NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE.

LOCH RYAN LIGHT-HOUSE, SCOTLAND.

THE following official notice has been published, by order of the Board of Commissioners of the Northern light-houses. It is dated Edinburgh, February 1st, 1847, and signed by Alexander Cunningham, Secretary of the Board, and is now transferred to the pages of the Merchants' Magazine, for the information of navigators :

The Commissioners of the Northern light-houses hereby give notice, that the beacon, erected in the year 1843, upon Cairn Ryan Point, within Loch Ryan, in the county of Wigtown, has been converted into a light-house, the light of which will be exhibited on the night of the 3d of March, 1847, and every night thereafter, from sunset to sunrise. The light is chiefly intended to open up the anchorage of Loch Ryan.

The following is a specification of the light-house, and the appearance of the light, by Mr. Alan Stevenson, engineer to the Commissioners:

Loch Ryan light-house is situated upon Cairn Ryan Point, on the Eastern shore of the loch, in N. lat. 54° 58′ 28′′, and W. lon. 5° 1' 47". The light will be known to mariners as a fixed light of the natural appearance. The lantern, which is open from S. by W. W., round to N. E., in a Westerly direction, is elevated thirty feet above the level of the sea; and the light will be seen at the distance of ten miles, and at lesser distances, according to the state of the atmosphere.

And the Commissioners hereby further give notice, that, by virtue of a warrant from the Queen in council, dated 19th December, 1846, the following tolls will be levied in respect of this light, viz:

For every British vessel, the same not belonging to her majesty, or being navigated wholly in ballast, and for every foreign vessel privileged to enter the ports of the United Kingdom, on paying the same duties as British vessels, which shall pass, or derive benefit from the said light; that is, which shall arrive at, or depart from, any place or port within Loch Ryan:

If the same shall not exceed fifty tons burden, 6d.

And if the same exceed fifty tons, for each additional fifty tons, or part of fifty tons, a like toll of 6d.

And double the said respective tolls, for every foreign vessel sailing as aforesaid, not privileged as aforesaid,

NOTICE OF A ROCK OFF CAPE TENEZ.

This pointed and isolated rock is situated on the western extremity of Cape Tenez, a cable's length distant (120 fathoms.) On the rock itself there is one fathom and a half of water, and it is eight fathoms outside, as well as towards the land. The first charts of Gautier indicated a rock, marked by a cross, in this direction, without designating the soundings, but neither the last edition of the same charts, nor the more recent of Berau, make any mention of it. The instructions on the lateral navigation on the coast of Algeria, published by Captain Berau, do not mention this rock either, which he would evidently have marked if his soundings had indicated it. In all cases there is no danger to be feared for vessels that pass it more than a mile from Cape Tenez at any time.

TUSCANY EXEMPTS CORN-LADEN VESSELS FROM DUES.

The following communication from the Tuscan Consul, has been addressed to W. Dobson, Esq., Secretary to Lloyd's:

"In sequel of my communication to you of the 8th January last, I have now the honor to acquaint you that I have just received from his excellency, the Governor of Leghorn, copies of two notifications issued on the 23d of last month, by the Tuscan government, exempting all vessels of whatever nation, laden with grain, pulse, or flour, and arriving in Leghorn, or any other Tuscan port, between the 1st of March and the 30th of June next, from the payment of any other than the anchorage dues, to be levied on and after the 1st March, by virtue of the former notification of the 27th October last.

SANDS OFF YARMOUTH AND LOWESTOFT.

It has been found necessary, in consequence of the shifting of the Sands, to alter the positions of the undermentioned Buoys in the vicinity of Lowestoft and Yarmouth Roads. Notice is hereby given that the same have been altered accordingly, and that the Buoys adverted to now lie with the marks and compass bearings hereunder specified, viz:

The West Inner Shoal Buoy (Lowestoft) has been moved to the Eastward, and now lies in 14 feet low water spring tides, with Lowestoft Church Spire just open of the East end of the New Chapel, N. N. W. W.; Pakefield Church, just open South of the town, S. W. by W. W.; Stanford Light-Vessel, E. by S. The Cockle Spit Buoy has been moved to the Westward, and now lies in 9 fathoms water, with Winterton Light-house one-third the distance between Winterton Church and a white house on the cliff, N. W. N.; the Turret of Yarmouth Chapel and the Factory Chimney in line S. W. by S.; Cockle Light-Vessel, E. by S. S.; Northeast Buoy, N.; Southwest Buoy, S. S. W. W. The Scroby Elbow Buoy has been moved a cable's length to the Westward, and now lies in 11 fathoms water, with the Chimney of Lacon's Brewery, midway over the South Wing of the Silk Factory, W. by N. N.; Caistor Church, over the North end of a white house with a slated roof, N. by W. W.; Southwest Scroby Buoy, S. West Scroby Buoy, N. N. E. † E. The West Scroby Buoy has been moved 14 cable's length Eastward, and now lies in 10 fathoms water, with the Chancel end of Caistor Church touching the West end of a red-tiled boat-house on Caistor Beach, N. W. } N.; Nelson's Monument, its apparent length open Eastward of Gorlestone Church, S. W. į W.; Elbow Buoy S. S. W. W.; Middle Buoy, N. N. E. E.

BEACONS ON THE WESTERN COAST OF SLESWICK.

W.;

The following information has been received at the Department of State, at Washington, from the legation of the United States, at Copenhagen, and is published in the Merchants' Magazine for the benefit of mariners:

In consequence of the announcement of the Royal Chamber of Customs and Commerce, dated 28th February, 1846, it is hereby made known that, in disposing and locating the sea-marks, in the approaching Spring, in the inland waters on the Western Coast of Sleswick, the floating white beacons to the larboard of vessels bound inward, the upper part of which has hitherto been shaped in form of a cross, will now, in place thereof, be provided with wicker baskets painted white.

Royal Chambers of Customs and Commerce for the Western Coast of the Duchies of Sleswick and Holstein.

Glouckstadt, February 1, 1847.

DONNER.

LIGHT ON CAPE FREHEL.

Notice is hereby given that from the 1st of May, 1847, the revolving light on Cape Frehel, in lat. 48° 41′ 5′′ North; lon. 2° 19′ 2′′ West of Greenwich, is replaced by a new light, at a distance of 38 yards South, 60° East, (true,) from the Old Tower. The flashes of the new light succeed each other at intervals of 30 seconds, instead of 24 minutes, but in ordinary weather the light does not disappear totally, within the distance of ten miles. The lantern is elevated 259 feet above the sea, at high-water, and is seen, in clear weather, 22 miles.

COAST OF BRAZIL-FIXED LIGHT OFF CEARA.

Notice has been received by her majesty's government, that on the 1st of February, 1847, a fixed light was to be established at Ceara, on the Northern coast of Brazil. The light-house stands on Mucuripe Point, on the Eastern side of the Bay of Ceara, in lat. 3° 41′ 10′′ S., and lon. 38° 35' 9" W. of Greenwich,* and being thirty-seven feet above the level of the sea, may be seen at the distance of ten miles.

* In Baron Roussin's "Survey of the Coast of Brazil," and in the English charts, this Point is placed in 3° 41′ 50′′ S., and 38° 30′ 15′′ W.

MERCANTILE MISCELLANIES.

AN UNFORTUNATE SUBSCRIBER TO OUR MAGAZINE. ENCLOSED in the letter which we publish below, we received a draft on a house in New York for $25, for five years' subscription to the Merchants' Magazine. We are not sur prised that our friend has come to the determination to discontinue the work, after such a series of misfortunes. Four times, it will be seen, the writer forwarded funds for the liquidation of our demand; and four times, either from the neglect, failure, or the death of the parties entrusted with the matter, the funds were misapplied. Had the writer adopted the course of remitting a draft, as in this instance, all would have been right. We hope the experience of the writer will be of service to others, and induce them to adopt the only sure course-that of remitting their subscriptions direct.

"FREEMAN HUNT, Esq.

"St. Louis, May 6, 1847. "Herewith I hand you enclosed check' No. 20,340, L. A. Benoist & Co., on Messrs. Corning & Co., for twenty-five ($25) dollars, payable at sight. Please apply the amount in payment of my subscription to Hunt's Merchants' Magazine,' from July 1st, 1842, to July 1st, 1847, and forward your receipt, and discontinue it at the expiration of the current volume, ending with the number for June next.

"I do not discontinue my subscription from any dissatisfaction with the work-the numbers are always welcome and interesting visiters; but I have been peculiarly unfortunate in the matter of my payments. Twice I sent to friends in New York $5 each-they omitted to attend to the matter, and afterwards failed; and thus that went. Subsequently I sent $10 by a friend, requesting him to call on the others to whom I had sent, and get their receipts from you, or the money back, and to pay you up in full. This gentleman was taken sick, and died on the way, and that was lost.

"Late in March, I sent drafts to New York to make sundry payments-among them, the amount due you. Owing to the non-payment of one of the drafts, as I learn by letter to-day, your account was not paid. I now take a sure course, by sending direct to you."

DIFFERENTIAL DUTIES.

TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF M. FREDERIC BASTIAT, MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE. A poor husbandman of the Gironde had raised a vine with great care. After much anxiety and labor he produced a cask of wine, and in the satisfaction which he felt, no longer remembered that he had earned it by the sweat of his brow.

"I will sell it," he said to his wife, "and with the proceeds will buy the yarn with which you can make our daughter's trousseau." The good countryman went to the town, where he met a Belgian and an Englishman. The Belgian said to him, "Give me your cask of wine, and in exchange I will give you fifteen packets of yarn." The Englishman said, "Give me your wine, and I will give you twenty packets of yarn, for we English spin cheaper than the Belgians." But a custom-house officer who was present, objected. "My fine fellow," said he, "exchange with the Belgian, if you please; but it is my business to prevent your exchanging with the Englishman." "What," said the countryman, "you expect me to be satisfied with fifteen packets of thread from Brussels, when I can have twenty from Manchester?" "Certainly; do you not see that France would lose, if you received twenty packets instead of fifteen?" "It is hard for me to understand," said the wine-grower—“ And for me to explain,” replied the custom-house officer, “but the thing is certain, for all the deputies, ministers, and journalists, are agreed on this point—that the more a people receives in exchange for a certain quantity of its produce, the more is it impoverished." He was forced to exchange with the Belgian. The husbandman's daughter had only three-quarters of her trousseau, and the good people cannot yet understand how rain could ensue from receiving four instead of three, and how they can be richer with three dozen napkins than with four dozen.

THE POSITION OF THE AMERICAN MERCHANT.

Our readers, like Oliver Twist, are asking for more; and therefore Mr. Parker will pardon us for taking from his excellent "Sermon of Merchants"* another sample of its quality. The passage which we now present portrays, in a vein which characterises all the pulpit efforts of the author, the Position and Power of the Mercantile Class of America. Mr. Parker is an independent Congregationalist, who stands aloof from all sectsor rather, all sects stand aloof from him. He says some things which are not considered orthodox or evangelical by the theologians; nevertheless, his ethics find favor with many whose lives are less heretical than their creed. We dare say, however, that there are some who will find fault with the views set forth in the annexed excerpta.

"In America the POSITION of this (the mercantile) class is the most powerful and commanding in Society. They own most of the property of the nation. The wealthy men are of this class; in practical skill, administrative talent, they surpass all others. Now, Wealth power, and Knowledge power-both to a degree unknown before. Knowledge and Wealth are more powerful with us than any other people, for there is no privileged caste-Priest, King or Noble-to balance against them. The Strong Hand has given way to the able and accomplished Head. Once head-armor was worn on the outside, and of brass; now it is internal, and of brains.

"To this class belongs the power both of Knowledge and of Wealth, and all the advantages which they bring. It was never so before in the whole history of Man. It is more so in the United States than in any other place. I know the high position of the Merchants in Venice, Pisa, Florence, Nuremberg, and Basel, in the middle ages, and since. Those cities were gardens in a wilderness, but a fringe of Soldiers hung round their walls. The Trader was dependent on the Fighter, and though their Merchants became Princes, they were yet indebted to the Sword, and not entirely to their calling, for defence. Their Palaces were half castles, and their ships full of armed men. Besides, those were little States. Here, the Merchant's power is wholly in his Gold and Skill. Rome is the city of Priests; Vienna for Nobles; Berlin for Scholars; the American cities for Merchants. In Italy the roads are poor, the banking-houses humble; the cots of the laborer poor and bare, but churches and palaces are beautiful and rich. God is painted as a Pope. Generally, in Europe, the clergy, the soldiers, and the nobles, are the controlling class. The finest works of art belong to them, represent them, and have come from the corporation of Priests, or the corporation of Fighters. Here, a new era is getting symbolized in our works of art. They are Banks, Exchanges, Custom-Houses, Factories, Railroads. These come of the Corporation of Merchants. Trade is the great thing. Nobody tries to secure the favor of the Army or Navy-but of the Merchants.

"Once, there was a permanent class of FIGHTERS. Their influence was supreme. They had the power of strong arms, of disciplined valor, and carried all before them. They made the law and broke it. Men complained, grumbling in their beard, but got no redress. They it was that possessed the wealth of the land. The Producer, the Manufacturer, the Distributor, could not get rich; only the Soldier, the armed Thief, the Robber. With wealth, they got its power; by practice gained knowledge, and so the power thereof; or, when that failed, bought it of the clergy, the only class possessing literary and scientific skill. They made their calling "noble," and founded the ARISTOCRACY OF SOLDIERS. Young men of talent took to arms. Trade was despised and Labor was menial. Their science is at this day the science of Kings. When Graziers travel they look at cattle; Weavers at Factories; Philanthropists at Hospitals; Dandies at their equals, and Kings at Armies. Those fighters made the world think that soldiers were our first men, and murder of their brothers the noblest craft in the world; the only honorable and manly calling. The butcher of swine and oxen was counted vulgar-the butcher of men and women great and honorable. Foolish men of the Past think so now; hence their terror at orations against war; hence their admiration for a red coat; their zeal for some Symbol of Blood in their family arms; hence their ambition for military titles when abroad. Most foolish men are more proud of their ambiguous Norman ancestor who fought at the battle of Hastings-or fought not-than of all the honest mechanics and farmers who have since ripened on the family tree. The day of the soldiers is well nigh over. The calling brings low wages and no honor. It opens with us no field for ambition. A passage of arms is a passage that leads to nothing. That class did their duty at that time. They

*This sermon covers forty-seven pages, and was published by Messrs. Jordan & Wiley, of Boston.

founded the Aristocracy of Soldiers-their symbol the SWORD. Mankind would not stop there. Then came a milder age and established the Aristocracy of Birth-its symbol the CRADLE, for the only merit of that sort of nobility, and so its only distinction, is to have been born. But Mankind who stopped not at the Sword delays but little longer at the Cradle; leaping forward, it founds a third order of nobility-the Aristocracy of Gold, its Symbol the PURSE. We have got no further on. Shall we stop there? There comes a To-morrow after every To-day, and no child of Time is just like the last. The Aristocracy of Gold has faults enough, this feudalism of the nineteenth century, no doubt. But it is the best thing of its kind we have had yet; the wisest, the most human. We are going forward, and not back. God only knows when we shall stop, and where. Surely not now, nor here.

"Now the Merchants in America occupy the place which was once held by the Fighters, and next by the Nobles. In our country we have balanced into harmony the centripetal power of the Government, and the centrifugal power of the People: so have national Unity of Action, and individual Variety of Action-personal freedom. Therefore a vast amount of talent is active here which lies latent in other countries because that harmony is not established there. Here the Army and Navy offer few inducements to able and aspiring young men. They are fled to as the last resort of the desperate, or else sought for their traditional glory, not their present value. In Europe, the Army, the Navy, the Parliament or the Court, the Church and the Learned Professions, offer brilliant prizes to ambitious men. Thither flock the able and the daring. Here such men go into trade. It is better for a man to have set up a mill than to have won a battle. I deny not the exceptions. I speak only of the general rule. Commerce and manufactures offer the most brilliant rewardswealth, and all it brings. Accordingly the ablest men go into the class of Merchants. The strongest men in Boston, taken as a body, are not Lawyers, Doctors, Clergymen, Bookwrights, but Merchants. I deny not the presence of distinguished ability in each of those professions; I am now again only speaking of the general rule. I deny not the presence of very weak men-exceedingly weak in this class.

"The Merchants then are the prominent class; the most respectable, the most powerful. They know their Power, but are not yet fully aware of their formidable and noble Position at the Head of the Nation. Hence they are often ashamed of their calling; while their calling is the source of their Wealth, their Knowledge, and their Power, and should be their boast and their glory. You see signs of this ignorance and this shame: there must not be shops under your Athenæum, it would not be in good taste; you may store tobacco, cider, rum, under the churches, out of sight, you must have no shop there; it would be vulgar. It is not thought needful, perhaps not proper, for the Merchant's wife and daughter to understand business-it would not be becoming. Many are ashamed of their calling, and becoming rich, paint on the doors of their coach, and engrave on their seal, some Lion, Griffin, or Unicorn with partisans and maces to suit,-arms they have no right to, perhaps have stolen out of some book of Heraldry. No man paints thereon a Box of Sugar, or Figs, or Candles, an Axe, a Lap-stone, or a Shoe-Hammer. Yet these would be noble, and Christian withal. The Fighters gloried in their horrid craft, and so made it pass for noble; but with us a great many men would be thought the tenth transmitter of a foolish face,' rather than honest artists of their own fortune; prouder of being born than of having lived never so manfully.

"In virtue of its Strength and Position, this class is the controlling one in Politics. It mainly enacts the laws of this State and the Nation; makes them serve its turn. Acting consciously or without consciousness, it buys up Legislators when they are in the market; breeds them when the market is bare. It pays them money and honors; pays them for doing its work, not another's. It is fairly and faithfully represented by them. They are made in its image; represent its wisdom, foresight, patriotism, and conscience. Your Congress is its mirror."

OFFICIAL SMUGGLER.

Alexander Dumas, in his "Impressions de Voyage," gives the following account of Beautte's system of smuggling, who stands at the head of the fashionable jewellers in Geneva :

"It is difficult to imagine a collection more rich in those thousand wonders which tempt a female heart; it is enough to drive a Parisian lady mad, or to make Cleopatra palpitate with longing in her grave. This jewellery is liable to a duty on entering France; but for a premium of 5 per cent, M. Beautte undertakes to smuggle it. The bargain between the buyer and seller is publicly made upon this condition, as if there were no custom-house