yearly 10,000,000 saleable brick. The cost of the site and all things appertaining to it-in which are included a propeller, splendid barges, &c.-has, up to the present time, been between thirty and forty thousand dollars; the machinery is under the direction of a single man, Mr. Thomas Young; one of those men who by their honesty, industry and ingenuity, have added imperishable honor to the name of their mother country, Scotland, and made America ever proud to adopt them.

This establishment employs one hundred and twenty hands, all of whom, we believe, are slaves. The work is well performed, and the business cannot but prove profitable to the enterprising proprietor.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION, &c.

MORTALITY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

In another part of the present number of the Merchants' Magazine we have published an elaborate article on the commercial progress of Chicago in 1851, mainly derived from the annual report of the Chicago Tribune. The statement below, of the mortality of that place from 1847 to 1851, inclusive, is derived from the same reliable

source:

From our files for the last four years, and from the returns of Mr. Woodson, City Sexton, for 1851, we make up the following table of mortality of Chicago, for five years:

1847.

1848.

1819.

1850.

1851.

That our city is improving as rapidly in respect to the health of its citizens, as it is in all other desirable matters, the above table abundantly proves. Nearly one half of the mortality of the city in 1849 and 1850 was from deaths by cholera. Likewise in 1851 it was increased some two or three hundred by the same cause. The population for the years comprehended in our table was as follows:

From these figures it will be seen that the ratio of mortality has very materially fallen short of the ratio of increase of population. Had our city been spared the visitation of cholera last summer, the mortality of 1851 would hardly have exceeded that of 1847, notwithstanding the population had more than doubled during that period. This gratifying fact is doubtless the result, in part, of the sanatary measures adopted for the last three years to guard against the cholera, and in part from the planking of streets and the construction of sewers, which have materially tended to keep the city in a cleaner condition.

As these improvements are extended, the same good consequences may be expected to flow from them; and when, in addition to a complete system of sewerage and planking, the whole city is supplied with an abundance of pure lake water, Chicago will doubtless become the healthiest city on the continent.

1850..

994,751

34 8-10

66

10

66

In all the counties but Suffolk, Franklin, Nantucket, and Duke's, there is an increase on the United States Census over the State Census.

PROGRESS OF POPULATION IN CHICAGO.

The Board of Water Commissioners of Chicago (Illinois) in their report give the following as their estimates of the future population of that city, estimating it in 1851, 36,000 souls:—

"This is," the Argus thinks, "rather inside the true figures, and was designed so to be; what a prospect then does futurity furnish to our citizens. Twenty-four years hence and our population will exceed 162,000. There are in our midst some young persons, who came to Chicago when they were children, and who, should they live to a good old age, can only look back upon the growth they have witnessed of our city as the realization of some strange dream."

POPULATION OF BARBADOES.

An abstract from the census returns taken in this island on the 25th of June, 1851, has been completed by Mr. Bayley, jr., and forwarded to his excellency the Governor. The general return gives the number of 135,939 souls as the total population-some, probably, 4,000 or 5,000 less than the truth. Of these, 62,272 are males; 73,667 females.

The number of public officers and professional men is given as..

Engaged in Commerce...

Tradesmen and mechanics..

691

2,823

7,339

36,653

15,335

8,556

69,532

185,939

POPULATION OF BRITISH GUIANA.

Abstracts of the census of the population of British Guiana, taken on the 31st of March, 1851, have been published. By these returns we learn that the total population of the colony amounted, at the end of March, to 127,695 persons; 97,554 of whom constituted the rural population, and the remaining 80,141, the urban. Of those 97,554, 50,259 were inhabitants of Demarara; 22,925, of Essequebo; and 22,870,

of Berbice; while of the 30,141 persons resident in the town, 25,508 belonged to Georgetown, and 4,633 to New Amsterdam. There is no great disparity between the sexes; though, owing to the importations of late years of Coolie immigrants, who are mostly males, there is an excess of males over females. Of the total number of 127,695, 86,451 are natives of British Guiana, the remainder being composed of immigrants of all classes and almost all countries.

EMIGRATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM IN FIVE YEARS.

The total number of persons who emigrated from the United Kingdom during the five years from 1846 to 1850, inclusive, was 1,216,557. The number dispatched by the colonial land and emigration commissioners in the period was 53,434, and the esti mated number who emigrated at their own cost in the same time was 1,163,123.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

DISCIPLINE IN THE MERCHANT SERVICE.

In accordance with a custom we adopted from the commencement of our journal, we give place to the communication of Mr. DABNEY, without necessarily indorsing the views he honestly advances. Indeed, we regard flogging in all its applications-in schools, in families, in the navy, or in the mercantile service-as a degrading barbarism, altogether unworthy of the enlightened sense of the day. But our correspondent has made some good suggestions, and we cheerfully permit him to speak to "our parish," many of whom are deeply interested in the subject he discusses:

FAYAL, January 1, 1852.

FREEMAN HUNT, Esq., Editor of the Merchants' Magazine, etc:— SIR:-Having a project of transcendant interest, it is natural that I should endeavor to obtain the most powerful aid to insure its accomplishment, and being an old subscriber to your Magazine, and of course aware of the ability with which it is conducted, and knowing that you stand on neutral ground in regard to politics, I feel confident that through your influence the subject may be placed before the nation in what I humbly conceive to be its true light. I come to treat, sir, of nothing less than corporeal punishment in our marine, and I beg that in expressing my own convictions, I may not be considered wanting in deference to the opinions of many of the most enlightened men of our country, and among them, of course, a majority of the members of our national Legislature, who have been actuated by the purest motives, but who, from their position in society, have not had so good an opportunity of judging of the effects of their measures. Believing that some analogy may be traced between the cases, I will suppose that we are about to treat a malady that can be cured by the application of a slight caustic, which will entirely relieve the patient, without leaving any permanent ill effects, or that may (possibly) be cured by infusing a slow poison into the system of the patient, that will sap the foundation of his constitution, and frequently fail in producing the desired effect-which mode of treatment is preferable? Flogging is the caustic-confinement the slow poison. The former has also the advantage of acting more as a preventive. Let us suppose that a seaman refuses to do his duty, and is "seized up in the rigging," and told that he will be flogged until he consents to obey. How many lashes will he receive? Let it be known that confinement in irons will be the punishment for such a misdemeanor. I know that many have, and no doubt many will persist in their waywardness, and any one conversant with the laws of hygiene knows that a man cannot be kept confined a week in a badly ventilated place (such as landsmen have no conception of, as vessels are not adapted to the comfortable accommodation of such characters,) without detriment to his health, and if the confinement is of long duration he will never wholly recover from the effects.

Permit me to ask which mode of treatment is the most humane, that which relieves the patient, as it were, by magic, without injury to the constitution, or that which is frequently ineffectual in a moral sense, and the physical effects of which can never be

removed. As regards the moral influence of the different modes, which is the most degrading?

In a national point of view the subject is of vital importance. I shall leave our ships of war to the management of their able officers and take the case of a merchantman. Having a vessel well equipped and manned, what is the first requisite! Obedience to orders. Can subordination be perfectly maintained without flogging?

I am of opinion that, in many cases, it cannot. The safety of a vessel often depends on the alacrity of seamen, and I believe vessels have been lost in consequence of the abolition of flogging. Men that require it have reached a degree of moral degradation that render them indifferent to punishment that does not make them smart. To our whalemen the subject is of the greatest importance. The owners are obliged to make large advances to the seamen, some of whom are beyond all moral restraint, and their first object is to get clear of the ship and their pecuniary responsibility as soon as pos sible, and they frequently combine and refuse doing duty. I have lately had several such conspiracies brought under my notice. The masters, having no means of controlling them, (having found confining them of no avail,) were glad to get clear of them at any cost. I was consulted by one master who had eight men in confinement for refusing to do duty. I told him that I could not advise him to contravene our laws, but I at the same time told him that if I had charge of a ship my orders should be obeyed or I would abdicate. He was a man of nerve and an experienced ship-master, he had to yield to the conspirators, and break up his three years' voyage, or expose himself to the penalty of the law. He chose the latter, went on board, flogged the ringleader, and in ten minutes had the control of his men, who had been for days in confinement determined not to do duty on board of his ship.

My first great trial in the management of seamen was with the crew of the celebrated privateer General Armstrong. After the destruction of that vessel, and since then, I have had the care of thousands, consequently my opinion is based on thirtyeight years' experience. It has often been a subject of surprise, and of deep regret, that there are no special enactments for the guidance of masters in the government of seamen. A code defining as particularly as possible every degree of delinquency that can be committed on board of vessels, and particularly specifying the punishment for each offense, would have a very beneficial effect in preventing the misdeeds of seamen, as they would soon become enlightened in regard to the consequences, and in case it became necessary to exercise severity, it would afford the master the greatest possible relief, as he would know exactly how to act, whereas, hitherto he has had no "chart or compass" to guide him, and this undefined state of things has operated very unfavorably on both master and seamen.

Much has been said respecting the mismanagement of seamen, and no doubt there has been ample cause for it; but the difficulty of the master's position has been entirely overlooked. Let us appeal to the wisdom of our legislature to enact laws that will afford both to the master and the seamen the protection that is so important to their happiness and our national prosperity. The number of persons fully sensible of the very great importance of this subject is very limited, as it is confined to those who are aware of the necessity of good government on board of a vessel. Most of our shipmasters have filled the various grades on board of vessels, consequently no persons are better qualified to give a correct opinion than they; and I venture to predict that not a dissenting voice, from the opinion herein expressed, will be heard.

Deeming it to be the duty of every citizen to contribute his mite to the public weal, I have thought that I could not acquit myself better than by soliciting your powerful mediation to place this very important subject before our fellow citizens. With very great regard, I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient,

CHARLES W. DABNEY.

CREDIT TO WHOM CREDIT IS DUE.

In the March number of the Merchants' Magazine we published some statistics in relation to the Collins and Cunard Steamers, which we credited to the Courier and Enquirer, where we supposed they originally appeared. We now learn, from an unquestionable authority, that the article was prepared by J. H. C. CAMPBELL, Esq., with much care and trouble, and was first published in the Boston Journal. Mr. Campbell appears to be an accurate and intelligent statistician, and certainly deserves credit for his interesting tabular statements.

COMMERCE vs. THE NATIONAL DEFENSE.

The communication which we publish below comes from a distinguished officer, an engineer, in the United States Army, and we can only say that we rejoice to find men in our army entertaining views so perfectly in keeping with the enlightened spirit of the nineteenth century. The letter which follows was not designed for publication, but it is too spicy and too pertinent an introduction to the writer's criticism of the Chief Engineer's report to be lost:

FREEMAN HUNT, Esq., Editor of the Merchants' Magazine, etc.

DEAR SIR-Supposing that the subject treated of in the inclosed paper might be interesting to your readers, and acceptable to yourself, I take the liberty of inclosing it to you.

Breast-works of cotton bags are said, in history, to have saved New Orleans from capture, but the moral power of 2,500,000 bales, in preserving peace to the country, is much greater than our military men are aware of.

After we have defended our naval depots (for it is a safe policy to do by them what all naval nations have done for theirs) we had better spend our money in improving harbors and rivers, and affording other facilities to Commerce, the extension of which, with England and France, would afford greater guaranties of peace than all the bayonets, big guns, or batteries, or big Generals in the world.

Remaining, with great respect, your friend and servant, W. H. C.

REPORT OF GENERAL TOTTEN, CHIEF ENGINEER, ON THE SUBJECT OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE. WASHINGTON, 1852.

This is the title of a pamphlet, published in Washington, containing some hundred pages. As the subject relates to the policy of the National Defense it is not unwor thy of criticism. For the present, the following memoranda embrace all that need be said in the premises.

The General of Engineers insists that the United States may again be visited by wars with the most powerful nations. So also any other calamity might happen, because it had happened before. A pestilence may again sweep off the population; a famine may destroy it; mountains and continents may again be upheaved; and the ocean may again roll over the present dry land, when sunk to its former level. It would be more philosophical to calculate the chances of these things taking place again. This should especially be done where the elements for such calculation are furnished in abundance.

There is one powerful nation that might prove formidable to the United States in naval offense; but that one is the very nation that is least likely we shall ever be at war with.

Great Britain and the United States are as much connected together by commercial interests, as the State of New York is with the other States of the Union. Great Britain and the United States own, to-day, over 8,000,000 tons of shipping, which are nearly divided between them, and both are adding prosperously to this enormous aggregate, affording additional guaranties for the preservation of peace between them through all time. Great Britain exported to the United States in 1850, $72,000,000, or one-fifth of the entire exports of the United Kingdom. In 1849, Great Britain imported from the United States $122,000,000. Taking, then, the exports to the United States for 1850, and the imports therefrom in 1849, we find that $194,000,000 measures the trade between the two countries!

In a parliamentary paper recently issued, it is stated that the declared value of the cotton manufactures exported from Great Britain in 1850, was £28,257,461, or $137,048,685.

Of all the raw cotton imported into England, the United States furnishes eighty per cent on an average.

Under these circumstances the cessation of trade between the United States and the United Kingdom, in consequence of a state of war, would be attended by the most disastrous results to both countries, but especially to the latter country, whose political existence would be greatly endangered, if not destroyed.

With these elements it amounts to a mathematical showing that England is forced to maintain peace with the United States at all hazards and at all costs; for if she goes to war with them she goes to war with herself.