Many of the articles that were first put under the head "Merchandise," were afterward placed under seperate heads-so that the increase is not fairly shown in the table. At Cincinnati the merchandise received by canal, and sent out by the same channel, very nearly balanced each other-the receipts being, for the four years, 22,800,000 lbs., and the shipments 23,300,000 lbs.

The article 66

Butter" was, also, received and shipped in nearly equal quantity. Oil Cake, which was received in Cincinnati in increasing quantities, reaching, in 1848, nearly 3,500,000 lbs., was, for the first time, shipped northward, the past season -the receipts at Toledo amounting to about 5,500,000 lbs. This is more than four times the receipt of the previous year.

Many articles pass each other on the canal, in nearly equal quantities. Manufac tured Tobacco is one of these-nearly 200,000 lbs. a year going each way.

Sugar is another, of which nearly 2,000,000 lbs. is received at Toledo, from Cincinnati, and about one-tenth of that quantity sent South, but little of which reaches Cincinnati.

Of West India fruits, Cincinnati received her supply by the Ohio River, up to 1848, when a small quantity was received by the lake route. Toledo receives a small portion of these, by way of Cincinnati,

Several manufactures of Cincinnati come to Toledo for distribution, taking the place of eastern fabrications-such as white-lead, shot, sterine candles, (221,442 lbs.,) lard oil,

1

linseed oil, and, to a considerable degree, agricultural implements, cast-iron, machinery nails and spikes, paper, starch, &c.

The past season has witnessed, on our canals, but a small increase of business on the last. This is due to the injury to the wheat crop from rust, and the low price of agricultural products, except corn.

The receipts of corn at Toledo have increased from 1,309,911 bushels, last year, to 2,052,071 this season. The other articles arrived, showing an increase, are pork, bacon and pork in bulk, feathers, grease, hemp, iron, cast-iron, leather, machinery, molasses, oil cake, pot and pearl ashes, tobacco, (large,) wool, white-lead, and sundries.

The following articles cleared at Toledo show an increase:-Barley, cheese, (from 95,748 lbs. to 966,549 lbs.,) dried fruit, grindstones, gypsum, (large,) glass, leather, machinery, powder, sugar, tobacco, (manufactured,) staves and heading, lumber, (large,) and hops (large.)

The falling off was chiefly in the following articles :-Flour, (from 174,812 bbls. to 142,452 bbls.,) flax seed, oats, wheat, (from 1,121,401 bushels to 714,703 bushels,) butter, eggs, furs and peltries, hides and skins, hogs' hair, ice, (from 4,913,800 lbs. to 640,000 lbs.,) coffee, coal, fruit, (undried,) marble, (unwrought,) sundries.

The tolls show but a slight increase, owing, in part, to reduction of rates, and partly to the failure of the wheat crop. The railroad from Sandusky City to Cincinnati was first brought into full operation the past season, and lessened the quantity of light goods forwarded from Toledo, and, to a small extent, the agricultural products of the country through which that road and the canal pass.

NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

J. W. S.

VESSELS BOUND TO THE THAMES AND MEDWAY.

DOVER, January 15, 1850.

The masters of vessels coming from the westward, and bound to the Thames and Medway, are subject to heavy penalties if they do not hoist the usual signal for a pilot on arriving off Dungeness, and keep it displayed until the ship has passed the south buoy of the Brake, unless in the meantime a duly qualified Cinque Ports pilot should have come on board. Masters are particularly warned to keep their jacks flying, although they may have taken a boatman on board, and engaged his boat and crew to procure a pilot from the shore. The pilot cutters show a large green light during the night, and display a flare-up every fifteen minutes.

N. B.-There are now no licensed boatmen-their licenses have been long since revoked, and the act authorizing their being granted repealed. Masters should avoid being imposed upon by any persons pretending to have licenses.

Masters should on no account pay the shipping money to the boat's crew, but in every case to the pilot only, or they will have to pay it twice. And it has been decided in several cases, by the judge of the county court in Dover and Deal, that although the boat's crew may have received the shipping money or more, from the captain, it is still due to the pilot, and from him to the boatmen.

SHOALS, ROCKS, ISLANDS, AND DANGERS.

The Salem (Massachusetts) Gazette publishes the following communication from one of the most intelligent and experienced shipmasters in that port:

Enclosed is the memorandum of the situation of the several shoals, rocks, islands, and dangers, not laid down in any chart or books within my knowledge. The principal part of them I have collected from newspapers, others have been communicated to me by my friends, and some of them are from my own observation. Thinking it would be for the greater safety of navigators to have them published together in a column

of your valuable paper, I hand them to you for that purpose, knowing how cheerfully you publish anything that will promote the good of commerce and the safety of the sailor.

MEMORANDUM OF SUNDRY ROCKS AND SHOALS NOT LAID DOWN IN HORSBURG'S DIRECTORY OR

Another North Point of Paney, E. S. E. South Point of Mindora, north 24 miles N. N. W. from Raif on the highlands, called the Hammock, is a beacon painted white. May 18, 1843. North Point of Paney, E. N. E., 41 miles, the southern island of Cayosi Groupe, bearing south 24 miles, passed over a coral shoal in nine fathoms, in ship "Naples," of Salem.

Pulo Supata, bearing W. N. W. 15 miles, is a dangerous coral shoal, on which the ship "Christopher Ransom" was lost; crew brought into Manilla.

A coral shoal in the Straits of Sundy, N. 6340 W. from the Button, N. 374 E. from the south point of Shwart the Way, and N. 52° E. from the north point of the same island; from this shoal the most southerly point of Sulphis Island was just on with the most northerly point of Pulo Bessey, 24 fathoms. Distance to the Button 14 miles. China Sea-new shoal, lon. 107° 27', lat. laid down in paper 133° S. (this is a misprint, perhaps 13° 03′ W.)

Booby Island, in Sorry Straits, is stored with provisions and fresh water for shipwrecked seamen. English ship Ann Eliza passed over two coral shoals or banks, one lat. 8° 05'. lon. 110° 27' E.; the other in lat. 7° 47′ N., lon. 110° 21′ E.

1848, a rock, lat. 42° 52′ N., lon. 26° 11′ W., Western Ocean-Cape Aqullar bearing W. by S. 13 miles, struck on a sand-bank. There is a light-house erected on Cape Aqullar.

1850, a shoal, lat. 20° 38′ S., lon. 37° 28′ W.

Off Charleston Bar, South Edisto Light, ship N. by W. 12 miles, is a shoal of 17 feet. There is said to be a shoal spot about half a mile from the entrance point of Cape Laquillas.

Á rock under water 15° due N. from N. point of Island of Tillangchong, (Necobars.)

A large rock under water in the Preparis passage, (Bay of Bengal,) lat. 15° 30′, lon 92° 58' E.

A reef of half a mile long was crossed by ship Louvre in December, 1848, where the bottom was seen and supposed about 5 fathoms; near by had the appearance of being near the surface of the water, lat. 4° 04′ N., lon. 94° 40'.

Tryal rocks, seen by a Dutch ship in 1836, lat. 20° 35′, lon. 107° 37′.

A roek was seen in 1824, in lat. 0° 25', lon. 23° 25′ 45′′ W.

A sand-bank was seen near the Equator, lat. 1° 01' S., lon. 19° W., in the track of vessels outward bound.

A rock was seen in August, 1834, lat. 38° 26' N., lon. 30° 25' 10" W.
A rock was seen in August, 1840, lat. 37° 56′ 20′′ N., lon. 33° 48′ W.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

THE MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA.

The annual meeting of the members of this company was held at their hall on the evening of the 8th of January, 1850. The twenty-seventh annual report of the Directors of the company, presented at that meeting, furnishes a summary of the man agement of the company for the past year, and a clear and comprehensive view of its present condition. It appears from the report that at no time since the period of its formation has the institution presented to its friends and founders such features for congratulation and encouragement.

From the report of the Treasurer, it appears that the total receipts during the year just expired, from all sources, have been $6,266 84, and the disbursements for current expenses amount to $5,706 30. There have been added to the list during the year 73 stockholders, and 62 shares of building scrip have been converted into active shares. There are at this time on the rolls of the company 1,243 stockholders, 19 perpetual members, 52 life members, and 43 subscribers-in all, 1,307 members.

Since last report 317 volumes have been added to the library, and such periodicals as were deemed worthy of patronage have been placed upon the tables. The principal of the ground rent, reduced from its original amount of $21,000, now remains at $18,000, and is the only encumbrance against the valuable property of the company.

We give a few of the closing paragraphs of this report, which exhibits the spirit and character of the present Board of Directors in a favorable light:—

Numbering amongst its members a large portion of the younger branches engaged in commercial pursuits, it is but just to suppose such influences as may bear in forming their character must pervade their after lives. He that embraces this calling is in due time advanced, as fitness and ability are manifested.

The beginner of to-day is, after a few years, in the confidence of his employer. Upon his claim to this distinction in a great measure rests his future advancement. The next stage is to embark upon the journey of life his own master, and the architect of his own fortunes.

To be fitted properly for these several stations is the first duty of the youthful aspirant who aims at honorable success in the profession he has adopted. The means

within his reach, therefore, should be such as will conduce to this end; and it may be doubted if the importance of this necessity can be over estimated.

If the directive power which influences a proper culture and dicipline of mind toward achieving prosperity is an important trust, it is as essentially so in implanting a broad and comprehensive sentiment in dispensing the gains which that success brings

in its train.

The possessor of wealth, it is true, is not always in the enjoyment of happinessbut he who, under Providence, has been by successful trade placed above the vicissitudes of fortune, may gather around him much that will beautify and embellish life; and he that has an "abundance and to spare" possesses a power for good beyond the immediate circle of self.

Deeply impressed with the force of these considerations, it is our earnest hope that this institution may be untrammelled in its mission of usefulness, and that its advantages may be multiplied-that it is its peculiar province to furnish such means is our deliberate conviction, and to this end it has been our sedulous care to administer its concerns. Incentives, surely, are not wanting. Under the happy form of government in which we live, conferring its blessing over an empire almost illimitable, with resources as yet scarcely developed, enterprise is certain of a sure and speedy reward.

The race is free to all-to the young, the friendless, and the obscure; for capital itself is subservient to that power, strength and completeness of purpose, which, founded upon integrity, enters upon the battle of life to win-and that success uncertain and reputation perishable, which has not these requisites as its foundation.

In addressing those who are hereafter to occupy the higher walks of their profes sion, we desire to urge upon them the necessity of cherishing those impulses which lead to a companionship with books, and the improvement of mind and heart:—

"For 'tis the mind that makes the body rich."—

And that stability and singleness of purpose which arise from such cultivation is ever a strengthener of manly resolves, and a solace in hours of adversity; matured, it is that ballast which moderates enthusiasm, and justly estimates the specious pretensions of the day.

OFFICERS FOR 1850.-Thomas P. Cope, President. Thomas P. Cope, Isaac Barton, Charles S. Wood, Robert F. Walsh, J. J. Thompson, J. L. Erringer, William L. Schaffer, William E. Bowen, Marmaduke Moore, William Ashbridge, W. C. Patterson, Joseph C. Grubb, and Joshua H. Morris, Directors. John Fausset, Treasurer. John J. Thompson, Secretary. A. McElroy, Librarian.

MERCANTILE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION OF MONTREAL.

We have received an official copy of the ninth annual report of this institution, giving an interesting account of the last annual meeting of the Association, and the condition and progress of its affairs. The directors report that the utilitity of the Association has been undiminished, while its value and influence have been increased and extended by large additions to the library, which now embraces 3,848 volumes. The number of books loaned out during the year has been 1,356 to 175 readers. The list of subscribers for the past year has decreased; it, however, consists of 509 members, of which 49 are life-members, 26 honorary, 135 merchants, 231 senior clerks, and 68 junior clerks, notwithstanding the falling off in the number of members during the last year; the numerical strength, however, exceeds that of any previous year, with the single exception of the last one, as will be seen by the following table, derived from the directors' report :

By reference to the Treasurer's report, it appears that the receipts from all sources during the year amount to £446 16s. 5d., and the expenditures to £446 16s. 5d., and a balance of £12 12s. due the treasurer.

A course of interesting lectures on popular subjects have been delivered under the auspices of the Association; and a class of upward of sixty members was formed