1829.] REPORT ON THE STATE of the COMMONWEALTH. Whilst they are thus, however, actuated to stand forth as the supporters of the public faith, they feel it incumbent on them to present to the consideration of the Senate, a measure, which in their estimation is calculated to afford relief to a vast portion of those, who, though ultimately solvent in their circumstances, are in danger of ruin from the immediate pressure of their debts. The measure alluded to is the establishment of a loan office, by which the sum of $1,500,000 may be loaned to farmers, manufacturers and others, upon indubitable landed security, for a period of five or ten years, distributed in such moderate sums as will exclude the applications of speculators, and dispense the benefits of the scheme amongst the greatest possible number of sufferers. At a moment like the present, when the paternal care of a government is most loudly implored, and when an opportunity is afforded to perform an act of no less importance than the rescuing from ruin of thousands of our most useful citizens, the people have a right to expect from the legislature some noble public spirited effort to avoid so awful a calamity; and your committee, in accordance with this rational expectation, most sincerely concur in the appeal. It is not pretended, that by any act of the legislature, every embarrassed individual can be saved from ruin.Many, unhappily, by the depression of property, and other causes, are irretrieveably involved. But it cannot be doubted, that there are numerous individuals who possess farms capable of affording them support, of the value of from five to ten thousand dollars, and who from the immediate pressure of a debt of one or two thousand dollars, are in danger of being utterly overwhelmed. Do cases like these, merit the helping hand of a protector? your committee would ask; or are the helpless victims of the rapacity of creditors to be left to their fate, and suffered to be swept away by the torrent, which, let it be remembered, owes its immediate rise to legislative enactments? We should hope not; and yet such must be the result, unless the representatives of the people, in imitation of their predecessors, who, on more than one occasion stepped forth for the relief of the community in the manner here recommended, shall extend the hand of protection to their prostrate countrymen. But your committee would observe, that in affording direct relief to those who are embarrassed for time, and who,to be saved from insolvency, only require that a debt payable in sixty days should be converted into one payable in two or three years, the benefits of the loan are not confined to those to whom it is immediately granted. Capital diffused amongst a community, extends its influence to all who surround it. The plenty or scarcity of money depend no less upon the raidity or slowness of circulation, and upon the expansion or contraction of confidence, than upon its absolute quantity. Every time a sum changes hands, it cancels an obligation, and it is highly possible, that a million of dollars in the course of six months, would discharge ten or twenty millions of debts. If examples of the liquidating power of money were required they could be adduced in abundance. Let one however suffice,as particularly applicable to the case in point. A sum was lately paid to the sheriff of a neighbouring county in discharge of a judgment, and before it left his hands, it was employed in the settlement of three or four additional judgements, by the direction of the different plaintiffs and defendants. The oppression and ruin which have been inflicted upon the community by the banks has excited a strong feeling of hostility towards them. Numerous petitions have been presented to the legislature from different quarters of the state, praying for a repeal of the charters of those which were established by the act of March, 1814, and if there ever was an occasion wherein the right of annulling charters reserved by the state, should be exercised, the present is most unquestionably one. But doubts have arisen on the minds of your committee as to the expediency of such a course. Of the justice of 141 the measure they entertain no question, but they are disposed to think that a general repealing of the charters would have the effect of occasioning a run upon all those banks which now redeem their notes in specie, by which means they would be brought to a stoppage of payment and the mass of inconvertible depreciated paper in the state, already so productive of loss and inconvenience to the public, would be greatly increased. Your committee however deem it of importance that the banks should be deprived of the power of purchasing property sold under their own judgments and mortgages; and if the right of so abridging their corporate powers is not reserved in the law, the end can be attained by repealing the charters and restoring them with that restriction. This restriction upon the corporate powers of the bank would, it is conceived by your committee, have a tendency to restrain that urgency to force the sale of property, which a prospect of a future rise is so apt to produce, and there can be no reason why that class of creditors in the community, who have been the most faithless in their contracts, who have been making dividends of money extorted from the public whilst they refuse the payment of their notes, who are the least of any liable to legal compulsion, who have only a limited responsibility, and above all, who have been the causes of the public misery, should be the only class, which should escape the calamity, of which they themselves have been the authors. If they are determined to press their debtors to a sacrifice of their property, let them not profit by their own severity. In thus expressing their opinions against the immediate repeal of the charters of the banks incorporated in 1814, your committee however think it due to the public, to recommend to the Senate the adoption of a resolution expressive of its sense as to their renewal at the period when they shall expire. Your committee would most streneously urge it upon future legislatures to suffer no consideration to prevail with them to renew a single charter, or to grant a new one, but with the restrictions above mentioned. The abolishing of imprisonment for debt, which has just been sanctioned by law, where fraud and concealment have not been practiced, and the amendment of the law respecting usurious loans of money, will both have a tendency to ameliorate the condition of the community. The former will relieve the minds of thousands from the apprehension of disgrace and accumulated misery, whilst the latter will put an end in a great degree, to those extortions which are practiced upon the unfortunate, and will bring into circulation, at legal interest, a vast amount of money held back, for usurious contracts. In addition to the plan of a loan office suggested above, your committee recommend to the Senate, liberal appropriations for internal improvements. Money for both objects can be readily obtained at six per cent. or less, and it is not more the duty of a state to assist its citizens with the means of employment at a period of difficulty, than its policy to do so, when labour can be commanded at one half its customary rate. Manual labour during the ensuing summer will probably be to be had for little more than a bare subsistence, and two roads may possibly be constructed at the usual expense of one. This is the moment then for extraordinary exertion; and we trust that the legislature will not be backward in adopting a measure which shall carry relief to the doors of thousands, and at the same time, increase the fixed wealth of the state to a greater extent than can ever again be done by the expenditure of a similar sum. Your committee cannot close this report, without expressing their hopes, that the sad experience of the past, may deeply impress the minds of the community with the important truths-that labour is the legitimate source of wealth-that frugality and industry are alone to be relied on in the great pursuit of riches-that speculation is destructive of the morals and subversive of the steady employments of a people, and that the con sumption of domestic manufactures, especially of those which are fabricated within their immediate dwellings, is hereafter to be relied on as an important item in restoring to the body corporate that health and vigour, of which it has been latterly deprived. In order to ascertain the sense of the Senate upon the various matters recommended herein, your committee beg leave to submit for their adoption the following resolutions, viz: 1. Resolved, That it is expedient for the commonwealth to borrow the sum of to be loaned to the inhabitants of the several counties and cities upon landed security, in a ratio proportioned to their repre sentation. 2. Resolved, That it is expedient to appropriate at the present session the sum of dollars for internal improvements. 3. Resolved, That it is expedient to deprive the banks incorporated by the act of March, 1814, of the power of purchasing property sold under their own judgments or mortgages. Ordered, To lie on the table. this stage of confusion among the "babbling politicians," Mr. Speaker Dayton would start, suddenly, upon his feet, look fiercely around the hall, and utter the words, Order! order without the Bar! in such appalling tone of voice, that as though a cannon had been fired under the windows, in the street, the deepest silence, in one moment, prevailed-but for a very short time. The United States Senate convened in the room, upstairs, looking into the State House Garden. It has been ever since, used by Judges Washington and Peters, as the District Court. In a very plain chair, without canopy, and a small mahogany table before him, festooned at the sides and front with green silk, Mr. Adams, the Vice President, presided as President of the Senate, facing the north. The portrait in Peale's museum, is, in the opinion of the writer, a perfect fac simile of the elder Adams, in face, person, and apparel, as they appeared to him, above the little table, placed before that venerable gentleman. Among the thirty senators of that day, there was observed constantly, during the debate, the most delightful silence, the most beautiful order, gravity, and per [The documents connected with this report will be sonal dignity of manner. They all appeared every inserted in our next Number.] REMINISCENCE. morning full powdered, and dressed as age or fancy might suggest, in the richest material. The very atmosphere of the place seemed to inspire wisdom, mildness, and condescension. Should any one of them so far forBusy memory, like the magician's wand, or the mimic get, for a moment, as to be the cause of a protracted sword of Harlequin in Pantomime, suddenly changed whisper, while another was addressing the Vice Presithis new and splendid scenery, near Capitol Hill, and dent, three gentle taps, with his silver pencil case upon the Presidential Palace, to an inside view of the plain the table, by Mr. Adams, immediately restored every brick building, at the south east corner of Chestnut thing to repose, and the most respectful attention, preand Sixth streets. In this limited inclosure, the Representing in their courtesy a most striking contrast to the sentatives of the people, in former days, viewed them- independent loquacity of the representatives below selves as surrounded by uncommon elegance and deco- stairs; some few of whom persisted in wearing, while ration in their discussions, they being "fresh from the in their seats, and during the debate, their ample cocked ranks of the people, actually so, and unused to legisla- hats, placed "fore and aft," upon their heads, with tive splendor, other than had been exhibited by the Old here and there a leg, thrown across the little desks beCongress of 1776, in the east wing of the State House, fore them, and facing Mr. Jupiter Dayton; as he was on Chestnut street. Prior to their removal south, they sometimes called by writers in the Aurora of Benjamin passed unanimously, a vote of thanks, to the authorities Franklin Bache. of Pennsylvania, for having done the thing so very handsomely. The House of Representatives, in session, occupied the whole of the ground floor, upon a platform elevated three steps in ascent, plainly carpeted, and covering nearly the whole of the area, with a limited "Logea," or promenade for the members and privileged persons; and four narrow desks, between the Sixth street windows, for the Stenographers, Lloyd, Gales, Callender, and Duane. The Speaker's chair, without canopy, was of plain leather, and brass nails, facing the east, at or near the centre of the western wall. The first Speaker of the House, in this city, was Frederick Augustus Muhlenburg, who, by his portly person, and handsome ro. tundity, literally filled the chair. His rubicund complexion and oval face, hair full powdered; tamboured satin vest, of ample dimensions, dark blue coat, with gilt buttons, and a sonorous voice, exercised by him without effort, in putting the question, all corresponding, in appearance and sound, with his magnificent name, and accompanied, as it was, by that of George Washington, President, as signatures to the Laws of the Union-all these had an imposing effect upon the inexperienced auditory, in the gallery, to whom all was new and very strange. He was succeeded here by Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, a very tall, raw-boned figure of a gentleman, with terrific aspect, and, when excited, a voice of thunder. His slender, bony figure, filled only the centre of the chair; resting on the arms of it, with his hands, and not the elbows. From the silence, which prevailed of course on coming to order; after prayers by Bishop White, an occasional whisper, increasing to a buz, after the manner of boys in school, in the seats, in the lobby, and around the fires, swelling, at last, to loud conversation, wholly inimical to debate. Very frequently, at The Treasury Office, Alexander Hamilton, Secretary, waa located at the south west corner of Third and Chestnut streets, in a row of two story brick houses, since removed. The War Office, Henry Knox, Secretary, at the north east corner of Fifth and Chestnut streets; the office of Post Master General, Pickering, under the same roof; and the City Post Office, Robert Patton, Post Master, in Front, above Chestnut street. The office of the United States Treasurer was to be found in his front parlour, of the house now occupied by Earl and Sully as a Picture Gallery, At this period of the government of the United States, the mere idea, then but floating upon the surface of our policy, that we should possess a Navy, was scouted, being viewed as an entering wedge to despotism, pressgangs, as in England, and a thousand ships of warconsequently there were, as yet, neither Navy Office, nor Secretary of the Navy."-Amer. Daily Adv. AMERICAN SILK.-No. 9. Having made it my business since my arrival in this country, to obtain all the information I could, in an historical as well as statistical point of view, respecting the subject of which I am now treating, I have found that at various times since the first settlement of the American Colonies, and antecedent to the revolutionary war, several successive but fruitless endeavors had been made by the colonists, as well as by the mother country, to introduce the cultivation and the filature of silk in different parts of this continent. Since the revolution, however, the minds of men appear to have been turned to other objects, until within the last five years, when suddenly, and by a simultaneous and spontaneous impulse, without any apparent external excitement, the people of the United States 1829.] AMERICAN SILK. 143 before returning to my native country; to have seen A Full of this project, I went to Baltimore, and I here hope I shall be excused if I express my sincere gratitude for the kind treatment that I experienced during five days that I remained there, from the inhabitants of that patriotic and hospitable city. The memory of it shall never be effaced from my mind. I failed, however, in the main object of my journey. I found a great many cocoons enough, indeed, to produce, by means of their eggs, at least one hundred quintals for the next have directed their attention to this source of national riches. Every where, from north to south, mulberry trees have been planted and silk worms raised, either for amusement or under a vague impression that it might be turned to profit. I do not speak of Connecticut, where the raising of silk worms, for the purpose of making sewing silk, has been for a long time a settled branch of industry, in my opinion very unprofitable compared to what might be done with the same materials: 1 allude to the other states in this Union, where the phenomenon I have mentioned has already taken place. Within the above mentioned peried several foreign works have been translated or abridged, on the subject of the culture and manufacture of silk, and it is but lately that the first number of a periodical on that subject, edited by Dr. Pascalis, has been announced at New York, which shows how much the people at large are desirous of in-season, and all these raised within the circumference of formation upon this topic. The rulers of the nation yield- a few miles. But to my great mortification, there were ing to the national desire, have been taking measures to very few of them that were perforated, the moths havsatisfy the general wishes. In May, 1826, the House of ing been suffered to escape, so that they could not be Representatives of the U.S.passed a resolution directing used in the preparation of fine silk. They might, in"that the Secretary of the Treasury cause to be prepar-deed, have been employed in making sewing silk, but ed, a well digested Manual, containing the best practical that was not the object that I had in view; besides, that information that can be collected, on the growth and man- article, to compete with that manufactured in Europe, ufacture of Silk, adapted to the different parts of the cannot be made without the necessary machinery, parUnion; and containing such facts and observations, in re- ticularly the throwsting mill, of which I have made menlation to the growth and manufacture of silk in other tion in some of the preceding numbers. countries, as might be useful." The manual was accordingly compiled, and published last year, under the authority of the government, in a pamphlet containing 220 pages. The Legislature of Mary land, as I am informed, passed an analogous resolution at their last session, and it is probable that the subj ct has been taken up by other states, altho' I am not in possession of the particular facts. Societies have been established for the promotion of the culture of silk, and the newspapers abound with paragraphs showing how much this branch of industry has attracted the attention of the people of this countryIt is evident that the moment has arrived when it is to be taken up and prosecuted with effect. Upon the whole, however, I have no reason to be dissatisfied with my Journey. I found the silk of Maryland not in the least inferior to that of Pennsylvania, and I have seen cocoons sent to a friend of mine from Norfolk, in Virginia, the product of worms fed on the leaves of the wild native mulberry, the silk of which was equally beautiful, with this difference, that they contained more of the floss or refuse silk, and consequently cannot be so profitable as the others. I witnessed also the extraordinary zeal of the inhabitants for the culture of this article; one lady showed me fifteen hundred pounds weight of cocoons produced on her plantation, at the distance of three miles from the city. At the same time As far as I have been able to judge, the manufacture I must own, that I did not find that the people possesof sewing silk, after the example of Connecticut, ap-sed sufficient instruction respecting the manner of raispears to have been the first object in view. I have seen ing the silk worm; the insect which produced the cosamples from various parts of the Union. Otherwise, I coons appeared to have more or less suffered for want have not seen any where any fixed design for the em- of skilful care; indeed the lady to whom I have just alployment of the silk to be raised by the citizens of the luded, candidly acknowledged to me that she had no United States. It is not extraordinary that a subject so instruction at all, and that she had only followed her complicated should be little understood in a country that own observation and judgment. I am astonished that has never had the opportunity of acquiring practical she succeeded so well. experience. Having undertaken, at the request of persons whom I could not refuse, to point out and explain to the people of this country what I conceive to be the best plan to be pursued,-that is to say, that of beginning with the making, not of sewing silk, but of the diferent qualities of raw silk for exportation,-I felt desirous of convincing the public of its practicability by actual and immediate experiment. Having heard that mulberry trees and silk worms were raised in great quantities in the vicinity of Baltimore, I procured letters of introduction from my friends here, and made a visit to that city. I had expected to find there a sufficient quantity of perfect cocoons, to make at least a hundred pounds weight of raw silk. for which I was certain of an immediate sale. It would have given me great pleasure, It seems to me that the publications that have appeared in this country on the subject of the culture of the mulberry and raising of the silk worm, are by far too voluminous for an extensive circulation, and too full of details, for the most part of minor importance.-They are in general compiled from foreign works, written for the direction of the European peasantry, who are by no means so intelligent or so well-informed as the farmers and planters of the United States. I have therefore promised, at the instance of my Baltimore friends, to publish in time for the next season, The Silk Culturist's Almanac, for the Year 1850; in which it is my intention to condense into a small space, in that cheap and popu lar form, the principal directions necessary to be attended to, omitting the minute details with which the existing books on this subject are generally loaded, and leaving as much as possible to the judgment of the intelligent cultivator. Due attention will be paid to the differences arising from the variety of climates of this country, and nothing shall be inserted but what shall The Silk Culturist, to be published quarterly; the second number to appear in October next. Also by the same author, "Practical Instructions for the Culture of Silk and the Mulberry Tree." Vol. 1. New York. Sold by William B. Gilley, No. 94 Broadway, and by the ed-be thought absolutely necessary; and in the preparation itor, No. 71 Liberty-street. of that little book, I shall be assisted by the gentleman I find also advertised in the New York newspapers, who now holds the pen for me, and who unites his la"A Methodical Treatise on the Cultivation of the Mul-bour to mine in the composition of these essays. I by berry Tree and the raising of Silk Worms, and on Winding the Silk from the Cocoons. By William H. Vernon, of Rhode Island. Being an abridgement of a large French work, by M. De la Brousse. no means pretend to produce a perfect or complete work, I shall only endeavour to convey, in plain and perspicuous language, the practical knowledge which I have acquired by experience, so as to enable the Ame rican farmers to undertake the raising of silk worms, and the production of good, saleable cocoons, with reasonable hopes of success. I find that I have wandered somewhat from my main subject, but I have thought that this digression, occasioned by my journey to Baltimore, would not be unacceptable. I am hastering as fast as possible towards the conclusion of these essays, fearing that I have already trespassed too much on the patience of an indulgent public. J. D'HOMERGUE. 24th August, 1829. COAL MINES OF MAHANOY. The following interesting notices of these mines are extracted from a letter to the editors of the "Register," who are authorised to make certain references as to the important facts stated. They present to us another strong inducement to persevere in the construction of the Baltimore and Susquehanna rail road, so happily begun on Saturday last-the centenary of our incorpo ration. "These mines have hitherto been little known: but the time is not distant, when their value will be appreciated. Their proximity to the Chesapeake, compared to the other coal fields of the Susquehanna, render them well worthy the immediate attention of the enterprising capitalists of Baltimore: the lightness of the coal, and easiness of ignition, are said to excel the Lehigh and Schuylkill, which are no so hard, or heavy, as the Luzerne coal. The Mahanoy mines consist of pure, but very light anthracite, approaching more nearly to charcoal than any other known in Pennsylvania. They are situated about forty miles north of Harrisburg; eight miles east of the Susquehanna, to which the descent is easy and unimpeded, and ten miles from Sunbury; bearing from this place from S. W. to N. E. the western termination of the range is in, and near, the forks, of the big and little Mahanoy creeks, which may readily be found on Mellish's late map, entering the Susequehanna 14 miles below the confluence of the West and North Branches, and about 130 miles from the tide water of the Chesa peake. proved with the Schuylkill, by one of the ablest chemists, who pronounced it the best he had examined.— Thirty pounds of each were burned under similar circumstances, and as the Mahanoy was found to be more easily ignited, emitting in combustion, a more intense heat, and more caloric. Its specific gravity 1.25; the Schuylkill, 1.453.* 3. The mining operations may be performed with great facility. The strata of coal are horizontal or nearly so; and thus the roof may be supported by coal pillars. No labour will be needed to discharge water from the pits, for it may be readily drained off into the streams intersecting the field. Iron ore appears to abound in these lands, fine timber is plentifully found along the waters, and elsewhere; some fertile valleys in the vicinity are settled by industrious Germans; and, for water power, the Mahanoy is decidedly the finest creek in Northumberland county." Niles' Register. A gentleman of Baltimore, of much respectability, engaged in ironworks, having tried about twenty tons, says it is much more pure than that from Wilkesbarre; and that, if any anthracite coal smelts iron ore, it will be such as this, which resembles charcoal more than any he has ever seen. West Chester, Aug. 25. We received from one of our neighbors in East Bradford, some time last week, a stalk of oats, measuring about 5 feet ten inches in length, and heavily loaded with grain-and which, he says, did not hold its head higher than some of the rest in the same field. equal, we presume, to any thing in Delaware, Montgomery, or Lancaster counties-and is a proof of the unusual productiveness of the season. That's We were last week presented with a stalk of corn, raised by Mr. David Carr, of this borough, measuring 16 feet, set with two full ears.-Record. A Double Egg.-We have often seen a "wheel within a wheel," but never an egg within an egg, until one day last week, when invited to the house of Mr. Alspach, hatter, of the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, who produced a hen's egg, much larger than the common size, and gave the following account of it: "It was an egg of the large breed of fowls, and when broken, it was discovered that another egg of common size, with a perfect shell was inclosed. The substance of the outer egg was used, but the inner one and the outer shell he keeps as a curiosity." They are phenomena.-Carlisle Volunteer. The coal field is about ten miles in length, extending north 80° E. to the Shamokin Creek, at Mr. Boyd's mines, gradually widening from one half a mile, at the western bluff, to two and a half, bounded on each side by a ridge, diverging as they proceed eastward. Thus is formed a sort of sequestered, but elevated wall, which is principally a mass of anthracite coal. It lies generally within a few feet of the surface, and sometimes breaks out above it. In the face of the bank of "Serby's" brook, the coal begins about four feet below the surface, and is still found at the base of the bank, in the bed of the stream, about sixty feet below its commence-signed. ment. How much deeper the vein lies has not yet been ascertained. At thirty feet back from the margin, the ground has been opened to the depth of sixteen feet, through continuous coal, to a stratum of schistus; beneath which, doubtless the coal again proceeds, at least as deep as in the bed of the adjacent stream. The mines are stated to possess the following advantages, among others 1. Their geographical position is about 70 miles nearer to the Cheapeake bay than those of Wilkesbarre, or any other valuable mines on the Susquehanna; which distance is supposed equivalent to one dollar and forty cents per ton, in transit to market, upon a canal or rail road. An act of the legislature has been passed for the incorporation of a company to make a rail road, from the mines to the river, which route is a gentle descent, upon good bottom. Coal might thus be delivered at the river, at from 40 to 60 cents per ton. 2. The quality of the coal has been comparatively Appointment by the Governor. SIMON CAMERON, Esq. of Harrisburg, to be Adjutant General of the Militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the place of George B. Porter, Esq. re Large Cabbage.-Mr. Isaac Meyer, of Passyunk, had on Monday last, in the New Market, in South Second street, among other excellent vegetables, a cabbage, weighing 18 pounds. 1 Two statues have been placed in the State House Yard. One on the west side, corresponding with the part of the public buildings occupied by the Courts, represents Justice. That on the east side corresponding with the part of the public buildings occupied by the City Councils, represents Wisdom. Printed every SATURDAY MORNING by WILLIAM F. GEDDES, No. 59 Locust Street. Philadelphia; where, and at door back of the Post Office, (back room) subseriptions will be the PUBLICATION OFFICE, IN FRANKLIN PLACE, second thankfully received. Price FIVE DOLLARS per annum, payable annually by subscribers residing in or near the city, or where there is an agent. Other subscribers pay in advance. THE REGISTER OF PENNSYLVANIA. DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION OF EVERY KIND OF USEFUL INFORMATION RESPECTING THE STATE. EDITED BY SAMUEL HAZARD. VOL. IV.-NO. 10. PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 5, 1829. NO. 88. In relation to the Extent and Causes of the present Gene-9. The committee appointed on the 10th of December They consist of- 1. A copy of the interrogatories addressed by the committee to the members of the Legislature and others. 2. A number of answers to the same. 3. Official statements of the prothonotaries and sheriffs of most of the counties in the state, exhibiting the number of actions for debt, judgments entered by confession, sheriff's sales, and imprisonments for debt, in their respective counties, during the years 1809 and 1819. 4. A statement of the notes in circulation, specie on hand, and annual dividends of the country banks from the period of their commencement, until November, 1819. 5. A similar statement of the city banks from the year 1814. 6. A statement of the amount of loans made by the city banks, including their branches, to individuals, from the year 1814 to 1819. 7. A table showing the fluctuation in the value of city and country bank notes, from the year 1815 to 1820. 8. A list of unlawful banks and incorporations, issuing orders or notes in the manner or nature of bank notes. 9. A statement of the present condition of the manufacturing classes in Philadelphia and Pittsburg. No. 1. Interrogatories addressed by the committee to a number of the members of the legislature and other citizens. 1. Is the distress so generally complained of, experienced in your district, or in any part of it? 2. Under what forms does it exhibit itself? Is it accompanied by the embarrassments of farmers, merchants and others, by a general scarcity of money, by sacrifices of property, and by numerous law suits, particularly before justices of the peace? 3. What proportion of the inhabitants of your district do you suppose, are affected in their business, their revenue, or their usual punctuality, by the pressure of the times? 4. Is money easily to be procured on mortgage where indubitable security is offered? If so, at what rate? 5. Was money, before the introduction of the banking. system, easily to be procured upon such security, at legal interest? 6 What was the price of the best improved land in your neighbourhood, in the year 1809, or thereabouts? 7. What was the price of the same land during the height of speculation! And in what year was speculation at its height? VOL. IV. 19 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. What price do you suppose the same land would now sell for at public sale? Is there a bank in your district, and what bank, and when was it established? To what has the distress in your district been generally ascribed by the citizens? Have not your merchants, storekeepers, and others, overtraded? If so, is not their overtrading to be ascribed to the facility of obtaining bank loans? Has there been a great fall in the price of agricul tural produce generally, during the last five years? If so, say how much per cent.? Do you believe there is much specie hoarded by the citizens of your district? Have there been any great sacrifices of real estate, or of personal property within the last two years? If so, name some particulars? Has a scarcity of money been felt by men who are rich in property, as well as by the labouring classes? Do the inhabitants of your district experience losses and inconvenience from the circulation of depreciated bank notes? What advantages do you conceive, have been exrienced by your section of the country, from the introduction of the banking system, particularly as relates to internal improvements? Do you consider that the advantages have outweighed all the evils attendant upon the banking system? Have many people been deprived of their usual employment, by the suspension of manufacturing industry? 22. Has the consumption of foreign manufactured articles much increased in your district, within the last ten years? 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. Has a spirit of extravagance in dress, furniture and dwellings, pervaded your neighbourhood, to an extent beyond what usually results from a gradual increase of wealth amongst the people? Has there not been of late years less domestic industry in the fabrication of articles for family use than formerly? Can you state the amount loaned by banks in your neighbourbood, to road and bridge companies, and whether the said loans have been repaid, or are likely to be, without a resort to legal compulsion? What was the motive which led to the establishment of so many banks?, |