is now in our possession, and is valued as the first American edition of that work, and one of the first Greek books printed in America. On the 14th July, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was received at Worcester. It was publicly read by Isaiah Thomas. On Monday following, the first fourth of July celebration in Worcester took place. Among the toasts were 1. Prosperity and perpetuity to the United States of America. 4. His Excellency, George Washington. 6. Commodore Hopkins. 13. Sore eyes to all tories, and a chestnut-burr for an eye-stone. 14. Perpetual itching without the benefit of scratching, to the enemies of America, &c.somewhat coarse, but just. Any great historical picture, if you scan it closely, betrays such little coarseness, why not that of the Revolution? In the course of the war Worcester furnished the army with one colonel, two lieutenant colonels, two majors, seven captains, ten lieutenants, five ensigns, twenty sergeants, and three hundred and eighty-nine privates. No sooner was the Revolution over than the citizens of Worcester were called upon to pass through another trial, which visited all the colonies in a degree, but only at one or two points led to peril to the State. The Revolution left behind it financial ruin. There was no trade-there were no manufactures-there was no currency. It was, indeed, a commercial crisis, as well as a political one. The two were blended together, and the former came well nigh inducing a political crisis dangerous to liberty. Worcester was the seat and center of Shay's rebellion, as it has been called, not from the disaffection of its own citizens, but because being the capital, in fact, of the district, the seat of justice, where the courts were held, it became the first point of attack for the seditious, whose object was to prevent the prosecution of suits, and whose excuse was the ruined condition of all classes, which rendered the payment of debts, de facto, impossible, and their prosecution, de jure, somewhat of a farce, and almost an oppression. The arguments which can justify a general bankrupt law, may almost palliate Shay's rebellion." "In 1784," says Lincoln, "more than 2,000 actions were entered in the county of Worcester, then having a population less than 50,000, and in 1785, about 1,700. Lands and goods were seized and sacrificed on sale, when the general difficulties drove away purchasers. For some weeks the insurgents held possession of the town, which, however, they abandoned about the 8th December, 1786. The remnants of their forces under Shay, at Petersham, were broken up, and the insurrection brought to an end by a bold and sudden movement of General Benjamin Lincoln, who, at the head of 4,400 men, by a forced march which has been pronounced one of the most "indefatigable ever performed in America"march of thirty miles performed in one intensely cold and snowy night, fell upon them as if from the clouds, and routed them without firing a gun, on the 4th February, 1787. -a The career and progress of Worcester, during the long years of peace that followed, more pleasant than interesting in the recital, are best seen in the recital of its present prosperity. Worcester is the center of one of the richest and most productive agricultural regions in Massachusetts, and few towns in the State produce a greater variety of manufactured articles, or a larger amount, if we take into view the fact that there is not a single chartered company for manufacturing purposes in the city, all being carried on by individual skill, capital, and enterprise. We have no later official data than a document prepared from the re turns of the assessors by the Hon. JOHN G. PALFREY, late Secretary of the The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the year ending April 1, 1845. four or five years that have elapsed since that time, have not only added some new branches of industry, and increased the number in several of those then in operation, but extended the operations of almost every branch of manufactures in this rural and industrial city. From these returns we derive the following particulars of the productions, &c., of Worcester for the year 1845. The returns for the year 1850, would doubtless show an increase in the aggregate, of from one-third to one-half in the value of the manufactured articles. Cotton mills, 3; spindles, 4,800; cotton consumed, 360,000 lbs.; sheetings manufactured, 637,597 yards; value, $36,944; cotton yarn manufactured, and not made into cloth, 2,100 lbs.; value, $410; cotton thread manufactured, 21,500 lbs.; value, $7,830; capital invested, $53,200; males employed, 42; females employed, 35. Woolen mills, 6; sets of machinery, 11; wool consumed, 307,550 lbs.; broadcloth manufactured, 88,960 yards; value, $124,540; satinet, 166,000 yards; value, $72,500; males employed, 72; females employed, 61. Mills for the manufacture of carpeting, 1. Furnaces for the manufacture of hollow ware and castings, other than pig iron, 3; hollow ware and castings manufactured, 1,750 tons; value, $134,500; capital invested, $47,500; persons employed, 135. Establishments for the manufacture of cotton, woolen, and other machinery, 12; value of machinery manufactured, $310,000; capital invested, $89,800; persons employed, 239. Lock manufactories, 2; locks manufactured, 19,200; value, $6,000; capital invested, $2,700; persons employed, 11. Plough manufactories, 1; ploughs and other agricultural tools manufactured, 8,000; value, $48,000: capital invested, $10,000; persons employed, 35. Brass foundries, 1; value of articles manufactured, $2,000; capital invested, $400; persons employed, 3. Paper manufactories, 1; stock consumed, 450,000 lbs.; paper manufactured, 300,000 lbs.; value, $30,000; capital invested, $11,000; persons employed, 12. Saddle, harness, and trunk manufactories, 4; value of articles manufactured, $7,500; capital invested, $2,000; persons employed, 12. Hat and cap manufactories, 5; hats and caps manufactured, 14,182; value, $24,752; capital invested, $11,600; persons employed, 32. Cordage manufactories, 1: cordage manufactured, 14 tons; value, $4,000; capital invested, $1,500; persons employed, 4. Card manufactories, 2; value of cards manufactured, $22,000; capital invested, $7,000; persons employed, 8. Establishments for the manufacture of railroad coaches and other vehicles, 5; value of vehicles manufactured, $221,100; capital invested, $67,450; persons employed, 127. Soap and tallow candle manufactories, 2; soap manufactured, 800 bbls.; value, $3,200; tallow candles manufactured, 10,000 lbs.; value, $900; capital invested, $2,000; persons employed, 4. Chair and cabinet ware manufactories, 8; value of articles manufactured, $27,500; capital invested, $15,500; persons employed, 28. Tin ware manufactories, 6; value of ware, $38,500; capital invested, $8,600; persons employed, 26. Boots manufactured, 140,000 pairs; shoes, 143,000 pairs; value of boots and shoes, $288,550; males employed, 566; females employed, 119. Straw bonnets and hats manufactured, 4,000; value, $10,000; female employed, 10, Value of mechanics' tools manufactured, $12,000; persons employed, 8. Sperm oil consumed in manufacturing, 7,660 gallons; value, $7,660; all other kinds of oil, 750 gallons; value, $600; anthracite coal consumed in manufacturing, 577 tons; value, $4,616; bituminous coal consumed, 85 chaldrons; value, $935; value of all other articles of American production, excepting cotton, wool, and iron, consumed in manufacturing $110,000; value of all other articles of foreign production consumed, excepting as above, $45,000. Value of letter presses manufactured, $3,500; capital invested, $1,600; persons employed, 4. Value of machine card presses manufactured, $18,000; capital invested, $5,000; persons employed, 4. Value of hand card presses manufactured, $4,000; capital invested, $2,000; persons employed, 4. Value of patent water wheels manufactured, $5,000; capital invested, $3,000; persons employed, 5. Value of sashes, doors, and blinds manufactured, $16,500; capital invested, $8,500; persons employed, 23. Value of fancy boxes manufactured, $2,500; capital invested, $500; persons employed, 5. Value of sieves and wire work manufactured, $8,000; capital invested, $3,000; persons employed, 11. Value of paper hangings manufactured, $6,500; capital invested, $2,500; persons employed, 7. Value of window blind hangings and fastenings manufactured, $2,400; capital invested, $400; persons employed, 3. Value of musical instruments manufactured, $300; capital invested, $100; persons employed, 1. Value of marble monuments manufactured, $5,000; capital invested, $2,200; persons employed, 7. Value of Japan and varnish manufactured, $7,500; capital invested, $1,000; persons employed, 1. Value of silver plated ware manufactured, $1,500; capital invested, $500; persons employed, 2. Value of reeds and harnesses manufactured, $8,000; capital invested, $1,500; persons employed, 25. Value of nuts and washers manufactured, $1,500; capital invested, $1,000; persons employed, 2. Value of trusses manufactured, $350; capital invested, $1,000; persons employed, 1. Value of umbrellas manufactured, $4,500; capital invested, $3,000; persons employed, 6. Value of copper and wood pumps manufactured, $2,500; capital invested, $700; persons employed, 6. Value of cotton carpeting manufactured, $26,000; capital invested, $7,000; persons employed, 11. Value of card wire manufactured, $110,000; capital invested, $60,000; persons employed, 51. We passed some time in Worcester during the past season, and visited several of the manufacturing establishments; and, among others, the wire manufactory of Mr. Ichabod Washburn. This establishment has been in operation about 17 years, employs 50 hands, and turns out from 300 to 500 tons of the various sizes, including card, reed, cotton flyer, annealed, broom, buckle, and spring wire; also, all kinds of round, flat, or oval wire, adapted to various machine purposes. The telegraphic wire manufactured at this establishment is made from foreign extra refined iron, which experience has shown to be more reliable than American iron, although in this respect improvements are being made. We also visited the extensive pistol factory of Messrs. Allen and Thurber. One hundred men are employed in the various processes of manufacture, and every pistol goes through some twenty-five different hands, who turn out fifty per day, or nearly 15,000 per annum. The California speculation has created a great demand for this article, and its reliable quality has secured for Messrs. Allen and Thurber a ready market for all that they are able to turn out. Every pistol is tested before it is sold. For beauty and strength we believe that these pistols stand unrivalled in the market. The progress of Worcester in population and wealth since 1840 has been remarkable. Few cities in the New England States, if we except Lowell, Lawrence, &c., which have been built up by incorporated capital invested in extensive manufactures, show a greater increase in population or in wealth. We here subjoin a table exhibiting the population in different years from 1763 to 1849. The census in each year from 1790 to 1840 is the official, as shown by the census of the United States, and that for 1845, by the State. The census of 1847 was taken by Worcester, preparatory to applying for a city charter. For 1849, we have given an estimate, based on the official census of 1845 and 1847. The progress in wealth, or in the increased valuation of property, is equally remarkable, especially during the last nine or ten years, as will be seen by the subjoined table :— Years. 1763. POPULATION AND VALUATION OF PROPERTY FROM 1763 TO 1849. Population. Val. of prop. Population. Val. of prop. Years. 1,478 1840..... We cannot, perhaps, give a better idea of the distribution of wealth in an inland city, in one of the most wealthy States in the Union, than by publishing a list of the persons who paid a tax in 1849 upon $20,000 and upwards. The property of the wealthiest man in the city, it will be seen, is valued at $511,000. The valuation is probably below the market value. The following schedule embraces the name of ninety-one individuals and firms in the city of Worcester, the valuation of whose property amounts each to $20,000 and upwards, with the amount of tax assessed upon each, at the rate of $6.75 per $1,000:— As we have given the "upper twenty thousand," we may as well subjoin the "upper ten thousand," who pay a tax upon $10,000 and upwards, but below $20,000. Should either of the classes of "uppers" discover any injustice in the valuation of their property, that it is either over or under estimated, we will cheerfully set the matter to right in a future number of our journal; remarking, at the same time, that the errors, if any, have been committed by the assessors, and not by the editor of the Merchants' Magazine. The worthy citizens of Worcester who are not enrolled in either of the lists must console themselves with the reflection that they have a smaller tax to pay, and that they constitute an overwhelming majority of its population. |