merchants' magazine: index: july-december 1840, vol. iii

TIIE

MERCHANTS’ MAGAZINE,

AND

commercial lUOttm.

CONDUCTED BY FREEMAN HUNT.

PUBLISHED AT 142 FULTON-STREET, (REAR BUILDING.)

M D C C C X L .,

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I N D E X

ORIGINAL PAPERS.Page.

Mercantile Character—Lecture before the Mercantile Library Association in New-York and Philadelphia, by Hon. John Sergeant..................................................... 9

The Progress o f the Northwest, by James H. Lanman, Esq........................................ 22Usury Laws, No. I., by James M. Whiton, Esq.............................................................. 40Usury Laws, No. II., by James M. Whiton, Esq............................................................ 115Evils of Commerce............................................................................................................... 76Causes o f the Unsteadiness o f the Currency, and the Remedy therefor, by Henry

C. Carey, Esq.— Of the Means o f Exchange— France, Great Britain, and theUnited States........................................................................... ............................. 47

O f the Currencies o f France, Great Britain, and the United States................ 122Restrictions upon the Trade in Money— France, Great Britain, and the United

States...................................................................................................................... 126O f the Economical and Moral Effects of the Banking Systems of France,

Great Britain, and the United States............................................................... 311Remedy for Unsteadiness of the Currency.............................................................. 482

Discovery of the Northwest Passage, by the author of Tales o f the Northwest,Polar Regions, & c.......................................................................................................... 52

Our Trade with the Imaum of Muscat— Commerce and Products o f A rabia........... 61Laws relative to Debtor and Creditor, No. IV.— New Hampshire—by Jacob B.

Moore, Esq...................................................................................................................... 63Laws relative to Debtor and Creditor, No. V.— Connecticut— by James H. Lan

man, Esq.......................................................................................................................... 132Laws relative to Debtor and Creditor, No. VI.— Verm ont............................................ 333The South Sea Bubble, by E. W . Stoughton, Esq........................................................... 97The Leather Manufacture, by Mr. Chas. M. Leupp....................................................... 141The Law o f Salvage, by Hon. Wm. Marvin, U. S. Judge at Key West, Florida ... 153Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures .................................................................... 160The American Fur Trade, by James H. Lanman, Esq.................................................. 185Governmental History o f the United States, from the earliest settlement to the

adoption o f the Constitution— Part 1st, Part 2d, and Part 3d—by Henry Sherman, Esq.........................................................................................................204, 399, 493

Lake Navigation o f North America, by David Stevenson, Esq.................................. 216Speculations on Commerce, by William W . Wheildon, Esq.......................................... 237The Merchant Service— Primary Schools.......................................................................... 241Railroads of the United States, by James II. Lanman, Esq......................................... 273Atlantic Steam Navigation, by Jacob B. Moore, Esq.................................................... 296On High and Low Prices, No. I., by Richard Hildreth, Esq., author o f “ Banks, Bank

ing, and Paper Currency” ............................................................................... .......... 305The American Whale Fishery, by James H. Lanman, Esq.......................................... 361Connection of Learning with Commerce, by Alden Bradford, Esq............................. 394The Banking System of Massachusetts, by James B. Congdon, Esq.......................... 411The American Institute....................................................................................................... 418The Jettison of Goods carried on Deck, by the Hon. Willard Phillips........................ 432Commerce o f China ................... 465Commercial Value o f Gems......................... 504Browne’s Banking and Mercantile Tables—Usury L a w s............................................. 516


MERCANTILE BIOGRAPHY.

Stephen Theodore Jansen, Lord Mayor o f London......................................................... 148William Roscoe, by H. T . Tuckerman, Esq..................................................................... 319Thomas Eddy, by Mr. James C. W atts............................................................................ 424John Hancock, by Mr. G. Mountfort................................................................................ 520

MERCANTILE LAW REPORTS AND DECISIONS.

Insurance— General Average............................................................................................... 68Bills of Exchange................................................................... 69Assignment— Legal Decision in Missouri.......................................................................... 70Customhouse Bonds..................................................................................... 71Receiver o f Goods.................................................................................................................. 72Action o f Trover.................................................................................................................... 73Replevin— Important D ecision........................................................................................... 74Imprisonment for Debt— Decision in Louisiana ............................................................. 75Tariff—Forfeiture of Goods .............................................................. 439The Tariff—Forfeiture o f Goods ....................................................................................... 527Bills o f Exchange— Importance o f Uniformity o f Commercial L a w ........................ 528Commission Merchants ........................................................................................................ 529Action o f Trover..................................................................................................................... 530Bank Checks.......................................................................................................................... 531

BOOK TRADE.

Course o f Reading recommended to the Mercantile Library Association, by Chancellor K en t...................................................................................................................... 80

Lanman’s History o f Michigan........................................................................................... 162Tanner’s Description o f the Canals and Railroads of the United States .................. 163Titler’s Universal History .................................................................................................... 163Lossing’s Outline History o f the Fine Arts...................................................................... 164Foster’s Concise Treatise on Bookkeeping....................................................................... 164France— Its King, Court, and Government .................................................................... 164Chandler’s Law Reporter..................................................................................................... 246German Literature................................................................................................................ 247Taylor’s Treatise on the Law o f Landlord and Tenant .............................................. 248Bigelow’s Useful Arts............................................................................................................ 249Life and Travels o f Mungo Park........................................................................................ 249Johnson’s Analytical Abridgment of Kent’s Commentaries on American Law....... 337Macauley’s Critical and Miscellaneous Essays............................................................... 336Murray’ s Historical and Descriptive Account of British America.............................. 338Greenwood’s Duncan’s Sacred Philosophy of the Seasons............................................. 338Annual Report o f the Seaman’s Aid Society of Boston................................................. 339Guizot’s Character and Influence o f Washington in the Revolution.......................... 339Hayward’s Goethe’s Faust................................................................................................... 340Hammond’s Treatise on the Law of Fire Insurance, & c.............................................. 441De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Part 2 ............................................................ 443American Almanac and Repository of Useful Knowledge for 1841............................ 443Nichols’ View of the Architecture of the Heavens.......................................................... 444Lieber’s Manual of Political Ethics.................................................................................... 444Taylor’s Flag Ship, or Voyage round the World in the U. S. Frigate Colum bia.... 445Parry’s Voyages for the Discovery of the Northwest Passage....................................... 445Dana’s Tw o Years before the Mast.................................................................................... 446Fosdick’s Introduction to the French Language............................................................. 446Vethake’s McCulloch’s Commercial Dictionary.............................................................. 531Raguet’s Treatise on Currency and Banking................................................................... 532Grindrod’s Prize Essay on Intemperance, & c.................................................................. 533Carter’s Edition o f Chalmer’s Works................................................................................... 534Hayward’s New England Gazetteer................................................................................... 535Keightly’s Histories of Greece, Rome, and England...................................................... 536Around the World................................................................................................................. 537Walker’s Beauty Illustrated................................................................................................ 538Walker’s (Mrs.) Female Beauty.......................................................................................... 538


STATISTICS OF INSURANCE.

Rates o f Premiums, with conditions, adopted by the Boston Marine InsuranceCompanies, 1840 .................................................................................................... 81, 165Risk between the United States and West Indies.................................................. 81From Russia and Ports in the Baltic to the United States.................................... 82From Cuba to Europe and back to Cuba................................................................. 82Risk on Time on Vessels o f two hundred tons and upwards................................ 83Coastwise risk within the United States................................................................... 84South America to Europe............................................................................................ 165South America to the United States........................................................................... 165United States to South America................................................................................ 165United States, India, China, and the Pacific Ocean............................................... 166United States and Europe— Outward risks............................................................... 168T o Ports in the Gulf o f Mexico— Homeward risks.................................................. 168T o Ports Northeastward of Cape Florida.................................................................. 168General Regulations...................................................................................................... 169

Marine Insurance—Convention in New Y ork................................................................. 170

COMMERCIAL STATISTICS.

Commerce of Louisiana, from 1804 to 1838..................................................................... 171Canal Commerce at Buffalo................................................................................................. 171Compendium of the American Whale Fishery.................................................................. 172Statistics o f the Fur Trade................................................................................................... 252Imports and Exports o f the United States for the year 1839........................................ 265Amount of Specie imported into the United States from different countries, from

1821 to 1838................................................................................................................... 265China Trade— Value o f Exports— Tonnage employed, & c .......................................... 266Commerce of Boston for the last twenty years................................................................. 267Trade, Commerce, and Navigation o f Cuba..................................................................... 351

Importation and Exportation o f Cuba for 1839, compared with 1838................ 351Importations and Exportations in ships o f different Nations .............................. 352Number o f Vessels entered and sailed from different Ports in Cuba in 1839..... 352Imports and Exports from different Ports in Cuba in 1839.................................... 353Tonnage arrived at and cleared from different Ports in Cuba in 1839................ 353Import and Export Duty for Cuba in 1839 .............................................................. 353Imports and Exports of the Precious Metals for 1839........................................... 354

Annual Exports o f the Agricultural, Manufacturing, Lumbering, and Fishing interests of the United States for ten years, from 1828 to 1838, and the BankProfits for the same time ............................................................................................. 354

Trade between England and France.................................................................................. 354The Anthracite Coal Trade o f Pennsylvania................................................................... 355Canal Tolls o f New York..................................................................................................... 355Commerce and Navigation o f the United States............................................................. 447

Value of Imports from and Exports to each Foreign Country for the year endingSeptember, 1839......................................................................................................... 447

Tonnage of American and Foreign Vessels arriving from and departing toeach Foreign Country for the year ending September, 1839............................. 448

Liquors imported into the United States in the last six commercial years........ 449Exports o f the Produce and Manufactures of the United States for the year

ending September, 1839........................................................................................... 450Tobacco Trade of Virginia........................................................................................... 451Number, Tonnage, Crews, and national Character o f Foreign Vessels that en

tered and cleared from the United States during the year ending September, 1839................................................. 452

Tonnage of the several States and Territories, year ending September, 1839... 452Tonnage of the Six largest Districts ....................................................................... 452Imports and Exports of each State, for the year ending September, 1839........ 452

Cotton Goods printed in the U. States, number of Factories, Yards, and Value............ 452Commerce o f New Orleans................................................................................................. 452

Table 1. Exports of Cotton from New Orleans for the last ten years................ 454“ 2. Exports o f Tobacco from New Orleans for the last ten years............. 455“ 3. Exports of Sugar from New Orleans for the last five years................. 456“ 4. Exports o f Molasses from Nevy Orleans for the last five years............ 456

Index. v


Commerce o f Great Britain with the W orld......................... ........................................... 554Exports, of the Precious Metals....................................... .................................................... 554British Trade with Buenos Ayres................ ...................................................................... 555British Produce and Manufactures imported into the States o f the Rio de la Plata. 555Cotton Crop o f the United States, 1840........................................................................... 555

Total Amount of the Growth, Export, Consumption, & c . . , ................................. 555Export o f Cotton to Foreign Ports........................................................ ..................... 557Growth of Cotton from 1824 to 1840......................................................................... 557Consumption....................................................................................................................557

Number o f Arrivals and Clearances from the Port o f New York for Oct. 1840......... 558Importation o f Silk into the U. S. during the year ending 30th Sept. 1839................ 560

BANK STATISTICS.

Bank o f England..................................................................................................................... 88Bank o f France....................................................................................................................... 89Bank o f England Returns— Circulation of the Bank o f England at different dates

between October, 1833, and April, 1840.................. ............................................... 261Condition o f the Banks of Rhode Island, July 6, 1840................................................... 262Statement of Banks in the United States, from 1834 to 1840...................................... 263Table of Bank Suspensions of the States in 1839............................................................ 457Paris Savings Banks........................ 457Increase o f Banking in the United States from 1820 to 1830, and from 1830 to

1837......................................................................................................... ; ....................... 458Bank o f England, quarterly average o f the weekly liabilities and assets, from 23d

June to 17th September, 1840.................................................................................... 458Deposits of the London Bankers in the Bank o f England, first fourteen weeks in the

years 1838, 1839, and 1840 ......................................................................................... 458Deposits o f the Bank o f Ireland and Royal Bank of Scotland, for the first fourteen

weeks in the years 1838, 1839, and 1840 ............................................................. . 458Philadelphia Bank Dividends.............................................................................................. 552Bank of France............................... ..................................................................................... 552Bank of England........................................ 552Deposits o f the London Bankers, Bank o f Ireland, and Royal Bank of Scotland, in

the Bank o f England in the years 1838 and 1839................................................... 553

STATISTICS OF COINAGE.

English Coinage— Mint in London, from 1816 to 1836................................................. 85Mint value o f Foreign Coins, usually deposited for coinage at the Mint o f the Uni-

ted States......................................................... 86Coinage of the United States.......... .................................................................................... 87Precious Metals..................... 87United States Mint and Branches— Deposits and Coinage o f U. S. Mint and

Branches, from January 1 to June 30, 1840............................................................. 349Coinage of England.............................................................................................................. 349

MONEY TABLES.

Table to reduce Francs and Centimes to Dollars and Cents.......................................... 264Table to reduce British Sterling into Dollars and Cents.................................................. 264Table to reduce Sterling into Dollars and Cents............................................................. 264

COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS AND TREATIES.

Guide to Owners and Captains of Vessels bound to the Brazilian Ports..................... 270Quarantine regulations at Cadiz,......................................................................................... 272T o Merchants and Shipmasters— Regulations of the Republic of Venezuela............. 356Portugal Port Regulations.................................................................................................... 356Regulations o f the Russian Government........................................................................... 357Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between the Emperor of Austria and the Uni

ted States....................................... 459Regulations relating to Whale Ships at California................................................ ......... 461Regulations o f Trade at New Orleans.............................................................................. 541

Tariff charges adopted by the New Orleans Chamber o f Commerce.................. 541Tariff applicable to Foreign, Northern, and Western business............................. 541Rates applicable to European and other Foreign business..................................... 541.


Rates applicable to Western and other Foreign business...................................... 541Agency for Steamboats............................................................................*................... 542Rates o f receiving and forwarding Goods........................................................... . 542Rates o f Storage per m onth.................................................................................. . 542Freights....................................................................................................... . ................ ... 543Rates o f the New Orleans Towboats.................................................................... . 543Rates o f Fare for Passengers.............................................. ......................................... 545Duties and Port Charges at Rio Janeiro................................................................... 545Commercial Regulations at Brazil.................................................................................547Hanseatic Commercial Regulation............................................ 547

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE— NAVIGATION.

The Antarctic Circle....................................................... . ................ ....................... ......... 250Trial Rocks in the Indian Ocean.............. ................ ........................................................ 250Brinsmaid’s Island................................................................................................... 250Invention to prevent Ships rolling at Sea........................................................ ................. 251Tybee Lights...........................v.l,........................................................ .................................. 251Beacon on the W olf Rocks....................................... ....................... ................. ................. 251Floating Dry Dock................................................................................................................ 251Mariner’s Compass............. .............. ..— ....................................................................... 357Boston Telegraph Observatory— Vessels reported from 1824 to 1840........................ 358Important to Ship-owners— Iron kentledge..................... ............................................... 358Advice to Shipmasters......................................................... 358Lighthouses in France............................. 358New Lighthouse on Petit Terre......................................................................................... 359Light at the entrance o f the Avon Bristol Channel........................................................ 359Note on the Winds, as influencing the courses sailed by Bermuda Vessels................ 546Rocks near the Azores............................................................................................................ 548New Seaports in Massachusetts........................................................................................... 549Lighthouses on the Coast o f France................................................................................... 550Rocks discovered near Scatari Island................................................................................. 550Partridge Island Lighthouse......................................................... 550Steam Navigation o f Lake Erie................................................. ........................................ 551

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

Trade o f Boston in 1767-8............... ................................................................................. 182Gillott’s Patent Steel Pens............................... .................................................................. 183The W ool Trade of Great Britain...................................................................................... 183Trade o f Havana..................................................................................................................... 183W oo l.................................................................................................... 184Launch of an Iron Ship................................................ ....................................................... 184The French Sugar Bill........................................................................................................... 184The Sponge Fishery............................................................................................................... 184Mode o f detecting adulteration in Flour.............................................................................. 359Leech Trade.............................................................................................................................. 359Sugar Refinery at St. Louis, Missouri........................................................ 360Texas Trade............................................................................................ 360Book Trade.......................................................................................... -................................. 360Fair o f Novogorod................................................................................................................... 360The Woolsack.......... ............................................................................................................... 360Importation o f Sperm Whale Oil into the United States, September, 1840................ 462American Fur Company....................................................................................................... 462Unite Care with Diligence..................................................................................................... 423Overtrading.....................................................................................................-....................... 431 •Mode o f conducting Business on the Paris Bourse......................................................... 537Artificial Preparation of Sugar.............................................................................................. 539Explanation o f British Stock Exchange Terms................................................................ 540Shopkeepers of Bagdat........................................................................................................... 540Wine from Rhubarb................................................................................................................. 540Egyptian Wines......................................................................... ............................... •.......... 540

MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS.

Mercantile Library Association Correspondence................................................................ 95

Index. vii


Donations to the Mercantile Library Association, New York...................................... 9GBaltimore Mercantile Library Association............ .......................................................... 96Course o f Lectures for 1840 and ’41.................................................................................. 463Donations to the Mercantile Library Association........................................................... 463The New York Mercantile Library Association Lectures............................................. 560Boston Mercantile Library Association— Annual Election of Officers, & c................ 560

COMMERCIAL TABLES.

Pro-Forma Account of Coffee from New York to Havre.............................................. 341Do. do. do. do. Antwerp............................................ 342Do. do. do. do. London.............................................. 342Do. do. do. do. Hamburg........................................... 342

Tables illustrating the above Pro-Forma accounts.................................................344, 346Remarks on the foregoing Tables................................................... v ................................. 346Questions for Accountants, by Thomas Jones, Esq........................................................ 347Cost o f Cotton Goods, laid down in Liverpool, from New Orleans, Mobile, & c. at

rates o f Exchange, Freight, & c ................................................................................. 348Pro-Forma Account of a shipment o f Rice from Charleston to Havre........................ 267

Do. do. do. do. do. to Antwerp, with Tables .268, 269

Bills on Hamburg as Remittance to London..................................................................... 559Comparative price o f Cotton, Tobacco, Sugar, &c., at New Orleans, from 1836 to

1840.................................................................................................................................. 560

STATISTICS OF AGRICULTURE.

Produce o f British Agriculture............................................................................................ 350

UNITED STATES TARIFF.

Tariff o f Duties for 1840....................................................................................................... 253Allowances made by Law for Drafts on Articles subject to Duty............................... 259Imports and Exports under each Tariff............................................................................ 260Imports and Exports under each Tariff from 1816 to 1838........................................... 260Terms o f Credit...................................................................................................................... 260

Our Second Year.......................................................: .......................................................... 96T o Subscribers........................................................................................................................ 272


merchants' magazine: index: july-december 1840, vol. iii

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