dealings by force, and to become not only merchants
but sovereigns. Nor is this any thing but what might have been expected, seeing that the
consideration and extensive patronage accruing from such measures to the directors is gene-
rally of far more importance to them than a moderate increase of the dividends on their
stock. Whenever they have been able, they have seldom scrupled to employ arms to ad-
vance their projects; and instead of contenting themselves with shops and factories, have
constructed fortifications, embodied armies, and engaged in war. But such has not been the
case with regulated companies. The businesses under their control have uniformly been con-
ducted in a comparatively frugal and parsimonious manner; their establishments have been,
for the most part, confined to factories and they have rarely, if ever, allowed themselves
to be seduced by schemes of conquest and dominion.
And hence, considering them as commercial machines, it does not really seem that there
can be any doubt as to the superiority of a regulated over a joint stock company. The latter
has the defect, for which nothing almost can compensate, of entirely excluding individual
enterprise and competition. When such a company enjoys any peculiar privilege, it natu-
rally, in pursuing its own interest, endeavours to profit by it, how injurious soever it may be
to the public. If it have a monopoly of the trade with any particular country, or of any
particular commodity, it rarely fails, by understocking the home and foreign markets, to sell
the goods which it imports and exports at an artificially enhanced price. It is not its object
to employ a comparatively large capital, but to make a large profit on a comparatively small
capital. The conduct of the Dutch East India Company in burning spices, that their price
might not be lowered by larger importations, is an example of the mode in which such asso-
ciations uniformly and, indeed, almost necessarily act. All individuals are desirous of obtain-
ing the highest possible price for what they have to sell and if they are protected by means
of a monopoly, or an exclusive privilege, from the risk of being undersold by others, they never
hesitate about raising the price of their products to the highest elevation that the competition
of the buyers will allow them; and thus frequently realise the most exorbitant profits.
And yet, notwithstanding these advantages, such is the negligence, profusion, and pecula-
tion, inseparable from the management of great commercial companies, that even those that
have had the monopoly of the most advantageous branches of commerce have rarely been
able to keep out of debt. It will be shown in the article EAST INDIA COMPANY, that that
association has lost by its trade; and that, had it not been for the aid derived from the reve-
nues of India, it must long since have ceased to exist. To buy in one market; to sell with
profit in another; to watch over the perpetually occurring variations in the prices, and in
the supply and demand of commodities; to suit with dexterity and judgment the quantity
and quality of goods to the wants of each market; and to conduct each operation in the best
and cheapest manner; requires a degree of unremitting vigilance and attention, which would
be visionary to expect from the directors or servants of a great joint stock association. Hence
it has happened, over and over again, that branches of commerce which proved ruinous to
companies, have become exceedingly profitable when carried on by individuals.
5. Constitution of Companies.-Whe application is made to parliament for an act to
incorporate a number of individuals into a joint stock company for the prosecution of any
useful undertaking, care ought to be taken not to concede to them any privileges that may
be rendered injurious to the public. If a company be formed for the construction of a dock,
a road, or a canal, it may be necessary, in order to stimulate individuals to engage in the un-
dertaking, to give them some peculiar privileges for a certain number of years. But if other
persons were to be permanently hindered from constructing new docks, or opening new lines
of communication, a lasting injury might be done to the public. It may be highly expe-
dient to incorporate a company for the purpose of bringing water into a city ; but supposing
there were no springs in the vicinity, other than those to which this company has acquired a
right, they might, unless restrained by the act incorporating them, raise the price of water to
an exorbitant height; and make large profits for themselves at the expense and to the injury
of the public. In all cases of this sort; and in the case, indeed, of all joint stock companies
established for the formation of canals, railroads, &c. it would be sound policy to limit the
rates charged for their services, or on account of the water, ships, goods, &c. conveyed by
their means, and also to limit the dividends, or to fix a maximum beyond which they should
not be augmented enacting, that if the rates charged by the company produce more than
sufficient to pay the maximum rate of dividend, and to defray the wear and tear of the aque-
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duct, canal, &c., they shall be allowed to reduce them till they only yield this much; and,
in the event of their declining to do so, that the whole surplus above paying the dividend
shall be applied to purchase up the stock of the association, so that ultimately the charges on
account of dividends may be entirely abolished. Had this principle been acted upon when
canals first began to be formed in England, the carriage of goods conveyed by some of the
most important lines of communication would now have cost almost nothing and this de-
sirable result might have been accomplished in the way now suggested, without, we believe,
diminishing in any degree the number of those undertakings. There are few who, at the
time they engage in such enterprises, suppose that they will yield more than 10 or 12 per
cent.; and vast numbers will always be disposed to engage in them, if there be any reasona-
ble prospect of their yielding this much. Now, when such is the case, is it not the duty of
government to provide, in the event of the undertaking becoming in an unexpected and un-
usual degree profitable, that the public should derive some advantage from it? This is not
a case in which competition can reduce profits to the common level. The best, perhaps the
only practicable, line for a canal or railroad between any two places will be appropriated by
those who are first in the field; who thus, in fact, obtain a natural monopoly of which they
cannot be deprived: and hence the advantage of limiting the charges and dividends with-
out discouraging enterprise, it affords a security that private individuals shall not reap an
unusual and unlooked for profit at the expense of the public.
In all those cases in which companies are formed for the prosecution of undertakings that
may be carried on, with equal advantage to the public, by individuals; or where there are
no very considerable difficulties to overcome, or risks to encounter; they ought to enjoy no
privilege whatever, but should be regarded, in every point of view, as if they were mere in-
dividuals.
For accounts of the principal joint stock and regulated companies established in this
country, see the articles BANK OF ENGLAND, Docks, EAST INDIA COMPANY, INSURANCE,
RUSSIA COMPANY, &c. &c.
6. Companies en Commandite.-In France there is a sort of companies denominated
sociétés en commandite. A society of this description consists of one or more partners,
liable, without limitation, for the debts of the company; and one or more partners, or com-
manditaires, liable only to the extent of the funds they have subscribed. A commanditaire
must not, however, take any part in the business of the company ; if he do this, he loses his
inviolability, and makes himself responsible for the debts of the association. The names of
the partners in such societies must be published, and the amount of the sums contributed by
the commanditaires.
It has been proposed to introduce partnerships of this sort into this country but it seems
very doubtful whether any thing would be gained by such a measure. Partnerships en
commandite may be very easily abused or rendered a means of defrauding the public. It is
quite visionary to imagine that the commanditaires can be prevented from indirectly influ-
encing the other partners: and supposing 9 collusion to exist amongst them, it might be
possible for them to divide large sums as profit, when, perhaps, they had really sustained a
loss and to have the books of the association 80 contrived, that it might be very difficult to
detect the fraud. This, it is alleged, is by no means a rare occurrence in France.
7. Civic Companies, or Corporations.-Exclusive of the companies previously mentioned,
a number of ancient companies or corporations exist in this and most other European coun-
tries, the members of which enjoy certain political as well as commercial privileges. When
the feudal system began to be subverted by the establishment of good order and regular go-
vernment in the towns, the inhabitants were divided into certain trades or corporations, by
which the magistrates and other functionaries were chosen. The members of these trades,
or corporations, partly to enhance the value of their privileges, and partly to provide a re-
source, in case of adversity, for themselves, acquired or usurped the power of enacting by-
laws regulating the admission of new members, and at the same time set about providing a
fund for the support of such as accident or misfortune might reduce to a state of indigence.
Hence the origin of apprenticeships, the refusal to allow any one not a member of a corpora-
tion to carry on any business within the precincts of any town corporate, and the various
regulations that had to be submitted to, and the fees that had to be paid by the claimants for
inrolment in corporations. For a lengthened period these privileges and regulations were
very oppressive. Within the last century, however, their influence has been progressively
diminishing. In France, where the abuses inseparable from the system had attained to a
very great height, it was entirely swept off by the Revolution and though corporations still
exist in this country, they have been stripped of their peculiar franchises; and should now,
for the most part, be regarded more, perhaps, in the light of charitable than of political insti-
tutions. It would be well, however, were they reduced entirely to the former character
and were the few political and commercial privileges, which they still enjoy, communicated
to the rest of the citizens. At their first institution, and for some time after, corporations,
considered as political bodies, were probably useful: but such is no longer the case; and in
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COMPASS.
so far as they now possess any special immunities, they tend to obstruct that free competition
that is so advantageous.
The following extract from a Report on the Commerce and Manufactures of the United
States, drawn up by Albert Gallatin, Esq., then secretary of the Treasury, and laid before
Congress in 1816, sets the superior advantages resulting from the unrestricted freedom of in-
dustry in a very striking point of view. "No cause," says he, has, perhaps, more pro-
moted in every respect the general improvement of the United States, than the absence of
those systems of internal restriction and monopoly which continue to disfigure the state of
society in other countries. No laws exist here, directly or indirectly, confining men to a
particular occupation or place, or excluding any citizen from any branch he may, at any time,
think proper to pursue. Industry is, in every respect, free and unfettered every species of
trade, commerce, and profession, and manufacture, being equally open to all, without requir-
ing any regular apprenticeship, admission, or licence. Hence the improvement of America
has not been confined to the improvement of her agriculture, and to the rapid formation and
settlement of new states in the wilderness; but her citizens have extended their commerce to
every part of the globe, and carry on with complete success even those branches for which a
monopoly had heretofore been considered essentially necessary."
There is in Rees's Cyclopadia, article Company, a list of the different Civic Companies
belonging to the City of London, in which the periods of their incorporation, and various
other important particulars with respect to several of them, are specified.
COMPASS (Ger. Ein Kompass; Du. Zeekompas; Da. Söekompass; Sp. Sjöcompass
Fr. Boussole, Compas de mer; It. Bussola; Sp. Aguja de marear; Port. Compasso de
marear; Rus. Kampass korabelnüi), or matiner's compass, an instrument composed of a
needle and card, by which the ship's course is directed. The needle, with little variation,
always points towards the north, and hence the mode of steering by the compass.
The common opinion is that the compass was invented by Flavio Gioia, a citizen of the
once famous republic of Amalphi, very near the beginning of the fourteenth century. Dr.
Robertson has adopted this opinion, and regrets that contemporary historians furnish no de-
tails as to the life of a man to whose genius society is 80 deeply indebted.-( of America,
vol. i. p. 47. 8vo ed.) But though Gioia may have made improvements on the compass, it
has been shown that he has no claim to be considered as its discoverer. Passages have been
produced from writers who flourished more than a century before Gioia, in which the po-
larity of the needle, when touched by the magnet, is distinctly pointed out. Not only, how-
ever, had this singular property been discovered, but also its application to the purposes of
navigation, long previously to the fourteenth century. Old French writers have been quoted
(Macpherson's Annals of Commerce, anno 1200; Rees's Cyclopsedia), that seem fully to
establish this fact. But whatever doubts may exist with respect to them, cannot affect the
passages which the learned Spanish antiquary, Don Antonio de Capmany (Questiones Critis
cas, pp. 73-132), has given from a work of the famous Raymond Lully (De Contempla-
tione) published in 1272. In one place Lully says, "as the needle, when touched by the
magnet, naturally turns to the north" (sicut acus per naturam virtitur ad septentrionem
dum sit tacta à magnete). This is conclusive as to the author's acquaintance with the po-
larity of the needle and the following passage from the same work-" as the nautical needle
directs mariners in their navigation," (sicut acus nautica dirigit marinarios in sua naviga-
tione, drc.) is no less conclusive as to its being used by sailors in regulating their course.
There are no means of ascertaining the mode in which the needle Raymond Lully had in
view was made use of. It has been sufficiently established-(see the authorities already
referred to, and Azuni, Dissertation sur Origine de la Boussole,)-that it was usual to
float the needle, by means of a straw, on the surface of a basin of water; and Capmany
contends that we are indebted to Gioia for the card, and the method now followed of sus-
pending the needle improvements which have given to the compass all its convenience,
and a very large portion of its utility. But this part of his Dissertation, though equally
learned and ingenious, is by no means so satisfactory as the other. It is difficult to conceive
how mariners at sea could have availed themselves of a floating needle but, however this
may be, it seems most probable that Gioia had considerably improved the construction of
the compass; and that, the Amalphitans having been the first to introduce it to general use,
he was, with excusable partiality, represented by them, and subsequently regarded by others,
as its inventor.
The reader will not consider these details out of place in a work on commerce, which the
compass has done so much to extend. " Its discovery," to borrow the language of Mr. Mac-
pherson, " has given birth to a new era in the history of commerce and navigation. The
former it has extended to every shore of the globe, and increased and multiplied its opera-
tions and beneficial effects in a degree which was not conceivable by those who lived in the
earlier ages. The latter it has rendered expeditious, and comparatively safe, by enabling
the navigator to launch out upon the ocean free-from the danger of rocks and shoals. By
the use of this noble instrument, the whole world has become one vast commercial common-
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wealth, the most distant inhabitants of the earth are brought together for their mutual advan-
tage, ancient prejudices are obliterated, and mankind are civilised and enlightened."-(Vol.
i. P. 366.)
COMPOSITION, in commerce, commonly implies the dividend or sum paid by an insol-
vent debtor to his creditors, and accepted by them in payment for their debts.
CONEY WOOL (Ger. Kaninchenwolle; Du. Konynhair; Fr. Poil de lapin It. Pelo
di Coniglio ; Sp. Conejuna), the fur of rabbits. This article is extensively used in the hat
manufacture; and besides the large supplies raised at home, a great deal is imported. The
imports usually range from about 300,000 to about 500,000 skins a year but, in 1831,
they exceeded 900,000, while, in 1827, they were only 197,000.
CONSTANTINOPLE, formerly the metropolis of the Eastern, as it still is of the Turk-
ish Empire, is situated on a triangular point of land, on the European side of the Sea of
Marmara (Propontis), at the point where it unites with the Bosphorus, or channel leading
to the Black Sea, in lat. 41° o 12" N., lon. 28° 59' 2" E. Population variously estimated
at from 300,000 to 600,000, but believed, by the best authorities, to be about 400,000. The
situation of this renowned city is, in a commercial point of view, one of the finest imaginable.
Standing on the narrow straits uniting the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas, she at once
commands, and is the entrepôt for, the commerce between them. The harbour, whence the
Turkish court has taken the appellation of the Sublime Porte, is most excellent. It consists
of an extensive inlet, or arm of the sea, stretching along the north-east side of the city,
which it divides from the suburbs of Galata and Pera. It has sufficient depth of water to
float the largest ships, and can accommodate more than 1,000 sail. The strong current that
sets through the Bosphorus into the Sea of Marmara strikes against Seraglio Point-(see
Plan) a part of the water, being in consequence forced into the harbour, runs along its
south-western side in the direction marked by the arrows-(see Plan),-till, arriving at its
extremity, it escapes by the opposite side. In the middle the water is still. On leaving the
port, it is necessary to keep well over to the northern side; for otherwise the ship might be
taken by the current, and driven on Seraglio Point. It may be worth while, however, to
remark, that notwithstanding this inconvenience, the current has been of signal service to
the city, by scouring the harbour, and carrying away the filth and ballast by which it must
otherwise have been long since choked up. The distance across from Seraglio Point to the
opposite suburb of Scutari, on the Asiatic coast, is rather more than an English mile. Within
less than t of a mile of the latter is a rocky islet, upon which is a tower and light-house,
known by the name of the Tower of Leander. Foreigners reside in Galata, Pera, and the
suburbs on the eastern side of the harbour; and it is there, consequently, that the principal
trade of the place is carried on. The quays are good, and ships lie close alongside.
The Bosphorus, or channel of Constantinople, runs in a N. E. by N. direction about 15
miles, varying in breadth from 14 to & mile. It is swept by a rapid current, which it requires
a brisk gale to stem, and has throughout a great depth of water. The Hellespont, or strait
of the Dardanelles, leading from the Archipelago to the Sea of Marmara, is about 13 leagues
in length. Its direction is nearly N.E. Where narrowest, it is little more than a mile
across. It also is swept by a strong current, and has deep water throughout.
The subjoined plan of part of Constantinople and its port is copied, without reduction,
from the beautiful plan of the city and Bosphorus, drawn and engraved by M. Merzoff
Robert of Munich, and published by Mr. Wilde, of this city.
Nothing can be more imposing than the appearance of the city when seen from the sea,
but on landing the illusion vanishes. The streets are narrow, dark, ill-paved and irregular.
Owing to the want of any effective system of police, and of the most ordinary attention to
cleanliness, they are extremely filthy ; and are infested with herds of dogs, and also with rats,
which perform the functions of scavengers. The houses are mostly built of wood, and fires
are very frequent. Most of these happen designedly ; the burning of a few hundred houses
being deemed the readiest and most effectual means of making the government aware of the
public dissatisfaction, and of procuring a redress of grievances
Money.-Accounts are kept in piastres of 40 paras, or 120 aspers. The Turkish coin has been so
much degraded, that the piastre, which a few years ago was worth 2s. sterling, is now worth little
more than 4d. A bag of silver (kefer) = 500 piastres, and a bag of gold (kitze) = 30,000 plastres.
Weights and Measures.-The commercial weights are-176 drams - 1 rottolo 2.272 rottoli = 1 oke
6 okes - 1 batman 7t batmans = 1 quintal or cantaro = 124:457 (124) very nearly) lbs. avoirdupois
= 56-437 kilogrammes = 116:527 lbs. of Hamburgh. The quintal of cotton is 45 okes = 127.2 lbs. avoir-
dupois.
The pik, or pike, is of two sorts, the greater and the less. The greater, called halebi or arschim used
in the measurement of silks and woollens, is very near 28 inches (27.9). The lesser called endese, used
in the measuring of cottons, carpets, &c. = 27 inches. Hence 100 long piks = 77:498 English yards,
and 100 short pike = 75-154 do. But in ordinary commercial affairs, the pik is estimated at + of an
English yard.
Corn is measured by the kislor or killow = 0.941 of a Winchester bushel; 81 kisloz = 1 quarter. The
fortin = 4 kisloz.
Oil and other liquids are sold by the alma or meter = 1 gallon 3 pints English wine measure. The
alma of oil should weigh 8 okes.-(Nelkenbrecher and r.Kelly.)
The Port Charges on account of English vessels in the harbours of the Ottoman empire are fixed by
treaty at 300 aspers, neither more nor less.
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References to Plan.-A, Seraglio Point ; B, Galata ; c, Scutari ; D, Tower and lighthouse of Lean-
der. The arrow shows the direction of the currents. The soundings are in fathoms.
Trade, &c.-Owing to the vicious institutions of the Turks and the disorganised state of
the empire, the trade of Constantinople is very far from being 80 extensive as might be sup-
posed from its situation and population. The imports consist of corn, iron, timber, tallow,
and furs, principally from the Black Sea; and of cotton stuffs and yarn, tin, tin plates, wool-
lens, silks, cutlery, watches and jewellery, paper, glass, furniture, indigo, cochineal, &c. from
England and other European countries. Corn and coffee are imported from Alexandria;
but a good deal of Brazil and West India coffee is also imported, particularly in American
bottoms. Sugar is partly imported from the East, but principally from the West Indies.
The exports are very trifling, consisting of silk, carpets, hides, wool, goats' hair, potashes,
wax, galls, bullion and diamonds, and a few other articles. Ships carrying goods to Con-
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stantinople, either return in ballast, or get return cargoes at Smyrna, Odessa, Salonica, &c.,
on which places they frequently procure bills at Constantinople. Trade is chiefly in the
hands of English, French, and other European merchants (denominated Franks) and of
Armenians and Greeks. Bargains are negotiated on their account by Jew brokers, some of
whom are rich.
Commercial Policy of the Turks.-It is singular that as respects commerce, the policy
of the Turkish government, whether originating in design or carelessness, is entitled to the
highest praise. No restrictions," says Mr. Thornton, are laid on commerce, except in
the instance of a general prohibition of exporting the articles necessary for the support of
human life to foreign countries, especially from the capital, where alone it is rigorously
enforced; and this impolitic restraint will no doubt be removed when the Turkish go-
vernment shall become sensible, that what is intended as the means of securing abundance,
is, in fact, the sole cause of that scarcity which is sometimes experienced. With this one
exception, commerce is perfectly free and unfettered. Every article of foreign or domestic
growth or manufacture is conveyed into every port, and over every province, without any
interference on the part of the magistrates, after payment of the duties. On this subject I
speak from actual experience, and may appeal to every foreign or native merchant in Tur-
key for its general State of Turkey, vol. i. p. 82.)
The duties, too, are extremely moderate, being only three per cent. on imports, and as
much on exports; so that in almost all that relates to her commercial regulations, Turkey
is entitled to read a lesson to the most civilized European powers and this she has done in
a very able manner, in an official paper published in the Moniteur Ottoman, in September,
1832. We extract a few paragraphs from this very interesting document.
It is recognised throughout Europe that it would be useful to the great majority to substitute, for
the system of prohibitions, that of liberty, which theoretical men advocate; the difficulty is, to find
means to separate the future from the past without a violent rupture. Hence the difficulties of govern-
ment in satisfying all the exigencies of agriculture, industry, and commerce, driven in a circle where
every measure in favour of one, acts immediately in an inverse sense on the other. The endeavour
is vain to establish, between so many crossing interests, a factitious equilibrium which absolute liberty
of exchange alone can give.
Thus, one of the most important questions which occupies the meditation of statesmen in Europe,
is, to discover how the palings which pen commerce up in narrow spaces may be thrown down with-
out shocks that might endanger public order.
Good sense, tolerance, and hospitality, have long ago done for the Ottoman empire, what the
other states of Europe are endeavouring to effect by more or less happy political combinations.
Since the throne of the sultans has been elevated at Constantinople, commercial prohibitions have been
unknown they opened all the ports of their empire to the commerce, to the manufactures, to the ter-
ritorial produce of the Occident, or, to say better, of the whole world. Liberty of commerce has
reigned here without limits, as large, as extended as it was possible to be.
Never has the divan dreamed, under any pretext of national interest, or even of reciprocity, of
restricting that faculty which has been exercised, and is to this day, in the most unlimited sense, by
all the nations who wish to furnish a portion of the consumption of this vast empire, and to share in
the produce of its territory.
" Here every object of exchange is admitted, and circulates without meeting any obstacle other
than the payment of an infinitely small portion of the value to the Custom-house. The chimera of a
balance of trade never entered into heads sensible enough not to dream of calculating whether there
was most profit in buying or selling. Thus the markets of Turkey, supplied from all countries, refus-
ing no objects which mercantile spirit puts in circulation, and imposing no charge on the vessels that
transport them, are seldom or never the scenes of those disordered movements occasioned by the sud-
den deficiency of such or such merchandise, which, exorbitantly raising prices, are the scourges of the
lower orders, by unsettling their habits, and by inflicting privations. From the system of restrictions
and prohibitions arise those devouring tides and ebbs which sweep away in a day the labour of years,
and convert commerce into a career of alarms and perpetual dangers. In Turkey, where this system
does not exist, these disastrous effects are unknown.
The extreme moderation of the duties is the complement of this régime of commercial liberty
and in no portion of the globe are the officers charged with the collection, of more confiding facility
for the valuations, and of so decidedly conciliatory a spirit in every transaction regarding commerce.
Away with the supposition that these facilities granted to strangers are concessions extorted from
weakness! The dates of the contracts termed capitulations, which establish the rights actually en-
joyed by foreign merchants, recall periods at which the Mussulman power was altogether predomi-
nant in Europe. The first capitulation which France obtained was in 1535, from Soliman the Canonist
(the Magnificent). The dispositions of these contracts have become antiquated, the fundamental
principles remain. Thus 300 years ago, the sultans, by an act of munificence and of reason, antici-
pated the most ardent desires of civilised Europe, and proclaimed unlimited freedom of commerce."
Did the policy of Turkey in other respects harmonise with this, she would be one of the
most civilised and powerful of nations, instead of being one of the most abject and degraded.
Unfortunately, however, this is very far from being the case. Tyranny, corruption, and
insecurity universally prevail. The cultivator of the soil is ever a helpless prey to injus-
tice and oppression. The government agents have to suffer in their turn from the cruelty
and rapacity of which they themselves have been guilty and the manufacturer has to bear
his full share of the common insecurity he is fixed to the spot and cannot escape the grasp
of the local governor. The raw material monopolised by a bey or ayan, may be forced upon
him at a higher price than he could purchase it himself, and perhaps of inferior quality
fines may be imposed upon him, he may be taken for forced labour, or troops may be quar-
tered on his (Urquhart on Turkey and its Resources, p. 139.)
This miserable system has overspread some of the fairest provinces of Europe and Asia
with barbarism-turned their cities into villages, and their palaces into cottages but the
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CONSTANTINOPLE.
degradation in which they are involved, would have been still more complete, but for the
freedom of commerce they have always enjoyed. This has tended to keep alive the seeds
of industry, and to counteract the destructive influence of oppression and insecurity. Had
their intercourse with foreigners been either prohibited, or placed under oppressive restric-
tions, the barbarism of Turkey would have been completed, and it is difficult to suppose that
there could have been either wealth or industry in the empire.
Trade of Turkey with England. - The trade between this country and Turkey is of
much greater value and importance than is generally supposed; and appears to be susceptible
of an almost indefinite increase. Cotton stuffs and twist are the great articles of export
from Great Britain to Turkey and notwithstanding the convulsed and distracted state of the
latter during the last 5 years, she has continued to take off a rapidly increasing amount
of these staple articles. In 1825, for example, we exported direct for Turkey, (including
what is now the kingdom of Greece), 13,674,000 yards of cotton cloth, and 446,462 lbs.
of cotton twist; whereas, in 1831, we exported to Turkey (exclusive of the Morea),
24,565,000 yards of cloth, and 1,735,760 lbs. of twist, being an increase of nearly 100 per
cent. in the exports of stuffs, and of 400 per cent. in those of yarn ! The Turkish manu-
factures of muslins, ginghams, handkerchiefs, &c. have suffered severely from this extraor-
dinary importation of British goods; so much so, that of 600 looms for muslins busily
employed in Scutari in 1812, only 40 remained in 1831 and of 2,000 weaving establish-
ments in Tournovo, at the former epoch, there were only 200 at the latter ! - (Urquhart
on Turkey, &c. p. 150.) But the great consumption of Turkey consists of coarse home-
made fabrics; and we are assured by the very intelligent author now referred to, that this
great branch has not been sensibly affected by our imports. Hitherto, indeed, they have
been principally intended for the wealthier part of the community; but as cottons are
universally worn by the mass of the people, the trade will not attain to any thing like the
extent to which it may be carried, till we supply the peasantry with the stuffs suitable for
their use. It is creditable to the discernment of the Americans, that they were the first to
perceive the superior importance of this class of customers, and to set about supplying them
with coarse unbleached stuffs. The Manchester manufacturers immediately followed in the
same track, and with signal success. Plain goods now form the half of our investments for
Turkey and it is impossible, seeing the extent to which articles of this sort are made use
of in all parts of the empire, and, indeed, of the East, to form any clear idea of what may be
the future magnitude of this trade.
Of the European states, Austria and Switzerland have been our most formidable rivals in
the supply of Turkey with cottons. The stuffs were, in several respects, well fitted for the
Eastern markets; but owing to the difficulty they lay under of getting returns, and the con-
tinued and rapid reduction in the price of English cottons, we seem to have gained a decided
advantage over them, and are now nearly in the exclusive possession of the market.
Cheapness is every where the grand desideratum. Though our muslins and chintzes be still
very inferior in fineness to those of the East, and our red dye (a colour in great esteem in
Turkey, Persia, &c.) be inferior in brilliancy, these defects are more than balanced by the
greater cheapness of our goods; and from Smyrna to Canton, from Madras to Samarcand,
we are every where supplanting the native fabrics; and laying the foundations of a com-
merce that will be eminently beneficial to all parties.
Exclusive of cottons, we exported to Constantinopie, Smyma, and other Turkish ports, in 1831,
arms and ammunition of the value of 21,7851.; earthenware, 6,4341.; hardware and cutlery, 11,067L.
iron and steel, 50,0951. ; refined sugar, 41,0201. woollens, to above 18,000/. ; and some lesser articles;
making, with cotton stuffs and yarn, the declared or real value of the direct exports of British pro-
duce and manufactures to the whole empire 888,6541., besides those exported to it at second hand from
Malta, the Ionian Islands, &c. We also supplied her with a considerable quantity of colonial produce.
Our imports from Turkey during the same year, were, wheat 7,383 quarters, currants 8,702 cwt., figs
26,243 cwt., hides 4,685, indigo 4,181 lbs., madder root 23,833 cwt., olive oil 108,193 gallons, opium
8,184 lbs., raisins 100,458 cwt., silk 452,266 lbs., valonia 102,255 cwt., cotton wool 366,550 lbs., with car-
pets, bullion, galls, sponges, &c.-(Parl. Paper, No. 55. Sess. 1833.)
Our commerce with Turkey would be considerably facilitated by a reduction of the duties
on figs, currants, oil, and carpets. Nothing, however, would contribute so much to its
extension, as the establishment of order and tranquillity throughout the country. But this,
we fear, is beyond the ability of the Ottoman government. The abuses which have reduced
the empire to its present state of degradation seem to be inherent in the structure of Turkish
society, and to be in harmony with the habits and prejudices of the people. If such be the
case, reform must come from without, and not from within. But of whatever other advan-
tages a revolution might be productive, it is difficult to believe that it would bring along
with it a more liberal system of commercial policy than that which at present exists.*
The treatise of Mr. Urquhart, entitled Turkey and its Resources, to which we are principally in-
debted for these details, is a work of distinguished talent, discovering throughout an intimate ac-
quaintance with the subjects treated of. At the same time we cannot help differing wholly from Mr.
Urquhart in his views as to direct and indirect taxation. We believe that no inconsiderable part of
the poverty and degradation of Turkey is to be ascribed to the prevalence of the former, which has
every where, and at all periods, been a fruitful source of oppression and misery. The most super-
ficial reader of this work will see that we are no friends to excessive customs duties; but it is to their
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CONSUL, in commerce, an officer appointed by competent authority to reside in foreign
countries, in the view of facilitating and extending the commerce carried on between the
subjects of the country which appoints him, and those of the country or place in which
he is to reside.
Origin and Appointment of Consuls.-Th office of consul appears to have originated
in Italy, about the middle of the twelfth century. Soon after this, the French and other
Christian nations trading to the Levant began to stipulate for liberty to appoint consuls
to reside in the ports frequented by their ships, that they might watch over the interests
of their subjects, and judge and determine such differences with respect to commercial
affairs as arose amongst them. The practice was gradually extended to other countries
and in the sixteenth century was generally established all over Europe. - (Martens,
Précis du Droit des Gens, § 147.)
British consuls were formerly appointed by the Crown, upon the recommendation of
great trading companies, or of the merchants engaged in the trade with a particular country
or place; but they are now directly appointed by government, without requiring any such
recommendation, though it, of course, is always attended to when made.
The right of sending consuls to reside in foreign countries depends either upon a
tacit or express convention. Hence their powers differ very widely in different states.
In some they exercise a very extensive jurisdiction over the subjects of the state which
appoints them; but the extent of this jurisdiction is not discretionary, and must, in all
cases, be regulated either by an express convention between the state appointing and the
state receiving the consul, or by custom. Consuls established in England have no judicial
power; and the British government has rarely stipulated with other powers for much
judicial authority for its consuls. Turkey, however, is an exception to this remark.
English consuls enjoy in that country several peculiar privileges conferred by ancient
treaties, and confirmed by that signed at the Dardanelles in 1809. It is there stipulated
and agreed upon-
That if there happen any suit, or other difference or dispute, among the English themselves, the
decision thereof shall be left to their own ambassador or consul, according to their custom, without the
judge or other governors, our slaves, intermeddling therein.
That if an Englishman, or other subject of that nation, shall be involved in any lawsuit, or other
affair connected with law, (with a Turk,) the judge shall not hear nor decide thereon, until the ambas-
sador, consul, or interpreter shall be present; and all suits exceeding the value of 4,000 aspers, shall
be heard at the Sublime Porte, and no where else.
That the consuls appointed by the English ambassadors in our sacred dominions, for the protection
of their merchants, shall never, under any pretence, be imprisoned, nor their houses sealed up, nor
themselves sent away ; but all'suits or differences in which they may be involved, shall be represented
to our Sublime Porte, where their ambassador will answer for them.
That in case any Englishman, or other person subject to that nation, or navigating under its flag,
should happen to die in our sacred dominions, our fiscal and other officers shall not, upon pretence of its
not being known to whom the property belongs, interpose any opposition or violence, by taking or
seizing the effects that may be found at his death, but they shall be delivered up to such Englishman,
whoever he may be, to whom the deceased may have left them by his will; and should he have died
intestate, then the property to be delivered up to the English consul, or his representative who may
be then present; and in case there be no consul, or consular representative, they shall be registered
by the judge, in order to his delivering up the whole thereof, whenever any ship shall be sent by the
ambassador to receive the same."
Conformably to these capitulations, and the by-laws of the Levant Company, Nos. 39, 40,
and 41., the consuls were authorised to administer justice in all cases of contention amongst
British subjects within the Turkish dominions; and they were further authorised to send to
England, in safe custody, any British subject resident in Turkey, who should decline their
jurisdiction, or appeal from them to the courts of the Grand Signior, or of any other
potentate. And the acts 6 Geo. 4. c. 33. § 4., for the abolition of the Levant Company,
expressly provides for the continuance to the consuls appointed by his Majesty, of the same
rights and duties of jurisdiction over British subjects in Turkey, that were enjoyed by the
consuls appointed by the Company.
At present, therefore, consuls in Turkey enjoy extensive judicial powers, but owing to the
freedom of Turkish commerce, and the simplicity of the regulations under which it is
carried on, their other functions, with the exception of furnishing statistical details, none
of which they have hitherto communicated, are extremely unimportant.* Mr. Urquhart,
whose opinion as to all that respects Turkey is deservedly of very great weight, seems
to think that the judicial powers enjoyed by the European consuls in that country, have
abuse, and not to the duties themselves, that we object. The duties we impose on brandy, for exam-
ple, have been carried to such a height as to defeat their object, and to be productive of an immense
amount of smuggling and demoralisation. And yet there can be no more proper subject of taxation
nor, provided the duties were reduced to 8s. or 10s. a gallon, is it possible to imagine any less unex-
ceptionable tax. The defects inherent in our system of customs duties might easily be removed, not
only without any diminution, but with a large accession, of revenue; but though it were otherwise,
we are satisfied that the imposition of direct taxes on property or income would occasion more injury
in the course of 4 or 5 years, than the present customs duties, with all their defects, would occasion in
half a century.
No answer has hitherto (15th of October, 1833) been received to the Circular Queries from any
one of the Turkish consuls.
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been productive of much mischief. Still, however, we doubt whether they could be
entirely dispensed with in a country so peculiarly situated. But there can be no doubt
that it is highly necessary that the greatest care should be taken in the selection of the
individuals to whom such powers are intrusted.
Other states have occasionally given to consuls similar powers to those conceded to
them in Turkey. Thus, in the treaty between Sweden and the United States of
America, ratified on the 24th of July, 1818, it is stipulated that the consuls appointed
by either government to reside within the dominions of the other, or their subetitutes,
"shall, as such, have the right of acting as judges or arbiters in all cases of differences
which may arise between the captains and crews of the vessels of the nation whose
affairs are intrusted to their care. The respective governments shall have no right to
interfere in these sort of affairs, except in the case of the conduct of the crews disturbing
public order and tranquillity in the country in which the vessel may happen to be, or
in which the consul of the place may be obliged to call for the intervention and support
of the executive power, in order to cause his decision to be respected; it being, however,
well understood, that this sort of judgment or arbitration cannot deprive the contending
parties of their rights of appealing on their return to the judicial authorities of their
country."
Duties of Consuls. - The duties of a consul, even in the confined sense in which they
are commonly understood, are important and multifarious. It is his business to be
always on the spot, to watch over the commercial interests of the subjects of the state
whose servant he is; to be ready to assist them with advice on all doubtful occasions; to
see that the conditions in commercial treaties are properly observed; that those be is
appointed to protect are subjected to no unnecessary or unjustifiable demands in con-
ducting their business; to represent their grievances to the authorities at the place where
they reside, or to the ambassador of the sovereign appointing him at the court on which
the consulship depends, or to the government at home; in a word, to exert himself to
render the condition of the subjects of the country employing him, within the limits of his
consulship, as comfortable, and their transactions as advantageous and secure, as possible.
The following more detailed exposition of the general duties of a British consul, is
taken from Mr. Chitty's work on Commercial Law -
" A British consul, in order to be properly qualified for his employment, should take care
to make himself master of the language used by the court and the magistracy of the
country where he resides, so as to converse with ease upon subjects relating to his
duties. If the common people of the port use another, he must acquire that also, that
he may be able to settle little differences without troubling the magistracy of the place
for the interposition of their authority; such as accidents happening in the harbour, by
the ships of one nation running foul of and doing damage to each other.
" He is to make himself acquainted, if he be not already, with the law of nations and
treaties, with the tariff or specification of duties on articles imported or exported, and with
all the municipal ordinances and laws.
" He must take especial notice of all prohibitions to prevent the export or import of any
articles, as well on the part of the state wherein he resides, as of the government employing
him ; so that he may admonish all British subjects against carrying on an illicit commerce,
to the detriment of the revenues, and in violation of the laws of either. And it is his duty
to attend diligently to this part of his office, in order to prevent smuggling, and consequent
hazard of confiscation or detention of ships, and imprisonment of the masters and
mariners.-(Beawes, Lex Merc. vol. ii. p. 42.)
It is also his duty to protect from insult or imposition British subjects of every description
within his jurisdiction. If redress for injury suffered is not obtained, he is to carry his
complaint by memorial to the British minister residing at the court on which the consulship
depends. If there be none, he is to address himself directly to the court and if, in an
important case, his complaint be not answered, he is to transmit the memorial to his
Majesty's secretary of state.-(Beawes, Warden, &c.)
" When insult or outrage is offered by a British subject to a native of the place, and the
magistrate thercof complains to the consul, he should summon, and in case of disobedience
may by armed force bring before him the offender, and order him to give immediate satis-
faction; and if he refuse, he resigns him to the civil jurisdiction of the magistrate, or to the
military law of the garrison; nevertheless always acting as counsellor or advocate at his
trial, when there is question of life or property.
" But if a British subject be accused of an offence alleged to have been committed at sea,
within the dominion or jurisdiction of his sovereign, it is then the duty of the consul to
claim cognizance of the cause for his sovereign, and to require the release of the parties,
if detained in prison by the magistracy of the place on any such accusation brought before
them, and that all judicial proceedings against them do instantly cease; and he may demand
the aid of the power of the country, civil and military, to enable him to secure and put the
accused parties on board such British ship as he shall think fit, that they may be conveyed
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to Great Britain, to be tried by their proper judges. If, contrary to this requisition, the
magistrates of the country persist in proceeding to try the offence, the consul should then
draw up and transmit a memorial to the British minister at the court of that country and
if that court give an evasive answer, the consul should, if it be a sea offence, apply to the
Board of Admiralty at London, stating the case; and upon their representation, the secretary
for the proper department will lay the matter before the king, who will cause the ambassador
of the foreign state, resident in England, to write to his court abroad, desiring that orders
may immediately be given by that government, that all judicial proceedings against the
prisoner be stayed, and that he be released.- (See Case of Horseman and his Crew,
Beawes, vol. ii. p. 422.)
" It is the duty also of a British consul to relieve all distressed British mariners, to allow
them 6d. daily for their support, to send them home in the first British vessels that sail for
England, and to keep a regular account of his disbursements, which he is to transmit yearly,
or oftener if required, to the Navy Office, attested by two British merchants of the place
this is provided for by positive enactment.-(1 Geo. 2. S. 2. c. 14. § 12.) He is also to give
free passes to all poor British subjects wishing to return home, directed to the captains of
the king's packet boats, or ships of war, requiring them to take them on
SEAMEN.)
The consul is not to permit a British merchant ship to leave the port where he resides
without his passport, which he is not to grant until the master and crew thereof have
satisfied all just demands upon them; and for this purpose he ought to see the governor's
pass of a garrisoned town, or the burgomaster's; unless the merchant or factor to whom
the ship was consigned will make himself responsible.-(Beawes, Lex Merc. vol. ii. p. 423.)
" It is also his duty to claim and recover all wreeks, cables, and anchors, belonging to
British ships, found at sea by fishermen or other persons, to pay the usual salvage, and to
communicate a report thereof to the Navy Board.
" The consuls and vice-consuls of his Majesty are, by express enactment (46 Geo. 3.
c. 98. § 9.), empowered to administer oaths in all cases respecting quarantine, in like manner
as if they were magistrates of the several towns or places where they respectively reside.
It is also laid down, that a consul is to attend, if requested, all arbitrations where property
is concerned between masters of British ships and the freighters, being inhabitants of the
place where he on Commercial Law, vol. i. pp. 58-61., and the
numerous authorities there quoted.)
Any individual, whether he be a subject of the state by which he is appointed, or of
another, may be selected to fill the office of consul, provided he be approved and admitted
by the government in whose territory he is to reside. In most instances, however, but
not always, consuls are the subjects of the state appointing them.
Much, however, of the peculiar duties of a consul must always depend on the nature
of the intercourse with the country to which he is sent, and of the instructions given
him. British consuls are regularly supplied with copies of all acts relating to trade and
navigation, quarantine, slave trade suppression, emigration, &c., and with the treaties
between this and other countries, and must, of course, shape their conduct accordingly.
They are strictly forbidden from corresponding with private parties on public matters.
We subjoin an extract from the General Instructions for British Consuls.
He will bear in mind that it is his principal duty to protect and promote the lawful trade and
trading interests of Great Britain by every fair and proper means, taking care to conform to the laws
and regulations in question; and whilst he is supporting the lawful trade of Great Britain, he will
take special notice of all prohibitions with respect to the export or import of specified articles, as well
on the part of the state in which he resides, as of the government of Great Britain, so that he may
caution all British subjects against carrying on an illicit commerce to the detriment of the revenue,
and in violation of the laws and regulations of either country; and be will not fail to give to this
department immediate notice of any attempt to contravene those laws and regulations.
The consul will give his best advice and assistance, when called upon, to his Majesty's trading
subjects, quieting their differences, promoting peace, harmony, and good-will amongst them, and
conciliating as much as possible the subjects of the two countries, upon all points of difference which
may fall under his cognizance. In the event of any attempt being made to injure British subjects
either in their persons or property, he will uphold their rightful interests, and the privileges secured
to them by treaty, by due representation in the proper official quarter. He will, at the same time, be
careful to conduct himself with mildness and moderation in all his transactions with the public
authorities, and he will not upon any account urge claims, on behalf of his Majesty's subjects, to
which they are not justly and fairly entitled. If redress cannot be obtained from the local adminis-
tration, or if the matter of complaint be not within their jurisdiction, the consul will apply to his
Majesty's consul-general, or to his Majesty's minister, if there be no consul-general in the country
wherein he resides, in order that he may make a representation to the higher authorities, or take
such other steps in the case as he may think proper; and the consul will pay strict attention to the
instructions which he may receive from the minister or consul-general."
Emoluments of Consuls. Prohibition of Trading, &c.-The emoluments of our consule
were, until these few years, principally derived from certain fees, depending on the tonnage,
length of the voyages, &c. of the British ships entering and clearing out of the limits of their
consulships. But this mode of remunerating them was materially changed by the act 6
Geo. 4. c. 87. The fees payable under this act-(see post)-are but inconsiderable but
the deficiency has been, partly at least, compensated by salaries allowed by government.
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At present, British consuls are, in some instances, permitted to carry on trade, while in
others they are interdicted from having any thing to do with it. The principle on which the
distinction is made does not seem very obvious. We observe, for example, that the consul
at Petersburgh, who must have a great deal to do, is allowed to trade while the consul at
Odessa, whose duties must be much lighter, is denied this privilege. There is the same dis-
tinction between the consuls at Venice and Trieste; the latter, whose duties must be the
heavier of the two, being allowed to act as a merchant, while the other is not. If this dis-
tinction must be kept up, the preferable plan would seem to be to interdict all consuls resi-
dent at the great ports, and those resident at other ports principally in the character of poli-
tical agents, from trading; and to permit it to others. The public duties of the former are
either quite sufficient wholly to engross their attention, or they are of such a kind as would
make it very inexpedient for those employed in them to be occupied in mercantile pursuits
in the case of the smaller class of ports, but little frequented by British ships, and where the
consuls have no peculiar political functions to discharge, there is a less urgent necessity for
prohibiting them from carrying on business on their own account. At the same time, how-
ever, we are clearly of opinion that it would in all cases be better not to allow consuls to
engage, either directly or indirectly, in any sort of industrious undertaking. The main end
and purpose of their institution is the facilitating of commerce with the nation in which they
reside; and in furtherance of such object they ought, on all occasions, to communicate the
fullest and earliest information in their power touching commercial matters, not only to the
government that appoints them, but to such of its subjects as may apply for their advice and
assistance. But, however advantageous publicity may be to others, it may in various ways
be extremely hostile to the interests of the consul considered in his capacity of merchant;
and, when his own advantage and his public duty are set in-opposition, it requires little saga-
city to discover which will have the ascendancy. Hence the fair presumption is, that a
trading consul will rather endeavour to profit by the peculiar information his situation may
enable him to obtain, than to communicate it to others, His interests as a merchant must
frequently, also, even when such is not really the case, appear to be in opposition to those of
the parties for whose behoof he is said to be appointed and. under such circumstances, his
proceedings, however fair, will always be liable to the suspicion of partiality. It is material,
also, to observe that mercantile consuls labour under peculiar disadvantages in the obtaining
of information. If a consul, not engaged in business, make a proper application to a public
functionary, or merchant, for information as to any subject with which they may be
acquainted, he will, in most instances, learn all that they know. But it is obvious, on gene-
ral principles, and we have been assured of the fact by some of the most intelligent officers
of the class, that if a trading consul make the same application, the chances are 10 to 1 he
will either learn nothing, or nothing that is not false or misleading. The inquiries of the
former excite no jealousy, those of the latter invariably do. The former is known to be ac-
tuated only by a feeling of liberal curiosity, or by a wish properly to discharge his public
duties; but, the latter, being engaged in business, gets credit only for selfish and interested
motives, and is believed to be seeking the information merely that he may turn it to his own
account. A mercantile consul is, therefore, uniformly the object of the suspicions of all par-
ties, both of his countrymen, and of the foreigners amongst whom he resides. Instead of
being, as he ought to be, an independent public functionary, he necessarily gets entangled
in the cabals and intrigues of those whose differences it is his province to conciliate. He is
tempted, also, to engage in smuggling adventures, contrary to his duty, and highly injurious
to the character of his nation. And though he should be proof against temptations of this
sort, he is, like all other individuals, subject to misfortune and bankruptcy ; and may, in this
way, bring discredit and embarrassment on the government that appoints him. These rea-
sons seem to be far more than sufficient to vindicate the policy of interdicting consuls from
trading. But were it otherwise, it is enough to decide the question to state, that if they be
made properly to perform the functions of their office, it will occupy every moment of their
time. To the argument in favour of the existing system derived from economical con-
siderations we do not attach the smallest weight. To attempt to save a few thousand pounds
by allowing an important class of public functionaries to engage in avocations inconsistent
with their duty, and destructive of their utility, would be something the very reverse of
economy.
Cost of the Establishment. Improvements made in it.-We had occasion, in the former
edition of this work, to complain of the cost and inadequacy of our consular establishment.
But its expense has since been very much, and, in some instances perhaps, too much re-
duced; at the same time that measures have been taken for increasing the duties of the
consuls, by making them furnish details as to the trade, manufactures, duties, prices, &c. of
the districts in which their consulships are situated. Hitherto this important department
of what ought to be the peculiar duty of a consul has been most strangely neglected but if
it be properly attended to, it will occupy a large portion of the consul's time, and will be 8
field for the display of superior talents. Some of the answers made by the consuls to the
Circular Queries prepared by the author of this work, have been drawn up with great care
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and intelligence, and reflect much credit on their authors. There are a good many certainly
of a very inferior description; but this is not to be wondered at-it being hardly possible for
those who have not given a good deal of their time to such subjects, to make a proper reply
to queries relating to them. And if the system is to be perfected to the degree of which it
is susceptible, the salaries allowed to the consuls ought to be such as to afford a sufficient
remuneration for the services of gentlemen of character, familiar with the principles of public
law, commerce, and statistics and such only ought to be nominated to consular situations.
We subjoin that part of the General Instructions for the Consuls that has reference to sta-
tistical inquiries.
" The consul will forward to the secretary of state, in duplicate, so soon as the information be can
collect will enable him so to do, but at any rate within a period of 6 months from the date of his arrival
at his residence, a general Report on the trade of the place and district, specifying the commodities,
as well of the export as import trade, and the countries which supply the latter, together with the
increase or decline in late years, and the probable increase and decline to be expected, and the causes
in both cases. He will state the general regulations with respect to trade at the place where he is
resident, and their effects. He will give the average market prices within the year of the several
articles of export and import; he will particularise what articles, if any, are absolutely prohibited to
be imported into the country wherein he resides; what articles are prohibited to be imported from
any other places than from the place of their growth or production; whether there be any privileges
of importation, and what those privileges are, in favour of ships that are of the build of, or belonging
to, the country wherein he resides; whether there be any difference in the duty on goods when
imported into that country in a foreign ship, and if so, whether it be general, or applicable only to
particular articles; what are the rates of duty payable on goods imported into the said country
whether there be any tonnage duty or other port dues, and what. payable on shipping entering at, or
clearing from, the ports of that country; whether there be any (and, if so, what) ports in that country
wherein goods may be warehoused on importation, and afterwards exported with or without payment
of any duties, and under what regulations."
He is also to transmit an annual statement of the trade with the principal ports of his
consulships and quarterly returns of the prices of corn, &c. This is a good beginning, and,
if it be properly followed up, may lead to very advantageous results.
The following are the provisions of the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 87. with respect to the salaries
and charges of consuls
Salaries to Consuls.- Whereas the provision which hath hitherto been made for the maintenance
and support of the consuls general and consuls appointed by his Majesty to reside within the domi-
nions of sovereigns and foreign states in amity with his Majesty, is inadequate to the maintenance
and support of such consuls general and consuls, and it is expedient to make further and due provi-
sions for that purpose;" it is therefore enacted, that it shall be lawful for his Majesty, by any orders
10 be issued by the advice of his privy council, to grant to all or any of the consuls general or consuls
appointed by his Majesty to reside within any of the dominions of any sovereign or foreign state or
power in amity with his Majesty, such reasonable salaries as to his Majesty shall seem meet, and by
such advice from time to time to alter, increase, or diminish any such salaries or salary as occasion
may require.- Geo. 4. c. 87. 1 1.)
Terms on which Salaries shall be granted. Leave of Absence.-Such salaries shall be issued and paid
to such consuls general and consuls without fee or deduction provided that all such salaries be
granted during his Majesty's pleasure, and not otherwise, and be held and enjoyed by such consuls
general and consuls, 80 long only as they shall be actually resident at the places at which they may
be so appointed to reside, and discharging the duties of such their offices: provided nevertheless, that
in case his Majesty shall, by any order to be for that purpose issued through one of his principal
secretaries of state, grant to any such consul general or consul leave of absence from the place to
which he may be 80 appointed, such consul general or consul shall be entitled to receive the whole,
or such part as to his Majesty shall seem meet, of the salary accruing during such period of absence.
of
Salaries in lieu of Fees formerly paid. Censuls not to take other than the Fees hereinafter mentioned.-
The salaries so to be granted shall be taken by the consuls general and consuls as a compensation for
all salaries heretofore granted, and all fees of office and gratuities heretofore taken by them from the
masters or commanders of British vessels, or from any other person, for any duties or services by
such consuls general or consuls done or performed for any such persons; and no such consuls general
or consuls shall, from the 1st of January, 1826, be entitled, on account of any thing by him done in the
execution of such his office, or for any service by him rendered to any masters or commanders of
British vessels, or to any other person in the execution of such his office, to ask or take any fees,
recompence, gratuity, compensation, or reward, or any sum of money, save as herein-after is excepted.
-0 3.
Certain Fees still allowed to be taken-It shall be lawful for all consuls general and consuls appointed
by his Majesty, and resident within the dominions of any sovereign, or any foreign state or power in
amity with his Majesty, to accept the several fees particularly mentioned in the tables to this present
act annexed, marked with the letters A. and B. for the several things and official acts and deeds par-
ticularly mentioned in the said schedules; and it shall be lawful for his Majesty, by any orders to be
by him made, by the advice of his privy council, from time to time, as occasion may require, to
diminish, or wholly to abolish, all or any of the fees aforesaid, and to establish and authorise the pay-
ment of any greater or smaller or new or additional fees for the several things mentioned in the said
schedules, or for any other thing to be by any such consul general or consul done in the execution of
such his office.- 4.
Penalty on Consuls demanding more Fees than specified in the Schedule.-In case any consul general or
consul appointed by his Majesty as aforesaid shall, by himself or deputy, or by any person authorised
thereto in his behalf, ask or accept for any thing by him done in the execution of such his office, or for
any service, or duty by him rendered or performed in such his office, for any person whomsoever, any
other or greater fee or remuneration than is specified in the schedule, or than shall be sanctioned and
specified in or by any such order in council, the person so offending shall forfeit and become liable to
pay to his Majesty any sum of sterling British money, not exceeding the amount of the salary of such
person for 1 year, nor less than the 12th part of such annual salary, at the discretion of the court in
which such penalty may be recovered; and shall moreover upon a second conviction for any such
offence forfeit such his office, and for ever after become incapable of serving his Majesty in the same
or the like capacity.-d 5.
Table of Fees to be exhibited at Custom-houses.-A printed copy of the tables of fees allowed by this
VoL. I.-2 R
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act, or which may be sanctioned or allowed by any order to be made in pursuance of this act by his
Majesty in council, shall be exhibited in a conspicuous manner, for the inspection of all persons, in
the Custom-house in the port of London, and in all other Custom-houses in the several ports and har-
bours of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; and printed copies thereof shall, by the
collector or other chief officer of customs in all such ports and harbours, be delivered gratuitously, and
without fee or reward, to every master of any vessel clearing out of any such port or harbour, and
demanding a copy thereof.-6.
Table of Fees to be exhibited at Consuls' Offices.-A copy of the schedule or table of fees to this present
act annexed, or which may be established and authorised by any such order in council, shall be bung
up and exhibited in a conspicuous place in the public offices of all consuls general or consuls appointed
by his Majesty, in the foreign places to which they may be so appointed, for the inspection of all per-
sons interested therein; and any consul general or consul omitting or neglecting to exhibit any such
copy of the schedules in such his public office, or refusing to permit the same to be inspected by any
person interested therein, shall for every such offence forfeit and pay a sum of British sterling money
not exceeding one half the amount of the salary of such person for 1 year, nor less than the 12th part
of such annual salary, at the discretion of the court in which such penalty may be recovered.-}
Superannuation.-" And whereas it is expedient that his Majesty should be enabled to grant to the
said consuls general and consuls, appointed as aforesaid, allowances in the nature of superannuation
or reward for meritorious public services;" it is further enacted, that all the regulations contained in
50 Gen. 3. c. 117., 3 Geo. 4. c. 113., 5 Geo. 4. c. 104., respecting superannuation allowances, are hereby
extended to the said consuls general and consuls, so far as such regulations can be applied to the
cases of such several persons respectively, as fully to all intents and purposes as if the same were
repeated and re-enacted in this present act.-d 8.
Allowances during War.-If it shall at any time happen that by reason of any war which may
hereafter arise between his Majesty and any sovereign, or foreign state or power, within the domi-
nions of whom any such consul general or consul shall be appointed to reside, he shall be prevented
from residing, and shall in fact cease to reside, at the place to which he may be so appointed, it shall
be lawful for his Majesty, by any order to be issued by the advice of his privy council, to grant to any
such consul general or consul, who may have served his Majesty in that capacity for any period not
less than 3 years, nor more than 10 years next preceding the commencement of any such war, a spe-
cial allowance not exceeding the proportion of their respective salaries to which such consuls general
and consuls would be entitled under the provisions of the said act of 3 Geo. 4., in case the period of
their respective service had exceeded 10 years and had not exceeded 15 years: provided that in case
any such consul general or consul shall have served in such his office for the space of 10 years and
more, it shall be lawful for his Majesty, by any such order in council as aforesaid, to grant to him
such a proportion of his salary, which, by the said act is authorised to be granted, as a superannua-
tion allowance, according to the several periods of service exceeding 10 years, in the said act.
9.
Commencement.-This act shall take effect from the 1st of January, 1826, except where any other
commencement is particularly directed.- 22.
Tables of Fees allowed to be taken by Consuls General and Consuls, by the preceding Act of
6 Geo. 4. c. 87.
Tuble A.-Certificate of due landing of goods exported from the United Kingdom
-
- 2 dollars.
Signature of ship's manifest
-
-
-
- 2 do.
Certificate of origin, when required
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 do.
Bill of health, when required
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 do.
Signature of muster roll, when required
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 do.
Attestation of a signature, when required
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 do.
Administering an oath, when required
-
-
-
-
-
-
- t do.
Seal of office, and signature of any other document not specified herein, when required
-
I
do.
Table B.-Bottomry or arbitration bond
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
% do.
Noting a protest
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 do.
Order of survey
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 do.
Extending a protest or survey
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 do.
Registrations
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 do.
Visa of passport
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
t do.
Valuation of goods
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
I per cent.
Attending sales, t per cent. where there has been a charge for valuing; otherwise, 1 per cent.
Attendance out of consular office at a shipwreck, 5 dollars per diem for his personal expenses, over
and above his travelling expenses.
Ditto on opening a will
I
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5 dollars.
Management of property of British subjects dying intestate
-
-
-
21 per cent.
The dollars mentioned in the preceding tables are in all cases to be paid by the delivery of dollars,
each of which is to be of the value of 4s. 6d. sterling, and no more, according to the rate of exchange
prevailing at the place where such payment is made.
[The following enactments of Congress are at present in force concerning consuls.
Act of April 14th, 1792.
2. That they shall have right in the ports or places to which they are, or may be, severally
appointed, of receiving the protests or declarations, which such captains, masters, crews, passengers,
and merchants, as are citizens of the United States, may respectively choose to make there and also
such as any foreigner may choose to make before them, relative to the personal interest of any citizen
of the United States; and the copies of the said acts, duly authenticated by the said consuls or vice
consuls, under the seal of their consulates, respectively, shall receive faith in law, equally as their
originals would in all courts in the United States. It shall be their duty, where the laws of the
country permit, to take possession of the personal estate left by any citizen of the United States, other
than seamen belonging to any ship or vessel, who shall die within their consulates, leaving there no
legal representative, partner in trade, or trustee by him appointed. to take care of his effects; they
shall inventory the same, with the assistance of two merchants of the United States. or, for want of
them, of any others, at their choice; shall collect the debts due to the deceased in the country where
he died, and pay the debts due from his estate which he shall have there contracted shall sell at
auction, after reasonable public notice, such part of the estate as shall be of a perishable nature, and
such further part, if any, as shall be necessary for the payment of his debts, and, at the expiration of
one year from his decease, the residue; and the balance of the estate they shall transmit to the
treasury of the United States, to be holden in trust for the legal claimants. But if, at any time before
such transmission, the legal representative of the deceased shall appear and demand his effects in
their hands, they shall deliver them up, being paid their fees, and shall cease their proceedings.
For the information of the representative of the deceased, it shall be the duty of the consul or vice
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consul, authorized to proceed as aforesaid in the settlement of his estate, immediately to notify his
death in one of the gazettes published in the consulate, and also to the secretary of state, that the same
may be notified in the state to which the deceased shall belong: and he shall also, as soon as may be,
transmit to the secretary of state an inventory of the effects of the deceased taken as before directed.
1 3. That the said consuls and vice consuls, in cases where ships or vessels of the United States
shall be stranded on the coasts of their consulates, respectively, shall, as far as the laws of the country
will permit, take proper measures, as well for the purpose of saving the said ships or vessels, their
cargoes and appurtenances, as for storing and securing the effects and merchandise saved, and for
taking an inventory or inventories thereof; and the merchandise and effects saved, with the inventory
or inventories thereof, taken as aforesaid, shall, after deducting therefrom the expense, be delivered
to the owner or owners. Provided, That no consul OF vice consul shall have authority to take pos-
session of any such goods, wares, merchandise, or other property, when the master, owner, or con-
signee thereof is present, or capable of taking possession of the same.
. 4. That it shall and may be lawful for every consul and vice consul of the United States to take
and receive the following fees of office, for the services which he shall have performed :-For authen-
ticating, under the consular seal, every protest, declaration, deposition, or other act, which such cap-
tains, masters, mariners, seamen, passengers, merchants, or others, as are citizens of the United
States, may respectively choose to make, the sum of two dollars. For the taking into possession,
inventorying, selling, and finally settling and paying, or transmitting, as aforesaid, the balance due on
the personal estate left by any citizen of the United States who shall die within the limit of his con-
sulate, five per centum on the gross amount of such estate. For taking into possession, and otherwise
proceeding on, any such estate which shall be delivered over to the legal representative before a final
settlement of the same, as is hereinbefore directed, two and a half per centum on such part delivered
over as shall not be in money, and five per centum on the gross amount of the residue. And it shall
be the duty of the consuls and vice consuls of the United States to give receipts for all fees which
they shall receive by virtue of this act, expressing the particular services for which they are paid.
1 5. That in case it be found necessary for the interest of the United States, that a consul or consuls
be appointed to reside on the coast of Barbary, the president be authorized to allow an annual salary,
not exceeding-two thousand dollars, to each person 80 to be appointed: Provided, That such salary be
not allowed to more than one consul for any one of the states of the said coast.
e 6. That every consul and vicc consul shall, before they enter on the execution of their trusts, or
if already in the execution of the same, within one year from the passing of this act, or, if resident in
Asia, within two years, give bond, with such sureties as shall be approved by the secretary of state,
in a sum of not less than two thousand, nor more than ten thousand dollars, conditioned for the true
and faithful discharge of the duties of his office, according to law, and also for truly accounting for all
moneys, goods, and effects which may come into his possession by virtue of this act: and the said
bond shall be lodged in the office of the secretary of the treasury.
Act of February 28th, 1803.
è 1. Be it enacted, &e. That before a clearance be granted to any vessel bound on a foreign voyage,
the master thereof shall deliver to the collector of the customs a list, containing the names, places of
birth, and residence, and a description of the persons who compose his ship's company, to which list
the oath or affirmation of the captain shall be annexed, that the said list contains the names of his
cre w, together with the places of their birth and residence, so far as he can ascertain them, and the
said collector shall deliver him a certified copy thereof, for which the collector shall be entitled to
receive the sum of twenty-five cents; and the said master shall, moreover, enter into bond with suf-
ficient security, in the sum of four hundred dollars, that he shall exhibit the aforesaid certified copy
or the list to the first boarding officer, at the first port in the United States at which he shall arrive,
on his return thereto, and then and there also produce the persons named therein, to the said boarding
officer, whose duty it shall be to examine the men with such list, and to report the same to the col-
lector and it shall be the duty of the collector at the said port of arrival, (where the same is different
from the port from which the vessel originally sailed,) to transmit a copy of the list so reported to him,
to the collector of the port from which said vessel originally sailed Prorided, That the said bond shall
not be forfeited on account of the said master not producing to the first boarding officer, as aforesaid,
any of the persons contained in the said list, who may be discharged in a foreign country, with the
consent of the consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, there residing, signified
In writing, under his hand and official seal, to be produced to the collector with the other persons com-
posing the crew, as aforesaid; nor on account of any such person dying or absconding, or being forcibly
impressed into other service, of which satisfactory proof shall be then also exhibited to the collector.
02. That it shall be the duty of every master or commander of a ship or vessel, belonging to citizens
of the United States, who shall sail from any port of the United States, after the first day of May
next, on his arrival at a foreign port, to deposite his register, sealetter, and Mediterranean passport,
with the consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, (if any there be at such
port ;) that in case of refusal or neglect of the said master or commander, to deposite the said papers
as aforesaid, he shall forfeit and pay five hundred dollars, to be recovered by the said consul, vice
consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, in his own name, for the benefit of the United
States, in any court of competent jurisdiction; and it shall be the duty of such consul, vice consul,
commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, on such master or commander producing to him a clear-
ance from the proper officer of the port where his ship or vessel may be, to deliver to the said master
or commander all of his said papers: Provided, such master or commander shall have complied with
the provisions contained in this act, and those of the act to which this is a supplement.
. 3. That whenever a ship or vessel, belonging to a citizen of the United States, shall be sold in a
foreign country, and her company discharged, or when a seaman or mariner, a citizen of the United
States, shall, with his own consent, be discharged in a foreign country, it shall be the duty of the
master or commander to produce to the consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial
agent, the list of his ship's company, certified as aforesaid, and to pay to such consul, vice consul,
commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, for every seaman or mariner so discharged, being desig-
nated on such list as a citizen of the United States, three months' pay, over and above the wages
which may then be due to such mariner or seaman, two thirds thereof to be paid by such consul or
commercial agent, to each seaman or mariner so discharged, upon his engagement on board of any
vessel to return to the United States, and the other remaining third to be retained for the purpose of
creating a fund for the payment of the passages of seamen or mariners, citizens of the United States,
who may be desirous of returning to the United States, and for the maintenance of American seamen
who may be destitute, and may be in such foreign port and the several sums retained for such fund
shall be accounted for with the treasury every six months, by the persons receiving the same.
4. That it shall be the duty of the consuls, vice consuls, commercial agents, vice commercial
agents of the United States, from time to time, to provide for the mariners and seamen of the United
States, who may be found destitute within their districts, respectively, sufficient subsistence and
passages to some port in the United States, in the most reasonable manner, at the expense of the
United States, subject to such instructions as the secretary of state shall give; and that all masters
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CONSUL.
and commanders of vessels belonging to citizens of the United States, and bound to some post of the
same, are hereby required and enjoined to take such mariners or seamen on board of their ships or
vessels, at the request of the said consuls, vice consuls, commercial agents, or vice commercial agents
respectively, and to transport them to the port in the United States to which such ships or vessels
may be bound, on such terms, not exceeding ten dollars for each person, as may be agreed between
the said master and consul, or commercial agent. And the said mariners or seamen shall, if able, be
bound to do duty on board such ships or vessels, according to their several abilities: Provided, That
no master or captain of any ship or vessel shall be obliged to take a greater number than two men to
every one hundred tons burden of the said ship or vessel, on any one voyage and if any such cap-
tain or master shall refuse the same, on the request or order of the consul, vice consul, commercial
agent, or vice commercial agent, such captain or master shall forfeit and pay the sum of one hundred
dollars for each mariner or seaman so refused, to be recovered, for the benefit of the United States, in
any court of competent jurisdiction. And the certificate of any such consul or commercial agent,
given under his hand and official seal, shall be prima facie evidence of such refusal, in any court of law
having jurisdiction for the recovery of the penalty aforesaid.
By the fifth section of this act, the secretary of state is authorized to reimburse the consuls, vice
consuls, commercial agents, or vice commercial agents, such reasonable sums as they may heretofore
have advanced for the relief of seamen, though the same should exceed the rate of twelve cents a man
per diem."
è 6. That it shall and may be lewful for every consul, vice consul, commercial agent, and vice com-
mercial agent, of the United States, to take and receive, for every certificate of discharge of any sea-
man or mariner in a foreign port, fifty cents; and for commission on paying and receiving the amount
of wages payable on the discharge of seamen in foreign ports, two and a half per centum.
₽7. That if any consul, vice consul, commercial agent, OF vice commercial agent, shall, falsely and
knowingly, certify that property belonging to foreigners is property belonging to citizens of the United
States, he shall, on conviction thereof, in any court of competent jurisdiction, forfeit and pay a fine
not exceeding ten thousand dollars, at the discretion of the court, and be imprisoned for any term not
exceeding three years.
8. That if any consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent, shall grant a pass-
port, or other paper, certifying that any alien, knowing him or her to be such, is a citizen of the United
States, be shall, on conviction thereof, in any court of competent jurisdiction, forfeit and pay a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars.
1 9. That all powers of attorney, executed after the thirtieth day of June next, in a foreign country,
for the transfer of any stock of the United States, or for the receipt of interest thereon, shall be veri-
fied by the certificate and seal of a consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent,
if any there be, at the place where the same shall be executed, for which the person giving the certifi-
cate shall receive fifty cents.
Act of May 1st, 1810.
04. That it shall not be lawful for the consuls of the United States, residing on the Barbary coast,
or either of them, to expend, or to disburse, or pay, or cause to be paid, for any purpose, or on any
pretence whatever, not authorized by law, to any one of the Barbary powers, or to the officers or sub-
jects thereof, a greater sum than three thousand dollars in any one year, with intent to charge the
United States with the same, without first obtaining a special approbation, in writing, from the presi-
dent of the United States, for that purpose. And every such consul who shall, after notice of this act,
expend or disburse, or pay, or cause to be paid, for any purpose, or on any pretence whatever, not
authorized by law, to any one of the Barbary powers, or to the officers or subjects thereof, a greater
sum than three thousand dollars in any one year, or shall be aiding OF assisting therein, without first
obtaining the approbation of the president as aforesaid, shall forfeit and pay to the treasury of the
United States a sum equal to one half his yearly compensation; and shall, moreover, stand charged
with, and be accountable for, all moneys so disbursed or paid, contrary to the previsions of this act.
25. That, from and after the first day of November next, no consul of the United States residing
on the Barbary coast shall own, in whole or in part, any ship OF vessel, to be concerned, directly 01
indirectly, in the exportation from, or importation to, any of the states on the coast of Barbary, of
any goods, wares, or merchandise, on penalty that every consul 80 offending, and being thereof con-
victed, shall, for every offence, forfeit a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars.
06. That it shall be the duty of the consuls residing on the Barbary coast to transmit to the secre-
tary of the treasury, annually, an account of all moneys received, and of all disbursements or expendi-
tures made, by them, respectively, for or on account of the United States, and the particular purpose
to which the moneys have been applied, and the vouchers to support the same and the secretary of
the treasury shall transmit to congress, within two months after the commencement of the first session
thereof, in every year, a statement of all the moneys disbursed from the treasury of the United States,
for expenses of intercourse with the Barbary powers during the preceding year, therein noting. as far
as can be ascertained at the treasury, the sums received by the respective agents or consuls, and the
purposes to which the same have been applied.
Act of March 13th, 1813.
$ 6. That, from and after the time when this act shall take effect, the consuls or commercial agents
of any nation at peace with the United States shall be admitted (under such regulations as may be
prescribed by the president of the United States,) to state their objections to the proper commander
or collector as aforesaid, against the employment of any seaman or seafaring man on board of any
public or private vessel of the United States, on account of his being a native subject or citizen of such
nation, and not embraced within the description of persons who may be lawfully employed, according
to the provisions of this act; and the said consuls OF commercial agents shall also be admitted, under
the said regulations, to be present at the time when the proofs of citizenship, of the persons against
whom such objections may have been made, shall be investigated by such commander or collector.
Act of March 3d, 1817.
a 1. Be it onacted, &c. That the register or other documents in lieu thereof, together with the clear-
ance and other papers granted by the officers of the customs to any foreign ship or vessel, at her de-
parture from the port or place from which she may have arrived, shall, previous to entry in any port
of the United States, be produced to the collector with whom such entry is to be made. And it shall
be the duty of the master or commander, within forty-eight hours after such entry, to deposite the
said papers with the consul or vice consul of the nation to which the vessel belongs, and to deliver to
the collector the certificate of such consul or vice consul that the said papers have been so deposited;
and any master or commander, as aforesaid, who shall fail to comply with this regulation, shall, upon
conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, be fined in a sum not less than five bun-
dred dollars nor exceeding two thousand dollars: Provided, That this act shall not extend to the
vessels of foreign nations in whose ports American consuls are not permitted to have the custody and
possession of the register and other papers of vessels entering the ports of such nation, according to
the provisions of the second section of the act, supplementary to the act concerning consule and
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vice consuls, and for the further protection of American seamen," passed the twenty-eighth of Feb-
ruary, one thousand eight hundred and three.
1 2. That it shall not be lawful for any foreign consul to deliver to the master or commander of any
foreign vessel the register and other papers deposited with him pursuant to the provisions of this act,
until such master or commander shall produce to him a clearance, in due form, from the collector of
the port where such vessel has been entered; and any consul offending against the provisions of this
act, shall upon conviction thereof before the supreme court of the United States, be fined, at the dis-
cretion of the court, in a sum not less than five hundred dollars nor exceeding five thousand dollars.
Act of March 1st, 1823.
1 7. That no goods, wares, or merchandise, subject to ad valorem duty, imported as aforesaid, and
belonging to a person or persons not residing at the time in the United States, and who shall have
actually purchased the same, shall be admitted to entry, unless the invoice be verified by the oath of
the owner, or one of the owners, certifying that the said goods, wares, or merchandise, were actually
purchased for his account, or for account of himself and partners in the said purchase; that the in-
voice annexed thereto contains a true and faithful account of the actual cost thereof, and of all charges
thereon; and that no discounts, bounties, or drawbacks, are contained in the said invoice, but such as
have been actually allowed on the same which said oath shall be administered by a consul or com-
mercial agent of the United States: or by some public officer duly authorized to administer oaths in
the country where the said goods, wares, or merchandise, shall have been purchased, and the same
duly certified by the said consul, commercial agent, or public officer; in which latter case, such official
certificate shall be authenticated by a consul or commercial agent of the United States: Provided,
That if there be no consul or commercial agent of the United States in the country from which the
said goods, wares, or merchandise, shall have been imported, the authentication hereby required,
shall be executed by a consul of a nation at the time in amity with the United States, if there be any
such residing there and if there be no such consul in the country, the said authentication shall be
made by two respectable merchants, if any such there be, residing in the port from which the said
goods, wares, or merchandise, shall have been imported.
e 8. That no goods, wares, or merchandise, subject to ad valorem duty, imported as aforesaid, and
belonging to a person or persons not residing at the time in the United States, who may not have ac-
quired the same in the ordinary mode of bargain and sale, or belonging to a person or persons who
may be the manufacturer or manufacturers, in whole or in part, of the same, shall be admitted to
entry, unless the invoice thereof be verified by the oath of the owner, or of one of the owners, certi-
fying that the invoice contains a true and faithful account of the said goods, wares, or merchandise,
at their fair market value at the time and place when and where the same were procured or manu-
factured, as the case may be, and of all charges thereon; and that the said invoice contains no dis-
counts, bounties, or drawbacks, but such as have been actually allowed; which said oath shall have
been duly administered and authenticated in the mode prescribed in the seventh section of this
act.
@ 22. That, for every verification and certificate, made under this act. before a consul or commercial
agent of the United States, such consul or commercial agent shall be entitled to demand and receive,
from the person making the same, a fee of two dollars Provided, Each shipper shall have the right
to Include all articles shipped by him in the same invoice.
Act of March 3d, 1835.
1 1. Be it enacted, &c. That if any consul, vice consul, commercial agent, or vice commercial agent,
shall knowingly and falsely certify to any invoice, or other paper to which his certificate is by law
authorised or required, he shall, on conviction thereof, in any court of competent jurisdiction, forfeit
and pay a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars, at the discretion of the court, and be imprisoned for
a term not exceeding three years, at the like discretion.
See Kent's Commentaries on American Law, Lecture 2d.-Am. Ed.]
CONTRABAND, in commerce, a commodity prohibited to be exported or imported,
bought or sold.
CONTRABAND is also a term applied to designate that class of commodities which neu-
trals are not allowed to carry during war to a belligerent power.
It is a recognised general principle of the law of nations, that ships may sail to and trade
with all kingdoms, countries, and states in peace with the princes or authorities whose flags
they bear; and that they are not to be molested by the ships of any other power at war with
the country with which they are trading, unless they engage in the conveyance of contra-
band goods. But great difficulty has arisen in deciding as to the goods comprised under
this term. The reason of the limitation suggests, however, the species of articles to which
it principally applies. It is indispensable that those who profess to act upon a principle of
neutrality should carefully abstain from doing any thing that may discover a bias in favour
of either party. But a nation who should furnish one of the belligerents with supplies of
warlike stores, or with supplies of any article, without which that belligerent might not be
able to carry on the contest, would obviously forfeit her neutral character and the other
belligerent would be warranted in preventing such succours from being sent, and in confis-
cating them as lawful prize. All the best writers on international law admit this principle
which, besides being enforced during every contest, has been sanctioned by repeated treaties.
In order to obviate all disputes as to what commodities should be deemed contraband. they
have sometimes been specified in treaties or conventions-(See the references in Lampredi
del Commercio de' Popoli Neutrali, § 9.) But this classification is not always respected
during hostilities; and it is sufficiently evident that an article which might not be contra-
band at one time, or under certain circumstances, may become contraband at another time,
or under different circumstances. It is admitted on all hands, even by M. Hubner, the great
advocate for the freedom of neutral commerce-(De la Saisie des Bâtimens Neutres, tom. i.
p. 193.)-that every thing that may directly available for hostile purposes is contraband,
as arms, ammunition, horses, timber for ship-building, and all sorts of naval stores. The
greatest difficulty has occurred in deciding as to provisions, which are sometimes held to be
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CONTRABAND.
contraband, and sometimes not. Lord Stowell has shown that the character of the port to
which the provisions are destined, is the principal circumstance to be attended to in decid-
ing whether they are to be looked upon as contraband. A cargo of provisions intended for
an enemy's port, in which it was known that a warlike armament was in preparation, would
be liable to arrest and confiscation; while, if the same cargo were intended for a port where
none but merchantmen were fitted out, the most that could be done would be to detain it,
paying the neutral the same price for it he would have got from the enemy.
By the ancient law of Europe, a ship conveying any contraband article was liable to con-
fiscation as well as the article. But in the modern practice of the courts of admiralty of
this and other countries, a milder rule has been adopted, and the carriage of contraband
articles is attended only with the loss of freight and expenses, unless when the ship belongs
to the owner of the contraband cargo, or when the simple misconduct of conveying such a
cargo has been connected with other malignant and aggravating circumstances. Of these
a false destination and false papers are justly held to be the worst.-(5 Rob. Adm. Rep.
275.)
The right of visitation and search is a right inherent in all belligerents: for it would be
absurd to allege that they had a right to prevent the conveyance of contraband geods to an
enemy, and to deny them the use of the only means by which they can give effect to such
right.-( Vattel, book iii. c. 7. § 114.) The object of the search is twofold first, to ascer-
tain whether the ship is neutral or an enemy, for the circumstance of its hoisting a neutral
flag affords no security that it is really such; and, secondly, to ascertain whether it has con-
traband articles, or enemies' property, on board. All neutral ships that would navigate
securely during war must, consequently, be provided with passports from their government,
and with all the papers or documents necessary to prove the property of the ship and cargo
-(see Ship's Papers) ; and they must carefully avoid taking any contraband articles OF
belligerent property on board. And hence, as Lampredi has observed, a merchant ship
which seeks to avoid a search by crowding sail, or by open force, may justly be captured and
subjected to confiscation.-(§ 12.)
It has, indeed, been often contended that free ships make free goods (que le parillon
couvre la marchandise) and that a belligerent is not warranted in seizing the property of an
enemy in a neutral ship, unless it be contraband. The discussion of this important ques-
tion would lead us into details which do not properly come within the scope of this work.
We may, however, shortly observe, that no such privilege could be conceded to neutrals,
without taking from belligerents the right, inseparable from a state of war, of seizing an
enemy's property if found in places where hostilities may be lawfully carried on, as on the
high seas. In fact, were the principle in question admitted, the commerce of a belligerent
power with its colonies, or other countries beyond sea, might be prosecuted in neutral ships,
with as much security during war as in peace; so that neutrals would, in this way, be au-
thorised to render a belligerent more important assistance than, perhaps, they could have
done had they supplied him with troops and ammunition But it is surely unnecessary to
say, that to act in this way is a proceeding altogether at variance with the idea of neutrality.
Neutrals are bound to conduct themselves in the spirit of impartiality; and must not
afford such aid or assistance to one party, as may the better enable him to make head against
the other. It is their duty " non interponere se bello, non hoste imminente hostem eripere."
And yet it is manifest that the lending of neutral bottoms to carry on a belligerent's trade is
in direct contradiction to this rule. The ships or cruisers of a particular power may have
swept those of its enemy from the sea, and reduced him to a state of great difficulty, by put-
ting a stop to his commerce with foreigners, or with his own colonies; but of what conse-
quence would this be, if neutrals might step in to rescue him from such difficulties, by carry-
ing on that intercourse for him which he can no longer carry on for himself! It is natural
enough that such a privilege should be coveted by neutrals: but, however advantageous
to them, it is wholly subversive of the universally admitted rights of belligerent powers, as
well as of the principles of neutrality and cannot, therefore, be truly said to be bottomed
on any sound principle.
In the war of 1756, the rule was laid down by Great Britain, that neutrals are not to be
allowed to carry on a trade during war, that they were excluded from during peace ; so that,
supposing a nation at war with Great Britain had, while at peace, prohibited foreigners from
engaging in her colonial or coasting trade, we should not have permitted neutrals to engage
in it during war. This rule has been much complained of; but the principle on which it is
founded seems a sound one, and it may in most cases be safely adopted. The claims of
neutrals cannot surely be carried further than that they should be allowed to carry on their
trade during war, as they had been accustomed to carry it on during peace, except with
places under blockade but it is quite a different thing when they claim to be allowed to
employ themselves, during war, in a trade in which they had not previously any right to en-
gage. To grant them this, would not be to preserve to them their former rights, but to give
them new ones, which may be fairly withheld. Supposing, however, that either of the belli-
gerent powers has force sufficient to prevent any intercourse between the other and its colo-
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nics, or any intercourse between different ports of the other, she might, in the exercise of the
legitimate rights of a belligerent, exclude neutrals from such trade, even though it had for-
merly been open to them; because otherwise she would be deprived of the advantage of her
superior force; and the neutrals would, in fact, when employed in this way, be acting as the
most efficient allies of her enemy.
For a full discussion of this important and difficult question, and of the various distinctions
to which it gives rise, see the work of Hubner (De la Saisie des Bâtimens Neutres, 2 tomes,
12mo. 1757), in which the different arguments in favour of the principle that " the flag
covers the cargo" are stated with perspicuity and talent. The opposite principle has been
advocated by Lampredi, in his very able treatise Del Commercio de' Popoli Neutrali, § 10.
by Lord Liverpool, in his Discourse on the Conduct of Great Britain in respect to Neutrals,
written in 1757; and, above all, by Lord Stowell, in his justly celebrated decisions in the
Admiralty Court. Martens inclines to Hubner's opinion.-(See Précis du Droit des Gens,
liv. 8. c. 7.)
[See Kent's Commentaries on American Law, Lecture 7th.-Am. Ed.]
CONVOY, in navigation, the term applied to designate a ship or ships of war, appointed
by government, or by the commander in chief on a particular station, to escort or protect the
merchant ships proceeding to certain ports. Convoys are mostly appointed during war; but
they are sometimes, also, appointed during peace, for the security of ships navigating seas
infested with pirates.
Individuals have not always been left to themselves to judge as to the expediency of sail-
ing with or without convoy. The governments of most maritime states have thought pro-
per, when they were engaged in hostilities, to oblige their subjects to place themselves under
an escort of this sort, that the enemy might not be enriched by their capture. Acts to this
effect were passed in this country during the American war and the late French war. The
last of these acts (43 Geo. 3. c. 57.) enacted, that it should not be lawful for any ship be-
longing to any of his Majesty's subjects (except as therein provided) to depart from any
port or place whatever, unless under such convoy as should be appointed for that pur-
pose. The master was required to use his utmost endeavours to continue with the convoy
during the whole voyage, or such part thereof as it should be directed to accompany his ship;
and not to separate therefrom without leave of the commander, under very heavy pecuniary
penalties. And in case of any ship departing without convoy contrary to the act, or wil-
fully separating therefrom, all insurances on the ship, cargo, or freight, belonging to the mas-
ter, or to any other person directing or privy to such departure or separation, were rendered
null and void. The customs officers were directed not to allow any ship that ought to sail
with convoy to clear out from any place in the United Kingdom for foreign parts, without
requiring from the master, bond with one surety, with condition that the ship should not de-
part without convoy, nor afterwards desert or wilfully separate from it. The regulations of
this act did not extend to ships not requiring to be registered, nor to those licensed to sail
without convoy, nor to those engaged in the coasting trade, nor to those belonging to the
East India Company, &c.
It is very common, during periods of war, to make sailing or departing with convoy a
condition in policies of insurance. This, like other warranties in a policy, must be strictly
performed. And if a ship warranted to sail with convoy, sail without it, the policy becomes
void, whether this be imputable to any negligence on the part of the insured, or the refusal
of government to appoint a convoy.
There are five things essential to sailing with convoy viz. first, it must be with a regular
convoy under an officer appointed by government; secondly, it must be from the place of
rendezvous appointed by government; thirdly, it must be a convoy for the voyage; fourthly,
the master of the ship must have sailing instructions from the commanding officer of the
convoy and fifthly, the ship must depart and continue with the convoy till the end of the
voyage, unless separated by necessity.
With respect to the third of these conditions we may observe, that a warranty to sail with
convoy generally means a convoy for the voyage; and it is not necessary to add the words
" for the voyage" to make it so. Neither will the adding of these words in some instances,
make the omission of them, in any case, the ground of a different construction. A warranty
to sail with convoy does not, however, uniformly mean a convoy that is to accompany the
ship insured the entire way from the port of departure to her port of destination; but such
convoy as government may think fit to appoint as a sufficient protection for ships going the
voyage insured, whether it be for the whole or only a part of the voyage.
Sailing instructions, referred to in the fourth condition, are written or printed directions
delivered by the commanding officer of the convoy to the several masters of the ships under
his care, that they may understand and answer signals, and know the place of rendezvous
appointed for the fleet in case of dispersion by storm, or by an enemy, &c. These sailing
instructions are so very indispensable, that no vessel can have the full protection and benefit
of convoy without them: hence, when, through the negligence of the master, they are not
obtained, the ship is not agid to have sailed with convoy and a warranty in a policy of in-
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COPAIVA-COPENHAGEN.
surance to that effect is held not to be complied with. If, however, the master do all in his
power to obtain sailing instructions, but is prevented from obtaining them by any insuperable
obstacle, as the badness of the weather; or if they be refused by the commander of the con-
voy the warranty in the policy is held to be complied with.
For further information as to convoy, see Abbott on the Law of Shipping, part iii. c. 3.;
Marshall on Insurance, book i. c. 9. G 5., and the Act 43 Geo. 3. c. 57, &c.
COPAIVA. See BALSAM.
COPAL, improperly called gum copal, is a valuable and singular kind of resin, that na-
turally exudes from different large trees, and is imported partly from America, and partly
from the East Indies. The best copal is hard and brittle, in rounded lumps of a moderate
size, easily reducible to a fine powder, of a light lemon yellow colour, beautifully transpa-
rent, but often, like amber, containing parts of insects and other small extraneous bodies in
its substance. Its specific gravity varies from 1045 to 1·139. It has neither the solubility
in water common to gums, nor the solubility in alcohol common to resins, at least in any
considerable degree. It may be dissolved by digestion in drying linseed oil, and other volatile
menstrus. This solution forms a beautiful transparent varnish, which, when, properly ap-
plied, and slowly dried, is very hard and very durable. Copal varnish was first discovered
in France, and was long known by the name of vernis martin. It is applied to snuff-boxes,
tea-boards, and other utensils. It preserves and gives lustre to paintings; and contributes
to restore the decayed colours of old pictures, by filling up cracks, and rendering the surface
capable of reflecting light more uniformly. Copal is liable to be confounded with gum
animé, when the latter is very clear and good. But it is of importance to distinguish
between them, as the animé, though valuable as a varnish, is much less so than the finest
copal; the varnish with the former being darker coloured, and not so hard. Besides the
external appearance of each, which is pretty distinct to a practised eye, the solubility in
alcohol furnishes a useful test,-the animé being readily soluble in this fluid, while the co-
pal is hardly affected by it; copal is also brittle between the teeth, whereas animé softens
in the mouth.-(Rees's Cycloprdia; Ure's Dictionary, &c.)
The imports of gum animé and copal are not distinguished in the custom-house accounts. The entries
of both for home consumption amounted, at an average of the 3 years ending with 1831, to 123,723 lbs.
a year. The duty has been judiciously reduced from 56s. to 6s. a cwt. Copal fetches in the London
market from 6d. to 1s. 7d. per lb., duty paid.
COPENHAGEN, the capital of Denmark, situated on the east coast of the island of Zea-
land, in the channel of the Baltic called the Sound in lat. 55° 41' N., lon. 12° 35' 46" E.
Population about 105,000. It is a well-built, handsome city. In going into Copenhagen,
the course is between the buoy on the Stubben Bank to the left, and the buoy on the Middle-
grounds, and those in advance of the three Crown batteries on the right, W. W. by com-
pass. From the three crowns to the roads the course is S. S. W. The water in the channel
is from 6 to 4 fathoms deep; but it is narrow, and the navigation rather difficult. There is
no obligation to take a pilot on board; but if a vessel wish for one, she may heave to abreast
of the battery, when he will come to her. Vessels not intending to come into harbour bring
up in the roads, at from t to 1 a mile from shore, in about 4 fathoms, the town bearing
S. W. In the harbour, within the boom, the water is from 17 to 18 feet deep. Vessels
in harbour load and unload alongside the quay. The anchorage in the roads is good and safe.
Money - Accounts are kept in rixdollars of 6 marcs, or 96 skillings; the rixdollar being formerly
worth about 4s. 1d. sterling. But in 1813, a new monetary system was adopted, according to which
the new or Rigsbank dollar is worth 2s. 34d.., being half the value of the old specie dollar, and 1 of the
old current dollar. But the money generally used in commercial transactions is bank money, which
is commonly at a heavy discount. The par of exchange, estimated by the Rigsbank dollar, would be
8 dollars 76 skillings per pound sterling.
Weights and Measures.-The commercial weights are, 16 pounds 1 lispound 20 lispound = 1 ship-
pound; 100 lb. - 1104 lbs. avoirdupois - 134 lbs. Troy = 101 lbs. of Amsterdam = 103lbs. of Hamburgh.
The liquid measures are, 4 ankers - 1 ahm or ohm; If ahm = 1 hogshead; 2 hogsheads = 1 pipe;
2 pipes = 1 quarter. The anker = 10 (very nearly) English wine gallons. A fuder of wine = 930 pots
and 100 pots = 251 wine gallons.
The dry measures are, 4 viertels = 1 scheffel 8 scheffels - 1 toende or ton 12 tons = 1 last = 471
Winchester bushels. The last of oil, butter, herrings, and other oily substances, should weigh 234
lbs. nett.
The measure of length is the Rhineland foot - 121 inches very nearly. The Danish ell - 2 feet 100
ells = 68f English yards.
Trade of Copenhagen.-This is not very considerable, and has latterly declined. Anchors,
pitch, and tar, are chiefly imported from Sweden and Norway flax, hemp, masts, sail-cloth,
and cordage, from Russia; West India produce from the Danish West India islands; to-
bacco from America; wines and brandy from France: coal, earthen-ware, and salt are the
principal articles of direct import from England. Of coal, we sent to Denmark (principally
to Copenhagen), in 1830, 100,127 tons, and of salt 1,272,487 bushels. Owing to the erro-
neous policy of the Danish government, which is attempting, at a great public loss, to raise
and bolster up manufactures, the direct imports of woollens and cottons are quite inconsi-
derable. These articles are not, however, absolutely prohibited but are admitted on condi-
tion of their being stamped, and put up to auction by the Custom-house, which, after retain-
ing 30 per cent. of the gross produce of the sale, pays over the residue to the importer, who
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COPENHAGEN.
477
is generally the purchaser. This oppressive regulation reduces the legitimate importation
of these articles to next to nothing; but the illicit importation is very considerable, princi-
pally by the Elbe and the Holstein frontier. The exports consist, for the most part, of the
produce of the soil, as grain, rapeseed, butter and cheese, beef and pork, hides, horses and
cattle, corn, brandy, bones, &c. In 1830, the imports of grain into this country from Den-
mark were as follows, viz. wheat 88,033 quarters, barley 75,532 do., oats 118,203 do., rye
1,151 do., peas and beans 5,182 do., the importation of rapeseed during the same year was
286,569 bushels.-(See Corn Laws.) We subjoin
An Account, extracted from the Returns published by the Danish Custom-house of the principal Arti-
cles of Agricultural Produce exported from Denmark in 1831.
Quantities exported.
Real or declared
Articles exported.
Danish Weights
British Weights
Value in Rigs-
Value in Sterling.
bank Dollars.
and Measures.
and Measures.
Wheat and wheat flour
-
113,696 ton.
54,952 qrs.
£ 8. d.
Rye and rye flour
-
-
78,460 -
37,921
Barley, flour and groats
-
584,384 -
282,408
malt
-
-
-
19,092 -
9,228
169,815
3,964,772
446,036 17 O
Oats, meal and groats
-
-
351,340 -
Buckwheat do.
-
-
-
6,988 -
3,377
Peas
-
-
-
15,995 -
7,730
Beans and tares
-
-
31,133 -
15,047
Rapeseed
-
-
-
143,154 -
71,608
1,390,487
156,429 15 9
Butter -
-
47,658 bar.
-
-
-
-
2,382,900
268,076 5 0
Cheese -
-
-
872,000 lbs.
8,590 cwt.
54,500
6,131 5 0
-
Brandy (corn)
-
-
-
2,319 hhd.
115,775 galls.
Pork, salted
-
-
-
1,449,787 lbs.
14,331 cwt.
smoked
-
-
-
365,789 -
3,603
Beef, salted
-
-
-
691,104 -
6,808
smoked
-
-
-
15,773 -
156 -
Hides and skins-
calf, sheep, and lamb
-
1,112,582 lbs.
10,960 cwt.
-
-
16,169
2,885,316
324,598 1 0
ox, cow, and horse
1,744,007
Wool, sheep
-
-
-
779,488 -
857,436
Cattle-
Horses
-
-
-
12,350 head
-
-
Oxen
-
-
23,013 -
-
-
-
Cows
-
-
-
8,461 -
-
-
Calves
-
-
-
5,056 -
-
-
-
Rbd.
10,077,975
£1,201,272 3 9
We have no means of ascertaining the proportion shipped from Copenhagen, but it was very con-
siderable.
Thres.-Statement of the Tares allowed by the Custom-house at Copenhagen, on the principal Arti-
cles of Importation.
Tares.
Articles.
Description of Packages.
Tares.
Articles.
Description of Packages.
Almonds
Linen bags
4 per ct.
Pepper
Bags of 150 lbs. and under
2 lbs.
Cassia lignea
All sorts of packages
16
-
exceeding 150 lbs.
4
Cinnamon
do.
do.
Linen bags
do.
Cocoa
In linen bags
4 per ct.
Pimento
do.
do.
Casks of 400lbs. and under
16 -
1-2 barrel
18 lbs.
Coffee
Raisins
exceeding 400 lbs.
12
1-4 do.
12
Matted bags of 150 lbs. and under
2 lbs.
Casks exceeding 1-2 barrel
10 per
exceeding 150 lbs.
4
do. under 1-2 barrel
12 -
Casks
10
East India bags, double
do.
Rice
do.
single
Barrels
24 lbs.
2 lbs.
Colours, painters'
Unmixed and not enumerated
10 per ct.
1-2 do.
18
do. and enumerated, and not
1-4 do.
12
being ochre, white lead, or brown
1-8 do.
8-
red
Prepared
:
12 -
Bags of 100 lbs. and not exceed.
ing 150 lbs.
4 -
do.
150 lbs. and under
2
Cotton
Bags or bales
4 lbs.
Currants
All sorts of packages
16 per ct.
Saltpetre
All kinds of packages
10 per ct.
Delft ware
do
12
Soap, white
do.
14.
17
1-4 casks
12 lbs.
Figs
Sugar, raw
In casks
1-2 do.
18 -
Brazil boxes
do.
Casks
Havannah do.
12 -
10 per ct.
Baskets, or frails
8
refined
Casks (transit)
do.
Glass ware
Boxes
32 -
Tobacco
do.
do.
Bottles in crates and in straw
Baskets packed in mats
3 -
20 -
do. in boxes and in sawdust
40 -
Turpentine
Casks (thick)
17 -
Hardware
In casks and boxes
12 -
oil
do.
20 -
Packed in mats, per piece
4 lbs.
do. cased
34 -
Glass bottles or flasks in baskets
20 -
Hops
Bags and pockets
4 per ct.
Vitriol
Indigo
All sorts of packages
20
do.
in boxes
Glasses, in boxes and casks
12 -
do.
packed in sawdust
40 -
Mustard
Ochre
All sorts of packages
10 -
Stone bottles
30 -
In single and double casks
18 -
White lead
All kinds of packages
10
Olive oil
Bottled, in baskets and straw
20 -
do. in boxes and sawdust
40 -
Credit-Goods imported into Copenhagen are commonly sold on credit 3 months is the term gene-
rally allowed on most sorts of goods, and in a few instances 6 months. The discount for ready money
is 4 per cent. Bankruptcy is of rare occurrence.
den, 305 from Prussin, 208 from Norway, 160 from Great Britain, 137 from Russia, 90 from Finland,
Shipping.-In 1831, there entered the port of Copenhagen 1,505 ships ; of which 309 were from Swe- 29
from France, &c. The tonnage of these ships is not stated; but many were of very small burden.
Subjoined is an
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478
COPENHAGEN.
Account of the Danish Shipping employed in the Foreign and in the Carrying Trade of Denmark in
the Year 1830.
Whence
Destim-
arrived.
tion.
Countries and
No.
Nature of Cargoes exported
Places.
of
From Dan.
Nature of Cargose imported
Tonnage.
from Denmark.
Ships.
Ports.
From For.
Porta.
into Demmark.
For Das.
Porte.
For For.
Ports.
Russia
255
24,198
Ballast, fruit, bricks,
194
61
mn
Hemp, flax, ashes,
-
-
161
94
and piece goods
-
tallow, seeds, timber
Ballast, herrings,
Prussia -
-
train oil, and colo-
135
an
Linen, flax, wood,
579
29,836
444
staves, and timber
421
158
nial produce
-
Herrings, train oil,
Ballast, corn, and
Mecklenburgh
114
2,547
colonial produce,
102
12
seeds, wool, and
101
13
and provisions
piece goods
Corn,and provisions,
Piece goods, iron,
Lubeck
-
-
383
7,472
piece goods, her-
362
21
deals, and timber,
342
41
rings, &c.
salt, &c.
-
Sweden and
Corn and provisions,
Iron, tar, deals, tim-
710
Norway
25,696
wool, piece goods,
592
118
ber, fish, herrings,
559
151
and colonial produce
train oil
-
Hamburgh
Corn and seeds, but-
Ballast, piece goods,
}
-
555
31,154
ter, provisions, and
160
395
tobacco, colonial
306
247
and Bremen
piece goods
produce
Netherlands
-
269
15,150
Corn, and seeds,
96
173
Ballast, piece goods,
and colonial produce
92
177
piece goods. &c.
Corn, seeds, olicakes,
Ballast, coals, salt
Great Britain
837
43,420
bones, wool, hides,
587
250
piece goods, and
635
202
&c.
colonial produce
Corn and provisions,
France
-
-
122
15,858
piece goods, fish,
31
91
an
Wine, salt, piece
goods and ballast
37
85
and hides
Spain
-
-
76
8,451
Ballast, piece goods,
3
Oil and fruit, wine
73
fish, butter, &c.
and salt
30
46
Portugal
67
Ballast, corn, piece
2
65
Wine, piece goods,
-
9,500
$
goods, fish, flax, &c
salt, fruit, &c.
15
-
Fish, pitch, and tar,
66
9,637
13
Ballast, fruit, wine,
Mediterranean
timber, train oil,
53
and piece goods
8
58
piece goods
Brazil
-
-
11
2,416
Ballast, wheat, and
11
Colonial produce
-
-
2
9
piece goods
4044
225,354
2586
1458
2711.1333
This return does not, however, include vessels engaged in the fisheries, or in the coasting trade,
the latter of which is very considerable.
About 200 Danish ships are engaged in the carrying trade of the Mediterranean. Latterly, how-
ever, the Swedes and Norwegians have obtained an ascendancy in this department.
Excluding vessels under 20 tons, there belonged, in 1830 to
Ships.
Tonnage.
Denmark
-
-
-
1,563
-
- 65,375
Sleswick
-
-
-
1,022
33,926
Hoistein
-
-
-
1,106
- 27,683
Total
-
-
-
3,696
124,984
Colonial Trade.-In the West Indies, the Danes possess the island of St. Croix, which, though small,
is fertile, and well cultivated. All the ports of Denmark may send vessels thither, but the return
cargoes must be discharged at places having sugar refineries. The principal part of the trade is in the
hands of Copenhagen merchants. St. Croix produces about 25,000,000 lbs. of sugar, and 1,400,000 gal-
lons of rum. In 1831, 23 ships, of the aggregate burden of 5,772 tons, arrived at Copenhagen from
St. Croix. A good deal of the colonial produce brought into Denmark is again exported.
The trade to the settlement of Tranquebar and Serampore, in India, is in the hands of an exclusive
company. Whether it be owing to the deadening influence of monopoly, or to the real superiority
of the Americans, who supply the Continental markets with tea, &c. at a cheaper rate, only one ship
a year has latterly sailed from Copenhagen for India! The trade to the Danish settlements on the
African coast is, if possible, of still less importance.-(N. B. For an account of the trade on the Kiel
Canal, see CANALS.)
Port Charges vary according as the vessel has come from this or the further side of Cape Finisterre,
or from the Indian seas; as she is wholly, or only part loaded; and as she clears out with goods that
have been in transitu, and are for the most part free of duty, or has on board a cargo of native produce
subject to duty. On a ship of 300 tons belonging to a privileged nation from this side Cape Finisterre,
unloading and loading mixed cargoes in Copenhagen, the different public charges, including Sound
dues, brokerage, &c., would be about 671. 10s.; and from the further side of Cape Finisterre, the
charges would be about 991. 10s. When a ship is not fully loaded, lastage money and light dues are
only charged in proportion to the cargo on board. Lastage money is not charged on ships outward
bound, laden with transit goods, as tar, pitch, iron, &c. But notwithstanding these deductions, it is
obvious that port charges at Copenhagen are very heavy, and there can be no doubt that they are a
material obstacle to the extension of trade.
Commission on purchases is generally 2 per cent., and on sales, 3 per cent., including 1 per cent. del
credere.
Citizenship.-To enable a foreigner to trade as a merchant in Denmark, he must become a burgher,
which costs about 100l., and it will require about 60l. more to free him from the obligation of serving
in the militia. The obstacles in the way of a foreigner establishing himself in Denmark as a mans-
facturer are much greater, on account of the exclusive privileges enjoyed by the guilds or corporations
into which the principal crafts or trades are divided.
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COPPER.
479
Inewrance.-Marine insurance is effected on liberal terms, by a company established in 1746. A
good many risks are, however, insured at Amsterdam and Hamburgh.
Careening, Ships' Stores, &c.-Copenhagen has good building-yards, and is in all respects an eligible
place for the repair of ships, and for supplying them with provisions. Subjoined is an
Account of the Average Prices of Ships' Provision at Copenhagen in 1831, in Imperial Weights and
Measures, and Sterling Money.
£ 8. d. £ 8. d.
Biscuits, ships', let quality
-
-
-
-
.
0 15 0 per cwt.
Ditto 2d ditto
-
-
-
-
-
0 12 0 ditto.
Butter, 1st quality
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 8 0 to 2 10 0 ditto.
Ditto, 2d ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 4 0 ditto.'
Cheese
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 13 5 to 0 17 0 ditto.
Peas
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 8 9 - 1 12 0 per Imp. qr.
Beef, salted
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 18 0 - 1 19 0 per 200 lbs.
Pork, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 16 0 2 18 0 ditto.
Bacon
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 0 0 & O 0 31 per lb.
Spirits.-Rum, 2s. to 2s. 6d. French Brandy, 2s. 4d. to 3s. per gallon.
General Remarks.-On the whole, the commerce of Denmark may be pronounced to be
in a stationary state. But from her advantageous situation between the Baltic and North
Sea, and the industrious, persevering character of the inhabitants, there can be little doubt
that it may be materially extended. It is needless, however, to expect any considerable im-
provement till the present system of domestic policy be, in many respects, altogether changed.
The Danish government has long been exerting itself to bolster up a manufacturing interest,
by laying oppressive duties on most species of manufactured articles. Even under the most
favourable circumstances, such conduct, though it may benefit a few individuals, is sure to
be productive of great national loss. But in the case of Denmark, the circumstances are
such as to render the restrictive system peculiarly injurious. All, or nearly all, the branches
of industry carried on in the kingdom are subjected to the government of guilds or corpora-
tions; no person can engage in any line of business until he has been authorised by its
peculiar guild; and as the sanction of this body is rarely obtained without a considerable
sacrifice, the real effect of the system is to fetter competition and improvement, and to per-
petuate monopoly and routine. Even the Danish writers acknowledge that such is the in-
fluence of the present regulations. "Nos ouvriers," say they, " sont chers, travaillent lente-
ment, et souvent mal et sans goût; leur education est negligée. On ne les forme point à
penser, et l'apprentif suit machinalement ce qu'il voit faire au maître."- Catteau, Tableau
des Etats Danois, tome ii. p. 260.) It would be idle to imagine that a country which has
to import coal, should, however favourably situated in other respects, be able to manufacture
cottons, woollens, &c. at so cheap a rate as they may be imported from others enjoying
greater natural facilities for their production. But when to the physical obstacles in the way
of manufactures, we add others, not less formidable, of a political nature, the attempt to
force them into existence by dint of customs duties and regulations becomes absolutely
ludicrous.
The port charges and transit duties are also exceedingly heavy; and the Sound duties,
being charged on native as well as foreign ships, operate as an inland duty on the trade be-
tween different parts of the country. We are glad, however, to be able to state, that the
more intelligent portion of the Danish people are quite aware of the mistaken policy on
which they are now proceeding; and there is reason to believe that it will, at no distant pe-
riod, be rendered more in accordance with the spirit of the age, and more conducive to the
improvement of the people. In 1832, a petition, signed by almost all the merchants of
Copenhagen, was addressed to the king, containing an able and distinct exposition of the
circumstances which depress Danish commerce. The petitioners pray for the emancipation
of commercial pursuits from all the restrictions laid upon them by guilds and corporations,
or, in other words, for the freedom of industry; for a revision and reduction of the transit
duties, and a change in the mode of charging the Sound duties; for a reduction of the ton-
nage duties, and a remission of the charge on account of light money on ships arriving at
Copenhagen that have already paid for the lights at Elsineur; they further pray for the
abolition of the East India Company's monopoly, and the freedom of trade to the East
Indies and China; and for a reduction of the duties on several articles of domestic produce
when exported, and of foreign produce when imported. What is here asked is so reasonable,
and, if granted, would add so much to the real prosperity of the country, that we trust the
government will earn for itself a new title to the public esteem by honestly endeavouring to
meet the wishes of the petitioners.
In compiling this article, we have consulted Oddy's European Commerce, pp. 330-369; Dictionnaire
du Commerce (Ency. Methodique, tome II. pp. 3-16.), Catteau, Tableau des Etats Danois, tome 11. pp.
292-371.; the Consul's Answers to Circular Queries, which do that functionary great credit and
communications from merchants at Copenhagen.
COPPER (Ger. Kupfer; Du. Koper; Da. Kobber; Sw. Kopper ; Fr. Cuivre; It.
Rame; Sp. Cobre; Port. Cobre; Rus. Mjed, Krasnoi mjed; Pol. Miedz; Lat. Cuprum;
Arab. Nehass; Sans. Tamra), a well-known metal, so called from its having been first dis-
covered, or at least wrought to any extent, in the island of Cyprus. It is of a fine red
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480
COPPER.
colour, and has a great deal of brilliancy. Its taste is styptic and nauseous and the hands,
when rubbed for some time on it, acquire a peculiar and disagreeable odour. It is harder
than silver its specific gravity varies according to its state, being, when quite pure, near
9.000. Its malleability is great it may be hammered out into leaves so thin as to be blown
about by the slightest breeze. Its ductility is also considerable. Its tenacity is so great, that
a copper wire 0.078 of an inch in diameter is capable of supporting 302.26 lbs. avoirdupois
without breaking. Its liability to oxidation from exposure to air or damp is its greatest de-
fect. The rust with which it is then covered is known by the name of verdigris, and is one
of the most active poisons.-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
If we except gold and silver, copper seems to have been more early known than any other
metal. In the first ages of the world, before the method of working iron was discovered, cop-
per was the principal ingredient in all domestic utensils and instruments of war. Even now
it is applied to so many purposes, as to rank next, in point of utility, to iron.
Alloys of Copper are numerous and of great value. Those of tin are of most importance. Tin add-
ed to copper makes it more fusible, less liable to rust, or to be corroded by the air and other common
substances, harder, denser, and more sonorous. In these respects the alloy has a real advantage
over unmixed copper but this is in many cases more than counterbalanced by the great brittleness
which even a moderate portion of tin imparts; and which is a singular circumstance, considering that
both metals are separately very malleable.
Copper alloyed with from 1 to 5 per cent. of tin is rendered harder than before; its colour is yellow,
with a cast of red, and its fracture granular it has considerable malleability. This appears to have
been the usual composition of many of the ancient edged tools and weapons, before the method of
working iron was brought to perfection. The халкос of the Greeks, and, perhaps, the as of the Ro.
mans, was nothing else. Even their copper coins contain a mixture of tin. The ancients did not, in
fact, possess (as has been often contended) any peculiar process for hardening copper, except by adding
to it a small quantity of tin. An alloy in which the tin is from 0.1 to t of the whole is hard, brittle,
but still a little malleable, close grained, and yellowish white. When the tin is as much as 1-6 of the
mass it is entirely brittle; and continues so in every higher proportion. The yellowness of the alloy
is not entirely lost till the tin amounts to 0.3 of the whole.
Copper (or sometimes copper with a little zinc), alloyed with as much tin as will make from about
0.1 to 1-6 of the whole, forms an alloy, which is principally employed for bells, brass cannon, bronze
statues, and various other purposes. Hence it is called bronze, or bell metal; and is excellently fitted
for the uses to which it is applied, by its hardness, density, sonorousness, and fusibility. For cannon,
a lower proportion of tin is commonly used. According to Dr. Watson, the metal employed at Wool-
wich consists of 100 parts of copper and from 8 to 12 of tin; hence it retains some little malleability,
and, therefore, is tougher than it would be with a larger portion of tin. This alloy being more sono-
rous than iron, brass guns give a louder report than iron guns. A common alloy for bell metal is 80
parts of copper and 20 of tin some artists add to these ingredients zinc, antimony, and silver, in small
proportions all of which add to the sonorousness of the compound.-(See BELL METAL.)
When, in an alloy of copper and tin, the latter metal amounts to about 1 of the mass, the result is a
beautiful compound, very hard, of the colour of steel, and susceptible of a very fine polish. It is well
adapted for the reflection of light for optical purposes; and is therefore called speculum metal. Besides
the above ingredients, it usually contains a little arsenic, zinc, or silver. The application of an alloy
similar to the above, to the construction of mirrors, is of great antiquity, being mentioned by Pliny;
who says, that formerly the best mirrors were reckoned those of Brundusium, of tin and copper
mixed (stanno et are mistis) Nat. lib. xxxiii. 9.)
For the alloys of copper with zinc, see the articles BRASS, PINCHBECK, see, also, Thomson's Che-
mistry ; Rees's Cyclopadia; Dr. Watson's Chemical Essays, vol. iv., &c.
British Copper Trade.Great Britain has various copper mines, in Cornwall, Devonshire, Wales,
&c., but particularly in the first. Though known long before, the Cornish copper mines were not
wrought with much spirit till Inst century. From 1726 to 1735, they produced at an average about 700
tons a year of pure copper. During the ten years from 1766 to 1775, they produced. at an average,
2,650 tons. In 1798 the produce exceeded 5,000 tons ; and it now amounts to about 12,000 tons, worth,
at 1001. a ton, no less than 1,200,0001. sterling! In 1768, the famous mines in the Parys mountain, near
Amiwch, in Anglesea, were discovered. The supplies of ore furnished by them were for a long time
abundant beyond all precedent; but for many years past the productiveness of the mine has been de-
clining, and it now yields comparatively little copper. At present the mines in Anglesea, and other
parts of Wales, yield from 1,750 to 2,000 tons of copper; those of Devonshire yield about 500 tons; the
quantity produced in the other parts of England being quite inconsiderable. The Irish mines produce
about 500 tons. Those of Scotland never were productive, and have been almost entirely abandoned.
The entire produce of the copper mines of the empire may, therefore, be estimated at present at from
14,500 to 15,000 tons.
In consequence of the greatly increased supplies of copper that were thus obtained, England, in-
stead of being, as formerly, dependent on foreigners for the greater part of her supplies of this value-
ble metal, became, previously to 1793, one of the principal markets for the supply of others. And
notwithstanding the vastly increased demand for copper during the war for the sheathing of ships and
other purposes, the exports continued to increase and the imports to diminish: the greater productive-
ness of the Cornish mines having sufficed not only to balance the increased demand, but also to make
up for the falling off in the supplies from Anglesea.
Owing to the want of coal in Cornwall, the ores are not smelted on the spot, but are, for the most
part, sent to Swansea it being found cheaper to carry the ores to the coal than the contrary.
For the following details with respect to the state of the British copper trade in 1830, we are indebted
to Mr. Pascoe Grenfell, who is largely engaged in it, and on whose accuracy every reliance may be
placed:-
The quantity of copper produced during last year (1830) in Cornwall, from ores raised in that
county, exceeded ten thousand tons of pure metal and if to this be added what has been produced in
Wales, in other parts of England, and in Ireland, the whole quantity of fine or pure metal produced in
the United Kingdom, in 1829, may be fairly stated at twelve thousand tons.
The quantity of British copper exported in 1829 amounts, according to an account recently laid be-
fore the House of Commons, to 7,976 tons of fine metal; to which adding the exports of foreign copper,
the total export was 8,817 tons. The copper imported is altogether intended for re-exportation. I
cannot state its precise quantity in fine metal, because the greater part of it arrives in a state of are,
and I have no means of knowing the produce in pure metal of that ore, beyond such part of it as may
come into my own possession.
"The value of the 12,000 tons of copper produced in the United Kingdom, as above stated, at 90% per
ton, is 1,080,000L."
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COPPER.
481
Account of the Copper produced from the Mines in Cornwall since 1800; showing the Quantity of
Ore, of Metal or Fine Copper, the Value of the Ores in Money, the average Percentage or Produce,
and the average Standard or Miner's Price of Fine Copper, made up to the end of June in each
Year.
Produce
Years.
Quantity of Ores.
Metal or Fine Copper.
Value of the Ores.
of Oree
Average Standard
per cent.
Price per Ton.
Tons.
Tons. cwt. qrs. lbs.
£
s. d.
£
8.
d.
1800
55,981
5,187
0
3
7
550,925
1
0
of
133
3
6
1801
56,611
5,267 18 3 10
476,313 1 0
It
117
5
0
1802
53,937
5,228 15 3 5
445,094 4 0
of
110 18 0
1803
60,566
5,616 16 0 21
533,910 16 0
91
122
0
0
1804
64,637
5,374 18 I 20
507,840 11 0
87
138
5
0
1805
78,452
6,234
5
0
6
862,410 16 0
7f
169 16 0
1806
79,269
6,863
10
2
13
730,845 6 6
84
138
5
0
1807
71,694
6,716
12
1
26
609,002 13 0
of
120
0
0
1808
67,867
6,795
13
2
25
495,303 1 6
10
100 7 0
1809
76,245
6,821 13 1 19
770,028 15 6
87
143 12 0
1810
66,048
6,682
19
1
27
570,035 8 0
81
132
5
0
1811
66,786
6,141 13 3 7
556,723 19 0
91
120 12 0
1812
71,547
5,720 7 2 4
549,665 6 6
of
111
0
0
1813
74,047
6,918 3 0 6
594,345 10 0
91
115
7
0
1814
74,322
6,369 13 3 7
627,501 10 0
81
130 12 0
1815
78,483
6,525 6 3 25
552,813 8 6
81
117 16 0
1816
77,334
6,697 4 0 17
447,959 17 0
87
98 13 0
1817
76,701
6,498 2 0 16
494,010 12 0
81
108 10 0
1818
86,174
6,849 7 1 1
686,005 4 6
71
134 15 0
1819
88,736
6,804 2 2 7
623,595 4 6
71
127 10 0
1820
91,473
7,588 0 3 26
602,441 12 01
81
113 15 0
1821
98,426
8,514 19 2 12
605,968 19 6
84
103
0
0
1822
104,523
9,140 8 3 20
663,085 13 6
84
104
0
0
1823
95,750
7,927 17 2 7
606,033 1 0
84
109 18 0
1824
99,700
7,823 15 1 10
587,178 3 6
77
110
0
0
1825
107,454
8,226 3 0 21
726,353 12 0
74
124
4
0
1826
117,308
9,026 12 3 15
788,971 15 6
74
123
3
0
1827
126,710
10,311 14 3 15
745,178
1
0
84
106 1 0
1828
130,366
9,921
1
2
11
756,174 16 0
74
112 7 0
1829
194,502
9,656
10
3
4
717,334
0 0
74
109 14 0
1830
133,964
10,748
773,846
8
106 5 0
1831
144,402
12,044
606,090
84
100 0 0
Exports of British Copper since 1820.
Years.
Unwrought.
Coin.
Sheets, Nails, &c.
Wire.
Wrought Copper of
Total of British
other Sorts.
Copper exported.
Cwt.
Cwt.
Cwt.
Cwt.
Cwt.
Cwt.
1820
41,155
10
58,121
8
22,663
121,958
1821
34,543
155
66,676
21
24,035
125,431
1822
25,829
-
65,070
40
22,731
113,671
1823
24,082
802
56,146
98
25,387
106,516
1824
19,209
95
62,920
292
23,580
106,096
1825
10
2,134
51,437
40
25,002
78,624
1826
2,604
1,807
65,264
11
26,307
95,994
1827
26,583
1,450
74,943
8
40,439
143,494
1828
21,591
1,150
52,412
71
48,897
124,121
1829
52,978
15
59,871
18
46,643
159,521
1830
56,722
640
66,331
16
56,443
183,154
1831
67,200
96
70,477
149
32,690
170,613
1832
77,497
2
79,944
13
37,156
194,612
N. B.-The foreign copper imported is altogether intended for re-exportation. In 1832, 13,894 cwt.
of copper were smelted from foreign ore. The East Indies and China, France and the United States,
are the great markets for British copper. The exports to these countries, in 1832, were respectively
82,880, 35,984, and 31,235 cwt.
Foreign Copper.-Copper oresare abundant in Sweden, Saxony, Russia, Persia, Japan, China, Chili,
&c. Near Fahlun, in the province of Dalecarlia, in Sweden, is the celebrated copper mine of the same
name, supposed to have been wrought nearly 1,000 years. For a long time it was one of the most pro-
ductive mines in the world. Towards the beginning of the seventeenth century It yielded an annual
produce of about 8,000,000 lbs. of pure metal: but it has since greatly declined; and it is most probable
that at no distant period it will be wholly abandoned.-(Thomson's Travels in Sweden, p. 221.) There
are still. however, several productive copper mines in other parts of Sweden. The exports of copper
from Stockholm in 1832 amounted to 4,336 skippounds, or 723 tons English, besides the exports from
Gottenburgh and other ports. The product of the copper mines in the government of Olonetz, in Rus-
sia, is estimated at 210,000 poods, or 3,375 tons (Eng.) a year.-(Schnitzler, Essai d'une Statistique Géné-
rale, &c. p. 41.) The copper mines of Chili are also very rich, and their produce is at present imported
into Canton and Calcutta direct from Valparaiso. The copper mines of Japan are said to be among
the richest in the world. The Dutch annually import about 700 tons of their produce into Batavia
and the Chinese from 800 to 1,000 tons into Canton and other ports. In fact, Japan copper is spread
over all the East, and is regularly quoted in the price currents of Canton, Calcutta, and Singapore.-
(See p. 308.) It is purer, and brings a higher price, than any other species of bar or slab copper. It
to uniformly met with in the shape of bare or ingots, very much resembling large sticks of red sealing
wax. When the copper of South America is worth in the Canton market from 15 to 16 dollars per
picul, that of Japan fetches from 18 to 20. Pretty considerable quantities of copper are imported into
Calcutta from Bushire and Bussorah. This is mostly the produce of the Persian mines; but a little is
understood to come from the Russian mines in Georgia.
VOL. I.-2 8
61
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482
COPPERAS-CORAL.
Customs Regulations.-Old copper sheathing, old copper utensils, and old copper and pewter utensils
of British manufacture, imported from British plantations, and also old copper stripped off vessels
in ports in the United Kingdom, may be admitted to entry, duty free, under the following regula-
tions: viz.-
1st. Old copper sheathing stripped off British vessels in ports in the British possessions, upon proof
to the satisfaction of the Commissioners of Customs, that such sheathing was stripped off in such ports,
and also that the said sheathing is the property of the owner of the ship from which it was so stripped,
to be delivered to such owner.
2d. Old copper sheathing stripped off any ship in any port in the United Kingdom, upon the fact be-
ing certified by the landing-waiter superintending the process the old copper to be delivered only to
the copper-smith who may re-copper the vessel from which the copper was stripped, he making proof
to that fact.
3d. Old worn-out British copper and pewter utensils to be in all cases delivered when brought from
British possessions abroad in British ships, upon the consignee submitting proof that they had been
used on a particular estate, and are consigned on account of the owner of that estate, and that he
(the consignee) verily believes them to have been of British manufacture.-(Mis. Com. Cus., 15th of
Feb. 1833.)
Copper ore may be taken out of warehouses to be smelted, on proper notice being given to the cus-
toms officers, and giving sufficient security, by bond, for returning the computed quantity of fine copper
in it.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 58. Q 23.)
Copper is in extensive demand all over India being largely used in the dock-yards, in the manu-
facture of cooking utensils, in alloying spelter and tin, &c. The funeral of every Hindoo brings as
accession to the demand, according to his station; the relatives of the deceased giving a brass cup to
every Brahmin present at the ceremony 80 that 5, 10, 50, 100, 1,000, and sometimes more than 10 times
this last number, are dispensed upon such occasions.-(Bell's Commerce of Bengal.)
[The value of the copper imported into the United States is very considerable. It is
chiefly imported in pigs and bars from Chili, Peru, and England; and in plates, suited to the
sheathing of ships, from the last mentioned country. The value annually imported from
Chili, of the former description of copper, amounted, on an average of the 5 years ending on
the 30th of September, 1838, to $258,876 ; from Peru, to $180,119; from England, to
$142,012. Of the latter description of copper, the average value imported from England was
$715,240. See article IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
COPPERAS, a term employed by the older chemists, and popularly, as synonymous
with vitriol. There are three sorts of copperas: the green, or sulphate of iron; the blue, or
sulphate of copper; and the white, or sulphate of zinc. Of these, the first is the most important.
Sulphate of iron is distinguished in common by a variety of names, as Martial vitriol,
English vitriol, &c. When pure, it is considerably transparent, of a fine bright, though
not very deep, grass green colour; and of a nauseous astringent taste, accompanied with a
kind of sweetness. Its specific gravity is 1-834. It uniformly reddens the vegetable
blues. This salt was well known to the ancients; and is mentioned by Pliny, (Hist. Not.
lib. xxxiv. s 12.), under the names of misy, sory, and calchantum. It is not made in the
direct way, because it can be obtained at less charge from the decomposition of pyrites on
a large scale in the neighbourhood of collieries. It exists in two states; one containing
oxide of iron, with 0-22 of oxygen, which is of a pale green, not altered by gallic acid, and
giving a white precipitate with prussiate of potass. The other, in which the iron is combined
with 0.30 of oxygen, is red, not crystallisable, and gives a black precipitate with gallic
acid, and a blue with prussiate of potass. In the common sulphate, these two are often
mixed in various proportions.
Sulphate of iron is of great importance in the arts. It is a principal ingredient in
dyeing; in the manufacture of ink, and of Prussian blue: it is also used in tanning,
painting, medicine, &c. Sulphuric acid, or oil of vitriol, was formerly manufactured
from sulphate of iron.-(See Acids.)
Sulphate of copper, or blue vitriol, commonly called Roman or Cyprian vitriol, is of an
elegant sapphire blue colour, hard, compact, and semi-transparent; when perfectly crystal-
lised, of a flattish, rhomboidal, decahedral figure; its taste is extremely nauseous, styptic,
and acrid its specific gravity is 2.1943. It is used for various purposes in the arts, and
also in medicine.
Sulphate of zinc, or white vitriol, is found native in the mines of Goslar and other
places. Sometimes it is met with in transparent pieces, but more commonly in white
efflorescences. These are dissolved in water, and crystallised into large irregular masses,
somewhat resembling fine sugar, having a sweetish, nauseous, styptic taste. Its specific
gravity, when crystallised, is 1.912 when in the state in which it commonly occurs in
commerce, it is 1-3275. Sulphate of zinc is prepared in the large way from some varieties
of the native sulphuret. The ore is roasted, wetted with water, and exposed to the air.
The sulphur attracts oxygen, and is converted into sulphuric acid; and the metal, being at
the same time oxidized, combines with the acid. After some time the sulphate is extracted
by solution in water, and the solution being evaporated to dryness, the mass is run into
moulds. Thus, the white vitriol of the shops generally contains a small portion of iron,
and often of copper and lead.— (Lewis's Mat. Medica; Ure's Dictionary ; Rees's Cyclo-
paedia; Thomson's Chemistry, &c.)
COPYRIGHT. See Books.
CORAL (Ger. Korallen; Du. Koraalen; Fr. Corail; It. Corale; Sp. and Port. Coral;
Rus. Korallů; Lat. Corallium; Arab. Besed; Pers. Merjan, Hind. Moonga), a marine
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CORDAGE, CORK.
483
production, of which there are several varieties. It was well known to the ancients, but it
was reserved for the moderns to discover its real nature. It is, in fact, the nidus or nest
of a certain species of vermes, which has the same relation to coral, that a snail has
to its shell. As an ornament, black coral is most esteemed; but the red is also very highly
prized. Coral is found in very great abundance in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, in various
places in the Mediterranean, on the coast of Sumatra, &c. It grows on rocks, and on
any solid submarine body; and it is necessary to its production, that it should remain
fixed to its place. It has generally a shrub-like appearance. In the Straits of Messina,
where a great deal is fished up, it usually grows to nearly a foot in length, and its
thickness is about that of the little finger. It requires 8 or 10 years to arrive at its
greatest size. The depth at which it is obtained is various-from 10 to 100 fathoms or
more; but it seems to be necessary to its production that the rays of the sun should readily
penetrate to the place of its habitation. Its value depends upon its size, solidity, and the
depth and brilliancy of its colour; and is so very various, that while some of the Sicilian
coral sells for 8 or 10 guineas an ounce, other descriptions of it will not fetch 1s. a pound.
It is highly prized by opulent natives in India, as well as by the fair sex throughout
Europe. The inferior or worm-eaten coral is used in some parts of the Madras coast, in
the celebration of funeral rites. It is also used medicinally. Besides the fishery in the
Straits of Messina already alluded to, there are valuable fisheries on the shores of Majorca
and Minorca, and on the coast of Provence. A good deal of Mediterranean coral is
exported to India, which, however, draws the largest portion of its supplies from the
Persian Gulf. The produce of the fishery at Messina is stated by Spallanzani, (Travels
in the Two Sicilies, vol. iv. p. 308, &c.) to amount to 12 quintals of 250 lbs. each.
The manner of fishing coral is nearly the same every where. That which is most commonly prac-
tised in the Mediterranean is as follows:-Seven or eight men go in a boat, commanded by the
proprietor; the caster throws his net, if we may so call the machine which be uses to tear up the
coral from the bottom of the sea; and the rest work the boat, and help to draw in the net. This is
composed of two beams of wood tied crosswise, with leads fixed to them to sink them to these beams
is fastened a quantity of hemp, twisted loosely round, and intermingled with some loose netting. In
this condition the machine is let down into the sea; and when the coral is pretty strongly entwined
in the hemp and nets, they draw it up with a rope, which they unwind according to the depth, and
which it sometimes requires half a dozen boats to draw. If this rope happen to break, the fishermen
run the hazard of being lost. Before the fishers go to sea, they agree for the price of the coral; and
the produce of the fishery is divided, at the end of the season, into 13 parts; of which the proprietor
has 4, the caster 2, and the other 6 men 1 each: the thirteenth belongs to the company, for payment
of boat-hire, &c.-(See dinslic's Mat. Indica; Rees's Cyclopedia; ,Ency. Metrop. Bell's Com. of
Bengal, &c.)
CORDAGE (Ger. Tauwerk; Du. Touwwerk; Fr. Manœuvres, Cordage; It. Caolame;
Sp. Jarcia, Cordaje), a term used in general for all sorts of cord, whether small, middling,
or great, made use of in the rigging of ships. The manufacture of cordage is regulated
by the act 25 Geo. 4. c. 56., which specifies the sort of materials that are to be employed
in the manufacture of cables, hawsers, and other ropes, the marks that are to be affixed to
them, and the penalties for non-compliance with the respective enactments.- (See CABLE.)
Masters of British ships are obliged, on coming into any port in Great Britain or the
colonies, to report, under a penalty of 100/., the foreign cordage, not being standing or
running rigging, in use on board such ship. (3 & 4 Will. 4. cap. 52. § 8.)
The following table shows how many fathoms, feet, and inches, of a rope of any size,
not exceeding 14 inches, make 1 cwt.
At the top of the table, marked inches, fathoms, feet, inches, the first column is the cir-
cumference of a rope in inches and quarters; the second, the fathoms, feet, and inches, that
make up 1 cwt. of such a rope. One example will make it plain.
Suppose it is required how much of a 7-inch rope will make 1 cwt.: find 7, in the 3d
column, under inches, or circumference of the rope, and immediately opposite to it you will
find 9, 5, 6; which shows that in a rope of 7 inches, there will be 9 fathoms 5 feet
6 inches required to make 1 cwt.
Inches.
Fathom.
Feet.
Inches.
Inches-
Fathom.
Feet.
Inches.
Inches.
Fathom
Feet.
Inches.
Inches.
Fathom.
Fest.
Inches.
Inches.
Fathom.
Feet.
Inches.
1
486 0 0
34
34 3 9
64
11 3 0
91
5 4 0
111
3 3 3
11
313 3 0
4
30 1 6
of
10 4 0
91
5 2 U
12
3 2 3
11
216 3 0
41
26 5 3
7
9 5 6
91
5 0 6
124
3 2 1
14
159 3 0
41
24 0 0
71
9 1 6
10
4 5 0
124
3 2 0
2
124 3 0
41
21 3 0
it
8 4 0
10+
4 4 1
121
2 7 8
21
96 2 0
5
19 3 0
71
8 3 6
101
4 2 2
13
2 5 3
21
77 3 0
51
17 4 0
8
7 3 6
104
4 1 8
134
2 4 9
21
65 4 0
5f
16 I 0
81
7 0 8
11
4 0 3
13+
2 4 0
3
54 0 0
54
14 4 6
84
6 4 3
111
3 5 7
131
2 3 6
31
45 5 2
6
13 3 0
84
6 2 1
111
341
14
2 2 1
3t
39 3 0
64
12 2 9
9
6 0 0
[Cordage is imported into the United States almost entirely from Russia; and is for the
most part again exported to South America, and the East and West Indies. See article
IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
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484
CORN-CORN LAWS.
CORK (Ger. Kork; Du. Kork, Kurk, Vlothout; Fr. Liège; It. Sughero, Suvero:
Sp. Corcho; Port. Cortica (de Socreiro), Rus. Korkowoe derewo; Lat. Suber), the thick
and spongy bark of a species of oak (Quercus Suber Lin.), abundant in dry mountainous
districts in the south of France, and in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Barbary. The tree
grows to the height of 30 feet or more, has a striking resemblance to the Quercus Ilex,
or evergreen oak, and attains to a great age. After arriving at a certain state of maturity,
it periodically sheds its bark; but this valuable product is found to be of a much better
quality when it is artificially removed from the tree, which may be effected without any
injury to the latter. After a tree has attained to the age of from 26 to 30 years, it may
be barked; and the operation may be subsequently repeated once every 8 or 10 years*, the
quality of the cork improving with the increasing age of the tree. The bark is taken off in
July and August; and trees that are regularly stripped are said to live for 150 years, or
more.-(Poiret, Hist. Philosophique des Plantes, tom. vii. 419.)
Cork is light, porous, readily compressible, and wonderfully elastic. It may be cut into
any sort of figure, and, notwithstanding its porosity, is nearly impervious to any common
liquor. These qualities make it superior to all other substances for stoppers for bottles, in
the manufacture of which it is principally made use of. It is also employed as buoys to
float nets, in the construction of life-boats, the making of waterproof shoes, and in various
other ways. Before being manufactured into stoppers, the cork is charred on each side;
this makes it contract, lessens its porosity, and consequently fits it the better for cutting
off all communication between the external air and the liquid in the bottle. Spanish black
is made of calcined cork.
The Greeks and Romans were both well acquainted with cork. They seem also to have
occasionally used it as stoppers for vessels (Cadorum obturamentis, Plin. Hist. Nat.
lib. xvi. cap. 8.) but it was not extensively employed for this purpose till the 17th century,
when glass bottles, of which no mention is made before the 15th century, began to be
generally introduced.-(Beckmamn's Hist. Invent. vol. ii. pp. 114-127. Eng. ed.)
The duty on manufactured cork is prohibitory; and on the rude article it is very heavy, being no
less than 8s. a cwt. or 81. a ton. The quantity entered for home consumption amounts, at an average,
to from 40,000 to 45,000 cwt. Its price, including duty, varies with the variations in its quality, from
about 201. to about 701. a ton. The Spanish is the best, and fetches the highest price.
CORN (Ger. Corn, Getreide; Du. Graanen, Koren; Da. Korn; Sw. Säd, Spanmal;
Fr. Bleds, Grains; It. Biade, Grani; Sp. Granos; Rus. Chljeb; Pol. Zboze; Lat.
Frumentum), the grain or seed of plants separated from the spica or ear, and used for
making bread, &c. Such are wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, peas, &c.; which see.
CORNELIAN. See CARNELIAN.
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE. - From the circumstance of forming, in this
and most other countries, the principal part of the food of the people, the trade in it, and
the laws by which that trade is regulated, are justly looked upon as of the highest
importance. But this is not the only circumstance that renders it necessary to enter at
some length into the discussion of this subject. Its difficulty is at least equal to its interest.
The enactments made at different periods with respect to the corn trade, and the opinions
advanced as to their policy, have been so very various and contradictory, that it is indispen-
sable to submit them to some examination, and, if possible, to ascertain the principles which
ought to pervade this department of commercial legislation.
I. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE Coan LAWS.
II. PRINCIPLES OF THE Coan LAWS.
III. BRITISH CoRN TRADE.
IV. FOREIGN Coan TRADE.
I. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE CORN LAWS.
For a long time the regulations with respect to the corn trade were principally intended
to promote abundance and low prices. But, though the purpose was laudable, the means
adopted for accomplishing it had, for the most part, a directly opposite effect. When
a country exports corn, it seems, at first sight, as if nothing could do so much to increase
her supplies as the prevention of exportation and even in countries that do not export,
its prohibition seems to be a prudent measure, and calculated to prevent the supply from
being diminished, upon any emergency, below its natural level. These are the conclusions
that immediately suggest themselves upon this subject; and it requires a pretty extensive
experience, an attention to facts, and a habit of reasoning upon such topics, to perceive their
fallacy. These, however, were altogether wanting when the regulations affecting the corn
trade began to be introduced into Great Britain and other countries. They were framed
in accordance with what were supposed to be the dictates of common sense; and their
* Beckmann (vol. ii. p. 115. Eng. ed.) says, that when the tree is 15 years old, it may be barked,
and this can be done successively for eight years." This erroneous statement having been copied
into the article CORK in Rees's Cyclopedia, has thence been transplanted to a multitude of other
works.
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
485
object being to procure as large a supply of the prime necessary of life as possible, its
exportation was either totally forbidden, or forbidden when the home price was above
certain limits.
The principle of absolute prohibition seems to have been steadily acted upon, as far as
the turbulence of the period would admit, from the Conquest to the year 1436, in the reign
of Henry VI. But at the last mentioned period an act was passed, authorising the
exportation of wheat whenever the home price did not exceed 6s. 8d. (equal in amount
of pure silver to 12s. 10±d. present money) per quarter, and barley when the home price
did not exceed 3s. 4d. In 1463, an additional benefit was intended to be conferred on
agriculture by prohibiting importation until the home price exceeded that at which expor-
tation ceased. But the fluctuating policy of the times prevented these regulations from
being carried into full effect; and, indeed, rendered them in a great measure inoperative.
In addition to the restraints laid on exportation, it has been common in most countries
to attempt to increase the supply of corn, not only by admitting its unrestrained import-
ation from abroad, but by holding out extraordinary encouragement to the importers.
This policy has not, however, been much followed in England. During the 500 years
immediately posterior to the Conquest, importation was substantially free; but it was
seldom or never promoted by artificial means: and during the last century and a half it
has, for the most part, been subjected to severe restrictions.
Besides attempting to lower prices by prohibiting exportation, our ancestors attempted to
lower them by proscribing the trade carried on by corn dealers. This most useful class of
persons were looked upon with suspicion by every one. The agriculturists concluded that
they would be able to sell their produce at higher prices to the consumers, were the corn
dealers out of the way: while the consumers concluded that the profits of the dealers were
made at their expense; and ascribed the dearths that were then very prevalent entirely to
the practices of the dealers, or to their buying up corn and withholding it from market.
These notions, which have still a considerable degree of influence, led to various enactments,
particularly in the reign of Edward VI., by which the freedom of the internal corn trade was
entirely suppressed. The engrossing of corn, or the buying of it in one market with
intent to sell it again in another, was made an offence punishable by imprisonment and the
pillory; and no one was allowed to carry corn from one part to another without a licence,
the privilege of granting which was confined, by a statute of Elizabeth, to the quarter
sessions. But as the principles of commerce came to be better understood, the impolicy of
these restraints gradually grew more and more obvious. They were considerably modified
in 1624; and, in 1663, the engrossing of corn was declared to be legal so long as the price
did not exceed 48s. a quarter-(1 Chas. 2. c. 7.) an act which, as Dr. Smith has justly
observed, has, with all its imperfections, done more to promote plenty than any other law in
the statute book. In 1773, the last remnant of the legislative enactments restraining the
freedom of the internal corn dealers was entirely repealed. But the engrossing of corn has,
notwithstanding, been since held to be an offence at common law; and, so late as 1800, a corn
dealer was convicted of this imaginary crime. He was not, however, brought up for
judgment; and it is not very likely that any similar case will ever again occupy the
attention of the courts.
The acts of 1436 and 1463, regulating the prices when exportation was allowed and
when importation was to cease, continued, nominally at least, in force till 1562, when the
prices at which exportation might take place were extended to 10s. for wheat, and 6s. 8d.
for barley. But a new principle-that of imposing duties on exportation-was soon after
introduced; and, in 1571, it was enacted that wheat might be exported, paying a duty
of 2s. a quarter, and barley and other grain a duty of 1s. 4d., whenever the home price
of wheat did not exceed 20s. a quarter, and barley and malt 12s. At the Restoration, the
limit at which exportation might take place was very much extended; but as the duty on
exportation was, at the same time, so very high as to be almost prohibitory, the extension
was of little or no service to the agriculturists. This view of the matter seems to have
been speedily taken by the legislature; for, in 1663, the high duties on exportation were
taken off, and an ad valorem duty imposed in their stead, at the same time that the limit of
exportation was extended. In 1670, a still more decided step was taken in favour of
agriculture; an act being then passed which extended the exportation price to 53s. 4d. a
quarter for wheat, and other grain in proportion, imposing, at the same time, prohibitory
duties on the importation of wheat till the price rose to 53s. 4d., and a duty of 8s. between
that price and 80s. But the real effects of this act were not 80 great as might have been
anticipated. The extension of the limit of exportation was rendered comparatively nugatory,
in consequènce of the continuance of the duties on exportation caused by the necessities
of the Crown; while the want of any proper method for the determination of prices went
far to nullify the prohibition of importation.
At the accession of William III. a new system was adopted. The interests of agriculture
were then looked upon as of paramount importance: and to promote them, not only were
the duties on exportation totally abolished, but it was encouraged by the grant of a bounty
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of 5s. on every quarter of wheat exported while the price continued at or below A8c.;
of 2s. 6d. on every quarter of barley or malt, while their respective prices did not exceed 24s.;
and of 3s. 6d. on every quarter of rye, when its price did not exceed 32s.-(1 Will. & Mary,
c. 12.) A bounty of 2s. 6d. a quarter was subsequently given upon the exportation of oats
and oatmeal, when the price of the former did not exceed 15s. a quarter. Importation
continued to be regulated by the act of 1670.
Much diversity of opinion has been entertained with respect to the policy of the bounty.
That it was intended to raise the price of corn is clear, from the words of the statute, which
states, " that the exportation of corn and grain into foreign parts, when the price thereof is
at a low rate in this kingdom, hath been a great advantage not only to the owners of land,
but to the trade of the kingdom in general: therefore," &c. But admitting this to have
been its object, it has been contended that the low prices which prevailed during the first half
of last century show that its real effect had been precisely the reverse; and that it had, by
extending tillage, contributed to reduce prices. It will be afterwards shown that this could
not really be the case; and the fall of prices may be sufficiently accounted for by the improved
state of agriculture, the gradual consolidation of farms, the diminution of sheep hus-
bandry, &c., combined with the slow increase of the population. In point of fact, too,
prices had begun to give way 30 years before the bounty was granted; and the fall was
equally great in France, where, instead of exportation being encouraged by a bounty, it was
almost entirely prohibited; and in most other Continental states.-(For proofs of what is
now stated, see the article Corn Laws, in the new edition of the Eney. Brit.)
The Tables annexed to this article show that, with some few exceptions, there was, during
the first 66 years of last century, a large export of corn from England. In 1750, the wheet
exported amounted to 947,000 quarters; and the total bounties paid during the 10 years
from 1740 to 1751 reached the sum of 1,515,000l. But the rapid increase of population
subsequently to 1760, and particularly after the peace of Paris, in 1763, when the com-
merce and manufactures of the country were extended in an unprecedented degree,
gradually reduced this excess of exportation, and occasionally, indeed, inclined the balance
the other way. This led to several suspensions of the restrictions on importation; and,
at length, in 1773, a new act was framed, by which foreign wheat was allowed to be
imported on paying a nominal duty of 6d. whenever the home price was at or above 48s.
a quarter, and the bounty* and exportation were together to cease when the price was
at or above 44s. This statute also permitted the importation of corn at any price, duty
free, in order to be again exported, provided it were in the mean time lodged under the
joint locks of the king and the importer.
The prices when exportation was to cease by this act seem to have been fixed too low
and, as Dr. Smith has observed, there appears a good deal of impropriety in prohibiting
exportation altogether the moment it attained the limit, when the bounty given to force
it was withdrawn; yet, with all these defects, the act of 1773 was a material improvement
on the former system, and ought not to have been altered unless to give greater freedom
to the trade.
The idea that this law must, when enacted, have been injurious to the agriculturists,
seems altogether illusory: the permission to import foreign grain, when the home price
rose to a moderate height, certainly prevented their realising exorbitant profits, in dear
years, at the expense of the other classes; and prevented an unnatural proportion of the
capital of the country from being turned towards agriculture. But as the limit at which
importation at a nominal duty was allowed, was fixed a good deal above the average price
of the reign of George II., it cannot be maintained that it had any tendency to reduce
previous prices, which is the only thing that could have discouraged agriculture and, in
fact, no such reduction took place.
It is, indeed, true, that, but for this act, we should not have imported so much foreign grain
in the interval between 1773 and 1791. This importation, however, was not a consequence
of the decline of agriculture; for it is admitted that every branch of rural economy was more
improved in that period than in the whole of the preceding century but arose entirely from
a still more rapid increase of the manufacturing population, and hence, of the effective de-
mand for corn.
By referring to the Tables annexed to this article, it will be seen that, in 1772, the be-
lance on the side of wheat imported amounted to 18,515 quarters; and in 1773, 1774 and
1775, all years of great prosperity, the balance was very much increased. But the loss of a
great part of our colonial possessions, the stagnation of commerce, and difficulty of obtaining
employment, occasioned by the American war, diminished the consumption and this, com-
bined with unusually productive harvests, rendered the balance high on the side of exports-
tion, in 1778, 1779, and 1789. In 1783 and 1784, the crop was unusually deficient, and
considerable importations took place; but in 1785, 1786, and 1787 the exports again ex-
ceeded the imports; and it was not till 1788, when the country had fully recovered from
The bounty amounted to 5a. on every quarter of wheat 2s. 6d. on every quarter of barley; 3a.
on every quarter of rye; and 2. 6d. on every quarter of oats.
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the effects of the American war, and when manufacturing improvements were carried on
with extraordinary spirit, that the imports permanently overbalanced the exports.
The growing wealth and commercial prosperity of the country had thus, by increasing the
population and enabling individuals to consume additional quantities of food, caused the
home supply of corn to fall somewhat short of the demand but it must not, therefore, be
concluded that agriculture had not at the same time been very greatly meliorated. " The
average annual produce of wheat," says Mr. Comber, " at the beginning of the reign of
George III. (1760), was about 3,800,000 quarters, of which about 300,000 had been sent
out of the kingdom, leaving about 3,500,000 for home consumption. In 1773, the produce
of wheat was stated in the House of Commons to be 4,000,000 quarters, of which the whole,
and above 100,000 imported, were consumed in the kingdom. In 1796, the consumption
was stated by Lord Hawkesbury to be 500,000 quarters per month, or 6,000,000 quarters
annually, of which about 180,000 were imported; showing an increased produce in about
20 years of 1,820,000 quarters. It is evident, therefore, not only that no defalcation of pro-
duce had taken place in consequence of the cessation of exportation, as has been teo lightly
assumed from the occasional necessity of importation, but that it had increased with the
augmentation of our commerce and manufactures."-(Comber on National Subsistence,
p. 180.)
These estimates are, no doubt, very loose and unsatisfactory; but the fact of a great in-
crease of produce having taken place is unquestionable. In a report by a committee of the
House of Commons on the state of the waste lands, drawn up in 1797, the number of acts
passed for enclosing, and the number of acres enclosed, in the following reigns, are thus
stated :-
Number of Acts.
Number of Acres.
In the reign of Queen Anne
-
-
2
1,439
George I.
-
-
16
17,960
George II.
-
-
226
318,778
George III. to 1797
- 1,532
2,804,197
It deserves particular notice, that from 1771 to 1791, both inclusive, the period during
which the greater number of these improvements were effected, there was no rise of prices.
The landholders, however, could not but consider the liberty of importation granted by
the act of 1773 as injurious to their interests, inasmuch as it prevented prices from rising
with the increased demand. A clamour, therefore, was raised against that law ; and in addi-
tion to this interested feeling, a dread of becoming habitually dependent on foreign supplies
of corn, operated on many, and produced a pretty general acquiescence in the act of 1791.
By this act, the price when importation could take place from abroad at the low duty of 6d.,
was raised to 54s.; under 54s. and above 50s. a middle duty of 2s. 6d. and under 50s. a
prohibiting duty of 24s. 3d. was exigible. The bounty continued as before, and exporta-
tion without bounty was allowed to 46s. It was also enacted, that foreign wheat might be
imported, stored under the king's lock, and again exported free of duty but, if sold for home
consumption, it became liable to a warehouse duty of 2s. 6d. in addition to the ordinary
duties payable at the time of sale.
In 1797, the Bank of England obtained an exemption from paying in specie; and the
consequent facility of obtaining discounts and getting a command of capital, which this
measure occasioned, gave a fresh stimulus to agriculture the efficacy of which was most
powerfully assisted by the scarcity and high prices of 1800 and 1801. An agricultural
mania now seized the nation and as the prices of 1804 would not allow the cultivation of
the poor soils, which had been broken up in the dear years, to be continued, a new corn law,
being loudly called for by the farmers, was passed in 1804. The law imposed a prohibitory
duty of 24s. 3d. per quarter on all wheat imported when the home price was at or below
63s.; between 63s. and 66s. a middle duty of 2s. 6d. was paid, and above 66s. a nominal
duty of 6d. The price at which the bounty was allowed on exportation was extended to
50s., and exportation without bounty to 54s. By the act of 1791, the maritime counties of
England were divided into 12 districts, importation and exportation being regulated by the
particular prices of each; but by the act of 1804 they were regulated, in England, by the
aggregute average of the maritime districts; and in Scotland by the aggregate average of
the 4 maritime districts into which it was divided. The averages were taken 4 times a year,
BO that the ports could not be open or shut for less than 3 months. This manner of ascer-
taining prices was, however, modified in the following session it being then fixed, that im-
portation, both in England and Scotland, should be regulated by the average price of the 12
maritime districts of England.
In 1805, the crop was very considerably deficient, and the average price of that year was
about 22s. a quarter above the price at which importation was allowed by the act of 1804.
As the depreciation of paper, compared with bullion, was at that time only four per cent.,
the high price of that year must have been principally owing to the new law preventing
importation from abroad till the home price was high, and then fettering mercantile opera-
tions; and to the formidable obstacles which the war threw in the way of importation. In
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1806*, 1807, and 1808, the depreciation of paper was nearly 3 per cent. and the price of
wheat in those years being generally from 66s. to 75s., the importations were but small.
From autumn 1808, to spring 1814 the depreciation of the currency was unusually great; and
several crops in that interval being likewise deficient, the price of corn, influenced by both
causes, rose to a surprising height. At that time no vessel could be laden in any Continen-
tal port for England without purchasing a license, and the freight and insurance were at
least 5 times as high as during peace. But the destruction of Napoleon's anti-commercial
system, in the autumn of 1813, having increased the facilities of importation, a large quan-
tity of corn was poured into the kingdom; and, in 1814, its bullion price fell below the
price at which importation was allowed.
Before this fall of price, a committee of the House of Commons had been appointed to
inquire into the state of the laws affecting the corn trade: and recommended in their Report
(dated 11th of May, 1813) a very great increase of the prices at which exportation was
allowable, and when importation free of duty might take place. This recommendation was
not, yever, adopted by the House; but the fact of its having been made when the home
price was at least 112s. a quarter, displayed a surprising solicitude to exclude foreigners
from all competition with the home growers.
The wish to lessen the dependence of the country on foreign supplies formed the sole
ostensible motive by which the committee of 1813 had been actuated, in proposing an alte-
ration in the act of 1804. But after the fall of price in autumn 1813, and in the early part
of 1814, it became obvious, on comparing our previous prices with those of the Continent,
that without an alteration of the law in question this dependence would be a good deal in-
creased that a considerable extent of such poor lands as had been brought into cultivation
during the high prices would be again thrown into pasturage; and that rents would be
considerably reduced. These consequences alarmed the landlords and occupiers and in
the early part of the session of 1814, a series of resolutions were voted by the House of Com-
mons, declaring that it was expedient to repeal the bounty, to permit the free exportation of
corn whatever might be the home price, and to impose a graduated scale of duties on the
importation of foreign corn. Thus, foreign wheat imported when the home price was at or
under 64s. was to pay a duty of 24s. when at or under 65s. a duty of 23s. ; and so on, till
the home price should reach 86s., when the duty was reduced to 1s., at which sum it became
stationary. Corn imported from Canada, or from the other British colonies in North Ame-
rica, was to pay half the duties on other corn. As soon as these resolutions had been agreed
to, two bills founded on them-one for regulating the importation of foreign corn, and
another for the repeal of the bounty, and for permitting unrestricted exportation-were in-
troduced. Very little attention was paid to the last of these bills; but the one imposing
fresh duties on importation encountered a very keen opposition. The manufacturers, and
every class not directly supported by agriculture, stigmatised it as an unjustifiable attempt
artificially to keep up the price of food, and to secure excessive rents and large profits to the
landholders and farmers at the expense of the consumers. Meetings were very generally
held, and resolutions entered into strongly expressive of this sentiment, and dwelling on the
fatal consequences which, it was affirmed, a continuance of the high prices would have on
our manufactures and commerce. This determined opposition, coupled with the indecision
of ministers, and perhaps, too, with an expectation on the part of some of the landholders
that prices would rise without any legislative interference, caused the miscarriage of this bill.
The other bill, repealing the bounty and allowing an unlimited freedom of exportation, was
passed into a law.
Committees had been appointed in 1814, by both Houses of Parliament, to examine evi-
dence and report on the state of the corn trade; and, in consequence, a number of the most
eminent agriculturists were examined. The witnesses were unanimous in this only,-that
the protecting prices in the act of 1804 were insufficient to enable the farmers to make good
the engagements into which they had subsequently entered, and to continue the cultivation
of the inferior lands lately brought under tillage. Some of them thought that 120s. ought to
be fixed as the lowest limit at which the importation of wheat free of duty should be allowed
others varied from 90s. to 100s.-from 80s. to 90s.-and a few from 70s. to 80s. The gene-
ral opinion, however, seemed to be that 80s. would suffice; and as prices continued to decline,
a set of resolutions founded on this assumption were submitted to the House of Commons
by Mr. Robinson, of the Board of Trade (now Lord Goderich) ; and having been agreed to,
a bill founded on them was, after a very violent opposition, carried in both Houses by im-
mense majorities, and finally passed into a law (55 Geo. 3. c. 26.). According to this act,
all sorts of foreign corn, meal, or flour, might be imported at all times free of duty into any
port of the United Kingdom, in order to be warehoused but foreign corn was not permitted
to be imported for home consumption, except when the average prices of the several sorts
* Several impolitic restraints had been for a long time imposed on the free importation and exporta-
tion of corn between Great Britain and Ireland, but they were wholly abolished in 1806; and the act
of that year (46 Geo. 3. c. 97.), establishing a free trade in corn between the 2 great divisions of the
empire, was not only a wise and proper measure in itself, but has powerfully contributed to promote
the general advantage.
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of British corn were as follows: viz. wheat, 80s. per quarter; rye, peas, and beans, 53s. ;
barley, bear, or bigg, 40s. and oats, 26s.: and all importation of corn from any of the
British plantations in North America was forbidden, except when the average home prices
were at or under, wheat, 67s. per quarter rye, peas, and beans, 41s.; barley, bear or bigg,
33s.; and oats, 22s.
The agriculturists confidently expected that this act would immediately effect a rise of
prices, and render them steady at about 80s. But, for reasons which will be afterwards
stated, these expectations were entirely disappointed and there has been a more ruinous fluc-
tuation of prices during the 18 years that have elapsed since it was passed, than in any pre-
vious period of our recent history. In 1821, when prices had sunk very low, a committee
of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the causes of the depressed state of
agriculture, and to report their observations thereupon. This committee, after examining a
number of witnesses, drew up a report, which, though not free from error, is a very valuable
document. It contains a forcible exposition of the pernicious effects arising from the law of
1815, of which it suggested several important modifications. These, however, were not
adopted and as the low prices, and consequent distress of the agriculturists, continued, the
subject was brought under the consideration of parliament in the following year. After a
good deal of discussion a new act was then passed (3 Geo. 4. c. 60.), which enacted, that
after prices had risen to the limit of free importation fixed by the act of 1815, that act was
to cease and the new statute to come into operation. This statute lowered the prices fixed
by the act of 1815, at which importation could take place for home consumption, to the fol-
lowing sums, viz-
For Corn not of the British
For Cora of the British
Possessions in North America.
Possessions in North America.
Wheat
-
-
-
-
- 70s. per quarter.
59s. per quarter.
Rye, peas, and beans
-
-
- 46s.
-
39s.
-
Barley, bear, or bigg
-
-
- 35s.
-
30s.
-
Oats
-
-
-
- 25s.
-
20s.
-
But, in order to prevent any violent oscillation of prices from a large supply of grain being
suddenly thrown into the market, it was enacted, that a duty of 17s. a quarter should be
laid on all wheat imported from foreign countries, during the first 3 months after the open-
ing of the ports, if the price was between 70s. and 80s. a quarter, and of 12s. afterwards;
that if the price was between 80s. and 85s., the duty should be 10s. for the first 3 months,
and 5s. afterwards; and that if the price should exceed 85s., the duty should be constant at
1s. ; and proportionally for other sorts of grain.
This act, by preventing importation until the home price rose to 70s., and then loading
the quantities imported between that limit and the limit of 85s. with heavy duties, was cer-
tainly more favourable to the views of the agriculturists than the act of 1815. But, un-
luckily for them, the prices of no species of corn, except barley, were sufficiently high, while
this act existed, to bring it into operation.
In 1825, the first approach was made to a better system, by permitting the importation
of wheat from British North America, without reference to the price at home, on payment
of a duty of 5s. a quarter. But this act was passed with difficulty, and was limited to one
year's duration.
Owing to the drought that prevailed during the summer of 1826, there was every prospect
that there would be a great deficiency in the crops of that year; and, in order to prevent
the disastrous consequences that might have taken place, had importation been prevented
until the season was too far advanced for bringing supplies from the great corn markets in
the north of Europe, his Majesty was authorised to admit 500,000 quarters of foreign wheat,
on payment of such duties as the order in council for its importation should declare. And
when it was ascertained that the crops of oats, peas, &c. were greatly below an average,
ministers issued an order in council, on their own responsibility, on the 1st of September,
authorising the immediate importation of oats on payment of a duty of 2s. 2d. a boll and
of rye, peas, and beans, on payment of a duty of 3s. 6d. a quarter. A considerable quantity
of oats was imported under this order, the timely appearance of which had undoubtedly a
very considerable effect in mitigating the pernicious consequences arising from the defi-
ciency of that species of grain. Ministers obtained an indemnity for this order on the sub-
sequent meeting of parliament.
Nothing could more strikingly evince the impolicy of the acts of 1815 and 1822, than
the necessity, under which the legislature and government had been placed, of passing the
temporary acts and issuing the orders alluded to. The more intelligent portion of the agri-
culturists began, at length, to perceive that the corn laws were not really calculated to pro-
duce the advantages that they had anticipated and a conviction that increased facilities
should be given to importation became general throughout the country. The same convic-
tion made considerable progress in the House of Commons so much so, that several mem-
bers who supported the measures adopted in 1815 and 1822, expressed themselves satisfied
that the principle of exclusion had been carried too far, and that a more liberal system should
be adopted. Ministers having participated in these sentiments, Mr. Canning moved a series
62
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of resolutions, as the foundation of a new corn law, on the 1st of March, 1827. These
resolutions were to the effect that foreign corn might always be imported, free of duty, in
order to be warehoused and that it should always be admissible for home consumption on
payment of certain duties. Thus in the instance of wheat, it was resolved that, when the
home price was at or above 70s. a quarter, the duty should be a fixed one of 1s. and that
for every shilling that the price fell below 70s. a duty of 2s. should be imposed so that
when the price was at 69s. the duty on importation was to be 2s., when at 68s. the duty was
to be 4s. and so on. The limit at which the constant duty of 1s. a quarter was to take
place in the case of barley, was originally fixed at 37s., but it was subsequently raised to
40s. ; the duty increasing by 18. 6d. for every 1s. which the price fell below that limit. The
limit at which the constant duty of 1s. a quarter was to take place in the case of oats was
originally fixed at 28s. but it was subsequently raised to 33s. the duty increasing at the
rate of 18. a quarter for every shilling that the price fell below that limit. The duty on co-
lonial wheat was fixed at 6d. the quarter when the home price was above 65s. and when
the price was under that sum, the duty was constant at 5a. ; the duties on other descriptions
of colonial grain were similar. These resolutions were agreed to by a large majority and
a bill founded on them was subsequently carried through the House of Commons. Owing,
however, to the change of ministers, which took place in the interim, several peers, ori-
ginally favourable to the bill, and some, even, who assisted in its preparation, saw reason to
become amongst its most violent opponents; and a clause moved by the Duke of Welling-
ton, interdicting all importation of foreign corn until the home price exceeded 66s., having
been carried in the Lords, ministers gave up the bill, justly considering that such a clause
was entirely subversive of its principle.
A new set of resolutions with respect to the corn trade were brought forward in 1828, by
Mr. Charles Grant. They were founded on the same principles as those which had been
rejected during the previous session. But the duty was not made to vary equally, as in Mr.
Canning's resolutions, with every equal variation of price; it being 23s. 8d. when the home
price was 64s. the Imperial quarter; 16s. 8d. when it was 69s. and 1s. only when it was
at or above 73s. After a good deal of debate, Mr. Grant's resolutions were carried in both
Houses; and the act embodying them (9 Geo. 4. c. 60.) is that by which the corn trade
is now regulated. An abstract of this act will be found in a subsequent part of this article.
II. PRINCIPLES OF THE CoRN LAWS.
1. Internal Corn Trade.-It is needless to take up the reader's time by endeavouring to
prove by argument the advantage of allowing the free conveyance of corn from one province
to another. Every one sees that this is indispensable, not only to the equal distribution of
the supplies of food over the country, but to enable the inhabitants of those districts that are
best fitted for the raising and fattening of cattle, sheep, &c. to addict themselves to these or
other necessary occupations not directly connected with the production of corn. We shall,
therefore, confine the few remarks we have to make, on this subject, to the consideration of
the influence of the speculations of the corn merchants in buying up corn in anticipation
of an advance. Their proceedings in this respect, though of the greatest public utility, have
been the principal cause of that odium to which they have been so long exposed.
Were the harvests always equally productive, nothing would be gained by storing up
supplies of corn ; and all that would be necessary would be to distribute the crop equally
throughout the country, and throughout the year. But such is not the order of nature.
The variations in the aggregate produce of a country in different seasons, though not
perhaps so great as are commonly supposed, are still very considerable; and experience has
shown that two or three unusually luxuriant harvests seldom take place in succession or
that when they do, they are invariably followed by those that are deficient. The speculators
in corn anticipate this result. Whenever prices begin to give way in consequence of an
unusually luxuriant harvest, speculation is at work. The more opulent farmers withhold
either the whole or a part of their produce from market; and the more opulent dealers
purchase largely of the corn brought to market, and store it up in expectation of a future
advance. And thus, without intending to promote any one's interest but their own, the
speculators in corn become the great benefactors of the public. They provide a relief stock
against those years of scarcity which are sure at no distant period to recur while, by
withdrawing a portion of the redundant supply from immediate consumption, prices are
prevented from falling so low as to be injurious to the farmers, or at least are maintained at a
higher level than they would otherwise have reached; provident habits are maintained
amongst the people; and that waste and extravagance are checked, which always take place
in plentiful years, but which would be carried to a much greater extent if the whole produce
of an abundant crop were to be consumed within the season.
It is, however, in scarce years that the speculations of the corn merchants are principally
advantageous. Even in the richest countries, a very large proportion of the individuals
engaged in the business of agriculture are comparatively poor, and are totally without the
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means of withholding their produce from market, in order to speculate upon any future
advance. In consequence, the markets are always most abundantly supplied with produce
immediately after harvest; and in countries where the merchants engaged in the corn trade
are not possessed of large capitals, or where their proceedings are fettered and restricted,
there is then, almost invariably, a heavy fall of prices. But as the vast majority of the
people buy their food in small quantities, or from day to day as they want it, their consump-
tion is necessarily extended or contracted according to its price at the time. Their views do
not extend to the future they have no means of judging whether the crop is or is not
deficient. They live, as the phrase is, from hand to mouth and are satisfied if, in the mean
time, they obtain abundant supplies at a cheap rate. But it is obvious, that were there
nothing to control or counteract this improvidence, the consequence would very often be
fatal in the extreme. The crops of one harvest must support the population till the crop of
the other harvest has been gathered in ; and if that crop should be deficient-if, for
instance, it should only be adequate to afford, at the usual rate of consumption, a supply
of 9 or 10 months' provisions instead of 12-it is plain that, unless the price were so raised
immediately after harvest, as to enforce economy, and put, as it were, the whole nation on
short allowance, the most dreadful famine would be experienced previously to the ensuing
harvest. Those who examine the accounts of the prices of wheat and other grain in
England, collected by Bishop Fleetwood and Sir F. M. Eden, will meet with abundant
proofs of the accuracy of what has now been stated. In those remote periods when the
farmers were generally without the means of withholding their crops from market, and when
the trade of a corn dealer was proscribed, the utmost improvidence was exhibited in the
consumption of grain. There were then, indeed, very few years in which a considerable
scarcity was not experienced immediately before harvest, and many in which there was an
absolute famine. The fluctuations of price exceeded every thing of which we can now
form an idea ; the price of wheat and other grain being 4 or 5 times as high in June and
July, as in September and October. Thanks, however, to the increase of capital in the
hands of the large farmers and dealers, and to the freedom given to the operations of the
corn merchants, we are no longer exposed to such ruinous vicissitudes. Whenever the
dealers, who, in consequence of their superior means of information, are better acquainted
with the real state of the crops than any other class of persons, find the harvest likely to be
deficient, they raise the price of the corn they have warehoused, and bid against each other
for the corn which the farmers are bringing to market. In consequence of this rise of prices,
all ranks and orders, but especially the lower, who are the great consumers of corn, find
it indispensable to use greater economy, and to check all improvident and wasteful con-
sumption. Every class being thus immediately put upon short allowance, the pressure of
the scarcity is distributed equally throughout the year and instead of indulging, as was
formerly the case, in the same scale of consumption as in seasons of plenty, until the
supply became altogether deficient, and then being exposed without resource to the attacks
of famine and pestilence, the speculations of the corn merchants warn us of our danger,
and compel us to provide against it.
It is not easy to suppose that these proceedings of the corn merchants should ever be
injurious to the public. It has been said that in scarce years they are not disposed to bring
the corn they have purchased to market until it has attained an exorbitant price, and that
the pressure of the scarcity is thus often very much aggravated; but there is no real ground
for any such statement. The immense amount of capital required to store up any consider-
able quantity of corn, and the waste to which it is liable, render most holders disposed to
sell as soon as they can realise a fair profit. In every extensive country in which the corn
trade is free, there are infinitely too many persons engaged in it to enable any sort of com-
bination or concert to be formed amongst them; and though it were formed, it could not be
maintained for an instant. A large proportion of the farmers and other small holders of corn
are always in straitened circumstances, more particularly if a scarce year has not occurred
so soon as they expected; and they are consequently anxious to relieve themselves, as soon
as prices rise, of a portion of the stock on their hands. Occasionally, indeed, individuals are
found, who retain their stocks for too long a period, or until a reaction takes place, and
prices begin to decline. But instead of joining in the popular cry against such persons,
every one who takes a dispassionate view of the matter will perceive that, inasmuch as their
miscalculation must, under the circumstances supposed, be exceedingly injurious to them-
selves, we have the best security against its being carried to such an extent as to be
productive of any material injury or even inconvenience to the public. It ought also to be
borne in mind, that it is rarely, if ever, possible to determine beforehand, when a scarcity is
to abate in consequence of new supplies being brought to market; and had it continued a
little longer, there would have been no miscalculation on the part of the holders. At all
events, it is plain that, by declining to bring their corn to market, they preserved a resource
on which, in the event of the harvest being longer delayed than usual, or of any unfavour-
able contingency taking place, the public could have fallen back so that, instead of deserving
abuse, these speculators are most justly entitled to every fair encouragement and protection.
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A country in which there is no considerable stock of grain in the barnyards of the farmers,
or in the warehouses of the merchants, is in the most perilous situation that can easily be
imagined, and may be exposed to the severest privations, or even famine. But so long as
the sagacity, the miscalculation, or the avarice of merchants and dealers retain a stock
of grain in the warehouses, this last extremity cannot take place. By refusing to sell it till
it has reached a very high price, they put an effectual stop to all sorts of waste, and husband
for the public those supplies which they could not have so frugally husbanded for themselves.
We have already remarked that the last remnant of the shackles imposed by statute on
the freedom of the internal corn dealer was abolished in 1773. It is true that engrossing,
forestalling, and regrating-(see ENGROSSING, &c.)-are still held to be offences at com-
mon law ; but there is very little probability of any one being in future made to answer for
such ideal offences.
2. Exportation to Foreign Countries.-The fallacy of the notion so long entertained,
that the prevention of exportation was the surest method of increasing plenty at home,
is obvious to every one who has reflected upon such subjects. The markets of no country
can ever be steadily and plentifully supplied with corn, unless her merchants have power to
export the surplus supplies with which they may be occasionally furnished. When a
country without the means of exporting grows nearly her own average supplies of corn, an
abundant crop, by causing a great overloading of the market, and a heavy fall of price, in as
injurious to the farmer as a scarcity. It may be thought, perhaps, that the greater quantity
of produce in abundant seasons will compensate for its lower price; but this is not the case.
It is uniformly found that variations in the quantity of corn exert a much greater influence
over prices, than equal variations in the quantity of almost any thing else offered for sale.
Being the principal necessary of life, when the supply of corn happens to be less than ordi-
nary, the mass of the people make very great, though unavailing, exertions, by diminishing
their consumption of other and less indispensable articles, to obtain their accustomed
supplies of this prime necessary so that its price rises much more than in proportion to the
deficiency. On the other hand, when the supply is unusually large, the consumption is not
proportionally extended. In ordinary years, the bulk of the population is about adequately
fed; and though the consumption of all classes be somewhat greater in unusually plentiful
years, the extension is considerable only among the lowest classes, and in the feeding of
horses. Hence it is, that the increased supply at market, in such years, goes principally
to cause a glut, and, consequently, a ruinous decline of prices. These statements are
corroborated by the widest experience. Whenever there is an inability to export, from
whatever cause it may arise, an unusually luxuriant crop is uniformly accompanied by a
very heavy fall of price, and severe agricultural distress; and when two or three such crops
happen to follow in succession, the ruin of a large proportion of the farmers is completed.
If the mischiefs resulting from the want of power to export stopped here, they might,
though very great, be borne; but they do not stop here. It is idle to suppose that a system
ruinous to the producers can be otherwise to the consumers. A glut of the market, occa-
sioned by luxuriant harvests, and the want of power to export, cannot be of long continuance:
for, while it continues, it can hardly fail, by distressing all classes of farmers, and causing
the ruin of many, to give a check to every species of agricultural improvement, and to
lessen the extent of land in tillage. When, therefore, an unfavourable season recurs, the
reaction is, for the most part, appalling. The supply, being lessened not only by the badness
of the season, but also by a diminution of the quantity of land in crop, falls very far below
an average and a severe scarcity, if not an absolute famine, is most commonly experienced.
It is, therefore, clear, that if a country would render herself secure against famine, and
injurious fluctuations of price, she must give every possible facility to exportation in years
of unusual plenty. If she act upon a different system,- if her policy make exportation in
such year impracticable, or very difficult,-she will infallibly render the bounty of Providence
an injury to her agriculturists; and two or three abundant harvests in succession will be the
forerunners of scarcity and famine.
3. Bounty on the Exportation of Corn.-In Great Britain, as already observed, we
have not only been allowed to export for a long series of years, but from the Revolution
down to 1815 a bounty was given on exportation, whenever the home prices were depressed
below certain limits. This policy, however, erred as much on the one hand as a restriction
on exportation errs on the other. It causes, it is true, an extension of the demand for corn:
but this greater demand is not caused by natural, but by artificial means; it is not a con-
sequence of any really increased demand on the part of the foreigner, but of our furnishing
the exporters of corn with a bonus, in order that they may sell it abroad below its natural
price To suppose that a proceeding of this sort can be a public advantage, is equivalent to
supposing that a shopkeeper may get rich by selling his goods below what they cost-
(See BOUNTY.)
4. Importation from Foreign Countries.- If a country were, like Poland or Russia,
uniformly in the habit of exporting corn to other countries, a restriction on importation
would be of no material consequence; because though such restriction did not exist, no
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foreign corn would be imported, unless its ports were so situated as to serve for an entrepôt.
A restriction on importation is sensibly felt only when it is enforced in a country which,
owing to the greater density of its population, the limited extent of its fertile land, or any
other cause, would, either occasionally or uniformly, import. It is familiar to the observa-
tion of every one, that a total failure of the crops is a calamity that but rarely occurs in an
extensive kingdom; that the weather which is unfavourable to one description of soil, is
generally favourable to some other description; and that, except in anomalous cases, the
total produce is not very different. But what is thus generally true of single countries, is
always true of the world at large. History furnishes no single instance of a universal
scarcity but it is uniformly found, that when the crops in a particular country are unusually
deficient, they are proportionally abundant in some other quarter. It is clear, however, that
a restriction on importation excludes the country which enacts it from profiting by this
beneficent arrangement. She is thrown entirely on her own resources. Under the circum-
stances supposed, she has nothing to trust to for relief but reserves in her warehouses; and
should these be inadequate to meet the exigency of the crisis, there are apparently no means
by which she can escape experiencing all the evils of scarcity, or, it may be, of famine.
A country deprived of the power to import is unable to supply the deficiencies of her
harvests by the surplus produce of other countries; so that her inhabitants may starve
amidst surrounding plenty, and suffer the extreme of scarcity, when, but for the restrictions
on importation, they might enjoy the greatest abundance. If the restriction be not abso-
lute, but conditional if, instead of absolutely excluding foreign com from the home markets,
it merely loads it with a duty; the degree in which it will operate to increase the scarcity
and dearth will depend on the magnitude of that duty. If the duty be constant and mode-
rate, it may not have any very considerable effect in discouraging importation; but if it be
fluctuating and heavy, it will, by falsifying the speculations of the merchants, and making
a corresponding addition to the price of the corn imported, be proportionally injurious. In
whatever degree foreign corn may be excluded in years of deficient crops, to the same ex-
tent must prices be artificially raised, and the pressure of scarcity rendered so much the
more severe.
Such would be the disastrous influence of a restriction on importation in a country
which, were there no such obstruction in the way, would sometimes import and sometimes
export. But its operation would be infinitely more injurious in a country which, under a
free system, would uniformly import a portion of her supplies. The restriction, in this case,
has a twofold operation. By preventing importation from abroad, and forcing the population
to depend for subsistence on corn raised at home, it compels recourse to be had to compara-
tively inferior soils and thus, by increasing the cost of producing corn above its cost in other
countries, adds proportionally to its average price. The causes of fluctuation are, in this
way, increased in a geometrical proportion for while the prevention of importation exposes
the population to the pressure of want whenever the harvest happens to be less productive
than usual, it is sure, at the same time, by raising average prices, to hinder exportation in a
year of unusual plenty, until the home prices fall ruinously low. It is obvious, therefore,
that a restriction of this sort must be alternately destructive of the interests of the consumers
and producers. It injures the former by making them pay, at an average, an artificially
increased price for their food, and by exposing them to scarcity and famine whenever the
home crop proves deficient; and it injures the latter, by depriving them of the power to
export in years of unusual plenty, and by overloading the market with produce, which,
under a free system, would have met with an advantageous sale abroad.
The principle thus briefly explained, shows the impossibility of permanently keeping up
the home prices by means of restrictions on importation, at the same time that it affords a
clue by which we may trace the causes of most of that agricultural distress which has been
experienced in this country since the peace. The real object of the Corn Law of 1815 was
to keep up the price of corn to 80s. a quarter; but to succeed in this, it was indispensable not
only that foreign corn should be excluded when prices were under this limit, but that the
markets should never be overloaded with corn produced at home : for it is clear, according
to the principle already explained, that if the supply should in ordinary years be sufficient
to feed the population, it must, in an unusually abundant year, be more than sufficient for
that purpose; and when, in such a case, the surplus is thrown upon the market, it cannot
fail, in the event of our average prices being considerably above the level of those of the
surrounding countries, to cause a ruinous depression. Now, this was the precise situation
of this country at the end of the war. Owing partly to the act of 1804, but far more to the
difficulties in the way of importation, and the depreciation of the currency, prices attained
to an extraordinary elevation from 1809 to 1814, and gave such a stimulus to agriculture,
that we grew, in 1812 and 1818, sufficient corn for our own supply. And, such being the
case, it is clear, though our ports had been hermetically sealed against importation from
abroad, that the first luxuriant crop must have occasioned a ruinous decline of prices. It
is the exclusion, not the introduction, of foreign corn that has caused the distress of the agri-
culturists; for it is this exclusion that had forced up the price of corn in this country, in
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scarce and average years, to an unnatural level, and that, consequently, renders exportation
in favourable seasons impossible, without such a fall of prices as is most disastrous to the
farmer. It may be mentioned in proof of what is now stated, that the average price of
wheat in England and Wales in 1814, was 74s. a quarter, and in 1815 it had fallen to 64s.
But as these prices would not indemnify the occupiers of the poor lands brought under
tillage during the previous high prices, they were gradually relinquishing their cultivation.
A considerable portion of them was converted into pasture; rents were generally reduced
and wages had begun to decline: but the legislature having prohibited the importation of
foreign corn, the operation of this natural principle of adjustment was unfortunately counter-
acted, and the price of 1816 rose to 75s. 10d. This rise was, however, insufficient to occa-
sion any new improvement; and as foreign corn was now excluded, and large tracts of bad
land had been thrown out of cultivation, the supply was 80 much diminished, that, notwith-
standing the increase in the value of money, prices rose in 1817, partly, no doubt, in
consequence of the bad harvest of the previous year, to 94s. 9d. and in 1818, to 84s. Id.
These high prices had their natural effect. They revived the drooping spirits of the farmers,
who imagined that the Corn Law was, at length, beginning to produce the effects anticipated
from it, and that the golden days of 1812, when wheat sold for 125s. a quarter, were about
to return But this prosperity carried in its bosom the seeds of future mischief. The in-
creased prices necessarily occasioned a fresh extension of tillage; capital was again applied
to the improvement of the soil; and this increase of tillage, conspiring with favourable
seasons, and the impossibility of exportation, sunk prices to such a degree, that they fell, in
October, 1822, so low as 38s. 1d., the average price of that year being only 43s. 3d.
It is thus demonstrably certain, that the recurrence of periods of distress, similar to those
that have been experienced by the agriculturists of this country since the peace, cannot be
warded off by restricting or prohibiting importation. A free corn trade is the only system
that can give them that security against fluctuations that is so indispensable. The increased
importation that would take place, were the ports always open, as soon as any considerable
deficiency in the crops was apprehended, would prevent prices from rising to an oppressive
height; while on the other hand, when the crops were unusually luxuriant, a ready outlet
would be found for the surplus in foreign countries, without its occasioning any very heavy
fall. To expect to combine steadiness of prices with restrictions on importation, is to
expect to reconcile what is contradictory and absurd. The higher the limit at which the
importation of foreign corn into a country like England is fixed, the greater will be the
oscillation of prices. If we would secure for ourselves abundance, and avoid fluctuation,
we must renounce all attempts at exclusion, and be ready to deal in corn, as we ought to
be in every thing else, on fair and liberal principles.
That the restrictions imposed on the foreign corn trade during the last 10 years should
not have been productive of more disastrous consequences than those that have actually
resulted from them, is, we believe, principally to be ascribed to the very great increase that
has taken place in the imports from Ireland. Previously to 1806, when a perfectly free
corn trade between Great Britain and Ireland was for the first time established, the yearly
imports did not amount to 400,000 quarters, whereas they now amount to 2,600,000; and
any one who has ever been in Ireland, or is aware of the wretched state of agriculture in it,
and of the amazing fertility of the soil, must be satisfied that a very slight improvement
would occasion an extraordinary increase in the imports from that country ; and it is be-
lieved by those best qualified to form an opinion on such a subject, that the settlement of the
Catholic question, and the disfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders, by promoting the public
tranquillity, and taking away one of the principal inducements to the pernicious practice of
splitting farms, has, in this respect, already had great influence, and that it will eventually
lead to the most material improvements. Hence it is by no means improbable, that the
growing imports from Ireland may, at no distant period, reduce our prices to the level of
those of the Continent, and even render us an occasionally exporting country. These,
however, are contingent and uncertain results; and supposing them to be ultimately realised,
the Corn Laws must in the mean time be productive of great hardship, and must, in all time
to come, aggravate to a frightful extent the misery inseparable from bad harvests.
Nothing but the great importance of the subject could excuse us for dwelling so long on
what is so very plain. To facilitate production, and to make commodities cheaper and
more easily obtained, are the grand motives which stimulate the inventive powers, and which
lead to the discovery and improvement of machines and processes for saving labour and
diminishing cost; and it is plain that no system of commercial legislation deserves to be
supported, which does not conspire to promote the same objects: but a restriction on the
importation of corn into a country like England, which has made a great comparative ad-
vance in population and manufacturing industry, is diametrically opposed to these principles.
The density of our population is such, that the exclusion of foreign corn forces us to resort
to soils of a decidedly less degree of fertility than those that are under cultivation in the
surrounding countries; and, in consequence, our average prices are comparatively high.
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We have resolved that our people should not employ their capital and labour in those
branches of manufacturing and commercial industry in which they have a decided advan-
tage over every other country but that they should be made to force comparatively barren
soils to yield them a scanty return for their outlay. If we could, by laying out 1000l. on
the manufacture of cottons or hardware, produce a quantity of these articles that would ex-
change for 400 quarters of American or Polish wheat; and if the same sum, were it ex-
pended in cultivation in this country, would not produce more than 300 quarters the pre-
vention of importation occasions an obvious sacrifice of 100 out of every 400 quarters con-
sumed in the empire; or, which is the same thing, it occasions an artificial advance of 25
per cent. in the price of corn. In a public point of view, the impolicy of such a system is
obvious; but it seems, at first sight, as if it were advantageous to the landlords. The ad-
vantage is, however, merely apparent at bottom there is no real difference between the
interests of the landlords and those of the rest of the community. It would be ridiculous,
indeed, to imagine for a moment that the landlords can be benefited by a system in which
those tremendous fluctuations of prices, so subversive of all agricultural prosperity, are in-
herent; but though these could be got rid of, the result would be the same. The prosperity
of agriculture must always depend upon, and be determined by, the prosperity of other
branches of industry and any system which, like the corn laws, is most injurious to the
latter, cannot but be injurious to the former. Instead of being publicly advantageous, high
prices are in every case distinctly and completely the reverse. The smaller the sacrifice for
which any commodity can be obtained, so much the better. When the labour required to
produce, or the money required to purchase, a sufficient supply of corn is diminished, it is
as clear as the sun at noon-day that more labour or money must remain to produce or pur-
chase the other necessaries, conveniencies, and amusements of human life, and that the sum
of national wealth and comforts must be proportionally augmented. Those who suppose
that a rise of prices can ever be a means of improving the condition of a country might, with
equal reason, suppose that it would be improved by throwing its best soils out of cultivation,
and destroying its most powerful machines. The opinions of such persons are not only op-
posed to the plainest and most obvious scientific principles, but they are opposed to the ob-
vious conclusions of common sense, and the universal experience of mankind.
Experience of the injurious effects resulting from the Corn Laws has induced many that
were formerly their zealous advocates to come round to a more liberal way of thinking. It
would, however, be unjust not to mention that there has always been a large and respectable
party amongst the landlords, opposed to all restrictions on the trade in corn; and who have
uniformly thought that their interests, being identified with those of the public, would be
best promoted by the abolition of restrictions on importation. A protest expressive of this
opinion, subscribed by 10 peers, was entered on the Journals of the House of Lords, against
the corn law of 1815. This document is said to have been drawn up by Lord Grenville,
who has always been the enlightened advocate of sound commercial principles. Its reason-
ing is so clear and satisfactory, that we are sure we shall gratify our readers, as well as
strengthen the statements previously made, by laying it before them.
Dissentient.-I. Because we are adverse in principle to all new restraints on commerce. We
think it certain that public prosperity is best promoted by leaving uncontrolled the free current of
national industry and we wish rather, by well considered steps, to bring back our commercial legis-
lation to the straight and simple line of wisdom, than to increase the deviation by subjecting addi-
tional and extensive branches of the public interest to fresh systems of artificial and injurious
restrictions.
II. Because we think that the great practical rule, of leaving all commerce unfettered, applies
more peculiarly, and on still stronger grounds of justice as well as policy, to the corn trade than
to any other. Irresistible, indeed, must be that necessity which could, in our judgment, authorise the
legislature to tamper with the sustenance of the people, and to impede the free purchase of that
article on which depends the existence of 80 large a portion of the community.
'III. Because we think that the expectations of ultimate benefit from this measure are founded on
a delusive theory. We cannot persuade ourselves that this law will ever contribute to produce
plenty, cheapness, or steadiness of price. So long as it operates at all, its effects must be the opposite
of these. Monopoly is the parent of scarcity, of dcarness, and of uncertainty. To cut off any of the
sources of supply, can only tend to lessen its abundance to close against ourselves the cheapest
market for any commodity, must enhance the price at which we purchase it; and to confine the con-
sumer of corn to the produce of his own country, is to refuse to ourselves the benefit of that provision
which Providence itself has made for equalising to man the variations of climate and of seasons.
IV. But whatever may be the future consequences of this law at some distant and uncertain
period, we see with pain that these hopes must be purchased at the expense of a great and present
evil. To compel the consumer to purchase corn dearer at home than it might be imported from
abroad, is the immediate practical effect of this law. In this way alone can it operate. Its present
protection, its promised extension of agriculture, must result (if at all) from the profits which it
creates by keeping up the price of corn to an artificial level. These future benefits are the conse-
quences expected, but, as we confidently believe, erroneously expected, from giving a bounty to the
grower of corn, by a tax levied on its consumer.
V. Because we think the adoption of any permanent law for such a purpose, required the fullest
and most laborious investigation. Nor would it have been sufficient for our satisfaction, could we
have been convinced of the general policy of a hazardous experiment. A still further inquiry would
have been necessary to persuade us that the present moment is fit for its adoption. In such an
inquiry, we must have had the means of satisfying ourselves what its immediate operation will be,
as connected with the various and pressing circumstances of public difficulty and distress with which
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the country is surrounded with the state of our circulation and currency, of our agriculture and
manufactures, of our internal and external commerce, and, above an, with the condition and reward
of the industrious and labouring classes of our community.
On all these particulars, as they respect this question, we think that parliament is almost
wholly uninformed ; OR all we see reason for the utmost anxiety and alarm from the operation of this
law.
"Lastly, Because, if we could approve of the principle and purpose of this law, we think that no
sufficient foundation has been laid for its details. The evidence before us, unsatisfactory and imper-
fect as it is, seems to us rather to disprove than to support the propriety of the high price adopted as
the standard of importation, and the fallacious mode by which that price is to be ascertained. And
on all these grounds we are anxious to record our dissent from a measure so precipitate in its course,
and, as we fear, so injurious in its consequences."
Attempts have sometimes been made to estimate the pecuniary burden which the restric-
tions on importation entail in ordinary years upon the country. This, however, is a subject
with respect to which it is not possible to obtain any very accurate data. But supposing
the total quantity of corn annually produced in Great Britain and Ireland to amount to
52,000,000 quarters, every shilling that is added to its price by the Corn Laws is equivalent
to a tax on corn of 2,600,000L; and estimating the average rise on all sorts of grain at 7s. a
quarter, the total sum will be 18,200,000L So great a quantity of corn is, however, con-
sumed by the agriculturists themselves as food, in seed, the keep of horses, &c. that not more
than a half, perhaps, of the whole quantity produced is brought to market. If we are nearly
right in this hypothesis, and in the previous estimates, it will follow that the restrictions cost
the classes not engaged in agriculture no less than 9,100,000/. exclusive of their own per-
nicious consequences. Of this sum a fifth, probably, or 1,800,000Z may go to the land-
lords as rent and this is all that the agriculturists can be said to gain by the system, for
the additional price received by the farmer on that portion of the produce exclusive of rent
is no more than the ordinary return for his capital and labour. His profits, indeed, instead
of being increased by this system, are really diminished by it (for proofs of this, see the
note on Corn Laws, in my edition of the Wealth of Nations, vol. iv. pp. 358-361. and
though the rents of the landlords be, nominally at least, somewhat increased by it, it is, not-
withstanding, abundantly certain that it is any thing but advantageous to them. It would
require a far larger sum to balance the injury which fluctuations of price occasion to their
tenants, and the damage done to their estates by over-cropping when prices are high, than
all that is derived from the restrictions.
5. Duties on Importation.-A duty may be equitably imposed on imported corn, for two
objects; that is, either for the sake of revenue, or to balance any excess of taxes laid on the
agriculturists over those laid on the other classes.—(See my edition of Wealth of Nations,
vol. iv. pp. 363-369.) With respect, however, to a duty imposed for the sake of revenue,
it may be doubted whether corn be a proper subject for taxation. But at all events such a
duty should be exceedingly moderate. It would be most inexpedient to attempt to add
largely to the revenue by laying heavy duties on the prime necessary of life.
If it be really true that agriculture is more heavily taxed than any other branch of indus-
try, the agriculturists are entitled to demand that a duty be laid on foreign corn when im-
ported, corresponding to the excess of burdens affecting them. It has been doubted, how-
ever, whether they are in this predicament. But though the question be by no means free
from difficulty, we should be disposed to decide it in the affirmative, being pretty well satis-
fied that, owing to the local and other burdens laid on the land, those occupying it are really
subjected to heavier taxes than any other class. It is difficult, or rather, perhaps, impossible,
to estimate with any degree of precision what the excess of taxes laid on the agriculturists
beyond those laid on manufacturers' and merchants may amount to but we have elsewhere
shown, that if we estimate it as making an addition of 5s. or 6s. to the quarter of wheat, we
shall certainly be beyond the mark.-(See my edition of the Wealth of Nations, vol. iv. p.
369.) However, we should, in a case of this sort, reckon it safer to err on the side of too
much protection than of too little ; and would not, therefore, object to a fixed duty of 6s. or
7s. a quarter being laid on wheat, and a proportional duty being laid on other species of
grain. Under such a system the ports would be always open. The duty would not be so
great as to interpose any very formidable obstacle to importation. Every one would know
beforehand the extent to which it would operate; at the same time that the just rights and
interests of the agriculturists, and of every other class, would be maintained unimpaired.
When a duty is laid on the importation of foreign corn, for the equitable purpose of coun-
tervailing the peculiar duties laid on the corn raised at home, an equivalent drawback ought
to be allowed on its exportation. " In allowing this drawback, we are merely returning to
the farmer a tax which he has already paid, and which he must have to place him in a fair
state of competition in the foreign market, not only with the foreign producer, but with his
own countrymen who are producing other commodities. It is essentially different from a
bounty on exportation, in the sense in which the word bounty is usually understood; for,
by a bounty, is generally meant a tax levied on the people for the purpose of rendering corn
unnaturally cheap to the foreign consumer; whereas what I propose is to sell our com at
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
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the price at which we can really afford to produce it, and not to add to its price a tax which
shall induce the foreigner rather to purchase it from some other country, and deprive us of a
trade which, under a system of free competition, we might have (Ricardo on
Protection to Agriculture, p. 53.)
A duty accompanied with a drawback, as now stated, would not only be an equitable
arrangement, but it would be highly for the advantage of farmers, without being injurious
to any one else. The radical defect, as already shown, of the system followed from 1815
down to the present moment, in so far, at least, as respects agriculture, is, that it forces up
prices in years when the harvest is deficient, while it leaves the market to be glutted when
it is abundant. But while a constant duty of 6s. would secure to the home growers all the
increase of price which the regard due to the interests of others should allow them to realise
in a bad year, the drawback of 6s., by enabling them to export in an unusually plentiful
year, would prevent the markets from being overloaded, and prices from falling to the ruin-
ous extent that they now occasionally do. Such a plan would render the business of a
corn dealer, and of agriculture, comparatively secure and would, therefore, provide for the
continued prosperity of them both. We are astonished that the agriculturists have not
taken this view of the matter. If they be really entitled to a duty on foreign corn, on ac-
count of their being heavier taxed than the other classes of their fellow citizens, they must
also be entitled to a corresponding drawback. And it admits of demonstration, that their
interests, as well as those of the community, would be far better promoted by such a duty
and drawback as we have suggested, than they can ever be by any system of mere duties,
how high soever they may be carried.
The principal objection to this plan is, that it would not be possible to levy the duty when
the home price became very high, and that, consequently, it would be every now and then
necessary to suspend it. But this objection does not seem to be by any means 80 formidable
as it has sometimes been represented. It may, we think, be concluded on unassailable
grounds, that were the ports constantly open under a moderate fixed duty and an equivalent
drawback, extreme fluctuations of price would be very rare. Supposing it were enacted,
that when the home price rises above a certain high level, as 80s., the duty should cease, we
believe the clause would very seldom come into operation and those who object that it is
not fair to the farmers to deprive them of the full advantage to be derived from the highest
prices, should recollect that in matters of this sort it is not always either possible, or, if pos-
sible, prudent, to carry the soundest principles to an extreme; and that, generally speaking,
the public interests will be better consulted by guarding against scarcity and dearth, than by
securing, at all hazards, a trifling though just advantage to a particular class.
III. BRITISH CORN TRADE.
1. Quantity of Corn consumed in Great Britain.-Attempts have sometimes been made
to compute the quantity of corn raised in a country, from calculations founded on the num-
ber of acres in tillage. and on the average produce per acre but it is plain that no accurate
estimate can ever be framed of the extent of land under cultivation. It is perpetually chang-
ing from year to year; and the amount of produce varies not only with the differences of
seasons, but also with every improvement of agriculture. This method, therefore, is now
rarely resorted to; and the growth of corn is generally estimated from the consumption.
The conclusion deduced from this criterion must indeed be subject to error, as well from
variations in the consumption, occasioned by variations in the price of corn, as from the
varying extent to which other food is used. But supposing the prices of corn to be reduced
to an average, if the consumption of a considerable number of persons, of all ranks and orders,
and of all ages and sexes, were accurately determined, we should be able, supposing the cen-
sus of the population to be nearly correct, to make a very close approximation to the total
consumption of the country. Mr. Charles Smith, the well-informed and intelligent author
of the Tracts on the Corn Trade, made many curious investigations, with a view to discover
the mean annual consumption of corn and reducing it to the standard of wheat, he found
it to be at the rate of about a quarter for each individual, young and old. This estimate
has been confirmed by a variety of subsequent researches and, among others, by inquiries
made during the scarcity of 1795 and 1796, by the magistrates of Suffolk, in 42 different
parishes, in the view of ascertaining the average consumption of each family, which they
found to correspond very closely with Mr. Smith's estimate. It is also worthy of remark,
that M. Paucton, the intelligent author of the Métrologie, estimates the mean annual average
consumption in France, when reduced to the standard of wheat, at about 10 bushels for
each individual and as the French consume considerably more bread, and less animal food,
than the English, this estimate affords a strong proof of the correctness of that of Mr.
Smith.
Having taken the population of England and Wales in 1765, at 6,000,000, Mr. Smith
reckoned the consumers of each kind of grain, the quantity consumed by each individual,
and hence, the whole consumed by man, to be as follows :-
64
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498
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
Estimated Pope-
Average Con-
Consumed
lation of England
sumption of
by Man.
and Wales.
each Person.
on
3,750,000 consumers of wheat, at 1 quarter each
-
-
-
-
-
3,750,000
739,000 do. of barley,
at If do.
-
-
-
-
-
- 1,016,195
888,000 do. of rye,
at It do. -
.
-
-
.
-
-
- 999,000
623,000 do. of oats,
at 21 do. -
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1,791,295
Consumed by man
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 7,566,350
In addition to this, Mr. Smith estimated the wheat distilled, made into starch, &c.
-
90,000
Barley used in malting, &c.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 3,417,000
Rye for hogs, &c.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
31,000
Oats for horses, &c.
-
-
-
,
-
-
-
-
-
- 2,461,500
Total of home consumption
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 13,555,850
Add excess of exports over imports
-
-
-
-
-
-
396,624
13,954,474
Add seed (one tenth)
-
-
.
-
-
-
- 1,395,447
Total growth of all kinds of grain in England and Wales in 1765
-
-
-
- 15,349,921
This estimate, it will be observed, does not include either Scotland or Ireland and later
inquiries have rendered it probable that Mr. Smith underrated the population of England and
Wales by nearly 1,000,000. The most eminent agriculturists seem also to be of opinion
that the allowance for seed ought to be stated as high as a seventh.
Mr. Chalmers, availing himself of the information respecting the numbers of the people
furnished under the population act of 1800, estimated the total consumption of all the dif-
ferent kinds of grain in Great Britain at that epoch at 27,185,300 quarters, whereof wheat
constituted 7,676,100 quarters. The crops of 1800 and 1801 being unusually deficient, the
importation in these years was proportionally great; but excluding these scarcities, the
total average excess of all sorts of grain imported from Ireland and foreign countries into
Great Britain over the exports had previously amounted to about 1,000,000 quarters, which
deducted from 27,185,300, leaves 26,185,300, to which if we add one seventh as seed, we
shall have 29,925,057 quarters as the average growth of Great Britain in 1800.
The population of Ireland, as ascertained by the census of 1821, amounted to very near
7,000,000, and probably at present exceeds 8,000,000. The greatest portion of its inhabit-
ants are, it is true, supported by the potato, and seldom or never taste bread but we shall
perhaps be within the mark, if we estimate the number of those fed on the various kinds of
corn at 3,000,000, and the average quantity of the different sorts of grain consumed by
each individual at 2 quarters. This would give 6,000,000 quarters as the total consumption
of Ireland.
But the population of Great Britain increased, from 10,942,000 in 1800, to 16,537,000
in 1831 ; and both Mr. Western and Dr. Colquhoun concurred in estimating the average
consumption of the whole empire, in 1812 and 1814, at about 35,000,000 quarters.
The following is Dr. Colquhoun's estimate :-
Estimated
Average of the
Each
Species of Grain.
Population of
Person
Consumed by
Consumed by
Used in Beer
Used is va-
Great Britain
Man.
averaged.
Animals.
and Spirits.
rious Manu-
Total of
factures.
Quartees.
and Ireland.
Quarters.
Quarters.
Quarters.
Quarters.
Quarters.
Wheat - -
9,000,000
1
9,000,000
-
-
-
-
170,000
9,170,000
Barley
-
-
1,500,000
It
1,875,000
210,000
4,250,000
-
-
6,335,000
Oats
-
-
4,500,000
It
6,750,000
10,200,000
-
-
-
-
16,950,000
Rye -
-
-
500,000
It
625,000
59,000
-
-
1,000
685,000
Beans and peas
500,000
1
500,000
1,360,000
-
-
-
-
1,880,000
Totals -
16,000,000
18,750,000
11,829,000
4,250,000
171,000
35,000,000
Dr. Colquhoun has made no allowance for seed in this estimate; and there can be no
doubt that he has underrated the consumption of oats by at least one half quarter in the
consumption of each of the 4,500,000 individuals he supposes fed on them, or by 2,250,000
quarters. Adding, therefore, to Dr. Colquhoun's estimate 5,500,000 quarters for seed, and
2,250,000 quarters for the deficiency of oats, it will bring it to 42,750,000 quarters; and
taking the increase of population since 1813 into account, it does not appear to us that the
annual average consumption of the different kinds of grain in the United Kingdom can now
be estimated at less than FORTY-FOUR millions of quarters, exclusive of seed, and at FIFTY-
TWO millions when it is included. Assuming this estimate to be correct, and the proportion
of wheat to amount to twelve millions of quarters, the progressive consumption will be as
follows :-
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
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Consumption of Wheat and other Grain, in the United Kingdom, in a Year, Six Months, a Month,
a Week, &c.
Wheat.
Other Grain.
Total.
Qre.
Qrs.
One
A year
-
-
-
-
12,000,000
40,000,000
52,000,000
Six months
-
-
-
6,000,000
20,000,000
26,000,000
Three months -
-
-
3,000,000
10,000,000
13,000,000
Six weeks
-
-
-
1,500,000
5,000,000
6,500,000
One month
-
-
-
1,000,000
3,333,333
4,333,333
Two weeks
-
-
-
500,000
1,666,666
2,166,666
One week
-
-
-
250,000
833,333
1,083,333
One day
-
-
-
35,714
119,048
154,762
The total imports of foreign corn in 1831 amounted to 3,541,809 quarters, being the
largest quantity ever brought into Great Britain in any 1 year. Now, as this quantity does
not amount to one fourteenth part of the entire produce, it would seem as if the greatest
importation could have but a very slight influence on prices; but it has been already shown
that a very large proportion, perhaps a half, of the entire corn produced in the empire is
never brought to market, but is partly consumed by the agriculturist, and partly used as seed
and in the feeding of farm horses, &c. Hence, if we are nearly right in this estimate, it
follows that an importation of 3,500,000 quarters is really equivalent to about one seventh
part of the entire produce brought to market in an average year, and must consequently
have a very material influence in alleviating the pressure of scarcity in a bad year, and in
checking the rise of prices.
2. Regulations under which the Corn Trade of Great Britain is at present conducted-
These regulations are embodied in act 9 Geo. 4. c. 60., an abstract of which is sub-
joined:-
Sections 1. and 2. repeal the acts 55 Geo. 3. c. 26., 3 Geo. 4. c. 60., and 7 and 8 Geo. 4. c. 58., and so
much of the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 111. as imposes duties on the importation of buck-wheat and Indian corn.
Foreign Corn may be imported on Payment of the Duties specified.-And whereas it is expedient that
corn, grain, meal, and flour, the growth, produce, and manufacture of any foreign country, or of any
British possession out of Europe, should be allowed to be imported into the United Kingdom for con-
sumption, upon the payment of duties to be regulated from time to time according to the average price
of British corn made up and published in manner herein-after required be it therefore enacted, that
there shall be levied and paid to his Majesty, upon all corn, grain, meal, or flour entered for home
consumption in the United Kingdom from parts beyond the seas, the several duties specified and set
forth in the table annexed to this act; and that the said duties shall be raised, levied, collected, and
paid in such and the same manner in all respects as the several duties of customs mentioned and
enumerated in the table of duties of customs inwards annexed to the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 111.- 3.
The following is the table referred :-
L. d.
L 8. d.
If imported from any foreign Country.
Wheat According to the average price of wheat,
And in respect of every integral shilling by which
made up and published in manner required by law;
such price shall be above 25e., such duty shall be de-
videlicet,
creased by 1s. 6d., until such price shall be 31a.
Whenever such price shall be 62a. and under 63a. the
Whenever such price shall be at or above 31a., the du-
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
1 4 8
ty shall be for every quarter
0 0
Whenever such price shall be 63s. and under 64a. the
Whenever such price shall be under 25e. and not under
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
1 3 8
24. the duty shall be for every quarter
010 9
Whenever such price shall be 64s. and under 65a. the
And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part of
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
I 2 8
each integral shilling, by which such price shall be
Vhenever such price shall be 65a. and under 66e. the
under 24s., such duty shall be increased by Is. 6d.
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
1 8
Rye, Pens, and Beans -Whenever the average price
Whenever such price shall be 66a. and under 67s. the
of rye, or of peas, or of beans, made up and pub.
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
1 0 8
lished in manner required by law, shall be 36a. and
henever such price shall be 67a. and under 68s. the
under 37s. the quarter, the duty shall be for every
.
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
0 18 8
quarter
015.6
/henever such price shall be 68. and under 69a. the
And in respect of every integral shilling by which
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
0 16 8
such price shall be above 36s., such duty shall be de-
Whenever such price shall be 69. and under 70s. the
creased by 1a. 6d., until such price shall be 46s.
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
0 13 8
Whenever such price shall be at or above 46a., the
Whenever such price shall be 70s. and under 71s. the
duty shall be for every quarter
0 0
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
0 10 8
Whenever such price shall be under 36a. and not under
Whenever such price shall be 71s. and under 72a. the
35e., the duty shall be for every quarter
0 16 9
quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter
0 6 8
And in respect of each integral shilling. or any part of
-
Whenever such price shall be 72a. and under 73a. the
each integral shilling, by which such price shall be
quarter, the duty shall be for every quar'er
0 2 8
under 36a., such duty shall be increased by 1s. 6d.
Whenever such price shall be at or above 73a. the du-
Wheat Meal and Flour :-For every barrel, being
ty shall be for every quarter
0 1 0
196 lbs., a duty equal in amount to the duty payable
Whenever such price shall be under 62. and not under
on 38 1-2 gallons of wheat.
61s. the duty shall be for every quarter
1 5 8
Obtmeal:-For every quantity of 181 1-2 lbs., a duty
And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part
equal in amount to the duty payable on a quarter of
of each integral shilling by which such price shall
oats.
be under 61s, such duty shall be increased by Is.
Maize or Indian Corn, Buck-Wheat, Bear or Bigg :-
Barley:-Whenever the average price of barley, made
For every quarter, a duty equal in amount to the
up and published in manner required by law, shall
duty payable on a quarter of barley.
be 33r. and under 34s. the quarter, the duty shall be
for every quarter
0 12 4
If the Produce of and imported from any British
And in respect of every integral shilling by which
Possession in North America, or elsewhere out of
such price shall be above 33a, such duty shall be de-
Europe.
creased by 1s. Bd., until such price shall be 41a.
Wheat:-For every quarter
0 5 0
Whenever such price shall be at or above 41a. the du-
Until the price of British wheat, made up and pub.
ty shall be for every quarter
010
lished in the manner required by law, shall be 67s.
Whenever such price shall be under 33a. and not under
per quarter.
32., the duty shall be for every quarter
0 13 10
Whenever such price shall be at or above 618-, the
And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part of
duty shall be for every quarter
0 0 6
each integral shilling, by which such price shall be
Barley:- every quarter
020
under 32., such duty shall be increased by Is. 6d.
Until the price of British barley, made up and pat-
Outs:-Whenever the average price of nats, made up
lished in manner required by law, shall be 84a. per
and published in manner required by law, shall be
25e. and under 26a. the quarter, the duty shall be for
Whenever quarter. such price shall be at or above 34s., the
every quarter
093
duty shall be for every quarter
0 0 6
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500
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
Table of Duties-continued.
L & d.
L &
Oats :-For every quarter
0 2 6
Whenever such price shall be at or above 41a., the
Until the price of British cats, made up and pub-
duty shall be for every quarter
0 6
lished in manner required by law, shall be 25a. per
Wheat Meal and Flour :-For every barrel, being 196
quarter.
lbs., a duty equal in amount to the duty payable on
Whenever such price shall be at or above 25e., the
381 gallons of wheat.
duty shall be for every quarter
0 0 6
Ontmeal:-For every quantity of 1911 lbs., a duty
Rye, Pass, and Beans For every quarter
030
equal in amount to the duty payable on a quarter
Until the price of British rye, or of peas, or of beans,
of oats.
made up and published in manner required by law,
Maize or Indian Corn, Buck-Wheat, Bear, or Bags
shall be 41a.
For every quarter, a duty equal in amount to the
duty payable on a quarter of barley.
Regulations to be observed upon shipping Corn from any British possession out of Europe, &c-No
corn, grain, meal, or flour shall be shipped from any port in any British possession out of Europe, as
being the produce of any such possession, until the owner or proprietor or shipper thereof shall have
made and subscribed, before the collector or other chief officer of customs at the port of shipment, a
declaration in writing, specifying the quantity of each sort of such corn, grain, or flour, and that the
same was the produce of some British possession out of Europe to be named in such declaration, nor
until such owner or proprietor or shipper shall have obtained from the collector or other chief officer
of the customs at the said port a certificate, under his signature, of the quantity of corn, grain. meal,
or flour so declared to be shipped; and before any corn, grain, meal, or flour shall be entered at any
port or place in the United Kingdom, as being the produce of any British possession out of Europe, the
master of the ship importing the same shall produce and deliver to the collector or other chief officer
of customs of the port or place of importation a copy of such declaration, certified to be a true and
accurate copy thereof, under the hand of the collector or other chief officer of customs at the port of
shipment before whom the same was made, together with the certificate, signed by the said collector
or other chief officer of customs, of the quantity of corn so declared to be shipped; and such master
shall also make and subscribe, before the collector or other chief officer of customs at the port or place
of importation, a declaration in writing, that the several quantities of corn, grain, meal, or flour on
board such ship, and proposed to be entered under the authority of such declaration, are the same that
were mentioned and referred to in the declaration and certificate produced by him, without any admix-
ture or addition; and if any person shall, in any such declaration, wilfully and corruptly make any
false statement respecting the place of which any such corn, grain, meal, or flour was the produce, or
respecting the identity of any such corn, grain, meal, or flour, such person shall forfeit and become
liable to pay to his Majesty the sum of 1001., and the corn, grain, meal, or flour to such person belonging,
on board any such ship, shall also be forfeited and such forfeitures shall and may be sued for, prose-
cuted, recovered, and applied in such and the same manner in all respects as any forfeiture incurred
under and by virtue of the said act 6 Geo. 4. c. 111.: Provided always, that the declarations aforesaid
shall not be required in respect of any corn, grain, meal, or flour which shall have been shipped within
3 months next after the passing of this act.d 4.
Penalty for importing Malt or ground Corn.-It shall not be lawful to import, from parts beyond the
seas into the United Kingdom, for consumption there, any malt, or to import, for consumption into
Great Britain, any corn ground, except wheat meal, wheat flour, and oatmeal; or to import, for con-
sumption, any corn ground into Ireland; and that if any such article as aforesaid shall be imported
contrary to the provisions aforesaid, the same shall be forfeited.-d 5.
Account of Corn and Flour imported, &e. to be published in the Gazette monthly.-The commissioners of
his Majesty's customs shall, once in each calendar month, cause to be published in the London Ga-
zette an account of the total quantity of each sort of corn, grain, meal, and flour respectively, which
shall have been imported into the United Kingdom; and also an account of the total quantity of each
sort of the corn, grain, meal, and flour respectively, upon which the duties of importation shall have
been paid in the United Kingdom during the calendar month next preceding together with an account
of the total quantity of each sort of the said corn, grain, meal, and flour respectively remaining is
warehouse at the end of such next preceding calendar month.-δ.
Section 7. enacts, that if any foreign state shall subject British vessels, goods, &c., to any higher
duties or charges than are levied on the vessels, &c. of other countries, his Majesty may prohibit the
importation of corn from such state.
Weekly Returns of Purchases and Sales of Corn to be made in the Places herein mentioned.-And whereas
it is necessary, for regulating the amount of such duties, that effectual provision should be made for
ascertaining from time to time the average prices of British corn be it therefore enacted, that weekly
returns of the purchases and sales of British corn shall be made in the manner herein-after directed,
in the following cities and towns; (that is to say,) London, Uxbridge, Hertford, Royston, Chelmsford,
Colchester, Rumford, Maidstone, Canterbury, Dartford, Chichester, Guildford, Lewes, Rye, Bedford,
Windsor, Aylesbury, Ipswich, Woodbridge, Sudbury, Huntingdon, Hadleigh, Stowmarket, Bury Saint
Edmunds, Beccles, Bungay, Lowestoft, Cambridge, Ely, Wisbeach, Norwich, Yarmouth, Lynn. Thet-
ford, Watton, Diss, East Dereham, Harleston, Holt, Aylesham, Fakenham, North Walsham, Lincoln,
Gainsborough, Glanford Bridge, Lowth, Boston, Sleaford, Stamford, Spalding, Derby, Northampton,
Leicester, Nottingham, Worcester, Coventry, Reading, Oxford, Wakefield. Warminster, Birmingham,
Leeds, Newark, York, Bridlington, Beverley, Howden, Sheffield, Hull, Whitby, New Malton, Durham,
Stockton, Darlington, Sunderland, Barnard Castle, Walsingham, Belford, Hexham, Newcastle-upon-
Tyne, Morpeth, Alnwick, Berwick-upon-Tweed. Carlisle, Whitehaven, Cockermouth, Penrith, Egre-
mont, Appleby, Kirkby-in-Kendal, Liverpool, Ulverston, Lancaster, Preston, Wigan, Warrington,
Manchester, Bolton, Chester, Nantwich, Middlewich, Four Lane Ends, Denbigh, Wrexham, Carnar-
von, Haverford West. Carmarthen, Cardiff, Gloucester, Cirencester, Tedbury, Stow-on-the-Wold,
Tewkesbury, Bristol, Taunton, Wells, Bridgewater, Frome. Chard, Monmouth, Abergavenny. Chep-
stow, Pont-y-pool, Exeter, Barnstaple, Plymouth, Totness, Tavistock, Kingsbridge, Truro, Bodmin,
Launceston, Redruth, Helstone, Saint Austel, Blandford, Bridport, Dorchester, Sherbourne, Shaston,
Wareham, Winchester, Andover, Basingstoke, Fareham, Havant, Newport. Ringwood, Southampton,
and Portsmouth; and for the purpose of duly collecting and transmitting such weekly returns as
aforesaid, there shall be appointed in each of the said cities and towns, in manner herein-after
directed, a fit and proper person to be inspector of corn returns.-> 8.
Appointing Comptroller of Corn Returns.-It shall be lawful for his Majesty to appoint a fit and
proper person to be comptroller of corn returns, for the purposes herein-after mentioned, and to grant
to such comptroller of corn returns such salary and allowances as to his Majesty shall seem meet
Provided always, that such persons shall be appointed to and shall hold such his office during his
Majesty's pleasure, and not otherwise; and shall at all times conform to and obey such lawful instruc-
tions, touching the execution of the duties of such his office, as shall from time to time be given to him
by the Lords of the committee of privy council appointed for the consideration of all matters relating
to trade and foreign plantations.— 9.
Sections 10, 11, 12. embody the comptroller's oath, enact that he shall execute his office in person
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
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and not by deputy, provide for supplying his place during illness or absence, and authorise him to
send and receive letters relating exclusively to the duties of his office free of postage.
Sections 13. and 14. authorise the Lord Mayor and aldermen to appoint an inspector for the city of
London, who is to do the duty in person, &c.
Sections 15, 16. and 17. declare that no person shall be eligible to the office of corn inspector in the
city of London, who shall be engaged in trade as a miller, maltster, or corn factor, or be anywise con-
cerned in the buying of corn for sale, or in the sale of bread made thereof; they also embody the
oath the inspector is to take, and provide for the enrolment of his appointment.
Dealers in Corn in London to deliver in a Declaration to the Lord Mayor, &c.-Every person who shall
carry on trade or business in the city of London, or within 5 miles from the Royal Exchange in the
said city, as a corn factor, or as an agent employed in the sale of British corn, and every person who
shall sell any British corn within the present Corn Exchange in Mark Lane in the said city, or within
any other building or place which now is or may hereafter be used within the city of London, or
within 5 miles from the Royal Exchange in the said city, for such and the like purposes for which the
said Corn Exchange in Mark Lane hath been and is used, shall, before he or they shall carry on
trade or business, or sell any corn in manner aforesaid, make and deliver to the Lord Mayor, or one
of the aldermen of the city of London, a declaration in the following words (that is to say,)
A. B. do declare, that the returns to be by me made, conformably to an act passed in the ninth
year of the reign of King George the Fourth, intituled [here set forth the title of this act], of the quan-
tities and prices of British corn which henceforth shall be by or for me sold or delivered, shall, to the
best of my knowledge and belief, contain the whole quantity, and no more, of the corn bona fide sold
and delivered by or for me within the periods to which such returns respectively shall refer, with the
prices of such corn, and the names of the buyers respectively, and of the persons for whom such corn
shall have been sold by me respectively; and to the best of my judgment the said returns shall in all
respects be conformable to the provisions of the said act."
Which declaration shall be in writing, and shall be subscribed with the hand of the person so making
the same; and the Lord Mayor or such aldermen as aforesaid of the city of London for the time being
shall and he is hereby required to deliver a certificate thereof, under his hand, to the inspector of corn
returns for the city of London, to be by him registered in a book to be by him provided and kept for
that purpose.-d 18.
Dealers in Corn to make Returns to Corn Inspector.-Every such corn factor and other person as
aforesaid, who is herein-before required to make and who shall have made such declaration as afore-
said, shall and he or she is hereby required to return or cause to be returned, on Wednesday, in each
and every week, to the inspector of corn returns for the city of London, an account in writing, signed
with his or her own name, or the name of bis or her agent duly authorised in that behalf, of the quan-
tities of each respective sort of British corn by him or her sold during the week ending on and including
the next preceding Tuesday, with the prices thereof, and the amount of every parcel, with the total
quantity and value of each sort of corn, and by what measure or weight the same was sold, and the
names of the buyers thereof, and of the persons for and on behalf of whom such corn was sold; and
it shall and may be lawful for any such inspector of corn returns to deliver to any person making or
tendering any such returns a notice in writing, requiring him or her to declare and set forth therein
here and by whom and in what manner any such British corn was delivered to the purchaser or
purchasers thereof; and every person to whom any such notice shall be so delivered shall and he or
she is hereby required to comply therewith, and to declare and set forth in such his or her return the
several particulars aforesaid.- 19.
Sections 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24. authorise the appointment of corn inspectors in the places before-
mentioned, forbid those being employed as such who have within the preceding 12 months been
engaged in any department of the corn trade, or as a miller, or maltster, forbid those who are appointed
from engaging in such occupations, prescribe the oath they are to take, and provide for the enrolment
of their appointments, &c.
Dealers in Corn in Cities and Towns to make Declaration.-Every person who shall deal in British
corn at or within any such city or town as aforesaid, or who shall at or within any such city or town
engage in or carry on the trade or business of a corn factor, miller, maltster, brewer, or distiller, or
who shall be the owner or proprietor, or part owner or proprietor, of any stage coaches, wagons,
carts, or other carriages carrying goods or passengers for hire to and from any such city or town, and
each and every person who, as a merchant, clerk, agent, or otherwise, shall purchase at any such
city or town any British corn for sale, or for the sale of meal, flour, malt, or bread made or to be made
thereof, shall, before he or she shall 80 deal in British corn at any such city or town, or shall engage
in or carry on any such trade or business as aforesaid, or shall purchase any British corn for any such
purpose as aforesaid, at or within any such city or town, make and deliver, in manner herein-after
mentioned, a declaration in the following words; (that is to say,)
"I A. B. do declare, that the returns to be by me made conformably to the act passed in the ninth
year of the reign of King George the Fourth, intituled [here set forth the title of this act], of the quanti-
ties and prices of British corn which henceforward shall by or for me be bought, shall, to the best of
my knowledge and belief, contain the whole quantity, and no more, of the British corn bond fide bought
for or by me within the periods to which such returns respectively shall refer, with the prices of such
corn. and the names of the sellers respectively; and to the best of my judgment the said returns shall
in all respects be conformable to the provisions of the said act."
Which declaration shall be in writing, and shall be subscribed with the hand of the person so making
the same, and shall by him or her, or by his or her agent, be delivered to the mayor or chief magis-
trate, or to some justice of the peace for such city or town, or for the county, riding, or division in
which the same is situate, who are hereby required to deliver a certificate thereof to the inspector of
corn returns for any such city or town as aforesaid, to be by him registered in a book to be by him
provided and kept for that purpose.-> 25.
Inspectors empowered to require such Declaration from Corn Dealers.-It shall and may be lawful for
any inspector of corn returns for the city of London, or for any such other city or town as aforesaid, to
serve upon and deliver to any person buying or selling corn in any such city or town, and who is not
within the terms and meaning of this present act specially required to make any such declaration as
aforesaid, a notice in writing under the hand of such inspector, requiring him to make such declaration
as aforesaid; and any person upon whom such notice shall be served as aforesaid shall and he is
hereby required to comply with such notice, and to make such declaration in such and the same man-
ner in all respects as if he or she had been specially required to make the same by the express provi-
sions of this present act.- 26.
Corn Dealers to make Returns in Writing to Corn Inspectors.-All persons who are herein-before
required to make and who shall have made such declaration as aforesaid, shall and they are hereby
required, on the first market day which shall be holden in each and every week within each and every
such city or town as aforesaid at or within which they shall respectively deal in corn, or engage in or
carry on any such trade or business as aforesaid, or purchase any corn for any such purpose as afore-
said, to return or cause to be returned, to the inspector of corn returns for such city or town, an
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account in writing, signed with their names respectively, of the amount of each and every parcel of
each respective sort of British corn so by them respectively bought during the week ending on and
including the day next preceding such first market day as aforesaid, with the price thereof, and by
what weight or measure the same was so bought by them, with the names of the sellers of each of the
said parcels respectively, with the names of the person or persons, if any other than the person
making such return, for or on account of whom the same was so bought and sold and it shall and
may be lawful for any such inspector of corn returns to deliver to any person making or tendering
any such return a notice in writing, requiring him or her to declare and set forth therein where and
by whom and in what manner any such British corn was delivered to him or her and every person
to whom any such notice shall be delivered shall and he or she is hereby required to comply therewith,
and to declare and set forth in such his or her return, or in a separate statement in writing, the several
particulars aforessid.-d 27.
Inspector not to include Returns until he has ascertained that the Persons making them have taken the
Declaration required.-No inspector of corn returns shall include, in the return 80 to be made by them
as aforesaid to the comptroller of corn returns, any account of sales or purchases of corn, unless such
inspector shall have received satisfactory proof that the person or persons tendering such accounts
bath made the declaration herein-before required, and hath delivered the same to the mayor or chief
magistrate or to some justice of the peace of the city or town for which such inspector shall be 50
appointed to act, or to some justice of the peace for the county, riding, or division in which such city
or town is situate. 28.
Inspector to enter Returns made to him in a Book, &c.-Every inspector of corn returns shall duly and
regularly enter, in a book to be by him provided and kept for that purpose, the several accounts of the
quantities and prices of corn returned to him by such persons respectively as aforesaid; and every
such inspector of corn returns for the city of London, and for the several other cities and towns afore-
said, shall in each and every week return to the comptroller of corn returns an account of the weekly
quantities and prices of the several sorts of British corn sold in the city or town for which he is
appointed inspector, according to the returns 80 made to him as aforesaid, and in such form as shall
be from time to time prescribed and directed by the said comptroller of corn returns; and the said
returns shall be so made to the said comptroller by the inspector of corn returns for the city of London
on Friday in each week, and by the inspector of corn returns for the several other cities and towns as
aforesaid within 3 days next after the first market day holden in each and every week in any such
city or town.-d 29.
Average Prices to be made up and published every Week.-The average prices of all British corn, by
which the rate and amount of the said duties shall be regulated, shall be made up and computed on
Thursday in each and every week in manner following; (that is to say,) the said comptroller of corn
returns shall on such Thursday in each week, from the returns received by him during the week
next preceding, ending on and including the Saturday in such preceding week, add together the total
quantities of each sort of British corn respectively appearing by such returns to have been sold. and
the total prices for which the same shall thereby appear to have been sold, and shall divide the amount
of such total prices respectively by the amount of such total quantities of each sort of British corn
respectively, and the sum produced thereby shall be added to the sums in like manner produced in the
5 weeks immediately preceding the same, and the amount of such sums SO added shall be divided by
6, and the sum thereby given shall be deemed and taken to be the aggregate average price of each
such sort of British corn respectively, for the purpose of regulating and ascertaining the rate and
amount of the said duties: and the said comptroller of corn returns shall cause such aggregate weekly
averages to be published in the next succeeding Gazette, and shall on Thursday in each week trans-
mit a certificate of such aggregate average prices of each sort of British corn to the collector or other
chief officer of the customs at each of the several ports of the United Kingdom; and the rate and
amount of the duties to be paid under the provisions of this act shall from time to time be regulated
and governed at each of the ports of the United Kingdom respectively by the aggregate average prices
of British corn at the time of the entry for home consumption of any corn, grain, meal, or flour charge-
able with any such duty, as such aggregate average prices shall appear and be stated in the last of
such certificates as aforesaid which shall have been received as aforesaid by the collector or other
chief officer of customs at such port.-d 30.
How Quantities of Corn are to be computed.-In the returns 80 to be made as aforesaid to the comp-
troller of corn returns, and in the publications so to be made from time to time in the London Gazette,
and in the certificate 80 to be transmitted by the said comptroller of corn returns to such collectors or
other chief officers of the customs as aforesaid, the quantities of each sort of British corn respectively
shall be computed and set forth by, according, and with reference to the imperial standard gal-
lon.-d 31.
Comptroller may use the present Averages.-Until a sufficient number of weekly returns shall have
been received by the said comptroller of corn returns under this act, to afford such aggregate average
prices of British corn as aforesaid, the weekly average prices of British corn published by him imme-
diately before the passing of this act shall by him be used and referred to in making such calculations
as aforesaid, in such and the same manner as if the same had been made up and taken under and in
pursuance of this act.-d 32.
What shall be deemed British Corn.-All corn or grain, the produce of the United Kingdom, shall be
deemed and taken to be British corn for the purposes of this act.-d 33.
Provisions of this Act may be applied to any Town in the United Kingdom.-For the purpose of ascer-
taining the average price of corn and grain sold within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire-
land, it shall and may be lawful for his Majesty, by any order or orders to be by him made, by and
with the advice of his privy council, to direct that the provisions of this act, so far as regards the
appointment of inspectors and the making of weekly returns, shall be applicable to any cities or towns
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which shall be named in any such order or
orders in council Provided always, that the returns so received from such towns shall not be admitted
into the averages made up for the purpose of regulating the duties payable upon foreign corn, grain,
meal, or flour.-d 34.
Section 35, provides for the continuance in office of the present comptrollers and inspectors.
If returns are untrue, Comptroller to lay a Statement thereof before the Committee of Pricy Council-
If the said comptroller of corn returns shall at any time see cause to believe that any return so to be
made as aforesaid to any such inspector of corn returns for the city of London, or for any other such
city or town as aforesaid, is fraudulent or untrue, the said comptroller shall and he is hereby required,
with all convenient expedition, to lay before the Lords of the said committee of privy council a state-
ment of the grounds of such his belief; and if, upon consideration of any such statement, the said
Lords of the said committee shall direct the said comptroller to omit any such return in the computs-
tion of such aggregate weekly average price as aforesaid, then and in that case, but not otherwise,
the said comptroller of corn returns shall and he is hereby authorised to omit any such return in the
computation of such aggregate weekly average price.-Φ 36.
Section 37, enacts, that corn dealers having made the declaration previous to this act shall transmit
returns and comply with the rules hereby required.
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
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Comptroller to issue Directions respecting Inspection of Books of Inspectors.-The comptroller of corn
returns shall and he is hereby authorised from time to time, in pursuance of any instructions which
he shall receive in that behalf from the Lords of the said committee of privy council to issue to the
several inspectors of corn returns any general or special directions respecting the inspection by any
person or persons of the books so directed as aforesaid to be kept by every such inspector of corn re-
turns; and no such inspector as aforesaid shall permit or suffer any person to inspect any such book,
or to peruse or transcribe any entry therein, except in compliance with some such general or special
directions from the said comptroller of corn returns as aforesaid.-d 38.
Copy of the last Return to be affixed on Market Place on each Market Day.-Each and every inspector
of corn returns shall and he is hereby required on each and every market day to put up or cause to
be put up in the market place of the city or town for which he shall be appointed inspector. or if there
shall be no market place in such city or town, then in some other conspicuous place therein, a copy
of the last return made by him to the comptroller of corn returns, omitting the names of the parties
who may have sold and bought the said corn; and every such inspector shall also again put up such
account on the market day immediately following that on which it shall first have been put up, in case
the same shall from accident or any other cause have been removed, and shall take due care that the
same shall remain up for public inspection until a new account for the ensuing week shall have been
prepared and set up.-d 39.
Sections 40, and 41, relate to the payment of comptrollers and inspectors.
Penalty on Corn Dealers for not making Declarations or Returns.-If any person who is hereby re-
quired to make and deliver the declaration or declarations herein-before particularly mentioned and
met forth, or either of them, shall not make and deliver such declaration or declarations the time, and
in the form and manner, and to the person or persons, herein-before directed and prescribed in that
behalf, every person 80 offending shall forfeit and pay the sum of 201. for each and every calender
month during which he shall neglect or delay to make and deliver any such declaration and if any
person who is herein-before required to make any return to any such inspector of corn returns as
aforesaid shall not make such returns to such inspector, at the time and in the form and manner
herein-before directed and prescribed, every such offender shall for such his offence forfeit and pay
the sum of 201.-d 42.
Sections 43, 44, and 45, regard the recovery and application of penalties, and impose a fine, not ex-
ceeding 10t., on any person, lawfully summoned as a witness touching any matter of fact under this
act, who refuses to attend without reasonable excuse.
Punishment for making fulse Returns.-If any person shall make any false and fraudulent statement
in any such return as he is herein-before directed and required to make, or shall falsely and wilfully
include, or procure or cause to be included, in any such return, any British corn which was not truly
and bona fide sold or bought to, by, or on behalf of the person or persons in any such return mentioned
in that behalf, in the quantity and for the price therein stated and set forth, every such offender shall
be and be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor.— 46.
Act not to affect the Practice of measuring or Privileges of the City of London.-Nothing in this act
contained shall extend to alter the present practice of measuring corn, or any of the articles afore-
said, to be shipped from or to be landed in the port of London, but that the same shall be measured by
the sworn meters appointed for that purpose, by whose certificate the searchers or other proper offi-
cers of his Majesty's customs are hereby empowered and required to certify the quantity of corn or
other articles as aforesaid 80 shipped or landed and that nothing in this act contained shall extend
to lessen or take away the rights and privileges of, or the tolls or duties due and payable to, the
mayor and commonalty and citizens of the city of London, or to the mayor of the said city for the
time being, or to take away the privileges of any persons lawfully deriving title from or under
them.- 47.
Limitation of Actions.-Actions brought or commenced under this act must be within three months
after the matter or thing done. Defendants may plead the general issue; and if judgment be given
against the plaintiff, defendants shall have treble costs.-d 48.
We have, in the previous parts of this article, sufficiently illustrated the impolicy,
generally speaking, of imposing duties on the importation of corn; but besides the objections
that may be made to all duties of this sort, from their tendency to force up average prices,
and to render exportation in abundant years impossible, the duty now existing in this
country is liable to some which may be looked upon as peculiar to itself. From the way
in which it is graduated, it introduces a new element of uncertainty into every transaction
connected, with the corn trade; producing a disinclination on the part of the merchant to
import, and of the foreigner to raise corn for our markets. Suppose a merchant commissions
a cargo of wheat when the price is at 71s. a quarter; in the event of the price declining
only 3s., or to 68s., the duty will rise from 6s. 8d. to 16s. 8d.; so that if the merchant
brings the grain to market, he will realise 13s. 8d. a quarter less than he expected, and 10s.
less than he would have done had there been no duty, or the duty been constant
It may, perhaps, be said that if, on the one hand, the present scale of duties is injurious
to the merchant when prices are falling, and when importation is consequently either
unnecessary or of less advantage, it is, on the other hand, equally advantageous to him
when prices are rising, and when the public interests require that importation should be
encouraged but the prices in the view of the merchant when he gives an order, are usually
such as he supposes will yield a fair profit; and if they rise, this rise would, supposing the
duty to be constant, yield such an extra profit as would of itself induce him to increase his
importation to the utmost. If it were possible to devise a system that would diminish the
losses of the merchants engaged in unfavourable speculations, by making a proportional
deduction from the extraordinary gains of those whose speculations turn out to be unusually
successful, something, perhaps, might be found to say in its favour. But the system we
have been considering proceeds on quite opposite principles its effect is not to diminish
risks, but to increase them; it adds to the loss resulting from an unsuccessful, and to
the profit resulting from a successful, speculation
It would, therefore, seem, that if a duty is to be imposed, one that is constant is preferable
to one that fluctuates. When the duty is constant, all classes, farmers as well as merchants,
are aware of its amount, and can previously calculate the extent of its influence. But the
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
effect of a duty that fluctuates with the fluctuations of price, can never be appreciated
beforehand. Its magnitude depends on contingent and accidental circumstances ; and it must,
therefore, of necessity, prejudice the interests of the farmer as well as of the corn dealer.-
[See page 508.]
3. TABLES SHOWING THE PRICES OF THE DIFFERENT SORTS OF GRAIN IN GREAT BRI-
TAIN, THE QUANTITIES IMPORTED AND EXPORTED, &c.
I. Account of the Prices of Middling or Mealing Wheat per Quarter at Windsor Market, as ascer-
tained by the Audit-Books of Eton College.
Average
Average
Average
Prices of
Prices of
of Ten
Prices of
Prices of
of Ten
Prices of
Prices of
of Ten
Wheat at
Wheat re-
Years ac-
Wheat at
Wheat re-
Years ac-
Wheat at
Wheat re-
Years ac-
Windsor,
duced to the
cording to
Windsor,
duced to the
cording to
Windsor,
duced to the
cording to
Years.
9 Gallons
Winchester
the Win-
Years.
9 Gallons
Winchester
the Win-
Years.
9 Gallons
Winchester
the Win-
to the
Bushel of
chester
to the
Bushel of
chester
to the
Bushel of
chester
Bushel.
8 Gallons.
Bushel of
Bushel.
8 Gallons.
Bushel of
Bushel.
8 Gallons.
Busbel of
8 Gallons.
8 Gallons.
8 Gallons.
£ s. d.
£ s.d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
1646
280
2 2 8
1707
1 8 6
1 5 4
1767
346
2
17
4
1647
3 13 8
3
5
5%
1708
2 1 6
1 16 10%
1768
306
2
13
91
1648
45 0
3
15
67
1709
3
18
6
3 9 94
1769 258 2 0 7
1649
4 0 0
3
11
11
1710
3
18
0
3
9
4
1770 2 9 0 2 3 64
1650
3 16 8
3
8
14
1711
2
14
0
2
8
0
1771 2 17 0 2 10 8
1651
3
13
4
3
5
21
1712
2
6
4
2
1
21
1772 360 2 18 8
1652
296
2
4
0
1713
2
11
0
2 5 4
1773 366 2 19 11
1653
1 15 6
1
11
6%
1714
2
10
4
2 4 9
1774
320
2
15
11
1654
1 6 0
1
3
11
1715
2
3
0
1 18 21
2424
1775
2 17 8
2
11
3½
2
11
31
1655
1
13
4
1
9
71
2 11 74
1716
2
8
0
2 2 8
1776 280 2 2 8
1656
230
1
18
21
1717
258
2 0 74
1777
2150
2
8
103
1657
268
2
1
51
1718
1 18 10
1 14 61
1778 296 2 4 0
1658
350
2
17
91/4
1719
1
15
0
1
11
11
1779 208 1 16 11
1659
360
2
18
8
1720
1
17
0
1 12 10
1780 286 2 3 1½
1660
2
16
6
2
10
24
1721
1
17
6
1
13
4
1781 2 19 0 2 12 51
1661 3 10 0 3 2 21
1722
1
16
0
1
12
0
1782
3
0
6
2
13
91
1662
3 14 0 3 5 9+
1723
1
14
8
1
10
10%
1783 3 1 0 2 14 21
1663
2 17 0 2 10 8
1724
1
17
0
1
12
10%
1784
3
0
6
2
13
91/4
1664
2 0 6
1
16
0
1725
2
8
6
2 3 14
1
15
44
1785
2
14
0
2
8
0
2781
1665
2 9 4
2
3
10
2
10
51
1726
2 6 0
2010
1786 2 7 6 2 2 21
1666
1
15
0
1
12
0
1727
220
I
17
4
1787 2 11 6 2 5 92
1667
1
16
0
1
12
0
1728
214 6
2 8 51
1788 2 15 6 2 9 4
1668
2 0 0
1
15
61
1729
2 6 10
2 1 71
1789 332 2 16 11
1669
244
1
19
5
1730
116 6
1
12
51/4
1790
332
2
16
11
1670
218
1
17
01
1731
1 12 10
1 9 2½
1791
2 15
6
2 9 4
1671
220
1
17
4
1732
168
1
3
81
1792*
-
2 13 0
1672
2 1 0
1
16
51/4
1733
184
1 5 21/4
1793
-
2 15 8
1673
2
6
8
2
1
57
1734
1 18 10
1
14
61
1794
-
2140
1674
388
3
1
of
1735
230
]
18
24
1 15 2
1795
-
4 1 6
2 14 38
1675
348
2
17
57
2 0 112
1736
2 0 4
1 15 101/-
1796
-
4 0 2
1676
1
18
0
1
13
91
1737
1
18
0
1
13
91/4
1797
-
3 2 0
1677
2
2
0
1
17
4
1738
1
15
6
1
11
64
1798
-
2 14 0
1678
2
19
0
2
12
51
1739
1
18
6
1
14
27
1799
-
3 15 8
1679
3 0 0
2
13
4
1740
2
10
8
2 5 1 t
1800
-
6 7 0
1680
2
5
0
2 0 0
1741
26
8
2 1 5%
1801
-
6 8 6
1681
268 2 1 57
1742
1
14
0
1
10
21
1802
-
3 7 2
1682
240
1
19
1½
1743
1
4
10
121
1803
-
3 0 0
1683
200
1
15
67
1744
1
4 10
1
2
1
1804
-
3 9 6
1684
240
1
19
11
1745
1 7 6
1
4
51/4
1121
1805
-
4 8 0
412
1685
2
6
8
2
1
5%
2141
1746
1 19 0
1148
1806
-
4 3 0
1686
1
14
0
1
10
21
1747
1
14
10
1 10 111
1807
-
3180
1687
1
5
2
1
2
41
1748
1
17
0
1 12 101
1808
-
3 19 2
1688
260
2 0 101
1749
1
17
0
1 12 101
1809
-
5 6 0
1689
1
10
0
1
6
8
1750
1
12
6
1 8 10%
1810
-
5 12 0
1690
1
14
8
1
10
97
1751
1
18
6
1
14
21
1811
-
5 8 0
1691
1
14
0
I
10
24
1752
2 1 10
1
17
21
1812
-
6 8 0
1692 268 2 1 54
1753
2
y
8
1
19
81
1813
-
6 0 0
1693
3 7 8 3 0 11
1754
1
14
8
1
10
91
1814
-
4.5 0
1694
340
2
16
104
1755
1
13
10
1 10
1
1121
1815
-
3 16 0
4 17 6
1695
2
13
0
2
7
11
1 19 61
1756
2
5
2
2 0 11
1816
I
42 0
1696 3 11 0 3 3 11
1757
3
0
0
2 13 4
1817
-
5 16 0
1697
3 0 0 2 13 4
1758 2 10 0 2 4 51/4
1818
-
4 18 0
1698
3 8 4 3 0 9
1759
1
19
8
1
15
3
1819
-
3 18 0
1699
340
2
16
101
1760
I
16
6
1
12
51
1820
-
3 16 0
1700
200
1
15
6%
1761
1 10
2
1
6
91
1821
-
3 11 0
1701
1
17
8
1
13
51
1762
1 19
0
1
14
8
1822
I
2 13 0
1702 1 9 6 1 6 24
1763 2 0 8 1 16 11
1823
-
2 17 0
1703
1
16
0
1
12
0
1764
2
6
8
2
1
51
1824
-
3 12 0
1704 266 2 1 4
1765
2
14
0
2
8
0
1
19
34
1825
-
4 4 0
3 18 81
1705
1
10
0
1
6
8
2 2 11
1766
2
8
6
2
3
11.
1826
-
3 13 0
1706
1
6
0
1
3
11
The Eton Account of Prices commenced in 1595; the accuracy of the returns in the first years can-
not, however, be so implicitly relied on, as those quoted above.-Bishop Fleetwood and Sir F. M. Eden
have collected, with great industry, almost all the existing information respecting the state of prices
in England during the last six hundred years.
* From this year, inclusive, the account at Eton College has been kept according to the bushel of 8
gallons under the provision of the act 31 Geo. 3. c. 30. e 82.
Digitized by Google
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
505
N. Account of the Average Prices of British Corn per Winchester Quarter, in England and Wales,
since 1771, as ascertained by the Receiver of Corn Returns.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Beans.
Peas.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
1771
2 7 2
1 14 4
1 5 8
o 16 8
1 8 6
1772
2 10 8
168
154
0162
1 10
0
1773
2110
134
1 8 4
017 2
1 13 0
1774
2128
1 14 4
I 8 6
0 17 10
1 11 2
1775
2 8 4
1 12 10
1 6 0
0 16 6
1 8 8
1776
1 18 2
1610
1 0 2
0 15 0
I 6 6
1777
2 5 6
180
1 0 6
0 15 8
1 8 6
1778
$ 2 0
1 8 4
1 $ 8
0 15 2
1 7 8
1779
1 13 8
1 3 4
0196
0140
1 4 2
1780
1 15 8
1 2 $
0 17 0
0 12 10
1 2 $
1781
2 4 8
1 6 10
0 17 %
0 13 8
1 3 0
1782
2 7 10
1 8 10
186
0152
1 6 0
till 1792.
1783
$ 12 8
1 15 8
1 10 4
0 19 10
I 14 10
1784
2 8 10
122
1 7 10
0 18 4
1 12 2
1785
$ 11 10
1 8 o
1 4 0
0 17 $
1 10 8
1786
1 18 10
1 7 2
144
0180
1 13 2
No account kept of the price of peas
1787
2 1 2
1 7 8
128
0168
1 11 10
1788
$ 5 0
1 7 8
1 20
0 15 8
1 7 2
1789
$ 11 2
1 9 10
1 8 10
0 16 0
1 7 $
1790
2 13 2
1 14 0
156
0 18 10
1 11 0
1791
$ 7 2
1 11 4
1 5 10
0 18 %
1 10 6
1792
2 2 11
1 10 8
169
0 17 10
1 11 7
1 12 8
1793
$ 8 11
1 15 11
1 11 9
1 1 3
1 17 8
1 18 4
1794
$ 11 8
1 17 9
1 12 10
1 $ 0
$ $ 6
2 6 8
1795
3 14 2
2 8 5
1 17 8
1 4 9
268
2 13 4
1796
3 17 1
2 7 0
1 15 7
1 1 9
1 18 10
2 3 6
1797
2 13 1
1 11 11
1 7 9
0 16 9
1 7 6
1 13 5
1798
2 10 3
1 10 11
1 9 1
0 19 10
1 10 1
1 13 11
1799
3 7 6
2 3 9
160
1 7 7
247
2 5 $
1800
5 13 7
3 16 11
3 0 0
1 19 10
3 9 3
3 7 5
1801
5 18 3
3 19 9
3 7 9
1 16 6
328
3 7 8
1802
3 7 5
2 3 3
1 13 1
1 0 7
1 16 4
1 19 6
1803
2 16 6
1 16 11
1 4 10
1 1 3
1 14 8
1 18 6
1804
3 0 1
1 17 1
1 10 4
139
1 18 7
2 0 10
1805
4 7 10
2 14 4
248
1 8 0
275
2 8 4
1806
3 19 0
2 7 4
186
1 5 8
2 3 9
2 3 6
1807
3 13 3
$ 7 6
1 18 4
1 8 1
$ 7 3
2 15 11
1808
3 19 0
2 12 4
2 2 1
1 13 8
3 0 8
3 6 7
1809
4 15 7
3 0 9
$ 7 3
1 12 8
3 0 9
3 0 2
1810
5 6 2
2 19 0
$ 7 11
1 9 4
2 13 7
2 15 9
1811
4 14 6
2 9 11
2 1 10
1 7 11
2 7 10
2 11 6
1812
6 5 5
3 15 11
366
$ 4 0
3 12 8
3 13 7
1813
5 8 9
3 10 7
2 18 4
1 19 5
3 16 5
3 18 6
1814
8 14 0
246
1 17 4
1 6 6
26 7
2 10 0
1815
3 4 4
1 17 10
1 10 3
1 3 10
1 16 1
1 18 10
1816
3 15 10
$ 3 $
1 13 5
1 3 6
1 18 4
1 18 4
1817
4 14 9
2 16 6
2 8 3
1 12 1
2120
$ 11 5
1818
4 4 1
2 14 10
2 13 6
1 12 11
3 3 1
2 19 11
1819
3 13 0
2 9 0
2 6 8
1 9 4
2 15 5
2160
III. Account of the Average Prices of British Corn per Imperial Quarter, in England and Wales, since
1820, as ascertained by the Receiver of Corn Returns.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Beans.
Peas.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
£ #. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
1820
3 7 11
2 2 0
1 13 10
1 4 9
2 3 4
2 5 11
1821
2 16 2
1 12 1
1 6 0
0 19 6
1 10 11
I 12 9
1822
2 4 7
1 0 11
1 1 11
0 18 2
1 4 6
1 6 5
1823
2 13 5
1 11 11
1 11 7
1 2 11
1 13 1
1 15 0
1824
3 4 0
2 1 5
1 16 5
1 4 10
2 0 1
2 0 8
1825
3 8 7
$ 2 4
201
1 5 8
2 10
$ 5 5
1826
2 18 9
212
1 14 5
1 6 9
243
2 7 8
1827
2 16 9
19 0
166
1 7 4
2 7 7
$ 7 7
1828
3 0 5
1 14 2
1 12 10
1 2 6
1 18 4
2 0 6
1829
3 6 3
1 14 10
126
1 $ 9
1 16 8
1 16 8
1830
3 4 3
1 15 10
1 12 7
1 4 5
1 16 1
1 19 2
1831
3 6 4
2 0 0
180
154
1 19 10
2 1 11
1832
2 18 8
1 14 7
1 13 1
1 0 5
1 15 4
1 17 0
1833
2 12 11
1 12 11
1 7 6
0 18 5
1 13 2
1 16 5
1834
2 6 2
1 12 9
1 9 0
1011
153
1 19 4
1835
1 19 4
1 10 4
1 9 11
1 2 0
1 16 11
1 16
6
N. B.-The Winchester bushel contains 2150.42 cubic inches, while the Imperial bushel contains
2218 192 cubic inches, being about one thirty-secondth part larger than the former.-(See BUSHEL, and
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
The following account of the current prices of all sorts of corn in the London market, 7th of October,
1833, is interesting, from its showing their comparative values, and the estimation in which they are
held:-
VoL. L-2 U
64
Digitized by Google
506
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
IV.-Current Prices of Grain, Seeds, &c. per Imperial Quarter. London, 7th of October, 1833.
British.
Per Quar
Free
In Bond.
ter.
Foreign.
Per Qr.
Per Qr.
8.
a.
8.
8.
a
&
Wheat, Emex, Kent, and Suffibik, old red
54 to 56
Wheat, Dantzic and Konigsberg, finest
do.
do.
white
60 62
high mixed
66 to 68
48 to
do.
do.
new red
51 - 53
do. good mixed
56 - 58
45
48
do.
do.
white
65 59
do. red mixed
52 - 56
35
40
Norfolk and Lincolnshire, old
47 - 54
Stettin
0 - 0
0 - 0
Northumberland, Berwick, and Scotch, do.
50 - 54
Danish
0 - 0
27 32
Galway and Limerick, white and red
46 - 48
Hamburgh and Pomeranian
52 56
0 - 0
Cork and Youghal
do.
46 - 48
Zealand and Brabant
0
-
0
0-6
Dublin, Waterford, and Clonmel, do.
46 48
Odessa, soft
46 - 49
22
Rye, New
34 36
Riga, Petersburgh, and Liebas,
Barley, Kent, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, new
32 35
soft
45 - 48
0
Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire
do.
0 - 0
Archangel
38 - 40
0
stained and grinding
do.
27 30
Tuscan, red
58 - 60
-
0
Scotch
0 0
Canada
58 - 61 55
Malt, Basex, Norfolk, and Suffolk
50 60
Spenish, soft
56 - 62 - 0
Kingston and Ware
63 65
Buck or brank
32
-
34
0
0
Oats, Nortolk. Cambridgeshire, Lincolishire, ? feed
Indian corn
32
-
35
and Yorkshire
19 21
0
Rye, Baltic, dried
30 - 32
0
do.
Poland
20 22
do.
undried
31 - 32
22 24
Northemberland, Berwick, and Scotch
potato
24 25
Barley, Hamburgh, Dantric, Konigaberg,
do.
feed
23 24
and Riga, malting
0
-
0
0
Devonshire, and West Country feed, or black
18 20
do. grinding
0
-
0
0-0
Dundalk, Newry, and Belfast, potato, 21s. to
Danish do.
0 - 0 0 - 0
22s. 6d.
feed
19 - 21
Oats, Dutch brew and thick
21 - 22 14 16
Limerick, Sligo, and Westport,
feed
18 20
Danish
16 - 19 11 - 12
do.
potato
20 28
Friesland brew and thick
20 - 21 - 0
Cork, Waterford, Dublin, ? black
17 19
Russian
20 - 21
- 0
Youghal, and Clonmel s white
19 21
Beans, tick
32 - 34
- 0
Galway
18 20
amall
0
-
0
23 - 24
Beans, tick, new
29 32
Mediterranean
0 - 0 0 - 0
old
34 36
Peas, white, boiling
42 - 45
32
36
harrow and small, new
33 35
grey or hog
0 -
0
- 0
do
old
37 - 39
Tares, (duty 10s.)
0
-
0
0-0
Peas, boiling
44 - 46
Flour, Dantxic, per barrel
0
-
0
-
0
hog, grey, and maple
38 42
American, sour do.
0
-
0
21 -
Tares
40 44
do.
sweet, do.
0
-
0
25
-
28
Flour, English, per sack of 2S0 lbs.
42 45
do. fine do.
46 50
Scotch and North Country
41 43
L
a
L
&
Irish
41 44
Linseed, Russian, creshing (duty 1a. per quarter),
Linseed, crushing, per quarter
0 0
per quarter
20688
sowing, do.
do.
0 0
sowing, per barrel
0 0 00
cake, per 1,000 of 3 lbs. each, 11L to 111. 10s.
Mediterranean, per quarter
2 8 - 8 12
Cloversed, old English white, per cwt.
58 62
Rapeseed (duty 1s. per qr.), crushing, new, per
do.
red
do.
46 56
quarter
22 0 - 24 0
foreign white do.
56 66
Linseed cake (duty 2d. per cwt ), per for
7 0 - 80
do.
red
do.
52 64
Rape cake (duty 2d. per cwt.), do.
410 - 415
new English white, do.
56 66
Cloverseed, red (duty 20. per cwt.), per ton
810 36
do.
red
do.
40 56
white (duty 20s. per cwt.) do.
2 12 - 3 10
Trefoil, new
do.
24 30
Rapeseed, crushing, new, per last, 221. to 251.
cake, per ton, 4a. 10s. to 51.
V.-Account of the Quantity of Wheat and Wheat Flour exported, and of Foreign Wheat and Wheat
Flour imported, in the following Years (Winchester Measure).
Wheat and
Foreign
Wheat and
Foreign
Years.
Wheat and
Wheat and
Foreign
Years.
Flour
Wheat and
Flour
Flour
Flour
Years.
Flour
Wheat and
exported.
exported.
Flour
imported.
imported.
exported.
imported.
England.
Qrs.
Qrs.
England.
Qrs.
Qrs.
Gt. Britain.
Qrs.
Qrs.
1697
14,699
400
1732
202,058
1766
164,939
11,020
1698
6,857
845
1733
427,199
7
1767
5,071
497,905
1699
557
486
1734
498,196
6
1768
7,433
349,268
1700
49,056
5
1735
153,343
9
1769
49,892
4,378
1701
98,324
1
1736
118,170
16
1770
75,449
34
1702
90,230
1737
461,602
32
1771
10,089
2,510
1703
166,615
50
1738
580,596
2
1772
6,959
25,474
1704
90,313
2
1739
279,542
5,423
1773
7,637
56,857
1705
96,185
1740
54,390
7,568
1774
15,928
289,149
1706
188,332
77
1741
45,417
40
1775
91,037
560,988
1707
74,155
1742
293,260
1
1776
210,664
20,578
1708
83,406
86
1743
371,431
2
1777
87,686
233,323
1709
169,680
1,552
1744
231,984
2
1778
141,070
106,394
1710
13,924
400
1745
324,839
6
1779
222,261
5,039
1711
76,949
1746
130,646
1780
224,059
3,915
1712
145,191
1747
266,907
1781
103,021
159,866
1713
176,227
1748
543,387
385
1782
145,152
80,695
1714
174,821
16
1749
629,049
382
1783
51,943
584,183
1715
166,490
1750
947,602
279
1784
89,288
216,947
1716
74,926
1751
661,416
3
1785
132,685
110,863
1717
22,954
1752
429,279
1786
205,466
51,463
1718
71,800
1753
299,609
1787
120,536
59,339
1719
127,762
20
1754
356,270
201
1788
82,971
148,710
1720
83,084
Gt. Britain.
1789
140,014
112,656
1721
81,633
1755
237,466
1790
30,892
222,557
1722
178,880
1756
102,752
5
1791
70,626
469,056
1723
157,720
1757
11,545
141,562
1792
300,278
622,417
1724
245,865
148
1758
9,234
20,353
1793
76,629
490,398
1725
204,413
12
1759
227,641
162
1794
155,048
327,902
1726
142,183
1760
393,614
3
1795
18,839
313,793
1727
30,315
1761
441,956
1796
24,679
879,200
1728
3,817
74,574
1762
295,385
56
1797
54,525
461,767
1729
18,993
40,315
1763
429,538
72
1798
59,782
396,721
1730
93,971
76
1764
396,857
1
1799
39,362
463,185
1731
130,025
4
1765
167,126
104,547
1800
22,013
1,264,520
Digitized by Google
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
507
VI.-Account specifying the Total Quantities of all Sorts of Grain imported into Great Britain, from
different Countries, in each Year, from 1801 to 1825, both inclusive ; the Average Quantity of all
Sorts of Grain, and the Average Quantity of each particular Species of Grain, as Wheat, Rye, Bar-
ley, &c., imported in each of the above Years, from each different Country, in Winchester Quarters.
Other
France
British
Sweden
Den-
Ger-
The
United
Foreign
and
North
Years.
Russia.
and
mark.
Prussis.
Nether-
South of
States of
Countries,
many.
American
1. of Man
Ireland.
Norway
lands.
Europe.
America.
Colonies.
and Prise
Corn.
1801
204,656
26,375
7,088
663,584
699,340
351,330
3,223
372,151
67,724
10,074
900
1802
12,870
10,961
3,882
377,984
151,363
103,194
2,032
80,820
75,172
856
467,067
1803
16,448
540
8,619
171,001
161,147
81,758
1,565
109,832
43,245
1,782
343,548
1804
8,215
19,931
31,029
531,364
138,810
170,977
168
4,351
21,214
4,576
316,958
1805
173,874
25,859
52,837
702,605
126,146
72,516
2,794
13,475
2,250
8,511
306,923
1806
57,416
-
10,284
90,040
108,581
29,949
3,790
79,906
9,801
5,613
466,947
1807
6,183
110
74,049
22,890
141,537
237,523
32,113
250,866
27,693
18,996
463.406
1808
3,664
195
1,800
-
29,998
18,137
11,736
13,206
21,506
12,236
656,770
1809
14,089
2,348
9,027
2,015
169,655
328,582
30,848
172,878
23,737
20,848
933,658
1810
66,869
87,961
132,287
316,224
255,475
436,286
241,345
98,361
25,938
28,465
632,849
1811
49,597
40,391
45,127
97,886
2,429
-
5,167
18,097
440
15,934
430,189
1812
128,437
14,919
52,302
9,063
619
2
454
11,524
23,774
17,970
600,268
1813
64,938
71,629
58,872
133,907
125,156
-
-
1,093
1
10,112
977,164
1814
9,760
30,926
18,356
186,241
116,861
420,009
170,596
2
3
7,476
812,805
1815
1,443
626
9,250
19,428
35,279
135,778
79,051
45,586
25
6,600
821,192
1816
24,198
660
14,874
94,791
54,157
118,048
1,189
7,209
3
4,077
873,865
1817
405,933
1,166
149,012
414,947
253,403
191,141
35,372
316,364
25,876
8,016
699,809
1818
676,793
2,455
342,213
829,646
571,864
761,874
92,891
187,576
56,617
8,740
1,207,851
1819
543,554
2,255
123,638
323,350
235,076
193,029
218,215
47,654
14,257
6,484
967,861
1820
372,169
13,492
147,595
356,288
218,711
78,813
12,917
91,098
40,898
9,869
1,417,120
1821
28,445
-
26,778
39,258
51,540
19,964
102
38,488
40,916
12,163
1,822,816
1822
22,040
-
15,045
28,745
21,528
3,024
741
6,242
23,439
5,000
1,063,089
1823
14,568
-
6,948
8,743
4,635
3,896
102
4,237
209
10,303
1,528,153
1824
14,500
2,858
106,998
76,780
231,430
132,160
1,395
33,872
891
9,154
1,634,024
1825
26,895
4,284
248,282
217,836
372,839
63,954
499
12,903
95,059
15,227
2,203,962
Annual
average of
the above
117,902
14,397
67,847
228,584
171,103
158,078
37,932
80,712
25,627
10,363
865,968
25 years
Annual
average of
ditto for
53,377
9,576
16,324
157,359
58,103
56,817
24,649
74,024
24,863
4,836
187,438
wheat
Do. rye
9,968
960
1,123
5,689
5,189
1,690
293
2,341
-
1,438
253
Do. barley
7,112
987
18,808
18,718
24,839
9,500
1,097
31
51
2,194
33,331
Do. oats
46,652
2,446
30,672
39,209
75,828
84,269
1,953
3
1
1,703
639,857
Do. peas
785
428
823
7,609
7,144
5,802
9,124
201
697
151
4,922
and beans
Do.Indian
8
-
97
-
-
-
816
4,022
15
41
167
corn
VII-Account of the Imports into Great Britain of all Descriptions of Foreign Corn in 1831 specify-
ing the Countries whence they were imported, and the Quantities brought from each.-Parl. Paper,
No. 426. Sess. 1832.)
Barley and
Indian
Rye and
Wheat and
Countries from which
Oats and
Buck
Barley
Beans.
Corn and
Peas.
Rye
Wheat
Total.
imported.
Oatmeal.
Wheat.
Meal.
-Meal.
Meal.
Flour.
Qrs. bu.
Qra. bu.
Qrs. bu.
Qrs. tal.
Qrs. tre.
Qrs. bu.
Qrs. hu.
Qrs. he
QTS. bu
Russia
42,5682
-
3166
369,608 1
6,3727
53,9115
464,584 1
20
937,363 €
-
-
-
Sweden
1,7187
-
-
-
-
20,6635
343
. 606
71 2
-
22,5487
Denmark
-
115,6581
1,299 4
-
-
96,9965
2,667 2
5,832 2
55,967 6
-
278,421 4
Prussia
-
-
60,7786
1,157 5
-
70,1154
35,2110
18,4473
296,2865
-
481,9967
Germany
-
-
116,9283
7,664 4
-
31,450 1
13,9627
7,1035
218,507 4
01
395,617 1
The Netherlands
-
12,2840
7,0703
-
15,2260
4710
4,2052
30,249 4
-
69,506
France - -
-
18,7377
1,4540
17,8932
7,9360
1225
137 4
103,700 5
6,691 4
156,673 3
The Azores
-
-
-
04
2,6493
-
-
-
22 2
I
2,672 1
Spain
2,3183
04
1,5985
300
44
-
154,671 1
-
158,623 1
-
-
-
the Canary Isl.
4186
-
-
-
-
-
1,082 4
I
1,501 2
Italy
-
-
-
3,0031
3,691 4
476
10
-
-
253,295 5
-
260,039 0
Malta
-
-
1,031 3
-
-
-
I
I
13,3397
|
-
14,371 2
Ionian Islands
-
249 3
I
249 3
I
-
-
-
-
-
Turkey
-
6240
01
-
-
02
-
6,215 4
-
6,8397
Cape of Good Hope
10
-
-
10
-
-
2,183 4
-
2,185 4
Mauritius
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
06
-
06
East India Compa-
ny's territories
151
-
-
-
1360
-
5,490 4
-
5,641 5
Van Dieman's Land
-
-
-
-
-
I
45 5
I
45 5
British North Ameri-
can colonies
-
2403
-
04
6,9026
4616
2366
218,327 2
-
226,166 3
British West Indies
-
-
04
-
01
-
34
-
41
U. States of America
01
22,1953
599 4
-
1,887 3
463,4187
-
-
488,101 2
Chili and Peru
-
-
-
-
-
-
1407
1
1407
-
Isles of Guern-
1,128 2
-
-
I
925
I
9,242 1
-
10,463 0
ey,Jersey,Al-
foreign
produce
derney & Man
5,4986
185
-
2,8312
220
-
14,265 5
-
22,6362
Total
-
381,9220
23,3886
44,702
622,361 4
59,5592
91,8194
2,311,362 2
6,6935
3,541,809 0
Digitized by Google
508
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
VIII. Annual imports of Corn, Flour, and Meal, from Ireland into Great Britain, since 1897.
Wheat and
Barley and
Oats and
Indian
Years.
Wheat Flour
Barley Meal.
Rye.
Oatmeal.
Corn.
Beans.
Peas.
Total.
1807
45,111 qrs.
23,048 qrs.
431 qrs.
389,649 qrs.
-
5,167 qrs.
463,406qrs.
1808
43,497
30,586
573
579,974
-
2,140
656,770
1809
68,124
16,619
425
845,782
-
2,708
933,658
1810
127,510
8,321
20
493,231
I0 qrs.
3,757
632,849
1811
147,567
2,713
21
275,757
-
4,131
430,189
1812
160,843
43,262
178
390,926
-
5,059
600,268
1813
217,454
63,560
420
691,498
-
4,532
977,164
1814
225,821
16,779
4
564,010
-
6,191
812,805
1815
189,544
27,108
207
597,537
-
6,796
821,192
1816
121,631
62,254
43
683,714
-
6,223
873,865
1817
59,025
26,766
614
611,117
-
2,287
699,809
1818
108,230
25,387
4
1,069,385
-
4,845
1,207,851
1819
154,031
20,311
2
789,613
-
3,904
967,861
1820
404,747
87,095
134
916,250
1
8,893
1,417,120
1821
569,700
82,884
550
1,162,249
-
7,433
1,822,816
1822
463,004
22,532
353
569,237
-
7,963
1,063,089
1823
400,068
19,274
198
1,102,487
-
6,126
1,528,153
1824
356,408
45,872
112
1,225,085
-
6,547
1,634,024
1825
396,018
165,082
220
1,629,856
-
12,786
2,203,962
1826
314,851
64,885
77
1,303,734
-
7,190 qrs.
1,452
1,692,189
1827
405,255
67,791
256
1,343,267
1,795
10,037
1,372
1,829,743
1828
652,584
84,204
1,424
2,075,631
280
7,068
4,944
2,826,135
1829
519,493
97,140
568
1,673,628
30
10,444
4,503
2,305,806
1830
529,717
189,745
414
1,471,252
28
19,053
2,520
2,212,729
1831
557,520
185,409
515
1,655,934
563
15,039
4,663
2,419,643
1832
572,586
123,068
294
1,890,321
3,037
14,512
1,916
2,605,734
1833
844,201
107,519
167
1,762,519
117
19,103
2,645
2,736,281
1834
779,504
217,568
982
1,747,910
75
18,770
2,176
2,766,985
1835
661,776
156,176
614
1,822,766
-
24,234
3,447
2,669,013
IX. Account of the Foreign and Colonial Corn, Flour, and Meal, entered for Home Consumption in the
United Kingdom since 1815; specifying the total Amount of Duty received thereon, and the Rates
of Duty; in Imperial Quarters.-(Appendiz to second Agricultural Report of 1836, p. 282.)
Corn, &c. entered for Home Consumption, Imperial Quarters.
Duty re-
Average rates of Duty per Imp. Quarter.
ceived.
Years
Wheat
Barley
Rye
Indian
Beans
and
and
Wheat.
Barley.
Oats.
Indian
Beans
and
Oats and
and
Total.
Rye.
and
Oatmeal.
Flour.
Meal.
Meal.
Corn.
Total.
Corn.
Peas.
Peas.
L.
8. d,
s.
d.
s. d.
&. d.
#. d.
s. d.
1815
-
160
148
214
-
1
523
1816
225,263
14,918
10,259
76,294
-
-
326,734
1817
1,020,949
133,438
132,227
473,813
157
17,122
1,777,706
1818
1,593,518
695,621
79,221
990,947
1,411
177,850
3,538,568
1819
122,133
364,012
17,293
523,515
26,738
199,716
1,253,407
1820
34,274
-
-
726,848
-
3
761,125
1821
2
-
-
-
-
-
2
1822
1823
12,137
-
-
-
-
-
12,137
10,310
16 11 3-4
1924
15,777
39,263
-
619,340
1,249
-
675,629
176,383
11 11 1-2
8 6 3-4
-
4934
91
1825
525,231
270,679
3,442
15
91
30,767
830,225
296,121
63-4
4 434
66
40
410
6 534
1826
316,892
332,641
67,241
1,185,214
6,222
189,894
2,097,104
442,595
11
334
5214
2
1-4
23
311
35
1827
672,733
236,991
21,887
1,851,248
145,842
157,854
2,986,655
792,934
21
41-4
10
62
1 33-4
2912
262
1828
842,050
217,545
489
14,374
22,747
119,782
1,216,987
188,412
1 91-4
61
36
8 01-2
2414
8 214
1829
1,364,220
202,406
65,331
192,890
22,688
96,514
1,944,049
900,208
9 23-4
9 0 3-4
2
11-2
11
134
9
71-4
10
8
1830
1,701,885
52,107
19,121
900,319
4,100
63,644
2,741,176
798,000
6 41-2
9 5 3-4
12
6
4234
12
712
7834
1831
1,491,631
522,709
56,868
355,120
65,428
83,444
2,568,983
655,158
48
17
2734
7 314
I
234
5101-2
1832
325,435
72,665
61
2,863
1,024
21,181
423,229
309,676
16
2
961-2
17
01-2
2614
9
41-2
10
4
1833
82,346
1,208
1
976
6
24,077
108,614
36,419
56
1311
20 0
610
16 8
10
41-2
1834
64,653
11,032
21
55,623
207
102,080
233,412
99,370
57
13 7
2011
10 1
28
91
1835
28,413
137,374
3
176,142
1,430
94,540
437,902
236,692
56
13 5
26 8
10 2
12 4
99
It appears, from No. IX. of the preceding accounts, that in 1828, 842,000 quarters of
wheat were entered for home consumption, at an average duty of only 1s. 94d. per quarter!
In 1829 the imports were 1,364,000 quarters, and the duty 9s. 23d. In 1830 the
imports rose to 1,702,000 quarters, and the duty fell to 6s. 44d. and in 1831 the imports
were 1,491,000 quarters, and the duty 4s. 8d. Had the duty been a constant one of 6s. or
7s., the interests of all parties would have been materially promoted. But there are
obviously very slender grounds for thinking that the quantity imported would have been
considerably increased for though the present system of duties frequently checks importa-
tion for a lengthened period, yet, on the other hand, when prices rise, and the duties are
reduced, every bushel in the warehouses is immediately entered for home consumption and
the chance, which is every now and then occurring, of getting grain entered under the
nominal duty of 1s., probably tempts the merchants to speculate more largely, though at a
greater risk to themselves, than they would do under a different system. A moderate duty,
accompanied by an equal drawback, besides giving a greater degree of security to the corn
trade, would, in this respect, be particularly beneficial to the farmer. Under the present
system it is not possible to foretell, with any thing approaching to accuracy, what may be
the range of prices during any future period, however near : so that the trade of a farmer,
which is naturally one of the most stable, has been rendered almost a species of gambling.
But were the ports always open under the plan previously suggested, every one would be
aware that variations of price would be confined within comparatively narrow limits and
Digitized by Google
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
509
the business of farming would acquire that security, of which it is, at present, 80 completely
destitute, and which is so indispensable to its success.
IV. FOREIGN CORN TRADE.
Polish Corn Trade.- Dantzic is the port whence we have always been accustomed to
import the largest supplies of corn and it would seem fully established by the data collected
by Mr. Jacob, in his tours, that 28s. or 30s. a quarter is the lowest price for which any con-
siderable quantity of wheat for exportation can be permanently raised in the corn-growing
provinces in the vicinity of Warsaw : its minimum cost price, when brought to London,
according to the data furnished by Mr. Jacob, would be as under:-
8. d.
Cost of wheat at Warsaw, per quarter
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 28 0
Conveyance to the boats, and charges for loading and stowing, and securing it by mats
- 0 6
Freight to Dantzic
-
-
-
-
-
- 5 0
Loss on the passage by pilfering, and rain causing it to grow
-
-
-
- 3 0
Expenses at Danzic in turning, drying, screening, and warehousing, and loss of measure - 2 0
Profit or commission, as the case may be, to the merchant at Dantzic
-
- 1 6
Freight, primage, insurance, and shipping charges, at Dantzic and in London
-
- 8 0
Cost of the wheat to the English merchant
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 48 0
It ought, however, to be observed that the premium paid the underwriters does not cover
the risk attending damage from heating or otherwise on the voyage; and it ought further to
be observed, that the freight from Warsaw to Dantzic, and from Dantzic home, is here
charged at the lowest rate. Mr. Jacob supposes that an extraordinary demand for as much
wheat as would be equal to six days' consumption of that grain in England, or for 216,000
quarters, would raise the cost of freight on the Vistula from 20 to 40 per cent. and as such
a demand could hardly be supplied without resorting to the markets in the provinces to the
south of Warsaw, its minimum cost to the London merchants could not, under such cir-
cumstances, amount, even supposing some of these statements to be a little exaggerated, to
less than from 50s. to 53s. or 55s. a quarter.
Mr. Grade, of Dantzic, furnished the committee of 1831 with the following Table of the
average prices of corn at that city, free on board, in decennial periods, from 1770 to 1820.
Average price, from Ten to Ten Years, of the different Species of Corn, free on board, per Quarter,
in Sterling Money, at Dantzic.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
S. d.
S. d.
s. d.
3. d.
From 1770 to 1779
-
-
-
33 9
21 8
16 1
11 1
1780 1789
-
-
-
33 10
22 1
17 11
12 4
1790- 1799
-
-
-
43 8
26 3
19 3
12 6
1800 - 1809
-
-
-
60 0
34 10
25 1
13 1
1810- 1819
-
-
-
55 4
31 1
26 0
20 4
Aggregate Average Price of 49 Years
45 4
27 2
20 10
13 10
In 1823, 1824, 1825, and 1826, prices, owing to the cessation of the demand from England,
were very much depressed; but they have since attained to near their former elevation.
We subjoin a statement, furnished by the British consul, of the
Average Prices of Grain, bought from Granary, in sterling Money, at Dantzic, per Imperial Quarter.
White and
White and
Years.
Wheat
Rye.
Barley.
Yellow
Oats.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Yellow
Peas.
Peas.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
S. d.
S. d.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d
8. d.
1822
30 3
18 41
12 5f
10 111
15 7
1828
37 ]
19 5
14 3
11 3
28 4
1823
27 9
18 6f
14 101
11 01
18 2t
1829
47 1
17 4
13 8
10 11
IS 8
1824
23 8
11 21
8111
7 7
11 111
1830
42 2
20 3
15 0
11 2
20 8
1825
24 2
11 4
10 5
8 1
14 7
1831
50 2
28 6
21 3
15 8
27 7
1826
25 1
15 31
13 51
12 51
23 If
1827
26 11
18 2
16 9
13 10
31 11
Average -
33 5
17 10
14 1
11 31
21 01
The shipping charges may, we believe, be taken at 8d. or 9d. a quarter; and this, added
to the above, gives 34s. 1d. or 34s. 2d. for the average price of wheat, free on board, at Dantzic,
during the 10 years ending with 1831. The charges on importation into England, ware-
housing here, and then delivering to the consumer, exclusive of duty and profit, would
amount to about 10s. a quarter: This appears from the following
2 U 2
Digitized by Google
510
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
Account of the Ordinary Charges on 100 Quarters of Wheat, shipped from Dantzic OR Consignment,
and landed under Bond in London.-(Parl. Paper, No. 333. Sess. 1827. p. 28.)
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
One hundred quarters, supposed cost at Dantzie, free on board, 30s.
150 0 0
Freight at 5s. per quarter, and 10 per cent.
-
-
-
27 10 0
Metage ex ship, &c., 6s. 6d. per last
-
-
-
-
3 5 0
Lighterage and landing, 9d. per quarter
-
-
-
-
3 15 0
Insurance on 180/., including 10 per cent. imaginary profit, at 80s.
7 14 0
per cent. I olicy 5s. per cent.
-
-
-
s
Granary rent and insurance for one week
-
-
-
-
0 5 0
Turning and trimming, about
-
-
-
-
-
0 2 0
Delivering from granary, 3d. per quarter
-
-
-
-
1 5 0
Metage, &c. ex granary, 2s. per last -
-
-
-
-
1 0 0
Commission on sale, is. per quarter -
-
-
-
-
5 0 0
Del credere, 1 per cent. on, suppose, 40s.
-
-
-
-
2 0 0
51 16 0
Total cost to importer if sold in bond
201 16 0
Imaginary profit 10 per cent.
-
20 3 6
221 19 6
Would produce, at 44s. 4d. per quarter
£221 13 4
N. B.-Loss on remeasuring not considered.
Freight and insurance are taken in this statement at an average, being sometimes higher and some-
times lower.
Nothing, therefore, can be more perfectly unfounded, than the notions so prevalent in this
country as to the extreme cheapness of corn at Dantzic. When there is little or no foreign
demand, and all that is brought to the city is thrown upon the home market, prices are, of
course, very much depressed but when there is a moderate demand for exportation, they
immediately rise to something like the average level of the European market. During the
greater number of the years embraced in the consular return, the Polish corn trade was very
much depressed and in some seasons the exports were extremely limited. But notwith-
standing these unfavourable circumstances, the price of wheat, free on board, at an average
of the whole period, was 34s. 1d. a quarter. Now, if we add to this 10s. a quarter for
freight and other charges attending its importation into England, and delivery to the con-
sumer, it could not, in the event of its being charged with a duty of 6s. or 7s. a quarter on
importation, be sold so as to indemnify the importer for his outlay, without yielding him any
profit, for less than 50s. or 51s. a quarters And there are really no very satisfactory reasons
for supposing that it could be disposed of for so little; for whenever it has been admitted
into the British ports under any thing like reasonable duties, prices at Dantzic have uni-
formly been above 40s. a quarter. Supposing, however, that, in the event of our ports being
always open, the growth of corn in Poland would be so much increased as to admit of wheat
being shipped in ordinary seasons for 34s., still it is quite plain it could not be sold in
London under a duty of 6s. or 7s., for less than 53s. or 54s. a quarter.
It is difficult to draw any conclusions on which it would be safe to place much reliance
as to the supplies of corn that might be obtained from Dantzic, were our ports constantly
open under a reasonable duty. Mr. Jacob gives the following
Account of the Total annual Average Quantity of Wheat and Rye exported from Dantzic, in Periods
of 25 Years each, for the 166 Years ending with 1825.
Years.
Wheat. Quarters.
Rye. Quarters.
Total. Quarters.
1651 to 1675
81,775
225,312
307,087
1676 - 1700
124,897
227,482
352,379
1701 1725
59,795
170,100
229,895
1726 1750
80,624
119,771
200,395
1751 - 1775
141,080
208,140
349,220
1776 - 1800
150,299
103,045
253,344
1801 - 1825
200,330
67,511
267,841
" The average of the whole period," Mr. Jacob observes, " gives an annual quantity of
wheat and rye, of 279,794 quarters; and this surplus may be fairly considered as the
nearest approach that can be made, with existing materials, to what is the usual excess of
the produce of bread corn above the consumption of the inhabitants, when no extraordinary
circumstances occur to excite or check cultivation."- (Report, p. 49.)
We have, however, been assured by gentlemen intimately acquainted with the countries
traversed by the Vistula, the Bug, &c., that Mr. Jacob has very much underrated their
capabilities of improvement; and that were our ports opened under a fixed duty of 6s. or
7s. a quarter on wheat, and other grain in proportion, we might reckon upon getting from
Dantzic an annual supply of from 350,000 to 450,000 quarters. We incline to think that
this is a very moderate estimate. Hitherto, owing to the fluctuating and capricious nature
of our demand, it has proved of little advantage to the cultivators; and but little corn has
been raised in the expectation of its finding its way to England. But it would be quite
another thing were our ports always open. The supply of the English markets would then
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
511
be an object of the utmost importance to the Polish agriculturists, who, there can be no
doubt, would both extend and improve their tillage. We subjoin an
Account of the exports of Corn from Dantzic during the Three Years ending with 1831, specifying the
Quantities sent to different Countries, reckoned in Quarters of 10} to the Last.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Britain
Other
Britain
Britain
Specise of Corn.
and her
Posses-
France.
and her
Other
Holland.
Coun-
France.
Holland.
Posses-
Coun-
and her
Hol-
Other
Posses-
France.
land.
Coun-
sions.
tries.
sions.
tries.
sions.
tries.
Qra.
Qre.
Qre.
Qrs.
QTS.
Qrs.
Qre.
Qre.
Qrs.
Qrs.
Qra.
Wheat
214,983
24,169
64,594
3,070
328,982
21,473
43,970
4,163
125,330
-
7,903
562
Rye
8,980
9,456
30,866
28,974
8,453
62
28,753
47,816
2,510
-
4,560
5,456
Barley
3,648
237
2,118
678
4,128
-
788
2,452
11,390
-
-
800
Oats
8,923
274
20,997
-
-
465
2,220
-
Peas
2,444
-
217
181
14,312
-
1,768
836
14,780
-
560
510
Total of Corn
239,123
34,135
97,795
32,897
376,872
21,525
75,279
65,732
156,220
-
13,032
6,828
Flour, barrels of
196 lbs.
2,016
8,926
-
2,776
108
10
-
-
2
Biscuits, bags of 1 cwt.
3,224
10,287
-
-
72
6,732
-
-
200
Quality of Dantzic Wheat.-It will be seen from the subjoined accounts, that the price
of wheat at Dantzic, during the 10 years ending with 1831, was very near 7s. a quarter
above its average price at Hamburgh during the same period, and about 2s. above the average
of Amsterdam. This difference is entirely owing to the superior quality of the Dantzic
wheat. Though small grained, and not so heavy as several other sorts, it is remarkably
thin-skinned, and yields the finest flour. Some of the best white, or, as it is technically
termed, " high mixed" Dantzic wheat, is superior to the very best English but the quantity
of this sort is but limited, and the average quality of all that is exported from Dantzic is
believed to approach very nearly to the average quality of English wheat. Allowing for
its superior quality, it will be found that wheat is, speaking generally, always cheaper in
Dantzic than in any of the Continental ports nearer to London. There are but few seasons,
indeed, in which Dantzic wheat is not largely imported into Amsterdam; and it frequently,
also, finds it way into Hamburgh. But it is quite impossible that such should be the case,
unless, taking quality and other modifying circumstances into account, it were really
cheaper than the native and other wheats met with in these markets. When there is any
considerable importation into England, it is of every day occurrence for merchants to order
Dantzic wheat in preference to that of Holstein, or of the Lower Elbe, though the latter
might frequently be put into warehouse here for 20s. a quarter less than the former ! It is,
therefore, quite indispensable, in attempting to draw any inferences as to the comparative
prices of corn in different countries, to make the requisite allowances for differences of
quality. Unless this be done, whatever conclusions may be come to can hardly fail of
being false and misleading; and when they happen to be right, they can only be so through
the merest accident.
Dantzic being by far the greatest port for the exportation of corn in the north of Europe,
its price may be assumed as the general measure of the price in other shipping ports. At
all events, it is certain that then Dantzic is exporting, wheat cannot be shipped, taking
quality into account, at a cheaper rate from any other place. The importer invariably
resorts to what he believes to be, all things considered, the cheapest market and it is a con-
tradiction and an absurdity to suppose that he should burden himself with a comparatively
high freight, and pay 34s. 1d. for wheat at Dantzic, provided he could buy an equally good
article in so convenient a port as Hamburgh for 26s. 6}d.
If, therefore, we are right in estimating the price at which wheat could be imported from
Dantzic under a duty of 6s. or 7s., at from 53s. to 54s., we may be assured that this is the lowest
importation price. The greater cheapness of the imports from other places is apparent
only ; and is uniformly countervailed by a corresponding inferiority of quality.-(For
further details as to the Polish corn trade, see DANTZIC, KÖNIGSBERG, &c.)
Russian Corn Trade.-Russia exports large quantities of wheat, rye, oats, and meal.
The wheat is of various qualities; but the greater portion of it is small grained, coarse,
brown, and very badly dressed. The hard, or Kubanka, is the best; it keeps well, and is in
considerable demand for mixing with other wheats that are old or stale. Russian oats are
very thin ; but, being dried in the straw, they weigh better than could be expected from
their appearance, and are reckoned wholesome food. Our imports from Russia, in 1831,
were extraordinarily large, she having supplied us with no fewer than 464,000 quarters
of wheat and wheat flour, 369,000 quarters of oats and oatmeal, 54,000 quarters of rye and
rye meal, 42,000 quarters of barley and barley meal, &c., making a grand total of 937,000
quarters Generally, however, our imports do not exceed a fifth part of this quantity.
The quarter of hard wheat was worth, free on board, at Petersburgh, in November, 1832,
when there was no demand for exportation, from 28s. to 28s. 6d.-(The reader will find
notices of the Russian corn trade under the articles ARCHANGEL, PETERSBURGH, and RIGA.
For an account of the corn trade by the Black Sea, see post, and the article ODESSA.)
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512
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
Danish Corn Trade-The export of wheat from Denmark Proper, that is, from Jutland
and the islands, is but inconsiderable. There is, however, a pretty large exportation of wheat
and other grain, as well as of butter, cheese, beef, &c., from Sleswick and Holstein. As
already stated, the quality of the wheat is inferior; for, though it looks plump, it is coarse
and damp. The chief shipping port for Danish corn is Kiel; but owing to the superior
facilities enjoyed by Hamburgh, the greater portion of it is consigned to that city. In 1831
we imported from Denmark 55,960 quarters of wheat, 115,658 do. of barley, 96,996 do. of
oats, with some small quantities of rye and beans.-(For an account of the exports of raw
produce from Denmark in 1831, see COPENHAGEN.)
Corn Trade of the Elbe, &c.-Next to Dantzic, Hamburgh is, perhaps, the greatest
corn market in the north of Europe, being a depôt for large quantities of Baltic corn, and
for the produce of the extensive countries traversed by the Elbe. But the excess of the
exports of wheat from Hamburgh over the imports, is less than might have been expected,
and amounted, at an average of the 10 years ending with 1825, to only 48,263 quarters a year.
It appears from the subjoined table that the average price of wheat at Hamburgh, during
the 10 years ending with 1831, was only 26s. 6ld. a quarter, being about 7s. a quarter under
the level of Dantzic; but this extreme lowness of price is altogether ascribable to the info-
riority of the Holstein and Hanover wheats, which are generally met with in great abundance
at Hamburgh. Wheat from the Upper Elbe is of a better quality. Bohemian wheat is
occasionally forwarded by the river to Hamburgh; but the charges attending its conveyance
from Prague amount, according to Mr. Jacob, to full 17s. a quarter, and prevent its being
sent down, except when the price is comparatively high. In 1830, there was shipped from
Hamburgh for British ports, 217,700 quarters of wheat, 1,900 of rye, 18,200 of barley, and
2,800 of oats. Perhaps we might be able, did our prices average about 55s., to import in
ordinary years from 250,000 to 300,000 quarters of wheat from Denmark and the countries
intersected by the Weser and the Elbe.
Average Prices of Corn at Hamburgh, during the Ten Years ending with 1831, in Sterling Money, per
Imperial Quarter.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
8. d.
8. d.
S. d.
S. d.
8. d.
8. d.
s. d.
s. d.
1822
27 6
15 5
13 0
9 4
1828
27 10
20 8
13 4
10 2
1823
27 6
18 4
14 6
11 0
1829
34 5
18 8
13 3
9 4
1824
24 0
13 0
12 6
8 6
1830
25 10
21 3
14 9
10 3
1825
20 6
12 9
13 10
8 6
1831
33 4
26 8
19 9
10 0
1826
18 4
17 1
13 3
12 4
1827
26 3
23 10
17 7
16 9
Average
26 61
18 9
14 61
10 it
Amsterdam is an important depôt for foreign corn, every variety of which may be found
there. Only a small part of its own consumption is supplied by corn of native growth; so
that the prices in it are for the most part dependent on the prices at which corn can be
brought from Dantzic, Kiel, Hamburgh, and other shipping ports. Rotterdam is a very
advantageous port for warehousing foreign corn; being conveniently situated, and the ware-
house rent low, not exceeding 2d. or 21d. per quarter per month. We subjoin an account of the
Average Prices, per Imperial Quarter, of Wheat, Rye, Barley, and grown within the Consulship
of Amsterdam, during the Ten Years ending with 1831.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
3. d.
3. d.
3. d.
8. d.
1822
25 0
16 8
13 0
9 4
1828
34 6
24 0
19 0
12 10
1823
21 1
20 6
16 1
8 0
1829
46 10
25 7
19 5
13 10
1824
20 3
17 4
14 2
9 8
1830
41 9
27 4
20 0
18 1
1825
23 4
16 5
15 9
12 0
1831
42 8
30 0
22 4
18 6
1826
25 0
19 3
17 7
16 4
1827
33 2
29 0
21 0
21 8
Average
31 41
23 it
17 91
14 04
Previously to the late revolution in the Netherlands, there used to be a considerable trade
in corn from Antwerp to England. Wheats, both white and red, are among the finest we
receive from the Continent, and are, of course, pretty high priced. Beans and peas are also
fine. Antwerp buck-wheat is the best in Europe. According to Mr. Jacob, the cost of
storing and turning wheat per month at Antwerp does not exceed 1fd. a quarter, or about
half what it costs in London.
French Corn Trade.-It appears, from the accounts given by the Marquis Garnier in the
last edition of his translation of the Wealth of Nations, that the price of the hectolitre of
wheat at the market of Paris amounted, at an average of the 19 years beginning with
1801 and ending with 1819, to 20 fr. 53 cent; which is equal to 30 fr. 80 cent. the septier;
or, taking the exchange at 25 fr., to 45s. 6d. the quarter. Count Chaptal, in his valuable
work, Sur l'Industrie Française (tom. i. p. 226.), published in 1819, estimates the ordinary
average price of wheat throughout France at 18 fr. the hectolitre, or 42s. 10d. the quarter.
The various expenses attending the importation of a quarter of French wheat into London
may be taken, at a medium, at about 6s. a quarter. France, however, has very little surplus
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.,
513
produce to dispose of; so that it would be impossible for us to import any considerable
quantity of French corn without occasioning a great advance of price; and in point of fact,
our imports from France have been at all times quite inconsiderable.
The mean of the different estimates framed by Vauban, Quesnay, Expilly, Lavoisier,
and Arthur Young, gives 61,519,672 septiers, or 32,810,000 quarters, as the total average
growth of the different kinds of grain in France.-(Peuchet, Statistique Elémentaire,
p. 290.) We, however, took occasion formerly to observe (Supp. to Encyc. Brit. art.
Corn Laws) that there could not be a doubt that this estimate was a great deal too low ;
and the more careful investigations of late French statisticians fully confirm this remark.
It is said that the mean annual produce of the harvests of France, at an average of the 4
years ending with 1828, amounted to 60,533,000 hectolitres of wheat, and 114,738,000
ditto of other sorts of grain; making in all 175,271,000 hectolitres, or 62,221,205 Winch.
quarters. Of this quantity it is supposed that 16 per cent. is consumed as seed, 19 per
cent. in the feeding of different species of animals, and 2 per cent. in distilleries and brew-
eries.-(Bulletin des Sciences Géographiques, tom. XXV. p. 34.) This estimate is believed
to be pretty nearly accurate perhaps, however, it is still rather under the mark.
The foreign corn trade of France was regulated down to a very late period by a law which
forbade exportation, except when the home prices were below certain limits; and which
restrained and absolutely forbade importation except when they were above certain other
limits. The prices regulating importation and exportation differed in the different districts
into which the kingdom was divided; and it has not unfrequently happened that corn
warehoused in a particular port, where it was either not admissible at all, or not admissible
except under payment of a high duty, has been carried to another port in another district,
and admitted duty free But during the last 2 years importation has been at all times
allowed under graduated duties, which, however, like those of this country, become prohibi-
tory when the prices sink to a certain level. The division of the kingdom into separate
districts is still kept up and in June, 1833, while the duties on wheat imported into some
of the departments were only 4 fr. 75 cent., they were, in others, as high as 12 fr. 25 cent.
An official announcement is issued on the last day of each month, of what the duties are to
be in that district during the succeeding month. These depend, with certain modifications, on
the average prices of the districts.
Spanish Corn Trade.-The exportation of corn from Spain was formerly prohibited
under the severest penalties. But in 1820, grain and flour were both allowed to be freely
exported and in 1823, this privilege was extended to all productions (frutos) the growth of
the soil. There is now, in fact, no obstacle whatever, except the expense of carriage, to the
conveyance of corn to the sea-ports, and thence to the foreigner. Owing, however, to the
corn growing provinces being principally situated in the interior, and to the extreme badness
of the roads, which renders carriage to the coast both expensive and difficult, the exports
are reduced within comparatively narrow limits; the same difficulty of carriage frequently
gives rise to very great differences in the prices of places, in all parts of the country, only a
few leagues distant. Were the means of communication improved, and any thing like
security given to the husbandman, Spain would, in no long time, become one of the prin-
cipal exporting countries of Europe. Old Castile, Leon, Estremadura, and that part of Anda-
lusia to the south and east of Seville, are amongst the finest corn countries of Europe; and
might be made to yield immense supplies. But owing to the disturbed state of the country,
and the want of a market for their produce, they can hardly be said to be at all cultivated.
And yet such is their natural fertility, that in good seasons the peasants only reap those fields
nearest to the villages Latterly we have began to import corn from Bilbao, Santander,
and other ports in the north of Spain; and in 1831, she supplied us with no fewer than
158,000 quarters.-(See BILBAO.)
Corn Trade of Odessa.-Odessa, on the Black Sea, is the only port in Southern
Europe from which any considerable quantity of grain is exported. We believe, indeed, that
the fertility of the soil in its vicinity has been much exaggerated but the wheat shipped at
Odessa is principally brought from Volhynia and the Polish provinces to the south of Cracow,
the supplies from which are susceptible of an indefinite increase. Owing to the cataracts in
the Dnieper, and the Dniester having a great number of shallows, most part of the corn
brought to Odessa comes by land carriage. The expense of this mode of conveyance is not,
however, nearly so great as might be supposed. The carts with corn are often in parties
of 150 ; the oxen are pastured during the night, and they take advantage of the period
when the peasantry are not occupied with the harvest, so that the charge on account of
conveyance is comparatively trifling.
Both soft and hard wheat is exported from Odessa; but the former, which is by far the
most abundant, is only brought to England. Supposing British wheat to sell at about 60s.,
Odessa wheat, in good order, would not be worth more than 52s. in the London market
but it is a curious fact, that in the Mediterranean the estimation in which they are held is
quite the reverse; at Malta, Marseilles, Leghorn, &c., Odessa wheat fetches a decidedly
higher price than British wheat.
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
The hard wheat brought from the Black Sea comes principally from Taganrog. It is a
very fine species of grain it is full 10 per cent. heavier than British wheat, and has less than
half the bran. It is used in Italy for making macaroni and vermicelli, and things of that
sort ; very little of it has found its way to England.
The voyage from Odessa to Britain is of uncertain duration, but generally very long.
It is essential to the importation of the wheat in a good condition, that it should be made
during the winter months. When the voyage is made in summer, unless the wheat be very
superior, and be shipped in exceedingly good order, it is almost sure to heat; and has some-
times, indeed, been injured to such a degree as to require to be dug from the hold with
pickaxes. Unless, therefore, means be devised for lessening the risk of damage during the
voyage, there is little reason to think that Odessa wheat will ever be largely imported into
Britain.-(See the evidence of J. H. Lander, Esq. and J. Schneider, Esq. before the Lords'
Committee of 1827, on the price of foreign corn.)
It appears from the report of the British consul, dated Odessa, 31st of December, 1830,
that the prices of wheat during the quarter then terminated varied from 22s. 4d. to 34s. 6d.
a quarter. During the summer quarter, 149,029 quarters of wheat were exported.
We copy the following account from the evidence of J. H. Lander, Esq. referred to
above
Account of the average Prices of Wheat at Odessa, with the Shipping Charges, reduced into British
Measure and Currency; the Rate of Exchange (the whole taken Quarterly for the Years 1814 to
1824, inclusive); and the Quantities annually exported.
Price per Chet-
Charges
Price on
Quarter ending
wert in Russian
on
Exchange.
board per
Quantity
Observations.
Money.
Shipping.
Quarter.
exported.
R.
R.
R.
s.
d.
Quarters.
1814. March 31.
20:75
2.75
18:60
33 8
June 30.
21.50
2.65
18:90
34 1
Sept. 30.
17:50
2:50
19:55
27 3
187,685
Dec. 31.
18:
2:50
20:50
26 8
1815.
March 31.
24:30
3:55
20:30
36 6
June 30.
21:
2.75
20:10
31 6
Sept. 30.
24.80
2.95
20:60
35 11
372,309
Dec. 31.
23:50
3.75
21:20
34 3
1816. March 31.
32.
5:50
22:10
45 3
June 30.
35.35
3:60
22:60
46 0
Sept. 30.
35:80
3-65
23:10
45 7
801,591
Dec. 31.
36:90
3:65
23.
47 0
1817.
March 31.
44.75
4:40
22:40
58 6
June 30.
34.60
3-60
22.
46 4
Sept. 30.
30:
3:30
21:55
41 2
870,893
Dec. 31.
33.60
3.75
22.80
47 11
1818.
March 31.
29.80
3:80
20:55
43 7
June 30.
22-70
2.85
20:85
32 8
Sept. 30.
23.80
2.90
20:40
34 11
538,513
Dec. 31.
21:30
2.80
19:20
33 6
1819.
March 31.
17:20
2.60
1980
26 8
June 30.
17:30
2-60
20.85
25 5
Sept. 30.
16:30
2.55
21.85
23
1
627,926
Dec. 31.
14.
2.45
23.70
18 6
1820.
March 31.
15:30
2.50
24:30
19 7
June 30.
17.
2-60
24:20
21 7
Sept. 30.
19:30
2.65
24:40
24 0
534,199
Dec. 31.
23:30
2.75
23:40
28 8
1821.
March 31.
24:50
2.80
23.70
30 9
June 30.
23.50
2.75
24.15
29 0
Sept. 30.
20:15
2-65
25.25
24 3
435,305
Dec. 31.
1980
2.65
24:90
24 2
1822.
March 31.
17.25
2.60
2480
20 8
June 30.
17.75
2-60
25'
21 8
Sept. 30.
17:45
2.60
24:65
21
7
342,752
Dec. 31.
15.25
2:50
23.90
19 10
The present price
1823. March 31.
15.20
2:50
24'
19 S
of wheat is less than
June 30.
15.
2:50
24:50
19 2
the cost of cultiva-
Sept. 30.
12-25
2:35
24.75
15 7
443,035
tion. The charge on
Dec. 31.
12.70
2:30
24.95
16 0
warehousing wheat
1824.
March 31.
12:90
2:30
25:40
16
1
at Odessa does not
June 30.
13*
2:30
25.10
16
3
exceed 2d. per quar-
Sept. 30.
13*
2:30
25:10
16 3
427,767
ter per month.
Dec. 31.
13*
2:30
24.50
16 7
The entire expense of importing a quarter of wheat from Odessa to London may be esti-
mated at from 16s. to 19s. We borrow, from the valuable evidence of J. Schneider, Eeq.
already referred to, the following account, which states in detail the various items of expense.
-(See Table, next page.)
The price free on board is estimated, in this Table, at under 16s., being no less than 12s.
below the average price of October and December, 1830, as returned by the consul ; but not-
withstanding, if we add to the cost of the wheat in London, as given in this statement, 6s.
of duty, and allow 10s. for its supposed inferiority to English wheat, its price here, when
thus reduced to the standard of the latter, would be about 50s. 6d. At present (7th of
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CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
515
October, 1833), Odessa wheat, entered for home consumption, is worth in the London mar-
ket from 43s. to 46s. ; being about 10s. below the average of English wheat.
PRO FORMA INVOICE of 2,000 Chetwerts of Wheat shipped at Odessa for London.
2,000 chetwerts wheat, at 12 rs. per chet.
-
-
-
-
-
Rs. 24,000
Charges.
Measuring when received, at 5 cops. per chet.
-
-
-
-
Rs. 100
Ditto when shipped
9
-
-
-
-
-
180
Duty
77
-
-
-
-
-
1,540
Carriage to the mole
18
-
-
-
-
-
360
Lighterage
15
-
-
-
-
-
300
Use of bags
10
-
-
-
-
-
200
Brokerage, 1 per cent.
-
-
-
.
-
-
-
120
2,800
Rs. 26,800
Commission, 3 per cent.
-
-
-
-
-
-
804
Rs. 27,600
Exchange at 24 rs. per £ sterling
£1,150 3 4
£ 8. d.
Would produce 1,450 Imperial quarters, to cost per quarter
-
-
-
0 15 10
Charges in London.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
Policy duty on 1,2001. at t per cent:
-
-
3 0 0
Insurance on 1,150L. at 21. 2s. per cent.
-
-
24 3 0
27 3 0
Commission do. 1
-
-
-
-
-
-
5 15 0
Freight on 1,453 quarters wheat, at 12s. per quarter
871 10 0
Primage, 10 per cent.
-
-
-
-
87 3 7
Gratification
-
-
-
-
-
10 10 0
969 9 7
Charterparty, 11.; Custom-house entries, 10s.
-
-
-
1 10 0
Metage on ship, at 4s. 3jd. per last
-
-
-
-
31 3 7
Lastage
-
-
-
-
1 4 2
Lighterage of 1,453 quarters at 4d.
-
-
-
24 4 4
Landing, wharfage, housing, and delivering, at 9d.
-
-
54 9 8
Rent, 4 weeks, at 5s. per 100 quarters per week
-
-
14 10 7
Metage, &c. ex granary
-
-
-
7 5 0
£1,136 15 0
Or per quarter
0 15 8
1 11 6
Estimated charge for probable damage on the voyage
-
-
-
-
0 2 0
Factorage in London
-
-
-
-
-
0 1 0
Del credere, 1 per cent.
£1 14 6
American Corn Trade-The prices of wheat at New York and Philadelphia may be
taken, on an average, at from 37s. to 40s. a quarter; and as the cost of importing a quarter
of wheat from the United States into England amounts to from 10s. to 12s., it is seen that
no considerable supply could be obtained from that quarter, were our prices under 50s. or
52s. It ought also to be remarked, that the prices in America are usually higher than in
the Baltic; so that but little can be brought from the former, except when the demand is
sufficient previously to take off the cheaper wheats of the northern ports.
The exports of wheat from the United States are, however, comparatively trifling it be-
ing in the shape of flour that almost all their exports of corn are made. The shipments of
this important article from Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Orleans, and other
ports, are usually very large. The British West Indies, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, England,
and France, are the principal markets to which it is sent. All sorts of flour, whether made
of wheat, rye, Indian corn, &c. exported from the United States, must previously be submit-
ted to the inspection of officers appointed for that purpose. The law further directs, that
the barrels, in which it is shipped, shall be of certain dimensions, and that each barrel shall
contain 196 lbs. of flour, and each half barrel 98 lbs. The inspector having ascertained that
the barrels correspond with the regulations as to size, weight, &c., decides as to the quality
of the flour; the first, or best sort, being branded Superfine; the second, Fine; the third,
Fine Middlings; and the fourth, or lowest quality, Middlings. Such barrels as are not
merchantable are marked Bad; and their exportation as well as the exportation of those
deficient in weight, is probibited. Rye flour is divided into 2 sorts, being either branded
Superfine Rye Flour, or Fine Rye Flour. Maize flour is branded Indian Meal; flour
made from buck-wheat is branded B. Meal. Indian meal may be exported in hbds. or 800
lbs. Flour for home consumption is not subjected to inspection. The inspection must take
place at the time and place of exportation, under a penalty of 5 dollars per barrel. Persons
altering or counterfeiting marks or brands forfeit 100 dollars; and persons putting fresh
Digitized by Google
516
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
flour into barrels already marked or branded, or offering adulterated wheaten flour for sale,
forfeit in either case 5 dollars for each barrel.
The fees of branding were reduced in 1832. They amount, in New York, to 3 cents for
each hogshead, and 1 cent for each barrel and half barrel of full weight. A fine of 30 cents
is levied on every barrel or half barrel below the standard weight, exclusive of 20 cents for
every pound that it is deficient.
The act 9 Geo. 4. c. 60. enacts, that every barrel of wheaten flour imported, shall be
deemed equivalent to 381 gallons of wheat, and shall be charged with a corresponding duty
(antè, p. 500). Hence, when the price of British wheat per quarter is between 52s. and
53s., the duty on the barrel of flour is 20s. 10±d.; when wheat is between 60s. and 61s., the
duty on flour is 16s. old; and when wheat is between 69s. and 70s., the duty on flour is
8s. 2td*
The following Tables, derived principally from private but authentic sources, give a very
complete view of the foreign corn trade of the United States during the last 10 years.
I.-Account of the Quantities of Flour and Grain exported from the United States, from October 1st,
1821, to September 30th, 1831, with the Prices of Flour at Philadelphia, and of Wheat and Indian
Corn at New York.
Price of Wheat
Price of Wheat
Price of Indian
Years.
Wheat Flour.
Rye Flour.
Corn Meal.
Wheat.
Indian Corn.
Flour per
Barrel at Phi-
per Bushel at
Corn per
Bushel at
ladelphia.
New York.
New York.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Bushels.
Bushels.
Dolla. cents.
Dolls. cents.
Dolls. cents.
1831
1,805,205
19,049
204,206
405,384
566,761
- -
1 19
0 70
1830
1,225,881
26,298
145,301
45,289
444,107
4 98
0 98
0 57
1829
837,385
34,191
173,775
4,007
897,656
6 35
1 38
9 58
1828
860,809
22,214
174,639
8,906
704,902
5 60
1 8
0 53
1827
865,491
13,345
131,041
22,182
978,664
5 23
0 97
0 65
1826
857,820
14,472
158,625
45,166
505,381
4 65
0 90
0 79
1825
813,906
29,545
187,285
17,960
869,644
5 10
1 4
0 56
1824
996,792
31,879
152,723
20,373
779,297
5 62
1 15
0 47
1823
756,702
25,665
141,501
4,272
749,034
6 82
1 5
0 53
1822
827,865
19,971
148,288
4,418
509,098
6 58
0 90
0 49
1821
1,056,119
23,523
131,669
25,812
607,277
4 78
0 89
0 53
II.-Account of the Quantity and Destination of Wheat Flour exported from the United States, com-
mencing 1st of October, 1821, and ending 30th of September, 1831.
America.
Europe.
Africa.
Asia.
Years.
British
Gr. Britain
West
South
Spain
Other
Total
N. Amer.
and
France.
and Por-
Madeira.
Parts of
All
All
Prov.
Indies.
Amer.
Ireland.
tugal.
Europe.
Parts.
Parts.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrets.
Barrels.
1831
150,645
371,876
319,616
879,430
23,991
364
12,811
35,416
2,751
8,305
1,805,205
1830
149,966
281,256
347,290
326,182
56,590
10,222
9,628
36,924
2,609
5,214
1,225,881
1829
91,088
248,236
235,591
221,176
17,464
509
3,779
14,959
221
4,362
837,385
1828
86,680
370,371
308,110
23,258
6,266
294
4,061
54,371
1,737
5,662
860,809
1827
107,420
362,674
271,524
53,129
19
4,293
5,171
52,114
4,909
7,238
865,491
1826
72,901
433,094
285,563
18,357
275
504
6,119
27,716
5,403
7,885
857,820
1825
30,780
429,760
252,786
27,272
102
730
3,597
55,818
7,623
15,438
813,906
1824
39,191
424,359
357,372
70,873
426
939
25,851
47,449
3,883
6,439
996,792
1823
29,681
442,468
198,256
4,252
51
62,387
4,752
2,088
903
11,864
756,702
1822
89,840
436,849
211,039
12,096
228
25,104
21,375
976
3,929
26,429
827,865
1821
131,035
551,396
156,888
94,541
1,175
71,958
26,572
9,074
3,123
10,357
1,056,119
Owing to the diminished demand in England, the exports in the year ending 30th of September,
1832, fell considerably under the level of the 2 preceding years, being only 864,919 barrels, valued at
4,880,623 dollars. There were exported, during the same year, 88,304 bushels of wheat, and 451,230
bushels of Indian -(Papers laid before Congress, 15th of February, 1833.)
Mr. Reuse gives (p. 120.) the following pro forma account of the expenses attending the importation
of a cargo of 5,000 bushels of wheat from New York, supposing it to cost 1 doll. 12 cents a bushel,
which is about its average price.
Dollars.
L 3. d.
L 8. d.
6,000 bushels, at 1 dol. 12 cents per bushel
5,600-00
Brought forward
117 7 I
Winnowing, measuring, and delivery on
Petty charges, at Is. per last of 10 qra.
2 12 0
board
150-00
Lighterage and porterage to granary, 9d.
Brokerage, 1-8 per cent.
28:00
per quarter
19 10 0
Insurance, 6,000 dols. at 1 1-2 per cent. 90-00
Granary rent and fire insurance, my 4
968-00
weeks, at 2s. per 100 qra. per week
220
Turning, at 2s. per 100 quarters
0106
5,860.00
Metage and porterage to the granary, at
Commission, 5 per cent.
293.40
4s. per 100 quarters
10 8 0
Do. do. from the do. at 6s. per qr. 11 16 8
6,161.40
Postage and stamps
7 0
Factorage, Is. per quarter
26 0 0
Exchange, 110 per cent.
L.
1,260 1 8
Commission, 2 1.2 per cent.
L. 8. d. L. & d.
Guarantee,
1
-
41-2 per 63 0 11
Freight, 125 tons at 15e. per
Interest,
1
-
244 4 2
ton
93
15
0
Primage, 5 per cent.
4 13 9
1,504 5 10
98 8 9
In London.
Entry, officer's fees, and city dues
10 0
103-06 quarters Winchester measure, equal to 100
Metage from the ship at 2a. 8d. per last of
quarters Imperial.
10 qra.
6184
5,000 bushels Winchester measure, equal to 604
quarters Imperial measure, costing 49a. 9 1-2d.
117 7 1
per quarter in bond
1,503 14 $
* There is a Table of the duties on flour, according to the variations in the price of British wheat, in
the valuable work of Mr. Reuss (p. 117.) relating to the trade between Great Britain and America.
Digitized by Google
CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.
517
The usual price of wheat in Canada, when there is a demand for the English market, is about 40s.
a quarter; but taking it as low as 35s., if we add to this 12s. a quarter as the expenses of carriage and
warehousing, it will make its price in Liverpool, when delivered to the consumer, 47s.; and being
spring wheat, it is not se valuable, by about 6s. a quarter, as English wheat. The duty on corn im-
ported from a British colony being, when the home price is under 67s., only 5s., it is suspected that a
good deal of the flour brought from Canada has been really furnished by the United States. It is cer-
tain, too, that in the present year (1833) wheat has been sent from Archangel to Canada, in the view
(as is alleged) of its being re-shipped, under the low duty, to British ports; the saving of duty being
supposed sufficient to countervail the cost of a double voyage across the Atlantic! But grain from
the colonies is not admitted into England at the low duty, without the exporters subscribing a declara-
tion that it is the produce of such colonies; any wilful inaccuracy in such document being punished
by the forfeiture of the corn 80 imported, and of 1001. of penalty; and in addition to this, the corn,
flour, &c. must also be accompanied by a certificate of origin subscribed by the collector or comptroller
at the port of abipment. It is, therefore, difficult to see how the importers of Russian corn into
Canada are to succeed in getting it shipped for England as colonial corn; and we believe that most
of it will go to the West Indies.
Account of all Corn and Flour imported into Great Britain from Canada, during the Five Years ending
with 1832; specifying the Quantities in each Year.-(Parl. Paper, No. 206. Sess. 1832.)
Corn and Flour.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Qre. bus.
Qrs. bus.
Qrs. bus.
Qre. bus.
Qrs. bus.
Wheat
-
-
-
14,415 4
4,055 5
58,963 6
189,885 1
88,686 6
Barley
-
-
-
-
-
-
209 5
Oats
-
-
-
580 0
61 4
1,223 1
3,750 2
0 2
Peas
-
-
-
1,868 3
1,616 2
1,424 6
461 6
8 0
Indian corn
-
-
50
7 0
.
Total of corn -
16,868 7
5,740 3
61,611 5
194,306
6
88,695 0
Cut. qre. lbs.
Cut. qrs. lbs.
Cut. qre. lbs.
Crot. qrs. lbs.
Crot. qre. lbs.
Wheat meal or flour -
16,571 0 27
5,579 1 0
61,904 3 13
96,039 1 14
48,809 2 27
Oatmeal -
-
-
-
-
519 1 13
142 0 24
1 2 13
Indian meal
-
-
-
1 3 6
Rye meal
-
-
-
-
-
885 0 15
Total of meal and flour
16,571 0 27
5,581 0 6
62,424 0 26
97,066 2 25
48,811 1 12
Inferences from the above Review of Prices.-We may, we think, satisfactorily conclude,
from this pretty lengthened review of the state of the foreign corn trade, that in the event of
all restrictions on the importation of corn into our markets being abolished, it could not, in
ordinary years, be imported for less than 46s. or 47s. a quarter. But taking it 80 low as
44s., it is plain it could not, in the event of its being charged with a duty of 6s. or 7s., be
sold for less than 50s. or 51s.
Now, it appears, from the account No. III. page 506., that the average price of wheat in
England and Wales for the ten years ending with 1832, amounted to 61s. 83d. a quarter
and it will be observed that the crops from 1826 to 1831 were very deficient, and that the
importations in those years were unusually large. But without taking this circumstance
into account, it is clear, from the previous statements, that the opening of the ports under a
fixed duty of 6s. or 7s. could not occasion a reduction of more than 9s. or 10s. a quarter
in the prices of the last 10 years; and not more than 7s. or 8s. on the prices of last year
(1832).
We feel pretty confident that these statements cannot be controverted; and they show,
conclusively, how erroneous it is to suppose that the repeal of the existing corn laws, and
the opening of the ports for importation, under a duty of 6s. or 7s. would throw a large pro-
portion of our cultivated lands into pasture, and cause a ruinous decline in the price of corn.
The average price of wheat in England and Wales, in 1802, 1803, and 1804,-years of
decided agricultural improvement,-was exactly 61s. a quarter, being almost identical with
its price during the last 10 years; while the reduction of taxation, the greater cheapness of
labour, and the various improvements that have been made in agriculture since 1804, must
enable corn to be raised from the same soils at a less expense now than in that year. It
cannot be justly said that 1823 was by any means an unfavourable year for the farmers; and
yet the average price of wheat was then only 51s. 9d., being rather less than its probable
average price under the system we have ventured to propose. The landlords and farmers
may, therefore, take courage. Their prosperity does not depend on restrictive regulations;
but is the effect of the fertility of the soil which belongs to them, of the absence of all oppres-
sive feudal privileges, and of the number and wealth of the consumers of their produce. The
unbounded freedom of the corn trade would not render it necessary to abandon any but the
most worthless soils, which ought never to have been broken up; and would, consequently,
have but a very slight effect on rent; while it would be in other respects supremely ad-
vantageous to the landlords, whose interests are closely identified with those of the other
classes.
(Corn (PRICE or).-The average prices of British corn during the six years ending
with 1838 have been
VoL. L-2 X
Digitized by Google
518
COTTON.
Years.
Wheat.
Rye.
Barley.
Oats.
Peas.
Beans.
&
d.
a.
d.
s.
d
8.
d.
&
d.
8.
d
1833
52 11
32 11
27 6
18 5
36 5
33 2
1834
46 2
32 9
29 0
20 11
39 4
35 3
1835
39 4
30 4
29 11
22 0
36 6
36 11
1836
48 6
33 4
32 10
23 1
39 1
38 4
1837
55 10
34 9
30 4
23 1
38 7
37 6
1838
64 7
35 1
31 5
22 5
36 8
37 2
The average prices of wheat, barley, and oats, in England and Wales, during the seven years ending
the 31st of December, 1835, were, wheat, 56s. 3d.; barley, 31s. 9d.; and oats, 22s. These prices are
important, being those by which the tithe-commutations under the late act are to be determined.
Corn (ISLE OF MAN).-All foreign corn imported into the Isle of Man is now subject to
the same duties as in the United Kingdom.-(5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 13.)
CoRN (PRICE OF IN FRANCE).-We copy from the Times the following
Table of the average Prices of Wheat in France at the End of October of each Year, from 1819 to 1836,
both inclusive, according to the official Returns, with their Equivalents in English Measure and
Money:-
Years.
Per hect.
Per qr.
Years.
Per bect.
Per qr.
fr. c.
a.
d.
r. c.
d
1819
15 29
35 0
1828
21 69
49 8
1820
19 56
44 9
1829
21 60
40 5
1821
15 99
36 8
1830
23 29
53 4
1822
15 55
35 7
1831
22 88
52 5
1823
15 72
35 11
1832
18 07
42 9
1824
14 46
33 0
1833
15 42
35 4
1825
15 24
34 11
1834
14 56
33 4
1826
15 55
35 7
1835
13 95
32 0
1827
18 77
43 8
1836
17 3
39 0
The average of the whole period is 17fr. 51c. per hectolitre, equal to 40s. Id. per quarter; and it will
be remarked that the average of last year is the lowest of the whole period.
The average price of British wheat during the second week of October, 1835, was 37s. a quarter,
being lower than it has been at any time since 1780.Sup.)
[For farther information concerning the American corn trade, see articles FLOUR, and
IMPORTS AND Exports.-Am. Ed.]
COTTON (Ger. Baumwolle; Du. Katoen, Boomwol; Da. Bomuld; Sw. Bomull; Fr.
Coton; It. Colone, Bambagia; Sp. Algodon; Port. Algodao; Rus. Chlobtsehataja buma-
ga; Pol. Bawelna; Lat. Gossypium, Bombax; Arab. Kutun; Sans. Kapasa; Hind.
Rûhi; Malay, Kapas), a species of vegetable wool, the produce of the Gossypium herbaceum,
or cotton shrub, of which there are many varieties. It is found growing naturally in all
the tropical regions of Asia, Africa, and America, whence it has been transplanted, and has
become an important object of cultivation, in the southern parts of the United States, and to
some extent also in Europe.
Cotton is distinguished in commerce by its colour, and the length, strength, and fineness
of its fibre. White is usually considered as characteristic of secondary quality. Yellow, or
a yellowish tinge, when not the effect of accidental wetting or inclement seasons, is con-
sidered as indicating greater fineness.
There are many varieties of raw cótton in the market, their names being principally de-
rived from the places whence they are brought. They are usually classed under the denomi-
nations of long and short stapled. The best of the first is the sea-island cotton, or that
brought from the shores of Georgia; but its qualities differ so much, that the price of the
finest specimens is often four times as great as that of the inferior. The superior samples of
Brazil cotton are reckoned among the long stapled. The upland or bowed Georgia cotton
forms the largest and best portion of the short stapled class. All the cottons of India are
short stapled.
The estimation in which the different kinds of cotton wool are held may be learned from
the following statement of their prices in Liverpool, on the 1st of November, 1833.
Prices of Cotton in Liverpool, lat November, 1833.
d.
d.
d.
d
Sea-island, stained and saw-ginn'd
8 to 12
Alabama and Mobile, good fair
-
87 - If
inferior
-
-
12f 13
good
-
of 10f
middling
-
-
13 - 131
Upland, inferior
-
-
-
71 8
fair, clean, not fine
-
131 14
middling -
-
-
84 - 8t
good,clean,& rather fine
141 15}
fair
-
-
-
84 - of
fine and clean
-
-
16 - 20
good fair -
-
-
9 - of
New Orleans, inferior
-
-
77 81
good
-
-
at
of 10}
middling
-
-
81 - 84
Egyptian
-
-
-
-
13 - 12t
fair
-
-
81 91
Pernambuco
-
-
-
94 114
good fair
-
-
91 - 97
Bahia
-
-
-
-
9 - 10+
good
-
-
9's 101
Maranham -
-
-
-
of - II
very choice gin marks
11 - 12
Demerara -
-
-
-
8+ - 114
Alabama and Mobile, inferior
-
71 71
West India
-
1
-
8 - of
middling
-
8 - 84
Carthagena
-
-
-
7 - 8
fair
-
87 84
Surat
-
-
-
-
# it
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
519
The inferiority of Bengal and Surat cotton is sometimes ascribed to the defective mode in
which it is prepared but Mr. Horace H. Wilson doubts whether it can be grown in India of
a better kind. The raw cotton of the Indian islands has hitherto been almost entirely con-
sumed on the spot.
A small quantity of very superior cotton has been imported from New South Wales.
The manufacture of cotton has been carried on in Hindostan from the remotest antiquity.
Herodotus mentions (lib. iii. c. 106.) that in India there are wild trees that produce a sort
of wool superior to that of sheep, and that the natives dress themselves in cloth made of it.
-(See, to the same effect, Arrian Indic. c. 16. p. 582.) The manufacture obtained no foot-
ing worth mentioning in Europe till last century.
1. Rise and Progress of the British Cotton Manufacture.-The rapid growth and pro-
digious magnitude of the cotton manufacture of Great Britain are beyond all question the
most extraordinary phenomena in the history of industry. Our command of the finest wool.
naturally attracted our attention to the woollen manufacture, and paved the way for that
superiority in it to which we have long since attained but when we undertook the cotton
manufacture, we had comparatively few facilities for its prosecution, and had to struggle
with the greatest difficulties. The raw material was produced at an immense distance from
our shores; and in Hindostan and China the inhabitants had arrived at such perfection in
the arts of spinning and weaving, that the lightness and delicacy of their finest cloths emu-
lated the web of the gossamer, and seemed to set competition at defiance. Such, however,
has been the influence of the stupendous discoveries and inventions of Hargraves, Arkwright,
Crompton, Cartwright, and others, that we have overcome all these difficulties-that neither
the extreme cheapness of labour in Hindostan, nor the excellence to which the natives had
attained, has enabled them to withstand the competition of those who buy their cotton and
who, after carrying it 5,000 miles to be manufactured, carry back the goods to them. This
is the greatest triumph of mechanical genius and what perhaps is most extraordinary, our
superiority is not the late result of a long series of successive discoveries and inventions on
the contrary, it has been accomplished in a very few years. Little more than half a century
has elapsed since the British cotton manufactory was in its infancy and it now forms the
principal business carried on in the country,-affording an advantageous field for the accu-
mulation and employment of millions upon millions of capital, and of thousands upon thou-
sands of workmen The skill and genius by which these astonishing results have been
achieved, have been one of the main sources of our power they have contributed in no
common degree to raise the British nation to the high and conspicuous place she now occu-
pies. Nor is it too much to say that it was the wealth and energy derived from the cotton
manufacture that bore us triumphantly through the late dreadful contest, at the same time
that it gives us strength to sustain burdens that would have crushed our fathers, and could
not be supported by any other people.
The precise period when the manufacture was introduced into England is not known;
but it is most probable that it was some time in the early part of the 17th century. The
first authentic mention is made of it by Lewis Roberts, in hisTreasure of Traffic, published
in 1641, where it is stated, " The town of Manchester, in Lancashire, must be also herein
remembered, and worthily for their encouragement commended, who buy the yarne of the
Irish in great quantity, and weaving it, returne the same again into Ireland to sell. Neither
doth their industry rest here; for they buy cotton wool in London that comes first from
Cyprus and Smyrna, and at home worke the same, and perfect it into fustians, vermillions,
dimities, and other such stuffes, and then return it to London, where the same is vented and
sold, and not seldom sent into forrain parts, who have means, at far easier termes, to provide
themselves of the said first materials.-(Orig. ed. p. 32.) It is true, indeed, that mention is
frequently made by previous writers, and in acts of the legislature passed at a much earlier
period,* of " Manchester cottons," " cotton velvets," " fustians," &c. but it is certain that
these articles were wholly composed of wool, and had most probably been denominated cot-
tons from their having been prepared in imitation of some of the cotton fabrics imported from
India and Italy.
From the first introduction of the cotton manufacture into Great Britain down to the com-
paratively late period of 1773, the weft or transverse threads of the web, only, were of cot-
ton; the warp, or longitudinal threads, consisting wholly of linen yarn, principally im-
ported from Germany and Ireland. In the first stage of the manufacture, the weavers dispersed
in cottages throughout the country, furnished themselves, as well as they could with the
warp and weft for their webs, and carried them to market when they were finished but
about 1760, a new system was introduced. The Manchester merchants began about that
time to send agents into the country, who employed weavers, whom they supplied with
foreign or Irish linen yarn for warp, and with raw cotton, which being carded and spun, by
In an act of 5 & 6 Edw. 6. (1552), entitled, for the true making of WOOLLEN cloth, it is ordered,
" That all cottons called Manchester, Lancaskire, and Cheshire cottons, full wrought for sale, shall be in
length," &c. This proves incontestably, that what were then called cottons were made wholly of
wool.
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means of a common spindle or distaff, in the weaver's own family, was then used for welt.
A system of domestic manufacture was thus established; the junior branches of the family
being employed in the carding and spinning of the cotton, while its head was employed in
weaving, or in converting the linen and cotton yarn into cloth. This system, by relieving
the weaver from the necessity of providing himself with linen yam for warp and raw cotton
for weft, and of seeking customers for his cloth when finished, and enabling him to prosecute
his employment with greater regularity, was an obvious improvement on the system that
had been previously followed; but it is at the same time clear that the impossibility of mak-
ing any considerable division among the different branches of a manufacture so conducted,
or of prosecuting them on a large scale, added to the interruption given to the proper business
of the weavers, by the necessity of attending to the cultivation of the patches of ground
which they generally occupied, opposed invincible obstacles to its progress, se long as it was
conducted in this mode.
It appears from the Custom-house returns, that the total quantity of cotton wool annually
imported into Great Britain, at an average of the five years ending with 1705, amounted to
only 1,170,881 lbs. The accounts of the imports of cotton from 1720 to 1770 have not
been preserved; but until the last 2 or 3 years of that period the manufacture increased very
slowly, and was of very trifling amount. Dr. Percival, of Manchester, who had the best
means of being accurately informed on the subject, states that the entire value of all the cot-
ton goods manufactured in Great Britain, at the accession of George III. in 1760, was esti-
mated to amount to only 200,000/. a year, and the number of persons employed was quite
inconsiderable but in 1767, a most ingenious person, James Hargraves, a carpenter at
Blackburn in Lancashire, invented the spinning jenny. At its first invention, this admira-
ble machine enabled eight threads to he spun with the same facility as one; and it was
subsequently brought to such perfection, that a little girl was able to work no fewer than
from eighty to one hundred and twenty spindles.
The jenny was applicable only to the spinning of cotton for weft, being unable to give to
the yarn that degree of firmness and hardness which is required in the longitudinal threads
or warp but this deficiency was soon after supplied by the introduction of the spinning-
frame,-that wonderful piece of machinery which spins a vast number of threads of any
degree of fineness and hardness, leaving to man merely to feed the machine with cotton, and
to join the threads when they happen to break. It is not difficult to understand the princi-
ple on which this machine is constructed, and the mode of its operation. It consists of two
pairs of rollers, turned by means of machinery. The lower roller of each pair is furrowed or
fluted longitudinally, and the upper one is covered with leather, to make them take a hold
of the cotton. If there were only one pair of rollers, it is clear that a carding of cotton
passed between them would be drawn forward by the revolution of the rollers, but it would
merely undergo a certain degree of compression from their action. No sooner, however,
has the carding, or roving, as it is technically termed, begun to pass through the first pair
of rollers, than it is received by the second pair, which are made to revolve with (as the case
may be) 3, 4, or 5 times the velocity of the first pair. By this admirable contrivance, the
roving is drawn out into a thread of the desired degree of tenuity a twist being given to it
by the adaptation of the spindle and fly of the common flax-wheel to the machinery.
Such is the principle on which Sir Richard Arkwright constructed his famous spinning
frame. It is obvious that it is radically and completely different from the previous methods
of spinning, either by the common hand-wheel or distaff, or by the jenny, which is only a
modification of the common wheel. Spinning by rollers was an entirely original idea and
it is difficult which to admire most-the profound and fortunate sagacity which led to so
great a discovery, or the consummate skill and address by which it was 80 speedily perfected,
and reduced to practice.*
Since the dissolution of Sir Richard Arkwright's patent, in 1785, the progress of discovery
and improvement in every department of the manufacture has been most rapid. The mule-
jenny-so called from its being a compound of the jenny and the spinning frame-invented
by Mr. Crompton, and the power-loom, invented by the Rev. Mr. Cartwright, are machines
that have had the most powerful influence on the manufacture and in consequence of their
introduction, and of innumerable other inventions and improvements, the prices of cotton
There is, in the new edition of the Encyclopadia Britannica, a pretty full account of the life of Sir
Richard Arkwright. The question as to his merit as an original discoverer is still undecided. Re-
cently, however, it has been ascertained that a patent for spinning by rollers, revolving with different
degrees of velocity, was taken out by Messrs. Wyatt and Paul, 80 early as 1738.-(See the excellent
Account of the Cotton Manufacture, by Edward Baines, jun,, Esq.) But it does not appear that the
inventors had been able to give effect to their happy idea, and all traces of the invention seem to have
been lost. The statements in the case printed by Sir Richard Arkwright and his partners in 1782,
show, that he was aware of the attempts made in the reign of George II. to spin by machinery but
there is no evidence to prove that he was acquainted with the principle on which these attempts had
been made, or that he had seen the patent referred to. Undoubtedly, however, the probability seems
to be that he had. But admitting this to be the case, it detracts but bittle from the substantial merits
of Sir Richard Arkwright If the idea of spinning by rollers did not spring up spontaneously in his
mind, he was, at all events, the first who made it available in practice; and showed how it might be
rendered a most prolific source of wealth.
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cloth and yarn have gone on progressively diminishing. But as the demand for cottons has
been, owing to their extraordinary cheapness, extended in a still greater degree, the value of
the goods produced, and the number of persons employed in the manufacture, are now de-
cidedly greater than at any previous period.
2. Imports of Cotton Wool. Countries whence it is imported. Prices, Duties, &c.
The following Tables have been partly taken from official documents, and partly from the
accounts of merchants of great experience. We believe they may be relied on as approach-
ing as near to accuracy as it is possible to attain to in such matters.
Account of the Imports and Exports of Cotton Wool to and from Great Britain, from 1781 to 1812,
both inclusive.
Years.
Imported.
Exported.
Years.
Imported.
Exported.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
1781
5,198,778
96,788
1797
23,354,371
609,058
1782
11,828,039
421,229
1798
31,880,641
601,139
1783
9,735,663
177,626
1799
43,379,278
844,671
1784
11,482,083
201,845
1800
56,010,732
4,416,610
1785
18,400,384
407,496
1801
56,004,305
1,860,872
1786
19,475,020
323,153
1802
60,345,600
3,730,480
1787
23,250,268
1,073,381
1803
53,812,284
1,561,053
1788
20,467,436
853,146
1804
61,867,329
503,171
1789
32,576,023
297,837
1805
59,682,406
804,243
1790
31,447,605
844,154
1806
58,176,283
651,867
1791
28,706,675
363,442
1807
74,925,306
2,176,943
1792
34,907,497
1,485,465
1808
43,605,982
1,644,867
1793
19,040,929
1,171,566
1809
92,812,282
4,351,105
1794
24,358,567
1,349,950
1810
132,488,935
8,787,109
1795
26,401,340
1,193,737
1811
91,576,535
1,266,867
1796
32,126,357
694,962
1812
63,025,936
1,740,912
Account of the Imports of Cotton Wool into Great Britain, of the Stocks on hand on the 31st of
December, of the Annual and Weekly Delivery for Consumption, the Amount of the Crops of
Cotton in North America, and the Average price of Uplands, each Year from 1814 to 1832, both in-
lusive.-(Furnished by Mr. Cook, of Mincing Lane.)
Total Imports
Stock in the
Total Deliveries
Estimated
Amount of
Average
Years.
into Great
Ports,
for Consump-
weekly
Crop in
Price of
Britain.
31st of December.
tion.
Consumption.
North America.
Uplands.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Per lb.
1814
73,728,000
22,272,000
80,640,000
1,664,000
28d.
1815
96,200,000
22,360,000
85,800,000
1,612,000
20fd.
1816
97,310,000
22,355,000
88,631,000
1,709,500
1817
126,210,000
31,034,000
No correct
184d.
108,356,000
2,051,400
20d.
1818
173,940,000
85,800,000
111,800,000
2,132,000
returns.
20d.
1819
137,592,000
88,452,000
108,864,000
2,116,800
13&d.
1820
147,576,000
103,458,000
125,646,000
2,322,000
114d.
1821
126,420,000
106,800,000
126,420,000
2,476,800
110,940,000
9jd.
1822
141,510,000
76,362,000
144,180,000
2,750,100
121,485,000
81d.
1823
183,700,000
105,875,000
147,125,000
3,025,000
136,125,000
84d.
1824
147,420,000
64,428,000
174,174,000
3,166,800
152,880,000
8ld.
1825
244,360,000
123,968,000
169,264,000
3,456,000
169,860,000
11td.
1826
170,520,000
100,548,000
164,640,000
3,410,400
211,680 000
62d.
1827
264,330,000
134,244,000
211,167,000
3,801,600
285,120,000
6ld.
1828
222,750,000
120,582,000
217,701,000
4,158,000
213,840,000
64d.
1829
218,324,000
84,966,000
221,676,000
4,263,000
255,780,000
57d.
1830
259,856,000
95,360,000
242,000,000
4,768,000
292,040,000
6rd.
1831
280,080,000
84,090,000
257,500,000
5,017,700
311,655,000
5}d.
1832
270,690,000
73,560,000
259,950,000
5,330,500
296,245,000
6rd.
In 1786, the supplies of cotton wool were derived from the following sources :-
lbs.
From the British West Indies
-
-
-
- 5,800,000
French and Spanish colonies
-
-
- 5,500,000
Dutch colonies
-
-
-
-
- 1,600,000
Portuguese colonies
-
-
-
- 2,000,000
Smyrna and Turkey
-
-
-
- 5,000,000
19,900,000 lbs.
Previously to 1790, North America did not supply us with a single pound weight of raw
cotton. A little had, indeed, been raised in some of the Southern States, for domestic use,
before the revolutionary war, but the quantity was quite inconsiderable. In 1791, it began,
for the first time, to be exported ; the trifling quantity of 189,316 lbs. having been shipped
in the course of that year, and 138,328 lbs. in 1792. Such was the late and feeble begin-
ning of the American cotton trade. There is nothing in the history of industry to compare
with its subsequent increase, unless it be the growth of the manufacture in this country.
American cotton is generally known by the names of sea-island and upland. The first,
which is the finest cotton imported into Britain, grows on the small sandy islands, and along
the low sandy shores of Carolina and Georgia. It is long in the staple, of an even silky
texture, and is easily separated from the seed. Unluckily, however, it can be raised only in
certain situations so that its quantity is limited, and has not, in fact, been increased since
1805. The upland, of which the supply may be considered as unlimited, though of vary-
ing qualities, is all short stapled and its separation from the seed is so very difficult, that if
2 X 2
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COTTON.
it be done by the hand, the cotton is hardly worth the labour. This, however, was the only
way in which it could be made available for home use, or exportation, previously to 1793 =
and had any one then ventured to predict that 10,000,000 lbs. of upland cotton would,ever
be exported, he would have been looked upon as a visionary dreamer. But the genius of
Mr. Eli Whitney did for the planters of the Southern States what the genius of Arkwright
and Watt did for the manufacturers of England. He invented a machine by which the
wool of the upland cotton is separated from the seed with the greatest facility and expedi-
tion, and by 80 doing laid the foundations of a new and most important branch of industry,
and doubled the wealth and means of employment of his countrymen !-(Pitkin's Statis-
tics of the United States, p. 109. ed. 1835.) Whitney's invention came into operation in
1793, and in 1794, 1,601,760 lbs., and, in 1795, 5,276,300 lbs. of cotton were exported.
And SO astonishing has been the growth of cotton in the interval, that the exports from the
United States in 1837 amounted to the prodigious quantity of 444,211,537 lbs. of which
438,924,566 lbs. were upland !
ACCOUNT of the Quantities of Cotton Wool imported into the United Kingdom during the Six Years
ending with 1837, specifying the Quantities brought from different Countries, the Total Quantities
exported, and the Quantities left for Consumption.-(Compiled from Parl. Papers.)
Countries.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1838.
1837.
Cotton wool from foreign countries, viz.-
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
United States of America
219,756,753
937,506,758
269,203,073
284,455,812
289,615,692
320,651,716
Brazil
20,109,560
28,463,821
19,291,396
24,9-6,409
27,501,272
20,940,145
Turkey and Egypt
9,113,890
967,282
855,167
5,73x,966
5,426,721
7,851,540
Other foreign countries
598,048
1,696,108
2,260,852
5,207,389
6,734,413
4,616,329
Cotton wool from British possessions, viz-
East Indies and Mauritius
35,178,625
32,755,164
32,920,865
41,474,909
75,957,887
51,577,197
British West Indies, the growth of
1,708,764
1,663,166
1,672,211
1,496,517
1,312,806
1,199,163
Di:to, ditto, imported from
331,664
431,696
624,314
319,753
401,531
396,540
Other British possessions
35,221
162,862
47,546
24,208
8,735
23,654
Total quantities imported
286,832,525
303,656,837
326,875,425
363,702,968
406,959,067
407,256,7-3
Quantities exported
18,027,940
17,363,882
24,461.983
32,779,734
31,739,763
39,722,031
Left for consumption
268,804,585
296,292,955
302,414,462
330,923,229
375,219,294
367,564,752
It has been the practice for many years past to levy a duty on cotton wool, when import-
ed. The policy of such a duty is very questionable; and it would be quite intolerable, were
it not kept at a low rate. For a number of years previously to 1831, it amounted (on
foreign cotton) to 6 per cent. ad valorem; but, in order to make up, in part, at least, for the
loss of revenue caused by the repeal of the duty on printed cottons-(see CALICO), it was
raised in that year to 5s. 10d. a cwt. Such a duty would have materially affected the im-
ports of the inferior species of cotton, and the price of coarse goods; and being, in conse-
quence, justly objected to, it was reduced in 1833 to 2s. 11d. a cwt. The duty on cotton
from a British possession is little more than nominal, being only 4d. a cwt. At an average
of 1836 and 1837, the duties on cotton produced 440,3321. a year.
The subjoined statement is taken from the circular of George Holt and Co., eminent cot-
ton brokers at Liverpool, dated 31st of December, 1838. It contains some additional and in-
structive details. Its near agreement with the previous statements affords a strong proof of
their and its accuracy.
Statement of the Consumption, Exportation, &c. of the different Sorts of Cotton Wool, in and from
Great Britain, in different Years, from 1816 to 1838, both inclusive.
Average weekly consump-
1816.
1820.
1825.
1830.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
tion.
Upland
-
2,918
3,713
5,452
5,742
5,896
4,737
4,438
5,506
Orleans and Tennessee
990
1,192
2,442
4,756
7,352
7,823
9 204
10,223
11,742
Sea-island
-
409
360
460
498
354
379
310
317
Total United States
4,036
4,519
6,515
10,668
13,592
14,073
14,370
14,971
17,564
Brazil
1,599
2,408
2,502
3,602
2,665
2,339
2,508
2,493
2,460
Egypt
-
-
891
508
131
446
644
779
!
East India
207
1,518
1,096
940
1,033
1,069
1,492
1,639
1,760
Demerara, West India, &c.
656
634
527
284
246
421
433
461
639
Total
6,488
8,979
11,531
16,002
17,667
18,348
19,452
20,333
23,204
Packages annually con-
sumed
337,400
466,900
599,600
832,100
918,700
954,100
1,011,500
1,057,300
1,206,600
Average wt. of packages
consumed, in lbs.
263
258
278
298
380
333
343
346
346
Weekly consumption in
packages, average 346
5,122
6,945
9,634
14,320
17,508
18,348
19,283
20,333
23,204
lbs.
Average wt. of packages
256
249
270
300
337
331
342
347
350
imported, in lbs.
Packages exported
29,300
28,400
72,800
33,400
86,800
102,800
105,900
123,400
103,300
Lbs. weight annually im-
ported in millions and
tenths
}
93-9
143.9
922-4
261.2
320-6
361-7
410-8
408-2
501-0
Lbs. WI. consumed, do.
88-7
120-3
166.8
247-6
303-4
3181
347.4
365-7
416-7
Lbs. weight in ports, 31st
of Dec.
do.
19-2
110-5
107.0
91-4
63-2
73.3
92.0
82.1
110-1
Lbs. weight in Great Bri-
inmin
-
187-0
115.5
118.8
82.3
89 6
116-3
115-6
160-9
tain
do.
Average price per lb. of
18 1-4d.
1.2d.
11-6d.
6-9d.
8-6d.
10 1-4d.
9-85d.
7d.
7d.
uplands in Liverpool
Do. do. Pernams
26d.
15 1.2d.
15-1d.
8 1-4d.
11.9d.
14.1d.
12-85d.
9 3-4d.
9375d
Do.
do.
Surats
15 1-4d.
8 1-2d.
8-9d.
5d.
6-6d.
7 1-2d.
6 3-4d.
4.85d.
N.B. Messrs. Holt and Co. estimate the average weight of the packages imported in 1838 at 332 lbs.
per bag Upland; 406 lbs. Orleans and Alabama ; 320 lbs. Sea-island; 174 lbs. Brazil; 220 lbs. Egyp-
tian; 350 lbs. East Indian; and 146 lbs. West Indian.
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COTTON.
523
We subjoin, from Burns' Glance, a tabular statement, annually published at Manchester,
and admitted to be drawn up with great care, an account of the cotton spun in Great
Britain and Ireland in 1838, and how that spun in England was disposed of, with several
other interesting particulars.
Statement of Cotton spun in England, Scotland, and Ireland, in 1838, showing the Quantity of Yarn
produced, and how that spun in England was disposed of.
Number of
Average
Weekly Consumption
Bags
Weight of Bags
Total Weight in lbs.
of describing
consumed.
in lbs.
each sort.
Great Britain.
American cotton
938,168
373
349,936,664
18,041.36
Brazil ditto
147,392
171
25,204,032
2,834.24
Egyptian ditto
40,273
284
11,437,532
774.25
East India ditto
94,468
363
34,291,884
1,816.36
West India ditto
16,519
316
5,220,004
317-35
Total number of bags consumed
1,236,820
346
426,090,116
23,785
Allowed for loss in spinning 1 3-4 oz. per lb.
46,603,606
Total quantity spun in England and Scotland
-
379,486,510
Deduct quantity spun in Scotland
-
34,823,466
Total quantity spun in England in 1838
-
344,663,044
How disposed of.
Exported in yarn during the year
113,753,197
Ditto
in thread
2,362,983
Ditto in manufactured goods
120,784,629
Estimated quantity of yarn sent to Scotland and Ireland
6,875,952
Exported in mixed manufactures, not stated In the above-named articles, consumed in
cotton banding, healds, candle and lamp wick, waddings, flocks, calender bowls, paper,
umbrellas, hats, and loss in manufacturing goods
16,753,000
Balance left for home consumption and stock, 1st January, 1339
84,133,283
344,663,044
Ditto
ditto
ditto
1838
63,657,902
Ditto
ditto
ditto
1837
43,486,686
Ditto
ditto
ditto
1836
49,932,800
Ireland.
Gross weight of cotton spun in Ireland in 1838
4,412,860
Allowed for loss in spinning 1 3-4 oz. per lb.
482,656
Total quantity of yarn spun in Ireland in 1838
3,930,204
In 1832 the quantity spun was 222,596,907 lbs, giving a weekly supply of 4,280,709 lbs. Mr. Burns
estimates the quantity spun per spindle, per week, at 84 oz., making the total number of spindles
employed in England and Wales, in 1832, 7,949,208. Those employed in Scotland, during the same
year, are estimated, in the same way, at 881,020. Mr. Burns further calculates the number of looms
employed in England and Wales, in 1832, at 203,703. The consumption of flour in the manufacture is
much greater than any one not pretty well acquainted with it would readily suppose. The average
quantity required for each loom is estimated at 4 lbs. per week; making the total annual consumption
in England and Wales, in 1832, 42,301,584 lbs., or 215,824 barrels of 196 lbs. each!
Account of the Consumption of the various Descriptions of Cotton in the undermentioned Countries
in 1837, and of the Stocks on hand on the 1st of January, 1838, in Bales.-(From the Circular of
Messrs. Colman and Stolterhoft, Liverpool.)
U. States.
Brazil.
W. Indies.
E. Indies.
Egypt.
Total.
Consumption in Great Britain
805,648
129,605
29,228
85,923
39,079
1,089,493
Ditto
France
255,805
22,638
22,437
-
56,809
357,689
Ditto
Holland
18,709
409
3,705
17,006
1,063
40,891
Ditto
Belgium
22,739
1,119
2,637
17.016
40
43,550
Ditto
Germany
27,892
3,610
10,971
19,943
315
62,731
Ditto
Trieste
18,332
917
-
1,056
75,228
95,533
Shipped from Great Britain to places
not mentioned
11,400
2,700
500
11,250
-
25,850
Total Consumption, 1837
1,160,524
160,998
69,478
152,193
172,534
1,715,727
Stock 1st Jan. 1838.
Great Britain
88,160
28,460
14,520
109,210
18,990
259,340
France
28,938
2,217
11,863
-
20,504
63,542
Holland
4,515
653
3,132
8,510
575
17,685
Belgium
1,260
113
1,151
2,008
200
4,722
Germany
6,265
3,101
6,087
4,700
IS
20,166
Trieste
5,165
712
-
112
14,250
20,239
Total
134,613
35,256
36,753
124,540
54,532
385,694
3. Value of the British Cotton Manufacture in 1833. Amount of Capital, and Number
of Persons employed in it.-It would be very desirable to be able to form a tolerably accu-
rate estimate of the present value of the cotton manufacture, and of the number of persons
employed in its different departments; but the data on which such estimates are founded
being necessarily very loose, it is impossible to arrive at any thing like precision. Perhaps,
however, the following calculations are not very wide of the mark.
In 1817, Mr. Kennedy, one of the best informed cotton manufacturers in the empire, in a
paper published in the Manchester Transactions, estimated the number of persons employed
in the spinning of cotton in Great Britain at 110,763; the aid they derived from steam
engines as equal to the power of 20,768 horses; and the number of spindles in motion at
6,645,833. M. Kennedy further estimated the number of hanks of yarn annually produced
at 3,987,500,000; and the quantity of coal consumed in their production at 500,479
tons. We subjoin Mr. Kennedy's statement for the year 1817:-
Digitized by
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524
COTTON.
Raw cotton converted into yara in the United Kingdom
110,000,000 lbs.
Loss in spinning estimated at 1 1-2 OK, per lb.
10,312,500
Quantity of yarn produced
99,687,500 the
Number of banks, taking the average at 40 per lb.
3,987,500,000
Number of spindles employed, each spindle being supposed to produce 2 banks per day, at 300 working days in the
year
6,645,933
Number of persons employed in spiming, supposing each to produce 120 banks per day
110,783
Horse power employed, equal in number to
20,763
Four ounces and a half of coal estimated to produce one bank of No. 40; and 130 lbs. of coal per day equal to one horse power.
But the cotton manufacture has increased rapidly since 1817. Mr. Huskisson stated, in
his place in the House of Commons, in March, 1824, that he believed the total value of the
cotton goods then annually manufactured in Great Britain amounted to the prodigious sam
of thirty-three and a half millions; and we believe we shall be about the mark, if we
estimate their present value at thirty-four millions! If, indeed, we took the increase in the
imports of the raw material as a test of the increase in the value of the manufacture, we
should estimate it a great deal higher. But it will be afterwards seen that the improvements
that have been made in the different processes, and the fall in the price of raw cotton, have
had so powerful an influence in reducing the price of the goods brought to market, that, not-
withstanding the increase of their quantity, their total value must have remained nearly constant.
The average annual quantity of cotton wool imported, after deducting the exports, may
be taken at about 260,000,000 lbs. weight. It is supposed, that of this quantity about
20,000,000 lbs. are used in a raw or half manufactured state, leaving a balance of 240,000,000
for the purposes of manufacturing, the cost of which may be taken, on an average, at 7d.
per lb. Deducting, therefore, from the total value of the manufactured goods, or 34,000,000L,
the value of the raw material, amounting to 7,000,000L, there remains 27,000,000L which,
of course, forms the fund whence the wages of the persons employed in the various depart-
ments of the manufacture, the profits of the capitalists, the sums required to repair the wear
and tear of buildings, machinery, &c., the expense of coals, &c. &c., must all be derived.
If, then, we had any means of ascertaining how this fund is distributed, we should be able,
by taking the average of wages and profits, to form a pretty accurate estimate of the number
of labourers, and the quantity of capital employed. But here, unfortunately, we have only
probabilities and analogies to guide us. It may, however, be confidently assumed, in the
first place, that in consequence of the extensive employment of highly valuable machinery in
all the departments of the cotton manufacture, the proportion which the profits of capital,
and the sum to be set aside to replace its wear and tear, bears to the whole value of the
manufacture, must be much larger than in any other department of industry. We have
heard this proportion variously estimated, at from a fourth to a half of the total value of the
manufactured goods, exclusive of the raw material; and as the weight of authority seems to
be pretty much divided on the subject, we shall take an intermediate proportion. Assuming,
therefore, that the profits of the capital employed in the cotton manufacture, the wages of
superintendence, &c., the sum required to replace the wear and tear of machinery, buildings,
&c., and to furnish coals, &c., amount together to one third of the value of the manufactured
goods, exclusive of the raw material, or to 9,000,000/., a sum of 18,000,000/. will remain
as the wages of the spinners, weavers, bleachers, &c. engaged in the manufacture and
taking, inasmuch as a large proportion of children under 16 years of age are employed, the
average rate of wages at only 22/. 10s. a year, we shall have (dividing 18,000,000 by 22.5),
800,000 as the total number of persons directly employed in the different departments of
the manufacture.
We should mistake, however, if we supposed that this number, great as it certainly is,
comprised the whole number of persons to whom the cotton manufacture furnishes sub-
sistence, exclusive of the capitalists. Of the sum of 9,000,000L set apart as the profit of
the capitalists, and the sum required to furnish coal, and to defray the wear and tear of
machinery, &c., a large proportion must annually be laid out in paying the wages of en-
gineers, machine-makers, iron-founders, smiths, joiners, masons, bricklayers, &c. It is not
easy to say what this proportion may amount to; but taking it at a third, or 3,000,000L,
and supposing the rate of wages of each individual to average 30/. a year, the total number
employed in the various capacities alluded to will be (3,000,000 divided by 30) 100,000
and a sum of 6,000,000L will remain to cover the profits of the capital employed in the
various branches of the manufacture, to repair the different parts of the machinery and
buildings as they wear out, and to buy coal, flour, &c. The account will, therefore, stand
as under -
Total value of every description of cotton goods annually manufactured in Great Britain £34,000,000*
Raw material, 240,000,000 lbs. at 7d. per lb.
-
- £ 7,000,000
Wages of 870,000 weavers, spinners, bleachers, &c. at 221. 20s. a year each - 18,000,000
Wages of 100,000 engineers, machine-makers, smiths, masons, joiners, &c. at
30/. a year each
1
3,000,000
Profits of the manufacturers, wages of superintendence, sums to purchase the
materials of machinery, coals, &c.
-
-
6,000,000
34,000,000
* Mr. Kennedy, to whose opinion, on a matter of this sort, the greatest deference is due, considers
this estimate as a great deal too high. We cannot, however, bring ourselves to believe that such is
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
525
, The capital employed may be estimated as follows :-
Capital employed in the purchase of the raw material
-
-
-
-
- 4,000,000
Capital employed in payment of wages
-
-
-
-
-
- 10,000,000
Capital vested in spinning-mills, power and hand looms, workshops, warehouses, stocks
on hand, &c.
-
- 20,000,000
£34,000,000
Now, this sum of 34,000,000L, supposing the interest of capital, inclusive of the wages
of superintendence, &c., to amount to 10 per cent., will yield a sum of 3,400,000/.; which
being deducted from the 6,000,000L profits, &c., leaves 2,600,000L to purchase materials to
repair the waste of capital, the flour required for dressing, the coals necessary in the employ-
ment of the steam engines, to effect insurances, and to meet all other outgoings.
The aggregate amount of wages, according to the above estimate, is 21,000,000l, but
there are not many departments of the business in which wages have to be advanced more
than 6 months before the article is sold. We, therefore, incline to think that 10,000,000/. is
a sufficient (perhaps too great) allowance for the capital employed in the payment of wages.
If we are nearly right in these estimates, it will follow-allowance being made for old
and infirm persons, children, &c. dependent on those actually employed in the various depart-
ments of the cotton manufacture, and in the construction, repair, &c. of the machinery and
buildings required to carry it on-that it must furnish, on the most moderate computation,
subsistence for from 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 persons And for this new and most prolific
source of wealth we are indebted partly and principally, as already shown, to the extraordi-
nary genius and talent of a few individuals; but, in a great degree, also, to that security of
property and freedom of industry which give confidence and energy to all who embark in
industrious undertakings, and to that universal diffusion of intelligence which enables those
who carry on any work to press every power of nature into their service, and to avail them-
selves of productive capacities of which a less instructed people would be wholly ignorant.
The effect that the sudden opening of so vast and profitable a field for the employment
of capital and labour has had on the population of the different towns of Lancashire and
Lanarkshire, the districts where the cotton manufacture is principally carried on-has been
most striking. In 1774, for example, the parish of Manchester is estimated to have con-
tained 41,032 inhabitants-a number which was swelled, in 1831, to 187,019, having more
than quadrupled in the space of 57 years The population of Preston, in 1780, is said not
to have exceeded 6,000; whereas it amounts, at present, to 33,112. In like manner, the
population of Blackburn has increased from 11,980 in 1801, to 27,091, in 1831 that of
Bolton has increased in the same period, from 17,416 to 41,195; that of Wigan, from
10,989 to 20,774, &c. But the progress of Liverpool is most extraordinary, and can be
matched only by the progress of one or two cities in the United States. Liverpool is not
properly one of the seats of the cotton manufacture ; but it is, notwithstanding, mainly in-
debted to it for the unparallelled rapidity of its growth. It is the grand emporium of the
cotton district-the port where almost all the raw cotton, and the various foreign articles
required for the employment and subsistence of the persons engaged in the manufacture, are
imported, and whence the finished goods are exported to other countries. It has, therefore,
become a place of vast trade, and is now, in that respect, second only to London. In 1700,
according to the best accounts that can be obtained, the population of Liverpool amounted
to only 5,145 in 1750, it had increased to 18,450 in 1770, it amounted to 34,050. The
cotton manufacture now began rapidly to extend, and, in consequence, the population of
Liverpool increased, in 1801, to 77,653 in 1821, to 118,972; and, in 1831, it amounted
to 165,175. The progress of population in Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire has been equally
striking. In 1780, the city of Glasgow contained only 42,832 inhabitants; in 1801, that
number had increased to 83,769; and, in 1831, it amounted to nearly 203,000. The growth
of Paisley is similar. In 1782, it contained, inclusive of the Abbey Parish, only 17,700 in-
habitants; in 1801, it contained 36,722 in 1821, it contained about 47,000 and, in 1831,
57,466.
Since the repeal of the absurd system of Irish protecting duties, in 1823, the cotton ma-
nufacture has begun to make considerable progress in Ireland. This is proved by a state-
really the case. It appears from the official accounts, that the real or declared value of the cotton
fabrics exported in 1832 amounted to 12,622,8801., and that of the twist to 4,726,7961. Now it appears
from the statements in Burns' Glance, and other good authorities, that the weight of the cotton yarn
retained at home to be wrought up into fabrics for domestic use is about 10 or 12 per cent. greater than
the weight of the yarn exported in the shape of manufactured goods. But without taking this
greater weight into account, if we suppose that the fabrics retained at home are nearly equal in point
of quality to those exported, the value of the manufacture must be at least 30,000,000L., viz. fabrics
exported 12,622,000!., twist exported 4,721,000/., and fabrics consumed at home 12,622,0001. But a very
large proportion of our exports consist of comparatively coarse fabrics destined for the West Indies,
Brazil, &c.; and we have been assured by those well acquainted with the trade, that the value of the
fabrics made use of at home cannot be less, at an average, than from 30 to 40 per cent. above the value
of those exported; but taking it at only 30 per cent., it will make the total value of the manufacture
34,000,000L. We do not well see how this statement can be shaken. The exporters have no motive
to exaggerate the real value of the goods and yarn sent abroad; but unless they have done so to a
very great extent, it will be difficult to impeach the above conclusions.
Digitized by Google
526
COTTON.
ment laid before the House of Commons, which shows that the number of yards of cotton
goods, manufactured chiefly from yarn sent from England, exported from Ireland to Great
Britain, in 1822, amounted to 406,687 ; in 1823, to 556,646 in 1824, to 3,840,699 and
in 1825, it amounted to no less than 6,418,645 -having increased in nearly a twelvefold
proportion in 2 years, by the abolition of duties that were intended to protect the industry
of Ireland But the unsettled state of the country and the want of coal are insuperable
obstacles to the continued increase of the manufacture.
Exports of Cotton Goods and Yarn. Fall of Prices, &c.-For a very long period the
woollen manufacture was the great staple of the country. But the progress of improvement
in the spinning and manufacturing of cotton, since 1770, being so much more rapid than
any that has taken place in the woollen manufacture, the value of the former is now vastly
greater than that of the latter. It appears, from the accounts of the declared or real values
of the different sorts of exported commodities given by the Custom-house, that the exports
of cotton goods, including yarn, amount at an average, to about 17,000,000Z. sterling, being
about half the value of the whole manufacture; and form of themselves about two thirds of
the total value of all the wove fabrics exported from the empire. We subjoin a statement,
compiled from the Annual Finance Accounts, of the official and the declared or real values
of the cotton manufactured goods, cotton yarn, woollen and silk manufactures, and the totals
of all other articles of British produce and manufacture, exported from Great Britain to all
parts of the world (except Ireland) annually since 1816.
Manufactures.
Cotton
Total of Wove
Total of all other
Years.
Manufactures.
Cotton Yarn.
Fabrica.
Articles.
Woollen.
Linen.
Silk.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
1816
16,335,194
1,380,486
5,586,364
1,559,367
161,874
25,023,215
9,751,305
1817
20,357,147
1,125,257
5,676,920
1,943,194
152,734
29,255,253
9,980,144
1818
21,627,936
1,296,776
6,344,100
2,153,309
167,559
31,589,683
10,373,814
1819
16,876,206
1,585,753
4,602,270
1,547,352
126,809
24,738,390
8,185,185
1820
20,704,600
2,022,153
4,363,973
1,935,186
118,370
29,144,283
8,673,753
1821
21,630,493
1,898,695
5,500,922
2,303,443
136,402
31,478,955
8,715,938
Official Values.
1822
24,566,920
2,353,217
5,943,612
2,594,783
141,007
35,599,539
7,958,950
1823
24,117,549
2,425,419
5,539,789
2,654,098
141,320
34,878,175
8,266,291
1824
27,170,107
2,984,329
6,136,092
3,283,403
159,648
39,733,579
8,296,457
1825
26,597,574
2,897,706
5,929,342
2,709,772
150,815
38,285,209
8,167,812
1826
21,445,565
3,748,526
5,041,585
2,056,760
106,738
32,399,174
7,932,830
1827
29,203,138
3,979,759
5,979,701
2,808,081
173,334
42,144,013
9,132,435
1828
28,989,976
4,485,841
5,720,079
3,118,270
178,871
42,493,037
9,536,113
1829
31,810,436
5,458,985
5,361,997
3,003,394
220,436
45,855,248
9,610,475
1830
35,395,400
5,655,569
5,551,644
3,101,031
435,045
50,148,689
10,343,948
1831
33,682,475
5,674,600
6,187,979
3,662,945
469,076
49,704,075
9,366,048
1832
37,060,750
6,725,505
6,666,700
2,649,343
474,509
53,576,807
11,005,230
1816
13,072,757
2,628,448
7,844,855
1,452,667
480,522
25,479,252
14,849,690
1817
14,178,022
2,014,182
7,163,472
1,703,632
408,523
25,467,827
14,869,292
1818
16,643,579
2,385,305
8,143,193
1,949,815
499,175
29,621,067
15,567,188
1819
12,388,833
2,516,783
5,986,807
1,391,245
376,798
22,660,467
11,588,029
1820
13,843,569
2,826,643
5,583,430
1,653,804
374,114
24,278,570
11,290,109
1821
13,786,957
2,307,830
6,461,567
1,981,465
373,938
24,911,759
10,914,223
Declared Values.
1822
14,534,253
2,700,437
6,488,523
2,192,772
381,455
26,297,429
9,879,468
1823
13,751,415
2,625,947
5,634,137
2,095,574
350,880
24,457,952
10,233,172
1824
15,240,006
3,135,496
6,011,534
2,442,440
442,582
27,272,059
10,301,359
1825
15,034,138
3,206,729
6,193,775
2,130,705
296,677
26,862,024
11,221,749
1826
10,522,357
3,491,268
4,982,898
1,489,647
168,453
20,652,623
10,195,015
1827
13,956,825
3,545,568
5,277,861
1,895,186
236,092
24,911,532
11,484,807
1828
13,545,638
3,594,945
5,120,226
2,000,033
255,755
24,516,647
11,636,151
1829
13,420,544
3,974,039
4,656,809
1,885,831
267,192
24,204,415
11,008,458
1830
15,203,713
4,132,258
4,847,398
1,926,256
519,919
26,629,544
11,061,758
1831
13,207,947
3,974,989
5,385,811
2,301,803
578,260
25,448,810
11,203,884
1832
12,622,880
4,721,796
5,475,298
1,655,478
529,808
25,005,260
11,040,767
It will be observed from the above Table, that while the official value of the cotton goods
exported has been rapidly increasing, their declared or real value has been about stationary,
or has rather diminished. This circumstance has given rise to a great deal of irrelevant die-
cussion ; and has even been referred to as proving that the manufacture is in a declining
state ! But it proves precisely the contrary. It shows that the decline in the price of the
raw material, and the improvements in the machinery and processes used in the manufac-
ture have been so great, that we are now able to export and sell with a profit, (for, unless
such were the case, the exportation would very speedily cease,) nearly double the quantity
of cotton goods we exported in 1816, for about the same price. Had the Table been car-
ried further back, the result would have been still more striking.
In illustration of this view of the matter, we beg to subjoin the following statement of the
production and cost of the different species of cotton yarn in England, in 1812 and 1830.
It was furnished by Mr. Kennedy, of Manchester, to the committee on the East India Com-
pany's affairs, so that no doubt can be entertained of its accuracy.
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COTTON.
527
Hanks per Day, per Spindle.
Price of Cotton, and Waste
Labour per lb."
Cost per lb.
per lb.
Description
of Yarn.
1812
1830.
1812.
1830.
1812.
1880.
1812.
1880.
No.
8. d.
8. d.
a. d.
s. d.
2. d.
8. d.
40
de
2.75
1 6
0 7
1 0
0 71
2 6
1 21
60
15
2.5
2 0
0 10
1 6
1 of
3 6
.
1 10+
80
1.5
2.
2 2
0 111
2 2
1 71
4 4
2 64
100
1.4
18
2 4
1 11
2 10
2 It
5 2
3 41
120
1.25
1.65
2 6
1 4
3 6
2 8
6 0
4 0
150
1.
1:33
2 10
1 8
6 6
4 11
9 4
6 7
200
0.75
0.90
3 4
3 0
16 8
11 6
20 0
14 6
250
0.05
0-06
4 0
3 8
31 0
24 6
35 0
28 2
The following Table is interesting, from its exhibiting the state of our trade in wrought
cottons with the different countries of the world. It sets the importance of the markets of
Brazil, Chili, and the other states of South America, as outlets for our cottons, in a very
striking point of view.
Account of the Exports of Cotton Goods and Yarn from the United Kingdom in 1837 specifying the
Quantity and declared Value of those shipped for each Country.
White or Plain
Printed or Dyed
Hosiery
and Small
Twist and Yarn.
Cottons.
Cottons.
Wares.
Total
Countries to which exported.
Declared
Value.
Yards.
Declared
Yards.
Declared
Declared
Declared
Value.
Pounds.
Value.
Value.
Value.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
Russia
980,779
40,203
145,760
7,590
9,106
24,108,593
1,612,956
1,669,855
Sweden
62,939
1,717
48,552
1,850
708
734,336
55,060
59,335
Norway
164,634
4,081
347,809
9,964
1,682
197,700
10,474
26,201
Denmark
45,992
1,033
71,569
1,369
88
57,470
2,870
5,357
Prussia
-
-
4,924
502
502
Germany
14,203,855
294,378
28,967,374
713,771
162,263
34,272,607
2,177,823
3,348,235
Holland
16,382,581
341,448
11,588,241
322,400
50,205
15,993,072
1,386,388
2,100,441
Belgium
865,339
32,271
1,998,160
72,528
102,233
67,397
8,752
215,784
France
1,169,753
23,683
1,269,924
35,529
93,768
94,707
31,361
184,344
Portugal, Proper
15,966,118
268,189
15,748,216
369,712
21,084
323,262
23,612
682,597
Azores
541,605
11,789
731,946
18,740
838
17,840
786
32,153
Madeira
519,315
8,255
649,954
12,767
1,068
1,358
78
25,168
Spain and the Balearic Islands
151,380
4,047
205,986
5,694
221
687
45
10,007
Canaries
471,917
10,763
435,599
12,234
924
1,071
63
23,984
Gibraltar
13,956,830
310,777
12,681,183
375,367
17,271
225,939
14,729
718,144
Italy and the Italian Islands
24,976,414
526,881
17,631,057
481,915
40,910
8,775,028
477,882
1,527,588
Malta
1,108,032
21,638
562,773
17,364
2,208
176,260
9,729
50,939
Ionian Islands
1,497,260
26,314
841,686
19,955
790
297,980
14,303
61,362
Morea and Greek Islands
9,054
256
67,794
2,664
33
1,800
100
3,053
Turkey
23,727,096
482,438
9,423,139
288,230
2,297
3,527,538
180,225
953,190
Syria and Palestine
5,140
330
330
Egypt
5,559,900
107,125
693,240
23,207
349
660,700
41,372
172,053
Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco
2,928,580
41,552
253,009
4,892
407
46,851
Western Coast of Africa
607,843
15,783
4,365,569
119,540
391
2,982
395
136,109
Cape of Good Hope
2,293,943
54,567
3,136,936
80,483
9,389
9,314
899
145,338
St. Helena
18,816
519
5,326
141
19
679
Mauritius
3,053,808
78,395
2,237,689
73,556
7,749
10,400
468
160,108
East India Company's territories and
Ceylon
46,366,175
1,040,018
17,847,458
488,231
30,444
8,478,021
602,293
2,160,986
Sumatra, Java, and other Islands of the
Indian Sea
5,952,848
144,962
2,620,300
97,620
5,931
127,620
7,858
256,371
Philippine Islands
473,370
10,075
613,421
17,695
1,115
28,885
China
8,519,245
193,075
2,445,178
79,300
1,012
1,873,965
103,908
377,295
New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land,
and other Australian Settlements
1,275,348
36,561
1,335,325
44,889
15,809
13,625
781
98,040
British North American Colonies
6,319,864
161,392
7,950,884
222,001
39,068
260,732
14,307
436,768
British West Indies
19,695,492
417,580
17,998,452
465,449
43,812
55,549
4,487
931,328
Hayti
1,246,463
28,421
1,612,897
53,270
2,751
-
-
84,442
Cuba and other foreign West Indian
Colonies
6,798,703
148,024
11,966,502
293,865
11,608
6,250
309
453,806
United States of America
5,471,788
187,585
12,010,067
407,237
117,572
219,712
13,359
725,753
States of Central and South America
Mexico
2,713,901
55,651
4,227,065
143,805
13,339
2,654,867
144,489
357,284
Columbia
1,436,553
32,630
2,675,164
58,136
4,085
188,283
12,488
107,339
Brazil
25,387,191
436,192
23,380,427
551,258
26,987
560
48
1,014,485
States of the Rio de la Plata
10,923,196
207,714
9,260,258
237,557
18,818
5,734
364
464,473
Chili
7,825,718
150,492
9,356,806
240,267
18,217
-
-
408,970
Peru
3,655,774
88,013
5,641,351
165,804
14,300
-
-
268,117
Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
Man, &c.
833,704
38,975
159,360
4,334
21,323
7,255
376
65,008
Totals
286,164,256
6,085,789
245,209,407
6,642,200
912,192
103,455,138
6,955,942
20,596,123
Such being the vast extent and importance of the cotton manufacture, the probability of
our preserving our ascendancy in it becomes a very interesting topic of inquiry. But it is
obvious, that a great deal of conjecture must always insinuate itself into our reasonings with
respect to the future state of any branch of manufacturing industry. They are all liable to
be affected by so many contingent and unforeseen circumstances, that it is impossible to
predicate, with any thing like certainty, what may be their condition a few years hence.
But abstracting from the effect of national struggles and commotions, which can neither be
foreseen nor calculated, we do not think that there is any thing in our state, or in that of the
different commercial and manufacturing countries of the world, that should lead us to antici-
pate that the gloomy forebodings of those who contend that the cotton manufacture of Eng-
land has reached its zenith, and that it must now begin to decline, will be realised. The
natural capabilities we possess for carrying on the business of manufacturing are, all things
* Wages are estimated at the same rate, or at 20d. a day, for every person employed, men, women,
and children, in 1812 and 1830; the saving being entirely in the better application of the labour.
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COTTON.
considered, decidedly superior to those of any other people. But the superiority to which
we have already arrived is, perhaps, the greatest advantage in our favour. Our master
manufacturers, engineers, and artisans, are more intelligent, skilful, and enterprising, than
those of any other country and the extraordinary inventions they have already made, and
their familiarity with all the principles and details of the business, will not only enable them
to perfect the processes already in use, but can hardly fail to lead to the discovery of others.
Our establishments for spinning, weaving, printing, bleaching, &c. are infinitely more com-
plete and perfect than any that exist elsewhere, the division of labour in them is carried to
an incomparably greater extent ; the workmen are trained from infancy to industrious ha-
bits and have attained that peculiar dexterity and sleight of hand in the performance of their
separate tasks, that can only be acquired by long and unremitting application to the same
employment. Why, then, having all these advantages on our side, should we not keep the
start we have already gained ! Every other people that attempt to set up manufactures must
obviously labour under the greatest difficulties as compared with us. Their establishments
cannot, at first, be sufficiently large to enable the division of employments to be carried to
any considerable extent, at the same time that expertness in manipulation, and in the details
of the various' processes, can only be attained by slow degrees. It appears, therefore, reason-
able to conclude that such new beginners, having to withstand the competition of those who
have already arrived at a very high degree of perfection in the art, must be immediately
driven out of every market equally accessible to both parties; and that nothing but the aid
derived from restrictive regulations and prohibitions will be effectual to prevent the total de-
struction of their establishments in the countries where they are set up.
4. Progress of the Manufacture in other Countries.-But notwithstanding what has now
been stated, a notion seems to be spreading abroad, that we shall have no little difficulty in
maintaining our ground against the competition of the Americans, Swiss, Austrians, French,
&c., and a good deal of evidence upon this subject was taken before the committee of the
House of Commons appointed in 1833 to inquire into the state of manufactures, commerce,
and shipping. Such apprehensions appear to us to be quite destitute of any real foundation.
Provided we have no agitation, that public tranquillity and security in fact and opinion be
maintained unimpaired, we need be under no sort of uneasiness as to any competition to
which we can be exposed. The tariff forced cotton, woollen, iron, and other manufactures,
into a premature existence in the United States; but we have little doubt that, except in the
coarser fabrics, and those where it is necessary to use large quantities of the raw material,
the late modifications of the tariff have given a death-blow to the American manufacturing
system. Independent, however, of this, there was nothing whatever to fear from that quar-
ter. During the year ended the 30th of September, 1829, the exports of all sorts of cotton
goods from America amounted to 1,259,457 dollars while during the year ended the 30th
of September, 1832, they amounted to 1,229,574 laid before Congress,
5th of February, 1830, and 15th of February, 1833.) It is plain, therefore, notwithstanding
the protection of the tariff, that the exports of manufactured cottons from America have not
increased any thing during the last 3 years and it is very unlikely that even the trifling
quantity now exported will be maintained. They have been exported only because the
fabrics contained a great deal of the best cotton, which made them more durable and heavy
than those manufactured here. But goods of this sort are in very limited demand ; and the
Manchester manufacturers have already produced an article similar to and cheaper than the
American " domestics," which will go far to expel them from the market.
Among the singular statements that have been put forth as to the cotton manufactures of
America, one is, that the wages of labour are lower there than here ! To dwell on the ab-
surdity of such a statement would be an insult to our readers. But though it were true that
wages are as low in Massachusetts as in England, that would afford no real ground for anti-
cipating any formidable competition from America in this department. The price of cottons
depends more on the profits of stock than on the wages of labour and, 80 far as we know,
it has not yet been alleged that they are lower in America than here. Suppose an English
and an American manufacturer have each 100,000L vested in cotton mills and in the float-
ing stock required to carry on the business if profits in England be 1 per cent. less than in
America, the English manufacturer can afford, cæteris paribus, to sell his goods for 1,000L less
than the American. We are very far from insinuating or believing that this lowness of
profit is an advantage; but whatever may be its influence in other respects, 80 long as it
continues, it gives our manufacturers a decided superiority over those of every other coun-
try where profits are higher, in the manufacture and sale of all articles, such as cotton yam
and stuffs, principally produced by machinery. It is ludicrous, indeed, to suppose that a
half-peopled country like America, possessed of boundless tracts of unoccupied land of the
highest degree of fertility, should be able successfully to contend in manufacturing industry,
with an old settled, fully peopled, and very rich country like Great Britain. The govern-
ment which encourages such a misdirection of the public capital and industry, and those
who suppose it can end in any thing else than ruin to the parties, are ignorant of the merest
elements of the science of wealth.
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COTTON.
529
The following results as to the state of the American cotton manufacture in 1831 have been deduced
from the Report of a Committee of Congress in 1833:-
In 12 states they had, mills
-
-
-
-
-
795
spindles
-
-
-
-
- 1,246,503
looms
-
-
-
-
33,506
The weight of cotton consumed
-
-
-
-
- 77,557,316 lbs.
Allowing 2 OZ. per lb. for loss
-
-
-
-
- 9,094,664
Total weight of yarn produced
-
-
-
-
- 67,862,652
Weekly amount
-
-
-
-
- 1,305,051
Averaging 164 OZ. per spindle weekly.
If the 33,506 looms were employed, and the whole 1,305,051 lbs. of yarn manufactured, each loom
must have consumed at an average 39 lbs. weekly, showing that the goods manufactured were of a
very heavy description. It also appears from statements made by the same committee, that
The number of males employed were
-
18,539
-
females
-
-
-
-
- 38,927
Total number employed in spinning and manufacturing
-
-
57,466
The amount paid for wages in the year was 10,294,444 dollars, or 2,144,780L., being 42,8951. per week;
averaging 14c. 11d. for each person employed.
They state that the consumption of flour in their manufacture was 1,641,258 lbs., or 8,374 barrels
(196 lbs. each), averaging weekly 31,562 lbs., or nearly 1 lb. for each loom.
Note.-By the new American tariff, plain calicoes, &c. imported, not exceeding in value 1s. 3d. the
equare yard, to pay 3jd. per yard duty. Printed or coloured calicoes, &c., not exceeding 1s. 5jd. the
square yard, to pay 44d. per yard duty. Cotton yarn, unbleached and uncoloured, not exceeding in
value 2s. 6d. per lb. to pay 7jd. per lb. duty. If bleached or coloured, not exceeding 3a. ltd. per lb.
to pay 94d. per lb. duty.
Little as we have to fear from American, we have still less to fear from Swiss or Austrian
competition. America has some advantage over England in the greater cheapness of the
raw material; but Switzerland and Austria, situated almost in the very centre of Europe,
can only draw their supplies of raw cotton by a distant land carriage by way of Marseilles,
Genoa, and Trieste ; or by a lengthened navigation up the Rhine or the Elbe; and we have
the best authority for affirming, that a bale of cotton may be conveyed at a less expense
from Charleston to Manchester, than from Genoa or Trieste, Amsterdam or Hamburgh, to
Switzerland or Austria. Switzerland is altogether destitute of coal; all that she does is done
by water power, and that is already pretty well exhausted. It is not, however, to be won-
dered at that the Swiss and Austrians should have succeeded in supplying their own markets,
and some of those immediately contiguous, with certain species of yarn but it seems to us
quite visionary to suppose that they will ever do much more than this.
It was stated before the committee of 1833, that the French cotton manufacture had in-
creased, between 1812 and 1826, in the ratio of 310 per cent., while in England its increase
was only 270 per cent. This statement is, we believe, accurate as far as it goes; and yet it
is eminently calculated, although, no doubt, without being so intended, to mislead. In 1812,
and for some years previously, it was hardly possible to import cotton wool into France, and
its price was quite excessive. When, therefore, the manufacturers got wool after the return
of peace at an ordinary price, it was impossible, seeing that foreign cottons are excluded
from France, but that the manufacture should increase with extraordinary rapidity, until the
home demand was pretty well supplied. An advance of this sort is assuredly no proof of
the capacity of France to prosecute the manufacture with advantage, or to export cottons
without the aid of a bounty. Had the manufacture gone on increasing in the above, or even
in a very inferior ratio, down to the present time, the circumstance might have justly excited
attention but such has not been the case; on the contrary, it has been nearly stationary
from 1822 down to the present time. In proof of this, we beg to refer to the following ac-
count, published by the merchants of Havre, of the imports of cotton into France, the deli-
veries from the warehouses, and the stocks on hand, in each year from 1822 :-
Years.
Imports.
Deliveries.
Stocks, Sist. Dec.
Years.
Imports.
Deliveries.
Stocks, Sist Dec.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
1822
205,861
215,199
42,545
1829
242,230
264,750
29,292
1823
169,845
172,312
40,078
1830
282,752
250,784
61,260
1824
251,074
243,958
47,194
1831
218,393
243,843
35,810
1825
204,572
216,460
35,306
1832
259,159
272,463
22,506
1826
320,174
281,001
74,479
1833
305,633
76,387
51,753
1827
290,617
279,693
85,403
1834
274,307
301,652
24,407
1828
206,132
239,723
54,812
1835
324,425
308,736
40,096
It is supposed by some, that the competition we have to fear from the Continent does not
consist so much in the spinning as in the weaving of cottons; and that the probability is,
that our exports of yarn will increase, and our exports of manufactured goods diminish.
We do not, however, imagine there is much in this. Our power looms are superior to those
of any other country and it is unhappily true, that the wages of handloom weavers here
are sunk below the general level of Europe." There is not, in fact, with the exception of
* For an account of the circumstances which have occasioned this depression, we beg to refer the
reader to an article on manufactures, commerce, &c. in the 117th No. of the Edinburgh Review. Some
of the above statements are taken from that article.
VoL. L-2 Y
67
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530
COTTON.
the dyes, a single particular connected with the cotton manufacture in which we have not a
manifest superiority over the Swiss, Austrians, French, Prussians, and every Continental
nation. Certainly, however, we are inferior to some of them in the brilliancy and durability
of their dyes; and this circumstance occasioned a considerable demand for German and
Swiss printed cottons in many parts of the East, where vivid colours are held in the highest
estimation. But even there, the greater cheapness of our goods is proving an overmatch for
the greater brilliancy of those of our rivals.
On the whole, therefore, we see no reason to think that the British cotton manufacture
has reached, much less passed, its zenith. At the same time, however, it can hardly be
necessary to observe, considering the vast importance of the trade, that while, on the one
hand, nothing should be left undone that may serve to widen its foundations, and to promote
its prosperity, on the other, nothing should be attempted that may, by possibility, have an
opposite effect. The subsistence of 1,400,000 people is not to be endangered on slight
grounds. The abuses even of such a business must be cautiously dealt with, lest, in eradi-
cating them, we shake or disorder the whole fabric. We admit, however, that the case of
children employed in the cotton factories is one of those that call fairly for legislative regu-
lation. But it may be questioned whether the plan for having relays of children is the best
that might be devised. The general opinion seems to be, that it will, in most instances, be
impossible to carry it into effect. The whole subject, as to the limitation of hours, is con-
fessedly one of great difficulty and it would perhaps be better, before taking any very
decisive steps in the matter, to try the effect of the system of inspection, and of the publication
of the inspectors' reports as to the condition of the children employed.
5. STATUTORY REGULATIONS AS TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF CHILDREN IN FACTORIES.
No statutory restrictions respecting the employment of children in the mills and factories of the
United Kingdom existed until the year 1802, when an act of parliament was passed (42 Geo. 3.) for the
preservation of the health and morals of apprentices and others employed in cotton and other factories,
and directing the local magistrates to report whether the factories were conducted according to law,
and to adopt such sanitary regulations as they might think fit. This act was followed, in 1816, by an
act, generally called Sir Robert Peel's Act, imposing various regulations on the employment of
children in cotton mills.
Both of these acts were repealed in 1831, by an act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 39., commonly called Sir John
Hobhouse's Act, which provided, that in cotton factories, to which alone it related, no child could
legally be employed till it had attained the age of 9 years; and that no person under 18 years of age
could be suffered to remain in the factories more than 12 hours in one day; and that on Saturdays
they should only be employed in the factories for 9 hours.
Sir John Hobhouse's Act was repealed in 1833, by the act act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 103., which contains
the following provisions, comprehending the whole statutory regulations at present applicable to
cotton and other factories in the United Kingdom:-
1. That after the 1st of January, 1834, no person under 18 years of age shall be allowed to work in
the night, that is, between t past 8 P. M. and 1 past 5 A. M., in any cotton or other factory in which
steam or water, or any other mechanical power, is or shall be used to propel the machinery, excepting
in lace factories.
2. That no person under 18 shall be employed more than 12 hours in one day, nor more than 69
hours in one week.
3. That there shall be allowed, in the course of every day, not less than If hour for meals to every
person restricted to the performance of 12 hours' work.
4. That after the 1st of January, 1834, no child, except in silk mills, shall be employed, who shall not
be 9 years old.
5. That after the 1st of March, 1834, no child, except in silk mills, shall be employed in any factory
more than 48 hours in any one week, nor more than 9 hours in any day, who shall not be 11 years
old; nor after the 1st of March, 1835, who shall not be 12 years old nor after the 1st of March, 1836,
who shall not be 13 years old; and that these hours of work shall not be exceeded, even if the child
has worked during the day in more factories than one.
6. That children and young persons, whose hours of work are regulated, shall be entitled to 2 boll-
days and 8 half holidays in every year.
7. That children, whose hours of work are restricted to 9 hours a day, are not to be employed
without obtaining a certificate from a physician or surgeon, certifying that they are of the ordinary
strength and appearance of children of the age before mentioned, which certificate is to be coun-
tersigned by some inspector or justice.
8. That it shall be lawful for his Majesty to appoint, during pleasure, 4 persons to be inspectors of
factories, with extensive powers as magistrates, to examine the children employed in the factories,
and to inquire respecting their condition, employment, and education and that one of the secretaries
of state shall have power, on the application of an inspector, to appoint superintendents to super-
intend the execution of the act.
9. That those inspectors are to make all rules necessary for the execution of the act, and to enforce
the attendance at school, for at least 2 hours daily out of 6 days in the week, of children employed in
factories, from whose weekly wages a deduction, not exceeding 1 penny in every shilling, for schooling
shall be made.
10. That no child shartibe employed, who shall not, on Monday of every week, give to the factory
master a certificate of or her attendance at school for the previous week.
11. That the interior walls of every mill shall be whitewashed every year.
12. That a copy or abstract of the act shall be hung up in a conspicuous part of every mill.
13. That the inspectors shall regularly, once a year, report their proceedings to one of the secretaries
of state.
The act also contains regulations extending the hours of work where time shall be lost by the wast
of, or an excess of, water, in mills situated upon a stream of water; respecting the steps to be taken
in order to obtain regular certificates of age for the children requiring them; respecting the erection
of schools, where necessary; and respecting the proceedings to be had before inspectors and magn-
trates for enforcing the act, and the right to appeal from their decisions.
[The following tables, relating to the cultivation, manufacture, and foreign trade of cotton,
were communicated to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury, in the session of 1835-36.
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COTTON.
531
1.
Raw Cotton.-Quantity grown in
Mexico and
The
U. States.
West
Rest
Rest
Years.
Brazil.
S. America
World.
Indica.
Egypt.
of
India.
of
Africa.
Asia.
except
Elsewhere.
Brazil.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1789
-
1
1790
-
1 1-2
1791
490
2
23
12
-
46
130
190
68
1792
-
3
1793
-
5
1794
-
8
1795
-
8
1796
-
10
1797
-
11
1798
-
15
1799
-
20
1800
-
35
1801
520
48
30
10
-
45
160
160
56
15
1802
-
55
1803
-
60
1804
-
65
1805
-
70
1806
-
80
1807
-
80
1808
-
75
1809
-
82
1810
-
85
1811
555
80
35
12
1-12
44
170
146
57
11
1812
-
75
1813
-
75
1814
-
70
1815
-
100
1816
-
124
1817
-
130
1818
-
125
1819
-
107
1820
-
160
1821
630
180
32
10
6
i 40
175
135
44
8
1822
-
210
1823
-
185
1824
-
215
1825
-
255
1826
-
350
1827
-
270
1828
-
325
1829
-
365
1830
-
350
1831
820
385
38
9 ,
18
36
180
115
35
4
1832
-
390
1833
-
445
1834
900
460
30
8
25 1-3
34
185
110
35
13
1835
II. Raw Cotton.-Quantity grown in
Years.
Virg.
N.C.
8.C.
Georgia.
Florida.
Alabama.
Tennessee.
Mississippi
Louisiana.
Arkansas.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1789
1790
1791
-
-
1 1-2
1-2
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
5
4
20
10
1
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
8
7
40
20
-
-
3
2
1812
1813
1814
1815
1816
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COTTON.
I1.-continued.-Qnantity grown in
Years.
Virg.
N.C.
S.C.
Georgia.
Florida.
Alabama.
Tennessee.
Mississippi.
Louisiana.
Arkansas.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
libe.
1817
1818
1819
1820
1821
12
10
50
45
-
20
20
10
10
1822
1823
1824
1825
1826
25
18
70
75
2
45
45
30
38
1-4
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
1833
13
10
73
88
15
65
50
70
55
3-4
1834
10
91-2
65 1-2
75
20
85
45
85
62
1-2
1835
The Secretary of the Treasury states that he has "not been able to find any official returns, of
either the general or the state governments, which give the crops of cotton in each state;" and that
"the present table has therefore been compiled from the best data in his power."
III. Raw Cotton.
Prices per lb.
Capital employed in connexion
Persons employed in
Value of whole crop
with growing.
growing, and dependent
in
Years.
United
United
United
United States.
England.
States.
Egypt.
Brazil.
States.
Elsewhere.
States.
Elsewhere
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Cents.
Pence.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Millions.
Millions.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1789
-
12 to 22
1790
14 1-2
12 - 21
1791
26
13 - 30
31-2
-
33
1-20
1
1-3
401-2
1792
29
20 - 30
1793
32
13 - 22
1794
33
12 - 18
1795
36 1-2
15 - 27
1796
36 1-2
12 29
1797
34
12 - 37
1798
39
22 - 45
1799
44
17 60
1800
28
16 - 36
1801
44
17 - 38
80
-
50
1-10
7-8
8.
39 1-3
1802
19
12 - 38
1803
19
8 - 15
1804
20
10 - 18
1805
23
14 - 19
1806
22
12 - 15
1807
21 1-2
10 - 14
1808
19
9 - 30
1809
16
10 - 18
1810
16
10 - 19
1811
15 1-2
7- 14
134
1-10
58
1-7
7-8
12 1-2
37
1812
10 1-2
11 - 14
1813
12
16 - 26
1814
15
28 average
1815
21
20 1-2 -
1816
29 1-2
18 1-4 -
1817
26 1-2
20
-
1818
34
20
-
1819
24
13 1-2 -
1820
17
11 1-2 -
1821
16
9 1-2 -
300
31-3
83
1-3
7-8
293-4
37
1822
16 1-2
8 1-4 -
1823
10 & 12
81-4 -
1824
15
81-2 -
1825
21
11 1-2 -
1826
11
63-4 -
1827
9 1-2
61-2 -
1828
10 1-4
6 3-4 -
1829
10
5 3-4 -
1830
10
6 7-8 -
1831
9 1-4
5 5-8 -
659
30
58
3-4
4-5
381-2
291-4
1832
10
65-8 -
1833
11
7 3-8 -
1834
13
8 1-2 -
-
-
-
-
-
76
361-3
1835
16 1-2
I-2 -
800
31
50
1
4-5 to l
"The prices, given for the United States, are those at the places of exportation, and are the average
during the year, and including all kinds of cotton: but the sea-island cotton is worth usually two
hundred and fifty per cent. more than the other kinds; and formerly the difference was still greater,
when the amount grown elsewhere was not SO large."
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
533
IV.-Raw Cotton.-Exports from
Egypt and
Years.
United States.
Turkey.
Brazil.
India.
West Indica.
Spanish
America.
Elsewhere.
1770
2,000 lbs.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
Millions
1789
lbs.
1790
4-16
1791
1-5
-
20
-
12
-
5
1792
1-7
1-2
1794
1 2-3
-
-
-
-
1
1795
6 1-4
-
-
20
1796
6 1-10
1797
3 4-5
1798
9 1-3
1799
9 1-2
1800
17 4-5
1801
20 9-10
-
24
30
17
7
1802
27 1-2
-
-
-
-
22 1-8
1803
41 1-10
1804
38 1-10
1805
40 1-3
-
-
41,1-2
1806
37 I-2
1807
66 1-5
1808
12
1809
53 1-5
1810
93 9-10
1811
62 1-5
-
31
-
7
-
13
1812
29
1813
, 19 2-5
1814
) 17 4-5
1815
83
1816
81 4-5
1817
95 2-3
1818
92 1-2
1819
88
1820
127 4-5
1821
124 9-10
5 1-2
28
50
9
-
6
1822
144 7-10
4 1-2
1823
173 7-10
11
1824
142 2-5
14
1825
176 1-2
-
-
75
1826
204 1-2
1827
294
1828
210
1829
264 3-4
1830
298 1-2
19
3
68
10
4
1831
277
20 1-2
37
70
12
4
1832
322 1-4
1833
324 1-2
1834
384 3-4
23
30
80
8
7
3
1835
386 1-2
The exports of cotton, or, in other words, the foreign trade in raw cotton, in the whole world, is
small compared with the whole growth, manufacture, and consumption of that article. It probably
does not exceed 535 millions of pounds, and of that the United States export about 384 millions of
pounds, or almost three fourths. Our exports each year have not always corresponded with that
part of the crop of the previous year not consumed at home, as in 1808, 1812, &c. commercial restric-
tions and war caused the stocks on hand to accumulate, and the high prices in some other years have
left much less on hand here than usual."
V.-Raw Cotton.-Exports from
N. Carolina
Rest of the
Years.
Louisiana.
S. Carolina.
Alabama.
Georgia.
New York.
and Virginia.
United States.
Whole value.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Dollars.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1789
1790
1
-
-
-
-
-
48,285
-
-
-
-
-
-
52,000
1791
-
-
-
-
-
-
51,470
1792
-
-
-
:
-
-
160,000
1793
-
-
-
-
-
-
Millions.
-
-
-
-
1-2
1794
-
-
-
1795
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 1-4
1796
-
-
-
-
2 2-10
-
-
-
-
1 1-4
1797
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 1-2
1798
-
-
-
-
-
-
4 1-10
1799
-
-
-
-
-
5
1800
10
3
-
5
-
-
-
-
9 1-10
1801
-
-
-
-
5 1-4
1802
-
-
-
-
-
7 3-4
1803
-
-
-
-
7 3-4
1804
-
9 1-2
1805
-
8 1-4
1806
-
14 1-4
1807
-
2 Y 2
Digitized by Google
534
COTTON.
V. Raw Cotton-continued-Exports from
N. Carolina
Rest of the
Years.
Louisiana.
S. Carolina.
Alabama.
Georgia.
New York.
and Virginia.
United States.
Whole value.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions.
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
dollars,
1808
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 1-4
1809
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
8 1-2
1810
5
40
-
20
10
15
4
15 1-4
1811
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
9 1-2
1812
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
1813
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 1-4
1814
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 1-2
1815
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
17 1-2
1816
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24 1-4
1817
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22 1-2
1818
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
31 1-4
1819
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
21
1820
30
37
8
25
28
6
3
22 1-4
1821
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
20 1-4
1822
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24
1823
-
-
-
-
-
-
23 1-2
1824
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
21 3-4
1825
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
38 3-4
1826
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25
1827
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
29 1-3
1828
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
22 1-2
1829
-
-
:
-
-
-
-
-
26 1-2
1830
120 1-3
55 1-2
24
49
37 3-10
111-3
3
29 2-3
1831
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
25 1-4
1832
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
31 3-4
1833
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
36
1834
164
67 3-4
51 1-2
56 1-3
30 2-8
11 1-2
3
49 1-2
1835
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
61 1-2
"The exports from each State are the foreign ones, and for 1830 and 1834, from official data; but
prior to that they are estimates from the crop, consumption at home, &c.
The portion exported of sea island cotton, was, in 1834, 8,085,935 pounds, and in 1835, was
7,752,736; and was chiefly from South Carolina and Georgia."
" The value has been computed from the quantity and average price through each year, so far as
obtainable from official data."
VI. Raw Cotton.-Exports.
U. States to
other places
Braziland
Egypt
All other
Years.
U. States to
U. States to
than Great
West In-
West In-
Egypt and
and Tur-
India to
India to
Brazil to
places to
England.
France.
Britain and
dies to
dies to
Turkey to
key to
England.
China.
England.
France.
England.
France.
England.
England.
France.
lbs.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1770
2,000
1787
-
-
-
-
2 1-2
6 2-3
-
52-3
-
7 3-4
-
1789
Ratio of
Ratio of her
Ratio.
1790
her imports
#
imports
from U.S.
fromBrazil.
1791
1-1000
-
-
-
-
1-2
1-3
1792
1-126
-
-
-
-
1-2
1-3
1793
1-225
-
-
-
-
1-4
1-2
1794
1-110
-
-
1-3
-
2-5
1-2
1795
1-25
-
-
1-3
-
2-5
1-2
1796
1-11
-
-
3-4
-
1-2
2-5
1797
1-11
-
-
71 1-3
-
1-2
1-3
1798
1-6
-
-
2
-
2-5
1-3
1799
1-9
-
-
7
-
3-7
3-7
1800
16
-
-
6 1-3
-
1-5
1-3
1801
19
3-4
-
4 1-4
-
1-4
2-7
1802
23 1-2
2
-
3
-
1-3
1-6
1803
27 3-4
4
-
1 3-4
-
1-3
1-10
1804
25 3-4
6
-
2 1-2
-
2-9
1-12
1805
32 1-2
4 1-2
-
1-4
-
2-9
1-10
1806
24 1-4
7
-
2 2-3
-
2-9
1-9
1807
53 1-4
6
-
3 1-2
-
1-18
1-11
1808
8
2
-
5 1-2
-
1-11
2-9
1809
13 1-3
-
-
6 I-2
-
1-3
1-11
1810
36
-
-
-
-
1-4
1-18
1811
46 3-4
-
-
-
-
2-7
1-29
1812
26
-
-
-
-
2-5
1-23
1813
-
10 1-4
-
-
-
3-5
1-12
1814
-
1 3-4
-
-
-
3-5
1-11
1815
45 2-3
20
-
-
-
1-4
1-24
1816
57 3-4
18
-
-
-
1-3
1-35
1817
51
-
-
36
-
1-3
1-26
1818
58 1-3
-
-
-
1-3
1-52
1819
51 3-4
-
-
-
-
1-3
1-52
1820
90
-
-
23
-
29
6 8-10
-
1-4
-
21-4
1821
93 1-2
27 1-3
9 3-4
9
-
19 1-2
7
-
3-4
-
23-4
1822
101
21 1-2
8 2-3
41-2
-
24 3-4
10 1-4
-
4-10
-
2
1823
142 1-2
25
8 1-2
15
-
23 1-2
7
-
11-3
-
2
1824
92
40 1-2
1 1-2
16 1-2
-
25
6 1-4
-
7 7-10
-
2
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
535
VI. Raw Cotton-continuad-Exports
U. States to
other places
Brazil and
Egypt
Years.
U. States to
U. States to
than Great
India to
India to
West In-
Brazil to
West In-
Egypt and
and Tur-
AH other
England.
France.
Britain and
England.
dies to
dies to
Turkey to
Chima.
key to
places to
England.
France.
England.
France.
England.
France.
England.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
Ratio.
Ratio.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1825
140
30
2 3-4
20 1-4
-
33
8
-
19
-
7 1-3
1826
131
62 1-3
8 1-2
21
-
9 4-5
4 3-4
-
10
-
1
1827
217
70 1-2
11 1-4
20
-
20 3-4
7
-
5
-
1 1-2
1828
151 3-4
53 1-2
10 1-4
32 1-4
25
29
6
-
7
-
1 3-4
1829
157
67 1-2
23
25
(1)
29
4 1-2
-
6
-
1 1-10
1830
211
75
13 1-2
12 1-2
-
33
3 1-2
7
3 4-10
6
3-4
1831
205 1-2
46 or 50
9
26
66 1-2
31 1-2
2 1-3
3 1-2
8
7 1-2
1 1-4
1832
217 1-4
73 or 77+
16
35
58
20
2
3 2-8
9
8 1-2
2 3-4
1833
227 3-4
76 3-4
9 1-2
32 1-4
-
28 1-2
2
-
1
-
1 3-4
1834
266 2-3
79 9-15
20
32
40
18
4
4
1 1-2
7
1835
253
100 1-3
16 3-4
42 1-2
(?)
25
5 1-4
-
9 1-3
Statement of the quantity of Cotton Exported from the United States to other places than Great Britain
and France, in the year ending September 30, 1821, to 1835, inclusive.
Holland and
Years.
To Russia.
Belgium.
Spain.
Triests.
Hanse towns.
Italy and Malta.
All other places.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1821
304,680
4,186,096
284,832
34,976
748,110
897,804
2,506,777
1822
713,789
1,970,258
-
210,138
2,955,581
1,956,253
450,762
1823
309,678
4,650,548
-
177,789
2,356,594
217,663
833,332
1824
501,645
432,976
-
-
292,852
-
227,529
1825
133,934
1,420,225
-
-
577,109
980
509,031
1826
15,262
4,592,439
-
33,311
2,012,679
-
1,820,116
1827
147,101
5,861,400
7,990
183,204
3,389,514
148,170
1,440,547
1828
649,791
3,780,988
-
980,354
3,386,108
407,068
1,072,448
1829
227,883
9,595,337
-
4,071,247
6,857,796
1,056,387
1,261,925
1830
111,376
8,561,193
32,210
2,814,477
4,123,047
235,265
638,877
1831
761,735
972,659
555,098
2,778,858
2,416,765
305,695
2,243,741
1832
838,951
3,920,016
2,283,875
1,654,775
4,075,122
580,974
2,250,190
1833
1,447,405
2,673,253
758,216
1,107,600
1,870,620
-
1,759,615
1834
1,260,494
6,096,462
892,967
3,805,312
6,612,895
190,842
1,153,382
/ 1835
974,801
5,694,358
878,219
4,943,061
2,788,147
12,952
1,493,760
VII.-Raw Cotton.
Imports of
Where from.
Demerara and
Egypt and
Years.
Into England.
United States.
Brazil.
India.
Berbice.
West Indies.
Turkey.
Other places.
Millions.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1701
1 1-10 or 9-10
1710
7-10
1720
2
1730
1 1-2
1741
1 6-10
1751
3
1764
3 8-10
1766
3
1780
5
1784
11
1787
22
-
21 1-2
1 3-4
6 2-3
5 2-3
6
1789
32 1-2
1790
31 1-2
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
1791
28 3-4
1-1000
1-2
-
1-3
-
-
1-8
1792
35
1-126
1-2
-
1-3
-
I
1-10
1793
19
1-225
1-4
-
1-2
-
1-25
1-8
1794
24 1-3
1-110
2-5
-
1-2
-
1-100
1-13
1795
26 1-3
1-25
2-5
-
1-2
-
1-100
1-42
1796
32
1-11
1-2
1-37
2-5
-
1-44
1-50
1797
23 1-3
1-11
1-2
1-19
1-3
-
1-17
1-28
1798
31 3-4
1-6
2-5
1-14
1-3
-
I-15
1-285
1799
43 1-3
1-9
2-7
1-11
3-7
-
1-6
1-50
1800
56
1-4
1-5
1-9
1-3
-
1-9
1-18
1801
56
1-3
1-4
1-12
2-7
-
1-13
1-33
1802
60 1-3
3-7
1-3
1-17
1-6
-
1-20
1-135
1803
53 3-4
1-2
1-3
1-70
1-10
-
1-30
1-70
1804
61 3-4
1-2
2-9
1-6
1-12
-
1-26
1-167
1805
59 2-3
3-5
2-9
1-11
1-10
-
1-210
1-38
1806
58 1-4
3-5
2-9
1-10
1-9
-
1-22
1-87
1807
75
3-4
1-18
1-9
1-11
-
1-20
1-116
1808
43 1-2
2-5
1-11
1-14
2-9
-
1-8
1-24
1809
92 3-4
1-2
1-3
1-18
1-11
-
1-15
1-38
1810
132 1-2
2-3
1-4
1-15
1-18
-
1-46
1811
91 1-2
5-9
2-7
1-9
1-29
-
1-76
1812
63
4-9
2-5
1-9
1-22
-
1-25
Digitized by Google
536
COTTON.
VII-continued.
Imports of
Where from.
*
Demerara and
West
Years.
Into England.
United States.
Brazil.
Egyptand
Berbice.
Indies.
Turkey.
India.
Other plates.
Millions lbs.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio.
Ratio,
Ratio.
Ratio.
1813
51
1-8
3-5
1-10
1-12
-
-
1-20
1814
73 2-3
2-9
3-5
1-12
1-11
-
-
1-30
1815
96 1-4
4-7
1-4
1-15
1-24
-
-
1-24
1816
97 1-3
1-2
1-3
1-14
1-35
-
-
1-24
1817
126 1-4
1-2
1-3
1-24
1-26
-
-
1-14
1818
174
3-7
1-3
1-40
1-52
-
-
1-5
1819
137 1-2
1-2
1-3
1-40
1-52
:
-
1-5
1820
147 1-2
4-7
1-5
1-45
1-76
1-530
1-7
1-65
1821
126 1-2
5-7
1-6
1-46
1-32
1-175
1-14
1-138
1822
141 1-2
4-7
1-5
1-32
1-45
1-350
1-35
1-226
1823
183 1-3
3-5
1-8
1-72
1-52
1-143
1-13
1-72
1824
147 1-2
3-5
1-6
1-24
1-19
1-11
1-12
1825
244 1-3
3-5
1-7
1-29
1-17
I-10
1-7
1826
170 1-2
2-3
1-17
1-40
1-18
1-9
1-9
1827
264 1-3
3-4
1-11
1-38
1-56
1-13
1-22
1828
222 3-4
2-3
1-7
1-48
1-27
1-8
1-17
1829
218 1-3
2-3
1-7
1-39
1-30
I-9
1830
259 3-4
2-3 to 3-4
1-7 to 1-8
1-60
1-60
1-25
1831
280
2-3 to 3-4
1-9
-
1-35
1-13
1832
270 2-3
3-4
1-13
-
1-30
1-8
1833
288
7-8
1-10
-
1-300
1-9
1834
320 1-2
6-7
1-17
1-200
1-200
1-9
1835
361 1-2
3-4
1-12
-
-
1-8
VIII. Raw Cotton.
Imports.
Where from.
Imports.
Brazil and
Into Sazony,
Into the
Years.
Into France.
United States.
Egypt and
Prussia,
Into Swit.
Turkey.
the West
Into Spain.
Into Chima.
United
Trieste, and
aeriand.
Indies.
States.
Russia.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
libs.
1790
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
97,357
Mill lbs.
1791
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-4
-
1792
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
-
1793
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
223
-
1794
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 1-2
-
1795
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4
-
1796
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
41-4
-
1797
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 1-2
-
1798
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
323
-
1799
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
31-2
1800
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4 1-4
1801
-
3-4
-
-
-
-
-
41-4
1802
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
31-2
1803
-
4
-
-
-
-
2 1-2
-
3
1804
-
6
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 1-4
1805
4 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
-
21-4
1806
21 7-10
7
-
-
-
-
25
21-4
1807
-
6
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 1-3
1808
-
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
41-2
1809
8
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
1810
25
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-3
1811
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-3
1812
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
1813
-
10 1-4
-
-
-
-
-
-
123
1814
-
1 3-4
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-6
1815
i
-
20
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-6
1816
-
18
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-3
1817
-
.
-
-
-
-
-
-
3
1818
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
111-2
1819
-
1 -
.
-
-
-
-
15
1820
441-2
-
-
-
-
6
-
-
1
1821
47 1-2
27 1-8
-
-
-
-
-
2-3
-
1822
61
21 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-4
1823
51
25
-
-
-
-
1-8
-
-
1824
75 1-2
40 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
:
-
1825
61 1-3
30
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
1896
96
62 1-3
-
-
-
-
-
301
1-4
1827
87
70 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-6
1828
61 2-3
53 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
1829
72 1-2
67 1-2
-
-
-
-
-
1-2
1830
84 2-3 to 91
75
6
7
38
17 1-2
-
-
1-2
1831
65 1-2 to 61
46 to 50
7 1-2
31-2
39
18 4-5
-
38 to 68
1-3
1832
77 to 85
73 to 77 1-3
8 1-2
3 2-3
48
191-2
60
1-2
-
1833
?1
76 3-4
-
-
36
19
-
-
1-2
1834
83 to 94 1-2
78 to 81 3-4
7
4
-
19 1-3
2
451
1-2
1835
94 1-4
91
-
-
-
-
-
-
123
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
587
The imports into the United States are taken from official returns, and have been very fluctuating
in amount; they have come chiefly from India."
Other countries of Europe than those enumerated, import considerable quantities of raw cotton :
e.g. Holland and Belgium, about 10 or 12 millions of pounds, of which a part passes into Germany,
and 5 or 6 millions of pounds are from the United States. So into Germany direct are imported at Trieste
alone, from the United States, about 4 to 5 millions, and some from Egypt and Turkey; in all, making
in 1830, 124 millions of pounds; 1831, 194 millions; and 1832, 254 millions of pounds. Into the Hanse
towns are imported from here 2 to 6 millions of pounds more yearly, and about 1 million of pounds to
Russia, &c. &c. Russia imported into Petersburg, in all, 1830, 21 millions of pounds; 1831, 7-10
million of pounds: 1832, 1 8-10 million of pounds. In 1834, Belgium is said, by Mr. Alexander, to have
imported 121 millions of pounds of raw cotton. It is said, in the Westminster Review, for April, 1835,
that Lombardy alone consumes 4 millions of pounds of raw cotton yearly.'
IX. Raw Cotton.-Quantity manufactured in
& America
Years.
England.
France.
United States.
China and
& Mexico,
Turkey
India.
including
Germany.
and
Spain.
Prumis.
Elsewhere.
Brazil.
Africa.
-
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
lbs.
1780
131-2
in the 3 countries.
1784
11 1-4
1789
1790
30 1-2
-
5
1791
28
10
5 1-2
285
50
15
52
2
2
60
1792
33 1-2
1798
17 3-4
1794
23
1795
25
1796
31
1797
22 1-4
1798
31
18
1799
4%
10 1-4
1800
51
6 3-4
8 [1-10]
1801
53 3-4
11
9
280
&
#
50
3
5
50
1802
56 1-2
15 1-10
1803
51 3-4
15 3-4
-
-
-
-
-
3
1804
66 3-4
17 1-4
1805
58 3-4
18 1-2
11 [1-8]
1806
57 1-4
21 3-4
1807
72 1-2
1808
41 1-2
1809
87 1-3
1810
126
25
16 [3 1-2]
1811
89 2-3
23
17
270
48
25
48
5
6
50
1812
59 3-4
21
1813
1814
52 1-2
1815
92
-
31 1-2
1816
86 1-2
1817
116 1-2
30 or 26
1818
172
1819
132 3-4
1820
142
44
1821
114
47
50
260
42
30
45
8
7
45
1822
120 1-2
61
1823
177
50 1-2
1824
131
75
-
-
-
-
-
-
7 7-10
1825
206
60
1826
150 1-4
96
1827
250 I-2
87
1828
208 1-4
61
60
1829
190 3-4
71 1-2
1830
255
87 1-3
1831
257
65 1-2
77 1-2
1832
260
78
1833
284 I-2
87
80 to 85
242
35
36
42
10
20
40
1834
297
80
1835
320 1-4
-
100
X. Manufactures of Cotton.
Whole value of, yearly, in
Capital employed in Manufacturing by Machinery in
Years.
England.
France.
United States.
England.
France.
United States.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Milions
Millions
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
dollars.
Dollars,
1815
951
-
24
-
-
$
1816
1817
-
36
1818
1819
1820
1821
1822
72
1823
155
1824
148 to 190
1825
1826
68
Digitized by Google
538
COTTON.
X. Manufactures of Cotton-continued.
Whole value of, yearly, in
Capital employed in Manufacturing by Machinery in
Years.
England.
France.
United States.
England.
France.
United States.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1827
171
-
-
3001
1828
-
40
1829
1830
26 1
-
-
3251
-
40 3-4 or 62
( (40) S
1831
-
-
216
1832
144
54
-
160
-
44 1-8
1833
{ (149)
178
5360}
-
-
115
{168}
1834
160 1-2
62
-
250
1835
-
-
45 to 50
185
-
80
The value of manufactured cottons, when the quantity of raw cotton in them is the same, differs
greatly according to different periods of time in the same country, and according to the quality of the
raw material, and the machinery used, and the skill employed. Thus, in England, in 20 years after
Arkwright's invention in spinning, manufactured cottons fell nearly eight ninths of their former price.
Every ten years since, some have computed their fall in price as equal to 50 per cent. In the American
Encyclopedia, article Cotton, it is said that, from 1815 to 1829, the coarse cloths fell two thirds."
The best cotton goods are supposed to be made in Switzerland, where the skill and machinery are
good, and the climate congenial. But the raw material, being carried so far by land, is expensive, and
the manufacturer cannot compete with England, though 20 per cent. cheaper than in France."
"In France many fine goods are made by skill and experience; but the machinery is poorer, and costs
more. Hence the prices in those two countries, of the cloth made from a pound of raw cotton, exceed
on an average 50 cents, while in England they are about 50 cents, and in the United States are now
somewhat less. In 1806 the cotton was made chiefly into velveteens, nankeens, crapes, muslins, &c."
In 1810 our cotton cloths made in houses and manufactories, on an average, were estimated at 33
cents per yard in Coxe's tables, page 10. The prices are now lower, notwithstanding the introduction
so extensively of finer cloths and of printing calicoes."
We make more coarse and substantial cloths of cotton now than England, and they can be afforded
cheaper by 2 or 3 cents per yard. They are in greater demand abroad. We put more staple into
them, the raw material being cheaper here. But the English laces, being made chiefly of sea-island
cotton, with a very little silk, enhance the value of each pound to over $5; and the whole manufac-
ture of it equals 9 millions of dollars per annum, and 303 millions of yards."
'The coarse India cottons are made of the worst materials and less smooth, being chiefly spun by
hand, and the raw material poorer. But the thread so spun is softer and the cloth more durable."
XI. Manufactures of Cotton.
Persons employed, connected with factories, chiefly, number of
Spindles employed in factories, number of
Years.
In England.
United States.
France.
In England.
United States.
France.
Switzerland.
1750
20,0001
1760
16,000?
1770
30,0001
1784
80,0001
1787
}
162,000 to
260,000?
1789
-
-
-
49,500
1790
-
-
-
-
70
1791
1792
1793
1794
1795
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
-
-
-
-
4,500
1806
-
-
120,000
-
-
81,000
1807
-
-
-
-
8,000
1808
1809
800,000?
-
-
-
31,000
1810
-
-
-
-
87,000
Millions.
1811
-
-
-
5
80,000
Millions.
1812
-
-
-
41-21
-
1
1813
1814
1
-
-
-
122,646
1815
-
100,000
-
-
130,000
1816
-
-
-
68-3
1817
-
I
-
62-3
1818
-
-
-
-
-
18-10
1819
1820
-
-
-
-
290,000
Digitized by Google
COTTON.
539
XI. Manufactures of Cotton.-continued.
Persons employed, connected with factories, chiefly, number of
Spindles employed in factories, number of
Years.
In England.
United States.
France.
In England.
United States.
France.
Switzerland.
1821
-
-
-
-
230,000
1822
427,000
1823
1824
-
-
-
61
-
-
259,200
1825
-
-
-
1
800,000
1826
1827
on
705,000 to
1,000,000
Millions.
1828
-
-
-
-
11 to 1
1829
-
-
-
7
1830
-
179,000 }
-
-
175,146
11
1831
-
200,000
200,000
71 to 81
1832
1,200,000
-
-
-
-
3t
1833
1,500,000
1834
-
-
600,000
91
1835
-
-
-
-
17
There was very little spinning by machinery in France till after 1785.-And the cotton cloths were
chiefly made from thread or yarn imported from England, Switzerland, and the Levant. There were
large numbers of cotton pocket handkerchiefs made at Rouen, Montpélier, &c. as early as 1789.
The change of late years in some places in England, from the hand to the power loom, has caused
some distress, and the employment of a larger portion of females and children; now about one fifth
there are men, one third women, and the rest children. The number of hand looms in England, in
1820 and 1830, was about the same, viz.: 240,000, but that of power looms had increased from 14,000
to 55,000. Each of the latter performs as much as three of the former. In 1834, the power looms had
become 100,000."
XII-Manufactures of Cotton.-Values of Exports of their own, from
Years.
England.
France.
Germany.
Spain.
Turkey and
India.
United States.
China.
Africa.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Official Value.
1789
6
1790
8
1791
9
1792
194
1793
81
1794
111
1795
114
1796
15+
1797
17
1798
17
1799
28
1800
26f
1801
33
1802
37
-
-
-
-
20
1803
34
-
-
5
1804
41
1805
45
1806
50
-
-
-
-
-
-
4
1807
48
1808
61
1809
92
1810
90
1811
68
1812
78
1813
-
-
-
-
-
18
Real or
declared
-
value.
1814
84
95
1815
106
98
1816
86
74
1817
101
76
1818
98
891
1819
881
70
-
3
1820
1071
79
-
-
-
-
-
1821
113
77
1822
128
82
1823
137
821
41
1824
143
86
6f
1825
135
86
-
1 1-10
11
1826
119
711
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1 1-10
1827
157
83}
-
-
1 1-10
1828
1591
81
-
-
-
1829
197
831
41
-
-
-
1 1-4
-
1830
188
81
10
-
-
1 1-3
-
I
83
10t
-
-
-
1 1-10
1831
208
-
1832
209
831
10+
-
-
-
-
1 2-10
1833
222
884
11
-
-
-
-
2 1-2
1834
981
10
-
-
-
2 2-10
-
1835
881
Digitized by Google
540
COTTON.
"The exports of English (cotton) manufactures, in 1833 and 4, were about one third in value is
yarn. Some years yarn constitutes one-half in weight."
'From 1814 to 1823 inclusive, the value of yarn exported compared with the value of other cotton
goods, increased slowly from being about one seventh and one sixth, to be about one fifth. The pro-
portional increase of yarn has been even greater since. The yarn exported is understood to be ge-
nerally coarse."
The declared, or what is sometimes called the real value, in the 2d column (of the above table) is
still usually from 21 to 5 per cent. under the actual market value. The official value is founded on
the quantity, computing the price as it was at the close of the 17th century, or A. D. 1689."
" The exports of cotton manufactures from England are now, and for some years have been, nearly
equal to one half of her exports of every kind."
XIII. Manufactures of Cotton.-Value of exports from
England to
Various
Various
England to
England to
England to
England to
England to In-
SouthAmerica
Years.
United States.
France.
Netherlands.
dia and China.
and Mexico,
places to
places to
England to
Germany.
Spain.
Russia.
1
except Brazil.
Millions
Dollars.
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Real
on or dec.
Whole sum.
1820
8,700
20
5
4
.
4 8-10
1821
6 6-10
8,500
18
5
5 1-4
1822
8.2-10
18,000
19
5 1-2
5 1-2
1823
7
22,000
14 1-2
7
6
1824
7 6-10
55,000
13 1-2
6 1-2
5 3-4
-
-
7-10
1825
11
57,000
15 1-2
7
5 1-2
1826
6 1-2
119,000
14
6
5 3-4
1827
8
122,000
14 3-4
6 3-4
9 1-2
5 1-2
1828
8 3-4
110,000
13 3-4
6 3-4
-
5 3-4
1829
6 1-2
122,000
14 1-2
6 34
-
7 1-4
1830
6 2-10
50,000
14
6
-
8 1-4
1831
13
240,000
11 1-4
6 1-2
9 1-4
7t[7]]
-
-
3 1-3
1832
8 1-10
318,000
15 3-4
8 1-3
8 2-3
6 1-3
-
6
6 1-3
1833
{ 6 3-10 or
8 3-10
450,000
14 1-2
9 1-10
8
6 I-2
-
6 1-2
8"
1834
8 2-10
730,000
15 3-4
10
7 1-3
8
6
7 1-4
XIV. Manufactures of Cotton.-Value of exports from
U. States to
Years.
France to the
France to
France to her
Germany to
SouthAmerica
U. States to In-
United States to
United States to
United States.
England.
Colonies.
the U. States.
and Mexico.
dia and Africa.
China.
the West Indies.
Millions
[Millions
Millions
Millions
Millions
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
Dollars.
1821
1-25
-
-
1-30
1822
1-7
-
-
1-20
1823
1-7
-
-
1-20
1824
1-3
-
-
1-18
1825
1-6
-
-
4-10
Whole
sum
stated.
1826
1-2
-
-
1-3
9-10
10,000
14,000
99,000
1827
1-3
-
-
3-10
9-10
13,000
9,000
66,000
1828
1-2
-
-
1-2
8-10
22,000
14,900
46,000
1829
1-2
-
-
4-10
1 8-10
37,000
26,000
49,000
1830
2-3
-
-
1-3
1
75,000
56,000
47,000
1831
1 1-2
1-20
-
9-10
9-10
66,000
49,000
41,000
1832
1 1-4
9-10
-
1-2
9-10
83,000
88,000
53,000
1833
3-4
-
1 1-4
1-6
1 9-10
120,000
215,000
86,000
1834
1 1-10
-
1 to 3
3-10
1 5-10
186,000
152,000
127,000
1835
The raw cotton exported from the United States amounted, in 1836, to 423,631,307 lbs., valued at
$71,284,925; in 1837, to 444,211,537 lbs., valued at $63,240,102; in 1838, to 595,952,297 lbs., valued at
$61,556,811.
In 1836, there were exported to Great Britain (including Ireland) 292,518,707 lbs., and to France
101,363,189 lbs.; in 1837, to Great Britain 321,579,368 lbs., and to France 99,308,197 lbs.; in 1838, to
Great Britain 441,857,943 lbs., and to France 120,324,425 lbs.
Export of Cotton to Foreign Ports, from 1st October, 1837, to 30th September, 1838.
To Great
To North of
To France.
Other Foreign
Britain.
Europe.
Ports.
Total
FROM
Bales.
Bales.
Bales
Bales.
Bales.
New Orleans
-
-
-
-
481,501
127,828
7,580
14,528
631,437
Mississippi, (Natchez)
-
-
-
15,246
-
-
-
15,246
Alabama
-
-
-
-
-
158,029
61,123
3,988
1,910
225,060
Florida
-
-
-
-
-
31,902
2,240
-
12
34,154
Georgia (Savannah and Darien)
-
-
201,582
27,024
560
632
$29,798
South Carolina
-
-
-
-
158,212
55,685
28,853
3,717
246,467
North Carolina
-
-
-
-
4,279
-
-
-
4,279
Virginia
-
-
-
-
-
12,205
4,136
2,446
651
19,438
Baltimore
-
-
-
-
-
2,240
-
78
-
2,318
Philadelphia -
-
-
-
-
2,954
465
905
282
4,606
New York
-
-
-
-
-
97,005
42,929
18,196
3,820
161,950
Boston
-
-
-
-
-
-
50
483
483
676
Grand total -
-
-
-
1,165,155
321,480
63,099
25,890
1,575,629
Total last year
-
-
-
850,786
260,722
26,437
30,480
1,168,495
Increase
-
-
-
-
314,369
60,758
36,662
407,904
Decrease
-
-
-
-
4,585
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COTTON.
541
The imports of raw cotton from abroad, in the three years of which we speak, amounted respectively
to 1,617, 390-1,998,385-and 1,529,566 lbs. These were chiefly from Texas, and were for the most part
re-exported.
Of cotton manufactures generally there were imported into the country in 1836, to the value of
$17,876,087-$14,092,477 of which were imported from Great Britain, and $2,321,008 from France ;-in
1837, to the value of $11,150,841,-$8,118,175 of which were from Great Britain, and $1,791,650 from
France ;-in 1838, to the value of $6,599,330,-$4,866,995 of which were from Great Britain, and
$914,084 from France.
$2,765,676, $2,683,418, and $1,153,506 of the cotton manufactures imported, in the several years 1836,
1837, and 1838, were re-exported, chiefly to Mexico, Cuba, and South America.
The exports of domestic cotton goods were, in these years, $2,255,734, $2,831,473, and $3,758,755 re-
spectively and chiefly to Cuba, South America, and Africa.
The imports into the country of cotton bagging, during the same period, amounted to $1,701,451,
$429,251, and $173,235,-almost exclusively from Great Britain and the Hanse towns. A very incon-
siderable quantity only of the article was re-exported.
See articles IMPORTS AND EXPORTS, and TARIFF.-Am. Ed.]
COWHAGE, OR COWITCH (Hind. Kiwach), the fruit or bean of a perennial climb-
ing plant (Dolichos pruriens Lin.). It is a native of India, as well as of several other eastern
countries, and of America. The pod is about 4 or 5 inches long, a little curved, and con-
tains from 3 to 5 oval and flattish seeds; the outside is thickly covered with short, bristly,
brown hairs, which, if incautiously touched, stick to the skin, and occasion intolerable itch-
ing. Syrup thickened with the hairs is prescribed in certain complaints-(Ainslie's Materia
Indica.)
COWRIES (Ger. Kauris; Du. Kauris; Fr. Coris, Cauris, Bouges; It. Cori, Porcel-
lane; Sp. Bucios Zimbos) are small shells brought from the Maldives, which pass current
as coin in smaller payments in Hindostan, and throughout extensive districts in Africa.
They used to be imported into England previous to the abolition of the slave trade, in which
they were subsequently employed. They are an article of trade at Bombay. The best are
small, clean, and white, having a beautiful gloss; those that are yellow, large, and without
lustre, should be rejected. The freight is calculated at 20 cwt. to the ton.-(Milburn's
Orient. Com.)
CRANBERRIES, OR RED WHORTLEBERRIES, the fruit of a moss plant, the
Vaccinium oxycoceus. of Linneus. The berries are globular, about the size of currants; are
found in mossy bogs in different parts of Scotland, but not in great numbers they were
once common in Lincolnshire, and the northern parts of Norfolk but since the bogs have
been drained and cultivated, they are rarely met with. Cranberries have a peculiar flavour,
and a sharp, acid, agreeable taste; they are easily preserved, and are extensively used in
making tarts. They are very abundant in North America, and in the northern parts of
Russia; the latter being of a superior quality. We import from 30,000 to 35,000 gallons
annually. It is said that some very fine ones have recently been brought from New South
Wales.
CRAPE (Fr. Crêpe; Ger. Flohr, Krausflohr; It. Espumilla, Soplillo; Rus. Flior;
Sp. Crespon), a light transparent stuff, in manner of gauze, made of raw silk, gummed and
twisted on the mill and woven without crossing. It is principally used in mourning. Crape
was originally manufactured in Bologna; but that made in this country is now deemed
superior to any made in Italy.
CREAM OF TARTAR. See ARGAL.
CREDIT, the term used to express the trust or confidence placed by one individual in
another, when he assigns him money, or other property in loan, or without stipulating for
its immediate payment. The party who lends is said to give credit, and the party who bor-
rows to obtain credit.
Origin and Nature of Credit.-In the earlier stages of society, credit is in a great
measure unknown. This arises partly from the circumstance of very little capital being
then accumulated, and partly from government not having the means, or not being suffi-
ciently careful, to enforce that punctual attention to engagements so indispensable to the
existence of confidence or credit. But as society advances, capital is gradually accumulated,
and the observance of contracts is enforced by public authority. Credit then begins to grow
up. On the one hand, those individuals who have more capital than they can conveniently
employ, or who are desirous of withdrawing from business, are disposed to lend, or to trans-
fer, a part or the whole of their capital to others, on condition of their obtaining a certain
stipulated premium or interest for its use, and what they consider sufficient security for its
repayment; and, on the other hand, there are always individuals to be met with, disposed to
borrow, partly (and among merchants principally) in order to extend their business beyond
the limits to which they can carry it by means of their own capital, or to purchase commo-
dities on speculation, and partly to defray debts already contracted. These different classes
of individuals mutually accommodate each other. Those desirous of being relieved from the
fatigues of business, find it very convenient to lend their capital to others; while such as
are anxious to enlarge their businesses, obtain the means of prosecuting them to a greater
extent.
It is plain, that to whatever extent the power of the borrower of a quantity of produce, or
VoL. L-2 Z
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CREDIT.
a sum of money, to extend his business may be increased, that of the lender must be equally
diminished. The same portion of capital cannot be employed by two individuals at the same
time. If A. transfer his capital to B., he necessarily, by so doing, deprives himself of a power
or capacity of production which B. acquires. It is most probable, indeed, that this capital
will be more productively employed in the hands of B. than of A; for the fact of A. having
lent it shows that he either had no means of employing it advantageously, or was disinclined
to take the trouble; while the fact of B. having borrowed it shows that he conceives he can
advantageously employ it, or that he can invest it so as to make it yield an interest to the
lender, and a profit to himself. It is obvious, however, that except in so far as credit contri-
butes in the way now mentioned, to bring capital into the possession of those who, it may
be fairly presumed, will employ it most beneficially, it conduces nothing to the increase of
wealth.
The most common method of making a loan is by selling commodities on credit, or on
condition that they shall be paid at some future period. The price is increased proportion-
ally to the length of credit given; and if any doubt be entertained with respect to the puno-
tuality or solvency of the buyer, a further sum is added to the price, in order to cover the
risk that the seller or lender runs of not receiving payment, or of not receiving it at the
stipulated period. This is the usual method of transacting where capital is abundant, and
confidence general; and there can be no manner of doubt that the amount of property lent
in Great Britain, the Netherlands, and most other commercial countries, in this way, is
infinitely greater than all that is lent in every other way.
When produce is sold in the way now described, it is usual for the buyers to give their
bills to the sellers for the price, payable at the period when the credit is to expire; and it is
in the effects consequent to the negociation of such bills that much of that magical influence
that has sometimes been ascribed to credit is believed to consist. Suppose, to illustrate this,
that a paper-maker, A., sells to a printer, B., a quantity of paper, and that he gets his bill
for the sum, payable at 12 months after date: B. could not have entered into the transaction
had he been obliged to pay ready money but A., notwithstanding he has occasion for the
money, is enabled, by the facility of negociating or discounting bills, to give the requisite
credit, without disabling himself from prosecuting his business. In a case like this, both
parties are said to be supported by credit; and as cases of this sort are exceedingly common,
it is contended that half of the business of the country is carried on by its means. All, how-
ever, that such statements really amount to is, that a large proportion of those engaged in
industrious undertakings do not employ their own capital, but that of others. In the case in
question, the printer employs the capital of the paper-maker, and the latter employs that of
the banker or broker who discounted the bill. This person had most likely the amount in
spare cash lying beside him, which he might not well know what to make of; but the indi-
vidual into whose hands it has now come, will immediately apply it to useful purposes, or
to the purchase of the materials, or the payment of the wages of the workmen employed
in his establishment. It is next to certain, therefore, that the transaction will have been
advantageous. But still it is essential to bear in mind that it will have been so, not
because credit is of itself a means of production, or because it can give birth to capital not
already in existence; but because, through its agency, capital finds its way into those chan-
nels in which it has the best chance of being profitably employed.
The real advantage derived from the use of bills and bank notes as money consists, as has
been already shown, in their substituting so cheap a medium of exchange as paper, in the
place of one 80 expensive as gold, and in the facilities which they give to the transacting of
commercial affairs. If a banker lend A. a note for 100L or 1,000L,, the latter will be able to
obtain an equivalent portion of the land or produce of the country in exchange for it; but
that land or produce was already in existence. The issue of the note did not give it birth.
It was previously in some one's possession and it will depend wholly on the circumstance
of A.'s employing it more or less advantageously than it was previously employed, whether
the transaction will, in a public point of view, be profitable or not. On analysing any case
of this kind, we shall invariably find that all that the highest degree of credit or confidence
can do, is merely to change the distribution of capital-to transfer it from one class to
another. These transfers are occasionally, too, productive of injurious results, by bringing
capital into the hands of spendthrifts this, however, is not, except in the case of the credit
given by shopkeepers, a very common effect; and there can be no doubt that the vast
majority of regular loans are decidedly beneficial.
Abuses of the present Credit System in Great Britain. Means of obriating them.-The
previous observations refer rather to the credit given to individuals engaged in business, who
mean to employ the capital which they borrow in industrious undertakings, than to that
which is given to individuals not so engaged, and who employ the advances made to them
in supporting themselves and their families. In neither case is credit of advantage, unless
it be granted with due discrimination, and with reference to the character, condition. and
prospects of those receiving it. In this country, however, these considerations have been in
a great measure lost sight of, in the granting of credit by shopkeepers and tradesman of all
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CREDIT.
543
descriptions. Owing to the competition of such persons, their extreme eagerness to secure
customers, and the general indolence of opulent persons, which disinclines them to satisfy
every small debt when it is contracted, the system of selling upon credit has become almost
universal. Few among us think of paying ready money for any thing; seven tenths of the
community are in the constant practice of anticipating their incomes; and there is hardly
one so bankrupt in character and fortune as to be unable to find grocers, bakers, butchers,
tailors, &c. ready to furnish him upon credit with supplies of the articles in which they
respectively deal. We look upon this facility of obtaining accommodations as a very great
evil. They are not, in one case out of five, of any real advantage to the parties receiving
them, while they are productive of very pernicious results. The system tempts very many, and
sometimes even the most considerate individuals, to indulge in expenses beyond their means;
and thus becomes the most fruitful source of bankruptcy, insolvency, and bad faith. To
guarantee themselves from the extraordinary risk to which such proceedings expose them,
tradesmen are obliged to advance the price of their goods to a most exorbitant height; so
that those who are able, and who really mean to pay the debts they contract, are, in fact,
obliged to pay those of the hosts of insolvents and swindlers maintained by the present
system. Many tradesmen consider themselves as fortunate, if they recover from two thirds
to three fourths of the sums standing in their books, at the distance of several years.
The extraordinary extent to which the credit practice is carried may be learned from the
inquiries of the Parliamentary Committee on Small Debts. It appears from them, that hat-
ters, shoemakers, &c. in the metropolis, have often 4,000/. and upwards on their books in
debts below 10l., and that five sixths of their book debts are below that sum ! A large pro-
portion of these debts are irrecoverable; but owing to the artificial enhancement of prices,
those that are good are sufficient to indemnify the traders for the loss of the bad.
It is not easy, we think, to imagine any system better fitted to generate improvidence and
fraud. The vast majority of those who become insolvent, or are imprisoned for debt, consist
of labourers, artisans, half-pay officers, clerks in public and other offices, annuitants, &c.,-
persons whom no prudent shopkeeper would ever allow to get permanently into his debt.
The following table exhibits some of the effects resulting from this system :-
Number of Persons committed for Debt to the several Prisons of the Metropolis in the Year 1827, and
the Sums for which they were committed.-(Parl. Paper, No. 76. Sess. 1828.)
For Sums
For Sume
For Sume
between
For Sume
In Custody,
between
Total
above 100%
50L and 100Z.
501. and 20L
under 20L
January 1,
1828.
King's Bench prison
-
-
474
354
550
213
1,591
674
Fleet prison
-
-
206
141
223
113
683
253
Whitecross Street prison
-
206
273
816
600
1,893
378
Marshalsea prison
-
-
20
30
166
414
630
102
Horsemonger Lane prison
-
57
58
134
923
1,172
105
Total -
963
856
1,889
2,263
5,969
1,512
It is time, certainly, that something effectual were done to put an end to such flagrant
abuses-to a system that sends 923 persons to a single prison for debts under 201. We
do not mean to say or insinuate that credit may not frequently be given to the labouring
classes with the best effects: but it is of its abuse that we complain,-of its being indis-
criminately granted to every one; to those whom it encourages to continue in a course of
idleness and profligacy, as well as to those industrious and deserving persons to whom it
may occasionally be of the greatest service. To secure the advantages of credit to the public,
free from the enormous evils that result from its abuse, is an object of the highest importance
and few things, we believe, would do so much to secure it, as to take from creditors the
power to arrest and imprison for debt.-(See BANKRUPTCY.)
It was stated in the House of Commons, (19th of February, 1827,) that in the space of
21 years, 70,000 persons were arrested in and about London, at an expense to the parties,
it may be estimated, of between 150,000L. and 200,000L! In 1827, in the metropolis and
two adjoining counties, 23,515 warrants to arrest were granted, and 11,317 bailable processes
were executed. Hence it may be concluded, that in this single year, within the above
limits, no fewer than 12,000 persons were deprived of their liberty, on the mere allegation
of others, without any proof that they owed them a farthing ! Well might Lord Eldon say
" that the law of arrest is a permission to commit acts of greater oppression and inhuman-
ity than are to be met with in slavery itself, and that the redress of such a grievance would
not be attended with any fatal consequences to the country."
The following Table, which shows that 1,120 persons were committed to Horsemonger
Lane prison, in 1831, for debts amounting, in all, to only 2,4171. 7s. 5d., being at an
average no more than 21. 3s. 2d. each, proves that the discussions which have taken place
with respect to the law of arrest and imprisonment, have not, in any degree, lessened its
mischievous operation. Whatever else may be dear in England, the fact that thousands of
people are annually imprisoned for such miserable trifles, shows that personal liberty is, at all
events, abundantly cheap.
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CREDIT.
A Return of the Number of Debtors committed to Horsemonger Lane Prison, on Process out of the
Court of Requests, during the Years ending 1st of January, 1832 and 1833; stating the aggregate
Amount of Debts and Costs, separately, in each Year; showing, in Classes, the Number confined
from One to less than Ten Days, for Ten Days and less than Thirty, Fifty, Seventy, and one Hun-
dred Days; stating, also, the Amount paid out of the County or other rates for the Maintenance and
Support of such Prisoners, as accurately as possible.
1831.
1832.
Number committed in the year
-
-
-
-
, 1,120
945
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
Aggregate amount of debts
-
-
-
-
-
2,417 7 5
2,039 14 9
costs -
-
-
-
-
696 2 7
566 18 2
Number confined from 1 to less than 10 days
-
-
610
394
for 10 and
-
30
-
-
-
336
317
30
-
- 50
-
-
-
77
119
50
-
- 70
-
-
-
47
65
70
-
- 100
-
-
-
26
29
100 days and more
-
-
-
24
30
Amount paid out of the county or other rates for the
£
£
maintenance and support of such prisoners
-
-
208
226
We defy any one to show that the law of arrest and imprisonment has a single good con-
sequence to be placed as a set-off against the intolerable evils of which it is productive.
Tradesmen depend, as is clearly evinced by the above statements, upon the despotical power
which it puts in their hands, to get them out of scrapes; and believe that the fear of being
subjected to arrest will stimulate even the most suspicious portion of their debtors to make
payment of their accounts. The records of our prisons, and of our insolvent and other
courts, show how miserably these expectations are disappointed. We believe, indeed, that
we are warranted in affirming that the more respectable classes of shopkeepers and trades-
men are now generally satisfied that the present system requires some very material modifi-
cations. The law of arrest and imprisonment is, in fact, advantageous to none but knaves
and swindlers, and the lowest class of attorneys, who frequently buy up small accounts and
bills, that they may bring actions upon them, and enrich themselves at the expense of the
poor, by the magnitude of their charges. Such oppressive proceedings are a disgrace to a
civilised country. Were the law in question repealed, credit would be granted to those only
who deserved it; for, generally speaking, tradesmen, supposing they had nothing to trust to
but their own discretion, would not deal, except for ready money, with those of whose cha-
racter and situation they were not perfectly informed and the difficulty under which all
idle and improvident persons would thus be placed of obtaining loans, would do much to
wean them from their vicious courses, and to render them industrious and honest. Those,"
says Dr. Johnson, who have made the laws, have apparently considered that every defi-
ciency of payment is the crime of the debtor. But the truth is, that the creditor always
shares the act, and often more than shares the guilt of improper trust. It seldom happens
that any man imprisons another but for debts which he suffered to be contracted in hope of
advantage to himself, and for bargains in which he proportioned his profit to his own opinion
of the hazard; and there is no reason why one should punish another for a contract in
which both concurred."
The power of taking goods in execution for debts is also one that requires to be materially
modified. At present, the household furniture of every man, and even the implements used
in his trade, should there be nothing else to lay hold of, may be seized and sold in satisfac-
tion of any petty claim. It seems to us quite clear that some limits should be set to this
power; and that such articles as are indispensable either to the subsistence or the business
of any poor man ought to be exempted from execution, and, perhaps, distress. The present
practice, by stripping its victims of the means of support and employment, drives them to,
despair, and is productive only of crimès and disorders.
We are glad to observe that there seems to be a growing conviction among mercantile
men, of the inconveniences arising from the present practice. A petition against imprison-
ment, for small debts, subscribed by many of the most eminent merchants, manufacturers,
bankers, &c. of the city of Glasgow, was presented to the House of Commons in 1833. It
contains so brief, and at the same time 80 forcible, an exposition of the evils resulting from
the present system, that we shall take the liberty of laying it before our readers.
" Your petitioners have been long and seriously impressed with the belief that very great evils have
arisen and do arise from the imprisonment of debtors in Scotland, especially for small sums.
The petitioners will not here question the policy of the existing laws which authorise the impri-
sonment of debtors for considerable sums, nor do they intend to object to the creditor retaining the
fullest power over the property and effects of his debtor; but they are humbly of opinion that, in so
far as these laws give creditors the power to imprison debtors for small sums, such as 81. and under,
they are not only injurious to the public, and ruinous to the debtor, but even hurtful to the creditor
himself.
It would be a waste of time to dwell upon the hardship of subjecting debtors to imprisonment for
small debts, contracted sometimes certainly under circumstances of real distress, but more frequently
from the improper use of credit, with which they are too readily supplied. The creditor takes care
Digitized by Google
CREDIT.
545
that his profit shall be commensurate with his risk and the debtor is induced to purchase freely, and
at any price, that which he is not immediately called upon to pay; the creditor coolly and cruelly cal-
culates upon the power which the law has granted him over the person of his debtor if he fail to dis-
charge his debt to him, while the debtor forgets that, by the credit 80 imprudently afforded him, he
is preparing the way for his own ruin, and that of all who have any dependence upon him.
The total number of debtors imprisoned in the gaol of Glasgow alone, for debts of 81. and under
was, in the year 1830, 353; in 1831, 419; and in 1832, 437 while the whole number of incarcerations
in that gaol for sums of every description were, in the year 1830, 557; in 1831, 630; and in 1832, 696
the proportion of sums of 81. and under being nearly two thirds of the whole on the average of these
3 years.
To remedy these evils, your petitioners humbly submit that means should be adopted for the repeal
of the laws at present in force, in 80 far as they sanction the recovery of small debts by imprisonment,
reserving their effect in every other respect; the result of which would be, that credit for small sums
would be greatly limited, if not entirely extinguished, and the poorer classes rendered more provident
and by purchasing with money at a cheaper rate what they now buy at an extravagant price, they
would be enabled to procure for themselves additional comforts, from the more economical employ-
ment of their small incomes.
May it therefore please your Honourable House to take this matter into your consideration, and
to adopt such means as you in your wisdom shall see proper, to prevent the incarceration of debtors
for sums under 81., and thereby remove or greatly mitigate the evils of improvidence on the part of the
debtor, and of oppression on the part of the creditor, which necessarily arise under the present
system."
So reasonable a proposal, supported by such conclusive statements, could not fail to make
a deep impression and a bill was consequently introduced by the solicitor general, taking
away the power to arrest and imprison for petty debts. This bill was afterwards withdrawn
but there can be no doubt that it will be brought forward again, unless it be resolved to
apply a still more radical cure to the abuses complained of.
Propriety of placing all small Debts beyond the Pale of the Law.-The taking away the
power of arrest and imprisonment, except in the case of fraudulent bankruptcy, would cer-
tainly be a material improvement upon the existing system. But we are satisfied that it
does not go far enough and that by far the most desirable and beneficial reform that could
be effected in this department would be to take away all action for debts under a given sum,
as 50L. or 100% The only exception to this rule should be in the case of claims for wages,
or labour done under executory contracts. To prevent the measure from being defeated,
no action should be granted on bills under 50L or 100Z. except upon those drawn by or
upon regular bankers. This would be a radical change certainly but we are fully satisfied
that it would be highly advantageous to every class of the community, and most of all to
labourers, retail dealers, and small tradesmen. It would protect the former from oppres-
sion, at the same time that it would tend powerfully to render them more provident and
considerate; it would teach the latter to exercise that discretion in the granting of credit
which is so very indispensable; and it would be publicly beneficial, by strengthening the
moral principle, and making the contraction of debts for small sums, without the means of
paying them, at once difficult and disgraceful.
We agree entirely in opinion with those who think that it is to no purpose to attempt
to remedy the defects now pointed out, by multiplying courts and other devices for facili-
tating the speedy recovery of small debts. This is beginning at the wrong end or rather it
is attempting to obviate the influence of one abuse by instituting another. No wise states-
man will ever be easily persuaded to fill the country with petty local courts; for these, when
not absolutely necessary, are the merest nuisances imaginable; and he would, at all events,
exert himself, in the first instance to do away, in so far as possible, with the circumstances
that make individuals resort to them. But it is certain that nine tenths of the cases in
county courts originate in questions as to the simple contract debts under 50% and were
such debts placed, as they ought to be, beyond the pale of the law, the courts would be
wholly unnecessary. Our object ought not to be to provide means for enforcing payment
of trifling debts, but to prevent their contraction. We believe, indeed, that, instead of les-
sening, the multiplication of district courts will materially aggravate, all the evils of the pre-
sent credit system. The belief that they may readily enforce their claims by resorting to
them will make shopkeepers and tradesmen still more disposed than at present to give credit,
while the unprincipled, the inconsiderate, and the necessitous will eagerly grasp at this in-
creased facility. What there is of caution amongst our retail dealers is in no inconsiderable
degree owing to the want of those petty tribunals so many are anxious to have universally
established. The more they are increased, the less will caution prevail. But instead of
diminishing this virtue,-for such it really is,-it cannot be too much increased. Nothing
will ever deter those who ought not to obtain credit from taking it while in their power; but
those who give it may be made to exercise greater discretion they may be made to know
that it is a private transaction between themselves and those to whom they grant it; and
that in the case of petty debts they have only their own sagacity to look to, such transac-
tions not being cognizable by law. A measure of the sort here proposed would not, as some
appear to imagine, annihilate credit. It would, no doubt, annihilate that spurious indiscri-
minating species of credit, that is as readily granted to the spendthrift and prodigal, as to the
frugal and industrious individual but to the same extent that it deprived the former of the
means of obtaining accommodation, it would extend those of the latter. Nothing short of
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this-nothing but the placing all small debts beyond the pale of the law-will ever fully
impress tradesmen with a conviction of the vast advantages that would result to themselves
from their withdrawing their confidence from courts and prisons, and preventing every one
from getting upon their books, of whose situation and circumstances they are not fully
aware; nor will any thing else be able completely to eradicate the flagrant abuses inherent
in the present credit system, and which have gone far to render it a public nuisance.
One of the worst consequences of the present system is the sort of thraldom in which it
keeps thousands of labourers and other individuals, whom the improper facilities for obtain-
ing credit originally led into debt. Such persons dare not leave the shops to which they
owe accounts and they dare neither object to the quality of the goods offered to them, nor
to the prices charged. Dr. Johnson has truly observed, that " he that once owes more than
he can pay, is often obliged to bribe his creditor to patience by increasing his debt. Worse
and worse commodities at a higher and higher price are forced upon him ; he is impover-
ished by compulsive traffic; and at last overwhelmed in the common receptacles of misery
by debts, which, without his own consent, were accumulated on his head." By taking
away all right of action upon small debts, this system of invisible but substantial coercion
would be put an end to. The tradesman would take care who got, in the first instance,
upon his books; and instead of forcing articles upon him, would cease to furnish him with
any unless he found he was regular in making his payments while the customer, to whom
credit was of importance, would know that his only chance of obtaining it would depend
upon his character and reputation for punctuality. The abuses of the sort now alluded to,
that grew out of what has been denominated the truck system, justly occasioned its abolition;
but these were trifling compared with those that originate in the bringing of petty debts
within the pale of the law.
When the former edition of this work was published, we were not aware that it had been pre-
viously proposed to take away all action for debts under 501. or 1001.; but we have since met with a
pamphlet, entitled Credit Pernicious, published in 1823, in which this plan is proposed and ably sup-
ported. There are also some valuable remarks and observations on the topics now treated of, in the
Treatise on the Police, &c. of the Metropolis, by the author of the Cabinet Lawyer," pp. 114-134.
CREW, the company of sailors belonging to any ship or vessel. No ship is admitted to
be a British ship, unless duly registered and navigated as such by a crew, three fourths of
which are British subjects, besides the master.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 54. § 12.) The master
or owners of any British ship having a foreign seaman on board not allowed by law, shall
for every such seaman forfeit 10/.; unless they can show, by the certificate of the British
consul, or of two British merchants, or shall satisfactorily prove, that the requisite number
of British seamen could not be obtained at the place where the foreign seaman was taken on
board. It is also ordered that the master of every British vessel arriving from the West
Indies shall deliver, within 10 days after arrival, to the Custom-house, a list of the crew on
board at the time of clearing out from the United Kingdom, and of arrival in the West Indies,
and of every seaman who has deserted or died during the voyage, and the amount of wages
due to each 80 dying, under a penalty of 50%-(3 & 4. Will. 4. c. 54. § 19.; 3 & 4 Will 4.
c. 52. § 16.)
CUBEBS (Ger. Kubeben; Fr. Cubebes; It. Cubebi; Sp. Cubebas; Rus. Kubebů;
Lat. Piper Cubeba; Arab. Kebäbeh; Javan, Kumunkus; Hind. Cubab-chinie), the pro-
duce of a vine or climber, the growth of which is confined exclusively to Java. It is a small
dried fruit, like a pepper corn, but somewhat longer. Cubebs have a hot, pungent, aromatic,
slightly bitter taste and a fragrant, agreeable odour. They should be chosen large, fresh,
sound, and the heaviest that can be procured. The quantity entered for home consumption,
in 1830, amounted to 18,540 lbs., producing a nett revenue of 1,854/. 6s. Their price in
the London market, in bond, varies from 21. 10s. to 4L 4s. per cwt.
CUCUMBER, a tropical plant, of which there are many varieties, largely cultivated in
hothouses in England.
CUDBEAR, a purple or violet coloured powder used in dyeing violet, purple, and crim-
son, prepared from a species of lichen (Lichen tartareus Lin.), or crustaceous moss, grow-
ing commonly on limestone rocks in Sweden, Scotland, the north of England, &c. About
130 tons of this lichen are annually exported from Sweden. It commonly sells in the port
of London for about 20L per ton but to prepare it for use it must be washed and dried;
and by these operations the weight is commonly diminished a half, and the price, in effect,
doubled. Though possessing great beauty and lustre at first, the colours obtained from cud-
bear are so very fugacious, that they ought never to be employed but in aid of some other
more permanent dye, to which they may give body and vivacity. In this country it is chiefly
used to give strength and brilliancy to the blues dyed with indigo, and to produce a saving
of that article it is also used as a ground for madder reds, which commonly incline too
much to yellow, and are made rosy by this addition. The name cudbear was given to this
powder by Dr. Cuthbert Gordon, who, having obtained a patent for the preparation, chose
in this way to connect it with his own name.-(Bancroft, Philosophy of Permanent Colours,
vol. i. pp. 300-304.)
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CUMMIN SEED (Ger. Kumin; Fr. Cumin; It. Comino, Cumino; Sp. Comino ,
Arab. Kemun), the seeds of an annual plant (Cuminum Cyminum Lin.), a native of Egypt,
but extensively cultivated in Sicily and Malta. They have a strong, peculiar, heavy odour,
and a warm, bitterish, disagreeable taste. They are long and slender.
CURRANTS (Fr. Raisins de Corinthe; Ger. Korinthen; It. Uve passe di Corinto;
Lat. Passulæ Corinthiacæ; Rus. Korinka, Opoek; Sp. Pasas de Corinto), a small species
of grape, largely cultivated in Zante, Cephalonia, and Ithaca, of which islands they form
the staple produce; and in the Morea, in the vicinity of Patras. The plant is delicate and
as 6 or 7 years must elapse, after a plantation has been formed, before it begins to produce,
its cultivation requires a considerable outlay of capital. The crop is particularly liable to
injury from rains in harvest, and is altogether of a very precarious description. After being
dried in the sun, the currants are exported packed in large butts. They are in extensive
demand in this country and, when mixed with flour and suet, make a dish that is pecu-
liarly acceptable to the lower classes. But, as if it were intended to put them beyond the
reach of all but the richest individuals, they are burdened with the enormous duty of 44s. 4d.
a'cwt. ! The fact, that in despite of this anti-consumption impost, the entries of currants
for home consumption amounted, at an average of the 3 years ending with 1831, to 127,084
cwt. a year, producing an annual revenue of 281,7871., shows that the taste for them is both
deeply rooted and widely diffused. With one or two exceptions, they are the most grossly
over-taxed article in the British tariff. Their price in bond, in London, varies from 20s. to
27s. a cwt.; so that the duty amounts to more than 200 per cent. on the importation
price ! So exorbitant a tax admits of no justification. It is highly injurious to the con-
sumers in Great Britain, to the merchants engaged in the Mediterranean trade, to the produ-
cers in the Ionian Islands and Greece, and, we may add, to the revenue for, considering
how highly esteemed the article is by all classes, and that it might be imported in much
larger quantities without any considerable rise of price, there can be no manner of doubt
that were the duty reduced to 10s. or 12s. a cwt. the consumption would be so much increas-
ed, that in a few years the revenue would be materially greater than at present.
By referring to the article IONIAN ISLANDS, it will be seen that the duty has been pecu-
liarly hostile to their interests. It has, in fact, gone far to countervail all the advantages
they have, in other respects, derived from our protection and has done much to estrange
the affections of the inhabitants, and to excite and keep alive a jealousy of this country.
The Mediterranean merchants, in a petition presented to the House of Commons last ses-
sion, prayed for the repeal of the duty imposed since 1806, being 16s. 4d. a cwt. leaving a
duty of 28s. a cwt. A reduction to this extent would, no doubt, be a considerable relief to
the growers and importers; but it would be quite inadequate to bring the article fairly into
consumption among the mass of the people. To accomplish this most desirable object, the
duty ought not to exceed 10s. or 12s.; and we are well convinced it would yield more
revenue at this rate than at 28s. A duty of 50 per cent. is surely high enough upon an
article fitted to enter largely into the consumption of the labouring classes.
No abatement of duties is made on account of any damage received by currants.
Currants, the produce of Europe, are not to be imported for home use except in British ships, or in
ships of the country of which they are the produce, or of the country whence they are imported.-(3&
4 Will. 4. c. 54. 00 2. 22.)
A Treasury letter of the 30th of March, 1816, directs the following tares to be allowed, with liberty
to the merchant and officers to take the actual tare when either party is dissatisfied.
Currants in casks from Zante - - 13 per cent.
Leghorn
- 10 -
Trieste
- 10 -
(The exorbitant duty of 44s. 4d. a cwt. on currants was reduced, in 1834, to half that
amount, or to 22s. 2d. a cwt-(4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 89. § 15.) But this reduction, consider-
able as it is, is not enough. The duty ought not to exceed 10s., or at most 12s. The price
of currants in bond usually varies from 20s. to 25s.; so that the duty, as fixed by the 4 & 5
Will. 4. c. 89., is equal to about 100 per cent. ad valorem. But such a duty is obviously
oppressive the more especially as currants, if low-priced, would be largely consumed by all
classes in this country; and as they form the principal equivalent the inhabitants of the
Ionian Islands and of the Morea have to offer in exchange for foreign products. We are
satisfied, too, that had the duty been reduced to 10s. a cwt., it would, in a few years, have
yielded more revenue than it will ever yield at its present rate. Such a reduction would
have brought currants within the command of a much greater number of persons; and
would, in fact, have gone far to render them an article of general consumption; whereas,
the duty of 22s. 2d. will still confine their use to the wealthier classes.
It has been said, that a reduction of the duty from 44s. 4d. to 10s. a cwt. would not have made a
corresponding reduction in the price of the article and that the measure would have redounded more
to the advantage of the growers of currants than of the consumers in this country. That such might
have been in some degree the case, at the outset, we admit but the greater advantages derived by the
raisers of currants would have made them be produced in much larger quantities, 80 that at no dis-
tant period we should have reaped the full advantage of the reduction in the rate of duty, at the same
time that our trade with the Ionian Islands and the Morea would have increased proportionally to the
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CUSTOM-HOUSE, CUSTOMS.
Increase in the imports of currants. However, we are grateful for what has been done; and It may
be fairly presumed that the beneficial effect of the reductions already made will lead to others on a
still greater scale.-Sup.)
CUSTOM-HOUSE, the house or office where commodities are entered for importation
or exportation; where the duties, bounties, or drawbacks payable or receivable upon such
importation or exportation are paid or received and where ships are cleared out, &c.
For information as to the proceedings necessary at the Custom-house on importing or ex-
porting commodities, see the article IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION.
The principal British Custom-house is in London; but there are Custom-houses subor-
dinate to the latter in all considerable sea-port towns.
CUSTOMS, are duties charged upon commodities on their being imported into or ex-
ported from a country.
Custom duties seem to have existed in every commercial country. The Athenians laid a
tax of a fifth on the corn and other merchandise imported from foreign countries, and also
on several of the commodities exported from Attica. The portaria, or customs payable on
the commodities imported into, and exported from the different ports in the Roman empire,
formed a very ancient and important part of the public revenue. The rates at which they
were charged were fluctuating and various, and little is now known respecting them. Cicero
informs us, that the duties on corn exported from the ports of Sicily were, in his time, 5
per cent. Under the Imperial government, the amount of the portaria depended as much
on the caprice of the prince as on the real exigencies of the state. Though sometimes
diminished, they were never entirely remitted, and were much more frequently increased.
Under the Byzantine emperors, they were as high as 121 per cent-(Supp. to Encyc. Brit.
art. Taxation.)
Customs seems to have existed in England before the Conquest; but the king's claim to
them was first established by stat. 3 Edw. 1. These duties were, at first, principally laid on
wool, woolfels (sheep-skins), and leather when exported. There were also extraordinary
duties paid by aliens, which were denominated parva costuma, to distinguish them from the
former, or magna costuma. The duties of tonnage and poundage, of which mention is 80
frequently made in English history, were custom duties; the first being paid on wine by the
tun, and the latter being an ad valorem duty of so much a pound on all other merchandise.
When these duties were granted to the Crown, they were denominated subsidies; and as
the duty of poundage had continued for a lengthened period at the rate of 1s. a pound, or
5 per cent., a subsidy came, in the language of the customs, to denote an ad valorem duty
of 5 per cent. The new subsidy granted in the reign of William III. was an addition of
5 per cent. to the duties on most imported commodities.
The various custom duties were collected, for the first time, in a book of rates published
in the reign of Charles II.; a new book of rates being again published in the reign of George
I. But, exclusive of the duties entered in these two books, many more have been imposed
at different times; so that the accumulation of the duties, and the complicated regulations to
which they gave rise, were productive of the greatest embarrassment. The evil was in-
creased by the careless manner in which new duties were added to the old; a percentage
being sometimes added to the original tax while at other times the commodity was esti-
mated by a new standard of bulk, weight, number, or value, and charged with an additional
impost, without any reference to the duties formerly imposed. The confusion arising from
these sources was still further augmented by the special appropriation of each of the duties,
and the consequent necessity of a separate calculation for each. The intricacy and con-
fusion inseparable from such a state of things proved a serious Injury to commerce, and led
to many frauds and abuses.
The Customs Consolidation Act, introduced by Mr. Pitt in 1787, did much to remedy
these inconveniences. The method adopted was, to abolish the existing duties on all arti-
cles, and to substitute in their stead one single duty on each article, equivalent to the aggre-
gate of the various duties by which it had previously been loaded. The resolutions on which
the act was founded amounted to about 3,000. A more simple and uniform system was, at
the same time, introduced into the business of the Custom-house. These alterations were
productive of the very best effects; and several similar consolidations have since been
effected particularly in 1825, when the various statutes then existing relative to the cus-
toms, amounting, including parts of statutes, to about 450, were consolidated and compressed
into only 11 statutes of a reasonable bulk, and drawn up with great perspicuity. Since
then, a few statutes were passed, amending and changing some of the provisions in the con-
solidated statutes; and these have been again embodied in consolidated acts passed last
session.*
The Board of Customs is not to consist of more than 13 commissioners, and they are to
be reduced to 11 as vacancies occur. The Treasury may appoint 1 commissioner, and 2
assistant commissioners, to act for Scotland and Ireland.
Officers of customs taking any fee or reward, whether pecuniary or of any other sort, OR
& 4 Will. cap. 51, 52. 56. and 58.
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account of any thing done, or to be done, by them in the exercise of their duty, from any
one, except by the order or permission of the commissioners of the customs, shall be dis-
missed their office; and the person giving, offering, or promising such gratuity, fee, &c.
shall forfeit 100L
Any officer of customs who shall accept of any bribe, recompence, or reward, to induce
him to neglect his duty, or to do, conceal, or connive at any act whereby any of the provi-
sions of the customs laws shall be evaded, shall be dismissed the service, and be rendered
incapable of serving his Majesty in future in any capacity whatever; and the person offering
such bribe, recompence, &c. shall, whether the offer be accepted or not, forfeit 500L.
Custom duties, like all duties on particular commodities, though advanced in the first
instance by the merchant, are ultimately paid by those by whom they are consumed. When
a government lays a duty on the foreign commodities which enter its ports, the duty falls
entirely on such of its own subjects as purchase these commodities; for the foreigners would
cease supplying its markets with them, if they did not get the full price of the commodities,
exclusive of the tax and, for the same reason, when a government lays a duty on the com-
modities which its subjects are about to export, the duty does not fall on them, but on the
foreigners by whom they are bought. If, therefore, it were possible for a country to raise a
sufficient revenue by laying duties on exported commodities, such revenue would be wholly
derived from others, and it would be totally relieved from the burden of taxation, except in
so far as duties might be imposed by foreigners on the goods it imports from them. Care,
however, must be taken, in imposing duties on exportation, not to lay them on commodities
that may be produced at the same, or nearly the same, cost by foreigners; for the effect of
the duty would then be to cause the market to be supplied by others, and to put an entire
stop to their exportation. But in the event of a country possessing any decided natural or
acquired advantage the production of any sort of commodities, a duty on their exportation
would seem to be the most unexceptionable of all taxes. If the Chinese chose to act on this
principle, they might derive a considerable revenue from a duty on exported teas, which
would fall entirely on the English and other foreigners who buy them. The coal and tin,
and perhaps, also, some of the manufactured goods produced in this country, seem to be in
this predicament.
The revenue derived from the custom duties in 1590, in the reign of Elizabeth, amounted
to no more than 50,000/. In 1613, it had increased to 148,075/.; of which no less than
109,572L were collected in London. In 1660, at the Restoration, the customs produced
421,5821. and at the Revolution, in 1688, they produced 781,987/. During the reigns of
William III. and Anne, the customs revenue was considerably augmented, the nett pay-
ments into the exchequer in 1712 being 1,315,423/. During the war terminated by the
peace of Paris in 1763, the nett produce of the customs revenue of Great Britain amounted
to nearly 2,000,000L In 1792, it amounted to 4,407,000/. In 1815, at the close of the
war, it amounted to 11,360,000l. and last year (1832) it amounted to about 17,000,000L,
and, including Ireland, to about 18,500,000/.!
Astonishing, however, as the increase of the customs revenue has certainly been, it is not
quite so great as it appears. Formerly the duties on some considerable articles, such as
sugar, brandy, wine, &c. imported from abroad, were divided partly into customs duties
charged on their importation, and partly into excise duties on their being taken into con-
sumption. But these duties have now, with the exception of tea*, been transferred wholly
to the customs; the facilities afforded, by means of the warehousing system, for paying the
duties in the way most convenient for the merchant, having obviated the necessity of dividing
them into different portions.
It will be seen from various articles in this work-(see BRANDY, GENEVA, SMUGGLING,
TEA, TOBACCO, &c.)-that the exorbitant amount of the duties laid on many articles im-
ported from abroad leads to much smuggling and fraud; and requires, besides, an extraor-
dinary expense in many departments of the customs service, which might be totally avoided
were these duties reduced within reasonable limits. This, however, is the business of govern-
ment, and not of those entrusted with the management of the customs; and it would be
unjust to the latter not to mention that this department has been essentially improved, during
the last few years, both as respects economy and efficiency. The following extracts from a
letter to the Right Hon. H. Goulburn, ascribed to the present chairman of the Board of Cus-
toms (R. B. Dean, Esq.), give a brief but satisfactory view of the improvements that have
been effected:-
As regards the department of customs in 1792, the principal officers engaged in the
receipt of the duties in the port of London were patent officers.
" The first Earl of Liverpool was collector inwards.
" The late Duke of Manchester, collector outwards.
" The Duke of Newcastle, and afterwards the Earl of Guilford, comptroller inwards and
outwards.
From the 22d of April, 1834, the collection of the tea duties by the excise is to cease; and they are
to be transferred to the customs.-(See TEA.)
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" Lord Stowell, surveyor of subsidies and petty customs.
" These noblemen took no part in the official duties, but merely exercised the right of
appointing deputies and clerks.
" Both principals and deputies were remunerated by fees. The patentees received the
fees denominated patent, and the deputies retained the fees called the fees of usage for their
own use. In addition to these fees, both deputies and clerks received fees for despatch.
The same system prevailed throughout the whole department. The salaries of the
officers were nominal and the principal proportion of all official income was derived from
fees. These fees were constantly varying both in rate and amount, and formed a continual
source of dispute and complaint between the merchant and the officer.
" This system (after having been repeatedly objected to by various commissions of inquiry,
and finally by the committee of finance in 1797) was put an end to in the year 1812, by
the act 51 Geo. c. 71., by which all patent offices and fees were abolished, and compensation
allowances granted to the patent officers, and fixed salaries established.
" The additional salaries granted under this arrangement amounted to about 200,000L,
and the temporary compensation allowances to about 40,000L per annum.
" The fees abolished, and from which the public were relieved, amounted to about
160,000l. per annum.
" In addition to the amount of fees from which the public were relieved, various allowances
made by the Crown to officers for quarantine, coal poundage, poundage on seizures, and
many other incidental allowances, which did not appear on the establishment, were also
abolished, and the salaries of every officer placed at one view upon the establishment.
" The effect of these salutary measures has been to give a great apparent increase to
officers' salaries since 1792 and, upon a mere comparison of the establishment of 1792 with
1830, without the above explanation, it would appear that the pay of the officers had been
most materially augmented, whereas, in point of fact, the difference is in the mode of pay-
ment: and the incomes of the officers at the present period (as compared with 1792) are in
general less; and, consequently, the public are less taxed for the performance of the same
duty now than in 1792.
" In the year 1792, the warehousing system had not been established. Officers were ad-
mitted at all ages, and there was no system of classification or promotion. The officers at
the out-ports and in London were generally appointed through local influence; and were too
often persons who had failed in trade, or had been in menial service, and who regarded their
situations rather as a comfortable provision for their families than as offices for which efficient
services were required. The superintendence and powers of the Board were cramped and
interfered with by circumstances and considerations which prevented the enforcement of
wholesome regulation. The whole system was so imperfect, so far back only as 1818, that
a special commission was appointed to inquire into the department; and, upon the recom-
mendation of that commission, various regulations have been adopted.
The age of admission has been limited a system of classification and promotion of
officers, and a graduated scale of salaries, established throughout the whole department; and,
by this means, local interference in the promotion of officers has been abolished the attend-
ance of officers increased, regulated, and strictly enforced holidays reduced from 46 in the
year to 3; viz. Good Friday, the King's birthday, and Christmas-day; useless oaths, and
bonds, and forms of documents of various kinds, discontinued; increased facility and despatch
afforded to the merchant's business; the accounts kept in the different offices, and returns
of all kinds revised, simplified, and reduced and various minor regulations of detail esta-
blished the whole machinery of the department remodelled, and adapted to the trade and
commerce of the country.
In Ireland, the number of officers employed at all the ports, in the year ended the 5th
of January, 1830, and the salaries and charges, did not much exceed the number and expense
at the port of Dublin alone in 1818 and, within the space of 11 years, nearly two thirds
of the officers employed at the ports in Ireland have been discontinued; the number having
been, in 1818, 1755; in 1829, 544; and an annual reduction in salaries and charges has
been effected to the extent of 173,724/.; the amount having been, in 1818, 285,115L; in
1829, 111,391/. (103,813/. of that amount having been reduced between the years 1823 and
1828), upon an expenditure of 285,115/.; and the receipts were nearly equal, in 1827, to
those of 1818 and 1823, notwithstanding the total repeal of the cross Channel duties,
amounting to about 340,000/. per annum, subsequent to the latter period.
Already has government relinquished, it may be said, any interference with promotion in
the department of the customs, and the road is open to advancement to the meritorious
officer.
Influence is no longer allowed to prevail; and in many cases which have recently
occurred, and in which the patronage of government might have been fairly exercised, it has
been at once abandoned, in order to give way to arrangements by which the services of some
very intelligent and highly respectable officers, whose offices had been abolished, could be
again rendered available, with a material saving to the public.
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By a recent order from the Lords of the Treasury, of the 20th of February, 1830, the
salaries of the commissioners, and of other officers, have been prospectively reduced, and
directions given to revise the whole establishment in the spirit of that order, with a view to
every possible reduction."
These are very great improvements, certainly, and reflect much credit on the government,
and on the Board by whom its efforts have been zealously seconded; but we are, notwith-
standing, satisfied that very great reductions may still be made in the cost of the establish-
ment. These, however, are not to be effected by reducing the salaries of the officers, which,
if any thing, are now too low; but by lessening the demand for their services, by reducing
and simplifying the duties. The coast guard and coast blockade (the latter is under the
orders of the Admiralty), costing together about 400,000L a year, might be wholly dispensed
with, were it not for the exorbitant duties on brandy, gin, and tobacco-duties which seem
to be intended only to encourage smuggling; and which it is quite certain would be 3 times
as productive as they are at this moment, were they reduced to one third of their present
amount. The duties on a great variety of small articles might also be entirely repealed,
without any sensible loss of revenue, and with great advantage to commerce and were
these alterations effected, and the proceedings with respect to the entry and clearing out of
ships and goods adequately simplified, a very great saving might be made in this depart-
ment, and the services of a large number of those now employed in it might be dispensed
with.
In Scotland, separate Custom-houses seem to be multiplied to an absurd extent.
Within these few years, indeed, a very considerable change for the better was effected in the
Scotch Custom-house; but it is still susceptible of, and ought to be subjected to, great
curtailment.
The reader will find, in the accounts of most imported articles of any consequence given
in this work, statements of the customs duty paid on their importation. It may be gratify-
ing, however, to have them all brought together in one point of view, as in the following
Table:-
An Account of the Gross Receipt and Nett Produce of the Revenue of Customs in Great Britain in
the Year ending the 5th of January, 1833; distinguishing the Amount collected on each Article
usually producing 1,000l. or more per Annum.
Gross Receipt.
Nett Produce.
List of Articles.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
Duties Inwards.
L. & d.
L.
s.
d.
L.
s.
d.
L.
8. d.
L.
s. d.
L. s. d.
Acid, boracie
4,183 0 0
-
4,183 0 0
4,183 0 0
4,183 0 0
Alkanet root
1,733 18 0
57 18 8
1,791 16 8
1,729 6 0
57 18 8
1,787 4 8
Almonds
10,973 16
7
497 11
11,470 18 6
10,775 10 8
478 5 0
11,253 15 8
Aloes
2,184 5 5
-
2,184 5 5
1,810 5 2
-
1,810 5 2
Angelica
275 2 10
-
275 2 10
275 2 10
-
275 2 10
Annotto
671 0 1
-
671 0 I
671 0 1
-
671 0 I
Apples, not dried
2,996 12 8
299 15 0
3,296 7 8
2,912 19 7
298 2 0
3,211 1 7
Argol
678 18 5
801
686 18 6
670 3 6
8 0 1
678 3 7
Arrow root or powder
787 19 9
64 19 4
852 19
1
787 12 4
61 18 8
849 11 0
Ashes, pearl and pot
1,887 14 4
163 2 7
2,050 16 11
1,877 0 11
163 2 7
2,040 3 6
Bacon and hams
1,762 15 5
198 3 6
1,960 18 11
1,761 13 1
198 3 6
1,959 16 7
Balsams
2,490 14 11
57 2 7
2,547 17 6
2,383 6 4
67 2 7
2,440 8 11
Barilla and alkali
15,166 16 7
174 4 9
15,341 1 4
15,156 16 7
172 11 7
15,329 8 2
Bark for tanners' or dy-
ers' use
19,001 0 0
3,340 13 10
22,341 13 10
18,970 2 8
3,280 17 9
22,251 0 5
Baskets
1,043 9 2
117
1,044 10 9
1,043 6 2
1 7
1,044 7 9
Beef, salted
300 19 4
11 12 3
312 11 7
300 19 4
11 12 3
312 11 7
Beer, spruce
5,956 6 3
892 9 10
6,848 16 1
5,950 17 0
890 6 11
6,841 3 11
Berries of all sorts
3,037 11 11
25 0 5
3,062 12 4
3,037 11 11
25 0 5
3,062 12 4
Books
8,843 4 7
86 5 4
8,929 9 11
8,824 10
85 8 5
8,909 10 3
Boots, shoes, and ca-
lashes
3,748 16 0
306
3,751 16 6
3,743 4 0
3 0 6
3,746 4 6
Borax
875 6 1
790
882 15 I
875 6 1
7 9 0
882 15 1
Boxes of all sorts
3,342 1 9
36 7 0
3,378 8 9
3,321, 4 9
36 7 0
3,357 11 9
Brimstone
6,256 6 5
1,536 8 4
7,792 14 9
6,253 IS 5
1,530 11 10
7,784 10 3
Bristles
25,185 16 I
428 8 3
25,614 4 4
25,184 14 7
428 8 3
25,613 2 10
Bugles
3,075 2 0
040
3,075 6 0
3,042 16 0
0 4 0
3,043 0 0
Butter
127,773 19 10
556 9 10
128,330 9 8
127,739 16 7
553 19 10
128,293 16 5
Canes of all sorts
3,590 8 2
40 16 4
3,631 4 6
3,569 17 7
40 16 4
3,610 13 11
Cantharides
1,869 18 0
12 9 0
1,882 7 0
1,858 19 4
12 9 0
1,871 8 4
Capers
1,534 4 4
19 0
1,553 5 4
1,534 4 4
19 0
1,553 5 4
Cassia lignea
1,663 10
144
0
1,807 2 10
1,663 10
144 0
1,807 2 10
Cheese
62,367 11
6,808 13 7
69,175 16 6
62,248 19 7
6,794 13 11
69,043 13 6
China ware, porcelain,
and earthenware
4,369 18 5
12 3
4,381 19 8
4,200 17 7
12 3
4,212 18 10
Cinnamon
416 16 10
-
416 16 10
416 16 10
-
416 16 10
Clocks
5,938 7 11
154 13 9
6,093 8
5,868 14 5
154 13 9
6,023 8 2
Cloves
7,643 13 9
66 2 0
7,709 15 9
7,514 16 9
66 2 0
7,580 18 9
Cochineal, granilla, and
dust
4,217 18 5
-
4,217 18 5
4,195 15 1
-
4,195 15 1
Cocoa, cocoa nut husks,
shells and chocolate
14,501 19 9
44 1 7
14,546 1 4
14,485 15 10
40 8 1
14,526 3 11
Coffee
548,092 8 11
28,165 1 9
576,247 10 8
547,106 13 8
28,158 5 0
575,264 18 8
Coral beads
2,140 18 1
-
2,140 18 1
2,140 18 I
-
2,140 18 1
Cordage and cables
22 18 4
1 16 3
24 14 7
22 18 4
16 3
24 14 7
Cork, unmanufactured
12,990 14 3
2,876 16 1
15,867 10 4
12,988 18 7
2,869 15 9
15,858 14 4
Corks, ready made
264 19 0
990
274 8 0
264 19 0
9 9 0
274 8 0
Corn, grain, meal, and
flour (including buck.
wheat)
279,954 7 4
29,956 5 8
309,910 13 0
278,005 9 4
29,910 5 2
307,915 14 6
Cotton manufactures(not
otherwise described)
2,930 11 9
6 13 10
2,937 5 7
2,903 1 9
6 13 10
2,909 15 7
Cream of tartar
1,374 12 2
291 10 3
1,666 2 5
1,354 18 9
291 10 3
1,646 9 0
Cubebs
1,208 18 6
35 6 0
1,244 4 6
1,208 18 6
35 6 0
1,244 4 6
Digitized by Google
552
CUSTOMS.
Gross Receipts.
Nett Produce.
List of Articles.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
Duties Intoards-cont.
L
a.
d
L 8. d.
L. 8. d.
L a. d.
L 8. d.
L 8. d.
Currents
312,749 17 2
2,392 12 4
315,132 9 6
311,948 2 6
2,376 12 4
314,324 14 10
Dye and hard woods; viz.
Boxwood
1,868 15 7
-
1,863 15 7
1,869 1 7
(Excem of repay-
1,867 17 4
ments.)
Cedar, under 8 in.
8,531 10 9
1898
2,549 19 11
2,531 10 9
1892
2,549 19 11
square
Fustle
913 7 2
8 17 2
922 4 4
905 18 9
8 12 3
914 11 0
Logwood
2,307 15 5
137 8 10
2,445 4 3
2,302 19 0
136 0 0
2,45 19 0
Mahogany
39,543 17 1
5,923 11 6
45,467 8 7
39,501 7 5
5,903 19 6
45,406 11
Nicaragua
815 12 8
-
815 12 8
806 12 5
-
806 12 $
Rosewood
8,027 11 10
351 4 6
8,378 16 4
8,027 11 10
348 14 6
8,376 6 4
Eggs
21,565 1 2
-
21,566 1 2
21,537 2 0
-
21,537 2 0
Elcphants' teeth
2,700 12 $
11 14 1
2,712 6 4
2,679 18 0
10 4 10
2,690 10
Embroidery and needle
work
5,800 18 11
1130
5,302 5 11
5,196 19 4
1130
5,197 12 4
Essence of bergamot and
lemons. (See Easen-
tial oils.)
Feathers for beds
4,121 13 2
580 14 0
4,702 7 2
4,116 15 1
572 7 6
4,689 2
ostrich
696 5 2
-
626 6 2
696 5 2
-
616 5 8
Fign
22,371 15 10
270 18 5
22,642 14 3
22,131 8 5
STO 18 6
22,402 6 10
Fish, anchovies
827 2 8
230
829 5 8
815 6 0
15 1
817
ecls
940 10 0
-
940 10 0
940 10 0
-
940 10 0
oysters
5,846 5 9
-
5,846 5 9
5,816 5 9
-
5,646 5 9
Flax, and tow, or codilla
of hemp and flax
1,418 2
2,703 17 3
4,115 18 5
1,406 12 6
2,669 16 9
4,075 9 S
Flowers, artificial (not
of silk)
615 7 9
018 3
616 6 0
614 7 9
0193
615 6 0
Furs
34,331 19 2
839
34,340 2 "
34,071 6 3
$ 3 9
34,079 10 0
Ginger, dry
3,450 12 7
63 7 5
3,514 0 0
3,428 13 7
6375
3,492 0
Glass; viz bottles, green
or common
9,156 19 10
693 12 3
9,790 12 1
9,145 11 2
631 2 7
9,776 13 9
of all other sorts
4,680 11 7
83 16 6
4,764 8 I
4,674 3
83 16 3
4,757 17 6
Grains, Guinea
1,633 10 0
-
1,633 10 0
1,633 10 0
-
1,633 10 0
Grapes
1,580 8 1
102 14 7
1,683 2 8
1,559 8 1
102 14 7
1,662 2
$
Gum, animi and copal
1,508 15 8
-
1,508 15 8
1,496 3 3
-
1,496 3
3
3
Arabic
2,657 12 2
114 4 9
2,771 16 11
2,636 13 6
114 4 9
2,750 IS
Senegal
5,789 0 3
-
5,788 0 3
5,633 11 5
-
5,633 " 5
lac dye
1,447 4 $
-
1,447 4 8
1,447 4 8
-
1,447 4
#
shellac
2,046 3 8
-
2,046 3 8
2,046 3 8
-
2,046 3 5
tragacanth
1,066 0 9
-
1,066 0 9
986 14 9
-
986 14 9
243 18 6
3 12 1
247 10 7
243 18 6
3 12 1
247 10
7
Hair, horse
human
701 15 9
-
701 15 9
700 3 9
-
700
Hair or goats' wool, ma-
nufactures of
2,482 15 5
31 13 0
2,514 8 5
2,474 19 5
31 IS 0
2,506 12 6
Hats of chip and straw
16,707 3 2
-
16,707 3 2
16,707 3 2
-
16,707 3 2
Hemp
28,427 19 4
4,325 2 7
32,758 11
23,381 4 7
3,181 7 10
26,562 12
5'
Hides, not tanned
21,958 0 7
1,984 7 9
23,972 8 4
21,794 6 8
1,963 15 9
23,758 2
5
tanned
1,164 13 2
6 0 0
1,170 13 2
1,164 13 2
600
1,170 13 2
Horns, horn tips, and
pieces
1,715 1 5
54 12 3
1,769 13 8
1,705 12 11
53 3 2
1,758 16 1
Horses
945 0 0
57 0
1,002 0 0
937 0 0
67 0 0
994 0 0
Jalap
2,536 4 3
71 5 6
2,607 9 9
2,531 1 7
7156
2,602 7 1
India rubbers
772 16 3
-
772 16 3
765 0 10
765 NO
Indigo
30,597 13 10
140 9 6
30,738 3 4
30,539 17 4
130 17 6
30,6.0
Iron, in bars
20,338 17 0
1,011 12 0
21,360 9 0
20,233 9 2
1,010 19 0
21,244 5 8
of all other sorts
707 10 4
33 0
740 13 4
704 2 1
32 18 3
737 4
Isinglase
3,838 0 9
1296
3,850 10 3
3,836 5 2
12 9 6
3,843 14 6
Juice of lemons, limes,
and oranges
1,041 13 4
114 10 0
1,156 3 4
1,041 IS 4
114 10 0
1,156 3 4
Juniper berries.
(See
Berries.)
Lace thread
358 10 2
296
360 19 - 8
358 10 2
2 9 6
360 19 8
Lacquered ware
1,008 2 0
8 17 0
1,016 19 0
997 8 3
8 17 0
1,006 5 3
Lead, black
2,347 1 9
5 0
2,352 7 9
2,292 8 6
4140
2,297 8 5
Leather gloves
27,220 0 5
-
27,220 0 5
27,105 3
-
27,105 16 3
manufactures of,
except boots,
shoes, & gloves
1,050 11 8
IS 11 2
1,064 10
1,050 11 8
13 11 2
1,064 10
Lemons and oranges
50,255 11 9
2,315 5 4
52,570 17 I
49,852 17 9
2,305 15 4
52,158 13
Linens, foreign
17,429 11 7
43 19 10
17,473 11 5
17,190 2 I
43 19 10
17,234 111
Liquorice juice
19,924 7 4
1,888 7 0
21,812 14 4
19,924 7
4
1,886 2 4
21.812 8
Mace
2,613 8 11
-
2,613 8 11
2,613 8 11
-
2,613
Madder and madder root
18,976 8 2
2,754 5 3
21,730 13 6
18,856 8 2
2,723 15 6
21,580 3 8
Manna
505 6 6
-
505 6 6
480 8 7
480 S
-
Mats of Russia
4,119 2 10
700 17 9
4,620 0 7
3,987 17 2
668 3 1
4,656 0 3
other sorts
815 11 2
23 5
838 12 7
814 6 9
23 5
837 9 2
Melasses
128,216 5 8
126,439 5 11
254,655 11 7
128,089 16 3
125,841 15 3
253,931 11 6
Musical instruments
1,508 14 9
3 9 6
1,512 4 3
1,493 3 11
396
1,495 18 5
Myrrh
663 17 10
-
663 17 10
495 4 11
455 11
-
Nutmegs
14,506 8 3
50 2 6
14,556 10 9
14,502 8 3
50 2 6
14,552 10 9
Nuts, chesnuts
2,333 8 10
12 18 0
2,346 6 10
2,310 14 10
10 18 0
2.321 If 10
small
12,679 19 7
57 6
12,737 I
12,610 5 7
52 17 6
12,663 3
walnuts
1,454 12 10
49 5 4
1,503 18 2
1.437 9 4
48 18 4
1,486 7 8
Oil, castor
2,422 6 10
127 7 6
2,549 14 4
2,412 1 1
127 76
2,539 8 7
chemical, essential,
and perfumed of
all sorts
9,061 18 5
91 6 10
9,153 5 3
9,000 13 5
91 6 10
9,092 0 3
olive
42,560 10
384 2 6
42,964 4 3
42,505 1 0
283 14 1
42.48 15
palm
27,559 2 0
050
27,559 7 0
27,541 7 3
034
87,541 10 a
train, spermaceti &
blubber
2,277 15 4
429 2 1
2,706 17 5
2,278 5 5
427 2 10
2,699 6 3
Oker
507 17 4
148
509 2 0
507 17 4
148
609 0
Opium
5,933 7 6
52 0 0
5,965 7 6
5,929 0 6
52 0 0
6,981 0 6
Orchal and orchella
288 10 6
0 4 9
288 15 3
283 2 11
0 4 9
25 $
Paper
801 15 7
-
801 15 7
801 8 I
-
sot
-
of the Isle of Man
969 0 0
-
969 0 0
969 0 0
969 0
-
for hangings
851 10 10
-
851 10 10
851 10 10
-
851 10 10
Pepper of all sorts
91,995 14 4
8,227 8 8
100,223 3 0
91,844 7 2
8,227 8 8
100,071 16 10
Pictures
2,011 2 1
53 15 7
2,064 17 8
2,010 11
1
53 15 7
2,064 6 8
Pimento
5,769 = 4
296 14 7
6,066 11
6,767 9 8
287 10
6,064 10 $
Pitch
368 IS 3
93 17 7
462 10 10
368 13 3
89 18 7
458 11 10
Platting of chip or straw
15,209 7 9
-
15,209 7 9
15,198 6 9
-
15,198 6 9
Plums, dried
470 19 1
1 12 5
472 11 6
470 9 6
1 11 3
478 0 ,
Prints and drawings
1,309 15 6
9123
1,319 7 9
1,302 =
9123
1,311 14 I
Prunes
5,730 14 2
36178
6,092 10
5,718 16 0
356 4 9
6,075 0 of
Quicksilver
2,678 2 5
12 7
2,678 15 0
2,674 5 11
0187
2,674 IS
6
Quills, goose
3,609 14 7
598 16 7
4,202 11 2
3,609 14 7
592 16 7
4,202 11 il
Radix ipecacuanhm
966 8 11
-
986 2 11
977 6 11
-
977 111
Digitized by Google
CUSTOMS.
553
Gross Receipts.
Nett Produce.
List of Articles.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
Muties Inwards-cont.
L
a.
d.
L.
&
d.
L. & d.
L & d.
L. #. d
L. a. d.
Rage, &c. for paper
1,401 0 7
318 15 10
1,710 16 5
1,375 4 8
318 4 1.
1,698 8 9
Raisins
141,537 IV 2
4,177 6 0
M5,716 $ &
140,286 2 M
4,057 17 9
144,348 0 7
Repeaced and other oil
cakes
3,982 17 9
368 13 10
3,621 II 7
3,221 0 0
886 3
3,607 1 3
Rhubanb
4,218 17 10
-
4,213 17 10
4,207 2 10
-
4,07 2 10
Rice
6,508 12 6
237 15 8
6,746 8 1
6,417 2 11
267 18 0
6,654 15 11
in the bunk
28,187 7 11
28,187 7 11
20,095 9 8
-
20,096 9 8
Sago
913 7 4
3 9 8
916 17 0
913 7 4
8 9 8
916 17 0
Saltpetre
5,144 16 4
9 10 8
5,154 9 0
5,123 10 6
9 10 8
5138 1 I
Sarsaparilla
4,275 4 8
54 4 9
4,329 9 6
4,007 B 4
64 4 9
4,061 7 1
Scammony
1,477 18 10
3145
1,481 18 $
1,384 10 B
3145
1,388 13 11
Seeds of all sorts (includ.
ing tares)
96,344 5 2
9,887 11 1
108,131 N 8
9,888 13 8
102,561 18 2
Sepna
6,631 0 11
175 16 6
6,806 17 5
6,563 15 3
175 16 6
6,679 = 9
Ships' hulls and materi-
als
726 7 7
903 9
929 9 4
637 PO 6
179 9
816 12 8
Shumac
5,561 6 8
686 15 5
6,218 $ I
5,311 18 10
623 $ 6
5,938 16 4
Silk, raw
14,202 2 2
-
14,202 2 2
14,159 5 $
-
14,159 5 3
waste, knebs and
busks
294 4 3
-
294 4 3
293 18 3
-
293 18 8
thrown
52,013 1 5
-
58,013 I 6
14,062 6 7
(Excess of
12,097 18 1
manufactures, East
drawbacks.)
Indian
19,298 15 0
-
19,296 16 8
19,262 17 10
-
19,962 17 10
not do.
149,079 11 4
9 4 5
149,088 15 9
148,667 5 10
9 4 5
148,676 10 3
Skins (not being furs)
16,289 15 =
2,104 0 6
18,393 16 5
16,047 17 7
2,045 15 11
18,093 IS 6
Smalts
5,053 S 6
512 4 6
5,565 8 0
5,051 7 ro
512 4 6
5,563 18 4
Soap, hard and soft, to-
reign
1,277 10 6,
38 7 9
1,310 18 3
1,277 10 6
33 7 9
1,3ю 18 3
Spelter
5,878 17 6
125 0 5
5,03 17 11
5,573 17 6
125 0 5
5,698 17 11
Spirits, foreign, vis. rum
1,520,102 1 11
50,411 14 2
1,570,513 16 I
1,518,994 8 I
50,408 2 2
1,569.402 Ю 3
brandy
1,697,444 16 5
68,799 0 4
1,766,243 16 9
1,697,095 7 2
68,794 2 10
1,765,889 10 0
Geneva
15,577 8 1
7,956 16 9
23,534 4 10
15,567 9 8
7,946 18 9
23,514 8 5
of all other
sorts
9,126 16 I
734 2 10
9,860 18 11
9,020 1 11
721 15 =
9,741 17 10
of the manufas
ture of Guern
sey and Jersey
21,071 IS 1
-
21,071 18 I
$1,054 0 7
-
21,054 0 7
Sponge
2,147 11 7
-
2,147 11 7
2,097 4 1
-
2,097 4 1
Stones, vis. burrs for
millstones
1,315 0 9
31 12 4
1,346 15 1
1,309 15 2
31 12 4
1,341 7 6
marble blocks
688 4 "
50 15 5
739 0 4
665 7 5
50 6 I
715 IS 6
Succades
$99 8 8
62 14 2
962 2 10
889 4 "
62 14 2
961 19 I
Sugar
4,437,812 6 2
508,660 15 4
4,946,473 1 6
3,571,449 11 I
415,069 I 7
3,986,518 12 8
Tallow
175,848 11 If
9,151 10 "
185,000 2 10
175,484 7 2
9,111 18 5
184,506 6 7
Tamarinds
679 0 11
114 8 0
793 8 11
676 12 8
118 0 2
788 12 10
Tar
5,539 6 1
1,180 11 1
6,669 17 2
5,506 5 $
1,094 4 0
6,600 0 8
Timber; viz.
Balks and afers. under
5 inches square
1,280 5 7
HS 2 0
1,343 Y 7
1,230 5 7
113 2 0
1,848 7 7
Battens
and
batten
ends
81,366 9 11
28,362 7 4
109,728 17 3
80,140 16 5
28,347 8 10
108,488 4 3
Deals and deal ends
479,819 19 8
9,683 11 0
489,503 10 8
476,595 16 6
9,664 9 0
465,260 5 6
Firewood
4,518 3 I
89 8 5
4,537 11 6
4,475 12 9
38 4 6
4,513 17 3
Fir quarters
8,429 0 2
14 12 7
3,443 12 9
3,369 9 8
14 12 7
3,384 2 3
Knees of oak
1,356 8 9
518 18 I
1,875 6 10
1,354 13 5
515 5 8
1,869 19 I
Lathwood
25,510 2 3
8,381 18 4
27,891 15 7
$4,263 H 6
2,346 6 11
26,609 18 6
Masts and spare
13,917 19 10
1,199 11 0
15,117 10 10
13.866 6 2
1,177 15 5
15,046 I 7
Oak plank
8,658 12 6
8,594 7 9
7,213 0 8
3,656 10 5
8,549 16 9
7,206 7 2
Oars
780 16 2
101 19 7
882 15 9
771 5 0
101 19 7
873 4 7
Staves
43,930 4 2
2,943 13 11
46,873 18 I
43,886 17 10
2,938 15 11
46,825 13 9
Toak
6,696 8 6
695 5 9
7,361 9 3
6,655 3 6
662 9 6
7,347 12 11
Timber, dr, 8 inches
square, or upwards
362,447 I 2
61,047 11 9
423,494 12 11
$14,238 15 o
60,671 If 7
374,910 6 7
oak
do.
29,999 10 7
8,174 11 3
38,174 1 10
29,966 7 10
8,0R2 4
38,048 9 2
of other sorts,do.
5,944 12 5
1,5+7 3 6
7,581 15 11
5,903 4 10
1,561 0 6
7,464 5 4
Wainscot logs, do.
7,453 4 10
853 7 I
7,806 II II
7,391 17 9
358 I
7,744 18 10
Tobacco and snuff
2,146,442 0 9
291,392 5 0
2,437,834 5 9
2,137,242 10
291,289 17 6
2,425,532 7 7
Tortoiseabcil
458 10 7
0 8 6
458 19
I
457 13 1
0 8 6
458 1 T
Toys
3,456 19 6
50 6 3
3,507 4 9
8,418 16 4
60 6 3
3,469 7
Turpentise, common
73,707 Il 2
-
73.707 n 2
73,558 14 3
-
73.558 14 3
Valonia
6,908 2 10
30 0 0
6 938 2 10
6,907 7 10
30 0 0
6,437 7 10
Verdigris
2,463 4 0
38 9 0
2,506 13 0
2,457 0 0
3890
2,495 9 0
Vermicelli and macca
roni
1,407 7 2
79 4 6
1,486 11 8
1,401 13 10
76 15 6
1,473 9 4
Vinegar
216 13 0
123 9 0
340 20
815 10 6
181 16 0
337 6 6
of the manufac-
ture of Guern-
sey & Jersey
1606
0144
16 14 10
16 0 6
0 0 14 14 4
16 14 10
Water, Cologne,in flasks
4,032 11 2
112 7 0
4.144 18 2
4,031 5 2
109 19 0
4,141 4 2
Wax, been', ac.
778 6 9
49 1 I
827 7 10
774 I 7
49 I
828 2 8
Wines of all sorts
1,331.584 16 5
104,259 8 6
1,485,844 4 11
1,277,196 15 5
99,829 2 8
1,377,025 18 I
142,613 4 7
-
142.613 4 7
142,613 4 7
142.613 4 7
Wool, cotton
591.435 17 1
37,834 13 10.
629.270 10 II
584.449 " 1
37,305 1 7
625,754 12 8
sheep's and lambs'
102,276 19 I
0 1
102,277 0 2
102,027 19 4
(Excess of
202,027 2 11
Woollen manufactures,
repayments.)
not otherw des-
cribed, including car
pets
11,907 18 9
I 9
11,909 0 6
11,879 1 10
119
11,980 3 7
Yarn. cotton
499 12 5
303 15 2
803 7 7
499 12 5
303 15 2
803 7 7
lines, raw
534 8 0
118 14 9
653 $ 9
534 8 0
118 6 7
652 14 7.
Yellow berries. (See
Berries.)
Zaffre
416 12 10
-
416 12 10
416 12 10
-
416 12 10
All other articles
90,833 2 4
3,194 17 11
94,028 0 3
88,852 4 4
3,178 6 9
92,030 10 I
Total dut es, inwards
carried forward
16,419,796 6 2
1,467,803 6 6
17,887,599 12 8
15.363,788 2 9
1,364,002 15 10
16,727,790 18 7
Coalsand culm exported
51,042 8 0
5,573 14 10
56,616 2 10
48,923 0 5
5,407 14 11
64,330 15 4
British sheep and lambs
wool, woollen yaru,
Itc. exported
2,905 16 S
38 17 0
2,944 13 3
2,827 4 9
38 17 0
2,866 1 9
Skins, do.
15 2 7
-
15 2 7
15 2 7
-
15 2 7
Per centage duty on Bri-
tish goods exported
59,697 5 2
2,553 15 3
62,251 0 5
53,513 6 6
2,523 5 9
56,036 12 3
Total duties outwards,
carried forward
}
118,660 12 0
8,166 7 1
121.826 19 I
105,278 14 3
7,969 17 8
113,248 11 11
VoL. I.-3 A
70
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554
CUSTOMS.
Gross Receipts.
Nett Produce.
List of Articles.
England.
1
Scotland.
Great Briain.
England.
Scotland.
Great Britain.
L a. d.
L. a. d.
L & d.
L a. d.
L 8.d
L a. d.
Duties inwards, brought
forward
16,419,796 6 2
1,467,803 6 6
17,887,590 12 8
15,363,788 2 9
1,364,002 15 10
16,727,790 15 7
outwards, do.
113,660 12 0
8,166 7 !
121,826 19 1
106,278 14 3
7,969.17 8
113,248 " II
16,533,456 18 2
1,475,969 13 7
13,009,426 11 9
15,469,066 17 2
1,371,972 13 6
16,840,458 10 8
Canal and dock duty.
-
Isle of Mas duties, rent
.
of quays, goods sold
for duty, &c.
156,294 15 2
1,944 1 9
158,238 16 11
117,948 6 2
1,648 17 6
190,198 3 9
Total, Great Britain
16,689,751 13 4
1,477,913 15 4
18,167,665 8 8
15,587,015 3 4
1,373,616 " 0
16,960,631 14 4
Ireland
-
-
-
1,516,988 16 2
-
-
1,507,249 11 "
Total United Kingdom
-
-
19,684,654 4 10
-
-
13,467,981 6 $
Inspector General's Office, Custom House,
WILLIAM IRVING,
London, 25th of March, 1833.
Inspector General of Imports and Exports.
The charges of collection on the customs revenue of the United Kingdom during the same
year were-
Great Britain.
Ireland.
£ S. d.
£ 8. d.
Civil department
-
-
-
-
- 734,793 10 111
130,014 18 7
Harbour vessels
-
-
-
-
-
5,187 17 1
233 12 9
Cruisers
-
-
-
-
-
- 135,914 3 21
9,860 6 6
Preventive water guard
-
-
-
- 229,789 12 If
112,189 1 3t
Land guard
-
-
-
-
-
- 18,352 0 8
£1,121,037 4 1
£252,327 19 11.
Inspector General of Imports and Exports. Miserable Attempt at Economy in this
Department.-The office of inspector general of imports and exports was established in
1696. The accounts of the trade and navigation of the country, annually laid before par-
liament, are furnished by this office; and, owing to the ability of the officers, the improved
manner in which these accounts are now made out, and the practice of giving statements of
the quantities of the principal articles exported and imported, and the declared or real value
of the former, they have become of great public importance. It is singular, however. that
after having existed for about 135 years, and being gradually brought to a high pitch of per-
fection, this office was, in 1830, rendered nearly useless by a pitiful attempt to save the
salary of a couple of clerks ! Previously to that year, the accounts of the trade and revenue
of the two great divisions of the empire were exhibited separately and jointly so that if
any one, for example, wished to know the quantity of sugar entered for home consumption
in 1829, in Great Britain and in Ireland, he would have found the results separately stated
and in the same way for the produce of any article or tax. Nothing, it is plain, could be
more desirable than an arrangement of this sort which, indeed, considering the entirely
different situation of the two great divisions of the empire, is the only one capable of afford-
ing the means of drawing any useful conclusions. But in 1830, ministers, in order to ac-
complish the miserable object already alluded to, had all the accounts consolidated into one
mass (rudis et indigesta moles) so that it became impossible to tell what was the con-
sumption of any article, or the produce of any tax, either in Great Britain or in Ireland,-the
only information communicated being the general result as to the United Kingdom ! No-
thing more absurd was ever imagined. On the principle that Ireland is taken into the same
average with Great Britain, we might take in Canada; for there is decidedly less difference
between the condition and habits of the people of Canada and those of Britain. than there is
between those of the British and Irish. But this measure was not objectionable merely from
its confounding such dissimilar elements, and laying a basis for the most absurd and un-
founded inferences: it rendered all the previous accounts in a great measure useless and
would, had it been persevered in, have effectually deprived statesmen and statisticians of
some of the very best means of instituting a comparison between the past and future state
of both divisions of the empire. Happily, however, this abortive attempt at economy has
been relinquished. The moment Mr. Poulett Thomson attained to office, he took measures
for the restoration of that system which had been RO unwisely abandoned; and every one in
any degree conversant with matters of finance, commerce, or statistics, will agree with us in
thinking that the Right Hon. Gentleman could have rendered few more acceptable services.
The public accounts for 1830, the only ones made out on the new system, were a disgrace
to the country. We are glad, however, to have to add that they have been withdrawn, and
replaced by others.
Digitized by Google
CUSTOMS.
555
(An Account of the Gross and Nett Amount of Duty received at each Custom-House of the U. King
dom, during the Year ending 5th January, 1838, compared with similar Receipts during th
preceding Year.-(Board of Trade Papers, VII. p. 22.)
Nett Receipt in 1886.
Nett Receipt in 1837.
Ports.
Gross Receipt in
Gross Receipt in
1836.
1837.
Exhibiting Produce, deducting Repayment
of Trade Vouchers. Office Expenses, &c.
ENGLAND.
£ 3. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
London -
-
12,156,279 14 6
11,188,036 8 11
11,088,207 8 6
10,190,006 6 4
Aberystwith
-
1,637 18 3
1,007 19 4
633 11 0
Aldbro'
-
-
155 15 2
32 7 4
Arundel -
-
2,405 6 2
1,990 5 5
Barnstaple -
-
12,005 18 7
10,480 2 6
10,125 10 8
8,923 18 1
Beaumaris -
-
3,230 16 5
3,327 4 5
Berwick -
-
7,851 6 8
10,678 8 10
-
2,357 3 4
Bideford
-
-
3,663 19 11
6,490 19 9
960 15 5
3,734 0 10
Blackney and Clay
1,225 2 6
1,252 12 2
Boston
-
-
10,535 6 2
17,265 7 8
6,171 19 7
12,929 10 8
Bridgewater
-
8,389 3 9
9,904 7 8
6,627 14 9
8,134 11 3
Bridlington
-
51 19 1
130 13 of
Bridport
-
-
5,821 9 9
6,297 7 6
2,617 9 2
3,880 16 8
Bristol
-
-
1,112,812 9 0
1,154,817 11 0
1,073,099 11 11
1,114,591 18 7
Cardiff
-
-
7,650 8 11
10,843 6 5
5,927 10 7
9,101 17 11
Cardigan -
-
869 17 6
2,232 3 6
-
652 13 2
Carlisle
-
-
31,003 15 10
27,433 1 8
29,771 0 8
26,112 18 5
Chepstow -
-
517 6 9
1,003 5 6
6 9 0
514 12 8
Chester
-
-
68,334 9 7
82,157 13 3
67,008 3 0
80,788 17 1
Chichester -
-
1,031 15 1
971 8 6
Colchester -
-
16,857 3 7
17,548 8 0
12,335 1 5
12,992 4 8
Cowes
-
-
2,151 17 7
2,839 12 7
Dartmouth
-
3,135 12 3
5,422 6 9
.
Deal
-
-
150 19 8
621 0 5
Dover
-
-
47,437 11 7
39,101 17 10
18,798 2 11
11,282 15 10
Exeter
-
-
79,897 8 2
82,893 15 8
69,569 18 9
72,063 5 9
Falmouth -
-
23,524 3 0
22,883 9 5
11,325 18 10
10,515 7 21
Feversham
-
3,675 9 5
3,185 14 3
Fowey
-
-
25,549 2 10
8,882 0 10
5,017 8 0
Gloucester
-
166,187 1 2
132,879 9 1
160,093 11 3
126,538 17 11
Goole
-
-
60,317 8 2
77,033 1 6
58,639 12 9
75,291 11 8
Grimsby -
-
11,633 2 3
10,027 12 11
5,940 15 9
4,247 1 4
Gweek
-
-
25,980 16 6
2,828 4 8
7,827 11 3
Harwich -
-
1,078 1 2
2,231 17 6
Hull
-
-
801,628 12 10
741,600 17 10
768,448 11 7
705,300 1 4
Ilfracombe
-
104 7 5
376 0 2
Ipswich -
-
37,881 17 6
36,871 9 2
35,936 16 10
34,837 14 6
Lancaster -
-
42,313 17 3
40,031 12 11
38,226 16 1
36,169 11 9
Liannelly -
-
1,834 7 2
2,844 10 4
407 17 10
1,266 5 3
Liverpool -
-
4,450,426 3 6
4,351,496 6 8
4,224,798 6 2
4,136,624 3 1
Lyme
a -
-
1,467 19 10
1,795 15 6
Lynn
-
-
52,470 16 10
59,518 9 2
48,483 16 2
55,502 1 11
Maldon
-
-
5,152 4 11
5,131 19 1
Milford
-
-
4,073 4 2
4,989 9 2
Newcastle
-
307,274 19 3
413,796 17 0
293,087 7 7
396,533 2 6
Newhaven
-
13,250 13 9
13,806 11 2
3,707 0 5
4,027 16 1
Newport -
-
11,183 4 2
13,535 2 0
10,270 8 9
12,563 19 5
Padstow -
-
1,410 5 5
1,913 10 2
Penzance -
-
30,558 11 11
16,848 8 10
8,291 0 8
Plymouth
-
103,423 7 4
105,495 3 5
78,066 8 8
80,896 2 9
Poole
-
-
12,000 17 11
10,304 11 4
1,843 9 2
Portsmouth
-
46,873 1 2
47,259 3 4
27,313 6 II
28,436 12 10
Ramsgate -
-
10,262 17 1
9,972 16 7
Rochester -
-
17,096 13 11
20,478 7 8
-
1,181 19 3
Rye
-
-
8,564 15 4
7,304 17 11
St. Ives
-
-
4,521 11 5
4,701 18 1
-
496 10 11
Scarborough
-
2,139 8 10
2,117 2 0
-
195 10 6
Scilly
-
-
82 4 8
134 2 61
Shoreham -
-
22,920 10 9
20,701 1 1
11,290 9 4
9,507 10 0
Southampton
-
49,139 17 1
45,427 9 7
30,126 9 7
24,525 4 4
Southwold
-
22 7 5
249 5 2
Stockton -
-
54,497 17 4
61,515 13 1
49,765 8 8
56,598 13 2
Sunderland
-
78,126 15 8
86,912 2 0
71,637 3 9
80,072 4 1
Swansea -
-
3,448 13 10
4,879 14 4
-
1,173 19 5
Truro
-
-
48,552 13 7
25,469 3 0
18,381 14 2
703 0 7
Wells
r
-
252 13 10
877 3 9
Weymouth
-
13,120 0 8
11,384 3 11
Whitby
-
-
1,106 11 7
1,427 13 4
Whitehaven
-
88,291 9 11
100,628 16 7
83,350 9 6
95,895 0 3
Wisbeach -
-
8,917 15 9
6,728 2 2
7,624 11 0
5,549 16 0
Woodbridge
-
2,001 9 10
3,280 14 11
I
1,312 13 8
Yarmouth -
-
63,783 7 9
66,159 10 3
50,713 15 4
52,711 18 5
Douglas -
-
24,429 6 6
28,606 18 7
15,564 1 8
18,944 16 1
Total of England
20,327,657 11 9
19,321,324 15 2
18,390,550 19 5
17,471,469 10 51
SCOTLAND.
Aberdeen -
-
58,673 9 4
65,330 6 11
50,084 2 7
56,767 4 9
Ayr
-
-
1,518 2 8
1,037 18 2
385 1 8
68 3 7
Banff
-
-
870 15 9
1,164 1 9
Borrowstoness
-
3,232 11 1
3,102 18 0
1,534 5 6
1,591 7 2
Digitized by
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556
CUSTOMS.
Custome-continued.
Nett Receipt in 1896.
Nett Receipt in 1837.
Forts.
Grom Receipt in
Grow Receipt in
1836.
1837.
Exhibiting Produce, deducting Repayment
of Trade Vouchers, Office Expense, ac.
SCOTLAND.
£ 3. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 3. d.
£ 8. d.
Campbeltown
-
389 17 11
602 15 4
Dumfries -
-
4,218 5 2
7,928 17 11
646 10 4
4,317 8 2
Dundee
-
-
70,982 5 3
76,189 15 8
63,954 9 11
09,161 8 0
Glasgow -
-
289,702 2 10
394,152 9 8
375,395 18 0
372,086 2 7
Grangemouth
-
25,728 14 1
30,267 19 1
23,050 13 9
27,589 0 9
Greenock -
-
374,467 14 0
380,703 13 1
285,296 0 1
278,485 19 I
Inverness -
-
1,095 17 0
3,291 1 9
Irvine
-
-
2,585 14 2
2,778 0 9
725 2 3
898 18 Ю
Kirkaldy
-
-
7,561 12 4
4,191 17 91
3,289 8 11
98 13 8
Kirkwall
-
-
651 19 1
814 10 11
Leith
,
-
514,974 3 5
525,402 19 3
393,145 6 2
491,852 4 10
Lerwick -
-
652 19 11
396 0 5
Montrose -
-
24,575 9 2
33,917 13 1
19,904 1 11
27,796 o 4
Port Glasgow
-
104,292 6 6
94,161 14 4
90,215 17 5
87,440 9 5
Stornoway
-
167 9 1
434 16 4
Stranraer -
-
190 2 9
426 11 1
Wick
-
-
957 16 1
696 18 7
Total of Scotland
1,587,489 7 7
1,626,291 19 10f
1,288,170 4 1
1,402,920 6 6
IRELAND.
Baltimore
-
-
1,408 5 0
1,078 2 2
Belfast
-
-
366,718 5 4
324,869 17 1
333,414 8 0
205,770 9 1
Coleraine -
-
4,689 17 3
5,784 11 7
Cork
-
-
230,904 2 9
221,410 15 3
196,854 11 10
186,013 14 5
Drogheda -
-
13,382 13 3
13,105 11 4
9,680 0 7
9,395 6 21
Dublin
-
-
898,630 5 1
859,758 12 6
832,355 7 2
793,541 12 0
Dundalk -
-
4,514 5 10
15,058 16 81
161 6 11
10,862 13 of
Galway -
-
31,769 2 5
28,641 4 6
21,554 15 10
18,583 7 5
Limerick -
-
146,222 17 9
141,174 10 9
126,290 15 1
120,928 2 5
Londonderry
-
99,652 3 7
100,057 4 0
85,930 18 0
86,158 2 5
Newry
-
-
58,806 2 6
49,292 0 10
43,867 14 6
35,191 16 3
Sligo
-
-
35,863 18 2
32,120 4 6
19,386 3 8
15,643 3 8
Waterford -
-
137,126 7 9
145,669 19 11
194,706 13 4
133,001 19 5
Westport -
-
577 8 4
1,778 11 2
Wexford
-
-
6,306 10 9
6,049 0 11
Total of Ireland
2,636,572 5 9
1,945,849 3 21
1,770,080 6 3
20,556,559 4 8f
ABSTRACT OF THE ABOVE ACCOUNT.
Nett Receipt in 1836.
Nett Receipt in 1837.
Countries.
Gross Receipt in
Gross Receipt in
1836.
1837.
Exhibiting Produce, deducting Repayment
of Trade Vouchers, Office Expenses, Atc.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 3. d.
£ 8. d.
England -
-
20,327,657 11 9
19,321,324 15 2
18,390,550 19 5
17,471,409 10 5f
Scotland -
-
1,587,489 7 7
1,626,291 19 101
1,288,170 4 1
1,402,920 6 6
Ireland
-
-
2,036,572 5 9
1,945,849 3 2j
1,778,020 6 3
1,682,169 7 9
Grand totals -
23,951,719 5 1
22,893,466 18 3
21,448,741 9 9
20,556,559 4 81
[For customs in the United States, see article TABIFF.-Am. Ed.]
CUTLERY, a term used to designate all manner of sharp and cutting instruments made
of iron or steel, as knives, forks, scissors, razors, shears, scythes, &c. Sheffield is the prin-
cipal seat of the cutlery manufacture; but the knives and other articles made in London are
said to be of superior quality.
The act 59 Geo. 3. c. 7. gives the manufacturers of cutlery made of wrought steel, the privilege of
marking or stamping them with the figure of a hammer; and probibits the manufacturers of any
articles of cutlery, edge tools, or hardware, east or formed in a mould, or manufactured otherwise than
by means of a bammer, from marking or impressing upon them the figure of a hammer, OF any sym-
bol or device resembling it, OR pain of forfeiting all such articles, and 51. for every dozen. A penalty
of 101. per dozen, exclusive of forfeiture, is also imposed upon every person having articles of cutlery
in his possession for the purpose of sale, marked with the words London, or London made, unless the
articles so marked have been really manufactured within the city of London, or a distance of 20 miles
from it.
CYPRESS, a forest tree of which there are many varieties, the species denominated the
overgreen cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) and the white cedar (Cupressus Thyoides)
being the most celebrated.
The cypress is indigenous to the southern parts of Europe, to several parts of Asia, and
to America. It grows to a great size, and is a most valuable species of timber. It is never
attacked by worms; and exceeds all other trees, even the cedar, in durability. Hence the
Athenians, when desirous to preserve the remains of their heroes and other great men, had
them enclosed in cypress coffins; and hence, also, the external covering of the Egyptian
Digitized by
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DAMAGED GOODS-DANTZIC.
557
mummies is made of the same enduring material. The cypress is said to live to a great age
and this circumstance, combined with its thick dark green foliage, has made it be regarded
as the emblem of death and the grave.
In his Geography and History of the Western States of America, Mr. Timothy Flint
has given the following account of the cypress trees found in the southern parts of the valley
of the Mississippi :-" These noble trees rear their straight columns from a large cone-shaped
buttress, whose circumference at the ground is, perhaps, 3 times that of the regular shaft of
the tree. This cone rises from 6 to 10 feet, with a regular and sharp taper, and from the
apex of the cone towers the perpendicular column, with little taper after it has left the cone,
from 60 to 80 feet clear shaft. Very near the top it begins to throw out multitudes of hori-
zontal branches, which interlace with those of the adjoining trees, and, when bare of leaves,
have an air of desolation and death, more easily felt than described. In the season of vege-
tation the leaves are short, fine, and of a verdure so deep as almost to seem brown, giving an
indescribable air of funereal solemnity to this singular tree. A cypress forest, when viewed
from the adjacent hills, with its numberless interlaced arms covered with this dark brown
foliage, has the aspect of a scaffolding of verdure in the air. It grows, too, in deep and sickly
swamps, the haunts of fever, mosquitoes, moccassin snakes, alligators, and all loathsome and
ferocious animals, that congregate far from the abode of man, and seem to make common
cause with nature against him. The cypress loves the deepest, most gloomy, inaccessible
swamps and, south of 33°, is generally found covered with sable festoons of long moss,
hanging, like shrouds of mourning wreaths, almost to the ground. It seems to flourish best
when water covers its roots for half the year. Unpromising as are the places and circum-
stances of its growth, no tree of the country where it is found is so extensively useful. It is
free from knots, is easily wrought, and makes excellent planks, shingles, and timber of all
sorts. It is very durable, and incomparably the most valuable tree in the southern country
of this valley."-(Vol.i. p. 62.)
D.
DAMAGED GOODS, in the language of the customs, are goods, subject to duties, that
have received some injury either in the voyage home or in the bonded warehouses.
It is enacted by the 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52., that if any goods rated to pay duty according to the num-
ber, measure, or weight thereof (except those after mentioned), shall receive damages during the
voyage, an abatement of such duties shall be allowed proportionally to the damage 80 received; pro-
vided proof be made to the satisfaction of the commissioners of customs, or of officers acting under
their direction, that such damage was received after the goods were shipped abroad in the ship im-
porting the same, and before they were landed in the United Kingdom; and provided claim to such
abatement of duties be made at the time of the first examination of such goods.-? 30.
It is further enacted, that the officers of customs shall examine such goods, and may state the damage
which, in their opinion, they have 80 received, and may make a proportionate abatement of duties;
but if the officers of customs be incompetent to estimate such damage, or if the importer be not satis-
fied with the abatement made by them, the collector and comptroller shall choose 2 indifferent mer-
chants experienced in the nature and value of such goods, who shall examine the same, and shall
make and subscribe a declaration, stating in what proportion, according to their judgment, the goods
are lessened in value by such damage, and the officers of customs may make an abatement of the du-
ties according to the proportion of damage declared by such merchants.-> 31.
Provided always, that no abatement of duties shall be made on account of any damage received by
any of the sorts of goods herein enumerated; viz. cocoa, coffee, oranges, pepper, currants, raisins,
figs, tobacco, lemons, and wine. -ð 32.
[See article ABATEMENT.-Am. Ed.]
DAMAR, a kind of indurated pitch or turpentine exuding spontaneously from various
trees indigenous to most of the Indian islands. Different trees produce different species of
resin, which are designated according to their colour and consistence. " One is called
Damar-batu in Malay, or Damar-selo in Javanese, which means hard or stony rosin and
another in common use Damar-puteh, or white rosin, which is softer. The trees which
produce the damar yield it in amazing quantity, and generally without the necessity of mak-
ing incisions. It exudes through the bark; and is either found adhering to the trunk or
branches in large lumps, or in masses on the ground under the trees. As these often grow
near the sea-side, or on the banks of rivers, the damar is frequently floated away, and collected
in distant places as drift. It is exported in large quantities to Bengal and China and is
used for all the purposes to which we apply pitch, but principally in paying the bottoms of
ships. By a previous arrangement, almost any quantity may be procured at Borneo, at
the low rate of $ dollar per picul."-(Crawfurd, East. Archip. vol. i. p. 455., vol. iii.
p. 420.)
DAMASK (Ger. Damasten Tafelzeug; Du. Damaskwerk; Fr. Venise, Damas; It.
Tela damaschina; Sp. Tela adamascada; Rus. Kamtschatnüä salftki), a species of table
linen.-(See LINEN.)
DANTZIC, one of the principal emporiums of the north of Europe, in West Prussia, in
lat. 54° 20' 48" N., lon. 18° 38' E. Population about 56,000. It is situated on the left
3 A 2
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558
DANTZIC.
or western bank of the Vistula, about 4 miles from where it falls into the sea. The harbour
is at the mouth of the river, and is defended on each side by pretty strong forts. The town
is traversed by the small river Motlau, which has been rendered navigable for vessels draw-
ing 8 or 9 feet water.
Roads, Port, &c.-The road or bay of Dantzic is covered on the west side by a long, narrow, low,
sandy tongue of land, extending from Reserhoft Point (on which is a light-house), in lat. 54° 501',
lon. 18° 23' 15", upwards of 20 miles, in an E. by S. direction, having the small town of Heela, or Heel,
near its termination. A light-house, elevated 123 feet (Eng.) above the level of the sea, has been
erected within about t a mile of the extremity of the point. The flashes of the light, which is a re-
volving one, succeed each other every t minute. Dantzic lies about S. t W. from the Heel; its port,
denominated the Fairwater, being distant about 4 leagues. There is good anchorage in the roads for
ships of any burden but they are exposed, except immediately under the Heel, to the north and
north-easterly winds. There are harbour lights at the entrance to the port. All ships entering the
Vistula must heave to about a mile off the port, and take a pilot on board and pilots must always be
employed in moving ships in the harbour, or in going up and down the river. The usual depth of wa-
ter at the mouth of the river is from 12 to 13 feet (Eng.) in the harbour, from 13 to 14 feet at the
confluence of the Motlau with the Vistula, from 810 91 feet; and in town from 8 to 9 feet. Moles
have been erected on both sides the entrance to the harbour: that on the eastern side, which is most
exposed, is constructed of granite, but is not yet completed; the other is partly of stone and partly of
timber.
Trade of Dantzic.-Next to Petersburg, Dantzic is the most important commercial city
in the north of Europe. It owes its distinction in this respect to its situation the Vistula,
with its important tributaries the Bug, Narew, &c. giving it the command of a great inter-
nal navigation, and rendering it the entrepôt where the surplus products of West Prussia,
Poland as far as Hungary, and part of Lithuania, are exchanged for those imported from the
foreigner. The exports of wheat from Dantzic are greater than from any port in the world.
There are four sorts of wheat distinguished here; viz. white, high-mixed, mixed, and red,
according as the white or red predominates. The quality of the Dantzic wheat is for the
most part excellent; for, though small in the berry, and not 80 heavy as many other sorts, it
is remarkably thin skinned, and yields the finest flour. The white Polish wheat exported
here is the best in the Baltic. Rye is also very superior, being both clean and heavy and
the exports are very large. The exports of barley and oats are comparatively inconsiders-
ble, and the qualities but indifferent. Very fine white peas are exported. Next to grain,
timber is the most important article of export from Dantzic. The principal supply of fir
timber, masts, &c. is brought by the River Narew, which, with its branches, rise in Old Prussia
and Lithuania, and falls into the Bug near the confluence of the latter with the Vistula.
Oak plank, staves, &c. are brought down from the higher parts of the Vistula, and the tri-
butary streams of Dunajetz, Wieprez, &c. Weed ashes, pearl-ashes, bones, zinc, wool,
spruce beer, feathers, &c. are also exported.
Money.-Accounts used formerly to be wholly kept in guidens, guilders, or florins of 30 groschen.
The rixdollar = 3 florins = 90 groschen= 270 schillings - 1,620 pfennings. The florin or guilder = 9d.
sterling, and the rixdollar= 2s. 3d.
A new system was, however, introduced into all parts of the Prussian dominions, conformably to
the decrees of the 30th of September, 1821, and of the 22d of June, 1823; but it has not hitherto en-
tirely superseded the method of accounting previously in use.
The Cologne mark (containing 3,609 Eng. grains) is the weight at present used in the Prussian mint
in weighing the precious metals. The fineness of the coins is not determined, as previously, by
carats or loths, but the mark is divided for this purpose into 288 grains. Accounts are now kept in
the public others in thalers or dollars (R.), silver groschen, and pfennings: 1 dol. = 30 sil. gr. 1 sil.
gr. = 12 pf.
The only silver monies now coined are dollars and 1-6 dollar pieces but smaller coins are in circu-
lation, of former coinages.
The Prussian silver coins have t of alloy ; and as the mark is coined into 14 dollars, each should con-
tain 257.68 Eng. grains pure silver, and be worth about 2s. 11±d. sterling but the assays do not always
strictly coincide with the mint valuation.
The gold coins are Frederick d'ors, double, single, and half pieces. The mark of 288 grains, having
260 grains of fine gold, is coined into 35 Fred. d'ors. The Fred. d'or is worth from 5 dol. 18 sil. gr. to
5 dol. 22 sil. gr., according to the demand.
Weights and Measures.-The commercial weights are,
32 Loths
= 1 Ounce.
20 Pounds - 1 Small stone.
16 Ounces
- 1 Pound.
33 Pounds = 1 Large stone.
161 Pounds
= 1 Lispound.
110 lbs. = 1 centner 3 centners = 1 shippound (330 lbs.) ; 100 lbs. of Dantzic 103-3 lbs. avoirdupois =
46.85 kilog. = 94.7 lbs. of Amsterdam - 96.6 lbs. of Hamburgh.
The liquid measures are, for beer,
5 Quarts = 1 Anker
2 Hhds. = 1 Both.
4 Ankers - 1 Ahm.
2 Both
-
1 Fuder.
If Ahm
=
1 Hhd.
2 Fuder = 1 Last = 620-4 Eng. wine gallons.
In wine measure, which is less than beer measure, the ahm - 391 Eng. gallons. The pipe = 1 ahms.
The last of corn = 34 malters = 60 scheffels = 240 viertels = 960 metzen and weighs 4,630 lbs. Dant-
zic weight in rye. The scheffel = .547 of a hectolitre = 1:552 Winchester bushel. Hence the last of
60 scheffels = 11 quarters 3 bushel the last of 56} scheffels = 10 quarters 7 bushels.
The Dantzic foot - 11.3 Eng. inches, or 100 Dantzic feet = 94:16 Eng. feet. The ell is 2 feet Dantxic
measure. The Rhineland or Prussian foot = 3138 French metres, or 12:356 Eng. inches: hence 100
Prussian - 102.8 English feet. The Prussian or Berlin ell has 251 Prussian inches = 26-256 Eng. ditto.
100 Berlin ells - 72.93 Eng. yards and 137-142 Berlin ells = 100 Eng. yards. 141 Prussian miles are
equal to 15 geographical miles.
Oak planks, deals, and pipe staves, are sold by the shock of 60 pieces wheat, rye, &c. are sold by
the last of 561 scheffels.-(Kelly's Cambist; Nelkenbrecker, Manuel Universel.)
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DANTZIC.
559
Imports.-We regret our inability to lay before the reader any account of the quantities
of the different articles usually imported into Dantzic. They consist of sugar, coffee, wine,
oil, brandy, spices, copper, lead, furs, cotton stuffs and cotton yarn, woollens, hardware, silks,
indigo, dye woods, &c.
We subjoin an
Account of the principal Articles exported from Dantzic during each of the Three Years ending with
1831, with their Prices and Values in Sterling Money.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Articles.
Average
Average
Average
Quan-
Prices in
Value.
Quan-
Prices in
Value.
Quan-
Prices in
Sterling
tity.
Sterling
Sterling
Value.
tity.
tity.
Money.
Money.
Money.
L.s.d.
L.
8.
d.
L. t. d.
L.
s.
d.
L.s.d.
L.
8.
d.
Wheat, Imp. qr. at 1-3
per last
306,766
271
722,178
5
10
398,588
222
840,356
7
4
133,800
2 2 10 10 2
335,615
0
0
Rye, ditto
78,275
0 17 4
67,838
6
8
85,074
103
86,137
8
6
12,530
186
17,855
5
0
Barley, ditto
6,675
0 13 8
4,561 5 0
7,368
0 15 0
5,526
0
0
11,680
113
12,410 0 0
Oats, ditto
9,197
0 10 11
5,020 07
21,462
0 11 2
11,982 19 0
2,220
0 15 8
1,739 0 0
Peas, ditto
2,842
0 18 8
2,652 10 8
16,916
108
17,479 17
4
15,850
177
21,859 15 10
Flour, barrels of 196 lbs.
2,016
130
2,318 80
11,810
116
12,695 15 0
12
120
13
4
0
Biscuits, bags of 1 cwt.
3,224
0 10 0
1,612 0 0
10,359
0 10 0
5,179 15 0
6,932
011 0
3,812 12 0
Fir timber, squared, pieces
64,794
100
64,794 0 0
47,548
100
47,548 0 0
37,497
100
37,497 0 0
Fir deals, long, short, and
cuts, ditto
290,258
040
58,051 12 0
270,309
040
54,061
16
0
179,166
040
35,833 4 0
Masts and spars, ditto
1,001
1 15 0
1,751 15 0
2,707
100
4,060 10 0
313
200
626
0
0
Oak plank, ditto
12,669
090
5,701
1
0
10,298
0810
4,548
5
8
10,706
10 0
5,353 0 0
timber, ditto
2,042
130
2,318
6
0
1,675
130
1,926
5
0
1,197
130
1,376 11 0
staves, shock of 60
pieces
17,464
115 6
30,998 12 0
11,018
200
22,036
0
0
6,210
214 6
16,922 5 0
Clapboards, ditto
117
500
585 0 0
28
500
140
0
0
52
500
260 0 0
Treenails, ditto
5,661
016
424 12 3
2,855
016
214
2
6
5,420
016
406 10 0
Lathwood, fathoms
933
200
1,866 0 0
1,1021
200
2,205
00
936
200
1,872 0 0
Weed-ashes, barrel of about
3 cwt.
8,330
1 13 0
13,744 10 0
6,587
1 13 0
10,868
11
0
5,078
1130
8,378 14 0
Pearlashes, cwt.
13,570
120
14,927 0 0
2,485
120
2,733
10
0
369
130
424 7 0
Bones, ditto
5,5631
250
12,517 17
6
4,232
280
10,375
40
2,867
2100
9,667 10 0
Zinc, ditto
28,510
0 12 8
18,056 6 8
29,767
0 12 8
18,852
8
8
2,946
0 12 4
1,816 14 0
Wool, ditto
1,2821
7 13 6
9,843 4 0
1,835
7 15 2
14,236 10 10
454
880
3,813 12 0
Feathers, pounds
36,010
012
2,100 11 8
22,825
012
1,331
9
2
13,530
012
789 5 0
Salted provisions, barrel of
200 pounds
157
240
345 8 0
376
240
827
4
0
45
240
9900
Spruce beier, kegs
25,460
066
8,274 10 0
30,039
066
9,762
13
6
26,191
066
8,512
16
Total value
-
-
1,052,511
-
-
1,185,085 6
-
-
526,952 4
Account, showing the Countries for which the principal Articles exported from Dantzie during the
Three Years ending with 1831 were shipped, and the Quantities shipped for each.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Articies.
Britain
Britain
Britain
and her
Posses-
France.
Holland.
Other
and her
Countries.
Posses-
France.
Holland.
Other
Countries.
Holland.
Other
and her
France.
Coun-
Posses.
sions.
sions.
tries.
sions.
Wheat, Imp. qr. at
10 1-3 per last
214,933
24,169
64,594
3,070
328,982
21,473
43,970
4,163
125,330
-
7,908
562
Rye, ditto
8,980
9.455
30,866
28,974
8,453
62
28,753
47,816
2,510
-
4,564
5,456
Barley, ditto
3,648
237
2,118
672
4,128
-
788
2,452
11,380
-
-
300
Oats, ditto
8,923
274
-
20,997
-
-
465
2,220
Peas, ditto
2,444
-
217
181
14,312
-
1,768
836
14,780
-
560
510
Flour, barrels of 196
lbs.
2,016
-
-
8.926
-
2,776
108
10
-
-
2
-
Biscuits, bags of I cwt.
3,224
-
-
-
10,287 1-2
-
72
6,732
-
-
-
200
Fir timber, squared,
pieces
31,232
24,013
7,852
1,697
26,639
10,379
8,622
1,908
33,642
2,152
1,115
588
Fir deals, long, short,
and cuts, di'to
98,609
92,090
60,724
38,835
85,664
88,913
48,738
46,994
111,347
11,005
18,292
38,522
Masts and spars, ditto
111
750
40
100
132
2,323
.171
81
169
60
18
66
Oak plank, ditto
8,128
2,273
-
2,268
4,746
2,317
-
3,235
8,724
263
-
1,719
timber, ditto
1,170
872
238
I
I
97
1,227
I
351
311
-
648
staves, shock of
60 pieces
7,873
7,786 1-2
864
940 1-2
4,388
3,366
807
2,457
5,462
366
34
348
Clapboards. ditto
107 1-2
-
5
41-2
22
-
2
4
44
8
Treenails, ditto
5,285
-
-
376
2,288
-
-
567
4,712
-
-
708
Lathwood. fathoms
929
-
-
4
1,096 1-2
-
6
-
936
Weed-ashes, barrel of
about 3 cwt.
2,073
-
6,245
12
2,720
-
3,867
-
2,581
-
1,987
510
Pearlashes, cwt.
-
-
10,436
3,134
2112
-
2,251
212 1-2
-
-
369
Bones, ditto
5,563 1-2
-
-
4,323
-
-
3,867
Zinc, ditto
24,629
I
-
3,881
25,689
-
-
4,078
1,946
-
-
1,000
Wool, ditto
1,219 1-2
-
37
26
1,769
-
66
-
454
Feathers, pound
30,810
-
5,100
100
21,093
-
1,402
330
13,530
Salted provisions, bar-
rel of 200 lbs.
157
-
-
-
376
-
-
-
4
Spruce beer, kegs
24,950
-
80
430
29,320
-
-
719
25,846
-
-
345
Remarks on Turiff.-The following Table affords a pretty sufficient specimen of the sort of tariff
which the Prussian government are so anxious to extend all over Germany; and in furtherance
of which object they have displayed equal address and perseverance. Some of the duties are abun-
dantly moderate but those on cotton goods, wrought iron, and woollen goods, are quite exorbitant.
It is obvious too, that from their being imposed according to the weight, they fall principally on the
coarser fabrics. or those worn by the mass of the people. The high duties on wrought iron are par-
ticularly objectionable. If Prussia wish to become a manufacturing country, she ought to open her
ports for the reception of all articles made of iron, from wherever they may be had cheapest. They
are the principal instruments by which manufactures are carried on and if one were to set about
contriving methods for depressing the latter, they would not easily find one better fitted to effect their
object than by confining the manufacturers in their choice of tools and instruments, and making them
adopt those that were bad and dear, because they happened to be made at home. The duties on su-
gar and coffee are also, in the circumstances of Prussia, quite excessive. We are, indeed, astonished
that so liberal and intelligent a government as that of Berlin should, at this late period, become the
patron of the exploded errors and absurdities of the mercantile system.
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560
DANTZIC.
Rates of Duty on the chief Articles imported for Home Consumption into the Eastern Pressian
Provinces in 1832.
Makes in
Makes in
Articles.
Prumian
British Money,
Articles.
Promian
British Menny,
Currency.
Currency.
per
about
per
about
R s.g. pf.
Lad
R 1.8. pf.
L.d.
Anise seed, per centure of
Oil, Provence, in casks, par
110 lbs. Premian
100
cwt.
0 8 101-8
cwt. of 110 lbs. Premian
100
cwt.
0 8 1012
Alum
do.
do.
1100
-
0310
green
do.
100
-
0 2 1018
Almonds
do.
do.
4150
-
0 13 0
Orange peel
do.
4150
-
0 13 10
Brimstone
do.
do.
050
-
00634
Pimento
do.
7100
-
I 113
Coffee
do.
do.
6150
-
0 18 9
Pepper
do.
7100
-
111112
Cacao
do.
do.
6150
-
0 18 9
Porter and ale
do.
2150
-
0 7 213
(assia
do.
do.
7100
-
11118
Raisine
do.
4150
-
0 13 0
Currants
do.
do.
4150
-
0 13 0
Rice
do.
300
-
089
Cotton gonds do.
do.
5600
-
7180
Rum and brandy
do.
800
-
13013
yarn, sewing, do. do.
600
-
0 17 3
Sugar, manufactured, do.
11 0 0
-
1 11 8
twist do.
do.
200
-
059
raw
do.
500
-
014 5
Coals
do.
do.
013
-
00114
Syrup
do.
500
-
0145
Eartheaware do.
do.
0100
-
0 11 1-2
Saltpetre
do.
010 0
-
001118
Glass
do.
do.
300
-
088
Shot
do.
200
-
059
Ginger
do.
do.
7100
-
1 I
Steel, unwrought
do.
100
-
0 2 10
Herrings, per barrel
100
bris.
0 11
wrought
do.
600
-
0 17 3
Hardware, per cwt. of 110lbs.
Silk goods
do.
11000
-
15 17 8
Prussian
6500
cwt.
7185
Tea
do.
1100
-
1 11 $
Indigo
de.
do.
0 15 0
-
015
Tia, in bare
do.
800
-
059
Iron, unwrought, (In bars)do.
100
-
0 2 10
in plates
do.
3 20 0
-
0 10 T
wrought
do.
600
-
0 17 3
Vitriol
do.
00718
-
00818
Logwood
do.
050
-
00534
White lead
do.
200
-
059
Lead
do.
0 15 0
-
015
Woollen goods
do.
3300
-
4150
Linen
do.
1100
-
111 8
Wine
do.
800
-
13012
Oil, Provence, in Rasks,&c.do.
800
-
3 018
With the exception of wool and bones, almost all articles of export are duty free.
Corn Trade of Dantzic.-The reader will find, under the head CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE (PP.
509-512.), a pretty full account of the Polish corn trade. But the importance of the subject will ex-
cuse our giving a few additional details. Grain is almost wholly brought to Dantzic by water, in flat-
bottomed boats, suited to the navigation of the Vistula, Bug, &c. Mr. Consul Gibson estimates the
expense of the conveyance of wheat and rye thither, including the duty at Thorn and the charges of
turning on the river, till put into the granary, as follows:-
Per Imp. qr.
Per. Imp. or.
8. d. 8. d.
a. d. a.
From the upper provinces on the Bug, a distance of
From Wlaclaweck and its neighbourhood, about 140
from 700 to 500 miles
lin, 550 to 350 miles
inimin
9 8 ta 7 10
miles
42103
From the provinces of Cracow, Sendomir, and Lub-
66-5 4
From Grandents, a distance of about 70 miles,
no duty at Thorn, and when not turned on the
010-09
From Warsaw and its neighbourhood, about 340
miles
49-311
river
N. B.-These are the ordinary charges. They are higher when there is any unusual demand for
exportation.
The Bug has many windings, and its navigation, which is tedious and uncertain, can only be at-
tempted in the spring, when the water is high. It is the same, though in a less degree, with some of
the rivers that fall into the Vistula before it reaches Warsaw and towards Cracow the Vistula itself
is frequently unnavigable, especially in dry seasons, except in spring, and after the midsummer rains,
when the snow melts on the Carpathian mountains. The navigation of the Polish rivers in 1832
was more than usually bad. The corn from the upper provinces did not reach Dantzic till from 2 to 4
months later than usual, and was burdened with a very heavy additional expense. In fact, the sup-
plies of grain at Dantzic depend quite as much on the abundance of water in the rivers, or on their
easy navigation in summer, as on the goodness of the harvests.
"There, are," says Mr. Jacob, "two modes of conveying wheat to Dantzic by the Vistula. That
which grows near the lower parts of the river, comprehending Polish Russia, and part of the pro-
vince of Plock, and of Masovia, in the kingdom of Poland, which is generally of an inferior quality,
is conveyed in covered boats, with shifting boards that protect the cargo from the rain, but not from
pilfering. These vessels are long, and draw about 15 inches water, and bring about 150 quarters of
wheat. They are not, however, so well calculated for the upper parts of the river. From Cracow,
where the Vistula first becomes navigable, to below the junction of the Bug with that stream,
the wheat is mostly conveyed to Dantzic in open flate. These are constructed on the banks, in
seasons of leisure, on spots far from the ordinary reach of the water, but which, when the rains
of autumn, or the melted snow of the Carpathian mountains in the spring, fill and overflow the river,
are easily floated.
" Barges of this description are about 75 feet long, and 20 broad, with a depth of 21 feet. They are
made of fir, rudely put together, fastened with wooden treenails, the corners dovetailed and secured
with slight iron clamps,-the only iron employed in their construction.
A large tree, the length of the vessel, runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured.
This roughly cut keelson rises 9 or 10 inches from the floor, and hurdles are laid on it, which extend
to the sides. They are covered with mats made of rye straw, and serve the purpose of dunnage;
leaving below a space in which the water that leaks through the sides and bottom is received. The
bulk is kept from the sides and ends of the barge by'a similar plan. The water which these ill-
constructed and imperfectly caulked vessels receive, is dipped out at the end and sides of the bulk of
wheat.
Vessels of this description draw from 10 to 12 inches water, and yet they frequently get aground
in descending the river. The cargoes usually consist of from 180 to 200 quarters of wheat.
The wheat is thrown on the mats, piled as high as the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to all
the inclemencies of the weather, and to the pilfering of the crew. During the passage, the barge is
carried along by the force of the stream, oars being merely used at the head and stern, to steer clear
of the sand banks, which are numerous and shifting, and to direct the vessel in passing under the
* A cask, or If barrel, weighs about 51 cwt.
A puncheon of 90 to 100 gallons weighs 8 to 9 cwt., according to the degree of strength.
# A hogshead weighs about 51 cwt.
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DANTZIC.
561
several bridges. These vessels are conducted by 6 or 7 men. A small boat proceeds with a man in
it, who is employed sounding, in order to avoid the shifting shoals. This mode of navigating is neces-
sarily very slow; and during the progress of it, which lasts several weeks, and even months, the
rain, if any fall, soon causes the wheat to grow, and the vessel assumes the appearance of a floating
meadow. The shooting of the fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the gain from penetrating
more than an inch or two. The main bulk is protected by this kind of covering, and, when that is
thrown aside, is found in tolerable condition.
The vessels are broken up at Dantzic, and usually sell for about I of their original cost. The men
ho conduct them return on foot.
" When the cargo arrives at Dantzic or Elbing, all but the grown surface is thrown on the land,
spread abroad, exposed to the sun, and frequently turned over, till any slight moisture it may have
Imbibed is dried. If a shower of rain falls, as well as during the night, the heaps of wheat on the
shore are thrown together in the form of a steep roof of a house, that the rain may run off, and are
covered with a linen cloth. It is thus frequently a long time after the wheat has reached Dantzic,
before it is fit to be placed in the warehouses.
"The warehouses. (speichers) are very well adapted for storing corn. They consist generally of 7
stories, 3 of which are in the roof. The floors are about 9 feet asunder. Each of them is divided by
perpendicular partitions, the whole length, about 4 feet high, by which different parcels are kept dis-
tinct from each other. Thus the floors have 2 divisions, each of them capable of storing from 150 to
200 quarters of wheat, and leaving sufficient space for turning and screening it. There are abundance
of windows on each floor, which are always thrown open in dry weather to ventilate the corn. It is
usu ally turned over 3 times a week. The men who perform the operation throw it with their shovels
as heigh as they can, and thus the grains are separated from each other, and exposed to the drying in-
flue nce of the air.
" The whole of the corn warehouses now left (for many were burnt during the siege of 1814), are
capable of storing 500,000 quarters of wheat, supposing the quarters to be large enough to fill each of
the 2 divisions of the floors with a separate heap; but as of late years it has come down from Po-
land in smaller parcels than formerly, and of more various qualities, which must of necessity be kept
distinct, the present stock of about 280,000 quarters is found to occupy nearly the whole of those
warehouses which are in repair, or are advantageously situated for loading the ships. Ships are load-
ed by gangs of porters, with great despatch, who will complete a cargo of 500 quarters in about 3 or 4
hours.' (First Report.)
We extract from the work of Mr. Oddy, the following additional information with respect to the
Dantzic warehouses :-" The warehouses for linens, ashes, hemp, &c., and the extensive granaries,
are situated in an island formed by the Motlau. To guard these warehouses, from 20 to 30 ferocious
dogs of a large size, amongst which are blood-bounds, are let loose at 11 o'clock at night. To keep
the dogs within their districts, as well as to protect the passengers, large high gates run across the
end of each of the streets leading to the main one: no light is allowed, nor any person suffered to live
on this island. These dogs prowl about the whole night, and create great terror. It would be im-
possible otherwise to keep property secure amongst the hordes of Poles, Jews, &c. met with here
no punishment would have half the effect that the dread of the dogs produces. In winter, when
the water is frozen over, there are keepers placed at particular avenues, with whips, to keep the dogs
in their range.
"No fire or robbery was ever known; and the expense to each building, with the Immense pro-
perty they contain, is very reasonable. Vessels, either from the interior, or other quarters, lying
alongside these warehouses, are not allowed to have a fire, or light of any kind, on board, nor is a
sailor or any other person suffered even to smoke. These regulations partly extend to all shipping
lying in the harbour."-(European Commerce, p. 249.)
Timber Trade, Brack.-Fir timber is usually brought down in its natural state, and is squared into
logs, or sawn into planks, in winter, when the labourers cannot be otherwise employed. The staves
shipped here are carefully assorted, and are reckoned superior to those of America.
The expenses of the water conveyance of squared timber, including duty at Thorn, are-
s.
d.
S.
d.
From the Bug
-
-
from about 6 0 to 5 9 per piece.
-
Wieprez
(above
Warsaw)
-
4
6
-
44
do.
- Vistula (above do. ) - - 30 - 24 do.
Being higher when the demand is unusually great, or when hands are scaree.
At Dantzic, as well as at Petersburgh (which see), Riga, and several other Baltic ports, sworn in-
spectors (brackers) are appointed by authority to examino certain articles intended for exportation,
and to classify them according to their qualities. Staves and timber of all sorts, with the exception
of pine wood, is subjected to the brack. Prime quality is branded Krohn or Crewn; second quality,
Brack ; and the third or lowest quality, Bracks Brack. All unmerchantable articles are rejected
by the brackers, and are not allowed to be exported.
The gauge for crown pipe staves, which the bracker has always in his hand, is 41 inches broad, 14
thick, and 64 inches in length, which they must be at least; but they are expected to be larger in
every respect.
Pipe staves are from 64 to 68 inches long; 6, 5, and 41, at least, broad; and from It to 3 inches
thick.
Brandy staves are at least 54 to 58 inches long, as thick and broad as pipe staves.
Hogshead staves are 42 to 45 inches long, as thick and broad as plpe staves, all English measure.
The quality is ascertained by marks, to distinguish each sort, as follows
Crown pipe staves, stamped at the end, K.
Hogshead bracks brack, II.
- brack in the middle, I.
1
Brandy hogshead crown, at the end, B K.
- bracks brack, 11.
-
brack, in the middle, A.
Hogsheads crown, at the end, o K.
-
bracks brack, X X.
-
brack, in the middle, I.
Oak planks are assorted in the same manner. Crown plank is marked in the middle, C. Brack,
in the end and middle B. Bracks brack, B B.
To distinguish 11 from 2, and 21 from 3 inches, the It are marked with I, and 21 M.
At the end, in rough strokes, with coloured paint, brack is yellow 1; bracks brack, white II;
crown, red III.
Ashes are subjected to the brack. The calcined are opened, and the crust taken off; others are not
examined unless there be any suspicion of their quality, or the states of the hogshead be supposed
to be too thick. Every cask of potashes is opened.
71
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502
DANTZIC.
Shipping Charges and Duties, exclusive of Commission.
R. s.gr.
R 8.5%
On Wheat
about 2 22
On Deck deals
Rye
Short deals
Barley
}
- 2 20
}
about 0 23 1-2 per load.
per last of about 10 1.3 Imp. qra.
Deal ends
Peas
Lathwood
-
10
-
fathom.
Oats
- 2 12
Clapboards
-
20
-
shock
of
60
pieces.
Flour
Ship biscuit
}
5 per cent.
Oak plank
Oak ends
}
- 110 - load.
R. s.gr.
Staves
- 13 10
- mile pipe.
Pearlashes about 0 10 per shippound of 330 lbs.
Black or spruce bear
- 0 12 - last of 11 kep.
Wead-ashes - 06 - barrel
do.
Feathers
-
20
-
100 lbs.
Fir timber
-
load.
N. B.-The Prussian pound is about 3 1-3 per cent. heavier than the English pound. The expenses of sending goods down are takes of
about an average rate; but if the whole, or the greater part of the cargo, were loaded in the Fairwater or roads, the expenses would be
somewhat more.
Shipping.-Account of the Number of Ships, specifying the Countries to which they belonged, with
their Tonnage in Lasts, of 4,000 Prussian lbs. that arrived at, and departed from, Dantzic in 1834.
-(Prussian Official Accounts.)
Of these
or these
Ships
Ships
Arrived
Arrived
Flags.
Lasts
Laden.
Ballast.
Flage.
and
Lasts.
Laden.
Ballest.
and
Sailed.
Sailed.
Ships.
Lasts
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Arr.
85
1,80%
16
662
9
1,143
Oldenburg
Arr.
IS
492
6
214
7
878
Danish
Dep.
25
1,813
22
1,692
3
121
Dep.
12
470
1
470
Arr.
4
281
1
29
3
252
Netherlands
Arr.
133
7,341
55
2,764
78
Mecklenburg
4,577
Dep.
4
270
4
270
Dep.
132
7,393
132
7,393
Arr.
7
$84
5
2:0
2
114
Belgian
Arr.
Hame-Towns
4
234
-
-
4
231
Dep.
18
565
12
665
Dep.
4
240
4
240
Arr.
3
200
2
148
1
32
French
Arr.
I
50
-
-
1
50
Russian
Dep.
2
156
1
63
1
93
Dep.
3
197
3
197
Arr.
15
846
13
622
2
224
Swedish
Dep.
21
1,180
9
661
12
619
Total Foreign Arr.
359
21,048
196
9,022
163
12.096
Arr.
62
1,843
61
1,797
1
46
Ships
Dep.
361
21,791
316
20,082
45
Norwagian
1,700
Dep.
58
1,841
29
861
29
976
Prussian Ships an-
Arr.
38
4,532
17
1,734
21
2,798
rived and departed
571
80,941
383
53,675
188
British
27,985
Dep.
38
4,749
38
4,749
Hanoverian
Arr.
54
3,040
20
742
34
2,258
Grand Total arrived
Dep.
60
2,917
50
2,917
and departed
1,291
123,679
895
82,679
596
41,000
Port Charges.-The charges on a ship of 200 lasts, or about 300
per contner (about Is. 5 1-2d. for about 113 lbs. English) may be
tone burden, are-
placed in the king's stores (no where else), and remain there for 2
R. 8.5. pf.
years without payment of duty. No allowance is made for waste or
Harbour money
88 26 8
damage in there stores. Other goods, not capable of being changed,
Ditto in gold (say in Fred. d'ors, reckoned at 5 r., in
may be placed in private stores, under the king's lock; but not the
which this must be paid)
1468
where, without permission. No rent is charged for goods ID the
River money
000
king's stores, during the first three months; afterwards about I 1-8d.
Commercial contribution
3100
monthly rent is charged for the first, and about 3d. monthly for the
Expedition expenses
IS 10 0
second year, per centner of about 113 lbs. English.
Captain's allowance for expenses on shore
16 20 0
In private warehouses, the monthly rent for 10 quarters of whent
Tracking the ship into the harbour (Fairwater)
200
or other grain is from about 1-2d. to 7d., or more, according as
Ballast money. &c.
10 24 0
warehouse room is abundant or otherwise. Other goods do not
Pilot to the ballast wharf
400
usually pay by the piece, but part of a store is hired for them, and
Ditto moving the ship in Fairwater
2150
the rent generally comes somewhat higher is proportion.
Police passport
360
The cost of rent and turning grain is from 1a. 2d. to 1a. 6d. month.
Clearing the vessel in and out
16 0
ly, for 10 quarters, according to the scason of the year and other
circumstances; but more when gramary room is scarce, and wages
Making 251. 6a. 6d. sterling, at the exchange of 6r.
high.
28 gr.
175 17 4
Banking Extablishments.-Thero is none such here, excepting a
branch of the Royal or Government Bank of Berlin. This was
The charges on the shipe of all countries having reciprocity treaties
founded partly in the view of receiving deposits of money under
with Prussia (which in generally the case) are the same, only Dantzic
litigation in the courts of the province; monies the property of -
captains receive no allowance for shore expenses. River or stream
nors and charitable institutions, the former ontil disposable or placed
money is only paid by vessels that bring goods to town, or load in the
on good security and monies belonging to individuals not mer
Motlau (above the blockhouse) if a ship remain in the Fairwater
chants, and at times, also, those of the latter. Interest is paid on
or Vistula. the river money is levied on the craft carrying the goods,
such deposits as follows: via.
and falls on the latter.
3 per cent. on sume belonging to minors.
Dantzic is a favourable place for ships careening and repairing, and
2 do.
do.
charitable Institutions, charches,
for obtaining supplies of all sorts of sea stores at a reasonable rate.
and sums deposited by the courts of justice, and
There belong to the port 75 ships, measuring about 16,000 lasts
2
da.
all other deposits.
= 24,000 tons, navigated by about 950 men. They are employed in
The principal is demandable at pleasure, unless otherwise stipo-
foreign trade. The port has no fishery, and no coasting trade worth
lated. The bank makes advances on grain and some other kinds of
mentioning.
goods at 5 per cent. interest; discounts bills with 3 signatures, not
Custom-house Regulations.-The shipmaster must, within 24
having more than 2 months to run, at 6 per cept., and sometimes,
hours after arrival in port, make a declaration of the cargo on board,
when money is plenty, at a lower rate. It also makes advances at 4
and of the ship's provisions, and be Incurs a severe penalty If the
per cent. on deposits of Fred. d'ors and certain foreign monice; and
declaration do not prove correct. The ship's batches (if goods are
it occasionally buys bills for account of, and sells bills OR the Berlin
on board) are sealed on arrival, and an additional declaration is ac-
bank. It does not issue notes. The amount of its capital is not
cepted before they are unsealed; but no later declaration, supple-
fixed but government guarantees its transactions. It is relieved
mentary, or explanatory, of the first, and no submitting the goods to
from the payment of postage on money, and it is not required to -
investigation by the officers, is received or allowed. If the shipmas-
the stamps fixed by law, on bills for its deposit transactions, but only
ter be unable to make a complete declaration on arrival, a Custom-
those of 10 8. gr.; (about 11 1.2d.); while individuals must -
house officer is put on board, who remains until the ship is unloaded,
stamps for such bills of 5a. gr. for every 400 r., of not longer date
at an expense to her of about 2a. per day and night. The cargo can
than 3 months. and for every 200 of louger date.
only be discharged in presence of a customs officer.
On negotiable bills, however, the bank must USF the stamps fixed
The shipmaster, and not the receiver of the goods, is made re.
by law, say of 5a. gr. (about 5 3-4d.) for sume of 50 dol. to are dol.,
sponsible, if the contents of the packages do not correspond with his
and at the same rate for every additional sum between 100 del. and
declaration: and be is only exonerated from this by solemnly aver-
400 dol.
ring, on making the declaration, that the contents are unknown to
Bills from and on foreign places, negotiated at Dantaic, are not
him. An evident mistake or oversight is treated as rigorously as an
subject to the stamp duty.
intentional fraud.
The affairs of the bank are not made public. Being a government
On commencing to load, the shipmaster receives a blank loading
concern, there are no dividends. It is not supposed to be very pro-
list, in which he must daily note the articles he takes on board, or he
fitable, at least in the present circumscribed state of trade, although
is liable to fine but this regulation is not very rigidly enforced. On
enjoying the advantages of exemption from postage of monies, and
clearing out, this list is compared with the goods entered by the ves-
paying less stamp duty. It is true, however, that the direct advan-
sel, when the sea passport is given.
tage of the lower stamp duty is enjoyed by the borrower.
Ballast can be discharged only at stated places, on pain of the ship-
Credit, Brokerage. & few goods are consigned from abread
master being fiued.
for sale, for such consignments rarely turn to good account. Imports
It is material, however, to observe, that the whole Custom-house
are seldom sold for cash, but generally at 1. 2 and 3 months' credit,
business of the shipmaster is conducted by Custom house brokers, so
or longer. The discount allowed for cash payments. when sold -
that be is never at a loss, being informed by the one he selects what
time, is usually 6 per cent., but it varies according as money is plea-
be has to do. Alterations are frequently made in the Custom-house
tiful or otherwise.
regulations.
Any person, being a burgher of the town (which any cas of -
The shipmaster receives, on arrival, from the pilot commodore, a
character may become), may transact business as a commission -
copy of the harbour regulations, in his own language, with instruc-
chant or factor: but brokers must be chosen by the elders of the
tions how to act as to ballast.
Corporation of Merchants, approved by the regency of the premises,
Warehouring.-Soch goods as pay a higher duty than 18 a dollar
and sworn in by the magistracy of the town.
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DANTZIC.
568
The usual rates of commission are-
to the House of Correction but they often escape punishment, from
3 per cent. on wood articles
do.
exported,
the too great laxity in enforcing the laws in criminal matters.
2
other goods
The creditors of a bankrupt estate brought into court, rank under
2 do.
goods imported,
8 different classes, each prior class enjoying a precedency of claim
with from 1 to 2 per cont. on do. for dd credere, or guarantee of
over those following, to the full amount. The two most considerable
debts.
classes, in general, are the 6th and 7th, the former being that of the
The corn factor receives Γ. 17 (about 4s. 9d. sterling) per last (of
bill, the latter that of the book, creditors.
60 scheffels) of all grain, from the buyer, and 1 per cost. from the
Tares, & duties are in general payable on the gross weight
seller.
a fixed allowance being made, in many cases, according to the pack-
agrs; in others, there is no allowance The tariff specifies the par-
The rates of brokerage are-
ticular regulations on this point. The tare on goods in single sacks
12 1-2 a. gr. (nearly 10. 1-2d) per 100%
is 4 lbs. per centner (about 113 lbs. English), it being left to the op-
7 1-2 ( - 87d.) per 100L.
tion of the receiver to have the nett weight ascertained.
3 3-4 - 4:3d.) per 100 r.
In trade there are fixed rates of tare only on the following goods
I per mille for bills on Berlin, Warmw, and Paris.
viz-
1.2 per cent. on monies placed at interest, for a period not less than
Potashes, 6 per cent., when sold by a merchant.
6 months, from the borrower, and
Dye wood, ground, 8 to 11 per bale.
1 per mille from the lender.
Currants
14 per cent.
in whole butts.
1 per mille usually for short discounts, from both parties.
-
16 -
half do.
1 per cent. on the actual or the computed amount of transactions in
-
18 -
1-4th and 1-8th do.
public funds, from both parties.
Fign and raisins
10
-
casks.
1-2 per cent. usually (sometimes more or less) for merchandise.
Olive oil
16 -
whole and half butts.
On grain for exportation, the brokerage is recently fixed at 1 per
-
18 to 20
1-4th and 1-8th.
cent., to be paid by the seller, the buyer refunding to him 5 & gr. per
-
16 -
pipes.
last of 56 1.2 scheffels.
Seed oil, latterly the thre is ascertained.
Burghers being merchants, may act as brokers, without direct au.
Pepper, English, in double bags, 7 lbs.
thority, in the purchase from, and sale of goods to, Poles, receiving
- Danish, in bags and mats, 11 lbs.
I per cent. on goods bought, and 1 to 2 per cent. on goods sold, ac.
Orange and lemon peel, 6 per cent.,wr tare ascertained.
cording to circumstances.
Rice from England or Hamburgh, the tare as on the casks, less lbs.
Bankruptcies are not of frequent occurrence here. Their most
per cask on that from England, and in proportion to the weight on
prevalent sources at present are speculations in grain, and general
that from Hanburgh. Danish should give 10 per cent. tare, but
badness of trade. Bankrupts cannot obtain a discharge except by
the buyers are in general not satisfied with this.
private composition, without which they always remain responsible
Tallow, 10 per cent., or nett tare.
to each individual creditor, who can attach them at any time, if be
Tea, Danneh bobea, 78 lbs. if in linen and mats.
can show that they possess property, although their affairs have been
-
24 :bs. in chests above 100 lbs.
settled by judicial authority. This, and the tediousness of settle-
-
22 lbs.
-
of about 80 lbs.
ments in court, make both debtor and creditor desirous of settling by
Most frequently the tare is ascertained.
composition; and bence few insolvents are made bankrupt, by their
Vitriol, 10 per cent.
affairs being brought into court. It is to be observed, that creditors,
Raw sugar, 12 to 16 per cent. according to the size of the chests.
having claims by bills in force, must by law be paid to the full, be-
Candied sugar, tare by invoice, adding is that proportion for the dif-
fore those with only book claims receive any thing but to avoid the
ference in the weight usually heavier.
tardiness of the court. bill creditors here generally agree to let book
Syrup in whole casks, 10 per cent.
creditors receive half as much in composition as they themselves
- in 1-2 do. and barrels, 12 per cent.
get. It is, however, difficult to arrange a composition, as each credi-
On the sale of imports, I per cent. on the nett weight (called good
for can make his own terms and three who hold out, generally get
weight) is allowed is favour of the buyer.
more, at least privately, than the ostensible rate of composition
Insurance-There are an insurance companies not private insurers
offered by the debtor.
here; but there agents of insurance companies in Hamburgh for
If a private composition cannot be effected, and the insolvent is re-
ships, and those of London and other places for houses and lives.
gularly made bankrupt. by his affairs being put into court, the law
Wages of common Labou ers in Dantzic vary from 9d. to 11d. a
prescribes that, if a small portion of the creditors will not accept the
day, and these of carpenters, masons, Ac. from 1s. 6d. to 2a. Wages
divident with which the greater portion are satisfied. the latter can
in all the large Prumian towns are higher than in the small towns of
require the former to cousent, or become responsible for the estate
the country. from the price of flour. bread, and butcher's meat being
producing as much finally but so many objections may be made,
higher in them. This is occasioned partly by the latter being sub-
that this compulsive measure is very seldom resorted to. A private
ject to actrois or excise duties on entering the great towns. from
composition is, however, generally preferred by all parties, more
which the country districts and smaller towns are exempted. The
particularly by the debtor, as being the only means by which be can
king receives 2.3ds of these duties, and the tow no the other I 3d.
become tirely free, and get a general discharge.
This duty is a great obstacle in the free intercourse wi b the country.
Honest bankrupts. whome affairs are brought into court, may be
(We have derived these details from different sources, but princi-
freed from personal arrest by faithfully delivering up all their pro-
pally from the valuable Answers made by the Consul to the Circu-
perty. Dishonest ones, upon conviction, are punished by being sent
lar Queries.)
PRUSSIAN SHIPPING-Snmmary Statement of the Arrivals of Ships at, and of their Departure from,
the different Prussian Ports, in 1834.-(From the Official Accounts furnished by the Prussian Go-
vernment.)
Laden.
In Ballast.
Among these were Foreign
Ships
Burden
Entered
in Lasts
Names of Ports.
Ships
Burden
and
of
Lasts.
Entered
in Lasts
Laden.
In Ballast.
Sailed.
4,000 lba.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
and
2
Sailed.
4,000 1bs.
Ships.
Las's
Ships.
Lasts.
Ent.
633
78,257
229
25,634
405
52,613
270
26,483
100
6,905
170
19,578
Memel
Sail.
649
$0.937
630
80,249
18
6R9
272
26,892
261
26,519
11
374
Ent.
381
27,211
847
19540
94
7,671
238
11,530
189
8,238
49
3,292
Pillau
Sail.
362
24,728
296
16,620
66
8,108
232
10.789
206
9,693
26
1,096
Ent.
649
62.342
309
23,658
340
$8,694
359
21,048
196
9,022
163
12,026
Dantzie
Sail.
642
61,337
5H6
59,021
56
2,316
361
21,791
316
20,082
45
1,7 9
Ent.
81
2.202
76
1,999
5
203
I
56
1
53
Stolpmande
Sail.
81
2,232
32
736
49
1,496
1
65
-
-
1
55
Ent.
84
3,142
33
1,232
61
1,910
31
1,264
9
416
22
848
Regenwalde
Sail.
82
3,164
67
2,503
15
661
31
1,264
30
1,217
1
47
Ent.
88
3
30
653
68
2,620
18
642
3
101
15
591
Colberg
Sail.
90
3,415
82
2,756
81
659
18
642
19
648
Ent.
817
58,702
608
49.077
209
16,625
296
17.715
214
13,185
82
4,580
Swinemunie
Sail.
842
59,107
714
50.472
123
9.335
297
18,003
219
13,681
78
4,322
Ent.
100
5,321
47
2,063
53
3,25
33
1,045
23
701
10
344
Wolgast
Sail.
114
6,408
87
4.955
27
1,43
36
1,168
18
537
18
631
Ent.
150
11,591
38
1,495
112
10,096
28
1,3 8
15
461
13
887
Greifswalde
Sail.
167
12.314
177
7.019
40
5,251
29
1,029
18
601
II
428
Ent.
388
19.506
159
6,926
229
12,580
138
4,820
100
3,091
38
1,129
Stralsund
Sail.
390
19,890
300
19,732
90
7,158
129
4,652
is
1,998
50
2,754
Arrivale
.
3.371
271.547
1,815
125,877
1,556
146.270
1,412
85,950
850
42.75
562
43,175
Departures
.
3,415
274,232
2.921
237,102
497
37,130
1,406
86,285
1,165
74.89
241
11,416
Total
6,789
545,779
4,736 362,379
2,063
183,400
2.818
172,235
2,015
117,644
803
54,591
Countries to which Foreign Vessels belonged.-Of the foreign vessels that entered and were despatch-
ed from Prussian Ports in 1834, there were-
Arrivals.
Departures.
British
-
- 214
-
- 246
Netherlands
- 324
-
- 331
Danish
-
- 202
-
- 200
Hanoverian
- 196
-
- 188
Swedish -
- 97 -
- 99
Norwegian
- 194
-
197
Then follow the ships of the Hanseatic cities, Russia, Mecklenburg, &c.
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564
DANUBE, DATES.
Ships belonging to Prussia.-M. Ferber gives the following Table of the shipping of Pressis : I
Summary Indication of the Vessels belonging to Prussian Owners, in the Years 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828,
1829, 1830, and (Ferber, p. 174.)
1825.
1826.
1827.
1823.
1829.
1830.
1831.
Ports.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Lasts.
Ships.
Last
Shipa.
Lasts.
Königsberg
13
1,617
13
2,368
16
2,539
17
2,738
18
3,026
20
3.008
11
3.225
Pillau
-
11
1,767
12
2,026
16
2,670
14
2,468
15
2,602
15
2,660
14
2,5*9
Memel
-
36
4,229
36
4,278
35
4,076
36
4,377
36
4,815
38
5,095
38
4,543
Elbing
-
12
1,430
15
2,178
17
2,650
19
3,175
18
2,941
19
3,106
20
3,154
Dantzic
-
67
12,309
72
14,934
73
15,386
76
15,999
78
16,095
76
16,058
76
15,934
Stettin -
-
220
20,559
230
22,808
24!
25,024
238
25,057
235
25,014
211
25,460
152
26,398
Coslin
-
32
1,724
28
1,637
34
2,764
35
2,792
39
3,045
39
2,909
41
3,181
Stralsund -
82
6,235
78
5,983
80
6,324
81
6,186
76
6,001
75
6,310
81
7,245
Griefswalde
41
2,957
42
3,069
52
3,928
54
4,070
52
4,103
52
4,185
58
4,179
Wolgast
-
21
1,626
19
1,540
18
1,586
20
1,788
22
1,992
21
1,919
23
2,164
Barth
-
41
3,554
41
3,572
41
3,784
41
3,784
41
3,784
44
4,369
44
4,369
Total -
576
58,007
589
64,393
623
70,731
631
72,434
630
73,418
643
75,079
1652
76,987
Influence of Reciprocity Treatics.-This Table is important, as exhibiting the utter groundlessness
of the clamour raised in this country as to the reciprocity treaty with Prussia. Taking the last at If
ton, the total increase of Prussian shipping, from 1825 to 1831 inclusive, will be 76 ships and 28,470
tons, which is very little more than the increase, during the same period, of the shipping belonging to
the port of Newcastle ! It will be observed, too, that the increase since 1827 has only amounted to
29 ships and 9,384 tons. If, therefore, our shipping be distressed, it is quite impossible it should have
been occasioned by the Increase of shipping in Prussia. Considering, indeed, the extent of sea coast
now in possession of that kingdom, the tranquillity she has enjoyed since the peace, and her rapid pro-
gress in manufactures and commerce, the small increase of her shipping is not a little surprising. It
could not well have been less, though the reciprocity treaty had never been heard of. Indeed. many
of the Prussian ship owners think, and, perhaps, justly, that it would have been greater had that treaty
not been entered into. It must also be kept in view, that this trifling increase in the shipping of
Prussia is the only increase that has taken place in the shipping of any country of the north of Enrope
since 1825. The mercantile navies of Sweden, Denmark, and Russia, have undergone little or DO
change; but it is a fact, that the shipping of Norway has fallen off even more rapidly than that of
Prussia has increased, and yet we have a reciprocity treaty with her Is not this sufficient to show
that the influence of these treaties has been grossly exaggerated by our ship owners 1 and that they
cannot really have done them any injury1
(DANUBE (NAVIGATION OF). See GALACE.Sup.)
DATES (Ger. Datteln; Fr. Dattes; It. Datteri; Sp. Datiles), the fruit of the palm
tree (Phoenix dactylifera Lin.). This tree is abundant in Egypt, Barbary, Arabia, Persia,
and the adjacent countries, particularly on the confines of the desert, and wherever there is
sufficient moisture. It is a tall majestic tree; and repeated references are made to it in the
sacred writings (Eccles. xxiv. 14.), and in the Koran. Mohammed, in one of his sayings,
beautifully compares the upright and generous man to the palm tree. " He stands erect
before his Lord; in his every action he follows the impulse received from above, and his
whole life is devoted to the welfare of his fellow-creatures." But the veneration in which
the palm tree is held in the East is to be ascribed more to its utility than to its beauty.
Dates form the principal part of the subsistence of the inhabitants of many parts of Arabis
and Barbary, and they are held in the highest estimation wherever they are met with.
" They are," says Burckhardt, by far the most essential article of food for the lower classes of
Medina their harvest is expected with as much anxiety, and attended with as much gene-
ral rejoicing, as the vintage in the south of Europe; and if the crop fails, which often hap-
pens, as those trees are seldom known to produce abundantly for 3 or 4 successive years, or
is eaten up by the locusts, universal gloom overspreads the population, as if a famine were
apprehended."-(Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. p. 214.)
There is an endless variety of dates. Generally, however, they may be described as being
somewhat in the shape of an acorn, but usually larger, consisting of a thick fleshy substance,
including and freely separating from an oblong stone or kernel, having a furrow on the one
side. Their taste is agreeably sweet, accompanied with a slight astringency. The new
fruit is called by the Arabs ruteb. When the dates are allowed to remain on the tree till
they are quite ripe, and have become soft and of a high red colour, they are formed into a
hard solid paste or cake called adjoue. This is formed by pressing the ripe dates forcibly
into large baskets, each containing about 2 cwt. In this state," says Burckhardt, " the
Bedouins export the adjoue: in the market it is cut out of the basket, and sold by the
pound. It forms part of the daily food of all classes of people: in travelling it is dissolved
in water, and thus affords a sweet and refreshing drink. During the monsoon, the ships
from the Persian Gulf bring adjoue from Bussorah to Djidda for sale in small baskets weigh-
ing about 10 lbs. each; this kind is preferred to every other. Ships bound from Arabia for
India take with them a considerable quantity of adjoue, which is readily disposed of amongst
the Mohammedans of Hindostan."-(Travels in Arabia, vol. i. P. 57.)
The Arabians and Egyptians use the leaves of the tree in the preparation of bags and
baskets; the boughs, the outer and inner bark of the trunk, and the fleshy substance at the
root of the leaves, where they spring from the trunk, have all their respective uses; and be
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DEALS-DEMURRAGE.
565
sides this, the kernels of the fruit, notwithstanding their hardness, are used as food for cattle,
they are soaked for two days in water, when they become softened, and are given to camels,
cows, and sheep, instead of barley they are said to be much more nutritive than that
grain. There are shops at Medina in which nothing else is sold but date kernels; and the
beggars are continually employed in all the main streets in picking up those that are thrown
away.-(Burckhardt, vol. ii. P. 212.)
All the refinements of Arabian cookery are exhausted in the preparation of dates and the
Arabs say that a good housewife will daily supply her lord, for a month, with a dish of dates
differently dressed.
Palm trees are raised by shoots; and Dr. Shaw mentions that they arrive at their vigour
in about 30 years, and continue so 70 years afterwards, bearing yearly 15 or 20 clusters of
dates, each of them weighing 15 or 20 lbs. after this period they begin to decline.—(Tra-
wels in the Levant, p. 142. 4to ed.)
The best dates imported into Great Britain are said to come from Tunis, but they are
most commonly brought from Smyrna and Alexandria. They should be chosen large, soft-
ish, not much wrinkled, of a reddish yellow colour on the outside, with a whitish membrane
betwixt the flesh and the stone. Those that are dry and hard are of little value.
DEALS OR DEAL BOARDS (Ger. Dielen; Du. Deelen, Da. Dæler; Sw. Tiljor
Fr. Planches minces; It. Tavole, Piane; Rus. Doski; Pol. Turcice), a thin kind of fir
planks, much used in carpentry they are formed by sawing the trunk of a tree into longi-
tudinal divisions, of greater or less thickness, according to the purposes they are intended to
serve. They are imported from Dantzic, Petersburgh, Narva, and many other ports in the
Baltic, and from North America but those from Christiania, the capital of Norway, are the
best, and bring the highest price. They are distinguishable from those produced in the con-
tiguous provinces of Norway; their superiority has been said to depend principally on their
being more perfectly sawed; but it really depends on the greater care with which the sap-
wood and other defective portions of the timber are cut away, and on the quality of the
timber.
A Russian standard deal is 12 feet long, 11 inches wide, and It inch thick 400 feet of If inch plank
make a load.
A Christiania standard deal is 11 feet long, 9 inches wide, and It inch thick. There is another
standard of Norway deals at Dram, 10 feet long, 9 inches wide, and If inch thick.-(See CHRIS-
TIANIA.)
DEBENTURE, a term used at the custom-house to signify the certificate subscribed by
the customs officers, and given to the exporter of goods on which a bounty or drawback is
allowed, bearing that the exporter has complied with the required regulations, and that he
is entitled to such bounty or drawback.
It is enacted by 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. 1 86., that no drawback or bounty shall be allowed upon the
exportation of any goods, unless entered in the name of the real owner thereof, or of the person who
had actually purchased and shipped the same, in his own name and at his own risk, on commission.
Such owner or commission merchant shall make and subscribe a declaration on the debenture that
the goods have been actually exported, and are not to be relanded in any part of the United Kingdom,
&c. ; and if such owner or commission merchant shall not have purchased the right to such drawback
or bounty, he shall declare under his hand in the entry, and in his oath upon the debenture, the person
who is entitled thereto; and the name of such person shall be inserted in the cocket, and in the
debenture, and his receipt on the latter shall be the discharge of such drawback or bounty.-d 87.
For these and the other clauses in the act relating to debentures, see IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION.
All debentures must be on 5s. stamps.
Debentures or certificates for bounty on the exportation of linens or salicloth exempted from duty.
DELFT, OR DELF (Ger. Fayence, Unächtes Porzellün, Du. Delfs porcelyn; Fr.
Faience), a coarse species of porcelain originally manufactured at Delft, whence its name.
It is now rarely used in this country.
DEMURRAGE, in commercial navigation, is an allowance made to the master or owners
of a ship by the freighter, for detaining her in port longer than the period agreed upon for
her sailing. It is usually stipulated in charterparties and bills of lading, that a certain num-
ber of days, called running or working days, shall be allowed for receiving or discharging
the cargo, and that the freighter may detain the vessel for a further specified time, or as long
as he pleases, on payment of so much per diem for such over-time. When the contract of
affreightment expressly stipulates that so many days shall be allowed for discharging or re-
ceiving the cargo, and so many more for over-time, such limitation is interpreted as an ex-
press stipulation on the part of the freighter, that the vessel shall in no event be detained
longer, and that if detained he will be liable for demurrage. This holds even in cases where
the delay is not occasioned by any fault on the freighter's part, but is inevitable. If, for ex-
ample, a ship be detained, owing to the crowded state of the port, for a longer time than is
allowed by the contract, demurrage is due and it is no defence to an action for demurrage,
that it arose from port regulations, or even from the unlawful acts of the Custom-house
officers. Demurrage is not, however, claimable for a delay occasioned by the hostile deten-
tion of the ship, or the hostile occupation of the intended port; nor is it claimable for any
delay wilfully occasioned by the master, or owners, or crew of the vessel. The claim for
demurrage ceases as soon as the ship is cleared out and ready for sailing, though she should
VoL. L-3 B
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566
DENARIUS-DIAMOND.
be detained by adverse winds, or tempestuous weather.-(Chitty's Commercial Law, vol.
iii. pp. 426-431.)
DENARIUS, a Roman coin, estimated by Dr. Arbuthnot to have been worth 71d; but
its value differed at different periods.
DENIER, a small French coin, of which there were 12 to a sol.
(DERELICT, FLOTSAM, JETSAM, AND LAGAN.-It was enacted by the 3 &4
Will. 4. c. 52. (see IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION), that such foreign goods derelict,
jetsam, and flotsam, as could not be sold for the amount of the duties, were to be deemed
unenumerated goods, and charged with duty accordingly. But this proviso has been
repealed; and the Commissioners of Customs are authorised to inquire into the extent to
which such goods shall have been damaged, and to make such abatement of the duties as
may appear just and reasonable.-(6 & 7 Will. 4. c. 60. § 3.)
It is further enacted, that goods found derelict, or under the denomination of flotsam,
jetsam, &c. shall, if not claimed within 12 months, be deemed condemned as droits of
Admiralty.-( 7.)-Sup.)
DIAMOND, (Ger. Du. Da. and Fr. Diamant; Sw. Demant, Diamant; It Sp. and Port.
Diamante; Rus. Almas; Pol. Dyamant; Lat. Adamas; Hind. Hira), a precious stone,
which has been known from the remotest ages. Pliny has described it (Hist. Nat. lib. 37.
§ 4.) but his account is, in many respects, inaccurate. It is found in different parts of
India, and in Borneo; it is also found in Brazil, on which, indeed, Europe may be said to
be at present entirely dependent for supplies of diamonds. Hitherto, however, it has not
been met with any where except within the tropics. It is the most beautiful and most value-
ble of precious stones. Its most common colours are white and grey of various shades. It
occurs also red, blue, brown, yellow, and green. The colours are commonly pale. It is
always crystallised, but sometimes 90 imperfectly that it might pass for amorphous. It is
the hardest body in nature. External lustre from splendid to glimmering; internal always
splendid. It is brittle; its specific gravity is 3.5. When rubbed, it becomes positively elec-
tric, even before it has been cut by the lapidary, which is not the case with any other gem.
-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
According to Mr. Milburn (Orient. Com.), the colour should be perfectly crystalline,
resembling a drop of clear spring water, in the middle of which you will perceive a strong
light playing with a great deal of spirit. If the coat be smooth and bright, with a little
tincture of green in it, it is not the worse, and seldom proves bad ; but if there be a mix-
ture of yellow with the green, then beware of it-it is a soft, greasy stone, and will prove
bad.
Tests of Diamonds. Cutting, &c.-To ascertain whether any specimen is a true diamond or not, a
fine file may be used and if the surface of the stone be the least abraded or scratched by its action, it
is not a diamond. The difference will also appear upon close examination without this instrument;
the rays of light easily pass through other gems, but in the diamond they are refracted to the surface,
which occasions its superior brilliancy. If the specimen under examination be very minute. it may be
placed between 2 half-crowns, or other flat metallic surfaces, and pressed with the thumb and finger:
if a diamond, it will not be injured, but if otherwise, it will brenk and fall to powder. On account of
the extreme hardness of the diamond, the art of cutting and polishing it was for a long time unknown
in Europe. But, in 1456, a young man of the name of Louis Berghen, a native of Bruges. is said to
have constructed a polishing wheel for the purpose, which was fed with diamond powder instead of
corundum, which the Chinese and Hindoos had been long accustomed to employ. Berghen was led to
this discovery by observing the action produced by rubbing 2 rough diamonds together. Diamonds
are cut into brilliants and rose diamonds; the former being, for the most part, made out of the octa-
hedral crystals, and the latter from the spheroidal varieties.-(Joyce's Practical Mineralogy; Rees's
Cyclopadia, &c.)
" Commercial Value of Diamonds.-In the great or wholesale trade there is but little fluctuation in
the price of those diamonds which may be termed stones in general demand. I will begin with brilliants
from 1 grain to 21 grains each.-Such brilliants, double cut, and what may be termed fine, are worth
from 71. to 81. per carat. Needy sellers may take 10 per cent less for cash; but this is the general
average price for a lot of 10, 20, or 50 carats of well-made stones, if the quality be good.
" Brilliants, from 2 grains to 3, may be bought in lots, at from 71. 7a. to Sl. per carat. It is to be
understood, that diamonds in a lot are never all quite free from faults; hence there may arise a differ-
ence of 10 per cent. in the price. Stones of 3 grains, if fine and perfect, are always in demand, at SL
or 91. per carat.
Brilliants, from 3 grains to 4, if very fine and well proportioned, are worth from 81. to 91. per carat.
Those of a carat each, if very fine and well selected, are worth 91. or 10% Three years ago I offered
12/. each for eight, and could not obtain them.
" Brilliants, from 5 grains to 6, if pure, are worth from 131. to 142.; if perfectly fine, and of the full
weight of 6 grains, they are worth from 171. to 181. each: I have, for such, paid 201
" Brilliants, of 2 carate each, are worth from 271. to 301. Stones of this weight, if well proportioned,
are considered of a fine size, and well calculated for pins, or the centre of clusters; indeed. well pro-
portioned diamonds, from 6 grains to 2 carats each, are always in demand, and are retailed at from
201. to 351. each, according to their degree of perfection. or as the retailer may think fit to charge them.
" For brilliants of 3 carats, if fine and well formed, from 701. to 801. may be obtained. Stones of this
size, and larger, are more liable to capricions fluctuations of price than the smaller ones before named,
being chiefly required for the centre stones of saleable necklaces.
" Brilliants of 4 carats, if fine, are worth from 1001. to 130L. I have sold stones, single cut, a little
off colour, of this weight, at 50 guineas. I possessed one of 17 grains, perfectly white, having a sor-
face as large as that of a 7 carat stone ought to be; it was, consequently, very thin, but being much
in request, on account of its great spread, or surface, it was sold for 160L.
Brilliants of 5 carats are not frequently met with in general trade, and are valuable in price; M
the dealers exact more if they know that such stones are wanted. than they would in the regular
course of business. The prices may be said to vary from 1801. to 2001.
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567
Brilliants of 6 carats, as before stated, are not common they are suitable for centre stones of ex-
pensive necklaces, and single stone rings; if perfect and well shaped, they sell from 2301. to 2501. or
more.
For estimating the value of peculiarly fine diamonds, there is no fixed standard. Rough diamonds,
selected as fine, and well formed for cutting, may be estimated as follows :-Square the weight of the
stone, multiply the product by 2, and the result will be the value in pounds sterling. Brilliants, if fine,
may be estimated by squaring the weight in carats, and multiplying the product by 8, which will give
the amount in pounds sterling.
As a very large property, both in this kingdom and in other countries of Europe, is vested in
diamonds, it may be interesting to be informed, that not only the price of these gems has for several
years been, upon the whole, gradually rising, but that it is likely to continue on the advance. At the
present time, indeed, and for the last few years, there has been a dull sale of diamonds in England,
nor did the coronation occasion a demand worth notice; but on the Continent the trade has been
steady, and rough diamonds have been constantly rising in price. That this advance will be pro-
gressive, may be assumed from the fact, that the best diamond ground now known, the Serro do Frio
in Brazil, has assuredly passed the zenith of its prosperity. I went over the greater part of what is
yet reserved, and still remains to be worked, and I conceive that there would be no difficulty in cal-
culating the length of time in which the present number of workmen may reduce it to a state of ex-
haustion. like that of the far-famed Golconda. The average annual produce of future years may be
estimated by the amount obtained from that portion which has been already. worked. Brazil may be
said to furnish Europe with 25,000 or 30,000 carats per annum of rough diamonds; which, if reduced to
brilliants, may make an influx into the market of 8,000 or 9,000 carats annually." (Mawe's Treatise on
Diamonds, 2d ed. pp. 9-14. and p. 60.)
The rule stated by Mr. Mawe, and adopted by the jewellers, for estimating the value of diamonds
(multiply the square of the weight in carats by 2, and the product is the value in pounds sterling), can
only hold in the case of those that are of a small size, or do not weigh more than 20 carats. The value
of the largest diamonds, which are exceedingly rare, (non nisi regibus, et iis admodum paucis cognitus,
Pliny,) can, it is clear, depend upon nothing but the competition of the purchasers. The diamond
belonging to the Emperor of Brazil is the largest in the world. It is still uncut, and weighs 1,680
carats; 80 that, according to the jewellers' rule, it must be worth the enormous sum of 5,644,8001.! It
may, however, be doubted, whether his Imperial Majesty would have any disinclination to part with
it for the odd sum of 644,8001. The famous diamond belonging to the Emperor of Russia, which the
jewellers tell us is worth 4,804,0001., did not cost 150,000Γ.
Diamonds are not used exclusively as articles of ornament or luxury. They are frequently cm-
ployed with great advantage in the arts. 'Bad, discoloured diamonds," says Mr. Mawe, are sold to
break into powder, and may be said to have a more extensive sale than brilliants, with all their cap-
tivating beauty. In many operations of art they are indispensable; the fine cameo and intaglio owe
their perfection to the diamond, with which alone they can be engraved. The beauty of the onyx
would yet remain dormant, had not the unrivalled power of the diamond been called forth to the
artist's assistance. The carnelian, the agate, or cairngorm, cannot be engraved by any other sub-
stance every crest or letter cut upon hard stone is indebted to the diamond. This is not all; for
without it, blocks of crystal could not be cut into alices for spectacles, agate for snuff-boxes, &c."
Diamonds may be landed without report, entry, or warrant.- & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. 1 2.)
The carat grain used in weighing diamonds is different from the Troy grain, 5 diamond grains being
only equal to 4 Troy grains.
DIAPER (Ger. Drell; Du. Drel; Fr. Linge ouvré It. Tela tessuta aopere Sp. Man-
teles alemaniscas; Rus. Salfetotsschnoe), a sort of fine flowered linen, commonly used for
table-cloths, napkins, &c., brought to the highest perfection in the manufactories in the
north of Ireland, in Germany, and Scotland.
DICE (Ger. Würfel; Du. Taarlingen; Fr. Dés jouer) It. Dadi; Sp. Dados; Rus.
Kosti), cubical pieces of bone or ivory, marked with dots on each of their sides, from 1 to
6, according to the number of the face. The regulations as to the manufacture and sale of
dice are the same as those with respect to CARDS (which see). Every pair of dice is to pay
a duty of 20s. All pieces of ivory, bone, or other matter, used in any game, having letters,
figures, spots, or other marks denoting any chance, marked thereon, to be adjudged dice
and if more than 6 chances are signified on any one piece, then such piece to be charged
with the full duty of a pair of dice.-(9 Geo. 4. c. 18.)
DIMITY (Fr. Basin; It. Dobletto; Sp. Dimite), a species of cross-barred stuff entirely
composed of cotton, similar in fabric to fustian.
DISCOUNT, an allowance paid on account of the immediate advance of a sum of money
not due till some future period. It is usually said to be of two kinds; viz. discount of bills,
and discount of goods; but they are essentially the same.
When a bill of exchange is presented at a banker's for discount, it is the practice to calcu-
late the simple interest for the time the bill has to run, including the days of grace, which
interest is called the discount; and this being deducted from the amount of the bill, the ba-
lance is paid over to the presenter of the bill. This is the method followed by the Bank of
England, the London and provincial bankers, and by commercial men in general. But it
is, notwithstanding, inaccurate. The true discount of any sum for any given time is such a
sum as will in that time amount to the interest of the sum to be discounted. Thus, if inte-
rest be five per cent., the proper discount to be received for the immediate advance of 100L
due 12 months hence is not 5L, but 4L 15s. 2jd; for this sum will, at the end of the year,
amount to 51., which is what the 100/. would have produced. Those, therefore, who em-
ploy their money in discounting, make somewhat more than the ordinary rate of interest
upon it for a person discounting 100/. due at the end of a year, advances, supposing interest
to be 51. per cent., only 95L; 80 that, as this 95/. produces 100L. at the period in question,
the interest received has really been 51. 5s. 3d. per cent.
The rule for calculating discount on correct principles is as follows
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DIVIDEND-DOCKS.
As the amount of 1001. for the given rate and time
Is to the given suin or debt;
So is 1001. to the present worth, or
So is the interest of 100% for the given time
To the discount of the given sum.
Mr. Smart has calculated, on this principle, a Table of the discount of 1L for any number
of days, at 2, 21, 3, 31, &c. to 10 per cent., to 8 decimal places. But the simple interest of
the sum being the only thing looked to in practice, such Tables are hardly ever referred to.
Bills in the highest credit are discounted on the lowest terms; the discount increasing
according to the suspicions entertained of the punctuality or solvency of the parties subscrib-
ing the bills. During the war, the rate of interest, or, which is the same thing, of discount,
was comparatively high; but since 1818, the rate of discount upon good bills has seldom
been above 4, and has often been as low as 3 and even 21 per cent.
Discount on merchandise takes place when, after making a purchase of goods at a fixed
term of credit, the buyer finds means to make his payment before the expiration of that term,
receiving from the seller a discount or allowance, which is commonly a good deal above the
current rate of interest. The discount on goods varies, of course, according to the interest
of money. During the late war, the loans to government were so large, and the facility of
investing money was such, that the discount on goods was often as high as 5 per cent. for
6, and 10 per cent. for 12 months. Now, however, the discount on goods has fallen, with
the fall in the rate of interest, to 7 or 71 per cent. for 12 months: being about double the
current interest arising from funded property, or the discount of good mercantile bills.
Long credits and discounts upon goods have, for a lengthened period, been usual in Eng-
land. This arose from a variety of causes, but principally, perhaps, from the magnitude of
our exports to the United States, Russia, and other countries where there is a great demand
for capital; but in whatever causes it originated, it has latterly been carried to what seems to
be an injurious extent.-(See CREDIT.) In France and Germany, the manufacturers, in
general bare of capital, are obliged to stipulate with the merchants for short credits. In
Holland, the usage of the exporting merchants has been to pay either in ready money, or at
80 short a date as to put discounting out of the question, the manufacturer setting at once
the lowest price on his goods.
DIVIDEND, the name given to the payment made to creditors out of the estate of a
bankrupt, and to the annual interest payable upon the national debt, and other public
funds.
DJIDDA, a town of Arabia, on the Red Sea, about 21 miles from Mecca, of which it is
the sea-port, in lat. 21° 29' N., lon. 39° 14' E. It is well built the streets are unpaved,
but spacious and airy ; the houses high, and constructed, for the most part, of madrepores
and other marine fossils. The supply of water is scanty, and its quality indifferent. Small
vessels approach close to the quays; but large vessels are obliged to anchor in the roads,
about 2 miles off, loading and unloading by means of lighters. The entrance to the roads
is difficult, and should not be attempted without a pilot. Djidda is a place of considerable
commercial importance. It is the entrepôt in which is centred the greater part of the com-
merce between India, Egypt, and Arabia. Many of its merchants possess large capitals:
some of them as much as from 150,000L to 200,000/. The trade in coffee brought from
Mocha, and other ports in Yemen, is the most considerable, but it is said also to be the most
hazardous. The returns are principally made in cash. The trade with India and the Gulf
of Persia is safer than the coffee trade, and is very considerable. Djidda has also a good
deal of intercourse with the ports of Cosseir, Souakin, and Massouah, on the opposite coast
of the Red Sea. The imports from the last two principally consist of slaves, gold, tobacco,
dhourra or barley, hides, butter (of which immense quantities are made use of in Arabia),
mats, &c. ; in return for which the Africans receive Indian goods suitable for their markets,
dresses and ornaments for their women, dates (which are not produced in any part of Nubia),
iron, &c. The principal article of import from Cosseir is wheat; and not only Djidda, but
the whole Hedjaz, or Holy Land of Arabia, is almost entirely dependent upon Egypt for
corn. Coffee is the principal article sent in return. Business is transacted at Djidda with
ease and expedition. The number of ships belonging to the port is estimated at 250. Owing
to the scarcity of timber, none of them are built at Djidda; those belonging to it being either
purchased at Bombay or Muscat, or at Mocha, Hodeida, or Suez. For a considorable period
each year, before and after the feast of Ramadhan, when pilgrims come from all quarters to
visit Mecca, the town is thronged with strangers, and a great deal of mercantile business is
transacted. Djidda is at present, and has been for a number of years, under the government
of Mohammed Ali, pacha of Egypt. The moneys, weights and measures of the latter coun-
try (for which, see ALEXANDRIA) are now generally used in Djidda, the commerce of which
has been much improved and extended in consequence of the comparative security and good
order enforced by the pacha.-(We have gleaned these details from the different works of
Burckhardt, particularly from his Travels in Arabia, vol. i. pp. 1-100.)
DOCKS are artificial basins for the reception of ships. The term has been supposed by
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569
some to be derived from the Greek Senopeces, to receive but it is obviously no other than the
Teutonic dock, originally perhaps derived from dekken, to cover, enclose, or protect.
Docks are of 2 sorts-wet and dry. Wet docks are generally constructed with gates to
retain the water. Ships are admitted at high water and the gates being shut, they are
kept constantly afloat. A dry dock is intended for the building, repairing, or examination
of ships. The ships to be repaired or examined are admitted into it at high water and the
water either ebbs out with the receding sea, or is pumped out after the gates are shut.
Utility of Docks.-The construction of wet docks has done much to facilitate and promote
navigation. A large vessel, particularly if loaded, could not be allowed to come to the ground,
or to lie on the beach, without sustaining considerable injury, and perhaps being destroyed
and even the smaller class of vessels are apt to be strained, and otherwise hurt, if they are
left dry, unless the ground be very soft. Hence, when large vessels have to be loaded or
unloaded where there are no docks, and where the water close to the shore or quay is not
sufficiently deep, the work can only be carried on during a particular period of each tide it
being necessary, in order to keep the vessel afloat, that she should leave the shore with the
ebbing tide. Attempts have sometimes been made to obviate this inconvenience, by run-
ning jetties or piers to such a distance into the sea, that there might always be a sufficient
depth of water at their heads but this can only be done in peculiar situations and it re-
quires that the ship's position should be frequently changed. It is in most cases, too, impos-
sible properly to protect the cargoes of ships loading or unloading at quays, or on the beach,
from depredation. Previously to the construction of the wet docks on the Thames, the pro-
perty annually pillaged from ships was estimated to amount to 500,000L a year, though this
w probably much exaggerated.
I. Docks ON THE THAMES.
1. West India Docks.
6. London Port Dues.-Charges
2. London Docks.
on Account of Lights, Pilotage,
3. East India Docks.
&c. in the Thames.-Shipping,
4. St. Katharine's Docks.
&c. of London.
5. Commercial Docks.
II. LIVERPOOL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
III. BRISTOL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
IV. HULL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
V. GOOLE DOCKS, SHIPPING, ETC.
VI. LEITH Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
I. Docks ON THE THAMES.
It is singular that, notwithstanding the obvious utility of wet docks, and the vast trade of
the metropolis, there was no establishment of this sort on the Thames till nearly a century
after a wet dock had been constructed at Liverpool. The inconvenience arising from the
crowded state of the river, at the periods when fleets of merchantmen were accustomed to
arrive, the insufficient accommodation afforded by the legal quays and sufferance wharfs, the
necessity under which many ships were placed of unloading in the river into lighters, and
the insecurity and loss of property thence arising, had been long felt as almost intolerable
grievances; but 80 powerful was the opposition to any change, made by the private wharf-
ingers and others interested in the support of the existing order of things, that it was not
till 1793 that a plan was projected for making wet docks for the port of London ; and 6
years more elapsed before the act for the construction of the West India Docks was passed.
1. West India Docks.-These were the first, and continue to be the most extensive, of the
great warehousing establishments formed in the port of London. Their construction com-
menced in February, 1800, and they were partially opened in August, 1802. They stretch
across the isthmus joining the Isle of Dogs to the Middlesex side of the Thames. They ori-
ginally consisted of an Import and Export Dock, each communicating, by means of locks, with
a basin of 5 or 6 acres in extent at the end next Blackwall, and with another of more than 2
acres at the end next Limehouse both of these basins communicate with the Thames. To
these works the West India Dock Company have recently added the South Dock, formerly
the City Canal, which runs parallel to the Export Dock. This canal was intended to facili-
tate navigation, by enabling ships to avoid the circuitous course round the Isle of Dogs. It
was, however, but little used for that purpose, and is now appropriated to the wood trade, for
the greater accommodation of which, a pond of 19 acres has been recently formed on the
south side for the reception of bonded timber. The Export Dock, or that appropriated for
ships loading outwards, is about 870 yards in length, by 135 in width so that its area is
near 25 acres: the North, or Import Dock, or that appropriated for ships entering to dis-
charge, is of the same length as the Export Dock, and 166 yards wide; 80 that it contains
nearly 30 acres. The South Dock, which is appropriated both to import and export vessels,
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DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
is 1,183 yards long, with an entrance to the river at each end both the locks, as well SF
that into the BlackwalPBasin, being 45 feet wide, or large enough to admit ships of 1,200 tons
burden. At the highest tides, the depth of water in the docks is 24 feet and the whole will
contain, with ease, 600 vessels of from 250 to 500 tons. The separation of the homeward
bound ships, which is of the utmost importance for preventing plunder, and giving additional
security to the revenue and the merchant, was, for the first time, adopted in this establish-
ment. The Import and Export Docks are parallel to each other, being divided by a range
of warehouses, principally appropriated to the reception of rum, brandy, and other spirituous
liquors. There are smaller warehouses and sheds on the quays of the Export and South
Docks, for the reception of goods sent down for exportation. The warehouses for imported
goods are on the four quays of the Import Dock. They are well contrived, and of great
extent, being calculated to contain 160,000 hhds. of sugar, exclusive of coffee and other pro-
duce. There have been deposited, at the same time, upon the quays, under the sheds, and
in the warehouses belonging to these docks, 148,563 hhds. of sugar, 70,875 casks and
433,648 bags of coffee, 35,158 puncheons of rum and pipes of Madeira wine, 14,021 logs of
mahogany, 21,350 tons of logwood, &c. The whole area occupied by the docks, ware-
houses, &c. includes about 295 acres; and the most effectual precautions are adopted for
the prevention of fire and pilfering.
This spacious and magnificent establishment was formed by subscription, the property
being vested in the West India Dock Company, the affairs of which are managed by 21 di-
rectors, as a body corporate. The right of voting is vested in those shareholders only who
hold 500L of the Company's stock. The Company's capital is 1,380,000L
The West India Docks have proved a very successful undertaking, and have been highly
beneficial to the original shareholders. All West India Ships frequenting the Thames were
obliged to use them for a period of 20 years from their completion. The dividend on the
Company's stock was limited to 10 per cent.; and, after making dividends to the full
amount, with the exception of the first half year, they had, in 1819, an accumulated fund of
near 400,000/. But they then diminished their charges, at the suggestion of the committee
of the House of Commons on the foreign trade of the country, so as to give the trade using
the docks the benefit of the surplus fund, which was to be reduced to 100,000/. before the
30th of January, 1826. Latterly the Company have been obliged, in consequence of the
competition of the other Companies, to make further reductions of dividend. It now
amounts to 51. per cent. At present, the Company's stock sells at about par.
The nearest dock gate at Limehouse is about 3 miles from the Exchange; and the other,
next Blackwall, about 1 a mile more. This distance has the disadvantage of increasing the
expense of cartage, and of being inconvenient to the merchants and others using the docks.
On the other hand, however, ships entering the West India Docks avoid a considerable ex-
tent of troublesome, if not dangerous, navigation, that must be undertaken by those bound
for the St. Katharine's and London Docks.
Contrivance for clearing Water in the West India Docks.-In
west end of that basin remain closed, the influx from the river would
almost all docks and harbours, a serious evil is felt from the constant
not be considerable; but when the tide has risen above the level of
accumulation of mud, and the consequent expense of preserving the
the Import and Export Docks, those gates would also be thrown
proper depth of water. In various situations, provision has been
open, and then the river would flow in with considerable force; the
made for scouring out or raising mud and silt by means of back-
muddy water discolouring that of the docks, and of course depositing
water, dredgers, Ac., according to local circumstances; but, in the
the silt or mud held in suspension.
West India Docks, the evil has been entirely obviated a brief notice
These facts showed that the exclusion of the river water was the
of the manner in which so important an object has been accomplish-
only effectual cure for the evil but the loss or waste of water from
ed, may be both interesting and useful.
the docks was equal, on an average, to 5 inches over the whole -
The water of the Thames is generally very muddy, and when it
face in 24 hours, and this low had to be supplied and not only that,
is admitted into the basins and docks in large quantities, to replace
but to keep the river out, it was Decessary at all times to keep the
the water lost by evaporation, leakage, locking vessels in and out,
water of the docks and basins up to a higher point than that to bich
&c., the deposit is very great. In the West India Docks, the accu-
the river would rise at the highest spring tides.
mulation of mud, from this cause, was most considerable in the
After long consideration, the following plan was matured for of
Eastern or Blackwall Basin; and the annual cost of clearing out the
fecting this object
same was between 3,000/. and 4,0001.
The Company's spare land on the north side of the Blackwall Be-
And yet the process by which that basin was cleared, was probably
sin lay below high water mark, and there three reserved were
the most economical which could be adopted. A floating dredger,
formed the two next the basin receive the water from the river by
of the usual description, raised the mud, which was thrown into
a culvert with sluices, which are close as BOOD as they are filled;
barges; and these, when loaded, were emptied by a stationary en-
from these the water is puniped by an engine of 36 home power,
gine, working an endless chain of buckets, similar to those of the
after having had time to deposit the silt, into the elevated reservor,
dredger. But the field where the mud was deposited having become
from whence it flows by a conduit into the ba-in, and thence into the
full, additional expense was likely to be incurred by removing the
dock, and thus the level of the whole is kept up to the highest point
mud to a greater distance, 80 that the subject called for and received
which can be desired, and the river Thames with its mud is -
more attention and the result will show, that the Company have at
longer admitted.
length provided the most effectual remedy.
The great body of water in the docks is thus constantly maintained,
All the gates of the locks point inwards, to sustain the water of
and is at all times clear and sweet, and no mud will hereafter be do
the docks as long as the level of the water within, is higher than
posited; great advantage arises, however, from the depth of water,
the level of the river, those gites remain closed but as soon as the
which is preserved from fluctuating with the level of the neap and
river rises above the level of the Blackwall Basin, the gates of the
spring tides, as the deepest laden ship can at all times be transported
outer lock are thrown open while the gates of the two locks at the
-the depth throughout being from 23 to 26 feet.
RULES AND REGULATIONS TO BE OBSERVED, AND RATES TO BE PAID, BY THE SHIPPING FREQUENTING
THE WEST INDIA Docks.
RULES AND ORDERS to be observed by Masters, Pilots, and other Persons having the Charge of Ships,
Vessels, Lighters, or Craft, coming into, lying in, and going out of, the West India Docks, pursuant
to Act 1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 52.
The Company's Moorings-The moorings in the river, within 200 yards of each of the entrances at
Blackwall, and that into Limehouse Basin, and within 150 yards of the Limehouse entrance of the
South Dock, are reserved for the exclusive use of vessels entering into, or which have recently come
out of, the docks.
Every master or person in charge of any ship, lighter, barge, boat, or other vessel, of any descrip-
tion whatsoever, lying within the above distance, shall immediately remove the same, when required
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DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
571
by the dock masters or their assistants. Penalty 51. for every hour which such vessel may
remain.
Pilots shall not attempt to place ships inside the buoys, if other ships have previously brought up,
but shall bring them to their berths in due succession on the outside, unless they shall be expressly
ordered by the dock master to take a berth Inside the tier for the convenience of docking.
All parties creating obstructions will be prosecuted, and the penalties will be rigidly enforced.
Vessels about to enter the Docks, &c. Signals.-The red flag on the flag-staff at the entrance is the
signal for ships to prepare. A blue flag will be kept flying the whole time proper for docking; when
the tide has reached high water mark, that flag will be struck, after which no ship can be taken in.
Declaration Book. ships have brought up properly at the moorings, an officer will deliver
the Company's regulations, and the commander or pilot of every vessel exceeding 100 tons must cer-
tify in the Declaration Book her draught of water that she is provided with all necessary and suffi-
cient warps, ropes, and tackle, to remove and moor her in safety and that her anchors are (or shall
be before leaving the moorings) so secured and stowed as not to endanger the works, the ships
therein, or the vessel herself.
Preparing Ships for Admission.-Every master or pilot, in charge of a ship, should lose no time in
making the following preparations, viz. her anchors to be properly secured and stowed her sails all
furled all quarter boats lowered down, guns unloaded, gunpowder put out, fires extinguished, and
such other precautions taken as the dock master may direct when these preparations are completed,
a flag must be hoisted at the fore, as a signal that the ship is ready.
All ships are required to send down top-gallant yards and strike top-gallant masts, and to have
their jib and mizen booms rigged close in, bomkins, martingales, and all out-riggers unshipped, if time
will permit, and at all events immediately after entering. Vessels will, however, be exempted from
striking lower yards and top-masts, upon the master certifying that the same may be safely dispensed
with, and engaging to be answerable for all consequences; but before being placed at the quay, the
yards must be topped well up, and the yard-arms lashed close in to the rigging.
Docking Tickets and Order of Admission.-In fixing the order of admission, and issuing the docking
tickets, regard will be had to the state of the tides, and the size and draught of water of each vessel, as
well as the time of arrival: the largest ships must necessarily be taken in when the tides are highest,
although they may have arrived subsequent to smaller vessels. Loaded vessels must always have
the preference over light ships.
No ship can be admitted, if neither the master nor pilot are on board.
The docking ticket will only remain in force for the tide for which it is granted.
At the proper time for the admission of each ship, notice will be given by hoisting her ticket num-
ber at the pier head, provided she has made the signal for being properly prepared.
If any vessel shall attempt to gain admittance before her number is hoisted, the owners, and the
master, pilot, or other person in charge, must be responsible for all consequences of such misconduct.
Entering.-When a ship's number is hoisted, she must drop up to the entrance, and have good and
sufficient warps ready to send to each pier, when ordered by the dock masters. If the ship shall not
so come to the entrance, she shall forfeit her turn.
When within the piers, proper ropes will be sent on board to guide and check the vessel through the
lock: the master and pilot will be held responsible for making these, as well as the ship's warps, pro-
perly fast on board the vessel must be bauled ahead by her own warps, and they are on no account
to be cast off, unless ordered by the dock master, until the ship is in the basin.
Every pilot must bring his boat into the basin, or South Dock, as it is a most essential part of his
duty to moor the ship.
The owners must be answerable for all ships' boats, and none can be admitted into the Import Dock
except such as are conveniently stowed on deck. All other boats must be sent out of the docks.
The boats of ships in the South Dock which cannot be securely stowed on deck, must be hauled up
on the north bank, or secured afloat in such manner as the dock master may direct, after the ship is
moored. Ships, however, which are not lying at a jetty, will be allowed to employ 1 boat during the
legal hours of business, which boat must be chained by the Company's officers to the north bank as
soon as that time has expired.
Any boats found afloat in any of the docks or basins, contrary to these regulations, will be removed
by the dock master, and will be detained until the charges occasioned by such removal shall be paid.
The hatches of all loaded ships are to be locked down, and the keys delivered to the officer appointed
to receive the same.
Import Dock.-No person whatever can be allowed to remain in this dock after the established
hours of business: nor can any person be permitted to have access to vessels therein, excepting the
owner, master, or chief officer, without a pass.
Passes will be given on the application of the captain or chief mate, to admit the ship's apprentices,
or other persons, to prepare the ship for discharging, or to do any other work which may be unavoid-
ably necessary; but, to prevent the abuses which sometimes occur, it is strongly recommended that
the Company's labourers be employed.
Ships discharging.-Previously to any ship being quayed, the decks must be cleared, and every thing
"prepared to begin working out the cargo. If, through want of proper tackle, or any neglect, a ship be
not in readiness to take her turn, another will be quayed in the mean time.
It is desirable that all baggage or presents should be sent, as promptly as possible, to the Company's
baggage warehouse, where an authority from the master for the delivery thereof must be lodged.
Masters are particularly cautioned against signing such authorities in blank, or allowing themselves
to be influenced by the importunity of brokers; and it is most desirable that one agent only should be
appointed for each ship.
Packages of bullion or specie (whether cargo or private property) must be delivered by the captain,
under his own responsibility, unless from their being liable to examination or other circumstance he
may be desirous of placing the same in the Company's charge, in which case such packages or any
other of considerable value, should be particularly specified, and, if bills of lading have been granted
for them, inserted in the regular manifest of the ship. The delivery of goods overside will also rest
with the master, and he must take such steps as he may think necessary to protect his owners in
respect to their freight.
An officer of the revenue is authorised to forward all despatches for the departments of government
packets so addressed will therefore be delivered into his charge, unless the Company receive express
directions to the contrary.
When a ship is finally discharged and moored in the Export Dock, or either of the basins, for the
purpose of going out to the river, all the services provided for In the import rate are completed.
For the more expeditious discharge of vessels, or despatch in reloading, every assistance will be
given in clearing the decks, or stiffening them; coopering watering casks, and shipping them, when
filled; clearing the hold after discharge; shipping and stowing the outward cargo, under the directions
of the ship's officers; and any other services which can be reasonably required.-Should the Com-
pan/'s movable machinery be desired, it will be lent upon application to the principal dock master.-
The following charges will be made for such services
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&
For labourers hired to work under the directions of the com-
Two tons, and under 5 tons
manding officer of the ship, each man per day, of the regu-
(and not less than I ton to be charged.)
lated hours of attendance
3 6
Movable machinery leat, each jigger with its gear, per
(and not less than 1-4 day to be charged. Over-time will
day
10
0
be charged in proportion.)
The use of the floating engine for washing ships, including
Articles loaded, shipped, or struck down by the dock cranes
the attendance of the man in charge, per day
20 6
or jiggers, under 2 tons, per ton
.
1 0
(and not Im than 1 day to be charged.)
Conditions to be observed by Ships taking in Cargoes From the Import Warehouses.-1. The taking the
ship in and out of dock, to and from the quay, to be performed by the master and crew, as directed by
the dock masters.
2. The goods to be taken from the slings, and to be stowed away by the crew, under the orders of
the master.
3. If a sufficient crew be not on board to receive and stow away the goods as delivered, or to trans-
port the vessel, a further number of men shall be provided by the Company, at the charge of 3a. 6d. per
man per day, to work under the direction and responsibility of the master and his officers.
4. The vessel to be hauled into the basin or Export Dock after the usual hours of business, by her
own officers and crew, and to continue in their charge.
Ships, from the Export or South Docks, will be allowed to go into the Import Dock to load, without
any addition to the rate to which they may be liable for the use of the docks.
Goods sent by land carriage will be shipped in either of the docks, on payment of the usual charges.
To prevent delay in loading export vessels, the shippers should pay up the rent and charges upon
the goods or where the amount cannot be ascertained without weighing, &c., make a deposit to cover
the same.
Export and South Docks.-All vessels entering or lying in these docks are in charge of the masters
and owners; and it is the duty of the pilots, or officers and crews, to transport their respective ves-
sels, under their own responsibility, as directed by the dock master, to or from the river, and to or
from any part of the docks or basins.
Light ships on entering from the river must be provided with sufficient hands to dock and transport
them, and should move in due time into the dock; otherwise they will be removed by the dock master,
and the owners charged with the expense.
Vessels discharged of their inward cargoes by the Company in these docks will be regarded as pri-
vileged ships, and all transporting within the docks will be performed by the dock master. assisted by
the crew, gratuitously; but unless there are sufficient crew on board to assist in transporting the out-
ward-bound ships, they will not be moved.
Whenever assistance is required by other vessels, it will be furnished by the dock master OR the
following terms: viz.-
A boat with warp and 2 hands
-
-
- 10s. Od.
-
and 4 hands
-
-
- 15s. Od.
And for every additional hand employed, either on board or in the boats, 6d. per hour.
The warps are only lent in aid of the ship's warps.
Ships taking in cargoes will be moored at the quays in due rotation. Light ships not taking in goods
shall be moored in either of the docks or basins, as the dock masters may judge convenient.
While ships are lying at, or moving to or from the quay, all out-riggers should be got in and made
snug; and sails are by no means to be loose while so moving.
No ship must be removed from her berth without notice being given to the dock master, and his
assent as to the time of removal being obtained.
Craft must be fastened to the ships from which they are receiving, or to which they may be deliver-
ing goods: the charge upon craft which shall not be bond fide 80 engaged, will be the same as the rent
upon sloops and craft coastwise, and, as usual, not less than 1 week's rent will be charged. To ob-
viate any doubt as to the time for which they may be fairly entitled to exemption, 24 hours will be al-
lowed, from the time of entering the dock, for receiving goods, and 24 hours after being loaded or dis-
charged, for going out of the docks.
Convenient receptacles on the quays and craft are provided, wherein all dust, ashes, &c. are to be
deposited, and which shall be cleared by the persons appointed by the Company, and by no one else.
No vessel shall be permitted to take in ballast after daylight or before daybreak.
Ships' provisions or stores cannot be permitted to pass the gates without an order signed by the
captain or owner.
No repair or caulking can be permitted without the special permission of the court of directors, to
whom application should he made through the principal dock master.
The Jetties.Ships landing cargoes in the South Dock, or taking in goods by land, shall have the
preferable use of the jetties.
Ships which are fitting out, but have not commenced loading, shall be accommodated as far as
possible; but such ships must be removed to make room for vessels about to discharge or take in
cargo by land.
In other respects, preference will be given to ships intended for sale, over those which are merely
lying up; and as between ships which are similarly circumstanced, the priority of their entering the
dock shall determine the preference.
The captains or commanding officers of ships are cautioned to be attentive and careful to boom off
when the ship is fast loading down in the water, or on the approach of neap tides.
Fire and Cundle.-Vessels in these docks shall be considered as forming 3 classes: viz.-
I. Vessels actually discharging, having their crews on board, or loading outwards.
II. Vessels rigging or fitting out, but which shall not have commenced taking in goods.
III. Vessels for sale or lying up.
To each of these classes special licences will be granted.
Every such licence will express the place in which fire may be kept, and the circumstances under
which it may be used upon the slightest infringement of the conditions, the penalty prescribed by
law will be rigidly enforced.
Every application for a licence must be made by the master or owner, specifying the names and ca-
pacity of the persons in charge of the ship, and engaging to be responsible for their attention to the
regulations.
Opening and shutting the Gates.-The gates of the Export and South Docks will be opened at 6 o'clock
in the morning and shut at 8 o'clock in the evening, from the first of March to the 10th of November:
and, from the 11th of November to the last day of February, opened at 8 in the morning and shut at
7 in the evening.
Captains and mates may be furnished with tickets upon applying at the police office, at the Import
Dock, which will entitle them to admission till o'clock, P. M., but no person whatever can be allowed
to go out after the hour for closing the gates.
Vessels about to leave the Docks.-Export vessels should be hauled out in sufficient time to be at the
River Locks, at Blackwall, at low water; to prevent the inconvenience of hauling down the Black-
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DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
573
well Basin or South Dock during the time that other vessels are requiring admission, which must have
the preference.
Vessele can only be let out after high water, upon the special request of the officers in charge of
them.
Ships going into the river must use their own ropes, as they are out of the dock master's charge
when clear of the outer gates.
NOTICE.-Two true copies of the manifest of the cargo must be delivered into the General Office,
at the West India Dock House, within 12 hours after every vessel shall enter the docks, or after
the cargo shall have been reported at the Custom-house, which shall first happen. Penalty for refusal
or neglect, any sum not exceeding 51.-(1 & 2 Will. 4. c. 52. 1 84.)
No manifests will be required for ships discharging by their own crews.
No ships can receive their rotation, or be allowed to break bulk until their cargoes are duly entered
and such cargoes will be landed in due succession, according to the strict order in which the manifests
are delivered and entries completed.
If such manifest, or bill of lading, or copy, shall be false; or if any bill of lading he uttered by any
master, and the goods expressed therein shall not have been bonù fide shipped on board such ship; or
if any bill of lading uttered or produced by any master shall not have been signed by him or any
such copy shall not have been received or made by him previously to his leaving the place where the
goods expressed in such bill of lading. or copy, were shipped; penalty 100l.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. 1 11.)
Hours of Attendance are, from the 10th of May to the 9th of November inclusive, 8 in the morning
to 4 in the afternoon from the 10th of November to the 9th of May inclusive, 9 in the morning to 4
in the afternoon; and there is to be no intermission of business during these hours.
No holidays are to be kept, except Sundays, Christmas-day, Good Friday, fast days appointed by
royal proclamation, and the King's or Queen's birthdays.
In all places not specified or provided for in the foregoing rules and orders, application must be made
to the principal dock master.
CHARLES C. PARISH, Principal Dock Master.
The foregoing regulations approved and confirmed by the Court of Directors of the West India
Dock Company.
H. LONGLANDS, Secretary.
West India Dock House, September 24th, 1833.
N. B.-Ships entering the West India Docks are permitted to retain their crews on board, when
required by the owners; and the directors have fitted up the ship Waterloo, in the South Dock, for
the accommodation of junior officers and apprentices, while their ships are discharging their cargoes
in the Import Dock.
The captains, officers, and crews of ships are requested not to give either wine, spirits, or grog, to
the servants of the Company, as, by so doing, they expose them to the certain and immediate forfeit-
ure of their situations.
No fee, perquisite, or reward of any kind or denomination whatsoever, is to be taken by the Com-
pany's officers, or any persons who shall be employed in the service of the Company, for any act done
within the docks. Penalty, forfeiture of the sum taken, and any sum not exceeding 51. for each
offence.
Dock Rutes.-Import Vessels, when discharged by
d.
the Company, including docking, mooring, and
timber (for every load of hard wood and pine timber
6d. in addition)
6
removing within the docks until discharged,
Laden entirely with hard wood or pine timber
:
0
ships' cooperage or mending, and the use of the
docks, if from Hamburgh or the Mediterranean,
Ships discharged in either of the Docks or Basins
for 6 weeks from the date of entrance; if from
by their own Crews, the expense of docking,
any other port or place, for 4 weeks from the
mooring, unmooring, and removing, not in-
cluded.
final discharge; viz.
Per Tom reg.
Per Tom reg.
a. d.
For the use of the docks for any period not exceeding, if from
Ships laden entirely, or in part, with hogeheads and tierces
the Mediterranean, 6 weeks, from other ports or places
4 weeks, from the date of entrance
0 9
of sugar or molasses
8 6
Vensels from any port in the United Kingdom, or European
laden entirely, or in part, with chests of sugar above
5 cwt.
8 0
port, outside the Baltic, between the North Cape and
entirely, with chests under 5 cwt., or bags of sugar, cof-
Ushant, with cargoes for trans shipment, for delivery on
board ships, or for landing in either dock (except when
fee. spirits, wine, iron, copper, brass, lead, spelter,
wood lades), not remaining beyond, if from Hamburgh, 6
or other metal, in pigs, bars, rods, plates, or similar
pieces, rice, or other goods, (except oil, tallow. or
weeks, if from any other port or place, 4 weeks, from the
date of entrance
0 6
ashes,) packed in bales, baga, serons, casks, cases,
Sloops and craft coastwise, with bricks for delivery on board
chests, or similar packages, or wood in planks or bil-
I 6
ships and vessels with broken granite or paving-slones, not
lets, such as dye wood, staves, Ac.
laden entirely or in part, with mahogany, timber, or
remaining beyond I week
0 3
8 6
Vessels entirely corn laden (in lieu of tonnage rate), of 100
other wood in logs
lons and upwards, each
21 0
entirely with hemp, or entirely or in part with goods in
I 9
Under 100 tons, each
10 6
bulk
laden entirely or in part with tobacco or oil, not in-
Rent to commence after 1 clear day from final discharge.
1 6
Vensels two thirds laden with cora, will be charged the usual tom-
cluding ship's cooperage
entirely with tallow, not including ship's cooperage
1 3
nage rates in proportion to the other part of their cargoes.
laden entirely with mixed cargoes of hemp and tallow,
Vessels entering to load from the Import Ware-
or ashes, not including ship's cooperage viz.
8.
R
houses only.
Per too on
For every ton of hemp
2
0)
The number of tons charged
For
tom
of
tallow
not to exceed the register
? NL shipped.
every
or
ashes
1 3)
d.
tonnage.
For the use of the dock for 1 week
6
Ships Wood laden from Europe, or the North Ame-
Light Vessels, the expense of docking, mooring,
rican Colonies, when discharged by the Company,
unmooring, and removing, not included.
including docking, mooring, and removing with-
Per ton reg.
in the docks, until discharged; unloading the
a. d.
cargoes, and the use of the docks for any period
Not having discharged in either of the docks, for any period
not exceeding 4 weeks from the date of the final
not exceeding 4 weeks from the date of entering
0 6
discharge.
Dock Rent.
Per Ton. reg.
For remaining over the periods specified, per week
0 I
8.
Vensels which re-enter after having been out for repair, will be
Laden entirely with deals, planks, staves, or wood in billets
1 6
allowed their privilege without reckoning the time they remained
principally with ditto, and bringing hard wood or pine
out.
TABLE FOR IMPORTED GOODS.
The Prime Rate includes all expenses for landing, wharfage, weighing, or gauging at landing, cooper-
ing. marking, sampling, housing, weighing for actual delivery, and delivering furnishing landing and
delivery weights or gauges, surveying and furnishing certificates of damage, and rent for 12 weeks
from the date of the ship's commencement of discharge.
This rate will be charged on all goods imported from the East or West Indies, the Mauritius, Mexico,
or South America, and upon wood, spirits, or wine, and tobacco, from whatever place of importation,
unless notice be given by the importers, of their desire to have them placed under the landing rate, or
Digitized by Google
574
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
their intention to remove them without housing or piling. If such notice is given before housing or
piling, the rate in the second column will be discharged.
The Landing Rate includes landing, wharfage, and housing, or delivering from the quay, and furnish.
ing landing accounts.
This rate will attach to all other merchandise than as above specified, which may be imported; to
East India cotton, to hides and skins, hair, horns and tips, to manufactures returned, and to every
description of goods relanded, or removed in bond or coastwise into the dock, unless the importers
signify their wish that they should be warehoused under the prime or consolidated rates.
The Rates for Unhousing and Loading, or Unloading and Housing, when not otherwise specified, are
each one third of the landing rate; and that for unhousing, wharfage, and shipping, is the whole rate,
as stated in the second column. When the prime rate bas not been paid, those charges will be made,
together with reasonable charges for coopering, sampling, and other operations contingent on
housing.
The Charges for Weighing and Rehousing are each one third of the rate in the second column. For
repiling or weighing wood, one fourth of that rate is charged.
Goods sold from the Landing Scale, or not intended to be warehoused, will be allowed 4 clear days
from the final weighing of the parcel for removal; in default of which, they will be housed or piled.
If intended for immediate trans-shipment, they may remain on the quay, subject to the same regula-
tions as goods prepared for shipment, paying rent as if housed at landing.
Warehouse Rent, on goods to which the prime rate does not attach, will be charged from the date of
the ship's breaking bulk; but when goods sold from the landing scale are housed, the rent will be
charged from the tinal weighing of the parcel.
A week's rent will be charged for all fractions of a week.
Before the transfer by the Company, or delivery of any goods can take place, the charges on the
quantity to be transferred or delivered must be paid either to the collector, at the General Office in
London, or to the comptroller, at the General Office at the docks.
Rates on Goods imported.
N. B.-All sorts of goods may be imported into and warehoused at the West India Docks, on about
the same terms as at the other docks. We have given, under the head London Docks, a Table of the
dock dues, &c. on most articles commonly imported, which may be applied, with very trining modi-
fications, either to the West India or St. Katharine's Docks. The following table includes merely the
dock charges on the importation, warehousing, &c. of the principal articles of West India pro-
duce:
Prime
Articles.
Landing
Rent per
Prime
Rate.
Articles.
Landing
Rent per
Rate.
Week.
Rate.
Rate.
Week.
Nett per.
s.d.
a.d.
Gross per a. d.
Nett per
8.
d.
8.
d.
Gross per & d
Annotto
ton
21 0
70
ton
0
7
Mother-o'-pearl shells
too
18
6
7 6
ton
-04
bask. and pack.under cwt.
00
1
7 1-2
100 pckgs. 4 2
ware
chest
00
16
chest .02
Arrow root
ton
20 0
76
ton
0 7
box
00
I 0
box
- 0 1
Cauella alba
cwt.
18
06
cwt.
0 03-4
Piccaba
cwt
00
06
tom
04
Chocolate
box
00
09
box
-02
Pickles, cases
dos. bottles
00
0
21-4
doz
both.
9
012
Cochineal
cwt.
30
09
cwt.
0 11.2
barrels
gallon
00
0
0 1-2
barrel
01
Cocoa and coffee, casks
-
16
06
ton
6
Pimento, casks
cwt.
16
06
ton
-06
bags
-
12
06
-
6
bags
-
12
06
-
-06
Cotton wool, presspacked-
09
03
-
5
Snake root
-
00
0 10 1-2
barrel or
not press packed
-
10
0
414
-
6
1-2 Sale
01
Ginger, casks
-
16
06
-
6
trc. or bale 0 2
bags
1 2
06
-
- 06
hhd.
.03
preserved. Succades.
Succades, under 28 lbs. pack.
06
03
cwt. 0 034
Jalap
-
00
0 10 1-2
bale, 3 cwt. 0 1
28 lbs. to 1 cwt.
-
10
06
-
0 034
Indian rubber hhd. or pipe
0 0
16
hogehead or
1 cwt. and upwards cwt.
10
06
-
0 034
pipe
0
4
Sugar, carks
-
08
03
tos
-05
case 2 to 4 cwt.
00
16
case to
chests above 5 cwt.,
case 1 10 2 cwt.
00
10
cwt. 01
or baskets
-
07
03
-
0 5
bag or barrel
00
06
barrel 0 01-2
chests under 5 cwt.,
loose, cwt.
00
10
in bottle 0,1
or bags
-
06
03
-
04
Ipecacuanha
CWL
00
0 10 1-2
ton
10
candy
00
0 41-2
cwt.
018
Molames
-
07
03
pun.
0 1.2
Tobacco. See London Docks.
hhd. or tre. 0 11-2
Wood. See separate Table,
barrel or keg 0 03-4
p. 675.
Rates on Sugar.
Wharfage
Rent
Wharfage
Rent
and
and
Porterage.
per Week.
Porterage.
per week.
S. d.
3. d.
8. d.
s.d.
Sugar, 4 to 5 cwt. bag or basket
08
01
Sugar, refined, 14 and under
about 2 cwt. do. or mat
04
0 of
18 cwt.
-
cask
10
06
boxes or chests
ton
34
05
12 and under 14 cwt. do.
10
04
bastards, 14 cwt. and upwards
Do. packed in hhds. or vats, to
Vat.
Hbd.
cask
1 8
be housed for exportation.
12 and not exceeding 14 cwt.
0 5ton
Housing
10
06
cask
12
Weighing or re-weighing
10
06
under 8
-
tierce
08
02
Unhousing, wharfage, and
not exceeding 21
barrel
05
0 1
shipping
-
-
30
18
refined, 18cwt. to 24 cwt. cask
20
0 7
Rent
-
per week
06
03
Crushing Sugar.-The following charges include all expenses for receiving, delivering, coopering,
and rent, for two weeks: viz.
s. d.
s. d.
Crushed fine by the mill and packed into
broken small and rammed with entire
Havannah cases
ton
21
0
lumps
ton 14 0
partly crushed and packed with lumps 16 0
broken large and rammed with entire
crushed rough
-
-
19
0
lumps
-
ton 19 0
crushed fine
-
-
- — 22 0
Transferring
-
-
-
02
ground by the mill
-
-
- - 16 0
Rent per week
-
-
-
-
07
broken and packed, rough and not to par-
Sampling
-
-
-
- cask 06
ticular weights
-
-
- ton 14 0
Papering
-
-
-
-
-
06
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DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
575
:
Rates on Dye Woods.
!
r
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, 12 Weeks'
Rent, and Delivering.
Landing, Wharfage,
Weighing, and
Delivering.
Rent per Week,
after the first
12 months.
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, 12 Weeks'
Rent, and Delivering.
Landing, Wharfage,
Weighing, and
Delivering.
Rent per Week,
af the first
12 months.
Dyers' wood, &c.
8. d.
8. d.
8. d.
Dyers' wood, &c.
s.
d.
3.
d.
s.d.
Bar wood
Braziletto
ton
80
56
02
Box wood
Brazil wood, small
80
56
02
I
Brazil wood, large
Fustic, young
80
56
03
Cam wood
Nicaragua wood, small
80
56
02
Cocus wood
Sapan
80
56
0 2
Ebony
ton
66
46
01
Sassafras
80
56
03
Fustic
under cover
70
-
0 11-2
Sandal
80
56
03
Lignum vitae
Other wood, charged with duty, at
Logwood
per ton
Nicaragua, large
Mahogany, cedar, jacaranda, rose
Quassia
wood, satin wood, tulip, zebra, &c.
7 0
5 0
0 11-2
Sanders wood
Wood Rates.-The West India Dock Company having appropriated the South Dock to the timber
trade, and afforded other facilities for carrying it on with ease and expedition, we subjoin a Table of
the dock rates on wood imported. N. B.-For the rates on ships laden with wood, see ante, p. 573.
Goods imported.
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, One Quarter's
Rent, and Delivering.
Rent per Quarter.
Goods imported.
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, One Quarter's
Rent, and Delivering.
Rent per Quarter.
#. d.
8. d.
S.
d.
8.
d.
Deals,
Battens from all ports,
American, Russian, and Prussian deals, and
2 1-2 and 3 in. thick, under 10ft. long 120
80
23
deal ends, per standard hundred 12 feet
-
10 to 12
-
10 0
30
long and I 1-2 thick
96
30
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
12 0
39
Spruce deals from Quebec, 12 +3+9 per 120
14 6
4 6
-
-
14 to 16
-
14 0
46
Swedish deals from ports in the Baltic,
-
-
16 to 18
-
16 0
53
2 1-2 and 3 inches thick, 14 feet long 120
18
0
60
-
-
18 to 20
-
18 0
60
11-2 and 2
do.
do.
-
12
0
40
-
-
21
-
19 0
66
Norway and Swedish, from ports in the
-
-
22 to 30
each
06
02
North Sea,
Batten ends
120
40
14
34 and I in. thick, under 10 ft. long 120
50
16
Paling boards, not exceeding 7 feet
-
50
20
-
-
10 to 12
-
60
110
Fir, thick stuff and plank
load
50
18
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
70
22
Fir boards, 1 1-2 inch thick and under
-
70
26
-
-
14 to 16
-
80
:
Lathwood, under 5 feet
fm.
10 0
36
-
-
16 to 18
-
90
2 10
5 feet and not exceeding 8 feet
-
15 0
50
-
-
18 to 20
-
10 0
32
Firewood
-
76
26
-
20 to 21
-
10 6
36
Balks above 24 feet and under 5 inch
-
42 0
14 0
1 1-4 inch thick, under 10 feet long
-
70
22
under 24 feet and under 5 inch
-
82 0
11 0
-
10 to 12
-
86
28
Norway timber in bilks
load
40
0
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
10 0
32
Spare under 6 and above 4 inches
120
40 0
12 0
-
-
14 to 16
-
11 6
38
Lancewood
-
30
0
9 0
-
16 to 18
-
-
13 0
42
Rickers, under 4 inch, 24 feet long and
-
-
18 to 20
-
14 6
48
upwards
120
20
0
7 0
-
-
20 to 21
-
15 3
52
under 24 feet long
-
10
0
3 0
I 1-2 and 2 in. thick, under 10 ft. long
90
28
Ufers, under 24 feet long
-
21 0
7 6
-
10 to 12
11 0
34
24 to 32 ditto
-
35 0
10 0
-
exceeding
12 to
-
13 0
40
above 32 ditto
-
50
0
15
0
-
-
14 to 16
-
15 0
48
Sparholtz and 10 ells, one third more than
-
-
16 to 18
-
17 0
54
Ufers,
-
-
18 to 20
-
19 0
60
Oak, African and other (square, per load of)
-
-
20 to 21
-
20 0
68
timber charged with 50 ft. round, per
6 6
I 0
2 1.2 and 3 in. thick, under 10 ft. long
11 6
40
duty at per load
load of 40 ft.
-
-
10 to 12
14 6
46
Black birch
50
10
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
17
6
56
under cover
7 0
I 6
-
-
14 to 16
-
20
6
66
Wainscot logs, 14 feet long (grealer length
-
-
16 to 18
-
23 6
76
in proportion)
each
20
08
-
-
18 10 20
-
26
6
86
7 feet long
-
08
02
-
-
20 to 21
-
28 0
90
Oak and other planks (except fir planks) load
70
1 6
Deal ends, 6 feet and under
-
60
2
0
Clap boards, 6 feet long
each
03
0 1
Deck deals,
3 feet long
-
01
0
3 inches thick, 30 to 45 feet long each
10
04
Handspikes
120
60
20
21-2
-
-
0 10
03
Spokes
1,200
15 0
66
2
-
08
0 21
Oars, under 24 feet long
120
15 0
50
2 1-2 and 3
22 to 30
-
08
03
above 24 feet long
-
20
0
70
2
-
06
02
Treenails, 2 feet and under
200
80
26
Battens from all ports,
above 2 feet
-
12 0
40
3-4 and 1 inch thick, under 10 long 120
36
12
Staves,
-
10 to 12
-
42
14
Quebec, pipe
3 to 4
each pr. 1,200
S0 0
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
410
16
2 to 2 12
-
55 0
-
—
14 to 16
-
58
10
to 1-2
-
-
35 0
-
-
16 to 18
-
64
22
hogshead
3 to 4
-
---
70 0
-
-
18 to
-
74
26
2to212
-
-
45 0
-
21
-
10
28
toll2
-
-
30.0
1 1-4 inch thick, under 10 long
50
8
barrel and heading 3 10 4
15a. per 1,200,
-
-
50 0
pipe 1-2 inch.
-
10 to 12
-
5 8
11
2 to 21-2
-
-
40 0
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
64
22
11011-2
-
-
30
0
-
-
14 to 16
-
70
25
North American,
-
-
16 to 18
-
78
28
puncheon and hogshead, I inch and
-
-
IS to 20
-
88
211
under
-
18
0
60
-
-
21
-
92
32
barrel and heading ditto
-
12
0
40
1 1-2 and 2 in. thick, under 10 ft. long
6 7
20
Hamburgh and Baltic, pipe
-
40
0
15 0
-
10 to 12
-
7
4
24
hogshead
-
35.0
15
0
-
exceeding
12 to 14
-
88
OF 8
barrel
-
30 0
10
0
-
I
14 to 16
-
10 0
34
heading
-
27
6
10
0
-
-
16 to 18
-
11 4
40
pipe, thin 1 to 1 1-2 inch thick
-
25 0
10
0
-
-
18 to 20
-
13 4
48
hogshead ditto
-
22 0
10 0
-
-
21
-
14
0
50
barrel and heading ditto
I
16
0
10
0
The quarter to be calculated from the date of the ship's breaking bulk.
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576
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (WEST INDIA).
Goods imported,
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, One Quarter's
Rent, and Delivering.
Rent per Quarter.
Goods imported.
Prime Rate, viz.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, One Quarter's
Rent, and Delivering.
Rent per Quarter.
8.
d.
1. d.
8. d.
&
d.
Billet staves, oak or ash,
Norway timber and spars
per load
0 4
exceeding 3 1-2 inch
to
long
an
48 0
20 0
not exceeding 4 ft.
Rent on stored goods to commence from the
35 0
15 0
final discharge of the ship, and to be charged
under 112
22 0
10 0
likewise on goods not stored, unless they
Pipe boards, 3 1-2 inches thick
60
0
22 6
are removed within 14 days after delivery
Packs,
under
cover
from the ship
pipe
each
1 0
0 6
Repairing floats for delivery:-
half pipe
0 8
0 4
No charge to be made during the 1st and 2d
quarter pipe
04
0 or
quarter's rent, but at the commencement
The Company will be answerable for the
of the 3d quarter the charge to be per load
0 3
number of pieces only of lathwood,
And at the commencement of every suc-
and cannot be responsible for the di-
ceeding quarter
per load
0 1
mensions of Quebec or billet staves.
Round masts to be reckoned at 40 feet to the
Fir staves
fm.
15 0
5 0
load.
Heading and stave ends,
not exceeding 20 inches long
1,200
12 0
40
Special Charges.
Floated Timber.
Rummaging timber and other measured wood, as usual per
Rafting, including ropes, staples, laying up or
ton or load
0
towing to the dock gates, or to the pond :-
Delivering into decked vessels
06
East Country, Swedish and American tim-
Sticking deck deals, when required
each
01
ber and ma-ts,
per load
1 6
1 0
oak plank and fir thick stuff
per load 04
Norway timber
23
1 6
Sorting Quebec and billet staves for freight
per 1,200 7 0
Spars, 6 inch and upwards
4 6
2 0
Turning to measure for sale at landing, oak, black birch,
Rafted timber floated from the river
0 3
10
African, and other timber
per load
10
Delivering stored timber at the dock gates
Marking lots of American and other timber piled in tiers
East Country, Swedish, and American tim-
(one lot to a tier), or floated timber, per lot
0
4
ber and masts
per load
0 3
Memoranda for the information of the consignees and proprietors
directions from the importer are required, notice will be given on
of goods imported in ships which discharge their cargoes in the
the landing accounts it is desirable that particular and early after-
West India Docks.
tion should be paid in such notices, and that the importers of caties,
No ship is allowed to break bulk until her cargo is duly entered
pepper. or other articles which usually require being made mer-
it is therefore important that consignees should give directions for
chantable, should lodge a general order directing that operation to be
the entry of their respective consignments at the Custom- as
performed to all their importations.
soon as the ship is reported.
The first warrants of the West India Dock Company will be
Bagrage and presents may be cleared at the baggage warehouse at
issued to the order of the importers or their amigns (provided there
the docks. after examination by the revenue.
is no stop upon the goods for freight or otherwise), upon payment of
The original bills of lading must be deposited, when required,
the prime rates or landing charges.
except " here a part of the gno is are intended to be placed under the
Such payments must include all charges to the time of bousing,
East India Company's care; in that case the original bill must be
and three for lotting or making merchantable for the importer, but,
exhibited, and a true copy thereof deposited. Should the original
if the goods are deliverable by warrant, are not to include real :-
bill have been previously delivered at the East India House, a certi-
charges accruing subsequently, and the rent, must to part by the
fied copy must he obtained from the accountant general of the
holders of the warran's before delivery of the gonds. The propri-
Honourable Company.
etors of goods may, however, clear the rent and incidental charges
Particular attention is necessary to the regularity of the indorse-
to any desired date, and have new warrants or cheques accord-
ments, as the Company's officers cannot pass any bill of lading, on
ingly.
which the authority from the shipper to the holder is not deduced
When the assignment or removal of part of the goods only is is-
by a complete and accurate chain of indorsement.
lended, the warrants or cheques should be divided at the dock home
Every bill of la ling should be specially indorsed, so as clearly to
in London, as hereafter provided.
designate the party to whose order the contents are to be delivered.
If the delivery of the whole of the cratents is directed and the
Is all cases of informality in bills of lading. from want of indorse-
goods are not removed within 2 days. a new warrant or cheque for
ment. &c., or of their being lost, application must be made to the
the remainder of the parcel must be taken not.
court by letter, stating the circumstances, and enclosing any docu.
In the case of casks of liquids used to fill up others, the warrant
ments which will show the title in the g ds; in every such case the
must be Indged, and the proprietor may either have a new warrant
applicant must engage to indemnify the Company by bond, or other.
for the remainder. or it may be delivered (if not required again to
wise. as the Court may direct.
be used in the same way) to his order.
When bills of lading are produced, which are at variance with
When the holders of warrants or cheques are desiress of assign-
the manifest, as to the original consignee, the Company will not pass
ing part of their contents, without delivery. reweighing, rehousise,
any delivery order founded thereon, until 3 clear days shall have
&c., new documents will be given in exchange, on loring the one)-
clapsed.
nais. duly indorsed. The indorsement should specially direct the
The delivery of goods affort will be the act of the captain or
manner in which the contents are to be divided, and state the salms
officer in charge of the vessel.
of the parties in whose favour the new warrants - cheques are to
No order can be received until the manifest of the cargo, duly cer-
be issued, in the following form:-" Please to divide the within;"
tified by the captain. has been doposite at the West India Dock
or " hen part is to be delivered, " Deliver to bearer (state how many
House: but the orders of the importers of all goods entrusted to the
packages), and grant new
one for (state how many
West India Dock Company's management may then be passed.
packages) is favour of
one for." A.c.
When parties hol ling orders for delivery from the quars wish the
Warrants may be exchanged or divided without assigning the
goods housed in their own names or in the names of other parties,
gonds, when desired by the holder, at the same M'e of charge.
they must Indge the order indorsed to that effect, and warrants will
The original warrant is not charged for; but the clarges for di-
be granted accor 'ingly.
viding or issuing new documents, or transferring, are-For each
All merchandise warehoused under the care of the West India
warrant or transfer,
Dock Company is deliverable in the ordinary course of business by
d.
d.
warrant, with the exception of muscovado sugar, wood!, returned
manufactures, and articles importet in bulk. of which the weight or
1 or 2 packages or quanti-
26 to 30 packages or quanti-
ties
-
ties
a
measure is liable to increase or decrease from natural causes, and
3 or 4 do.
2
31 35 do.
9
goods which are not to he warehoused, or are intended for imme-
5 to do.
3
36 40 do.
10
diate shipment in the latter case, the importers must state OR their
10 do.
4
41 45 do.
"
orders tha 64 warrants are not required."
11 15 do.
All goods entrusted to the management of the East India Com-
5
46 and upwards
12
16 20 do.
6
Goods in bulk. per too
$
pany. although deposited in the West India Docks, will be delivered
21 do.
7
in the usual course of the Honourable Company's business by East
Every new cheque granted
2
India warrants.
If from the nature of the contract between the seller and buyer,
To facilitate passing orders and paying the charges due upon the
reweighing, &c. may be necessary, the warrants should be deposited
goods, the Company will open deposit accounts upon request from
indorsed with directions to that effect. and new warrants will be
the merchants as hereinafter noticed.
issued, containing the landing weigh's and reweights, as soon as the
That the course of business, as respects the West India Dock
operations are completed.
Company. may be fully understood, the attention of importers and
When any alterations, such as repacking. &c., are to be made (ex
purchasers of produce is particularly requested to the following
cept when preparatory to immediate delivery), the warrants - be
memoranda
Indged and others, representing the goods correctly, issued in the
The West India Dock warrants for mode which are usually and
same manner.
without lotting. will be made out for such quantities as have been
The warrants must likewise be lodged on giving orders to val. but
found generally convenient to the importers. Warran's or cheques
if immediate shipment is and intended, new warrants wall be issued
for smaller quantities. or single packages. may. however, be granted,
as snon as the casks are refilled.
on pay for the extra number. at the rates herein fixed.
In the 3 last mentioned cases the charges for performing the open-
For made which are lotted. made merchantable. &c., the warrants
tions include the expense of the new warrants.
will be made out as soon as the operations are performed. When
When warrants or cheques are lost 01 mildaid, the Company -
. If not removed within 2 tides after being brought for delivery, 10 be charged per tide per load 24.
1 Warrants will be granted. how ever, at the desire of the proprietor, for dye wood imported from the East or any article that
can be separated intordistinct and corresponding parcels, on his paying the xpenses of making such allotment.
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
577
quire that they should be advertised in the Public Ledger, the paper
Parties having deposit accounts with the Company, must transmit
containing the advertisement, and an engagement to indemnify the
a note of advice on the proper form with each deposit, and it will be
Company, by bond or otherwise, to be enclosed with the application
necessary that they should invariably state on their orders or war-
for duplicates. The new documents not to be issued (unless the
rants whom the charges are to be paid by, thus
original shall be found and delivered up) until 7 clear days shall
" Cha ges to the (date) to our account.
(Signature.)"
have elapsed from the date of notice by advertisement. Upon no-
Or, " Charges to be paid by the holder.
(Signature.)"
tice of the loss, the goods will be stopped; and the original document
By opening such accounts, the business of merchants with the
as on no account be acted upon. When East India warrants are
Company, particularly where goods are upon real, is much facili-
lost, the notice should be given to the Honsurable Company's ware-
tated. The proper forms and pass books may be obtained on appli-
houselkeeper.
cation at the dook house.
Irregularities in the indorsements leason the security of the propri-
Orders for Extra Work-The charges for repacking, or preparing
alore of goods, and render the documents incomplete as authorities.
for exportation, and all work not comprised in these Tables, will be
The attention of the holders is therefore particularly called to that
fixed from time to time, with reference to the cost of labour and ma-
point, to prevent the impediments which must otherwise arise to the
terials. No such work, however, can be done but by the order of
regular despatch of business.
the proprietors of goods, or parties duly authorised by them. The
Any attempt to remove such impediments by indorsing any war-
warrants, or other documents, must therefore be produced, to show
rant, order, or cheque without due authority, even although no fraud
their authority, except for tasting of wine, and sampling wine and
may be intended, will be invariably noticed in the most serious man-
spirits; in these cases the number of the warrant must be inserted
ner by the directors of the West India Dock Company.
on the order.
Forms on which persons may be authorised to sign for others, may
The charges under this head must be paid by the parties giving the
be obtained in the general office at the dock house and as no signa-
order or clearing the goods.
thre but that of the party named on the warrant, delivery order, or
Goods prepared for Shipment.-When goods housed in the im-
ebeque, can be acted upon, when goods are made deliverable to
port warehouses are prepared for shipment, and are not taken away
order, persons so authorised should adhere to the following form -
within the fixed number of days, they will be rehoused at the ex-
For (name or firm.)
pense of the proprietor, and the charge for such rehousal, and any
(Signature of the person authorised.)"
additional rent which may have accrued, must be paid before
delivery.
Deposit Accounts may be opened with such deposits as the mer-
The time allowed to elapee before rehousing, or restowing, is as
chants think proper; when the balance is reduced below 10c. a fur-
follows: mahegany and other measured wood, 4 days; dye woods,
ther deposit must be made, 16L being the smallest sum which can be
and all other goods, 7 clear days: when the export veasel loads in
received at a time.
the docks, the time will be exiended to the date of her departure.
2. London Docks.-These were the next undertaking of this sort set on foot in the
Thames. They are situated in Wapping, and were principally intended for the reception
of ships laden with wine, brandy, tobacco, and rice. The western dock covers a space of
above 20 acres; and the new or eastern dock covers about 7 acres. The tobacco dock lies
between the above, and exceeds 1 acre in extent, being destined solely for the reception of
tobacco ships. The entire space included within the outer dock wall is 71 acres and 3 roods.
The warehouses are capacious and magnificent. The great tobacco warehouse, on the north
side of the tobacco dock, is the largest, finest, and most convenient building of its sort in the
world. It is calculated to contain 24,000 hhds. of tobacco, and covers the immense space
of near five acres! There is also a very large tobacco warehouse on the south side of the to-
bacco dock. These warehouses are wholly under the management of the officers of customs;
the Dock Company having nothing whatever to do with them, save only to receive the rent
accruing upon the tobacco deposited in them. The vaults are under the tobacco and other
warehouses; they include an area of about 184 acres, and, after allowing for gangways,
&c., have stowage for 56,000 pipes of wine and spirits! These docks were opened in 1805.
All ships bound for the Thames, laden with wine, brandy, tobacco, and rice (except ships
from the East and West Indies), were obliged to unload in them for the space of 21 years
but this monopoly expired in January, 1826; and the use of the docks is now optional.
The only entrances to the London Docks were, until lately, by the basins at Hermitage
and Wapping. Recently, however, another entrance has been completed from old Shadwell
Dock, through what was formerly Milkyard, to the eastern dock. This new entrance is 4
of a mile lower down than Wapping entrance, and is a most material improvement.
The capital of the Company amounts to 3,238,310L 5s. 10d. A considerable portion of
this vast sum, and of a further sum of 700,000L borrowed, was required for the purchase of
the houses, about 1,300 in number, that occupied the site of the docks. The present dividend
is 21 per cent., and a 100L share is worth about 55l 10a. The Board of Directors consists
of 25 members, of whom the Lord Mayor, as conservator of the river Thames, is one.
The Regulations to be observed by Ships in the different Docks being very much alike, as are also the
regulations as to loading and unloading, working hours, &c., it seems unnecessary, having already
given those issued by the West India Dock Company, to do more than refer to them.
TONNAGE RATES.
Vessels are not permitted to leave the dock until the tonnage dues and other expenses have been
paid; for which purpose the register must be produced at the superintendent's office, if British, or a
certificate of admeasurement by the proper officer of the customs, if foreign when a pass will be
granted, which must be lodged with the dock master on leaving the dock.
First arriving from any port in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey,
Alderney. Sark, or other European port outside the Baltic, between the North Cape and Ushant
(Hamburgh excepted, see Second Class), with liberty to reload for any port, for every register ton of
the vessel 6d. and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance, if cargo discharged by own crew from
the date of final discharge, if cargo discharged by the Dock Company, Id. per register ton per week. If
with part of their cargoes, for every ton of goods landed, 6d. and rent, after one week from date of
entrance, 1d. per register ton per week.
Vessels loading for any of those places, not having previously discharged their cargoes in the docks,
for every register ton of the vessel, 6d.; and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance, Id. per register
ton per week.
Second Class.-Vessels arriving from Hamburgh, with liberty to reload, for every register ton of the
vessel, 6d. ; and rent, after 6 weeks from date of entrance, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels loading for Hamburgh, not having previously discharged their cargoes in the docks, for
every register ton of the vessel, 6d.; and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance, Id. per register
ton Third per Class.-Veseels arriving from any port in the Mediterranean, with liberty to reload for any
week.
port, for every register ton of the vessel, 9d.; and rent, after 6 weeks from date of entrance, Id. per
register ton per week.
Vessels loading for any port in the Mediterranean, not having previously discharged their cargoes in
VOL. I.-3
73
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by
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578
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
the docks, for every register ton of the vessel, 9d.; and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance, Id.
per register ton per week.
Fourth Class.-Vessels arriving from any other port or place whatsoever (with the exception of
those hereafter enumerated), with liberty to reload, for every register ton of the vessel, W:
and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance, if cargo discharged by own crew; from date of final
discharge, if cargo discharged by Dock Company, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels loading for any other port or place whatsoever (with the exception of those hereafter eno-
merated), not having previously discharged their cargoes in the dock, for every register tom of the
vessel, 9d.; and rent, after 4 weeks from date of entrance Id. per register ton per week.
Exceptions.-Vessels from Spain, laden with cork or wool, for every register ton of the vessel, 6d.;
and rent, after the expiration of 3 weeks, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels to or from the whale fisheries, for every register ton of the vessel, 1s.; and rent, after the
expiration of 6 weeks, 1d. per register ton per week; for every tun of oil delivered into craft, Od.
Vessels (excepting coasters, for which see First Class), landing part of their cargoes, for every tom
of goods landed, 9d.; and rent, after 1 week from date of entrance, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels loading part of their cargoes, for every ton of goods taken on board from the quays or by
craft, 9d. ; and rent, after 1 week from date of entrance, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels two thirds laden with corn will be charged dock dues on the proportion which the other
part of the cargo bears to the register tonnage.
No tonnage rates will be charged on vessels wholly corn-laden, but they will be charged for docking
and undocking as under
Vessels of 100 tons and upwards, 11. 1s.
Do. under 100 tons, 10s. 6d.
with liberty to remain in the dock, without further charge, for 24 hours after final discharge, Rent,
after the expiration of that period, Id. per register ton per week. Should the vessel load outwards,
the usual tonnage rates, according to the port of destination, will be charged, instead of the rate for
docking and undocking.
Vessels coal laden, for docking and undocking, 21s. each; for every ton of coals landed, 6d.; for
every ton of coals transhipped, 6d.; and rent, after 1 week, Id. per register ton per week.
Vessels which enter the docks light, and load out, pay dues according to their ports of destination,
instead of those on light vessels.
Light vessels entering the dock to lie up, for every register ton of the vessel, 6d.; and rent, after 4
weeks from date of entrance, Id. per register ton per week.
Whenever required, the Company will discharge the cargo of a vessel upon the following terms; via.
Cargoes consisting, either in the whole or in part, of hogsbeads or tierces of sugar (including ship
cooperage), 1s. 9d. per register ton.
Cargoes consisting of sugar in chests, 5 cwt. and upwards (including ship cooperage), Is. 3d. per
register ton.
Cargoes consisting of sugar in bags or chests, under 5 cwt., or other goods (not being oil direct from
the fisheries, tallow, hemp, ashes, corn, wood goods, pitch, tar, hay, or straw), contained in casks,
bales, serons, chests, cases, bags, baskets, mats, bundles, or similar packages; also, spelter or metal
in pigs, bars, rode, plates, &c., 9d. per register ton.
Cargoes consisting of mahogany timber, or other wood, in logs, 1s. 9d. per register ton.
Blue gum wood, or large timber, additional for every load delivered, 6d.
Cargoes consisting of hemp only, or merchandise, in bulk, 1s. per register ton.
Cargoes consisting of tallow only, 6d. per register ton.
Mixed cargoes; hemp, 18. 3d. per ton of goods; tallow, 6d. per ditto; ashes, 6d. per ditto.
Mixed cargoes, part being in bulk, on the latter, 1s. per ton of goods.
(No charge made for excess beyond the register tonnage.
Vessels which leave the docks for repairs are not charged rent while absent.
Memoranda.-Registera of ships inwards and outwards are kept in the superintendent's office.
The wicket gates at the north-west principal entrance, at Wapping, and on the east side of the
eastern dock, are opened and closed as under :-
From 22d Sept. to 20th Oct., both inclusive, opened at 6 o'clock, closed at 6 o'clock
21st
Oct.
20th
March
-
7
-
6
-
Visiters are not admitted on Sundays.
No person is permitted to quit a vessel after the wicket gate is closed.
The hours for the commencement of business, and opening and closing the barrier gate, are,
From 1st March to 31st Oct., both inclusive, opened at 8 o'clock, closed at 4 o'clock.
1st Nov.
28th Feb.
-
9
-
4 -
Lodgment of Manifrst.-Masters of shipe are required to deliver at the superintendent's office, within
12 hours after the arrival of the vessel in the dock, or reporting at the Custom-bouse, (which shall
first happen,) a true copy of the manifest or report of the cargo, signed by themselves.
Discharge of Vessels.-Vessels are not to break bulk, without the permission of the superintendent,
until the whole of the cargo has been entered at the Custom-house.
Upon application of the master, the Company will pass a warehousing entry for such goods as the
owners or consignees may have neglected or refused to enter within 48 hours; and will also land
goods not entered within 7 days; both periods to be computed from the date of the report.
Labourers or lumpers are not allowed to work on board vessels, on the quays, or in the warehouses,
unless engaged by the Company but may be hired of the Company, to work under the direction and
responsibility of the master, the charge being 3s. 6d. per day for each man: and should not a sufficient
number be employed for the timely discharge of the cargo, additional hands will be provided by the
Company, at the expense of the vessel.
The decks are to be speedily cleared of such articles as may impede the discharge and the master,
mate, or some person duly authorised by the owners, is to remain on board during the unloading
Stops for Freight.-Goods landed will be detained for the freight, on due notice in writing, by the
owner, master, or other person interested therein; and will not be delivered, nor warrants granted
for them, until orders shall have been given for the release of the goods, or the freight deposited with
the Company; nor can a stop be received after the goods have been transferred in the Company's
books, or a warrant has been granted for them.
Goods delivered into craft to be landed elsewhere, cannot be detained for freight.
Vessels leaving the dock for repairs are not charged rent whilst absent; nor is any charge made for
ballast, chalk, or flints, received from or delivered into craft.
Water is supplied from the reservoir, and delivered into the ships' boats, at Is. per ton, on appli-
cation to the dock master.
Abstracts of cargoes, for the purpose of making up freight accounts, will be supplied on application
at the comptroller's office, at the following charge
8. d
If the goods have 10 marks or under
-
- 2 0
-
-
11 to 20 marks
-
-
3 0
-
21 and upwards, 2d. each mark or parcel.
Digitized
by
Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
579
Steam boats are furnished by the Company, in certain cases, to vessels (not laden with corn or
timber) proceeding to these docks, arriving from North and South America, the West India Islands,
the Cape of Good Hope, and all ports to the eastward thereof, upon application to the secretary, the
superintendent, or the agent of the Company.
Regulations regarding Goods and the Rates and Charges thereon.
Rent is charged on goods from the day on which the importing vessel breaks bulk. If goods be
landed by a duty paid, a sight, or a warehousing entry, and taken away within 3 days, no rent is pay-
able; but if they remain on the quay after that time, quay rent or watching is charged for such
longer period.
Goods landed by Dock Order.-Before goods which have been landed by the Company for want of
entry, can be delivered or transferred, the bill of lading must be lodged at the warehouse, and the
goods entered at the Custom-bouse: and such goods are subject to an additional charge for porterage.
Orders for transfer or delivery (the forms of which may be obtained at the comptroller's office),
unless the goods are to be delivered from the landing scale, cannot be accepted until the goods have
been landed.
Neither can orders for transfer be received, until the charges due on the goods composing the whole
of the entry have been paid; goods landed under the consolidated rate, and wines and spirits,
excepted.
Orders for delivery cannot be acted upon, unless signed by the party in whose name the goods stand
in the Company's books, or by a person duly authorised to sign them: and should any interlineation,
erasure, or alteration have been made in an order, it can only be accepted with the initials of the
party set against such alteration.
Payment of Charges and Deposit Accounts.-The only persons authorised to receive money are, the
collectors at the superintendent's office, and wine and spirit department the deputy warehouse-keeper
at the tobacco-warehouse; the dock-master (for water furnished to vessels in the dock) and the
warehouse-keeper at the eastern dock; exceptior consolidated rates, which may be paid at the Lon-
don Dock House, in New Bank Buildings.
Deposit accounts may be opened at the superintendent's office.
If the order does not specify the party by whom the charges due at the date of the order or transfer
are to be paid, the amount thereof will be placed to the deposit account of the party transferring.
Warrants and Transfers.-Warrants for goods in general, are granted on written application at the
dock, in favour of such person as the party in whose name they stand in the Company's books may
direct. The first are issued free of charge on all subsequent warrants and transfers, the charges are
as follow:-
For each warrant or transfer containing
8. d.
For each warrant or transfer containing
s. d.
1 or 2 packages
-
-
- 0 I
26 to 30 packages
-
-
- 0 8
3 4
-
-
-
-
- 0 2
31 - 35
-
-
-
-
- 0 9
5 to 7
-
-
-
-
- 0 3
36- 40
-
-
-
-
- 0 10
8 — 10
-
-
-
-
- 0 4
41 - 45
-
-
-
-
- 11
11 - 15
-
-
-
-
- 0 5
46 and upwards
-
-
-
- 1 0
16 - 20
-
-
-
-
- 0 6
and for goods in bulk, per ton
-
- 0 2
21 - 25
-
-
-
-
- 0 7
The contents of one warrant may be divided into warrants for smaller quantities, at the will of the
holder.
Whenever housing, taring, weighing, dipping, rehousing, or counting of goods is required, the
operation must be performed before a warrant can be issued; and if reweighing, &c. be required, a
new one must be obtained.
Applications for duplicate warrants, in consequence of the originals being lost or mislaid, must be
addressed to the secretary, at the London Dock House, who will make known the conditions on
which the Company will issue them.
Weights of Goods.-Duplicates are furnished, upon reasonable cause for requiring them being
assigned.
Second Samples of Goods.-Orders for second samples, if the goods are for exportation only," are
issued at the comptroller's office, the proprietor paying the customs' duty thereon.
Empty Casks and Packages.-If not removed from the dock within 7 days, are sold by the Company,
and the proceeds paid to the owners, after deducting the sale charges and other expenses.
Explanation of the following Table of Rates and Charges on Goods imported into the London Docks.
The consolidated rate is charged upon the nett weight, and includes landing, wharfage, and housing,
or piling on the quay, coopering, sampling, weighing for delivery, delivery, and 12 weeks' rent from
the date of the importing ship breaking bulk; which may be paid on each mark separately, and will
attach unless notice be given to the contrary, prior to final weighing or gauging.
The import rate is charged upon the gross weight, and includes landing, wharfage, and housing, or
piling on the quay, or loading from the landing scale, and furnishing the landing weights or tales; to
be paid before the delivery of any part of an entry can take place.
The charges for reweighing, rehousing, unhousing and loading or repiling, are each one third of the
import rate; those for unhousing or unpiling, wharfage and shipping, the same as the import rate
when not otherwise specified.
TABLE OF RATES AND CHARGES ON GOODS IMPORTED INTO THE LONDON Docks.
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Per
Per
Week.
Quantities, ac.
Week.
Quantities, &s.
Per
8. d.
a.
Per
Par
2.d.
8. d.
Per
Alkanst root
cwt.
06
01
cwt.
Aloes,
Almonda, from Africa ton
46
04
ton
in chests or casks ton
60
0
package under Scwt.
in boxes and barrels cwt.
06
20
100 boxes
or a ennsolidated rate of
0 1-2
ditto 3 and under 5
13
100 half boxes
20s. per too nett.
cwt.
0 2
barrel 2 cwt. 2 qre-
0 2
ditto 6 and under 8
to 3 cwt.
cwt.
0 01-2
1-4 barrel
0 3
ditto 8 cwt. and up-
shell
cwt.
09
0 8
large bale
wards
0 1-2
small bale
Alum
ton
36
0 3
ton
0
half bale or seron 3-4
Alva marina,
to 1-2 cwt.
in bales prese-packed,
Aloss, in gourds
too
8.0
0 1
score gourds
ton
30
0 4
ton
or a consolidated rate of
in bags prese-packed,
30z. per too nett,
ton
50706
tom
Digitized by Google
580
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Per
Import
Rate.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
s.d.
s. d.
Per
Per
3. d.
8. d.
Per
Amber and beads, package
16
0 1
box or case
Beef and pork
tierce
0 81-4
0
01-2
tierce
Ameergris, in boxes or
barrel
0 51-4
30
100 barrels
kegs
package
I 6
0 3
package
tub, kit, or half barrel
0 334
20
100 barrels
Anchovies
cwt.
0 9
2 6
100 barrels or dou-
Berries, juniper
ton
80
2 6
100 bags under2 cut
ble barrels
5 0
100 bags 2 to 4cwt.
I 3
100 kegs
yellow or bay
ton
50
04
ton
0
01-2
cask under 1 1-2 cwt.
Betel nuts
ton
50
05
ton
Angelica root
ton
50
0 1
barrel
Biscuits
cwt.
03
0
01-4
keg
0 2
tierce
0
012
bag or barrel
0 3
bogshead
Bones
1,000
30
02
1,000
Aniseed
cwt.
0 3
06
ton
in bags
bag
06
0
01-2
bag
star
cwt.
0 41-2
0 10
ton
Books
cwt.
10
02
bale or box
Annotto
ton
70
0 7
03
package or chest
or a consolidated rate of
Boracie acid
ton
50
0 4
ton
21s. per ton nett in
Borax,rough orrefined ton
50
0-10
ton
casks.
Bottles, empty glass gross
30
01
gross
in baskets or small pack-
Brass
ton
50
0 2
ton
ages
ewt.
1 712
0 2
cask 3 to 8 cwt.
Brimstone, loose
ton
36
0 2
tom
0 01-2
mat or basket 1 cwt.
Unhousing, wharfage, &
and under
shipping, 3s. per ton.
Antimony
ton
50
04
ton
Filling and weighing, 2s.
ore
ton
36
0 2
ton
per ton.
if loose, filling and
in casks or cases
ton
33
0 $
ton in casks
weighing, 2s. per ton.
Unhousing, wharfage,
8 4
100 cases of about 2
Apples basket or barrel
06
0 01-2
basket or barrel
and shipping, 2s. 6d.
cwt.
tierce
10
0
11-2
tierce
4 2
100 breabout cat.
per ton.
hogshead
16
0 3
hogshead
21
100 bxs. about lbs.
Argol
ton
50
0 4
ton in casks
Bristles, in packages above
1 6
100cases under 2 cwt
5 cwt.
ton
7
0
0
6
ton
2 6
100 bags or cases 2
under 6 ewt.
ton
6 814
0 6
ton
cwt. and under 4
Bronze
case
16
0 2
case
cwt.
case
I
0
0 1
box
Arrow root
ton
7 6
0 7
ton
Bucco leaves
cwt.
10
0
1-2
case or barrel 2 cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
02
case 3 to cwt.
20s. per ton nett in
Bugles
ton
50
0 9
ton
casks, or 30s. in boxes
Bullion
cask or case
I 6.
or chests.
small package
10
Arsenic
ton
5 0
04
ton
smaller packages, not
Asafœtida
cwt.
0 6
0 01-3
cwt.
exceeding 51. in value.
06
Ashes, from America, ton
3 0
0 01-2
cask
Burr stones. See Stone.
Russia
ton
3 0
0 2
cask
Butter, foreign,
No rent or
Odessa
ton
30
03
Friesland or Holstein,
watching will
ton
Unhousing, wharfage,
landing, wharfage, and
be charged if
and shipping, 2s. per
housing, or loading,
taken away
ton.
and furnishing land-
from thequage
Asphaltum
ton
5) 0
06
ton
ing weights to the im-
within EX
porters
1-4 cask
03
40
100
working days
Unhousing,
the like
half qr. cask
20
100
from the peri-
03
Wharfage, and
Loading from the ware-
od of the im-
Shipping.
house, Id. per cask.
porting ship
Bacon
hogshead
20
0 3
16
Weighing on delivery, if
breakingbulk.
bale
06
0 1
0 6
required, and furnish-
Watching on
side
0 21-4
0
1-4
0
1-2
ing delivery weights
the quarys, af-
-middles, 3 cwt.
tierce
0 8 1-4
01
to the buyer, Id. per
ter the expi-
0 6
ditto, ! to 2ewt.
cask
06
0
01-2
0 4
cask.
ration of one
Emden or Holland,
week, per
Baggage, including deli-
landing, wharfage, and
night, on any
very and one week's
housing or loading,
number of
casks or fir-
rent.
and furnishing land.
presents, samples, par-
ing weights firkin
03
20
100
kins,
cels of papers, and
Loading from the ware-
Not exceeding
ad
other small articles,
house, 3-4d. perfirkin
package
0 6
Weighing on delivery,
25
06
0 1
package
when required, 3-4d.
26¬50
cases, trunks, boxes,bun-
dles of bedding, and
1
wearing apparel,
package
per firkin.
51
to
0112
s
Irish score firkins
30
20
10
76
package
6
Weighing upon deliv.
On any num-
middle-sized ditto and
ery, Id. per cask or
berabove 100,
chests
package
2 0
0 2
package
firkin.
in like pro-
larger packages in pro-
Unhousing, wharfage, &
portion.
portion.
shipping, 1-2d. per
Bags, empty
score
0 2
0
01-2
score
cask or firkin.
Balsam capivi,in jars, ewt.
1 112
0
01-2
jar
Cables, iron
ton
50
03
ton
in barrels
ewt.
0 6
0 1
barrel, under 2 cwt.
hempen
ton
10
0 ⁴
04
ton
0 2
barrel, 3 cwt. and
coir
ton
12
6
05
ton
upwards
Cambric
package
9 6
04
package
Peru, in jars
cwt.
1 112
0 01-2
jar
Camels' hair
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 2
bale or case
Cooper'sattendance at
Camphor
cwt.
0 6
0 10 1-2
ton
landing and delivery is
or a consolidated rate of
a separate charge.
1s. 8d. per cwt. nett.
Canada
package
16
0 1
package
Canes, common rattan,
Bamboos. See Canes.
1,000
16
0 112
1,000
Bark, oak, in bags or
or a consolidated rate of
loose
ton
5 0
04
ton
3s. 6d. per 1,000.
in casks
ton
3 0
0 4
ton
ground
1,000
40
0 3
1,000
in cases about 1 cwt.
reed, in bundles, 25 each
2 qrs.
cwt.
06
0 1
case
100 bundles
6 3
I 6
100 bundles
Jesuits' or Peruvian, cwt.
1 0
0 1
chest
whanghee, bamboo, and
0
03-1
1-2 chest or seron
Jumbo
1,000
5 0
0 2
1,000
0 0 1-2
1-2 seron
Canilla alba
cwt.
0 6
0 03-4
cwt.
Barilla, loose
ton
36
0 2
ton
or a consolidated rate of
Unhousing, wharfage, &
1s. 8d. per cwt. nett.
shipping, 3e. per ton
Cantharides
cwt.
I 0
0
3
case or cask under
Filling and weighing, 2s.
cwt.
per ton.
0
4
case or cask 4 and
in serons
ton
33
02
ton
under S cwt.
Unhousing, wharfage,
0
6
case or cask 8 cat
and shipping, 2s. 6d.
and upwards
per ton.
Capers
ewt.
0
3
0
6
butt
Baskets
bale
30
0 3
bale
0 4
punchoon
1-2 bale
16
0
1-2
1.2 bale
0 3
hogshead
large bundle
10
0
1
large bundle
0
I
barrel
small bundle
0 6
0 012
small bundle
Cards, playing
package
16
0
or
package
Beads, jet, or other kinds,
small package
10
0
-
small package
not described package
I 6
0 1
package
Cardamoms
cwt.
06
0
1.2
chest
Beans, in bags
bag
06
0 1
bag
bag
0
1
bag
castor
cwt.
0
3
06
ton
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
581
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Per
Import
Rate.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
5. d.
s, d.
Per
Per
s.d.
s. d.
Per
Carpets, bale above 70
Cobalt
ton
50
0 5
ton
square yards
2 0
0 4
bale
Cochineal
cwt.
09
0 11.2
cwt.
ballot, under TO square
or a consolidated rate of
yards
I 11.2
0
2
ballot
3s. per cwt.
Carraway seed
ton
5 0
0 5
ton
dust
4 2
100 bags
Cashew nuts
cwt.
0 6
0 01-2
cwt.
Cocoa and coffee, all kinds,
Casks landed empty, or
cwt.
0 6
06
ton
cask cases, if not deli-
or a consolidated rate,
vered within days (and
in casks, Is. 6d. per
includes delivery)
cwt. nett; in bags, 12.
butt. pipe, or pun-
2d. per cwt. nett.
cheon
0 8
0 1
butt, pipe, or pun-
Coeque de perle
chest
10
0 2
chest
cheon
Coculus Indicus cwt.
0 6
0 0 1-2
cwt.
smaller cask or case
0 4
0 01-2
smaller cask or case
or a consolidated rate of
N. B.-If taken away
Is. 6d. per cwt. nett.
within 6 days, half the
Coir, unwrought, press-
above charges, and DO
packed
ton
3 0
rent.
rope, under 6 inches
wine or spirit, small ul.
girth
ton
63
04
ton
lages (including turn-
yarn
ton
50
ing over the contents.
Coker nuts
100
16
0
3
100
storing and delivery)
or a consolidated rate of
each
10
0 1
each
3s. 4d. per 100.
Cassia lignes
cwt.
0 6
1 0
ton
Coloquintida
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 1
case or cask under I
buds
cwt.
0 6
I 0
ton, in chests
cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
5 0
100 bags
0 2
case or cask 1 and
1s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
under 3 cwt.
fistula
cwt.
0 6
0 03-4
ewt.
0 3
case or cask 3 cwt.
Castor beans
ton
0
3
0 6
ton
and upwards.
Castorum, keg or small
Columbo root
cwt.
06
0 1-2
cwt.
box
1 0
0 1
keg or small box
Copper
ton
50
0 2
ton
Catlings
case or chest
10
0 2
case or chest
Wharfage and shipping
Caviare
package
0 6
0 1
package
copper slabs, when
Chaises or carriages, with
piled on the quay, 3s.
2 wheels
each
76
1 0
each
4d. per ton.
4 ditto
each
10 6
I 6
each
Copperas
ton
50
0 6
ton
Chalk, French
ton
50
0 6
ton
Coquilla nuts
1,000
13
0 1
1,000
Chassum
bale
16
0 I
bale
Counting the whole par-
Cheese, foreign
tom
40
1 0
ton
ccl is a separate charge.
To be housed in a
Coral, fragments
cwt.
0
71-2
0
3
case or cask
well lighted and
beads
case
16
0 2
case
ventilated ware-
box
10
0 1
box
Landing, wharfage, and
house, with the
Cordage, hempen, under 6
housing, or loading,
use of scaffolding,
inches
ton
5 0
0
4
ton
"and furnishing land-
upon which the
Cork
ton
60
0 7
ton on quay
ing weights to the im-
cheese will be
Unhousing, wharfage, &
I 0
ton under cover
porters.
stowed, so as to
shipping, 4s. per ton.
admit of separate
Corks
cwt.
2 0
0
1
bag cwt.
and convenient
0
01-2
bag 56 lbs.
Turning, each time, per
examination; and
0 2
hogshead
ton, 9d.
the rent to com-
Cornelians & beads, chest
16
0 OF
chest
mence after one
box
16
0 1
box
week from the day
Corpses
each
15 0
of landing.
Cortex Winteranus cwt.
0 6
0 03-4
On delivery, weighing,
N. B.-By this mode
or a consolidated rate of
per ton, 1s. 4d.
of stowage and
1s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
well regulated
Cotton goods
bale
1 6
0
2
bale
ventilation, the
box or case
10
0
1-2
box or case
loss in weight
trunk
0 9
0
1
trunk
Unhousing and loading,
usually sustained
Cotton wool, press-packed
per ton, 1s. 4d.
upon housing will
cwt.
0 3
0
5
ton
be materially di-
not press-packed cwt.
0 41-2
0
6
ton
minished.
or a consolidated rate on
in tub or case
cwt.
0 6
0 I
tub or case
press-packed, 9d. per
16
100 small ditto
cwt. nett not press-
Chesnuts
bushel
0 1-4
4 0
100 sacks
packed, 19. per cwt.
2 0
100 bags
nett.
4 2
100 barrels
Cotton yarn
cwt.
0
51-4
0
1
bale
Chicoree, under 1 cwt.
Cowhage
cwt.
0
6
0
1-2
cwt.
2 qrs.
case or cask
06
)
Cowries
ton
5 0
0
3
ton
under 3 cwt. case or
-001-2
case or cask
Cows
each
10
0
cask
0 9
1
Cranberries
keg
0 6
0
1
keg
3 and under 5 cwt.
barrel
09
0
1
barrel
case or cask
I 0
0 1
case or cask
Cream of tartar
ton
5
0
0 6
ton
5 cwt. and above,
0 2
cask under 13 cwt.
cask
16
0 2
case or cask
Cubebs
cwt.
0
6
0
03-4
cwt.
Chillies
cwt.
0 6
0 7
ton
Cummin seed
cwt.
0
6
0 014
cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
1s. per cwt. nett.
Unhousing,
China root
cwt.
0 6
0
01-2
cwt.
and
China ware or porcelain,
Loading. 1
case
16
0 3
case
Currants, 23 cwt. and up-
5. d.
small case
I 0
0 2
small case
wards
butt
4
6
0 6
10
box
1 0
0 I
box
15 to 23 cwt.
butt
3 0
0 4
0 8
Chirayeta
cwt.
0 8 1-4
0 3
cask or case
9 to 15 cwt.
pipe
23
0 3
0 6
Chocolate
box
0
9
0 2
box
5 to 9 cwt.
carotel
16
0
2
0 4
Cinnabur
cwt.
2 41-2
0 10
ton
Deals. See Wood Goods.
or a consolidated rate of
Deer
each
50
4a. 6d. per cwt. nett.
Diamonds
package
16
0
3
package
Cinnamon
cwt.
I 81-4
0
1
cwt.
Dragons' blood
cwt.
0 6
0 01-2
cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
Dripstones
each
0
9
0
01-2
each
3r. per cwt. nett.
Dye flower
ton
5
0
0
6
ton
Citron, in salt
pipe
16
0 4
pipe
or a consolidated rate of
hogshead
10
0 3
hogshead
14a. 6d per ton nett.
Cooper's attendance is a
Eau de Cologne
case
16
0 4
case
separate charge.
small case
10
0 2
small case
preserved. See Suc-
Eggs
box
0
6
0 1
box
cades.
Elephants' feeth. See
Clocks, wooden chest
2 0
0 2
chest
Ivory.
Cloth, woollen, case or
Emery stone. See Stone.
large bale
or 0
0 3
case or large bale
Essences, I cwt. and up-
from 8 to 12 pieces, or.
wards
case
or 0
0
4
case
dimary bale
1 6
0 2
ordinary bale
under 1 cwt.
case
16
0 2
small case
under 8 pieces small bale
1 0
0 11-2 small bale
Extract from oak bark, cwt
0
3
0
I
cask about 4 cwt.
Cloves
cwt,
0 81-4
0
1
cwt.
0
1.2
cask above 61-2 cwt.
or a commidated rate of
rhatania
ewt.
0
9
0
cwt.
2s. 3d. per cwt. nett.
Jesuits' bark
cwt.
0 9
0
1
cwt.
3c2
Digitized by Google
582
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Per
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
Week.
Quantities, be
Per
a. d.
8.
d.
Per
Per
s.d.
ed
Per
Fans
case
10
0 1.2
case
Hair, horse, OX OF cow
box
I 0
0
1
box
cwt.
06
01
bale under $ cwt
Feathers, bed
ewt.
0 10 1-2
0 1
small bale
0 112
bale 3 and under 5
0 1-2
bag 1 1.2 and under
cwt.
or cwt.
0 2
bale 5 swt. and up-
0
2
bag 2 and under 3
wards
cwt.
0 01-2
cwt. loose
I
0
3
bale 3 and under 5
human
cwt.
10
02
bale
cwt.
from Ireland
0 2
bale
Unleg.
ostrich
package
16
0 2
package
Whige.
vulture, not exceeding 2
and
cwt.
package
16
0 2
package
Shipg.
not exceeding 50 lbs. bag
06
0 01-2
bag not exceeding
8.d.
50 lbs.
Hams
hogshead
20
03
16
hogshead
tierce
16
0 1
08
tierce
Rent
Unhosng
barrel or basket
06
0 1
04
brl. or tas-
per
and
ket
Week.
Landg.
loose
each
0 03-4
0 014
each
Figa, 3 qrs. to I cwt. 1 qr.;
s.d.
Hats, Leghorn
10 doz.
06
01
10 dozen
chest
0
3
0
01-2
20
100 chests
02
middling case or
about 56 lbs. 1-2 chest
03
0 01-2
13
1001-2chests
package
1-4 chest-28 lbs. score
26
0 6
04
large case or pckg.
drums
score
26
0 6
chip
tub of 80 doz.
16
02
tub of 80 dozen
1-2 & 1-4 drums
score
I 6
0 6
1
5
ton
Hellebore root
cwt.
06
0 10
ton
half qr. drums
score
16
0 6
Hemp (including weigh.
tapnets
score
I 6
0
6
ing)
fon
46
05
ton
Fish, cod
If sold from landing
ton
46
0
4
ton
scale to importer,
herrings
tierce
1 0
3 0
100 tierces
mackerel
barrel
ton 3s. 6d. ; to buyer,
0 6
1 6
100 barrels
ton Is.
salmon
tierce
0 6
5 0
100 tierces
Weighing in the ware-
kit
0
1-2
1 6
100 kits
house, ton 2s.
stock, or sturgeon 1,000
6
0
0 4
1,000 stock
Loading, ton 2s.
1 0
100 kegs sturgeon
Unhousing, wharfage,
2 6
100 barrels stock or
and shipping, 4s. per
sturgeon
ton.
not otherwise described,
press-packed
ton
40
04
ton
tierce
10
5 0
100 tierces
codilla,hemp or flax ton
60
0 6
ton
barrel
0 6
2 6
100 barrels
box
If sold from landing
0 3
I 6
100 boxes
scale:
roes
barrel
0 9
3 0
100 barrela
to importer, ton 5s.
Flax(including weighing,)
to buyer, ton 1s.
ton
5 0
0 5
ton
If sold from landing
Weighing, 2s. per ton.
Loading, 3s. per ton.
scale, to importer, per
ton, 3s. 6d. to buy-
Unhousing, wharfage, &
ers, ditto, 1s. 6d.
shipping, 5s. per ton.
Unhousing, wharfage,
Consolidated rate, on
and shipping, 4s. 6d.
East India, press-
packed, Hs. per ton.
per ton.
Flour
Hides, horse bale or chest
2 81-4
03
containing 150 or
ton
49
0 21-4
ton
under
including delivery by
land or water.
larger bale in pro-
portion
Repiling, Is. per ton.
loose
each
Weighing on delivery,
0 03-4
0
6
100
from Hambro', dry 100
7 6
08
100
if required, Id. per
bundle of 2 hides
barrel or chest.
0 3
0 10
100
horse, ox, cow, or buf-
Flowers, artificial
case
10
0 1
case
falo, wet salted each
0 11-2
010
100 hides
box
0 9
0 0 1-2
box
Forest seeds, nuts and
ox, cow, or buffalo, with
short horns
each
barrel
02
20
100
acorns
09
0 1
barrel
Frankincense
other hides, not enume-
chest
0 1-4
0 10
ton
Fruit. See the species of
rated, dry, or dry
fruit.
salted,averaging more
than 22 lbs.
each
Furniture, very large case
0 11-2
0 10
100
4
6
0 4
large case
do. averaging lbs. and
ordinary case
30
03
ordinary case
middling case
not exceeding 22 lbs.
20
0 2
middling case
100
intermediate package
9
0
0 10
100
10
0 11-2
intermediate pack-
do.7 lbs.and under 12lbs.
age
100
6 3
06
100
small case
0
6
0 1
small case
do. under 7 lbs,
Furs. See Skins.
100
42
0 6
100
Galangal
in bales, about 8 cwt.
cwt.
0
6
0 01-2
cwt.
bale
Galbanum
30
0 3
bale
cwt.
0 6
0 012
cwt.
Galls
about 4 cwt. bale
16
0 11-2
tale
cwt.
0
33-4
0 10
ton
Gamboge
small bale
13
0
small bale
cwt.
0 6
0 012
cwt.
losh
Gentian root
bale or chest
20
0 3
bale or chest
ton
5 0
0 10
ton
Ginger
Honey
cwt.
0 6
0 1
barrel
cwt.
0
6
0 6
ton
or a consolidated rate of,
0 01-2
keg or jar
Hoofs
cwt.
in casks, 1s. 6d, per
0 6
0 10
ton
Hops
cwt.
cwt. nett; in bags, Is.
0 412
0 2
bag
2d. do.
0 I
pocket
Ginseng root
ton
Horns, and horn tips, or
5 0
0 1
barrel
Glass
cask or chest
16
plates, including count-
0 3
cask or chest
ing
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 10
ton horns
case
1
0
0 2
case
06
ton tips
box
]
0
0 1
box
Glue
in packages
cwt.
06
0 01-2
tag
ton
5 0
0 4
ton
Granilla
hart, stag, or deer,
cwt.
0
9
0 2
barrel
or a consolidated rate of
100 pair
3 0
0 3
100 pair
in bales under 2 cwt.
3s. per cwt. nett.
bale
Grapes
10
0 I
bale
box
0
6
5 0
100 boxes
2 cwt. and above bale
16
0 112
bale
jar
0
3
2 6
100 jara
Horses
Grease
each
12 6
ton
5
0
0 3
ton
Greaves
Jalap
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0
1
bale about $ cwt.
ton
4 6
0 3
ton
0 034
bale about 1-2cmt
Guinea grains
cwt.
0
6
0 10
ton
Jewellery
package
I 6
0 3
package
Gum, in serons, bags, or
box
16
0 2
box
in cases. chests or casks,
from Africa
Indian rubber, hogshead or
ton
4 6
0 4
ton
pipe
16
0
4
hogshead or pipe
in cases, chests, or bar.
2 to 4 cwt. case
16
0
I
case
rels, from other places
I to 2 cwt case
10
0
-
case
cwt.
0
6
0 11.2
chest or case
barrel
06
0 01-2
barrel
0 012
barrel
loose
cwt.
10
0
cwt. in bottle
loose or in hogsheads ton
5 0
0 4
ton
0 03-4
cwt. solid
Guns, carronades, 6 cwt.
Indian corn
and upwards each
bag
03
0 012
bag
20
0 1
no rent iftakenaway
Indigo, not E. India, cwt.
09
01
seron
Other sizes are charged
in 7 days
or a consolidated rate of
in proportion.
1s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
583
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Per
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
#.
d.
8, d.
Per
Per
s. d.
s. d.
Per
Indigo-continued.
Linseed. See Wheat.
East India, in chests
cakes
ton
3 6
0 3
ton
cwt.
0 81-4
0 11-2
chest
Liquorice
cwt.
0 334
0 1
case or barrel
or a consolidated rate,
root
cwt.
0
6
1 0
loose, ton
including all opera-
0 1
bale under 2 cwt.
tions incident on tar-
Mace
cwt.
1
0
0
1-2
chest
ing, raising, repack-
or a consolidated rate of
0 1
cask about 1 cwt.
ing, stowing, and at-
3s. per cwt.
tendance whilst on
Madder
ton
3 41-2
0 6
ton
show, nailing down,
roots
cwt.
0
0 1
bale under 3 cwt.
lotting and piling
2 qrs.
away, of 17s. 6d. per
0 11.2
bale 3 cwt. 2 qrs.
chest.
and under 5 cwt.
0
2
bale 5 cwt. and up-
Ink
cwt.
09
0 2
cask
wards
Inkle
cwt.
10
0
1-2
case
Maiden hair
bale
10
0 1
bale
0 1
box or keg
Manna
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 1
chest or cask
Ipecacuanha
cwt.
0 10
0 10
ton
Marbles
ton
5 0
04
ton
Iron (including weighing),
Marble baths
each
6 0
06
each
ton
3 4
0 1
ton
mortars
ton
5
0
0 6
ton
if landed for transit, and
sculptured works of art
not weighed
ton
26
0 1
ton
import rate according
when shipped from
to the size and value
0
3
case
landing scale (includ-
02
small case
ing delivery)
ton
42
none
if shipped withm 1
rough, in cases - cwt.
0
6
02
case
Unpiling, wharfage, and
week from the last
shipping, without
day of landing.
Delivered
weighing, 2s. 6d. per
into craft,
ton.
per Ton
Wharf-
When weighed on
of 25
age and
board, (including use
Palms or
Shipping.
of scales and weights),
12 Cubic
2s. per ton.
Feet.
old
ton
34
02
ton
s.d.
d.
ore
ton
3 0
0 2
ton
blocks, under 2 tons, ton
60
03
30
46
steam engines, boilers,
above 2 tons
ton
10
0
0 3
50
7 6
cylinders, and other
above 10 tons
ton
20
0
0
3
10
0
15 0
heavy machinery ton
76
0 1
ton
if discharged from the
vessel into craft, with-
Mastic
cwt.
0
6
0
1
case or chest about
out landing or weigh-
3 cwt.
ing
ton
60
Mats
:-
100
1 1-4
0 6
100 bundles
Isinglass
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 10
ton
Indian
chest
10
0 2
chest
Ivory
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 I
cwt.
box
0 9
0 1
box
Junk, or old rope
ton
36
0 3
ton
from corn vessels, bun-
Jute, press-packed ton
40
0 4
ton
die of 10
0
2
0
6
100 bundles
or a consolidated rate of
Delivery by land, 1-2d.
11s. per ton nett.
per bundle; by water,
Kelp
ton
36
0
2
ton
Id. per bundle.
Filling and weighing,
Melting pots
cask
40
0 4
cask
2s. per ton.
Minerals
case
1 0
0 2
case
Knives
package
16
0
or
case
Mohair yarn
cwt.
0 71-2
0 1
bale
0 1
barrel
Molasses. See West In-
0 0 1-2
box
dia Dock Charges.
Lac dye or lake chest
10
0 1
chest
Moss, rock or Iceland, ton
7
6
0 9
ton in bags
Lace
case or box
26
0 6
case or box
1 6
100 casks about 84
Lacquered ware
chest
16
0 2
chest
lbs.
box
1 0
0 1
box
3 0
100 casks about 2
Lard
bladder
0 034
0 6
100 bladders
Mother-o'-pearl, shells,
cwt.
Lead
ton
26
0 1
ton
ton
7
6
0
4
ton
Unpiling, wharfage, and
or a consolidated rate of
shipping, 1s. 8d. per
18s. 6d. per ton nett.
ton.
ware
chests
1 6
0
2
chest
ore
ton
30
0
2
ton
box
I
0
0 I
box
black
ton
39
0 4
ton
Munjeet, in bales
cwt.
0
6
0 0 1-2
cwt.
white
ton
50
0 4
ton
in a consolidated rate of
Leather, foreign (tanned)
1s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
bale
16
0 2
bale
in bundles
cwt.
0
9
0
03-4
cwt.
demi
bale
1 0
0
1-2
bale
or a consolidated rate of
loose
ton
50
0
9
ton
2s. per cwt. nett.
Irish (tanned) bale,under
Musk
chest
I
6
0
2
chest
cwt.
0
9
0 03-4
bale under 1 cwt.
box
I
0
0
1
box
bale, I cwt. to or cwt.
10
0 1
bale 1 to 2 cwt.
Myrabolans
cwt.
0
4
1-2
0
01-4
ewt.
bale, 2 cwt. to-4 cwt.
1 6
0
1-2
bale 2 to 4 cwt.
Myrrh
cwt.
0
6
0 012
cwt.
small or middling crate
2 0
0
1-2
small or middling
Nails
cwt.
0
3
0 0 1-2
barrel or bag
crate
Nankeen
chest
I
3
0
I
chest
large crate
2 6
0
2
large crate
Natron, loose
ton
36
0
3
ton
Lemons. See Oranges.
Filling and weighing,
Lexia
ton
50
0
4
ton
2s. per ton.
Limes
barrel
0 81-4
0
I
barrel
Nutmegs
cwt.
0
6
0 10
ton
Lime juice
100 gallons
21
0 5
puncheon
or a consolidated rate of
Laying up to guage, and
0 3
hogshead
Is. 6d. per cwt. nett.
cooper's attendance at
0 2
barrel
Nuts
bushel
0
21.4
4 0
100 sacks
landing and delivery,
barrel
0
41-2
0
1
barrel
form aseparate charge.
bag or sack
0
41-2
2
0
100 bags
Linen, German
bale
23
0
4
bale
castania
bushel
0
2
1-4
I 0
100 bushels
1-2 bale
1 3
0
2
1-2 bale
Nux vomica
cwt.
0 41-2
0 014
cwt.
1-4 bale
0 81-4
0
I
1-4 bale
Oakum
ton
5 0
0
4
ton
loose or in bags
roll
0
1
1-2
1
0
100 rolls
Oatmeal, about 2 1-2 cwt.,
chest
2 6
0 4
chest
including delivery ton
4
9
0 1-2
ton if not cleared
1-2 chest
13
0 2
1-2 chest
Weighing for delivery,
within 14 days of
1-4 chest
0 814
0 1
1-4 chest
Id. per sack or barrel
breaking bulk.
Russia
bale
1 214
0
2
bale
Ochre
ton
39
0
4
ton
1-2 bale, containing 10
Oil, bay
cask
10
0
1
cask
pieces, or boarded
castor
cwt.
0 6
0
3
puncheon or hhd.
bale
09
0
1
1-2 bale
I
3
ton, in jara or dup-
1-4 bale
0712
0
-
1-4 bale
pers
crash
bale
1 214
0
3
bale
0
2
tierce
1-2 bale
0 9
0
2
1-2 bale
0
1
barrel under 2 cwt.
1-4 bale
0 71-2
0
I
1-4 bale
0
11-2
barrel above 2 cwt.
sail cloth
bolt or roll
0
I
1-2
I
0
100 bolts or rolls
0
01-2
case 12 bottles
mats, 2 pieces each
0
3
2
0
100 mate (2 pieces)
Irish
case or bale
I 6
0
3
case or bale
chemical, 1 cwt. and
box or bundle
0 9
0
2
box or bundle
upwards package
2
0
0
4
large case
sample box
0
6
0
1
sample box
under 1 ewt. package
1 6
0
2
small case
Digitized by Google
584
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Rent.
Rent.)
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Per
Import
Rate.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
Week.
Quantities, be
Per
Per Tun of 262 Imp. Gallons.
Per
8.
d.
s.d.
Per
Oil-continued.
Pictures-continued.
Olive
middling tale or case
30
Newfound-
04
middling bale or
in
Fish.
case
land.
Casks.
small bale or case
16
03
small bale case
8, d.
s.d.
Piece goods
bale
13
0 1-2
bale
Landing, wharfage, and
Pill boxes
large vat
46
0 6
large vat
laying up to gauge
46
30
30
small vat
30
04
small vat
Cooper's attendance, if
Pimento
cwt.
06
06
ton
delivered from the
or a consolidated rate,
quay
20
20
20
in bags Is. 2d. cwt.
Searching and filling up
in casks 1s. 6d. cwt.
(if done)
10
10
10
Pink root
cwt.
06
02
bale
Loading or housing
16
16
12
Pitch
ton
26
3 0
100 barrels
Cooper's attendance at
Plaster of Paris
ton
30
0 2
ton
housing, and at de-
Plums, Portugal, in boxes,
livery from the vault
10
10
10
dozen
09
10
100 boxes
Unhousing and loading
16
16
16
Porcelain
case
16
0 3
case
Unhousing, wharfage,
small case
10
02
small case
and shipping
46
30
30
Potatoes
ton
36
03
ton
Rent per week
0 6
04
0 4
Potash. See Ashes.
N. B.-Fourteen days
Preserves,
allowed from final day
under 28 lbs. package
03
of landing previous to
28 to 112 lbs. package
06
the commencement of
0034
1 cwt. and upwards,
cwt.
rent but the Company
package
06
are at liberty to house 6
or a consolidated rate,
days after gauging, un-
under 28 Ibs.package,6d.
less detained by written
28 to 112 lbs. do. 1s.
order previously.
112 lbs. and upwards,
Rent on the quantity
package, is. per cwt.
remaining will be
nett.
charged from the day of
the vessel breaking bulk.
Unhousg
Rent
and
per
Rent
Prunes or French plums,
Landing.
Week.
Import
about 8 cwt., hhd. or
s. d.
Rate.
per
s.d.
Week.
puncheon
6
06
02
hd.orpun.
5 to 7 cwt.
barrel
10
03
0
11-2
barrel
olive, in jars:
8. d.
8. d.
2 to 5 cwt.
1-2 barrel
09
02
0 1
1-2 barrel
common jars cwt.
0 81-4
03
common jar
under 2 cwt. 1-4 barrel
06
02
4 2
100
1-2 jars
cwt.
0
02
1-2 jar
about I cwt, containing
large jars
cwt.
0 6
06
large jar
boxes or cartoons case
06
02
01
case
cases containing 30
about 50 lbs.
box
02
0 6
13
100
quart bottles case
10
0 31-2
score cases
score
salad, 1-2 chest of 30
about 28 lbs. 1-4 chest
0
06
10
100
bottles
06
0 21-2
score 1-2 chests
score
palm and cocoa nut, ton
3 9
04
ton
in large casks, for every
Rent
cwt. above 30 cwt.
0 9
per
seed
tun
60
06
tun
Week.
Oil cake. See Linseed
Prussiate of potash
ton
46
04
ton
Cakes.
Puree
chest
06
01
chest
Olibanum. See Gum, in
Pyrolignate of lead
ton
50
0 5
ton
cases or chests.
Quassia
cwt.
06
0 034
cwt.
Olives, about 12 galls.
Quicksilver, in bottles,
1-2 brl.
04
01
1-2 barrel
bottle
03
0 01-4
bottle
-
6 - 1-4 bri.
0 3
0 01-2
1-4 barrel
containing 1 skin case
06
0 01-2
case
- 23-4 keg
0 21-4
0 0 1-4
keg
Quills
vat
46
04
vat
about 5 quarts small keg.
small val
30
0 3
small vat
score
16
02
score
hogshead or barrel
16
03
hogshead or barrel
3 pint jars
score
0 9
01
score
case
20
03
case
in larger packages, gall.
0
0 3
tierce
bale
06
02
bale
02
barrel, 30 gallons
Quinine, sulphate of, con-
01
1.2 barrel
taining about 3 quarts,
Onions
bushel
06
0
I
basket or barrel
case
09
01
case
Opium
cwt.
0 10 12
0
1-2
chest under 3 cwt.
Radix contrayerve cwt.
09
0.2
case
Oranges and lemons, chest
0 712
0
1
chest
seneke
barrel
06
0
012
barrel
box
0 514
0
01-2
box
Rags or old ropes
ton
30
03
ton
Oranges, in cases
case
10
0
1-2
case
Orange buds
cwt.
0 41-2
02
tierce
Unhousg
Rent
03
hogshead
and
per
Orchella weed
cwt.
0 614
01
bale
Landing.
Week.
Orpinent
ton
50
04
ton
Raisins, 12 to 20 cwt., butt
30
08
04
butt
Orrice root
cwt.
0 3
03
hogshead
9 to 12 ewt.
pipe
23
0 6
0 3
pipe
02
herce
5 to 9 cwt.
carotel
16
04
02
carotel
01
barrel or seron
2 cwt. 2 qrs. to 4 cwt.
Orsidew
package
16
03
large case
2 qrs.
barrel
09
02
0
barrel
0 2
small case
1 cwt. 2 qrs. to 2 cwt.
Otto of roses
package
26
or qrs. 1-2 barrel
06
02
0 1-2
1-2 barrel
middling package
16
04
package
under 1 cwt. 2 qrs.
small package
10
14 barrel
03
0 01-2
20
100
Oxen
each
10 0
Weighing do. Is. score.
Paddy, in bulk
quarter
0 10
01
quarter
Cape, casks under 3cwt.,
Paper
cwt.
06
0 10
ton
cask
09
0 03-4
cask
Pearl barley
keg
0 3
0
keg
3 cwt. to 5 cwt., cask
16
0 2
100
barrel
0 6
0 0 1-2
barrel
boxes, about 60 lbs., score
30
1 8
Peas
tierce or barrel
0 9
0 1
tierce or barrel
Denia & Valentia, boxes,
bag
0
26
100 bags
score
26
06
1 3
100
Pepper (unsifted)
ton
50
06
ton
Weighing do. 8d. score.
or a consolidated rate of
1-4 and 1-2 boxes score
16
06
10
100
9d. per cwt. nett or
frails or baskets score
18
05
1 0
100
of 2s. 3d. per cwt.
Weighing do. 6d. score.
nett, including ordi-
1-4 and 1-2 frails or bas-
nary sifting and bag-
kets,
score
10
04
10
100
ging
01
bag of 317 lbs. nott.
Weighing do. 4d. score.
long or Cayenne cwt.
06
07
ton
Malaga, boxes
score
20
06
10
100
or a consolidated rate
1-4 & 1.2 boxes score
16
0 6
0 10
100
of Is. per cwt. nett.
Weighing do. 8d. score.
Piano.fortes
each
46
06
each
Smyrna, drums
score
26
06
10
100
Piccaba
cwt.
06
04
ton
Weighingdo. 10d. score.
Pickles
dozen bottles
0 214
0 01-2
dozen bottles
1-4 & 1-2 drums score
16
06
10
100
in barrels
gallon
0 012
0 1
barrel
Weighing do. 6d. score.
large bottles or jars,
Rent
under 2 gallons gall.
0 11-2
0
bottle or jar
per
2 & under 5 do., gall.
0
0
bottle or jar
Week.
5 and upwards gall.
0 034
0 034
bottle or jar
Rhatania extract cwt.
09
01
cwt.
Pictures, large bale or case
46
06
large bale or case
root
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 01-2
cwt.
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
585
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Per
Import
Rate.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
8. d.
8. d.
Per
Per
s. d.
1. d.
Per
Rhubarb
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0 10
ton
Skins-continued.
A consolidated rate on
goat, Trieste, bale about
East India, including
8 cwt.
20
0 3
bale
also starting into bulk,
Hamburgh, bale of
taring, repairing, re-
100 skins and under
1 0
0 1
bale
taring, refilling, nail-
bale above 100 skins
16
0
1-2
bale
ing down, reweighing,
Mogadore, above 100
and piling away, of 5a.
skins
bale
I 6
0
2
120 skins
per chest.
above 60 to 100skins,
Rice
cwt.
0 214
0 4
ton
bale
0 9
0
2
120 skins
or a consolidated rate of,
above 30 to 60 skins,
in casks 13s. 4d. ton
bale
0 6
0
2
120 skins
in bags 10s. 6d. ton
of 30 & under, bale
0 3
0 2
120 skins
Roots, sassafras or winters
loose
dozen
0 2
0 3
120 skins
cwt.
0
9
0
2
cask or case
hare and coney, 500
Rosin
ton
2
6
0
6
ton, loose
skins
bale
1 6
0
3
bale
3 0
100 barrels
under 500 skins, bale
I 0
0 OF
bale
Rugs
bale
1
6
0
3
bale
large cask
2 0
0 6
large cask
1-2 bale
1
0
0
1-2
1.2 bale
middling cask
16
0 4
middling cask
Rushes
load
I
6
0
3
load
small cask
1 0
0 3
small cask
for polishing
bundle
0
I
1-2
1
0
100 bundles
kangaroo
dozen
0 0 1-2
0
2
bale
Sac Saturni
cwt.
0
3
0 3
chest
kid or lamb, hhd., pun.,
Saffron
cwt.
2
0
0 2
bale or case
or bale
1 6
0 3
hhd., pun., or bale
Safflower
ton
5
0
0
6
ton
tieree
1 0
0 2
tierce
or a consolidated rate of
barrel
0 6
0 I
barrel
14s. 6d. per ton nett.
large bundle
I 0
0 2
large bundle
Sago
cwt.
0
6
0
6
ton
ordinary bundle
0 9
0 1
ordinary bundle
Sal ammoniac
ton
5 0
0 6
ton
small bundle
0 6
0 1
small bundle
Salop
package
1
6
0 2
package
lamb, Hamburgh, or
Saltpetre
ton
5 0
0 3
ton
Copenhagen, under
Salts
cwt.
0
3
0
4
ton
200 skins
bale
1 0
0 1
bale
Samples which are by law
above 200 skins, bale
1 6
0
11-2
bale
exempted from duty,
leopard, lion, and tiger,
free.
each
0 1-1-2
0
0
1-2
each
Saphora
package
0
6
0 1
package
nutria
hogshead
16
0 4
bogshead
Sarsaparilla
cwt.
16
01
cwt.
barrel
1 0
0 1
barrel
0 10
100 bundles
about 150 doz. skins,
or a consolidated rate of
bale
16
0
4
bale of 150 dozen
4s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
about 100 doz. skins,
Reweighing bales 4 cwt.
bale
0
0
3
bale of 100 dozen
and upwards 1s. 6d.
about 50 doz. skins,
per bale.
bale
0 9
0
2
bale of 50 dozen
under 4 cwt., Is.
opossum, about 50 skins,
Scaleboards 100 bundles
3 0
0 4
100 bundles
bundle
0 6
0
1
bundle
Scammony
cwt.
30
0 01-2
drum
Quebec or Hudson's
Seed, agricultural (or not
Bay, case, bale, or
otherwise rated),
puncheon
16
0
3
case, bale, or pun-
in bags
ton
3
9
0 31-2
ton
cheon
in cassks
ton
4 6
0 312
ton
large bundle
10
0
2
large bundle
Seed lac
cwt.
0
9
0 01-2
cwt.
ordinary bundle
0 9
0 1
ordinary bundle
or a consolidated rate of
small bundle or keg
0 6
0 1
small bundle or keg
2s. per cwt. nett.
seal
pipe
20
0 3
pipe
Senna
cwt.
0
6
0 71-2
ton
puncheon or hogshead
16
0 2
puncheon or hogs-
Shawls, small box or bale
2 0
0
11-2
small box or bale
head
large box or bale
3 0
0 or
large box or bale
barrel
I 0
0
1
barrel
loose
120
16
Shaya root, press-packed,
0 3
120
ton
40
0 4
ton
South Seas, wigs 120
I
9
0 6
120
Shellac
ewt.
0 9
0 0 1-2
cwt.
middlings
120
1
9
0 4
120
or a consolidated rate of
smalls and pups 120
1 6
0 3
120
2s. per cwt. nett.
Greenland, loose 120
I 6
0 2
120
Ships' stores warehoused,
sheep, Hamburgh bale
1 6
0
2
bale
consolidated rate, 2 cwt.
sheep or goat,
20
0
2
bale
and upwards
cwt.
16
0 I
package
Cape bale, 100 skins
under 2 cwt. package
1 0
0 01-2
package
75 skins
16
0
1-2
bale
under 28 lbs. package
0 6
0 14
package
60 skies
1 0
0
I
bale
if liquids
gallon
0
0 5
tun
25 skins
0 6
0
0
1-2
bale
I
Shot
ton
3 0
0 1-2
ton
loose,
dry
dozen
0 3
0 3
120
0 412
120
Shurf
ton
5 0
0 2
ton
salted
dozen
0
4
Silk, raw or thrown, cwt.
1 0
0 or
bale above 2 ewt.
India, loose
120
1 0
0 2
120
0 1 1-2
bale under 2 cwt.
about 4 cwt. large
bale
2 0
0
manufactured, I cwt.and
3
bale
upwards bale case
1 6
0 11-2
bale or case
small calf, Russia,
100 skins, bundle
0
9
0
11-2
under 1 cwt., small
bundle
bale or case
1 0
0 11-2
small bale or case
swan, bale containing
150 skins
16
0
2
waste, 4 cwt. and up-
bale
wards
bale
2 6
0 1
bale
100 skins
10
0 1
bale
Vicienia, loose
120
16
0
3
120
2 and under 4 cwt.
bale
2 0
0 1
bale
Smalts
ton
50
0 5
ton
1 and under 2 cwt.
Snake root
cwt.
0 10 1-2
0
1
1-2 bale or barrel
bale
0 9
0 01-2
bale
0
2
tierce
0 1
0
2
Silk ribands
case
2 0
case
bale
0 3
Skins, calf or kip, 4 cwt.
hogshead
and upwards
bale
1 6
0 11-2
bale
Soap
ewt.
0 6
0 1
case under 6 cwt.
about 2 cwt.
Soda
ton
30
0 4
ton
middling bale
1 0
0 01-2
middling bale
Soy
chest
0 1
0 2
chest
small bale
0 9
0 0 1-2
small bale
in casks
gallon
0 1
0 5
puncheon
salted, wet dozen
0 41-2
0 4
120
0 3
hogshead
dozen
0
3
0 01-2
dozen
0 2
kit or barrel
loose, dry
1
dry salted
dozen
0 4
0 4
120 skins
Speciacles
case
10
0 1
case
Weighing and loading,
Spelter
ton
3 0
0
1
ton
Wharfage and shipping,
0
2
Id. per dozen each
ton, in casks
charge.
2s. per ton, when
Mogadore, dry salted,
piled on the quay.
loose
dozen
03
0 01-2
dozen
Sponge
cwt.
0
9
0
2
case or bale under
*
eat or fitch. cask or case
I 6
0 3
cask or case
1 cwt. 2 qrs.
0 3
chinchilli, bale, cask, or
large case or cask
case
I 6
0 3
bale, cask, or case
Squills
ton
50
0 3
ton
deer, pun., hhd., or bale
I
6
0 2
pun,, hhd., or bale
dried, about 4 ewt. case
16
0
1-2
case
case or pack
I 0
0 I
case or pack
about 2 cwt.
case
10
0
I
case
bundle
0 9
0
01-2
bundle
in bags
cwt.
0 6
0
0
1-2
bag
dog fish
bale
0 9
0 1
bale
Starch
ton
50
0 6
ton
elk, loose
120
3 0
0 4
120
Steel
ton
46
0 2
ton
furs, large bale, case, or
Stick lac
cwt.
0 9
0
01-2
cwt.
cask
I 6
0 6
large bale, case, or
or a consolidated rate of
middling bale, case,
cask
2s. per cwt. nett.
or cask
1 0
0 3
middling ditto
Sticks, walking
1,000
50
0
2
1,000
small bale case, or cask
0 9
02
small ditto
Stock fish. See Fish.
74
Digitized by Google
586
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Goods imported.
Per
Import
Rate.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &
Per
8. d.
8. d.
Per
Per
1. d.
i.d.
Per
Stone, burr
each
0
I-2
09
100
Valonia
ton
46
03
ton
emery
ton
36
0 1
ton
Filling and weighing,
Filling and weighing,
2s. per ton.
2s. per ton.
Vanelloes, case or canister
16
0 11-2
case or canister
lithographic
ton
5 0
0 6
ton
Verdigris
ton
5 0
06
ton
pumice
ton
76
0 8
ton
Vermilion
cwt.
2 41-2
0 10
tom
0 4
ton in bricks
Vermicelli, case under
Turkey
cwt.
0
3
0 I
cask 3 to 5 cwt.
cwt.
cwt.
1
0
0 012
box under 56 lbs.
Straw, manufactured,
1 to 2 cwt.
case
] 0
0 1
case under cwt.
under 1 ewt.
case
08
0
0 1-2
case
2cwt and upwards, cwl.
06
0 2
ease 2 and under 4
1 & under 2 cwt. case
10
0
I
case
cwt.
2
-
3 cwt. case
6
0
1-2
case
0 4
case 4 and under 6
3
-
4 cwt. case
I 9
0 2
case
cwt.
4 cwt. and upwards,
06
case 6 cwt and up
case
2 0
0 2
case
wards
unmanufactured,
Vinegar, pun. of 100 galls.
21
04
punchesn
1 to 2 cwt.
case
1 0
0 2
case
hogshead
12
0 2
hogshead
2 to 3 cwt.
case
16
0 3
case
tierce or barrel
10
02
tierce or barrel
3 cwt. and upwards,
1-4 cask
0 6
0 11-2
H cask
case
2 0
0 4
case
Cooper's attendance in
Sugar, in casks
cwt.
0 3
0 5
ton
addition. See Wines
in chests, 5 cwt. and
and Spirits.
above, or in baskets
If housed, including at-
of any size,
cwt.
0 3
0 5
ton
tendance at delivery,
chests, mats, or bags un-
puncheon 2s hhd.
der 5 cwt.
cwt.
0
3
0 4
ton
1s. 6d.; tierce 1s.
or a consolidated rate of
Walnuts
bushel
0212
40
100 sacks
-in casks, 8d. cwt.
20
100 bags
nett; in chests, 5 cwt.
Water, mineral, dozen
and above, or in bas-
bottles
0
3
0 01-2
dozen bottles
kets of any size, 7d.
Wax
ton
50
06
ton
cwt. nett; in chests,
Sealing
cwt.
09
01
cwt.
mais, or bags, under 5
Weld
ton
7 6
09
ton
cwt., 6d. cwt. nett.
Whalebone
ton
76
04
ton
candy
cwt.
0 4 1-2
0
0 1-2
cwt.
Whale fins
ton
76
06
ton
Sulphate of zine
ton
5 0
0 5
ton
Sumach
ton
3 9
0 2
ton
Tallow. in casks
ton
3 6
0 3
ton
Landing,
if sold from the landing
Wharfage,
Housing, and
Rent
scale to the importer,
ton
24
Three working
Delivering.
per 100
also to the buyer, ton
12
days from the last
Qrs.per
Unhousing, wharfage,
day of weighing at
In
In
Week.
and shipping, 2a. 6d.
the landing scale,
Ship.
Barge.
per ton.
will be allowed to
Wheat, &c.
s. d.
s.
s.d.
Wharfage and shipping,
clear tallow from
Seed, heavy grain, &c.
2s. 4d. per ton.
the quays no rent
quarter
09
06
49
Rent com.
will be charged for
Oats, light grain.&c. qr.
08
06
3 10
meaces
that period, if so
s.
from the
cleared when not
Filling and porter-
last day of
so cleared, rent will
age at landing,
landing.
be charged from ves.
qr.
02
Risk from
sel breaking bulk.
Ditto at delivery,
fire for 20-
in skins
ton
39
0 3
qr. 0 2
count of
Mediterranean, Cape, or
Turning each time
proprietors
American, packages
100 qrs. 26
under 5 cwt.
ton
50
0
1-2
package under Scwt.
Screening, 100 qrs. 6 6
0 1
package above 3cwt.
One turning to be
Tamarinds. See Preserves.
charged on
Tapes
bale
16
02
bale
screening.
Tapioca
cwt.
0
8
1-4
0
01-2
barrel
Transferring
Tar barrel of 32 gallons
03
3 0
100 barrels
100 sacks 06
Tares
quarter
10
0 1
quarter
Peeling heavy
Working out and deli-
grain
qr.
05
vering into craft, 3d.
Ditto light qr. 0 41
per quarter.
If imported in
Terra japonica
ton
50
03
ton
bags, an addi-
sienna
ton
5 0
03
ton
tional charge of
verde
ton
50
0 3
ton
d. per bag, for
umbra & Pozzolani ton
3 6
0 3
ton
cutting openand
Weighing Porzolani on
shooting out.
board, 1s. per ton.
Collecting empty
Thread
bale
16
02
bale
bags and pack-
Timber. See Wood.
ing into bun-
Tin
ton
40
02
ton
dies
bdle
01
ore
ton
50
0 4
ton
Loading or ship.
Tobacco, a consolidated
ping, bdle. 01
rate, see page 587.
Working out and deli-
Tongues, about bale
06
0 1
bale
vering into craft, 3d.
loose
dozen
:
0
01-2
dozen
per quarter.
3 cwt.
tierce
0 8 1-4
0 1
tierce
1 to 2 cwt.
cask
06
0 012
cask 1 to 2 cwt.
Tonquin beans
chest
16
1-2
chest
Import
Rent
0
in casks
cwt.
10
I
cwt.
Rate.
per
0
Quantities, &tc.
Week.
Tortoiseshell
cwt.
10
0 2
case
s.d.
a. d.
or a consolidated rate of
0 I
cwt. in casks
Whetstones
cwt.
03
0
112
cask 3 to 5 cwt.
4s. 6d. per cwt. nett.
0
012
case or cask est.
Tow, in bales
cwt.
0 41-2
0
1
bale 4 cwt. & under
Whisks for brooms
0 11-2
bale above 4 and
100 bundles
30
0
3
100 bundles
under 6 cwt.
loose
1,000
30
0 4
1,000
0 2
bale 6 cwt. and up-
bale
1 10 1.2
0
3
bale
wards
1-2 bale
10
0
11.2
1-2 bale
Toys
large case or vat
46
0 6
large case or vat
1-4 bale
09
0
1-4 bale
middling case or vat
30
0 4
middling case or vat
one eighth of a bale
06
0 01-2
one eighth of a bale
small case or vat
20
0 3
small case or vat
manufactured 100
16
02
100
Trees, live plants, &c.
Wine in casks, see conso-
large case
16
0 1
large case
lidated rate, p. 587.
small case
10
0 1
small case
in cases, see p.588.
Turmeric
cwt.
03
0 5
ton
Wire, iron
cwt.
0 414
0
01-2
cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
0 01-2
chest 1 cwt. 2 qrs.
plated or gilt
cwt.
0
814
0 03-4
cwt.
Is. per cwt. nett.
Woad. See Weld.
Turpentine
ton
26
36
100 tierces
Wool, sheep or lamb,
Delivery by land or wa-
3 0
100 barrels
German
cwt.
0 41-2
0
034
bale under 3 cart.
ter, 1s. 8d. per ton.
5 0
100 casks from
or a consolidated rate of
0 1
tale 3 to cart.
France
5s. per bale of about
0
1.2
bale to 6cwt.
Twine
cwt.
0 41-2
0 1
mat or bundle
4 ewt.
0 8
bale 6 cwt. ADÁ
Valerian
bale
16
02
bale
wards
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
587
Rent.
Rent.
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Per
Goods imported.
Import
Rate.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
s.d.
8. d.
Per
Per
s.d.
s.d.
Per
Wool-comtinued.
Wood-continued.
Unhousing or loading by
Barwood
land or water, and
Boxwood
mending at delivery,
ton if under cover,
Brazil, large
when charged under
1 1-2d. per ton.
Camwood
consolidated rate, per
Black ebony, from
Cocus wood
bale of about 4 cwt.,
ton
46
0 1
the East Indies,
Ebony
and lignum vita,
1s.
Fustic, large
Australian
cwt.
0 41-2
0 03-4
bale under 3 cwt.
rent after 1 year
Lignum vitas
from vessel break-
or a consolidated rate of
0
bale 3 to 4 cwt.
Logwood
4a. per bale of about
0
1-2
bale 4 to 6 cwt.
ing bulk, Id. per
Nicaragua, large
2 1-2 cwt., including
0 2
bale 6 cwt. and up.
ton per week.
Unhousing or unpi ing,
landing, wharfage,
wards
wharfage, and ship-
housing,and 12 weeks'
ping, 2s. 6d. per ton.
rent from the date of
or a consolidated rate of
the ship breaking
6s. 6d. per ton. If
bulk, landing weights,
under cover, 7s. per
original warrants, cer-
ton.
tificale of damage, or
Braziletto
ton
56
02
ton
survey after landing,
Brazil wood, small
ton
56
02
ton
mending at landing,
Fustic, young
ton
56
0 3
ton
taring, lotting, sam-
Nicaragua, small
ton
56
0 2
ton
pling, unpiling for
Sandal
ton
56
0
3
ton
show, showing, re-
Sassafras
ton
56
0 3
ton
piling, mending, and
Sapan
ton
56
0
2
ton
filling in, reweighing,
or a consolidated rate of
and any other usual
8a. per ton.
operation performed
Jaccaranda
by order of the im-
Mahogany
porter.
Maple
Unhousing and loading
Rosewood
by land, or direct into
Satin
ship or lighter, and
Tulip
mending, 8d. per bale
Zebra
ton
50
0 112
ton
of about 2 1-2 cwt.
Bird's eye
0 1
ton, after 1 year
goats'
cwt.
06
01
bale about 2 cwt.
Cedar and other
from vessel break-
02
bale above 2 cwt.
woods charged
ing bulk.
hair or beards cwt
0 10 1-2
0 2
case
with duty, or
Spanish
cwt.
0 41-2
0 1
bale 2 cwt. 2 qrs.
sold at
or a consolidated rate of
0 03-4
bale about 2 cwt.
or a consolidated rate of
4s. per bale of about
0 01-2
bale about I cwt.
7s. per ton.
2 cwt., and 3s. per
Rummaging mahogany
half bale, including
timber, or other mea-
the same operations
sured woods, 1s. per
as to Australian wool.
ton.
Unhousing, &c., 6d. per
Delivering into decked
bale, 4d. per half
vessels, 6d. per ton
bale.
extra.
Vigonia
cwt.
0 41-2
03
bale
Yarn, in vats not above
Woollen cloth. See Cloth.
20 cwt.
ton
50
04
ton
above 20 cwt.
ton
53
0 4
ton
Wood. For consolidated
additional for every
rate on staves, deals,
cwt. above 1 ton
03
&c. see P. 590.
in bales
cwt.
0 4 1-2
0
bale
Zaffres
ton
50
05
ton
Zinc. See Spelter.
Consolidated Rates and Charges on CIGARS and TOBACCO.
Boxes containing
Chests
Cigars.
containing
Above 300
Above 200
Above 100
from 500
and not
and not
and not
to 600 lbs.
exceeding
exceeding
exceeding
400 lbs.
300 lbs.
200 lbs.
Import rate; including landing, wharfage, housing, weighing gross; and exa.
s. d.
8. d.
s.d.
8. d.
mining, or sampling, one side
80
40
29
23
both sides
10 0
50
39
30
Unpacking, weighing nett. repacking (when in bundles*), and coopering
10 6
4 0
29
2 0
If loose, an extra charge is made. Garbling, or sorting, is also an extra
charge.
Examining, or resampling, one side
40
10
10
10
both sides
60
26
20
2 0
Unhousing, wharfage, and shipping
30
20
20
16
Ditto, and loading
10
10
09
0 6
Transferring
02
02
02
0 2
Boxes or chests, not of the above specified weights, charged in proportion.
Tobacco.
Landing charges and coopering, weighing, sampling,
s. d.
#. d.
and making merchantable at landing scale, per
Warrant,
100 lbs nett
06
1 hogshead
0 6
On delivery for exportation, including coopering,
2
0 9
per 100 lbs. nett
0 21.2
3
1 0
Ditto, if resampled, ditto
0 3
Any quantity exceeding 3 hogsheads, 2d. per hogs-
Unhousing and loading, per hogshead
1 0
head additional.
Resampling
20
Transfer, per hogshead
02
Weighed gross when an average tare is taken, im-
}
26
porter's charge
Rates and Charges on WINES and SPIRITS.
The Landing and Delivery Rate includes landing, wharfage, laying up to gange, watching, cooper's
attendance at landing, delivery, and while on the quay the privilege of lying on the quay 14 days
from the versel breaking bulk, or the first landing from craft original warrants, gauges, strengths
of spirits, and first samples.
The Landing and Housing Rate includes landing, wharfage, laying up to gange, cooperage, cooper's
attendance at landing and housing, superintendence in the vaults for the first 18 months; original
Digitized by Google
588
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
warrants, gauges, strengths of spirits, and first samples. This rate attaches after the expiration of one
calendar month from the ship breaking bulk, or the first landing from craft.
Nute.-Merchants requiring wines or spirits to be housed within the time allowed, (one calendar
month,) are particularly requested to leave a written order to that effect, when this rate will become
immediately chargeable.
The Consolidated Rate on Rum includes landing, wharfage, housing, cooper's attendance, coopering,
furnishing original warrants, gauges, strength, first samples, and 12 weeks' rent from the ship break-
ing bulk, or the first landing from the craft.
Rent attaches to Wines and Spirits, charged with the landing and delivery rate, after 14 days,
charged with the landing and housing rate, from the ship breaking bulk, or the first landing from craft
on rum charged with the consolidated rate, after 12 weeks from the ship breaking bulk.
Note.-Rent is in all cases calculated from the date of the ship breaking bulk, or the first landing
from craft, such day being included in the term.
Racking.-Forty-eight hours' notice will be given when racking is necessary, to enable the pro-
prietor to send his own casks, or they will be supplied by the company, at the prices stated herein.
The proceeds of the racked casks, when sold, will be paid to the proprietors, upon application, after
deducting the expenses of sale, &c.
No charge is made on wines and spirite racked in the vaults within 6 months from the period of the
landing and housing rate attaching, those for exportation or to be sent coastwise excepted.
Tusting is not permitted without a written order, the usual charge for which is not made, when the
tasting is by the proprietor or his clerk, (authorised to sign delivery and all other orders,) provided he
is not accompanied by any other person.
Coopering and Repairs, &c. when required for the preservation of the property on landing, examina-
tion, or delivery, will be performed, unless directions are received from the proprietor to the contrary,
and charged at the rates specified herein; and any work required to be performed, not particularly
described, will be charged at a proportionate rate.
Unsizeable casks, at the rate of 210 gallons per tun, for 2 pipes or 4 hogsheads.
Deficiencies.-The company make good the following deficiencies from whatever cause arising, If
the casks are of oak timber, but not otherwise also, provided the claim be made within 6 months
from delivery, viz.
Exceeding one gallon each cask, for any period not exceeding one year.
Two gallons, if more than one and not exceeding two years, and in like proportion for each succeed-
ing year.
Payment of Charges.-Previous to warrants being issued, or the transfer or delivery of any wines
or spirits taking place, the landing and housing rate on the whole of the mark or parcel housed, must
be paid the rent and other charges on the quantity delivered or transferred.
Wines and Spirits in cases.
Containing 6 dozen.
Containing 3 Dosea.
Quarts.
Plats.
Quarts.
Fish.
s.d.
8. d.
s.d.
Landing and delivery rate; including landing, wherings, and loading
16
09
09
06
Landing and housing rate including landing, wharfage. housing, examining, coo-
pering, and first tasting
$ 6
19
19
10
Examining und coopering
16
09
09
06
Rent, from the date of ship breaking bulk, per week
03
0
0 If
01
Wharfage and shipping, is addition to landing and delivery rate
06
0 3
03
08
Breaking out and opening for samples, or second tasting, mailing down, and
restowing
06
06
06
04
Lotting for public sale
02
08
02
02
Unhousing and Inading
10
0 6
06
04
Unhousing, wharfage. and shipping
16
:
09
06
Dividing 6-dosen cases into two 3-domen cases, meluding new ends, unpacking,
and repacking, each new case 3e. 3d.
Cases containing quantities not specified above, are chargeable in the like pro-
portion.
Unsize-
able
Aums.
Casks
per Tun
Pipes.
Hhds.
Thirds.
Qr.
Half Qr.
Casks.
Casks.
of
Double.
Single.
Half.
210 galls.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
Landing and delivery rate, on wines
and spirits, except rum, by land
carriage
70
36
21
19
14
10
26
16
12
Shipping from the quay, additional
14
08
05
05
04
03
06
04
03
Quay rent, after 14 ays, per week
10
06
0
31-2
0 31-2
0 21-2
02
04
0
312
0 212
Landing and housing rate, on port,
Lisbon, sherry, Malaga, Marsala,
Spanish red, Sicilian, and other
wines, in wood bound casks; and
sherry in iron bound casks
20
10
60
43
38
2 10
Ditto, on Madeira, Cape, Teneriffe,
Canary, Marsala, Sicilian, and
other wines, in iron bound casks
16 0
80
4 10
38
2 10
56
29
or
20
Ditto, on claret
50
40
30
Ditto, on spirits, (except rum)
18 0
90
55
3 10
33
26
Casks landed with less than the
standard number of iron hoops,
pay in addition. for each hoop de-
ficient*
0 41-2
0 41-2
0 41-2
0 412
0 41-2
0
41-2
0
412
0.412
Delivery from the vault, and cooper's
atten lance
50
26
16
13
11
09
19
12
019
If shipped, additional
14
08
05
05
04
03
06
04
03
Rent, from the ship breaking bulk,
per week
0 10
05
03
0 21-2
02
0 11-2
03
02
Cooper's superintendence com-
mences after 18 months, at per
week, additional
02
01
0 01-2
0 01-2
0 01-2
0 01-2
01
0 012
0.018
. The standard number of iron hoops is as follows viz. port and Lisbon pipes, tem; sherry butts, eight; Spanish red, brandy, -
Geneva puncheons, six; sums, hogeheads, and smaller casks, six,
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
589
Rum.
100
Gallons.
Butts.
Pune.
Hhds.
Barrels.'
8. d.
& d.
& d.
& d.
8. d.
Consolidated rate
10 0
Reat, after 12 weeks, per week
-
06
04
0 21.2
0 11-2
Cooper's superintendence, ditto
-
01
01
01
0 018
Landing and delivery rate
36
Bottling.
Magnums.
Quarts.
Pints.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
Consolidated rate for bettling, per down
16
10
0 10
Unhousing, wharfage, and shipping, ditto
04
0 3
0 2
Rent to commence the day after bottling, per down per week
01
0 01.8
Ditto, per case of 6 dozen, ditte
-
-
0 2
Vatting Rum.
100
Gallons.
8. d.
Vatting TUIR, including removing to the warehouse, drawing off, refilling, bunging up, the use of the vat for one night,
and delivery by land or water
$ 8
Ditto, for government contracts
$ 6
Ditto, when brought into the dock, including the foregoing openations, and the privilege of lying in the warehouse 4 days
50
Water for reducing the strength, per puncheon
10
Remaining in the vat the second night
0 6
Ditto, more than two nights, per night
0 3
Coopering for exportation, on delivery, per puncheon
09
Ditto, per hogshead
06
Old iron hoops
0 6
Surveys and Certificates.
8. d.
Under 5 casks
26
Above 5 casks and under 20
5 0
20 and upwards
7 6
Cooperage, and Extra Rates and Charges on WINES and SPIRITS.
Pipes.
Hhds.
Thirds.
Qr. Casks.
Half
Aums.
Qr. Cashs.
Double.
Single.
Half.
8. d.
ed
s.d.
ad.
a.d.
8. d.
s.d.
s. d.
Trimming, including wood hoops, or
boughing off
20
12
10
0 9
0 7
16
1 0
0 9
Driving
0 10
0 6
0 5
04
0 31
06
04
0 4
Pitching and turning
03
0 2
0 11
0 1
0
0 st
0 11
0 1
Breaking out for coopering
06
0 st
0 3
0 8
0 2
0 6
0 3
0 2
Ditto for delivery, inspection, redip-
ping or racking, and laying up again
10
07
06
04
03
09
06
04
Filling up
03
03
0 3
03
03
03
0 3
0 3
Casing or uncasing
16
0 11
0 9
06
04
1 2
09
0 6
Ditto in canvas
70
5 0
5 0
40
8 0
56
46
3 0
Ditto and cases
19 6
12 0
11 0
76
5 6
14 0
86
56
Racking
26
16
13
10
09
19
12
0 10
Racking from the less
36
21
19
16
10
26
19
16
Ditto and repairing casks
15 0
12 6
10 6
90
70
12 6
90
60
Ditto and new casks in bond
27 0
18 0
16 6
13 6
10 6
22 0
14 0
9 6
Ditto and new casks on the quay
24 0
17 0
15 6
12 6
10 0
20 0
13 6
9 0
Trimming cask cases
10
0 8
06
04
0 3
Sampling in the vault, or second sam-
pling on the quay
06
06
06
06
06
06
06
06
Tasting in store, each time
02
02
0 2
02
0 2
02
02
0 2
Ditto at public mls
0 1
01
01
01
01
01
01
01
Painting casks
40
86
86
19
10
$ 0
20
16
Painting the heads
each
10
09
09
06
06
10
09
06
Bark hoops
19
14
14
10
09
16
14
10
Iron hoops
08
08
08
06
05
08
06
06
New heads
36
3 0
2 9
26
2 3
36
30
2 6
Overdrawing and brandying, or fining
10
0 9
06
06
0 4
09
06
06
TEA.
Packages landed in good condition.
Rates.
130 lbs.
80 lbs.
60 lbs.
40 lbs.
200 lbs.
30 lbs.
20 lbs.
Under
and under
and under
and under
and under
and under
and under
gross and
20 lbs.
200 lbs.
130 lbs.
80 lbs.
60 lbs.
40 lbs.
30 lbs.
upwards.
Gross.
Gross.
Gross.
Gross.
Gross.
Gross,
Gross.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
s.d.
. d.
s.d.
s.d.
Landing; comprising landing, wharf.
age, weighing. furnishing landing
weights, and delivery by land from
the quay
16
13
10
0 101-2
09
0 71-2
06
03
Additional, if shipped
06
05
04
0 31-2
03
0 21-2
02
01
Landing and housing; comprising
0
landing, wharfage, weighing, fur-
nishing landing weights, housing,
and delivery by land
20
18
12
10
10
010
08
04
Additional, if shipped
10
0 10
08
07
06
05
04
02
Minagement; comprising landing,
wharfage, weighing, and furnishing
landing weights, housing, ordinary
mending, tarring, placing on show,
extra warehouse room, and attend.
ance whilst on show, lotting, nailing
down. re-weighing and piling away,
and delivery by land
76
56
38
30
24
20
13
10
Additional, if shipped
10
08
06
05
04
03
02
01
Rent. per week
0
11-2
0 1
0 01-2
0 01-2
0 01-2
0 01-2
0 01-4
0 01-4
VoL. 1.-3 D
Digitized by Google
590
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Consolidated Rates on Wood Goods.-Transferring. One Penny per Load.
Goods imported.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, Delivery, and
One Quarter's Rent.
Landing, Wharfage,
and Delivery.
Rent per Quarter
after the first
Quarter.
Goods imported.
Landing, Wharfage,
Piling, Delivery, and
One Quarter's Rent.
Landing, Wharfage,
and Delivery.
Rent per Quarter
fier the first
Quarter.
Staves,
Per
#.
d.
8.
d.
1.
d.
Deck deals,
Per
a.d.
. d
. d
from America,
3 in. thick, 30 to 40 feet long
each
10
06
04
pipe
1,200
24
0
12
0
5
0
21-2
-
30 40
-
-
0 10
05
0 31
hogshead
-
20
0
10
0
4
0
2
-
30 40
-
-
08
04
03
barrel or heading
-
14
0
70
3 0
3
-
20 30
-
-
09
05
03
barrel logs
-
88
0
44
0
14
8
21-2
I
20
30
-
-
0 71
04
0 21
double barrel
-
44
0
22
0
7
4
2
-
20 30
-
-
06
03
02
from Quebec
Dunnage boards
120
12
6
03
40
pipe logs
3 to 4in. thick
-
120
0
60
0
20
0
Norway timber and balks
load
60
36
30
double pipe
2-21-2
-
64
0
32
0
10
8
Spars under 6 and above 4 inches 120
40
0
20
0
134
single
1-2
-
-
36
0
18
0
6
0
Rickers, under 4 inches, and 24 feet
hogshead logs
3-4
-
-
100
0
50
0
16
8
long and upwards
-
25
0
12 6
84
double hogshead
21-2
-
-
50
0
25
0
8 4
under 24 feet long
-
12
0
60
40
single
1-2
30
0
15
0
5
8
Handspikes
60
30
20
-
-
-
barrel logs
4
-
-
88
0
44
0
14 0
Ufers, under 24 feet long
-
25
0
12 6
84
double barrel
2
21-2
-
-
44
0
22
0
7
4
from 24 to 32
-
-
40
0
90
0
13
4
single
-
1-2
-
-
26
0
13
0
4
4
32 feet long and upwards
-
66
0
33
0
a
0
heading logs
3 - 4
-
-
88
0
44
0
14
8
Sparholtz and 10 ells to add one
double heading
21-2
-
-
44
0
22
0
7
4
third to the rates on ufers.
single
1.2
-
-
26
0
13
0
4 4
Oars under 24 feet long
-
12
6
63
42
from Hambro' and Dantzic,
from 24 to 32
-
-
20
0
10
0
68
pipe
-
40
0
20
0
15
0
32 feet long and upwards
-
30
0
15
0
16 0
hogshead
-
37
6
18
9
12 6
Lancewood spare
-
30
0
15
0
90
barrel
-
35
6
17
9
10
0
Gun stocks
-
60
30
20
heading
-
32
0
16
0
10
0
Lathwood under 5 feet long
fathom
90
46
30
thin pipe
to 1-2 in. thick
-
27
0
13
6
10
6
from 5 to 8
-
-
12 0
60
40
hogshead
-
25
0
12
6
10
0
Fir staves
-
16
0
76
50
barrel and heading
-
-
20
0
10
0
8 0
Treenails, large, above 2 ft. long 1,200
12
0
60
40
sorting, per 1,200
7s.
small, under 2
-
80
40
26
-
Deals,
standard hundred of 120
Wainscot logs, 7 feet long
each
09
05
03
Russia and Prussia deals and deal ends,
14
-
-
20
10
08
11-2 inch thick and 12 ft. long -
12
6
6
3
4 0
Clap boards
3 -
-
03
0
01
Swedish deals from ports in the
6
-
-
06
03
0 :
Baltic,
Oak and other timber charged with
2 1-2 and 3 in. thick, 14 ft. long
20 0
12
6
7 0
duty by the load,
1 1.2 and 2
-
14
-
-
16
8
8 4
5 6
square, per load of 50 ft.
66
40
10
Quebec. Norway. and Swedish
round, per load of 40 ft.
deals from ports in the North
including under cover, per load
70
16
Sea,
Deal plank and boards
70
36
26
2 1-2 and 3 in. thick,
Firewood
fathom
70
36
16
10 and 12 feet long -
16
0
80
5 6
Spokes, American
1,200
20 0
10
0
40
to 14
-
-
19
0
96
6 6
Teakwood, planks of, not under
-
16
-
22
0
11
0
76
cover
load
70
40
16
-
- 18
-
-
25
0
12 6
86
under cover
-
76
20
- 20
-
-
23
0
14
0
96
Battens from all ports,
Turning to measure for sale at land-
2 1-2 and 3 in. thick,
ing, oak or other timber, 1a. per
10 and 12 feet long -
12
0
6
0
4 0
load.
to 14
-
-
14
3
70
49
- 16
-
-
16
6
83
56
Sorting staves for freight, 7s. per
- 18
-
-
18
9
90
63
1,200.
20
-
-
21
0
10 6
70
2 1-2 and 3 inch half deals
-
9
0
46
3 0
Marking lots on timber piled in tiers
deal ends
-
70
36
24
4d. per lot.
batten ends
-
50
26
20
paling boards
-
60
30
26
RATES ON GOODS SENT TO THE LONDON DOCKS FOR EXPORTATION.
Which, if cleared, may be shipped on board until sunset.
If goods be not shipped at the expiration of 3 weeks, rent is charged upon them. Goods not enti-
merated in the following Table, are charged by the package, see post.
Rent after Three Weeks.
Rent after Three Wesks.
Goods for Exportation.
Wharfage
and
Shipping.
Goods for Exportation.
Quantities, ac.
Wharfage
pers
Per
Shipping.
Per
Quantities, in
Week.
Week.
Per
8.
d.
a.
Per
Per
8. d.
8. d.
Per
Acide
middling case
30
09
middling case
Bagging, about 2 qra, roll
0 8
26
100 mile
small case
20
06
small case
Bark
chest
10
03
chest
Almonds, in serons
ton
34
08
ton
balf chest or seron
0 8
08
1-8 chest or
in boxes or barrels cwt.
0 4
40
100
Barley
tierce
1 0
03
tierce
2 0
100 half ditto
small cask
08
0 1-2
small cosk
barrel about Scwt.
sack
01
0 3
06
sack
2 qrs.
0 2
05
0 1
1-2 or 1-4 barrel
jug or barrel
to
to
score
shell
cwt.
0 6
0 4
large bale
04
010
0 3
small ditto
Barrows
each
02
05
score
0 2
1-2 bale from 3qra.
Bedsteads, according to
06
01
to I cwt. 2 qra.
to
to
Alum
ton
26
0 6
size
each)
tom
16
03
Anchors or grapnels, too
34
0 3
ton
Beef and pork
tierce
06
80
100 therem
Anchovies, case containing
barrel
04
60
100 terrels
8 barrels
0 8
0 I
case
Bear
kilderkin
04
01
kilderkin
double barrel
02
05
barrel
0 4
0118
barrel
keg or single barrel
0 I
score
hogehead
0 8
02
Aniseed
chest
09
0 1
chest
butt or punchese
1 4
0 4
hogebead butt or peachess
half chest
06
0
1.2
1-2 chest
bottled, in casks, dozen
Annotto
small basket
04
0
small basket
bottles
0 I
0 01-4
doesn bottles
06
0 1
in cases, bottles, or ham-
Axle tress
each
to
to
each
pers dossn bottles
0 2
0 018
doses bottles
16
08
Bess' wax, in casks ton
S 4
0 10
too
Bacom
bale
06
0
bale
5 to 6 cwt. bale
14
04
fule
side
02
0 0 side
about 4 cwt. bale
10
0 3
06
0
08
0 2
Baggage
package
to
to
package
Bellows, smiths'
pair
to
to
20
06
26
06
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
591
Rent after Three Weeks.
Rent after Three Weeks.
Goods for Exportation.
Wharfage
and
Shipping.
Goods for Exportation.
Wharfage
and
Per
Shipping.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
#.
d.
s. d,
Per
Per
8.
d.
s. d.
Per
2 6
0 6
Colours, in casks
ton
3
4
0 8
ton
Billiard tables
each
to
to
each
Copper, in casks, 4 to 6
5
0
1 0
cwt.
ton
3
4
0 4
ton
Blacking
firkin
0 4
0
03-4
firkin
in cases, 5 to 7 cwt. case
1
4
barrel
0 6
0 I
barrel
7 to 8 cwt. case
2 0
06
ton
small cask
0 8
0
1-2
small cask
9 to 10 cwt. case
2 6
from 5 to 7 cwt. cask
1 0
0 2
cask
bottoms, 1 cwt. bottom
0 4
-
0
ton
about 8 cwt. cask
I 2
0
2
1-2
cask
2 cwt. bottom
0
8
1 0
ton
9 cwt. cask
1 4
0 3
cask
bolts
2 ewt. bundle
0
8
0 I
bundle
from 10 to 15 cwt. cask
1 6
0
3
1-2
cask
sheets, loose
ton
40
1 0
ton
15 & under 20 cwt. cask
26
0 4
cask
cakes
ton
3 4
including weighing
about 20 cwt. cask
30
0 6
cask
Coppers, about 14 cwt.
Bottles, empty glass, con-
each
5 0
1 0
ton
taining from 15 to 20
Cordage
ton
3 4
0 8
ton
dozen
crate
08
0
2
crate
Cork
ton
40
I 0
ton
from 21 to 29 doz. crate
10
0
2
1-2
crate
0 2
0 I
30 to 44 doz. crate
14
0 3
crate
Corks
bag or cask
to
to
bag or cask
45 to 50 doz. crate
20
0 4
crate
0
8
0
2
0 1
Corn, in sacks
each
06
0
1
each
small basket or box
to
001-4
small basket or box
Cotton, East India
bale
0 8
0
1-2
bale
0 2
1
1-2 bale
0 4
0 1
1-2 bale
Bran
sack
04
0 I
sack
American
bale
1
0
0
2
bale
Bread
hag
0 4
0
0
1-2
bag
twist, under 2 cwt. 2 qrs.
Bricks
1,200
7 6
0 6
1,200
bale
0
8
0
2
bale
if shipped by crew 1,200
2 6
0 6
1,200
presses, wooden
each
10
0
1 0
each
Brooms, birch, 1 dozen
iron
each
20
0
1 6
each
bundle
0 I
0 01-4
bundle
Cows, shipped by machine
2 dozen bundle
02
0 0 1-2
bundle
each
8 6
hair or house
bundle
0 2
0 01-2
bundle
Cowries
ton
3 4
0 6
ton
Bullion
large package
I 0
Currants
butt
2 0
0 6
butt
small package
0 8
pipe
16
0 3
pipe
Butter
tub or firkin
0 2
3 0
100 firkins or tub
carotel
1
0
0
2
carotel
1-4 cask
0 4
6 0
100 quarter casks
0 4
,
Cables, hemp
ton
3 4
0 8
ton
Dampers, iron
each
to
03
ton
chain
ton
3 4
0 3
ton
0
8
,
Camphor
chest
0
8
0 11-2
chest
Dogs
each
06
Candles, less than 28 lbs.
Drips and pots
1,000
10
0
1 6
1,000
box
0
2
0 01-2
box
Drugs, under 2 cwt. 2 qrs.
28 lbs. to 1 cwt. box
03
0
box
chest
0
8
0 2
chest
above 1 cwt. box
0 4
0
1-2
box
2 cwt. 2 qrs. to 5 CWL
Canes, common rattan,
chest
1 0
0 3
chest
1,000
1 0
0 3
1,000
0 6
0 2
Cannons, under 2 tons, each
3 0
04
Earthenware
crate
to
to
crate
under 4 tons®
each
6 0
0 6
each
1
4
0 3
. Larger in proportion
5 0
0 6
Canvass
bolt
0 1
1 3
100 bolts
Engines, fire
each
to
to
each
20
0 3
10 0
0
9
Carts, according to size,
each
to
to
each
garden
each
2 6
0 3
each
5 0
06
0 8
0 2
0 4
0 1
Felt
bale
to
to
bale
Cart wheels
pair
to
to
pair
1 0
0 3
1
0
02
Fire-arms
large chest
1 4
0 3
large chest
Casks, empty sugar hhd.
0 6
0
1-2
sugar hogshead
0 8
0 2
butt or puncheon
0 4
0
1
butt or puncheon
case or chest
to
to
case or chest
hogshead
0 2
0
0
1.2
hogshead
1
0
0
3
barrel
0 I
0 3
score
Fire or flagstones
ton
3 4
0 3
ton
Cassia
chest
0
8
0 2
chest
Fish, loose
ton
5 0
0 8
ton
under cwt.
1-2 chest
0
4
0 I
1-2 chest
0 3
0
01-2
Cement
barrel
0 6
0
1
barrel
barrel or box
to
to
barrel or box
1.2 barrel
04
0 03-4
1-2 barrel
0
4
0 1
1 6
0 2
Flax
ton
3 0
0 8
ton
Chaff cutters, according
to
to
each
1 cwt. or qrs. bag
0 4
0
03-4
bag
to size
each
2 6
03
Flints, under 1 cwt.
kez
02
0
01-2
keg
Chairs, single or mahoga-
Flour
barrel
0 4
0 10
score barrels
each
0 2
0 012
each
Furniture
in
ny
packages,
common, bundle con-
according to size.
taining 2
0 4
0 012
bundle
other bundles in pro-
Ginger
ton
5
0
I 0
ton
portion.
Glass
box or 1-2 box
0 4
0 1
box or 1-2 box
F
Chaises with 4 wheels,
crate
0
8
02
crate
each
60
0 10
each
1-4 crate
0
8
0 1
1-4 crate
2 wheels, each
5 0
06
each
butt or hogshead
I 6
04
butt or hogshead
/
Chalk. in casks
ton
26
0 6
ton
pipe or puncheon
12
0 3
pipe or puncheon
Chariots
each
8 6
1 0
each
tierce
I 0
0 3
tierce
,
Cheese, loose
cwt
0
3
0 01-2
cwt.
0 4
0 I
hamper
0 4
0
I
hamper
small cask
to
to
small cask
about I cwt. basket
0
4
0
I
basket
0
8
:
)
2 qrs. basket
0
2
0
01-2
basket
plate
small case
0 8
02
small case
/
Cider
pipe
-
6
04
pipe
middling case
1
4
0 4
middling case
hogshead
09
02
hogshead
large case
2 0
0 6
large case
Cinnamon
single bale
0
8
0 2
single bale
0 6
0 2
double bale
1
0
0 3
double bale
Grates and stoves each
to
to
each
3 or 4 bolts, package
16
04
package
10
03
j
6 bolts, package
26
08
package
Grindstones, for every six
case or chest
14
03
case or chest
inches in diaineter
0 2
0
0 1-2
1-2 chest
0 8
02
1-2 chest
Gritts
firkin
0 2
0
5
ton
I 0
0 2
Gum
seron
0 6
0
1
seron
Clocks in cases, accord-
to
to
each
chest
1 0
0
3
chest
ing to size
each
20
04
j
Guns. See Fire-arms.
Cloves
small bag
0 4
01
small bag
great. See Cannons.
about 2 cwt. bag
0 8
:
bag
Gypsum
hogshead
1 6
0 4
hogshead
5 or 6 cwt. cask
20
06
cask
puncheon
I 2
0 2
puncheon
i
Coaches, stage
each
15
0
16
each
Hams, loose
each
0 1
0 5
score
private
each
10
0
1 0
each
0 6
0 I
,
Coals
hogehead
1 6
0 3
hogshead
in casks
cask
to
to
cask
Coffee
bag
04
I
6
04
s
small bale
0 6
Hardware, 5 to cask
1
0
0
212
cask
3 cwt. 2 qrs. to 4 cwt.
10
ton
8 to 9 cwt. cask
I
4
0
3
cask
r
bale
08
to cwt. cask
1 6
0 4
cask
5 ewt. bale
10
12 to 15 cwt. cask
2 0
05
cask
3 0
06
?
15 to 7cwt. cask
or 6
06
cask
fans
each
to
to
each
26
06
50
08
Harps or harpsichords,
to
to
each
I
26
0 6
according to size, each
5
0
09
engines or shellers,
to
to
each
Harrows
pair
2
0
04
pair
each
50
08
Hats
case
1 0
0 3
case
Coke
chaldron
40
10
chaldron
Hat boxes
each
0
2
Digitized by Google
592
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
Rent after Three Weeks.
Wharfage
Rent after Three Weeks.
Goods for Exportation.
and
Shipping.
Goods for Exportation.
Wharfage
and
Per
Shipping.
Per
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Week.
Quantities, kc.
Ppr
#. d.
s. d.
Per
Per
a.
d.
s. d.
Per
Hay
load of 36 trusses
4 0
,
Paper
bale
08
02
bale
bale of 3 trusses
04
03
score trusses
small bale
0 6
0
11-2
small bale
truss
0 2
)
Pearl barley, 1 cwt. barrel
Hemp
ton
3 0
0 8
ton
or keg
0 4
0 1
barrel or keg
screws
each
0 4
0 I
each
04
0 03-4
)
Herrings
barrel
0
4
0
01-2
barrel
Pepper
bag
to
to
bag
Hides or skins, East India,
06
0
1
1
5 to 7 lbs.
100
2 0
06
100
Perry
butt
16
04
butt
10 to 12 lbs.
each
0 0 1-2
0 6
100
Piano-fortes, grand, each
40
1 0
each
OX and cow
100
6
0
16
100
cabinet
each
30
0 9
each
Hoops, wood
bundle
0
1
0 3
score bundles
square
each
20
06
each
truss
bundle
0
2
0
5
score bundles
Pickles
large package
10
0 2
large package
Hops
bag
0
8
02
bag
middling package
06
0 I
middling package
pocket
0
6
0 1
pocket
small package
03
0
012
small package
Horn, tips and plates, hhd.
I
4
0 4
hogshead
Pigs
each
06
Horses
each
10
0
Pipeclay, loose
ton
34
0 3
fon
cob or pony
each
5 6
hogshead
16
0
2
1.2
hogshead
Indian rubber
barrel
0 6
0 11-2
barrel
puncheon
I 2
0 2
puncheon
Indigo
seron
0 6
0 11-2
seron
04
0 1
about 3 qrs. 1-2 chest or
small cask
to
to
small cask
box
0
6
0 1.2
1.2 chest or box
08
0
11-2
,
chest
0
8
0 2
chest
Pipes, empty
each
04
0
1
each
Iron, bars and unmanu.
Pitch
barrel
0 4
6 0
100 barrels
factured
ton
2 6
0 3
ton
Plants, about 5 cwt. pack-
hoops
1 cwt. bundle
0 4
)
age
16
0 4
package
3 qrs. bundle
0 3
06
ton
middling package
10
0 3
middling package
2 qrs. bundle
0 2
small package
0 8
0 2
small package
pots
100
4 0
0
9
100
Ploughs
each
1 0
0 3
each
(
0 2
Potatoes, about 1 cwt.
tire
bundle
to
01-2
bundle
basket
0 3
0
0
1-2
basket
04
3 bushels, sack
06
0 1
sack
heavy manufactured ma-
ton
30
0 4
ton
chinery, mill work,
Quicksilver,
iron bottle
02
0
01-2
each
&c. &c., pieces above
Rags
3 cwt. bag
04
0 1
bag
1 ton
ton
60
06
ton
Rice
bag
0 3
0 4
ton
under ton
ton
5 0
06
ton
Rigging
ewt.
04
0 034
cwt.
scrap, loose
ton
4 0
06
ton
Rosin
barrel
0 4
6 0
100 barrels
in bags
ton
3 0
06
ton
Safflower, under 2 cwt.
burdles
each
0
1
05
score
2 qrs.
bale
08
0 2
bale
. Weighing 1s. 6d. per
above 2 cwt. 2 qrs. bale
10
0 3
bale
ton.
Sago, in boxes about 1 cwt.
Ivory
cwt.
0
3
0 1
cwt.
box
04
0 I
box
Knives, Malay, small cask
0 8
02
small cask
Sail-cloth
bolt
0 1
0 3
score
Lac dye
3 cwt. chest
I 0
0 or
chest
Saltpetre, rough, in bags,
about 1 cwt. 2 qrs. chest
0 8
0 11-2
chest
tnn
30
0 6
ton
0 9
0 4
refined,
1 cwt. barrel
04
0 012
barrel
Lace
package
to
to
package
above 1 to 2 cwt. cask
06
0 I
cask
I 6
09
10 cwt.
cask
12
03
cask
Laths
bundle
0
1
1 6
100 bundles
Saws
bundle
06
0 10
score bundles
Lead, in pigs
ton
2 0
03
ton
Seed, clover or other bale
0 8
0 112
bale
black
40 lbs. cask
0
2
0 01-2
cask
Seed lac, 2 cwt. to 2 qrs.
shot, bars, or rolls, ton
3
4
0 3
ton
bag
08
0 2
bag
Lime
puncheon
12
0 3
puncheon
Sheep
each
06
hogshead
I 6
0 4
hogshead
Shellac, in bags or bundles,
0 4
0 1
,
ton
50
1 0
ton
small cask
to
to
small cask
Skins 18 to 20 cwt. cask
30
0 7
cask
0
8
02
s
15 cwt. cask
26
0 6
cask
Logwood
ton
2 3
0 6
ton
vat
16
0 6
vat
Mace and nutmegs, small
hogshead
12
0 4
hogshead
cask
0
8
0 2
small cask
tierce
10
0 3
tierce
Mangles
each
5 0
0 6
each
goat
and
Mogadore,
Manure, about I ton cask
26
0 4
cask
about 2 cwt 2 qrs.
Melting pots
ton
5 0
0 6
ton
bale
04
0
1
1-2
bale
(
1 0
0 3
,
large bale
06
0 2
large bale
Mill cases
each
to
to
-each
Slates
hogshead
20
04
hogshead
20
0 4
j
puncheon
16
0 3
puncheon
gudgeons
each
1
0
0 3
each
Soap, 56 lbs. and under,
stones, about I ton each
40
0 6
each
small box
02
0
01-2
small box
Mineral brown (in turpen-
67 and under 112lbs. box
04
0
I
box
tine casks) 3 cwt. barrel
0
6
06
ton
1 and under 2 cirt. chest
06
0
1-2
chest
Molasses
puncheon
12
0 3
puncheon
2 and under 3 cwt. chest
08
0 2
chest
Mother-o-pearl shells, ton
5 0
0 8
tou
3 to 5 cwt.
chest
10
03
chest
Mules
each
2 6
I 0
0 3
Musk
box
1
box
0
8
0 2
Sofas
each
to
to
each
Mustard
keg
04
0 1
keg
1 6
04
not exceeding 28 lbs. keg
0
2
0 01-2
keg
Spades
1 doz. bundle
04
0 I
bundle
Nails
2 qrs. keg
0
2
3 0
100 kegs
2 doz. bundle
08
0 OF
bundle
I cwt. 2 qrs. keg
0
4
0 034
keg
Spelter
ton
20
0 4
ton
1 cwt. 2 qrs. to 2 cwt.
Spirits, see Wines.
cask
0
6
0 1
cask
Starch
1 cwt. box
06
0 1
box
ton
5 0
0
6
ton
under I cwt. box
0 4
0 1
box
Nankeens, not exceeding
Staves, wine hogshead,
I cwt. case or chest
0
6
0 11-2
case or chest
pack
02
0
012
pack
Negro clothing, puncheon
1 0
0
3
puncheon
pipe, leager, or sugar
Nutria skins 4 cwt. bale
0 8
0
2
bale
hogshead
pack
04
0 01-2
pack
5 ewt. bale
10
0
3
bale
Steel, in bars
ton
3 4
0 4
ton
Oakum
2 qra. bundle
02
0
0
1-2
bundle
in bundles,
1
cwt.
Oil cake
ton
36
0 6
ton
bundle
04
06
ton
hogshead
I 6
0 4
hogshead
(
06
02
puncheon
12
0 3
puncheon
Stoves and grates each
to
to
each'
Oil
tun
36
0 8
tun
-
10
03
j
under 3 gallons, jug
0 2
Straw
truss
01
03
score trusses
3 to 7 gallons,
ug
04
0 1-4
gallon
Sugar
mat or bag
0 4
0 01-2
mat or bag
8 to 10 gallons, jug
06
1
4 or 5 cwt. mat or
11 to 12 gallons, jug
:
0 0 1-4
gallon
basket
0 8
0 1
mat or basket
chest
08
0 01-2
chest
boxes or chests
ton
3 4
0 5
ton
1-2 chest
04
0 0 1-4
1-2 chest
bastard, not exceeding
2 0
0 6
2ewt. 2 qrs. barrel
0
5
0 1
barrel
Organs
each
to
to
each
under
8
cwt.
tierce
0 9
0 2
tierce
50
1 0
12 and under 14 cwt.
Osnaburghs, loose, piece
0 1
0 01-4
piece
cask
16
Ox bowsor yokes, 1 dozen
05
ton
14 cwt. and upwards,
bundle
0 3
0
bundle
cask
20
Oxen
each
10 0
refined
hogshead
12
0 3
bogshead
Paint, in small kegs, ton
8 0
1 0
ton
12 & und. 14cwt. cask
16
04
cask
in casks containing do.,
14
-
18 cwt. cask
20
06
cask
ton
3 4
06
ton
18
- 24 cwt. cask
2 6
0 7
cask
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (LONDON).
593
Goods for Exportation.
Wharfage
Rent after Three Weeks.
and
Shipping.
Per
Goods for Exportation.
Quantities, &c.
Wharfage
and
Shipping.
Rent after Three Weeks.
Per
Week.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
#. d.
8. d.
Per
8.
d.
a. d.
Per
Sugar-continued.
Per vat,
76
10
Refined, packed in hogs-
Per
16 cwt.
Wagons
each
to
to
each
heads or vats, to be
hhd.
and up-
10 0
I 6
housed for exportation.
wards.
Whalebone
5 cwt. bale
10
04
bale
ton
50
10
ton
Housing
06
10
04
0 I
Weighing or re-weighing
06
10
Wheels, according to
to
to
Unhousing, wharfage, and
size
pair
pair
10
02
shipping
18
30
Wheelbarrows
each
02
0 01-4
each
Rent
per week
03
0 6
Wine, bottled, in casks,
dozen bottles
0 1
0 014
dozen bottles
Wharfg.
Rent
in cases dozen bottles
0 2
0
dozen bottles
and
per
Spirits, pipe, puncheon,
Shipping
Week.
or butt
20
06
pipe, pun. or butt
Per
.
d.
3.
d.
Per
hogshead
10
0 3
hogshead
Tallow
ton
26
06
ton
No charge is made for
Tar
barrel
0
4
60
100 barrels
wharfage of wines and
Tea
chest
I 0
03
chest
spirits landed at the
1-2 chest
0 8
02
1.2 chest
docks, and carted to the
1-4 chest
0 6
0
112
1-4 chest
export quay, except for
small box
0
4
0 1
small box
striking and ship-
Tiles, Welch, about 1 foot
ping," viz.
square
100
20
0 6
100
pipe, butt, and pun-
Tin
box
0
4
0 01-2
box
cheon
8d.
barrel
0 6
0
1
barrel
hogshead
4d.
1.
block
0
2
06
score
Wire, iron, 1 cwt. 2 qrs.
Tombstones
each
5
0
06
each
bundle
0 6
01
bundle
Tripe
keg
0 2
0 0 1-4
keg
Wood
ton
23
03
ton
0 0 1-2
When not cleared the
Turmeric
bag
to
10
ton
same day as sent down,
0
2
piling is charged.
0 6
0 1
1
Wood hoops
bundle
0 1
03
score bundles
Turpentine
carboy
to
to
carboy
truss bundle
0 2
05
score bundles
10
03
1
Wool, English, 3 cwt. to
Varnish
barrel
0 6
0 I
barrel
3 cwt. 2 qrs.
bale
0
9
0
234
bale
Vermilion, 2 to 3 cwt.
3 cwt. 2 qrs. to 5 cwt.
chest or package
20
04
chest or package
bale
10
0
3
bale
Vinegar
puncheon
I
4
04
puncheon
Spanish
1
cwt.
bag
0 5
0 1
bag
hogshead
0 8
0 2
hogshead
2 cwt. bag
0 8
02
bag
barrel or 1-2 hogshead
06
0 11-2
barrel or 1-2 hhd.
2 cwt. 2 qrs. bag
09
0
214
bag
*Vitriol, carboys gallon
0 4
0 1
gallon
German, under 4 cwt.
middling case
3 0
09
middling case
bag
08
02
bag
small case
2 0
0
6
small case
4 to 6 cwt. bag
10
0 3
bag
6 cwt. & upwards, bag
14
0 4
bag
* N. B.-" Persons sending to the dock, for shipment, aquafortis, oil of vitriol, or other goods of a dangerous quality, and neglecting to
distinctly mark, or state, the nature of such goods on the outside of the package, or otherwise give due notice thereof to the superintendent,
are subject to a penalty of 20L."-(See act 9 Geo. 4. c. 116. 132.)
WHEN CHARGED BY THE PACKAGE.
Wharfage
Rent after Three Weeks.
Goods for Exportation.
and
Shipping.
Quantities, &c.
Wharfage
Rent after Three Weeks.
Per
Goods for Exportation.
and
Shipping.
Per
Week.
Week.
Quantities, &c.
Per
#.
d.
#. d.
Per
Per
s.
d.
8. d.
Per
.
Bags, small
each
04
01
each
Cases-continued.
Bales, small
each
08
02
each
extra large, 7 to 8 cwt.
middling
each
1 0
0 3
each
each
20
large, 5 and under 7 cwt.
9 to 12 cwt.
each
26
001-2
cwt.
each
14
0 3
each
above 12 cwt.
each
30
7 and under 8 cwt.
Casks, butts
each
16
0 4
each
each
16
hogshead
each
I 2
0 3
each
8 and under 12 cwt.
pipe or puncheon each
14
0 4
each
each
2 0
tierce or wine hhd. each
0 8
0 2
each
12 and under 14 cwt.
04
0 1
each
2 6
0012
cwt.
small
each
to
to
each
14 and under 16 cwt.
06
0
11-2
each
3 0
Chests, small
each
08
0
2
each
16 cwt. and upwards
middling
each
10
0 3
each
each
40
large
each
14
0
4)
each
E.I. goods, single, each
08
02
each
Hogsheads, not exceeding
double
each
I 4
03
each
8 or 9 cwt.
each
12
0
3
each
half bales repacked,
Jars, see Bottles.
each
06
0
11-2
each
02
0 012
Barrels
each
06
0
11-2
each
Kegs
each
to
to
each
Baskets, small
each
02
0 01-2
each
04
01
middling
each
04
0
each
09
0 1
large
each
0 6
0
1-2
each
Packs, vats, &c.
bale
to
to
bale
Bottles or jars, 1 to 3 gal-
1
0
02
lons
each
0 2
Pipes
each
14
0 4
each
4 to 7 gallons
each
04
7 to 10 gallons
06
0014
gallon
Portmanteaus,
ordinary
each
size
each
0
6
0 11-2
each
11 to 12 gallons each
08
Other sizes will be
r
0 2
0 01-2
charged in proportion,
Boxes
each
to
to
each
and rent one fourth of
0
8
02
the rate for wharfage
Bundles, large
each
I 0
03
each
and shipping.
middling
each
09
0
21-4
each
Puncheons
each
14
04
each
small
each
06
0
11-2
each
08
02
Cases, small
each
08
02
each
Tierces
each
to
to
each
middling
each
10
03
each
10
03
large, 5 to 6 cwt.
each
14
0 3
each
Trunks
each
0 6
0 11-2
each
6 to 7 cwt.
each
16
0 01-2
cwt.
06
06
Trusses
each
to
to
each
10
0 112
Goods not included in the foregoing Tables pay in proportion to the rates therein contained, according to weight or size.
3. East India Docks.-These docks, situated at Blackwall, were originally intended for
the accommodation of ships employed by the East India Company, or in the East Indian
trade; but they are now open to vessels from all parts. There are 2 docks; 1 for ships un-
3 D 2
75
Digitized by Google
594 DOCKS ON THE THAMES (ST. KATHERINE'S).
loading inwards, and 1 for those loading outwards. The Import Dock contains about 18
acres, and the Export Dock about 9 acres. The entrance basin, which connects the docks
with the river, contains about 21 acres: the length of the entrance lock is 210 feet, the
width of the gates 48 feet clear. The depth of water in the East India Docks is never less
than 23 feet; so that they can accommodate ships of greater burden than any other esta-
blishment on the river. There is attached to them a splendid quay fronting the river, nearly
700 feet in length, with water sufficient at all times of the tide to float the largest steam
ships; and the Export Dock is furnished with a machine for masting and dismasting the
largest ships. The Company have, also, since the termination of the East India Company's
trade, purchased 3 of the bonded warehouses belonging to that body, situated in the heart
of the city, in which they warehouse and show tea and other goods, on the same terms as st
the London or St. Catherine's Docks.-(See Rates below.)
The discharging of ships in the Import Dock is wholly performed by the servants of
the Company, and the regulations as to fire, cooking, &c. are similar to those in the other
docks.
The docks are distant 31 miles from the Royal Exchange, and coaches run every half
hour between those places, at the moderate charge of 6d. Should the projected railway to
Blackwall be completed, the journey to the docks, or from them to the Exchange, will be
accomplished in less than 10 minutes. Were this effected, no steamers, or at least none
above 100 tons burden, should be allowed to come higher up than Blackwall. It will, we
apprehend, be found to be quite impossible, so long as they are allowed to come further up
than this, to regulate their speed, or to prevent the perpetual recurrence of accidents.
The company's capital, including the cost of the city warehouses, is 623,000L The pre-
sent dividend is 6 per cent.; and the stock is now (December 1836) worth from 116/ to
117L The management is committed to 12 directors, each holding 2,000L stock.
Rates of Charge.-The charges on goods exported are the same as at the other docks.
Inwards they are, as before stated, the same as at the other docks, when the goods are
brought up to the city warehouses; but if kept down at the docks, or while they are there,
the charges and rent are considerably lower.
Tonnags Rates, &c., on Shipping.
Vessals Inwards.
8. d.
Charges for Masting or Dismosting at the Mest-Building.
For discharging cargoss, and for the use of the dock for
twenty-eight days from the date of final discharge, with
Main
Fore
Misso
Bow.
liberty to load for any port, per register ton
16
Mast.
Mast.
Mast.
april.
N. B -Ship cooperage, when incurred, will be
charged and vessels discharging the whole, or greater
Ships of
Lad.
L.s.d.
Lid
L.d.
part of their cargoes into lighters, will be subject to
1,000 to 1,500 tons
900
880
$ 12 0
4100
3120
such terms as shall be agreed upon between the ship-
800 1,000 -
6 15 0
660
owners and the Dock Company.
660 800 -
400
3180
200000
600 650 -
340
2 16 0
1120
Rent, after the expiration of twenty-eight days from the
300 560 -
2126
850
163
time of final discharge, per register ton per week
01
under 300 -
1176
IS 9
186
Vensels of 600 tons and upwards (having landed the greater
part of their import cargoes in the East India Dock) when
lying up, per register ton per week
0
For putting on or taking off Tops.
Vessels Outwards.
Main.
Fore.
Mom.
Entering to load, that have not discharged their Import
cargoes in the docks, for any period not exceeding twenty-
For Ships of
L.s.d.
Led
Led
eight days from the date of entrance, per register ton
1,000 to 1,600 tone
0 15 0
0150
0100
06
800 1,000
0100
0100
050
Rent, after the expiration of twenty-eight days, per register
500 800 -
076
076
050
ton per week
01
under 500
in proportion.
Vensels Lying up.
The prices of the above Tables are for each operation, which it
Light vessels (other than steam vemels) entering the dock to
cludes the use of masting-fall and alings.
lie up for any period not exceeding twenty-eight days, per
N. B.-Owners of ships may purchase not less than half a fall, at
register ton
06
25 per cent. under the ready money cost price.
Rent, after the expiration of twenty-eight days, per register
ton per week
-
01
Rates on Goods in up-town Warehouses.
Steam Vessels.
Landing
Manage-
Rest per
Rent, from the date of entrance, per register ton per week 01
and
ment.
Went.
The charge for getting out and landing, lifting, or shipping
Housing.
boilers and heavy machinery (including the use of gear)
is, per ton
50
Tea, in packages of
ad
ed
ad
Use of wharf for ditto, per ton per week
0 6
200 lb. gross, and upwards
20
7 6
0113
130 and under 200
18
56
01
Coasters and Craft.
80
-
130
18
38
0012
60
-
20
10
30
0013
Other than lighters, with cargo for outward bound ships, with
40
-
60
10
24
0 013
liberty to remain for one week, per register ton
06
30
0018
-
40
010
80
Other than lighters loading from the Import Warehouses,
1
20
-
30
08
13
0014
with the like privilege, on the gross weight they take on
under 20
04
10
0014
board, per ton
06
Silk, Bengal, per bale
In either case, rent, after the expiration of one week, per
150 lbs. and upwards
88
$ 6)
OIH
register tou
01
104 to 150
20
76
0118
under 104
16
66
Water.
China, per bale,
Supplied from the reservoir, per tun
0
104 lbs. and upwards
20
76
who
including
0112
Filtered water, do.
2 0
under 104
16
16
0113
4. St. Katharine's Docks.-The Company for the construction of these docks was incor-
porated by the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 105. (local), and they were partially opened on the 25th of
October, 1828. They are situated immediately below the Tower, and are consequently the
most contiguous of any to the city, the Custom-house, and other places where business is
transacted. The capital raised by shares amounts to 1,352,800/. but an additional sum of
800,000/. has been borrowed, on the security of the rates, for the completion of the works,
Digitized by Google
DOCKS ON THE THAMES (ST. KATHERINE'S). 595
and the purchase of a freehold property possessing river frontage from the Tower to the
corner of Lower East Smithfield, of the value of upwards of 100,000l., but not required for
the immediate purpose of the act. A portion of this property has been appropriated as a
steam packet wharf, where passengers embark and land without the aid or risk of boat con-
veyance. The purchase of the numerous houses that stood upon the ground occupied by
the docks proved, as in the case of the London Docks, a heavy item of expense. The space
included within the outer wall is about 24 acres, nearly 11 of which are water. There are
2 docks, communicating by a basin. The lock leading from the river is 180 feet long, and
45 broad it is so constructed, that ships of upwards of 600 tons burden may pass in and
out 3 hours before high water, so that outward-bound ships have the opportunity of reach-
ing Blackwall before the tide begins to recede. Ships of upwards of 800 tons register are
docked and undocked without difficulty, and the depth of water at the entrance exceeds that
of any other wet dock in the port of London. Vessels are also docked and undocked by
night as well as by day,-an advantage peculiar to this establishment. A clear channel of
not less than 300 feet in width is at all times to be kept in the pool; and vessels drawing
18 feet water may lie afloat at low water at the principal buoy off the dock entrance. The
warehouses and vaults are upon a very large scale; far more so than one might be disposed
to infer from the extent of water. The warehouses are exceedingly well contrived and com-
modious; and, owing to their being built partly on pillars (within which what is called the
quay work of the other docks is transacted, close to the water's edge, goods are hoisted
direct from the hold of the vessel, without its being necessary, as in the West India and
London Docks, to land them on quays; so that there is in this way a great saving both
of room, time, and labour. The whole establishment is exceedingly complete, and reflects
the greatest credit on the public spirit, enterprise, and skill, of those by whom it was pro-
jected and executed.
The regulations to be observed by vessels using the St. Katharine's Docks are similar to
those enforced in the West India Docks, to which, as in the case of the London Docks, we
beg to refer.
Table of Tonnage Rates chargeable on Vessels entering the St. Katherine Docks and also of the
Rates for discharging Cargoes landed by the Company, subject to such Revision, from Time to
Time, as shall be found expedient.
Vessels Inwards.
Vessels Outwards
entering the Docks without Cargoes.
On Vessels laden,
Per Ton
arriving from
Register.
Privilege.
Per Ton
Register.
Privilege.
s. d.
Vessels whose cargoes are dis-
charged by the Dock Company.
Loading for any)
s. d.
Use of the Docks to vessels arriving
port enumerated
First Class. Any
from Hambro', or from any port
in the Import
0 6
Use of dock to
port of the United
in the Mediterranean, for 6
Table in first
load 4 weeks
Kingdom, Isle of
weeks from the dateo entrance;
class
from date of
Rent after ex-
Man, Jersey, Guern-
if arriving from any other port,
Do. do. 2d. do.
0 9
entrance
piration of the
sey, Alderney, Sark,
4 weeks from the date of final
Vessels loading in
privilege, Id.
or other European
discharge, with liberty to load
part, on quantity
per ton regis-
ports outside the Bal-
outwards for any port or place,
taken on board
Use of dock to
ter per week.
tic, between the
and to quit the docks for repairs,
according to
as above
load 1 week
North Cape and
and re-enter the period of ab-
their port of des-
from entrance*
Ushant
0 6
sence from dock for such pur-
tination, asabove
poses not to affect the privilege.
classified.
Vessels whose cargoes are dis-
Second Class-Any
charged by their crews.
Table of special Regulations, Remissions, and Exemptions, and
other port.
0 9
The like privilege, but to com-
Miscellaneous Charges applicable to Vessels inwards, not being
mence from the date of en-
fully laden, or laden with the Articles enumerated, or entering
trance,
the Docks light, &c.
No tonnage rate will be charged on vessels wholly corn laden,
Per Ton
whose cargoes shall be landed in the docks; but a charge will in
Register.
such case be made for docking and undocking, as under:
L. s. d.
Rent, in each case, after the expiration of the pri-
8. d.
Vessels of 100 tons and upwards
110
vilege, per week
0 1
Vessels under 100 tons
0 10 6
For partial remissions and exemptions on ves-
with liberty to remain in dock without further charge for 24
sels partly laden, or arriving from Spain or
hours after final landing. Rent, after expiration of that period,
Portugal, wool or cork laden, or vessels with
Id. per ton register per week. Should the vessel load outwards,
corn, see annexed Table.
the usual tonnage rates, according to the port of destination, will
be charged, instead of the rate for docking and undocking. The
Rates for discharging Cargoes by the Company.
Dock Company reserve the power of refusing the admission of
Cargoes, consisting, in the whole or in part, of
ships Jaden entirely with corn.
sugar in hogsheads or tierces, including ship
Other vessels, not being fully laden at the time of entering the
1 9
Cargoes, cooperage consisting of sugar in chests of 5 cwt.
docks, will be charged tonnage rate only, on the proportion of
cargo brought in; the amount of rate to be determined by the
and upwards, including ship cooperage
1 3
port from whence the vessel has arrive and if discharged by
Cargoes, consisting of sugar in bags, mate, or
the Company, rates for unloading in addition, according to the
chests under 5 cwt, or other goods (not being
description of the cargo, and quantity so discharged. Rent, after
hemp, tallow, ashes, wood goods, corn, pitch,
1 week, Id. per ton register per week.
tar, hay, or straw), contained in casks, bales,
Vessels laden with cork or wool from Spain or Portugal will be
serons, chests, cases, bags, baskets, or similar
charged only 6d per ton register. Rent, after 3 weeks from date
packages; also spelter, or metal in pigs, bars,
of entrance, Id. per ton register per week.
rods,
plates,
&c.
0 9
L. 8. d.
Cargoes, consisting of hemp only, or merchandise
Light vessels entering the dock to he up, will be
in bulk, wholly or in part
1 0
charged, for any period not exceeding 4 weeks, per
tallow only
0 6
ton register
006
d.
Rent per week, after the expiration of the 4 weeks, on
hemp
13)
Per ton of
the register tonnage, per ton
001
Mixed cargoes of
tallow
0
goods, charge
Vessels two thirds laden with corn will be charged tonnage rate
ashes
0
in no case to
only on the proportion which the other part of the cargo bears to
Blue gum wood, or large timber, addi-
exceed the re-
the register tonnage.
tional for every load delivered
06
gister tonnage
Vessels chiefly laden with wood goods, pitch, tar, hay, straw, or in-
No charge upon excess landed beyond a ship's
of the vessel.
tending to discharge the whole of their cargoes into lighters, will
register tonnage.
only be permitted to enter or depart the docks, subject to such
Dil, additional for every tun delivered
terms as shall be first mutually agreed upon between the owners
into craft
06
and the Dock Company.
Digitized by Google
596
DOCKS (LONDON PORT DUES).
Table of Tonnage Rates, &ec.-continued.
the purpose of making up freight accounts, the following charge
Miscellaneous Charges.
will be made :-
a. d.
8. d.
For labourers bired of the Company, to work on board,
If the goods have 10 marks, or under
2 0
and who shall be under the directions and responsibility
11 marks to 20 marks 3 6
of captains or owners of vemels, both or either (which
21 marks and upwards 0 8 each mark or
rule applies to all over-board deliveries), a charge will
parcel.
be made for each man per day, of
36
N. B.-The dock-dues, rent, &c. of most articles landed, ware-
Thames water supplied to vessels by the Company, per
housed, or shipped at the different docks, being, in general, nearly
tue
1
0
Identical, the reader is referred for an account of the same to the
For an abstract of a ship's cargo inwards, and weights thereof. for
Table under the head London Docks.
5. Commercial Docks.-Exclusive of the previously mentioned docks, which are all on
the north side of the river, there are on the south side the Commercial Docks, opposite to
the west end of the West India Docks. The docks are of large extent; the space included
within the outer wall being about 49 acres, of which nearly 38 acres are water. They
are principally intended for the reception of vessels with timber, corn, and other bulky com-
modities. They have but little accommodation for warehousing and their establishments
are not constructed so as to entitle them to bond all goods. The Surrey Canal Company
also admit vessels to be docked in the basin of their canal.
6. London Port Dues; Charges on Account of Lights, Pilotage, &c. in the Thames;
Shipping, &c. of London.
It is highly desirable that expert pilots, brilliant lights, and every other means that it is
possible to devise, should be afforded to render navigation safe and expeditious. But to
secure these advantages, it is indispensable that the charges on their account should be mo-
derate. If they be otherwise, navigators are not unfrequently tempted to resort to what are
less expensive, though less secure, channels. This principle has not, however obvious, been
always kept sufficiently in view either in this or in other countries. During the latter years
of the war, and down to 1825, the charges on account of docks, lights, pilotage, &c. on ships,
in the Thames, and most other British ports, were exceedingly heavy and would no doubt,
had they been maintained, have materially injured our commerce. Instead, also, of encou-
raging the resort of foreign ships to our ports, a contrary policy was adopted the charges
laid on them being usually about double those laid on British ships. This regulation was
intended to promote the employment of the latter; but, as it led to reprisals in other coun-
tries, its real influence is believed to have been quite different; while by driving away
foreigners, it injured the trade of the country, and prevented our ports from becoming, what
they are so well fitted to be, the emporiums of the world. We are glad, however, to have to
state that the circumstances now alluded to have been materially changed within the last
dozen years. In 1825, the various dock monopolies expired; and a very great reduction
has been made in the charges on account of the docks, which, as already seen, are now very
moderate indeed.
Exclusive of the dock duties, certain port or tonnage duties were imposed on ships frequenting the
port of London, by the acts 39 Geo. 3. c. 69., 43 Geo. 3. c. 124., &c., partly to pay the harbour masters,
provide mooring chains, &c., and partly to create a fund for the improvement of the port, and in par-
ticular for defraying the cost of making a navigable canal across the Isle of Dogs. But this canal
having been sold (antè p. 569.) for 120,000Γ. to the West India Dock Company, under the 10 Geo. 4. c.
130., and the sums advanced by the public for the improvement of the port having been repaid, it was
judiciously resolved to reduce the port duties to the lowest rates capable of defraying the necessary
expenses. This was effected by the 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 32., which imposes the following tonnage duties
on vessels in the port :-
Per Tea.
d.
1st Class.-For every ship or other vessel trading coastwise between the port of London and any
port or place in Great Britain, Ireland, the Orkneys, Shetland, or the Western Islands of
Scotland, there shall be paid for every voyage in and out of the said port
t
2d Class.-For every ship, &c. entering inwards or clearing outwards from or to Denmark. Nor-
way, or Lapland (on this side of the North Cape), or from Holstein, Hamburgh, Bremen, or
any other part of Germany bordering on or near the Germanic Ocean, or from or to Holland or
any other of the United Provinces, or Brabant. Antwerp, Flanders, or any other part of the
Netherlands, or from or to France (within Ushant), Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, or the
Tale of Man, there shall be paid for every, &c., as above
à
3d Class.-For every ship, &c. entering inwards or clearing outwards from or to Lapland (beyond
the North Cape), Finland, Russia (without or within the Baltic Sea), Livonia, Courland,
Poland, Prussia, Sweden, or any other country or place within the Baltic Sea, there shall be
paid for every, &c. as above
t
4th Class.-For every ship, &c. entering inwards or clearing outwards from or to France (between
Ushant and Spain), Portugal, Spain (without the Mediterranean), or any of the Azores, Ma-
deira, or Canary Islands, or any of the United States of America, or of the British colonies or
provinces in North America or Florida, there shall be paid for every, &c., as above
-
1
5th Class.-For every ship, &c. entering inwards or clearing outwards from or to Greenland,
Gibraltar, France, or Spain (within the Mediterranean), or any country, island, port, or place
within or bordering on or near the Mediterranean or Adriatic Sea, or from the West Indies,
Louisiana, Mexico, South America, Africa, East India, China, or any other country, island,
port or place within or bordering on or near the Pacific Ocean, or from any other country,
island, port, or place whatsoever to the southward of 25 degrees of north latitude, there
shall be paid, &c. as above
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (LONDON PORT DUES)..
597
Exemptions.-Ships of war, and ships the property of his Majesty, or any of the royal family-Any
vessel coming to or going coastwise from the port of London, or to any part of Great Britain, unless
such vessel should exceed 45 tons.-Any vessel bringing corn coastwise, the principal part of whose
cargo shall consist of corn.-Any fishing smacks, lobster and oyster boats, or vessels for passengers.-
Any vessel or craft navigating the Thames above and below London Bridge, as far as Gravesend only.
-Any vessel entering inwards or outwards in ballast.
N. B.-The port or tonnuge duties paid by shipe in the port of London, as stated in the accounts
below, were those payable previous to the act 4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 32., which only took effect on the 25th
of July, 1834; and were, at an average, from 4 to 6 times as high as at present.
Owing to the distance of London from the sea, and the rather intricate navigation at the
mouth of the river, the charges on account of lights and pilotage must necessarily be pretty
heavy. They have, however, been very materially reduced of late years. The charges on
account of the lights under the management of the Trinity House have been diminished, in
almost every instance, at least one third and in many instances as much as a half, and
sometimes even more, since 1823.-(See LIGHT-HOUSES.) The illiberal and impolitic prac-
tice of imposing discriminating light and pilotage dues on foreign vessels is still kept up
but owing to the general establishment of reciprocity treaties with foreign powers, the griev-
amce thence arising has become rather nominal than real, and at present affects very few of
the foreign vessels coming to our ports.
The act 6 Geo. 4. c. 125, made a reduction of 8 per cent. in the charge authorised to be
demanded by the pilots licensed by the Trinity House for the port of London and foreign
vessels, privileged as British vessels, have been relieved from the additional or surplus rate
of 25 per cent. payable to the Trinity pilots, as well as to those licensed by the Lord Warden
of the Cinque Ports.-(See PILOTAGE.)
The oppressive and troublesome charges in the port of London, imposed on alien goods
under the names of package, scavage, &c.-(see PACKAGE)-were put an end to during
last session (1833). At present, therefore, we believe we are warranted in affirming that,
considering its distance from the sea, the public charges on shipping in the port of London
are quite as reasonable as in any other port of the empire, or of the world. But we are
inclined to think that further reductions may still be effected, particularly in the article
pilotage.
The following accounts show the nature and amount of the various charges that are at
present incurred by vessels in the port of London :-
Pro forma Account of Charges on a Ship of about 480 Tons, entering and departing the Port of London,
laden both Ways, supposing every thing to be conducted with strict Economy, and excluding any
&
Charge on account of extraordinary Despatch or superior Accommodation.
£ s. d
Reporting the ship and appointment
-
.
-
-
-
-
- 1 1 o
Pilotage from the Downs
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 14 0 4
Boarding the pilot at sea
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- % o 0
Waterman, boat, and kedge, from Gravesend
-
-
-
-
- 1 11 6
London port dues inwards, 5d. per ton
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 0 0
Do.
do. outwards, do.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 0 0
N. B.-This duty is of a temporary character, and will cease in about 5 years.
Trinity dues and lights inwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 11 00
Dock dues, in and out, 9d. per ton
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 12* 0 0
Trinity dues and lights outwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 8 18 6
Dungeness light in and out
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 250
Clearing outwards, and victualling bill
-
-
-
-
-
- 2126
Steam-boat to Blackwall, optional
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 0 0
Pilotage to the Downs
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 12 8 6
Putting the pilot on shore, unless landed in the ship's boat
-
-
-
- 0 10 0
£98 7 4
Charges on a British Vessel of 285 Tons, entering and departing the Port of London, laden both Ways.
£ 8. d.
Reporting, appointing, &c.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 10 6
Tonnage duty inwards (with cargo)
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5186
Do. outwards (do.)
-
-
-
-
-
- 5186
Putting pilot on board at Deal
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2 10 0
Pilotage, Downs to London, draft 15 feet 6 inches
-
-
-
-
- 16 8 7
Do. outwards, draft about 14 feet
-
-
-
-
-
- 9 15 0
Boat and men up and down, 3 guineas each
-
-
-
-
-
- 6 6 0
Trinity lights, inwards
- 613 %
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Do.
outwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 566
Private do. in and out
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 9 10 0
Dungeness do.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 9 0
Dock duty, 9d. per ton
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 13 9
Clearing outwards
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
:
- 270
£85 6 6
* If discharged by the Dock Company, there would be an additional charge of 124. on that account.
Digitized by Google
598
DOCKS (LONDON PORT DUES).
Charges actually paid on the President, American Packet Ship of from 470 to 480 Tons, in the River
Thames, in October, 1833.
£ 8. d
Reporting and appointing
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 10 6
Tonnage duty inwards, and entry
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 6 6
Do.
outwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10 10 6
Trinity lights and pilotage inwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 15 12 0
Do.
do.
outwards
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 28 10 0
Private and Foreland, in and out
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
518 0
Pilot from Dungeness
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 15 12 0
Boat and men up and down
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6 0 0
Dock charges
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 21 2 0
Clearing and victualling bill
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2 12 6
Printing bills and cards
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 13 6
Advertisements in bills of entry
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0106
£122 18 0
In this case, the pilotage inwards and outwards, lights, &c. are charged from Cowes, so that a con-
siderable portion of these items cannot be considered as an expense peculiar to the Thames. A part
of the dock charges might also have been avoided, by employing the crew; the last two items are not
properly port charges.
Amount of Shipping, &c. belonging to the Port of London.-According to the official
accounts, there belonged to this port, in 1832, besides boats and other vessels not registered,
2,669 ships, of the burden of 565,174 tons, manned by 32,786 men and boys. In 1819,
the gross customs' duty collected in the port of London amounted to 7,749,463L, the ex-
penses of collection being 277,913L, or at the rate of 3/. 11s. 8dd. per cent. In 1832, the
gross duty had risen to 9,434,8541., while the expenses of collection had sunk to 243,678L,
being at the rate of only 21. 11s. 73d. per cent-(Parl. Paper, No. 414. Sess. 1833.) So
vast an amount of shipping and commerce was never previously concentrated in any single
port. London may be truly said to be universi orbis terrarum emporium. May her pros-
perity be as lasting as it is great !
The following tabular statement will serve to illustrate the progress of the foreign trade
and navigation of London.
Number and Tonnage of Vessels entering the Port of London from Foreign Parts, distinguishing
between British and Foreign Ships.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Ships.
Tona.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Toma
1700
839
80,040
496
76,995
1890
3,354
655,239
656
122,619
1750
1,498
198,023
184
36,346
1821
3,000
585,994
671
89,073
1790
2,234
431,890
1,116
149,205
1822
3,230
603,167
597
106,059
1791
2,184
419,374
1,256
149,058
1823
3,031
611,451
865
161,705
1792
2,489
451,188
1,186
152,243
1824
3,132
607,106
1,643
264,098
1793
2,348
478,105
1,193
177,019
1825
3,989
785,563
1,743
309,122
War.
1896
3,496
675,096
1,586
215,254
1814
269,834
1827
4,012
769,162
1,534
221,008
1815
875,375
1823
4,084
767,218
1,303
195,989
1816
115,463
1889
4,108
784,070
1,300
215,606
1817
131,647
1830
3,910
744,229
1,268
207,500
1818
272,656
1831
4,140
780,988
1,557
269,159
1819
158,882
1832
3,268
639.340
884
154,142
N. B.-The temporary failing off in 1832 is to be ascribed to the prevalence of cholera, and the an-
fortunate misunderstanding with Holland.
Account of the Number and Tonnage of the Ships that have entered the Port of London, with Car-
goes from Foreign Parts, distinguishing the Countries whence they came, during the Years 1833,
1834, and 1835.-(Papers published by the Board of Trade, part V., p. 36.)
1833.
1834.
1835.
Countries.
British.
Foreign.
Britis
Foreign.
British.
Foreign.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships,
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Toes.
Russia
358
76,157
47
17,150
399
87,205
71
24,978
312
67,193
54
18,657
Sweden
12
2,686
51
15,698
22
3,848
76
22,549
22
3,520
67
18,899
102-
31,859
15
2,157
122
38,328
-
-
Norway
S7
28,108
-
Denmark
10
1,370
70
6,309
22
2,699
207
18,349
19
2,469
136
13,697
Prussia
45
6,621
130
31,486
36
6,639
125
30,622
35
6,456
107
26,372
German States
243
43,085
48
5,173
217
44,253
122
12,292
190
44,362
81
7,956
Netherlands
309
41,301
277
23,705
466
67,291
240
21,541
465
72,794
226
21,125
France
188
21,475
197
12,480
225
24,153
178
12,147
245
24,220
125
9,656
Portugal, Azorea, and Madeira
377
37,331
4
394
364
38,504
4
519
369
38,840
20
2,151
Spain and Canaries
180
33,398
44
4,585
239
27,302
27
3,272
210
23,371
22
2,617
Italian States
124
18,380
8
1,808
107
16,063
19
4,903
118
16,948
6
1,558
Ionian Islands
33
4,464
-
-
25
3,637
-
-
25
3,700
Turkey and Continental
Greece
58
8,481
69
9,538
-
-
75
-
-
11,034
Morea and Greek Islands
9
1,350
-
14
2,026
-
-
-
12
1,752
Egypt
-
-
-
-
4
756
Tripoli, Barbary, and Moroeco
132
29,812
-
-
28
3,438
-
-
21
2,347
Foreign possessions in Asia
185
96,085
1
290
6
2,323
3
956
11
3,963
4
1,647
China
-
-
-
27
28,199
-
-
47
28,918
United States of America
18
5,126
44
18,463
24
7,116
51
20,053
14
4,030
68
28,099
Foreign West Indies
35
6,963
7
2,073
29
5,648
5
1,367
19
3,303
2
389
Foreign Continental Colonies
in America
75
14,394
1
258
85
16,172
4
758
SO
15,061
3
976
Totals
2,491
448,479
1,031
171,731
2,123
398,967
1,254
212,634
2,289
374,281
1,008
181,196
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
599
II. LIVERPOOL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
The first wet dock in the British empire was constructed at Liverpool, in pursuance of
an act of parliament obtained in 1708. At this period Liverpool was but an inconsiderable
town ; and the accommodation she has derived from her docks is one of the circumstances
that has done most to promote her extraordinary increase in commerce, population, and
wealth. A second wet dock was opened about the middle of last century ; and since that
period many more have- been constructed, some of them on a very magnificent 'scale, and
furnished with all sorts of conveniences. When those now in progress are completed, the
total area of water in the docks will exceed 90 acres.
The entrance to the port of Liverpool is a good deal incommoded with sand banks;
through which, however, there are several channels which, when the proper precautions
are observed, afford an easy and safe access to the port.
In spring tides, the water rises in the Mersey about thirty feet, and in neap tides
about fifteen but the height depends much on the state of the winds, and other cir-
cumstances.
The following Table gives the annual amount of the Liverpool dock duties since 1757,
the number of vessels entering the docks since that period, and the tonnage of the same
since 1800. It exhibits an increase of commerce unequalled in any other port.
Amount of Dock Duties at the Port of Liverpool, from the Year 1757, ending the 24th of June
each Year.
Year.
No. of Versels.
L
&
d
Year.
No. of Vessels.
L
8.
r
1757
1,371
396
15
0
1779
2,374
4,967 17 10
1758
1,453
2,408
6
3
1780
2,951
3.528 7 9
1750
1,281
2,372 12 2
1781
2,518
3,915 4 1
1760
1,945
2,330 6 7
1782
2,496
4,249 6 3
1761
1,319
2,362 0
2
1783
2,816
4.840 8
3
1762
1,307
2,526 19
6
1784
3,098
6,597 11 1
1763
1,752
3,141 1
5
1786
3,429
8,411 5 3
1764
1,626
2,780 3 4
1786
3,228
7,508 0 1
1785
1,900
3,465 8 4
1787
8,667
9,199 IS 8
1766
1,908
3,653 19
2
1788
3,677
9,206 13 10
1767
1,704
3,615 9
2
1789
3,619
8,901 10 10
1768
1,808
3,566 14 9
1790
4,923
10,037 6 st
1769
2,054
4,004 5 0
1791
4,045
11,645 6 6
1770
2,073
1,142 17
2
1792
4,488
13,243 17 at
1771
2,087
4,203 19 10
1793
4,129
12.480 5 5
1772
2,259
4,662 5 4
1794
4,965
10,678 7 0
1773
2,214
4,725 1 11
1796
3,948
9,368 16 4
1774
2,258
4,680 5 5
1796
4,738
12,377 7 7
1775
2,291
5,3-4 4 9
1797
4,528
13,319 12 8
1776
2,216
5,064 10 10
1798
1777
1799
1
4,478
12,067 18 3
2,361
4,60 4 9
4,518
14,049 15 1
1778
2,292
4,649
7
7
Year.
No. of Venecls.
Tonnage.
L. 8. d.
Year.
No. of Vessile.
Tennage.
L.
a.
d.
1800
4,746
450,000
23,379 13 6
1806
4,676
507,925
44,500
7
3
1801
5,060
450,719
28,365
8
21
1807
5,791
662,309
02,931 5 10
1802
4,781
510,691
28,192 9 10
1808
5,225
516,836
40,698 10 4
1803
4,791
494,581
28,027 IS 7
1809
6,023
504,601
47,580 19 3
1804
4,291
445,761
96,157 0 =
1810
6,720
734,391
66,782 1 0
1805
4,618
463,498
33,364 IS 1
1911
5,816
611,190
54,758
18
5
No. of Vessels.
Tonnage.
.
Year.
L
8. d.
L a. d.
1812
4,599
446,788
20,260 3 5
Duties on goods
24,143 4 6
44,403 7 11
1813
5,341
547,426
24,134 18 8
Duties on goods
26,042 14 6
50,177 13 2
1814
5,706
548,957
28,630 11 3
Duties OD goods
31,110 11
I
59,741 2 4
1815
6,440
708,849
36,310 1 9
Daties on goods
40,605 6 II
76,915 8 8
1816
6,888
774,243
43,765 6 3
40,881 4
92,646 10 9
Duties on goods
6
1817
6,079
658,425
36,186 8 0
75,889 16 4
Daties on goods
40,703 8 4
1818
6,779
764,690
43,142 16 6
Duties OD goods
54,695 11
9
98,538 8 3
1819
7,849
867,318
50,012 7
8
Daties OD goods
60.0:4 14
0
110,127 I 8
1890
7,276
805,083
44,717 17 10
94,412 11 10
Duties on goods
49,694 14 0
1821
7,810
839,848
43,131 6 2
Duties on goods
51,425 2 "
94,556 9 1
1822
8,136
892,902
47,229 10
4
Duties 00 goods
66,174 7 0
102,408 17 4
1823
8,916
1,010,819
52,837 5 5
Duties on goods
62.945 16
I
115,788 1 6
1894
10,001
1,180,914
60,878 9
7
Duties DE goods
70,033 I "
180,911 11 6
1896
10,837
1,223,820
59,446 7 8
69,245 12 0
128,691 19 8
Daties on goods
1896
9,601
1,223,318
60,411 9 11
Daties on goods
70,49 9 1
131,000 19 0
1827
9,592
1,225,813
$1,601 0 6
Daties on goods
72871 IS 9
134,472 14 3
Digitized by Google
600
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
Amount of Dock Duties at the Port of Liverpool.-continued.
Year.
No. of Vessels.
Tonnage.
L a. d.
L & &
1828
10,703
1,311,111
62,969 7 10
Duties on goods
78,400 7
141,300 15 7
1829
11,383
1,387,957
66,128 18 10
Duties on goods
81,198 6
147,327 411
1830
11,214
1,411,964
68,322 9 11
Duties OR goods
83,007 11
151,229 17 10
1831
12,537
1,592,436
81,039 = 11
Duties on goods
102,415 12 4
188,455 4 3
1832
12,928
1,540,057
74,30 4 11
Duties on goods
95,517 2 0
170,047 6 11
1838
12,964
1,590,461
79,558 3 11
Duties on goods
103,422 18 5
192,980 16 4
1834
13,444
1,692,870
84,061 15 "
Duties OR goods
107,668 1 9
191,729 17 8
1835
13,941
1,768,426
87,644 14 5
Duties on goods
110,993 4 4
198,627 18 ,
1836
Daties on goods
1837
15,038
1,958,984
84,506 II 1
Duties on goods
89,256 19 0
173,853 10 I
1838
14,820
2,026,206
76,324 II
Duties on goods
69,965 12 10
146,290 3 11
A Statement of Dock and Light Duties received from the 25th September, 1836 (from which date
the Dock Duties were reduced), to the 24th June, 1837; and from the 25th Sept. 1837, to the 24th
June, 1838.
Year.
Duties on Tonnage.
Duties on Goods.
Lighthouse Duties.
Floating Light Duties.
Total
L 8. d.
L. 8. d.
L 8. d
L 8. d.
L 8. d.
1837
55,805 11 0
52.768 12 4
3,995 8 6
1,832 0 8
114,401 6 6
1838
57,125 6 8
54,329 I 2
4,227 13 1
1,873 0 10
117,565 6 9
Increase.
1,319 15 8
1,560 8 10
232 15 7
41 0 2
3,154 0 3
Dock Dues.-The following dues are payable by order of the 6th of September 1836,
upon all vessels entering inwards, or clearing outwards, at the port of Liverpool, for dock
rates and harbour lights:-
8. d.
From between the Mull of Galloway and St. David's Head, Isles of Man and Anglesea, the ton 0 2
From between the Mull of Galloway and Duncansby Head, Orkney Isles, and islands on the
western coast of Scotland; between St. David's Head and the Land's End, the Scilly Islands,
and the east coast of Ireland, from Cape Clear to Mallin Head, the ton
0 #
From the east and southern coast of Great Britain, between Duncan's Bay Head and the Land's
End, the islands of Shetland, the west coast of Ireland, from Cape Clear to Malling Head,
including the islands on that coast, the ton
54
From Europe, north of Cape Finisterre, and westward of the North Cape, and without the
Cattegat and Baltic Sea, the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Sark, the Faro Islands,
and Iceland, the ton
0 9
From within the Cattegat and Baltic, the whole of Sweden, the White Sea, eastward of the
North Cape, Europe, south of Cape Finisterre. without the Mediterranean, Newfoundland,
Greenland, Davis's Straits, Canaries, Western Islands, Madeira, and Azores, the ton
10
From the east coast of North America, the West Indies, east coast of South America, north of
Rio Plata, the West coast of Africa, and islands north of the Cape of Good Hope, all parts
I
within the Mediterranean, including the Adriatic, the Black Sea, and Archipelago, the islands
of St. Helena, Ascension, and Cape de Verd Islands, the ton
16
From South America, south of Rio Plata, the Pacific Ocean, Africa and Asia, eastward of the
Cape of Good Hope, the ton
23
Note.-Vessels remaining longer than 6 months in dock, to pay in addition to the above rates,
per month
1
All vessels arriving at or clearing from the said port, are to pay the said rates from or for the most
distant port or place from or for which they shall trade ; but vessels arriving from any parts in bal-
last do not pay dockage on entering inwards; and should such vessels proceed to sea again in
ballast, then only one half of the dock rates are due, with the whole of the lights; but taking a carge
outwards subjects such vessels to full dock dues.
N. B.-New vessels built in Liverpool are subject only to half of the above rates on the first outward
clearance.
Floating Light, at the Entrance of the River Mersey.-Towards this light, the following rates are
payable:-
All vessels sailing to or from Liverpool, to any port or place between Duncan's Bay Head and the
Land's End, on the west side of Great Britain, and between Malling Head and Cape Clear on the east
side of Ireland, fd. per ton.
All vessels sailing to or from Liverpool, to any port or place between Duncan's Bay Head and the
Land's End, on the east and southern coast of Great Britain, and between Malling Head and Cape
Clear on the west coast of Ireland, td. per ton.
All vessels sailing to or from Liverpool, to any port or place not being within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, or the adjacent islands to the northward of the Cape of Good Hope, and
the northward of Cape Horn, dd. per ton.
All vessels sailing to and from Liverpool, to any port or place to the eastward of the Cape of Good
Hope, and the westward of Cape Horn, Id. per ton.
as In the day time, from sunrise to sunset, a blue flag, with the letters N. W. in white, will be
hoisted at the mainmast head, and in thick and foggy weather, either by night or day, a bell will be
kept constantly ringing, to prevent vessels from running foul of the light-vessel.
Dock Regulations. Extracts from Acts of Parliament.-Any owner, or master, or any person having
the command, agency, or consignment of any vessel chargenble with dock duties, refusing to pay de
same, is liable to have such vessel or goods seized.
Any person throwing any ballast or rubbish from out of any vessel upon any of the quays, &c. shall
Immediately cart or carry away the same: penalty 40s.
Every ship shall, before whe comes within any of the piers, take down all her sails: penalty &
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
601
Any person having the charge of any vessel in any of the docks, refusing to remove the same, after
24 hours' notice in writing, shall forfeit 201., and pay the expenses of removal by the water bailiff.
Any person having the command of any vessel moored in the river, refusing to remove the same,
when ordered by the water bailiff, shall forfeit 20%
The master, or other person having the command of any vessel from which any cannon or gun shall
be fired whilst in the port, shall forfeit 10/.
Any person making payment of dock duties, who refuses to answer such questions as shall be put
to him by the collector, or give a false or untrue answer, shall forfeit 101.
Any master, &c. evading payment of the duties, shall forfeit and pay double the duties evaded and
by 53 Geo. 3. a sum of 20/. in addition thereto.
Whenever it shall be necessary, for the purpose of cleaning or repairing the docks, to remove the
vessels lying therein, the master, mate, or other person taking the command of such vessel, shall,
within 3 days after notice given, remove such ship from such dock, on pain of forfeiting 101.
Any master, &c. refusing to moor and remove the same in docks, according to the direction of the
dock master, will forfeit 51., together with the costs of removal by the dock master.
Any master, &c. acting contrary to the direction of the dock master, will forfeit 201.
Any master, &c. entering and giving false information of the draught of water of any ship to any
of the dock masters, will forfeit 201.
Any master, &c. bringing the same into the entrance basins, when a signal is hoisted on the pier, at
the entrance of such basin, signifying that such dock is full of vessels, will forfeit 20/.
Any master, &c. bringing his vessel into any of the docks, contrary to the directions of the dock
master, will forfeit 201.
Every master, or other person, damaging any of the dock gates, bridges, piers, quays, &c. is liable
to have the ship seized, and sold to compensate for damage done.
Any person opening or shutting any of the dock gates, sluices, or clews, is liable to forfeit 100% ; or
opening or shutting any drawbridge, 201.
Any owner, &c. leaving gunpowder, pitch, tar, &c., or combustible matter of any kind, on the quays
of the docks, &c., or upon the deck of any vessel lying in any of the docks, for above 48 hours after
passing the Custom-house officers, is liable to a penalty of 5s. an hour on neglecting to watch such
goods in the night time, to a penalty of 51.
Any master, or other person, having the command of any ship, suffering any fire, candles, or lamp
to be lighted and burning on board penalty 102.
Any owner, &c., landing, or causing to be landed and laid, any pumps, boats, anchors, cables, lime-
stones, &c., or other things whatsoever, upon any of the dock quays, shall within 48 hours wholly
remove the same from off such quay, or shall forfeit 5s. per hour above the 48.
Any person wilfully cutting, damaging, or destroying any cables, &c. by which any vessel in the
river or in any of the docks shall be fastened: penalty 501.
Any person damaging or breaking any lamp, &c. set up near the docks: penalty for each lamp, 51.
Any master, or other person, having the command of any vessel about which any offence shall have
been committed, in relation to any of the docks, &c., is liable to the penalty imposed for such offence.
Any owner or master of any ship or vessel giving or offering a bribe to any officer employed in pur-
suance of the dock acts penalty 201.
Any owner, consignee, or master of any vessel arriving and departing in ballast without payment
of dock duties, is liable to a suin equal to double the amount of dock duty which should have been paid,
and the master liable to the penalty of 20/. in addition.
Every master, &c. wilfully throwing, casting, or putting any earth, stones, rubbish, &c. out of any
ship, &c., into any part of the port penalty 50%
Any owner, &c. of any vessel laid up for sale, or which shall not be actually employed for two
months, not removing the same within 24 hours' notice in writing from the harbour master, or left on
board: penalty 51. and costs of removal.
Any person discharging timber in any dock without having obtained the consent in writing of the
chairman or deputy chairmen of the dock committee, or of some justice of the peace penalty 10%
Any person having consent, not removing the same therefrom within 24 hours, liable to a fine of 5s.
an hour.
Any person damaging any ship, &c. in any of the docks, &c., or in the river, and refusing to make
compensation, liable to have his goods, or the tackle of the ship, &c. doing the damage, seized.
Any justice of the peace for the county of Chester or borough of Liverpool, upon complaint made to
them, may summon persons to appear before him, and may fix the amount to be paid to boatmen, and
persons finding and taking possession of anchors, &c. in any part of the port of Liverpool.
Any person throwing, casting, or emptying any ballast, ashes, &c. out of any ship, &c. into the
river Mersey, the Rock or Horse Channel, or Formby Channel, to the eastward of the Floating Light,
or from any of the piers into the docks or basins, or into the river Mersey: penalty 10/.
That every vessel laden with a cargo consisting solely of limestones, paving-stones, flintstones,
grave, and chalk, shall be charged tonnage rates, as if coming in ballast.
Every owner or master, &c. of any vessel arriving at or departing from the said port, shall produce
to the collector, upon demand, at the time of making entry, all books, accounts, &c. in relation to such
vessel, or which show the weights and quantities of the goods, &c. In case of dispute, such owner,
&c. shall produce a statement in writing, to be verified by oath, and showing the actual weights and
quantities of such goods, &c., or the accuracy of the said books, &c.
In case the master, &c. of any vessel from which rubbish, ballast, dirt, or other refuse of any kind
shall be landed, shall permit or suffer the same to be so landed, or laid within 3 yards from the margin
of any such dock or basin, or of the river Mersey, and shall not cause such rubbish, &c. to be wholly
removed from off such quays, &c. within 24 hours after the same shall be so landed or laid: pe-
nalty 51.
Any owner, &c. of any boat or vessel, permitting gunpowder, exceeding 10 pounds in weight, to be
brought into any of the docks or basins, or any vessel or boat lying therein, without the previous con-
sent in writing of a justice of the peace of the borough of Liverpool penalty 100%
That upon due proof, on oath, to the satisfaction of any justice ofthe peace of the borough of Liver-
pool, or county of Lancaster, that any dealer in marine stores, within the said borough, or Toxieth
Park, shall have been guilty of receiving stolen goods, or purchasing, or receiving, &c. every such
shall forfeit 201 for the first offence, 301. for the second offence; and after conviction for such
second person offence, shall not carry on business as such dealer in marine stores within 200 yards from the
margin or side of any dock or basin (exclusive of 40 yards prohibited by a former act) on pain of for-
feiting the sum of 101. for every day he, she, or they shall carry on such trade or business.
In case any person or persons giving or accepting any bribe to or from any water bailiff, harbour
master, &c. give information thereof. he or she shall be excused from the penalty of 201. imposed by
the 51 Geo. 3. for such offence, provided such information be given before any proceeding for punish-
ing the said offence shall have commenced, or any information laid before any justice of the peace
against such person in respect of the same.
Justices of the peace may, upon complaint 76 made, summon parties and ascertain and award the
VoL.
I-3
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by
Google
602
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
amount of recompence, for any services rendered by boatmen, &c. to vessels in the said docks or
basins, and, in case of non-payment, may levy the sum so awarded by distress.
By-laws.-1. That the master, &c. who shall permit or suffer any pitch or tar, or any other com-
bustible matter, to be bolled or heated for the use of such ship or vessel, erther on board of such ves-
sel, or within 5 yards of the same, shall forfeit 40s. for every offence.
2. That the master, &c. discharging or loading any cotton or other combustible goods OR or from any
of the quays, who shall permit or suffer any person or persons to smoke or burn tobacco, shall for
each offence forfeit 20s.; and any other person or persons who shall burn or smoke tobacco, or any
other thing, amongst cotton or any other combustible goods, lying and being on the quays, shall for
each offence forfeit the like penalty of 20s.
3. That if the master, &c. shall bring the same into any of the docks, basins, or entrances, with
loaded cannon or guns, with gunpowder on board, or, when driven in by stress of weather. shall neg-
lect immediately to discharge the same, or who shall take gunpowder on board, until clear of the
docks and pier-heads, shall forfeit 51.
4. That the master, &c. of any vessel, or any other person or persons whomsoever, who shall permit
or suffer any rope from such vessel to be made fast to any chain-post or quay-fender, or any rope,
chain, or tackle of any description, to be made fast to any of the pillars of any iron or other shed on
any of the quays, or to the roof or any other part of such shed, shall for every offence forfeit 40s.
5. That the master, &c. of any vessel lying within or up to any of the docks, basins, &c., who shall
suffer any ballast, &c. to be taken on board such vessel, or thrown, discharged, or carried out of the
same, without having a canvass nailed to the ship's side, or some other safeguard from falling into
any such docks or basins, shall for every offence forfeit the sum of 40s.
6. That the master, &c. of any ship or vessel lying in any of the said docks or basins, or the
entrances to the same, who shall suffer any repairs to be done to the outsides of such vessels, without
having a canvass or some other safeguard secured from the side of such vessel, and placed or fixed so
as to prevent any chips or pieces of wood from falling into the said docks or basins during the whole
of such work or repairs, shall for every offence forfeit 40s.
7. That the master, &c. of any vessel lying or being within any of the docks, &c. who shall not cause
all ballast. &c. discharged from or to be laden on board of any vessel, to be thrown at least 5 feet from
the edge of the quay, or on the outsides of the cart or chain-posts of the said quay, and taken away
immediately, shall for every offence forfeit 40s.
8. That the master, &c. or other person having the charge or command of every vessel lying within
any of the docks or basins, shall have a ship-keeper on deck to attend the vessel every tide, at least
2 hours before the time of high water, and 1 hour after high water, under the penalty of 10s.
9. That the master, &c. of any vessel, when hauling into or out of the docks or basins, &c., shall
(except when any such vessel be driven by stress of weather) have the yards a-peak, and the sprit-
sail yard fore and aft, and the jib-boom run in, within 3 feet from the cap, If practicable; and, after
any such vessel shall be brought into any dock or basin, shall have the anchors got in on the fore-
castle or deck, and shall have the steering-sail booms and irons taken off from the yards, and shall
have the main or mizen booms, and the stern or quarter davits rigged in, within 94 hours, under the
penalty of 40s.
10. That the master or other person having the command of any vessel, ho shall, by negligence or
otherwise, leave an anchor in the entrance to any of the docks, or upon the strand of the river, with-
out a buoy, for a longer period than one tide, shall for every offence forfelt 51.
11. That the owner, &c. of any vessel who shall refuse to strike the top-gallant masts and yards
of every such vessel entering any of the repairing or graving docks, shall forfeit 51.
12. That the owner or driver of any cart, &c., or any other person or persons who shall draw, or
cause, or permit, or suffer to be drawn upon or over any of the dock bridges, any anchors, balks, &c.
shall for every offence forfeit 40s.
Every day, two hours before high water, a bell will be rung for 1 minute at each dock, when every
ship-keeper is to make his appearance on the deck of his vessel, or incur the penalty of 40s.
All merchants and other owners or agents of ships and vessels trading to the port of Liverpool, will
be required to enter the names of such vessels, their draught of water, and the date of their arrival at
the port of Liverpool, together with the name of the dock into which they are intended to be brought,
in a book kept for that purpose, in the office of the harbour master in Trentham Street. And all TPS-
sels will thereafter be admitted into the said docks or basins in the order only in which they shall be
80 entered.
LIVERPOOL DOCK RATES.-The following is a Table of the Dock Duties that may be charged 08
goods imported, export d, or brought coastwise into the port of Liverpool; but the collector or
receiver of dock duties is directed, by order of the dock committee of the 6th of September, 1636, to
charge only two thirds of the under mentioned duties; and all goods imported coastwise into Liver-
pool from places in the U. K. were, at the same time, exempted from all charge on account of dock
duties.
w The Duties Outwards are for Foreign, British, or Irish Goods, except those marked thus (*) which
are for British or Irish Goods only.
I
Inwards.
Inwards.
Out-
Out-
Articles.
F.r
Coast-
wards.
Articles.
Fo-
Coast-
wark
reign.
WISE.
reign.
wine.
#. d.
a d.
8. d.
1.d
,
d.
1.d.
Acorns
ton (40 bus.
20
10
0 8
Bacon
ton
20
10
0
Alabester
fon
10
06
04
Bagging
piece
0 01-2
0 01-1
0 018
Als, beer, and porter
100 gallons
05
04
06
Ballast of paving and other stones
hogehea
06
0 6
05
that may be used for making or
bottled, the punch. or cask
04
0 4
04
repairing roads
too
0 8
0
0
lierce
0 3
0 3
03
Bark, angustura, eleutherise, Jesuits',
barrel
0
1-2
0
11-8
0 1-2
cascaril'a, or Winterabus
CWL
06
03
0 2
hamper
0
0
0
oak, cork tree, birch, and larch,
11-2
16
09
0 6
Alkanet roof, amber, and aloes CWI.
03
0
0 I
ton
Almonts
ton
20
1 0
08
quercitrom
-
80
I 0
0 S
Alum. mohe
-
10
0 6
04
sa-safras
cnt
03
0 11-3
0
Anch if palies
-
10
06
0 8
Basket rods
bundle
0
01-3
0
01-1
0
01:
812
Anchovies, angelica, and annotto cwl.
0 3
0
1-2
0
I
1,000
0
5
0 212 0
Anive autimony
-
0 3
0
1.2
0
1
Base mate
120
0
3
0
0
Apples
bushel
01
0
012
0
1-8
Best rope
100
10
06
04
Aquafortis, and arsenic
cwt.
03
0
hogehead
10
06
05
1-2
0
I
Beef or pork
Argol
ton
20
I 0
0 8
puncheon
08
04
04
Armar mot and powder
cwt.
03
0
1-2
0
I
tierce 04
08
0 112
Ashes-barilla
ton
16
0
9
06
barrel
0
3
0 11-2
0
013
pearl and pot
-
20
10
08
1-2 barrel and smaller package 0
11-2
0 034
0
"Asbes-black, weed & wood
-
10
06
04
Beer, spruce
32 gallons 05
0 212
0
113
bleaching
-
20
10
08
Rees' was. or bell metal
CWI.
0 8
0 1
0
common Irish
-
-
06
-
Bellows, smiths'
each)
03
01
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
603
Inwards.
Inwards.
Articles.
Out-
Fo-
Coast-
wards.
Articles.
On:-
Fo-
Coast-
wards.
reign.
wise.
reign.
wise.
. d
ad
s.d.
s. d.
a. d.
. d
Berries, bay, juniper, yellow
tom
80
10
08
Coral
cwt.
06
03
0 2
Blacking
hogebead
06
05
Cork
too
80
10
08
puncheon or cask
04
04
Corks
X
0
4
0 2
0 1
tierce
0 3
03
Corn-Barley, bere, and big beans,
barrel
0
112
0
1-2
Indian, peas, or rye
quarter
0
3
0 11-2
01
smaller package
0
1
0
Meal, barley meal or oat meal,
Bladders containing lard, &c.
each
0
tom
80
10
08
Blocks, heel
group
0
1
Malt, also wheat
quarter
04
0 8
01
last
1,009
06
Oats
-
0 2
0 I
0
ship
100
0
06
03
Wheat flour
ewi.
01
0 0 3-4
0 01-2
Blubber
too
16
0
9
06
Cotton seed
bushel
01
0 01-8
0 01-2
Blue
package
03
0
118
01
twist, thread, and yara
cwt.
0 4
0 2
Boats
each
10
06
06
waste, also cotton wool,
Robbins
cask
06
04
100 lbs.
03
0 1-2
0 1
Bone dust and bones of cattle, and
Cottons, manufactured
package
10
06
03
bran
ton
10
06
04
Cream of tartar, also currants
ton
20
1 0
08
Books
package
04
0 8
03
Crystal
package
03
0 118
0 I
Blorax or tincal
cwt.
03
0 112
01
Culm
ton
0 4
0 2
02
*Bottles
crate
03
Curiosities, natural or artificial,
of green or common glass,
package
0
6
0 3
02
not less than pints
gross
03
0 11-2
03
Drapery, linen or woollen
piece
0 0 1-2
0 01-2
Boulder(Mones
ton
08
04
08
Earth, black, brown, red or yellow,
Bowls of wood
dozen
0 01-2
0 01-2
ton
20
10
Bows for cattle
-
0 018
0 01-8
fullers'
-
10
06
Brass
cwt.
02
0
I
01
Earthenware crate or other package
04
0 2
0 8
old
too
I 8
0 10
06
load
30
16
10
Bread
cwt.
02
01
0 1
Eggs
1,200
06
0 3
0 2
bag or sack
0 01-2
Emery stones
cwt.
0 1
0 01-8
0 01-2
Bricks, bearers, and tiles
1,200
10
06
04
Empty bags, baskets, crates, ham-
Bristles
cwt.
06
0 3
08
pers, and sacks
score
02
01
01
Broom and brush handles
bundle
0 012
0 01-8
barrels
-
010
05
010
1,000
0 9
1-2 barrels and smaller pack.
Brooms
dosen
0
01-2
0 0 1-4
0 01-4
ages
-
0 5
0 21-2
05
load (48 bundles)
10
boxes
each
0 01-2
0 014
0 014
Brown powder
too
80
1 0
load
2 0
10
Brush heads and stocks
bag
0 1
0 01-2
0
crates
each
02
01
01
1,000
06
cases, chests, half quarter
Brushes
bundle or box
06
03
0 2
crates, tierces, and tranks,
cask
04
each
01
0 01-2
0 01-2
Buckets of wood
dozen
0 01-2
0 01-8
Feathers
cwt.
06
08
08
Bugle
too
20
10
08
ostrich
100 lbs.
2 0
10
0 8
Bullion
package
06
03
0 2
Felt
package
0 2
Bullrushes
load (63 bundles)
10
06
04
Figs
ton
80
10
08
Rurr stones
100
10
06
04
Filtering stones
each
0
1
0 01-2
0 1
Butter
cask or firkin
01
0 01.2
0 01-2
Fish, dry salted
ton
10
06
0 4
1-2 farkin or keg
0 01-2
0 01-4
0 01.2
herrings, fresh
1,900
0 8
e 11-2
Cables or cordage
ton
80
10
08
pickled and salted of all de-
Cakes, linseed or rape
-
10
06
04
scriptions
barrel
0
2
0
0 1
Calamine, calaminaris lapis
-
06
03
08
Arkin, 1-2 barrel, or kit
01
0 01.2
0 01-2
Cambric
piece
01
0 01.2
0 01-2
pipa, punchson, cask
04
02
0 2
Camphor, canella alba
cwt.
03
0 11-2
01
hogebead
06
03
03
*Candles, and candlewick
-
0 8
0 1
tierce
0 3
0 11.8
01
package
0
British cured
"hogshead
06
Cane reeds
1,900
06
03
0 8
*puncheon
04
Cantharides, caontebue, and capers,
*tierce
0
1-2
cwt.
03
0 114
01
"barrel
0
Carpets. See Woollens.
$1.8 brl. and smaller package
0
0
1.2
Carriages, cars, and carts
each
1 0
10
Flagstones, also freestone
ton
06
08
03
for guns
-
03
03
Flax, rough
-
20
10
0 8
handcarts
-
06
06
Flint, ground or dried
ton
08
04
04
Cassia buds
ewt.
06
03
08
stones
-
0 4
08
0 2
fistula and lignea
-
03
0 112
0 1
Floor-cloth (containing 1 roll), box,
Cattle, area and mules, bulls, cows,
bag, or mat
01
01
and oxen
each
06
03
06
Furniture, household
load
10
06
I OR
calves
-
03
01
03
*package
0 3
00
0 1-8
horses
-
10
06
10
box, bundle, mat, or *truss
0 2
lambs, sheep, and swine
-
01
0 01-2
01
case, chest, or trunk
0 6
Caviare
too
30
16
10
Galangal, galbanum, galls, gamboge,
Cement
-
10
06
cwt.
0 3
0 11-2
0 1
Chalk
-
04
02
Gentian root, granella (cochineal re-
Charcoal
-
14
0 8
fuee)
cwt.
0
8
01
01
*Cheese
-
10
06
04
Gigs
each
10
hamper
0 012
Ginger, Glauber salts, or glue
too
20
I 0
08
box or other package, not
preserved
cwt
0 $
0 11-8
0 1
described
0 I
Ginsong
ton
3 0
16
10
if loose, cwt.
0 01-2
Glass
cwt.
0
1
0 0 1-8
Cheese boards
dozen
0 018
0 01-2
broken
-
0 018
0 0 1-4
Chesnuts
busbel
01
0 012
0 01-2
crown
package
0 10
Chima. See Earthenwore.
flint
-
0 30
Chirt stones
ton
0
8
0 4
03
Grapes
-
0
1
0 018
0 01-2
British or Irish
-
0 8
Grease or greaves
ton
1 0
0 6
04
Chocolate and COCOR paste
ewt.
03
0 112
01
*Groats
barrel
0 1-2
Cider
tun (262 gallons)
24
12
09
cask
0 4
Cinanbar
cwt.
06
03
0 8
jar or jug
0018
Cinnamon
-
10
06
04
tieres
03
Citron, preserved
-
06
03
0
2
Grinding stones
each
0
-
0 01-2
0 01-4
Clay, Cambria and pipe
ton
06
0 3
Gum. Ammoniac, animi, Arabic,
China, stone, and firebrick
-
08
0 4
cashew, copal, elemi, guaiacum,
*Clocks
case
05
Sanegal, and tragacanth
ton
$ 0
16
0
Cloves, cobalt, cochineal
ewt.
1
0
06
04
Guapowder
cwt.
10
06
"Coals
(Winchester meas.) chal.
04
#barrel
0 14
ton
0
4
0 2
$1.2 barrel
0
Cocon, coffee, cork
ton
80
10
08
4 barrel and keg
0 01-2
Cocon muts
100
03
0 11-2
01
Haberdashery
package
10
06
0 3
Colouring for porter, ac. 100 gallons
08
04
05
Hair, bull, cow, and ox, goats' and
"Combe
package
0 6
02
horse
cwl.
02
0 1
0 1
Copper, British or frish *box or tub
02
Hairpowder
package
03
0
1.2
0 I
*case
05
Hummocks
dozen
02
0 I
01
*cask
04
Hame
ton
20
10
0 8
*tierce
03
Handcoops
100
0
I
0 01-8
"barrel
0 11-8
Hardens
package
10
0 6
03
stag or keg
0
loose
piece
0 012
0 018
ton
20
10
0 8
Hardware
bundle
02
0
1
0 01-8
old
-
18
010
06
keg
02
01
:
are
-
06
08
0 8
all other packages
06
03
08
dross and sing
I
04
0 2
02
Harrows, also bats
each
06
03
0 8
Copperas
I
10
06
04
Hay
ton
06
03
0 3
Digitized by Google
604
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
Inwards.
Inwards.
Out-
Out-
Articles.
Articles
Fo-
Coast-
wards.
Fo-
Coast-
wards.
reign.
wise.
reign.
wise.
s. d.
8. d.
s.d.
s. d.
1.d.
1.d.
Hay rakes
dozen
01
0 01-2
0
Oakum
ton
10
06
04
Hemp, rough
ton
20
10
0 8
Oatmeal shudes, or dust
-
02
Hides, dry
cwt.
0
3
0 11-2
0 112
Ochre, or oker
-
20
10
08
wet
-
0
11-2
0
034
0 01-2
03
0
11-2
01
Oil, castor
cwt.
pieces of, or glue pieces
ton
20
1 0
08
cod
too
19
010
07
Honey
cwt.
02
01
dubbing, linseed, also olive
24
12
09
Hoops, mast, and truss
120
0
9
0
41-2
in flasks
chest
06
03
02
set
0 01.2*
box or 1-2 chest
03
0112
0
wood
1,200
1 6
0 9
06
palm, seal, train, or whale tun
16
09
06
06
04
rape, also spermaceti
24
12
09
Hoofs of cattle
ton
10
-
Hops
cwt.
0 2
0 1
0 1
of vitriol
-
30
16
10
bag or pocket
0 1
*Oils of all kinds boiled or manu-
Horns and horn tips
1,200
1 0
0
6
04
factured since their importation
hogshead
05
butt or pipe
06
0 3
04
tierce
puncheon or cask
shavings, also slugs
ton
10
0 6
hogshead
02
0 2
0 I
0 I
barrel
0
1.2
Hurdles (containing one dozen) mat
pair
06
02
0
012
Jackscrews
0 3
bottle, jar, jug, or can
*Jars and jugs containing barley,
package
02
01
0
Onions
oatmeal, groats, peas, or other ar-
loose
bushel
01
0
012
0
ticles of British or Irish growth,
Opium, also orange peel
cwt.
03
0
11-2
0
produce, or manufacture, not other-
Oranges
case or chest
03
0
112
0
wise rated,
each
0
01-2
box or other package
02
0 I
0
Iceland moss,or lichen Islandicus,cwt.
03
0 11-2
0
1
Orchella weed
ton
30
1 6
10
Indigo
-
10
06
04
Orrice root
ewt.
0 3
0
112
01
Ipecacuanha root
-
03
0 11-2
0 1
Packing boards
dozen
0
0
01-4
Iron, viz. bar, bolt, or rod
ton
10
06
0 8
Paint and painters' colours and ma-
broken or old
-
09
0 41-2
04
terials
ton
20
1 0
cast, or pig
-
06
03
0 8
case, chest, or hogshead
06
05
hoops and sheet
-
16
09
0 8
tieree
0 6
03
*plate and sheet
box
0
01-2
cask or puncheon
0
4
04
nails
package
0.1
barrel
02
0
ore
ton
04
02
0 2
box or bundle
0 2
02
0
01-2
wire, or wrought
-
20
1 0
0
8*
keg
0
012
*cask
0 4
jar or jug
0
01-2
0
01-2
Isinglass
ewt.
0
3
0 1-2
0 1
Paper
bale, case, chest
08
04
Juice, lemon, lime, and orange
tun
24
12
09
1-2 bale, bandle, box
04
02
Junk
ton
10
06
04
ream
0
012
0
0 01-4
Ivory
cwt.
06
03
02
Paving stones
ton
0
2
0 I
01
Kelp
ton
1 0
06
04
Pearl and shelled barley, pepper,
Lac, gum, stick, seed, and shell, cwt.
0
3
0
0 1
white or black, pewter, or pimento
Lace
package
10
06
0 3
ton
20
10
08
Lampblack, latton black, & lard, ton
20
10
0 8
Pears, pistachio nuts
bushel
01
0
012
0 014
Laths
bundle
0
I
0 01-2
0
012
Pickles
gallon
0
01-2
0
014
Lead, and lead ore
ton
1 0
06
0 8
03
*box, case, or chest
black, red, white, & powder
20
I 0
0 8
#barrel
0 012
Leather (tanned)
cwt.
0 3
0
1-2
0 1
*keg, jar, or jug
0 01-2
wrought
package
06
03
Pink root
cwt.
03
0
11-2
0
Leeches
06
03
0 2
Pitch
last of 12 barrels
16
0 9
06
Lemons
case or chest
03
0
11-2
01
Plaster of Paris
ton
1 0
06
04
box or other package
0 2
0
1
0 1
Plate and plated ware
package
10
06
03
Lime
hogshead
06
0 3
Ploughs
loose, each
04
0 2ª
*keg
0
01-2
0
0 1-2
Potatoes
ton
06
0
3
03
*puncheon or cask
0
3
exported in packages barrel
0 10
*tierce
0 3
hamper
001-2*
Limes
package
03
0
112
0
1
Preserved ginger
cwt.
0
3
0
112
0
Limestones
ton
02
01
0
I
Preserves
-
04
0
2
Linen cloth
package
10
06
0 3
Printers' liquor
100 gallons
07
0
312
0
314
piece
0 1
0 0 1-2
0
01-2
Prints or pictures
case or box
06
03
03
*rags
crate
0 3
Prunelloes
ewt.
02
01
01
thread yarn
cwt.
04
02
Prunes
ton
20
1 0
08
*manufactured
package
03
Pumice stone
-
10
0 6
04
Liquorice paste, also litharge
ton
20
10
08
Quern stones
each
09
0
41.2
03
Maccaroni
cwt.
06
03
02
Quicksilver
package
06
0
3
02
Mace
06
0 4
Quills
1,200
0
I
0
012
-
10
0
3ª
*Machines, bark mills, binnacles,
package
brewing, coffee fanners, and cook-
Rags
ton
10
0
6
04
ing apparatus
each
06
06
06
Raisins, also rock moss
20
1 0
08
copying
-
06
02
02
Rhubarb
cwt.
03
0
12
0
corn, also filtering
-
06
06
Rice
ton
16
09
06
fire engines
-
09
09
Riddles
bundle
0012*
gins, linseed cribbles,
Rosin
ton
16
0
9
06
0112*
malt mills, mangles,
barrel
packing presses, paper
Rushes
load (63 bundles)
10
0 6
04
moulds, sawing, sedans,
Safflower, sal ammoniac, or gem, ton
20
10
08
and shower baths, each
06
06
Saffron
package
06
0 3
02
soap cutters
-
03
03
Sago, sanguis draconis, salep, also
straw cutters, also tin -
06
06
sanders wood, white and yellow,
turning fathes
03
03
cwt.
03
0
112
01
-
turning drills
-
02
02
Saileloth
package
10
06
0 $
all other packages of ma-
Sails
each
06
0 3
02
0 6
16
09
06
chinery
-
06
Saltpetre
ton
Machinery (loose)
ton
20
10
08
firkin
0
Madder
-
20
10
0 8
Salt, rock
ton
16
09
03
roots
-
16
09
0 6
white
10
06
04
Manganese, also marble
-
I 0
06
04
Sand for ironfounders and glass-
Manure
1
02
0 1
blowers
ton
0 1
Marble, sculptured, loose pieces
26
13
0 10
silversmiths
casks
0 6
10
06
Sarsaparilla, also sausages
cwt.
02
01
01
package
Marmalade
cwt.
10
0 6
0 4
Sassafras
ton
16
0 9
06
Mastich, & mother-of-pearl shell
:
0
112
0
1
Seammony
cwt
1 0
0 6
04
Matchets
package
0 3*
Seythe stones
dozen
0
012
0
014
0
012
Millboards
120
0 6
Scythes
bundle
-
0012
stones
each
I 0
0 6
04
Seeds, viz. aniseeds, caraway, clover,
Mineral waters
package
06
0 3
0 2
or trefoil
cwt.
03
0
1-2
0
08
Molisses
ton
16
0
9
0 6
Canary
ton
20
10
cask or puncheon
0 4ª
coriander and garden
cwt.
03
0
11-2
01
Mum
tun
24
1 2
0 9
flax or linseed, hemp and
Muriate of lime, potash, and soda, ton
10
0 6
0 4
rape
quarter
03
0 112
0
Musical instruments
package
10
0 6
furze
100 bushels
20
10
08
Muskets
case or chest
05
mustard
ton
20
10
0.5
cwt.
02
0 1
rye grass
100 bushels
20
10
08
Mustard
package
0 2*
Senna
ton
20
1 0
08
Natron, also nixon sal
ton
20
1 0
0 8
Shaddocks
package
03
0
112
01
Nests of trunks
each
05
Shakes
hhd. puncheon, or tierce
01
0
1
0 1"
Nutmegs
cwt.
10
0 6
04
barrel, 1-2 barrel, or 14 cask
0 012
0
012
0012"
Nuts
bushel
01
0
012
0 1
Sheathing
ton
10
0
6
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL)
605
Inwards.
Inwards.
Out.
Out-
Articles.
Count-
Articles.
Fo-
wards.
Fo-
Coast-
wards.
reign.
wise.
reign.
wise.
a. d.
8. d.
a.d.
8. d.
8. d.
s.d.
Shovels or spades
bundle
01
0 01-2
Wood, vis. anchor stocks
each
03
0
11.8
01
Shumae
ton
16
09
06
axe handles
120
0 3
0 11.8
0 1
Sieves
dozen
0 I
0 012
0 01-2
battens, vis. to 21 fL long
Silk, raw or thrown
CWL
16
0 9
06
120
10
06
04
waste
-
09
0 41.2
03
above 21 ft. long
-
16
09
0418
minnufactured
package
10
0 6
03
batten ends
-
05
0
21-2
0 2
Skins, kip and calf, dry
cwt.
0 3
0 11.2
0
1
beech poles
load
10
0 6
04
wet
-
0 118
0 03-4
0 01-8
boards, vis beach, birch, pine,
001-49
and poplar
120
20
10
0 8
badger, bear, beaver, deer, alk,
clap
-
10
06
04
ermine, fisher, fox, leopard,
oak, above 15 n.
-
30
16
1 0
Itom, marten, otter, pastber,
under do.
-
8 0
10
0 8
seal, (fur), tiger
score
06
03
0 2
wainscot, above do. -
3 0
16
10
eat, chinchilli, husse, mink,
under do.
2 0
10
0 8
racoon, seal (hair)
120
06
0 8
08
coal pit props
load
06
goat, fatch, kid, lamb, mus-
crate and crop wood
-
03
quash, autria, sheep, swan,
deals, viz under 21 ft.
120
20
10
0
8
120
03
0 11-2
0
1
exceeding do.
-
30
16
I 0
(coney, here, mole
-
0 1
0 01-8
0 01-8
deal ends
-
10
06
0 4
Siskates, also slate pencils
package
06
0 3
0 2
fir quarters or balks, viz.
Slate and slate slabs
ton
06
0 3
0 2
under 8 in. square
-
20
10
08
States
puncheon or cask
0 40
8 inches and above
load
0 9
0 41.2
0 3
writing
package
0 30
fire wood
fathom
04
0 8
Slime
too
0 %
lath wood
-
0 6
08
08
Smalts
cwt.
08
0 I
0 1
masts, via. 6 in. and under
Smart sticks
1,200
16
0 9
06
8 in.
each
0 3
0 11-2
01
Souff
ton
20
10
0 8
8 in. and under 12in.-
0 6
0 3
0 2
Seep
-
20
10
0 8
oak knees, viz. under 8 in.
package
00
square
120
26
13
010
Soder, or solder, or spelter
ton
$0
1 0
0 8
8 in-square & apwards, load
10
06
04
Spermaceti
ewt.
03
0
1-4
0 1
car rafters and cars
120
10
06
04
Spinnel
bales
03
011801
old wood
load
06
03
0 8
Spirits
100 gallons
010
0 5
planks, viz. beach, birch,
pipe
0 6
oak, and poplar load
13
0 71.8
05
puncheon
0 4
pine
120
20
10
0 8
hogehead
0 2
spare, viz. under 22 ft. long-
10
06
04
Spirits of salts
bottle
08
01
0 1
22 ft. long & upwards-
20
10
0 8
Sponge
cwt.
06
0 3
0 2
sprace knees, via. under 8 in.
Spra's
1,000
0 01-2
120
20
10
0 8
Spruce beer
22 gallons
06
0 3
08
8 in. and upwards, load
09
0 41-8
0 3
Squills
cwt.
03
0 1-2
0
1
staves, above 1 1-2 in. thick,
Starch
ton
20
10
08
not exceeding 36 in. loog,
*Stationery
package
04
0 2
0 3
120
03
0 11-2
01
Steel, also sulphur vivam
lon
16
09
06
exceeding 36 in. and under
Straw and straw plait
package
06
0 3
02
60
120
06
0 3
0 8
Sturgeon
-
01
0 01-2
0 01-2
exceeding 60 in. long
-
09
0 41-2
0 3
Succades and sweetments
cwt.
10
06
04
not above 1 1.8 in. thick, not
Sugar
ton
20
10
08
exceeding 36 in. long 120
0
1
0 018
0
refund
hogshead
05
exceeding 36 in. and under
tierce
0 3
60
120
02
0
01
barrel
0 1-2
exceeding 60 in. long
-
03
0 11-2
0 1
puncheon
0 4
timber, viz. fir
load
09
0 41.8
03
eaudy
cwt.
08
01
teak or oak
-
10
0
6
04
Tale, tamariads, or tapioca
-
03
0
1-8
1
pine, & all other timber
09
0
41-2
03
Tallow, also tin of all kinds
too
80
I 0
08
ufers, vis. under un. long 120
80
10
08
Tanners' waste
-
04
02
24 ft. long or upwards
30
16
10
Tapes, British
package
06
0 3
wainscot logs
load
16
09
06
Tar
last (18 barrels)
80
1 0
0 1
wedges
1,00
1 6
0 9
06
water
barrel
02
0 1
0 1
British or Irish
-
03
Tarras
bushel
0 01-2
0 1-4
wheel spokes and fellies
-
16
0
9
06
Tes
package
06
03
0 2
British or Irish
03
Thread, linen, twist, cotton, or yarn,
barwood or boxwood
ton
16
0 9
0 6
cwt.
04
0 2
Brazil and Braziletto, or cam-
Thrums
bag
03
0 11-2
01
wood
ton
20
10
08
Tin plates
box
0 018
pipe boards. See Staves.
Tobacco & stalks, also turmeric CWL
01
0
01-2
0 01-2
masts, 12 in. and upwards.
Tobacco pipes
box
08
See Fir Timber.
Tongues
package
0
1
0
01-8
0 018
cedar wood, ebony, fustie,
Tortoise shell
cwi.
06
03
02
Guinea wood, ligum vita,
Tow
too
10
06
04
logwood, mahogany, or red
Toys
package
06
08
0 3
sanders
ton
16
09
0 6
Treenails
1,200
06
03
08
Nicaragua wood, sapan, or
Trucks
each
04
02
0 2
resewood
too
20
10
08
Truffles
CWL
10
06
04
Woollens
package
10
Turnips
ton
03
0 30
Yame
package
03
0 11-8
01
Turpentine
-
16
09
0
6
Yarn, bay
cwt
02
0
0 1
Twine
cwt.
0 2
0 1
cotton or twist
-
04
0 2
0
2
Types
box
04
02
grogram, also worsted
-
02
0 1
Valerian
cwt.
0 2
01
0 I
linen
-
04
0 2
Valouia, also varnish
ton
16
09
0 6
Yeart
package
10
06
02
Vanelloes
cwt.
1
0
0 6
04
Zaffre (a species of cobalt)
cwt.
04
0 8
08
Venice turpentine
-
0 3
0 11-2
0
1
too
20
10
0 8
Verdigris Vermicelli, also vermilion
cwt.
06
03
0 2
Vinegar and verjuice
ton
84
12
09
pipe
0 6#
Articles not rated, but to pay as follows.
cask
0 40
hogshead
0 ge
Inwards, viz. Carpets as woollens; china as earthenware; cider,
1.2 hogshead
0 10
bottled, as ale; cordials as spirits, dammon as main; coin, foreign,
Vitriol, white
tun
80
1
0
0 8
as bullion; hosiery as haberdashery, iron liquor as printers'
oil of
-
86
1 3
0
10
liquor, ima in packages as hardware. millinery as haberdashery,
Whalebone fins
cwt.
0 2
0 I
0 I
mlad oil as alive in finsks, pomegrana's as oranges ; saddlery,
Wheelbarrows
each
04
0 8
0 8
wrought leather slops, see Haberdashery straw bonnets and
Whetstopes
cask
10
06
04
wearing apparel as haberdashery.
Whip-sricks
bundle
0 1
0 01-2
0 018
Outwards, viz. Bacon, hams, lard, and tripe, as beef and pork
Whiting
ton
10
06
04
iron, in packages, as hardware linen as cotton, machinery as
Wine
tun
24
18
09
wrought iron, paper as stationery, pewter and tin as copper, pre-
bottled
barrel
0 1.2
serves as pickles soda water as pickles, tapes or linen, and twine,
box
0 2
thread, twist, as cottons.
case
0 2
Painters' colours. in packages, outwards, includes ashes, brown pow.
cask
0 4
der, cement, chalk. charcoal, chromate of lead, or imp, copperse,
bogshead
0 5
cudbear, earths, blue, grease or greaves, lamp black, lead, litharge,
puncheon
0 4
manganess, ochre, starch, and whiting.
tierce
0 3
3 E 2
Digitized by Google
606
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
LIVERPOOL Town DuEs.-Besides the dock rates, town dues are levied on goods inwards and on-
wards, at a certain rate per package. The annual amount of these duties, since 1812, is shown ina
previous Table, and we now subjoin an account of the rate at which they are charged.
Articles.
Inwards.
Outwards.
Articles.
lawards.
Outwarks
ad
a.
ad
ad
Alabaster, the ton
0 2
0 2
Nuts, the barrel
0 %
01
Arbes of fern, the 100 bushels
14
08
the bag
01
01
Bacon, the ton
1 0
06
Oak bark, the tom
06
"
Bricks, the 1,000
01
timber, the tom
06
"
Butter. the ton
I 0
06
planks, the 120
10
06
Calamine, the ton
0 3
03
Oil, viz. fish or train, the tom
08
08
Candles, the box
0 I
0 018
Paper, the pack
0 2
08
Cheese, the ton
06
06
Perry or cider, the hogebead
08
02
Clay for potters, the tom
0 3
03
Potatoes, the 100 bushels
10
10
Copper, the ton
06
03
Pots of iron, the ton
06
03
Cotton, the bag
0 2
01
Raisina, the 100 baskets
10
06
Coals, the chaldren (Winchester mea-
Salt, white, the 100 bushels
20
sure)
0 834
0 234
coastwies
10
the tom
08
0 %
rock, the 100 bushels
14
Cow shanks, the 1,000
0 2
0
constwise, do.
08
borns, the 100
01
0
Seeds, garden, the sack
01
0 012
Cork wood, the ton
10
06
States, the ton
02
02
Corn, of all sorts, the 100 bushels
14
08
Soap, the box
01
0 018
Currants, the butt
08
04
Spirits, the puncheon
08
04
Deals, the 120
10
06
the hogshead
06
0 $
Deer skins, loose, the 100
03
0
drawn from corn, the punchson
0 %
"
dreased, the hogehead
04
0 2
Staves, heading, and handspikes, the
Dyeing wood, of every kind, the too
06
0 3
1,000
06
"
Earthomware, the crate
0 8
Starch, the chest
0 8
0 2
the 1-8 crate
01
Sugar, the bogshead
04
0 %
loose, the load 8 pieces)
04
the tierce
03
9
Ebony, the ton
06
03
the barrel
0 2
0
Elephants' teeth, the tom
I 0
06
Tallow, the cwt.
01
0
Feathers, the bed or bag
08
03
Tar and pitch, the barrel
08
01
Fish, salted, or stockfish, the tom
10
06
Timber (Br, &c.), the load
06
03
Ginger, the bag
0 I
0018
Tobacco, the hogshead
04
02
Glass bottles, the 100 dozen
10
06
Turpentine, the barrel
12
01
Groceries, constwise, the hogshead
0 2
02
Wainscot boards, the 120
10
"
the firkin
0 01-2
0
Wine, the pipe
10
06
Gum Senegal, the tom
10
06
the hogebead
06
0 3
Guppowder, the barrel
01
0
coastwise, the pipe
10
06
Hemp or flax, the ton
10
06
Window glass, the side
01
01
Herrings, the barrel
01
01
the box
0 01-2
0012
Hides of cows and oxen, each
01
0 01-8
Wool, the bag
04
04
imported from the East
Yarms, lines, the trues
06
08
Indies, the dosen
01
0 01-2
the peck
04
08
of horses, each
0 01-4
0 01-4
foreign, the fatt
08
04
Hope, the pocket
0 2
02
bay, the pack
04
$ 2
Iron, in bars, the ton
10
06
Dry goods, not before described, the
in pigs, or cast, the tom
06
03
package, viz.
ore, the tom
08
03
bale
04
01
Kelp, the ton
06
03
barrel
02
01
Lead, lead ore, or eapper are, the ton
06
06
box
0 2
01
Lathwood, the fathom
0 2
01
bundle
01
0012
Linen, of all sorts, the pack
04
08
case
04
02
a box or bundle
08
01
cask
04
:
Lemons or oranges, the chest
0 2
01
chest
04
01
the box
01
0
crate
0 8
0 2
Lignum vitas, the ton
0 6
03
1-2 crate
01
01
Mahogany, the ton
06
06
hamper
01
0
Masts, above 12 inches diameter
0 3
03
hogebend
04
0 2
8 inches and under 12 inches
puncheon
06
03
diameter
0 2
0 2
tierce
03
0
6 inches and under 8 inches
trunk
0 %
01
diameter
01
01
truss
08
01
Meal of oats, Ac. the ton
06
06
keg
0 1
0013
Molasses, the horshead
0 8
02
as The above duties are not due on goods, the property of, and to be sold solely on account of. per-
sons free of Liverpool, Bristol, London, Waterford, or Wexford; nor on the exportation of goods.
which may have been imported, or brought coastwise, provided they are, at the time of exportation.
the same property as when so imported, or brought coastwise.
The Liverpool Docks are all constructed upon the estate of the corporation, and are me
naged by commissioners appointed by parliament. The warehouses belong to individuals
and are private property. None of them belong to the Dock estate. Most of them
course, situated in the immediate vicinity of the docks. The discharging and loading d
vessels in Liverpool is effected by a class of men called tumpers. Individuals who follow
this business engage to discharge a ship for a specific, or lump sum, from 2 guineas, perhaps,
up to 20, according to the size and description of cargo, having the requisite number of com-
mon labourers (chiefly Irishmen) to do the work; the lumper being master and superm-
tendent: these labourers are generally paid day wages, but sometimes the job is a joint coll
cern among the whole.
A West India ship of 500 tons would be discharged by lumpers for from 15L to 20L: $
cotton ship of the same burden for 4l. to 6L By discharging is merely meant putting out
the cargo on the quay the proprietors of the goods employ their own porters to weigh
load, and warehouse the property they likewise employ their own coopers, where cooper
age is required.
It will be seen that the system of managing business of this sort in Liverpool is entirely
different from the plan followed in London, at least in the East India Docks, where all these
operations are performed by the Dock Company.
The expense of loading a West India ship of 500 tons outwards would not be half #
much as that of discharging inwards, because they very seldom take a full cargo outwork
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (LIVERPOOL).
607
The average does not, perhaps, exceed a third. Hence the total expense of a West India
ship of 500 tons, coming into and going out of the port of Liverpool, may be estimated as
follows :-
L. 8. d.
L. 8. d.
Pilotage inwards
-
-
- 8 11 0
Pilotage outwards
-
-
- 3 8 0
Boat hire, warping, &c.
-
- 0 10 6
Boat hire assisting out
-
-
- 0 10 6
Lumpers' discharging
-
- 17 10 0
Labourers' hire for loading
-
- 510 0
L. 37 0 0
0
Besides these, there is the charge for the various light-houses in St. George's Channel
which cannot be called an expense peculiar to Liverpool.
On the 1st of January, 1836, there belonged to Liverpool 966 registered vessels, of the
burden of 207,833 tons, manned by 11,511 men and boys. The gross customs duty col-
lected in the port during the year 1837 amounted to the enormous sum of 4,351,496L!
Imports of the principal Articles of East and West Indian, American, &c. Produce into Liverpool,
during each of the Five Years ending with 1838, with the Stocks on Hand on the 31st of December
each Year.-(From the Circular Statement of Messrs. Jee, Brothers, and Co., 31st December, 1838.)
Imports.
Stocks on Hand, 31st of December.
Articles.
Packages and
Quantities.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
Ashes, American
barrels.
pot. 2,150
3,500
6,700
4,500
7,500
6,580
13,900
17,500
14,800
15,700
pri. 2,100
1,000
2,400
2,500
2,500
Brimstone
tons
9,780
11,900
14,800
14,500
16,900
2,500
2,900
7,500
7,400
11,000
Cocoa
bris. and bags
3,080
1,550
6,500
5,500
2,300
1,950
520
5,000
5,200
1,500
Coffee, West India
casks
8,040
7,500
7,600
5,600
8,100
ditto
bris. and bags
5,170
5,900
5,000
5,000
6,800
tons
800
1,990
1,500
950
1,630
East India, &c.
do.
9,930
8,800
6,900
15,700
8,420
Cotton
bags, &c.
839,285
968,279
1,022,871
1,034,000
1,330,430
145,300
184,700
204,590
170,820
248,340
Dyewood, fustic
tons
11,770
8,500
3,700
3,100
3,150
4,200
4,400
3,200
1,700
250
logwood
do.
10,460
8,900
6,900
9,000
8,860
3,800
3,100
2,300
1,500
350
Nicaragua wood
do.
3,460
4,550
3,700
1,750
900
1,850
3,500
4,800
4,900
4,000
Camwood
do.
520
450
350
550
250
200
100
100
200
50
barwood
do.
1,500
2,200
1,000
1,200
640
1,100
760
950
1,700
1,000
Flour, American
barrels
21,020
3,800
2,800
440
16,200
163,500
100,000
69,000
52,000
20,000
Ginger, West India
bris. and bags
2,070
2,350
2,000
2,450
2,000
an
600
1,500
2,700
East India, &c.
pockets
10,020
15,100
28,000
22,100
28,000
bags
2,300
4,600
7,000
tons 300
tons 450
Hides, foreign, cow
and OX
number
469,400
323,500
264,600
295,000
350,000
211,700
91,000
71,000
20,000
44,420
East India
do.
203,200
396,000
364,000
275,000
171,000
27,000
100,000
60,000
24,000
21,400
horse
do.
36,100
72,000
28,200
39,000
62,000
9,100
30,000
11,000
6,000
3,800
Indigo
bxs. & serons
1,460
920
990
2,700
1,810
140
170
800
100
40
East India
chests
2,040
1,380
2,050
760
1,330
250
320
400
250
350
Molasses
puncheons
18,850
12,800
12,700
11,250
10,100
7,450
5,000
1,800
300
2,500
Olive oil
casks
7,400
2,300
7,800
6,500
8,000
tuns
1,500
500
1,100
1,300
1,050
Palm oil
tons
10,860
9,000
10,800
8,300
9,000
ton
5,000
2,200
1,200
1,800
2,000
Pepper
bags & pckts.
19,550
14,300
29,700
23,400
13,000
6,000
9,500
25,350
27,300
29,000
Pimento
bris. and bags
1,910
3,800
4,200
3,350
1,160
6,650
4,200
6,200
8,000
6,000
Quercitron bark
hogsheads
930
1,600
1,760
1,590
1,600
650
900
700
450
250
Rice, American
casks
900
450
440
160
26
none
none
none
none
none
paddy
bushels
83,040
99,200
113,700
203,400
109,006
uncert.
uncert.
uncert.
uncert.
uncert.
Brazil, African
bags
850
1,100
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
none
East India
do.
61,310
6,300
24,100
102,800
66,000
17,300
36,000
5,000
30,000
12,000
Rum
pun. & hhds.
10,880
12,160
12,150
11,030
9,100
11,090
9,550
8,800
6,200
5,460
Salipetre
bags, &c.
64,660
61,900
63,800
72,500
66,700
22,150
20,800
35,000
37,000
28,000
Seed, flax
quarters
18,240
25,900
34,500
39,500
23,000
5,000
5,000
2,200
1,000
1,500
Shumac
bags
46,600
53,000
54,000
33,400
68,750
8,440
10,000
6,500
5,500
12,000
Sugar, British plant.
hhds. and tcs,
51,360
65,050
56,500
47,800
47,000
9,550
12,600
17,000
7,800
14,000
Havannah
boxes
-
680
none
840
620
1,500
none
550
none
Brazil
cases
2,180
3,900
5,500
2,300
3,820
550
350
1,900
1,000
1,300
Maurit. & E. I.
bags and bxs.
133,650
113,000
102,300
143,000
155,700
21,800
22,000
44,000
47,000
32,500
Manilla, &c.
bags and bris.
12,970
16,000
14,100
42,000
26,200
15,500
3,000
12,000
19,500
13,500
Tar, American
barrels
19,180
16,200
19,000
12,000
12,000
500
none
1,200
300
2,500
Stockholm, &c.
do.
41,700
41 200
17,500
19,800
44,570
10,600
15,000
6,00
4,000
16,500
casks
24,530
25,600
21,900
18,400
24,000
5,500
8,500
3,600
2,000
3,000
Tallow
serons
320
1,060
100
1,300
400
Tobacco
hogsheads
9,800
9,200
9,793
6,100
8,100
8,300
8,800
10,263
6,050
5,280
Turpentine
barrels
87,1/70
58,200
104,000
104,300
122,000
13,000
4,500
25,000
24,000
50,000
Arrivals at Liverpool.-Account of the Number of Vessels, and their Tonnage, that have entered the
Port of Liverpool from Foreign Ports, distinguishing British from Foreign, since 1820.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Ships.
Tens.
Ships.
Tone.
Ships.
Tone.
Ships.
Tone.
1820
1,146
228,233
633
166,821
1827
1,422
306,369
810
231,863
1821
1,188
242,392
582
149,151
1828
1,652
344,644
660
179,514
1822
1,263
261,137
699
174,607
1829
1,487
326,311
811
210,713
1823
1,459
296,710
798
199,866
1830
1,655
368,268
1,055
272,463
15"
1824
1,554
327,198
702
174,593
1831
1,862
413,928
978
265,037
13668
1825
1,531
315,115
863
222,187
1832
1,719
397,933
626
227,087
1826
1,387
299,037
680
181,907
The falling off in 1832 is ascribable partly to the cholera then prevailing but more to the rupture
n°II
with the Dutch towards the end of the year.
men:
a portes
Irish Trade-The trade between Liverpool and Ireland has always been of considera-
a
pers,
ble value and importance; but since the establishment of regular steam-packets to Dublin,
Belfast, &c., it has increased prodigiously, The imports from Ireland into Liverpool may,
iverpon' cks,
at present, be estimated at about 4,500,000/. a year. They consist principally of articles of
provision, which meet a ready and advantageous market in Manchester, and the surround-
ing manufacturing towns. The benefits resulting to Ireland from this intercourse are quite
⑉
equal to those it confers on England; and the influence of the wealth arising from it is suf-
II of
Digitized by Google
608
DOCKS (BRISTOL).
ficiently apparent in the improved aspect of all the eastern parts of the country. We sub-
join an account, which, though not official, may be depended upon as being sufficiently ac-
curate for all practical purposes, of
The Quantity and Value of the various Articles of Irish raw Produce imported into Liverpool in 1831.
Articles.
Quantities.
Av. Price.
Amount.
Articles.
Quantities.
Av.Price.
Amount
£ 8.
£
8.
£ 8.
£ 3.
Cows -
90,715
10 0
907,150 0
Butter -
258,087 firks.
2 10
645,217 10
Horses
296
20 0
5,920 0
Do.
-
19,217 1 firks.
1 5
24,021 5
Sheep
134,702
1 5
235,833 10
Eggs -
2,596 crates
20 0
50,120 0
Mules -
243
15 0
3,645 0
Wheat
277,060 qrs.
3 0
831,183 0
Pigs -
156,001
3 15
585,003 15
Oats -
380,679 -
I 12
532,950 12
Calves
1,196
2 10
2,990 0
Barley -
21,328 -
1 15
37,394 0
Lambs -
25,725
1 0
25,725 0
Rye -
613 -
1 10
919 10
Bacon -
13,099 bales
5 0
65,494 0
Beans -
8,452 -
% 0
16,904 0
Pork -
14,554 bris.
3 0
43,662 0
Peas -
1,724 -
% 4
3,448 0
Do.
-
936 t bris.
I 15
1,638 0
Malt -
6,850 -
2 10
17,125 0
Hame and
Meal -
149,816 loads
1 5
187,270 6
tongues
590 hhds.
20 0
11,800 0
Flour -
23,154 sacks
2 5
209,596 10
Beef
-
6,391 tcs.
4 5
27,171 15
Do.
-
1,189 bris.
3 0
3,567 4
Thus making the gross value)
Lard -
465 tcs.
8 0
3,720 0
of Irish produce imported in-
Do.
-
4,542 firks.
1 10
6,813 0
to Liverpool in 1831
}
4,497,708 0
-
Butter -
5,754 cools
2 0
11,508 0
Account of the Quantities of Salted Beef, Pork, and Butter, imported into Liverpool from Ireland
during the Twelve Years ending with 1832.
Year.
Beef.
Pork.
Butter.
Ticros.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Half Barrels.
Firkins.
Half Firkins.
1821
6,283
2,444
25,263
3,096
232,048
13,585
1822
5,387
2,713
13,222
1,423
166,365
14,629
1823
9,936
2,137
17,408
1,498
270,521
19,265
1824
7,114
1,743
16,389
1,650
296,564
15,684
1825
7,371
1,696
14,434
1,606
327,143
13,711
1826
5,358
773
11,351
844
236,647
12,957
1827
6,201
997
15,540
2,427
302,945
20,949
1828
6,852
1,538
9,978
1,169
336,603
21.402
1829
5,170
1,536
14,453
1,494
286,740
15,808
1830
7,105
828
19,380
2,458
256,385
17,670
1831
6,391
1,189
14,554
936
258,087
19,217
1832
6,887
1,173
11,919
1,297
292,292
15,866
III. BRISTOL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
The Bristol Docks were formed in pursuance of the act 43 Geo. 3. c. 142., by changing
the course of the rivers Avon and Frome, and placing gates or locks at each extremity of
the old channel. The accommodation thus obtained is very extensive. The warehouses at
Bristol, as at Liverpool, are not in any way connected with the docks: they all belong to
private individuals.
Bristol, as a port, used to be inferior only to London; but now she ranks far below
Liverpool. and probably is second to Hull. However, she still enjoys a very extensive trade,
particularly with the West Indies and Ireland. The custom duties collected in Bristol
amounted in 1831, to 1,161,976L In 1832, there belonged to the port 296 registered rest
sels, of the burden of 46,567 tons.
The produce of the dock duties on tonnage and goods, since 1820, has been as fot
lows -
Years.
Tonnage Rates.
Rates on Goods
Years.
Tonnage Rates.
Rates on Goods.
£. 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
1821
10,469 19 6
7,237 7 6
1826
14,863 10 0
9.438 14 3
1822
10,530 11 2
8,062 5 3
1827
13,934 1 8
7,773 12 0
1823
10,747 19 2
7,746 7 7
1828
15,292 0 2
8,396 16 1
1824
12,395 6 4
7,990 7 2
1829
15,833 4 6
8,871 13 0
1825
13,424 4 10
9,409 11 0
1830
15,998 12 8
8,087 1 0
The charges on ships entering Bristol are very heavy. They are as follow :-
For every vessel on entering into the port of Bristol, except barges or other vessels passing or going
to or from the Bath River Navigation, or Kennet and Avon Canal, or re-shipping or discharging the
cargoes to be again laden, and pass or go up the said navigation or canal, but not discharging any
part of their cargoes at the quays of Bristol for sale, the several rates or duties, according to the
register tonnage of such vessels following, viz.-
Per To
£ , 1
First Class.-For every vessel trading from Africa, Honduras, Surinam, and other ports in
South America, the United States of America, the East and West Indies, all the ports
within the Straits of Gibraltar, and the Southern Whale Fishery
-
0 3 1
Second Class.-For every vessel trading from the British Colonies, Portugal, Prussia, Russia,
Spain without the Straits, and Sweden
0 1 I
-
Digitized by Google
DOCKS (HULL).
609
Per Ton
Third Class.-For every vessel trading from Flanders, France without the Straits, Germany, £ 8. d.
Guernsey, Holland, Jersey, Norway, Poland. and Zealand
- 0 1 0
Fourth Class.-For every vessel trading from Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Scotland
- 0008
Fifth Class.-For every vessel employed as a coaster, except as aforesaid, not including
vessels from Cardiff, Newport, and other ports to the eastward of the Holmes, at each
entering into the said port
-
006
For vessels from Cardiff, Newport, and other ports to the eastward of the Holmes (except
as aforesaid), being market boats or vessels, having one third part at least of the lading
consisting of coal, scruff, tin, iron, tin plates, grain, copper, bricks, stones, coal, tar, slate,
bark, timber, or wood, and not exceeding 75 tons burden, each voyage
-
-
-
050
if exceeding 75 tons burden, each voyage
-
-
- 0 7 6
For all other vessels from Cardiff, Newport, and other ports to the eastward of the Holmes
(except as aforesaid), if under 40 tons burden, each voyage
-
-
-
- 0 7 6
if of 40 tons and under 75 tons burden, each voyage
-
-
-
-
- 0 12 6
if 75 tons and under 100 tons burden, each voyage
-
-
-
-
- 0 16 0
if 100 tons burden or upwards, each voyage
-
-
-
-
-
- 110
The following is an estimate of the various expenses incurred by a West India ship of
500 tons, entering and discharging at Bristol
Inmards.-Anchorage, moorage, and lights, about 6d. per ton.-Dock dues, 3s. per do.-Pilotage,
152. to 251.-Warner, 11. Is.-Mayor and quay wardens' fees, 21. 5s.-Cranage about 301.-Labour dis-
charging, 30/. to 40l.-Coopers' charges, from 501. to 1001. The two last items depend greatly on the
condition the cargo is in.
Outwards.-Lights, about 4d. per ton.-Pilotage, 151. to 201.
Account of the Number of Ships and their Tonnage, distinguishing between British and Foreign,
which have entered inwards at Bristol since 1820.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
1820
311
53,919
46
5,652
1827
412
75,916
72
8,368
1821
266
46,811
52
7,350
1828
357
66,558
61
8.508
1822
291
53,808
56
8,165
1829
371
73,129
63
8,561
1823
305
57,186
39
7,121
1830
357
66,479
50
7,818
1824
338
65,878
64
10,177
1831
404
76,807
97
12,387
1825
359
73,709
68
11,393
1832
240
46,871
29
4,352
1826
334
65,087
60
6,931
IV. HULL Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
There are three considerable docks in Hull occupying, inclusive of their basins, an area
of 26 acres. They are capable of affording accommodation for about 312 ships of the
average size of those that frequent the port. Hull is the next port in the empire, after Bris-
tol, or perhaps Liverpool; for, although the customs duty collected in Hull be inferior to
that of Bristol, it having amounted, in 1831, to only 689,116L, she has a larger amount of
shipping. In 1832, there belonged to this port 557 registered vessels, of the aggregate
burden of 68,892 tons.
The produce of the Hull dock duties, since 1824, has been as follows :-
Years.
Amount.
Years.
Amount.
Years.
Amount.
£ 3. d.
£ s. d.
£ 8. d.
1824
18,776 6 3
1827
22,381 9 9
1830
18,544 19 4
1825
25,861 16 0
1828
18,546 18 5
1831
22,386 18 5
1826
19,089 16 0
1289
19,609 5 4
1832
16,797 9 2
The decline in the last year was owing to the temporary falling off in the trade of the
port, occasioned by the cholera, and the interruption of the intercourse with Holland.
The regulations to be observed by ships using the Hull Docks are similar to those in the
Thames ; but the dues on most articles are higher.
The dock and harbour dues on ships are as follow:-
Per Ton.
8. d.
From within the Baltic
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1 3
Denmark, Sweden, Norway below Elsinore, or any place in Germany, Holland, Flanders,
France, to the eastward of Ushant, Ireland, Guernsey, and Jersey
-
-
- 0 10
Westward of Ushant, without the Straits of Gibraltar
-
-
-
-
- 1 3
West Indies, North and South America, Africa, Greenland, eastward of the north cape of
Norway, within the Straits of Gibraltar
-
-
-
-
- 1 9
Number of Vessels, with the Amount of their Tonnage, entering inwards from Foreign Parts, at the
Port of Hull, each Year from 1820, separating British from Foreign.-(Part. Paper, No. 656.
Sess. 1833.)
Years.
British.
Foreign.
Years
British.
Foreign.
Ships.
Tvns.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
1820
627
117,434
117
15,111
1827
932
191,364
800
72,338
1821
578
113,133
106
13,820
1828
881
156,925
674
60,082
1822
672
134,999
103
14,011
1829
883
165,791
603
58,854
1823
778
153,313
203
26,103
1830
897
163,657
556
51,015
1821
776
142,615
510
58,603
1831
974
187,361
725
73,547
1825
1,171
27,363
1,000
100,773
1839
762
140,788
454
43,481
1826
717
130,674
851
70,137
77
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610
DOCKS (GOOLE, LEITH), DOG.
The port of Goole has latterly drawn off some portion of the trade of Hull. A large proportion of
the foreign vessels frequenting the port are of small burden, and are engaged in the importation of
bones, rags, rapeseed, &c.
V. GOOLE Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
The port of Goole, situated on the Ouse, a little above its junction with the Humber,
about 22 miles more inland than Hull, promises to prove a formidable rival to the latter.
Ten or 12 years ago, Goole was but an insignificant hamlet. It communicates by means
of canals with Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Wakefield, &c. Though so remote from the
sea, vessels drawing 15 or 16 feet of water reach Goole in safety. It has 2 wet docks and a
basin. The first, or ship dock, is 800 feet long by 200 in breadth. The second, or barge
dock, is 900 feet long by 150 wide, and is intended for the accommodation of the small craft
which ply upon the canals and rivers. The warehouses at Goole are extensive and conve-
venient; and it has been admitted to the privileges of a bonding port. There belonged to
it, in 1832, 119 registered ships, of the burden of 8,545 tons.
VI. LEITH Docks, SHIPPING, ETC.
Leith has 2 wet docks, constructed in the very best manner, containing more than 10
acres of water room, and capable of accommodating 150 such ships as frequent the port.
There are also 3 dry docks contiguous to the wet docks.
The total expense of these docks seems to have amounted to 285,108L sterling. Exten-
sive improvements are at present going forward at the harbour of Leith but the money for
this purpose has not been furnished by individuals, but by government, and there is much
reason to doubt whether the expenditure will be profitable.
The customs duty collected at Leith in 1831 amounted to 431,8214; the number of
registered vessels belonging to the port is 246, and their burden 25,629 tons.
Dock Rates at Leith are as follow: :-
Per Tea
For every ship or vessel, from any port between Buchanness and Eyemouth, including the
great canal and the river Clyde, as far down as Greenock, coming by the canal.
4
from any other port in Great Britain and Ireland
8
from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holstein, Hamburgh, Bremen, Holland, and Flanders,
that is, without the Baltic, and no further south than Dunkirk
10)
from the Baltic, all above the Sound, Onega, Archangel, Jersey or Guernsey, Portugal,
France, and Spain, without the Straits of Gibraltar, Newfoundland, Madeira, or Western
Islands
If
from within the Straits of Gibraltar, or from America
4
-
-
from the West Indies, Asia, Africa, or the Cape de Verd Islands
- 8
-
-
from Greenland or Davis's Straits
0
But if such ship or vessel shall make a second voyage, she shall be credited in the
charge for such voyage
0 4
For all ships and vessels (excepting those from Greenland or Davis's Straits) remaining in the
dock above 3 calendar months, for each after-month, or any part thereof
0 &
For all foreign vessels from any of the before-mentioned ports or places, the aforesaid re-
spective rates, and one half more.
For all loaded vessels not breaking bulk, and for all vessels in ballast which do not take in
goods, coming into the present harbour, provided they do not make use of any of the docks,
nor remain in the harbour above 4 weeks, one half of the aforesaid rates or duties.
For every ship or vessel going from the port of Leith to any other port in the Frith of Forth,
to take in a part of a cargo, and return to Leith, upon her return
0 1
No ship or vessel shall be subjected in payment of the aforesaid rates and duties for more than8
voyages in any 1 year.
Flag, or Light Dues.-Every vessel, of whatever burden, from foreign ports
2 6
of 40 tons burden and upwards, to pay for each coasting voyage 0 2 6 It
Beacon and anchorage, per ton
This duty is only charged upon four-fifths of the register tonnage.
DOG (Fr. Chien; Ger. Hund; It. Cane; Lat. Canis familiaris). Of this quadruped,
emphatically styled " the friend and companion of man," there is a vast variety of species.
But to attempt to give any description of an animal so well known, would be quite out
of place in a work of this kind and we mention it for the purpose principally of laying the
following account before our readers, with a remark or two with respect to Asiatic dogs.
An Account of the Number of Dogs entered, and for which Duty was paid in Great Britain, in the
Year 1830; distinguishing the Number of Packs of Hounds, and the Number of each Description
of Dog, the Rate of Duty on each, and the aggregate Amount paid.
Description of Dogs.
Rates of Duty.
Total Number.
Amount of Daty.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. &
Greyhounds
-
100
18,192
18,192 0 0
Pointers, hounds, setting dogs, spaniels, terriers,
lurchers, or any other dogs, where persons keep
two or more dogs
-
0140
113,307
79,314 18 0
Other dogs persons keepings one only
-
-
080
219,013
87,605 4 0
Total, exclusive of packs of hounds
-
- - -
350,512
185,112 2 0
,
Packs of hounds
-
-
-
-
-
36 0 0
68
2,448 0
" From the number of persons compounding for their taxes, it is impossible to ascertain the number
" Many dogs are exempted, either as belonging to poor persons, or as sheep dogs on small farms.
of dogs kept ; the account is, therefore, made out of the number assessed."
Digitized by Google
DOWN-DRAWBACK.
611
Cuvier, the great French naturalist, says, "The dog is the most complete, the most re-
markable, and the most useful conquest ever made by man every species has become our
property each individual is altogether devoted to his master, assumes his manners, knows
and defends his goods, and remains attached to him until death; and all this proceeds nei-
ther from want nor constraint, but solely from true gratitude and real friendship. The swift-
ness, the strength, and the scent of the dog have created for man a powerful ally against
other animals, and were, perhaps, necessary to the establishment of society. He is the
only animal which has followed man through every region of the earth."
It is singular, however, that neither Cuvier, nor any one of those by whom his statements
have been copied, should have mentioned that this account is applicable only to Europe.
All Mahommedan nations regard the dog as impure, and will not touch it without an ablu-
tion. The same is also the case with the Hindoos. From the Hellespont to the confines
of Cochin-China, dogs are unappropriated, and have no master. They prowl about the towns
and villages; and though they are naturally more familiar, they are in no respect more do-
mesticated, than the carrion crows, kites, vultures, &c. which assist them in performing the
functions of scavengers. In China and Cochin-China, the dog is eaten as food its flesh
being, with the exception of that of the hog, the most common in their markets.
The unnecessary multiplication of dogs, particularly in large cities, is a very great nui-
sance; coming, as they often do, into the possession of those who are without the means of
providing for them, they are frequently left to wander about in the streets; and from ill
usage, want of food and of proper attention, are apt, during hot weather, to become rabid. In
several districts of the metropolis the nuisance has attained to a formidable height; and it is
singular, considering the numerous fatal occurrences that have taken place, that no effort
should have been made to have it abated. It has grown to its present excess, partly from
too many exemptions being granted from the duty, and partly from a want of care in its
collection but besides lessening the number of the former, and more rigidly enforcing the
latter, it would be proper to enact that all dogs found wandering in the streets without mas-
ters should be destroyed.
DOWN (Ger. Dunen, Flaumfedern Du. Dons; Fr. Duvet; It. Penna malta, Piu-
mini ; Sp. Flojel, Plumazo; Rus. Puch; Lat. Plumæ), the fine feathers from the breasts
of several birds, particularly those of the duck kind. That of the eider duck is the most
valuable. These birds pluck it from their breasts and line their nests with it. Mr. Pennant
says that it is 80 very olastic, that a quantity of it weighing only } of an ounce, fills a larger
space than the crown of the greatest hat. That found in the nest is most valued, and termed
live down ; it is much more elastic than that plucked from the dead bird, which is com-
paratively little esteemed. The eider duck is found on the western islands of Scotland, but
the down is principally imported from Norway and Iceland.
DRAGONS' BLOOD. See BALSAM.
DRAWBACK, a term used in commerce to signify the remitting or paying back of the
duties previously paid on a commodity on its being exported.
A drawback is a device resorted to for enabling a commodity affected by taxes to be ex-
ported and sold in the foreign market on the same terms as if it had not been taxed at all.
It differs in this from a bounty,-that the latter enables a commodity to be sold abroad for
less than its natural cost, whereas a drawback enables it to be sold exactly at its natural cost.
Drawbacks, as Dr. Smith has observed, " do not occasion the exportation of a greater quan-
tity of goods than would have been exported had no duty been imposed. They do not tend
to turn towards any particular employment a greater share of the capital of the country
than would go to that employment of its own accord, but only to hinder the duty from driv-
ing away any part of that share to other employments. They tend not to overturn that balance
which naturally establishes itself among all the various employments of the society ; but to
hinder it from being overturned by the duty. They tend not to destroy, but to preserve,
what it is in most cases advantageous to preserve-the natural division and distribution of
labour in the society.' ii. p. 352.)
Were it not for the system of drawbacks, it would be impossible, unless when a country
enjoyed some very peculiar facilities of production, to export any commodity that was heavier
taxed at home than abroad. But the drawback obviates this difficulty, and enables mer-
chants to export commodities loaded at home with heavy duties, and to sell them in the
foreign market on the same terms as those fetched from countries where they are not
taxed.
Most foreign articlesimported into this country may be warehoused for subsequent exporta-
tion. In this case they pay no duties on being imported and, of course, get no drawback
on their subsequent exportation.
Sometimes a drawback exceeds the duty or duties laid on the article; and in such cases
the excess forms a real bounty of that amount, and should be so considered.
It is enacted by the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52., that no drawback or bounty shall be allowed upon the
exportation from the United Kingdom of any goods, unless such goods shall have been entered in the
name of the person who was the real owner thereof at the time of entry and shipping, or of the per-
Digitized by
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612
DUBBER-EARTHENWARE.
son who had actually purchased and shipped the same, in his own name and at his own liability and
risk, on commission, according to the practice of merchants, and who was and shall have continued
to be entitled in his own right to such drawback or bounty, except in the cases herein-after provided
for.-0 86.
No drawback shall be allowed upon the exportation of any goods, unless such goods be shipped
within 3 years after the payment of the duties inwards thereon. And no debenture for any draw-
back or bounty upon the exportation of any goods, shall be paid after the expiration of 2 years from
the shipment of such goods; and no drawback shall be allowed upon any goods which, by reason of
damage or decay, shall have become of less value for home use than the amount of such drawback;
and all goods so damaged which shall be cleared for drawback shall be forfeited; and the person who
caused such goods to be 80 cleared shall forfeit 2001., or treble the amount of the drawback, at the
option of the commissioners of customs.-d 90.
No drawback or bounty shall be allowed upon goods exported and cleared as being press-packed,
unless the quantities and qualities of the same be verified by oath of the master packer thereof, or,
in case of his unavoidable absence, by oath of his foreman.- 93.
No goods cleared for drawback or bounty, or from any warehouses, shall be carried to be put on
board ship for exportation, except by a person authorised for that purpose by licence of the commis-
sioners of customs.-d 91.-(See IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION.)
[All goods, wares, and merchandise, which were entitled to debenture on the 6th of
January, 1829, or which shall have been imported into the United States subsequently to
that date, may be exported with the benefit of drawback, and without any deduction from
the duty on the same, at any time within three years from the date when the same shall
have been imported.
For the regulations concerning drawback, the reader is referred to the article IMPORTA-
TION AND EXPORTATION.-Am. Ed.]
DUBBER, a leathern vessel, bottle, or jar, used in India to hold oil, ghee, &c. Barrels,
as already observed—(see BARRELS),-are entirely a European invention. Liquids, in
Eastern countries, are for the most part packed for exportation in leathern vessels. Dub-
bers are made of thin untanned goat skins; and are of all sizes, from a quart up to nearly
a barrel.
DUNNAGE, in commercial navigation, loose wood, consisting of pieces of timber,
boughs of trees, faggots, &c., laid in the bottom and against sides of the ship's hold, either,
1st, by raising the cargo when she is loaded with heavy goods, to prevent her from becom-
ing too stiff-(see BALLAST) or, 2d, to prevent the cargo, should it be susceptible of
damage by water, from being injured in the event of her becoming leaky. A ship is not
reckoned seaworthy unless she be provided with proper and sufficient dunnage.-(Falconer's
Marine Dictionary; Abbott (Lord Tenterden) on the Law of Shipping, part iii. c. 3.)
E.
EARNEST, in commercial law, is the sum advanced by the buyer of goods in order to
bind the seller to the terms of the agreement. It is enacted by the 17th section of the in-
mous Statute of Frauds, 29 Cha. II. c. 3., that no contract for the sale of any goods, wares,
and merchandises, for the prices of 10/. sterling or upwards, shall be allowed to be good,
except the buyer shall accept part of the goods so sold, and actually receive the same, or
give something in earnest to bind the bargain, or in part payment, or that some note or
memorandum in writing of the said bargain be made and signed by the parties to be charged
by such contract, or their agents thereunto lawfully authorised."
As to what amounts to sufficient earnest, Blackstone lays it down, that if any part of
the price is paid down, if it is but a penny, or any portion of the goods is delivered by way
of earnest, it is binding." To constitute earnest, the thing must be given as a token of
ratification of the contract, and it should be expressly stated so by the giver.-(Chitty's
Commercial Law, vol. iii. p. 289.)
EARTHENWARE (Ger. Irdene Waaren ; Du. Aardegoed; Fr. Vaisselle de terre,
Poterie; It. Slov glie, Terraglia; Sp. Loza de barro; Rus. Gorschetschüe possodü; Pol.
Glinianæ naczyniu), or crockery, as it is sometimes termed, comprises every sort of house-
hold utensil made of clay hardened in the fire. Its manufacture is, in England, of very con-
siderable importance; and the improvements that have been made in it since the middle of
last century have contributed powerfully to its extension, and have added greatly to the
comfort and convenience of all classes.
" There is scarcely," it has been well observed, any manufacture which is so interesting
to contemplate in its gradual improvement and extension as that of earthenware, presenting,
as it does, so beautiful a union of science and art, in furnishing us with the comforts and
ornaments of civilised life. Chemistry administers her part, by investigating the several
species of earths, and ascertaining as well their most appropriate combinations, as the respect
ive degrees of heat which the several compositions require. Art has studied the designs of
antiquity, and produced from them vessels even more exquisite in form than the models by
which they have been suggested. The ware has been provided in such gradations of quality
as to suit every station from the highest to the lowest. It is to be seen in every country, and
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
613 1
almost in every house, through the whole extent of America, in many parts of Asia, and in
most of the countries of Europe. At home it has superseded the less cleanly vessels of
pewter and of wood, and, by its cheapness, has been brought within the means of our poorest
housekeepers. Formed from substances originally of no value, the fabrication has induced
labour of such various classes, and created skill of such various degrees, that nearly the whole
value of the annual produce may be considered as an addition made to the mass of national
wealth. The abundance of the ware exhibited in every dwelling-house is sufficient evi-
dence of the vast augmentation of the manufacture, which is also demonstrated by the
rapid increase of the population in the districts where the potteries have been established."
-Quarterly Review.)
For the great and rapid extension of the manufacture we are chiefly indebted to the late
Mr. Josiah Wedgwood whose original and inventive genius enabled him to make many
most important discoveries in the art; and who was equally successful in bringing his in-
ventions into use. The principal seat of the manufacture is in Staffordshire, where there is
a district denominated the Potteries, comprising a number of villages, and a population,
which is supposed to amount, at this moment to above 60,000, by far the greater proportion
of which is engaged in the manufacture. There are no authentic accounts of the popula-
tion of this district in 1760, when Mr. Wedgwood began his discoveries; but the general
opinion is that it did not at that time exceed 20,000. The village of Etruria, in the Potte-
ries, was built by Mr. Wedgwood. The manufacture has been carried on at Burslem, in
the same district, for several centuries.
The canals by which Staffordshire is intersected, have done much to accelerate the pro-
gress of the manufacture. Pipe-clay from Dorsetshire and Devonshire, and flints from Kent,
are conveyed by water carriage to the places where the clay and coal abound; and the finished
goods are conveyed by the same means to the great shipping ports, whence they are dis-
tributed over most parts of the globe.
It is estimated that the value of the various sorts of earthenware produced at the Potteries
may amount to about 1,500,000/. a year; and that the earthenware produced at Worcester,
Derby, and other parts of the country, may amount to about, 750,000L. more; making the
whole value of the manufacture 2,250,000L a year. The consumption of gold at the Pot-
teries is about 650L. a week, and of coal about 8,000 tons a week.
The earthenware manufacture has increased considerably since 1814, but it is not possi-
ble to state the exact ratio. It has been estimated at I for the porcelain, 3 for the best earth-
enware, and t or 1/5 for the common or cream-coloured ware. The prices of the different
sorts of earthenware are said to have fallen 20 per cent. during the last 15 years. Wages
have not fallen in the same proportion; but we are assured that a workman can, at the pre-
sent day, produce about four times the quantity he did in 1790.-(This article has been
prepared from information obtained at the Potteries, obligingly communicated by James
Loch, Esq. M. P.)
The real value of the earthenware exported from Great Britain to foreign countries,
during the 6 years ending with 1832, according to the declarations of the exporters, was as
follows :-
£
8.
d.
£
8.
d.
1827
-
-
-
- 437,812 17 8
1830
-
-
-
-
439,566
19
2
1828
-
-
-
-
499,743
6 6
1831
-
-
-
-
458,965
11
11
1829
-
-
-
-
461,710
5
7
1832
-
-
-
- 489,980 17
7
The foreign demand for earthenware has increased considerably since 1815. The ex-
ports to South America, Cuba, and other ci-devant Spanish colonies, have been largely in-
creased. But notwithstanding this increase, the United States continues to be by far the
best marke for British earthenware. Of the entire value exported in 1831, amounting to
458,965/., the exports to the United States amounted to no less than 255,159/. The markets
next in importance are Brazil, the British North American and West Indian colonics,
Cuba, Germany, the Netherlands, &c. We have been assured that it is necessary to add ±
to the declared value of the exports, to get their true value.
[The average annual value of British earthenware imported into the United States, during
the five years ending September 30th, 1838, was $1,602,000 that of the earthenware of
every other description imported amounting to no more than $11,560.-Am. Ed.]
EAST INDIA COMPANY, a famous association, originally established for prosecuting
the trade between England and India, which they acquired a right to carry on exclusively.
Since the middle of last century, however, the Company's political have become of more
importance than their commercial concerns.
EAST INDIES, a popular geographical term not very well defined, but generally understood
to signify the continents and islands to the east and south of the river Indus, as far as the
borders of China, including Timor and the Moluccas, but excluding the Philippine Islands,
New Guinea, and New Holland. China and the Philippine Islands were, however, included
within the limits of the East India Company's peculiar privileges.
VoL. I.-3 F
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
I. EAST INDIA COMPANY (HISTORICAL SKETCH of).
II. EAST INDIA COMPANY (CONSTITUTION OF).
III. EAST INDIES (STATE OF SOCIETY IN, GROWING DEMAND FOR ENGLISH Goods,
TRADE, COLONISATION, ETC.).
IV. EAST INDIES (Extest, POPULATION, MILITARY FORCE, REVENUE, ETC. or
BRITISH).
I. EAST INDIA COMPANY (HISTORICAL SKETCH OF).
The persevering efforts of the Portuguese to discover a route to India, by sailing round
Africa, were crowned with success in 1497. And it may appear singular, that, notwith-
standing the exaggerated accounts that had been prevalent in Europe, from the remotest
antiquity, with respect to the wealth of India, and the importance, to which the commerce
with it had raised the Phoenicians and Egyptians in antiquity, the Venetians in the middle
ages, and which it was then seen to confer on the Portuguese, the latter should have been
allowed to monopolise it for nearly a century after it had been turned into a channel acces-
sible to every nation. But the prejudices by which the people of most European states
were actuated in the sixteenth century, and the peculiar circumstances under which they
were placed, hindered them from embarking with that alacrity and ardour that might have
been expected in this new commercial career. Soon after the Portuguese began to prose-
cute their discoveries along the coast of Africa, they applied to the pope for a bull, securing
to them the exclusive right to and possession of all countries occupied by infidels, they either
had discovered, or might discover, to the south of Cape Non, on the west coast of Africa, in
27° 54' north latitude: and the pontiff, desirous to display, and at the same time to extend,
his power, immediately issued a bull to this effect. Nor, preposterous as a proceeding of
this sort would now appear, did any one then doubt that the pope had a right to issue such a
bull, and that all states and empires were bound to obey it. In consequence, the Portuguese
were, for a lengthened period, allowed to prosecute their conquests in India without the in-
terference of any other European power. And it was not till a considerable period after the
beginning of the war, which the blind and brutal bigotry of Philip II. kindled in the Low
Countries, that the Dutch navigators began to display their flag on the Eastern Ocean, and
laid the foundations of their Indian empire.
The desire to comply with the injunctions in the pope's bull, and to avoid coming into
collision, first with the Portuguese, and subsequently with the Spaniards, who had conquered
Portugal in 1580, seems to have been the principal cause that led the English to make
repeated attempts, in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Edward VI., and the early part of the
reign of Elizabeth, to discover a route to India by a north-west or north-east passage chan-
nels from which the Portuguese would have had no pretence for excluding them. But these
attempts having proved unsuccessful, and the pope's bull having ceased to be of any effect
in this country, the English merchants and navigators resolved to be no longer deterred by
the imaginary rights of the Portuguese from directly entering upon what was then reckoned
by far the most lucrative and advantageous branch of commerce. Captain Stephens, who
performed the voyage in 1582, was the first Englishman who sailed to India by the Cape of
Good Hope. The voyage of the famous Sir Francis Drake contributed greatly to diffuse a
spirit of naval enterprise, and to render the English better acquainted with the newly opened
route to India. But the voyage of the celebrated Mr. Thomas Cavendish was, in the latter
respect, the most important. Cavendish sailed from England in a little squadron, fitted out
at his own expense, in July, 1586; and having explored the greater part of the Indian
Ocean, as far as the Philippine Islands, and carefully observed the most important and cha-
racteristic features of the people and countries which he visited, returned to England, after a
prosperous navigation, in September, 1588. Perhaps, however, nothing contributed so much
to inspire the English with a desire to embark in the Indian trade, as the captures that were
made, about this period, from the Spaniarde. A Portuguese East India ship, or carrack,
captured by Sir Francis Drake, during his expedition to the coast of Spain, inflamed the
cupidity of the merchants by the richness of her cargo, at the same time that the papers found
on board gave specific information respecting the traffic in which she had been engaged. A
still more important capture, of the same sort, was made in 1593. An armament, fitted out
for the East Indies by Sir Walter Raleigh, and commanded by Sir John Borroughs, fell in,
near the Azores, with the largest of all the Portuguese carracks, a ship of 1,600 tons burden,
carrying 700 men and 36 brass cannon and, after an obstinate conflict, carried her into
Dartmouth. She was the largest vessel that had been seen in England and her cargo,
consisting of gold, spices, calicoes, silks, pearls, drugs. porcelain, ivory, &c., excited the ar
dour of the English to engage in so opulent a commerce.
In consequence of these and other concurring causes, an association was formed in Lon-
don, in 1599, for prosecuting the trade to India. The adventurers applied to the queen for
a charter of incorporation, and also for power to exclude all other English subjects, who had
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
615
not obtained a licence from them, from carrying on any species of traffic beyond the Cape of
Good Hope or the Straits of Magellan. As exclusive companies were then very generally
looked upon as the best instruments for prosecuting most branches of commerce and indus-
try, the adventurers seem to have had little difficulty in obtaining their charter, which was
dated the 31st of December, 1600. The corporation was entitled, The Governor and
Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies:" the first governor (Tho-
mas Smythe, Esq.) and 24 directors were nominated in the charter; but power was given to
the Company to elect a deputy governor, and, in future, to elect their governor and directors,
and such other office-bearers as they might think fit to appoint. They were empowered to
make by-laws; to inflict punishments, either corporal or pecuniary, provided such punish-
ments were in accordance with the laws of England to export all sorts of goods free of
duty for 4 years and to export foreign coin, or bullion, to the amount of 30,000L a year,
6,000L of the same being previously coined at the mint; but they were obliged to import,
within 6 months after the completion of every voyage, except the first, the same quantity of
silver, gold, and foreign coin that they had exported. The duration of the charter was limit-
ed to a period of 15 years but with and under the condition that, if it were not found for
the public advantage it might be cancelled at any time upon 2 years' notice being given.
Such was the origin of the British East India Company,-the most celebrated commercial
association either of ancient or modern times, and which has now extended its sway over
the whole of the Mogul empire.
It might have been expected that, after the charter was obtained, considerable eagerness
would have been manifested to engage in the trade. But such was not the case. Notwith-
standing the earnest calls and threats of the directors, many of the adventurers could not be
induced to come forward to pay their proportion of the charges incident to the fitting out of
the first expedition. And as the directors seem either to have wanted power to enforce their
resolutions, or thought it better not to exercise it, they formed a subordinate association, consist-
ing of such members of the Company as were really willing to defray the cost of the voyage,
and to bear all the risks and losses attending it, on condition of their having the exclusive
right to whatever profits might arise from it. And it was by such subordinate associations
that the trade was conducted during the first 13 years of the Company's existence.
The first expedition to India, the cost of which amounted, ships and cargoes included, to
69,091/., consisted of 5 ships, the largest being 600 and the smaller 130 tons burden. The
goods put on board were principally bullion, iron, tin, broad cloths, cutlery, glass, &c. The
chief command was intrusted to Captain James Lancaster, who had already been in India.
They set sail from Torbay on the 13th of February, 1601. Being very imperfectly acquaint-
ed with the seas and countries they were to visit, they did not arrive at their destination,
Acheen in Sumatra, till the 5th of June, 1602. But though tedious, the voyage was, on the
whole, uncommonly prosperous. Lancaster entered into commercial treaties with the kings
of Acheen and Bantam; and having taken on board a valuable cargo of pepper and other
produce, he was fortunate enough, in his way home, to fall in with and capture, in concert
with a Dutch vessel, a Portuguese carrack of 900 tons burden, richly laden. Lancaster re-
turned to the Downs on the 11th of September, (Modern Universal History, vol. X.
p. 16.; Macpherson's Commerce of the European Powers with India, p. 81.)
But notwithstanding the favourable result of this voyage, the expeditions fitted out in the
years immediately following, though sometimes consisting of larger ships, were not, at an
average, materially increased. In 1612, Captain Best obtained from the court at Delhi seve-
ral considerable privileges; and, amongst others, that of establishing a factory at Surat;
which city was, henceforth, looked upon as the principal British station in the west of India,
till the acquisition of Bombay.
In establishing factories in India, the English only followed the example of the Portu-
guese and Dutch. It was contended, that they were necessary to serve as depôts for the
goods collected in the country for exportation to Europe, as well as for those imported into
India, in the event of their not meeting with a ready market on the arrival of the ships.
Such establishments, it was admitted, are not required in civilised countries but the peculiar
and unsettled state of India was said to render them indispensable there. Whatever weight
may be attached to this statement, it is obvious that factories formed for such purposes could
hardly fail of speedily degenerating into a species of forts. The security of the valuable
property deposited in them, furnished a specious pretext for putting them in a condition to
withstand an attack, while the agents, clerks, warehousemen, &c. formed a sort of garrison.
Possessing such strong holds, the Europeans were early emboldened to act in a manner
quite inconsistent with their character as merchants; and but a very short time elapsed be-
fore they began to form schemes for monopolising the commerce of particular districts, and
acquiring territorial dominion.
Though the Company met with several heavy losses during the earlier part of their traffic
with India, from shipwrecks and other unforeseen accidents, and still more from the hostility
of the Dutch, yet, on the whole, the trade was decidedly profitable. There can, however, be
little doubt, that their gains, at this early period, have been very much exaggerated. During
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
the first 13 years, they are said to have amounted to 132 per cent. But then it should be
borne in mind, as Mr. Grant has justly stated. that the voyages were seldom accomplished in
less than 30 months, and sometimes extended to 3 or 4 years: and it should further be re-
marked, that on the arrival of the ships at home, the cargoes were disposed of at long credits
of 18 months or 2 years; and that it was frequently even 6 or 7 years before the concerns
of a single voyage were finally adjusted.-(Sketch of the History of the Company, p. 13.)
When these circumstances are taken into view, it will immediately be seen that the Com-
pany's profits were not, really, by any means so great as has been represented. It may not,
however, be uninstructive to remark, that the principal complaint that was then made against
the Company did not proceed so much on the circumstance of its charter excluding the public
from any share in an advantageous traffic, as in its authorising the Company to export gold
and silver of the value of 30,000/. a year. It is true that the charter stipulated that the Com-
pany should import an equal quantity of gold and silver within 6 months of the termination
of every voyage; but the enemies of the Company contended that this condition was not
complied with ; and it was, besides, highly injurious to the public interests and contrary to
all principle, to allow gold and silver to be sent out of the kingdom. The merchants and
others interested in the support of the Company could not controvert the reasoning of their
opponents, without openly impugning the ancient policy of absolutely preventing the exporta-
tion of the precious metals. They did not, however, venture to contend, if the idea really
occurred to them, that the exportation of bullion to the East was advantageous, on the broad
ground of the commodities purchased by it being of greater value in England. But they
contended that the exportation of bullion to India was advantageous because the commodi-
ties thence imported were chiefly re-exported to other countries from which a much greater
quantity of bullion was obtained than had been required to pay for them in India. Mr. Tho-
mas Mun, a director of the East India Company, and the ablest of its early advocates, inge-
niously compares the operations of the merchant in conducting a trade carried on by the
exportation of gold and silver to the seed time and harvest of agriculture. If we only be-
hold," says he, " the actions of the husbandman in the seed time, when he casteth away
much good corn into the ground, we shall account him rather a madman than a husband-
man. But when we consider his labours in the harvest, which is the end of his endeavours,
we find the worth and plentiful increase of his actions."-(Treasure by Foreign Trade, P.
50. ed. 1664.)
We may here remark, that what has been called the mercantile system of political eco-
nomy, or that system which measures the progress of a country in the career of wealth by
the supposed balance of payments in its favour, or by the estimated excess of the value of
its exports over that of its imports, appears to have originated in the excuses now set up for
the exportation of bullion. Previously to this epoch, the policy of prohibiting the exports-
tion of bullion had been universally admitted but it now began to be pretty generally al-
lowed, that its exportation might be productive of advantage provided it occasioned the sub-
sequent exportation of a greater amount of raw or manufactured products to countries whence
bullion was obtained for them. This, when compared with the previously existing preju-
dice-for it hardly deserves the name of system-which wholly interdicted the exportation
of gold and silver, must be allowed to be a considerable step in the progress to sounder
opinions. The maxim, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute, was strikingly verified on
this occasion. The advocates of the East India Company began gradually to assume a
higher tone, and, at length, boldly contended that bullion was nothing but a commodity, and
that its exportation ought to be rendered as free as that of any thing else. Nor were these
opinions confined to the partners of the East India Company. They were gradually com-
municated to others; and many eminent merchants were taught to look with suspicion on
several of the previously received dogmas with respect to commerce, and were, in conse-
quence, led to acquire more correct and comprehensive views. The new ideas ultimately
made their way into the House of Commons; and, in 1663, the statutes prohibiting the
exportation of foreign coin and bullion were repealed, and full liberty given to the East India
Company and to private traders to export them in unlimited quantities.
But the objection to the East India Company, or rather the East India trade, on the
ground of its causing the exportation of gold and silver, admitted of a more direct and con-
clusive, if not a more ingenious reply. How compendious soever the ancient intercourse
with India by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, it was unavoidably attended with a good
deal of expense. The productions of the remote parts of Asia, brought to Ceylon, of the
ports on the Malabar coast, by the natives, were there put on board the ships which arrived
from the Arabic gulf. At Berenice they were landed, and carried by camels 250 miles to
the banks of the Nile. They were there again embarked, and conveyed down the river to
Alexandria, whence they were despatched to different markets. The addition to the price
of goods by such a multiplicity of operations must have been considerable; more especially
as the price charged on each operation was fixed by monopolists, subject to no competition
or control. Pliny says, that the cost of the Arabian and Indian products brought to Rome
when he flourished (A. D. 70,), was increased a hundred fold by the expenses of transit
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
617
-(Hist. Nat. lib. vi. c. 23.); but there can be little or no doubt that this is to be regarded
as a rhetorical exaggeration.-(See ante, p. 21.) There are good grounds for thinking that
the less bulky sorts of Eastern products, such as silk, spices, balsams, precious stones, &c.,
which were those principally made use of at Rome, might, supposing there were no politi-
cal obstacles in the way, be conveyed from most parts of India to the ports on the Mediter-
ranean by way of Egypt, at a decidedly cheaper rate than they could be conveyed to them
by the Cape of Good Hope.
But at the period when the latter route to India began to be frequented, Syria, Egypt, &c.
were occupied by Turks and Mamelukes; barbarians who despised commerce and naviga-
tion, and were, at the same time, extremely jealous of strangers, especially of Christians or
infidels. The price of the commodities obtained through the intervention of such persons
was necessarily very much enhanced; and the discovery of the route by the Cape of Good
Hope was, consequently, of the utmost importance, for, by putting an end to the monopoly
enjoyed by the Turks and Mamelukes, it introduced, for the first time, something like com-
petition into the Indian trade, and enabled the western parts of Europe to obtain supplies of
Indian products for about a third part of what they had previously cost. Mr. Mun, in a
tract published in 1621, estimates the quantity of Indian commodities imported into Europe,
and their cost when bought in Aleppo and in India, as follows:
Cost of Indian commodities consumed in Europe when bought in Aleppo (or Alexandria).
£
8. d.
6,000,000 lbs. pepper cost, with charges, &c. at Aleppo, 2s. per lb.
-
-
-
600,000
0 0
450,000 lbs. cloves, at 4s. 9d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 106,875 10 0
150,000 lbs. mace, at 4s: 9d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 35,626 0 0
400,000 lbs. nutmegs, at 2s. 4d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
46,666
2
4
350,000 lbs. indigo, at 4s. 4d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
75,833
6
8
1,000,000 lbs. Persian raw silk, at 12a.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- $ 600,000 0
£1,465,000 19 0
But the same quantities of the same commodities cost, when bought in the East Indies, according
to Mr. Mun, as follows :-
£
s. d.
6,000,000 lbs. pepper, at 2jd. per lb.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
62,500
0
0
450,000 lbs. cloves, at 9d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
16,875
0
0
150,000 lbs. mace, at 8d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
5,000
0
0
400,000 lbs. nutmegs. at 4d.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
6,666
13
4
350,000 lbs. indigo, at is. 2d
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 20,416 12 4
1,000,000 lbs. raw silk, at 8s.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- $ 400,000 0
£511,458
5
8
Which being deducted from the former, leaves a balance of 953,542l. 13s. 4d. And suppos-
ing that the statements made by Mr. Mun are correct, and that allowance is made for the
difference between the freight from Aleppo and India, the result would indicate the saving
which the discovery of the route by the Cape of Good Hope occasioned in the purchase of
the above-mentioned articles.-(A Discourse of Trade from England to the Eust Indies,
by T. M., original ed. p. 10. This tract, which is very scarce, is reprinted in Purchas's
Pilgrims.)
In the same publication (p. 37.), Mr. Mun informs us that, from the beginning of the
Company's trade to July, 1620, they had sent 79 ships to India of which 34 had come home
safely and richly laden, 4 had been worn out by long service in India, 2 had been lost in
careening, 6 had been lost by the perils of the sea, and 12 had been captured by the Dutch.
Mr. Mun further states, that the exports to India, since the formation of the Company, had
amounted to 340,376L; that the produce brought from India had cost 356,288/., and had
produced here the enormous sum of 1,914,600/.; that the quarrels with the Dutch had oc-
casioned a loss of 84,088/; and that the stock of the Company, in ships, goods in India,
&c., amounted to 400,000/.
The hostility of the Dutch, to which Mr. Mun has here alluded, was long a very formida-
ble obstacle to the Company's success. The Dutch early endeavoured to obtain the exclu-
sive possession of the spice trade, and were not at all scrupulous about the means by which
they attempted to bring about this their favourite object. The English, on their part, natu-
rally exerted themselves to obtain a share of so valuable a commerce and as neither party
was disposed to abandon its views and pretensions, the most violent animosities grew up be-
tween them. In this state of things, it would be ridiculous to suppose that unjustifiable
acts were not committed by the one party as well as the other though the worst act of the
English appears venial, when compared with the conduct of the Dutch in the massacre at
Amboyna, in 1622. While, however, the Dutch Company was vigorously supported by
the government at home, the English Company met with no efficient assistance from the
feeble and vacillating policy of James and Charles. The Dutch either despised their re-
monstrances, or defeated them by an apparent compliance; so that no real reparation was
obtained for the outrages they had committed. During the civil war, Indian affairs were-
necessarily lost sight of; and the Datch continued, until the ascendancy of the republican
78
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
party had been established, to reign triumphant in the East, where the English commerce
was nearly annihilated.
But notwithstanding their depressed condition, the Company's servants in India laid the
foundation, during the period in question, of the settlements at Madras and in Bengal. Per-
mission to build Fort St. George was obtained from the native authorities in 1640. In 1658,
Madras was raised to the station of a presidency. In 1645, the Company began to establish
factories in Bengal; the principal of which was at Hooghly. These were, for a lengthened
period, subordinate to the presidency at Madras.
No sooner, however, had the civil wars terminated, than the arms and councils of Crom-
well retrieved the situation of our affairs in India. The war which broke out between the
long parliament and the Dutch, in 1652, was eminently injurious to the latter. In the treaty
of peace, concluded in 1654, it was stipulated that indemnification should be made by the
Dutch for the losses and injuries sustained by the English merchants and factories in India.
The 27th article bears, that the Lords, the states-general of the United Provinces, shall take
care that justice be done upon those who were partakers or accomplices in the massacre of
the English at Amboyna, as the republic of England is pleased to term that fact, provided any
of them be living." A commission was at the same time appointed, conformably to another
article of the treaty, to inquire into the reciprocal claims which the subjects of the contract-
ing parties had upon each other for losses sustained in India, Brazil, &c.; and, upon their
decision, the Dutch paid the sum of 85,000L to the East India Company, and 3,615/. to the
heirs or executors of the sufferers at Amboyna.-(Bruce's Annals, vol. i. p. 489.)
The charter under which the East India Company prosecuted their exclusive trade to
India, being merely a grant from the Crown, and not ratified by any act of parliament, was
understood by the merchants to be at an end when Charles I. was deposed. They were
confirmed in this view of the matter, from the circumstance of Charles having himself grant-
ed, in 1635, a charter to Sir William Courten and others, authorising them to trade with
those parts of India with which the Company had not established any regular intercourse.
The reasons alleged in justification of this measure, by the Crown, were, that the East India
Company had neglected to establish fortified factories, or seats of trade, to which the king's
subjects could resort with safety that they had consulted their own interests only, without
any regard to the king's revenue; and, in general, that they had broken the condition on
which their charter and exclusive privileges had been granted to them."-(Rym. Fædera,
vol. xx. p. 146.)
Courten's association, for the foundation of which such satisfactory reasons had been as-
signed, continued to trade with India during the remainder of Charles's reign; and no
sooner had the arms of the Commonwealth forced the Dutch to desist from their depreda-
tions, and to make reparation for the injuries they had inflicted on the English in India, than
private adventurers engaged in great numbers in the Indian trade, and carried on with a zeal,
economy, and success, that monopoly can never expect to rival. It is stated in a little work,
entitled Britannia Languens, published in 1680, the author of which has evidently been a
well-informed and intelligent person, that during the years 1653, 1654, 1655, and 1656,
when the trade to India was open, the private traders imported East India commodities in
such large quantities, and sold them at such reduced prices, that they not only fully supplied
the British markets, but had even come into successful competition with the Dutch in the
market of Amsterdam, and very much sunk the actions (shares) of the Dutch East India
Company."-(p. 132.) This circumstance naturally excited the greatest apprehensions on
the part of the Dutch Company for, besides the danger that they now ran of being de-
prived, by the active competition of the English merchants, of a considerable part of the
trade which they had previously enjoyed, they could hardly expect that, if the trade were
thrown open in England, the monopoly would be allowed to continue in Holland. A strik-
ing proof of what is now stated is to be found in a letter in the third volume of Thurlow's
State Papers, dated at the Hague, the 15th of January, 1654, where it is said, that the
merchants of Amsterdam have advice that the Lord Protector intends to dissolve the East
India Company at London, and to declare the navigation and commerce of the East Indies
free and open; which doth cause great jealousy at Amsterdam, as a thing that will very
much prejudice the East India Company in Holland."
Feeling that it was impossible to contend with the private adventurers under a system of
fair competition, the moment the treaty with the Dutch had been concluded, the Company
began to solicit a renewal of their charter; but in this they were not only opposed by
the free traders, but by a part of themselves. To understand how this happened, it may be
proper to mention that Courten's association, the origin of which has been already noticed,
had begun, in 1648, to found a colony at Assuda, an island near Madagascar. The Com-
pany, alarmed at this project, applied to the council of state to prevent its being carried into
effect; and the council, without entering on the question of either party's rights, recommend-
ed to them to form a union which was accordingly effected in 1649. But the union was,
for a considerable time, rather nominal than real ; and when the Dutch war had been put .
end to, most of those holders of the Company's stock who had belonged to Courten's associt-
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tion joined in petitioning the council of state that the trade might in future be carried on, not
by a joint stock, but by a regulated company so that each individual engaging in it might
be allowed to employ his own stock, servants, and shipping, in whatever way he might con-
ceive most for his own advantage.-(Petition of Adventurers, 17th of Nov. 1656 Bruce's
Annals, vol. i. p. 518.)
This proposal was obviously most reasonable. The Company had always founded their
claim to a monopoly of the trade on the alleged ground of its being necessary to maintain
forts, factories, and ships of war in India; and that as this was not done by government, it
could only be done by a Company. But, by forming the traders with India into a regulated
company, they might have been subjected to whatever rules were considered most advisable
and such special duties might have been laid on the commodities they exported and imported,
as would have sufficed to defray the public expenses required for carrying on the trade, at
the same time that the inestimable advantages of free competition would have been secured
each individual trader being left at liberty to conduct his enterprises, subject only to a few
general regulations, in his own way and for his own advantage.-(See COMPANIES.)
But notwithstanding the efforts of the petitioners, and the success that was clearly proved
to have attended the operations of the private traders, the Company succeeded in obtain-
ing a renewal of their charter from Cromwell in 1657. Charles II. confirmed this charter
in 1661; and at the same time conferred on them the power of making peace or war with
any power or people not of the Christian religion of establishing fortifications, garrisons,
and colonies; of exporting ammunition and stores to their settlements duty free ; of seizing
and sending to England such British subjects as should be found trading to India without
their leave; and of exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction in their settlements, according
to the laws of England. Still, however, as this charter was not fully confirmed by any act
of parliament, it did not prevent traders, or interlopers as they were termed, from appearing
within the limits of the Company's territories. The energy of private commerce, which, to
use the words of Mr. Orme, sees its drift with eagles' eyes," formed associations at the risk
of trying the consequence at law, being safe at the outset, and during the voyage, since the
Company were not authorised to stop or seize the ships of those who thus attempted to come
into competition with them. Hence their monopoly was by no means complete; and it was
not till after the Revolution, and when a free system of government had been established at
home, that, by a singular contradiction, the authority of parliament was interposed to enable
the Company wholly to engross the trade with the East.
In addition to the losses arising from this source, the Company's trade suffered severely,
during the reign of Charles II., from the hostilities that were then waged with the Dutch,
and from the confusion and disorders caused by contests among the native princes; but in
1668, the Company obtained a very valuable acquisition in the island of Bombay. Charles
II. acquired this island as a part of the marriage portion of his wife, Catharine of Portugal
and it was now made over to the Company, on condition of their not selling or alienating it
to any persons whatever, except such as were subjects of the British crown. They were
allowed to legislate for their new possession but it was enjoined that their laws should be
consonant to reason, and as near as might be" agreeable to the practice of England. They
were authorised to maintain their dominion by force of arms; and the natives of Bombay
were declared to have the same liberties as natural born subjects. The Company's western
presidency was soon after transferred from Surat to Bombay.
In 1664, the French East India Company was formed; and 10 years afterwards they laid
the foundation of their settlement at Pondicherry.
But the reign of Charles II. is chiefly memorable in the Company's annals, from its being
the era of the commencement of the tea trade. The first notice of tea in the Company's
records is found in a despatch, addressed to their agent at Bantam, dated 24th of January,
1667-8, in which he is desired to send home 100 lbs. of tea, " the best he can get."-(Bruce's
Annals, vol. ii. p. 210.) Such was the late and feeble beginning of the tea trade; a
branch of commerce that has long been of vast importance to the British nation; and with-
out which, it is more than probable that the East India Company would long since have
ceased to exist, at least as a mercantile body.
In 1677, the Company obtained a fresh renewal of their charter; receiving at the same
time an indemnity for all past misuse of their privileges, and authority to establish a mint at
Bombay.
During the greater part of the reigns of Charles II. and James II., the Company's affairs
at home were principally managed by the celebrated Sir Josiah Child, the ablest commercial
writer of the time; and in India, by his brother, Sir John Child. In 1681, Sir Josiah pub-
lished an apology for the Company, under the signature of Филохатек, "A Treatise wherein
is demonstrated that the East India Trade is the most National of all Foreign Trades:" in
which, besides endeavouring to vindicate the Company from the objections that had been
made against it, he gives an account of its state at the time. From this account it appears
that the Company consisted of 556 partners; that they had from 35 to 36 ships, of from
775 to 1000 tons, employed in the trade between England and India, and from port to port
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in India-(p. 23.) that the custom duties upon the trade amounted to about 60,000L 8
year; and that the value of the exports, in lead, tin, cloth, and stuffs, and other commodi-
ties of the production and manufacture of England," amounted to about 60,000L or 70,000L
a year. Sir Josiah seems to have been struck, as he well might, by the inconsiderable
amount of the trade; and he therefore dwells on the advantages of which it was indirectly
productive, in enabling us to obtain supplies of raw silk, pepper, &c. at a much lower price
than they would otherwise have fetched. But this, though true, proved nothing in favour
of the Company it being an admitted fact, that those articles were furnished at a still low-
er price by the interlopers or private traders.
Sir Josiah Child was one of the first who projected the formation of a territorial empire in
India. But the expedition fitted out in 1686, in the view of accomplishing this purpose,
proved unsuccessful; and the Company were glad to accept peace on the terms offered by
the Mogul. Sir John Child, having died during the course of these transactions, was suc-
ceeded in the principal management of the Company's affairs in India by Mr. Vaux. On
the appointment of the latter, Sir Josiah Child, to whom he owed his advancement, exhorted
him to act with vigour, and to carry whatever instructions he might receive from home into
immediate effect. Mr. Vaux returned for answer that he should endeavour to acquit him-
self with integrity and justice, and that he would make the laws of his country the rule of
his conduct. Sir Josiah Child's answer to this letter is curious:- He told Mr. Vaux
roundly that he expected his orders were to be his rules, and not the laws of England, which
were a heap of nonsense, compiled by a few ignorant country gentlemen, who hardly knew
how to make laws for the good government of their own private families, much less for the
regulating of companies and foreign commerce."-(Hamilton's New Account of the East
Indies, vol. i. p. 232.)
During the latter part of the reign of Charles II., and that of his successor, the number
of private adventurers, or interlopers, in the Indian trade, increased in an unusual degree.
The Company vigorously exerted themselves in defence of what they conceived to be their
rights; and the question with respect to the validity of the powers conferred on them by
their charter was at length brought to issue, by a prosecution carried on at their instance
against Mr. Thomas Sandys, for trading to the East Indies without their licence. Judg-
ment was given in favour of the Company in 1685. But this decision was ascribed to cor-
rupt influence; and, instead of allaying, only served to increase the clamour against them.
The meeting of the Convention Parliament gave the Company's opponents hopes of a suc-
cessful issue to their efforts; and had they been united, they might probably have succeeded.
Their opinions were, however, divided-part being for throwing the trade open, and part for
the formation of a new company on a more liberal footing. The latter being formed into a
body, and acting in unison, the struggle against the Company was chiefly carried on by
them. The proceedings that took place on this occasion are amongst the most disgraceful in
the history of the country. The most open and unblushing corruption was practised by all
parties.-" It was, in fact, a trial which side should bribe the highest; public authority
inclining to one or other as the irresistible force of gold (Modern Universal History,
vol. X. p. 127.) Government appears, on the whole, to have been favourable to the Company;
and they obtained a fresh charter from the Crown in 1693. But in the following year the
trade was virtually laid open by a vote of the House of Commons, " that all the subjects of
England had an equal right to trade with the East Indies, unless prohibited by act of parlia-
ment." Matters continued on this footing till 1698. The pecuniary difficulties in which
government was then involved, induced them to apply to the Company for a loan of
2,000,000/. for which they offered 8 per cent. interest. The Company offered to advance
700,000/. at 4 per cent.; but the credit of government was at the time so low, that they pre-
ferred accepting an offer from the associated merchants, who had previously opposed the
Company, of the 2,000,000/. at 8 per cent., on condition of their being formed into a new
and exclusive company. While this project was in agitation, the advocates of free trade
were not idle, but exerted themselves to show that, instead of establishing a new Company,
the old one ought to be abolished. But however conclusive and unanswerable. their argu-
ments, having no adventitious recommendations in their favour, failed of making any im-
pression. The new Company was established by authority of the legislature; and as
the charter of the old Company was not yet expired, the novel spectacle was exhibited
of two legally constituted bodies, each claiming an exclusive right to the trade of the same
possessions!
Notwithstanding all the pretensions set up by those who had obtained the new charter
during their struggles with the old Company, it was immediately seen that they were as
anxious as the latter to suppress every thing like free trade. They had not, it was obvious,
been actuated by any enlarged views, but merely by a wish to grasp at the monopoly, which
they believed would redound to their own individual interest. The public, in consequence,
became equally disgusted with both parties; or if there were any difference, it is probable
that the new Company was looked upon with the greatest aversion, inasmuch as we are
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naturally more exasperated by what we conceive to be duplicity and bad faith, than by fair
undisguised hostility.
At first the mutual hatred of the rival associations knew no bounds. But they were not
long in perceiving that such conduct would infallibly end in their ruin; and that while one
was labouring to destroy the other, the friends of free trade might step in and procure the
dissolution of both. In consequence, they became gradually reconciled; and in 1702, hav-
ing adjusted their differences, they resolved to form themselves into one company, entitled,
The United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies.
The authority of parliament was soon after interposed to give effect to this agreement.
The United Company engaged to advance 1,200,000/. to government without interest,
which as a previous advance had been made of 2,000,000/. at 8 per cent., made the total
sum due to them by the public 3,200,000/., bearing interest at 5 per cent. ; and government
agreed to ratify the terms of their agreement, and to extend the charter to the 25th of March,
1726, with 3 years' notice.
While those important matters were transacting at home, the Company had acquired
some additional possessions in India. In 1692, the Bengal agency was transferred from
Hooghly to Calcutta. In 1698, the Company acquired a grant from one of the grandsons
of Aurengzebe, of Calcutta and 2 adjoining villages with leave to exercise judiciary powers
over the inhabitants, and to erect fortifications. These were soon after constructed, and re-
ceived, in compliment to William III., then king of England, the name of Fort William.
The agency at Bengal which had hitherto been subsidiary only, was now raised to the rank
of a presidency.
The vigorous competition that had been carried on for some years before the coalition of
the old and new Companies, between them and the private traders, had occasioned a great
additional importation of Indian silks, piece goods, and other products, and a great reduction
of their price. These circumstances occasioned the most vehement complaints amongst the
home manufacturers, who resorted to the arguments invariably made use of on such occa-
sions by those who wish to exclude foreign competition affirming that manufactured India
goods had been largely substituted for those of England that the English manufacturers had
been reduced to the cruel necessity either of selling nothing, or of selling their commodities
at such a price as left them no profit; that great numbers of their workmen had been thrown
out of employment; and last of all, that Indian goods were not bought by British goods,
but by gold and silver, the exportation of which had caused the general impoverishment of
the kingdom ! The merchants and others interested in the India trade could not, as had
previously happened to them in the controversy with respect to the exportation of bullion,
meet these statements without attacking the principles on which they rested, and maintain-
ing, in opposition to them, that it was for the advantage of every people to buy the products
they wanted in the cheapest market. This just and sound principle was, in consequence,
enforced in several petitions presented to parliament by the importers of Indian goods; and
it was also enforced in several able publications that appeared at the time. But these argu-
ments, how unanswerable soever they may now appear, had then but little influence; and in
1701, an act was passed, prohibiting the importation of Indian manufactured goods for home
consumption.
For some years after the re-establishment of the Company, it continued to prosecute its
efforts to consolidate and extend its commerce. But the unsettled state of the Mogul empire,
coupled with the determination of the Company to establish factories in every convenient
situation, exposed their affairs to perpetual vicissitudes. In 1715, it was resolved to send an
embassy to Delhi, to solicit from Furucksur, an unworthy descendant of Aurengzebe, an
extension and confirmation of the Company's territory and privileges. Address, accident,
and the proper application of presents, conspired to ensure the success of the embassy. The
grants or patents solicited by the Company were issued in 1717. They were in all 34. The
substance of the privileges they conferred was, that English vessels wrecked on the coasts
of the empire should be exempt from plunder; that the annual payment of a stipulated sum
to the government of Surat should free the English trade at that port from all duties and ex-
actions; that those villages contiguous to Madras formerly granted and afterwards refused
by the government of Arcott, should be restored to the Company that the island of Diu,
near the port of Masulipatam, should belong to the Company, paying for it a fixed rent
that in Bengal, all persons, whether European or native, indebted or accountable to the
Company, should be delivered up to the presidency on demand that goods of export or
import, belonging to the English, might, under a dustuck or passport from the president of
Calcutta, be conveyed duty free through the Bengal provinces; and that the English should
be at liberty to purchase the lordship of 37 towns contiguous to Calcutta, and in fact com-
manding both banks of the river for 10 miles south of that city.(Grant's Sketch of the
Hist. of the East India Company, p. 128.)
The important privileges thus granted, were long regarded as constituting the great char-
ter of the English in India. Some of them, however, were not fully conceded but were
withheld or modified by the influence of the emperor's lieutenants, or soubahdara.
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
In 1717, the Company found themselves in danger from a new competitor. In the course
of that year some ships appeared in India fitted out by private adventurers from Ostend.
Their success encouraged others to engage in the same line and in 1722, the adventurers
were formed into a company under a charter from his Imperial Majesty. The Dutch and
English Companies, who had RO long been hostile to each other, at once laid aside their
animosities, and joined heartily in an attempt to crush their new competitors. Remonstrances
being found ineffectual, force was resorted to ; and the vessels of the Ostend Company
were captured, under the most frivolous pretences, in the open seas on the coasts of Brazil.
The British and Dutch governments abetted the selfish spirit of hostility displayed by
their respective Companies. And the emperor was, in the end, glad to purchase the sup-
port of Great Britain and Holland to the pragmatic sanction, by the sacrifice of the Com-
pany at Ostend.
Though the Company's trade had increased, it was still inconsiderable; and it is very
difficult, indeed, when one examines the accounts that have from time to time been published
of the Company's mercantile affairs, to imagine how the idea ever came to be entertained
that their commerce was of any considerable, much less paramount, importance. At an
average of the 10 years ending with 1724, the total value of the British manufactures and
other products annually exported to India amounted to only 92,410L 12s. 6d. The average
value of the bullion annually exported during the same period, amounted to
making the total annual average exports 617,513/. 3s. 10d. a truly pitiful sum, when we
consider the wealth, population, and industry of the countries between which the Company's
commerce was carried on and affording by its smallness a strong presumptive proof of the
effect of the monopoly in preventing the growth of the trade.
In 1730, though there were 3 years still unexpired of the Company's charter, a vigorous
effort was made by the merchants of London, Bristol, and Liverpool, to prevent its renewal.
It has been said that the gains of the Company, had they been exactly known, would not
have excited any very envious feelings on the part of the merchants; but being concealed,
they were exaggerated; and the boasts of the Company as to the importance of their trade
contributed to spread the belief that their profits were enormous, and consequently stimu-
lated the exertions of their opponents. Supposing, however, that the real state of the case
had been known, there was still enough to justify the utmost exertions on the part of the
merchants for the limited profits made by the Company, notwithstanding their monopoly,
were entirely owing to the misconduct of their agents, which they had vainly endeavoured
to restrain and to the waste inseparable from such unwieldy establishments.
The merchants, on this occasion, followed the example that had been set by the petition-
ers for free trade in 1656. They offered, in the first place, to advance the 3,200,000L
lent by the Company to the public, on more favourable terms. And in the second place,
they proposed that the subscribers to this loan should be formed into a regulated company,
for opening the trade, under the most favourable circumstances, to all classes of their
countrymen.
It was not intended that the Company should trade upon a joint stock, and in their cor-
porate capacity, but that every individual who pleased should trade in the way of private
adventure. The Company were to have the charge of erecting and maintaining the forts
and establishments abroad and for this, and for other expenses attending what was called
the enlargement and preservation of the trade, it was proposed that they should receive a
duty of 1 per cent. upon all exports to India, and of 5 per cent. upon all imports from it.
For ensuring obedience to this and other regulations, it was to be enacted, that no one
should trade to India without licence from the Company. And it was proposed that 31
years, with 3 years' notice, should be granted as the duration of their peculiar privilege.
" It appears from this," says Mr. Mill, that the end which was proposed to be answered,
by incorporating such a company, was the preservation and erection of the forts, buildings,
and other fixed establishments, required for the trade of India. This Company promised to
supply that demand which has always been held forth as peculiar to the India trade, as the
grand exigency which, distinguishing the traffic with India from all other branches of trade,
rendered monopoly advantageous in that peculiar case, how much soever it might be inju-
rious in others. While it provided for this real or pretended want, it left the trade open to
all the advantages of private enterprise, private vigilance, private skill, and private economy,
-the virtues by which individuals thrive and nations prosper. And it gave the proposed
company an interest in the careful discharge of its duty, by making its profits increase in
exact proportion with the increase of the trade, and, of course, with the facilities and accom-
modation by which the trade was promoted.
" Three petitions were presented to the House of Commons in behalf of the proposed
company, by the merchants of London, Bristol, and Liverpool. It was urged, that the pro-
posed company would, through the competition of which it would be productive, cause a
great extension of the trade that it would produce a larger exportation of our own produce
and manufactures to India, and reduce the price of all Indian commodities to the people at
home; that new channels of traffic would be opened in Asia and America, as well as in
EAST INDIA COMPANY.
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Europe ; that the duties of customs and excise would be increased and that the waste
and extravagance caused by the monopoly would be entirely avoided."-(Mill's India, vol.
iii. p. 37.)
But these arguments did not prevail. The Company magnified the importance of their
trade and contended, that it would be unwise to risk advantages already realised for the
sake of those that were prospective and contingent. They alleged that, if the trade to India
were thrown open, the price of goods in India would be so much enhanced by the compe-
tition of different traders, and their price in England so much diminished, that the freedom
of the trade would certainly end in the ruin of all who had been foolish enough to adven-
ture in it. To enlarge on the fallacy of these statements would be worse than superfluous.
It is obvious that nothing whatever could have been risked, and that a great deal would
have been gained, by opening the trade in the way that was proposed. And if it were
really true that the trade to India ought to be subjected to a monopoly, lest the traders by
their competition should ruin each other, it would follow that the trade to America-and not
that only, but every branch both of the foreign and home trade of the empire-should be
surrendered to exclusive companies. But such as the Company's arguments were, they
seemed satisfactory to parliament. They, however, consented to reduce the interest on the
debt due to them by the public from 5 to 4 per cent. and contributed a sum of 200,000/. for
the public service. On these conditions it was agreed to extend their exclusive privileges to
Lady-day, 1766, with the customary addition of three years' notice.
For about 15 years from this period, the Company's affairs went on without any very
prominent changes. But notwithstanding the increased importation of tea, the consumption
of which now began rapidly to extend, their trade continued to be comparatively insig-
nificant. At an average of the 8 years ending with 1741, the value of the British goods
and products of all sorts, exported by the Company to India and China, amounted to only
157,9441. 4s. 7d. a year ! And during the 7 years ending with 1748, they amounted to only
188,176L 16s. 4d. And when it is borne in mind that these exports included the military
stores of all sorts, forwarded to the Company's settlements in India and at St. Helena, the
amount of which was, at all times, very considerable, it does appear exceedingly doubtful
whether the Company really exported, during the entire period from 1730 to 1748, 150,000Z.
worth of British produce as a legitimate mercantile adventure Their trade, such as it was,
was entirely carried on by shipments of bullion; and even its annual average export, dur-
ing the 7 years ending with 1748, only amounted to 548,711L 19s. 2d. It would seem,
indeed, that the Company had derived no perceptible advantage from the important conces-
sions obtained from the Mogul emperor, in 1717. But the true conclusion is, not that these
concessions were of little value, but that the deadening influence of monopoly had so para-
lysed the Company, that they were unable to turn them to account; and that, though with-
out competitors, and with opulent kingdoms for their customers, their commerce was hardly
greater than that carried on by some single merchants.
In 1732, the Company were obliged to reduce their dividend from 8 to 7 per cent., at
which rate it continued till 1744.
The opposition the Company had experienced from the merchants, when the question as
to the renewal of their charter was agitated, in 1730, made them very desirous to obtain the
next renewal in as quiet a manner as possible. They therefore proposed, in 1743, when 23
years of their charter were yet unexpired, to lend 1,000,000L to government, at 3 per cent.,
provided their exclusive privileges were extended to 1780, with the usual notice. And as
none were expecting such an application, or prepared to oppose it, the consent of govern-
ment was obtained without difficulty.
But the period was now come, when the mercantile character of the East India Company
if, indeed, it could with propriety, be, at any time, said to belong to them,-was to be eclipsed
by their achievements as a military power, and the magnitude of their conquests. For about
two centuries after the European powers began their intercourse with India, the Mogul
princes were regarded as amongst the most opulent and powerful of monarchs. Though of a
foreign lineage-being descended from the famous Tamerlane, or Timur Bec, who overran
India in 1400-and of a different religion from the great body of their subjects, their domi-
nion was firmly established in every part of their extensive empire. The administration of
the different provinces was committed to officers denominated soubahdars, or nabobs, intrusted
with powers, in their respective governments, similar to those enjoyed by the Roman pretors.
So long as the emperors retained any considerable portion of the vigour and bravery of their
hardy ancestors, the different parts of the government were held in due subordination, and
the soubahdars yielded a ready obedience to the orders from Delhi. But the emperors were
gradually debauched by the apparently prosperous condition of their affairs. Instead of
being educated in the council or the camp, the heirs of almost unbounded power were brought
up in the slothful luxury of the seraglio; ignorant of public affairs; benumbed by indo-
lence; depraved by the flattery of women, of eunuchs, and of slaves; their minds contracted
with their enjoyments; their inclinations were vilified by their habits; and their govern-
ment grew as vicious, as corrupt, and as worthless as themselves. When the famous Kouli
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Khan, the usurper of the Persian throne, invaded India, the effeminate successor of Tamex-
lane and Aurengzebe was too unprepared to oppose, and too dastardly to think of avenging
the attack. This was the signal for the dismemberment of the monarchy. No sooner had
the invader withdrawn, than the soubahdars either openly threw off their allegiance to the
emperor, or paid only a species of nominal or mock deference to his orders. The inde-
pendence of the soubahdars was very soon followed by wars amongst themselves and, be-
ing well aware of the superiority of European troops and tactics, they anxiously courted the
alliance and support of the French and English East India Companies. These bodies,
having espoused different sides, according as their interests or prejudices dictated, began
very soon to turn the quarrels of the soubahdars to their own account. Instead of being
contented, as hitherto, with the possession of factories and trading towns, they aspired to the
dominion of provinces; and the struggle soon came to be, not which of the native princes
should prevail, but whether the English or the French should become the umpires of India.
But these transactions are altogether foreign to the subject of this work; nor could any
intelligible account of them be given without entering into lengthened statements. We
shall only, therefore, observe that the affairs of the French were ably conducted by La Bour-
donnais, Dupleix, and Lally, officers of distinguished merit, and not less celebrated for their
great actions than for the base ingratitude of which they were the victims. But though vic-
tory seemed at first to incline to the French and their allies, the English affairs were effect-
ually retrieved by the extraordinary talents and address of a single individual ;-Colonel
(afterwards Lord) Clive was equally brave, cautious, and enterprising not scrupulous in
the use of means; fertile in expedients; endowed with wonderful sagacity and resolution;
and capable of turning even the most apparently adverse circumstances to advantage. Hav-
ing succeeded in humbling the French power in the vicinity of Madras, Clive landed at
Calcutta in 1757, in order to chastise the soubahdar, Surajah ul Dowlah, who had a short
while before attacked the English factory at that place and inhumanly shut up 146 English-
men in a prison, where, owing to the excessive heat and want of water, 123 perished in a
single night. Clive had only 700 European troops and 1,400 Sepoys with him when he
landed but with these, and 570 sailors furnished by the fleet, he did not hesitate to attack
the immense army commanded by the soubahdar, and totally defeated him in the famous
battle of Plassey. This victory threw the whole provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa,
into our hands; and they were finally confirmed to us by the treaty negotiated in 1765.
Opinion has been long divided as to the policy of our military operations in India; and it
has been strenuously contended, that we ought never to have extended our conquests beyond
the limits of Bengal. The legislature seems to have taken this view of the matter; the
House of Commons having resolved, in 1782, " that to pursue schemes of conquest and
extent of dominion in India are measures repugnant to the wish, the honour, and the policy
of this nation." But others have argued, and apparently on pretty good grounds, that, hav-
ing gone thus far, we were compelled to advance. The native powers, trembling at the
increase of British dominion, endeavoured when too late to make head against the growing
evil. In this view they entered into combinations and wars against the English; and the
latter having been uniformly victorious, their empire necessarily went on increasing, till all
the native powers have been swallowed up in its vast extent.
The magnitude of the acquisitions made by Lord Clive powerfully excited the attention
of the British public. Their value was prodigiously exaggerated; and it was generally ad-
mitted that the Company had no legal claim to enjoy, during the whole period of their
charter, all the advantages resulting from conquests, to which the fleets and armies of the
state had largely contributed. In 1767, the subject was taken up by the House of Commons;
and a committee was appointed to investigate the whole circumstances of the case, and to
calculate the entire expenditure incurred by the public on the Company's account. During
the agitation of this matter, the right of the Company to the new conquest was totally denied
by several members. In the end, however, the question was compromised by the Company
agreeing to pay 400,000Z. a year for 2 years; and in 1769, this agreement, including the
yearly payment, was further extended for 5 years more. The Company, at the same time,
increased their dividend, which had been fixed by the former agreement at 10, to 12} per
cent.
But the Company's anticipations of increased revenue proved entirely visionary. The
rapidity of their conquests in India, the distance of the controlling authority at home, and
the abuses in the government of the native princes, to whom the Company had succeeded.
conspired to foster a strong spirit of peculation among their servants. Abuses of every sort
were multiplied to a frightful extent. The English, having obtained, or rather enforced, an
exemption from those heavy transit duties to which the native traders were subject, engrossed
the whole internal trade of the country. They even went so far as to decide what quantity
of goods each manufacturer should deliver, and what he should receive for them. It is due
to the directors to say, that they exerted themselves to repress these abuses. But their reso-
lutions were neither carried into effect by their servants in India, nor sanctioned by the pro-
prietors at home; so that the abuses, instead of being repressed, went on acquiring fresh
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strength and virulence. The resources of the country were rapidly impaired; and while
many of the Company's servants returned to Europe with immense fortunes, the Company
itself was involved in debt and difficulties; and so far from being able to pay the stipulated
sum of 400,000!. a year to government, was compelled to apply, in 1772, to the Treasury
for a loan !
In this crisis of their affairs, government interposed, and a considerable change was made
in the constitution of the Company. The dividend was restricted to 6 per cent., till the
sum of 1,400,000/., advanced to them by the public, should be paid. It was further enacted,
that the court of directors should be elected for 4 years, 6 members annually, but none to
hold their seats for more than 4 years at a time that no person was to vote at the courts
of proprietors who had not possessed his stock for 12 months; and that the amount of stock
required to qualify for a vote should be increased from 500L to 1,000/. The jurisdiction of
the Mayor's Court at Calcutta was in future confined to small mercantile cases; and, in lieu
of it, a new court was appointed, consisting of a chief justice and 3 principal judges appointed
by the Crown. A superiority was also given to Bengal over the other presidencies, Mr.
Warren Hastings being named in the act as governor-general of India. The governor-
general, councillors, and judges were prohibited from having any concern whatever in trade
and no person residing in the Company's settlements was allowed to take more than 12 per
cent. per annum for money. Though strenuously opposed, these measures were carried by
a large majority.
At this period (1773) the total number of proprietors of East India stock, with their quali-
fications as they stood in the Company's book, were as follows :-
Proprietors.
Stocks.
£
8.
d.
Englishmen, possessing 1,000l. stock and upwards
-
487
1,018,398
19
11
Foreigners, possessing 1,000L stock and upwards
-
325
890,940
17
0
Englishmen, possessing 500L stock and upwards
-
1,246
634,464
1
8
Foreigners, possessing 500L stock and upwards
-
95
50,226
0
0
Total
-
-
-
-
2,153
£2,594,029
18
7
Notwithstanding the vast extension of the Company's territories, their trade continued to
be apparently insignificant. During the 3 years ending with 1773, the value of the entire
exports of British produce and manufactures, including military stores exported by the Com-
pany to India and China, amounted to 1,469,4112., being at the rate of 489,8031. a year the
annual exports of bullion during the same period being only 84,933/. During the same 3
years, 23 ships sailed annually for India. The truth, indeed, seems to be, that, but for the
increased consumption of tea in Great Britain, the Company would have entirely ceased to
carry on any branch of trade with the East and the monopoly would have excluded us as
effectually from the markets of India and China as if the trade had reverted to its ancient
channels, and the route by the Cape of Good Hope been relinquished.
In 1781, the exclusive privileges of the Company were extended to 1791, with 3 years'
notice; the dividend on the Company's stock was fixed at 8 per cent. three fourths of their
surplus revenues, after paying the dividend, and the sum of 400,000Z payable to govern-
ment, was to be applied to the public service, and the remaining fourth to the Company's
own use.
In 1780, the value of British produce and manufactures exported by the Company to
India and China amounted to only 386,152/. the bullion exported during the same year
was 15,014L The total value of the exports during the same year was 12,648,616% show-
ing that the East India trade formed only one thirly-second part of the entire foreign trade of
the empire !
The administration of Mr. Hastings was one continued scene of war, negotiation, and
intrigue. The state of the country, instead of being improved, became worse; so much so,
that in a council minute by Marquis Cornwallis, dated the 18th of September, 1789, it is
distinctly stated, " that one third of the Company's territory is now a jungle for wild beasts."
Some abuses in the conduct of their servants were, indeed, rectified; but, notwithstanding,
the nett revenue of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa, which, in 1772, had amounted to 2,126,766/.,
declined, in 1785, to 2,072,963/. This exhaustion of the country, and the expenses incurred
in the war with Hyder Ally and France, involved the Company in fresh difficulties. And
being unable to meet them, they were obliged, in 1783, to present a petition to parliament,
setting forth their inability to pay the stipulated sum of 400,000/. year to the public, and
praying to be excused from that payment, and to be supported by a loan of 900,000/.
All parties seemed now to be convinced that some further changes in the constitution of
the Company had become indispensable. In this crisis Mr. Fox brought forward his famous
India Bill; the grand object of which was to abolish the courts of directors and proprietors,
and to vest the government of India in the hands of 7 commissioners appointed by parlia-
ment. The coalition between Lord North and Mr. Fox had rendered the ministry exceed-
VoL. I.-3 G
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
ingly unpopular; and advantage was taken of the circumstance to raise an extraordinary
clamour against the bill. The East India Company stigmatised it as an invasion of their
chartered rights; though it is obvious, that, from their inability to carry into effect the stips-
lations under which those rights were conceded to them, they necessarily reverted to the
public; and it was as open to parliament to legislate upon them as upon any other question.
The political opponents of the government represented the proposal for vesting the nomina-
tion of commissioners in the legislature, as a daring invasion of the prerogative of the Crown,
and an insidious attempt of the minister to render himself all-powerful, by adding the patron-
age of India to that already in his possession. The bill was, however, carried through the
House of Commons; but, in consequence of the ferment it had excited, and the avowed op-
position of his Majesty, it was thrown out in the House of Lords. This event proved fatal
to the coalition ministry. A new one was formed, with Mr. Pitt at its head and parlie-
ment being soon after dissolved, the new minister acquired a decisive majority in both Houses.
When thus secure of parliamentary support, Mr. Pitt brought forward his India Bill, which
was successfully carried through all its stages. By this bill a Board of Control was erected,
consisting of 6 members of the privy council, who were " to check, superintend, and control
all acts, operations, and concerns, which in anywise relate to the civil or military government,
or revenues, of the territories and possessions of the East India Company." All communi-
cations to or from India, touching any of the above matters, were to be submitted to this
Board; the directors being ordered to yield obedience to its commands, and to alter or amend
all instructions sent to India as directed by it. A secret committee of 3 directors was formed,
with which the Board of Control might transact any business it did not choose to submit to
the court of directors. Persons returning from India were to be obliged, under very severe
penalties, to declare the amount of their fortunes; and a tribunal was appointed for the trial
of all individuals accused of misconduct in India, consisting of a judge from each of the
Courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer 5 members of the House of
Lords, and 7 members of the House of Commons; the last being chosen by lot at the com-
mencement of each session. The superintendence of all commercial matters continued, as
formerly, in the hands of the directors.
During the administration of Marquis Cornwallis, who succeeded Mr. Hastings, Tippoo
Saib, the son of Hyder Ally, was stripped of nearly half his dominions; the Company's
territorial revenue was, in consequence, greatly increased at the same time that the perma-
nent settlement was carried into effect in Bengal, and other important changes accomplished.
Opinion has been long divided as to the influence of these changes. On the whole, how-
ever, we are inclined to think that they have been decidedly advantageous. Lord Cornwallis
was, beyond all question, a sincere friend to the people of India; and laboured earnestly, if
not always successfully, to promote their interests, which he well knew were identified with
those of the British nation.
During the 3 years ending with 1793, the value of the Company's exports of British
produce and manufactures fluctuated from 928,783/. to 1,031,262L But this increase is
wholly to be ascribed to the reduction of the duty on tea in 1784, and the vast increase that,
consequently, took place in its consumption.-(See article TEA.) Had the consumption of
tea continued stationary, there appear no grounds for thinking that the Company's exports
in 1793 would have been greater than in 1780 unless an increase had taken place in the
quantity of military stores exported.
In 1793, the Company's charter was prolonged till the 1st of March, 1814. In the act
for this purpose, a species of provision was made for opening the trade to India to private
individuals. All his Majesty's subjects, residing in any part of his European dominions,
were allowed to export to India any article of the produce or manufacture of the British
dominions, except military stores, ammunition, masts, spars, cordage, pitch, tar, and copper;
and the Company's civil servants in India, and the free merchants resident there, were allow-
ed to ship, on their own account and risk, all kinds of Indian goods, except calicoes, dimities,
muslins, and other piece goods. But neither the merchants in England, nor the Company's
servants or merchants in India, were allowed to export or import except in Company's ships.
And in order to insure such conveyance, it was enacted, that the Company should annually
appropriate 3,000 tons of shipping for the use of private traders it being stipulated that
they were to pay, in time of peace, 51. outwards, and 15/. homewards, for every ton occupied
by them in the Company's ships and that this freight might be raised in time of war, with
the approbation of the Board of Control.
It might have been, and, indeed, most probably was foreseen that very few British mer-
chants or manufacturers would be inclined to avail themselves of the privilege of sending out
goods in Company's ships; or of engaging in a trade fettered on all sides by the jealousy of
powerful monopolists, and where, consequently, their superior judgment and economy would
have availed almost nothing. As far, therefore, as they were concerned, the relaxation was
more apparent than real, and did not produce any useful results.* It was, however, made
In his letter to the East India Company, dated the 21st of March, 1812, Lord Melville savs: It
will not be denied that the facilities granted by that act (the act of 1793) have not been satisfactory
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
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use of to a considerable extent by private merchants in India; and also by the Company's
servants returning from India, many of whom invested a part, and some the whole, of their
fortune, in produce fit for the European markets.
The financial difficulties of the East India Company led to the revolution which took
place in its government in 1784. But, notwithstanding the superintendence of the Board
of Control, its finances have continued nearly in the same unprosperous state as before. We
have been favoured, from time to time, with the most dazzling accounts of revenue that was
to be immediately derived from India; and numberless acts of parliament have been passed
for the appropriation of surpluses that never had any existence except in the imagination of
their framers. The proceedings that took place at the renewal of the charter, in 1793, afford
a striking example of this. Lord Cornwallis had then concluded the war with Tippoo Saib,
which had stripped him of half his dominions: the perpetual settlement, from which 80
many benefits were expected to be derived, had been adopted in Bengal; and the Company's
receipts had been increased, in consequence of accessions to their territory, and subsidies
from native princes, &c., to upwards of eight millions sterling a year, which, it was calcu-
lated, would afford a future annual surplus, after every description of charge had been de-
ducted, of 1,240,000L Mr. Dundas (afterwards Lord Melville), then president of the Board
of Control, availed himself of these favourable appearances, to give the most flattering repre-
sentation of the Company's affairs. There could, he said, be no question as to the perma-
nent and regular increase of the Company's surplus revenue: he assured the House that
the estimates had all been framed with the greatest care; that the Company's possessions
were in a state of prosperity till then unknown in India; that the abuses, which had formerly
insinuated themselves into some departments of the government, had been rooted out; and
that the period was at length arrived, when India was to pour her golden treasures into the
lap of England ! Parliament participated in these brilliant anticipations, and in the act pro-
longing the charter it was enacted, 1st, That 500,000/. a year of the surplus revenue should
be set aside for reducing the Company's debt in India to 2,000,000/ 2dly, That 500,000/.
a year should be paid into the exchequer, to be appropriated for the public service as parlia-
ment should think fit to order; 3dly, When the India debt was reduced to 2,000,000/., and
the bond debt to 1,500,000L, one sixth part of the surplus was to be applied to augment the
dividends, and the other five sixths were to be paid into the Bank, in the name of the com-
missioners of the national debt, to be accumulated as a guarantee fund, until it amounted
to 12,000,000/.; and when it reached that sum, the dividends upon it were to be applied to
make up the dividends on the capital stock of the Company to 10 per cent., if, at any time,
the funds appropriated to that purpose should prove deficient, &c.
Not one of these anticipations has been realized Instead of being diminished, the Com-
pany's debts began immediately to increase. In 1795, they were authorised to add to the
amount of their floating debt. In 1796, a new device to obtain money was fallen upon.
Mr. Dundas represented that as all competition had been destroyed in consequence of the
war, the Company's commerce had been greatly increased, and that their mercantile capital
had become insufficient for the extent of their transactions. In consequence of this repre-
sentation, leave was given to the Company to add two millions to their capital stock by creat-
ing 20,000 new shares; but as these shares sold at the rate of 173L each, they produced
3,460,000/. In 1797, the Company issued additional bonds to the extent of 1,417,000/.;
and, notwithstanding all this, Mr. Dundas stated in the House of Commons, on the 13th of
March, 1799, that there had been a deficit in the previous year of 1,319,000/.
During the administration of the Marquis Wellesley, which began in 1797-8 and terminated
in 1805-6, the British empire in India was augmented by the conquest of Seringapatam and
the whole territories of Tippoo Saib, the cession of large tracts by the Mahratta chiefs, the
capture of Delhi, the ancient seat of the Mogul empire, and various other important acquisi-
tions; so that the revenue, which had amounted to 8,059,000/. in 1797, was increased to
15,403,000/. in 1805. But the expenses of government, and the interest of the debt, in-
creased in a still greater proportion than the revenue; having am ounted, in 1805, to 17,-
672,000l., leaving a deficit of 2,269,000/. In the following year the revenue fell off nearly
1,000,000/., while the expenses continued nearly the same. And there was, at an average,
a continued excess of expenditure, including commercial charges, and a contraction of fresh
debt, down to 1811-12.
Notwithstanding the vast additions made to their territories, the Company's commerce
with them continued to be very inconsiderable. During the 5 years ending with 1811, the
exports to India by the Company, exclusive of those made on account of individuals in their
ships, were as under:-
M
13
1807
-
-
- 952,416
1810
-
-
- 1,010,815
1808
-
-
- 919,544
1811
-
-
- 1,033,816
1809
-
-
- 866,153
at least to the merchants either of this country or of India. They have been the source of constant
dispute, and they have even entailed a heavy expense upon the Company without affording to the
public any adequate benefit from such a sacrifice. (Papers published by E. I. Comp. 1813, p. 84.)
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EAST INDIA COMPANY.
The exports by the private trade, and the privilege trade, that is, the commanders and
officers of the Company's ships, during the above-mentioned years, were about as large.
During the 5 years ending with 1807-8, the annual average imports into India by British
private traders, only, amounted to 305,496l.-(Papers published by the East India Com-
pany in 1813, 4to. p. 56.)
The Company's exports include the value of the military stores sent from Great Britain to
India. The ships employed in the trade to India and China, during the same 5 years, varied
from 44 to 53, and their burden from 36,671 to 45,342 tons.
For some years previously to the termination of the Company's charter in 1813, the con-
viction had been gaining ground among all classes, that the trade to the East was capable
of being very greatly extended and that it was solely owing to the want of enterprise and
competition, occasioned by its being subjected to a monopoly, that it was confined within
such narrow limits. Very great efforts were, consequently, made by the manufacturing and
commercial interests to have the monopoly set aside, and the trade to the East thrown open.
The Company vigorously resisted these pretensions; and had interest enough to procure a
prolongation of the privilege of carrying on an exclusive trade to China to the 10th of April,
1831, with 3 years' notice; the government of India being continued in their hands for the
same period. Fortunately, however, the trade to India was opened, under certain conditions,
to the public. The principal of these conditions were, that private individuals should trade,
directly only, with the presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay, and the port of Penang;
that the vessels fitted out by them should not be under 350 tons burden and that they
should abstain, unless permitted by the Company, or the Board of Control, from engaging
in the carrying trade of India, or in the trade between India and China. And yet, in despite
of these disadvantages, such is the energy of individual enterprise as compared with mono-
poly, that the private traders gained an almost immediate ascendancy over the East India
Company, and in a very short time more than trebled our trade with India !
In the Report of the committee of the House of Lords on the foreign trade of the country,
printed in May, 1821, it is stated, that " the greatly increased consumption of British goods
in the East, since the commencement of the free trade, cannot be accounted for by the de-
mand of European residents, the number of whom does not materially vary and it appears
to have been much the greatest in articles calculated for the general use of the natives. That
of the cotton manufactures of this country alone is stated, since the first opening of the trade,
to have been augmented from four to five fold (it is now augmented from fifty to sixty fold).
The value of the merchandise exported from Great Britain to India, which amounted, in
1814, to 870,177/., amounted,* in 1819, to 3,052,741/.; and although the market appears
then to have been so far overstocked as to occasion a diminution of nearly one half in the
exports of the following year, that diminution appears to have taken place more in the arti-
cles intended for the consumption of Europeans than of natives; and the trade is now stated
to the committee, by the best informed persons, to be reviving. When the amount of popu-
lation, and the extent of the country over which the consumption of these articles is spread,
are considered, it is obvious that any facility which can, consistently with the political in-
terests and security of the Company's dominions, be given to the private trader, for the dis-
tribution of his exports, by increasing the number of ports at which he may have the option
of touching in pursuit of a market, cannot fail to promote a more ready and extensive de-
mand."
Besides the restraints imposed by the act of 1813, on the proceedings of the free traders,f
they frequently experienced very great loss and inconvenience from the commercial speculs-
tions of the East India Company. The latter have had commercial residents, with large ea-
tablishments of servants, some of them intended for coercive purposes, stationed in all the con-
siderable towns; and the Marquis Wellesley has stated, that the intimation of a wish from
the Company's resident is always received as a command by the native manufacturers and
producers." It was obviously impossible for a private trader to come fairly into competition
with persons possessing such authority, and who were often instructed to make their pur-
chases on any terms. Mr. Tucker, now deputy chairman of the Company, states, in his
useful work on Indian finance, that the Company's investments (purchases) in India during
the last 10 years may in some instances be said to have been forced; meaning by this, that
the goods exported by them from India have sometimes been compulsorily obtained from the
natives, and sometimes bought at a higher price than they would have brought in a market
frequented only by regular merchants. But the truth is, that it was not in the nature of
things that the Company's purchases could be fairly made; the natives could not deal with
their servants as they would have dealt with private individuals; and it would be absurd to
suppose that agents authorised to buy on account of government, and to draw on the public
treasury for the means of payment, should generally evince the prudence and discretion of is-
dividuals directly responsible in their own private fortunes for their transactions. The inter-
This is the amount of the Company's exports only, and the sum is not quite accurate, see post.
t These restraints were a good deal modified by the 3 Geo. 4. c. 80., passed in pursuance of the
recommendation of the committee quoted above.
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ference of such persons would, under any circumstances, have rendered the East India trade
peculiarly hazardous. But their influence in this respect was materially aggravated by the
irregularity of their appearances. No individual, not belonging to the court of directors,
could foresee whether the Company's agents would be in the market at all; or, if there, to
what extent they would either purchase or sell. So capricious were their proceedings, that
in some years they have laid out 700,000/. on indigo, while in others they have not laid out
a single shilling; and so with other things. A fluctuating demand of this sort necessarily
occasioned great and sudden variations of price, and was injurious alike to the producers and
the private merchants. Mr. Mackenzie, late secretary to the government of Bengal, set the
mischievous influence of the circumstances now alluded to in the clearest point of view, in
his masterly evidence before the select committee of 1832 on the affairs of India; and he
further showed, that it was not possible, by any sort of contrivance, to obviate the incon-
veniences complained of, and that they would unavoidably continue till the Company ceased
to have any thing to do with commerce.
But besides being injurious to the private trader, and to the public generally, both in India
and England, this trade was of no advantage to the East India Company. How, indeed,
could it be otherwise? A company that maintained armies and retailed tea, that carried a
sword in the one hand and a ledger in the other, was a contradiction; and, had she traded
with success, would have been a prodigy. It was impossible for her to pay that attention
to details that is indispensable to the carrying on of commerce with advantage. She may
have gained something by her monopoly of the tea trade, though even that is very question-
able; but it is admitted on all hands, that she has lost heavily by her trade to India.*
When, therefore, the question as to the renewal of the charter came to be discussed in 1832
and 1833, the Company had no reasonable objection to urge against their being deprived of
the privilege of trading. And the act 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 85., for continuing the charter till 1854,
has terminated the Company's commercial character; by enacting, that the Company's trade
to China is to cease on the 22d of April, 1834t, and that the Company is, as soon as possi-
ble after that date, to dispose of their stocks on hand, and close their commercial business.
We congratulate our readers on this consummation. The trade to India, China, and the
East generally, is now, for the first time, opened to free and unfettered mercantile enterprise.
What has been effected since the opening of the trade to India in 1814, notwithstanding the
many drawbacks under which it has laboured, is an earnest of what may be anticipated from
the new arrangements. We have no doubt that it will be found that the commerce between
the Eastern and Western worlds is as yet only in its infancy; and that it is destined, now
that the incubus of monopoly is wholly removed, to attain to a magnitude and importance
of which we can form no definite idea.
II. EAST INDIA COMPANY (CONSTITUTION of).
Under the new act, the functions of the East India Company are wholly political. She
is to continue to govern India, with the concurrence and under the supervision of the Board
of Control, nearly on the plan laid down in Mr. Pitt's act, till the 30th of April, 1854. All
the real and personal property belonging to the Company on the 22d of April, 1834, is vested
in the Crown, and is to be held or managed by the Company in trust for the same, subject
of course to all claims, debts, contracts, &c., already in existence, or that may hereafter be
brought into existence by competent authority. The Company's debts and liabilities are all
charged on India. The dividend, which is to continue at 10} per cent., is to be paid in
England out of the revenues of India; and provision is made for the establishment of a se-
curity fund for its discharge. The dividend may be redeemed by parliament, on payment
of 2001. for 100/. stock, any time after April, 1874; but it is provided, in the event of the
Company being deprived of the government of India in 1854, that they may claim redemp-
tion of the dividend any time thereafter upon 3 years' notice.- & 4 Will. 4. c. 85.)
Company's Stock-forms a capital of 6,000,0001., into which all persons, natives or foreigners, males
or females, bodies politic or corporate (the Governor and Company of the Bank of England only ex-
cepted). are at liberty to purchase, without limitation of amount. Since 1793, the dividends have
been 101 per cent., to which they are limited by the late act.
General Courts.-The proprietors in general court assembled are empowered to enact by-laws, and
in other respects are competent to the complete investigation, regulation, and control of every branch
of the Company's concerns; but, for the more prompt despatch of business, the executive detail is
vested in a court of directors. A general court is required to be held once in the months of March,
June, September, and December, in each year. No one can be present at a general court unless pos-
sessed of 5001. stock nor can any person vote upon the determination of any question. who has not
been in possession of 1,000L. stock for the preceding 12 months, unless such stock have been obtained
It is needless now to enter upon the controversy as to the origin of the Company's debt.-(See
former edition of this work, p. 507.) L is probable that those who contend that this debt is wholly
attributable to the Company's commercial operations, may have somewhat exaggerated their injurious
influence. But we do not think that there is any room for doubting, notwithstanding the enormous
prices charged on tea, that for these many years past, the Company's trade has been, on the whole,
productive of nothing but loss.
t For the new regulations as to the China trade, see CANTON.
3 G 2
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by bequest or marriage. Persons possessed of 1,0001. stock are empowered to give a single vote;
3,0001. are a qualification for two votes; 6,0001. for three votes; and 10,0001. and upwards for four
votes. There were 2,003 proprietors on the Company's books in 1825; of these 1,494 were qualified
to give single votes 392, two votes 69, three votes and 48, four votes. Upon any special occasion,
9 proprietors, duly qualified by the possession of 1,000L. stock, may, by a requisition in writing to the
court of directors, call a general court; which the directors are required to summon within 10 days.
or, in default, the proprietors may call such court by notice affixed upon the Royal Exchange. In all
such courts the questions are decided by a majority of voices ; in case of an equality, the determina-
tion must be by the treasurer drawing a lot. Nine proprietors may, by a requisition in writing, de-
mand a ballot upon any question, which shall not be taken within 24 hours after the breaking up of
the general court.
Court of Directors.-The court of directors is composed of 24 members, chosen from among the pro-
prietors, each of whom must be possessed of 2,0001. stock; nor can any director, after being chosen,
act longer than while he continues to hold stock. Of these, 6 are chosen on the second Wednesday
in April in each year, to serve for 4 years, in the room of 6 who have completed such service. After
an interval of 12 months, those who had gone out by rotation are eligible to be re-elected for the en-
suing 4 years. Formerly, no person who had been in the Company's civil or military service in India
was eligible to be elected a director until he had been a resident in England 2 years after quitting the
service but this condition no longer exists; and all civil or military servants of the Company in
India, supposing they are otherwise eligible, may be chosen directors immediately on their return to
England, provided they have no unsettled accounts with the Company; if so, they are ineligible for
2 years after their return, unless their accounts be sooner settled.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 85. P. 25.) The
directors choose annually, from amongst themselves, a chairman and a deputy chairman. They are
required by by-laws to meet once in every week at least but they frequently meet oftener, as occa-
sion requires. Not less than 13 can form a court. Their determinations are guided by a majority:
in case of an equality, the question must be decided by the drawing of a lot by the treasurer; upon
all questions of importance, the sense of the court is taken by ballot. The Company's officers, both
at home and abroad, receive their appointments immediately from the court; to whom they are
responsible for the due and faithful discharge of the trust reposed in them. The patronage is, never-
theless, 80 arranged, as that each member of the court separately participates therein.
Secret Committee-The principal powers of the court of directors are vested in a secret committee,
forming a sort of cabinet or privy council. All communications of a confidential or delicate nature
between the Board of Control and the Company are submitted, in the first instance at least, to the
consideration of this committee ; and the directions of the Board, as to political affairs, may be trans-
mitted direct to India, through the committee, without being seen by the other directors. The secret
committee is appointed by the court of directors, and its members are sworn to secresy.
III. EAST INDIES (STATE OF SOCIETY IN, GROWING DEMAND FOR ENGLISH Goods,
TRADE, COLONISATION, ETC.).
1. Distinction of Castes in India. Inaccuracy of the Representations as to the Inhabit-
ants being unalterably attached to ancient Customs and Practices.-We have taken occa-
sion, in the preceding sketch of the history of the East India Company, repeatedly to notice
the small extent of the trade carried on by its agency. It has been contended, however, that
this is to be ascribed, not to the deadening influence of monopoly, but to the peculiar state
of the people of India. A notion has long been prevalent in this quarter of the world, that
the Hindoos are a race unsusceptible of change or improvement of any sort; that every man
is brought up to the profession of his father, and can engage in none else; and that, owing
to the simplicity and unalterableness of their habits, they never can be consumers, at least to
any considerable extent, of foreign commodities. " What is now in India, has always been
there, and is likely still to continue."-(Robertson's Disquisition, p. 202.) The Hindoos
of this day are said to be the same as the Hindoos of the age of Alexander the Great. The
description of them given by Arrian has has been quoted as applying to their actual situa-
tion. It is affirmed that they have neither improved nor retrograded; and we are referred to
India as to a country in which the institutions and manners that prevailed 3,000 years ago
may still be found in their pristine purity The President de Goguet lays it down distinctly,
in his learned and invaluable work on the origin of laws, arts, and sciences, that in India
every trade is confined to a particular caste, and can be exercised only by those whose
parents professed it."-(Origin of Laws, &c. Eng. trans. vol. iii. p. 24.) Dr. Robertson
says, that "the station of every Hindoo is unalterably fixed; his destiny is irrevocable; and
the walk of life is marked out, from which he must never -(Disquisition on India,
p. 199.) The same opinions are maintained by later authorities. Dr. Tennant says, that
the whole Indian community is divided into 4 great classes; and each class is stationed
between certain walls of separation, which are impassable by the purest virtue, and most
conspicuous merit."-Quoted by Mr. Rickards, p. 6.) This unalterable destiny of indi-
viduals has been repeatedly assumed in the despatches and official papers put forth by the
East India Company and has been referred to on all occasions by them and their servants,
as a proof that the depressed and miserable condition of the natives is not owing to mis-
government, or to the weight of the burdens laid upon them; and that it is in vain to think
of materially improving their condition, or of making them acquainted with new arts, or
giving them new habits, so long as the institution of castes, and the prejudices to which it
has given rise, preserve their ascendancy unimpaired.
But notwithstanding the universal currency which the opinions now referred to have
obtained, and the high authority by which they are supported, they are, in all the most
essential respects, entirely without foundation The books and codes of the Hindoos them-
selves, and the minute and careful observations that have recently been made on Indian
society, have shown that the influence ascribed to the institution of castes by the ancients,
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EAST INDIES, (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
631
and by the more early modern travellers, has been prodigiously exaggerated. In the first
part of his excellent work on India, Mr. Rickards has established, partly by references to the
authoritative books of the Hindoos, and partly by his own observations, and those of Mr.
Colebrook, Dr. Heber, and other high authorities, that the vast majority of the Hindoo popu-
lation may, and, in fact, does engage in all sorts of employments. Mr. Rickards has further
shown, that there is nothing in the structure of Indian society to oppose any serious obstacle
to the introduction of new arts, or the spread of improvement; and that the causes of the
poverty and misery of the people must be sought for in other circumstances than the institu-
tion of castes, and the nature of Hindoo superstition.
The early division of the population into the 4 great classes of priests (Brahmins), soldiers
(Cshatryas), husbandmen and artificers (Vaisyas), and slaves (Sudras), was maintained
only for a very short period. The Hindoo traditions record that a partial intermixture of these
classes took place at a very remote epoch; and the mixed brood thence arising were divided
into a vast variety of new tribes, or castes, to whom, speaking generally, no employments
are forbidden.
" The employments," says Mr. Rickards, allowed to these mixed and Impure castes, may be said
to be every description of bandicraft, and occupation, for which the wants of human society have
created a demand. Though many seem to take their naines from their ordinary trade or profession,
and some have duties assigned them too low, and disgusting, for any others to perform, but from the
direst necessity yet no employment, generally speaking, is forbidden to the mixed and impure
tribes, excepting three of the prescribed duties of the sacerdotal class; viz. teaching the Vedas,
officiating at a sacrifice, and receiving presents from a pure-handed giver; which three are exclu-
sively Brahminical."
Mr. Colebrook, who is acknowledged on all hands to be one of the very highest authori-
ties, as to all that respects Indian affairs, has a paper in the fifth volume of the Asiatic Re-
searches, on the subject of castes. In this paper, Mr. Colebrook states that the Jatimala, a
Hindoo work, enumerates forty-two mixed classes springing from the intercourse of a man
of inferior class with a woman of a superior class, or in the inverse order of the classes. Now,
if we add to these the number that must have sprung from intermixture in the direct order
of the classes, and the hosts further arising from the continued intermixture of the mixed
tribes amongst themselves, we shall not certainly be disposed to dissent from Mr. Colebrook's
conclusion, " that the subdivisions of these classes have further multiplied distinctions to an
endless variety."
Mr. Colebrook has given the following distinct and accurate account of the professions
and employments of the several classes at the present day. It forms a curious commentary
on the "irrevocable destiny" of Dr. Robertson, and the "impassable walls" of Dr. Tennant.
A Brahman, unable to subsist by his duties, may live by the duty of a soldier if he cannot get a
subsistence by either of these employments, he may apply to tillage and attendance on cattle, or gain
a competence by traffic, avoiding certain commodities. A Cshatrya in distress, may subsist by all
these means; but he must not have recourse to the highest functions. In seasons of distress, a fur-
ther latitude is given. The practice of medicine, and other learned professions, painting, and other
arts, work for wages, menial service, alms, and usury, are among the modes of subsistence allowed
both to the Brahman and Cshatrya. A Vaisya, unable to subsist by his own duties, may descend to
the servile acts of a Sudra: and a Sudra, not finding employment by waiting on men of the higher
classes, may subsist by handicrafts principally following those mechanical operations, as joinery
and masonry, and practical arts, as painting and writing, by which he may serve men of superior
classes and although a man of a lower class is in general restricted from the acts of a higher class,
the Sudra is expressly permitted to become a trader, or a husbandman.
" Besides the particular occupation assigned to each of the mixed classes, they have the alterna-
tive of following that profession, which regularly belongs to the class from which they derive their
origin on the mother's side; those at least have such an option, who are born in the direct order of
the classes. The mixed classes are also permitted to subsist by any of the duties of a Sudra, that is, by
menial service, by handicrafts, by commerce. and agriculture. Hence it appears, THAT ALMOST EVERY
OCCUPATION, THOUGH REGULARLY IT BE THE PROFESSION OF A PARTICULAR CLASS, IS OPEN TO MOST
OTHER CLASSES; and that the limitations, far from being rigorous, do in fact reserve only the pecu-
liar profession of the Brahman, which consists in teaching the Veda, and officiating at religious cere-
monies."
We have thus," says Mr. Rickards, by whom this passage has been quoted, the highest exist-
ing authority for utterly rejecting the doctrine of the whole Hindoo community being divided into
four castes; and of their peculiar prerogatives being guarded inviolate by impassable walls of
separation.' It is also clear that the intermixture of castes had taken place, to an Indefinite extent,
at the time when the Dherma Sastra was composed, which Sir William Jones computes to be about
880 years B. C. for the mixed classes are specified in this work, and it also refers, in many places, to
past times, and to events which a course of time only could have brought about. The origin of the
intermixture is therefore lost in the remotest and obscurest antiquity and having been carried on
through a long course of ages, a heterogeneous mass is every where presented to us, in these latter
times. without a single example in any particular state, or kingdom, or separate portion of the Hin-
doo community, of that quadruple division of castes, which has been 80 confidently insisted upon.
1 have myself seen carpenters of five or six different castes, and as many different bricklayers
employed on the same building. The same diversity of castes may be observed among the crafts.
men in dockyards, and all other great works; and those, who have resided for any time in the prin
cipal commercial cities of India, must be sensible, that every increasing demand for labour, in all its
different branches and varieties of old and new arts, has been speedily and effectually supplied, in
spite of the tremendous institution of castes; which we are taught to believe forms so impassable ar
obstruction to the advancement of Indian industry."
2. Growing Demand for English Goods.-It is difficult to suppose that the directors of
the East India Company should not have been early aware of the fallacy of the opinions as
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EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
to the fixedness of Indian habits. So far, however, as we know, they have not, in this in-
stance, evinced any acquaintance with the discoveries of their servants. On the contrary, in
all the discussions that took place with respect to the opening of the trade in 1814, the Com-
pany invariably contended that no increase of trade to India could be expected. In a letter
of the chairman and deputy chairman to the Right Honourable Robert Dundas, dated 13th
of January, 1809, it is stated, that the small demand for foreign commodities in India "re-
sults from the nature of the Indian people, their climate, and their usages. The articles of
first necessity their own country furnishes more abundantly and more cheaply than it is
possible for Europe to supply them. The labour of the great body of the common people
only enables them to subsist on rice, and to wear a slight covering of cotton cloth; they,
therefore, can purchase none of the superfluities we offer them. The comparatively few, in
better circumstances, restricted, like the rest, by numerous religious and civil customs, of
which all are remarkably tenacious, find few of our commodities to their taste; and their
climate, so disimilar to ours, renders many of them unsuitable to their use; so that a com-
merce between them and us cannot proceed far upon the principle of supplying mutual wants.
Hence, except woollens, in a very limited degree, for mantles in the cold season, and metals,
on a scale also very limited, to be worked up by their own artisans for the few utensils they
need, hardly any of our staple commodities find a vent among the Indians; the other exports
which Europe sends to India being chiefly consumed by the European population there, and
some of the descendants of the early Portuguese settlers, all of whom, taken collectively, form
but a small body, in view to any question of national commerce."-(Papers published by
authority of the East India Company, 1813, p. 21.)
The volume from which we have made this extract contains a variety of passages to the
same effect. So confident, indeed, were the Company that they had carried the trade to
India to the utmost extent of which it was capable, that it is expressly stated, in resolutions
passed in a general court held at the India House, on the 26th of January, 1813, that no
large or sudden addition can be made to the amount of British exports to India or China;"
that the Company had suffered a loss in attempting to extend this branch of their trade;
that the warehouses at home were glutted with Indian commodities for which there was no
demand; and that to open the outports to the trade would be no other than "a ruinous
transfer of it into new channels, to the destruction of immense and costly establishments, and
the beggary of many thousands of industrious individuals."
Luckily, however, these representations were unable to prevent the opening of the trade,
and the result has sufficiently demonstrated their fallacy. The enterprise and exertion of
individuals has vastly increased our exports to India-to that very country which the Com-
pany had so confidently pronounced was, and would necessarily continue to be, incapable
of affording any additional outlet for our peculiar products
The commercial accounts for 1812 and 1813 were unfortunately destroyed by the fire at
the Custom-house. The trade to India was opened on the 10th of April, 1814; and in
that year the declared or, real value of the products exported from Great Britain to the coun-
tries eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, excepting China, by the East India Company,
was 826,558/., and by the private traders, 1,048,132/. In 1817, the Company's exports had
declined to 638,382/., while those of the private traders had increased to 2,750,333/.; and
in 1828, the former had sunk to only 488,6017., while the latter had increased to 3,979,072L
being more than double the total exports to India, as well by the Company as by private
traders, in 1814!
The Company have stated, and no doubt truly, that they have lost a very large sum in
attempting to extend the demand for British woollens in India and China, which, notwith-
standing, continues very limited. But in-their efforts to force the sale of woollens, they
seem to have entirely forgotten that we had attained to great excellency in the manufacture
of cotton stuffs, the article principally made use of as clothing in Hindostan and that, not-
withstanding the cheapness of labour in India, the advantage we derived from our superior
machinery might enable us to offer cotton stuffs to the natives at a lower price than they
could afford to manufacture them for. No sooner, however, had the trade been opened to
private adventurers, than this channel of enterprise was explored; and the result has been,
that, instead of bringing cottons from India to England, the former has become one of the
best and most extensive markets for the cottons of the latter. We question, indeed, whether,
in the whole history of commerce, another equally striking example can be produced of the
powerful influence of competition in opening new and almost boundless fields for the suc-
cessful prosecution of commercial enterprise.
In 1814, the first year of the free trade to India, the exports of cotton amounted to
817,000 yards, of which only about 170,000 yards, valued at 17,778L, were exported by
the Company ! The progress of the trade will be seen in the following statement:-
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Account specifying the Quantities of the printed and plain Cotton Stuffs, the declared Value of all
Sorts of manufactured Cotton Goods, the Quantity of Cotton Twist or Yarn, and the declared
Year from 1814.
Value of the same, exported from the United Kingdom, to all Parts of the East, except China, each
Cotton Manufactures.
Cotton Twist.
Years.
Printed.
Plain.
Declared Value.
Twist.
Declared Value.
Yards.
Yards.
L.
Lbs.
L.
1814
604,800
213,408
109,480
8
7
1815
866,077
489,399
142,410
1816
991,147
714,611
160,534
624
190
1817
2,848,705
2,468,024
422,814
2,704
505
1818
2,227,665
4,614,381
700,892
1,861
455
1819
3,713,601
3,414,060
461,268
971
138
1820
7,509,000
6,484,256
834,118
224
24
1821
9,715,374
9,423,352
1,084,440
5,865
805
1822
9,029,204
11,712,639
1,145,057
22,200
2,335
1823
9,431,700
13,047,717
1,128,468
121,500
16,993
1824
9,611,880
14,858,515
1,113,477
105,350
13,041
1825
8,826,715
14,201,496
1,036,871
233,360
35,345
1826
9,750,076
15,248,781
994,019
918,587
100,804
1827
14,264,794
27,295,286
1,614,517
3,063,668
274,002
1828
12,410,220
30,411,857
1,621,560
4,558,185
388,888
1829
11,215,743
32,893,931
1,453,404
2,927,476
200,552
1830
13,595,074
43,481,156
1,760,552
4,689,570
324,955
1831
14,569,583
35,012,953
1,419,995
6,541,853
483,762
1832
18,291,650
39,276,511
1,531,393
4,295,427
309,719
The East India Company contributed nothing whatever to this extraordinary increase of the cot-
ton trade their exports not having been so large in any one year as in 1814, when they only amounted
to the inconsiderable sum already mentioned.
The demand for several other articles of British manufacture has recently increased,
though not in the same unprecedented manner as cotton, with considerable rapidity. Not-
withstanding all that has been said as to the immutability of Hindoo habits, the fact is not to
be denied, that a taste for European products and customs is rapidly spreading itself over
India. And the fair presumption is, that it will continue to gain ground according as edu-
cation is more diffused, and as the natives become better acquainted with our language, arts,
and habits. The authenticity of Dr. Heber's statements cannot be called in question and
there are many passages in different parts of his Journal that might be quoted in corrobora-
tion of what has now been stated. Our limits, however, will only permit us to make a very
few extracts.
" Nor have the religious prejudices, and the unchangeableness of the Hindoo habits, been less
exaggerated. Some of the best informed of their nation, with whom I have conversed, assure me,
that half their most remarkable customs of civil and domestic life are borrowed from their Moham-
medan conquerors; and at present there is an obvious and increasing disposition to imitate the English
in every thing, which has already led to very remarkable changes, and will, probably, to still more
important. The wealthy natives now all affect to have their houses decorated with Corinthian pil-
lars, and filled with English furniture they drive the best horses and the most dashing carriages in
Calcutta many of them speak English fluently, and are tolerably read in English literature: and
the children of one of our friends I saw one day dressed in jackets and trowsers, with round hats,
shoes, and stockings. In the Bengulee newspapers, of which there are two or three, politics are can-
vassed with a bias, as 1 am told, inclined to Whiggism; and one of their leading men gave a great
dinner, not long since, in honour of the Spanish revolution: among the lower orders the same feel-
ing shows itself more beneficially in a growing neglect of caste. (Vol. ii. p. 306.)
" To say that the Hindoos or Mussulmans are deficient in any essential feature of a civilised peo-
ple, is an assertion which I can scarcely suppose to he made by any who have lived with them; their
manners are at least as pleasing and courteous as those in the corresponding stations of life among
ourselves; their houses are larger, and, according to their wants and climate, to the full as conveni-
ent as ours; their architecture in at least as elegant; nor is it true that in the mechanic arts they are
inferior to the general run of European nations. Where they fall short of us, (which is chiefly in
agricultural implements, and the mechanics of common life,) they are not, so far as I have under-
stood of Italy and the south of France, surpassed in any degree by the people of those countries.
Their goldsmiths and weavers produce as beautiful fabrics as our own; and it is 80 far from true
that they are obstinately wedded to their old patterns, that they show an anxiety to imitate our
models, and do imitate them very successfully. The ships built by native artists at Bombay are no-
toriously as good as any which sail from London or Liverpool. The carriages and gigs which they
supply at Calcutta are as handsome, though not as durable, as those of Long Acre. In the little
town of Monghyr, 300 miles from Calcutta, I had pistols, double-barrelled guns, and different pieces
of cabinet work, brought down to my boat for sale, which in outward form (for 1 know no further)
nobody but perhaps Mr. could detect to be of Hindoo origin; and at Delhi, in the shop of a
wealthy native jeweller, I found brooches, ear-rings, snuff-boxes, &c. of the latest models (so far as
I am a judge), and ornamented with French devices and mottos. ii. p. 382.)
As Bishop Heber penetrated into the interior of India, he found the same taste as in Cal-
cutta, for European articles and for luxuries, to prevail every where among the natives. Of
Benares, he writes as follows :-
44 But what surprised me still more, as I penetrated further into it, were the large, lofty, and hand-
some dwelling-bouses, the beauty and apparent richness of the goods exposed in the bazaars, and
the evident hum of business. Benares is in fact a very industrious and wealthy, as well as a very
holy city. It is the great mart where the shawls of the north, the diamonds of the south, and the
muslins of Dacca and the eastern provinces centre and it has very considerable silk, cotton, and
Including lace, hosiery, and small wares.
80
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EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
fine woollen manufactories of its own ; while English hardware, swords, shields, and spears, from
Lucknow and Monghyr, and those European luxuries and elegancies which are daily becoming more po-
pular in India, circulate from bence through Bundlecund, Gorruckpoor, Nepaul, and other tracts
which are removed from the main artery of the Ganges."-(Vol. i. p. 289.)
Proceeding still further into the interior of the country, and when at Nusseerabad, distant
above 1,000 miles from Calcutta, the bishop continues his Journal in the same strain; viz.
" European articles are, at Nusseerabad,* as might be expected, very dear the shops are kept bya
Greek and two Parsees from Bombay they had in their list all the usual items of a Calcutta ware-
house. English cotton cloths, both white and printed, are to be met with commonly in wear among
the people of the country, and may, 1 learned to my surprise, be bought best and cheapest, as well as
all kinds of hardware, crockery, writing-desks, &c., at Palle, a large town and celebrated mart in
Marwar, on the edge of the desert, several days' journey west of Joudpoor, where, till very lately,
no European was known to have penetrated."-( ii. p. 36.)
As to the character of the Hindoos, their capacity, and even anxious desire for improve-
ment, the bishop's testimony is equally clear and decided and as this is a point of pre-emi-
nent importance, the reader's attention is requested to the following statements :-
In the schools which have been lately established in this part of the empire, of which there are
at present 9 established by the Church Missionary, and 11 by the Christian Knowledge Societies,
some very unexpected facts have occurred. As all direct attempts to convert the children are dis-
claimed, the parents send them without scruple. But it is no less strange than true, that there is no
objection made to the use of the Old and New Testament as a class-book ; that so long as the
teachers do not urge them to eat what will make them lose their caste, or to be baptised, or to curse
their country's gods, they readily consent to every thing else: and not only Mussulmans, but Brab-
mins, stand by with perfect coolness, and listen sometimes with apparent interest and pleasure,
while the scholars, by the road side, are reading the stories of the creation and of Jesus Christ."-
(Vol. ii. p. 290.)
Hearing all I had heard of the prejudices of the Hindoos and Mussulmans, I certainly did not at
all expect to find that the common people would, not only without objection, but with the greatest
thankfulness, send their children to schools on Bell's system and they seem to be fully sensible of
the advantages conferred by writing, arithmetic, and, above all, by a knowledge of English. There
are now in Calcutta, and the surrounding villages, 20 boys' schools, containing 60 to 120 each; and
23 girls', each of 25 or 30."--(Vol. ii. p. 300.)
In the same holy city (Benares) I visited another college, founded lately by a wealthy Hindoo
banker, and intrusted by him to the management of the Church Missionary Society, in which, be-
sides a grammatical knowledge of the Hindoostanee language, as well as Persian and Arabic, the
senior boys could pass a good examination in English grammar, in Hume's History of England.
Joyce's Scientific Dialogues, the use of the globes, and the principal facts and moral precepts of the
Gospel ; most of them writing beautifully in the Persian, and very tolerably in the English charac-
ter, and excelling most boys I have met with in the accuracy and readiness of their arithmetic."-
(Vol. ii. p. 388.)
"The different nations which I have seen in India, (for it is a great mistake to suppose that all
India is peopled by a single race, or that there is not as great a disparity between the inhabitants of
Guzerat, Bengal, the Dooab, and the Deccan. both in language, manners, and physiognomy, as be-
tween any four nations in Europe,) have, of course, in a greater or less degree, the vices which must
be expected to attend on arbitrary government, a demoralising and absurd religion, and (in all the
independent states, and in some of the districts which are partially subject to the British) a laxity of
law, and an almost universal prevalence of intestine feuds and habits of plunder. The general chs-
racter, however, has much which is extremely pleasing to me ; they are brave, courteous, intelligent,
and most enger after knowledge and improvement, with a remarkable talent for the sciences of
geometry, astronomy, &c., as well as for the arts of painting and sculpture. In all these points they
have had great difficulties to struggle with, both from the want of models, instruments, and element-
ary instruction the indisposition, or rather the horror, entertained, till lately, by many among their
European masters, for giving them instruction of any kind and now from the real difficulty which
exists of translating works of science into languages which have no corresponding terms."-(Vol.ii.
p. 409.)
Even if our space permitted, it would be unnecessary to add to these extracts. The facts
and circumstances now mentioned, must, we think, satisfy every one that there is nothing in
the nature of Indian society, in the institution of castes as at present existing, or in the habits
and customs of the natives, to hinder them from advancing in the career of civilisation, com-
merce, and wealth. It may safely be asserted," says Mr. Hamilton, " that with 60 vast an
extent of fertile soil, peopled by 80 many millions of tractable and industrious inhabitants,
Hindostan is capable of supplying the whole world with any species of tropical merchandise;
the production, in fact, being only limited by the demand."
3. Trade with India.-The principal obstacle in the way of extending the commerce with
India does not consist in any indisposition on the part of the natives to purchase our com-
modities, but in the difficulty under which they are placed of furnishing equivalents for them.
This, however, is rather a factitious than a real difficulty. It results more from the discrimi-
nating duties laid on several articles of Indian produce, than from their being, in any respect,
unsuitable for our markets. Instead of admitting all the articles raised in the different de-
pendencies of the empire for home consumption on the same terms, we have been accustomed
to give a marked preference to those raised in the West Indies. We confess, however, that
we are wholly unable to discover any grounds on which to vindicate such preference. The
protection which every just government is bound to afford to all classes of its subjects, cannot
vary with the varying degrees of latitude and longitude under which they happen to live.
And as no one denies that the inhabitants of Bengal are, as well as those of Demerara or
Jamaica, liege subjects of the British crown, it does seem quite at variance with every fair
Nusseerabad, near Ajmere, in the heart of the Rajepoot country.
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EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
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principle, to treat them worse than the West Indians, by imposing higher duties on their pro-
duce when brought to our markets.
The following Tables give a comprehensive view of the trade with India since the relaxa-
tion of the monopoly in 1814, and particularly during the 3 years ending with 1832 :-
An Account of the Value of the Imports and Exports between Great Britain and all the Places
Eastward of the Cape of Good Hope (excepting China); distinguishing the Private Trade from
that of the East India Company, in each Year, from 1814 to the latest Period to which the same can
be made up.
Value of Imports into Great Britain, from all Places
Eastward of the Cape of Good Hope (except China),
Value of Exports from Great Britain to all Places East-
according to the Prices at the East India Company's
ward of the Cape of Good Hope (except China), ac-
Years.
Sales in the respective Years.
cording to the Declarations of the Exporters.
By the East
Private Trade.
By the East
India Company.
Total Imports.
India Company.
Private Trade.
Total Exports.
£
£
£
£
£
£
1814
4,208,079
4,435,196
8,643,275
826,558
1,048,132
1,874,690
1815
3,016,556
5,119,611
8,136,167
996,218
1,569,513
2,565,761
1816
2,027,703
4,402,082
6,429,785
633,546
1,955,909
2,589,455
1817
2,323,630
4,541,956
6,865,586
638,382
2,750,333
3,388,715
1818
2,305,003
6,901,144
9,206,147
553,385
3,018,779
3,572,164
1819
1,932,401
4,683,367
6,615,768
760,508
1,586,575
2,347,083
1820
1,757,137
4,201,389
5,958,526
971,096
2,066,815
3,037,911
1821
1,743,733
3,031,413
4,775,146
887,619
2,656,776
3,544,395
1822
1,092,329
2,621,334
3,713,663
606,089
2,838,354
3,444,443
1823
1,587,078
4,344,973
5,932,051
458,550
2,957,705
3,416,255
1824
1,194,753
4,410,347
5,605,100
654,783
2,841,795
3,496,578
1825
1,462,692
4,716,083
6,178,775
598,553
2,574,660
3,173,213
1826
1,520,060
5,210,866
6,730,926
990,964
2,480,588
3,471,552
1827
1,612,480
4,068,537
5,681,017
805,610
3,830,580
4,636,190
1828
1,930,107
5,135,073
7,065,180
488,601
3,979,072
4,467,673
1829
1,593,442
4,624,842
6,218,284
434,586
3,665,678
4,100,264
1830
1,593,566
4,085,505
5,679,071
195,394
3,891,917
4,087,311
1831
1,434,372
4,295,438
5,729,810
146,480
3,488,571
3,635,051
1832
1,107,787
5,229,311
6,337,098
149,193
3,601,093
3,750,286
An Account of the Imports into Great Britain from all Places Eastward of the Cape of Good Hope
(excepting China), distinguishing between those made by the East India Company and those made
by private Traders during the Three Years ending with 1832.-(From Parl. Paper, No. 425. Sess.
1833.)
1830.
1831.
1832.
Articles.
East
Private
East
East
India
Total.
India
Private
Total.
India
Private
Total.
Company.
Trade.
Company.
Trade.
Company.
Trade.
Aloee
lbs.
51,065
51,085
20,305
20,305
31,684
81,684
Asafoctida
-
8,722
8,722
892
892
13,731
13,731
Benjamin
-
27,428
27,428
83,879
83,579
92,193
92,493
Borax
-
172,642
172,642
188,241
188,241
150.795
168,995
Camphire, unrefined
-
273,682
273,682
106,979
106,979
208,734
208,734
Canes, vis. rattans (not
ground)
numb.
2,414,562
2,414,562
3,908,423
3,908,423
3,922,355
3,922,365
Cotiee
lbs.
7,026,799
7,025,799
7,656,386
7,656,886
10,407,837
10,407,837
Cotton piece goods, white
calicoes and muslins, pcs.
171,223
171,223
1,467
15,900
17,367
79,080
79,090
Cotton piece goods, dyed
cotton & grass cloths, pcs.
47,538
205,025
252,563
32,107
136,731
168,838
11,126
216,100
227,226
Nanquin cloths
-
573,581
673,381
854,671
854,671
195,507
195,807
Cardamoms
lbs.
41,035
41,035
72,800
72,800
67,218
67,218
Cassia buds
86,758
86,758
171,720
171,720
76,173
75,173
Cassia lignea
-
831,296
881,296
392,789
392,789
996,368
995,368
Cinnamon
-
449,656
449,656
222,991
222,991
25,738
25,738
Cloves
-
3,198
3,198
124,607
124,607
224,644
224,644
Cotton wool
-
620,333
11,892,556
12,512,589
446,930
25,366,643
25,813,573
2,586,416
32,633,009
35,219,604
Dye and hard 2 abony, tons
1,301
1,301
III
111
70
70
woods, viz s red sanders,
14
14
66
65
149
149
Elephants' teeth
cwt.
1,602
1,609
2,173
2,173
1,010
1,010
Galls
-
1,561
1,561
1,081
1,031
867
867
Ginger
-
35
1,234
1,269
850
850
2,509
2,609
Gum, animi and copal, lbs.
55,651
55,651
190,274
190,274
166,290
155,290
Arabic
CWL
1,962
1,962
2,489
2,489
2,693
2,698
Lac dye, lac lake, and cake
lac
lbs.
486,269
495,969
753,252
753.252
459,379
459,379
Shell lac and seed lac
-
649,636
649,636
1,146,128
1,146,128
1,070,261
1,070,261
Stick lac
-
37,596
37,595
149,144
149,144
319,373
319,873
Hemp
cwt.
14,130
14,130
11,735
11,736
61,940
64,940
Nutnings
lbs.
45,059
45,059
110,039
110,039
223,426
223,420
Oil, castor
-
441,275
441,275
343,373
343,373
257,387
257,387
Cocus nut
cwt.
6,484
6,484
3,535
3,535
10,660
10,660
of mace & nutmegs, lbs. oz.
486,15
466,15
661,14
651.14
264.10
264,10
Ol-banum
cwt.
4,181
4,181
761
761
3,306
3,306
Pepper, of all sorts
lbs.
2,742,924
2,742,224
1,079,464
5,057,776
6,129,240
4,630,475
4,630,475
Hides, untanned
CWL
5,104
5,104
3,376
3,376
10,739
10,739
Indigo
lbs.
2,154,341
5,772,516
7,926,857
1,781,978
5,923,268
7,005,246
1,731,898
4,479.997
6,211,895
Mace
12,962
12,963
40,921
40,921
72,022
72,022
Madder root
cwt.
992
992
2,571
2,571
334
384
Mother o' pearl shells, rh.lbs.
465,591
465,591
510,492
510,492
721,527
721,527
Musk
OF.
8,390
3,320
3,447
3,447
8,129
8,129
Rhubarb
lbs.
157,211
157,211
138,462
138,462
115,237
115,237
Rice, not in the husk,
cwt.
125,497
125,487
133,887
133,887
171,560
171,560
in the busk
bush.
21,948
21,948
38,563
33,553
19,744
19,744
Safflower
cwt.
2,170
2,170
2,436
2,436
5,558
5,556
Sago
2,661
2,661
2,253
2,253
3,377
3,377
Saltpetre
-
44,928
98,774
143,702
28,818
141,904
170,722
49,512
180,028
229,538
Senna
lbs.
176,598
176,593
200,990
200,990
464,917
464,917
Silk, raw, waste, & flow,
-
1,020,963
715,288
1,736,231
1,088,973
686,677
1,725,650
727,175
1,087,644
1,814,819
Digitized by
Google
636
EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
Imports-continued.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Articles.
East
Private
East
East
India
Total.
India
Private
Total.
India
Priva's
Trade.
Total.
Company.
Company.
Trade.
Company.
Trade.
Silk, manufactured, Viz
Bandana
handkerchiefs
and romals
pieces
68,534
65,752
124,276
62,997
121,401
184,398
63,547
148,340
211,887
Crape, in pieces
-
513
613
932
932
Crape shawls, scarf, and
gown-pieces and hand-
aerchiefs
numb.
23,711
23,711
17,740
17,740
11,469
11,469
Taffaties, and other silks,
in pieces
pieces
6,173
2,356
8,529
4,282
8,086
7,368
2,206
2,319
4,55
Soap
cwt.
11
11
I
I
Spirits, viz. arrack, imp.gall.
41,419
41,419
7,911
7,911
20,591
90,591
Sugar, unrefined
CWL
118,358
660,729
779,087
102,476
647,972
750,448
56,060
647,077
703,137
Tin
14,574
14,574
5,472
5,472
26,642
25,042
Tortoiseshell, rough
lbs.
32,199
32,189
30,902
30,902
39,004
39,004
Turmeric
-
1,867,764
1,867,764
1,292,028
1,292,026
1,004,045
1,004,045
Vermilion
10,923
10,923
1,926
1,926
Other articles
value L
2,815
206,020
208,835
2,181
201,279
203,460
205,719
208,719
Total Value of Imports, L.
1,598,588,
4,085,505
5,679,071
1,434,372
4,295,438
5,729,810
1,107,787
5,229 311
6,337,199
An Account of the Quantities and declared Values of the various Articles exported from Great Bri-
tain to all Places Eastward of the Cape of Good Hope (except China), distinguishing between
those made by the East India Company, and those made by private Traders, during the Three
Years ending with 1832.-(From the Parl. Paper, No. 425. Sess. 1833.)
1830.
1831.
1832.
Articles.
East
India
Private
East
Private
East
Total.
Trade.
India
Total.
India
Private
Total.
Comp.
Comp.
Trade.
Comp.
Trade.
Apothecary wares
Declared value L.
10,588
9,642
20,230
6,582
6,169
12,751
6,967
9,778
16,745
Apparel
4,352
28,224
32,576
1,895
27,362
29,257
9,271
23,477
32,748
Beer and ale
tuns
3,473
3,473
26
3,144
3,170
4,737
4,737
Declared value L.
71,364
71,364
390
60,405
60,795
87,606
87,606
Books, printed
cwt.
40
703
743
6
823
829
13
1,032
1,045
Declared value L.
1,143
19,504
20,647
259
23,016
23,275
237
27,189
27,426
Brass
cwt.
10
232
242
5
164
169
45
124
169
Declared value L.
90
2,145
2,235
40
1,244
1,284
393
1,005
1,395
Cabinet and upholstery wares
Declared value L.
3,525
3,525
2,019
2,019
47
3,098
3,145
Carriages
number
133
133
137
137
80
80
Declared value L.
11,835
11,835
9,382
9,382
5,430
5,430
Coals
tons
1,877
2,166
4,043
2,013
3,043
5,056
1,926
4,547
6,473
Declared value L.
2,538
1,053
3,591
2,314
2,555
4,869
1,870
3,598
5,708
Cochineal
lbs.
44,329
44,329
34,676
34,676
29,588
29,588
Declared value L.
21,056
21,056
13,870
13,870
11,095
11,095
Colours for painters
Declared value L.
679
14,434
15,113
891
8,573
9,464
1,150
11,961
13,100
Copper, unwrought, in bricks and
pigs
cwt.
46,807
46,807
49,359
49,359
2,639
43,710
46,349
Declared value L.
200,050
200,050
204,936
204,936
11,180
178,036
189,216
wrought, of all sorts, cwt.
1,028
43,156
44,214
714
35,216
35,930
243
40,548
40,791
Declared value L.
5,058
195,098
200,156
3,500
153,534
157,034
1,232
173,576
175,108
Cordage
cwt.
441
911
1,352
1,405
1,595
3,000
285
6,751
6,035
Declared value L.
1,101
2,187
3,288
3,270
3,645
6,915
602
10,524
11,126
Cotton manufactures (British)
Calicoes, &c., white or plain
yards
7,500
37,555,687
37,563,187
10,410
28,639,567
28,649,977
6,414
34,077,810
34,084,274
Declared value L
240
1,008,865
1,009,105
320
726,386
726,706
268
818,921
819,189
Ditto, printed, checked, stained,
or dyed
yards
2,600
13,426,203
13,428,803
890
13,971,220
13,972,110
17,907,088
17,907,088
Declared value L.
160
535,951
536,111
71
471,617
471,688
531,654
531,654
Muslins, &c., white or plain,
yards
5,917,969
5,917,969
6,362,976
6,362,976
5,192,257
5,192,257
Declared value L.
185,940
185,940
179,652
179,652
143,140
143,140
Ditto, printed, checked, stained,
or dyed
yards
166,271
166,271
597,473
597,473
384,562
$84,562
Declared value L.
7,562
7,562
22,579
22,579
14,168
14,168
Hosiery, and small wares
Declared value L.
149
21,685
21,835
90
19,280
19,370
23,242
23,342
Aggregate value of British cot.
ton manufactures
Declared value L.
549
1,760,003
1,760,552
481
1,419,514
1,419,995
268
1,531,125
1,531,393
Cotton twist and yarn
lbs.
38
4,689,532
4,689,570
6,541,858
6,541,853
169
4,295,258
4,295,427
Declared value L.
1
324,954
324,955
483,762
483,762
12
309,719
309,734
Cotton manufactures (foreign)
square yards
2,885
2,885
7,806
7,806
value L.
114
114
I
I
991
991
Declared value L.
258
258
327
327
991
991
Earthenware of all sorts pieces
42,000
1,245,800
1,287,800
27,000
1,253,525
1,280,525
6,900
2,097,339
2,091,200
Declared value L.
429
20,072
20,501
312
17,209
17,521
82
27,004
27,086
Glass
Declared value L.
1,746
102,870
104,616
2,354
100,069
102,423
1,060
100,067
101,147
Guns and pistols
number
2,300
1,400
3,700
1,420
478
1,898
820
8,219
9,099
Declared value L.
4,284
5,100
9,384
1,583
3,640
5,223
1,416
11,957
12,673
Haberdashery and millinery
Declared value L.
112
25,367
25,479
20
20,862
20,882
16
29,543
29,509
Hardwares and cutlery
Declared value L.
9,030
72,013
81,043
10,352
50,690
61,042
11,264
71,025
52,583
Hats of all sorts
dozens
1,222
2,232
3,454
980
2,014
2,994
1,001
2,791
3,792
Declared value L.
1,847
13,540
15,387
1,471
9,376
10,847
1,604
12,760
14,384
Iron, bar and bolt
tons
43
12,290
12,333
83
11,765
11,848
30
17,400
17,430
Declared value L.
376
86,938
87,314
980
79,258
80,238
272
103,765
104,057
cast and wrought
cwt.
5,980
69,616
75,596
10,402
75,987
86,389
2,495
58,854
61,349
Declared value L.
7,341
50,231
57,572
12,624
50,628
63,252
2,740
37,916
40,5%
Lace and thread of gold and sil-
ver
lbs.
163
557
720
96
212
30%
187
474
61
Declared value L.
1,455
4,661
6,116
786
1,677
2,463
1,465
2,944
4,400
Lead and shot
tons
34
1,226
1,260
52
1,280
1,332
61
1,565
185
Declared value L.
487
16,507
16,994
719
16,432
17,151
827
18,986
E
Leather and saddlery
Doclared value L.
1,345
29,051
30,396
3,671
18,367
22,038
1,505
22,709
24,574
Digitized by
Google
EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
637
Exports.-continued.
1830.
1831.
1832.
Articles.
East
East
Private
Private
East
Private
India
Total.
India
Trade.
Trade.
Total.
India
Total.
Comp.
Comp.
Trade.
Comp.
Linen manufactures
Declared value L.
2,077
21,211
23,288
1,611
23,724
25,335
5,341
43,715
49,056
Machinery and mill-work
Declared value L..
7,384
21,105
28,489
3,092
10,340
13,432
3,651
11,523
15,174
Military stores not otherwise
described
Declared value L.
5,983
494
6,387
1,081
221
1,302
128
115
243
Musical instruments
Declared value L.
294
12,060
12,354
240
8,954
9,194
252
7,085
7,337
Opium
lbs.
21,890
21,890
5,483
5,483
Declared value L.
16,418
16,418
4,524
4,524
Ordnance, of brass and iron tons
223
116
339
224
5
229
34
23
57
Declared value L.
8,140
730
8,870
3,256
140
3,426
816
130
946
Plate, plated ware, jewellery and
watches
Declared value L.
10,025
44,370
54,395
2,333
38,208
40,541
33,778
33,778
Provisions,
Declared value L.
7,889
21,347
29,236
7,931
16,151
24,082
10,992
21,454
32,446
Quicksilver
lbs.
153,948
153,948
95,702
95,702
36,743
36,743
Declared value L.
14,112
14,112
8,972
8,972
3,521
3,521
Silk manufactures
Declared value L.
9,873
9,873
1,083
8,015
9,098
45
25,159
25.204
Soap and candles
ewt.
619
S66
1,485
405
830
1,235
2
1,344
1,346
Declared value L.
1,845
3,899
6,734
1,318
3,657
4,975
4
5,207
5,211
Spelter, foreign
ewt.
62,376
62,376
49,964
49,964
37,499
37,499
Declared value L.
32,747
32,747
27,480
27,480
21,093
21,093
Spirits, British
gallons
3,632
3,632
6,001
6,001
6,289
6,289
Declared value L.
1,780
1,780
2,121
2,121
2,362
2,362
Spirits, foreign
gallons
99,453
99,453
128,174
128,174
208,581
208,581
Declared value L.
12,072
12,072
19,310
19,310
32,032
32,032
Stationery,
Declared value L.
13,175
33,064
46,239
20,663
27,298
47,961
23,924
26,252
50,176
Steel, unwrought
cwt.
10,881
10,881
21,651
21,651
20
14,446
14,466
Declared value L.
11,153
11,153
24,439
24,439
40
15,106
16,146
Sugar, refined
cwt.
44
853
897
763
763
31
778
809
Declared value L.
89
1,890
1,979
1,792
1,792
57
1,951
2,008
Swords
number
1,700
90
1,790
750
161
911
1,150
90
1,240
Declared value L.
1,635
140
1,775
484
139
623
1,052
101
1,153
Tin, unwrought
cwt.
5
5
41
41
6
129
135
Declared value L.
15
15
165
165
20
495
515
Tin and pewter wares, and tin
plates,
Declared value L.
731
10,138
10,869
704
8,558
9,262
573
6,822
7,395
Wines
Imp. gallons
1,332
239,259
240,591
116
205,777
205,893
900
338,535
339,435
Declared value L.
459
104,945
105,404
51
92,530
92,581
308
149,949
150,257
Woollen manufactures (British)
Cloths of all sorts
pieces
6,029
47,719
53,748
2,959
51,7121
54,6713
3,507
30,186
33,693
Declared value L.
60,563
211,171
271,734
31,470
195,136
226,606
34,108
141,365
175,473
Stuffs, viz. camlets, serges, &c.
pieces
94
20,148
20,242
251
14,767
15,018
56
18,909
18,965
Declared value L.
302
49,129
49,431
352
40,757
41,109
84
42,801
42,885
Other woollens, Declared val. L.
4,127
19,106
23,233
2,226
11,497
13,723
3,609
15,542
19,151
Aggregate value of British wool-
lens,
Declared value L.
64,992
279,406
344,398
34,048
247,390
281,438
37,801
199,708
237,509
Woollen manufactures (foreign)
pieces
2
2
372
372
483
483
value L
40
40
404
404
400
400
Declared value L.
58
68
3,566
3,566
4,505
4,505
All other articles
16,215
147,218
163,433
14,661
122,656
137,317
8,709
162,236
170,945
Total value of exports
L.
195,394
3,891,917
4,087,311
146,480
3,488,571
3,635,051
149,193
3,661,093
3,750,286
The preference in favour of West Indian commodities was within these 5 years much
greater than at present; but the following statement shows that it is still very considerable:-
An Account of Articles imported from British Possessions East of the Cape of Good Hope, on which
a higher Customs Duty is charged on Import into the United Kingdom, than is charged on the same
Articles imported from British Possessions in any other Parts of the World: showing, in Three
parallel Columns, the Different Rates and the Excess of Duty on each Article; also, the Amount
of Duty levied on each of these Articles in the Year 1832, and the Quantity on which the same
was levied.
Rates of Duty charged.
Quantity charged with Duty
Amount of Duty received
in the Year 1832.
in the Year 1832.
On Importa-
tions from
Excess of
Imported
Imported
On Import-
On Import-
Brit. Posses-
Duty charged
from British
from other
ations from Bri-
ations from
Articles.
sione within the
On Importations
on Import-
Possessions
British Posses-
fish Posses-
other British
Limits of the
from other
ations within
within the
sions, and
Possessions,
sions within
E. 1. Co.'s
British possessions.
the limits
Limits of the
charged with
the Limits of
and charged
of the E. L
with a lower
Charter. ex.
E. I Co.'s
a lower rate
the Company's
Rate of
cept the
Co.'s Charter.
Charter.
of Duty.
Charter.
Mauritius.
Duty.
6d. per lb., if the pro-
Coffee
{
duce of and imported
Lbs.
Lbs.
L 2. d.
L. 8. d.
9d. lb.
from the Mauritius
3d. per lb.
1,953,744
90,996,837
73,227 18 0
524,920 18 6
or any British pos-
session in America
Cut. QT. 13.
Cut. or. 1b.
Sugar
32s. per cwt.
24s. per cwt., if do.
8a. per cwt.
79,608 8 6
4,355,814 2 21
127,373
13
6
5,226,977
12
6
Spirl's
15e. per gal.
9a. per gal.
6e. per gl.
$ 513,250 gal.
1,580,962 10 0
Tobacco
3a. per 1b.
2c. 9d. per lb.
3d. per lb.
Under the new regulations as to residence in India (see post), Englishmen will be allowed
to employ themselves in the raising of sugar, as they have hitherto been allowed to employ
themselves in the raising of indigo; but, unless the duty be equalised, this concession will be
of little importance, at least in so far as respects sugar. An equilisation is, however, impe-
riously required, as well in justice to India as in the view of promoting the interests of the
Quantity of tobacco brought from the East too trifling to deserve mention.
VoL. I.-3 H
Digitized by Google
638
EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
British public; and should it take place, we have little doubt that the growth of sugar in In-
dia will be very greatly extended, and that it will become an article of great commercial
value.
The regulations as to the importation of coffee from India are as objectionable as can well
be imagined. Why should the coffee of Malabar and Ceylon pay 3d. per lb. more duty than
that of the Mauritius? A distinction of this sort is an outrage upon common sense, and an
insult to India. Foreign coffee may be imported from any port of British India at 9d. per lb.;
but if it be imported from a foreign port it pays 1s. Hence, if a British ship take on board
coffee at Mocha, Manilla, or Java, she is obliged to call in her way home at Bombay or Sin-
gapore; and must there unload and then reload her cargo ! Such a regulation requires no
lengthened commentary; it is enough to remark that its existence is a disgrace to a civilised
nation.
Besides being unfairly assessed, the duties on several most important articles of East In-
dia produce are signally oppressive in their amount. Arrack, for example, which may be
bought in bond here for about 3s. a gallon, is loaded with a duty of 15s. It is almost unne-
cessary to add that this duty is perfectly unproductive ; its only effect is to exclude a value-
ble article from the market; to deprive the public of a gratification they might otherwise
enjoy, and the government of a considerable amount of revenue. The duty on pepper is also
most extravagantly high; being no less than 1s. on an article that sells from about 3d. to 41d
Considering the degree in which the demand for pepper is checked by this anti-consumption
impost, we believe we may safely affirm that its reduction to 3d. or 4d. would be productive
of an increase of revenue.
However, it is but fair to add that a very material deduction has been made from the du-
ties charged on several articles of East India produce since the publication of the former
edition of this work. It is to be hoped that the good effects of which these reductions can-
not fail to be productive may speedily lead to others. The following account will no doubt
receive the attentive consideration of the reader :-
Account showing the Prices in Bond in London of the different Articles of East India Produce. on
the 1st of November, 1833 the present Duty on such Articles, and the Rate per Cent. of the Duty
on the Price. A Column is added, showing the Duties in 1831 that have since been modified.
Prices, 1st of November,
Duty.
1833.
Duties, 1st of
Per
Rate per Cent.
Duties, let of
Goods.
November,
January, 1831.
1833.
From
To
From
To
L. 8. d.
L. S. d.
s. d. per
Ledger
Aloes
200
12 0 0
cwt.
0 2 lb.
7
46
013h
Asafœtida
1 10 0
300
-
60 cwt.
10
20
4 cat.
Benjamin, 1st sort
4000
-
0-5)
2d
10 0 0
2000
-
}
40
1
27
1140-
3d -
0
7 10 0
-
27
4)
Barilla
500
ton
40 0 ton
40
Borax, refined
400
450
cwt.
10 0 cwt.
12
12-5
2 16 0
unrefined
400
490
-
40 -
45
5
180-
Camphor
750
-
0
0.7
094-
Cardamons, Ceylon
016
018
lb.
10 lb.
60
66
020h
Malabar
036
039
-
10 -
26
30
020-
Cassia buds
400
cwt.
10 -
140
lignea
350
450
-
06 -
65
86
Cinnamon
046
096
lb.
06 -
5
11
Cloves, Bourbon
010
012
-
20 -
170
200
Amboyna
.
013
016
-
20 -
133
160
Cocculus Indicus
0 15 0
ewt.
26 -
1860
Cochineal
010
013
lb.
02 -
13
16
004- -
Coffee, Mocha
3100
660
cwt.
09
66
120
other sorts
2100
300
-
from British ports
140
168
Cotton, Bengal
006
007
lb.
0-5
0-6
Madras
0 0 61-2
008
-
0 4 cwt.
0-4
0-7
Surat
0 0 51-2
007
-
0-5
06
Cubebs
2 15 0
350
cwt.
06 lb.
80
100
020-
Dragon's blood
5100
25 0 0
-
4 cwt.
0-8
3.7
8 ewt.
Ebony wood
6100
7100
ton
3 ton
2
23
0 15
Galls
3100
450
cwt.
2 cwt.
2
3
05
Gamboge
900
18 0 0
-
40 -
1.1
22
968-
Ginger, Bengal
1 15 0
1 18 0
-
11 0
29
SI
0116
Gum ammoniac
2100
500
-
60
6
12
700-
animi
600
10 0 0
-
60 -
13
5
2160
Arabic
210 0
2150
-
60 -
11
12
Gum lac, lac dye fine DI.
016
023
lb.
60 -
2.2
3-5)
other sorts
009
013
-
60 -
4
75
5 per cent.
shell lac
650
7150
cwt.
60 -
37
47
20
Hemp
2300
ton
1 8 ton
0-3
free
dry
005
0 0 91-2
lb.
2 4 cwt.
2.5
5
Hides, buffalo and OX
wet
003
005
-
1 2 -
2.5
4
Indigo, fine
069
086
-
3
3-7
good and middling
043
066
-
an
0
3
1b.
4
6
ordinary
036
040
I
6-2
7
Mace
040
066
-
36 -
53
87
Mother-o'-pearl shells, Bombay
150
200
cwt.
Manilla
3150
400
-
}
5 per cent.
5
Musk
0 15 0
180
oz.
0 OZ.
1.7
3-3
050m
Myrrh
400
1400
cwt.
6 cwt.
2
7.5
968cmL
Nutmegs
036
066
lb.
2 lb.
38
71
Nux vomica
0 15 0
cwt.
26 -
1860
Oil of aniseed
0 0 63-4
oz.
14 -
15
040h
cassia
00612
007
-
14 -
14
15
0160-
cinnamon
056
I
14 -
1-3
0160-
cloves
009
0 0 10
-
14 0
-
105
116
1120-
mace
002
004
14 -
25
50
200-
nutmers
0 0 10
013
-
14
67
10
200-
Olibanum
200
3150
cwt.
6 0 cwt.
8
15
200m
Digitized by Google
EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
639
Table-continued.
Prices, 1st of November,
Duty.
1833.
Duties, 1st of
Goods.
Per
Rate per Cent.
Duties, 1st of
November,
January, 1831.
1833.
From
To
From
To
L.s.d.
L. 8. d.
#. per
L s. d. per
Pepper, black
00334
00412
lb.
0 1b.
266
320
white
004
009
-
10 -
183
300
Rhubarb, common
0 10
0 2 4
-
10 -
43
54
fine Dutch, trimmed
086
050
-
10 -
20
23,
0 2 6 lb.
Rice from British possessions
0 18 0
100
cwt.
1 0 cwt.
6
8
Spirits, arrack
030
gal.
15 0 gal.
500
bafflower
550
8 10 0
cwt.
1 0 cwt.
0-6
1
0 2 6 cwt.
Sago, common
010 0
-
10 -
10
pearl
0160
200
-
10 -
2.5
6-7
0 10 0 cwt.
Sal ammoniac
300
-
10 -
1.7
18 0 -
Saltpetre
1150
8 0 0
-
06 -
1-8
1.4
Sapan wood
800
17 0 0
ton
I 0 tom
03
0-6
0 15 0 tom
Saunders' wood, red
1300
1600
-
10 -
0-6
0-4
012 0 -
Seeds, aniseed, star
850
cwt.
5 0 cwt.
7-5
1 10 0 cwt.
Silk, Bengal and China
0160
I 3 0
lb.
0 lb.
0-35
0.45
Sugar, Rengal, white
140
1110
cwt,
32 0 cwt.
103
133
yellow
110
130
-
32 0 -
139
162
Mauritive, yellow
160
1140
-
24 0 -
70
92
brown
180
160
-
24 0 -
92
109
Teeth, elephants'
1900
2800
-
20 0 -
3-5
5-2
Terra japonica
3150
400
-
10 -
1-2
13
0 3 0 cwt.
Tortoise shell
1100
2150
lb.
0 I lb.
0.1
0-3
0 0 6 lb.
Turmeric, Bengal
0160
0180
cwt.)
13
15
Java
100
130
-
}
2 4 cwt.
10
11.4
China
100
150
-
from British ports
9
11.4
Vermilion
0 8 10
lb.
0 6 lb.
17.8
010 -
N. B.-We are indebted for this valuable Table to Mr. Begbie, secretary to the East India Asso-
clation.
There is another grievance affecting the East India trade, which calls loudly for redress.
Goods from America, the West Indies, or any where except the East Indies, may be con-
veyed from one warehousing port to another without payment of the duties. But with East
India goods a different rule has been established. There are only about a dozen ports in
the empire in which East India goods may be received and warehoused; and whenever it
becomes necessary to remove those goods to any other place, not privileged to receive India
goods, the whole duties have to be paid so that if a merchant found it expedient to ship
1000/. worth of pepper from London, Hull, or any other privileged port, to Newcastle, Ply-
mouth, Aberdeen, or any non-privileged port, he would, before he could make such ship-
ment, have to advance about 4,000l. of duty ! This is a most oppressive regulation. There
is not, and there never was, any good reason for prohibiting East India goods from being
removed, under bond, from one port to another where other goods are allowed to be bonded.
Many considerable advantages would result from permitting this to be done. It would dis-
tribute East India goods more equally over the country and country dealers would be able
to lay in and keep up sufficient stocks with a far less outlay of capital than at present. Such
a measure, coupled, as it ought to be, with an adequate reduction of the duties, would ma-
terially extend the comforts of all classes at home.
4. Colonization of India.-Hitherto very considerable obstacles have been thrown in the
way of Europeans establishing themselves in India, and particularly of their acquiring or
holding land. This policy was dictated by various considerations; partly by a wish to
prevent the extrusion of the natives from the soil, which it was supposed would be eagerly
hought up by Europeans, and partly by the fear lest the latter, when scattered over the coun-
try, and released from any effectual control, should offend the prejudices of the natives, and
get embroiled with them. Now, however, it seems to be the general opinion of those best
acquainted with India that but little danger is to be apprehended from these circumstances;
that the few Europeans established in it as indigo planters, &c. have contributed very mate-
rially to its improvement; and that the increase and diffusion of the English population, and
their permanent settlement in the country, are at once the most likely means of spreading a
knowledge of our arts and sciences, and of widening and strengthening the foundations of
our ascendancy. It is obvious, indeed, that the duration of our power in India must depend
on a very uncertain tenure, unless we take root, as it were, in the soil, and a considerable
portion of the population be attached to us by the ties of kindred, and of common interests
and sympathies. In this respect we ought to imitate the Roman in preference to the Lace-
demonian or Athenian policy. Quid aliud exitio Lacedæmoniis Atheniensibus fuit,
quanquam armis pollerent, nisi quod victis pro alienigenis arcebant Looking, however,
at the density of population in India, the low rate of wages, the nature of the climate, and
other similar circumstances, it seems very doubtful whether it will ever become the resort of
any considerable number of English settlers; at least of such a number as would be suffi-
cient, within any reasonable period, to form any thing like a powerful native English inte-
rest. But to whatever extent it may be carried, it promises to be highly advantageous.
" We need not, I imagine," says the present Governor-General of India, Lord William Ben-
tinck, use any laboured argument to prove that it would be infinitely advantageous for
India to borrow largely in arts and knowledge from England. The legislature has expressly
declared the truth; its acknowledgment has been implied in the daily acts and professions
Digitized by Google
640
EAST INDIES (SOCIETY IN, TRADE, &c.).
of government, and in all the efforts of humane individuals and societies for the education
of the people. Nor will it, I conceive, be doubted, that the diffusion of useful knowledge,
and its application to the arts and business of life, must be comparatively tardy, unless we
add to precept the example of Europeans, mingling familiarly with the natives in the course
of their profession, and practically demonstrating, by daily recurring evidence, the nature
and the value of the principles we desire to inculcate, and of the plans we seek to have
adopted. It seems to be almost equally plain, that independently of their influencing the
native community in this way, various and important national advantages will result from
there being a considerable body of our countrymen, and their descendants, settled in the
country. To question it, is to deny the superiority which has gained us the dominion of
India it is to doubt whether national character has any effect on national wealth, strength,
and good government: it is to shut our eyes to all the perils and difficulties of our situation:
it is to hold as nothing community of language, sentiment and interest, between the govern-
ment and the governed: it is to disregard the evidence afforded by every corner of the
globe in which the British flag is hoisted it is to tell our merchants and our manufacturers,
that the habits of a people go for nothing in creating a market, and that enterprise, skill,
and capital, and the credit which creates capital, are of no avail in the production of com-
modities."
The existing regulations as to the residence of Englishmen in India are embodied in the
act 3 & 4 Will. 4. C. 85., and are as follows:-
Authority for his Majesty's Subjects to reside in certain Parts of India.-It shall be lawful for any
natural-born subjects of his Majesty to proceed by sea to any port or place having a Custom-house
establishment within the same, and to reside thereat, or to proceed to reside in or pass through any
part of such of the said territories as were under the government of the said Company on the 1st day
of January, 1800, and in any part of the countries ceded by the nabob of the Carnatic, of the pro-
vince of Cuttack, and of the settlements of Singapore and Malacca, without any licence whatever;
provided that all subjects of his Majesty not natives of the said territories shall, on their arrival in
any part of the same from any port or place not within said territories, make known in writing their
names, places of destination, and objects of pursuit in India, to the chief officer of the customs or
other officer authorised for that purpose at such port or place as aforesaid.-481.
Subjects of his Majesty not to reside in certain Parts of India without Licence.-It shall not be lawful
for any subject of his Majesty, except the servants of the said Company and others now lawfully
authorised to reside in the said territories, to enter the same by laud, or to proceed to or reside in
such parts of the said territories as are not herein-before in that behalf mentioned, without licence
first obtained from the commissioners of the board of control, or the court of directors, or the go-
vernor-general, or a governor of any of the said presidencies: provided, that no licence given to any
natural-born subject of his Majesty to reside in parts of the territories not open to all such subjects
shall be determined or revoked unless in accordance with the terms of some express clause of revo-
cation or determination in such licence contained.- 82.
The Governor-General with previous Consent of Directors, may declare other Places open.-It shall be
lawful for the governor-general in council, with the previous consent and approbation of the said
court of directors, to declare any place or places whatever within the said territories open to all his
Majesty's natural-born subjects, and it shall be thenceforth lawful for any of his Majesty's natural-
born subjects to proceed to, or reside in, or pass through any place or places declared open without
any licence whatever.-d 83.
Laws against illicit Residence to be made.-The governor-general shall and is required to make laws
or regulations providing for the prevention or punishment of the illicit entrance into or residence in
the said territories of persons not authorised to enter or reside therein.-d
Laws and Regulations to be made for Protection of Natires.And whereas the removal of restric-
tions on the intercourse of Europeans with the said territories will render it necessary to provide
against any mischiefs or dangers that may arise therefrom, it is enacted, that the governor-general
shall and is required, by laws or regulations, to provide with all convenient speed for the protection
of the natives of the said territories from insult and outrage in their persons, religions, or opinions.
-0 85.
Lands within the Indian Territories may be purchased.-It shall be lawful for any natural-born sub-
ject of his Majesty authorised to reside in the said territories to acquire and hold lands, or any right,
interest, or profit in or out of lands, for any term of years, in such part or parts of the said territories
as he shall be 80 authorised to reside in provided always, that nothing herein contained shall be
taken to prevent the governor-general in council from enabling, by any laws or regulations, or other-
wise, any subject of his Majesty to acquire or hold any lands, or rights, interests, or protits in or out
of lands, in any part of the said territories, and for any estates or terms whatever.-d 86.
No Disabilities in respect of Religion, Colour, or Place of Birth.-No native of the said territories,
nor any natural-born subject of his Majesty resident therein, shall, by reason only of his religion,
place of birth, descent, colour, or any of them, be disabled from holding any place, office, or employ-
ment under the said Company.-δ7.
IV. EAST INDIES, (Extent, POPULATION, MILITARY FORCE, REVENUE, ETC. OF BRITISH).
1. Extent, Population, &c. of British Dominionsin Hindostan, and of the Tributary and
Independent States.-We copy the following Table from the second edition of Mr. Hamil-
ton's Gazetteer. It must, however, be regarded as an approximation only, inasmuch as no
means exist of coming at correct conclusions but the talents of the writer, and his perfect
acquaintance with the subject, warrant the belief that it is as accurate as it can be made with
the present imperfect means of information.
Digitized
by
Google
EAST INDIES (Extent, POPULATION, &c. OF BRITISH). 641
Table of the relative Area and Population of the Modern States of Hindostan.
British
Square Miles.
Population.
Bengal, Bahar, and Benares
-
-
-
-
-
-
162,000
39,000,000
Additions in Hindostan since A. D. 1765
-
-
-
-
148,000
18,000,000
Gurwal, Kumoon, and the tract between the Sutuleje and Jumna
-
18,000
500,000
Total under the Bengal Presidency
-
-
-
-
328,000
57,500,000
Under the Madras Presidency
-
-
-
-
-
-
154,000
15,000,000
Under the Bombay Presidency
-
-
-
-
-
11,000
2,500,000
Territories in the Deccan, &c. acquired since 1815, consisting of the
Peishwa's dominions, &c., and since mostly attached to the Bom-
bay Presidency
-
-
-
-
-
-
60,000
8,000,000
Total under the British government
-
-
-
-
553,000
83,000,000
British Allies and Tributaries.
The Nizam
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
96,000
10,000,000
The Nagpoor Raja
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
70,000
3,000,000
The King of Oude
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
20,000
3,000,000
The Guicowar
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
18,000
2,000,000
Kotah, 6,500; Boondee, 2,500; Bopaul, 5,000
-
-
-
-
14,000
1,500,000
The Mysore Raja
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
27,000
3,000,000
The Satara Raja
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
14,000
1,500,000
Travancore, 6,000 Cochin, 2,000
-
-
-
-
-
8,000
1,000,000
Under the Rajas of Joudpour, Jeypoor, Odeypoor, Bicancere, Jessel-
mere, and other Rajpoot chiefs, Holcar, Ameer Khan, the Row of
Cutch, Bhurtpoor, Macherry, and numerous other petty chiefs,
Seiks, Gonds, Bheels, Coolies, and Catties, all comprehended
within the line of British protection
-
-
-
-
283,000
15,000,000
Total under the British government and its allies
-
-
1,103,000
123,000,000
Independent States.
The Nepaul Raja
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
53,000
2,000,000
The Lahore Raja (Runjeet Singh)
-
-
-
-
-
50,000
3,000,000
The Ameers of Sinde
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
24,000
1,000,000
The dominions of Sindia
-
-
-
-
-
-
40,000
4,000,000
The Cabul sovereign east of the Indus
-
-
-
-
10,000
1,000,000
Grand total of Hindostan
-
-
-
-
-
1,280,000
134,000,000
India beyond the Ganges.-British Acquisitions in 1824 and 1825.
British
Square Miles.
Population.
Countries south of Rangoon, consisting of half the province of Mar-
taban, and the provinces of Tavoy, Ye, Tenasserim, and the Mer-
gui Isles
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,000
51,000
The province of Arracan
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,000
100,000
Countries from which the Burmese have been expelled, consisting of
Assam and the adjacent petty states, occupying a space of about
54,000
150,000
Total
-
-
-
-
77,000
301,000
In 1805, according to official returns transmitted, the total number of British-born subjects
in Hindostan was 31,000. Of these, 22,000 were in the army as officers and privates the civil
officers of government of all descriptions were about 2,000; the free merchants and mariners
who resided in India under covenant, about 5,000 the officers and practitioners in the courts
of justice, 300 ; the remaining 1,700 consisted of adventurers who had smuggled themselves
out in various capacities. Since the date above mentioned, no detailed reports have been
published but there is reason to believe that even now the total number of British subjects
in Hindostan does not exceed 40,000 the removal of the restrictions on the commercial
intercourse having, contrary to expectation, added very few to the previous number.
The army required for the protection of these extensive provinces, and for the retaining
them under due subordination, although it presents a formidable grand total, probably does
not amount to a fifth part of the number maintained by the Mogul sovereigns and their func-
tionaries, when their empire was in its zenith yet, even under the ablest of the emperors,
commotions in some quarter of their ill-subdued territories were unceasing. The British sys-
tem in India has always been to keep the troops in a constant state of preparation for war
but never to enter into unprovoked hostilities, or engage in any contests except those rendered
necessary by the principle of self-defence. At present, with the exception of the Russian,
the British military force is probably the largest standing army in the world. In 1796, it
amounted to 55,000. In 1830, the latest period for which we have a detailed statement, it
consisted of infantry 170,062, cavalry 19,539, artillery 17,385, engineers 1,084, with
pioneers, invalids, &c., making a grand total of 223,476 men. Of these, 187,068 were
natives, and 37,376 Europeans; the latter being divided between the King's and the Com-
pany's services in the proportion of 20,292 to the furmer, and 17,084 to the latter. The
total expenditure on account of the Indian army during the same year amounted to
9,461,953/. It may, perhaps, be worth while remarking, that the war department in Prussia,
3 , 2
81
Digitized by Google
642 EAST INDIES (Extent, POPULATION, &c. OF BRITISH).
which has one of the most efficient armies in Europe, cost, in 1829, 22,165,000 rix-dollars,
or 3,324,000/., being little more than the third of the cost of the British Indian army Re-
cently, however, very great efforts have been made to economise in this department. The
army has been reduced to about 190,000 men, and some of the former allowances have been
discontinued.
A good deal of rather conflicting evidence was given before the late select committee on
the state of the Indian army. On the whole, it would seem to be decidedly superior, in re-
spect of discipline and efficiency, to any native army ever organised in India. But many
very intelligent officers doubt whether it could make any effectual opposition to European
troops, to whom, generally speaking, the sepoys are inferior both in physical strength and
moral energy. Some of the witnesses seem to think that the Indian army has recently been
a good deal deteriorated.
The army is distributed throughout Hindostan under the orders of the supreme govern-
ment, promulgated through its political agents. Commencing from the great stations in the
Doab of the Ganges, at Ajmeer is one corps another at Neemutch ; a third at Mow; all
supplied from the Bengal army. These are succeeded by the Gujerat subsidiary forces, the
field corps at Mulligaum, and the Poonah division, furnished chiefly by the Bombay army.
The circle is further continued by the field force in the southern Mahratta country the
Hyderabad and Nagpoor subsidiaries, composed of Madras troops; and the detachments
from the Bengal establishment, forming the Nerbudda and Saugur divisions, from whence
the cordan terminates in Bundelcund. Such is the general outline, liable, of course, to tem-
porary modifications, and occasional change in the selection of stations. At present, with
the exception of a tract 35 miles broad on each side of Aseerghur, there is an unbroken line
of communication through the British territory from Bombay to Calcutta.
In direct and authoritative control, the dominion of the British government extends much
further than that possessed by any prior dynasty, whether Patan or Mogul; yet the latter, so
long as they abstained from persecution, had nothing to apprehend from the religion of the
Hindoos; and history proves that the commotions which agitated the Mohammedan monar-
chies chiefly arose from their own internal dissensions and national disputes. Neither does
it appear that any prior conquerors ever employed disciplined corps of their own countrymen
in defence of their own sovereignty, although they had to contend with one very numerous
tribe-the Hindoo; while the British, more advantageously situated, have two to put in
motion against each other, and in process of time may raise up a third. Each foreign in-
vader certainly favoured his own countrymen; but it was by bestowing on them places and
high appointments, which excited envy, without essentially strengthening his domination.
Besides, therefore, total abstinence from persecution, the British government, in a powerful
corps entirely European, and totally distinguished from the natives by colour, language, and
manners, possesses a solidity and consistence much beyond any of the prior Mohammedan
dynasties.-(Hamilton's East India Gazetteer, 2d ed. vol. i. pp. 656-659.)
2. Revenue and Expenditure of the East India Company.-The far greater part of the
revenue of India is at present, and has always been, derived from the soil. The land has
been held by its immediate cultivators generally in small portions, with a perpetual and
transferable title but they have been under the obligation of making an annual payment to
government of a certain portion of the produce of their farms, which might be increased or
diminished at the pleasure of the sovereign and which has in almost all cases, been so
large, as seldom to leave the cultivators more than a bare subsistence. Under the Moham-
medan government, the gross produce of the soil was divided into equal or nearly equal shares,
between the ryots, or cultivators, and the government. We regret we are not able to say
that the British government has made any material deductions from this enormous assess
ment. Its oppressiveness, more than any thing else, has prevented our ascendancy in India;
and the comparative tranquillity and good order we have introduced, from having the bene-
ficial effects that might have been anticipated. The cultivators throughout Hindostan are
proverbially poor and till the amount of the assessment they are at present subject to be
effectually reduced, they cannot be otherwise than wretched. They are commonly obliged
to borrow money to buy their seed and carry on their operations, at a high interest, on a spe-
cies of mortgage over the ensuing crop. Their only object is to get subsistence-to be able
to exist in the same obscure poverty as their forefathers. If they succeed in this, they are
satisfied. Mr. Colebrooke, whose authority on all that relates to India is 80 deservedly high,
mentions that the quantity of land occupied by each ryot, or cultivator, in Bengal is com-
monly about 6 acres, and rarely amounts to 24 and it is obvious that the abstraction of half
the produce raised on such patches can leave their occupiers nothing more than the barest
subsistence for themselves and their families. Indeed, Mr. Colebrooke tells us that the con-
dition of ryots subject to this tax is generally inferior to that of a hired labourer, who receives
the miserable pittance of 2 annas, or about 3 pence, a day of wages.
Besides the land revenue,* a considerable revenue is derived in India from the monopo-
For an account of the land revenue of India, of the various modes in which it is assessed, and
its influence on the condition of the inhabitants, we beg to refer to Mr. Rickards's work on India. TM
Digitized by
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EAST INDIES (EXTENT, POPULATION, &c. OF BRITISH). 643
.
lies of salt and opium, the sale of spirituous liquors, land and sea customs, post-office, &c.
Of these monopolies, the first is, in all respects, decidedly the most objectionable. Few things,
indeed, would do more to promote the improvement of India, than the total abolition of this
monopoly. An open trade in salt, with moderate duties, would, there can be no doubt, be
productive of the greatest advantage to the public, and of a large increase of revenue to
government. The opium monopoly, though less objectionable than the last, is, notwith-
tanding, very oppressive. It interferes with the industry of the inhabitants; those who are
engaged in the cultivation of opium being obliged to sell their produce at prices arbitrarily
fixed by the Company's agents. It would be worse than useless to waste the reader's time,
by pointing out in detail the mischievous effects of such a system they are too obvious not
to arrest the attention of every one. The produce of these and the other branches of Indian
taxation is specified in the subjoined Table, which we have carefully compiled from the
official accounts.
Account of the Territorial Revenues of the East India Company during the Official Year 1827-28.
Description.
Bengal.
Madras.
Bombay.
Penang.
Ma-
Singa-
Saint
London.
Total.
lacca.
pore.
Helena.
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
&
&
Land rent
-
-
8,252,797
3,519,745
1,965,093
21,893
4,881
18,559
1,064
-
13,784,032
Liquors (nett)
-
485,422
257,638
-
-
-
-
-
-
743,060
Opium (monopoly)
-
2,051,620
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,051,620
Tobacco (do.)
-
-
-
85,482
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
85,482
Salt (partial monopoly)
2,389,600
346,192
19,936
-
-
-
-
-
2,755,728
Farms and licences (nett)
-
-
56,252
225,650
-
-
-
66
-
281,968
Mint
-
-
-
38,139
4,332
5,440
-
-
-
-
-
47,911
Post-office
-
-
91,833
32,043
12,584
-
-
-
-
-
136,460
Stamps
-
-
327,709
56,261
5,161
-
-
-
-
-
389,131
Bank, Madras, (nett)
-
-
9,162
-
-
-
-
-
9,162
Customs-sea
-
-
-
126,859
65,698
-
-
-
2,216
-
194,773
inland
-
-
-
439,870
109,209
,
-
-
-
-
549,079
do. unspecified
831,734
-
-
219,784
-
-
-
-
-
1,051,518
Sundries
-
-
308,355
392,355
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
700,710
Revenue
-
14,777,209
5,326,191
2,628,555
21,893
4,881
18,559
3,346
-
22,780,634
General board, (repay-
ment by)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
3,617
-
-
-
-
3,617
Marine (pilotage)
-
38,486
7,802
18,383
367
-
-
-
-
65,038
Judicial (fines and fees)
106,287
13,845
17,890
5,039
-
-
52
-
143,113
Total civil revenue
14,921,932
5,347,838
2,664,828
30,916
4,881
18,559
3,398
-
22,992,402
Military (repayments)
-
-
-
-
-
-
373
-
-
-
-
373
Buildings (do.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
49
-
-
-
-
49
Total receipts
-
14,921,982
5,347,838
2,664,828
31,338
4,881
18,559
3,398
-
22,992,821
Interest
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Gross revenue and
receipts
-
14,921,982
5,347,838
2,664,828
31,338
4,881
18,559
3,398
-
22,992,821
Nett surplus revenue
over expenditure
-
1,479,273
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Account of the Territorial Charges of the East India Company during the Official Year 1827-28.
Description.
Bengal.
Madras.
Bombay.
Penang.
Ma-
Singa-
Saint
London.
Total.
lacca.
pore.
Helena.
&
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Land rent (collec-
tion, pensions,
&c.) -
-
1,608,480
702,677
642,551
3,000
500
1,500
-
-
2,958,708
Liquors (charges of
collection not specified.)
Opium (cost and
charges)
658,254
-
-
658,254
Tobacco
(do.)
-
-
31,843
-
-
-
-
31,843
Salt
(do.)
808,322
74,419
-
-
-
882,741
Farms and licenses (charges of collection not specified.)
Mint (charges on)
51,786
20,406
3,637
-
-
-
-
-
75,829
Post-office (do.)
89,075
29,339
18,848
-
-
-
137,262
Stamps (do.)
81,690
9,437
-
-
91,127
Bank (charges not specified.)
Customs-sea
(charges of col-
lection)
-
-
-
23,445
14,867
38,312
inland (do.)
-
-
28,587
3,037
31,624
general unspe-
cified
-
126,808
-
-
25,605
-
-
-
-
-
-
152,413
Sundries
-
140849
363,854
136,944
-
-
-
-
-
-
641,647
Charge under re-
venue board -
3,565,264
1,284,007
845,489
3,000
500
1,500
-
-
-
5,699,760
various important and difficult questions with respect to Indian taxation are there treated with great
learning and sagacity, and placed in the most luminous point of view.
Digitized by Google
644 EAST INDIES (EXTENT, POPULATION, &c. OF BRITISH).
Account of the Territorial Charges of the East India Company-continued.
Description.
Bengal.
Madras.
Bombay.
Penang.
Ma.
Singa-
Saint
London.
Total.
lacea.
pore.
Helena.
$
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Brought over
3,565,264
1,284,007
845,489
3,000
500
1,500
-
-
-
5,699,760
Charges under ge-
neral board -
1,102,824
353,659
474,781
100,014
12,825
36,637
46,808
-
-
2,127,548
Charges under ma-
rine do.
-
117,745
18,781
212,862
6,000
1,000
3,000
-
-
-
359,388
Charges under ju-
dicial do.
-
1,150,394
371,751
305,446
12,000
2,000
6,000
-
-
-
1,847,591
Gross amount of
civil charges
5,936,227
2,028,198
1,838,578
121,014
16,325
47,137
46,808
-
-
10,034,287
Do. military do.
5,245,737
3,897,520
2,051,810
49,255
8,030
11,341
75,172
-
-
11,338,865
Buildings both ci-
vil and milita-
ry do.
-
548,492
81,877
163,088
4,833
1,186
4,606
1,989
-
-
786,071
Charge in India
11,730,456
6,007,595
4,033,476
175,102
25,541
63,084
123,969
-
-
22,159,223
Interest on debt
1,712,253
179,025
27,230
2,024
-
-
-
-
-
1,920,538
Unspecified
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
2,060,141
2,060,141
Gross charge -
13,442,709
6,186,620
4,060,706
177,126
25,541
63,084
123,969
2,060,141
26,139,896
Nettcharge, or ex-
cess of expendi-
ture over reve-
nue
-
-
-
-
638,782
1,395,881
145,788
20,660
44,525
120,571
2,060,141
3,147,975
The territorial revenues at the disposal of the East India Company have, for a lengthened
period, equalled those of the most powerful monarchies. At present they are greater than
those of either Russia or Austria, being inferior only to those of Great Britain and France!
Still, however, the Company's financial situation is the very reverse of prosperous. Vast
as their revenue has been, their expenditure appears, in most instances, to have been still
larger; and at this moment their debts exceed 60,000,000!! The Company have given the
following statement of their affairs, which is applicable, as respects India, to the 1st of May,
1831 ; and as respects England, to the 1st of May, 1832 :-
£
Total territorial and political debts abroad and at home
-
-
-
61,197,782
Ditto, credits, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
29,579,523
Balance deficient in the territorial and political branch
-
-
-
31,618,259
Total commercial debts abroad and at home
-
-
-
£ 1,928,494
Ditto, credits, ditto
-
-
-
-
-
-
21,647,149
Balance in favour in the commercial branch
-
-
-
-
19,718,655
Balance deficient
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
11,899,604
Add the amount of the Company's home bond debt
-
-
-
3,542,854
Total balance deficient, including the home bond debt
-
-
-
-
£
15,442,458
Of the credits placed to account of the Company, arrears of revenue, &c. form an impor-
tant item ; but of these it is most probable a considerable portion will never be realised. In
a statement laid by the East India Company before parliament, and printed in a former edition
of this work (p. 511.), intended to represent the situation of the Company's affairs on the 1st
of January, 1831, their assets were said to exceed their debts and liabilities by about
3,000,000L The wide difference between that account and the one given above, is princi-
pally owing to the Company having struck out of the latter a sum of 10,870,000/. expended
by them on account of fortifications, buildings, &c. erected in India, which they took credit
for in the former.
The statement now given renders it abundantly obvious, that the recent arrangements
with the Company have been quite as beneficial to it as, we doubt not, they will prove to the
public. All the territorial and other property made over to the Crown will certainly be far
short of meeting the claims upon it.
The following account shows the balance between the revenue and expenditure of our
Indian dominions, from 1809-10 to 1830-31 :-
Digitized by Google
EAST INDIES (EXTENT, POPULATION, &c. OF BRITISH).
645
As Account of the Total annual Revenues and Charges of the British Possessions in India under the
East India Company, from 1809-10 to 1830-31 ; showing also the Nett Charge of Bencoolen, Prince
of Wales Island, and St. Helena; the Interest paid on account of Debts in India; and the Amount
of Territorial Charges paid in Engiand.-(Abstracted from the Parl. Papers, No. 22. Sess. 1830,
and No. 306. Sess. 1833.)
Territorial Charges paid in England.
General Result.
Nett
Other Terri-
Charge of
torial Pay.
Years.
Total Gross
Total
Bencoolen,
Interest
ments
Prince of
Cost of
Revenues of
Charges in
Wales
on Debts.
Political
chargeable
Total.
Surplus
Surplus
India.
India.
on the
Revenue.
Charge.
Island, and
Stores.
Revenue.
St. Helena.
(Pensions,
&c.)
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
&
£
1809-10
16,464,391
13,775,577
203,361
2,159,019
190,128
867,097
1,057,225
-
-
730,791
1810-11
16,679,198
13,909,953
199,663
2,196,691
217,703
901,688
1,119,391
-
736,530
1811-12
16,605,616
13,220,967
168,288
1,457,077
154,998
922,770
1,077,768
681,516
1812-13
16,459,774
13,659,429
201,349
1,491,870
193,784
1,184,976
1,378,768
271,634
1813-14
17,228,711
13,617,725
209,957
1,537,434
64,257
1,148,156
1,212,413
651,182
1814-15
17,231,191
14,182,454
204,250
1,502,217
129,873
1,064,223
1,194,596
147,677
1815-16
17,168,195
15,081,587
225,558
1,584,157
81,903
1,199,952
1,281,885
-
-
1,004,992
1816-17
18,010,135
15,129,839
205,372
1,719,470
194,374
1,071,176
1,265,550
-
-
310,096
1817-18
18,305,265
15,844,964
219,793
1,753,018
81,941
1,094,701
1,176,642
-
689,152
1818-19
19,392,002
17,558,615
210,224
1,665,928
130,162
1,150,378
1,280,540
-
-
1,323,305
1819-20
19,172,506
17,040,848
142,049
1,940,327
265,055
1,150,391
1,415,446
-
1,466,164
1820-21
21,292,036
17,520,612
220,043
1,902,585
228,058
1,072,106
1,300,164
348,632
1821-22
21,753,271
17,555,668
207,816
1,932,835
202,735
1,175,149
1,377,884
679,068
1822-23
23,120,934
18,083,482
154,761
1,694,731
204,147
1,354,960
1,559,107
1,528,853
1823-24
21,238,623
18,902,511
257,276
1,652,449
395,276
758,590
1,153,866
-
-
727,479
1821-25
20,705,152
20,410,929
279,277
1,460,433
414,181
1,166,078
1,580,259
-
-
3,025,746
1825-26
21,096,960
22,346,365
214,285
1,575,941
740,728
1,076,504
1,817,232
-
-
4,856,857
1826-27
23,327,753
21,424,894
207,973
1,749,068
1,111,792
1,318,102
2,429,894
-
-
2,484,076
1827-28
22,818,184
21,778,431
272,014
1,958,313
805,016
1,255,125
2,060,141
-
-
3,250,715
1828-29
22,692,711
19,298,622
250,794
2,121,165
449,603
1,517,802
1,967,405
-
-
945,275
1829-30
21,662,310
18,300,715
213,304
2,007,693
293,873
1,454,867
1,748,740
-
-
608,142
Estimate.
22,366,926
18,075,428
86,044
2,211,869
138,430
1,335,135
1,473,565
520,020
1830-31
However much this account of the financial concerns of our Eastern empire may be at
variance with the exaggerated ideas entertained respecting it, as well by a large proportion of
the people of England as by foreigners, it will excite no surprise in the mind of any one who
has ever reflected on the subject. It is due, indeed, to the directors, to state, that though they
have occasionally acted on erroneous principles, they have always exerted themselves to
enforce economy in every branch of their expenditure, and to impose and collect their revenues
in the best and cheapest manner. But though they have succeeded in repressing many
abuses, it would be idle to suppose that they should ever entirely succeed in rooting them
out. How can it be imagined, that strangers sent to India, conscious that they are armed
with all the strength of government, placed under no real responsibility, exempted from the
salutary influence of public opinion, fearing no exposure through the medium of the press,
and anxious only to accumulate a fortune, should not occasionally abuse their authority ? or
that they should manage the complicated and difficult affairs of a vast empire, inhabited by a
race of people of whose language, manners, and habits, they are almost wholly ignorant, with
that prudence, economy, and vigilance, without which it were idle to expect that any great
surplus revenue could ever be realised ?
(Abstract View of the Revenues and Charges of India for the Years 1831-32, 1832-33, 1833-34, and
(by estimate) 1834-35.
Revenue.
Charge.
1831-32.
1832-33.
1833-34.
1834-35.
1831-32.
1832-33.
1833-34.
1834-35.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
L.
Bengal
9,474,084
9,487,778
8,844,241
5,445,100
Bengal
7,535,170
7,687,228
7,018,449
6,749,293
Agra
3,657,900
Agra
581,800
Madras
3,222,155
2,969,956
3,235,233
3,301,982
Madras
3,239,261
3,174,347
3,258,995
3,076,404
Bombay
1,401,916
1,497,308
1,600,691
1,503,782
Bombay
2,060,498
2,034,710
1,968,045
1,905,749
Total revenues of
Total charges in
12,834,929
12,896,285
12,245,489
12,313,246
India
14,198,155
13,955,642
13,680,165
13,908,764
India
Charge onaccount
of St. Helena
94,152
95,553
91,641
10,986
Charge on account
of India in Eng.
land
1,476,655
1,227,536
1,293,637
2,162,863
Total charges of
India
14,405,736
14,219,374
13,630,767
14,487,100
Deficiency of or-
Surplus of ordina-
dinary revenue
207,551
264,32
578,336
ry revenue
49,398
14,405,736
14,219,374
13,680,165
14,487,100
14,405,736
14,219,374
13,680,165
14,487,100
N.B. The Company realised in 1834-35 the sum of 10,679,2231. by the sale of commercial assets.
The debts of the Company in India on the 30th of April, 1834, amounted to 35,463,4831., bearing an
interest of 1,754,5451. a year.-(Parl. Paper, No. 380. Sess. 1836.)-Sup.)
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646
EBONY-ELM.
EBONY (Ger. Ebenholz; Du. Ebbenhout; Fr. Ebene; It. Ebano; Rus. Ebenowoo-
derewo; Lat. Ebenus), a species of wood brought principally from the East. It is exceed-
ingly hard and heavy, of great durability, susceptible of a very fine polish, and on that ac-
count used in mosaic and other inlaid work. There are many species of ebony. The best
is that which is jet black, free from veins and rind, very compact, astringent, and of an acrid
pungent taste. This species, (denominated by botanists Diospyrus Ebenus), is found prin-
cipally in Madagascar, the Mauritius, and Ceylon. The centre only of the tree is said to be
valuable. In 1826, 2,002,783 lbs. of ebony, of the estimated value of 9,017% 7s. 64d. were
exported from the Mauritius. Besides the black, there are red, green, and yellow ebonies;
but the latter are not so much esteemed as the former. Cabinet-makers are in the habit of
substituting pear-tree and other woods dyed black, in the place of genuine ebony these,
however, want its polish and lustre, though they hold glue better. The price of ebony
varies, in the London market, from 51. to 20L a ton. The quantities imported are but in-
considerable.
EEL (Anguilla muræna of Linnæus), a fish, the appearance of which is too well known
to require any description. It is a native of almost all the waters of Europe, frequenting not
only rivers but stagnant pools. Eels are, in many places, extremely abundant, particularly
in Holland and Jutland. Several ponds are appropriated in England to the raising of cels;
and considerable numbers are taken in the Thames and other rivers. But by far the largest
portion of the eels used in England are furnished by Holland. Indeed, very few except
Dutch eels are ever seen in London and even Hampton and Richmond are principally sup-
plied by them. The trade is carried on by two Dutch companies, who employ in it several
small vessels, by means of which the market is regularly and amply provided for. A cargo
of eels is supposed to average from 15,000 to 20,000 lbs. weight, and is charged with a duty
on importation of 13/. 1s. 3d. In 1832, this duty produced 940L. 10s., showing that 72
cargoes had been imported that year.—(Report on Channel Fisheries, p. 93. &c.)
EGGS (Fr. Eufs; Lat. Ova), are too well known to require to be described. They differ
in size, colour, taste, &c. according to the different species of birds that lay them. The eggs
of hens are those most commonly used as food; and form an article of very considerable im-
portance in a commercial point of view. Vast quantities are brought from the country to
London and other great towns. Since the peace they have also been very largely imported
from the Continent. At this moment, indeed, the trade in eggs forms a considerable branch
of our commerce with France, and affords constant employment for a number of small
vessels!
Account of the Number of Eggs imported since 1826, specifying the Countries whence they were
brought, and the Revenue accruing thereon.
Countries from which imported.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1930.
1831.
1832
Number.
Number.
Number.
Number.
Number.
Number.
Number.
Germany
7,200
9,020
80
3,600
3,120
United Netherlands
2,524,410
3,098,698
5,447,390
6,749,759
4,626,748
7,557,146
5,734,960
France
59,507,899
63,109,618
60,043,026
56,370,479
48,026,006
60,401,506
65,651,363
Isles of Guerneey, 'Jersey, Alderney,
and Man, produce (duty free)
inn
718,086
456,802
609,930
671,435
705,760
732,998
665,229
Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney,
and Man, produce (foreign)
493,985
220,674
348,447
373,419
281,664
505,798
546,065
All other places
9,047
1,220
5,090
300
400
240
1,200
Total of the importations into the
United Kingdom
63,260,627
66,886,132
66,455,773
64,165,472
53,644,168
59,197,688
62,501,817
L. 8. d.
L. 8. d.
L. 8. d.
L 8. d.
L a. d.
L. 3. d
L & d.
Amount of duty received
21,726
10
2
23,071 4 I
22,920 8 3
22,189 2 10
18,505 14 8
20,372 15 9
21,537 2 0
Rate of duty charged
10d. per 120 during the whole period.
It appears from this official statement, that the eggs imported from France amount to
about 55,000,000 a year; and supposing them to cost, at an average, 4d. a dozen, it follows
that the people of the metropolis and Brighton (for it is into them that they are almost all
imported) pay the French about 76,388/. a year for eggs and supposing that the freight,
importers' and retailers' profit, duty, &c. raise their price to the consumer to 10d. a dozen,
their total cost will be 190,9721.
EJOO. See GOMUTI.
ELEMI, a resin obtained from the Amyris elemifera, a tree growing in different parts of
America, Turkey, &c. It is obtained by wounding the bark in dry weather, the juice being
left to thicken in the sun. It is of a pale yellow colour, semi-transparent; at first softish,
but it hardens by keeping. Its taste is slightly bitter and warm. Its smell, which is, at first,
strong and fragrant, gradually diminishes. It used to be imported in long roundish cakes,
wrapped in flag leaves, but it is now usually imported in mats and chests.-(Thomson's
Chemistry.)
ELEPHANTS' TEETH. See IVORY.
ELM (Ulmus), a forest tree common in Great Britain, of which there are several varie-
ties. It attains to a great size, and lives to a great age: its trunk is often rugged and
crooked, and it is of slow growth. The colour of the heart-wood of elm is generally darker
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ELSINEUR.
647
than that of oak, and of a redder brown. The sapwood is of a yellowish or brownish white,
with pores inclined to red. It is in general porous, and cross-grained, sometimes coarse-
grained, and has no large septa. It has a peculiar odour. It twists and warps much in
drying, and shrinks very much both in length and breadth. It is difficult to work, but
is not liable to split, and bears the driving of bolts and nails better than any other timber. In
Scotland, chairs and other articles of household furniture are frequently made of elm wood
but in England, where the wood is inferior, it is chiefly used in the manufacture of coffins, casks,
pumps, pipes, &c. It is appropriated to these purposes because of its great durability in wa-
ter, which also occasions its extensive use as piles and planking for wet foundations. The
naves of wheels are frequently made of elm those of the heavy wagons and drays of London
are made of oak, which supports a heavier weight, but does not hold the spokes so firmly.
Elm is said to bear transplanting better than any other large tree-(Tredgold's Principles
of Carpentry, pp. 201-203. &c.)
ELSINEUR, OR HELSINGOR, a town in Zealand about 22 miles north of Copenha-
gen, in lat. 56° 2' 17" N., lon. 12° 38' 2" E. Population about 7,000. Adjacent to
Elsineur is the castle of Cronborg, which commands the entrance to the Baltic by the
Sound. All merchant ships passing to and from the Baltic are obliged, under the reserva-
tions mentioned below, to salute Cronborg Castle by lowering their sails when abreast of the
same and no ship, unless she belong to Sweden, is allowed to pass the Sound without
clearing out at Elsineur, and paying toll, according to the provisions in the treaties to that
effect negotiated with Denmark by the different European powers. The first treaty with
England having reference to this subject is dated in 1450. The Sound duties had their
origin in an agreement between the King of Denmark on the one part, and the Hanse Towns
on the other, by which the former undertook to construct light-houses, landmarks, &c. along
the Cattegat, and the latter to pay duty for the same. The duties have since been varied
at different periods. Ships of war are exempted from the payment of duties. Most maritime
nations have consuls resident at Elsineur. The following plan of the Sound is taken from
the Admiralty Chart, compiled from Danish authorities.-(See following page.)
Ordinance respecting lowering in the Sound.-This ceremony being attended with much inconveni-
ence in unfavourable weather, his Danish Majesty issued, in 1829, the following ordinance
1. All ships salling through the Sound, whether they come from the north or south, must salute
Cronborg Castle, by lowering their sails so soon as the northernmost church in Elsineur begins to be
concealed behind the castle. The lowering must not commence before the church goes in behind the
castle, and must continue till the church opens itself without the castle again, or for the full space of
5 minutes. Every person neglecting this duty must expect to be compelled, by cannon-shot, to the
same, and to be fined for contumacy.
N. B.-When a ship lowers her sails on her first entrance into the marks, and keeps them lowered
5 minutes, though not come out of the marks, it is considered sufficient.
2. The sails to be lowered are as follow :-Ships carrying top-gallant sails, standing or flying, must
lower the top-gallant sails entirely down on the cap: ships having only one top-yallant sail, and at
the same time, the fore-top-sail, they must be lowered half-mast down: ships having no top-gallant
sails must lower both the top-sails on half-mast all other ships, be they galliots, smacks, ketches,
brigantines, or of what denomination soever, carrying only flying top-sails, must lower the top-sails
entirely down; but those having no standing or flying top-sails, or which have all their reeis in their
top-sails, are exempt from lowering.
3. When ships cruize through the Sound with a contrary wind, or when (with a scant wind or
small breeze) the current is so strong against them that it would set them astern, if they lowered
their sails, then it shall be made known to them, by hoisting the colours at the castle, that no salute is re-
quired. and that they may make the best of their way without striking their sails.
4. When any vessel has been fired at, then the master or mate, with two of the ship's crew, must
go on shore, and make declaration, on oath, before the Court of Inquest, why they have not lowered
in the time or in the manner prescribed. If it be deposed that lowering was performed in due timo
and manner, then the master will be free from paying for the shot fired at him; on the contrary, he
must then pay for each shot fired at him from the castle, 5 rix dollars 20 stivers current; and 1 ducat
for each shot from the guard-ship's boat when in pursuit of the ship. If the master of a vessel
should sail away without acquitting himself, when it is proved who the master or ship was, the fine
will be demanded of the person who clears him at the Custom-house.
In stormy weather, when a ship cannot come to auchor in Elsineur roads without danger, or if she
be leaky, or going to repair or deliver; in such cases, going to Copenhagen is not considered a fraud.
But it is in all cases indispensable that the ship's papers should be sent to Elsineur as soon as possi-
ble, that she may be cleared.
Pilotage, &c.-When ships come into Elsineur roads, or lie wind-bound near the Lappen, watermen
come on board to inquire if the master will be carried ashore to clear and in rough weather it is
always best to make use of their services, their boats being generally very safe. The Danish author-
ities have published a Table of rates, being the highest charge that can be made by the boatmen
upon such occasions; but captains may bargain with them for as much less as they please. Most
ships passing the Sound take on board pilots, the signal for one being a flag at the fore-topmast-head.
Those bound for the Baltic take a pilot at Eisineur, who either carries the ship to Copenhagen, or
Dragon, a small town on the south-east extremity of the island of Amack, where she is clear of the
grounds. Those leaving the Baltic take a pilot from Dragoe, who carries the ship to Elsineur.
Sometimes, when the wind is fresh from the E. and S. E., it is impossible for a ship bound for Co-
penhagen or the Baltic to double the point of Cronborg; and in that case an Elsineur pilot is some-
times employed to moor the ship in the channel towards Kull Point on the Swedish shore, in lat.
56° 18' 3" N., lon. 12° 26' E. This contingency is, however, less likely to happen in future, as we un-
derstand the Danish government have recently hired a steam tug for the special purpose of bringing
ships, in adverse weather, round Cronborg Point. The pilots are regularly licensed, so that, by em-
ploying them, the captain's responsibility is at an end. Their charges are fixed by authority, and
depend on the ship's draught of water. We subjoin a copy of the tariff applicable to pilots taken on
board at Elsineur to carry ships to Dragoe, Copenhagen, or Kull Point, with the sums both in silver
and in Rig bank paper dollars.
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648
ELSINEUR.
10
15
16
9
3
9
It
18
15
is
10
6
is
18
16
5
18
3
18
6
4
8
D
17
H
2
5
T
15
10
c 18
7
18
5
7
4
8
14
st
6
E
7
4
10
9
8
14
IS
References to Plan.-A, Castle and light of Cronberg B, Elsineur; C, Helsingborg in Swedes;
D, the bank called the Lappen; E, the bank called the Disken. The soundings are in fathern.
Pilotage from the 1st of April to the 30th of September.
Dragoe.
Copenhagen.
Kell Perst.
Ships drawing water.
Silver.
Paper.
Silver.
Paper.
Silver.
Paper
Feet.
R.b. dr.
ach.
R.D. dr.
sch.
R.b. dr.
ach.
R.b. dr.
ach.
R.b. dr.
seh
R.b. dr.
KA
Under
8
11
78
12
18
9
10
9
35
5
72
5
9
Between
8 and 9
13
16
13
56
TO
6
10
36
6
63
6
W
9 10
14
50
14
94
"
2
11
35
7
53
T
%
10 11
15
84
16
36
M
94
12
34
5
44
8
.
11 12
17
22
17
74
12
91
18
33
9
35
9
a
12
18
18
56
19
10
IS
87
14
st
10
25
10
if
13
14
19
90
20
54
14
83
15
31
11
16
11
50
14
15
21
28
21
98
15
78
16
30
12
7
12
0
16
16
22
62
23
34
16
75
17
29
12
93
13
%
16
17
24
65
25
43
18
56
19
16
13
84
14
,
27
20
37
21
2
15
44
15
9
17
18
26
68
52
18
19
23
71
29
61
22
19
22
85
17
3
17
34
19 20
30
74
31
72
94
0
24
72
IS
59
19
If
26
20
19
90
.
20
21
32
77
33
80
25
77
58
21
22
34
PO
35
89
27
50
28
46
21
74
22
.
22
23
36
98
38
1
29
40
30
32
23
34
94
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ELSINEUR.
649
Pilotage from the 1st of October to the 30th of March.
Dragos.
Copenhagen.
Kull Point.
Ships drawing water.
Silver.
Paper.
Silver.
Paper.
Silver.
Paper.
Fact.
R.b. dr.
sch.
R.b. dr.
sch.
R.b. dr.
sch.
R.b. dr.
ach.
R.b. dr.
sch.
R.b. dr.
sch.
Under
8
14
92
15
40
11
35
11
70
7
53
7
76
Between
6 and 9
16
75
17
30
12
61
13
2
8
73
9
3
9 10
18
66
19
16
13
88
14
64
9
92
10
26
10 - 11
20
37
21
2
15
19
15
64
11
16
11
60
H 12
22
19
22
86
16
47
17
-
18
36
12
73
12 - 13
24
-
24
72
17
73
IS
30
13
55
14
-
18 - 14
25
77
26
58
19
4
19
62
14
75
15
24
14 - 15
27
59
28
46
20
29
20
90
15
95
16
48
15 - 16
29
40
30
32
21
57
23
26
17
17
17
68
16 17
32
12
33
12
24
-
24
78
18
37
IS
92
17 - 18
34
80
35
88
26
39
27
22
90
48
21
14
18 19
37
62
83
68
28
79
29
70
22
57
23
28
19 20
40
24
41
48
31
21
32
19
24
68
25
46
20 21
42
92
44
28
33
60
34
65
26
79
27
64
21 22
45
64
47
9
36
4
37
16
28
88
29
78
22 22 - 23
48
36
49
85
38
43
39
62
31
3
32
0
N. B. When a pilot is taken on board at Dragoe to carry a ship to Elsineur, the charge is the same
as that given under the first head of the above column.-(Archires du Commerce, tome iii. p. 145.)
The Monies, Weights, and Measures of Elsineur are the same as those of Copenhagen (which see),
except that the rixdollar is divided into 4 orts instead of 6 marcs: thus, 24 skillings make 1 ort; and 4
orts 1 rixdollar.
In paying toll, however, at the passage of the Sound, the monies are distinguished into three differ-
ent values; namely, specie, crown, and current.
Specie money is that in which the duties of the Sound were fixed in 1701.
Crown money was the ancient currency of Denmark, in which the toll is sometimes reckoned.
Current money is the actual currency of the country.
The proportion between these denominations is as follows:-
Eight specie rixdollars - 9 crown rixdollars; 16 crown rixdollars - 17 current rixdollars: therefore
to reduce specie money into crown money, add one eighth and for the reverse operation, subtract one
ninth.
To reduce crown money into current money, add one sixteenth; and for the reverse operation, sub-
stract one seventeenth.
Hence, also, 128 specie rixdollars are worth 144 crown rixdollars, or 153 current rixdollars; and
therefore specie money is 12t per cent. better than crown money, and 1917 32 per cent. better than cur-
rent money.
Houses in the Baltic charge the Sound duties in the invoices, and have their own agents at Elsineur
to clear all the merchandise shipped by them. If this be not the case, the merchants at Elsineur then
draw upon the owners or agents where the goods are directed or addressed.
Weights.-A shippound from the Baltic, of 10 stone, is calculated as 300 lbs. Danish; a Russian ber-
kowitz, as 300 lbs. ; a pud, as 30 lbs. Danish; a centner from the Baltic, as 110 lbs.; and a cwt. En-
glish, as 112 lbs. Danish.
Corn Measure of different Places reduced to Danish Lasts, for paying the Sound Dues.
Barth
Grypawalde
Colberg
Wismar
Anclam
}
lasts reckoned as
Riga
5.
Konigsberg
Demmin
3 lasts will be reck-
Dentzic
Rugenwalds
oned in the Sound
Rostock, 5 lasts for 6.
Elbing
The same as
Stolpe
Stettin
as 4 lasts.
}
Memel
the Dutch
Treptow
Warnemunde
6 lasts for 7.
Revel
Stralsund
Winemunde
Petersburgh
Wolgast
Lubeck, 7 lasts for 8.
Oesel
Lasts.
Lasts.
16 Russian chetwerts
I
10 muids from Havre
12
1 cent. of 28 muids French salt, from Rochelle
IS
7 moyos from Cadiz, Lisbon, &c.
12
1 cent. from Bordeaux
18
400 Dutch marts (measures)
7
13 raziers from Dunkirk
1
1 English chaldron, 2 weighs, 2 tons, or 80 bushels
I
Liquid Measure.-A tonneau of French wine is considered as 4 oxhofts, or 24 ankers.
A pipe of Spanish or Portuguese wine, as 2 oxhofts.
30 Spanish arrobas, or 25 Portuguese almudes, as a regular pipe.
30 Spanish arrobas, or 48 pots of oil, as a regular both (pipe); a hogshead of brandy, as 6 ankers; a
tierce, as 4 ankers an anker, 5 velts, or 40 Danish pots.
Duties payable at the Sound on the principal Articles commonly passing through
Rixd. st.
Rixd. et.
Ale or beer. the 8 borsheads, at 4 1.2
0 36
Bristles, the shippound, valued at 36 rixdollars
0 18
Almonds, the 100 lbs.
0 9
Butter, the barrel
0 5
Alum, the shippound
0 12
Cables, cordage, or cable yarn, the shippound
0 6
Anisee 1, the 100 lbs.
0 9
Calicoes, the 8 pieces
0 15
Antimony, the shippoond
0 12
Capers, the pipe, or 2 hogsheads
0 IS
Anchor and locks, the shock of 60
I
0
Cards, for playing or for wool, the 10 dozen
0 6
Apples, the last of 22 barrels
0 18
Cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, or cochineal, the 100 lbs.
0
34
Apothecaries' drugs, the lispound valued at 36 rix-dollars
0
18
Camlets, the 4 pieces
0 10
Argol. the shippound
0
6
Canvass, or cambrics, 4 do.
0 15
Ashes, Arsenic weed, the last of 12 barrels, or 12 do.
do.
0 12
Callimancoes, the 8 do.
0 10
0
6
Campeachy wood, the 500 lbs.
0 18
pot, the last of 12 do., or 12 do.
1
0
Caraway seeds, the 100 do.
0 9
Racon, the shippound
0
9
Caviare, the shippound, valued at 36 rixdollars
0 9
Baize, the single piece
0
3
Cheese, the shippound
0 4
the double do.
0
6
Chesnuts, the 36 sacks
0 36
Balks, great, of oak, the piece
0
3
Cider, the hogshead
0 12
fir,
4 do.
0
6
Clock-work, the 100 lbs. valued at 36 rixdollars
0 18
small, do 20 do.
0 13
Cloth of silk, the piece
0
9
Bay. berries, the 200 lbs.
0 9
fine or short cloths, or double dozens, the 8 pieces
0
9
Beef, salted. the last of 12 barrels
0 36
coarse. or long cloths, or dozens, the 4 do.
0
9
Biscuit, or bread of wheat, 4 barrels
0
6
Coffee, the 200 lbs.
0 24
rye, 4 do.
0 4
Copper, the shippound
0 24
Books, printed, the 100 lbs, valued at 36 rixdollars
0 18
wrought, the 100 lbs. valued at 32 rixdollars
0 6
Brass, or brass wire, the shippound
0 24
Cork, the 30 bundles
0 36
wrought, the 100 lbs. vilued at 36 rixdollars
I
18
Copperas, calamine, or cream of tartar, the shippound
0 6
Brimstone, the last of 12 shippound
1
0
Cotton wool, the 100 lbs.
0 18
Brandy, French or Spaaish, the hogshead
0 24
Corn, barley, the last of 20 barrels
0 22
corn. the barrel
0 6
beans, peas, oata, or buckwheat, the last of 12 do.
0
18
Rhenish, the ahm
0 24
malt, the last of 12 do.
0 12
Brazil wood, the 500 lbs.
0 15
rye, the last of 20 do.
0 10
VoL. L-3 I
82
Digitized by Google
650
ELSINEUR.
Rixd. st.
Rind at.
Corn, wheat, the last of 20 barrels
1
2
on, train, the last of 8 hogsheads, or 12 barrels
0 %
Cortaader and currants, the 200 lbs.
0
6
Olibanum, the 100 lbs.
0 ,
Damask, of silk, the piece
0 12
Olives, the pipe, or 2 hogebeads
0 IS
linen, the 4 pieces
0 10
Oranges, the 12 chests, or 3,600
0 st
woollen, the 8 do.
0 10
Paper, the 8 bales, or 80 reams
0 30
Deals of oak or fir, above 20 feet, the shock
1
0
Pepper, the 100 lbs.
0 12
Carlsham, under 20 feet
0 24
Powter, the shippound
0 14
Prussian
0 36
Pitch, great band
IS
common, 10 to 14 feet, the 1,000
0 36
small
0 ,
Diaper or drilling, the 20 pieces
0 30
Plates of tim, the 4 casks, or shippound
8 12
Down, the shippound
0
36
Plaiding, the 1,000 ells, or 40 pieces
0 50
Druggets, the 2 pieces
0
9
Prunes, the 400 lbs.
0 9
Eels, the last of 12 barrels
0
30
Prunelloes, the 100 do.
0 ,
Elephants' teeth, each
0 36
Quicksilver, the 50 do.
0 %
Feathers, the shippound
0
6
Rapeseed, the last of 24 barrels
0 %
Fernambuco wood, 1,000 lbs.
0 30
Raisins, the 400 lbs., or 36 baskets
0 35
Figa, the 18 baskets, 800 do.
0 48
Rasin, the shippound
0 6
Fish, cod, the last, 12 barrels
0
12
Ribands of silk, or ferrets, the 4 lbs.
0 10
stock, the last, 12 shippound, or 1,000 fish
0 30
gold or silver, the 2 do.
0 10
salmon, the barrel
0
5
Rice, the 200 do.
0 9
salied herrings, do.
0
2
Saffron, the 2 do.
0 ,
red herrings, the last of 20 straes, or 20,000
0 12
Salt, Spanish, French, and Scotch, the last of 18 barrels, or
Flannels, the 8 pieces of 25 ells each
0 10
8 bushels
0 x
Flax, dreased, the shippound
0 36
Lunenburg, the last of 12 bushels
0 %
undressed, as Petersburgh, Narva, 12 bogsheads
Saltpetre, the shippound
9 6
Marienburgh, all fine sorts podilla, racketzer, and
Saya, double, the 2 pieces
0 9
patermoster, the 4 do.
1
0
single, or English, the 4 do.
0 6
coarse, half clean, Furken, Raseets, Memels, and
Sailcloth, the 8 do.
0 20
Marienburg, the 6 do.
I
0
Sarsaparilla, do.
0 IS
tow, the 5 do.
0 18
Shumac, the 400 lbs.
0 ,
Flounders, dry, the 20.000
0 12
Silk, sewing, ferret, wrought lace, the 4 do.
0 10
Flour of wheat, the 200 lbs.
0
9
raw, the 100 do.
0 20
barley or rye, the last of 12 barrels
0 12
stuffs, do.
0 15
Frieze, the piece
0 6
with gold and silver, the piece
0 IS
Galls, or gum, the 200 lbs.
0 9
Skins, beaver, the 5 deckers
0 24
Glass for windows, English, French, Lubeck, and Dantzic,
otter, the piece
0 6
the 8 ches's
0 30
Russia, dry. wolf and fox, the 5 deckers
0 15
Venice, drinking do., the chest
0 9
goat, the 20 do.
0 %
bottles, the ton, 4 hogsheads and 30 schocks
0 30
calf, the 10 do.
0 N
the 2 pipes
0 10
cat and sheep, the 500 pieces
0 IS
quart botiles, 100 lozen, 50 rixdollars
0 24
black rabbit, or lamb, the 1,000 do.
0 IS
Gloves, Russia, or Courland, the 250 pair
0 9
grey rabbit, of kid, the 2,000
0 is
leather, the lozen, value 2 rixdollars
1
0
marten, the 40
0 to
Guapowder, the 100 lbs.
0 6
hare, the bale. valued at @2 rizdollars
0 36
Haberdashery ware, the 100 lbs. valued at 36 rixdollars
0 18
Soap, white, the 100 lhs.
0 ,
Hair, camels' or coneys', the 50 lbs.
0 50
green, the last of 12 barrels
0 36
Handspikes, the 500
0
9
Spara, great, the 25 pieces
0 36
Ha's, felt, the cask
0 12
small, the 1,000 do.
0 16
beaver. the dozen, value 48 rixdollars
0 24
Starch, the 300 lbs.
, 8
cas'or, the dozen,
do.
0 12
Staves, pipe, hogshead, and barrel, the great hundred of 48
Hemp, the shippound
0 8
shocks
0 30
fow, the 10 do.
0 36
Steel, the 100 lbs.
0 4
Hides, elks'. harte', bucks', or Ruesia, the decker
0
9
Stones, Poland. the 1,000 feet of 500 elle
0 30
salted, elks. harts', bucks', or Russia, dr.
0 6
Stockings of silk, the dozen, or 12 lbs.
0 30
dry, elks', harts', bucks', or Russia, the 5 do.
0 18
kerney, woollen, or worsted, for children, the
Russis, the shippound
0 36
100 pair
0 30
Honey, the hogshead
0 7
worsted, floret, and sayet, the 50 do.
0 39
Hops, the hippound
0 6
woollen. for children, the 200 do.
0 30
Horses, the pair
0 36
Sturgeon, the last of 12 barrels
18
Indigo, the 100 lbs.
0 36
Stuffs, woollen, the 8 pieces
0 If
Iron wire, or pans, do.
0
Succade, the 50 lbs.
0 12
4
stoves, plates or pots. the shippound
0 6
Sugar candy, or confectionary, the 100 do.
0 15
bars, bate. bolts, hoops, anchors, and guns, do.
0 4
Inaves, powder, or Muscavado, the 200 lbs.
0 IS
wrought. the 100 lbs. valued at 24 rixdollars
0 12
Sword blades. the 50
0 12
o'd, the "hippound
0 3
hilts, do.
0 15
Ostermunds, do.
Sweetwood, the 100 lbs.
0 ,
0 2
Isinglass, the 100 lbs.
6
Tallow, the shippound
0 6
0
Juniper berries, the 200 do.
0 9
Tarras, the last. 6 shippownd. or 12 barrels
0 %
Kerseys, the 8 pieces
Tar, great band, the last of 12 barrels
0 15
0 10
Lace, silk, or ferret, the 4 lbs.
0 10
small band, the last of do.
0 9
thread, wool, cotton, or hair, the 10 do.
Thread, white and coloured, the 50 lbs.
0 30
0 6
gold and silver, the 1b.
0 5
0 6
gold and silver, the lb.
Lemons, the 12 chests, or 36,000
0 24
Tin, the shippetend
0 94
pickled, the pipe or hogshead
0 9
0 18
Tobacco, the 100 lbs.
Load, fodder, the 'on, or 6 shippound
Treacle, the pipe, or 2 hogsheads
0 35
0 24
shot, the 100 lbs.
0 6
0
4
Turpentine, the shippound
red or white, do.
0 ,
0 2
Verdigria, the 100 lbs.
Leather, Russia or Scotch, the decker
0 %
0 9
Vermilion. do.
Spanish, Conlovan, Turkey, and buff, do.
0 9
0 6
Velvet, fine, the piece
Seme, the 10 do.
0 9
0 36
with thread, the 8 pieces
Bisanes, the 10 do.
0 If
0 18
Vinegar of wine, the hogshead
tanned or sole, the 100 lbs.
, ,
0 9
beer, ale, or cider, the 8 do.
alumed or white, the 500 pieces
0 %
0 18
Wax, the shippound
Lignum vita, the 100 lbs.
0 14
0
9
Wainscot boards, the schock
Lineeed, the last of 24 barrels
0 36
Wine, Bordeaux, the ton, or 4 bogebeads, at 52 rixdollars $
1 %
Linco, calicoes, the 16 pieces
0 30
Picardin, Hoogland, Muscat, and Frontignac, the
flax. the 20 do.
0
0 30
hogsheads
Holl nd. Silesia, and Westphalia, the 4 do.
24
0 10
Spanish or Portuguese, the pipe
hemp. black tow, the 80 do.
1 0
0 30
Italian and Levant
canvass, the 8 do.
0 40
0 30
Rhenish, the ahm
damask, the 12 do.
0 24
0 30
Wire, imn, or brase, the shippound
drilling, the 20 do., or 500 arsbeens
0 94
0 30
steel, the 100 lbs.
from Petersburgh, all sorts, the 40 da., or 2,000 do.
0 5
0
30
gold and silver, the lb.
Logwood, the H00 lbs.
I 0
0 30
Wool, beaver, the 50 lbs.
Mace, the 50 lbs.
0 %
0 18
Spanish, or fine. the 4 shippound
Masts, 15 palms and upwards, the piece
0 X
0 24
coarse, or Sc tch, the 6 do.
small
0 9
0
I
flock. or cutting wool, the 2 do.
for boats, the schock
0 15
1 24
Scotch shirts, the 40 pieces
Mats from Petersburgh, the 1,000
0 10
0 15
shifts, the 8 do.
Mohair. the 50 the
0 ,
0 30
Wood shovels, the 10 schocks
Mustand are I. the last of 12 barrels
0 ,
0 30
dishes or trays, the 5 do.
Nails, Holland or Lubeck. the centner
0 9
0 4
plates, the 5 do.
0 IS
tree nails for ships, the 40,000
0 36
nails, the 20,000
Nutmers. do.
0 %
0 18
Yarn, ton, the 50 lbs.
Nuts. the tast of 20 burrels or sacks
0 X
0 12
linen, the shippound, or 40 schocks
0 %
Oars, great. the schock
0 12
tow, the 4 do.
0 36
small do.
0 8
sail, the shippound
Oil, olive, of Seville or Portugal. the pipe
0 36
0 36
all sorts of woolles, the 50 libe.
rape, lineed, hemp, the last of 8 ahms
0 36
Digitized by Google
ELSINEUR.
651
Memorandum respecting the Mode of preventing certain Overcharges of Sound Duties on Goods shipped
for the Bultic.
There have been many complaints of the Sound duty being overrated on goods which, as they are
not noticed in the tariff, are chargeable ad valorem, (1 per. cent. in the case of the English, Dutch, and
Swedes; 11 per cent. in the case of other nations;) this charge being solely regulated by the value ex-
pressed in the cockets, the only documents by which the Custom-house officers at the Sound are go-
verned. This originates in the shippers of goods finding it expedient occasionally to give a nominal value
to merchandise not liable to an export duty in England, far exceeding the real value, in order to provide
for a further shipment of the same species of goods in the same vessel (which entry can alone be con-
sidered as expressive of the intention to ship goods to that extent). It is, therefore, suggested to the
shippers of merchandise for the Baltic, that, besides the above-mentioned nominal value, they should
cause the real value of the goods actually shipped to be inserted on the reverse of the cocket, as there is
every reason to believe that this real value will then become the criterion by which the Sound duty
will be calculated. For instance, supposing a cocket to run thus
" Know ye that Parkinson and Co. have entered British cottons, value 10,0001, sterling, to be shipped
per the Newland, Francis Hunter, master, for St. Petersburgh:'
The indorsement should be -
P. 1. a. 10. Ten bales cambrics, value 4,7941. 5a. sterling, shipped on board the Newland, Francis
Hunter, for Petersburgh."
(Signed by)
PARKINSON and Co.
(Or by the signing Custom-house officer) N.N.
The Sound duty will then probably be charged not on 10,000L., but on 4,794L 5s. Should, however,
the latter entry be wanting, the first sum will be the only criterion by which to calculate the Sound
duty; and in case of overcharge, no restitution need be hoped for-(Rordanz, Enropean Commerce.)
NAVIGATION OF THE BALTIC.
This is exhibited in the following Account of the Number of Ships that have passed (going and re-
turning) the Sound at different Periods, from the Year 1777 to the present Time, specifying the
Countries to which they belonged.
Countries.
1777.
1780.
1783.
1785.
1787.
1789.
1790.
1792.
1814.
1816.
1820.
1825.
1827.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
British Islands
2,552
1,701
2,862
2,537
2,959
3,501
3,771
4,349
2,319
1,848
3,597
5,186
5,099
4,805
4,274
4,772
3,330
Holland
2,567
2,058
510
1,571
1,436
1,924
2,009
2,181
551
876
853
630
814
1,105
1,227
1,023
1,425
Sweden
1,773
1,880
2,474
2,136
2,395
53
430
2,134
2,759
2,042
1,519
1,319
1,389
1,117
1,188
1,347
1,005
Denmark
1,110
1,341
1,796
1,787
1,337
1,343
1,586
1,362
476
787
792
803
856
865
744
695
835
Prussia
472
671
2,086
1,358
743
943
599
737
1,033
1,014
1,554
2,391
3,038
2,186
2,253
1,810
1,763
Russia
47
43
137
114
96
6
65
495
399
242
335
384
367
405
424
2,483
United States
3
20
30
42
44
68
168
169
230
191
ISO
152
179
189
France
21
8
20
35
111
123
25
12
16
63
72
103
180
199
72
231
Spain
10
7
15
10
23
32
40
22
9
10
8
4
4
Hanover
55
263
458
413
457
602
645
451
542
Imp. (Austria)
5
30
533
66
61
107
6
40
Dantzie
231
174
202
161
200
186
248
209
Mecklenburgh
386
547
602
555
627
664
535
594
Oldenburgh
2
24
35
18
29
47
34
35
44
56
53
78
Lubeek
78
82
125
79
66
83
89
86
28
45
64
121
99
104
80
77
77
Bremen
82
146
263
176
142
181
177
188
248
111
59
34
55
85
79
92
80
Hamburgh
22
31
61
77
62
104
83
36
36
15
31
35
46
25
41
21
Rostoc
79
104
57
101
224
339
338
Papenburgh
61
99
142
Portugal
12
21
29
28
16
33
28
11
42
48
2
9
11
2
Courland
2
7
10
25
10
5
22
21
Naples
I
Venice
2
2
4
2
(It.)
9
2
6
12
8
Norway
83
794
946
951
879
1,161
1,202
1,357
1,535
Greece
2
Totals
9,053
8,291
11,233
10,268
9.746
8,823
9,742
12,114
8,186
8,871
10,926
13,160
13,000
13,486
13,212
12,946
12,202
The statement in this Table for the years 1777, 1780, 1783, and 1789, are taken from the valuable
work entitled Voyage de Deux François au Nord de l' Europe (tom. i. p. 360.); the other years are
taken from the returns sent by the British consul at Elsineur, printed in various parliamentary pn-
pers. We have seen no two returns of the shipping that pass the Sound that quite agree, though the
differences are not very material. The above account, though in many respects most interesting, is
defective, inasmuch as it does not give the tonnage as well as the number of the ships. Since 1831,
however, the British consul has sent returns of the shipping; and it is not improbable that the Danish
authorities may be able to supply this desideratum for a lengthened period. The falling off in- the
amount of British shipping in 1832 was wholly owing to the alarm caused by the prevalence of cholera,
and other evanescent causes.-We subjoin an
Account of the British Shipping employed in the Baltic Trade through the Sound in 1832; exhibiting
the Number of Vessels sent out, the Number of Voyages performed by them, and their Tonnage, as
ascertained by the Consul at Elsineur.-(Papers published by Board of Trade, vol. ii. p. 53.)
To what Ports belonging.
Number of Ships sent out.
Tonnage.
Number of Voyages performed.
Aggregate Tonnage.
England and Wales
679
140,469
1,891
403,997
Scotland
395
50,694
1,362
175,992
Ireland
16
2,193
38
5,233
Guernsey and Jersey
22
3,556
43
6,914
The Colonies
3
699
6
1.398
Total
-
1,115
197,611
3,330
593,533
There were lost in the Baltic, in 1832, 14 British ships, of the burden of 2,897 tons; and 8 British
ships, of the burden of 1,823 tons, were detained in it by the frost at the close of the year, and obliged
to winter in its various ports.
EMBARGO, an order issued by the government of a country to prevent the sailing of
ships.
EMERALD (Fr. Eméraude; Ger. Smaragd; It. ,Smeraldo; Lat. Smaragdus, Sp.
Esmeralda), a precious stone in high estimation. It is distinguished from all other gems by
its peculiar emerald green lustre, varying in intensity from the palest possible tinge to a full
and deep colour, than which, as Pliny has truly stated, nothing can be more beautiful and
Digitized by
Google
652
EMERY, EMIGRANTS.
pleasing nullius coloris aspectus jucundior est. It emulates, he continues, if it do not sur-
pass, the verdure of the spring ; and the eye, satiated by the dazzling glare of the more bril-
liant gems, or wearied by intense application, is refreshed and strengthened by the quiet en-
livening green of the emerald. In Pliny's time, the best came from Seythia. Those met
with in modern times do not often exceed the size of a walnut. Some of a much larger size,
and perfect, have been found, but they are extremely rare. Nero used one as an eye-glass in
surveying the combats of the gladiators. Hitherto it has always been found crystallised.
Specific gravity from 2.6 to 2.77.-(Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. xxxvii. cap. 5.; Thomson's
Chemistry.)
" For the last two centuries and more, the only country known to yield emeralds is Peru. where
they occur in Santa Fé, and in the valley of Tunca. Several large stones have appeared in Europe:
about 2 years ago I cut one, exceeding 2ounces in weight, for the Emperor of Morocco, but it was full
of imperfections. The largest specimen known is an hexagonal crystal, nearly 6 inches long. and
above 2 in diameter. This gem, however small, is so rarely seen perfect, that 'an emerald without:
flaw has passed into a proverb. A fine stone of 4 carats may be valued at 401. or 501, or even more
if very pure. Inferior stones of 1 or 2 carats are sold at from 40s. to 70s. per carat; and if smaller and
defective, at 10s. or 15s. per carat. Fine emeralds are rare, and in such demand, that a particular BUR
has been known to have passed into the possession of a series of purchasers, and to have made the
tour of Europe in the course of half a century."-(Mawe on Diamonds, 2d ed. p. 104.)
EMERY (Fr. Emeril, Emeri; Ger. Smirgel; It. Smerglio, Smeregio; Sp. Esmeril;
Rus. Nashdak; Lat. Smiris), a mineral brought to Britain from the isle of Naxos, where
exists in large quantities. It occurs also in Germany, Italy, and Spain. It is always in
shapeless masses,.and mixed with other minerals. Colour intermediate between greyish
black and bluish grey. Specific gravity about 4. Lustre glistening and adamantion.
Emery is extensively used in the polishing of hard bodies. Its fine powder is obtained by
trituration.-(Thomson's Chemistry.)
(EMIGRANTS.-It will be seen from the subjoined accounts, that the number of emigrants
to Canada and the United States, was very decidedly greater in 1831 and 1832 than in either
of the 2 preceding or 2 following years. The falling off in 1833 seems to have been mainly
a consequence of the alarms occasioned by the breaking out of cholera, during the previous
year, in a very aggravated state, in some of the emigrant ships, and at Quebec. This cit-
cumstance had less influence in 1834, and the emigration for that year was considerably
greater; but it has since fallen off, particularly to Canada, partly because of the increasing
prosperity of this country, and partly because a higher price is demanded for government
land in Canada than for public land in the United States.
Account of the Number of Emigrants, specifying the Coun-
Account of the Number of Emigrants
tries whence they came, and the Numbers from each, that
arrived at New-York from the
arrived at Quebec during the Seven Years ending with
United Kingdom,separating between
1835.-(Part. Paper, No. 76. Sess. 1836.)
those from England, Scotland, and
Ireland, during the Seven Years end-
Where from.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1838.
1934.
1835-
ing with 1835.-(Part. Paper, at SEP).
England and Wales
3,563
6,799
10,343
17,481
5,198
6,799
3,067
Ireland
9,614
18,300
34,133
28,204
12,013
19,206
7,108
Eng.
Ire-
Scot-
Year.
Total
Scotland
2,643
2,450
5,354
5,500
4,196
4,591
2,127
land.
land.
land.
Hamburgh and Gib-
raltar
15
1829
8,110
2,443
94%
11.5%
Nova Scotia, New.
1830
16,360
3,497
1,584
31,433
foundland, West
1831
13,908
6,721
2,07%
26"
18,947
3.26
NN
Indies, &c. &c.
123
451
424
546
345
339
225
1882
6,050
1833
M6,190
15,945
28,000
50,254
21,752
30,935
1834
1530
51,746
12,527
1833
16.70
Grand Total
211,152
Grand Total
143,213
Return of the Number of Emigrants from the United Kingdom in 1833, 1834, and 1835, specifying the
Colonies and Countries for which they cleared out, and the Numbers that cleared out for esch-
(Parl. Paper, at supra.)
Colonies in North
United States of
America.
America.
Cape of Good Hope.
Australian Colours
t
1833.
1834.
1835.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1833.
1834.
1985.
England
5,783
6,520
3,665
22,392
25,981
22,046
516
287
325
3,317
2,666
1,746
Scotland
5,592
4,954
2,450
1,963
2,880
1,990
1
1
253
134
1141
Ireland
17,431
28,586
9,458
4,764
4,213
2,684
-
23
Totals
28,808
40,060
15,573
29,109
33,074
26,720
517
283
325
4,093
2,800
1.90
Total Number of Emigrants, in 1833, 62,527-in 1834, 76,229-in 1835, 44,488.
Passenger Acts-Policy of.-It appears from the above statement that, during 1833
1834, and 1835, no fewer than 183,237 voluntary emigrants left the United Kingdom:
173,344 being destined for America, and 9,893 for the Australian colonies and the Cape of
Good Hope. Such being the extent to which emigration is carried, the propriety, or rather
necessity, of enacting some general regulations, with respect to the conveyance of emigrants
to their destination, must be obvious to every one at all acquainted with the subject. The
greater number of emigrants are in humble life; few among them know any thing of ships,
or of the precautions necessary to insure a safe and comfortable voyage they are, also, for the
most part poor, and exceedingly anxious to economise, so that they seldom hesitate to embat
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in any ship, however unfit for the conveyance of passengers, or inadequately supplied with
provisions, provided it be cheap. Unprincipled masters and owners have not been slow to
take advantage of this, and in order to prevent the frauds that have been, and that would be,
practised on the unwary, it has been found indispensable to lay down some general regula-
tions as to the number of passengers to be taken on board ships as compared with their ton-
nage, the quantity of water and provisions as compared with the passengers, &c. But this
is no very easy task. If the limitations be too strict, that is, if comparatively few passengers
may be carried, or if the stock of provisions to be put on board be either unnecessarily large
or expensive, the cost of emigration is proportionally enhanced; and an artificial and serious
impediment is thrown in the way of what ought to be made as easy as possible, consistent
with security. But, on the other hand, if too many passengers be allowed, their health is
liable to suffer; and should the supply of provisions be inadequate, or the quality bad, the
most serious consequences may ensue. The Passage Act (6 G. 4. c. 116.) obliged too great
a quantity of expensive provisions to be put on board, and was, in consequence, objected to
by emigrants as well as shippers. The act, 9 G. 4. c. 21. (art. PASSENGERS) avoided this
error; but it, too, was defective, inasmuch as it made no provision with respect to the sufficiency
of the ship, the having a surgeon or other properly qualified medical person on board ships
carrying a certain number of passengers, and in other particulars.
These deficiencies have been in part supplied by the act of 1835 (5 & 6 W. 4. c. 53.), of
which a full abstract is subjoined. But we doubt whether even it will completely answer
the end in view. During 1834 no fewer than 17 ships, with passengers on board, bound
for Quebec, were wrecked on the passage: 731 emigrants losing their lives in consequence,
while many more lost most part of their property, and were reduced to the greatest difficul-
ties. These losses principally took place in the gulf and river of St. Lawrence; but we
should err if we ascribed them entirely, or principally even, to the difficulty of the navigation.
Emigrants to Quebec are mostly taken out in ships engaged in the timber trade; and it is
well known that, speaking generally, these are a very inferior class; it being the usual prac-
tice to turn worn-out ships, unfit to carry dry cargoes, into this department. Most part of
the catastrophies alluded to may, we are assured, be ascribed to this circumstance, and to the
misconduct of the masters and crews. We doubt whether the clause (7th) in the present
act as to the sea-worthiness of the ship will be sufficient to obviate the disasters arising from
the use of improper vessels. And we incline to think that, in addition to what is stated in
the act, it should be further provided that all British ships, not standing in the class A. or the
class AE. of the new register (see post), should be prohibited from undertaking to carry passen-
gers and that either some similar regulation should be adopted with respect to foreign ships,
or that they should be prohibited from clearing out with passengers, unless reported as sea-
worthy and suitable for their conveyance by government surveyors appointed for that pur-
pose. There can be no question as to its being the bounden duty of government to take
every reasonable precaution for obviating shipwreck. And, even if higher considerations did
not make an effectual interference imperative, it is pretty certain that the check given to
emigration to Canada, by the shipwrecks and destruction of life that have recently taken
place, is much greater than any that could be given by the trifling addition that the adoption
of some such plan as has now been suggested would make to its cost.
The subjecting of captains of ships to an examination, and the exclusion of spirits (see arti-
cle SHIPS, Supplement), would go far to obviate the other causes of loss. The abso-
lute prohibition of ardent spirits in emigrant ships, except as a medicine, has been strongly
recommended by Mr. Buchanan, the agent for emigrants in Canada. This recommendation
should, we think, be adopted. It is partially, indeed, carried into effect by the 10th clause
of the subjoined act. But the better way would be, not to allow any spirits of any sort to be
taken on board ships conveying emigrants, except a few gallons to be used as a cordial in
case it should be recommended by the doctor. If more than this be allowed, it will afford
facilities for the clandestine introduction of a still greater quantity; and cannot be otherwise
than injurious.
The new act does not make it imperative on ships conveying passengers to America to
have a surgeon on board and, perhaps, when bound for New York, he may not be required.
But the voyage to Quebec is often very tedious; and much suffering and loss of life have
frequently arisen from no medical officer being on board emigrant ships destined for that
port.
It has been said, that if we lay constrictions on the conveyance of emigrants to Quebec, it
will make New York the great landing port, and throw the business of their conveyance
entirely into the hands of the Americans. But the regulations enforced in the subjoined
act, and those we have suggested, apply equally to both parties. And it is, besides, true that
a continuance of the old system, attended as it, no doubt, would have been by a repetition of
the most appalling disasters, would have had the very effect falsely ascribed to judicious
regulations. It would have prevented any one not compelled by necessity-who was
not, in fact, a beggar-from sailing in a vessel bound for Quebec. We subjoin the new
act:-
3 I 2
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EMIGRANTS.
Repeal, &c.-The act 9 Geo. 4. c. 21. directed to be repealed.- 1.
No Ship to sail with more than Three Persons on board for every Five Tons.-No ship carrying passen-
gers from any port or place in the U. K., or in Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Bark, or Man, on any voy-
age for any port or place out of Europe, and not within the Mediterranean, shall proceed on her
voyage with more than 3 persons on board for every 5 tons of the registered burden of such ship, the
master and crew being Included in, and forming part of, such prescribed number; and no ship, having
more than one deck, shall carry any passengers upon any such voyage, unless she be of the height of
51 feet at least between decks; and no ship, having only one deck, shall carry any passengers upon
any such voyage, unless a platform be laid beneath such deck, 80 as to afford a space of the height of
at least 51 feet, and no ship shall have more than 2 tiers of berths; and no ship ving 2 tiers of berths,
shall carry any passengers, on any such voyage, unless there be an interval of 6 inches, at least, be-
tween the deck or platform and the floor of the lower tier, throughout the whole extent thereof: pro-
vided, that whatever be the tonnage of the ship, no greater number of persons shall be taken on board,
as passengers, than shall be after the rate of one person for every 10 superficial feet of the lower deck
or platform unoccupied by goods or stores, not being the personal luggage of such persons, if such
ship shall not have to pass the line on her voyage, or after the rate of one such person for every 15
clear superficial feet, if such ship have to pass the line.-> 2.
Quantity of Water and Provisions to be carried by Vessels with Passengers.-No ship carrying passen-
gers on any voyage, as aforesaid, shall be cleared out for such voyage from any port in the U. K., or
in the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, &c., unless there be actually laden and on board such ship good
and wholesome provisions for the use and consumption of the said passengers, over and above the
victualling of the crew, to the amount or in the proportion following; viz. a supply of five gallons of
pure water to every week of the computed voyage for every passenger on board such ship, such water
being carried in tanks or sweet casks, and a supply of 7 lbs. weight of bread, biscuit, oatmeal, or
bread stuffs, to every week of the computed voyage for every passenger provided, that to the extent
of one third of such supply, and no more, 7 lbs. weight of potatoes may be held to be equivalent to 1
lb. weight of bread, biscuit, oatmeal, or bread stuffs, in the supply of any ship bound to any place is
North America: provided, that when any ship shall be destined to call at a port or place in the course
of her voyage, for the purpose of filling up her water, a supply of water, at the rate before mentioned,
for every week of the computed voyage to such port or place of calling, shaH be deemed to be a com-
pliance with the provisions of this act.-d 3.
Number of Weeks requisite for Voyage of Vessel.-The number of weeks deemed to be necessary for
the voyage of any such ship, according to her destination, shall be determined by the following rule
of computation viz.
For a voyage to North America, 10 weeks.
-
South America, on the Atlantic Ocean, or to the West Coast of Africa, 12 weeks.
-
the Cape of Good Hope, 15 weeks.
-
to the Mauritius, 18 weeks.
Any other voyage, 24 weeks.-d 4.
Officers to examine Provisions and Water before Departure of Vessel.-Before any such ship shall be
cleared out, the officers of customs shall survey, or cause to be surveyed by some competent person,
the provisions and water before required for the consumption of the passengers, and ascertain that
the same are sweet and good, and shall also ascertain that, over and above the same, there is on board an
ample supply of water and stores for the victualling of the crew of the ship; and such officers shall
also ascertain that the directions herein contained, in respect of the situations of berths, have been
complied with. 5.
Table of the Prices of Provisions to be sold on board.-The master of every such ship shall cause a table
to be drawn up of the prices at which any provisions or stores, to be sold by any person on board to the
passengers, during the voyage, are to be supplied; and a copy of the same, printed or written ina
fair and legible manner, shall be affixed in some convenient and conspicuous place on board said ship,
and the same shall be maintained for continual reference, as well during the period in which passen-
gers shall be engaged, as during the whole of the voyage; and no higher prices than are stated in such
table shall in any case be charged for such provisions or stores during the voyage but nothing herein
contained shall be construed as requiring the master of any ship to provide provisions or stores for the
purpose of sale to passengers who have contracted to victual themselves during the voyage - 6.
Seaworthiness of the Ship may be ascertained by Survey.-If doubts arise whether any ship about to
proceed with passengers, as aforesaid, is seaworthy, or fit for her intended voyage, and such doubts
are not removed to the satisfaction of the collector and comptroller of customs at the port from which
such vessel is to be cleared out, it shall be lawful for such collector and comptroller to cause such ship
to be surveyed by 2 competent persons; and if it be reported by them, that such ship is not. in their
opinion, seaworthy, with reference to such voyage, such ship shall not be cleared out, unless the con-
tents of such report he disproved to the satisfaction of the commissioners of customs, or until the ship
be rendered seaworthy.-d
Copies or Abstracts of this Act to be kept on board.-Two copies of this act, or abstracts of the same,
provided and issued by the commissioners of customs, and authenticated by the signature of the col-
lector or comptroller of customs at the port of clearance, shall be delivered to the master, on demand,
by the collector or comptroller at the time of clearance, and shall be kept on board every ship proceed-
ing with passengers as aforesaid, and one of such copies or abstracts shall, upon request made to the
master of the ship, be produced to any passenger for his perusal.-d 8.
A Medical Practitioner to sail with every ship carrying 100 Passengers.-No ship carrying passengers
to any port or place as aforesaid, except in North America, if the number of passengers amount to of
exceed 100, shall clear out from any port in the U. K., or in the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Ac., un-
less there be rated, and actually serving on board such ship. some person duly authorized to practise
as a physician, surgeon, or apothecary, and no such ship shall put to sea, or proceed on such voyage,
unless such medical practitioner be therein, and bonu fule proceed on such voyage, taking with him a
medicine chest. and a proper supply of medicines, instruments, and other things suitable to the in-
tended voyage and no ship carrying passengers under the provisions of this act shall clear out for
any voyage as aforesaid, unless there be actually laden and on board such ship medicines and other
things necessary for the medical treatment of the passengers on board, during such intended voyage.
and available for that purpose, nor unless such medicines and other things shall be adequate. 18
amount and kind, to the probable exigencies of any such voyage; and, together with such medicines
and things, shall also be put on board every such ship previously to her clearing out for such voyage.
n certificate under the hands of 2 or more medical practitioners, to the effect that such medicines and
things have been inspected by them, and are, in their judgment, adequate to meet any such probable
exigencies.- 9.
Ships carrying Passengers prohibited from exporting Spirits, &c.-No ship carrying passengers If
aforesaid shall be cleared out if there be laden on board her, by way of stores, over and above the
stores proper for the crew, any quantity of spirits or strong waters beyond one tenth part of such
quantity as would, except for this restriction, be allowed by the officers of customs upon the victual-
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ling bill of such ship for the outward voyage only, according to the number of persons going the voy-
age.-d 10.
Muster to deliver List of Passengers to Collector of Customs.-The master of every ship carrying pas-
sengers shall, before clearing out his ship, deliver to the collector or other principal officer of customs,
at such port or place, a list in writing, together with a duplicate of the same, specifying, as accurately
as may be, the name, age, profession, or occupation of every passenger on board such ship, with the
name of the port or place at which he hath contracted to land each passenger; and such collector or
other officer shall thereupon deliver to the said master a counterpart of such list signed by him; and
the master shall exhibit this counterpart of his said list to the collector or other chief officer of cus-
toms at any port or place in H. M.'s possessions, or to H.M.'s consul at any foreign port, at which the
said passengers, or any of them, shall be landed, and shall deposit the same with such collector or
chief officer of customs, or such consul, at his final port of discharge in such possessions.— 11.
Master not to land Passengers at Place not contracted for.-The master of a ship carrying passen-
gers as aforesaid shall not, without his or her previous consent, land or put on shore any passenger at
any port or place other than that at which he contracted to land or put such passenger on shore.- 12.
How Children are to be computed.-For the purpose and within the meaning of this act, 2 children,
each being under the age of 14 years, but above the age of 7 years, or 3 children, each being under the
age of 7 years, shall in all cases be computed as one person only; and children under the age of 12
months shall not be included in the number of persons.- Φ 13.
Fines in case of Detention.-It any ship shall not actually put to sea and proceed upon any intended
voyage on the day appointed for that purpose by any contract made by the owner, master, or charterer
of such ship, or by their agent, with any passenger who shall on that day be on board the same, or
ready to proceed on such intended voyage, then, in every such case, the master of the ship shall pay
to each and every passenger as shall have contracted to victual himself, a fine at the rate of 1s. for
each day during which he or she shall be detained previously to the actual clearing out and final de-
parture of the ship on the voyage, and the same may be recovered daily; and the master of such ship
shall victual each and every passenger as shall have contracted to be victualled by the ship owner on
and from the day 50 appointed: provided that no such fine shall be payable in respect of any detention
of the vessel by stress of weather or other unavoidable cause.- 1 14.
Passengers to be maintained for 48 Hours after their Arrival.-At the close of any voyage every per-
son arriving as a passenger at any port or place shall, during the space of 48 hours after arrival, be
entitled to continue on board such ship, and to be provided for and maintained on board in the same
manner as during the voyage, unless it have been expressly stipulated between such passenger and
the master of such ship, that such passenger shall not be entitled to such maintenance during the said
48 hours, or unless, in the ulterior prosecution of her voyage, the ship quit such part or place within
the said 48 hours.-> 15.
Penalties in case of Infringement of the preceding Enactments.-If any ship carrying passengers on
any voyage from the U. K., or the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, &c., to or for any port or place out of
Europe, and not in the Mediterranean, shall carry any number of passengers exceeding by more than
1 person in 50 the proportion authorised and allowed by this present act; or if such ship shall not be
of the height between decks before required; or if such a platform as before directed shall not be laid
and continued throughout the whole duration of such voyage, in the manuer before required: or if
there be more than 2 tiers of berths; or if there be not throughout the whole duration of such voyage
such an interval, as is before prescribed, between the deck and the floor of the lower tier of berths
or if such ship shall clear out and put to sea, not having on board such water and provisions as afore-
said, for the use and consumption of the passengers, of the kind, and to the amount, and in the propor-
tion, before required; or if a table of the prices of provisions or stores be not exhibited as before re-
quired or if any higher prices than are named in such table shall be charged; or if there be not on
board such vessel such medical practitioner as aforesaid, or such medicines and other things necessary
to the medical treatment of the passengers, as is before required; or if such ship shall be cleared out bo-
fore such list of passengers as before mentioned have been delivered in manner and form aforesaid to
such officer ns aforesaid; or if any such list be wilfully false; or if the copy or abstract of this act be
not produced as before required or if any passenger be not allowed to continue on board such ship
as before provided; or if any passenger, without previous consent, be put on shore at any place other
than that at which the master had contracted to land such passenger; the master of such ship shall,
in respect of each and every such offence, be liable, on summary conviction, as is after mentioned, to
the payment of a fine of not less than 51. nor more than 201. sterling British money.- 16.
The Right of Action of Passengers not taken away or abridged.-Nothing herein contained shall take
away or abridge any right of suit or action which may accrue to any passenger or other person, in
respect of the breach or non-performance of any contract made or entered into between or on behalf
of such passenger or person, and the master or owners of such ship.-d 17.
Prosecution and Recovery of Penalties.-These are to be sued for, proceeded with, and determined
in the same manner and under the same condition, as in the case of penalties under the smuggling
acts (art. SMUGGLING), or the acts relating to the customs, or to trade or navigation. Provided, that
in preferring and prosecuting indictments or informations under this act, the direction and consent of
commissioners of customs shall not be required, any thing in such acts of parliament to the contrary
notwithstanding.-& 18.
Masters of Vessels to enter into Bond for the due Performance of Regulations.-Before any ship carry-
ing passengers clear out from the U. K., or the islands of Guernsey, Jersey, &c. for any port or place
out of Europe, and not in the Mediterranean, the master of said ship shall enter into a bond to H. M.,
with one good and sufficient surety, to be approved by the collector or chief officer of customs at the
port of clearance, in the sum of 1,000l., the condition of which bond shall be, that the said ship is sea-
worthy, and that all the rules and regulations prescribed by this act for the carriage of passengers shall
be well and truly performed before and during such intended voyage, and that all penalties, fines, and
forfeitures, which the master of such ship may be sentenced or adjudged to pay in respect of the
breach or non-performance of any such rules and regulations, shall be well and truly paid: provided
that such bond shall be without stamps, and that no such bond shall be put in suit, and that no prosecu-
tion, suit, action, or information shall be brought by virtue of this act, or by reason of the breach of
any of its provisions, in any of H. M.'s possessions abroad, after the expiration of 12 calendar months
succeeding the commencement of any such voyage, nor in the U. K., or any of the islands before men-
tioned, after the expiration of 12 calendar months after the return of the master to the port whence he
sailed on such voyage.-d 19.
Exception of particular Ships.Nothing in this act shall be construed to extend to ships carrying pas-
sengers in cases in which the number of persons, computed in manner before provided, shall not ex-
ceed 1 person for every 5 tons of the registered burden of such ship; nor shall any thing in this act
extend to any ship in the service of the Lords of the Admiralty, of H. M.'s Postmaster General, or of
the East India Company.-> 20.
Bahamas, &c., deemed in South America.-The Bahama Islands, and all places in America southwards
of the same, shall be deemed to be in South America for the purposes of this act.-d 21.-Sup.)
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ENGROSSING-EXCHANGE.
ENGROSSING, is " the buying up of corn and other dead victuals with intent to sell
them again."-(Blackstone, book iv. cap. 12.) We have shown in another article, how ab-
surd it is to suppose that this practice should have any injurious influence-(antè, p. 491.).
But, for a long time, most scarcities that occurred were either entirely ascribed to the infu-
ence of engrossers and forestallers—(see FORESTALLING)-Or, at least, were supposed to be
materially aggravated by their proceedings. In consequence, however, of the prevalence of
more just and enlarged views upon such subjects, the statutes that had been made for the
suppression and punishment of engrossing, forestalling, &c. were repealed in 1772.-(See
antè, p. 485.) But notwithstanding this repeal, engrossing continues to be an indictable
offence, punishable at common law by fine and imprisonment; though it is not at all likely,
were an attempt made, that any jury would now be found ignorant or prejudiced enough to
convict any one on such a charge.
ENTRY, BILL OF. See IMPORTATION.
ERMINE (Ger. Hermelin; Fr. Hermine, Ermine; Rus. Gornostai), a species of weasel
(Mustela candida Lin.), abundant in all cold countries, particularly Russia, Norway, Lap-
land, &c., and producing a most valuable species of fur. In summer, the ermine is of a
brown colour, and is called the stoat. It is in the winter only that the fur has that beautiful
snowy whiteness and consistence 80 much admired.-(See FURS.)
ESPARTO, a species of rush, the Stipa tenacissima of botanists. It is found in the
southern provinces of Spain; and is particularly abundant on all the sterile, uncultivated and
mountainous districts of Valencia.-Beckmann (Hist. of Invent. vol. ii. p. 288. Eng. ed.)
supposes, apparently with good reason, that the stipa tenacissima is the plant described by
Pliny under the name of Sparta, who ascribes its application to useful purposes to the Car-
thaginians-(Hist. Nat. lib. xix. c. 2.). It is still used for the same purposes as in anti-
quity, being manufactured into cordage, shoes, matting, baskets, nets, mattrasses, sacks, &c.
Cables made of esparto are said to be excellent being light, they float on the surface of the
water, and are not, therefore, so liable as hempen cables to be cut or injured by a foul bottom.
They are exclusively made use of in the Spanish navy. Esparto is largely consumed in the
manufacture of alpergates. These are light shoes worn by the Valentian peasantry, having
platted soles made either of esparto or hemp, but principally of the former. They are ex-
tremely cheap and commodious in hot climates; and besides being in extensive demand at
home, used to be exported in immense quantities to both Indies; but since the emancipation
of Spanish America, this trade has greatly fullen off. The Spanish peasantry have attained
to wonderful dexterity in the manufacture of esparto. " After having soaked the rush in
water, the women and children, without either wheel or spindle, contrive to twist two threads
at the same time. This they do by rubbing them between the palms of their hands, in the
same manner as a shoemaker forms a thread upon his knees, with this difference, that one
motion gives the twist to each thread, and, at the same time unites them. To keep the
threads asunder, the thumb of the right hand is interposed between them and when that is
wanted for other purposes, the left thumb supplies its place. Two threads being thus twisted
into one of the bigness of a large crow-quill, 46 yards are sold for little more than Jd, the
materials being worth about 3th part of the Townsend's Travels in Spain, vol. iii.
p. 177., see also p. 129.; Fischer's Picture of Valencia, Eng. ed. p. 92. and p. 57. &c.)
ESTRICH OR ESTRIDGE (Fr. Duvel d'autruche; It. Penna matta di strozzo; Sp.
Plumazo de avestrux; Lat. Struthionum plumæ molliores), is the fine soft down which
lies immediately under the feathers of the ostrich. The finest is used as a substitute for bea-
ver in the manufacture of hats, and the coarser or stronger sort is employed in the fabrication
of a stuff which resembles fine woollen cloth. Estridge is brought from the Levant, Italy,
and other parts of the Mediterranean.
EUPHORBIUM (Ger. Euphorbiengummi; Lat. Euphorbium ; Fr. Euphorbe; Arab.
Akal-nafzah), the produce of a perennial plant, a native of Africa, and of many parts of India,
&c. It is a concrete gum resin is inodorous; when first chewed has little taste, but it soon
gives a very acrid burning impression to the tongue, palate, and throat, which is very perma-
nent, and almost insupportable. It is imported in serons containing from 100 to 150 lbs. It
is in small, hollow, forked pieces, often mixed with seeds and other impurities.-(Thomson's
Dispensatory.)
EXCHANGE. In commerce, this term is generally used to designate that species of
mercantile transactions, by which the debts of individuals residing at a distance from their
creditors are cancelled without the transmission of money.
Among cities or countries having any considerable intercourse together, the debts mutually
due by each other approach, for the most part, near to an equality. There are at all times,
for example, a considerable number of persons in London indebted to Hamburgh; but,
speaking generally, there are about an equal number of persons in London to whom Ham-
burgh is indebted. And hence, when A. of London has a payment to make to B.of
Hamburgh, he does not remit an equivalent sum of money to the latter but he goes into
the market and buys a bill upon Hamburgh, that is, he buys an order from C. of London his
addressed to his debtor D. of Hamburgh, requesting him to pay the amount to A. or
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order. A., having indorsed this bill or order, sends it to B., who receives payment from his
neighbour D. The convenience of all parties is consulted by a transaction of this sort. The
debts due by A. to B., and by D. to C., are extinguished without the intervention of
any money. A. of London pays C. of ditto, and D. of Hamburgh pays B. of ditto. The
debtor in one place is substituted for the debtor in another; and a postage or two, and the
stamp for the bill, form the whole expenses. All risk of loss is obviated.
A bill of exchange may, therefore, be defined to be an order addressed to some person
residing at a distance, directing him to pay a certain specified sum to the person in whose
favour the bill is drawn, or his order. In mercantile phraseology, the person who draws a
bill is termed the drawer; the person in whose favour it is drawn, the remitter; the person
on whom it is drawn, the drawee; and after he has accepted, the acceptor. Those persons
into whose hands the bill may have passed previously to its being paid, are, from their writ-
ing their names on the back, termed indorsers; and the person in whose possession the bill
is at any given period, is termed the holder or possessor.
The negotiation of inland bills of exchange, or of those drawn in one part of Great Britain
and Ireland on another, is entirely in the hands of bankers, and is conducted in the manner
already explained.-(See anlè, p. 71.) Bills drawn by the merchants of one country upon
another are termed foreign bills of exchange, and it is to their negotiation that the following
remarks principally apply.
1. Par of Exchange.-The par of the currency of any two countries means, among
merchants, the equivalency of a certain amount of the currency of the one in the currency
of the other, supposing the currencies of both to be of the precise weight and purity fixed by
their respective mints. Thus, according to the mint regulations of Great Britain and France,
1L sterling is equal to 25 fr. 20 cent., which is said to be the par between London and Paris.
And the exchange between the two countries is said to be at par when bills are negotiated on
this footing; that is, for example, when a bill for 100L drawn in London is worth 2,520 fr.
in Paris, and conversely. When 14 in London buys a bill on Paris for more than 25 fr. 20
cent., the exchange is said to be in favour of London and against Paris; and when, on the
other hand, 1/. in London will not buy a bill on Paris for 25 fr. 20 cent., the exchange is
against London and in favour of Paris.-(See Table of the par of exchange at the end of this
article.)
II. Circumstances which determine the course of Exchange.-The exchange is affected,
or made to diverge from par, by two classes of circumstances: first, by any discrepancy be-
tween the actual weight or fineness of the coins, or of the bullion for which the substitutes
used in their place will exchange, and their weight or fineness as fixed by the mint regula-
tions; and, secondly, by any sudden increase or diminution of the bills drawn in one country
upon another.
1. It is but seldom that the coins of any country correspond exactly with their mint stand-
ard and when they diverge from it, an allowance corresponding to the difference between
the actual value of the coins, and their mint value, must be made in determining the real
par. Thus, if, while the coins of Great Britain corresponded with the mint standard in weight
and purity, those of France were either 10 per cent. worse or debased below the standard of
her mint, the exchange, it is obvious, would be at real par when it was nominally 10 per
cent. against Paris, or when a bill payable in London for 100l. was worth in Paris 2,772 fr.
instead of 2,520 fr. In estimating the real course of exchange between any 2 or more places,
it is always necessary to attend carefully to this circumstance; that is, to examine whether
their currencies be all of the standard weight and purity, and if not, how much they differ
from it. When the coins circulating in a country are either so worn or rubbed as to have
sunk considerably below their mint standard, or when paper money is depreciated from ex-
cess or want of credit, the exchange is at real par only when it is against such country to the
extent to which its coins are worn or its paper depreciated. When this circumstance is
taken into account, it will be found that the exchange during the latter years of the war,
though apparently very much against this country, was really in our favour. The depression
was nominal only being occasioned by the great depreciation of the paper currency in which
bills were paid.
2. Variations in the actual course of exchange, or in the price of bills arising from circum-
stances affecting the currency of either of two countries trading together, are nominal only
such as are real grow out of circumstances affecting their trade.
When two countries trade together, and each buys of the other commodities of precisely the
same value, their debts and credits will be equal, and, of course, the real exchange will be at
par. The bills drawn by the one will be exactly equivalent to those drawn by the other, and
their respective claims will be adjusted without requiring the transfer of bullion or any other
valuable produce. But it very rarely happens that the debts reciprocally due by any two
countries are equal. There is almost always a balance owing on the one side or the other;
and this balance must affect the exchange. If the debts due by London to Paris exceeded
those due by Paris to London, the competition in the London market for bills on Paris
would, because of the comparatively great amount of payments our merchants had to make
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in Paris, be greater than the competition in Paris for bills on London; and, consequently, the
real exchange would be in favour of Paris and against London.
The cost of conveying bullion from one country to another forms the limit within which
the rise and fall of the real exchange between them must be confined. If 1 per cent. sufficed
to cover the expense and risk attending the transmission of money from London to Paris, it
would be indifferent to a London merchant whether he paid 1 per cent. premium for a bill
of exchange on Paris, or remitted money direct to that city. If the premium were less than
1 per cent., it would clearly be his interest to make his payments by bills in preference to
remittances: and that it could not exceed 1 per cent. is obvious; for every one would prefer
remitting money, to buying a bill at a greater premium than sufficed to cover the expense of
a money remittance. If, owing to the breaking out of hostilities between the two countries,
or to any other cause, the cost of remitting money from London to Paris were increased, the
fluctuations of the real exchange between them might also be increased. For the limits
within which such fluctuations may range, correspond in all cases with the cost of making
remittances in cash.
Fluctuations in the nominal exchange, that is, in the value of the currencies of countries
trading together, have no effect on foreign trade. When the currency is depreciated, the
premium which the exporter of commodities derives from the sale of the bill drawn on his
correspondent abroad, is only equivalent to the increase in the price of the goods exported,
occasioned by this depreciation. But when the premium on a foreign bill is a consequence,
not of a fall in the value of money, but of a deficiency in the supply of bills, there is no rise
of prices; and in these circumstances the unfavourable exchange operates as a stimulus to
exportation. As soon as the real exchange diverges from par, the mere inspection of a price
current is no longer sufficient to regulate the operations of the merchant. If it be unfavour-
able, the premium which the exporter will receive on the sale of his bill must be included in
the estimate of the profit he is likely to derive from the transaction. The greater that pre-
mium, the less will be the difference of prices necessary to induce him to export. And hence
an unfavourable real exchange has an effect exactly the same with what would be produced
by granting a bounty on exportation equal to the premium on foreign bills.
But for the same reason that an unfavourable real exchange increases exportation, it pro-
portionally diminishes importation. When the exchange is really unfavourable, the price of
commodities imported from abroad must be so much lower than their price at home, as not
merely to afford, exclusive of expenses, the ordinary profit of stock on their sale, but also to
compensate for the premium which the importer must pay for a foreign bill, if he remit one
to his correspondent, or for the discount, added to the invoice price, if his correspondent draw
upon him. A less quantity of foreign goods will, therefore, suit our market when the real
exchange is unfavourable; and fewer payments having to be made abroad, the competition
for foreign bills will be diminished, and the real exchange rendered proportionally favourable.
In the same way, it is easy to see that a favourable real exchange must operate as a duty on
exportation, and as a bounty on importation.
It is thus that fluctuations in the real exchange have a necessary tendency to correct
themselves. They can never, for any considerable period, exceed the expense of transmitting
bullion from the debtor to the creditor country. But the exchange cannot continue either
permanently favourable or unfavourable to this extent. When favourable, it corrects itself
by restricting exportation and facilitating importation; and when unfavourable, it produces
the same effect by giving an unusual stimulus to exportation, and by throwing obstacles in
the way of importation. The true PAR forms the centre of these oscillations; and although
the thousand circumstances which are daily and hourly affecting the state of debt and credit,
prevent the ordinary course of exchange from being almost ever precisely at par, its fluctua-
tions, whether on the one side or the other, are confined within certain limits, and have a
constant tendency to disappear.
This natural tendency which the exchange has to correct itself, is powerfully assisted by
the operations of the bill-merchants.
England, for example, might owe a large excess of debt to Amsterdam, yet, as the aggregate
amount of the debts due by a commercial country is generally balanced by the amount of
those which it has to receive, the deficiency of bills on Amsterdam in London would most
probably be compensated by a proportional redundancy of those on some other place. Now,
it is the business of the merchants who deal in bills, in the same way as of those who deal
in bullion or any other commodity, to buy them where they are cheapest, and to sell them
where they are dearest. They would, therefore, buy up the bills drawn by other countries
on Amsterdam, and dispose of them in London; and by so doing, would prevent any great
fall in the price of bills on Amsterdam in those countries in which the supply exceeded the
demand, and any great rise in Great Britain and those countries in which the supply hap-
pened to be deficient. In the trade between Italy and this country, the bills drawn on Great
Britain amount almost invariably to a greater sum than those drawn on Italy. The bill-
merchants, however, by buying up the excess of the Italian bills on London, and selling
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them in Holland, and other countries indebted to England, prevent the real exchange from
ever becoming very much depressed.
III. Negotiation of Bills of Exchange.-Bills of exchange are either made payable at
sight, at a certain specified time after sight or after date, or at usance, which is the usual
term allowed by the custom or law of the place where the bill is payable. Generally,
however, a few days are allowed for paymentbeyond the term when the bill becomes due. which
are denominated days of grace, and which vary in different countries. In Great Britain and
Ireland, three days' grace are allowed for all bills except those payable at sight, which must
be paid as soon as presented. The following is a statement of the usance and days of grace
for bills drawn upon some of the principal commercial cities:-
[m/d. m/s. d/d. d|s. d/a. respectively denote months after date, months after sight, days
after date, days after sight, days after acceptance.]
London on
Usance.
Days of
London on
Usance.
Days of
London on
Usance.
Days of
Grace.
Grace.
Grace.
Amsterdam
1 m/d.
6
Geneva
30 d d.
5
Viennat
14 d|a.
3
Rotterdam
1 m/d.
6
Madrid
2 m's.
14
Malta
30 d d.
13
Antwerp
1 m d.
6
Cadiz
60 d.
6
Naples
3 m d.
3
Hamburgh
1
12
Bilboa
2 m d.
14
Palermo
3 m d.
0
Altona
1 m d.
12
Gibraltar
2 m S.
14
Lisbon
30 d S.
6
Dantzic
14 d a.
10
Leghorn
3 in d.
0
Oporto
30 d S.
6
Paris*
30 d d.
10
Leipsic
14 d a.
0
Rio Janeiro
30 d d.
6
Bordeaux
30 d.d.
10
Genoa
3 m d.
30
Dublin
21 d s.
3
Bremen
1 m d.
8
Venice
3 m d.
6
Cork
21 d;s.
3
Barcelona
60 d'd.
14
In the dating of bills, the new style is now used in every country in Europe, with the ex-
ception of Russia.
In London, bills of exchange are bought and sold by brokers, who go round to the prin-
cipal merchants and discover whether they are buyers or sellers of bills. A few of the brokers
of most influence, after ascertaining the state of the relative supply and demand for bills,
suggest a price at which the greater part of the transactions of the day are settled, with such
deviations as particular bills, from their being in very high or low credit, may be subject to.
The price fixed by the brokers is that which is published in Wettenhall's List; but the first
houses generally negotiate their bills on 1, 1, 11, and 2 per cent. better terms than those
quoted. In London and other great commercial cities, a class of middlemen speculate largely
on the rise and fall of the exchange; buying bills when they expect a rise, and selling them
when a fall is anticipated.
It is usual, in drawing foreign bills of exchange, to draw them in sets, or duplicates, lest the
first should be lost or miscarry. When bills are drawn in sets, each must contain a condition
that it shall be payable only while the others remain unpaid: thus, the first is payable only,
" second and third unpaid;" the second, first and third being unpaid," and the third, first
and second unpaid."
All bills of exchange must be drawn upon stamps as under:-
Inland Bills and Notes.Not exceeding Two Months after Date, or
Exceeding Two
Sixty Days after Sight.
Months, &c.
£ s.
£ s.
£ 8. d.
£ 8. d.
If - - 20 and not above
55 -
-
- 0 1 0
0 1 6
Above
55
-
20 0 -
-
- 0 1 6
020
-
20 0
-
30 0 -
-
- 0 2 0
026
-
30 0
-
50 0 -
-
- 0 2 6
0 3 6
-
50 0
-
100 0 -
-
- 0 3 6
046
-
100 0
-
200 0 -
-
- 0 4 6
0 5 0
I
200 0
-
300 0 -
-
- 0 5 0
060
-
300 0
-
500 0 -
-
- 0 6 0
086
-
500 0
-
1,000 0 -
-
- 0 8 6
0126
- 1,000 0
-
2,000 0 -
-
- 0 12 6
0 15 0
- 2,000 0
-
3,000 0 -
-
- 0 15 6
150
- 3,000 0
-
-
-
-
-
- 150
100
Promissory notes from 21. to 100Z. inclusive are not to be drawn payable to bearer on demand (ex-
cepting bankers' re-issuable notes, which require a different stamp).-But notes for any sum exceed-
ing 1001. may be drawn either payable to bearer on demand, or otherwise.-(See antè, p. 75.)
Foreign Bills of Erchange.-Foreign bill, drawn in but payable out of Great Britain, if drawn singly
the same duty as an inland bill.
Foreign bills of exchange, drawn in sets, 8. d.
s. d.
for every bill of each set, if the sum does
Exceeding 500l. and not exceeding 1,0001. 50
not exceed 1001.
-
1
6
- 1,000l.
-
2,000! 7 6
Exceeding 1001. and not exceeding 2001. - 3 0
- 2,0001.
-
3,0001. 10 0
- 2001.
-
5001. - 40
-
3,000l.
-
-
15 0
No one acquainted with the fundamental rules of arithmetic can have any difficulty what-
ever in estimating how much a sum of money in one country is worth in another, according
to the state of the exchange at the time. The common arithmetical books abound in examples
* In France, no days of grace are allowed on bills payable a tue.
+ In Austria, bills payable at sight, OF on demand, or at less than 7 days after sight or date, are not
allowed any days of grace.
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of such computations. But in conducting the business of exchange, a direct remittanceisnet
always preferred. When a merchant in London, for example, means to discharge a debt due
by him in Paris, it is his business to ascertain not only the state of the direct exchange
between London and Paris, and, consequently, the sum which he must pay in London for a
bill on Paris equivalent to his debt, but also the state of the exchange between London and
Hamburgh, Hamburgh and Paris, &c.; for it frequently happens that it may be more advan-
tageous for him to buy a bill on Hamburgh, Amsterdam, or Lisbon, and to direct his agent
to invest the proceeds in a bill on Paris, rather than remit directly to the latter. This is
termed the ARBITRATION of exchange. An example or two will suffice to show the prim-
ciple on which it is conducted.
Thus, if the exchange between London and Amsterdam be 35s. Flemish (old coinage) per pound ster-
ling, and between Paris and Amsterdam 1s. 6d. Flemish per franc, then, in order to ascertain whether
a direct or indirect remittance to Paris would be most advantageous, we must calculate what would
be the value of the franc in English money if the remittance were made through Holland; for if it be
less than that resulting from the direct exchange, it will obviously be the preferable mode of remit-
ting. This is determined by stating, as 35s. Flem. (the Amsterdam currency in a pound sterling) Is.
6d. Flem. (Amsterdam currency in a franc) 11. 10d. the proportional, or arbitrated value of the
franc.-Hence, if the English money, or bill of exchange, to pay a debt in Paris, were remitted by
Amsterdam, it would require 10d. to discharge a debt of a franc, or 11. to discharge a debt of 24 france:
and, therefore, if the exchange between London and Paris were at 24, it would be indifferent to the
English merchant whether he remitted directly to Paris, or indirectly via Amsterdam but if the ex-
change between London and Paris were above 24, then a direct remittance would be preferable; while,
if, on the other hand, the direct exchange were less than 24, the indirect remittance ought as plainly
to be preferred.
Suppose," to borrow an example from Dr. Kelly (Universal Cambist, vol. ii. p. 137.), "the ex-
change of London and Lisbon to be at 68d. per milree, and that of Lisbon on Madrid 500 rees per dollar,
the arbitrated price between London and Madrid is 34d. sterling per dollar; for as 1,000 rees 66d.
500 rees 34d. But if the direct exchange of London on Madrid be 35d. sterling per dollar, then London,
by remitting directly to Madrid, must pay 35d. for every dollar; whereas, by remitting through Lisbon,
he will pay only 34d. it is, therefore. the interest of London to remit indirectly to Madrid through Lis-
bon. On the other hand, if London draws directly on Madrid, he will receive 35d. sterling per dollar;
whereas, by drawing indirectly through Lishon, he would receive only 34d. : it is, therefore, the interest
of London to draw directly on Madrid. Hence the following rules
1. Where the certain price is given, draw through the place which produces the lowest arbitrated
price, and remit through that which produces the highest.
"2. Where the uncertain price is given, draw through that place which produces the highest arbitrated
price, and remit through, that which produces the lowest."
In compound arbitration, or when more than 3 places are concerned, then in order to find how much
a remittance passing through them all will amount to in the last place, or, which is the same thing, to
find the arbitrated price between the first and the last, we have only to repeat the different statements
in the same manner as in the foregoing example.
Thus, if the exchange between London and Amsterdam be 35s. Flem. for 11. sterling; between Am-
sterdam and Lisbon 42d. Flem. for 1 old crusade and between Lisbon and Paris 480 rees for 3 france:
what is the arbitrated price between London and Paris
In the first place, as 35a. Flem. II. : 42d. Flem. 2s. sterling = 1 old crusade.
Second, as 1 old crusade, or 400 rees: 2s. sterling 480 rees: 2s. 48d. sterling = 3 francs.
Third, as 2s. 48d. sterling: 3 francs 11. sterling 25 francs, the arbitrated price of the pound ster-
ling between London and Paris.
This operation may be abridged as follows :-
11. sterling.
11. sterling
=
35s. Flemish.
31 shillings Flem. =
1 old crusade.
1 old crusade
-
400 rees.
480 rees
-
3 france.
35 x 400 x 3
4,200
Hence
=
=
25
francs.
480 3t
168
This abridged operation evidently consists in arranging the terms so that those which would form
the divisors in continued statements in the Rule of Three are multiplied together for a common di-
visor, and the other terms for a common dividend. The ordinary arithmetical books abound with
examples of such operations.
The following account of the manner in which a very large transaction was actually conducted by
indirect remittances, will sufficiently illustrate the principles we have been endeavouring to explain.
In 1804, Spain was bound to pay to France a large subsidy and, in order to do this, three distinct
methods presented themselves:-
1. To send dollars to Paris by land.
2. To remit bills of exchange directly to Paris.
3. To authorise Paris to draw directly on Spain.
The first of these methods was tried. but it was found too slow and expensive and the second and
third plans were considered likely to turn the exchange against Spain. The following method by the
indirect, or circular exchange, was, therefore, adopted.
A merchant, or banquier, at Paris, was appointed to manage the operation, which he thus conduct-
ed :-He chose London, Amsterdam, Hamburgh, Cadiz, Madrid, and Paris, as the principal binges on
which the operation was to turn; and he engaged correspondents in each of these cities to support
the circulation. Madrid and Cadiz were the places in Spain from whence remittances were to be
made; and dollars were, of course, to be sent to where they bore the highest price, for which bills
were to be procured on Paris, or on any other places that might be deemed more advantageous.
The principle being thus established, it only remained to regulate the extent of the operation, 90 as
not to issue too much paper on Spain, and to give the circulation RS much support as possible from
real business. With this view, London was chosen A8 a place to which the operation might be chicfly
directed, as the price of dollars was then high in England; a circumstance which rendered the pro-
portional exchange advantageous to Spain.
The business was commenced at Paris, where the negotiation of drafts issued on Hamburgh and
Amsterdam served to answer the immediate demands of the state; and orders were transmitted to
these places to draw for the reinbursements on London, Madrid, or Cadiz, according as the course of
exchange was most favourable. The proceedings were all conducted with judgment, and attended will
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complete success. At the commencement of the operation, the course of exchange of Cadiz on Lon-
don was 36d. ; but, by the plan adopted, Spain got 394d., or above 8 per cent. by the remittance of dol-
lars to London, and considerable advantages were also gained by the circulation of bills through the
several places on the Continent.-(Kelly's Cambist, vol. ii. p. 168.; Dubost's Elements of Commerce, 2d
ed. p. 218.)
LAW OF BILLS OF EXCHANGE.
The chief legal privileges appertaining to bills are, first, that though only a simply contract, yet they
are always presumed to have been originally given for a good and valuable consideration ; and, se-
condly they are assignable to a third person not named in the bill or party to the contract, so as to
vest in the assignee a right of action, in his own name which right of action, no release by the drawer
to the acceptor, nor set-off or cross demand due from the former to the latter, can affect.
All persons, whether merchants or not, being legally qualified to contract, may be parties to a bill.
But no action can be supported against a person incapable of binding himself, on a bill drawn, indorsed,
or accepted by such incapacitated person; at the same time the bill is good against all other compe-
tent parties thereto.
Bills may be drawn, accepted, or indorsed by the party's agent or attorney verbally authorised for
the purpose. When a person has such authority, he must either write the name of his principal, or
state in writing that he draws, &c. as agent: thus, per procuration, for A. B."
Where one of several partners accepts a bill drawn on the firm, for himself and partners, or in
his own name only, such acceptance binds the partnership if it concern the trade. But the acceptance
of one of several partners on behalf of himself and partners, will not bind the others, if it concern the
acceptor only in a separate and distinct interest ; and the holder of the bill, at the time he becomes so,
was aware of that circumstance. If, however, he be a bonú fide holder for a sufficient consideration,
and had no such knowledge at the time he first became possessed of the bill, no subsequently acquired
knowledge of the misconduct of the partner in giving such security will prevent him from recovering
on such bills against all the partners.
Although no precise form of words is required to constitute a bill of exchange or promissory note,
yet it is necessary that it should be payable at all crents, and not depend on any contingency and that
It be made for the payment of money only, and not for payment of money and performance of some
other act, as the delivery of a horse, or the like.
If, however, the event on which the payment is to depend must Inevitably happen, it is of no im-
portance how long the payment may be in suspense 80 a bill is negotiable and valid if drawn payable
6 weeks after the death of the drawer's father, or payable to an infant when he shall become of age
Any material alteration of a bill after it has been drawn, accepted, or indorsed, such as the date,
sum, or time of payment, will invalidate it: but the mere correction of a mistake, as by inserting the
words "or order," will have no such effect.
The negotiability of a bill depends on the insertion of sufficient operative words of transfer; such
as by making it payable to A. or order, or to A. or bearer, or to bearer generally.
Although a bill is presumed to have been originally drawn upon a good and valuable consideration,
yet in certain cases a want of sufficient consideration may be insisted on in defence to an action on a
bill. Certain considerations have been made illegal by statute; as for signing a bankrupt's certificate,
for money won at gaming, or for money lent on a usurious contract. But with respect to gaming, it is
held, that a bill founded on a gambling transaction is good in the hands of a bona fide holder; and by
58 Geo. 3. c. 93. a bill or note in the hands of an innocent holder, although originally founded on a usu-
rious contract, is not invalid.
In general, if a bill is fair and legal in its origin, a subsequent illegal contract or consideration on the
indorsement thereof will not invalidate it in the hands of a bond fide holder.
A bill cannot be given in evidence in a court of justice, unless it be duly stamped, not only with a
stamp of the proper value, but also of the proper denomination.
Acceptance of a Bill.-An acceptance is an engagement to pay a bill according to the tenor of the ac-
ceptance, which may be either absolute or qualified. An absolute acceptance is an engagement to pay
a bill according to its request, which is done by the drawee writing Accepted" on the bill, and sub-
scribing his name, or writing Accepted" only ; or merely subscribing his name at the bottom or
across the bill. A qualified acceptance is when a bill is accepted conditionally as when goods conveyed
to the drawee are sold, or when a navy bill is paid, or other future event which does not bind the ac-
ceptor till the contingency has happened.
An acceptance may be also partial; as to pay 1001., instead of 150L., or to pay at a different time or
place from that required by the bill. But in all cases of a conditional or partial acceptance, the holder
should, if he mean to resort to the other parties to the bill in default of payment, give notice to them
of such partial or conditional acceptance.
In all cases of presenting a bill for acceptance, it is necessary to present the bill at the house where
the drawee lives, or where it is made payable. By 1 & 2 Geo. 4. c. 78., all bills accepted payable at a
banker's or other place are to be deemed a general acceptance but if they are accepted payable at a
banker's only, and not otherwise or elsewhere," it is a qualified acceptance, and the acceptor is not
liable to pay the bill, except in default of payment when such payment shall have been first demanded
at the banker's. The drawee is entitled to keep the bill 24 hours when presented for acceptance. The
acceptance of an inland bill must be in writing on the fuce of the bill, or, if there be more parts than
one. on one of such parts; nothing short of this constitutes a valid acceptance.
If a bill is made payable a certain time after sight, it must, in order to fix the time when it is to be
paid, be presented for acceptance, and the date of the acceptance should appear thus Accepted, July
1st, 1831."
Due diligence is the only thing to be considered in presenting any description or bill for acceptance;
and such diligence is a question depending on the situation of the parties, the distance at which they
live, and the facility of communication between them.
When the drawee refuses to accept, any third party, after protesting, may accept for the honour of
the bill generally, or for the drawee, or for the indorser; in which case the acceptance is called an ac-
ceptance supra protest.
The drawers and indorsers are discharged from liability, unless due notice of non-acceptance when
presented for acceptance, or non-payment at the time the bill becomes due, is given. These notices
must be given with all due diligence to all the parties to whom the holder means to resort for pay-
ment. Generally, in both foreign and Inland bills, notice is given next day to the immediate in-
dorser, and such indorser is allowed a day, when he should give fresh notice to the parties who are
liable to him.
Notice may be sent by the post, however near the residence of the parties may be to each other
and though the letter containing such notice should miscarry, yet it will be sufficient; but the letter
containing the notice should be delivered at the General Post-office, or at a receiving-house appointed
by that office, not to the bellman in the street. In all cases of notice, notice to one of several parties
is held to be notice to all; and if one of several drawers be also the acceptor, it is not necessary to
give notice to the other drawers.
VOL. I.-3 K
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Upon the non-acceptance or non-payment of a bill, the holder, or a public notary for him, should
protest it; that is, draw up a notice of the refusal to accept or pay the bill, and the declaration of
the holder against sustaining loss thereby. Inland bills need not be protested in practice they are
usually only noted for non-acceptance; but this, without the protest, is wholly futile, and nothing
whatever to the evidence of the holder, while it entails a useless expense on those liable to pay.
Indorsement of Bills.-An indorsement is the act by which the holder of a negotiable instrument
transfers his right to another person, termed the indorsee. It is usually made on the back of a bill, and
must be in writing ; but the law has not prescribed any set form of words as necessary to the ceremo-
ny, and in general the mere signature of the indorser is sufficient.
All bills payable to order or to bearer for 11. and upwards are negotiable by indorsement; and the
transfer of them for a good consideration, before they are payable, gives a right of action against all
the precedent parties on the bill, if the bills in themselves are valid; but a transfer after they are due
will only place the holder in the situation of the person from whom he takes them.
Bills may be transferred either by delivery only, or by indorsement and delivery bills payable to
order are transferred by the latter mode only; but bills payable to bearer may be transferred by either
mode. On a transfer by delivery, the person making it ceases to be a party to the bill; but on a
transfer by indorsement, he is to all intents and purposes chargeable as a new drawer.
A bill originally transferable may be restrained by restrictive words; for the payee or indorsee.
having the absolute property in the bill, may, by express words, restrict its currency, by indorsing it
" Payable to A. B. only," or to A. B. for his use," or any other words clearly demonstrating his in-
tention to make a restrictive and limited indorsement. Such special indorsement precludes the person
in whose favour it is made from making a transfer, so as to give a right of action against the special
indorser, or any of the precedent parties to the bill.
In taking bills to account or discount, it is important well to examine all special indorsements. Lord
Tenterden decided that a person who discounts a bill indorsed Pay to A. B. or order for my use,"
discounts it subject to the risk of having to pay the money to the special indorser, who $0 limited the
application for my use; thus a party may be liable to pay the amount of the bill twice over, unless
he previously ascertains that the payment has been made conformably to the import of the indorsement.
After the payment of part, a bill may be indorsed over for the residue.
Presentment for Payment-The holder of a bill must be careful to present it for payment at the time
when due, or the drawer and indorsers will be exonerated from their liability ; even the bankruptcy,
insolvency, or death of the acceptor will not excuse a neglect to make presentment to the assignees
or executor; nor will the insufficiency of a bill in any respect constitute an excuse for non-presentment;
the presentment should be made at a reasonable time of the day when the bill is due; and if by the
known custom of any trade or place bills are payable only within particular hours, a presentment
must be within those hours. If a bill has a qualified acceptance, the presentment should be at the
place mentioned in such qualified acceptance, or all the parties will be discharged from their obli-
gations.
If a bill fall due on Sunday, Good Friday, Christmas Day, or any public fast or thanksgiving day,
the presentment must be on the day preceding these holidays. By 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 15., if a bill or
note be payable on the day preceding these holidays, notice of the dishonour may be given the day
following the holiday and if Christmas Day fall on Monday, notice may be given on Tuesday.
Bills, however, payable at usance, or at a certain time after date or sight, or after demand, ought
not to be presented for payment precisely at the expiration of the time nentioned in the bills, but at
the expiration of what are termed days of grace. The days of grace allow vary in different coun-
tries, and ought always to be computed according to the usage of the place where the bill is due.-See
antè, p. 659.) At Hamburgh, and in France, the day on which the bill falls due, makes one of the days
of grace; but no where else.
On bills payable on demand, or #hen no time of payment is expressed, no days of grace are allowed;
but they are payable instantly on presentment. On bank post bills no days of grace are claimed; but
on a bill payable at sight the usual days of grace are allowed from the sight or demand.
Payment of a bill should be made only to the holder; and it may be refused unless the bill be pro-
duced and delivered up. On payment, a receipt should be written on the back and when a part is
paid, the same should be acknowledged upon the bill, or the party paying may be liable to pay the
amount a second time to a bona fide indorser.
Promissory Notes and Checks.-The chief distinction between promissory notes and bills of exchange
is, that the former are a direct engagement by the drawer to pay them according to their tenor. with-
out the intervention of a third party as a drawee or acceptor. Promissory notes may be drawn payable
on demand to a person named therein, or to order, or to bearer generally. They are assignable and
indorsable and in all respects so nearly assimilated to bills by 3 & 4 Ann. c. 9., that the laws which
have been stated as bearing upon the latter, may be generally understood as applicable to the former.
In Edis V. Bury it has been decided, in case an instrument is drawn so equivocally as to render it
uncertain whether it be a bill of exchange or promissory note, the holder may treat it as either against
the drawer.
Promissory notes, bills, drafts. or undertakings in writing, being made negotiable or transferable,
for a less sum than 20s., are void, and persons uttering such are subject to a penalty not exceeding
201, recoverable before a justice of peace.
The issue of any promissory note payable to bearer on demand for a less sum than 51. by the Bank
of England, or any licensed English banker, is prohibited and by 9 Geo. 4, c. 65. it is provided. that
no corporation or person shall utter or negotiate, in England, any such note which has been made or
issued in Meotland, Ireland, or elsewhere, under a penalty not exceeding 201. nor less than 51. But
this does not extend to any draft or order on bankers for the use of the drawer.
Promissory notes for auy sum exceeding 1001. may be drawn payable to bearer on demand or other-
wise; but notes from 21. to 1001. inclusive are not to be drawn payable to bearer on demand, except
bankers' re-issuable notes, which require a different stamp.
A check or draft is as negotiable as a bill of exchange, and vests in the assignee the same right of
action against the assignor. As to the presentation of checks, &c., see CHECK.
Any person making. accepting, or paying any bill, draft, order, or promissory note, not duly stamped,
is liable to R penalty of 501. for post-dating them, 1001. ; and for not truly specifying the place where
unstamped drafts are issued, 1001 ; and any person knowingly receiving such unstamped draft, 201.;
and the banker knowingly paying it, 1001.; besides not being allowed such suin in account.
Before concluding this article on mercantile paper, it may not be improper to introduce one or two
cantions with regard to acceptances, and accoumodation paper, and proceedings in case of the loss
of bills.
First, A man should not put his name as acceptor to a bill of exchange without well considering
whether he has the means of paying the same when due, as otherwise he may be liable not only to the
costs of the action against himself, but also to the costs of the actions against the other parties to the
bill: the shrewd tradesman is generally anxious to get the acceptance of his debtor at a short date,
well knowing that it not only fixes the amount of the debt, but it is more speedily recoverable by legal
procedure than a book debt.
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EXCHANGE.
663
Secondly, Traders who wish to support their respectability, and desire to succeed in business,
should be cautious in resorting to the destructive system of cross-accommodation acceptances it sel-
dom ends well, and usually excites suspicion as to the integrity of the parties it being an expedient
often adopted by swindlers to defraud the public. Independent of the expense in stamps and discounts,
and frequently in noting, interest, and law expenses, the danger attending such accommodation is
sufficient to deter from the practice. Suppose, for instance, A. and B. mutually accommodate each
other to the amount of 1,000l. the acceptances being in the hands of third persons both A. and B. are
liable to such third persons to the extent of 2,000% each; and should A. by any unforeseen occurrence
be suddenly rendered unable to meet his acceptances, the holders of the whole, as well the accept-
ances of A. as the acceptances of B., will resort to B. for payment; and it may 80 happen, that al-
though B. could have provided for his own share of the accommodation paper, he may be unable to
provide for the whole, and may thus become insolvent.
Thirdly, In case of a loss of a bill, the 9 & 10 Will. 3. c. 17. provides, that if any inland bill be
lost or missing within the time limited for its payment, the drawer shall on sufficient security given
to indemnify him if such bill be found again, give another bill of the same tenor with the first.
Lastly, It is of great importance to bankers and others taking bills and notes, that they should have
some knowledge of the parties from whom they receive them; otherwise, if the instrument turn out
to have been lost or fraudulently obtained, they may, without equivalent, be deprived of their securi-
ty, on an action by the owner to recover possession. Lord Tenterden decided, "if a person take a
bill, note, or any other kind of security, under circumstances which ought to excite suspicion in the mind
of any reasonable man acquainted with the ordinary affairs of life, and which ought to put him on his
guard to make the necessary inquiries, and he do not, then be loses the right of maintaining posses-
sion of the instrument against the rightful owner."- Guildhall, Oct. 25, 1826.)
1. Table containing the VALUE OF THE MONIES of Account of different Places (expressed in Pence
and Decimals of Pence), according to the Mint Price both of Gold and Silver in England that is,
31. 17s. 104d. per OZ. for Gold, and 5a. 2d. per oz. for Silver.-(Kelly's Cambist, vol. ii. p. 149.)
Coins.
Value in
Value in
Coins.
Value in
Value in
Silver.
Gold.
Silver.
Gold.
d.
d.
Hamburgh, Pound Flemish cur-
d.
d.
Aix-la-Chapelle, Rixdollar cur-
rent
-
111.15
variable
rent
-
-
3140
31:43
Hanover, Rixdollar (In cash) -
42.
42.26
Amsterdam, Rixdollar banco
Rixdollar (gold value) -
39
39-24
(agio at 4 per cent.) -
52.54
variable
Königsberg, Gulden or florin -
12.
variable
Florin banco
-
-
21.
ditto
Leghorn, Pezza of 8 reals
-
46.25
4916
Florin current -
-
20.72
ditto
Lira moneta buona
-
8.13
8-55
Pound Flemish current
12432
ditto
Lira moneta lunga
-
7.79
8.19
Antwerp, Pound Flemish (mo-
Leipsic, Rixdollar convention
ney of exchange)
-
123.25
123.87
money
-
37.80
variable
Florin (money of ex-
Rixdollar in Louis d'ors
change)
-
-
20.54
20-64
or Fredericks
-
-
39.68
Pound Flemish current
105.65
106-18
Malta, Scudo or crown
-
21.32
23:34
Fiorin current -
-
17-60
1770
Milan, Lira Imperiale -
-
10:41
10:53
Barcelona, Libra Catalan
-
28:14
2670
Lira corrente
-
-
7-45
7.44
Basil Rixdollar, or ecu of ex-
Scudo Imperiale
-
60.90
61.60
change
-
-
47.27
47-
Scudo corrente
-
42.32
4278
Rixdollar current
-
42.45
42-20
Modena, Lira
-
-
-
3.72
Berlin Pound banco
-
-
47.25
variable
Munich, Gulden or florin
-
21.
21.28
Rixdollar current
-
35.
ditto
Naples, Ducat of 1818 -
-
41:20
41.22
Berne, Ecu of 3 livres -
-
42.64
42.90
Parma, Lira
-
-
2.35
2.40
Crown of 25 batzen
-
35.53
35.75
Persia, Toman of 100 mamoodis
287.60
Bremen, Rixdollar current
-
37.80
variable
Poland, Gulden or florin
-
6.03
6.27
Rixdollar in Carls d'op
39-68
Portugal, Milree
-
-
-
67.34
Cassel, Rixdollar current
-
37.80
variable
Old crusade
-
-
-
26.94
Cologne, Rixdollar specie of 80
Riga, Rixdollar Alberts
-
52.54
variable
albuses
-
-
31.38
ditto
Rixdollar currency (agio
Rixdollar current of 78
at 40 per cent.)
-
37.53
ditto
albuses
-
-
30.60
ditto
Rome, Scudo or crown
-
52.05
51-63
Constantinople, Piastre, or dollar
9:45
uncert.
Scudo di stampa d'oro
79.37
78.73
Dantzic, Gulden or florin
-
a
9.
Russia, Rouble
-
-
-
variable
Denmark, Rixdollar specie
-
54.72
Sardinia, Lira -
-
-
18:21
18:82
Rixdollar crown money
48.37
Sicily, Ounce
-
-
-
123.54
124.80
RixdollarDanish currency
44 27
44.88
Rcudo or crown
-
49.02
49.92
England, Pound sterling
-
240
240
Spain, Real of old plate
-
488
4 57
Florence, Lira -
-
,
8:12
8.53
Real of new plate
5.18
4.86
Ducat, or crown current
56:84
59.71
Real of Mexican plate
6.48
6.07
Scudo d'or,or gold crown
-
63.97
Real vellon
-
-
2.59
2.43
France, Livre Tournois
-
9.58
9:38
Dollar of old plate, or of
Franc (new system)
-
970
9.52
exchange
-
-
39.
36.59
Francfort, Rixdollar convention
Sweden, Rixdollar
-
-
55:41
56:43
money
-
-
37:80
37.65
Switzerland, Franc, (new sys-
Rixdollar Muntze, or in
tem)
-
-
22.14
small coins
-
-
31.50
Trieste, Florin, Austrian cur-
Germany, Rixdollar current -
37.80
variable
rency
-
-
25.20
25.05
Rixdollar specie
.
-
50:40
ditto
Lira, Trieste currency
4'76
4-73
Florin of the Empire -
25.20
ditto
Lira di plazza
-
-
4.65
4-63
Rixdollar Muntze
-
31 50
ditto
Turin, Lira
-
-
-
11.28
11.23
Florin Muntze -
-
21.
ditto
Valencia, Libra
-
-
39:45
39.59
Geneva, Livre current -
-
16.13
16:13
Venice, Lira piccola (in the old
Florin
-
-
-
4.60
484
coins)
-
-
5.07
variable
Genoa, Lira fuori banco
-
8.
7.83
Lira piccola (in the coins
Pezza, or dollar of ex-
introduced by the Aus-
change
-
-
45.92
45.50
trians)
-
-
4.25
ditto
Scudo di cambio, or
Vienna, Florin -
-
-
25:20
25.05
crown of exchange -
36-75
36.02
Zante, Real
-
-
-
4'06
variable
Hamburgh, Mark banco (at med.)
18:22
variable
Zurich, Florin (money of ex-
Pound Flemish banco -
136.65
ditto
change)
-
.
25.85
ditto
Mark current
-
-
14.82
variable
Florin current -
-
23.50
ditto
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664
EXCHANGE.
II. Par of Exchange between England and the following Places, viz. Amsterdam, Hamburgh, Parks,
Madrid, Lisbon, Leghorn, Genoa, Naples, and Venice the same being computed from the intrinsic
Value of their principal Coins, by comparing Gold with Gold, and Silver with Silver, according to
their Mint Regulations, and to Assays made at the London and Paris Mints.-Presented by Dr.
Kelly Payments.) to the Committee of the House of Lords, on the Expediency of the Bank's resuming Cash
Gold.
Silver.
Explanations.
Old Coinage.
New Coinage.
Mint
Regula-
Assays.
Mint
Mint
Monies of Exchange.
tions.
Regula-
Assays.
Regula.
Assays.
tions.
tions.
Amsterdam, banco
36 8
36 6.8
37 3
37 10-5
35 0
35 6-5
Schillings and pence Flemish per pound sterling.
Agio 2 per cent.
Do. current
11 4-5
11 3.8
11 8-5
11 11-8
10 14-6
10 17.6
Florins and stivers per pound sterling.
Hamburgh
3435
35 1-5
34
35 1-3
32 11
32 11.5
Schillings and pence Flemish banco per pound steri.
Paris
25-20
25 26
24 73
24 91
23 23
23 40
France and centimes per pound sterling.
Madrid
373
37-2
39.2
39-0
41.7
41-5
Pence sterling for the piastre or dollar of exchange.
Lisbon
67-4
67.5
60.41
58-33
64.30
62-69
Pence sterling per milres.
Leghorn
49-1
49-0
46-46
46-5
49-60
49-5
Pence sterling per pezza of exchange.
Genoa
45-5
45-5
46-46
489
49.4
52-0
Pence sterling per pezra fuori banco."
Naples
41-22
41-42
43.9
Pence sterling per ducat (new coinage of 1818).
Venice
46.3
46-0
47.5
49-9
44'6
46-1
Lire piccole per pound sterling.
III. An Account of the Course of Exchange, London, 18th of November, 1836, with some Explans-
tory Statements.
Course of Exchange.
Explanatory Statements.
Ameterdam, 3 ms.
12
1-2
that is, London receives
12 florins 4 1-2 stivers for IL
Antwerp
12
21-2
-
receives
12 dito 2 1-2 ditto for IL
Hamburgh, mcs. beo.
13 11
-
receives
13 marcs 11 schillings banco for IL
Paris, 3 ms.
25 70
receives
25 france 70 centimes for 12
Francfort
151 3-4
-
receives
151 3-4 batzen for 11.
Petersburgh, p. rou. 3 us.
10
-
gives
10 pence sterling for 1 rouble bank money.
Vienna, eff. Flo. 2 ms.
10
10
-
receives
10 florins 10 creutzers for 11.
Madrid, 3 ms.
35 7-8
-
gives
35 7-8 pence sterling for I dollar.
Leghorn
48
-
gives
48 ditto for I pezza of 8 reals.
Genon
25 75
-
receives
25 lire Italiane 75 cont. for 14
Venice, p. 6 Aust. livr.
47 1-2
-
receives
47 1.2 lire piccoli for IL
Naples
40 5-8
-
gives
40 5.8 pence sterling for 1 ducato di regno.
Lisbon, 30 days' sight
54
-
gives
54 ditto for 1 milres.
Rio Janeiro, ditto
36
-
gives
36 ditto for I ditto.
For further and more ample elucidations, see the articles on the great trading towns, in this Dic-
tionary.
[What follows is extracted from a report of the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress,
dated May 26th, 1838
The American dollar contains 3711 grains of pure silver, or 416 grains of standard silver.
The Spanish dollars are not all of the same weight. Those in circulation in 1829 were said by the
director of the mint to be worth, on an average, 100 cents 3 mills.
The Mexican dollars are said to be equal to the Spanish.
The Carolus" dollars are the Spanish dollars coined prior to the year 1809, in the reigns of Charles
III. and IV. They are said to be not superior in weight and fineness to the Mexican.
The American eagle of the old coinage, previous to the 31st of July, 1834, contained 2471 grains of
pure gold.
The American eagle of the new coinage contains 232 grains of pure gold.
The British sovereign, when coined, contains 113 grains and 18-1214 parts of a grain of pure gold,
worth, according to our present mint valuation, #4 87 7-120.
The Spanish doubloon should, according to the regulations which have nominally prevailed since
the year 1772, contain 376 grains of pure gold, which would, at our mint valuation, be worth 16 dollars
20 cents. But, according to assays made at the London and Philadelphia mints, previous to the year
1829, Spanish doubloons contained only from 360 to 362 4-10 grains of pure gold. This would make
their average value, at our mint valuation, about $15 561.
The Patriot doubloons are said to be equal in weight and fineness to the Spanish.
The difference in the price of Spanish and Patriot doubloons, and of the different species of dollars,
at New York and Philadelphia, is chiefly owing to difference of demand for them in foreign markets.
In the price currents, $4 44 4-9 are assumed as the par of exchange on England. This practice began
when the Spanish pillar dollars were in circulation, and when the market value of gold, compared
with silver, was less than it is at present. The true par varied as the market value of gold varied,
when compared with silver. It was estimated by Mr. Gallatin, writing in 1829, at 7 per cent. above
the nominal par; by others, at 8 per cent.
Since the passage of the act of 1834, for reforming the American gold coinage, the true par exchange
with England, estimating gold against gold, is about 9 7-10 above the nominal par.
The quotations of exchange on France are 80 many francs and centimes payable in France for a dollar
paid here. According to the regulations of the French mint, the silver franc should contain 69-453 troy
grains of pure silver, equivalent to 18 708-1000 cents in silver currency of the United States. The quan-
tity of pure silver in an American dollar is equal to that in 5 francs 34 535-1000 centimes. But as
foreign coins are not a legal tender in France, and as a seignorage of about 11 per cent. is charged on
silver coinage at the French mint, American dollars, when sold as bullion in France, are said to bring,
on an average, not more than 5 francs 26 25-1000 centimes. This is, by some writers, assumed as the
par of exchange on France. Other writers assume 5 francs 34 centimes as about par.
The quotations of exchange on Holland, are so many cents a guilder; on Hamburg, so many cents
a mark banco; and on Bremen, so many cents a rix dollar.
The exact value of the guilder of Holland is 39 97-100 cents of United States silver currency; but 40
dents are usually assumed as the par of exchange.
The mark banco of Hamburg is a money of account equal to 35 144-1000 cents United States cur-
rency.
The rix dollar of Bremen is a money of account, equal to 80 cents and a very small fraction United
States currency.
The currency of Genoa has consisted, since 1826, of Lire Italiane of exactly the same weight and
fineness as francs; so that the par of exchange with Genoa is now the same as with Paris.
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EXCHANGE.
665
The quotations of foreign exchanges are for bills payable sixty days after sight.
The quotations of domestic exchange are for bills payable at sight.
In the following tables the letter d. stands for discount and p. for premium.
A Table showing the highest and lowest rates of foreign and domestic exchanges, and of specie, at
New York, in each year, from 1825 to 1831.
Billson
1825.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
London
434 to ll p.
71-2 to 18 p.
934101134p.
to
93-4boll-2p.
8 to 10 p.
6 to 9 1-S p.
61-4 to ll p.
France
P
520to 5 40
51218to58718
5101058118
to
51718to530
5 25 10 5 47 1-2
27
Holland
40 10 41 1-8c.
39 to 41
401-2 to 41 1-2
40 1-2 to 42
40 1-4 to 41
38 1-2 to 40
39 10 41
Boston
par to 1 4 d.
par to 1-2 d.
1.2 d. to par,
par to 1.8 d.
to
1-4101-2d.
1-4 to 1-2 d.
par to 1 & d.
to
Phils telphia
-
par to 1-4 d.
1-4 to 1.2 d.
1-4 to 1.2 d.
par
par to l d.
to
14tol-8d.
1-4 to 1-8 d.
partol.8d.
to
Baltimore
P
1-8 to ld.
1-2 to l d.
12teld.
3-410 1-8d.
1-2 to 3-4d.
4 to ld.
Richmond
3-4 to 11-2d.
3-4 to 1.8d.
3-4to 11-2d.
3-4 to 1 1-4 d.
1d.
3-4 to 1 d.
3-4 to ld.
North Carolina
31-2 lo 5 d.
23-41051-2d.
Sto 6d.
33-4 to 14 d.
to
2 to 4 d.
1 to & d.
Charleston
3-4 to 3 d.
1 to 3 d.
114to2d.
11031-2d.
11-2to81-2d.
1 to & d.
12tolled.
Savannah
11-4 to 3 1-2 d.
21-2 to 4d.
11-8 to 3 d.
1to31-8d.
11-Sto31-8d.
11.8102d.
1.2 to 1 1-2 d.
New Orleans
1-4p-1021.2d.
1 103 d.
par to 3 d.
par to 3 d.
1to21-8d.
Itoll-2d.
1-8 to 1 1-2 d.
American gold
1 to 6 p.
81-2 to6 1-Sp.
41.8to71.2p.
5to7p-
Sto6p.
Sto41-Sp.
Sto6p.
Portuguese gold
11.2 to 6 p.
4to 61-2p.
41-Sto718p.
6 to 7 p.
3106p.
21041-2p.
21-2to 6 p.
to
Spanish doublooms
D.15 50 to 16 18 1-8
15 50 to 15 87
16 50 to 16 66
15 70 to 16 50
15 40 to 16 80
15 10 to 16 00
1530 to 16 10
Patriot doubloons
D.15 35 to 16 00
1490 to 15 50
15 30 to 15 75
15 36 to 15 85
15 10 to 15 50
15 00 to 15 45
15 10 to 15 65
Sovereigns
21.2 to 10 p.
6 th 11 1-2 p.
81-8tollp.
81-2to 10 p.
7 to 9 p.
4 to 9 p.
5 to 10 p.
Heavy guiness
12to to 10 p.
6 to li p.
8 to 10 1.2 p.
8 to 10 p.
31.2w8p.
5to91-2p.
Spanish dollars
par to l p.
parto l p.
Htolp.
to
par to 1-8 p.
par
Carolus dollars
1.2103p.
1.8 to & p.
14toll4p.
par to 1 & p.
par
partolisp.
Mexican dollars
14to l p.
14tolp.
par to 1.8 p.
par
parto I p. to
Five franc pieces
11-8to s p.
par to & p.
par to 3-4 p. to
parto 21-8 p.
A Table showing the highest and lowest rates of foreign and domestic exchanges, and of specie, at
New York, in each year, from January, 1832, to May 1st, 1838.
Bills on
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
1836.
1837.
1838.
London
71-8to 10 1-Sp.
5 to 83-4 p.
2d.to71-2p.
61-2 to 10 p.
63-4 to 10 p.
to
71-Sto22p.
41.8101.2p.
France
5 30 to 5 40
530 to 5 65
520 to 5 36
5821-8to 5371-8
4 70 10 5 36
5 20 10 6 47 1 -2
Holland
40 to 41 1-2 c.
39 to 41
37 to 39 1.8
39 to 40
39 1-4 to 40 1-2
Humburg
33 to 35 1-4
35 to 36
35 to 36
36 1-2 to 39
34 10 87 7-8
Bremen
-10771.8c.
771-210791-4
78 to 79 3-4
79 18 to 67
77 to 81 1-4
Boston
1-4 to 1-2 d.
1-8d-tol-Sp.
par
par
par to 3-4d.
to
parto 2 d.
par to 2 d.
Philadelphia
1-4 to 1-2 d.
1-4 to 1-2 d.
1-4 to - d.
par to 1-4 d.
par to 1 34 d.
11-4105d.
Baltimere
1-410 1-8 d.
1-4 to 3-4d.
38to-d
3-8 to - d. to
par to 3-8 d.
to
par to % d.
13410584d.
Richmond
34 to 1 d.
3-4 to ld.
34 to 1 d.
34told.
34to11-2d.
1 to 3 d.
2 to 7 1.2 d.
North Carolina
11-2 to 3 d.
21.2d.
P-4818
21-8 to - d.
81-20-d.
21-2 to b d.
-to5d.
Charieston
1 to & d.
2d.
11-2 to & d.
1-2 to l d.
1-8 lo & d.
21-2 to 5 d.
2 to 8 d.
Savannah
1 to & d.
11-Sto2d.
2d.
Itolled
1 to 3 d.
2341010d.
to
New Orleans
Itolled
1 to 1 12 d.
ltoll-8d.
1-8 to ld.
1-2 to 4 d.
3 to 10 d.
2 10 18 d.
American gold
31-2to6p.
2 to 43-4 p.
1.21061-Sp.
61-Sto-p.
61-2 to 16 p.
7 to 9 p.
American, new
coinage
par
par
par
par to 18 p.
to
1-8 to 5 p.
Sovereigns
61-2 to 9 1-4 p.
41.2to81-2p.
& to 8 p.
D.4 84 to 4 86 1-2
484 to 4 86
486 10 5 08
Heavy guiness
61-Sto 9 1-4 p.
41-21081-8p.
2 to 4 p.
D.5 06 to 5 08
506 10 5 08
5 06 to 5 45
495 to 5 10
to
Portuguese gold
21-2106p.
2 to 43-4 p.
1-8 to 6 1-2 p.
61-810-p.
61-8 to - p.
61-8 to 10 p.
par to 21.2 p.
Spinish doubloons
D.1575 to 16 70
16 15 to 17 45
15 50 to 16 60
16 12 1-2 to 17 00
16 00 to 17 95
16 30 to 18 25
15 90 to 17 55
Patriot doubloons
D.15 25 to 15 80
15 20 to 16 12
1490 to 15 60
15 50 to 16 15
15 63 to 16 30
to
15 75 to 17 60
15 53 to 16 30
to
Spanish dollars
1-8 to 2 1.2 p.
1-2 to 4 1-4 p.
parto 3 1-2 p.
1 to 5 p.
21-8 to 6 p.
2 to 15 p.
1 to 7 p.
Carolus dollars
1 to 2 1-S p.
par to 3 1-2 p.
par
1 to 5 p.
21-8 to 6 p.
2 to 15 p.
11.2108p.
Mexican dollars
parto l p.
par
par
par
par to l p. par to
parto l p.
1-4 to 5 p.
American half do.
par
par
par
par
par
partoll p.
1-4 to 4 l-Sp.
to
Five-franc pieces
par to 2 p.
to
par
93 to 98 1-2cts.
to
93 to 94 1-2
93 1-4 10 95
94 to 106
93 10 96
Rates of Exchange at Philadelphia on London, Paris, and Amsterdam, from 1788 to 1814, with the
paper medium of England valued in gold, and the London prices of standard gold and of Spanish
dollars per oz.
Exchange on.
Paper medium
London price of standard
London price of Spanish
Year.
of England
gold per OZ.
dollars per oz.
London.
Paris.
Amsterdam.
valued in gold.
1788
3|p.
3p.
21 p.
-
77 06
1789
31 p.
3p.
21 p.
-
77 06
1790
2d.
Hp.
21 p.
-
77 06
5 001 to 02
1791
2 p.
10 d.
24 p.
-
77 06
5 001 to 5 02
1792
2d.
22 d.
-
-
77 06
5 03 to 5
1793
4d.
-
-
I
77 06
to 4 11
1794
4p.
-
5p.
-
77 06
4 111 to 5 01
1795
2
-
21p.
-
77 06
4111 to 5 04f
1796
5¥ d.
-
-
-
77 06
5 02 to 5 05
1797
2 d.
-
par
-
77 06 to 101
4.10 to 5 061
1798
5¥ d.
5 d.
-
-
77 10} to 09
4 11 to
1799
7₫ d.
-
7&d.
-
77 09 to 77 07
5 051 to 5 07
1800
-
-
-
par
77 101
to 5 09
1801
-
-
-
81 d.
85
5 09 to 5 11
1802
1p.
-
21p.
d.
84
5 03 to 5 041
1803
2p.
-
2p.
21
80
5 021 to 5 06
1804
7 d.
-
par
21 d.
80
5 00 to 5 07
1805
I
-
-
21 d.
80
5 to 5 08
1806
-
-
-
21 d.
80
5 04 to 5 051
1807
-
-
-
21 d.
80
5 041 to 5 061
1808
-
-
-
21 d.
80
5 02 to 5 07
1809
-
-
-
21 d.
80
5 03 to 5 07
1810
-
-
-
13} d.
90
to 5 081-
1811
6 d.
-
-
8d.
84 06
5 101 to 6 011
1812
19 d.
-
-
201 d.
95 06
6 to 6 081
1813
16 d.
-
-
22 d.
101
6 111 to 7 001
1814
7 d.
-
-
25 d.
104
5 06 to 5 07
Note.-The rates of exchange, and the value of the paper medium of England, have been taken
from a table appended to the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, of May 29, 1830.
From the same table has been taken the price of standard gold at London, from 1800 to 1814. The
3 K 2
84
Digitized by Google
666
EXCHANGE.
London prices of standard gold, from 1790 to 1800, and of Spanish dollars, from 1790 to 1814, have
been taken from Marshall's Statistics of the British Empire.
The prices of gold and of Spanish dollars are expressed in shillings and pence sterling.
Considerable difference exists among authorities as to the prices of gold, and the depreciation of
the paper medium, during the suspension of specie payments by the Bank of England.
The following was the rate of exchange on England at Boston and Baltimore, from 1800 to 1510,
embracing the years for which no quotations are given at Philadelphia :
Year.
At Boston.
At Baltimore.
Year.
At Boston.
At Baltimers.
1800
4f d. to 3 p.
2 d. to 5 p.
1806
1 d. to 21 p.
2 d. to par
1801
1 to 5 d.
4 d. to 2. p.
1807
2 d. to 4 p.
2 d. to par
1802
3 d. to + p.
1 d. to 3t p.
1808
31 to 8 p.
par to 8 p.
1803
1 to 4f p.
par to 3t p.
1809
It d. to of p.
par to 8p.
1804
par to 3 p.
par to 31 p.
1810
21 to 74 d.
2 to 5 d.
1805
1 to 6 d.
5 d. to par
Rates of exchange at Philadelphia on London, Paris, and Amsterdam, from 1815, to April, 1838, with
the paper medium of Philadelphia valued in silver, the paper medium of England valued in gold,
and the London price of standard gold and Spanish dollars per OZ.
Exchange on
Paper medium
of Philadelphia
Paper medium
London price of
London price of
valued in Ame-
of England
standard gold per
Spanish dollars
Year
London.
Paria.
Amsterdam.
rican silver.
valued in gold.
OK
per OR.
1815
1 d. to 18 p.
23 p.
22 p.
5 to 16 d.
6 to 26f d.
83 to 106
5 03 to 6 09
1816
of to 19 p.
12 to 23 p.
71 to 20 p.
7 to 16 d.
1 to 5 d.
78 06 to 82
4 10
1817
If to If p.
par to 91 p.
1 d. to 71 p.
41 d. to par
1 to 24 d.
78 06 to 80
5 04
1818
par to 2 p.
+ p.
-
par
31. to 51 d.
80 06 to 81 06
05 to 5 06
1819
1 d. to 3 p.
1p.
-
-
41 d. to par
77 10f to 81 06
5 02 to 5 09
1820
f d. to 3f p.
6 d.
61 d.
-
par
77 10f
4 101 to 5 02
1821
34 to 121 p.
6 d. to par
1 d. to par
-
-
77 10t
09 to 4 11
1822
81 to 13 p.
par to 21 p.
par to It p.
-
-
77 10f to 77 06
4 09 to 4 10
1823
5 to 12t p.
21 d. to 3} p.
1
d.
to
If
p.
-
-
77 06
4 081 to 4 091
1824
71 to 111 p.
21 d. to 21 p. 1 d. to If p.
-
-
77 06 to 77 09
091 to 4 104
1825 5 to 10f p.
It d. to 21 p. If to 3 p.
-
-
77 06 to 77 10+
4
10+
to
4
111
1826 71 to 12+ p.
3 d. to t p.
11 d. to 11/ p.
-
-
77 06
4 091 to 4 11
1827 10 to 111 p.
d. to 2. p.
par to 3t p.
-
-
77 06
4 091 to 4 10+
1828 91 to 11 p.
11 to 21 p.
If to 3 p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 101
4 091 to 4 111
1829 of to 10 p.
+ d. to 2} p.
11 d. to 21 p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 10f
08;
to
4
09;
1830 6 to 91 p.
3 d. to I p.
31 d. to par
-
-
77 09 to 77 104
08:
to
4
091
1831 to 102 p.
d. to 31 p.
11 d. to 21 p.
-
-
77 09 to 87 101 091 to 4 101
1832, 7 to 11 p.
2f d. to 11 p.
21 d. to 31 p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 10+ 4
081
to
4
IIf
1833
5 to 9 p.
I to 41 d.
1 d. to 21 p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 10f
1834
2 d. to 8 p.
1 to 7 d.
It to 5 d.
-
-
77 09 to 77 101
1835 71 to 10 p.
31 d. to 11 p.
5 d. to 11. p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 101
1836 7 to 101 p.
11 d. to 11 p.
21 d. to 2f p.
-
-
77 09 to 77 101
1837 to 21 p.
It d. to 9f p.
par to 121 p. par to 12
d.
-
77 09 to 77 10+
1838 8 to 12 p.
11 d. to 21 p.
par to 31 p. 3 to 6 d.
-
77 09 to 77 10f
The rates of exchange from 1815 to 1828, the value of the paper medium of Philadelphia from 1815
to 1818, and the London price of standard gold from 1815 to 1825, have been taken from a table ap-
pended to the Treasury report of May 29, 1830.
In forming that table, 5 france 26 centimes were assumed as the par of exchange on Paris, and 40
cents a guilder, as the par of exchange on Amsterdam.
In calculating the rates of exchange on Paris and Amsterdam, from 1829 to 1838, it has not been
thought necessary to assume a new par.
The prices of Spanish dollars in London from 1815 to 1818, have been taken from Marshall's Sta-
tistics of the British Empire.
The prices of standard gold London from 1826 to 1832, and of Spanish dollars at London from 1819
to 1832, have been taken from the "Report from the Committee of Secrecy on the Bank of England
Charter."
From the Report of the Select Committee on the Royal Mint," ordered to be printed June 30,
1837, it appears that, though standard gold has been steadily quoted in the price currents since the
year 1832, at 77 shillings and 9 pence per ounce, it is not unfrequently sold at 77 shillings and 101 pence.
On this authority, and that of some late English papers, the price of gold is represented in the table as
having been the same from 1833 to 1838, that it was from 1829 to 1832.-Am. Ed.]
EXCHEQUER BILLS. See FUNDS.
EXPECTATION, of life. See INSURANCE.
EXPORTATION, in commerce, the act of sending or carrying commodities from one
country to another.-(See IMPORTATION and EXPORTATION.)
EXCISE, the name given to the duties or taxes laid on such articles as are produced and
consumed at home. Customs duties are those laid on commodities when imported into or
exported from a country.
Excise duties were introduced into England by the Long Parliament in 1643; being then laid on
the makers and venders of ale, beer, cider, and perry. The royalists soon after followed the example
of the republicans; both sides declaring that the excise should be continued no longer than the termi-
nation of the war. But it was found too productive a source of revenue to be again relinquished;
and when the nation had been accustomed to it for a few years, the parliament declared, in 1649, that
the impost of excise was the most easy and indifferent levy that could be laid upon the people." It
was placed on a new footing at the Restoration and notwithstanding Mr. Justice Blackstone says,
that from its first original to the present time its very name has been odious to the people of Eng-
land"- (Com. book i. c. 3.),-it has continued progressively to gain ground; and is at this momest
imposed on a variety of most important articles, and furnishes nearly half the entire public revenue
of the kingdom.
The prejudices in the public mind to which Blackstone has alluded, against the excise duties, neems
Digitized by Google
EXCISE.
667
to have originated more in the regulations connected with their imposition, than in the oppressive ex-
tent to which they have sometimes been carried. The facilities of smuggling, and the frauds that
might be committed upon the revenue, unless a strict watch were kept, have led to the enactment of
several rather severe regulations. The officers have been empowered to enter and search the houses
of such individuals as deal in exciseable commodities at any time of the day, and in most instances
also of the night. And the proceedings in cases of transgression are of such a nature, that persons
may be convicted in heavy penalties, by the summary judgment of 2 commissioners of excise, or 2 jus-
tices of the peace, without the intervention of a jury.
For the more easily levying the revenue of excise, England and Wales are divided into about 56 col-
lections, some of which are called by the names of particular counties, others by the names of great
towns, where one county is divided into several collections, or where a collection comprehends the
contiguous parts of several counties. Every such collection is subdivided into several districts, within
which there is a supervisor; and each district is again subdivided into out-rides and foot-walks, within
each of which there is a guager or surveying officer.
Abstract of the Gross Excise Revenue of England, Scotland, and Ireland, for 1832, 1833, and 1834.
1832.
1833.
1834.
L
d.
L
d.
The expense of collecting the excise revenue, in 1834,
8.
8.
L.
8.
d.
England
14,616,143 17 6
amounted in Great Britain to 62. 1a. 5 1-4d. per cent. of the
14,922,847 1 11
13,061,852 3 714
Scotland
1,714,627 18 6
1,928,810 13 5
1,966,183 II 11-4
gross produce, and in Ireland to 94. 6a. 81-2d. per do. The
Ireland
1,865,299 10 2
1,790,502 7 6
1,849,256 = 10
total gross receipt of the excise revenue in the United King-
dom, in 1835, was 15,229,352L
United K.
18,266,071 6 2
18,642,160 2 9
16,877,292 6 63-4
This falling off in the excise revenue is apparent only, having been entirely occasioned by the trans-
ference of the tea duty from the excise to the customs, and by the repeal of certain duties, as those on
tiles, sweets, starch, &c., and the reduction of others. The excise duty of 1835 was collected (exclud-
ing arrears) from ten articles only, viz. auctions, bricks, glass, hops, licences, malt, paper, soap,
spirits, and vinegar. Of these the duty on glass is by far the most objectionable.-(Bee art. GLASS.)
But were it repealed we do not know, now that the paper duties are reduced (see art. PAPER), that
any of the others can be justly objected to. That on bricks, is, perhaps, the most exceptionable. The
table below shows in detail the quantities and numbers of the articles and persons charged
with excise duties in 1832, 1833, and 1834, and the gross revenue they respectively produced
each year.-N. B. Tea has since been transferred to the customs; and the duties on tiles, starch,
stone bottles, and sweets have been repealed. (For detailed accounts of the duties and regulations
affecting the different articles subject to the excise, see those articles.)
Complexity of Excise Laws.-The great objection to the excise laws, as they at present stand, con-
sists in their obscurity and complexity. Being intended for the guidance of traders, they ought to be
brief, clear, and level to the apprehension of every one; but, instead of this, they are in the last de-
gree lengthened, contradictory, and unintelligible. There are, at this moment, some 40 or 50 acts in
existence relating to the duties on glass, and from 25 to 30 relating to those on paper so that it is all
but impossible for any one to tell what the law is on many points. This disgraceful state of things
might, however, be easily remedied, by getting the Treasury to prepare a short digest of the law as to
each duty, drawn up in a clear and unambiguous manner; and enacting, that a manufacturer or dealer
abiding by this abstract should be held to have abided by the law, and should not be liable to be fur-
ther questioned on the subject. The adoption of some plan of this sort would be the greatest improve-
ment which it seems possible to introduce into the excise.
An Account of the Quantities of the several Articles charged with Duties of Excise, in the United
Kingdom, together with the Gross Amount of Duty thereon, during the Years 1832, 1833, and 1834.
-(Papers published by Board of Trade, vol. iv. p. 28.)
Quantities charged.
Amount of Duty.
Articles.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1832.
1833.
1834.
L.
s.
d.
L.
8.
d.
L.
s.
d.
Auctions, amount of sales
charged with duty
L.
6,523,753
6,867,396
7,331,892
236,319 8 0
243,981 11 11
256,336 7 103-4
Bricks
No.
998,346,362
1,103,591,566
1,180,161,228
294,322 18 10
304,942 1 11
347,305 5 21-2
Tiles
76,601,051
8,293,186
38,010 17 I
4,680 1 1
Glass, crown
cwts.
103,902
129,984
136,708
381,839 17 0
477,691 4 0
502,401 18 0
Flint
79,468
78,387
83,325
212,145 6 5
219,483 12 0
233,304 8 0
Plate
-
12,270
14,518
18,922
35,810 0 0
43,586 6 0
56,781 4 0
Broad
5,304
6,306
6,766
7,956 0 0
9,459 0 0
10,149 0 0
Bottle
312,361
323,398
344,014
109,326 7 0
113,189 6 0
120,404 18 0
Hops
lbs.
29,012,406
32,777,310
39,587,497
241,770 1 0
272,894 5 0
329,895 16 2
Licenses, auctioneers'
No.
3,628
3,686
3,604
18,140 0 0
18,430 0
0
18,020
0
0
Brewers of strong beer, not
exceeding 20 barrels
-
8,623
8,527
8,496
4,311 10 0
4,263 10 0
4,248
0
0
Ditto exceeding 20 and not
exceeding 50
6,848
7,249
7,276
6,848
0
0
7,249
0
0
7,276
0
0
Ditto exceeding 50 and not
exceeding 100
-
9,165
9,540
9,861
13,747 10 0
14,310 0
0
14,791 10 0
Ditto exceeding 100 and not
exceeding 1,000
-
16,888
17,390
18,433
33,776 0 0
34,780 0 0
36,866 0 0
Ditto exceeding 1,000 brls.
-
1,564
1,710
1,806
14,610 15 0
15,395 5 0
17,212 15 0
Brewers of table beer
-
134
96
69
217 5 0
87 10
0
74 0 0
Retail brewers, under the
act 5 Geo. 4. c. 54.
-
50
50
47
262 10 0
262 10
0
246 15 0
Sellers of strong beer only,
not being brewers
-
911
966
1,074
2,869 13 0
3,042 IS
0
3,383 2 0
Beer retailers, hose pre-
mises are rated under
20L per annum
-
70,142
73,390
72,755
73,649 2 0
77,068 19
0
76,392 15 0
Ditto at 201. or upwards
-
17,052
17,439
17,393
53,713 16 0
54,923 8 0
54,787 19 0
Retailers of beer, cider, or
perry, under the acts 1
Will. 4. c. 64., and 4 & 5
Will. 4. c. 85.
-
33,515
34,976
37,381
70,381 10 0
73,449 12
0
90,997
4
0
Ditto of cider and perry
only, under the said acts
-
188
653
1,054
197
8
0
685 13
0
1,106 14 0
Tea and coffee dealers
-
100,191
101,579
103,549
55,105 1 0
55,868 9 0
56,951 19 0
Glass manufacturers
I
118
126
122
2,360 0 0
2,520 0
0
2,440
0
0
Maltsters
-
12,822
13,243
12,891
23,869 10
0
24,346 12
6
23,931
5
0
Paper makers
-
592
682
571
2,368 0
0
2,328 0
0
2,284 0 0
Paper stainers
138
154
150
552 0 0
616 0 0
600 0 0
Soap makers
615
499
471
2,060 0 0
1,996 0 0
1,884 0 0
Distillers and rectifiers
-
466
450
4b3
4,660 0 0
4,500 0 0
4,530 0 0
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668
EXCISE.
Table-continued.
Quantities charged.
Amount of Duty.
Articles.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1832.
1833.
1834.
Licenses-continued
L
8.
d.
L.
s.
d.
L.
1. d.
Dealers in spirits, not be-
ing retailers
No.
3,772
3,894
3,925
37,720 0 0
38,940 0 0
39,250
0
0
Retailers of spirits, whose
premises are rated under
101. per annum
-
38,450
41,018
39,161
80,745
0
0
86,137 16
0
121,644 12 0
Do. do. at 10/. & under 201.
-
26,201
26,887
26,358
110,044 0 0
112,925 8 0
165,446 8 0
-
20L
-
251.
-
3,700
3,728
3,645
23,310 0
0
23,486 8
0
34,261 10
0
-
25/.
-
301.
-
2,154
2,199
2,159
15,831 18
0
16,162 13
0
23,655 19
6
-
30L
-
40L
-
3,879
3,928
3,875
32,583 12 0
32,995 4 0
48,459 12
0
-
40L
50L
-
2,472
2,503
2,528
23,360 8
0
23,653 7 0
35,357 3
6
-
50L & upwards
-
4,700
4,894
4,846
49,350 0 0
51,387 0 0
75,363 15 0
Makers of stills
-
44
28
23
12 0 0
14 0 0
11
10
0
Chemists or any other trade
requiring a still
-
52
66
68
26
0
0
33
0
0
3400
Retailers of spirits in Ire-
land, being duly licensed
to sell coffee, tea, &c.,
whose premises are rated
under 251. per annum
-
68
84
102
642 12 0
793 16 0
963 18 0
Do. do. at 251. & under 30L
-
4
4
7
42 0 0
42 0 0
73 10 0
-
30/.
-
40L
-
5
4
7
57 15
0
46 4 0
80 17 0
-
401.
501.
-
8
11
9
100 16
0
138 12 0
113 8 0
-
501. and upwards
-
36
38
30
491 8 0
518 14
0
409 10 0
Starch makers
-
59
60
60
295 0
0
300 0
0
300 0
0
Makers of sweets
-
25
27
28
52 10
0
56 14 0
58 16 0
Retailers of ditto
-
883
923
924
927 3
0
969 0 0
970 4 0
Manufacturers of tobacco
and snuff
-
739
741
720
6,440 0
0
6,565 0 0
6,550 0 0
Dealers in ditto
-
164,058
167,785
172,300
41,014 10
0
41,946 5 0
43,075 0 0
Vinegar makers
-
54
55
54
270 0 0
275
0
0
270 0 0
Dealers in foreign wine,
not having a licence for
retailing spirits, and a
licence for retailing beer
-
1,960
1,990
1,960
19,600 0 0
19,000 0 0
19,600 0 0
Dealers in foreign wine,
having a licence to retail
beer, but not having a li-
cence to retail spirits
-
99
83
115
373 16 0
348 12 0
483 0 0
Dealers in foreign wine,
having licences to retail
beer and spirits
-
23,111
24,079
23,714
48,533 2 0
50,565 18 0
49,799 8 0
Passage vessels, on board
which liquor and tobac.
CO are sold
-
257
279
280
257 0 0
279 0 0
280 0 0
Surcharges
3,792 14 3
3,753 15 9
4,174 7 6
Amount of duty on licenses
granted for periods less
than a year
17,567 8 0
18,060 5 0
18,328 S 0
Malt from barley
bush.
36,343,094
38,851,522
39,807,287
4,694,316 6 0
5,018,321 14
5
5,141,774 11 5
From beer or bigg
-
1,047,355
1,224,368
1,338,309
104,735 10
0
123,436 16 0
133,830 IS 0
Paper, first class
lbs.
49,404,596
51,941,859
54,053,721
617,557 9 0
649,273 4
9
675,671 10 3
Second class
-
15,531,059
16,477,105
16,562,168
97,069 2 2
102,981 17 "
103,451
0
11
1-2
Pasteboard, millboard, &c. cwts.
43,468
46,655
49,392
48,468 9 6
52,246 18
6
54,689 0 3
Stained paper
yards
7,140,347
7,970,761
8,749,144
52,064 18
3
58,120 2
3
63,795 16 534
Soap, hard
lbs.
119,503,092
138,170,787
144,344,043
1,493,788 13
I
1,115,167 19 0
902,150 5 4
Soft
-
10,350,703
11,731,156
10,401,281
75,473 17
4
59,253 4 4
43,338 13
5
Spirits
galls.
20,778.521
21,874,455
23,397,806
4,975,438 5 10
5,253,513 19
OF
5,243,438 6 10
Starch
lbs.
8,070,026
8,805,513
4,726,921
109,281 11 9
119,241 6
2
64,010
8
0
1-4
Stone bottles
cwts.
16,626
17,038
16,911
4,156 10 0
4,259 10
0
4,227 15 0
Sweets
galls.
158,932
122,267
126,805
3,973 6 0
3,056 13
6
3,170 2 6
Tea
lbs.
31,548,407
31,829,619
14,427,616
3,509,820 15 6
3,444,103 7 7
1,455,365 19 10
Vinegar
galls.
2,914,261
2,863,080
3,091,254
24,285 10
2
23,859 0 0
25,760 9 0
Total
18,266,071 6 2
18,642,160 2
9
16,877,292 6 634
The laws with respect to the general management of the excise
or secreted, in order to avoid the duty, to be forfeited; and every
were consolidated by the 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 53, from which the fol-
person assisting in such removal shall forfeit and lose treble
lowing particulars are selected :-
the value of such goods, or 100L, at the discretion of the commin-
Comminioners-Four commissioners constitute a board. They
sioners.
are to be subject, in all things relating to their peculiar duty, to the
Obstructing Officers-All persons who shall oppose, molest, atc.
orders of the Treasury. They may appoint collectors and other sub-
any officer of excise in the execution of his duty, shall respectively,
ordinate officers, and give them such salaries and allowances as the
for every such offence, forfeit 200L
Treasury shall direct but they are not allowed to increase the num-
Officers violently resisted in making any seizure may oppose force
ber of inferior officers without the permission and approval of the
to force; and in the event of their wounding, maiming, or killing
Treasury. No member of the House of Commons can be a com-
any person, when so opposed, they shall be admitted to bail, and
missioner of exclee.
may plead the general issue.
Officers of Excise-N officer of excise is to vote or interfere at
Justices, mayors, balliffs. constables, &c. are required to assist -
any election of a member of parliament, under pain of forfeiting
cise officers and any constable, or peace officer, who, on notice and
500L, and being rendered incapable of over holding any office or
request, declines going with an excise officer, is to forfeit 20L for
place of trust under his Majesty.
every such offence.
No person holding any office of exclse is to deal in any sort of
Claimants of Goods seized.-No claim shall be entered for goods
goods subject to the excise laws.
seized, except in the real names of the proprietors of such goods.
Any person bribing or offering to bribe any officer of excise shall
Claimants are bound with 2 sureties in a penalty of 100L to pay the
forfeit 500L. ; and every officer accepting such bribe, or doing, con-
expenses of claim and in default thereof the goods are to be com-
giving at, or permitting any act or thing whereby any of the provi-
demned.
sions of the excise laws may be evaded or broken, shall forfeit 500L.,
Proceedings in Courts of Low-All penalties under the excise
and be declared incapable of ever after serving his Majesty in any
laws may be sued for and recovered in the Courts of Exchequer at
capacity whatever. But if any of the parties to such illegal trans-
Westminster, Edinburgh. or Dublin respectively, according as the
actions shall inform against the other, before any proceedings there-
offence may have taken place in England, Scotland, or Ireland pro-
upon shall have been instituted, he shall be indemnified against the
vided that the proceedings in the courts commence within 3 years
penalties and disabilities imposed for such offences.
after the commission of the offence.
Duties and Powers of Officers-It is lawful for any officer to
Informations for the recovery of penalties against the excise laws
enter any building or other place, used for carrying on any trade
in London may be heard and adjudged by any 3 or more of the com-
subject to the excise, either by night or by day (but if by night, in
missioners of excise; and in other places such informations may be
the presence of a constable or peace officer), to inspect the same, &c.
exhibited before I of more justices of the peace, and may be heard
And upon an officer making oath that he has cause to suspect that
and adjudged by any 2 or more such justices.
goods forfeited under the excise acts are deposited in any private
Miligation of Prnalties.-Justices are authorised, if they shall
house or place, 2 commissioners of excise, or 1 justice of the peace,
see cause, except when there is a special provision to the contrary,
may grant a warrant to the officer to enter such house or place (if in
to mitigate any penalty incurred for any offence committed against
the night, in the presence of a constable), to search for and seize
the excise laws to one fourth part thereof; but it is lawful for the
such forfeited goods.
commissioners of excise, when they see cause, further to mitigate,
Specimen Books may be left by the officers on the premises of per-
or entirely remit. such penalty.
sons subject to the excise laws; and any one who shall remove or
Distribution of Penalties-All penalties and forfeitures incurred
deface such books shall be liable to a penalty of 2001.
under the excise acts are to be distributed, half to his Majorty, and
Removing Goods to avoid Duty.-Goods fraudulently removed
half to the officer or person who shall discover, inform, or sue for
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FACTOR.
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the penalty. On proof being made of any officer acting collusively
that if any one shall forge, counterfeit, or knowingly give any
à making a seizure, the commissioners may direct his share to be
forged certificate required to be granted by any officer of excise, be
forfeited.
shall be guilty of felony, and being convicted, shall be transported
Oaths and A firmations-Persons wilfully taking or making any
for 7 years.
false oath or affirmation as to any matter connected with the excise
All individuals carrying on any business subjected to the control
laws shall, upon being convicted of such offence, suffer the pains and
of the excise, must take out licences renewable annually on the 5th
penalties incident to wilful and corrupt perjury; and those pro-
of July.-(See Licences.)
curing or suborning such persons to swear or affirm famely shall,
All such individuals are also obliged to make entries of every
upon conviction, be liable to the pains and penalties incident to sub-
building, place, vessel, or utensil, as the case may be, in the name
ornation of perjury.
of the real owner, with the officer of excise in whose survey such
Actions against Excise Officers-No writ, summons, or process
building, place, &c. shall be situated. Individuals found employed
shall be sued out or served upon, nor shall any action be brought,
in unentered excise manufactories are severally liable in a penalty
raised, or prosecuted against any officer of excise for any thing
of 30/. for the first offence and in the event of any such offender
done under any of the excise laws, until after the expiration of I
refusing or neglecting to pay such penalty, he is to be committed to
calendar month next after notice in writing has been delivered to
the house of correction or other prison for 3 calendar months, to be
such officer, specifying the cause of such action, and the name and
kept to hard labour, and not to be liberated until the fine of 30/. has
place of abode of the person in whose name it is to be brought. No
been paid, or the term of 3 months has expired and if found guilty
action shall lie against any excise officer for any thing done under
of a second offence, the fine is to be 60L and in the event of its not
the excise laws, unless it be brought within 3 months after the cause
being paid, the imprisonment is to be for 6 months.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4.
of action shall have arisen. If judgment be given against the plain-
c 53. S. 33.)
Uff. and in favour of the defendant, the latter shall, in every such
Permits are usually necessary for the removal of exciseable com-
action, have treble costs awarded to him.
modition-(See Permits.)
Forging Certificates, &c-By the 41 Geo. 3. c. 91. it is enacted,
EXPORTS, the articles exported, or sent beyond seas.-(See IMPORTS AND Exports.)
F
FACTOR, an agent employed by some one individual or individuals, to transact business
on his or their account. He is not generally resident in the same place as his principal, but,
usually, in a foreign country. He is authorised, either by letter of attorney or otherwise, to
receive, buy, and sell goods and merchandise and, generally, to transact all sorts of business
on account of his employers, under such limitations and conditions as the latter may choose
to impose. A very large proportion of the foreign trade of this and most other countries is
now carried on by means of factors or agents.
Factors and brokers are, in some respects, nearly identical, but in others they are radically
different. A factor," said Mr. Justice Holroyd, in a late case, " differs materially from a
broker. The former is a person to whom goods are sent or consigned and he has not only
the possession, but, in consequence of its being usual to advance money upon them, has also
a special property in them, and a general lien upon them. When, therefore, he sells in his
own name, it is within the scope of his authority; and it may be right, therefore, that the
principal should be bound by the consequences of such sale. But the case of a broker is
different: he has not the possession of the goods, and so the vendor cannot be doceived by
the circumstance; and, besides, the employing a person to sell goods as a broker does not
authorise him to sell in his own name. If, therefore, he sells in his own name, he acts beyond
the scope of his authority and his principal is not bound."
A factor is usually paid by a per-centage or commission on the goods he sells or buys. If
he act under what is called a del credere commission, that is, if he guarantee the price of the
goods sold on account of his principal, he receives an additional percentage to indemnify him
for this additional responsibility. In cases of this sort the factor stands in the vendee's place,
and must answer to the principal for the value of the goods sold. But where the factor un-
dertakes no responsibility, and intimates that he acts only on account of another, it is clearly
established that he is not liable in the event of the vendee's failing.
The second maxim, that the principal is responsible for the acts of his agent, prevails uni-
versally in courts of law and equity. In order to bind the principal, it is necessary only that
third parties should deal bonâ fide with the agent, and that the conduct of the latter should
be conformable to the common usage and mode of dealing. Thus, a factor may sell goods
upon credit, that being in the ordinary course of conducting mercantile affairs; but a stock
broker, though acting bonâ fide, and with a view to the benefit of his principal, cannot sell
stock upon credit, unless he have special instructions to that effect; that being contrary to the
usual course of business.
A sale by a factor creates a contract between the owner and buyer; and this rule holds even
in cases where the factor acts upon a del credere commission. Hence, if a factor sell goods,
and the owner give notice to the buyer to pay the price to him, and not to the factor, the
buyer will not be justified in afterwards paying the factor, and the owner may bring his action
against the buyer for the price, unless the factor has a lien thereon. But if no such notice
be given, a payment to the individual selling is quite sufficient.
If a factor buy goods on account of his principal, where he is accustomed so to do, the con-
tract of the factor binds the principal to a performance of the bargain; and the principal is the
person to be sued for non-performance. But it is ruled, that if a factor enter into a charter-
party of affreightment with the master of a ship, the contract obliges him only, unless he lade
the vessel with his principal's goods, in which case the principal and lading become liable, and
not the factor. Where a factor, who is authorised to sell goods in his own name, makes the
buyer debtor to himself; then, though he be not answerable to the principal for the debt, if the
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FACTOR.
money be not paid, yet he has a right to receive it, if it be paid, and his receipt is a sufficient
discharge the factor may, in such a case, enforce the payment by action, and the buyer can-
not defend himself by alleging that the principal was indebted to him in more than the
amount.
" Where a factor," said Lord Mansfield, "dealing for a principal, but concealing that prin-
cipal, delivers goods in his own name, the person contracting with him has a right to consider
him, to all intents and purposes, as the principal; and though the real principal may appear,
and bring an action on that contract against the purchaser of the goods, yet that purchaser
may set off any claim he may have against the factor, in answer to the demand of the prin-
cipal."
Merchants employing the same factor run the joint risk of his actions, although they are
strangers to each other thus, if different merchants remit to a factor different bales of goods,
and the factor sell them as a single lot to an individual who is to pay one moiety of the price
down and the other at 6 months' end; if the buyer fail before the second payment, each
merchant must bear a proportional share of the loss, and be content to accept his dividend
of the money advanced.-(Beawes, Lex. Merc.)
A factor employed, without his knowledge, in negotiating an illegal or fraudulent trans-
action, has an action against his principal. On this ground it was decided, that a merchant
who had consigned counterfeit jewels to his factor, representing them to be genuine, should
make full compensation to the factor for the injury done to him by being concerned in such
a transaction, as well as to the persons to whom the jewels had been sold.
The office of a factor or agent being one of very great trust and responsibility, those who
undertake it are bound, both legally and morally, to conduct themselves with the utmost
fidelity and circumspection. A factor should take the greatest care of his principal's goods
in his hands: he should be punctual in advising him as to his transactions on his behalf, in
sales, purchases, freights, and, more particularly, bills of exchange he should deviate as sel-
dom as possible from the terms, and never from the spirit and tenor, of the orders he receives
as to the sale of commodities: in the execution of a commission for purchasing goods, he
should endeavour to conform as closely as practicable to his instructions as to the quality or
kind of goods: if he give more for them than he is authorised, they may be thrown on his
hands; but he is bound to buy them for as much less as he possibly can. After the goods
are bought, he must dispose of them according to order. If he send them to a different place
from that to which he was directed, they will be at his risk, unless the principal, on getting
advice of the transaction, consent to acknowledge it."
A factor who sells a commodity under the price he is ordered, may be obliged to make
good the difference, unless the commodity be of a perishable nature and not in a
condition longer to be kept. And if he purchase goods for another at a fixed rate, and their
price having afterwards risen, he fraudulently takes them to himself, and sends them some-
where else, in order to secure an advantage, he will be found, by the custom of merchants,
liable in damages to his principal.
If a factor, in conformity with a merchant's orders, buy with his money, or on his credit, a
commodity he is directed to purchase, and, without giving advice of the transaction, sells it
again at a profit, appropriating that profit to himself, the merchant may recover it from him,
and have him amerced for fraud.
If a factor buy, conformably to his instructions, goods of which he is robbed, or which
suffer some unavoidable injury, he is discharged, and the loss falls on the principal. But if
Whoever," says Dr. Paley, " undertakes another man's business, makes it his own; that is,
promises to employ upon it the same care, attention, and diligence, that be would do if it were ac-
tually his own; for he knows that the business was committed to him with that expectation. And be
promises nothing more than this. Therefore, an agent is not obliged to wait, inquire, solicit, ride
about the country, toil, or study, whilst there remains a possibility of benefiting his employer. If be
exert as much activity, and use such caution, as the value of the business in his judgment deserves;
that is, as he would have thought sufficient if the same interest of his own had been at stake; he
has discharged his duty, although it should afterwards turn out, that by more activity, and longer
perseverance, he might have concluded the business with greater advantage. (Moral and Pol. Phil.
c. 12.)
There seems to be a good deal of laxity in this statement. It is necessary to distinguish between
those who, in executing a commission, render their services for the particular occasion only, without
hire, and those who undertake it in the course of business, making a regular charge for their trouble.
If the former bestow on it that ordinary degree of care and attention which the generality of mankind
bestow on similar affairs of their own, it is all, perhaps, that can be expected: but the latter
will be justly censurable, if they do not execute their engagements on account of others with that care
and diligence which a provident and attentive father of a family" uses in his own private concerns.
It is their duty to exert themselves proportionally to the exigency of the affair in hand; and neither
to do any thing, how minute soever, by which their employers may sustain damage, nor omit any
thing, however inconsiderable, which the nature of the act requires. Perhaps the best general rule
on the subject is, to suppose a factor or agent bound to exert that degree of care and vigilance that
may be reasonably expected of him by others. At all events, it is clear he is not to be regulated by his
own notions of the value of the business." A man may neglect business of his own, or not think it
worth attending to but he is not, therefore, to be excused for neglecting any similar business he inc
undertaken to transact for others.-(There are some very good observations on this subject in Sir
William Jones's Essay on Bailments, 2d ed. p. 53. and passim.)
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FACTOR.
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the goods be stolen from the factor, he will not be so easily discharged; for the fact of their
having been abstracted by stealth, and not by violence, raises a strong presumption that he had
not taken that reasonable care of them which was incumbent upon him. If, however, he
can prove that the goods were lodged in a place of security, and that he had not been guilty
of positive negligence, nor exercised less care towards them than towards his own property,
he will not be held responsible even for a theft committed by his servants.—(Jones on Bail-
ments, 2d ed. p. 76. Chitty on Commercial Law, vol. iii. p. 368.)
If a factor, having money in his hands belonging to his principal, neglect to insure a ship
and goods, according to order, he must, in the event of the ship miscarrying, make good the
damage; and if he make any composition with the insurers after insurance, without orders to
that effect, he is answerable for the whole insurance. A principal, at the end of a very long
letter, directed his agent thus: Observe the premium on this value is also to be insured."
But the agent, not noticing this sentence, neglected to insure the premium and, being sued,
was held liable for the omission.
If goods are remitted to a factor, and he make a false entry of them at the Custom-house,
or land them without entry, and they are, in consequence, seized or forfeited, he is bound to
make good the damage to his principal: but if the factor make his entry according to invoice
or letters of advice, and these proving erroneous, the goods are seized, be is discharged.
It is now a settled point, that a factor has a lien on goods consigned to him, not only for
incidental charges, but as an item of mutual account for the balance due to him so long as he
remains in possession. If he be surety in a bond for his principal, he has a lien on the goods
sold by him on account of such principal, to the amount of the sum he is bound for.
It being the general rule of law, that property does not change while in transitu," or in the
hands of a carrier, a consignment made before the bankruptcy of a consignor, but not arriv-
ing till after, remains the property of the consignor, except, indeed, where the delivery is
made by the order and upon the account of the consignee, and is a complete alienation from
the consignor. In the case, therefore, of a consignment to a factor, the property remains the
consignor's, and passes into the hands of his assignees. When a factor has a lien on goods,
he has a right to the price, though received after the bankruptcy.
Where general or unlimited orders are given to a factor, he is left to buy and sell on the
best conditions he can. And if detriment arise to a principal from the proceedings of a factor
acting under such authority, he has no redress, unless he can show that he acted fraudulently
or with gross negligence.
A factor or broker acting against the interest of his principal cannot even receive his com-
mission. If he pay money on account of his principal, without being authorised, he cannot
recover it back.
An agent cannot delegate his rights to another so as to bind the principal, unless expressly
authorised to nominate a sub-agent.
(For further information as to the general powers and liabilities of factors and agents, see
Beawes's Lex Mercatoria, art. Factors, Supercargoes, &c. Chitty's Commercial Law, vol.
iii. c. 3.; Woolrych on Commercial Law, pp. 317-329, &c. See also the article BROKERS.)
The law with respect to the effect of the transactions of factors or agents on third parties
was placed on its present footing by the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 94. Under the law that previously
obtained, it was held, that a factor, as such, had no authority to pledge, but only to sell the
goods of his principal; and it was repeatedly decided that a principal might recover back
goods on which a bonâ fide advance of money had been made by a third party, without his
being bound to repay such advance; and notwithstanding this third party was wholly ignorant
that the individual pledging the goods held them as a mere factor or agent. It used also to
be held, that bonâ fide purchasers of goods from factors or agents not vested with the power
of sale, might be made liable to pay the price of the goods a second time to the real owner.
The extreme hardship and injurious influence of such regulations are obvious. It is the
business of a principal to satisfy himself as to the conduct and character of the factor or
agent he employs; and if he make a false estimate of them, it is more equitable, surely, that
he should be the sufferer, than those who have no means of knowing any thing of the matter.
The injustice of the law in question, and the injury it did to the commerce of the country,
had frequently excited attention; and was very ably set forth by Lord Liverpool, in his
speech in the House of Lords, on moving the second reading of the new bill.
"Those of their Lordships who were acquainted with commercial transactions, would know that
money was frequently advanced on goods, without its being possible for the person advancing the
money to have any further acquaintance with the transactions, than that the factor was in actual
possession of the goods. It then became a question, putting fraud out of view, if the factor became a
bankrupt, or in any other way failed to execute his engagements, whether the loss should fall on the
principal who had consigned these goods, or on the pledgee who had advanced money on them. It
had been of late ruled, that if the factor were intrusted only to dispose of the property, the loss must
fall on the pledgee. He meant to contend, that this was contrary to equity, and contrary to analogy
that it was disapproved of by high authority, and was contrary to the law in every country of the
world, except this, and the United States of America, which had drawn their law from this country.
It was contrary to equity, be thought, that the pledgee, who had advanced his money without any
fraud, but on the bona fide possession of the goods, should suffer. He had placed no confidence, but
the principal who had appointed the factor had placed confidence. He could limit him in his operations
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FACTOR.
as he pleased-he could give him any kind of instructions-he might qualify his power-he bound
to take precautions before placing confidence ; and he was in all respects more liable to suffer from
his faults than the pledgee. The latter knew nothing of the power of the factor, he saw only the
goods, and advanced his money on what was a sufficient security for repayment. On every principle
of natural equity, therefore, the loss ought to fall, not on the pledgee, but on the principal. He knew
that this view was connected with one very important question-that of possession and title; but it
was not possible for transactions to goon, unless the possession was admitted as the title to the goods.
If this were an indifferent question, or a question involving only a few cases, he would not have
called on their Lordships to legislate on this subject; but all the commercial interests of the country
were connected with it. And he might say, he believed that two-thirds of the whole commerce of the
country was carried on by consigning goods to a factor, and leaving it to his discretion to dispose of
them to the greatest advantage, sending them to market when he pleased. and raising money on them
when he could not send them to market. Bills of Exchange, Exchequer bills, and money bills of every
description, were subject to this rule. If a person consigned Exchequer bills to a second person, and
he parted with them, the third party who obtained them was held to have a right to them. Commer-
clal proceedings were of as much importance as money proceedings, and he could not see why they
should not receive the same security. It might be asked, perhaps, when this was felt to be so great
an evil, why it was not altered before; but it seemed to be one of those things which had grown up
gradually, and which did much mischief before they became extensively known. The first decision,
he believed, which established the law as it now stood, was delivered in 1742; and he Knew that Lord
Chief Justice Gibbs had said, he could not explain the origin of that decision. He supposed it might
have been dictated by some fraud. That decision, the Lord Chief Justice maintained, was at vari-
ance with the best interests of commerce, and had grown out of circumstances he could not explain.
From the time of the first decision, the decisions had not been numerous, till of late years. He did
not doubt but the judges had decided according to the law as it was established by these precedents;
but in doing that they had expressed their regret that these precedents had been established. (Here
his Lordship read an extract from opinions delivered by the late Lord Chief Justice Ellenborough, and a
late judge, Mr. Le Blanc, expressing their regret, in deciding cases according to these precedents, that
they had been established.) He inferred from these opinions, that these judges, though they had felt
themselves obliged to decide in this way, supposed that the law was contrary to the general analogy
of our laws, and to the principles of justice. He then came to the last consideration, the law of this
country being in this respect different from the laws of all other countries, except the law of the
United States of America. In all other countries, the law was recognised to be what he wished to
establish it by the bill before their Lordships. When there was no evidence of fraud, it was held, that
the man, advancing money on goods held by a factor, should not suffer for his faults, but that the per-
son who confided in the factor must be the sufferer. This was also the law in Scotland. He had un-
derstood, too, that the evils of the law were felt in America, and that means bad been taken for
bringing it before the congress, with a view to assimilate the law of America to the law of other coun-
tries. If the question were examined by the principles of equity, by analogy with other cases, by the
authority of those who decided in our courts, or by the practice of other countries, it would be found
that the reasons were strong in favour of the bill. It was of great importance in commercial transac-
tions, that our law should be like the laws of other countries. It was not the same with the laws re-
lative to real property-to our local law, if he might so call it but when the bill was founded on equity
and analogy, he thought it was an additional reason in its favour, that it assimilated our commercial
law to the commercial law of other countries. He did not know if he had made himself understood,
or If he had sufficiently explained the object of the bill; but the measure was founded in justice, and
he hoped to have their Lordships' consent to it." The noble Earl concluded by moving the second
reading of the bill.
By the new law, all persons intrusted with and in possession of goods are supposed, unless
the contrary be made distinctly to appear, to be their owners, so far, at least, that they may
pledge them or sell them to third parties. The following are the principal clauses of this im-
portant act, 6 Geo. 4. c. 94.
Factors or Agents having Goods or Merchandise in their Possession, shall be deemed to be the true
Owners.-Any person intrusted for the purpose of consignment or of sale, with any goods, wares. or
merchandise, and who shall have shipped such in his own name, and any person in whose name any
goods, wares, or merchandise shall be shipped by any other person, shall be deemed to be the true
owner, 80 far as to entitle the consignee to a lien thereon in respect of any money or negotiable secu-
rity advanced by such consignee for the use of the person in whose name such goods, wares, or mer-
chandise shall be shipped, or in respect of any money or negotiable security received by him to the
use of such consignee, in like manner as if such person was the true owner ; provided such consignee
shall not have notice by the bill of lading, or otherwise, before the time of any advance of such money
or negotiable security, or of such receipt of money or negotiable security, in respect of which such
lien is claimed, that such person so shipping in his own name, or in whose name any goods, wares,
or merchandise shall be shipped by any person, is not the actual and bond fide owner, any law, usage.
or custom to the contrary thereof notwithstanding provided also, that the person in whose name
such goods, wares, or merchandise are so shipped shall be taken, for the purposes of this act, to have
been intrusted therewith for the purpose of consignment or of sale. unless the contrary thereof shall
be made to appear by bill of discovery, or be made to appear in evidence by any person disputing such
fact.-d.
Persons in Possession of Bills of Lading to be the Owners, 80 far as to make valid Contracts.-From
and after the 1st of October, 1826, any person intrusted with any bill of lading, India warrant, dock
warrant, warehouse keeper's certificate, wharfinger's certificate, warrant or order for delivery of
goods, shall be deemed to be the true owner, so far as to give validity to any contract or agreement
thereafter to be entered into by such person so intrusted, with any person, body politic or corporate,
for the sale of the said goods, wares, and merchandise, or for the deposit or pledge thereof as a secu-
rity for any money or negotiable instrument advanced or given by such person, body politic or corpo-
rate, upon the faith of such documents; provided such person, body politic or corporate, shall net
have notice, by such documents or otherwise, that such person so intrusted is not the actual and bond
fida owner.- 2.
No Person to acquire a Security upon Goods in the Hands of an Agent for an antecedent Debt. beyond the
Amount of the Agent's Interest in the Goods.-In case any person, body politic or corporate, shall, after
this act, accept any such goods, in deposit or pledge, from any such person so intrusted, without notice
as aforesaid, as a security for any debt or demand due from any such person so intrusted, to such per-
son, body politic or corporate, before the time of such deposit, then such person, body politic or corpo-
rate, 80 accepting such goods in deposite or pledge. shall acquire no further interest in the said goods,
or any such document, than was possessed, or might have been enforced, by the said person $0 Intrust-
ed, at the time of such deposit or pledge but such person, body politic or corporate, so accepting such
goods in deposit or pledge, shall acquire, possess, and enforce such right, title, or interest as must
have been enforced by such person so intrusted.- 3.
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FACTORAGE.
673
Persons may contract with known Agents in the ordinary Course of Business, or out of that Course, if
within the Agent's Authority.-From and after the 1st of October, 1826, it shall be lawful for any per-
son, body politic or corporate, to contract with any agent, intrusted with any goods, or to whom the
saine may be consigned, for the purchase of such goods, and to receive the same of and pay for the
same to such agent; and such contract and payment shall be binding upon the owner, notwithstand-
ing such person, body politic or corporate, shall have notice that the person making and entering into
such contract, or on whose behalf such contract is made, is an agent provided such contract and pay-
ment be made in the usual course of business, and that such person, body politic or corporate, shall
not have notice that such agent is not authorised to sell the said goods, or to receive the said purchase
money.- 4.
Persons may accept and lake Goods in Pledge from known Agents.-From and after the passing of this
act, it shall be lawful for any person, body politic or corporate, to accept any such goods, or any such
document as aforesaid, in deposit or pledge from any factor or agent, notwithstanding such person,
body politic or corporate, shall have notice that the person making such deposit or pledge is a factor
or agent; but then and in that case such person, body politic or corporate, shall acquire no further in-
terest in the said goods, or any such document, than was possessed or might have been enforced by the
said factor or agent, at the time of such deposit or pledge; but such person, body politic or corporate,
shall acquire, possess, and enforce such right, title, or interest as was possessed and might have been
enforced by such factor or agent.-05.
Right of the true Owner to follow his Goods while in the Hands of his Agent or of his Assignee in case
of Bankruptcy.-Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to deprive the true owner or proprietor
of such goods from demanding and recovering the same from his factor or agent, before the same shall
have been so sold, deposited, or pledged, or from the assignees of such factor or agent, in the event of
his, her, or their bankruptcy nor to prevent such owner or proprietor from demanding or recovering
of and from any person, bodies politic or corporate, the price agreed to be paid for the purchase of
such goods, subject to any right of set-off on the part of such persons, bodies politic or corporate,
against such factor or agent; not [nor] to prevent such owner or proprietor from demanding or re-
covering of and from such persons, bodies politic or corporate, such goods, so deposited or pledged,
upon repayment of the money, or on restoration of the negotiable instrument 80 advanced or given
on the security of such goods, by such persons, bodies politic or corporate, to such factor or agent
and upon payment of such further sum, or on restoration of such other negotiable instrument (if any)
as may have been advanced or given by such factor or agent. to such owner or proprietor, or on pay-
ment of a sum equal to the amount of such instrument; nor to prevent the said owner or proprietor
from recovering of and from such persons, bodies politic or corporate, any balance remaining in their
hands, as the produce of the sale of such goods, after deducting thereout the amount of the money or
negotiable instrument 80 advanced or given upon the security thereof; provided always, that in
case of the bankruptcy of any such factor or agent, the owner or proprietor of the goods so pledged
and redeemed shall be held to have discharged pro tanto the debt due by them to the estate of such
bankrupt.- 6.
Agents fraudulently pledging the Goods of their Principals.-The 7 & 8 Geo. 4. c. 29. 0 51. enacts,
That if any factor or agent intrusted, for the purpose of sale, with any goods or merchandise, or in-
trusted with any bill of lading, warehouse keeper's or wharfinger's certificate, or warrant or order for
the delivery of goods or merchandise, shall, for his own benefit, and in violation of good faith, deposit
or pledge any such goods or merchandise, or any of the said documents, as a security for any money
or negotiable instrument borrowed or received by such factor or agent, at or before the time of making
such deposit or pledge, or intended to be thereafter borrowed or received, every such offender shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, being convicted thereof, shall be liable, at the discretion of the court,
to be transported beyond the seas for any term not exceeding 14 years, nor less than 7 years, or to
suffer such other punishment by fine or imprisonment, or by both as the court shall award but no such
factor or agent shall be liable to any prosecution for depositing or pledging any such goods or mer-
chandise, or any of the said documents, in case the same shall not be made a security for, or subject
to the payment of, any greater sum of money than the amount which, at the time of such deposit or
pledge, was justly due and owing to such factor or agent from his principal, together with the amount
of any bill or bills of exchange drawn by or on account of such principal, and accepted by such factor
or agent."
This provision does not extend to partners not being privy to the offence nor does it take away
any remedy at law or equity which any party aggrieved by any offence might have been entitled to
against such offender. And no one shall be liable to be convicted by any evidence whatever as an
offender against this act, in respect of any act done by him, if he shall, at any time previously to his
being indicted for such offence, have disclosed such acts, on oath, in consequence of any comput-
sory process of any court of law or equity, in any action, suit, &c. which shall have been bona Ade in-
stituted by any party aggrieved, or if he shall have disclosed the same in any examination or deposition
before any commissioners of bankrupt.-d 52.
FACTORAGE, OR COMMISSION, the allowance given to factors by the merchants and
manufacturers, &c., who employ them: it is a percentage on the goods they purchase or sell
on account of their principals; and varies in different countries, and as it refers to different
articles. It is customary for factors, as observed in the previous article, to insure the debts
due to those for whom they sell for an additional, or del credere, commission, generally
averaging from 1} to 2 per cent. Factorage or commission is also frequently charged at a
certain rate per cask, or other package, measure, or weight, especially when the factor is only
employed to receive or deliver: this commission is usually fixed by special agreement between
the merchant and factor.
FACTORAGE, BROKERAGE, AND COMMISSION TABLE.
Amount.
At per Ct.
At 1-4 per Ct.
At per Ct.
At 1-8 per Ct.
At 5-8 per Ct.
At 8-4 per Ct.
At 7-8 per Ct.
At per Ct.
L
L.d.
L.d.
L 8. d.
Lad
L #. d.
L.a.d.
L.d.
L.a.d.
1
00014
00012
00034
001
0 0 11-2
00184
002
00214
2
00018
001
00134
0 0 21-4
003
0031-2
004
00434
3
00034
0 0 3-4
00818
0031-2
00418
00514
00614
007
4
001
00814
00318
0 0 434
006
007
0 0 81.4
0 0 91-2
5
0 0 1-2
003
00418
006
0 0 71-2
009
0 0 10 1-2
010
6
0 0 134
00312
0 0 61-4
007
009
0 0 103-4
01013
018
7
008
004
00634
0 0 814
0 10
01012
0 1 21-2
01 13-4
8
00214
00434
007
00918
010
01814
0 1 434
017
9
00219
00514
008
0 0 10 3-4
01112
014
01634
0 1 918
10
008
006
009
010
013
016
019
080
20
006
010
016
020
086
030
036
040
20
009
010
0 2 8
080
0 3 9
040
058
060
VOL I.-3 L
85
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674
FACTORY, FAIRS AND MARKETS.
Table-continued.
Amount.
At 1-8 per Ct.
At 1-4 per Ct.
At 38 per Ct.
At 1-2 per Ct.
At 5-8 per Ct.
At 34 per Ct.
At 7-8 per Ct.
At a
L
L.i.d.
L.d.
L.d.
L.d.
L.d.
Led
L.e.d
Lid
40
010
020
030
040
050
060
070
010
50
013
086
039
050
063
076
089
0100
60
016
030
046
060
076
090
0106
0120
70
019
036
053
070
089
0106
0123
040
80
080
040
060
080
0100
0120
0140
0160
90
083
046
069
090
0113
0136
0159
015 0
100
026
050
076
0100
0126
0150
0176
100
200
050
0100
0150
100
150
1100
1150
200
300
076
0150
126
1100
1176
250
2126
$00
400
0100
100
110
200
$ 10 0
300
3100
400
500
0126
160
1176
2100
326
3150
476
500
600
0 15 0
1100
850
300
3150
4100
550
600
700
0176
1150
2126
3100
476
550
626
700
800
100
200
300
400
600
600
700
800
900
126
250
376
410 0
5126
6 15 0
7176
900
1,000
150
8 10 0
3150
500
650
7100
8 15 0
1000
2,000
2100
500
7100
1000
12 10 0
1500
17 10 0
2000
3,000
8 15 0
7100
1150
1500
18 15 0
22 10 0
9650
3000
4,000
500
1000
1500
2000
2600
3000
3500
4000
5,000
650
12 10 0
18 15 0
2500
3150
37 10 0
43 16 0
5000
10,000
12 10 0
2500
37 10 0
6000
62 10 0
7500
8710 0
100 0 0
Amount.
At 1-2 per Ct.
At 2 per Ct.
At per Ct.
per Ct.
At 4 per Ct.
At per CL
At per CL
L
L.s.d.
L. i. d.
L. . d.
L.s.d.
L.d.
L. . d.
L.d.
1
00312
0 0 434
006
007
009
0 0 1034
010
2
007
00918
010
0 234
017
01912
020
3
0 0 103-4
0 1 214
016
0 1 91.2
0 2 4
0 8 81-4
039
4
01814
017
0 2 0
0 8 434
032
037
040
5
016
080
026
030
040
046
050
6
01912
0 2 43-4
030
037
049
05434
. 6 0
7
0 8 1
0 8 913
036
04214
057
06312
070
8
02434
03214
040
0491-2
064
07814
080
9
0 2 81-4
037
046
05434
072
081
080
10
030
040
050
060
080
090
0100
20
060
080
0100
0120
0160
0 18 0
100
30
090
0100
0150
0180
140
170
1100
40
0120
0160
100
140
1120
1160
200
50
0150
100
150
1100
200
250
200
60
0180
140
1100
1160
280
2140
$00
70
110
180
1150
220
2160
830
310'
80
140
1180
200
280
340
3120
400
90
170
1160
250
2140
$ 12 0
410
4100
100
1100
200
2100
300
400
4100
500
200
300
400
600
600
800
900
1000
300
4100
600
7100
900
1200
13 10 0
1500
400
600
800
1000
12 0 0
16 0 0
1800
x..
500
7100
1000
12 10 0
15 0 0
2000
22 10 0
300
600
900
1200
1500
1800
2400
2700
3000
700
10 10 0
1400
17 10 0
2100
2800
31100
3500
800
1200
1600
2000
2400
200
3600
4000
9001
13 10 0
18 0 0
22 10 0
2700
3600
4010 0
4500
1,000
1500
2000
2500
3000
4000
4500
5000
2,000
3000
4000
5000
6000
8000
9200
100 0 0
3,000
4500
6000
75 0 0
9000
120 0 0
135 0 0
150 0 0
4,000
6000
8000
100 0 0
120 0 0
160 0 0
180 0 0
20000
5,000
7500
100 0 0
225 0 0
150 0 0
200 0 0
225 0 0
2000
10,000
150 0 0
200 0 0
250 0 0
300 0 0
400 0 0
450 0 0
500 00
FACTORY, a place where merchants and factors reside, to negotiate business for them-
selves and their correspondents on commission. We have factories in China, Turkey, Por-
tugal, Russia, &c.
FAIRS AND MARKETS. These institutions are very closely allied. A fair, as the
term is now generally understood, is only a greater species of market recurring at more distant
intervals. Both are appropriated to the sale of 1 or more species of goods, the hiring of
servants, or labourers, &c.: but fairs are, in most cases, attended by a greater concourse of
people, for whose amusement various exhibitions are got up.
1. Origin of Fairs.-Institutions of this sort are peculiarly serviceable in the earlier
stages of society, and in rude and inland countries. The number of shops, and the com-
modities in them, are then either comparatively limited, or they are but little frequented by
dealers; so that it is for the advantage of all, that fairs should be established, and merchants
induced to attend them. For this purpose various privileges have been annexed to fairs, and
numerous facilities afforded to the disposal of property in them. To give them a greater de-
gree of solemnity, they were originally, both in the ancient and modern world, associated
with religious festivals. In most places, indeed, they are still held on the same day with the
wake or feast of the saint to whom the church is dedicated; and till the practice was prohibited,
it was customary, in England, to hold them in churchyards!-(Jacob's Law Dict. art. Fair.)
But since the growth of towns, and the opportunities afforded for the disposal and purchase
of all sorts of produce at the weekly or monthly markets held in them, the utility of fairs, in
this country, at least, has very much diminished; they have, also, lost much of their ancient
splendour; and, though some of them are still well attended, and of real use, a good number
might be advantageously suppressed.
But it is far otherwise in inland countries, where the facilities for carrying on commercial
transactions are comparatively circumscribed. There it is of the utmost importance, that
certain convenient places and specified periods should be appointed for the bringing together
of commodities and dealers. This is not only the readiest and best means of promoting
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FAIRS AND MARKETS.
675
commerce, but also of softening national antipathies, and diffusing a knowledge of the pro-
ducts, arts, and customs of other countries.
2. Establishment of English Fairs.-No fair can he holden without grant from the
Crown, or a prescription which supposes such grant. And before a patent is granted, it is
usual to have a writ of ad quod damnum executed and returned, that it may not be issued to
the prejudice of a similar establishment already existing. The grant usually contains a clause
that it shall not be to the hurt of another fair or market; but this clause, if omitted, will be
implied in law: for if the franchise occasion damage either to the king or a subject, in this or
any other respect, it will be revoked and a person, whose ancient title is prejudiced, is entitled
to have a scire facias in the king's name to repeal the letters patent. If his Majesty grant
power to hold a fair or market in a particular place, the lieges can resort to no other, even
though it be inconvenient. But if no place be appointed, the grantees may keep the fair or
market where they please, or rather, where they can most conveniently.
3. Times of holding Fairs and Markets.-These are either determined by the letters patent
appointing the fair or market, or by usage. The statute 2 Edw. 3. c. 15. enacts, that the du-
ration of the fair shall be declared at its commencement, and that it shall not be continued
beyond the specified time. By statute 5 Edw. 3. c. 5., any merchant selling goods after the
stipulated time is to forfeit double the value of the goods sold.
4. Effect of Sales in Fairs and Markets.-A bona fide sale made in a fair or open market,
in general, transfers the complete property of the thing sold to the vendee; so that, however
vicious or illegal the title of the vendor may be, the vendee's is good against every one ex-
cept the king. But the sale, in order to come within this rule, must take place on the market
day, and at the place assigned for the market. The city of London is said to be a market
overt every day of the week except Sunday; every shop being a market overt for such things
as the shopkeeper professes to deal in. The property of goods may, however, be changed,
and effectually transferred to the buyer, by a bona fide sale in a shop out of London, whether
the shopkeeper be the vendor or vendee, if the goods are of the kind in which he trades. A
wharf in London is not within the custom, and is not a market overt for articles brought
there. But a sale in a market will not be binding, if it be such as carries with it a presump-
tion of fraud as, for example, if it take place in a back room, or secret place; if the sale be
covinous, and intended to defraud the real owner; or if the buyer know that the vendor is not
the real owner of the goods, &c. It is very difficult to transfer the property of horses, even
when they are sold in an open market, without the consent of the real owner.—(See HORSES.)
5. Court of Pié Poudre.-To every fair or market there is incident, even without any
express words in the grant, a court of pié poudre, in allusion to the dusty feet of the suitors.
The steward or mayor may preside. It has cognizance of all questions as to contracts made
in the market, respecting goods bought and delivered there, &c. Formerly pié poudre courts
were held at every considerable fair; but they are now entirely laid aside.
6. Clerk of the Market.-Owners and governors of fairs are to take care that every thing
be sold according to just weights and measures. And for that and other purposes they may
appoint a clerk of the fair or market, who is to mark and allow all such weights, &c. charg-
ing 1d. for sealing and marking a bushel, 4d. for marking a half bushel or peck, and id. for
marking a gallon, pottle, quart, pint, &c., under penalty of 51.-(22 Cha. 2. c. 8.)
7. Tolls.-Being a matter of private benefit to the owners of fairs or markets, and not in-
cident to them, tolls are not exigible unless specially granted in the patent: but the king may
by a new grant authorise a reasonable toll to be taken. If the toll granted be excessive, the
patent will be void. It is a general rule, unless changed by a contrary custom obtaining
time out of mind, that no toll be paid for any thing brought to a fair or market, before the
same is sold, and that it shall then be paid by the buyer.
The owner of a house next to a fair or market is not allowed to open his shop during such
fair or market, without paying stallage (toll for having a stall) ; on the ground that if he
take the benefit of the market, he ought to pay the duties thereon. This regulation has been
a good deal complained of.
The owners of fairs and markets are required by statute (2 & 3 Ph. and M. c. 7.) to ap-
point a person in a special open place to take the toll. The most important part of this
person's duty has reference to his entering the horses sold with three distinguishing marks,
and the names, &c. of those who buy and sell them.-(See HORSES.)
An action lies against any one who refuses to pay the customary toll.
(For further information as to British fairs and markets, see Chitty on Commercial Law,
vol. ii. c. 9.)
The 3 Geo. 4. c. 55. enacts, that at all fairs held within 10 miles of Temple Bar, business and amuse-
ments of all kinds shall cease at 11 o'clock in the evening, and not re-commence before 6 clock in
the morning, under a penalty of 40s. to be paid by any master, mistress, or other person, having the
care or management of any house, shop, room, booth, standing, tent, caravan or wagon, where any
breach of this enactment shall have been committed. Power is also given by the same act to any 2
Justices of the peace, within their respective jurisdictions, to put a stop tc any fair which is held with-
out charter, prescription, or lawful authority.
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FAIRS AND MARKETS.
8. Principal British Fairs.-Among these may be specified Stourbridge. in Worcester-
shire. Bristol has two considerable fairs, one in March, and one in September. Exeter
December fair, for cattle, horses, and most sorts of commodities. Weyhill fair, in Hampshire
(October 10,) has, probably, the greatest display of sheep of any fair in the kingdom. Bar-
tholomew fair, in London, used to be of considerable importance, but is now appropriated
only to shows of wild beasts, and such like exhibitions, and might be suppressed with advan-
tage. St. Faith's, near Norwich (October 17.), is the principal English fair for Scotch cattle.
They are sold to the graziers and feeders of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, &c., by whom they are
fattened for the London markets, where they are met with in great abundance. But besides
those sold at St. Faith's, large numbers of Scotch cattle are disposed of at Market Harborough,
Carlisle, Ormskirk, and other places. Ipswich has two considerable fairs one in August,
for lambs; and one in September, for butter and cheese: it is reckoned that above 100,000
lambs are annually sold at the former. Woodborough-hill, in Dorset, for west country manu-
factures, as kerseys, druggets, &c. Woodstock October fair, for cheese. Northampton
and Nottingham have each several large fairs, for horses, cattle, cheese, &c. The August
fair of Horncastle, in Lincolnshire, is the largest horse fair in the kingdom, many thousand
horses being exhibited for sale during its continuance: it is resorted to by crowds of dealers
from all parts of Great Britain, by several from the Continent, and sometimes even from
North America. Howden, in Yorkshire, has, also, a very large horse fair, particularly for
Yorkshire hunters. Devizes, in Wiltshire, has several large fairs for sheep and cattle.
There is usually a large display of cheese at the Gloucester April fair. A guild, or jubilee,
commencing the last week of August, is held every twentieth year at Preston, in Lancashire;
the last was held in 1822, and was well attended. The October fair of Market Harborough,
Leicestershire, lasts 9 days, and a great deal of business is usually done in cattle, cheese, &c.
Woodbridge Lady-day fair is celebrated for the show of Suffolk horses. Falkirk fair, or tryst,
is one of the most important in Scotland, for the sale of cattle and sheep. The October fair
of Ballinasloe, in the county Galway, is famous for the display of cattle and sheep; by far
the largest proportion of these animals raised for sale in Connaught being disposed of at it.
The sheep are generally from 3 to 4, the heifers from 3 to 4, and the bullocks from 4 to 5
years of age. They are mostly lean; and are kept for a year in Leinster before they are fit
for the Dublin or Liverpool markets. It would seem that the number of cattle and sheep
disposed of at Ballinasloe is rather declining; a result ascribable to the increase of cultivation
caused by the great augmentation of population, and the continued subdivision of the land.
We subjoin an
Account of the Number of Sheep and Cattle, sold and unsold, at the October Fairs of Ballinasloe
from the Year 1820 to the Year 1832, both inclusive. (Agricultural Report of 1832, p. 349.)
Years.
Sheep sold.
Sheep unsold.
Total.
Cattle sold.
Cattle unsold.
Total.
1820
59,943
20,833
80,776
4,504
4,001
8,505
1821
72,834
10,566
83,400
6,062
1,222
7,854
1822
74,718
15,459
90,177
5,322
3,695
9,017
1823
75,684
20,315
95,999
6,588
4,321
10,909
1824
77,448
6,786
84,234
9,058
1,447
10,505
1825
72,577
17,688
90,265
8,012
2,254
10,266
1826
57,808
36,597
94,405
4,393
3,844
8,240
1827
77,075
14,300
91,375
6,638
1,711
8,349
1828
86,374
11,010
97,384
7,707
3,806
11,513
1829
71,434
14,979
86,413
5,677
3,666
9,347
1830
66,874
14,611
81,485
5,894
1,663
7,457
1831
57,940
3,399
61,339
6,192
1,321
7,513
1832
58,055
4,793
62,948
6,101
556
6,657
9. Principal French Fairs.-Among these may be specified the fairs of St. Germains,
Lyons, Rheims, Chartres, Rouen, Bordeaux, Troyes, and Bayonne; but they are said to be,
for the most part, much fallen off. This, however, does not appear to be the case with the
fair held at Beaucaire, in the department of the Gard, in July. It is said that there were
from 70,000 to 80,000 persons at the fair of 1833, and that the business done exceeded
160,000,000 fr., or 6,400,000Z.! These statements are not, however, official, and are, most
probably, exaggerated; and it is admitted, that the last was the greatest fair that has been
held for these many years past.-(Archives du Commerce, tom. iii. pp. 236-245.)
10. German Fairs.-The principal German, or rather European, fairs, are those of Frank-
fort on the Maine, Frankfort on the Oder, and Leipsic. The concourse of merchants, and
the business done at these fairs, is generally very great. They are copiously supplied with
the cotton stuffs, twist, cloths, and hardware of England; the silks and jewellery of France
the printed cottons of Switzerland and Austria; the raw, manufactured, and literary products
of Germany; the furs of the North; Turkey carpets; Cachemere shawls, &c.; and there,
also, are to be found merchants of all countries, those of Ispahan negotiating with those of
Montreal for the purchase of furs; and Georgians and Servians supplying themselves with
the cottons of Manchester and the jewellery of Paris. There, in fact, are met the repre-
sentatives, as it were, of every people in the world, labouring, though without intending it, to
promote each other's interest, and to extend and strengthen those ties that bind together the
great family of the human race.
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The fairs at Frankfort on the Maine should begin, the first on Easter Tuesday, and the
second on the Monday nearest to the 8th of September. Their duration is limited to 3
.weeks, but they usually begin from 8 to 15 days before their legal commencement. Accounts
are kept in rixdollars: 1 rixdollar of account - If florin, or 41 copsticks, or 221 batzen.
The rixdollar 3s. 1.8d.; so that the par of exchange is 141 batzen per 11. sterling. 100 lbs.
common Frankfort weight 103 lbs. avoirdupois. The foot - 11.27 English inches.
The fairs at Frankfort on the Oder are 3 in number: viz. Reminiscere, in February or
March; St. Margaret, in July; and St. Martin, in November. They ought, strictly speak-
ing, to terminate in 8 days, but they usually extend to 15. The Prussian government gives
every facility to those who attend these fairs. Accounts are kept in Prussian money, that
is, in rixdollars of 2s. 111d. 100 lbs. Prussian = 103 lbs. avoirdupois. The foot - 12-356
English inches.
The fairs of Leipsic are still more celebrated than those of either Frankfort. They are
held thrice a year,-on the 1st of January, at Easter, and at Michaelmas. The first is the
least important. Above 20,000 dealers are said to have been present at the Easter fair in
1832, and above 13,000 at that of Michaelmas. The Easter and Michaelmas fairs are fa-
mous, particularly the former, for the vast number of new publications usually offered for
sale. They are attended by all the principal booksellers of Germany, and by many from the
adjoining countries, who adjust their accounts, learn the state of the trade in all parts of the
world, and endeavour to form new connections. Most German publishers have agents in
Leipsic; which is to the literature of Germany, what London is to that of Great Britain. As
many as 4,000 new publications have been in a single Leipsic catalogue! The fairs ought
to close in 8 days, but they usually continue for about 3 weeks. No days of grace are allowed.
The holder of a bill must demand payment on the day it becomes due; and, if not paid, he
must have it protested on that very day, and returned by the first opportunity. If he neglect
any of these regulations, he loses all right of recourse upon the drawer and endorsers. Money
of account at Leipsic same as at Frankfort on the Maine. 100 lbs. Leipsic : - 103 lbs. avoir-
dupois. The foot 11.11 English inches.-(Kelly's Cambist; Manuel de Nelkenbrecher
Archires du Commerce, tom. ii. p. 27., &c.)
Dr. Bright gives, in his Travels in Hungary (pp. 201-223.), an interesting account of
the fairs held at Debretzin and Pesth. The latter has become the grand centre of Hungarian
commerce; most part of which is conducted at its fairs.
11. Italian Fairs.-Of these, the most celebrated is that of Sinigaglia, a small but hand-
some town of the Papal dominions, on the Misa, near its confluence with the Adriatic. The
fair commences on the 14th of July, and should terminate on the last day of that month,
but it usually continues 5 or 6 days longer. The duties on goods brought to the fair are
extremely moderate, and every thing is done to promote the convenience of those frequent-
ing it. All sorts of cotton and woollen goods, lace, iron and steel, hardware, jewellery,
brandy and liqueurs, raw and refined sugar, dried fish, cacao, coffee, spices, &c. are brought
here by the English, French, Austrians, Americans, Swiss, &c. These are exchanged for
the various raw and manufactured products of Italy and the Levant; consisting, among
others, of raw, thrown, and wrought silks; oil, fruits, cheese, alum, soda, sumach, sulphur,
&c. The value of the imports for the fair of 1832 was estimated at about 2,000,000/. Ac-
counts are kept in scudi of 20 soldi; the scudo = 4s. 4d. very nearly. 100 lbs. Sinigaglia
- 73$ lbs. avoirdupois. The ell or braccio measures 25.33 English inches.-(Munuel.de
Nelkenbrecher; Archives du Commerce, tom. ii. p. 38.)
12. Russian Fairs.-These are numerous, and many of them well attended. The most
important is held at Nishnei-Novogorod. This city is situated at the confluence of the Oka
with the Wolga, in lat. 56° 16' N., lon. 44° 18' E. It is the great emporium of the internal
trade of Russia: communicating by an inland navigation with the Baltic, the Black Sea, and
the Caspian. The fair was formerly held at Makarief, 84 versts distant. It generally lasts
from 6 weeks to 2 months, and is well known all over the east of Europe. The bazaars
erected for the accommodation of those who attend this fair, form, according to Dr. Lyall,
the finest establishment of the kind in the world. The sale of iron and iron articles is
said usually to amount to above 10,000,000 roubles; the furs to 36,000,000; the images to
1,300,000. Captain Cochrane is of opinion, that " the fair, in point of value, is second to
none in Europe ; the business done being estimated at nearly 200,000,000 roubles." The
stationary population of the place amounts to from 15,000 to 16,000 but during the fair it
is said to amount to 120,000 or 150,000; among whom may be seen Chinese, Persians, Cir-
cassians, Armenians, Tatars, Bucharians, Jews, " and a specimen of almost every European
nation."-(See Modern Traveller, art. Russia, p. 305.) We suspect, however, that these
statements are very far beyond the mark. It is stated in the Archives du Commerce (tom.
i. p. 173.), that the total value of the merchandise disposed of at the fair of Nishnei-Novo-
gorod, in 1832, amounted to 123,200,000 roubles. Theatrical exhibitions, shows of wild
beasts, and other Bartholomew fair amusements, add to the attractions of the scene.
Another celebrated Russian fair is held, in the month of December, at Kiachta, in Mon-
golia, on the Chinese frontier, in lat. 50° 20' N., lon. uncertain, but about 105° E. The
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town is small, the population not exceeding 4,000 or 5,000; but by far the largest part of
the commerce between the Russian and Chinese empires is transacted at its fair, and it is
also the centre of the political intercourse between them. The commodities brought by the
Russians consist principally of furs, sheep and lamb skins, Russian and German broadcloths,
Russia leather, coarse linens, worsted stuffs, cattle, &c., with, for the most part, bullion.
These they exchange with the Chinese for tea, raw and manufactured silk, nankeens, por-
celain, sugar candy, rhubarb, tobacco, musk, &c. The quantity of tea, using the word in the
sense in which it is understood here, purchased at the Kiachta fairs by the Russians, amounts,
at an average, to about 60,000 boxes a year, that is, to about 4,200,000 lbs.; the greater part
being the fine species of black tea called pekoe. But, exclusive of this, the Russians buy
large quantities of a coarser species of tea, called break or Tartar tea, which, though not
thought worth the trouble of putting into packages, is largely consumed by the nomadic Tar-
tars and Siberians. According to the official accounts published by the Russian Custom-
house, the total value of the exports by way of Kiachta, in 1831, amounted to 4,655,536
roubles, and that of the imports to 6,775,858 ditto. The Russian trade is in the hands of a
comparatively small number of merchants, some of whom are very rich; that of the Chinese
is much more diffused. Commodities may be conveyed from Kiachta to European Russia
either by land or by water. In the former case the journey takes a year; in the latter, it
takes 3 years, or rather 3 very short summers; the rivers being for the most part of the year
frozen over.(Schnitzler, Statistique Générale de l'Empire de la Russie, p. 143.; private
communications from Captain Gordon, who visited Kiachta in 1819; Official Statement
of the Trade of the Russian Empire in 1831, &c.)
13. Eastern Fairs.-The most important fair in the Eastern world is that held at Mecca,
during the resort of pilgrims in the month of Dhalbajja. It used to be frequented by many
thousands of individuals of all ranks and orders, brought together from the remotest corners
of the Mohammedan world; and though the numbers attending it have declined of late
years, the concourse is still very great.-(See CARAVAN.)
Hurdwar, in Hindostan, in lat. 29° 57' N., lon. 78° 2' E., 117 miles N. E. from Delhi, is
famous from its being one of the principal places of Hindoo pilgrimage, and the greatest fair
in India. The town, which is but inconsiderable, is situated on the Ganges, at the point
where that sacred stream issues from the mountains. The pilgrimage and fair are held to-
gether at the vernal equinox; and Europeans, nowise addicted to exaggeration, who have
been repeatedly present on these occasions, estimate that from 200,000 to 300,000 strangers
are then assembled in the town and its vicinity. But every twelfth year is reckoned pecu-
liarly holy; and then it is supposed that from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000, and even 2,000,000
pilgrims and dealers are congregated together from all parts of India and the countries to the
north. In 1819, which happened to be a twelfth year, when the auspicious moment for
bathing in the Ganges was announced to the impatient devotees, the rush was so tremendous
that no fewer than 430 persons were either trampled to death under foot, or drowned in the
river ! The foreigners resorting to Hurdwar fair for commercial purposes only, consist prin-
cipally of natives of Nepaul, the Punjab, and Peshwaur, with Afghans, Usbeck Tartars, &c.
They import vast numbers of horses, cattle, and camels; Persian dried fruits, shawls, drugs,
&c.: the returns are made in cotton piece goods, indigo, sugar, spices, and other tropical pro-
ductions. The merchants never mention the price of their goods, but conduct the bargain
by touching the different joints of their fingers, to hinder the hystanders gaining any informa-
tion. During the Mahratta sway, a kind of poll-tax and duties on cattle were levied but
all is now free, without impost or molestation of any sort. Owing, also, to the precautions
adopted by the British government, the most perfect order is preserved much to the surprise
and satisfaction of the natives; for, antecedent to our occupation of the country, the fairs
usually ended in disorder and bloodshed.-(Private information, and the excellent account
of Hurdwar in Hamilton's Gazelteer.)
The fares of Portobello, Vera Cruz, and Acapulco, once so famous, are now totally desert-
ed that of the Havannah is also much fallen off.
FATHOM, a measure of length, 6 feet, chiefly used for measuring the length of cordage,
and the depth of water and mines.
FEATHERS, BED-FEATHERS (Fr. Plumes, Plumes à lit; Ger. Federn, Bettfedern;
Du. Bedveern, Pluimen; It. Piume; Sp. Plumas), make a considerable article of com-
merce; particularly those of the ostrich, heron, swan, peacock. goose, and other poultry for
plumes, ornaments of the head, filling of beds, quilts, &c. The coarsest part of the ostrich
plumage is generally denominated hair, to which it bears a resemblance, and is used in the
manufacture of hats. Many parts of Great Britain supply feathers for beds, and an inferior
sort is brought from Ireland. Eider down is imported from the north of Europe; the ducks
that supply it being inhabitants of Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. The eider duck breeds
in the islands on the west of Scotland, but not in sufficient numbers to form a profitable
branch of trade to the inhabitants. Hudson's Bay furnishes very fine feathers. The down
of the swan is brought from Dantzic, as well as large quantities of superior feathers.
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The bed-feathers imported in 1828 amounted to 3,103 cwt., yielding 6,8261. 12s. of duty.
The duty on ostrich feathers during the same year produced 962/ 8s. 9d.
FIDDLES, OR VIOLINS (Ger. Violinen, Geigen; Du. Vioolen; Fr. Violons; It. Violi-
ni; Sp. Violines; Rus. Skripizii), musical instruments, too well known to need any parti-
cular description. The finest toned violins are those made in Italy; they are usually called
Cremonas, from the name of the town where they were formerly manufactured in the high-
est perfection: 50 to 60 guineas have not unfrequently been given for a Cremona violin.
FIGS (Ger. Feigen; Du. Vygen; Fr. Figues; It. Fichi; Sp. Higos; Lat. Fici, Ca-
rica; Arab. Teen), the fruit of the fig tree (Ficus carica), a native of Asia, but early
introduced into Europe. It flourishes in Turkey, Greece, France, Spain, Italy, and North-
em Africa, and even sometimes ripens its fruits in the open air in this country. Figs, when
ripe, are, for the most part, dried in ovens to preserve them; and then packed very closely
in the small chests and baskets in which we import them. The best come from Turkey;
those of Kalamata, in the Morea, are said to be the most luscious.-(Thomson's Dispen-
satory.)
Dried figs form a very considerable article of commerce in Provence, Italy, and Spain;
besides affording, as in the East, a principal article of sustenance for the population. In
Spain, figs are chiefly exported from Andalusia and Valencia; but they are more or less
abundant in every province. In the northern parts of France there are many fig gardens,
particularly at Argenteuil.
Figs belong to that class of articles, the duties on which might be reduced, not only
without any loss, but with very great advantage to the revenue. They are extensively used
at the tables of the opulent; and would, there is no doubt, be much used by the middle
classes, were their price lower. The importation, even with the present duty of 21s. 6d., is
about 20,000 cwt; and as this duty is full 100 per cent. upon their price in bond, it may
be fairly concluded, that were it reduced to 8s. or 10s. a cwt., the quantity imported would
very soon be trebled, or more.
No abatement of duty is made on account of any damage received by figs.
(The duty on figs has been reduced from 21s. 6d. to 15s. a cwt. Nearly the same
may be said of this reduction as of that of the duty on currants. It is too trifling to
have much effect on consumption; and there can, we apprehend, be little doubt that a
duty of 10s. would, by stimulating the latter, be more productive of revenue than a duty
of 15s.--Sup.)
FILE, FILES (Da. File; Du. Vylen; Fr. Limes; Ger. Feilen; It. Lime), an instru-
ment of iron or forged steel, cut in little furrows, used to polish or smooth metals, timber,
and other hard bodies.
FIR. See PINE.
FIRE-ARMS. Under this designation is comprised all sorts of guns, fowling-pieces,
blunderbusses, pistols, &c. The manufacture of these weapons is of considerable import-
ance; employing at all times, but especially during war, a large number of persons.
In consequence of the frequent occurrence of accidents from the bursting of insufficient barrels, the
legislature has most properly interfered, not to regulate their manufacture, but to prevent all persons
from using or selling barrels that have not been regularly proved in a public proof-house. The first
act for this purpose was passed in 1813; but it was soon after superseded by a fuller and more com-
plete one, the 55 Geo. 3. c. 59. This statute imposes a fine of 201. on any person using, in any of the
progressive stages of its manufacture, any barrel not duly proved; on any person delivering the
same, except through a proof-house; and on any person receiving, for the purpose of making guns,
&c. any barrels which have not passed through a proof-house. These penalties to be levied on con-
viction before 2 justices with like penalties, to be similarly levied, on persons counterfeiting the
proof-marks.
FIRE-WORKS. By 9 & 10 Will. 3., all sorts of fire-works are declared to be a com-
mon nuisance; and the making, causing to be made, giving, selling, or offering for sale,
any squibs, rockets, serpents, or other fire-works, or any cases or implements for making the
same, is made subject to a penalty of 51., to be recovered on conviction before a justice of
the peace. Casting or firing any such fire-works, or permitting the same to be cast or fired,
from any house or place, and casting or firing the same into any house, shop, street, high-
way, or river, is subject to a penalty of 20s., to be recovered in like manner; and if not im-
mediately paid, the party to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for any time not exceed-
ing a month. But the statute provides, that it shall be lawful for the master, licutenant, or
commissioners of his Majesty's ordnance, or those authorized by them, to give orders for
making any fire-works, to be used according to such orders.
FIRKIN, a measure of capacity, equal to 9 ale gallons, or 71, Imperial gallons, or 2,538
cubic inches.-(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
FIRLOT, a dry measure used in Scotland. The Linlithgow wheat firlot is to the Impe-
rial bushel as .998 to 1; and the Linlithgow barley firlot is to the Imperial bushel as 1.456
is to 1. (See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
FISH (Ger. Fische; Du. Visschen; Da. and Sw. Fish; Fr. Poissons; It. Pesci; Sp.
Pescadus; Port. Peixes; Rus. Rüb; Pol. Rybi; Lat. Pisces), a term used in natural his-
tory to denote every variety of animal inhabiting seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, &c., that cannot
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FISH.
exist for any considerable time out of the water. But in a commercial point of view, those
fishes only are referred to, that are caught by man, and used either as food or for some other
useful purpose. Of these, herring, salmon, cod, pilchard, mackarel, turbot, lobster, oyster,
whale, &c., are among the most important.-(See the different articles under these titles.)
The supply of fish in the seas round Britain is most abundant, or rather quite inexhausti-
ble. " The coasts of Great Britain," says Sir John Boroughs, doe yield such a continued
sea harvest of gain and benefit to all those that with diligence doe labour in the same, that
no time or season of the yeare passeth away without some apparent meanes of profitable em-
ployment, especially to such as apply themselves to fishing which, from the beginning of
the year unto the latter end, continueth upon some part or other upon our coastes; and
these in such infinite shoales and multitudes of fishes are offered to the takers, as may justly
move admiration, not only to strangers, but to those that daily are employed amongst them."
That this harvest," says Mr. Barrow, ripe for gathering at all seasons of the year-with-
out the labour of tillage, without expense of seed or manure, without the payment of rent or
taxes-is inexhaustible, the extraordinary fecundity of the most valuable kinds of fish would
alone afford abundant proof. To enumerate the thousands and even millions of eggs, which
are impregnated in the herring, the cod, the ling, and indeed in almost the whole of the escu-
lent fish, would give but an inadequate idea of the prodigious multitudes in which they
flock to our shores; the shoals themselves must be seen, in order to convey to the mind
any just notion of their aggregate mass." (For an account of the shoals of herrings, see
HERRING.)
But, notwithstanding these statements, there has been, for these some years past, a grow-
ing complaint of a scarcity of such fish as breed in the Channel and it is affirmed, in the
report of the Commons' committee of 1833, on the Channel fisheries, that the fact of such
scarcity existing has been completely established. The committee ascribe it to various
causes, but principally to the destruction of the spawn or brood of fish, by fishing with
trawl or drag nets with small meshes, near the shore, during the breeding season; a prac-
tice prohibited by several statutes, which seem, however, to have fallen into disuse. The
committee represent the fishermen as being generally in a very depressed state, and that the
business is, for the most part, very unprofitable. We believe that this is the fact; but we
do not know any period when the same might not have been said with quite as much truth
as at present. Smith has remarked, that from the age of Theocritus downwards, fishermen
have been proverbially poor-( Wealth of Nations, vol. i. p. 167.) and a library might be
filled with the acts, reports, plans, tracts, &c. that have been printed in this country during
the last 2 centuries, containing regulations, schemes, suggestions, &c. for the improvement
of fisheries and fishermen. But it is not too much to say, that not one of these well meant
endeavours, notwithstanding the enormous expense incurred in carrying some of them into
effect, has been productive of any material advantage and we see no reason to think that
the suggestions of the late committee, supposing they were to be acted upon, would have
any better success.
The injury done to the breeding grounds might, perhaps, be obviated but besides this,
the committee lay much stress on the encroachments of the French and other foreign fisher-
men, and on the licence given to import foreign-caught turbot, &c. duty free! We confess,
it appears to us quite visionary to suppose that these circumstances can have much influ-
ence. Our fishermen, living upon the very shores of the bays to which the French are said
to resort, have advantages on their side sufficient, surely, to insure them a superiority, with-
out the forcible expulsion, supposing that could be accomplished, of their foreign competi-
tors. A man who does not succeed in a business carried on at his own door so well as one
who resides 100 miles off, must look for the cause in his want of skill or industry; and
should seek rather to improve himself than to discard his rivál. The proposition for exclud-
ing turbot, &c. of foreign catch, is one that ought not to be listened to for a single moment.
Such exclusion could not be of the slightest advantage to the British fishermen, unless it
occasioned a rise in the price of the fish; and we need not say, that if the legislature be to
interfere at all in the matter, its interference ought to have for its object the lowering, and
not the raising of the prices.
All that it is possible to do for the fishery, by relieving it from tithes and other burdens,
and facilitating the disposal of the fish in the markets of this and other countries, ought to
be done: but except in so far as its interests may be promoted in this way, and, perhaps,
by some new regulations for preserving the brood, we do not see what more is to be done by
legislative interference. It will be seen in our articles on the herring and whale fisheries,
that the bounty system was attended with vast expense, without leading to any useful
result.
Except in London and a few sea-port towns, the consumption of fish in England is not
great. The price in the metropolis, though it has been a good deal reduced of late years,
is still very high. This has been pretty generally believed to be in no small degree owing
to the salesmen of Billingsgate market being able, in a great measure, to regulate both the
supply of the article and its price. The late committee, however, declare, that though they
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have not minutely examined the subject, it does not appear that any improper monopoly
or injurious regulations subsist either in the mode of supplying the market, or in the sale
of the fish. Had any such existed, the recent establishment of the Hungerford market
would have tended materially to counteract their influence.
Mr. Barrow, in a valuable article on the fisheries, in the Supplement to the Encyclopsedia
Britannica, has estimated the value of the entire annual produce of the foreign and domes-
tic fisheries of Great Britain at 8,300,000L But it is admitted by every one who knows
any thing of the subject, that this estimate is very greatly exaggerated. We doubt much,
whether the entire value of the fisheries can be reckoned so high as 3,500,000L
Regulations as to Importation.-Fresh fish, British taken, and imported in British ships; and fresh
turbots and lobsters, however taken or imported; may be landed in the United Kingdom without re-
port, entry, or warrant.-( & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. 0 2.)
Fresh fish of every kind, of British taking, and imported in British ships ; and fresh lobsters and tur-
bots, however taken, or in whatever ships imported and cured fish of every kind, of British taking
and curing, imported in British ships ; shall be imported free of all duties, and shall not be deemed to
be included in any charge of duty imposed by any act hereafter to be made on the importation of
goods generally; provided that before any cured fish shall be entered free of duty, as being of such
taking and curing, the master of the ship importing the same shall make and subscribe a declaration
before the collector or comptroller, that such fish was actually caught, taken in British ships, and
cured, wholly by his Majesty's subjects.-v 44.
Fish of foreign taking or curing. or in foreign vessels, except turbots and lobsters, stockfish, live
eels, anchovies, sturgeon, botargo, and caviare, prohibited to be imported on pain of forfeiture.— 58.
[The following table exhibits the amount of dried and pickled fish exported from the
United States, from 1803 to 1837 inclusive.
Years.
Dried Fish.
Pickled Fish.
Years.
Dried Fish.
Pickled Fish.
1803
$1,620,000
$560,000
1821
$758,778
$264,813
1801
2,400,000
640,000
1822
666,730
249,108
1805
2,058,000
348,000
1823
734,024
270,777
1806
2,150,000
366,000
1824
873,685
263,019
1807
1,896,000
302,000
1825
850,356
248,417
1808
623,000
98,000
1826
662,742
257,180
1809
1,123,000
282,000
1827
747,171
240,276
1810
913,000
214,000
1828
819,926
246,737
1811
757,000
305,000
1829
747,541
220,527
1812
592,000
146,000
1830
550,690
225,987
1813
210,000
81,000
1831
625,392
304,441
1814
128,000
50,000
1832
749,900
306,812
1815
494,000
218,000
1833
713,317
277,973
1816
935,000
221,000
1834
630,384
223,290
1817
1,003,000
325,000
1835
783,895
224,629
1818
1,031,000
317,000
1836
746,464
221,426
1819
1,052,000
409,000
1837
588,506
181,333
1820
960,000
538,000
Am. Ed.]
(FLAG. Any of her Majesty's subjects hoisting the Union jack in their vessels, or any
pendants, &c. usually worn in her Majesty's ships, or any flag, jack, pendant, or colours
whatever in imitation of or resembling those of her Majesty, or any ensign or colours what-
ever other than those prescribed by proclamation, 1st of January, 1801, shall forfeit for
every such offence not more than 500L. (sic in orig.) - (4 & 5 Will. 4. c. 13. § 11.)-Sup.)
FLAX (Ger. Flachs; Du. Vlasch; Fr. Lin It. and Sp. Lino: Rus. Len, Lon; Pol.
Len; Lat. Linum), an important plant (Linum usitatissimum) that has been cultivated
from the earliest ages in Great Britain and many other countries; its fibres being manufac-
tured into thread, and its seed crushed for oil. Generally, however, we have been in the
habit of importing a large portion of our supplies. The premium given by the legislature to
force the cultivation of flax, have had very little effect; the fact being, as Mr. Loudon has
stated, that its culture is found to be, on the whole, less profitable than that of corn. When
allowed to ripen its seed, it is one of the most severe crops.
The principal sorts of flax imported into this country are, Petersburgh, Narva, Riga, Revel,
Pernau, Liebau, Memel, Oberland, and Dutch flax. The Petersburgh and Narva flax are
nearly of the same quality, the latter being but little inferior to the former. Both sorts come
to us in bundles of 12, 9, and 6 heads. The Riga flax seems to deserve the preference of
any imported from the Baltic. It is the growth of the provinces of Marienburg, Druania,
Thiesenhausen, and Lithuania.
The best Marienburg is called simply Marienburg (M), or Marlenburg clean the second quality,
cut (GM); and the third, risten dreyband (RD) of the three other provinces, the first quality bears
the name of rakitzer;-as Druania rakitzer (DR), Thiesenhausen rakitzer (TR), and Lithuania rukitzer
(LR). The cut flax of these three provinces is the second quality and to the third quality belong the
badstub and badstub cut (B and BG); the paternoster (PN) and hafs three band (HD). Badstub and
paternoster are the refuse of the rakitzer flax. and the three band again the refuse of the former sorts,
and consequently very ordinary. The Revel and Pernau consists of Marienburg, cut, risten, hafs
three band, and three band. The Liebau and Memel growths are distinguished by the denomination of
four and three band. These two sorts, as well as the Oberland flax, come from Konigsberg, Elbing,
&c., and are little esteemed in the British markets.
Flanders or Dutch flax is well-dressed, and of the finest quality.
86
Digitized by
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682 FLAX-SEED, FLOTSAM, JETSAM, AND LAGAN.
Flax is extensively cultivated in Egypt. Of late years, some of the Italian perts which
used to be supplied from Russia, have been fully supplied on lower terms from Alexandria.
The Phormium tenax, or New Zealand flax, is said to exceed every other species m
strength of fibre and whiteness; qualities which (if it really possess them in the degree
stated) must make it peculiarly well-fitted for being made into canvass and cordage. It has
been obtained within these few years at second hand from Sydney and Van Diemen's
Land; the imports from them having amounted, in 1831, to 15,725 cwt. Attempts are
now making, but with what success remains to be seen, to raise it in this country.
When flax is brought to the principal Russian ports whence it is shipped, it is classified
according to its qualities, and made up in bundles by sworn inspectors (brackers) appointed
by government, for the assortment of that and all other merchandise. These functionaries
are said to perform their task with laudable impartiality and exactness. A ticket is attached
to every bundle of assorted flax, containing the names of the inspector and owner, the sort
of flax, and the period when it was selected or inspected.-(See HEMP.) Good flax should
be of a fine bright colour, well separated from the tow, codilla, or coarser portion of the
plant; and of a long, fine, and strong fibre. In purchasing flax, it is usual to employ agents
wholly devoted to this peculiar business.
Of 936,411 cwt. of flax and tow imported into Great Britain in 1831, 623.256 cwt. were
brought from Russia; 128,231 cwt. from the Netherlands; 101,729 cwt. from Prussia;
55,324 cwt. from France; 1,415 cwt. from Italy; 15,275 cwt. from New South Wales, &c.
Almost the whole of this quantity was retained for home consumption. The duty was re-
cently reduced, and is now only 1d. a cwt.
Flax, the produce or manufacture of Europe, not to be imported for home consumption, except in
British ships, or in ships of the country of which it is the produce, or of the country from which it is
imported, on pain of forfeiture of the goods and 100/. by the master of the ship.-(3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 54.)
We subjoin an account of the charges on the importation of the different sorts of flax from Peters-
burgh and Riga.
Charges at Petersburgh on 18 Head Flax, per ton.
Charges here, per ton, taking the price at 45L
L 8. d
Circa, 16 bobbins = 63 poods = 1 ton.
Insurance, 12. 6d. per cent. and policy, during the sem-
Rou. cop.
mer, for best risks
069
Duty, 540 enp. per bercovitz
34 2
Sound dues
066
Quarantine duty, I per cent.
0 34
Freight, say 52a 6d. per tom in full
2 If 6
Additional duty, 10 per cent.
3 40
Customs
0 9
Landing charges
110
R. 37 76
Discount, 3-4 per cent. (being sold at 9 months' credit) I 13 ,
Custom-house charges, 4 per cent.
1
51
6 40
Brokerage, 1-2 per cent.
046
Receiving and weighing, 40 cop. per bobbin
Bracking, I roub. per bereovitz
6 30
L 5 15 8
Binding, 75 cop. per ditto
4 72
1
Lighterage and attendance to Cronstadt, 8 roub. per 60
Loss by tare, 2 per cent.
IS 0
poods
8 40
Liss
Mats
8
0
Brokerage, 60 cop. per ton
0 60
9 Head Flax.
26 bobbins = 63 poods = I tom.
Rev. cm.
Fixed charges
R. 73 69
Fixed charges at Petersburgh amount to
SO
35
Brokerage, 1-8 per cent.
The other charges same as on 12 head the charges of im-
Commission and extra charges, 3 per cent.
port may be called the same as on 12 head also, the dif
Stamps 1-4 per cent.
1.2 per cent.
ference being only on the value; which makes the in
Brokerage on bills. 1-4 per cent.
surance, discount, and brokerage, of less amount. The
are charges varying according to the prices paid.
increase of fixed charges at Petersburgh is owing to the
Riga flax is bought at so much per shippound. 61-6 shippound
larger number of bobbins to the ton.
6 Head Flax.
- ton.
47 bobbins - 63 poods = I tom.
Ru. cop.
The charges of importation are the same, or nearly so, as on Pe.
Fixed charges, per ton
91 a
tersburgh flax.
Other charges, vide supra.
FLAX-SEED, OR LINSEED (Fr. Lin, Graine de Lin; Ger. Liensaat; Du. Lyn-
zaad; It. Linseme; Sp. Linaza; Port. Linhaca; Pol. Siemie, Iniane; Rus. Semja len-
janoe; Lat. Lini semen), the seed of flax. It contains a great deal of oil, which it yields
by expression; and is cultivated either that it may be used in sowing, or sent to the crush-
ing mills to be converted into oil.
As the quality of the crop depends much on the seed employed, a good deal of care is
requisite in selecting the best. Generally speaking, it should be chosen of a bright, brown-
ish colour, oily to the feel, heavy, and quite fresh. Dutch seed is in the highest estimation
for sowing; it not only ripens sooner than any other that is imported, but produces larger
crops, and of the quality that best suits our principal manufactures. American seed pro-
duces fine flax, but the proceed is not 80 large as from Dutch seed. British flax-seed is
sometimes used instead of Dutch; but the risk of the crop misgiving is so much greater,
" that those only who are ignorant of the consequences, or who are compelled from necessity,
are chargeable with this act of ill-judged parsimony."-(Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture.)
Crushing seed is principally imported from Russia, but considerable quantities are also
brought from Italy and Egypt. Of 2,759,103 bushels of linseed imported in 1831, 2,210,702
were brought from Russia, 172,099 from Prussia, 106,294 from the United States, 105,448
from Italy, 98,847 from Egypt, 53,738 from the Netherlands, &c. The duty is 18. a
quarter; and the price, in December, 1833, varied from 45s. to 54s. a quarter.
FLOTSAM, JETSAM, AND LAGAN. In order to constitute a legal wreck, the goods
must come to land. If they continue at sea, the law distinguishes them by the foregoing
uncouth and barbarous appellations : flotsam is when goods continue floating on the surface
of the waves; jetsam is when they are sunk under the surface of the water and lagun
Digitized by Google
FLOUR.
683
when they are sunk, but tied to a cork or buoy to be found again.- (Blackstone, book i. c.
8.) Foreign liquors, brought or coming into Great Britain or Ireland, as derelict, flotsam,
&c., are to pay the same duties and receive the same drawbacks as similar liquors regularly
imported.
FLOUR (Ger. Feines mehl, Semmelmehl; Du. Bloem; Fleur de farine It. Fiore;
Sp. Flor), the meal of wheat corn, finely ground and sifted. There are three qualities of
flour, denominated first, seconds, and thirds, of which the first is the purest.- - (See CORN
Laws AND Coan TRADE.)
[For the first table which follows, with the accompanying remarks, we are indebted to Mr.
Hazard's valuable journal, entitled " United States Commercial and Statistical Register."
See the number of October 9th, 1839. The second table is taken from the Philadelphia
Commercial List of March 9th, 1839.
Exports of Flour and Wheat from 1790 to 1838.
Average
Average
Years.
Bushels of wheat
Inspection of
Value of flour
price of
Barrels of flour
price of
Quantity of flour
Exports of
flour at different
exported.
wheat in
flour each
exported at ave.
places.
rage prices in
shipped to Eng-
flour from
exported.
year at Phi-
land. Barrels.
Canada.
England.
ladelphia.
Philadelphia.
Barrels.
1790
1,124,458
53. 2
254,107
724,623
$5.56
1791
1,018,339
47.2
321,578
619,681
5 22
3,234,735
-
-
1792
853,790
41.9
439,074
824,464
5 25
4,328,436
-
-
1793
1,450,575
47.10
422,075
1,074,639
5.90
6,340,370
-
-
10,900
1794
698,797
50.8
300,751
846,010
6 90
5,837,469
-
-
13,700
1795
141,273
72.11
227,471
687,369
10 60
7,286,111
-
-
18,000
1796
31,226
76.3
196,955
725,194
12 50
9,064,955
-
-
4,300
1797
15,655
52.2
138,062
515,633
8 91
4,594,290
-
-
14,000
1798
15,021
50.4
100,475
567,558
8 20
4,653,975
-
-
9,500
1799
10,056
66.11
-
-
519,265
9 66
5,016,099
-
-
|14,400
1800
26,853
110. 3
325,818
653,052
9 86
6,439,092
172,815
20,000
1801
239,929
115.11
342,605
1,102,444
10 40
11,465,417
479,720
38,000
1802
280,281
67.9
426,012
1,156,248
6 90
7,978,111
208,744
28,200
1803
686,415
57. 1
325,955
1,311,853
6 73
8,828,771
203,127
15,432
1804
127,024
60. 5
394,961
810,008
8.23
6,666,365
7,140
14,067
1805
18,041
87. 1
459,372
777,513
9 70
7,541,876
36,752
18,590
1806
86,784
76. 9
474,521
782,724
7 30
5,713,885
127,619
10,997
1807
776,814
73. 1
709,559
1,249,819
7 17
8,961,202
323,968
20,442
1808
87,330
78.11
406,411
263,813
5 69
1,501,095
2,922
42,462
1809
393,889
94. 5
591,975
846,247
6 91
5,847,566
159,741
19,476
1810
325,924
103. 3
527,267
798,431
9 37
7,481,298
92,136
12,519
1811
216,833
92. 5
767,501
1,445,012
9 95
14,377,869
38,183
10,340
1812
53,832
122. 8
1,215,697
1,443,492
9 83
14,189,526
28,429
37,625
1813
288,535
106. 6
1,220,832
1,260,942
8 92
11,247,602
-
-
517
1814
-
-
72. 1
708,448
193,274
8 60
1,662,156
-
-
1,217
1815
17,634
63. 8
1,146,011
862,739
8 71
7,514,456
104,885
1,920
1816
62,321
76.2
1,121,461
729,053
9 78
7,130,138
5,572
1,135
1817
96,407
94. 0
1,336,792
1,479,198
11 69
17,291,824
706,601
38,047
1818
196,808
83. 8
1,205,105
1,157,697
9 96
11,530,662
389,530
30,543
1819
82,065
72.3
1,407,791
750,660
7 11
5,337,192
51,847
12,085
1820
22,137
65.10
1,877,109
1,177,036
4 72
5,555,609
171,772
45,369
1821
25,821
54. 5
1,707,350
1,056,119
4 78
5,048,248
94,541
22,635
1822
4,418
43. 3
1,599,976
827,865
6 58
5,447,351
12,096
47,247
1823
4,272
51. 9
1,557,724
756,702
6 82
5,160,708
4,252
46,250
1824
20,373
62. 0
1,714,400
996,792
5 62
5,601,971
70,873
41,901
1825
17,990
66.6
1,882,611
813,906
5 10
4,150,920
27,272
40,003
1826
45,166
56.11
2,031,555
857,820
4 65
3,988,863
18,355
33,640
1827
22,182
56. 9
2,088,459
868,496
5 23
4,542,234
53,129
54,023
1828
8,906
60. 5
2,206,078
860,809
5 60
4,820,530
23,258
35,720
1829
4,007
66.
2,220,219
837,385
6 33
5,300,647
221,176
11,783
1830
45,289
64.3
2,851,876
1,227,434
4 83
5,928,506
326,182
71,749
1831
408,910
66.4
3,058,393
1,806,529
5 67
10,243,019
879,430
1832
88,304
58.8
2,615,050
864,919
5 72
4,947,337
95,958
31,419
1833
32,421
52.11
2,815,606
955,768
5 63
5,380,974
22,207
51,435
1834
36,948
46. 5
2,915,814
835,352
5 17
4,318,770
19,687
26,812
1835
47,762
39. 4
2,856,448
779,396
5 88
4,582,848
5,376
16,976
1836
2,062
48.6
2,512,416
505,400
7 99
4,038,146
161
1837
17,303
55.11
2,065,793
318,719
9 37
2,986,397
1838
6,291
63. 4
2,546,079
448,161
7 79
3,491,174
8,295
" The preceding table exhibits a general view of the flour and wheat trade of the United
States, for forty-nine years. The first column shows the exports of wheat, which in 1790
amounted to 1,124,458 bushels, and in 1838 to only 6,291 bushels. The following state-
ment shows the same divided into periods of ten years, and their annual average.
Bushels.
Bushels per ann.
1790 to 1799
-
- 5,359,190
- 535,919
1800 to 1809
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 2,723,360
-
-
-
272,336
1810 to 1819
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 1,340,359
-
- 134.035
1820 to 1829
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
175,272
-
- 17,527
1830 to 1838
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
685,290
-
-
76,143
Total bushels, 10,283,471
Being a yearly average of 209,666 bushels.
Digitized by
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684
FLOUR.
The second column exhibits the annual average price of wheat in England as published
in the London Gazette, and the following statement shows the average of each period often
years from 1770 to 1838.
d.
1770 to 1779
-
45. 0
1780 to 1789
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
45.9
1790 to 1799
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
55.11
1800 to 1809
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 82. 2
1810 to 1819
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
88.8
1820 to 1829
-
-
-
-
-
58. 5
1830 to 1838
-
-
55.
Making the annual average price 61s. 6d.
In the third column is the inspection of flour in the different places in the United States,
as far as it can be obtained.
From 1790 to 1793 inclusive is for Philadelphia only this was obtained from the books
of the inspector for that period.
From 1800 the amount of inspection is taken from the tables originally formed, with great
labour, by a gentleman long engaged in the flour business, and published first in the Phils-
delphia Price Current, and continued to the later dates in the Commercial List. It is to be
regretted that complete returns from the whole United States could not be obtained, and in
some instances these are estimates-so that they can only enable us to form some idea of
the amount. From 1800 to 1811, we have no account of the inspections in Philadelphia or
New York. From 1800 to 1803, we have only those in Baltimore, to which, from 1803 to
1811, the inspections in Alexandria are added. 1812 shows the inspections in Philadelphia,
Baltimore and Alexandria. From 1813 to 1818 inclusive, we have the inspections of Phil-
adelphia, New York, Baltimore and Alexandria. In the next year (1819), are added Rich-
mond and Petersburg-and to these, in the next two years, Fredericksburg. From 1822
to 1829 inclusive, are embraced the inspections at New Orleans, to which in 1830 to 1836
inclusive, Falmouth is added. In 1837, Falmouth is deficient, as are Fredericksburg and
Falmouth in 1838.
The exports of flour from the United States in each of the forty-nine years, are shown in
the next column-which we have divided into periods of ten years, as follows:
Barrels.
Per MR.
1790 to 1799
-
-
-
-
-
- 7,104,436 -
-
- 710,443
1800 to 1809
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 8,953,721
-
-
- 895,378
1810 to 1819
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 10,120,498
-
-
1,012,049
1820 to 1829
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 9,052,930 -
-
- 905,293
1830 to 1838
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 7,741,678
-
-
- 860,186
42,973,963
Annual average of the whole period 877,000 barrels.
The average prices of flour are given each year for Philadelphia, in the next column, as
published a few years since in the Price Current. The following shows the averages of
periods of ten years.
Philadelphia.
1790 to 1799
-
-
-
-
-
- $7 87
1800 to 1809
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 7 89
1810 to 1819
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 9 39
1820 to 1829
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 5 54
1830 to 1838
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- 6 45
In the next column is shown the amount of the Exports of flour each year calculated at
the average Philadelphia prices.
Then follow the quantities of flour exported to England from 1800 to 1838, being in the
former 172,815 barrels, and the latter 8295. The largest quantity ever sent there appears
to have been in 1831, viz., 879,430 barrels. In 1837, none was sent there.
In the last four years large importations of wheat and flour took place.
Wheat.
Flour.
Bushels.
Dollars.
Cwt.
Dollars.
1834 -
-
- 238,709
-
-
- 198,647
-
-
- 39,397 -
-
- 69,976
1836 -
-
- 583,898 -
-
- 493,159
-
-
- 21,269 -
-
- 62,341
1837
-
-
3,921,259
-
-
4,154 329
-
-
- 30,709
-
-
- 122,651
1838
-
-
- 894,536 -
-
- 696,560 -
-
- 12,731
-
-
- 44,273
In the last column are given the exportations of flour from Canada, as published in the
Montreal Gazette, from 1793 to 1830, the remaining years are from other British documents.
During the period embraced in the preceding tables, there has been a successi- of
important political and commercial changes, calculated to affect the prices of thos
essential articles of subsistence. We notice a few of them derived from the tables r.
published, and other sources.
1790, '91, '92. Peace and favourable seasons in England.
1793. War with France commenced lat February, 1793; favourable season.
1794 to 1801. War with France.
1794 to 1795. Deficient crops
Digitized by Google
FLOUR.
685
1796. Wheat was 71. per quarter.
1797. Suspension of specie payments by Bank of England.
1798. Seasons less unfavourable.
1799 and 1800. Bad seasons, crop short one fourth in 1799, and a scarcity of bread corn in 1800.
1801. Good crop, followed by peace in 1802.
1802 and 1803. Good sensons, average crops; war recommenced May 1803.
1804 and 1805. Scarcity in Spain; deficient crop in England in 1804; average crops in 1805, '6, and
'7; 1803 to 1815; second war with France.
1808. Partially deficient crops; act of Parliament restricting neutral trade.
1808, 1809. Embargo in U. S. June 6; peace with Spain; great deficiency in England.
1810. Good crops in England; 1811 deficiency.
1812 and 1813. War between America and England; favourable crops in England, but currency
depreciated.
1814. War between England and America nearly an average crop, but great import, and decrease
of charges of production, consequent on peace banks in the United States suspend specie payments.
1815. Bonaparte surrendered himself to the English, July 15; peace between America and Eng-
land full average crops in England.
1816. Bank of England partially resumes specie payments; peace great and general deficiency
of crops.
1817, 1818. Not exceeding an average crop; the ports open from November 1818 to February 1819,
leaving on hand 1,000,000 quarters of wheat; 1817 banks in the United States resumed specie pay-
ments.
1819. Somewhat below an average crop.
1820. Bank of England resumed issuing gold. Exceeding an average crop.
1821, '22. Average crops ; 1823, scarcity.
1824. An average, and nearly an average in 1825.
1826 and 1827. Average crop.
1828. Scarcity; 1829, average crop.
1830. Full average crop, and 1831 nearly an average.
1832, '33 and '34. Above an average crop, and 1835 considerably above.
1836. Above, and 1837 below an average in 1835 a revolution in Spain. December 16, 1835, great
fire in New York; war between Mexico and Texas, revolution at Lisbon.
1836, 1837. Crops in the United States short-importations of foreign flour, wheat, and potatoes.
1837. Great commercial embarrassments in the United States; suspension of specie payments by
the banks of New York, May 10; by others soon after; extra meeting of Congress; troubles in
Canada.
1838. Specie payments resumed in the United States.
The following statement will show some facts respecting the early exports and prices of
flour and wheat in Pennsylvania.
Exports of Flour.
Exports of Wheat.
1729
35,438
barrels
at
11a.
6d.
per
cwL
equal to
D.
57
1729
74,800 bushels
at
3a. 6d.
or 47 cents.
1730
88,570
do.
10
6
do.
do.
2
45
1730
37,643
do.
34
44
do.
1731
56,639
do.
8 0
do.
do.
1 86
1731
53,326
do.
2 6
33 do.
1749
67,092
do.
16 6
do.
do.
3
84
1749
45,775
do.
5 3
70
do.
1750
82,095
do.
12 6
do.
do.
8 92
1750
86,745
do.
4 0
53 do.
1751
108,695
do.
18
0
do.
do
2
80
1751
76,870
do.
8 10
51 do.
1771
252,744
do.
1771
51,689
1778
284,872
do.
average 2 74
1772
92,012
1773
265,967
do.
1773
182,391
Upon comparing the preceding statement with the tables, it appears, that for the last eight
years, the exports of wheat from the whole United States, were not as great as they were
from Pennsylvania alone 100 years ago nor with only two exceptions, will they exceed, in
the last 25 years, the exports from Pennsylvania 60 years ago. And the exports of flour
for the last 3 years from the United States, are not double the amount of exports of that
article from Pennsylvania 60 years ago while the average prices of both articles have
increased probably three or four fold. Upon comparing the exports of flour in the table, we
find the exports for the last few years less than they were 50 years ago; and that for several
years, with a few exceptions, there has been a gradual diminution in the quantity of exports
of this article. On the other hand, viewing the inspections from the same districts of the
United States, we find that they average nearly alike for the last 10 years, rather diminishing,
however, than increasing in quantity.
It appears to us important that more attention should be paid by the states, if not by the
general government, to the inspections of flour, as a means of ascertaining more nearly than
can now be done, the actual consumption of the country. It is true, that from the inspections
we can form no very correct idea of the consumption, as vast quantities of the flour consumed,
even in the cities, are not inspected, as is also nearly all that is consumed in the interior of the
country. But, as a census is to be taken next year, may not some provision be made for
ascertaining the number of mills and their operations during the present year ? also of the
quantity of wheat grown ?
The comparative price of flour has, by some political economists, been considered a good
test of the value of money at different periods; if it be so, the preceding data enable us to
furnish the following comparison.
We have shown that prices in Pennsylvania, at different periods, from 1729 to 1751,
averaged $2 74 per barrel, at which rate $1 would purchase 71 53-100 pounds and the
average from 1790 to the present time, is $742, at which rate $1 would purchase only
26 41-100 pounds, the former being 1 40-100 cent per pound, and the latter 3 78-100 cents
per pound; showing money to be less available now for the purchase of this most important
article of subsistence in the proportion of nearly three to one. But on referring to the table,
it will appear that the highest prices and greatest exports arose from demands for Europe,"
VoL. I.-3 M
Digitized by Google
Annual Inspection of Wheat and Rye Flour and kiln-dried Corn Meal, in the principal Flour Marts of the United States.
Fredericks-
New
Fal-
Philadelphia.
New York.
Baltimore.
Alexandria.
Georgetown.
Richmond.
Petersburg.
burg.
Orleans.
mouth
Albany
686
Years.
Wheat
Rye
Corn meal.
Wheat
Rye
Wheat
Rye
Corn meal.
Corn meal.
Wheat
Rye
Corn
Wheat
Rye
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat
Wheat
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
meal.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
flour.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Hhds.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Hhds.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Hhds.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
Bbls.
1800
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
325,818
6,948
93
3,240
1801
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
342,605
13,827
50
3,554
1802
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
426,012
1,896
159
2,048
1803
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
325,955
2,426
123
1,260
1804
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
252,026
1,930
333
-
1,891
142,935
11
536
1805
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
340,000
8,726
190
881
119,372
28
27
1806
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
350,774
4,662
333
1,145
123,747
-
1,619
1807
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
490,200
4,512
79
-
2,591
219,359
-
51
1808
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
258,197
1,288
-
511
148,214
3
1809
-
-
-
-
-
423,278
785
83
-
-
-
2,327
168,697
-
1810
-
-
-
-
-
-
363,955
3,543
22
-
-
2,460
163,312
-
1811
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
530,052
20,014
-
8,647
237,449
2,069
533
1812
474,132
42,105
1,175
18,933
-
-
-
-
552,699
21,130
-
6,178
188,866
379
1,079
1813
359,555
6,780
4,149
3,122
389,617
38,736
3,374
5,499
291,393
5,216
-
1,263
180,267
29
523
1814
243,570
2,158
956
147
205,683
7,591
18
403
156,165
1,108
-
128
103,030
-
1815
335,046
6,098
6,037
20,364
312,003
12,906
5,012
5,901
388,342
2,777
-
1,470
110,620
15
1816
296,392
20,446
6,809
14,671
271,541
22,902
7,486
7,064
394,976
7,677
-
202
158,552
11
1817
352,464
54,945
5,982
14,008
376,029
110,728
7.107
8,746
398,833
13,685
512
993
209,470
103
FLOUR.
1818
287,793
59,990
7,233
19,674
328,399
91,226
10,164
11,078
430,167
10,031
574
4,015
158,746
754
980
1819
246,330
26,866
8,619
14,654
218,452
30,674
7,457
6,163
465,657
2,900
648
1,769
176,931
2
300
81,743
-
159,500
59,173
1820
400,814
20,696
8,508
18,670
267,365
35,062
9,975
7,443
577,058
4,271
425
6,012
233,505
-
-
107,372
-
152,924
56,593
81,478
1821
396,066
20,874
6,839
24,917
258,902
20,175
10,389
7,391
485,818
2,927
221
8,287
208,507
-
98
92,208
-
127,360
55,577
72,912
1822
271,397
26,100
7,567
19,268
342,825
26,154
7,364
9,769
429,377
6,735
226
3,222
171,577
374
15
68,197
-
102,424
38,553
55,467
120,159
1823
302,203
32,225
6,484
20,524
347,876
37,299
8,179
15,322
442,468
6,056
42
1,017
102,819
40
-
55,565
-
111,526
28,496
52,036
114,735
1824
301,333
34,327
7,936
37,336
360,511
27,872
9,236
26,608
544,890
5,770
20
6,471
133,024
411
-
69,284
-
99,128
54,072
51,268
100,920
Digitized by
1825
294,289
33,808
6,502
21,690
446,611
20,682
8,279
19,608
510,425
2,929
-
6,999
170,711
-
-
52,964
-
173.203
37,818
56,044
140,546
1826
342,250
15,810
7,129
22,010
527,700
10,370
11,490
12,220
596,348
1,102
-
2,749
178,755
-
-
78,920
-
113,786
30,000
34,707
129,094
1827
351,517
20,422
6,161
30,756
652,032
12,191
10,708
15,170
572,759
1,874
-
5,226
140,447
-
-
66,044
-
121,664
17,900
35,000
131,096
1828
333,764
29,138
18
8,832
45,436
647,525
21,692
9,931
24,701
546,450
4,409
415
8,821
146,784
-
I
79,815
-
149,147
50,000
100,000
152,593
1829
297,206
39,523
7,710
6,483
670,262
24,522
8,572
19,466
473,604
12,801
1,609
6,483
156,849
368
,
104,077
-
204,488
60,350
96,060
157,323
1830
473,876
21,712
7,498
19,949
870 585
15,192
79,336
133,700
46,406
1831
474,076
9,663
10,316
597,804
4,436
588
5,458
187,432
-
-
139,713
I
251,024
72,000
Google
24,757
7,980
23,015
928,280
9,222
9,951
24,076
555,136
3,318
416
7,002
193,735
72
-
194,976
30
173,688
52,386
74,227
360,580
51,309
1832
384,844
Am. Ed.]
23,163
8,141
24,445
840,026
12,676
7,154
12,774
527,446
1,729
303
7,246
158,223
-
-
152,772
8
176,730
68,915
55,207
210,887
40,000
1833
392,529
40,011
7,549
40,415
1,003,466
16,007
5,848
29,300
523,656
5,887
364
9,152
125,668
-
-
108,230
-
243,995
55,319
44,084
262,739
55,320
1834
318,559
31,173
5,797
31,173
1,259,793
17,454
7,164
34,040
489,365
4,464
912
4,068
102,925
-
-
119,685
13
156,788
50,171
46,868
320,660
50,000
1835
361,276
36,864
5,813
39,121
1,154,613
13,411
6,982
25,277
527,266
5,807
1,405
4,301
66,438
-
-
110,840
15
204,151
44,937
53,222
285,705
48,000
1836
337,917
46,576
6,947
53,975
1,133,554
2,401
9,562
22,016
400,230
22,515
2,520
16,256
36,543
-
-
108,513
374
129,131
27,527
26,810
287,191
25,000
1837
*214,339
31,601
6,082
30,259
$ 904.488
12,632
6,222
23,575
399,064
15,887
800
8,373
38,604
-
-
61,618
-
140,984
23,350
18,491
264,356
1838
*292,763
40,111
9,108
53,426
1,183,871
24,260
8,110
27,068
430,247
1,303
5,458
36,426
185
300
43,058
1,587
137,708
27,628
307,610
-
60,768
15,495
-
Flour inspected in another market is not subject to re-laspection in Philadelphia, by the present law.
1'From May 9th to the close of 1807.
FOOT-FREIGHT.
687
FOOT, a measure of length, consisting of 12 inches.-(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
FORESTALLING, the buying or contracting for any cattle, provision, or merchandise,
on its way to the market, or dissuading persons from buying their goods there, or persuading
them to raise the price, or spreading any false rumour with intent to enhance the value of
any article. Several statutes had from time to time been passed, prohibiting forestalling
under severe penalties. But as more enlarged views upon such subjects began to prevail,
the impolicy of these statutes became obvious. They were consequently repealed in 1772.
But forestalling is still punishable at common law by fine and imprisonment. It is doubtful,
however, whether any jury would now convict an individual accused of such practices.-
(Wealth of Nations, vol. ii. p. 409.)
FRANKINCENSE. See ROSIN.
FREIGHT, the sum paid by the merchant or other person hiring a ship, or part of a
ship, for the use of such ship or part, during a specified voyage or for a specified time.
The freight is most commonly fixed by the charterparty—(see CHARTERPARTY)-0
bill of lading- (see BILL OF LADING): but in the absence of any formal stipulations on
the subject, it would be due according to the custom or usage of trade.
In the case of a charterparty, if the stipulated payment be a gross sum for an entire ship,
or an entire part of a ship, for the whole voyage, the gross sum will be payable although the
merchant has not fully laden the ship. And if a certain sum be stipulated for every ton, or
other portion of the ship's capacity, for the whole voyage, the payment must be according to
the number of tons, &c. which the ship is proved capable of containing, without regard to
the quantity actually put on board by the merchant. On the other hand, if the merchant
have stipulated to pay a certain sum per cask or bale of goods, the payment must be, in the
first place, according to the number of casks and bales shipped and delivered; and if he
have further covenanted to furnish a complete lading, or a specific number of casks or bales,
and failed to do so, he must make good the loss which the owners have sustained by his
failure.
If an entire ship be hired, and the burden thereof be expressed in the charterparty, and
the merchant bind himself to pay a certain sum for every ton, &c. of goods which he shall
lade on board, but does not bind himself to furnish a complete lading, the owners can only
demand payment for the quantity of goods actually shipped. But if the merchant agree to
load a full and complete cargo, though the ship be described as of less burden than she
really is, the merchant must load a full cargo, according to the real burden of the ship, and
he will be liable for freight according to what ought to be loaded.
The delivery of goods at the place of destination is in general necessary to entitle the
owner to freight; but with respect to living animals, whether men or cattle, which may
frequently die during the voyage, without any fault or neglect of the persons belonging to
the ship, it is ruled, that if there be no express agreement whether the freight is to be paid
for the lading, or for the transporting them, freight shall be paid as well for the dead as for
the living: if the agreement be to pay freight for the lading, then death certainly cannot
deprive the owners of the freight; but if the agreement be to pay freight for transporting
them, then no freight is due for those that die on the voyage because as to them the contract
is not performed. These distinctions have been made in the civil law, and have been
adopted into the modern systems of maritime law.
Freight is most frequently contracted to be paid either by the whole voyage, or by the
month, or other time. In the former case the owners take upon themselves the chance of
the voyage being long or short: but in the latter the risk of the duration falls upon the
merchant; and if no time be fixed for the commencement of the computation, it will begin
from the day on which the ship breaks ground and commences her voyage, and will con-
tinue during the whole course of the voyage, and during all unavoidable delays not
occasioned by the act or neglect of the owners or master, or by such circumstances as occa-
sion a suspension of the contract for a particular period. Thus, the freight will be payable
for the time consumed in necessary repairs during a voyage, provided it do not appear that
the ship was insufficient at the outset, or that there was any improper delay in repairing her.
In the absence of an express contract to the contrary, the entire freight is not earned until
the whole cargo be ready for delivery, or has been delivered to the consignee, according
to the contract for its conveyance.
If a consignee receive goods in pursuance of the usual bill of lading, by which it is
expressed that he is to pay the freight, he by such receipt makes himself debtor for the
freight and may be sued for it. But a person who is only an agent for the consignor, and
who is known to the master to be acting in that character, does not make himself personally
answerable for the freight by receiving the goods, although he also enters them in bis own
name at the Custom-house.
In some cases freight is to be paid, or rather an equivalent recompence made to the
owners, although the goods have not been delivered at the place of destination, and though
the contract for conveyance be not strictly performed. Thus, if part of the cargo be thrown
overboard for the necessary preservation of the ship and the remainder of the goods, and the
Digitized
by
Google
688
FREIGHT.
ship afterwards reach the place of destination, the value of this part is to be answered to the
merchant by way of general average, and the value of the freight thereof allowed to the
owner. So, if the master be compelled by necessity to sell a part of the cargo for victuals or
repairs, the owners must pay to the merchant the price which the goods would have fetched
at the place of destination; and, therefore, are allowed to charge the merchant with the
money that would have been due if they had been conveyed thither.
When goods are deteriorated during the voyage, the merchant is entitled to a compen-
sation, provided the deterioration has proceeded from the fault or neglect of the master or
mariners; and of course he is not answerable for the freight, unless he accept the goods,
except by way of deduction from the amount of the compensation. On the other hand, if
the deterioration has proceeded from a principle of decay naturally inherent in the commodity
itself, whether active in every situation, or in the confinement and closeness of a ship, or
from the perils of the sea, or the act of God, the merchant must bear the loss and pay the
freight; for the master and owners are in no fault, nor does their contract contain any
insurance or warranty against such an event. In our West India trade, the freight of sugar
and molasses is usually regulated by the weight of the casks at the port of delivery here,
which, in fact, is in every instance less than the weight at the time of the shipment; and,
therefore, the loss of freight occasioned by the leakage necessarily falls upon the owners of
the ship by the nature of the contract.
Different opinions have been entertained by Valin, Pothier, and other great authorities M
to maritime law, with respect to the expediency of allowing the merchant to abandon his
goods for freight in the event of their being damaged. This question has not been judicially
decided in this country. The only point," says Lord Tenderden, " intended to be proposed
by. me as doubtful, is the right to abandon for freight alone at the port of destination and in
point of practice, I have been informed that this right is never claimed in this country."-
(Law of Shipping, part iii. c. 7.)
Freight being the return made for the conveyance of goods or passengers to a particular
destination, no claim arises for its payment in the event of a total loss; and it is laid down
by Lord Mansfield, that " in case of a total loss with salvage, the merchant may either take
the part saved, or abandon." (Abbott, part iii. c. 7.) But after the merchant has made
his election, he must abide by it.
It often happens that a ship is hired by a charterparty to sail from one port to another,
and thence back to the first- as, for example, from London to Leghorn, and from Leghorn
back to London at a certain sum to be paid for every month or other period of the duration
of the employment. Upon such a contract, if the whole be one entire voyage, and the ship
sail in safety to Leghorn, and there deliver the goods of the merchant, and take others on
board to be brought to London, but happen to be lost in her return thither, nothing is due
for freight, although the merchant has had the benefit of the voyage to Leghorn: but, if
the outward and homeward voyages be distinct, freight will be due for the proportion of
the time employed in the outward voyage. "If," said Lord Mansfield, in a case of this sort,
" there be one entire voyage out and in, and the ship be cast away on the homeward voyage,
no freight is due; no wages are due, because the whole profit is lost; and by express agree-
ment the parties may make the outward and homeward voyages one. Nothing is more
common than two voyages: wherever there are two voyages, and one is performed, and the
ship is lost on the homeward voyage, freight is due for the first." - (K. B. Trin. Term, 16
Geo. 3.)
It frequently happens that the master or owner fails to complete his contract, either by not
delivering the whole goods to the consignee or owner, or by delivering them at a place short
of their original destination in these cases, if the owner or consignee of the goods derive
any benefit from their conveyance, he is liable to the payment of freight according to the
proportion of the voyage performed, or pro ratâ itineris peracti: and though contracts of
this nature be frequently entire and indivisible, and the master or owner of the ship cannot,
from their nature, sue thereon, and recover a rateable freight, or pro ratà itineris: yet be
may do so upon a fresh implied contract, for as much as he deserves to have, unless there be
an express clause in the original charterparty or contract to the contrary. A fresh implied
contract is inferred from the owner's or consignee's acceptance of the goods. Many diffi-
culties have, indeed, arisen in deciding as to what shall amount to an acceptance it is not,
however, necessary actually to receive the goods; acceptance may be made by the express
or implied directions, and with the consent, of the owner or consignee of the goods, but not
otherwise.
It sometimes happens that the owner of the ship, who is originally entitled to the freight,
sells or otherwise disposes of his interest in the ship where a chartered ship is sold before
the voyage, the vendee, and not the vendor, or party to whom he afterwards assigns the
charterparty, is entitled to the freight. But where a ship has been sold during the voyage,
the owner, with whom a covenant to pay freight has been made, is entitled to the freight,
and not the vendee. A mortgagee who does not take possession, is not entitled to the
freight.
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FRUIT-FUNDS.
689
The time and manner of paying freight are frequently regulated by express stipulations
in a charterparty, or other written contract; and when that is the case, they must be respected
but if there be no express stipulation contrary to or inconsistent with the right of lien, the
goods remain as security till the freight is paid; for the master is not bound to deliver them,
or any part of them, without payment of the freight and other charges in respect thereof,
but the master cannot detain the cargo on board the vessel till these payments be made, as
the merchant would, in that case, have no opportunity of examining the condition of the
goods. In England, the practice is, when the master is doubtful of payment, to send such
goods as are not required to be landed at any particular wharf, to a public wharf, ordering
the wharfinger not to part with them till the freight and other charges are paid. No right
of lien for freight can exist, unless the freight be earned if the freighter or a stranger pre-
vent the freight from becoming due, the ship owner or master's remedy is by action of
damages.
(For further information and details with respect to this subject, see the art. CHARTER-
PARTY, in this Dictionary; Abbott (Lord Tenterden) on the Law of Shipping, part iii.
c. 7.; Chitty's Commercial Law, vol. iii. c. 9.; Molloy de Jure Maritimo, book ii. c. 4.; &c.)
[The American reader may have recourse with great advantage, for information on the
subject of freight, to Kent's Commentary on American Law, Lecture 47th. - Am. Ed.]
FRUIT (Ger. Obst, Früchte; Du. Ooft; Fr. Fruit; It. Frutta, Frutte, Sp. Fruta,
Rus. Owoschtsch; Lat. Fructum). This appellation is bestowed by commercial men upon
those species of fruit, such as oranges, lemons, almonds, raisins, currants, apples, &c., which
constitute articles of importation from foreign countries.
FULLER'S EARTH (Ger. Walkererde; Du. Voläarde; Fr. Terre à foulon It. Terra
da purgatori; Sp. Tierra de batan; Rus. Schiffernaia; Lat. Terra fullonum), a species
of clay of a greenish white, greenish grey, olive and oil green, and sometimes spotted colour.
It is usually opaque, very soft, and feels greasy. It is used by fullers to take grease out of
cloth before they apply the soap. The best is found in Buckinghamshire and Surrey.
When good it has a greenish white, or greenish grey colour, falls into powder in water,
appears to melt on the tongue like butter, communicates a milky hue to water, and deposits
very little sand when mixed with boiling water. The remarkable detersive property on
woollen cloth depends on the alumina, which should be at least one fifth of the whole, but
not much more than one fourth, lest it become too tenacious. - (Thomson's Chemistry ;
Jameson's Mineralogy.) Malcolm, in his Survey of Surrey, published in 1809, says that he
took considerable pains in endeavouring to ascertain the consumption of fuller's earth, and
that he found it to be about 6,300 tons a year for the entire kingdom, of which about 4,000
tons were furnished by Surrey.
FUNDS (PUBLIC), the name given to the public funded debt due by government.
The practice of borrowing money in order to defray a part of the war expenditure began,
in this country, in the reign of William III. In the infancy of the practice, it was customary
to borrow upon the security of some tax, or portion of a tax, set apart as a fund for discharg-
ing the principal and interest of the sum borrowed. This discharge was, however, very
rarely effected. The public exigencies still continuing, the loans were, in most cases, either
continued, or the taxes were again mortgaged for fresh ones. At length the practice of
borrowing for a fixed period, or, as it is commonly termed, upon terminable annuities, was
almost entirely abandoned, and most loans were made upon interminable annuities, or until
such time as it might be convenient for government to pay off the principal.
In the beginning of the funding system, the term fund meant the taxes or funds appro-
priated to the discharge of the principal and interest of loans; those who held government
securities, and sold them to others, selling, of course, a corresponding claim upon some
fund. But after the debt began to grow large, and the practice of borrowing upon inter-
minable annuities had been introduced, the meaning attached to the term fund was gra-
dually changed; and instead of signifying the security upon which loans were advanced, it
has, for a long time, signified the principal of the loans themselves.
Owing partly, perhaps, to the scarcity of disposable capital at the time, but far more to
the supposed insecurity of the Revolutionary establishment, the rate of interest paid by
government in the early part of the funding system was, comparatively, high. But as the
country became richer, and the confidence of the public in the stability of government was
increased, ministers were enabled to take measures for reducing the interest, first in 1716,
and again in 1749.
During the reigns of William III. and Anne, the interest stipulated for loans was very
various. But in the reign of George II. a different practice was adopted. Instead- of varying
the interest upon the loan according to the state of the money market at the time, the rate of
interest was generally fixed at three or three and a half per cent. ; the necessary variation
being made in the principal funded. Thus, suppose government were anxious to borrow,
that they preferred borrowing in a 3 per cent. stock, and that they could not negociate a loan
for less than 41 per cent.; they effected their object by giving the lender, in return for every
100L advanced, 1501. 3 per cent. stock that is, they bound the country to pay him or his
3 M 2
87
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690
FUNDS.
assignees 4l. 10s. a year in all time to come, or, otherwise, to extinguish the debt by a pay-
ment of 150L In consequence of the prevalence of this practice, the principal of the debt
now existing amounts to nearly two fifths more than the sum actually advanced by the
lenders.
Some advantages are, however, derivable, or supposed to be derivable, from this system.
It renders the management of the debt, and its transfer, more simple and commodious than
it would have been, had it consisted of a great number of funds bearing different rates of
interest: and it is contended, that the greater field for speculation afforded to the dealers in
stocks bearing a low rate of interest, has enabled government to borrow, by funding addi-
tional capitals, for a considerably less payment on account of interest than would have been
necessary had no such increase of capital been made.
Were this a proper place for entering upon such discussions, it would be easy to show that the ad-
vantages now referred to are really of very trifling importance; and that the method of funding by an
increase of capital has been a most improvident one, and most injurious to the public interests. But
it would be quite foreign from the objects of this work to enter into any examination of such questions:
our readers will, however, find them fully investigated in an article in the 93d No. of the Edinburgh
Review. Here we have merely to consider funded property, or government securities, as transferable
or marketable commodities.
It would be foreign to the object of this work to enter upon any examination of the com-
parative advantages and disadvantages of the funding system. Perhaps, on the whole, the
latter preponderate; though it is not to be denied that the former are very considerable. The
purchase of funded property affords a ready method of investment; and as neither the Bank
of England, nor any of the London private banks, allows interest upon deposits, it is plain
that, were it not for the facilities given by the funds, individuals unable to employ their
savings in some branch of business, would derive no advantage from them, unless they re-
sorted to the hazardous expedient of lending upon private credit. In Scotland, where the
public and private banks are universally in the habit of allowing interest upon deposits, the
advantages of funded investments are not quite so obvious, though probably as great; for it
may be doubted whether the banks could afford interest, or whether, indeed, they could be
conducted at all, without the aid of the funds.
An Account of the Total Number of Persons to whom a Half Year's Dividend was due at the last
Half-yearly Payment thereof, on each Description of Public Stock, and on each Description of
Terminable Annuities; distinguishing the Number respectively of those whose Dividends for the
Half Year did not exceed 51., 10L., 501., 100L., 2001., 3001., 5001., 1,0001., 2,0001., 3,000/., 4,000!., 5,000L,
and the Number of those whose Dividends exceed 5,0001.; distinguishing also, in those above 1,000L,
the Dividends due to any Public Company, or to more than a single Name.- (Parl. Paper, No. 20%.
Sess. 1833.)
Not exceeding
51.
101.
501.
100Z.
200L
300L
5001.
1,000L
2,000L
Joint Co. as
Accts., 2,000L
8,0001.
Co. & Joint
Accts., 3,000L
4,000%
Ca. & Joint
Accts., 4,000L
2000/8 1
upwards.
I
Number to whom divi-
dends were payable
On 31. per cent. re-
duced annuities
10,347
4,745
11,681
8,473
2,175
742
453
231
53
24
9
5
5
3
18
On 31. 10s. per cent.
reduced annuities
7,019
4,362
10,173
2,909
1,561
411
251
112
15
21
5
4
nil
I
5
26,849
On 3L 10s. per cent.
198
162
399
annuities, 1818
811
127
57
38
30
3
3
nil
nil
oil
1
3
1,52
On 41. per cent. annui-
ties, 1826
1,601
993
2,044
512
312
92
59
15
4
I
2
I
all
nal
ail
5,636
On long annuities
9,078
4,212
8,361
1,516
725
187
99
34
4
1
1
I
I
1
mil
24,221
On annuities for terms
of years
1,519
787
1,632
351
178
56
32
20
4
nil
2
nil
nil
mil
2
4,588
On 31. per cent. conso-
28,722
13,749
32,601
9,612
6,286
2,141
1,424
709
153
18
16
20
7
13
21
$5,555
lidated annuities
On 31. per cent. annui-
ties, 1726
120
74
180
40
27
4
2
nil
nil
all
nil
nil
ail
nil
E
467
Or new 3/. 10a. per
1
26,981
14,698
29,370
6,648
3,129
765
431
204
28
20
4
1
2
4
9
62,194
cent. annuities
On new 51. per cent.
annuities
35
31
107
36
20
3
4
all
I
ail
nil
nil
ail
ail
all
237
On annuities for terms
of years
1,656
833
1,757
333
161
37
34
12
I
all
I
3
nil
1
8
4,538
Totals
87,176
44,648
98,305
25,641
14,701
4,495
2,927
1,367
266
151
40
35
15
24
60
279,751
Dividends payable 10th of October.
t Dividends payable on 5th January. 1
The preceding account of the number of dividend warrants issued in the half year ending
with the 5th of January, 1833, is a very important document. The large number (87,176)
of holders of sums not producing above 5% of half yearly dividend, is principally to be
ascribed to the circumstances already mentioned as peculiar to the banking system of the
metropolis; and there can be little doubt that their number would be materially diminished.
were the Scotch system adopted in its stead. It is evident from this account, that the num-
ber of persons having a direct interest in the funds is much greater than it represents. The
dividends on the funded property belonging to the Equitable and other insurance companies,
the different banking companies, &c. are paid upon single warrants, as if they were due
to so many private individuals; whereas they are, really, paid to these individuals only be
cause they act as factors or trustees for a vast number more. It is consequently quite abound
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FUNDS.
691
to pretend, as is sometimes done, that any interference with funded property would affect
only 280,000 individuals out of a population of 25,000,000. Any attack upon the divi-
dends would really be destructive, not merely of the interests of those to whom dividend
warrants are issued, but of all who depend upon them: it would destroy our whole system
of insurance and banking, and overspread the country with bankruptcy and ruin. Not only,
therefore, is every proposal for an invasion of the property of the fundholders bottomed on
injustice and robbery, but it would, were it acted upon, be little less ruinous to the commu-
nity than to the peculiar class intended to be plundered.
The following Table has been calculated, in order to show in which of the public funds
money may be invested, so as to yield the greatest interest. It gives the prices, differing by
1 per cent. from 50 to 93 for 3 per cents. &c., at which they all must be, to yield the same
interest; so that, supposing the 3 per cents. to be at 80, a sum invested in them, or in the
31, per cents., will yield the same interest, provided the latter be at 931 if the 31, per cents.
be below this sum, it will of course be more advantageous, in so far at least as interest is
concerned, to invest in them than in the 3 per cents.; while, if they be above 931, it will be
less advantageous.
To get the true value of the different funds at any particular period, in order to compare
them accurately together, it is necessary to deduct from each the amount of interest accruing
upon it from the payment of the last dividend.-(For further details, see antè, p. 87. and
p. 247.)
Table showing the Prices the different Funds must he at to produce an equal Interest; and also the
annual Interest produced by 100l. Sterling invested at any of those Prices.
3 perCent.
3} per Cent.
4 per Cent.
5 per Cent.
Interest.
3 perCent.
st per Cent.
4 per Cent.
5 per Cent.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Price.
Interest.
£
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d
£
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
50
5868
66 13 4
83 6 8
6 0 0
72
84 0 0
96 0 0
120 0 0
4 3 3
51
59 10 0
6800
8500
5 17 7
73
85 3 4
97 6 8
121 13 4
4 2 2
52
60 13 4
6968
86 13 4
5 15 4
74
8688
98 13 4
123 6 8
4 1 0
53
61 16 8
70 13 4
8868
5 13 2
75
87 10 0
100 0 0
125 0 0
4 0 0
54
6300
7200
9000
5 11 1
76
88 13 4
101 6 8
126 13 4
3 18 11
55
6434
7368
91 13 4
5 9 0
77
89 16 8
102 13 4
128 6 8
3 17 11
56
65 6 8
74 13 4
9368
5 7 1
78
9100
104 0 0
130 0 O
3 16 11
57
66 10 0
7600
9500
5 5 3
79
92 3 4
105 6 8
131 13 4
3 15 11
58
67 13 4
7768
96 13 4
5 3 5
80
9368
106 13 4
133 6 8
3 15 0
59
68 16 8
78 13 4
9868
5 1 8
81
94 10 0
108 0 0
135 0 0
3 14 0
60
7000
8000
100 0 0
5 0 0
82
95 13 4
109 6 8
136 13 4
3 18 2
61
71 3 4
8168
101 13 4
4 18 4
83
96 16 8
110 13 4
138 6 8
3 12 3
62
72 6 8
82 13 4
103 6 8
4 16 9
84
98 0 0
112 0 0
140 0 o
3 11 5
63
73 10 0
8400
105 0 0
415 2
85
9934
113 6 8
141 13 4
3 10 7
64
74 13 4
8568
106 13 4
4 8
86
100 6 8
114 13 4
143 6 8
3 9 9
65
75 16 8
86 13 4
108 6 8
4 12 3
87
101 10 0
116 0 0
14500
3811
66
77 0 0
8800
11000
4 10 10
88
102 13 4
117 6 8
146 13 4
3 8 2
67
78 3 4
8969
111 13 4
4 9 6
89
103 16 8
118 13 4
148 6 8
3 7 4
68
7968
90 13 4
113 6 8
4 8 2
90
105 0 0
120 0 0
150 0 0
3 6 8
69
80 10 0
9200
115 0 0
4 6 11
91
106 3 4
121 6 8
151 13 4
3 5 11
70
81 13 4
9368
116 13 4
4 5 8
92
107 6 8
122 13 4
153 6 8
3 5 2
71
82 16 8
94 13 4
118 6 8
446
93
108 10 0
124 0 0
155 0 0
3 4 6
The following is an account of the progress of the National Debt of Great Britain, from the Re-
volution to the present time:
Account of the Principal and Annual Charge of the Public Debt since the Revolution.*
Principal,
Interest
Funded and
and Manage-
Unfunded.
ment.
Debt at the Revolution, in 1689
L. 664,263
L. 39,855
Excess of debt contracted during the reign of William III. above debt paid off
15,730,439
1,271,087
Debt at the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702
16,394,702
1,310.942
Debt contracted during Queen Anne's reign
37750,661
2,040,416
Debt at the accession of George I., in 1714
54,145,363
3,351,358
Debt paid off during the reign of George L, above debt contracted
2,053,125
1,133,897
Debt at the accession of George IL, in 1727
52,092,238
2,217,551
Debt contracted from the accession of George II. till the peace of Paris in 1763, three years after
the accession of George III.
$6,773,192
2,634,500
Debt in 1763
38,865,430
4,852,061
Paid during peace, from 1763 to 1775
10,281,795
380,480
Debt at the commencement of the American war, in 1775
128,583,635
4,471,571
Debt contracted during the American war
121,267,993
4,980,201
Debt at the conclusion of the American war, in 1784
$49,951,629
9,451,778
Paid during peace, from 1784 to 1793
10,501,380
243,277
Debt at the commencement of the French war, in 1793
239,350,148
9,208,495
Debt contracted during the French war
001,500,343
22,829,696
Total funded and unfunded debt on the 1st of February, 1817, when the English and frish ex-
chequers were consolidated
840,850,491
32,088,191
Debt cancelled from the 1st of February, 1817, to 5th of January, 1896
53,211,675
2,994,674
Debt, and charge thereon, 5th of January, 1836
787,635,816
29,143,517
. This account has been made up partly from the table in Dr. Hamilton's work on the National Debt (3rd el. p. 100.); partly from
the Parl. Paper, No. 165. Sees. 1834 and partly from the Annual I mance Book, for the year ending 5th January, 1836, pages 14. 99. & 104
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Account of the State of the Public Funded and Unfunded Debt of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Charge thereon, on the 5th of January, 1836 (Finance Accounts for 1836, p. 99, &c.)
DEBT.
CHARGE
Capital of Unredeemed
In Great Britain.
In Ireland.
Total Annual Charge.
Debt.
GREAT BRITAIN.
£ 8. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
Debt due to the South Sea Company, at 3 per cent.
3,662,784 8 6f
Annual Interest on unredeemed capital
22,890,029 6 7
1,152,192 4 61
Old South Sea annuities
-
-
-
-
3,497,870 2 7
Long annuities, expire 1860
-
-
1,294,307 18 7
73 19 3
New South Sea annuities
-
-
-
-
2,460,830 2 10
Annuities per 4 Geo. 4. c. 22, do. 1867
585,740 0 0
South Sea annuities, 1751
-
-
-
-
523,100 0 0
Annuities per 10 Geo. 3 c. 24, and
Debt due to the Bank of England
-
-
-
11,015,100 0 0
3 Will. 4. c. 14. expire at various
1,347,788 2 6
Bank annuities created in 1726
-
-
825,491 19 0
periods
-
-
Consolidated annuities
-
-
-
-
356,768,258 4 61
Due to the
Annuities to the trustees of the Water-
Reduced annuities
-
-
-
-
-
125,851,977 8 11
public
loo Subscription Fund, per 59 Geo. 3.
9,000 0 0
creditor.
c. 34, expire 5th of July, 1836
Total bearing interest at 3 per cent.
-
504,605,412 6 41
Payable
Life Annuities,per 48 Geo 3.
at the
Annuities at 3} per cent. anno 1818
10,861,103 19 7
Reduced 31 per cent. annuities
-
-
-
63,436,850 2 0
-
c. 142, and 10 Geo. 4, c. 24,
893,635 6 0
-
-
National
and 3 Will. 4. c. 14
Tontines and other
Debt
English
20,356 4 81
New 31 per cent. annuities
-
-
-
146,557,900 19 8
Office.
Life annuities per
New 5 per cent. annuities -
-
-
-
438,240 13 4
various acts
Irish
34,230 8 7
6,823 7 3
FUNDS.
Great Britain
-
725,899,508 0 114
Interest of funded debt
-
-
-
-
27,075,087 6 111
1,159,089 11 01
Interest on stock transferred to the Commissioners
for the Reduction of the National debt, towards
12,430 13 31
IRELAND.
the redemption of land tax, per 53 Geo. 3. c. 123
Irish consolidated annuities, at 3 per cent.
-
2,570,402 6 3
Management
-
-
-
-
-
-
156,697 18 111
Irish reduced annuities, do.
-
-
-
225,182 8 1
31 per cent. debentures and stock
-
-
14,243,856 16 10
Annual charge on account of public funded debt
-
27,244,215 19 11
1,159,089 11 of
28,403,305 10 14
Reduced 31 per cent. annuities
-
-
-
1,116,916 3 9
Interest on Exchequer bills (1835)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
740,211 1 10
Digitized by Google
New 31 per cent. annuities
-
-
-
11,856,570 7 3
Debt due to the Bank of Ireland, at 4 per cent. -
1,615,384 12 4
Total annual charge of funded and unfunded debt,
New's per cent. annuities
-
-
-
6,661 1 0
exclusive of 41,1162. 14s.10d., the annual charge on
Debt due-to the Bank of Ireland, at 5 per cent. -
1,015,384 12 4
capitals and long annuities,standing in the name of
-
-
-
-
-
29,143,516 11 118
the commissioners, on account of stock unclaimed
Ireland
-
32,650,358 7 10
10 years or upwards, and of unclaimed dividends;
and also on account of donations and bequests
Total United Kingdom
-
758,549,866 8 of
Exchequer bills outstanding, 5th Jan. 1836
-
29,088,950 0 0
The act of 10 Geo. 4. (abolishing the sinking funds) enacts, that the sum thenceforth annually applicable to the
Total funded and unfunded debt, 5th Jan. 1826.
787,638,816 8 91
reduction of the national debt shall consist of the actual surplus revenue beyond the expenditure. In 1835, this
surplus amounted to 1,620,9401. 4a. 111d.
FUNDS.
693
The statement on page 691, shows that a reduction of 53,211,675L was effected in the
principal of the national debt, and of 2,894,6741. in the annual charge on account thereof,
between February, 1817, and January, 1836. The debt, at the last mentioned period,
includes the stock created by the funding of the loan of 15,000,000L in 1835, for behoof of
the slave proprietors. The diminution has been brought about partly by the application of
surplus revenue to buy up stock, but more by the reduction of the interest on the 4 and 5
per cent. stocks existing in 1817, and by that paid on the unfunded debt. The total annual
saving by the reduction of interest between 1822, when the first, and 1824, when the last,
reduction was made (that of the 4 per cent. annuities, mentioned in former impressions of
this work), has been 2,355,845/.; and considerable as this is, it would have been more than
three times as great, but for the pernicious practice, previously pointed out, of funding large
nominal capitals.
We subjoin a brief notice of the different funds or stocks constituting the public debt, as
it stood on the 5th of January, 1836.
I. FUNDS BEARING INTEREST AT THREE PER CENT.
1. South Sea Debt and Annuities. - This portion of the debt, amounting, on the 5th of
January, 1836, to 10,144,584/., is all that now remains of the capital of the once famous,
or rather infamous, South Sea Company. The Company has, for a considerable time past,
ceased to have any thing to do with trade: 80 that the functions of the directors are wholly
restricted to the transfer of the Company's stock, and the payment of the dividends on it;
both of which operations are performed at the South Sea House, and not at the Bank. The
dividends on the old South Sea annuities are payable on the 5th of April and 10th of
October; the dividends on the rest of the Company's stock are payable on the 5th of
January and 5th of July.
2. Debt due to the Bank of England. This consists of the sum of 11,015,100Z. lent
by the Bank to the public at 3 per cent. dividends payable on the 5th of April and 10th of
October. This must not be confounded with the Bank capital of 10,914,750L, on which
the stockholders divide. The dividend on the latter has been 8 per cent. since 1823.-
(See antè, p. 86. and p. 89.)
3. Bank Annuities created in 1726. The civil list settled upon George I. was 700,000/.
a year; but having fallen into arrear, this stock was created for the purpose of cancelling
Exchequer bills that had been issued to defray the arrear. "The capital is irredeemable
and being small, in comparison with the other public funde, and a stock in which little is
done on speculation, the price is generally at least 1 per cent. lower than the 3 per cent.
consols." (Cohen's edit. of Fairman on the Funds, p. 40.)
4. Three per Cent. Consols, or Consolidated Annuities.- This stock forms by much
the largest portion of the public debt. It had its origin in 1751, when an act was passed,
consolidating (hence the name) several separate stocks bearing an interest at 3 per cent.
into one general stock. At the period when the consolidation took place, the principal of
the funds blended together amounted to 9,137,821/.; but, by the funding of additional loans,
and parts of loans, in this stock, it amounted, on the 5th of January, 1836, to the immense
sum of 356,768,258L
The consolidated annuities are distinguished from the 3 per cent. reduced annuities, by
the circumstance of the interest upon them never having been varied, and by the dividends
becoming due at different periods. The stock is, from its magnitude, and the proportionally
great number of its holders, the soonest affected by all those circumstances which tend
to elevate or depress the price of funded property and, on this account, it is the stock
which speculators and jobbers most commonly select for their operations. Dividends pay-
able on the 5th of January and 5th of July.
5. Three per Cent. Reduced Annuities. This fund was established in 1757. It con-
sisted, as the name implies, of several funds which had previously been borrowed at a higher
rate of interest; but by an act passed in 1749, it was declared that such holders of the
funds in question as did not choose to accept in future of a reduced interest of 3 per cent.
should be paid off,-an alternative which comparatively few embraced. The debts that
were thus reduced and consolidated, amounted, at the establishment of the fund, to
17,571,574L By the addition of new loans, they now amount to 125,851,977L Dividends
payable on the 5th of April and 10th of October.
II. FUNDS BEARING MORE THAN THREE PER CENT. INTEREST.
1. Annuities at 31 per Cent., 1818. This stock was formed in 1818, partly by a sub-
scription of 3 per cent. consolidated and 3 per cent. reduced annuities, and partly by a
subscription of Exchequer bills. It was made redeemable at par any time after the 5th of
April, 1829, upon 6 months' notice being given. Dividends payable on the 5th of April
and 10th of October. The capital of this stock amounts to 10,861,104/.
2. Reduced 31 per Cent. Annuities.- This stock was created in 1824, by the transfer
of a stock bearing interest at 4 per cent. (Old 4 per cents.) It is redeemable at pleasure.
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FUNDS.
Dividends payable 5th of April and 10th of October. Amount on the 5th of January, 1836,
63,436,850L
3. New 31 per Cent. Annuities.- This stock was formed by the act 11 Geo. 3. C. 13.
out of the stock known by the name of " New 4 per cents.," amounting on the 5th of Jm-
uary, 1830, to 144,331,212L The holders of this 4 per cent. stock had their option either
to subscribe it into the new 31 per cent. annuities, or into a new 5 per cent. stock, at the
rate of 100L 4 per cents. for 70L 5 per cents. Dissentients to be paid off. Only 467,713L
new 5 per cent. stock was created under this arrangement. The sum required to pay dis-
sentients was 2,610,000L The new 3} per cent. stock thus created, amounted on the 5th
of January, 1836, to 146,557,901L Dividends payable 5th of January and 5th of July.
4. New 5 per Cent. Amount, 5th of January, 1836, 438,241/- (See previous
Article.)
III. ANNUITIES.
1. Long Annuities.- - These annuities were created at different periods, but they all
expire together in 1860. They were chiefly granted by way of premiums or douceurs to the
subscribers to loans. Payable on the 5th of April and 10th of October.
2. Annuities per 4 Geo. c. 22. - This annuity is payable to the Bank of England, and
is commonly known by the name of the " Dead weight" annuity. (See antè, p. 85.) It
expires in 1867. It is equivalent to a perpetual annuity of 470,319L 10s.
3. Annuities per 48 Geo. 3., 10 Geo. 4. c. 24., and 3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 14.-These acts
authorised the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt, to grant annuities for
terms of years, and life annuities; accepting in payment either money or stock according to
rates specified in Tables to be approved by the Lords of the Treasury. No annuities are
granted on the life of any nominee under 15 years of age, nor in any case not approved by
the commissioners. Annuities for terms of years not granted for any period less than ten
years. These annuities are transferable, but not in parts or shares. Those for terms of
years, payable 5th of January and 5th of July; and those for lives, 5th of April and 10th
of October.
The terminable and life annuities granted under the above acts, amounted, on the 5th of
January, 1836, to 4,188,809/., being equal according to the calculations of Mr. Finlaison, to
a corresponding perpetual annuity of 1,970,019L (Parl. Paper, No. 457. Seas. 1836.)
Irish Debt. It seems unnecessary to enter into any details with respect to the public
debt of Ireland. The various descriptions of stock of which it consists, and their amount,
are specified above. The dividends on the Irish debt are paid at the Bank of Ireland; and,
in order to accommodate the public, stock may be transferred, at the pleasure of the holders,
from Ireland to Great Britain, and from the latter to the former.
Exchequer Bills are bills of credit issued by authority of parliament. They are for vari-
ous sums, and bear interest (generally from 1}d to 24d per diem, per 100L) according to
the usual rate at the time. The advances of the Bank to Government are made upon
Exchequer bills; and the daily transactions between the Bank and Government are
principally carried on through their intervention. Notice of the time at which outstanding
Exchequer bills are to be paid off is given by public advertisement. Bankers prefer vesting
in Exchequer bills to any other species of stock, even though the interest be for the most
part comparatively low because the capital may be received at the Treasury at the rate
originally paid for it, and the holders being exempted from any risk of fluctuation. Ex-
chequer bills were first issued in 1696, and have been annually issued ever since. The
amount outstanding and unprovided for, on the 5th of January, 1836, was 29,088,950L
India Stock and India Bonds are always quoted in the lists of the prices of the public
funds. The stock on which the East India Company divide is 6,000,000/.; the dividend
on which has been, since 1793, 10} per cent.; and is to remain at that rate during the
continuance of the charter. India bonds are generally for 100Z. each, and bear at present of
per cent. interest, payable 31st of March and 30th of September. In selling them, the
interest due down to the day of sale is, with the premium, added to the amount of the bills;
the total being the sum paid by the purchaser. The premium, which is, consequently, the
only variable part of the price, is influenced by the circumstances which influence the price
of stocks generally, - the number of bonds in circulation, &c.
The price of stocks is influenced by a variety of circumstances. Whatever tends to
shake or to increase the public confidence in the stability of government, tends, at the same
time, to lower or increase the price of stocks. They are also affected by the state of the
revenue; and, more than all, by the facility of obtaining supplies of disposable capital, and
the interest which may be realised upon loans to responsible persons. From 1730 till the
rebellion of 1745, the 3 per cents. were never under 89, and were once, in June, 1737, as
high as 107. During the rebellion they sunk to 76; but in 1749 rose again to 100. In
the interval between the peace of Paris, in 1763, and the breaking out of the American war,
they averaged from 80 to 90; but towards the close of the war they sunk to 54. In 1792,
they were, at one time, as high as 96. In 1797, the prospects of the country, owing to the
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successes of the French, the mutiny in the fleet, and other adverse circumstances, were by no
means favourable; and, in consequence, the price of 3 per cent. sunk, on the 20th of Sep-
tember, on the intelligence transpiring of an attempt to negociate with the French republic
having failed, to 478, being the lowest price to which they have ever fallen.
Prices of 3 per Cent. Consols, in February and August, each Year since 1820.-(Report of Bank Com-
mittee.)
Years.
Price of Consols.
Years.
Price of Consols.
1820. February
-
-
681 per cent.
1826. February
-
-
77th per cent.
August
-
-
671
-
August
-
-
791
1821. February
-
-
73
-
1827. February
-
-
821
-
August
-
-
76,
-
August
-
-
861
-
1822. February
-
-
784
-
1828. February
-
-
837
-
August
-
-
80%
-
August
-
-
871
-
1823. February
-
-
73
-
1829. February
-
-
861
-
August
-
-
821
-
August
-
-
881-
-
1824. February
-
-
921
-
1830. February
-
-
911
-
August
-
-
931
-
August
-
-
904
-
1825. February
-
-
931
-
1831. February
-
-
774
-
August
-
-
871
-
August
-
-
811
-
The following is a statement of the prices of the different descriptions of British funds
during the 6 days commencing with Saturday, the 14th of December, 1833.
Description of Stock.
Saturday.
Monday.
Tuesday.
Wednesday.
Thursday.
Friday.
Bank stock, dividend 8 per cent.
210 11
210 11
2101 11½
2101 114
2111 11
2111 11
3 per cent. reduced
871
871 into
871 t
874
871 +
871 8
3 per cent. consols for account
88f %
881 I
88%
88}
881-
881 891
31 per cent. annuities, 1818
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
964
3f per cent. reduced -
-
96f 1
96f 1
961 1
961
96g t
96% 7
New 3f per cent. annuities
New 4 per cent. annuities, 1826
103} t
1031 f
103}
103} t
1031 1
1031- 1/8
New 5 per cent.
Long annuities,expi 5 Jan. 1860
167 15-16
-
-
167
1676-16
161615-16
16 15-16 17
New annuities, Jan. and July
South Sea stock, dividend 31 per
cent.
-
-
Do. old annuity, dividend 3 per
cent.
Do. new annuity, dividend 3 per
cent.
-
3 per cent. annuities, 1751
India bonds, 21 per cent.
-
22s.24s.pm
22s.24s.pm
22s.21s.pm
20s.22s.pm
20s.21s.pm
21s.-s.pm
Exchequer bills, 14d. 100L.
-
43s.44s.pm
43s.44s.pm
pm
41s.42s.pm
41s.42s.pm
41s.42s.pm
Bank stock for account
-
210 11
210 11
211
India stock, dividend 101 per cent.
Agreements for the sale of stock are generally made at the Stock Exchange, which is
frequented by a set of middlemen called jobbers, whose business is to accommodate the
buyers and sellers of stock with the exact sums they want. A jobber is generally pos-
sessed of considerable property in the funds; and he declares a price at which he will
either sell or buy. Thus, he declares he is ready to buy 3 per cent. consols at 851, or to
sell at 85} so that, in this way, a person willing to buy or sell any sum, however small,
has never any difficulty in finding an individual with whom to deal. The jobber's profit is
generally 1 per cent., for which he transacts both a sale and a purchase. He frequently
confines himself entirely to this sort of business, and engages in no other description of
stock speculation.
We borrow the following details from Dr. Hamilton's valuable work on the National
Debt :-
" A bargain for the sale of stock, being agreed on, is carried into execution at the Transfer Office, at
the Bank, or the South Sea House. For this purpose the seller makes out a note in writing, which
contains the name and designation of the seller and purchaser, and the sum and description of the
stock to be transferred. He delivers this to the proper clerk :* and then fills up a receipt, a printed
form of which, with blanks is obtained at the office. The clerk in the mean time examines the seller's
accounts, and if he find him possessed of the stock proposed to be sold, he makes out the transfer.
This is signed in the books by the seller, who delivers the receipt to the clerk; and upon the pur-
chaser's signing his acceptance in the book, the clerk signs the receipt as witness. It is then delivered
to the purchaser upon payment of the money, and thus the business is completed.
This business is generally transacted by brokers, who derive their authority from their employers
by powers of attorney. Forms of these are obtained at the respective offices. Some authorise the
broker to sell, others to accept a purchase, and others to receive the dividends. Some comprehend all
these objects, and the two last are generally united. Powers of attorney authorising to sell must be
deposited in the proper office for examination one day before selling: a stockholder acting personally,
after granting a letter of attorney, revokes it by implication.
" The person in whose name the stock is invested when the books are shut, previous to the payment
of the dividends, receives the dividend for the half year preceding and, therefore, a purchaser during
the currency of the half year has the benefit of the interest on stock he buys, from the last term of
payment to the day of transfer. The price of stock, therefore, rises gradually, cateris paribus, from
* The letters of the alphabet are placed round the room, and the seller must apply to the clerk who
has bis station under the initial of his name. In all the offices, there are supervising clerks who join
in witnessing the transfer.
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FUNDS.
term to term; and when the dividend is paid, it undergoes a fall equal thereto. Thus, the 3 per cent.
consols should be higher than 3 per cent. reduced by I per cent. from the 5th of April to the 5th of July,
and from the 10th of October to the 5th of January; and should be as much lower from the 5th of
January to the 5th of March, and from the 5th of July to the 10th of October; and this is nearly the
case. Accidental circumstances may occasion a slight deviation.
"The dividends on the different stocks being payable at different terms, it is in the power of the
stock-holders to invest their property In such a manner as to draw their income quarterly.
The business of speculating in the stocks is founded on the variation of the price of stock. which
it probably tends in some measure to support. It consists in buying or selling stock according to
the views entertained, by those who engage in this business, of the probability of the value rising
or falling.
This business is partly conducted by persons who have property in the funds. But a practice also
prevails among those who have no such property, of contracting for the sale of stock on a future day
at a price agreed on. For example, A. may agree to sell to B. 10,000/. of 3 per cent. stock, to be trans-
ferred in 20 days, for 6,0001. A. has, in fact, no such stock; but if the price on the day appointed for
the transfer be only 58, he may purchase as much as will enable him to fulfil his bargain for 5,800%,
and thus gain 2001. by the transaction; on the other hand, if the price of that stock should rise to 62,
he will lose 2001. The business is generally mettled without any actual purchase of stock, or transfer;
A. paying to B. or receiving from him the difference between the price of stock on the day of settle-
ment, and the price agreed on.
This practice, which amounts to nothing else than a wager concerning the price of stock, is not
sanctioned by law yet it is carried on to a great extent: and as neither party can be compelled by
law to implement these burgains, their sense of honour, and the disgrace attending a breach of con-
tract, are the principles by which the business is supported. In the language of the Stock Exchange,
the buyer is called a Bull, and the seller a Bear, and the person who refuses to pay his loss is called a
Lame Duck; and the names of these defaulters are exhibited in the Stock Exchange, where they dare
not appear afterwards.
These bargains are usually made for certain days fixed by a committee of the Stock Exchange,
called settling days, of which there are about 8 in the year; viz. one in each of the months of January,
February. April, May, July, August, October, and November; and they are always on Tuesday, Wed-
nesday, Thursday, or Friday, being the days on which the commissioners for the reduction of the Ba-
tional debt make purchases. The settling days in January and July are always the first days of the
opening of the Bank books for public transfer; and these days are notified at the Bank when the con-
sols are shut to prepare for the dividend The price at which stock is sold to be transferred on the
next settling day, is called the price on account. Sometimes, instead of closing the account on the set-
tling day, the stock is carried on to a future day, on such terms as the parties agree on. This is called
a continuation.
All the business, however, which is done in the stocks for time, is not of a gambling nature. In a
place of so extensive commerce as London, opulent merchants, who possess property in the funds,
and are unwilling to part with it, have frequently occasion to raise money for a short time. Their
resource in this case is to sell for money, and buy for account; and although the money raised in this
manner costs more than the legal interest, it affords an important accommodation, and it may be ren-
dered strictly legal and recoverable."-(" ed. pp. 314-317.)
(FUNDS (AMERICAN).-The subjoined statement will not, we hope, be uninteresting.
It gives a view of the most prominent facts with respect to the public funds of the principal
American States exhibiting, amongst other particulars, their respective amounts, the pe-
riods when they are redesmable, and their price in London in January, 1839.-( Wetten-
hall's List, 25th January, 1839. [See article STOCKS.-Am. Ed.]
Account specifying the separate Debts of each State, and the Periods when the same are redeem-
able, &c.
Price in
Price is
Redeemable.
Amount
Funds.
in Dollars.
Loadon,
Funds.
Redeemable.
Amount
London,
Jan. 25.
in Dollars.
Jan. 25.
Alabama
5 per cent.
1852
500,000
Incorporated Banks.
Do. Sterling do.
1858-59-66
2,000,000
92
United States,
8 per ct.
1866
35,000,000
L 25.
Do.
do.
1863
3,500,000
83
Louisiana Stite,
10 do.
1870
2,000,000
Indiana,
do.
11-61-66
1,600,000
Bank of Louisiana, 8 do.
1870
4,000,000
Do.
6 per cent.
1851
200,000
Do. of N. Orleans, do.
1870
450,000
Illinois,
do.
1876
5,000,000
93
N. O. Canal & B. Co. do.
1870
4,000,000
Kentucky,
do.
1868
200,000
Do. City Bank,
do.
1870
1,000,000
Louisiana, Strig. 6 per ct.
1848
1,800,000
Mississippi Planters, 10 do.
1670
3,000,000
Do.
do.
1843
833,334
Tennessee,
9 per cent.
1870
2,000,000
Do.
do.
1844-47-50-52
7,000,000
96 1-2 to
Florida,
6 per cent.
1858-60-63-84
1,000,000
Do.
do.
1853
150,000
Do.
do.
1860
500,000
Do.
6 per cent.
1867
102
Baltimore City, 5 per ct.
1850
Maryland, 4 1-2 per cent.
1847
Camden & Amboy Rail-
Do.
5 per cent.
1859
750,000
way, do.
1864
L 210,000
Do.
6 per cent.
1870
3,000,000
100
Delaware & Raritan Canal
Massachosetts, 5 per cent.
1857
1,000,000
Bonds, 6 per cent.
1864
L 225,000
Do. Sterling do.
1868
300,000
103
Amer. Life, 7 1-2 per cent.
Mississippi,
do.
1858
500,000
In. & Trust Co.
2,000,000
Do. Sterling do.
1850
98
Do. Certificates, 5 per ct.
1864
Do.
6 per cent.
1861-68-71
1,500,000
N. Y. Life & Trust,
do.
1848-50
New York,
5 per cent.
1855
3,194.270
98
Do.
do
1848-50
Do.
do.
1858
877,000
Do. City,
do.
1-60-56-51
92
Do.
do.
1860
150,000
New Orieans City, 6 do.
1864
250,000
Ohio,
6 per cent.
1850
4,000 000
Do.
5 per cent.
1863
Do.
do.
1836
400,000
99 to 1-2
Philadelphia City, do.
1863
175,000
Pennsylvania, 5 per cent.
1839-40-41
1,296,000
Do. & Reading Railway
1863
2,000,000
102 10a.
Do.
do.
1846
300.000
Philadelphia City, 6 per ct.
1963
Do.
do.
1850
1,000,000
90
Do. Country,
do.
1860
Do.
do.
1853
2,000.000
92 3.4
Phil. & Reading, 5 per ct.
Do.
do.
1854
3,202,500
92 to 92 1-2
R. R. Bonds
1860
L 210,000
86 et div.
Do.
do.
1856
2,733,162
93
Harrisburgh & Lancaster,
Do.
do.
1858
3,070,661
93 ex div.
5 er cent.
82,000
90
Do.
do.
1860
2,648,680
95 1-2
Richmond Railway Bda.,
Do.
do.
1862
2281,400
6 per cent.
99
Do.
do.
1865
1,700,000
95 to 96
1860
Lehigh Coal & Nav. Bds.,
South Carolina,
do.
1866
L. 200,000
95
5 per cent.
1858
L 200,000
Tennessee,
6 per cent.
1868
Morris Canal & Banking
Virginia,
do.
1857
400,000
93
Comp. 6 per cent.
1846
4,100,000
Do.
5 per cent.
1845-51-52-54
2,000,000
Do. Notes do.
3,000,000
The dividends on the above Pennsylvania loans are payable half yearly, on the 1st days of February and August, at the Bank of Post-
sylvania, Philadelphia, excepting the loan of 28th of March, 1831, for 120,000 dollars, which is payable at the same bank on the 1st
January and July, each year.-Sup.)
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FURS, FUR TRADE.
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FURS, in commerce, the skins of different animals, covered, for the most part, with thick
fine hair, the inner side being converted by a peculiar process into a sort of leather. Furs,
previously to their undergoing this process, are denominated peltry.
Beaver fur, from its extensive use in the hat manufacture, is a very important commercial
article. That made use of in this country is almost entirely brought from North America.
It is gradually becoming scarcer and dearer, being now obtainable only in considerable quan-
tities from the most northerly and inaccessible districts. The fur of the middle-aged or
young animal, called cub beaver, is most esteemed. It is the finest, most glossy, and takes
the best dye. Fitch, or the fur of the fitchet or polecat, is principally imported from Ger-
many it is soft and warm, but the unpleasant smell which adheres to it depresses its value.
Marten and mink (a diminutive species of otter) are principally imported from the United
States and Canada. The fur of the musquash or musk rat (a diminutive species of beaver)
is imported in vast quantities from our possessions in North America which also supply
us with considerable quantities of otter skins. Nutria skins are principally brought from
Buenos Ayres. The more valuable furs, as ermine, sable, &c., come principally from
Russia.
FUR TRADE. We are indebted for the following details with respect to the fur trade
to one of the most extensive and intelligent fur merchants of London.
" Though practically engaged in the fur trade, I fear I shall be able to say little with regard to it not
already known to you; but were I to write on the subject, I should divide the trade into 2, or rather
3 classes.
The 1st class would comprise articles of necessity; among which I should principally number
an immense variety of lamb skins, varying so widely from each other in size, quality, colour, and
value, that, to most persons, they would appear as the produce of SO many different species of ani-
mals. These lamb skins are produced in all parts of the globe, and are every where consumed but
they form, in particular, an essential part of the dress of thousands among the lower classes in Rus-
sia, Poland, East Prussia, Hungary, Bohemia, and Saxony. In Russia and other cold climates, the
skins of various other animals may be considered as articles of actual necessity.
"2. The 2d class would in a measure form part of the first, as it also comprises furs which through
habit and fashion have now become articles of necessity. I should here enumerate all those different
skins commonly called hatting furs. Few who are not acquainted with this branch of the fur trade
can form an idea of its extent. It spreads, of course, over all parts of the globe where hats are worn,
and requires very superior judgment and considerable capital to conduct it successfully. The furs
now used for hat making are beaver, musquash, otter, nutria, hare, and rabbit; but each of these may
be subdivided in 20 different sorts or classes.
" Neutria, or nutria, is comparatively a new article. It began first to be imported in large quanti-
ties about 1810, from the Spanish possessions in South America.-(See NUTRIA.) The skin is used
for different purposes, being either dressed as a peltry, or cut (shorn) as a hatting fur; and if well
manufactured and prepared, it bears some resemblance to beaver fur, and is used for similar purposes.
Under the 3d and last class I should bring all those furs, which, though continually sold, and
used in immense quantities, must still be considered mere articles of fashion, as their value varies ac-
cording to the whims and fancies of different nations. There are, however, exceptions among these
and many furs may be considered as standard articles, since they are always used, though their price
is much influenced by changes of fashion.
This class comprises an endless variety of furs, as under it may be brought the skins of most ani-
mals in existence almost all of them appearing occasionally in the trade.
" Furs being entirely the produce of nature, which can neither be cultivated nor Increased, their
value is not influenced by fashion alone, but depends materially on the larger or smaller supplies re-
ceived. The weather has great influence on the quality and quantity of furs imported from all quar-
ters of the globe; and this circumstance renders the fur trade more difficult, perhaps, and precarious
than any other. The quality, and consequently the price. of many furs will differ every year. It
would be completely impossible to state the value of the different articles of furs, the trade being the
most fluctuating imaginable. I have often seen the same articles rise and fall 100, 200, and 300 per
cent. in the course of a twelvemonth ; nay, in several instances, in the space of 1 month only.
" Among the furs which always rank very high (though, like all the rest, they change in value,) may
be specified the Siberian sable, and the black and silver fox. These articles are at all times compara-
tively very scarce and command high prices.
" The chief supplies of peltries are received from Russia (particularly the Asiatic part of that em-
pire), and from North America. But many other countries produce very beautiful and useful furs ;
and though we are most indebted to Asia and America, Europe furnishes a very considerable quan-
tity. Africa and Australia are of little importance to the fur trade, as, from their situation, they fur-
nish but few articles, and consume still less. From the former we draw leopard and tiger skins (the
most beautiful of that species), while the only production of the latter is the kangaroo; this, how-
ever, is never used as a fur, being chiefly consumed by leather dressers and tanners for the sake of
its pelt.
" Besides numerous private traders, there are several fur companies of very long standing, who in
various countries do a great amount of business. Among these, the Hudson's Bay Company (in Lon-
don) deserves to be mentioned first, not only from the extent of their business, but because it is one
of the oldest chartered companies in England.
The American Fur Company (in New York) stands next. They chiefly trade to London, whither
they send the produce of the United States and other parts of North America.
The 3d company is the Russian American (in Moscow). They trade to the Russian possessions on
the western coast of North America, whence they draw their supplies, which are chiefly consumed in
Russia.
The 4th and last company of any consequence is the Danish Greenland Company (in Copenha-
gen). They do but a very limited business; exposing their goods for sale once a year in Copen-
hagen.
The principal consumption of the furs which I should bring under the head of the 3d class, is in
China, Turkey, and Russia, and among the more civilised countries of Europe, particularly in Eng-
land. Germany consumes a considerable quantity. The consumption of America is comparatively
little. In Africa, none but the Egyptians wear fur. In Australia, none is consumed.
" Hatting furs are used throughout Europe (with the exception of Turkey and Greece), and in Ame-
rica but by far the principal trade in these articles is carried on in London and New York.
VoL. I.-3 N
88
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FUR TRADE.
" Most of the companies sell their goods by public sale, and the principal fur fairs are helds Kiachta
(on the borders of China); Nishnei Novogorod, between Moscow and Casan, in Russia; and twice a
year at Leipsic.-[See FAIRS.]
It is a remarkable feature of the fur trade, that almost every country or town which produces: and
exports furs, imports and consumes the fur of some other place, frequently the most distant. 11 is
but seldom that an article is consumed in the country where it is produced, though that country may
consume furs to a very great extent."
The following details with respect to the North American fur trade may not be unin-
teresting:-
This trade was first practised by the early French settlers at Quebec and Montreal; and
consisted then, as now, in bartering fire-arms, ammunition, cloth, spirits, and other articles
in demand among the Indians, for beaver and other skins. In 1670, Charles H. established
the Hudson's Bay Company, to which he assigned the exclusive privilege of trading with
the Indians in and about the vast inlet known by the name of Hudson's Bay. The Com-
pany founded establishments at Forts Churchill and Albany, Nelson River, and other places
on the west coast of the bay. But the trade they carried on, though said to be a profitable
one, was of very limited extent; and their conduct on various occasions shows how
thoroughly they were " possessed with that spirit of jealousy which prevails in some degree
in all knots and societies of men endued with peculiar privileges."-(European Settle-
ments, vol. ii. p. 268.) Mr. Burke has, in the same place, expressed his astonishment that
the trade has not been thrown open. But as the Company's charter was never confirmed
by any act of parliament, all British subjects are lawfully entitled to trade with those re-
gions; though, from the difficulties attached to the trade, the protection required in carrying
it on, and the undisguised hostility which private traders have experienced from the agents
of the Company, the latter have been allowed to monopolise it with but little opposition.
In 1783-4, the principal traders engaged in the fur trade of Canada formed themselves into
an association known by the name of the North-West Company, having their chief esta-
blishment at Montreal. This new company prosecuted the trade with great enterprise and
very considerable success. The course of their proceedings in their adventurous under-
takings has been minutely described by Mr. Mackenzie, one of the agents of the company,
in his Voyage from Montreal, through the Continent of America. This gentleman in-
forms us, that some of those engaged in this trade are employed at the astonishing distance
of upwards of 4,000 miles north-west of Montreal! A very numerous caravan, if we may
so call it, sets out every year for Le Grand Portage, on Lake Superior, where they meet
those who have wintered in the remoter establishments, from whom they receive the fors
collected in the course of the season, and whom they, at the same time, furnish with fresh
supplies of the various articles required in the trade. Fort Chepeywan, on the Lake of the
Hills. in lon. 110° 26' W., used to be one of the most distant stations of the servants of the
North-West Company; but many of the Indians who traded with the fort came from dis-
tricts contiguous to, and sometimes even beyond, the Rocky Mountains.
The competition and success of the North-West Company seem to have roused the dor-
mant energies of the Hudson's Bay Company. The conflicting interests and pretensions
of the two associations were naturally productive of much jealousy and ill-will. Under the
auspices of the late Earl of Selkirk, who was for a considerable period at the head of the
Hudson's Bay Company, a colony was projected and founded on the Red River, which runs
into Lake Winnipec. The North-West Company regarded this establishment as an en-
croachment upon their peculiar rights; and the animosities thence arising led to the most
violent proceedings on the part of the servants of both companies. At length, however,
the more moderate individuals of each party began to perceive that their interests were not
materially different; and the rival companies, wearied and impoverished by their dissen-
sions, ultimately united under the name of the Hudson's Bay Fur Company, which at
present engrosses most of the fur trade of British America. The most important part of
the trade is still carried on from Montreal in the way described by Mr. Mackenzie.
According to Mr. Bliss, the number and value of the furs and peltries exported from British America
to all parts, in 1831, were-
No. £ 8. d.
£ S. d.
No.
£ s. d.
£ a. d.
Beaver
-
126,914 at 1 5
0
-
-
158,680
0
0
Racoon -
325 at 0 1 6 - -
21 7 6
Bear
-
3,850 - 1 0 0 -
-
3,850 3 0
Tails
-
2,290 0 10 - .
114 10 0
Deer
-
645 0 3 0 -
-
96 15 0
Weasel
-
34 - 0 06 - -
0 17 0
Fox
-
8,765 0 10 0
-
-
4,382 10 0
Wolverine
1,744 -
0
30
261 12 0
-
-
Lynx
-
58,010 -
0
8
0
-
-
23,204
0
0
Wolf
-
5,947 - 0 80 - - 2,378 16 0
Minx
-
9,298 0 2 0 -
-
929 16 0
Musk rat - 375,731 - 0 0 6 - - 9,393
5
6
£203,316 0
Undescribed from Halifax and St. John's estimated at the average annual value of
- 15,000 0 0
Exported to the United States by inland trade
-
-
-
-
- 16,146 0
-
234,402 0
Sterling
-
£211,016 2
-
-
(Statistics of Trade and Industry of British America, p. 29.)
According to Mr. M'Gregor, the value of the furs annually exported from British America, amounted,
at an average of the 5 years ending with 1832, to about 210,000Γ. sterling a year.-(Britisk North Amt-
rica, 2d edit. vol. ii. p. 594.)
FUSTIAN-GALACZ.
699
The North American Fur Company, the leading directors of which reside in the city of
New York, have long enjoyed the principal part of the Indian trade of the great lakes and
the Upper Mississippi. But, with the exception of the musk rat, most of the fur-clad ani-
mals are exterminated in the vicinity of the lakes. The skins of racoons are of little value;
and the beaver is now scarce on this side the Rocky Mountains. The further north the furs
are taken, the better is their quality.
Account of the principal Furs imported in 1831, the Countries whence they were brought, and the
Quantity furnished by each country.
Countries.
Bear.
Beaver.
Fitch.
Marten.
Minx.
Musquash.
Nutria.
Other.
Prussia
-
-
-
-
2,168
Germany
-
-
-
115
186,499
21,139
688
7,028
Netherlands
-
-
-
53
24,418
517
-
-
-
-
44
France
-
-
-
-
-
30,620
27,676
-
-
762
2,000
British N. Ame-
rican colonies
3,994
93,199
-
-
112,038
30,742
737,740
-
-
21,636
United States -
13,480
7,459
-
-
50,083
70,120
27,000
52,130
1,401
Buenos Ayres -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
429,966
All other places
128
118
-
-
2,354
2,011
157
9,971
117
Total -
17,602
100,944
243,705
214,107
103,561
772,693
494,067
23,198
Of these imports, the beaver, fitch, and marten were mostly retained for home consumption. A
large number of bear and otter skins were re-exported to Germany; and no fewer than 592,117 mus-
quash skins were exported, in 1631, to the United States.-(Purl. Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)
The imports of ermine are inconsiderable, having only amounted, at an average of 1831 and 1832, to
2, 197 skins a year.
The duty on furs produced, in 1832, 34,0791. : and that on skins, not being furs, 18,0931. 13s. 6d.
China is one of the best markets for furs. The Americans began, with their characteristic activity,
to send furs to Canton very soon after their fing had appeared in the Eastern seas in 1784; and they
still prosecute the trade to a considerable extent, though it has rapidly declined within the last 3 or 4
years. The Americans procure the fure intended for the China markets, partly from the American
Fur Company already alluded to, and partly from Canada; but they have also been in the habit of
sending out ships to the north-west coast of America, which, having purchased large quantities of
skins from the natives, carrying them direct to Canton. Recently, however, this trade has been ma-
terially diminished, in consequence, it is said, of the regulations of the Russian government, who do
not permit the American traders to cruise so far north as they did formerly.
FUSTIAN (Ger. Barchent; Du. Fustein; Fr. Futaine; It. Fustagno, Frustagno;
Sp. Fustan; Rus. Bumasea; Pol. Barchan), a kind of cotton stuff, wealed or ribbed on
one side.
FUSTIC (Ger. Gelbholz, Fustick; Du. Geelhout; Fr. Bois jaune de Brésil; It. Legno
giallo de Brasilio; Sp. Palo del Brasilamarillo), the wood of a species of mulberry
(Morus tinctoria), growing in most parts of South America, in the United States, and the
West India islands. It is a large and handsome tree; and the timber, though, like most
other dye woods, brittle, or at least easily splintered, is hard and strong. It is very exten-
sively used as an ingredient in the dyeing of yellow, and is largely imported for that pur-
pose. Of 6,335 tons of fustic imported into Great Britain in 1831, 1,683 tons were brought
from the British West Indies, 1,354 ditto from Cuba and the foreign West Indies, 1,013
ditto from the United States, 990 ditto from Mexico, 510 ditto from Colombia, 705 ditto
from Brazil. Fustic from Cuba fetches full 35 per cent. more in the London market than
that of Jamaica or Colombia. At present, the price of the former varies from 10/. to 12/. a
ton, while the latter varies from 8/. to 91. a ton. The consumption amounts to about 6,000
tons a year.
Zante, or young fustic, is really a species of sumach (Rhus cotinus Lin.), and is quite
distinct from the morus tinctoria, or old fustic; the latter being a large American tree,
while the former is a small European shrub. It grows in Italy and the south of France,
but is principally exported from Patras in the Morea. It imparts a beautiful bright yellow
dye to cottons, &c. which, when proper mordants are used, is very permanent. It is con-
veniently stowed amongst a cargo of dry goods, as it may be cut into pieces of any length
without injury. Only a small quantity of this species of sumach is imported. Its price
fluctuates considerably. In August, 1833, it was worth, in the London market, from 9/. to
11/. a ton.
G.
(GALACZ, a town of Moldavia, on the left bank of the Danube, between the confluence
of the Sereth and the Pruth with that river, in lat. 45° 25' N., long. 28° E. It is ill built
and dirty population supposed to amount to 12,000. The trade of the town is chiefly car-
ried on by Greek merchants, but, within the last few years, some foreign houses have formed
establishments in it. Though at a considerable distance inland, Galacz may be said to be
the port of the Danube; and, were the political jealousies, and other obstacles, that have
hitherto so much obstructed the navigation of this great river, once removed, it would, no
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GALACZ.
doubt, become a first-rate emporium. The treaty of Adrianople, by rescuing the provinces
of Moldavia and Wallachia from Turkish despotism and misrule, will contribute not a little
to this desirable result. Recently, indeed, Galacz has been rapidly rising in importance.
Steam vessels have been established on the Danube, from Presburg to Galacz, and thence,
by the Black Sea, to Constantinople and Trebizond. The advantages of which the free
navigation of the Danube cannot fail to be productive to all the countries that it traverses,
and especially to Hungary, of which it is the natural outlet, seem to warrant the belief that
its vast capacities, as a commercial highway, will be daily more and more developed.
Entrance to Galact.-Of the three principal mouths of the river, the Soulineh (middle) mouth, in lat.
45° 10' 30" N., long. 29° 41' 20" E., is the only one accessible by vessels of considerable burden. The
depth of water on the bar, at its entrance, varies from 10 to 13 and 14 feet, according to the season of
the year, and the direction of the wind. From the bar to Galacz and Brailoff, still higher up, there is
nowhere less than 18 feet water, and in many places from 60 to 70 feet. Vessels of 300 tons lie close
to the quays of Galacz. The shores at the mouth of the river being low, and bordered with reeds and
shoals, vessels Intending to enter the river generally make the small rocky islet of Phidonisi, or Ser-
pent's Isle,* in lat. 45° 15' 15" N., long. 30° 10' 30" E., whence the Soulineh mouth bears W. by S.,
distant 23 miles. At the entrance to it, on the south shore, is a wooden tower, but (though the con-
trary be sometimes stated) no lighthouse. Lighters are generally stationed without the bar, into which
large ships discharge a part of their cargoes; and pilots may generally be obtained from them or other
vessels. As the current is sometimes very strong, and difficult to stem, the establishment of steam
tugs at the mouth of the river would obviate the principal difficulties incident to its navigation.
Frost usually sets in on the Danube in the month of December, and continues till the month of
March; in 1833, however, there was no frost. Freights in the ports of the Danube are always from
20 to 25 per cent. higher than in Odessa ; premiums of insurance, on the contrary, are not higher
than at the latter, except on such vessels as, on account of their size, are obliged to discharge at the
river's mouth.
Money, Weights, and Measures.-These are principally Turkish, for which see CONSTANTINOPLE;
but Russian and Austrian coins are in general circulation.
Exports and Imports.-Moldavia and Wallachia are very productive provinces, being fruitful both
of corn and cattle. From 60,000 to 80,000 head of cattle are annually fattened for sale in the two prin-
cipalities. A pair of good oxen commonly cost from 70 to 80 roubles. Numerous herds are annually
sent into Austria, particularly from Moldavia. Now that the principalities are subjected to regular
governments, and that a market has been opened for their products, there can be little doubt that they
will rapidly improve. The principal articles of export from Galacz are wheat, of which the quantity
might be indefinitely increased, tallow, hides, live cattle, salt, butter, wool, dtc. and to these might
be added timber, flax and hemp, caviar, &c. But, if the navigation be improved, which it seems all
but certain will be the case, Brailoff and Galacz will become dépòts for the products of Hungary and
Transylvania. The imports consist of coffee, sugar, and other colonial products, raw and manufac-
tured cotton, iron and hardware, oil and olives, rice, soap, spices, &c. ; at present, however, they are
quite inconsiderable, compared to what they would be were civilization considerably extended in the
countries adjacent to the lower Danube, and still more 80 were it to become the great highway for the
conveyance of foreign products to Hungary. Subjoined is a-
Statement of the Quantities and Value of the Merchandise imported into, and Exported from, the
Port of Galacz in (Consular Return.)
Imports.
Exports.
Articles.
Quantities.
Value.
Articles.
Quantities.
Fatur.
L
L
Almonds
cwts.
3,000
9,000
Butter
cwts.
17,500
45,000
Carobs
7,500
3,937
Cattle, oxen
No.
6,000
38,250
Cloth, American
lbs.
9,905
9,187
cows
-
3,800
24.335
Coffee
-
226,400
21,000
horses
-
3,600
22,950
Cotton, raw
-
70,750
9,375
sheep
-
10,000
3,750
twist
packets
3,500
6,562
Hkles, OX
-
15,009
26,250
manufactures
-
22,500
Salt
cwts.
300,000
136,000
Figs
cwts.
3,750
5,625
Tallow
20,000
98,009
Incense
lbs.
56,600
4,880
Wheat
kilos.)
30,000
112,500
Iron, English
cwts.
7,500
14,625
Wines
galls.
166,606
5,685
Oil
5,000
33,750
Wool
lbs.
424,500
16,875
Olives
-
8,750
19,687
Miscellansous
7,500
Pepper
lbs.
56,600
4,500
Raisins
cwts.
8,750
13,125
t Of 2 chetwerts each.
Rice
-
8,750
19,697
Ram
-
750
3,937
Soap
lbs.
254,700
10,125
Sugar
cwts.
2,500
16,875
Tin
-
25
6,625
Wax
375
6,750
Wines
500
2,250
Miscellaneous
11,250
Total
254,252
Total
527,985
Shipping.-M. Hagemeister gives the following return of the shipping which entered the Danabe,
by the Soulineh mouth, in the following years, with their destination :-
Years.
Ismail.
Reni,
Galacz
Brailoff
Tarkish Park.
1830
84
35
193
57
$1
1831
164
IS
180
30
1832
156
17
451
01
8
1833
32
5
202
m
1834
37
2
166
* This island was famous in antiquity for its temple in honour of Achifies, to whom it was secred.
It was called Leuce, or the White Island, from the myriads of sea-fowl by which it was usually
covered. There seems to be no good foundation for the modern notion of its being infested with ser-
pents. It is singular, however, seeing that it is now annually passed by numbers of European ships,
that it should not have been visited by any traveller. It may be expected to contain some remains
of antiquity.-(See Clarke's Travels in Russia, Turkey, &e. 8vo. edit. vol. ii. p. 394-401.)
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GALACZ.
701
In 1835, 202 vessels arrived at Galacz; of which 6 were British, 45 Russian, 17 Austrian, 60 Greek,
49 Turkish, 17 Ionian, 4 Bardinian, 2 Samian, 1 Wallachian, I Belgian.
Duties.-An ad valorem duty of 3 per cent. is levied on all articles of merchandise imported into, or
exported from, the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. Government reserves to itself the
power of prohibiting the exportation of any article, but it has to give a month's previous notice of any
such prohibition.
Galacz in a free port; that is, a port at which all commodities may be landed, warehoused, re-ex-
ported, and consumed in the town, free of duty. Quarantine regulations are strictly enforced at
Galacz, unless performed previously to entering the river.
Isfnail and Reni, ports of the Russian province of Bessarabia, are situated on the Danube, and are
both, but especially Ismail, a good deal nearer its mouth than Galacz; but they are much less con-
siderable in point of commercial importance. Having little importation, their trade is confined almost
entirely to the exportation of corn, and even in this respect they are very inferior to Galacz and Brai-
loff. They are subject to the Russian duties and regulations.
We have gleaned these particulars from a variety of works, but principally from the valuable
Report, by M. De Hagemeister, on the Commerce of the Black Sea, Eng. Trans., pp. 63-95., &c. Purdy's
Suiling Directions to the Black Sea, p. 193, &c.
Months of the Danube.-There is a great discrepancy in the statements of ancient authors as to the
number of channels by which the Danube poured its waters into the Euxine. (Cellarii Notitia Orbis
Antiqui, lib. ii. cap. 8.) A similar discrepancy exists at this moment; some authorities affirming that
it has four. others five, and others six or seven mouths. But, as stated above, there are only three of
any considerable ningnitude, viz. the Kilia mouth on the north, and successively the Soulineh mouth,
and the Edrillis mouth. But besides these, there are other channels of inferior importance, of which
two, at least, are still more to the south than the Edrillis mouth. In antiquity, the most southerly
channel was the deepest, and best suited for the purposes of navigation, and was thence called Sacrum.
(See Cellarius, nt suprà.) It is not, however, to be wondered at, that in the course of so many ages,
very great changes should have taken place in the channels of the river. It seems probable that the
Ostium Sacrum, or southern channel of the ancients, may have run between Carsum, now Hirchova,
and the lake Halmyris, now Rassein, which communicates with the Euxine at Kara Kerman, formerly
Istropolis, and at a point still more to the south. At any rate, there certainly was a channel in the
route now pointed out (D'Anville, Abrégé de la Geographie Ancienne, tom. 1. p. 307.): and as it is a
good deal more to the south than the Edrillis mouth, with which the Ostium Sacrum has been com-
monly identified, it would seem to have the best claim to the distinction of being synonymous with
the latter. This channel is, in fact, still partially open, and it has been recently stated that the Aus-
trian government is seriously entertaining R project for making it navigable. There can be no doubt
that if this could be effected, it would be of much importance to the trade with Hungary and the coun-
tries on the upper part of the river, by materially shortening the river navigation, and facilitating the
ansit of ships and goods to and from the Black Sen.
Steam Narigation of the Danube.-A regular line of steam-boats for the transportation of passengers
and merchandise, is established on the Danube from Presburg (Hungary) to Galacz, by am Austrian
company, entitled, First Company for Navigation by Steam on the Danube."
Three hoats are running on this line, viz.
The Pannonia (36-horse power), from Presburg to Pesth.
The Francis 1st (60-horse power), from Pesth to Moldavia.
The Argo (50-horse power), from Orsova to Galacz.
" The passengers and merchandise change boats at each of the stations indicated above.
" At the height of Orsova, rocks which are strewed in the bed of the Danube, for the extent of about
a league, not permitting steam-boats to pass, goods are transported by flat-bottomed boats, which,
conducted by skilful boatmen, glide through the rocks, and pass them without accident.* Passengers
disembark, and make by land, a circuit which occupies twenty hours. This part of the journey is at
their expense. An agent of the company at Orsova arranges with them, on reasonable terms, for the
price. This crossing over will, however, be shortened by the repairs about to be made on an ancient
Roman causeway running nearly parallel with the bed of the river.
The necessity of previous arrangements with the Turkish government has, for the present, pre-
vented the company from removing this obstacle. It has, however, expended large sums in removing
rocks from other points, in removing sand banks, and in clearing the bed of the river.
A fourth steam-boat, 'The Maria Dorothea,' of 70-horse power, is expected before the winter
(1834), to extend the line from Galacz to Constantinople. During winter this boat is intended for
temporary service between Smyrna and Constantinople, until the return of spring and the opening of
the navigation on the Danube.
Two other boats are held in reserve, to be used in case of accident or repairs to any of the four
regular boats."
According to the regulations published by the company, the prices for the extreme points of the line
are as follow :-
Passengers.
one place. two places.
On merchandise, the above rates only apply to such, the value of
which does not exceed 70 florins for every 100 lbs. weight.
From Presburg to Galicz (descending)
48 flor.
77 flor.
Merchandise, the value of which is more consi terable. must be
From Moldavia to Presburg (ascending)
14 do.
21 do.
declared, and will pay according to value, at the following rates, for
Children of 10 years half price.
transport from Vienna 10 Galacz
Passengers are allowed, free of charge, 90 pounds of luggage.
Per 100 lbs. with-
Insurance per
Price of transport
Insurance on each
Merchandise.
out insurance.
100 florins.
Merchandise.
per 100 lbs. with-
100 florins of
Iron and scythes
5 florins 20 kr.
out insurance.
value.
Furniture and bulky articles
9 do.
45 kr.
From Pesth to Moldavia
1 florin 15 kr.
22 kr.
Other articles, comprising those
From Moldavia to Peath
1 do. 30
22 do.
called of Leipsic
6 do. 30 do.
This last Table gives Vienna as one of the extreme points of the line because, in fact, the great
* The rapids in this place have received the name of the Iron Gate." All vessels ascending the
river have to be towed up against the stream; and the water is frequently too shallow to permit the
descent of any but the smallest class of flat-bottomed boats. The Romans under Trajan had, with
equal industry and sagacity, formed a road or path along the river's edge for facilitating the operation
of towing, of which the remains are still extant, with an inscription commemorative of the completion
of the works. It has been proposed to overcome the difficulties in the way of the navigation, by
renovating the old Roman road, and deepening the channel contiguous to it. But it rarely happens
that attempts to improve the navigation in the bed of a river. under any thing like similar circum-
stances, are even tolerably successful; and provided it could be accomplished, there can be no doubt
that the proposal for cutting R lateral canal sufficiently large to admit the steam-boats and other craft
navigating the river, is by far the most likely means of obviating the difficulties in question. At all
events, it is to be hoped that something effectual may be speedily accomplished in reference to this
important #ubject-(For some details with respect to the Iron Gate," and the navigation of the
Danube, from Presburg to Roustchuk, see Mr. Quin's Voyage Down the Danube, vol. i. passim.)
3 X 2
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GALANGAL-GALLIPOLI
object of the company is the establishment of a direct communication between the capitals of the
Austrian states and of the Ottoman empire.
Its first intention was to make Vienna the point of departure for its steam-boats but the sinuesi-
ties of the Danube, between it and Presburg, interposed a serious obstacle. Eighteen or twenty hours
are necessary to pass the distance between these two towns by the river whereas, by land, is is
performed in five or six hours.
The company has, therefore, determined to erect, either at Presburg, or at Raab, a vast entrept
which will be connected with Vienna by a rail-road, upon which steam cars shall transport all mer-
chandise coming from the north and middle of Germany, on its way to the east, by the Danube.
The office of the company is at Vienna: its charter is for 15 years. It is privileged by government
gratuitously to draw from the imperial coal mines of Moldavia the coal required for the consumption
of its boats. Its capital consists of 1,120 shares, each of 500 florins. The dividend, in 1834, was fixed
at 7 per cent.
From the day on which the first steam-boat of the company shall have entered the Black Sea, it de-
clares that the enterprise no longer belongs solely to the Austrian States, but that it belongs to Europe.
"It is announced, that the company contemplates extending its line of steam-boats from Constan-
tinople to Trebizond.
This extension will depend on the results which will have been obtained by the experiment
between Galacz and Constantinople."
The above statement was published more than a year ago, and we regret that we have no recent
information to communicate respecting the state of this important undertaking. The Russian govern-
ment, to whom the treaty of Adrianople gave possession of the mouths of the Danube, has, it is said,
refused to permit any steam-boats to pass in and out of the river without payment of toll. But the
power of Russia to impose this toll, conformably with existing treaties, has been questioned; and till
this dispute be adjusted, the undertaking will necessarily suffer.
Junction of the Danube and the Rhine.-A project has been for some time on foot in Bavaria, that
would add greatly to the importance of the free navigation of the Danube. This is for cutting a canal
from Wurtzbourg, where the Mayne, which flows into the Rhine, ceases to be navigable, to the Danube,
between Donauwerth and Ingoldstadt. Were this accomplished, an internal communication by water
would be established throughout all the vast countries stretching from the shores of the Netherlands
to the Black Sea; so that produce shipped at Rotterdam, or at Galacz, might be conveyed from one to
the other in the same vessel The cost of the canal in question is estimated at 8,000,000 florins, and a
company has been formed for its construction. The Bavarian government, which is a liberal patron
of every undertaking likely to promote the public prosperity, has, we believe, engaged to subscribe a
fourth of the sum required. But we have not learned what progress has been made in the under-
taking, which is truly of European importance.-Sup.)
GALANGAL (Ger. Galgant; Du. and Fr. Galanga; Rus. Kalgan; Lat. Galanga;
Arab. Kusttulk; Chin. Laundon), the root of the galanga, brought from China and the
East Indies in pieces about an inch long, and hardly 1 an inch thick. A larger root of the
same kind (Greater Galangal), an inch or more in thickness, is to be rejected. It has an
aromatic smell, not very grateful; and an unpleasant, bitterish, extremely hot, biting taste.
It should be chosen full and plump, of a bright colour, very firm and sound 12 cwt. are
allowed to a ton.-(Lewis's Mat. Med.; Milburn's Orient. Com.)
GALBANUM (Fr. Galbanum; Ger. Mutterharz; It. Galbano; Lat. Galbanum,
Arab. Barzud), a species of gum resin obtained from a perennial plant (Galbamum
officinale) growing in Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope, and Syria and Persia. It is
brought to this country from the Levant in cases or chests containing from 100 to 300 lbs.
each. The best is in ductile masses, composed of distinct whitish tears agglutinated
together by a pale brown or yellowish substance. It is generally much mixed with stalks,
seeds, and other impurities. The separate tears are considered as the best. When the
colour is dark brown or blackish, it is to be rejected. It has a strong peculiar odour, and 8
bitterish, warm, acrid taste.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
(GALLIPOLI.
Account of the Quantity of Oil exported from Gallipoli in British and Neapolitan Bottoms, in 1833
and 1831, together with an estimate of the Value of the same formed on the Quotations in the
Giornale delle Due Sicilie.
1833.
Quantity.
Value.
In
Prime Cost.
Cash Charges and Duty.
Total.
In Salms.
Imperial
Tons.
Ducats.
Sterling.
Ducats.
Sterling.
Dueats.
Starling
In British vessels
18,899
2,625
451,316
L. 77,545
132,293
L. 22,731
583,609
L 100.876
In Neapolitan do.
6,801
944
162,407
27,905
36,725
6,310
199,132
34,815
Total
25,700
3,569
613,723
105,450
169,018
29,041
732,741
134,491
1834.
In British vemels
26,879
3,733
671.975
116,865
189,153
32,722
360,128
149.587
In Neapolitan do.
33,648
4,673
841,200
146,308
181,699
31,599
1,022,899
177,907
Total
60,527
8,406
1,513,175
263,173
368.852
64,321
1,883.027
327,494
Statement of the Number, Tonnage, and Crews of Vessels, distinguishing the Countries to which
they belonged, which entered inwards and cleared outwards, at the Port of Gallipoli, in 1835.
Entered.
Cleared.
Flags.
Vessels.
Tons.
Crews.
Vessels.
Tons.
Crews.
British
12
1,317
81
12
1,317
81
Hanoverian
I
88
5
1
88
5
Neapolitan
82
12,834
898
82
12,834
998
Total
95
14,239
984
95
14,239
964
Sup.)
GALLON-GARNETS.
703
GALLON, a measure of capacity, both for dry and liquid articles, containing 4 quarts.
By 5 Geo. 4. c. 74., " the Imperial gallon shall be the standard measure of capacity, and
shall contain 10 lbs. avoirdupois weight of distilled water, weighed in air at the temperature
of 62° of Fahrenheit's thermometer, the barometer being at 30 inches, or 277.274 cubic
inches; and all other measures of capacity to be used, as well for wine, beer, ale, spirits, and
all sorts of liquids, as for dry goods, not measured by heaped measure, shall be derived,
computed, and ascertained from such gallon; and all measures shall be taken in parts, or
multiples, or certain proportions, of the said Imperial standard gallon." The old English
gallon, wine measure, contained 231 cubic inches; and the old English gallon, ale measure,
contained 282 cubic inches. Hence the Imperial gallon is about ! larger than the old wine
gallon, and about 10 less than the old ale gallon. By the 6 Geo. 4. c. 58. § 6. it is enacted,
that from and after the 5th of January, 1826, whenever any gallon measure is mentioned
in any act of parliament relative to the excise, it shall be taken and deemed to be a gallon
Imperial standard measure.-(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
GALLS, OR GALL-NUTS, (Fr. Galles, Noix de galle; Ger. Gallapfel, Gallus;
It. Galle, Galluze; Lat. Galæ; Arab. Afis; Hind. Majouphal; Pers. Mazu), are ex-
crescences produced by the attacks of a small insect, which deposits its eggs in the tender
shoots of a species of oak (Quercus infectoria Lin.), abundant in Asia Minor, Syria, Persia,
&c. Galls are inodorous, and have a nauseously bitter and astringent taste. They are
nearly spherical, and vary in magnitude from the size of a pea to that of a hazel nut. When
good, they are of a black or deep olive colour; their surface is tubercular, and almost
prickly; they are heavy, brittle, and break with a flinty fracture. They are known in
commerce by the names of white, green, and blue. The white galls are those which have
not been gathered till after the insect has eaten its way out of the nidus and made its escape.
They are not 80 heavy as the others, are of a lighter colour, and do not fetch so high a
price. The green and blue galls are gathered before the insect has escaped; they are
heavier and darker than the former, and are said to afford about one third more of colouring
matter.
Galls are of great importance in the arts, being very extensively used in dyeing, and the manufac-
ture of ink, of which they form one of the principal ingredients. They are the most powerful of all
the vegetable astringents and are frequently used with great effect in medicine.
The ancients reckoned the gall-nuts of Syria superior to every other, and they still retain their pre-
eminence. They are principally exported from Aleppo, Tripoli, Mmyrna, and Said; those brought
from the first come chiefly from Mosul, on the western bank of the Tigris, about ten days' journey
from Aleppo. The real Mosul galls are unquestionably the best of any but all that are gathered in
the surrounding country are sold under this name. Those from Caramania are of a very inferior
quality. The galls met with in India are carried thither from Persia by Arabian merchants.
It is not unusual to dye the whitish gall-nuts blue, in order to increase their value. The fraud is,
however, detected by the deeper blue tinge that is thus imparted to them; and by their being perfo-
rated, and lighter than the genuine blue galls.
The price of galls in bond varies in the London market from 65s. to 85a. a cwt. The duty is 5a. a
cwt.-(Rees's Cyclopedia; Bancroft on Colours; Ainslie's Mat. Indica, &c.)
GAMBOGE (Fr. Gomme gutte; Ger. Gummigutt; It. Gomma gutta; Lat. Gummi
guttæ, Cambogia; Arab. Ossararewund; Siamese and Cambojan, Rong), a concrete vege-
table juice, or gum resin, the produce of the Garcinia Cambogia, a forest tree of the genus
which affords the mangostein, the most exquisite fruit of the East. The districts which
yield gamboge lie on the east side of the Gulf of Siam, between the latitudes of 10°
and 12° north, comprising a portion of Siam and the kingdom of Camboja, whence its
English name. It is obtained by making incisions in the bark of the tree, from which it
exudes, and is collected in vessels placed to receive it. In these it assumes a firm consist-
ence; and being formed into orbicular masses, or more frequently cylindrical rolls, it is at
once fit for the market. It is of a bright yellow colour, opaque, brittle, breaks vitreous, has
no smell, and very little taste. Specific gravity 1.22. When taken internally, it operates
as a most violent cathartic. It forms a beautiful yellow pigment; for which purpose it is
principally used. The Dutch began to import it about the middle of the seventeenth cen-
tury. The greater part of the gamboge of commerce first finds its way to Bangkok, the
Siamese capital, or to Saigon, the capital of lower Cochin China; from these it is carried
by junks to Singapore, whence it is shipped for Europe. Its price at Singapore varies, ac-
cording to quality, from 30 to 80 dollars per picul. Dark coloured pieces should be rejected.
-(Crawford's Embassy to Siam, p. 425.; Thomson's Chemistry.)
GARNET, GARNETS (Fr. Grenats; Ger. Granaten, Granatstein; It. Granati;
Lat. Granati; Rus. Granatnoi kamen; Sp. Granadas). There are two species of garnet,
the precious and the common. The colour of the first is red; and hence the name of the
mineral, from its supposed resemblance to the flower of the pomegranate; passes from Co-
lumbine red, to cherry and brown red; commonly crystallised. External lustre glistening,
internal shining, vitreous; transparent, sometimes only translucent; specific gravity 4.08 to
4-34. The colour of the common garnet is of various shades of brown and green. Differ-
ent colours often appear in the same mass: translucent; black varieties nearly opaque:
specific gravity from 3.66 to 3:75.-(Thomson's Chemistry.) The finest varieties come
from India, and some good specimens have been received from Greenland. When large
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GAS COMPANIES.
and free from flaws, garnets are worth from 21. to 51. or 6l., and even more; but stones of
this value are of rare occurrence, and always in demand.-(Mawe on Diamonds, 4.
2d ed. p. 113.)
GAS COMPANIES, the term usually applied to designate the companies or associations
established in most large towns for lighting the streets and houses with gas.
Every one must have remarked that most species of coal, when ignited, give out large
quantities of gas, which burns with much brilliancy, yielding a great quantity of light as
well as of heat. Dr. Clayton seems to have been the first who attempted, about 1736, to
apply this gas to the purposes of artificial illumination: but his experiments were upon a
very limited scale, and no further attention was paid to the subject till more than half a cen-
tury afterwards. At length, however, Mr. Murdoch, of Soho, instituted a series of judicious
experiments on the extrication of gas from coal and, by his ingenuity and sagacity, suc-
ceeded in establishing one of the most capital improvements ever made in the arts. Mr.
Murdoch found that the gas might be collected in reservoirs, purified, conveyed by pipes to
a great distance from the furnace where it was generated; and that it affords, by its slow
combustion, when allowed to escape through small orifices, a beautiful and steady light.
This great discovery, which places Mr. Murdoch in the first rank among the benefactors of
mankind, was first brought into practice at Redruth, in Cornwall. In 1802, it was applied
to light Mr. Murdoch's manufactory at Soho; in 1805, it was adopted by Messrs. Phillips
and Lee, of Manchester, in the lighting of their great cotton mill and is now employed in
the lighting of the streets, theatres, and other public buildings, factories, &c. of all the
considerable towns of the empire; and also in most considerable towns of the Continent
and America.
Gas light is indebted, for its rapid diffusion, not more to its peculiar softness, clearness, and
unvarying intensity, than to its comparative cheapness. According to Dr. Thomson (Sup.
to Ency. Brit. art. Gas Lights), if we value the quantity of light given by 1 lb. of tallow
in candles at 1s., an equal quantity of light from coal gas will not cost more than 21d,
being less than a fourth part of the cost of the former.
Oil and other substances have been used in furnishing gas for the purpose of illumina-
tion, but none of them has answered so well as coal. Most of the oil gas establishments
have been abandoned.
The construction of gas works on a large scale, and the carrying of pipes through the
streets and into houses, &c., is very expensive, and requires a large outlay of capital.
Hence most of the gas lights in the different towns are supplied by joint stock companies.
Many of them have turned out to be very profitable concerns.
The subjoined Table contains a statement of the most important particulars connected
with the principal gas companies; viz. the number of shares in each, the nominal amount
of each share, the sums actually paid up, the market price of shares, the dividend payable
on them, &c.-(From the Share List of Mr. Charles Edmonds, Broker, of Change Alley
Cornhill, 12th of October, 1833.)
Number
Amount
of Shares.
Names of Companies
of
Paid up.
Price
Dividend
Dividends
Shares.
per Share.
per Annum.
payable.
£
£ S.
£ S.
12,000
Gas Light and Coke Chart. Company
50
50 0
50 0
6 per cent.
May, Nov.
5,000
Ditto, New (London)
-
-
50
10 0
10 0
6 per cent.
May, Nov.
1,000
City (London)
-
-
-
100
100 0
195 0
10 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
1,000
Ditto, New (London)
10 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
-
-
100
60 0
120 0
10,000
Imperial (London)
-
-
50
50 0
48 15
5 per cent.
April. Oct.
76,500/.
Ditto debentures
-
-
-
100
100 0
100 0
4 per cent.
Jan. July.
9,000
Phœnix, or South London
-
-
50
39 0
43 0
6 per cent.
Feb. Aug.
5,000
British (London)
-
-
-
40
16 0
21 12
11. per share.
April, Oct.
5,000
Ditto (Country)
-
-
-
20
19 0
22 0
11. per share.
April, Oct.
Ditto debentures
-
-
,
100
-
-
103 0
5 per cent.
Jan. July.
2,000
Independent
-
-
-
30
30 0
45 0
6 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
4,000
Equitable
-
-
-
-
50
25 0
24 0
4 per cent.
April, Oct.
8,200
General United Gas Light Company
50
44 0
44 0
5 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
4,000
Imperial Continental
-
100
51 5
36 0
per sh.
Feb. Aug.
600
Bradford
-
-
-
-
25
20 0
45 0
10 per cent.
May.
600 Brentford -
-
-
-
50
50 0
25 0
2,500
Bath
-
-
-
-
20
16 0
33 15
10 per cent.
Feb. Aug
600 Barnsley
10 0
10 0
Mar. Sept.
-
-
-
-
10
704
Birmingham
-
-
-
50
50 0
110 0
10 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
2,400 Birmingham and Staffordshire
-
50
50 0
100 0
41. per sh.
April, Oct.
1,500
Brighton
-
-
-
-
20
20 0
14 0
750 Brighton New
-
-
-
20
18 0
12 0
Brighton General
-
-
-
20
18 0
31 per cent.
1,312 Blackburn
-
-
-
-
10
10 0
12 0
5 per cent.
4,250 Bristol
-
-
=
-
20
-
-
41 10
10 per cent
Feb. Aug.
240 Canterbury -
-
-
-
50
-
60 0
5 per cent.
Jan. July.
300 Cheltenham
-
-
-
50
50 0
75 0
70 per cent.
800 Coventry
-
-
-
25
-
20 0
5 per cent.
200 Derby
-
-
-
-
50
50 0
55 0
5 per cent.
180 Dover
-
-
-
-
50
-
-
51 0
5 per cent.
600 Dudley
-
-
-
-
20
-
-
22 0
6 per cent.
240 [Exeter
-
-
-
-
50
-
-
70 0
51.
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GENEVA.
705
Number
Amount
Names of Companies.
Paid up.
Price
Dividend
Dividends
of
of Shares.
Shares.
per Share.
per Annum.
payable.
780
Great Yarmouth
-
-
-
20
18 0
13 0
31 per cent.
July, Jan.
Guilford
-
-
-
-
25
25 0
23 0
11.
600
Halifax
-
-
-
-
25
21 0
36
0
1,200
Ipswich
-
-
-
-
10
-
-
12
0
12s.
Mar. Sept.
800
Isle of Thanet
-
-
-
25
20 0
22
0
5 per cent.
Jan. July.
160
Kidderminster
-
-
-
50
-
-
53 0
5 per cent.
201
Leeds
-
-
-
100
100 0
195
0
10L.
Leicester
-
-
-
-
50
50 0
65 0
31. 10s.
January.
220
Lewis
-
-
-
-
25
25 0
23
0
4 per cent.
January.
500
Liverpool -
-
-
-
100
100 0
450 0
221.
Feb. Aug.
200
Maidstone
-
-
50
50 0
100
0
9 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
200
Newcastle-under-Line
-
-
25
320
Newport, Isle of Wight
-
-
50
-
-
18 0
17.
542
Northampton
-
20
19 0
26 10
320
Nottingham
-
-
-
50
50 0
96 0
8 per cent.
120
Oxford
-
-
-
-
150
130 0
3,200
Paisley
-
-
-
-
50
600
Poplar
-
-
-
50
-
-
27 0
600
Portsea Island
-
-
-
50
53 0
47 0
5 per cent.
Jan. July.
2,500
Portable
-
-
-
100
20 0
18 10 dis.
10,000
Plymouth
-
-
-
-
50
70 0
51.
July.
1,000
Ratcliff
-
-
-
-
100
60 0
46 0
4 per cent.
Mar. Sept.
480
Rochdale
-
-
-
-
25
15 0
par
240
Rochester
-
-
-
-
50
50 0
58 0
31.
1,600
Sheffield
-
-
-
-
25
18 5
58 0
10 per cent.
1,000
Shrewsbury
-
-
-
10
-
12 10
12s.
January.
144
Stockton
-
-
-
55
-
-
294
Warwick
-
-
-
-
50
-
-
50 0
5 per cent.
March.
400
Wakefield
-
-
-
-
25
-
-
-
21. 10s.
100
Warrington
-
-
-
20
-
-
29 0
10 per cent.
1,000
Wigan
-
-
-
10
-
240
Woolwich
-
-
-
50
30 0
-
10 per cent.
550
Wolverhampton
-
-
-
20
20 0
20 0
600
Worcester
-
-
20
-
-
16 0
4 per cent.
[Gas works for lighting have been introduced into the United States at Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Wilmington (Del.), Baltimore, Pittsburg, Louisville, New Orleans,
and Mobile; and are all of them conducted by joint stock companies,-by one company
only in each place, excepting in New York and Philadelphia, where there are two. With
the exception, also, of that in Pittsburg and the two in Philadelphia, they are conducted
under the usual organization of joint stock corporations.
In the three cases just mentioned, the general features are the same. The stock is held
by individuals; and the management is confided to trustees. These trustees are, in the
Northern Liberties, annually chosen, one half by the municipal authorities, and one half by
the proprietors; but, in the city of Philadelphia proper and Pittsburg, they are chosen by
the former exclusively. In all these works, the municipal authorities have granted the pri-
vilege of laying down pipes, reserving to themselves the right of redemption at the original
cost, for the benefit of the corporations respectively. These works have no legislative
charters.
The success which has attended the works in Philadelphia is attributable, in a great mea-
sure, to the strict regulations adopted, to prevent the leakage of the gas in the minute rami-
fications of the pipes conducting it through the buildings that are lighted.-Am. Ed.]
GENEVA (Du. Genever; Fr. Genièvre; Ger. Gaud, Genever; It. Acqua di Ginepro
Lat. Juniperi aqua; Sp. Agua de Enebro), a spirit obtained by distillation from grain,
rectified, with the addition of juniper berries. The latter give to the spirit that peculiar
flavour by which it is distinguished, and are also said to render it diuretic. Geneva is a
corruption of genièvre, the French term for the juniper berry.
By far the best geneva is made in Holland, where its manufacture is carried on to a very
great extent. The distilleries of Schiedam have long been famous, and are at present in a
very prosperous condition. Schiedam geneva is made solely of spirit obtained from rye and
barley, flavoured with juniper berries. It becomes milder, and acquires, as it gets old, an
oily flavour disliked by the Hollanders; hence nearly the whole of the " Schiedam" is
exported, principally to the East Indies. There are no fewer than 300 distilleries in Schie-
dam, 100 in other parts of Holland, and not more than 40 in Belgium. The entire annual
produce of the distillery in Holland is estimated at 2,000,000 ankers, or 20,500,000 wine
gallons, of which about two thirds are exported.- (Cloet, Description Gèographique des
Pays Bas, p. 92.)
In nothing, perhaps, has the destructive effect of heavy taxation been so strongly exhibited, as in
the trade of geneva. It appears from the Parl. Paper, No. 248, Sess. 1826, that during the 10 years
ending with 1786, when the duty on geneva was about 10s. the wine gallon, the average annual con-
sumption in Great Britain amounted to about 80,362 gallons. But in 1786, Mr. Pitt reduced the duties
to 5s. a gallon; and the effect of this wise and politic measure was such, that in the next decennial
period the average imports for home consumption amounted to 444,891 gallons From 1796 to 1806,
89
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GENOA.
the duties fluctuated from 7s. 6d. to 14s.; but as the taste for geneva had been formed, and as the to-
ties on other spirits had been increased in about the same proportion, the consumption went on increas-
ing, having been, at an average of the 10 years, as high as 724,351 gallons a year. This was the mi-
mum of consumption. Mr. Vansittart soon after began his inauspicious career, and immediately raised
the duty from 14s. to 20s. 8d.; the consequence of this increase being, that in the 10 years ending with
1816, the average consumption amounted to only 272,898 gallons. Since then the duties have continued
stationary, being at this moment 22s. 6d. the Imperial gallon, on an article which may be bought in
bond for 2s. 3d. or 2s. 6d.: The duties on rum and British spirits having been materially reduced during
the last 10 years, the consumption of geneva has gone on progressively diminishing, till it now amounts,
as appears from the subjoined official statement, to no more than 22,300 gallons; being only one thirty-
fourth part of what it amounted to during the 10 years ending with 1806:
In Ireland, the effects of this felo de se system have been more injurious than appears from this
Table. During the 4 years ending with 1803, the books of the Irish Custom-house show that there
were, at an average, 82,828 gallons of geneva entered for home consumption, producing, at the then
duty of 7s. 3rd., 39,9231. a year; whereas, notwithstanding the vast increase of population, the con-
sumption of geneva in Ireland, in 1832, was only 1,402 gallons, and the revenue only 1,577L
To make any lengthened commentary on such statements would be useless. Our policy, if we may
apply this term to so revolting a display of short-sighted rapacity, has had no other effect than to
lessen the public revenue and enjoyments of the people, to injure our trade with Holland, and to
foster and promote the ruinous and destructive practice of smuggling. The exorbitant duties on ge-
neva, brandy, and tobacco, have led to the formation of the coast guard and the preventive water
guard, costing together between 400,000L. and 500,000/. a year; and yet, notwithstanding this enor-
mous outlay, and notwithstanding the innumerable penalties and punishments to which he is exposed,
the trade of the smuggler is not put down, but is, on the contrary, in a peculiarly flourishing condition;
and 80 it will continue, in despite of every thing that can be done for its suppression, till these duties
be adequately reduced.
We believe our gin manufacturers have nothing to apprehend from a reduction of the duties on ge-
neva to 10s. a gallon. The lower classes, who are the great consumers, prefer English gin to every
other stimulant and now that the duties on juniper berries-(see BERRIES)-are reduced, its quality
may be materially improved. But nothing would have so much influence in this respect as the admis-
sion of geneva at a moderate duty. It would also have the beneficial effect of putting an end to the
manufacture of the spurious compounds sold under its name.
The regulations as to the importation, &c. of geneva are similar to those affecting BRANDY; which
see.
An Account of the Number of Gallons (Imperial Measure) of Geneva entered for Home Consumption
in Great Britain and Ireland, the Rates of Duty on the same, and the entire Nett Produce of the
Duty, each Year since 1814.
Quantities retained for Home
Rates of Duty per
Consumption.
Nett Produce of Duty (Customs and Excise.)
Imperial Gallon (Customs
Years.
and Exche).
Great
United
Britain.
Ireland.
Great Britain.
Kingdom.
Ireland.
United Kingdom.
Gt. Britain.
Ireland.
Imp. Gall.
Imp. Gall.
Imp. Gall.
£
S.
d.
£ 8. d.
£
8.
d.
£ s. d.
£ s. d.
1814
149,302
6,072
155,374
168,559 13 3
5,581 18 5
174,141 II 8
1261
17 3}
1815
124,508
4,446
128,954
139,768 13 3
4,029 8 11
143,798 22
1816
103,973
1,305
105,278
116,967 12 11
1,359 15 8
118,327 8 7
1817
105,483
2,174
107,657
118,837 19 10
2,012 16 0
120,850 15 10
1818
113,255
3,032
116,287
127,503 18 11
2,772 3 3
130,275 2 2
1819
102,523
3,124
105,647
114,799 13 7
2,795 2 9
117,594 16 4
1271
1820
105,067
3,383
108,450
114,903 15 2
2,943 17 11
117,847 13 1
1821
89,443
3,324
92,767
100,965 15 9
2,010 2 10
103,905 18 7
1822
88,670
2,917
91,587
99,981 16 2
2,523 14 3
102,505 10 5
1823
82,784
8,164
90,948
93,442 0 0
7,020 14 5
100,462 14 5
1 2 8
1824
19,605
412
90,017
101,089 12 3
472 7 11
101,562 0 2
1825
83,709
1,000
84,709
94,463 2 1
1,145 17 11
95,609 0 0
1826
67,079
2,081
69,160
75,553 5 10
2,337 10 11
77,890 16 9
1 2 6
1 2 6
1827
50,760
1,908
52,668
57,204 11 11
2,147 12 6
59,352 4 5
1828
43,037
2,223
45,260
48,433 9 I
2,500 11 10
50,934 0 11
1829
35,301
1,845
37,146
39,647 17 2
2,075 12 6
41,723 9 8
1830
29,006
1,793
30,799
32,650 0 0
2,018 0 0
34,669 0 0
1831
22,510
1,388
23,898
25,332 0 0
1,562 0 0
26,894 0 0
1832
20,899
1,402
22,301
23,514 0 0
1,577 0 0
25,091 0 0
GENOA, a maritime city of Italy, once the capital of the famous republic of that name,
now of a province of the kingdom of Sardinia. It is situated at the bottom of the extensive
gulf to which it gives its name; the light-house being in lat. 44° 24' 40" N., lon. 8° 52' 56"
E. Population 80,000. Genoa is one of the finest cities of Europe. In general, the
streets are inconveniently narrow; but some of the principal ones are moderately wide, and
consist almost entirely of public buildings, and private palaces erected during the period of
her prosperity. Being built on a rising ground, in the form of an amphitheatre, the appear-
ance of the town from the sea is most magnificent, and justifies the epithet given to her
of " la superba."
Port.-The harbour is simicircular, the diameter being about 1,000 fathoms. It is artificial, being
formed by two gigantic moles having opposite directions. That on the east side, called the old mole
(molo necchio), projects from the centre of the city W. by S. It is about 260 fathoms in length. and has
a battery near its middle. The new mole (molo nuovo), on the opposite side of the port, adjoins the
southern extremity of the suburb of S. Pietro 'Arena, projecting about 210 fathoms from shore in
an E. S. E. direction. The mole beads bear from each other N. E. by E. and S. W. by W., the dis-
tance between them, forming the entrance to the harbour. being about 350 fathoms. The light-house
is without the port, on the west side, near the extremity of a point of land, and contiguous to the bot-
tom of the new mole. It is a lofty square tower; and as it stands on a high rock, and is painted
white, it is visible in clear weather at a great distance. There is also a harbour light at the extremily
of the new mole. There is no difficulty in entering the harbour the ground is clean, and there if
plenty of water, particularly on the side next the new mole; care, however, must be taken, in coming
Digitized by Google
GENOA.
707
from the west, to give the light-house point a good offing. Moderate sized merchantmen commonly
anchor inside the old mole, contiguous to the porto franco, or bonded warehouses, having a hawser
made fast to the mole, and an anchor ahead. Men of war and the largest class of merchantmen may
anchor inside the new mole, but they must not come too near the shore. Ships sometimes anchor
without the harbour in from 10 to 25 fathous, the light-house bearing N. t W., distant 2 or 3 miles.
The S. W. winds occasion a heavy swell but the bottom is clay and holds well. Within the town are
two rather shallow basins designed for gallies and small trading vessels. There is also an arsenal.
Money.-Accounts were formerly kept at Genoa in lire of 20 soldi, each soldo containing 12 denari;
and money was divided into banco and fuori di banco. But since the 1st of January, 1827, the ancient
method of reckoning has ceased, and accounts are now kept in lire Italiane, divided into cents. The
weight and fineness of the new coins are precisely the same as those of France: so that the par of ex-
change = 21.75 lire per pound sterling, if estimated in silver; and 25-20, if estimated in gold. 6 old lire
di banco are equal to 5 new lire very nearly.-(Manuel de Nelkenbrecher.) Sales of merchandise con-
tinue, however, to be, for the most part, made in the old currency. The prices given in a subsequent
part of this article are in it.
The Bank of Genoa, or of St. George, was one of the most ancient and celebrated banks of circulation
and deposit in Europe. Until 1746, when the bank was pillaged by the Austrians, it was customary
to make all bills of exchange drawn upon Genoa payable in banco; but since then they have generally
been made payable in money fuori di banco. In 1800, when the French were besieged in Genoa by the
Austrians, they took the treasure of the bank to pay their troops. The establishment has never re-
covered from this blow some warehouses, and a part of the town's revenue, were assigned to it, but
they yield a very poor dividend. It is no longer used as a place of deposit for money.
Weights and Measures.-The pound is of two sorts the peso sottile = 4,8911 English grains, and the
pcso grosso. The latter is 10 per cent. heavier than the former hence the cantaro of 100 lbs. peso
mottile = 69-89 lbs. avoirdupois; and the cantaro of 100 lbs. peso grosso = 76-875 lbs. avoirdupois. The
latter is used for weighing bulky commodities; the former is used in the weighing of gold and silver,
and of all commodities of small bulk.
Corn is measured by the mina of 8 quarte or 96 gembette 1 mina - 3f Winchester bushels nearly.
Salt is sold by the mondino of 8 mine.
Of liquid measure, 100 pinte - 1 barilla.
2 barilla = 1 mezzarola - 394 English wine gallons. The barilla of oil - 17
English gallons.
Of long measures, the palmo = 9-725 English inches. The canna is of 3 sorts the canna piccola,
used by tradesmen and manufacturers, = 9 palme, or 87.5 English inches the canna grossa, used by
merchants, = 12 palmi = 1167 English inches; and the canna used at the Custom-house = 10 palmi -
97.25 English inches. The braccio - 21 palmi.
Navigation, &c.-In 1831, there entered the different ports of the Bardinian states, 3,704 ships but the
greater number of these must have been small coasting vessels, as their aggregate burden did not ex-
ceed 331,217 tons. If we deduct about a third for Sardinia, by far the largest proportion of the remain-
der must have entered and cleared out at Genoa.-Archires du Commerce, tom. 11. p. 39.)-In 1832,
84 British ships of the burden of 13,478 tons, arrived at Genoa.*-(Pari. Paper, No. 756. Sess. 1833.)
Trade, &e. Genoa is the entrepôt of a large extent of country and her commerce,
though inferior to what it once was, is very considerable, and has latterly been increasing.
She is a free port; that is, a port where goods may be warehoused and exported free of duty.
The exports consist partly of the raw products of the adjacent country, such as olive oil (an
article of great value and importance), rice, fruits, cheese, rage, steel, argol, &c.; partly of
the products of her manufacturing industry, such as silks, damasks, and velvets (for the
production of which she has been long famous), thrown silk, paper, soap, works in marble,
alabaster, coral, &c. the printed cottons of Switzerland, and the other products of that
country and of the western parts of Lombardy, intended for the south of Europe and the
Levant; and partly of the various foreign products brought by sea, and placed in porto
franco. The imports principally consist of cotton and woollen stuffs; cotton wool, mostly
from Egypt; corn from the Black Sea, Sicily, and Barbary sugar, salted fish, spices,
coffee, cochineal, indigo, hides, iron, and naval stores from the Baltic; hardware and tin
plates from England wool, tobacco, lead (principally from Spain), wax, &c. Corn, barilla,
Gallipoli oil, cotton, valonia, sponge, galls, and other products of the countries adjoining the
Black Sea, Sicily, the Levant, &c., may in general be had here, though not in so great
abundance as at Leghorn. The various duties and Custom-house fees formerly charged on
the transit of goods through Genoa and the Sardinian territories have recently been abolished.
This will have a very beneficial influence on the trade of this port, particularly as regards
the importation of raw cotton for Switzerland and Milan, as well as of the different descrip-
tions of colonial produce.
Statement of the Quantities of some of the Principal Articles of Colonial and other Raw Produce
imported into Genoa in 1830, 1831, 1832, with the Stocks on Hand on the 1st of January, 1832 and 1533.
Stock,
Stock,
Stock,
Stock,
Articles imported.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1st Jan.
1st Jan.
Articles imported.
1830.
1831.
1832.
let Jan.
1st Jan.
1.32.
1833.
1932
1833.
Cocoa, all quals.
bags
13,500
8,500
5,200
3,400
1,550
Spices, Pepper, lbs.
2,050,00
900,000
1,500,000
36,000
Coffer, dito
tons
1,996
1,330
2,930
110
680
Piniento
-
132,000
145,000
150,000
96,000
Cotton, ditto
bales
8,370
13,700
10,600
4,150
1,650
Cassia lignea, ca.
790
550
820
40
Cochineal
lbs.
15.200
29,000
75,000
35,000
64,000
ditto mats
1,100
Frah, Codfish.
quint.
36,900
31,900
54,100
750
Sugars, loaves, casks
310
175
85
30
45
St ckfish
I
20.00
15,900
22,000
1,800
crushed
-
2,7:0
2,080
2 850
150
310
Pilchards, hhds.
2,330
3,050
5,200
Havannah, bxs.
8,200
13,500
15,10
2,10
4,500
Herris & bris.
5,100
450
690
Brazil
cases
6,410
6,100
4.00
N80
1,040
Hides, dried and dry
ditto
bags
4 900
6,400
11,300
2,100
2,500
enited
numb.
118,400
68,500
86,400
5,000
3,200
E. India
-
2,600
12.200
24,000
Indigo, Rengal case
570
660
640
390
180
Porto Rico, cake.
4,570
2,400
4,500
490
470
Spanish
serone
545
275
761
1,070
1,120
Tin plates
boxes
4,950
2,800
6,500
650
1,700
Lead
PIP
24,500
23,500
21,400
16,200
17,000
* We are not sure that this is the correct reading, the title to the account being drawn up in so
slovenly a way, that it is not easy to say whether it means that 84 ships arrrived and 84 departed, or
that 42 arrived and 42 departed.
Digitized
by
Google
708
GENTIAN-GIBRALTAR.
Statement of the Principal Articles of Raw Produce exported from Genoa, with their Prices there
on the 1st of January, 1833. in Porto franco (Bond), in Italian Money, Weights, and Measures, and
free on Board in English Money, Weights, and Measures.-(From the Circular of Grants, Balfer,
and Co.)
Genoa Rates
Price in English
Genor Rates
Price is English
in
Money, and
in
Money. and
Exports.
Weights, free on
Exports.
Porto franco.
Porto franco.
Weights, free
board.
board.
the
L.d.
Lid
Almonds, sweet, Sicily, liv.
64 to 0
100
$ 8 10
cwt.
Oil,Genoa, superfine liv.
:04
to
106
bri.
Argol, white
-
46 - 48
150
1158
-
fine
-
86 90
- 16 236
red garbled
-
42
-
44
112 3
-
middling
-
76 - so
-
-
Barilla, Sicilian
-
14
-
0
-
0 10 4
-
Gallipoli, Sicily,
Brimstone, rough
-
71-2 -
8
-
577
ton
and Levant
-
61 - 62
- 29 -
roll
-
13
-
14
-
983
-
Opium
-
15
- 16
Cantharides
-
7
-
7
-2
I
0610
lb.
Paper, Floretta, 14lbs.-
7
-
71-4
p.rm.
0
Cheese, Parmeran
-
150 - 160
150
0 0 11-8
-
Modia, 14 lbs
-
5
-
31-4
0
Cotton, Mako
-
106
- 109
-
0079
-
Almasso, 16 lbs.
-
818 - 91-4 sheets 0 abouts
Cream of tartar
sols
10
-
11
1
19 7
cwt.
Quickstlver
sols
42
- 0
lb. 020M
Emence of bergamot
liv.
81.2-9
-
089
lb.
Rice, Lombardy
liv.
20
-
21
150lb
lemon
-
7 - 0
-
0
-
Safflower, new
sols
36
-
0
orange
-
43-4 - 5
-
0 4 11
-
Saffron
liv.
35
-
36
- 184- -
Galls, Turkey, blue
sols
25 - 96
-
6 13 1
cwt.
Soap, white
-
46
- 49
150lb.
15
CWL
in sorts
-
11
-
12
-
315
-
marbled
-
44
46
113
-
-
Gum Arabic, picked
-
34 - 44
-
1138
-
Shumac, Sicily
-
22 - 0
225lb.
010
-
in sorts
-
16
-
90
-
518
-
Sponges, fine and so-
Hemp, Bologna, dressed,
perfine
4
6
lb.
lb.
-
-
1st
liv.
75
-
76
150
54 7
ton
Steel, Milan, No. 00 -
29
31
150lb.
CWL
2d
-
70
-
71
-
50 10 5
-
No. 0 -
29
31
126
-
-
garden
-
48
-
0
-
34 3 1
-
No. 1&2-
-
27
- 0
-
0 19
-
cordage, 1st
-
38
40
2893
-
Tallow
-
60
52
115
-
-
-
-
2d
-
36
-
37
-
267
-
Valonia
-
10
- 18
0 12 ,
-
-
Piedmont, 1st
-
36
-
87
-
2667
-
Liquorice paste, Calabria
56
-
67
100
2 18 10
cwt.
Grain, wheat, Black
Sicilian
-
44 - 45
-
236
-
Sea, soft
-
20 - 23
mina
quart.
Linesed
-
14
-
0
150
19 2
qr.
ditto, hard
-
23
-
17
Madder roots, Cyprus,
Beans, Alexan-
and Smyrea
sols
71-8 8
1
818
cwt.
dria, new
-
IS
-
0
-
136
-
Tripoli
-
71-8-8
-
212
-
old
-
11 - 0
0 19 10
-
-
Manna in flakes
-
60 - 80
-
038
lb.
Corn, Indian
-
14 - 18
-
6
-
in sorts, Geraci
-
29 - 30
-
01 4
-
Tares.-Those of usage are,-on cotton, fish, tallow, and valonia,
Per cent.
4 per cent. hemp, I per cent.; wood, 116 for 100 lbs. almonds,
Sugar in chests from Rio de Janeiro, losse
taking 318
wax, and galls, 104 for 100 lbs. ginger, 112 for 100 lbs. sugar in
bags, ditto
3-4
arrobas .
loaves, 2 per cent.; raw silk, 1 ounce per lb. Alum, argol, an-
chests from Permambuco
4-6
equal to
chovies, barilla, brandy. flour, iron, lead, saltpetre, figa, hides, pep-
chests from Bahia
6-10
CWL Eng.
per, juniper berries, pumice stone, rage, raisins, rice, cream of tartar,
boxes from Havanmah and Cuba
taking
assences, quicksilver, shumac, steel, and soap, have no tare; for all
muscovado in casks from Cuba and Porto Rico diffe.
other articles sold by weight, 106 lbs. are given for every 100 lbs.
Importations from other quarters where the tares allowed are a
The loss of weight OD importations from the place of growth, partly
a par with those of Gemos, generally reader full weight; Havarman
arising from difference of tare, varies as follows
box sugars from the United States render I to 2 per ccal. more thes
full weight.
GENTIAN (Ger. Enzian; Fr. Gentiane; It. Genziana; Sp. Jenciana ; Rus. Enzian;
Lat. Gentiana), the roots of two alpine plants, Gentiana lutea and Gentiana purpurea,
found growing in Switzerland and Austria, the Apennines, the Pyrenees, and in North
America. Those brought to this country come from Germany. They are in pieces of
various lengths and thickness, twisted, wrinkled on the outside, and covered with a brown-
ish grey cuticle. They have no particular odour; and the taste is intensely bitter, without
being nauseous.-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
GHEE. See BUTTER.
GIBRALTAR, a famous fortress near the southernmost extremity of Spain, and con-
tiguous to the narrowest part of the strait, to which it gives its name, joining the Atlantic
and Mediterranean, in lat. 36° 6' 30" N., lon. 5° 21' 12" W. It is situated on the west
side of a rocky mountain or promontory, the Mons Calpe of the ancients, projecting into
the sea, in a southerly direction, about 3 miles, being from & to 4 of a mile in width. The
southernmost extremity of the rock is called Europa Point. Its northern side, fronting the
isthmus which connects it with Spain, is almost perpendicular, and wholly inaccessible;
the east and south sides are so rugged and precipitous as to render any attack upon them,
even if they were not fortified, next to impossible so that it is only on the west side, front-
ing the bay, where the rock declines to the sea and the town is built, that it can be attacked
with the least chance of success. Here, however, the strength of the fortifications, and the
magnitude of the batteries, are such, that the fortress seems to be impregnable, even though
attacked by an enemy having the command of the sea. It was taken by the English in 1704,
but the fortifications were then very inferior to what they are at present. Towards the end
of the American war, it was attacked by a most formidable armament fitted out jointly by
Spain and France; but the strength of the place, and the bravery of the garrison, defeated
all the efforts of the combined powers. Population about 17,000, exclusive of the troops,
which usually amount, in times of peace, to from 3,000 to 4,000.
The bay of Gibraltar is spacious; and, being protected from all the more dangerous
winds, affords a convenient station for ships. Two moles have been constructed at a vast
expense, for the protection of the shipping. The old mole projects from the north end of
the town, N. W. by N., 1,100 feet into the sea: the new molé is 11 mile more to the
south, extending outwards about 700 feet; it has an elbow formed by the shore, and in
winter large vessels anchor inside; the farthest out in from 5 to 6 fathoms. The plan on
the opposite page gives a better idea of the position of Gibraltar, as well as of the Straits,
than could be derived from any description. It is taken from Captain Smyth's beautiful
chart of the Mediterranean.
Digitized by Google
GIBRALTAR.
709
Trade, Political Importance, &c.- Gibraltar is of considerable consequence as a com-
mercial station. Being a free port, subject to no duties and few restrictions, it is a conve-
nient entrepôt for the English and other foreign goods destined for the supply of the
contiguous Spanish and African provinces. In this respect, however, it has greatly fallen
off. This has been owing to a variety of causes partly, and principally perhaps, to the
insecurity and apprehension occasioned by the fear of pestilential diseases, the place never
having recovered from the effects of the dreadful contagion by which it was visited in 1804
partly to large quantities of those goods being now kept at Malta and Genoa, that were
formerly kept at Gibraltar; and, more recently, to the making of Cadiz a free port. This
measure has, however, been revoked; but, notwithstanding, it is not at all probable that
Gibraltar will ever again be of much importance as a trading station. In 1831, the declared
value of the various articles of British produce and manufacture exported to Gibraltar, was
367,2851.; the official value of the foreign and colonial products exported to it during the
same year being 121,342L The trade with Gibraltar, or any British dependency in the
Mediterranean, may be regulated by an order in council; and any goods imported or
exported contrary to such order shall be forfeited, together with the ship importing or
exporting the same.- (6 Geo. 4. c. 114. § 73.)
15
18
16
93
SPAIN
3 10
:9
15
GIERALTER:
40
Algocires
110
15
1
30
10
WASHINGTON
16
32
15
26
395
B
380
14
97
27
12
26
7
756
as
7
45
50
200
Current security 600 to 700 the
390
109
a.
600
548
415 r.
140
155
400
314 r.
300 clay
90
assued
F
20
to
20
170
Flood to the West
G
6
20
8
4
9
3D
E
45
7
12
5
37
is
AFRICA
10
12
Es
18
EQ
20
40
Nautie Miles
7
0
1
2
3
4
6
6
7
8
References to Plun.-A, - point and light-house of Tariffa, in lat. 36° 0 30" N., lon. 5° 35' 15" W.
The light-house was erected in 1813, and the light revolves. B, Cabrita Point. C, Europa Point, the
extremity of the rock of Gibraltar. D, town and fortress of Ceuta, on the African coast. E, Little
Centa Bay. F. Point Leona. G, Point Cires. The soundings and the diriction of the currents are
marked in the chart. Variation in the Straits, 22° 31'.
VoL. L-3 0
710
GILD-GLASS.
The real value of Gibraltar to Great Britain consists in its importance in a military and
naval point of view; in its being, in fact, the key of the Mediterranean; and in its affording
a convenient and secure station for the outfit, refreshment, repair, and accommodation of
our ships of war and merchantmen. The revenue collected in the town amounts to from
30,000/. to 40,000/., which is about sufficient to defray the public civil expenditure of the
place. The expense annually incurred in Great Britain on account of the garrison, in time
of peace, amounts to about 200,000/. a small sum compared with the important political
and commercial advantages it is the means of securing.
Money.-The effective or hard dollar = 4s. 4d.; the current dollar being estimated at 1 hard dollars
= 2s. 10&d. Reals and quartos of both hard and current dollars are the same,being, the former = 4/d,
and the latter = 1 1-12d.
Accounts are kept in current dollars (pesos), divided into 8 reals of 16 quartos each; 12 reals cur-
rency make a cob or hard dollar, by which goods are bought and sold; and 3 of these reals are consi-
dered equal to 5 Spanish reals vellon.
Gibraltar draws on London in effective dollars of 12 reals, and London on Gibraltar in current dol-
lars of 8 reals.
The exchange of Gibraltar on Cadiz, and other cities of Spain, is in hard dollars at a percentage,
which varies considerably, and mostly in favour of Gibraltar.
Weights and Measures are those of England, excepting the arroba = 25 lbs. English: grain is sold
by the fanega, 5 of which make 1 Winchester quarter; wine is sold by the gallon, 100 of which are
equal to 109.4 English wine gallons.- (See Papers laid before Finance Committee; Edinburgh Gazetteer;
Inglis's Spain in 1830, vol. ii. p. 169. &c.
GILD, or GUILD, a company of merchants or manufacturers, whence the halls of such
companies are denominated Gild or Guild Halls.
GILL, a measure of capacity. See WEIGHTS and MEASURES.
GIN. English geneva, or gin, is made of spirit obtained from oats, barley, or malt,
rectified, or redistilled, with the addition of juniper berries, oil of turpentine, &c. All spirits
manufactured in England, and most of the Scotch and Irish spirits imported into England,
are subjected to the process of rectification. English gin is said to be one of the most
wholesome spirits. (See SPIRITS.)
GINGER (Ger. Ingwer; Du. Gember; Fr. Gingembre; It. Zenzero; Sp. Jenjibre,
Agengibre; Rus. Inbir; Lat. Zingiber; Pers. Zungebeel ; Arab. Zingebeel), the roots of
a plant (Amomum Zengiber), a native of the East Indies and China, but which was early
carried to and succeeds very well in the West Indies. After the roots are dug, the best are
selected, scraped, washed, and dried in the sun with great care. This is called white ginger;
while the inferior roots, which are scalded in boiling water before being dried, are denomi-
nated black ginger. Preserved ginger is made by scalding the green roots, or the roots
taken up when they are young and full of sap, till they are tender: then peeling them in
cold water, and putting them into a thin syrup, from which they are shifted into the jars in
which they come to us, and a rich syrup poured over them. Dried ginger has a pungent
aromatic odour, and a hot, biting taste. It is imported in hags, each containing about a cwt.
The white brings the highest price, being more pungent and better flavoured. The external
characters of goodness in both sorts of dried ginger are, soundness, or the being free from
worm holes, heaviness, and firmness; the pieces that are small, light, and soft, or very friable
and fibrous, should be rejected. The best preserved ginger is nearly translucent; it should
be chosen of a bright yellow colour; rejecting that which is dark-coloured, fibrous, or
(Milburn's Orient. Commerce; Thomson's Dispensatory.)
The consumption of ginger is but trifling, not exceeding 5,000 cwt. a year. This is principally to be
ascribed to the oppressive duties with which it is burdened, they being no less than 21. 13s. a cwt. on
foreign ginger, and 11s. on that brought from a British possession. The revenue derived from it is
about 3,250% a year; a sum which might be doubled by reducing the duties on all descriptions of gin-
ger to 7s. a cwt. Of 5,315 cwt. of ginger imported in 1831, 3,551 came from the British West Indies,
849 from the East India Company's possessions and Ceylon, 807 from the Netherlands, and 106 from
Western Africa.
GINSENG (Du. Ginseng, Ginsem; Fr. Ginseng; Ger. Kraftwerzel, Ginseng: It.
Ginseng; Sp. Jinseng; Chin. Yansam; Tart. Orhota), the root of a small plant (Panax
quinquefolium Lin.), growing in China, Tartary, and several parts of North America.
The latter is what we generally see in England, and is an article of trade to China, which
is its only market. Large quantities were formerly exported from this country; but it is
now carried direct to China by the Americans. It is sometimes exported crude, and some-
times cured or clarified. Within these few years, it has been discovered in the Himalaya
mountains. and small quantities have been thence sent to Canton; but the speculation has
not succeeded. It is only about 30 yea S since it began to be sent from America to China.
Previously to the present century, the Chinese drew their supplies from the wilds of Tar-
tary, and the root brought an exorbitant price. Crude ginseng now sells in the Canton
market at from 60 to 70 dollars per picul, and prepared at from 70 to 80 dollars. In 1832,
there were sent from the United States to China, 407,067 lbs. of ginseng, valued at 99,303
dollars. - (Private information.)
[The quantity of ginseng exported from the United States to China, in 1837, amounted to
212.899 pounds, valued at $108,548.-Am. Ed.]
GLASS (Ger. and Du. Glis; Fr. Vitre, Verre; It. Vetro; Sp. Vidrio: Rus. Steklo;
Lat. Vitrum), a transparent, brittle, factitious body. It is formed by mixing together some
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sort of siliceous earth, as fine sand, or pounded flint, with an alkali, such as soda, potash
or pearlash, and subjecting them to a strong heat. By this means they are melted into a
transparent, soft, tenacious mass, that may, when hot, be formed into thin plates, bent and
shaped in every possible way. When cool, it becomes brittle, and is denominated glass.
Litharge, minium, borax, the black oxide of manganese, &c. are sometimes used in the
manufacture of glass, according to the purposes to which it is to be applied.
The kinds of glass, and their ingredients, are stated by Dr. Ure as follows -
"There are 5 distinct kinds of glass at present manufactured - About 70 parts of good plate glass may be run off from these mate-
1. Flint glass, or glass of lead 2. Plate gives, or glass of pure soda:
rials.
3. Crown glass, the brst window glass; 4. Broad glass, a coarse
"3. Crown, or fine Window Glass-This is made of sand vitrified
window glass; 5. Bottle or coarse green glass.
by the impure barilla manufactured by incineration of sea weed on
"1. Flint Glass, so named because of the siliceous ingredient was
the Scotch and Irish shores. The most approved composition is-
originally employed in the form of ground flints. It is now made of
By Measure.
By Weight.
the following composition
Fine sand purified
5
200
Purified Linn sand
10 parts.
Best kelp ground
11
330
Litharge, or red lead
60 -
"4. Broad Glass.-This is made of a mixture of scap-boilers'
Purified pearlash
30
waste, kelp, and sand. The first ingredient consists of lime used for
To correct the green colour derived from combustible matter, or
rendering the alkali of the soap boiler caustic, the insoluble matter
exide of iron, a little black oxide of manganese is added, and some-
of his kelp or barilla, and a quantity of salt and water, all in a pasty
times nitre and arenic. The fusion is accomplished usually in about
state. The proportions necessarily vary. 2 of the was e, 1 of kelp,
30 hours.
and 1 of sand, form a pretty good broad glass. They are mixed
"2 Plate Glass.-Good carbonate of anda, procured by decom.
together, dried, and fritted.
posing common salt with pearlash, is employed as the flux. The
"5. Bottle Glass is the coarsest kind. It is made of scappers'
proportion of the materials -
waste and river sand, in proportions which practice must determine
Pure sand
43-0
according to the quantity of the waste somo soap-boilers extracting
Dry subcarbonate of soda
25-5
more saline matter, and others less, from their kelps. Common
Pure quicklime
4-0
and and lime, with a little common clay and sea salt, form a cheap
Nitre
16
mixture for bottle glass."
Broken plate glass
25-0-100-0.
1. Historical Notices with respect to Glass.-The manufacture of glass is one of the very
highest beauty and utility. It is most probable that we are indebted for this wonderful art,
as we are for the gift of letters, to the Phoenicians. According to Pliny (Hist. Nat. lib.
xxxvi. c. 26.,) glass had been made for many ages, of sand found near the mouth of the
small river Belus in Phoenicia. "The report," says he, "is, that the crew of a merchant
ship laden with nitre (fossil alkali) having used some pieces of it to support the kettles placed
on the fires they had made on the sand. were surprised to see pieces formed of a translucent
substance, or glass. This was a sufficient hint for the manufacture. Ingenuity (astuta et
ingeniosa solertia) was immediately at work, to improve the process thus happily suggested.
Hence the magnetical stone came to be added, from an idea that it contained not only iron,
but glass. They also used clear pebbles, shells, and fossil sand. Indian glass is said to be
formed of native crystal, and is on that account superior to every other.* Phoenician glass
is prepared with light dry wood, to which copper and nitre are added, the last being princi-
pally brought from Ophir. It is occasionally tinged with different colours. Sometimes it is
brought to the desired shape by being blown, sometimes by being ground on a lathe, and
sometimes it is embossed like silver." Sidon, he adds, is famous for this manufacture. It
was there that mirrors were first invented. In Pliny's time, glass was made in Italy, of fine
sand on the shore between Cume and the Lucrine bay.
Glass was manufactured at Rome into various articles of convenience and ornament.
Pliny mentions that Nero gave 6,000 sesterces (50,000/. according to the ordinary method
of reckoning) for two glass cups, each having two handles! These, however, must have
been of an immense size and of exquisite workmanship; for glass was then in common use
for drinking vessels, and was used even in the form of bottles in which to keep wine.-(Mart.
Epig. lib. ii. 22. 40., and lib. iv. 86.)
There is no authentic evidence of glass being used in windows previously to the third or
fourth century; and then, and for long after, it was used only in churches and other public
buildings. In this country, even so late as the latter part of the sixteenth century, glass was
very rarely met with. In a survey of Alnwick Castle, made in 1573, it is stated- And,
because throwe extreme winds, the glasse of the windowes of this and other my lord's castles
and houses here in the country dooth decay and waste, yt were good the whole leights of
everie windowe, at the departure of his lordshippe from lyinge at any of his said castels, and
houses, and dowring the tyme of his lordship's absence, or others lyinge in them, were taken
doune and lade up in safety: And at sooche time as ather his lordshippe or anie other sholde
lye at anie of the said places, the same might then be set uppe of newe, with smale charges,
whereas now the decaye thereof shall be verie costlie and chargeable to be repayred."-(North.
Housh. Book, xvii.) Sir F. M. Eden thinks it probable that glass windows were not intro-
duced into farmhouses in England much before the reign of James I. They are mentioned.
in a lease in 1615, in a parish in Suffolk. In Scotland, however, as late as 1661, the win-
dows of ordinary country houses were not glazed, and only the upper parts of even those in
the king's palaces had glass; the lower ones having two wooden shutters, to open at pleasure,
and admit the fresh air. From a passage in Harrison's Description of England, it may be
inferred that glass was introduced into country houses in the reign of Henry VIII. He says,-
If this be a correct description of the glass of India in the age of Pliny, it has since fallen off
very much Indian glass being now about the very worst that is made. At present, the Hindoos
manufacture it of fragments of broken glass, quartz sand, and impure soda,-an article found native
in many parts of India, particularly in the south. The furnaces are so bad that they cannot melt our
common bottle glass.-(Hamilton's Mysore. vol. iii. p. 370.) The glass of China is much better than
that of India, though still very inferior to that of Europe.
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GLASS.
" Of old time," (meaning, probably, the beginning of the century,) "our countrie houses
stead of glasse did use much lattise, and that made either of wicker or fine rifts of oke in
checkerwise. I read also that some of the better sort, in and before the time of the Saxons,
did make panels of horne instead of glasse, and fix them in wooden calmes (casements); but
as horne in windowes is now (1584) quite laid downe in everie place, so our lattises are also
growne into disuse, because glasse is come to be 10 plentiful, and within verie little 80 good,
cheape, if not better than the other." Glass is now introduced into the windows of almost
every cottage of Great Britain and in this cold, damp climate, it ought rather to be considered
as a necessary of life, than as the most elegant and useful of conveniences. What Dr.
Johnson has said as to glass deserves to be quoted.- By some fortuitous liquefaction was
mankind taught to produce a body at once in a high degree solid and transparent, which
might admit the light of the sun, and exclude the violence of the wind; which might extend
the sight of the philosopher to new ranges of existence, and charm him at one time with the
unbounded extent of the material creation, and at another with the endless subordination of
animal life; and, what is yet of more importance, might supply the decays of nature, and
succour old age with subsidiary sight. Thus was the first artificer in glass employed, though
without own knowledge or expectation. He was facilitating and prolonging the enjoy-
ment of light, enlarging the avenues of science, and conferring the highest and most lasting
pleasures; he was enabling the student to contemplate nature, and the beauty to behold
herself."-(Rambler, No. 9.)
Venice, for a long time, excelled all Europe in the manufacture of glass, but was subse-
quently rivalled by France. The manufacture was early introduced into England; but it was
not carried on to any extent previously to the 16th century. The first plates for looking-
glasses and coach windows were made in 1673, at Lambeth, by Venetian artists under the
protection of the Duke of Buckingham. The British Plate Company was incorporated in
1773, when it erected its extensive works at Ravenhead, near St. Helen's, in Lancashire.
The manufacture was at first conducted by workmen from France, whence we had previously
brought all our plate glass. But that which is now made at Ravenhead, at Liverpool, and
London, is equal or superior to any imported from the Continent.
It is difficult to form any precise estimate of the value of the glass annually produced in
Great Britain. We believe, however, that it cannot amount to less than 2,000,000/; and
that the workmen employed in the different departments of the manufacture exceed 50,000.
2. Duties on Glass.-The glass manufacture is subjected to the excise and it is difficult to say
whether the regulations under which the duty is charged, or the du ty itself, be most oppressive. The
wealth and population of the country have more than doubled since 1790; and we are well convinced
that, had the glass manufacture not been interfered with, it would have increased in a still greater
ratio. But instead of advancing, it has positively declined and is actually less at this moment than
it was 40 years ago! So extraordinary a result is wholly to be ascribed to the exorbitant excess to
which the duties have been carried. Instead, however, of submitting any remarks of our own in
vindication of this view of the subject, we shall take the liberty of laying before the reader the fal-
lowing extract from the speech delivered by Mr. Poulett Thompson, in the House of Commons, 20th
of March, 1830,-a speech which combines, in a degree rarely exhibited, a familiar knowledge of prac-
tical details and of sound scientific principles. That the administration of which the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman is a distinguished member, has not yet proposed the repeal of this oppressive tax. is not, we
are sure, owing to his colleagues differing in opinion with him as to its impolicy, but is wholly to be
ascribed to other causes-to the res dura et regni novitas-the difficulty of finding a substitute, and the
urgency of the claims for relief advanced by others.
The gross duty on glass for the year 1828 amounted, in Great Britain (exclusive of Ireland). to
950,103L., and the nett duty to 586,7701.; the difference being either returned, or sacrificed in the col-
lection. And here I would entreat the House to remark, that for the sake of such a sum as 500,000L,
a charge of collection on nearly 1,000,000L. is incurred. The duty is 6d. per pound on flint, but equal
to 7d. from the mode of its collection; in other words, upwards of 100 per cent.; the glass. when
made, selling for 1s. to 1s. 2d. This duty, too, is very much reduced from what it was; and here the
House will observe an admirable illustration of the effect of heavy duties on consumption, and com-
sequently on revenue. In 1794, the last year on which the duty was 11. 1s. 5d. per cwt. for plate and
flint, and other kinds in proportion, the quantities paying duty were as follow :-
Flint and Plate.
Broad.
Crown.
Bottle.
Cwt. 67,615
-
20,607
-
83,940
-
-
-
297,476
The duties were successively raised to 9a. and at last, by Mr. Vansittart, in pursuit of his favourke
theory, in 1813, to 41. 18s. ! and let us see the result. In 1816, the consumption had declined to
Plate.
Broad.
Crown.
Bottle.
Cwt. 29,600
6,140
55,502
155,595
In 1825, government saw a part of their error, and reduced the duty by one half, still leaving h too
high; but mark the effect. In 1828, the last year for which I have the returns, the consumption
rose to
Plate.
Broad.
Crown
Bottle.
Cwt. 68,134
6,956
90,603
224,864
Still, however, only about the same as in 1794. It appears, therefore, that notwithstanding the in-
crease of population and general luxury. the consumption has been kept down by your improvident
system, and is actually now less than it was 85 years ago. But here, again, the duty is far from being
the greatest evil. Let any one turn to the act: he will find 32 clauses of regulations, penalties, and
prohibitions: all vexations to the manufacturer, and all to be paid for by the public. 1 have said that
the duty on flint glass is 6d. per pound the glass, when made, selling for 18. But the excise officer
has the power of imposing the duty, either when the glass is in the pot, 3d. per pound, or after it has
been turned out, at 6d. the glass when turned out, gaining 100 per cent. It is found more advas-
tageous to the revenue to exact the duty on glass in the pot, at 3d.; and in this way the dnty is raised
'to 7d. Nor is this all. The manufacturer is driven by this method into the necessity of producing
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frequently an article which he does not want. He makes the fine glass from the middle; the coarser
from the top and bottom of the pot. He frequently wants only fine glass, and he would re-melt the
flux of the coarser parts if he had not paid duty upon it; but of course he is unable to do so. All
the glass manufacturers whom I have consulted, agree that the whole cost of the excise to the con-
sumer, besides the duty, which is 100 per cent. is 25 per cent.; and besides there is great inconve-
nience and oppression from the frauds that are daily taking place. And observe the effect which is
produced upon your trade, both at home and abroad.
A manufacturer who has lately travelled through France, the Netherlands, and Germany, has
assured me that our manufacturers could advantageously cope with foreigners, were it not for the
duties imposed by the government. Labour is as cheap in this country, our ingenuity is greater, and
the materials are also as cheap; it is, then, the vexatious onerous duty alone that gives the foreign
manufacturer the advantage over the English. But the effect of the duty goes further it operates
to prevent all improvement in the article; because, to improve, experiments must be made but a
man with a duty of 125 per cent. over his head, is not very likely to make many experiments. This
argument applies especially with respect to colours. A manufacturer has assured me that he has never
been able to produce a beautiful red, because the duties have prevented his trying the necessary ex-
periments, without his incurring a great risk or loss. Thus a miserable duty, amounting to only
500,000Z., and upon which a charge of 10 per cent. is made for collecting, is allowed to impede our
native industry, and to put a stop to all improvement, and be a source of endless oppression and
fraud. I really cannot believe that the legislature will resist such an appeal as the manufacturers
of this article could make to them, or refuse to relieve them from the gratuitous injury which is in-
flicted on them."
The following accounts show, better than any reasoning, the injurious influence of the existing
duties.-Instead of increasing, as it certainly would have done, had it not been crushed by exorbitant
duties, the glass manufacture has gone on progressively declining from the period when Mr. Thompson
made the excellent speech now quoted, down to the present day. The falling off in the bottle glass
department is particularly striking. The duties being so very high, the necessity of giving drawbacks
on the glass exported opens a wide door to every species of fraud. If the duty must be kept up, it
ought, at all events, to be reduced a half, and simplified as much as possible. This would materially
relieve the manufacture and would not, we feel confident, occasion the smallest loss of revenue. It
is monstrous, indeed, to see destructive duties tenaciously defended on the stale and stupid pretence
of their being necessary to the preservation of the revenue, when, in point of fact, there is not a
single instance in which they have been reduced, that the revenue has not increased.
1. Account of the Number of Glass-houses respectively employed in the Manufacture of Broad,
Crown. Flint, Plate, and Common Bottle Glass, in each Year, from 1829 to 1832 inclusive, in the
United Kingdom.
Common Bottle
Years.
Broad Glass.
Crown.
Flint.
Plate.
Glass.
1829
2
28
54
3
42
1830
2
25
54
2
39
1831
2
24
55
2
36
1832
2
28
59
2
39
II. Account of the Quantities of Flint, Plate, Broad, Crown, and Bottle Glass, charged with the
Duty in each Year, from 1829 to 1832, respectively, with the Rates of Excise Duty and Revenue
accruing thereon.
Rate
Rate
Rate
Rate
Rate
Years.
Flint
of
Plate.
of
Broad.
of
Crown.
of
Bottle
of
Glass.
Duty.
Glass.
Gross Duty.
Drawback.
Revenue.
Duty.
Duty
Duty.
Duty.
Cut.
#.
Crot.
8.
Cwt.
3.
Cur.
8.
d.
Card.
8.
L
s.
d.
L
3.
d.
L.
8.
d.
1829 79,210
56
14,484
60
6,864
30
114,862
73
6
382,894
7
831,809 18 10
224,794 17 2
607,015 1 8
1830 72,912
13,301
4,845
96,565
340,793
725,597 1 3
182,678 4 8
542,918 16 7
1831 75,619
15,067
5,915
100,066
293,868
736,512 0
204,152 2 0
532,359 18 1
1832,75,771
12,270
5,304
103,902
1316,365
1748,097 3 11
189,565
7
8
558,531 16 3
III. Account of the Quantities of British-made Glass retained for Home Consumption, with the
Imports of Foreign Glass entered for Home Consumption; the Amount of Customs Duty on the
latter, and the Nett Revenue arising from British Glass, in each Year, from 1829 to 1832, both in-
clusive.
British.
Foreign.
Revenue on
Years.
Flint.
Plate.
Broad.
Crown.
Bottle.
Plate.
Crown.
Bottle.
F. reign
Nett Revenue on
Glass
British Glass.
Cut.
Cut.
Cut.
Cut.
Cut.
Sq. Fret.
Cut.
Quarts.
L.
L.
8.
d.
1829
49,004
14,299
6,864
97,134
209,862
1,763
152
764,778
16,708
610,307 1 8
1830
48,063
13,057
4,845
84,178
165,549
1,436
104
743,768
16,411
526,507 16 7
1831
48,887
14,796
5,915
83,527
143,989
863
104
693,454
15,841
516,518 18 1
1832
49,552
11,990
5,304
90,253
151,705
717
25
645,526
14,532
543,999 16 3
(Compiled from the Parl. Papers, Nos. 364. and 747. Sess. 1833.)
3. Regulations as to the Manufacture of Glass-The excise re-
and mark the pots as they think fit; any attempt to obstruct the officers
gulations with respe t to glass are numerous, complex. and enforced
so employed incurs a penalty of 2001. the counterfeiting. altering, or
under heavy penalties. We cin notice only a few of the leading re-
effacing any marks made by the officers is visited with a penalty of
gulatio a. All glass makers must take out a licence, renewable RD-
500. a penalty of 200L. being also imposed upon any one procuring
nually. which costs 20L. for each glass-house; and they must make
or conniving at its be ing done. Officers are entitled to take samples,
entry at the nex' excise office of ail workhouses, furnaces, pots, pnt-
not exceeding 4 ounces in all. out of each pot: paying for them. if
chambers, annealing a ches, warehouses, &c. under a penalty of 2001.
demanded, 1-2d. so ounce. The whole of the metal intended to be
No pot is to be charged without EIVINE twelve hours' pres ious notice,
nanufactured into common glass bottles is to be worked within 16
in writing, of the time of beginning. the neight of metal, and species
hours next after the same shall be begun: and when the bottles are
of glave, DU pain of -0/. If, after notice given and a gauge taken by
deposited in the annea ing arches. manufacturers are again, in the
the officer. any material or preparation be put into any pot. a penalty
presence of the officer, 10 charge each pot with fresh materials, other
of 50Γ. is incurred; but if the manufacture be of dint glass, the pe-
than broken glass, not less than 50 lbs. weight and declarations are
nalty is 2001. Manufacturers of flint glass are allowed 3 hours for
to be delivered, in writing, of the number of such bottles, on penalty
beginning to charge their pots after the time specified in their notices.
of 1001.
Entries of the quantities made are to be made in writing, upon oath,
Manufacturers of glass bottles are to affix proper hooks or staples,
and the duties paid monthly in London, and every 6 weeks in the
with scales and weights, to be approved of, in writing, by the sur-
country. Duty upon materials lost or spoiled is allowed for. upon
veyor or supervisor. under a penalty of 50L the USIDE any false or
due proof being ma le of the fact. Officers at all times, by day and
insufficient scales or weights in the weighing of bottles, incurs &
night, are to have access to workhouses, &c., to gauge the materials,
penalty of 100/.
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Notices are not to be given for drawing out bottles, but only be-
or any other heavy substance, other than flint ghm, or phial the
tween 8 o'clock in the morning and 6 in the afternoon.
broad glass, or crown glass, in any ca.k, box, or chest crating
No crown glass, or German sheet glass, or broad or spread window
flint glass, &c. packing or packed for exportation 00 drawteck. to
glass, shall be made of greater thickness, excluding the centre or
person so offending shall for each such offence forfeit 200L, al a
bullion and the selvage or rim thereof, than one ninth part of an
such glass, brick, stone, or other heavy substance contained there
inch, unless notice shall have been given that it was intended to
shall be forfeited. Gen. 3. c. 77. sect. 7.)
manufacture the metal into plate glass, and the duty on plate glass be
Any person altering or defacing any marks on any cask, box, b.
paid thereon -(See the Statutes in Burn's Justice, Marriott's ed. vol.
containing glass for exportation, expressing the weight and and
ii. pp. 186-228.)
such cask, &c., or the weight of the glass therein, or the tax If
For an account of the duties on foreign glass imported into Great
place of packing, or the number of the cask, & shall for as
Britain, and the drawback, &c. allowed upon the exportation of Bri-
offence forfeit 2001., with the glass-Sect. 8.
tish-mide glass, see Tariff.
The officers of excise are to brand or mark every cast, box, ke
4. Exportation of Glass.-It is enacted by stat. 6 Geo. 4. c. 117.,
of glass for exportation with the letters E. G. and if any cask, &
that no flint glass shall be entitled to the drawback on exportation,
of glass so brauded be not put on board within 12 hours after the
if it be not of the specific gravity of 3,000, that of water being
branding thereof, or if any cask, &c. 80 branded be found on had
1,000; and if it be not worth at least 11d. a pound for home con-
after 12 months from the time when such glass was packed for ex-
sumption at the time when it is entered for exportation. All flint
portation, the same shall be forfeited. Any person obliterating, to
glass entered for exportation, of less specific gravity than 3,000, or of
facing, altering, &c. the aforesaid letters, to forfeit 200L-Sect. 9.
less value than 11d. per pound, is forfeited, and may be seized by
By 56 Geo. 3. C. 108. it is enacted, that no drawtack shall be paid
any officer of excise.-Sects. 24, 25.
for exportation of any ground or polished plate glass made in Great
The exporter of glass is to make oath that he believes it to be en-
Britain, unless such glass be exported in rectangular plates of the
tirely of British manufacture, and that the duties imposed upon it by
size of 6 inches in length by 4 inches in breadth at the least, and
law have been paid. Persons wilfully taking a false oath in this
unless each plate of such glass be free from stains and blivers, and
matter are liable to the pains and penalties of perjury.-(55 Geo. 3.
be perfect and fit for immediate use, as and for ground and polished
c. 13. sect. 3.)
plate glass ; and if any person shall pack or ship for exportation to
Security by bond is to be given (usually for a larger sum and a
drawback, any plate of plate glass as ground and polished plate glass
greater quantity of goods than are intended to be exported), that
made in Great Britain, which is not plate glass, or has not been
glass, on the exportation of which a drawback is allowed. shall be
ground and polished, or which shall be foreign glass, or of less &
shipped within I month after the date of such security but if the
mension or thickness throughout than aforesaid, or shall be stained,
commissioners be satisfied that the shipment of the glass within the
or blistered, or imperfect, or not immediately fit for use 25 ground
specified time has been prevented by some unavoidable accident,
and polished plate glass, or any other sort of glass with any ground
they may grant further time, not exceeding 3 months, for the ship-
'and polished plate glass, the same, and all the glass therewith, shall
ment thereof.-Sect. 7.
be forfeited, and the person so offending shall forfeit for each such
No drawback is to be allowed upon the exportation of used, old,
package 100/.
or second hand glass-Sect. 9.
Any person packing for exportation on drawback any unground
By stat. 54 Geo. 3. C. 97. sect. 6. it is enacted, that no drawback
or unpolished plate glass of less or greater dimensions in thickens
shall be allowed for any regular panes, squares, or rectangular figures
and size than as last aforesaid, or any foul, imperfect, or -
of spread glass or other window glass, any part of which shall con-
chantable unground or unpolished plate glass, in any package, with
sist of or include the bullion or thick centre part of the table from
or amongst any other kind of glass, the same, and all the glass there-
which such panes, squares, or rectangular figures shall have been
with, shall be forfeited, and the person so offending shall forfeit for
cut or taken, or any part of the said bullion, unless no side of any
each such package Geo. 3. c. 108. sect. 4)
such pases, &c. shall measure less than 8 inches nor shall any
By 17 Geo. 3. c. 39. it is enacted, that if glass shipped for draw.
drawback be allowed for any lozenges, any part whereof shall con-
back be fraudulently unshipped or relanded, every person in any
sist of or include the bullion or thick centre part of the table from
wise concerned or assisting in the same shall, over and above all
which such lozenges shall have been taken, or any part of the bul-
other penalties, forfeit for every such offence 100/. and every per-
lion, unless no side of any such lozenge shall measure less than 8
son knowingly entering any broken or waste glass for exportation
inches; nor unless the distance between the two obtuse angles of
upon a drawback shall, exclusive of all other pains and penalties,
each such lozenge shall measure 8 inches at the least nor shall any
forfeit 100L-Sect. 37.
drawback be allowed for any lozenges not containing the bullion or
By 6 Gen. 4.c. 117. it is enacted, that every person shipping or in
thick centre part of the table from which such lozenges shall have
tending to ship, or being about to ship, in Ireland, any plate class,
been cut or taken, or any part of the bullion, unless the distance be
broad glass, or crown glass, for exportation on drawback. or for the
tween the two obtuse angles of every such lozenge shall measure
removal thereof to Great Britain, shall give 24 hours' notice of such
3 1-2 inches at least and all window glass, any part whereof shall
intention, and of the place of shipping, to the nearest collector of
include or consist of the bullion or thick centre part of the table
officer of excise and such collector and officer are required them
from which the same shall have been cut or taken, and which shall
upon to attend, and to cause all such glass to be weighed and -
be of any other shape or of less dimensions than as aforesaid. shall
sured and in case such glass has not been charged with the -
be deemed to be waste glass; and if any person shall knowingly
spective duties under the provisions of this act, and is about tale
enter or ship for exportation, in order to obtain any drawback, any
removed to Great Britain, it shall be lawful for such collector or
panes, squares, or rectangular figures or lozenges of spread window
officer, and he is required to charge all such glass with duty at the
glass, commonly known by the name of broad glass. or other win-
respective rates of duty made payable by this act on such sort or
dow glass, not being spread glass as aforesaid, containing or includ-
kind of glass respectively; and upon payment of such duty, it stall
ing the bullion or thick part of the table from which such panes,
be lawful for such collector or officer to grant a certificate of the
squares, rectangular figures, or lozenges of spread glass or other win-
payment of such duty, to accompany such glass upon such removal,
dow glass respectively, which shall not be of the dimensions in that
and to be produced at the port of entry in Great Britain; and in
behalf aforesaid, such person shall, for every package containing
case any such glass which shall have been duly charged with the
any such glass so entered or shipped contrary to this act, forfeit 1002.
respective duties payable by this act shall be entered for exportation
By 52 Geo. 3. c. 77. sect. 6. it is enacted, that no glass whatsoever
to foreign parts upon drawback. or be sent and removed to Great
made in Great Britain. or made in Ireland, and imported into Great
Britain, it shall be lawful for such collector or officer, upon proof
Britain, shall be packed for exportation on drawback, in any
that such duties have been paid, or have been charged and duly -
package made with any void space in or between the component
cured to be paid, to grant a certificate of the payment of such date,
parts thereof, but all such glass shall be packed for exportation in
or a certificate that such duty has been charged and is July secured
casks, boxes, or chests only, and in which the exporter shall, pre-
to be paid, to accompany such glass upon such exportation to foreign
vious to the backing of such glass therein, have cut or sunk a suffi-
parts or such removal to Great Britain, and to be there produced as
cient number of circular cavities, each thereof not less than 1-4 of
aforesaid; and if at any time any person shall export or are
an inch, por more than I 1-2 inch in diameter, to receive the seal di-
exportation from Ireland, upon drawback, or shall remove or send
rected to be put on such package, and for the purpose of protecting
from Ireland to be brought to Great Britain, or shall bring into Grat
such seal from being destroyed. defaced, broken. or damaged and
Britain, any plate glass, broad glass, or crown glass, unrecompanied
where any such glass shall be packed for exportation in any cask.
by such rtificate, containing such particulars as aforessid; or my
box, or chest, each such cavity shall be cut and sunk, one part thereof
person shall refuse to produce such certificate at the port of entry in
on the edge of the lid or cover, and the other on the side of such
Great Britain, or shall forge or counterfeit any certificate required in
box or chest, on that each such seal may be conveniently placed by
this act, or shall make use of or deliver any false or untrue certificate
the proper officer of excise, part on the wood of such lid or cover,
as and for a certificate required by this act all such glass respect-
and the residue on the wood of the side of each such box or chest
ively shall be forfeited, and may be seized by any officer of are
and no drawback shall be paid for any glass not packed in a cask,
and the person so offending shall forfeit 500/. provided always, that
box. or chest as aforesaid, nor for any glass picked in any box or
if any plate glass, broad glass, crown glass, which shall have been
chest not having a sufficient number of such cavities : provided that
previously sent to Ireland from Great Britain, on drawback, shall at
nothing herein shall prohibit the packing of whole or half tables of
any time afterwards be sent or removed to Great Britain, the rate of
spread glass, or of crown glass, or any common bottles made of com-
duty to be charge! thereon as aforesaid shall be equal and according
mon bottle metal, in any crate or other package whatsoever.
to the ra'e of drawback now payable thereon respectively when &
Fraudulent Packing.-If any person shall place any brick, stone,
ported to foreign parts.-Sect. 7.
(We endeavoured to show under this head, in the Dictionary, that the duties on glass
had been practically most injurious; that they were carried to an oppressive height; that
the mode in which they were imposed operated to prevent improvements in the manufacture;
that they were not fairly charged; that they occasioned a great deal of fraud and had re-
duced the consumption of glass far below the limit to which it would otherwise have attain-
ed. These conclusions have been corroborated to the fullest extent by the statements and
reasonings in the elaborate and able Report of the Commissioners of Excise inquiry on Glass,
These gentlemen, after examining minutely and carefully into the whole subject, conclude
their report by urging the expediency of the repeal of the duty at the earliest possible pe-
riod, and by expressing our conviction that no tax can combine more objections, or be more
at variance with all sound principles of tuxation, than this duty on glass."
But though all parts of this tax be vicious in principle, and highly objectionable in their practical
results,1 are not all alike bad. The commissioners showed that the duty on flint glass was the
most objectionable of any: and they distinctly stated, that, " unless some material change shall take
place (in the amount and mode of charging the duty), the revenue from the manufacturer of flint glass
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GLOVES.
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must, in a great degree, be sacrificed, and the persons who carry on that manufacture, under the
regulations and subject to the duties prescribed by law, must either be driven out of the trade, or left
to carry it on at a ruinous loss. (13th Report, p. 56.)
Such a representation, coming from such a quarter, could not be disregarded; and we are glad to
have to state that the duty on flint glass has been abolished, and that in lieu thereof a duty of 6g. 8d.
is to be charged on every 100 lbs. weight of the fluxed material or metal from which such glass is made.
Instead of the late drawback, there is to be in future a drawback of 18s. 9d. on every 100 lbs. of flint
glass exported. There are also some new regulations as to the drawback on German sheet glass, &c.
(See Act 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 77.)
This alteration will, no doubt, be a material relief to the manufacturers of flint glass. Still, how-
ever, it is not such as the trade and the public had a right to expect. The total gross produce of the
glass duties in 1837, was, in England, 837,2781. in Scotland, 56,2001. and in Ireland, 10,3794.; making
together, 903,8571. But from this has to be deducted, for drawbacks and other allowances, 293,7371.,
so that there only remains 610,1204 of nett revenue; and even this has to be still farther reduced by
deducting from it the expenses of collection, which are very heavy. Now, surely, it cannot be said,
that, for the sake of a paltry sum of less than 600,000/. a year. we must depress, and all but ruin, an
important manufacture, capable of an indefinite extension, by burdening it with an unequal, vexatious,
and most oppressive duty! Had the duties on glass produced 1,500,000L. or 2,000,0001. a year, their
retention might have been excused from the impossibility of sacrificing, and the difficulty of replacing,
80 large an amount of revenue. But the sum which they yield might be easily dispensed with, and as
they have been pronounced by the highest authorities to be, in all respects, most objectionable-to
have every quality that a tax should not have, and not one that it should have-we do hope that they
may be among the first to be repealed.-Sup.)
[The glass consumed in the United States is for the most part of domestic production.
This was valued, in 1831, at $3,000,000; but its value is now, doubtless, much greater. The
most noted manufactories of it are at Boston and Pittsburg.-Am. Ed.]
GLOVES (Ger. Handschuhe; Fr. Gants; It. Guanti; Sp. Guantes; Rus. Rukawizii,
Pertschatki. Golizii), well known articles of dress used for covering the hands, usually made
of leather, but frequently also of cotton, wool, silk, &c. The leather used in the manufacture
of gloves is not, properly speaking, tanned, but prepared by a peculiar process that renders it
soft and pliable. Some sorts of leather gloves admit of being washed, and others not.
Woodstock and Worcester, but particularly the former, are celebrated for the manufacture
of leather gloves of a superior quality in which a great number of women and girls, as well
as men, are employed. The produce of the Worcester manufacture has been estimated at
about 42,000 dozen pairs of oil leather, or beaver gloves; and 470,000 dozen pairs of kid and
lamb-skin gloves; the value of the whole, when finished, being about 375,000/. Besides
Worcester and Woodstock, London, Yeovil, Ludlow, and Leominster are the principal seats
of the leather glove manufacture. Gloves are sometimes sewed by machinery but this is
done only to improve the work by rendering the stitches more correctly equidistant, as it is
not cheaper than manual labour. Limerick used to be famous for the manufacture of a sort
of ladies' gloves, called chicken gloves. Large quantities of cotton gloves are made at Not-
tingham and Leicester.
Influence of Repeal of Prohibition of Importation.-The importation of leather gloves and mitts was
formerly probibited, under the severest penalties. This prohibition had the effect, by preventing all
competition and emulation with the foreigner, to check improvement, and to render British gloves at
once inferior in quality and high in price. This system was, however, permitted to continue till 1825,
when the prohibition was repealed, and gloves allowed to he imported on payment of duties, which,
though high, are not prohibitory. This measure was vehemently opposed; and many predictions were
made of the total ruin of the manufacture; but in this. as In every similar instance, experience has
shown that the trade had not been really benefited but that, on the contrary, it had been injured by
the prohibition. The wholesome competition to which the manufacturers now felt themselves, for the
first time, exposed, made them exert all their energies; and it is admitted on all hands, that there has
been a more rapid improvement in the manufacture during the last half dozen years than in the pre-
vions half century. There is still, no doubt, a great deal of complaining of a decay of trade ainong the
leather glove manufacturers but we are assured that, if there be any real foundation for their com-
plaints, it is ascribable far more to the growing use of home-made cotton gloves than to the importa-
tion of foreign leather gloves and had it not been for the improved fabric, and greater cheapness of
British leather gloves, that has grown out of the new system, it is abundantly certain that cotton
gloves would have gained still more rapidly on them. In point of fact, however, it does not appear
that there has been any falling off in the leather glove trade. On the contrary, the fair inference seems
to be that it has materially increased : at all events, there has been a very considerable increase in
the number of skins brought from abroad to be used in the manufacture, and consequently in the
number of pairs of gloves produced from such skins; and there is no reason for thinking that it is at
all different with the other departments.
Leather gloves must be imported in packages, containing each 100 dozen pairs at least, and in
vessels of 70 tons burden or upwards, on penalty of forfeiture.-(7 Geo. 4. c. 48. 1 7.)
Account of the Number of Dozen Pairs of Habit Gloves, Men's Gloves, and Women's Gloves and
Mitts, imported into the United Kingdom; the Amount of Duty paid thereon during the Years 1828,
1829, and 1830; and the Rates of Duty.
Women's Gloves
Total Quantity
Total Receipt
Years.
Habit Gloves.
Men's Gloves.
of Leather Gloves
and Mitts.
of Duty on Leither
and Mitts imported.
Gloves and Mitts.
Doem.
Pain.
Dozen.
Pairs.
Down.
Pairs.
Dozen.
Pa.rs.
L. a. d.
1828
69,564
7
27,668
10
3,025
8
100,259
1
21,653 3 8
1829
45,679
5
23,635
6
2,781
6
72,096
5
15,510 15 8
1830
62,925
10
25,013
3
3,187
8
91,126
9
19,488
1
7
1831
-
-
-
-
-
-
99,705
5
21,848 0 0
1832
-
-
-
-
-
-
126,386
0
27,106
0
0
Rates of duty
throughout the
whole period 4s. per doz.pair. 5a. per doz.pair. 78. per doz.pair.
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GOLD-GOTTENBURGH
Account of the number of Lamb and Kid Skins entered for Home Consumption in the Twelve Years
ending with 1831, with an Estimate of the Quantity of Gloves which such Skins would produce,
on the Supposition that from each 120 Skins there would be manufactured 18 Dozen Pain of
Gloves.
Years.
Number of
Number of
Total Lamb
Doz. Gloves
Dos. Glows
Number of
Number of
Total Lamb
Lamb Skins.
Kid Skins.
and Kid.
pr duced
Years.
Lamb Skins.
Kid Skins.
and Kid.
produced
each Year.
each Yest.
1820
932,817
286,443
1,219,260
182,889
1826
1,743,778
575,533
2,319,311
347,886
1821
1,202,029
242,996
1,445,025
216,756
1827
2,749,397
640,863
3,390,860
508,536
1822
1,908,651
408,523
2,317,174
347,562
1828
2,917,476
901,639
3,822215
573.380
1823
1,974,143
497,444
2,471,587
370,728
1829
1,930,390
698,604
2,628,994
391.344
1824
2,201,295
681,995
2,833,290
421,980
1830
1,859,850
1,086,209
2,946,059
441,900
1825
2,098,553
771,522
2,870,075
430,506
1831
2,892,934
1,008,307
3,901,241
585,180
GOLD (Ger. Gold; Du. Goud; Da. and Sw. Guld; Fr. Or; It. and Sp. Oro; Port.
Oiro, Ouro; Rus. Soloto; Pol. Zloto; Lat. Aurum; Arab. Tibr and Zeheb; Sans. Swarna;
Malay, Más), the most precious of all the metals, seems to have been known from the earliest
antiquity. It is of an orange red, or reddish yellow colour, and has no perceptible taste or
smell. Its lustre is considerable, yielding only to that of platinum, steel, silver, and mercury.
It is rather softer than silver. Its specific gravity is 19.3. No other substance is equal to
it in ductility and malleability. It may be beaten out into leaves 80 thin, that one grain of
gold will cover 56} square inches. These leaves are only 782003 of an inch thick. But
the gold leaf with which silver wire is covered has only 1/2 of that thickness. An ounce of
gold upon silver is capable of being extended more than 1,300 miles in length. Its tenacity
is considerable, though in this respect it yields to iron, copper, platinum, and silver. From
the experiments of Seckingen, it appears that a gold wire 0-078 inch in diameter, is capable
of supporting a weight of 150.07 lbs. avoirdupois without breaking. It melts at 32° of
Wedgwood's pyrometer. When melted, it assumes a bright bluish green colour. It expands
in the act of fusion, and consequently contracts while becoming solid more than most metals;
a'circumstance which renders it less proper for casting in moulds.- Thomson's Chemistry.)
For the quantities of gold produced, and the places where it is produced, see PRECIOUS
METALS.
GOMUTI, OR EJOO, a species of palm (Borassus Gomutus,) growing in the Indian
islands. A valuable product is obtained from this palm, resembling black horse hair; is
found between the trunk and the branches, at the insertion of the latter, in a matted form,
interspersed with long, hard, woody twigs of the same colour. When freed from the latter,
it is manufactured by the natives into cordage. Its fibres are stronger and more durable, but
less pliant, than those of the cocoa nut, or coir-(see Cora;) and is, therefore, fitter for
cables and standing rigging, but less fit for running rigging. The native shipping of the
Eastern islands of all kinds are chiefly equipped with cordage of the gomuti; and the largest
European shipping in the Indies use cables of it. It undergoes no preparation but that of
spinning and twisting; no material similar to our tar or pitch, indispensable to the preserva-
tion of hempen cordage, being necessary with a substance that, in a remarkable degree,
possesses the quality of resisting alternations of heat and moisture. The gomuti of Amboyna,
and the other Spice islands, is the best. That of Java has a coarse ligneous fibre. Gomuti
is generally sold in twisted shreds or yarns, often as low as 1 dollar a picul, and seldom more
than 2. Were European ingenuity applied to the improvement of this material, there seems
little doubt that it might be rendered more extensively useful.-Crawfurd's East. Archip.
vol. iii. p. 425.)
GOOD HOPE, CAPE OF. See CAPE Town.
GOTTENBURGH, OR, more properly, GOTHABORG, on the south-west coast of
Sweden, bordering the Cattegat, near the mouth of the river Götha, lat. 57° 42' 4" N., lon.
11° 57' 45" E. Population 21,000,* and increasing. Vessels do not come close to the city,
but lie in the river or harbour at a short distance from the shore, goods being conveyed from
and to them by lighters that navigate the canals by which the lower part of the town is in-
tersected. The depth of water in the port is 17 feet, and there is no tide, bar, or shallow.
A vessel entering the Götha must take a pilot on board, whose duty it is to meet her
league west of Wingo beacon. After Stockholm, Gottenburgh has the most extensive com-
merce of any town in Sweden. Iron and steel, the former excellent, but the latter inferior
to that made in England, form the principal articles of export. They are brought from the
rich mines of Wermeland, distant about 200 miles; being conveyed partly by the lake Wener,
partly by the Tröllhætta canal—(see CANALS.)-and partly by the river Gotha. The exports
of iron, in 1831, amounted in all to 21,639 tons, of which 15,400 tons were taken by the
United States, and 4,511 tons by England. The original cost of iron is supposed to be in-
creased about 5 per cent. by the expense of its conveyance to Gottenburgh and the shipping
charges, inclusive of the export duty, are about 10 per cent. additional. The next great
article of export is timber, particularly deals, which are also furnished by Wermeland. Of
* This is the population as given in the Weimar Almanac for 1832; according to the Consul's report
it is under 18,000.
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GRACE, DAYS OF-GREECE.
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these, the exports, in 1831, were 52,866 dozen, of which 40,600 dozen went to Great Britain,
and the residue to France, Holland, &c. The other articles of export are, linen, sail-cloth,
tar, copper, alum, glass, cobalt, manganese, linseed, oak bark, bones, juniper berries, cran-
berries, rock moss for dyeing, &c. Grain is sometimes imported and sometimes exported.
The principal articles of import are sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton yarn and twist, salt, indigo,
and dye woods, South Sea oil, rice, herrings, wine, spices, &c. In 1831, 529 ships, of the
burden of 63,075 tons, entered Gottenburgh. Of these, 68 ships, carrying 16,770 tons, were
American; and 41 ships, carrying 5,131 tons, British. The rest belonged, for the most part,
to Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. About 80 vessels, of the burden of 14,000 tons, belong
to the port; but the native shipping is decreasing.
Herring Fishery.-Gottenburgh used, at no distant period, to be one of the principal seats of the
herring fishery; but at present this branch of industry is quite extinct, and it has always been very
capricious From 1556 to 1588, great quantities of herrings were taken; from 1558 to 1660, they left
the coast during the next 15 years they were again abundant but from 1675 to 1747, they entirely dis-
appeared. From 1747 to 1770, they were abundant, 186,614 barrels being taken in 1763, and 151,483 in
1768. From 1786 to 1799, the fishery was very good, from 110,000 to 190,000 barrels being annually ex-
ported. In 1804, the export was 79,512 barrels. In 1808 and 1809, fish were very scarce; and in 1812
they entirely disappeared, and have not hitherto returned; so that Gottenburgh, instead of exporting,
at present imports considerable supplies of herrings.
The customs duties produced in 1831, 749,732 dollars banco, or 53,5521. Both iron and timber pay
duties on exportation, but they are not very heavy.
Custom-house Regulations and Port Charges.-On arriving in
Banking, &c.-There are no public or private banking establish-
port, no person is allowed to board or to leave a vessel till she be in
ments at Gottenburgh for the issue of notes: but the national bank
custody of the officers who, having inspected the manifest and pa-
has two offices here which advance limited sums of money, at 5 per
pers, send them to the Custom-house. An officer is appointed to
cent. on the security of goods, and in discount of bills. Some of the
superintend the unloading and also the loading. The public charges
English insurance companies have agents here, who do a good deal
of all sorts on a Swedish ship and on a foreign ship not privileged,
of business.
each of 300 tons burden, unloading and loading mixed cargoes at
Sea Stores, Water, &c.-These may be had here of excellent
Gottenburgh, would be, on the former 241. 5a. Td., on the latter 49/-
quality and cheap. Beef, 11-2d. per lb., best rye bread 2 1-2d. per
5a. 7d. On a privileged foreign ship the charges are the same as on
lb.,
and
butter
6d.
per
lb.
a Swedish ship.
Freight to London, in 1832, from 10s. a ton; deals, per Peters-
Warehousing System.-Goods may be bonded for any length of
burgh standard hundred, 21. 10s.
time, on paying 1-2 per cent. ad valorem for the first 2 years, and
Money, Weights, Measures, Sec, same as at Stockholm, which see.
1-2 per cent. annually thereafter.
In compiling this article, we have made use of the Consul's An-
Commission, Credit, &c.-The usual rate of commission is 2 per
swers, dated 19 h of January, 1833; Com's Travels in the North of
cent. Goods are commonly sold on credit. Raw sugar at 9 months,
Europe, vol. iv. pp. 267-275.; Oddy's European Commerce, p. 314.;
with 3 months' interest to the seller. Other goods at 3, 4, and 6
and some valuable private communications.
months.
Commercial Policy.-But for the pervérse policy of its government, the trade of Gottenburgh, and of
Sweden in general, would be far greater than it is. Its rich and exhaustless mines and forests furnish
an ample supply of equivalents for whatever might be imported into the country but instead of al-
lowing the energies of the nation to be employed in this safe and natural channel, government has
attempted, by a system of prohibitions and heavy duties, to raise, coute qui coute, a manufacturing in-
terest, and to make Sweden independent of foreigners In consequence, a good many cotton and
woollen mills have been established in different parts of the country. It would, however, be absurd
to imagine that they should ever be able to furnish products at so cheap a rate as they may be im-
ported for from this and other countries enjoying superior facilities for the prosecution of manufac-
turing industry. This forced system is, therefore, doubly injurious to Sweden ; first, by lessening the
foreign demand for her peculiar products, and secondly, by diverting capital and industry into the least
productive channels, forcing the inhabitants to pay an artificially enhanced price for some highly ne-
cessary articles, and encouraging smuggling. But, pernicious as the system is, so great a proportion
of the scanty capital of Sweden is now embarked under its regis, that the return to a better order of
things will be a work of much difficulty. It need not surprise us to learn that the imposition in this
country of oppressive discriminating duties on timber from the north of Europe had a material in-
fluence in stimulating the Swedes to endeavour to dispense with foreign, that is, with British, ma-
nufactured articles!
GRACE, DAYS OF. See EXCHANGE.
GRAPES (Ger. Trauben; Fr. Raisins; It. Grappoli, Grappi; Sp. Ubas, Racimos;
Lat. Uvæ), a well known fruit, produced from the vine. France, Spain, Portugal, and
Italy, as well as some parts of Germany and Hungary, produce grapes which yield wines
of various qualities and flavour, many of them excellent. We import green grapes from
Malaga and some other parts of Spain; they are brought packed in jars, and secured from
damage by means of saw-dust, plentifully strewed between the layers of fruit. The grapes
grown in Great Britain in the open air are much smaller, and by no means so luscious, as
those of foreign countries; but those raised in hot-houses are quite equal, if not superior,
to the former. Grapes are imported not only in their natural state, but dried and preserved,
in which latter state they are denominated RAISINS; which see.
(GREECE.
Tariff of Port Charges in the Kingdom of Greece.
Tonnage.
Lighthouses (only where there is one).
Dra. Lep.
In the ports of Syra, Nauplia, Pireus, Marathonensis, Pylos,
On vessels under 5 tons
free.
Calamata, Navarino, and Patras.
- of from 5 to 20 tons
0 50
Drs. Lep.
-
-
21 50
I 00
On vessels under 5 tons
free.
-
-
51 100 -
2 00
- of 20 -
0 9
-
- 101 200 -
5 00
-
above 20
0 18
-
- 201 300
8 00
In the other ports :-
-
-
301 and above
9 00
On vemels under 5 tons
free.
When gunpowder remains on board, for every 2 1-4 lbs. per
- of 20 -
0 6
month of 30 days
0 2
-
above 20
0 9
When it is placed in the public magazine for the same
Permit of Departure.
quantity and time
0 3
On vessels under 5 tons
free.
Observations on the Tonnage Dwy.
- of from 5 to 20 tons
0 50
1. Vessels arriving from abroad loaded, and which discharge their
- - 21 50 -
I 00
cargoes, and depart loaded, pay the whole duty.
- - 51 100 -
2 00
2. Vessels arriving from abroad loaded, and which depart in bal-
-
- 101 200 -
3 00
last, pay two thirds of the daty, which is also exacted if they arrive
-
- 301 and above
5
00
in ballast, and depart loaded.
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718
GRINDSTONES.
3. Versels arriving from abroad in ballast, and departing without
consequence of damage, is exampled from all charge during sight
lading, or arriving and departing with cargo, and not discharging
days.
any of it, pay one third of the duty.
2 Every vensel entering a port from whatever cause. and destruct
4. Vencle arriving from and going to another port of the kingdom
to another port, and the master of which shul inmediately trabe ,
pay but one half of the duty.
declaration to the expla B of the port, that be has an a other
5. A vomel is considered as loaded, whether she be so fully or
of loading or discharging his goods, may remain five days vilud
partially.
paying any duty except the right-house duty. He IS permitted to
Exceptions.
to receive or to deliver letters or money, unless otherwise provided
1. Every vessel forced to enter a port, either by a storm or in for by special ordinances.
Statement of the Number of Vessels, their Tonnage and Crews, and the Invoice Value of their
Cargoes; distinguishing also the Countries to which they belonged, which entered inwards and
cleared outwards at the principal Ports within the Consulate of the Morea, viz. Patras and
Nauplia, in the Year 1834.- (Consular Return.)
PORT OF PATRAS.
Inwards.
Countries.
Outwards.
Invoice
Invoice
Ships.
Tons.
Crews.
Value of
Ships.
Tons.
Crews.
Value of
Cargoes.
Cargnes.
L.
L
British
31
4,542
272
30,077
29
4,238
253
117,555
Austrian
14
1,429
159
14
1429
159
Greek
141
7,968
1,692
135
7,621
1,619
Jerusalem
1
101
13
I
101
IS
Ionian
219
3,151
1,104
62,148
212
3,130
1,101
13,261
Neapolitan
15
1
135
8
402
85
Papal
2
62
19
2
162
19
Sardinian
3
828
37
3
828
37
Total
426
18,842
3,431
92,223
404
17,911
3,286
130,816
PORT OF NAUPLIA.
L.
L.
British
6
809
49
8,020
4
542
32
1,900
Austrian
11
1,907
6,198
4
680
740
French
2
978
Greek
201
47,152
708
22,656
Ionian
6
299
34
727
Samos
5
437
Turkish
2
31
Total
233
63,543
716
25,296
JV. B.-The value of the cargoes in the port of Nauplia is supposed to be 10 per cent. under the
real value. The Post Office Register does not specify the vessels salling in ballast. In Patras the
entries of the Ionian trade include vessels and boats.
Statement of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels with the Value of their Cargoes, which entered
and cleared at the Port of Syra in the Year 1835.-( Consular Return.)
Entered.
Cleared.
Countries.
Invoice Value
Vemels.
Tonnage.
Invoice Value
of Cargoes.
Vessels.
Tomage.
of Carges.
L.
L
British
58
8,392
196,977
58
8,389
Greek
989
58,802
233,161
2,293
67,348
381,951
French
10
1,477
6,514
10
1,477
Ionian
61
5,264
9,780
60
5,228
4,65
Russian
61
11,365
18,203
44
9,818
3,138
Austrian
68
14,733
34,459
63
13,446
3,900
Sardinian
17
3,246
5,112
17
3,946
55
Ottoman
164
3,477
10,929
86
2,066
13,219
American
1
240
197
1
240
Jerusalem
3
281
1,021
3
981
300
Total
1,422
107,267
445,343
2,635
111,489
496,572
Statement of the Number and Tonnage of British Vessels, with the Nature and Value of their
Cargoes which entered and cleared at the Port of Syra, distinguishing the Countries to and from
which they salled, in the Year 1835.-( Consular Return.)
Entered.
Cleared.
Countries.
Invoice
Invoice
Versals.
Tonnage.
Value of
Nature of Cargoes.
Vessels.
Tonnage.
Value of
Nature of Cargon.
Cargoes.
Cargon.
L
L
(27 from Liverpool,
and 14 from Lon-
Great Britain
47
6,866
122,028
don, with mixed
cargnes; 6 from
Cardiff, iron.
Malta
5
878
3,044
Mixed cargoes.
2
274
{ Mixed cargo, 1 =
ballast.
Trieste
1
133
In ballast.
Athens
2
294
226
Mixed cargo, 1 in
ballast.
Original, or part of
Constantinople
1
194
1,679
Wheat.
28
4,173
original carge.
Smyrna
8
207
In ballast.
22
3,154
Do. do., 2 in beliest.
Salonica
3
398
Ditto ditto.
Patras
I
136
In ballast.
Zante
1
133
Dita
Rhodes
1
64
Ditto.
Total
58
8,392
126,977
58
8,389
Sup.)
GRINDSTONES, flat circular stones of different diameters and thickness, mounted on
spindles or axles, and made to revolve with different degrees of velocity, employed to polish
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GUAIACUM, GUAYAQUIL.
719
steel articles, to give an edge to cutting instruments, &c. Grindstones not in constant use
are commonly turned by winch handles; but at Sheffield and other places, where polished
articles and cutlery are extensively manufactured, large numbers of grindstones being
mounted in buildings appropriated to that purpose, called grind or blade mills, are turned by
straps, acting on their axles, the moving power being either water or steam. The stone best
suited to form grindstones is what is called a sharp-grit; it being chosen finer or coarser
grained according to the purposes for which they are destined. The principal grindstone
quarry in England is at Gateshead Fell, in the county of Durham; where they are produced
in vast numbers, not only for home use, but for exportation to all parts of the world. But
those principally in use at Sheffield are mostly quarried at Wickersley, in Yorkshire.
They are classed in eight different sizes, called foots, according to their dimensions, as in the fol-
lowing Table:-
Denominations.
Diameter.
Thickness.
No. in a Chaldron.
Denominations.
Diameter.
Thickness.
No. is a Chaldron.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
Inches.
1 Foot
10
2
36
5 Foots
35
5
5
2 Foots
14
21
27
6 Foots
42
6
3
3 Foots
20
4
18
7 Foots
50
6
11
4 Foots
28
4
9
8 Foots
56
8
1
A grindstone foot is 8 Inches: the size is found by adding the diameter and thickness together.
Thus, a stone 56 inches diameter by 8 thick, making together 64 inches, is an 8-foot stone, of 8 inches
each foot.
Besides the above sizes, grindstones are made, when ordered, of any intermediate dimensions:
many are made much larger than any of the above sizes; some as large as 76 inches diameter, and 14
or 15 inches thick, which are a great weight, a cubic foot weighing 1 CWL. 1 qr. 41bs.-(Rees's Cyclo-
pedia; Bailey's Survey of Durham, p. 43.)
Grinding is an unhealthy and dangerous employment. For some purposes, the stones are made to
revolve with an extreme degree of velocity ; which makes them occasionally fly in pieces. But the
greatest annoyance to which the grinder is exposed, is from his inhaling the minute particles of stone,
and of iron and steel, that are always flying about, particularly in the process termed dry grinding.
Contrivances have been suggested for obviating this serious inconvenience; but whether it be owing
to their unsuitableness, or the carelessness of the workmen, none of them has succeeded in practice.-
(Treatise on Iron and Steel, Lardner's Cyclopadia, p. 293.)
GUAIACUM, OR LIGNUM VITE (Fr. Gayac, Bois saint; Ger. Pockhaln; It.
Guajaco ; Lat. Guaiacum, Lignum vita; Sp. Guagaco), the wood of a tree, a native of
Jamaica, Hayti, and the warmer parts of America. It is a dark-looking evergreen, growing
to from 40 to 50 feet in height, and from 14 to 18 inches in diameter. The bark is hard,
smooth, and brittle; the wood is externally yellowish, and internally of a blackish brown
colour. Lignum vita is the weightiest timber with which we are acquainted, its specific
gravity being 1.333. It is exceedingly hard, and difficult to work. It can hardly be split,
but breaks into pieces like a stone, or crystallised metal. It is full of a resinous juice
(guaiac), which prevents oil or water from working into it, and renders it proof against
decay. Its weight and hardness make it the very best timber for stampers and mallets; and
it is admirably adapted for the sheaves or pulleys of blocks, and for friction rollers or castors.
It is extensively used by turners.
The guaiac, or gum, spontaneously exudes from the tree, and concretes in very pure tears.
It is imported in casks or mats; the former containing from 1 to 4 cwt., the latter generally
less than 1 cwt. each. Its colour differs considerably, being partly brownish, partly reddish,
and partly greenish; and it always becomes green when left exposed to the light in the open
air. It has a certain degree of transparency, and breaks with a vitreous fracture. When
pounded, it emits a pleasant balsamic smell, but has scarcely any taste, although when
swallowed it excites a burning sensation in the throat. When heated, it melts, diffusing,
at the same time, a pretty strong pungent odour. Its specific gravity is 1.229.-(See Veget.
Sub., Lib. of Entert. Knowledge; Thomson's Chemistry, &c.)
(GUAYAQUIL. a city and port of Colombia, on the western coast of South America. lat.
2° 11' 21" S., long. 79° 43' W. Population, according to Captain Hall, 20,000. The
town is situated on the banks of the river of the same name, about 6 or 7 leagues from the
Isla Verde, or 9 leagues from the Isla Puna, in the Gulf of Guayaquil, opposite to the
mouth of the river. Ships bound for Guayaquil generally call at the Isla Puna, where ex-
pert pilots may be had, who carry them up to the town by night or by day, according to the
state of the tides. The town is old; but as the houses are of wood, and it has frequently
suffered from fires, much of it is comparatively modern, and has a good appearance. There
is a dry dock on the south bank of the river, where several ships of a superior construction
have been built.
Notwithstanding the revolutions to which it has been subject, Guayaquil has a considerable com-
merce. Its principal article of export is cocoa, of which large quantities are shipped; and next to it
are timber, tobacco, ceibo wool used in stuffing mattresses, &c. The principal articles of import are
British manufactured cottons and hardware, silks, wine, flour, &c. We subjoin an account of the
number and tonnage of the vessels, with the value of their cargoes, that entered and cleared out at
Guayaquil, in 1835.
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GUERNSEY, GUMS.
Statement of the Number and Tonnage of British Vessels, with the Nature and Value of their
Cargoes, which entered and cleared at the Port of Guayaquil, distinguishing the Ports to and from
which the saine sailed, in 1835.
Inwards.
Outwards.
Ports.
Value of
Vessels.
Tonnage.
Cargoes.
Nature of Cargoes.
Vessels.
Value of
Tonnage.
Cargoes.
Nature of Cargoes.
L.
L.
Valparaiso
5
770
13,446
2 British manufactures.
4
660
811
2 Cocoa. 2 ballast.
I ditto and wine.
2 flour, wine, and
specie.
San Blas
1
210
Ballast.
Matzatlan
I
225
Ditto.
Pta. Arena
I
331
Ditto.
Ste. Clena
1
212
200
Salt.
Callao
1
115
5,608
British manufactures.
2
230
143
1 Timber. 1 Ballast.
Malaga
1
223
15,220
Wine, lks, and British
1
223
7,124
Cocoa.
manufactures.
Cadiz
1
210
5,031
Ditto.
Santander
I
331
11,326
Ditto.
Realejo
1
220
1,000
Ditto.
Punta
1
212
Ballast.
Total
11
2,086
34,475
11
2,086
25,436
Statement of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels, with the Value of their Cargoes, which entered
inwards and cleared outwards at the Port of Guayaquil, distinguishing the Countries to which the
same belonged, in the Year 1835.- (Consular Return.)
Inwards.
Outwards.
Countries.
Remarks.
Vessels.
Value of
Tonnage.
Cargoes.
Vessels.
Value of
Tonnage.
Cargoes.
L.
L.
About third
British
11
2,086
34,475
25,436
of the number
Colombian
12
1,727
14,040
5,470
of vessels enter-
United States
19
5,421
46,352
71,765
ed as Peruvian,
French
4
1,027
4,208
7,825
and some enter-
Sardinian
5
1,475
8,620
The same as
10,714
ed as Mexican,
Hamburg
1
101
1,000
entered.
3,000
belong to this
Danish
2
407
3,000
11,500
port, but were
Mexican
13
1,582
16,834
22,376
put under three
Chilian
11
1,716
25,680
12,225
colours for bet-
Peruvian
45
5,888
67,470
40,088
ter protection
during the ****
Total
123
21,430
221,680
210,429
lution of 1834.
For further particulars, see Ulloa, Voyage Historique de l'Amerique, tom. i. pp. 141-178.; Hall's
Voyage to Chili, Peru, &e., vol. ii. pp. 101-138., &c.-Sup.)
GUERNSEY. For the peculiar regulations to be observed in trading with Guernsey,
Jersey, &c., see IMPORTATION AND EXPORTATION.
GUMS, RESINS, GUM-RESINS. In commerce, the term gum is not only applied to
gums properly so called, but also to resins and gum-resins. But though these substances
have many properties in common, they are yet sufficiently distinct.
I. Gum is a thick transparent fluid that issues spontaneously from certain species of
plants, particularly such as produce stone fruit, as plum and cherry trees. It is very adhe-
sive, and gradually hardens by exposure to the atmosphere. It is usually obtained in small
pieces, like tears, moderately hard, somewhat brittle while cold so that it can be reduced
by pounding to a fine powder. When pure, it is colourless: but it has commonly a yel-
lowish tinge; it is not destitute of lustre ; it has no smell; its taste is insipid; its specific
gravity varies from 1-3161 to 1.4317; it readily dissolves in water, but is insoluble in
alcohol. Gum is extensively used in the arts, particularly in calico printing, to give con-
sistence to the colours, and to hinder them from spreading. It is also used in painting, in
the manufacture of ink, in medicine, &c.
The only important gums, in a commercial point of view, are gum Arabic and gum
Senegal.
1. Gum Arabic (Fr. Gomme Arabique; It. Gomma Arabica; Ger. Arabische gummi;
Arab. Tolh), the produce of the Acacia vera, a tree growing in Arabia, and in many parts
of Africa. The gum exudes naturally from the trunk and branches, and hardens by expo-
sure to the air. The more sickly the tree appears, the more gum it yields; and the hotter
the weather, the more prolific it is. A wet winter and a cool or mild summer are unfa-
vourable to gum."-(Jack-on's Morocco, p. 84.) It is in irregularly shaped pieces, hard,
brittle, and serpi-transparent. When pure it is almost colourless, or of a pale yellowish hue;
being insipid, inodorous, and dissolving completely in the mouth. Specific gravity 1.31 to
1.43. It is often mixed with gum Senegal. East India gum Arabic is, though a useful, a
spurious article, not being the produce of the acacia vera, but of other species of plants.
The best gum is either imported direct from Alexandria, Smyrna, Tripoli, Mogadore, Tan-
giers, &c., or at second hand from them through Gibraltar, Malta, and the Italian ports.
The price depends principally on its whiteness and solubility, increasing and diminishing,
according as the article has more or less of these qualities.-(Thomson's Dispensatory, and
private information.)
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GUNPOWDER.
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At an average of the 3 years ending with 1831, the gum Arabic entered for consumption amounted
to 13,574 cwt. a year. Previously to last year (1832). the duty on gum Arabic from a British possession
was 6s. a cwt., and from other parts 12.; but the duty on it and all other gums is now fixed at 6s.
a cwt. without regard to origin. Of 7,784 cwt. of gum Arabic imported in 1830, Tripoli, Barbary, and
Morocco furnished 2,063; Egypt, 579; Gibraltar, 1,587 Italy, 1.007; Malta, 367; the East Indies,
1,962, &c. The reduction of the duty on foreign gum will most probably occasion an increase of the
imports from the Mediterranenn and Mogadore. The price of gum Arabic in bond in the London
market was, in December, 1833,-East India, from 34s. to 65s. per cwt.; Turkey, from 100s. to 211s.
per do.; and Barbary, from 50s. to 100s. per do.
2. Gum Senegal, principally brought from the island of that name on the coast of Africa,
is obtained from various trees, but chiefly from two one called Vereck, which yields a white
gum; the other called Nebuel, which yields a red gum; varieties of the acacia gummifera.
Gum Arabic is very often mixed with gum Senegal. The latter is nearly as pure as the
former, but it is usually in larger masses, of a darker colour, and more clammy and tena-
cious. It is the sort of gum principally employed by calico printers. It was worth, in De-
cember, 1833, duty (6s.) paid, from 75s. to 78s. a cwt.-(Thomson's Chemistry, Thomson's
Dispensatory, Ainslie's Materia Indica, &c.)
II. Resins, for the most part, exude spontaneously from trees, though they are often ob-
tained by artificial wounds, and are not uncommonly, at first, combined with volatile oil,
from which they are separated by distillation. They are solid substances, naturally brittle
have a certain degree of transparency, and a colour most commonly inclining to yellow.
Their taste is more or less acrid, and not unlike that of volatile oils; but they have no
smell, unless they happen to contain some foreign body. They are all heavier than water, their
specific gravity varying from I-0182 to 1.1862. They differ from gums in being insoluble
in water, whether cold or hot; while they are, with a few exceptions, soluble in alcohol,
especially when assisted by heat. When heated, they melt; and if the heat be increased,
they take fire, burning with a strong yellow flame, and emitting a vast quantity of smoke.
Common rosin furnishes a very perfect example of a resin, and it is from this substance
that the whole genus have derived their name. Rosin is; indeed, frequently denominated
resin. The principal resins are Animi, Elemi, Copal, Lac, Labdanum, Mastic, Rosin,
Sandarach, Tacamahac, &c. ; which see, under their respective names.-(Thomson's
Chemistry.)
III. Gum-resins, a class of vegetable substances consisting of gum and resin. They differ
from resins in this-that they never exude spontaneously from the plant, being obtained
either by bruising the parts containing them, or expressing the juice, which is always in a
state of emulsion, generally white, but sometimes of a different colour, or by making incisions
in the plant, from which the juice flows. The juice, being exposed to the action of the sun,
is condensed and inspissated, till it forms the gum-resin of commerce. Gum-resins are gene-
rally opaque, or, at least, their transparency is inferior to that of resins. They are always
solid, and most commonly brittle, and have, sometimes, a fatty appearance. When heated,
they do not melt as resins do; neither are they so combustible. Heat, however, commonly
softens them, and causes them to swell. They burn with a flame. They have almost always
a strong smell, which, in several instances, is alliaceous. Their taste, also, is often acrid,
and always much stronger than that of resins. They are usually heavier than resins. They
are partially soluble in water, but the solution is always opaque, and usually milky. Alcohol
partially dissolves them, the solution being transparent.
The most common gum-resins are Aloes, Ammonia, Euphorbium, Galbanum, Gumboge,
Myrrh, Olibanum, Sugapenum, Scammony, &c.; which see under their respective names.
-(Loudon's Ency. of Agricult.; Thomson's Chemistry.)
GUNPOWDER (Ger. Pulver, Schiesspulrer; Du. Buskruid; Da. Krudt, Pulver,
Sw. Krut; Fr. Poudre; It. Polvere; Sp. and Port. Polvora; Rus. Poroch; Pol. Proch
Lat. Pulvis pyrius). This well known inflammable powder is composed of nitre, sulphur,
and charcoal, reduced to powder, and mixed intimately with each other. The proportion of
the ingredients varies very considerably but good gunpowder may be composed of the fol-
lowing proportions; viz. 76 parts of nitre, 15 of charcoal, and 9 of sulphur. These ingre-
dients are first reduced to a fine powder separately, then mixed intimately, and formed into
a thick paste with water. After this has dried a little, it is placed upon a kind of sieve full
of holes, through which it is forced. By this process it is divided into grains, the size of
which depends upon the size of the holes through which they have been squeezed. The
powder, when dry, is put into barrels, which are made to turn round on their axis. By this
motion the grains of gunpowder rub against each other, their asperities are worn off, and
their surfaces are made smooth. The powder is then said to be glazed.-(Thumson's
Chemistry.)
Dr. Thomson, whose learning is equal to his science, has the following remarks with
respect to the introduction of gunpowder into warlike operations :- The discoverer of this
compound, and the person who first thought of applying it to the purposes of war, are un-
known. It is certain, however, that it was used in the fourteenth century. From certain
archives quoted by Wiegleb, it appears that cannons were employed in Germany before the
year 1372. No traces of it can be found in any European author previously to the thir-
VoL. I.-3 P
91
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722
GUNNY-HAIR.
teenth century but it seems to have been known to the Chinese long before that period.
There is reason to believe that cannons were used in the battle of Cressy, which was fought
in 1346. They seem even to have been used three years earlier, at the siege of Algesi-
ras; but before this time they must have been known in Germany, as there is a piece of
ordnance at Amberg, on which is inscribed the year 1303. Roger Bacon, who died in 1292,
knew the properties of gunpowder; but it does not follow that he was acquainted with its
application to fire-arms."-(Thomson's Chemistry.) For further particulars as to the intro-
duction of cannon, see that article.
The manufacture and sale of gunpowder is regulated by several statutes. By the 12 Geo. 3. c. 61. it
is enacted, that no person shall use mills or other engines for making gunpowder, or manufacturing
the same in any way, except in mills and other places which were actually in existence at the time of
passing the act, or which, if erected afterwards, have been sanctioned by a licence, under pain of
forfeiting the gunpowder, and 2s. a pound. It is further enacted, that no mill worked by pestle, and
usually termed a pestle mill, shall be used in making gunpowder, under the above-mentioned penalty;
and that no more than lbs. of gunpowder, or materials to be made into gunpowder, shall be made
at any one time under a single pair of mill-stones, on pain of forfeiting all above 40 lbs., and 2s. for
every pound nor shall more than 40 cwt. be dried in any one stove or place at any one time, under
forfeiture of all above that quantity, and 2s. for every pound thereof. The powder mills erected at
Battle, Crowhurst. Saddlescombe, and Brede, in Sussex, previously to 1772, are exempted from the
above regulations so far as relates to the making of fine fowling powder.
No dealer is to keep more than 200 lbs. of powder, nor any person not a dealer, more than 1bs., in
the cities of London or Westminster, or within 3 miles thereof, or within any other city, borough, or
market town, or 1 mile thereof, or within two miles of the king's palaces or magazines, or 1 a mile of
any parish church, on pain of forfeiture, and 2s. per lb.; except in licensed mills, or to the amount of
300 lbs. for the use of collieries, within 200 yards of them.
Not more than 25 barrels are to be carried by any land carriage, nor more than 200 barrels by water,
unless going by sea or coastwise, each barrel not to contain more than 100lbs.
All vessels, except his Majesty's, coming into the Thames, are to put on shore, at or below Black-
wall, all the gunpowder they have on board exceeding 25 lbs. Vessels outward bound are not to
receive on board more than 251bs. of gunpowder previously to their arrival at Blackwall. The Trinity
House have authority to appoint searchers to inspect ships, and search for gunpowder. All the gun-
powder found above 25 lbs., and the barrels containing it. and 2s. for every lb. above that quantity,
are forfeited Any person obstructing an officer searching for concealed gunpowder is liable to a
penalty of 10Z. The places of deposit for gunpowder are regulated by the 54 Geo. 3. c. 159.
The exportation of gunpowder may be prohibited by order in council. Its importation is prohibited
on pain of forfeiture, except by licence from his Majesty; such licence to be granted for furnishing his
Majesty's stores only.-(6 Geo. 4. c. 107.)
The act I Will. 4. c. 44. prohibits the manufacture and keeping of gunpowder in Ireland by any per-
son who has not obtained a licence from the Lord Lieutenant; such licences may be suspended on
notice from the chief secretary, and any one selling gunpowder during the suspension of such licence
shall forfeit 500L. Gunpowder makers under this act are to return monthly accounts of their stock, &c.
to the chief secretary. This act, which contains a variety of restrictive clauses, was limited to one
year's duration, but has been prolonged.
GUNNY (Hind. Tât; Ben. Güni), a strong coarse sackcloth manufactured in Bengal
for making into bags, sacks, and packing generally, answering at once the two purposes for
which canvass and bast are used in Europe. The material from which this article is manu-
factured, is the fibre of two plants of the genus Corchorus; viz. Corchorus olitorius, and
Corchorus capsularis (Bengali, pat) both, but particularly the first, extensively cultivated
throughout Lower Bengal. Besides a large domestic consumption of gunny, the whole rice,
paddy, wheat, pulses, sugar, and saltpetre of the country, as well as the pepper, coffee, and
other foreign produce exported from Calcutta, are packed in bags or sacks made of this
article. There is also a considerable exportation of manufactured bags, each commonly
capable of containing two maunds, or about 160 lbs. weight, to Prince of Wales Island,
Malacca, Singapore, Java, and Bombay. In 1828-29, the number exported from Calcutta
was 2,205,206, of the value of 166,109 sicca rupees, or about 16,000Z. sterling, showing the
price of each sack to be less than 2d.-( (Wallich; Roxburgh; Bell's Review of the External
Commerce of Bengal.)
GYPSUM, OR SULPHATE OF LIME, is found in various parts of the Continent,
and in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. When reduced to a powder, and formed into a
paste with water, it is termed plaster of Paris, and is much used for forming casts, &c. It
is also used for laying floors; and has been advantageously employed as a manure.
H.
HAIR, HUMAN (Ger. Haare, Menschen-haar; Du. Hair Fr. Cheveux; It. Capelli
umani; Sp. Cabellos; Lat. Capilli). " Human hair makes a very considerable article in
commerce, especially since the mode of perruques has obtained. Hair of the growth of the
northern countries, as England, &c., is valued much beyond that of the more southern ones,
as Italy, Spain, the southern parts of France, &c. Good hair is well fed, and neither too
coarse nor too slender; the bigness rendering it less susceptible of the artificial curl, and
disposing it rather to frizzle; and the smallness making its curl of too short duration. Its
length should be about 25 inches; the more it falls short of this, the less value it bears."-
(Ency. Brit.)
HAIR OF BEASTS (Ger. Haare, Huhaare; Du. Huir; Fr. Poil; It. and Sp. Pelo; Lat.
Digitized
by
Google
HAIR-POWDER, HALIFAX.
723
Pelles). The hair of horses is extensively used in the manufacture of chairs, sofas, saddles,
&c. while the hair or wool of beavers, hares, rabbits, &c. is much employed in the manu-
facture of hats, &c.
HAIR-POWDER (Ger. Puder; Fr. Poudre à poudrer; It. Polvere di cipri; Sp. Polvos
de peluca), is used as an ornament for the hair, and generally made from starch pulverised,
and sometimes perfumed. A tax of 11. 3s. 6d. a year is laid upon all persons who wear hair-
powder. Different statutes prohibit the mixing of hair powder with starch or alabaster.
And hair-powder makers are prohibited having alabaster in their custody.
HALIFAX, the capital of Nova Scotia, on the south-east coast. of that province, lat. 44°
36' N., lon. 63° 28' W. It is situated on a peninsula on the west side of Chebucto Bay,
and has one of the finest harbours in America. Population, exclusive of the military, about
18,000. The town is irregularly built, and most of the houses are of wood. The govern-
ment-house is one of the most splendid edifices in North America. Halifax was founded
in 1749.
Port.-The best mark in sailing for Halifax is Sambro light-house, on a small island off the cape of
the same name, on the west side of the entrance to the harbour, in lat. 44° 30', long. 63° 32'. The
light, which is fixed, is 210 feet above the level of the sea; and a detachment of artillery, with two
24-pounders, is upon duty at the light-house, firing at regular intervals during the continuance of the
dense fogs with which this part of the coast is very much infested.-(Coulier, Tubles des Principales
Positions Géographiques, p. 78.) The course into the harbour for ships, after passing Sambro light,
is between the main land on the west and Macnab's Island on the east. On a spit projecting from the
latter, a light-house has recently been constructed; and when this is seen, ships may run in without
fear. The harbour is defended by several pretty strong forts. Ships usually anchor abrenst of the
town, where the harbour is rather more than a mile in width. After gradually narrowing to about t
of that width, it suddenly expands into a noble sheet of water, called Bedford Basin, completely land-
locked, with deep water throughout, and capable of accommodating the whole navy of Great Britain.
The harbour is accessible at all times, and is rarely impeded by ice. There is an extensive royal dock-
yard at Halifax; which during war is an important naval station, being particularly well calculated
for the shelter, repair, and outfit of the fleets cruising on the American coast and in the West Indies.
Mr. M'Gregor has severely, and, we believe, justly, censured the project for the removal of the dock-
yard from Halifax to Bermuda.
Trade, &c. of Halifar and Nova Scotia.-Halifax is the seat of a considerable fishery but the British
colonists seem to be, for what reason it is not easy to say, both less enterprising and less successful
fishers than the New Englanders. The principal trade of the town and the province is with the West
Indies, Great Britain, and the United States. To the former they export dried and pickled fish, lumber,
coals, grindstones, cattle, flour, butter, cheese, oats, potatoes, &c. They export the same articles to
the southern ports of the United States, and gypsum to the eastern ports of New England. To Great
Britain they send timber, deals; whale, cod, and seal oil furs, &c. The principal exports of timber
are from Pictou on the St. Lawrence. The imports consist principally of colonial produce from the
West Indies; all sorts of manufactured goods from Great Britain; and of flour, lumber, &c. from the
United States, principally for exportation to the West Indies.
The government packets sail regularly once a month from Halifax to Falmouth; but packet ships to
Liverpool have recently been established, which are, in all respects, superior to the former. There
are also regular packets from Halifax to Boston, New York, and the West Indies. A steam-boat plies
constantly between Halifax and the little town of Dartmouth, on the opposite side of the harbour.
In 1826 a company was formed for making a canal across the country from Halifax to the basin of
Minas, which unites with the bottom of the Bay of Fundy. The navigation is formed, for the most
part, by Shúbenacadie lake and river. The legislature gave 15,0001. to this undertaking but it has
not hitherto been completed. The excavated part of the canal is 60 feet wide at top, 36 feet at bottom,
and is intended to admit vessels drawing 8 feet water. It seems very questionable whether this
canal will be profitable to the shareholders; but there can be no doubt that it would, if finished, be of
considerable service to the trade of Halifax.
There are two private banking companies at Halifax. Accounts are kept in pounds, shillings, and
pence, the same as in England, and the weights and measures are also the same.
About 100 large square-rigged vessels, and about the same number of large schooners, with several
smaller craft, belong to Halifax.
The total revenue of Nova Scotia for the year 1831, including balances and arrears, was 85,0181.
the expenditure during the same year, exclusive of that incurred on account of the garrison, being
94,8761.
We borrow from the valuable work of Mr. M'Gregor the following statement as to the trade of Nova
Scotia in 1832
Produce of the Fisheries exported In the Year ending 5th of
Produce of the Mines, exported.
January, 1833.
L
8.
d.
L 8. d.
160,640 cwt. dry fish, at 10a.
80,320 0 0
Coals, 12,020 chaldrons, at 25a.
15,025 0 0
37,154 barrels pickled fish, at 15e.
27,865 10 0
Ditto, from Cape Broton, 30,677 chaldrons
38,371 15 0
8,641 boxes smoked herrings, at 3a.
1,296 3 0
Gypsum, 45,508 tone, at 10s.
22,754 0 0
704 tuns oil, at 201.
14,080 0 0
Ditto, from Cape Breton, 628 1-8 tone
318 6 0
51,918 seal skins, at 1s. 6d.
3,893 17 0
Grindstones, 19,240, at 30s.
-
28,360 0 0
Total
127,455 10 0
Total
105,329 0 0
Produce of Agriculture.
Produce of the Forests.
L 8. d.
L. 8. d.
Barley and oats, 3 478 bushels, at 2s.
347 16 0
Square timber, 38,191 tons, at 15a.
29,643 6 0
Potatoes and turnips, 64,712, at is. 6d.
4,853 12 0
Deals and inch boards, 9,984,000
24.280 0 0
Oatmeal, 7 barrels, at 20s.
7 0 0
Lathwood, 228 loads
228 0 0
Flax-seed, 10 bushels
8 10 0
Staves, 2,714,000
3,509 0 0
Horned cattle, horses, sheep, and swine, 926
Shingles, 3,042,000
2,2-1 10 0
value
4,630 0 0
Handspikes, 2,300
115 0 0
Butter, cheese, and lard, 86,724 lbs. value
4,286 4 0
Oars, poles, kc., 3,894
45 0 0
Cranberries, 496 gallous
24 6 0
Masts and spars, 642
200 0 0
Apples, 260 barreis
130 0 0
Honps, 229,150
114 1 3
Beef and pork, 434 barrels
1,302 0 0
Value of titiber shipped from Cape Bretom
1,972 0 0
Total
15,583 8 0
Total
62,447 16 3
The balance of exports consists of various articles, transhipped, principally West India produce,
tea from China, &c.
Digitized by Google
724
hams, HAMBURGH.
Account of vessels entered inwards in the Port of Halifax and Nova Scotia generally, in the Year
ending 5th of January 1833; and of those cleared outwards from the same.
Inwards.
Outwards.
Countries.
Ships.
Tom.
Men.
Ships.
Tom.
Mrs.
United Kingdom
-
-
-
110
17,454
2,317
104
25,429
1,174
Bordeaux
-
-
-
-
2
254
16
Oporto
-
-
1
160
9
1
112
6
Guernsey and Jersey
-
-
3
379
#
Cadiz
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
20
6
Smyrna
-
-
-
-
2
251
15
Memel
-
-
-
4
992
41
British West Indies
-
-
259
27,023
1,563
202
27,430
1,7%
Petersburgh
-
-
-
1
227
12
British N. A. colonies
-
-
1,046
63,915
3,784
1,104
69,166
4,048
Azores and Madeira
-
-
2
187
12
4
350
19
Malaga and Gibraltar
-
7
834
46
2
237
13
Foreign vessels from India or
Europe
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
150
13
United States, British vessels
397
31,443
1,559
393
31,666
1,598
Ditto,
foreign vessels
77
7,921
413
75
9,549
461
Brazil
-
-
6
1,381
98
10
1,584
82
Mauritius
-
-
-
-
1
187
10
Canton
-
-
-
-
1
504
48
Africa
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- -
1
90
7
Rio Janeiro
-
-
-
-
1
151
8
Havannah
191
II
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
.
2
Totals
1.950
163,385
9,973
1,995
166,647
9,162
(See M' Gregor's British America, 2d ed. vol. i. p. 481. 483, &c. Moorsom's Letters from Note Scotin,
passim Papers laid before the Finance Committee, &c.)
HAMS (Ger. Schinken; Du. Hammen; Fr. Jambons; It. Prosciutti; Sp. Jamones;
Rus. Okorokü), the thighs of the hog salted and dried. York, Hants, Wilts, and Cumber-
land, in England, and Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, are the counties most famous for
producing fine hams. Those of Ireland are comparatively coarse and without flavour.-
(See BACON.) The hams of Portugal, Westphalia, and Virginia, are exquisitely flavoured,
and are in high estimation. The imports of bacon and hams, principally the latter, amount
to about 1,350 cwt. a year. The duty is very heavy, being no less than 28s. a cwt.
[Much attention is paid in the United States to the curing of hams. Those from Virginia
and New Jersey, especially the Burlington hams from the latter state, are little, if at all,
inferior to the Westphalia. Large quantities of them are cured in Maryland and Ohio, and
exported to the other states of the Union.-Am. Ed.]
HAMBURGH, a free Hanseatic city, on the north bank of the river Elbe, about 70
miles from its mouth, in lat. 53° 32' 51" N., lon. 9° 58' 37" E. Population, 125,000.
Hamburgh is the greatest commercial city of Germany, and, perhaps, of the Continent.
She owes this distinction principally to her situation. The Elbe, which may be navigated
by lighters as far as Prague, renders her the entrepôt of a vast extent of country. Advan-
tage, too, has been taken of natural facilities that extend still further her internal navigation;
a water communication having been established, by mcans of the Spree and of artificial cuts
and sluices, between the Elbe and the Oder, and between the latter and the Vistula; so that
a considerable part of the produce of Silesia destined for foreign markets, and some even of
that of Poland, is conveyed to Hamburgh.- (See CANALS.) There is, also, a communi-
cation by means of a canal with the Trave, and, consequently, with the Lubec and the
Baltic, by which the necessity of resorting to the difficult and dangerous navigation of the
Sound is obviated. Vessels drawing 14 feet of water come up to the town at all times; and
vessels drawing 18 feet may come safely up with the spring tides. The largest vessels some-
times load from and unload into lighters at Cuxhaven. The trade of Hamburgh embraces
every article that Germany either sells to or buys from foreigners. The exports principally
consist of linens, grain of all sorts, wool and woollen cloths, leather, flax, glass, iron, copper,
smalts, rags, staves, wooden clocks and toys, Rhenish wines, spelter, &c. Most sorts of
Baltic articles, such as grain, flax, iron, pitch and tar, wax, &c., may generally be bought as
cheap at Hamburgh, allowing for difference of freight, as in the ports whence they were
originally brought. The imports consist principally of sugar; coffee, which is the favourite
article for speculative purchases; cotton wool. stuffs, and yarn; tobacco, hides, indigo, wine,
brandy, rum, dye-woods, tea, pepper, &c. Being brought from many different places, there
is a great variety of quality in the grain found at Hamburgh; but a large proportion of the
wheat is inferior. Some of the barley is very good, and fit for malting. The oats are feed
of various qualities. The customs revenue is found to amount, one year with another, to
from 30,000/. to 35,000/. The rate may, perhaps- (see post), be taken, on imports
and exports, at a rough average, at 5s. 3d. per cent., which would give, at a medium,
12,380,000L a year for the value of the trade in articles subjected to duties; and adding
2,000,000L for the trade in articles exempted from duties, we have 14,380,000L as the total
Digitized by Google
HAMBURGH.
725
annual value of the import and export trade of the port! And, as the largest portion of this
immense trade is in our hands, it will be necessary that we should be a little fuller than
ordinary in our details as to this great emporium.
Money.Accounts are kept at Hamburgh in marcs, divided into 16 sols or schillings lubs, and the
schillings into 12 pfenings lubs.
Accounts are also kept, particularly in exchanges, in pounds, schillings, and pence Flemish. The
pound consists of 21 crowns, 34 thalers, 71 marcs, 20 schillings Flemish, and 240 grotes Flemish.
The monies in circulation at Hamburgh are divided into banco and current money. The former con-
sists of the sums inscribed in the books of the bank opposite to the names of those who have deposited
specie or bullion in the bank. Banco is intrinsically worth about 23 per cent. more than currency, but
the agio is constantly varying.-(For an account of the Bank of Hamburg, see BANKS (FOREIGN).)
Of the coins in circulation at Hamburgh, the rixdollar banco and the rixdollar current are the most
common. The weight of the former is not uniform; but Dr. Kelly estimates it, at a medium, at 391'6
Eng. grains pure silver = 4s. 6ld. The current rixdollar = 318-3 grains = 3s. 81d. very nearly. The
Hamburgh gold ducat = 9s. 4d.
Taking the mean value of the rixdollar banco at 543d. sterling, it follows, that 17. sterling = 13 marcs
27 schillings banco, or 11. sterling == 35s. 1d. Flemish banco. No fixed par of exchange can, however,
be established between London and Hamburgh, on account of the fluctuation of banco. 11. sterl. = 16
marcs 2 schillings Hamburgh currency, or 1 marc current= 148d. sterl.-(Kelly's Cambist, Hamburgh.)
Weights and Measures.-The commercial weights are,
2 Loths = 1 Ounce.
14
Pounds
=
Lispound.
21 Centners = 1 Shippound.
16 Ounces = 1 Pound.
8 Lispounds = 1 Centner.
100 Hamburgh pounds = 1068 lbs. avoirdupois = 129.8 lbs. Troy = 48.43 kilogrammes= 98 lbs. of Am-
sterdam. A stone of flax is lbs. A stone of wool or feathers is lbs.
In estimating the carriage of goods, the shippound is reckoned at 380lbs.
The measures for liquids are,
2 Oessels = 1 Quartier.
2 Stubgens = 1 Viertel.
6 Ahms or
=
1
Fuder.
2 Quartiers = 1 Kanen.
4 Viertels = 1 Eimer.
24 Ankers
2 Kanens = 1 Stubgen.
5 Eimers = 1 Ahm or 4 Ankers.
The ahm is equal to 381, and the fuder to 2291, English wine gallons.
A fass of wine oxhoft tierces. The oxhoft or hogshead is of various dimensions. 1 oxhoft
French wine = 62 to 64 stubgens; an oxhoft of brandy 60 stubgens. A pipe of Spanish wine = 96 to
100 stubgens. A tun of beer is 48 stubgens. A pipe of oil is 820 lbs. nett. Whale oil is sold per barrel
of 6 steckan = 32 Eng. wine gallons.
The dry measures are,
4 Spints = 1 Himtems.
I
3 Fass
= I Scheffel.
2 Wisps = 1 Last.
2 Himtems = 1 Fass.
10 Scheffels = 1 Wisp,
11 Last = 1 Stock.
The Last = 11.2 Winchester quarters. A keel of coals yields from 8 to 9 lasts.
The Hamburgh foot 11-289 English inches. The Rhineland foot, used by engineers and land sur-
veyors, = 12:36 inches. The Brabant ell, most commonly used in the measurement of piece goods,
= 27-585 inches.
A ton in the lading of a ship is generally reckoned at 40 cubic feet. Of things that are sold by num-
ber, a gross thousand = 1,200; a gross hundred = 120; a ring = 240; a common or small thousand =
1,000; a shock = 60; a steigs 20; a gross = 12 dozen.
Exports.-We regret that no materials exist by which it is possible to give any account of the
quantity and value of the different articles exported from Hamburgh.-(For some particulars as to the
corn trade, see CORN LAWS AND CORN TRADE.) Linens are one of the most important articles of
export. They are generally sold by the piece; but there are great differences in the dimensions of
pieces of different denominations. The following Table is, therefore, of importance, as it exhibits the
various descriptions of linen usually met with at Hamburgh, with the length and breadth of the
different pieces. It also gives their cost on board, in sterling, on 1st January, 1836.
Descriptions.
Length.
Width.
Sold.
Cost on Board, in Sterling.
Yards.
Yards.
£ S. d. £ 8. d. £ S. d.
35
15
Platillas royales
-
-
16
per piece.
0 15 10 to 1 10 3 to 1 19 4
35
15
Brown Silesias
-
0 12 6- 0 18 2- 1 4 2
-
-
Britannias
7
-
0 3 9 07 7 - 0 9 10
-
-
-
16
Ditto
7
9
-
0 7 7- 0 12 1 - 0 15 1
-
-
-
8
Dowlas -
-
-
-
671
15
-
1 14 9- 25 4 2 12 11
16
Creas à la Morlaix
-
-
671
15
-
1 13 3 3 0 6 4 3 2
16
Listados
-
43
9
-
-
-
-
0 18 2- 17 3- 1 16 3
White sheetings
-
50
-
-
1 19 4- 28 5- 3 6 6
Plain lawns
-
-
81
15
-
-
0 6 10 - 0 18 2- 1 10 3
Clear, figured, and worked lawns
81
15
-
0 7 7 0 9 1 - 0 13 7
1_6
Arabias -
211
-
-
-
-
0 9 1 0 12 1- 0 18 2
wool
Checks, No. 2.
-
171
-
-
0 4 6 — 05 4- 0 6 10
Striped and checked books
43
3
-
per 3 pieces.
0 13 3 - 0 15 1- 0 18 11
Hessia rolls
-
35
per piece.
0 9 1- 0 15 1 - 0 18 11
Linen for coarse bags
35
19
-
-
0 9 1 - 0 15 1 - 1 5 8
-
16
Osnaburghs
-
-
-
-
{ double ells
per 100
}
3 9 - 43 2- 4 10 9
Tecklenburghs
-
-
-
-
-
3 0 6- 3 12 7- 3 15 7
-
-
-
The Platillas and Britannias come principally from Silesia; the Creas from Lusatia, &c. Osna-
burghs are made of flaxen, and Tecklenburghs of hempen, yarn. Linens are sold with a discount of
1 per cent.
Imports.-We subjoin an account of the imports, consumption, exports, stock, and prices, of some
of the principal articles imported into Hamburgh, during each of the ten years ending with the 1st of
Jan. 1836.
3 P 2
Digitized by Google
Table of the principal Imports, Stocks, Exports, Consumption, and Prices at the Port of Hamburgh, from 1826 to 1835, both inclusive.
Stock,
Import.
Consumption
Price in De-
Stock,
Jan. 1.
and Export.
Jan. 1.
Import.
Consumption
Price in De-
cember.
Stock
and Export.
cember.
Import.
Consumption
Price in De-
Jan. 1.
and Export.
726
cember.
Hayti
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lls.
Br. & yel. Hav.
Schillings.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lis.
Grotes.
Coffee
1826
-
8,000,000
25,000,000
Pieces.
Pieces.
Buenos Ayres.
Sugar
1826
Pieces.
Schillings.
1826
8,000,000
37,000,000
31,750,000
Hides
1-2 to 5.9
1826
1826
25,000,000
52,250,000
69,250,000
17,400
1-4 to 93-4
1827
13,250,000
50,000,000
39,250,000
4 4 1.2
1826
1827
8,000,000
85,000,000
17,400
81,000,000
82,630
81-4 93-4
68,030
81-2 to 10 1-2
1828
24,000,000
47,250,000
44,250,000
334 1-4
1827
1828
97,750,000
32,000
12,000,000
79.750,000
36,084
61-2 - 812
52,284
8 1-4 - 10 1-4
1829
27,000,000
39,000,000
42,000,000
34 3.9
1828
1829
77,250,000
15,800
30,000,000
93,250,000
16,640
53-4 - 734
25,290
81-2 - 10 1-2
1830
24,000,000
45,250,000
45,250,000
3 1-2 4
1829
1830
101,000,000
7,150
14,000,000
63,857
86,000,000
41-2 - 6 I-4
60,507
812- 10 1-4
1831
24,000,000
42,750,000
50,750,000
534- 6 1-4
1830
1831
29,000,000
109,250,000
10,500
106,212
117,250,000
89,112
16,000,000
3-4 6.1
47,250,000
5 1-2 5-9
1831
71-2- 1-2
1832
53,750,000
1832
21,000,000
109,750,000
27,600
127,522
100,750,000
108,522
1833
22,500,000
5 6 I-4
71-2-9
40,000,000
48,500,000
6
6 1-2
1832
1833
73,000,000
46,500
30,000,000
103,101
81,000,000
5 14- 61-2
129,201
71-4-9
1834
14,000,000
50,250,000
45,250,000
5 5 3-4
1833
1834
20,500
22,000,000
68,500,000
142,821
1835
75,500,000
6 71-2
133,821
7 83-4
19,000,000
42,750,000
47,750,000
5 1-4 6
1834
1835
$3,750,000
29,500
127,798
15,000,000
77,750,000
132,498
7
83-4
61-4 7 1-2
1835
24,800
122,674
118,474
61-4 71-2
In 10 years
-
-
-
456,000,000
442,000,000
In 10 years
-
-
882,500,000
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
861,500,000
In 10 years
-
-
-
14,000,000
-
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
946,739
21,000,000
917,739
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
29,000
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
-
27,750,000
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
76,500,000
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
.
*
93,085
Carolina
Lbs.
Sumatra.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Marcs.
Lbs.
Lis.
Lbs.
Fine blueBengal.
Rice
Schillings.
Chs.
ser.
Chs.
-
1826
-
-
1,250,000
Pepper
1826
700,000
ser.
Chs. ser.
Marcs.
1826
1,250,000
4,875,000
4,750,000
14 to 18
1826
700,000
2,400,000
Indigo
1826
-
420 130
1,900,000
1827
1,375,000
6,000,000
4
5,786,000
13 15 1-2
1827
2,120,000
1826
420
130
1,200,000
5,416
320
5,086 240
7 to 812
2,070,000
1828
1,500,000
10,000,000
31-4
6,500,000
12 1-2- 16
1827
750
210
1828
1,250,000
1,160,000
4,047
842
4,052 457
6 71-2
1,160,000
3
1829
5,000,000
7,625,000
8,785,000
81-2- 13
1828
1,150,000
745
505
1829
1,250,000
6,781
345
6,511
435
53-4 - 7 1-2
1,150,000
3
1830
3,750,000
6,500,000
7,250,000
10
13 1-2
1829
1830
1,015 505
1,250,000
980,000
5,483
306
5,298
356
4.1-2 - 6
1,130,000
3.1
1831
3,000,000
11,000,000
10,000,000
11
13
1830
1831
1,100,000
1,630,000
1,200 455
5,864
672
6,269
607
334- 434
1832
1,930,000
3.1
4,000,000
5,250,000
8,250,000
13 15 1-2
1831
795 520
1832
800,000
1,500,000
4,695
536
4,915
546
31-2 412
1833
1,720,000
3-3 to 31-2
1,000,000
9,000,000
8,000,000
11 13 1-2
1832
1833
580,000
1,500,000
575
510
8,054
269
8,044
339
31-4 3-9
1,480,000
1834
2,000,000
31-2 - 3.5
8,000,000
8,250,000
10
12 1-2
1833
585
1,280,000
440
1834
5,303
245
600,000
5,158
310
334 43-4
1835
1,750,000
1,530,000
334 3.7
7,500,000
1834
7,000,000
12
13 1-2
730
375
HAMBURGH.
1835
350,000
988,000
4,715 490
4,770 445
314 1-4
1,088,000
41-4- 41-2
1835
675
420
5,699 438
5,904 508
33-4 - 1-2
In 10 years
-
-
-
77,000,000
74,750,000
In 10 years
-
15,408,000
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
15,158,000
2,250,000
In 10 years
.
-
#
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
56,477 4593
56,007 4243
250,000
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
470 350
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
-
-
7,250,000
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
-
1,112,000
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
3,692 413
Ord. Virg,
Hogsheads,
Hogsheads.
Geo. Upland.
Hogsheads.
Schillings.
Bales.
Leeward.
Tobacco
Bales.
1826
Bales.
1,100
Schillings.
Puncheons.
Puncheons.
Puncheons.
Cotton
1820
Dollars.
1826
1,100
5,745
Rum
3,524
1826
3,724
234 to 3
1,000
Digitized by Google
1826
1827
5,745
25,068
22,213
63-4 to 83-4
900
5,378
1826
4,978
2.1 234
1,000
3,750
3,250
39 to 42
1828
1827
8,600
1,300
25,179
23,844
63-4 - 63-4
7,137
1827
5,637
2 24
1,600
4,096
4,096
38 42
1829
1828
9,935
2,800
29,518
29,513
6 7 1-2
3,361
1828
4,111
2 214
1,500
4,947
1829
4,747
32 37
1830
2,050
9,940
38,901
36,431
5
3,140
634
1829
3,640
2 21
1,700
1831
1830
5,158
4,558
26 32
1,550
12,410
21,288
25,453
6
7
5,166
1830
4,566
134 2
2,300
4,759
1832
1831
5,059
24 30
8,245
24,458
26,658
5 142 6 1-2
1831
2,000
1.
2,150
5,297
6,047
1.9 2
6,921
6,871
23 27
1832
1833
1,400
6,040
36,828
37,008
6
3,398
7
1832
3,948
23-4 29
2,050
5,593
6,643
24 - 28
1833
1834
850
3,982
6,865
22,700
26,670
7
81-2
1833
4,002
234 2-9
1,000
5,440
5,340
30 33
1834
1,985
1835
830
4,102
45,188
42,673
8 9 14
1834
3,712
3 31-2
1,100
3,239
3,429
30 34
1835
4,500
40,758
36,113
7
-10
1835
910
3,457
3,267
32 35
In 10 years
45,645
44,305
In 10 years
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
1,280
315,721
306,576
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
In 10 years
48,360
47,200
9,145
Stock, Jan. 1. 1836
1,100
Annual average from 1826 to 1885
4,009
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
16,545
Annual average from 1826 to 1835
5,777
HAMBURGH.
727
Shipping.-The ships arriving at Humburgh in the undermentioned years (ending 30th of Septem-
ber) have been as under:-
From the
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
1833.
1834.
1835.
East Indies
-
-
12
8
13
8
8
17
21
10
Brazil
-
-
71
85
82
94
93
103
79
91
West Indies
-
-
115
84
102
129
113
130
149
131
United States
-
-
42
40
23
42
44
41
63
41
Mediterranean
-
62
63
61
61
54
62
76
65
Spain
-
-
-
15
20
20
24
20
49
36
45
Portugal
-
-
-
18
16
28
16
13
17
29
36
France
-
-
86
61
65
47
107
124
105
149
Great Britain
-
-
529
587
710
652
672
950
926
1,062
Netherlands
-
-
342
595
375
290
387
500
599
614
Baltic
-
-
-
292
338
443
385
385
583
645
580
Totals
1,584
1,697
1,922
1,748
1,896
2,576
2,738
2,815
Repair of Ships, Sea Stores, &c.-Materials and labour being cheap, Hamburgh may be regarded, in
so far as respects expense, as a favourable place for careening and repairing ships; but, having no
docks, these operations are inconveniently performed. All articles of provision may be obtained in
great abundance and at moderate prices.
An Account of the Prices of the principal Articles of Ships' Provision at Hamburgh in 1831, stated
in Imperial Weights and Measures, and in Sterling Money.
Butter (equal
Pork.
Beef.
to Cork
Seconds
Eydam
Ship Bread.
Thirds)
Flour.
Cheese.
Peas.
Jamaica Rum.
Per Barrel
Per Barrel
Per Bag of
Per Barrel
Per
Per
of 200 lbs.
of 220 lbs.
Per Cwt.
112 lbs.
of 196 lbs.
Per 1b.
Imperial
Imperial
Nett.
Nett.
Nett.
Nett.
Quarter.
Gallon.
s.d.
s.d. s.d.
d.
d.
January
48 0 to 50 0
450to 00
610 to 70 0
13 6 to 14 6
270 to 28 0
4
to 41-2
340 to 37 0
3 1 to3 7
April
560-580
480-500
150-170
300-320
414-412
310-336
32-41
July
570-640
450-480
450-560
130-140
240-270
412-434
29-310
October
none.
420-456
50 0 - 74 0
120-00
230-00
4
-41-4
290-336
26-34
December
590-600
420-450
540-680
11 6 - 12 0
00
4
-
5
290-340
23-33
Fuel-Coals. 19 marés current, or about 22s. 6d. per ton, British weight, in large quantities.
Do. 23 marcs current, or about 27s. 6d. per ton, British weight, in small quantities, free on board.
Fresh beef, 25s. 6d. to 30s. per cwt.
Fresh pork, 4s. 2d. to 5s. 1d. per 14 lbs.
N. B.-The prices include the cost of the packages of all the articles, excepting cheese and peas.
In September and October no pork was to be had in a wholesale way.
Freights.-The different ship agents engaged in the trade with Great Britain have published a Table
of freights; but as they are, notwithstanding, materially influenced by the demand at the time, the
season, &c., it seems unnecessary to insert it.
Quarantine is enforced, when occasion requires, at Hamburgh, and is performed near Cuxhaven.
Tariff-The customs duties at Hamburgh are as moderate as possible, being only 1/8 per cent. ad
valorem on exports, and I per cent. on imports; but in truth they are not quite 80 much, being calcu-
lated in money of one value and paid in money of less value. The duty is, in fact, estimated in
banco marks, while it is paid in current marcs, which are more than 20 per cent. under the former;
SO that in reality the import duty is only about 2-5ths per cent. A few years ago it was 11 per cent.,
but the competition of the Altona merchants, where there are no duties, obliged the authorities at
Hamburgh to reduce these duties to the present level. There is no inspection of goods at the Cus-
tom-house. The merchant makes oath to the nett weight of the article, and to its value at the cur-
rent prices of the day, and on this the duty is assessed.
The following articles are free from both import and export duties, viz.-
1. Linen, rags, flax yarn, hemp yarn, cotton yarn, raw sheep and lamb's wool.
2. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, buckwheat, and malt.
3. Unwrought copper and brass, plates of copper, raw zine, tinned and untinned iron plates.
4. Cash and coin, unwrought gold and silver, and scrapings of the precious metals.
5. Pamphlets and printed works.
Articles free from Import Duty.
1. Timber, staves, and fire wood brought down the Elbe or in carriages into the city, the latter with
the exception of that coming from the sea.
2. Merchandise coming by post, if the goods for the same individual do not exceed the value of 50
marcs banco.
Articles free from Export Duty.
1. All articles manufactured in Hamburgh, and all foreign manufactures worked up in the city.
2. Small packages of 100 lbs. weight and under, provided their value do not exceed 100 marce banco.
N. B.-An import duty of 4 schillings current is payable upon lemons and oranges, for the whole
chest to 1,000; 2 schillings current for the 1 chest to 500 and for casks in the same proportion.
The duties are the same whether the importation be effected by Hamburgh or by foreign ships.
Exclusive of the above or customs duties, most articles of provision imported for the consumption
of the town are subject to an excise duty.
Stade Duties.-Besides the duties levied at Hamburgh, all articles passing up the Elbe to Hamburgh,
whether for transit or not, pay duties to Hanover at Brunshausen, near S ade. These dutles are
rated according to a tariff, and are computed from the ship's manifest, bills of lading, and cockets,
which have all to be sent on shore for that purpose. On some articles, particularly those of British
manufacture. these duties are very heavy, being frequently much larger than the Hamburgh duties
They are particularly grievous, too, from heavy penalties being attached even to the slightest unin-
tentional mistakes. It is really surprising, considering the source of this nuisance, that it should not
have been abated long ago. It might, at all events. have been expected that British ships and goods
would have been exempted from such a tax. We do hope that some portion of the public attention
will be directed to this crying evil. With what face can we protest against the conduct of Prussia
and other German states in throwing obstacles in the way of the free navigation of the Elbe, when
we submit, without a murmur, to similar proceedings on the part of Hanover 1-(For further particu-
lars, sec STADE.)
Digitized by Google
728
HAMBURGH
Transit Goods are totally exempted from duty. They are such only as arrive at Hamburgh direct,
and which are neither sold nor exchanged while in the city. The liberty of transit is limited othe
term of 3 months from the time of receiving the transit ticket but, upon application being made for
a prolongation of the term previously to the expiration of the first 3 months, it is granted on pay-
ment of 1/4 per cent. on the banco value of the goods; but under no circumstances is the term ex-
tended beyond 6 months. If the goods be not then exported, they become liable to the ordinary
duties.
Navigation of the Elbe, Pilotage, &c.-The mouth of the Elbe is encumbered with sand banks. The
channel leading to Cuxhaven is bounded on the north by the Vogel Sands and North Grounds, and on
the south by the Schaarhorn Sands and Neuwerk Island. On the latter there are 2 light-houses and
2 beacons, and on the Schaarhorn is another beacon. The light-houses on Neuwerk Island are about
700 yards apart the most southerly, which is also the most elevated, being in lat. 53° 54' 57" N., lon.
8° 29' 40" E. It is 128 feet high, being twice the height of the other. The channel is, in some places,
hardly I of a mile wide. The outer red buoy, in the middle of the channel, at its mouth, bears from
Heligoland S. E. by S., distant nearly 20 miles. But the best mark in entering the Elbe is the floating
light, or signal ship, moored 2 miles N. W. by N. of the red buoy, in 11 fathoms at low water. This
vessel never leaves her station, unless compelled by ice in the winter season. By night she exhibits
a lantern light, 38 feet above deck, and in foggy weather rings a bell every quarter of an hour. A
second signal ship is stationed 51 miles S. E. by E. from the first, at the westernmost point of a sand
bank dividing the fair way of the river. She is rigged like a galliot, to distinguish her by day from
the first signal ship; and during night she exhibits two lights, one 18 feet above the other. The dis-
tance from the outer red buoy to Cuxhaven is about 16 miles; thence to Glückstadt the course is east,
28 miles; from the latter to Stade the course is south-easterly, 9 miles; and then easterly to Ham-
burgh, 18 miles. The channel throughout is marked with black and white buoys, which are numbered
and specified in the charts. The black ones are to the left, in passing up the river, on the starboard
or right-hand side, and the white on the larboard side:
Every vessel coming from sea into the Elbe, and drawing 4 feet water, is directed to take a pilot on
board, and must pay pilotage, though she do not take one. However well the signals, lights, beacons,
and buoys, may be arranged, an experienced pilot is very necessary, in case of a fog in the night, or
of a storm. To take in a pilot, a vessel must heave to by the pilot galliot, which lies, in good weather,
near the red buoy, and in bad weather, N. N. E. from Neuwerk, and is known by having at the flag-
staff an admiral's flag, and a long streamer flying at the top. If the pilot boat have no pilot on board,
or if the weather be so bad that the pilot cannot leave her, she lowers her flag, and then the vessel
coming in must sail, with the signal for a pilot hoisted, to Cuxhaven, and heave to there, where she
is certain of getting one.
There are no docks or quays at Hamburgh; and it is singular, considering the great trade of the
port, that none have been constructed. Vessels moor in the river outside of piles driven into the
ground a short distance from shore and in this situation they are not exposed to any danger unless
the piles give way, which rarely happens. There is a sort of inner harbour, formed by an arm of the
Elbe which runs into the city, where small craft lie and discharge their cargoes. Larger vessels load
and unload from their moorings, by means of lighters. These carry the goods from and to the ware-
houses which front the various small arms and channels of the river, and the canals carried from it
into different parts of the city. The charges on account of lighterage are extremely moderate.
Port Charges.-The charges of a public nature payable by vessels
Pilotage earned-The above pilotage is earned if vessels are
entering the port of Hamburgh, unloading and loading, are pilotage
brought as far as Freyburgh or Gluckstadt, and when from stress of
and lastage. The separate items of which are given in the follow.
wind or weather, which seldom happens, the Hamburgh pilots take
ing Table.
vessels to Wittenbergh or Neumuhlen, they are to pay, without die-
Pilotage and Lastage.-The Hamburgh pilots, generally speak-
tinction-
ing, take charge of vessels only from the Red Buoy to Freyburgh or
Marcs currency.
d.
etg.
Gluckstadt, the pilotage for which is regulated by law of the 18th
To Wittenbergh
0
14 0
of February, 1750, as follows:-
- Neumublen
8
21 0
Pilotage all the Way.-For pilotage the whole way from Cut-
For each Foot Hamburgh
haven to Hamburgh, there is no table of rates, for, generally speak-
Measure which a Vessel
ing, the Hamburgh pilots do not take vessels up beyond Borsch
draws.*
From Boesch to Hamburgh.-Vessels are generally piloted from
Boesch to Hamburgh by Danish or Hanoverian pilots, to whom is
customary to pay 3 mares.
Harbour-master's Charges.-By a Custom-house order of the 16th
During the Six Sum-
mer Months, from
1st Mar. to 1st Sept.
During the remaining
Six Winter Months.
of December, 1816, the Hamburgh harbour-master is not entitled to
fees.
Lastage and Custom-house Charges.-British and other foreign
vessels pay the sime as Hamburgh vessels. For clearing in and
clearing out, no separate charges are made; visiting the port is
considered as one voyage, and the charges on vessels are paid as
follows
:-
For vessels arrived with cargoes from the undermentioned places:
Marks Currency.
English
viz.
Money.
For every
s.d.
s.d.
Places.
Commer-
Sterling.
Vessels coming northwards, and
cial Last.
colliers
20
30
24
36
All vessels, smacks, and kayen
Mares.
LLd
drawing more than 4 feet
The East Indies
30
036
water, and in ballast
20
24
36
West Indies, North and South America
28
035
Vessels laden with salt or corn,
Portugal, Spain, and the Mediterranean
20
024
wheresoever they may come
The rest of the European ports
18
019
from
30
48
36
53
Holland, East Friesland, the Weser, Eyder,
Vessels which, besides salt, corn.
and Jutland
0 12
001012
or ballast, have one third of
For vessels under 20 commercial lasts*
the cargo consisting of piece
without distinction
04
00318
goods
40
60
48
70
Vessels arriving and departing in ballast,
Vessels laden with herrings
20
30
24
36
of upwards of 20 commercial lasts
08
007
All vessels laden with wine, oil,
vinegar, train oil, iron, lead,
For all vessels laden with coals, wood, or tarf, no lastage is past,
packages, or bags, and all
provided they do not take return cargoes.
vessels coming from foreign
Half Lastage.-Vessels arriving in ballast and departing with
parts, whether laden or not
40
60
48
70
cargo pay half the above lastage, according to their destination.
All smacks going between Hol-
N. B.-Exclusive of the above dues, which are all remarkably
land, Friesland, and Ham-
moderate, vessels coming to the port of Hamburgh are obliged to
burgh with piece goods
40
60
48
70
pay certain dues to Hanover, called Stade or Brunshausen does.
These are rated according to the number of the vessel's muls, and
Half Pilotage only-N. B. In case the Hamburgh pilots enter a
are over and above the Stade duties on the cargo.-(For the items,
vessel only within the first buoy beyond the Rosshacken, Strangfly,
see Stade.)
or Cuxhaven, half the above mentioned pilotage is paid. Also half
pilotage must be paid at all events, whether the vessel has taken a
. It is difficult to determine the exact ratio of a last to 0 ton, but
pilot from the pilot galliot or not.
it may be taken at about 3 or 234 to 1. But in Hamburch all -
sels are measured by the harbour-master; and it is upon his report
@ Sixteen feet English are equal to 17 feet Hamburgh.
that the lastage is calculated.
Warehousing System-This has not been introduced at Hamburgh; nor, from the smallness of the
duties, is it necessary, though it would seem that the time during which goods are allowed to be in
Digitized by Google
HAMBURGH.
729
transitu might be advantageously extended. The warehouse rent of a quarter of wheat may be about
14d. sterling per month, and of a ton of sugar, about 9d. ; but there are no fixed rates.
Custom-house Regulations.-On passing Stade, the masters of vessels must send their papers, in-
cluding the manifest, bills of lading, and cockets, on shore, that the amount of the Stade duties may
be calculated. On the vessel's arrival at Hamburgh, the broker reports her to the Custom-house, and
gives his guarantee for payment of the duties; he either delivers her papers, or undertakes to deliver
them as soon as they can be got from Stade, and upon a receipt being produced for the Stade duties
by the Hanoverian authorities at Hamburgh, the vessel is allowed to unload. On clearing, a manifest
of the outward cargo, together with the consul's certificate of the regularity of the ship's papers,
must be produced at the Custom-house by the broker, who obtains in return a clearance certificate,
authorising the vessel to go to sea.
Credit, Brokerage, &c.-Almost all goods are sold for ready money, with an allowance of 1 per cent.
for discount. Sometimes, but not unfrequently, sales are made at 2 or 3 months' credit, and in such
cases a higher price is obtained than for cash. Sometimes sugar is sold to the sugar baker at this
credit.
Brokers are positively forbidden to act as merchants or factors. They are licensed by the Senate,
and must conform to the established regulations.
Brokerage is paid wholly by the seller, and amounts to-
Pepper is sold per lb. in schill. banco; discount, I per cent. good
Five sixths per cent. on cotton, cotton twist, cocoa, cochineal,
weight, 1-2 per cent. tare, if in single bales of 300 lbs., 3 lbs.; in
copper, hides, indigo, manufactured goods, nankeens, sugar, and tea
double bales, 6 lbs.
One per cent. on annotto, camphire, cinnamon, cardamons®,
Quercitron bark is sold per 100 lbs. in mares currency agio, 20
cassia*. cloves*, drugs not denominated*, deer skins, dye woods,
per cent. discount, 2 per cent. good weight, I per cent. To de-
ginger ap*, mace®, nutmegs*, pepper, pimento, potashes, Peru-
termine the tare, the American tare is reduced to Hamburgh weight.
vian bark, quereitron bark, rice*, saltpetre, sarsaparilla*, shellac*,
Rice is sold per 100 lbs. in mares banco; discount, 1 per cent.
tamarinds tobacco in leaves and tobacco stems of the growth of
good weight, I per cent.; tare, real; and super-tare for tierces, 4 lbs.;
the United States of America, whale oil*, vanelloes*.
for 1-2 tierces, 2 lbs.
" N. B. Tobacco stems of all other origin, segars, and other
Rum is sold per 30 quarts in rixdoll. currency, agio uncertain.
manufactured tobacco, pay 2 per cent. all other leaf and roll to-
Sugar, raw and clayed, is sold per lb. in banco groats, with a re-
bacco®, I 1-2 per cent.
bate of 8 2-3ds per cent. discount 1 per cent., and sometimes 1 1-2
One and a half per cent. on wine, brandy, rum, and arrack, if
per cent. Brazil or Havannah chest, good weight, 3-4 per cent. :
sold in parcels amounting to 3,000 marcs banco and upwards.
real tare; super-tare, 10 lbs. for Brazil, and 5 lbs. for Havannah
"Two per cent. on ditto, for sales of and under 3,000 marcs banco.
sugar, per chest. Muscovados in casks, good weight, 1 per cent.
" In auction the selling broker is entitled to 1 1-2 per cent. and the
thre, if the casks weigh upwards of 1,000 lbs., 18 per cent. if less,
purchasing broker to 2 per cent., without regard to the amount."
20 per cent. Clayed sugars, good weight, I per cent. ; tare, 16 per
All articles marked (*) pay the brokerage before-mentioned, if the
cent. East India sugars, in bags, good weight, 3-4 per cent.; tare
quantity sold amounts to 600 marcs banco, or higher: for smaller
for white, 4 to 6 lbs. for brown. 6 to 7 lbs.
lots of less than 600 marcs banco, and down to 150 mares banco, the
Tea, per lb. in schill. currency, agio uncertain discount, 1 per
brokerage is paid, with the addition of one half, and under 150
cent. good weight, 1-2 per cent. Tare of bohea, in chests of
marcs banco, the double is allowed. All other merchandise pays
400 lbs., 70 lbs. of 150 to 180 lbs., 45 lbs. All black tea, 28 lbs.,
I 1-2 per cent. at least for sales not exceeding 150 marcs banco.
tare: green, 24 lbs. For the regulation of the Stade duty, the nett
It is, however, to be observed, that all augmentations, in propor-
weight should likewise be mentioned in the bill of lading.
tion to the amount sold, are only to be understood for sale by private
Tobacco.-Lext tobacco is sold per lb. in schill. banco, agio uncer-
contract. and not for those by auction and even not for such private
tain; discount, I 1.2 per cent. good weight, I per cent. tare per
sales, where a broker has made the purchase of a larger quantity of
cask, 80 lbs. Brazil leaf in serons; tare 5 per cent. In rolls;
goods above the said amount of 600 mares banco, and has afterwards
canister. in baskets of about 100 lbs.; good weight, lb. per basket;
divided it into smaller lots.
tare, 14 lbs. if the basket is packed up in linen, and 12 lbs. if with-
Conditions of Sale.-Imports.-Coflee is sold per pound in schill.
out linen. Porto Rico rolls, good weight, 1 per cent. no tare, as
banco discount, I per cent. good weight 1-2 per cent. Tare is as
the rolls are weighed by themselves Brazil rolls, in serons of 400
follows: viz. on casks, real weight; on bags of 130 lbs. or less, 2 lbs.
to 600 lbs, are sold per lb., in schillings banco good weight, 3-4
above 130 lbs. and not above 180 lbs., 3 lbs. above 180 lbs. and not
per cent. tare, 8 lbs. per seron. Tobacco stems per 100 lbs., in
exceeding 200 lbs., 4 lbs. On Mocha bales of about 300 Ibs., 14 lbs.;
mares currency, agio uncertain; discount, 1 1-2 per cent. good
if 600 lbs., 30 lbs. On Bourbon single bales, 2 lbs. on double, 4 lbs.
weight, 1 per cent.; tare, if in ca-ks, real weight; if packed up
Cotton is sold per lb. in schill. banco discount, 1 per cent. good
with cords, 2 to 4 per cent. according to the thickness of the rope.
weight, 1 per cent. tare on bales, West Indian and North American,
As there is a great difference in the Stade duty for the different sorts
4 per cent.; on square bales, 6 per cent. on Bombay and Surat
of tobacco, it is necessary that, on shipping leaf tobacco, there
bales, 8 per cent. on Bourbon bales and Manilla serons, 6 per cent.;
should be inserted in the bill of lading. Leaf Tobacco, omitting the
on Caraccas and Guiana small serons, 10 per cent. For the regula-
weight. With tobacco in rolls, only the number of packages con-
tion of the Stade duty, all packages should be called bags, and not
taining roll tobacco, and the nett weight, without mentioning the
bales, in the bill of lading.
number of rolls, should appear in the bill of lading.
East India piece goods are sold per piece, in marcs banco; dis-
Glass (window) is sold per chest, in mares currency, agio uncer-
count, 1 P cent. For saving in the Stade duty, if more than 30
tain; other glass ware per piece, dozen, or hundred, in schillings or
pieces are in a bale, the number of pieces should not be mentioned
marcs currency, with uncertain agio discount, 1 per cent.
in the bill of lading, but only the number of bales.
Hares' wool is soid per 2 lbs., in marcs currency, agio uncertain
Flour is sold per 100 lbs. in mares currency, uncertain agio; dis-
discount, I per cent.
count 1 per cent. good weight, 1 per cent. tare, 20 lbs. per barrel.
Hare skins (German, grey) are sold per 100 pieces, in rixdoll.
Fustic is sold per 100 lbs. in mares currency agio, 20 per cent.
banco. Russian, grey. per 104 pieces, in rixdoll. banco. White, in
discount, 1 per cent. good weight, 1 per cent. and frequently an
marcs currency, agio uncertain discount, I per cent.
allowance in weight is made, if the wood is not very solid.
Iron is sold per 100 lbs., in schill. currency, agio uncertain; dis-
Indigo IS sold per lb. in schill. banco discount, 1 per cent. : good
count, 1 per cent.
weight, 1-2 per cent. tare, if in sérons upwards of 120 lbs., 22 lbs.;
Copper is sold per 100 lbs. in schill. banco discount, 1 per cent.
in 1-2 serons less than 120 lbs., 20 lbs. in chests, real tare.
The exchange business done at Hamburgh is very great ; for be-
Logwood is sold like fustic.-N. B. To avoid a high Stade duty,
sides the business of the place, most of the merchants in the inland
the nett weight of all dye woods should be stated in the bills of
towns have their bills negotiated there.
lading.
The usual charge for commission is, on sales 2 per cent. and 1 per cent. for del credere, if such
guarantee be required ; on purchases, 2 per cent. Under particular agreements, the rates sometimes
vary considerably from the above.
Banking, Insurance, &c.-For an account of the Bank of Hamburgh, see BANKS (FOREIGN). All
sorts of insurances are effected at Hamburgh. A municipal regulation compels the insurance of all
houses within the city, the rate varying according to the number of fires, and the amount of loss.
Marine insurance is principally effected by joint stock companies, of which there are several; their
competition has reduced the premiums to the lowest level, and the business is not understood to be
profitable. The high duties on policies of insurance in this country has led to the insuring of a good
many English ships at Hamburgh. Life insurance is not prosecuted in Germany to any considerable
extent but some of the English companies have agents here, who are said not to be very scru-
pulous.
Bankruptey.-Considering the vast number of merchants and
a company which had lent their money improvidently on houses,
trades' people at Hamburgh, bankruptcy does not seem to be of fre-
&c. Much of the business transacted at Hamburgh being on com-
quent occurrence. During the 3 years ending with 1821, the num-
mission and for account of houses abroad, the failure of foreign mer-
ber of declared bankrupts and the amount of their debts were as
chants is a prevalent source of bankruptcy. Another source of
under:-
bankruptcy is losses on goods imported or exported on speculation,
and occasionally losses in the funds, in which a good deal of gambling
1829.
1831.
goes on here. Expensive living is not nearly so prevalent a source
1830.
of bankruptcy here as in London and other places.
Number
Number
Number
The law of Hamburgh makes 3 classes of bankrupts;-the unfor-
Amount of
Amount of
Amount of
of Bank-
of Bank-
of Bank-
tunate, the careless, and the fraudulent. The first class consists of
Debts.
Debts.
Debts.
those whose books show that misfortune alone has occasioned the
rupts.
rupts.
rupla
bankruptcy that the party has all along lived within bis probable
income, and can account to his assignees completely for all his
L.
L.
L.
losses. Whoever is adjudged by the court to belong to this class
69
109,948
93
118,251
117
277,615
(which contains but few in number), is considered entirely free
from his debts, and is not subject to be called upon hereafter. The
But this account does not include the failures settled by private
second and most numerous class, contains those termed "careless"
compromise, and of which no public notice is taken. The increase
bankrupts. These are persons who have entered into speculations
in 1831 is owing, in a great measure, to the failure, for 111,000z., of
exceeding their means, who have gone on for a considerable time
92
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HANSEATIC LEAGUE.
after they found their affairs in arrear, who have lived beyond their
necessaries. Every 5 years the claim may be repeated. All cardons
income, have not kept their box in in good order. and $0 forth. They
bankrupts are disabled from holding offices of honour. The third
are liab'e to be confined in prison for a period of 3 or 6 months; and,
class contains the fraudulent" bankrupts, who are liable to be -
provi they have not paid a dividend of 40 per cent., may be
primented according to the extent of their frauds, for a limited penel
called upon for payment of their debt after 5 years from their dia-
or even for life, besides being rendered incapable of holding my
charge. If a claim be made by any creditor after this lapse of time,
office whatever. Should a bankrupt abscond, he is called upon by
the bankrupt is obliged to pay whatever suni he is able for the be-
public advertisement to appear by a certain day, in default of which
nefit of his creditors. He must swear that he cannot pay any thing, or
he is adjudged a fraudulent bankrupt, and his name is posted - as
not above a certain sum, without depriving himself and his family of
black
board
on
the
Exchange.
Citizenship.-Foreigners cannot establish themselves as merchants, or carry on any business in
their own names, at Hamburgh, without becoming burghers and to be manufacturers, they must
also enter the guild or corporation peculiar to the trade they mean to follow. But to become a
burgher one has only to comply with certain forms and pay certain fees. which do not, in all, exceed
10/. He then becomes, in the eye of the law, a Hamburgh subject; and enjoys all the rights and
privileges of a native.
General Remarks. - The trade of Hamburgh is, in a great measure, passive; that is, it
depends more on the varying wants and policy of others than on its own. There is nothing
of such vital importance as the free navigation of the Elbe to the prosperity of Hamburgh,
and, indeed, of all the countries through which it flows. This, too, is a matter of paramount
consequence as respects our interests; for the Elbe is the grand inlet by which British
manufactures find their way into some of the richest and most extensive European countries.
The principle that the navigation of the Elbe, the Rhine, the Weser, &c. should be quite
free along their whole course, was distinctly laid down by the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
But no general tariff of duties being then established, this declaration has hitherto had no
practical effect. Prussia, who is endeavouring to bolster up a system of home manufactures,
has laid heavy transit duties on articles passing by the Elbe, and has prevailed on Anhalt,
and some of the smaller states, to follow her example. These duties amount, on some of
the coarser sorts of British woollen goods, to no less than 60 per cent. ad valorem, and are,
even when lightest, a great obstacle to trade. It is to be hoped that a just sense of their own
real interests may, at no distant period, open the eyes of the German governments to the
impolicy of such proceedings. It is in an especial manmer for the interest of Saxony,
Austria, and England, that these duties should be abolished; and their influence in the
diet, if properly exerted, might countervail that of Prussia. So long, however, as the Stade
duties are kept up, it would be fully to imagine that much attention should be paid to our
remonstrances against the Prussian duties. If we cannot prevail on Hanover to emancipate
our commerce from oppressive restrictions and burdens, we need hardly expect to succeed
with any other power. Were the Stade duties and those in the upper parts of the Elbe
wholly abolished, we have little doubt that in a dozen years, the trade of Hamburgh would
be nearly doubled an increase, which, however advantageous to her, would be far more
advantageous to the extensive countries of which she is the grand emporium.
In compiling this article we have made use of Oddy's European Commerce, pp. 412-439; Revders:'s
European Commerce, pp. 302-320; the Dictionnaire de Commerce (Ency. Méthodique), tome 1. PP. 44-33;
and of the Circulars of Berenberg, Gossler and Co., Anderson, Hober, and Co., and other eminent mer-
chants. We have also been much indebted to Mr. Consul Canning's Answers to the Circular Queries.
That functionary has replied to the various questions submitted to him in a way that does equal credit
to his industry and Intelligence. From the circumstance of no official returns being published or ob-
tainable at Hamburgh, the returns of imports given above must not be regarded as quite accurate,
though the errors they involve cannot be material. They are principally taken from Berenberg and
Co.'s Circular.
[The commercial intercourse of the United States with Hamburgh is not at all equal
to that which they carry on with Bremen, notwithstanding the larger population of the
former city, and its advantages of situation on the Elbe, which is navigable from the sea up
to it by merchant vessels of almost any burden.
Hamburgh participates very little in the transportation of emigrants from Germany to this
country. It receives from us only about 3000 hogsheads of tobacco yearly. A good deal
of quercitron bark, of no great value however, is annually shipped to it from Philadelphia,
either directly or by way of New York.
The East India merchants of Salem, Massachusetts, send every year some of their ships,
laden with teas and other goods, from Canton directly to Hamburgh, or to Cowes and a
market, whence they proceed to Hamburgh, if advices from that port be favourable.
Considerable quantities of Silesia linens, for which Hamburgh is the chief entrepôt in
Germany, were some years ago exported to the United States, and then nearly all re-exported
to South America and the West Indies. This trade is now conducted without the inter-
vention of this country. The cargoes we now receive from the port of Hamburgh consist,
like those from Bremen, of a variety of German manufactures imported from the interior,
together with some hair-cloth made in the place itself, and used by our cabinet-makers. It
is cheaper than the corresponding English article, and is of a tolerably good quality.-
Am. Ed.]
HANSEATIC LEAGUE, an association of the principal cities of the north of Ger-
many, Prussia, &c., for the better carrying on of commerce, and for their mutual safety
and defence. This confederacy, so celebrated in the early history of modern Europe, con-
tributed in no ordinary degree to introduce the blessings of civilization and good government
into the North. The extension and protection of commerce was, however, its main object
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HANSEATIC LEAGUE.
731
and hence, a short account of it may not be deemed misplaced in a work of this descrip-
tion.
Origin and Progress of the Hanseutic League. - Hamburgh, founded by Charlemagne
in the ninth, and Lubeck, founded about the middle of the twelfth century, were the earliest
members of the League. The distance between them not being very considerable, and being
alike interested in the repression of those disorders to which most parts of Europe, and
particularly the coast of the Baltic, were a prey in the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth
centuries, they early formed an intimate political union, partly in the view of maintaining a
safe intercourse by land with each other, and partly for the protection of navigation from
the attacks of the pirates, with which every sea was at that time infested. There is no
very distinct evidence as to the period when this alliance was consummated some ascribe
its origin to the year 1169, others to the year 1200, and others to the year 1241. But the most
probable opinion seems to be, that it would grow up by slow degrees, and be perfected
according as the advantage derivable from it became more obvious. Such was the origin of
the Hanseatic League, so called from the old Teutonic word hansa, signifying an association
or confederacy.
Adam of Bremen, who flourished in the eleventh century, is the earliest writer who has
given any information with respect to the commerce of the countries lying round the Baltic.
And from the errors into which he has fallen in describing the northern and eastern shores
of that sea, it is evident they had been very little frequented and not at all known in his
time. But from the beginning of the twelfth century, the progress of commerce and navi-
gation in the north was exceedingly rapid. The countries which stretch along the bottom
of the Baltic, from Holstein to Russia, and which had been occupied by barbarous tribes of
Sclavonic origin, were then subjugated by the kings of Denmark, the dukes of Saxony, and
other princes. The greater part of the inhabitants being exterminated, their place was filled
by German colonists, who founded the towns of Stralsund, Rostock, Wismer, &c. Prussia
and Poland were afterwards subjugated by the Christian princes and the Knights of the
Teutonic Order. So that, in a comparatively short period, the foundations of civilisation
and the arts were laid in countries whose barbarism had ever remained impervious to the
Roman power.
The cities that were established along the coast of the Baltic, and even in the interior of
the countries bordering upon it, eagerly joined the Hanseatic confederation. They were
indebted to the merchants of Lubeck for supplies of the commodities produced in more ci-
vilised countries, and they looked up to them for protection against the barbarians by whom
they were surrounded. The progress of the League was in consequence singularly rapid.
Previously to the end of the thirteenth century, it embraced every considerable city in all
those vast countries extending from Livonia to Holland, and was a match for the most power-
ful monarchs.
The Hanseatic confederacy was at its highest degree of power and splendour during the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. It then comprised from 60 to 80 cities, which were
distributed into 4 classes or circles. Lubeck was at the head of the first circle, and had
under it Hamburgh, Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, &c. Cologne was at the head of the second
circle, with 29 towns under it. Brunswick was at the head of the third circle, consisting of
13 towns. Dantzic was at the head of the fourth circle, having under it 8 towns in its
vicinity, besides several that were more remote. The supreme authority of the League was
vested in the deputies of the different towns assembled in congress. In it they discussed all
their measures decided upon the sum that each city should contribute to the common fund
and upon the questions that arose between the confederacy and other powers, as well as
those that frequently arose between the different members of the confederacy. The place for
the meeting of congress was not fixed, but it was most frequently held at Lubeck, which
was considered as the capital of the League, and there its archives were kept. Some-
times, however, congresses were held at Hamburgh, Cologne, and other towns. They met once
every 3 years, or oftener if occasion required. The letters of convocation specified the
principal subjects which would most probably be brought under discussion. Any one
might be chosen for a deputy; and the congress consisted not of merchants only, but also of
clergymen, lawyers, artists, &c. When the deliberations were concluded, the decrees were
formally communicated to the magistrates of the cities at the head of each circle, by whom
they were subsequently communicated to those below them and the most vigorous mea-
sures were adopted for carrying them into effect. One of the burgomasters of Lubeck
presided at the meetings of congress; and during the recess the magistrates of that city had
the sole, or at all events the principal, direction of the affairs of the League.
Besides the towns already mentioned, there were others that were denominated confed-
erated cities, or allies. The latter neither contributed to the common fund of the League,
nor sent deputies to Congress; even the members were not all on the same footing in respect
to privileges: and the internal commotions by which it was frequently agitated, partly origi-
nating in this cause, and partly in the discordant interests and conflicting pretensions of the
different cities, materially impaired the power of the confederacy. But in despite of these
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HANSEATIC LEAGUE.
disadvantages, the League succeeded for a lengthened period, not only in controlling its own
refractory members, but in making itself respected and dreaded by others. It produced able
generals and admirals, skilful politicians, and some of the most enterprising, successful, and
wealthy merchants of modern times.
As the power of the confederated cities was increased and consolidated, they became more
ambitious. Instead of limiting their efforts to the mere advancement of commerce and their
own protection, they endeavoured to acquire the monopoly of the trade of the North, and to
exercise the same sort of dominion over the Baltic that the Venetians exercised over the
Adriatic. For this purpose they succeeded in obtaining, partly in return for loans of money,
and partly by force, various privileges and immunities form the northern sovereigns, which
secured to them almost the whole foreign commerce of Scandinavia, Denmark, Prussia,
Poland, Russia, &c. They exclusively carried on the herring fishery of the Sound, at the
same time that they endeavoured to obstruct and hinder the navigation of foreign vessels in
the Baltic. It should, however, be observed, that the immunities they enjoyed were mostly
indispensable to the security of their commerce, in consequence of the barbarism that then
prevailed; and notwithstanding their attempts at monopoly, there cannot be the shadow of a
doubt that the progress of civilisation in the North was prodigiously accelerated by the influ-
ence and ascendancy of the Hanseatic cities. They repressed piracy by sea and robbery by
land, which must have broken out again had their power been overthrown before civilisation
was fully established they accustomed the inhabitants to the principles, and set before them
the example, of good government and subordination; they introduced amongst them conve-
niences and enjoyments unknown by their ancestors, or despised by them, and inspired them
with a taste for literature and science; they did for the people round the Baltic, what the
Phoenicians had done in remoter ages for those round the Mediterranean, and deserve, equally
with them, to be placed in the first rank amongst the benefactors of mankind.
In order," as has been justly observed, to accomplish their purpose of rendering the
Baltic a large field for the prosecution of commercial and industrious pursuits, it was neces-
sary to instruct men, still barbarous, in the rudiments of industry, and to familiarise them in
the principles of civilisation. These great principles were laid by the confederation, and at
the close of the fifteenth century the Baltic and the neighbouring seas had, by its means,
become frequented routes of communication between the North and the South. The people
of the former were enabled to follow the progress of the latter in knowledge and industry.
The forests of Sweden, Poland, &c. gave place to corn, hemp, and flax the mines were
wrought, and in return the produce and manufactures of the South were imported. Towns
and villages were erected in Scandinavia, where huts only were before seen: the skins of the
bear and the wolf were exchanged for woollens, linens, and silks: learning was introduced;
and printing was hardly invented before it was practised in Denmark, Sweden, &c."-(Cat-
teau, Tableau de la Mer Baltique, tom. ii. p. 175.)
The kings of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway were frequently engaged in hostflities with
the Hanse towns. They regarded, and, it must be admitted, not without pretty good reason,
the privileges acquired by the League, in their kingdoms, as so many usurpations. But
their efforts to abolish these privileges served, for more than 2 centuries, only to augment
and extend them.
On the part of the League there was union, subordination, and money whereas the half-
savage Scandinavian monarchies were full of divisions, factions, and troubles; revolution was
immediately followed by revolution, and feudal anarchy was at its height. There was another
circumstance, not less important, in favour of the Hanseatic cities. The popular governments
established amongst them possessed the respect and confidence of the inhabitants, and were
able to direct the public energies for the good of the state. The astonishing prosperity of the
confederated cities was not wholly the effect of commerce. To the undisciplined armies of
the princes of the North-armies composed of vassals without attachment to their lords-the
cities opposed, besides the inferior nobles, whose services they liberally rewarded, citizens
accustomed to danger, and resolved to defend their liberties and property. Their military
operations were combined and directed by a council composed of men of tried talents and
experience, devoted to their country, responsible to their fellow citizens, and enjoying their
confidence. It was chiefly, however, on their marine forces that the cities depended. They
employed their ships indifferently in war or commerce, so that their naval armaments were
fitted out at comparatively small expense. Exclusive, too, of these favourable circumstances,
the fortifications of the principal cities were looked upon as impregnable: and as their com-
merce supplied them abundantly with all sorts of provisions, it need not excite our astonish-
ment that Lubeck alone was able to carry on wars with the surrounding monarchs, and to
terminate them with honour and advantage; and still less that the League should long have
enjoyed a decided preponderance in the North."-(L'Art de vérifier les Dates, 3ᵐᵉ partie,
tom. viii. p. 204.)
The extirpation of piracy was one of the objects which had originally led to the formation
of the League, and which it never ceased to prosecute. Owing, however, to the barbarism
then 80 universally prevalent, and the countenance openly given by many princes and nobles
HANSEATIC LEAGUE.
733
to those engaged in this infamous profession, it was not possible wholly to root it out. But
the vigorous efforts of the League to abate the nuisance, though not entirely successful, served
to render the navigation of the North Sea and the Baltic comparatively secure, and were of
signal advantage to commerce. Nor was this the only mode in which the power of the
confederacy was directly employed to promote the common interests of mankind. Their
exertions to protect shipwrecked mariners from the atrocities to which they had been subject,
and to procure the restitution of shipwrecked property to its legitimate owners,* though, most
probably, like their exertions to repress piracy, a consequence of selfish considerations, were
in no ordinary degree meritorious; and contributed not less to the advancement of civilisation
than to the security of navigation.
Factories belonging to the League.-In order to facilitate and extend their commercial
transactions, the League established various factories in foreign countries; the principal of
which were at Novogorod in Russia, London, Bruges in the Netherlands, and Bergen in
Norway.
Novogorod, situated at the confluence of the Volkof with the Imler Lake,"was, for a
lengthened period, the most renowned emporium in the north-eastern parts of Europe. In
the beginning of the eleventh century, the inhabitants obtained considerable privileges that
laid the foundation of their liberty and prosperity. Their sovereigns were at first subordinate
to the grand dukes or czars of Russia; but as the city and the contiguous territory increased
in population and wealth, they gradually usurped an almost absolute independency. The
power of these sovereigns over their subjects seems, at the same time, to have been exceed-
ingly limited and, in effect, Novogorod ought rather to be considered as a republic under the
jurisdiction of an elective magistrate, than as a state subject to a regular line of hereditary
monarchs, possessed of extensive prerogatives. During the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth
centuries, Novogorod formed the grand entrepôt between the countries to the east of Poland
and the Haneeatic cities. Its fairs were frequented by an immense concourse of people from
all the surrounding countries, as well as by numbers of merchants from the Hanse towns,
who engrossed the greater part of its foreign commerce, and who furnished its markets with
the manufactures and products of distant countries. Novogorod is said to have contained,
during its most flourishing period, towards the middle of the fifteenth century, upwards of
400,000 souls. This, however, is most probably an exaggeration. But its dominions were
then very extensive; and its wealth and power seemed so great and well established, and the
city itself so impregnable, as to give rise to a proverb, Who can resist the Gods and great
Novogorod ? Quis contra Deos et magnam Novogordiam Coxe's Travels in the North
of Europe, vol. ii. p. 80.)
But its power and prosperity were far from being so firmly established as its eulogists, and
those who had only visited its faire, appear to have supposed. In the latter part of the fif-
teenth century, Ivan Vassilievitch, czar of Russia, having secured his dominions against the
inroads of the Tartars, and extended his empire by the conquest of some of the neighbouring
principalities, asserted his right to the principality of Novogorod, and supported his preten-
sions by a formidable army. Had the inhabitants been animated by the spirit of unanimity
and patriotism, they might have defied his efforts; but their dissensions facilitated their con-
quest, and rendered them an easy prey. Having entered the city at the head of his troops,
Ivan received from the citizens the charter of their liberties, which they either wanted courage
or inclination to defend, and carried off an enormous bell to Moscow, that has been long re-
garded with a sort of superstitious veneration as the palladium of the city. But notwith-
standing the despotism to which Novogorod was subject, during the reigns of Ivan and his
successors, it continued for a considerable period to be the largest as well as most commercial
city in the Russian empire. The famous Richard Chancellour, who passed through Novo-
gorod in 1554, in his way from the Court of the Czar, says, that next unto Moscow, the
city of Novogorod is reputed the chiefest of Russia; for although it be in majestie inferior to
it, yet in greatness it goeth beyond it. It is the chiefest and greatest mart town of all Mus-
covy and albeit the emperor's seat is not there, but at Moscow, yet the commodiousness of
the river falling into the Gulf of Finland, whereby it is well frequented by merchants, makes
it more famous than Moscow itself."
But the scourge of the destroyer soon after fell on this celebrated city. Ivan IV., having
discovered, in 1570, a correspondence between soine of the principal citizens and the King
of Poland, relative to a surrender of the city into his hands, punished them in the most in-
human manner. The slaughter by which the bloodthirsty barbarian sought to satisfy his re-
venge was alike extensive and indiscriminating. The crime of a few citizens was made a
pretext for the massacre of 25,000 or 30,000. Novogorod never recovered from this dreadful
blow. It still, however, continued to be a place of considerable trade, until the foundation of
Petersburgh, which immediately became the seat of that commerce that had formerly centred
* A series of resolutions were unanimously agreed to by the merchants frequenting the port of
Wisby, one of the principal emporiums of the League, in 1287, providing for the restoration of ship-
wrecked property to its original owners, and threatening to eject from the consodalitate mercatorum,"
any city that did not act conformably to the regulations laid down.
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at Novogorod. The degradation of this ill-fated city is now complete. It is at present in
inconsiderable place, with a population of about 7,000 or 8,000 and is remarkable only for
its history and antiquities.
The merchants of the Hanse towns, or Hansards, as they were then commonly termed,
were established in London at a very early period, and their factory here was of considerable
magnitude and importance. They enjoyed various privileges and immunities; they were
permitted to govern themselves by their own laws and regulations; the custody of one of the
gates of the city (Bishopsgate) was committed to their care; and the duties on various sorts
of imported commodities were considerably reduced in their favour. These privileges neces-
sarily excited the ill-will and animosity of the English merchants. The Hansards were
every now and then accused of acting with bad faith; of introducing commodities as their
own that were really the produce of others, in order to enable them to evade the duties with
which they ought to have been charged; of capriciously extending the list of towns belonging
to the association and obstructing the commerce of the English in the Baltic. Efforts were
continually making to bring these disputes to a termination; but as they really grew out of
the privileges granted to and claimed by the Hansards, this was found to be impossible. The
latter were exposed to many indignities; and their factory, which was situated in Thames
Street, was not unfrequently attacked. The League exerted themselves vigorously in de-
fence of their privileges; and having declared war against England, they succeeded in ex-
cluding our vessels from the Baltic, and acted with such energy, that Edward IV. was glad
to come to an accommodation with them, on terms which were any thing but honourable to
the English. In the treaty for this purpose, negotiated in 1474, the privileges of the mer-
chants of the Hanse towns were renewed. and the king assigned to them, in absolute pro-
perty, a large space of ground, with the buildings upon it, in Thames Street, denominated the
Steel Yard, whence the Hanse merchants have been commonly denominated the Association
of the Steel Yard; the property of their establishments at Boston and Lynn was also secured
to them; the king engaged to allow no stranger to participate in their privileges; one of the
articles bore that the Hanse merchants should be no longer subject to the judges of the
English Admiralty Court, but that a particular tribunal should be formed for the easy and
speedy settlement of all disputes that might arise between them and the English; and it was
further agreed that the particular privileges awarded to the Hanse merchants should be pub-
lished as often as the latter judged proper, in all the sea-port towns of England, and such
Englishmen as infringed upon them should be punished. In return for these concessions the
English acquired the liberty of freely trading in the Baltic, and especially in the port of
Dantzic and in Prussia. In 1498, all direct commerce with the Netherlands being suspended,
the trade fell into the hands of the Hanse merchants, whose commerce was in consequence
very greatly extended. But, according as the spirit of commercial enterprise awakened in
the nation, and as the benefits resulting from the prosecution of foreign trade came to be
better known, the privileges of the Hanse merchants became more and more obnoxious.
They were in consequence considerably modified in the reigns of Henry VII. and Henry
VIII., and were at length wholly abolished in 1597.-(Anderson's Hist. Com. Anno 1474, &c.)
The different individuals belonging to the factory in London, as well as those belonging to
the other factories of the League, lived together at a common table, and were enjoined to
observe the strictest celibacy. The direction of the factory in London was entrusted to an
alderman, 2 assessors, and 9 councillors. The latter were sent by the cities forming the
different classes into which the League was divided. The business of these functionaries was
to devise means for extending and securing the privileges and commerce of the association;
to watch over the operations of the merchants; and to adjust any disputes that might arise
amongst the members of the confederacy, or between them and the English. The league
endeavoured at all times to promote, as much as possible, the employment of their own ships.
In pursuance of this object, they went so far, in 1447, as to forbid the importation of English
merchandise into the confederated cities, except by their own vessels. But a regulation of
this sort could not be carried into full effect; and was enforced or modified according as cir-
cumstances were favourable or adverse to the pretensions of the League. Its very existence
was, however, an insult to the English nation and the irritation produced by the occasional
attempts to act upon it, contributed materially to the subversion of the privileges the Hanseatic
merchants had acquired amongst us.
By means of their factory at Bergen, and of the privileges which had been either granted
to or usurped by them, the League enjoyed for a lengthened period the monopoly of the com-
merce of Norway.
But the principal factory of the League was at Bruges in the Netherlands. Bruges be
came, at a very early period, one of the first commercial cities of Europe, and the centre of
the most extensive trade carried on to the north of Italy. The art of navigation in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was so imperfect, that a voyage from Italy to the Baltic
and back again could not be performed in a single season; and hence, for the sake of their
mutual convenience, the Italian and Hanseatic merchants determined on establishing a ma-
gazine or store-house of their respective products in some intermediate situation. Bruges
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HARBOUR.
735
was fixed upon for this purpose a distinction which it seems to have owed as much to the
freedom enjoyed by the inhabitants, and the liberality of the government of the Low Coun-
tries, as to the conveniency of its situation. In consequence of this preference, Bruges
speedily rose to the very highest rank among commercial cities, and became a place of vast
wealth. It was at once a staple for English wool, for the woollen and linen manufactures
of the Netherlands, for the timber, hemp, and flax, pitch and tar, tallow, corn, fish, ashes,
&c. of the North; and for the spices and Indian commodities, as well as their domestic ma-
nufactures imported by the Italian merchants. The fairs of Bruges were the best frequented
of any in Europe. Ludovico Guicciardini mentions, in his Description of the Low Coun-
tries, that in the year 1318, no fewer than 5 Venetian galleases, vessels of very considerable
burden, arrived in Bruges in order to dispose of their cargoes at the fair. The Hanseatic
merchants were the principal purchasers of Indian commodities; they disposed of them in
the ports of the Baltic, or carried them up the great rivers into the heart of Germany. The
vivifying effects of this commerce were every where felt; the regular intercourse opened be-
tween the nations in the north and south of Europe made them sensible of their mutual
wants, and gave a wonderful stimulus to the spirit of industry. This was particularly the
case with regard to the Netherlands. Manufactures of wool and flax had been established
in that country as early as the age of Charlemagne; and the resort of foreigners to their
markets, and the great additional vent that was thus opened for their manufactures, made
them be carried on with a vigour and success that had been hitherto unknown. These cir-
cumstances, combined with the free spirit of their institutions, and the moderation of the
government, so greatly promoted every elegant and useful art, that the Netherlands early be-
came the most civilised, best cultivated, richest, and most populous country of Europe.
Decline of the Hanseatic League.-From the middle of the fifteenth century, the power
of the confederacy, though still very formidable, began to decline. This was not owing to
any misconduct on the part of its leaders, but to the progress of that improvement it had
done so much to promote. The superiority enjoyed by the League resulted as much from
the anarchy, confusion, and barbarism that prevailed throughout the kingdoms of the North,
as from the good government and order that distinguished the towns. But a distinction of
this sort could not be permanent. The civilisation which had been at first confined to the
cities, gradually spread from them, as from so many centres, over the contiguous country.
Feudal anarchy was every where superseded by a system of subordination; arts and indus-
try were diffused and cultivated and the authority of government was at length firmly es-
tablished. This change not only rendered the princes, over whom the League had so fre-
quently triumphed, superior to it in power; but the inhabitants of the countries amongst
which the confederated cities were scattered, having learned to entertain a just sense of the
advantages derivable from commerce and navigation, could not brook the superiority of the
association, or bear to see its members in possession of immunities of which they were de-
prived and in addition to these circumstances, which must speedily have occasioned the
dissolution of the League, the interests of the different cities of which it consisted became
daily more and more opposed to each other. Lubeck, Hamburgh, Bremen, and the towns
in their vicinity, were latterly the only ones that had any interest in its maintenance. The
cities in Zealand and Holland joined it, chiefly because they would otherwise have been ex-
cluded from the commerce of the Baltic; and those of Prussia, Poland, and Russia did the
same, because, had they not belonged to it, they would have been shut out from all inter-
course with strangers. When, however, the Zealanders and Hollanders became sufficiently
powerful at sea to be able to vindicate their right to the free navigation of the Baltic by force
of arms, they immediately seceded from the League; and no sooner had the ships of the
Dutch, the English, &c. begun to trade directly with the Polish and Prussian Hanse towns,
than these nations also embraced the first opportunity of withdrawing from it. The fall of
this great confederacy was really, therefore, a consequence of the improved state of society,
and of the development of the commercial spirit in the different nations of Europe. It was
most serviceable so long as those for whom its merchants acted as factors and carriers were
too barbarous, too much occupied with other matters, or destitute of the necessary capital
and skill, to act in these capacities for themselves. When they were in a situation to do
this, the functions of the Hanseatic merchants ceased as a matter of course; their confede-
racy fell to pieces; and at the middle of the seventh century the cities of Lubeck, Hamburgh,
and Bremen were all that continued to acknowledge the authority of the League. Even to
this day they preserve the shadow of its power; being acknowledged in the act for the esta-
blishment of the Germanic confederation, signed at Vienna, the 8th of June, 1815, as free
Hanseatic cities.-(From an article in No. 13, of the Foreign Quarterly Review, contri-
buted by the author of this work.)
HARBOUR, HAVEN, OR PORT, a piece of water communicating with the sea, or
with a navigable river or lake, having depth sufficient to float ships of considerable burden,
where there is convenient anchorage, and where ships may lie, load, and unload, screened
from the winds, and without the reach of the tide.
Qualities of a good Harbour.- There is every variety in the form and quality of har-
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HARBOURS.
bours. They are either natural or artificial but, however formed, a good harbour should
have sufficient depth of water to admit the largest ships at all times of the tide it should
be easy of access, without having too wide an entrance the bottom should be clean and good;
and ships should be able to lie close alongside quaysor piers, that the expense and inconvenience
of loading and unloading by means of lighters may be avoided. Ships lying in a harbour
that is land-locked, and surrounded by high grounds or buildings, are, at once, without the
reach of storms, tides, and currents; and may, in most cases, be easily protected from hostile
attacks. Bar harbours are those that have bars or banks at their entrances, and do not,
therefore, admit of the ingress or egress of large ships except at high water. These are most
commonly river harbours; the sand and mud brought down by the stream, and driven back
by the waves, naturally forming a bar or bank at their mouths.
Best British Harbours. - Good harbours are of essential importance to a maritime nation;
and immense sums have been expended in all countries ambitious of naval or commercial
greatness in their improvement and formation. Portsmouth, Milford Haven, and the Cove
of Cork are the finest harbours in the British islands, being surpassed by very few, if any,
in the world. Of these, Portsmouth is entitled to the pre-eminence. This admirable har-
bour is about as wide at its mouth as the Thames at Westminster Bridge, expanding within
into a noble basin, almost sufficient to contain the whole navy of Great Britain. Its entrance
is unobstructed by any bar or shallow; and it has, throughout, water adequate to float the
largest men of war at the lowest tides. The anchorage ground is excellent, and it is
entirely free from sunken rocks, sand banks, or any similar obstructions. The western side
of the harbour is formed by the island of Portsea ; and on its south-western extremity, at the
entrance to the harbour is situated the town of Portsmouth, and its large and important
suburb Portsea. Here are docks and other establishments for the building, repair, and outfit
of ships of war, constructed upon a very large scale, and furnished with every conveniency.
The fortifications that protect this great naval dépôt, are superior, both as respects strength
and extent, to any other in the kingdom. "Thus," to use the words of Dr. Campbell, it
appears that Portsmouth derives from nature all the prerogatives the most fertile wits and
most intelligent judges could devise or desire; and that these have been well seconded by art,
without consideration of expense, which, in national improvements, is little to be regarded.
Add to all this, the striking excellence of its situation, which is such as if Providence had
expressly determined it for that use to which we see it applied, - the bridling the power of
France, and, if I may so speak, the peculiar residence of Neptune." - (Survey of Great
Britain, vol. i. p. 370.)
Portsmouth harbour has the additional and important advantage of opening into the cele-
brated road of Spithead, between the Hampshire coast and the Isle of Wight, forming a safe
and convenient retreat for the largest fleets.
Milford Haven deeply indents the southern part of Pembrokeshire.. It is of great extent,
and has many subordinate bays, creeks, and roads. The water is deep and the anchorage
ground excellent; and being completely land-locked, ships lie as safely as if they were in
dock.
Cork harbour has a striking resemblance to that of Portsmouth, but is of larger extent;
it has, like it, a narrow entrance, leading into a capacious basin, affording a secure asylum
for any number of ships.
Plymouth, which, after Portsmouth, is the principal naval dépôt of England, has an
admirable double harbour. The roadstead in Plymouth Sound has recently been much
improved by the construction, at a vast expense, of a stupendous breakwater more than
1,700 yards in length. This artificial bulwark protects the ships lying inside from the
effects of the heavy swell thrown into the Sound by southerly and south-easterly winds.
London stands at the head of the river ports of Great Britain. Considering the limited
course of the Thames, there is, probably, no river that is navigable for large ships at so great
a distance from the sea, or whose mouth is less obstructed by banks. London is mainly
indebted for the unrivalled magnitude of her commerce to her favourable situation on this
noble river; which not only gives her all the advantages of an excellent port, accessible at
all times to the largest ships, but renders her the emporium of the extensive, rich, and popu-
lous country comprised in the basin of the Thames.
The Mersey, now the second commercial river in the empire, is more incommoded by banks
than the Thames and is in all respects inferior, as a channel of navigation, to the latter.
Still, however, it gives to Liverpool very great advantages; and the new channel that has
recently been discovered in the banks promises to be of much importance in facilitating the
access to and from the port.
Bristol and Hull are both river ports. Owing to the extraordinary rise of the tide in the
Bristol Channel, the former is accessible to the largest ships. The Humber is a good deal
impeded by banks; but it is also navigable as far as Hull, by very large vessels. The Tyne
admits vessels of very considerable burden as far as Newcastle, which, next to London, is the
most important port, for the extent of the shipping belonging to it, of any in the empire.
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HARDWARE.
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The shallowness of the Clyde from Greenock up to Glasgow has been a serious draw-
back upon the commercial progress of the latter. Large sums have been expended in
attempts to contract the course and to deepen the bed of the river; and they have been 80
far successful, that vessels of 150 tons burden may now, generally speaking, ascend to the
city at all times of the tide. But there seems little probability of its ever becoming suitable
for the navigation of ships of pretty large burden.
Generally speaking, the harbours on the east coasts, both of Great Britain and Ireland,
are, with the exception of the Thames, very inferior to those on the south and west coasts.
Several harbours on the shores of Sussex, Kent, Lincoln, &c., that once admitted pretty
large ships, are now completely choked up by sand. Large sums have been expended upon
the ports of Yarmouth, Boston, Sunderland, Leith, Dundee, Aberdeen, &c. Dublin har-
bour being naturally bad, and obstructed by a bar, a new harbour has been formed, at a great
expense, at Kingstown, without the bar, in deep water. There has also been a large outlay
upon the harbours of Donaghadee, Portpatrick, &c.
For an account of the shipping belonging to the different ports of Great Britain and Ire-
land, the reader is referred to the article SHIPS in this work. The charges on account of
Docks, Pilotage, &c. are specified under these articles.
Foreign Harbours and Ports.-The reader will find the principal foreign commercial
harbours described in this work at considerable length under their respective titles. The
principal French ports for the accommodation of men of war are Brest, Toulon, and Cher-
bourg. The latter has been very greatly improved by the construction of a gigantic break-
water, and the excavation of immense basins. Besides Cadiz, the principal ports for the
Spanish navy are Ferrol and Carthagena. Cronstadt is the principal rendezvous of the
Russian navy; Landscrona of that of Sweden; and the Helder of that of Holland.
Law of England as to Harbours.-The anchorage, &c. of ships was regulated by several
statutes. But most of these regulations have been repealed, modified, or re-enacted by the
54 Geo. 3. C. 149.
This act authorises the Admiralty to provide for the moorings of his Majesty's ships; and prohibits
any private ship from fastening thereto. It further authorizes the Admiralty to prohibit the breaming
of any ship or vessel at any place or places on shore they may think fit and to point out the places
where private ships shall deposit the gunpowder they may have on board exceeding 5 lbs.-(Φ 6.) It
prohibite the use of any fire on board any ship or vessel that is being breamed in any port, harbour,
or haven, between the hours of 11 in the evening and 5 in the morning, from the 1st of October to the
31st of March inclusive, and between the hours of 11 in the evening and 4 in the morning, from the
1st of April to the 30th of September inclusive: and it prohibits the melting or boiling of any pitch,
tar, tallow, &c. within 250 yards of any of his Majesty's ships, or of his Majesty's dock-yards. By
another section, the keeping of guns shotted, and the firing of the same in any port, is prohibited
under a penalty of 5a. for every gun kept shotted, and 10s. for every gun discharged. 9.) The
sweeping or creeping for anchors, &c. within the distance of 150 yards of any of his Majesty's ships
of war, or of his Majesty's moorings, is prohibited under a penalty of 10l. for every offence.-(d 10.)
The loading and unloading of ballast is also regulated by this statute; but for the provisions with
respect to it,see BALLAST.
HARDWARE (Ger. Kurze waaren; Du. Yzerkramery; Da. Isenkramvarer Sw.
Jürnkram; Fr. Clinquaillerie, Quincaillerie; It. Chincaglio; Sp. Quinquilleria; Port.
Quincalharia; Rus. Mjelotzchnue towarii), includes every kind of goods manufactured from
metals, comprising iron, brass, steel, and copper articles of all descriptions. Birmingham
and Sheffield are the principal seats of the British hardware manufactures; and from these,
immense quantities of knives, razors, scissars, gilt and plated ware, fire-arms, &c. are sup-
plied, as well for exportation to most parts of the world, as for home consumption.
The hardware manufacture is one of the most important carried on in Great Britain and
from the abundance of iron, tin, and copper ores in this country, and our inexhaustible coal
mines, it is one which seems to be established on a very secure foundation. The late Mr.
Stevenson, in his elaborate and excellent article on the statistics of England, in the Edin-
burgh Encyclopædia, published in 1815, estimated the value of all the articles made of iron
at 10,000,000L, and the persons employed in the trade at 200,000. Mr. Stevenson esti-
mated the value of all the articles made of brass and copper at 3,000,000/., and the persons
employed at 50,000: and he further estimated the value of steel, plated, and hardware arti-
cles, including toys, at 4,000,000/., and the persons employed at 70,000. So that, assuming
these estimates to be nearly correct, the total value of the goods produced from different sorts
of metals in England and Wales, in 1815, must have amounted to the sum of 17,000,000L,
and the persons employed to 320,000.
There is reason to believe that this estimate, in 80 far, at least, as respects the value of the
manufacture, was at the time rather too high; but at this moment it is most probably within
the mark. There has been a very extraordinary augmentation of the quantity of bar and
pig iron produced within the last 15 years and the rapid increase of Birmingham and
Sheffield, as well as of the smaller seats of the hardware manufacture, shows that it has
been increased in a corresponding proportion. We have been assured, by those well ac-
quainted with most departments of the trade, that if to the iron and other hardware manu-
factures of England be added those of Scotland, their total aggregate value cannot now be
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HARPOONER. HATS.
reckoned at less than 17,500,000/. a year, affording direct employment, in the various de-
partments of the trade, for at least 360,000 persons.
Fall of Prices.-Owing partly to the reduced cost of iron, but incomparably more to in-
provements in manufacturing, a very extraordinary fall has taken place in the price of most
hardware articles during the last 12 or 15 years. In some articles the fall exceeds 80 per
cent. and there are few in which it does not exceed 30 per cent. In consequence, the
poorest individuals are now able to supply themselves with an infinite variety of commo-
dious and useful articles, which half a century ago, were either wholly unknown, or were
too dear to be purchased by any but the richer classes. And those who reflect on the im-
portance of the prevalence of habits of cleanliness and neatness will readily agree with us
in thinking that the substitution of the convenient and beautiful hardware and earthenware
household articles, that are now every where to be met with, for the wooden and horn arti-
cles used by our ancestors, has been in no ordinary degree advantageous. But it is not in
this respect only that the cheapness and improvement of hardware is essential. Many of
the most powerful and indispensable tools and instruments used by the labourer come under
this description and every one is aware how important it is that they should be at once
cheap and efficient.
Account of the real or declared Value of the different Articles of Hardware exported from Great Bri-
tain to Foreign Countries, during the Year ended 5th of January, 1833.
£ 8. d.
Brass and copper manufuctures
-
-
-
-
-
-
916,226 4 9
Hardware and cutlery
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,433,297 17 5
Iron and steel, wrought and unwrought
-
-
-
-
-
1,189,250 10 2
Mathematical and optical instruments
-
-
-
-
-
16,430 18 5
Plate. plated ware, jewellery, and watches
-
-
-
-
-
173,617 13 1
Tin and pewter wares (exclusive of unwrought tin)
-
-
-
243,191 5 10
Total
-
-
-
- £3,972,014 x 8
The exports of the same articles during the year ended 5th of January, 1820, were as follows :-
£ s. d.
Brass and copper manufactures
-
-
-
-
-
-
653,859 13 5
Hardware and cutlery -
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,459,510 19 7
Iron and steel, wrought and unwrought (mathematical instruments not specified) 924,448 8 I
Tin and pewter wares (exclusive of unwrought tin)
-
-
-
187,811 10 7
Total
-
-
-
- £2,915,630 11 S
Increase of the exports of 1832 over those of 1819
-
-
-
- £1,056,382 18 0
The East Indies and China are by far the most important markets for our brass and copper manu-
factures. The total exports of these articles, in 1631, amounted to 803,1241.; of which they took
348,0451., the United States 169,5631., and France 91,580L. Of the total exports of hardware and cutlery
in 1831, amounting to 1,622,4291. the United States took no less than 998,469/.! The British possessions
in North America and the West Indies were the next most important customers ; but the exports to
them both did not amount to 190,000Γ. The United States, and the possessions now referred to, take
the greatest quantity of iron and steel ; the exports to the former, in 1831, being 218,7071., and those
to the latter 245,2231. The United States take nearly a half of our exports of plate and plated
ware, &c.
HARPOONER, the man that throws the harpoon in fishing for whales. By 35 Geo. 3.
c. 92. § 34., no harpooner, line manager, or boat steerer, belonging to any ship or vessel
fitted out for the Greenland or Southern whale fisheries, shall be impressed from the said
service; but shall be privileged from being impressed so long as he shall belong to, and be
employed on board, any ship or vessel whatever in the fisheries aforesaid.
HATS (Ger. Hüte; Du. Hoeden; Fr. Chapeaux; It. Cappelli; Sp. Sombreros; Rus.
Schlopü), coverings for the head in very general use in Great Britain and many other coun-
tries, and known to every body. They are made of very various forms and sorts of mate-
rial. They may, however, be divided into two great classes, viz. those made of fur, wool,
silk, &c., and those made of straw; the former being principally worn by men, and the
latter by women.
HATS (Fur, WOOL, ETC.)-The manufacture of this description of hats, which is one
of very considerable importance and value, was first noticed as belonging to England in the
14th century, in reference to the exportation of rabbit or coney skins from the Netherlands.
About a century afterwards (1463), the importation of hats was prohibited. A duty of
10s. 6d. a hat was substituted for this absolute prohibition in 1816, and is still continued.
The following instructive details with respect to the species of hats manufactured, their
value, &c., have been obtained from the highest practical authority and may, we believe,
be safely relied on:-
1. Stuff Hats.-This term is applied by the trade only to the best description of hats, or to those
brought to the highest perfection in London. Since the introduction of "waterproofing." is is found
unnecessary to use 80 valuable a material as beaver in the foundation or frame-work of the best hats.
Instead of it, fine seasoned backs of English coney wool, red Vigonia wool, Dutch carroted coney
wool, and a small quantity of fine Saxony lamb's wool, are employed with equal advantage.
The covering, i.e. the "napping," of the best qualities is a mixture of check beaver, with white and
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brown stage beaver, or seasoned beaver, commonly called wooms." Inferior stuffs are napped with
mixtures of stage beaver, nutria, hares' wool, and musquash.
Of late years, hats have been much reduced in weight. This is principally owing to the new me-
thod of waterproofing," which is effected in the bodies of the hats prior to their being napped. The
elastic properties of the gums employed for this purpose, when dissolved in pure spirits of wine, give
a body to the stuffs which allows a good deal of their weight to be dispensed with.
Not 20 years ago, 96 ounces of stuff were worked up into 1 dozen ordinary sized hats for gentlemen;
at present, from 33 to 34 ounces only are required to complete the same quantity. It is proper to ob-
serve that the heavy duty on English spirits of wine is very injurious to the manufacture, as it causes
the employment of inferior dissolvents, as naphtha and gas spirit, which injure the gums.
The manufacture of the best hats employs in London nearly 1,000 makers and finishers, besides
giving employment to nearly 3,000 men in Gloucestershire and Derbyshire, in body-making and ruf-
fing. The gross returns amount to about 640,000Z.
2. Plated Hats.-Next to fine hats are those designated " plated," so called from the plate, or nap-
ping, being of a distinct or superior nature to the foundation or body. The latter is generally formed
of Kent, Spanish, or Shopshire wool; while the former consists of a mixture of fine beaver, hares'
wool, musquash, nutria, and English back wool. From the cheapness of coal and the purity of the
water in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire, the whole of the plating trade is engrossed by them.
The men employed in the 3 counties, including apprentices, do not exceed 3,000. The total amount
of returns amount to about 1,080,000L., inclusive of bonnets, and children's fancy beaver hats.
3. Felt Hats and Cordies are the coarsest species, being made wholly of Kent, Shropshire, and Italian
wools. Cordies are distinguished by a fine covering of camel or goat hair. A very large trade was at
one time carried on in these articles: but since the introduction of caps, and the manufacture of infe-
rior plates, the returns have sunk from 1,000,000L. to scarcely 150,000L.! Atherstone, Rudgeley, Bristol,
and Newcastle-under-Line, are the principal places where they are manufactured.
4. Silk Hats, made from silk, plush, or shag, manufactured at Coventry, Banbury, and Spitalfields,
form, at present, a very important branch of the hat trade. Many thousand dozens are exported to
Italy, Gibraltar, the Cape, Sydney, and Van Diemen's Land. Little progress was made in this arti-
cle for the first quarter of a century after its invention, in consequence of the hard appearance which
the cane and willow frame-work necessarily gave the hats; but now that beaver hat bodies have
been used, as well as those of lawn and muslin, this difficulty has been overcome, and silk hats have
as soft an outline and as great a variety of shapes as beaver hats. London alone produces nearly
150,000 dozen silk hats annually and the quantity manufactured in Manchester, Liverpool, Birming-
ham, and Glasgow, is estimated at upwards of 100,000 dozen more, making a total of above 250,000
dozen. Large quantities of the wool shells, used as the foundations or frame-work, are made in Ire-
land by the aid of machinery. The workmen are distinct from beaver hatters and, owing to the
competition of labourers, the trade has advanced in a greater ratio. This branch gives employment
to about 3,000 men.
5. Machinery, as applied to Hats.-Mr. Williams, an American, introduced, a few years since, ma-
chinery for the bowing, breaking up, and felting wools for hats. The opposition of the journeymen
body-makers, who refused to assist in the necessary process termed busining, caused it to be laid
aside it is now used only in the preparation of the shells required for silk hats, which, as already
observed, are principally made in Ireland.
Mr. Edward Ollerenshaw, of Manchester, began, in 1824, the finishing of hats by the aid of machi-
nery, but the pertinacious opposition of the men prevented his accomplishing this desirable object.
Lately, Mr. Johnson of Edinburgh obtained a patent for machinery calculated to effect very important
improvements in the art of ruffing or covering the bodies of hats. But we understand that the oppo-
sition of the workmen has, also, made him lay aside his invention.
6. Summary of Results.
Hats.
Value.
Declared Value of Hats exported, 1832.
L.
&
d.
L.
8.
d.
Plated
1,080,000
0
0
All sorts, 62,854 dozen
170,188 0 0
Stuffs
640,000 0 0
Wools*
160,000 0 0
Official Value.
Silk
540,000 0 0
Beaver and felts
114,963 0 0
All other
14,377
0
0
L. 2,420,000 0 0
Total number of men employed in the manufacture of beaver
hats
17,000
Including felted caps for soldiers.
Ditto, silk hats
3,000
HATS (STRAW).-It is most probable that the idea of plaiting straws was first suggested
by the making of baskets of osiers and willow, alluded to by Virgil, in his Pastorals, as
one of the pursuits of the agricultural population of Italy. We are ignorant of the period
when the manufacture of straw plait first became of importance in that country but it ap-
pears from Coryat's Crudities, published in 1611, that the most delicate strawen hats"
were worn by both men and women in many places of Piedmont, many of them having
at least an hundred seames." It is evident, therefore, that the art of straw plaiting must
have arrived at great perfection upwards of two centuries since; but it does not appear to
have been followed in England for more than 60 or 70 years, as it is within the remem-
brance of some of the old inhabitants of the straw districts, now alive, that the wives and
daughters of the farmers used to plait straw for making their own bonnets, before straw
plaiting became established as a manufacture. In fact, the custom, among the women in
England, of wearing bonnets at all, is comparatively modern : it is not yet 100 years since
" hoods and pinners" were generally worn, and it was only the ladies of quality who wore
small silk hats.-(See Mulcolm's Manners and Customs.)
British Plait.-The straw plait district comprises the counties of Bedford, Hertford, and Bucking-
ham, being the most favourable for the production of the wheat straw, which is the material chiefly
used in England. The manufacture is also followed in some places in Essex and Suffolk, but very
partially in other counties. During the late war, the importation of straw hats from Leghorn having
in a great measure ceased, an extraordinary degree of encouragement was given to our domestic ma-
nufacture, and a proportional degree of comfort was derived by the agricultural labourers in these
places, by the wives and children of whom it was chiefly followed. This produced competition, and
led to an improvement of the plat by splitting the straw, which had formerly been used entire-to a
more careful selection of the straw itself-and also to improvements in finishing and bleaching. So
successful was straw plaiting at this period, that h has been ascertained that women have earned as
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HATS.
much as 22s. a week for their labour. (See Evidence on the Poor Laws, p. 277.) But at the conclusion
of the war, Leghorn hats again came into the market; and from their superiority in fineness. colour,
and durability, they speedily acquired a preference over our home manufacture, which consequently
began to decline. Still the wages continued good, as the fashion of wearing Dunstable straw hats
had gradually established itself over the country, which kept up the demand for them; and many in-
dividuals abandoned the working of pillow lace (another domestic manufacture peculiar to Bedfordand
Bucks, which in 1820 had fallen into decay owing to the application of machinery), and betook them-
selves to straw plaiting, as a more profitable employment. With the view of improving the condition
of the straw plaiters, who from their increased numbers were reduced to great distress, and enabling
them to meet the foreign competition, the Society of Arts, in the years 1822 and 1827, held out pre-
miums for the successful application of some of our native grasses or straw, other than the wheat
straw in general use, and for improvements in plaiting, finishing, and bleaching. Many specimens
were sent to the Society and, amongst other candidates, Mr. Parry, of London, in 1822, received the
large silver medal for an imitation and description of the mode of plaiting the Leghorn hats. Mr. Cob-
bett, also, who had contributed samples of plaiting, made from 15 different sorts of grass indigenous to
England, received a similar reward. The publication of these contributions in the Society's Transac-
tions was followed by the most beneficial results to the British manufacture. Our native grasses
were not found to promise much success, owing to the brittleness of their stems and the unevenness
of their colour; But Mr. Parry's communication was of especial importance, as the straw of Tuscany
speedily became an article of import. He immediately set the example, by teaching and employing
above 70 women and children to plait the straw by the Italian method; and it is peculiarly gratifying
to observe, as an evidence of its success, that while the importation of Leghorn hats has, during the
last few years, been on the decline, the unmanufactured material has been progressively on the increase.
This straw, which is imported at a nominal duty of 1d. a cwt., is chiefly plaited in our straw districts;
and the Tuscan plait, which pays a duty of 7s. per lb. has likewise been largely imported, and made
up into bonnets in this country, of equal fineness and beauty to the genuine Leghorn hat.
There is, perhaps, no manufacture more deserving of encouragement and sympathy than that of
straw plait, as it is quite independent of machinery, and is a domestic and healthful employment, af-
fording subsistence to great numbers of the families of agricultural labourers, who without this re-
source would be reduced to parish relief. By the estimate of an intelligent individual, intimately
acquainted with the manufacture, it is considered that every score (or 20 yards) of plait consumes a
pound of straw in the state in which it is bought of the farmer; that, at an average, every plaiter
makes 15 yards per diem; that in the counties of Hertford, Bedford, and Bucks, there are, at an ave-
rage, 10,000 scores brought to market every day, to make which 13,300 persons (women and children)
must be employed. In Essex and Suffolk, it is estimated that 2,000 scores are the daily produce, to
make which about 3,000 persons are employed; and about 4,000 persons more must be employed to
convert these quantities into bonnets. Including other places where the manufacture is carried on
in England, there are, perhaps, in all, about 30,000 persons engaged in it. The earnings of the women
and children vary from 3d. to 3s. 6d. per score, or from 1s. 6d. to 10s. per week. There are 7 descrip-
tions of plait in general use viz. whole Dunstable (the first introduced), plaited with 7 entire straws;
split straw, introduced about 30 years since ; patent Dunstable, or double 7, formed of 14 split straws,
every 2 wetted and laid together, invented about 25 years since Devonshire, formed of split straws,
invented about 16 years since; Luton plait (an imitation of whole Dunstable), formed of double 7, and
coarser than patent Dunstable, invented about 10 years since; Bedford Leghorn, formed of 22 or dou-
ble 11 straws, and plaited similarly to the Tuscan and Italian, formed of 11 split straws. But there
are other varieties in fancy straw plait, not generally in demand for the home trade, but chiefly re-
quired for exportation such as the backbone, of 7 straws; the lustre, of 17 straws; the wave of 22
straws and diamond, of 23 straws. There were other plaits, called rustic, of 4 coarse straws split;
and pearl, of 4 small straws entire; but these are now superseded. The principal markets are Luton,
Dunstable, and St. Alban's, where the plait is usually brought every morning by the plaiters, and
bought by the dealers.
But the advantages which followed the publication, by the Society of Arts, of the various attempts
to improve the trade, were not confined to England. Messrs. J. & A. Muir, of Greenock, (who sub-
sequently sent specimens to the Society, and received 2 different medals), were in consequence at-
tracted to the manufacture, and in 1823, established straw plaiting, in imitation of Leghorn, in the
Orkney Islands, with singular success, adopting rye straw, dwarfed by being grown on poor land, as
the material best suited for the purpose. In the estimation of persons largely employed in the trade
in London, hats manufactured in Orkney, are quite equal, both in colour and quality, to those of Leg-
horn; indeed, some of the plait sent to the Society was so fine, as to be capable of making a hat of 80
rows in the brim, being equal to 10 or 11 rows in an inch; but we learn with regret that the preva-
lence of mildew in that humid climate is so inauspicious to the bleaching of the straw, that it is equal
to 50 per cent. on the value of the crop. To this circumstance, and to the low prices of Leghorn hats
of late years, is to be ascribed the difficulty they have had, even with the protecting duty of 31. 8a.
per dozen, in withstanding the competition of the foreign manufacturer. In their letter to the Society
of Arts, of the 10th of February, 1826, Messrs. Muir stated,- We had last year about 5 acres of straw,
which will produce about 12,000 score of plait,-suppose on the average of 3 score to the hat, will be
4,000 hats, not more. We think them one hundredth part of the consumption of the United Kingdom.
These 4,000 hats may give to the manufacturer, including his profit, 5,000L For seed and straw 7
acres of land would be required, and in n anufacturing 500 persons would be constantly employed all
the year. We suppose the consumption of Leghorn hats to be not less than 500,000L in the United
Kingdom : now were these all made by our own industrious population, 700 acres of poor land would
be required, and 50,000 persons would be employed in the manufacture. (Trans, of Soc. Arts.) The
plaiters in Orkney were earning, in 1827, only from 2s. to 2s. 6d. per week, and since that period the
trade, it is understood, has declined.
Italian Plait.-In Italy, the manufacture is principally followed in the neighbourhood of Florence,
Pisa, Sienna, and the Val Arno, in the Duchy of Tuscany; and it is also established at Venice and
other places. There, as in England, it is purely a domestic manufacture, and the produce is collected
by dealers who go round the country. There is no means of estimating, with any degree of accuracy,
the number of individuals employed, as the government is entirely unprovided with statistical data,
and is even opposed to any being collected. But supposing that England took about a third of the
Italian manufacture (and it is believed that we have taken nearer a half), it would not appear that,
even in the most prosperous times, more than 30,000 persons could have been engaged in it.
The description of straw used, which is cultivated solely for the purposes of the manufacture, and
not for the grain, is the triticum turgidum, a variety of bearded wheat, which seems to differ in no re-
spect from the spring wheat grown in the vale of Evesham and other parts of England.-(Trans. of
Soc. Arts.) After undergoing a certain preparatory process, the upper parts of the stems (being first
sorted as to colour and thickness) are formed into a plait of generally 13 straws, which is afterwards
knitted together the edges into a circular shape called a "flat," or hat. The fineness of the dats is
determined by the number of rows of plait which compose them (counting from the bottom of the
crown to the edge of the brim), and their relative fineness ranges from about No. 20 to 60, being the
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tows contained in the breadth of the brim, which is generally 8 inches. They are afterwards assorted
into 1st, 2d, and 3d qualities, which are determined by the colour and texture; the most faultless being
denominated the 1st, while the most defective is described as the 3d quality. These qualities are
much influenced by the season of the year in which the straw is plaited. Spring is the most favoura-
ble, not only for plaiting, but for bleaching and finishing. The dust and perspiration in summer, and
the benumbed fingers of the workwomen in winter, when they are compelled to keep within their
smoky buts, plaiting the cold and wet straw, are equally injurious to the colour of the hats, which
no bleaching can improve. The flats are afterwards made up in cases of 10 or 20 dozen, assorted in
progressive numbers or qualities, and the price of the middle or average number governs the whole.
The Brozzi make bears the highest repute, and the Signa is considered secondary which names are
given to the flats from the northern districts where they are plaited. Florence is the principal market,
and the demand is chiefly from England, France, Germany, and America; but the kinds mostly re-
quired are the lower numbers; the very finest hats, and particularly of late, being considered too ex-
pensive for the buyers.
The importation of Leghorn straw hats has very sensibly decreased of late years, owing to the
change of fashion in favour of silk bonnets, and also the prevailing and increasing practice of English
dealers, from the high duty on the manufactured article, importing the straw plats, and the straw itself
for the purpose of being knitted, plaited, and finished in this country. This has been attended with
serious consequences to the poor straw plaiters of Tuscany, many of whom have abandoned the trade
and betaken themselves to other occupations, particularly to the working of red woollen caps for
Greece and Turkey; immense quantities of which have been exported from Leghorn since the peace.
With the view of counteracting the ruinous effects which our high duty entailed on their trade, the
merchants and dealers in Tuscany, interested in the straw hat manufacture, petitioned their govern-
ment, in 1830, to remonstrate with ours on the subject; but this remonstrance, if ever made, was not
likely, from the condition of our own population, to be very favourably received.
The following prices of different numbers and qualities of Leghorn hats are considered such as
would encourage the work-people in Tuscany to produce good work:-
First Quality.
Second Quality.
Third Quality.
Tuscan.
English.
Tuscan.
English.
Tuscan.
English.
£ 8. d.
£ 3. d.
£ s. d.
No. 30.
11 lire
=
0 7 4
10 lire
-
0 6 8
8 lire
-
0 5 4
40.
21 -
-
0 14 0
20 -
-
0 13 4
18 -
-
0 12 0
45.
26 -
=
0 17 4
25 -
=
0 16 8
23 -
=
0 15 4
The straw for plaiting a No. 30. at 8 lire, costs 2 lire, about 1s. 4d. English; for bleaching and finish-
ing, 1 lira = 8d.; the estimated loss of rows in a mass, that either go up into the crown in the process
of finishing and pressing, or that must be taken from the brim to reduce it to London measure (22
inches), may be calculated at 1 lira more, or 8d. As it requires not less than 6 days for plaiting and
knitting the hat, there therefore remains only 4 lire, or 2s. 8d. English, for u reek's work! Cheap as
subsistence may be on the continent, surely this miserable pittance is not calculated to excite the envy
of the poorest labourer in England. But the earnings of the straw plaiters solely depend on their
abilities and industry. The straw is furnished to them to be plaited and knitted, and they are paid
according to the number or fineness of the hat. Some of the Brozzi women have earned as much as
4 lire, or about 2s. 9d. to 3s. per day, when hats were at the highest, (calculating the time in which
they can plait and knit a hat, at 8 days for a No. 30., and a fortnight for a No. 40.); and these chosen
few still earn about 1s. 6d. per day but taking the whole plaiters, the following, in the opinion of a
house largely interested in the trade in Italy, may be considered as a fair calculation of the average
wages which have been paid during the last 15 years:-
Women earned per diem, in the year 1817, 1s. 6d.; 1819-20, 8d.; 1823-5, 1s. 6d.; 1826-7, 6d.
1828-32, 5d. Men, for ironing the hats, 4s. a day; ditto, for pressing and washing, 1s. 6d. to 2s.;
women, for picking straw, 1s. to 1s. 2d.
The following statement shows the imports into England of Italian straw hats, straw plait, and un-
manufactured straw, during the last 13 years :
Hats or Bonnets of Straw.
Plaiting of Straw.
Unmanufactured Straw.
Years.
Consump-
Nett Re-
Imported.
Exported.
Consump-
Nett Re-
Imported.
Nett Re-
Imported.
Exported.
tion.
renue.
tion.
venue.
venue.
No.
No.
No.
L.
Lbs.
Lbs.
Lbs.
L.
Lts.
L.
1890
62,510
2.652
71,929
20,468
2
8
2
1821
141,412
2,633
120,068
34,365
44
30
26
1822
143,223
12,596
117,020
34,537
518
525
447
1823
129,902
19,950
121,651
35,360
4,254
3,034
2,579
1824
199,432
5,075
195,568
56,771
4,283
4,906
4,170
1825
327,040
9,281
247,447
69,047
14,037
11,850
10,073
629
82
1826
231,607
13,433
204,974
58,145
8,836
955
6,916
5,884
435
36
1827
253,853
12,334
255,640
72,468
3,928
904
3,947
3,350
787
79
1828
384,072
8,377
274,906
77,794
5,502
283
5,108
4,335
4,199
420
1829
160,195
27,030
234,254
66,393
6,282
487
3,340
2,834
6,050
605
1830
162,600
34,132
168,525
47,760
6,183
756
7,884
6,669
18,586
1,859
1831
84,066
24,980
93,947
26,644
23,354
2,102
16,450
13,287
22,344
2,232
1832
169,433
35,271
60,830
17,280
19,109
1,605
17,911
15,174
48,054
811
The duty, from 1820 to
The duty on hats of less than 22 inches in
The rate of duty, during the above period,
1825, was 20 per cent. ;
diameter was, during the above period, 3L 8a.
per domen; above 22 inches, 61. 16e.
was 17a. per lb.
from 1825 to 1832, 10 per
cent. It is now Id. per
cwt.
We are indebted for this very excellent article on straw hats to Mr. Robert Slater, of Fore Street,
London.
[The value of Leghorn and other straw hats imported, chiefly from England, France, and
Italy, into the United States, on the average of five years, ending on the 30th of September,
1838, amounted to $439,301, that of hats of fur, wool, and leather, imported almost wholly
from the first mentioned country, amounting only to $16,834 and about $30,000 in value
of the former description of hats are re-exported. Hats of domestic manufacture, to the value
annually of $176,997, have been also exported, for the most part to France, South Ame-
rica, Texas, and the West India Islands.-Am. Ed.]
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HAVANNAH.
HAVANNAH, OR HAVANA, a large and flourishing city, situated on the north coast
of the noble island of Cuba, of which it is the capital, the Morro castle being, according to
Humboldt, in lat. 23° 8' 15" N., lon. 82° 22' 45" W. The population, exclusive of troops
and strangers (which may amount to 25,000), is probably not far short of 115,000. In
1817, the resident population amounted to 83,598 viz. 37,885 whites, 9,010 free coloured,
12,361 free blacks, 2,543 coloured slaves, and 21,799 black slaves. The port of Havannah
is the finest in the West Indies, and one of the best in the world. The entrance is narrow,
but the water is deep, without bar or obstruction of any sort, and within it expands into a
magnificent bay, capable of accommodating 1,000 large ships; vessels of the greatest
draught of water coming close to the quays. The city lies along the entrance to, and on
the west side of, the bay. The suburb Regla is on the opposite side. The Morro and
Punta castles, the former on the east, and the latter on the west, side of the entrance of the
harbour, are strongly fortified, as is the entire city ; the citadel is also a place of great
strength; and fortifications have been erected on such of the neighbouring heights as com-
mand the city or port. The arsenal and dock-yard lie toward the western angle of the bay,
to the south of the city. In the city, the streets are narrow, inconvenient, and filthy; but
in the suburbs, now as extensive as the city, they are wider and better laid out. Latterly,
too, the police and cleanliness of all parts of the town have materially improved.
From its position, which commands both inlets to the Gulf of Mexico, its great strength, and excel-
lent harbour, Havannah is, in a political point of view, by far the most important maritime station in
the West Indies. As a commercial city it also ranks in the first class; being, in this respect, second
to none in the New World, New York only excepted. For a long period, Havannah engrossed almost
the whole foreign trade of Cuba; but since the relaxation of the old colonial system, various ports,
such, for instance, as Matanzas,* that were hardly known 30 years ago, have become places of great
commercial importance. The rapid extension of the commerce of Havannah is, therefore, entirely
to be ascribed to the freedom it now enjoys, and to the great increase of wealth and population in the
city, and generally throughout the island.
The advance of Cuba, during the last half century, has been very great ; though not more, perhaps,
than might have been expected, from its natural advantages, at least since its ports were freely opened
to foreigners. in 1809. It is at once the largest and the best situated of the West India islands. It is
about 605 miles in length; but its breadth from north to south no where exceeds 117 miles, and is in
many places much less. Its total area, exclusive of that of the numerous keys and islands attached
to it, is about 31,500 square miles. The climate is, generally speaking, delightful; the refreshing sea
breezes preventing the heat from ever becoming excessive, and fitting it for the growth of a vast va-
riety of products. Hurricanes, which are 80 destructive in Jamaica and the Caribbee islands, are here
comparatively rare, and when they do occur, far less violent. The soil is of very various qualities:
There is a considerable extent of swampy marshes and rocks unfit for any sort of cultivation; but
there is much soil that is very superior, and capable of affording the most luxuriant crops of sugar,
coffee, maize, &c. The ancient policy, now fortunately abandoned, of restricting the trade of the
island to 2 or 3 ports, caused all the population to congregate in their vicinity, neglecting the rest of
the island, and allowing some of the finest land and best situations for planting, to remain unoccupied.
But since a different and more liberal policy has been followed, population has begun to extend
itself over all the most fertile districts, wherever they are to be met with. The first regular census
of Cuba was taken in 1775, when the whole resident population amounted 170,370 souls. Since this
period, the increase has been as follows :-1791, 272,140; 1817, 551,998 and 1827, 704,567; exclusive
of strangers. W e subjoin a
Classification of the Population of Cuba according to the Censuses of 1775 and 1827.
1775.
1827.
Male.
Female.
Total.
Male.
Female.
Total
Whites
54,555
40,864
95,419
168,653
142,398
311,061
Free mulattoes
10,021
9,006
19,027
28,058
29,456
57,514
Free blacks
5,959
5,629
11,558
23,904
25,079
48,950
Slaves
28,774
15,562
44,336
183,290
103,652
286,942
Total
99,809
71,061
170,370
403,905
300,588
704,457
We readily discover, from this Table, that, in the term of 52
From
To Per ct
years, from 1775 to 1827, the increase of the different classes of the
The free mulatto male population
10,021 28,055, or 12
population has been as follows :-
The free mulatto female
-
9,006 29,456,-
From
To
The free black male
-
Per
ct.
5,950 23.904,-
The free black female
I
5,629 25,056,- 345
The white male population increased
54,555 168,653, or 209
The slave (black and mulatto), male
28,774 183,290, 537
The white female
-
40,864 142,598, 248
The slave (black and mulatto), female
15,562 103,662, -
A very large part of the rapid increase of the black population is to be ascribed to the continuance
of the slave trade which, unfortunately for the real interests of the island, has been prosecuted of
late years to an extent, and with a vigour, unknown to any former period. From 1811 to 1525 there
were imported into Cuba 185,000 African slaves: of which number 116,000 are said to have been en-
tered at the Havannah Custom-bouse between 1811 and 1820! Since 1825, the imports of slaves are
understood to have increased; and were believed, indeed, to be about as great in 1832 as ever, not-
withstanding the trade was to have entirely ceased in 1820.-(Report of 1832 on West India Colonies,
Minutes of Evidence, p. 64.) It is, besides, supposed that the slaves were under-rated In the census of
1827 80 that, perhaps, the entire population of the island is, at present, little, if at all, under 900,000.
The planters of Cuba derive considerable assistance from free labourers, mostly of an Indian mixed
breed, who work for moderate wages. They are not much employed in the fields, but in other branches
of labour; and particularly in bringing the sugar from the interior to the shipping ports.
In 1827, Matanzas had a population of 15,000 souls. During the same year, its imports were
valued at 1,387,600 doll rs, and its exports at 1,717,347 dollars and 231 vessels entered, and 251 clear-
ed from its port. We have looked into our latest Gazetteers, but to no purpose, for any notice of this
place. Those. indeed, who know that the best of these publications sets down the population of Ha-
vannah at 25,000, will probably think that this was very unnecessary labour.
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HAVANNAH.
743
The articles principally exported from Cuba are, sugar of the
But Havannah having ceased to be the only port for the exporta-
linest quality, coffee, tobacco, been' wax, boney, molasses, &c. Of
tion of sugar, as it was in former times, we must advert In the trade
these, the first is decidedly the most important. The following
of the other ports, to obtain a correct account of the whole exports
statements show the astonishing increase that has taken place in the
of sugar. The following are the Custom-bouse returns for 1827
exportation of this staple article:
Exports of sugar from Havannah
99,354,137 lbs.
-
Account of the Exportation of Sugar from Havannah, from 1760
Santiago
6,032,673 -
-
to 1833.
Nuevitas
375,275 -
Lbs.
-
Matanzas
Boxes, at 400 lbs.
30,361,*44* -
13,000
-
From 1760 to 1767
5,200,000
Trinidad
10,361,337 -
-
1786 1790
68,150
27,260,000
Holguin
361,450 -
-
1790 - 1800
110,091
44,036,400
Jagua
12,500 -
-
1800 - 1810
177,998
Mansanilla
71,199,200
120,800 -
1810 - 1820
207,696
83,078,400
1820 - 1825
250,384
100,153,600
Total
149,973,106 lbs.
In 1826
271,013
108,406,500
But as the Custom-bouse reports are founded
1827
264,954 1-2
105,981,800
upon the assumption that a box of sugar weighs
1828
268,586
107,434,400
but 15 arrobas (376 lbs.), while its true weight
1829
260,857
104,342,800
is, after deducting the tare, at least 16 arrobas
1830
292,782
117,092,900
(400 Its.), they add to their amount one sixteenth
1831
276,330
110,532,000
(it should be one fifteenth), VIZ.
9,136,818 lbs.
1832
297,557
119,022,800
1833
284,925
113,970,000
Making a total of
156,158,924
lbs.
This is, however, only the Custom-house report. A great deal of sugar has been smuggled out of
the country. The exports from Santiago in 1827, as given above, are certainly much under their real
amount ; for at that period, and for 3 or 4 years after, the customs officers connived with the planters
to defraud the revenue, and carried their depredations to such an extent, that the duties became no-
minal merely, and the official returns are in no degree to be depended upon. Subsequently, however,
these officers were dismissed; and there is reason to think that the returns have since been more
accurate. But smuggling is still extensively practised, particularly from the unlicensed ports.
It appears from the subjoined account (No. III.), that there has been, since 1827, a great increase in
the exports of sugar, the quantity shipped from the various licensed ports of the island, having
amounted, in 1833, to 7,624,553 arrobas, 190,613,825 lbs. But to this we may safely add at least one
fourth part for shipments from the unlicensed ports, and what was otherwise sent out of the country
without any official notice so that the entire export of sugar from Cuba, at present, cannot be less
than 250,000,000 lbs., or rather more than 110,000' tons!
Next to sugar, coffee is the most valuable production of Cuba. Its cultivation has increased with
unprecedented rapidity. In 1800, there were about 80 plantations in the island in 1817, there were
779; and in 1827, there were no fewer than 2,067, of at least 40,000 trees each! In 1801, the exporta-
tion from Havannah was 1,250,000 lbs. in 1809, it amounted to 8,000,000 lbs.; from 1815 to 1820, It
averaged annually 18,186,200 lbs. and, in 1827, it amounted to 35,837,175 lbs. The exports from the
other ports have increased with equal rapidity. They amounted in 1827, to 14,202,406 lbs. making
the total exportation for that year 50,039,581 lbs. The low prices seem to have checked the growth,
or, at all events, to have diminished the exports of coffee from Cuba in 1828, 1829, and 1830; but since
the last mentioned year, they have more than recovered their old level. The total exports in 1833
amounted, according to the Custom-house returns, to 2,566,359 arrobas, or 64,259,975 lbs.; but, as
in the case of sugar, considerable additions must be made to this quantity to get the true export. In
the Custom-bouse estimates, coffee bags are supposed uniformly to weigh 150 lbs., though it is well
known that they frequently exceed that limit. The exports in 1833 were distributed as follows ; viz.
from the Havannah, 47,333,100 lbs. Matanzas, 6,423,075 lbs. all other ports, 10,503,800 lbs.
Tobacco differs much in quality but the cigars of Cuba are considered the finest in the world.-
(See TOBACCO.) Formerly, the culture and sale of this important plant were monopolized by Govern-
ment but since 1821 this monopoly has been wholly relinquished, there being no longer any restric-
tions either on the growth or the sale of the article. The cultivator pays a duty, which, however, is
to a great extent evaded, of I per cent. ad valorem upon his crop. In consequence of the freedom thus
given to the business, the culture and exportation of tobacco are both rapidly extending so much so,
that the exports of cigars, which amounted in 1826 to only 197,194 arrobas, had increased to 617,713
arrobas in 1833:
Of 95,768 bhds. of molasses exported in 1833, 46,632 were from Havannah, and 31,620 from Matanzas.
Wax and honey of excellent quality are largely produced in Cuba, and form considerable articles of
trade.
The principal imports consist of cornand grain of all sorts, chiefly from the United States and Spain;
cotton, hardware, and earthenware goods from England; linens from Hamburgh, Bremen, the Nether-
lands, Ireland, &c. ; silver and gold from Mexico and South America; indigo and cochineal from
ditto; wines, spirits, liqueurs, fruits, &c., from France and Spain; lumber, dried fish, and salt provi-
sions, from the United States, Newfoundland, &c. ; with every article, in short, that an opulent com-
munity, in a tropical climate, without manufactures, requires.
I. Classified Account of the Articles of all sorts, and their Value, imported into Cuba in 1831, 1832,
and 1833.
Articles.
1831.
1832.
1883.
L.
L.
L.
Liquids, viz-Wines, spirits, bear, oil, &c.
265,552
276,562
329,202
Provisions, viz.-Pork, beef, jerked beef, &c.
204,180
165,733
261,602
Spices, viz -Cinnamon, cloves, pepper, ac.
11,715
14,129
18,209
Fruits. viz-Olives, almonds, raisins, ac.
31,220
22,434
28,830
Agricultural, vis-Flour, rice, pess, beans, potatoes, ac.
597,590
572,373
726,543
Gruceries, viz-Lard, butter, cheese, candles, soap, ac.
264,104
21,260
212,206
Fish, viz-Herrings, cod, anchovies, ac.
56,205
64,577
63,135
Cottons and mercery
314,337
362,763
356,298
Woollens
50,039
52,770
62,143
Lineus
472,548
514,194
372,714
Leather goods
118,906
93,514
79.243
Silks
94,641
115,909
84.389
Wood, viz-Deals, hoops, casks, &c.
124,257
125,919
155,036
Hardware
117,870
133,662
162,261
Metals, viz-Copper, iron, lead, &c.
30,602
18,557
16,223
Gold coin
177,298
77,858
192,853
Silver coin
22,085
41,346
$11'706
Glass ware
19,583
20,560
16,156
Earthenware
31,211
27,817
19,169
Dye studio, as logwood, indigo, due.
49,518
31,894
50,621
Condage
382
10,596
30,518
Books and paper
34,100
42,889
43,348
Medicines
30,756
25,100
28,789
Perfumery
8,429
8,830
8,949
Jewe lery
7,417
6,084
8,131
All other articles
116,691
107,820
140,635
Total
3,249,446
2,976,130
3,866,396
The exports from Matanzas in 1833 were 57,746,400 lbs.
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744
HAVRE.
II. Account of the Quantities of the principal Articles of Produce exported from the various licensed
Ports of the Island of Cuba, from 1826 to 1833, both inclusive.
Leaf
Years.
Sugar.
Rum.
Molasses.
Coffee.
Wax.
Intacra
Cign.
Arrobas.
Piper.
Pipes.
Arrobas.
Arrobas.
Arrulas.
1826
6,237.390
2,567
68,850
1,773,198
22,918
79,581
197.194
1827
6,578,924
8,457
74,053
2,001,553
0778
79,166
167.361
1828
5,967,066
2,864
86,891
1,281,088
21.404
70,031
2.0.335
1829
6,588,428
4,518
63,37
1,736,257
23,481
125,502
243.443
1830
7,868,881
5,593
66,219
1,798,598
35,741
160,358
407,152
1831
7,133,3-1
3,838
83,001
2,130,582
29,830
117,454
331,439
1532
7,583,413
3.429
100,178
2,048,690
30,203
76.430
448.123
1833
7,624,553
3,227
95,768
2,566,359
41,536
92,475
617,713
III. An Account of the Value of the Trade between Cuba and other Countries in 1833, as ascertained
by the Customs' Returns.
Countries.
Imports.
Exports.
Countries.
Imports.
Experts.
L
L.
L
L
Spain
836,193
565,317
Netherlands
42,417
55,681
South America
285,688
4099
Portugal
9.401
4,548
The Hanse Towns
196,325
313,356
Russia
10,971
207,335
The United States
929,481
913,934
Sweden and Denmark
7,138
15,167
Great Britain
338,577
189,787
Turkey
13,833
France
193,327
110.691
Foreign produce in ships of
Italy
10,755
47,640
Cuba
99,495
265,425
But a considerable portion of the imports, especially of those from Spain, are not intended for
consumption in Cuba, but are sent there merely en entrepôt, or till it be found convenient to ship
them for other markets.
IV. Account of the Number of Vessels that entered the Port of Havannah from Foreign Countries
in 1831, 1832, and 1833, specifying the Countries to which such Vessels belonged, and their
Tonnage.
Flage.
1831.
1882.
1833.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships.
Tons.
Ships,
Tone.
Spanish
334
41,758 1-2
325
38,636 3-4
379
46,247
American
496
85,105 1-3
489
84,957 1-2
509
91,624
Hanse Towns
25
4,226
34
6,344
26
4,500
Danish
8
1,078
12
2,313
10
1,729
French
19
3,975
18
4,067
48
10,162 1-2
Netherlands
8
1,067 23
26
4,764
8
1,477
English
54
6,408 1-4
69
12,558 1
46
9,067 1-8
Portuguese
8
142
4
548
5
494
Prussian
2
293 3-4
1
221 1-2
I
290
Sardinian
4
762 3-4
1
222 1-2
6
939 1-2
Swedish
1
280
1
280
6
1,061 1-2
Hanoverian
1
256
2
366 1-3
Tuscan
1
193 3-4
Mecklemburgh
1
159
Russian
1
176
Totals
953
145,092 1-4
982
155,362 1-2
1,048
168,296
Duties.-A customs duty is charged on most articles exported and
ber of pieces, contents, quality, weight, and measure. All goods
imported. In 1828, the duties on imports produced 4,194,495 dol.
imported in vemels exceeding 80 tons burthen, except perishable
lars being equal to an ad valorem duty of 18 13 per cent. on the im-
provisions, bulky articles, and liquors, may be put in deposit for an
ports of that year. The duties on exports during the same year pro-
indefinite term. paying I per cent. inward and I per cent outward
duced 1,114,641 dollars, equal to an ad valorem duty of IS 1-2 per
duty on the value, each year. When entered for home consump-
cout. on their amount. According to the tariff, the duties on most
tion, they are liable to the corresponding duty. If sold in deposit,
imported articles are fixed at either 24 or 30 per cent. ad valorem
the exporter pays the outward duty.
but all Spanish products imported from the peninsula in Spanish
Tonnage Duties.-Spanish vessels, 6 reals per ton. Other nations,
bottoms (except flour, which pays 1 1.8 dollar per tarrel), pay only
20 reals per ton: in case of arrival and departure in ballast, none;
6 1-4 per cent. duty and when imported in foreign bottoms, they
arriving in distress, 4 reals per ton, but full duries if the cargo be
pay 12 per cent. less than the duties on corresponding foreign articles.
landed or taken in.
These products make about a third part of the imports. Until
Wharf Duties.-Spanish vewels. 6 reale per day. Other nations,
lately, the export duty on sugar was much complained of. being so
19 reals per day for each 100 tons of their register measurement.
high as 2 3-4 dollars a box but in the course of 1833 it was re-
Monies.-One dollar = 8 reals plate = 20 reals vellon. One
duced to little more than I dollar,-a reduction which has been of
doubloon = 17 dollars. The merchants reckon 444 dollars = 100L,
material consequence to the planters. Merchandise that has once
or 1 dollar = 4s. 6d. very nearly. There is an export duty of 1 per
paid the duties on importation, pays nothing on exportation.
cent. on gold, and 2 per cent. on silver.
Custom-house Regulations. -Every master of a vessel is bound to
Weights and Meantres-One quintal = 100 lbs., or 4 arrobas of
have, on his arrival, ready for delivery to the boarding officers of the
25 lbs. 100 lbs. Spanish = 101 3-4 lbs. English. or 46 kilogrammes.
revenue, two manifests. containing a detailed statement of his cargo;
108 varas = 100 yards; 140 varas = 100 French ells or annes; St
and, in the act of handing them over, is to write thereon the hour
varas = 100 Brabant ells: 108 varas = 160 Hamburgh clis. 1 fanage
when he so delivers them. taking care that they be countersigned by
= 3 bushels nearly. or 100 lbs. Spanish. An arroba of wine or spirits
the boarding officers Within 12 hours from that time he may
= 4.1 English wine gallons nearly.
make any alteration he pleases in the said manifests, or deliver in
The Spanish authorities disgraced themselves by the countenance
new ones corrected. After the expiration of these 18 hours, no
which they gave to piratical banditi that infested many of the ports
alteration will be permitted. Goods not manifested will be confis.
of Cubi during the late contest between Spain and her revolted colo-
cated without remedy and, if their value should not exceed 1,000
nica. and. on pretence of cruising against the Mexicans and Colom-
dollars, masters of veasels will be liable to pay a penalty of double
bians, committed all sorts of enormities. The con-merce of the
the amount of such non-manifested goods if they do exceed that
United States suffered an much from their attacks. that they were
sum, and belong to the master, or come consigned to him, his ves-
obliged to send a considerable equadron to attack the landitti in their
sel, freight, and other emoluments, will be forfeited to the re-
strongholds, and to obtain that redress they had in vain moght from
venue. Goods over-manifested will pay duties as if they were on
the government of the island but we are not sure that the nuisance
board. Goods no' m nifested, but claimed in time by a consignee,
is as yet entirely abated.
will be delivered up to the latter: but the master, in this case, will
lu compiling this article, we have consulted Humboldr's standard
be subject to a fine equal in amount to that of such goods. Gold and
work, the Essa: Politique sur l'Iste de Cula, Paris. 1896; and the
silver, not manifested by either captain or consignee, are liable to a
Supplement (Tableau Statutique) thereto, Paris, 1831; the excellent
duty of 4 per cept. Goods falling hort of the quantity manifested,
abstract of the Cundro Estamistico de Cuta. published at Havanmah
when landed. and not being included in any invoice of a consignee,
in 1829. in the Imerican Quarterly Review for June 1830; the But
will render the mas'er liable to a penalty of 200 dollars for each
ulin des Sciences Geograph ques, tom. XXII. p. 333.; Pointail's
package so falling short. Every consignee is obliged to present his
Notes on Mexico, pp. 279-29R (Eng. ed.): Papers published by
invoice or note of goods, within 48 hours after the arrival of a ves-
Board of Trade, part iii. PP- 648-652 and pricate curremention-
sel; if not, such goods are liable to 2 per cent. extra duty. The
tions from intelligent British merchants established at Havannah.
same is the case, if such note do not contain a statement of the num-
HAVRE, OR HAVRE DE GRACE, a commercial and strongly fortified sea-port town
of France, on the English channel, near the mouth of the Seine, on its northern bank, in
lat. 49° 29' 14" N., lon. 0° 6' 38" E. Population 24,000.
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HAVRE.
745
Harbour.-The harbour of Havre consists of 2 basins, inclosed
The Hoe, or southern passage, lies between the last mentioned bank
within the walls of the town, affording accommodation for about
and that of Amfar. In the great road there is from 6107 1-2 fathoms
450 ships. Cape de la Heve, forming the northern extremity of the
water at ebb; and in the little, from 3 to 3 1-3. Large ships always
Seine, lies N. N. W. from Havre. distant about 2 1-8 miles. It is
lie in the former. The rise of the tide is from 22 to 27 feet and by
elevated 390 feet above the level of the va. and is surmounted by 2
taking advantage of it. the largest class of merchantmen enter the
light-houses 50 feet high. These, which are 325 feet apart, exhibit
port. The water in the harbour does not begin perceptibly to sub-
powerful fixed lights. There is also a brilliant harbour-light at the
side till about 3 hours after high water,-a peculiarity ascribed to
entrance to the port, on the extremity of the western jetty. Havre
the current down the Seine, across the entrance to the harbour, being
has 2 roadsteads. The great or outer road is about a league from
sufficiently powerful to dam up for a while the water in the latter.
the port, and rather more than 1-2 league W. S. W. from Cape de la
Large fleets, taking advantage of this circumstance, are able to leave
Here the little or inner road is about 1-2 league from the port,
the port in a single tide, and get to sea, even though the wind should
and about 3-4 of a male S. S. E. from Cape de la Heve They are
be unfavourable.-(See Plan of Haure, published by Mr. Laurie;
separated by the sand bank called Loclat; between which and the
Annuaire du Commerce Maritime for 1833, p. 211.; Coulier our
bank called Les Hauts de is Rade is the west passage to the port.
Les Phares, p. 59, &c.)
Trade, &c.-Havre being, in fact, the principal sea-port of Paris, most of the colonial and other fo-
reign products destined for the consumption of that city are imported into it. It has also a considera-
ble trade of its own. The principal articles of export are silk and woollen stuffs, lace, gloves, trinkets,
perfumery, Burgundy, Champagne, and other wines, brandy. books, &c. Besides colonial products
and spices, the imports principally consist of cotton, indigo, tobacco, hides, dye woods, iron, tin, dried
fish, &c. Grain and flour are sometimes imported and sometimes exported.
Monies, Weights, and Measures same as those of the rest of France.-(See BORDEAUX, and WEIGHTS
AND MEASURES.)
It is estimated that the entire value of the different articles imported into Havre, in 1829, amounted
to 250,000,000 francs, or about 10,000,000Γ. sterling. Of this sum, the cotton imported was estimated at
26,000,000 fr.; the sugars of the French colonies at 44,000,000 fr., and those of foreign countries at
8,000,000 fr.; coffee 14,000,000 fr.; indigo,2,000,000 fr.; tobacco 4,000,000 fr., &c. The customs dutles
at Havre during the same year amounted to 25,876,535 fr., being nearly 11 per cent. upon the estimated
value of the imports. There entered the port, in the same year, 1,481 French and other ships, coming
from foreign countries and the colonies of France, and 2,995 coasting vessels, including those navigat-
ing the river 62 ships entered en relàche and in ballast.-(Bulletin des Sciences Géographiques, tom.
xvi. p. 390. and tom. xxiii. p. 370.)
Arrivals.-In 1833, there entered the port, 44 ships from Martinique, 78 from Guadaloupe, 213 from
the United States, 30 from Brazil, 1 from Peru and Chili, 23 from Hayti, 6 from Mexico, 11 from Monte-
Video and Buenos Ayres, 2 from Colombia, 10 from the Havannah and St Iago, 1 from St. Thomas, 2
from Cayenne, 3 from Senegal, 4 from the Isle de Bourbon and the Mauritius, 6 from the East Indies,
2 from China, and 11 from the whale fishery in all, 447.-(Annuaire du Commerce Maritime, tom. 11. p.
345.)
The total arrivals at Havre in 1833 were
Ships.
Tennage.
Cream.
French ships from foreign countries
250
44,964
2,535
French colonies
130
32,781
1,643
coasters
2,521
159,008
9,328
from the cod and whale fishery
14
4,940
484
Foreign vessels
496
125,029
Totals
3,410
366,717
In respect to the imports of cotton, Havre is to the other French Ports, what Liverpool is to the other
ports of England. We subjoin an
Account of the Imports of Cotton into France in 1833 and 1834, with the Stocks on Hand, &c., speci-
fying in detail the Imports and Stocks of Havre and Marseilles.
1933.
1834.
United
Other
Total in
United
Other
Total in
Brazil.
States.
Egypt.
different
Brazil.
Sorts.
Egypt.
different
Ports.
States.
Sorts.
Ports.
Stock, 1st Jan.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales
Bales.
Havre
16,270
649
181
17,000
29,832
3,340
828
34,000
Marseilles
1,150
750
1,300
3,200
3,911
350
6,632
4,107
15,000
Other Ports
950
850
1,800
1,400
100
-
1,500
3,000
18,370
549
750
2,331
22,000
35,143
3,790
6,632
6,435
52,000
Imports.
Havre
181,611
22,410
-
6,283
810,304
184,057
14,258
3,134
201,447
Marseilles
21,470
2,187
37,280
16,012
76,889
19,667
2,822
20,243
11,519
64,251
Other Ports
14,239
726
4,285
19,250
18,074
792
5,108
23,974
217,320
25,263
37,280
96,580
306,443
221,798
17,872
20,243
19,761
276,674
Sold.
Havre
168,049
19,619
5,636
193,304
194,180
15,698
3,662
213,440
Marseilles
18,709
1,777
31,398
13,905
65,089
23,078
3,172
23,375
13,626
63,251
Other Ports
13,789
626
3,635
18,050
18,874
742
5,358
24,974
200,547
22,022
31,398
22,476
276,443
236,132
19,512
23,375
22,646
301,665
United States.
Brazil.
Egypt.
Other Sorts.
Total.
Stock, 1st Jan. 1835.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Bales.
Havre
19,700
2,000
.
300
Marseilles
500
8,500
2,000
Other Ports
600
150
1,250
}
30,000
According to the American official accounts, there were shipped for France, during the year ended 30th of September, 1893, 76,832,449 lbs.
of cotton, valued at 8,945,359 dollars. The exports to England during the same year were 238,241,746 lbs., valued at 26,254,970 dollars!
-(Papers laid before Congress, 22d of April, 1934.)
For the quantities of sugar and coffee imported into Havre in the years 1829, 1830, 1831, and 1832,
see post.
We avail ourselves of this opportunity to lay before our readers the following official state-
ments as to the Foreign Trade and Navigation of France for 1833.
On the next page will be found an account of the value of the different descriptions of goods (ex-
clusive of coin and bullion) imported Into and exported from France in 1833, specifying the mode in
which they were imported and exported the value of the imported goods entered for home con-
sumption, with the duty thereon, and on the exports.-(Administration des Douanes, 1833, p. 4.)
VoL. I.-3 N
94
1. SUMMARY OF IMPORTS AND EXPORTS IN 1833.
IMPORTS.
746
EXPORTS.
Goods imported.
Goods entered
for Consumption.
French and Foreign Goods.
French Goods.
Description of Merchandise.
By Sea.
By Sea.
By Lan).
Total.
Duty.
Duty
received.
By Land.
Total.
Value.
Duty
French
Foreign
French
Foreign
received.
Ships.
Ships.
Ships.
Ships.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
France.
Francs.
Live animals
128,052
247,026
9,388,192
9,763,270
9,635,756
1,719,765
1,426,929
368,401
7,284,732
9,080,062
8,994,864
76,976
Products and parts of animals
36,736,323
19,293,713
97,389,426
153,419,462
107,047,296
9,572,755
36,167,159
19,574,336
6,023,963
61,765,458
11,796,853
204,639
Fish
8,843,285
3,795,971
1,416,537
14,055,793
13,129,922
322,713
454,978
428,911
801,195
1,685,084
1,049,184
2,949
Animal substances belonging to medicine and perfumery
673,229
221,410
1,284,246
2,178,885
1,791,042
116,134
103,474
118,878
92,188
314,540
255,736
532
Hard substances fit for cutting, &c. (ivory, &c.)
2,272,994
731,093
290,305
3,294,392
2,862,932
172,707
222,487
126,350
84,144
432,981
92,826
2,217
Farinaceous articles
2,846,235
6,705,197
1,107,314
10,658,746
5,270,830
753,450
5,191,836
2,589,506
1,900,880
9,682,222
5,121,227
46,171
Fruits
3,736,643
14,872,003
3,916,600
22,525,246
19,550,622
1,954,029
2,112,646
6,090,919
1,673,715
9,877,280
8,417,318
54,898
Colonial products
75,369,628
17,721,425
45,147
93,236,200
70,011,211
45,448,572
6,860,955
9,643,505
7,653,804
24,158,264
2,491,063
2,794
Vegetable juices, (gums, &c.)
46,130,332
3,454,629
802,442
50,387,403
40,459,596
14,161,702
6,818,138
9,250,391
2,211,994
18,280.523
11,161,770
22,060
Vegetable matters suitable for medicine
2,581,597
494,547
403,345
3,479,489
1,607,258
225,171
540,847
1,107,647
382,696
2,031,190
819,675
1,102
Common wood
966,294
17,667,376
8,882,933
27,516,608
24,173,218
571,170
2,333,344
2,705,454
1,963,015
7,001,813
3,993,248
23,334
Fine wood
4,806,075
687,849
2,056
4,995,980
3,752,512
889,466
432,696
900,092
213,512
1,546,300
71,857
1,379
Fruits, stalks, and filaments, as cotton, flax, raw silk, &c.
18,433,310
64,172,467
830,388
83,436,165
67,366,854
8,258,953
2,407,502
2,810,048
6,574,269
11,791,819
2,139,870
5,134
Stuffs for tanning
1,401,585
2,950,644
930315
5,282,544
2,333,672
346,664
1,094,443
5,015,106
6,649,953
12,759,502
10,393,881
93,587
Various leguminous products
310,469
282,340
1,461,931
2,054,740
1,801,033
341,269
458,632
580,697
1,540,563
2,579,892
2,386,140
155,840
Stones and minerals
648,259
2,380,356
11,722,103
14,750,718
14,278,688
3,041,248
809,103
1,062,266
2,371,335
4,242,704
3,947,871
65,318
Metals
19,380,950
12,112,886
5,512,389
37,006,225
35,600,484
3,642,434
1,682,167
2,017,898
4,003,073
7,703,138
4,165,622
8,787
Chemical products
3,094,565
3,065,017
229,945
6,389,527
5,101,156
2,088,145
1,912,769
4,431,060
2,293,471
8,637,300
7,792,318
51,422
Prepared dye stuffs (indigo, cochineal, &c.)
32,447,699
1,077,093
86,457
33,611,249
HAVRE.
19,004,667
1,160,870
2,128,233
1,922.707
3,721,137
7,772,077
451,707
3,050
Colours
63,085
261,592
421,338
746,015
699,510
89,638
404,648
273,261
979,958
1,657,867
1,568,998
4,754
Different compounds (perfumery, soap, compound medicines, &c.)
672,908
341,211
141,569
1,155,688
63,613
20,935
9,535,226
9,792,522
6,559,071
25,886,819
25,149,851
25,102
Liquids (wines, brandy, &e.)
977,347
1,549,525
15,116
2,641,988
664,402
271,192
20,077,964
46,927,637
9,058,669
73,064,170
70,053,321
68,165
Glass and pottery
205,687
253,327
1,081,004
1,540,018
937,301
345,672
5,218,237
4,957,644
2,714,853
12,890,734
11,867,254
111,346
Thread
4,071,542
1,373,252
5,058,452
10,503,246
9,966,795
419,596
1,015,026
760,742
2,313,043
4,088,811
3,426,155
662
Wove goods and felt
8,416,871
9,133,543
57,810,327
75,360,741
19,811,003
3,096,312
83,934,573
143,630,146
108,583,520
336,148,239
261,316,685
43,255
Paper
186,464
344,331
426,705
957,400
818,085
67,374
4,703,352
2,792,202
4,209,530
11,705,084
11,233,215
29,822
Various prepared substances
3,251,926
3,774,002
15,402,086
22,428,014
13,378,013
0,538,880
41,900,994
30,581,875
27,049,570
99,532,439
89,266,545
151,084
Total value of goods
F.
278,153,354
188,963,825
226,158,573
693,275,752
491,137,471
101,636,816
239,948,358
310,460,201
215,907,753
766,316,312
559,425,054
1,256,379
Digitized by Google
II. TRANSIT AND WAREHOUSE TRADE OF FRANCE FOR 1833.-(Administration des Donanes, p. 301.)
Entered in Warehouse in 1833.
Taken from Warehouse in 1833.
Places.
Stock,
Stock,
31st Dec. 1832.
Imported.
Change of
Total.
For
For Re-exportation.
Change of
Total.
31st Dec. 1833.
Warehouse.
Consumption.
Warehouse.
Direct.
Transit.
By Sea.
Transit.
Francs.
Farnes.
France.
Francs.
Francs.
France.
Francs.
France.
Francs.
Francs.
Bordeaux
Francs.
Havre
20,644,775
45,678,397
2,184,679
1,193,476
69,701,327
30,973,640
10,893,556
1,858,107
7,830,792
51,556,095
18,145,232
25,094,744
125,541,513
Marseilles
2,488,052
2,226,034
155,350,393
94,922,987
9,968,749
6,292,539
7,697,980
118,882,255
36,468,138
35,634,680
130,504,028
560,369
4.558,305
171,257,382
79,328,107
36,939,969
6,056,870
10,229,582
132,554,528
38,702,854
Other ports
15,880,378
103,571,549
5,667,969
16,074,806
141,184,602
71,588,220
9,938,434
32,944,833
7,069,228
121,540,615
19,643,887
Totals
F.
97,254,577
405,296,487
10,901,009
24,042,671
537,493,704
276,812,954
67,740,708
47,152,349
32,927,582
424,533,593
112,060,111
III. IMPORT TRADE OF FRANCE DURING THE YEAR 1833.
/ ccount of the Imports into France in 1833, specifying the Value of the Imports from each Country distinguishing between General and Special Commerce.-(Admin. des Douanes, 1833,p.
General Commerce.
Special Commerce.
Countries from which imported.
Materials of
For Consumption.
Materials of
For Consumption.
Manufacture.
Total.
Duties
Coin and
Raw.
Manufactured.
Manufacture.
Total.
Raw.
Manufactured.
received.
Bullion
imported.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Europe:-Russia
Francs.
16,387,298
6,538,397
178,105
Francs.
23,103,800
Francs.
Francs.
14,789,451
Sweden
76,899
4,612,713
121,344
4,004,154
76
4,081,129
19,523.508
1,301,088
3,786,043
6,000
202
Norway
101,063
18,459
9,183,046
39,176
9,323,285
3,804,704
920,755
9,260,148
Denmark
13,562
84,656
138,674
2,701,927
1,704
2,842,305
9,358,366
261,576
103,366
162,865
Prussia
2,564,712
1,580
7,072,007
2,897,192
10,522,093
20,491,292
2,669,658
217,452
6,679,925
Hanseatic Towns
2,244,780
3,581,533
6,144,252
1,234,060
12,506,238
1,183,463
8,561,775
1,434,791
3,549,311
2,100
Holland
1,048,513
2,013,188
157,948
2,956,234
511,256
4,755,772
5,480,678
879,173
1,613,438
Belgium
2,365,252
124,717
33,750,448
29,401,985
4,103,407
5,692,500
68,844,933
32,287,650
853,780
England (United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Malta, and Ionian Islands)
5,448,067
15,817,297
23,154,194
15,471,058
53,553,014
1,116,407
39,741,659
8,524,285
18,506,514
40,151,756
Portugal (including Madeira, Cape de Verde Islands, and the Azores)
463,707
1,152,019
654,996
4,963
3,446,930
22,417,151
1,811,978
695,623
3,724,508
115,264,800
Spain (including the Canary isles)
356,814
6,668
34,736,858
5,613,176
3,494,561
1,059,105
43,844,595
26,547,075
188,788
4,100
Austria (including the kingdom of Lombardy)
3,167,099
1,206,252
47,114,773
459,222
669,384
30,920,426
48,243,379
4,250,562
7,718,021
380,170
Sardinia (including island and continent)
239,911
204,771
44,394,656
4,876,892
4,695,244
19,366,052
68,637,600
291,636
58,412,144
Two Sicilies
15,538,726
758,885
12,552,624
426,709
74,709,755
2,148,534
15,127,867
9,439,608
8,067,699
3,996,897
Tuscany, Modena, Parma, Roman States, Lucca
1,369,535
67,479
5,856,418
9,504,713
438,122
3,244,123
9,538,663
1,326,984
208,500
4,998,103
Switzerland
289,231
1,777,219
9,131,614
20,592,145
7,064,553
1,029,464
1,444,244
31,168,003
7,905,362
831,551
Germany
1,299,775
2,722,576
15,180,549
11,927,713
8,211,856
1,103,268
4,974,733
28,367,138
3,726,388
12,780,142
Greece (including the islands in the Archipelago)
4,744,718
4,132,713
183,223
21,657,573
635,031
5,370
2,973,905
823,624
117,396
10,126,536
Turkey (including the islands in the Archipelago)
3,306
5,712
15,689,038
210,980
126,414
22,285
1,264,893
17,164,911
10,944,840
555,540
Africa:-Egypt
74,033
29,692
11,048,565
4,848,720
2,721
26,188
910,977
4,877,629
3,628,685
4,833,745
Algiers
2,651
7,627
1,591,307
3,638,963
49,141
137,945
585,917
1,778,393
697,562
1,829,400
States of Barbary
20,199
26,763
744,524
8,196,063
138,466
38,029
171,492
8,372,558
7,390,662
333,762
English possessions (Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius)
38,955
16,192
7,225
40,336
7,445,809
17,135
64,696
2,342,413
89,858
544,700
Other territories on the coast
24,766
817
193,860
115,441
118,186
141
25,309
312,187
323,556
Aria :-India-English possessions
15,482
141
22,865,725
339,179
287,428
80,347
HAVRE.
4,252,985
27,406,138
13,931,839
Dutch do
2,038,046
26,297
212,990
15,996,182
3,034
1,911,821
French do.
3,029,195
3,245,219
61,900
186,570
1,247,860
2,892
22,744
243,405
1,437,322
86
643,093
80,000
China
266,235
109,446
9,916
41
633
119,403
11,245
2,371,313
9,052
2,380,998
9,602
11,300
Cochin China, Philippines, &c.
479,610
28,804
518,016
2,383
143,217
1,822
4,265
America United States
5,012
209,008
1,471
86,105,445
215,491
1,915,580
98,742
15,550
11,058,187
99,079,212
70,413,153
Hayti
3,418,278
54,474
1,090,815
73,885,905
50,203
9,498,079
1,080,090
2,371,090
3,512,108
903,002
English possessions (Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Antilles, Guiana)
1,179,499
2,048
37,029
2,684,549
141
319
2,362,421
37,489
37,029
28,350
Spanish possessions (Cuba, Porto Rico)
2,288
39,317
766,170
5,465,292
473,479
6,746
6,704,941
990,019
Danish possessions (St. Thomas)
1,955,341
3,587
2,938,947
271,295
666,027
12,904
2,980,894
120,209
950,226
Dutch possessions (St. Eustache, Curaçoa, &c.)
310,087
108,890
1,061
420,038
48
171,448
330,832
48
Swedish possessions (St. Barthélémy)
48
48
4
Brazil
2,660
6,752,351
2,660
28,049
2,720
2,258,222
Mexico
9,038,622
5,711,137
822,956
11,532
4,045,522
6,545,625
1,310,575
921,683
Digitized by
1,287,677
7,608
Columbia
5,340,807
1,617,768
961,146
5,722
2,584,636
802,207
181,600
5,552,035
338,684
Peru (Lower Peru)
1,366
1,142,257
374,957
217,332
228
592,517
218,165
276,669
44,622
573
-
Bolivia (Upper Peru)
218,738
158,307
23
-
158,330
250
90,090
500,910
Chili
250
2,041,723
39,632
1,433
Rio de la Plata (Monte Video and Buenos Ayres)
2,082,788
1,530,735
33,849
1,434
1,566,018
4,652,242
422,737
5,778,700
1,597
French Colonies -Guadaloupe
22,497
4,676,336
4,491,666
4,241
3,753
4,499,660
228,694
178,195
163,134
Martinique
20,867,092
65,644
21,161,430
201,185
19,162,627
7,301
19,371,113
559,372
15,342,764
784,150
Bourbon
14,156,586
45,845
14,761,803
336,634
12,925,002
8,176
13,269,812
373,808
10,267,932
901,375
Google
15,664,683
139,745
Senegal
16,178,236
289,822
14,692,681
9,590
14,992,093
2,133,841
8,437,472
48,460
French Guiana (Cayenne)
1,888
3,679
2,139,408
1,776,856
15,051
3,969
1,795,876
89,275
847,276
69,700
St. Pierre, Miquelon, and French fisheries
1,304,461
6,003
2,157,740
853,621
925,807
5,703
1,785,131
2,799,443
776,380
48,020
Epaves et Sauvetages
4,894,517
2,638
7,696,598
2,761,528
4,841,092
1,544
7,604,164
7,633
124,097
7,000
115,351
250,335
489,783
108,951
114,688
201,184
424,823
97,242
Totals
F.
439,627,795
150,597,185
747
103,050,772
693,275,752
344,524,041
111,914,600
34,698,830
491,137,471
101,636,816
190,506,830
IV. EXPORT TRADE OF FRANCE DURING THE YEAR 1833.
Account of the Exports from France in 1833, specifying the Value of those sent to each Country: distinguishing between General and Special Commerce.-(Admin. des Douanes, 1833, p. 3.)
General Commerce.
748
Special Commerce.
Countries to which exported.
Raw Products.
Manufactured
Total.
Manufactured
Raw Products.
Duties
Coin and Bullion
Products.
Products.
Total.
received.
exported.
Francs.
Francs.
France.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
France.
Francs.
Europe:-Russia
4,777,445
5,778,346
10,555,791
3,549,980
4,487,017
8,036,997
59,368
Sweden
1,027,176
340,642
1,367,818
671,403
280,021
951,424
7,372
Norway
1,178,457
660,460
1,838,917
951,002
653,065
1,604,067
5,129
Denm
1,791,002
677,369
2,468,371
1,402,873
547,425
1,950,298
6,725
Prussia
4,641,785
2,759,275
7,401,060
4,108,285
2,640,695
6,748,980
45,010
16,800
Hanseatic Towns
13,456,206
4,588,865
18,045,071
10,440,712
3,787,782
14,228,494
25,798
36,780
Holland
7,636,049
8,434,152
16,070,201
6,625,006
4,988,198
11,613,204
19,638
54,000
Belgium
23,414,858
28,933,300
52,348,168
16,520,928
27,642,733
43,163,661
167,720
31,598,920
England (United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Malta, and Ionian Islands)
70,741,571
45,454,287
116,195,858
32,048,623
36,864,509
67,913,132
304,995
5,807,700
Portugal (including Madeira, Cape de Verde Islands, and the Azores)
462,576
1,549,148
2,011,724
358,104
1,429,979
1,788,083
6,028
Spain (including the Canaries)
13,297,707
49,193,883
62,491,590
7,507,244
36,698,410
44,205,654
99,834
22,868,200
Austria (including Lombardy)
3,795,711
2,861,690
6,657,401
1,114.449
2,534,374
3,648,823
15,841
64,600
Sardinia (isle and continent)
16,646,068
33,041,054
49,687,122
6,368,898
23,824,810
30,193,708
71,480
14,183,200
Two Sicilies
3,448,420
7,478,725
10,927,145
1,212,905
5,966,668
7,179,373
8,693
4,736,600
Tuscany, Modena, Parma, Roman States, Lucca
3,435,622
8,255,607
11,691,229
1,615,221
6,914,401
8,529,622
15,197
1,410,100
Switzerland
24,249,743
33,941,756
58,191,499
9,827,353
22,465,763
32,293,146
87,171
12,929,784
Germany
8,197,410
33,748,360
41,945,770
6,379,999
31,443,415
37,823,414
63,218
1,067,677
Greece (including the islands in the Archipelago)
747,536
1,218,003
1,965,539
266,697
1,183,634
1,450,331
1,353
103,200
Turkey (including the islands in the Archipelago)
3,312,968
11,099,811
14,412,779
436,043
8,747,693
9,183,736
7,195
427,000
Africa:-Egypt
919,702
2,581,442
3,501,144
452,588
2,358,531
2,811,119
5,662
144,000
Algiers
8,079,225
11,986,177
20,065,402
4,327,666
11,192,650
15,520,316
20,072
619,420
States of Barbary
1,334,463
3,013,977
4,348,440
312,315
2,412,575
2,724,890
3,587
2,203,600
English possessions (Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius)
707,102
834,828
1,541,930
500,689
725,395
1,226,084
3,334
194,600
Other territories on the coast of Africa
150,609
290,969
441,578
121,795
107,455
229,250
732
HAVRE.
Aria:-India-English possessions
1,448,209
3,756,903
5,205,112
1,287,533
3,174,771
4,462,304
10,283
85,000
Dutch do
505,299
497,308
1,002,607
380,402
459,266
839,668
2,272
347,200
French do.
65,998
72,501
138,499
63,922
71,115
China
135,037
2,416
74,115
76,731
1,576
60,715
62,291
57
Cochin China, Philippines, &c.
201,136
1,605,427
1,806,563
114,983
245,449
360,432
745
95,000
America -United States
17,568,925
117,396,336
134,965,261
13,718,725
94,265,428
107,984,153
114,860
178,800
Hayti
1,021,106
5,316,918
6,338,024
762,611
4,933,054
5,695,665
10,087
32,000
English possessions (Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Antilles, Guiana)
151,482
57,812
209,294
130,626
25,063
155,689
574
Spanish possessions (Cuba, Porto Rico)
1,715,552
6,999,450
8,715,002
1,532,819
5,199,728
6,732,547
12,287
196,000
Danish do. (St. Thomas)
619,696
2,500,198
3,119,894
460,695
2,278,020
2,738,715
6,522
Dutch do. (St. Eustache, Curagoa, and Dutch Guiana)
28,852
28,852
28,852
28,852
2
Swedish do. (St. Barthélémy)
338
338
338
338
Brazil
5,576,263
12,616,120
18,192,383
4,171,447
8,610,557
12,782,004
16,818
Digitized by Google
Mexico
1,375,986
13,650,684
15,026,670
Guatimala
943,862
10,461,734]
11,405,596
15,703
5,600
Columbia
64,467
112,797
177,264
63,041
90,868
153,909
481
Pern (Lower Peru)
164,162
491,295
655,457
122,750
459,744
582,494
1,302
Bolivia Chili (Upper Peru)
611,792
3,776,947
4,288,739
419,571
3,483,611
8,903,182
3,817
2,391
2,391
120
120
Rio de la Plata (Monte Video and Buenos Ayres)
342,786
2,189,328
2,532,114
248,502
1,689,289
1,937,791
3,572
French Colonies Guadaloupe
1,111,665
3,922,051
5,033,716
723,683
3,271,989
3,996,672
7,326
12,296,101
12,235,501
27,000
Martinique
3,815,930
8,480,171
8,761,172
8,474,329
4,144,322
8,293,966
12,438,288
4,109,280
8,289,585
12,398,865
Bourbon
2,593,277
4,427,284
7,020,561
2,268,886
4,348,041
6,616.927
512,350
Senegal
760,135
3,038,185
3,798,320
687,657
1,514,808
2,202,465
French Guiana (Cayenne)
522,357
1,760,254
2,272,611
465,681
1,730,864
2,196,545
St. Pierre, Miquelon, and French fisheries
2,094,551
2,709,432
4,803,083
2,092,337
2,707,949
4,500,286
Totals
F.
263,829,652
502,486,660
766,316,012
154,053,027
404,772,027
559,425,054
1,256,379
99,945,191
HAVRE.
749
Note-General commerce, as applied to imports, means all articles imported by sea or land, without
inquiring whether they are intended to be consumed, re-exported, or warehoused. Special commerce,
as applied to imports, means such imported articles as have been admitted for home consumption,
under payment of the customs duties.
The same distinction obtains in relation to exports. General commerce, in this case, means all
exported articles, without regard to their origin; while special commerce means such only as are pro-
duced by the soil or manufactures of France.
Account of the Quantities of the different Sorts of Cotton, Sugar, Coffee, Indigo, &c., imported
into Havre, during 1835, 1831, 1833, 1832, and 1831, with the Stocks of Cotton, &c., existing on the
1st of January, 1836.-(Journal du Haure, 2d January, 1836.)
Imports.
Stocks 1st of
Countries whence they came.
1835.
1834.
1833.
1832.
1831.
January, 1836.
Cotton.
U.S. America
bales
188,055
184,027
181,900
165,864
124,116
Brizil
-
18,943
14,258
22,410
15,926
14,006
Other sorts
-
7,511
3,134
6,283
2,438
2,379
214,509
201,419
210,593
184,228
137,501
18,800
Surar.
Martinique and Guadaloups, hhds.
55,549
69,430
50,330
48,000
58,450
9,000
Doortion
bags
27,520
37,836
22,570
29,696
26,270
H mush and St. Jago
boxes
17
2
77
868
Brazil
-
962
471
374
90
90
0 her sorts
-
4,213
5,587
7
5,823
3,585
Coffee.
M artinique and Guadaloupe, hhds,
971
1,859
1,832
2,148
1,032
Dito
-
3,071
4,070
2,744
4,390
3,008
Ditto
-
56
42
56
130
54
Bourbon
bales
2,194
1,591
2,689
2,261
824
liv.
Hayti, direct
bags
74,030
49,719
26,810
42,926
9,734
Ditto
casks
21
24
45
192
2,320,000
Various other sorts
bags
39,133
73,218
72,541
73,161
29,565
Dit
tcs.
60
306
809
492
136
Ditto
hhds.
1,391
854
1,312
647
483
India
East Indian
chests
3,615
5,925
4,630
3,270
3,577
American
serons
37
555
490
80
376
Cocoa
packages
1,170
2.745
7,214
4,774
2,638
Tea
chests
4,646
7.308
13,205
8,158
9,690
Hites
No.
180,240
209,520
118,094
135,850
124,200
Summary Statement of the Commerce of France, during the Year 1833.
IMPORTS.
Merchandise Imported.
Merchandise entered for Consumption.
(General Commerce.)
(Special Commerce.)
Imports.
By Sea.
By Land.
Total.
Value.
Duty received.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Material for manufacturing
303,280,562
136,347,233
439,627,795
344,524,041
41,831,677
Do. for consumption
Raw
136,021,198
14,575,987
150,597,185
111,914,600
53.626,584
Wrought
27,815,419
75,235,353
103,050,772
34,698,830
6,178,555
Totals
467,117,179
226,158,573
693,275,752
491,137,471
101,636,816
EXPORTS.
French Merchandise.
French Merchandise.
(General Commerce.)
(Special Commerce.)
Exports.
By Sea.
By Land.
Total.
Value.
Duty received.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
Francs.
R.W
205,328,084
58,501,568
263,829,652
154,653,027
878,877
Manufactured
345.080,475
157,406,185
502,486,660
404,772,027
427,502
Totals
550,408,559
215,907,753
766,316,312
559,425,054
1,256,379
NAVIGATION.
Merchandise imported.
French and Foreign Merchandise.
(General Commerce)
(General Commerce
Ton-
Ton-
Arrivals
Ships.
Departures
Ships.
nage.
French
nage.
French
Colonies.
Foreign.
Total.
Colonies.
Foreign.
Total.
No.
Tons
Francs.
France.
Francs.
No.
Tens.
Francs.
France
Pranes.
French
3,561
358,157
64,095,215
214,018,139
278,153,354
French
3,675
318,840
42,629,864
197,318,494
239,948,358
Foreign
5.115
621,735
188,963,825
188,963,825
Foreign
4,580
461,028
310.460,201
310,460,201
Totals
8,676
980, 92
64,095,216
403,021,964
467,117,179
Totals
8,255
782,868
42,629,864
507,778,695
550,408,559
WAREHOUSE TRADE.
Value of merchandise:-
France.
France.
In warehouse on the 31st of December, 1832
97,254,577
direct
405,295,487)
Entered during the year 1833
By importation
transit
10,901,069
440,239,127
By change of warehouse
24,042,571)
Total
537,492,704
For consumption
276,812,954
by sea
67,740.708
Withdrawn from warehouse during the year 1833
For re-exportation
transit
47,152,349
424,533,593
By change of warehouse
32,827,582
In warehouse on the 31st of December, 1833
112,960,111
3 R 2
Digitized by Google
750
HAVRE.
Summary Statement-continued
TRANSIT TRADE.
BOUNTIES, COIN, &c
Value of Articles, which, passing through France
Bountles:- :-
Prance.
in transitu, have been despatched in 1833.
Value of exports, with bounty
99,260,916
Received for bounties
18,485,634
Exports.
By French
By Foreign
Coin and bullion :-
By Land.
Total.
Ships.
Ships.
The trade in coin and bullion is not taken into account
in the above statement of imports and exports.
France.
France.
Francs.
Franci.
Value of imports and exports of coin and imports 199,506,830
Raw prod.
25,662,961
1,011,950
20,358,112
47,033,023
bullion
s exports 99,945,181
Manufac.
9,762,189
27,236,063
23,839,760
60,838,032
Seizures
Amount of seizures on importation
1,171,580
Totals
35,425,150
28,248,033
44,197,872
107,871,055
Prices of Commodities, Duty paid and in Bond, Tares, Commercial Allowances, &c:-These important
particulars may be learned by the inspection of the subjoined Price Current for the second week of
September, 1836. The duties on the articles mentioned are also given; but it is most probable that
some of these will, at no very distant period, be varied. But the other particulars embodied in it will
always render it an important document.
Havre Price Current, 15th of September, 1836.
Duty paid.
In Bond.
Duty paid.
in Bond.
Fr. d. Fr. a.
Fr.
ct.
Fr.
ct.
Fr.d.Pr.d.
Fr.d.lr.d.
Asbes, per 50 kil.
Cotton, per 1-2 kil.
Pot, New York
57 to 0 0 00600
Upland
1 to 1 110 16
do.
00.00 00.00
Alabama and Tennessee
10 47 136
Finland
50 00 00.00
Mobile
- 18 70 11.19
560-00 00.00
Louisiana
12 77 11-16
Rumia Casan
Pearl, American
570.00 00.00
Sea Island
- 3 00.00
do.
00.00 00.00
Pernambuco
1 96
Duty on nett weight by French vessels from European ports, 9 fr.
Bahia
90 ct. from elsewhere, 8 fr. 25 ct. By foreign vessels, 11 fr. 56 ct.
Maranham
-
00.00 BOBB.
(See exceptions at Note A.)
St. Domingo
35 1 45 184-134
Commercial and Custom-house tare, 12 per cent.
Paita
1 45 00.00
Surat and Bengal
0 80 0 90 00.00
Bark (Jesuits), per 1-2 kil.
Duty on nett weight: on long or short staple, by French vencle
Lochsa
nominal
to 0 0
from the French colonica, 2 3-4 ct. from European parts, (Turkey
Callyssaya, curled
do.
135.80
excepted), 16 1-2 et. from the East Indies, 5 1-2 ct.; from other
do. flat
do.
135-80
countries, 11 ct. By foreign vemele (except from Turkey), 19
Duty on nett weight by French vessels from any port whatever,
By French vessels from Turkey, 8 1-4 ct. by foreign vemels from
27 1-2 ct. From countries west of Cape Horn, 13 3-4 ct. By foreign
Turkey, IS 3-4 cl.-(See exceptions at Note A)
vessels, 55 ct.
Custom-house tare: 6 per cent. on tales of 50 kil. and above, and
Custom-house tare on chests, 18 per cent. on serons, 2 per cent.
8 per cent. on bales under 50 kil.
Commercial tare: on cases, real; on serons of 70 kil. and up-
Commercial tare on United States' cottons, 6 per cent. cords off;
wards, 8 kil.; of 40 kil. and upwards, 6 kil. and of 20 kil. and up-
on Brazil cottons, 4 per cent. on St. Domingo, in bales. 6 per cent.;
wards, 4 kil.
on Cumana and Caraccas, 7 kil. per seron above 40 kil.; and 6kik
Bees' wax per 12 kil.
per seron of 40 kil. and under.
North American yellow
1901020
nominal
Draft: 2 kil. on Sea Island and Bengal 3 kil. on all other de-
New Orleans, do.
I 80 1 90
nominal
scriptions in bales exceeding 50 kil. and 1 1-8 kil upon bales under
Russia
80 210
nominal
50 kil.
Havannah
70 80
nominal
Elephants' teeth, per 1-8 kil.
3501080
none
Senegal
00.00
00.00
Duty on nett weight whole or in pieces of more than I kil. by
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from European ports,
French vessels from Senegal, 13 34 et. from other African settle-
5 1.2 ct.; from elsewhere, 4 2-5 ct. By foreign veasels from any
ments, 22 ct. from the East Indies, 19 1-4 from elsewhere, 30
port whatever, 8 1., ci.-(See exceptions at Note A.)
1-4 ct. By foreign vessels from any port whatever, 38 1-2 ct.
Commercial tare real.
Pieces of I kil. and under, double the above duties.-(See exceptions
Cassia liques, per 1-2 kil.
at Note A.)
in mats
nominal
0 to 72
Commercial and Custom-house tare: real.
in chests
nominal
0 72 75
Gums, Senegal, per 1.2 kil.
1 25 to 00 1201000
Dury on nett weight by French vemels from the East Indies, 18
E. India copal, scraped
2 25 00.00
cl.: from elsewhere, 33 2-3 ct. By foreign vessels from any port
copal, soft, not scraped
0 50 0 55 00.00
briever, 55 ct.-(See exceptions at Note A)
shellae, orange
19! 195 nominal
Bustom-bouse are: on chests, 12 per cent.; on mats, 2 per cent.
do. garnet
1 60 1 82 nominal
Commercial tare: real.
do. liver
1 45
1 55
nominal
Cochineal, per 1.2 kil.
Duty on Senegal, gross weight: by French vessels from Sepagal,
silvery, from ord. to fine
00600
10
to
10
75
5 1-2 ct.; from European ports, 13 3-4 ct.; from elsewhere, !! a
foxy. do. do.
00.00 10 0 10 25
By foreign vessels from any port whatever, 16 1.2 cl-(See excep-
black, do. do
00.00
11
0
11
25
tions at Note A.)
Duty on net! weight by French vessels from any port whatever,
Commercial tare on casks, real on bags, 2 per cent.
82 1.2 By foreign vessels, do. 88 ct.-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Duty on copal, nell weight by French vessels from the East In.
Custom-house tare; in casks, 12 per cent.; in serons, 2 per cent.
dies, 27 1-2 ct.; from European ports, 65 cl.; from elsewbere, 0
Commercial tare real.
1-2 ct. By foreign ressels from any port whatever, 68 sta-se
exceptions at Note A.)
Cocoa, Caraccas, per 1-2 kil.
nominal
1 10 to 15
Commercial tare: real.
Guayaquil
none
0.50
Duty on shellac, nett weight: by French ressels from the East h-
Brazil
by French vessels 0 60 0 62
dies, 77-100 ct.; from elsewhere, 2 1-5 ct. By foreign vemels from
Trinidad
none
0
0
00
any port whatever, 327 200 cL-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Duty on nett weight: by French veasels from the French colo-
Commercial tare real.
nies, 22 ct. from countries west of Cape Horn, 27 1-2 cl. from
European ports, 52 1-4 cl.; from elsewhere, 30 1-4 cl. By foreign
Hops, American
0 to 0 0 0 0 BOBE
vessels from any port whatever, 57 3-4 ct.-(See exceptions at
Duty on nett weight: by French vessels from any port whatever,
Note A.)
33 fr. per 50 kil. By foreign vessels, 36 fr. 2 1-2 cL-(See exap-
Custom-house tare on casks, 12 per cent. on bags, 3 per cent.
tions at Note A.)
Commercial tare: on casks, real on bags, 2 per cent.
Commercial fare on bales, 8 per cent.
Hides, per 1-2 kil.
Coffee, per 1-2 kil.
Buenos Ayres
to 0 90 00600
St. Domingo, from ordinary 0 0 t 0 0 to
Pernambuco and Bahia, salted 0 65 00.00 00.00
to fine
Rio Janeiro
0 84
Cuba and Porto Rico
.00.00 073 - 1 0
Carthagena and Caraccas
0 0 60 00.00
La Guayra
00.00 075-00
South American horse hides,
00.00
Rio
00.00 0 62
per 50
Java. Sumatra, and Padang
10-120
00.00
Duty on gross weight: by French venels from European ports,
Mocha
40
45
00.00
5 1.2 ct.; from elsewhere, 2 3-4 ct. By foreign vessels from any
Duty on nett weight: by French vessels from the East Indies 42
port " hatever, 8 1-4 cl--(See exceptions at Note A)
9-10 ct.: from European ports, 55 cl.; from elsewhere 52 1-4 ct.
Five bull hides are admitted among 100 hides without allowance,
By foreizn vessels from any port whatever, 57 3-4 ct.-(See excep-
and I kil. is allowed for every bull hide above that number to the
tions at Note A.)
extent of 12; when more than 12 the allowance is conditional.
Custom-house tare on casks, 12 per cent. on bags, 2 per cent.
Horse hair, per 1.2 kil.
Commercial tare: on casks real on bigs. 2 per cent. on Mocha
Buenos Ayres, short
1 5 1 1 1 10
none
coffee the tare runs from 4 1-2 to 12 1.2 kil. upon bales of 75 to
15
NOBE
from mixed to long
200 kil.
Duty on gross weight: by French and foreign vemels, 1 a-
Copper. South American, per 1-2 kil. I to 1 12 none, nom.
(See exceptions at Note A.)
Russian and British
25
I
20
none,
nom.
Commercial lare: real.
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from European ports,
Indigo, per 1-2 kil.
1 1-10 ct.: from elsewhere, 11.20 ct. By foreign veasels from any
Rengal
001000 00600
port, white.. 1 13-20 ct.-(See exceptions at Note A.)
superfine violet and blue
11
Commercial tare: real.
do. violet and purple -
- 00.00
Digitized by Google
HAVRE.
751
Duty paid.
In Bond.
Duty paid.
In Bond.
Fr. a. Pr. d.
Fr. ct. Fr.
Fr. ct. Fr. of.
Fr. a. FY. d.
Indigo, fine violet and do.
10 0 10 25
00.00
Sugar, brown to yellow
none
00.450
good and middl. violet
75
00.00
Brazil, white
00.00
42
0
0
do. red do.
10
0
00.00
brown to yellow
0
0
0
0
50
38
0
superfine red
10 0 00.00
Benares
nom. by Fr. ves. 38 0 45 0
good do.
25 9 50 00.00
Manilla
nom. by Fr. yes. 38 0 45 0
ordin. to fine copper
7 50 9 0 00.00
Duty on nett weight raw sugars not white, by French vessels
Egyptian
60.80 00.00
from the East Indies, 44 fr.; from European ports, 52 fr. 25 ct;
Madras, ordin. to fine
5
7 60
none
from elsewbere, 75 ct. By foreign vessels, 35 fr. Raw sugars,
Manilla, do.
5 0 80 00.00
white or clayed, without distinction of quality or mode of fabrica-
Guatemala, flores
775 80 00.00
tion, by French vessels from the East Indies, 49 fr. 60 ct; from
sobre salients
7 25 7 50 00.00
European ports, 57 fr. 75 ct; from chew here, 52 fr. 25 ct. By
cortes
6 7 25 00-00
foreign vemels, 66 fr.-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Caraccas
60.8%
none
Custom-house tare: on chests, 12 per cent. on single bags, 2 per
Duty on nett weight: by French vemels from all places of growth
cent. on double bags, 4 per cent.
out of Europe, 27 1-2 ct. from European ports, 1 fr. 65 ct. from
Commercial tare: Havannah and St. Jago, chests, 13 per cent.
elsewhere, 110 By foreign vewels from any port whatever, 2 fr.
Brazil, 17 per cent. on bigs under 75 kil, 6 kil. per bag do. on 75
20 ct-(See exceptions at Note A.)
kil. and upwards, 6 kil.
Custom-bouse tare: on chests, casks, and serons, real, or at the
Tallow, Russia, per 50 kil.
61 0 to 62 0
none
option of the importer, 12 per cent. on chests or casks, and 9 per
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from any port whatever,
cent. on serons.
5 fr. 50 ct. By foreign vessels, 7 fr. 15 ct.-(See exceptions at
Commercial tare: on casks or chests, real on serone of 100 to
Note A.)
110 kil., 11 kil. on do. of 85 to 99 kil., 10 kil. on do. of 70 to 84
Commercial tare: 12 per cent.
kil., 9 kil.; on do. of 50 to 89 kil., 7 kil.
Allowance: 1 kil. per chest.
Teas, imperial, per 1-2 kil.
5
15
to
to
4
0
Gunpowder
6
0
6 35
4 25
27
Lac dye, per 1-2 kil.
2 0 to 5 40 0 to 0 0
Hywn
90 60 3 10 5
Duty on nett weight: by French vessels from the East Indies 27
Young hyson
3 80 3 90 00.00
1-2 ct. from elsewhere, 41 1-4 ct. By foreign vessels from any
Hyson skin
3 20 65 70
port whatever, 56 cl.-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Pekoe
40-6 0 50
Commercial and custom-house tare real.
Souchong
30 1 60 1
nominal
Pouchong
4
30
4
50
90
2
0
Land, German, per 50 kil.
35 50 to 35 87
Spanish and British
35 50 35 87
nominal
Duty on nett weight: by French vensels from the East Indies, 82
Duty on gross weight: by French vemels from any port whatever,
1-2 ct.; from China 66 ct.; from elsewhere, 2 fr. 75 ct. By foreign
2 fr. 75 ct. By foreign vessels, 3 fr. 85 cL-(See exceptions at
vessels from: any port whatever, 3 fr. 30 ct.-(See exceptions at
Note A.)
Note A.)
Customi-house tare: real.
Pepper, light, per 1-2 kil.
to
0
to
0
0
Comunercial tare: on imperial, guppowder, young hyson, and
Duty on nett weight: by French vessels from the East Indies, and
pekoe, 10 kil. per chest; on hyson, and hyson skin, 9 kil. ; on son-
from countries west of Cape Hora, 22 ct.; from elsewhere, 44 ct.
chong, 13 kil.; on half chests and boxes, conventional.
By foreign vessels from any port whatever, 57 3-4 cL-(See excep-
Tin, Banca, per 1-2 kil.
74
76
00.00
tions at Note A.)
British
1 70 72
none
Custom-house tare on bags, 3 per cent.
Peruvian
1
60
63
none
Commercial tare: on single bags, 2 per cent.
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from the East Indies,
Pimento, per 1-2 kil.
87 1.2 cL; from elsewbere, 1 fr. 10 ct. By foreign vemels from
Jamaica
French vessel
050 to 0 0
any port whatever, 2 fr. 20 ct. per 60 kil.-(See exceptions at
Tobago
none
00.00
Note A.)
Duty by French versels from the East Indies and from countries
Commercial tare: on casks real.
west of Cape Horn, 24 3-4 ct; from elsewhere, 49 1-2 ct. By foreign
Tortoise-shell, per 1.2 kil.
35
to
0
0
0 to 0
0
vessels, 63 1-4 ct
Duty OD nett weight: by French versels from the East Indies, 55
Tares: as for pepper.
ct; from China, 44 CL; from European ports, I fr. 10 ct. from
Quercitron, per 50 kil.
elsewhere, 82 1.2 ct. By foreign vessels fr. 65 cl.-(See excep-
Philadelphia
16 to 16 12 0 to 0 0
tions a' Note A.)
New York
14 75 15 0 0 0 0 0
Custom-bouse tare: on casks or cases, 12 per cent.
Duty on gross weight by French vessels from European ports,
Commercial tare on casks or cases, real.
3 fr. 85 CL; from other countries, 8 fr. 20 ct. By foreign vessels
from any port whatever, 4 fr. 95 ct-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Whalebone, per 1-2 kil.
northern
2 80 30 nominal
Commercial tare 12 per cent.
southern
188
1 90
00.00
Quicksilver, per 1-2 kil.
4 30 to 4 40
nominal
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from any port whatever,
Duty on gross weight by French vessels from any port what-
16 1-2 ct. By foreign vessels, 19 1-4 ct.
ever, 11 ct. My foreign vessels, 1-10 ct-(See exceptions at Note 1.)
Commercial tare: real.
Commercial tare: redl.
Allowance: X per cent. on southern bone.
Rice, Carolina, 1835, per 50 kil. . 23 to 96 0 0 0 to 0
Woods, per 60 kil.
Duty on gross weight: by French vessels from places of growth
Logwood, Campeachy
to
10
0
0
to
0
out of Europe, 1 fr. 37 1-2 ct.; by do. rom places of growth in
Honduras
8 50
8 73
none
Europe, 2 fr. 20 ct by do. from European ports, or from Pied-
St. Domingo
7 25 7 50 00.00
mont by land, 3 fr. 30 ct. By foreign vessels from any port what-
Fustic, Cuba
9 75 10 0 0 0.0
ever, or by land from any country whatever, Piedmont excepted,
Santa Martha
19 0 22 50 0 0
4 fr. 25 ct-(See exceptions at Note A.)
Pernambuco
92 0 125 0 0 0
Commercial tare 12 per cent.
Duty on gross weight Brazil, by French vessels from European
Saltpetre, crude, per 50 kil.
nominal
41 to 41 50
ports, 4 fr. 40 ct. from elsen here, 2 fr. 75 ct. By foreign vessels,
Nitrate of soda
0
0
0
0
34
0
0
0
6 fr 60 ct. Other dye-wonds, by French vemels from the French
Duty on nett weight by French vessels from countri- out of
colonies, 44 ct.; from European ports, I fr. 66 ct.; from elsewhere,
Europe, 8 fr. 25 cl.; from elsewhere, 11 fr. By foreign vessels
82 ct. By foreign vessels, 3 fr. 30 ct.-(See exceptions at
from any port whatever, 13 fr. 75 ct. Nitrate of soda by French
Note A.)
versels from countries out of Europe, 8 fr. 25 ct; from elsewhere,
Allowance: 1 to 2 per cent.
11 fr. By foreign vessels, 13 fr. 7, ct.
Explanatory Remarks.
Custom-house tare 2 per cent.
Commercial tare: 6 kil. per double bale of the customary form.
The above duties include the sur-tax of 10 per cent.: the custom-
house admits the real lare " henever the importer desires it.
Sarsaparilla, per 1-2 kil.
Note A.-7 be treaties of reciprocity entered into with the coun-
Caraccis
nominal
1 25 to 50
tries hereafter mentioned introduce the following deviations from the
Mexion
00.00 0 95 1 0
above rates of duty.
Honduras
nominal
1
25
I
50
United States-The produce of the United States, except that of
Duty on nett weight by French vessels from European ports, 56
the fisheries, direct from the United States, in United States vessels,
ct.; from elsewhere, 41 1.4 ct. By foreign vessels from any port
pays the same duty as if imported by French vessels from the United
whatever, 3-4 ct.-(See exceptions at Note A)
States.
Custom house tare on bales, 2 per cent.
Brazils and Mixica-The produce of the Brazils and Mexico,
Commercial fare on bales, according to broker's estimation ; on
imported direct in national vessels, er joys also the above privilege.
naked bundles, the cords are deducted.
England.-The produce of Africa, Asia, or America. imported
Skins, deer, each
1 T5 to 6 0 0 to 0 0
from any country whatever in British vessels, of from any port of
Duty per 50 kil. on gross weight: by French vessels from any
the British dominions in Europe, either by French or foreign ves-
port ha ever, 55 ct. By foreign vessels, 60 1-2 ct.-(See exceptions
sels can only be admitted in bond for re exportation.
at Note A.)
The same regulation is app licable to all E. repeats produce (except
Spelter, per 50 kil.
26 50 to 29 50
that of Great Britain and its possessions in Europe). when imported
none
Duty on gross weight: 5 1-2 ct. per 50 kil. without distinction of
by British vessels from other ports than those of Great Britain or its
fing or derivation.
possessions in Europe.
The weight of 50 kil. is equal to 110 4-5 lb. English, or 100 lb.
Sugar, per 50 kil.
English are equal to 45 35-100 kil., and the CWL equal to 50
Martinique and Gaud.
bonne 4c
39 25 to 39 0
79-100 kil.
Havannah, white
none
50 0 53 0
Credit-4 1.2 months, except on coffee, pimento, pepper, quick-
yellow
none
00.00
silver, and clayed sugars, which are sold at 3 1-2 mouths, and wheat
St. Jago, white
none
00-560
at I-2 months.
Trade between France and England.-Nothing can more strikingly illustrate the mise-
rable effects of commercial restrictions, than the present state of the trade between Great
Britain and France. Here we have two countries of vast wealth and population, near neigh-
bours, and each possessing many important articles that the other wants, and yet the inter-
course between them is inconsiderable. At a distant period this was not the case. Pre-
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NAVIGATION OF FRANCE, 1833.
I. Account showing the Ships, with their Tonnage and Crews, that entered the different Ports of
France in 1833, specifying those that entered each and distinguishing between French and Foreign
Ships.-(Administration des Douanes for 1833, p. 396.)
Navigation carried on jointly with the Foreigner.
Navigation reserved to French Ships,
Foreign Ships.
Ports.
Carrying the
French Ships.
Colonial Trade.
Cod and Whale
Flag of the
Other
Fishery.
Coasting Trade.
Countries
whence they
Flags.
came.
Ships.
Tonn.
Crew.
Ships.
Tonn.
Sh.
Tonn.
Sh.
Tonn.
Crere.
Sh.
Tonn.
Crew.
Ships,
Tennage
Crese
Bayonne
13
635
72
113
3,596
17
1,460
4
487
94
295
15,688
1,580
Bordeaux
159
30,113
1,974
205
34,450
94
14,329
67
17,086
1,005
35
4,545
459
2,472
134,199
13,949
Other ports
71
7
2
280
2,562
54.691
8,361
Rochelle
1
123
10
102
21,059
7
672
34
3,885
453
12,140
376,726
44,556
Nantes
96
12,990
858
90
14,778
34
5,618
62
15,835
945
9
1,039
174
2,668
105,465
9,542
Other ports
5
282
29
4
316
1
79
7
7,136
138,303
20,664
L'Orient
3
231
18
27
3,693
3
390
8,010
186,738
30,144
Brest
16
877
78
53
8,554
11,061
347,594
36,457
Saint Malo
125
4,983
686
115
9,167
5
601
3
580
36
53
7,469
2,478
3,668
114,425
15,781
Cherbourg
245
7,316
1,138
172
19,210
2
154
41
5,983
1,503
3,019
102,985
13,057
Rouen
112
10,235
783
97
6,984
12
966
2,525
146,696
13,261
Havre
250
44,934
2,535
470
121,369
25
3,660
130
32,721
1,645
14
4,940
424
2,521
159,093
9,328
Other ports
12
1,237
82
126
21,049
2
260
14
1,716
195
2,147
62,611
7,409
Abbeville
16
990
88
181
24,394
3
295
I
176
10
5
384
49
1,638
67,828
6,406
Boulogne
405
17,243
2,798
1,044
68.016
4
500
6
516
90
238
10,801
1,113
Dunkirk
145
10,350
1,079
1.4
12,165
76
6,709
24
4,959
258
90
5,081
1,060
980
57,543
5,191
Digne
40
1,113
163
11
198
651
19,715
2,537
Toulon
82
5,947
530
31
3,083
13
999
1,914
84,551
9.563
Marseilles
1,006
93,975
7,264
1,135
135,309
399
64,225
99
24,691
1,325
65
11,055
888
4,127
237,906
19,229
Other ports
16
721
83
3
109
4
130
3,295
145,740
13,333
Montpellier
171
11,277
1,083
167
9,205
14
1,876
10
1,516
161
1,332
78,225
7,395
Perpignan
91
2,730
427
26
922
1,177
39,486
5,673
Bastia
166
3,736
1,071
76
1,614
7
71
-
2,548
36,533
13,519
Totals
3,175
262,109
22,859
4,394
519,820
721
102,915
486
96,048
5,224
381
48,695
8,035
78,123
2,523,632 308,47
Totals.
Ports.
Ships.
Tonnage.
Ports.
Ships,
Tonnage.
Ports.
Ships.
Tennore
Bayonne
442
21,866
Cherbourg
3,479
135,648
Toulon
2,040
94,580
Bordeanx
3,032
234,712
Rouen
2,746
164,881
Marseilles
6,831
567,161
Other ports
2,565
55,042
Havre
3,410
366,717
Other ports
3,319
146,700
Rochelle
12,284
402,465
Other ports
2,301
86,873
Montpellier
1,694
102,099
Nantes
2,955
155,725
Abbeville
1,844
94,067
Perpignan
1,294
43,188
Other ports
7,146
138,980
Boulogue
1,695
97,076
Bastia
2,797
42,354
L'Orient
8,043
191 052
Dunkirk
1,459
96,807
Brest
11,129
167.025
Digne
702
21,026
General total
87,180
3,553,219
Saint Malo
3,969
137,225
(For Table II. see next page.)
viously to the accession of William III., the import of wine only from France amounted to
about 13,500 tuns a year, our imports of brandy and other articles being proportionally large.
But Louis XIV. having espoused the cause of the exiled family of Stuart, the British govern-
ment, not recollecting that the blow they aimed at the French would also smite their own
subjects, imposed, in 1693, a discriminating duty of 8/. a tun on French wine, and in 1697
raised it to no less than 33/. a tun ! It is probable that this excess of duty would have been
repealed as soon as the peculiar circumstances in which it originated had disappeared, had
not the stipulations in the famous commercial treaty with Portugal, negotiated by Mr. Me-
thuen, in 1703, given it permanence. But, according to this treaty, we bound ourselves for
the future to charge one third higher duties on the wines of France imported into England,
than on those of Portugal; the Portuguese, by way of compensation, binding themselves to
admit our woollens into their markets in preference to those of other countries, at a fixed
and invariable rate of duty.
Though very generally regarded, at the time, as the highest effort of diplomatic skill and
address, the Methuen treaty was, undoubtedly, founded on the narrowest and most contracted
views of national interest and has, in consequence, proved, in no common degree, injurious
to both parties, but especially to England. By binding ourselves to receive Portuguese
wines for two thirds of the duty payable on those of France, we, in effect, give the Porta-
guese growers a monopoly of the British market; at the same time that we excluded one of
the principal equivalents that the French had to offer for our commodities, and provoked
them to retaliate. This, indeed, was no difficult task. Unhappily, they were but too ready
to embark in that course of vindictive policy of which we set them the example; so that
prohibitions on the one side being immediately followed by counter-prohibitions on the
other, the trade between the two countries was nearly annihilated ! But the indirect were
still more injurious than the direct consequences of this wretched policy. It inspired both
parties with feelings of jealousy and dislike, and kept them in the frowning attitude of mu-
tual defiance. Each envied the other's prosperity, and being disposed to take fire at even
fancied encroachments, the most frivolous pretexts were sufficient to engage them in contests
that have filled the whole world with bloodshed and confusion. But had things been left to
their natural course,-had an unfettered commercial intercourse been allowed to grow up
between the two countries,-the one would have formed 80 near, so vast, and so profitable a
market for the produce of the other, that they could not have remained long at war without
occasioning the most extensively ruinous distress,-distress which no government would be
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П. Account showing the total Number of Ships, with their Tonnage and Crews, entered inwards in
the different Ports of France in 1833, specifying the Countries whence they came, and distinguish-
ing between French and Foreign Ships.-(Administration des Douanes for 1833, p. 398.)
Ships entered.
Foreign.
Countries.
French.
Carrying the Flags of
the Country hence
Other Flags.
they came.
Ships.
Tonnage.
Crew.
Ships.
Tonnage.
Crew.
Ships.
Tonnage
Crew.
Russia
76
11,902
649
42
11,058
541
137
23,611
1,228
Sweden
5
600
44
158
30,912
1,577
1
280
14
Norway
9
938
62
592
104,967
5,234
20
2,980
161
Denmark
I
69
6
34
2,665
193
20
1,403
96
Prussia
3
327
21
153
32,054
1,398
46
5,364
312
Hanseatic Towns
37
3,180
246
56
5,470
343
21
2,490
148
Holland
16
1,003
&
74
7,419
485
60
5,798
355
Belgium
50
4,423
320
11
1,160
68
11
1,217
71
England (Gibraltar, Malta, &c.)
921
35,064
5,541
1,632
119,260
13,293
12
2,489
116
Portugal (Madeira, Cape de Verde Islands, Azores)
65
7,200
488
I
70
8
7
768
65
Spain (the Canaries)
516
35,077
3,093
536
17,771
4,112
57
9,084
590
Austria
7
907
60
94
23,906
1,112
17
3,510
215
Sardinia
699
37,535
3,996
415
19,526
2,929
22
1,637
205
Two Sicilies
72
10,719
1,001
171
35,378
2,208
15
1,881
141
Tuscany, Roman States, Lucca
130
5,634
878
96
5,280
654
127
12,682
1,189
Greece, and its islands in the Archipelago
3
389
31
20
5,009
402
2
364
28
Turkey, and its islands in the Archipelago
52
9,042
527
2
205
26
26
5,758
340
Egypt
30
6,057
302
1
250
12
Algiers
71
9,098
625
22
4,870
272
Other States of Barbary
114
11,933
859
64
9,148
627
Other territories in Africa
3
506
35
India, English possessions
24
8,019
460
3
824
41
Dutch do.
4
1,058
61
French do.
3
970
62
China
2
767
37
Cochin China, Philippines, &c.
3
715
25
United States
59
15,615
759
298
95,248
4,102
2
594
24
Hayti
41
8,648
496
English possessions in America
4
1,641
67
Spanish do.
48
11,013
644
3
321
32
10
2,006
113
Danish do.
6
1,018
71
I
250
12
1
256
11
Brazil
43
9,572
551
1
250
15
11
2,385
122
Mexico
17
3,709
234
4
865
37
Colombia
15
3,062
179
1
204
10
Peru (Lower Peru)
2
409
31
Chili
6
1,542
98
Rio de la Plata, Monte Video, Buenos Ayres
22
4,389
261
197
11
Martinique
114
28,523
1,505
Guadaloupe
159
39,165
2,017
Cayenne
23
4,485
289
Senegal
20
2,139
180
Bourbon
70
21,736
1,233
Total of French ships
3,561
358,157
28,080
Fishery, cod
369
43,938
7,629
whale
12
4,757
406
Coasting trade, in the same sea
56,608
1,937,512
239,863
from one sea to the other
1,363
189,767
11,314
interior navigation
20,152
396,353
57,301
Totals
82,065
2,930,484
344,503
4,394
519,820
38,811
721
102,915
6,554
willing to inflict on its subjects, and to which, though the government were willing, it is
most probable no people would be disposed to submit. A free trade between England and
France would give these two great nations one common interest. It would occasion not only
a. vast increase of the industry, and of the comforts and enjoyments of the people of both
countries, but would be the best attainable security against future hostilities. " We know,"
said Mr. Villiers, in his very able and instructive speech (15th of June, 1830), " that British
enterprise will fetch the extremest points on earth in the business of exchange; but here are
the shores of France nearer to England than those of Ireland itself-nay, Bordeaux is com-
mercially nearer to London than it is to Paris; and, but for the lamentable perversion of the
gifts and dispositions of nature, and of the ingenuity of man-the highways of commerce be-
tween these countries-the seas which surround Great Britain and Ireland, and wash the
shores of France, should literally swarm with vessels, engaged, not only in the interchange
of material products, but in diffusing knowledge, and stimulating improvement; in creating
everywhere new neighbourhoods; in consolidating international dependence; in short, in
drawing daily more close the bonds of international peace and confidence, and thus advanc-
ing, while they also served to confirm and secure, the peace, the civilisation, and the happi-
ness of Europe."*
The commercial treaty which Mr. Pitt negotiated with France in 1786, was the first at-
tempt to introduce a better system into the trade between the two countries; and it is one of
the few treaties of this description that have been bottomed on fair and liberal principles.
But the Revolution in France, and the lengthened and bloody wars by which it was follow-
ed, totally suppressed that mutually beneficial intercourse which had begun to grow up
under Mr. Pitt's treaty and when peace was again restored in 1815, the French govern-
ment unwisely resolved to continue the system of Napoleon, and to exclude most sorts of
We regret to have to add, that this was one of the last public appearances made by Mr. Villiers.
He died in December, 1832, at the early age of 31. His death was a national loss that will not easily be
repaired. Few have ever entered upon public life with better dispositions, more enlarged and com-
prehensive views, or a more sincere desire to promote the happiness of their species.
95
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HAVRE.
foreign products for which a substitute could be found at home ! But the wide-spread dis-
tress that has resulted from this absurd policy, and the more general diffusion of sounder
notions as to the real sources of public wealth, will, it may be confidently predicted, at no
distant period, induce the government of France to adopt a less illiberal and irrational sys-
tem.-(See BORDEAUX.) The equalisation of the wine duties in this country will accele-
rate this desirable result. It shows the French that we are no longer influenced by the
prejudices in which the discriminating system originated; and that we are ready to deal
with them on the same fair and equal terms as with any one else. In this respect the mea-
sure is entitled to the highest praise; and we have no doubt that it will be the harbinger of
others of the same kind-of a reduction of the exorbitant duties on brandy, for example-
both here and in France. The statesman who shall succeed in abolishing the restraints on
the commerce of the two countries, will render the most essential service to them both; and
not to them only, but to all the world, the furthest parts of which have been harassed by
their wars. It admits of demonstration, that, under a free system, the trade with France
would be incomparably more important and valuable than that with Russia, the United States,
or any other country. And we trust, should another edition of this work be called for, that
we shall have to congratulate the public on the opening of this broad and deep" channel
of employment.
The following Tables, prepared expressly for this work, give a pretty complete view of the
trade with France. Brandy, madder, silk manufactures, flax, wine, gloves, &c. are the prin-
cipal articles of import; for the raw and thrown silk comes, as already mentioned, almost
wholly from Italy. Brass and copper manufactures are by far the most important of all the
articles we send to France, at least through the regular channels. It will, probably, sur-
prise some of our readers to learn that, in 1832, the real or declared value of the silk goods
manufactured in this country and exported to France, amounted to no less than 75,187/.!
This is an instructive commentary on the sinister auguries of those who predicted the ruin
of our manufacture by French competition, in consequence of the subversion of the old mo-
nopoly system in 1825. The most important of the other articles of export are cottons,
woollens, sheep's wool, hardware and cutlery, horses, tin, &c.
A glance' at the first of the following Tables will sufficiently explain the real causes of the
depressed state of the French trade. The duty of 22s. 6d. a gallon on brandy is, probably,
about the ne plus ultra of fiscal rapacity. The duties on wine, verdigris, gloves, &c. are all
very much beyond the mark. Till they be adequately reduced, the trade with France can
never be any thing but inconsiderable, compared, at least, with what it ought to be.
1. Account of the Imports into the United Kingdom from France, specifying the Quantity and Value
of each Article, and the Amount of Customs Duty paid thereon, during the Year 1832; with the
Customs Duty received on each Article,
Amount of Cm-
tome Daties re-
Demominations.
Quantities
Official Value of
Species of Imports.
caived on each
Imported.
the Imports.
Article in-
ported.
L
L
Annotto
lbs.
9,441
944
12
Books
cwt.
1,381
11,073
5,048
Boots, shoes and galoshes
pairs
45,591
9,459
3,684
China and earthenware
declared value
L. 8,823
8,893
2,376
Clocks
-
L. 20,593
20,588
5,088
Cotton manufactures of Europe
-
L. 6,365
6,365
TIS
Eggs
number
56,661,243
17,391
19,341
Flax
cwt.
31,512
55,658
131
Flowers, artificial
declared value
L 2,160
2,160
534
Glass bottles, common
quarts
567,749
12,137
7,649
Hats. straw
number
9,904
516
1,361
Leather gloves
pairs
1,518,106
37,327
27,195
Linen, cambries
pieces
44,652
21,719
12,196
Madder
ewt.
39,690
84,685
8,096
Madder root
-
33,394
246,059
2,321
Needlework and embroidery
deglared value
L 15,649
15,649
4,678
Oysters
bushels
77,950
98,256
5,805
Prunes
cwt.
3,823
3,004
6,121
Silk, raw
lbs.
749,417
424,659
3,064
thrown
-
145,285
175,822
48,500
waste
-
257,016
25,701
115
Silk manufactures, vis.:
Silk or satim
-
74,723
148,458
40,908
Gause
-
48,171
184,264
68,737
Crape
-
15,510
33,346
12,201
Velvet
7,790
20,824
1,65
-
Lace, millinery, &c. &c.
declared value
L.53,702
53,703
16,222
Skins, goat, undressed
number
20,298
1,091
240
kid, dremed
-
664,019
11,961
8,319
lamb, tanned or dressed
I
5,069
51
95
Spirita, brandy
proof gallows
2.647,372
1,799,947
Toys
declared value
L. 1,230
1,330
313
Verdigris
lbs.
44,000
2,198
2,494
Wine, French
gallous
297,157
28,922
65,997
Wool, sheep's
lbs.
1,973
49
=
Woollen manufactures
declared value
L 61,749
61,749
9,344
All other articles
value
$31,211
84,574
Total LI
9,462,894
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HAVRE.
755
II. Account of the Exports of British and Irish Produce and Manufactures from the United Kingdom
to France, specifying the Quantity and Value of each Article, during the Year 1832.
Official Value of
Declared Value
Quantities
British and Irish
of British and
Species of Exports.
Denominations.
Produce and Ma-
exported.
Irish Produce
nufactures ex-
and Manufac-
ported.
tures exported.
L.
L.
Apothecary wares
cwt.
1,023
2,046
8,225
Apparel
value
4,441
4,441
Beer and ale
tuns
55 1-2
277
975
Books, printed
cwt.
243
973
5,518
Brass and copper manufactures
-
36,267
191,822
147,193
Cabinet and upholstery wares
value
2,217
2,217
Cheese
cwt.
160
192
558
Coals
tons
41,006
40,867
11,119
Cotton manufactures
yards
4,567,067
186,398
61,324
Ditto
value
3,542
3,670
Earthenware of all sorts
pieces
96,376
241
1,738
Glass of all sorts
value
74
238
Hardware and cutlery
lewt.
3,673
10,101
28,260
Horses
number
529
5,290
25,995
Iron, pig
tons
2,759
2,759
9,548
bar and bolt
-
1,656
16,567
8,119
cast and wrought
-
1,063
32,916
11,831
Lead and shot
-
65 1-2
686
804
Leather and saddlery
value
1,156
1,946
Linens
yards
291,961
14,626
14,780
Litharge of lead
cwt.
19
9
19
Machinery and mill-work
value
4,528
4,528
Musical instruments
-
1,742
1,742
Painters' colours and materials
-
2,295
2,295
Plate of silver
ounces
4,026
1,812
1,528
Silk goods manufactured in the United Kingdom
value
87,803
75,187
Spermaceti
cwt.
1,008
7,562
5,177
Stationery
value
3,046
3,046
Steel, unwrought
cwt.
1,851
2,638
3,263
Tin, unwrought
-
8,508
31,055
29,472
Tin and pewter wares, and tin plates
value
7,399
7,399
Whalebone
cwt.
701
3,505
5,048
Wool, sheep's
lbs.
736,482
26,303
38,541
Woollen manufactures
value
45,320
43,187
All other articles
-
106,062
105,860
Total L.
848,270
674,791
It would seem, from the subjoined accounts, as if the imports into Great Britain from France
very much exceeded the exports, the official value of which amount to only 848,270L a year.
Account of the Amount in Official and Real Value of all British Exports to France, in each Year since
1814; distinguishing those of British from Colonial Produce; also, an abstract of the Amount in
Official Value of all Imports from France in each Year, as far as the same can be made up during
that Time.
Official Value of Exports from the United Kingdom.
Declared Value of
Official Value of Im-
British and Irish
Years.
ports into the United
Produce and Manu-
Kingdom.
British and Irish
Foreign and Colonial
factures exported
Produce and Manu-
Merchandise.
Total Exports.
from the United
factures.
Kingdom.
£
8.
d.
£
S.
d.
£
8.
d.
£
8. d.
£
S.
d.
1814
740,226 10 0
377,799
9
7
1,867,913 19 4
2,245,713 8 11
582,702 15 0
1815
754,372 8 11
214,823 15 9
1,228,856
5
3
1,443,680 1 0
298,291 10 1
1816
417,782 17 2
321,070 4 11
1,313,151 17 8
1,634,222 2 7
407,699 11
4
1817
527,865 13 6
596,753 7 0
1,054,261
9
9
1,651,014 16 9
1,003,486 12 7
1818
1,162,423 15 7
318,850 19 1
877,912 13 0
1,196,763 12 1
369,503 14 9
1819
642,011 14 2
248,078 0 9
734,779 9 10
982,857 10 7
299,493 6 8
1820
775,132 5 6
334,086 13 2
829,814 9 6
1,163,901 1 8
390,744 10
3
1821
865,616 12 9
382,404 2 4
1,037,100 15 5
1,419,504 17 9
438,265 18 5
1822
878,272 15 0
346,810 15 1
839,150 11 4
1,185,961 6 5
437,009 2 5
1823
1,115,800 7 0
241,837 12 11
743,574 16 4
985,411 9 3
349,636 4 1
1824
1,556,733 17 5
260,498 9 9
864,500 16 4
1,124,999 6 1
338,635 8 11
1825
1,835,984 12 0
279,212 3 7
892,402 18 1
1,171,615 1 8
360,709 10 1
1826
1,247,426 0 6
426,819 13 9
656,124 10 9
1,082,944 4 6
488,438 6 7
1827
2,625,747 11 10
416,726 0 8
133,503 12 6
550,229 13 2
446,951 0 9
1828
3,178,825 3 9
448,945 2 7
195,497 9 2
644,442 11
9
498,937 12 0
1829
2,086,993 10 10
509,921 1 3
337,896 11 6
847,817 12 9
491,388 3 11
1830
2,328,483 14 11
486,284 0 1
181,065 1 5
667,349 1 6
475,884 3 2
1831
3,056,154 12 4
635,927 13 5
256,081 19 7
392,009 13 0
602,688 0 0
1832
2,452,894 0 0
848,270 0 0
-
-
-
-
674,791 0 0
But though the fact were so, it would not, as some appear to suppose, afford the
shadow of a foundation for the statements of those who contend that the trade with France
is a losing one. A man carries nothing but money to the baker's shop, or the butcher's
and yet it is not said that he is injured by dealing with them, or that he should become baker
or butcher for himself. We buy certain articles from France, because we find we can pro-
cure them from her on more reasonable terms than from any other country for, were it
otherwise, does any one suppose we should send a single ship to her ports Whether we
carry on our intercourse with the French by sending them returns in bullion or ordinary
products, is of no consequence whatever. We may be assured that bullion is not sent to
another country, unless it be more valuable there than here that is, unless its exportation be
for our advantage.-(See BALANCE OF TRADE.) In point of fact, however, we very rarely
send any bullion to France ; and the proof of this is, that, since the peace, the exchange with
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756
HAWKERS AND PEDLARS.
Paris has been oftener in our favour than against us. When the bills drawn by the French
on us exceed those we draw on them, the balance is usually paid by bills on Holland and
Hamburgh, where there is, at all times, an excess of British produce. It is idle, therefore,
to attempt to revive the ridiculous cry as to the disadvantageousness of the French trade, be-
cause the imports from France exceed the exports The imports into all commercial coun-
tries uniformly exceed the exports and the facts brought forward as a ground of complaint
against the French trade, is the strongest recommendation in its favour. Perhaps, however,
it may be consolatory to those who are so alarmed at the excess of imports from France, to
be told that it is to a great extent apparent only. As already observed, large quantities of
silk and other produce from Italy, come to us through France, and are reckoned among the
imports from that country, when they are in reality imports from Italy. Taking this cir-
cumstance into account, it will be found that the discrepancy between the exports to and im-
ports from France is immaterial.
HAWKERS AND PEDLARS. It is not very easy to distinguish between hawkers and
pedlars. Both are a sort of itinerant retail dealers, who carry about their wares from place
to place; but the former are supposed to carry on business on a larger scale than the latter.
They are subject to the same regulations.
Regulations as to Hawkers and Pedlars.-The legislature has always looked with suspi-
cion upon itinerant dealers; and has attempted, by obliging them to take out licenses, and
placing them under a sort of surveillance, to lessen their numbers, and to hinder them from
engaging in dishonest practices. But the resident dealer has so many advantages on his
side, that these precautions seem to be in a great measure superfluous. It should also be
recollected, that before shops were generally established in villages and remote districts,
hawkers and pedlars rendered material services to country people and even now the compe-
tition which they excite is certainly advantageous.
By the 50 Geo. 3. c. 41., hawkers and pedlars are to pay an annual licence duty of 41.; and if they
travel with a horse. ass, or other beast, bearing or drawing burden, they are subject to an additional
duty of 41. for each beast so employed. The granting of licences, and management of the duties, are,
by a late act, placed under the control of the commissioners of stamps.
Hawkers and pedlars, unless householders or residents in the place, are not allowed to sell by auc-
tion to the highest bidder penalty 504-half to the informer, the other half to the king. But nothing
in the act extends to hinder any person from selling, or exposing to sale, any sort of goods, in any
public market or fair; or to hinder a hawker or pedlar from selling in a hired room, where he is not a
resident, provided such sale is not by auction.
Every hawker, before he is licensed, must produce a certificate of good character and reputation,
signed by the clergyman and two reputable inhabitants of the place where he usually resides.
Every hawker must have inscribed, in Roman capitals; on the most conspicuous part of every pack,
box, trunk, case, cart, or other vehicle, in which he shall carry his wares, and on every room and
shop in which he shall trade, and likewise on every hand-bill which he shall distribute, the words
LICENSED HAWKER." Penalty, in default, 10Z. Unlicensed persons, wrongfully using this designa-
tion, forfeit 102.
Hawkers dealing in smuggled goods, or in goods fraudulently or dishonestly procured, are punish-
able by forfeiture of licence, and incapacity to obtain one in future, besides being liable to all the other
penalties, forfeitures, &c. applicable to such illegal dealing.
By stat. 6 Geo 4. c. 80. it is enacted, that any person or persons hawking, selling, or exposing to
sale, any spirits on the streets, highways, &c., or in any boat or other vessel on the water, or in any
place other than those allowed in this act, shall forfeit such spirits and 100L. for every such offence.
Any person may detain a hawker of spirits, and give notice to a peace officer to carry the offender
before a justice.
Hawkers trading without licence are liable to a penalty of 10% So also, if they refuse to show their
licence on the demand of any person to whom they offer goods for sale, or on the demand of any
justice, mayor, constable, or other peace officer, or any officer of the customs or excise. By 5 Geo. 4.
c. 83., hawkers trading without a licence are punishable as vagrants.
To forge or counterfeit a hawker's licence incurs a penalty of 300L. To lend or hire a hawker's
licence subjects lender and borrower to 40Z. each, and the license becomes forfeited. But the servant
of a licensed hawker may travel with the licence of his master.
Hawkers trading without a licence are liable to be seized and detained by any person who may give
notice to a constable, in order to their being carried before a justice of peace. Constables refusing to
assist in the execution of the act are liable to a penalty of 102.
Nothing in the act extends to prohibit persons from selling fish, fruit, or victuals; nor to hinder the
maker of any home manufacture from exposing his goods to sale in any market or fair in every city,
borough, town corporate, and market town: nor any tinker, cooper, glazier, plumber, harness-mender,
or other person, from going about and carrying the materials necessary to their business.
A single act of selling, as a parcel of handkerchiefs to a particular person, is not sufficient to con-
stitute a hawker within the meaning of the statute.-(Rez V. Little, B. 613.)
By the 52 Geo. 3. c. 108., no person, being a trader in any goods, wares, or manufactures of Great
Britain, and selling the same by wholesale, shall be deemed a hawker; and all such persons, or their
agents, selling by wholesale only, shall go from house to house, to any of their customers who sell
again by wholesale or retail, without being subject to any of the penalties contained in any act
touching hawkers, pedlars, and petty chapmen.
No person committed under these acts for non-payment of penalties can be detained in custody for
a longer period than 3 months.
Hawkers exposing their goods to sale in a market town, must do it in the market-place.
Persons hawking tea without a licence are liable to a penalty. under 50 Geo. 3. c. 41.; and even
though they had a licence, they would be liable to a penalty for selling tea in an unentered place.-
(Chitty's edit. of Burn's Justice, vol. ii. p. 1113.)
where he is resident, though he have not served any apprenticeship to the same, and, if prosecuted, ii.
Any person duly licensed to trade as a hawker and pediar may set up any lawful trade in any place
he may plead the general issue, and have double costs.-(See Chitty's edit. of Burn's Justice, vol.
pp. 1102-1124.)
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HAY, HEMP.
757
The hawkers' and pedlars' duty produced in 1832, 28,5421. gross revenue; the charges of collection
are very heavy, amounting to between 5.0001. and 6 0001. Whatever, therefore, may be the other
advantages of this tax, it cannot, certainly, be said to be very productive.
[In the United States, as in Great Britain, there are prejudices against pedlars; which,
here as there, have led to the enactment of legislative regulations concerning them. For a
specimen of these the reader is referred to Purdon's Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania,
under the head of Pedlars.-Am. Ed.]
HAY (Ger. Hew; Du. Hovi; Fr. Foin; It. Fieno; Sp. Heno ; Lat. Fænum), any
kind of grass cut and dried for the food of cattle. The business of hay-making is said to be
better understood in Middlesex than in any other part of the kingdom. The great object is
to preserve the green colour of the grass as much as possible, and to have it juicy, fresh, and
free from all sort of mustiness.
The sale of hay within the bills of mortality, and 30 miles of the cities of London and Westminster,
is regulated by the act 36 Geo. 3. c. 88. It enacts, that all hay shall be sold by the load of 36 trusses,
each truss weighing 56 lbs., except new hay, which is to weigh 601bs. till the 4th of September, and
afterwards 56 lbs. only; 80 that till the 4th of September a load of hay weighs exactly a ton, but
thereafter only 18 cwt. The clerk of the market is bound to keep a regular book for the inspection
of the public, specifying the names of the seller, the buyer, the salesman, and the price of each load.
Salesmen and factors are prohibited from dealing on their own account.
There are three public markets in the metropolis for the sale of hay and straw; Whitechapel,
Smithfield, and the Haymarket. An act (11 Geo. 4 c. 14.) has been obtained for the removal of the
market from the Haymarket to the vicinity of the Regent's Park: but the removal has not yet taken
place.
Straw is sold by the load of 36 trusses, of 36 lbs. each, making in all 11 cwt. 64 lbs.
It is affirmed, we know not with what foundation, that considerable frauds are perpetrated in the
sale of hay and straw.
HEMP (Ger. Hanf; Du. Hennip, Kennip; Da. Hamp Sw. Hampa; Fr. Chanvre;
It. Canape; Sp. Canamo; Rus. Konapli, Konopel; Pol. Konope) a valuable plant (the
Cannabis sativa of Linneus), supposed to be a native India, but long since naturalised and
extensively cultivated in Italy, and many countries of Europe, particularly Russia and Poland,
where it forms an article of primary commercial importance. It is also cultivated in different
parts of America, though not in such quantities as to supersede its importation. It is
stronger and coarser in the fibre than flax but its uses, culture, and management, are pretty
much the same. When grown for seed, it is a very exhausting crop; but when pulled green,
it is considered as a cleaner of the ground. In this country, its cultivation is not deemed
profitable; so that, notwithstanding the encouragement it has received from government,
and the excellent quality of English hemp, it is but little grown, except in some few districts
of Suffolk and Lincolnshire. The quantity raised in Ireland is also inconsiderable.-(Lou-
don's Encyc. of Agricult.)
Exceedingly good huckaback is made from hemp, for towels and common tablecloths. Low-priced
hempen cloths are a general wear for husbandmen, servants, and labouring manufacturers; the better
sorts for working farmers and tradesmen in the country; and the finer ones, t wide, are preferred by
some gentlemen for strength and warmth. They possess this advantage over Irish and other linens,-
that their colour improves in wearing, while that of linen deteriorates. But the great consumption
of hemp is in the manufacture of sailcloth and cordage, for which purposes it is peculiarly fitted by
the strength of its fibre. English hemp, when properly prepared, is said to be stronger than that of
every other country, Russia not excepted; and would, therefore, make the best cordage. It is, how-
ever, but little used in that way, or in the making of sailcloth; being principally made into cloth for
the uses already stated.
Hemp has been cultivated in Bengal from the remotest antiquity, but not, as in Europe, for the pur-
pose of being manufactured into cloth and cordage. In the Hindoo economy it serves as a substitute
for malt; a favourite intoxicating liquor called banga, being produced from it! This, also, is the use
to which it is applied in Egypt.-(Milburn's Orient. Commerce, &c.)
The price of hemp fluctuated very much during the war. In consequence of difficulties in the way
of its importation, it stood at a very high level from 1808 to 1814. This was the principal circumstance
that originally brought iron cables into use; and the extent to which they are now introduced, has
contributed materially to diminish the consumption and importation of hemp.-(Tooke on High and
Low Prices, 2d ed. p. 345.)
of 530,820 cwt. of undressed hemp imported in 1831, 506,803 were brought from Russia, 9,472 from
the East Indies, 7,405 from Italy, 2,262 from the Philippine Islands, 2,248 from the United States, and
some small quantities from a few other places. The duty on hemp was reduced in 1832, from 4a. 8d.
to Id. per cwt.; a reduction which, considering the importance of cordage, and other articles made
of hemp, cannot fail to be of very great advantage.
We borrow the following particulars with respect to the hemp trade of Petersburgh, from the work
of Mr. Borrisow on the commerce of that city :-
Hemp forms a very important article of export from Petersburgh, and deserves particular notice. It
is assorted, according to its quality, into clean hemp, or firsts; out-shot hemp, or seconds half-clean
hemp, or thirds; and hemp codilla.
Of the first 3 sorts, there are annually exported about 2,000,000 poods, the greatest part in English
and American bottoms. It is brought to Petersburgh from the interior, beyond Moscow, by water
and its quality depends very much on the country in which it is produced. That brought from
Karatshev is the best; next to this, that produced in Belev; hemp from Gshatsk is considered inferior
to the latter.
As soon as the hemp is brought down in the spring, or in the course of the summer, it is selected
and made up in bundles; both operations being performed by sworn selectors (brackers) and binders
appointed by government for this purpose; and it is a well known fact, that this is done with great
impartiality and exactness.
A bundle of clean hemp weighs from 55 to 65 poods; ditto out-shot, 48 to 55 ditto; ditto half-clean,
40 to 45 ditto.-(1 pood - 36 lbs. avoirdupois.)
VoL. L-3
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758
HEMP.
Binding of hemp is paid for at the rate of 2 roubles 50 copecks for clean, 2 roubles for out-shot, and
1 rouble 60 copecks for half-clean, per bundle; one half is paid by the seller, and the other half by the
purchaser, and is charged accordingly by their agents.
The expense of selecting hemp is 50 copecks per bercovitz (or 10 poods), and is the same for every
sort. To every bundle of assorted hemp is attached a ticket with the names of the selector, binder,
and owner, and the date and year. Every bundle has also affixed to it a piece of lead, stamped on
one side with the name of the selector, and on the other with the sort of hemp and the time when it
was selected. The external marks of good hemp are, its being of an equal green colour and free from
spills but its good quality is proved by the strength of fibre, which should be fine, thin, and long.
The first sort should be quite clean and free from spills; the out-shot is less so and the half-clean
contains a still greater portion of spills, and is moreover of mixed qualities and colours.
As a perfect knowledge of the qualities of hemp and flax can only be acquired by experience and
attention, agents usually employ men constantly occupied in this business; by which means they are
sure of getting goods of the best quality, and have the best chance of giving satisfaction to their prin-
cipals; because, although the hemp is selected by sworn selectors, yet, owing to the quantity of
business id the speed with which it must be executed, &c. there are often great differences in the
same sor The charges are in this way somewhat increased; but this is trifling in comparison of
the adva e gained. The part separated, or picked out in cleaning hemp, is called hemp codilla; it
is general' made up in small bundles of I pood, which are again, when shipped, bound together in
large bund d, each consisting of about 30 small ones.
Particular care must be taken to ship hemp and flax in fine dry weather; if it get wet, it heats and
is totally spoiled. For this reason every vessel taking in hemp or flax is furnished with mats to pre-
vent its getting damp. Hemp, being light and bulky, is, when stowed, forced into the hold by means
of winches, which renders the operation of loading rather slow.
It may be taken as a general rule, that the prices of hemp are highest in the months of May, June,
July, and the early part of August, the demand for this article being then greatest, and the exportation
to North America being principally effected at this season. Again, the prices of hemp are lowest
in the month of September ; the reason of which is, that the less opulent hemp-merchants return at
the end of this month to their own country, in order to make new purchases for the ensuing year;
and rather than be detained, sell the remainder of their stock some roubles below the market price.
This causes a general decline ; although an unusual demand for the article happening at the same
time, or political events or rumours, occasionally produce a contrary effect. Two large warehouses,
called ambures, are built in Petersburgh for the special purpose of housing hemp, where the greatest
order is observed.
Account of the Total Export of Hemp from Petersburgh during the last Eight Years, specifying the
Quantities exported in British, American, and other Foreign Ships.
In British Ships.
American.
Other Foreign Ships.
Grand
Years.
Total in
Half-
Total.
Half-
Total in Bri-
Clean.
Out-abot.
Total.
Clean.
Out-shot.
Foreign
clean.
tish Ships.
clean.
Ships.
Pords
Poods.
Po ds.
Poods.
Poods.
Poods.
Poods.
Poods.
Poods.
Ponds.
1825
1,098,952
101,633
154,637
1,355,232
336,158
104,144
146,911
99,945
350,130
2,011,514
1826
911,934
73,750
111,975
1,127,659
216,963
185,613
186,105
125,130
496,578
1,841,500
1827
1,011,931
36,959
166,301
1,215,191
288,700
166,963
114,155
128,699
409,817
1,913,711
1828
859,753
106,098
103,744
1,069,601
292,652
192,302
150,130
128,822
471,254
1,833,501
1829
324,719
213,452
95,563
633,731
139,567
38,947
94,937
108,311
212,185
1,015,496
1830
481,000
282,664
187,355
932,913
74,221
43,481
157,629
104,950
306,150
1,323,424
1831
682,976
202,611
210,919
1,096,506
277,881
21,481
81,498
57,109
160,088
1,534,475
1832
617,237
167,156
273,638
1,058,030
334,482
92,380
120,703
229,961
443,014
1,835,556
Sixty pouds of hemp and 40 poods of codilla make a last at Petersburgh; 63 poods make an English
ton.-(pp. 47-52.)
Riga hemp fetches a higher price than that of Petersburgh. It is divided into 3 sorts: viz. rein,
rhine, or clean, out-shot, and pass hemp. The following are the prices of hemp, duty paid, as quoted
in the London markets, December, 1833:-
8. d. £ s. d.
Hemp, East India, d. p.
-
-
-
-
0 0 0 to 0 0 0 per ton.
Petersburgh, clean
-
-
25 10 0 - 26 ) 0 -
out-shot
-
-
-
24 0 0 — 24 10 0 -
half-clean
-
-
21 0 0 - 21 10 0 -
Riga rhine
-
-
-
-
29 0 — 000 -
We subjoin a statement of the various charges on the exportation of hemp from Petersburgh, and
on its importation into this country.
Clean Hemp.-1 bundle = 63 poods - 1 tom.
Charges of importation per tom, taking the price at 40/. per a. ton. d.
Rou. cop.
Duty, 3 you. 60 cop. per bercovits
22 68
Insurance, say IL, and policy
0 10 6
2 If 6
Additional duty, 10 per cent.
2 87
Freight, 52a. 6d. per ton
Quarantine duly, 1 per cent.
0 22
Customs and Russia dues
4138
0 10 0
Landing charges
Sound dues
0 0
10 0
R. 25 17
Discount, 3 3-4 per cent.
040
Custom-house charges, 4 per cent.
1 I
Brokerage
Receiving, weighing, and shipping, 3 3-4 ron. per bundle
3 75
Per ton, L. 10 5 0
Bracking, 50 cop. per bereovitz
8 15
Binding, 40 cop. per ditto
2 52
Lighterage and attendance to Cro stadt, 8 rou. per bundle
8
0
In the above calculation, DO allowance is made for Jamage;
Rebin 1.1.g 2 1-4 rou. per bundle, 1-2 charged
I 12
which, if care be tiken to select a good vessel and an early senson,
Brokerage, 60 cop. per ton
0 60
does not amount to much. The estimates are nearly the knoweet n°t
of charge. The insurance, indeed, is sometimes as low 29 12a a
per cent, and policy. That, however, is only in the very ear.inet
R. 45 32
part of the season it rises to X. per ceat. in the autumn.
Out-shot Hemp.-1 bundle = 63 poods = I ton.
Rx. cap.
Fixed charges
46
11
Brokerage, 1-2 per cent.
Other charg 9 same.
Commission and extra charges, 3 per cent.
Half-clean Hemp.-1 1-8 bundle = 63 poods = I Inn.
But -
Stamps ou drafts, 14 per cent.
48
n
1-2
Brokerage, 1-4 per cent.
per
cent.
Fixed charges
Other charges same.
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HEMP-SEED, HERRINGS AND HERRING FISHERY. 759
Hemp the produce or manufacture of Europe may not he Imported into the United Kingdom for
home consumption, except in British ships, or in ships of the country of which it is the produce, or
from which it is imported, under penalty of forfeiting the same and 1001. by the master of the ship.-
& 4 Will. 4. c. 54. " 2. and 22.)
HEMP (Manilla), commonly called Manilla white rope. Mr. Crawford given the following account
of this article :- Of the wild banana, one kind (Musa textilis) grows in vast abundance in some of the
most northerly of the spice islands. In the great island of Mindanao, in the Philippines, it fills exten-
sive forests. From the fibrous bark or epidermis is manufactured a kind of cloth, in frequent use
among the natives. It also affords the material of the most valuable cordage which the indigenous
products of the Archipelago yield. This is known to our traders and navigators under the name of
Manilla rope, and is equally applicable to cables, and to standing or running rigging."-(Ifist. of
Archipelago, vol. i. p. 412.)
HEMP (INDIAN), or SUNN. This consists of the fibre of the crotolaria juncea, a totally different plant
from the cannabis sativa, which, as already stated, is never used by the Hindoos for cloth or cordage.
Sunn is grown in various places of Hindostan. The strongest, whitest, and most durable species is
produced at Comercolly. During those periods of the late war when the intercourse with the Baltic
was interrupted, and hemp bore an enormous price, large quantities of sunn were imported; but the
fibre being comparatively weak, the article was not found to answer, and the importation has since
been discontinued.-(Milburn's Orient. Commerce; private information.)
[Hemp is imported into the United States chiefly from Russia; the annual value, on an
average of the three years ending September 30th, 1838, imported from that country, being
$450,000, while the whole importation of it amounted to $603,934. The annual value of
all articles manufactured from hemp, sail duck being the principal of these, imported during
the same period, amounted to $681,117, of which, $549,967 were from Russia. An
average quantity of these articles, to the value of about $100,000, was re-exported; for the
most part to Cuba and the other West India islands, and to South America.-Am. Ed.]
HEMP-SEED (Fr. Chenevis, Chenevi; Ger. Hanfsaat; It. Cannapuccia; Lat. Semen
cannabinum, Rus. Konopljanoe Semja), the seed of hemp. The best hemp-seed is that
which is brightest, and will not break when rubbed. It is used either as seed, or for crushing
for oil, or as food for fowls. Being loaded with a duty of 21. per quarter, it is but little im-
ported into this country.
HERRINGS, AND HERRING FISHERY. The herring (Clupea harengus of Lin-
næus) is a fish too well known to require any description. It is every where in high esteem,
both when fresh and when salted.
" Herrings are found from the highest northern latitudes yet known, as low as the northern
coasts of France. They are met with in vast shoals on the coast of America as low as
Carolina. In Chesapeake Bay is an annual inundation of those fish, which cover the shore
in such quantities as to become a nuisance. We find them again in the seas of Kamtschatka;
and probably they reach Japan. The great winter rendezvous of the herring is within the
arctic circle: there they continue for many months, in order to recruit themselves after the
fatigue of spawning; the seas within that space swarming with insect food in a far greater
degree than those of our warmer latitudes. This mighty army begins to put itself in motion
in spring. They begin to appear off the Shetland Isles in April and May. These are only
the forerunners of the grand shoal, which comes in June; and their appearance is marked by
certain signs, such as the numbers of birds, like gannets and others, which follow to prey
on them; but when the main body approaches, its breadth and depth is such as to alter the
appearance of the very ocean. It is divided into distinct columns of 5 or 6 miles in length,
and 3 or 4 in breadth; and they drive the water before them, with a kind of rippling.
Sometimes they sink for the space of 10 or 15 minutes, and then rise again to the
surface; and in fine weather reflect a variety of splendid colours, like a field of the most
precious gems.
The first check this army meets in its march southward, is from the Shetland Isles,
which divide it into two parts one wing takes to the east, the other to the western shores of
Great Britain, and fill every bay and creek with their numbers: the former proceed towards
Yarmouth, the great and ancient mart of herrings; they then pass through the British Chan-
nel, and after that in a manner disappear. Those which take towards the west, after offering
themselves to the Hebrides, where the great stationary fishery is, proceed to the north of
Ireland, where they meet with a second interruption, and are obliged to make a second
division the one takes to the western side, and is scarcely perceived, being soon lost in the
immensity of the Atlantic; but the other, that passes into the Irish Sea, rejoices and feeds
the inhabitants of most of the coasts that border on it. These brigades, as we may call them,
which are thus separated from the greater columns, are often capricious in their motions,
and do not show an invariable attachment to their haunts.
This instinct of migration was given to the herrings, that they might deposit their spawn
in warmer seas, that would mature and vivify it more assuredly than those of the frozen
zone. It is not from defect of food that they set themselves in motion for they come to us
full of fat, and on their return are almost universally observed to be lean and miserable.
What their food is near the pole, we are not yet informed but in our seas they feed much
on the oniscus marinus, a crustaceous insect, and sometimes on their own fry.
They are full of roe in the end of June, and continue in perfection till the beginning of
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760
HERRINGS AND HERRING FISHERY.
winter, when they deposit their spawn. The young herrings begin to approach the shores
in July and August, and are then from 1 an inch to 2 inches long. Though we have no
particular authority for it, yet, as very few young herrings are found in our seas during
winter, it seems most certain that they must return to their parental haunts beneath the ice.
Some of the old herrings continue on our coast the whole year."-(Pennant's British
Zoology.)
The herring was unknown to the ancients, being rarely, if ever, found within the Medi-
terranean. The Dutch are said to have engaged in the fishery in 1164. The invention of
pickling or salting herrings is ascribed to one Beukels, or Beukelson, of Biervliet, near Sluys,
who died in 1397. The emperor Charles V. visited his grave, and ordered a magnificent
tomb to be erected to his memory. Since this early period, the Dutch have uniformly main-
tained their ascendency in the herring fishery but, owing to the Reformation, and the
relaxed observance of Lent in Catholic countries, the demand for herrings upon the Conti-
nent is now far less than in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Importance of the Herring Fiskery. Progress of it in Great Britain.-There is, perhaps, no branch
of industry, the importance of which has been so much over-rated as that of the herring fishery. For
more than two centuries, company after company has been formed for its prosecution, fishing villages
have been built, piers constructed, Boards and regulations established, and vast sums expended is
bounties, and yet the fishery remains in a very feeble and unhealthy state. The false estimates that
have been long current with respect to the extent and value of the Dutch herring fishery, contributed
more, perhaps, than any thing else, to the formation of exaggerated notions of the importance of this
business. That the Hollanders prosecuted it to a greater extent, and with far greater success, than
any other people, is, indeed, most true. There is not, however, the shadow of a ground for believing
that they ever employed, as has often been stated, about 450,000 individuals in the fishery and the
employments immediately subservient to it. We question whether they ever employed $0 many as
50,000. At the time when the Dutch carried on the fishery to the greatest extent, the entire population
of the Seven United Provinces did not certainly exceed 2,400,000 and deducting a half for women,
and from a half to two thirds of the remaining 1,200,000 for boys and old men, it would follow, accord-
ing to the statement in question, that every able-bodied man in Holland must have been engaged in
the herring fishery It is astonishing how such ridiculously exaggerated accounts ever obtained any
circulation; and still more so, that they should have been referred to and quoted without, apparently,
any doubt being ever entertained of their authenticity, down to our own times!* Had they been
sifted ever 80 little, their falsehood would have been obvious; and we should have saved many
hundreds of thousands of pounds that have been thrown away in attempting to rival that which
never existed.
It would be impossible, within the limits to which this article must be confined, to give any detailed
account of the various attempts that have been made at different periods to encourage and bolster up
the herring fishery. In 1749, in pursuance of a recommendation in his Majesty's speech at the opening
of parliament, and of a report of a committee of the House of Commons, 500,000/. was subscribed for
earrying on the fisheries, under a corporation called The Society of the Free British Fishery." The
Prince of Wales was chosen governor of the Society, which was patronised by men of the first rank
and fortune in the state. But this Society did not trust entirely to its own efforts for success. The
duties were remitted upon the salt used in the fisheries; and besides this reasonable encouragement,
a high tonnage bounty was granted upon every buss fitted out for the deep sea fishery. In conse-
quence, many vessels were sent out, as Dr. Smith hastruly stated, not to catch herrings, but to catch
the bounty and to such an extent was this abuse carried, that in 1759, when the tonnage bounty was
50s., the almost Incredible sum of 159/. 78. 6d. was paid as bounty upon every burrel of merchaniable
herrings that was produced Wealth of Nations, vol. iii. p. 386. M' Culloch's ed.) But. notwithstanding
this encouragement, such was the waste and mismanagement of the Company's affairs, that it was
speedily destroyed. Dr. Smith says, that in 1794 hardly a vestige remained of its having ever been in
existence.
But, notwithstanding this ill success, a new company was formed, for nearly the same objects, in
1786, of which George III. was patron. It has had nearly the same fate. For a season or two, busees
were fitted out by the society but if every herring caught had carried a ducat in its mouth. the
expense of its capture would scarcely have been repaid. The bubble ended by the society for fishing
in the deep sea becoming a kind of building society, for purchasing ground in situations where curers
and fishermen find it convenient to settle, and selling or letting it in small lots to them, at such
advance of price as yields something better than fishing profits.' (See an excellent article on the
Herring Fishery, in the 11th Number of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture.)
In 1808, a fresh attempt was made for the improvement and extension of the fishery. The act 48
Geo. 3. established a distinct set of commissioners for the superintendence of all matters connected
with the fishery, and authorised them to appoint a sufficient number of fishery officers. to be stationed
at the different ports, whose duty it is to see that the various regulations with respect to the gutting,
packing, &c. of the herrings, and the branding of the barrels, are duly carried into effect. In 1809, a
bounty of 31. per ton was granted on all vessels employed in the deep sea herring fishery, of above 60
tons burden, but payable only on 100 tons and in 1820, a bounty of 20s. per ton, which, under certain
specified circumstances, might be increased to 50s., was granted on all vessels of from 15 to 60 tons, fitted
out for the shore herring fishery; and, exclusively of these bounties on the tonnage, a bounty of 2s. a
barrel was allowed on all herrings cured gutted during the 6 years ending the 5th of April, 1515, and a
bounty of 2s. 8d. a barrel on their exportation, whether cured gutted or angutted. During the 11 years
ending the 5th of April, 1826, the bounty on herrings cured guited was 4s. a barrel.
It is stated in the article already referred to, that the cost of a barrel of cured herrings is about 16s.;
the half going to the fisherman for the green fish, the other half to the curer for barrel, salt, and labour.
The bounty of 4s. a barrel was, therefore, equal to half the value of the herrings as sold by the fisher-
man, and to one fourth of their value as sold by the curer! In consequence of this forced system, the
fishery was rapidly increased. The following statement, extracted from the Report of the Commis-
sioners of the Fishery Board, dated 1st October, 1830, shows the progress it has made since 1809:-
They seem to have been first set forth in a treatise ascribed to Sir Walter Raleigh; and, which
very singular, they were admitted by De Witt into his excellent work, the Interest of
They have been implicitly adopted by Mr. Barrow, in the article Fisheries Supplement
Encyclopadia Britannica.
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HERRINGS AND HERRING FISHERY.
761
Abstract of the Total Quantity of White Herrings cured, branded for Bounty, and exported, in 80 far
as the same have been brought under the Cognisance of the Officers of the Fishery, from the 1st of
June, 1809, when the System hitherto in force for the Encouragement of the British Herring Fishery
took place, to the 5th of April, 1830; distinguishing each Year, and the Herrings cured Gutted, from
those cured Ungutted.-(Pari. Paper, No. 51. Sess. 1830; and Papers published by the Board of
Trade, Part 1.)
Total
Total Quantity of Herrings
Quantity of
Total Quantity of Herrings
cured.
Periods.
Herrings
exported.
branded for
Gutted.
Ungutted.
Total.
Bounty.
Gutted.
Unguited.
Total.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barreis.
Barrels.
Barrels.
Barreis.
Period extending from 1st of
June, 1809, to 5th of April,
42,548
47,637$
90,185}
34,701
11,063}
24,7841
35,848
1810
Year ending 5th of April, 1811
65,430
26,3974
91,8271
55,6621
18,880
19,253
38,133
1812
72,515}
39,004
111,519
58,430
27,564
35,256
62,820
1813
89,900
63,5571
153,488
70,0271
40,100}
69,625
109,725}
1814
52,9311
57,611
110,5421
38,1841
34,929
83,4741
118,4031
1815
105,3724
54,767
160,139
83,376
68,938
72,3674
141,305
1816
135,981
26,6701
162,6511
116,436
81,544}
26,143
107,688
1817
155,776
36,567
192,343
140,018}
115,480}
23,148
138,6281
1818
204,270}
23,420
227,691
183,089
148,147
14,192
162,339
1819
303,777
37,1164
340,894
270,0221
212,301
14,860}
227,162
1820
347,190}
35,301
382,4911
309,7001
244,096
9,420
253,516
1821
413,308
28,8574
442,1951
363,872
289,445}
5,360
294,8051
1S22
201,6261
24,8971
316,5421
263,2051
212,8901
2,0651
214,956
1823
225,037
23,832
248,869
203,110
169,459}
9851
170,445
1824
335,450
56,7404
392,190
299,631
238,505}
1,125
239,630+
1825
303,397
44,2681
347,6654
270,8441
201,8524
134
202,0164
1826
340,118
39,1151
379,2331
291,4221
217,053±
20
217,0731
1827
259,171±
29,324
288,4951
223,606
165,741
695
166,406
1828
339,360
60,418
399,778
279,3174
210,766
893
211,659
1829
300.212}
55,737
355,979}
231,827
202,8131
3,062
205,8751
1830
280,933
48,6231
329,557
218,418
177,776
3,8781
181,654
1831
371,096
68,274
439,370
237,085
260,976
3,927
261,903
On looking at this Table, it is seen that the fishery made no progress under the new system till 1815,
when the bounty was raised to 4s. This is a sufficient proof of the factitious and unnatural state of
the business. Its extension, under the circumstances in question, Instead of affording any proof of
its being in a really flourishing condition, was distinctly the reverse. Individuals without capital, but
who obtained loans sufficient to enable them to acquire boats, barrels, salt, &c. on the credit of the
bounty, entered in vast numbers into the trade. The market was most commonly glutted with fish ;
and yet the temptation held out by the bounty caused it to be still further overloaded. Great injury
was consequently done to those fish curers who possessed capital; and even the fishermen were
injured by the system. Most of the boats employed in the fishery never touch the water but during
6 weeks, from the middle or end of July to the middle of September. They are owned and sailed,
not by regular fishermen following that vocation only, but by tradesmen, small farmers, farm-servants,
and other landsmen, who may have sufficient skill to manage 11 boat at that season, but who do not
follow the sea except for the 6 weeks of the herring fishery, when they go upon a kind of gambling
speculation, of earning a twelvemonth's income by 6 weeks' work."-(Quarterly Journal, No. 11.
p. 653.)
It has been often said, in vindication of the bounty system, that by extending the fishery it extended
an important nursery for seamen; but the preceding statement shows that such has not been the effect.
On the contrary, it has tended to depress the condition of the genuine fisherman, by bringing a host of
interlopers into the field; and it has also been prejudicial to the little farmers and tradesmen. by with-
drawing their attention from their peculiar business, that they may embark in what has hitherto been
little less than a sort of lottery adventure.
These consequences, and the increasing amount of the sum paid for bounties, at length induced the
government to adopt a different system and by an act passed in 1825, the bounty of 2s. 8d. on exported
herrings was made to cease in 1826, and 1s. was annually deducted from the bounty of 4s. a harrel paid
on gutted herrings, till it ceased in 1830. Time has not yet been afforded to learn the full effect of this
measure. We, however, have not the slightest doubt that it will be most advantageous. The fore-
going Table shows, that though the quantity of herrings taken and exported in 1829 and 1830 fell off,
there was R material increase in 1831. This is the more encouraging, as there can be little doubt that
the supply will henceforth be proportioned to the real demand; while the genuine fishermen, and
those curers who have capital of their own, will no longer be injured by the competition of landsmen,
and of persons trading on capital furnished by government.
The repeal of the salt laws, and of the duty on salt, which preceded the repeal of the bounty, must
be of signal service to the fishery. It is true that salt used in the fisheries was exempted from the
duty ; but, in order to prevent the revenue from being defrauded, so many regulations were enacted,
and the difficulties and penalties to which the fishermen were in consequence subjected were 80 very
great, that some of them chose rather to pay the duty upon the salt they made use of, than to under-
take compliance with the regulations.
It is much to be regretted, that when government repealed the bounty, it did not also abolish the
" Fishery Board." and the officers and regulations it had appointed and enacted. So long as the
bounty existed, it was quite proper that those who claimed it should be subjected to such regulations
as government chose to enforce but now that it has been repealed, we see no reason whatever why
the fishery should not be made perfectly free, and every one allowed to prepare his herrings as he
thinks best. It is said, indeed, that were there no inspection of the fish, frauds of all sorts would be
practised that the barrels would be ill made, and of a deficient size that the fish would not be pro-
perly packed that the bottom and middle of the barrels would be filled with bad ones, and a few good
ones only placed at the top; that there would not be a sufficiency of pickle, &c. But it is obvious
that the reasons alleged in vindication of the official inspection kept up in the herring fishery, might
be alleged in vindication of a similar inspection in almost every other branch of industry. It is, in
point of fact, utterly useless. It is an attempt, on the part of government, to do that for their subjects,
which they can do far better for themselves. Supposing the official inspection were put an end to, the
merchants and others who buy herrings of the curers would themselves inspect the burrels: and while
any attempt at fraud by the curers would thus be effectually obviated, they would be left at liberty to
prepare their herrings in any way that they pleased. without being compelled, as at present, to follow
3 5 2
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HIDES.
only one system, or to prepare fish in the same way for the tables of the poor as for those of the rich.
So far, indeed, is it from being true that the inspection system tends to put down trickery, that there
is much reason to think that its effect is directly the reverse. The surveillance exercised by the officers
is any thing but strict and the official brand is often affixed to barrels which, were it not for the
undeserved confidence that is too frequently placed in it by the unwary, would lie on the curer's
hands. It is rather a security against the detection of fraud, than against its existence.
The grand object of the herring fishery Board" has been to enforce such a system of curing as
would bring British herrings to a level with those of the Dutch. In this, however, they have com-
pletely failed Dutch herrings generally fetching double, and sometimes even three times the price of
British herrings in every market of Europe. Neither is this to be wondered at. The consumers of
Dutch herrings are the inhabitants of the Netherlands and of the German towns, who use them
rather as a luxury than as an article of food, and who do not grudge the price that is necessary to
have them in the finest order. The consumers of British herrings, on the other hand, are the negroes
of the West Indies, and the poor of Ireland and Scotland. Cheapness is the prime requisite in the
estimation of such persons and nothing can be more entirely absurd, than that a public Board should
endeavour to enforce the fish curers to adopt such a system in the preparation of herrings as must
infallibly raise their price beyond the means of those by whom they are bought. Why should not the
taste of the consumers be consulted as much in this as in any thing else It would not be more
ridiculous to attempt to have all cheese made of the same richness and flavour as Stilton, than it is
to attempt to bring up all herrings to the standard of the Dutch.
We do, therefore, hope that a speedy end may be put to this system; and that our legislators and
patriots will cease to torment themselves with schemes for the improvement of the fisheries. The
very best thing they can do for them is to let them alone. It is not a business that requires any sort
of adventitious encouragement. Every obstacle to the easy introduction of fish into London and
other places ought certainly to be removed; but all direct interferences with the fishery are sure to
be in the last degree pernicious.
Of the 181,654 barrels of herrings exported from Great Britain in the year ending the 5th of April,
1830, 89,680 went to Ireland, 67,672 to places out of Europe, (chiefly the West Indies), and 24,302 to
places in Europe other than Ireland.
HIDES (Ger. Häute; Du. Huiden; Fr. Peaux; It. Cuoja; Sp. Pellejos, Pieles; Rus.
Koshi), signify, generally, the skins of beasts; but the term is more particularly applied to
those of large cattle, such as bullocks, cows, horses, &c. Hides are raw or green; that is,
in the state in which they are taken off the carcase, or dressed with salt, alum, and saltpetre,
to prevent them from putrefying; or they are cured or tanned. The hides of South Ame-
rica are in the highest repute, and vast quantities of them are annually imported into Great
Britain. Large quantities are also imported from various parts of the Continent; and from
Morocco, the Cape of Good Hope, &c.
His Majesty is authorised to prohibit, by proclamation or order in council published in the London
Gazette, the importation of any hides or skins, horns or hoofs, or any other part of any cattle or beast,
in order to prevent any contagious distemper from being brought into the kingdom.-(3 & 4 Will. 4.
c. 52. 0 68.)
An Account of the Weight of the Hides imported into the United Kingdom in each of the Seven
Years ending with 1832, and the Revenue annually derived from the same; specifying the Coun-
tries whence the Hides were imported, with the Quantities brought from each.
Countries from which
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
imported.
Untanned Hides.
Cust. qrs.lbs.
Cwt. qrs.lbs.
Cwt. qrs.lbs.
Cwt. qrs.lbs.
Crot. grs.lls
Cut. q7s.lla.
Cut. qre
Russia
5,426 1 7
14,792 3 2
14,484 2 21
17,189 0 6
22,345 6
10,262 22
8,771 0 16
Sweden and Norway
7 0 15
3 0 5
1 0 0
101
0
20
38 1.26
78 0
Denmark
9,232 3 3
12,919 0 14
12,338 3 6
4,994 11
2,476 6
9,142 0
7,256 0
Prussia
950 0 9
2,074 3 27
6,775 3 15
2,945 20
3,098 2 16
635 18
197 0 24
Germany
14,260 2 23
33,386 2.22
38,335 23
23,353 3 23
31,944 10
23,534 2 9
18,804
United Netherlands
12,747 3 24
21,518 0 27
27,289 3 2
19,102 2
23,966 I 4
19,468 15
11,845 3 11
France
422 0 8
182 0
Portugal, Madeira, and
the Azores
283 7
13 19
119 0 15
Spain and the Canaries
2 22
30 2 9
006
Gibraltar
2,903 2 0
1,259 2
1,232 1 7
1,808 1 4
1,352 27
1,781
0
17
1,051 0 16
Italy
5 9
Turkey
1,058 2 13
342 0
2,250 0 12
4,784 0
4 2
Africa, viz. Morocco
10,805 1 6
668 0 17
3 2 4
64 0 13
60 0 0
Sierra Leone and
coast to Cape of
Good Hope
1,228 2 9
3,111 27
2,875 2 17
3,696 2
3,334 2 IS
3,502 16
3,575 2 2:
Cape of Good Hope
and Eastern coast
7,520 3 27
12,207 3
12,963 20
15,844
19,957 21
16,900 I 4
13,193 3 14
East Indies (including
the Mauritius)
2,375 0 S
1,111 25
3,322 3 12
3,605 19
5,104 0 19
3,376 0 5
10,739 0
New South Wales and
Van Diemen's Land
518 2 16
1,167 7
1,112 3 I
3,161 10
3,945 0 13
5,662 0 11
,719 2 I
South Sea Islands and
Southern Fishery
3 3 18
4 0 0
15 3 12
5 2 15
28 2 12
British North Ameri-
can colonies
2,492 0 1
1,092 2 20
1,548 22
973 3 24
1,052 2 6
615
S99 3 11
British West Indies
3,775 2 27
4,238 13
4,537 0 24
2,922 2 25
2,622 2
2,498 3 6
1,807 2 16
Foreign do.
173 11
62 15
201 3 23
13 2 15
86 S
50 39
U.S. of America
12,162 3 26
11,549 0 7
19,627 3 11
20,162 3 7
16,030 0 26
4,206 13
12,316 0 15
Mexico
2,474 24
73 0 26
67 2 2
3,946 2
153
12
1,428 1 2
Guatemala
1,326 2 4
446 0 8
49 0 8
239 03
Colombia
651 3 12
1,054 20
1,454 2 21
1,197 2 24
1,242 0 IS
259 03
259 1 20
Brazil
16,124 22
12,942 2 11
23,547 3 17
3,207 0 I
11,258 2 19
13,204 1 9
17,767 1 3
States of the Rio de la
Plata
79,027 0 11
5,598 3 18
40,605 3 9
156,049 3 18
174,422 0 10
146,008 2 11
65,643 0 4
Chili
7,949 19
6,366 2 15
11,266 1 3
3,434 3 15
5,417 3 26
4,096 17
1,253 2 2
Peru
2,011 3 13
914 3 7
1,726 17
2,332 3
3,817 2 8
553 4 8
2,938 I 27
Guernsey, Jersey, Al-
derney, and Man,
foreign
130 9
284 15
134 2 7
10 22
504 I 6
452 12
Do. do. produce of
36 No.
118 2 14
37 3 27
810
302 0 0
and 98 No.
and 182 No.
121 No.
and 163 No.
Total
194,243 3 24
152,434 0 15
225,975 3 15
286,416 3 13
339,773 0 24
271,477 3 2
186,982 3 3
and 36 No.
and 98 No.
and 182 No.
and 121 No.
and 163 No.
Digitized by Google
HOGSHEAD-HOPS.
763
An Account of the Weight of the Hides imported-continued.
Countries from which
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
imported.
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs. of
No. of
Lbs.of
Tanned Hides.
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Rus.
other
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Hides.
Russia
1,542
1,506
7,620
8,095
1,096
3,219
1,686
Deumark
-
825
50
20
Prussia
970
3,761
-
216
Germany
408
Netherlands
305
266
104
France
6,858
218
East Indies (including
the Mauritius)
3,408
1
9,030
1,740
36,222
-
15,033
-
13,142
British North American
colonies
27,914
35,519
-
33,752
British West Indies
7,559
U.S. of America
-
1,119
24
Brazil
172
31
12,067
3,719
Chili
-
12
Guerney, Jersey, Al-
derney, and Man,
foreign
53
Do. do. produce of
62,008
92,669
86,668
84,971
50,440
77,848
-
69,173
Total
1,950
62,313
1,506
103,808
7,621
103,876
8,199
91,515
1,096
115,745
3,219
140,487
1,686
120,038
The rates of duty on the hides imported during the above years were the same as those now
charged ; for which, see TABIFF.
Amount of Duty received on Foreign and Colonial Hides.
1826.
1827.
1828.
1829.
1830.
1831.
1832.
L.
3.
d.
L.
8.
d.
L
a.
d.
L
8.
d.
L.
8.
d.
L.
8.
d.
L.
8.
d.
Untanned hides
24,491 14 6
26,319 19 3
34,841 15 0
37,379 = 5
42,538 18 6
32,814 9 S
24,242 2 9
Tanned do,
1.747 12 4
2,219 8 0
2,512 1 4
2,388 2 8
1,337 12 6
1,037 2 3
1,170 13 2
Total
26,239 6 10
28,539 7 3
37,353 16 4
39,767 14 1
43,876 11 0
33,851 11 11
25,412 15 11
Hides and skins paying duty by weight, may be delivered from the bonded warehouses, on the
parties entering an average weight, due care being taken that the lockers actually retally and reweigh
the hides and skins on delivery ; and in the case of delivery for exportation, to express In cart notes
the exact number delivered from the warehouse, in order to enable the export officer on the quay to
check the quantity and the merchant is to Indorse on the cocket and bill the total number and weight
shipped, before the vessel is suffered to (Customs Order, 4th Dec. 1824.)
[See IMPORTS AND Exrorts.-Am. Ed.]
HOGSHEAD, a measure of capacity, containing 521 Imperial gallons. A hogshead is
equal to t a pipe.-(See WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.)
HOLIDAYS, are understood to be those days, exclusive of Sundays, on which no regular
public business is transacted at particular public offices. They are either fixed or variable.
They are not the same for all public offices. Those kept at the Bank of England have
recently been reduced a full half.
The variable holidays are, Ash-Wednesday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Tuesday,
Holy Thursday, Whit Monday and Tuesday.
It is enacted by stat. 6 Geo. 4.c. 106. 1 13., that no holidays shall be kept by the customs except Christ-
mas-day and Good Friday, the King's birthday, and such days as may be appointed by proclamation
for the purpose of a general fast.
The 7 & 8 Geo. 4 c. 53. 0 16. enacts that no holidays shall be kept at the Excise, except Christmas-
day and Good Friday, the birthdays of his Majesty and the Prince of Wales, the anniversaries of the
Restoration of Charles II., and of his Majesty's coronation, and such days as may be appointed by
proclamation for the celebration of a general fast, or such days as may be appointed as holidays by
any warrant issued for that purpose by the Lords of the Treasury.
HONEY (Du. Honig, Honing; Fr. Miel; Ger. Honig; It. Mele; Lat. Mel; Rus.
Med; Sp. Miel), a vegetable juice collected by bees. " Its flavour varies according to the
nature of the flowers from which it is collected. Thus, the honeys of Minorca, Narbonne,
and England, are known by their flavours; and the honey prepared in different parts even
of the same country differs. It is separated from the comb by dripping, and by expression:
the first method affords the purest sort; the second separates a less pure honey; and a still
inferior kind is obtained by heating the comb before it is pressed. When obtained from
young hives, which have not swarmed, it is denominated virgin honey. It is sometimes
adulterated with flour, which is detected by mixing it with tepid water: the honey dissolves,
while the flour remains nearly unaltered."-(Thomson's Dispensatory.)
By stat. 23 Eliz. c. 8. § 4., all vessels of honey are to be marked with the initial letters
of the name of the owner, on pain of forfeiting 6s. 8d.; and contain, the barrel 32 gallons,
the kilderkin 16 gallons, and the firkin 8 gallons, or forfeit 5s. for every gallon wanting
and if any honey sold, be corrupted with any deceitful mixture, the seller shall forfeit the
honey, &c.
HOPS (Ger. Hopfen; Du. Hoppe ; Fr. Houblon; It. Luppoli, Bruscandoli, Sp. Oblon;
Rus. Chmel; Lat. Humulus Lupulus). The hop is a perennial rooted plant, of which
there are several varieties. It has an annual twining stem, which when supported on poles,
or trees, will reach the height of from 12 to 20 feet or more. It is a native of Britain and
most parts of Europe. When the hop was first used for preserving and improving beer, or
Digitized by Google
764
HOPS.
cultivated for that purpose, is not known-(see ALE) but its culture was introduced into
this country from Flanders in the reign of Henry VIII. Hops are first mentioned in the
Statute Book in 1552, in an act 5 & 6 Edward 6. c. 5.; and it would appear from an act
passed in 1603 (1 Jac. I. C. 18.), that hops were at that time extensively cultivated in Eng-
land. Walter Blithe, in his Improver Improved, published in 1649 (3d ed. 1653, p. 240.),
has a chapter upon improvement by plantations of hops, in which there is this striking pas-
sage. He observes that hops were then grown to be a national commodity but that it
was not many years since the famous city of London petitioned the parliament of England
against two nuisances; and these were, Newcastle coals, in regard to their stench, &c, and
hops, in regard they would spoyl the taste of drink, and endanger the people: and had the
parliament been no wiser than they, we had been in a measure pined, and in a great measure
starved; which is just answerable to the principles of those men who cry down all devices, or
ingenious discoveries, as projects, and thereby stifle and choak improvement."
After the hope have been picked and dried, the brightest and finest are put into pockets or fine
bagging, and the brown into coarse or heavy bagging. The former are chiefly used in the brewing of
fine ales, and the latter by the porter brewers. A pocket of hops, if they be good in quality. well cured,
and tight trodden, will weigh about 1jcwt.; and a bag of hope will, under the same conditions, weigh
about 21 cwt. If the weight of either exceeds or falls much short of this medium, there is reason to
suspect that the hops are of an inferior quality, or have been badly manufactured. The brighter the
colour of hops, the greater is the estimation in which they are held. Farnham hops are reckoned
best. The expense of farming hop plantations is very great, amounting in some instances to from 701.
to 1001. an acre; and the produce is very uncertain, the crop being frequently insufficient to defray the
expenses of cultivation.
The hop growers are placed under the surveillance of the excise, a duty of 2d. per lb. being laid OB
all hops produced in this country. A hop planter is obliged to give notice to the excise, on or before
the 1st of August each year, of the number of acres he has in cultivation the situation and number
of his oasts or kilns for drying; the place or places of bagging, which, with the storerooms or ware-
rooms in which the packages are intended to be lodged, are entered by the officer. No hops can be
removed from the rooms thus entered, before they have been weighed and marked by a revenue
officer who marks, or ought to mark, its weight, and the name and residence of the grower, upon
each bag, pocket. or package. Counterfeiting the officer's mark is prohibited under a penalty of 100L,
and defacing it under a penalty of 201. A planter or grower knowingly putting hops of different quali-
ties or value into the same bag or package, forfeits 201. And any person mixing with hops any drug.
or other thing, to change or alter the colour or scent, shall forfeit 51. a cwt. on all the hops so changed
or altered. The malicious cutting or destroying of hop plantations may be punished by transportation
beyond the seas for life, or any term not less than 7 years, or by imprisonment and bard labour in a
common gaol, for any term not exceeding 7 years.-(Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture; Stevenson's
Surrey: Burn's Justice, &c.)
The duty on hops of the growth of Great Britain, produced, in 1832, 941,771/.; of which sum the
Rochester district paid 75,8611. 10s. 10d., the Sussex 86,4061. 13s. 8d., and the Canterbury 48.66% 18e. 2d.
The number of acres occupied by hop plantations in that year were 47,101; of which there were in
the Rochester district 12,330, in Sussex 8,514, in Hereford 11,939, and in Canterbury 7,802. During the
same year there were 703,153 lbs. of British hops exported. Of foreign hops 11,167 lbs. were imported,
and 50,113 lbs. exported.-(Parl. Paper, Nos. 96. 196. and 217. Sess. 1833.)
Hops exported from Great Britain are, on being again imported, to be treated as foreign, whether
originally so or not.
[It was for a long time doubted whether the hop was a native of America; but the fact
has been settled by the researches of our botanists, by whom it has been found growing
spontaneously on the banks of the Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi, and other American rivers.
Hops were early cultivated in the United States for the breweries, and as an article of
commerce; and their cultivation is now extensively carried on in New York, Massachu-
setts, New Hampshire, and Maine, to the North, and in Ohio and Indiana, to the West.
In Pennsylvania they have almost ceased to be cultivated.
The Legislature of Massachusetts was the first of the State governments to pass a law
for the inspection of hops; and its example has been followed by nearly all the hop grow-
ing States on the sca-board. By the inspection laws, no hops can be shipped from the State
they are raised in, even to an adjoining State, without having been inspected.
Hops are cultivated in yards or plantations, and are raised from cuttings of the female
plant, in hills containing from 5 to 6 plants and they are supported by poles 15 to 20 feet
in height. They ripen and are gathered about the first week in September, when they are
dried in kilns. When 60 dried, they are obliged by the inspection law to remain 10 days
previous to bagging; after which they are sent to the inspector's office for inspection, who
assorts them into three qualities,-1st and 2d sort, and refuse. The average price of hops
is 16 cents per pound. A difference of 2 cents per pound is usually made between the 1st
and 2d sorts. Each bale of hops is marked by the inspectors with the year of its growth,
its quality, and the inspector's name. The average weight of a bale of hops is 200 pounds.
Such hops as grow on rich lands, along the river bottoms, are generally of a dark colour
and strong flavour. Lands of this description often produce 2,000 pounds to the acre. On
the uplands, they are of a paler colour, and finer flavour; although the produce per acre
seldom exceeds 700 pounds. In this climate, hops rapidly lose their fine flavour, and are
generally used the season they are raised. If kept over the summer, their quality depre-
ciates to such an extent, that. they rarely command one half the price they did at first.
Hops have been exported from the United States, principally to France and Germany.
The high duties imposed on the importation of them into Great Britain prevents any from
being sent to that country, unless after a failure of the crops there has occurred.-Am. Ed]
Digitized by
Google
HORN, HORSE.
765
HORN (Du. Hoorn Fr. Corne; Ger. Horn; Lat. Cornu), a substance too well known
to require any description. Horns are of very considerable importance in the arts, being
applied to a great variety of useful purposes. They are very extensively used in the manu-
facture of handles for knives, and in that of spoons, combs, lanterns, snuff-horns, &c. When
divided into thin plates, horns are tolerably transparent, and were formerly used instead of
glass in windows. Glue is sometimes made out of the refuse of horn. We annually
import considerable quantities. At an average of 1831 and 1832, the entries of foreign
horn for home consumption amounted to 15,766 cwt.
HORSE (Ger. Pferd; Du. Paard; Da. Hest; Sw. Hdst; Fr. Cheval; It. Cavallo
Sp. Caballo; Rus. Loschad; Pol. Kon; Lat. Equus; Gr. 'Inros), a domestic quadruped
of the highest utility, being by far the most valuable acquisition made by man among the
lower animals.
There is a great variety of horses in Britain. The frequent introduction of foreign breeds,
and their judicious mixture, having greatly improved the native stocks. Our race horses are
the fleetest in the world our carriage and cavalry horses are amongst the handsomest and
most active of those employed for these purposes; and our heavy draught horses are the
most powerful, beautiful, and docile of any of the large breeds.
Number and Value of Horses in Great Britain.-The number of horses used in Great
Britain for different purposes is very great, although less so, perhaps, than has been generally
supposed. Mr. Middleton (Survey of Middlesex, 2d ed. p. 639.) estimated the total number
of horses in England and Wales, employed in husbandry, at 1,200,000, and those employed
for other purposes at 600,000. Dr. Colquhoun, contrary to his usual practice, reduces this
estimate to 1,500,000 for Great Britain and in this instance we are inclined to think his
guess is pretty near the mark. The subjoined official statements give the numbers of the
various descriptions of horses in England and Wales, which paid duty in 1814, when those
used in husbandry were taxed; and the numbers, when summed up, amount to 1,204,307.
But this account does not include stage coach, mail coach, and hackney coach horses, nor
does it include those used in posting. Poor persons keeping only one horse were also
exempted from the duty; as were all horses employed in the regular regiments of cavalry
and artillery, and in the volunteer cavalry. In Mr. Middleton's estimate, already referred to,
he calculated the number of post chaise, mail, stage, and hackney coach horses, at 100,000
and from the inquiries we have made, we are satisfied that if we estimate the number of
such horses in Great Britain, at this moment, at 125,000, we shall be decidedly beyond the
mark.
On the whole, therefore, it may be fairly estimated that there are in Great Britain from
1,400,000 to 1,500,000 horses employed for various purposes of pleasure and utility. They
may, probably, be worth at an average from 12/. to 15/., making their total value from
18,000,000Z. to 22,500,000/. sterling, exclusive of the young horses.
Influence of Railroads on Horses.-The statements now made, show the dependence that ought to be
placed on the estimates occasionally put forth by some of the promoters of railroads and steam car-
riages. These gentlemen are pleased to tell us, that, by superseding the employment of horses in
public conveyances, and in the regular carriage of goods, the adoption of their project will enable
1,000,000 horses to be dispensed with; and that, as each horse consumes as much food as 8 men, it
will at once provide subsistence for 8,000,000 human beings! To dwell upon the absurdity of such a
statement would be worse than useless; nor should we have thought of noticing it, but that it has
found its way into a report of a committee of the House of Commons. It is sufficient to observe, that
though all the stage and mail coaches, and all the public wagons, vans, &c. employed in the empire,
were superseded by steam carriages, 100,000 horses would not certainly be rendered superfluous. The
notion that 1 horse consumes as much as 8 men, at least if we suppose the men to be reasonably well
fed, is too ridiculous to deserve notice.
The facility with which horses may be stolen has led to the enactment of several regulations with
respect to their sale, &c. The property of a horse cannot be conveyed away without the express con-
sent of the owner. Hence, a boná fide purchaser gains no property in a horse that has been stolen,
unless it be bought in a fair, or an open market. It is directed that the keeper of every fair or market
shall appoint a certain open place for the sale of horses, and one or more persons to take toll there,
and keep the place from 10 in the forenoon till sunset. The owner's property in the horse stolen is
not altered by a sale in a legal fair unless it be openly ridden, led, walked, or kept standing for one
hour at least, and has been registered, for which the buyer is to pay 1d. Sellers of horses in fairs or
markets must be known to the toll-takers, or to some other creditable person known to them, who
declares his knowledge of them, and enters the same in a book kept by the toll-taker for the purpose.
Without these formalities, the sale is void. The owner of a horse stolen may, notwithstanding its
legal sale, redeem it on payment or tender of the price any time within 6 months of the time of the
theft.-(Burn's Justice of the Peace, Chitty's ed. vol, iii. p. 264.)
In order to obviate the facility afforded by means of slaughtering houses for the disposal of stolen
horses, it was enacted in 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 71.), that all persons keeping places for slaughtering horses,
geldings, sheep, hogs, or other cattle not killed for butcher's meat. shall obtain a licence from the
quarter sessions, first producing from the minister and churchwardens, or from the minister and 2
substantial householders, a certificate of their fitness to be entrusted with the management and car-
rying on of such business. Persons slaughtering horses or cattle without licence are guilty of felony,
and may be whipped and imprisoned, or transported. Persons licensed, are bound to affix over the
door or gate of the place where their business is carried on, in legible characters, the words " Li-
consed for slaughtering Horses, pursuant to an Act passed in the 26th Year of his Mujesty King Geo. III."
The parishioners entitled to meet in vestry are authorised to choose annually, or oftener, inspectors,
whose duty it is to take an account and description, &c. of every living horse, &c. that may be brought
to such slaughtering houses to be killed, and of every dead horse that may be brought to be flayed.
Persons bringing cattle are to be asked an account of themselves, and if it be not deemed satisfactory,
Digitized by
Google
766
HORSE DEALERS.
they may be carried before a justice. This act does not extend to curriers, fellmongers, tanners, or
persons killing aged or distempered cattle, for the purpose of using or curing their hides in their
respect five businesses; but these, or any other persons, who shall knowingly or wilfully kill any
sound or useful horse, &c., shall for every such offence forfeit not more than 201., and not less than 101.
The stealing of horses or other cattle is a capital crime, punishable by death. The maliciously
wounding, maiming, killing, &c. of horses and other cattle, is to be punished, at the discretion of the
court, by transportation beyond seas for life, for any term not less than 7 years, or by imprisonment
for any term not exceeding 4 years; and if a male, he may be once, twice, or thrice publicly or pri-
vately whipped, should the court so direct.-(7 & 8 Geo. 4. C. 29. a 25. 7 & 8 Geo. 4. C. 30. è 16.)
The duties begin to be charged as soon as horses are used for drawing or riding, and not
previously.
An Account of the Number of Horses charged with Duty in the Years ending the 5th of April, 1815,
1826, and 1633, the Rates of Duty, and the Produce of the Duties.
1814.
1825.
1832.
Rates of
Rates of
Rates of
No. of
Duty for
Amount of
No. of
Duty for
Amount of
No. of
Duty for
Amount of
Horses used for riding or
Horses.
each
Duty.
Horses.
each
Duty.
Horses.
each
Duty.
drawing carriages, and
Horse.
Horse.
Home.
charged at progressive
rates:
L.s.d.
L.
a.
d.
L.s.d.
L. 3. d.
(Same)
L.
s.
d.
Persons keeping 1
161,123
2176
463,228 12
6
116,529
189
167,510
8
9
123,668
as
177,772 15 0
1825,
2
31,842
4146
150,453
9
0
27,418
273
64,775 0 6
31,073
do.
73,409 19 3
3
12,774
546
66,744 3
0
10,281
2123
26,559 2 3
10,740
do.
28,058 5 0
4
7,612
5 10 0
41,866 0
0
5,748
250
15,807 0
0
5,845
do.
16,073 15 0
-
5
3,670
5 11 6
20,460 5 0
3,190
2 15 9
8,892 2
6
3,210
do.
8,947 17 6
-
6
3,060
5 16 0
17,748 0
0
2,172
2.18 0
6,298 16
0
2,138
do.
6,200 4 0
-
7
3,372
5 19 6
20,147 14 0
2,279
2 19 9
6,808 10 3
2,204
do.
6,584 9 0
-
9
720
6 6
4,374 0 0
585
309
1,776 18
9
532
do.
1,615 19 0
-
10 to 12
2,079
670
13,201 13 0
1,486
336
4,718 0
1,354
do.
4,299 19 0
-
13 16
746
676
4,755 15 0
520
339
1,657 10
0
719
do.
2,291 16
-
17
51
6 8 0
326 8 0
34
340
108 16
0
51
do.
163 4
0
-
18
144
6 9 0
928 16 0
54
346
174 3
0
126
do.
406.7 0
19
38
6 10 0
247 0 0
133
350
432 5 0
76
do.
247 0 0
20 & upwards
1,348
6 12 0
8,896 16 0
1,018
360
3,359
8
0
1,142
do.
3,768 12 0
Total
228,579
813,378 11 6
171,447
309,178 2 0
182,878
329,839 2 0
Horses let to hire
1,454
2176
4,180 5 0
1,702
1 8 9
2,446 12 6
2,073
do.
2979 IS 9
Race horses
660
2 17 6
1,610
0
0
711
189
1,022 1 3
997
do.
1,433 3 9
Other horses and mules:
Not wholly used in hus-
bandry
177,025
1 0
185,876 5 0
Horses used bona fule in hus-
bandry, 13 hands high and
above
722,863
0 17 6
632,505 2 6
Do. for husbandry or other
purposes of labour, under
13 hands
35,816
0 3 0
5,372
8
0
Horses belonging to small
farmers, under 20L rent,
keeping not more than 2
horses
38,010
0 3 0
5,701
10
0
Horses used for riding or
drawing carriages, and not
exceeding 13 hands
19,121
I 0
20,077
1
0
24,639
do.
25,870 19 0
Horses rode by farming bai-
liffs
1,251
1 0
1,563 15 0
1,438
do.
1,797 10 0
Do. by butchers, where 1
only is kept
2,089
1 9
4,296 13 9
3,364
do.
4,535 15 0
Do. where 2 are kept solely
for trade
1,085
0 10 6
569 12 6
1,213
do.
636 6
Horses not chargeable to any
for the
of the foregoing duties, and
2d horse
not exempted
112,989
0 10 6
59,319 4 6
123,728
do,
64,957 40
Mules
410
0106
215 5 0
348
do.
182 14 0
Totals
1,204,307
310,805
340,678
Exemptions.-Besides the above account of the horses charged with duty, we have been favoured,
by the Stamp Office, with an account of the numbers exempted from duty in 1832. This account is not,
however, to be relied on inasmuch as very many of those whose horses are not liable to the duties
never think of making any returns. By not attending to this circumstance, we inadvertently, in the
former edition of this work, under-rated the number of horses engaged in certain departments of
industry.
The rates of duty payable at present (1834) on horses are the same as those specified in the above
Table for 1825 and 1832. A horse bona fide kept and usually employed for the purpose of husbandry,
on a farm of less value than 200/. a year, though occasionally used as a riding horse, is exempted from
the duty. And husbandry horses, whatever may be the value of the farms on which they are kept,
may be rode, free of duty, to and from any place to which a burden shall have been carried or brought
back; to procure medical assistance, and to or from markets, places of public worship, elections of
members of parliament, courts of justice, or meetings of commissioners of taxes.
Brood mares, while kept for the sole purpose of breeding, are exempted from all duty.
Horses may be let or lent for agricultural purposes without any increase of duty.
Mules employed in carrying ore and coal are exempted from any duty.-(See the Statutes in Chit-
ty's edition of Burn's Justice, vol. V. tit. Assessed Tares.)
French Trade in Horses.-The horses of France are not, speaking generally, nearly so handsome,
fleet, or powerful, as those of England. Latterly, however, the French have been making great
efforts to improve the breed of horses, and have, in this view, been making large importations from
England and other countries. At an average of the 5 years ending with 1827, the excess of horses
imported into France, above those exported, amounted to about 13,000 a year.-(Bulletin des Sciences
Géographiques, tom. xix. p. 5.) The imports from England have, in some late years, amounted to
nearly 2,000 horses.
HORSE DEALERS, persons whose business it is to buy and sell horses.
Every person carrying on the business of a horse dealer is required to keep a book, in which be
shall enter an account of the number of the horses kept by him for sale and for use, specifying the
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HUNDRED WEIGHT.
767
duties to which the same are respectively liable; this book is to be open, at all reasonable times, to
the inspection of the officers; and a true copy of the same is to be delivered quarterly to the assessor
or assessors of the parish in which the party resides. Penalty for non-compliance. 504-(43 Geo. 3.
c. 161.) Horse dealers are assessed, if they carry on their business in the metropolis, 251.; and if
elsewhere, 121. 10s.
Account specifying the Number of Horse Dealers in Great Britain, in 1831 ; distinguishing between
those in the Metropolis and the Country ; with the Rates of Duty on each Class, and the Produce
of the Duties.-(Papers published by the Board of Trade, vol. ii. p. 45.)
Within the Cities of London and Westminster,
Total Number of Horse
St. Marylcbone, St. Pancras, and Weekly
In any 0 ther Part of Great Britain.
Dealers.
Bills of Mortality.
Number
Rate of
Amount of
Number
Rate of
Amount of
Number
Amount of
assessed.
Charge.
Duty.
assessed.
Charge.
Duty.
assessed.
Duty.
L. 8. d.
L. a. d.
L a. d.
L a. d.
L. 8. d.
74
25 0 0
1,850 0 0
963
18 10 0
12,037 10 0
1,037
13 887 10 0
HUNDRED WEIGHT, a weight of 112 lbs. avoirdupois, generally written cwt.
END OF VOL. L
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