The whole number of dwelling houses in the state on the 1st June, 1850, amounted to 146,544, or a ratio of one house to every 5.8 persons, and the number of families was 149,150 or 5.7 persons to each family. The aggregate number of deaths during the year 1849-50 was 11,619, or a relative mortality of one death to every 73.3 persons.

The industrial pursuits of the people are chiefly agricultural, but there are large numbers employed in mining, especially in the north-west, and still larger numbers employed in manufactures and commerce. The commerce of Chicago alone is greater than that of several of the maritime states, and the interior trade thence permeates to the Ohio and back to its western limits. The industry of this state, indeed, is of the most varied description.

Mining is chiefly confined to the production of lead and iron; the former in the north-west corner of the state near Galena, and the latter in a majority of the counties. Coal is mined in the southern counties. Copper, zinc, etc., also are abundant.

The fine prairies of Illinois form the best of agricultural lands, and are equally adapted to cattle raising and sheep farming. The crops from the virgin soils are immense, and the quality of the several grains produced compares favorably with the best in the United States. The wheat crop of 1850 is estimated to have been 9,800,000 bushels, that of oats 6,200,000 bushels, and of Indian corn 58,000,000 bushels. The crops of barley, rye, and buckwheat are very small, and average less than 200,000 bushels each. Hemp and flax are grown to a considerable amount; also tobacco. Live stock is abundant, and the products of the dairy very valuable. Animal products, as beef, pork, wool, etc., are exported largely. In 1850, the number of farms under cultivation within the state was 76,208.

The manufactures of Illinois have been constantly increasing. They comprise all the principal articles of domestic use, and machinery, farming implements, saddlery, and almost every requisite. In 1850 there were in the state 3,099 establishments producing annually $500 and upwards, and of course a large number of those small, irregular establishments which are so frequently found in new countries. The woollen manufacture is perhaps as important as any other, but in all, the prosperity is great. Grist, flouring, saw and other mills are found in every section.

The navigable rivers which bound the state and penetrate it in every direction, together with the internal improvements that have been completed, give great facilities to the prosecution of internal trade. The trade on the Mississippi and Ohio to and from Illinois ports, is large, but it is at Chicago on Lake Michigan that the bulk of commercial material is collected and distributed. From this point the internal trade diverges in every direction, and extends to the Ohio River through the Illinois and Michigan Canal; and from this city the travel eastward is now complete by railroad as well as by water to Buffalo and the Atlantic coast.

The value of the direct foreign commerce of Illinois is very small, and its sphere confined to the ports of Canada on the lakes. In 1848 the exports to Canada were valued at $70,496, and consisted of wheat, flour, pork, beef, corn, etc., and the imports were valued at $10,731, consisting chiefly of salt, pig iron, pine lumber, etc. For the same year the exports coast-wise amounted to $10,709,330, and the imports to $7,838,640. The exports consisted chiefly of agricultural produce, machinery, furs, tallow, tobacco, etc., and the imports of groceries, dry goods, hardware, crockery, coal and manufactures generally. The greater portion of the exports were destined for New-York, via. the lakes and Erie Canal, but considerable quantities were dispatched to the south.

The Illinois and Michigan Canal, one of the most magnificent works of the age, is the most important undertaking that has been completed in this state. It connects the navigation of Lake Michigan at Chicago with that of Illinois River at La Salle, 212 miles from its mouth, whence to the Mississippi the course is free to steam vessels of ordinary draft. The canal is 60 feet wide at the surface, 36 at the bottom, and is six feet deep; and the locks, 17 in number, are of the same size with those of the "enlarged Erie"-designed for boats carrying from 100 to 120 tons. The railroad system proposed for Illinois is at once extensive and judiciously demarked. The great line of the State will be the Central Railroad which, having its south

ern terminus near the mouth of the Ohio, will pass northward and give off branches to Chicago on the east and Galena on the west, in its course uniting with and intersecting all the main roads of the country. For the building of this road Congress has made large grants of land. Several lines are also to pass in a direction east and west, and form links in the great chain of railroads which will ultimately extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. The railroads already completed, or partially so, are-the Chicago and Galena Union Railroad, with branches, to Aurora and St. Charles; the Chicago branch of the Northern Indiana Railroad; the Chicago and Rock River Railroad; the Sangamon and Morgan Railroad; the Springfield and Alton Railroad, etc. In 1850, the whole length of railroad completed was 149 miles, and the length in course of construction was 1,126 miles. Illinois has also a large number of plank-roads, and the system is daily being extended. By this means Chicago is connected with the principal towns of the interior, and no small share of its prosperity dates from the establishment of roads of this description to the agricultural centres of the country.

The rumber of common school districts in Illinois is 2,002, and of schools 2,317. The number of children under 20 years of age in the state is 209,639, and the average number attending school 51,447. The principal collegiate institutions are-Illinois College at Jacksonville, founded 1829; Shurtleff College at Upper Alton, founded 1835; McKendree College at Lebanon, founded 1835, and Knox College at Galesburg, founded in 1837. The aggregate number of professors in these is 22, and of students 162; and their libraries contain about 12,000 volumes. At Alton there is a Baptist Seminary and at Chicago a Medical School.

The Methodist and Baptists form in this state the largest denominations; next the Presbyterians and Roman Catholics; and in smaller numbers there are Episcopalians, Congregationalists, etc. About one-half the whole population may be considered as belonging to the Methodist Church.

The constitution of Illinois was adopted in convention 31st August, 1847, and ratified by the people 7th March, 1848.

The right of voting is conceded to every white male citizen, 21 years of age, and resident in the state the year next before an election.

The Legislature consists of a Senate of 25 members and a House of Rep resentatives of 75 members. Senators are elected for 4 years, one-half the number biennially-they must be 30 years old, citizens of the United States, and residents of 5 years' standing. Representatives must be 25 years old, citizens, and have resided in the state 3 years. In forming electoral districts, the number of white inhabitants alone is to be regarded.

The Governor (and Lieutenant-Governor) must be 35 years of age, a citizen of the United States of 14 years' standing, and a resident in the state for 10 years. He is chosen for four years, and must reside at the seat of Government. He possesses the qualified veto power.

The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and County Courts. For the election of Supreme Court Judges the state is divided into three divisions, each of which elects a judge for nine years, one judge retiring every three years. This court has original jurisdiction in cases relating to revenue, cases of mandamus and habeas corpus, and some impeachments, and appellate jurisdiction in all. One session is held in each division annu ally. For the election of Circuit Court Judges the state is divided into nine circuits, each of which elects one judge for six years. County Courts for the transaction of county and probate business, with limited civil and criminal jurisdiction, are held by judges elected for four years.

1

On the 1st January, 1851, the public debt of Illinois amounted to $16,627,509 86, viz: State debt $8,784,481 43, and Canal debt $7,843,028 43.

To meet the Canal debt, besides the revenue derived from tolls, the state has pledged the lands and town lots originally granted by the general government, appraised at $2,126,355. These assets are in the hands of trustees. The Canal tolls in 1850 amounted to $119,406 97 net. The principal of the state debt is provided for by a constitutional tax of two mills on each dollar of taxable property.

SPRINGFIELD, the capital of the state, is centrally situated, about 14 miles south of the Sangamon River, an affluent of the Illinois. The country around is beautiful prairie land and exceedingly fertile. The State House, a handsome building, is of hewn stone, and there are several churches of architectural pretensions. It is connected with the navigation of the Illinois by means of a railroad terminating at Naples.

JACKSONVILLE, in the line of the Sangamon Railroad, is a flourishing place, and there are a number of other interior cities and towns with populations varying from 3,000 downwards, but which require no particular notice. The cities on the lines of the rivers are more important.

On the Mississippi are Galena, Rock Island City, Nauvoo, Warsaw, Quincy, Alton, Kaskaskia, etc. GALENA, on Fever River, 7 miles from its mouth, is the chief depot of the lead mining region. RocK ISLAND CITY, at the junction of Rock River with the Mississippi, is a place rapidly rising to importance, and forms a depot for an extensive country watered by that river. It is the site of Fort Armstrong, the foundation of which is laid upon rocks rising some 20 feet out of the river. NAUvoo City, formerly the chief city of the Mormons, has become decayed since the expulsion of those unfortunates, and the grand temple, one of the most substantial and elegant structures on the continent, has been destroyed by fire. The city is now occupied by the followers of the French socialist, Mons. Cabet, and has been partially revived. Under the Mormons it contained 25,000 inhabitants—its population in 1850 was less than 1,000.

WARSAW, Opposite the mouth of the Des Moines, and QUINCY, the capital of Adams county, have good prospects, and as the country fills up may be come places of note. ALTON, situated a little north of and opposite to the mouth of the Missouri River, is a very thriving town, and in a region rich in timber and bituminous coal. KASKASKIA, on the river of the same name, 11 miles from its mouth, stands on an extensive plain. It was originally settled by the French of Canada. Shelbyville, Vandalia, etc., on the Kaskaskia River, are also considerable places.

CAIRO, at the confluence of the Ohio with the Mississippi, occupies a site most appropriate for a great commercial city, but in consequence of the lowness of the ground on which it is located, and its liability to be overflown, its progress has been slow. Immense sums of money have been expended in raising levies to protect it from inundations, yet its population is very small, and there seems to be little prospect of this age enjoying its advantages.

SHAWNEETOWN, on the Ohio, is the only place of any degree of impor tance on that river. The towns on the Wabash are Mt. Carmel, Lawrence, etc., but none of these claim especial notice. On the Indiana side of the river are the important towns of Vincennes, Terre Haute and Covington.

CHICAGO, the principal lake port of Illinois, is situated on the river of the same name, which empties into Lake Michigan in its south-western corner. The location is a low flat, almost level with the lake, and no elevation is discernible for an extent of many miles back. It has many advantages,

Already it is the -men he states east of it and the upetor i in extensive inland range.

we small streams, which uniting & er, if perhaps 100 feet wide. This is nides for a distance of about half a xtends several hundreds of feet inte le long side of this harbor, and leave Chicago is no less a depot for the ack of it, than it is an entrepot in rade on the lakes and by railroads Lost mpossible to estimate the vas erform its chief expets while tre Down to civilization. The distirade, radiating for hundreds a Hertor to that of Buffalo, and is ea

sen, Superior, Michigan ir at extended commerce; and the

specie, promise fair to make copies two large peninsulas, and 47 30 N., and between the

angrube of 22 20 19 19 W. This state is 344 miles long and 300