1832.]

71

Respected Friend-With feelings of regret we learn that your contemplated resignation of the arduous and responsible duties devolving on you as President of the Board of Control of Public Schools, in the First School District of Pa, has been carried into effect, and that we can no longer look for your regular visitations to the institutions you were chiefly instrumental in originating, and which have invariably, from their commencement, received the advantage of your fostering care, and paternal advice.

With sentiments of sincere respect, strengthening with every year's acquaintance, we hasten to make known the grateful emotions we feel, in view of the many instances of your friendly co-operation we have experienced in the discharge of our important duties. When discouraged by adverse or unpropitious circumstances, your counsel has ever been ready to instruct and animate, and our endeavors to mete out knowledge have been rendered more efficient by your countenance and support. We doubt not that hundreds and thousands of the youth who have been receiving the elements of knowledge and morality in our public schools, will cherish with gratitude and affection, the many salutary lessons they have heard from your lips, and will rise up to honour your name, and do credit to that system of education, of which you have been the patron and zealous advocate, while the triumphs of Christian philanthropy continue to attest its superiority over all the schemes of infidelity, and all the glory of this world.

We unite in the conviction expressed by your worthy and highly respected colleagues, that the invaluable work, in which you have been for fourteen years engaged, "will long continue among the most gratifying reminiscences of your life." And we pray that God have you under his holy keeping, continue your life long, useful and happy, and give you to hear at last the welcome sentence, "well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

J. L. RHEES,

B. E. CHAMBERLIN,

JOHN M. COLEMAN,
SAMUEL WATSON,

JAMES M. BIRD,
W. S. CLEAVENGER,
Elizabeth B. Smith,
Julia A Byrne,
Eliza McLeod
Ann Dolby,

H. W. Chadwick, Peter M'Gowen, Hiram Ayres, William C. Barton, E. W. Beechey, Eliz'th R. Eastburn, Susan M. Ustick, Louisa Bedford,

Martha C. Hallowell, Maria C. Hutton, Eliza Bateman.

may

Committee.

It affords me the purest satisfaction to believe, that many thousands of the youth of this populous district, in great measure, owe their moral and intellectual elevation and fitness for the business of life, to the conscientious discharge of your obligations to them as their may be conferred by the employment of similar means, upon generations to come. Under this conviction, I cannot but unfeignedly wish for the duration of a system, which, with the favour of Heaven, must be fruitful of so much individual welfare, and essentially conduce to the general good.

My retirement from the station that called me to the frequent observation of the pupils,and to the consequent notice of your assiduous attentions to them, will not diminish the concern which I have uniformly entertained for the promotion of their best interests, by the successful prosecution of your important labours in the public schools.

I shall always be gratified to learn, that your useful offices are properly esteemed, duly encouraged, and generously rewarded. No profession in my opinion is more arduous, and responsible, and honorable than yours, and when faithfully pursued, none more worthy of universal confidence and gratitude.

You will be pleased each of you to accept the assur ance of my cordial respect, and believe me to remain your friend, &c. ROBERTS VAUX.

Philadelphia, 12th mo. 26, 1831.

At a meeting of the Directors of the Public Schools for the first section of the First School District of the State of Pennsylvania, held January 3d, 1832.

The resignation of ROBERTS VAUX, Esq. having been received and read, it was unanimously

Resolved, That the Directors of the Public Schools for the First School District receive with regret the resig nation of ROBERTS VAUX their late fellow member, and that they recognize in his active agency in the foundation of the Public Schools, and in his disinterested, faithful and unremitted attention to their interests from their foundation to the present time, valuable public services which entitle him to the thanks of the Board, and to the regard of the community of which he is a

member.

Resolved, That the foregoing resolution be published in the daily newspapers of the city, and that a copy thereof signed by the President and Secretary be forwarded to Mr. Vaux. Extract from the minutes,

B. W. RICHARDS, Chairman. ARCH'D RANDALL, Sec. Pro. Tem.

COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION OF LAKE ERIZ.-We have been furnished with the annexed partial list of vessels owned and navigated on the south shore of Lake Erie, during the summer of 1831, with the tonnage of each; together with some statistical information relating to the business done upon the lake. The list of vessels is evidently very incomplete, for we have the testimony of several who have better opportunities of knowing, that there were upon this shore 90 to 100 vessels, averaging 70 tons each, exclusive of steam boats. The deficiencies in this list we will insert on being made ac

County of Philadelphia.

The sentiments most kindly conveyed to me by your address of the 23d inst. are very fully and sincerely appreciated. Any assistance it may have been in my power to ren

Some pains have been taken for ascertaining the amount of merchandize taken west, and produce taken east on the lake during the last year, but without satisfactory success. 75,000 tons were entered at the Buf falo custom house. 23,467 barrels of flour, 200,802 bushels of wheat, 8426 barrels of pork, 1768 do. ashes, 1044 do. whiskey, and 44,040 barrels of salt, passed through the Welland canal previous to the 30th of September. At least 60,000 barrels of salt from the state of New York, must have been transported on Lake Erie to various markets, besides large quantities that were detained in different ports, by the early closing of the navigation. Had that continued open as long as usual, it is quite probable that 15 to 20,000 barrels more would have gone up. We judge this from the exorbitant price it has borne at all the principal ports above us. At Cleaveland it has commanded four dollars. and at Detroit five dollars a barrel all winter, and very little was to be had at those prices. Not less than 70,000 barrels of flour, 500,000 bushels of wheat, 5000 barrels of pork, 3000 barrels of ashes, 10,000 barrels of lake fish, and an incalculable amount of other products of the country, have found their way to market by means of this lake during 1831.

In these estimates nothing is included for the trade of the Canada side, except the business of the Welland canal, a great share of which went from this side. Erie Observer.

ORPHAN SOCIETY.

The Seventeenth Anniversary Meeting of the Orphan Society of Philadelphia, was held at the Masonic Hall, in Chesnut street, on Tuesday, the 3d of January. The Rev. Mr. HOLDICH performed the service of the day, and read the following reports:

This

The anniversary of an Institution which has succeeded in the object for which it was founded, is a period of rejoicing alike to those who have planned, or managed, or contributed in any way to its advancement. day, then, the Orphan Society, while contemplating this assemblage of helpless children, may rejoice that they have adopted them-that they have taken them, one by one, from scenes of want and misery, and vice, and brought them into a sanctuary which charity has reared, and provided with all things fitted to make them good and useful citizens, where infancy is cherished with maternal care, and youth is trained with profitable instruction,-where the temporal blessings with which they are surrounded, awaken in their young hearts gratitude to their benefactors-and their pliant minds are elevated to a higher and holier source of obligation.

Let those who are in the habit of visiting the abodes of poverty, where labor applied with persevering skill can barely furnish the necessaries of life at this inclement season, picture to themselves the condition of children left by a dying parent, who was unable to provide for them future support-but we need not draw on fancy for a sketch. A child recently admitted into the Asylum, presents a real object to make pity weep. She was but two months old when her mother died;-a young aunt placed her to be nursed, paying from her small earnings the nurse's fee. The poor babe receiv ed scanty nourishment, and was drugged with laudanum until it almost perished. In this condition she was brought to the Asylum, aged eleven months-so feeble and emaciated that had she not experienced the efficacy of tender care and judicious treatment, bestowed by our excellent Matron on others in a similar state, we should fear that this orphan's voice would never here be raised in thankfulness to God-and you for its preservation. The register of the institution is a volume of such sad tales.

The family consists of ninety-eight children,-eight have been admitted-and five bound out,-one little girl died in the autumn, at which period several children were extremely ill, who have recovered.

amount of work yet to be done, with the estimated cost thereof, upon those sections where the road formation is still unfinished. From that table it will appear, that sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, have been reported by the engineer, as finished; that sections 1 and 2 are very nearly completed; section 3 will probably be finished in the course of the present month; and sections 4 and 9, are expected to be ready for laying the rails, in all the month of March next. The same table also shows the quanti ty of broken stone delivered on the road, up to the 2d inst. with the amount paid for the same, and likewise the sums paid for fencing, damages on account of crops injured, engineers' salaries, and incidental expenses. The aggregate sum paid, amounts to $28,947 76 Amount of per centage retained, on the unfinished sections, and for broken stones,

3,708 26

Whole expenses incurred, $32,656 03 Contracts have been entered into for all the broken stone, sleepers, rails, iron, and other materials, required for the completion of the road, with a single track, and an adequate number of turn-outs. The contractors are now actively engaged in delivering the stone and sleepers; and the directors have, as yet, no reason to doubt the faithful performance of each contract in due time, though the unusual severity of the winter has retarded the delivery of some of the materials. The annexed table, (marked C,) affords an exhibit of the quantities, and estimated cost of the materials required to complete the road-as also an estimate of the cost of laying the rails, fencing the route, and other incidental expenses; from which the following result appears: Amount of expenses already incurred, Estimated cost of grading, yet to be done, Estimated cost of materials, laying, fenc ing, &c.

Total estimated cost of W. C. Rail-road, Add, for cars, car-house, toll-house, and incidental expenses,

Aggregate expense of putting the road in operation,

$32,656 03 5,211 92

45,235 43

$83,103 38 6,896 62

$90,000 00 The Treasurer's statement, (marked D,) shows that five instalments, (of 5 dollars each,) on each share of the capital stock, have been called in, equal to $50,000: that 33,361 dollars have been received by him, and 28, 47 76 have been paid on account of the work, leaving a balance of $4,413 23 in the treasury on the 2d instant. The remaining instalments will be de manded in due season to meet the exigencies of the

service.

It will be observed, that the directors propose, in the first instance, to form a single track of rail-way, with sufficient turn-outs for the passage of cars—and that the superstructure be of wooden rails, plated with iron, and laid on wooden sleepers. Many considerations, both of economy and expediency, concurred to induce the adoption of this plan: some of which are indicated in the communication of the principal engineer, hereto an. nexed (marked E.) The bed of the road, however, is prepared for two tracks; and, whenever it shall be found necessary to renew the first one, or to have both constructed, (whether of wood, or more durable materials) the company will not only possess the facilities of transportation afforded by the first track, but may also avail themselves of those improvements, in the construction of rail-roads, which, in the mean time, will undoubtedly be introduced by scientific ingenuity and experience. The directors, at an early period, formed the resolution to have the road in operation, if possible, by the 4th day of July next; and in making all their contracts for the delivery of materials, they have kept that purpose steadily in view. They have yet seen no cause to doubt the practicability of accomplishing the work by that time, provided the rails and iron shall be furnished

according to agreement. A failure to deliver, in due season, so heavy an article as the rails, may retard the completion of the road for a few weeks; but the board. have assurances from the contractor, that a considerable portion is now ready, and will be forwarded, as soon as the navigation of the Delaware shall be open. The iron plating, for the rails, was ordered in good time, and is daily expected to arrive.

Thus it will appear, as the board trust and believe, that every exertion has been used, and every kind of forecast resorted to, consistent with a sound economy, to expedite the final completion of the West Chester rail-road: and the directors cannot but congratulate themselves and the stockholders, on the prospect of having a valuable improvement executed in the most eligible manner with unusual promptitude—and at a less cost than the original estimate.

If those who have charge of the interests of the commonwealth, shall urge forward the work on the Pennsylvania rail-way, so as to form a junction with the West Chester rail-road, by the time the latter is completed, and thereby furnish a continuous track to the city of Philadelphia, there can be no doubt but the va lue of both improvements will be speedily demonstrated, in a style that will at once gratify and surprise their most sanguine advocates. The amount of business which would immediately be thrown upon the Pennsylvania rail-way, from the West Chester road, ought, in the opinion of the board, to induce the most strenuous exertions on the part of the officers of the state, to complete the laying of the rails from the city to the intersection of the West Chester rail-road. Such an event would not only prove an important benefit to this town and district, but it would render that portion of the public funds, which now lies worse than dormant in the bed of the Pennsylvania rail-way, immediately and highly productive of revenue to the state. The directors are sanguine in the hope, that the wisdom of the legislature, and the public spirit of the canal commissioners, will cause th se obvious advantages to be secured, without delay, to the people of this commonwealth. By order of the Board,

WM DARLINGTON, President. Attest, WM. WILLIAMSON, Secretary. West Chester, Jan. 16, 1832.