EFFECTS OF THE COTTON CULTURE AND TRADE.

A writer in the Charleston Mercury thus introduces the subjoined statistics of the earliest imports of American cotton into Great Britain :—

Sixty years ago, American cotton formed no part of the wealth of nations or individuals; now its value can scarcely be appreciated. Sixty-three years ago the first bale of cotton was landed in Liverpool, and was worth some eighty to one hundred dollars in its raw state, and when manufactured it was probably increased in value to one thousand! But how stands the matter now? Great Britain will receive some twelve hundred thousand bales of cotton from the United States this year, worth some thirty-six millions of dollars; add to this the value which British labor gives, which is upon an average about sixteen times the value of the raw material, and we find the cotton of the South is worth to our English brethren about five hundred and sixty millions of dollars for this year. And how stands the matter with our Northern brethren? They will use about 400,000 bales this year, worth say $25 a bale to them, or $10,000,000; add the value of their labor, say eight times that of the raw material, and the South by this article is of eighty millions advantage to them. Now for a moment compute the whole value of the crop to the industry of the world; value of 2,000,000 bales at $25, $50,000,000; add as an average value gained by the labor upon its manufacture fifteen times the amount, and we have the sum of seven hundred and fifty millions as an approximation to the direct value of cotton in the prosperity of the world. Now look back sixty years, and mark the contrast. We have before us an extract from Gore's Advertiser, published in Liverpool, which has been furnished us by Richard Teasdale, Esq., of our city. By this it will be perceived that this gentleman's father, one of the firm of John & Isaac Teasdale & Co. of Liverpool, received the first bale of cotton ever exported from the United States, and that the whole exports of the year 1785 were not as much in cotton as is now drawn for samples in one week in Charleston.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE IMPORT OF THE FIRST COTTON WOOL BROUGHT TO THE PORT OF LIVERPOOLY THE GROWTH OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

1785.-January 20, Diana, from Charleston, to J. & I. Teasdale & Co., 1 bag. February 17, Tonyn, New York, James Kenyon, 1. July 21, Grange, Philadelphia, W. Rathone, Jr., 3. November 17, Friendship, Philadelphia, J. & I. Teasdale & Co., 9-Total, 14 bags.

1786.-May 4, Thomas, from Charleston, Peter Marrow, 2. J. & I. Teasdale & Co., 4-Total, 6 bags.

June 1, Juno, Charleston,

1787.-April 5, John, from Philadelphia, John Jackson, 6. June 7, Irish Volunteer, Charleston, Jas. Hargreaves, 1. June 14, Wilson, New York, N. P. Ashfield, 9. June 28, Grange, Philadelphia, Jas. Burrow, 6; Jas. Appleton, 2; Peel, Yates & Co., 1. August 2, Henderson, Charleston, J. & I. Teasdale & Co., 40. December 13, John, Philadelphia, George Goring, 37, order, 7-Total, 109 bags.

1788.-January 3, Mersy, from Charleston, Peter Marrow, 1. Grange, Philadelphia, George Goring, 5. January 31, Sally, New York, Rathbone & Benson, 4. June 26, John, New York, Samuel Green, 30. July 3, Harriet, New York, Backhouse & Lowe, 62; Dickson & Pemberton, 60; N. P. Ashfield, 27; Peel, Yates & Co., 4; Rathbone & Co., 3; S. Newal, 1; order, 16. July 5, Grange, Philadelphia, James Ansdell, 68. Polly, Charleston, George Goring, 42; J. & I. Teasdale & Co., 26. November 20, Clio, Charleston, J. Douglas, 9; William, Baltimore, Warbrick & Holt, 31-Total, 389 bags.

1789.-January 8, Grange, from Philadelphia, W. Wallace, 4; Jas. Ansdell, 6. February, 5, Manchester, Charleston, John Teasdale & Co., 7; John Wright, 1. February, 29, Aurora, New York, Rathbone & Benson, 165; Peel, Yates & Co., 1; Backhouse & Lowe, 7; order, 158. May 21, Alexander, Virginia, Thomas Moss, 4. July 2, Levant, Philadelphia, E. & R. Bent, 7; John Jackson, 25. July 9, Grange, Philadelphia, John Jackson, 17. July 23, Manchester, Charleston, J. Coulburn, 6. October 1, Lydia, New York, James Kenyon, 10; Robert Abbott, 16; J. R. Freme, 2. December 10, Spring Vale, Maryland, Kensington & Co., 71; Rathbone & Co., 30. December 24, Grange, Philadelphia, Golightly & Co., 2; James Ansdell, 25; S. Brown, 4; Samuel Greg & Co., 43; C. Wetherhead, 94; J. Jackson, 43; J. Micklethwaite, 100-Total, 812 bags.

1790.-January, Lady Penrhyn, from Philadelphia, E. & R. Bent, 58. February 4, Polly, Charleston, John Teasdale & Co., 12; William Coulbourne, 7. July 29, Mary, Georgia, Andrew Aikin, 2; Polly, Charleston, John Teasdale & Co., 2-Total, 81.

It will thus be perceived that the total import of cotton into Liverpool, during the six years, from 1785 to 1790 inclusive, was 1411 bags.

AMERICAN PROVISIONS IN ENGLAND.

We copy the following statement of the receipt of American provisions at Liverpool from Wilmer and Smith's Times of July 15th, 1848:

The following extensive supplies of provisions have just taken place from the United States of America, in the docks of the metropolis, in addition to the large arrivals of the kinds within these few days at the port of Liverpool. The packet ship Northumberland, from New York, has brought 470 packages of lard, 112 of general provisions, 758 of beef, 148 of pork, and 546 of bacon; the Franklin, of New Orleans, 2,124 casks of pork, 464 of lard, 36 of bacon, and other articles; the packet ship Independence, from New York, 229 packages of pork, 494 of beef, 224 of bacon, 841 of lard, and 148 casks, and 128,867 lbs. weight in bulk of oil cake for cattle feeding purposes; the Aconite, from Philadelphia, 300 boxes and 100 tierces of bacon, 114 barrels, 101 tierces, and 51 hogsheads of pork, and 150 barrels and 304 kegs of lard; the Inca, from Baltimore, 1,686 packages of pork, 490 of bacon, 106 of lard, and other articles; the Horne, from Baltimore, 895 packages of pork, 51 of beef, 648 of bacon, 390 of lard, and several of hams and other articles; the Glenmore, from Philadelphia, 766 packages of pork, 746 of bacon, 799 of lard, 135 of beef, 36 of hams, and 235 of oil cake; and the packet ship Mediator, from New York, 263 casks of pork, 232 of lard, 100 of hams, 436 of beef, 82 of general provisions, 595 casks of linseed cake for cattle, and a large general cargo of articles, the production of the United States of America. A remarkable feature in these arrivals of provisions is, that they have all taken place in vessels belonging to the United States.

MERCANTILE ACQUISITIVENESS.

Nothing is more common in the mercantile experience of this country, says the Journal of Commerce, than for men to start in life poor, but overcoming all obstacles to rise into high credit and affluence. It is unhappily quite common, also, for the same men, when arrived at this elevation, to put everything at hazard, in the hope of more rapid gains, and missing their object, to lose all. Strange that men should do so, the spectators say-and yet if they ever reach the same point of elevation, they will very likely pursue the same course. It is not very strange, perhaps, in such a community as this, that it should be so. Our merchants are pressed so severely with business that they have time for little else. Their thoughts are engrossed constantly with business and its gains, and in this way the desire of acquisition, which is implanted in every bosem for useful purposes, is nourished into a passion, and breaks away from reason. For its improper action there is always at hand a ready gratification. Besides, a man who has by steady application obtained property and credit, gets to feel as if it would always be so with him. He comes to think more of his own sagacity, and less of his steady plodding, than he ought; and having more credit, and perhaps more money, than his present business requires, spreads out his plans in a disproportionate enlargement. Men so situated do not really expect to be materially happier or better for the large increase of wealth which they strive for. It is the passion for acquisition which urges them on. Some may indeed hope to set up a carriage and enter the fashionable world, and so become the slaves of postillions and the bon ton. But in general, it is acquisition which fills and controls the mind. In sober seriousness, men all know that they want but little here below, nor want that little long. They know that such an amount of property as makes them easy in their affairs, and leaves them to labor steadily for the maintenance of their families, and the performance of other duties, is enough, and that more will but increase care and perplexity, without any compensating enjoyment. If their thoughts are accustomed to reach on to the end of life and beyond it, and to cherish the feeling that some heart-work is to be done by way of preparation for the future, they confess to themselves that more property would rather be a hindrance than a help in that matter. Yet they love to make money. One says, I wish I had five hundred thousand dollars. What would you do with it? No matter; I should like to have it.

Most men believe that the possession of some property is very desirable, as a means of rational enjoyment and usefulness. They would think that the first thousand dollars which a man should acquire, would be worth more to him than the next two thousand; and that all his additional gains sink proportionably in value. Some would run along by this rule until they would at no distant point pass by the summit of increase, and count farther gain nothing but loss. It is, anyhow, a remarkable fact, staring us all in the face continually, that very rich men are seldom reputed happy; though others will continue to think, if they could gain the wealth, they would contrive to avoid the anxiety.

How shall business men protect themselves from the danger we are considering? Certainly it is a great danger. The danger is evidently not to be avoided by simple reliance upon one's own superior wisdom and prudence. It is among those who have been longest in the exercise of prudence, that the most conspicuous examples of imprudence are to be found. In the great disasters which attended the dissolution of the United States Bank, how often were the community pained with the news that a man long distinguished for honesty and prudence had not only speculated, but embezzled, and perhaps forged.

If we may be allowed to suggest remedies for so great a danger, we would say that in the first place every business man should feel that he is in danger of acquisition. That will cultivate itself. Then he should set bounds to his desires, from the outset of his acquisitions. Not by fixing a definite sum perhaps, beyond which he will not accumulate, but so far at least as not to allow the fact that he has reached the point to which he first aimed, to be merely a new starting point for new plans much larger than the first. Then dwell much upon the inestimable value of peace of mind. Think how dearly millions are earned at the expense of anxious days and restless nights. Think how short life is; too short for its days to be eaten out by useless distress. Put in practice the adage, “keep what you've got," and only act upon the other part of it, "get what you can," in a way consistent with the first. Give away money freely if you are prosperous. This may not cure the passion of acquisitiveness, but it will counteract and tame it; and if done in true benevolence, will be a source of more true happiness than wealth can buy in any other way. Consider, that in truth the surest way of arriving at great wealth, is never to be in a hurry. Set it down as a fixed principle, that you will never depart from your regular business, unless it be by the mere use of surplus funds. Study the book of the Proverbs of Solomon until your mind is full of those old truths; truths which live in constant youth and beauty, though they be six thousand years old. Go fully into the considerations drawn from morality and religion, and you may find more powerful motives than any we have presented.

COMMERCIAL EDUCATION.

It needs no essay or argument of ours to show that, in this day especially, those engaged in mercantile pursuits should be men of large and versatile information, familiar with all those details of general knowledge the possession of which constitute a well read and well informed gentleman. It is not material to a merchant to have passed through a collegiate course of study, nor indeed will the engrossing nature of his pursuits leave much leisure for those studies which are the principal features in college classes; but a general acquaintance with history, geography, political economy, the laws of trade, the principles of banking and currency, commercial statistics, international law, and the general principles of our own constitution and laws-in these and similar topics of thought and reading, the merchant of the present day should be perfectly at home.

Such information, besides enlarging and elevating the mind, and adding to one's respectability and influence in society, is often of itself a fortune, as it enables him to take advantage of openings which the ignorant would overlook or not appreciate. The unreflecting, ignorant trader may float along with the tide, and if it lead to fortune may share in the general luck; but the man of thought and information, quick to perceive the bearing of a new law, or tariff, or financial regulation, or prompt to appreciate the probable extent and value of some new opening to trade, will realize it, and gather a rich harvest, before his uninformed neighbor is aware that an opportunity existed.

As a matter of policy, merely, our young merchants cannot too highly estimate the value of a good stock of general knowledge, and cherish those institutions which aim to promote their advantage in this respect.

THE AMBER TRADE.

The amber trade, which was probably first directed to the West Cimbrian coasts, and only subsequently to the Baltic and the country of the Esthonians, owes its first origin to the boldness and perseverance of Phoenician coast navigators. In its subsequent extension, it offers, in the point of view of which we are treating, a remarkable instance of the influence which may be exerted by a predilection for even a single foreign production in opening an inland trade between nations, and in making known large tracts of country. In the same way that the Phocæan Massilians brought the British tin across France to the Rhone, the amber was conveyed from people to people through Germany, and by the Celts on either declivity of the Alps to the Padus, and through Pannonia to the Borysthenes. It was this inland traffic which first brought the coasts of the Northern Ocean into connection with the Euxine and the Adriatic.-Cosmos.

THE BOOK TRADE.

1.-History of New Netherlands, or New York under the Dutch. By E. B. O'CALLAGHAN, M. D., Corresponding Member of the New York Historical Society, and Honorary Member of the Historical Society of Connecticut. Vol. II. 8vo., pp. 608. New York: Bartlett & Welford.

The first volume of this work was published about two years ago, and duly noticed in this department of our Magazine. That volume is divided into three books, or periods; the first commencing with the discovery of America, and extending to the incorporation of the Dutch West India Company, (1492-1621;) the second, from the incorporation of that company to the opening of the fur, or Indian trade to the inhabitants of New Netherlands, (1621-1638;) and the third, from that time to the end of Director Kieft's administration, (1639-1647.) The second volume, which has at length made its appearance, is divided into three books, commencing with the appointment of Director Stuyvesant, reaching to the incorporation of New Amsterdam, (1646-1652;) the fifth book, extending to the first war with the Esopus Indians, (1653–1659 ;) and the sixth and last book of the history, from that war to the surrender of New Netherlands to the English in 1664. To each volume is added an appendix, embracing copious notes and rare documents. The work everywhere evinces on the part of the author the most patient research, and a degree of industry rarely surpassed in the production of history. As evidence of this, it may be stated that he analyzed between twenty and thirty volumes of manuscript records in the Secretary of State's office at Albany, which, instead of finding, as had been predicted, "tame, pacific, dry, and uninteresting," teemed with every material which could render historical research, to a mind so admirably constituted for the undertaking, a work of pleasure and improvement. Mr. Broadhead, whose valuable labors, as historical agent, cannot be too highly appreciated, sent home sixteen volumes of Dutch documents, which he had collected in Holland. From these, the author collected whatever facts or connecting links they supplied, which, together with private papers in old Dutch families, afforded rich and ample material for a complete and satisfactory history; and such a history, in our opinion, Dr. O'Callaghan has produced. It is written in an appropriate style, clearly and concisely; and, what is of far more importance, it possesses internal evidence of a truthfal fidelity. The volume is illustrated with several portraits, maps, etc., derived from authentic sources, and executed in a style of elegance in perfect keeping with the entire "getting up" of the work, which is highly creditable to the tasto and liberality of the enterprising publishers. A more valuable contribution has never, perhaps, before been made to the historical literature of America; and we trust all concerned will be amply rewarded by an intelligent, liberal, and patriotic community.

2-Jones and Newman's Architectural Publications, first Series. The American Architect, comprising Original Designs of cheap Country and Village Residences. With Details, Specifications, Plans, and Directions, and an Estimate of the Cost of each Design. The designs by JOHN W. RITCH, architect. 4to. New York: C. M. Saxton.

The subject of architecture is beginning to attract, in a greater degree than ever before, residents in our principal commercial cities, owing in a great measure to the facilities afforded by the introduction and progress of the railroad system. Boston is enjoying the advantages of the season ticket system on her railroads in a manner that is populating the towns from five to twenty miles around, so that her merchants can do business in the city and live in the country without any loss of time. The same facilities will be enjoyed by the citizens of New York when the railroad to Albany is completed. The work, therefore, the design and plan of which is stated in the title-page quoted at the head of this notice, is particularly well-timed, and may be referred to with advantage by all who contemplate the erection of villas and cottages on the banks of the Hudson and the line of the railroad, where sites of unsurpassed beauty are to be obtained at moderate rates. Mr. Ritch, the author of the present work, has furnished in this first volume a great variety of designs, out of which the most fastidious taste can select a suitable design for a residence. The elegance of many of the plans will commend the work to the taste of the most highly cultivated mind, and their economy to persons of limited means. The volume contains forty-eight plates, including drawings of cottages, &c., with front, rear, and ground views, with estimates of the cost, and specifications for building. The work is afforded at the low price of $3 50.

3.-An Universal History, in a Series of Letters; being a Complete and Impartial Narrative of the most Remarkable Events of all Nations, from the Earliest to the Present Time. Forming a Complete History of the World. By G. C. HEBBE, LL. D. Vol. 1, Ancient History. 8vo., pp. 562. New York: De Witt & Davenport.

The first volume, commenced in numbers some months since, and referred to in this department of our Magazine, is completed. The present volume is devoted to ancient his tory, beginning with the origin of society, the different forms of government, the founda tion of States, &c., and extending to the fall of the Roman Empire. The design of the author, who has devoted many years to the study of history, and to the selection and preparation of the materials, is, to present to the world, in a new and attractive form, a complete universal history, without prejudice and without partiality, that will be instructive not only to the general reader, but worthy of the attention of philosophers, of statesmen, of lawgivers, and of warriors. He has labored, not to compile from the writings of others a mere compendium of facts, but to obtain from original sources authentic accounts of the condition and progress of the human race, and to reproduce anew an impartial view of the grand scenes of human history, written in a spirit of comprehensive and liberal philosophy. He seems to have fulfilled that great historical requisite of Mr. Macauley's remarks: "That in history, the facts are given to find the principles, and the writer who does not explain the phenomena, as well as state them, performs only one half of his office." In accordance with this requirement of history, the author not only arrays before the reader the great events of the human race, but also exhibits them in the light of those causes which called them into being. He contemplates man as a being of progress, advancing towards his high destiny, not by the accident of a blind chance, but in fulfilment of the wisely ordained plan of an overruling Providence. In his hands history is a powerful means of promoting moral and social culture, and of developing a love and adoration of the Great Creator, by whom all things exist. This work, which is to be published both at Leipsic and at London, is brought out by the American publishers in advance of the European editions, in accordance with an especial arrangement with the learned author, and, when completed, will embrace the history of the human race, from its infancy to the present time. It is written in an easy, popular style, and printed on fine paper, and a bold, handsome type, and offered at a price that cannot fail of placing it within the reach of "the million."

4.-Popular Objections to Unitarian Christianity Considered and Answered. In seven Discourses By GEORGE M. BURNAP, Pastor of the First Independent Church of Baltimore. 18mo., pp. 166. Boston: William Crosby & H. P. Nichols.

These sermons were delivered by Mr. Burnap in the ordinary course of his ministerial duty, for the purpose of answering "some of the leading objections which are everywhere current against the faith" of Unitarian Christianity. Unitarianism, like every other ism, has undoubtedly been misapprehended and misrepresented. The preacher endeavors to meet and answer the objections of opponents, and whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the soundness of his arguments, it will, we think, be conceded that the whole subject is discussed with marked ability, and in a spirit of fairness and candor that must command the respect of Catholic minded men, irrespective of the sect to which they may be attached. In the first discourse he defines the position of Unitarianism; in the second, answers the charge of infidelity which is urged against it; in the third, attempts to show that Unitarians desire to have a pure text, and that Trinitarians are obliged to explain the Bible away; in the fourth, Unitarianism is vindicated from the charge of being mere morality; and in the fifth, represented as Evangelical Christianity; in the sixth, he maintains that his faith does not tend to unbelief. The sixth and last discourse is devoted to the religious sentiments of Dr. Watts, who, although educated a Calvinist, at the close of his life became a Unitarian, so far, at least, as respects his belief in the distinguishing features of that creed. We do not see that a change of opinion of any one man, or number of men, proves either the orthodoxy or the heterodoxy of that opinion or creed. 5.-The Marriage Offering: a Compilation of Prose and Poetry. 18mo., pp. 204. Boston: Crosby & Nichols.

This little volume consists of selections from many of the best and purest of writers in our own and other countries. Unlike works of a similar kind, which "dwell with an almost nauseating repetition upon the romance and ardor of the master passion," this is infused with "well principled and judicious advice, kind and timely caution, practical wisdom, and Christian views of the most vital of all man's relations." The compiler has presented in" a permanent form the gathered sweetness of literature and religion, the immortal words of genius and inspiration, to sanction, and endear, and crown with ever endearing affection and blessedness, the united destiny" of two hearts. It should find ite way into the hands of every newly married pair in our land.